I'd never been much of a writer.
I could never really find a way to express what I was seeing or feeling on paper. That's why I started drawing. Yeah, sure I could edit and bounce ideas around, but for some reason, I was never able to put my ideas in an order that made sense to the simplest logically inclined person. Impossible.
I'd discovered my talent at an early age, but never really understood the depth or magnitude of it until about age fifteen. I'd always been a bit of a daydreamer, and was never able to turn in a perfectly blank document. There was always something doodled in the margin or on the heading, and it frustrated my teachers to their 'wits end' as Mrs. Dubose frankly stated, after I'd turned in my French paper covered in thought provoking scribbles. My art teacher loved me, though. I considered myself lucky, 'cause I was always given plenty of time and space to work my magic with oils and canvas. He never bothered me, never lectured me (unless it was on a way to improve my technique), he just gave me the freedom to release my creativity and feeling onto the paper in any form I desired. I was the goofy, silly kid in all my classes except art and English. Mostly because I took my art very seriously, woe-betide the person that interrupted me, and I was a voracious reader. In junior high we had had to do a book report on a classic novel. Naturally I picked something impossibly hard, spent more time reading it than studying it, and eventually wound up presenting it to my class instead of turning in a paper for some semblance of a grade. My English teacher, Mrs. McKinney- a jolly Irish woman, never complained much about those episodes, since I got my speech practices out of the way and managed to actually capture the classes attention, a feat she had been long due to accomplish. Maybe it's just my bizarrely cheerful attitude. Like everyone, I have my ups and downs on this emotional roller coaster, but mine are always hidden behind a smile and a friendly word. Only my very closest friends, my immediate family (mostly because they put up with me 24/7, poor guys!) and a few very perceptive people are able to tell what I'm really feeling, what's behind the mask. It's amazing how well I've come along as an actress. Maybe I should try out to be one of those makeup models with those overly happy grins. Ha, yeah right- I'd probably end up making faces at the camera.
Which brings me to another junction in life. I got bored with the whole school thing, and threw my services to the military. Of course me being me, I picked the Marine Corps- the elite U.S. fighting force. All in all, during my five years active duty I served in two wars (more like one big one), started out as a photographer, then lat moved (changed jobs) into the NBC field. NBC is the Nuclear Biological and Chemical warfare training. It's complicated so I won't go into it. I'd rather not relive that part of my life. Even though I relive it every time I look in the mirror.
There'd been an accident, hence my early 'retirement' from the good old' Corps. Hell, I would've retired early anyway- I was getting sick of the bullshit, and the idiots I worked with. Basically, I'd gone to a crash course in chemical and biological weapons training. Don't ask, I can't tell. As non-existent as I am, even I have some secrets to keep. It's just better that people don't know. Essentially myself and a few others (more like 20 of us) were working with this biological engineering company, seeing what types of chemicals would work best with our little project that the government threw at us. Then the accident happened. It was a 'purple environment', which in English means that it was a multi-service operation. Joy, I get to shoot the shit with the Squids, GI's, and the Chair-force. We were overseeing the transport of hazardous materials to a refrigerated vehicle, for transport to the base we were stationed at. Can't tell ya which one it was either.
To cut a really, really long explanation short, somebody pulled a stunt that almost cost thirty people their lives, killed six people, and caused a massive contamination and control episode the government had trouble keeping under wraps. Seems they have a lot of that problem lately. Well, what one dumb fuck did risked our lives, but we lived- at the cost of our humanity. To this day we still can't figure out just how it happened, but the military became short thirty people, and gained thirty mutants of varying degrees of mutation. Of course we were rushed to the nearest military hospital, kept in an array of security that makes that place in New Mexico look like a toy store on Christmas Eve.
