[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker had received a message from one of his clients, they informed him that they had experienced a power outage. However, he already knew it because he had received an automatic warning message from the machine itself when it had malfunctioned. He had to go out there and fix it as per contract.

Acker drove his bike to the location and stopped the bike once he was in front of the machine. He started observing the damage while still sitting on the bike. Or better, his glasses were scanning the machine. Outwardly, the machine didn't seem to have any damage, even internally the scanning was showing that there was nothing wrong. The only problem was that the machine was completely out of juice.

Acker took one of the gloves off and touched the machine. The metal was cold. The machine was rectangular and covered by a smooth metal. Acker put the glove on and laid his open hand on the metallic surface 'Scanning: Welcome Dr. Villin' words appeared on the surface next to his hand.

A menu appeared on the machine's surface and Acker thumped the options. He pushed an option called 'Surveillance' and a video was sent to his glasses. The video showed a man next to the machine "What is he doing? Is he absorbing the electricity from the machine?" that was what it looked like from the footage "Scan his face, I need ID" the scan revealed that the man was a mechanic.

"Mh" Acker mumbled to himself while turning the menu off. The machine was fine, it just needed to be recharged. He informed the client that the machine was going to work again after recharging for 24 hours. There was a solar panel on top of the machine in still working order.

"Wellwellwell" there was a rumble from the bike when Acker turned it on "What is your gift, Mr. Mechanic?" that man had been near or touched the machine and afterwards the machine had experienced a power outage. The situation was intriguing, especially if the mechanic turned out to be a Gifted.

The scanning had revealed the mechanic's shop location and he drove his bike there "Hello?" Acker called out while taking his black helmet off. He was wearing all black if not for the red and black leather jacket. He had come with the pretence of fixing the battery.

Acker had modified his bike after purchase. He was curious to see the mechanic's reaction to those modifications, especially the battery. Even the battery had been modified by his power, it worked better and lasted longer than current batteries, but there was still room for improvement.

The battery was the focus because of what he had seen the mechanic do to the machine "I think my battery has an issue" Acker willed his power to malfunction the battery "I barely managed to drive here" the bike was lifeless without a functioning battery.

@deacon

[Deleted]

Deacon was cruising around on his bike, looking for somewhere to get a good charge in. With the increase in hunters it didn't hurt to be prepared and charged, recharging straight from powerline drags attention, recharging from anything at the shop or an house would also drag attention due to the hefty bill, and he wasn't looking for low volt stuff, he wanted the good stuff, something that would charge him at least halfway. Phone batteries, car batteries and even generators weren't doing the trick today. He'd need at least a thousand of each to even get to a comfortable voltage.

He stopped when he felt a strong voltage near him. Likely a machine, making his way towards it he adjusted his glasses and looked around making sure there weren't any cameras or people nearby, seeing that there weren't any, he brought his hand closer to the machine, bolts of electricity quickly flew out of it and into his hands, depleting the machine in a heartbeat as blue bolts could be seem building up in his eyes even over the glasses, they disappeared after a second as Deacon smirked. "That's the ticket." 

Pleased with himself he returned to his bike thinking nothing of it. The machine likely belonged to some fancy pants who probably had ensurance that covered it, or was sitting on enough money to replace all those batteries. As he drove off he left the place behind, feeling no more strong sources of energy coming from that neighbourhood, at least not as strong as that machine, whatever it was it was a good snack.

Most of the time when he wasn't riding around, people could find him at a repair shop in town. The MC had bought it to give him an alibi while he was in town, and its not like he needed another excuse to hang around cars and bikes. This time he was working on his own bike, a bit of a slow day, they finished the appointments and the other mechanics are having a beer at a nearby bar while nothing pops up.

Until he noticed someone pulling over. The guy had a good getup, could have been a biker if he looked 'less rich', and a bit less flashy too, but nevertheless he had a sweet ride. "Nice bike. I'm Deacon by the way." As Deacon approached he was paying more attention to the bike than the man. Deacon was wearing jeans, leather boots and belt, a jean jacket with the sleeves torn off and his MC patches on his back. The bike definitely impressed him, modified, some of it is stuff he had never seem before.

"Really? This bike looks top of the line, never saw mods like this before... Built it yourself?" Deacon was surprised that the battery was malfunctioning and that someone of this caliber was in his repairshop, but he didn't have enough time to question the logic of it all when a sweet ride was in front of him. Its just a shame the battery is the only problem here.

As Deacon picked up the malfunctioning battery he tried to sneakly charge it like he had done a thousand times already. Sometimes a good voltage is all a battery needs to kick back to life. This time it almost exploded into his hand as the electricity sparked on the malfunctioning device, even though a normal person would have been on the ground by now, Deacon just stands there like nothing happens, until he notices it and drops the battery on top of the bike, shaking his hand on a VERY delayed reaction. "Phew... That was a close one. That battery is a lost cause."


Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

There was an obvious look in the rich man's eyes when the mechanic complimented his bike "Yes, of course, it's my own design after all" the look meant, but the look was hidden behind expensive darkened glasses.

Acker tilted his head on the side a little wondering what those MC patches were. For some reason they had caught his interest which was odd considering that he overlooked fashion choices, he was more interested in what resided between the ears.

However, Acker's power sensed his curiosity so it willed his smart glasses to scan the patches. The scan returned CCTV footage of men on bikes wearing jackets with matching MC patches. Acker frowned. Group of bikers with matching patches. The clues appeared to be signs of a bike gang.

Acker had mixed feeling about the mechanic being part of a bike gang. He wondered how it felt like being part of one. Was it exciting? How exciting could it be considering that they openly wore those branding matches meaning that they weren't worried about being recognised. Criminal gangs stayed undetected, usually.

However, it also implied that Deacon had allies, biker friends who would retaliate if anything happened to one of them. Not that it worried Acker, after all his confidence was built on his successes while dealing with worse situations.

The smart glasses were willed to scan Deacon's face: 100% match. This mechanic was the man from the surveillance footage. Potential bike gang member and Gifted? This Deacon fella just poked the mad scientist's interest.

Acker almost replied with Dr. Acker Villin out of habit when Deacon announced himself, but he bit his tongue because he didn't want to announce that he was a Villin seeing that some locals recognised his family name and he didn't want to be associated with his family at the moment "Acker" a simple one word answer generated by logical reasoning like a computerized process. Yes, Acker did overthink like everybody else, he thought himself above that, but he wasn't.

Acker noticed Deacon's interest in the bike, as if the person sitting on it had become an afterthought. The mad scientist and the mechanic weren't so different after all. They both liked machines. They both enjoyed working on machines. They both liked understanding the inner mechanics of machines. Acker was feeling a certain affinity towards Deacon.

Acker unmounted the bike and stepped aside to let the mechanic do his job. The helmet was tucked between his arm and hip. He started tapping on the helmet rhythmically while waiting for the diagnosis. Fortunately the tapping wasn't that annoying because the rhythmic noise was dulled by the black gloves he was wearing.

"I was driving on my merry way when suddenly the bike started having tantrums" Acker gave a quick cover story to imply that chance brought him to this workshop. It wasn't true of course, but honesty wasn't an option.

Suddenly, Acker's power was triggered, it felt like a string inside of him was pulled towards the battery in the mechanic's hand. The battery was alive again, but Acker quickly willed his power to malfunction the battery once more.

Then, something fascinating happened. Deacon's reaction to the battery malfunctioning. The electric surge would have knocked anyone out, however Deacon not only was still standing, but he also had a delayed reaction. Deacon was putting up a show and Acker had to restrain himself from chuckling.

Acker placed the helmet on the biker's seat, he had decided to go straight to the point. Sure, it could be dangerous considering that Deacon's power seemed to be related to electricity, so Acker was aware that he could be harmed, however the risk just added to the excitement of dealing with a potential Gifted.

"I should be on my phone right now calling for help all panicky-like" there was sarcasm in his tone "Instead..." he really wanted to use one of his drones to scan Deacon, but he couldn't do it just yet.

Acker took his glasses off so that Deacon could see him looking at the other man up and down with clinical eyes "...you are not unconscious and your heart is still beating" that much of an electrical surge should have been harmful "Care to elaborate?" Acker put his glasses back on his face Horatio Caine style.

@deacon

//i hope the mc patch scan is okay! otherwise i'll edit!//

[Deleted]

Acker wouldn't have a hard time tracking the MC's activity, they even have a page on the internet, its just the average biker guide, "be there for brothers" and whatnot. Their patch was two little devils circling a flaming skull, they went by the name of Shoulder Devils. If Acker tries to pull out any public records from members of the gang, he is going to find that several members at some point were arrested by misdemeanors, DUIs, posession of illegal substances and unregistered weapons. Nothing linked to organized crime or that could be traced back to the MC, but it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to know that the MC is a front for a biker gang. 

Deacon's record will come up mostly clean, just a few minor things and some of the other known members don't have a register at all. Overall their activity appears pretty tame for what one would assume from a Biker Gang, either they're pretty good at hiding it, or perhaps the gang is after something other than drugs and weapons. If Acker researches deep enough he is going to find that they've been expanding and recruiting outside of Texas, starting a quick expansion after almost a decade of staying on the same state.

His cover story had Deacon fooled at the start, you can't be picky when your vehicle malfunctions when you're at the road, can't risk going back on foot and pushing a bike, so its better to stop at the closest shop to get it sorted out before you go along. He doesn't feel the need to verify his story any further, after all business is business and he won't pass up an opportunity to check a custom bike out, even if he can only touch the battery this once.

Acker's name didn't ring a bell at first, if he mentioned his last name then maybe Deacon could recognize him, but he doesn't keep up to date with Los Eurosia's big names to know someone from a first name only, even if he knew it wouldn't make a big difference, he is too busy checking out the bike to play detective.

