Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

John strolled through the hallways alone, other students not giving him a second glance. It felt nice, not to receive the end of frightened looks from every person he passed. He had always wished to blend in with people. To finally be able to do so felt surreal. 

Although, this wasn’t his main focus that day. His ability was acting strangely as if it was simultaneously present and gone. His passive was working fine as he was able to detect a fight that morning in Wallick Hall. However…

He reached deep inside him, attempting to feel his channels and the aura that was supposed to flow through them. 

He found his channels, but the familiar source of abilities wasn’t present, as if it never existed in the first place. The channels were just… empty, but his passive worked fine on other people. He didn’t dare power up, after all, the last time he did was when he and Sera were escaping from one of Spectre’s facilities. 

He arrived in front of the doors to the storage room, where the self-defense lessons were held, and took a deep breath. Several of the students who signed up were people who he had beaten up with his very own fists during his dark rule. John knew that he had been forgiven by said victims, although the lingering guilt never left. 

He pushed the doors open.

“Alright, everyone!” He called out and the chatter gently subsided. “You know the drill… partner up!”

Suddenly a voice piped up. “Aw… come on! Can’t we do something different today?”

John glanced to the side to see that it was Wyatt who had spoken up. “Excuse me?”

“We’ve been practicing the same stuff over and over,” He continued, “Can’t you show us something different this time? Like something ability-related?”

Dylan, who was listening to the exchange beside Wyatt, perked up at the mention of learning something new.

Meanwhile, John was frowning in annoyance at his comments. This idiot… wants to do advanced shit before learning the basics.  

He turned to the side, “I thought I made myself clear. This is a no-ability zone! We use our fists only–”

“Can you make an exception just this once!”

John’s eyes snapped to Dylan, who had interrupted him. Ugh, quit disrupting my class! When he thought that he was done with all this bullshit, the rest of the class chimed in their opinion.

“Yeah, let’s change things up!”

“Just for one class! Then we can go back to the usual.”

Then, feeling the encouragement of the class, Wyatt spoke up again, “I mean… in the real world, nobody’s gonna come at us with a normal punch! Everyone’s got their own ability! Shouldn’t we practice against that?”

John stared at them with a frown on his face. They have no idea what they’re talking about. How do I shut them up? He sighed and walked closer to Wyatt, who was pushed forward by someone in the crowd.

“Okay then, smartass.” He began, “I’ll show you something different.”

He leaned closer towards the green-haired boy. “Out of everyone here… who do you think you’re less likely to beat?”

Wyatt lifted a shaky finger, pinned by John’s intense gaze, and pointed at the ravenette. John sighed in exasperation. “Excluding me, idiot!”

At this point, Wyatt was trembling, whether from pressure or fright. “Ohh, haha… right!”

He looked around nervously before pointing at a lavender-haired girl by the side. “Uh… Sherri!”

John thought for a moment before speaking. “Yeah, I could make this work.” Assuming my ability goes back to normal. “But we’re gonna need to find an open area. Alright! Fieldtrip everyone!”

And so, the class began heading outside, leaving Wyatt in utter confusion. “Uh… w-why?”

“So you two can fight it out, of course.” John said with a glance over his shoulder.

“What!? But she’s the strongest one here! There’s no way–”

“I’ll show you,” John interrupted his tirade. Hopefully, because if this doesn’t work there’s going to be more issues.

The group arrived in the courtyard standing in a loose semi-circle around Wyatt and Sherri. John put a hand on the former, who was visibly sweating and shaking, “Don’t be nervous, just try your best,”. 

Meanwhile, Wyatt was on the verge of a panic attack. This is what they meant when they say, “be careful what you wish for.” She looks so calm and composed… Aw man, I’m gonna get my ass whooped–

His internal tirade was interrupted by John signalling the beginning of the spar. “Start!”

Sherri instantly rushed towards him, ability active. Wyatt, caught off-guard by her speed, quickly powered-up and began charging a beam. She’s heading straight for me!

The beam shot out, which would have hit true if only Sherri hadn’t dodged, using her enhanced agility. Immediately, the girl retaliated by pulling back a fist and hitting him across the forehead with an audible “Thonk!”.

Wyatt fell backwards with a cry from the sheer force of the hit. “See? I knew it! How am I supposed to land a single hit if she can sidestep them easily?”

Sherri thrust her out towards him, which he took gratefully and she pulled him up. “Maybe try changing your attitude,”

“Ah…”

Suddenly, there were audible gasps from the students of the defense class. 

The two contestants turned around to see John crouching on one knee with a hand cradling his face, hiding his eyes in the process.

“J-John!?” Dylan cried from beside him, reaching down to touch his shoulder. 

“S-Shit… d-don’t touch me,” John gritted out.

He had tried to activate his ability in order to copy Wyatt’s, but something went wrong. There was still a weird sense of emptiness inside his channels, but there was also a sensation of there being something in there at the same time. As if it were invisible, unseen even to John. 

He had attempted to shape his nonexistent aura to match that of Wyatt’s. However, his ability refused to listen to him and his passive began focusing on anyone whose ability was active. For instance, the two contestants who were just fighting…

The students began inching away, leaving an empty circle around John. 

“Someone g-get Arlo here!” He managed to say despite the internal war that was happening inside of him. No matter what happened to him, he didn’t want to accidentally harm the students around him, not again, not after…

He refused to think about the past and focused on the present matter at hand. His ability malfunctioned and is currently in a frenzied mess while nearly the entirety of the defense class participants were huddled to the side, unsure of what to do. After all, the last time he was seen in such a weakened state was during the attack at Rowden. 

He focused on Wyatt’s and Sherri’s auras, anything for him to serve as an anchor to the present. John felt their auras carefully, as if… he could touch them …

Hurried footsteps broke John out of his trance as the crowd parted to allow Arlo to reach the ravenette quickly.

“John!” He called, “Can you hear me?”

He gently put a hand on his shoulder to which John flinched. Although, he soon relaxed a tad bit after realizing who it was. Arlo glanced around at the spectators and barked, “Class dismissed! Now scram!”

And so, the audience dispersed, leaving Arlo and John alone in the courtyard.

“F-Fuck…” John muttered as the blond eased him into a sitting position.

Arlo quickly put up a barrier, isolating John and himself in a protective yellow bubble. He noted how John stiffened the moment he powered-up, remembering the latter’s passive ability. Unknown to him however, was that activating his ability was a bad move.

“You can feel my aura, can’t you?” He said, unsure of what to do, “Focus on me and try to calm down,”

And focus he did. John felt that familiar yellow aura and reached out, entranced once again. He poked and prodded it. 

Suddenly, he felt the need to just… squish the aura…

Meanwhile, Arlo felt John’s breathing becoming steadier and steadier and he was trembling less. He was about to sigh out of relief when he felt something.

Just something that felt ever so familiar… 

Then he was hit with his answer: the beam.

That feeling just now felt just like receiving the end of the weakening beam. 

He glanced around in caution in the empty courtyard. If Spectre agents actually broke into Wellston… no, because Keene would absolutely know if anyone arrived.

Unless Keene got weakened by that beam as well.

Arlo stood up and shifted to a defensive position. If he were to be ambushed right now, then the situation may not tip in his favor. John was currently suffering from what seemed to be a panic attack and there were no reinforcements nearby. 

“John, can you stand?” Arlo asked, wanting to make sure that if a fight ever breaks out, at least one of them can escape. 

John looked up at him and Arlo took a sharp intake of breath.

His eyes were flickering.

Chapter Text

“What the fuck do you mean they’re flickering?” John asked for the nth time that afternoon.

Arlo had managed to hoist him onto his feet and eased him onto a nearby bench. There were no signs of ambush yet, but that didn’t make Arlo lower his guard. However, his priority was to make sure that at least one of them could run to either get help, or simply stay alive.

Arlo sighed, “I meant that your eyes are acting like overused light bulbs,”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

Arlo took a deep breath, for the high blood pressure.
“Listen, just now, I felt the weakening beam,” Arlo said with the amount of patience he had left.

“The one that Spectre has?” John asked, finally being cooperative.

“Yes, the one that cuts your ability level by half,” Arlo replied. Although it felt slightly different, he left unsaid.

He did another visual sweep of the empty courtyard and yet, still no signs of a potential attack.

“Those fuckers would really dare attack Wellston directly?” John asked. “Isn’t their motto to lure their prey out and ambush them when they’re isolated?”

“No matter what they do, an attack is an attack nonetheless. We should be careful,” Arlo replied, “And your ability, are you fine now?”

Come to think of it, I never felt that beam, John frowned at himself. Although, it could be because of that headache earlier… Wait, something's not right…

His frown deepened as he attempted to turn his ability off. Suddenly, a wave of nausea slammed into him, making him hold his head in his hands for support. Arlo turned around, alarmed from the sudden movement.

“John? John, what’s going on?” He asked, frenzied.

When John didn’t reply, Arlo became even more concerned. The situation just went from bad to worse. Something weird is going on with John’s ability, they were both hit by a weakening beam, and are most likely under attack from Spectre. Perhaps to capture John because disabling him wasn’t enough?

“I-I can’t turn it off, my ability,” John said after agonizing seconds. Shit, what’s happening to me? Is this because of Spectre?

He took a deep breath, “Okay… I think I’m okay,” for now.

Arlo didn’t seem convinced but he stood up anyways, “Then we’ll have to be prepared for a fight,”

John nodded, not saying anything, and stood up in a defensive position, ready for the moment a Spectre agent dares show a single hair.

Although after some time, nobody attacked them. All they heard was the distant chatter from inside the school and the wind. No signs of a highly dangerous organization ready to get their grubby hands on another high-tier.
Arlo lowered his guard slightly, but alert still. “You should go see the nurse,”

John scoffed at the idea, “The new one, hell no. Last time I went to see her, she just gave me some fucking bandaids and a shitty tonic. No way she knows what to do with some weirdass ability-related headache. I say we go to the dorms,”

Arlo knew that it was useless trying to argue with John, for “stubborn” was practically his middle name. It would be quite a waste of breath, “Fine then, we’ll go to the dorms,”

Casting a final cautious glance at their surroundings, John began walking back towards the dorms, wincing slightly because of his inner turmoil. His channels felt extremely messy, nearly tied up in a huge knot, in contrast to how they were in the past: simple and organized. The weird presence was still lingering, choosing not to leave no matter what.

Arlo narrowed his eyes at John, noticing the latter’s pain. The beam Spectre fired off… it couldn’t be pure coincidence that John’s ability malfunctioned at the same time Arlo got weakened, could it?

What if…

Spectre was testing out another beam? One that perhaps modifies the properties of one’s ability? But how was Arlo as unaffected as he is? His passive was only limited to physical attacks, therefore the beam should be working in full effect on him, yet all he felt was his ability being weakened…

“Arlo… something wrong is going on,” John closed his eyes for a second concentrating.

“You think? We both got hit by a weakening beam earlier and now your ability is barely being compliant for ‘x’ ‘y’ reasons,” Arlo scoffed, “Of course there’s something wrong,”

John chose to ignore his snark, “No, I mean I can feel people getting weakened,”

“You can feel… how do you still have your passive?” Arlo asked, as the pieces of the puzzle didn’t fit quite well together, as if… there was a missing piece.

“Hey! John, Arlo!” Arlo’s thoughts were cut off immediately. He turned around to see Isen running towards them. “What’s happening? People are saying that John um… lost control… of his abil— Oh shit! What happened to your eyes Jo–,”

Isen suddenly froze mid-speech, his eyes widening. Just now, he felt that thing. That thing that he felt… back in Rowden…

Spectre!

“Shit,” He said.

“‘Shit’ indeed,” John chuckled humorlessly.

Isen began panicking, rambling faster than a sports car. “What did they do this time? Is this a new development? Fuck, are they tamp–”

“Now’s not the time, Isen,” Arlo cut him off. “John’s ability is going haywire and we need to get him to the dorms to rest immediately,”

John frowned, “What? To rest? Screw that shit, I’m going–”

“To get your ass handed to you?” Arlo interrupted, “Listen, how many successful encounters did you have with Spectre so far? None! Especially not with a potentially weakened and malfunctioning ability! Even Blyke might have a better chance against Spectre than you right now!”

John scowled, saying nothing. After all, what can he do if everything Arlo said was right?

“Alright, can we go now? I really don’t want to get kidnapped or murdered on the spot by an evil cult out there,” Isen said, visibly nervous.

Arlo nodded, Finally someone sensible.

They walked back towards the dorms, keeping an eye on each other despite the lack of evil cults jumping at them from every nook and cranny. The entire walk was quiet, almost too quiet. You can call Isen paranoid, but his writer’s intuition is screaming that something is going to jumpscare them when they least expect it.

Soon they arrived at the dorms, still no evil cult members in sight.

“Alright, be careful, John,” Arlo said as they arrived at John’s room.

“Yeah, you too,” John replied with a glance over his shoulder.

He closed the door, leaving Isen and Arlo outside in the eerie silence. The hallways were dark, the perfect scene for a–

“Isen,”

“WAH– Gawd, Arlo! Don’t scare me,” Isen cried, turning around. “You know I don’t appreciate jumpscares!”

Arlo sighed at his theatrics, “Isen, you should probably know what happened,”

That quieted the ginger immediately, “Yeah, like what the fuck happened to John? I thought he was supposed to be giving combat classes,”

Arlo nodded, rolling the piece of information in his head. So that was what he was doing… “I suppose he was doing that, but then something happened, because several Safe House members ran up to me, saying something happened to John,”

“Wait, you didn’t see what caused him to be in that state?” Isen asked frowning, “Although we could assume it’s Spectre…” He mumbled quietly.

“No, but as soon as I arrived I felt the dampening effect,” Arlo replied. “Hold on, something doesn’t make sense,”

“What is it?”

“The dampener can be fired only once within a certain time limit yet John was already weakened by the time I arrived,” Arlo explained, deep in thought. “But somehow, I got weakened too,”

Isen’s eyes widened, “Shit… does that mean… they can fire it multiple times now? I got hit by it too,”

“Yes, I suppose. However, John was more than weakened, his ability was malfunctioning,”

Isen put a hand to his chin, frowning, “Maybe… they can sabotage abilities instead of simply cutting down the level?”

Arlo nodded slowly, processing his words, “But the thing is that the time limit should be up by now, since the dampener isn’t permanent. Yet why are we still weak? It’s already been an hour since I’ve been weakened,”

“Huh that’s a good p–”

“Oh,” Arlo cut Isen, checking his watch, “I have to leave now,”

“Your job?”

“Yes,”

With that Arlo left the building, leaving Isen alone in silence. Man this just escalated the situation with Spectre even further! It doesn’t help that the authorities and Ember are still on our trails! Oh my god, Blyke, Remi, where are you?

Chapter Text

Blyke stretched his arms over his head. He and Remi were fully healed after a few days of recovering at Doc’s. Although, their stay felt more like being grounded. The nurse seemed like he was constantly on the verge of dying with the amount of veins he popped.

The redhead gazed up at the dorms, taking in the nostalgia. It seems like forever ever since they were last here, even though it had barely been a week.

“Wow…” He heard Remi murmur. She, too, was reminiscing the days before their vigilante days, before Spectre, before Ember.

Suddenly, they froze.

“Blyke…” Remi whispered, guard immediately up.

“I know,” Blyke replied, just as cautious, his eyes sweeping the grounds for a mere sign of the shadow organization.

Even though they were fully healed, they just recovered, meaning sore muscles were still present. If they were to be ambushed now… things wouldn’t go in their favor. Especially with the fact that Spectre managed to get their grubby hands on both Seraphina and John, their top two students.

After a few agonizing minutes of pure silence broken by the occasional rustle of distant trees from gentle breezes. Blyke began to relax, but a look of warning from Remi was all it took for it to keep up his guard.

However, still no evil cult out for high-tiered blood. The redhead frowned slightly, Spectre usually does the job fast, what’s happening?

“Maybe… we should go back to regroup?” He suggested, “Spectre doesn’t seem to be attacking soon,”

Remi sighed, “Yeah… that might be a good idea. We should take advantage of the situation. The boys’ dorms are right there, so how about I get Isen, you get John?”

Blyke nodded, agreeing, “Yep, then we meet in Isen’s room?”

“Mhm,”

They quickly rushed towards the dorms, the wind whistling past them. Entering the door without missing a beat, a surprised Zeke stared at them from where he was putting salt in his coffee. They went up the stairs three at a time, and Blyke arrived at John’s room.

He knocked on the door, trying to catch his breath from sprinting up several floors. However, no one replied. He knocked again, louder this time.

“John? You there? There’s something urgent that you need to know,” Blyke said after another moment of silence.

Still, there was no response, Blyke frowned, Did Spectre get him already? Although there should be some sort of struggle… John’s many things but weak isn’t one of them. He’s probably outside.

Blyke tried knocking again, but to no avail. He sighed, giving up, before heading towards the stairs, planning on meeting Remi and Isen.

Once he arrived at Isen’s room, he found the door unlocked, and invited himself inside. There he found Remi and Isen, the former sitting on the bed and the latter sitting by the desk. They immediately perked up at the sight of him.

“Oh there you are! Where’s John?” Remi asked, immediately concerned by the absence of the former terror.

“I dunno, he didn’t answer when I knocked, and his door was locked. He might be outside somewhere,” Blyke replied, frowning.

“John? He’s most likely in his room,” Isen interjected, causing the two of them to look at him.

“How come? Room was as silent as a corpse,”

Remi winced, “Blyke! Don’t say that!”

“He’s been suffering from migraines ever since yesterday,” Isen explained, choosing to ignore Remi, “Ability-induced, it seems,”

“Ability-induced? Shouldn’t it be gone by now though?” Remi put a hand on her chin, thinking hard. “I think Seraphina mentioned that hers was gone,”

“Anyways his ability has been acting really weird, like some sort of computer bug, y’know?”

Suddenly, Remi gasped, “Wait I forgot to mention something! This morning we felt the weakening that Spectre can do! But no one attacked us…”

Isen nodded, “Yeah, it’s been going on since yesterday,”

“Yesterday?! I thought the repercussions only lasted an hour at most,”

“Hm…” Isen retreated into his mind, thinking deeply, “But there’s something that’s been nagging me…”

“What is it?” Blyke asked.

“Yesterday, after I got weakened, I was by the dorms by the way, I left for a press meeting and the effect disappeared. The thing is, it came back the moment I was near the dorms again,”

“Huh… could this be a new development? An AOE field like some sort of beacon? I guess that could make sense,” Blyke nodded slowly, theorising possibilities.

“Guys… maybe we should… check on John?” Remi interrupted their brainstorming, “If Spectre really got new technology, then John might be the most vulnerable for now. He might even be their target!”

“Oh shit, you’re right,” Blyke’s eyes widened and he stood up, “Let’s go now then,”

And so, they left Isen’s room, mindful of their surroundings. It wouldn’t do anyone good if they were to be ambushed right now, in the hallway and separated from John. But still, the corridors remained quiet except for the pitter-patter of their footsteps.

Soon, they faced John’s room. Remi raised a tentative hand and knocked on the door. Once. Twice. Thrice.

“John?” Remi called, “This is an emergency… we might be under attack…”

Just like before, there was no response.

“Hey… maybe he’s not feeling well and couldn’t answer the door?” Isen suggested, “After all, I think he might still be suffering from headaches from his ability,”

Blyke nodded slowly, “Huh… then maybe let’s just break ourselves in if he doesn’t let us,”

“Blyke!” Remi’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Isen put a hand to his chin, “Wait, what if he got kidnapped?!”

Without leaving a second for Remi to protest, Blyke braced his shoulder and rammed into John’s door, effectively bringing it down with a loud thud. What they saw inside made them run inside immediately, not minding to be careful with the door on the ground.

John was sitting at his desk, leaning on the table with his hands cradling his face, which was twisted into a look of uncomfort, borderlining agony.

“John!” Remi cried, “What happened?”

John peered at them with pained eyes, which were flickering intensely, “T-that… was a perfectly fine door… y-you know?”

