Chapter 4 : Super Derek Underpants

Thank you for sticking with Super Derek, my first full novel serialized here for free on my blog. I suppose it's better to let everyone know that Derek and Esmeralda marry -soon. But first Derek has to heal from being pursued by the Law in chapter 3. He will get better and sober up, morally. Thus in the chapter, Pete and Mark heal him and disclose the mystery of his underpants -the whole mystery!

 

1. Stacy

The right side of Derek's face was torn and bleeding, where he had turned to shield Stacy -his hostage, from the blast. He regarded her listlessly, it will heal. Where are we? It's a secret. Dawn was breaking over the islet fortress that Pete and Mark had outfitted with numerous hidden conveniences such as a rest chamber and a healing bubble where time stopped on the outside. Are you afraid? He turned to her as his flesh began to creep over his muscles and fuse into place around his eyes and nose. Stacy wondered if everytime he heasled himself, it was less perfect. Yes, he answered -knowing her thoughts. Who are you? A junior under Master Mark. I took textile weaving in college -that's how I was found. Derek sensed an innocent heart waiting to help and he asked her, Why can't I ever take off these underpants? Stacy blushed. Perhaps naively, she revealed their secret.
 

Esmeralda -your girlfriend, she doen't really love you. You saw how quickly she moved on. You belong with us. How did the underpants make me grow back -down there? Everything was torn off. Everything you feel you have is actually just thread -thread differentiated by our collective mind so it appears normal and functions the same. Thread can't stretch much so you cant go hard. We don't have any other cloth. Esmeralda said ther was no weave. There is none. It's fused to you. If I take them off it will as just unravel? Presumably -I expect so. Derek collapsed and burst into tears. Stacy walked up to him and fondled his hair. I shall be your hostage, then? No reply.
 

Pete and Mark shielded off the cluster bombs expertly and returned to the cul de sac mansion unharmed. Mark brushed off the gunpowder from his cloak and strode through the hallway with Pete in tow. I told you, Pete -don't help stupid people. But Master- No, do not protest what you've so clearly witnessed. Master, Derek was pushed around all his life. He's never been able to fight back. Pete, if you empower the poor, the unhealthy, the unintelligent, what will happen to the good? Pete stared at his feet. We're special, old friend. Derek is a freak who should have died long ago from his fortunes. People with personality defects kept him going. Do you think they really miss him? Do you? Yes I do. Then join him and his dysfunctional family. The only thing dysfunctional about them is they truly love one another unconditionally. I've seen it. Then watch over him and his friends. And leave him Stacy. She may change his ways.
 

Pete bowed low.
 

You can't have me, Derek. It's not right. He watched her swim in the pond under the sinkhole with its shafts of light. It glinted off her hair like finely spun gilded silk, and off her peach fuzz body. In the harsh sunshine,  she saw ever detail of his skin -its cuts and welts. Will you help me? What of? I need to change. I can't be Derek anymore. 

2. Metamorphosis

It was uncanny how Derek read her mind. Reweave it, he pleaded. Stacy emerged from the water. She was starkly beautiful. He knew he had to turn and kneel. They were in the shallows, she pressed up against his back, hands on his temples and his skull came apart in a time bubble. The same container that held the nukes' blast held his brain and fluids in place. With an unspoken -he felt it, command, the sides of his head were cast away into the water. Then he coud feel threads weaving their way though his face, his mouth, and nose, strengthening his eyes and his tongue. What color is it? He asked. Same denim blue. Damn. Stacy, I don't want a blue head. She laughed. Has anyone  of us ever betrayed you? Derek kept mum. He was displeased with the tone of her answer. He expected her to reattach his skull but picking it up from the pool, it crumbled and turned to ash. Stacy held onto his shoulders and squeezed them. His skin began to grow over his brain and its waters. He felt like an octopus. She stroekd his head now sprouting thick, wavy hair. It toughened against her touch and she smiled. Your mouth is blue and so are your eyes.

Derek felt the flesh of his face and it was smooth, round like hers was and his eyes were piercing. Why don't I have a skull now? It helps your face morph and I took the liberty of implanting electrodes to your scalp so we can treat you on the fly. Control me -why not. Derek, I can't stay any longer. Stacy dressed herself and in her cloak, in the depth of its shadows, blew him a kiss. I'll be close. Derek smiled. But first, he needed enhancements. He wasn't going to be scarred again, nor be identified by his Tailor coat.

The electrodes in his brain, the reweaving of his intelligence, it gave him  the idea to design a new, better costume. He didn't know why Stacy and the Cloaks / Tailors trusted him with new powers. Perhaps a bird in hand was worth two in the bush even were it a crow. He was then aware of his penis loop, that kept it from wagging obscenely. It was stretchable for some reason. Maybe to leave room for upgrades? With his neuro-enhanced brain wired with magic thread, Derek undid the ultra fine weave of the loop and spliced the elastic threads into his manhood.
 

Esmeralda, the Hawaiian, Kyoka and Derek's parents were on the road again, this time across the state to the mountains where Esmeralda had family. That old John Denver song started playing in their heads -about a Misty Mountain and the old Shenendoah River. Jerry was at the wheel. We lost Pete. Maybe he'll be waiting at the camp? Es didn't reply right away. I have a feeling -that Derek's changed -that he'll be there. Gail put a hand on hers and the Hawaiian smiled though a smile in advance of a feeling left suffering to quiver as a byproduct on his lips. We really miss him, Kyoko oozed.

3. Derek Invisible

He could hear their voices -the people he once knew, as they hiked up the path to the camp site. It had all the conveniences of home and they were the only ones there. He waited for nightfall to reveal himself. His friends and Folks had got a fire going and were roasting some meat and vegetable kebabs. Esmeralda excused herself to use the loo, induced by Derek, and as she walked back to the bathroom, he appeared to her. Pete, is that you? No, 2 more guesses. Derek? She whispered. Where's your cloak? Your voice, you sound different. I need a new name, Es. He stepped into the light and she saw his full tranformation. She ran her hands over his muscles and it felt like shark skin. His head was softer, spongy, studded with little hard bumps on top and towards the back of his neck. She looked down at his underpants and they were gone. Es, I'm a full man again, I'm sorry for what I did. Will you marry me? No! She pushed out from his embrace. I only did what... I... needed to... Derek, she whispered his name, you're wanted by the Feds. How could you? Just ruin your life and implicate all of us. But he caught her hands and brushed her fingers over his cranial projections. It was better fun than hair -What were they? A smile began to form on her lips. She pressed on his studs and they gave off a little fizzle coursing through both their bodies. She remembered what Gail and Jerry told her about their first time. 
 

After they had kissed and made up, she renamed him Curtis Truck -he should remember that. Are you hungry? Yes -I had no money on me. Most of the time I forget. Rarely need to buy, eat, or drink anything. She tore open a ration packet of astronaut food and gave it to him. Are you like Robocop now? I prefer not to chew -yes. Are you vegan now? I prefer not to harm animals -yes. Derek, Curtis -I can feel so many people through you. Because there are -now. Why? I'm to be controlled. To do what the Clocks, the Tailors tell me. Will all of you harm me? Can we ever have- Es, come with me. There's a secret place where we can be alone. I don't know if I want you anymore. I can function now. Let me show you. My skin, is part cloak part flesh. I merged them and the Tailors -they healed my scars, my trauma, gave me a higher IQ.
 

He slipped his fingers into her hair and it felt like what it used to. Thick and liquid. The sensors on his scalp started tingling. We have to leave now. No, whatever your name is- Es, Derek / Curtis held out his hand, we can beat this small town life. Have everything. If the moon's made of cheese, we'll have a palace there. I'll be good to you. Think twice before you run. Now come on. Esmeralda felt like it was the most important decision she would hever make. She brushed her hands over his head nodes again and their breaths raced together, urgently, passionately. She reached under and loosend off her underwear. It fell there by the bathroom, on the ground. And they were no more.
 

There's nothing more to imagine, to say what the two, Esmeralda and Derek, now called Curtis, shared that evening at the sinkhole isle. For years she had loved the man for his easy-going attitude, despite his pitifully painful existence. Perhaps that was a loser lie she told herself. Soon she would share her own secret but not just yet. When he lost his manhood to the dog, when he was burnt beyond recognition, and when he fled, pursued by the Law, where was she ever but a kid in a corner, crying to herself. When had she ever stood up for him even now powerful? Was she afraid because nobody was like him -would accept the freak he had become. Derek, there's magic in my hair. I know it's cliched, Rapunzel, Samson etc. But when I was young, my Granny blessed me -it was never to lose a single strand. There's more, the man or men I fall in love with -we must never make love. Mean you'll be cursed -balded? One by one my hairs will fall, till the last one made me bald, then as passion, all things pass, and then shall come I breathe my last. Es, I won't touch you if you don't want it. Derek, she laughed -it was meant to scare me as a little Gypsy girl -not to dance into just anyone's arms. He smiled. None of your hairs will fall -you'll know I'm yours.
 

Esmeralda woke to find herself alone on the islet. She found the hidden machinery where Derek had shown her and rode the elevator up to the grassy precipice, expecting to find him meditating there but he was gone. There was a note on brown paper, wedged into one of the hanging trees, tied with a dull red ribbon. I lost your ring to Lotus... it began. But you can have this one. It looked like it was made from amber. She held it up to the light and slipped it on. On second take, it was like a curl of skin. Two curls knotted together. One's from me, one's from you. castoffs from their first time. She blushed as she slipped it on. And it was with the same feeling she loosed her underwear back at the camp, only now it came with the settling of a promise attached, security in her heart that they would be forever.

4. Tailor made

Stacy met Derek at the gate at the end of the cul de sac. You've assimilated your cloak... She reached out to touch him and realized that he had learned to thread. Her mind scanned his body. You must come before Master Mark. Derek this is unprecedented. Mark examined Derek's head. Stacy implanted our oontrol structures deep into your brain. We removed your skull, gave you nicer hair. Derek, you are a thing I wished were cast away. Don't tell me you can go hard as well? Stacy -? She nodded. We have a traitor, I think. Pete, creation often leaves room for expansion. The way our bodies are made -relying on fluids, hydraulics, the way muscles form -by breaking and rejoining in small amounts, when perfection is achieved, it results in a stable mind -a clear conscience. Just as a spine adapts to upright walking, we all need to lie down sometimes. This betrays our aquatic roots. Pete, are you getting this? Pete nodded, waiting for the punchline. The end result of so much accomodation is that you attached a loop of elastic nanofiber to Derek's groin. For modesty, offered Pete, not aesthetics. And what is the result of that: are men and women modest? They hid and covered themselves from the wrath of the Lord. That meant they were immodest sinners, Pete. Modesty is a term used between men and women. This loop, my friend, assumes we feel the same towards the Creator. Or am I not to boast? Master, it can't be undone. I know.
 

You've seeded Esmeralda. You must return to her. But before that, let me explain why we reconfigured you and what your disobedience (again) means for your existence as far as we are concerned. Derek you have now horns. Exactly 16 of them. Your skin is so tough it's bulletproof. And your brain, Mark grappled for purchase on Derek's scalp, is a giant latex rubber sponge. You were afraid and asked for help. Again, Pete? We've been too kind to you, my friend. If Derek goes berserk again, God will receive my prayer against both of you.
 

Derek, you are to bring any child that results from your union with the Gypsy woman here, and here we will burn it up to the Lord. Sweat beaded on Pete's brow. *It's only a test* But Derek bowed his head, Yes Master. Immediately, he was booted back to Esmeralda's side. You can't go around naked like this, she said, her afterglow showed on her cheeks and in her eyes. We'll get you clothes if you take us back to the camp site. Little did she suspect he was eyeing her belly with conflict rebounding through his sponge mind. His horn-nodes twitching with emotion of every frequency, far and near. *Be good to me, Derek* -he would drive her bald in 9 months for sure. For sure. 

  
5. A lesson

Hey! You that turd: Derek? What makes you think I'm Derek? So you're his friend. More youths gathered around him. Something wasn't right. Their minds were confused -or at least confused his mind and he remembered his old weakness. His was a delicate power that depended upon concentration and consideration, compassion, justice. The mob with sticks and crowbars were a motley bunch. He tried to walk faster but they got onto pickups and tailgated him, driving on the sidewalk. If you have powers show them. Feds say to weed you guys out. Loud music blared from the trucks' stereos. Someone threw a net over him. It had barbs that prevented him from struggling so he stopped dead and turned around. Young men and women with tattoos dropped off the sides of their flatbeds. Friends of Lotus? He stammered. Derek, Derek... where can you run to now? They say he's got a dead dick. You got a dead dick? No, of course not. I'm just about to be married, start a family. Trixie, unzip him. Yea, he's got stiff. Sorry. Hey don't jaywalk again. It's a law here. Pick up your trash next time. Derek bowed his head until they left. It was a close call.

Esmeralda was worried. Derek had used his powers to jump home for the first time since town life resumed. What happened? There's vigilantes out there -on the streets -hunting me, people with powers, they said. I tried to get free but I couldn't concentrate. Es took his beanie off and caressed his cranial bumps. Maybe being super wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He sat down slowly, with a worried look. There was a time when the Sons of God walked the earth, and their children -giants. It was all destroyed by the Deluge of Noah. Were his days numbered as well?

What about witches? Why were they always in fashion? Derek found himself on the islet. This time he stood on the precipice. Pete stood behind him, holding a long staff. Master Mark was balanced on one of the tree branches. It was like a tarot scene. Am I to be your judge, Curtis? Me -judged? Why? Curtis, you almost gave the game away. And spoiled our heavenly operation here in this town. Powerful people never beg or stammer but project...? Power at all times, Derek blurted. But Master, I've reformed. The world doesn't want me. Should I have killed them all? Of course not, and get killed yourself. Curtis, your power is a liability because it comes from Man not God. I hate to put this so heavily on your shoulders but you shouldn't have gained your abilities. You shouldn't have gotten engaged. You shouldn't exist. Pete, where are you?

Derek / Curtis soon came to know the pain of the staff. It's for people who don't have a clue, kid. Here it comes, Derek, said Pete. The tailor pushed his rod while his other palm faced in a different direction. Derek barely dodged the blow which came from out of the blue. Good, Curtis. But the pushes and palm signs came faster, as Pete closed in on him. He swayed but was hit in the eye. He crumpled to the ground in agony but recovered quickly, then a cracking slap to his back. He glared at Master Mark who watched impassively. Sometimes, you have to fight with your powers, he said, otherwise why have them, use them? Derek read the palms ignoring the thrusts and found he could grab the rod off Pete who was less strong. Immediately, the tailor dropped to his knees. Sorry, he said... Gudasai.

Derek put a cold steak over his left eye. Esmeralda and his Mom looked on,  concerned. Pete did that? He nodded. I deserved it. Can you see? Not yet but eventually. Derek's Mom sighed. Jerry turned slowly at the door and left. I hope you don't lose your job at the flour mill. Drones will eventually do what I do. I saw the new forklift. It doesn't have a seat or controls. And it speaks Spanish as well. 

6. Return of the witches

There was to be a rock festival in town by the beach that weekend. Everyone was invited -it was for charity. And where there was head banging there too were witches. Quen and Lotus sat under a coconut tree, watching workers put up the stage and clusters of lights everywhere. The sunshine was warm on a partially cloudy day and there was a breeze coming off the ocean. Lotus was topless and so was Quen. On his chest, a ruddy mark where she had stabbed him after he lost control. Her child was on her lap. Quen had taught it to unscramble a mini puzzle cube but Lotus knew its mind was just a machine that did what it was told over and over.

If you see Derek, just shoot the fukk. How do you know its him? Feds say he just vanished. Can we like go up to his home and ask, hey, where's your son? You see witches have a code. They do nothing but make others come for it and doom themselves. They never take charity but get everything on their own terms -served by those who trust them, trust they ensure with the very pain of trust. Thus are the lives of those who do 'daylight sorcery'.

I don't think anybody else would have raped you -ever, boasted Quen. So you're saying you're proud of it? On some level you enjoyed it. I enjoyed your rage as well . Not sure if I can live with your hatred. We only hate God, Lotus reminded him. And Jesus is for fukks. Haha -they laughed together. Thus evil perpetrated in blasphemy as the good book predicted. Master Mark was meditating in a time bubble. Curtis-Derek, are you going to attend? Yes, Master. Then you will have to get past me first. Derek flinched, remembering the blow to his eye. I'm kidding, son. Stacy see if you can give him a lesson in advance of the trouble we know will come.   

Derek, what is speed is not fast. What is fast? I don't know. Would you prefer to know the speed of pain or pleasure? In terms of fast, I'd say pain. Then... Wait, Stacy. I know what you mean. He tried to leave but she pinned him down by his soft cranium. You choose pain but do not know what is 'fast'. Stacy, I'm not sure what you mean. She released him and they sat lotus form  before one another. What you take before the other hurts you is 'fast'. Take? You must absorb pain before you feel it. Or how else is it taken? He considered it a long time but the blonde tailor was patient and in the time  bubble Master Mark had created, he could contemplate it forever. However, Mark walked up to him and slapped his sponge head with a bean whip and the dream dissolved. He came to in someone's arms. Stacy? Who is Stacy, Derek? Es... I was being trained. I bet you were, Esmeralda stormed out of his room. You can go to the concert on your own with your Stacy. Who is she?
Es, don't ask. Is that a bruise on your head? She peered at him sideways as he staggered downstairs for the steak again.
 

7. Rock on

The gods of rock had been gracious and there was a celebration unlike any the town had ever seen. Quen urinated grapefruit juice on all the topless women as Lotus flung her underwear off-stage into the cheering crowd (yet again). Esmeralda and Kyoko watched from the bar where there was free-flowing low alcohol lager. Derek was perched on atop a coconut tree with his date-chaperone for the night, Stacy. They saw the giant 50 meter high screen above the stage capture the Asian witch flinging her goats hair locks back as she arched, defying gravity, her fingers locked above, in a shape, crudely but infectiously resembling a pentagram.

That night, Es wasn't with him. They were just engaged -a couple not yet bound by vows. He hoped she was still in on their deal. Stacy was very beautiful -in a more compact way, so was boss' daughter at the flour mill. Perhaps he shouldn't have, but his inner darkness was awakened by the raucous concert. He wanted Lotus just like everyone else did who bought the ticket. And half conscious, she snake danced in the nude for him, like when they first met, he thought he saw love in her. And time stopped -again, stood Pete and Stacy on either side of her frozen form. Pete said 'Truth'. Stacy said 'Beauty', then both said to one another 'Love' and to him, 'Peace'. They did this three times. He woke in a cold sweat. Es, he called to her, I had a dream. What could it mean...?

Do angels change with the seasons? A man stepped through the time bubble as if it were nothing. His face, masked in shadow like ash masks a smoldering fire. Yet he had a robe of shining white. I was sent to tell you the meaning of your vision, Derek. Are you Gabriel? There was a pause, Yes -I could be. The Gabriel? Derek, there is no time. Why does Peter say Truth first? Well why say anything but? Yes. Now why did Stacy say Beauty? Pause. Derek, Truth always directly preceeds and forms beauty. Every creature likes when things fit with how they were created. And when they do, they share what is called 'love' as Pete and Stacy demonstrated. And God knows it is good. Peace is the product of it being shared. We can all have peace though love be confined somewhere askance. What is peace but the knowing of one being raised, anew, prefect, forever? Think about what this means, Derek. Witches also purvey a form of Truth for good, as well evil.

Derek kneeled to pray. Then he texted Esmeralda: Let's hold the wedding in May. So it was fulfilled, between the soccer, and the last spring rains, does the legend of Paco remain. Paco, the no. 5 jersey he wore. Peace and freedom will heaven  restore. 

Derek was ultimately retrenched from the flour mill and was glad for it. He wanted to be a comic book writer. Pete and Stacy helped him dig into his islet, forming a modest home in the rock. They puched irreguar shaped windows that looked out to sea, and down the coast. These were dressed with vines. Inside, a spiral stairwell hewn from stone led to the sinkhole pool where a motor boat was moored -a gift from Esmeralda's family. Lotus took up acting and singing for a living, after a brief steamy stint in adult entertainment on OnlyFans -to be discovered. Quen became a freelance programmer, working on interfaces for open source projects. Esmeralda taught special children, helping them read and speak. The story seems over, well it is... for now, even so, remember to RSVP for the wedding of Esmeralda and Derek / Curtis. Don't miss it. I wouldn't for the world.

8. Consolations

Agent Hoag, confirm a close on the Derek vs. Lotus report? What about the Quen 9-11 file? The paper cup filled with chilled water trembled in his hand. Nope, he pursed his lips tight. No, ma'am. They looked at one another struck speechless. For the world is but a playground for the consummate witch. And it is the weakness of men of the cloth, whether promised to God in the flesh or by Spirit -what passes for the blood that pumps between governments, despotic or democratic (in the end both do the same things), big tech, evil or philantrophic, entertainment from Mumbai to LA (skin color matters not), through those who heal with drugs and those who kill for them, through the coffers of them who move prophecy forward, one gear tooth at a time, that witches sew their seed, seed that patiently grew by the side of the righteous wheat, unbeknownst until the time of the harvest of the earth.

And do you think it is time? Hoag stared at the water swirling in his cup. He downed it and crushed the cone. If there were but a few tea leaves in it he might have divined the outcome of the investigation. Why didn't the witchcraft division serve chai? I have to board a flight tomorrow morning. Where to? Borneo, north. It used to be just jungle and cannibals, head-hunters. I have to see how it was won for common good, for the age of reason. It may be our only chance. He stared at her, bent, hands over the briefing room table. Come with me.
  

Writing with a clear mind...

I am just finishing up chapter 4 of "Super Derek" [SDU] and some writers say I have a clear mind for writing it. So I replied I might be able to teach it and what better way than to write it on DogBlots. Here are just 3 steps to getting into character,

1. I wrote this before: a writer is an interpreter of complex situations, even epic plotlines, a masterful weave of subplots. When you write, realize that you have created a story -even a voice (a narrator or pov) but it has no life. Your job is to be that spark that gets the engine pumping. And being a spark is as simple as doing the thing warranted again and again until the chord changes, the fingers shift and it repeats again and again,
2. The next most important thing I noticed writers ask me is: how to write good dialogue or descriptions. The answer is simply to become an actor in your own story. Try it out from different perspectives and if it sounds weird or unnatural to rewrite it, sometimes as a version of a stereotype / trope / what have you. Something contextually fresh would be nice to see.
3. Finally, the least important thing: always write when you can imagine you are alone. You may not be, but if you could imagine that nobody is following your thoughts, or peering at you thru your window. The secret is to possibly build up a lot of passive followers (old trick) and push out the insistent nosy ones. Sometimes, just do something else for a while. I code when I can't write and vice versa.

