17 October 2011
I’m pretty crap at this secret identity stuff, aren’t I? “Well, wading into the middle of a supervillain dustup isn’t exactly secretive.”
12 Oct 2011
It could be the wine, I say. “Maybe,” says R. “So – do you think you escaped the brainslavement because of your secret superpowers, Harry?”
10 Oct 2011
We debrief over a cold riesling at Jenny’s place. “So that’s what being a mindslave feels like,” R says. “I feel all weird and alpha-wavey.”
4 Oct 2011
I repress the urge to tell her about cutting up a steak from the other side of the room and look over at Jenny & Rashid. They’re waking up.
19 Sep 2011
Skeptical – okay. I can do that, I say. “Just remember there’s different ways to put your powers to use, besides the obvious,” she says.
19 Sep 2011
“I don’t have a card,” she says. “I can give you some advice, though.” Sure, I say. “Be skeptical. Don’t take things at face value.”
29 Aug 2011
She smiles. “How long have you done this?” Um, not long. A week, maybe. “I can tell,” she says. Are you going to give me your card? I ask.
29 Aug 2011
Yeah, I levitate things. I mean I… use my… life chi? To come out of my hand? Or hands? Telkekinetically, I mean.
22 Aug 2011
“That’s your power, is it?” she asks, reaching out to touch my throat. “Levitation?” I probably should be cagier here, but she seems nice.
22 Aug 2011
On the sidelines, I say. I was looking after my friends. I had to move some shelves around. And sort of levitate them when they attacked me.
19 Aug 2011
“Your friends are going to be fine,” Greenhair says. “I’m more concerned about you, though. You’re very pale. Were you in the fight?”
8 Aug 2011
A woman with a green crewcut is going around looking over all of the still-prone brainwashees. I hop up and wander over to talk to her.
1 Aug 2011
He heads over to chat with Apex Baron. I sit down again and wait for my friends to wake up. Seems I’ve got a couple of superdates lined up.
29 Jul 2011
“We met in that cafe downtown last week. Nice work with the bookcases,” he says. I twig. It’s Mr. Friendly. “Meet me there tomorrow at one.”
27 Jul 2011
I flick the power down and out and catch the coin. “Got it that time,” he says. I look him in the eyes. He seems more familiar to me now.
21 Jul 2011
“Nice to see you again,” he says. I don’t recognise him, though. He smiles and reaches into his pocket. “Catch this for me,” he says.
18 Jul 2011
It occurs to me to wonder where Wheelchair Guy is. Can’t see him anywhere. I stand for a better look & elbow a dapper dude all tuxedoed up.
15 Jul 2011
I check out the other brainwashees. Some are still lying on the floor while others stand around or shuffle out the door in twos & threes.
11 Jul 2011
The signal’s really shit. Of course it is, idiot, I think to myself. You can’t expect full bars five minutes after a robodillo attack. Der.
11 Jul 2011
Jenny & Rashid might just be asleep, but I want to be sure they’re OK, so I grab my phone to Google “supervillain brainwash after effects”.
8 Jul 2011
I settle on “SKIRmish” over “SKIRMish” and sit cross-legged beside the guys and watch the cleanup for a moment. The adrenalin is kicking in.
8 Jul 2011
I feel pretty good, though, considering. I experiment with ways to say the word “skirmish” as I walk over to where I left Rashid and Jenny.
6 Jul 2011
I, however, am shagged. My wrists are throbbing and I’m panting like an out-of-shape jogger. To be fair, it was my first official skirmish.
6 Jul 2011
Up at the lectern Apex Baron is quietly talking to his publisher. One sleeve is missing from his suit, but he isn’t even breathing hard.
4 Jul 2011
It’s a business card. Three words and an email address. “Powers Without Conflict”. I stick it in my back pocket.
1 Jul 2011
I turn around. A guy in green-lensed glasses hands me a card. “Love to chat. Call me,” he says, then disappears in a halo of green light.
27 Jun 2011
I ease them onto their backs and slowly stand up. My hands ache. I look around to see what’s what. Someone taps me on the shoulder.
22 Jun 2011
Behind me something explodes. Loose pages blow thru the air above us. Jenny and Rashid go limp. We’re covered in plaster dust.
