Brand New Parahuman

Most inserts end up as either overpowered solo acts, drawing in other characters to form their own team, or else join up with either the Undersiders or the Wards. My circumstances are a little different. With no real desire to actually get involved or really the power to do so, my decision to join up with Faultlines Crew. Then shit, or to be more precise, my blood really hit the fan.

Right, so this idea likely won't get continued, but I rather like the idea. It was inspired by BNA, but it isnt actually crossed over with it and the MC's powers and skillset are more closely related to the Minks from One Piece...mostly. I have some interesting ideas for this. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

It was the touch of cold snow that drew me from my sleep. I opened my eyes, staring up at the thin sliver of gray sky visible between a pair of buildings with rusty fire escapes bolted to the wall as my brain struggled to kick into gear. Then it did and I realized what was wrong with the view above me. I sat bolt upright, looking around wildly at my surroundings, a grimy alleyway caked in filthy snow between two buildings that appeared to be a restaurant of some kind and a laundrette.

"What the fu...where am I?" I muttered as I got to my feet, brushing off the seat of my pants.

As I did, I noticed something else that was decidedly out of place. My arms were covered in fur, thick, mottled silvery gray fur that darkened to black at my now paw-like hands that had pads on the palms and fingertips, as well as short claws instead of fingernails. A quick self examination revealed that the fur was all over my body and that wasn't the end of it as I appeared to have somehow been transformed into an anthropomorphic fox, including a tail with a black tip.

"Well, this is decidedly weird," I muttered as I flexed my fingers, "Am I dreaming?"

I pinched myself, hard.

"OW! Not dreaming!"

I sighed and lent back against the wall, staring up at the sky through the narrow slit between the two buildings. I felt...calm. Almost unnaturally calm, almost like I knew what was going on. I closed my eyes and focused, trying to remember what in the world had happened before I ended up here. I remembered returning to work after an extended absence, going through my workday and leaving, then…

My eyes snapped open and I nearly swallowed my tongue as the memory of being hit by a truck abruptly hit me.

"Oh shit, I've been Isekaied!" I yelped.

I could even vaguely remember talking with...SOMETHING in a void after my untimely death. Exactly what had been talked about, I don't know, but it had something to do with a deal and being Isekaied with powers or something. I couldn't remember much about where I was or what powers I now had, but it was enough to calm me down a little.

I groaned and gently bounced my now furry head off the wall behind me. Well, it was better than being dead I guess, but I could have done without waking up in a grimy alley.

Actually, speaking of which, where was I? I got to my feet and headed for the entrance of the alley. It was clear that wherever I was, it wasn't well taken care of because a large number of bulging binbags were piled in the entrance. Good for hiding what was going on inside, less good for trying to get out of the alley. While my limbs were still Human, the change in body had resulted in my balance being thrown off just enough that tripping was a practical guarantee. I caught myself before I could faceplant into the muck and immediately discovered that someone had dumped broken glass in the alley.

"OUCH!" I yelped, snatching my hand back out and immediately keeling over backwards as I lost my balance again, "FUCK!"

What followed was some rather embarrassing flailing as I tried and failed to regain my balance until I finally managed to get out of the alley and face planted onto the sidewalk, the hood of my jacket flipping over my head in the final moment of humiliation. Fortunately, the street was empty, but that wasn't exactly the most auspicious of entrances.

"Um, are you OK?"

I gave a muffled groan. Apparently someone HAD seen my little involuntary skit. Just my luck. I tilted my head up so I could see under my hood and looked up at the tall girl who was leaning over me with an odd look on her face. She was Human, which boded...not sure really, but it suggested that my furry mug would be attracting a fair amount of attention, and looked about 17, with long, curly hair that was obviously well taken care of, a wide, thin mouth and thick glasses that put my old prescription to shame. Yay for death fixing eyes I guess?

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "Just had some joker decide it was a good idea to dump me in an alleyway full of rubbish and feeling a little...out of sorts you might say."

"Isn't that...a bit dangerous?" asked the girl, "I mean, this isn't the safest part of town…"

"Eh, I can take care of myself," I said.

I went to push myself up, but the cuts on my hand were apparently worse than I thought because my left arm gave way and I nearly face planted again. Fortuantaly, before I could find out what a broken muzzle felt like, the girl grabbed me and helped me steady myself.

"Um, thanks," I said as I got to my feet and pushed my hood back, "Sorry about th…"

I was cut off by a startled eep and the girl yanking her hands away from me fast enough that I felt my claws catch slightly.

"I, um, gotta go!" she blurted and ran before I could respond.

"..at," I finished and sighed.

Welp, that confirms that beastmen are either not normal or unusual enough to scare a regular person. Lovely. I really hope its the latter and not a situation where they have a bad reputation for whatever reason. I sighed again, then shook myself and slapped my cheeks.

"Not the time to get distracted Kit," I muttered, "First job is to figure out where I am before I do something stupid."

