After David is caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, his entire life changes in ways he never could have expected. This is a fan fiction taking place in the Whateley Universe.

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“This isn’t fair,” I exclaimed bitterly as I paced back and forth across my small bedroom.

I was feeling cooped up, a little claustrophobic, and very frustrated as I plopped down my bed and let out a loud sigh. With the way Mom and Dad were treating me, you’d think that I was the one who robbed the bank yesterday, not that I was one of the hostages. I felt like I was locked up in jail, though at least in jail I might have had someone else to talk to.

When I’d returned home yesterday, Mom and Dad had been worried, having heard that there was a bank robbery at the Goodkind Bank branch where I’d gone to drop off the check. However, Mom’s next reaction was to demand to know what I’d done with my hair…and then my eyes. And when I’d reluctantly admitted that I might be a mutant, they both stared at me in horror…as though I’d suddenly caught cancer and had become extremely contagious as well. I’d been immediately sent to my room and hadn’t been allowed to come out since, except to use the bathroom. Mom and Dad didn’t even let me come out for dinner or breakfast and had instead brought my food to me, not even coming into my room when they did so.

“This isn’t jail,” I spat out bitterly. “It’s quarantine.” I snorted at that. I didn’t know a lot about mutants and what made them into mutants, but even I knew that they weren’t contagious.

From out in the hallway, I heard Becky exclaim, “But I wanna play with David. I’m BORED…” She emphasized the word ‘bored’ in the way that only little kids could.

“Stay away from David,” Mom told her firmly. “David is sick now…”

“He’s always sick,” Becky protested.

“But this is different,” Mom insisted. “David is dangerous now…to himself and everyone else. I don’t want him to accidentally hurt you…”

There was a long moment of silence before Becky asked, “Is David going to get better?”

“I don’t think he will,” Mom answered her sadly. “But I’ve called some experts to take care of him.”

I let out a gasp at that, wondering what kind of experts Mom meant. Had she called some doctors to come take a look at me, maybe confirm whether or not I really was a mutant? If so, maybe they could help me figure out these weird changes to my body…and tell me if I actually had some powers besides glowing like a night light.

As I’d already discovered at the bank, my eyes and turned into an odd golden color that definitely wasn’t normal. After I’d gotten home, I found that my hair had begun changing color as well. Instead of being blonde like I normally was, my hair was turning red…and growing longer. Since yesterday, almost all of my hair had turned red and had grown at least four inches. I suppose that as far as changes went, that wasn’t really too bad, but I had a feeling there was more to it than that. My entire body felt just a little odd, and every once in awhile I’d feel a strange tingling sensation in one place or another.

At the moment, I felt one of those odd tingles along my arms, and when I scratched at my arms, I was startled to realize that my arm hair was missing. I didn’t have a lot of arm hair, and what I did have was normally light colored and not very visible, but now it was gone entirely.

“I sure hope those doctors can help me,” I said, feeling worried.

A short time later, I heard Mom out in the hallway, saying, “He’s in here…”

“You’re doing the right thing ma’am,” an unknown man responded. “Now stay back and let us handle this. Mutants can be extremely dangerous…”

“What the…?” I gasped in surprise, jumping to my feet and wondering what was going on.

A moment later, my door burst open and an armed man in SWAT gear rushed in, pointing a large weapon straight at me. Two more men who were similarly dressed and armed came in right behind then.

“Don’t move,” the first man yelled. “Hold out your hands mutant…”

I was confused and absolutely terrified, and when I suddenly noticed their uniforms said MCO, I became even more so. I suddenly remembered Pinball’s warnings about what might happen if the MCO knew I was a mutant and nearly shit my pants. I quickly raised my hands so they wouldn’t shoot me, then realized that I was starting to glow with a golden light again, just like I’d done at the bank.

Suddenly, one of the men shot me with some kind of taser which sent a surge of pain through my entire body. I screamed while having some kind of seizure before all my muscles seemed to turn to jello and I collapsed to the ground like a rag doll, unable to even move.

“Damn mutant freak,” one of them exclaimed as he kicked me in the face. There was an explosion of pain in my nose and lip and I immediately tasted blood. “Don’t even think of trying to use your powers on us…”

The other two men gave me swift kicks as well, catching me in my stomach and side. I would have tried curling up into a ball to protect myself, but my muscles still weren’t responding so all I could do was lay there sobbing as they kicked me and then roughly cuffed my hands behind my back. Then they each gave me one more kick before dragging me to my feet.

“It’s always good to get them early,” one of the men told the others. “They don’t know their own powers and are a lot easier to take into custody.”

With that, the three men proceeded to drag me out of my room and down the hall. I couldn’t move enough to resist at all, much less actually put up a fight. I had little doubt that even if I had been able to move, it wouldn’t have done any good. These men had real weapons as well as the taser and I suspected they wouldn’t hesitate to use them.

