Adventure: Ellipsis at Bay 
(With acknowledgment to those who brought us Project PEGASUS: Product Energy Generation - Alternate Sources - United States.)
After processing (which he barely tolerates), Stephen Wolcott (Ellipsis) is assigned his bunk in the compound of USAGES (United States Alternately-Generated Energy Supplies).  Alone within his room, he tries to contact Julie Moretti his fiancée, mentally.  He cannot: his abilities are nullified.  He is enraged, and walks thorough the steel of his cell door.  As the guards outside try to subdue him, he blasts them against the walls.
He reaches the project manager, who has the project security officer within his office.  Ellipsis recites to them the terms of the contract: "'the contractor to communicate with relatives and/or "loved ones" (as commonly defined) by means normally utilized by the contractor.' This means my mind."
The security officer blurts out, "But no external communication is allowed within this project!  It's a breach of security!  Even if it is your bloody mind!" 
"Nonetheless, you must consider yourself bound by this contract, or else contend both against myself and the U.S. Government.  If you hold legal ity so precious, then use it yourself as  I am forced to!· 
The project manager has a dilemma on his hands: either meet security criteria, or meet a cont act that was imposed through another department, on high priority from above.  This so-called contract of his is a real pain: a spur-of-the-moment way to handle the country's most dangerous super-powered being.  But why'd they have to dump him at USAGES?  The manager, consulting higher authority, finally caves in to Ellipsis.  
As Ellipsis walks out, he considers destroying each suppressive device within this compound, in response to the decision of so-called higher authority.  He has taught himself how to do so selectively, while leaving all other electronic devices enabled - perfectly legal according to the contract!  But no: the contract has neutralized the devices for him, without his revealing his unknown abilities!  Upon his return to his cell, he contacts Julie - unimpeded.  
Julie is frustrated.  Whatever rat hole of a project he's wound up in, she has no track of it through her contacts.  He refers her to the U.S.  Department of Energy; that see!s to be his logical overseer here.  She promises to investigate: she cannot leave him without the light of (her) justice - especially having devoted her life to it!  
They stay in mental communion through the night.  It helps Stephen feel just a little less trapped.  
One of the research projects within USAGES involves the tapping of extradimensional energy.  They have in fact discovered a dimension composed mostly of free - floating electricity: obviously devoid of life, and a ripe source to meet United States energy needs in the future.  In fact, this project might eventually duplicate the flamboyant teleportation abilities of the man who goes by the alias "Mighty Tim", The Department of Defense is immensely interested in this aspect of this project; thus they have provided 30% funding.  USAGES needs this funding; thus, they ask no questions when DOD proposes an experiment.  
This has no bearing upon Ellipsis, though; a different lab group has already formed to examine the properties of the field around his body.  He is surprised to find that this group has been working for three months already.  But as he enters the lab for the first session, he discovers why.  Dr.  Niles Josephson is there.  He's co-inventor of the Ellipsis Field - and co-receiver of its power-, along with Stephen Wolcott.  
"Thought you'd been mentally damaged," states Stephen Wolcott.  
"Indeed I was," Professor Josephson responds.  "Fortunately there's therapy for that sort of thing.  I still have to be careful; in fact, I can barely use the power at all.  But it's good enough for some analysis." 
"Have you any conclusions as yet?" 
"Only what anyone could tell by looking at me today.  The power is harmful to the normal human mind and nervous system." Dr. Josephson looks keenly at Stephen.  "But you hardly have a normal mind, have you?" 
"Never have.  Is why I volunteered for the power in the first place.  I never intended anyone else be subject to that strain.”
“Yes, we all meant well on that project.  Even Dr. Maddocks in a way." Dr. Robert Maddocks, the third recipient of the power, started a fight with Dr. Josephson shortly after the experiment.  It developed into a flying battle across the Michigan State University campus, with Ellipsis and the Balance mixed in.  The two professors sustained mental damage from the power's use.  "He still hasn't recovered.  This makes it even more important that we determine the power's safety for your use."
"Should be safe.  Recently had my body restructured according to analysis along these lines." 
Ellipsis almost mentions the alien beings who brought this about, but ... no, they'd never believe him.  
The professor responds: "That may"be, but you should let some impartial parties be the judge of that." 
“Yourselves?"
"Right."  Niles Josephson lowers voice.  "The project security has asked me to keep an eye on you, if you gather my meaning.  Should your power run amok for whatever reason, I can still muster enough control over myself for one decent attempt to counteract it' 
"That's like holding yourself hostage against me!" 
"Perhaps.  For both our sakes, I hope it doesn't come to that." 
They've thought of nearly everything, Stephen thinks later in his cubicle.  He really is trapped here.  (For now...) 
