《Mr Mantis [Hiatus]》 Chapter 1) No More Dreaming *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEE* *SLICK* *Groan* I feel awful, massive headache, dry mouth, weak all over and the worst of all *groan* college, only a week ago since it was my 18th birthday and i''m already feeling the strain of adulthood. "Max are you up yet!" My mum calling from the bottom of the stiars, "YeEeS" my voice fluctuating as if talking through a fan, maybe i''m really ill? i feel colder than i normal should. Sloppily sliding out of bed to begin the day, something felt off, has my room always been this small? shrugging my shoulders I forcing myself back into my routine, first stop, getting my clothes ready. My wardrobe consisting off slidable mirrored panels , I motioned to them to slide them out of the way, my sleepy eyes finally waking up I notice the reflection in the mirror. "Eh" since when did we have a bug mask? Richard must have paid quite a bit of money for this mask, its pretty convincing I can''t see any strap? with a motion I tried to pull the mask off, slowly bringing my hands over my face a quick search revealed no latches, straps or anything that held it on. My hands feeling weird I brought them in front of me, silently staring at what should have been my VERY HUMAN HANDS were very vacant, instead what was there were single claw hands, the light reflecting in them betraying their very sharp edges. *Knock knock* "Max are you up yet?" My attention darting at my door, I felt a cold sweat roll down my back, the moment of silence felt like an eternity, "YeEeS muM, don''T ComE IN" The dornob twisting ever so slowly I scrambled to grab it *SLICK* *Click clack* I watched in horror as the dornob was cleanly cut off and landed with a thud. In horror and my vision narrowing I watched as the scene unfolded, my 47 year old mum slowly opening the door coming face to face with me. "AAAIiiiieeeeee......." As she collapsed onto the floor unconscious, her scream like nails on a chalkboard slightly dazing me, I instinctively brought my arms to where I once had ear''s to no effect, sudden footsteps brought my attention back towards our stairway, my dad''s heavy climbing alerting me to who it was. "What the matter Shir...HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!" Halfway up the stair I saw my dad jump back a few steps, nearly tumbling down. My attention on my dad the clicking of a door latch signalled the door to my right opened with a thud, my younger brother getting curious as to what was happening. "Whats goin.....OH GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!" his face turning 50 shades whiter. His eyes darting lower noticing our mothers unconscious form "IT-ITS G-GOT MUM DAD! I-ITS GOT HER!" tears welling up ready to burst. "ITs mE Daad, RICharD, I''M MaxFIeld!" their faces instantly freezing up, for a brief few agonising seconds the only sound was of my brother''s sniffling, too scared to fully cry. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Attempting to take advantage I attempted to close my door, avoiding using the sharp end of my arm I tried to shoved the door closed unsuccessfully, my unconscious mum jamming the door fully opened. The awkward silence lasted for a few minutes, both me and my dad locked into a staring contest that neither of us pull ourselves out of, my brother on shaking knee''s as he watched hauntingly. *Groan* "What happe...AAAIIiiiee" her scream even louder, with frantic kicks she managed to drag herself out of my room allowing me to close the door with a thud, footsteps and crying in the hallway quickly moving downstairs. Despite our thickly insulated house I could hear everything that was happening but I paid it no attention, diverting my attention back onto the mirror I examined the...the monster I had become. Minutes turned into hours, the buzzing of my cellphone not enough to distract me from my reflection, the sound of crying and talking dying down yet nobody left the house, having felt as if I had stared in the mirror for days I pried myself away. My mind still dazed and confused I could only look at the facts, I had become something not human, exploring my body had revealed me to be some type of green praying mantis, like for like every part of my body was of a mantis. I had 4 legs and 2 arms, two large mandibles protruded from my head twitchingly sensitive, beady eyes with black dots as eyes, my vision was neither worse nor better than before. New feelings and sensations welled up in my body, despite my new limbs it felt as if I years of experience, having no problem walking with all four of my thick legs, my claw''d had a razor sharp edge, before the elbow was a layer of point hair, slightly damp from whatever it was releasing. One new addition to my body was addition was the two fore wing and two translucent wings, like clockwork I could spread