《My Shapeshifting Life》Chapter 5
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"Alright, let's start off with some introductions. It's pretty clear that they want us to get to know each other and shit, and if my suspicions are right, I'm fairly sure they want to make us into some sort of soldier squad or some sh-... crap. So, grumpy Mcgee, start us off with yourself since you're the last to arrive." Lilith spoke once they were all nice and comfortable. Grumpy Mcgee snorted at the nickname before shaking his head.
"I don't want to be a soldier. I just want to go back to my wife and family and return to my life. Ugh." He grumbled. Hiro smiled weakly at that, looking a bit depressed by the older man's words. Lilith rolled her eyes and was about to say something when Grumpy resumed speaking.
"Anyways, the name's Logan Huges. I'm from California, and I worked at the dockyard as a naval engineer." He introduced himself, looking torn between being bored and irritated, if the distaste in his curled lips meant anything.
The youngest of the gang was practically bouncing up and down in excitement by the time Logan finished. "Alright! I'm Hiro, I was born in Japan, but I moved here when I was really young. I don't really know what I want to do with my life yet, though..." He said, visibly wilting at that.
"Heh." Lilith huffed amusedly, "Don't worry, kiddo. You're still young, you've got time. My name's Lilith, I worked as a university assistant in New England, Maine. Hm... I'm curious, what were the circumstances when you guys got your powers?" She asked curiously, noticing how Hiro's mouth curled down at the mention of his powers, while Logan frowned outright.
"Well... I was ordering around a bunch of idiots who can't do jack sh-" He closed his mouth when Lilith gave him a pointed glare, "I mean, I was ordering around some unintelligent folks, and then there was the Siren's call. Afterward, while I was walking over to pick up some stuff, I accidentally burst into flames. In hindsight, I must have made quite the sight. I was panicking quite hard, and accidentally burned down quite a bit of stuff. I was lucky nobody got hurt." He spoke, voice subdued and serious. Lilith nodded emphatically, her own experience being a bit similar to his, if you squinted quite a bit.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Hiro picked up the conversation. "Hehe... Well, for me, it also happened when I heard the Siren's call. I was walking to school when I saw a girl getting harassed by my classmates, so I... uh..." His cheeks reddened a bit. "I jumped in to try and help her, but they were older and stronger than me, so they tried to beat me up, but then I went woosh and they went flying away! I was really scared for a moment, but then she thanked me and kissed my cheek!" He announced proudly. Logan's eyebrow raised a bit, looking over at Lilith, who stared back blankly.
"He's a shounen protagonist. Jesus, I never thought I'd meet one in my life." He chuckled. Lilith tilted her head, not knowing what a shounen was. Shrugging, she gave a blushing Hiro a small smile before launching into her own tale.
"Ah, well... I was at a cafe to get some french breakfast when the Siren's call came, and then..." She shivered violently, hugging herself. "Let's just say I was in a lot of pain, and was kind of in shock, ok? When I woke up, there was an officer and armored guards surrounding me. I... I don't want to talk about it." She said, cringing just at the thought. She loved her new powers, they made her feel... special. But, at the same time, just thinking about what she went through to get them made her want to puke.
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Her two fellow metahumans were staring at her with concern, but Lilith waved them off. She didn't want to make a scene right now, and if she really needed to, she'd at least wait until she was back in the 'safety' of her room.
"Anyways... I'm not really sure what else we're supposed to do. I mean, they just kind of dumped us together, with no explanation whatsoever... Well, at least I didn't receive any. What about you guys?" She asked. They both shook their heads in response, Logan's lips curling downward even further at her words.
"We've essentially turned into government property. I highly doubt they'll explain anything to us." Logan snarked, displeasure obvious on his face. Hiro, bless his innocent soul, frowned. "Wait, what do you mean? We're people, not property!"
Lilith and Logan shared a look, trying to communicate through eyesight alone. Sighing, she took up the dirty job of ruining the kid's innocence. "Hiro... They nationalized us. I have no idea how the people back in Washington managed to get their act together so quick, or where the hell they drew the idea from, but we're not considered people anymore in the face of the law. Sure, I doubt they can just off us and be done with it, but that doesn't mean much when our life will essentially be dictated by others." She said.
His frown only deepened, deep in thought. Lilith left him to it as she turned to Logan. "So, what's the plan now? I'll be honest, I don't trust either of you, but we're in this boat together. I don't particularly want to go become a soldier, but I doubt we'll really be standard soldiers if we do anyway, and I wouldn't mind that as much. Besides, getting some support in helping me figure out my powers sounds like a pretty sweet deal, all things considered. So, again, you got a plan?"
The flaming-haired man sighed, rubbing his temple. "... No. I don't. I've already been told that, if I behave and go along with what they want, I'll regain my freedom eventually, no strings attached. I just... I don't like this power." He said, pointing at his hair.
Lilith tilted her head, considering his words. "You know, I think you've actually got it pretty good. I don't mean to point fingers or to accuse you of anything, but compared to me, you at least don't get an identity crisis every time you use your powers." She pointed out. He blinked, then furrowed his brows.
"Oh. I see. Right, you're a shapeshifter." He coughed into his hand, evidently a bit embarrassed. She giggled slightly before continuing her rant. "Look, I get where you're coming from, these powers are a handful and we didn't ask for them, but think of it like this. There are people out there who would sell their souls for powers like these, meanwhile, we got them for free... Well, you two at least did. Anyways, don't you think just wasting them because of personal bias is a bit foolish? Or at least, that's how I see it for myself."
He looked thoughtful. After a few minutes of digesting her words, Logan eventually just sighed. "You're right, I guess. I don't want to act like a spoiled child, but... It still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, you know? Whatever."
