"So you brought her here?" I couldn't keep the incredulity off of my face as I stared at my subordinate.

Newter shrugged lightly, clearly embarrassed, "Well I figured just leaving a clearly unstable parahuman out and about like that wasn't the best idea you know? She'd already scared the living daylights out of the fishermen on the pier, they might have already called the PRT."

"And this was after you nearly accidently used your power on her?" I raised an eyebrow, watching as his face turned an even darker orange with his embarrassed blush.

"Yeah, maybe not my best idea." He rubbed the back of his head, "I just thought that since she was made of wood, my chemicals would have no effect."

"But you didn't know that." I interrupted, "If your powers had worked, what would you have done? You'd have an unconscious parahuman on your hands and the PRT likely on the way. Kidnapping charges would have been the least of your worries."

He flinched but I continued regardless, Newter could be impulsive at the best of times. I had to make sure he understood the possible consequences of his actions, "And what if she had woken up? You said yourself she seemed unstable, she could have gone on a rampage. Nobody knows what her powers are, she could've done a lot of damage before she was subdued. You were extremely lucky that she was immune to your powers."

Newter turned his gaze to his feet to avoid my eyes, "Sorry Melanie, I wasn't thinking."

I sighed, standing up from my desk and around it to the apologetic teen. I placed my gloved hand on his shoulder softly, getting him to look me in the eyes, "It's alright Newter. You made a mistake, it happens. Just try to think next time. Every action has consequences, good or bad."

The orange skinned teen perked up immediately, giving me a big smile filled with bright white teeth, "Got it boss!"

I shook my head in mild amusement at his quick recovery as I removed my hand from his shoulder, "Now, tell me about our guest. She's with Gregor right now isn't she?"

Newter nodded at my question, "Yeah Gregor said he'd watch her while I talked with you. Him and Elle are with her right now."

I nodded, Elle was uncharacteristically lucid today and had taken to following Gregor around while he did things around the club. The way she appeared compared to Gregor's much larger form evoked the image of a duckling following its mother around as they swam in a pond. It was honestly kind of adorable, though I'd never admit that out loud.

I shook my head, banishing the thoughts, there were more important things to focus on at the moment, like our guest's powers.

"You said she was made of water when you first saw her, and then she turned into wood. Do you think she could be a Case 53? Any tattoo?" I asked Newter, watching as he scrunched his face in thought.

"It's possible, but not likely." He admitted, "Her clothes change with her and they are pretty concealing, a long sleeved jacket and jeans. If she does have the mark, it's probably on her body somewhere. She told me her name though, Valerie. Whether or not it's one she gave herself or the one she was born with, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's the former."

He shrugged, "She also looks pretty human apart from the whole being made of stuff other than skin thing. But we both know that doesn't really mean anything."

I hummed in agreement. Despite being given the cruel nickname of 'monster capes', there were several Case 53s that were basically human except for a few odd features. Like that one made of metal on the Boston Wards, Weld. From what I had heard, he was basically just a normal teenager with metal skin that liked to stick to and absorb other metal things. Hardly 'monstrous'.

I turned my attention back to Newter, "What about her emotional state? You said she seemed unstable, did anything else strike you as odd?"

He hesitated, tail swishing nervously as he licked his lips. "I'm pretty sure she's a fresh trigger, though she doesn't act like it." He finally said.

I grimaced, fresh triggers were notoriously hard to deal with as most were touchy at best and homicidal at worst. It was to be expected of course, in order to trigger someone had to go through the most traumatic event in their life, that was obviously going to leave a mark on a person's psyche. The final part of his statement confused me however.

"What do you mean she doesn't act like it?"

Newter just shrugged, "I mean that she doesn't act like it. Sure, she might seem a little off, but most people would be freaking out after triggering. She's just sorta been staring at her hands and not saying anything. It's unusual, sure, but nothing like a normal fresh trigger."

"Do you think it could be part of her powers?" I knew some powers could affect the mental state of the user. Elle's was a prime example as when she used her power to full effect, she was barely lucid as she was forced to explore the landscape her power created within her own mind.

She could often be found staring into space on her bed, unresponsive as she was forced to delve deep into her own mind. Before we had taken to watching over her, Elle would often miss meals as she stayed in this state for several hours, wandering the nearly endless worlds her power made for her.

Maybe Valerie's power was similar, though I fail to see the correlation. Although… I looked over at the wall nearest my desk, narrowing my eyes.

He just shrugged, "I don't know. She wasn't really answering my questions on the way here so I just sorta stopped asking them." He made a thinking face, "She did change again when we got into the club, turning into concrete, but I'm pretty sure that was just her testing her powers."

I shook my head, "No, she's doing something to the building itself." I walked over to the wall I had been staring at and placed my fingers against it, attempting to use my power on its concrete surface.

Nothing. I stepped back, turning to Newter as he looked at me in confusion,

As the conversation had continued, I had begun to notice that the places I was able to affect with my powers had been steadily decreasing, mostly along the walls. It didn't make any sense as my powers should be able to affect any non living material, which the concrete walls certainly were.

Unless that had changed in the time our mysterious guest had been in the building.

