Not the one - part 7
By Dru



With two rings now, Susan hovered above the small island and wondered where
she was. Cautiously rising it occurred to her that she had no idea where Tyrin
had taken her. She went higher and higher, and found she was on an island
chain. Thousands pf tiny islands dotted the ocean beneath, stretching out in a
long line.

"This must be Indonesia," she decided, and followed the islands looking for
evidence to back up her assumption.

A feeling of euphoria overcame her as she flew unaided through the high
reaches, projecting energy to rocket along faster than any human had travelled
before. The air and gravity worked against her, but with delight she conquered
both. The atmosphere behind her started to glow as she accelerated faster,
going down low to skim her hand through the ocean. Rising to clear a
mountainous island she looked back as the shock-wave of her passage knocked
over every tree and bush under her flight path.

"I better not go this fast in the city," she decided. A large village, the
buildings mere specks on the horizon, made her back off and slow down. She
maintained mach three, and landed awkwardly on the road outside town. The
friction of high-speed had burnt her clothes away, but fortunately this town
had a good marketplace. Closing her eyes and projecting her mind she explored
every inch of the place to find clothes. Using her new knowledge, she created
a small localised whirlwind that picked out a few of the more appealing
garments and carried them several kilometres to her waiting hand. Amazed by
how easily she applied her new knowledge, Susan walked into the foreign town
without any fear.

There were only a few tourists here, and only one that was speaking English.
Susan's ears picked his words from the buzz of the market and her eyes
followed the sound to a chubby guy trying to buy a whole stack of knock-off
DVD's from a villager. Tapping him softly on the shoulder, he made him turn
and look at her.

His eyes were drawn over the long lines of her body, and Susan heard his
heartbeat accelerate to dangerous levels.

"Can you tell me where we are?" she asked him. "I'm lost."

"We're..." his brain fumbled for information.

"Come on, then. Out with it."

"You're here," his dreamy voice told her.

"Great to know that." Getting a little tired of this, Susan placed a hand
under his chin and hoisted him into the air. "Where's here?"

She took the thoughts from his head before the answer crossed his lips, then
the overweight tourist found himself dropped roughly into the dirt. Certain
now of her location, Susan leapt straight up into the air and joyously engaged
her newly aquired ability to fly. Crossing over the coast of Western Australia
she soon found herself engulfed in the darkness of the night. The drop in
temperature over the desert didn't bother her bit; she just kept heading east
with the landscape blurred by her tremendous speed. Crossing the continent in
less than three minutes, Susan slowed down as she passed over the ocean, and
headed south along the coast. The lights of Sydney came over the horizon, and
as she drew closer her eyes picked out her house. Landing on the lawn of her
property, she wandered inside through the shattered door.

Even after such a long day, Susan didn't feel remotely tired. Looking at her
empty house she remembered that the previous owner was still unaware that the
house didn't belong to them anymore. Deciding that it was time to deal with
that, she grabbed the document those real estate guys had drawn up for her,
and headed to another clothes shop to cover he naked flesh.

She would cheat no more taxi drivers of their fares. She needed no help
getting to George Street now that she could lift up her feet and fly. Hovering
above a sporty shop so no-one could see her naked, Susan picked clothes from
the racks and made them fly up to her, breaking windows but no bones.

Careful not to damage her latest outfit, Susan flew slowly over toward
Parramatta and the home of Frank Hearl. He was manager of the bank that had
foreclosed on the beach house two months ago and evicted the unfortunate
occupants. Touching down gently right in front of the door Susan pushed the
buzzer, accidentally demolishing the plastic box in a flurry of sparks.

The door swung open moments later, and Susan smiled at Mrs. Hearl. Frank's
wife looked Susan up and down in disgust, unimpressed by her skimpy clothes.

"I don't believe I know you. What do you want?"

Susan stepped forward and pushed the older woman aside. "Where's Frank?"

"Hey! Who do you think you are?"

"Don't you worry. Just tell me where your husband is."

Frank made himself evident, walking into the hall.

"What is this?"

"Hello there. I just wanted tell you that the beach house is off the market."

"Frank, who is this hussy?"

"Hussy?" Susan raised an eyebrow and backhanded the woman so hard that Frank
was an instant widower. Moving faster than his eyes could follow, Susan got in
Frank's face. "You have no idea how much I hate people like your wife. Now
then. I am the new owner of that beach house." Showing him the legal papers,
she held up a hand and a pen flew over from beside the phone and landed in her
grip. "Just sign this."

