Chapter 4
Altered

He was floating in a sea of white. He couldn't see if there were walls around him. He couldn't tell what was up or what was down. He turned his head slightly when he saw a shimmer in the air around his hand. The shimmer grew stronger until strange symbols formed. He pulled them closer with his hand and frowned. He couldn't understand what they meant.

He began trying to twist and turn when the sounds of whispering began to reverberate in his ears. He couldn't see anyone else in this vast whiteness.

The shimmering was all around him now; growing stronger as the symbols filled up the whiteness completely. The symbols suddenly came rushing towards him; flowing into him and through him. The symbols flashed inside of his brain and soon the symbols became like a second language to him. He understood them completely.

His eyes opened slowly. There was white all around him; but this time he wasn't floating. He was lying on a bed and someone was holding his hand. His vision was blurry and it took a few moments to realize that the dark smug against the whiteness was Danny.

While one of Danny's hands was holding his own; the other held a sort of metal prod that was pressed against the device that was now on his arm. The prod was connected to a wire that led to a screen on Danny's lap.

Stiles shifted then, his fingers tightening around Danny's and alerting the other teen that he was awake.

"Hey sleepy head. How are you feeling?"

Stiles groaned and reached up with his free hand to rub his head. "Like I've just had the entire matrix downloaded directly into my brain. What the hell is going on Danny?"

Danny sighed and pulled the device he was holding away before placing it on a side table. He took Stiles' hand in both of his and rubbed it slowly. Stiles could tell that it was more for Danny's comfort than his own.

"I never wanted something like this to happy. The device was supposed to be dead. We were getting no readings. Somehow you activated it. It responded to something in your DNA when you brushed against it. It took you as its host. This device is part living, and part machine. It currently has a symbiotic relationship with you. It's infused itself through your body, become part of you."

Stiles slowly forced himself to sit up and ran his hand over his short hair before sighing softly.

"When I was out…I saw these symbols. The operating guide downloaded itself into my head. I know how to use it."

Stiles ran his fingers over the device that sat on his left arm. The screen came to life and those symbols flashed across the screen before translating themselves into English.

It was at this time that Stiles noticed that there was a third man in the room. This man pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against. "Danny, go check on Pip. I need to speak with your friend alone."

Danny looked between Alex and Stiles. He wanted to stay but he knew that whatever Alex was going to say should be between him and Stiles only. Danny gave a slow nod before standing and patting Stiles on the shoulder before leaving the room. Alex took Danny's spot beside Stiles and looked at the teen for a few moments before speaking.

"My name is Alex. I know you must have a lot of questions. I guess I'll start from the very beginning."

"That would be nice."

"You're currently inside of Torchwood Seven. Torchwood is an organization with the mission of protecting Earth from invaders from other planets. There are also these…things…called rifts. They're rifts in time and space. Things from other planets and other times can find their way through these rifts. A rift recently opened up in Beacon Hills. It's why I came here and why Torchwood Seven opened up. Now; the dinosaur that you met earlier today came through the rift as an egg. Danny and I were there when it hatched and it sort of latched on to Danny. It sees him as its mother."

Here, Alex paused as they both laughed about the idea of Danny being mother to a giant lizard.

"That device on your wrist came through a couple of days ago. Neither I nor Danny could get it to activate. We thought it was dead; just a useless piece of space junk. I guess that it isn't. I guess those are the basics that you need to know. Any questions?"

Stiles thought for a moment before nodding. "How long has Danny been working for you? Why is Danny working for you?"

"He's been working for me for a few months. As for why, I needed someone with advanced computer skills. Danny hacked into the Torchwood system shortly after I came here. I hacked him back and set up a test for him. He completed it not only in record time; but also with a record score. The test was about various alien technologies and somehow he understood it. I asked him to join and he did."

"So that's why he quit lacrosse?"

A sad smile came to Alex's face. "Working for Torchwood is no easy job Stiles. It's dangerous. People rarely live past thirty when they work here. I've resigned myself to my fate; and I keep Danny working only inside of the lab to keep him from the same fate that I will one day suffer."

Stiles gave a small nod before looking down at his arm again.

"You said the operating guide was downloaded into your brain. Can you tell me about this device?"

Stiles nodded before taking a deep breath to begin.

"It gave me its history. It was created by a peaceful race. They were more interested in technological advances to help their race thrive than in any sort of war. Unfortunately; a warrior race wanted the planet for its untapped resources and for the technology that they possessed. Their people were being killed; so the scientists created something to give them a greater advantage. They created an army supplied with these things…"

Here he ran his finger slowly over the device.

"It made them stronger, faster, helped heal them when they were injured and contained its own sort of weapons. They fought off the invaders and saved their planet. The scientists decided that other less developed planets should have these devices as well to protect against future invasions. The device would pick out someone that would use it for good and never for anything selfish. When I touched it; it sensed that I was what it was looking for. Now it's part of me. It runs through my being. I control it."

He looked at the device as he held his arm up, he concentrated and the device slowly seemed to melt away into a liquid like form before seeping into his skin; leaving unblemished skin behind. Alex laughed in delight and took the boy's arm, examining the unmarred flesh.

Alex suddenly grew somber.

"We need to run some tests. We need to make sure that this device doesn't put any strain on your body. It was made by another race after all; they might not have been thinking of human biology when they sent it here."

He had been running for hours on the treadmill. Danny was writing things down as he watched and studying the equipment that was attached to his body. He would speak with Alex every once in a while; but he knew that both were surprised by the test results.

It was after a couple of days of testing his physical being that it was decided that it didn't cause any harm to his body.

At the end of the week he brought out another one of the devices features. With the computer display on his arm; he pressed a few selections on the touch screen until wires shot out of it and wrapped around his body in a sort of super suit. A helmet formed over his head with an internal computer display that told him about the world around him. When he looked at Danny; the device confirmed that he was human. When he looked at Pip, it told him what species of dinosaur he was. When he looked at Alex…question marks appeared under the word 'human'.

He decided to ask about that later and display yet another of the suit's abilities. He hovered in the air; defying gravity. Flight capabilities.

"I feel like Iron Man but without all the heavy metal!"

It was two weeks of testing before Alex sat him down in his office. He looked at the teen, contemplating if this was a good idea or not.

He needed another field agent. Doing it alone was going to ruin his health if he kept it up.

"Stiles, I want to offer you a job as a field agent. With that device; you are uniquely qualified."

"Would I have to quit lacrosse?"

Alex sighed. "Yes, but from what I hear from Danny; you never got to play anyway."

Stiles thought about it for about five seconds before a grin broke out on his face. "I'm in!"