The Michigan campus streets were quiet. The grades for second semester were weighted more heavily than the first. The library was packed with students buried in textbooks or cast in a dull blue glow by their laptop screens.
Taylor spotted her boyfriend walking towards her. She smiled, seeing him always made her smile.
Alex waved from across the street. The distance between them shrunk steadily.
Taylor saw her boyfriend more closely. She blinked and swore loudly. She ran towards him, "Alex, what happened?"
Taylor cupped Alex's face between her hands. The blueish-purple bruises covered nearly the entire right side. His left eye was marked by a large black ring.
Her touch was gentle. The thought that she could make his pain worse terrified her.
Alex took her hands in his own. He smiled and sighed, "I'm okay, I promise."
He leaned in closer to kiss her neck. The gesture was cute, but seemed sudden in the public setting. He whispered in her ear, "They have to heal normally."
The whisper and kiss to her neck sent a tingle down Taylor's spine. Her brain froze for a second. She forced the distracting thoughts out of her mind.
Taylor knew what her boyfriend could do. She knew that he had powers that made him different. That knowledge didn't stop her heart from twisting into knots when she saw his injuries, "You're okay? Really?"
Alex smiled and nodded. The concern in Taylor's voice and expression made him feel warm inside.
"I'm okay."
Taylor sighed. Her furrowed brow relaxed and she smiled, "Good."
The conversation had gone as Alex hoped it would. Taylor was kind and understanding. It was part of why he'd fallen so hard for her.
He should've felt happy. Taylor had accepted his answer without pressing for details. All she'd cared about was whether he was alright.
He felt a protectiveness towards her that was so fierce that his pulse began to rise. His body was modified heavily, but emotions could still trigger intense physical responses.
"There's a cliff in the forest. You can see the whole city from up there." He said suddenly.
Taylor smiled and nodded. She didn't quite understand what her boyfriend was saying. He'd brought up the topic out of nowhere.
She didn't know what had made Alex bring up a forest a hundred miles away from campus.
He'd told her that everything was okay. But she knew how his powers worked. He wasn't immune to pain. Whatever had caused his injuries, he'd felt every attack.
She noticed suddenly that he was wearing a hoodie. She knew he liked to feel the breeze on his skin. Since she'd known him she'd never seen him wear one.
The hoodie was zipped all the way up. She stepped closer to him and unzipped it a few inches.
Her heart ached. The bruising didn't stop at his neck. The bruises to his chest were darker. She could see where something hard had struck him again and again in the same places.
Alex smiled bitterly and zipped up the hoodie.
"Did it hurt?" Taylor asked. She forced a smile to hide the heartache that threatened to leak into her voice.
Alex met her gaze. He could see that she was putting up a strong front to protect his feelings.
He didn't lie to her, "Yes. It hurt."
Taylor nodded. She looked to the ground. She couldn't keep her lips from trembling.
Alex squeezed her hand. He spoke gently, "Let's go somewhere."
He pulled her hand softly. Taylor looked up, she didn't understand what he meant. He kept saying things that she didn't understand.
Alex led and Taylor followed. They walked in silence through campus and out into the city.
The air had gradually begun to cool down. The streetlights flickered and pushed back the darkness that had begun to fall.
Taylor didn't show any fear at the night's arrival. She knew that being by Alex's side was the safest place she could be.
They'd been walking for nearly half an hour. The cool air helped her to to think. The flood of emotions she'd felt when she saw Alex's chest didn't feel so overwhelming anymore.
She realised suddenly that she hadn't spoken a word. She'd been completely lost in silent mental dialogue.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-I-I" The apology tumbled from her lips.
Alex squeezed her hand gently again. He smiled at her. There was no blame or anger in his voice. The look in his eyes was one of overwhelming love and affection.
"Don't apologise. Please. I'm the one who needs to apologise." Alex said.
There were no streetlights around anymore. They'd come to an open grassy plain. The full moon above provided moonlight bright enough for her to see by.
Taylor blinked. She didn't know where they were, "Alex-"
She screamed as a pair of arms swept her up and held her. She seemed to weigh nothing in his arms.
Alex smiled. She felt his shoulders shaking as he laughed, "Sorry, I should've said."
She felt his smile jump from his lips to hers. Suddenly, everything felt okay.
"What are you doing?" The question was hard to make out through her unctrollable laughter.
Alex smiled wider, "Hold on."
Suddenly, they were flying. Taylor screamed and her arms wrapped frantically around Alex's chest.
The grassy plains trembled slightly. A young man with messy brown hair ran as if he'd been possessed by the wind. In his arms he held another person.
Taylor screamed louder. She was moving at a speed that she'd only ever experienced with a seat-belt strapped across her chest. The wind whipped past her ears.
