《My Shapeshifting Life》


 Chapter 1

    "Your order is ready, miss." The waiter said, voice curt and obviously a bit tired, and Lilith could relate easily with the man. He probably was working part-time to pay off part of his college debt, something that Lilith herself was still trying to do.


    "Thank you very much." She answered happily, taking the coffee and croissant from the man, who quickly skedaddled over to another waiting customer. Lilith eyed the man''s retreating back for a moment longer than what was appropriate before focusing back on her newly delivered meal.


    Carefully picking up the coffee mug, she took little sips of it, trying to enjoy the taste. It wasn''t necessarily agreat coffee, but it did the job of forcing her still half-asleep brain to get up.


    Her shift started late today, thankfully. As a lab assistant for the local university, being late to even a single session would likely cause her to lose her job and probably ruin her career forever, which would obviously suck.


    Letting out a satisfied sigh after finishing the coffee and scarfing down the mediocre croissant, Lilith leisurely sat back on her chair, waiting for some waiter or waitress to come and take her money.


    All of a sudden, Lilith''s brows furrowed. She twisted her head around, idly noticing that everyone around her seemed to be doing so as well. There was a strange sound, one that was impossible to describe. It was faint but definitely hearable, as Lilith could attest to.


    For a moment, she thought that maybe some kid was just playing some sort of prank on them. Scoffing to herself, she tried to pick up her phone from her pant''s pocket.


    Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans as, within an instant, Lilith''s entire world turned to pain.


    She screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more aseverything began to burn as though it had been stung, burnt, electrocuted, torn apart, chopped to pieces, and thrown into acid at the same time. Her eyes felt as though they were melting, her insides felt as though she had swallowed molten gold. and her brain felt as though a bomb had gone off in it.


    She could hear voices around her yelling, and someone tried to hold her down as she thrashed but failed miserably as a stray hand slapped him hard enough to send him careening towards the wall.


    Had Lilith been more conscious of her actions, she would have been stunned. Sure, she went to the gym every once in a while, but she was still weak. No way could she send people flying with just a slap.


    Of course, as it stood, Lilith was in no way mentally capable of understanding that fact. Instead, her every brain cells was stuck in a loop going like this: ''Pain pain pain pain suffering why why pain pain pain suffering''.


    "Fuck! Someone call the hospital, hurry!" The cafe manager shouted angrily, as he and several other men, most of which had rushed into the previously empty cafe when they heard the screaming, tried to hold down the insanely strong woman.


    "I got it!" One of the waitresses, obviously a bit spooked, shouted from a safe distance away. Not more than ten minutes later, an ambulance rushed down the street and several paramedics hurried out, rushing to the still trashing woman who''s pain had only worsened during that time.


    Together with the tired men, they attempted to wrestle the still screaming woman into submission. However, just when they were about to shove her into a straightjacket, something happened.


    Lilith wasn''t even aware of what she was doing as she just wantedeverything to go away. However, for the other people, they saw arms literally grow out of Lilith''s body and harshly punch and throw everyone around her away.


    Now, instead of just Lilith, it was also the other people in the cafe that were screaming. Before long, someone had the bright idea to take a picture of the strange event and immediately began snapping photos of it from a safe distance.


    Lilith had calmed down enough by now and was huddling into herself, eyes closed shut as the pain slowly began to ebb away. The arms that had grown out from her back, sides, and front were still waving around threateningly, daring anyone to come closer.


    After another ten minutes, Lilith was finally able to come back to herself. Her head felt completely blank, and her body felt... strange. Different. She didn''t know what to make of it just yet.


    A harsh light shone briefly onto her face, and Lilith''s eyes shut close for a second. Blinking, she stared back at the source of the light, finding a whole crowd of people staring at her, whispering and pointing at her.


    There were hundreds of people surrounding her, and she could even see some paramedics amongst the group snapping pictures. With a dreadful feeling in her stomach, her eyes fell to her own body.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ''WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE THINGS?!'' She screamed inwardly, seeing the strange arms popping out of her. Cautiously, feeling as though her heart was going to stop, she tried to will one of them to move.


    Immediately, the arm that she''d been looking at waved slightly, the clawed fingers on the hand closing into a fist. With another thought, they opened once more.


    For a few seconds, all she did was stare at the dozens of arms surrounding her. Then, as if she''d always been able to do it, she willed them to return back to her.


    With an ease that would have scared her had she not just felt more pain than she''d ever felt in her lifetime, multiplied by a million, the arms all gently yet quickly retreated back into her body, leaving no signs that they''d ever been in there in the first place.


    She didn''t even feel different. Despite being stared at by hundreds of people as though she was a particularly unique object, she couldn''t bring herself to care as she experimented with this... weirdness.


    She held out her palm, facing upwards. She stared at it, and silently willed for one of those arms to appear from it. With ease, an arm shot out of her palm, essentially making her look like a deformed mistake of nature.


    The crowd seemed to love it anyway, as they went absolutely bonkers over the show. By now, everyone was taking pictures, and in Lilith''s tired and already strained mind, the only acceptable answer looked to be to shoo them all away.


    Sprouting from her back, dozens of the same arms emerged. Then, arms emerged from the arms, who grew yet more arms. Then, with but a thought from Lilith''s part, the hands shot out towards the spectators.


    Screams erupted as people tripped over each other to flee. Lilith was still just staring blankly at the ground though, barely noticing as her arms grabbed onto a few stragglers and threw them towards the doors with enough strength to hurt but not cause anything too bad.


    Within minutes, the entire cafe was empty. Lilith recalled the arms back into her own body, still feeling completely out of it. Her mental faculties were back, but they were barely functioning.


    After what felt like a few minutes to her, but were actually two entire hours, a squad of armored policemen holding shields and batons burst inside, followed by what Lilith would have guessed to be a military officer based on the suit.


    "Stand back! She''s dangerous, and judging from the other reports, god knows what can happen." The officer barked as the policemen surrounded Lilith, holding their shields in front of them. After a few minutes of nothing happening, the officer cautiously stepped into the circle, looking particularly grim.


    Crouching down, the officer hesitated for a few moments before speaking. "Hey. Can you hear me? Nod if you can."


    Lilith just kept staring blankly at the ground, lost in her own thoughts. The officer didn''t seem to be bothered by this as he continued to speak. "There have been a few cases like yours that happened today. I don''t know the full details, but we''ve been ordered to pick you up so that we can help you. There''s a helicopter waiting for you at the station, and trust me, those things aren''t cheap. And yet, you get to ride one for free. I''m jealous, you know?" He rambled gently, continued to stare into Lilith''s eyes.


    "I saw the video from the people you kicked out of here. Those arms are pretty cool, you know? I saw the video with the other emergent, which is what they''vealready taken to calling you guys already, and his power was nowhere as cool. I mean, really, all he did was make a few objects float. His reaction wasn''t even as bad as yours, he just claimed to get a bad headache, and then he was fine. You, on the other hand, are acting like someone who was able to survive from extreme torture." He said seriously, finally garnering a reaction from Lilith as her head rose a bit, staring at the officer straight in the eyes.


    She blinked for a bit, then, all at once, her actions came crashing down on her. She couldn''t hide the horrified and disgusted grimace on her face as she hugged herself tight.


    "I... What did I do..." She whispered to herself, but the officer didn''t fail to take the opening. "You did nothing you have to worry about. You were obviously completely out of it, but I need you to cooperate. Can you do that?" He asked gently, stepping forward to try and grab her arm.


    He jumped back when hundreds of arms exploded out of Lilith, the clawed fingers sharper than tiger nails that acted as fingernails curling threateningly. He hid a grimace as the policemen tightened their holds on their shields and batons, looking ready to intervene. "Stand down, idiots!"


    "I''m sorry! I-I didn''t mean to! I''m sorry!" Lilith cried out, attempting to reel back the arms. They obeyed her will with ease, retreating back into her body.


    The officer smiled, but it was a tense thing. He knew he was fast, his training made sure of that, but had he been just a tad bit slower, he had no doubts that he''d have been skewered, and that wouldn''t have been a happy ending for anyone.


    "It''s fine. I won''t approach you now, though. Can you stand?" He asked, forcing his tone back into the kind lullaby he had before. Lilith nodded, feeling ashamed of herself, as well as confused. What the fuck?


    "I''ll explain what I can later, but for now, come. We have an armored car, and I''m going to have to ask you to sit in the cell area, is that okay with you? It''s for both yours and our safety." The officer explained as the policemen led them out of the cafe and towards the waiting armored truck.


    Lilith stared at it with a bit of fear, still not really comprehending what, why or how this was all happening, but nodded nonetheless, quickly crawling into what was essentially a holding cell.


    "We''ll close the doors, okay? There will be a few bumps on the road, and the journey might be a bit long, so please, don''t start destroying our car when you start getting anxious. Just shout, and we''ll stop to check up on you. Okay?" He said. Lilith was starting to feel as though he was treating her like a deranged, dangerous, sociopathic child. The sad part was, she couldn''t even disagree with what he was doing, because it made her feel a lot better to have someone ordering her around.


    "Y-yes!" She said, watching as the doors shut close, leaving her inside of what was essentially a dimly lit metal box. Huddling into herself, she thought back on everything that happened.


    It was... scary, and yet, somehow, also exciting. But then, the real dread hit.


    ''Oh, shit... I''m going to be late at my shift!''

 Chapter 2

    The journey was long, boring, and Lilith found herself growing more and more anxious. They said they''d be taking her to a helicopter, but after that, what would happen to her? Was she in trouble?


    She tried to recall the events that had led up to this mess. She woke up, did her usual morning routine, then went to indulge herself in a decent breakfast, and that was when everything went to shit.


    She remembered hearing a strange sound, and then... She shivered, trying to block out the memory of the horrifying pain that wouldn''t let her die. She instinctively hugged herself, trying to stop her body from shaking so much.


    When she finally regained her bearings, she let out a sigh. She''d probably gained PTSD from that experience, and while she was happy to have bragging rights over her non-existent friends, she grimly thought that maybe the pain hadn''t been worth it.


    Poking her back, she felt the horrible state of her dress. It had been practically ripped apart, and it was a miracle it hadn''t just fallen off of her yet. A part of her was amazed that she''d been the one to do this, another part was horrified, and the stingy and cynical part of her idly wondered if she would be given a free dress when she arrived at what would likely be a prison.


    "Fuck..." She groaned silently, trying to prevent herself from digging too deep into her darker thoughts. She just wanted to go home, honestly, but at the same time, she just really wanted to hide from everything and everyone.


    As the hours passed, Lilith entertained herself by trying and replicate whatever the hell she''d done back at the bar. Strangely enough, it was almost laughably easy to grow out arms from literally any part of her body, and if she so wished, those arms could be made of any shape, color, of form she wanted. It was... weird. Like she''d been able to do it for her entire life.


    As if that wasn''t enough, each arm she grew truly felt as though it was a part of her. Controlling them was as easy as blinking, and no matter how many arms she grew, she felt as though she never reached any sort of limit.


    Then, almost completely by accident, she grew out a leg instead of an arm. Needless to say, she''d been amazed.


    By the time the doors of her little moving prison opened, the heavily armored guards standing outside were greeted by what was essentially a writhing, shifting monstrosity with too many eyes, heads, legs, and arms.


    Needless to say, when Lilith noticed that there were people staring at her with guns pointing at her, she panicked. Thankfully for everyone involved, she was able to reign herself in and reabsorb every extra limb back into herself.


    The military officer from before was also there, staring at her with an unreadable expression. Lilith bowed her head, not saying anything as she was led out of the armored van. She quietly accepted a change of clothes offered by one of the guards, clutching the soft dress tightly to her chest.


    She felt like a dangerous criminal, surrounded by armored guards who all looked just about ready to bash her head in at the slightest wrong move.


    Finally, she was ''escorted'' over to the waiting helicopter, who was also staffed by armed guards. It was a quiet affair as she entered it, quickly being directed to the back, where the officer who''d been with her since the beginning stood.


    "Enter here, please." He said, although, to Lilith, it felt much more like an order. She quietly obeyed, shuffling slowly into what was essentially another closed cage.


    Once the door shut close once more, she let out a sigh of relief. Sitting down at one of the furthest corners from the door, she closed her eyes and focused back on herself, more specifically, on her ears.


    She didn''t know if it would work, but she wanted to try anyway. She willed them to be larger and better, trying to recreate the feeling she usually felt when creating extra limbs.


    Surprisingly enough, it worked. Curious, as well as a bit giddy at what she could do, she had an eye appear in the center of her palm. It was still extremely weird that she could do this, but she found it oddly satisfying.


    She stared at herself through her new eye. Her ears now looked like those of an elf, longer and sharper than before. Furthermore, if she focused enough, she could hear through the silencing walls of her new cage.


    "Yes, sir. She''s clear. No, she doesn''t seem dangerous. Yes, I can confirm she''s an emergent. No, sir. Yes, she''s been extremely cooperative and well-behaved. I suspect she''s still reeling from everything. What? God no, sir! She''s reported to have suffered an extreme breakdown before her emergence. Thank you, sir." She heard the officer say, and judging by the lack of a conversation partner that she could hear, she assumed he was talking on the phone.


    "Damn, Matt. Do you call Ronald sir? I thought the man wasn''t as stuck up like the others." A voice she didn''t recognize spoke, his tone letting her realize he wasn''t being serious.


    "Shut up, brat. Focus on flying this thing. Sir Ronald will want a full report in person, anyway, and I''m not going to bail you out again if you anger the old coots back at headquarters with your shitty manners." The officer, Matt, barked. Lilith almost giggled, but the thought that they might realize she could hear them shut her up. She didn''t want to spy... but she also wanted to know what would happen to her, since nobody would tell her anything.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    There was a long, quiet pause, in which Lilith could hear nothing except the whirling of the helicopter''s engine. During it, she entertained herself by once again trying out her new ''powers'', something that she was coming to enjoy quite a bit.


    She still had no idea of how this all came to be, but as she''d always done in her life, she just went along with it. After all, being able to change the color of your hair with but a thought and grow out wings with no effort whatsoever was kind of cool, and not something to be unused, in Lilith''s humble opinion.


