At that moment, I understood what I was feeling—my gene had evolved. I quickly copied Arnold's gene, feeling the changes in my body, which helped me regain some consciousness.
I activated Selphira's gene, turning my lower half into a snake's tail, which I wrapped around Arnold and began to squeeze, making him scream.
Seeing their leader subdued and me in my medusa form with my wings spread, Arnold's lackeys hesitated and then stepped back as we heard something crack in Arnold's body, followed by his scream.
When the thought crossed my mind to keep squeezing Arnold to the end for attacking Selphira and me, we heard someone shout:
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"
…
"Let me see if I understand this... a group of six stupid kids..." Mom began.
"Don't call our son stupid!" a woman interrupted.
"Interrupt me again, and I'll tear out your tongue," Mom replied, glaring at the woman and her husband, who shuddered.
"As I was saying, they attacked my daughter and Selphira for revenge after my daughter beat them up for being idiots, right?"
"Ma'am, please refrain from insulting the students. We are discussing how to proceed with the punishment," said the principal.
"Simple, just expel them," Mom responded.
"With all due respect, while this is serious, it does not warrant expulsion, especially considering that your daughter previously cut off several of the students' fingers," the principal explained.
"Yeah, what right do you have?!"
"Exactly."
"She broke four of my poor Arnold's ribs. She's the one who should be expelled!" Arnold's parents and their gang's parents began to protest, to which Mom simply stood, walked to the principal, and whispered something in his ear. The principal's face shifted through various expressions—surprise, panic, fear—until it settled on slight nervousness, and he declared:
"On second thought, this offense cannot be resolved with a simple punishment. This calls for the expulsion of the aggressors!"
...
"…How did you convince the principal to expel them?" I asked after getting into the car, remembering the chaos that followed when Mom whispered to the principal. Seriously, I'd never seen parents so angry—they almost lynched the principal.
"You know, a little birdie told me the principal had quite a bit of fun with a woman who wasn't his wife."
"And why is that bad?"
"…You'll understand when you're older, dear. But more importantly, are you in any pain?"
"I don't feel too great. The nurse has a really good healing gene, too bad I can't copy it," I said the last part softly, but Mom still heard me.
"Don't worry, you just need to evolve your gene a bit more, and then you'll be able to copy that one."
"Speaking of that…"
"What is it, dear?"
"My gene evolved during the fight!"
"...!"
"...!"
Both Mom and Agatha, who was driving and hadn't said anything, were shocked. We almost crashed—guess that shows how surprised they were.
"THAT!... is actually great news," Mom said after pausing in the middle of her sentence to think.
"And what changed, dear?"
"Well, first, I feel like I can stay in my medusa form longer, and second, I can now have three genes active at once, so I have a new gene slot… though this one feels... smaller?"
"Smaller…" Mom repeated as she thought. "I suppose it means you can only put a less evolved gene in that slot compared to the other two. Have you already copied a new gene?"
"Yeah, Arnold's gene makes my muscle fibers denser and more compact."
"In other words, more strength and durability… not bad, though it might make you a bit... bulky in the future."
"Whatever... Want to go to the movies?"
"YESSS!"
...
Narrator POV
"YOU'RE A COMPLETE IDIOT!"
*Smack*
"A TOTAL DISGRACE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST US FOR YOU TO GO TO THAT DAMN SCHOOL?!"
*Smack*
"NOW YOU'LL HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER! IF YOU WEREN'T A DAMN KID, YOU'D BE IN JAIL!"
*Smack*
"I'M SICK OF YOU AND YOUR STUPID BEHAVIOR!"
SMACK
*Heavy breathing*
"I don't want to see you anymore."
Arnold's father opened the door, grabbed his son by the head, and threw him into a pile of trash across the street—a feat that would've been impossible without a gene.
"IF YOU COME BACK, I'LL DO MORE THAN JUST BEAT YOU!"
*Door slams shut*
Arnold remained there, lying in the trash, thinking about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Everything was going well—the kids his age and younger feared him, and the older ones preferred to avoid him. He liked that feeling—having spoiled rich kids afraid of him, a street rat—but everything went wrong... It all went wrong the day he tried to make fun of the snake girl and impress Aelyra... Yes, Aelyra. That's when everything went downhill... because of her. It was her fault.
When she attacked him, the other kids realized they could defend themselves, and once more kids his age awakened their genes, everything got worse.
"It's all her fault," the boy muttered to himself, lying in the trash.
"Whose fault, kid?" The unexpected question came from a stranger, startling the boy. He shifted slightly, wincing from the pain of the beating he'd just received. Nevertheless, he raised his head and looked at the man.
He was tall, with green hair, a large scar running from his forehead down to his lip, crossing his right eye, which was clearly unusable. He wore a black trench coat and fingerless gloves of the same color.
"Wh-who are you?" the boy asked, fearful of the stranger.
"Me? I'm just a man passing by who saw something interesting… you."
"Me? What's so interesting?"
"That spark in your eyes. Your father just gave you a beating, but instead of crying or begging for forgiveness, you're glaring at the sky in a pile of trash. So, I'm offering you a chance—a chance to achieve what men have always dreamed of… power."
"Power…" Arnold echoed.
"That's right. Follow me, and I promise you'll have the chance to gain power," the man said, extending his hand. "Or you can stay here in the trash," he added with a mocking tone.
Arnold hesitated, looking at the hand. He remembered how his father always told him not to trust strangers, only to recall how that same father had just beaten him.
He looked at the hand—and took it.