It didn't appear to have anything wrong with the battery and the rest of the motorcycle appeared to be state of the art, likely custom made and perhaps even with experimental parts. Must have some pretty powerful sponsors or is test driving for a fancy company, that is what Deacon thought. He didn't have time to question it any further as the battery "malfunctioned" when he used his powers on it. Turning to Acker who didn't seem to buy his acting, or take the default approach of asking if he was feeling well and calling an ambulance, no, he seemed ready for it, as if it was to be expected.

The biker caught the other man's sarcasm, he stared at him with a stoic look, trying to appear as neutral as possible. He wasn't trying to come up with excuses, Deacon is smarter than that. He was connecting the dots. First the custom bike, then the attitude, he must have scoped out Deacon before, if it was a hunter he wouldn't be as ballsy as approaching Deacon up front, he could have had other ways of confirming his powers, ways that wouldn't put his hide on the line. It wasn't the sector either, they wouldn't do things so publically. 

Then it dawns on him, the machine from earlier, it had a lot more juice than usual, way more used than he was used to get at a single source. This bike was no different, the battery was more efficient and it wasn't the only part that performed better. Whoever this guy is, he has a lot of resources and a lot of tech, might be another curious gifted, or someone that knows of gifted and has a lot of resources to track them down. 

"I don't think I need to elaborate, you know what you saw. Probably scoped out the place, found out some other way and used this:" He points to the battery. "As confirmation. Doubt you're a hunter, risky move playing your hand like that and if you wanted to kill me there are ways to do it without getting this close, you wanted to see it with your own two eyes." He crosses his arms, electricity sparks from his iris for a second, not as a threat but as a demonstration. "The Sector wouldn't be this public. Are you a concerned citizen? A man of science? Or someone that came to my shop looking for a service other than fixing your heavily modified bike?" 

Uncrossing his arms he turned his gaze one last time to the bike and then to Acker. "And one last question, did you built that yourself or did you have another gifted make that for you? Our technology is great and I'm not the smartest tool in the shed, but I know when something is TOO special when I see it." 


Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker's mind went back to the biker gang as soon as his smart glasses were on his face. Why? Because he was putting himself in harm's way by being so upfront. The power sensed his worry and willed the glasses to search for more information about Deacon and his biker friends "Arrests...mhh...of course" he thought. It wasn't surprising, but at least he had more information about who he was dealing with. He had to be careful "Mental note: more in-depth research about the bikers later".

Acker lowered his head a little so that the point of his nose was pointing downward. He looked from above the lenses of his glasses to reciprocate Deacon's stoic look. There was a subtle hint of challenge in that look, as if a part of Acker itched for a fight or for something to go wrong. As if his intellect was searching for a challenge to overcome.

If there were cameras around the workshop then his power would connect to them if needed to check footage on Deacon or anything else interesting for instance footage on the other bikers if they ever visited this workshop. But for now Acker's attention was all on Deacon. There was a bit of silence and Acker imagined seeing gears turning around in Deacon's brain, he chuckled a little bit a the metal image, although it sounded like Acker had randomly chuckled for no reason.

There was a sardonic slow applause muffled by gloved hands as a sarcastic acknowledgment of Deacon's conclusion "I see those gears of yours are oiled sufficiently" a reference to his mental image from before, he didn't care that the other man wasn't privy of it "Just a quick warning from one Gifted to another: Hunters can be very risky, one of them attacked me during an open lecture at university, well she was desperate and all" he said the last part with an obvious tone that meant: of course she was desperate to hunt me. The mad doctor was aware that he had just revealed his Gifted status, but it would have been insulting otherwise, it was too obvious to deny it now.

Acker grinned when Deacon mentioned how special the bike's technology was "Too special indeedio!" a quick affectionate pat on the bike "I wonder who could build something like this..." it was a hint towards his business which used his technology "...how many people do you know who would even have the knowledge necessary?" Acker ironically opened his palm wide to show off his five gloved fingers, and then counted backwards until his hand was shaping a O with the thump and index. He put the O in front of his right eye like a frame.

If Acker's eyes could have sparked then his brown iris would have when science was mentioned "A man of science: bingo!" or a mad scientist depending from the Gifted's point of view. Mad scientist would be if the point of view was a ceiling because it meant the Gifted was strapped on an examination table.

Wait...iris sparking!? Acker was glad that he had his glasses on because it meant they had recorded the sparking event. His eyebrows rose up in surprise and curiosity. In a flash, Acker stretched his arm towards Deacon's face and went to grab the other man by his jaw to move the face closer so to inspect those sparking iris. At least that was Acker's intention, but there was still time for Deacon to dodge Acker's hand. The mad scientist was aware of the possible danger, after all sparking and electricity danced together, but he needed to satiate his never-ending thirst for knowledge.

@deacon