Lilith nodded, stealing a glance at Hiro, who was looking at them with an expression that screamed, 'I don't understand what these adults are talking about'. Ignoring him for the moment, she turned back to Logan.
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"You know... You don't exactly strike me as the violent type, and I'm fairly sure it wasn't Hiro who did it... So, what happened with our friend that's probably watching us right now?" She asked. Immediately, Logan's face fell as his eyes took an outright hateful look.
"The bastard threatened my family. He said, and I quote, 'Stop acting like a child, and grow up. After all, who knows what will happen to your wife if you don't'. He was so god damn smug about it too!" He whispered, clenching his hand hard enough to... not draw blood. Instead, a moment later, when he unclenched it, small, solid-looking flames poured out from his wound and repaired it within a few seconds.
Blinking at the oddness of his power, she returned her eyes to Logan, who was scowling at his hand. "Huh. Well, I'm an orphan since birth, and I don't really know my family, so I can't truly understand what you felt... Still, my condolences. I didn't think he'd go that far. Still, perhaps you overreacted? He might not have meant it, you know?" She told him, keeping her voice as gentle as possible.
He looked away, his expression closing off. Sighing, Lilith metaphorically took a step back. "Whatever. I'm not a psychiatrist, man. I'm just trying to make the best of the situation." She said, rolling her eyes as she stood up and walked over to the firmly shut doors.
"What are you doing?" Hiro asked curiously, watching her with worried eyes. She didn't even stop as she answered, "Showing our hidden observers that, if I want to, I'm not going to allow them to walk all over me."
Logan's words had made her think. If the government, or at least whoever was in charge in this place, thought that they had the power to basically threaten them however they wished... Well, their life would become difficult. She needed to show them that she wouldn't just roll over for them like a dog forever, and that, yes, despite her prior behavior, she had a backbone somewhere in her.
With but a thought, she summoned a massive, clawed fist from her back. Flexing the massive limb, she grinned, before slamming it against the metal doors.
There was a loud screech as they were brutally unhinged from their position, basically flying away. There was a stunned moment of silence before the sirens went off, screeching even more loudly than the broken remains of the doors.
Re-absorbing the arm back into her body, she turned to her fellow metahumans. "I'll see you tomorrow, I suppose. Also, fuck you." She said, staring at where she was fairly sure their observers were at. She didn't react when Hiro let out an awed "wow", nor as Logan murmured a stunned "showoff", simply vanishing into the winding maze that was their prison
"Hopefully, they won't subtract the cost of those things away from my pay... If I even have one." She murmured to herself, chuckling. She could easily spot all the cameras hanging on the ceiling tracking her every movement, but she ignored them. Judging from the absence of guards rushing her way with murderous intentions, she guessed that she hadn't crossed one line too much.
Or at least, she hadn't yet. Then again, she didn't really care if she did. They hadn't exactly been treating her all that well, after all, and she felt absolutely no remorse for ruining their shit.
Whistling happily, she eventually arrived back at her room after accidentally walking into a few dead ends, entering it with little fanfare. The next moment, the doors shut close behind her, and she could hear several clicks. It was cute how they thought more locks would stop her, after all, she was fairly sure she could summon things much more dangerous than a pure-muscle arm the size of her torso.
Meanwhile, back at the headquarters... Well, things were a bit in chaos.
"The fuck you mean we'll just let her get away with it!? She fucking broke the doors! She's dangerous!" A man shouted, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him. General Jeremy glared back at the man with just as much energy.
"Yes, she is, which is the entire point. Admittedly, we haven't exactly been the most accomodating of hosts and considering no one was hurt by her actions, we really have no reason to punish her. Which, need I remind you, we're still trying to figure out how to do that. She doesn't sleep, eat, poop, feel pain... Nothing. Besides, we need to keep them reasonably happy, or god knows how the media will react when they find out."
"Silence!" John shouted angrily, just about ready to do something drastic. Thankfully, the two men quieted down but still glared at each other.
"We've all been assigned to our posts here to monitor the metahumans and find out potential uses for them, and so far, we've come up short. General, what's the military's stance on the three?" He asked, trying to take control of the situation.
"Well... They'd all be great military assets, but unwilling soldiers are sometimes more dangerous than the enemy itself. The girl's probably the best candidate, as the Fireman's too much of a rebel, and the kid's too young." He pointed out. They'd all been there during the metahuman meeting, and while everyone had their own objectives and ambitions, they were all still trying to get a feel for the metahuman's personality.
From the reports that had come from the C.I.A, none of the three metahumans had undergone any radical personality shifts, which was good news.
"Good. Admiral, what's your opinion?" He asked the next person, who looked a bit bored with the whole thing.
"Hmm... Same thing as General Jeremy." He simply said. John went around the table, asking for each person's opinion, which, unsurprisingly, were all more or less the same. Still, that didn't mean much, considering everyone wanted a piece of the far too small pie.
After concluding the impromptu meaning after a bit of haggling back and forth on what to do next, everyone returned back to their posts. Most of the people here were simply visiting, trying to, if not gain one of the metahumans, at least scout them out. After all, all information on the three 'guests' in the prison was classified to hell and back.
Sighing, John lightly banged his head on the table in front of him. Technically speaking, as the man assigned to oversee the 'metahuman project', he was supposed to be the highest-ranking authority on the island... And yet, his real power was pathetically limited.
"Fuck..." He grunted before standing up. Letting out a miserable sigh, he headed over to the room where Hiro, codenamed 'Psion', lived in.
He really needed to discuss a few things with the kiddo.
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