Blyke took in the sight of the god-tier’s eyes, dimming and lighting up with no rhythm or pattern.

“Shit… so that’s what you meant, Isen…” He murmured in a mix of awe and dread. He had never seen anyone’s eyes flicker like that.

Isen nodded, standing by John’s side, “What happened? You seem worse than yesterday,”

Internally, Isen was feeling equally relieved and worried. Relieved because there was no Spectre ambush. Worried because there was no Spectre ambush for now.

“I… tried to activate it,” John sighed, his headaches beginning to fade, and leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

“How does this happen anyways…?” Remi stewed in silence.

“Pretty sure it doesn’t,” Blyke mumbled quietly.

The room was quiet for a few seconds, before John spoke up.

“So uh… can you leave now? I’m fine,” He said awkwardly. Despite having mended their relationship, the ever lingering guilt made him constantly hesitant about his words and actions around the trio.

Blyke wagged a finger, “Nuh-uh, you are obv–”

“I got it!” Remi snapped her fingers, the lightbulb above her head turning on.

The redhead and the ginger whirled around to face her in surprise.

“Isn’t Doc–”

A hand immediately clamped around her mouth. Remi stared at John in alarm as Blyke rushed forward. However, before any of them could do anything, John nodded towards the door, which was ajar, perfect for eavesdroppers. Remi nodded in understanding as Isen left to close the door.

John dropped his hand, “Sorry, but don’t go blurting that stuff out,”

“Ah, right! We were supposed to keep it a secret!” Remi’s alarmed look came up as she gasped in surprise.

“You were at Doc’s apartment, right?”

“Yeah. I remember that he was trying to research a cure to ability loss with his girlfriend, so maybe he could help!”

Blyke put the pieces together and nodded slowly, “You mean he should go see Doc?

Doc, huh? John thought, Sera’s probably staying there… If I visit, maybe I could at least…? I miss her so much…

“It’s a good idea, we could try it,” Isen said, “But… How do we get there?”

“I have Kayden’s number,” John replied.

“Oh, alright. That’ll be easier,”

A sudden thought occurred to Blyke.

“Hey, are you sure it’s a good idea to go out? The dampening effect is still present,” He said, concerned.

John frowned, “Really? I didn’t feel anything, could be because of my headaches though. It’s pretty hard to think…”

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed Kaiden’s number while the trio stood by his side, slightly uncertain. After all, he is contacting a member of the evil cult behind the weakening.

Within ten minutes after the call, John’s phone rang, signaling the teleporter’s arrival.

“Alright, I’ll be leaving now,” John sighed as he stood up, his headache ever still present. At this point, it was more of an annoyance rather than an inconvenience.

“See you,” Blyke said once they stood outside in the hallways, about to part ways.

“Be careful out there! Call us if something happens,” Remi chimed in.

“I’ll… I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” John muttered and he walked towards the staircase.

The trio watched his retreating back until he was out of sight. Isen began walking towards a nearby window which gave them a visible view of Wellston’s gates, and peered outside. Blyke noticed his sudden movement and went to stand beside him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

Isen gave another sweep of the outside scene with a concentrated look, “Just making sure John made it out safely. Who knows what could happen to a lone weakened god-tier wandering around alone and defenseless,”

Remi nodded at his reasoning and stood beside them, her gaze fixed on the Wellston gates. After a few seconds, they saw John strolling out of the boys’ dorms unharmed despite occasional flinches.

After he arrived just outside the Wellston gates, a red shape appeared, materializing into the shape of Kayden. He stumbled just a bit after teleporting, but it didn’t seem like a big deal. The two exchanged a few words briefly and they disappeared, leaving no trace as if they were never there in the first place.

Isen breathed a sigh of relief, “Okay, at least he’s fine, I think,”

“Yeah, had me worried there for a se–”

Blyke and Remi were suddenly caught in a suffocating bear hug from Isen.

“Wha– Isen?!” She stammered, surprised.

He sniffled quietly into their shoulders, “S-Sorry… it’s just I just realized how much I’ve missed ya,”

Blyke patted his back in sympathy as they stood there, in the hallway, for a few more seconds. Gradually, though, he felt a bit uncomfortable and began to desire some breathing space. Sure, it was a heartwarming reunion for them that was put off with the small Spectre incident, but it was suffocating nonetheless.

“Hey… can you uh, let go of us now? There’s some more important stuff we need to talk about,” He said awkwardly, unsure what to say.

Isen immediately released them, “Y-Yeah, like the dampening thing,”

Remi gasped and stood still for a few seconds. The two boys stared at her as she seemed to look down at her pocket.

“Huh… my passive… it’s back,” She said, pulling out her phone and observing it.
“So Spectre’s gone now?” Blyke asked, lighting up. “That’s good news,”

“Unless they achieved their goal,” Isen interrupted.

That made Blyke slightly less glad, “Way to crash the party, dude,”

“Anyways, do you think we should talk to Vaughn about this? I think it’s pretty dangerous that Spectre somehow managed to infiltrate Wellston without Keene knowing,”

“Oh that could be a good idea. Didn’t Vaughn throw someone from the authorities out of the window at some point?” Blyke agreed, debating the options.

“Let’s go then,”

And with that, the trio left the boys’ dormitories, heading towards the main building, unaware of a panicking Zeke trying to avoid choking on his salted coffee from the amount of information he just overheard accidentally.

Chapter Text

“You ready to go?” Kayden asked, eyes darting around nervously, “We should go soon to avoid unwanted company,”

John raised an eyebrow, confused, “Unwanted company? What do you mean?”

Kayden was still skittish, fidgeting slightly, “I don’t know… but I felt slightly weakened just now,”

Kayden had just teleported right outside Wellston Gates, where John had been waiting for him. There wasn’t a single person in sight in the courtyard, seeing how most students are having classes.

“Anyways, let’s go,” He grabbed John’s arm, whose body flinched.

His other arm twitched, as if it was a reflex to send a blow back to whoever dared grab him. It was another thing he hoped to change. After all, the “hospitalize first, ask questions later” didn’t seem like the right approach when dealing with people.

They instantly teleported into a familiar apartment, which was owned by Darren. The owner seemed to be researching something on his desktop by the wall. On the other side of the room, Leilah was sitting at the couch, typing furiously on her laptop while her face was twisted into a frown. Beside Leilah, on her phone, was Seraphina.

Before anyone could do anything, Leilah gasped and stood up immediately, her laptop snapping shut. The sudden movement made Seraphina look up, who saw John.

“John!” She grinned as she wrapped her arms around him, enveloping him in a warm hug. He accepts the hug with as much vigor as she gave him. He just missed her so mu–

“As much as this is a touching reunion, we might have been found out,” Leilah cut in sharply, her gaze protective. “I just got weakened,”

Darren turned around, nodding slowly in consideration. After all, this was the first time he felt it. It was suffocating in a way, as if he put weights on his shoes and was made to run.

Suddenly, Kayden collapsed on the ground.

“Kayden!” Leilah didn’t waste a second to kneel down beside his downed figure and felt for a pulse, listening to his gentle breaths. “He’s asleep… seems like the teleportation took quite a toll on him. Although… something doesn’t feel right,”

She stood up, her eyes glancing out the window, “Anyways, if Spectre found us, we’re in big trouble,”

If they were to be attacked as they are, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Leilah was an elite-tier at best and Darren would be in the lower mid-tiers. She didn’t comment on John’s flickering eyes, as it wasn’t a priority compared to their current situation.

She and Darren quickly powered-up, gaze locking on the door, the window, and other potential places to be ambushed from. Seraphina and John took opposite sides of Kayden, in fighting positions.

John however, didn’t sense anyone with their ability active except for the two in the room. After a few minutes that felt like hours, he spoke up.

“I don’t sense anyone,”

Leilah sent a sharp glance over her shoulder, “How do you still have your passive? Are you sure it’s not because your passive ability is gone? Mine’s gone,”

John frowned, “It’s working fine, I can feel Doc and you just fine,”

Darren then hummed, thinking hard. “It could be because your ability is getting used to the dampening effect, like your immune system after you finish having a cold. And your fine control over your aura could play a part into this too,”

It was a pretty far-fetched theory, but one that made sense nonetheless. John nodded in slow understanding.

“So… maybe we’re not getting attacked?” He suggested. “I can’t detect anyone approaching us,”

Leilah relaxed, “I suppose, but we can’t dismiss the fact that we are currently weakened,”

The tense atmosphere was still present, but it seemed to have lifted by an inch. That was when Darren decided to approach John.

“Might as well take a blood sample right away,” He said, taking out a kit from a cabinet. “Go sit down by the table,”

John complied, taking a seat at their small dinner table. Darren put the kit down and pulled out medical gloves, putting them on. He then took out a stand and a few test tubes and set them down beside John. After a few other steps that bored John out of his mind, Darren placed the syringe above John's arm

He carefully collected a good amount of blood, which was inserted into two test tubes.

“Good, that should be sufficient enough,” Darren nodded in satisfaction as he removed the medical gloves, throwing them away. “If anything happens, don’t call me unless absolutely necessary,”

Despite the circumstances, the chemist apparently wanted to keep his days as John-free as possible. John huffed in amusement and went to sit beside Seraphina on the couch.

He sighed.

“What’s wrong? I thought you missed me," She teased, “Now we can get a proper reunion,”

“Yeah… it’s just that it’s been so long…” John peered at her, eyes holding a hint of melancholy.

“Aww… don’t be like that,” Sera grinned, “Let’s go talk somewhere else,”

She stood up and headed down the hallway, John behind her.

“Just give us a few seconds!” She called back to her sister, who gave a nod with a smile.

She dragged him into a room and closed the door. John stood a few feet from her, hands in his pockets.

“What’s up?” He asked.

Despite reuniting with Sera after a long time of separation, this sudden action confused him. On top of that, the once cheery atmosphere turned tense and serious, which puzzled him even more.

Sera turned around, “I’ve been… trying to make sense or something,”

“Huh?”

“I read about this woman in the NXGen, her name was Jane,” She crossed her arms, “I believe that she is your mother,”

John’s eyes widened and unconsciously clenched his hand into a fist, saying nothing.

