<< DISCORD >> [ Nightcrawler X OC ]

Chapter 1

I, Jay Forrest Drachen, was a strange guy.

Charming and charismatic as I was, I made friends easily. But it was my tendency to disappear for months at a time and come back like nothing had happened that drove people away...

Truth be told, it was also how secretive I was.

I didn't tell anyone much of anything, really. I had no close friends or family, so I mostly kept to myself.

Honestly, I was just terrified of what everyone else would think of me if my secrets got out- most importantly, what the government would think.

I was an unregistered mutant. Mutants were humans who developed "superpowers"- shapeshifting, mind reading, teleportation, to name a few.

In his case, it was a branch of shapeshifting, though I could only change into one thing- but my "thing" was pretty cool.

I could turn into a dragon.

However, those weren't all of my secrets.

A year ago, I disappeared again, but this time with no intention of returning. I bought a plane ticket to Germany, wanting to start a new life. I'd been born there and I knew the language, so I felt pretty confident about my ability to live there again.

All was well until someone discovered my powers.

I wasn't certain how. I was strolling the streets late at night- a bad idea, I knew- when someone straight-up jumped me.

I fought back, of course, but that someone pressed a pouch against my nose, and I was out.

I woke up in a cage the next day, and I knew that I was in a fight club.

More specifically, a mutant fight club.

And so I fought. I slashed and burned and dragged myself to the top, to this moment, staring down another bloodied body being carted away.

"That's it, folks! Fan-favorite Wildfire has managed to take down his opponent, yet again!" The crowd cheered, as they always did.

I grinned, sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the ring. I may not have been in dragon form right then, but some things stayed with me, after so many transformations: neon-green eyes, slit pupils, fangs, and patterns of red scales- mostly on my arms and legs, but on my face as well.

I'd been told I was pretty by other competitors before, with a combination of all these factors, floppy brown hair, and an easy smile. Most of these now had burns all over their bodies, and no longer spoke to me.

Back to the ring. The announcer was speaking in a low voice to a group of people, but with my heightened senses, I understood that they wanted to replace me with another fighter for this next match. The announcer fought, but once they handed him a handful of cash, he subdued.

"For this next fight, we'll be taking Wildfire out of the ring for a bit of a rest," the announcer called. The crowd booed, but I let the guards lead me to a rest bench right outside of the ring. I relaxed, waiting to see what would come of this next match.

"In place of our champion, we have a vicious fighter, sent to us straight from Heaven... Angel!" A man walked into the ring, grinning lopsidedly. I leaned in, studying his wings: white feathered things, tipped with claw-like hooks.

"And, facing off against him, found in a Munich circus, the Devil himself..." Guards were wheeling in a chest that seemed to be rocking back and forth. Whoever's in there really doesn't want to be, I thought with amusement.

The guards left and shut the cage door behind them. The box began to open... slowly...

"Nightcrawler!"