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Absinthe By Morpheus What do you do when you have an angry mutant on your tail, chasing after you with every intention of killing you, or at the very least, kicking your butt? In my case, you just run like hell. My name is Adam Wylann, and at fifteen years old, I was a little shorter than most of the guys in my class. However I made up for that by being lean and athletic, due in no small part to all the free running and parkour that I'd been doing for the last year and a half. At the moment, all that practice was coming in very useful. I ran down the sidewalk of the busy Seattle street, jumped down over a set of steps that were in my path, hit the ground and rolled at the very bottom and then sprung back to my feet to continue running without any delay. My pursuers continued chasing after me, albeit in a somewhat more normal fashion. I glanced back, then changed directions and sliding across the hood of a car parked car, just like they used to do in the old cop shows. I made it look pretty smooth and effortless, but that had actually taken a lot of practice and a fair number of bruises to perfect that move. My main pursuer was Collin Reynolds, who was tall, athletic, and pretty good looking. It was an open secret around school that he was a mutant, a low level exemplar. That basically just meant that his mutant powers were that he looked good and had a slight improvement to his physical abilities. If he had any other powers, I didn't know about them. "Stop running," Collin yelled at me angrily. "I'm gonna kick your scrawny punk ass..." "That doesn't give me much motive to stop," I called back. Of course, as if having Collin chasing after me wasn't bad enough, I also had his best friend Mike. Mike was a tall and muscular black guy whose head was shaved completely bald. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that he was an exemplar as well, but as far as I knew, he was just as much a baseline human as I was. Mike, as usual as of the last six months, was dressed up like some kind of gangster thug, which always made me laugh when I saw him. After all, his Dad was a big shot lawyer and I knew that he had one of the highest GPAs in school. In fact, he was probably going to go to Harvard and follow in his Dad's footsteps, so this whole thug act that he'd been pulling lately was just that, an act. This was probably just his way of rebelling against his Dad, not that it made much difference while he was chasing me. Collin and Mike were both in great shape, but they couldn't quite keep up with me and the way I was using obstacles to my advantage. Unfortunately that forced me to slow down a little just so they could keep me in sight and feel like they actually had a chance of catching me. Suckers. My pursuers weren't among the normal school bullies, and as far as most people were concerned, they were pretty good guys. However Collin had a problem with me and was determined to make my life miserable because of it. The problem had nothing to do with me specifically, or at least not with anything I'd done. It had to do with my Dad and what he did for a living. My Dad worked for the Mutant Commission Office...the MCO. Because of that, a mutant like Collin saw my Dad as the enemy, and me too by extension. I could have reported Collin to my Dad...and the MCO, and they certainly wouldn't take well to a mutant who was harassing and bullying a baseline. And if he didn't have an MID and wasn't registered as a mutant yet, which I had no idea if he was or not, then that would add another level of trouble. Collin might be trying to kick my ass, but I didn't think he deserved to have his entire life ruined because of that. So I was dealing with Collin in my own way, mostly by keeping well out of his reach. "Come back here you little punk," Collin yelled at me again, still chasing after me. "Fight me like a man, you little chicken..." There was absolutely no way that I was going to stop just so I could fight a round or two with Collin and Mike. First, there were two of them and only one of me, and then they were both a bit bigger and stronger as well. I wasn't a chicken like Collin thought, but I saw absolutely no reason to fight him. I didn't like fighting, or more accurately, I didn't like getting hurt. "I'll give him this," I mused to myself. "Collin is pretty determined." In fact, he reminded me a bit of a cat, a lean and dangerous hunter. My cat Gozer was a great hunter and he was frequently bringing 'presents' into the house. I'd lost count of how many dead mice and birds I've had to get rid of over the four years we've had him. One of the things he'd love to do was chase the squirrels in our yard, and I've watched him spend countless hours chasing after the little fuzzy tails, only to watch them scramble up a tree or over a fence and escape. At the end of the day, the squirrel always sat on top of the fence, waving his tail at Gozer and taunting the tired and frustrated cat. This had taught me an important lesson, that I'd rather be the squirrel than the cat. "Come on and catch me if you can," I called back with a grin, slowing down just a little more. Collin and Mike weren't the first would-be bullies to come after me, though they were the first to do so in a long time. Being smaller than the other boys in my class, I used to have a problem with bullies trying to mess with me, and I'd gotten into free running as a way to help me stay ahead of them. Ever since then, most of the others had eventually given up in frustration or simply learned that I wasn't worth the trouble. Once Collin and Mike were close enough, I changed directions and began going up, scrambling up the side of a building that I'd used for this very purpose before. If you didn't know where the hand and footholds were, it could take forever trying to climb that thing, which meant that my pursuers were left behind as I got to the second floor and blew them a raspberry. If I'd had a tail I would have waved it at them. "So long little kitties," I called out, slipping through an open window and losing them for the day. "God DAMN it," Collin called out in frustration. "That little punk did it again..." "Are you sure he isn't a mutant?" Mike asked his friend. "I mean, with moves like that..." "No," Collin told him. "If he was, his rat bastard of a Dad would have made him disappear." I ignored Collin's comments about my Dad, being used to them. Some people thought that since he was with the MCO, my Dad was a hero who fought to protect normal humans from dangerous mutant threats. Other people, such as Collin and Mike, thought that he was some kind of jack booted fascist who was out to terrorize innocent mutants. But to me, he wasn't either of those things. He was just...Dad. While Collin and Mike were busy cursing me, I made my way through the hallway, wondering what the people in these apartments thought of my antics, or if they were even aware of them. In spite of how I'd taunted Collin and Mike, I didn't enjoy making fools of them...at least not too much. I'd just gotten so sick and tired of bullies chasing after me for their own amusement that I'd decided I might as well start having fun with them in return. Instead of running for my life in fear, I turned it into a game. "I might have to start scouting some other areas," I mused, knowing that they wouldn't fall for that again, at least not with this building. And when trying to escape pursuit, it not only helps to be fast and maneuverable, but also to know the terrain. Dad used to be a Marine and had once told me that. It was one of the few things he'd told me that had really stuck. "Good thing I already know a few others." I took my time as I went home, arriving quite a bit later than I would have if it hadn't been for that little distraction. That wasn't a big deal, or it wouldn't have been if my Dad's car wasn't sitting in the driveway. Dad was often