Just then a visitor comes to see him.  It's Laura Greene.  Secretly his former teammate Morningstar - but as a normal human.  Her secret may not be so secret now.
“Why have you come here?" Stephen asks.  
  "I've come to visit you." She and the Balance arranged with the government to monitor the terms of Stephen's confinement.  Laura came first.  
"How did they let you in as Laura Greene and not Morningstar-?" 
"I told them who I was, Stephen.”
"You realize you've let them put a hook into you?" 
 "It was the easiest way to see how you're doing.  We promised we would, Stephen." 
“Well, you may tell them that I am as thoroughly imprisoned as Government could feasibly arrange.  Hope they don't come for you next." 

Ellipsis submits himself to hours of laboratory testing.  The test personnel share no evaluations with him: they can only evaluate their accumulated data later.  Of course, they cannot commit to deadlines on the evaluation of the data; their deadlines are decided by their management.  Ellipsis tries to attain commitments from the test managers, but the mental interdiction devices within USAGES stop him.  He does not deem it worth his while to break the interdiction.  Yet.  
None the less Ellipsis watches, listens, sens!s, correlates, and learns.  Piece by piece he gathers the data he needs to bring the project and its bureaucracy to their knees if he has to.  
Elsewhere, one of a people's natural resources, the stuff of their life, is removed in a new drain toward elsewhere.. Where, they do not know.  But they must determine.  Already, in addition to the drain vortex, the others have established a separate space within their dimension, which consumes all the contents around it.  This cannot continue!  
The people send one of their own to confront the drain invaders on their own ground.  They arm him with all their spare source energy - which, wrapped around him, might see him through the drain vortex to confront the beyonders who steal their energy.  He goes.
The assassin who calls himself Thunderstrike prepares himself for another mission.  He reflects: he is the only hit man around who can guarantee success, thanks to his unique support facility.  Nobody can track a hit man who lives in another dimension!  And nobody can stop him from making his hit!  He's only failed once, and that time nobody's going to argue about; the mobster woman who ordered the hit was completely trounced by the intended victim.  Nobody can be blamed tor being trounced by Ellipsis, nowadays!  
As he prepares, his mission board gives him an alert: unusual drainage of energy toward ambient environment!  As he teleports out, he gives the blanket order: Rectify drainage!  He knows that will resolve the operation of his little system - if the system can follow his orders.  He'll never quite know for sure...

An alarm goes off in USAGES, corresponding to the Extradimensional Study Group.  Their energy input has been disrupted!  Extradimensional energy has been gathered  - but is in a matrix which their devices cannot control!  As the technical squad scrambles, the security officer puts his squad on alert.  They have to be ready - whatever the menace is!  
Ellipsis, under test once more, observes that the test crew is preempted with some other order.  As they leave he follows surreptitiously.  
The USAGES test crew is confronted with a field of electricity which their devices cannot control.  They try every control option in the book, and several that were never written; nothing works.  It exceeds all product constraints!  Finally it strikes the!  all down with electrical discharge.  Oddly, when the discharges have done their job, the energy returns to the main body.  Security reinforcements, when they arrive, are stunned as easily.  
The chief of security rushes down with his personal squad, He finds Ellipsis leaning against a wall, watching the electrical menace with amusement.  He explodes at the mutant: “CLEAR THE AREA!”
Ellipsis responds: ·”You realize the reason I came here was to attain some assurance on the stability and safety of my powers.  Your test department has not provided me with their results yet.  Without the results, during designated test hours, I am required to be under watch from test department.  They're in there.” 
The chief has seen these results.  They showed that the mutant's powers were fully under his control, but still a potential threat to national security.  The chief was reluctant to keep him under his jurisdiction, but was overruled.  But right now, he says to himself as his squad falls back, things are more difficult, 
"All right •.• I'll make sure you get the results.  but Get Out!" 
·1 need-the results first.  For your safety, of course.”
"3*&$i(&i!!&!!”   The security man has no choice - and he has the authority to take action prior to authorization when project survival is at stake.   He rushes off with Ellipsis, as his forces continue to fall back.  
The one-who-confronted is taken with wonder.  The physical matter which is so scarce where he comes from is overwhelming here!  Yet they are overwhelmed when confronted with his energy!  In the battle, he is lucky: though they are of large matter, they cannot spare more than small amounts to attack him.  Their small projectiles he either lets pass through him or absorbs with ease.  
His people who made guess on the composition of this place said: Matter must be scarce within their dimension, as it is within ours!  This matter is his people's most vital resource, for it forms the core of their bodies.  If he could have some ••• !  
He has destroyed one point where the invaders took from his people, but does the drainage continue?  He moves more among the enemy.  Perhaps if they understood, they would desist.