“Look, both the converters and the amplifiers come from the authorities, who might have Jane,” She met his gaze steadily, “Both of those are extremely similar, near identical, to your ability. Even her description ma–,”

“I don’t care,”

It was uttered so quickly that Sera nearly thought that she heard wrong.

“You’re… not concerned?” She asked hesitantly, gently.

John sighed, and sat down against the bed, “Gosh, why’s everyone talking about my mom so suddenly? Dad… now you? Honestly, I’ve thought about it as well… and you know what? I don’t really care,”

John paused for a moment, thinking about how to word what he was about to say next, “She left us a long time ago, and I barely know anything about her,”

Sera looked down dejectedly.

John frowned, “Seems fucked up, huh?”
Then, Sera sat down beside him against the bed, “I guess… I can relate,”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I have a pretty bad relationship myself with my mom,”

John peered at her, listening carefully as she began to explain.

“Ever since I was young, I had to either train, or work in my room,” She said, thinking about the past, “Whenever I did anything wrong, there would be consequences. Thankfully, I broke out when I was strong enough to overpower her,”

John’s frown loosened and continued to listen.

“If something happens to her… I wouldn’t know how to react either,” She leaned against John, startling him, “But I’m glad I’m free now,”

“Yeah…” He murmured.

“By the way, how are things back at school?” She asked suddenly, “Are Remi and Blyke safe?”

John frowned once again, “They’re safe, but not for long,”

At Sera’s questioning gaze, he continued, “The authorities realized that they’ve been interfering with EMBER,”

“Did you ask Arlo if he can do anything?”

“Yeah, but he said that he need a promotion, maybe more, before he can influence the matter,”

He took a deep breath, “Why is everyone in such deep shit now…,”

Sera suddenly went quiet, “John… I don’t think I can be around anymore… If the authorities find us, Leila and Darren will be arrested, so we’re planning on moving out soon,”

John’s eyes widened as he gritted his teeth.

“This is so unfair! You didn’t ask for any of this!” He stormed, his face contorted into one of anger, “That motherfucking son of a bitch forced you into this!”

Sera, undisturbed by his outburst, was just as annoyed as well, “Tell that to the authorities, I’m sure they would listen,”

John seemingly calmed down, but his vengeful eyes promised unescapable pain, “Ugh… we should make Orrin get what he deserves!”

Sera retreated into the back of her mind, thinking carefully. Suddenly, she lit up, as an idea popped into her head like an electric current, “I think… I got it!”

…

Kayden groaned from his spot on the couch. The couch wasn’t unknown to him, as it was a place he often passed out on after too many trips. Another thing that wasn’t a stranger was the weakening effect.

Hold on, the weakening effect?

He leaped up immediately, his fists brought up, ready to hit the first thing he saw, which happened to be Leilah.

Before he knew it, a fist lashed out sloppily towards her. Leilah turned around with wide eyes and immediately side-stepped the attack with a timestop.

“Kayden!” She called in surprise, “Calm down! You’re fine!”

Kayden blinked the leftover drowsiness out of his eyes and stared at her, “Oh… sorry,”

He took in the rest of the living room, Sera and John examining a huge map, Darren labeling a few test tubes.

Leilah noticed his confusion and explained, “You were out for an hour now,”

“That long? Why do I feel so weak?”

“I don’t know either, but it’s been going on ever since you arrived here. Although, no one attacked us and there’s nobody around,”

Then, Sera noticed Kayden rubbing his eyes, very much awake. “Oh you’re up! We’re just about done here,”

Understanding settled within Kayden as John stood beside him, “Alright… let’s go then?”

John nodded as Kayden put a hand on his shoulder.

They disappeared, but not without a grumbled "Ugh, I really am a cab at this point" from Kayden.

Chapter Text

It’s been two days since that day John went to see Doc, and it has been two days ever since she last saw him. Blyke told her he came back a few hours after he was gone, when the sun was nearly completely set.

Remi classed the documents into an organized stack, deeply thinking about that day. She was sitting at her usual desk by the window, writing down a club report to submit later in the week. The Safe House was as chatty as usual, a calm and warm atmosphere that Remi would do anything to preserve. Even though John’s sudden reign of terror was over, the Safe House remained as a safe haven or simply a place to hangout with friends.

She sighed. She had never seen or felt anything like this mysterious dampener before the attack at Rowden. Even now, it remains a mystery to her. How can one undo its effects?

She glanced at her pocket, seeing her phone through the textile. Her ability went back to its normal strength at some point, but she didn’t pay much attention as to when. When it felt so sudden, when it disappeared. Her passive allowed her to see electric currents within a certain distance. However, she trained herself to ignore the currents, like how your brain ignores the existence of your nose in your vision.

“Attention to all students,”

Remi, snapped out of her thoughts, peered at the nearby intercom from which Keene’s voice could be heard.

“There has been a tendency of people getting weakened mysteriously for the past few days. Please travel safely in groups and avoid wandering outside of school grounds, thank you,”

The Safe House was silent for a few seconds, before it burst out into chatter once again.

“You sure they’re not doing that just to scare us, right?”

“No, it’s true! I felt it yesterday!”

“Yeah, it was like at the mountain that day,”

“Eek! Don’t remind me! That was so scary!”

“I’m glad Remi and Blyke are fine though, I was so worried! I almost thought the Safe House had to close with how many high-tiers were missing!”

“What about John and Seraphina? I hope they’re okay,”

“They’ll be fine! After all, they’re the strongest students here!”

“I don’t know… John was hurt pretty badly during the trip,”

“That’s true, and isn’t Seraphina weaker than him? After all, she passed out during that fight back then…”

“Uh oh, this is really bad!”

Remi stood up and walked towards the group of chattering mid-tiers, surprising them.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine. I think we all know that John's more than capable of handling himself,” Remi attempted to reassure their worries.

Internally though, she was more than concerned for the god-tier. What could have Spectre done to weaken John to such an extent?

A voice brought her back to the present, “By the way, Remi?”

She glanced at the person who had spoken, “Yeah?”

“What’s going to happen to the defense class?” He asked uncertainty.

Remi thought for a moment before replying, “We’ll have to postpone them for the time being,”

He nodded in satisfaction and she went back to her seat, back to organizing her papers mindlessly. Other than the possibility of a new weapon Spectre has developed looming over their heads, the authorities were also a problem.

That day, after they left Principal Vaughn’s office, Isen pulled them inside his room.

Arlo mentioned… that the authorities have discovered our identities for some time now.

Was what Isen had said. It felt good, knowing that Arlo would willingly help them, but the authorities remained a huge problem. She sighed, putting the papers down.

“Remi? You know you can always talk to us, right? We’re in this together,”

Remi turned around to see Blyke staring at her in concern.

“Yeah… I’m fine,”

…

John walked in the hallways, welcoming the usual chatter like a safe blanket. This was something he didn’t know he dearly missed, but here he is. He then walked into a waiting room and knocked on the door.

A simple “Come-in” greeted him as he pushed the door open and stepped inside the brightly lit office.

Vaughn sat at his desk, his arm crossed like every time John has visited his office. At the sight of John’s flickering eyes, he gave no sign of surprise except for eye twitch.

“What happened here?” He asked calmly. “Take a seat,”

John sat down in front of the desk and sighed, “I don’t know, but it started a few days ago. It doesn’t hurt though,”

Principal Vaughn scrutinized him carefully with his eyes, “You seem fine, I don’t see why not you can’t go back to class,”

John nodded, “Alright, but what if I hurt the students by accident?”

Vaughn blinked, momentarily silent, “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Is that all?”

“Yes, thank you,”

“Anytime,”

John stood up and left the office, the door closing behind him with a heavy thud, leaving only an eerie silence in the room.

That feeling… one that I haven’t felt in quite a while. Vaughn closed his eyes, peered out the window behind him. It reminded him of the happy days of the past. The happy days he spent sparring with him.

…

John took a deep breath once he stepped out of the office. The only thing on his mind was whether or not he might accidentally hurt a student and be seen as a monster again. Actually, the latter might happen even without hurting someone.

He glanced at his reflection from a nearby window.

He believed the flickering eyes itselves seemed threatening enough. If only life could be easier…

“John!”

He whirled around, and spotted two people running towards him.

“John! Are you okay?” Dylan cried at the sight of him.

“Y-Yeah, don’t worry about me,” John stammered, stunned.

Evie, who had the same worried expression as Dylan, frowned, “John rarely stutters, so something is wrong,”

“No!”

“Guys… give him some space…” Roland caught up to them.

“Ah! Sorry!” Dylan and Evie backed off immediately.

“By the way, John,” Dylan started, “Something weird’s been happening at school, but it’s like that time at Rowden!”

John’s eyes widened at the reminder of the attack back then, “Rowden? Describe it for me,”

“It’s like… it’s like we can’t use our abilities anymore! It’s still there, but it suddenly feels practically nonexistent,” Evie chimed in.

John frowned, “I see… I don’t think those people would attack here though, Keene would definitely know,”

“Ah that’s true! Keene is very strong, but I’ve never seen him in action,” Evie nodded in understanding, “Anyways, we’re glad you’re fine though, right?”

“Yeah!” Dylan beamed.

“...yeah,” Roland offered quietly.

With that, the trio left, mostly Evie and Dylan chattering excitedly with Roland smiling at their antics.

John watched them go with sad eyes. So this was what he was missing during those Joker days, huh?

…

“I’m telling you! Something’s not normal!” Isen harshly whispered.

“You sure that ain’t you being paranoid again?” Blyke argued back, “I didn’t feel anything this morning!”

“Guys, guys, just… stop arguing please,” Remi murmured tiredly.

Despite the noisy atmosphere of the cafeteria, the trio was talking in hushed voices, worried of being eavesdropped.

“You know… what if…” Isen began, ignoring her, “Spectre actually managed to infiltrate the school… and implanted ability weakeners here?”

He frowned, “Wait no that doesn’t explain why it keeps activating irregularly at different places, and why Spectre hasn’t made a move yet,”

Suddenly, Blyke’s hair stood on its end. Isen and Remi froze up, eyes widening and glancing around.