away on business, but when he was home... I shook my head, braced myself for what was to come, then went into the house. "You're late," Dad stated the moment he saw me. My Dad was something of an imposing man, standing at just over six feet tall with an athletic body that he maintained with an hour of exercise every day. He still had the same bearing and intensity that he did back when he'd been in the Marines, and when he was in his MCO uniform this helped to make him appear every inch the figure of authority. His close cropped dark hair, which was starting to turn gray, gave him an added sense of dignity as well. Dad gave me a flat look as he gestured to the clock on the wall. One of the rules of the house was that five o-clock was the dinner curfew, that I had to be back home by then because we always ate dinner at five thirty. Mom never really cared if I was late, just as long as I made it home before we actually sat down for dinner. But my Dad... The clock showed that I was six minutes late, so Dad simply said, "You know the punishment." "I was just going for a run and got distracted," I protested my being grounded, though I already knew it wouldn't do any good. Once Dad made up his mind, it was hard to change it unless I had a damn good reason. Of course, I could have told him that I was being chased by a mutant and that would have done it, but I wasn't about to do that to Collin, no matter how big of a jerk he was. Unfortunately Dad was very 'by the book' and seemed to live by the motto that 'there's a rule for everything and every rule must be followed'. Dad didn't bother yelling at me or anything else, nor was there any reason to. As far as he was concerned, I broke the rule and knew the consequences, so there was no need to focus on that any further. He wasn't big on unnecessary expression. However I knew that he was disappointed in me, but that was nothing new. I was used to his disappointment. I knew that Dad loved me, in his own unspoken way, but the two of us couldn't be more different. Instead of being strong and imposing like him, I took after my Mom and was smaller and built to be more graceful. Instead of being a fighter who met every challenge head on, I preferred to avoid direct confrontations. And where he was proud to follow the family tradition of serving in the military, I had absolutely no intention of doing that. Of course, there was also our biggest philosophical difference, my belief that rules are made to be broken. When I was younger, Dad used to push me to be more manly, taking me out shooting and trying to get me into football. I actually liked the shooting, but the football...not so much. Eventually, Mom had a talk with him and he backed off so now he pretty much just let me do my own thing, at least as long as I didn't break any of his rules around the house. In spite of the fact that Dad and I clashed on just about everything, our relationship wasn't entirely bad. He never yelled at me, even when I'd done something stupid, and he at least tried to treat me with respect. He actually approved of my free running, probably because it meant that I was out of the house and getting exercise. And every month or two, we'd actually go out to the shooting range for target practice, which was about the extent of our father/son bonding time. "If you two are finished sitting there and scowling in silence," Mom said as she came into the room. "Dinner is ready." Dad glanced to the clock again, probably to note that dinner was a few minutes earlier than normal. I snickered faintly, wondering if he was about to chastise Mom for breaking one of the rules. That would certainly be fun to watch, though even Dad knew better than to try. My Mom wasn't all that impressive, and in fact, she was about as unassuming as Dad was intimidating. She was the same height as me, with a slight build and the same light brown hair that I had. And though she was normally very calm and soft-spoken, she was also the only person who could flat out steamroll over my Dad. Once we sat down to eat, we began the normal dinner conversation. It was general talk about how our days were, though Dad often grunted and didn't give a lot of detail, at least not at first. It was always interesting to watch Mom gently nudge it out of him. "I spent half the day filling out paperwork over that airport incident," Dad complained with a grumble. "All because a mutant decided to make a scene over the security procedures." "That's too bad," Mom said sympathetically. "Having mutants go through our security checkpoint isn't discrimination," Dad stated firmly. "It's common sense. You wouldn't just let anyone walk onto a plane with a knife or gun, not without extensive security checks and assurances. Why should a mutant be given special treatment just because their weapons are a part of them? These procedures are in place for everyone's safety, including theirs." Dad was normally pretty quiet and liked to keep things bottled up, but Mom was always good at getting him to open up and vent. Afterwards he always seemed a little more relaxed, having gotten it out of his system. "What about that criminal your office has been after?" Mom asked him curiously. "What was his name...? Slippery?" Dad nodded at that, not looking happy. "We thought we had Slippery cornered up in Queen Anne, but he slipped away from us. Again. This time, he was using the alias of Jimmy DiGriz. Being as lucky as he is, we're starting to think he might be a probability warper. I'm not sure how we'd even hold him if we ever manage to get him in custody." "Why not offer him a job?" Mom asked pleasantly, pausing to take a bite of her dinner. "If he's as good as you say, wouldn't it be better to have him working for you?" Dad scowled at that and gave a faint dismissive grunt to show his opinion of that idea. It wasn't at all surprising that Dad would dismiss the idea. After all, giving jobs to mutant criminals was definitely NOT normal MCO procedure. After a few more minutes of pleasantly interrogating Dad, Mom turned her attention to me. She gave me a faint smile and asked, "So, how was your day, Adam?" "It was okay," I responded with a shrug, stuffing a bite into my mouth. "You aren't having more trouble with bullies, are you?" she asked with a faintly concerned look. I let out a faint sigh, wondering how she always seemed to know what was relevant. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought she was a mutant with some kind of psychic ability. "Nothing I can't outrun," I told her with a grin. Dad scowled and shook his head faintly, showing his disapproval at that tactic. He always thought that if I had a problem with bullies, I should confront it head-on...as long as I did so within the rules. And even then, he'd much rather that I get into a fight at school than run away like some kind of coward. The last time I'd seriously gotten roughed up by bullies had been just over a year and a half ago. A couple guys had jumped me after school and beat the crap out of me, not that it took a lot of effort. That incident had been what inspired me to get better at running away and avoiding that kind of thing. Dad had been pretty mad, mostly by the fact that I was a punching bag who couldn't even defend myself. To show his disappointment in me, and also attempting to teach me a lesson, he'd actually signed me up for a women's self-defense course. Apparently he thought that my pride would be offended and that I'd demand to take a real martial arts class, though that had never happened. With that I leaned back in my chair and smiled, thinking about my encounter with Collin and Mike earlier today. Though Dad didn't know about it, I owed the whole thing to him. Ironically enough, it was his attempted insult which had indirectly led to my becoming much better at running away from trouble. -------------------- It was an old and respected tradition that teachers were to make school as