Microstory 1031: Carl

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Did Herman really not say anything about magic club? Well, that is just like him. He’s too cool to be part of something larger than himself. He’s not ashamed of being in it, but he’s definitely one of those people in the band who think they can go off and start a solo career. I’m not like that; I’m a team player. That being said, I should have been president of the club this year. It’s been Alfred every year since it began, just because it was his idea. I could have come up with it too, if someone had first told me that it was an option to start your own club. I was a dumb little freshman at the time, so you couldn’t have expected me to know how to do that. But I was one of the first people to join, and I’m proud of that. It’s not the only thing I have going on, though. I have many interests. I play darts and pool, just like Finley. My parents belong to the Masters Country Club, though, so I never needed to sneak into a bar. History is my best subject, just like it is for Bertha. Right now, Minnie is helping me learn how to train horses to do dressage. I already know how to ride real well, so I’m ready for the next level. My favorite thing to do is kayaking, and everyone knows this about me. Masters Creek is basically my territory. I should charge a toll for other people to use it. I tell ya, Viola wouldn’t have died if I had had something to do about it, I tell ya that much. Wow, that made me sound really conceited, but I really am a...master on the water. See what I did there? Too soon, I guess, that’s why you’re not laughing. Well, I knew Viola from magic club, but we didn’t talk much. She was clearly there just to keep our numbers up, or we would lose our status. There was one time outside of all that that I saw her, if you wanna hear about it. I was just floating down the creek, not working hard; just enjoying the serenity. School was in full session, but I skip every year on my uncle’s birthday. We were really close, you see, and the administrators and I have this unspoken understanding that I’m just not going to be there. I have perfect attendance otherwise, and wonderful grades, so they’re fine with it. I mean, they haven’t said anything to me about it. Anyway, I was peeing in the weeds on the bank, and to my surprise, Viola showed up. I ducked down when I saw her walk up on the other side of the creek. She was gazing at the water with this shockingly beautiful, but indescribable, expression on her face. It was somehow simultaneously a frown, and a smile. She was watching a very specific section, where the stream goes all still. It was like she and this spot on the water were old pals who would never see each other again after one of them moved across the country. But I shook it off, assuming she stumbled upon a family of tadpoles, or was just admiring her swirly reflection. Well, it appears that I should have told someone about it, because like, a week later, she died. They found her body in that exact same spot, I swear to god. I pee there all the time, because I have the same routine, and it’s nice and secluded, so I’m not mistaken. I’m calling it her body of water. Is that too dark? Either way, I’m pretty sure she predicted her own death.

Microstory 1016: Finley

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Good mornin’. Yes, my people do say good mornin’ sometimes. It isn’t always top o’ the mornin’ to ya. Hi, my name is Finley, and I’m Irish. Well, that made me sound like an alcoholic. Is there a difference? According to our neighbor, there ain’t. Me dad wanted to move us back to a small town, like the one where we lived in Ireland, but we couldn’t afford to go back overseas, so here we are. Coming from the big city was a bigger culture shock than the original move to the states. People here a lot more racist, and they don’t even know it. They think they’re being funny and endearing, but that can be just as offensive. Viola wasn’t like that. We immediately became friends. Believe it or not, we liked to play darts and pool together. We weren’t technically supposed to be allowed in the pool hall, but the bartender made an exception, as long as we didn’t try to drink, which we didn’t. Councilman Koch is there all the time, and she was cool with it too. We would spend an hour or two there most weekdays, and sometimes on Sunday, just talking about meaningless stuff. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time with her before she was taken from us. I think that’s why that Ralph feller told you to speak with me early. Either he didn’t know how close we were, or he figures that three weeks is still just three weeks. I couldn’t tell you what happened that day, or what was going on with her friends. I can tell you that the whole group makes me feel really uncomfortable. I have a sense about these things, ya see. My mother was very sensitive to auras. I’m not super superstitious, but I believe there are laws of physics out there that we don’t even know enough about to study. I was really only cool with Viola. She was so much different than them, I don’t understand why they all hung out together. I’m sure they’re lyin’ about something, I just don’t know what. She was worried. She didn’t say anything, but I could hear the anxiety in her voice. The week of her death, she was really short and distant. I thought maybe I had done something to bother her. I scoured my social media pages, looking for a post I made that didn’t paint me in the best light. I didn’t find anything, but now I know it was a waste of time. It wasn’t me, it was them. I’m sure you’ve heard whispers, they are into some weird shite. Those are really the only ones you need to talk to.

