Five years had passed since that fateful day, and Desmond was now fifteen. The boy who once felt so out of place had grown into a young man, still grappling with the complexities of his identity as a mutative deviant. His cat-like ears and tail were no longer a source of shame but a part of who he was, something he had learned to embrace, albeit with caution.
The morning sun filtered through the curtains as a gentle knock sounded at the front door. Justus made her way to answer it, her curiosity piqued. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by Timothy’s eager face.
“Woah, hey Timothy! Are you here for Desmond?” she asked, a smile spreading across her face.
“Yep, is he here?” Timothy replied, his excitement barely contained.
“Of course. Come in,” Justus said, stepping aside to let him in.
Timothy bounded up the stairs and burst into Desmond’s room. Desmond looked up from his desk, surprised but happy to see his friend.
“Woah, hey Timothy! What’s up?” Desmond greeted him.
“I’m awesome, very awesome. Because I found this!” Timothy exclaimed, holding out a blue gem that shimmered in the light.
Desmond’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Pretty but what’s special about it?”
Timothy’s voice dropped to an excited whisper. “This gem seems to be alive!”
“What?” Desmond leaned in closer, his interest piqued.
“There’s an actual heartbeat or something like that,” Timothy explained, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Not only that, I set it down on a desk, and the desk and any nearby objects started to warp. There’s so much that can be done with something like this. But I still have questions, like where did it come from and what else is it capable of!”
Desmond’s mind raced with possibilities. “Woah! Let’s find out! We can head to the park. No one really goes there anyway, and we have open space.”
“Great idea, let’s go,” Timothy agreed, his enthusiasm matching Desmond’s.
The boys raced down the stairs, their footsteps thundering through the house. Desmond paused at the bottom, turning to his mother.
“Mom, can we walk to the park?” he asked, trying to keep his excitement in check.
Justus looked at the eager faces of the two boys and nodded. “Sure, but be careful and stay together.”
“Thanks, Mom!” Desmond called as they dashed out the door.
The walk to the park was filled with animated chatter about the gem and its potential.
Once they arrived, they found a secluded spot away from prying eyes. Timothy carefully placed the gem on the ground, and the boys watched in awe as the air around it seemed to shimmer and distort.
“This is incredible,” Desmond whispered, his eyes glued to the gem.
“Yeah, but we need to be careful,” Timothy cautioned. “We don’t know what it can do or where it came from.”
Desmond nodded, his mind already racing with ideas. “Let’s start by seeing if we can control it. Maybe we can figure out what it’s made of and how it works.”
As they began their experiments, the boys felt a sense of excitement and discovery. They were on the brink of uncovering something extraordinary, something that could change everything they knew about deviants and their abilities.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Justus settled into her favorite armchair, a steaming cup of coffee in hand. She turned on the television, hoping to catch up on the morning news. The screen flickered to life, displaying a live broadcast of an event. A very successful man stood at a podium, preparing to give a speech.
“Hello, beautiful people of America!” the man began, his voice confident and commanding. “I am here to usher this country into a new era by dealing with our biggest issue: the deviants. Dangerous and uncivilized crime has gone up in this country because of them. There is even a deviant with the ability to absorb the life energy of someone, so what does he decide to do with such abilities? He robs and murders! Like I said, deviants are dangerous. But I have a solution.”
He held up a small device, its metallic surface gleaming under the stage lights.
“This device will allow law enforcement to better handle deviants. Once activated, a deviant will lose their abilities temporarily. Then, once that’s done, they’ll be taken to a facility where they will be cured. Soon, this city will be filled with everyday American people.” He paused, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. “Eugene Mayhem.”
The crowd erupted into applause, the sound filling the room. Justus felt a wave of disgust wash over her. She couldn’t believe people were cheering for something so inhumane. With a sigh, she reached for the remote and turned off the television.
She sat in silence for a moment, her thoughts racing. How could anyone support such measures? How could they not see the humanity in deviants, the potential for good? Her mind drifted to Desmond, her extraordinary son, and the challenges he faced simply because he was different.
Timothy mumbled to himself, his mind racing with theories about the mysterious object. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the figure approaching until it was too late.