of hide my wings with little effort, the transition feeling natural, almost as if I were opening and closing my hand, too shocked to even try test them I only stared in marvel and shock. Suddenly the creaking of stairs signalled someone was coming up, the footsteps gradually stopping outside of my room, their shadow peeking from underneath . *Knock* *knock* ___________________________________________________________________________ Authors Note: small project that I have always fancied writing, currently prioritised second compared to "Re:elemental" Since "Re:elemental" is having a rather lengthy vote I''ve found enough free time to invest in trying other venues Opinion? let me know all criticism is welcomed Chapter 2) Whisked away *Knock* *knock* Slowly the door crept open, slowly a person clad in full black military gear stepped through the now open doorway, their face covered by a gas mask. "Who arE you" shocked at the unexpected guest, if not for my room I would have run away For a moment we stood in silence, the man taking no further movement stood watching me, the weird person not taken aback by the mantis in the room stood motionless and unreadable I struggled to pry my eyes away "Warpstar I don''t detect any hostility from him" a female voice coming from the hallway snapped my attention away, since when did my parents invite cos-players into our house? and why? The masked person taking that as his cue moved their arms into a cross position, quickly with a thrust both arms pointed towards my direction, suddenly the person disappeared along with the rest of my room, replaced with a white room, the sudden change of scenery bringing a strong feeling of nausea each breath felt as if I was going to vomit. "You''ll get used to it, although kudos for not being sick" snapping my attention behind me, sitting at a desk with a clean cut suit was a man, blue eyes black hair and with a poker-face he appeared to be in his mid 20''s. "Alright then we''ll cut to the chase, welcome to Zone 87, one of hundreds of ESP housing and schooling facilities, I''m codename Firelance and I''ll be your introduction officer for the coming weeks, any questions?" having spoken as if he had repeated it a thousand times I frantically began to think up some questions. My frantic thoughts still unwavering I decided to just try any question that I could think off "where am I? what happened to me? why am I here? what about my family? are yo..." "Relax, I''ll answer anything you ask but only if you give me a chance" He flashes a smile which only makes me sigh. "Ok so your first question as to where we are? who knows, that information is classified, as to why you''re here that''s because your ESP abilities have activated, now your ESP..." "I''m sorry but what''s an ESP" I said interrupting him. "Well ESP originally referred to those with extrasensory perception abilities, you know mind reading, enhanced senses and the like, now however it refers to those whom have a range of abilities that can not only be of sensory enhancement but also abilities that defy logic, for example being able to control the elements." "Now regarding your ESP ability, ESP come under two categories which are Inner and Outer ESP, the inner is defined as enhancing senses while the outer is one that effects the material world." "So for example an inner ESP could grant life detection or mind reading an outer ESP could grant someone the ability to control the elements, in your case you are an outer ESP." "Although rare your ESP ability is one which we categories as a Former, a special kind of outer ESP whom for one reason or another develop a non-human body part, this would usually result in one or more sections of the body becoming that of something else, some would develop limbs made entirely of a non-organic material while others might develop animal like limbs."" he pauses for a moment, allowing me to take in what he had said before continuing This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Interestingly these people would gain the same benefits as to what their ESP was mimicking for example one person had a pair of gorilla arms, with tests it was found his strength had almost tripled that of what an average human could exert." Hooked onto his speech I decide to ask a question "So what about formers who''ve fully transformed? and is there anyway in which it can be reversed?" He lets off a sigh "Look I''m going to be honest with you, your a first even in the last 30 years there was never a case in which a person has fully transformed into what their ESP was mimicking, as to reversing it? That''s beyond impossible." "ESP are ingrained into our bodies their in our gene''s, a person who can control fire will still be able to control fire even if you were to remove their limbs and any attempt to reverse it has lead to some...horrible consequences, consequences