"Hmm… so, it would appear that Ozma and Salem's war shows no signs of faltering." In the vast reaches of the cosmos, a dark, ethereal being watched over the very world he created from a galaxy's distance away. "I wonder how things would've played out if my brother hadn't revived Ozma? No matter. She was infused with the darkness of the Grimm Pools, and destruction is likely all she craves."
The being, a literal god of darkness, mused to himself. To the average onlooker, the typical mortal, he'd be sputtering nonsense. But only his eyes were able to see, even from so far away, the very happenings of what went on upon Remnant, a planet of his brother's and his own creation.
Whereas his brother sought beauty and peace, he sought darkness and destruction. His finest creation, the creatures of Grimm, still lived to this day.
Humanity, the creation that he had agreed to make with his brother. They would have a choice, the path of peace, or the path of destruction, creating unique combinations to which neither god had admittedly thought of.
Though, the God of Darkness was more up to date, as his creations would say, than his brother was. For upon reviving Ozma, or as he was now known, Ozpin, the God of Light kept true to his word, and had completely abandoned the planet.
The God of Darkness, however, continued to observe, even from a distance… for his own amusement.
The Faunus was an admittedly unexpected development. Apparently humans with the traits of more primitive life, such as those of dogs, cats, tigers… and though the dark god was curious as to their creation, to him, they were no more different than their original predecessors.
Just as vile and wicked, or as kind and gentle, as humanity, these faunus were.
The god found himself amused by many of the events that had followed their departure. Ozma and Salem's eventual reconciliation, which led to their eventual hatred for each other… the wars that plagued Remnant, due to the differences of Faunus and Humanity… it was all so amusing to him.
Though, he had found himself growing intrigued, as of late.
Even as gods, both the one of darkness and of light were restricted to their current realm by powers beyond even them. Though, that doesn't mean they couldn't peer into other realms should they choose to do so.
Something the God of Darkness had found himself doing recently. While his brother occupied himself with ever more creations of light, he had found himself drawn to the entertaining sites of chaos, not just upon Remnant, but upon some in other realms as well.
One such realm had garnered his attention.
It would seem, the God of Darkness had realized long ago, that humanity was not an original creation. Humans seemed to exist in different realms, living different lives, sometimes in vastly different worlds.
One such world in one such realm had created an interesting idea for the God of Darkness.
Whereas Remnant had Huntresses and Huntsman, this world had something different. Unique specimens of Humanity. Ones who would develop uncanny abilities in extremely trying times, be it immense strength, the ability to conjure fire, or the ability to create a seemingly invincible(to those humans at least) metal material.
And thus, the idea was born: what if one of these… superhumans, from this other realm, were to find themselves on Remnant? How would they fare?
How would Remnant fare?
Whereas the Huntsman of Remnant had Aura, Semblances, and their crafty weaponry to help them, they were still as fragile as a regular mortal once such defenses were nullified.
However, these superhumans did not have such a problem. Whether they were overpowered, beaten, hurt, their abilities remained. Although depending on the person, possibly weakened. But still, their power remained.
So… what would happen, if one of these beings, without the drawbacks of Aura, were to find themselves on Remnant?
Would they be unstoppable? Would they be easily defeated? Would they live? Would they die?
These were questions that the God of Darkness had found himself mulling over.
He had the perfect test subjects, too.
One was a male, a teenage boy of immense strength, able to plow his way through just about anything in his way. One with enough power to walk through walls as if they weren't even there. One who simply couldn't be harmed by conventional means upon his planet.
The other, admittedly, was nothing peculiar. A regular female, a teenage girl, with absolutely none of these interesting abilities. A normal human. Albeit, one that his other target cared for greatly. And perhaps… she could think in ways that her other couldn't.
Allow them to remain with whatever abilities they already had, but force them to go through the hardships that followed upon Remnant? How would they adapt to their struggles, deal with them?
It was then that the god had another idea.
How do they adapt to change? Allow them to keep their power, or the male anyway, otherwise it wouldn't be interesting. But how would they react, say…
… an extra set of ears? Scales, or a tail?
"Oh… this should be interesting…"
Though it was technically forbidden, it was well within the God of Darkness's power to reach through between realms, and pull beings from another to his own, and he doubted anyone would notice two mortals suddenly disappearing, from one realm, and two new ones suddenly appearing in another.
