[BEN'S ROOM – NEXT MORNING]
I woke up with the light cutting through the curtains and hitting my face directly. I curled up, grumbling. My whole body hurt, as if I had run a marathon… or been hit by a truck.
I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. My head still felt heavy. My mouth dry. For a moment, doubt crept in:
"That thing… the forest… the mosquito… was it just a dream ?"
But then I looked at the floor.
My school clothes were still there. Crumpled. Dirty with earth, leaves stuck to the hem of my pants. My sneaker was covered in dust and dried mud. And my backpack, thrown in the corner, the zipper open like I'd ripped it off my back automatically.
"No… it wasn't a dream."
I stood up with difficulty. Every step to the bathroom seemed to remind me something inside me was different. Internally. As if there was… another presence in my body. Silent. Waiting.
I entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. The hot water started fogging up the mirror, but before stepping under it, I moved closer.
Took off my shirt. Looked at myself in the mirror. Everything looked… normal. But there was a persistent discomfort on the back of my neck. A strange itch. A pulse.
I twisted my neck a little and turned my head, trying to see in the mirror.That's when I saw it.
"What the… hell… is this ?!" I whispered, my heart racing.
At the base of my neck, there was a technological symbol marked on my skin — like an implant or bioluminescent tattoo.
It was symmetrical, with thick black circuit-like lines curved like claws up and down, connecting to the center where four small glowing green circles shone. The glow was faint, pulsing slowly, like an alien heart beating under my skin.
That wasn't human. Nor normal.
And it definitely wasn't part of me yesterday.
I put my hand on the mark. The skin there was warm, alive. Almost… responding to touch.
I swallowed hard.
"Is this… what that mosquito injected into me ?"
Part of me wanted to scream, run to the hospital, rip it off with a knife if needed. But another part — quieter, more rational — told me it was too late. Whatever that thing did, it was already inside me.
—-
I skipped school.
For the first time in japan, I simply… didn't go. There was no way. After what happened yesterday — the capsule, the robot, everything — how could I sit in a chair and pretend everything was fine? That I was just Ben, the Quirkless kid nobody noticed ? I needed to understand what was happening to me. I needed answers.
The sun hadn't even properly risen when I left the house through my bedroom window, backpack on my back, heart beating fast. The city was still half asleep, that gray morning silence surrounding me. I took a bus to the city limits and from there, walked along the dirt trail to the forest.
Every step took me back to the place where it all began. The smell of the damp woods, the sound of branches moving with the wind, the sunlight filtering through the leaves — everything seemed charged with something new. Something I still didn't understand.
When I got close to the clearing where the capsule had fallen, my chest tightened. The marks on the ground were still there, the vegetation crushed, some trees burned — proof it really happened. I hadn't imagined anything.
I took a deep breath.
I closed my eyes.
"What did you do to me ?"
And then… it happened.
My right arm started to tingle. At first, just a weak heat, but within seconds it turned into an intense burning, as if energy was pulsing beneath my skin. I screamed, trying to keep control, but it was useless. It was like something inside me had woken up. Something that wasn't human.
I saw my skin change. Bones, muscles, and flesh rearranged with grotesque cracks. My arm stretched, got thinner, and gained a metallic black shine. Orange stripes lit up like glowing embers along it — and then I recognized it. That. That was a Pyronite arm.
My hand now looked like solid magma, heat radiating from the palm. I raised my arm slowly, feeling the heat flow through my fingers. Pointing it at a nearby tree, I tried to focus.
"Let's see what i can do…"
A flame burst from my hand like it had always been there, waiting to be used. The tree caught fire instantly. I stepped back, startled, heart pounding. The fire roared, but something inside me roared louder — a mix of fear and… excitement ?
I dropped to my knees, breathing deeply.
This was real.
It was all real.
"What is happening to me ?"
But deep down… I already knew. It wasn't just a physical transformation. It was like a forgotten voice was waking up in my head. Buried long ago, echoing like a call.
The tree was still burning when I stood up. The heat of the blaze lit the clearing in shades of orange and red, dancing on the leaves as if the world was alive — and in a way, it was. I felt it. Felt energy pulsing inside me, something new, strange… but familiar.
