To Discover One's Inhumanity - By Oan Glalie... in other words, me.

"One tal Caramel Macchiato, and a blueberry scone… that'll be $5.81" said a guy that looked to be about college age.

In the small borough of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, there was a boy that looked to be a middle schooler or a highschooler at most. Although his attire would have you questioning that.

"O-Ok…" said the child, his voice muffled by the thick scarf that he had around his neck and that obscured most of his face.

The boy soon reached for his pocket and struggled to pull the money out. He had what some would consider oversized mittens on both hands, and that made it harder to pull something out of his pocket. Some would question the why he didn't just take them off to make things easier for him, but to each their own. It's not like he was taking time in the line. He was the only one ordering something. He took what he was hoping to be a ten dollar bill and after assuring that it was indeed one, he handed it to the barista.

"K-Keep the change…" he said, taking the hot drink and the scone.

"Thanks for your purchase! We hope to see you soon!" the barista said in a kindly manner as it was costumes for employees to do. Yet this particular barista was always very obviously sincere whenever he said it.

"Y-Yeah… you too." the boy said before taking his leave of the coffee shop.

Upon exiting, he found himself right in the middle of the Promenade Shopping Center, located at the Saucon Valley. Pretty nice place to be in, or at least that's what the boy thought of the place. Nice outdoor look, he always liked the stone gazebo and the fountain was always fun to watch. Definitely the most liked parts of Main Street. And as it was like most cases that people had a free day (or at least as far as he has seen), the place was very lively. Gatherings of people, both local and visitors from other counties nearby all coming to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle experience. Even if today just so happens to be a somewhat cold day, even by Pennsylvania standards.

Meh, at least they're not North Dakota. He heard from a friend that that plae gets so cold, that they changed Eddard Stark's line of the books from 'Winter is Coming', to 'Monday'.

No surprise, the people all around were all wearing winter wear. Scarfs, coats, mittens, you name it. The boy in question, who was already making his way home, was no different to the others in that regard… Well, there was one thing that may set him apart. And that was the fact that he may have taken things a little too extreme to their taste.

He didn't look like someone going outside on a winter day, he looked like the day after tomorrow was today. Yeah that's the reason why his wardrobe could make it hard to tell his age. He was so wrapped in so many layers of clothing, that it was pretty hard to tell if the kid was indeed a kid, or just some shorter guy cosplaying as a closet commed to life. He had a winter cloak, which was on top of a thick jacket, which was on top of a very comfy hoodie. He had his aforementioned oversized mittens that may as well be on top of another pair of gloves. It looked like he had at least three layers of winter pants and the boots that he was wearing looked like something a russian sergeant would wear when his feet were cold. And as for his face, it was completely covered, with barely any skin left to show. And that was still when one squinted really, really hard. He had a thick scarf all wrapped around his neck and covering his mouth. He had a beanie hat that was under his hoodie. And as if that wasn't enough, he also had a pair of ski glasses plastered to his face. Forget not being able to tell his age, one look at the young lady and you may as well call yourself a Pokémon professor because no doubt will you be asking him if he was a boy or a girl

Naturally, he would get some attention as he walked towards where he had put his bike. Making people questioning his decisions in clothing. Actually, one of the reasons he knew the barista's wishes were sincere, was because he has been there multiple times already, to the point of knowing him quite well. He was Matthew Brodwack. College student in his second semester of Biomechanics at the DeSales university. Although with all the pieces of clothing that he was wearing, it shouldn't have been a surprise that he couldn't recognize him. He actually tried to start a conversation by noticing the amount of clothing that he had. Made a quick joke about how rather than looking like he was preparing for a winter day, he looked like he was preparing for an expedition in the Antarctic. He probably thought that the boy was a tourist, but he decided to roll with it. He wasn't exactly a winter guy before and now… well, let's just say that he appreciated jackets a whole lot more.