The cafeteria went quiet the least bit, before resuming its usual chatter.

That was when the cafeteria doors opened. Blyke raised an arm steadily, ready to defend them at a moment's notice. However, what walked through them wasn’t a Spectre agent. It was John.

Remi breathed a sigh of relief, “We should tell him about this, since he’s involved too,”

Blyke nodded in agreement and waved towards John frantically. John turned around to look at him, noticing the movement.

“Come over here,” The redhead called.

John then strolled over towards their table and sat beside them. “What’s going–”

“John, are you okay?” Remi gasped, noticing John’s still ever flickering eyes.

John sighed, “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry. What matters is why you see so frantic,”

“About that… we think Spectre might have infiltrated Wellston,” Blyke said. “The weakening thing happened again, just a few seconds ago,”

John frowned for a moment, “Seems like so… although something is different,”

“What is it?” Isen asked, preparing to use all of his limited brain juice on brainstorming.

“Your ability levels only dropped by… a third,”
“A third? Are they trying something new?” Remi crossed her arms, putting down her fork.

“If that’s the case… then I’m around a–” Blyke began.

“Hold on a sec,” Isen interrupted.

He lifted his head and stared at John with inquisitive eyes.

“Just how are you able to read our abilities without them being turned on?”

Chapter Text

“Just how are you able to read our abilities without them being turned on?”

John stared at him, stunned.

What?

He blinked his eyes. Once. Twice. Before realizing that Isen… was right. How is he–

“Wait a third and you still have your passive?!” Blyke shouted, baffled, “Just how strong can you be?”

A few surrounding students eyed them nervously, before going back to their conversation, albeit in more hushed voices. Blyke ignored the anxious stares and thought for a moment.

“You gotta be about… 7.5 now?” He continued, “Weren’t you just se—”

“Now, now!” Isen interjected hurriedly with a rather high-pitched voice. “We all know John is very strong!”

John, who stopped listening after the words “ seven point five ”, zoned out immediately.

7.5? I’m definitely sure I’m capped at 7.0… there’s no way… I still have the same amount of aura as back then though…

“Hey, John? You alright?” A hand waved in front of his face, bringing him back to reality.

John blinked out of his stupor once again, “Y-Yeah?”

Remi retracted her hand, frowning, “You really are spacing out a lot today, maybe you should take a nap if you’re feeling not well,”

“A-Ah, yeah… I guess,” John said, apologetically, and took a bite into his burger that he took out of his lunch bag.

They then sat in silence while John, again , zoned out. 

He felt around their auras, taking note of how much weaker they are. He then experimentally poked Blyke’s aura, because… why not?

Blyke unconsciously flinched, and then glanced around. 

“You okay?” Isen asked, who saw him out of the corner of his eye.

Blyke scratched his neck nervously, “Yeah, I’m fine… Pretty sure there was a bug or something…”

Huh… he felt that?

John then had another thought.

Wait… if I can physically touch their auras… then maybe… just maybe… I could strengthen them?

John prepared his metaphorical grabby-grabbers on either side of Blyke aura. It felt weird, trying to change an aura that wasn’t his own. Then, he snatched the formless substance.

Blyke gasped, skin paling.

“Blyke, are you sure you’re okay?” Isen called, concerned, “Uh Remi? I don’t think this is normal,”

That was when John’s concentration slipped , just like his grasp on Blyke’s aura . He clenched his teeth, trying to grab it again. 

And then he accidentally pushed it instead of pulling it. The surface area of his aura diminished, just as his ability level went lower. From 3.3 … to 3 . 

Blyke had fallen from High-Tier to Middle-Tier, close to Low-Tier.

“Blyke?!” Remi cried, “Are you okay?”

“Urgh… I–I’m fine,” Blyke gritted out, his teeth clenched.

“You are a lot of things, but a good liar ain’t one of them,” Isen said admonishingly, although he looked equally concerned. “Just tell us, be honest!”

“I d-don’t know… I feel sick… m’ hungry anymore,”

Isen and Remi exchanged glances. Something was wrong . Blyke was never not hungry .

“Let’s get you to the nurse, alright?” Remi helped him up as he stood shakily.

“I told you! M’ fine!” Blyke protested, “I’m probably having a bad day!l

“A bad day, he says,” Isen went to his other side to help him up, “As if you’re not sweating bullets,” 

Remi shot John an apologetic glance, “We’ll have to get Blyke to the infirmary, so if you’ll just excuse us–”

“Don’t worry about me, worry about him,” John waved her off, “I finished my lunch anyways,”

With that, Remi and Isen hauled a still protesting Blyke out of the cafeteria, causing curious peepers to glance in their direction. John stared at them in silence and frowned. Maybe he did grow stronger…

…

Isen stared at the gentle rising and falling of Blyke’s chest. The moment classes let out he and Remi rushed to the infirmary to find Blyke sleeping peacefully in a cot, undisturbed. At this point, he didn’t bother with keeping track of whenever his ability level fluctuates, although the same couldn’t be said for Remi.

“It’s so weird! Like sometimes it happens in classrooms, sometimes in hallways, even outside! And it’s never really “constant”, as if it’s constantly changing locations!” Remi stewed, frustrated.

Isen raised an eyebrow, “I’m pretty sure I know the reason…”

“Huh? What is it?”

“It’s because… John’s most likely bugged,”

Remi put a hand to her chin, “Hold on, that actually makes a lot of sense… I’ve never really thought of that! If the dampener constantly moves, then it is most likely attached to a person,”

Isen nodded, “Yeah, so we should probably meet up with John later,”

“Ugh… meet with who and when?”

Isen and Remi turned around from where they sat, on either side of the no longer sleeping redhead’s cot. Blyke seemed a lot healthier than when he passed out while they carried him to the nurse’s office. He was groggily scratching his head as he squinted his eyes to the sudden light exposure.

“Blyke!” Remi cried and she smothered him in a hug.

“Agh! I can’t breathe!”

Isen smacked him upside the head playfully, “Glad you’re okay, man!”

“Ow! Isen! That was uncalled for!” Blyke rubbed his head, “I just woke up!”

“And I just felt like hitting you!”

Blyke swung his legs to the side, nearly knocking into Isen, “Anyways, who are we meeting up with?”

Remi and Isen backed off, giving him some space.

“Oh yeah, we think we should talk with John about the dampener, Isen just had a theory,” Remi summarized their conversation.

“Isen doesn’t just “ have a theory ”,” Blyke narrowed his eyes towards the reporter, “He has a theory for a long time and doesn’t tell us for the longest time ever. How long did you know?”

Isen tensed at the sudden accusation before relaxing, rubbing his neck nervously, “Well u-uh… ever since he left for Doc’s,”

Remi’s eyes flew wide with shock. She expected him to have known for a while, but that long ? Was she really so stupid or was it Isen who was really smart?

“And you didn’t bother to tell us?” Blyke shouted, frustration obvious in his voice, “This is like Joker all over again, isn’t it?”

“A-Anyways! We best tell John about our findings!” Isen laughed anxiously, “Y-Yeah! Let’s go find him right now!”

Blyke shot him an annoyed look, but followed him out of the infirmary. Remi sighed and walked out as well.

…

They stepped into the hallways leading to John and Blyke’s rooms. A familiar weakening effect washing over them. Despite the familiarity, Remi can’t help but shudder at the weird feeling. She then prepared to knock.

Suddenly, she felt a wave of melancholy. This was where it happened. That day before the world came collapsing down, for the better or for the worse. That day when John forcefully shattered her rose-colored glasses and revealed the real world for her.

She knocked. Once, twice, thrice. After the third time, the door swung open, revealing John. He obviously seemed less murderous than back then. 

“Oh, hello? Need anything?” He asked.

“We need to talk to you about something,” Blyke said.

“Well you already are. Let’s discuss this inside,” 

And so, they were invited into John’s room. They sat on the carpet on the floor as John closed the door.

“So? What’s this all about?” John asked.

“Basically we thought that…that…” Blyke frowned, his mind stuttering, “Wait a sec… you guys didn’t even tell me that theory you had!”

Isen put his hands up in defiance, “Hey don’t blame us! You were just too busy being angry!”

Remi sighed at their antics and picked up the relay, “Isen thought that Spectre might have put some sort of AOE kind of dampener as a tracker on you,”

“A… tracker?” John raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah something that tra—”

“I know what a tracker is!” John interrupted, slightly annoyed that he tried defining for him, “I meant why ?”

“Well… for a while Isen th–” Remi began but was quickly cut off by Isen.

“Where you go, the weakening goes,” Isen summarized briefly.

John raised an eyebrow curiously. It was rare to see Isen so “ get to the point ”. In fact, he was usually the one who takes as many detours as possible before announcing the purpose. It was weird for him to be so straightforward.

“Hmm… alright,” He hummed pensively. “I’ll go change and we can try to remove it,”

With that, he went to the bathroom to change, closing the door with a thud, leaving the trio in silence. Blyke opened his mouth to speak.

“A tracker, huh? I would’ve never thought of that,” He said, nodding.

“Is it just me, or does he seem a bit too relaxed about all this?” Remi asked, frowning. “This is pretty important, after all,”

Isen thought for a moment, “I think… it might be because he doesn’t believe us. Every time we talk to him about the presence of a dampener he doesn’t seem to feel it,”

“Oh, it could be side-effects of whatever is going on with his ability, with the flickering eyes and whatnot,” Remi agreed.

Suddenly, the bathroom door slid open, revealing John wearing freshly changed clothes, his uniform in a pile in his arms. 

“I’m done,” He deposited the pile on his bed, “Go ahead and examine it,”

With that they began to carefully scrutinize his clothes. Remi activated her ability in an attempt to see the electrical current of the device, but she came up with no results.

“Sorry guys, but I can’t find anything,” She said apologetically. 

“Me neither, I can’t find anything,” Isen put down John’s shirt.

Blyke had already given up, “Ugh this is so confusing!”

Isen, again, went into deep thinking, “What if… Spectre implanted the tracker inside your body?”