    Her improved ears perked up slightly when she heard voices speaking, quickly focusing on them and trying to decipher their meaning.


    "Did you hear the news? There have been all sorts of conspiracies going on since the Siren''s whisper." A voice she couldn''t recognize spoke, with the man she suspected to be the pilot quickly answering.


    "Yeah, man. The media''s going crazy, and all those weird cults have been calling it the beginning of the end. I''m pretty sure they''re all just fucking weirdos." He sneered, garnering some chuckles from the men and women in the helicopter.


    "I''m inclined to believe them, a bit. I mean, have you seen what that thing was back there? It was bloody disgusting." A woman commented, causing Lilith to wince slightly.


    Before she could get angry or sad over her words, officer Matt cut into their conversation with sharp words and a deadly tone. "Shut your mouth, soldiers. We''re under strict orders to treat our passengers with caution, but also with respect. The higher-ups don''t want to risk anything with Emergents, not until they figure out a way to deal with them."


    "My apologies." The woman said quickly, and Lilith felt a dark satisfaction arising from the slight tremble in the woman''s voice. Having heard enough, she returned her ears to normal.


    ''So, apparently, there are others like me. Chances are, they''re gonna bring me in a nice and secluded place with them, where they''ll be able to study us like lab rats in peace... I''m not sure if I like this.'' She thought darkly. She hadn''t thought about it this way before, but... She was afraid.


    ''I wonder what I can do with this power? I don''t want to hurt anyone, but if they try and do something to me...'' She shivered, feeling the ghost of pain so intense that it left her breathless. She bit her lips, focusing on herself.


    She carefully took off the dress that she''d been provided, suddenly fearful that it was rigged with something unpleasant. It didn''t seem like it, but her paranoia was starting to get the better of her. Besides, she wanted to experiment anyway, and it wouldn''t look good if she destroyed another dress so quickly.


    Spikes erupted from her back, curling around until they loomed threateningly over her shoulders. She gently touched the tip of one of them, feeling no real feedback from the spike despite something inside of her just knowing that it was a part of her just as much as her head was.


    ''Maybe it lacks nerve endings? Can I even add them?'' She mused, recalling the spikes back into her own body. This time, she tried to will the spikes to emerge but with the ability to feel to them. Immediately, she could feel the difference, no puns intended. The air on the spikes alone was enough to make her uncomfortable, and Lilith could guess that they''d become even more sensitive than her nether region.


    ''Too much. Can''t I just make them as sensitive as, say, my arms?'' She tried again, and again, and again. Finally, six tries later, she got her intended results. Despite the spikes being made out of what she guessed were bones, they still felt as sensitive as her skin... Which made no sense whatsoever. Nonetheless, she was fairly satisfied.


    When the helicopter landed, Lilith quickly returned back to her normal body. She was really starting to love exploring this new, strange power of hers, but she had a feeling her ''caretakers'' wouldn''t appreciate if she turned into a Bengal tiger.


    The doors opened, and this time, Lilith thankfully wasn''t caught with her pants down. Still, as she was ordered to follow after a man she hadn''t yet met, and likely never would have had she not been stuck with shapeshifting abilities, Lilith couldn''t help but feel a bit grumpy.


    She''d done nothing to warrant being treated like a criminal, and yet, everyone kept a distance of at least a few meters from her, and there wasn''t a moment where she wasn''t surrounded by armored guards with shields and electric batons.


    Still, she pushed the issue to the back of her mind, instead choosing to curiously observe her surroundings as she stepped off the helicopter. She was fairly sure this place was an island, judging from all the beaches. In the middle of it, there was a huge compound that looked to be made entirely of steel. She briefly wondered what the hell it''s purpose was before she was brought here, as there was no way a thing like this had been built in the day that had taken for her to arrive here.


    "Follow me, please." Another man, one in a similar suit to the one Matt wore, ordered her. He gave a short nod to Matt and the helicopter driver, who both nodded back before returning to their helicopter.


    Lilith stole a few glances at them, watching with growing anxiety as they took off and left as she was left here, all alone. She hadn''t known any of those people, but at least, they''d been... familiar? Familiar strangers were better than stranger strangers, after all.


    She was quickly and wordlessly escorted into the giant complex, going through long, winding hallways staffed with the occasional armored guard who stole peeks at her. She idly wondered why they would all quickly look away when they saw her, but she attributed it to her powers or something.


    Finally, a few minutes later, they reached whatever it was they needed to reach, which happened to be a door leading to a large, comfortable-looking cell. Coughing slightly, the officer behind her attempted to direct Lilith''s attention to himself, and away from staring with open wonder at what looked like a Norwegian prison.


    "Thank you, miss... Lilith, correct?" At her nod, he continued. "I am grateful for your cooperation, despite little to no explanation whatsoever. I promise that you will be given your answers soon enough, but I will have to ask you to wait for now. We are still dealing with a whole bunch of issues, and for safety reasons, we would rather keep you in the dark. I hope you can understand." Lilith really didn''t, but she nodded anyway.


    "We will give you a few days to recuperate from the events of the day, and then, a doctor should come to check up on you. I would ask you not to use your powers, but your compatriots in the building, the reports so far indicate them to be relatively harmless to the environment. Please exercise caution anyways." He ordered before curtly turning around and leaving.


    Lilith stared for a few seconds before a pointed cough from a guard jolted her back to herself. Sighing, she entered the room, idly hearing the metal doors shut close behind her.

 Chapter 3

    "So? How''s she adjusting so far?" General Jeremy asked, staring at the monitor that the man at his side was pointing at. On it, it showed what might have once been a woman, but now looked like nothing more than a monster. Hundreds of sharp-looking, spider-leg spines erupted from her back, as her face and body continuously shifted into different forms.


    "I would say she''s doing fairly well, sir. We''ve allowed her access to a computer and TV, which has certainly helped distract her. There have been a few notable discoveries about her that you might want to hear about." The man quickly spoke as he saw the General''s eyes take a disturbingly shiny look to them.


    "Mhm... Do tell." Jeremy said in a dismissive tone, still staring at the horrifying show before him. He grinned slightly, thinking of so many wonderful ways that they could use those strange powers.


    "Well... First of all, she has shown no signs of needing to excrete, and while we tried to give her food, she''s yet to eat any of it. Furthermore, she hasn''t slept for a single moment in the entirety of her four-day stay at the facility." The lackey cautiously reported, fidgeting in place as the General didn''t even bother looking at him.


    "Yeah, yeah. Submit a report tonight, and the staff and I will go over it then." Jeremy said dismissively, obviously not having heard a word of what the other man had just said.


    "Bloody hell..." The man commented angrily when the General finally left. He let out an aggravated sigh, focusing back on the monitor and resuming his watch of the monstrous woman. "They don''t pay me nearly enough for this shit."


    Meanwhile, Lilith idly stared at what was once her hand but had turned into a tentacle-like thing. Feeling satisfied that she was sufficiently horrifying, she summoned a thin, long limb from her back and formed an eye on it, staring at herself.


    She looked like an eldritch abomination, complete with tentacles, sharp teeth, and far too many eyes and mouths. Smiling inwardly, she shifted back into her normal form, feeling quite giddy.


    She''d always been a horror movie fan, and while she couldn''t say she''d ever thought about doing this sort of thing... Now that she could, she just couldn''t stop it. It was fun, it killed time, and it was also good training. Really, it was a three birds with one stone kind of deal.


    Letting out a sigh, she plopped down on the sofa, gently stroking the comfortable furniture piece. She snorted when she thought about how she would have never been able to afford such a comfortable luxury back at home.


    With but a mere thought, an arm stretched out from her belly. Long, dexterous fingers wiggled slightly before the arm extended, reaching all the way to the other side of the room and over to where her bed was. Digging around the sheets, she felt the hard, cold cover of the phone she''d been given, and quickly grabbed it with her new limb.


    She threw it back at herself, catching it with ease. For the next few hours, she surfed the internet and news, trying to find something to occupy her bored mind.


    "Breaking news! The Chinese government has announced that they will be starting a military program involving the Emergent Metahumans! How will our president respond? Where are our Metahumans?! The people want to know!" She read through one of the articles, feeling a bit sheepish.


    ''Bitch, I''m no one''s metahuman. Who invented that term anyway?'' She thought, feeling a bit angry. Still, she mostly just didn''t care. Still, she was surprised nobody had tried to make contact with her yet. They''d allowed her quite a bit of freedom, although she heavily suspected that the stuff she read and went through was heavily censored.


    She didn''t really care what the Chinese did and whatnot. All she cared about was being released and allowed back into society and if they offered her some sort of cool supersoldier position, then they better pay a nice and juicy salary, because she was practically bursting with ideas on how to use her powers to cash in the big bucks.


    A knock the door ripped her out of her thoughts. ''Finally!'', she thought, hurrying towards said door. After a few moments, the large, heavy metal doors swung open, revealing three people behind them.


    One of them was a large, muscular man with what Lilith would happily call a ''sexy ass beard'' and a bald head. The other one was a shorter and much leaner man, with features that wouldn''t stand out amongst a crowd. Finally, the last man was a short, plump man that sported what Lilith liked to call the ''I''m rich and you bet I''ll make everyone else know it'' smile.


    "Hello, Ms. Lilith. May we come in?" The leaner man asked, giving the shapeshifting woman an awkward smile when he noticed how openly she was eyeing the three of them up and down.


    "Ah? Of course. Please, come in. It''s almost like I have a choice in the matter, no?" She responded sarcastically, giving the man a glare. His smile only turned more awkward in response as the plumpier man let out a short, amused huff.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Lilith led them over to the sofa, where the three men sat as Lilith took the chair in the corner and dragged it in front of the couch, dumping her ass down onto it. It was obvious the three of them were hesitating to say whatever it is they wanted to say, so Lilith took over for them.


    "So... Let me guess, you three are either going to tell me that I''m free and I''ll be able to happily live ever after, or you''re going to tell me that you have this sweet ass opportunity that I just can''t pass up, and it just so happens to be in the military. Kind of like the Chinese. I''m going to bet one of my many, many feet that it''s the second one, correct?" She bit out, feeling pretty pissed with these people, who were essentially her captors.


    Might have had something to do with how she''d been stuck in what was essentially a prison for almost a week when she had done nothing to deserve it except suffering what might have been the most horrifyingly painful torture ever inflicted on a human.


    This time, it was the large, muscular man''s turn to let out a chuckle as the plum man smiled again. "I like you a lot more than the other two Metahumans. I assume you''ve been keeping up with the news, correct?" He asked, obviously relieved that he didn''t have to dance around the topic.


    "I don''t know, did I? I''m pretty sure you guys monitored everything I do, considering literally any and all news about myself or the other two supposed ''metahumans'' is virtually nonexistent as far as I can find, so why bother asking?" She retorted.


    "Aah, yes, yes. My bad, miss. Anyways, yes. You''ve hit the nail, but not quite on the head. You see, Congress has just passed a law yesterday, after a surprisingly short debate, that essentially made it so every Metahuman in the United States is technically... How should I say this... Nationalized." He said, obviously toying with her as he stared into her eyes with a challenging smirk.


    She frowned. "You don''t mean... I''m not an object, you know? Where can I file a human rights complaint?" She complained, although inwardly, her heart was starting to beat a bit too fast.


    "Aah, no, no. It''s not quite like that. You see, what I mean is that, from now on, you''re technically state property. Kind of like a park, you know. That means you''ll gain special privileges, as well as some... responsibilities. I hope you can understand why the government can''t just allow individuals with powers like yours out into society." He quickly explained. Lilith glared at him in response, keeping a stubborn silence.


    She could see the reasoning behind it, and had she not been the one affected, she likely would have even supported it. But, as it stood, understanding did not mean agreeing.


    The plump man suddenly stood up. "General, please. You''re not being very diplomatic about this. Miss, I apologize for his rudeness. My name is Mike Katotski, and I''m the man in charge of most of the State''s military research." He introduced himself, looking at her expectantly. She just stared blankly back at him.


    His smile didn''t even falter. "Aah, you never heard of me, I suppose. That''s alright. And, yes, about your earlier words, we are indeed here to offer you a position in the military, complete with training. However, unlike what the General said," He glared at the man, who looked a bit sheepish. "You won''t be stuck in the military forever. The government only wants you to fulfill a 5-year contract, following which, you may return to your civilian life... Under some limitations, of course. They just need to make sure you''re trustworthy. If it makes you feel better, the offer is the same across the board for all our current Metahumans, by the way."


    Lilith pursued her lips, silently wondering how much trouble she''d get in if she skewered these men. Finally, she let out a sigh. "Fine. Where do I sign? I don''t know if you actually can provide me any ''training'' though."


    "And that''s my clue to join in." The lean man spoke, getting up. "I''m the man appointed by the president and the military to oversee all the Metahuman''s training. Essentially, you''ll be expected to become a weapon for the country should we ever need you, but your main role will really only be to show off our power. There are still a whole lot of unknown factors out there about your powers, and showing that we can put you to good use will reflect well on both our administration, as well as you."


    Lilith blinked slightly, wondering if this man was serious. She eyes him up and down, raising an eyebrow. "... Sure. Whatever. I don''t really care, I just want to get free. I''ll have you know, though, if you try to work me like a bloody slave or act like I have no rights, I''ll just run off and join the Chinese or something, understood?"


    The muscular General sighed. "Damn. You just gave the editors a whole bunch more work. Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He waved her off as he stood up, gesturing for the others to follow him.


    "Editors?" Lilith asked, curious. The General turned to her once more, eyebrows raised. "This whole conversation is being recorded, and snippets of it will be used to make into some sort of propaganda or something. I don''t know, it ain''t my job." He shugged, making to leave once more.


    "This room will remain yours for the remainder of your stay here, which I believe should only be a few months. The paperwork will arrive tonight, make sure to finish it. I''ll pick you up tomorrow at nine, alright?" The leaner man said before joining the General in leaving the room. The plump man gave a short wave before hurrying to follow the other two, leaving behind a thoughtful shapeshifter.


