“First, my feeling.” Lucy said and struck a still mostly together wall of the cage with the crowbar. It left a dent, but not much more. As for Lucy’s hand, she barely felt the crowbar jump at the impact, and didn’t hurt at all. “My pain has been reduced. Stuff that made me wince has kind of just stopped doing that. I don’t know if any of my other feelings have been altered. I’m still aware of pain, but it’s less than it was before.”

I wonder if my nervousness has been reduced as well. Lucy pulled her crowbar back to strike at the cage a second time. Hopefully my confidence didn’t take a hit. Or the rest of my feelings. It was a worry that struck deep especially deep, considering how distant she felt at times.

“Second,” the crowbar left another dent in the cage wall next to the first, “strength. A… former friend of mine tried to apologise when I didn’t want anything to do with her. I ignored her, but she didn’t go away. So I picked her up by the throat. With one hand. She was standing on the ends of her toes, so it might have been an act. If it wasn’t, I’m stronger. Obviously, not by all that much.”

“Third.” Lucy took a breath, then struck the cage a third time. She stared at the three dents in the mesh. Only the third had actually broken a wire. “Third is whatever happened to you, Jumpspark.” I still don’t really have the words to describe it.

The crossbow said nothing. Lucy put it down in the centre of the cage and sat down cross legged across from it.

“Okay, I’ve thought about this all day, and in between worrying about whether or not you went to my school, I’ve been thinking about that last part.” Lucy said. “Trying to… remember what it felt like when it happened. Because I did feel something. But as you know I was kind of in a state, and that whole thing is running together.”

“So.” Lucy finished rambling and looked at the crossbow. “What was the last thing you remember?”

There was a moment of consideration long enough that Lucy began to think Jumpspark wouldn’t answer. “not much” He eventually said, and Lucy let out the breath she’d been holding in anticipation.

“But where does your memory cut out?” Lucy asked, the question spilling from her mouth before she could stop herself. “Was it when I hit you on the head or when we were talking after? I felt really bad when I realised what I did.”

“lucy” Jumpspark hissed, cutting off her renewed rambling. “it was after” “but i don’t remember what the last thing i said was” “would you remember every word of a conversation you had last night”

“Yes.” Lucy answered, a little embarrassed.

“well that’s not me” “i remember talking to you about the sentry” “i remember saying bleeding flipping heart” “i remember telling you not to apologise” “several times”

“That’s… kind of the whole conversation.” Lucy realised. “What was the next thing you remembered?”

“uh” “have you ever seen without eyes” Lucy shook her head. “the next thing i remember is kind of like that” “also like waking up not knowing where you are” “and staring at an empty night sky” “not into a completely dark room” “i know the difference”

Strange distinction. Lucy observed. “And?”

“all of that at once” “kind of” Jumpspark paused. Now that Lucy had participated in several conversations with the hero in the crossbow, she could almost make out changes in the constantly flowing power in the wire of the crossbow and relate it to emotion. Every time she thought that, however, the hero would say something that went against what she thought. “the first thing i remember looking at” “if you can call any of this actually looking” “was a mess”

“you know how in movies sometimes they zoom right up to the pixels” “like that” “when it zoomed out i realised it was an ad for a missing person” “i was fucking shook when i realised it was me”

“Sorry.” Lucy repeated again.

“take me home” Jumpspark requested. “i have a little-”

“Stop.” Lucy said, colder. The hero stopped. The girl with the unknown power leaned back and supported herself with her arms, trying not to think about that. Eventually her thoughts were back on the track she’d come here for. “I remember something… shifting. When you turned into that, I mean. You know how you pushed on something to use your power, I think I felt something similar when I conducted myself around.”

A smile traced at Lucy’s lips. She couldn’t quite believe she said that sentence. “Now if I’m right and it was your power that let me do that, that shift is something similar. But instead of a push, it was like something got unplugged, and the whole bath drained in seconds.”