which make torture look like a tea-party" The revelation was like a hammer to me, my worst fears were confirmed I was stuck as a huge monster, my last line of defence cropped in "What will happen to my family? they''ve seen what I''ve become" Worried about my family, they had seen what I had become, even if they had rejected me. "Unfortunately there''s no easy way to put it, you''ve officially dead to them; ESP powers which are considered too powerful or in your case, impossible to disguise would put your family at a monumental risk of being targeted by other rogue agencies so to put it simply, according to the government and your family, you are no longer alive." "...." a moment went by in silence, "what? so my parents don''t know that I''m alive?" my voice breaking. "It''s as you said" Cold and blunt yet he held nothing back and I couldn''t even fight his logic, even if they had accepted my new body it''d still be impossible for me to visit them. *Clap* "alright we''ve talked enough about ESP for now, is there anything else you''d like to know? no? for now you''ll be introduced to your new living quarters, in a week''s time you''ll be enrolled into the ESP Academy." With that he lead me towards the exit, the iron doors parting way to reveal a long concrete corridor to which my new life would start. ___________________________________________________________________________ Authors Note: Holy cow this was hard to write, thankfully its only one chapter, a few chapters might be applied to building the lore behind ESP but hopefully I''ve explained the concept of the world properly, a few reads and I don''t see any problems, let me know if you feel there something off. So originally intended it to not have any abilities or anything, just a simple man changed into something else and struggles to live with it, unfortunately I kinda fell in love? with the concept, at most my previous concept wouldn''t have lasted too long, I just couldn''t think of any way in which I could keep it fresh. So I decided, take the concept and reapply it into ESP, make an adventure and then when the time comes I approach it from a different angle and come back to the original concept. Hopefully you like the new direction, let me know how you feel. Chapter 3) Life Begins Anew Walking through the long hallway was tense, too nervous to even speak, the harsh concrete floor breaking the otherwise silent walk, the corridor long with many passages split off to unknown places but we carried on forward. Eventually we made our turning a simple passage like all the others except for the sign saying H5-B3, the wide passage leading us to another set of metal doors. Agent Firelance got out a card from his pocket and held it towards the scanner "You''ll be issued your own card soon, just gotta find a way to attach it" he winked at me. With a groan the door swung slid open, vanishing into the wall to reveal I believe to be a standard military set-up, rows of bunk beds all vacant for now. Walking through we moved past row after row of bunk beds until we got to the end, leading me towards a room at the far end that had been hidden away. "Since your slightly bigger than your average person the agency has given you this room for now." he said as he beckoned me in. The room slightly bigger than I expected revealed a double bed, Just big enough for me to use comfortably, shelves lined the walls yet were vacant. "So as I told you for the first weeks is just getting used to your surroundings, let it sink in then you''ll start the ESP Academy, the Agency doesn''t expect anything from you except your Attendance, maybe in the future you''ll work with us but for now all we ask is that you attend" "And what if I don''t want to join in?" I asked meekly "Nothing really, you''ll just not get any of the benefits of those who do, usually for the less severe ESP who do attend and graduate the Academy are allowed to return back into civilised life although there is a catch to it." "The Agency has three principle''s, Protect yourself, Control your powers and Protect the innocents from ESP." "The PCP is to remind you that your life is your own, you cannot help anyone if you die or can''t control your powers but its also there to remind you that it is your responsibility to protect people from both our powers and those who abuse their gifts." Stolen story; please report. "Just a second, why do you call it the Agency? doesn''t it have a proper name?" "Technically no, officially there is no records of anyone in this facility or ESP in general, while top officials might know of our existence the Agency ensure''s that ESP are kept secret from public knowledge. You see the power that ESP offer would shatter any notion of peace in the world, the power that ESP users hold is enough to drastically alter a countries military power, the UK could invade America with a small army of select users. The public alone could rise up in a frenzy, discrimination and murder of ESP would be rampart while those capable of fighting back would ensure a civil war would occurring all over the world. Thus the Agency takes secrecy with utmost importance to maintain peace." Nodding my head "Yes I guess I understand now, I''ll join the Academy" with that agent Firelance nods his head in approval. "So If you''ve got any question just ask your room-mates, I''m sure you''ll all get along" with that he walked out the room. Popping his head thought the door "Oh and if you have any problems with anyone do report it to one of the senior members" with that he left the room again, the distant door opening confirming him leaving. With Firelance''s departure I was left alone in my room, in this alien environment I had to accept that my previous life was over Getting comfortable in bed was...different, no longer could I change position but lie down on what would be my belly, legs dangling over Finding comfort for the first time today, I nodded off into a haze of dreams. ___________________________________________________________________________ Authors Note: Technically Mantis don''t sleep they just go into a suspended animation, reducing heart rate, etc, etc It''ll be touched on next chapter. boy was this long overdue, sorry for the late release, just been very busy over the last few days the chapter is a tad shorter than I''d normally be satisfied with but I feel its finishes the introduction. Chapter 4) Making Friends For what felt like hours an unusual feeling of calmness flowed through my body, as if all the troubles of the world were gone, not even a twitch could be felt, my vision hazy yet I can still make out the shapes of my room. My body felt different in this land, what should have been darkness was replaced with an acute awareness of my surroundings. I desperately wanted to sleep, sleep for hours on end just to find an exit to this nightmare that I found myself in and yet not even the world of dreams could be found, only nightmares resided in their absence. As if my body knew I wanted to get up I found myself leaving the hazy world of sleep, finding my vision returning, my once dull and aching muscles feeling great and my weariness gone as if I had slept for many hours, checking the cloak I found myself only have slept for an hour. A few minutes passed, simply enjoying the comfort of my bed before I decide to get out, the springs crying out as I left their embrace. *Groan of the metal door* "So I said to her, cheetah gonna cheat and that''s how I got this bruised arm" The sound of laughter came from the open door as the sound of two men entered. "Hey wanna go prank the new guy? he should be asleep right now" one of them said in a hushed voice. Silently inching myself as close to the wall as possible, hiding near the doorway I waited for the footsteps to get closer, the dark room providing ample hiding spaces. Slowly the two people tiptoed into the dark room, not even glancing towards my hiding place, I watched them as they snuck up to my now vacant bed. "WAKE UP NEWBIE! GET UP GET UP GET UP!" A baldish fellow screamed as he shook the bed, his buddy flipping the light on. The surprise of nobody being there confusing them I took my moment and launched my counter prank. *Ahem* "Oh clever, you heARD WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING! HOOOLY FUCK!" baldy screamed his buddy remaining silent but turning just as pale as his friend. "Hello there, scared of a little insect hehehe" I said jokingly seeing that they were scared shitless. "Holy fuck you got us there mate, that''s a really good getup, how''d you even make that?" The bald man said between wheezed breath. Slowly walking up to me he pets my face "Wow th-this is pretty realistic, I can''t even see any zipper or anything" "Yeah that''s...really realistic, how''d you even convince them to let you bring it in?" his friend said. "Its not a costume, its my ESP" I said calmly feeling rather amused at their reaction. A few seconds passed as they processed what I had said. "Ehhhhh...WHAT!" they said in unison, baldy retracting his hand almost slapping himself. After a few minutes of explaining yesterdays events. "We''re really sorry for our behavior, we really didn''t mean to make you feel bad especially after what you''ve been through We''ve not even introduced ourselves! I''m Zack codename Cutting Edge, my bald friend here is Henry or as he''d like to call himself PointBlank" "HEY I''m not that bald" he said as he slapped his friends shoulder. In the light I could finally inspect my guests. Zack sported spiked black hair, his soft face matching his green eyes his outfit consisting of grey vested jumper over a buttoned shirt matched only with dark blue jeans and boots he stood at least 5.7 foot. His friend