Vaporize

Vaporize

By

G. L. Argain

All rights reserved. © 2014

Smashwords Edition

No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any way without prior consent from the author.

Any and all people, places, and events depicted in this work of fiction are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to real people, places, and events are a result of pure coincidence and are beyond the intent of the author.

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Final

1

Why can’t I do it?

He’s right there in front of me. He’s physically powerless against my infinite strength, and yet I can’t bear one move toward him.

That unrelenting posture, those glaring green eyes, even that aura of confidence—all of it seems to push me back. I hate it. He’s got the one thing that I don’t—nerves of steel. I wonder if it’s humanly possible. Then again, I’m an invincible superhuman who can eliminate anyone and anything just by focusing on it, so it’s hard for me to say anything’s impossible here.

After all this time trying to convince you, everything I said just passed right over your head… Freddie says. That’s really what he calls himself. I thought since I’m a superhuman, my archenemy would happen to be a supervillain called Doctor Pain or something. Instead, it’s just Freddie. Don’t you want what’s best?

So what’s going on here, you ask? I’m in the middle of Times Square—and don’t worry, nothing here’s been destroyed. It’s empty and barren in terms of people, though…they all left. It’s about five o’clock in the evening, the sun having another two hours left in the sky. I’m standing thirty feet away from Freddie, the Man of No Feelings, and neither one of us is moving an inch.

What led us here? For me, it’s complicated, but let’s just say that I’ve been through a lot during these last few months. As for Freddie…I have no idea.

So right now I’m thinking of a way to ask him to leave—to get him out of my sight. Maybe I could make a promise to leave everything on this planet alone? No, that won’t do. He’s been pretty pessimistic after all I’ve done so far. I think what he wants is for me to leave this planet entirely.

Hey! Earth to Victor! says Freddie. Victor Mercer is my name, though my superhuman title is The Vaporizer.

…Wait, how did he know my name was Victor? I never revealed my true name to the public, and I certainly wouldn’t have given it away to this guy!

Go away! I don’t want you here! Well, that was shit. Out of all the things I could’ve said— including asking him how he knew my real name—I chose that unpersuasive bit? God, I hate how my brain works. You know what? That’s the whole reason I’m in this situation in the first place. If I was as tough-spirited as this guy is, I would have vaporized him instantly without a single care to give.

Why? I still have business to take care of with you.

I don’t exactly know why I hate the word business. For others, it probably means something like, Look at this glorious economy! Let’s talk business. How are stocks looking lately? …I guess that’s not completely accurate, huh? Well, for me, it sounds like this:

It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.

I always think of either mafias or corporations when the word comes up. Either way, you’re the one who’s being pushed down while the boss—in the end—gets what he wants. Or she. It doesn’t really matter these days, a boss is still a boss. I know not all business is bad, but maybe that’s just how things felt like with Luis, Rubin and the WNB—

I want you off this planet. Now, says Freddie.

I thought you were going to say that.

Then why not get on your way?

"Because I like this planet. You get off!" I suppose that was a good comeback. I’ve done pretty well at speaking in the past, at least until this guy came along. Outshining me in front of that huge crowd…

Besides, I don’t think I can leave this planet even if I wanted to. I mean, I can fly, but I need air to do that, and there’s obviously none of that in the void of space.

"It’s not about whether you like it or not. You’re a safety hazard to everything in this world. People, animals, cities, ideas…in time, you will be the death of it all. Just look at the chaos you’ve already caused."

But I—

Don’t deny it.

Bastard won’t let me speak. I know that I can at least protect some things. Like the time with that little kid—

Oh, shit, he’s walking toward me. And yes, I take some steps back in response.

You’re afraid of me. I can tell, says Freddie.

You know what? Fuck it. I won’t deny that I’m afraid. I’m scared of a normal—well, at least physically normal—human being even though I have the powers of a god.

Yeah, I am. Wait…now I doubt telling him that was such a good idea.

Do you know what you’re doing? Are you aware of it all?

…What? What are you talking about?

I do. I’m aware of your actions and even your thoughts.

Now he’s just being creepy. He can’t read my thoughts. In any case, perhaps, not enough to be called clairvoyant.

Just…stop being creepy.

I’m not.

And you can’t read my thoughts.

But I can. Try me.

Fine. What number am I thinking of? I’m not even going to think of a number. Although, I can’t help but look away from him. Probably a mistake on my part.

You aren’t thinking of a number right now, are you?

Yup, I made a mistake.