Now I have 1.5k words left to write in SDU tonight. And these are important words. It's already past 11pm.

Brushed and took my meds. Worked out, all circa 1am. Another 1k words to write before I can upload chapter 4 at 3am. 

2am and I have to flesh out the rock concert I started, in another 700 or so words while witches consume my loved ones far and near. This is the good fight -a battle unto the last. Also have to learn about 'pacing' -something AI says I lack.

...

Fighting hand tooth and nail with the organized witchcraft all around the world. We've decided to rush them with many minds and shake them upside down. It always works.

Still haven't finished section 7 of chapter 4 of SDU. Kinda forget what it's included for. But there must be a celebration of sorts -partying in the calm before the storm. I just don't know how to party in a readable way.

Finished lunch. Heading out in 2 hours. May trudge to Taman Jaya as exercise, on the way home. Stomach seems settled. Still suffering from writer's block.

Am back from Decathlon with a 99RM pair of Quechua sandals. Pretty good but a little bit heavy. Needs some adjustment to the Velcro straps. I have a good way of ending section 7 chp 4 now but I need to think some more. It's mainly about the witches' modus operandi and their plan unfurling, how Derek still gets thrown in the way by the powers that be.

It was too early to start something big so I rested the chapter and focused on the wedding in chapter 5 instead -a release and a fulfillment of all the positive things in the novel. As usual it has 8 parts where I normally like 5 or 6. This keeps me thinking and on my toes. The word quota is 200 below but I'll make it up this chapter. Hope to do half of it tonight, late. It parallels my own wedding fantasy with my ex-GF.

Coding net4spice resumes…

After a hard time being backed up, was finally able to get cleaned. Took dried salt prune and 2 glasses of water. Had to drink it twice, yesterday, and this morning. Somehow, am no longer being prevented from coding. Might as well finish off n4s. Coding is a lot of fun, solving logic problems. Will write SDU late tonight. Folks are out somewhere.

Missed my chance to meet my Pastor due to the backing up I’ve been having since yesterday that whooshed twice today. I did debug n4s and it is finally showing some coherent results. If I could nail it in an hour that would be great.

Finally found the bug. It was an array of arrays not updated and a vertical index jump expected but not done. Okay, now there are overruns to handle but first to put the witchcraft right and return some control to the good people who usually help unconditionally.

Was unable to help with the telepathy. It turns out there was just a continuous mass hysteria which I scared away by threats of facial sores and disfigurement etc. As of now there is less violence. Trust is hard to replace once it’s broken. We must be resilient and forgiving, kids -you should learn.

With some new code, I whittled down the processing to minimum. Confident it will wrap up later. Had chores to do earlier and Mom has gone to visit Grandma at the care facility nearby.

Well the day wore on and we talked gospel and Paul’s teachings in mindspace, courtesy of a great YouTube short I watched, on Romans 1:19. Gave up correcting the output nodelist which is a lot nutty. Writing Super Derek chp 4 / 10, section 3 / 8.

Worked out a bit and stretched. Liew forces trying to duplicate my work and cut my readership. Unreal, people behaving so badly.

…

Was up early with a sore throat. At least I slept well. Ate watermelon which was soothing.

 

Had smoked salmon and almond pie at IKEA. It was less busy due to Ramadhan. I bought some batteries for my guitar tuner. They don't seem to last very long. CR2032. Halfway finished chapter 4 of Super Derek. The second half will be of coming to terms with Esmeralda and Derek's relationship and how to destroy his past and give him and his new wife to be a new future. I can finish that tonight after I help make pasta dinner.

 

 I have my Seiko Superman flieger on black nylon strap now. Looks more formal. 

Chapter 3 : Super Derek Underpants

I'm sorry for the late posts. It's taking twice as long to put out "Super Derek" than I figured, mainly because of talking / spiritual teaching in mindspace and on my Medium. Here, Derek runs afoul of the law and Lotus is there to capitalize. But does our hero have an ace up his sleeve?

1. The price of haste

Turned out, it wasn't long before Derek's knee-jerk reaction towards the witches caught up with him. Lotus had inserted some of his tampered sperm and almost immediately her belly began to bulge. She knew the pregnancy would be good. Quen watched, we'll have more to use against him. 'Super Derek', soon there'll be an army of little yous, they'll bow to us just as you will, and through one man, witches take over the world -the whole fukkin prophecy of God.

Kid, I'm beginning to think the underpants and you -are one. You're never going to get a hard on because God has His eye on you. The Hawaiian put the foil of Viagra back into the fridge. The drug had given him a little tingle but that was all. Perhaps it's your punishment -for the dog, Kyoko interjected. When would that honest mistake of his ever die? Derek glared at her with a hurt look, folded his cloak and disappeared.
 

Hanging in the air, bathed in the filtered glow of the islet sinkhole, he connected with Lotus' unborn child. It was growing prodigiously. She would find out too late when it tried to read or math something. Perhaps he had done too much. Love, corrupt -sometimes; but sex, always pure. He saw thousands of young women, smiles on their faces, insert his super seed. No-oo! a silent echo filled his heart. What you've done is what you've done, the voice of Pete the tailor came from below as he walked among the rock pools, brushing against the gentle deer forraging and licking the salted rocks. *Sigh* Derek, are you taking it out on God?

Nevertheless, Derek did appear at the births of his chosen two. He sprayed his blue underpants with canned flesh bodypaint and tucked the wiener catch loop behind otherwise he'd look like a pervert. He made his skin texture dimpled to match as he cradled their child in his cloak. The cloak blessed it and it giggled and reached out for him. As per everything he did, it was more intuitive than anything planned. He handed back the child, with a strip he cut from his cloak. The mother, she touched him, and they shared a kiss, then he was gone.
 

Likewise, he appeared to Lotus as she was birthing. He disguised himself as Quen. Two could play an equally dirty game. It was in semi darkness that her baby was born, in the back of their family sedan and he stood by the car window as she huffed and puffed. He wanted to see, I guess, if this witch who ruined him had a soul. Was she even human. It looked like her entrails were unspooling which filled him with curiosity, and Derek Jr. emerged, head first, strangled by his umbilical cord, bloodied but still breathing. Yuk, said Lotus as she forced out their child. Quen? But Derek was there instead and helped out her baby. He took it away as Lotus fainted from the ordeal.
 

Quen, who was supposed to be there, had absconded to the washroom where he compulsively got naked and was jerking off to his sister's contractions. He could feel her, her tender emotions. And he supped of them as if let loose over a 4-course banquet once in a hundred years. Derek knocked on the stall door and placed the child in a basin outside, Later, Lotus, he called. Then come to the car, mimed Derek. Outside, in the parking lot, he whispered to the witch, half conscious. I love you... I love you.

2. Revenge most sweet

They said he had a low IQ but his mind worked when he needed it most. Where's the baby? screamed Lotus. I was in the men's room... maybe it's -I mean I was bathing it there. Well go fetch it before we watch the clip. *I love you -you* Oh god, Quen you slut. Lotus relished the chance to show a man everything a woman could do. But that night, as the video played, Quen raped his sister and she stuck him through the chest with a knitting needle. Derek looked on, emotionless as the cruel torturer limped away, a hand supporting himself against the bonnet while his sister panted in lust, disgust, and fear, the child ignored and crying on the back seat. Sirens and flashing lights. He hid himself in a tree two streets away.    
 

The pair who had hoped to send him to the asylum were dragged away to it, their attack broken to pieces. Would they ever forgive him. They must never escape. He felt a hand on his elbow. It was Pete. Derek, there's a limit to complication. Simplify. Let them go.
 

That night, CCTV caught what had happened. Lotus had called for a lawyer. The man who made her brother rape her was Derek. Derek Curd. Quen was in intensive care for a collapsed lung. He kept silent though a frown had crept over his brow. Was the breathing so hard? A ha-ha. Even his thoughts were evil -towards himself. Police launched a man-hunt for Derek. Photos of him were distributed everywhere and those who knew him were questioned.
 

Esmeralda, Kyoko, and the Hawaiian were in Derek's home along with his Folks and they were talking. Do you think he did it? He's certainly capable of the most foolish things, said his father. Don't be so harsh on him, dear -he has a low IQ. He's a criminal now, said the Hawaiian, pacing behind the sofa. I knew he had it -too much on his shoulders. He cracked. Damn! Meanwhile Kyoko and Esmeralda were in Derek's room. Is there anything he left behind? Something we could use to find him. And if we find him, what happens next? Es, they'll kill him -the witches, after the cops jail him and maybe experiment on his body for his powers. Esmeralda sat on Derek's bed as tears burst from her eyes. It was to be a time of reflection. Who were they, those friends of his who kept his secret and what would happen if they found out their friend was super powered. He left us all in danger. The fool kid, the Hawaiian slapped at the air.
 

May I come in? There was a knock on the door. Derek's mother opened it. It was probably the detectives. But instead they found a cloaked figure. He lifted his hood and they saw it was Pete -the town tailor who left suddenly one summer years ago. So long that nobody cared any more. Pete? She staggered backwards. He caught her arm and steadied her. Yes, it's me. We're the ones who gave your son the underpants. But we must talk in private.
 

The police don't yet know Derek's powers and we can't be sure the witches won't tell. If he has any DNA left behind, we have to erase it. We have to nuke this town -somehow. I'm sure the Iranians would be more than happy to. Oh Dear, said Derek's Mom, holding him back. Sir, you don't understand. Every cell in your son's body is connected to every other living thing on earth. It's uncanny. Nobody must know outside this room. Tell no one. We have to arrange an evacuation, before that, I will start an emergency. We Tailors are prepared. Grab your things and leave early. Pete, don't do it, Kyoko grabbed his hand. Then come with me.
 

Esmeralda rode with Derek's Folks while the Hawaiian and Kyoko left with Pete. It wasn't long till they heard on their truck radio that there was radiation leaking from the city block entombments blowing across town. Do you think it's fair, said Dad? That because of one man, they did this? He hit the steering wheel with his palms. Derek, just you wait. His eyes teared up as he said it. Where shall we go? Esmeralda spoke up, Derek made two perfect children. Let's find them and maybe they'll show everyone he's a good person. Well, it's something we can do.  

3. On the run

Derek's Mom took her turn at the wheel as it neared 11pm. The freeway was pretty quiet since the nukes ripped through the city block, saved by Derek. How soon people forget. But they didn't know the full story and maybe would never care to hear it. Have you and Derek made love? No, Gail. I meant, before the accident. No, we never touched. He loved my hair. Es, I want you to marry him if we find him. Then he'll be controlled. Even if you never get anything from his -noodle. Esmeralda blushed. That day at the beach she danced for many men and their hands were all over her. She knew Derek wouldn't mind. For what is a woman for, given to a man without love in his special place? The best of her years wasted and their children, some sort of mutants. She looked out the window at the lights flashing by in the gleam of rain-swept darkness. Was she a mere sideshow to her boyfriend. She didn't think so and yet by her faith in Jesus, she had to stand by him. As a friend he was distant as never before. And in her heart, all her dreams seemed inferior, crushed by his overarching stupidity and its related problems.
 

