LeftOvers - How to Become a SuperVillain and Take Over the World

Powers - Part Two

"Go ahead," Lillian said as she sat back into her seat. She seemed relaxed now that she wasn't the centre of attention.

"I have two powers," Anna said, making the V for Peace sign with her two forefingers. "My daddy was a Super, so I inherited something like his, but I got one of my own too."

So she was a second generation Super. That was not too surprising. The chances of Triggering were one in ten thousand. The chances of a Super's kid having some ability was one in ten. Super eggs and sperm were a premium. Some older heroes retired on the cash they made on the side.

"My dad was an Animist, and I won the genetic lottery and was born an Energist too. Animist five, Energist three." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little doll. It was metallic, like an action figure, but with ball-bearing joints and a body shaped more like a gorilla's than a man's. She placed it on the table.

We all stared at the figure, then Anna perked. "Oh, right, I should do something!"

With a start, the little figurine began to move. At first, it was jerky and sudden, then its motions became fluid and graceful, like a true creature. It moved across the table, picking up cups and climbing over mugs. "I can manipulate about twenty of these little guys at once. I can also give them basic sentience and let them loose, though they'll wear off after a day or so."

The little figure kept moving about, hopping across the table and acting like a rear gorilla would. "Do the forms take on the personality of the figure?" I asked. Most powers didn't have anything so specific as that, but they were sometimes likely to work better in the user's mind if in a certain form.

Anna shook her head. "No, no, I just carry a few around with me. They're called Golems. They're useful, since I can sorta see what they see, even though my avatars don't have eyes. But it's not really seeing, more like feeling. But that's not it either." She frowned a little. "It's hard to explain."

"Fair enough. And your other power?"

She grinned, then the grin faded. "I can't show that one indoors. But basically, I can store up kinetic energy, then release it later." She stood up and raised a hand high above her head before bringing it down to slap the table, hard. I staggered back, expecting the blow to thunder out in the little room, but it didn't make any noise. Nothing shook, no plates rattled. It was as though she had stopped a millimeter away from the surface, but she had clearly hit the table.

"So, I just took that kinetic energy into me. Now I can transfer it, like that," she said, pointing to the Golem. The little gorilla lifted a hand, then brought it down gently. A boom rocked out and the figurine flew into the air and collided with the ceiling. It crashed onto the table a moment later, unanimated and ragdolled. "I can send the kinetic energy I'm storing to my golems. Basically, I could stop a truck from moving, then transfer that energy to a golem the size of an ant."

I could picture what that could do. Even a little bit of energy released from a small point could do a tremendous amount of damage. It was the same principle that made a knife more dangerous than a branch. Imagine poking yourself with a slow moving brick. The force needed in the push would have to be quite high to hurt. The same slow moving force pushing a needle would injure any normal person. Energy transferred across a smaller surface would do more damage. If her control was fine enough... It was not unfeasible that Anna could destroy a tank with little more than a store-bought doll and a hammer.

Clarence must have realized the same thing. He shuffled away from the girl, looking at her askance with weary eyes. "Is that all?" he asked.

She shrugged. "That's the gist of it. I'll show you guys sometime, but not in here." She picked up the little golem and tucked it into a pocket of her blouse. The figurine was made to fold into itself like a fancy toy. Nifty. "Who's next?"