And it was with that thought, that the god set his plan into motion.
Many things were running through John's mind right now… and at the same time, very little.
Something was wrong… but he wasn't sure what it was.
Something felt different… but he couldn't place it.
The last he remembered, he was sleeping in his bed. The comfy mattress and the cover wrapped around him as he snored to his content in his sleep.
Whatever he was laying upon, however, was not a bed.
He could feel many somethings, small, rough, but seemingly limp, poking at his form below him. He could feel an unknown and alarming weight extending below from his rear. The warm air around him was a stark contrast to the light chill he preferred in his room, with his air conditioner usually on full blast.
Now that he thought about it… something bright seemed to be shining through his eyelids.
With a groan, John's eyes cracked open, only for him to immediately clench them shut as the bright light of the sun nearly blinded him.
"What the fuck?" He groaned out as he blinked a little, trying to adjust his eyes to the unexpected light.
Slowly, he lifted himself to a sitting position, propping himself up on one arm as he rubbed his eyes with the other, trying to clear his eyes.
When once he was done, he opened his eyes, looking at his hand for a moment, before setting it down onto the ground.
Only for realization to flood him as his eyes went wide, and he lifted his hand back up in a hurry to examine it.
At first glance, it didn't seem like much was wrong, except for one obvious difference.
In place of his fingernails were large black claws, protruding from his fingers and thumbs by about half an inch. They looked to be geared for offense, and with his strength, that wasn't a pretty combination. Even without the claws, he could've already tore somebody in half, but with the claws…
Wait, WHY did he even have claws in the first place? How did he have claws?
Seeing this apparent alteration to his biology was enough for John to scramble to his feet in an effort to survey himself, only to find himself impeded by an unfamiliar weight originating at around his tailbone.
"What the- shit!" John found himself interrupted as the weight threw him off balance, and he found himself falling right back down to his rear. "What is-" He trailed off, his eyes going wide as he turned to look at what it might be, and laid eyes on the cause.
A large reptilian tail protruded from his rear, probably as long as he is tall, a clear hole torn in his pants from the tail forcing its way out.
It was as if he had a sudden awareness now… now he knew what the weight was. It was something foreign, and yet, a part of him. He decided to test his theory, see if this were real.
Slowly, he brought a hand to the tail, intent on simply feeling it, and seeing if he could feel his hand as well.
He couldn't help it when he brought his hand away in surprise, taken aback by the feeling of his own calloused hand rather than the rough texture of the tail. He could actually feel the tail.
He actually had a tail.
"What the…" John's mind went blank for a moment, before becoming a frenzy of different thoughts as he processed what he was looking at.
He had a fucking tail! A quick test to see if he could do more than feel it proved the reality even more when John willed the tail to slowly rise and fall, and he could feel it as if it were a natural part of him.
This was gonna take some getting used too.
Once again, John attempted to pull himself to his feet, trying to hover the tail off the ground and balance it out, with some struggle. He found himself wobbling slightly, the tail exuding a foreign force that he wasn't used to in any capacity, and out of habit, he extended his hands outward, trying to balance himself.
"This is a lot harder than it looks." John muttered to himself as he was finally able to balance himself out, raising the tail up slightly and keeping it elevated making the task a small bit easier.
Once he was finally able to stand normally, he twisted himself so that he could look at the tail with a critical glance.
"What the fuck happened?" John asked to no one in particular, not at all comfortable with the new appendage, which was scaly, almost like a reptile, which had seemingly been attached to him while he was unconscious.
He shouldn't have a tail. Let alone one he could feel and move with conscious thought.
Was this some sort of trick? A superhuman feat of ingenuity? Another ploy by a certain electrokinetic threat?
John didn't know.
And it irked him.
His thoughts were interrupted by a feminine groan sounding in the area, causing John's head to snap towards the source.
And his eyes widened at the site the greeted him.
Not too far away from him was a girl he recognized, a girl he'd known most of his life, slowly regaining conciousness. What really threw him off-guard, however, was the apparent fact the John himself wasn't the only one who sported new animal features. However, in contrast to his own more reptilian additions, his friend seemed to have taken more after a tiger, a small pair of orange ears poking up above her head as well as apparent claws of her own, and an orange taile with black stripes protruding from her tailbone.