15 Jun 2011
I reach out with the power in both hands and grab them, pinning their arms. They struggle and I have to concentrate to hang on.
6 Jun 2011
Jenny lifts the book and swings it down at my head. Rashid brings his foot back to add power to his kick. Their eyes are all white no pupil.
1 Jun 2011
I look up. Jenny and Rashid are standing over me. Jenny has a hardback in both hands. There’s a picture of a brain on the cover.
30 May 2011
Something hits me in the back of the neck and I go down hard, smacking my face as I land on a pile of scattered books.
29 May 2011
Behind the lectern Apex Baron has one of Wheelchair Guy’s wrists in each hand. The right one holds an old-school looking gun. A luger maybe.
28 May 2011
Three hipsters in thick-rimmed glasses dogpile onto a dude with green hair, who lifts them all above his head with one freaky enlarged hand.
27 May 2011
A woman shoots blue fire from her hands at one robodillo while a guy with metal fists starts smacking into the other like a punch ball.
24 May 2011
A guy with pointy ears in a purple zoot suit puts a woman in a twinset in some kind of wrestling hold, pinning her to the ground.
24 May 2011
All the nonsupers nod simultaneously and turn to attack the supers. Above the robodillo hum I can hear wheelchair guy laughing.
9.51pm 21st May 2011
They stand with their heads tilted upwards. Some supers exchange looks like they know what’s going on. One guy literally sheathes his sword.
4.55pm 20th May 2011
The robodillos’ hum drops in tone. The nonsupers in the crowd stand up from where they’d fallen or push the closest super out of the way.
4.52pm 20th May 2011
I can’t hear what wheelchair guy is saying over the high-pitched hum of the robodillos, but he’s certainly animated. Lots of gesticulation.
3.44pm 18th May 2011
The robodillos curl into balls and start spinning like chrome world globes. Wheelchair guy floats over to Apex Baron. Nobody else moves.
8.55 pm 17th May 2011
A guy in a wheelchair levitates through the shattered window, flanked by what looks like two pairs of robot armadillos. He looks ancient.
7.03pm 16 May 2011
All the superguests are standing in a way I can’t not call “poised”: fists clenched, claws/weapons out, various bodyparts glowing strangely.
6.34pm 15 May 2011
I grab two young adult bookshelves at a distance and drag them in front of my friends to shield them, then turn to see what’s going on.
6.30pm 15 May 2011
It feels like cold hands under a scalding tap as I point at Rashid and Jenny and shove the power out, pushing them to the back of the shop.
1.45pm 19th February 2011
He adjusts his glasses and glances at his notes. He looks back up at the crowd and the shopfront window explodes inward.
2.33pm 8th February 2011
He pauses for acknowledgement of his little joke. Polite chuckles from the masked portion of the crowd, but I can sense Jenny’s disapproval.
2.29pm 8th February 2011
“I’ve never been comfortable speaking in public,” he says. “I’d much rather deal with death-traps or break badguys’ jaws, to be honest.”
11.44am 4th February 2011
He smiles with chagrin as he puts the busted mic down and apologises in a deep, mellifluous voice that needs no amplification whatsoever.
9.44pm 3rd February 2011
Which he most definitely is, since as he takes the mic in hand, smiling modestly, there’s a crack and a fizzle as he snaps it in half.
9.40pm 3rd February 2011
As long as he was insanely fit and healthy and maybe some kind of geriatric superfreak ex-hero guy, that is.
9.37pm 3rd February 2011
She steps aside and half-turns to the dude in the suit, who now that I consider it, could actually be the right age for that anecdote.
1.45pm 27th January 2011
“I won’t go into detail about his rescue of Oma and her fellow nurses – suffice it to say that if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be here now.”
8.55pm 10th January 2011
“Ever since I was a little girl my oma would tell stories of how she met Apex Baron during the war when she was stationed in the far north.”
8.32pm 9th January 2011
“Thanks everyone for coming out tonight. I’m Marcy Baines, Senior Publisher at Ahemhem. I first encountered tonight’s author as a child…”
2.33pm 17th March 2010
Shushes as a thin blond woman doof doof doofs the mike with her hand. A big guy, early fifties, expensive charcoal suit, stands beside her.
