how did I get here...? at a Bootcamp of all places... if I remember correctly... I was walking around when an official showed up and started to tell me that I had the makings of a pro... i-i was being nice... he had me sign something... oh... this is on me... 100% on me... I'm dumb...
"listen up! you're here because you have the makings of a pro! but don't have the power to back it up!"
what...? what can they change about our powers...? eh, probably just misunderstood it
"you will be training in groups of 4! first you!"
he's pointing at me, fuck, name name name! oh!
"what's your name kid?"
"marsh" not my actual name, but it'll work
"marsh huh? well, you'll be grouped with George, Max, and Mara!"
lovely, they don't look strong "ok"
"The first task of the day! get to know your group!"
the team is only as good as they know each other mentality, I see, I walk over to them
George speaks first "I'm George, my power is like a burst of wind, I call it air bullet, I'm only able to shoot one and can't do another till it dissipates"
interesting limitation, its probably strong, for him to call it a bullet
Max is next "oh! my power is shower! I can cause light rain in my vicinity!"
he's upbeat, that's good, if he can keep that up, he may be able to survive this world
Mara is next "I-I'm Mara, my power is disintegration, anything I touch that isn't me I destroy within moments"
the air has become tense... jealousy... that's what those two feel, not even considering that she phrased it in a way that says she can't choose what she destroys
"h-how about you...?" Mara is the first to speak
oh yea I should probably tell them my- crap, that would be bad... "I'm marsh, and I can heal slightly faster than the average person" I'm going to regret lying... I have this feeling
"so where do you guys come from? I'm from a rural city" Mara speaks again
they glare at her, only for a moment though, I'm getting all sorts of alarms off them
max is the first to respond "I'm from a highly populated city, it recently got flooded" he looks away
why'd he look away? there's something he's not telling us, ill need to be careful
George "I'm from way out in the sticks, doubt you'd ever hear of the town"
yea I do doubt it
...
we talk for a while then the sun sets
"all right off to bed with all of you!"
"ok!" we all say, it best to not pick a fight we don't know his power, and I don't want the trouble, it's not worth it
we were assigned cabins for our groups, this Bootcamp is deep in the woods for some reason, I can't sleep though, so I walk out "this is so weird, why am I even still here!?! I can just leave whenever I wanted, and yet I chose to stay, why? almost like I'm compelled...?"
"compelled?" Mara asks
"AH, don't sneak up on others!"
"oh... sorry..."
"it's no problem, just be careful next time, I might've hurt you"
"oh, ok!" she is already upbeat
how can she be so happy? "I lied about my ability"
"h-huh?"
"I can heal infinitely, I can't get hurt and have it last, it's also very fast"
"o-oh"
now, time to make her life just a wee bit better "you've never been able to touch anything? am I right"
she looks shocked for some reason "t-that's right"
this is my first step to becoming a true hero "want to touch me?"
0-0 "PFFT"
what? what did I say? "I mean like I won't die, come here sit"
she sits down "a-are you sure?"
"absolutely" it's gonna hurt like a bich... isn't it...
"o-ok" she touches my arm
HOLY luckily my healing heals it asap but I still feel the pain! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"c-can I hug you?" she sounds sad and overjoyed at the same time
"su-" she hugs me tightly AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH this is pure agony!
"t-thanks for this" she sounds so calm
oh my shirt is gone, ok "it's no issue, really" I. AM. INTERNALLY. SCREAMING. AHHHHHHHHHHHH
"o-ok, m-may I try something else?" shes blushing why is she blushing? "i-it may be the only time I can"
WHAT DO I DO!?! "sure" ME AND MY BRAIN ARE CLEARLY NOT ON THE SAME PAGE
she kisses me "Mmmmm"
!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? wait... MY LIPS ARE BUBBLING AND THEY BURN wait... is she crying...? she is, pack away the complaining and just let it happen
...
we have been here for around 30 minutes, 30 minutes of pure agony, I hate it
"d-done" she pulls back
oh thank god "ok, cool, I hope it was good" I want to die, or at least be incapacitated, well imma head back
"hey!"
what...? "yea?"
"Could we do that again sometime"
huh? h-huh?! HUH!?! "sure" DAMNIT BRAIN
she blushes "g-great"
I walk back and go to sleep, this was a weird day, I mean, I'm not attractive enough to warrant that
...
the next few days are filled with drills and such, but the most interesting part of the day comes from my chats with mara
"I love the stars"
"why?"
"they look so pretty from far away but if they ever get closer, they can kill you in an instant"
"interesting"
"Hey, what's your favorite thing in the world?"
ah, a hard one "saving people, in any way"
"am I someone you've saved?" she laughs
"in a way, I would believe so"
she smiles "I thought so, but you know, I want something to separate me from the masses of people you'll save"
"huh? how that?"
