Tadeus wanted to announce the capabilities of concordis to the city's higher-ups. It would mean increased funding for him and the rest of his university, and later, after understanding the phenomenon better, a huge boost in the importance of Norfolk and the nation of Nebraska as a whole.

When the United States of America fell apart about 10 years before, most states-turned-countries were pretty devastated economically. Personally, Tadeus still thought the Ununiting was the right course of action. Now though, Nebraska could potentially become the next Silicon Valley.

Before all of that, though, he had to actually prove his findings, which required more research on the microbe. The problem was that he had to get a permission for animal testing, otherwise his research, once published, would be deemed unethical and discarded, destroying his reputation in the process. He wrote a letter to his employer, the Norfolk city council, explaining as much, to explain why his work would have to be put on hold, and then wrote to the Nebraskan Department of Agriculture to request the needed permissions. After sending the letters, all he could do now was wait until the churning gears of the bureaucratic machine produced the results.

But he couldn't just sit on his ass all day waiting for the paperpushers to do their job. The restlessness gnawed at him, and his patience was running thin after barely a week. He started to go to the gym to exercise, increased the frequency of another kind of "exercise" with David, and that's all on top of returning to his regular job at the university. But still, he felt like he had too much energy, no matter how hard he overworked himself. He knew of course it was because of his newfound desire to "change the world". But no letters from the NDA came, so he couldn't continue his work. Frustrated, he decided to go to a walk to the rougher part of town, basically looking for trouble to find him. David disapproved of this, not wanting Tadeus to get hurt, but he was reminded his boyfriend couldn't get hurt, at least not with any lasting consequences.

"You don't know that! What if someone shoots you through your heart or something, we don't know if you can heal something like that!" David retorted.

"I know I can survive that. And more. I… feel it. I feel like I instinctively understand how this thing works now. Please trust me."

"God damn it… alright but if you get shot and die all I'll tell at your funeral is 'I told you so'. Oh, and buy some mustard on your way back. We ran out yesterday."

"Can't you take some from the diner?"

"No way, Jeremy would kick my ass if he found out I steal from the kitchen. Being fired over it would be the least of my worries."

And so, Tadeus went for a walk in the uptown for a midnight stroll.

Timothy, or Dirty Tim as he was now known in the neighbourhood, was following a man from a distance. He was a perfect target. His clothes were nice, looked expensive for Tim, and he had this look on his face that screamed "I'm a white rich boy lost in the bad part of town, please mug me". And so, Tim decided to oblige.

"Hey kiddo, you lost or what?" he started, pushing the man, but not hard enough to make him fall. He didn't react to the push, but he commented on what Tim said.

"Kiddo? I'm thirty two, though I guess I do have a bit of a babyface. And yes, I think I am lost. Would you point the way to Browning street, please?"

'Does this guy really not understand what he got himself into?' Tim wondered. He wasn't used to mugging people this clueless, though, to be fair, he only started mugging people after he gained the ability to cover his fists in stone.

'Does he really not understand I'm fucking with him?' wondered Tadeus. He may have oversold the 'lost rich boy' persona.

"Sure, I'll even lead you there for the low, low price of your wallet. Give me everything you got in those designer pockets, kiddo."

"Oh. You're mugging me."

"I sure am. Now give me the goods or I'll let my fist do the talking."

Tadeus took off his backpack, opened it, and pulled out the glass bottle of mustard he promised to buy, and charged at his filth-covered assailant.

When Tim saw the condiment closing in on his head, he activated his power. Metal from a trashcan he absorbed earlier covered his head, leaving only two holes for his eyes to see.

The bottle crashed on the metal, shards flying everywhere. When Tim saw some of them sinking in Tadeus's skin, he smirked, remembering how his life changed for the better after a similar experience.

His smile disappeared when he saw that, where the glass fell out of his opponent's wounds, blood was not pouring out.

"Huh. So it seems I'm not the only one." Tad commented, seeing the 'armor' on Tim's head.

"Apparently." The answer came, accompanied by a pavement-covered punch in Tadeus's stomach, sending him to the ground.

"You taught me something new today, so you get a free pass, kiddo. But if we ever cross paths again, you can bet your ass I'll turn you to mincemeat." Spitting in Tad's general direction, the thug left his victim to lick his wounds and walked away. Both were now considering how the existence of other powered individuals would impact their lives, the city, and, eventually, the whole world.