"Maddie?" John muttered in surprise, before moving quickly to Maddie's side, crouching down next to as he rested his hand upon her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake. "Maddie, wake up."
"Hmm?" Finally, the familiar blue eyes became visible as the blonde cracked her eyes open, blinking a little as they adjusted to the unexpected light assualting them. In an effort to help, John shifted his frame to the side, providing a little bit of shade from the harsh brightness of the sun.
"Hey, you okay?" John spoke once more, causing Maddie's eyes to finally settle on John.
"John?" She questioned in confuison, bringing her gaze to survey their surroundings. "Where are we?"
"When I know, I'll tell you." John replied with a chuckle, admittedly hoping to quell any unease that was going to most assuredly arise. "You okay?"
"I… I think so…" Maddie muttered as she brought a hand up to her eyes to rub them a little. "But do you have to be so loud?"
At her question, John's brow furrowed in confusion. "Uh, Maddie, I'm not talking that loud."
"Really?" Maddie simply raised an eyebrow in response , as if she didn't believe him. "Are you sure about that?"
"Uh, yeah, I pretty sure." John answered with an amused smile. "Must be those new ears of yours."
"New ears?" Maddie questioned in confusion. "What are you talking about? And what is that on my butt?"
"Uh…" John was admittedly unsure of how to break the news to her, because he was almost positive that a panic attack of some sort would be coming.
A suspicion that was confirmed when Maddie turned to glance towards her rear, and spotted the tail that was protruding from her tailbone, poking through her pants.
"John, this isn't a prank is it?" Maddie's entire expression morphed into one of unease, eyes taking on a fearful look as dread seeped into her tone.
"Maddie, I need you to stay calm." John instructed, his voice taking on a gentle tone as Maddie's moved back towards his own. "I'm not sure what happened, but panicking isn't going to help anything."
Maddie's breathing was beginning to pick up, despite John's words, before she suddenly jumped to her feet, her head moving around wildly.
"Where are we?! What's going on?!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" John's tone grew a little louder to catch her attention as he jumped to his feet, resting his hands upon her shoulders with a firm grip, bringing her to look back at him. "Calm down, we'll be okay."
"Easy for you to say!" Maddie couldn't help but to retort. "You're not the one with a tail and you have super strength."
"Uh… yeah…" John muttered, a small smile coming onto his features. "About that…"
It was then Maddie finally noticed John's own tail swaying in the air behind him, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Y-You too?"
"Maddie, I know you're scared, but I need you to stay calm." John instructed, his voice soft as he pulled his best friend into a hug, to which the teen gladly returned as her hands came up to wrap around the Juggernaut's chest for comfort. "We'll figure things out, alright? And nothing's gonna hurt you."
Maddie didn't say anything for a moment, but John could hear her breathing slowing down until it was back to a more steady pace, and she nodded her head even as she tucked it into his chest.
"Okay." If there was one thing Maddie could do, it was have faith in John. He'd never led her wrong before, and he had always kept her safe.
Always.
John let a smile come onto his face at her words, and he chose then to let go of her, resting his hands on her shoulders as he gave her a reassuring gaze.
"Come on, let's go." John said, nodding his head in a random direction. "We gotta get somewhere, and standing here all day isn't gonna do anything."
Maddie let a smile grace her features, before nodding her head. "Alright."
And with that, the two began their trek towards what they hoped was civilization.
Hours had since passed by, and they hadn't found an ounce of civilization, although they had found an indicator at least. A small dirt path in a clearing in the trees.
In the meantime, silence had rung between them, Maddie opting to tail John, letting him focus on surveying their surroundings in order to at least try and memorize where they'd been.
Although, that didn't mean she didn't make her own observations. It was better than mulling over their… extremely unusual situation.
The forest they'd found themselves in was… beautiful. The leaves and grass were a vibrant green, far more lush and healthy looking than the forests and woods around their home.
It didn't look as… dulled, as their home did, by pollution.
Even the sky was a vibrant blue, not a cloud in sight, the sun high in the sky, and yet, the temperature would indicate that it was more around 50, 60 degrees.
"You alright?" John suddenly spoke up, shaking Maddie from her thoughts as he slowed his pace, glancing over towards her.