“so what made the shift”

Lucy leaned forward again and opened her mouth. Then she shut it and looked off to the side. “I don’t really know.”

“what was the last thing i said”

“You were telling me that you had it coming.” Lucy gave out a dry laugh. “Just not this.”

Quiet began to drag on, shifting from comfortable to something else.

“So you’re an enhanced, right?” Lucy asked to break the awkwardness.

“i am” Liam answered. “was”

“I always wondered about the ah… enhancements, that enhanced get.” Lucy explained. “You all get a little stronger, right? More resilient, too. Endurance. Stuff like that.”

“all correct” “i needed less sleep, too” “never got sick after drinking the vial either” “cancer patients drinking vials even miraculously recover”

These vials were better prepared than I.

“Well, doesn’t that sound like a classic green power? Those powers all relate to the body and making it better. Mercury’s power was like that. It feels like the Emerald Juice got ripped off there.”

“people much smarter than me have tried answering that same question” Jumpspark hissed. “the best they could figure, vials actually give two powers” “one is random” “the other is always the same”

Lucy frowned, thinking about that. “But what about power learning?”

“power learning” Jumpspark repeated. It took Lucy a few moments to realise that was a question.

“Um, it’s when a hero and villain hate each other very much.” She started.

“ha”

Lucy continued, ignoring her heating cheeks. “They use their powers against each other a lot. Say the hero shoots lasers from her fingertips, and the villain throws up near impenetrable barriers. At the start, that’s all there is to it, but the powers start to learn from each other. After a period of time, the villain’s barriers start being able to move, or the hero’s lasers become larger and square shaped.”

“that’s something that happens” Jumpspark hissed in what Lucy could only call disbelief.

“Uh, I think so.” Lucy said. “It’s been a while since I read the wiki page on that. I’m trying to think of another example. Anyway, the point is that two powers used in close proximity enough start to change. But that hero could still choose to shoot thin lasers, if I’m not recalling wrong, and that villain could still leave barriers where they were. It’s how powers change over time, but it takes months. Using two powers at once should be the same.”

“huh”

“I’m sorry, I interrupted.” Lucy realised. “Were you done?”

“no” Jumpspark said. “another theory is that every vial is also a body enhancing serum” "so the power doesn’t rip the body apart”

“That happens?” Lucy asked, feeling blood drain from her cheeks. She’d been so close to drinking a vial, too.

“only with the empty ones” Jumpspark said, making Lucy wince. Poor Paul. “but whatever it is, most people agree that the body enhancements are why powers gained from vials are generally less impressive”

“I heard about that.” Lucy said. “It never made sense, though. There are so many stories of manifested dying from accidents.”

“enhanced survive those accidents” Jumpspark hissed with conviction. “so it’s a trade” “just not one that anyone can really choose” “very few people manifest” “about that same number get the chance to drink a vial”

“Still.”

“name an enhanced that can throw buildings around” Jumpspark challenged. “did you think about kinetic” “he was literally the first manifested” “him, hope, archangel, and plasma” “all of the old aegis were manifested” “it took calamities to bring down two of them” “kinetic’s replacement did drink a vial” “she’s the outlier, but she’s just less impactful” “then again, aerokinesis is fucking terrifying”

Lucy crossed her arms and looked at the dents she made in the cage wall.

“why ask”

A sigh escaped the girl before any words did. “It just feels like the power that I got by manifesting is just those enhancements that every enhanced seems to enjoy. Less of it, even.”

“i know for a fact it’s more than that”

“That wasn’t what I meant.” Lucy said. “It’s definitely an enigmatic power, because I still don’t know how to recreate what I did to you. Other than that, I feel less and might be stronger.” She shrugged. “I don’t really see how I could test that here other than by continuing to hit the cage.”

“the place that you should have gone is the gym” Jumpspark pointed out.

Lucy thought about it. “Huh.” I could have gone today, but now it’s too late. “Do you know how much a normal person can lift?”

