And new chapter! Hey, guys I hope you will enjoy this chapter since it took me forever to finish it. Also fair warning, this chapter will mainly focus on Vanessa and Chameleon getting to know each other and there's little to no action. Sorry if that upsets you, but I feel that its important for Vanessa and Chameleon to get to no each other, before the real fun can begin. Also, I know that I said that there were going to be a rematch of Captain Gantu and a special surprise in this chapter, but plans of have changed and I decided to leave it for the next chapter. Now, I know some of you are angry, but there's a reason why I am leaving it for the next chapter and I will explain at the end. Also I know this is unrelated, but I recently found out that Adventure Time was ending and that made me incredibly sad. When I first watch the show I thought it was completely stupid, but over time the show just got sooooooooo much better, and its sad to see it ending. But all good things must come to an end, right? I'm still going to miss that show...anyway I don't own anything, except my OC'S.
NOW LET'S GET ON WITH THE STORY!
{The Misadventures of Vanessa Cunningham- Episode 1, part 3: Chameleon's origins}
(10 minutes earlier)
"I can't believe I just did that!" Chameleon grumbled anxiously, while crawling on the ceiling of the warehouse as she scurried passed multiple Kroglen's, who didn't see her thanks to her invisibility powers. "I can't believe I just disobeyed a direct order from Director Danvers. I'm so screwed! There's no telling what she will do to me once I come back. How did I got myself into this mess?"
(Flashback)
"…And then, after I saved the police from being killed by Captain Gantu, I'd finally arrived on their secret base. When the helicopter landed, I jumped off and turned invisible. Just as Captain Gantu open the door as his minions followed him, while dragging the blue haired girl from before. After that, I stayed close to them for a little while, before finding a secure place to sleep and that's what happen." Chameleon said, while hiding in the janitors closet, as she spoke into her earpiece. "Sorry that I didn't call you earlier, Director Danvers. But with all the Kroglen's around, I couldn't find a secure place to talk with you."
"It's all right, Special Agent Chameleon. You did the right thing by not calling me and blowing you're cover, good work Agent." Director Danvers says as Chameleon smiled proudly at the praise. "Now, reveal to me the location of their current home base, so we can plan the attack."
"Oh, sure thing Director Danvers. Just hold on a sec." She said as she opened the door and peeked her head out to make there weren't any Kroglen's around, before closing the door. "The Korglen's evil lair is located on the west side of Bellwood on an abandon warehouse in Tara Strong Boulevard."
"…Seriously? The villain's lair is an abandon warehouse? Cliché much." She said with an unimpressed tone as Chameleon nodded.
"Yeah, I know. But cliché or not, that's where they're located. What do you want me to do now, sir?"
"You done enough, Chameleon. Leave the base, and wait for the Guardians to show up. They will arrive with back up in one hour." She says as Chameleon nodded and was about to hang up, when suddenly a thought appeared on her head.
"Um, Sir? What should we do about that girl the Kroglen's captured earlier? Shouldn't I try to save her or something?" Chameleon asked as she heard her boss sighed remorsefully through the earpiece.
"Hate to break this to you, Agent. But that's a negative." She said sternly Chameleon eyes flew open in shock and horror.
"Sir, you can't be serious? Are you ordering me to abandon that poor girl?"
"We have no choice, Chameleon. This is the first real lead we had on the Kroglen's for months now, and we can't simply risk everything for this one girl. Now, I want you to leave the base right now before the Kroglen's catches you. That's an order!"
She ordered as Chameleon angrily clenched her fist and glared at the floor below her. One side of her told her to be a good little agent that she always was and obey her boss's orders, but another part of her told to ignore her boss's orders and save that girl. Finally after a few seconds of contemplating, Chameleon had made her decision.
"No." She said as silence filled the air for a moment, and the only thing Chameleon could hear was her heart beating madly as she waited for her boss to respond.
"…No? What do you mean, no?" Director Danvers said with a forbidding tone as the young agent gulped nervously, but stood her ground.
"I said, no!" She screamed into her communication device, before taking a deep breath as she calmed herself. "Look, I'm sorry, Director Danvers. I know you've only making this decision not because you're being selfish, but because you're only thinking of the greater good. And I respect that, but I can't following it."
"Chameleon wait-"
"I already made up my mind, Director. I'm going to save that poor girl, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She said as she took off her earpiece and crushed it in her hands. "Sorry, Director Danvers." She said to herself as she turned invisible and open the door.
(Flashback over)
"Oh, yeah. Now I remember." She said sulkily as she couldn't helped, but to feel guilty over how she disobeyed her boss like that. Even after everything the older woman had done for her over the years. "I can't believe that talk ended so horribly! But, what's done is done. There is no going back now. All, I can do for now is to finish my mission, and save that poor girl." She says as she made her way to the containment center, and saw two guards standing by Vanessa's cell. "Hopefully, I'm not too late." She says as she sneakily made her way over to the two Kroglen's.