“And that could be why your ability is going haywire!” Remi completed, “That makes sense! That way, it’ll be harder to remove the tracker even if it’s found,”

John put away the pile of clothes, “By the way, Doc told me that he found something weird in the ability factor part of my blood, or something like that. Think it could be related?”

Isen gasped, eyes widening at a sudden theory he had, “No way… did they manage to… inject it into your blood? Is their tech really that advanced?”

“Yeah, isn’t nanotech something you can only find in sci-fi movies?” Blyke chimed in, “Spectre seems to be getting more powerful every time we mention them,”

Blyke then stood up, “Anyways, it’s getting late and I still haven’t completed all those assignments for tomorrow,”

“Don’t forget to study for the test!” Remi followed him towards the door.

“Wait, there’s a test?” Isen screeched.

“Oh my god Isen!” Remi frowned and threw a glance over her shoulder towards John, “Anyways, see you tomorrow, John!”

“Yeah, bye,” 

The door closed behind them, leaving his room in its original quiet tranquility.

…

Principal Vaughn stood in front of the windows of his office, observing the area. For the corner of his eye, he noticed Remi strolling out of the boys dorm, her fluffy pink hair swaying in time with her steps.

The phone suddenly rang, and he turned around to pick it up.

“... yes, it seems like he is progressing much faster than expected, and you may have you come here yourself, Cameron,”

Chapter Text

John stood on the roof alone, gazing down at the familiar scenery. Throughout everything that he went through, the roof was a constant. Hanging out with Sera, talking to Arlo (unfortunately), hunting Isen down… everything. A gentle wind blew by, stirring the memories deep within him, reminding him of his days from New Bostin…

The sound of a door opening snapped him back to reality.

“Still pretending to be a glorified broken lightbulb, aren’t you?” Arlo snarked, the door to the roof closing behind him with a heavy thud . 

“Shut up, your blond head is brighter than any fucking lightbulb out there,” John replied, crossing his arms.

“Hmph, so what did you call me here for?”

John sighed, “Seraphina thought of a plan, one to get you your promotion and all that,”

John took out his phone and showed him a picture of a map, “This is the location of one of their hideouts. Find them, and kick their ass for us,”

Arlo raised an eyebrow, “Seriously? It’s not that easy. How would the authorities react, if I pulled a Spectre location out of nowhere?”

John shrugged, “Eh you’ll figure something out. If you can plan the downfall of a person within a month this will be child’s play,”

Arlo stared at him, frustrated and very annoyed at the subtle jab. He then chose to change the subject.

“By the way, I’ve been getting weakened randomly for the past few days, so are you sure risking a move on Spectre now is really a good idea?”

“Oh, reminds me that, a few days ago, Remi, Blyke, and Isen pulled me aside and told me a theory of theirs; something about Spectre implanting a bug into my bloodstream cause people grow weaker whenever I’m around,”

Arlo frowned, cradling his chin, “Hmm… it does feel a bit different this time, but when would Spectre have a chance to implant a bug…”

John pondered for a moment, before tensing, his eyes widening, “Last time I’ve been near Spectre… was during that infiltration! Shit, this is bad,”

“You don’t say,”

John chose to ignore him. If they injected a microscopic tracker inside his bloodstream, it would make sense why his ability was behaving weirdly. Altering one’s ability factor was a big no-no.

“But…”

“But?”

“It’s weird how they haven’t shown up yet, cause I’m pretty sure they like to get things done quickly, remember?” 

Arlo did remember, how could he not? That fateful night where he encountered Spectre for the first time, before everything came tumbling down. The mid-tiers had left in a hurry to avoid leaving traces.

“However… dampener or no dampener…” John started, closing his eyes.

Arlo took a double take at John’s suddenly quiet voice. He then realized that John looked like… back then . At that time.

“... they won’t get away,”

Arlo subtly shivered, eyes widening. That wasn’t a threat; it was a promise . His demeanor changed completely , from inquisitive to downright murderous . The blonde was constantly reminded that despite the fact that John was trying to change, John was still John .

John then raised his head, opening his eyes again, and the light atmosphere came back again. 

He strode towards the door without a word, Arlo staring at his retreating back, slightly confused. A distant crow cawed in the silence as a gentle wind ruffled his hair. He sighed, and began to leave as well, walking down the stairs.

Bam!

Arlo looked to the side in surprise, ability activating on instinct to protect himself. What he saw was a downed Zeke, with a nasty bruise on his cheek, which is most likely where he had been socked by an angry high-tier.

“Don’t fucking play dumb with me!” John yelled, preparing another fist. “I know you were there!”

Zeke peered over John’s shoulder and saw Arlo steadily walking towards them.

“Oh thank god Ar–” 

Bam!

A fist connected with his face faster than anyone could react. 

“Found this asshole right outside and this sack of shit said he wasn’t listening!” John explained with angered breaths.

Apparently that declaration had riled him up more than he thought.

Arlo took a deep breath, “Come,”

He walked towards an empty classroom, opening the door.

“H-Hey! Arlo! W-Wha–” 

“Shut up!” John cut with another punch to the face.

“Inside,” Arlo waved an arm, beckoning them inside.

“H-Hold on a bi–”

John harshly dragged Zeke inside the classroom.

“I swea– Yowch!- P-Plea– Ow!”

Then, he was thrown on the ground, Arlo closing the door behind them. He pulled the nearby curtains shut, the room barely illuminated by the sunlight filtering through. He then went to stand beside John, crossing his arms.

“I recommend you to speak,” He said calmly, his eyes flaring an even brighter blue, “Or do I have to remind you why I was king and not you?”

“Urgh… fine you got me!” Zeke clenched his teeth. “But… I’m not the one in trouble…”

He smirked crookedly, despite the blood and bruises on his face.

“You are,”

“Shut–” John barked, only to be stopped by Arlo. Zeke quirked an eyebrow and his smirk deepened.

“Oh, so you do understand? After all… a peep out of me and you will be gone! Out in the real world, we’re practically on equal footing,” Zeke gained a manic glint in his eyes, “How about a deal? Tell me everything, and there won’t be a sound from me,”

Arlo’s eyes narrowed. This isn’t a situation that could be resolved with power. He had to play this safe. 

John concentrated, deep in thought. Zeke would sell them out anyways, so that wasn’t an option. 

“Give us two weeks, and we’ll tell you everything you want,” John finally said.

“Ohoho! Trying to stall? Well, since I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you two weeks. After that it’s bye-bye!”

He stood up on shaky legs from his position on the ground and slowly left, the door closing behind him, John and Arlo not making a single move for a few seconds.

Arlo then broke the silence, “Jo–”

“Arlo,” John glanced at him with a newfound resolute determination, “In one week, we’ll go infiltrate those bastards,”

‘we’ll’? Arlo frowned, “Isn’t your ability still malfunctioning?”

“Yes,” John said no more and opened the door to leave before a hand latched onto his arm just as he was about to step outside.

John’s eyes widened in surprise, and he activated his ability on reflex.

He was not prepared for the onslaught of pain that assaulted his mind.

His head was pounding agonizingly as flashes of orange appeared and disappeared. Multi-colored auras all around him were dimming and lighting up, as if he was at some disco party. The entire world was spinning, and all he could hear was static. 

Similar to his mind, the hallways dissolved into chaos. People all around were screaming, running in all sorts of directions. This barely registered on his conscience, just like the thud that caused this mess

His vision suddenly turned yellow as a bubble encased him to isolate him from the outside. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Arlo putting his hand out before he mysteriously fell on the ground.

Just like all the people surrounding him within a 38-meter radius. 

Then, he felt something smack into his side, which revealed to be a desk. Another desk smashed into his head, another to his legs, another to his abdomen. A few more desks collided with his body before he fell to the ground.

His vision was still swimming from his headache and the barrage of desks didn’t help. He saw a blurry figure of Vaughn before the world faded into peaceful nothingness.

…

Principal Vaughn sat beside John’s cot inside the infirmary, as the newly-hired checked him for any long-lasting damage. After all, it’s been a while since Vaughn last used the desk throwing technique, as it was easier to simply immobilize the student. 

However, he had to keep his distance and limit his choices.

His phone suddenly rang and he pulled it out of his pockets to answer it.

“You’re here?...good, I’ll have someone come escort you inside… yes, bring him with you,”

Chapter Text

Bump…

Bump…

Bump…

John felt himself laid down on something soft but jostling, lightly waking him up. What happened? he wondered, dazed. He recalled Zeke grabbing his arm… and then the world dissolving into dizzying colours. 

John rubbed his eyes, and realized that he was in fact in a car, to be precise, a limo. That shocked him out of his stupor as he took in the surroundings immediately, along with a mysterious white-haired man sitting next to him, who noticed him waking him.

“I see you’re—”

He was quickly cut off by John’s leg flying at him at top speeds, only to be stopped in its trajectory with the flaring of golden eyes.

“Who are you?” John demanded angrily, despite the difference of levels his passive sensed.

The man let go of his leg, although in a rather miffed way.

“Hmph… brats think they can go around… kicking people in their faces?” He muttered.

“I’m abducted!” John raised his arms, preparing to throw a fist at the stranger, “Of course I’d fight back!”

“Abducted? That’s a bizarre way to call a family reunion, I thought my nephew would have more tact than that!”

His white-haired kidnapper was getting more and more on John’s nerves, until he took in what he said. Nephew? So this old-fart… he’s my–

“Uncle?” John narrowed his eyes, “No way, my dad’s a single child,”

The man frowned and sighed, “Jane… are you sure this is your child? Or did you happen to stumble upon him on some unfortunate day?”

He then turned to address John, “Stupid boy, you think I, would be related to your cripple of a father? And I thought you would inherit her brains if not her ability,”

Her?

“You’re…” John’s eyes widened in shock at the revelation, “My mom’s brother?”

“Yes,” The man gave a single nod before looking out the window and murmuring in a small voice, “At least the brat isn’t a complete lost cause,”

“How do I know you aren’t just a fraud? I don’t remember any mentions of an uncle,” John declared carefully.

“Never mind,” He sighed and turned to look back at John, “Whether we like it or not, I’m your uncle,”

John was about to make another smart remark before the man announced, “Ah, we’re here. Now, please, do address me by the name Cameron. I suppose that wouldn’t be too hard of a request for a former cripple?”