“i have a rough idea” “but i haven’t had so called normal strength for nearly two years now”

“Well, that will be something for tomorrow.” Lucy decided. Her dad wouldn’t be home, so she’d be free to do what she wanted. James’ day off was normally Sunday. She climbed to her feet and inspected the dents she made in the cage, feeling the spoke that broke with one hand.

Look beyond, oh vessel mine. There is little privacy for you here.

The viewing booth that Lucy had visited was visible from her spot in the cage. Through the glass there, she noticed a figure sitting at the table. She squinted, and realised it was one of the four guys she passed walking in. At the same time, footsteps started echoing from the entrance corridors.

Lucy turned to watch, but it was only two more of the guys. One had both hands in their pockets and the other was holding a half empty glass bottle. Both paused seeing Lucy standing there.

“Wasn’t expecting the mask.” Hands-in-Pockets said carefully.

“I wasn’t expecting company.” Lucy responded in deadpan.

The second guy continued walking without saying anything, apparently disinterested with Lucy. She narrowed her eyes at him from under her mask, glad that she had thought to prepare it, but wary of the newcomers.

“So you’re one of the new fighters?” The guy asked as he extracted his hands from their cloth sheaths to climb up into the seating. “Don’t see any other reason you’d be in a place like this.”

“I wanted privacy.” Lucy said. And to see if there was any clue about the Bad Dogs’ operations here. But nothing had been found to that end so far.

“Then why weren’t you wearing that walking in?” The second guy asked. He’d moved around to the entrance of the cage and was pointing at Lucy’s head. “Seems pretty pointless if you put it on whenever. I saw your face, you know.”

The first guy seemed about to say something, but second guessed himself and settled in to watch. Lucy realised that he was about to join her in the cage and quickly picked up the weapons she had brought with her.

He stepped in and continued to ignore Lucy as he walked around the space. “Oi! Think I could take her?” Lucy stepped away. Not because he was loud or threatening, but because of his smell.

The first guy leaned forwards and rubbed his hands together in consideration. “Maybe check to see if she’s a powered fighter first, dude.”

“Well?” He rounded on Lucy. “Are you?”

“be gentle” Jumpspark hissed.

The observer is extending you an offer, oh fighter mine. Speak with him. He will lead you to his betters.

Lucy gave her challenger a long enough look to make sure he wasn’t about to charge at her, then switched to look at the other guy. The last two had walked in through the audience entrance, and were staggering towards who Lucy realised was the single sober person in the group. “I might be.” She said. “But I’m new. I haven’t been told where the fights are.”

“Wow, you don’t know anything.” The drunk, or maybe just tipsy and hot headed guy said. Lucy clenched her fist around her crowbar, but otherwise didn’t react.

“So what, you want to know about your competition?” The sober guy asked.

“That would be nice.” Lucy gestured half heartedly with her crowbar. “I have a disadvantage, you see. My power is enigmatic.”

All she received were blank looks.

“You don’t even know what that means?” Lucy asked with genuine disbelief. “It means I can’t use my power instinctively. It’s a massive handicap.”

“Sounds rough.” Sober said, sounding entirely unsympathetic. He was probably thinking about how Lucy was lucky to even have a power.

“So I Could take you.” Drunk and fighty grinned. Lucy ignored him. He was more interested in tracing his fingers around the perimeter of the cage anyway.

“Why are we even talking to her?” One of the latecomers asked. They had all fallen into chairs near the front of the seats. “I don’t know who she is, and Dave doesn’t either. Could be a Courtesan, for all I know.”

Lucy almost protested that she didn’t enslave people, but the weight of the crossbow in her grasp gave her pause. Instead, she repeated his words back to him. “Could be a fighter for the Bad Dogs, for all you know.”

“Yeah, they don’t reveal who’s fighting until the night of.” The sober guy said. “And debuts only happen on Saturdays. There was one just last week. Should be three this week.”

The guy in the cage let out a loud whistle. “That’s heaps.”

