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The Rundown (2-6-18)


You're just an average guy with a passive super power - whenever something is about to hurt you, time slows to a crawl so you can escape to safety. You've been running for 5 minutes now, time is still moving like molasses. [Link to post.]

If nothing else, feeling like an idiot while running for your life is a new experience. I chalked things up to blind luck at first, but it kept happening. Whenever I was in serious danger, things somehow slowed down; it gave me time to find a safe spot. It did not take long until I took it for granted, and got lazy about watching for danger. But I never thought about it. I never said to myself, "Self. You should learn more about this awesome thing you can do." I definitely regretted it. But if nothing else, running for the past five minutes has been educational. Now I knew why everyone I passed appeared to be standing still. I turned back to check if she was still following me. She was. 

 The young woman kept up with me somehow. Her arms swung left and right as she skated close behind me. I'd never seen skates like hers. The wheels of her rollerblades left behind short golden trails. Thin ribbons of light of faded into nothing a couple of feet behind her. On those skates she was as fast as me. It figures I'd realize my power was super speed on my last day. Half an hour ago I sat in a pizza shop enjoying some lunch while studying, then she walked up to my table. 

 "Hi, I'm Jenny." She pulled off the hood of her gold and purple hoodie to reveal short spikey black hair. Then she reached a hand out a gloved hand to greet me. The glove was black with golden fingers. I grasped it and the golden parts felt like cool metal against my hand.

 "Hi Jenny. I'm Frank." Jenny sat down in the booth across from me. "What's going on?" I asked. 

 "Frank, I've been watching you for a while." She leaned forward over the table. "I know what you can do." She surprised me. I'd never really tried to keep my ability a secret, but since I couldn't use it at will there was no point in showing it off. 

 "So?" I asked. 

 "*You* don't know what you can do. It's frustrating," She flicked a crumb off the table. "I'm so bored here!" She whined at me like a kid sister expecting her older brother to fix the situation.

 "So? Go find some entertainment. You don't have to bother strangers." I tried shooing her away, she laughed. 

 "Your head is on pretty straight for a 14 year old. How about you entertain me?" She asked. I caught a sparkle of gold in her eyes, but chalked it up to a reflection from the intimate lighting in the pizzeria. 

 "Can't. Studying." I turned my attention back to my laptop in the hope that she'd leave. 

 "Wait." She reached across the table and grabbed my hand. "I want to show you something." She sat up straight and scanned the restaurant. Another couple in a corner sharing a work lunch were the only other patrons in the restaurant. The focused on each other, and couldn't see us if they did look our way. 

 Jenny held my right hand with her left on the wooden table. My palm faced up toward Jenny's right hand; it hovered in the air above mine. 

 "Check it," Jenny said. Her eyes focused on the fingertips of her right hand. A thin golden blade appeared behind her fingers. 

 "I catch you..." Time slowed down. I felt my power kick in while I watched her stab the golden blade toward my hand. I yanked my hand away just in time and she stabbed her own hand. I moved quickly to grab napkins for the blood. I expected her to scream in pain, but she finished her thought instead. "... I kill you." She showed me the wound in her hand. I saw right through the hole, with no sign of any blood anywhere. The hole filled itself in until her hand was whole again. "GO!" She took another swing at me wit the knife, and I ran out of the restaurant. 

 She chased me around the world, skating across the ocean on golden light. 10 minutes after we started I tripped. In some back alley in Las Vegas, some idiot left a small pail full of red and white dice in my way. Jenny was gaining on me, and I'd been splitting my focus. I tried to dodge the pail and stepped wrong. I twisted my ankle while running at top speed, and the pain forced me to the ground.  

 "Are you okay?" Jenny ran to my side. 

 "Stay back!" I tried crawling away backwards. I reached behind me to gain ground and grabbed something smooth, thin and scaly. It undulated like a snake under my hand.

 "Ready to go?" I heard a man's voice behind me. I turned and found my hand holding on to a white snakeskin boot. I looked up at the owner of the foot in the boot. He looked like a short guy, though he tried making up the difference with a tall blue mohawk. 

 "Vegas! I told you I could get him by myself!" 

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