I'm a woman too, said Gail, I understand. I guess I just wanted to be some place where the life was simple, the fun good. And there was always this familiar face who never judged me, who loved Jesus as much as I did. I was a part of him, of you all. And I never found my voice because I never tried to. I'll always... Esmeralda broke down crying. Then Gail spoke, Jerry and I were highschool sweethearts. We didn't know any better when we made love that one day we'd have a kid -yes we married because I got pregnant with Derek. Maybe someone told him and he was silenced, resentful for it. But that was the way it was done, her face turned firm, a woman lets her man in. And since then we've been doing it and it's good every time. Jerry always makes me orgasm.
 

Esmeralda smiled. They were all simple folk. Maybe one day, the Masters of her coven would make her special too. Her hair like treacle. She never had to cut it as it never grew, just became lusher and lusher and she brushed off the loose strands. She never told Derek and he never saw her do it.

The Hawaiian's pickup wsa just ahead of them and they were having a totally different conversation. I've seen him stop a bullet with his back. And his cape, it didn't smudge at all. I've seen his face, it's fulla lines like he was slashed, right girl? He lifted the Volks like it was a bar bell. Then with just one hand -he... bought a watch from me. I just don't know -wanna slap the bitch. Pete listened passively. Keen eyes fixed on the road ahead as the emotional Hawaiian wrung at the wheel. And where you been all these years. What's with these cloaks you all wear? You a Christian now?
 

Boss, Derek would have died without me. I can keep us all safe. Eyes on the road. Obey. Who we are will become apparent at the right time. Take care of Kyoko if I don't make it. She's into men more than her own good. Boss' cousin smouldered in the back seat. She knew all about his personality disorder that came from almost losing her to a shark. He could build anything and his medical innovation saved her life. There wasn't even a scar left to show for it. But since the attack, he was always ahead of his own thoughts. Always looking out for danger, always preventing mishaps. Deep down, he despised Derek though he never said anything. Without a voice over it, his heart showed its true colors: kindness and compassion. He was guided by God. Pete, let's call the others and pull over at the next stop, she said.    

4. At the stop 

The stop was a lonely one. Just a gas station and a 24-7 minimart with some food and drink dispensers, seating, and a microwave oven. You guys seen this man: Derek Curd? Never heard of him, Pete deadpanned. Well if you do, there's a hotline you can call. He read out the number as Derek's Mom keyed it into ther contacts. He's a very dangerous serial rapist. Ma'am it's midnight almost, where you gonna crash? The chairs -they fold out. The store cashier showed them. Jerry and Gail rolled up their jackets and drifted off holding hands like they did every night since the backseat brought them together.
 

The Hawaiian and Pete were talking while Kyoko browsed the aisles for snacks. THe cashier's eyes were all over her tanned bikini body. She smiled through her natural pout and picked out a pack of seaweed rice crispies and shandy. He'd not met a girl so hot before. Esmeralda was deep in thought as she stretched out in her lazy chair. You're Gypsy aren't you, called the young man behind the counter. He was friendly. Ain't nothin' wrong with being what you are so long as you know it. She watched him, busily checking the stocks and takings as if to avoid the curse of falling in love with her, her looks, and she asked, Curd, what are they saying about him? Oh you're out of towners? They say he took out a whole city block with his power -it was like 150 nukes all at once. 'Bam'. Then he got fresh with a Chinese girl and stabbed her brother, framed them for incest. But they told on him, his super powers. The rest they said was classified. Is he a witch? You're darn right, if he were, it should be. She turned away as Kyoko brought the crispies to the cashier. That'd be $10, no $10.95 ma'am -tariffs, lemme see, $9.95 if you've topped up your tanks -why don't we pop over and do it -that? The Hawaiian sniggered. Why Kyoko, do you... you do that to a man every time.  
 

Pete waited until they left, then he pulled Es and Boss close. I was the town tailor and like any other, we know cloth is perfectly flat but rolled, pinched, gathered, and stitched, it fits the body in many a flattering form. One afternoon, God called on me. He said the Universe He created was like a finely made suit -a suit for Himself. Don't say I'm crazy. He wasn't an old man but He had white hair that glowed. And His skin was polished bronze. He told me to take a piece of cloth and turn it into a loop. A loop with a twist if you can -He said. But never lift it off the table. And I said, Lord that's impossible. Anything cut has to be lifted, anything sewn has a seam. Well, He said to me, and I remember it like it was yesterday, you need to know what thread is. And as He told me that, I was flooded with the Spirit. The loop started forming as threads divided and merged. Then I picked it off the table top. God turned it in his hands and a flash of light blinded me. I covered my face and He was gone. There was a card on the table and that evening, I called the number -there were more of us found -tailors. And I was apprenticed to my Master. I saved you know who's wiener and nuts, now, I don't know. God doesn't know what to do with him, nor do I.     
 

Kyoko's taking too long, Es, said the Hawaiian -let's go find them. Pete sat there staring blankly at the shelves, at the wanted poster of his protege.  You should know how Jesus feels for you -I feel the same.

5. Regrets and turnarounds

Lotus paced slowly, by the window of the ward where Quen was on respirator. She had been on the phone with the others in her family coven. After the birth of her child who required special care, getting raped by her own brother before her placenta even fell out, and tossed around by the police because she took revenge -on her own blood, was there anything left of the fight? It's bigger than Derek, I'll be honest, she admitted to the female officer watching her. It's about the whole whacked world. The slicks who made us live with broomsticks between our legs and everyone treated us bad! The officer just nodded. Where is Derek now -who made you do it? She put her hands to her head, her head against he wall. We used to know everything about him, be in his thoughts, now he's gone. We're not safe. He's super, strike anytime, anywhere. The officer checked her gun. Get a special unit in here. I have a feeling there'll be more blood tonight.
 

If the witch's any trouble give her half a Valium, make her lie down. How's the kid? Seems he doesn't wanna live anymore. What sickhead would do this to them? 
 

Lotus hovered over the bubble where her newborn child was swaddled in. It's legally brain dead said the nurse. But it seems to know you. There's a slight spike on the monitor whenever you come by. Has it been eating? Does it want milk? The nurse brought out her little Derek and placed it in her lap. Its eyes were closed but she could feel its heart trying to beat in time with hers. She flipped up her top and suckled it. For a while, it took her back to Texas where she was born, where her father had been attached as a resident surgeon. Where everyone knew she was a witch, the daughter of witches. Back before she found out Dad had been machining on Derek from afar. So this was his mistake and HIS revenge. She didn't care hers were huge and hanging out vulgar like some pagan peasant girl. She wasn't ashamed. She had flipped before, at concerts, ball games, danced on stage, thrown her frilly lace panties into the crowd, milked every bit of her popularity and youth. And when she lay down in bed every night, she and Quen -they surfed the world, through the nodes Dad had opened up. They wrote songs together with the greats of guitar, they talked politics. She knew Epstein and why he was traficking in girls. Why couldn't the sparkle come back? 

6. Quen 9-11

So this the jerk who raped his own sister -a witch, both of them witches? Can he talk? Yes, came a hoarse whisper, don't hurt me. I'm agent Hoag from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And you're C. Quen Yap? Yes, Quen replied feebly. C for Chang. Yes. Mr Yap, we've credible evidence you were mind controlled partways towards the rape. You do admit that you knowingly raped Lotus Yap? No... Quen trailed off. Can somebody bring a light over his face? Now sir, did you see Derek Curd "Superman" or talk with him before, during, and after the rape. I didn't rape... Sir you're lying. This case is gonna go through the courts. Sir, we can't protect you any further except to find Derek Curd and bring him to justice as well. Would you like to comment on that? Don't do it. 9-11 -it was my fault. Tears started running from Quen's eyes. I deserve this... Just burn me up, burn me, make me leap.
We'll buy this field then. Son, what's the full story, you heard of the witness protection program? He's gonna need it, the sorry sonna'ma bitch.

7. No show

The FBI remote viewers, some of them were young, hot. Derek scanned them all as they drew his location on their iPads and what was around him. He wished he could just disappear, become a phantom, but he had a body, had to be somewhere -preferably comfortable and safe, and right now, that was hard to find.
 

Sir, he seems to be all over the place. Agent Hoag frowned. Are we dealing with a telekinetic? Positive -yeah I can feel it. Call Mike. Mike was Master of the cloaked ones and a firm friend of Pete. He knew Derek as well, and wasn't surprised at what the boy had done. Prank gone wrong? No, he meant it. All of it and the Yap's they deserved it. Mark, what he did can't just be let go. Mark turned away, looking like an empty shell. Will you bring Derek here? He isn't like us. His powers are brutal and barbaric. We expected his vengeance to be tempered, for him to practice self control,  yet -maybe the burn trauma snapped him. He was never the same.
 

So we have wounded animal. Hoag sighed. Pete had been waiting patiently at the minimart when he heard Master calling. Gather a posse, we're going for the boy. Don't harm him. Take him and hide him from the Feds. Say he died -we killed him. Leave the rest to me.
 

Derek, a voice came from behind him as he paced the top of the Tel Aviv 'scraper -the only safe place, practically a war zone. The human tragedy and lack of access masked his exact location. So you've found me, Pete... Mark, and, -Stacy. His fists clenched. You'll not trap me in time here. You're right, Derek, it would interfere with prophecy. Turn around slowly and give us your hands. He started to cry. Stacy reached for him. He fell to his knees, hugging her cloak. I'm sorry, he said, over and over.
 
8. Crime doesn't pay

Stacy held on to Derek. There was something animalistically attractive about the teenager and she stroked his hair while Pete and Mark looked on from the other side of the tower. There's not much left of your heart. If it's going to make you feel so bad, Derek, then never do it. I had to, Derek's eyes burned with flame. No, son, said Master Mark, you needed to. You did it for your hurt more than you did it for yourself. Which is better? I did it for the hurt. Yes, if you tell anyone you had to, it implies pre-meditation, which itself implies pleasure, pleasure in seeing Quen and Lotus suffering endlessly which is what's going on now. Do you realize that would be a crime that doesn't pay? No, explain please, Derek sounded like a wounded lion. A healed wound on a good person is justice served. But Derek, you cannot go free until the case has been heard and closed. You perpetrated a classic tragedy and we will be on your side. We'll say it helped the world heal and the casualties were all their demons -in the heart.

If you take me in -give me up, I'll kill you, Derek screamed. He bound Stacy in her cloak as a hostage then leapt off the 'scraper into the darkness. Air raid sirens were blaring and here and there were small explosions from Iranian cluster warheads. One of the mini bombs exploded close to him. Blood spattered Stacy's face, then they were both gone.

Not chapter 3, just a watch review post…

 

My practical man’s collection / rotation is now complete. From left to right: Beater,  Sports, and Dress. Options for the practical man who values bang for buck functionality, quality, modesty, and classic looks.

 

Left, the Casio 1400H beat out the classic clean 800H and various cult models like the 291H to take top spot in my heart where the 5600 I gave Dad used to sit. It was good, that Tough Solar G, but he liked it a lot, still wears it every day and he's 77.

 

The 1400 is a watch I can recommend to lovers of the G-Shock square who are on a tight budget and don't mind (because we're bigger) the extra beefy strap. 

 

In the middle, is my Garmin Instinct E (e for essential) which is my adventure (normally called Sports) watch. It's super stealthy and nobody thinks it is expensive which it was slightly so! It has all the functions I need when going traveling outstation, on the road -a must have for every modern man.

