The Inverter: Nothing Happened

He tightened the screws and headed out to a local shopping district. He waited till he spotted someone walking alone, aimed, and pressed the button....nothing. Maybe he needed to get closer. He went around a corner, and spotted a family sitting at a table at an open-air restaurant. The family consisted of two adults...probably a mother and father, and three children...a teenage girl, a younger girl, and a lone boy who looked to be in between. He aimed at them, and fired at the whole group. He frowned. Still nothing. He turned around and went home. Maybe the machine needed more work. But it really didn't...it just took time to work.