[ WP ] Write a story about a person with a superpower that has a consequence/limitation more interesting than said power .

`` Help please!'' A woman screamed from the darkened alley to the figure walking past. The two men holding her to the brick wall behind the dumpster tried to silence her by forcing one of their grimy hand against her mouth, and growling threats of harm in her ear. The figure paused for a moment and glanced into the opening between the two long abandoned store fronts at the crime taking place. The hood of his sweatshirt blocked the pale face from the dim streetlights and from the eyes of victim and attackers.The woman bite down on the mongrels hand which allowed her to shout once more. 
 
 `` Do something, please!'' she begged the onlooker. She was once again silenced by another dirty palm and a strike to her head. 
 
 Thomas winced at the sound of the fist striking skull as he sized up the men forcing themselves upon the innocent from his position at the entrance of the alleyway. A conflict raged behind the blue eyes as he weighed his options. 
 
 `` Get outta here, ya runt!'' a gruff voice shouted as it fought to hold the struggling girl. 
 
 Were those men actually going to kill her? Thomas asked himself ignoring the continued threats from the lady's overaggressive callers. And was her life even worth it? Dwelling on the situation for only a moment the young man shoved his hands into the pockets of his corduroys and was about to continue his midnight stroll uninterrupted when through the shadows his gaze connected with the green eyes of bloodied girl. 
 
 Never has Thomas seen such a hopeless gaze. She had given up and submitted to the will of the rapists. Looking into such a soulless expression was like looking into empty sockets and something within boiled to the top of Thomas's emotions. Sympathy. He has only seen such a glare once before, and in an instant his mind was changed. Drawing back the green hood of his sweatshirt, Thomas exposed his mess of blonde hair. 
 
 `` Leave her alone, and you may walk away with your lives!'' Thomas yelled in his most menacing voice, which must lacked sincerity because the men just chuckled and the lesser of the two stepped away from his duty holding the knife to their prey's throat. 
 
 The man was wearing a black ski mask, but his heavy jacket and rubber boots hinted at his occupation as a dock laborer. 
 
 `` You just made a huge mistake, boy!'' The grizzled voice that echoed of years of cigarette abuse, shouted as he charged at Thomas, knife brought to bear. 
 
 Thomas's pupils overtook the whites of his eyes as he called upon his curse. The long shadows of the alleyway reacted and began squirm as they were being summoned. The charging man paid no heed to the shifting darkness until the tentacles of ink streaked from their hiding places and ripped his head from his shoulders. The black mask sailed through the air and landed before Thomas, as the lifeless body of the thug bounced against the grungy concrete of the sidewalk in a pool of scarlet slime. 
 
 Fear filled the cut outs of the remaining man's mask as he screamed and dropped the girl in a heap. He turned tail and began to flee as fast as his legs could carry him towards the opposite exit of the alleyway. However, before he was able to escape ropes of shadow snaked forth and wrapped about his ankles dragging him back to Thomas. Like a baby, the man blubbered behind the cotton of his mask begging for forgiveness. 
 
 The taste of copper filled Thomas's mouth and his skin was already begin to sting, so he had no time to listen to the scum's attempts at saving his own life. Tendrils entered the dockworker's body through his mouth and nose causing him to choke and gag. The dark powers made quick work as they feasted on the bodies of the molesters, and soon there was nothing left but grease stained clothing and red pavement. 
 
 Thomas's pupils receded back into his iris and returned to normal size. His vision however was beginning to grow cloudy and dark visions began to fill his head, as the consequences of using the shadows began to take hold. Pain erupted from his bones as if they were replaced with hot coals and blood filled his sinuses. Moaning from the agony, Thomas wobbled his way across the empty street into the opposite alleyway, and collapsed in despair behind a pile of trash. At this point he could not care less about the status of the woman. He was far to busy preparing himself for the hours of suffering about to come. 
 
 Every fiber felt as if it was being torn asunder, and his fingers began jerking at unnatural angles breaking in every possible way. Inwardly screaming, Thomas feel into an ocean of misery. Unfortunately this was not the first time he has sailed this sea, and he doubted it would be his last. The boiling waves consumed him as his organs were light a blaze and the outside world turn black and Thomas was trapped inside his head with only his own pain as company. 
 
 When Thomas woke it was still deep into the night and the pool of his own urine had grown stale and cold. Pushing himself off the frigid ground and finding his balance on weak knees, he left the passageway and began the journey home trying to forget his experiences. 
 
 A half mile away from his apartment, Thomas came across a business man being mugged by a number of young gang members in the doorway of one of the many rundown apartment complexes. The suit was already soaked with blood as the gang stabbed its wearer. Again, Thomas shoved his newly repair hand in his excrement stained pants and continued on his way home this time ignoring the cries for help. 
 
 Sorry, Thomas thought, once was enough for tonight.