Maddie nodded her head in response, shaking her head. "Yeah. It's just… this whole situation is so strange." She commented, eying the claws she had in place of fingernails. "I went to sleep in my bed at home… and now I'm in a forest with a tail, claws, and an extra set of ears."
John let out a chuckle at her words. "How do you think I feel? I got a giant lizard tail, big-ass claws, and sharp fucking teeth." He shook his head, smile on his face as he attempted to lighten the mood. "You know how many times I've bitten my cheek out of habit already?"
Maddie let out a giggle at John's words. "That doesn't sound pleasant."
"It ain't." John assured with a chuckle. "Fucking hurts like hell."
"How do you think this happened?" Maddie questioned, glancing at John in curiosity. The larger teen shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Not a clue." John responded with a shake of his head. "You're guess is as good as mine."
Maddie let out a sigh at John's words.
And once more, silence descended upon them.
It baffled Maddie. How on Earth could this have possibly happened? There was no doubt that a superhuman was responsible, because what normal human had the capability to give both of them functioning animal traits? Not even mentioning the fact that they'd have to pierce John's skin in some way, and could luck with that.
Not to mention that they'd been able to do it all and move the both of them out into some random forest while they were sleeping.
Any further thoughts were interrupted, however, by the sound of a low growl, causing both John and Maddie to stop, a gasp escaping the girl's lips as every muscle in John's body tensed up.
"What was that?" Maddie asked, looking around with unease as the growling seemed to grow louder, along with the sound of heavy, forceful footsteps.
"No idea." John responded, only for his eyes to widen as a disgusting, foul smell penetrated his nostrils, causing him to nearly gag.
"Oh god, what is that?" Maddie gagged as the smell assaulted her own senses as well.
"Stay behind me." Everything about this entire situation was biting at John, making him tense up more and more as… something approached them.
Finally they could pinpoint where the growl was coming from, as both turned towards the brush across from where they stood on the dirt path, and John let his hand unconsciously move out in front of Maddie in a protective stance.
And finally, something broke through the bushes.
And neither of them were sure what they were looking at.
A creature, a bear of some sort, emerged from the bushes, its large size easily dwarfing the both of them. Neither were entirely sure, however, if what they were looking at was a bear, and if it was, what kind of bear they were looking at.
Across its body were bony protrusions, almost like armor of sorts, including a section covering the creatures as. As well, some spikes stood erected upon its back, and the white colored bone contrasted harshly with the black fire across its body, and its eyes were a glowing blood red, staring at them with a menacing gaze.
"What is that?" Maddie felt horror flood her at the beasts primal glare.
And then the bear stood up one it's rear legs, and it roared.
"Move!!!" John wasted no time in giving Maddie what was to him a gentle shove, sending her straight to the ground a just out of harms way as the beast abruptly charged the two with an unexpected amount of speed, slamming into John and sending the seven hundred pound teen into the air for only a moment, before catching him and bringing him to the ground in an attempt to maul him.
Maddie's eyes immediately jerked to the site, eyes wide in worry as she watched the beast begin to swipe its massive claws at John. Even though she knew it was a vain effort by the bear, she couldn't help the worry in her heart at John's predicament.
John's hand lashed up as the creature tried to bring its claw down once more, stopping it with ease despite it being twice the size of his hand.
"Get the hell off me!" John shouted in frustration, raising his foot up and giving the creature a hard kick to its chest.
The beast was sent flying by the kick, crashing into a tree with a loud smack, cracking the tree and causing the giant plant to crash to the ground.
John wasted no time in hopping to his feet, eying the bear as it slowly climbed back to its feet.
"Stay out of the way!" John ordered Maddie with a glance, before charging towards the bear before it could completely return to its feet. Raising his foot, he slammed it into the creature's snout with bone crushing force, an audible crack being heard as the giant bear slumped to the ground.
The duo eyed the creature for a moment, waiting for it to return to its feet… but it never did.
Instead, something else happened.
"What the fuck?" John couldn't help but to mutter as the bear suddenly started to smoke, a thick black vapor of some sort emanating from its corpse. "Did I kill it?"
"What kind of bear was that?" Maddie asked, approaching closer until she was next to John as she eyed the creature, completely befuddled.