    "That went well." The General commented, and now that he wasn''t in the woman''s presence anymore, he allowed himself to truly relax. "She''s bloody dangerous, I can tell you that." He added after a few moments.


    "So she is, so she is..." The leaner man sighed, rubbing his hair in irritation. "Next up is the Fireman. He''s the most problematic of the three, so we''ll need guards to go along with us."


    "Technically, bringing guards with us would show that we don''t trust him enough, which won''t be good. I have high hopes for all three of them, and I''m sure that they''ll be worth the investment, but we need to make it so they won''t kill us for it." The plump man pointed out. Huffing, the General looked away.


    "Whatever. Call the headquarters and tell them that the Shapeshifter is dealt with and that she''s a mercenary type. Reliable if happy, dangerous if not." The lean man said as the three of them kept walking.


    "I got it..." The General sighed, taking out his phone and dialing in the right number.


    Really, he was too old to deal with this shit.

 Chapter 4

    Lilith idly tapped her phone, sorting through all the popular videos of the day, which consisted mostly of cute cats, people doing dumb stuff, and people claiming that the Asians were trying to destroy the world. Really, the usual stuff.


    Letting out a sigh, she flopped back onto her bed, staring at the clock with an intensity that surprised even herself. She tried to will the clock to move forward faster, but alas, her will only worked on her own body. Grumpy, she hid her head underneath the covers.


    No matter how much she tried to, she just could not sleep. It was the same thing for eating, no matter how much she tried to, she could not summon any real desire to do those things. Now that she thought about it, she hadn''t pooped or pissed either.


    Huffing in amusement, she cracked an eye open, since trying to sleep clearly wasn''t working. Oh well. There were worse things that could have come along as a bonus with her power, and turning into a fleshy machine wasn''t that bad.


    In the end, she just spent the night going through as many forms as she could think, from a cute little kitty cat to a demonic tentacle monster filled with as many nightmarish traits as she could dream up. It was... cathartic, in a way. It allowed her to feel in control, something that she was beginning to sorely miss.


    When the knocking at her door finally arrived, she''d been attempting to change the composition of her own body, trying to harden it, soften it, make it lighter... etc. She quickly turned back into her normal body, and swiftly ran over to the opening doors.


    "Hey there." The lean man greeted. Lilith tilted her head slightly when she saw him, her eyes zooming onto his arm, which was put in a cast. Seeing this, the man chuckled awkwardly, taking a step back from Lilith.


    "I''m going to guess that the other... ''metahumans''..." Lilith hissed slightly when she said the word, "Weren''t quite as cooperative as I was."


    "Maybe they were, maybe they weren''t. Who knows. Follow me, please." The man said, his voice tense. Compared to his attitude from yesterday, he seemed much more subdued in his interactions.


    Lilith obeyed, falling into step behind him. They took a different path from the one she''d taken when she''d been brought into this place, and she spent the walk trying to memorize the winding maze as best she could... just in case.


    She would be lying if she said she wasn''t looking forward to meeting others ''like her''... But she was also very nervous. The more she practiced with her powers, the more confidence she gained, but that didn''t mean much in the face of social anxiety.


    "I don''t remember seeing that dress amongst the ones given to you." The man pointed out as they walked, only to wince when Lilith glared at him, "I made it using my powers." She explained curtly, not really wishing to talk to him.


    Finally, a few minutes later, they reached their destination: A large, mostly empty room with one-way windows that allowed those outside of it to peer inside, but not the other way around.


    There were a few chairs in the corners, as well as some food put on a table at the side. Still... Lilith wasn''t very impressed. She could guess that they didn''t trust them not to break stuff during their first meeting, and wasn''t that just a slap in the face. She hadn''t been treated like a kid since her high school days.


    "Wait here, please. The others will be coming along shortly. You''ll be allowed to interact, but remember, this is very much a test. If you immediately begin fighting, we''ll have to seclude you again, and that won''t be fun for anyone." She stared at him as he spoke, feeling more and more offended by his words.


    "... I''m not a fucking dog, you know? The hell you mean ''seclude again''? Just you try and take away my phone, and I swear, I''ll turn into your worst nightmare." She glared. They could imprison her, they could force her to become a pretty little showoff object for the military, but not even a god could save them if they touched her phone.


    The man blinked, took a few steps back as his only capable hand rose in the universal ''calm down'' pose, then stopped. He let out a sigh as he combed his hair with his hand. "My apologies. I did not... mean to make it sound that way. Everyone here is used to dealing with maximum security prisoners, the type that won''t live longer than a month or two, so our manners are a bit... Again, my apologies. I''ll leave now." He mumbled, quietly shuffling away.


    Lilith stared at his back for a few seconds before focusing her attention back onto the room she''d been brought in. Humming slightly, she debated her next course of action. A part of her wanted to show off her powers immediately, another part said to hide it, and the last part just didn''t really care. In the end, she decided to do a bit of everything.


    She re-absorbed the clothes that were essentially just differently colored and textured skin before shifting into one of her favorite forms, that of a pure black cat with beautiful, piercing red eyes. If her claws were sharper than swords and tougher than metal... Well, nobody ever said that she had to be a real cat.


    She grew a dozen or so arms out of her back, latching them onto the flat, metal ceiling through hardened spikes that easily punched through the 3-cm thick barrier of what she guessed was steel. Reeling herself up, she found herself securely latching onto the ceiling using her cat claws, staring down at the non-existent plebeians below.


    Her inner showoff was practically vibrating in excitement at this point, but she reeled it in, instead choosing to wait patiently. Five or so minutes later, her first metahuman compatriot arrived.


    She stared at him with open curiosity. He looked young, far too young to be in a place like this. She guessed him to be of Japanese descent, but she couldn''t really be sure. It might sound racist, but she couldn''t distinguish Asians between their ethnicities to save her skin. Still, she could at least guess that he was probably around 13-15 years old.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He was nodding enthusiastically as he spoke with another, much older man in an officer suit, so she ruled out the possibility of him being the third metahuman.


    "Yeah, I''m really excited. I mean, I know John told me to be cautious when I talk to them... But, I just really want to make some friends, you know? Nobody liked me back at school..." He whispered, his excitement dying down a bit. Evidently sympathetic, the guard patted his head gently, giving him a brief smile.


    "I''m sure you will, kid. I have to leave now, though. Good luck." He said, waving at the boy as he left. The boy waved back, his smile a bit strenuous as he watched the retreating back of the guard.


    After a few seconds, the kid finally deigned to look around, observing the area. His smile slowly fell as a frown marred his young face. "This place is so empty... I thought they''d at least put a gaming console or something in here" He murmured unhappily before going over to sit at one of the chairs.


    "Yes. That would be nice, wouldn''t it?" Lilith spoke, very much enjoying as the boy jumped up, shrieking. He looked around, wildly swinging his head to find the source of the sound. Unfortunately, it did not come to pass by his brain to simply look up.


    "Who''s there!? Show yourself, or I''ll... I''ll..." He hesitated, holding his hands in front of him. Lilith was momentarily tempted to spook him further, just to see what he could do, but quickly discarded the idea. He was just a kid, after all, and first impressions were important.


    "Up here, kiddo." She called out. The kid quickly did so, staring upwards with wide eyes. From his perspective, all he would see was a black cat sitting on the ceiling, staring down at him.


    "... YOU CAN TALK!?" He shouted, amazement in his voice. Lilith snorted, dropping down below. The kid''s eyes widened as he threw himself at her falling body, obviously trying to stop her from falling.


    However, before anything could happen, she just... stopped in the air. Lilith blinked, feeling some sort of power blocking her from moving. She didn''t try to struggle, not knowing if doing so would hurt the kid. ''Is this telekinesis? Cool.'' She thought, enjoying the sensation of floating in the air.


    "Oh my god! I''m sorry! Are you ok? Uh, hold on." The kid called out, quickly regaining Lilith''s attention. She looked at him curiously as he gently lowered her to the ground, before releasing her.


    Lilith tested out her body, finding everything in order. Although, really, she figured that even if she broke a bone or two... Or all of them, really, she could always just will them to put themselves back together. She hadn''t tried that yet, but judging from her current abilities as well as the hunch in her mind, she figured it would more than likely work flawlessly.


    "That was... an interesting experience. Thanks, kiddo. Name''s Lilith, what''s yours?" She asked after finishing her quick self-checkup. He blinked slightly, taken aback before a small blush rose on his cheeks. "I''m... I''m Hiro. Hiro Mitsuya."


    "Fancy last name you got there. You from Japan?" She asked, to which he quickly nodded, his eyes twinkling in amazement as he stared at her. Really, the kid was cute. A shame he was both far too young and a bit too innocent for her tastes.


    "You know, as long as you''re careful, I don''t mind it if you pet me." She commented, watching as his eyes practically began to glow as he scrambled over himself to crouch down in front of her, his hand slowly going towards her head.


    She didn''t really feel anything from his touch, but that was more of a decision on her part than any fault of his. After all, she''d cut off any and all sense of pain, effectively meaning her sense of touch was quite dull. It was obviously more complicated than that, but Lilith didn''t really care. As long as she willed her body to do something, it always did.


    "You''re so soft... Are you one of the metahumans?" He asked, obviously hesitant. She purred in response, watching with hidden glee as the kid''s face softened even more. She was tempted to whip out one of her nightmare forms and scare him into pissing his pants, but, again, he was just so innocent that she''d probably feel like a puppy kicker if she did that.


    Stepping back and away from his touch, she transformed back into her human form before his eyes, suddenly feeling very thankful that she''d figured out a way to make her own clothes. Once the four-second-long transformation ended, she smiled at him as he gaped at her. "Yup. That''s me. So, what do you say? I''m cool, right?"


    He blinked as she looked at him expectantly, quickly nodding after digesting her words. "Yes! You''re very cool. You''re very pretty, also." He added, almost as if it was an afterthought. She blinked as his cheeks slowly reddened before barking out a laugh.


    "Hah! Good one. I think I''m pretty average, to be honest. Or at least, this form is. After you see some of my more... exotic forms, I doubt you''ll ever say that again." She said, trying to stop giggling. Now, it was his turn to blink dumbly at her.


    "Wait, you''re a shapeshifter? That''s amazing!" He shouted excitedly. Lilith nodded indulgently as he went on a rant about his favorite powers, proudly proclaiming that his own were the ''coolest'', to which Lilith allowed him to believe. He was just a kid, after all. How could he ever understand how amazing her own powers were?


    All of a sudden, she frowned as her improved ears picked up on footsteps coming from further away. Loud footsteps, too, or she would have missed them. Whoever it was that was coming was apparently loudly stomping.


    A few dozen seconds later, the lean man arrived, and in front of him was a tall man sporting a fiery haircut... Literally. His hair was on literally on fire.


    He glared at the lean man, who quickly backed off without a word, practically scrambling to leave. Lilith watched on with quiet amusement, but the boy, Hiro, wasn''t quite as amused as she was.


    "Hey! Don''t be mean to John, he''s a nice guy!" He shouted angrily, storming up to the fiery man. The poor guy blinked as Hiro stood in front of him, hands crossed on his chest as he glared at him, looking like an irritated kitten standing before a tiger.


    "Uh... Sorry, do I know you, kid? What are you doing in this hellhole?" He asked, voice surprisingly awkward as he took a step back.


    "We''re the metahuman gang," Lilith commented as she stood further away. Lazily pointing at the kid, she explained, "He''s the supposed psychic, and I''m the shapeshifter. I''m gonna guess that you''re the Fireman, yeah?"


    "Yeah... I suppose..." He said, somehow even more awkwardly than before. Lilith sighed, "Brat, lay off of him, would you? Sure, he could treat your friend better, but remember, we''re all prisoners here. Unlike you, neither he nor I really want to be here, from what I''m seeing." She said, gently putting her hand on the boy''s shoulder and firmly dragging him away from the man.


    He shot her a grateful look before returning to his grumpy persona. Walking over to one of the chairs, he sat down on it, careful to keep his suprisingly solid-like flaming hair from touching it. Hiro glared petulantly for a few more moments before going to sit to one of the chairs as well.


    Letting out a sigh, she did the same. Staring at the two supposed metahumans around her, she was suddenly reminded of how some of the students back at the academy she''d briefly worked for acted.


    "Alright, boys. Stop squabbling, and let''s get down to the issues at hand, please?" She asked, although it wasn''t really a question.


    Really, this was far too troublesome. She just wanted to go back to creating the most terrifying and nightmarish creatures she could think of, it was both easier and much more fun than this.

 Chapter 5

    "Alright, let''s start off with some introductions. It''s pretty clear that they want us to get to know each other and shit, and if my suspicions are right, I''m fairly sure they want to make us into some sort of soldier squad or some sh-... crap. So, grumpy Mcgee, start us off with yourself since you''re the last to arrive." Lilith spoke once they were all nice and comfortable. Grumpy Mcgee snorted at the nickname before shaking his head.


    "I don''t want to be a soldier. I just want to go back to my wife and family and return to my life. Ugh." He grumbled. Hiro smiled weakly at that, looking a bit depressed by the older man''s words. Lilith rolled her eyes and was about to say something when Grumpy resumed speaking.


    "Anyways, the name''s Logan Huges. I''m from California, and I worked at the dockyard as a naval engineer." He introduced himself, looking torn between being bored and irritated, if the distaste in his curled lips meant anything.


    The youngest of the gang was practically bouncing up and down in excitement by the time Logan finished. "Alright! I''m Hiro, I was born in Japan, but I moved here when I was really young. I don''t really know what I want to do with my life yet, though..." He said, visibly wilting at that.


    "Heh." Lilith huffed amusedly, "Don''t worry, kiddo. You''re still young, you''ve got time. My name''s Lilith, I worked as a university assistant in New England, Maine. Hm... I''m curious, what were the circumstances when you guys got your powers?" She asked curiously, noticing how Hiro''s mouth curled down at the mention of his powers, while Logan frowned outright.


