The Boston hospital room smelled like disinfectant and resignation.
David Chen sat propped against pillows, thirty-four years old and dying from the power that made him extraordinary. His medical chart listed the cause as "spontaneous skeletal crystallization secondary to kinetic energy exposure"—clinical language for bones turning to glass from absorbed impacts his body couldn't process.
"Mr. Hammer." His voice was thin. "Thanks for coming."
I pulled a chair close. Christine stood by the door, medical bag ready, expression carefully neutral. "David. Your message said you wanted to discuss power transfer."
"Yeah. I've got maybe three weeks left. Doctors say my skeleton's crystallizing—every impact I absorb accelerates the process. Eventually my bones just... shatter." He tried to laugh. It sounded like breaking glass. "Ironic. Power that makes me absorb kinetic energy is killing me with kinetic energy."
"How long have you had the ability?"
"Six years. Manifested when I was twenty-eight. Got hit by a car crossing the street—should've died. Instead, I absorbed the impact and redirected it as energy blast. Blew out the streetlights for a block." He touched his arm where crystalline patterns were visible beneath skin. "Been hiding ever since. Government wants to register mutants. SHIELD wants to study us. I just wanted to live normal life."
"But the power wouldn't let you."
"No. Every impact absorbed stressed my skeleton. Doctors said stop using it or die. I stopped. But the damage was already done—crystallization continued anyway. Terminal diagnosis came three months ago."
I thought about Tom Klein choosing to give me his gravity manipulation rather than die slowly. About the growing network of dying enhanced individuals who'd heard I offered ethical alternative to wasting away uselessly.
"I can take the power. Transfer it to myself. You'd die peacefully instead of waiting for your bones to shatter. Your family would receive two million dollars. And your ability would continue helping people instead of dying with you."
"That's what I heard through the network." David pulled out a tablet showing Ghost Network contacts. "Underground community talks about you. Says you're different from government agencies—you actually give a shit about consent and compensation."
"I try to."
"Then yeah. Let's do it. Better my power saves lives after I'm gone than vanishing into nothing."
Christine stepped forward. "Mr. Chen, the extraction process will be painful. Seventy minutes of active power transfer while conscious. You'll experience—"
"I'm dying. I've made peace with pain." He met her eyes. "Let's just get it done."
The extraction was brutal.
We'd converted a private hospital suite into temporary procedure room. David lay on reinforced bed while I activated All For One, right hand hovering above his chest. The kinetic absorption power resisted immediately—complex energy signature woven through his skeletal structure, fighting removal like animal caught in trap.
"Beginning extraction," I said through gritted teeth.
The power lashed out. Kinetic energy stored in David's bones discharged randomly—bed shaking, medical equipment rattling, walls cracking. Christine grabbed the doorframe to stay upright while AEGIS monitored vitals.
"Subject experiencing severe pain," the AI reported. "Recommend anesthesia."
"No," David gasped. "Want to... stay conscious. Want to know... it worked."
I pushed harder. All For One pulled at the power, unweaving it from David's crystallizing skeleton thread by thread. And with each thread came memories—not mine, but his.
Childhood bullied for being different. Mutation discovery at twenty-eight. Years hiding from government registration. Terminal diagnosis faced alone because telling family would expose the secret. A life of fear and isolation ending in painful death.
This is what powers cost. Not just corruption for me, but suffering for the people born with them.
Thirty minutes passed. Forty. Fifty.
The void marks burned beneath my shirt, spreading visibly as corruption accelerated. I felt it climbing—eleven-point-five percent to twelve, twelve to twelve-point-five, still rising.
"Corruption at thirteen percent," AEGIS warned. "Largest single increase recorded. Recommend—"
"Keep going," I said.
At seventy minutes, the power snapped free.
David screamed. I collapsed forward, catching myself against the bed. The kinetic absorption ability settled into my mental vault alongside the others—five powers now. Pyrokinesis unstable, Regeneration and Enhanced Reflexes active, Gravity Control trained, and now Kinetic Absorption waiting to be mastered.
"Status," Christine demanded, already checking David's vitals.
"He's... stable," AEGIS reported. "Crystallization halted. Remaining lifespan extended to approximately 48 hours."
David opened his eyes. "Did it work?"