"Hey, Frank? Have you heard the good news?" One of the Kroglen's asked as Frank turned to him.
"What is it, Mitch? Can't you see I'm trying to work here?"
"I know, but this is important. Xharlax called in, and said that the boss was coming down here to have a little 'talk' with our human prisoner over here." He said, while gesturing to the metal door that were currently guarding. "He even said that when the Captain is finished 'talking' with our prisoner, we can do whatever we want with her!...well except for what Phil did on planet Hyrus." He said as Frank shuddered.
"Don't remind me. That man is disgusting!" He said as Mitch nodded.
"Yeah...anyway, he said that we can have first dibs on her. Isn't that great?" He said, while grinning sinisterly as his fellow Kroglen grinned back.
"Oh, its more than great. It's spectacular! I can't wait to get my hands on her! That crazy bitch nearly killed me back at the museum. I swear that once Captain Gantu is finish with her, I'm going to stick my blaster down her throat and pull the trigger!"
"I hear you, my friend. Did you know that she dropped a dinosaur statue on me and my team earlier? That freaking hurt, you know?" Mitch said as Frank scoffed.
"You think that's bad? Sherman's got the worst of it since he got slashed in the chest." He says as Mitch's eyed widen in surprise and worry.
"Oh my god? Is he going to be okay?"
"Oh, yeah. I checked in on him earlier, and the doctors said that he's going to be just fine." He said reassuring his partner. "He may be out of commission for a while, but the good news is that he has a cool scar now. I saw it earlier, and it was pretty sick." Frank says as an excited look appeared on Mitch's face.
"Really!? I want to see it!" Mitch said as he absentmindedly dropped his gun and made a beeline for the infirmary.
"Whoa, there little buddy." He said, while reaching for his partners collar as Frank pulled him back. "You can check out his scar later, buddy. But for now we need to stay put, and guard this door. We can't let Captain Gantu think were slacking off." He said as Mitch sighed, but nodded nonetheless.
"You're right. I guess, I can check it out later." Mitch says as he reluctantly walked backed to his post and bends down to pick up his gun, but strangely he couldn't find it. "Hey, Frank. Have you seen gun?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"I can't find it, and I know that I left it here. So, where did it-" Mitch didn't managed to finish his sentence as he felt a blunt object hit against the back of his head and he instantly was knocked out.
"What the hell!?" Frank screamed as a shimmer sound was heard and before he can react, Chameleon appeared behind him and hit him in the back of his head with Mitch's gun. Resulting him to be knocked unconscious as he fell on the floor and Chameleon huffed exhaustedly.
"Sorry, boys. Normally I would've love to stick around and kick your ass, but I'm on a tight schedule." Chameleon says as she walks over to the metal door and notice a keypad on the wall. Chameleon stared at the keypad for a seconds, before shrugging as she reared back her arm and punched the keypad with all of her strength. The keypad sparked widely as the metal door beeped red, before going green as the door was unlocked. Chameleon smirked as she open the door and walked into the room.
(Present)
"Hello, I'll be you're hero for the day. My name is Chameleon, nice to meet you." Chameleon said with a cheerful grin as Vanessa stared at her in bewilderment. Surprised by the sudden turn of events.
"What the hell? What's going on? And, who are you?...What are you?" Vanessa asked, while staring at her tail as Chameleon gave her a reassuring smile.
"A friend." She said, before holding out her hand as Chameleon gave her an urgent look. "Look, I know you have millions of questions right now, but we really need to leave before Captain Gantu shows up. And trust me, you do not want that."
Vanessa stared at her warily as she debated on whether or not she should trust this stranger, but after a while of consideration, Vanessa decided to go along with Chameleon. Not because she trusted her, but because she knew that the girl was her best bet of getting out of here, and since she did break her out of prison Vanessa figured she couldn't be all bad. With her decision made, Vanessa reached out her hand and grabbed her arm as Chameleon pulled her up from the bed with ease.
"Good, now follow me." She said as Vanessa nodded and followed her out of the room."Help me drag these assholes into the room, before they wake up." She said, while gesturing to the knocked out Kroglen's.
"Whoa! What happened to those guys?" Vanessa asked, while lightly kicking Mitch's body.
"I knocked them out." Chameleon answered causally as Vanessa starred at her in amazement.
"No way! You managed to knock out two Kroglen's by yourself? That's amazing!" Vanessa said with stars in her eyes as Chameleon blushes in embarrassment.
"Oh, it was nothing really." She says dismissing her compliment as she walked over to Frank's unconscious body and picked him up. "Now, while I don't mind getting complimented. I really think we should focus on hiding these guys, before any more Kroglen's shows up."