 

Rightmost, my Seiko 'Superman' 5 Sports which is not a very cheap watch anymore, being nowadays made from higher quality mechanical components, some sourced from Japan. At circa 36mm wide and thereby stoutly built, it's my go-to for impressing people, especially with the high polish surfaces and variable green dial under lightly-domed hardlex, that continuous sweep seconds hand.

 

Not sure about the strap choice which I may swap later.

 

There's nothing like having a watch for every occasion. I've often dreamed of an heirloom or collectible watch, a limited edition something circa 2-3k USD. But I can't put together that kind of money even over several years of eating ramen for dinners.

 

And not to mention the obvious cash grabs out there -the hype-following microbrands, the tie-ins and collaborations, and the homages of every kind from China. None are worth the money they ask and if it were lower, I wouldn't trust their QC. It's a tread lightly market where any trend or bubble of popularity sends prices soaring out of reach. Where lackluster offerings are available on the gray market in various shades of satisfaction / appeal.

 

More later... 

 

I'm into the final 2 subchapters of chapter 2 of "Super Derek". I think it will wrap up well like the first one did if I maintain my easy approach. Been thinking of how to help other writers do their books more easily. OSC said on Quora, that he only writes books he writes easily and he has 70 books to his name, some award-winners. I kinda agree. SDU is a book I can't put down writing -it's my whole fantasy of being super-powered come alive. To avenge those who tread all over my life and took me hostage when they were caught for it.

 

Can't seem to take off my new 1400H. I can't believe my life-personality is defined by a black square plastic watch that cost just $40. When I was young I had loftier dreams, circa $1000. Maybe it's true -that God will save us soon. The enemy is no longer very strong.

…

9pm and I have over 1k words left to write for SDU by midnight. Being on a tight schedule is invigorating but stressful, admittedly. May rest for a few minutes first. My church is being rocked by some troubles. Such are these end times. People who prospected a bridge too far. Some believe other churches to be evil such as Amish people, etc. My 2 cents is to be more catholic i.e. universal and inclusive. Entertain everyone’s different ideas and test-prove them.

Found out that Americans and I agree: the 70th week contains all of Revelations’ events. Mark Hitchcock even believes the white rider to be an / the antichrist. I never suspected! And the 10 kings without a kingdom occur because of believers pushing against them. Interesting. Also, Rev 21 says the sea(s) are no more. I often wondered that they’d be a hiding place for evil.

Had canned food and broccoli for dinner, with the last of the Japanese rice. I stirred up fancy baked beans with red onion and garlic, and Cajun spice. We ate well.

 

...

 

I successfully installed Ubuntu Server on my new Transcend external SSD. Wasn't cheap but works very well. Faster by far 5GB / 400MB per second which is amazing, and no disk crunching anymore. Installed a simple Sway / Wayland GUI. Yet to get sound going. Okay we have PipeWire now.

 

Today, absolutely have to write chapter 3 of Super Derek. Have to work out as well. Eat less.

 

Almost time for lunch. Still playing with my netbook / Ubuntu / SSD. I scaled down the CPU to 800MHz to save power. And the display to 25%. Getting about 4 hours use from this old Aspire 311.

 

Folks are back from the old house. I haven't had to loo yet. Maybe in the afternoon. 

 

...

 

Am halfway thru chapter 3. It will definitely finish up by midnight tonight and tomorrow I will begin chp 4 -where a lot of magic is explained. Derek is revealed as the hero and the witches are pursued instead, desecrating the town and city as they burn their bridges. Esmeralda meets Derek's children and they try to raise them as their own while he goes back to a day job as they try to make a life together. Temptation arises in his old boss' daughter. I need to write another 2k words on the witches and Derek by tonight. It reveals more about how Lotus and Quen became sociopaths and where Derek had been hiding.

 

...

 

Finally pushed chapter 3 out the door. Will promote it tomorrow. It's past midnight and I've been fueled on black coffee. Make a start on chapter 4, just outlining in more detail.

 

...

 

Had to eat as my stomach was growling. Downed 3 sandwiches, 1 slice of bread each with cheese and chicken floss. Ate 2 bananas. Brushed. Sleepless at 1:20am. Maybe try and lie down and relax. Liews crushing Sara. May need to calm down the babies they're using. 

Chapter 2 : Super Derek Underpants

Thanks for reading so far into my online novel, "Super Derek". In chapter TWO, I hope to reveal more of the powers that had gifted Derek his strength and abilities. Who were the witches really against? Answers to questions raised in chapter ONE. I only had time to write half a chapter but it's interesting reading where it stops. Will add the rest tomorrow if possible. Nuclear war happens!

1. Confrontation with the cloaks

The air in the house at the end of the cul-de-sac was spotlessly clean. Not a string of microbes existed for Derek to enter. But as the monks -what he called them, brushed their shoes, and slipped them off on the large coconut fiber doormat, he materialized through the tiny spores of fungi trapped in it. He jumped into the hall and grew to his full height by an ornate standing vase.

It's me, he said, touching his charred face. The wood had needed some time to burn through. And you desire healing? I don't have enough skin. Well, I have something that might help. The head monk came over with a neatly folded bundle. He unwrapped it. It was a cloak like they all wore. He put it on. It was silky and warm and seemed to cast the right shadows that he appeared normal within. It is charmed, said the monk. Use it well. Derek began to feel their combined energies and it sustained and soothed his damaged body. He would live but as a monster.

Es, Derek called from outside her window. He hung in the air like a dandelion puff caught in a dust devil, let me in.

Something's not right with you... Yes, I'm burnt, but the witches -I got them driven out of the neighborhood. They're out there -somewhere, and it's not safe. I came to see what you think of me. Deep in the shadows of the cloak, his face, hands, and feet emerged, scarred by flame but still alive. Oh, Derek! Esmeralada turned away, nauseated. Do I look so hideous to you? No, Derek. I see what you suffered. You know who you really are. His eyes closed as if to pray, meditate on her wisdom. I cannot touch you anymore. Tears ran down her face. Is who I really am important, anymore -if I can't have you? A wind stirred up in her room and Derek was gone.

*Derek* The whisper came as he hid within the comfort cloak that hung in the air by his lampshade. Do you now know who we are? Monks? A secret coven maybe? He sounded tired. Derek, the skin under your underpants can help regrow your face, and the rest of you. What's the catch? An eye appeared from the shadow of his hood. You cannot ever take off this second skin, nor are you to make love to anyone. Then how will it work!? He almost screamed and the monks' voices faded away. He wondered about the witches and how they'd milked him as he was tied up and tortured. What became of his seed. Perhaps it held a solution.

But little did he suspect it was his greatest weakness -he must not ever leave any of his cells behind, more so live sperm. Perhaps the cloaked monks knew the future when they sheathed him in a second skin. Still the cloak they gave him provided many comforts and additional abilities. He fell asleep and into a torrid dream of making love to Esmeralda, looking like a corpse.

2. Picking through bones

Lotus, Quen, and their family were jeered out of town by everyone young and old but the coven of 6 stopped their MPV just 10 miles from town. At a Texas Chicken joint, open 24 hours. As the other patrons filtered out and the sky was darkening, We're homeless, blurted Lotus almost in tears. And the data -it's all gone? Yeah, all of it. At least we nailed Derek, said Quen with a cruel smirk. Dad said, we got more than our friend -eh, we have his super-powered little men and I think I know how we'll use them.

Their plan, as they crunched though fried chicken, was to get Derek in trouble were he still alive, by inseminating key women in and around the town, maybe in big cities nearby. They kept his sperm on ice. Lotus twirled her hair thinking about it. Secretly, she wanted his child too. And she imagined herself dancing for him again as she partook of his fluids, cradling her womb, bursting with the waters of birth pains. How she would writhe for his child as he looked on like Stupid Derek always did -puzzled and care-free. She kicked her leg onto his and there was nothing. He's on a different wavelength or we're just rattled, said Quen. Finish up here, and we'll sneak back to the house when it's dark. They'll soon know to fear us and obey -again.

Lotus was apt at weaving prophecy. She had woven a tapestry so thorough over Derek, that no one dared contravene it. Kept many a kid and family man in line. Now the symbol of their power -their mansion-like home was burnt to the ground.

The files they kept on his conversations, and the photos they showed kids -him and the little boy kissing, a dog taking him from behind, etc. not a single pixel out of place, though it was in black and white which was easier to forge -all gone.

In near darkness, in their witch cloaks, Quen and Lotus stepped into the ruins of their old home. The hemp bindings are missing. He may have taken those to analyze. Then maybe he'll rip off his underpants and find out a little too late, they both sniggered. God wasn't a crab -He was apparently a chemist. Close, Quen my boy (as we'll soon see), but... no cigar.

There were teeth and bones in Lotus' hand. She jiggled them as they stepped over the debris. The vibes led her to a corner of the basement and they dug under the wood and ash, it was Esmeralda's silver wedding ring. It was damaged from the heat of the blaze. Lotus pocketed it. It would come in handy later when she re-wove Derek's prophecy in-absentia if necessary. 

3. Derek's solitude

There was an islet someway off the coast. It was craggy with a slope of rough green leading up to spreading trees clinging for dear life to the precipice. Derek discovered that there was a cave system beneath, a sinkhole which teemed with life as there was a hidden coral ridge that at low tide, was cross-able to those who knew its winding way like the pygmy deer did, and the wildcats.

Close to nature, he took stock of himself. He still had his lips, his eyelids, his nose, but they were a mess. If it weren't for his powers he would have died from 4th degree burns. Batman had the Bat Cave. Superman had his Arctic fortress, what did Nature man have? A sinkhole -he laughed, not caring that anyone heard. And there was someone who did.

Derek, you know me from the past. Who? A cloaked figure stepped into the shaft of light from the sinkhole that Derek was bathing in. He removed his hood and turned his face up towards the light. You're the town tailor -Pete, how long have you been hiding? But the figure wasn't interested in small talk. Derek, we are an order and our work is blessed by the Most High. Order of what? Of cloth, fabric, cloaks -even underpants. Derek's heart began to beat faster. I thought you were powerful, holy, now... Well, everyone has to start somewhere. But we digress, Pete was visibly impatient. Everything we've done for you is correct. Everything you've done for yourself is, well, wrong -I'm afraid you must be trained. Here, on this island -our base -tell no one.

Where does life come from? From the breath of God? Yes, but not precisely. What is breath? Power? No, breath is work. Spirit is power. Work along with power is wisdom. Why isn't wisdom something you read in a book, hear from an angel? Derek, we speak in objective terms, when you work, move heaven and earth even, and that power is provided for it -that equates to understanding the problems you, as a creation, face and have to surmount. An ant will never be very wise though it were obedient, meticulous, loyal. Technology does not take one far either. But it is the restriction, sacrifice of our bodies, our desires that generates true wisdom, and miracles, sometime may they occur. Silence. Derek thought he heard soft penetrating laughter.

Help and permission is given you to restore yourself. And with that, Pete faded into the shadows.

As the afternoon grew hotter, Derek summoned the woman, with Pete's powers. He had been cherry picking females, DNA-wise, to get the ideal one. She appeared, in a haze of mist in which he could see her internals, mostly. He commanded her egg and his seed to merge. They hung the air in a gentle vortex over the pond, in the half light of the sinkhole as the embryo began to develop. Blood pulsed like fire through his veins, he attached greedily to its self-differentiating cells.

He would regrow but perhaps not as the old Derek. Trauma had changed him -deep within he wanted to be someone else. Pete cowered in terror.

I might as well be who I want to be.

