Talent & Tactics

I willingly allow my social perks to be fully channeled the instant that I get the signal to go ahead and step out onto the stage. As soon as I do I feel their potent weight, and when I am visible I myself get some scattered applause. I feel some subtle changes to the way I am perceived, firmly aware of the keen power of the social perks I normally purposefully taper down.

"Good evening parents, teachers, staff, fellow students, and friends of North High!" I begin, speaking into a microphone clipped onto the edge of my shirt. I am hit with a fair amount of applause which serves as a nice little ego boost.

"We, the members of the student body, are happy to welcome you to our lovely auditorium, and out of the cold late-October night. We hope you are having a fine night so far. If not, fear not, for I have many friends who are sure to entertain and amaze you all!" I declare, shortly before I begin to go through a list of people and organizations I have been asked to give a "Special thanks" to.

"Now, please give a warm welcome to the first performers of the night and some of our youngest and most energetic students, the Tumbling Triplets!" I declare at the end, and as excited applause fills the auditorium I subtly signal towards the triplets waiting in the wings and dart off the stage.

Three students, one boy and two girls dart onto stage, smiling as they sense the applause shift focus from my words to their actions. They begin to put on a very talented gymnastic show for the audience. The show lasts just over five minutes and the instant that the music they put on to accompany their performance comes to an end I wait for the applause they receive to reach a natural crescendo and once it begins to taper off I dart out onto the stage and the triplets, spotting me, begin to walk off of it.

"Weren't they fantastic folks? Let's hear it one more time for Tommy, Tara, and Taylor!" I say, causing the audience to burst into applause once more. I smile and wait for the somewhat artificial second round of applause to begin to die down before I speak once more.

"What a lovely group. But that's just one act in tonight's star-studded performance and I am delighted to have been given the chance to introduce you to the second act in tonight's show, the Musical Marys!" I proclaim as I immediately begin to move off the stage and give the space to a diverse group of teens, all named Mary, who come out and immediately begin to play a rock song. They have no instruments other than guitars, presumably for the sake of making their performance easier to accommodate and possible to put earlier on the schedule.

Once I am off stage I dart behind where anyone can see me and use my special sort of telekinetic physique to dart over to the other side of the auditorium and reach my friends. Matt is standing with Andrew and Steve and the two performers are dressed in, in Andrew's case a rented and ill-fitted tux, and in Steve's case a more properly fitted, if less formal, suit. I grin as I approach them and playfully gesture as though I'm taking a picture.

"Hello gentlemen. Are you nervous?" I ask, smiling at the trio. They all look at me with differing levels of relaxedness.

"We got this!" Steve declares even as he walks up to me and non-verbally insists on a chest bump. I oblige him, and internally laugh given the elegant clothes we're wearing.

"I'm glad you're excited, since you're gonna be Andrew's lovely assistant." I tell the man, and he smiles at me, good-naturedly. Matt looks a bit nervous, but does a good job of hiding it. This is curious, and I plan to follow up on it, but for now I'm content to keep this check-in shallow. I've worked hard so far and I am determined to balance everything, which means making sure I'm aware of what is going on elsewhere. Andrew and Steve tell me about their planned performance for a few minutes while the Marys play.

In the background I can hear the Marys beginning to approach the end of the set they submitted to the teachers tasked with organizing the show. I excuse myself and remind my companions that the duo will be going on stage as the act after the next one, a reminder they are thankful for. Welcoming the next act is easy, and as I step off stage I spot Matt stepping into the seating area of the auditorium and walk towards where Casey is sitting.

I distantly hear a soft thud in the distance as I exit the auditorium stage, resounding dully. Curiously I begin to shapeshift, aware of the handful of cameras the school possesses and the fact that none of them are here, and equally grateful for the fact that this act is a stand-up bit that should last at least a few minutes.

