Warning: Shocking Hazard (M/M)

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bigsmile21
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Warning: Shocking Hazard (M/M)

Post by bigsmile21 »

Scotty was late, again. He bolted out of bed when he realized he'd overslept. He looked over and his alarm clock was blinking; power must have gone out during the night. He ran to the closet to throw on a pair of khaki pants and a button up shirt. It took him a second and then third attempt because he kept misaligning the buttons in his panic. If he was late to work again he could kiss the internship with B.I.G. Company goodbye.

He rushed into the bathroom to wash his face with water, then tried to pat down his bedhead. Scotty had short blond hair that he usually kept combed neatly for work. But this morning it was sticking up in all directions like Calvin from the Sunday paper cartoon. After wrestling with it for a minute, he had to let it go and get moving. He grabbed his (only) work tie and headed down the apartment stairs to his car. He was pretty sure he'd locked the door on his way out.

"Mother F-" he almost yelled as he grasped the car door handle. Pain and surprise shot through him from the static shock. He always got shocked when it was winter; he didn't know if it was the winter air, his junker of a car, or his own bad luck. This morning though it hurt a lot more. Like, he swore he could have seen a spark this time. He tried opening the handle with his elbow but even through the shirt he was shocked. He roared in frustration. This was his first car, bought it four years ago with his fast-food earnings, and was easily the cheapest one on the lot. But he had to have something, couldn't take the embarrassment of being dropped off by his mom or dad at the local fast food joint. He hated the car and sometimes it was like it hated him back. But most importantly it was his and took him where he wanted to go.

He lifted his shoe up to the car door and carefully pried open the handle with the tip of his shoe. The shoes may have been cheap but rubber soles were rubber soles. He jumped into the car and closed it from the inside. He fumbled with the key until it found its home in the ignition. He cranked it and the car chugged to life. He checked his line of sight as he backed out of the parking space and made his way to work. With his speed he half-expected to get pulled over. But all he saw when he'd check the rearview mirror was that jolting head of hair. A shadow quickly passed over his car and he looked up to see Mr. Magnificence, caped defender of the city, flying towards his next rescue. Scotty couldn't see any fires from inside his car, but figured it had to be something big for Mr. Magnificence to get involved. What he wouldn't give to be able to just fly to work. Hell, with super powers he wouldn't have to work as an unpaid intern.

Scotty was almost at work when he remembered he had to make his usual stop at the coffee shop, with morning coffee as one of his unofficial duties as intern. He was surprised companies still made interns do coffee runs. He could see the shop from here, and his heart sank when he saw cars wrapped around the building for the drive-thru. It would be forever until he got through that with enough coffee for the managers. Inside the store looked mostly empty, so he weaved into a parking spot and headed in. He thought about leaving the seat buckle in the door frame so that he wouldn't get shocked when he tried to get back into the car. But 1) it wasn't a good idea to leave your car unlocked in the city and 2) the car should have warmed up by now to avoid any shocks. Still, he'd be sure to set down the coffee before trying the car handle again.

Inside the store there was a line of three people at the counter. Scotty stepped at the back of the line and sighed in relief. Then he checked his phone, or would have checked his phone had he not just realized it wasn't in his pants. He groaned, loud enough for the person ahead of him in line to look over their shoulder at him and roll their eyes.

"Kids these days" the man muttered. The man was tall, thin, and had greying hair under the brim of his black fedora. Scotty wanted to snap back, between the irritation of being called a "kid" and overall crappy morning he'd been having so far. But he breathed in and out. He could get through a short coffee line without his phone, even if there was an old git in front of him.

The line didn't move for what felt like ten minutes. Scotty leaned over to see the person at the counter was literally stroking their chin while thinking through their options for morning coffee. The barista behind the counter had on a forced smile as they tried to explain the different types of coffee, different roasts, milk and other additives, and anything else the pondering person asked about. Well, they'd try to explain, only for the person to hold up their finger and pull out their phone every minute. They were searching each thing the barista said, trying to shop around for the "best" coffee combination, even trying to haggle by showing competitor prices and DIY costs for making it at home. The barista was trying to keep their patience up, but getting interrupted each minute with a line of people inside and at the drive-thru was quickly breaking down their "customer service" façade.

The jerk at the front of the line was going to make Scotty late for sure. He shouted at them to step aside while they thought things through, but the person just stuck up their middle finger, not even bothering to turn around and look at him. Now Scotty was furious. He repeated himself only this time it came from a place of hate. And this time it hurt him. Him, and everyone in the store. Streaks of white hot lightning shot out from Scotty's hands towards the front of the store, moving through each person in line until it connected with the person at the front. Everyone crumbled to the ground except for Scotty, still standing but winded.

His ears were ringing with a high-pitched tone. He could hears muffled crying and moans from the others. His hands felt like they were on fire but they looked fine, aside from the smoke coming off of them. He looked around for some kind of explanation. Then his eyes connected with the person who had been holding up the line. They were sitting on the ground, back leaning against the coffee counter. The front of their shirt was burnt a little.

