Jake breathed in the sticky liquid, taking in the miniscule amount of oxygen that there was present as he could. It wasn't much, and he was feeling some slight effects, but he wasn't too worried, given that for some reason he didn't seem to be drowning. A small part of himself, perhaps Corpse, added an ominous yet to the end of that thought, but Jake brushed it off. It didn't matter.
It was exhilarating to be useful, for the first time. He had no idea what was happening, but anything was better than the monotony of having a worthless ability. Some claimed that you didn't need an ability to be powerful, and though they were right, it didn't feel like it. You could be the greatest fighter in the world and defeat anyone with an ability, but so long as you didn't have one, there would be a club you could never enter, a side of life you could never taste.
Jake had never been insulted by the others for having a useless ability. At least, not more than any of the rest of them, not to the extent that it felt inordinate. There didn't seem to be any part of them that thought that his ability was a problem. It was strange. Everywhere else, it would be seen as a major downside. After all, despite recently becoming able to have abilities, men everywhere were throwing themselves into the culture of ability users like lemmings jumping off of a cliff, often to similar detriment.
It was a phenomenon that Jake wished were more rare, and it likely came from them having been excluded for the years that only women had gained abilities. Humans were so strange. Why did they all feel the need to join in just because there were other people participating? It was stupid.
Jake flailed around in slow motion, searching desperately for something, anything, anywhere around him, hoping to seize whatever he could while he was here.
It was true that he didn't know where here was yet, but it was something, and it was his. The thoughts of the others were present, barely, but muted even further. He could tell that they were all thinking something, but he couldn't tell what any of the thoughts actually were unless he focused on them, which he had no intention of doing.
This, this black, thick, viscous sludge, was his home as surely as Hashim was. It wasn't just nothingness, it was the opposite. So full of feeling, emotion, and individual sentiments that they all became a blur of what seemed like the absence of thought. In fact, his senses were merely taking in too much to understand. As his arms moved, slowly enough to be seen as methodical despite his desperation, he gloried in the sensation.
What remarkable emotion, what incredible feeling!
Who else could see like this? It didn't matter that he didn't know exactly what was each of the things meant. Because he knew what he was seeing.
This black sludge was the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of every human being and creature around him.
Jake laughed.
It had been a while. At least, since he had laughed for real.
Actually, he didn't think that he ever had. There were performances, certainly, mostly in the old days before their agreement, but nothing like this.
Finally.
Finally, he could begin to make a use out of his ability.
Jake didn't care that he had no idea how this worked or what it could do. With Toon, Hashim, and maybe even Xavier, but especially Hashim, they could figure it out. Hashim always knew what to do with abilities that seemed useless. Maybe it was just practice, or they needed more data points, like Toon was always saying, but Hashim would have an idea and a plan.
The sludge faded, slowly.
Jake found himself a bit disappointed at how brief the experience had been, but he didn't let his shoulders droop. That would have ruined their image, after all. They needed to pretend that everything was perfectly fine.
And it was. In fact, it was better than fine. This wasn't according to any plan, but Jake didn't care. This was so much better than anything they could have hoped for. Now, knowing his ability, they would