Under the constant observation we were treated for radiation, chemical, and biological waste contamination. If only it had been that easy- I wouldn't be here explaining all this crap. We lived, but we were forever changed. Some went crazy, and were institutionalized. I don't blame them- like I said before we were all mutated, to varying degrees, and not all of them were pleasant. I remember one Tech Sergeant that grew a second and third head, before going hopelessly insane with the constant chatter. I still don't know where he is. Maybe he's dead, like a lot of the others. When you become useless to the military, you cease to exist to them. I, and about twenty others still had some use. We gained some strange powers- I wouldn't even call them powers. Maybe enhancements. Mine was weird. I gained astounding strength, could jump higher than humanly possible, and if I concentrated hard enough, blend into my surroundings. My best friend gained a telekinesis, but didn't get the strength like me. Not like she would need it, she could pick up an assailant and chuck him a hundred meters without batting an eye. Our appearance changed as well. We weren't 100 sure what was mixed in with those chemicals, hence why we wanted to study them. Apparently there was a smattering of DNA from varying species scattered throughout the chemical block we were given. Alexander, Harry, and Giuseppe (good friends from the lab on base) did some tests, and it turns out that the DNA from some sub-species of chameleon, desert lizard, and a West African tree-frog converged with my own Human DNA, thus modifying my appearance and abilities several degrees. I still resemble a human, as does Ana and others, but my abilities, save for mental capabilities, and some features, are more reptilian.
Needless to say, we became freaks of society, and the government couldn't keep us on the 'surface level', no matter how useful. So we became contracts for the government, went to training once every three months, and if the need arose, were contacted discretely by the NIS, National Intelligence Service. I was used for covert operations, mainly spying and intelligence gathering. It helped that I spoke several tongues, thanks to the Monterrey School of Language. Anastasia…. I don't like it, but she was used for weapons testing, until inexplicably, her psi-power disappeared. I know the truth, but that's not something they need to know about. She and I were the lucky ones that had use. Others were simply kicked out and forced to make it on their own, even though we all knew that a freak of society wouldn't survive for long, much less on the streets of a big city.
When I was retired a few years later, Anastasia met up with me in New York City, with plans to make things better for us all. I was surprised, 'cause usually I'm the wacko making the impossible plans, but this credit all goes to her. Using funds we had collected from the government, which was a pretty penny (100 disability, injury compensation, all the contracted missions added up to quite a sum), and liquid assets, we collaborated, bought a large apartment building for ourselves, and turned the downstairs into a club/hideaway/sanction for any mutants stranded in this big city. We also allowed old friends, or anyone who could tolerate our kind and wished to maintain a discrete friendship. It was by invitation only, and very well hidden below the city. Frankie, a newly retired Army Master Sergeant-turned-giant frog, was the bouncer. Don't even think that he literally turned frog, I said we were mutants but he definitely retained the majority of his humanity. He simply got even bigger, turned bald, and dark green with darker spots. Which wasn't much of a change from before, just the green bit, lol. Anastasia and I are similar in appearance now, except we retained our hair, hair color, and physique. We're desert lizard brown and tan, except I had a hint of red pigmentation to my skin, with the normal amount of fingers, toes and other appendages. Our face changed a bit though. My eyes were bigger and greener, and instead of an actual nose I had more of a snout, maybe even call it a beak. I never really figured that out. Anastasia had it too, but she had ice blue eyes and golden brown hair, really long too.
As word spread around (Anastasia was like a mental beacon drawing the scattered mutants together), the mutants were able to find apartment complexes and live there out of prying eyes, and at night made their way to the Lizard Lounge, jokingly named after me'n Anastasia's species change. When gathered together we were able to see all the changes that the poor people underwent and the underlying species they had added to their DNA. Luanne, or Lua, poor thing, ended up peacock-ish. I can't quite describe her, I'd have to paint a picture, but I'll give it a shot. She was light blue with plumage replacing her hair, smooth skin, and what we called a built-in dress of feathers covering her bosom and running to mid-thigh. She also had a beautiful peacocks tail that she could fan out to a magnificent display. I have a painting of her doing just that somewhere.
There's just too many to describe and explain, but hopefully this gives you some insight about us, how we came to be, and how we'll continue to survive. We've all had combat training, and combining that with our newly developed skills we make a pretty formidable group to reckon with.
Enough military crap. I've had enough of them. What is with New York and raining? It always seems to rain whenever I decide to paint, ruining my plans with a drab gray sky and zero visibility. Yuck.
I'll move to now: