Characteristic

Cost

END

Cost

3

7

5

3

3

3

0

14

2

3

3

10

10

20

20

15

5

20

10

15

Kris was staring at the screen in disbelief. After almost three and a half years, many sleepless nights, arguments, and family strife, she, Kristen Gauge might have finally found Billy. She had peaked into a chat room devoted to Major American one of Billy's biggest idols back when he was still at home.

John581: <Did you hear that when he was a child he could sign all the words to the Star Spangled Banner? > 
Lovebone-19: <I read that in tabloid like three years ago> 
dollar-bill-boy: <bs man all of it’s a bunch of bs> 
Moderator: <You were banned from this room three months ago and if you attempt to override the computer commands one more time your account will be terminated.> 
dollar-bill-boy: <Bite my red white and blue ass. SANCTION IS A SCAM! THEY’RE GONA OVERTHROW THE GOVERMENT AND PUT A DICTATOR IN CHARGE!> 

This would not have caught Kris’s attention except for the misspelling of government which Billy had struggled with for months. She quickly queried the user and found his address, or at least the one he posted was WFoster@USS.org. Pasting the last half of the address into the box, Kris found herself staring at the front page of Uberhuman Support Services Inc. “providing emotional, social, and economic support for Ubergene positive humans in today’s world.”

She’d heard about this group somewhere…a 48 Hours report...and it sounded perfectly fine. She clicked on the “Testimonials” link and found several heartwarming stories all saying, “I was suicidal until I learned about USS Inc. and now I’m happy.” But one testimonial caught her eye.
“My name is Billy and I was in the World Trade Center on September 11th. I emerged from the disaster with the ability to change any piece of paper into a dollar bill but no memory of my former life. I lived on the streets for many months before I found a flyer for USS Inc. I have a home, a support system, and I was able to enhance my abilities.”

This had to be Billy!

Billy had disappeared from Ground Zero after going with Dad and Frank, the only Gauge actually born on an important date, while Mom, Kris, and Betty, who had fought for five years to escape the nickname Betsy, stayed at home and collected food and donations for the Red Cross. On Sunday, Dad did not call, at all. Finally Frank had emailed Kris on Yahoo, not the family account to say that Billy had disappeared. One hour later the family was in the infamous Boston traffic jam. When they arrived at a precinct in Manhattan, the police had determined this much. Billy was one of five people who had gone missing after giving blood at a truck which looked like a Red Cross vehicle. The blood was tested after being drawn and as it turned out all five abductees were Uber positive. And that had been the last they'd ever heard of the youngest Gauge until now.

The abduction had torn the family apart. Frank and Mom believed that Billy was still alive, Betty and Dad were hoping that Billy was dead, and Kris didn't know what to think. She hoped that Billy was alive but was smart enough to realize there was only one reason why someone would kidnap an 8-year-old boy. Dad had become a workaholic spending most nights at Americana, the family business which was moving into smaller and smaller stores. But if Billy could be brought back to the family, maybe things would go back to normal.

Without thinking, Kris put some clothes and a map in her school bag, left a quick note to her Mom, more for the purpose of having her not call the police than an explanation, and bought a train ticket to New York and another to DC. From there she caught a bus to Wilmington where USS Inc. was incorporated along with every other company who desired a tax break.

She quickly made an appointment having looked at the site and asking, under an alias, if she could receive an introduction from a person who arrived under familiar circumstances. After spending five days on the streets barely eating and avoiding all aid and police raids, she took a bus to the headquarters just outside the city.

Kris could tell there was something not quite right about this place when she looked at the secretary and did not get a reading. But then a janitor or someone in uniform walked by and in an accented voice said, “it’s a robot.” This person was singing some Latin dance song in his brain.
For along with her brother, Kris had a Ubergene. Her abilities allowed her to read the thoughts of everyone around her. Unfortunately, she could not turn these powers off; the best she could do was not look people directly in the eye and the thoughts would become scratchy, rather like a badly tuned radio.  Twenty minutes after her scheduled appointment, a teenaged boy with orange skin walked out and said, “are you Ms. Smith?’ with an Indian accent.  Kris found herself sitting across from a middle aged man with sleek gray hair, an impeccably tailored gray suit, and piercing green eyes. He introduced himself as J. Martin Anthony, founder and CEO of USS Inc. Kris was a little shocked at being in the presence of the founder but not as much as she was to once again be unable to read his thoughts.

