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

[aspectional]

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.

Comments

[privatematter]

"One lamp isn't going to make the difference," Shannon said with amusement. If that was really all it took to trick people into the idea that a blind man was sighted, then everyone would be doing it. No, it was mostly for the sake of the decor and he was sure Michelle would end up getting another one whether she was alerted to the lamp or she noticed its absence on her own.

Listening to Jasper's progress and observing the vague form of progress as his heat shifted around, Shannon waited for a reaction. Due to their metaphorically-held breaths, even over at his desk, Shannon could hear the sound Eli was making. It sounded suspiciously... "Are you sure he's not part-cat, too?"

[aspectional]

He had to admit, that really did sound like a purr from Eli and he turned back to look at Shannon. He had been told that each power was one person only, so he knew that part-feline wasn't something that Eli could possibly be since that was Jasper's thing. "Pretty sure, boss."

Lights started to flicker the longer the cord was against Eli, his body draining the electricity from the building. After a long moment of that, Jasper pulled the cord away from his skin and unplugged it, staring at Eli for a long moment. "I guess he is electric. That's probably a bad sign for our bill though."

[privatematter]

Shannon shrugged. It seemed entirely possible that some things might overlap eventually, but who was he to say? Genetics were as diverse as every drop in the ocean and so perhaps were peoples' powers. He wasn't going to argue with the one who could practically smell supernatural on people; that was Jasper's strength, and one that Shannon knew how to use.

His head tilted at the flickers. Although he couldn't see the lights, he heard the buzz and whine of the electricity only making it through in spurts and he turned to aim a look at Jasper. "We'll call it a courtesy curiosity charge and then never do it again. We can handle a trumped up power bill once. More than that, and who knows who might get interested," he said with a small chuckle.

[aspectional]

"And we don't want people poking their noses in over something as silly as a bigger power bill." Jasper knew how this worked. More power usage usually meant large machinery or something that wasn't there before. A blip could mean anything, especially if it was only once and could be hidden away as a power surge or something similar.

The purring from Eli ended and changed to a groan while he stretched out, his body powering back up as he awakened. His face when waking up was one of confusion and he looked from Jasper to Shannon as if trying to figure something out and failing. "I remember a cat. Was there a cat?"

[privatematter]

It was an especially odd situation considering where they were located. It wasn't a warehouse or anything as cliché, but an old sporting goods store turned into an office building to the public eye... attracting attention with the wrong move would be all too easy. They would play it cool and calculating as they always did.

"All I remember is Mr. Keaton being here," said Shannon smoothly. It was an opening for Jasper to reveal himself if he wished, or to allow his rather useful ability to remain something secret and secure. Shannon wanted to get Eli more comfortable with his own powers before he started revealing just how many people like him were in his employ. "Jasper, was there a cat?"

[aspectional]

"I don't remember seeing any cats around, boss," Jasper replied with a shrug. It wasn't time for him to reveal what he could do to Eli. That would happen later, once Shannon started his training and let some of the others be revealed to Eli first. It was bad of him to hide it so much, especially from the kid, who wouldn't have any issues with it, but he's always been very picky about telling people what his power was.

"That's weird," Eli muttered as he sat up completely and yawned. He seemed far better than he did when he got to the office in the first place, which was definitely a plus. "It can't be a dream. I don't dream."

[privatematter]

Taking it in stride, Shannon accepted the answer and moved on. This was Jasper's court and even though Shannon was his boss, that meant accepting the needs and feelings of the people underneath him in order to tease out their most efficient states. His kindnesses weren't without calculation, but that did not fail to make them sincere.

"Dream, maybe not," Shannon allowed. "Hallucination after using that much power all at once? Definitely. Which, by the way, push yourself past your limits again to try and impress me, and we will be rethinking arrangements here, Eli. While I train you, you'll be every bit conscientious of how you are handling yourself first and foremost. My people are all more useful to me alive and able than dead or dazed."

Despite the harshness and no-nonsense of his scolding and the lack of concern for Eli's well-being, it was easy to tell that he meant what he said. Shannon wanted Eli useful, trained and to maybe grow out of his stupidity. He could take two out of three for now.

[aspectional]

For a long moment, Eli didn't say anything, but his posture change. Head down, hands in his lap, it was obvious that he realized that he screwed up by pushing himself so far in an attempt to show just how useful he could be to Shannon. Looking down at his hand, he let the electricity crackle for a moment before making it return back under his skin, not showing off, but a comforting reflex that was obviously something he did often.

"Sorry, Boss. I didn't mean to push myself that hard. I'm not used to these power. Dad had 'em up until a couple years ago and then I got 'em." He then turned his head up so that he could focus his eyes on Shannon. "I'll definitely get better at this so that I'm more useful to you and not a waste of your time."

[privatematter]

Despite Eli's odd temperature and Shannon's own disinterest in keeping his powers so heavily active in such a fortified spot, he could sense the change in his demeanor. That had gotten through to Eli and Shannon appreciated the fact that the boy could indeed be taught. That would make the upcoming years a hell of a lot easier.

"Marcus had them?" he asked neutrally. Now there was something he didn't know. As far as he understood it, powers were not actually hereditary so much as spontaneous. Nor were they transferable like that. "I know you won't. Don't think I'm in a habit of picking up lost causes."

[aspectional]

Eli was definitely smarter than he looked and knew when he screwed up. He'd be trainable when Shannon started working with him, but anybody else would end up dealing with a stubborn kid that would fight against whoever was trying to teach him. It was like he was a one owner kind of dog with Shannon being the owner.

"Yeah, pretty much from the time he found me up until I was about sixteen or so. You know those scars on his hands? Electrical burns from when he used my powers." He then shrugged and sat back, expression turning more into amusement at the last part he said. "I'd never think that, boss."

[privatematter]

Whatever the case may have been, Shannon was willing to use what he had been given. If he didn't take advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves, no matter how specified, there was no way he would be where he was today. Marie had taught him that very well.

"So," surmised Shannon, "you've only had your power for about three years now. That's going to be a lot of work. Before we go anywhere else with your training, this will be your first and foremost priority. Control yourself before you control anyone else." That Jasper was still in the room was paid no heed when he asked, "What's the extent of your abilities right now?"

[aspectional]

"Control yourself before you control anyone else," he murmured to himself, looking at his hands and flexing them again. He was definitely going to take that to heart from now on. Then he looked back over at Shannon, his eyes resting nervously on Jasper for a split second as he did.

"I can do illusions like I showed you, I can zap people with my electricity, and I can see the electricity inside of people and objects," Eli listed off easily, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he did. "Dad helped me a bit with making sure I don't accidentally electrocute someone, but I still have problems when I'm really emotional."

[privatematter]

Shannon said nothing on Eli repeating his creed. It was good that he took it seriously, and he wasn't the type to pull anyone out of whatever they needed to do in order to concentrate. If Eli picked up his lessons half as fast, they would be doing well enough.

"Natural control will come first, things that activate without you trying," Shannon decided easily. Those were always the most dangerous for a whole lot of reasons. "When you say 'see electricity'... Explain that one more."