smokeThis was the telepath! I had forgot about her in adrenalin of the fight, she was using some sort of mental power to lock our movements, as it didn’t seem like there was physical force being applied to us, so really a telepath and not a telekinetic, not that one was better than the other.

Actually, maybe we had lucked out, I thought, feeling my power reacting, spinning madly just like it did when Spyglass tried to use her powers on me. if my body could move, I would be sporting a gigantic grin right now. The power matrix in my mind vibrated in response to the woman’s power acting on me and soon changes started appearing on it.

I could feel my body slowly starting giving reactions to my promptings as a frown grew on the woman’s face, she looked at me, slowly getting my limbs back under my control and to thunder still spasming from time to time still incable of standing.

A bit of worry creeped on her expression. She touched one hand to her temple, wincing, and it got suddenly way easier to move, I felt my power launching onto this reaction and it in moments had settled in the modifications. I felt my body click fully onto my control again.

I jumped to action taking a step ahead to stabilize my body, the woman clutched her head with both hands. Apparently, me escaping caused some sort of backlash. I smiled freely now, behind me my group also regained their movement. The woman’s hold had broken on all of us. Spotlight laughed patting my back, probably guessing it was me as no one else in the group had a fitting power to escape the situation.

“Way to pull your weight on the first day recruit.” He jokingly said.

"Stay alert, it's not really over yet!" LED said shaking some feeling back onto his arms.

He eyed the situation carefully, and with a look of concentration on his face casted a colored ring in each of us. I felt full of energy as it got hold of me, and my power responded to this as well, rewriting itself, my form getting more manageable.

I felt more confident with all of us in the game, Spyglass again got moving very fast, activating her powers in the other woman, the effect of her eyes almost imperceptible in the morning light. “She's a telepath, she focuses on influencing the mind, she can interact with other mind-based powers, it seems to work by taking over the other powers influence with her own. She's an enforcer part of the intelligence gathering unit of the military, codename: Openmind."

“Thunder!” the now named Openmind urged. “We need to go, it's our loss.”

Thunder had finally gotten up and gave us a seething glare, “We haven't lost yet, their tricks have run out.”

She pursed her lips, a frown adorning her face but let out a simple "Fine.” It seemed like she had no personal investment in the fight, going by what she said earlier, it was Thunder's idea. Maybe we could make her abandon the fight if pressured enough?

While I was thinking that, they got into position again, Openmind focusing intently, but I didn’t feel anything happening, and it took a second for me to realize that it was because she hadn't targeted me this time.

Thunder shot from where he was and got past me, going straight to the now paralyzed Payback, the amount of force he put into this attack was somehow ever greater that what he used before, Payback was sent flying in a broken mess with smoke trailing behind him. I had already fucked up but moved to intercept him before he did more damage.

I went straight for a punch again, my knowledge of fighting was really rusty, tough I had done my fair amount of competitive fighting in my earlier days, I had no experience at all fighting other powered, as is to be expected.

He moved too fast for my attacks and just got out of the way of my punches, giving back with one of his own, it didn't do much, but he followed in a combo, chaining attacks while I only trailed behind trying futilely to get any hits on him.

But my power was working overtime, submitted to constant lightning from his power it seemed to try and adapt more efficiently to it, constantly spinning in response to his supernatural electricity coursing its way through my body. The layers of physical absorption also working overtime as I became more and more a huge tank. And we entered a struggle where we were incabaple of hurting each other, me because I couldn’t hit him, and him because his punches did nothing at this point.

He jumped back seeing as nothing was working, and I stood there breathing heavily. Until now I hadn't really tested my powers so I didn't even know if I had an exhaustion limit; if my body was burning biological resources to fuel the transformations or if it was just completely power based. The best-case scenario would be that the biological exhaustion was a component to which the power adapted itself to, and that it was completely part of the power that mutated my body to keep me alive.

I’d only have to find out I thought seeing Thunder, now standing a little smaller than me start to literally charge up, accumulating brilliant thick layers of electricity in his body, the energy sparking and shining through his body.

I logically wouldn’t simply wait for my enemy to finish powering up like some kid's cartoon. And charged him the second I realized what he was trying to do. The only problem was that my powers left me a slow hulking mas of protective layers and my gait was extremely slow, letting thunder do as he pleased while I took long seconds to close the short distance between us. My body adapted to be stronger and I urged it in that direction, even as inside of me I felt the feedback of the option to be faster, slimmer, and shed away all the extra mass. I had no idea where it had come from though and even less idea if transforming would expend energy I was already burning through, or retake it. The velocity that I could transform at now also would let me vulnerable, and that was something I wouldn’t want to be. Seeing the amount of power Thunder was concentrating.

Just as I reached him, he cocked his arm back, his eyes a pure stormy yellow energy, he gave me a maniac smile as he opened his hand with his finger curved his body positively trimming with power.

A punch with all I had behind it reached him square in the face. Only serving to move his head back a bit as his stance was set, the smile on his face not even faltering as the sadistic gleam in his eyes screamed murder from behind his bleeding nose.

He drove his hand into my midsection. His empowered body strong and hard enough that his fingers sunk into it.

I gasped from the pain, but that wasn’t nearly all as immense amounts of energy started spearing though my body, I could feel all of my cells burning even while my power madly tried fighting it. My eyes were melting and my whole body smoked, rapidly shrinking from the abuse. Even so, inside that sea of searing plasma, I could feel my power fighting on. The little core I sported inside my mind was this whole time latching onto the energy passing through my body. it was reading and analyzing everything form the bursts of lightning as what was but moments felt like hours. And then, suddenly, I could feel it.

I knew the particular taste of this energy; I could see how it connected with my power, and how, inside of it the impossibly complicated matrix that it was made of, slotted all this information in the layers of mysterious geometric shapes. And I could understand then, all of how his powers worked. And they were mine.

My black charred skin broke as I emulated his maniac smile, I couldn’t even feel the pain anymore, maybe mutating something to get rid of it. That didn’t matter anymore though my skin rapidly regaining its health sheen, the energy being fueled inside of me, instead of damaging my body, giving it strength.

Thunder seemed completely shocked at this. His face dropping all semblance of his earlier vindictive happiness. He tried pulling his hand away from me but I didn’t let go, taking hold of his arm. Stopping it dead in its track.

He instinctively blasted me with a surge of power, my smile only growing as my body turned back to its normal proportions, so this was the true facet of my power, what an incredible thing, I thought helding Thunder to me, marveling at the sensation of unlimited power I was feeling.

“It feels really great, Thunder, I can understand why you're so trigger happy with your powers.”

“What the fuck did you do, motherfucker” Thunder shot back, fueling all his power to enhance his strengh and tugging his arm again.” I held it firmly, the burst of strength he had gave me being probably his maximum output.

I laughed at his predicament, exhilarated again. “It's the present the Dawnbreakers got me, don’t mind it. All the wait was worth it. All the years of bating myself and feeling envious were completely worth it. The result is everything I ever dreamed of. You know I really am indebted to these guys, helping me get this. Who knows if I was ever going to get awakened without them?” I spoke my mind freely having the time of my life, even in a probably dangerous situation, I felt in control now, both threats were neutralized.

I neutralized them.

“Stop fucking monologuing you piece of shit.” Thunder said twisting his arm around mine and forcing my grip out, he jumped back, not nearly as confidently this time.

What would he do now that the upper hand was firmly on my side.