He kept on pedaling towards his home. Normally he would have taken the scenery route. He enjoyed the way the trees and all looked like. But right now he was in a hurry. He was in a hurry because he wanted to escape the cold that he was still feeling despite the layers of clothing. And most important of all, he wanted to arrive home early because he didn't want to make him wait. Besides, the coffee would probably go cold if he didn't hurry up. His home in particular wasn't that special. Rather small compared to others around, but since it was only the two of them, it hadn't been a bother. It was fairly near the Cooper Mansion. About five to eight minutes walking distance-wise.

As he kept on making his way home, he took notice of the fact that he was now passing between the Southern Lehigh Middle School and the Southern Lehigh Highschool. Meaning, that the Laurel run was just a bit up ahead. And… that lingered in his mind.

"Tomorrow, first thing in the morning." the boy thought.

By the time he saw the Bank, he knew that he was already near home. After a couple more minutes, he managed to arrive safe and sound… and cold. Well at least the coffee was still warm. It probably had to do with how much he was hurrying up. Normally it would have taken him an average of a bit over twenty or so minutes to get home via bike. But now, he probably took a bit less. Putting his bike to the side, he dug in his pocket in search of his keys. He cursed (Well, not really) at the fact that he was struggling to get them out. Again, oversized mitten gloves. Sighing and a bit frustrated, he looked around, hoping to make sure that there would be no one that could spy on him. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he started to take the mitten of his right hand. Then, he also took the glove that was underneath it, for it was also hard to search for stuff in his pocket with that one as well. And then, he took it off to reveal his hand. He was a caucasian boy, sometimes people would joke about needing a bit more sun, but they were played off as laughs. He was nowhere near as pale as some people made him out to be… but the odd thing that his hand showed… was the fact that there were purple scales in the upper part of it.

In a bit of a hurry, not wanting to be seen, he opened the door quickly and then just as quickly passed through it. After shutting it down, he sighed in relief. It was way more comfier inside than outside. Once inside, he took off the extra pieces of clothing that he had on. After he did that, he saw both of his hands, which were both covered with scales in the upper part. He decided not to linger that much and made his way to the living room. Where someone sitting on the couch was waiting for him.

"Yo, Drake, is that you?" the man asked.

"Nope, I'm the ghost of Christmas past, here to tell you about why you should buy that game that just came out for your cousin." the boy, now known as Drake, said. Making the other man give a dry laugh.

"Oh, ha, ha. Nice try buddy. But if your Math grades on that report card of yours is anything to go by, then maybe I should keep having you do the dishes till next spring."

"And a still warm Caramel Macchiato with a blueberry scones won't have you change your mind? They're your favorite, you know?" Drake said, holding the bag with the coffee and scone, although it's not like he could see them.

"... No, you are still doing the dishes, but I'll still be taking those, thank you very much." the man said. "Now come here and give your cous some of that stuff. I've been craving some since yesterday."

The boy smiled and nodded (mostly to himself), as he then walked towards the older man and handed him the bag (all while making sure he never touched his hands). Once he did, he reached for the inside of the bag and upon smelling the blue berry and the caramel, he smiled.

"Man, Matt and Steph sure know how to make this stuff!" he said, pulling the coffee and taking a sip from it. "Seriously, there's something those two do, that makes this taste better than it should!" after which, he took another sip and then a bit out of one of the scones in the bag. "Thanks cous, you didn't have to, you know?"

"Well, I wanted to do something good every once in a while. And besides, I know that you started to want one since there was that ad yesterday when watching the game."

"Oh haha, very funny." his cousin replied sarcastically.

Why would he do that? Simple actually, he couldn't see.

Not that he was blind or anything, he actually had a fairly decent eyesight. But the thing is that he had some eye infection or something. Drake didn't know exactly the details, really. But what he did know was the outcome. He had to have eye surgery to save his sight and since Saturday actually, he has had his eyes covered. The doctors said that he should be able to take them off in five days. That… that made things easier for him for the time being. But he still had to hurry to find out what was happening to him because now he had like just two or three days before he could take the bandages off his eyes.

"Hey, cous. I'll be in my room. If you need anything, just call me, ok?" said the boy, as the older cousin nodded.

"Let me guess, it's that winter break homework you just remembered you had yesterday, right?" he tried to guess.

