Absolute Power
I looked up at the old building with distain. The seven story structure was tired, sagging as if the weight of the world had been laid upon it. It used to be an old apartment building, but now it lay condemned in the scum-ridden Waterman District. Rain pelted my black umbrella that was next to useless as the driving downpour soaked straight through the thin shield and dampened the brown fabric of my coat. The door of the place was boarded as was expected and yellow police tape that said "condemned" was strung over it and the windows of the first floor like the drooping branches of dying trees. The building had been my home once. Those days were long gone, though and now I was left with...
...what?
What was I doing here? Samantha was probably worrying about me; Devon too. I had a family to take care of and yet here I was, playing the same old smoke and mirrors game that Jack always played. He had left me a message at my home; his calling card with one word attached: Waterman. If I hadn't responded he would have continued pestering me. He might have even become aggressive if the papers were to be believed. I guess I would find out the truth soon enough.
Since the front door was sealed, I began walking slowly around the building. The only other access was a rickety looking old fire escape with police tape strung across the railings. The iron supports were rusted and it looked like it could barely hold a child let alone a full grown man like me. I ripped the tape off of it and took the first step gingerly, wincing as the stair creaked under my weight. The rain pushed me up the steps slowly, one-by-one as the iron protested under my feet. I took time to look into the windows on each floor in case I could see inside. The building was dark, though, like the clouded night sky above me. A trashcan fell in an alley nearby. The familiar crashing noise was followed by the startled screech of a feline. I hated cats. Devon had asked me for a pet once. Samantha was dead set against a dog and I forbade a cat from ever being in my home. Thus, our son went without. I had offered to buy him a rabbit or Guinnea Pig, but he protested, annoyed:
"I want a REAL pet, dad!"
Children have a funny way of looking at the world. Then again, I suppose we all do in our own way. The iron staircase ended abruptly at the roof and I stepped off of it, relieved. I didn't think I was working too hard, but my rapid, gasping breaths suggested otherwise. I really was out of shape. The roof was empty. Perhaps I was early. I walked to a doorway that presumably led to an interior staircase and tried the metal handle. I was thankful that it swung open and I stepped inside, shaking myself of the cold, wet sky-water. No matter my efforts, the umbrella refused to shed the rain and remained soaked, but it was warmer inside and for that I was grateful even if the difference was slight. The staircase was bland. The peeling, pearl colored paint on the walls had become darker over the years, stained by God knew what. The stairs themselves were black plastic treads covering concrete and probably steel. It had a nostalgic quality.
There was no sign of Jack after ten minutes of waiting. Every so often I would open the door slightly to make sure he wasn't waiting for me outside. The rain pelted the metal roof of the stair with rapid fire sounds in the marching beat of a falling percussion section. I was ready to give up, go home, and apologize to Samantha. If Jack wanted to meet me here, where the hell was he? My curiosity could sustain me for only so long and it was running thin.
I never heard Jack enter the stair. It was more like I could feel it, a slight pressure change in the atmosphere of the building.
"I thought you might ignore me, just like the others," he said next to me, suddenly.
He materialized from the shadows of the staircase like some predator in a cult horror movie. I tried to hide the fact he had startled me.
"Others?"
"Yeah, you remember, right? Joe, Luke, Rebecca, Catherine, Julia, and Carter." He said their names as if spitting out something foul.
I was amazed at his appearance. It had hardly changed even through the years we had been apart. I was afraid I hadn't faired so well. He looked younger than his forty-five years of age, helped by the fact that he wore his fedora in a boyish manner, tilted to the side. It also helped that I couldn't see any gray hairs on his head or any wrinkles on his face. His firm jaw line held some stubble as if he had forgotten to shave for a few days. I couldn't really tell under his coat, but he seemed to be in great shape for forty-five. No doubt he was still covered in muscle. He looked at me with tired eyes, but the blue in them was piercing and resolute; a fire that my greens no doubt lacked.
"I remember, yes. Why did you ask me to come here?" I asked.
"I'm..." he began, looking away from my gaze as if searching for the correct words to use. "Don't you miss the good old days, Rob?"
I had to admit to myself at least that I did. There was something alluring about it that normal family life just couldn't match.
"No. I don't miss being shot at or pummeled," I lied.
Jack sighed, looking down at the disintegrating plastic of the landing.
"There was more to it than that, though, wasn't there? We really helped people."
"We helped some people, yes. But look around you, Jack. Did it really make a difference? Are you making the city, no, the world a better place by continuing our bullshit crusade?"