"What are you doing?" She yelled to be heard over the whistling wind.
Alex shouted back, "I want you to see something!"
Taylor's thoughts churned. She shouted, "The cliff? You wanted me to see the cliff! You could've told me!"
He grinned at her mischievously, "I wanted to be romantic!"
Taylor laughed harder than she had in her life, "You're crazy!"
Alex laughed alongside her. His speed picked up slightly and they flashed across the plains. Each footstep covered several meters. The speed they were moving at could've easily kept pace with the wild horses that roamed the grasses. He estimated it to be around forty-five miles per hour.
Taylor laughed and whooped in his arms. She stretched out her hand and felt the wind push back against it.
Alex's heart beat like a wardrum in his chest. The contractions sent blood hurtling through his arteries. The arteries recoiled fiercely under the pressure and snapped back.
The twice-accelerated motion wasn't as fast as he could run. The journey to the cliff would take an hour. That kind of distance required him to consider his energy reserves.
He wasn't alone. He had to think about Taylor's safety. He'd considered the risks of the late-night adventure. The most dangerous creature in the forest was the grey wolf. He didn't believe that he would be unlucky enough to encounter an escaped experiment for a second time.
The GDA had released footage of Red Rush combing the area and the experimental research facility had been razed to the ground. The GDA had used explosives and aerial bombardment to turn the abandoned military complex into a crater twenty-feet deep.
The couple chatted happily while Alex sped them deeper into the plains. The flat landscape gradually morphed into one of towering red woods. The coverage from their branches blocked out the moonlight.
All Taylor saw was brown blurs as they dashed through the forest. Eventually, Alex started to slow down. He came to a stop on a clifface that jutted out over a tumbling waterfall. The sound of rushing water and the breeze rustling the branches sounded almost magical.
He placed her down gently. Taylor took a few steps to clear the numbness in her legs. She looked out across the clifface.
"It's beautiful." Taylor said.
Thousands of lights twinkled in the distance. The city was still wide awake. Taylor sat down softly on the edge of the cliff, her legs dangling over the edge. The heat from Alex's body while she'd been held in his arms kept the cold at bay.
Alex sat down next to her, "I like the quiet up here."
The view was incredible. The rushing waterfall and the tranquility of the forest somehow didn't clash with the glow of human innovation from the city.
Taylor turned to her boyfriend. She rested her head on his shoulder, "Me too."
The impromptou decision to escape into the forest hadn't left any time for Alex to bring water or food. Taylor laughed at his awkard expression when she mentioned her throat being dry. Away from the rest of the world, the two felt like their busy schedules and worries didn't exist.
They sat looking across the plains to the city and talking. Alex's hand wrapped around her waist and she felt the warmth radiating from him. The hoodie he'd worn earlier was draped over her shoulders. The bruising to his face and chest had dissapeared.
"Won't they notice?" Taylor asked worriedly.
Their conversation had naturally drifted to his injuries. Alex had explained while they ran across the plains how his pride had gotten the best of him and led to his current state.
He smiled at her and willed his powers to work. Taylor gasped as Alex's skin began to change to every colour of the rainbow.
The display ended after a few seconds. Taylor pushed her boyfriend in the shoulder and said while laughing, "You looked like a my little pony!"
Alex laughed as well and snorted, "I thought you'd like it! We can be smurfs for halloween."
Taylor bent forwards. Her stomach shook from laughing too hard. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, "I was going to be a rabbit!"
They stayed sat on the edge of the cliff, listening to the breeze blow through the trees and looking out at the expanse of high-rise buildings and twinkling lights. A rumble from Taylor's stomach interrupted the quiet.
Alex pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was set to airplane mode. He'd asked Taylor to do the same as they left the outskirts of the city.
10:46.
"We should head back." He said. He stood up and dusted himself off.
Taylor nodded. Her boyfriend stretched out a hand and she took it. A strong force pulled her to her feet. When Alex had told her about his powers, he'd shown how quickly he could move and the freedom he had over his body shape.
Everything she'd seen in the last few hours made her more sharply aware of the gap between them. A note of doubt crept into her heart, could someone as ordinary as her really hold Alex's attention? Did she deserve too?
Alex wasn't aware of what his girlfriend was thinking. He stretched a little and casually swept Taylor into his arms. He smiled, "You want to get burgers?"
Alex's face was only a few inches away from Taylor's. Up close his mahogany-brown eyes seemed to sparkle. The way he moved, the way he spoke, it made her heart race. The handsome sunny smile on his face swept away the doubt that had crept into her thoughts. She couldn't tell the future. She didn't know if Alex's life would one day be simply too different than her's for them to be together.