I made my way back over to my desk, grabbing the object sitting there and pulling it over my head, tinting the room around me a smokey grey as the welding mask slid into place on my face, obscuring my features.

I turned to walk out of the room, motioning for Newter to follow me as I did so, "Let's go meet our guest."

"You gonna try to recruit her?" He asked as he followed me.

I just hummed, "We'll see, I've got a few questions for her first."


Something was wrong with me.

It had taken me a while to notice it, sitting here in silence as I was watched over by two strangers. Newter had said they were going to watch over me while he went to talk to his boss which I guess I understood, I was after all, an unknown parahuman inside of their home.

The big one, Gregor as Newter had introduced, was standing stoically by the door staring at nothing in particular. His skin, what I could see of it underneath his coat, appeared to be semi translucent, showing the shadows of muscle and bone underneath. Interspersed throughout his exposed skin were spiraling bits of some hardened material that gave me the impression of shells.

The other person in the room was a young woman around my age or a little older. Blond hair peeked out from the edges of her hooded robe and she was wearing a dark green mask depicting a maze on its surface. She was softly humming an indecipherable tune to herself, arms wrapped around her knees as she stared in my general direction.

In a small circle around her, sprouting up through the sheets of the bed she was sitting on, was a colorful array of flowers, pinks, blues, and yellows bursting through the sheets without disturbing them in any way. She took no notice of them apart from periodically reaching down to pluck them from their stems and holding them up to her mask as if to smell them.

Newter had introduced her as Labyrinth, which pinged something in the back of my mind, like I had heard the name before. I tried to hold onto that thought, only to fail as it slipped through my grasp like grains of sand in a sieve. That had been happening a lot recently.

I stared down at my concrete hands, flexing my rigid fingers one after the other as I tried to focus my mind to no avail.

When Newter and I had entered the building, a nightclub I was pretty sure if the neon lights were any indication, my powers had once again sang out to me, more powerfully than they had on the docks.

I gave in, once again feeling my body shift to match the materials around me and thought that was it, only to instead be overcome with the feeling of my entire being immersing itself into my surroundings.

It was strange, being in multiple places at once as my presence made its way throughout the building, sinking into the concrete walls and floors until I was part of every room in the building, becoming part of the nightclub itself.

There was part of me that whispered I could go further, truly become one with my surroundings. Although, even with my mind as distant as it was, I couldn't help but feel that my hosts wouldn't appreciate that one bit so I refrained. I still kept myself spread throughout the building though.

Even now, I could feel the gentle weight of the chairs near the bar, the subtle shifting of the rebar in the foundation…

And the heavy weight of footsteps making their way in my direction.

I turned my head as the door opened with a light creak, revealing Newter and a woman I hadn't met yet. She was wearing what appeared to be altered riot gear painted a dark charcoal and holstered on her hip was some sort of pistol. A welding mask was fitted on her face, obscuring her features though I could see the edges of a ponytail emerging from the back of her head.

All in all, she cut an intimidating figure and as she stepped into the room and locked eyes with me, I felt a hint of fear make its way through the haze in my mind.

"So you're our guest, Valerie right?" She asked, voice barely muffled by the mask.

"I am." I nodded, and my voice sounded wooden even to my own ears.

She tilted her head before looking back toward Newter who shrugged. She turned back to me, expression inscrutable behind her mask.

"I'm Fautline, leader of the Palanquin and owner of the nightclub of the same name. A nightclub you are currently affecting with your powers."

My eyes widened slightly and I could see Labyrinth tilt her head on the edge of my vision, "How-"

"Let's just say I have a sense for these things," She interrupted, "I'm going to have to ask you to stop whatever it is you are doing."

I hesitated slightly before nodding and closing my eyes, focusing on my power.

Retracting my presence from the building was a lot more difficult than spreading it out. It was like I was stuck inside every tiny crack and indent in the concrete and pulling myself out completely was an exercise in futility.

I spent another few moments trying to extricate myself before finally giving up and opening my eyes. I looked back toward Fautine, the woman having crossed her arms during my failed attempt.

"I can't." I muttered.

She hummed, "That's a problem. If my theory is correct, your power is affecting your emotions, it will be difficult having this conversation if you can't turn them off."

"Maybe she could just change materials." Newter piped up from behind her and I tilted my head. That might work.

I leaned over and placed my hand on the wooden frame of the bed I was sitting on, and watching in satisfaction as my concrete form turned wooden once more.

I smiled at Faultline as I… I…

Oh god.

"Oh god…" I repeated out loud as images of what had happened mere hours earlier flashed in my mind. Mom and Dad beaten and tied to chairs, Hookwolf knocking me unconscious and waking up in the trunk of a car.

Hookwolf telling me of my parent's fates.

"No… oh god no…" I cried, sobs building in the back of my throat with no way to release themselves. I placed my face in my hands, taking deep shuddering breaths as I came to terms with everything that had happened in such a short period of time.

An arm wrapped around my shoulder and I looked up to find Newter giving me a comforting smile, "Go on, let it out."

I buried my face into his chest and wailed with grief at all I had lost.


Next Chapter is already on my Pat re on if you'd like to check it out. Link is in my bio or you can just search up my username, it's the same on most sites I post on