INTERLUDE: Nell Conrad and the Tesla Coil
OR: Why Nell Is So Easily Surprised
Nell is seven years old and in a foster home. She does not understand her powers, but her genius has caused her money-hungry foster family to pull her out of school. They put her to work fixing cars.
Like any child her age, Nell gets bored. She constructs a device that functions much like a Tesla coil, and is very careful around it. She has constructed it well, and it poses no threat to anyone, provided they are reasonably cautious.
Her foster father hears the loud noise that the coil makes (a heavy, sharp buzz) and comes to the garage to investigate. Nell turns off the coil at once. Her foster father kicks it a few time and goes to leave, shouting at Nell. Something goes wrong, and the machine kicks on. It shocks Nell.
Nell's internal organs are completely immune to electricity, but her skin is not. A bolt of electricity hits her square in the chest and burns her very badly. The current shoots through her epidermis, covering her torso, upper arms, and thighs in tiny lines of burnt tissue. The coil shuts off as quickly as it started, and Nell's foster father does nothing to aid the girl who is screaming in pain.
Nell is always ashamed of the scars that the coil left behind. She always wears long pants and long sleeves. She only tells one person in the world about his, and his name is Derek. She does not even tell him about it until they have already known each other for quite a while, and Derek had to save her life first.
Nell has not been near a Tesla coil since that day.
OR: Why Nell Is So Easily Surprised
Nell is seven years old and in a foster home. She does not understand her powers, but her genius has caused her money-hungry foster family to pull her out of school. They put her to work fixing cars.
Like any child her age, Nell gets bored. She constructs a device that functions much like a Tesla coil, and is very careful around it. She has constructed it well, and it poses no threat to anyone, provided they are reasonably cautious.
Her foster father hears the loud noise that the coil makes (a heavy, sharp buzz) and comes to the garage to investigate. Nell turns off the coil at once. Her foster father kicks it a few time and goes to leave, shouting at Nell. Something goes wrong, and the machine kicks on. It shocks Nell.
Nell's internal organs are completely immune to electricity, but her skin is not. A bolt of electricity hits her square in the chest and burns her very badly. The current shoots through her epidermis, covering her torso, upper arms, and thighs in tiny lines of burnt tissue. The coil shuts off as quickly as it started, and Nell's foster father does nothing to aid the girl who is screaming in pain.
Nell is always ashamed of the scars that the coil left behind. She always wears long pants and long sleeves. She only tells one person in the world about his, and his name is Derek. She does not even tell him about it until they have already known each other for quite a while, and Derek had to save her life first.
Nell has not been near a Tesla coil since that day.
