Chapter 6:

It had taken a few hours for Will and his friends to finish the various tests they had concocted in order to see what he could do. It did turn out that the normal, human strength of Jake and Paige had trouble cutting Will with knives. Box cutters worked a little better, but even then the cuts never seemed to do much damage.

As far as they could tell, he was also noticeably stronger and faster than normal humans. He'd always been strong, but this was crazy. His reflexes had improved to an even greater degree.

Possibly even cooler than that, they found he healed at a much faster rate than any human should be able to. They realized it when they noticed that the small cuts and bruises inflicted by his friends had all but vanished. It might not be a comic book healing speed, at least not yet, but it was still surreal to experience.

The most extreme thing they found out, however, was his affinity for electricity. It had started with that extra sense he seemed to pick up on when he noticed the electrical lines in the garage, outlined in his vision. It took some trial and error, but they found out this extra sense was only active when his energy ‘tap,’ as Jake had called it, was active.

After that, they had reasoned this might have something to do with his being struck by lightning, but it wasn't like they had actual data to support that idea. Realizing he really did need to test this, Will had placed his hand directly over a wall outlet, and focused on what he was sensing in it.

He was surprised by what he found. When focusing with his main energy channel open, he was able to mentally touch the power in the line with ease.

Then an arc of electricity had jolted out of the outlet and into his palm, instantly triggering the breaker and forcing them to find the fuse box to reset it. It hadn’t hurt him, but they all agreed that testing that part would be better done somewhere they wouldn’t lose a security deposit if something went wrong.

Following that, Will had decided to check himself over internally, and he realized the electricity he had absorbed from the line seemed to have merged with what was already in his system. He also noticed that it felt like the electricity had sort of… merged with whatever the other energy in his body was.

He didn’t know how that was possible. With what had been going on, though, he figured it was safe to just throw it in with the truck load of things he didn’t understand about this situation.

After running out of testing ideas they thought could be easily done, Will asked his friends, “So, what now?”

“What do you mean?” Paige replied. “Is there really anything that changes as a result of all this?”

Jake and Will both looked at her with confused expressions in response.

“Think about it, this isn’t exactly the kind of thing we can discuss with anyone. Without knowing who Will can trust, looking for information from other people isn’t a good idea.

The internet will just try and convince you to try new age crap, or maybe that you have a brain tumor. That seems less than helpful.

Also, you still need money, so you need to go to work. Bills aren't going to disappear just because life goes crazy.

Basically, it doesn’t seem like much has changed where your short term goals are concerned. Long term, you should probably plan to test your limits and continue to upgrade your body, or whatever.

Beyond that, I honestly have no idea how you are going to look into this further. At least, not in a way that keeps you safe.”

Both men now looked disappointed.

“Oh, and before you get any bright ideas about turning into a vigilante or something, maybe realize we don’t exactly live in the seedy underbelly of some massive city. You can get a pair of tights if you want, but I kind of doubt they’ll get much use.”

Disappointment had now become outright sadness, for Jake and Will.

“Damn,” said Will, “I guess you’re right, Paige, and that sucks. Like, a lot. Totally rained on my parade.”

“Same.” said Jake, simply.

“Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to just live like normal while we try and figure out how to learn more about whatever the hell is going on with me,” said Will.

That was when the sound of someone clearing their throat came from the open garage door, but when the friends looked, they didn't see anyone there. Before the friends could all turn to look at each other and verify no one was riding the crazy train alone, a new voice spoke up from where they had heard the sound before.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I believe we could be of assistance to this conversation. May we enter?”

“Umm guys, did someone invite an invisible British guy without sharing with the class? I’m pretty sure that would be considered bad form,” asked Jake.

“Bad form? What, you hear a disembodied British voice and suddenly decide you’re a pirate or something?” came the automatic response from Will.

“Nope, but I’d really like to be able to blame rum for the shit landing in my lap right now. At least, part of me does.”

“Sorry, but the rum is definitely gone right now.”

“That’s a true shame.”

“Anyway, umm… invisible British guy? I’m assuming you can hear us? If so, I should point out that more information is definitely going to be needed before we willingly involve you in our conversation.

Maybe start with answering who the hell you are? You could also follow that with, why the hell we can’t see you?”

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“Alright, I suppose it is time for us to make an appearance. That was a fair bit of entertainment, but they appear to be mostly finished. It seems like excellent timing for the Wise Mentor to make an appearance,” said Sil.

“Wise Mentor? I strongly suspect you are giving yourself far too much credit,” came Artie’s reply, “I do think now would be the time to move forward, however.”

“Excelsior!”

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