"No clue." John answered, eying the creature warily. "I've never seen a bear that big. It looks like some kind of… I don't know, it resembles a polar bear."
"Just black… and spikey…" Maddie commented in confusion.
The situation had just gotten a lot more dangerous.
"Come on." John said, eying the smoking beast for a moment before glancing towards Maddie. "I'm not eager to see another one of these things, so let's go."
Maddie continued to stare at the corpse for another moment, before nodding in agreement. "Okay."
With that, they continued their trek down the road, leaving the smoking corpse behind.
But instead of a casual walk, John was tense with every step, eying his surroundings, alert, ready for another creature to emerge.
Something that put Maddie on edge.
"John, do you think we'll encounter another one of those things?" Maddie asked, glancing up at him.
"I have no idea." John replied, his vigilance never wavering. "But it's still a possibility. We need to figure out where we are, and get the hell out of here." He let his gaze drift down to Maddie for a moment. "Last thing I want is you getting hurt."
Maddie didn't respond, simply eying John for a moment as he went back to scanning their surroundings.
What was that thing? Maddie had never seen or heard anything like it. Could it be a superhuman? Did whoever changed her and John do something like that to a bear?
Maddie wasn't so sure. She was beginning to wonder if something else was at play here. Something about this whole scenario wasn't adding up.
Suddenly, the sound of a vehicle entered their ears, coming up the dirt path behind them, causing the duo to stop and turn towards the source, Maddie looking nervous, while John looked weary, on edge.
It looked to be an old pickup truck, but neither of them recognized anything about it, not the model, not the brand, nothing. They could only tell that it was a small brown colored pick up.
Whoever was in the driver seat noticed them, as the truck began slowing as it approached them, putting the two of them on edge even more, John fighting every instinct in his body to demolish the truck right there.
Finally, the truck came to a stop next to them, and the window rolled down, allowing the two to see more clearly inside.
Within the truck was a man, blond, short unruly hair and a small bit of stubble, wearing what looked to be a button up shirt under a vest and a pair of shorts, with a tattoo of some sort on his upper arm. The man's face held a friendly, if curious, expression as he spoke.
"Good afternoon." He greeted, a small smile on his face as he looked at the two of them. "Pretty far from town, aren't you?"
At the friendly tone, Maddie couldn't help it when she relaxed, and she could see John visibly let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the man.
"Yeah. We were trying to figure out where we are." John spoke honestly, admitting their predicament to the man.
The man looked confused John's words, his brow furrowing as he waited a moment before he spoke once more. "You don't know where you are?"
John let out a chuckle that managed to be both amused and mirthless in response. "Buddy, I fell asleep in my bed last night, and now me and my friend here are waking up in a forest we don't recognize with tails attached to our asses."
At that, the man's eyes widened, and he sat up a little, utterly baffled at John's words. However, not for the reason John was expecting.
"You two aren't faunus?"
Now it was John and Maddie's turn to be confused, the two of them looking at each other when they heard the question.
"Um… what's a faunus?" Maddie asked, turning to look at the newcomer in confusion.
If anything, the man's eyes went even wider, before they narrowed. "Just where are you two from, exactly?"
"Ohio." John answered, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't help the sense of nervousness that filled him when the man simply stared at him. "The state? You know, in the U.S?"
"The U.S?" The man questioned, as if he'd never heard of such a place.
"The United States of- where the fuck are we?!" John couldn't help it when he exploded. The first person they'd encountered since waking up only led to more questions than answers, and it was honestly starting to bite at John, causing both the man and Maddie to jump slightly.
"John, calm down." Maddie spoke softly, resting a hand upon John's arm as she attempted to soothe her best friend. Turning back to the man in the truck, she addressed him once more. "Can you please tell us where we are? Up until a few hours ago, we were normal people, and now we're waking up in a forest with some kind of mutated bears, and a man who's never even heard of our home."
The man looked at Maddie, eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the girl, before they slowly widened in disbelief. "You two are serious?"
"Yes." Maddie nodded her head. "We… we're confused, we're on edge, and whether he admits it or not, we're both scared."
The man simply looked at the two of them for a moment, before letting out a sigh and leaning over, popping open the door, to the confusion of the two teens.
"Hop in." The man instructed, nodding his head into the truck. "I'll help however I can, but I don't know how much help I'll be."