She says, while hoisting Frank over her shoulder like a sack of potatos as she made her way to Vanessa's old prison cell. Vanessa starred at her in astonishment as Chameleon walked passed her without a care in the world, like if carrying someone that was twice her height normal. Shaking her head in amusement, Vanessa walked over to Mitch's side and grabbed his leg as she dragged him over to her jail cell. Both of the girls huffed as they dropped the Kroglen's on the bed and tied them up with some rope that they found lying around as they nodded approvingly, before walking out as Chameleon closed the door. She didn't locked it since she broke the keypad earlier, but it will at least hold them long enough so they can make their escape.
"Okay, that should hold them for a little while. Now, what?" Vanessa asked her rescuer.
"Now, we get the hell out of here." She says as she grabbed Vanessa's wrist, and ran down a corridor as Vanessa folled hastily.
"Easier said than done, but what's our escape plan?" Vanessa asked as Chameleon flinched and stopped running.
"Well, originally I was going to use my powers to sneak around the warehouse and look for an exit, but now that you're here that complicates things." She says as Vanessa tilted her head in confusion. "Let me explain. You see when I was a little girl, I was on a lab accident that gave me superpowers, and one of those powers was to camouflage myself." She says as Vanessa's eyes widen in surprise.
"Really? That's awesome!"
"I know, right. I can camouflage myself to any environment, and be partially invisible to the naked eye." She explained as Vanessa listened attentively. "But the bad thing is that when I was experimenting with my powers, I found out that I can't turn anyone else invisible. Only myself, which means-"
"That you can't turn me invisible, and we can't sneak around the base without getting spotted." Vanessa concluded as Chameleon nodded.
"Yep. I wasn't really planning on rescuing you today, so I don't exactly have a plan B."
"So, were pretty much stumped, aren't we?"
"Yep...Unless, if you have suggestions on what we can do. Because right now, I got nothing." She said as Vanessa hummed thoughtfully, and wondered what will Ben do in this kind of situation? How would he handle this? A lightbulb appeared over Vanessa's head as she turned to Chameleon and gave her a sly smirk.
"Chameleon, I have plan!"
"Really? That's great! What is it?" Chameleon asked.
"Okay, now if the original plan was to run away, then how about we don't?"
"...You had me, and then you lost me." She said as Vanessa shook her head.
"No, no, hear me out. If we can't escape without getting caught, then why don't we just fight them head on?"
"Yeah, that's not going to work, sweetie. Fighting one or two Kroglen's maybe easy, but fighting an whole army of them? Now, that's just suicide."
"Not if we have the Zennatrix with us." Vanessa says with a smirk as Chameleon gave her a confused, but curious look. "Let me explain. 3 months ago, I was trusted with a device called the Zennatrix."
"The Zennatrix, huh? I never heard it. What does it do?"
"It's a circular device that when I implanted into my chest it will allow me to transform into different types of alien creatures, 9 to be specific. Each one with a specific set of skills that can help us fight off the Kroglen's, and maybe even defeat them."
"Hmmm, I don't know. These Kroglen's are tough son's of bitches. Are you sure we can defeat them with the Zennatrix's help?" She asked as Vanessa smirks confidently and placed her hands on her hips.
"Of course! Any one of my aliens can take down a Kroglen with no problem!" She said reassuringly as Chameleon sighed heavily.
"I don't know if your lying to me or you're just crazy, but since we don't have any other plan right know, we might as well see if it will works out. Now, Let's go find your...what do you called it again? Zenna-something, I can't remember." She said as Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"It's called the Zennatrix. And lucky for us, I know exactly where it is!" She says as Chameleon raised in eyebrow in surprise.
"Really? How?"
"While I was being held hostage, Captain Gantu called me and started monologuing about his plans." She says as Chameleon snorts in amusements.
"Villains, and their monologuing. Don't they ever learn that its a bad idea to reveal your plan to your enemy?"
"I know right? Anyway, I used his arrogance against him, and manage to make him accidently reveal to me the location of the Zennatrix."
"Where is it?"
"He said that's it located on the weapons vault. He also mentioned that its surrounded by a level 5 energy-field." Vanessa says as Chameleon scoffs.
"Level 5? Is that all? Don't worry, I know how to break through a level 5 energy-field with no problem." She said before turning around as she started walking. "Now, come on. I'm pretty sure I passed by a room filled with high-tech weapons earlier, so I'm pretty sure that's the weapons vault. And, with any luck the Zennatrix should still be there." She said as Vanessa nodded, and followed her.
While the girls set out on their quest we see a police chopper flying through the city of Bellwood as we zoom in, and see Chief Morgan and Officer Jones riding on Officer Maddison's helicopter as they headed straight towards the Kroglen's lair. After being discharged from the hospital and picking up some guns from Alex's house, the gang were now ready to face the kroglen's.
"Are we there, yet?" Officer Jones asked as Chief Morgan groans in annoyance.
"Rookie, you've asked the same question 14 times already. Give it a rest!"
