diversified | Death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away [closed]

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Death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away [closed]

He's late.

Being in the employ of Shannon Vaughn means that being late is a bad thing and Eli knew that well, but living with his father and having to deal with him meant that sometimes he ran late because of a conversation had gone on too long or he needed to go run an errand for him. Normally, he could cheat by just teleporting to get there on time, but he still wasn't familiar with this part of town and he didn't want to be seen by anyone who didn't know about his powers. Plus, he had been ordered to go to an alley and teleporting in would just be a bad idea all around in that case.

So Eli had to run all the way from the apartment he shared with his father to the specific alley he had been told to go to, nearly getting turned around at a couple of points due to the mental map he had of the area not being fully complete yet. But he successfully got to the street the alley was connected to only a few minutes late, looking like he had run all the way from home. He took a moment to slow down his breathing and heart rate and did his best to make himself presentable. Once that was taken care of, he slipped down the alley and did his best to try and make sure Shannon didn't notice when he got to where he was dealing with whatever unfortunate person who had gotten on the wrong side of his boss.

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"That's not it at all and you know it. We're not like the lower ranks who will follow you blindly into whatever plan you've got this time. We need information." He knew that Shannon was already aware of the fact that they'd sacrifice themselves for him and didn't answer the question. This was a dangerous line to go down, but he knew he had to at least bring the subject up even if only for Shannon to think on and toss out later.

"Nothing's ever hypothetical with you, boss. If you're thinking about it, then it's something you're considering. He's still a kid and a nice one at that. She'd tear him to pieces if you let her train him." It's not really a surprise that Jasper is fond of Eli. He's always liked him and found him to be a breath of fresh air in an organization like that. He was young and naive, but not in a way that'd get him killed. Jasper wanted him to stay that way as long as he could.

"Have you ever found yourself at a loss for what to do due to a lack of information?" asked Shannon. As far as he was concerned, he always gave his people enough power to complete their tasks without risking them further by putting too many secrets in their head. It was a form of protection to keep himself at the highest priority of worth for knowing everything while his people were able to do their jobs without risk of someone thinking they might be able to get something out of them.

Shannon turned his attention back to the papers now. "He's not as nice as you might think," he said idly, recalling the reaction to his previous execution. That was not how a thoroughly nice kid would take seeing a man burned alive. Although Eli certainly had compassion and geniality in spades, there was a dark in there that Shannon hoped to temper without shattering his other qualities. Marie would indeed handle Eli roughly, but Shannon didn't intend to send Eli out to boot camp unless and/or until the necessary sophistication of his abilities surpassed Shannon's own.

There was a long moment of silence before Jasper broke it and started laughing in amusement over the conversation. "You got it faster this time," he said brightly. As always, it was a game to him. "You win again, boss."

He let out a soft snort of amusement at that. Of course he wasn't a completely nice kid or he wouldn't be working for Shannon. "Compared to us, he's a choir boy," he replied. "None of us who have these abilities could ever truly be considered nice, but Eli's the closest we can get."

"I always win," Shannon answered easily. That he was getting quicker and better at defeating the inane arguments Jasper would think up was nothing surprising. These questions were symbolic of a more chaotic workplace, something that other families had to deal with and combat. Shannon made sure all of his bases were covered at all times: anyone working for him was guaranteed whatever measure of safety Shannon could provide rather than being treated as disposable tools. None of them were related by blood, but that had never matted to Shannon. He had made his own family, and he would make sure they were protected and treated as such.

There was only a soft hm in reply. "It'll be good for us." In a rare moment of intentional clarity, he added, "For him to stay a 'nice kid'. We don't have to be nasty in this line of work, we just like to be."

"It wouldn't be you if you didn't always win, boss." Jasper liked losing to Shannon because it was how things should be and he never made them feel like losers in his victory. It made them try harder and want to make victory more difficult for him. Not that it bled over into actual work. The games jasper played were very much separate from the job Shannon gave him and he would never do anything to impede on that.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said as he looked down at the sleeping Eli. His breathing was incredibly shallow and he looked closer to dead than asleep, but Jasper couldn't sense that there was anything wrong with this. Eli had vaguely indicated that this was normal and he'd trust the kid's judgment on the subject of himself. "Food should be coming soon, right? Want we to try waking him up and see if he'll eat?"