"Y-Yeah, something like that." the boy replied before taking his leave for his room.

Once there, he entered his room, turned his computer on and then started to do some research. Heh, if only he had put as much of an effort when he had to do his social studies essay, then maybe his cousin's girlfriend wouldn't have looked as if she wanted to plug her eyes out. She was a very friendly person and very liked by pretty much everyone… except his aunt and uncle. Guess parents sometimes tend to be like that when talking about their children's romantic partner. But maybe if they were around more often, then they could see what everyone else sees in her. Then again they are very busy people that are constantly working. She had actually offered to help him go over the essay with him before he handed it to his teacher, just to make sure he got a nice grade… Or at least that was the idea, because she soon found herself starting all over it with him to make sure he could at least get a passing grade.

But right now, he wasn't working on school stuff, that was only his excuse to his cousin to not have him worry about him spending so much time inside his room… or at least that much. He started tapping on his computer, looking over what he could think could probably help him in his endeavors. Looking at the scales in both his hands that actually reached all the way to before his elbow. Looking at the screen, he could also see his reflection and saw the same purple scales around his eyes, at the sides of his cheeks and at opposite ends of his neck (although those ones in particular were a little more pale in contrast with the others, for they had started to form just that morning).

It all had started the day after his cousin had returned from his surgery. A friend of his had driven him back home the day prior. He had told him that he was going to help a friend with something he had asked him to do before he and his family took off for the Blue Mountain resorts for the holidays. They were doing some cataloging for a certain flower near the Laurel run. Some sort of extra credit stuff or whatever. Since he would be out of town, he asked Drake if he could cover for him. It wouldn't be that much, just taking pictures of the area and the flowers, noting some stuff if he saw something interesting and then sending them all to his friend so that he could compile it in his work. So, he went there and did what his friend had asked him, truth is, it wasn't really that hard. As he was taking pictures, he had told to himself that his friend better be getting an 'A' for all their efforts. Then… it happened.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, some weird mist had started to appear near the area. He hadn't noticed it at first, too busy taking notes and pictures to do so. It wasn't until he was done that he turned around and saw the mist that he took notice of it. They always said he lacked awareness of his surroundings and this was definitely proof of that.

It wasn't some normal mist that he was familiar with. Well, he really wasn't familiar with any kind of mist, but he sure as heck knew they weren't supposed to look like that. For starters, it was colored in some greenish tone, had a certain slight glow to it and just straight up looked otherworldly to him. He wanted to run, but he tripped in his hysteria and failed to get up before the mist consumed him. Then… Nothing. Just a dark blankness all around him and with seemingly no end to it. Suddenly, he found himself in the middle of a forest. It was no longer winter, but looked as if it were either summer or early autumn. For some reason, it felt familiar to Drake. Like he knew about it for some reason, even if he had never been there. Then, he saw something. Just past a couple of trees, he saw a small lizard-like creature. However, the creature was no lizard he was familiar with. Not only that, it looks like something that shouldn't even exist.

It was small, scales just as green as the grass itself, with a few small glimpses of gold at the tip of them that shimmered in the sun's light. It looked juvenile, child-even to him for some unknown reason. It had a long pointed tail, eyes that shined as bright as the stars on a clear winter night and… a pair of wings. They were attached to its upper arms and with that in mind, he was sure that this creature shouldn't exist.

"He seems so small and frail, doesn't he?" he remembered hearing a feminine voice.

Turning around, he was met with the sight of a girl. She seemed a bit younger than him, her hair being equally as brown as his, a slight lighter tone compared to other brunettes . Her eyes were a pretty shade of green that was reminiscent of a gleaming emerald. She was a caucacian girl, although her face and her clothes had some dirt here and there. Speaking of clothes, she was wearing what one would think a peasant in medieval times would wear. She looked oddly familiar to him, as well as her presence giving him the feeling that she knew who she was.

"W-Who are you? Where am I? Last… What's going on?" he had asked, remembering doing his best to bottle his nerves.

And the girl giggling at his questions didn't make that an easier task.

