With no real plan or strategy in mind, I kicked open the front door to my family townhome and embarked upon the sundrenched streets of suburban Milwaukee. A lone paparazzi snapped pictures of me from his van across the street, as I made my way down the driveway.

“Target acquired,” I loudly proclaimed as I approached the sleazy photographer.

“Chris, hey Chris!” The man shouted, “What do you think about the rumors circulating that claim you and your brother are aliens from another galaxy? Do you care to comment? Your recovery does seem a little too unbelievable, don’t you think?”

“I demand you to tell me who you work for!” I growled at him.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would. Tell me.” Activate Demand Information, I thought to myself. My mind grew weary as my biotic points decreased to 0 in the corner of my vision, indicating a successful deployment of my ability.

“Yes, I would be happy to tell you,” the man’s tone became mechanical, much like that of the psychologist who I previously used the ability on. “The International Enquirer is paying me to take pictures of you and your brother for our next issue.”

Suddenly the man lurched backward. “Why did I just tell you that? What did you do to me?” He stammered, before driving off in a frenzy. My experience points had increased to 40. Only three more uses of my demand information ability and I would level up.

I barely made it back inside before collapsing on my beanbag chair in exhaustion.

I will plug myself in to speed up your recovery.

A procession of blue flecks crawled out from the pores in my arm and marched towards an electrical outlet along the wall. As I struggled to keep my eyes open, they hardened into the shape of an electrical cord and plugged themselves into my armpit. Within seconds I felt my stamina returning. One look at my biotic power indicator confirmed that I was regaining my power, and after a few blinks I was back to 100%.

“Amazing,” I gawked at the sight, “is this some kind of ability?”

Not at all, Admiral.

These worker drones are a part of your chemical makeup, as am I.

“Let’s go again, I want to level up before the evening is over.”

Good. With that kind of ambitious attitude, I feel far more comfortable about giving you more of my power. How about a new mission?

SECONDARY OPERATION: Acclimate

Get used to your new powers by using your active abilities three more times before the end of the day. Reward: 100 experience points.

Accept (Y/N)?

I hovered my eyes over the prompt and accepted without hesitation. These would be easy experience points.

With newfound confidence in my powers, I grabbed my mom’s keys and made a beeline for her Tahoe. There was no point in using my powers on such lowly targets as paparazzi, if I was going to save the world then I needed to start thinking bigger. I never left my neighborhood unless I absolutely had to, but I had to start overcoming my insecurities. PAL’s fake video game interface was making me feel self-assured, why should I waste that feeling?

I flew down the interstate with reckless abandon. The sense of power coursing through my veins made me feel invincible. I could do anything. I could conquer any obstacle. This was my chance to reverse my lot in life. I loved it.

I glanced out the window as Miller Park flew by and felt a cold shiver roll down my spine. Sudden memories of my mother, brother and I having fun at a baseball game clouded my mind. What was I doing? I needed to calm down. My powers were meant to be used to save my family, not to boost my ego. Only a few hours had passed, and yet I was already out of control.

A piercing siren shook me out of my delusions. I checked my rearview mirror only to find a state trooper hot on my heels. How long had he been chasing me? I pulled to the median and kept my hands on the wheel, not wanting him to think that I was reaching for anything.

A fit middle-aged officer approached my car cautiously. He tapped his finger along my car’s trunk and then approached the window.

“Turn off the car and roll down the window, sir.” He shined his flashlight directly into my eye, even though it was midday.

“No problem officer,” I complied with his demands, putting up no resistance.

“Do you know how fast you were going?”

“I’m sorry officer, I was lost in thought. I just got out of the hospital earlier this week and have a lot on my mind.” I batted my eyes at him and did my best to look as wholesome as possible.

“Wait a minute,” he tipped up the brim of his hat. “You’re that kid, the one who shielded his brother, aren’t you?”

“I sure am sir,” I sheepishly smiled.

“Well, I’ll be. I pulled over a local celebrity.”

“I wouldn’t say that, sir. I’m just a guy who loves his family.”

“I tell you what. If you give me your license, insurance and registration, I’ll run it and let you off with a warning.”

“Of course, officer, no problem.” I cautiously pulled out my wallet and removed my driver’s license and insurance card. Then, with the officer shining his light right at me, I opened the glove box. Out fell a bottle of my mom’s prescription anxiety medication.

“What’s that?”

“Just my mom’s medicine, I didn’t know it was in here.”

The officer’s mood suddenly shifted. “Go ahead and step out of the car for me.”

“What for?” My voice cracked.

“Sir, take the keys out of the ignition and step out of the vehicle. I’m not going to ask you again.”

“They’re not mine!”

“Those aren’t what I’m worried about. Now step out of the car.”

My heart nearly popped out of my chest as I looked into the glovebox and was met with the sight of my mom’s Glock 43, perched precariously on top of the vehicle manual. She had taken it from David, who himself had bought it from a member of one of his conspiracy circles. It was unlikely to be registered, and it might even be stolen. If only the officer hadn’t seen it.

Skill Unlocked – Illusion: Level 1

Ability Unlocked – False Impression (Active)

You have the power to bend the way people see the world around you. With false impression, you can slightly alter the physical appearance of a single object, person, or animal for up to 10 minutes.

Thank you PAL, you saved me. “I’m terribly sorry officer, that’s my brother’s airsoft gun, I can’t believe he left it in the car.” False Impression, I thought to myself, as I exited the car and put my hands against the back window. My biotic power dropped instantly, making my legs feel like jelly.

“I’m going to have to pat you down for officer safety. Do you have anything that’s going to poke me or stick me that I need to know about?”

“No sir,” I shook my head.

He ran his hands from my shoulders to my ankles and then up to my wrists, grabbing them and cuffing them behind my back. “This is just a precaution; you are not under arrest at this time. Go ahead and sit down in front of my car while I search your vehicle.”

I struggled to stay awake as the officer removed my mom’s gun and prescription from the Tahoe. He brought it back to his squad car, ran my information for a few minutes and then released the gun back into my custody, sending me on my way.

“Tell your brother to be more careful about leaving that thing in your car. For a minute it looked like an actual sidearm, not an airsoft gun.”

“My apologies officer,” I yawned widely, “and my mom’s prescription?”

“Well, technically I could charge you for that, but you probably didn’t know it was in there. Make sure to keep that at home with the airsoft gun next time, or there will be consequences.”

With that, I shook the officer’s hand and returned to my car. I was close to passing out. “Hurry PAL, plug me in.”

It would be my pleasure, Admiral.

I personally would have eliminated that man on the spot. I’m surprised that your subconscious unlocked one of my peaceful skills to deal with this situation.

“I’m not a murderer, PAL.”

One must do what they have to, to ensure the success of the mission.

Never forget that, Admiral.

“I did do what I had to do,” I scowled as my biotic power returned to 100, “my brother is a Christian, and he would have my head if I violated one of the Ten Commandments that he holds so dear.”

You are not your brother.

“Whatever, let's get back to the task at hand."

What task would that be?

As far as I can see, you have no plan.

As much as I hated to admit it, PAL was right. I was driving around recklessly, like a kid playing Grand Theft Auto. I was better than that – way better.