7.55pm 16th March 2010
He was big in the ’40s, I say. I think he’s retired now. “Nazi-buster,” says Rashid. Jap-buster, I say. Nazis didn’t get this far south.
7.50pm 16th March 2010
“‘Apex Baron’? Never heard of him,” says Rashid. I flip for the middle-page glossies. They’re all black & whites/sepias. Army stuff mostly.
9.56pm 14th March 2010
“This revealing memoir documents the origins of Apex Baron and his rise to prominence among the superheroes of the Western Hemisphere.”
9.52pm 14th March 2010
“Power”? Not a modest title, is it? I say. I flip for the blurb. “Ten years ago a young man’s life was irrevocably changed…”
2.14pm 12th March 2010
Jenny comes over with the book. Kudos to the designers for resisting any of the obvious visual cape/mask/logo cliches. The title, though…
7.58pm 11th March 2010
Rashid & I play spot the out-of-uniform super while Jenny goes to check out the book. The ones with green skin & flaming hair are easy gets.
7.55pm 10th March 2010
We shnaffle two reds each and find an unobtrusive corner of the young adult section for stargazing. There are more costumes than I expected.
8.00pm 9th March 2010
The bookstore is sweaty hot. We shoulder over to the free wine. A guy in a luchadore’s mask and tuxedo stands behind the table, smiling.
9.55pm 8th January 2010
Yeah the skaters who knocked me down. “Oh them,” says Jenny. Guess I should have compared notes with her before we met Rashid.
9.31pm 7th January 2010
“You put yourself in that situation, Harry,” says Jenny. “Yeah,” says Rashid. “You should have been watching for skaters.” Jenny: “Skaters”?
9.27pm 7th January 2010
“You don’t think it makes him seem more manly?” asks Rashid. “More stupid,” says Jenny. Hey it wasn’t exactly my fault, I protest.
9.24pm 7th January 2010
“You poor thing. Is it sore?” I extend my gin hand and go for a shy smile/wince combo. She accepts my offering, takes a sip and frowns.
7.34pm 6th January 2010
I spot Jenny in the doorway and head to the bar for her usual so I’ve got something to offer her when she sees my face for the first time.
7.54pm 5th January 2010
We did Diary of a Patriot and What Makes Vigilantes in first year poli-sci, but I used the Spark Notes, I confess.
6.55pm 4th January 2010
Have you ever read a super memoir before? I ask. “Just Mechaman’s. Oh and a trashy one about Lady Laser. They weren’t great. You?”
6.52pm 4th January 2010
Superbook night sees R and me waiting at The Clever Name, our latest CBD favourite, for Jenny to meet us for a post-work pre-launch drink.
7.12pm 3rd January 2010
Lifting things and cutting meat at a distance won’t stop bank robberies or rescue hostages, or stop me getting my arse kicked, though.
11.45pm 1st January 2010
I spend a quiet night at home surfing the web and TV. The most exciting thing I get up to is using the power to cut up my steak.
3.45pm 30th Decemberember 202009
No sign of her in any of the obvious places, so I leave a sticky note with my extension on her monitor.
7.03pm 29th Decemberember 202009
Said cancermed huckstering sees me visiting printing around 4.30. I keep an eye out for Tracey, she of the ex-Yaddayadda fire victim sister.
7.01pm 29th Decemberember 202009
I forward the invite to Rashid and finish up with the credit card replacement, then spend the rest of the day shilling cancer medication.
6.34pm 28th Decemberember 202009
It sounds much more civilised than a rooftop punchup. Plus also there will be free wine.
6.31pm 28th Decemberember 202009
I’m on the phone to the credit card people when Jenny’s email arrives. It’s an invitation to a book launch. Some superdude memoir/manifesto.
7.44pm 27th Decemberember 202009
His powers list is pretty vague: he flies, he’s strong, he glows in the dark, but nothing about smacking people down at a distance.
6.01pm 26th Decemberember 202009
He teamed up with The Big Six against Prehistoricus last summer, but there are three or four warrants for his arrest going back a few years.
6.55pm 26th December 2009
Back at my desk after lunch I resume googling 100-Watt Warlock. There’s not too much on him. He’s worked both sides of the game, it seems.
7.12pm 22nd December 2009
“Struck, tripped, a pratfall is a pratfall.” I suggest that a prat is more likely to use “ignominy” in a sentence than to trip over skaters.
