Useless: Male Superhero in a Reverse World
Chapter 27

Gordon Frass scrunched his nose as his date for the night extinguished her cigarette on an ashtray next to her bed.  He had met this dusky redhead at a nightclub earlier and hit it off. She wore hippy clothing with bell bottomed jeans, headband, and John Lennon sunglasses.   They danced for a while and she laughed at his jokes.  When her girlfriends drifted away and he had bought her enough drinks she asked him if he wanted to see her pet iguana.  

He looked around.  Her apartment reeked of marijuana and cigarettes.  Posters of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and other rock and roll bands of the sixties and seventies covered the walls.  She even made him screw her with the black light on.  He had to close his eyes to avoid seeing the walls, fearing what he might see in the purple light.

He bit his fingernails and wiggled his toes lying in bed next to her.  When Gordon felt there was enough awkward silence, he got up, put his pants on and thanked the hippie for a wonderful night.  The redhead waved at him and smiled, but said nothing.

Walking out the entrance to the building he stopped dead and widened his eyes.  In front of him stood Orlea; a short muscular blonde with black colored eyes.  She had her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

She raised an eyebrow. “So this is your office sweetie?”

“Hey honey, I was just bringing home a work colleague after some drinks with the team.  He’s drunk out of his mind.”  He laughed and started to walk down the street.  

She followed.  Orlea’s face was blank and she blinked. “I thought we could have had a nice romantic meal, I had everything prepared.”

“I told you not to wait up for me darling.”  He kissed her head.  “You know how busy I am.”

“I know.”  

“Now let me hail us a cab and… Orlea.  What are you doing?”  Gordon raised his hands as he saw the barrel of a snub nose revolver point at his nose.

“You’re a liar and a cheating son of a bitch Gordon!”  She poked him hard in the chest with the gun backing him up into an alleyway.

“What are you talking about?”  His eyes searched high and low for onlookers on the empty street. “I would never cheat on you.  I told you, I was simply dropping off a work friend.  She was drunk.”

“I thought you meant he, Gordon.”

“I’m sorry I made a mistake, Orlea.  I tend to be jumpy when a gun is pointed at my face.”

“But mistaking a he for a she is a bit much, don’t you think?”  Orlea’s eyes began to tear up. “Gordon, I don’t get it.  I gave you the best years of my life!  My mother told me to move on after three years.  But I held out hope.”  She wiped her nose with her free arm.  “Then you start up with your long work nights and business trips.  I never see you anymore.  I’m not an idiot.”

“I’m climbing the corporate ladder, Orlea.  You know this.  I was just made VP of research and development.  Look baby, why don’t you put the gun down and we can discuss this.  I can listen to everything you have to say.”  He approached and gingerly reached out with his hand.

“Get away from me!”  Tears were now pouring down her face. She cried for a few seconds and then, like a switch, she stopped and stood upright.  “Goodbye Gordon.”  She cocked the hammer of her revolver.

At that moment a black hole opened up under him and Gordon fell through it. Orlea fired off a shot and grazed Gordon’s scalp before falling completely through the hole and having it close up again.  Orlea stood there for a moment before walking over to where the hole was and gingerly tapping the ground with the toe of her shoe.

Her hands started to shake and she jammed the pistol back into her coat.  “I’m going crazy.”

…

Gordon fell for a long while.  He felt weightless, but the air he had been breathing fell away from him and he started to asphyxiate.  He tried reaching for his throat instinctively, but he noticed how his arms slowed down.  Around him were wisps of lavender light that formed a dimly lit tunnel coursing through space.  He saw galaxies fly past him through the faint lavender lit tunnel.  He fell faster and faster until the galaxies in front of him started to turn blue, and the galaxies behind him started turning red.  Just as he was about to pass out the tunnel flashed white.