“David,” Becky cried out in the living room, crying and trying to get to me though Mom held her firmly back. “David…”

“These men are making sure David won’t be able to accidentally hurt anyone,” Mom told my sister sadly. She actually had tears running down her cheeks as she stared at me, saying, “I’m sorry David…but this is for the best.”

I wanted to scream and cry out at this betrayal, of my own Mom turning me over to these people like this. However, I still couldn’t move or do anything except gurgle incomprehensively while tears ran down my cheeks. Mom turned away so she didn’t have to look at me, taking a bawling Becky out of the room with her. That sight was enough to hurt me even more than the kicks had.

Dad wasn’t there at the moment, having gone to work at the diner the same as every other Sunday. The fact that his only son had turned into a mutant wasn’t a good enough reason for him to stay home from work. As Mom turned her back on me, I desperately wondered what Dad would have done if he’d been here. Would he have defended me from these MCO guys, or would he have let them take me the same way Mom had? Since I knew that he felt the same way about mutants that she did, he’d probably been part of the decision to call them in the first place.

“Thanks for helping us get this dangerous mutant off the streets before he can hurt anyone,” one of the MCO agents told Mom as they hauled me out the door. “We’ll make sure to take good care of him.”

“Come on kid,” one of the other men told me in a mocking tone. “We’re gonna take you to a nice comfy resort…” All three of the men laughed at that.

Just then, another apartment door opened and Mister Harris stepped out into the hallway, scowling and looking pissed. He was a grumpy guy who never seemed to like anyone else, but he was a neighbor whom I’d known for more than a year. As soon as I saw him, I felt a pressure in my head, similar to the one I felt right before my headaches started, though this time it was different…more mild. This also suddenly made me realize just how often my headaches started when going to or from the apartment, and while I was walking down this very hallway.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Mr. Harris demanded angrily. “You’re making a damn racket…”

“We’re dealing with a threat to public safety,” one of the men told Mr. Harris. “Everything is fine now…”

However, instead of looking relieved, Mr. Harris stared at them with a sudden look of fear on his face. “MCO,” he gasped, his expression turning into one of near panic as he yelled, “Fucking bastards…” With that, my neighbor’s eyes began to glow and a ball of fire appeared in his hands.

“He’s a mutant,” one of the MCO agents exclaimed, opening fire and shooting Mr. Harris. However, it was immediately obvious that he wasn’t using a taser this time since Mr. Harris was thrown back with big bloody holes all through him. The ball of fire vanished from his hand and he lay on the hallway floor, no longer moving.

“Two mutants in the same place,” the MCO agent who’d talked to Mom said, sounding grim. “Who knows how many more there are hiding here. We’ll have to let headquarters know to keep an eye on this place…just in case.”

I was shocked to discover that Mr. Harris was a mutant, or at least to have found out like this. At the same time, I was horrified at the way he’d just been gunned down in front of me, and I couldn’t help but feeling guilty. The MCO was here because of me, so if I hadn’t started manifesting as a mutant, Mr. Harris never would have been killed. If I hadn’t already been crying before, this would have been enough to make me do so.

A couple minutes late, the MCO agents took me out to the parking lot and threw me into the back of an armored truck. I was able to move again, at least enough to wiggle my fingers and toes but not much else. However, I was recovering quickly, not that it would do me much good. They actually put metal shackles on my wrists, ankles, and waist, then chained me to the sides and floor of the armored truck. Even after everything they’d done to me, I was shocked to be given such treatment, as though I was some dangerous serial killer or super villain.

Once I was secured, the MCO agent who’d shot Mr. Harris stood in front of me with a satisfied look on his face. “It was one of your kind who killed my sister,” he told me in an almost casual tone. “At least you’re one mutant who will never have the chance to hurt innocent humans.”

Then he punched me twice, once in my face and once in my stomach. I grunted in pain and doubled over while my kidnapper stepped out of the armored car and closed the metal door behind him. A pair of small lights on the ceiling kept me from being left in the dark.

It didn’t take long before the armored care began to move, and I knew that it wasn’t traveling alone. Before they’d shoved me in the back, I’d seen a car that had been parked beside it, one that had MCO markings on the door, the same as what had been painted on the side of the armored car.

Physically, I was extremely uncomfortable, hurting from the punches and kicks and feeling chafed from the manacles that bound me. But as much as my body hurt, that was absolutely nothing compared to how I felt inside. I sobbed like a baby, remembering the look on Mom’s face as they took me away.

“Why?” I pleaded aloud. “What did I do wrong?”

It wasn’t my fault that I was a mutant…that my body was changing like this. It scared the hell out of me, but instead of helping me when I needed them most, my parents had turned me over to these thugs. I didn’t know what the MCO intended for me, but I was certain that it wasn’t anything good.