John grit his teeth, “And what’s wrong with that? How do you even know that?”

He then gestured towards the huge mansion looming over them as they steadily drew closer to it.

“Why are you bringing me here anyways? As far as I know class isn’t even over yet,” He demanded, although less angrily than before after getting explanations.

The limousine stopped at the driveway of the mansion and a maid opened the door. 

“A m-maid?” John stammered, surprised, before composing himself, “Of course you’d have a maid, why am I even surprised?”

Cameron stepped out of the car first, “That’s indeed a good question, although I suppose your father couldn’t afford to such luxury due to his status,”

John clenched his fist, “What’s the matter of ability and status anyways?”

Cameron glanced at him over his shoulder, “Everything”

John prepared to make another retort but Cameron cut him off immediately, “Hurry along, now. We don’t have all day,”

They then walked inside the huge mansion, accompanied by the maid. John tried his best to not let his surprise show on his face, but small hints betrayed him anyways. It felt like another world: the windows were the sizes of his apartment walls and he could probably fit two beds in each closet. Cameron’s voice, which began to irk him, shook him out of his stupor.

“We’re not here to sightsee as you need to learn to control your ability,” Cameron tapped him lightly on his shoulder, which provoked a miffed scowl.

“Control?” He asked.

“I presume this isn’t your first time falling victim to your ability? Quite a wonder how such an amateur rose to such a rank in Wellston of all places!”

John uncharacteristically grew quiet. After all, what was the point of denying something that is true ? There was that time at New Bostin, his Joker era, and now whatever the hell this is.

Cameron led him down several floors until they arrived at what seemed to be a huge gym, with heavy reinforced walls and several training dummies.

“This is where we will be fining your control,” He said while shuffling through a nearby box until he found what he was looking for.

It seemed to be some sort of watch, or perhaps… a cuff . It looked eerily similar to those ability dampening cuffs he wore back then, eliciting undesired memories rolling through his subconscious.

“Wear this,” Cameron ordered, then proceeded to fasten it onto John’s left arm in a rather forceful manner. John unconsciously took a small step back in quiet panic.

Panic which multiplied tenfold when he felt the effects of the cuff on him and his ability . His passive immediately vanished as did a part of the skillset he carefully crafted over the past few years.

Then, he realized that the dampening felt mysteriously familiar, although just a twinge more different. His eyes snapped wide when he came to a conclusion. He was weakened by the same amount as Spectre dampener does, if not more. 

“I’ve imbued a part of my power into this bracelet. We will be done when you are capable of undoing its effects without any breaking it or taking it off,”

Only the first sentence registered in John’s mind, or more precisely, one word: imbued . Cameron had imbued his part of his ability into a dampener, one that felt suspiciously similar to the one Spectre possesses. 

Shit… did John just walk into a Spectre trap ? That was practically proof right there. If Cameron is able to turn a cuff into a dampener, then what prevents him from doing the same to another object, like a gun ? 

And what the hell is Cameron’s ability? Earlier, he stopped John’s leg in its trajectory telepathically, and now he can give objects weakening effects? It somewhat aligns with the fact that he was his uncle, but there were a lot of differences.

First, telepathy was a mental ability. Although the effects happen outside the head, it mostly happens inside the head. Mental abilities were his one weakness as he is unable to copy them at all.

Second, Cameron didn’t have his ability activated before John attempted to relieve his body of his head with his foot, meaning if he and John share the same ability, he would have to activate it before-hand.

However, John clearly felt himself at a disadvantage at the present moment. Cameron’s ability outclasses him, by how much he does not know, but the gap is big enough to prevent him from copying it. On top of that, even if he does manage to copy it he was not familiar at all with such a complicated ability, which might even cause some consequences on his channels.

He has to choice but to play along.

 Besides, might as well make the most out of the situation.

“This ability is extremely versatile but can be very dangerous, so you must learn how to control it,” Cameron took off his overcoat, revealing a white button up, “We’ll start with the basics; do you know how to enhance yourself?”

“Around an additional half to the original stats of the other person,” John replied.

Cameron thought for a moment before repeating, “‘The other person’?”

“Yes… isn’t our ability all about copying other abilities and strengthening them?” John asked after slight hesitation.

The white-haired man sighed and muttered quietly, “Of course an individual of such upbringing isn’t even able to use his ability efficiently,”

John frowned, “What do you mean? My ability’s always been this way,”

Cameron raised an eyebrow, annoyed, “Look, brat. You never needed support in the first place. Jane… how did you produce such an offspring whose neurons are in the negatives?”

The last part he murmured to himself, although John heard snippets of it but didn’t comment. However, he wanted to move on.

“Hey, just get to the fucking point already,” He snapped.

Cameron groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t reply but took a pocket mirror out of his pocket and held it out to John.

“Take a look at yourself, specially the eyes,”

John carefully took it and opened it. His eyes… were no longer flickering. He tossed the mirror back to Cameron, who slipped it back into his pocket. 

“How did you do that?” John asked carefully, growing more and more wary of the man before him.

“I deactivated it, so you won’t weaken anyone anytime soon,” Cameron replied.

That sent John’s mind for a spin. He did that? Sure he had an inkling that he was the dampener, but he pushed it far back into his mind. After all, he just followed the theory that he was implanted with a bug by Spectre.

Just what is his ability?

Cameron watched him carefully and sighed, “How stupid are you to somehow lose a portion of your ability?”

“Hey-!”

“Look, brat, I’ll restore your ability for two weeks, then it’s gone. After that, figure it out on your own,” Cameron said.

Of course this old fart is also capable of restoring abilities. What else can he do, convert abilities? 

While he was brooding, his “uncle” was talking.

“I want you to come here every day after school for a three-hour practice,” Cameron said sternly, “I cannot afford to have such an amateur to taint our bloodline,”

“I can’t, cause I take extra classes to catch up,” John replied.

“Then get smarter!”

John huffed angrily. Every passing moment with this old man, a potential Spectre member, was grating on his nerves, even more than with Asslo in the past.

“Anyways, you should go along now, I’ll have Marisol escort you,” Cameron told him, putting on his coat.

…

School just let out, and Blyke was eager to go back to his room in the dorms. It was a rather sunny day, not at all matching with that huge incident that took place near the rooftop staircase. 

He wasn’t sure what happened as he had been far from the staircase, having phys ed in the gym. From what the rumors told him, a bunch of people passed out for about ten minutes, then recalled nothing of the incident when they woke up. However, the exceptions seemed to be Arlo, Zeke, and John. Arlo and Zeke were still unconscious, currently in the infirmary, while John outright disappeared. Of course, this involved John.

And speak of the devil and he shall appear, since Blyke spotted John walking through Wellston gates (when did he leave?) and chose to approach him.

“Hey, John!” 

John looked to the side and saw him walking towards him, “Hey Blyke, are classes over yet?”

“Yeah, school just let out a few moments ago,” Blyke replied, then frowned, “By the way, what happened today? I saw Arlo in the infirmary, and I’d say there’s only one person here that’s capable of sending Arlo of all people to the infirmary,”

“Arlo… in the infirmary? I remember having troubles with my ability, and then I… passed out, I think? Anyways I should go see him then, where is he now?”

“He’s still unconscious in the infirmary,” Blyke said carefully, “You sure you didn’t do anything to him?”

John attempted to recall the moments of the incident, “Uh… I don’t think so?”

John had an inkling that he was the cause obviously, who else could it be? Zeke? Although what exactly did he do to make Arlo pass out for such a long time? He was the Defense King for god’s sake, and that doesn’t just apply physically!

Once they had arrived at the infirmary, John thought that what Blyke had said was indeed true. Arlo was lying in a cot with one other individual in another one. It felt like a throwback to when John woke up after the Rowden incident, where he and Arlo switched positions.

He noticed a get-well card beside his bed and then signed it hesitantly while Blyke watched with a surprised eyebrow. 

“Let’s head back, I’ll explain everything to the others as well,” John said and walked out of the infirmary, Blyke on his tail.

…

“So Zeke knows as well?” Isen said with a groan, “Man this just gets better and better!”

“I’m more concerned with the fact that John’s ability can render people unconscious,” Remi said worriedly.

“Well, yeah of course! If he can break bones easily then making people pass out should be a piece of cake,” Blyke replied.

“I didn’t have any abilities copied back then,” John said uncomfortably.

“Hmm…” Isen cradled his chin, “You met your uncle right?”

“Yeah, he healed my eyes and put a dampener on me, said he turned it into one,” John pulled back his sleeve to show them the cuff.

Isen examined it carefully, “If you and your uncle share the same ability, and since your dad’s a cripple, maybe there’s more to your ability than what meets the eye,”

“How does making people pass out have anything to do with abilities?” Remi asked, “From what I understand John’s ability is extremely focused around ability auras, not people’s consciousness,”

“Yeah, that doesn’t make much sense,” Blyke hummed, confused.

Suddenly, Isen snapped his fingers, startling them.

“John! Is he your uncle on your mom’s side?” He asked.

“Mm… yeah I’m pretty sure,” John said, “Why?”

“I think… your mother really is involved with the authorities and–,”

“No,” John cut him off abruptly, “My mom’s gone, whether dead or alive, makes no difference to me. For all I know she has my uncle’s shitty-ass personality,”

Remi sighed, “Fine, we won’t ask, but just… think about it, okay?”

John didn’t reply and walked out of Blyke’s dorm room and back to his own, leaving the trio in silence.

Chapter Text

What… what happened?  

Arlo opened his eyes carefully, only to see blinding light right above him. He squinted his eyes and rubbed them, sitting up. It was then he recognized the infirmary’s curtains. It had been a while ever since he found himself in such a position, one that he despised. 

The former king kicked off the blanket on him and sat up, luckily still in uniform. There would be many questions if people saw him of all people in some sort of hospital garb (does the infirmary even have hospital garbs?). Then again, he was pretty sure he didn’t go through surgery, otherwise why would he end up in the infirmary instead of a hospital?

