The hum of the ceiling fan was the only sound cutting through the stillness of the room. The day had slowly surrendered to dusk, and the orange light from the window spilled across the cluttered table — filled with open notebooks, tools, and metal scraps Evan had pulled from his bag. Alaric stood in the center of the living room, barefoot, hoodie sleeves rolled up, veins faintly glowing beneath his skin.
It wasn't the kind of light you'd notice at first glance. It pulsed softly, like something breathing under his flesh — golden, alive, restrained.
Evan adjusted the multimeter again, scribbling notes in his messy handwriting. "Alright. So far, voltage discharge at partial focus is around thirty-eight volts. That's… biologically impossible. You should've shorted your nervous system by now."
"Yeah," Alaric muttered, eyes half-closed. "Feels like it's not coming from me… more like it's passing through me."
Evan glanced up. "Conduit instead of source… interesting. That means your body's regulating current, not producing it. Which would explain why you're not a charred skeleton right now."
Alaric cracked a half-smile. "Comforting."
Evan grinned slightly. "Don't thank me yet. This is uncharted territory."
---
For the next hour, they tested everything they could with what little equipment Evan had.
Static discharges. Metal conduction. Heat generation.
Each time, Alaric's control improved, and so did Evan's fascination.
"Try holding it longer," Evan said, crouched beside a frying pan wired to a voltmeter. "Let's see the peak load."
Alaric focused, holding his breath. Golden light shimmered along his arms, crawling to his fingertips before snapping in a sharp arc against the metal. The voltmeter needle jumped violently.
"Holy—!" Evan ducked as a flash lit up the room. The pan trembled, glowing faintly red at the center. "That's at least four hundred volts— Alaric, stop!"
Alaric exhaled sharply and let go. The arc broke, fading into smoke. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. The faint buzz inside him didn't fade immediately; it echoed, as if refusing to go back to sleep.
Evan fanned the air. "Okay, you're officially a walking power plant."
"Guess the city won't need generators anymore," Alaric joked weakly.
"Not funny," Evan said, checking his notes. "You could've fried both of us."
"Sorry," Alaric murmured. He flexed his fingers. "It's just… it's hard to describe. When I use it, I feel alive. Like every nerve in my body is finally awake."
Evan looked up from his paper, studying him. "You're enjoying it?"
"Shouldn't I?" Alaric replied. "After everything — the experiment, the lies, being dumped like trash — maybe this… means something."
Evan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Power isn't meaning, Alaric. It's risk wrapped in temptation."
"Yeah, you sound like my mom."
"She's right then."
---
Silence settled for a moment. Outside, the city lights shimmered faintly through the window. Neon reds and blues flickered across the room, bouncing off the walls.
Evan leaned back against the wall. "Okay, look. Let's map this logically. You can generate electric discharges, but not infinite ones. Every time you use it, you're burning calories, electrolytes, water, maybe even nerve conduction energy. You need a limit. A control equation."
Alaric raised an eyebrow. "A control equation?"
Evan nodded and started scribbling on a torn notebook page. "Think of your body like a capacitor. You charge, then discharge. But if the charge exceeds the threshold, you'll short-circuit — biologically speaking. So… you have to find your safe load."
"And how do we do that?"
Evan smirked slightly. "We play scientist."
---
They set up a crude experiment on the balcony. The night air was cool, the city buzzing faintly below them. Evan had rigged a few metal rods, a light bulb, and a piece of aluminum foil with thin copper wiring leading back to the voltmeter.
"Okay," Evan said, crouched beside the setup. "Channel the current through this wire. Slow and steady."
Alaric nodded, focusing. The golden arcs crackled between his fingers, faint at first — then brighter, tighter, controlled. He touched the wire, and the light bulb flickered to life.
It was dim at first — then steady, then bright.
"Good… good!" Evan shouted over the soft hum. "You're keeping it stable!"
Alaric's breathing was steady, eyes narrowed in concentration. Sweat glistened on his brow, but the glow around him didn't falter. He felt every electron move, every pulse vibrate through his veins like music. For a moment, it was almost peaceful — like he was part of something larger.
Then the hum deepened.
"Uh, Alaric—" Evan began.
"I got it," Alaric muttered, teeth gritted.