"I know, chief. It's just that I'm anxious about what's going to happen. I never fought with these kinds of people, so I'm kind of nervous." He says as the chief's face soften and he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's not too late to pull out, yet Rookie. You can still walk away from this." He says as Victor shook his head and gave him a determined look.
"No, chief. I'm fine." He said as Alex gave him a disbelief look. "Really, I'm okay. I just got cold feet for a second there. There's no need to worry about me. I can handle myself." He says as Alex smiled and nodded. "But seriously, are we there yet?" He asked as Alex threw up his arms and screamed in frustration.
"Leave him alone, Victor. Were almost at our destination, so there is no need to fuss." Officer Madison said, while smiling as she chuckled at Victor's antics. Olivia is a 38 year old woman with blue eyes, short brown hair, a beauty mark on her left cheek and she wears a standard police uniform.
"Good. So, now that we have some free time, I think it's time that we come up with a plan. Any ideas?" Chief Morgan asked as Victor quickly raise his hand.
"Ooh, ooh, me! Pick me!" He said excitedly as Chief Morgan gave him a weird look, but pointed at him nonetheless. "Okay, here's what I think we should do. First, Olivia will land the helicopter near the warehouse, and then we grab the guns and bust right in, gun's blazing! Any questions?" He asked with a grin as Chief Morgan and Officer Maddison gave him blank looks.
"Uh, rookie, I appreciate the effort, but I don't think that's a really good plan." He said as Victor pouted. "Anyone else? Olivia?"
"Well, I could just fly right in, and shoot missile at them. Won't that be fun?" She asked with a psychotic smile as Chief Morgan and Officer Jones face paled a little. [I know normal police helicopter don't carry missiles or guns in them, but in my story they do.] "Relax, you babies. I'm just kidding. I honestly don't really have a plan in mind. I was kind of hoping you would."
"Me? Hmm, okay let me think." He said as he dug deep into his brain to look for a solution, and an idea popped into his head. "Oh, I got it! Okay, gang. Here's the plan." He said with a smirk as his team leaned in to listen.
Captain Gantu hummed a cheery tuned as he sauntered across the halls with Xharlax following him close behind as they reached the containment center. Gantu's whole body was trembling with excitement as he couldn't wait for his boss's reaction when he finds out that not only did they manage to steal the silver briefcase for him, but also stole the Zennatrix as well!
Captain Gantu didn't know why his boss was so persistent on getting the Zennatrix since its not really as powerful as the Omnitrix, but nevertheless if his boss wanted so much then who was he to judge? Besides, it wasn't even that hard to steal it in the first place. All he had to do was throw a couple of punches and it was already done, she didn't even put up a good fight!
Granted her sword skills were impressive and she was far more stronger than the average human, sadly it wasn't enough for her to ensure a victory against him. If she would've used the Zennatrix at the beginning then maybe she would have won, but none of the matters now because he had her imprisoned and without any weapons or powers, there is no way she can escape! Captain Gantu chuckled deviously as Xharlax reached out his hand to punch in the codes, but stopped.
"Huh, that's weird."
"What is it Xharlax?" Captain Gantu asked impatiently as his minion turned to him.
"It seems that the keypad is broken, sir." He says Captain Gantu raised an eyebrow.
"Broken? What do you mean broken?"
"Well, to me it looks if someone just punch the keyboard, and the force of the punch was so great that it destroyed the keyboard entirely." Xharlax says, while eyeing the fist shaped dent on the keypad.
"But if the keypad is broken then that means-wait a minute! Where are the guards that you assigned to watch over the prisoner?"
"I don't know, sir. They should've been here." Xharlax says as a groan was head from the inside of Vanessa's old cell. The two Kroglen's shared a look as Xharlax walked over to the door, and opened it to reveal...Frank and Mitch waking up from their unconscious state as they looked up to them smiled sheepishly.
"Hey, boss. Hey Xharlax." They said in unison, while wearing weary smiles as Xharlax gave them an angry look.
"Boys, where's the prisoner that I assigned you to watch over?" He says, while trying to keep his anger under control as Frank and Mitch gulped nervously under his stare. "And, why are you both tied up?"
"She...uh...well...she escaped, sir." Mitch said as Xharlax eye twitch in anger, while Captain Gantu oddly kept quiet as he gave them a blank look.
"SHE ESCAPED!? HOW COULD YOU IDIOTS LET HER ESCAPE!? I GAVE YOU ONE JOB TO DO AND YOU MESSED IT UP!" He said as he marched up to them, and grabbed Mitch by his collar. "GIVE ME ON GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T END YOU'RE WORTHLESS ASS RIGHT NOW!" He screamed as Mitch and Frank shivered in fear.
"It wasn't our fault, sir!"
"Yeah, Mitch's right! We were attacked!" He says as Xharlax turned to him and his grip on Mitch's collar loosen.
"You were attacked? By who?" He asked as Frank shrugged.
