Chapter 34 (1/2)
They decided to table the discussion of power training for later as a concession to Dan's reluctance. Of course, Abby's definition of tabling a discussion was to immediately hold an impromptu lecture on the differences between powers, upgrades, and mutations. Dan couldn't help but be a little amused despite her blatant attempts at manipulation.
”They were called radiological phenomenon at first,” Abby recited sternly, wearing the expression of a haughty taskmaster. She slapped her riding crop against a whiteboard where the word radiological was underlined. From where she had produced said items, Dan had no idea.
Abby continued, ”The way they manifested was unique to each person, without any sort of definable pattern. That said, there were plenty of people who had an affinity to their particular power. It was these who discovered that powers could grow.”
Dan frowned. ”Affinity?”
”Eh, maybe affinity is the wrong word,” Abby said, temporarily dropping character. She wiggled her hand in a so-so gesture. ”More like... expectations? They saw what their powers did and said 'This could be more.'. Grandma called it conceptualization but I think affinity rolls off the tongue better.”
”That's not something I've ever heard of before.” Which was concerning, because Marcus had given him the lowdown on powers months ago.
Abby scrunched up her face. ”Well, it's not all that relevant these days. Cosmic radiation isn't naturally occurring on Earth, after all. The only way to acquire a 'natural' power anymore is to create the stuff yourself and take a bath in it.”
After a moment's pause, she added, ”Or, apparently, to be abducted from your home universe.”
She seemed to consider the oddity of that statement, before shrugging it off and continuing. ”Anyway, it's not widely spread information anymore, and for good reason. Fiddling with any sort of radiation without a license is super illegal, and the stuff fades naturally within a few decades. The only people nowadays who have natural powers are criminals, or the occasional unfortunate bystander, and neither should have this sort of information. No need to hand out more ways to disrupt society.
”But I'm getting off track!” she exclaimed suddenly. She coughed into her fist, cleared her throat, and reshuffled her body language. The stern teacher reappeared, an image slightly sullied by the sweatpants and fuzzy slippers.
”The best example of affinity”—The word was accompanied by a glare towards Dan, as if daring him to challenge it—”is the serial killer Cannibal.”
”Your best example is a serial killer?” Dan asked flatly.
”Jeffrey Saide was twenty-three years old when he received his powers,” Abby continued, raising her voice in lieu of answering Dan's question. ”It was the late fifties then, and he was one of the last generations to be empowered by the aftermath of the White Sands disaster. Being a law-abiding citizen at the time, he immediately reported himself to the government and had his power evaluated and registered. His stomach, it was discovered, was capable of digesting just about anything that found its way inside of it.”
Dan cringed. ”And they named him Cannibal?”
”Oh, no, that came later. After he started eating people,” Abby said frankly.
”Yikes.”
Abby shrugged. ”His power seemed harmless at first. He could eat glass, or metal, or dirt, and somehow live off of it, but that's nothing to write home about. It wasn't like it made him more dangerous or anything. They sent him home with a pat on the back and a thumbs up for doing his civic duty.”
Dan could see the story play out in his head. He slapped a hand over his face. ”It totally made him more dangerous, didn't it?”
”Power testing isn't an exact science, especially back then,” Abby admitted sheepishly, as if she were ashamed of her dimension's carelessness. ”That said, most agree that the power he originally displayed was only superficially similar to that which he became known for. Every time he ate parts of a human, and only a human, he grew stronger and faster and tougher. It got to the point where his victims numbered in the thousands spread all across the country.”
Once again, Dan reflected how horrifying this new reality could be. Though, something about the story bothered him.
”Why only humans?” he asked.
Abby grinned at the question. ”And that, Mr. Newman, goes back to affinity. Nobody really knows if Mr. Saide had cannibalistic tendencies before he gained his power, or if the power somehow pushed him into it, but in reality it doesn't matter. At some point he decided that his power, which allowed him to extract nutrients from something as inedible as steel, should be vastly more effective on things which actually provided sustenance. I'm not a crazy person, so I can't begin to imagine why he fixated on fellow humans, but that's the way things turned out.”
”...That's it?” Dan asked in bewilderment.
Abby paused. ”What do you mean?”
”He just believed it, and his power adjusted itself to suit him?” Dan clarified, trying to keep the disbelief out of his voice. It was no wonder why Marcus had never mentioned this theory. The explanation seemed utterly illogical if that was all there was to it.
”Obviously it wasn't that simple,” Abby said, her words accompanied by an exaggerated eye-roll.
Oh. Good.
”It probably took some time for him to achieve the proper focus required for his power to adjust itself. The specific mindset needed is not one that just anyone can achieve.”
Oh. Dang. That sounded really implausible.
Not... impossible, though. Keeping in mind how he arrived on this world.
Well, she was the native here, not to mention the education she would have recieved from her insanely wealthy family. She should know better than him. The theory sounded odd, but Dan had seen some weird shit these past few months. He could... tentatively accept it. Maybe. Was this really all that odd, in the grand scheme of things?
But first, a question needed answering. Just in case.
”Who taught you this stuff, Abbs?”
”Mama Ana did,” Abby replied cheerfully. ”When I was a kid, she would tell me all sorts of stories from the old days.”
Dan felt a cold shiver run down his back. Of course Granny Terminator discussed serial killers with her young granddaughter. How could that possibly be an inappropriate topic?
He smiled weakly. ”She used this method herself?”
A hesitant nod. Abby bit her lip, brows furrowing.
”Yyyyess? Sort of? The way grandma explained it was like... it wasn't intentional. She simply had certain expectations of her power, and it seemed to conform itself to those expectations over time. Like, it just seemed to keep growing as she found more and more ways to use it. By the time she realized it was happening, the power she started with was almost unrecognizable.”
”What even is her power?” Dan probed eagerly.
Much to his dismay, Abby shrugged. ”No clue.”
Dan's jaw dropped. ”She never told you!?”
”Grandma says a secret between two people isn't a secret anymore,” Abby replied with a firm nod. ”She has enemies— Um, had enemies. I'm not... actually sure how many are still around. Either way, Mama Ana doesn't want to give whoever is left any sort of advantage over her. I don't think anyone knows the details of her power, though there are plenty of guesses. We've actually got a betting pool going, within the family.”
Dan slapped a hand over his face.
”Anyway, moving on!” Abby cried, resuming her teacher's pose. Her riding crop smacked against the word Upgrades on her whiteboard.
Dan made to protest—This topic seemed important!—but Abby plowed gamely onward.
”The concept of upgrades came about from a government-funded think tank in the fifties,” Abby continued. ”The idea was simple: What if they could stop powers from naturally occurring.”
”Why would—” Dan was interrupted by Abby's crop slapping the table.
He rolled his eyes, and raised his hand. ”Why would they want that?”
Abby huffed impatiently. ”Think, Danny. You can't just hand out superpowers and expect people to behave themselves! Between the villainous gangs and the idiotic vigilantes, entire cities were being torn apart. It needed to be stopped.”
”No, that's—” Dan winced. It had taken a while, but he had accepted that a world filled with randomized powers would probably end poorly. That was fine; he could be practical. Few people could be trusted to handle power, especially when the granted power seemed utterly arbitrary.