Metamorphosis

Chapter 26

Melarni looked at them with a mix of confusion and assumption as she neared them on the stage. "What's... going on?" She raised an eyebrow, her voice full of uncertainty. Ivan and Doreen shared a look of worry, increasing the shapeshifter's confusion.

"I think it's time we tell her," Ivan started and turned towards the entrance of the auditorium where Jazmine, Marissa, Christina, Andrew, and Israel were walking in with impatient faces, "all of them."

"What?" Doreen exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"What's the hold up?" Andrew questioned as he descended the long stairs with the group and made their way towards the stage. "Everyone's outside and you guys are still here!"

"Yeah!" Jazmine agreed and patted her stomach. "I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat!"

"Doreen?" Christina raised an eyebrow, immediately reading Doreen's mind as a large, clustered cloud of jumbled thoughts.

"Melarni?" Marissa turned towards the shapeshifter who just stared at the two teens by the piano with a solemn expression. The rest of the group watched them from the front of the stage. "What's wrong?"

"I," Ivan started confidently before Doreen could say anything, "have something to tell you guys." Doreen tugged the sleeve of his shirt.

"Roland," Doreen whispered so that only he can hear, "you don't have to do this." Ivan turned to her with determined brown eyes.

"I need to."

"Wait, wait," Israel's eyebrows furrowed as he used his super hearing, "Roland?" Everyone turned to him, all except for Melarni who stayed rooted in her spot.

"Roland?" Jazmine reiterated. "You don't mean..." She trailed off and turned to Ivan with wide eyes. Ivan nodded.

"Just in case anyone eavesdrops." Ivan said before raising a hand towards the auditorium entrance. With a wave of his hand, the doors closed with a bang and with a turn of his index finger and thumb, the doors were locked. The metahumans at the front of the stage looked from him, to the doors, and back to him with awe, shock, and wonder. Ivan nodded at them once again. "I am the first metahuman that Doreen created."

XXX

"Your real name is Roland Jung?!" Andrew exclaimed and stood up from his seat for exaggeration. The metahumans were seated in the seats at the very front row while Ivan and Doreen sat on the floor of the stage facing them. Jazmine rolled her eyes and slapped Andrew's arm from her seat next to him.

"That's besides the point," Ivan said and looked at him with a deep gaze, "now sit back down." At that, the metal mimicker felt a mysterious force pull him back down to his seat. Andrew's eyes widened as he stared at the newly admitted metahuman with surprise.

"Dude!"

"As I was saying," Ivan started, "to start off, my real name is not Ivan Reid." He paused for dramatics. "It's Roland Jung."

The group was silent, not wanting to question anything until he was done talking. The male telepath looked at Melarni - who sat at the far edge of the row - with worry but the shapeshifter just avoided his gaze by keeping her eyes down at her hands. Ivan sighed, knowing exactly what was going through her mind.

"I didn't mean to lie to any of you by not revealing my real name," Ivan apologized and Melarni looked at him but he faced everybody, "it's just that after Doreen and I escaped, I lost my memory... amnesia, if you will." Jazmine raised her hand as if she was going to ask a question in class. "Jazmine?"

"Was your amnesia so bad that you forget everything," she asked, "even your own name?" Ivan nodded.

"It was worse than Andrew's," he said and Andrew jumped in surprise with wide eyes and a gasp, "Andrew's was nothing compared to mine. Andrew only lost a month's worth while I, on the other hand, lost 14 years worth."