Nobody

Don't you know who I think I am?

+ Rina Carmen

Jack rolls their eyes, "Well thank God I'm still a minor then. One grey hair and you'd have left me for dead right?"

That was another piece of the puzzle, there were lots of types of people that would step in to help someone in need, but far less that would only do so if they perceived the one in danger to be a child. They file the extra piece of information for later study, adding it to the growing pile of tidbits and hints they had about this newcomer.

The next question almost makes them throw away the entire pile. The woman is asking about Paladin. The biggest Hero in America, and one of the most recognisable faces and icons on the planet. Jack can actually see an advert featuring the Hero from here, plastered across the side of a bus that has stopped opposite the small cafe. They've had no personal run ins with the Hero themselves, but Punk has, and they know from her accounts that she is no small threat.

Only two options are available here. Either Raven is a rabid fangirl who wants to talk Jack's ear off about the blue-haired Hero. Or she's here to test her strength against her. There is a third possible option that they just live under a rock, but that seems unlikely so Jack discards it offhand.

"I know about as much as anyone else..." Technically true, as there are some other individuals that have managed to track down the identities of most of the Hero Program. Namely the Program themselves. "She's super popular, biggest Hero in America, and some people say she's the strongest Meta on the planet. I don't think so... But still... That's what people say..."

Nobody

Don't you know who I think I am?

+ Coryelle Wilde

"I'm going to address option two first. You think that suit isn't stab-proof? I'm insulted. Also, you're a vigilante and you haven't had a tetanus vaccine?"

Jack's sarcastic voice sounds like they are in the helmet with Punk, far outstripping the meagre efforts of even the world's best audio companies. There is the sound of a keyboard clicking, though it is clear from Jack's following words that they aren't actually paying all that much attention to what Punk is doing, the keyboard continues regardless.

"As to option one... Pretty sure you've got a bulletproof woman landing on the roof next to you right... About... Now..."

Punk might not be able to see Jack's face, but she almost definitely could see the smirk plastered across it.

Nobody

Don't you know who I think I am?

+ Oliver Halle

Jack could acquire most things. Funds were rarely an issue and there was very little that could not be acquired through the expenditure of untraceable cash. When that wasn't enough occasionally wheels could be greased through the application of illicitly acquired information. When you had little regard for privacy laws, at least in how they applied to you, then the world was your oyster. Especially in the day and age of smart phones and social media. It was remarkable how lax people were with their security.

They'd experienced a brief flash of challenge in unravelling this latest piece of security and finance. It had been a tangled web, a mess of shell corporations and dummy companies that funnelled money from one business into another. To anyone without a degree in accountancy and several months alone with both sets of books, it would have been impossible to untangle. That said, Jack rarely factored into people's expectations.

The eighteen-year-old rubbed their eyes, their face blue in the light cast only by the many monitors before them. They hadn't slept, again. Dark circles hovered beneath their eyes and their hair was greasy and unwashed as they pushed it back and away from their vision.

An image stared at them from another monitor. A tall man, lean, with slicked back hair and cold blue eyes. They weren't all that dissimilar to the blue eyes that regarded the image dispassionately for a moment.

Abruptly Jack stood, pushing the chair back from the desk. They walked away from the computers, leaving them running as they flicked several switches to bring proper illumination to the room. Their workshop was a mess, still not tidied up from their last Obsession. The device sat, humming, on a worktable in the centre of the large space. The rest of the room was littered with other half-finished Obsessions. They seemed to leave more projects unfinished than complete. They tapped the device thoughtfully. Perhaps this was one that would have been better left incomplete.

There was a buzz, and they snatched up the strange bundle of wires, circuit boards and screens that passed for their phone. It was constantly being upgraded, tinkered with and adapted. Anyone who saw it would swear that it was a slightly different device every time it appeared. There were just two words in the message from Anna. She could be talkative, but not over the airwaves.

Package delivered

Jack smiled, their teeth startlingly white against their oily face. This might actually be a little exciting after all.

---

3
DAYS
LATER

---

It didn't do to keep blackmailed mob bosses waiting too long. Jack would like to say they'd learned that the hard way, but they didn't really do anything the hard way. Others might disagree with that view, but there is a certain kind of arrogance that derives from being the smartest person in the room. Jack was the smartest person in every room.

It didn't help that they'd been raised to view others as beneath them too, much as they railed against their birth right, they had become the sort of child their father had always wanted.