"You know who I am."

"I do?" Drake remembered asking her, as well as remembering her nodding.

"In many ways, I, as well as everything around us, were your first in many ways." the girl had told him in a cryptic manner. "I was the first story your parents ever read to you. I was the first book you held. This interpretation of me was the first you ever saw. I was even the first girl you ever had a crush on." he recalled the girl turning to the small and frail lizard-creature and kneeling to be close to it. As she petted it, the reptile seemingly enjoying it, she continued her cryptic words. "Like me, you wished for this little fella to be your first pet and friend. We were the first story that ever made you cry and the ones to open the gates to something you would soon find fantasizing and enjoying. Like your cousin, who's a -what's the word?- fanatic I guess, of sports."

Drake had recalled shifting his weight from one leg to another, feeling still confused, he heard a noise.

CRACK

Looking down to where the sound had come from, he saw something that he wished he hadn't done.

Bones.

Scattered all around him, were the remaining bones of what once were living beings. From what looked like cows and ships and any other livestock, to wolf and bears and even humans from what some of the skulls looked. Even then, there was that feeling in his gut that told him he knew that back then.

Quickly haering what sounded like some beast snarling as it chewed on its meal, Drake grew weary back then. Turning around, to try and locate where that sound came from. The girl was no longer with him, which had made his uneasiness grew tenfold in that moment.

"You heard many versions of our tale." her voice suddenly rang once more and when he turned to meet her, she looked different. She was no longer a small girl. She had grown, looking to be a couple of years older. In fact, she looked a bit closer to his age now. "Like many fairy tales and stories, there is always at least one where everyone lives happily ever after. But that was not the version that you first read of us, was it?" she had asked him.

"This is getting way too freaky for me, who are you?! What is this place?! What's even going on?!" Drake yelled at her back then, but the girl did not flinch. Instead, she had offered him a smile.

"My name is Maud. But you knew that already." she said, which had made the boy's eyes grew when she said that. For that was how he recalled the story she had told him.

"Wait… then that means…"

Suddenly he started to remember more of the story. And the more that he started to think, the more the ground trembled. And as it trembled, the roar of a beast had grown more. Turning to where he had first seen the small lizard, he saw something coming. It was the same lizard, but it no longer looked frailed and small. It look big and strong. At least two and a half horses in size. The wings that he had were now bigger and stronger-looking. The reptile creature now had fully realized horns coming from the top of its head, which no longer looked friendly at all. It looked vicious, the same way an apex predator would look like. Its snout had red. Not as if that was part of its natural color, but looking more like it had eaten something and what had scared the boy back then, wasn't just that it didn't look satisfied, but that it turned to the two of them.

"Don't worry, it won't do us anything."

"You sure?" he asked with fear.

"You know why it won't do me harm. And it won't do you harm, because you're the spectator. You're not part of the story and the story has yet to reach the ending. Although, it seems like we're glossing over some parts of it to get things over faster." she said, a couple of tears forming in her eyes, which Drake had taken notice of.

"W-Why are you crying?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, still keeping her smile, but sounding very sad. "It's almost time to say goodbye."

After she said that, the sound of battle suddenly came to be. He could only see a couple of silhouettes from a distance now. One was the reptile… now the dragon, he remembered. And it was a very specific type of dragon. The one it was fighting, looked to be a man. He couldn't tell if it was a knight, or a farmer, or an adventurer. But he knew what would the end result be. And as he came to that realization, the world around started to tremble. It started to slowly crumble, with Maud quickly turning to him, her smile still on and tears falling down her face.

"I can't say that I know the answers, my tale is a clear example of that." she had told him. "I can't reassure you that what's to come won't be for the better. At the same time, I can't say it'll be for the worse."

By then, the world had started to break apart more and more. At a faster rate that it was doing prior. There was darkness surrounding them all. The only glimpses of land were now the ones he and Maud were standing, the one where the fight was taking place and a road that connected the two. And then, he recalled what happened later.

"What I can say, however, and with the utmost of certainties… is that your life is about to change."

