Despite the initial shock, Castle, Fulgur, and Vigilant are more than happy to answer each of my questions in turn. Fulgur is especially helpful in explaining what each thing is for in the shower. For eight years I have been on my own and on the move.
I knew English even before I was on my own, but I'm not entirely sure where I learned it. I learned to read and write from people in shelters. I'm not great, but it's legible. I normally just ate food whenever it was handed to me.
I couldn't afford to be picky. My memory is shotty at best, but I clearly remember the fear, the adrenaline, and the power I used to get away from the source of my fear. The memories of that day, or lack thereof, still haunt me.
I must say, a shower is much more enjoyable than the concept suggested. Although, according to Fulgur, it will take a few more of these 'showers' for me to be considered 'clean'. I wouldn't know. The 'dinner' was enjoyable too, though I could not tell you what it is that I ate.
I can feel the medicine work on my migraine, relieving my brain of its pain, if only marginally. I am not sure about the 'bed'. I have seen similar constructs in the hospital thing and have only ever been in one for healing...not sleeping.
I sit down on the bed, legs folded in front of me as I face the window. It's not that my power sees Coil's...but it does react when he uses his. He uses it so often that I'd be amazed if he ever makes any decision without exerting his power.
I focus my power on him and Dinah. Dinah. I'm so sorry. You know why I can't help you. I can almost hear her voice, like an echo in my mind. Or maybe it's our powers talking. She does understand. She doesn't want me here.
No. That's not a strong enough emotion for what she's feeling. That's it. I can't be there. If Coil had me instead of Dinah, there's over a 40% chance that he'd already control Brockton Bay. If he had both Dinah and myself...he'd control Brockton Bay by the end of the month.
I can't free her without handing Coil Brockton Bay. He can't be allowed to hold it when the Slaughterhouse Nine make their move. Too many would die. It is not that I can actually see Dinah or speak with her.
But, when we view the same timeline, we are both present in that moment, giving us the briefest of interactions before the vision changes. Dinah doesn't get affected by Coil's power the way I do. Like everyone else, she forgets about the timeline that Coil collapses and discards.
I don't. I remember. Even when I wasn't in the same city as him, there were a few times when his power had such a large impact, that it affected people in other cities. I fear what Coil could do if he compounded his own power with my own.
After all, my power includes his in its calculations of probabilities. Dinah's can change its statistics faster than mine and considers data from further in the future, but mine is a bit more precise.
I can feel it. He's looking for me. My power is normally very broad ranging. It gets easier to process when I focus it. Normally, I force it to show me the 5 most likely scenarios. But, I can also focus it using other parameters. It's how I know where and when Endbringers will attack.
I can focus it on an area, on a person, etc. It's easier the broader the topic. For example, it's easier to see the events of a city than it is to focus it to a single house within that city. Therefore, focusing on Dinah and Coil is easier than just watching Coil.
He's asked her a few times over the past 3 days about the probability that he'll find me. The number's been getting lower each time he asks and with each decision I make. In a way, Dinah is telling me the same thing.
Granted, I see all the numbers she can give him based on what Coil and I do. I hear the probabilities before Coil can even ask for them, and then adjust my own actions to create the outcome in which Coil has the lowest probability of finding me.
Neither of us is writing the book, but I have read a chapter ahead of Coil while Dinah has read all possible drafts of the book of life. In a sense, someone else is writing it. Dinah gets to read the drafts first, then I edit it, and then Coil gets to read and edit it further.
I think that's how all individuals with 'Thinker' powers interact. We're editors for the book of life. Some of us get to read the next chapter before anyone else, others get to read the outlines, some get the drafts, others have input on the storyline itself.
I don't know when I fell asleep, only that, when I wake, the sun is up. I sit up, and try to catalog what I saw while asleep. Since I'm constantly seeing visions, it can be hard to pinpoint when my precognition starts showing me what's happening while I sleep.
I saw the Merchant party. I saw Skitter and Tat-no, Taylor and Lisa there. There's another man that my power shows me. He's tall and broad. I watch the bloodbath unfold with disgust. One boy triggers. Poor kid.
Then, an orange figure drops into the room as the mall shifts and bends unnaturally. He goes for the case of 'superpowers in a can'. I see the man from earlier stare at Skidmark, leader of the Merchants.
All of a sudden, Skidmark's power stops working. Vigilant mentioned a class of powers that affect other powers. He must have one of those. I am fascinated as I watch him teleport. I seem to experience things a bit faster than most do, making the world move slower in my eyes.
What I see, is him almost jumping between locations, but also jumping out of existence temporarily. It lasts maybe a nanosecond. No. Is he moving to an existence out of time and moving there? Is he just moving at hyperspeed?
I can't be sure. But The way he fades out of reality for that nanosecond makes me think that his power is much more complicated than teleportation. I hope I get the chance to ask him about it someday. Teleportation is a fascinating power.
There was something I was supposed to do...but what was it? Just then, my abdomen vibrates while making a garbled, rumbling sound. If I remember last night correctly, Fulgur says that society refers to this phenomenon as one's 'stomach is growling' indicating hunger.
I suppose after surviving on as little nutrition as I have been, my body got used to the lack of food. Now that it has had, as Castle calls it, 'real food', it is liable to display signs of hunger. I think it used to do that...but it was so long ago that I can't really remember.
I slide off of the bed and go to the door not leading to the bathroom. I open it to find a hallway, a railing preventing me from simply walking off the floor and falling to the one below. There are several other doors, likely other rooms, and a set of stairs leading to the first floor.
I decide to take the stairs, sliding down the railing when I see exactly how I can slide down the entire length successfully. I hop off at the end and look around. It's a modest home but plenty of space for the average family.
An earthy, almost spicy scent floods my nostrils. I follow it to find what I assume is the kitchen based on the ones I've seen in shelters. I glance around to see a table and several appliances. I use my powers to tell me what they are and what they do.
So, that means they have a refrigerator (keeps things cold), an oven (cooks things), and a microwave (heats things up). I can't quite figure out what the source of the scent is but it seems to be coming from a glass container on the counter.
I'm not focusing my power right now. The less I focus it, the less my head hurts. I can see all sorts of events occurring throughout the day though. Some much less likely than others. I'm snapped out of my daze by a voice behind me.
"Good morning." I turn, my eyes focusing on the present as the visions of the future become a holographic projection in the background and those in front of me come into focus. I'm not sure how to respond...but repetition has proved effective when talking to people so I try it.
"Good morning?" I offer in response. One of the boys nods. I realize that none of the capes that brought me in yesterday are in costume right now, but they are seated at the table. How did I miss them? "Want some breakfast?" offers who I assume is Castle due to his build.
I decide to assume that breakfast is like dinner but in the morning, so I nod. He grins and grabs a plate. It is soon filled with, as he calls them, pancakes, bacon, and sausage. He asks if there's anything I won't eat but I don't understand the question.
Are people normally picky about such things? I decide to answer 'no' and ignore it. I look around at them and out the window. The sun is fairly high in the sky. Unusual. I normally wake with the sun. "How long was I asleep?"
Fulgur is all too ready with a response. "Let's see, you went to bed around 11 last night; it's almost noon. Assuming that you slept for the majority of that, about 13 hours." Something clicks into place in her head and she looks almost horrified as she poses her next question.
"How sleep deprived were you?" Another question that I do not have an answer to. I shrug. "I sleep when I am tired and wake with the sun." I hope this is sufficient. Judging by their faces as I take a seat at the table and take my first bite of bacon...it isn't.
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