7.10pm 22nd December 2009
R is all “Oh the ignominy! The youngest musketeer struck down by a mere callow skateboarding youth!” I wasn’t struck. I tripped, I insist.
6.30pm 21st December 2009
I come up with an excuse for my face. I try it out on Rashid. He buys it. I’ll be a punchline for the rest of the week but the story sticks.
6.15pm 21st December 2009
“Anyway, I’ve got something to forward to you.” What is it? “A way that doesn’t involve any fighting. I’m glad you’re okay.”
7.44pm 18th December 2009
“That was your plan? Stand on a rooftop and start a conversation with the first superfreak who flies by?” Well, when you put it THAT way…
8.01pm 18th December 2009
Jenny calls me around 10am the next day at work. I fill her in. By now I’ve determined who hit me. His name’s 100-Watt Warlock.
7.57pm 18th December 2009
I call Jenny to let her know I got home safe. She doesn’t pick up so I just leave a voicemail about the night’s adventures.
10.56pm 16th December 2009
Something nice from my excellent painkiller stash I think. Never underestimate the stash of drug company employees. Not even the publicists.
9.12pm 15th December 2009
It’s two am when I get home. I check for bruises in the bathroom. Right on the cheek. Hurts to smile. And to touch. Time for painkillers.
7.01pm 14th December 2009
Carpark girl lets me use the landline in her booth to call a taxi. I think there’s enough change in the jar beside my bed to pay for it.
1.33pm 13th December 2009
On the way down carpark girl fills me in. The tripod shot a blue beam of light at the sky and then the guy packed it up and flew away.
2.34pm 12th December 2009
I’ve got no idea who he was, or if he was a baddie or goodie. Signs seem to point to baddie though: as I get up I realise my wallet is gone.
2.30pm 12th December 2009
Mr Redboot Dominomask long-distance suckerpunched me. Maybe we’ve got the same powers, or maybe it was another kind of extendopunch thing.
9.55pm 10th December 2009
& then I’m on my back staring at a girl’s face & the night sky beyond. It’s the car park attendant. My head hurts. I’m not wearing my mask.
8.57pm 9th December 2009
I take another step. “I don’t mean to disturb you or anything. I’m kind of new to this…” He stands up, raises an arm and points at me.
7.25pm 8th December 2009
“Hi. I was wondering if I could ask you a question?” He stares at me like I’m speaking Esperanto. How do you say “superpowers” in Esperanto?
9.44pm 7th December 2009
I step out from between two cars and clear my throat. He looks up. He’s wearing a black domino mask. I didn’t think anyone did that anymore.
1.45pm 6th December 2009
The doors ping. I wander the roof a while before I see a dude in a crimson jacket/boot combo kneeling in front of some tripod-looking thing.
2.33pm 5th December 2009
I find the lift, hit R and the doors slide shut. The floorcount is nervewracking. At 4 – 1 floor to go – I pull out my mask and slip it on.
8.55pm 4th December 2009
I trot down the block and wander in past the attendant. She’s watching some kung fu flick on her phone. Good sound. Must find out the make.
8:33am 2nd December 2009
Crossing 12th I see someone land on the roof of the car park next to the Janus building. I don’t recognise them at this distance.
3:21pm 1st December 2009
I head north towards A’Beckett, keeping an eye on the skyline for anything moving fast or brightly coloured. about
9:55 pm Nov 30th 2009
Up that way you’ve got the financial district, the docks and three R&D firms within a 5-block radius. Plenty of superbaddie targets.
9:45 pm Nov 30th 2009
The supersightings map for the last month shows a lot of incidents happening up on 10th and A’Beckett. Makes sense, really.
10:11 am Nov 27th 2009
Plan A: try to encounter someone “in the wild” and ask a couple questions. Plan B: just rock up to the Big Building and say g’day.
1:14 pm Nov 20th 2009
Coming up the stairs out of the Central Station underpass I reach into my jacket and pull out the map of the CBD from supersightings.com.
1:58 pm Nov 17th 2009
I check my phone. Tuck my mask into my jacket pocket. Ten to twelve. Time to head to the city to find someone doing something super.