"We appreciate it." Maddie said, and she meant it. Turning to John, she nodded her head into the truck as well. "Come on, John."
John looked at Maddie for a few moments, watching as she turned and climbed into the truck, scooting into the middle, before he let out a sigh and climbed in after her, closing the door with an unintended slam.
"Sorry." John mumbled, but the man opted to ignore it as he put the truck in gear and began driving down the road once more with his two passengers.
"I'm Taiyang Xiao-Long." The man introduced himself, giving a quick glance towards the two. "I live at a small little house at the end of the road."
"John Gallagher." John introduced himself in response. It was only manners, after all, and besides, the guy didn't seem to bad. It wasn't his fault that John was on edged.
"Madison Thompson, but my friends call me Maddie." Maddie introduced herself as well, turning to look at the man with a small smile. "Again, we really do appreciate the help."
"It's not problem." Taiyang waved off the thanks, giving a small smile of his own. "I could use the company for a bit. It feels like I've been in the house by myself for a while."
"Did anyone else live with you?" John asked, glancing towards the man curiously as he tore his gaze from the window.
Taiyang nodded his head. "My two daughters, Ruby and Yang." He answered with a nod. "Ruby is off on a trip right now with a couple friends from Beacon, but Yang's still at the house. She hasn't been… as talkative as she used too."
"Beacon?" Maddie's brow furrowed in confusion when she heard the name, ignoring the man's mention of his daughters.. It sounded like a school, but not any school she'd ever heard of.
"The combat school." When that seemed to provide no more clues, Taiyang let out a small chuckle. "One of the four most prestigous schools in Remnant? It's the school huntsman and huntresses in training usually pick in Vale after finishing prep school, like the one I teach at, Signal."
"Remnant?" John questioned in confusion. "Is that city or something?"
At that, Taiyang's eyes shot wide, and despite driving perfectly, he leveled his baffled upon John, who now looked even more confused at the response. "You… you're kidding, right?"
"No." John said with a quick shake of his head, not liking where this conversation seemed to be going.
"Remnant? The planet we live on?"
At that, both the teens in his truck went wide-eyed, paling slightly when they heard those words.
"Uh, I'm sorry," John actually had to shake his head, looking at the man in complete disbelief as he processed what he'd just been told. "Are you saying you call the planet Remnant? Because I know there is no way in hell we're on another planet."
Taiyang looked at John in his own disbelief, unable to believe the teen had said that with such conviction and seriousness. "Um… what's the planet called, then?"
John balked at the question, and his gaze slowly moved over to Maddie, who looked horrified at the implications that single, curious question brought with it.
"Fuck." John muttered, slumping in his seat as the gaze moved towards the window, watching as the trees went by, mulling over the newfound revelation. "This… this just got a whole lot scarier."
Taiyang eyed the two of them for a moment, before his gaze moved back to the road, opting to instead focus on driving. However, he wasn't done speaking.
"So, uh… you two are from another world?"
"It would seem that way." Maddie's voice was sullen, quiet, as she pulled her feet up onto the seat and hugged her knees to her chest, trying to hold back tears of horror and fear as the gravity both her and John's predicament slammed onto her. It didn't help that she severely doubted their good samaritan believed them. He probably thought they were a couple of loonies.
"I gotta say, it's definitely not the weirdest thing I've heard."
That threw them both for a loop, and they turned to look at Taiyang in confusion for a moment, but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he spoke up once more.
"Tell me about your home."
Maddie and John glanced at each other for a moment, before turning to look back at the man.
John let out a sigh as he spoke first. "Well… it looks a lot like this, I guess. Humanity is the dominant species, and you have all kinds of continents and countries. There's the United States, or America, which is the country we're from. Then there's places like Brazil, Russia, Africa, India, Puerto Rico, Ireland…"
"Funky names." Taiyang couldn't help but to remark, causing John to actually crack a grin.
"Didn't you say the nearest city is called Vale? That sounds like a funky name to me." John retorted in a joking manner, causing Taiyang to chuckle.
"Well, you're the alien."
"Touche."
"So, what else is there?" Whether it was true or not, Taiyang was more than interested in hearing more.
"Well… there are the superhumans."
"Superhumans?"