He slipped on his shoes and slipped his phone out of his pocket. More than an entire day had passed it seems, as whatever happened to him happened the previous day. And that was the question. What exactly happened? He recalled throwing Zeke into an empty classroom who then proceeded to threaten them.

“Oh Arlo! How are you feeling now?” The nurse’s warm voice greeted him as he pulled the curtains aside, “Quite a few people were worried, and look, they even got you a get-well card!”

Arlo glanced back and there sat a get-well card on the nightstand beside the cot. How he missed such a colourful card was beyond him, but he noticed several signatures and little messages. Then, he took a step and examined it and then spotted one name that rang a bell: John.

That was right. John was also there before he lost consciousness. 

He folded the card and slid it inside his pocket along with his phone.

“Arlo, please stand here. I’ll have to do a checkup on your ability,” The nurse told him just as he was about to step out of the infirmary.

“A checkup?” One on his ability, no less, “How?”

The nurse chuckled, “Well, the Bureau recently distributed ability scanners to several hospitals and we somehow got one despite not being a hospital! That’s pretty generous of them isn’t it?”

She then gestured to a machine in front of her which seemed to be a slightly elevated platform with a white-screen in front. It didn’t have any sort of monitor or cable connected to a computer, just some sort of device that doesn’t even seem to be a device.

Arlo stepped gingerly onto the platform and there was a whirring sound, which he supposed meant the device was analyzing his ability. To his surprise, the nurse was not observing her computer but was staring at the white screen.

“Hmm… everything seems fine then. Level 6.3 already? My, that’s quite impressive for such a young fellow!” The nurse exclaimed, “Oh, you can step off now! Handy, isn’t it?”

Arlo stepped onto the ground, “I suppose,”

The school nurse typed something on her computer before dismissing Arlo, “Oh, you can leave now! If anything feels off then don’t hesitate to barge in!”

Arlo nodded and left the infirmary and into the busy hallways, at which a few students glanced curiously. He leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone, dialing John’s number. The call rang for a few moments before someone picked up.

“Hello?” John asked, “Arlo? You’re fine now?”

“Yes, but we’ll have to talk after school to discuss certain affairs,” 

The voice at the other side went silent for a few seconds before he talked, “Oh, I’ll be busy later, so I won’t be able to,”

Arlo frowned, “Busy? With what?”

However, John chose to deviate his question, “Listen, Arlo. I have an idea about what to do with Zeke, but I need to go with you when the time comes,”

“You want to assist– John, do you understand what you’re getting at? Don’t you still have trouble with your ability?” Arlo grit his teeth subtly.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” John attempted to reassure him, but the effectiveness was questionable, “Anyways, gotta go now,”

The call suddenly ended, not giving Arlo a chance to retort. He sighed. There was more to a plan than impulsiveness and whatever John was doing.

Arlo slipped his phone back into his pockets and strode in the hallways, blending in with the crowd of students.

…

“You call that modifying? Even a toddler can do better with some glue and paper!”

John felt himself flung to the side of the room as he attempted to land in a crouch, his eyes blazing. His face was dripping with sweat and he was breathing hard, fatigue showing all over his body. Cameron, on the other, was standing stoically on the other side of the room, his eyes also a vivid gold. The older man, on the other hand, seemed as good as new.

They were attempting to get John to change an ability’s attributes in the heat of battle. The fight has been going on for quite some time, but all John could do was modify the range of the ability.

Cameron sighed, “Hmph, we’ll end this here. It seems you haven’t entirely inherited your mother’s prowess. Such a weakling is an insult our lineage,”

Cameron turned around to leave the gym.

“Wait!”

Cameron stopped in his tracks, but not turning around, “What?”

John hesitated. A question he always wanted to ask, but was too scared to do so, popped up in his mind.

“Can you… tell me more about my mother?” He asked carefully.

Cameron sighed again and turned around to face him, “My sister… Jane… She was a god-tier unlike any other. Dominated others in battle like a deadly angel, yet extremely passionate and naive to compliment such power,”

Passionate? Naive? John would never have thought to use those words to describe what he thought his mom to be.

“Anyone who wasn’t her foe, she helped eagerly,” Cameron continued, “I suppose that was how she met your cripple of a father,”

John then found the words that he wanted to speak, “If she really was so compassionate… Why did she leave us?”

That was the real question that has been bugging him for years, ever since he was only four years old, looking through a family album. 

“Why are you so nosy? Some things are better left unsaid,” Cameron evidently ignored, or purposefully chose to not respond, and left him alone in the gym.…

John walked up the boys’ dormitories’ staircase, exhausted from ability overusage. Who knew fighting an overpowered nutcase was more tiring than his weekly hour-long workouts? 

He sighed and opened the door to his and Blyke’s dorms on the top floor–

“John!” A voice exclaimed, “Woah you seem so tired!”

John froze momentarily in surprise like a caught deer (“Doe” haha) and he felt something within him pulse. Unknowingly, that something happened to be his aura flowing within his channels.

A redhead peered at him from the side, unnoticed by John, “Hey, you alr–”

Blyke’s voice suddenly cut off, leaving John turning around in suspicion. However, his mind halted at the sight of Blyke glowing . 

“Woah, what happened?” Blyke murmured, peering down at himself in wonder, “I-I’m glowing?”

Blyke turned his attention to the stupefied John, “W-What did you do?”

John shook his head slowly, stunned, as he closed the door gently, “I… don’t know,”

Blyke examined his hand, astonished, “I feel… powerful… maybe we should give Remi and Isen a call about this? If you did this that’ll be so–”

“I’m not going to get myself involved with vigilantism,” John cut him off sharply, “I’m not meant for that,”

John didn’t give him a chance to reply before picking up his phone and calling Remi and Isen in quick succession. 

Soon a few knocks sounded at the door, to which John opened.

“Hi John! What happened to Blyke?” Remi asked, concerned, before noticing the redhead sitting on a couch, “Blyke!”

She and Isen, who was behind her, rushed in, checking in on their friend.

Isen scratched his head, “I thought John resembled a lightbulb with his flickering eyes–”

John threw a glare at him, which went unnoticed by either of the trio.

“-but now I’m convinced you’re more of a lightbulb than he is! Like, look at you! You could be my personal night lamp like this!” Isen chuckled, which the redhead didn’t appreciate.

“Shut up! I bet you would be totally jealous when I kick your ass!” Blyke shouted at him indignantly, although it proved to be ineffective as the ginger gave another chuckle.

During their exchange, Remi poked and prodded Blyke’s arm, examining it carefully worriedly.

“Blyke? How do you feel?” She asked, concerned.

“Mm…” He hummed, thinking, “I’m not sure how to describe it, but I feel like… like… my ability is on steroids,”

Isen raised his eyebrow, “Have you ever even taken steroids?”

“How do I describe it then? I just feel stronger, you know?” Blyke shrugged, unbothered.

Isen brought his hand to his chin, pondering deeply, before snapping his fingers, attracting the other’s attention.

“I got it!” He exclaimed.

“What is it?” Remi asked.

Isen hummed, “John, you can see Blyke’s level, right? Did you notice anything?” 

“I…” John hesitated. He didn’t mention the part of the dampener while relaying events to the trio as he found that detail unnecessary to the current matter, “Well, I can check now,”

He activated his ability, eyes glowing a fainter hue than the usual shade of vivid gold.

“Well?” Isen asked, “What do you see?”

John didn’t reply, and took note of Blyke’s aura. The bright red seemed brighter than usual and the aura amount was definitely higher than before. And the ability level… a six .

“Six,” He muttered.

“What?!” Isen shouted just as Blyke exclaimed, “Six?!”

 “Woah! Did you happen to make me stronger? I’ve got to try this out!” Blyke stood up and rushed to the door, only to be pulled back by Isen.

“Huh? What are you doing?” Blyke asked, “I’m not doing drugs!”

Isen huffed, “No, but what if someone sees you and brings you to Vaughn?! You don’t want to be suspended another time, right?”

“Hngh… fine,” Blyke muttered grumpily, “Then at least make me the way I was, cause you’re just tempting me to try out this new buff,”

Remi suddenly cut into the conversation, after staying silent for so long, “Six… that’s an extra third of your original level, four-point-five, right?”

Blyke nodded pensively, “Yeah, I was a four-point-five last I checked, but I trained a lot during… a certain period of time, so I’m probably stronger than back then,”

“Okay, so I think we can safely assume that John is the reason why your ability’s buffed, right now, right?”

That got Blyke shaking his head in light frustration, “Ugh… copying other abilities, amplifying, mixing them, now you can debuff and strengthen other people’s abilities? What else can you do, transfer abilities? Does your ability even have a capping level? Cause it doesn’t sound like you’re reaching your max. level anytime soon,”

John, however, had been lost ever since Remi mentioned he might be able to enhance abilities. Sure, he had been training earlier to modify an ability, but that was different from enhancing. Strengthening an ability includes upping the amount of aura, while modifying is simply changing the placement of the already-present aura.

“Well, maybe we should introduce him to Kuyo! This might help us with our runs,” Remi suggested.

John snapped back into attention, “No thanks. I rather not get involved with vigilantism,”

Remi pouted lightly, “Well, that’s okay. How about we train together then?”

“Yeah! I still need to get stronger!” Blyke chimed in.

John considered the offer. He did need to fine his control over his new powers to avoid losing himself to it again.

“Mm… alright then, we’ll train together,” He nodded in affirmation.

Remi beamed, “Great! We’ll be one step closer to taking down Ember and Spectre!” 

Then Isen spoke up, “Hey, should we introduce John to Kuyo? We might even get some extra info,”

John put up his hands in protest, “Woah, woah, I just said no vigilantism!”

“I know, but don’t you think this might be related to the amplifying drug?”

John gritted his teeth looking down, “Fine, when are we going?”

Blyke pulled out his phone, “Probably tomorrow, whether he likes it or not. I’ll send him a text,”

“Alright then,”

John disliked how close this was to approaching vigilantism. Despite Remi and Isen’s reassurance that he won’t be involved in their nightly activities, he still detested the thinness of the line separating whatever he’s doing and vigilantism. On top of that, this “Kuyo” they mentioned was most likely another vigilante, who also seemed to be on Ember’s trail.