Chapter 2: Ominous Figure
The old man had seen many things in this alleyway. But a well dressed man passed out at this time while smelling like neither drugs or alcohol?
Pretty standard considering how many powers could knock a man out cold.
He sighed as he took a swig from his flask.
"Get up man!" Shouted the geezer as he splashed the contents of his bottle on Don's unconscious mug.
Being woken up by a horrible odor, Don shook violently as he came to.He took a quick glance at his surroundings to see the degrading eyes from the people in the area, whilst he himself was left wondering where the hell he was. Raising his wrist, his watch gave him little respite.
7 a.m. and he passed out in an alleyway.
How he was still alive was a miracle.
He stood up and shook the water off, thanking the individual that had woken him. The man sighed, telling Don to take better care of himself before leaving. Don patted his body for his things, finding that nothing was missing, much to his relief.
He thought about the event he came from and figured that the opposing party must have spiked his drink. Yeah.
"There's no way in hell that Angela appeared in front of me!"
Reasoning this way, he briskly walked to his home to change. He had an early lecture and hangovers weren't the best excuse.
"I need to be more careful with picking people to contact me."
Opening the door to his humble hostel room, he was greeted by the sight of his roommate dozing on his couch without a care in the world.
Grabbing a towel from the kitchen, he cleaned his soaked hair and threw the cloth at the waste of space that resided in his couch.
"T-The hell!...Don? You back bro?"
"Bastard! It's 7am! I told you I'd be back early and you don't even care enough to get up from the couch!"
"Hey man, chill. I stayed up till 3 waitin' for you. You my bro."
The sleazebag was trying to guilt trip him.
"Liar, the match was at 1 am! You were only up that long to watch it!"
"...You have no evidence." Jack said, moving backwards and feeling for a window.
"You didn't even call me once! And the match is literally on the tv!" Don said, the steam slightly thickening as he
"...Touché. I'll see you in the evening!" Jack said as he took a leap and went flying out the window.
"You son of a-" exclaimed Don as he rushed to the window, foaming at the mouth as Jack took to the air, hovering backwards while flashing his middle finger.
"....Lucky bastard." Said Don as he layed back on a wall. Forgetting the issue, he took a quick shower and got ready for the day.
Jogging down the stairwell and greeting the watchman for the second time this morning, he made his way towards the institute.
Dr. Rosdal's Institute of post-Verdant Education. Or D.R.I.V.E. for short.
DRIVE started a little later than most facilities did at the start of the new age. It was a good institution, but due to low funding and Dr. Rosdal's radical ideologies, the university had only been given a pass to give out basic education and nothing more. A few courses for Manifesters to use their abilities, but a Tier 3 would only barely make Tier 2 by studying here.
Still, something was better than nothing.
Ordering his usual coffee from his favourite joint, he grabbed the cup and took a sip, contemplating the state of their world. He would usually discuss it with the attendant, who had the sweetest smile along with the brains to discuss deeper topics.
"People used to have to pay for this one cup. They could get as many as they liked however." She said curtly.
"These days everyone is allowed a certain amount of items based on their importance to society." He replied.
"Sometimes people debate that this crushes individuality. They have a fair point. They stated that it dulls human ingenuity, and slows down the advance of the species as a whole." She retorted.
"But that's the thing. People with hyper intelligence exist now." He returned.
"No matter how much a baseline human thought, they would be outdone by the most stupid intellectuals. They solved issues with solutions that would hold now and for generations to come."
"They already solved the power issues so the whole planet had basically infinite energy. The food crisis had also been solved, although people could no longer eat mountains." He continued.
"The system however, allows humans to pursue their passion to the fullest. With money no longer being an object, humans can do as they wish as long as they can manage it."
"Of course, not everyone likes this." She replied.
"Some people really want to own more than others. They would go against the new system, being labelled terrorists if their methods were far too unscrupulous...by then all that remained was the judgement of Angela."
Feeling invigorated by the conversation, he bade her farewell, but couldn't stop thinking about that last line.
"Why did I hallucinate about her?"
He had rarely seen the girl on the big screen, not to talk of real life. Was he so out of it that he pulled an image from that far back?
"They got me good." He resolved as he made his way into the college.
Taking a brief look at the notice board before heading to his class, he moved towards a seat at the back, toning out the needless chatter of his peers.
Before he could get there however, a certain someone had the courtesy to place their leg in his path.
"The hell-"
With a harsh crash on the floor, he was reminded that he had enemies here as well.
Grabbing a desk, he leered at the pompous prick who was holding in his laughter.
Renald Kingsley.
A Tier 2 who showed the blatant flaw in the system. Its classism.
He had come from a high Tier Family from the Tier 1 zones, but due to abysmal grading and a tendency for violence, this was one of the only schools that could accept him.
With the removal of money, it became significantly harder to achieve things such as moving a problem child into a reputable institution, so the Kingsleys were forced to put him here.
The bastard didn't gain any humility however. As soon as it was apparent that he was one of the strongest in the institution, he pushed his weight around.
Dark steam erupted from Don's body, but as he got up it reduced. He dusted himself off and headed to his seat, all while Renald laughed heartily.
"I have no time to play with kids." Said Don, getting more annoyed by this guy.
"What are you gonna do? Steam harder?" Mocked the entitled prick. "Powers like yours aren't even useful to society. Just go run off a clif already."
He wanted to punch the elitist bastard...but he would rather not get suspended.
Sighing, he turned away, but before he could reach his seat, a white arm touched his shoulder.
He looked to his side to see a figure white as snow, with only two red pupils standing out in its form.
"Don't let it go. Keep it in."
He stood in shock. The hell was this fever dream? Someone was playing with his mind and it wasn't funny.
He finally got to his seat, bringing out his datapad for the class. A rather boring lecture followed, but he couldn't get his mind off one thing.
The figure was still behind him!
"This isn't funny anymore!"
Immediately the class ended, he dashed down the corridor and braked his way into a stand. He searched for a certain item, and thankfulky it was present.
A long time ago, people made tin foil hats as a joke to block alien mind control
They were on to something.
The hats could actually block low level mind Manifesters.
Getting one of the many provided to the school, he felt better when he saw that it had been made fashionable. Making his way back to the classroom, he returned to his seat and went through his datapad.
"What's that item?"
"You don't know? It's a state of the art device every human is given at birth. Gene locked too."
"Interesting."
"It really is, it'd quite the innova-"
He turned in horror as the white figure stood where it had been before, still directing its ominous gaze towards him
"...Who are you?" He asked, figuring that this must be a person, and not just an illusion. But no one in his institute had a power like this.
"....Who am I...I'm not too sure…" the figure whispered. "But I do know one thing."
"I want you...to awaken me."
Don was about to sign them off as delusional only to be interrupted by a smile of sharp crimson teeth, inches from his face.
"You'll do that much for me, won't you."
Don slowly nodded. Even if this was a person, they were in a position to kill him without consequence. He was the only one who could see them after all.
Right outside the institution, the coffee stand attendant closed for the day and made her way home through a dark alleyway. Brushing her hair, she showed a more sinister side as she revealed a transceiver.
"The pieces are in place. Target has ingested the stimulant."
"Good job, Agent 587. Be sure to maintain your guise while dealing with Anger."
"Yes, President Terrence."
She dropped the line, and once the street light illuminated her, she reverted to her bubbly self.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone