《Adaptive Morphosis : Dawn Break》Chapter 3 - Wanting What We Don't Have [REVISED]
Advertisement
Just like that, a shimmer in the air and the girl wasn't there anymore. My brain panicked for a second, but before I would even swirl my head around the room, it had caught up, and my alertness dropped. I finished getting up, my shoulders dropping a little. Inside of me a wave of jealousy came to mind, bringing with it the reminder that the forums had been shut down. I pushed down on those emotions, keeping a level voice, I spoke up:
“Delilah? Can I assume you're still here in the room with us?”
After a second, a hesitant and shaky voice came from the same place she was standing: “Y-yes.”
Simple invisibility, then perhaps? I mused, “in any case, do you think you could deactivate it?”
I started moving to the door, noting the fact that the girl wasn't appearing, showing that she still had to get her newfound powers under control.
“It’s no matter,” I reassured her preemptively. “You'll get it in time. Do you think you can accompany me to the office?"
“Yes, sir.” her disembodied voice answered me.
“Come along then, careful not to trip.” As I held the door, I noticed how I couldn't know if she had come out or not. Shaking my head, I just asked her to tell me if she had gone out already. A voice from the corridor told me yes, and I called to the class:
“We’ll be going to have to resolve this little happenstance, as it’s protocol with triggers, it gets precedence. So, don't mess around too much, okay? We’ll be back soon.”
At that, I went out and gestured to Delilah to follow me. Midway through the way there, she reappeared. Physically still the same, I noticed interested. As much as the jealousy inside of me was making my insides twist, my interest for all kinds of powers was still genuine. Invisibility types weren't even that rare, although hers seemed to be quite the thorough one.
“Did you disable it on your own, or you think you have some kind of timer?”
She grimaced, shaking her head slightly: “I’m not sure, sir.”
“It’s okay. You'll have time to know your limits soon, but let's talk about that in the office.”
I passed by the secretary and told them about what had happened. The girl meekly following behind me, looking at the ground and not saying a word. Was she disappointed with her power? Doesn’t matter, I’d find out soon enough.
Advertisement
I unlocked my office and let us in, offering; “water or tea?” to the girl. She wanted none of it. I took a cup of tea for myself.
I sat in my chair. She was in one seat facing it, still looking downcast. I tried giving her a reassuring smile. "it seems the nervousness served for something good for once. Wouldn't you say so?” My attempt to brighten the mood a bit fell flat as my recipient kept her silence, not even a polite chuckle. “Are you worried about something Delilah?” I asked, concerned.
She took a deep breath collecting herself, “Is there really no way to...” she hesitated, looking around the room, particularly at the pictures of powered ex-students who made it big, relatively. I just silently waited for what she had to say. “Is there really no way to get rid of it?”
She said it like it was a terrible present she got from her aunt, like it was troublesome. I reflexively straightened my back. My stare must’ve been pretty intense, because the girl recoiled. I felt my face muscles twitch a bit, realizing my blunder. I coughed once and attempted to look sheepish.
“Sorry, it's just... I’ve never had any student want to...” Even the idea sickened me. What was wrong with this girl? How didn't she realize the luck she had? What wouldn't I give to be in her place, I set my mug on the desk to not risk breaking it.
The girl looked even more spooked now, like a rabbit caught in a trap. Just staring at the ground. It would be hard getting anything out of her in this state. I held in a sigh.
“Why would you want to get rid of it?” I asked, trying for a conversational tone, although after my blunder she probably knew what I thought of the idea.
“Doesn’t...” she started in a small voice, afraid of any reproach, I imagine. “Doesn't it corrupt people?” She asked finally.
My astonished face must've been all the answers she needed. As her eyes shot straight down again, her hands clenching over her lap. “That’s just a baseless superstition.” I started. “It was debunked years ago. I assure you, miss Delilah. There’s nothing that would corrupt you in your powers.” She stayed silent, so I continued. “They are part of you. Can’t you feel it as naturally as if you were born with them?”
Advertisement
“No, I can't, I can’t I can't.” She shook her head vehemently. “I shouldn't feel it.” It seemed she would continue but just stopped talking, breathing more haggardly now, the hair disheveled.
“I assure you Delilah, no matter what you were told, your power is yours to do as you wish, it can't exert any control over you.”
The silence extended. She was averting her gaze now. I was not getting through to her. I was about to continue when she finally said something.
“You’re one of them aren't you.” She said in a low voice, her expression telling me she thought she had figured something out.
I stared at her silently for a second, trying to gather her meaning.
“One of them who?” I finally asked.
“Power worshippers.” She said like a judge giving a verdict. “You’re trying to convince me to let it corrupt me!”
My patience was steadily being eroded by this foolish girl. “Again, there is no corruption. If... “
“I won't listen to it!” she shrieked, putting her hands around her head. “They warned me, I won't let you all make me like my brother.”
I was startled and infuriated. This girl was completely indoctrinated. The view she was getting at was an extremely unpopular one, the government ruled by power. It controlled the civilians simple by not letting any free powered roaming around, recruiting every one of them. And not by pretending like they were the holy ones, and all other powered the devil like some other countries might do.
“Dad warned me, he warned me” She kept saying the phrase over and over like a mantra.
I put the pieces together as I saw her state. Her family probably belongs to a minority in our society that is completely against powers, saying that it was a contamination, the devil's temptation or some kind of curse, it varied. But only people driven to paranoia or on an attempt at justification were part of it. She must harbor some trauma regarding powers then, or her parents did and passed it along.