boring and tedious as humanly possible, just as it was an equally ancient tradition for the students to sleep through class. At the moment, I was clearly not the only one who felt like nodding off. Clive Bowen, who sat beside me, was actually swaying in his seat. "Mister Bowen," our teacher exclaimed, glaring at Clive. "I don't feel so good," Clive said. "I feel kind of dizzy..." Mrs. Morgan stared at Clive from the front of the classroom, looking highly skeptical at first. But she apparently decided that he did indeed look sick enough that he might not be faking it. "Then go to the nurse's office and get checked out," she told him, some sense of sympathy creeping into her voice. "I guess something is going around," I told Clive, thinking about how two other people I'd been sitting next to had complained about feeling sick or dizzy today. "I hope I'm not next." Clive stood up from his desk, then suddenly blurted out, "There's a monkey..." "What?" I asked in confusion. Clive pointed to the front of the classroom, right at Mrs. Morgan's desk, which she wasn't sitting at right then. "There's a monkey on your desk." Mrs. Morgan glanced to her desk and scowled. "I don't have time for your jokes, Mister Bowen. Since you seem to think this is..." "More monkeys," Clive exclaimed, looking around the classroom with a look of surprise and disbelief. "Where'd they all come from?" There were some chuckles around the classroom at that as well as a few nervous giggles. Mrs. Morgan was starting to look extremely annoyed at Clive's joke, but as I watched him, I began to realize that this wasn't a joke. There was something seriously wrong with him. Clive jumped back, looking around frantically, his expression turning to confusion and fear. Then he staggered back, tripping over his own feet and landing on the floor. More laugher filled the room. "I think there's something wrong with him," I told Mrs. Morgan. "I don't think he's faking..." Mrs. Morgan stared at Clive for several seconds before nodding. Then she gestured to one of the students, "David, please help Clive to the nurse's office." David nodded at that, and without a word he went to help Clive to his feet. Clive still looked unsteady and his eyes continued to dart around the room for several seconds before his expression began to relax. "The monkeys are gone," he said in obvious relief as David helped him out of the classroom. "All right class," Mrs. Morgan announced with a forced smile. "Now that we've had our little break, let's continue where we left off..." I glanced to Clive's empty seat and shook my head, feeling sorry for the guy as well as a little worried. Whatever it was that had gotten to him, he hadn't shown any signs of it last period or any of the previous ones. However the girl who was sitting in front of me was starting to sway in her desk just a tiny bit. When class was over and I was done for the day, I let out a long sigh of relief. Clive hadn't come back after his little outburst, so I didn't know if he was okay or not, but I was worried, and not just about him. It seemed odd to me that several people had gotten sick today, and all of them had been sitting next to me. "It makes me feel like I'm contagious or something," I joked as I walked out of the school building. I was just walking off the school grounds when I suddenly found my way blocked by Collin. Mike was there too, stepping in beside me to prevent my escape, the way I'd done yesterday when they'd tried something similar. "I don't think so," Collin said with a smirk. "We never finished our talk with you yesterday." "Sure," I said with a forced smile, looking around for a chance to escape. However it looked like dumb and dumber were being very careful not to leave me any openings to run. "I'm always willing to talk." "This is how things are going to go down," Collin told me with a steady look. "We're going to fight. You can either fight back, or you can be a punching bag. Your choice." "If it's all right with you," I responded with a cheerful smile, "I'll choose option three and avoid the whole thing." "Not an option," Mike said, trying to pose and look tough. It only made him look like a poser. The preppy look he used to go with had actually looked a little more natural on him than this whole gangster thug thing. "So, two of you against one of me," I said carefully. "That hardly seems fair. I mean, are you so scared of me that it takes both of you to beat the crap out of little old me?" Collin scowled at that and shook his head. "I'll tell you what," he finally said with a confident grin. "I'll make this a little more fair for you. Mike here will stay out of it...unless you try and run. It's just you and me...and I'll even let you throw the first punch for free." I gave him a skeptical look and asked, "Free?" "Go ahead," Collin told me with a smirk, obviously confident in his chances against me. I nodded, then threw a 'surprise' punch at his face, which he was obviously expecting. He pulled back so my fist easily missed, but my follow through elbow didn't and I smashed him right in the face. Then in a quick move, I drove my heel into the back of his leg, right behind the knee, causing his leg to collapse and him to drop, just enough so that I could knee him in the solar plexus. Then I finally took a real punch at his face, leaving a bloody nose as he dropped to his knees, unable to get a decent breath thanks to my hit in his solar plexus. "Holy shit," Mike blurted out in surprise. "Just because I prefer not to fight," I commented almost pleasantly, "that doesn't mean I don't know how to." Mike glared at me, but was immediately by Collin's side. The two of them might hate my guys, but they were friends and definitely had each other's backs. I couldn't help but respect that, even as I turned and walked away. I'd made my point, so there was no reason to stick around. With that I began running, not only to get away from Mike and Collin in case they decided to try coming after me, but also because it was the fastest way for me to get around that didn't involve an engine. I practiced my free running as I went, taking shortcuts and using obstacles to my advantage. I always grinned as I ran towards a bench and used it as a springboard to reach the top of a nearby wall, then flipped over it and continued on my way. It didn't take me long to reach my destination, a three story building that held a different business on each floor. The one I was interested in was on the bottom floor and was merely labeled with a sign that said 'Self Defense'. This was the place where Dad had once tried to shame me into learning martial arts by signing me up for a women's self-defense class. The joke was on him because I'd actually continued coming here ever since. Coming here for class was about the only acceptable excuse for missing my dinner curfew and arriving home late, and even that was somewhat begrudging. As I walked towards the door, I saw the sign in the window that said 'Learn to defend yourselves. Great for women'. This was the sign that Dad had seen and which had made him sign me up for the classes here. Apparently he'd never read the smaller signs, much less went in and talked to the instructor. Ironically if he had, he probably would have signed me up for classes here anyway, just not as a joke. There was a smaller sign above the door, which Dad had obviously missed. It said 'Frankenstein's Self-Defense'. That alone should have given Dad a clue that this wasn't the kind of place that he'd expected. I went inside and saw the instructor standing in the middle of the open and padded floor. "Greetings sensei," I said giving him a bow. "Don't give me that sensei crap," he responded with a look of annoyance, fully aware that I'd done it just to mess with him. "How many times have I told you punks just to call me Doug." Doug Chambers was an imposing looking man, even more so than my Dad. He was six foot four, pretty