I morph my form, taking on an appearance indistinguishable from my own: that of a shorter blonde girl who, given my outfit, is dressed very goofily. I don't want there to be any chance that I could be recognized, but I'd also rather not do more harm than is necessary such as by knocking everyone out, which is an option but one I'd rather avoid.

I step into a hallway that is, understandably, empty. Another dull thudding sound, one that I am fairly certain is someone being slammed into a locker, resounds from somewhere else in the school. I decide to investigate it, and dash down the hallway. I grimace as I hear the sound of flesh hitting metal, followed by a whimpering noise.

I dart between hallways and I find myself grateful that this school doesn't have much of a budget and can barely afford cameras in classrooms and far fewer in the hallways.

I reach the distant hallway where the sounds came from, and I am surprised to see a face that I recognize. One of the large gang members from the actual film, the men that Andrew robs as the movie enters the final act, is standing over the crumpled form of a nerdy-looking student that could be some sort of underclassman. Specifically it's the guy who jokes about Andrew having a gun before he gets telekinetically assaulted by the teen.

This is… deeply weird, and represents something wholly original, but the man is towering over the defeated nerd and I know, one way or another, that I can't do nothing in the face of whatever is going on. I make a snap decision to overwhelm the thug with a touch of violence and to do so in such a swift move that he has no opportunity to process whatever is happening. Fortunately this is an area where speed and force require no real finesse.

I glance at the hallway and study it as the thug begins to beat the crumpled form of the teen. There are no cameras, which makes me smile, and so I glance at the man's leg and reach out with my telekinesis, preventing him from launching another kick at the downed student by suddenly preventing him from moving closer to his victim. I don't bother putting on a show, as no one here is looking at me, and so I simply reach out and forcefully grab the man with no visible signs that I am responsible for what is occurring here.

As I lift him up I get a vague sensation of what he'd feel like if I were using my hands to do this instead. This is a new facet of my abilities, one I've only been experiencing for a few days, but it is interesting and sometimes even helpful when I use telekinesis in minor ways such as by allowing me to feel food I am in the middle of cooking, or allowing me to do things like feel if a gun is loaded without going through a variety of motions.

Lifting the man up is hilariously easy and a part of me is delighted that I am able to flex my real strength for once. The man's sudden paralysis, as far as he can tell, causes him to make quiet, confused noises, the sounds partially strangled by the telekinetic grip I have him under. Thankfully he's too far away to be heard by anyone else, especially over the sounds coming from the distant auditorium and so before he can make more noise I violently ram him into the wall he is next to.

The noises he makes in confused protest are abruptly cut off, and I sense him crumple as his body dramatically seems to just switch off. I feel him lose consciousness which under other circumstances would probably be something beyond my ability to sense but given how abruptly he stops squirming… Yeah, he's unconscious.

I hold him there, and wonder how to proceed while I use my abilities to snatch his wallet, open it up and look for any identification he's got on him. I take his cellphone and I glance at and memorize the driver's license he's got on his person. His name is Joshua Raddison. I halfway consider taking the cash he's got on him, like I'm in a video game, but I quickly content myself with removing the stuff from his possession. I place his wallet and his cellphone, including everything but his ID, in a trashcan and only return his identification to him. I don't want to make it easy for him to do something like call a taxi out of here in case my power fails or he otherwise somehow escapes.

I glance at the teen that the gang banger was beating to look at whether or not he's conscious. The figure remains on the floor, and I grimace as I wonder how badly they've been beaten. I take advantage of my skill at doing multiple complex tasks, the area I specialize in as a telekinetic, to turn the teen over and begin to inspect his fallen form. I find that I can't feel anything requiring immediate attention, and so I turn to a nearby locker and forcefully open it.

The locker is open long enough that I can puppet the asshole's fallen form and safely push him into it. I hold the potentially murderous asshole there for a few moments before I relax, able to have a rare opportunity to flex "With Great Power Comes Great Leisure", an ability I can use to allow me to sustain my powers that normally require focus and concentration without either thing. This doesn't make such abilities cost-free, as I still have to use some of my total concurrent capacity for telekinesis to maintain the hold I have on the man but with this I can even sleep and keep him there without worrying about him going free.