Henry was completely opposite, polished head his only hair being a short stubble beard, his brown eyes and rough face giving him an aged look, wearing a grey tank top displacing his muscled arms with blue jeans and boots, standing at 5.9 foot. "Sooo... we''re really sorry for our behaviour, we really didn''t mean to make you feel bad especially after what you''ve been through" Zack said. "Oh its fine, I''m still shaken up with the whole ordeal really...." *ClINK* the metal door opening revealing another person. "Hey Zack I just remembered there''s a new recruit today, no pranks you hear" A women''s voice calling out from the hallway, her footsteps closing in before reaching my room. A women with baggy grey clothing and blue jeans stood at the doorway with short brown hair blue eyes, her tall figure nearly touching the 6 foot high door before stepping in before us, although wearing long clothing and jeans what should have been hands and feet were revealed to be golden furred paws that were dotted with black spots. "Hey I though I told you no pranks and you bought some scary mantis statue" as she turns to glare at Zack. "I''m not that scary to be honest..." I said in reply. "See Zack if you scar...." cutting herself off for a few seconds, she remained silent until turning to me. "...Oh s-sorry I didn''t mean to be rude, your honestly not that s-scary" she said unconvincingly with unsteady feet. "So anyway welcome newbie, my names Sarah or Cheetah...yeah I''m original ok! and these two are..." "We already told him Sarah" Henry said. "Oh, well...*Punch* that''s for scaring me!" she said while punching Henry in the shoulder. With that the three of us continued to chat, the earlier uneasiness eventually lifting until we all casually talked, we talked about many things like hobbies, past life experience and just general things. Zack discovered his ESP when he was 17, his ability can give himself or an object a razor sharp edge, essentially able to make a piece of paper cut through metal, apparently he was minding his own business when he "accidentally" cut through his exam paper....and table he was taking the test on. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Henry at the age of 20 discovered his ESP, although he''s not entirely sure on the limits his power is acceleration, although limited to his hands he can change the direction and speed of anything he touches, objects have different speeds but generally he can make objects travel around 60mph, he discovered his power when he apparently sent a squirrel blasting off into space.... Sarah''s is a bit tricky, apparently she had hers since the age of 15, just like me she''s a former, having Cheetah mimic''s she''s apparently able to move faster than normal along with the razor sharp claws, when she had gained her ESP she was at a karate championship, almost won it as well if she hadn''t started transforming in the locker room. "So Max, have you though of a codename? I was thinking... Greeny" Sarah said. "How about Praying Green Mantis" Zack said "Oh here''s a good one, Giant Green Insect!" Henry called out. *cold wind blowing through* Really? this is the best you guys could even come up with.... "Hmm, I was thinking just Mr Mantis?" I wasn''t really interested in a complicated name. "hmmm... Yeah" they all said. "Hey why don''t we take him to the training hall, it should be interesting for us all" Zack said to us. Curious I agreed to go along with them, despite it being late at night they were more than willing to go to the training hall, the added bonus of going now was there was less people in the hallways. A rather uneventful trip towards the hall, travelling through the corridors we had met a few people, the majority were just freaked out at the sight of me while one person actually fled off somewhere, a few twist and turns was all it really took until we got to the training hall, a rather plain looking area that was brightly lit, it size was nothing to scoff at with an area as large as ten football fields. Staying true to its name the training hall had many articles of equipment ranging from simple gym equipment to full on running fields and training dummies. Following Sarah''s lead we made our way to some rather large range of sad looking dummies, each lined up with a variety of material, some were made out of simple straw while others made out of rock or metal. "Think of this as an initiation, we normally have the new guy take a swing at one of the dummies, you''ll use these in the Academy anyway so it''ll be fun to just have a few fun swings" Sarah went up towards one of the dummies, the light colours suggesting it was made from stone, stopping a few inches from it as she prepared herself, *WHACK* with a quick jab her paw found its mark, leaving a chunk of the stones chest crumbled at where she had connected. "See nothing too complicated" With