TESTING DAY IS HERE
Full-of-herself teenager Lilianne Whisper thinks she's got it all figured out. For her, school is an arena to hone "socialista" techniques for manipulating the masses.
So Lilianne believes until enchanting Anton Flowers transfers...
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Groff undoes my restraints, and I launch myself at him, claws slashing. He catches my waist in one big hand. My arms flop to my sides like overcooked noodles. I have no strength.
"We can fight later," Groff says. He cradles me in the crook of his arm.
Deirdre takes a picture with her on-the-go. "Our new life begins."
My eyes struggle to stay open. Captain Light points his hand at the bodies of Amma, Appa, and Anton's parents. He blasts them with a bright beam that forces me to look away. I feel its heat. There's a sizzle and the smell of burning flesh; when the beam dies, all that remains is ash. Captain Light pops a pill from the bottle Groff gave him and exits.
I want to cry, but I'm too numb. Anton is curled into a ball, sleeping on the floor. A pair of medics enter; one of them hands Groff a nutrition shake. He holds the straw to my mouth. I should push it away, but my clenching stomach takes over. I suck it down hungrily. It smells like the one Ms. Karuthers force-fed to me when I came to EverMight 11 months ago, only now my fully Manifested Supergenic tastebuds find it delicious.
I feel my strength return. I squirm in Groff's arms, and he sets me down. He types on his on-the-go and one of the walls of hexagonal tiles shimmers and turns into a reflective surface.
I gaze at myself. Dreg Lilianne is gone. My body is covered in glimmering green scales. I flex my fingers, and frog-like webbing appears between them; I concentrate, and the skin suctions back against my digits. The last of my hair has fallen out. My scales erase my nipples and hold my firm breasts in place; my groin self-seals like my shrunken ears and nose. I ache as if from an intense workout, but the excruciating pain of my once halfie form is gone. I've never felt more whole.
"Welcome to the new you," Groff says. Deirdre takes another photo.
My brown eyes remain, highlighted by flecks of gold that have grown more intense. I stick out my tongue. It's still rounded and pink. Otherwise, I am well and truly Supergenic. What does that mean? For me? For my life?
Groff places Anton on a gurney. I avoid looking at either of them. Thelp is called in. Stinky trips behind her in oversized rubber boots.
"Lilianne!" the little girl squeals, her coal eyes glowing brightly. "The treatment worked!"
I gaze at the ash that was once Amma and Appa.
Thelp scans my new form with her on-the-go. The expression painted onto her white mask is proud. She taps her screen.
"Order sent," she says.
An instant later, someone zooms into the room, faster than a dreg eye could follow. My Supergenic sight glimpses the runner handing Thelp a clothing bag on a hanger. My tail slaps between my legs, unsure what to do with itself.
"Husband," the demoiselle says to Groff. She shows him her on-the-go. "Dr. Dérangé's been executed."
Groff snorts. "Hayal Hulm's getting desperate. She's trying to distract from Lilianne joining Generation Manifestation against all odds. It won't work. Dr. Dérangé is yesterday's truenews. Come, let's get our Anton ready."