Microstory 126: Connor Higgins

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Like Helen Larkin, Connor Higgins was one of the few people to be categorized as meta-anomalies, in that his only ability was to negate other people’s abilities. Sandro Watts’ darts have no effect on him, Hosanna Katz cannot manipulate his feelings, and Patience Cooney would not be able to place him inside one of her stones. Though his ability to prevent others from using their abilities had limited range, he would always remained unchanged by them, regardless of how far they were standing from him. For instance, if fire manipulator Diane Ghoti was far enough away to create a fireball and send it flying towards him across the distance, a protective force field would surround him, even though the fire itself was really just like any other fire. But there was also a downside to this. There was no way to turn his ability off, or control its targets. Connor has never teleported with Jaklyn Simonds. He has never passed through a wall with Serenity Theodo. While it’s true that, if Catriona Rice were to turn invisible within view of him, he would be able to see her when no one else could, it is equally true that he has never been physically capable of seeing one of her magnificent holographic images, even as others do. Though he passionately wanted to join Bellevue and be a part of the group, it was simply too impractical at first. They couldn’t risk having him near someone like Blake Williams when there was a quake that needed neutralizing, or Ellen Snider mid-flight. Later on in the organization’s history, as growth became more and more necessary, he traveled the world and recruited non-anomalies for field and office positions, but he missed out on a lot of the goings on. He wasn’t alone in his job, though. His best friend, Bree Nolan stuck with him even though he prevented her from using her ability. There was one major contribution that Connor was able to make. When his blood was mixed into paint, and then applied to a room, that room could become an effective prison for anomalies. This would prove to come in very handy once Bellevue started encountering some disagreeable and dangerous characters.

Microstory 124: Sandro Watts

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Sandro Watts was a man with no country, named by an Italian and English couple who helped deliver him on a boat that was transporting immigrants looking for new lives in Mexico. His mother died in childbirth and no one knew who she was, though there were rumors that she was originally from the Mesopotamia-Osroene Isolate, a powerful and ancient civilization that all but never interacted with the rest of the world. Despite MOI denying such claims, this was enough to give Sandro a rare status in the world. He became a citizen of the Confederacy and the Confederacy alone. His adoptive fathers were given positions in the government, and Sandro grew up at a special school for children of diplomats and officials in Mexico. Sandro eventually joined the same paramilitary organization as Máire and Seoc, crossing paths with them occasionally, but never working on the same team. He belonged to a large platoon instead of a small strike force like the brother and sister, using his ability not only offensively, but also to enhance the rest of the soldiers.

Sandro’s fingers were capable of projecting small darts; each serving a different purpose for the target. His left-hand pinky could increase stamina, his left-hand ring finger could increase speed, his left middle finger could increase strength and tolerance for pain, and his left index could heal injuries to a certain degree. Each digit on his right hand essentially served as the opposite of the one on the left. Darts from the right-hand index could kill, the middle finger could cause excruciating pain, the ring finger could paralyze, and the pinky could put someone to sleep. His left-hand thumb could neutralize the effects of any and all darts, but it did not project its own darts, so he would have to touch the subject for this. His right thumb secreted an oil that could create a small or massive explosion, depending on volume. In order for his body to be able to create these projectiles, it would have to carry such properties on its own. This meant that he was faster and stronger than the average human, and he could rapidly heal his own injuries. Sandro became an honorary member of Bellevue late in its fourth stage of recruitment, though he never officially joined, preferring to remain in his position with the Confederacy.