OK, I should step back a bit. My real name is not Nathan Daniels; in fact, I have no clue what it is.

Four years ago, a friend – a retired photojournalist whose name I am not at liberty to reveal - found me. He was hiking in a forested area of Wisconsin and stumbled on some metal wreckage that he claimed covered nearly an acre of land. At the center of it he found a figure dressed in what looked like a U.S. Air Force jumpsuit – but the man had dark blue skin and was barely breathing. As soon as he dragged this figure away from the wreckage, the figure woke up – and spoke in Russian. When the photographer said something in English, the figure immediately and effortlessly shifted to that language.

That figure was me – together we spent the next three months trying to figure out who, or what, I was. Finally, he decided I needed an identity of some sort, and looked into people who had gone missing recently, trying to find someone with a promising future who was most likely… well, not coming back. With his background, Nathan Daniels was perfect – an orphan who was also a former criminal seeking to go straight; to do good in the world.

The fact that I can – unless I need to push my speed, strength or defenses to their limits – alter my physical appearance in any way I desire, within certain limits, made this much easier; with a few weeks of practice, and the aid of several of his contacts throughout the government, the underworld and (perhaps ironically) law enforcement, I managed to become Nathan Daniels, took his spot at the Police Academy, even graduated at the top of my class. But exactly what I am, nobody really knows. We are not even exactly sure of the limits of my abilities – I only recently discovered my erratic ability to tap into cell phone signals.

We do know that I am nearly impervious to harm, however – I have taken a forty-aught-forty shot to the chest from five feet and just been knocked over. We also know I am incredibly strong – but the thing I was facing seemed even stronger.

“Well, Indigo, you bleed so you can die…” it said. I realized it was speaking Russian.

The knife had drawn my attention – this was a mistake. The thing shifted its position as if to strike with it again – then swung the other fist at me, connecting with my chin and sending me flying a good thirty, forty feet!

“Wow, I felt that. My turn,” I replied, and lunged forward. It was fast, but I was ready for it this time – as it tried to intercept my blow with the knife, I ducked low and slammed into its stomach with my head. This time, it flew up and back, crashing solidly into a wall, several feet above the ground.

“You… hurt me!” it bellowed as it pulled out, leaving a vaguely man-sized crater in the brickwork and dropped to the ground, landing catlike on its feet. It charged me – this time there was no finesse, no tactical concerns, just outright aggression. I dodged easily, and then realized it was barreling past me – and directly towards my partner.

Using my own momentum, I launched myself forward and impacted with the monster’s back, sending us both crashing to the ground. It threw me off with some effort, and in the light from a nearby streetlamp, I could make out its face for the first time – though oddly bloated, and the eyes were more cat-like slits than human orbs, it was definitely recognizable as Jenna. It also seemed to be a little smaller than it had been – was damaging it weakening it?

I did not have more time to pursue the thought – it was on its feet and swinging the knife, the Demonblade, at me again; I barely blocked the blow. It was not as hard a blow as the first one but still very impressive, and a second gash appeared on my arm.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Then a gunshot rang out in the alley, and it turned away from me, hissing in pain.

Dina stood there, gun held in her only slightly shaking hand, taking another bead on the creature. It roared and slapped a nearby car – sending the vehicle sliding toward my partner. I leapt to intercept it, and the behemoth itself took a huge leap – in a different direction. I managed to keep the car from hitting Dina, but the thing that had attacked us was now gone. I scanned the area briefly, saw a figure on a nearby rooftop that might have been our perp, and then heard: “OK, Rookie, you have got a hell of a lot of explaining to do…”

I laughed nervously, verified that no more vehicles would be flying at us, and then shifted my appearance back to Nathan Daniels. “Yeah, I suppose I do at that,” I replied.

“You didn’t happen to see where the professor went when that thing attacked, did you?” she asked as I turned to face her.

I glanced around – he was gone without a trace too.

“No, I was too focused on … well, on his sister.”

“Typical guy. Even if you do have blue skin and … oh screw it. What the Hell just happened here?”

I sighed, and told her my origin, or at least what I knew of it – though I left out the speaking Russian part.

“Wow. That’s… that’s a lot to digest. But I am glad you are … well, whatever you are," she said, "I would not be here talking to you otherwise.”

“Maybe – notice, though, it seemed to grow weaker the longer I fought it? And when you shot it, the thing just fled.”

“So maybe pain saps its strength or something?” Dina mused.

“We are in completely alien territory here,” I replied. “Anything is possible…”

“Do you think that is what you are – an alien?” she suddenly suggested.

I blinked. “Yes, that is a possibility. My best guess is I am the result of some secret government experiment though. But anything is possible. I might even be related somehow to … well, the Andreiopovs.”

Dina nodded. “Well, on the bright side, we have confirmed at least one of them as the killer – and found out how, more or less, she did so much damage to the bodies. How do we let the FBI in on this? I do not think we can do the collar, even with your … abilities … on our own…”

I had been thinking the same thing – I could barely handle that … thing on my own, and there might be two of them…

“My place is closer than yours. Let’s get off the street and just talk things through, figure out our next move in private – I suspect the local police will be here very soon. Not only was that fight far from quiet, but you did also discharge a gun…”

“In THIS neighborhood? Nah, we have got ten minutes at least – but I do not want to be out in the open without a good story when they do show,” Dina replied. “Your place it…” She suddenly stopped – her phone was ringing.

She checked the caller ID, frowned, said “Burke” with a puzzled look on her face, and answered the call.

“Genovelli. Yeah? No, I had to go out to … meet a friend. Why?”

It took a supreme act of will to not listen in on the other half of this conversation.

“You want to meet? But… What? Yeah, you are right we did too. But… Wait, yeah, give me a second.”

She covered her phone and looked at me: “She has information Adamsky did not want to share with us – stuff he was not sure of before we found Baltimore. Wants to meet with me and compare notes. Also suspects we didn’t tell them everything.”

“She is right but… wait – are you thinking we should let them in on all the details?”

“Maybe. I think we – not just me, both of us – need to meet her and hear what she has to say. Then we can decide how much more to tell them.”

I considered this for a moment. “I think that is our only option at the moment. I do not know if I can take Jenna on alone in her lair…and do not know how deep into this her brother really is.”

“You will not be alone – though if we could get both of them to back us up…”

I nodded. “Let’s do this then.”

“Still there Lynn? Yeah, I can be at my place in ten. You’re already there? Even better, yeah – see you soon.”