has the decency to leave you alone, then.”
I canted my head to the side, looking at him. “What about you? You seem like a decent, caring person. I followed him because I was in love. What would make someone like you purposefully side with Doctor Maniac?”
Derek sighed. “I owed him.”
“For what?”
“I used to be married. Years ago. My wife Activated a few years after our wedding.”
“You were both Enhanced?”
“No. She was a Slip.”
I looked away, unable to respond.
When someone went through Activation, several sequences of their genetic makeup morphed into a configuration that could absorb the cosmic energy constantly bombarding the Earth and use it to fuel the new Enhancements. For most, that same alteration to their DNA granted them an immunity to their abilities. Fire generators, for example, gained a resistance to the effects of flames.
However, about .01% had a seriously negative reaction to the sudden influx of energy and that protection against themselves didn’t come with the rest of the package. In which case, the fire manipulator from the previous example? Well, they better invest in some asbestos underwear and a shitload of aloe, because every time they conjured a flame, they’re were going to get burned.
These poor people were known as “Slips”. It’s short for “slip-up” and isn’t the most politically correct term. Even if it was pretty accurate.
I finally dared to ask. “What was her power?”
“Entropy Acceleration.”
“Oh god.” I put my hand over my mouth. Anytime someone had the ability to control the way things—or people—aged, it never ended well.
Derek nodded. “Happened while she was at work. Her boss was berating her for not catching his mistake and she thought she was going to get fired. He put his hand on her shoulder and … poof. Poor guy went from being an early thirties up-and-coming hotshot to a senile, octogenarian in the span of a half hour.”
“I guess the EAPF showed up?”
“Yeah. But there were witnesses, so they didn’t press charges. They were going to detain her, but something got messed up in the paperwork and they let her go. It was a few weeks later that I noticed her hair was going gray.”
“Her Slip Effect,” I said. “Let me guess, Martin showed up and offered to help?”
“Yes. The doctors, the EAPF, no one was able to help Susanna. Except Martin.”
I nodded. If there was anyone on the planet that understood Enhanced physiology better than Doctor Maniac, I’d never heard of them. “He fix her?”
“Yeah. He helped her get some control over her Enhancement and even managed to roll back some of the years she’d put on herself.”
“All out of the goodness of his heart.” I sneered. Martin never gave away his services.
“He didn’t ask for anything in return. Not at the time.” He gave a little shrug. “After she passed, he came to the funeral, offered his condolences, and asked me for a little favor.”
“That’s how he operates, Derek. We both know that.” Martin had an uncanny knack for finding an Enhanced in need. The ones with particular abilities would eventually be recruited into the organization.
“Now. I’ve seen him do it enough after I joined that I understand his methods.” His dark brown eyes fixed on me. “But he gave me a few more good years with my wife, so I decided to help.”
“But why stay? He did something for you and you did him something in return. Why stay with someone you knew was so … evil?” I hated the cliché taste of the word. When there were people running around the planet with abilities straight out of comic books, evil took on a whole new meaning.
“To preserve the peace.” I must have made a face because he continued to explain. “There were plenty of people who wanted to join Martin’s group. Many of them had aspirations of toppling him and taking control. We both know that wouldn’t have worked, but the attempted coup could have been bad for the
I canted my head to the side, looking at him. “What about you? You seem like a decent, caring person. I followed him because I was in love. What would make someone like you purposefully side with Doctor Maniac?”
Derek sighed. “I owed him.”
“For what?”
“I used to be married. Years ago. My wife Activated a few years after our wedding.”
“You were both Enhanced?”
“No. She was a Slip.”
I looked away, unable to respond.
When someone went through Activation, several sequences of their genetic makeup morphed into a configuration that could absorb the cosmic energy constantly bombarding the Earth and use it to fuel the new Enhancements. For most, that same alteration to their DNA granted them an immunity to their abilities. Fire generators, for example, gained a resistance to the effects of flames.
However, about .01% had a seriously negative reaction to the sudden influx of energy and that protection against themselves didn’t come with the rest of the package. In which case, the fire manipulator from the previous example? Well, they better invest in some asbestos underwear and a shitload of aloe, because every time they conjured a flame, they’re were going to get burned.
These poor people were known as “Slips”. It’s short for “slip-up” and isn’t the most politically correct term. Even if it was pretty accurate.
I finally dared to ask. “What was her power?”
“Entropy Acceleration.”
“Oh god.” I put my hand over my mouth. Anytime someone had the ability to control the way things—or people—aged, it never ended well.
Derek nodded. “Happened while she was at work. Her boss was berating her for not catching his mistake and she thought she was going to get fired. He put his hand on her shoulder and … poof. Poor guy went from being an early thirties up-and-coming hotshot to a senile, octogenarian in the span of a half hour.”
“I guess the EAPF showed up?”
“Yeah. But there were witnesses, so they didn’t press charges. They were going to detain her, but something got messed up in the paperwork and they let her go. It was a few weeks later that I noticed her hair was going gray.”
“Her Slip Effect,” I said. “Let me guess, Martin showed up and offered to help?”
“Yes. The doctors, the EAPF, no one was able to help Susanna. Except Martin.”
I nodded. If there was anyone on the planet that understood Enhanced physiology better than Doctor Maniac, I’d never heard of them. “He fix her?”
“Yeah. He helped her get some control over her Enhancement and even managed to roll back some of the years she’d put on herself.”
“All out of the goodness of his heart.” I sneered. Martin never gave away his services.
“He didn’t ask for anything in return. Not at the time.” He gave a little shrug. “After she passed, he came to the funeral, offered his condolences, and asked me for a little favor.”
“That’s how he operates, Derek. We both know that.” Martin had an uncanny knack for finding an Enhanced in need. The ones with particular abilities would eventually be recruited into the organization.
“Now. I’ve seen him do it enough after I joined that I understand his methods.” His dark brown eyes fixed on me. “But he gave me a few more good years with my wife, so I decided to help.”
“But why stay? He did something for you and you did him something in return. Why stay with someone you knew was so … evil?” I hated the cliché taste of the word. When there were people running around the planet with abilities straight out of comic books, evil took on a whole new meaning.
“To preserve the peace.” I must have made a face because he continued to explain. “There were plenty of people who wanted to join Martin’s group. Many of them had aspirations of toppling him and taking control. We both know that wouldn’t have worked, but the attempted coup could have been bad for the
Similar Books