1:41 pm Nov 16th 2009
I decide to go with the jacket. It’s just that bit more luchadore, which somehow seems in keeping with how surreal what I’m doing feels.
4:30 pm Nov 15th 2009
That night I stand in front of the mirror with the mask on, trying to work out whether to go with the black rollneck or a leather jacket.
8:48 am Nov 11th 2009
two hours and five stores later I’m the proud owner of a bright yellow polar fleece face mask with red piping around the eyes & mouth.
10:01 pm Nov 10th 2009
I’m halfway to the counter with a standard black woollen dealie when it occurs to me it might be a bit terroristy.
10:02 am Nov 6th 2009
Next day after work I drop into an army disposal store to buy myself a balaclava.
8:49 am Nov 5th 2009
But that’s not a bad idea, you know. Maybe I should just cut to the chase and get some information straight from the source.
3:31 pm Nov 4th 2009
See – that’s the thing. I don’t even know if I should be talking about this. I have no idea what the legalities are in terms of this stuff.
10:45 am Oct 26th 2009
“Have you talked to anyone else about this?” Jenny asks. Like who? “I don’t know – someone else with powers? The police, maybe?”
12:46 pm Oct 23rd 2009
“He made things hot. Or cold. I forget. It was a while ago. He shagged Lainie for a bit.” Crazy Lainie? With the blue hair? “Yeah, her.”
10:34 pm Oct 21st 2009
“I knew a guy with powers once,” Jenny says. “Well sort of. He was a friend of a friend. I’d see him at parties.” Yeah? What could he do?
10:45 pm Oct 20th 2009
“So what now?” Jenny asks. Answer: not really sure. Keep practising, keep investigating, in the meantime eat some non-octopus bibimbap…
11:17 am Oct 14th 2009
“Yeah I can make stuff float and my arm goes all purple but I don’t know why or how.” Not really something you could base a blockbuster on.
11:15 am Oct 14th 2009
I unload my origin story. Two things: 1. it’s nice to talk to someone about it, and 2. it’s a pretty crap (ie, vague) origin story.
8:51 am Oct 12th 2009
I let the bottle down. Jenny stares into my eyes, frowning. “Harry, is there something you want to talk to me about?”
9:42 pm Oct 11th 2009
“What are you doing?” asks Jenny. “Are you doing that? How are you doing that? Stop doing that! Put it down!” she hisses, looking around.
8:00 pm Oct 5th 2009
the bottle trembles and rises up from its place between the soy sauce and the chopstick holder. i look across the table at jenny, grinning.
8:52 am Sep 26th 2009
and since i hate octopus with a passion and i’ve never been able to lie to jenny, i point at the chilli bottle between us and concentrate.
8:42 pm Sep 22nd 2009
So it comes to this: lie to my girlfriend & eat yucky tentacly octopus or tell the truth and eat bibimbap the way god intended it to be.
3:02 pm Sep 21st 2009
Were they nice? “They were delicious. And it’s octopus instead of beef because you’re late. So suck it up or give me a better excuse.”
2:57 pm Sep 21st 2009
Profuse and vague apologies as I take my seat opposite Jenny. “You’re having octopus bibimbap,” she says. “I already ate your mandu.”
7.42 pm Sep 18th 2009
I guess the baddies just have less fans to create fanpages for them. I check my phone & realise I’m going to be late for dinner with Jenny.
12:31 am Sep 15th 2009
.Of course there’s The Poltergeist, but he’s a baddie. Still, it’s worth looking into. There’s not as much out there about baddies, though.
12:30 am Sep 15th 2009
Proton has it, and so does Electron, and Empyrean used it once against The Lab Rats, but they don’t rely on it, or even use it very often.
12:23 am Sep 15th 2009
Once you get past guys like Swami and Joyride, there doesn’t seem to be much telekinesis in the A-list. At least, not as a primary power.
7:19 pm Sep 12th 2009
At home I read through the day’s research, uncorking and recorking the Talisker using the power. Delicate actions are getting easier to do.
7:49 pm Aug 20th 2009
In the copy room I flip through pics of fellow thing-floaterers, including one of a woman pointing at ten freaked out hovering elephants.
6:43 pm Aug 18th 2009
My search turns up unfamiliar phrases: “chi-projection”, “spirit lifting”, “forcewall” and “M-energy”. Bookmark & print. Bookmark & print.