"No, let him sleep." Everything Shannon did tended to have purpose. Of course, not literally everything, but if he was choosing against what Jasper had offered then obviously he had a reason for it. What he wanted to figure out was just how deeply Eli slept, especially after having drained his resources so thoroughly. He wanted to observe the kid wake up naturally, see if his temperature would raise as he woke or if it was some sort of conscious decision. Any little thing he could learn about the oddities of Eli's powers could come in handy.

Besides, Shannon always enjoyed waking up to the smell of food rather than some pesky alarm clock. Who didn't?

"If that's what you want." Jasper was aware that Shannon had a reason for this and let it drop. No matter what Shannon had in store for the kid, it was going to be interesting to watch and see how he dealt with everything. Speaking of that, he remembered that Shannon had brought him along to deal with some trouble.

"So, how did he do today? I know he passed, but by how much?" If Eli hadn't passed, he wouldn't be here right now. Jasper was curious about his boss' protege and wanted to see how Shannon thought about him. He's never seen Shannon pick somebody to actually train to replace him like this before and it was something he really wanted to keep an eye on.

"My will shall be done," Shannon intoned solemnly. What? Just because he held such a high position of authority didn't mean he was immune to silliness or other forms of playing around. Mostly it never showed to those who needed to see him as the implacable leader, but to his elites, he tended to err on the side of more natural. That was another form of manipulation, but one lacking in any sort of malevolence. Shannon was incapable of not looking at things from such opportunistic angles thanks to the way he had been raised.

Shannon tilted his head back and forth, moving his hand to match it. "He's quick and can follow along, but he needs work to drag out that leadership he's got buried in there. I'd give him a silver," he summarized. It was a good rating without being the best, and there was room to work him up to an elite. For someone only now truly dipping his feet into the criminal element and being thrown to the metaphorical lions, it was impressive.

Jasper chuckled softly in amusement at Shannon's words. He was used to him acting more like a normal human being than the distant and overpowerful mob boss that he was towards the majority of the organization. It was something that Jasper hoped Shannon would show to Eli soon enough to remove some of that fawning idolization he had for him, but he was well aware that Shannon did things for a reason.

"Good to hear it. Some of the others had bet against him," he said calmly. It wasn't a revelation that the elites had a betting pool on these things as they were only human, but the fact that some had actually bet against Shannon's protege was telling.

Mostly it was the fact that Shannon wanted to gauge what part of him was so alluring to Eli. Once he understood that, he could move more safely into his proper personality and have Eli adjust at the pace that Shannon set. Everything was going to be a trial for the kid, not only to actually test him but to prepare him for quite hard life ahead of him. No one else in the world would stop testing Eli when he took his place as Shannon's proper right hand and eventual replacement. He had to learn how to work past various pressures before Shannon would think of letting up on it.

Shannon quirked his brows at the knowledge, head dipping to the side. "Under what conditions? They can't just think he's completely unsuited. I'd never take in a loser." That was something of a code for those who didn't belong. Although Shannon did what he could for many with no other place to go, he wasn't a charity and coddling anyone who couldn't fit somewhere in his organization was out of the question.

The most important thing Shannon was going to have to figure out about Eli was that he thought that every part of Shannon was alluring. Despite that, Eli was smart and wasn't going to just blindly follow Shannon. For now though, he was just going to go along with whatever trials life had in store for him and see if he could survive them. Thankfully, the kid's tougher than he looks.

"He's a carefree kid who stumbled into this lifestyle. They think he's going to crumble at the first sign of trouble," Jasper answered. Without the knowledge of him having powers like them, the elites figured he was normal and fell into the life for a strictly shallow reason and figured that he'd end up leaving when he got tired of playing gangster. "They don't know about his abilities yet and think he's just here playing games rather than taking this seriously. Plus, some think you're only keeping him around for amusement's sake."

Shannon knew that Eli wouldn't be too easily manipulated by anyone other than himself. It was part of the reason he had picked the kid out. There were a lot of hidden qualities in there that he knew would make for a good leader, he just needed the proper training and environment in order to let them grow. Shannon knew he could do this; he just needed to understand Eli on a more personal level to make the transition as effective as possible.

"Some underestimate me," Shannon said with a large roll of his eyes. "Even if I were to find a toy and keep it around, I wouldn't make someone that useless my protégé. No, Eli has a stronger core than you'd think. Does he really look that pathetic from the outside?"