    "Well... I was ordering around a bunch of idiots who can''t do jack sh-" He closed his mouth when Lilith gave him a pointed glare, "I mean, I was ordering around some unintelligent folks, and then there was the Siren''s call. Afterward, while I was walking over to pick up some stuff, I accidentally burst into flames. In hindsight, I must have made quite the sight. I was panicking quite hard, and accidentally burned down quite a bit of stuff. I was lucky nobody got hurt." He spoke, voice subdued and serious. Lilith nodded emphatically, her own experience being a bit similar to his, if you squinted quite a bit.


    There was an awkward moment of silence before Hiro picked up the conversation. "Hehe... Well, for me, it also happened when I heard the Siren''s call. I was walking to school when I saw a girl getting harassed by my classmates, so I... uh..." His cheeks reddened a bit. "I jumped in to try and help her, but they were older and stronger than me, so they tried to beat me up, but then I went woosh and they went flying away! I was really scared for a moment, but then she thanked me and kissed my cheek!" He announced proudly. Logan''s eyebrow raised a bit, looking over at Lilith, who stared back blankly.


    "He''s a shounen protagonist. Jesus, I never thought I''d meet one in my life." He chuckled. Lilith tilted her head, not knowing what a shounen was. Shrugging, she gave a blushing Hiro a small smile before launching into her own tale.


    "Ah, well... I was at a cafe to get some french breakfast when the Siren''s call came, and then..." She shivered violently, hugging herself. "Let''s just say I was in a lot of pain, and was kind of in shock, ok? When I woke up, there was an officer and armored guards surrounding me. I... I don''t want to talk about it." She said, cringing just at the thought. She loved her new powers, they made her feel... special. But, at the same time, just thinking about what she went through to get them made her want to puke.


    Her two fellow metahumans were staring at her with concern, but Lilith waved them off. She didn''t want to make a scene right now, and if she really needed to, she''d at least wait until she was back in the ''safety'' of her room.


    "Anyways... I''m not really sure what else we''re supposed to do. I mean, they just kind of dumped us together, with no explanation whatsoever... Well, at least I didn''t receive any. What about you guys?" She asked. They both shook their heads in response, Logan''s lips curling downward even further at her words.


    "We''ve essentially turned into government property. I highly doubt they''ll explain anything to us." Logan snarked, displeasure obvious on his face. Hiro, bless his innocent soul, frowned. "Wait, what do you mean? We''re people, not property!"


    Lilith and Logan shared a look, trying to communicate through eyesight alone. Sighing, she took up the dirty job of ruining the kid''s innocence. "Hiro... They nationalized us. I have no idea how the people back in Washington managed to get their act together so quick, or where the hell they drew the idea from, but we''re not considered people anymore in the face of the law. Sure, I doubt they can just off us and be done with it, but that doesn''t mean much when our life will essentially be dictated by others." She said.


    His frown only deepened, deep in thought. Lilith left him to it as she turned to Logan. "So, what''s the plan now? I''ll be honest, I don''t trust either of you, but we''re in this boat together. I don''t particularly want to go become a soldier, but I doubt we''ll really be standard soldiers if we do anyway, and I wouldn''t mind that as much. Besides, getting some support in helping me figure out my powers sounds like a pretty sweet deal, all things considered. So, again, you got a plan?"


    The flaming-haired man sighed, rubbing his temple. "... No. I don''t. I''ve already been told that, if I behave and go along with what they want, I''ll regain my freedom eventually, no strings attached. I just... I don''t like this power." He said, pointing at his hair.


    Lilith tilted her head, considering his words. "You know, I think you''ve actually got it pretty good. I don''t mean to point fingers or to accuse you of anything, but compared to me, you at least don''t get an identity crisis every time you use your powers." She pointed out. He blinked, then furrowed his brows.


    "Oh. I see. Right, you''re a shapeshifter." He coughed into his hand, evidently a bit embarrassed. She giggled slightly before continuing her rant. "Look, I get where you''re coming from, these powers are a handful and we didn''t ask for them, but think of it like this. There are people out there who would sell their souls for powers like these, meanwhile, we got them for free... Well, you two at least did. Anyways, don''t you think just wasting them because of personal bias is a bit foolish? Or at least, that''s how I see it for myself."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    He looked thoughtful. After a few minutes of digesting her words, Logan eventually just sighed. "You''re right, I guess. I don''t want to act like a spoiled child, but... It still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, you know? Whatever."


    Lilith nodded, stealing a glance at Hiro, who was looking at them with an expression that screamed, ''I don''t understand what these adults are talking about''. Ignoring him for the moment, she turned back to Logan.


    "You know... You don''t exactly strike me as the violent type, and I''m fairly sure it wasn''t Hiro who did it... So, what happened with our friend that''s probably watching us right now?" She asked. Immediately, Logan''s face fell as his eyes took an outright hateful look.


    "The bastard threatened my family. He said, and I quote, ''Stop acting like a child, and grow up. After all, who knows what will happen to your wife if you don''t''. He was so god damn smug about it too!" He whispered, clenching his hand hard enough to... not draw blood. Instead, a moment later, when he unclenched it, small, solid-looking flames poured out from his wound and repaired it within a few seconds.


    Blinking at the oddness of his power, she returned her eyes to Logan, who was scowling at his hand. "Huh. Well, I''m an orphan since birth, and I don''t really know my family, so I can''t truly understand what you felt... Still, my condolences. I didn''t think he''d go that far. Still, perhaps you overreacted? He might not have meant it, you know?" She told him, keeping her voice as gentle as possible.


    He looked away, his expression closing off. Sighing, Lilith metaphorically took a step back. "Whatever. I''m not a psychiatrist, man. I''m just trying to make the best of the situation." She said, rolling her eyes as she stood up and walked over to the firmly shut doors.


    "What are you doing?" Hiro asked curiously, watching her with worried eyes. She didn''t even stop as she answered, "Showing our hidden observers that, if I want to, I''m not going to allow them to walk all over me."


    Logan''s words had made her think. If the government, or at least whoever was in charge in this place, thought that they had the power to basically threaten them however they wished... Well, their life would become difficult. She needed to show them that she wouldn''t just roll over for them like a dog forever, and that, yes, despite her prior behavior, she had a backbone somewhere in her.


    With but a thought, she summoned a massive, clawed fist from her back. Flexing the massive limb, she grinned, before slamming it against the metal doors.


    There was a loud screech as they were brutally unhinged from their position, basically flying away. There was a stunned moment of silence before the sirens went off, screeching even more loudly than the broken remains of the doors.


    Re-absorbing the arm back into her body, she turned to her fellow metahumans. "I''ll see you tomorrow, I suppose. Also, fuck you." She said, staring at where she was fairly sure their observers were at. She didn''t react when Hiro let out an awed "wow", nor as Logan murmured a stunned "showoff", simply vanishing into the winding maze that was their prison


    "Hopefully, they won''t subtract the cost of those things away from my pay... If I even have one." She murmured to herself, chuckling. She could easily spot all the cameras hanging on the ceiling tracking her every movement, but she ignored them. Judging from the absence of guards rushing her way with murderous intentions, she guessed that she hadn''t crossed one line too much.


    Or at least, she hadn''t yet. Then again, she didn''t really care if she did. They hadn''t exactly been treating her all that well, after all, and she felt absolutely no remorse for ruining their shit.


    Whistling happily, she eventually arrived back at her room after accidentally walking into a few dead ends, entering it with little fanfare. The next moment, the doors shut close behind her, and she could hear several clicks. It was cute how they thought more locks would stop her, after all, she was fairly sure she could summon things much more dangerous than a pure-muscle arm the size of her torso.


    Meanwhile, back at the headquarters... Well, things were a bit in chaos.


    "The fuck you mean we''ll just let her get away with it!? She fucking broke the doors! She''s dangerous!" A man shouted, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him. General Jeremy glared back at the man with just as much energy.


    "Yes, she is, which is the entire point. Admittedly, we haven''t exactly been the most accomodating of hosts and considering no one was hurt by her actions, we really have no reason to punish her. Which, need I remind you, we''re still trying to figure out how to do that. She doesn''t sleep, eat, poop, feel pain... Nothing. Besides, we need to keep them reasonably happy, or god knows how the media will react when they find out."


    "Silence!" John shouted angrily, just about ready to do something drastic. Thankfully, the two men quieted down but still glared at each other.


    "We''ve all been assigned to our posts here to monitor the metahumans and find out potential uses for them, and so far, we''ve come up short. General, what''s the military''s stance on the three?" He asked, trying to take control of the situation.


    "Well... They''d all be great military assets, but unwilling soldiers are sometimes more dangerous than the enemy itself. The girl''s probably the best candidate, as the Fireman''s too much of a rebel, and the kid''s too young." He pointed out. They''d all been there during the metahuman meeting, and while everyone had their own objectives and ambitions, they were all still trying to get a feel for the metahuman''s personality.


    From the reports that had come from the C.I.A, none of the three metahumans had undergone any radical personality shifts, which was good news.


    "Good. Admiral, what''s your opinion?" He asked the next person, who looked a bit bored with the whole thing.


    "Hmm... Same thing as General Jeremy." He simply said. John went around the table, asking for each person''s opinion, which, unsurprisingly, were all more or less the same. Still, that didn''t mean much, considering everyone wanted a piece of the far too small pie.


    After concluding the impromptu meaning after a bit of haggling back and forth on what to do next, everyone returned back to their posts. Most of the people here were simply visiting, trying to, if not gain one of the metahumans, at least scout them out. After all, all information on the three ''guests'' in the prison was classified to hell and back.


    Sighing, John lightly banged his head on the table in front of him. Technically speaking, as the man assigned to oversee the ''metahuman project'', he was supposed to be the highest-ranking authority on the island... And yet, his real power was pathetically limited.


    "Fuck..." He grunted before standing up. Letting out a miserable sigh, he headed over to the room where Hiro, codenamed ''Psion'', lived in.


    He really needed to discuss a few things with the kiddo.

 Chapter 6

    "I like this form." Lilith murmured to herself, forming a few, thin arms and extending them in a 360-degree circle around her. Eyes sprouted every so often through the arms, allowing her to observe her new creation.


    It was a combination that had come about as a result of a sudden epiphany while she was doing what she did best: lazing around on her phone. The end result was a nightmarish mixture between a serpent and a skeleton, resulting in what was essentially a walking, snake-like mass of bones filled with teeth and sharp edges. It felt weird not to have any actual flesh, but other than that, she was perfectly fine transforming into undead creatures.


    It had been three days since their meeting, and the only human contact she''d been in during that time had been through a short call from the lean man, John, rebuking her for acting so uncivilized while also thanking her for making the metahuman so productive, then ending on a short note informing her that, by the end of the week, she would be called to begin training.


    Lilith highly suspected that their idea of ''training'' revolved more around them learning as much they could about her powers, but she was fine with that. As long as they helped her through some of the issues she''d been having problems with, she had little issue allowing them to study her. After all, knowing something did not mean having a counter to it.


    She knew it might be foolish of her to think like that, but honestly, she was fairly sure that, if she wanted, she could easily just transform into a several kilometers tall titan made entirely of muscle and hardened flesh, capable of punching mountains off of the face of the Earth.


    She''d just love to see a counter to that. Besides, she doubted it''d resort to that. The U.S government wanted her to remain with them, and they probably weren''t dumb enough to fuck that up.


    If all else failed, she''d just flee to China or Russia. It''d be annoying to have to learn a new language, but at least she was fairly sure they''d accept her. After all, she was confident in her ability to be of use, and they''d be fools to deny her.


    Sighing, she tore herself away from her own thought, returning to her human form. Creaking her neck, she walked over to the sofa, dropping down onto it.


    Staring up at the perfectly blank and white ceiling, Lilith silently wondered what she should do now. Bringing her arm before her eyes, she willed it to transform.


    Her flesh distorted, splitting and growing until ten snakes formed, all attached to her body through her shoulder. It was still an extremely weird feeling to have to look through more eyes than two, but she''d grown accustomed to it.


    This was what had been bothering her the most. She knew she could make some kind of poison, but every time she tried to will herself to do so, she''d failed. Frowning, she theorized about what she could be doing wrong. For the most part, shapeshifting was a mostly instinctive process, at least for her, with bits and pieces of logic and biological knowledge thrown in. Theoretically, she should be capable of producing glans that could make poison, no?


    Humming, she frowned deeply, feeling like the answer was just within arms reach. After wracking her brain... Scratch that, actually. She''d made herself basically empty on the inside, with no internal organs, so... She wracked whatever allowed her to think for around an hour, she finally had an idea.


    One of the snakes opened its mouth, sharp fangs springing out. Then, it moved like lightning, sinking said fangs deep into Lilith''s neck.


    Focusing, she created some blood directly in the fangs, before injecting it into herself through them. The blood flowed in, ready to cause havoc inside her body.


    "This could work..." She murmured, a smile growing on her face. She''d already confirmed that she was able to move her own body parts independently of her ''main'' body, so, she figured, she really didn''t need any venom when her own blood was easily hundreds of times more dangerous.


    Just as she was about to begin celebrating, she heard the distinctive sounds of clicks going off. Turning around, she stared at the metallic doors as they slowly opened.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Deciding to mess a bit with whoever had finally deigned themselves to come to visit her, she didn''t immediately absorb the snakes back, instead leaving them where they were. After all, she was really starting to enjoy creeping people out.


    When the doors finally opened, two men entered. The muscular general stood slightly behind a glasses-wearing guy that looked a bit too... normal... to be in this place.


    The newcomer blinked, staring at Lilith''s transformed hand. The general smirked before coughing slightly, "Good afternoon, Ms. Lilith. Would you please retract those?" He asked, lazily pointing at the snakes with his eyes alone. She smirked back, allowing the snakes to crawl and intertwine back together into a proper human arm.


    "Thank you. Now, this gentleman here will be the one in charge of you for the foreseeable future and has just arrived from... far away. I apologize on behalf of the staff for making you wait so much, but there was no other choice. Now, both of you, follow me." He ordered, turning on his heel and walking off.


