Jericho ringed Harrison’s doorbell, and immediately Harrison’s voice came out from the speaker attached to the doorbell. “I told you not to ring when I know you’re coming. It’s already unlocked, and I know when you’re here.”

“Yeah, I just like—” Jericho began before he opened the door and finished as he came in. “—pissing you off.”

“Yeah, shut up and shut the door already.”

“Don’t you have powers for that.”

“Very well reserved ones that I use for good sadly,” Harrison said. “At least now I use it for good.”

“Pushing shopping carts wasn’t for good?” Jericho said.

“Haha,” Harrison said dryly. “Very funny.”

“Whatcha working on?”

“Some dumb-as-fuck prerequisite shit. I still have gen eds to do sadly. I’m taking a psychology class on fucking superhumans.”

“You’re fucking superhumans? Is that like an intro to fucking or–”

“You’re funny,” Harrison said.

Jericho laughed. He toned down and said, “Psychology classes sound police related.”

“I suppose,” Harrison said. “I generally have a better grasp of people by just talking to them. I don’t need to psychoanalyze why someone decides to rob a store. It’s usually something about their upbringing yada yada, and having shit abilities.”

“Our future police force, ladies and gentlemen,” Jericho said.

“I’m thinking of dropping out or doing some other shit. I should have joined the military.”

“So you could fight in those pointless wars?”

“Better than studying for this exam.”

“On one hand you have killing other superhumans, and on the other you have protecting citizens. I love that parallel.”

“I think I just like fighting, man,” Harrison said. “It’s like an addiction.”

“You like getting your shit kicked in?” Jericho said jokingly. Jericho already knew that Harrison loved to fight, but he never blatantly admitted it before. Something must be going on, possibly just stress from school. Jericho put that thought in the backburner for now.

“Sure,” Harrison said. “I know it sounds weird, but a punch to my face feels great. I must be a masochist. But, seriously, I only feel alive when I fight. Maybe I should drop out to become a professional super-fighter. I could make a lot of money that way. Some get paid millions just for one fight.”

“Your ability is not really flashy honestly. I can’t say that I know many telekinetic fighters. They’re usually doing higher paying jobs, aren’t they? Also, can’t you just use your little telekinesis powers to bind your opponent and kill them instantly?”

“Every major fighting organization has rule books in place, otherwise it would be no fun watching two people fight unfairly. Things like handicaps and rules are determined when new people join. There’s an entire team of people that set those super-fights up. Nobody simply gets tossed in to brawl. A lot goes on behind the scenes.” Harrison scratched his head, already done with that part of the conversation. “Fuck dropping out. I need to stop being such a pussy. Stop putting bad ideas in my head, Jericho.”

“Turn on the T.V.” Harrison said. He pointed to a remote on a table. “The season finale of Cops and Robbers is on.”

“You have powers, man,” Jericho said.

“I’m tired.”

“You literally just have to use your mind.”

“Psychology is beating my ass.”

“Fine,” Jericho said. He grabbed the remote and pressed the power button.

The T.V. purred on. It was a relatively newer model that was built with faulty parts. Harrison could return it since the manufacturer said they would allow returns, but he never had the time to do so, or at least that is what he told Jericho.

On the T.V., a police car chased after another vehicle, while a flock of other police vehicles followed suit. At this point police chases were pure entertainment. Want to see something cool? Just turn on the T.V. and a crime is probably being broadcasted. The broadcasts became so well-crafted that overtime keeping people safe turned into a business that made billions of dollars yearly.

“Why don’t you do that?” Jericho said.

“I’m thinking about it, but you have to get up the ladder to do those types of things. It’s easier being a detective, and on the show, you only get paid if you capture the criminal.”

“They have sponsors, don’t they?”

“Oh, I haven’t thought about that,” Harrison said.

An animation appeared, the words Visor Energy Instant Replay showed on the screen, before cutting back to the video reel. How could Harrison miss something so blatantly noticeable? Jericho even noted a few sponsors on the police vehicles.

In the replay, it broadcast a police vehicle that flipped over and totaled on the side of the road. The video cut back now showing medics tending to the person’s wounds, while the rest of the police cars continued. The next police car moved up in line, and it was now their turn to detain the criminal.

“I am so excited to see what Richie Gomez has in store for us!” Announcer Zachary Williams said.

“I have to agree! I cannot wait to see what he does with his flaming balls of fire!” Co-announcer Sasha Barrington said. “Let’s not forget the other part of the duo! His twin Mary Gomez is the very woman driving the car; with her clairvoyance she is calculating every route and path possible.”