The last image he saw of Maud were of her running towards the fight. She remembered a shriek of pain coming from an injured dragon. The sound of a dying animal falling to the ground. The man leaving the forest and a girl weeping the loss of her dear friend. After that, everything was black once more. He recalled himself struggling and feeling and trying to break free of something. He hitting something like a wall over and over again before breaking and then the crack that was accompanied by a small hint of light.

What had happened that day?

He emerged from what looked like a cocoon. He crawled out of it, in a fashion similar to a baby chick hatching from an egg. He had gasped for air back then, struggling to his feet, he saw that he had changed. His hands had the same scales as he does now, albeit in a paler manner. It looked like he now had claws coming from his fingers, like those of an animal. He quickly turned to look for his phone and when he thought he had seen it, he went to grab it. Or at least that was the idea back then, for what he grabbed was a small stone and what he had done was crack it in his distress.

Drake tried to regain his composure that day, but he knew that something had changed him. And now… that couldn't be more obvious even if he wanted it to be.

He looked at his reflection, his hair now colored black and slightly longer. His eyes no longer looked like those of a human, but more like those of a reptile. An alligator to be precise. He tried to look for something that could help him understand what was happening to him now. He found that something had happened like that somewhere else. A bunch of cocoons appeared where people once were… but only one breaking. The others looked more pale than the one that looked like something had come out of.

The boy sighed in frustration, not understanding why. Why him? Why this? What was this even supposed to be?

He recalled what Maun had told him. That his life was about to change. He looked around his room. A bit small, but with pictures of knights battling monsters and saving beautiful maidens in a heroic manner. Small figurines of knights wielding swords and mounting great stallions. Imageries of what looked like Arthurian legends or Tolkien-like lore coming to life in many of the posters and drawings around him. A sword toy hanging from his wall and wizards and gods surrounding a noble king in a drawing of his making (albeit not that well-done since he did it when he was just eight).

He then turned to see two frames. One was of him with his cousin, having fun while they were surrounded by some friends of them both. They were in front of a campfire, roasting some marshmallows. He remembered that day. His cousin's girlfriend took the picture and gave it to him on his birthday. She did that because she wanted to capture the moment… After all, it was one of the few moments in that time of his life that he had such a genuine and bright smile.

The other was of him, not with his cousin but… with someone else.

He was way younger than the other picture, but looked equally happy. It was of him playing with a man that looked like him, but way older. He was playing with a woman that had his eyes and hair color. It… it was a picture of him and his parents. It was a bitter-sweet memory.

"My life's about to change, huh?" he thought, looking somewhat sad at the pictures. "Hasn't it changed enough already?"

Drake was walking, covered with just as many layers of clothing as the day prior. He had headed to the Laurel run like he promised he would do. It was early in the morning, but thankfully for him, it was not as cold as yesterday. It was still cold, but at least those couple of degrees made things a bit easier to bear. He could probably do it regardless of the layers of extra clothing, but he really didn't want to risk things.

After some walking, he soon found what he was looking for. The cocoon that he emerged from. The sight made him shudder, but he had to endure looking at it. If it means he could come to know what had happened to him, then he must do it. He compared the look with the cocoons that he saw in his computer the day prior. There was something odd about it. Well, for a cocoon that stored a human not that long ago, that is. This cocoon looked… different.

It wasn't like the many pale ones that were borderline whites and grays in color. But it was still a bit pale. Especially compared to the one that did look like something had come out of it. He, reluctantly that is, touched it and while some parts were still very hardened, there were others that felt a bit squishy and others that even just crumbled away at a mere touch. Actually, there were pieces missing from it. The wind probably blew some of it, he thought. Well, that was definitely not igenic at all. But as he was still investigating, he failed to notice the presence of someone else in the area.

"I feel rather mercyful today…" a deep and scary voice had said, making Drake's heart skip a beat and freeze in fear. "If you stop desecrating it, I may be willing to forgive you."

Drake stopped what he was doing, not sure what to even do now. Not sure what was happening even.

"Mm…" he heard the voice hum. "Something about you… I can feel something."