I winced as my hand throbbed, then glanced down at the disgusting alley and winced again.

"Actually, my first job is a trip to the hospital. I really don't want to think about what I could get from that mess."

Plan now set, I took a moment to rip a strip from my, thankfully clean, shirt and wrap my hand in a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding, then flipped my hood up, wrapped my tail around my waste to hide it under my hoodie and started walking in the direction the girl had gone, reasoning that she was likely heading back towards the actually populated part of the city.

It didn't take long to find myself in what appeared to be the city center and I made sure to keep my head down so no one could see my less than Human features. I couldn't see anyone else with animal features walking around, so it was probably best if I kept a low profile for now. I did get some odd looks thanks to my dirty clothes, but most people ignored me. Probably a good thing since I highly doubt my 'disguise' would hold up very well under scrutiny.

I had just paused to watch a rather impressive animatronic gorilla dancing outside a shop with a sign advertising a sale when a shout went up from the crowd.

"STOP THIEF!"

I, like everyone else, turned to see a ragged looking man running like the clappers away from a short, mousy looking woman with a pram with a handbag with a cut strap in one hand and a sharp looking knife in the other. The sight of the fleeing thief seemed to trigger something in my head and, before I could properly register what was going on, I was moving.

With far more grace and skill than I should have had considering less than athletic lifestyle and unfamiliar body, I zipped through the crowd, switching to all fours almost without noticing as I vaulted over a low wall. The thief had a decent head start, but I was apparently very fast and had his scent, so tracking him as he made a turn down an alleyway was easy. I vaulted over the dumpster in the alley entrance and pounced.

Surprisingly, the man managed to avoid my pounce with reflexes a little too twitchy to be normal which, considering I could smell the drugs on him, wasn't that surprising. I wasn't sure what he was on, but it probably wasn't anything particularly benign if his twitching was anything to go by. He spun around to face me as I landed, waving his knife erratically as his eyes darted around the alley.

"Hey now buddy, lets not do anything rash," I said, "Just drop the knife and we can…"

I was cut off as the man lunged. I avoided the clumsy thrust easily, then sighed as the junky used the opening to sprint down the alleyway, stumbling and tripping on the bins and bags the whole way. I took off after him, only to quickly find that catching him would be harder than I thought. As strung out as he was, he clearly knew the alleys very well and had a lot of experience manoeuvring through them, which allowed him to keep ahead of me and even give me the slip a few times, although it wasn't hard to find him again with my sense of smell.

Eventually, I got sick of picking my way through piles of trash and took to the rooftops where I could move freely and, hopefully, get him to stop if he thought he'd lost me. It seemed to work because he eventually stopped running and, after a careful look around (but not up) started going through the stolen perce. I was about to jump on him when I felt my fur stand on end and looked down to see an aura of blue electricity surrounding my hands.

"Huh, thats interesting," I muttered as I flexed my fingers, watching the electricity dance among my fur, "I would have thought fire would be more thematically appropriate for a fox, but whatever."

I clenched my fists and took a moment to bask in the feeling of electricity flowing through my body, then jumped off the roof and landed directly in front of the junky, who jolted back in shock.

"Miss me?"

"Wha...GLERK!"

He crumpled under by fist, then yelped as I shocked him.

"Well that was significantly more trouble than it needed to be," I said as I let the junky collapse.

I was about to pick him up when the sound of flapping fabric caught my ears. I looked up, just in time to see a blonde girl in street clothes come shooting out of the sky and hit the ground in a three point landing that indicated some kind of super durability or she would have shattered her shins, her knees and possibly her hips from the force.

"Give it up scumbag, you can't...HOLY SHIT, YOUR A DOG!"

I twitched.

"I'm a fox actually," I said.

The girl blinked, then blushed slightly.

"Ah, sorry," she said.

"S not a problem," I said.

The girl shifted awkwardly for a moment, before perking up again.

"Nice job getting the guy by the way," she said, "I nearly lost him."

"It wasn't that hard," I said, "I just followed my nose."

I picked up the stolen bag, before grabbing the junky by the collar, slinging him over my shoulder like a sack of laundry and began making my way back out of the warren of alleys. The girl floated after me, remaining well away from the trash strewn floors of the alleys. Show off.

"So, you got a name fox boy?" asked the girl.

I hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. Its not like I could really hide when I was a six foot tall fox man.

"Kit," I said.

The girl fixed me with a flat look.

"Really?" she deadpanned, "Come on, is that the best you can do?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't exactly pick the name," I said, "I have no idea what my Parents were thinking to be honest."

The girl looked confused for a moment, before her eyes widened.

"Wait, that's your real name?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Yep, I don't really see any point in hiding it," I said, "I mean, I'm a six foot tall fox. That's not exactly something you can hide."

She still looked a little surprised, but seemed to accept my explanation. Then she frowned again.

"Wait, you can remember everything?" she asked.

I frowned.

"Yeassss, is that surprising?"