I have ideas on how to handle this guy but I can't do much right now, since I don't want to kill him and I don't have time to interrogate him right now. I push the bully into the locker and move some papers inside of it to obscure the opening and make it hard to notice something off about it. I then shut the locker before I turn my focus to the teen and use my telekinesis on him just enough to keep him from turning and facing me in case he wakes up. Once I'm done I turn around and dart out of view.

I begin to speedily bound back the way I came, even as I morph back into my base form. The moment I'm out of view I let go of the subtle grip I had the teen under, so if he wakes up he'll be able to move freely.

As I move towards the auditorium I wonder what is going on here. A part of me was wondering if I'd be able to finish this jump without a big and decisive confrontation of some sort, and a tiny portion of me was pretty sure if I made tonight go off without a hitch and kept Andrew from a fateful party I'd stand a good shot at achieving a sort of "Best ending" for this setting where everyone survives and is happy. I don't believe I missed something, but I'm definitely going to need to do some investigating sometime, since this was weirdly close to the talent show and featured a background character from the film, a nameless goon who gets demolished and was now demolished by me.

It'd be kind of cool if I could have some dramatic confrontation with a villain and do some more good before I leave the setting, but not if this complicates my efforts to give this story a better ending than the one it gets canonically. In my head a debate rages between different views on how weird it is that a background character from the film appeared in the school given my significant, plot-changing efforts to fix this setting, and one of the prevailing voices is that I'm being paranoid and thinking too much about a weird coincidence.

I hope that voice is right, but at the same time since this IS a chain I'm participating in a freakish reality show for nightmarish beings that stand head and shoulder above gods in power. I need to remember that.

I return to the auditorium right as the teen comedian is finishing his set. I relax, putting a somewhat false smile on, and get ready to make my next appearance in my capacity as an M.C.

I spot Matt and Casey and listen to him smugly tell her to keep watching the show as she wonders why he's so excited. She doesn't know what is going on and though neither of them can see me I smile, basically at their expense. The teen on stage provokes a fairly solid peal of laughter from the audience with a brutal burn at the expense of the principal, who seems to take the joke in stride and the comedian glances at me. I nod at him, smiling, and he grins back, suddenly getting up when the laughter dies down and thanks the audience for coming out tonight. When he steps off stage, to a hefty amount of applause, I step into view and as I reach the center of the stage I hear stage hands dart onto stage and move props and items around behind me.

"Well friends we're about a quarter of the way through tonight's programming and I'm so excited to announce tonight's next performers. Representing the class of 2013, I am happy to be able to tell you that you are about to watch a show of illusion. What you're about to see will make you question if you can trust your eyes, or if you've been duped by clever tricks and astounding misdirections. Please give Andrew Detmer and Steve Montgomery a warm welcome!" I remark, to excited applause, and as I walk off stage I can hear my finely dressed friends step into view.

I get off stage just in time and turn only to see Andrew trip and drop a bunch of playing cards onto the floor. He painfully overacts and feigns dramatically at Steve, who pantomimes for Andrew to pick up the cards.

Andrew nods at this and then uses telekinesis to dramatically cause the cards to fly up into the air in front of him, and as the cards fly up into the air an array of passive noise throughout the auditorium comes to an abrupt end. A silence falls over the audience as they stare at the impressive telekinesis on display in front of them. Andrew smiles and then he flares his hand up towards the cards, which seem to respond by dancing towards his outstretched hand. When the last card reaches settles on the reformed deck, an enormous applause breaks out, amazed people completely unable to process what they've just seen. I myself grin, and lean back against a wall just behind me.