"Yes." I straightened despite exhaustion. "Your power transferred successfully. You have about two days left, but they'll be peaceful. No more pain. No more crystallization."
"Good." He smiled weakly. "Use it well. Make it matter."
"I will."
Christine pulled me aside while David rested. "Thirteen percent. That's point-five percent jump in seventy minutes. Your system is struggling with energy-based powers more than physical enhancements."
"I know."
"Justin, if you keep acquiring powers at this rate—"
"I know," I repeated. "But David was dying anyway. At least this way his ability continues serving a purpose."
"At cost of accelerating your own death."
"That's the bargain I made two years ago. Nothing's changed."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but we both knew it was pointless. I'd made my choice. She'd made hers to stay despite disagreeing.
"Test the new power carefully," she said finally. "Energy-based abilities are unpredictable."
Three hours later, back at Hammer Industries, I tested kinetic absorption in the reinforced training facility.
Frank threw a punch at full Extremis strength. I activated the new power, felt the impact strike my palm—and vanish. The kinetic energy flowed into my body, stored as potential rather than trauma. My hand glowed faintly with absorbed force.
"Feels weird," I said. "Like holding compressed spring."
"Release it," Frank suggested.
I directed the stored energy back at him. The blast hit his chest, knocked him back three feet. He grinned through orange-glowing skin.
"That's useful. How long can you hold it?"
"AEGIS?"
"Maximum storage: sixty seconds before energy dissipates. Maximum absorption: kinetic force equivalent to small vehicle collision. Requires active concentration—not automatic like regeneration."
"So I have to choose to activate it."
"Correct. Additionally, combining kinetic absorption with gravity control creates interesting synergies. You could reduce incoming attack's weight while absorbing its kinetic energy, effectively nullifying most physical threats."
I tested that theory. Frank threw another punch. I reduced its gravitational mass while absorbing kinetic energy. The strike felt like being touched by feather despite Frank's enhanced strength.
"Jesus," he said. "That's broken."
"That's five powers working in concert." I checked my corruption levels. "How much did dual activation cost?"
"Point-zero-one percent increase. Negligible for short duration." AEGIS paused. "However, triple activation with regeneration added would approach dangerous thresholds. Recommend limiting simultaneous power usage to two maximum in non-emergency scenarios."
"Noted."
We trained for another hour—me learning kinetic absorption's limits, Frank providing increasingly creative attacks to test with. By the end, I could reliably absorb impacts, store energy, and redirect it as offensive blasts or enhanced strikes.
Thirteen percent corruption. Five vault powers. Combat capability approaching super-soldier level.
And all it cost was accelerated death timeline.
That evening, I visited David Chen's family.
His wife opened the door—tired eyes, worn clothes, small apartment in working-class neighborhood. Two children peeked around her legs.
"Mrs. Chen. I'm Justin Hammer. We spoke on the phone."
"You're the one who..." She struggled for words. "Who helped David?"
"Yes." I handed her an envelope. "Two million dollars as agreed. Compensation for your husband's contribution and support for your family's future."
She stared at the envelope like it might explode. "This is real?"
"Real. Deposited in account we established in your name. Tax-free. No strings attached."
Her daughter—maybe eight years old—stepped forward. "Did Daddy's power work? Can you do what he could do?"
I knelt to her level. Activated kinetic absorption briefly, let my hand glow faintly with stored energy, then released it harmlessly into the air as sparkles.
"Yes. I can do what your Daddy could do. And I'll use it to help protect people."
"Will you be a hero with Daddy's power?"
I thought about that question. About Marcus Chen dying in car crash and getting second chance. About Justin Hammer being joke villain I'd replaced. About David Chen's dying wish that his ability matter.
"I'll try to be," I said honestly. "That's all anyone can do. Try to use what they have to make things better."
"Okay." She hugged her mother's leg. "Tell Daddy thank you for trying."
"I will."
I left them with the money and the promise. Drove back to Hammer Industries thinking about the weight of carrying other people's powers. Each one represented a life—Tom Klein's construction work, David Chen's hiding from registration, all the others I'd eventually acquire.
They deserve better than being forgotten. Better than dying with abilities unused.
The void marks pulsed steadily. Thirteen percent corruption.
But David Chen's daughter would go to college. Tom Klein's wife had financial security. And their powers would continue serving purpose beyond their original owners' shortened lives.
That had to count for something.
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