I was surprised that he actually looked hurt. He turned away from me like Devon did when trying to hide a pouting face.
"It's not bullshit..."
"Oh for the love of Christ, Jack. We spent eighteen years of our lives trying to really do some good, but what did it accomplish? The city is much worse now than it ever was before we began!"
He turned back to face me in anger, the frustration in his voice was clear as was the fire in his eyes.
"It's because you and the others gave up, Rob! When things got rough you all packed up your shit and left me to carry on alone!"
"What did you expect?" I countered. "We weren't getting any younger and they were learning, adapting to our tactics. We started an evolution, Jack. We made them what they are today. They're stronger because of us; because of our intervention."
He sighed.
"I guess I was wrong about you. I thought that your coming here meant that you had at least some honor left. You've gotten soft, Rob."
"I have a family now. I can't afford to be dodging bullets and leaping across rooftops anymore."
His chuckling caught me off guard.
"As I recall, you never did much leaping."
Heat rushed over my face as I blushed.
"Does Samantha know?" he asked.
"About what?"
"You know... about us." he hung his head a bit as if he was ashamed for asking.
"No she doesn't. She thinks I'm a perfectly normal college professor."
Jack opened the door and stepped out into the rain, beckoning me to follow. I did. I didn't have a reason to, but I was compelled to hear him out. It was good to reminisce at least; to get this shit off of my chest and to actually talk about it with someone instead of keeping it bottled it up like I was cursed.
"Remember when we used to race?" He smiled.
"I never could beat you." I smirked.
"Fastest man in the whole city!" He said it with pride as he pointed at his chest with a thumb.
"If not the world." I grinned back.
There was a brief silence as we stood next to each other, looking out over the stoic, sagging structures of the quiet city. The rain dripped from the edges of Jack's hat and I moved my umbrella slightly to try and give him at least some shelter. A police car whizzed by in the street below, sirens blaring aloud as it rushed off to some robbery or murder somewhere.
"You know," he said, "I think they would have gotten worse whether we intervened or not. If you give even one of them power, they abuse it."
"But would they have received that power at all if we hadn't stepped in?"
He nodded, convinced he was right.
"Yes. I think such a thing was inevitable. After all, it happened to us."
I nodded reluctantly. He did have a point.
"No matter what we do, Jack, there will always be people who take advantage of others. If you want to keep trying to clean up this town, you'll have to find new help, fresh help."
He frowned.
"Why can't we just go back to being a team?"
"Why? I have a family for starters. Carter has a bum leg due to a stray bullet, Rebecca was admitted to Northfield Sanitarium a year after we split, Joe is pushing seventy, Catherine has three children without a father, and Luke and Julia are God knows where-"
"Monaco."
"What?"
"Luke and Julia ran off to Monaco."
I blinked in disbelief.
"What? Why?"
He shrugged as the rain stopped falling abruptly.
"I have no idea. Casinos maybe."
"Great. So they're either dead or filthy rich."
A church bell started ringing in the distance. I spoke after the tenth ring.
"I really should go."
Jack grabbed my arm as I turned for the fire escape, the bell chiming twice more.
"Thanks for listening to me at least," he said.
I just nodded.
"Do you... do you think we could... you know... Just one more time before you go?"
I sighed. It had been so long I wondered for a moment if I remembered how. Dropping the useless umbrella onto the roof I turned and put my other arm around him. It felt familiar, almost natural. He released my arm and I easily lifted him onto my back. Jack was lighter than I remembered. Both of his hands clutched my shoulders in anticipation as his knees dug into my hips. He rested his chin on my shoulder, his warm breath making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I shivered.
"Are you ok with this?" He asked. There was genuine concern in his voice.
"Yeah," I said. "Hold on tight."
He sucked in a breath as I brought us to the edge of the roof and stepped out into nothing. The building's wall rushed passed us as we plummeted. My stomach lurched upward to my throat as the pavement of the alley below sped up to meet our descent all too eagerly. My heart thudded in my chest with exhilaration as the wind whistled in my ears. This was the rush that I remembered. The ground surged upward, welcoming us to shatter on its surface.
"Rob..." Jack whispered in my ear as we passed the sixth floor.
I inhaled sharply, a grin spreading across my lips.
"Robert!!" Jack squealed nervously as we sailed by the third story.