The girl opened her mouth, but before she could respond, we left the network of alleys. The crowd had mostly gone back to their business once the excitement had died down, although a few rubberneckers were watching the woman who had had her bag snatched talked to a pair of tired looking cops with an air of someone who didn't think it was likely to help.

"I gotta go, it was nice meeting you fox boy!" said the girl, waving as she flew off over the crowd.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't comment as I made my way across the street to the cops. As I approached, the woman spotted me and her eyes widened in shock. The cops noticed and followed her gaze, stiffening slightly at the sight of my furry mug as their hands drifted a little closer to their guns. Lovely, I see no way this won't bite me in the future.

I ignored the caution as I approached and dropped the still dazed junky on the pavement.

"One pickpocket, gift wrapped and mostly unhurt," I said, "And I think this is yours."

"Ah, thank you," said the woman as she accepted the bag I handed her and started going through it, before nodding and leaving without another word.

"What did you do to him?" asked one of the cops as his partner cuffed the junky.

"Punched him and shocked him," I said as I let a small spark of electricity run through my fur, "Don't worry, it was only about the strength of a taser. He should be fine."

"Well, that makes a nice change," said the cop, "Normally newbees break a few bones at least."

Newbees? Guess this is a world where supers are fairly common. Thats...good? I guess. I really hope its not one of those worlds with eldritch monstrosity invasions every other story.

"Anyway, I'm gonna need a name for the report," said the cop.

"Its Kit," I said.

"Kit huh?" asked the cop, "Fine, whatever."

He asked me a couple more questions as his partner stuffed the slowly recovering junky into the back of their car, before thanking me again and climbing in himself. I sighed as the police car pulled out, doing my best to ignore the stares I was getting from the crowd. Then, my hand throbbed, reminding me of my original goal.

"Damn it, I should have asked about the hospital," I growled as I examined my bandaged hand and winced.

The run through the alleys had not been kind to the make-shift dressing and the fabric was torn, making it basically useless. Fortunately, the cut seemed to have closed up, although my hand was still covered in partly dried blood. I pulled a face at the disgustingly sticky feeling of my fur. I really needed a shower.

I sighed and turned around as the flying blonde floated over with a wide grin on her face and a gloomy looking mousy girl following her. At the sight of me, the new girl paused, her eyebrows going up slightly.

"Hey again foxy," said the blonde.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Did you forget something?" I asked.

"Nah, Ames just wanted to meet you," she said, "She didn't believe that I'd met an actual beastman."

'Ames' sighed and jabbed her friend in the side with a sharp elbow.

"Shut up Vicky," she growled, "Sorry about her, she has no manners."

"HEY!"

"Riiight, well its nice to meet you I guess," I said, eyeing the two while trying to figure out why they were setting off all sorts of alarm bells, "Its no problem. Beastman is as good a description as any after all."

I ignored the smug look the blonde sent her friends way.

"Anyway, I should probably get going," I said, "I don't suppose that you two could point me to the nearest hospital could you?"

The brunette frowned.

"Why? Did that guy get you?" she asked.

I shook my head and held up my hand.

"No, but I cut my hand earlier and I've been running through dirty alleys on all fours," I said, "I'd like to get it checked to make sure I don't catch something really nasty."

"Oh, Amy can help with that!" chirped the blonde, patting her friend on the shoulder.

The brunette scowled and fixed the floating blonde with a glare.

"This is supposed to be my day off Vicky," she said.

"Aww come on, hes a new hero!" said Vicky, "Sides, its just a little cut! Come on, please?"

Amy scowled for a moment longer, then seemed to deflate.

"Alright fine," she muttered, "Hand."

I hesitantly put my hand in hers as a rather nasty thought began to germinate in my head. I really, REALLY hoped I was wrong.

"Oh, I just realized that I never introduced myself!" said the blonde, "I'm Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl in costume, and the glorious healer fixing you up is my sister Panacea!"

Aaaand just like that, my stomach dropped through the floor and I tensed up in fear, drawing a yelp from Panacea as my claws dug into her hand slightly. Son of a BITCH, I'm in WORM!

And I think that'll do for now. I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter, but it does the job and I can always clean it up a bit later. Now, onto the quips!

Is it believable that Kit wouldn't realize he was in Worm right away? Sure, so long as he didn't see any tags, Capes or the Bay itself. Even then, there are some Capes, like Glory, who aren't exactly unique enough to warrant someone going 'Ah, Worm'. Flying blonde bombshells are fairly common in superhero stories after all.

As previously mentioned, Kits powerset is basically the same as the Minks from One Piece. Hes stronger, faster and tougher than normal Humans, although not to an insane degree, can use Electro and has a natural ability to fight. He can also transform into a Human form, although his Beastman form is his 'true' form and has one more ability which isn't really relevant for fighting, but will make things very...interesting in the future. I wonder if anyone can guess what I have in mind?

And that'll do. I'm gonna sign out, so don't forget to leave a review on the way out!