“Miss, calm down, please.” I tried again, but she was recoiling from me. Why did such a problematic kid like this awaken? I swear it's always the ones who don't want it who end up triggering, what’s up with that?
“Calm down. You have to accept it; these powers are part of you now. They're not going away!”
“No!” she was getting frantic now, rejecting reality. Is the situation more dire than I thought? I tried again to talk to her, telling me to explain what was going on and why she was so afraid, but any attempt I made to reach her was unsuccessful.
At this point in the conversation, she went invisible again, which only made her more panicked and I could only listen to her crazy ramblings and accusations of me cursing her.
I pounded a fist on the table. The girl went quiet. My patience had finally run dry. My emotions snapped out of my grasp. I gave the empty room a glare. Silence. My fists were tightening to an almost hurtful state.
“You should be grateful.” the phrase came out unbidden
“What?”
“You should be fucking grateful!” I had stood up in my fury, pounding the table again for emphasis, the frustration of the past days boiling over. Even if I knew my anger wasn't, shouldn't be directed at her. The dam was broken.
The girl had even become visible again in her shock, but before our confrontation could escalate, one secretary entered the room, looking at the situation worriedly. I just took my leave, closing the girl inside the room.
“Amy, can you please call the EIOD?” I told her, sticking to the protocol of when a trigger event was complicated or dangerous. “And book an appointment with their psychologist. She seems to be vehemently against powers, she’ll need some help. The probability of this ending in some kind of self-harm or even suicide is pretty elevated, now if you'd excuse me.”
I just went my way then, completely ignoring the fact my outburst had been completely noticeable.
Walking out of the secretary and then out of the school building, I stopped at the patio, just standing there, my fingernails biting into my hands, just feeling the awfulness, the unfairness. “Fucking hell.”
I never got around to getting back to that classroom.
Advertisement
A Love at Stake
Summary: If you had one day more with your son, what would you do? That's the problem faced by Lily Potter, who loses Harry in an attack, then wakes up to find she has another shot. It takes a tragedy to teach her to put love and time for the family ahead of work and bad memories of the past and open up to her son. Timeline: (AU) Takes place a day before Harry's 16th birthday after his 5th year at Hogwarts. Warning: Major character death Disclaimer: All of J.K. Rowling except the plot
8 55My Life As A Magician
What would you do if your greatest talent - the one thing you naturally excelled at - was a dark art you desperately didn't want to practise? That's the dilemma trapping Arcadia Guzmata. As a young magician who reads minds, she's all-too- aware of the darker potential her gift carries. It's a potential her mentor, Mr Bishop, actively nurtures as they travel from town to town, performing magic shows. Mr Bishop's own gift is making things disappear; and Arcadia has watched him struggle time and time again to keep it from consuming him. She knows she wants a better life for herself, but what else is there for a young woman with two pigtails and a gift for the dark arts? Then, one day, as she's sitting in a café, the most beautiful music she's ever heard leads to a life- changing conversation. With that one conversation, a whole new world opens up for her. But can she step into that world and leave her dark gift behind?
8 135SOLARR: The world after
Tired of being an exile, and desperate for something new, Ex is ready to move on. The world of Mars is small, but there has to be more. After a lifetime of fighting overdeveloped creatures from earth and training to survive this dying civilisation. He’s ready to find something, even without knowing what it is. But things never go as planned. After a chance encounter with a bizarre stranger leads him to questions he didn’t know to ask, and even more terrifying answers, he’ll have to decide where his loyalties lie. Using the relics of the past to push through the danger, he just might find what he’s looking for. But can he survive it?
8 59Bangtan's Bodyguard || BTS
'We want you to be our bodyguard,'Will contain: Violence, Swearing, Sexual ThemesHighest Rankings:#1 Yoongi #2 BTS#2 Jungkook#7 BTSxReader# 107 Fanfiction#224 Kpop#29 Jhope#35 Jin#154 Namjoon#100 Jimin#142 Taehyung
8 192The Mystery Fighter II
With her deadly secret out in the open, Cassie must fight even harder to protect not only her sister but her own heart. *****Cassie has never been in a tighter spot. In an unexpectedly grim fight, Julian, her annoying yet charming tutee, uncovers her deadly secret! With the threat of homelessness pressing down on her, she has no choice but to move in with him to keep her and her sister safe. But when the past continues to catch up with her, rival gangs ramp up their challenges, out for her head. And as Julian's family's dark past comes to haunt Cassie, a mysterious stranger's return could challenge everything she has built to protect.*Sequel to The Mystery Fighter*Content and/or trigger warning: scenes depicting violence[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]
8 86✔️ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ | ᴊᴇᴏɴ ʜᴇᴇᴊɪɴ [ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 1 ]
[ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏɴᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ]ʜᴡᴀɴɢ ʏ/ɴ, ꜱᴜᴅᴅᴇɴʟʏ ᴅɪꜱᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴇᴇᴊɪɴ'ꜱ ʟɪꜰᴇ. ɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴏᴜᴛʜ ᴋᴏʀᴇᴀ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ꜱᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ, ᴡɪʟʟ ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ ʟɪꜰᴇ?ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ: 02/16/20ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜᴇᴅ: 05/01/20ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ: _ᴇᴜɴᴋᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ- ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴏᴡɴᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪꜰꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ᴜꜱᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ -
8 210