My breath was still heavy. The Pyronite arm still smoked. I closed my eyes and tried to focus.
"If an arm can change… can the whole body ?"
I thought hard about Pyronite. About the cartoon memories, the details: the magma body, the heat, the power. A shiver ran down my spine — something clicked inside, like a mental switch — and then… everything changed.
I was engulfed by an explosion of energy. It was like passing through a warm wave, my body melting and rebuilding at the same time. When the light dimmed, I no longer felt cold, heavy, or tired. I felt… power.I looked down.
My legs were gone. In their place, legs of fire. My chest was a shining rock with glowing cracks. My eyes burned like embers.
I was Pyronite. Whole.
"This… is… amazing!"
I laughed out loud, loud and true, while running through the clearing, leaving a trail of embers behind. I jumped and, without thinking, blasted a flame explosion that launched me into the air. For a few seconds, I flew.
Me. The Quirkless kid. Flying.
The impact when I landed threw me against the ground, but my body didn't feel it. The rock that covered me was tough, like I was a tank of living energy.
Let's try something else.
I focused again. Thought of XLR8 — the fast alien, with those thin legs and blue visor. I didn't know if it would work… but I'd already stopped trying to understand the rules.
Another wave of energy. Another shock through my body. When I opened my eyes, everything was… slow.
Not my body. The world.
Leaves fell in slow motion. The wind seemed to drag dust in the air like time itself was broken. My feet were thin and sharp. The wheels on my legs spun effortlessly. The visor glowed blue in my vision.
I smiled.
"Now this is going to be fun."
I shot through the forest like a blue lightning bolt. Dodged trees, ran over trunks, climbed slopes, and slid over stones like the terrain didn't exist. It was like being inside a video game with all cheats activated.I lost track of time.
Transformed into Heatblast, then XLR8, then Diamondhead — felt my body turn into hard crystal, reflecting light like a living jewel.
Created crystal spikes, shields, even a sword. Tested everything. Every power.
For hours, I played, experimented, lived.
It was as if all those cartoon memories had come to life inside me. But this wasn't fiction anymore. It was real. I could shapeshift. Control fire, speed, crystal. And there was more, I felt — more forms waiting to be awakened.
When the sun began to set behind the trees, and the sky, tinged with gold, started to darken, I returned to my normal form. Body tired, yes… but my heart ? Beating stronger than ever.
The forest now felt like home. The clearing, my secret hideout.I sat on the ground, dirty with dirt and soot, looking at my hands that had returned to normal.
But I knew.
Knew I would never be just "Ben, the Quirkless."
I was sitting there, breathing hard, but smiling. Still feeling the heat of Pyronite in my bones, the speed of XLR8 pulsing beneath my skin, the crystals of Diamondhead shining in my memory as if still attached to my arms. My body might be exhausted, but my soul… my soul was ecstatic.
Then, it happened.
My eyes started to tingle. A strange sensation ran through my neck, like invisible threads connecting to my mind. And before I could stand or even question what was happening…
My eyes glowed.
Green.
A vivid, almost radiant glow exploded from inside me. It lit up the shadows around me and reflected on the leaves like tiny suns.
And then…
"Energy depleted. Recharge mode activated."
The voice. It wasn't mine. It wasn't human. It echoed inside my head as if each syllable were transmitted directly to my brain — cold, mechanical… alive.
"What… ?" I tried to speak, but my mouth barely moved.
My body felt as heavy as stone. One second I was invincible. The next… an anchor. A human anchor sinking into solid ground.
The green in my eyes flickered…
And then turned red.
An intense, pulsating glow, like internal alarms going off. My heart raced, then slowed. The edges of my vision darkened. Everything spun.I tried to get up. Failed. Tried to take a deep breath. Couldn't.
"Uhn… no… not now…"
My legs gave out, and my body fell hard against the ground. Cold earth. Damp grass. Leaves crackling under my weight, and the sky… the sky spun as if falling with me.
Still conscious, but sinking fast, I realized something: my eyes still glowed.
Even lying still, motionless, I saw the reddish reflection flickering on the leaves around me. As if I was… on alert.
"Recharge mode…"
Oh man !