Lucy frowned, wondering which of the four hadn’t stepped up to be a fighter. Probably Hanna. She has to build the stuff that uses her power.

“Issue with that is the fights start at six, and it’s already past six.” Sober continued. He had his phone out now. “‘Course, long roster tonight. Might be able to make it if we hustled.”

Lucy cocked her head. “How do you know where the fights are?”

She was shown a lit screen, but it was too far away to make out any details beyond an unfamiliar webpage. “Data.”

“There’s a forum for that?”

“Forum? Ohh, that’s what it’s called. Yeah, sure.”

“I’m going to want that website name.” Lucy said, before feeling something that made her go still. She looked to her side where the drunk guy had approached to the point that he was standing right beside her. Her eyes followed his arm down to where it was still lingering by her legs.

“Did you just pinch her ass?” The last latecomer asked.

Lucy’s fingers tightened around her crowbar. The rest of her tensed into deadly stillness.

“lucy, don’t” Jumpspark hissed.

The drunk grinned, not saying anything but maintaining direct eye contact. As if he was daring her to call him out for what he did.

Lucy was reminded of Wally’s face as she took in the drunk’s self satisfied smirk. For a moment, she wasn’t sure what she should do. She’d been in several high tension situations in the past week, but nothing with this particular context. If anything, it was surprising it took this long. This drunk who she didn’t even know the name of was the first person to ever touch her that way.

Do not allow a challenge to pass unanswered.

With a burst of movement, Lucy’s crowbar struck the young and drunk man with a diagonal upwards swing. She felt something give when it hit his lower ribs, and the force of the blow lifted him off his feet by an inch. Lucy wanted to hit him again right away, but the target of her anger was too busy flailing as he fell to the ground, landing on his side. Then, when he was finally done falling, using the crowbar again seemed excessive.

“Oh fuck!”

Lucy ignored her audience as she used one foot to roll over the drunk, then stomped down on the forearm that was used to touch her when it flailed out to the side. She bent low and inspected his face, keeping her crowbar ready to swing and well within his view.

“Hey! Whoever you are, that’s enough.”

The angry girl looked up. The sober guy’s face was near, just on the other side of the cage. “Give me your phone.” She said. “Unlocked.”

Indecision gripped the young man. “Could you, let him go first?”

Lucy looked back down at the drunk man she was leaning over. This was definitely excessive, but a thought wormed around at the back of her head. If she let him go now, he’d regret this instance of being grabby, but it was probably a habit if he did it to unknown supervillains. Was just this enough to convince him to break that habit?

No.

The young girl relaxed the arm holding her crowbar and leaned back, only to adjust her grip and impale the drunk’s grabby hand with the straighter end. She aligned the flat edge with his wrist bones so that recovery would be quicker.

That’s what she told herself.

Oh vessel mine, do not forget that which you wish to accomplish tomorrow in that which you may accomplish today.

“Phone.” Lucy repeated. Demanded. She didn’t look at the sober guy as he swore and fumbled through unlocking his requested phone, and it was soon shoved through the small gap at the bottom of the cage towards her. Lucy picked it up and looked at the website on the screen, memorising the url at the same time. The information there repeated what she had already been told, but elaborated with the lineup.

Tonight six villains were stepping into the ring to be fighters. Land Squid, the only name Lucy recognised, against Maginot, Bingle against Greyster Mosh, and the surprisingly normal name Kara against Popstop.

“This doesn’t say who’s keeping the fighters in line.” Lucy noticed and slid the phone back to its owner.

The phone was received by frantic hands and the owner had a pale face. “It would be one of the bigger dogs. Lietenants and whatever, there’s like six of them.”

“I’d rather not come face to face with one of those ‘Big Dogs’ in particular.” Lucy told him. “Or the Alpha. So tell me, who is presiding over tonight’s fights?”

“I- I don’t know exactly. Which Big Dog do you mean? They all have territories within the larger territory, so you can tell that way.”