6:35 pm Aug 18th 2009
I bookmark and print a bunch of stories about any telekinetics, magnetisers or gravity manipulators over the past fifty years.
12:55 am Aug 18th 2009
Back at work I sit at the temp desk googling gossip sites for super-origin stories. Too keen to wait, too lazy to go to net cafe last night.
8:38 pm Aug 13th 2009
I step back and rub my bonce while mr friendly picks up the coins and hands them to me. i mumble thanks and turn to pay.
1:23 pm Aug 12th 2009
Stars and birdies as I thwack foreheads with the dude behind us in the queue who’s bent down ditto for coin pickupage.
1:19 pm Aug 12th 2009
I pull back in time and let them tinkle onto the floor, then bend down to pick them up old school.
2:52 am Aug 7th 2009
I almost use the power right in front of R when I drop a couple coins out of my pocket & try to catch them before they hit the floor. Oops.
6:23 pm Aug 6th 2009
“I’ll email you my Bollywood DVD want-list when we get back to work,” says Rashid as we head to the counter to pay.
2:54 pm Aug 3rh 2009
It’s a work trip for Jenny. I’m just her corporate boyfriend plus-one. We’re staying pretty urban this time. Shopping malls, not temples.
5:36 pm Aug 2nd 2009
We chat about the India trip. R recommends some places in the north, but we’re sticking to the south, basing ourselves in Bangalore mostly.
6:34 pm Jul 30th 2009
“Of course,” Rashid, says, smiling his you’re-busted-but-I-won’t-push-it smile. I ignore it and change the subject.
12:41 pm Jul 28th 2009
I wouldn’t want to rule anything out at this stage. I’m not really sure what I’m looking for. I mean what Hannah’s looking for, of course.
12:41 pm Jul 28th 2009
Was she hurt in the fire? “I don’t know – I haven’t spoken to Tracy,” says Rashid. “Would Hanna want to know that for her project?”
1:33 am Jul 27th 2009
“Remember Tracy?” asks Rashid. “Tall Nigerian girl up in printing? Proofreader? Her twin sister’s a chemist. Guess where she used to work.”
5:49 pm Jul 25th 2009
Cause of fire never discovered. Coroner’s report said accidental conflagration caused by volatile chemicals. Which is to say sweet FA.
5:47 pm Jul 25th 2009
Three dead, thirty-three injured. Full compensation packages for everyone after the dust from the court battle settled.
1:34 am Jul 24th 2009
About a year back some board members quit very publicly after a fire in a production plant. OH&S, unions, coverups, the full catastrophe.
1:34 am Jul 24th 2009
No major recalls for the last couple of years on the Yaddayadda front, says Rashid. But that’s not to say they’ve kept out of the news.
4:14 pm Jul 22nd 2009
Not sure why, but it seems prudent to keep this whole freaky telekinetic bruise thing to myself, at least for the time being.
1:19pm 21 July 2009
Coffee with Rashid next day. Dishing the dirt about YaddaYadda’s inventory. Resisting the urge to tell him about the train station.
5:20pm Jul 18th 2009
On the short walk home from the station I reach out with the power to knock the lids off bins and rustle leaves high up in curbside trees.
3:39pm Jul 15th 2009
No-one notices the guy with the purple hand pointing at the narrow escape. I stuff my tingling hand into my pocket and look away.
3:39pm Jul 15th 2009
He hits the platform inches from the train as it slows to a stop. Slow-mo clicks back to normal tempo. His mate rushes over to pick him up.
4:14pm Jul 14th 2009
I clench the air like a fist around the collar of his jacket and hang on tight. He’s heavy, but I manage to change the angle of his fall.
4:14pm Jul 14th 2009
I feel the warmth flow from my shoulder and out through my fingers towards the frightened kid.
1:07pm Jul 13th 2009
Without thinking, I raise my hand and point at the boy. Everyone is frozen, anticipating the inevitable.
12:44pm Jul 12th 2009
Dickhead 1 throws a head-high kick. Dickhead 2 ducks and stumbles backwards. Cue slow-mo “oh shit” sequence.
12:43pm Jul 12th 2009
They’re too busy heckling each other and striking poses to notice the train coming.
