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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When I woke up, I was lying in bed, though it obviously wasn’t a hospital bed, just as I was clearly not in a hospital room. The room was only a little bigger than my bedroom and there was a dresser in the corner, but no other furniture or decorations. It struck me that this looked like a guest bedroom.

I slowly sat up in bed, feeling confused and worried. The twinge of discomfort from my shoulder reminded me that I’d been shot, right after being rescued by a super villain. If it hadn’t been for the pain in my shoulder, I might have thought it had all been a nightmare.

After a moment, I hesitantly reached up to my shoulder, which had a bandage on it but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as I would have expected. Instead of a sharp pain, it was more of a dull ache, and not even a really bad one.

I tossed the rest of the covers aside and saw that I was wearing my underwear and nothing else. Of course, a doctor would have had to take off my shirt to look at my wound, and my pants might just have gotten blood on them. Or maybe it was just more convenient to remove them before putting me in bed.

“Where am I?” I muttered, absently brushing my hair back out of my face. Then I paused in surprise, realizing that my hair had grown even longer.

After a minute, I slowly climbed out of bed, feeling extremely odd. Something was definitely off with my body, even more than before the MCO had taken me. I looked around for my clothes so I could get dressed, and though I didn’t see any sign of them, I did see a bathroom that was attached to the room. Since I definitely needed to empty my bladder, I decided that this should be my first priority.

I staggered into the bathroom and went to take a piss, but when I pulled down my underwear I was caught my surprise. Little David, which I’d always thought of as being a little bigger than average, though that may have just been hopeful thinking, was noticeably smaller than normal. In fact, it was only half as big as it normally was.

“What the hell?” I blurted out in shock.

Was this part of the way my body had already been changing, or was this something else? Having my eyes and hair change color was one thing, but this was going too far. There was no way in hell I was going to accept this. If the guys in the school locker room saw me like this, I’d be stuck with the humiliating nickname of Tiny Dick.

In spite of my equipment somehow having been shrunk in the wash, I still finished taking my piss. It was then that I began looking over the rest of my body to see if anything else had changed. Unfortunately, it was clear that my body had indeed changed more while I was out of it, though it was difficult to put my finger on anything specific. It was just that my skin somehow seemed softer and smoother, and my body shape just seemed…off.

“This isn’t good,” I whispered, my voice shaking and sounding a little odd to my ears.

I poked my chest, which was not only softer than normal but somewhat puffy as well. Was I putting on weight? I didn’t seem quite as skinny as normal, though I certainly didn’t look like I was getting fat either, at least not anywhere else.

After I’d finished looking myself over, I turned to wash my hands in the sink and then paused to gasp again. When I’d been looking over my body for changes, I hadn’t thought to check my face.

The face that stared back from the mirror was my face, but at the same time, it wasn’t. My eyes were still the same golden color as they’d been before the MCO took me, but other details just seemed a little off. My ears no longer seemed too large and my nose appeared to have become a little smaller as well. In fact, most of my face just didn’t seem quite right, though I had a hard time pointing any other specifics.

I’d already known that my hair had changed color and had grown longer, so I wasn’t surprised to see that my hair was now shoulder length and had turned almost entirely red. It wasn’t bright red like a fire engine or the orange color hair that a lot of people called red, but it was a deeper and richer red…almost the exact same color that Pinball had. The only exception was that I had a single lock of hair in the front that remained blonde, but even that had changed color. Instead of my normal dull blonde, that lock of hair had become a golden blond.

“No way is that me,” I whispered.

With my hair like that, it almost looked like a girl was staring back at me from the mirror. In fact, it looked a lot like a girl was staring back at me, one who could have almost been cute.

I turned away from the mirror, feeling angry, scared and confused. I reminded myself that as weird as this was, I still had bigger problems. When I remembered the way my Mom had turned me over to the MCO, I even began crying again.

“I can’t go back,” I whispered in realization. How could I possibly go home after my Mom had done that? I’d actually escaped from the MCO, and I had no doubt that they’d want me back. Pinball and Highwayman might have been the ones who actually broke me out, but my escape would have to be an embarrassment to them nonetheless. “Oh shit. I am so screwed…”

After I left the bathroom, I found my pants and sitting on the floor next to the foot of the bed, but there was no sign of my shirt. I wasn’t surprised at that since it must have been pretty messy with all the blood. I shuddered at that, suddenly wondering why my shoulder didn’t hurt more.

When I put my pants on, I was a little surprised to find that they didn’t fit quite right. They’d been a perfect fit before, but now they felt too loose in my crotch and too tight in other places. My shoes were about the same, pinching my feet as though they’d suddenly shrunk a size.

A minute later, the door opened and a woman stepped inside. She was tall, athletic, and stacked…having a totally killer body. And though Pinball was wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of her costume, there was absolutely no mistaking who this was…mask or no mask.