For the next few minutes Andrew and Steve astound and amaze the audience with a range of telekinesis-powered tricks. Steve is happy to take a minor role, not needing the certain boost to his popularity this display will cause, and Andrew does a variety of things like hover while pretending to stand on a tightrope, or juggling and holding various balls aloft. Some of these tricks hit harder than others, with the initial trick and him hovering while pretending to balance on a tightrope being the most popular, but all of them are quite popular.

I use my telekinetic physique to dart behind the stage and to the other side near the performance's end. When Andrew and Steve end their performance they both dramatically bow and smile at the enraptured audience. I go on stage as they leave and celebrate their amazing performance shortly before I welcome the next act, a group of students who put on a traditional dance from Mexico. The next hour is filled with me diligently doing my job, and smiling when I hear things like Andrew going over to his family, including Matt and even his dad, all of whom are truly astounded by what he's done.

The show eventually comes to an end, and when it does I exit the stage one final time. As soon as I step off the stage there is a flurry of activity as people begin to leave the school. I know that some folks won't be leaving right away, but I decide to momentarily return to the auditorium once most folks are gone and I spend a few minutes subtly helping the people left with the task of cleaning the stage and the auditorium.

I do this in two ways: the first is that I carefully help with lifting things, using my telekinesis to allow me to do the work of more than one person, and I also use my telekinesis to help other groups of students and a handful of adults lift heavier objects like props or instruments, since some bands who performed use things like drums as part of their sets. This work is well-received by my friends and the teachers there, who are amazed to see me work even in the suit I'm wearing, which I handwave away as wanting to do my part to make sure every part of the show is a success.

When I leave the auditorium this time I am surprised to see not only Andrew but also Andrew's parents and Matt waiting for me. They spot me as I step out of the auditorium and walk towards me, all with broad smiles on their faces. When Ms. Detmer, who is looking surprisingly healthy all things considered, reaches me she hugs me abruptly and I am taken a bit aback by this.

"Oh Luciano it's… it's so nice to meet you." She tells me, her voice incredibly soft and filled with an amount of emotion that is not surprising, given all I've done for her and her family (in more ways than she can imagine), but it's still a bit intense.

"Hello Ms. Detmer. It's so nice to meet you too." I tell her, softly. She eventually stops hugging me and steps back, a bit embarrassed but when I smile at her she relaxes.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, looking at her and allowing genuine emotion to flow into my eyes. She is, in some respects, one of the most pitiable characters in this film, married to a man who abuses their child, unable to meaningfully help her son, and dying all the while. This question causes her to smile.

"I'm still alive, in far less pain than I was even a month and a half ago, and I just watched my son astound an entire audience filled with people. I'm… I'm feeling jubilant." She says, confidence infusing her voice the more she speaks. Andrew takes her hand and smiles at his mother. I turn and look at Richard Detmer, unsure of what I'd feel when I finally met him in person.

Richard is surprisingly tall, and he holds a cane that he tensely clutches as he looks at me. There is a softness in his eyes that I never would have expected. His hand shoots out and he begins to smile as he looks at me.

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Gonzalez. Your friendship has helped Andrew a lot, and your efforts made it possible for my wife, for Andrew's mother, to get the help she needs and deserves and to finally put a face to the name is nice." He says, speaking with a level of warmth that I never would have expected from the closest thing this film has to a primary, overarching antagonist. I take his hand and shake it, smiling quite sincerely as I take in the broad impact of my good boy perk "A Helpful Hand".

The three of us begin to converse and as we do I see a level of happiness I never got to see light up Andrew's face in the film. He seems at peace, as happy on the inside as he is on the outside, and this allows me to feel the impact of my actions and the choices I made this far in ways I truly never expected.

"A Helping Hand" allows me to be a balm for my friends and those I speak to. It is an immensely powerful perk in hands that are properly patient, as it causes those who feel its effects to experience a series of events that allow their problems to go away. As I speak with Mr. Detmer I realize that over the course of the months I have spent befriending Andrew the perk has allowed the abusive man to relax in ways I cannot name, and in his relaxed state he has become a better person and done, very decidedly the bare minimum and stopped hitting his son.