    Lilith glanced at the glasses-man, who looked just about ready to cry for some reason before lazily falling into step behind the large general, not even trying to disguise her gaze as she practically leered at him.


    "Anyways... Would you introduce yourself, please? It would save me an awful lot of trouble." The general asked after a short few moments of silence. The other man gulped before doing as asked.


    "Y-yeah... Uh, my name is Rick. Doctor Rick, if you will. I specialize in the biology of all kinds of things, and before coming here, I used to work on--"


    He was quickly and rudely interrupted by the general. "Now, now. Doctor Rick, need I remind you that that information is classified?" He pointed out quickly, his voice jovial, but his eyes spoke of another, darker story.


    Rick gulped, looking away. "R-right. Yeah. Uh, I did... Stuff. Anyways, I was ordered to come and try and learn about your ''power''..." He said. The general sighed, running a hand down his face.


    "Doctor... You''re here to ''instruct'' her. Remember?" He said, his voice sounding so resigned that Lilith couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "What? Oh, yeah, that too, but they told me to focus on--"


    "Just shut up, will you? We''re almost at your assigned lab, and when we get there, you can fuck up and anger our mutant friend here all you want when I''m a nice, safe distance away, alright?" The general finally snapped. Rick''s mouth closed, looking quite embarrassed.


    "... Well, aren''t you two the best of friends. I don''t know if I should feel honored or offended that you think me so dangerous, but whatever. I''m Lilith, shapeshifter extraordinaire, because apparently that''s the only thing that matters about me nowadays. I hope we can work together." Lilith finally spoke after a minute or so of silence. Rick smiled hesitantly in response, the poor man looking so out of his depth it wasn''t even funny.


    "Y-yeah... Me too?" He asked. Lilith rolled her eyes inwardly before turning to the general. "So, what happened to the rest of the gang? They got their own little watchdogs assigned to them?"


    The general blinked in confusion for a few seconds before realization came over him. He huffed in amusement before responding. "Somewhat. Psion, the Japanese kid, is too young to really induct into the military like we hope to do with you, so the people on top are still trying to decide what to do. If you ask me, he should just be allowed to go back to his parents, but unfortunately, my rank isn''t high enough to really influence that kind of thing." He looked a bit wistful as he spoke, staring straight ahead and yet his eyes looked a bit unfocused for some reason.


    Lilith guessed it might have been caused by his desire for a higher rank, but she wasn''t really sure.


    "Anyways, Fireman, that''s the guy with the flaming hair, in case you didn''t get it," He smirked when Lilith scowled at him, "I don''t really know what happened to him since I''m scheduled to return to duty in a week. Then, I''ll either never see any of you again. Sure would be nice." He chuckled good-naturedly. Lilith let out a huff as she shook her head. Fist, he berates the other guy for ''angering her'' and then goes off to insult her.


    Finally, after a few more minutes of companionable silence, they arrived. The ''lab'' was... impressive. It had several machines that looked so high-tech that Lilith barely understood what their purpose was. There was a gym area, or at least what she assumed the area full of training equipment to be, as well as several closed doors leading to God knows where.


    After they entered the place, the general waved his goodbyes wordlessly before happily skedaddling out of there, leaving the shapeshifter and her ''trainer'' behind.


    Rick shuffled nervously for a bit before cautiously going over to inspect the equipment in place. After a few minutes, Lilith finally decided to start the conversation.


    "So... You do know what we''re supposed to do, right?" She asked. To her disappointment, Rick just turned to her and chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.


    "Wait... Please tell me you''ve at least been here before. You know, to test the equipment?" She practically begged. Rick just looked away.


    Lilith let out a deep, depressed sigh, suddenly feeling very regretful at not having just immediately broken her way out of here and run off to fuck-all-land.

 Chapter 7

    "So, yeah. Basically, after that damned bitch insulted my research while also trying to claim credit for my work, I ended up quitting. The pay was good, but I don''t really care about that, you know? I just want to study stuff. Also, could you shift this bone a bit to the left? Thanks." Rick spoke leisurely, very much in his element.


    On the operational table in front of him, Lilith was currently in her human form, albeit her torso was split in two, revealing her insides. She hummed in response, doing as asked.


    Carefully lowering one of his weird machines down into her belly, Rick proceeded to do his own tests and... things. Lilith still wasn''t sure, but since he''d always respected her own limits, which essentially boiled down to ''don''t take samples from me'', and he''d never made her do anything humiliating, she was fine with him doing tests on her body.


    "Amazing. Your cells are practically equal on both the inside and outside... I have no idea how you''re even alive!" He exclaimed excitedly, looking down at a computer as the machine did its thing.


    "Me neither, but honestly, I''ve long since passed the point of caring. How much longer, by the way?" She asked. Rick didn''t answer immediately, instead focusing every bit of his brain onto the computer.


    After an entire minute, he sighed. "We''re done for today. I still can''t wrap my brain around how your powers work, but from what I''m hearing, I''m not the only one. You metahumans defy the very laws of physics..." He murmured, face slightly scrunched up.


    "So we do, so we do... Anyways, did you figure out what I asked you yesterday?" She asked as she sat up, gently pushing the machine away from her. At the same time, she willed her torso to stitch itself back together before forming a shirt to wear.


    Rick had, by then, abandoned his computer and walked over to her. Curiously poking the newly-made shirt, he spoke. "Yeah, I did. It was... annoying, but not unfeasible. It''s kinda creepy to know that you''re practically walking around naked since this is technically still your skin."


    Lilith rolled her eyes and let out an amused huff. The man could be seriously weird sometimes. "You''ve seen me do much, much creepier stuff than go around ''technically'' naked, and this is the only thing you comment on? I''m hurt."


    Rick just shook his head, stepping aside so she could get to her feet and out of the operation table. Silently rolling her eyes, Lilith began to do a series of exercises, testing out her body to see if anything felt different.


    It didn''t. It still felt the same as it always had... Just with the added awareness that she could shape it however she wished. Thankfully, that wasn''t due to anything done by Rick.


    After a few more minutes of this, Lilith took the opportunity to discuss her ideas with the doctor. Despite her initial misgivings, the man was actually quite competent, and definitely knew his stuff as he launched into a boring yet revealing rant about what he''d learned last night.


    Lilith lazily fell into step behind him as the scientist & guinea pig duo made their way over to the ''gym'' area. It had been around two months since Rick had come to this place, and with his help, while not necessarily something she couldn''t have eventually discovered herself, figuring out how to use her powers and other such things had become much easier.


    "Here we are... Alright, can you go into your nightmare form? I''ll go set up the shooters." He said lightly before jogging off to go to the control room, nice and far from Lilith''s ''training''.


    Smirking, Lilith debated for a few seconds before deciding. Immediately, her body exploded outward in size, hundreds of tentacles growing out of her while a large, octopus head grew on top.


    There were hundreds of eyes lining each tentacle, along with horribly sharp bone spikes dotting the ends of said tentacles. She didn''t form a mouth for this form, since technically, it was specialized towards defense, not offense.


    She was only around the size of an elephant, with each tentacle only about the width of a large man''s thigh. Still, she was fairly sure that, if she were grabbed a man using this form, she could easily dismember him within seconds.


    "Alright, everything is ready! Remember, you''re only trying to block the projectiles using your arms, so don''t you dare grow a bone shield around your body, or the entire point is null. Got it? Good! Set, ready... Go!" A voice yelled through the four speakers in each corner of the room.


    The next moment, a large number of machine-held guns of all types and sizes appeared on the wall opposite to where Lilith was. She eyes the things for a moment before ''switching on'' her focus, which basically just meant flooding herself with adrenaline.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Then, the guns began to fire. Her tentacles moved extremely quickly, and thanks to her practically omniscient vision, she could easily see each bullet individually, as if time had slowed down. Thus, she was easily able to defend herself using just the tips of her tentacles, which were armed with extremely tough spikes, resembling claws.


    "Good! Now, second round!" Rick yelled, clicking another button. This time, there was twice the amount of bullets as before, and their firing rate was much more closely tied, meaning more bullets would reach Lilith at the same time.


    Rick watched with fascination as the thing that used to be the snarky yet good-natured woman waved around its nightmarish tentacles, easily deflecting or outright catching the bullets. It was a feat worthy of a fiction novel, something that he never thought he''d ever see in his lifetime.


    "Impressive display, is it not?" A voice asked behind him, and Rick would deny it until his death, but the screech he let out wasn''t exactly the manliest. He jumped into the air, turning around as his hand went over his heart, trying to calm down his heart, which was practically trying to punch its way out of his chest.


    "O-overseer John! I-I didn''t expect you here!" He said, looking anywhere but at the man. John hummed noncommittally, staring with great interest at the screen behind the doctor / scientist.


    "She''s quite something, isn''t she, Doctor? Have you figured out what I requested of you yet?" John asked as he stepped forward, gently shoving Rick away from the screen so he could take a closer look at what was happening. John didn''t resist as he stepped aside, quickly and nervously answering.


    "N-not quite, Sir! I... I don''t think I can come up with something to lock off her powers. They''re a mystery, and she''d know if I tried to take a sample of her without her knowledge." He reported, trying his best to sound dutiful and serious.


    "Hmm... She''s the only one with a power that allows scientists like you to experiment so freely on her, since the Fireman is basically untouchable beyond skin-level, and the kid''s power seems to be a mental one, not a physical one. So... Is it that you can''t, or that you won''t?" John asked lightly.


    He didn''t want to be unnecessarily harsh on the man, but he had few other options. His bosses were demanding some sort of insurance to counteract the metahuman''s powers so that they could be deployed without fear of betrayal already. Considering the Chinese had already deployed their own metahuman squad, using it as a national symbol of pride and showing off their power to the rest of the world, John knew that if results didn''t come within the week, then he''d likely be out of a job.


    "Sir..." Rick asked, disbelievingly. Why was he being doubted? He''d done all he could within the parameters he was allowed, and now, he was being blamed for it? It smelled like a conspiracy to him.


    Suddenly, the octopus-look-alike on the screen turned directly towards one of the cameras, staring directly into it. "You know... I can hear you two. Lay off of my cute little doctor, would you? You''re really tempting me to actually act like a monster instead of just looking like one, you know?" She spoke. Immediately, John''s face turned a little green as he stared at the monitor, while Rick looked relieved.


    "... Right. My apologies. I... I''ll leave now." John coughed into his hand, quickly high-tailing it outta there. Back in the gym, Lilith was ''frowning'', although it was impossible to tell with the form she currently was in.


    She''d never exactly trusted these people, but at least, she''d always thought they were genuine. She''d gotten together with the metahuman gang a few times during the past months, and they all seemed to be doing fine... But, now, she wasn''t so sure anymore if her best option was to remain.


    When Rick eventually returned, looking quite embarrassed and sheepish, Lilith took the opportunity to return to her normal form. Evidently, today''s training wouldn''t be finished.


    "... I really hope I don''t need to explain why I''m angry, right?" She said. Rick winced, rubbing his head. Lilith sighed, but kept talking nonetheless. "Not with you, doctor. You''re just following orders. I''m not even mad with the ''overseer'' up there, honestly. Still, it''s not pleasant to know that I''m trusted so little that they want to essentially enslave me."


    Lilith knew that she should be caring about this more, but honestly... She just didn''t. Perhaps it was the knowledge that, in the end, she was her own master. She''d always been independent since she could remember, all the way back to her elementary school days. Growing up with no parents, her life had been tough, but compared to others, she''d always felt free.


    Now... Evidently, whoever was on top had failed to recognize that, she mused. Stealing a look at the relieved-looking Rick beside her, Lilith began to walk back to her room.


    "... I''m sorry, if that means anything." Rick murmured after a while as he followed her. Normally, after training, they''d split up, with him going off to do his own thing and she would either go meet the gang or go back to her room to laze about.


    "Don''t be. You''ve been very helpful, honestly. Besides, I had a hunch that this was happening." She chuckled. Rick looked curiously at her, obviously expecting an answer, but Lilith kept her silence.


    It really should have been obvious, since she wasn''t stupid. While all articles relating to metahumans were censored to hell and back when she read them, the articles that didn''t directly talk about metahumans, instead just mentioning them, hadn''t been, and despite them holding less information than what she''d like, they were still quite juicy.


    Humming to herself, she waved a silent goodbye with Rick as she entered her room, listening to the doors shut close before locking themselves several times. She could easily spot the cameras lining the ceiling, and while they''d never truly bothered her all that much... Things felt different now, somehow.


    She''d always thought that the government would support her, help her out. Sure, it wasn''t exactly an enemy, but... She felt a bit betrayed. Furrowing her brows, she laid down on the comfortable sofa, extending her arm so she could grab the remote and turn on the TV.


    "What to do, what to do..." She murmured. She didn''t want to become a criminal and be hunted down by the greatest superpower currently on Earth, but at the same time... She wasn''t exactly afraid.


    Hence, as she laid there on the bed, she debated with herself, trying to reach a conclusion.

 Chapter 8

    Morning the next day, not that anyone could tell with the complete lack of access to the sun''s embrace within the deep metal caverns of the metahuman prison, Lilith found herself whistling to some incomprehensible rhythm as she got up from her bed.


    Getting to her feet, she did a few stretches, trying to get rid of the stiffness in her body. In truth, said stiffness was probably only imaginary, but stretching felt good nonetheless, so she did it anyway.


    After that, she headed towards the still locked doors. Suddenly, she turned around and stared at the phone lying on her bed with a deep, deep regret that was probably wholly inappropriate. Sighing, she ignored it, knowing that it was probably filled to hell and back with hidden trackers or other weird technological shit that she frankly had no intention to explore.


    Turning back towards the doors, she smirked. Normally, they only opened at 8 am sharp, and right now, it was only 4 am. She probably didn''t need to do this like this, but she wanted to leave a message behind.


    She raised her fist, and then punched the door. Now, normally, her power didn''t technically come with a strength enhancement in the package deal. However, it did allow her to literally turn the entirety of her arm into extremely dense muscle and still work fine.


