Versus Mutations

Chapter 1

The sun had risen in the sky. Early morning breezes made the air seem chilly. People were either getting ready for work or still asleep. As for Mark, he was awake, but not preparing for a job. He stretched himself out and checked the time. 7:42am. Thank goodness it was the end of the week. Three day considering Memorial Day was Monday. He rose to his feet and grabbed his toothbrush. Leo had Mech X4 ready in case they needed to stay overnight. Smart move since it happened quite often with people being injured after monster fights.
After finishing his routine rather quickly, the mechanic put on the extra pair of clothes he brought for himself. He also grabbed some for his little brother in case this occured. Speaking of which, that was the first thing he did. His footsteps were soft, but still able to be heard. The duplicate, who wasn't tired at all, sensed someone coming. He made himself go incognito and disappear so he wouldn't be seen. Walking into the med bay, the sixteen year old checked on his younger sibling. He was sound asleep. Smiling, he decided to wake him up anyway. He planned on taking him home so their mother wouldn't worry.

"Hey," Mark called quietly. He shook his baby bro a little. He began to stir, "hey, get up."

With a slight groan, the pilot had woken up. His eyes took some time to adjust to the light in the room. Once they did, he saw that his older brother was the one who woke him up.

"How ya feeling?" Mark asked.

Ryan gave him a weary thumbs up. The former jock chuckled.

"Okay then," Mark continued to speak, "well we should head home. Mom's probably gonna-"

A ding went off. Mark checked his phone and let out another chuckle.

"Text me." He finished the sentence.

Sitting up, the fifteen year old stretched his arms out. He removed the covers from his body. That's when he noticed two bandaids holding down a cotton ball on his left shoulder. The male technopath looked back up at his older sibling in confusion.

"Yeah, nerdo took some of your blood out to look at it," Mark explained, "we just wanted to see what was going on since you...well you know."

Nodding, Ryan got up from the bed and headed for the door. He didn't get very far since he nearly fell. He had been caught by the sixteen year old.

"Okay, good thing I'm driving you," Mark commented as he helped his brother stand up straighter, "let's go."

He assisted his sibling in walking. As they were leaving, the duplicate watched them go. That smile twisted into a devious smirk as he zapped himself away.

*****************

"How's your arm?" Kenzie asked.

She was making breakfast while her dad was going through bills.

"Better," Liam told her, "should be back at work by next week."

"I don't know dad," Mackenzie stated unsure, "what about your leg and neck?"

"Hey, two working hands are enough for me," Liam reassured his daughter, "besides you have enough on your plate. You should have some fun in the mist of all this craziness."

"I'll be fine dad," Mack responded, "and anyway, I called your job. Told them you need at least another three weeks after what went down. So you can't go in. No excuses."

Liam gave his child a smile.

"Aren't you sneaky?" He rhetorically questioned.

He grabbed the papers with his healthy arm and used his crutches to go to his room. Kenzie planned on bringing him his breakfast. As she was preparing bacon, her cell started ringing. She placed it in between her shoulder and ear so she could continue cooking.

"Hey V what's up?" Kenzie greeted.

"I took home the blood." Veracity told her.

Mack nearly dropped her phone.

"You took it home?!" She inquired, "what if your dads find it?"

"It's in my room so they won't see it," V instantly calmed her down, "and I have supplies from Mech X. I did it in the basement since my equipment is down there already."

Mack flipped the bacon over and started on the waffle batter.

"So did you find anything?" She queried.

"Only a few things," Veracity began. The blood ran under a microscope, "the color is more of a purple right now. The technopathy is in a lumpy kind of form. It's trying to liquify itself. Chances are, it'll be done by tomorrow considering its had time to regulate itself."

"So the whole Ryan not being a human thing is actually going to happen?" Mack asked.

"Most likely if we don't find a way to fix it," V answered. She moved the beaker of blood to the side and reached for the tweezers, "I have to check out these lumps too. They're the main reason this is happening."

"So what do I tell Mark?" Kenzie questioned her.

"Nothing!" Veracity immediately stopped her, "he doesn't need to know about it until me and Harris can figure it out."

"Wait, I thought his blood was turning blue," Mack made a point, "why's it purple?"

"Most of the blood so far is blue," Veracity explained to her, "the rest of it is undergoing change. Once everything is blue, there's no going back."

Mackenzie finished making the batter. She ran over to the pan and got out the bacon. Placing them on a fresh plate, her hand reached for the waffle iron.

"I mean well, would it be so bad if his blood is all blue?" The female co-pilot quizzed. She out the waffle iron on the stove and started measuring the liquid batter, "he has bones, a brain, and can walk on two feet. Isn't he still human?"

"Technically he would be a mutant," Veracity corrected her as she placed the blob on a napkin. Mack's eyes went wide, "look until I finish, we won't know for sure. Just don't tell anyone that isn't Harris or Leo. Especially Ryan and Mark."

Mack sighed.

"Fine," she hesitantly agreed, "but if he finds out I'm not explaining it to him."

She hung up and put her phone away. The young blonde continued to cook breakfast, with worry tugging at her mind.