"We don't know, sir. It all happened so fast. We were just standing there minding our own business, when suddenly Mitch notice that his gun was missing, and before I could try to help him find it . Something or someone appears from out of fucking nowhere, and took out Mitch with his own gun, before knocking me out as well." He explained as Xharlax stared at him to make sure he wasn't lying, but the look in his eyes tells him that he was being sincere.
"So, if what your saying is that not only did our prisoner escaped, but we an intruder to worry about as well?" He asked as Frank and Mitch nodded. "But who would-?" He didn't manage to finish his sentence as he heard his boss roar in anger and punch the wall, leaving a hole in the wall as he turned to his men and growls.
"Don't you see, Xharlax? Is those pesky Guardians! They broke into our base, and freed our prisoner!" He screamed as Xharlax stared at him dumbfounded.
"Are you sure about that, sir?"
"Of course, I'm sure you idiot! Don't you remember when we heard that weird noise last night? A Guardian must've sneaked on board and followed us back to our base. Which means more Guardians are bound to show up, and ruin our plans!" He screamed before turning around as he marched out of the room. "Xharlax! Untie these idiots, and sound the alarms! We need to find these pests, before they have a chance to escape. And you two!" He said, while pointing at Frank and Mitch. "Once you're both free, tell the rest of the men to prepare for battle! We have a war with the Guardians on our hands."
Back with the girls we see them sneaking through the hallways of the base as Chameleon lead the way, while Vanessa followed close behind her. For the past 15 minutes the girls had remained inconspicuous, and haven't been spotted by the Kroglens. In fact they haven't even seen any Kroglen since they started their venture. Chameleon found that suspicious as she wondered where did all the Kroglen's go? Weren't they crawling all over the place this morning when she was trying to find Vanessa earlier? What happened?
Chameleon didn't know why the Kroglen's weren't around, but it does make sneaking around a lot easier for them. But it doesn't mean that they should get cocky as Chameleon knew from past experiences that the Kroglen's are surprisingly more cunning creatures than you realize. She needs to remain focused, and keep her guard up. Nothing was going to surprise her!
"So, what's you're name?"
...Uh, what?
"...Uh, what?" [Hey, that's what I said!]
"I asked, what's you're name?" Vanessa asked again as Chameleon raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"I already told you my name. It's Chameleon remember?" Vanessa shook her head.
"Yeah, but that's your hero name. I'm asking for your real one...you do have a real name, don't you?" She asked as Chameleon rolled her eyes.
"Of course, I do. Why won't I? But to answer your question, my real name is Mary Bombfield."
"Cute name." Vanessa complimented as Chameleon blushed. "My name is Vanessa Cunningham, pleasure to make your acquaintance." She says, while holding our her hand as Mary smiled at her politeness and shook her hand.
"Likewise."
"Okay, now that we got some free time. Why don't you tell more your backstory? I mean if we're going to be working with each other for a while we should at least get to know each other, right?" She asked as Mary paused, and wondered if it was really a good idea to reveal her origins to someone she just met, but like Vanessa said if they're going to be working with each other, they need to get to know each others origins at the very least. So with a sigh, Mary nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll reveal my backstory, but only if you tell more you're backstory as well. And, you've to promise me that you won't tell anybody about this! Not even to you're family or friends!" Mary said as Vanessa grinned, and nodded.
"Deal!" She says as Mary eyed her, before sighing as she sat down and motioned Vanessa to sit. Vanessa eagerly obliged as she sat down next to her new friend, and waited for her to begin her tale.
"Long ago before I was born, my mom used to work with the government."
"Wow, really? Was she like a secret agent or something?" She asked as Chameleon shook her head and chuckled.
"No, she was nothing like that. In fact my mother hates violence." She says as Vanessa gave her a confused look.
"But if she hates violence, then why work with the government?"
"She thought that with their help, she would've made the world a better place without the use violence." She said as Vanessa smiled.
"You're mom sounds like a great person." She says as Mary smiled, before frowning as she looked at the ground.
"She was." She said somberly as Vanessa eyes widen in shock, and placed her hand on her mouth she figured out why she was so sad.
"Oh, god. I'm so sorry. I didn't know your mom was dead." She says as tears started appearing on Mary's eyes.
"It's alright." She said, before wiping away the tears as she sniffled. "Sorry about the waterworks, but I just miss her so much." She said, while hanging her head in despair as Vanessa placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, there is no need to be embarrassed. It's okay to cry, especially over something traumatic like this. Loosing someone you loved takes a heavy toll on you, and I should know. I lost my mom too." Vanessa said with a broken tone as she held back a sob from coming out of her mouth.
"You lost you're mom as well?" She asked with a shock look as Vanessa weakly nodded. "I'm so sorry." She says as Vanessa gives her a half smile and wiped away her tears.
"Its okay. My mom only died recently, so I'm still in mourning. There is somedays where I'm completely fine, but other times..." She says, before trailing off as Mary gave her a concern look. "So, what were you saying about your mother earlier?" Vanessa says, trying to change the subject as Mary caught this, but followed along.
"My mom worked with the government, because she needed the resources to build a lab. You see, my mom was a genius that majored in animal biology, or more specifically lizard biology, in collage. When she finished collage, my mom had no idea what to do in her life. But then a brilliant idea popped into her head as she watched a nature documentary on how lizards loose their tails, and grow it back in two months."
"It takes lizards 2 months to grow their tails back?" Vanessa asked as Mary nodded. "Huh, learn something new everyday. "Sorry for interrupting, please keep going." She says as Mary nodded.
"After watching the documentary, my mother had the idea of harness the lizard's ability to regenerate lost limbs, and apply it to humans. But, then things got complicated as the government caught whiff of her plans, and tracked her down as they gave her an offer to work for them in exchange that she shares her research with them. My mom was a bit skeptic at first, but then she realizes that without their help she could never achieve her goals, so with great reluctance she agreed to work for them. My mom then spend the next years 10 years perfecting a serum that will give humans the same regenerative abilities of a lizard, but then my mom found out that she was pregnant with me, and choose to quit her job."
"Did you're mom really choose to give up her life's work just like that?""
"Well, it was not exactly that easy. It was an extremely hard decision, and she spend months thinking about it. But when I was finally born she says that when she looked into my eyes she knew what she had to do. Her responsibilities of a mother are far more important than her work, so she quit."
"What about your father? Couldn't he have taking care of you, while your mother was at work?" She asked as Mary's eye's darken and she crossed her arms.
"My 'daddy' left me, when I was born. Says that he didn't wanted to raise a child, so my mom was forced to raise me as a single mother." She says as Vanessa gave her a sympathetic look.
"I'm so sorry about that." She says as Mary shrugged nonchalantly.
"Eh, I was barely a week old when he left my mom. So, I never really got to know the guy. Anyway, after 5 years of raising me the government had contacted her, and pleaded her to come back and help them finish the serum."
"Couldn't they just finished it themselves?"
"They tried, but not even their best scientists can finish the serum without my mom's help. At first, she wanted to reject their offer, and continue raising me. But then after lots of begging, they had finally managed convinced my mom to come back to work. The only reason that my mom decided to come back to work was because she knew that they wouldn't stop pestering her, and a small part of her does wish that she finished her serum. So, she then spend the next three years perfecting her serum, while sometimes bringing me to work with her since she doesn't really have any close relatives around to take care of me, and she doesn't really trust babysitters to take care of me anymore."
"Why is that? Vanessa asked as Mary smirked coyly.
"Well, lets just say that I caught my babysitter inviting her boyfriend to my house without my mom's permission, and did something naughty on my mom's room." She says as Vanessa gasps in surprise and disgust.
"No way! Did they-"
"Yep. You should've seen my mom's face when I told her what they did on her room! I never seen her face go so red with fury before, so it was entertaining. Anyway, after many failed experiments and roadblocks, my mom had finally perfected the serum. My mom was so happy that she told me to keep an eye out on it, while she calls her boss. Being the good daughter that I was, I obliged and she ran off. But the minute she did, these men in black masks suddenly busted into the room and searched around like if they were looking for something. I didn't knew who these people were, but I knew they were bad news so I hid under the desk and waited for my mommy to come back. But then I realized that I forgot to grab mommy's serum and left it on the counter. I knew how excited mommy was about the serum, and I knew that these bad men were here to steal it, because why else will they break into an army base? So summoning all of my courage, I stood up and ran over to grab the serum, but I didn't get far as someone saw me and shot me right in the chest." She said as Vanessa gasped in pure shock and anger.
"They shot you!? But you were just a little kid, why would they do that?!" She screamed in outrage as Mary sighed.
"They were bad and selfish people, Vanessa. They didn't care who they kill, as long as they get their prize."
"Did they?" Vanessa asked as Mary shook her head.
"No, luckily my mom came in with security, and stopped them from stealing the serum. But my mom couldn't care less about her serum at the moment as she rushed over to me, and paled at the sight of her 8 year old daughter, who was slowly bleeding to death and had no chance of surviving. She knew that there wasn't enough time to bring me to the medical wing, and I was loosing to much blood. All hope was lost until my mom glanced at the serum,and then at me as a dangerous idea popped into her head. She knew that only way to save my life was to inject me with the serum, but she hesitated."
"Why?"
"Because she haven't tested it on humans yet, much less on a child, so she didn't knew if it will work on me or not. But as she look down at my bloody and terrified face she knew what she had to do, and injected me with the serum! At first nothing happened, and my mother weep in sorrow as she realized that she had failed to save her daughter, and was gone forever. As my mother cried on my shoulder, my eyes suddenly went wide opened and I gasped for air as I hastily stood up. My mom and her co-workers stared at me in shock as a giant green tail suddenly sprouted out of my butt, my skin turned pale, my black hair turned snow white, my brown eyes turned green and more reptilian-like, and all my wounds were healed. Like if I was never shot in the first place."
"So, you're mother saved you're life? Okay, I take back what I said earlier. You're mother isn't just great, she's amazing. Spectacular even!" She screamed with stars in her eyes as Mary chuckled and nodded.
"She was. Anyway, after locking up the criminals my mom and her co-workers started performing tests on me, and they had found out that my mother's serum had permanently mutated my DNA. Giving me lizard-like abilities, but still retaining my intelligence and my human form."
She says as Vanessa gave her a deadpanned look, and pointed at her tail.
"...Well, most of my human form." She says sheepishly, before getting back to topic. "My mom's co-workers were ecstatic over this new development, but my mom was an another story. She devastated over what she had done, and begged for my forgiveness. At first I didn't know what to say, while I was traumatized and scared over what I'd become, I surprisingly don't blame my mother for the accident. If anything it was the criminal's fault for what happened if they haven't tried to steal the serum in the first place, none of this would've happened. So, after stepping out of the stool I was sitting, I walked over to my mother and hugged her. She was surprised at first, wondering why I wasn't mad at her as I explained that I don't blame her for the actions of a madman, and that I still loved her." Mary says as Vanessa couldn't helped but to gawk at her as she her new friend in a new light.
"Got damm, Mary. For an 8 year old that was a really mature choice. I don't even think adults can make that kind of decision. I'm impressed." Vanessa says as Mary smiles embarrassedly and blushes.
"Yeah, well I love my mom. And besides, having superpowers is pretty cool. You know minus the whole tail thing." She says, while wiggling her tail. "After having our heartfelt moment my mom's boss came in, who's name is Director Danvers, and asked what happened. After my mother finished explaining what happened Director Danvers turned at me, and asked if the effects could be reversed. My mom said that since the serum has bonded to my DNA at the molecular level it was simply impossible to turn me human again. Director Danvers then asked if she could make another serum, but mom admitted that she got lucky with the last one, and didn't remembered what formula she used to finish it."
"She didn't remember what formula she used to finish the serum? Wasn't she taking notes on her experiment like all scientist do?" Vanessa asked.
"My mom gets forgetful sometimes when she gets super excited over something, so she forgot to write it down. Now that the serum was gone forever, and the only known proof of it existence was inside of me. Director Danvers thought it was a good idea to keep me on the base for study, and train me on how to use my new powers. My mother was against the idea, but her boss mentioned that I couldn't go back home even if I wanted too since the public will be freak out over my appearance. Knowing that her boss was right, my mom went along with her boss wishes and kept me on the base, but then fiercely stated that she won't have her daughter turn into their soldier or weapon. She said that once I'm in full control of my powers, she will take me back home and we can be a normal family again" Mary says as Vanessa gave her a surprised and sympathetic look.
"So, the government's idea was to lock you up for experimenting, and limited your contact with the outside world? That's terrible!" She screams in outrage as Mary smiled.
"Well, it wasn't all bad. I means sure they experimented on me a few times, but those experiments were mostly on testing the limits of my powers. And, while I didn't had any friends around when I was growing up, the soldiers and the workers on the base treated me well. Heck, some of them even played with me when I was bored, but only if they had free-time. So, yeah life on the base was rough, but was not horrible."
"You grew up without having any friends? That's so sad." Vanessa said, feeling sympathy for her new friend.
"Yeah, but recently I made some new friends on the base. Some of them are about our age, and they have powers as well! But I will tell you about them later in the story. 5 years into the future, the army decided to throw a party for my birthday. I was turning thirteen at the time, and the base couldn't wait to celebrate it. But my birthday wasn't the only thing that was being celebrated. They were also celebrating the completion of my training, after many years of hard work and dedication, I'd finally got full control of my powers! My mom couldn't be more proud of me, and couldn't wait to bring me back home, but then Director Danvers came in and asked us to please come into her office."
"Why? Were you in trouble or something?" Vanessa says as Mary shook her head.
"No. Director Danvers assured us that I wasn't in trouble, and simply wanted to speak to us in private. We didn't know what was going on, but we went into her office anyway and she wished me a happy birthday. She also congratulated me on my training, but that wasn't the reason on why she called us in. The real reason she wanted to talk was because she wanted to make a deal with us, more specifically with me. Director Danvers then gave a huge speech about how the world was changing, and that soon beings from others worlds will come to ours to either enslave the earth or destroy it. So she's putting together a group called 'The Guardians'." She says as Vanessa raised an eyebrow at the name.
"Guardians? Why does that name sounds familiar?" She said, before snapping her fingers as she remembered where she heard that name from. "Wait, Now I remember! When I was confronting Captain Gantu, he thought that I was part of this group called the 'Guardians'. That wouldn't happened to be them right?" She asked as Mary nodded.
"Yeah, that's us. Me and my team had a few run ins with him in the past."
