Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

xRocketman52x t1_j8tc33o wrote

"Oh, well, to be honest, my power wasn't real hard to discover - in fact, it was pretty obvious. I'd say my parents figured it out when I was still in a high chair!"

"That's... fascinating," the health inspector offered, obviously confused. I hadn't actually told him what my power was yet, of course. Still, he diligently kept up with my faster pace, jotting down notes as we strolled through he production facility. He responded, somewhat absently, after jotting down another paragraph. "Most folks learning their power that young, well.. With lots of time to develop, they end up putting on tights!"

"Ah, the super hero route was never for me, to be honest. My power doesn't suit itself to that, and, to be frank, it's much too dangerous work. The plant here? We're as safe as it gets!"

"I admittedly find that odd," the inspector muttered. "Your safety equipment is, admittedly, shiny and new, but... something is off. Employees. The way they're handling things."

"Ah, yes! We absolutely prioritize safety and distance for the employees! If something is about to go wrong, just back off and let it happen!"

"Hm," the inspector hummed, "Most producers would... Well... Put some higher priority on preserving the product. Not to sound cynical or accusatory, of course... but that's a lot of money to let go of."

"Ah, true, but that's where I come in! It's why I'm the production supervisor, after all!"

"Oh? Uh... How so? If you... I mean no offense, but... I don't see how..."

I simply laughed.

"Just believe me, I'm their hero around here. Both the guys on the floor and the big wigs above!"

Just then, we heard shouting. Down the warehouse, a handful of employees were stepping back, pulling away, as a large machine began to sputter and spark. Splatters of the product began to leap out of the device, and finally, with a loud 'bang', a geyser of baked beans spouted from the top of it, soaking the area around it in viscous brown liquid and vegetables. An Old Faithful of barbecue special, a tidal wave of frank toppings, an absolute flood of our famous baked beans covered the entire area. By the time the flow stopped, a full ton of product must have been oozing across the floor.

"Oh, goodness," the inspector said, lifting his clip board to take notes. "That's got to be an expensive mistake."

"See, this is where I come in!" I cracked my knuckles, strode forth quickly, and chuckled. Time was of the essence, after all.

The men cleared the way, with a few apologies and a "You got this, boss!" I approached the edge of the spill, and sat down. With a deep breath, I prepared myself...

I let out a loud, embarrassingly accurate estimation of a baby's laughter. I laughed, I giggled, and I squealed like any good toddler strapped in their high chair and having a good time. I kicked my legs, I flailed my arms about, swung my hands wildly, and twisted all over.

I'm sure an outsider would have been perturbed, and the inspector, I noticed from the corner of my eye, stood aghast, but everyone here at the company loved me for it.

With that, my power activated - the ability to magically un-spill food. The beans shot back up into the air, up into the machine, and back where they came from!

I pushed myself to my feet, and after a few laughs with the team, I strolled back to the inspector, who's jaw practically sat upon the floor.

"Magically returned! No contaminants or anything like that, they're exactly as they were before the incident! We actually have some test results to prove it."

"I..." the inspector offered, at a loss for word. "I don't know what to make of this."

I laughed, and nudged his side.

"I call it: 'The 10-second rule'!"

318

FjookEnterprises t1_j8thn88 wrote

I want more

42

xRocketman52x t1_j8xl1tp wrote

"Listen, when the specialist gets here, don't say a word. Understand?"

"Sure, boss."

"No, listen, Lenny. I am serious. Don't even open your mouth. I need to hear you say that you understand."

The young man seemed almost taken aback by how serious I spoke.

"I... Yes. Yes sir. I understand."

"Good. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be a dick, I just... I'm trying to keep you or me or any of us from getting sued."

"I mean... Boss, is this guy... Is he dangerous? We're just doing utility work here..."

I sighed.

"Dangerous? Not really. But he's very specific - we need to watch what we say around him, or it could be disastrous."

I looked to the new guy, and saw his confusion hadn't lessened. He was still curious - too curious. I trusted him, but that curiosity made me nervous.

"Look," I explained, "I've only spoken to his assistant. Best I can figure: this guy, Rodgers? His ability is tied to his perception. It's based off of fixing things - fixing pipes - that seem broken... Specifically, things that seem broken to him. And how they're corrected is also based off his perception. So if you go and say just a little too much, and he starts to understand how this stuff works, maybe his power doesn't work no more. Or it'll start to work differently. That means our stuff doesn't get fixed, and he loses a lucrative livelihood. That's part of why he's very specific."

I shook my head.

"I'd hate to be on the bad side of a guy who loses out on a job that's pulling him this much dough this easily."

"Oh..." Lenny was quiet. "Alright, yea. I guess that makes sense."

"Believe me, it's well worth it, kid," I expressed. "That's why we're paying him the big bucks."