well-muscled, and he had a scar right across his face. In fact, he had a lot of scars all over his body, which was why he'd been nicknamed Frankenstein during his days as a fighter. Doug used to compete in mixed martial arts, but he freely admitted that he'd spent a lot more time fighting in illegal underground fights where just about anything went. And though Doug would never confirm or deny it, rumor said that he used to be a leg-breaker for a loan shark until he'd been replaced by a low level mutant. As Doug was quick to point out, he taught self-defense, not martial arts. And during my first day in class, where I'd come here very reluctantly, he'd actually given a speech to the class that had really clicked with me. For the first time, someone had talked about fighting in a way that made sense. "I'm not here to teach you martial arts. I don't give a damn about some ancient philosophy and code of honor. I could give a flying fuck about teaching you rules and traditions that have been passed down for centuries. I don't care about perfect form or competing in tournaments. That's all bullshit that distracts you from the real point." At the time, Doug's words had caught me completely by surprise since I'd never heard anyone talk about self-defense like that. Until then, people had always said I should learn some martial arts in order to defend myself, but the martial arts had never seemed very appealing. Martial arts had always seemed to be about looking strong and showing off, and people were always talking about learning discipline and tradition. What did any of that have to do with keeping someone from beating the crap out of me? "In the end, I'm going to teach you to protect yourselves. I'm going to teach you how to keep other people from hurting you. My job is to make sure that if you ever get into a real fight, you're the one who walks away." Those were the words that had caught my full attention and made me think that maybe this class wouldn't be a waste of my time. I didn't care about learning discipline and traditions from some other culture. I didn't care about learning fancy martial arts forms or being able to impress other people. But protecting myself and keeping other people from hurting me... That was what I was interested in. "In a real fight, there's no such thing as honor or playing fair. You don't want to give the other guy a fair chance to kill you. You want to use every tool and advantage you possibly can because your life may damn well depend on it. Remember, in a real fight, the only rule is that there aren't any rules." Doug's philosophy on fighting really made sense to me, as did his actual lessons. And when I'd admitted that I didn't like to fight at all and preferred to run away, he hadn't been disappointed or called me a chicken. Instead, he told me that running away was a legitimate strategy. "The best way to survive a fight is to avoid it completely," Doug had told me. "But sometimes you don't get any choice." After that Doug introduced me to a couple of local free runners who taught me everything I knew about the sport. I still ran with those guys a couple times a month, at least every other weekend and sometimes even more often. Dad had originally only signed me up for a month long course in self- defense, but I liked Doug's philosophy enough that I actually decided to stay. Ever since then, I've been coming back a couple times a week, though my parents thought it was only because I could hang out with some girls. I hadn't bothered to disabuse them of that notion. I smiled faintly as I looked at Doug, wondering what Dad would say if he knew who really taught the class. It would certainly be interesting to see Dad's reactions if he ever came in to watch a class, but I kind of enjoyed keeping this all secret from him. It made me feel that I actually had a life of my own. After a minute, I went into the back room and changed into my normal clothes for a class, a T-shirt and pair of gym pants. Doug didn't believe in a uniform and let us all wear pretty much whatever we wanted, though most classes were taught barefoot in order to keep from tearing up the mats. A short time later, I was in the practice area along with the other seven students, wondering what Doug was going to teach today. He didn't have a specific style of his own, and in fact, he actually liked to brag that he preferred substance over style. What Doug did teach was a variety of different moves and techniques from different martial arts styles, all mixed with a heavy dose of dirty street fighting. Earlier this week, Doug had spent the entire class having us practice throws and falling. The class before that, it had all about grappling on the ground and getting leverage on our opponents. Doug never seemed to have a lesson plan and just taught whatever he felt like that day, even if it made the class run long or if it got cut short. His teaching style was as mixed up and piecemeal as the material he taught. "Today," Doug announced to the small class, "we're gonna go over the techniques that are usually taught specifically for a women's self- defense class." "But that isn't fighting," Tyson blurted out in surprise. Tyson was the new guy in class and was one of only two people who was wearing a traditional martial arts uniform. Apparently he had previous martial arts training before he'd recently moved to Seattle. This was only his third class with us, and I was pretty sure he still didn't get what Doug was about. "Nope," Doug agreed with an intimidating grin. "It sure as hell ain't. At least not the kind you're thinking of. But these are moves and techniques that are designed to be used against someone that's bigger and stronger than you." Then Doug looked even more menacing as he added, "Now what are you gonna do if you're in a bar and some guy like me comes and grabs you from behind?" Tyson didn't have an answer to that, so Doug began the lessons, showing us how to get away when someone grabs you from behind. His lesson plan today included elbowing someone in the solar plexus, punching them in the throat, and kneeing them in the groin. Doug ran through this particular lesson at least once a month so I'd been through it numerous times before and always paid close attention. After all, almost any guy I fought would likely to be bigger and stronger than me. Tyson continued to seem offended, reacting much the way that Dad had expected me to. When Doug had us practicing to knee opponents in the balls, he finally blurted out, "But that's cheating..." Doug gave him a flat look and snarled, "If you aren't cheating, then you aren't trying hard enough." Tyson looked scared of Doug, which was probably a smart move, and he looked a bit offended. I had a feeling that this was the last time I was going to see him here. Out of all the students in class, I'd been here longer than almost any of them. Most people who came to Doug's classes weren't here to learn a real martial art, and those who were soon left for other places. Some people were put off by Doug's attitude and teaching style so ended up quitting, and those who were serious about learning often became comfortable enough in their ability to take care of themselves that they stopped coming after a few months as well. Doug paired me up with Javier, who'd been coming here almost as long as I had. He was bigger than me, which was no surprise, so he took the 'aggressor' role and gave me plenty of opportunity to practice getting away from him. But since I was already well practiced in these moves and tactics, it gave him plenty of opportunity to figure out how to counter them, which only encouraged me to think sneakier as well. By the time class ended for the day, Javier was staggering and complaining about being dizzy. I watched him nervously, remembering Clive and the other kids at school who'd gotten sick as well. Then Javier froze, staring at the wall with a look of surprise and fear on his face. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, muttering, "No, that isn't really there... It can't be... I must be seeing things..." "What?" I asked Javier in surprise. "Are you okay?" "I'm not sure," Javier admitted with a forced chuckle. "Either purple flowers are growing all over that wall, or someone slipped me some acid." "Well, it sure ain't the first," Doug commented as he overheard and came over. He looked Javier over and then asked me, "You didn't hit him in the head or anything, did you?" "Not today," I responded. I put a hand on Javier's arm and asked, "Do you need a doctor or something?" A strange smile formed on Javier's face and he mused, "Oh look, kittens are growing out of the flowers..." Doug and I shared a look before Doug shook his head and told me, "Go home kid. I'll call an ambulance for mister acid trip here." I nodded at that, then went to the back room to change back into my normal clothes. As I got ready to leave, I rubbed at my shoulders, feeling stiff and a bit sore. I hadn't thought I'd worked myself that hard during the class, but my muscles were definitely starting to ache. "Time to go home and take a nice hot shower," I mused with a smile. Between that and dinner, I'd be much better. Then I suddenly felt a strange tingle run through my body. When it passed, I gasped in surprise as there were glowing lines running through the air around me. All I could do was stand there for a moment, staring at the glowing lines and feeling confused. It took me several seconds to realize that I was just seeing things, the same way that Clive and Javier had. "Great," I muttered, feeling worried about what was happening to me. "Now I've got it...whatever IT is." With that I felt a strange twisting sensation inside of me, right before I had an odd feeling of 'something' popping. An instant later, the glowing lines had vanished, but now there was a glowing green faerie floating in the air in front of me. The faerie was tiny, about four inches tall and shaped like a sexy and very naked girl. She had delicate features with pointed ears, and her skin and hair were both green. A faint green glow surrounded her as she hovered in the air, apparently being held aloft by the dragonfly type wings that grew from her back. "At least you aren't a monkey," I commented, not at all happy with the idea that I was seeing things that weren't there. A moment later, the little faerie flew around me several times, then flew off and vanished. Once I lost sight of the hallucination, I shook my head and let out a sigh. Since everything appeared to be back to normal, I decided to just go back home and get some rest. After that, I definitely needed it. -------------------- School was over for the day and I was walking home, not even bothering to run like I normally would have. The sky had just been overcast when I'd left school a short time ago, but the rain had begun to come down in a steady drizzle. At the moment, that suited my gloomy mood. When I'd arrived at school this morning, I'd been relieved to find out that Clive had recovered pretty quickly after his freak out yesterday afternoon. In fact, everyone who'd gotten dizzy and had to go to the nurse's office had quickly recovered. However the same thing had happened again today. Students who'd been sitting near me in class began to get dizzy again and had to rush off to the nurse's office, and two of them had freaked out the same way Clive and Javier had. One boy said that there were pink squirrels all over the floor, while a girl said that her Grandma's ghost was talking to her. They'd both been pretty freaked out and I didn't blame them. It hadn't escaped my notice that every student who went through this had been sitting next to me at the time. In fact, it left me extremely worried and I couldn't stop thinking about it, though I wasn't sure what it meant. Was I somehow causing this? I didn't see how I possibly could be. One of the things that had me most concerned was the fact that I'd been hallucinating as well. Several times today, I'd caught glimpses of that little green faerie again, almost as though it was following me around. Fortunately, none of these hallucinations lasted for very long. I finally let out a long sigh, deciding that when I got home, I was going to tell Mom about this, so she could take me to see a doctor. For all I knew, I'd caught some weird disease and was infecting other people. "At least Collin left me alone today," I mused, remembering the odd looks that he and Mike had given me. I think they'd finally realized that I might be good at running away, but that it wasn't a very good idea to corner me. Several other bullies had previously been forced to learn that lesson the hard way. "Hopefully they'll leave me alone from now on." The rain began coming down even harder, making me groan in response. I was wearing my hoodie with my hood up to keep my head dry, but I was still getting pretty wet. At this rate, I'd be completely soaked by the time I got home. It was enough to make me wish I'd caught the bus home, which was what I usually did when the weather was this wet. Unfortunately it hadn't been this bad when I'd started out. Just then I caught a flicker from the corner of my eyes and turned to see the little green faerie again. This time she was sitting on top of a Starbucks sign, appearing to just be watching me. I shook my head, but when I looked back, she was still there. "I definitely need my head examined," I muttered, doing my best to ignore the hallucination and continue home. I was nearly home when I suddenly heard a dog growling nearby, so I quickly looked around for the source. It only took me a moment to see where the growl was coming from and it made me gasp in surprise. Standing a short distance away was a creature that looked something like a werewolf, though in this case, he looked more like a were-dalmatian. He was the general size and shape of a human man, but his head was definitely that of a dog rather than a human. He was wearing a pair of black pants and combat boots, leaving his entire upper body exposed, showing that he was covered with short white fur with black spots. "This is him," the dalmatian said in a low growl. "Wylann's pup." My eyes widened that and every mental warning went up. Since my Dad was with the MCO, I'd always known that some mutants would be perfectly willing to hurt me in order to get to him. Collin had been a perfect example of that. "I followed his scent," the dalmatian said to his two companions, who I noticed for the first time. "This is him." "Good job, Spot," said a man who looked incredibly normal. There was nothing about his features or clothing that stood out as memorable, so he could probably have slipped into a crowd and completely disappeared. "I told you I'd find him for you, Slippery," the dog man, Spot, said eagerly. "See, I told you." I gulped, remembering Dad mentioning a mutant criminal called Slippery, though Dad had talked as if the guy was just a thief and con-artist, not violent at all. Still I wasn't about to relax in the least. The last member of the group was a young woman who was dressed in a black outfit that was more than a little goth. Her hair was black and streaked with purple, but there was something odd about her skin since it seemed perfectly smooth and a little shiny, almost like it was made of plastic. "Nothing personal kid," the woman said, staring at me with a cold look. "But we're looking to send the MCO a lesson, and you've been volunteered." "Oh shit," I blurted out, instantly turning and running as fast as I could. The three mutants chased after me, so I couldn't help but thinking of the other day when Collin and Mike came after me. This time I didn't slow down, so they could keep me in sight but hauled butt as hard as I could in desperation to get away. Spot was fast and was just about to grab me when I suddenly leapt to the