There were no windows in the back of the truck and I had nothing to help me tell where I was going or exactly how long I’d been chained up back there. My body didn’t really hurt anymore, though I did grow even more uncomfortable as I desperately wanted to stretch out and move.

I cried for the first half hour or so, then my tears seemed to run out and I just sat there feeling numb and hopeless. I was in shock, hardly able to believe what was happening to me, and I kept thinking that any minute I’d wake up screaming, only to discover this had all been a bad dream. Unfortunately, I knew full well that wasn’t going to happen.

I’d been in the back of the truck for what I’d guessed was between two to three hours when there was suddenly a massive jarring sensation. I couldn’t see what was going on, but it was obvious that something had hit the truck. Seconds later, it came to a sudden stop and I would have been thrown around if I hadn’t been chained in place.

Since I had no other choice, I remained where I was, burning with curiosity about what was going on. Then after several minutes, the door opened and a familiar figure stood there.

“Hey kid,” Pinball greeted me with a smile. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

I stared at her in surprise and a little confusion before nodding enthusiastically. Pinball stared at me for a moment with an odd look before coming into the truck and unlocking my shackles. She must have gotten the key from the MCO agents, but I couldn’t imagine that they’d give it up easily.

“Come on,” Pinball told me, helping me up and out of the truck.

Once I was out of the truck, I noticed the MCO car a short distance away, sitting upside down with the side smashed in. It looked like they’d taken a direct hit from Pinball, and I really wished I could have seen that.

“Stand and deliver,” a man exclaimed.

I snapped around in fear, only to see someone who was obviously not one of the MCO agents. He was wearing some kind of really old fashioned white trenchcoat with a high collar that obscured the lower half of his face, and he wore a white tricorner hat which helped to hide the rest of his features. In each hand, he held what looked like some kind of ray gun.

The man in white was so distracting that it took me a moment to realize that one of the MCO agents was on his knees in front of him, obviously having been taken captive. Another MCO agent was on the ground a short distance away, barely moving at all.

“Thank you for your assistance, Highwayman,” Pinball told the man in white. “I knew this kind of thing was right up your alley.”

“It is always my pleasure to assist a beautiful woman,” Highwayman responded, removing his hat and giving a bow.

“I’m sure the money I’m paying you doesn’t hurt either,” Pinball said wryly.

“Money does provide a certain motivation,” Highwayman agreed. “But I would almost have helped you against these MCO dogs for free.”

Pinball chuckled at that and pointed out, “Almost.”

Highwayman turned his attention to me, staring at me for a moment before saying, “Rescues are not within my normal repertoire, but I am happy to have made an exception for today.”

“Um…thank you,” I told him. “And thank you,” I said to Pinball, feeling a strange mixture of relief, nervousness, and confusion. After all, she was a super villain and she’d just rescued me from the people I’d always thought of as the ‘good guys’.

“Until next we meet,” Highwayman told Pinball, giving her another bow and adding, “And if you should ever need my services again…”

“I know where to send the payment,” she responded.

With that, Highwayman climbed onto a strange looking motorcycle that was painted all white. It was one of those crotch rocket types of bikes, at least in basic design, but it didn’t look like any bike I’d ever seen before. For one thing, it looked extremely high tech. But before I could get more than a quick look at the bike, Highwayman rode off.

“Now let’s get out of here,” Pinball announced.

Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot, followed instantly by massive pain in my shoulder. I let out a loud scream and dropped to my knees, grabbing my shoulder which hurt like hell and was sticky with blood.

Then I saw the source of my pain, an MCO agent who’d climbed out of the upturned car, though he was still on the ground with a handgun pointed straight at me. He was the same one who’d killed Mr. Harris…and who’d hit again once I was chained up inside the armored car.

“I won’t let you get away,” the MCO agent exclaimed with a look of grim determination.

“No,” I cried out, clenching my eyes shut and bracing for the shots that were sure to come. I heard two more gunshots, but didn’t feel any of them hitting me. I hesitantly opened my eyes and gasped in surprise. “What the…?”

There was a golden colored haze surrounding me in every direction, though a moment later, I realized that it was a force field bubble exactly like the one Pinball had used to get us away from the bank. There was one major difference, that one had been completely transparent and a little shimmery, looking like a soap bubble. The one surrounding me now was transparent, but definitely had a golden color. A moment later, the bubble vanished.

“Asshole,” Pinball exclaimed, holding the MCO agent up with one hand and glaring at him furiously. “And you people call me a villain.” And with that, she tossed him into the back of the armored truck, hard enough that he was going to have some good bruises and possibly even a broken bone or two. Then she locked the door on him and spat out, “MCO…”

I held onto my bloody and aching shoulder, feeling weak and dizzy as I stood back up again. “Thank you for saving me again,” I told Pinball.

“That one wasn’t me, kid,” she responded, staring at me with a look of surprise.

I stared back at her for a moment, feeling confused and wondering what she meant. Then I collapsed to the ground and everything went dark.