“How are you feeling, kid?” she asked me carefully.

“I have a name,” I protested in annoyance.

“Okay…David,” she responded with an amused look. “Now, how are you feeling?”

“Weird,” I admitted, feeling self-conscious about how my body was changing. “And a little sore…” I touched my shoulder.

Pinball nodded at that, then said, “I’d expect no less, considering the circumstances. She stared at me for a moment with an odd expression, probably because of how much I’d been changing in such a short time. Then she came over and said, “Let me check your wound…”

After Pinball removed the bandages, I stared at my shoulder and was surprised to see that there wasn’t a hole where I’d been shot, only a scar. I gasped and felt it, finding that it was a bit tender but otherwise healed.

“How…?” I started in surprise, then looked at Pinball. “Did you do this…?”

“No,” she answered with a faint smile. “You did. I was taking you to get some medical attention when I realized your wound was healing on its own. Congratulations, it looks like you’re a regenerator.”

“A regenerator?” I asked blankly.

“It means you regenerate from injuries,” she explained patiently. “You heal extremely fast. Regeneration is one of my powers too and its saved my life more times than I can count.”

“No way,” I exclaimed, feeling my shoulder again and suddenly thinking that maybe being a mutant wasn’t all bad.

“At the rate you’re healing,” Pinball continued, “in a few more hours, you won’t even have a scar.” Then she reached out and hesitantly touched my hair. “And from the way you’re changing, I’d guess you’re probably an exemplar as well.”

I gave her another blank look and asked, “Okay, and what does that mean?”

Pinball let out a sigh and gave me a sympathetic look. Then she smiled again, though it seemed just a little forced. I wasn’t sure I liked the look of that.

“Being an exemplar is a fairly common mutant ability,” Pinball explained patiently. “It means you have a BIT…a Body Image Template. Think of it as a blueprint for your body. A lot of times your BIT is created by your subconscious as an idealized version of yourself, but sometimes, it seems a lot more random than that. A lot of exemplars end up looking almost impossibly beautiful, like photo touched supermodels…or better.”

There was a note of pride in her voice, so I said, “Let me guess…you’re an exemplar.” She was certainly beautiful enough to fit that description. She looked something like an idealized aerobics instructor or fitness model.

“An exemplar four,” Pinball answered with a grin. “Most exemplars get some degree of enhanced strength and stamina along with the looks, sometimes even enhanced mental abilities. I’m stronger than I look.”

I nodded at that, remembering how she’d lifted the security guard at the bank up with one hand, and she hadn’t even looked like it had taken much effort. And then she’d easily manhandled…womanhandled the MCO agent who’d shot me.

“After you were injured,” Pinball told me with a serious look, “your body started changing more quickly. I’m pretty sure your regen is healing your body according to your new BIT, which is fairly common for exemplars with regen abilities.”

I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment and wasn’t sure what to think. All this talk about exemplars and regeneration sounded kind of interesting, but it was difficult to believe that either applied to me.

“Does that mean I’m gonna be handsome with big muscles?” I asked with a nervous smile.

Pinball gave me a sympathetic look, then became evasive as she answered, “I’m not sure that’s the direction your BIT is taking you.” Before I could ask what she meant, she quickly continued, “How about I get you a new shirt, then we get something to eat.”

It wasn’t until she mentioned getting something to eat that I realized how hungry I was. As if agreeing with Pinball, my stomach chose that very moment to rumble.

I stared at Pinball, suddenly realizing that I was standing in front of this gorgeous woman without having a shirt on. I felt extremely self-conscious as well as confused. After all, she was a super villain…but she’d saved me.

“Um…thank you for saving me, Miss Pinball,” I said, still not sure why she’d done it.

“I don’t exactly hear that very often,” she responded with a chuckle. Then she added, “And you can call me Jackie when I’m out of costume.

“Jackie?” I repeated, surprised that she’d give me her name like that. She barely knew me.

“I do have a real name you know,” Pinball…Jackie told me with another chuckle. “Jaqueline Martin. My parents didn’t name me Pinball when I was born…”

“But aren’t you afraid I’d tell someone?” I asked suspiciously. “I mean, the whole secret identity thing…”

Jackie stared at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. “The police already have my real name on record, so don’t worry, this isn’t one of these things where I can’t let you leave because you know too much.”

Admittedly, I did feel a little relieved at that assurance. Jackie left the room and came back a minute later with a sweater I could wear. I was pretty sure it was actually hers, but since it wasn’t pink or some other girlie color, I didn’t complain.

We went down the hallway to the dining room, where I found another woman there, setting a large plate full of pancakes onto the table. She was in her late twenties, had shoulder length brown hair, and wore a pair of glasses. There was also something familiar about her, though it took me several seconds before I remembered where I’d seen her before.