side, sliding across the roof of a parked car and them jumping out into traffic. Spot ran across the street to get me and was nearly hit by a car. "Don't let that baseline brat escape," the woman called out angrily. "Don't worry Vindigo," Slippery called back in a confident tone. "We won't." Suddenly Slipper was standing in front of me and grabbed my arm, slamming me to the ground. I grunted more in surprise than pain, then cursed as the other two caught up with me as well. "Sorry about this kid," Slippery told me, actually sounding like he regretted this. "I don't usually like violence, but the MCO needs to learn that if they come after us, we're going after their families." "Just kill the brat," Vindigo snapped. She held out her hand and a ball of purple light appeared in the palm. It was then that my hallucinations started up again and the glowing green pixie flew down into view. The tiny thing flew right in front of Spot and circled Vindigo. To my surprise, she actually swatted at it. "What is that thing?" Vindigo demanded in clear annoyance. "You can see it?" I blurted out in disbelief. Vindigo hit the tiny faerie with her hand it and suddenly vanished. As startling as that was, I was already taking advantage of the distraction to lash out with my leg, kicking Slippery in the ankle and rolling away from them and back to my feet. Spot jumped at me but I kicked him in the balls, calling out, "Bad dog," as I burst into motion again. The dalmatian just let out a loud yip of pain and dropped to his knees while hauled butt. Slippery appeared in front of me again, revealing himself to be a teleporter. However this time I was ready for him, and when he grabbed at my arm, I swung my other hand up and caught him in the face. He yelled out as I tried digging my fingers into his eyes, vanishing again before I could do much. "Gat that bastard," Vindigo yelled. "I'll be damned if some baseline kid gets the best of me." I picked up the speed as much as I could, though I was concerned about the fact that all the rain meant the sidewalks were wet. That meant everything was slippery and I was at a much greater risk of something going wrong and getting hurt. However slowing down and being careful meant that I was guaranteed to get hurt. The fact that I had three mutants chasing after me filled me with fear, but my adrenaline was surging and I was too focused on where I was running to dwell on the fact that I wanted to shit my pants. And weird as it was, there was actually a small part of me that almost felt excited by this. This chase was almost like a challenge, a chance to prove what I could do and test my running skills when they actually mattered. I couldn't help but wondering if this was what a squirrel felt like when it was running away from Gozer. Just as Spot was about to catch up with me again, I scrambled up the side of a building, getting onto a ledge and then leaping to the next building over. I used the fire escape and railing to climb the rest of the way to the roof, then ran across it, leaping from there to the next building over, where I hit the roof and rolled. By this point, I was soaking wet, filthy, and sore, but I was almost starting to have fun. Then Slippery appeared in front of me again, swinging a baseball bat right at my head. I let my front legs slide forward ahead of me so that I fell on my butt, causing the baseball to miss me completely. Then before Slippery could swing again, I punched upwards at his groin. He teleported to the other side before I connected. "You're a feisty one," Slippery said, giving me a look of approval. "I can appreciate being hard to catch." There was almost a note of respect in his voice. Slippery swung the bat at me again, but I moved to the side and tried to grab his arm so I could get leverage and drive him face first into the ground. However when I grabbed him, I couldn't hold him at all. It was like he was a greased pig or something. I just couldn't get a grip. I changed tactics and turned to run again, only to find Vindigo floating in the air in front of me, a pissed off look on her face and a ball of purple energy in each of her hands. Spot arrived only a moment later, snarling at me and growling. My excitement over the chase was officially over and I was terrified once again. Still, Doug had told us time and again that freaking out was the best way to get your ass handed to you. If you wanted to survive a fight, you had to keep your head. I looked around for any opening that I could run through, and failing that, any opportunity to take out one of them so I could create that opening to run. I was surrounded and it didn't look like they were going to give me time to find a solution. Suddenly my hallucinations started again and I saw a glow around each of these three mutants, tied to some of the glowing lines in the air. My eyes darted around as I frantically looked for a way out of this. Slippery grabbed for me, saying, "I'll try to make this as painless as possible..." At that moment, something inside of me seemed to explode. I let out a scream and suddenly found myself surrounded by more than a dozen tiny green faeries just like the one I'd seen previously. They were darting through the air, and to my surprise, Vindigo was swatting at them while Spot was chasing them around and barking. "It's Champion," Slippery exclaimed with a look of fear as he stared at an empty space in the air. Then he vanished. I was confused about where all these little faeries had come from, but wasn't about to waste an opportunity. I launched at the distracted Vindigo and punched her in the throat, then kneed her in the stomach. Dad always said that you should never hit a woman, but Doug taught us to never go easy on an opponent. Spot was still running around in circles, hunched down and doing so almost on all fours. I almost felt guilty as I kicked him in the face, then again between the legs. Once he hit the ground, I gave him several more swift kicks before I turned and started running for home as fast as I could. When I got home, I burst through the front door, gasping for breath and nearly staggering. There was something wrong with me, seriously wrong with me. I'd felt it since the moment all those green faeries had appeared around me. "Adam," Mom exclaimed, jumping and rushing to me. "What's wrong?" Then she blurted out, "Your hair..." "I was jumped on the way home," I gasped, collapsing onto the couch in spite of the fact that I was soaking wet and filthy. I just needed to sit down...to rest. "What happened?" Mom demanded, her voice calm, but there was a flash of worry and anger in her eyes. Then she paused to look me over, scowling intensely. "Why don't you change into something dry. I'll make some hot cocoa and then we can talk about this." I nodded at that as I got back up, knowing that Mom was just giving me a chance to calm down and collect my thoughts. I definitely appreciated it though, especially since I felt miserable and uncomfortable. I went straight into the bathroom and began stripping out of my wet clothes and dropping them to the floor. Before I got dry clothes, I wanted a nice HOT shower. My whole body was starting to shake, probably from the stress of what I'd just gone through. Just as I was about to climb into the shower, my muscles seemed to turn into rubber and I staggered, barely catching myself before I fell onto the floor. I grabbed the bathroom counter and used it to hold myself up, but then I noticed my reflection in the mirror. "My hair," I gasped, staring at myself in blank confusion. My hair was... green. Questions filled my mind, but the answer had already come to me. Over the last few days, a lot of weird things had been happening to me, well before those mutants had shown up to jump me. And they'd been just as surprised by those green faeries as I was, so they obviously weren't responsible for them. And now, my hair had somehow changed color and turned