Prolog: Mutation
I was standing at the edge of the bay, with pockets full of rocks. It-it was for the best. I don't have a life anymore. My name is Taylor Hebert. A while back, my best friend in the world, Emma, turned against me. She and two other girls started a campaign of systematic terror upon me. They stole things from me, they called me names, they used things I'd told Emma against me. They'd try to humiliate me, they'd hurt me, and they'd led others to do the same. Worst of all, the teachers at school would do nothing about it. This I could have dealt with, but not... Recently, they'd backed off. I thought it was over. We went on break from school, and then when I got back my locker is full of the worst rotting filth you can imagine-I backed off, sickened by the stench, only for one them them-Sophia Hess, the most violent of the three girls, to shove me in and slam the door locked, I was trapped. The hallway was full, no one said a word. It felt like days. I struggled, but eventually, I was just so tired that I had to stop. I think I went into shock for a bit, but the next thing I knew was that I could feel my body changing.
I had what's called a trigger event. That's how Capes-Super heroes and villains and the like-get their powers. Enough stress, and poof, you grow a new node in your brain and you've got super strength or laser vision or acid spit... If you're lucky. Some capes are changed by their powers, they turn into monsters, in body or in mind. Guess how I ended up. I freaked, and I struggled against the locker again and put my hand through the locker door and my thrashing tore the door off of its hinges. I was screaming and cursing and freaking out-I ran. I saw Sophia, but I didn't think to do anything-I kind off bowled over her while running. I might have broken a door leaving the school, but I can't remember. I just ran, and ran, and ran until I just couldn't run anymore. I was in an alley. I fell to my knees and I threw up, and that's when I started thinking again. I could still feel my body changing. I looked at my hand, I expected it to be cut but it wasn't. There were scales on it, and my nails were longer, sharper.
I'd always been a bit of a 'Cape Geek', so it was then that I put two and two together that I had triggered. I took a moment to calm down, let my body recover from the run, and started walking around town, trying to figure out where I was. It was a few hours before I had my bearings enough to get home, and it was dark. When I got there, the PRT had officers at the door talking to my dad about something. I panicked and ran, but they must have seen or heard me because after a block or two I was trapped in containment foam. I struggled and then... I think I exploded, and most of the foam was gone. I ran, and I don't think that the PRT guys were expecting what happened because they didn't follow. It's been a few days since then. In those days, I'd been shot in the back by Shadow Stalker, one of the Wards, and the one time I managed to get close to getting into contact with my dad, he was being harassed by PRT Officers at his office. I had to sneak away without getting a chance to talk to him.
Like I'd said, it was for the best if I ended it all. This isn't really living, and once I'm gone, maybe they'll leave dad alone. He'll be upset, but he'll deal. I absentmindedly traced a finger onto the scales on my hands and forearms-I'd tried slitting my wrist, but it didn't work. So about an hour before, I found as many heavy rocks as I could, and loaded them into my pockets.
Did I really want to do this? This is a big step, after all, and… No. Not yet. I still want to live.
And then I got shot in the back. I turned, and there was Shadowstalker again. Here to finish me off, I suppose. She shot me again, this time in the gut then dropped her crossbow and rushed me. She punched me in my jaw, then she kicked me in the gut, pushing me into the bay, and I felt myself sinking in, deeper and deeper. Guess it's out of my hands.
I don't know why I held my breath, I was trying to drown earlier after all, and then I felt myself slipping further down. Did you know that your lungs kind of start to burn when you go too long without breathing? I imagined seeing my mother again-she'd died in a car accident before I'd started high-school. I imagined Emma, back when we were younger, back before she was a bitch. I imagined dad... crying... I felt a twinge of guilt, but no, this was for the best. I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore, it opened and water from the bay filled my mouth and lungs. Bay water doesn't taste half bad, actually. What funny things you think when you're dying... Damn it all! I'd changed my mind, I want to live! Am I really going to let that bitch finish me off? My vision was going dark, I felt so tired… I guess I don't have much choice here, d-do I? So cold...
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The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a chair in a metal room-something you'd have seen in one of those old sci-fi movies, or maybe a house built by a Tinker. I got up out of my seat and tried to leave the room. I couldn't figure out how to work the sci-fi door. I turned around, and jumped back in shock as I found I was no longer alone-there was a woman in the room with me who I had completely missed. She was a redhead, with a ponytail, and she was wearing that skintight science fiction spacesuit/armor that you see in movies and comics.
"Who are you? Where are we?"
"We have a lot to discuss, Taylor Hebert. It'll take a while to explain where we are, but my name is Sarah Kerrigan"
*Break*
"So, let me get this straight-This is a dream, but you're real?"
"Yes."
"You used to be human, but now you're some kind of alien inter-dimensional space-goddess."
Kerrigan's face remained serious, but her lip twitched a bit when I said that.
"Yes."
"And in the universe, you came from, there were three intergalactic warring races, but they're all kind of sort of friends now but not really because of fighting a common enemy."
"Yes."
"And when you ascended out of the Universe or whatever, you saw... something that reminded you of this common Enemy, and you didn't like it, so you went back into your universe, rallied the troops, and then you all got together to do something about it."