“We’re in for a treat for sure!” Williams said. “Remember, folks. This episode is sponsored by Shave Beyond! Because nobody goes more above and beyond than Shave Beyond!”

Harrison put aside his work, which meant he was done studying and remembered every bit of material he had just reviewed. His attention was now fixed onto the T.V.

Richie Gomez threw his first fireball, an obvious miss, or maybe a well thought out fireball using his sister’s clairvoyance.

“This sure is a historical event! These pros will be entering their 100^th criminal chase and this could be their 95^th capture. Will they set a world record, and become famous?” The announcer roared with excitement. “Or will they falter, and become forgotten like the rest of the pros that never return?”

The other announcer beamed, “I sure hope they capture him! It would be sad not seeing the twin duo again. If they do fail, it was nice seeing them.”

Most professional police chasers never quite get the same recognition when they hit their stride, and eventually their peak. It usually goes down from there. At that point, the audience becomes tired of them, and finds them no longer worth their time, the competitors themselves washed up. Such is the environment of a competitive field. Pros are usually given five chances of failure before changing sports or looking elsewhere for competition. Even if they do recuperate or do well again pros are easily discarded and thrown aside and a fresh, new rookie gets a chance at stardom.

“They’ve had four losses in a row. They’re going to choke,” Harrison said. “That, or shit is rigged. No ones ever gotten to 100 captures, nevertheless 95.”

“Now, let’s look at the bounty!” The announcer said. “Here, we have the tough, hardened criminal, Isaiah Delton. He escaped from one of the country’s most fortified private, state prisons, and has been on the run for ten years. Since then, he has been running the underground trade of drugs, guns, and narcotics, and has been terrorizing the city of Claude. He currently has a bounty of $740,000. Here we have Cheryl Abernathy with one of the town’s citizens.”

The feed transitioned and showed two women. Behind them was an audience. They cheered and waved and made faces towards the camera.

“Isaiah Delton is finally being pursued,” Abernathy said. “How do you feel about that?”

The woman with an already frowning face said, “That monster deserves to die! He is a disease that plagues our streets. Our children are unsafe. I hope they kill him, that fu-”

Abernathy quickly pulled the mic back towards her, “Whoa! That is a lot of animosity. I can relate deeply. This sounds similar to the case that happened in the Friar City, when they finally captured Fuse Mamoru. Well, let us hope that they catch this man too.”

The feed transitioned back. The two announcers showed back on screen.

The box containing the two announcers tightened into a smaller shape, until they were in a tinier box on the screen.

“Very tragic,” Williams said.

“Indeed, very sad,” Barrington said. “The man should be back within bars. If the Gomez twins can handle this, then they will obtain the $740,000 bounty on his head.”

A second later they were gone, still commentating. The feed went back to the cars.

The Gomez twins were still in pursuit. Something had gone wrong, since they transitioned to Abernathy interviewing that citizen. The chase should have ended by now, with the Gomez’s car totaled, Isaiah’s car totaled, or a fight between all of them. None of that was happening.

They were still chasing after the car.

“I told you,” Harrison said. “Shit’s rigged. They probably have someone fucking with their abilities, and that’s why they don’t want to advance. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re being told to lose on purpose at this very moment. I could be overthinking it though."

“Gomez twins any good?” Jericho said. He never spent time watching these shows. Why would he enjoy watching people with abilities he does not have?

“Yeah, they’re good. They were detectives before this. They’re very smart. Her clairvoyance is very strong, but I would say that she probably doesn’t even need it. She solves crimes without even fucking trying. You should search her up.” Harrison continued. “Don’t get me started on the brother. He controls fire. I know; big fucking deal, right? Well, he can control it to the tee. He manipulates that shit with such ease that it could do anything for him. I heard he could thread a flame through a needle from a mile away. That’s how good he is.”

Jericho nodded. It was impressive after all. He wondered what types of things he could do with his power, and the learning curve he would have to go through to even become an expert at his own ability.

“Do you think there is such a thing as a bad ability?” Jericho asked.

“A bad ability?” Harrison said. “No such thing. It’s how you utilize it that matters.” He glanced away from the T.V. momentarily to look at Jericho. “Hell, you would be fine if you stopped relying on your need for an ability so much. Use that brain of yours, Jericho. Powers aren’t everything. I know that shit makes you mad, and that I can’t relate because I do have a power, but there’s truth to what I say.”

Jericho gritted his teeth. Harrison was right; he cannot relate. He wanted to punch Harrison in the face but decided against picking a fight with someone that has telekinesis powers.

“Fucking ad break,” Harrison cursed. He instantly transitioned and went back to studying.