green. "I'm a mutant," I gasped in realization, knowing that it couldn't be anything else. That was the only explanation. Then in a moment of panic, I yelled, "MOM..." "Adam," Mom called back, "are you all right in there?" At that moment, I had another attack of rubber muscles and I collapsed to the floor, barely able to move at all. I gasped for breath, suddenly feeling extremely hot, as though I was starting to burn alive. That seemed ironic since I'd been really cold a minute ago. "Adam," Mom exclaimed opening the door and stopping to stare down at me, where I was lying naked on the floor. "Oh my God..." I felt so hot and sore... It was getting hard to focus, to think at all. Mom crouched down beside me and put her hand on my forehead, then her eyes went wide with a look of intense worry. I just moaned and closed my own eyes, having a hard time keeping them open. Mom was talking, saying something to me, but only about half the words made any sense. As everything quickly faded away, the last word I was able to make out was, "Burnout." ------------------- When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital room, staring up at the plain white ceiling tiles while a sterile and chemical laden scent assaulted my nose. As I started to look around, I saw a glowing line through the air and quickly closed my eyes again. It took several more minutes before I was ready to open them a second time. At first, I was confused about how I got here, but then I remembered those three mutants jumping me on the way home. I'd done my best to outrun them, but between their powers and everything being wet and slippery from the rain... However as frightening as that had been, what scared me most now was the memory of looking into the mirror and seeing green hair. It didn't take long before a nurse came in to check on me. "Oh, you're awake," she said, giving me a nervous smile and staying back. "I'll get the doctor." The doctor arrived a few minutes later and gave me a gentle smile. He was probably about my Dad's age, but his badly balding hair made him seem a little older. The badge on his jacket said Doctor Haskins. "How are you feeling?" Dr. Haskins asked me carefully. "Weird," I told him honestly. "And a little scared." "I suppose that's to be expected," he told me gently, "considering your situation." "And what is my situation?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice steady and calm. "I'm a mutant, aren't I?" Dr. Haskins nodded at that before answering. "I'm afraid so." I let out a sigh at that, then quietly told him, "The nurse seemed a little nervous around me..." In fact, he seemed just a little nervous as well, though he was doing a better job of hiding it. "It's to be expected," Dr. Haskins explained almost pleasantly. "We don't know what powers you may have, so we don't know what could possibly happen near you. However myself and two of the nurses who were looking after you began having dizzy spells. One of the nurses even began to hallucinate. It seems that whatever your powers are, they have this reaction on people who stay close to you for too long. We've been trying to keep our contact with you to a minimum because of this." I closed my eyes, thinking of Javier, Clive, and my other classmates. It really hadn't been coincidence that they started getting sick because of me. It was my fault. "Fortunately," Dr. Haskins continued, "the symptoms fade away quickly and we haven't noticed any continuing effects." "Why am I here?" I asked him quietly. "I had a burnout didn't I?" Dr. Haskins nodded at that, giving me a faint look of surprise, probably at the fact that he didn't have to spell everything out for me. Since my Dad was with the MCO, I probably knew a lot more about mutants and how their powers worked than most of my classmates. I knew that a lot of mutants who were first manifesting were in danger of going through a burnout, which was when their powers and the changes their bodies were going through would actually overwhelm the body. It was a dangerous condition that could very easily lead to death. "You went through a level three burnout," Dr. Haskins explained sympathetically. I nodded at that, knowing this meant I was bad enough that I required hospitalization, but not so bad that I'd almost died. "Fortunately you pulled through fine and are mending quite well." There was something in Dr. Haskins' voice that seemed off, and for a brief moment I saw a flicking glow around him that somehow seemed... stressed. I frowned at that, staring at the doctor and wondering what it could be. "Do...do I have GSD?" I asked him, my voice shaking slightly. GSD was Gross Structural Dystrophy, which had some technical definition, but tended to be used as a general term to refer to any mutant whose body had been...deformed by their mutation. That mutant Spot, who'd looked like a were-dalmatian had been a perfect example of that. Dr. Haskins heisted for several long seconds and gave me a sympathetic look which provided my answer. "You've been in the hospital overnight," he said carefully, "and during your time here, your body has changed noticeably...and appears to still be changing." I let out a gasp of horror. "No..." With that Dr. Haskins put his hand on mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. Considering what he'd said about how I made people near me become dizzy, this was quite a show of comfort. "It probably isn't as bad as you fear," he told me gently. "But it will be different." He let out a sigh and stood up. "I'm going to get a mirror so you can see. I'll be back in just a couple minutes." Dr. Haskins left the hospital room, and as he'd promised, he was back in just a few minutes. Without saying a word, he held up a round mirror that was about a foot in diameter, giving me a good look at my face. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the face that stared back at me certainly hadn't been it. My face had always been on the delicate side, making me look a little more like my Mom than I'd been comfortable with. But now, it had become even more delicate looking...delicate and feminine. My face looked like that of a girl, and a very beautiful girl at that. The first thing I noticed about my face were the eyes. They somehow seemed just a little larger than was normal and slightly slanted. My irises, like the eyes in general, seemed a touch larger and they were now a brilliant emerald green which was flecked with gold. Last night, I'd seen that my hair had turned green, and it still was. My hair was now dark green and had grown until it was down past my shoulders. And when I ran my fingers through my silky smooth hair, I accidentally revealed my ears, which were now pointed. "No way," I gasped in stunned disbelief. I looked like some kind of elf, like I'd stepped out of one of those Lord of the Rings movies. Considering how my face looked, I tried looking over the rest of my body, which was impossible to do in the hospital bed, especially with Dr. Haskins standing right in front of me. However when I'd felt my chest through the sheets and hospital gown, it had felt sort of...puffy. "I'm afraid that your entire body is becoming female," Dr. Haskins told me with a sympathetic look. "It hasn't finished yet, or at least it hadn't at the time of your last examination, but the way your body is changing does appear to be obvious." I didn't know what to say to that so just sat there in stunned silence, trying to absorb what he'd just told me and having a hard time. Being a mutant would be hard enough to get used to, but turning into a girl... The idea almost seemed like it was some kind of joke, but I knew better. In a world where your mutation could turn you into a were-dalmatian or some kind of hideous monster, a sex change would almost be minor in comparison. "Your parents have been waiting to see you," Dr. Haskins said, startling me out of my thoughts. "I'll tell them you're awake, but