    The result was that the doors were completely blown off their hinges, being flung back hard enough that when they smashed onto a wall thirty or so meters away, the wall itself almost broke.


    Her hearing was immediately blocked off by the loud screams of dozens of sirens, but she ignored them. Walking forward with a swagger to her steps, she didn''t bother going through all the twists and turns of the maze-like compound, but instead, she chose to escape in a more... direct way.


    Summoning around a couple dozen spider-like limbs from her back, she made the tips of each leg extremely sharp and as hard as diamond. Then, when she reached the basically already broken wall, she slashed at it with her new limbs.


    The thick metal felt like butter to her, easily being cut apart and allowing her to continue walking. She repeated this process a few more times for the next sets of walls before finally encountering a human presence.


    Really, this whole place was a bit of a sham. It supposedly housed the most ''unstable'' and ''powerful'' of humankind, and the most unknown, and yet it took them a whole 5 minutes to react to such an obvious break out attempt. Not that Lilith planned for this to be an attempt, not even close.


    This was going to be a walk in the park.


    There were several dozen guards, each armed with shields and pistols. She felt almost... nostalgic. It''d been a while since she''d seen these prison guards, as they usually stayed nice and clear of her.


    They raised their shields in unison and pointed their pistols at her. In response, she just raised an eyebrow as the sharp limbs behind her swayed gently yet threateningly behind her.


    Smirking slightly, an idea popped into her mind. In a fraction of a second, her sword-limbs shot out at the speed of lightning, well, maybe not that fast, but fast enough to completely bamboozle the guards anyways. Finally, there was some silence as the limbs retracted, leaving behind only destroyed alarm sirens.


    There were naturally a lot more through the building, and she could still hear them, but at least she could hear her own voice now. And, more importantly, the gentlemen in front of her could.


    One of them stepped forward. The only difference she could see between him and the others, apart from height and weight, was the fact that the badge on his chest looked slightly fancier.


    "Surrender, Shapeshifter. There are dozens of reinforcements coming, and if you don''t do so now, we won''t be as gentle." He spoke firmly. Still, Lilith could practically smell the fear rolling off of him.


    She didn''t know whether he was courageous, or just a fool. The line was very easy to cross sometimes, after all. She knew that from personal experience.


    "Hmm... Well, I could do that... Or, hear me out, you could all fuck off and let me pass. I don''t particularly want to hurt you, but I don''t mind breaking a few of your bones if you force my hand." She sniped back, enjoying the guard''s flinch a bit too much than what should probably be socially acceptable, but Lilith was far beyond caring what society thought.


    Not waiting to hear their answers, she just kept strolling forward. Unsurprisingly, after a moment of hesitation, the guards all parted ways before her. She turned up her nose at them, eyeing them with a mix of contempt and pity.


    They just wanted to get paid, and yet, here they were, trying to stop someone she was fairly sure they had been warned never to fight, and yet also ordered to hold off in case of this very exact situation happening.


    Really, people were such hypocrites sometimes. When she reached the end of the room, her limbs again slashed forward, easily chopping it to pieces and allowing her through.


    Then, one of said limbs struck behind her, turning from a sharp edge into a non-clawed hand and grabbing at the throat of a guard who thought he was sneaky. She turned around, raising an eyebrow before commenting, "Yeah, not a very smart idea."This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Then, she smashed him against the floor. She was careful not to break anything too important, but nonetheless, the concussion he got from it was enough to force the man unconscious. The other guards shifted, looking ready to jump in, but a harsh glare from Lilith quickly stopped that.


    "Next time..." She murmured, turning her voice''s creepiness factor up to a hundred, "I won''t be so merciful."


    She smirked as the guards backed down before continuing on her ''rampage'' through the building. After a few minutes more of smashing through walls and ignoring the guards tailing her, she finally reached the exit... Well, it was more like she made her own exit, but those were mere details.


    Taking a deep breath of the nice, fresh air, Lilith enjoyed the feeling of having the sun kiss her skin once more. She felt like a vampire, what with hiding from the sun for so long... Well, it hadn''t exactly been her idea to do so, but whatever.


    She turned back to stare at the giant metal complex, unsurprised to find it''s appearance having drastically changed since the last time she''d seen it. Despite having technically lived inside of it for almost 3 months, she''d never been able to really look at it, and she had to say, she was quite impressed.


    Humming slightly, she turned around, not walking any further as she stood before her freedom. She''d made her point, but she didn''t want to antagonize the people on top too much. After all, while she was a bit offended that they didn''t trust her to not go on a killing spree, she could at least understand the reason behind their actions against her.


    Still, understanding didn''t mean agreeing, which led to this whole thing. She tapped her fingers against her shoulders impatiently for a few minutes before turning to the tense-looking guard boss staring at her, shield raised, standing a safe distance away from her.


    "Hey, so, when''s the big boss coming? I wanna give them a message." She asked. The man flinched, taking several steps back. Lilith rolled her eyes, mentally taking back her comment about the man being anything but a damned coward.


    "... Overseer John won''t come for safety reasons. Protocol dictates that, should metahumans Shapeshifter or Fireman choose to escape, the top priority of the guard units should be to avoid personnel casualties and delay the escapee as much as possible, and for employees to immediately evacuate to a safe area." The man recited mockingly, although said mockery didn''t seem aimed at Lilith.


    The shapeshifter in question just shrugged, feeling a bit foolish for waiting like this. It made sense for the important guys up top not to throw themselves into danger head-first, but it still left a bitter reminder that, while they sat nice and safe on their chairs back home, they were throwing the lives of their subordinates around like this.


    She wouldn''t kill anyone, obviously, at least not without a very good reason, but that meant little when someone else with her powers easily could. Thinking about this only reinforced her belief that this escape truly was the best option.


    "... I see. Anyways, tell our good friend John that, if the people on top wish to contact me and ask for my assistance, I don''t mind lending it... for a price. Also, tell them that whatever shitty papers I signed beforehand are null from now on, and that if they bring me to court or some shit, they won''t see hide or hair of me ever again. The same thing applies if they send assassins or some shit after me. Actually, is there a camera recording me or something?" She asked after a sudden epiphany. The man hesitated slightly before nodding, although he didn''t look too certain.


    "Whatever. Nothing to lose anyway." Lilith shrugged before taking a deep, completely unnecessary breath to prepare herself.


    "Fuck with me and I join the Chinese, don''t fuck with me and I don''t go fuck with you. Yeah? That clear? Good. Also, fuck you to whoever came up with the idea to try and ''block my powers''. Bitch, try me." She hissed, purposely swearing as much as she could. Authority figures had always annoyed her on some level, but as of late, she''d started outright resenting them, and doing this felt far, far too good.


    The guards all looked... Well, they looked absolutely stone-faced at her words, but Lilith didn''t care. Shrugging happily, she resumed her easygoing escape from her prison.


    The guards didn''t follow, instead choosing to watch her leave while some went back inside, probably to relay her message to their boss. Again, Lilith hardly cared. She just wanted out of this place.


    She walked slowly, purposely stopping at places just to gently touch the flowers lining the soil and caressing the hard bark of the trees. Even the feel of the grass on her shoes-that-were-not-shoes felt... Well, she didn''t feel anything, but she liked it anyway.


    Finally, after an entire thirty minutes of random wandering, she reached the beach. There were a few ships far out in the ocean, and Lilith highly suspected that they''d received a warning to immediately distance themselves.


    She huffed in amusement. If she truly wanted those ships sunk, it would actually be easier to do so out in the open ocean than on land. Again, they were lucky she didn''t particularly want to turn into a criminal.


    She tilted her head at that thought. Technically, she''d probably turned into a criminal already, she was just too powerful to apprehend and throw in jail... Although, did it make you a criminal to escape from jail when you weren''t a criminal in the first place?


    To Lilith, it kind of felt like a kid trapped in a basement question. The kid was kidnapped, thrown into the basement, and left to rot there. She was the kid, and the basement was her jail.


    She wasn''t all too sure where she was going with that, but it felt right to think of it like that anyway. Eyeing the water before her, Lilith took a tentative step into it.


    A small smile bloomed on her face. She hadn''t had a bath or shower ever since gaining her powers, mostly because she didn''t need it. Still, she''d missed the feeling of dihydrogen monoxide on her skin.


    "Heh... I really need to get over myself." She murmured, suddenly missing the ability to feel through touch. Still... Just thinking about being able to feel pain made her immediately discard the idea, at least for the moment.


    Closing her eyes for the moment, she murmured, "Alright, world. Here I come!"


    She dived forward, her body exploding outward as she transformed into a titan-sized leviathan. She''d been dreaming of the moment where the walls of her cage wouldn''t restrict the size of her shapeshifting anymore, and now that she was free, she wanted to try it out.


    She grew and grew, finally deciding to stop when she reached around the 300-meter mark. She wanted to roar, but held back, knowing that the people in the suddenly much closer ships were probably pissing their pants in fear. She settled down on huffing out a large breath, creating a wind capable enough to throw back those ships with that alone.


    She looked like a snake with two massive arms a bit below the head and a fishes'' tail instead of a normal snake tail. Smirking in this form felt much different than in her human form, but she did it anyway, if only out of force of habit.


    She crawled forward using her arms, leaving long trenches where her clawed nails landed. After a bit, she was finally in deep enough water to swim, and only a few moments of hesitation, she did just that.


    Freedom was hers, but now, she knew she had to decide what to do with her life.

 Chapter 9

    "Heya, Robby. You find anything on your phone?" His friend asked. Rob scowled ineffectually, turning to glare at the annoyance that dared approach him.


    "Fuck off, Tom. Weren''t you down by the storage chopping the fish?" He asked scathingly, trying his best to murder the man with his eyes. He''d been interrupted so many times before, and somehow, Tom had a way to always appear at the worst of times.


    Like right now. Sighing, he shut off the phone, knowing that the high-stakes card game he''d been in had just been lost due to his lapse in attention. Damn mobile games, he''d have to spend hours grinding to get back to his previous point.


    "Yeah, well, we finished prepping the fish. How long until we reach back to port, anyways?" Tom asked, leaning over Rob as his hands came to rest upon the other man''s shoulders, tracing small, gentle circles.


    "Get off of me, will ya? It''s only an hour and a half away. Why do you even ask, anyways? You''re supposed to be the vice-captain, not me." Rob, again, tried to scowl, slapping the hand away. Tom let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of his head.


    "I guess. I''m probably gonna resign from that post, though. The pay isn''t that much better, and I prefer doing grunt work more than all the leader-y stuff." He said. Rob rolled his eyes, about to retort something scathing when the boat suddenly rocked. Violently.


    "HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Someone above shouted, and soon enough, everyone was screaming. Tom and Rob shared a somber look, their previous banter draining away. Tom took off for the staircase, with Rob hot on his heels.


    "What''s happening? Where''s Captain Mark?" Tom asked the closest person once they were up and out of the ship''s interior. The man was deadly pale, a haunted look on his face, and Rob had difficulty associating him with the jovial, always ready to joke around man he''d come to know during his time on the ship.


    It was hard to hear a response over all the screaming, so instead of speaking, the man just pointed over to the side of the ship, just in time for another massive wave to rock the ship.


    The captain had obviously maneuvered them so that they wouldn''t flip over, but it was still a close thing, and as Rob, panicking, threw himself at one of the bars, he noticed quite a few of his crewmates being flung around quite dangerously.


    He had to crawl his way over to the side of the ship, idly noticing Tom doing the same thing beside him. Once there, he had to fight to keep the food down in his belly, suddenly very thankful he was overboard, or it would have been much, much worse. He pitied the poor cooks down there for a moment before his attention was drawn away by the cause of this whole mess.


    His eyes bulged out like crazy, as did Tom''s beside him. Only a few hundred meters from them was a... massive... something. It was at least four times longer than their already respectable ship, and worse, it was alive.


    The sea rippled around the massive back currently breaking the water, producing the massive waves currently rocking their ship. Then, as if that wasn''t bad enough, a serpentine/draconic head that looked to be taken straight out of a fantasy fiction arose from the water. The head alone was around the same size as the ship, with massive, sharp teeth lining its mouth.


    "What the hell is... that?" Rob whispered, not knowing whether what he was currently feeling was awe, or terror. Probably both.


    "I... don''t know..." Tom whispered beside him, clutching onto the railing as though it was the only thing capable of saving them at the moment.


    "Shit! It''s looking at us!" Someone shouted, and Rob abruptly realized they hadn''t been the only ones gawking at the monster. No, instead, basically everyone in the crew had come up to stare at it.


    "I knew that the government was hiding monsters from us! I knew it!" Someone abruptly began to laugh, and Rob''s scowl returned in full force. He really didn''t need to be hearing god damn conspiracy theories right now, for fuck''s sake!


    "Silence!" The loudspeakers boomed, the voice of their captain coming through. "Hold on tight, men. I''m engaging the motors at full throttle!"


    Immediately, people threw themselves at whatever was attached enough to the ship to guarantee they wouldn''t go flying off of it, which considering this ship was made for anything but going fast, combined with the eight-meter waves currently rocking them, would be very much possible.


    "Fuck!" Tom screamed as the ship abruptly lurched, and Rob only had a split second to harshly grab the other man''s foot before he was thrown all the way across the ship as his grip slipped from the rail.


    "Thanks, love..." He murmured. Rob didn''t have the energy nor time to scowl as he noticed that the god-damned titan was following them, and if he could tell, he had no doubts the others could too.


    "We''re so fucking dead..." Rob whispered, lips curling up. Dying by an impossibly big monster that no one had a clue existed... it didn''t actually sound all that bad. Better than some mundane way to pass away, at least.


    He''d suspected that strange events might happen, after all, following the Siren''s Whisper, there had been many unexplainable events happening. Sometimes, people would survive things that they had no right to living through, other times, strange, mutated animals would appear. He''d seen the photos and videos, and hell, there was even that one time that a fridge had begun to levitate for no apparent reason.


    Still... This trumped it all by quite a bit. He could see a few of the men clutching tightly to whatever lifeline they were holding onto with one hand while holding their phones in the other, obviously taking videos of pictures.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    He hopes they''d be able to upload that shit before they all died. At least, then, they wouldn''t have died for nothing.