“You were at the bank,” I exclaimed, recognizing her as the woman who’d told all the hostages to cooperate with Pinball, the one who’d made me think ‘librarian’.

“As were you,” she responded in a pleasant voice. “Though you look different…”

“I think the kid is an exemplar,” Jackie said. Then she gave me an amused look and said, “I think DAVID is an exemplar. We’ve already confirmed that he’s a regenerator.”

“Both would be useful,” the woman commented, giving me a curious look.

Jackie gestured to the woman and said, “This is my partner Emily.” From the way the two of them looked at each other, I didn’t think she meant just ‘business’ partners.

All three of us sat down at the table, though I eyed the enormous amount of food that was already sitting on the table. There were enough pancakes for a dozen people, as well as more sausages than three people could possibly eat. I was surprised when Jackie began loading up her plate until it was nearly overflowing with food.

Jackie noticed me looking and explained, “I’m an energizer as well as an exemplar, and most energizers have enormous appetites.”

I didn’t bother asking her what an energizer was. If being an exemplar was what made her beautiful and strong, I assumed that being an energizer had something to do with her force field.

To my surprise, I found myself eating a lot more than normal as well. Jackie noticed my embarrassment as I helped myself to more food, then said that it was probably because my body needed more energy to fuel both my healing and my physical changes.

“From what Jackie says, that was quite an injury,” Emily said in her calm and quiet voice. “It’s a good thing you have regeneration or you might have lost the arm or bled to death.”

I nodded at that, then in my best English accent, which was still pretty bad, I joked, “Tis just a scratch.”

Emily had a faint smile while Jackie actually chuckled at that. “Monty Python references are always appreciated.”

I couldn’t resist chuckling as well, thinking that this had to be the most surreal meal of my life. Here I was, eating pancakes for dinner with a gorgeous super villain, who was surprisingly normal.

Then I looked to Emily, who seemed nice, quiet, and completely normal. However, since she seemed to be the girlfriend of a super villain, there was obviously more to her than met the eye.

As I watched Emily, I realized that I could feel the faint pressure in my head, the same one that had always preceded my headaches, or at least a milder form of that pressure. Ever since that explosive migraine at the bank, the pressure had come several times, but it hadn’t gone any further than this.

I frowned as I remembered the pressure coming when I saw Mr. Harris, though it quickly faded away after his death. I’d felt it again when I saw the Highwayman, though it had vanished almost as soon as he had. And now, I was feeling it again.

“Are you a mutant too?” I abruptly asked Emily.

“Yes,” she admitted pleasantly, acting as though it wasn’t an unusual question at all. From the tone of her voice, I might as well have asked her if she owned a car. “I’m a projective empath. I can make people feel certain emotions.”

I stared at her for a moment as something clicked in my mind. “Like making them feel calm and cooperative when they should be pissing their pants?”

Emily smiled at Jackie and said, “He’s a sharp one.”

“Are you a super villain too?” I asked her, feeling a little nervous. Since she’d obviously helped with the bank robbery by providing crowd control, I thought the answer was obvious.

“No,” Emily responded with a faint smile as she adjusted her glasses. “I’m a paralegal. But I do sometimes try to make things go smoother so no one gets hurt.”

“And please don’t call me a villain,” Jackie added, looking a little annoyed. “Admittedly, the law and I are not exactly on speaking terms, but I have never once gone on a killing spree or tried taking over the world.”

“She might be a criminal,” Emily told me, “but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a villain.”

I just nodded at that, not bothering to argue with them. As far as I knew, using a costume and super powers to commit crimes was the definition of a super villain, but it would be rude to correct my hosts, especially after Jackie had saved my life.

“Why did you come save me?” I finally asked Jackie. “I mean, you told me why you helped me in the bank, but why did you save me from the MCO?”

Jackie was silent for a moment before answering. “Because I’m partly responsible for you being there… If I hadn’t come to that bank, you probably wouldn’t have manifested right then and there. After we left, I realized that the video cameras probably caught your glowing act…and anyone watching might have realized that I wasn’t the cause. I didn’t want them coming after you, so I kept an eye on you to make sure you really were safe.” She paused at that and gave me a wry smile. “I couldn’t let the MCO make you disappear. I’ve seen them get away with that crap too many times.”

“Thanks again for saving me,” I said quietly, trying not to think about how I’d gotten into the MCO’s custody. That was too painful to think about. Then I grinned at Jackie and told her, “The way you put that force field around me so I couldn’t get shot again was pretty awesome…”

“That was pretty awesome,” Jackie agreed with an odd smile. “But I didn’t have anything to do with that one. That one was all you.”

“What?” I asked in surprise.

“Exemplar packages, regeneration, force fields, and you even have the same hair color,” Emily pointed out thoughtfully. “It seems you two have a lot in common.”

Jackie stared at me intently for several very long seconds before she carefully said, “You’re right… That is a LOT of coincidence.”