The intricacies of it all came flooding back to my memory, just like riding a bike. I twisted my head and shoulders upward and a dumpster whizzed by on my left, nearly clipping my shoulder. The fingers of my left hand dragged through a cold puddle as we flew sideways. I was apparently a little rusty. Jack held on for dear life and I could feel him starting to slip. I didn't want to resort to it, but I lifted my hands over my head to stabilize myself reluctantly. That position felt so juvenile, like using training wheels. Jack wrapped his arms around my neck and I twisted upwards even further until we were sailing comfortably over the rooftops of the Waterman District.
"We shouldn't be doing this..." I said, trying to get my lips to stop grinning.
"I just wanted to feel it one more time." Jack's voice was a whisper in my ear that was filled with excitement.
I grimaced to myself. I was remembering things I would have preferred to stay forgotten, things that were forbidden, things that were enticing, and things that could destroy a family. I did a few loops for Jack's benefit. I remembered how he used to like them. It was strange, but using the power again made me feel better. I had forgotten how freeing it was. Jack clutched me tightly as I grew more confident and dropped my arms back to my sides. I dipped lower to weave between buildings, settling into my old patrol mannerisms without thinking as I scanned the alleys and streets for signs of crime. A flashing strobe of blue and red caught my eye. I had planned to ignore it, turning left away from the lights, but Jack noticed them too.
"Hey, let's go check it out!" He said.
I sighed and touched down on a nearby rooftop.
"Jack, I already told you I'm not going to get involved in this again. If you want to investigate, then by all means, feel free. I'm going to go back home to my wife and son."
He frowned again. I wasn't sure if he was disappointed that the flight was over or that I wasn't planning on joining him. He opened his mouth to say something, but, before he could, a rooftop door opened behind me and a shouting voice cried out:
"Hey! What the fuck are you assholes doing on our roof? I thought I told you never to come back here, speedy!"
Jack moved like lighting, pulling me out of the way of the metal slugs that suddenly pierced the air. He set me down behind a short brick wall that was probably left over from past demolition.
"Friends of yours?" I asked as the metal rain pelted the other side of the wall.
Jack grimaced.
"I wouldn't call them friends, but we do know each other."
"What's their racket? Drugs? Sex? Murder?"
"A little bit of everything. Shall we do that thing we used to do?" He was grinning now, clearly pleased that trouble had found us.
"Well we don't have much of a choice now, do we?"
Jack vanished around the corner of the wall and I whistled under my breath. He was still as fast as ever it seemed. It made me feel more than a little washed up. With Jack as a distraction, the slugs were no longer striking the wall, though the sound of them leaving the barrel was still ringing true. I kicked off the roof, taking the opportunity, and flew around the wall at a good clip. My fist planted itself into the temple of a nearby thug with a satisfying crack. It left my knuckles sore, but I didn't care in that moment. There were six thugs on the roof. Two had been downed already by Jack's speed and three remained.
"What the fuck!? Down the flier!" I heard one of them holler.
I kicked the gun from his hand and watched him shrink away from me in terror. A bullet whizzed by next to my ear and I ducked reflexively, looking in the direction from where it came to see Jack shoulder check one criminal into another. I wasn't prepared for the blow that struck my jaw then, and it broke my concentration. I fell to the soaked roof and wiped some blood from my mouth as Jack valiantly came to my rescue, clubbing the remaining perpetrator in the back of the head with one of their pistols. He offered me a hand after the subdued man fell and I took it, the taste of iron strong in my mouth. I watched as jack began producing pairs of cuffs from under his coat to bind the thugs with. At least he came prepared.
"We sure showed them, didn't we?" He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Yeah I guess we did..."
"You have to admit it was fun."
"I suppose... if you call tasting your own blood fun." I made a sour face. Inside I was elated, ecstatic, and riding an adrenaline high I hadn't felt since five years in the past, but I didn't want Jack to know that.
"It looked like you were enjoying yourself when you punched out that sap."
I dragged the thug in question to the group Jack was binding.
"I'm done, Jack. I think you can handle this from here."
He stood as I turned to leave and was suddenly in front of me.
"Wait, Rob. You really should consider coming back... I miss how we worked together." He looked down. "I also miss-"
"Stop." I looked at him sternly. "Don't finish that sentence. You know I can't do this anymore. I have to think about my family and their needs-"
"What happens when Devon starts to manifest? What happens when Samantha starts asking questions about your past?"
"Then I'll come clean with her, but only after that happens."
"Do you really think she'll approve of being lied to for so long?"