"They're exactly what they sound like." Maddie decided to pipe in, glancing towards Taiyang as she spoke up. "They have a gene in them, which John here just calls the superhuman gene, that activates in response to a lot of stress at once. It mutates their body, giving them random superpowers that adapt their body to survive the situation."
"Sounds kind of like a semblance." Taiyang murmured under his breath, before glancing towards the two for a moment. "Either of you one of these superhumans?"
"Me." John answered, raising his hand slightly. "Accelerated healing and immense superhuman strength. Makes me one swift tank."
"Or a juggernaut." Maddie teased, causing John to give a playful eye roll at hearing the nickname.
"Shut up." There was no ill will in his words, and Maddie let out a small laugh when she heard it.
"And you don't have an aura?" Taiyang asked John, causing both of his passengers to look at him in confusion. "I'll take that as a no."
"What's an aura?" Maddie asked, tilting her head curiously.
Taiyang let out a sigh. "Okay… where to begin? An aura is a manifestation of one's soul. It acts as an extra layer of protection. It can heal, and protect, as well as enhancing people's physical capabilities, but it can only take so much, before it runs out and needs to regenerate." He explained, sounding like the teacher he claimed himself to be.
"Yeah, I don't have that." John said with a shake of his head. "All these abilities are all me."
"Huh, neat." Taiyang remarked. "Anyway, with an aura usually comes a semblance, a more physical manifestation of both aura and soul. It's said that the semblance that developes is usually in tune with the user's personality. For example, my daughter, Yang, is a hot head, and she gets stronger as she takes damage. My youngest, Ruby, can turn into a burst of rose petals and move at superspeed, which makes sense considering she's a hyperactive fifteen year-old."
"It does kind of sound similar." Maddie nodded her head in agreement, turning her head towards John. "And the strength does suit you. You've always been strong and confident, even before you got your strength."
John actually gave a grateful smile at that. "Thanks, Maddie."
"I wonder if you two could get an aura?" Taiyang wondered aloud, before shaking his head. "But that's not important right now. Whether it's true or not, you two don't seem too bad so far, and I said I'd help any way I can."
"Well, we appreciate it." John finally said, looking at the man with a grateful expression. "I know I was a bit of an ass before, but seriously, we really do appreciate it." He was sincere in his words as he spoke to their unexpected savior.
"No problem." Taiyang said, glancing towards the two for a quick moment. "How old are you two, anyway?"
"Seventeen." Maddie answered.
Taiyang let out a chuckle in response. "Same age as Yang." He remarked as he turned his gaze back to the road.
The drive continued in silence for another ten minutes, before they found themselves pulling into a little driveway at the end of the road. A small little cabin house sat at the front of the driveway. It had a rustic look, almost like something you'd see in a country movie. Shining glass windows greeted them, looking far cleaner than any John or Maddie could remember seeing, and a nice, well maintained flower bed sat in front of the house.
"This… this looks nice." John couldn't help but to say, a small smile on his face as he turned his gaze towards Taiyang. "This is your place?"
"Yeah." Taiyang nodded as he put the car in park, before turning to look at his two passengers. "I built this place myself. Of course I had help, but when me and my friends graduated Beacon, I was with my first wife at the time. When we got married, we moved out here, and built this place." A small hint of sadness mixed in with Taiyang's smile, before he shrugged it off and turned to look at the two. "Come on, I want you two to meet Yang." He said, nodding his head towards the house before exiting the vehicle. As he went to close the door, he stopped for a moment as he turned to look at them. "She could probably use the company too."
With that, he closed the door, leaving John and Maddie to look at each other for a moment, confused at that, before John shrugged it off and pulled the handle to open the door.
"Come on." John said, pushing the door open as he turned to Maddie. "The guy's helped us so far, may as well help him however we can." He reasoned as he climbed out of the truck, Maddie following behind him.
"I hope his daughter's alright." Maddie admitted as she eyed the shrinking form of Taiyang. "He sounded worried for her."
"We'll find out." John assured as he began making his way after Taiyang. "Let's go." He encouraged her with a smile.
Maddie smiled in return and nodded as she began making her way behind John, following after him.
If John had one thing, it was confidence. And she could feel safe in his presence because of it.
Whenever it came to John… she always felt safe by his side.