Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~PROLOGUE~

(Hi, everyone!
This is a quick message to let you all know that I took down Morph a few months ago, feeling bad about the quality of writing I put out at the time I was creating this story. I've come to appreciate it as a milestone in my growth as a writer, though, so I'm putting it back up (hopefully permanently). Apologies for the slew of notifications if you're subscribed or otherwise notified about my republishing!)

SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO

They walk together, laughing and chatting, just like they do every week. This time, the three of them are in a shopping centre, window shopping without ever buying anything. Posters of well-known superhumans are scattered across the shop fronts, in bids to draw more customers in with the sponsorship of a certain telepath or strongman. A huge billboard, plastered with the image of a caped superhuman, wearing a cheesy grin, stares down at them, but they're too engrossed in conversation to notice it. The woman, small and petite with a huge smile on her lips, hangs on the first man's arm, wiry-looking and wearing white, while the second, taller, more rugged man stands alone, though still near to his two companions.

Suddenly, the woman takes one hand out of her puffa jacket, and begins to move her fingers through the air. Ice crystals form slowly on her fingertips, and the air turns frosty as she smiles and waves her hand lazily through the atmosphere around them. The man in white smiles and leans closer in to her, waving his own hand, and a shimmering purple shield materialises around the three friends, protecting them from the delicate flakes of snow starting to fall. He looks at the final member of the group, smiling, and indicates for him to demonstrate his ability. The taller man grins back, and a look of concentration descends over his face. He holds up his hands.

Slowly, vibrant orange and red ribbons coalesce around his palms, gradually forming into rough spheres. The other two look impressed and happy, praising him, but suddenly the concentration dissipates and confusion takes its place. The conversation pauses, their faces falling, and the man in white asks his friend what's wrong. He cannot reply, though, can only stare in disbelief and horror as the spheres in his hands grow steadily bigger. As they start to vibrate, the other two take a step back, eyeing the him with worry and fear.

"What are you doing?" asks the woman. "Are you okay?"

"I... I can't... you have to get away!"

The man in white holds his hand out placatingly. "Just control it. You can do that."

"No," utters the taller man, staring at his hands and widening his eyes in terror. "No, I... I can't control it. I'm going to blow, I can't-"

The rest of the sentence is cut short as he yells, and now more passerby are noticing him. Nervous mutters and whispers spread throughout the crowd, and the man screams.

"Get out! Run! You don't understand. I can't control it!"

But the man in white keeps talking in a soothing tone, trying to calm his friend down. "Rein it in, keep it controlled. Don't let it explode. You know how. Simple."

"I can't!" screams the taller man, and tears roll down his cheeks as the spheres in his hands start crackling with malevolent energy. "Please, God, no... don't... not here..."

The crackling intensifies, and now he's got the attention of the whole centre. Superhumans are not particularly rare, but whatever this one is doing is. His whole body is lit up with glowing orange energy, hissing and fizzing around him, and the spheres are growing even larger.

"NO!" he screams, and the energy explodes outwards like a wave of fire, rushing and racing away from him and destroying everything in its path. The screams of panicked people who realise what is happening fill the centre for a few seconds before the energy reaches them, disintegrating everything and everyone. The world shakes and tilts as the centre begins to fall around them, once-supportive pillars crumbling and crushing everything under them. The energy flickers, and dies as the dust settles. All is dark.

And there is silence.

A/N:
welcome to morph! it's a superhero story with action, excitement, and tons of twists. i hope you enjoy it, and i would really appreciate if you could vote or leave a comment. it only takes one click! :)