The three invited Alex to sit on the stoop with them. Alex really had nothing better to do and sat down with a sigh. "Geez! We just asked you to sit down. Don't make it out like we're keeping you from anything. You don't have a life to get to, nerd!" Mark snapped at him. While Mark was not the type to lay hands on him, it was clear that that there was resentment that Alex had gone off to college. Not that degrees in English and Journalism kept Alex from a shitty apartment and working retail. Alex did enjoy some added income and notoriety under his pen name, Axe Lander. Alex covered video game industry drama online and the gang warfare in the city from what the three told him. He send that type of things to the local paper. He was already instrumental in solving several cases against the Hearts and the Spades. Both gangs were bordering the Clovers, who were in the industrial east of the city. The Hearts were to the north and were the more business centered districts, The Spades had drugs on lockdown in the more spread out south part of the city.
Alex had been thinking and ignoring Mark. Mark snapped his fingers in Alex's face to assert himself. Mark yelled "I'm talking to you damnit! Don't you fucking ignore me nerd." Alex snapped to and put an uneasy smile on his their face. Alex said "I'm sorry. What were you saying again?" Mark growled and rolled his eyes before facing forward. "Fucking asshole." Mark muttered under his breath. Alex still had the app open on his phone. He looked at the other options. They decided to check out the mental section on the phone. Alex could change intelligence, fears, emotions, likes and dislikes, and... promiscuity? That was not happening, was it? There was no way Alex would do that to someone. He settled for lifting everyone's IQs by 25 points. Toby was at 78. He was a good guy. Alex always guessed that he was a bit slower. Leo was at 83, which was not much better. Mark was at 97. That was surprising. 'No wonder he hates me so much. If he could have gone, he probably would have.' Alex set it so everyone would notice them acting smarter.