Drake started to slowly -and with fright- turned around to see who was talking. And boy did he wish he hadn't done it.

The man, if one could even call that a man, was hughe. Huge with a capital 'H' that is. He looked to be about seven to eight feet in height at bare minimum. He didn't have a shirt, which allowed Drake to see that this guy was rather muscular. So muscular and massive, that his hand was bigger than his head. His skin looked to be a bit reddish. His eyes were also glowing a deeper shade of red and his face did not look friendly in the slightest. His hair was long, black and somewhat spiky in a menacing way.

Remember the character of Akuma? Well, this guy may as well be his cousin if his looks were anything to go by. A reddish, black-haired shirtless Akuma.

Drake stumbled in fear, falling on his back and allowing both his scarf and hoodie to fall down. Revealing both his black hair and hints of the scales in his face and neck. Attributes that seemed to have gained the interest of the stranger.

"Huh, so it was yours then." he said, getting closer, to the boy, who tried to crawl away, but the stranger had taken his glasses and anything that could obstruct his face, off. "I see now."

"W-W-Who are you?! W-W-What are you?!" Drake asked in fear, for that was the only thing that his body was allowed to do at the moment.

"My name, young one, is Lash. And I am, just like you, part of something grander."

"P-Part of?! Y-You know what happened to me?! D-Did you do this to me?!"

"No." the tall stranger stated. "I came here to try and be there for you before your rebirth, young one. I apologize for my tardiness, but unfortunately for us, there are now far too many coming. Much to my displeasure."

"T-Too much?! O–Of what?!" Drake asked, cursing at the fact that his body still didn't react properly out of fear and refused to run away.

"Inhumans, young one. Far too many that judgment must be passed. So as to allow only the worthy to continue." Lash said, turning to the cocoon and sighing at the sight that he saw. "And it seems that you, young one, were not among the worthy ones."

"W-What?!" asked Drake as he saw the man raise his hand towards him.

"If it makes you feel better, you won't feel too much pain for too long." he said, his hand glowing blue and about to shoot something.

Before he could do so, however, Drake managed to dodge whatever that was. Moving out of the way just in the nic of time and witnessing what could have been his fate. The ground, the tree and even part of the cocoon that were on the beam's path were no more. Reduced to dust and ashes in a mere instant. That seemingly was what his body needed to understand what was happening and what was happening was… that he was going to die.

He quickly got on his feet and tried to make a run for it, with Lash sighing and following in pursuit.

"Don't do it, boy. You're only extending your suffering."

"YOU TRIED TO KILL ME?!"

"I was merely passing judgment on you. And if what I saw is any indication, then you are not worthy."

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

"You're correct." Lash said, suddenly in front of Drake, who crashed into him and fell once more. "You're just another victim of the arrogance of a self-proclaimed king. One that believed himself above us all, and who brought nothing but bloodshed. His sins are not yours."

"THEN WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME?! J-JUST DON'T DO IT?!"

"I can't do that, young one." he said, charging energy once more. "What I do, is what must be done. But rest easy, knowing that what'll transcure today will benefit our kind." he finished, Drake by then was already expecting to be no more when suddenly, in a flash something red had taken a hold of Lash, and hurled him away.

"I say, you are right for once…" a femenine voice said.

When Drake turned to see who she was, he was met by a beautiful woman. She was wearing a purple full bodysuit. She had black gloves and boots that had some silver accents, with her black belt had a silver 'M' right in the middle. She had a black mask that still allowed her to reveal both her jawline, her eyes and her long red hair. And it wasn't just long, not, it could make Rapunzel fluster in jealousy, long. And most of all, it was moving as if it were alive. Holding the woman up in the air and making her hover as Lash finally crashed many meters away from them. Almost the length of three school gyms and making a loud BOOM as it did.

"When Inhumanity learns of how I've had your head adorned my throne room, you monster!" she called out, as Lash recovered.

