Phoenix | SuperM

28 / Powerless

Mark's head throbbed, forcing him to awaken. He felt cold and naked, feeling a silky substance rub against his skin as he moved. He peeled his eyes open and squinted at the bright light above him.

"Where am I?" He strained out. Some of his breath escaped through the small holes of his oxygen mask; the rest hit his skin.

Pipes and tubes were connected to his body, pumping in blood and medicine, and pumping out excess material. They all matching the tempo of his heart monitor. His head throbbed once more; ears becoming sensitive to the loud clanging of metal and continuous beeping from the monitor. 

"Someone turn off that thing." He pulled off his mask and shielded his eyes from the bright lights.

"If I turn it off, you'll die a very slow and painful death." Mark pushed himself up, hissing at the slight sting that spread around his abdomen.

"Where are we?"

"My place." Taemin replied, checking his vitals. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my soul's been sucked out of my body." Mark grumbled. "My head hurts too."

"That's what normally happens." Taemin said, pushing a cart of medicine and tools. "The first thing a powerless superhuman faces is spiritual emptiness, then the occasional bodily pain."

That's what Mark had forgotten. His powers were sucked out of his body, thanks to that corrupted super. His sacrifice was pointless too. The corrupted supers took the Oracles, leaving them with nothing. 

"I didn't know Ten could levitate."

Ten was in fact, levitating. His legs were crossed and no where near a flat surface. His hands were placed above his lap, fingertips close to touching. A few objects floated around him.

"It's a surfacing ability. Telekinesis." Taemin said. "Whatever happened two weeks ago must have triggered his powers to come into full use."

"I've been out for two weeks?!"

"Yes." Taemin replied, checking his temperature. He typed the information into his laptop.

Mark took the opportunity to regain his memories. They were at the restaurant, then some corrupted supers arrived. They ended up fighting in the parking lot to result in Jisung being seriously injured and Mark losing his powers.

Mark shook away the memory and watched Ten instead. It was like he was in his own world. His clothes and hair had moved in an unnatural pattern, giving Mark the belief that Ten was underwater.  Occasionally, the objects floating around him had orbited his body from different directions and routes. Some took seconds to make orbit around him and others took minutes.

"Is he like Martian Manhunter?" Mark asked.

"Not exactly." Taemin said. "I doubt think he can shape shift and he definitely isn't susceptible to fire. He can't density shift either."

"Can you stop thinking so loudly?" Ten sighed. His eyes opened, flashing green. "You're giving me a headache."

"Headache?"

"If he overuses his powers, Ten will have no control over his telepathic ability and will hear other people's thoughts, thus explaining his headaches." Taemin explained, handing Ten a glass of water and two yellow pills. "He'll also be susceptible to telepathic invasion. In this case, frying someone's brain without proper training can affect him negatively."

"You fried someone's brain?!" Mark shrieked.

"Some corrupted super tried to bite my face off. Of course I would." Ten shrugged. "Self defence."