“Now what exactly are the issues you wish to address?”

For lack of having any other abilities, Kris had been forced to tell the truth.

“I can read people’s thoughts and I can’t seem to turn this power off.”

Kris had no idea why she had just admitted so much information.

“When did you acquire these abilities Ms. Smith?”

Kris now knew something was wrong because he hesitated before saying Smith.

“Since my little brother went missing.” Kris did not know why but she began spilling her guts. My brother is here, he calls himself Dollar Bill but his name is Billy Gauge. He worshiped superheroes, especially American ones.”

At least he was doing a good imitation of being shocked.

“I wanna see him, now!”

“Ms. Gauge if you wished to see your brother why did you not simply inform the officers on the case of your findings?”

“Because I Googled USS Inc. and I found some disturbing websites.”

“Oh those, merely slander.”

“Then why didn't you sue?”

One advantage of growing up with a fiercely patriotic father was that Kris knew most of the laws of the land.

“That need not concern you. The fact is that when one of our clients found young Billy in Manhattan two years ago he only knew his first name and that he could transform monopoly money into dollar bills.”

“You are a liar you kidnapped my brother and four other ubers!”

“I assure you Ms. Gauge young Bill suffers from severe amnesia and if you ask him that is what he will tell you and the police.”

It wasn't the words but the manner in which they were delivered which caused Kris to shiver. The realization that Billy had been used as a test subject made Kris feel sick.

“So what are you going to do Mr. Anthony?”

“Oh Jay?”

The orange skinned man was back. He pointed a pistol at Kris.

“I assure you that if you do exactly what he instructs, you will leave this compound alive.

After that, Kris only has scattered memories. She was injected with something, then she broke free of her restraints, she broke the orange man's leg, and the next memory was of waking up in Mass General with her mother standing over the bed. Some of the memories must be true because the doctors did find an undocumented needle mark on her left arm and she could now delve deeper into a person's mind. Kris knew that she might be in danger and the rest of her family might be at risk.

It was at this time that Kris was 'rescued' by Mother Hen and Hawk.  Mother Hen came from an alternate timeline where she was a criminal, but in Whistler's reality she took on the role of a protector of wayward ubers such as Kris.

Kris realised the danger she was in and accepted Mother Hen's invitation to move to Argus City, while her family believed she was accepted to a private school.  Her parents are completely ignorant of Kris' abilities and whereabouts, something Kris is determined to maintain to protect their lives from USS.

After the encounter with USS Inc. she can now manipulate a person's mind to think about what she wants to know and bring it to the surface. For a codename, she chose Whistler based on the old radio dramas in the American Media section of the store. Prior to the gene activation and Billy's seizure, Kris had a few close friends and was liked by her peers. Now, most of her friends are online, but she is still pleasant and most of her classmates like her.

As for her family, the abduction has fractured them.

She feels more at home with her new 'mother', Mother Hen, and older brother, Hawk.

The Whistler has the type of Ubergene that if placed in a potentially life threatening situation she may develop more powerful telepathic abilities; this may not happen again however. The first expression of the gene granted Kris the ability to read the surface thoughts of people around her. It was technically not invasion of privacy because this power was always on. After the experience with USS Inc., Kris can now control her powers in that she can subconsciously manipulate what the surface thoughts of a person will be. For example, if she wants a classmate who is good with history, a subject she is competent with, to think about the midterm coming up, the person will think about the material.

Kris is of average height, 5’5” and weighs in at an even 120 pounds. She has brown hair which she usually wears short, sometimes in a cru cut but more often she lets it grow to about three or four inches before getting it cut. She is seen out of jeans so rarely that it is usually cause for comment. She wears plain t-shirts or pullovers with either sturdy sneakers or dark colored Doc Martins.