they won't be able to stay with you for very long." "Because of that dizzy thing," I said, nodding in understanding. Dr. Haskins nodded at that. "And you also need to rest a bit more before we can let you go home." A few minutes later, Mom and Dad came into the room. Mom immediately rushed to my side and gave me a hug while Dad stood back for a few seconds, staring at me with a grim expression. "I guess I'm a mutant," I said awkwardly, not sure how Dad would react to that. After all, he was with the MCO and his job was to keep an eye on dangerous mutants. "It appears so," Dad responded without revealing what he was thinking. "Are you okay?" Mom asked me gently, taking her hand in mine. "Oh Adam, I'm sorry..." "It's not your fault," I told her, feeling a little guilty. "Not unless you're a mutant and never told me." "No, I'm afraid not," she responded with a faint smile. Mom and I talked for several minutes, but she didn't really say anything important, though she kept asking how I was feeling and if I was going to be all right. I could see she was really worried about me but didn't know what to do. "On the plus side," I joked weakly. "You always said you wanted a daughter." "There is that," she agreed with an almost pained smiled. "But don't worry, we'll figure this out together." "I hope so," I told her quietly. "If I wasn't so tired, I'd probably be freaking out right now." What I didn't tell her was that I was pretty sure that I'd still be freaking out before long. Right now, I was still too stunned by all this. We continued talking for several more minutes, with Mom holding my hand the entire time. Dad stood back and didn't really say much, letting Mom do all the talking. But then Mom started to get an odd look on her face and began to sway a little. It was obvious that she was starting to get dizzy. As Mom slowly backed away from me, looking guilty for doing so. Dr. Haskins commented from the doorway, "It feels a little like being drunk. Don't worry, it should fade pretty quickly. At least it did for me and the nurses." It was then that Dad came closer and stared at me with an expression that was difficult to read. "Your mother said that when you got home, you claimed to have been attacked," he stated carefully. "I heard reports of several mutants chasing a boy through Seattle, one that matched your description." Mom gasped at that, apparently not having heard this information before. I nodded at that, trying hard to keep my voice steady as I began, "They said they wanted to teach the MCO a lesson." Dad's scowl deepened at that, if it was even possible. "Tell me everything that happened...and everything you remember about them." I told Dad everything I remembered about my three attackers, and his eyes narrowed at the mention of Slippery's name. I told him about how I ran away from them and gave them quite a chase before they finally caught up with me. It appeared that the only thing that saved me was my own mutant power manifesting at that time and catching them by surprise. "Vindigo is a known murderer," Dad told me with a scowl. "She's been known to target humans who are vocal in their anti-mutant views, but who usually aren't dangerous beyond that. She's generally considered as having a low power level and not being a high end threat." "Oh dear," Mom gasped in horror, giving me a worried look. "And this person tried to murder you?" "I've never heard of this Spot before," Dad commented almost to himself. "But my office has been after Slippery for the last two months. He's a con artist and thief, but I haven't known him to be violent before this. And to be honest, you've just given me far more information on his powers than what we previously had." It didn't take long before Dad started showing the first signs of becoming dizzy as well. But instead of immediately backing off, he stared at me with an odd expression that I couldn't read. "You did very well against your attackers," Dad finally said, much to my surprise. "I know trained agents who couldn't have done as well." And with that, he gave my hand a gentle squeeze before he backed off. "I think visiting time is over for now," Dr. Haskins told my parents. "You're both being affected by her...his powers and we don't want to risk it getting worse. And besides, Adam needs more rest after his ordeal." After saying goodbyes, Mom and Dad left for the time being, though they promised they'd be back later. Once Dr. Haskins was gone as well, I let out a sigh of relief and just lay back down in my bed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. I had no idea how long I remained there like that, with tears flowing down my cheeks. Finally I sat up and wiped the tears away, realizing that I still hadn't even checked out the rest of my changes. If I was crying just from seeing my face, what would the rest of it do to me? However there was only one way to find out. I climbed out of the hospital bed and dressed only in that flimsy hospital gown that left my entire backside exposed, I went into the small bathroom that was attached to my room. This way, I'd be able to check myself out with at least a little privacy, or at least without fear of Dr. Haskins or some nurse walking in on me. The hospital gown came off and I looked myself over, trying to remain calm and collected as I did so. It was immediately obvious that my body had indeed changed, having become softer and more feminine. The most obvious sign of this was the fact that I now had a small pair of breasts on my chest. "I never thought the first pair of boobs I'd ever be able to get my hands on would be my own," I muttered almost bitterly. Then I hesitantly looked between my legs, and to my relief, my equipment was still there. My penis and testicles were all a bit smaller than before, but they were still present. However there was something else weird going on down there as well and I felt sort of itchy at the base of my ball sack. "This is crazy," I gasped, turning to look into the small bathroom mirror. The same girl with the green hair and beautiful emerald eyes stared back. "I can't be a mutant. I can't be a girl." However I knew that I didn't really have a choice about either. When I was done checking myself out, I put the hospital gown back on and returned to the bed. Just this little bit of activity had left me tired, and my muscles still felt sore and rubbery, so I didn't want to push things any further than I already had. It didn't take long before I drifted off to sleep again. -------------------- I was nervous as I rode home from the hospital with my Mom, though probably not as nervous as she was. She drove with all the windows down, just in case my power to make people dizzy was due to pheromones or something similar. And halfway home, we pulled over and got out to 'stretch our legs', though this was just an excuse for Mom to get away from me for a bit and air out the car. I couldn't help but wondering, if we got pulled over by the police, could Mom get charged with driving under the influence? By the time we got home, I was feeling depressed and miserable. It was bad enough that being a mutant was turning me into a freaky looking elf girl, but my power was to make people around me sick. So far, everyone who'd gotten sick had gotten better again almost as soon as they were away from me, but what if they didn't get better? And even if they did, would I have to spend the rest of my life in some kind of quarantine just to protect everyone else? "I'm sure we'll figure out how to control this," Mom assured me, realizing what was bothering me. Or at least, what was bothering me at the moment since I had plenty of other worries as well. After I'd woke up in the hospital yesterday morning, Dr. Haskins had kept me there for another day for observation and to make sure I didn't have a relapse. During that time, my body had continued changing, though the further changes were less extreme and more