"That's the gist of it, yes."
"So... How?"
"Sit back down, this will take a minute."
So, I sat back down, and this woman, Kerrigan, explained a bit more.
"The three races I mentioned are the Terrans-humans, The Protoss, and the Zerg. Each race has its own strengths and weaknesses-The Terrans, my native race, have a great deal of creativity, determination, and some of them even had psychic powers."
"The Protoss, on the other hand, all have psychic powers. And they're better at it than Terrans are...Well, most Terrans. It's almost like magic really. They also have technology much, much more advanced than the Terrans do, and it works with their psychic powers."
"Finally we have the Zerg. The Zerg are... Well, imagine something that's halfway between an arthropod and a reptile. Now imagine that there are millions of them, and they all have a mental connection, and they can absorb your DNA, turn you into one of them, or both. And they want to do both."
She adjusted herself a bit.
"And that's all you need to know about us right now. You'll learn more later."
"I don't think there's going to be a later. I sort of-"
"You don't have to worry about drowning if that's what you're talking about."
"What, how?"
"I'm connected to you through your powers. At times like this, when I'm focusing on you, I can see your physical state."
"Okay..."
I'm not exactly sure how to feel about that.
"Relax, we've only got so much time until you wake up, and we're not done yet."
"Oh-Okay."
"Now, having seen what was going on here, what we did was we sort of...tampered with the system that gives people in this world powers. So, instead of or in addition to those powers, people are going to start getting powers from us, and that's going to help you all deal with the enemy. You're the first person to get powers from us."
I looked at my hands and traced the scales.
"Why me?"
"We didn't change who would get the power, just the power itself. Besides, I think you're just right for this one."
"But-"
"I know you've suffered since getting your powers. We never intended that. But I look at you, and I see what you really are. You're strong. You'll overcome this and be stronger for it."
"If you say so. So, I can tell my powers didn't come from the Terrans. So, am I Zerg or am I Protoss?"
"Both. And Terran. Took us a good while to get it to work right."
I blinked in shock at that reply.
"Oh... Um, what?"
"You're the vector. Your power is going to infect the powers of other people and change them to fit the paradigm of your own power-you're going to give other people powers like ours, basically. Because you're the vector, you needed to have the traits of all of us. You're also going to grow. It's already started, but eventually, you're going to be the best of all of us-you'll be better than us."
"What does that mean?"
"It means, Taylor, that you're evolving. Growing, changing. Physical powers, psionics, you'll be smarter, faster, stronger, and you'll make the people close to you stronger too. In a few decades, you might even be an 'alien inter-dimensional space-goddess' like me. Until then, though, your body is going to change, based on your desires and circumstances, until you've become a perfect hybrid of the three of us."
She sounded comforting-reassuring. Almost like a mother with absolute faith in her child. I took a deep breath. There was something I needed to ask.
"You said I'm changing. Am-am I going to be a monster?'"
"Maybe a little bit. Not too much, though"
And then suddenly where Kerrigan had been standing was... Her skin was green, her hair... Was, uh, spikes or spines or something, she was covered in a bug-like shell and, and these massive skeletal wings and... Were those high heels? But her face, she still looked comforting. Like she was concerned for me.
"This is about as monstrous as you'll get. You'll most likely to be less so unless you completely stop caring about being human on every level."
I felt a bit relieved. I had more questions.
"Are you sure about this, about me?"
She smirked, just a bit.
"Think of it like this. You wanted to live, just a moment ago. Right?"
"...Yeah."
"And while you have problems, you've got power now. Soon you're going to be strong enough to fix those problems yourself if nobody else helps you."
"Yeah."
"And you've got me, and a few other people, we're going to check in on you and fill you in on the stuff you need to know."
"If you say so."
"And your power means that you will, eventually, have people outside who'll be there to help you."
"Yes"
"So there's nothing stopping you."
"...No, there isn't!"
"So, you're going to wake up and go out there, and you're going to take the time to grow into your powers, and you're going to make things better."
"Yeah! Wait, who's this enemy we've got to deal with?"
"That's a long-term problem. Deal with your own issues first."
"Okay, fine...I'm not going to grow high heels, am I?"
Kerrigan chuckled.
"You probably won't look much like this. And no, I don't know why I have them. Now, I think it's time for you to wake up."
She was right, I could see the sci-fi room fading around me. I turned to say goodbye, but Kerrigan was gone, and then...and then...
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I was back underwater. My lungs didn't burn anymore-I'll take that as a good sign. Once I got my bearings I reached into my pockets and shook the rocks out, before heading straight up and making my way to shore. Kerrigan was right. There's nothing stopping me now. I might not be able to go home, or have a normal life, or even be a hero, but I could still change things-fix things, clean up the city and then just maybe I'll be able to make the PRT stop hunting me and leave Dad alone myself, since I doubt they'll do it on their own.
I'll need to lay low though-I need to grow, to figure out how my powers work, and maybe figure out a Cape name for myself. I set off into the city, looking for a place to get some rest-I was tired, for some reason.