that Zack and Henry both stepped up towards a random target, zack making a chopping motion with his arm aimed for the dummies neck *Slink* as his hand cut through the dummy, the head landing with a thud by his feet. Meanwhile Henry had picked up a few pebbles, with a lazy throw they blasted off like bullets towards the target *Plink Plink* as they connected, smallish pebble sized holes embedded themselves inside their victim. Spurred on at the surreal sight before me I decided to join in walking up towards a dark black dummy, with a quick glance at my arm scythes I put my attack into motion with a quick flick of my arm aimed for above the dummy I swung my scythed arm in a diagonal from the dummies right shoulder. "WAIT!" they shout, their faces cringed as my blade inched closer and closer. Too late for me to stop my blade connects with the dummy *SLINK* my scythe continuing through the dummy as if it were paper before exiting on the other side, a second passed as the unsupported dummy slid off, its thud breaking the silence. "Hey that was fun, is there any more?" I said turning towards their shocked faces. "Holy shit" Henry said his jaw almost reaching the floor. "What? did I do something wrong" I asked turning around to see the somewhat shocked faces. "That''s 10cm thick Maraging Steel that you just cut in half!" Zack said as his eyes almost popped out. A mix of confusion, excitement and fear sprung as I stared at my scythed arm, its sharpness even scarier than I had imagined. "Oh so there you are!" A familiar voice called out, turning around to see Agent Firelance walking towards us. "Testing the new guy I see, have you shown him Breaker ye......oh wow, Zack did you cut it?" as he closed in he bent down to inspect the now slain dummy "that''s a pretty clean cut you did as well..." he said while rolling a finger down the smooth cut. "Erm sir, I didn''t cut it" Zack said, unable to tear his eyes away from the slain dummy. "Don''t be silly who else could have cut it other than Max....you cut it didn''t you Max" his gaze directing at me. "Erm...sorry about that, did I ruin it for you Zack?" I said apologetically. "Oh no...its just that you cut something that nobody''s been able to even dent this let alone cut it in half" Firelance said as he stared at my scythed arm. "So Mr Firelance, what brings you here?" I ask.... __________________________________________________________________________ Authors Note: So how did you like the new cast of characters? good / neutral / bad, let me know Chapter 5) Cafeteria Troubles "So Mr Firelance, what brings you here?" I ask. "I''m really just here to make sure your settling in alright but I see your in good hands with Zack and Sarah" Firelance said. "And Henry...." Henry meekly chimed in. "Anyway its good to see that you''ve made some friends I would have spent more time chatting but someone destroyed Breaker...so cya" "Hey Firelance before you go why don''t you show Max a little of your ESP?" Zack said to the already departing Firelance. "Hmm, alright I guess I can spare a minute at least" with that he gave a wave of his hand, suddenly from above his head appeared a bright red orb, circular yet chaotic outlining its shape quickly morphed into a pointed diamond. Having already turned around he motioned his finger as if it were a gun, aiming at a metal dummy and as if firing his finger the diamond shaped orb sped away towards its target *Shink BANG* its aim true it pierced the dummy before exploding into a ball of fire. The dummies charred remains was a sight to behold, I marveled at what had transpired before me, the already departing Firelance more than confident in his own powers had already walked out of sight. *Gurgle* as if a bomb had gone off the sound of hunger struck and all eyes were on me. "Man I''m hungry, hell I bet I could eat a horse" I said as they awkwardly laughed. "Hell yeah all this exercise has made me hungry! we''ll go to the cafeteria" Serah called out. With that we made our way to the cafeteria our destination near we pushed open the wide metal doors, the sounds of chatter and laughter filled the air as the door gave way, an average cafeteria lay before us with, with seating for more than three hundred people however only a fraction of those seats were taken up. With the warm draft of delicious food we made our way towards the servers, with every step I took the noisy atmosphere gradually waned until it was replaced with dead silence, an ocean of stare''s aimed at my alien form that waited at the counters, expecting this I waited patiently for the servers to awaken from their shock. A soft chuckle erupted from the crowd a women casually got up and walked up to us "Alright hun, your costume''s good but you shouldn''t play pranks on us" she said as she casually tugged on my arm, her weak motion slightly annoying me and yet the shocking display before me rendered me silent nobody but this women uttered a word "Hey you can take it off now it''s not even funny anymore" she said with a stern voice, tugging harshly at my arm. "S-Sorry but it''s not a costume..." I said with a meekish voice. "Come again?" her tugs stopping as her face twisted in surprise and shock. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "I said it''s not a costume and you''re annoying me" I repeated to her shocked face as her expression finally went grim and snapped her arm back, before lunging at my head, her sweaty palms trying to pry what she thought to be a mask. A few tugs was all it took before I slammed an elbow into her gut, the wind being knocked out her before she collapsed grasping at the area I had hit, a few seconds go by and she''s slowly walking back to her table her table. Finally over I paid her no more attention "excuse me" I called out to the person behind the counter, their bewildered face staring at me for a few moments "eh?" as they pointed at themselves. "Yes, I don''t suppose I can just order a bunch of small samples of food?" I ask, my intentions to learn what my new body likes and dislikes, Zack, Henry and Serah also ordering small portions of food. "Eh....yes yes sure just give us a few minutes" With that they got to working. For what felt like forever the food was ready, a small tray of food various foods from salads, chips and meat assorted into little piles "Henry would you mind carrying this for me?" I asked. With that we went and got our seating, the food carefully laid out a new dilemma appeared before me, I can''t use forks... "Hey let''s watch the freak eat" "This should be worth a few chuckles" a few loud whispers reaching my ear but I didn''t let it defeat me. A few experimental lifts and I somehow manage to lift a small plate up with my arms, slightly unsteady I repeated this with the remaining plates the sample foods tasting bland yet palatable, the salad however was as if I were eating tarmac taffy, tough and chewy causing me to gag a few times before having to give up, its seems as if this body isn''t suitable for green foods... Finally finished eating we decided to head back to our dorm, with that our day was over we continued to socialize for the rest of the night. For the next week I continued exploring the base, the word having gone out people no longer freaked out as much as they had originally and finally people started accepting me, a few cases still occurred but those were few and far between. Before long it was time to start the Academy. __________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: Sorry for the very late chapter, I hadn''t intended to take this long but a few things got in the way, hopefully I can deliver another chapter this week I had intended to make the chapter longer but I couldn''t really think of much in which I could add : / Chapter 6) knowledge is power A week has gone by and I''m still getting used to my body, what should have been a week of rest turned out to be a small blessing in disguise what with me learning all the intricacies of my new body, thankfully my friends have helped me along the way. For example an average beetles shell can be very tough, so tough that it can withstand rediciously damage without even cracking, so in cases such as myself who''ve got comparable scales we are practically walking tanks and this applies to everything on my body. While Former ESP benefits would stop here but because of my condition I''m not limited to just body enhancements, the Mantis secret weapon its reaction speed, comparable if not better than even a trained warrior, triggering it hasn''t proven reliable and yet in a few brief moments the world felt...sluggish, my body which should be equally slow was infact unhindered I could gracefully dodge projectives. My friends have been helping me as well, even serah.... even if i nearly died from her method... --------------------------------- Flashback *Puff* A tennis ball is spit out, aimed at me I swing my bladed claw intending to cut it. *Bonk* My aim woefully too fast it hits my chest and lazily rolls back into the machine. For an hour I''d been practicing alone in the training hall, a simple reason really, I couldn''t catch anything without screwing up majorly, a slow throw? cut it in half or miss entirely, not that I wanted to cut everything but I had to start somewhere... My problem wasn''t my body persay but rather my reaction speeds, it''s as if I were using a huge bat, I could use all my force and knock things into orbit but if i just wanted to lightly tap something that was so far way out of my power. *Puff* the Tennis machine churns again. "Hey Max!" A familiar voice calls out, appearing among the dummies Serah pops out. *Boink* Paying no heed I walk away going to meet the approaching Serah. "Didn''t realize you were here