4. Miracle at the beach cricket match

Quen and Lotus were at the beach cricket match between the 'visitors and residents'. It lacked imagination but sometimes such things didn't matter. Large hat and sunglasses with tan lotion streaked across their faces. But Derek, he knew their thoughts -dark witches. They couldn't sense him though they had trained the town's radar onto him (before the fire scourged him) because he had grown himself purposely different. The difference ripped at his soul -his love, and being so, scars remained, criss-crossing his face and body. Luckily the cloak Pete had given him hid those marks nicely while everyone else turned to gaze at something else -privacy, another reason why Tailor float cloaks were so prized.

Lotus and Quen passed him at the makeshift bar, nursing a Heineken shandy. I can feel him here but where? Derek swallowed hard as the witch duo plied through the crowd. Perhaps he had been too bold but he loved beach cricket.

Esmeralda was also at the event and she was dressed in a short beach skirt with a necklace of shells over her bosoms. Derek stared at her as yet again nothing stirred. And he wondered if beauty were pointless without the ability to know it, produce / re-produce it. She had never gone topless while he was still in her life. Perhaps it was the prophecy. Let her go, it came from behind him -the Hawaiian and his cousin. Shh, said the pouty bikini-clad woman. Wanna deal, I have some watches on me right now? Not a good time but what the hey. And I broke up with my boyfriend. I'm single -and available, fly boy. But someone else hunkier caught her eye.

Derek, whispered the Hawaiian, I knew it was you -how you been since the fire? You all healed? Something's different -are you Derek? He slapped Derek across the jaw. That's for the bitch you took. I'm sorry, he whispered again. Okay, boss, I don't know how you believe two people so different you have to slap them, are both 'Derek'. Who the heck is Derek to you? Show me those watches. His watch hand peeked out of the sleeve of his cloak and the Hawaiian beamed, it was the boy. Somehow he'd survived.

There's war now. Kyoko's boyfriend left to serve. He laid a hand on Derek's shoulder. You ought to as well. Derek shrunk a little. He could single-handedly win the war for America. A one man disease carrying army. He could do it right from this bar stool. He remembered his comic book heroes with super powers. Why should the world go on so ordinarily while they lived among us. A paradox he would soon explore and need to answer for. Why, he could at anytime become a billionaire or a famous scientist with a mansion and a Stella 'Aire. Serve... it cut him both ways. Just like he felt someone else's hands on Esmeralda's breasts.

And of a sudden he was alone and Pete stood before him. The sunshine turned to a brewing storm with crashing waves that made no sound. Derek, the city's been hit by a ballistic warhead. Why -what should we do? Move I suppose... But you see this town is kinda where we want to be. Favors for favors Derek. What can you do to keep us safe, this bubble won't last forever. Oh, I thought we were dead. You would have been and everyone at your cricket match as well. Is it a nuke? Pete nodded.

 

5. War until the end

 

We join forces, Pete. Sure, then what? The bubble, where is it really? Over where we are -all the other cloaks are helping make it as large as possible. Well, we have to move it over the city and scrunch it down small, over the nuke before it goes mushroom. Pete sighed, snapping at him, And how would we do that?

Before it was frozen in time, the explosion had already taken out a city block and glowed like the sun. Derek's eyes darkened naturally as Pete pulled further into his cloak. You'll get us killed! Not true. Derek put his hands to his head. I've found someone with access to another nuke and made him fire it right here. Won't that just make a bigger blast? Then I'll make 200 nukes detonate on top of that. Pete rubbed his chin. Yeah, what if the entire arsenal of the Iranians detonated in a time bubble the size of a city block?

Energy indeed has nothing to do with time, Pete thought. But overloading the famous Einsteinian equation, perhaps that was the only way -that it might cause a tear ever so small in the fabric of the universe, and they'd push the blast through it. The cloaks agreed and Derek mind-controlled the Iranians to do it. He could hear their victory song -many were singing it. He and Pete backed off as far as they could as dozens of ballistic warheads slammed into the containing time bubble. Some from allied nations as well. There was an immense warp, like a shiver through space itself, and in a weak sputter the glowing ball of energy fizzed out. They had almost warbled into another dimension but the war, the ordeal -it was over.

Derek went out to celebrate. He wanted to talk with Esmeralda. Buy her a cocktail down at the beach. The witches and their schemes were far from his mind as they'd ever been. He noticed his cloak had turned silver and thick around him, sealing him in an anti-radiation bunny suit. Then they were gone.

The news that day was frantic. Reporters, out of their minds. The top brass of the military, dumbfounded. Who, -no, -what happened here today? We can't say. Derek and Es laughed out loud as they watched dignified and well-practiced states-personalities flummox their lines, by the beach, on the bar's hanging TV.

You've changed, Derek. And I've been... she turned away. You're tired of waiting for me. Es, I'm super now. I have responsibilities, and I may not always bring in the money. I have weaknesses -things we'll never be able to enjoy together. He slipped his fingers into her hair like treacle and she rubbed her cheek on his palm. She peeled back his hood. It felt like silk and needles against her hands and she touched his face, scarred with fine lines. His hair grown long and tied back in a bun. His eyes were different. And she dreamed of one day removing his underpants -what would she find 'down there'?

6. Weakness is its solution

No Derek, the underpants stay on. That was the deal. What a dumb deal. Derek, that's no way to talk to the Master. Pete forced him to a kneeling posture as the Master floated in the shafts of sun above the sinkhole they had made their headquarters. Weakness, son, is not strength, in your strength -in its weakness is its own solution. Derek screwed his mind to figure what Master had just said. Surely God's strength is what we need when we are weak? No Derek, you're talking about something different altogether. We admit our weakness or we know of no solution. Go back to school if you don't agree. Derek cringed. I know you failed your SATs, said Master. Yes, son, stupid heroes can save the day sometimes.

*We will not live your life for you* he heard as he teleported off the islet. He had decided he needed a suit or costume, a disguise, maybe some cybernetics, side arms, a catalyst for his natural powers. Maybe he should join a government program and be coated in liquid silver armor. Were there other gods he could beseech? What was power worth but to gain more of it so to protect its wielder.

He remembered how easily his mind could be manipulated to undermine his abilities. Hawaiian guy looked over Derek's sketches and shook his head. They had been plucking all the papayas that Derek had ripened early, no sweat, Kyoko happily baking pawpaw mayo rolls.

You want an armor? Yes, like in the movies. Kyoko almost choked on the rolls. I can build a watch, repair a circuit board. Derek, there's nobody in the world can build you an armor, otherwise we'd all seen one or had one. This cloak you always wear -is it bulletproof? Supposedly- but before he could finish, Kyoko unloaded a shotgun at his back. It felt like a soft punch. He turned to her resentfully. Her hand was over her mouth, giggling. I'm not a joke or a fool. What about enhancements? Can you make any of those? We'll think about it tonight, kid. I need some kind of psi-proof helmet...

Es, Derek, and Kyoko looked on as Hawaiian guy unveiled his plan. This cloak was made by Tailors? Yes, they know God through cloth. And these Tailors -they're powerful -how? They won't say. The best power I can think of is to tap further into the cloak they gave you. It needs to be infused with those cells you control so well. He went on to elaborate. Derek sat there, among his true friends, with a broad smile.

7. Ghost town

 
Lotus had been busy spreading lies about Derek. She had found hundreds of lonely, gullible women and tricked them that 'Superman' wanted them to have his baby. Quen laughed, for all his power, Derek still had to sleep -to dream. You see, Derek, we have perfect knowledge of the human body. You may be powerful, yet in the darkness of every man's soul, completely helpless before us. Why don't you beg, we'll know if you pray.

And I'll be there... be there... be there...

Derek awoke bathed in cold sweat. He could sense dozens of embryos forming, near and far, and they were his children. It must be a dream, he thought. Reach out and snuff them out... had someone been using his powers? Were his gonads a liability -like they were the last time. Flashback to the dog -the bitch who nearly ruined him. Maybe he was never supposed to have them back. Maybe he never was supposed to be hazed and framed. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be so stupid, to be born. He screamed into his pillow like a little girl. Sometimes God can be too kind. He wouldn't make the same mistake. Reaching out, he snuffed out all the embryos he could find, and deactivated the sperm Lotus had collected in a subtle way she would only find out too late -the children would be severely retarded. Let them come around her. But for himself, he reserved 2 and grew them faster until they knew him first -a boy and a girl, perfect in every way.

Quen sat in deep meditation. Their scheme would take some time to hatch and until then, they had to contend with a ghost town. Most of the residents had evacuated to bunkers and salt mines in the foothills. The handfuls who stayed on were expected to work, keep everything going. Lotus was practicing her backhand against the wall, down at the Y. He saw her scissor thighs working the half court from the window of their hotel room. What was cruelty -surely it, as did everything, had its place in the grander scheme of things? But in the cold of a Fatherless existence, the idea lost its appeal, like a can of flat, non-alcoholic beer.

Derek, also deep in thought, turned over his cricket ball. Deep red and sheeny. It bore the mild scars of every game he'd played on the makeshift clay pitch down by the sea. Ball wear was part of the game and an integral part of a team's strategy. Life is like the cricket ball, he thought, be smart and gentle with others' hearts and your hopes will last a long time, maybe see your team win.

He turned on YouTube for the latest on the wars as cool air wafted over his body. The sounds of Mom and Dad going at it down the hall. There was banana cake in the oven. And the afternoon wore on. He reached for the cloak and teleported to the islet sinkhole to be alone.

8. The underpants for God's sake!

Esmeralda was good at chemistry, where Derek had premature boiling tube accidents that wound up on the ceiling of the lab. He could only grow small crystals and was a dunce soldering anything. He showed his girlfriend the hemp rope he couldn't break and asked her why? Was it the same substance that was woven into his underpants by the Tailors? And if it were, how did the witches get it?

Derek, I've put the rope into a vise and ratcheted it in the shop, said the Hawaiian -it held over 4 tons of pressure. Are you a tug boat? I guess not, Derek bowed his head. How much strength do I have? Try lifting this car -he pointed out an old 70s Volks Beetle. It was hard but the super teen managed to jerk it over his head in 5 seconds. Can you do it with one hand? Barely, he reported. Don't you have muscles? You mean I have to work out? The friends nodded. So there's nothing special about the wiener tube either -It just needs a work out? Es laughed as she kissed his forehead. He winced by reflex. It was where the witches flinched him when he erred. Derek, you big stupid.

Back in Derek's home. His father and mother looked on as Esmeralda examined her friend's underpants. Aren't you embarrassed, Son? Not really. Sometimes shame causes dysfunction. To be true, The special material was rather 'fitting' and left nothing much to the imagination though it were dimpled and dark blue. Did he add the wiener loop himself? You some kind of pervert, Son? Derek fumed but he didn't show it. We can take a little of the fabric off there, I'm guessing it won't matter. To her surprise, Es discovered that there was no weave to pick a thread out of. She held it up to her iPhone and magnified the spot. No weave. She ran her fingers over the waistline and tried rolling them down. Then sat back puzzled and fatigued, as if she had struggled with Gabriel himself.

Then how would you do it? Es, I don't know. I can pinch it off a little but I can't say if my skin stretches with it. The cloaks, they insist it stays on -no buts. Everything down there works. I have sperm, I can loo, I just can't get happy the way I used to. You've been working out so hard this past week. Her eyes fixated on his muscles. They weren't Mr Universe big but they looked hard and a little shiny where once they were softer and dull. He took the hemp rope and tore it in half. Son, have you heard of masturbation? No, don't answer, dear, said Mom -we'll leave you two alone, she whispered. I know what Lotus did for you before the attack, Esmeralda's eyes went dusky as her hands reached for him.