At the same time, my perk has had other effects on Andrew's life as well. We have spent hundreds, perhaps as much as over a thousand and a half hours speaking in some form or another, and while we are not together every second of every day our conversations have been deep and profound and our friendship is genuine. I've done this as a preventive measure to make sure I reduce the likelihood of Andrew descending into villainy as much as possible, but Andrew has also genuinely become a friend of mine during all of this.

To see that my efforts have borne fruit beyond what I imagined in my wildest dreams and most light-hearted mental revisions to this particular script is… it's a good feeling. Especially since while some of this is the results of a perk, some of it is due to my own efforts.

I have worked to raise money for Ms. Detmer, and even encouraged Andrew to pay it forward by getting him to think about how he can help other people suffering from cancer, through actual hard work. I've volunteered at places where I raise money for Ms. Detmer, and while at times I've used my perks to get a leg up, other times my hard work and earnest desire to get Ms. Detmer what she deserves has been enough to motivate people who hear the story of how I'm working to raise money for my friend's mom.

For the next few minutes we converse and I get to see the ripple effects of my perks mixing together. I am reminded, firmly, of how much more there is to being on a jump than just getting superpowers and fighting bad, or good, guys. At times I have to work to not let the emotions I am feeling bubble up to the surface. To see Andrew so genuinely happy, to know that his mom has what she needs, and to even see Mr. Detmer, who wasn't always the asshole he is in the context we meet and get to know him to the limited extent the movie lets us, be so calm and so proud of his son is… It's a remarkable feeling. It reminds me of what happens when heroes, both super and ordinary, work and succeed at making life better for people.

Andrew didn't get to this new place in his life solely because of his telekinesis and the friends he has that are telekinetic. Andrew's confidence, a healthy result of him getting new friends, allowed him to grow as a person and become a braver, happier, figure, which snowballed and let him make new friends. I played a role in this, a huge one, but at times it was Andrew himself who made the right decisions, and now I can see the way he has been impacted by his friends and by his experiences. I can also see that my earlier hesitation and my decision to trust in my perks was the right one.

When I first arrived in this world I was tasked with choosing between forcefully carving a new path by acting on the meta knowledge I possess or trusting in my perks and slowly pushing and at times pulling people and events in a new direction. By trusting in perks like "A Helping Hand", rather than relying on my knowledge of scripted events, I was able to subtly build paths by which the plot could change slowly but surely. At times it was tempting for me to act on my meta-knowledge, but by trusting in the perks that are embedded in my soul and by being there for my friends I slowly built a new way forward. I gently nudged events along, for the most part.

The rest of the night passes by uneventfully. Andrew spends the night, and when I text Matt about a look I saw on his face earlier he tells me that he was nervous about the performance. We hang out on Saturday and I slowly come to believe he is telling me the truth here, and when Sunday comes along I train my abilities, eager to hone them further.

On Monday morning, long before the sun comes up, I finally move and begin to well and truly put my abilities as an assassin to the test. At around three in the morning I am beside the school and I walk a circle around the institution wearing the face and clothes of a fully made up man, mixing and matching my features to come up with a face no one has ever seen before. I stay away from where I know cameras to be, until I approach a window where I know not one camera has been placed. I open it using my telekinesis and float into the school.

Once inside I rely on my perk-backed instincts for stealth and make my way to where I stored the bully I dealt with days ago. I reach the locker and telekinetically open it. The figure inside has a body that is in complete disrepair, and he has definitely done some stuff to his pants. I don't release my telekinetic grip on him and instead begin to move the man out of the locker. I keep his eyes shut and smile.

"Hi there! We're going to have a talk, Joshua." I say, putting on a halfway decent approximation of a gruff man's voice. I leave the school, staying out of view of the few cameras which survey a handful of hallways, and in time we've fully exited the school and are on our way to a more out of the way location so I can figure out why the man was bullying a teen.