what are you doing here?" "Oh well I''ve been having trouble stopping from destroying whatever i try to catch so I''m training myself" A coy smile spreads on Serah''s face, something tells me I won''t like what she''s thinking. A sudden twist of her leg and a slight curling of her body, the bewilderment short lived as she springing forth like a piston *crack* as the concrete floor unable to stand the pressure cries from the pressure. Only a few steps from me and she closes the gap in seconds her charge bringing her within arms an arms length as if even the very air fear her she unleashes a flurry of punches that screamed of danger all of which were aimed at my body. As if death had come for me a cold wind blew my core, the flurry of punches coming closing a distance of a few meters and yet... they''re slowing down? no not just the punches but everything? The blur that was Serah only a few seconds ago now almost slowly inching statue, every single part of her body in rhythm, working together to the best of her ability just to deliver power blows. With little time to even comprehend the spectacle before me I go to block them with my arms. *PAT PAT PAT PAT* Her lightning fast punches connecting with my arms the shockwave shaking my arms violently as she pulls back, shit she really wasn''t holding her power back.... If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it."Good job! your a first for blocking my Serah Sandvich" she says as she blows away her fist as if it were a smoking gun. "Sh-shit Serah you could have warned me" I said between heaved breaths. "Eh, but that''s half the fun of training! you need to go outside your comfort zone a little" A stutter breath is all i can respond with, I can''t retort such crazy logic not even my numb arms could protest in fear of another round. ------------------------------- Flashback over Asides from that nightmare Zack and Henry have been pretty supportive helping me find methods of getting around doors abeit difficultly among other things. Through the week I''ve had a few visits from a person called Doctor Reivex, a rather normal looking guy although I believe he''s not actually a doctor... although when I do question him he always redirects it to another question. He had been a little demanding when he first saw me "walk here, let me measure this" and while I didn''t want to he did help me learn more about my body. For example Mantis don''t actually sleep, their bodies goes into a type of suspended animation, resulting in a semi conscious state, additionally being of the insect family they are susceptible to coldness resulting in sluggishness something which I''ve yet to feel in these somewhat humid tunnels. While at first I was worried about my life expectancy being only 5 years among other health complications Prof Reivex explained to me in which the common theory of improved performance could also be applied to my own body. That being said there was no actual information as with anything new but for now I''m more than happy with what I''ve learnt. With the day finally starting I followed the group towards the Academy, Firelance had told me I would receive my card from my teacher "an initiation into Academy" as he put it... Finally reaching the Academy entrance marked with an uncermously bland sign "Academy entrance" before they opened automatically revealing an...American high school? With American styled lockers lining along the walls along with classrooms the normal school setting seems out of place.... "Strange isn''t it" Zack said "because its a sense of familiarity that''s forgotten when we first get here..." The empty hallways vacant of life we made our way to our classroom, my curiousness peaked I inspected everything that passed by and yet nothing was out of place in this very out of place place, the drab interior of the underground base replaced with a refreshing change of life felt strangely comforting. A few twists and turns the corridors seemed to have stretching onwards for miles before we finally reach our destination, a rather large brown door marked "Classroom W8-T3-F2" *Knock knock* Henry knocking on the door before entering. "....ow class we''ve got a new student, he''s a little...different so be sure to treat him kindly" a familiar male voice called from within. Following Henries lead we enter the room. "Aarrgh" "Oh god!" "Waah" and the screeching of chairs on hardwood only the awkward silence soon was all that remained. Is this really going to be a common occurrence....? __________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: Finally got around to writing again, not had much chance as of lately Not dead just slow :/ Yeah kinda struggling to keep up with writing what with work and writing my other fiction This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. sorry for the delay I''ll hopefully have something soon