Okay, fine. But that doesn’t matter. Even if you have some magic mind-reading powers, you can’t stop me from turning you into thin air, can you?

What if I told you…that you aren’t as invincible as you think?

Wait, what?

He developed this eerie grin on his face; it was like a Cheshire Cat grin. That’s the first time I’ve seen him make something other than a straight, emotionless face. There’s no way he could kill me. My whole body’s indestructible. I’ve broken steel and concrete before with my freaking finger! What could he do to me? Well, I just thought of an answer, and I don’t like it; basically, he could drive me insane. More so than I already am—whoa, what? Where did that come from?

Do you believe that your whole body is indestructible?

I’m not going to hesitate on that one. Yes.

What about your stomach acid?

"Yeah…wait, no. Maybe. What the hell are you talking about?!"

Have you ever vomited while you possessed these powers?

What does throwing up have to do with my invincibility?

Freddie continued, Really, it’s just the hole of your esophagus between your stomach acid and the outside world. If everything inside your body is indestructible, then what would happen if something managed to get out?

I don’t freaking know. I’ve never vomited while I’ve had these powers. There’s potentially nothing for me to be afraid of—

But now that I think about it, what else can come out of my body? I may be indestructible, but that doesn’t necessarily mean nothing can come out. There’s also saliva and feces, too. Sounds disgusting—

Answer my question, already.

Oh, uh…no, I haven’t. I don’t know what would happen.

And the man said nothing. He’s just standing there like a statue. I don’t think he took his eyes off of me this whole time.

If by some chance vomiting is going to be the death of me, I’m not going to do it just because some guy wants me to try it out. Even more so, I have things to do in this world—goals to accomplish—and I am not going to let all that die from such a lame demise. I’m the God-damn protector and savior of this whole planet!! What else would I have these powers for?! I’ve made up my mind—this guy’s getting vaporized right this moment.

2

How did this all start, anyway?

I didn’t always have these superpowers, and it’s a little strange how I got them. I still don’t fully understand the situation myself, but long story short it went like this…

One moment I feel normal, and the next my vision changes altogether for an instant. More specifically, it was for a fraction of a second. I regain my normal vision but my body feels odd. After a couple hours, I realize that I somehow obtained superhuman strength, speed, and the ability to eliminate anything that I want, including people.

The physics alone involving these superpowers make my head spin, mostly because such powers defy the laws of physics. For example, how am I indestructible? Everything’s got to be destroyed somehow, right? And on that note, how am I able to vaporize anything with my mind? Where does the stuff go? I’m sure it doesn’t always just change into air molecules, does it? It’s certainly not replaced by a vacuum…

If I’m infinitely powerful, then can I run as fast as I wish? To the speed of sound or more, perhaps?

Can I fly just by flapping my arms or kicking my legs at ultra-high speeds?

Am I so indestructible that I can’t kill myself?

Do my powers ignore physics because it’s all from some kind of magic? Does magic have limits?

Is my mind—my psyche—invincible?

And most importantly: why do my powers seem to center upon eliminating things? Destroying them? Were they given to me by some magical demon who wanted to see the world burn?

I answered some of these questions for myself in time, but others still linger and baffle me.

No, it’s not a dream—it’s real. I had fallen from high up in the sky once or twice before, and if it had been a dream, then I would’ve woken up while I was falling. Instead I crash landed into the ground and left a crater.

I can still dream, by the way. I can still sleep, eat, and drink if I want to. It’s just that I don’t need to. And I don’t feel the urge to do it anymore. Being infinitely powerful, I can use an infinite amount of energy. I don’t know where said energy comes from, but I sure don’t need it from mortal needs anymore. The idea can seem kind of sad, not experiencing the pleasure from eating and sleeping and what not. But like I said: I can do those things if I want to, and I can still enjoy the experience like I always have.

Strange how some things within my body have remained the same whereas other things haven’t. I tried making sense out of it, and so did everyone else who witnessed my superhuman capabilities, but it all ended up in failure.

In the grand scheme of things, I think it’s magic, even if I have no solid proof. I have literally been granted a free pass through the game of life.

I guess I should explain myself. I’m not just some anonymous person that happens to have developed supernatural powers—

Supernatural probably isn’t the best way to describe it, but I hope you get the idea.

…I was born in Seattle, Washington. My biological mother and father raised me along with my younger brother and my older sister. I lived in that city for my entire childhood; I never got to see many places that didn’t have green trees and gray rain clouds