They were dressed a little more smartly today, the shirt had even been ironed, though not by Jack. It hung awkwardly off their gangly frame, tucked in at the front but hanging loose at the back, either by accident or design. Probably accident considering that the laces of their shoes had been only half-heartedly tucked in shoes, rather than tied.

The maître d' had looked askance at them when they'd entered the exclusive restaurant. That look had melted away to be replaced with effusive politeness when Jack had dropped the American Express Centurion credit card on his desk. It wasn't Jack's name on the card, but the maître d' wasn't to know that.

Jack folded a hundred-dollar bill into the head waiter's top pocket. "I'm expecting a guest. Blue eyes, dark hair, nice suit. A quiet table please."

The table in question was mostly out of sight, and clearly out of earshot, in a spot that by some quirk of architecture sounded like the restaurant was empty. Jack folded another hundred into the man's pocket, "Wine, something expensive, one glass."

They sat down, "I'll have a coke."

The man, still effusive, nodded and left. The sommelier had plenty of wine. They'd have to send out for the coke.

Nobody

Don't you know who I think I am?

+ Rina Carmen

Jack shrugged, "A hunch. You get a feel for when people have been down that way."

It had been a blind guess in truth, but they weren't about to admit that to the woman. Not having background information on her made them uncomfortable. They rarely came into this kind of contact with individuals they didn't know about. It left them on edge.

They had noted the flask, and the apparently unconscious swig Raven took from it. It had to be alcohol. The moment was too swift for them to be able to smell anything, but that sort of behaviour surely indicated some sort of addiction. It could just be the stereotype associated with flasks, but it seemed to make sense.

They sipped at the hot coffee, before carefully cutting a sliver from the cake with a fork and spearing it into their mouth. It was good, as it always was. Jack wouldn't bother coming back if it wasn't. "I prefer my coffee as just that. There's something about a pure dose of caffeine…"

Nobody

Don't you know who I think I am?

+ Rina Carmen

Jack frowned at Raven's response. "Nobody worth meeting." San Francisco was well known for it's diversity. It's proximity to Silicon Valley meant that the city on the bay was often host to people from all over the world hoping to make their fortunes in the technology industry. Or those that had already done so. Jack knew better than to attempt the same. Though their technology could easily earn them a place as one of the most eccentric geniuses ever to rise in the centre of American technological advancement, much of it could not be replicated. Besides, they had no inclination to share their abilities with the wider world. That much at least they had learned from their father.

They raised an eyebrow at her comment about a flying visit, there seemed to be an amused edge to her tone of voice, though exactly why that statement should amuse her was not immediately clear. Perhaps it would become so when they had the chance to complete some proper research into the unusual meta.

The staff of the coffee shop recognised Jack, though the young barista behind the counter looked surprised to see them accompanied by the older woman. A generous slice of coffee cake had already been cut before the two reached the counter, but the young woman paused before preparing coffee, awaiting what the brunette's order might be.

The coffee shop was tiny, the space dominated by the large counter that line the back of the shop. The furniture was old and looked like it had mostly been rescued from thrift stores, consisting mostly of overstuffed armchairs and low, battered coffee tables. There are only a handful of people in the coffee shop, it's not exactly rush hour. The current patrons are sat with macbooks, steaming, obviously fresh cups of coffee sat beside them.

Jack turned to Raven as they produced a credit card, that had it been further examined, possessed someone else's name. "Whatever you want, it's on me."

Nobody

Don't you know who I think I am?

+ CBE-177/"Anna"

Jack smiled in amusement as Anna apparently tried to walk forwards, without actually making any progress. They noticed her feet dipping through the floor before she did. Some sort of physical phasing ability. It must be something that could be controlled, otherwise they would never have been able to extract the blood. The strange effect had extended visually. Clearly this strange phasing was also affecting light, not just physical objects.

A wave of cold was rolling off her, the faint frosting in the air making it clear just how cold things were growing about her. They cock their head in interest, "I wonder if the lack of ice growing about you is something to do with your inability to make physical contact."

Looking around, they found what was left of a chair, picking up the broken pieces and carrying them back across the room so they lay on the floor between the two of them. Perhaps more consciously activating the cryokinetic power would allow her to have some effect on the physical world, it was simply a matter of working out which instincts could trigger the different abilities. If they weren't linked anyway. Perhaps this could trigger one ability, thereby overriding the other. It was just a matter of finding the right lever.