…

Tanya was nothing if not resourceful.  After the first transdimensional kidnapping happened,  she learned that she needed a trampoline surrounded by a few dozen large mattresses.  The first subject hit the ground a bit too fast and cracked his skull on the concrete wall of the super collider tunnel.  She had a few of her controlled men carry some king sized mattresses into the super collider tunnel.  Dr. Maw said she wanted to stay at this extraction session, and then leave with three of the men.  Right now they were guarding the doors, pistols in holsters, and looking straight ahead with no expression.

She stopped counting the attempts that night.  Her two kidnapped research scientists were looking a little green around the gills after her henchmen had to zip up so many corpses.  She didn’t understand why they were so lily livered, she even covered the body bags with white sheets.

Now she was sure the next attempt was going to be successful.  She gave a thumbs up to Dr. Moarly looking through the hood of the transdimensional scope.  A minute later Dr. Moarly nodded to Dr. Maw.  Maw selected the coordinates sent to her from the scope and pressed the giant red button that Tanya had bought expressly for this purpose.  At that instant, a black hole appeared in the ceiling and a man shot from it, down into the trampoline.  He kicked frantically during the rebound and then landed softly.  Tanya was on him in an instant and stabbed a needle into his neck.

Seeing the needle slip under the skin, Tanya was elated. They didn’t have to throw this one back up through the hole that was just closing.  When she saw that the man only became very sluggish and not knocked out cold, she was glad the dose was oversized.

Tanya pointed to her briefcase.  “Dr. Maw, hand me that bag would you?”   The doctor walked quickly with it in hand and popped the clasps for Tanya to lift the lid.  Inside were eight control pucks. Activating one she pressed it into the his neck.  The middle aged man screamed as a thousand electrodes snaked through the flesh and bone of his neck.  Tanya knew she was now in control when the man blinked three times and then stood up.

“Computer, what is the name of the subject?”  Tanya got up and opened her tablet and started recording.

The man opened his mouth and spoke haltingly. “Subject’s name is Gordon Frass.”

“Is Gordon a sociopath?  Is he a criminal?”

He blinked.  “Gordon does not recall any periods of incarceration, nor criminal activity.  He does have a considerable number of engrams involving infidelity.”  

Tanya laughed. “It never ceases to amaze me how all the other universes have men as the randy ones.”  She looked back at the scientists, looking at a computer screen. “What are you looking at?”

“Dr. Moarly’s latest adjustments gave a thirty percent increase in temporal accuracy.”  Dr. Maw stood up from the monitor. “Looking at the recording, the man would have been dead a second later.”  Tanya gave a thumbs up.  Dr. Moarly smiled and nodded.

“One final question for the night.  What is Mr. Frass’s superpowers?”

The computer made Gordon’s eyes close then reopen.  “Calculating tachyon impregnation percentage levels.  It looks like he achieved thirty two percent of the levels reached by Mr. Gadsen.  Fast muscle twitch fibers show significant enhancements,  brain regions for motor control are also showing massive reconstruction.”  The man tilted his head. “I believe Gordon is fast.”

Tanya raised her eyebrow. “How fast?”

The controlled Gordon raised his eyebrow. “Shall I perform an experiment?”

“Please do.”  Tanya pushed at her cuticles and sighed.

Gordon ran out of the room and came back a minute later, breathing heavily.

“So, how fast?”

“Gordon’s body wasn't being pushed to the maximum, as I have been given orders to not damage the collider.  I refrained from breaking the sound barrier in the tunnel.  I believe this body can reach speeds in excess of one thousand miles per hour.”

Dr. Moarly exclaimed. “Mach one point three!  Simply amazing.”

“So…”  Tanya grinned. “Are you fast at everything?”

“I believe he is, Tanya.”  The new slave looked at his master. “Why do you ask?”

She turned to Dr. Maw.  “Doctor, would you like to take Mr. Frass out for a test drive?”

The doctor covered her mouth and gave a short laugh. “Well, if it’s for the cause of science.  I’d be willing to….”

Tanya yawned. “Use the break room. Gordon!  Do not break this woman.  She’s very important to the mission.”  She looked at her minions and clapped.  “We’re done for tonight.  Men, we’ll need you to get a van for the failed test subjects.”

“Yes ma’am”  They responded in unison.