Chapter One

Location: The Battery, New York City, New York, United States

No one could've foreseen it, no one could've seen it coming, no one could've prepared for it. What would've been an otherwise bright and peaceful day in the city of New York, or at the very least another normal average day in the city with all its superheroes and supervillains around and abound, had suddenly turned dour and uncertain. From out of nowhere, before anyone could've realised it and warned everyone else of what would happen, a powerful explosion seemingly went off in the vast body of water just between the surrounding cities of New York and New Jersey. Powerful enough to be seen, heard, and even felt from many miles away, releasing not only a shockwave throughout the water, but also an ominous cloud of greenish mist into the air as it spread outward.

This strange fog overwhelmed many other ships nearby, swept over the Governors' Island, and even enveloped the Statue of Liberty itself. And already, many, many citizens either stood frozen and watched on with unease and dread, ran and fled with terror, or even took advantage to record and report on this unusual phenomenon. One such crew had driven and arrived as close as they as close on land to the spreading cloud, quickly setting up their camera and other equipment from their van. Meanwhile, their reporter, a young adult woman with short copper-brunette hair and curious brown eyes, donned in a short-sleeved lavender top and matching black shorts and sandals, stood patiently with her back against the side of the van while toying about with the microphone she would be set to use.

"Allright, Phoebe, everything's ready and we're about go live in a few minutes", the cameraman himself approached the woman. "Are you ready?"

"I suppose so", Phoebe responded. "You know, Charlie, I've been wanting to do a piece on atmospheric pressure".

"I don't think they'd be interested", Charlie shrugged.

"What, in atmospheric pressure?" Phoebe questioned.

"I mean, in any of us wanting to do anything", Charlie specified. "We're supposed to report on the weather, and possibly some other news as well... And just that".

Hearing all that, even from someone she had closely worked with for some time now, Phoebe could only let out a briefly huffed sigh. "Nobody appreciates me".

"I do", Charlie tried to assure.

"Do you really?" Phoebe gave a cock-browed look of doubt at her fellow crew member.

Unable to directly answer such a question, Charlie actively avoided it as he checked on his watch, only to see the time was already ticking down so closely to the exact time they would need to start filming very soon. "Anyway, we're on in thirty seconds", Charlie addressed to Phoebe before he turned tail to rush to the camera already set in place.

While Phoebe herself sighed again before following suit, microphone still firmly gripped in hand, walking over just to where the camera was pointing at. Looking back behind her, she could see the evergrowing cloud of green still present and looming in front of the horizon. Shifting her full proper concentration back to the camera again, Phoebe then positioned herself just close enough to the rails of the Battery Park while hastily clearing her throat and brushing back some of her head behind her ears.

Phoebe took in a deep breath and exhaled as soon as she felt her nerves relieve themselves for once. "Here we go", she muttered softly and quietly to herself.

"Okay, we're about to go live in three, two, one..." Charlie counted down before signalling for Phoebe to go.

"This is Phoebe Gold for the Fact Channel, on location at the edge of Manhattan itself", Phoebe spoke closely into her microphone while facing sternly into the camera itself. "Where we can see a massive cloud brewing in from just beyond our bay, yet it doesn't seem to be any normal cloud or natural weather, but rather caused by an explosion just outside our bay. And as you might be able to see, this cloud is continuing to spread at an unnerving pace as we speak. Could this be just an accident on one of our tankers, an underwater experiment gone wrong, or possibly even a bioterrorist attack? Only time will tell".

Just as Phoebe had concluded her statement, she glanced back once more at the giant green cloud, regardless whether the camera on her was still rolling or not, and she could see it closing in towards the Battery Park and the rest of New York City. Phoebe slowly turned herself fully around as she observed the encroaching mist, how it loomed about as high as most tidal waves and tsunamis. Her mind rushed around to find even one word to accurately describe what she was seeing before her. The rest of her crew stood and watched just as silently, almost stumbling back a bit even.

Before long, the unnaturally green cloudy fog finally reached and approached the very edge of Manhattan itself, enshrouding over the Battery Park and all the crew members in it. As if by some mighty gust of wind, some of their hair and clothes billowed and undulated while the people themselves breathed up the mist and coughed out in reaction. And yet, even by the time cloud had fully passed on by and left the people behind, none of them seemed to show no clear negative effects from any consumption, or at least most of them.

From the very moment Phoebe fortuitously puffed and inbreathed its vapours, while she too rasped and hawked for a bit, something had been triggered from deep within her. At very first, she hadn't felt anything much more, but almost abruptly, Phoebe's body and torso started cramping and jerking inward, as if something in her stomach was churning. A deep heavy tingle crawled up inside her teetering legs and thighs, then up her spine, across her twitching arms and fingers, and up into her now-drowsy head as well. Her right hand gradually loosening its grip on the microphone she was using until it eventually feel free and down to the ground with a harsh clatter. But even with her body and senses nearly disorienting, she still managed to keep up on her own two feet.

"Phoebe!" Charlie soon noticed something very off with the reporter, calling out with high genuine concern in his tone as he pointed forth at her. "What's that happening to you?!"

Hesitantly looking down at herself, Phoebe spotted something very wrong happening to her indeed, something swelling and bloating just above and around both her ankles, something green and bulbous that soon spawned multiple little tendrils that crawled and coiled up her trembling legs like snakes and insects. Very similar bugles and tendrils appeared on her wrists as well before they too started coiling up her arms as well. Shaking violently and shuddered with wide-eyed dread and open-mouthed fear, Phoebe could only stand in place helplessly as the other people looked on with shared horror, unsure of what they'd be able to do.

"W-Wha-" Phoebe stammered in her state of paralysed horror. "What... Is... Ha-Happening... T-To me...?"

As they soon already begun enveloping around her chest and neck, the tendrils soon wrapped her legs closely together, then they bound her arms and restrained them to the sides of her torso. All throughout this, Charlie still kept the camera up and rolling, filming and recording this whole entire process. Eventually, as Phoebe's cocoon formed and developed, it enclosed round Phoebe's face and head, before finally sealing up good and tight, concealing her whole body from clear naked sight.

"Phoebe? Phoebe, can you hear me in there?" Charlie called out at the chrysalis itself.

"We gotta do something", One of the other crew members exclaimed.

"What can we do?" Charlie glanced back and questioned, wondering how to get their reporter out of this strange inhuman cocoon.

To be continued...