*Pain is something we must master -for sacrifice is the gateway to all pleasure that He deems good* What do you mean? Derek felt bathed in love as his girlfriend's hands worked his hips.*What sustains the Universe is not itself, nor anything it can produce. Space is 3-dimensional and thus by nature, profane. But in profanity (Derek stifled a laugh) -lies the possibility of infinite joy. What use is so much cloth without making clothes? What were there to clothe if men had no shame? What if men did no wrong? Pain, Derek -in your heart... sacrifice*

Have you heard of the Mobius loop, Es? It has only one side, one surface and it goes on forever? Esmeralda looked puzzled. God's trying to make one and I don't know if we're on it. She had given up stimulating him. Nothing stirred. Have you tried Viagra? She had a look on her face, like a leprechaun.

Chapter 1 : Super Derek Underpants

Welcome to chapter ONE (consisting of 8 sub-chapters) of my online book 'Super Derek'. It's PG-13 -for all you kids who can read comic books / manga it should be okay. If you're Christian, this is a cool way to get to know me and my faith, likewise if you're pinned down by evil forces this one is for you.

1. Derek's life

I know, I know -this is another skinny dude who becomes super-powered and saves America, even the world tale. But wait a minute -what's his life like -what was it before he put on the enchanted underpants?

When he was young, Derek was a sensitive child. Eager to learn and to please his parents and the other grownups who visited. He would warn people of plots against them and accidents that could happen. Yeah, he had a sixth sense. Soon, before he could grow enough brains, find enough friends good alike, secret forces pressed down on him and he never developed his genius, clairvoyance, nor a good physique.

In fact, right now, Derek found out he'd flunked his SATs. Dad said he had the mind of a Janitor... or the Janitor's mop bucket. A or B, Son. They laughed him all the way up to his room. And keep those curtains open, said Mom, we don't want any more of that peeping.

Derek collapsed onto his bed. Yeah it was comfortable here. The climate control washed cool air over his body and he tucked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. Troubles in the neighborhood had peeled away most of his friends, plus he was labelled the retard who ruined his own life.

The binoculars he never asked for were on his desk -a gift from Mom, followed by the accusations of spying and the double whammy of kicking and killing the neighbor's pregnant dog after calling it to his room and 'assaulting' it.

He had since learnt not to cry over spilled milk. Tears felt like acid on his conscience.

The beach was a 10 minutes' scoot from where he lived. He grabbed his one -wheeler and his cricket ball, and tip-toed softly down the stairs. Sounds of his Mom and Dad making love in their bedroom. He thought of Esmeralda -losing his virginity to her but she was Catholic and devout.

He made it out the house and onto the road to the bowling spot.

There was always someone there playing or practicing against the wickets and they were always nice. It was like a protectorate of God. And Derek loved his Father in Heaven though he was Protestant which Esmeralda said was wrong.

The large tray of packed clay lay in the sand and the wickets were just sticks, with shells and seed pods on top. You only needed a ball. Derek's was the best so they used it and after a round of bat-less beach cricket, they went for milkshakes at the ice cream parlor.

What will you do now? They asked him, knowing just he had failed to get into college even so a decent job.

I don't know, he replied through a froth mustache.

I don't know -it echoed in his mind as the group of friends traded their plans for the future. Don't forget the beach cricket, Derek called after them when the sun was going down. Beach cricket was his invention. One that never quite took off, no surprise why. Who'd give fame to someone with a donkey's tail pinned to his butt.

The number his friends handed him was for a job that took part timers. So they understood. He called it the next morning.

2. Out of school, into a job

Derek had never seen so much money at once. A thousand Dollars, which included his overtime, shift work at the flour mill and packing factory. The boss took him under his wing, frowning consternedly whenever they talked, but his eyes were honest and clear and his voice never raised. His daughter also worked there, in the operations room. She was a looker, and very nice. Derek could count the times he almost had a forklift accident on all his hands and toes, whenever she walked by.

He liked women with big hair, round faces, and wide hips. Something Esmeralda also had but she was dark as the night sky beautiful while boss' daughter was blonde and all sunshine. He knew he didn't deserve the sunshine girl.

What's there to tell about working driving a forklift? Packing flour? Derek pocketed the thousand dollars and scooted down to the beach where there was a strip of tourist joints -where sometimes they'd sell stuff from abroad to pay for additional money to stay longer or to go deeper inland. He loved watches -even used ones.

The dealer was run by a Hawaiian guy with a slicked-back hairdo and a bun. He had a bit of mustache and sleepy eyes. He had a cousin, in her 30s who was hot and always in a pout and a bikini top. There's nachos at the back of the shop if you want any, she stared right at him. She's just practicing for her date, said the Hawaiian. She don't want a dog fukk -like you know who. He smiled at Derek. You one of those? No, Derek replied sheepishly. Never, never... he trailed off. Derek didn't wince by a hair. These were good people.

What would you want with a thousand bucks? Something like this? The dealer brought out a tray of luxury quartz watches. Some had stopped. Because, I'm a working man now and I could use the time (and the attention -he implied). The dealer brought out a second tray -there are autos, mechs, tic-tic-tic-tic-tic he mimed. Derek put one to his ear and it's 5 beat per second mechanical swing song sent his heart fluttering. How much? He asked. Depends.

He lifted his eyes as the bikini girl kissed her date passionately behind a bead curtain. He wished he had Esmeralda right then but she didn't do those things with him, let him touch her all over. How he wished.

Back in his room, he called his girlfriend. Can I come over? I just got paid and I'm taking you out to dinner. How sweet! Yeah, I got a new watch too. Oh, how much? Not much -it's Japanese, not many jewels, and low beat. Esmeralda smiled. She wanted to be his balance wheel if he'd be her balance spring. But they were on opposite sides of the church divide.

Come over, then, she said at last, and I have something to tell you as well. 

3. Friend Esmeralda the witch

Where does a witch go after schooling's over? Would they set up a crystal ball and tarot shop somewhere downtown near the gypsy ghetto? All their time together she had never told him she was a witch. Just a devout Christian. After dinner, Derek noticed a certain fullness about his girlfriend. Like a cat given a good meal. He didn't mean to take advantage of her gratitude but he had always wanted to feel her hair. He reached for her and she turned her cheek. His fingers pushed into her dark locks which were like treacle. His fingers combed through her hair and bursts of passion coursed through his chest. Men and women had different-feeling hair. She pointed to her cheek and he kissed it. Warmth overcame his senses as he searched for her mouth but she broke it up. Why?

Derek, it's not you. Then it's you -why? I have something important to tell you. Firsts, I'm a witch -and it's okay. I'm not -one of them. He nodded solemnly. I also know your future. Derek snorted his cola. Derek, you're never going to get with any woman. He turned to storm away but she grabbed his hand and they went over to her room.

What's a witch to you? I don't know -they hex people, judge people, slander people, tell the future of a sinner to all his friends? Es, I'm not guilty of smooching with somebody's dog. You know me well enough. Derek, it's hard for you, I know, but everybody is supposed to believe the witch. She landed in our town smoking from Christian arrows. Then she took over. What have you ever done about that?

Esmeralda turned quiet. You witches are all together. She nodded slowly, lips pursed. Now you've cursed me -as one dark entity of evil. Es, how could you? Derek, and she held his hands on his lap, there are things going on that are bigger than you and me. He liked the feeling of her hands on his thighs and his fingers meshing with hers and calmed down.

Witches didn't always judge Christians. It's a sign of the end times and we always prepare early. We noticed when they put a man on the moon. That was almost 70 years ago. Yeah, and then everybody had a computer at home, everyone had a modem -the Internet. Now you've got AI to rewrite your life's story. Derek, what are witches going to do about people who've achieved so much? Bless them! No, we judge them.

Long ago the church schism-ed -it was pretty much run by men. What did you expect Christian women to do? We turned into witches -wise, clever, able to see the truth through Jesus' eyes. All of them? Just the brightest. Huh, Derek crossed his arms, looking out the window. There were strange gnarled trees outside her coal gray and slate home.

Derek, what happened at the reformation? You were there too. Yes, we stopped all out war many times over and were betrayed, burnt at the stake by the Pope's militia. Not all of us were innocent, having seen so far, so much. Those with sight go dark quickly, especially without a husband.

Witches know you're a good man. We'll help you against the rebels from out of town but they've already gathered sinners from under you, and there's no turning back. You're special -you always were. With that, she kissed him on the mouth. 

4. Mortally wounded

He had used her bathroom afterwards. it wasn't the first time he had messed and he never let on that he did. He was walking the short way home when a bitch confronted him, snarling. Dogs sense fear. Maybe also an enemy who'd bred -the residue of his fluids on his underpants. It rushed him, taking out his crotch. Payback? It wasn't me... Rumors of that sort... Oh, no! No... he slipped into black. His last thoughts: if only I were dead. Heckles erupted around him. He was unaware otherwise, that a crowd had gathered and pulled away the savage biter, lifting him onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.

You're not making a baby I hope? Are you Bill Cosby? Hu-hu-hu, the black doctor laughed under his breath. No, Derek, and I hate the break it to you, it's the end of all those happy times. At least I don't have cancer. Sometimes we cure that. In your case, the jovial surgeon lifted his bandage, tsk. I don't think so.

Derek's heart fell, he didn't want to look. Tears streaked down his face as he heard Mom and Dad talking with the doctor outside. You can take him home this afternoon. Give him plenty of rest and something to do that's fun. Does he like ice cream?

It was a week before he recovered enough to walk round town. He went to the beach. There were children playing on the bowling clay, kicking and scuffing the surface and throwing seeds and driftwood about. Hey! Stop all this. Huh, who's got no banana, try to stop our fun? Ha-ha-ha. Derek covered his ears like it was a sonic boom. It tolled like a bell in his heart. God had spoken for the side of his neighbors. He was guilty -even looked the part. Sadly he limped off as twigs and debris pelted his back. No banana, no banana... they chanted.

That night, Mother sat beside him as he lay on the bed in the cool air. He sensed Dad nearby as well. She peeked under his bandages. Then whispering, how can a person bear so much? He gave up in the mind, he gave up his things, now he's got no penis! The last bit came with a hiss and sounds of crying. Hearing that was another stake in his heart -the heart everybody agreed to hate.

The week that followed, the burning pain had subsided. The catheter he'd been using to loo was removed. What was left -just a stump with a hole. He had no testicles either, just torn flesh trimmed neat, perhaps under the cast of sorrow and regret. He knelt to pray. Sometimes men make eunuchs out of one another. If a man can bear it let him bear it. Not many can. I know you can. Derek lifted his head. I can.

5. Witches and the special underpants

Es slept over at his place. He had missed her while he was recovering. They didn't know how he'd react towards her. What is lust, Es? I don't know? Isn't it important? Derek, you're important to God and nobody has the answer to sin. Isn't the answer Jesus? Jesus knows why you sin. God knows how you stop. Then what do I know? Derek, it's okay not to know, just to feel His love. She tried to kiss him again and he didn't respond.

Esmeralda left, saying she'd bring some lattes. You like coffee? Yeah -why not. 

