Hero Maker

“Hello. You'll want to wait until there's nobody else around before responding. I want to start with that so you don't make a fool of yourself when there's others watching. The startle and looking around for the source of the voice doesn't look too bad and is easily passed off, but suddenly talking to a voice nobody else can hear… that's a ticket to a rubber room. We'd escape, no problem: Few psychiatric clinics are equipped to deal with me… and I would cooperate in demonstrating you're not crazy.”

“For the moment, I'm guessing at your questions, not reading your mind… no, you're not insane. Yes, I'm real. Specifically you are wearing my anchor. Take that ring off and…”

“...thank you for slipping it back on. Yes, I'm that easy to get rid of if you decide it's a raw deal. And yes, I'll make you a deal. You get to be a super hero. I will build you some equipment that will grant super powers, coach you through training on how to use them, and coach you through properly powering them: It will take a while for your system to get used to providing the underlying magic to…”

“...oh, right. People don't really believe in magic anymore. Well… those flashy flying femme fatals on the news? The capes, the mentalists, the shapeshifters, and even those geniuses that make the super suits? Those hundred foot monsters that laugh at the square-cube problem? Turns out at the core, it's all the same stuff. I call it magic just because that's the translation of the term in common use when I was young. Everyone has some talent for it, the trouble is that it's hard to exercise to the point of being useful when you're starting from the level of the general populace. Good news: There's a workaround. I'm it.”

“Once you're otherwise alone and can talk freely, we'll go over what kind of powers you want. I'll set you up with tools that can do that, cover most of the power the tools need to run, give you control, and have them take just a touch from you. It's going to be a little tiring to use them - that's by design: You'll have useful super powers from day two, and by supplying a little of the power for them yourself, you'll exercise and get stronger. As you get stronger, I'll back off on how much I supply. You probably won't feel like you're making much progress: That's normal. Eventually, you'll be fully supplying your own powers, at which point we can start expanding your power set the same way… or I can move on: Your call, generally.”

“Oh, yes, what I get out of it: I get to live. While you'd otherwise be asleep, I'll take your body out for a spin. No, nothing nefarious, I won't get you in trouble: I just want to enjoy life. And I'll use my magic to handle body maintenance and such: You won't suffer at all from missed sleep, as in a very real sense you'll still be sleeping. And no,b I'm not a bad guy: That's why my immortality consists of consensual sharing of another's less used time while I arrange things they want rather than lichdom, body theft, vampirism, or something even less savory.”

“So: Are you in?”