̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Epilogue:

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Days 1-10

If you're reading this, I am free.

I don't know if anybody will ever read this.

It started on Day 1. That was the day that I died.

In my defense, I was starving. I hadn't eaten anything but scraps in a month, and without a consistent source of income, that wasn't going to change anytime soon. I had just turned eighteen, which disqualified me from state support, but with my family background, they probably wouldn't have helped me out anyway.

So that was the day I turned to crime, in the great Argus tradition. I didn't join the Empire or anything; I wasn't looking for a permanent fixture, and besides, they killed my dad. I just needed to get back on my feet, and then I would wash my hands of it. Just one job, one mugging. That was it.

It went smoothly at first. She was out on a morning run, but she stopped when she saw my knife. I asked for her wallet, she pulled it out and threw it to my feet, and she turned to run while I bent over to grab it.

The wallet was almost in my hand when I heard a buzzing in my ear. A fly. I shooed it away with my hand, but it wouldn't leave. Another fly appeared on the other side of my head.

I looked up, and the girl wasn't running away anymore. Instead, she was staring at me, her face twisted in a wide range of competing emotions. Her hands were shaking and her legs twitched; her body language almost suggested that she was going to turn around. But her staring face stayed completely still.

After the flies came the bees and mosquitoes. Then the spiders. The wasps. I started convulsing uncontrollably in response to the sheer magnitude of venomous bites.

I never stood a chance.

But then I woke up in my bed, still convulsing, with not a mark on me. I ran outside, and there was snow on the ground. I had died two months after I woke up; I was seventeen again, and nothing made sense.

I died again that day; I was at the library, frantically trying to figure out what happened to me, when the library exploded.

I woke up again.

As the title to this entry indicates, I've been doing this for ten days now. I'm pretty sure I have a parahuman ability; apparently there are these things called "trigger events," which happen when somebody is in a moment of extreme stress and then they get powers. I'm not sure if every cape has a trigger event, but it seems like I definitely did.

I've done enough experimenting to figure out how to bring along a diary; apparently, my clothes stay the same when I die, and if I sew the diary into my shirt, it stays with me.

It seems like that girl kills me every day; she's always got some bullshit power that kills me in collateral damage, or else she sees me and uses her power directly. I guess that's karma.

The looping is maddening, though; I can't do anything with my power, because it's all erased within a day. Hopefully someday I'll find a way to end the cycle; it'll probably kill me, but that's not so much worse than my current state.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 22

I finally found out what happened to my dad. Looks like he got into a fight with another Empire member. He won the fight, but apparently killing another member pissed off Kaiser too much, and they had him dealt with. He was out one night alone; he probably didn't stand a chance.

I can't say I'm angry, though. From what I've heard, he sort of deserved what he got.

Still no leads on ending the loop. That girl has been showing up in person a lot more, which is probably not a good sign.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 35

I think I might have figured out how to end the loop, and I don't like it.

Yesterday, I tried my best to stay away from that girl. I left town first thing in the morning, and I was in Illinois by noon.

But she started fighting Scion at 12:30, and they made their way across the United States, leaving a trail of scorched earth. They flew over me about fifteen minutes later, and one of her attacks hit me.

So it seems like no matter what I do, she ends up killing me.

And I think that the only way for me to end the loop is for me to kill her.

I'm not going to act on anything, but I don't really have any other ideas.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 38

Something was wrong with Brockton Bay yesterday. Most of the city was flooded or straight-up destroyed; I tried to find out what happened, but I died before I could find any information.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 51

I can't do this anymore.

The loop is driving me insane. There's always something wrong with Brockton Bay; the buildings are in different positions, or the docks are running, or it's completely flooded and destroyed.

I'm going to go after her. I really don't want to kill anybody, but I'll do anything to get out of this. Besides, she's killed me fifty times now; I think I owe her.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 52

I didn't even scratch her. She had some sort of pyrokinesis that bypassed the Manton effect; set my hair on fire before I could get close. This is going to be more difficult than I thought.

I've started bringing a gun to our confrontations; my neighbor Jake owns one, and it's not hard to lift it from his house without him noticing. It might help at some point.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 62

She was Legend, I swear. She could fly and her lasers turned corners.

