Mutants high

005

 

The moment Alan stepped into the men's restroom, he was hit by a wave of harsh chemical odor mixed with something fouler stale urine and dampness clinging to the air. He paused, face twisting in disgust, one hand instinctively covering his nose. His eyes scanned the room: white tiled walls, urinals lined up some clean, others clearly neglected.

 

"Ugh," he muttered, his voice muffled behind his hand. "What the actual hell… Don't tell me Danny was messing with me."

 

He walked further in, though "walk" might've been generous. His feet dragged along the floor, each step sluggish, cautious like his gut was warning him. He turned the corner, toward the stall area, when a muffled sound caught his attention. Voices low, hurried.

 

He didn't hesitate. With a swift motion, Alan kicked open the door.

 

What he saw made his blood run cold.

 

Piper.

 

She was crumpled on the floor, duct tape slapped over her mouth, arms tied behind her back, legs bound. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes wide and wild with panic. She froze for a second when she saw him brows furrowed in confusion but realization set in just as quickly.

 

She began to thrash, muffled cries growing desperate.

 

Alan rushed forward. "Shit—hold on!" He dropped to his knees, fingers trembling as he ripped the tape from her mouth.

 

Her breathing came out fast and shaky.

 

"Who did this to you? Don't tell me… Danny?"

 

A slow clap echoed from behind him.

 

A voice, cool and unapologetic, cut through the air.

 

"What if I did?"

 

Alan's head snapped toward the voice.

 

From the shadows near the far wall, Danny stepped out slowly, a crooked smirk on his face, hands tucked casually in his pockets like he hadn't just left a girl bound and terrified on the bathroom floor.

 

"Are you gonna fight me or something?" he asked, his voice soaked in mockery.

 

Alan instinctively stepped in front of Piper, his legs shaky, his breath uneven. But the moment his foot hit a damp patch on the tile, he slipped crashing hard on his backside. A grunt escaped him, but he scrambled back up, swallowing down the fear crawling up his throat.

 

"Don't… don't do this. Please," he said, voice barely above a whisper.

 

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face had gone pale like someone who'd just stared down a ghost.

 

Danny laughed cold and sharp.

 

"You're pathetic, Alan. Still the same coward." He took a slow step forward. "And yet, you never learn."

 

He tilted his head slightly, eyes glinting.

 

"So tell me… what are we gonna do with you, huh?"

 

Alan knew deep down that begging wouldn't change anything. Not with Danny. But he still found himself pleading, not for himself, but for Piper.

 

"You can… you can do whatever you want with me," Alan stammered, voice shaking. "Just please… let her go."

 

Danny raised a brow and gave a mocking grin.

 

"Let her go?" he echoed, as if tasting the words. "Now that sounds fun."

 

He exaggerated a scratch at his ear, winked at Piper like they were in on some private joke only for her to shoot back a glare so sharp it made his smirk twitch into a frown.

 

"Danny, please," Alan said again, desperation creeping into every word. "You can't do this."

 

"Stop being a damn whiner," Danny snapped, rolling his eyes. Then he turned his head slightly. "Bring it in, boys."

 

Alan's stomach dropped.

 

"Bring what in?" he asked, though part of him wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

 

He looked around in a panic. He'd thought it was just Danny—just one person. But Danny's words made it clear: he wasn't alone. There were others. Hiding. Waiting.

 

Alan's hands trembled. His breath hitched. Cold sweat trickled down his back.

 

"Maybe I can stop him before they come in…" he thought. "Maybe I can"

 

No. He couldn't. Even thinking it felt foolish. He wasn't strong enough. Not like this. Maybe if he stayed still, if he took whatever was coming, Piper would be safe.

 

But then his eyes darted around the restroom, desperate for anything anything he could use to defend them both.

 

Then he heard it.

 

Footsteps. Muffled voices. Laughter.

 

And then

 

"Damn, this is so f*cking hot." One of them laughed as heavy footsteps echoed into the room.

 

Alan turned to the doorway and froze.

 

Four guys entered, each straining to carry a large iron drum. Steam hissed from the top. The metal looked scorched ,fresh from fire.

 

Alan's heart pounded.

 

"Wait… is that paint?"

 

The stench hit him next. Thick. Chemical. Hot.

 

Hot paint.

 

And they were bringing it closer.

What were they planning to do with that? Were they going to pour that on him?

 

A flood of questions swirled through Alan's mind as he swallowed hard, though his mouth was dry like sand. Danny's smirk never wavered, it deepened, twisted even, like someone toying with a fly caught in a web.

 

"Wow, this is getting interesting," Danny muttered, rubbing his palms together as he circled the drum of hot paint. The steam curling off it hissed like a warning, and the glint in Danny's eyes wide and sparkling it was enough to chill even the boldest heart.

 

"Oh, poor Alan," Danny crooned, tilting his head. "Why don't you ever listen?"

 

Alan's eyes widened in horror. The color drained from his face. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, what he was hearing.

 

"No... you're not going to do this," he said, voice shaking.