"F---k!" they yelled. Scotty shook his head and the ringing in his hears dissipated. "Freak! Someone help!" they yelled again. They reached for their phone. "Hello, police, there's a supervillain attacking us! Please send help!"

Not good, Scotty thought. He didn't know what was happening but he sure as hell didn't want this situation getting out of control. He reached out his hands and ran towards the person with the phone. Lightning again shot out from his hands, this time striking the person's phone. It exploded in their hand, and the lightning continued through the coffee counter and struck the wall behind it. Coffee machines all along the back wall began bursting, spewing hot coffee everywhere. Some of it splashed onto Scotty's face and he yelled in pain. His hands flew up to his face and he stumbled backwards. He could hear people running around him and out the door, while some of them stayed frozen in place and began crying.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked until his vision returned. Then he felt white hot pain in his shoulder followed by a loud banging noise. He'd been shot, and he dropped to his knees and tried to reach for the wound. He yelled and more lightning burst outwards from his hands, this time arching all around the interior of the coffee shop. When he got it under control, he looked around to see the barista and a cop were the only ones left in the store. The cop must have been the one who shot him and he was slowly getting up, rubbing a huge scorch mark in his chest. That was the last thing Scotty saw before a blur of purple rushed forward and a punch to his face propelled him backwards, knocking him against the busted coffee machines. Scotty was out cold.

When he came to, Scotty felt sore all over. His jaw felt tight and his hands felt tight. Actually, his everything felt tight, like everything around him was being squeezed. He tried to move but couldn't. His vision was dark as he tried to look around. All he saw was dark. He felt something in his mouth but couldn't make it out or dislodge it. He was standing upright, he could tell that much, but he felt like he was being held in empty space. He moved and squirmed for what felt like an hour, eventually giving up, resigned to hang in that space.

A while later, Scotty felt movement, like he was being pulled sideways. Light enveloped him, as he saw what looked like the inside of a storage warehouse with lines and columns of metal crates. In front of him was a short man holding a data pad. The man had thick glasses, short brown hair, and wore a black and white suit. His hands were gloved in latex.

"Mr. Scott Wyatt," the man said. Scotty could hear him muffled a bit but seeing him helped clear up the words. "You're being held in a maximum superpowered detainment facility until your hearing." He looked at the data pad. "Due to the backlog of cases from surges in superpowered activity, your hearing is scheduled for next August, approximately eight months from now. At that point you will have time to plead your case before a jury of your peers." This wasn't right. Scotty didn't know he had superpowers, and didn't mean to overreact. Well, not to the point of that he did.

"Surveillance footage before you shorted it out shows you attacking the patrons of a local coffee shop, damaging personal and business property, and resisting arrest before Mr. Magnificence could subdue you." the suited man continued, reading off the data pad and barely making eye contact with Scotty. "Due to your violent nature and uncontrolled powers you have been denied bail and will be kept in this detainment facility until your trial." Scotty started to squirm against whatever was holding him. He looked down as best he could and could see some sort of transparent film clinging around him. He couldn't move his head so it was mostly through his peripheral vision. The man looked up from his data pad to see the inmate suspended in a rectangular frame, the outline of his body clearly visible between the rubber sheets. He avoided eye contact with the inmate's private parts; clothes inside the rubber sheeting could lead to tears and made cleaning the inmate more difficult. He returned his eyes to the data pad.

"You will notice that you are encased in rubber sheeting that prevents you from conducting your electric powers." the man said, as if Scotty's struggling was nothing new to him. "The sheets are vacuum sealed, preventing movement. Observation of your powers shows lighting emits from your hands. For security and safety you hands have been additionally padded and insulated." Scotty felt his hands formed into balls, coated in something gooey and wrapped tightly in place. "You injuries from Mr. Magnificence have been treated and your vitals will be monitored during your incarceration. Air and food will be pumped in through the series of tubes in your mouth, and waste and cleaning will be automated by the detainment facility's system. Any attempt to damage detainment facility system equipment will be considered in your hearing. Any attempt to escape will be considered in your hearing. Since Mr. Magnificence is not a government superhero and an active vigilante, you will be able to build your case against him after your trial has ended."

With all that said, the man looked up from his data pad one last time. "But if I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up." the man said, this time with a hint of scorn in his voice. "Freaks like you think you can take what you want, hurt who you want, and do whatever you want. Glad Mr. Magnificence put you in your place. The evidence against you is strong, and fewer public defenders are taking on superpowered cases. Better get used to your new lifestyle."

The man touched the data pad and Scotty slide back into the storage cell, like a book sliding into its place on a bookshelf. His vision went dark again. He felt something hit the back of his throat, past his uvula, and plop down into his stomach. Whatever food mush was being pumped into him, he couldn't taste it. And he didn't want to think about cleanup. He tried to yell and fight against his rubber sheets and hand restraints but nothing budged. He imagined the headlines from the press and nicknames from social media on how lame his supervillain debut had been. He thought of how even if he got out free his career was ruined. He fought harder, angrier, and felt a little spark jump between his hands. Eight months...plenty of time to work up enough amps to bust out of this place.
:)21