I'm not sure why she has powers in every loop, but it's really getting on my nerves. They're always strong powers, too; I might have a chance at killing a weak cape, but Legend? Not a chance.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 65

I've started studying Karate and Jiu Jitsu; it probably won't make much of a difference, but if she ever has a weak Brute power, I want to be ready.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 67

My clothes carry over from day to day; I wonder if that works for my body as well. It might be worthwhile for me to start working out, just in case

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 72

This time she was Jack Slash, and that's the most terrifying I've seen her yet. She killed me from twenty feet away with a pocket knife; I don't think she even meant to do it.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 77

The exercise seems to be working; I could only do 12 pull-ups on Day 67, and I've improved that to 20 now. I've also found a way to get protein supplements; they might help me build muscle faster, and if they don't, I don't think the owners will miss them.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 82

The martial arts research was helpful; we got into a fistfight last time, and I was able to hold my own for a few seconds. She ended up ripping out my arm, but I guess that's to be expected of somebody with a strong Brute power. If she had been a bit weaker, I think I might have pulled it off.

I've also started researching the history of Parahuman abilities. She seems to get the powers of known capes in some loops; if I can identify her powers early in a fight, I'll stand a better chance at beating her.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 92

I don't think I really stand a chance at beating her.

I'm strong enough now that I could have beat her on Day 42. She was a low-to-mid-power Brute with some sort of Blaster power; I think I could have taken a hit from her, and if I had gotten in close, I probably would have won. But her powers keep getting stronger, always just strong enough that I don't really have a chance. When I wrestle her, she's a Brute; when I shoot her, she's resistant to guns.

But at least this has given me something to do. I'm not mentally healthy, really, but I'm less neurotic than I was before. So I think I'll keep trying. Besides, I kind of fucking hate that girl.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 102 – 5/21/11

The city was flooded again, and I finally figured out why. Apparently Leviathan on May 15th, and he took out most of the city.

I've decided to start keeping track of dates; I don't remember the dates of the other days when the city was flooded, but I'm pretty sure they all happened after May 15th, which means there's some sort of consistency in the looping. Maybe it'll help me figure something out about my power.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 111 – 1/11/11

Nothing special happened today, but that's a nice date.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Day 113 – 2/16/11

Jake's gun was in the same place today as it was on Day 104, which was also 2/16/11. Seems like there's some continuity between dates, which confirms the Leviathan observation. Doesn't seem to be particularly useful, but knowledge is power, so I guess it's good to know.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

Two people, a man and a woman, are sitting on opposite ends of a table, in a room that looks like the envy of stainless steel rooms everywhere. The room is perfectly, uniformly colored a chrome silver, not quite reflective enough to be distracting; two seats and a table, made of the same material, are incorporated perfectly into the floor, with no seam to connect them.

On one end of the table sits a woman in a black suit, typing rapidly on two phones without looking at either. Around the world, her text messages are received; heroes and villains leap into action at her command, safe in the knowledge that they will survive the confrontation.

On the other end sits a middle-aged man, as inconspicuous as can be. He is reading intently through a few pages torn from a notebook, a notebook that is sitting on the table between them.

Finally, he finished reading the last entry in the stack.

"You say he's dead, Contessa?" The woman across the table is already looking up, as if she had known that he would speak.

"Yes, David. Killed by Shadow Stalker."

"That's unfortunate. A power like that might have been useful; could have given us a second chance at fighting Scion, if things went wrong." David's face is weary, but he does not seem too unhappy. He is used to disappointment of a far greater magnitude.

"Mm, perhaps. In any case, it seems likely that that girl has a power, and if this record is accurate, she should be fairly powerful. Look into it when you have time."

"Legend won't like it. He'll want to know how I knew."

"I can smooth things over with Legend. Make sure you get in touch with the girl."

"And what should we do about the Leviathan attack?"

"I'll talk to the Tinkers, make sure we have some tech ready. We can't afford to alter things too much, though, or the Simurgh might intervene, and we'll lose our advantage."

"How much of a difference can we make?"

"I can't model the Endbringers, so we'll have to act conservatively. Maybe a few thousand or so. One or two capes. Not much, but it'll help." The woman was

"Damn. I wish there was more I can do."

"I know, but we can't risk this chance, David. This is the most forewarning we've ever had for an Endbringer attack. We've got to make the most of it." The man sighed, and the woman rose from her seat. "Goodbye. Remember the girl. Door."

Reality tore itself open in front of the woman, and she stepped through the resulting hole, leaving the room and appearing thousands of miles away. As she left, the man rose from his seat and vanished, a small pop echoing through the empty room.

̂˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜̂

A/N: I can't believe it took me so long to get this typed up and posted, but here it is. Hopefully this clears up some of the ambiguities, but not too many. As always, criticism is appreciated.