My tale, dear reader, becomes a bit repetitive over the next few months. I didn't even notice, of course. I simply acquired ability after ability, becoming steadily more powerful, and I was prepared for continual expansion. My potential was unlimited, and nothing could stop me.

My first acquisition after Kirby Plaza was a psychiatrist who could sense people's emotions through empathy. Next, a guy who could create force fields. After that, I gained alchemy from a pawn shop owner. I felt invincible, like I could do anything, I could have whatever I wanted, I just had to find it.

Since I could turn things into gold, I didn't need to steal in order to support myself. That saved time, time I could use to hunt down more powers. Ridiculous me! I should have known that by cashing in so much gold, I was bound to draw some unwanted attention, but it was not the police who came looking for me.

I was walking back from the scene of an unexplained explosion when they found me. I'd heard about it on the news and it seemed like someone who could go 'boom' had done so by accident. The thing about these accidents is that sometimes, the one who caused the incident will want to find out what the damage was, and go back to the scene. That's when I come in and take what I need.

However, no such special appeared, and the police came to some conclusion or other about the nature of the disaster. How disappointing could it get? I was mulling that over when I noticed that I was being followed by two people, a man and a woman. They reeked of hostility, but I wasn't worried. I did want them off my trail, however, so I had them follow an illusion for a few blocks to throw them off. Laughing at their inferiority, I felt a little better on my way home.

Then it happened again, the same two people started following me. It wasn't cute anymore, and they weren't going to get away with it. They had no idea who they were dealing with, but I decided to teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. Luring them into an alleyway, I sensed their haughtiness. They thought they had me cornered!I spun and faced them, trying not to look too amused by the situation.

The man drew a gun and pointed it at me. However, his partner, the girl, pretended her hand was a gun, as a child might do if they were playing cops and robbers, or whatever kids play nowadays. Seeing how I didn't think anyone was dumb enough to mistake their hand for a gun, the only logical conclusion was that she had an ability.

"You're coming with us!" The woman barked.

I rolled my eyes, and with a lazy flick of my hand trapped the two people inside force fields. They panicked, and without hesitation I reached inside the woman's brain and took what I needed. She fell to the ground in agony as I moved on to her partner. I felt around inside his head, but didn't find a power. I was surprised when I pulled my hand out of his skull and he felt no pain.

Still, before I could let either of them go, I wanted to test my new ability. I pointed at a nearby garbage can, using my hand like a gun. I pressed my thumb down for the 'trigger' and was delighted when a bullet-sized hole appeared exactly where I'd aimed. I even giggled a bit. Knowing I'd have to take care of the guy without powers, I pointed at his leg and kneecapped him with my 'gun'. They would probably think twice before they came after me again.

After that little brush with disaster, I decided it was time to get a new identity, again. It was much easier to maintain a false life now that I could create illusions. I made myself beautiful, hoping that I would look less like a freaky fish. I even changed my red hair to blonde and my hazel eyes blue.

My new name became Isabella Black, because, um, Team Jacob! Yet, even though I was completely unrecognizable, I felt like it was time to leave New York. My safety was guaranteed if I relocated, but I had to stay somewhere with a large population, where specials would be in abundance. I decided to move to D.C., and it wasn't long before I was back to my old game.

I tried to be more careful this time around, though. Now I knew someone was looking for me. My caution slowed me down a little, so for the next few months I was only able to gain three abilities.

First, I learned how to turn my body into metal. After that, I found out how to repair things, just by touching them. Thirdly, and the most exciting, I learned how to find people. All I had to do was focus on the person I wanted to find, and I would be able to pinpoint their exact location.

I was doing so well. Everything seemed perfect! Fate interceded, or perhaps Karma had finally gotten around to giving me my punishment. To me, it didn't matter, the day of the second eclipse was the day my entire life was torn apart.

It was just like the day I took Georgia's power. The guilt I had been expertly avoiding for the past months returned with added force. I decided to go inside somewhere to get away from the eclipse, and so I tried to walk through a nearby wall. The only problem was I didn't walk through the wall, but into it. I tried again, but nothing happened. I had lost my most important ability.

I was so confused, panicked. I didn't know what was happening or why, but as I tried out each of my powers, one by one, I realized that none of them worked. My abilities were gone. With a jolt of fear I had to wonder:

What if they never returned?

Author notes:

I've come to the obvious conclusion that Mangle is an odd name... oh well, and odd name for an odd girl, no? eh, and I've also realized that I've made a canonical error... sigh, oh well.