The collision was sudden, jarring Timothy out of his reverie. He looked up to see a boy about Desmond’s age, his eyes fixed on the gem with a mixture of recognition and anger.
“There it is!” the boy exclaimed, his voice sharp with urgency.
Before Timothy could react, the stranger grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off his feet. “Where did you get it?” he demanded, his face inches from Timothy’s.
Desmond’s reaction was immediate. A yellow glow began to emanate from his eyes, his anger palpable in the air around him. He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, his voice low and dangerous. “Let my friend go.”
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The stranger, undeterred, swung a punch at Desmond. With reflexes honed by years of training, Desmond caught the fist mid-air. In one fluid motion, he hurled the attacker into a nearby building, the impact echoing through the street.
Timothy stared at his friend in awe. “Thanks! I knew you were strong, but I didn’t know you were that strong. Deviants are stronger than the average person, but not like that.”
The realization of what he had done hit Desmond like a wave. His anger evaporated, replaced by panic. “Oh no! I didn’t mean to throw him that hard! Please don’t be dead!” he cried, rushing to check on the fallen boy.
Around them, a crowd began to gather. Whispers rippled through the onlookers.
“Are those deviants fighting?” a woman asked, her voice tinged with fear.
“Deviants are always causing trouble,” a man grumbled in response.
Desmond reached out a hand to help the boy up, his face etched with concern. To his surprise, the stranger grinned, a wild light in his eyes.
“That was one heck of a throw!” he said, his voice filled with a mix of admiration and challenge. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way!”
Desmond felt a surge of power emanating from the boy. Before he could react, a fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying through the air. The two began to trade blows at an inhuman speed, their fight leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
“Wait! We don’t have to fight!” Desmond pleaded between attacks, trying to reason with his opponent.
But the boy was relentless. “You have what’s mine, and I’m going to get it back,” he growled, launching another assault.
As the battle raged on, Timothy watched in horror, clutching the gem tightly. He knew they needed to find a way to end this fight before someone got seriously hurt, or worse, before they attracted even more unwanted attention. But with the two superpowered teens locked in combat, he felt helpless to intervene.
As the battle between Desmond and Jax raged on, the commotion attracted the attention of the Deviant-Control-Force. Their arrival was marked by the sound of sirens and the heavy thud of boots on pavement. Before anyone could react, one of the soldiers hurled a grenade towards Jax.
In that split second, Desmond’s instincts took over. He pushed Jax out of harm’s way and, in a move that defied logic, caught the grenade. The explosion that followed engulfed Desmond in a cloud of smoke and debris.
Timothy watched in horror, his heart pounding in his chest. As the dust began to settle, he feared the worst for his friend. But to everyone’s astonishment, Desmond emerged from the smoke, still standing. His clothes were torn to shreds, but he appeared unharmed.
News helicopters circled overhead, their cameras capturing the unbelievable scene unfolding below. Live broadcasts interrupted regular programming, spreading the images of the superhuman teenager across the nation.
The soldiers, momentarily stunned by Desmond’s survival, quickly regained their composure and opened fire. But their efforts were in vain as the bullets simply bounced off Desmond’s skin, falling harmlessly to the ground.
Jax, having recovered from his near miss with the grenade, sprang back into action. “Hey! Pay attention to me!” he shouted, his fist connecting with Desmond’s jaw in a thunderous punch.
Desmond stumbled back, more from surprise than pain. “Seriously?” he groaned, exasperation clear in his voice.
The two superpowered teens clashed once again, their battle intensifying as the soldiers attempted to subdue them. The street became a chaotic battlefield, with Desmond and Jax at its center, their inhuman strength and speed on full display.
As the fight continued, bystanders watched in a mixture of awe and terror. The world was witnessing the true extent of deviant abilities for the first time, and the implications were staggering. In living rooms across the country, people sat glued to their televisions, unable to tear their eyes away from the spectacle.
As the chaos unfolded on the streets, Eugene Mayhem watched the live footage from the comfort of his limousine. His eyes narrowed, a mixture of fascination and determination etched on his face.
“Driver,” he barked, “take me there. Now.”
Meanwhile, the battle between Desmond and Jax had reached a fever pitch. Desmond’s fists began to glow with an intense yellow light, and suddenly, beams of energy shot forth. Jax managed to block them, but a stray shot struck a nearby building. Debris rained down, crushing an unfortunate bystander beneath the rubble.