"Rggh! The heretic 'queen' has finally arrived!" he shouted, mocking the title of the woman, who Drake now knew was of a queen. "Ruler of a kingdom of desecration and woman of a coward 'king'!" Lash yelled, mocking the title of king as well and blasting the woman with a more powerful beam of energy than what Drake saw before.

However before it could reach either of them, a blue barrier came between them.

"You have found the monster, my queen!" another femenine voice said.

This one came from a green woman. She looked like she

was wearing silver and black clothes adorned by a blue cape and some kind of metal piece that resembled something like a helmet, which still allowed her to show her black hair. It also seemed to be like she was the one responsible for placing the barrier between them and the blast.

"Elejea, you have my thanks for that." the queen said to the woman now known as Eleaja, who now stood by her side.

"And she also brought her handmaiden as well? Pitiful. Is this what the so-called queen of New Atillan has to offer and show?! Pathetic!" Lash yelled.

"You will address queen Medusa as it should properly be done, you filthy animal! Although, monsters like you are not worthy of even pronouncing her title, let alone her name!" Elejea shouted.

Just before Lash could take another step, he was hit by a powerful, more destructive force than that of ten locomotives. The one responsible was none other than an even bigger man than Lash, which was saying a lot. This one looked like the Minotaur in a way, but in reverse. Meaning that instead of the upper-part being a bull, it was his lower part that was that of an animal. A goat probably by the way his legs were shaped.

"If you're so eager to attack those smaller and weaker than yourself, then you should be comfortable if the same were to happen to you, right?!" the bulkier and bigger man said as Lash picked himself once more and snarled.

"Stand down, and we might be merciful to you today and grant you a painless death. Which is more than a murderer like you could ever deserve!"the now known queen Medusa called out as Lash glared at her.

"If only because I still have a sacred mission. One to try and amend that which your lesser 'king' has desecrated!" he said, but before he did any action that might show him either fleeing or attacking, he turned to Drake. "Be weary, young one. For her kin can only ever offer you a garden of snakes." he advised the young teen before suddenly vanishing in a blue light, much to the disdain of the other three individuals.

"Bah! Escaping like the fleeting coward that he is!"

"Should we give chase, my queen?" asked the green lady.

"No, by now he may as well be hiding and licking his wounds. Besides, at the moment our attention may be better directed at someone else." Medusa said, while all turned to the confused Drake. "Child, what is your name?"

"Um…" Drake tried to talk, not sure of what was happening at the moment.

"I think the little one might be broken." the large man joked.

"Now, Gorgon, spare the young child of your humor." Medusa told the man, who he now knew was named Gorgon. "Are you harmed?" she asked once more.

"N-No, m-ma'am, queen… it's just… I was told not to tell my n-name to strangers and… well…"

"I understand. Then allow me to present myself then. I am queen Medusa, ruler of the Inhumans. These two are loyal companions of mine. She is named Elejea. The man over there, is called Gorgon."

"Greetings." said Elejea, making a slight bow to the boy as Gorgon nodded.

"I… Inhuman? w-what's that? Is that what happened to me?"

"It's what you are, boy." said Gorgon.

"N-No, that can't be right. I-I'm just some normal guy. Not… whatever you guys are talking." he said, trying to make sense of what was happening today. "Wait… you know what happened to me? P-Please, you got to help me! I'll do anything you want, just please make me normal again!"

"We cannot do that. For this, is you, plain and simple." said the queen much to the discomfort of the boy.

"No…" he muttered in confusion. "No… that can't… I don't understand"

"Then allow us to alleviate your doubts." said Elejea. "Allow us to help you understand yourself."

"H-How?"

"You said you would do anything. Were those not your own words?" said Medusa, lowering herself to the ground and offering the boy a hand. "You can start by trusting us."

"And… if I do.. then what?"

"Then…" Medusa answered. "I, Queen Medusa of the Inhumans, sovereign ruler of New Attilan, will offer you my protection. Well? What will your answer be?" she asked.

Whatever comes next, young Drake Williams knew they could never go back to the way it used to.

This was an OC made by yours truly. Since I said I would accept your requests, I thought that I should make one as an example if anyone didn't know what to make. Hope you enjoyed it.