The light flared white-hot. Sparks jumped, scattering like fireflies across the balcony. Evan lunged forward, cutting the copper wire free before the system could overload. The bulb shattered, smoke rising.
"Okay!" Evan gasped. "New rule: no high-output indoors."
Alaric laughed breathlessly. "You should've said that earlier."
Evan gave him a look. "Next time, try not to electrocute the neighborhood."
---
They cleaned the mess and moved back inside. Alaric leaned against the couch, muscles trembling. His body still buzzed faintly, like an engine idling beneath his skin. Evan jotted more data, muttering under his breath.
"Your body temperature rises by about two degrees every time you sustain current longer than twenty seconds," he said. "You're metabolizing energy faster — that explains the hunger."
"Yeah," Alaric said, rubbing his neck. "Feels like I ran ten miles."
Evan looked up. "You technically did. On a subatomic level."
Alaric chuckled softly, then fell silent. "Hey… you ever wonder why me? Why not someone else?"
Evan hesitated. "Maybe it wasn't random."
"Meaning?"
"Maybe they chose you because of something specific," Evan said. "Genetics, compatibility, neural structure — whatever they did, it worked on you."
Alaric looked down at his glowing veins. "Yeah. Lucky me."
---
A quiet moment passed. Rain began tapping against the windows again, faint and rhythmic.
Evan finally broke the silence. "So… what's next? You can generate, sustain, and discharge current. What about channeling?"
"Channeling?"
Evan nodded. "As in, directing flow through an external path. You're using your body as the wire — that's inefficient and dangerous. What if you could project it?"
Alaric thought for a moment, then extended his palm forward. He focused on the hum within him — on the rhythm of his heartbeat syncing with the current. The faint arcs shimmered again, jumping from his hand to the air.
This time, instead of crackling wildly, they followed a single direction — a thin, bright thread of light that struck a nearby soda can and knocked it over.
Evan's eyes widened. "Holy hell, that's— you just created a directed arc."
Alaric blinked, stunned. "I… didn't even think. It just happened."
Evan scrambled for his notebook, scribbling frantically. "That's not just electrical control — that's field manipulation. You're creating a voltage gradient in open air! This isn't bioelectricity anymore, it's— it's electromagnetism."
Alaric tilted his head. "English, Evan."
"You're bending the rules of how electricity moves," Evan said, almost breathless. "This shouldn't be possible without conductive medium — and yet…"
Alaric smiled faintly. "Guess I'm special."
"Or cursed," Evan replied dryly.
---
Time blurred as they continued testing. Sparks illuminated the room in golden flashes. Every time Alaric succeeded, Evan's scientific excitement grew — and so did Alaric's unease. Each discharge felt like something inside him was waking up a little more, something not entirely human.
By midnight, both were exhausted. Evan was flipping through pages of data while Alaric sat slumped on the couch, staring at his hand — faint traces of light still shimmering beneath his skin.
He whispered quietly, almost to himself. "Do you think it'll ever stop?"
Evan didn't look up. "Electricity doesn't stop, Alaric. It just finds new paths."
That line stayed with him.
Finds new paths.
He flexed his fingers. Tiny arcs snapped between them again, obedient this time — like they were listening.
---
Evan stretched and closed his notebook. "Alright, one last question before I crash. You've felt this… energy moving inside you, right? Do you feel it fast, like lightning?"
Alaric nodded slowly. "Yeah. When it moves, it's instant. Like… thought becomes action before I even think it."
Evan tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting. Electrical impulses in your body are traveling faster than normal neurons. That could mean enhanced reflexes… maybe even perception speed."
Alaric's eyes glimmered faintly. "So, hypothetically… if I am electricity… could I move like it?"
Evan blinked, caught off guard. "You mean— move as fast as electricity?"
Alaric leaned forward, intrigued. "Exactly. If I'm part of it… could I become it?"
Evan stared at him, half-amused, half-terrified. Then he let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "Of course not. You'd burn up before you took three steps. Friction, heat, resistance— your body would disintegrate."
Alaric frowned. "So it's impossible."
Evan smirked faintly. "I didn't say impossible."
Alaric raised an eyebrow. "Then what?"
Evan leaned forward, voice low, eyes sharp with thought. "There might be one way…"
The golden veins under Alaric's skin pulsed once — like the world itself was listening.