There's things moving -these are the end times, Derek. I'm not saying this to give you hope that it's gonna be 2 months or 2 years, but somethings' moving and it's won't go back. Changes are coming. Derek felt better when talked to in deterministic terms like that. He sat up and sipped the cappuccino.

I've got nothing left to give you. I thought you would say that. You're just not ready for what comes next. See, loss is just the start. Don't lose again. He remembered her words when he ordered a telescoping whip baton off AliExpress.

It was around the same time at the same street corner that he met his assailant again. The bitch snarled from across the stop sign. Seemed to be half rottweiler, half bulldog. A hound from hell, its eyes were shot with blood. Sniffing the air, it remembered him and growled. Who's gonna look after your pups? He called to it. C'mon, see what you can take from me this time? Who's not going home to their family tonight? Sarcasm was lost on the mongrel bred to attack. He could see it bracing to charge and drew the whip. He hid it in the palm of his hand. Sizing up the bitch's skull, he wondered if it'd do the job. It was like a Popsicle stick against the side of a jeep.

The dog launched at him but he spun round, taking out its belly. She was off balance, in pain, when Derek struck it across the abdomen again, and again. It rolled over and lay on the curb. A patrol car appeared and cops pulled him away. Enough! They said. Lemme go, Derek responded. The older cop nodded and they released him. They took down the animal's license number this time, zip tied its paws and muzzled it. A crowd gathered yet again. He dropped the baton and fell to his knees.

A little girl broke away from the mob and ran towards her dog. It only attacks bad people -I swear. Well, he struck it 3 times in the gut. I say that's fair. The crowd sneered, muttering, and reluctantly, dispersed. Go home, said the policeman, a tear in his eye.

On the way back, there was a whiff of perfume. It smelled familiar so he followed it. And there was a street he'd never gone down, perhaps because it was a dead end. Well, this time he did. And waiting at the far gate was a gray cloak that seemed to hang in the air. Yeah it was dark maybe. Peace, he said. And in the cloak he noticed a small white face, as if coming out of a great depth, from under water. Then hands appeared, white also and white shoes beneath. Why not come in, said the apparition?

Derek couldn't remember what happened next. But he felt whole -down there. And he touched himself. Nothing stirred, just a small banana of a penis held in place by a loop. He seemed naked but was in fact covered in a dark blue material that adhered closely to his skin. He felt beneath and there, in two small sacks were the testicles he lost. He wanted to peel off the sticky pants but it was pretty much sealed on. *Don't try it* came a whisper in his mind. He stopped. He looked at himself in the mirror, pulled the loop back into place again. I could be more buff, he thought, and he smiled. For the first time in weeks, he was happy.

6. Growing in power

In the morning, he used the loo. It was unreal how clean he did it. Was there a need to wash under the skin trunks? *Laughter: he doesn't know, this man of God* So he showered like he'd always done and after that he was clean -or so he assumed. Feeling had returned to his gonads and down to the end of his manhood but it was soft -try as he might he couldn't go hard.

Later that week, a terrible itch overcame his crotch and his member. It smelled like beer, sour and yeasty. And bread, when he ate it, caused the rash to worsen. Had working at the flour packing warehouse / factory given him a gluten allergy? He could feel his insides throbbing, his skin pocked with feathery yeast flakes and freckles of light brown. There was the urge again to peel off his skin trunks. He rubbed at himself, still soft. The stress of the allergy, the yeast infection, and his chastity second skin overwhelmed his emotions. Why this, now?

Save yourself, Derek, he thought. What do I have to do?

When he came out of his struggle, he glanced at his arms -no more white fluff but healthy clear skin, nice flesh pink. He noticed his arm now had biceps and triceps. Then he felt his chest and it was all filled out. He ordered his skin darker and it obeyed. He ordered his manhood up but the restrictive layer over his loins prevented it. So there was a power greater than a man who'd mastered every cell in his body. Derek would soon find that he could control any single-celled organism, even autonomous cells within others' bodies. Simple, single purpose creatures obeyed his commands. Maybe he could fight the witches who destroyed his life, his neighbors -though they were exceedingly wealthy and well connected.

But he had to know the limits of his power, and importantly what the cloaked figures had sheathed his loins with -and why it was made so? Was there a point to being chaste? He wanted to find Esmeralda and show her his brute physique, his pointless masculinity, he reached out for his squash racket and tried to break it. As he thought, his palms toughened like rawhide, his fingernails became talons, his eyes like poly-carbonate, automatically, and the graphite frame snapped in two. He threw it into a corner. Was there nothing he couldn't do? Derek -was he some form of Hulk?

He lay on his bed and quieted his heart. A buzz filled his sense. Microorganisms all over the world tuned in to him. He assigned his cells to each group, like tentacles of an octopus. In his heart he began to laugh as flashes of scenes near and far, people with cancer, diabetes, someone shot in Iran, the cry of his blood filled his awareness. In that instant he was everywhere a cell needed him and he comforted the bacteria, the macrophages, the fungi, and viruses. Steering them towards his bidding with his fully aware body. Then he heard a witch sneeze and blow her nose. He made her sneeze 4 times in a row as he hid his hand effortlessly. But assuming was a dangerous thing. Never assume when you have such limitless power.

Then he was gone, entering Esmeralda's bedroom through a string of viruses drifting in its still air. He fell over her only to find she had made up her heart not to be amused. So witches knew, maybe others too. But Derek didn't care, and they kissed passionately. He might have to use her bathroom again.

7. The tide turns

Derek had known Lotus since they were 16. He had admired her from afar since she moved into the house next door. She was Chinese and built like a swimmer. All her friends or visitors were high class though they appeared troubled and stilted, like they were pretending an elephant was in the room, they didn't notice. Lotus was always down by the beach with her groupies. He wondered if she and her family were vampires. One thing was for sure, she didn't need a bikini to impress all the guys. She could make a man to anything. Yeah, she was something special and Es was jealous whenever he brought her and her doings up.

It took Derek quite some time to snap out of the spell he was under. But by then it was too late. The web Lotus had woven while his expressions, inflections, and motivations were subtly altered, made for a solid foundation to undermine the important people of his town. Maybe from their seaside outpost, they'd reach out across the country, influence elections, turn on / turn off militants. But Lotus was the first girl who showed him everything on condition he didn't go hard while she danced, 'just for you'. I'll know and it'll be over she said, as she peeled off her underwear. She was Chinese, so it must be okay, he told himself.

And it was one of many secrets he kept from Esmeralda.

Lotus and her family had a basement lab. She showed it to him. There were pot plants growing under LED spotlights, in reflective crates; in hidden drawers, small meth synthesis kits that ran on car batteries. She had the latest electronics: miniature drones with night vision; infrared lasers hooked up to listening and recording devices; a UNIX workstation cluster with satellite broadband. She looked guilty as she pleaded with him to keep it secret. He agreed and thought he heard her laugh like Christmas bells tinkling.

The girl had shown her hand. We can even play 'poker' if you want, her brow furrowed innocently, as if she didn't know what it also meant. *it's up to you -hah, a-hahaha...*

After Lotus and gang had framed him for bestiality and spying, being that now, everyone could spy on him in return, he had tried to fight back, only to have nature itself go against him. Cats hated him, dogs growled at him, and friends left him one by one. But now, with his powers, perhaps the tide would turn. He had to be very careful, there was no telling what the witches would do, who knew everyone in town's laundry list, who knew his every thought.

Derek decided to do some manipulation of his own. Keep your enemies even closer, so the saying went.

He sent Lotus an invitation to his 'wedding', RSVP. They would know if he were listening, coming for them, so he didn't listen. He and Esmeralda had got it on, apparently. Broke Lotus' heart. For all the witch she was, she was soft inside just like any girl and in the space between her heartbeats, Derek tweaked Es' and his own memory, hoping nobody noticed. That's done it, he heard a muffled raised voice from next door. Then lots of talking. It took only 20 minutes to receive her reply: Yes, I can come, Derek. Congratulations.

He had always wanted to gift Es a silver coin ring but he never had the equipment for it. Sitting by the beach, with a steel rod, he began to hand-shape the metal, holding the ring between his bare feet as he dremelled with the rod and his hands. Hey, you gonna have a stag party? Cuz I wanna be there -remember? She looked at him working the silver, a little nervous of his strength. Yeah, that will look nice on her. Derek didn't reply right away. He put the ring to his eye and smiled. You can have one too, he said. Really? Lotus' heart jumped and Derek put it on her finger. It fit perfectly. How about that poker? Lotus, I can't get hard anymore. A smile buzzed on her upper lip but never quite formed. Let me see it. Does it still hurt? But Derek sniffled, eyes teary, turned away and left. Her fingers froze outstretched, eyes lingering over his broad shoulders and tight butt. The trap was set and she had no idea. 

8. Lucky escape 

Lotus played with Derek's ring. Is it lead? Asked her father. Looks like silver. You fleeced the dude, Sis. But her Mom hushed her younger brother. The rest of the family was quiet, chewing their dinner, calculating. You can't turn a silver coin into a ring with your bare hands. He used a rod of some sort. Yeah, he looked a lot stronger. We were partying when his little man got bit off. He must have gym-ed. Does it still work? He said no but I'll be the judge of that. Make love to him -then cut it off. The table unfolded to reveal a center pentagram inlaid with esoteric symbols. Lotus placed an offering on it and candles that she lit. Their power lay in knowledge of the human heart, the connected mind, and lots of technology to get both bouncing one off the other.

Quen was Lotus' brother's name, a trained assassin. Derek knew he could if he really wanted to, kill anyone. Yet he allowed the needle with its tranquilizer payload to pierce his foot. He came to in their basement. They had removed his clothes and were picking at his underpants. Electrodes connected to his gonads and member tingled his skin yet nothing stirred. He laughed to himself. Good luck, with that. He tried to move but realized he was pinned to a large wheel with mooring rope. They're not just any mooring ropes, Derek. Lotus sneered. We know you're a lot stronger. We've prepared. Have a long look at this. He remembered Esmeralda's prediction: Derek you'll never get with any woman -ANY woman. But lotus was onto him. The lights of their wall cabinet auto messaging servers, flickering. Who was the girl talking to? Cut me off...? His heart beat faster. What was in the ropes that bound him so easily?

Ever had a wet dream, Derek? He didn't answer. What happens to your testicles? Derek kept silent. He felt many minds in his mind. It was easier for them to find him, since he gained his powers. We got the dog fukk, now let's show him what a witch can do!

Images played in his awareness. Primal emotions aroused him. Quen approached, his head tilted, eyes drooping in pity as he knelt into Derek's testicle. It hardened immediately. The master assassin was unfazed. Derek breathed heavily, realizing his other testicle was going soft in preparation for you-know-what. He felt the surge of his little men and knew he couldn't harden his other side for long. If only he could somehow free his hands. Es...he reached out as his right ball began to throb with pain.

*I thought you were smarter than this* Yeah, me too. Who are you guys anyway? *show us what your powers can do*

Suddenly, Quen's nose began to run. He knelt harder as mucus flowed into his mouth. Then he sneezed, blowing it everywhere. Wipe up, said Lotus, disgusted. I've milked him out anyway. But while they bickered, Derek's back toughened and roughened like deer horn. He worked against the wood which started burning. He screamed as flames engulfed him and the witches backed away. They ran up the stairs in horror. *If the hemp wouldn't break the wood would -you're very brave -and stupid* Derek emerged from the flames black as soot, undid the knots and teleported home. It was a lucky escape.