As Ellipsis watches, the USAGES security chief accesses the test files on him from the nearest computer terminal.  Ellipsis, by concentrating, thus obtains the system security password from the motions of the man's fingertips.  Of course the fingertips are hidden from vision, but they are still audible.
As the data comes up, Ellipsis quickly reads it and finally remarks, ·”Should be safe enough.”· He then streaks through the floor, back toward the electrical outbursts.  The security chief has a fit.
The ball of energy has moved on, but Ellipsis finds it. The USAGES security is covered behind a electrical- absorbent wall, but the energy is striking around the wall at will.  Ellipsis advances, and sticks his arms into the energy to absorb it.
It doesn't work.  The energy bounces around his field of its own volition.  He keeps it away from him, but he is unable to absorb it.  He decides to disrupt it instead.
Ellipsis exerts magnetic force from his hands within the ball of energy, quickly varying it to find the most disruptive effect.  The energy recovers quickly to each variation, and starts sending pulses back.
Ellipsis easily throws the effects off, but he notices something about them, The pulses are in the pattern 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11"...
The first five prime numbers, as known by all intelligent life!  Stephen Wolcott, Ellipsis, signals back “13”.  He has now made First Contact with this new life.

Thunderstrike returns to his base.  His mission board alerts him: last input command unsuccessful!  Oh, yes: that energy drainage.  It must still be a problem.  He calls up further information.  
The drain upon the ambient energy around his base has continued - and intensified.  Projections show that enough energy remains for one mission only.  The drained energy has been traced to an area in his home dimension: northern Pennsylvania.  If sensors were to be placed in that area, the point which receives the energy might be isolated further.  
Amazing system he has here: good enough to assign what might be his most important mission.  This next mission will also be his most challenging, much more so than teleporting in to strike an unsuspecting victim.  He'll have to rely on his wits for this one.  He should be up to it.  He has to be; if he doesn't stop the drainage and restore the energy to his system for his own use, he'll be out of business.  
An hour after First Contact, USAGES management is trying to react to the crisis.  Within USAGES, the news of First Contact has spread beyond any possible control.  When Ellipsis first made contact, the damned mutant made mental broadcast of the news as far as he could.  Certainly everyone within the Project "heard" it - despite the devices which were guaranteed to jam his mental powers!  And now everyone wants to know what's going on!
Since the time of contact, Ellipsis has participated in the  impromptu contact team which quickly formed to communicate with the ball of energy.  Other people within the project showed up within the hallways, and insisted that this had to be an intelligent contact.  They also insisted Ellipsis was necessary to maintain contact.  The team managed to get it out of the hallways, but that's all the results they've shown in the past 12 hours.  
The big concern is: Ellipsis, a ward under security of the USAGES project, has virtually shut the project down with a rumor which he generated!  How can the project account for this? 
For Ellipsis, "First Contact" is a relative term.  Alien life contacted him to have him fight their battles before he ever heard of USAGES.  But this life form is truly trying to communicate with his species for the first time!  Ellipsis will not trust the United States government to handle the Contact in good faith; the government's never handled him in-good faith, after all.  In truth, this life needs his help, and so he has involved himself.
For that reason he finally broke through the mental interdiction devices.  Now all within the project know of the Contact, before the damned bureaucrats could cover it up for whatever reason.  Indeed, all those of sufficient wit and intelligence within roughly a 100-mile radius have received the message.  Perhaps some of them will even believe it.  
The assassin Thunderstrike is - (um ••• ) thunderstruck!  He had located the few built-up facilities within the identified area of drainage - the only ones which might be responsible for his predicament.  While reviewing the data and trying to judge which facility might be the focal point he suddenly got a powerful mental message - First Contact with an alien species!  At this location in northern Pennsylvania.  It could only be within the facility he now overlooks!  
Within one minute, he is wearing the coveralls of a worker of the project.  That worker is resting, albeit uncomfortably, in a utility closet.  Thunderstrike proceeds into the facility.  
He follows his sensors to the room where the alien is.  His sensors go wild as he enters.  The alien is holding the energy drained from his system!  
He  gets past the guards with his stolen ID.  But a man in white and yellow inside the room turns and faces him.  Thogh he's not wearing a mask, he is Ellipsis.  
Ellipsis states: 'You tried to slay me once." 
One second later, Thunderstrike is elsewhere.  One second after that, Ellipsis is out the door.  
Those within the room slowly raise themselves from the floor.  They see the electrical being flowing out the door.  