"Oh yea?" he questioned, and I nodded. "How big of a project is this? For him?"

I gave him the side-eye, then figured there was no harm in it.

"We're paying about a hundred-and-twenty-five-kay."

I thought Lenny's eyes might pop out of his head.

"He's getting paid what?!"

"Yep. And if all goes well, it'll be done in five minutes."

Lenny practically swayed on his feet, flabbergasted at the number. If we stood any closer to the road, I'd have been nervous, but at least the guide rail and barrier offered us some security from the 6-lane highway next to us.

I did motion for him to take a step back from the manhole in front of us, though. With only a 2-foot opening, it wasn't likely he'd fall in, but... Well, I've seen stranger things happen.

The sound of tires crunching on gravel made me turn my head, and I saw a large, shiny pickup truck, with a rack over the bed stacked with all manner of plumbing supplies, pull up behind our own utility vehicle. Two men got out - Rodgers himself, of the Rodgers' Perfect Pipe Fix, and his assistant, the man I'd spoken to previously, Franklin. With no experience and no know-how from the owner, this duo had become the most sought-after utility specialists in our entire half of the country.

"Morning, fellas!" I called out as they approached, and received the same in reply. Lenny, much to my appreciation, said nothing at all.

"This the location we talked about?" Franklin asked.

"Exactly," I replied, pointing downwards. "This one under the road."

Franklin nodded, and turned to Rodgers.

"Okay, sir. So... Like we talked about. This pipe is broken. The correct way it should work is: It should be eight-inch plastic pipe running straight from this manhole down to the next one. Normally they have joints every thirteen-and-a-half feet, and they're water tight, through and through. Just remember that picture I showed you."

"Got it," Rodgers replied. "Thanks. Let me get this done!"

With that, the super-powered-professional hopped down through the manhole opening, and began the twenty-foot climb to the manhole's bottom.

"I hesitate to ask," I opened up, once I thought he might be out of earshot, "But... Do you know how he discovered his power?"

Franklin chuckled.

"Yea. He bought his first house a few years back. Was trying to fix the drain trap for his kitchen sink. Got so frustrated because he couldn't get it water tight, kept flooding his kitchen and making a mess. Eventually, he got so goddamn angry he musta blew a gasket, and he said he stuck his head in the sink and just.... Well... You'll see in a second."

We peered down into the dim manhole. At the bottom, the trough was damp, but we'd plugged off the line further upstream, so no sewage actively flowed through the lines. Rodgers got down on his knees carefully, planting them on the shoulders to either side of the trough, and doing his best to keep away from any unpleasantness. He lowered his face to the pipe opening, the place we had issues, and just....

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He screamed like a man possessed. I couldn't help it - I recoiled in surprise, and maybe a little bit of fear. I had sort of expected it, but even still - I could hardly blame Lenny, who, standing next to me, nearly stumbled and let out a few curses.

After a minute, Rodgers clambered back up through the manhole lid, and Lenny nervously hopped back down to inspect the work. I shook Rodgers' hand with a word of thanks, and he confidently walked back to his truck, answering a phone call as he climbed inside to wait.

It was only a minute or two longer when Lenny came back up, his eyes like dinner plates.

"Boss, I'm sorry, but what the fuck? It's just... it's all gone! He just... he fuckin' screamed into the pipe and replaced like five-hundred feet of clay pipe from fuckin' nineteen-sixty-whatever with new plastic? What the hell?"

"No... Don't think of it as replacing stuff. Just that he fixed it. Sounds like he did the job, though! Thanks, Franklin," I extended my hand to the other man, who shook it. "Send the invoice to our office, we'll get it turned around with some of those grant submittals and see if we can't get you guys the money fast."

"Sure thing! Gotta get paid."

"Jesus," Lenny sat on the edge of the manhole, his legs dangling into it and his eyes staring into space. "More than a hundred grand. For like... three minutes. He just yelled!"

"Listen, bud," I said gesturing to the roaring highway next to us. "That man just saved us about six-hundred-thousand dollars and about fourteen months of work."

I turned to Franklin, and I couldn't help it - I laughed. Genuine, mirthfully, belly laughed.

"He's my hero. Tell him I'm his number-one fan."

Franklin chuckled, and began to turn away. As he walked towards the truck, he called out over his shoulder:

"It's a shit job, but it pays well! And the boss says he gets lots of stress relief!"

13

Willowrosephoenix t1_j8tjd64 wrote

This is the magic/tech hybrid Iā€™d like to see more stories of! šŸ˜…

36

codergeorge t1_j8ugv6q wrote

This story and the prompt itself just remind me of Everything Everywhere All at Once haha.

9

Oba936 t1_j8xfr1x wrote

This is perfect! Thank you so much!

2