After a few hours of getting ready. Ben finally turned up at a fancy Italian restaurant in Brentwood that Doris organised for them to meet up in. Wearing a white-collared shirt, black suit pants, and tying his hair back into a ponytail. Surprisingly, unlike putting his clothes on, the ponytail took longer than it should, as he would accidentally snap the rubber bands every time he tried to keep his hair in place. After going through a dozen hairbands, he opted for a brutalist solution and used a metal coat hanger to keep his hair tied back. It wasn’t the most ideal solution, but it was better than nothing.

  Before Ben could enter the restaurant. He had to wait in line, shuffling along with a group of people who had already booked a table or were desperate for a spot. The man in front of him wore a white face mask that covered his entire face and had short dark reddish-brown hair. Though from behind Ben could tell that he had a terrible mutilation. From what he could see, it seemed that the man’s skin was warped and twisted. Like someone grabbing a fistful of grease or slime and twisting it to one side.

  ‘Your name, sir?’ The waiter asked the man.

  ‘Booker, table for one.’ He replied with a deep voice.

  ‘I’m sorry, sir, your name isn’t on the list. Perhaps there is a mistake.’

  Booker shook his head. ‘No, I am. It might be under my surname.’

  After a few seconds of rechecking, the waiter realised her mistake and gestured for Booker to follow her to a spot in the restaurant, apologising profusely for not recognising his name. Which he paid no mind to.

  Ben didn’t have to go through the hurdle; all he needed to do was say the name of the person he was meeting, and they would escort him to the table. Sitting alone, drinking a glass of red wine. Doris still wore her lab coat and jeans. Glancing up, she waved at Ben before continuing to read her old documents. ‘Hey Ben. Good to see you…’ Doris checked her phone. ‘Just in time. Good. We have a few things to discuss.’

  Ben sat down across from her. ‘Is it related to the recent robberies?’

  ‘What? Oh, that. The problem with the documents about the Ra Engine is really minor to the point of irrelevance. Perhaps they were trying to take something of importance, without understanding what happens to dangerous technology. The math they have will only give them a vague understanding of how to transfer instant energy into a grid without causing an explosion. What’s funny is that the equations are publicly available, as they can also be applied to quantum mechanics; there are dozens of papers on it. So they just blew up a building and set all that up only to make themselves look like fools.’

  ‘But what about you? Your name is on that paper, I doubt they will take something if there is no ulterior reason behind it.’

  She shrugged, ‘call me arrogant, but they would be better off somewhere else. The only thing I did during the Ra Engine’s development was do math and help figure out how to get it working. That is really it,’ Doris sighed, frustrated that she couldn’t help as much as she liked. ‘But that is not really what I want to discuss.’

  Ben raised a brow. ‘What do you want to talk about? So far, this is the most important thing at the moment. Am I going crazy for taking this whole thing seriously?’

  ‘No, and it is good that someone is doing what they can to solve this mystery.’ Doris replied before taking a sip of her wine. ‘But even with that in mind, and given the context of the world gone mad. I like to think we are all okay, and this is nothing major. Well, not as major as what is really important. You. I struggle to see how someone like you has all this power. Try to live an ordinary life. I ran the numbers, and they all point to the same thing.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘That you can destroy the world. If we can theorise that a single clap from you can level an entire city, what can we even do to stop you? This is from a regular clap someone would do when applauding, not some forceful clap with all your might. Though I fear what that would cause far more harm than I can imagine. All of that because we observed you clicking your fingers in a bomb testing facility in the Mojave Desert. Your strength is boundless, your speed seems to be limitless; everything about you is beyond our understanding of power. No one could stop you from taking over the world, even if we launched every nuke at you. So why bother keeping this act up? When you can just do whatever.’

  Ben paused while he rubbed his hand anxiously. ‘I don’t want power.’ He mumbled before he could provide an answer. ‘People might say having what I have is a gift. I suppose being able to fly is cool and all, but it isn’t what it is cracked up to be. There is no appeal to being able to do all of this.’

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  ‘Are you trying to ease my nerves?’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  Doris chuckled. ‘Ben, I suppose I’ll be blunt when I say this. But you scare the shit out of everyone. Maybe not some of the folks with powers, but most of them are high on their own fumes, thinking that they are invincible. However, I won’t lie, you make me anxious at times. Seeing you fold the edge of the table in the breakroom like it was tissue paper and trying to shrug it off, that scares me. No one should have that kind of power.’

  ‘It is why I am working for the UN and not for myself. There are people who can enforce rules and state things I can and cannot do. Provide some sort of law that I have to follow and make me understand what is or isn’t acceptable.’

  ‘Yet what is stopping you from going against the UN or even the world? There is nothing and no one to stop you. Laws and rules don’t apply if there is no way to enforce them. Who do you have to put you in check? Who watches the watchers?’

  ‘I have myself.’ Ben protested. ‘It sounds strange, but there is only I who can hold me accountable. Sure, it isn’t much, but what is there for me? I understand that what I can do scares people, which is why I want to make sure I limit myself as much as possible and try to opt for a non-violent solution. Sure, in a real sense, no one can stop me or make me accountable. Though I suppose the same can be said of anyone. We all have the capacity to do harm.’

  ‘But everyone without powers is threatened by violence or consequences if they do harm.’

  ‘That doesn’t stop them. We still see murders and people stealing, but it doesn’t change the fact that some people will, at times, go beyond what is right to do wrong. Sure, I am human, and I will slip up. I can’t be perfect. It is why I need other people to keep me grounded and in check. You are right to say that no one deserves this kind of power because it is too much. But in the meantime, I have to at least follow and accept whatever laws are put forward by the international community.’

  She considered his words, analysing him to see if Ben was honest about his beliefs. Eventually, she asked a vital question. ‘The inhibitor collars. They are designed to turn someone’s powers off. Would you wear them?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Just like that? An immediate yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ Ben paused, looking away before answering. ‘But only if they could work on me.’

  Doris folded her arms. ‘When I asked the same question to a few others. They all said no and called those devices inhumane. What makes you any different?’

  ‘I want to be normal again.’

  Saying those words clicked something inside of Doris. Making her see the person in front of her and understand their very being. Ben was, without a doubt, a dangerous individual. If he flew fast enough and hit Earth at the right angle, he would tear the planet in half. A single clap with enough force could even vaporise the entire atmosphere.

  Yet that refusal and the immediate response to wanting to be normal, an inclination that he wanted to give up all of that power. Showed a side she never suspected. Something deeply human. He hated his powers and yearned for the ordinary. Many people mutated or changed by The Cascade had similar sentiments. But not the ones who were fortunate or had capabilities similar to what Ben had, while still looking human. They liked their newfound power, some to an unhealthy degree. All of whom were being held accountable by a man who didn’t want that power or responsibility, taking on a role that needed filling.

  Doris felt sorry for Ben. Taking on the role of enforcer and exemplar within a new frontier of human history. So much weight and expectations that he had to carry, and perhaps till the end of his natural life. From her understanding, Doris was unsure if Ben could even die from old age, given his mutation. Though when he said he wanted to be normal, she believed him. In a way, she felt she wanted to help him become normal again. A simple man without powers or anything.

  ‘That, I can respect.’ Doris raised a glass to Ben before drinking. ‘Even if we are all a little scared. But maybe later, soon if possible. That the world will know that a friendly giant is watching over them.’

  Surprised, Ben smiled. Having his right hand mimic holding a cup to raise it with her. Feeling grateful that someone saw what he believed in. That even with ultimate power, there were greater expectations. That he must be an example for a people who could well and truly end the world.