Emergence 2.11 (Draft Preview) (Patreon)

Emergence 2.11

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Zeke crouched low, the familiar warmth of his power surging through his body. It tingled under his skin, a soothing, electric sensation that sent a thrill down his spine.  As he straightened, his body shot up into the air, propelled by something more than just his own strength. He soared high, easily clearing two stories in a single leap. Instead of a quiet cheer as he landed atop the roof, a grunt tore itself from his throat as his body met the cold, harsh surface of the building.

Harder than anticipated.

-5

Far harder.

His feet found purchase on the second-story windowsill, the tiny ledge serving as a springboard for his next ascent. Another leap and he was headed towards the top of the four-story building. Panic surged as his uncertain jump barely allowed him to reach the top, the upper half of his torso the only part of him to make it over the roof.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough.

His hands flailed madly, scrambling for purchase against the edge of the rooftop and failing as his body slipped and scraped against the harsh gravel. Panic clawed at his gut, making his heart race.

"Nononononon—"

Teetering on the edge, his legs dangling over nothingness., his gloved hands finally found a grip, their clench so tight his knuckles turned white. With a grunt of effort, the sidekick just managed to pull himself over the ledge and onto the safety of the rooftop.

A few moments later, he rose to his feet, dusting the gravel off his jumpsuit and brand-new-jacket with shaky hands and an uneven breath, less from exertion and more from fear. "Note to self," he muttered, the sigh of relief that followed seemed to echo in the quiet night. “Take lessons on parkour or something.”

He shook his head, taking in his surroundings. The rooftop was deserted, the night sky a dark, ominous canvas speckled with distant stars. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and reached out with his mind.

[Genesis on the rooftop, reporting in.]

There was a brief moment of silence, a pause that Zeke had come to expect, then a sharp, almost physical sensation resonated within his head. A response.

[Understood] The mental voice of Aqualad echoed in his mind, as taciturn and terse as ever, but also a tad strained as if the team leader was multitasking or… irritated. He could never be sure with Aqualad, really. The blond Atlantean always seemed to have a slight chip on his shoulder, but to be fair, he did have to herd around a team far less mature and focused than he seemed to be. [Report if anything seems out of the ordinary.]

Zeke mentally nodded, somehow able to convey the motion through their mental link. [Understood, boss.]

His attention then shifted downwards, towards the glow that enveloped his entire body, rather than just his legs and arms alone.

It was a skill he had gotten over the last week of hard training, a skill he had obtained after the maxing out and subsequent loss of three others. RIP to Power Leap, Strike, and Sprint, you will be missed. Long live Power Boost, your time is now!

Zeke certainly didn’t regret losing the three skills, certainly not in exchange for something that was efficient enough to do the work of all three combined. Especially when the only real negative was an uptick in energy cost that he could only describe as fair.

I can keep this thing on for as long as I want, too, the thirteen-year old thought to himself happily, watching the golden glow fade from his skin as he stopped feeding the ability the willpower it needed to remain active. It was a nice feeling, to be able to control his power at will. Even if it did drain his energy slightly more than he would have liked. Yeah, nothing to regret here.

Unfortunately, despite not regretting that, there was still plenty to regret in his opinion.

Namely, the sudden animosity that seemed to have taken over half the team with the addition of their newest member.

Artemis — and something about that name was still familiar — seemed to have managed to antagonize both Miss Martian and Kid Flash in just the last hour and a half, the majority of that in the last ten minutes of the mission somehow. Wally was actively antagonistic right back and the reason for his attitude was obvious but Miss Martian on the other hand…

Zeke wasn’t really sure what was going on there, and he also didn’t really think asking the green girl would get him anything truthful. Maybe she felt threatened not being the only girl on the team or something. That sounded as good of a reason as any but still… that one would need some more investigation.