"What did you do to my wife?" he demanded, moving to examine the crumpled form
of the dead woman. Susan nudged him roughly to the floor and stood over him.
Dropping the papers and the pen on his chest, she picked up the corpse in her
left hand and dangled it by the neck.

"She's dead, Frank." Squeezing her hand closed, she popped the deceased
woman's shattered head off and tossed the body down the hall. "And you will be
too. If you don't sign that."

"But it's worth half a million dollars!"

"I can't believe you, Frank. Your wife's dead and your babbling on about
money. Your signature or your life...your choice, buddy." To let him feel her
strength, Susan crouched next to him, and popped his kneecap with her fingers.
"Don't be a fool."

He signed a moment later, as Susan ran her hands over his shoulders. As soon
as the paper was complete, she released him and took the document.

"Thank you. Bye now."

Stepping outside, Susan hovered out over the lawn and turned around. Smiling
she held out her hand and a blast of heat shot out to engulf Frank's house in
a ball of blue flame. Impressed with herself, she broke off the heat beam and
watched the bricks burn. The house crumbled, burning brightly against the
night. People came from the houses up and down the street to see what was
happening. Those who saw Susan hovering there twenty feet over the street
stopped in their tracks with their mouths wide. Waving at them, she did a
backflip and disappeared into the darkness.

Weaving through the night sky Susan decided that it would be easier to get her
furniture if she had money. She sought out the five-storey headquarters of the
United Leagues Banking Corporation. They had taken her car away a few years
ago, so she decided that they owed her.

The city looked very different from above the rooftops, and getting around was
so much easier that Susan wondered how she had ever managed before. Entering a
graceful hover above the west side of the building she sought, Susan
considered the best way in. Noticing the windows were connected to alarms,
Susan chose the wall as her entrance. Remembering what Tyrin had done at the
furniture shop earlier, Susan held out her hand and blasted a hole through the
wall. Floating in, she made her way to an elevator and pushed her way through
the steel door and into the shaft. The elevator was below her, so she gripped
the cable with both hands and snapped the coiled steel.

The elevator fell a few floors before the safety brakes stopped it. Not caring
if anyone was in it or not, Susan dove head long down the shaft with her fists
out front, and smashed her way through the lift. Assuming the safe would be
down in the basement Susan landed lightly at the bottom of the shaft and
pushed the door open. The door to the vault was behind several bars, and Susan
was dismayed to see two guards. Waving her hand she destroyed the rotating
security camera and stepped forward. The guards stared in disbelief for
moment, but when Susan made a gap in the inch-thick bars with her soft looking
hands, they went for their guns.

The first bullet hit her in the breast, making her smile. They came fast after
that, bouncing off her body as the two men unloaded their weapons into her.

"Nice try, fellas." Walking toward them she used her mind to part the second
barrier. With one hand on her hip she held the other one up. As it rose the
two guards found themselves lifted bodily from the ground by a crushing unseen
force. Smiling at them, Susan made them spin as she experimented with her
powers. Then she closed her hands and watched them implode. Releasing the
remains they slopped to the floor and pooled there. Lifting both feet from the
steel floor before the spreading goo reached her toes, she turned her
attention to the vault door.

Her first impulse was to blast it with heat and melt it, but thought better of
that idea. The money would get damaged if she tried that. Instead, she looked
at the door and concentrated real on hard. After a moment the steel door of
the vault started to groan, and the smooth flat surface began to distort. The
noise of bending steel grew louder as Susan lifted her hands and drew more
power. The shuddering door continued to bend until it had opened enough for
her to enter. Walking through the generous hole she found the horde of cash
she had been expecting. Only taking from hundred dollar bills she started
stuffing the loot into cash bags, but decided on an easier method. Holding the
bag she had been filling out in front of her, she let it go but it didn't
drop. Susan held it there with her eyes. Looking around the room she levitated
the money and formed it into a ball in the middle of the room. Flying back out
of the bank with her ball of money in tow she went back home and put the money
in her bedroom.

It was too late now for Susan to go shopping for furniture. That would have to
wait. She sat on a cushion air and thought about her new abilities.

Rubbing the new ring she got to thinking about Tyrin, the memory of that pain
making her shudder. The Council of the Twelve had made a mistake in contacting
him, because if they hadn't done that then Susan would never have known about
them. Now she knew they wanted her dead, and were probably calling for another
ring-bearer. That had to change. Susan was enjoying herself too much, and
didn't want to give back the ring. Deciding that she would deal with them
first thing tomorrow, she remained on a cushion of air and slept more
peacefully than she had in years.