10:23pm 7 July 2009
Something about some sport thing on the weekend. They punctuate their sentences with mock-kickboxing moves.
10:20pm 7 July 2009
At the station on the way home a couple of schoolkids are having an animated conversation on the platform.
2.39am 6 July 2009
Call #3: Jenny. Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night? That new Korean place looks good.
12:41am 2 July 2009
R: “Well, we don’t want to disappoint your gracious leader, do we? Leave it with me, Monsieur D.”
9:54pm 28 June 2009
R: “Sure thing, d’Artagnan. Easily done. Mind me asking pour quoi?” Me: Can’t really say right now. Just following up some leads for Hannah.
2:32pm 25 June 2009
Call #2: Rashid in R&D. Any chance of digging for dirt re: recalls or suppressed/unreported side-effects coming out of YaddaYadda?
4:02pm 24 June 2009
“Oh you didn’t order any Typhoid meds through us? You get yours from YaddaYadda? Whoops – my mistake. Sorry to bother you.”
2:02am 24 June 2009
First call: hospital. “Hello this is Blah Blah from MuckaMuckaMuck. I have an erroneously returned typhoid medication order of yours…”
1:31am 22 June 2009
Gotta love those fifteen-minute-desk-lunch days. It’s not until after four that things calm down enough to make a few calls.
11.47am, June 20th 2009
One of the big pharmacy chains missed last week’s product recall – not technically our fault, but we’re still on damage control.
6:52pm, June 19th 2009
I get to work and Hannah isn’t in yet. Which means I’m the one who gets the call from upstairs about the report in today’s paper.
4:11pm, June 17th 2009
Pull your head in, Aramis. A purple arm that can make things float doesn’t make you the next freakin’ Spider-Man or anything…
4:06pm, June 17th 2009
Better keep it all on the QT until I’ve done some research. Hey, check it out! I’m a fugitive superhuman on the run from the government!
4:03pm June 17th 2009
And will they let me on an international flight if I declare this stuff? Do airport detectors ping superpowers? Should I cancel my trip?
4:00pm June 17th 2009
“Hi, I was just calling to see if anyone who came in for travel vaccinations yesterday has turned into a superhero.” Yeah, that’d work.
4:00pm June 17th 2009
seems more likely it’s the medication itself. i should probably call the hospital – but what do I say?
3:59pm June 17th 2009
i dunno what to think, really. latent supergene triggered by the medication? But I’ve had those vaccinations before and nothing like this…
3:58pm June 17th 2009
I’m thinking something screwy with that typhoid jab, or maybe the hep one. based on where the bruising started, that’s what it looks like.
10:14am June 14th 2009
so. superpowers, hey? Can’t think of anything else to call it. But where from? No supers in the family – at least not that I know of…
1:53pm June 14th 2009
I grab a banana from the bowl on the kitchen bench, using my hands for the first time in hours. it feels weird.
11:59pm June 11th 2009
I relax my thoughts and the purple colour of my arm contracts back to the coin-sized spot just below my shoulder.
12:11pm June 9th 2009
By morning I think I’ve got the basics; lifting, pulling and pushing at a distance all seem easy enough. I’m also late for work.
2:33pm June 7th 2009
Take a snapshot: this is me, frowning with concentration and staring in disbelief as the Vanity Fair hovers one foot above the coffee table.
2:30pm June 7th 2009
From across the room I ruffle the pages of the top magazine, then imagine that I’m picking it up. It rises into the air and hovers there.
2:28pm June 7th 2009
I push the warm air out towards the magazine pile on the coffee table, and I feel them as though I’m actually touching them.
2:26pm June 7th 2009
It’s like sleeve-length blood pressure cuff that reaches down past my fingers, but it doesn’t restrict any movement.
2:21pm June 7th 2009
I can push the warm air outwards just by thinking about it. The thrumming of the pins and needles gets faster the further out I push.
2:18pm June 7th 2009
If I concentrate really hard the pins and needles flow out from my fingers. It makes the air in front of my hand feel kind of warm.
12:26pm June 4th 2009
If I concentrate I can make it spread over my whole arm like warm pins and needles. What the hell kind of bruise can do that?
3:19am June 3rd 2009
It’s raining outside my window and if I squint in the blue half-light from the streetlight the bruise on my arm looks like a spider.
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