JR took the steps to the apartment complex slowly, trying to figure out how he was going to explain his actions to Aron. There would be no avoiding it: though he was healing, he could still feel the pain of his broken ribs and cheekbone and knew there would be bruising still. He had contemplated staying out until they finished healing, be he didn't actually know how long that would be and didn't want to be seen by police. And so he found himself standing in front of their shared apartment, taking several deep breaths before he pushed his key into the lock and entered the living room.

Aron was seated at the kitchen table, his laptop in front of him and his fingers steepled as he watched JR kick off his shoes. He didn't say a word as the younger of the two crossed the room, and only when JR was seated did he look pointedly at the bruising on his face. "Did he do that to you?" he asked.

JR bit off the sarcastic response that came to mind and mutely nodded, his fingers reaching up to touch his left cheek. He wasn't going to lie, it still hurt, and when he winced at his own touch, Aron nodded.

"It looks painful," he offered. He stood to go to the freezer, and he came back to offer a bag of frozen brussels sprouts to JR. "Press that to your face. You were seen, you know," he added as he returned to his seat.

JR froze, the bag halfway to his face, then nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. The helicopter. I was wearing a mask, though," he added in his defense. He knew that was what Aron was most worried about. After the visit from the police, Aron had been constantly concerned that they would come back with JR's medical records, even though he had said himself that it was illegal.

Now Aron merely nodded, watching as JR gingerly touched the cold bag to his cheekbone. It hurt, and yet he thought that he could feel the shift of bones as they healed if he concentrated on it. He was contemplating that maybe his healing could speed up if he willed it to, when Aron stood and closed his laptop.

"Alright. You need to continue your running and maybe lift some weights. I'll see if I can't find a class for you to sign up for fighting lessons."

"I'm too strong," JR began, but Aron raised a finger to shush him.

"I know. But you can dumb it down, right? That would probably be good practice for you anyway, learning to use your strength and speed softly instead of full blast. So I'll look for something, and in the meantime, you just try to train your own use on your powers. If you're going to do this, and apparently you are, then you're going to have to get stronger. This dude is gonna beat the crap out of you every time, otherwise."

JR didn't think that was a very fair depiction of his chances, after all the robber ad caught him off guard, but he did agree with Aron's ideas. And so it was that they began, and he started to push himself beyond his limits to get stronger. He lengthened his daily runs, going beyond his comfort zone and pushing himself to the point of actually sweating, though he realized that each day, he could go further without growing tired. Aron bought some twenty pound weights that JR could strap to his ankles and wrists, and after a few days of wearing them JR found that he was gaining more muscle definition. Aron watched his progress with a bit of jealousy, remarking that he wished that he could gain muscle half as quickly as JR's body did.

A little more than two weeks had passed, and JR stopped during one of his runs to buy a coke from a small mart that was along his new, magnified route. The spring weather was generally mild, but this day was a particularly hot one and he figured a cold soda sounded just about perfect. Just as he stepped out of the store, coke in hand and about to pop the lid, he looked up to see three men dressed in slacks and button down shirts approach him.

"Jason Kim, you need to come with us," one of them said, motioning toward a plain black SUV parked at the curb. He could see another man in the driver's seat, chewing gum that he popped incessantly.

"Uh-" JR began, trying to push back the panic so he could think clearly. "Are you cops?" he finally asked, leaving his coke unopened as he lowered his hands to his sides.

The speaker seemed to be able to tell that JR was going to run, because he motioned for the other two to take a step back. Then he looked at JR again and gave a small, secretive smile. "We're private security. And we know what you are. If you don't come with us, we'll be forced to turn you in to the police as an accomplice to the crimes."

JR didn't think they could do that, didn't thi