Powerless

56. Depress and Shine

"You don't have any time at all." Shit! I looked around at everyone and frowned. I could see Jimmy's face fall in a way that could only mean he was feeling Daniels influence. They don't call his power Depress for nothing. I turned just in time to see him fade to nothing and I freaked.

"GU..." I felt his arm go around my throat. Lose enough to not cut off air but tight enough to keep me from going anywhere. Damien's eyes seemed to lite up with this fire as Daniel laughed in my ear.  "...ys."

"You know, Cassidy. Felix let me in on a little secret." His grip got tighter and I could see this darkness branching out from him like an almost mist. "He said you can copy peoples power when you touch them. Is that true?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." My voice was shaky as I turned to look over at him. He was eyeing my gloves like a hawk as if expecting them to just disappear. "What kind of powers do you think I possess?"

"See that's the problem. None of us know." Damien started to growl in anger and I could see his eyes go black. The darkness that surrounded Dan branched out even more as if responding to him. "Then there's the fact that you snapped." Dan's voice dropped to a deep lull and made me shudder against his grip. I looked out to the group with pleading eyes but Jimmy was not in the right mind. Dan's influence had effected him so bad he was just sitting there in the grass gripping his hair tightly as the tears fell. "Your power is so high that your mind snapped the moment you tried to use it offensively." I knew what he was trying to do. His power won't work on me so he trying to do it the old fashioned way. I reached up, gripping his arm tightly as he squeezed it against my throat tighter. "You snapped kid. Mental Strains a bitch isn't it!"

"Oh, you have no idea." Damien cracked his neck drawing our attention to him and I frowned. He pointed his walking stick as us as this blackened haze slowly grew around the metal part. "Now be a good boy and let the snake go."

"How long before you hurt those you care about? Huh, Cassidy?" My chest tightened as those words circled my mind. Why... Why did he have to go there? Dan let go and I collapsed to my knees feeling the air start to leave me. I absentmindedly started to reach for my hair as my thoughts ran rampant. I don't want to hurt them. I didn't mean to get mental strain. I didn't... I didn't...

"SNAP OUT OF IT CASSIDY!" My head jerked up at the sound of Damiens' voice. When did he start fighting? I narrowed my eyes in confusion as I quickly scrambled up wiping the tears from my eyes. Damien was fighting against Dan but it wasn't good. They were too evenly matched. Dan's shadows and depress only melted into Damien's darkness. If I... If I could just nullify he depress... Jimmy slowly staggered to his feet, gripping his knife tightly in his hand as a steady stream of tears fell from his eyes. I could feel the bloodlust rolling off of him in spades. Whatever Dan forced him to think about... it broke him more.

"Damien move!" The man in question shot me a look just before Jimmy disappeared only for me to find him between Dan and Damien with his knife outstretched. Jimmy never even looked up at him as he went to stab him. Dan just stumbled back in fear. I don't think he realized how violent Jimmy can be.

"A LITTLE HELP HERE?!" Dan yelled out at no one. Or at least I thought it was no one until I felt a buzz of energy similar to Lesters but not. Who... Out of nowhere, this nearly blinding light exploded throughout the area causing me to flinch and cover my eyes. 

"Now Damien is that any way to treat your teacher?" THOMAS?! I looked up to see Damien standing there with black inky tendrils moving about his feet like octopus legs. Several lashed out only to get blocked by Thomas. I could see the teacher's eyes glowing, the color constantly changing like a rainbow. I went to help but next, I knew I had a tendril wrapped around my feet. It vanished within second because of my nullification but still.

"Stay there Caz."

"I can help!" I tried to move again but the look Damien gave me was intense. 

"I can't have you getting hurt now STAY THERE!" Thomas just laughed as his skin began to glow. It almost hid the way his body shook and wavered. Damien lashed out with a few more tendrils only to freeze as they went through Thomas like he was some kind of message. The image split turning in to two different Thomas's... One completely in warm colors with a swirly trippy effect on his skin... the other entirely cool colors with an almost kaleidoscope look. "You look like a rainbow threw up on you." I couldn't disagree with Damiens statement. However, the two Thomas's simply laughed in unison.

"Well... I am rainbow all the time." They both called out earning quiet the glare from Dan as he dodged another one of Jimmy's attacks.

"So am I but you don't see me prancing around like unicorn shit!" I didn't know what to do. Damien was fighting against two colorful Thomas's. Jimmy was desperately trying to hack away at Dan who managed to successfully keep him at further than arm's length. I needed to help. But... Really didn't know what to do. There was A LOT I could do but if I played all my card now then that's it. Mark was the target. He's the Teacher that set this up. If I can take him down then the training is over. 

"Caz, calm down and think. Use your power."