"Also the friends with powers you mentioned earlier. They wouldn't happen to be the Guardians, right?" She asked as Mary nodded again.
"Yeah. They're bit of a handful, but I grew to love them over the years. They're actually pretty cool people once you get to know them." She says as Vanessa nodded.
"Cool. Can wait to meet them. Anyway, he also mention something about calling you guys 'mutants'. Is that what you and you're group are? Mutants?"
"We preferred to be called 'Metahumans'. But yes, we are mutants." She said as Vanessa grinned, and her whole body started shaking in excitement.
"That is so freaking cool!" She screamed as Mary chuckles at her enthusiasm.
"Yeah, it is." Mary says with a smirk, before getting back to topic. "The Guardians are a group filled with remarkable people, to see if they could become something use their gifts to protect each other, and the world from threats that no one man can fight against. After finishing her little speech, I didn't know why she was telling me all of this, but mom did and boy was she pissed! Director Danvers then looked me right in the eye, and said that after evaluating my training and talking with her peers. She decided that I was finally ready to join her team, and become a Guardian."
"No way! You get to join a superhero team? That's so awesome! You know, I'm in a superhero team myself." Vanessa bragged as Mary tilted her head curiously.
"Really? Tell me do you all wear special uniforms, and stop crime all around the world like we do." She said as Vanessa flinched and looked away embarrassedly.
"W-Well, not exactly. We usually wait for aliens to come into our town, and kick their ass."
"Oh...well do you fly around on a high-tech spacecraft filled with the state of the art alien technology?"
"We drive on a car...that's about it."
"Oh...well...that's cool I guess." Mary says, while averting her eyes as she coughed awekardly. "Anyway...I was shocked that Director Danvers wanted me to join her team, but my mom was an another story. She was furious that Director Danvers wanted to use as a weapon, but Director Danvers assured her that it was my choice if I wanted join or not. She says that if I reject her offer, I'll be allowed to leave the base and go back home. My mom smiled as she turned to me and waited for me to reject her off, but frowned as she saw the conflicted look on my face. I knew my mom would love nothing more to bring me back home, but...I can't. I then looked up to my mother and said that I did want to join the Guardians."
"How did you're mom took it?" Vanessa asked as Mary sighed sadly.
"Not good. She was confused and hurt that I didn't want to come back home with her, but I explained that the reason I wanted to stay was because I had these powers for a while now, and I feel that its my responsibility to use them to benefit mankind. I knew my mom was heartbroken, but I stood by my decision. I told her that I'm not doing this for the thrill of beating up bad guys, but I'm doing this for the good of mankind. My mom was torn about my decision as one half of her wanted to drag me back home forcefully, but after hearing my speech she couldn't bear herself to do it. Finally after thinking long hard about this, she had made up her mind and gave me permission to join the Guardians. I was overjoyed by her decision, and hugged her as I promise that I will make time to visit her whenever I have the chance. From then on the rest was history." She finished as Vanessa started clapping in delight.
"What an amazing origin! But I do have a couple of questions. Like at the beginning you said that the serum was design to give people the abilities of a lizard, right?" She asked as Mary nodded. "Then, why do you call yourself Chameleon? Shouldn't you call yourself 'The Lizard' or something?"
"I did consider the name, but it was taken. So I figure I should call myself 'Chameleon'."
"Why?"
"Mostly because I'm known for using my invisibility on a fight, instead of relying on my brute strength. That, and chameleons are my favorite animal's, so there's that."
"Okay, one last question. What exactly happened to you're mother?" Vanessa tentatively asked as Mary gave her a blank look, before looking away as her body started trembling.
"I...don't want to talk about it." Mary said somberly as Vanessa sat up, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell me" She said with a soothing tone as tears stream down on Mary's cheeks. "It was insensitive of me to ask you something so personal. I shouldn't asked anything." She said as Mary sniffled and wiped away her tears.
"I'm sorry. It just...its kind of hard to talk about my mothers death without bringing out a lot of bad memories. I don't really want to talk about it right now." She says as Vanessa nodded and stood up.
"I understand. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She says as she patted her shoulder, before giving her a challenging smirk. "Now, come on! We still need to head towards the weapons vault, before the Kroglens catches us. There's no time to loose!" She said, before running off as Mary sniffled, but still smiled at her new friend's antics.
"Vanessa, wait!" Mary screamed, while standing up as she chased after Vanessa. "You don't know where you're going, and we still have a deal! You need to tell me you're origin as well."
"I'll tell you on the way." Vanessa says as Mary shook her head in amusement, and laughed as Vanessa joined in
And done! Man was it fun to write Chameleon's origin! Now the reason I decided to leave the rematch and the special surprise for later was because like last time, the chapter simply got too long for my liking. Anyway prepare yourself because in the next chapter things are about to become...a little bit looney. What that means exactly? Well, you're going to have to wait for the next chapter.
Anyway as always, I will talk to you all later.
