IN THE WAKE OF THE PAST
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first time writing anything like this. Just for reference, I am thinking far ahead and the startup of this story will be decently slow. Any criticism is greatly appreciated, good or bad. I am not the best writer, but have always wanted to try this out, having read many stories on this site.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TEEN TITANS, NOR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS.
One day, they will come for us. They will see us as threats, and exterminate us. When that time comes, it will be I who will bear witness to it all, and you who will be the ones who will finally understand that I was right and you were wrong.
Adam Griffin awoke to the loud sound of his alarm clock. It was 7:30, and he needed to prepare for the first lecture of many he was giving at Jump City University. After showering and eating a quick breakfast, he began the walk from his apartment onto the nearby campus.
Adam was no ordinary man. For starters, his skin held a pale grey complexion, and his eyes were a crimson red. He was not from a different planet like some inhabitants of the city, his DNA was simply of a different breed than those walking around him. Adam was what scientists called a "metahuman." While still a member of the Homo Sapiens species, his DNA, by way of a mutation in his parents, was radically different.
"I hope things have changed with this new generation," he thought as he made his way to the Biology Building. Upon arriving, he took the elevator up to the fifth floor and entered a massive lecture hall. Greeting the large congregation of students and staff in the room, he stood at the lectern in the center of the room and waited for the chatter of the students to die down before beginning his speech.
"By a show of hands, how many of you know who I am?" Adam asked the crowd. What seemed like hundreds of hands, both of the students and staff, seemed to raise in unison. "Good, that will make my introduction much briefer than I intended. My name is Adam Griffin, and I am the last known member of the group we once called metahumans. I am here today to speak to you about the cause and effects of genetic discrimination. While the world is much different now, your grandparents were probably alive during a time where the ignorance of humans discriminated based on race, gender, religion, or even sexual orientation. In fact, Many of your parents may have even been around during those times. However, what fails to be talked about in your civil rights courses, what failed to be mentioned on the news, and what failed to be alleviated by police action, is the issue of genetic discrimination. In a world now, where genetic engineering is common place in science and medicine, this may not seem like a big issue at all, in fact, in America, the idea of such discrimination is all but extinct. However, there is a massive lesson that can be learned from the ignorance of the people of the past generations."
Adam paused and looked over to the Dean of Students, who nodded his head, telling him to continue.
"Now when I can in here, and asked you if you knew who I am, hundreds of hands shot up. That is because this city had a very rich population of metahumans not 100 years ago, and their legact to this day is a foundation to what the people of Jump City stand for. I will try the same exercise again… by a show of hands, how many people have heard of the Titans?"
Once again hands shot up, this time one from every single member of the audience.
"Just as I thought…You know those groups as heroes, members of society that went above and beyond the call of duty as an average citizen. You have statues in town square dedicated to them, holidays celebrating their birthdays, and even use their old headquarters as a museum.
Yet your parents, and your parents' parents, saw these metahumans in a different light. They saw them as criminals, and only showed acceptance when they needed their help, any time else, they would continue their violent campaign of subjugating them. I am the lone survivor of the Titans, thanks entirely to my own personal mutation.
However, I am not here to be bitter about the past, I am here to teach, and the best way I can think of doing that is first going back all the way to the beginning. Over the next semester I will be holding these lectures to share with you my experiences as a Titan, as a refugee, as a outlaw, and as a member of an oppressed people group. There will be parts of my story that will be hard for some of you to hear, and even parts that will be hard for me to say without becoming a tad bit emotional. If at any time there is a section you are uncomfortable with, feel free to leave, get some fresh air, and come back, I understand completely. At the end of the semester, I will answer any questions you may have about the subject, so please, do your best to not interrupt me; you will have your time to clear up any uncertainties later.
I will begin this session with the first instance of my mutation manifesting inside me, and making itself known.