12 Just a Black Slime

<<Congratulations! Host has saved an innocent civilian for the first time!>>

<<Host has been rewarded with a B Grade Equipment!>>

<<Equipment Obtained: Mask of Loki (B)>>

It was quite annoying that the handkerchief fell off, but I don't think it matters too much.

I got a cool sounding item out of it.

Besides, there are a bunch of people with superpowers in this city and I am just one of them.

"Are you alright?" She didn't look injured in any way which makes me glad that I reacted quickly.

"I am," She said with an expression that was definitely better than earlier, "Thank you."

"I just did what I could." I said, "Do you want me to get you back home?"

I didn't even know if she had a home, but I could ask.

"It's alright, I will get a cab." She suggested and well, that could be done.

"You don't want to make a police complaint?" I asked as I pointed at the senseless thugs.

"It's fine." She said, "It will only make them target me again out of spite."

Well… She wasn't wrong.

"Then at least let me help you find a cab." I couldn't just leave her be. She may look fine now, but she was depressed just a second ago.

And you never know what people can do out of depression.

"I think that can be done."

It wasn't wise to just book any running cab at this hour, so I decided to book on an app.

"Err… May I know your name?" I asked, "I have to put your name to book the cab."

They were a little too strict with their policies and did not allow anyone other than the registered person on the cab.

"It's fine," She smiled, "You do not have to do that for me, I can just get on a running cab."

"That's not very safe." It wasn't, "If it is that you don't want the booking to be made on my phone, you can do it on yours."

She might not want her personal information to be shared with a stranger, which I can respect.

"And if you are short on cash, I can lend you some." I assured, "And you can return whenever."

Seeing how adamant I was, she knew that it was best to agree.

"It's fine." She said, "I have enough money, and thank you for the help."

Well, it wasn't that big of a deal. But helping people from time to time was one way to feel good.

"My name's Susan Storm," She said, "And you can set the location to 42nd street and Madison Avenue."

"Perfect." I did as asked, but it did draw my interest.

Storm.

Some people have interesting surnames.

"This place has recently been plagued with these thugs," I said, "So, try not to walk out alone at night. I did hear that the cops are trying their best to solve the issue, but it will most definitely take a while."

I just retold what I heard from Gwen's father and also, it was true that for some reason there was quite the instability around the place.

"You never told me your name," She said, "I can understand if you want to keep it hidden, given you do possess powers."

I mean… I was not necessarily trying to show my face neither was I that concerned about hiding it either.

Not that I had any plans to actively play a hero.

"It's Michael, Michael Moore." I said, not really concerned. "And it will indeed be great if you can keep what happened today a secret."

I didn't care, but it was still an inconvenience.

"I won't." She assured, "You don't have to worry."

I decided not to ask her about what made her so depressed earlier, but I still did have a small talk.

And well, it turns out she is a researcher.

"And it looks like that's the cab." She said and well, it was.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to drop you off?" I asked once again but she shook her head.

"I respect the gesture, but it is fine." She said, "My place is not that far from here."

"Still, I hope you take care." I said as I helped her with the door.

"I will." She promised, "And… thank you once again for helping me."

"You don't have to keep thanking me for it." She really didn't have to, "I just did what was necessary."

This made her smile, "That's a good attitude. I hope you keep it."

Saying this, she slowly closed the door.

"Take care." And that was the last thing she said, before the car started to move.

"Yeah, I should… shouldn't I?" I said to myself, recalling that I had been playing around a little too much.

But she was interesting.

"I get it that she was depressed, but to have almost no reactions to those thugs and neither to me showing my powers," She was a little weird, but then again… "Everyone in this city is weird."

So, it is not something I should worry about.

And technically I learnt quite a lot too.

I might not have yet tested the blood manipulation of the Nosferatu –which obviously I couldn't in front of a civilian– but it did feel good to test out the telekinesis ability.

But well, all good things must always come to an end on a somber note. Especially when I expect to end the day with a good night's rest.

"A call? At this hour?"

It was almost a tradition now.

And of course, the call wasn't from someone like Gwen.

"Why… why is 'He' calling me?"

It was from someone that I thought of never having to talk to again.

…

…

[Eugene Thompson]

Eugene, or as he preferred to be called, Flash, was one of the few people who people thought had his life sorted.

Getting into a prestigious university because of his incredible sporting skills, got a scholarship thanks to it, was popular, strong and even could be said to be handsome.

He was a popular guy, one that got both friends and girls easily.

But that wasn't the entire truth.

He had issues that he hid. He had problems that he could never tell anyone.

"It's all because of them." He gritted his teeth as he walked around the barely lit road, his neck covered with a muffler –hiding bruises. "It's always their fault."

The bruises were strangle marks, marks put on by someone that meant the world to him.

"If only they didn't exist."

Peter and Michael.

Those were the people whom he wanted out of his life.

"If only they didn't exist I wouldn't have to suffer."

He slowly touched the marks around his neck, one that was given to him by the person he wanted the approval of –his father.

Why?

Because of two individuals.

Peter, whom he could never even think of winning against.

In academics, Flash was quite weak and even when he tried to study day and night, he still couldn't come close to Peter.

And in sports, no matter how much he tried he could never even amount to half of the level of Michael.

He was so glad, he was so happy when the team disqualified Michael from ever playing in their team because of his entanglement with bad people.

Flash didn't know what Michael did, but he was glad for once that Michael was gone from his way.

Even the time the boy broke his arm, he forgot that because be was able to live with the belief that he had finally achieved his peak.

But then the recent event happened and he lost face in front of everyone. He was made to act like a bitch by Michael.

And this turned worse when his father heard of it.

He was cursed at, beaten up for even talking with Michael. And this was blown out of proportions when his father heard about his public humiliation.

He touched his neck, the pain was still fresh in his mind.

"I… I will never let you win."

And that anger, that venom led him to an unknown path.

A weird stench hit his nose, making him frown.

"What is that?"

He saw something crawl around the roadside, crawling towards the manhole.

He slowly followed it, amused by the weird creature.

"What is that?" He slowly squatted down, "Slime?"

The black gooey creature started to crawl, but as it sensed someone near it –it lept.

"Ahhhh! Ahhh! Get it off!" Flash fell back, trying to get rid of the goo from his arm.

But to his dismay, it kept crawling up his entire body.

"What the fuck is this!"

He tried everything but the slime didn't stop.

And within minutes, it had covered him all –from his head to toe.

Unknown to him, it wasn't just slime –but something that reciprocated with his emotions.

Namely, his venom.

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P.S. Sorry for neglecting this fic, I was too focused on writing HP since it was at a major arc. That arc is completed, so I will try to post the stories consecutively from now.

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