"well I was thinking- no, ill save it for when this ends"
huh, weird "okay then"
...
a week, somethings wrong, all of the people here look tired, but their powers have been changing and getting stronger, mara has also been getting distant, I'm worried, they all are getting stronger but the stronger they get the more sickly they get, I'm really getting worried
...
two weeks, they all sleep more often, some even get so sick they can't move, mara is getting worrisome, she changed, she's more violent, she even hurt a kid severely, we don't talk anymore, I'm getting so very worried
...
three weeks... most of the kids have gone missing, mara was able to control who she disintegrated, but she disappeared right after, god, why do I feel so worried...?
...
I followed an instructor, there's a large facility he walked into, I can hear two men talking
"hey, what are we gonna do with these boosters?"
"no clue Ferdinand, all I know is that they are mixed with monster boosters during cultivation"
what? mixed? wait... monster boosters... anything including those has to be bad, I walk in-
...
"BLEG" o-oh god, w-what is this... i-it looks like a slaughterhouse... wait is that... "NONONONO" I run over, its... mara... dismembered... what's that...? its like ashes stuck in a crystal... I grab it
"thought I heard something, so you found our scheme eh?"
"WHAT IS THIS"
"calm, ill explain, we kill magic beasts, and use the boosters they drop on the people here, to make their powers stronger, we then kill them to make a monster powered booster, see you even have one in your hand"
w-what...? this gem...? OW... absorb it...? AGH- avenge her...? t-that's right I must get revenge for her, I must KILL THEM
what the man saw was horrifying, the booster entered his body, all his pores burst with blood but he wasn't dying he only grew in strength the boy's hand became ashes them reformed in an instant, the boy also changed into a wolf... the very wolf that he had killed for the booster, a high-level werewolf...
I open my eyes as I look at my hands, I'm taller, and I feel stronger, I look all furry, I have claws... and... I SMELL HIS FEAR, HE MUST DIE
I rust to him, he doges, you won't get away, how dare you hurt her, HOW DARE YOU KILL HER, I rust at him, anything my claws touch turns to dust, so this is how it felt to her, anything she touches gets turned to dust, I lunge at him, I slash with my left arm, my left arm? where did it go...? AH, HE CUT IT OFF WHY WON'T IT HEAL?!? did my power get overwritten...? no... I just can't use two at once, no, look around, what did he use? and what can I use? there are more boosters... no that's just wrong... crap... I'm cornered... crap... look look look, or calm down I breathe in and out and slowly become myself again, soon my arm grows back, good
...
I ran well after I dodged and grabbed maras body and a couple of boosters... they need a burial, I run to the police and he'll them the situation, give them the "proof" now I have a force and another hero, I believe he was called goo? he has a clime transformation power
...
"your back, freak"
"don't you dare call me a freak, especially after what you did!"
the fight starts I'm facing the lackeys, as much as I want to take down the boss, its best to leave to the pros, don't be dumb and let him get away, I kick some lackeys and knock them down, what do I do to incapacitate the-
"hah! got ya!"
I look over a kick him down pull out the knife then stab his leg with it, he howls In pain as I move to other, I dodge a few and disarm then, I hope they realize its hopeless, I stab one with the side with a stick, one in both his feet with 2 metal rods, I hope their ready to be brought to justice, they deserve to die, I'm being merciful
...
we won, it got stick for a moment, but in the end, I was able to clear out the lackeys and when we got back I needed to explain what they were doing and who I was and why I was there, which was weird to explain
"so you're saying you're a freelancer known as the immortal demon?"
"yes"
"ok so it states your power, why were you even there?"
"I dunno, I was just compelled"
he looks at me like I'm crazy "oooook"
not my fault I'm weird... ok yes it is... "anything you need?"
"no, we get the gist, you may go home"
...
I'm home, I look in the mirror what's become of me, making a friend... this is what happens, never again, ill never make a friend ever again, I'll make sure to never make the same mistake, I'll just stay here and surf the net for a bit, yea, only a bit, ill order food later... maybe pizza? what pizza? pepperoni and bacon, yea, that sounds nice
...
I've been surfing through video hub all day, I ordered pizza, its actually pretty good, I might as well look at the stars... wait... why...? why do I need to look at the stars, oh yeah, I need to remember her... but even so... why do I feel as if I need to? this feeling is this what she felt...? she must have found the world so beautiful, I go out and look at the stars
...
I've been here staring at them four hours, I can see why she finds them so beautiful, like sparkling gems in the sky, just waiting to be grasped I can't believe I went my whole life without ever taking the time to look at them, well, I think its time to head to sleep I walk back inside and lay on my ungodly bed "this thing sucks" its all springs no actual bed well... goodnight mara, I hope I see you in my dreams, and that I never have to make another friend again
...