    Abruptly, the ship stopped moving. There was a moment of silence across the ship as it was lifted into the air by... something. Then, the loudspeakers turned on again, the tired and resigned voice of their captain coming through.


    "Well, men, we''ve had a good run." Rob didn''t even have time to bother with the crew''s screaming response as he turned, staring directly into the eyes of the massive monster that hadn''t actually killed them yet for some reason.


    He could see it now. A massive arm held their boat up, while another lifted its head high above the water. Rob knew the ocean floor in this area was at least a hundred meters deep, and just thinking about how long its arms had to be to actually reach all the way down the floor... It made bile rise through his throat.


    "Robby, just so you know, I LOVE YOU!" Tom screamed from his side, trying to make his voice heard amongst the somehow even louder screams than before. "WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT NOW, YOU BASTARD!?" Rob screamed back.


    Then, a voice louder than any human could hope to achieve spoke. "You''re an interesting bunch, but please shut up, you''re hurting my ears."


    <hr>


    She''ll be the first to admit that, perhaps, she was having a bit too much fun scaring the hell out of these poor fishermen. However, she would also be the first to argue that she was bored. Sure, the first two or so days of freedom had been a lot of fun, just swimming along the depths of the ocean, observing as literally everything fled before her massive form.


    Still, after a while, even that got boring. She''d wanted to go back on land, but she had no idea where to even begin heading towards. Hence, for an entire four days, she''d been searching for some fellow to ask for directions towards the mainland, hopefully not the U.S though. She had a feeling she wouldn''t exactly be welcomed back with open arms.


    Perhaps China might have agreed to take her in, she mused. Although, knowing their current authoritarian tendencies, she had a feeling she wouldn''t fare much better over there than she did in the U.S.


    Still, there wasn''t exactly any unclaimed land left, and even if there was, Lilith didn''t really want to go and be a colonizer. She mostly just wanted to go back and have fun back with normal people that weren''t the same three or four people she''d been restricted to back at the prison.


    Anyways, back at the matter at hand, Lilith stared down at the fishing ship currently in her hand. Despite it weighing several tons, she barely felt the weight at all, and she knew that she could crush the ship with the same ease she could crush an ant. Well, at least, this body could.


    Not that it mattered much. She was mostly just spooking them for dramatic effect, and because she wanted to make an... impact, might be the right word. Knowing the internet, the moment the video they''d taken were to be uploaded, the government would be getting a lot of questions, and after she was done telling her story to these people, she knew the questions would only increase, and faith in the government would surely fall.


    She didn''t think herself a petty person, but some nice, harmless revenge never hurt anybody, did it?


    The ship was in complete and utter chaos after she''d spoke. It felt weird to do so with this body, but whatever. She patiently waited for them to get their act together, which took a grand total of ten minutes. Finally, their captain stepped up, holding a megaphone in hand.


    "You can speak?" He asked nervously. Lilith rolled her eyes, deciding that enough was enough. She opened her jaws, the serpentine tongue she''d carefully designed rolling out. It stopped a bit above the ship before a small, cubed-meter sized piece of flesh detached from it, falling down onto the ship/


    It writhed and shifted for a bit before assuming the form she wished, and if it garnered some spooked looks from the people around her and got them to back away quite a bit... Well, all the better for it.


    She stretched her newly-formed human body, very much the same as the one she''d always held except for a few... differences. She''d been debating this for a while, but remaining completely human just felt so... boring.


    She was a shapeshifter, and while she was still trying to get used to that fact, that didn''t mean she wasn''t proud of it. She wanted people to know she was one, hence, her body reflected this.


    She''d gone for the whole ''devil'' look while trying to keep it as close to a human as possible. A long, scaled tail sprouted from her new body''s tailbone, a pair of relatively small wings that could easily grow to allow flight rested on her shoulders, while a crimson pair of small, sharp horns rested upon her temples. As a finishing touch, she''d also given herself glowing red eyes, because why not?


    Combined with some old-styled clothing choice that she felt fit the look, she was fairly satisfied. She used her serpentine body''s eyes to examine the finished product, not having had the chance nor wish to test it out beforehand. She ignored the people gawking at her, and instead twirled around a bit, checking for any flaw.


    "Not bad, not bad. Anyways, I''m Lilith, and I''m one of the metahumans that disappeared a while ago. Also, that cute little chubby-chub up there also happens to be me. Don''t worry, she won''t eat you..." She laughed, finally turning to fully face the music that was these poor fishermen.


    "... I see." The captain coughed, awkwardly, still looking a bit weirded out. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He opened it again, tried to say something, then closed it again.


    Lilith chuckled in amusement. "Don''t worry, I don''t plan to stick around for long. If you don''t mind, just point me to where... Hm... Europe might work. Point me towards Europe, I don''t care about which country. No maps, please, as those don''t tend to hold up in water well, and it''s tough keeping fragile stuff inside me without crushing it."


    They all collectively chuckled, although Lilith could easily pick up the undercurrent of nervousness. There were a few people shifting about, some clutching weapons tightly in their grip, and some were even trying to hide away. Hell, she could even spot one brave man holding his phone with trembling hands, pointing it towards her. She graced him with a smile and a wave for his efforts.


    "Ah, yes. Europe..." The captain coughed awkwardly, Lilith turning to face him again. "It''s over there, I believe. Just north-east." He pointed.


    "Thanks. Been real nice to meet you... Oh, by the way, where are we right now? I''ve just escaped from the U.S.A''s metahuman prison, so I kind of have no idea. It wasn''t a very fun place, I gotta say, but could have been worse." She asked, specifically looking at the guy with the camera when she said the last part, a slight smirk appearing on her lips.


    Aah, the shitstorm that would come out of this... She couldn''t wait to get her hands on a nice, succulent phone.


    "We''re in the South Atlantic Ocean. Are you... Are you sure you can reach Europe by yourself?" The captain asked after a short pause, some hesitation in his voice.


    Her eyebrows unconsciously raised. "Don''t worry about it. Anyways, cya! Eat me up, big girl!" She called out, purely for dramatic effect. She opened her larger body''s mouth and picked up her smaller body with her tongue, gulping her down. Again, purely for drama. She could easily just melt back into a single body through touch alone anywhere.


    She gently deposited the boat back onto the water, having taken great care not to damage anything. After that, she turned towards the direction she was pointed and began to swim... Or rather, crawl. The ocean floor wasn''t exactly that deep over here, after all.


    Oh well. She could live with this, and hopefully, so could whatever fish she accidentally crushed.

 Chapter 10

    Lilith was bored. That wasn''t a good state of affairs for... pretty much anybody. Before her ''emergence'', she would have happily just gone off to either play video games or go bother her boss and coworkers, but now... Her idea of what ''fun'' was had changed quite a bit.


    If she guessed accurately, then she should currently be right next to Morocco. After all, while she wasn''t going as fast as she could, she was still a 300+ meter long titan of a snake traveling at quite the fast speed. Furthermore, it had already been an entire two days since she''d met up with her most recent victims.


    She''d also been thinking, mostly because there wasn''t much else to do other than gawk at the cute little sharks, fishes, and other marine lifeforms.


    She didn''t know what she wanted to do with her life. Fortunately for her, that had been the case for more or less her entire life, so no biggie there. What did change, however, was the fact that she would likely either be deified by some people, and portrayed into a mindless monster by others, and that''s without even thinking about what the governments or other powerful groups would try.


    Hence, her choices were limited. She could just try and transform into an ordinary person and live her life... But that didn''t sit well with her. She''d done that for her entire life, and besides, she had the opportunity to be what others could only wish to be.


    She''d have to think further about this, for sure. Letting out a sigh, she took the opportunity to rise above the water''s surface, enjoying the coastal sight.


    She was mostly keeping herself to the coast, following it and trying to avoid being sighted by humans too many times, but it was probably for null. She''d knew at least a few boats had spotted her, and judging by the fact that there had been a few helicopters trying to find her, she was probably not being as sneaky as she thought she was.


    Still, it wasn''t hard to escape their notice. She could easily just swim down into the depths of the ocean, go forward a few dozen miles and then continue on. The fact that she preferred to stay near the surface had everything to do with her trying to enjoy the sights, especially because she had no need to breathe, and the water''s weight really didn''t matter much to her.


    Although, as her eyes drifted upward, catching sight of a duo of quickly approaching helicopter, Lilith decided that, perhaps, she could very well just make herself public. After all, she was currently a 300-meter titanic snake. Perhaps, if someone decided to nuke her, she might be in trouble, but otherwise, she would likely be fine.


    Hence, she didn''t bother hiding as she continued swimming forward, creating massive waves wherever she went. The hydrodynamic laws that should have stopped her from going as fast as she currently was were entirely ignored simply due to the fact that her current body was made of pure, extremely dense muscle.


    Smirking inwardly, Lilith allowed her head to rise above the water, staring directly into one of the cameras currently being pointed at her from the helicopters that had, for obvious reasons, decided to follow her.


    She briefly debated whether to spook the crews on the helicopter before deciding that it would be too much effort, and that it would probably backfire quite a bit considering that, while she wanted to make an impact, she didn''t want to make a negative impact. Or, at least, not an extremely negative one.


    Decisions, decisions...


    <hr>


    "Holy crap, mom! Look at that thing! It''s huge!" Luke exclaimed. Besides him, his sister bobbed her head up and down, face filled with wonder as she stared at the TV.


    "Language, Luke." His mother rebuked briefly, although she was also watching the TV with far more interest than she allowed to show on her face. The boy pouted before being drawn back into the live-action report on the TV by the reporter speaking.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems the rumors and videos were all true! Look at this big guy, he''s as real as they get! Although, if the Seafarer''s video is true, then it might not be a guy." The reporter said, obviously trying to crack a joke. Before the reporter could continue, the small family heard the soft chimes that indicated someone opening the doors to their home.


    "Daddy! Daddy! Quick, come look! There''s a huuuuuge snake on the TV!" His annoying sister shouted before once again trying to hog the best spot all to herself. Frowning, Luke tried to push her away and make space for himself, but that obviously didn''t work.


    As the two children descended into a small fight for their favorite spot, their father sat down on the couch next to his wife, eyes locked onto the TV. "Damn. That''s big indeed." He commented lightly.


    "Yeah. Apparently, it''s coming to Europe. Didn''t specify where, though." His wife commented, a light smile on her face. "Apparently, it''s one of those American shapeshifters that escaped. I saw the video posted a week ago." She added after a moment.


    He chuckled. "Who hasn''t? Anything involving metahumans is basically guaranteed to hit hundreds of millions of views."The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    She leaned slightly onto her husband, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Indeed... Say, do you think it''s going to come to Britain or go to the mainland?"


    "Who knows. I still think the media''s overreacting a bit to this." He shrugged.


    Around the continent, many similar scenes were occurring. People worldwide watched the titan-snake leisurely swim, gigantic arms briefly appearing on the water''s surface, slitted eyes sometimes locking onto the cameras, seemingly staring into the souls of the watchers themselves.


    "Fucking hell, what do you mean ''I had no choice''?! Do you have any idea how much pressure is being put on us because of your incompetence?? The public is going crazy that a metahuman escaped, or worse, even had to escape one of our faculties! People are accusing us of being... Augh!" The man in front of John screamed bloody hell, eyes bloodshot.


    John shrunk back. It was true that he could have handled the situation better, but he''d done what he could with the resources he had and the knowledge that was available.


    "S-sir, what was I supposed to do!? It was either risking the entire staff''s life or giving up!" He said, trying to gather courage. The man glared at him in response, steam practically coming out of his ears.


    "Fuck if I know! It''s not my job to figure this out, it''s yours! Now, I''ve received an order from the president himself, he wants to meet you to discuss the recent flight of our metahuman. If you fuck this up, I swear to god John, you won''t like it." The man hissed, and John could only nod meekly, looking anywhere but his eyes.


    Abruptly, someone slammed the room''s door open. The man''s secretary, a rather pretty woman with spotted glasses, stumbled in. "Boss, you''ll want to see this! Hurry up!"


    <hr>


    "Careful there, Mike. Don''t fall down!" His friend murmured good-naturedly as he stepped back into the depths of the helicopter. He''d been recording live for the past few hours, and he''d desperately needed a break.


    "Yeah, yeah." He said, waving away the concerns of his friend. After all, this was a, no,the golden opportunity he''d been looking for. Being able to stand in front of an audience of billions of people with a topic that was practically making worldwide news with the smallest event, and luckily for him, his event was quite, well... big.


    He stared down from the window as another one of his colleagues took to the stage, hanging dangerously from the helicopter along with a camera, trying to capture the best shots possible of the titan below them. Honestly, they probably should have taken more safety precautions, but what was safety in the face of overwhelming opportunity?


    As it turns out, quite important, as the newby reporter excitedly waved his hand about as he narrated about the events, acting more like a comedian than a reporter. Unfortunately for him, the helicopter took the opportunity to jolt slightly right when he let go of the rails for a moment.


    Everyone''s eyes widened simultaneously, even as the cameraman lurched forward in an attempt to catch the reporter as the poor man stumbled back, his feet not finding anything but air as he fell down.


    "George! Damn it!" The cameraman cursed as his hands just barely missed the other man''s body, helplessly forced to watch as the reporter fell the hundreds of meters between them and a whole lot of water and monster.


    Abruptly, the titan below the seas erupted upward, flesh rolling as it shrunk inward. Thousands of arm erupted from the writhing flesh, forming into a large, tight net that shot upward. Within a few seconds, the man fell right into the fleshy net, and judging by the lack of a comedic ''splat'' or screams, he was likely fine.


    The first reporter stared down with gleaming eyes, torn between worry for the man and utter glee at what was happening. The fallen reporter had fallen unconscious, and was, fortunately for everyone involved, being treated with a gentleness surprising of such a creepy thing as he was held by a car-sized hand that was gently rising upwards, directly towards their helicopter.


