[b]Mark[/b]

His eyes were as adjusted as they would ever be to this gloom. His eyes were taking in what little light was leaking in from outside, whether from his teammates or his enemies. Just enough to keep him from blindness; if he wanted to discern any detail from anything, it was like looking for Waldo from a meter away. It was doable.. it just took time. Lucky for him, his power gave him all the time in the world. And the music had stopped. That was pleasant.

The room he was in was centered around the flag in the middle: it looked like a carbon fiber pole, and it bent ever so slightly when he pushed up against it. Obviously it was designed to be rugged. Good to know. On the lower floor there was an entrance and a set of stairs to it's right that hugged the corner of the room on it's ascent. There was a side entrance to the left and above was the second floor, which was little more than some balconies with steel-mesh railings and a roof. As to where that would lead.. he didn't know. Mark did know that there were balconies on the outside, but he didn't plan to go on defense. He didn't plan for the lights going out either, and it wasn't caused by a member of [i]his[/i] team, he knew that for damn sure. That meant that he could be fighting people who could see in the dark. He bit he would have bitten his lip if he still had those subtle reflexes.

A wave of embarrassment seemed to wash over him as he remembered the phone in his pocket. He switched it on and checked the battery: 74%. Perfect. He closed one eye and switched on it's flashlight function, holding it facing the ground. The room immediately illuminated itself. He let a small grin slide across his face for a brief second as he contemplated his own forgetfulness. Nikki's (or he assumed they were Nikki's) bugs were scurrying around, now illuminated beyond a blob of moving shadow. One crawled up his leg, infatuated by the glow coming from his hand, but Mark gave it little attention: he was on high alert. Flag in hand, torch in the other, awaiting an assault from people with powers greater than his own and with no allies in sight. A rock fell to the pit of his stomach as visions of permanent damage echoed through his psyche.

From nowhere, a wave of electricity flowed through the bunker. He watched it travel with chaotic beauty across the walls and flooring with a brilliant blue glow as the rest of the world stood still. He stared as sparks flew from the insects it overtook. It crossed his mind that something similar may happen to him when it finally came to his feet, but it was far too late for him to jump out of the way of something this fast. He knew what would happen to his phone if it connected to it, and he figured that his suit would have more resistance than Nikki's (he assumed) bugs. His body on the other hand..

As the oncoming tide of lightning crept closer, Mark tried desperately to drop his phone; to break physical contact and minimize chance of it getting hit. He felt the tendons in his fingers and palm scream at him the impossibility of the effort, but he was running on fear. Fear of what could come for him in the dark in this school of monsters. Some damage to his hand was worth the risk of being left in the dark. He fought for what felt like a good 10 minutes against a foe that could not be stopped.

And with that resolve, and his supreme surprise; his hand opened. The pain was gone, but he felt like he'd just done a full day's work in front of a computer screen: he was felt mentally drained. The phone stayed still in the air, and his fingers were no longer in contact.. the skin on the sides of his fingers felt raw. But he had done it in time: although he couldn't move his head to see it reach his feet, the blue incandescence only just reached his feet. He let time flow quicker to dull the shock that coursed through his body, and then it was gone.

His hair was slightly on end, but he didn't have time to admire that: he spun his vision round and caught his falling phone before it hit the presumably steel floor. It still worked fine. As he had hoped, his body had enough resistance to stop the electricity from arcing over to his phone: if he still had contact however, then it would assuredly have done some level of damage to such intricate circuitry. Or at least, he imagined it would. He wondered whether his physics was right, or he had imagined the entire peril that the unexpected attack would be to his phone.

The bug from before, now happily on his shoulder, seemed indifferent to his fretting. A hard one-eyed stare did nothing to convince it of the importance of physics. With a sigh, Mark went back to listening for intruders, and watching for movement.

He did not even consider that his power had begun its development.