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"She doesn't have to approve because she loves me for the man I am, not the powers I have. That's something you could neve-"
His lips were against mine in the blink of an eye, making familiar butterflies invade my stomach. I pushed him away before he could go any further.
"What the fuck are you doing!?" I asked, appalled.
"I thought it's what you would want... You are sick of leading a normal life aren't you? Nose to the grind-stone all day, trying to get ideas and concepts to stick into the minds of shit-headed little college brats... I do love you. I always hav-"
"Grow up, Jack. I can't be your throw away fuck anymore. You want to play around with a new crew of fuck buddies? Fine, but leave me out of it. I like my life just fine, thanks." It was a lie and I knew it, but I kept my mind focused on Samantha and Devon.
Jack stared at his feet.
"Is that what you really think of me?"
"What should I think? I caught you with another man, remember?"
"I know. I fucked up back then, Rob. I want to do it right this time. Will you at least let me try to fix it?"
"You know I can't. You had your chance five years ago."
One of his arms limply fished around in his coat pocket, producing a small business card. He thrust it forward with a puppy-dog look in his eyes, begging me to take it.
"If you reconsider, call me," he pleaded.
I reluctantly nodded and swiped the card quickly from him, leaping off of the roof soon after. I half expected him to try and stop me again, but he didn't. This was perfect. Five years later and I still couldn't get over what Jack and I had shared. The butterflies in my stomach moved lower and I cursed under my breath. I really felt like a fool. There I was, flying above the city with a hard-on like I was deep in the throes of puberty again. God damn, Jack. It seemed like I was falling for his shit twice, like an idiot. He couldn't just leave well enough alone, could he? Part of me wished he had gone after Tom first instead of me back then, but... then I wouldn't have gotten the chance to know the way he smelled or the way he kissed. Or the way his hands moved gently over my back as we made intimate love above the clouds together. My erection strained at my pants with each thought and I groaned. Jack's power over speed was nothing compared to the power he still had over me. I had to do something about this thing before I arrived home and Samantha started asking awkward questions. I climbed through the clouds. The beautiful moon greeted me as I emerged from the fluffy sea and the cool air was a refreshing change from the humid city. The clouds were awash with the orange glow of the metropolis below and I hovered in place for a moment, admiring the view. I reached down and gripped my crotch, massaging it through the fabric of my pants as I thought of Jack in his younger years. I slowly pulled the zipper of my fly down as Jack slid his tongue into my mouth, flicking it around mine in my mind. My cock throbbed at the thought and I moaned in pleasure at my squeezing hand. Jack's muscular body pressed against mine and I caressed each crease in his smooth skin as he rested his head on my hairy chest. The cool air licked at my length like Jack used to and I clenched my teeth as I stroked it above the clouds. Jack should have been there with me. No, I wanted Velocity; Jack's alter-ego as I remembered him, not the Jack of tonight. I felt my body tighten. My concentration was waning. I knew I was about to fall. My heart thudded in my chest as I reached the edge. I didn't even hear the approaching chopper until its flood light illuminated my back.
"Attention, Subhuman! You are in violation of Subhuman Ability-Use laws and are subject to a fine and possible incarceration! Come quietly or we will use force!"
God damn cops.
I hoped jack was happy. I stuffed my prick back into my pants and zipped my fly back up, but I didn't dare turn to look at the helicopter. Instead I let myself go. If I was caught, then my family life would be over for certain. Once I fell back into the clouds, I flew horizontally for a while. the chopper had started to descend after me, but without a way to track my flight, finding me in the sea of moisture would be nigh impossible. I emerged above the rooftops and plummeted towards the streets. The metal sentinels that made up the city rose up to greet me. I weaved through the tall buildings of the Troy District, pushing the speed of my ability to the limit. It became hard to see ahead of me at that speed and I found myself wishing I had brought my old helmet. I stopped and hovered for a moment and looked back over my shoulder. I had shaken them, thankfully. Now I just had to get back home without further incident.
A sharp pain suddenly bit into my left leg and I instinctively turned and fled. There was no sign of the helicopter anywhere, so what had hit me? A fuzzy feeling crept into my mind slowly as I looked back to see the flat end of a rose thorn sticking out of my pant leg. What the hell? It became very difficult to think as the fuzzy feeling quickly overwhelmed my vision, making the buildings melt together into a black goo before me. I found myself spiraling downward, no longer held aloft by my ability. Something under me broke, sending shockwaves of pain all over my body. It was followed by a muffled crashing noise all around me before the blurred city lights finally faded from my vision.