'The future's not here.' Taylor thought to herself.
After a month of dating Alex had told her about his powers. He'd apologised for even keeping it from her for that long. He bought her flowers and planned dates she always enjoyed. If she hadn't seen his powers with her own eyes, she never would've known that there was anything extraordinary about her sweet and loving boyfriend.
"I want fries too." She replied.
She stretched her neck up and planted a soft kiss on Alex's lips. The delicate touch made his heart start to beat faster. He kissed her back. The way she smelled and how soft her lips were against his was intoxicating.
He pulled back slowly. The couple smiled at each other. Alex pushed the distracting thoughts from his mind, "Burger and fries coming up."
They descended the mountain at tremendous speed. The force of gravity behind him and the building momentum caused their speed to soar to fifty miles per hour. The wind whistled louder and Taylor whooped excitedly.
The journey back was quieter. Taylor could feel a growing sleepiness tugging at her eyelids. Alex's arms never shook even for a moment and the warmth from his body was like a hot water bottle in the cold night. Every so often she realised that she had dozed off and was woken by the sound of Alex's footsteps or a bird crying out overhead.
The city lights grew brighter. The moonlight that shone in the forest was replaced by the glow of streetlights. Alex placed her gently back on the ground.
They walked hand-in-hand through the city, admiring the lights and looking in at the people eating in restaurants. Alex opened the door for Taylor to the burger place they always came to.
"I'll have a cheeseburger and a large fries. And a lemonade too." Taylor gave her order.
Alex gave the menu a quick glance, "Can I get three cheeseburgers and two large fries."
The cashier didn't show any abnormality. He'd seen Alex a handful of times before. He was familiar with how much he could eat.
The couple sat down at a table. The restaurant was decorated like an old-timey diner. The seats were red leather and a jukebox played in the corner. The food wasn't fancy and neither was the restaurant. It fit their both their styles.
"Order number seven." The cashier called.
Alex stood up and collected the brown paper bag from the counter. Taylor's eyes lit up and she took the bag from him before he could place it on the counter. Her hand clutched a handful of fries and she shoved them into her mouth and groaned with satisfaction.
Alex rolled her eyes and took out one of the burgers. He checked for pickles. Taylor was a strong believer that the green serrated slices were the devil's work. He strongly disagreed.
The food gave a boost to Taylor's energy levels. She started making jokes again and stealing fries from Alex. She knew that he didn't mind.
After they'd finished their meal, they started the walk back to the dorms. The chill of the nightime air and Alex's warm hand interlocked with hers felt like something out of a movie.
They stopped at her door. She took out her keys and turned them in the lock.
Alex smiled and kissed her gently, "Good night."
Taylor's lips scrunched to one side. She fiddled with the drawstrings on Alex's hoodie. She was still wearing it. She smiled at her boyfriend, "Or..."
The sentence trailed off.
Later that night, in the early hours of the morning, Taylor fell asleep in Alex's arms. She started to snore almost immediately. The sound made him smile. His thoughts drifted as he idly curled her hair around his fingers.
'Today was amazing.' He thought to himself.
The bruises had returned to his body. The mottled skin was easy to do. He checked his reflection in the camera of his phone to make sure the placement of the bruises was correct. It was an unecessary check. His powers remembered where the blood had pooled underneath his skin far better than his eyes could.
He closed his eyes. His powers began to work. Small changes added up over time. The modifications he was making to sustain accelerated-motion weren't done in a single night. They were the product of months of focused work.
He estimated that by the end of the year he'd be able to reach five times accelerated motion. The thought was exhilirating. That was more than a hundred miles an hour. At that speed, every punch he threw would pack the force of a car speeding down the highway.
Within the year he'd have the capital to protect himself against the majority of villains or supernatural incidents that made the news. He didn't care whether he could take down the dangerous entity or individual, it was the GDA's job to safeguard the world, not his.
His focus was on being able to run away quickly enough to save his life. The glory of defeating the enemy could be left to the heroes.
'Maybe one day...' An image of Omni-Man popped into his mind.
The alien from another planet, maybe an entirely different galaxy, was the earth's greatest protector. His presence was like a safety net cast over the world.
Alex had seen the hero on television move so quickly that it was as if he was teleporting. He could accelerate in an instant to the speed of a high-performance sports car. Videos of Omni-Man blasting off into the atmosphere showed that this was far from his top speed. Given the space to continue accelerating, Alex feared just how fast the alien-hero could become. The near-invulnerability Omni-Man displayed in his fights was even more frightening.
The inflated self-importance he felt when thinking about the approaching completion of his accelerated-motion project, or at least the first phase of it, vanished. He wasn't Omni-Man. He wasn't 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.