“Hey, Charles.” The man that Lucy had deduced to be Dave called out. “We shouldn’t tell her shit. Look what she did already.”

Charles hesitated, but ultimately kept his eyes on Lucy. His resolve seemed to strengthen from denying his friends advice.

Good. “Pistolwhip.” Lucy said. “Hardly a dog, I know. But he and I have history I’d rather not revisit right now.”

“Okay.” Charles said, looking relieved. “This fight is in downtown, not westside. He’s not gonna be there tonight.”

“Then I will ask you to help me... hustle in that direction.” Lucy said carefully before pulling the crowbar out of her aggressor’s hand, ignoring the sounds of pain that brought out. She paused with consideration, before wiping the metal clean of the drunk’s blood. She used his clothes to do it. “As for you.” She said when they next made eye contact. “The next time something like that happens to me, I’m going to be more violent.”

To drive her point home she turned and swung at the cage wall again, making yet another dent and wrenching sound as the metal bent, causing the drunk to flinch as well. She lowered her arm and looked back at the wounded man. “And don’t even think about describing my face to anyone.”

With that, Lucy stepped out of the cage and walked past the three members of her audience. “I’ll be waiting outside.” She told them, then paused with consideration. “Your friends can deal with your… other friend. I don’t mind if it’s just the two of us. Would prefer it, actually.”

Charles glanced between her and his friends, who didn’t seem to want that association in that moment. “Uh, that’s fine.” He looked at the latecomers and hissed. “Don’t leave me with her!”

“That is their choice.” Lucy said with finality and strode out of the fighting arena.

Then she stumbled and nearly fell over as whatever feeling of confidence keeping her going vanished abruptly. Lucy had to brace her elbow against a wall to stay standing. She placed a hand over her heart, feeling the fast pace of the beating thing even around the crowbar still in her grasp.

“Jumpspark.” She murmured quietly, almost moaning. “Please talk to me.”

“what is it you want me to say” He hissed. “that was the opposite of what i was trying to get you to do” “you stabbed that guy’s fucking hand”

“I wanted to do more.” Lucy said, nearly in tears. “But I didn’t.”

“he touched you” “once” “now he’s going to hospital” “you know how expensive that is right” “he won’t be able to work right for weeks” “probably doesn’t even have insurance” “why didn’t you just slap him back”

Lucy burst out laughing. It was just absurd. She’d been molested, defended herself, and now a hero was lecturing her about insurance. Of course he wouldn't understand. He was a boy.

“That wasn’t me.” She said after calming down and resuming walking again. It was difficult to make a good pace though, her legs felt like jelly. “I don’t act like that. I’m not good at talking to people.”

“you threatened those four just fine”

“You don’t know me.” Lucy realised. “You were talking to me so… familiarly that I forgot you didn’t know me.” Jumpspark didn’t say anything more, and Lucy retrieved her bag with nothing but her thoughts to distract her. She placed Jumpspark inside, but hooked the crowbar around one strap to keep it available, and kept her mask on as well. It was the memory of making the fourth dent in the cage that occupied Lucy’s mind as she leaned against the front of the old gas station.

“Hey, Jumpspark.” She said. “I think my power might have activated again.”

“when” The hero hissed urgently. It was a valid demand, but nobody had transformed into any weapons recently.

“I don’t know.” Lucy said. “But when I struck the wall just now, it did more than the other three. Those were just dents, but the last one tore an actual hole in the cage.” She had broken two wires in the mesh the last time she had attacked it. Even the swing that had originally broken a wire had only barely managed it. “So something changed, and I’m stronger now.”

“but what changed”

Lucy thought she knew, but didn’t tell Jumpspark when her other companion for the night stepped out to join her. As she thought he would be, Charles was alone. He was offered a sympathetic smile, one that he couldn’t receive with Lucy’s mouth covered. “Lead the way.”

Charles nodded shortly, and walked stiffly in the direction of downtown.

Lucy followed after. The pained expression of the drunk guy lingering at the forefront of her mind.