Taking advantage of Desmond’s momentary distraction, Jax launched into a brutal assault. His fists connected with Desmond’s face repeatedly, leaving the young deviant’s eyes bruised. As hope seemed to fade for Desmond, the tide of battle suddenly shifted.
Green tentacles, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, wrapped around Jax’s body. With incredible force, they flung him across the street, leaving everyone in a state of stunned confusion.
Standing before them was a sight that defied belief. An otherworldly boy with vibrant green skin, piercing large black eyes, spiky hair, and graceful antennas protruding from his head. He was clad in a sleek, form-fitting suit that seamlessly blended shades of gray and black, exuding an air of futuristic fashion that only enhanced his allure.
The green boy’s voice was surprisingly gentle as he addressed Desmond. “Are you okay?
I noticed how you protected your friend, and I thought, wow, how heroic. So I had to help you. Ever since I got here, I have only met corrupted people, but seeing you protect someone you care about is so... inspiring!”
Desmond, still reeling from the fight and this unexpected intervention, stammered, “I’m... heroic?” Then, his mind catching up to the strange boy’s words, he asked, “Wait a minute, when you say ‘got here,’ what do you mean?”
The green boy tilted his head slightly, a curious expression on his alien features. “I’m not from here. What you people would call a... what’s the word... Alien?”
A hush fell over the crowd as the implications of this revelation sank in. The world, already rocked by the display of deviant powers, now faced the reality of extraterrestrial life. In that moment of stunned silence, the boundaries of what was possible seemed to stretch beyond imagination.
Jax, still fuming from his earlier defeat, glared at the alien interloper. “Well, I don’t care what you are! Stay out of my way and stay away from my stuff!” He lunged forward, his fist aimed squarely at the green boy’s face.
To everyone’s astonishment, the alien’s body simply stretched and contorted around Jax’s punch, rendering the attack useless. The crowd gasped in collective awe at this display of otherworldly ability.
From the edge of the gathering, Mayhem’s voice cut through the chaos. “Use the device,” he commanded one of his agents. The agent nodded, stepping forward with a small, ominous-looking contraption in hand.
As the agent approached the three extraordinary beings, he activated the deviant subduing device. A wave of energy pulsed outward, and Jax’s fell feeling weak.
“Try as much as you like, kid,” the agent, known as Agent V, sneered. “But as long as that device is active, your abilities won’t work. You’re as weak as any normal person.”
Desmond, his protective instincts kicking in despite his battered state, stepped between the agent and Jax. “Stay away from him!” he demanded, his voice firm despite his fatigue.
Agent V scoffed. “Didn’t you hear what I said? Your abilities won’t work. That means no super strength either.”
“I don’t care,” Desmond retorted. “You’re not hurting him!”
A cruel smile twisted Agent V’s lips. “Okay, how about I make an example out of you instead?” Without hesitation, he raised his gun and fired directly at Desmond’s head.
The shot rang out, but to everyone’s shock, Desmond remained standing. The bullet had left no mark, not even a scratch.
Agent V’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? Why didn’t it work? Why doesn’t the device have any effect on you?”
With a casual flick of his hand, Desmond sent Agent V flying across the ground. In the ensuing confusion, the alien boy shimmered and vanished from sight, his invisibility adding another layer of astonishment to the already incredible scene.
From the crowd, Mayhem watched intently, his expression unreadable as he processed the implications of what he had just witnessed.
Seizing the moment of chaos, Desmond grabbed Timothy and the now-unconscious Jax. With a powerful leap, he bounded away from the crowd and the pursuing soldiers, disappearing into the urban landscape.
An hour later, after ensuring they weren’t being followed, Desmond brought Timothy and Jax to his mother’s house. As they approached the familiar building, Desmond’s mind raced with questions. How would he explain this to his mother? What would happen now that his abilities had been exposed to the world? And most pressingly, why hadn’t the device affected him like it had Jax?
As he stood on the doorstep, Timothy still shaken and Jax unconscious beside him, Desmond took a deep breath.With a trembling hand, he reached for the doorknob, ready to face whatever came next.