    "Clear the area! Quick!" Someone shouted, chaos quickly erupting as people tried to move the large, incumbent camera away. The pilot had also been told to make the helicopter stop, forcing it to hover awkwardly in the air.


    The massive, fleshy hand that was attached to an arm that must have been at least a few hundred meters long gently entered through the opening, depositing the unconscious reporter down a bit further into the helicopter. Then, instead of retreating, the hand began to transform.


    With little fanfare, Lilith formed her regular ''human'' body, keeping the creepiness factor of her transformations to more... normal levels. Needless to say, she wasn''t particularly amused at what just happened.


    She opened her glowing red eyes, staring down at the people in front of her. She swept her gaze across the entire helicopter, finding basically nothing resembling a medical kit or something of the sort.


    She began to quickly re-absorb the remainder of her leviathan body into the human one, feeling that this was a pretty good opportunity to be both lazy and go through proper channels to immigrate into Europe rather than sneaking in as she had originally planned.


    "Alright, guys. Let''s make this clear, I''m not big into human sacrifices. Let''s not start throwing people down at the big-ass snake below, yeah?" She said, raising an eyebrow. She dully noted how one of the cameramen was, for some reason, still recording her.


    Paparazzi, man. She''d never understood their kind.


    "So... Whose in charge, here?" She asked, feeling the remainder of her flesh come together. It didn''t particularly matter if she was whole or in a million different bodies, but she preferred the former simply due to habit.


    "That... would be me, mam." One of the people stepped up. Lilith was too lazy to even bother examining him further than a glance.


    "Yeah, you''re an idiot. You guys clearly need better safety here. Anyways, carry me over to... Hm... France. Yup, France. Hippity hoppity guys, hurry up." She urged. The men shifted awkwardly while the man-in-charge frowned slightly, backing up.


    Lilith rolled her eyes at this. "You guys were taking photos and videos of mewithout my consent for, like, the entire day. I even saved one of your men from becoming a darwin''s awards holder. Would youkindly do as I say? It''s not like you were gonna do anything but follow me."


    She sneaked a look at the camera, raising an eyebrow at the practically salivating cameraman standing behind it. Feeling an idea being birthed in her mind, she raised her hand to her forehead, acting as dramatic as possible.


    "Oh, woe me. I escape the slavery of a country for something I didn''t choose nor can control, only to be refuted by another. Poor me, boohoo." She said, fake tears springing to her eyes.


    Hey, if the paparazzi could act insane without repercussions, why couldn''t she? It wasn''t like anyone could stop her, after all.

 Chapter 11

    "You escaped from a United State''s prison, and decided to flee to Europe? Would you explain more in-depth for our viewers, Ms. Lilith?" An obviously excited reporter asked her. She sipped tentatively at the drink in her hands, ignoring him for the moment.


    They''d obviously accepted her request to carry her over to the mainland, but in exchange, they''d asked (begged) her to let them interview her first. Obviously, they were quite desperate for the prestige it would bring.


    She spit out the drink, grimacing. Eating and drinking, as well as sleeping, had become more or less impossible. Sure, she could put stuff into her stomach, but it felt incredibly unpleasant.


    Coughing slightly, she turned back to the camera. "Sorry, sorry. Ah, no. It wasn''t really a prison, more of a containment camp. It wasn''t bad, actually. They gave me a pretty nice room, allowed me restricted access to the internet, and generally treated me well and with respect. Although, I did overhear that they wanted to try and find some way to control me through the experiments I''d willingly cooperated with. It was what led me to decide to break out." She chuckled, rubbing the back of her head, fingers brushing against her wings.


    They felt new and awkward, but she loved them anyway. She hadn''t yet had the chance to soar the skies, but she already knew she was going to love it.


    "Oh my. What sort of experiments? Was it anything... juicy?" The reporter asked as the cameraman brought his tool even closer to her face. She gently yet firmly pushed him back, regaining her personal space.


    "No, not really. They tore up my chest and belly to see what happened when I used my powers, shot me a bit to see how well I could respond, and ran a bunch of other tests I didn''t bother asking about. Fun stuff, really." She lazily said as she walked away deeper into the helicopter, looking for somewhere to sit out the rest of the ride.


    She hummed slightly, frowning a bit when the reporter and cameraman continued to follow her. They''d left behind the fancy-looking yet very much incumbent camera set behind, instead opting to take a smaller set that the cameraman could carry.


    "Holy macaroni! They tore open your stomach and looked inside you? That sounds quite gruesome!" The reporter exclaimed, looking torn between being delighted and grossed out.


    "Haha, no, no. It really wasn''t gruesome at all. I''ve long since shut off my sense of pain, and in the first place, I could be chopped into a million pieces and be perfectly fine. My powers make it quite hard to kill me, you see." She laughed.


    "Oh? May you grace our viewers with a little show of these so-called ''powers''?" He exclaimed. Lilith lifted an eyebrow, shifting her bored gaze from the camera to the reporter.


    "Didn''t you get a nice visual before? You know, what with the giant snake and all?" She asked. The man laughed slightly, his face turning a bit awkward.


    "Uh... Yeah, but I''m sure the viewers would love a little, more family-friendly, demonstration." He explained. Lilith rolled her eyes before lazily lifting an arm.


    The fake clothing on her arm was re-absorbed into her skin, allowing her pale arm to shine through. She could easily make it as dark as the night, but she preferred the vampire-look coloring. Did that make her a racist? Maybe. She certainly didn''t believe so, especially considering her powers.


    As she lazily thought over mundane things like those, she easily allowed her flesh to do its thing. It shifted and writhed a bit for drama''s sake before rising out of her arm, forming three finger-sized Liliths. The cameraman aw''d and ooh''d all through the spectacle, staring with starry eyes at the little Liliths on their creator''s arm.


    They waved their little hands, flashing three tiny yet cheeky grins before being absorbed back into Lilith''s main body. "Impressed? Good. Go bother someone else. I wanna be alone for a bit." She said before closing her eyes and returning to her thoughts.


    In truth, she was just getting a bit of stage-fright. She knew perfectly well that there must have been quite a lot of people on the other side of the camera, and to be honest, she was already starting to doubt her earlier thoughts about wanting to be a celebrity.


    Thankfully, the paparazzi crew seemed to have been placated for now as they shut off the camera after a quick outro. The two men quickly thanked her for her time before skedaddling to another side of the helicopter, off to do whatever it was that paparazzi did.


    It was only an hour later that the first reporter, the one she''d saved, came back to himself. The first thing he did upon returning to the land of the living was, predictably, to throw himself at Lilith''s feet, thanking her with tears practically free-falling from his eyes.


    "Uh... Yeah... You''re welcome? Please refrain from touching my wings like that." She awkwardly said as the man hugged her tightly, his hands occasionally brushing her newest additions. The man laughed openly, separating from her.


    She eyed the man warily, feeling a bit put out by how touchy he''d just acted. She understood and accepted his gratitude towards her, but considering her slowly growing pride and, if she was to be honest with herself, arrogance, she wouldn''t easily accept being manhandled like that.


    She shook her head, clearing her mind of her slightly darker thoughts. Different people had different ways to express their gratitude, and she could respect that.


    Two hours later, they finally reached their destination. Lilith had been entertaining herself by staring out the window and gazing at the ocean, which admittedly, hadn''t been quite as nice as scrolling through a phone.


    Still, she could deal with that. She continued to gaze curiously out the window as a man she hadn''t spoken to yet approached her. She looked up at him, causing him to fidget from her mere gaze alone.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "Ms. Lilith, we''ve arrived. We''re at the French coastal city of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a beautiful little city. There are a few envoys waiting for you, with many more rushing over. I heard that the Archangel is also awaiting your arrival."


    Lilith''s gaze sharpened as her eyes abruptly focused on his own, causing the man to gulp. "You... Hm. Just know that if there is any sort of trap, American or not, I won''t hesitate to use deadly force to escape, and as I already threatened, I have no problem offering my services to any enemy of whichever state decided attacking me is in their best interest."


    The man looked stunned for a second before turning flabbergasted. His mouth opened and closed, no words able to leave from it. Finally, after clearing his throat and taking a few seconds to regain his composure under Lilith''s quite intense glare, he answered back.


    "Uh... I see. I do not know if this is a trap or not, Ms. Lilith, I''m just a co-pilot..." He nervously said, trailing off as Lilith''s gaze turned elsewhere.


    "Yes... I suppose you are. My apologies, you''re not the person I should get mad at even if it is a trap." She sighed after a few moments. She wasn''t really angry in the first place, but she''d felt the need to drive the point home. Now, though, after thinking about it for a little bit, she quickly realized that she''d acted quite foolishly.


    Still, she meant what she said. If they were driving her right into a trap, she wouldn''t hesitate to whip out a several kilometers tall titan form and lay waste to the entire city if need be. She highly doubted they, or anyone for that matter, could really stop her from escaping if she pulled out all stops.


    Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, dismissing her increasingly cynical thoughts. They wouldn''t be dumb enough to pull a stunt like that when she was fairly sure every country was watching, right? The negative reaction alone that such a thing would cause should dissuade them from trying, not to mention the fact she''d already easily escaped another country.


    Oh well. She glanced out the window, seeing the quickly approaching land as the helicopter neared its landing area. With but a thought, she sharpened her gaze to one a thousand times more focused then an eagle''s, staring at where she was fairly sure the aircraft would land, if the big, white H was of any indication as well as all the people surrounding it.


    There were a few obviously wealthy people there, and by wealthy, she was fairly sure they were the 0.01% level of wealth. Along with them was an entire slew of reporters and cameraman lining the sides. She also spotted a few relatively famous politicians that she faintly recognized, most of them she''d only seen in passing while scrolling the internet.


    However, the person who drew almost all of her attention was an extremely tall and muscular middle-aged man. Eight pure white wings very much different from hers sprouted from his open back, and considering the golden halo that shined brightly upon his head, it was difficult not to recognize what he was.


    The extremely handsome man''s face lifted upward, his eyes staring straight into her own. Despite the difference, both parties could easily meet their eyes.


    The angel in question let out a neutral smile, nodding once. Startled out of her examination, Lilith gave a small smile in return. She dearly hoped the man knew English since she had a few questions for him.


    She tore her eyes off of her fellow metahuman, instead looking at the co-pilot that was standing awkwardly some distance from her.


    "Any idea when we''ll arrive?" The man flinched at her question before catching himself. He coughed awkwardly into his hand, "Uh, yeah, we should land within the next ten minutes..."


    Giving a lazy grunt as an answer, Lilith rose to her feet, impatient. She headed over to the now-closed exit of the helicopter, swinging the door open and allowing a rush of air to come into the aircraft. There was an outraged cry from the pilot in his cabin as the helicopter abruptly slowed down to prevent anyone from being thrown out.


    "What are you doing?!" The co-pilot screamed as he held onto a solid surface for dear life, Lilith glanced back at him, revealed a smile filled with inhuman teeth and jumped out.


    Her wings extended and expanded, the reinforced flesh easily suspending her body in the air. She''d decreased her body weight before jumping out, and she knew for a fact her wings were strong and resilient, so she had no worries despite this being the first time she''d attempted this.


    She savored the feeling for a few more moments before shooting forward at ten times the speed of the helicopter, easily arriving at the large, white H in less than a dozen seconds. She grinned at the stunned men and women around her, enjoying the attention she was receiving.


    "Hello. My name is Lilith." She said in French, her accent shining through quite harshly. The people around her quickly recovered from her shock while the paparazzi crews practically salivated as their cameras all pointed at her.


    One of the most opulent-looking men in the crowd stepped forward towards Lilith, but before he could do anything, the angel stepped forward, crossing the distance between him and the shapeshifter in a single step.


    His face was akin to that of a Greek god, and Lilith allowed herself a moment to appreciate the sight before focusing back on his eyes. He held the same smile as before, a perfectly neutral turn of the lips.


    "Greetings, sister. I have waited for your arrival for a long time. May the Supreme bless our meeting." The angel spoke, his voice ethereal enough that it made Lilith blink for a bit, trying to adapt to his strangely human yet inhuman voice.


    "Ah, yes... Greetings? You speak English?" She asked hopefully and a bit awkwardly. The man''s smile didn''t change, but Lilith could somehow tell that it had become a bit warmer.


    "I speak all the languages under the Supreme One''s creations. The English language does not evade the Supreme''s oversight." He spoke, causing Lilith''s hopes to be immediately thrown into the toilet and flushed away.


    A religious fanatic. Great.


    Oh well. It kind of made sense with the whole angel look, and besides, even she was beginning to question her atheistic beliefs as of late.


    "No, my sister. Worship means little to the Supreme, for Its desires are not something our puny minds will ever be able to comprehend. I am a mere pawn in the greater game, here to guide the lambs of this planet." The angel spoke, causing Lilith''s eyes to immediately sharpen as they focused on him.


    "Mind reading? Impressive." She spoke, voice turning a bit colder. Her body was practically immortal, but as far as she could tell, her mind might very well be her weak point.


    She didn''t know why she suddenly felt so endangered. The man had done nothing to harm her, and yet, her mind was already churning out ideas to counter anything thrown at her.


    "Aah, do not worry, my sister. I was gifted with many, many abilities by the Supreme. However, unlike your own gifts, I was also given greater responsibilities. Your own task will be made known soon enough, sister. I will also gladly help you shatter the weaknesses imposed on you, if it may lead you to trust me."


    Lilith blinked, taking in his words. She relaxed her stance, forcing herself to calm down. She stole a peek at the people around her, eyes twitching when she noticed how many of them looked quite confused as they stared at the two metahumans.


    "I merely prevented these lambs from overhearing us, sister. Worry not, nothing of harm will befall them from my hands, not unless the Supreme wills it." The angel said. Lilith glanced back at him, forcing a smile to appear on her face before heading over to the awkward-looking man who''d tried to greet her.


    Out of all the metahumans she''d met so far, not that she''d met many, this guy easily took the first spot for the weirdest one. Still, he didn''t seem too bad, so she could tolerate him


    Sighing, she extended her hand to the man in front of her. Time to face the music, as they say.