Outside of Shannon, Eli was nearly impossible to manipulate. Whether that was a byproduct of how he was raised or something that came naturally to him via sheer stubbornness to change was unknown. Even though he was enamored with Shannon, he wasn't one to just let him walk all over him. Portions of his powers were still hidden from Shannon, not because he didn't trust him, but just because Eli likes to have a few of his own secrets, even if Shannon would end up getting upset with him in the future.

"I know that well enough, boss. You don't do anything without reason and you wouldn't pick the kid up to train if you didn't think he was something," Jasper replied easily. It was true, Shannon always had plans for everything and everyone and if Eli was his protege, then Shannon had plans for him. "It's not so much pathetic as it's him looking like a kid. You don't often see him truly serious about anything, do you? He's always upbeat and acting like a big kid instead of the adult he is."

It was a delicate line to hide things from Shannon. He knew the value of secrets, and that was why he preferred his own people to have none from him; it gave him power, but it should also have conferred safety to his subordinates because they knew he could protect them from whatever dark pasts they hid, or use their strengths without endangering them more than necessary. For Eli to keep secrets from Shannon was to be a lesson hard learned on why one really should not do that.

"Mannerisms are different from actions," Shannon countered. "Even if he looks like some kid who doesn't know up from down, much less work from play, his actions could very well say otherwise. Probably serves him pretty well in life to act like that."

As he spoke, there was a knock on the door, firm and no nonsense. Shannon tilted his head and called for them to enter. It was one of the lower ranked kids, trustworthy but too thin-skinned to do much more than run messages from time to time. He did the job Shannon gave him and that was enough for now. The kid carried an armful of plates, steaming with delicious smells of bacon, waffles and omelets. His balance was somewhat precarious but he managed to pass around the plates without any incident and Shannon even thanked him as a reward. As Eli was more unconscious than not, his own plate was set on the edge of Shannon's desk, and the kid had scurried out with a large grin on his face for the praise as soon as he was done.

"I know that well enough boss," Jasper said as he looked over to him. He probably knew better than anyone about how looks could be deceiving. "Makes you wonder what he's hiding behind all that, doesn't it?"

At the scent of food, Eli stirred into some form of awake, not seeming to be aware of anything outside the food. It's only after the kid's gone that he lurches up and over to where his plate it and starts to eats his food with his bare hands, eating like he's been starved instead of having eaten not long before meeting with Shannon. Not that this is any different from normal since Eli's energy requirements were much higher than a normal person's, though usually he did try to use silverware.

"Makes you wonder," Shannon agreed. There was something to the idea of waiting for it to be revealed, but on the other hand, secrets were a liability. He would get them out of Eli soon enough and then they could work on moving up from there. All just another part of training for his new protégé.

His head tilted in curiosity when he noticed Eli moving for the food, and he took in the actions with a bemused look on his face. It wasn't something he often let show, but there was indeed a human inside of the tough shell and this was almost enough to get a startled laugh out of him. He settled for the vague confusion and amusement instead. "Manners, Eli," he reminded. Part of him didn't expect an answer since it seemed like the kid was practically sleep-walking in an effort to conserve his energy. Shannon was going to have to work on that and make sure Eli didn't overdo himself in the future while also pushing harder and harder until overdoing it was no longer a concern.

"No matter what he's hiding, you'll find out eventually." Jasper knew his boss well enough to know that Shannon always found out what somebody was hiding from him. It may not be quick, but he does always find out in the end. Jasper only hoped that Eli wasn't hiding something that could endanger them or cause Shannon to have to get rid of him. He liked the kid.

There was a brief moment where Eli froze at Shannon saying his name, but he soon went back to eating. He didn't stop eating with his hands, but it was slower and more controlled than before. Once the food was gone, he turned his head towards Shannon as he licked his fingers clean, his eyes staring blankly at him. His energy was still low, so he was running blind right now, only really hearing and taste being the only senses turned on at the moment. There was a noise between a cheerful grunt and something that would have been words that was probably supposed to be a thank you towards Shannon for feeding him.

Shannon dipped his head to Jasper's comment without responding. He knew even better than Jasper did how there was no real hiding from Shannon Vaughn, most especially once you placed yourself in his care.

