heartbeat ~ a f t g

Neil

Given that he hadn't used his powers properly in almost a year, Neil was rusty. Very rusty.
It took him almost 10 minutes to feel something, and by then his three spectators looked bored. Aaron, who Neil was pretty sure had hated him from the start, was taking his first step toward the door. Nicky yawned and then looked guilty about it. Andrew stood stock-still and impassive, but Neil could tell he was growing tired. He felt a sudden, desperate urge to impress Andrew, and then the tingling started.

He felt it first in the tips of his fingers, as always. Static filled his ears, pins-and-needles spread from his wrists all the way up to his shoulders and his vision went black. That was the hardest part to deal with, the instance of blindness just before everything exploded into more colour than before. Instinctively, Neil jerked his hands back toward his face, wanting to scrub away the ink blotting his eyes, wanting to not feel so helpless. Until he'd been able to access his powers, he'd wondered what it was like to be blind. He was never scared of the dark, and the thought of living in it constantly fascinated him. But then his power had come in and terrified him. Death was an awful thought, but permanent blindness scared him more.

And then he opened his eyes, and the world around him was awash with colours so beautiful he had to bite his tongue to avoid from crying out in wonder. Mesmerising purples, blues and red. Gleaming silvers that shone when the light caught their polished metal surfaces. The gold that caught in Andrew's hair when he tilted his head towards Neil, a now I'm intrigued expression on his face. Nicky gasped, and reached a hand forward tentatively, only for Andrew to smack his knuckles. It was a childish thing to do, but Nicky stepped back, chastened.

"His eyes," Aaron whispered, the first traces of poorly disguised awe appearing on his face, "They're glowing."

Neil forced himself not to cover his face with his hands: his eyes were the only thing gave away the fact he was using his power. Their normal blue was replaced by electric sapphire, pulsing and shimmering to keep up with the electrical charges that floated around him like a force-field. The electrical charges that Neil was in charge of.

 Caught up and enhanced by their astonishment, Neil unclenched his fists and brought his palms down in a sweeping motion. The bulb hanging above him burned green, then blue, then yellow again. The bed he was lying on began to whir, its motorised wheels spinning at an alarming rate, but both and the bed Neil didn't move. Nicky grinned, entranced, and even Aaron looked unwillingly impressed. Andrew didn't move, but there was quirk to his lips that Neil hadn't seen before and it made his stomach flip over. The show of enthusiastic and unexpected support made Neil want to do bigger and better things, but a groan from the corner of the room stopped him in his tracks.

Kevin was staggering to his feet, clutching the corner of a metal table that looked like it belonged in a dentist rather than here. Neils stomach did more somersaults, but for a different reason this time. He'd figured that if Kevin was drunk or unconscious, he wouldn't recognise Neil, but now Kevin was watching him with a suspicious expression that stirred unwanted, hated feelings deep in Neil's gut. He braced himself for the oncoming onslaught, hoping against hope that it would at least be in French, the language they both shared, so that there was a chance that the others wouldn't understand. But then Kevin met his eyes, and there was no spark of recognition there, no flash of hatred or surprise, no realisation that Neil was the same boy that Kevin used to train with, back when he was Nathaniel Wesninski. 

Neil had run away from his father at 11, a year after his powers had kicked in, and a year after he'd found out that he was to be the newest, youngest edition to the Butcher's villain team. Back then, Kevin had spent all his time with another kid, Riko Moriyama, the son of one of the Butchers many contacts. But twice a week they'd all had training together, when Kevin and Riko would practice using their powers and Neil would sit on the sidelines, watching jealously. It was only after he and his mother had run away that his lack of abilities had been a good thing. If your power had kicked in any younger, his mother would tell him, you would be a killing machine by now. And she was right, partly because she always was, and partly because Neil never had any strength to argue back. 

So when Kevin's pain-filled, frightened eyes, eyes that had seen so many things that Neil had been running from his entire life, eyes that had seen his entire superhero career go down the drain because of a fit of jealousy, locked with Neil's own, Neil found himself unable to look away. Kevin had gotten himself injured about a year back, a ruined hand that had ruined any chance of him breaking free of the Moriyamas, of Riko, forever. 

"Welcome to the team, Neil." Kevin said. And just like with every conversation he's had with his mother up until her death, Neil couldn't find the strength in him to say no.