I leaned toward the mirror, inspecting my face under the harsh bathroom lights. Ever since Olivia had half-jokingly said that I wasn't aging, the thought kept niggling at me. My power wasn't immortality—it was immunity to others. If I was indeed not aging, the conclusion that followed seemed too ridiculous to pursue.

A clang from the living room made me frown; I lived alone and wasn't expecting guests. Stepping out of the bathroom, I killed the lights and walked warily toward the source of the noise.

Stepping through the doorway, I did a double-take. Before the ajar window stood a well-built, sharply dressed man with a handsome face everyone on the planet knew. My momentary panic was quickly replaced by giddy excitement.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed. "Universal Man? What are you doing here?"

He smiled, but it didn't reach his icy blue eyes. "Have a seat, Tom. We have a lot to talk about."

I hurried to the couch and sat down, not even questioning his ordering me around in my own home, or wondering how he knew my name. "Let me just say, it's an honor—"

He raised his palm as if to silence me, and a frown crossed his face. "So it's true."

"What is?" I asked, bemused.

"Your power—it blocks others. How... irritating." Shaking his head, he reached into his jacket. "Well, no matter. I read your friend's memories so I came prepared."

"My friend?"

He drew a gun, and I froze, more stunned than scared. Universal Man could crush concrete and lift cars without breaking a sweat. What would he want with a puny little pistol?

"What's going on?" I laughed nervously. "This is a joke, right?"

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." The gun sat awkwardly in his hand as he leveled it at my chest. "I never encountered anyone like you before. I never would've even known, had I not picked up your friend's thoughts. You're far too dangerous to be left alive."

I swallowed. "Olivia? What did you do to her?"

"I merely ensured she wouldn't remember the past few days. Much easier to deal with than you."

"I don't understand," I said in a trembling voice. "How am I dangerous? My power's so minor they gave it the lowest classification—"

He laughed, a high, chilling sound. "The idiots. Tell me, why do you think I have all these abilities?"

"Y-you're special, everyone knows that. The pinnacle of human evolution..."

"A convenient excuse. One power per person; the rule hasn't changed for millennia." He glanced down at his other hand and clenched a fist. "Mine is to take from others. Their powers, even their lifespan. Take from everyone... except, it seems, you."

"The whole world is growing old because of you?" I exclaimed, half-rising from my seat. "That's absurd! People have been dying for ages—"

His face rippled, shifting to another man's, then a woman's, his body following suit. "How long—do you think—I have lived?" asked an ever-changing voice.

I laughed because the truth was too much to bear. Gunshots rang loudly in my ears, and my chest suddenly burned. I slumped back, my eyes bulging out as I found myself unable to draw breath. The monster's icy eyes, the only feature that wasn't changing on that shifting face, watched me with detached satisfaction.