 

Danny blinked dramatically. "Do what? Dunk you into this?" He gasped as if the idea had never crossed his mind, then grinned. "I wouldn't dare. That would probably kill you."

 

But his tone and his expression said otherwise. This wasn't mercy. It was calculation.

 

"We just want to see if you'd turn into a mutant," Danny said, eyes sparkling like a child with a new toy. "No pain. I promise. But if you refuse…"

 

His gaze slid to Piper.

 

She flinched before he even said a word. Tied up on the floor, her eyes screamed while her mouth trembled open. No tape now, but no voice either. Just pure fear.

 

Alan surged forward instinctively. "No! Don't do this. Let her go!"

 

"Shut up." Danny's voice snapped like a whip. He turned to his boys. "Bring him."

 

Alan's heart pounded. As they closed in, he stumbled backward, arms shaking, legs weak. His skin was cold, but his shirt clung to him with sweat. His eyes darted around for an escape, but all he found were grins hungry, dangerous grins.

 

And a drum of boiling paint that hissed like it was waiting.

But he knew he couldn't… just then, someone gripped his suit jacket.

 

Alan let out a high-pitched scream.

 

"Stay away from me!"

 

A pulse erupted wild, electric, and loud. It wasn't just a scream anymore. The entire restroom quaked as a violent force burst out from his body. The guy who grabbed him was hurled across the room like a ragdoll, crashing into the door with a sickening crunch. The metal bent inward, forming a gaping hole.

 

"What the actual fuck just happened?!"

 

A guy with long blond hair stumbled back, eyes wide in disbelief.

 

Alan stood in the center of it all, surrounded by an unstable swirl of sparking wind and crackling energy, like a storm confined to one body. His clenched fists vibrated. The air around him thickened, rippling with unseen heat waves.

 

The walls groaned.

 

The room was shrinking. Compressing. As if gravity itself was folding in.

 

"Don't tell me this guy's a fucking mutant!" one of Danny's crew barked, panic rising as he bashed Danny's shoulder.

 

Danny didn't answer. He couldn't. His lips parted, but nothing came out. His eyes locked on Alan, Alan, whose presence now felt godlike and terrifying.

 

*Alan's POV*

 

Everything was noisy coming from shouts, footsteps, fear. All I could see were shadows closing in. Grabbing hands. Mocking eyes. I couldn't breathe.

 

My skin felt hot, boiling, like fire surged under it. My vision blurred, but I could feel something trying to burst out of me. My hands itched like they held power I didn't understand.

 

I tried to hold it in. I swear I did.

 

But it hurt.

 

It felt like a boulder was lodged in my throat one made of lightning, fire, and rage. I couldn't take it anymore.

 

I screamed.

 

And when I did, the ground split beneath my feet.

 

Flames burst from my back, licking up the tiled walls and dancing across the ceiling. My fists slammed against the floor "BOOM!" a thunderous shockwave exploded outward, knocking two guys into the sinks and shattering the mirrors in a burst of flying glass.

 

Something darker followed.

 

A swirling black mass began to form beside me. Small, dense… a void. The air twisted toward it. Loose tiles, papers, even the belt from someone's pants began pulling into it.

 

"He's gonna suck the whole fucking room in!" someone screamed. I couldn't stop it. I didn't know how. All I knew was that something had awakened and it wasn't going back to sleep.

 

I couldn't see my surroundings everything blurred like heatwaves dancing in the air. Faces melted into smudges. My limbs felt like they were made of lead, my chest tight like something was clawing to get out.

 

"I must release—"

"I'm tired—"

"Let me go!"

 

The pain roared through me, scorching and unrelenting. Then, in the midst of the haze, I saw him, Danny. His face floated in my vision like a target painted in red. And then the thought came, cold and sharp:

 

"Burn him. Reduce him to ash."

 

I didn't question it. I didn't want to.

 

My hand rose on its own, shaky but driven. I couldn't even tell which Danny I was pointing at there were too many but I knew the first one I saw was the right one.

 

As I widened my palm, a surge erupted from my core hot, raw, alive. Flames.

They danced around my arm, bursting free with a roar that echoed louder than my scream.

 

And for the first time...

I smiled.

Because I wasn't powerless anymore.

I wasn't the victim.

I was fire.

And I was done being afraid and just when I thought everything was getting better…

Just when the fire wrapped around me like armor, filling the hollowness I'd carried for so long…

Just when I felt like I was finally in control

 

I heard it.

 

Not Danny's voice no threats, no cruel laughter.

 

This was different.

Panicked. Familiar.

 

"Aeron! No ! Aeron, stop!"

 

The flames didn't stop.

They cracked louder, rising higher like they fed off the chaos in my mind.

But that voice… that voice cracked something in me.

 

Aeron?

Who was Aeron?

 

Why did it sound like they were calling me?

 

The fire inside me trembled, as if confused. The heat no longer comforted it warned. Something about that name made my vision flicker. Made my heart beat in two rhythms ,Alan… and Aaron.