"Go back to sleep," Shannon instructed once he had decoded the attempted thank you on the kid's part. There was a hint of concern more out of the chance that Eli was reacting to tone more than words right now and he waited a moment before turning back to Jasper. "Jesus, just imagine if this had happened out on the job."

It was obvious that the words were getting through to Eli because once Shannon instructed him to sleep, Eli made himself comfortable on the couch once more and curled up so that he could go back to sleep. He was out of it completely once again and when Jasper saw that, he let out a breath he was holding.

"Shit, that'd be a disaster," he said as he ran a hand through his hair, looking at Eli as he spoke to Shannon. "You're going to start training him as soon as possible, aren't you?"

It was easy to tell when the kid fell asleep. Not only did his body temperature fluctuate in a way that would be concerning if it were anyone more normal, but the sudden stillness gave it away. Shannon was listening, paying attention, keeping a measure of focus on Eli while contemplating the best way to stretch the boy's limits without pushing him to such a brink again.

"Of course," he said, a slight snap in his tone. After seeing such a wreck before him, there was no way he wouldn't deal with it in order to help the kid help himself — and, more importantly, help Shannon. "How does someone have skills like that and no stamina to use them?"

Jasper moved a step closer to where Eli slept and took a couple sniffs, remembering the static and the scent Eli had when he and Shannon had arrived in the office. If he was right, he'd be able to discern his abilities and make a guess as to what it was.

"Static and the smell of a storm. His abilities are probably electricity-based at their core and if he's doing this self-taught, it's likely he's not able to control exactly how much power he's using to do things and drawing too much when he needs far less." Thanks to being the go-between for Thomas and the Aspects, Jasper had to get a crash course in abilities and how to know how they work. It made him well-versed in picking up what potential abilities could pop up, but his own ability made him unable to actually help train the others in their abilities. "Did you ever run out of power when you first accessed your abilities, boss?"

"Yes," Shannon said simply. When he had been young, he had lost control of a fire so thoroughly that he had passed out with the strongest migraine he had ever experienced even to this day. It was quite an object lesson about keeping things in careful measure and making positive he knew his own limits as well as those around him. Marie had been extremely unhappy about that show, but had still used it to her advantage once he eventually woke up from it.

He shook his head and picked at his own food for a moment before it could truly cool. "I was eight. He's almost twenty, and had plenty of time to get his energy consumption under control even in private. Regardless, we'll be working on that part first thing. If he's electric, then I'm sure I can think up a few activities to stretch him out."

He wanted to point out that Shannon was a special situation, that he had not only gained access to his abilities early, but also had Marie teaching him since he was a child. Eli didn't have any of that, but Jasper knew Shannon knew that and he was also aware that pointing all of that out was going to lead to nothing. The boss was always right and they just had to deal with that.

"We could find out real quick if he's electric, boss, if you're willing to let me sacrifice one of your lamps to the cause." He didn't have to explain what exactly he was planning. The boss was smart; he could figure it out easy enough. "If he is electric, it shouldn't bother him and instead actually charge him up. If not, then he's in for a rude awakening."

It wasn't a matter of their circumstances. Shannon didn't expect everyone to have had a childhood like his own, merely that by a certain age someone with powers would have at least gained a rudimentary control of them. His point still stood, whether Jasper saw the point that Shannon was making was something else entirely.

Shannon waved his hand in acquiescence, mouth busy with his food and like hell he was going to speak with it full. If Eli couldn't take a small shock to the system like that, electric-powers or not, then that was something to be dealt with as well. "What the hell would I need a lamp for?" he asked once he had swallowed. It wasn't him who was going to be inconvenienced by its loss.

"Making people think you can see?" Jasper shrugged as he responded, but since he got the okay for it, he grabbed a lamp near the couch and ripped the cord out of the base of it and then unplugged the cord so that he could take out his knife and remove the plastic coating from the end of the cord and reveal the metal wiring underneath.

Done with that, Jasper plugged the cord back in and then carefully grabbed Eli's hand. Unlike last time, he wasn't in snuggle mode and allowed it to happen without fear of clinging. Not that Jasper knew that, but he was wary of being grabbed by him yet again. He then placed Eli's hand above his head and stopped touching him before he pressed the exposed wires against his skin. Instead of the expected jolt of pain, there was a soft happy noise that rumbled in Eli's throat at it.

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Death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away [closed]

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