Thunderstrike prepares his defense.  He can't just teleport away - the success of his mission hinges upon staying here, near the alien who stole his system's energy.  His own energy's too low to allow much more teleportation.  And, unfortunately, nowadays Ellipsis laughs at energy weaponry such as his.  He'll have to fight Ellipsis by hand.  
Ellipsis has materialized his usual full face mask.  Though he has no identity left to hide, it's still a sign of hostility to enemies.  He suppresses all the mental interdiction devices throughout the project once more: he needs to know where his opponent hides, before finding him.  Quickly he locates Thunderstrike, and moves against him. 
The assassin starts his defense with a good martial arts attack.  Not good enough, though.  Ellipsis blasts him in mid-leap; he lands against the wall behind him.
Ellipsis begins to speak.  But a ball of electrical energy lands on his head and blinds him.  
Thunderstrike takes the opportunity to get a good punch in.  Ellipsis drifts back, propelled by the punch.  
The assassin's sensors recognize the ball of electricity: it's his!  From his dimension, anyway.  It must be the al en!  He sets his wrist units to absorb it, at least partially.  For two seconds it goes in smoothly - but then it all surges in, despite his safeties!  The units overload.  
Ellipsis, apparently recovered, floats over to the bail of energy and sticks his hands in.  After five seconds he says to Thunderstrike: "We are decided what to do with you." 
“It won't be that easy, mutant,” says Thunderstrike.  He teleports, intending to reach freedom outside the facility.  
And he lands three feet closer to Ellipsis.  Ellipsis states: "Easier than you think.  You will go nowhere." 
The project security forces approach.  Ellipsis focuses his attention upon them.  They pass the doorway of their room, and keep on going.  
"Now...", says the mutant.
When Thunderstrike regains control of himself, he is back on the hillside in Pennsylvania.  Stripped of his teleportation device.  Ellipsis shall regret doing that, he vows.  
But, really, why didn't Ellipsis slay him or turn him over to the authorities?  And, though Thunderstrike may be free, how can he get back to his facility? 
Ellipsis uses the teleport device to go to the facility in Thunderstrike's place.  He systematically destroys the facility and converts the largest fragments to free-floating charged particles.  
Returning to USAGES, he turns his personal field on where the device lies on his back - thus disintegrating it.  He'd love to keep the device for further contact, but sees no way to do so without going renegade forever - or trusting the U.S. government.  And he'll never do that.
But he's gotten an energy signature from the device.  It is no longer needed.  From now on, he can teleport on his own.
By now it is established that the electrical beast is intelligent and comes from the dimension that one of the USAGES projects was draining energy from.  The management of USAGES intends to hold the beast for further study.  They now have a place where they can hold it prisoner.  
As order is being restored, Ellipsis surreptitiously works at a secluded computer console, with a modem hooked up for external communication.  The few who stroll by give him no notice.  
Th e next day, the New York Post publishes a First Contact story, with meticulous detail.  Ellipsis is portrayed as a hero.  Other papers, sensing that the detail could only have come from one who saw it, begin to investigate.  The government's denials only serve to fuel the investigation.  The reporters demand to see  Ellipsis.
Th e project manager berates Stephen Wolcott: “And I suppose you don't know how this story got out?" .Stephen responds: "Were I you, suspect the man who broke through your security the day before publication.”
"I suppose his sending the story to the paper where your girlfriend works was a coincidence?”
"Am familiar with that paper.  Happens to be only paper in New York City which would publish such story.  Sensational, yes.  Especially on Page 1.  You really wish to defuse the story, best send the alien home."
In the end, Ellipsis agrees to follow the USAGES story before a press conference.  The price of this is the return of the alien to its home dimension, plus the public release of his powers and sanity test results, during that same press conference.  This forces the government's hand at last.
The alien is freed half an hour before the conference, with Ellipsis watching.  At the conference, with the public looking on, the project manager states: 
"Since the time when we completed our observations of Mr. Wolcott, he's stayed on with us to investigate the possibility of lifeforms existing in other dimensions, such as the Post story speculated.  He's been most helpful in that regard, and naturally we hope he'll continue working with us." 
Stephen, dressed as Ellipsis but without the mask, corroborates the story, but continues: "Though I feel I have done some good here , I consider my time here done.  I intend to return to my career and my life in the world." 
He leaves the room with Julie Moretti, sent to cover the conference.  A man speaks to them at the door.  
"Okay you can go.  But watch it.· 
Stephen responds: "Same applies to you, bureaucrat ."

Postlude: In another dimension, where the traveller came from, the situation is more than restored.  They have lost much of their free-floating electrical energy, but they now have much highly-precious matter - and heavily charged!  - to compensate them.  The traveller says this is a gift - in recompense - from the others whom he visited.  They are satisfied, and more.  If they should contact this other place again, they shall favor it as they can.