With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty

Chapter 5

When Gray woke up the next morning, his body also felt different—stronger. He pulled back the blanket and looked at himself.

"Where did these come from?" he muttered, staring at his now-defined arms and shoulders. "Not that I'm complaining..."

Knock-knock!

"Gray, are you alright?" Ur's voice called from the other side of the door.

"I'm fine, Aunt Ur."

"Well, it's ten o'clock. Sleeping in any later won't do your body any good. Get up."

"Alright, alright..."

Gray sighed and got dressed, still distracted by the changes. When he stepped into the bathroom and glanced into the mirror, his toothbrush fell from his hand.

He had fangs. Not the usual kind. These were more like the long, curved fangs of a predator—like a lion or wolf.

"What the—are these supposed to be my wisdom teeth?!"

He leaned closer, examining them with curiosity and no small amount of concern. He reached up and tapped one with his finger.

Suddenly, with a sharp click, his fingernails grew into claws.

"What the hell?!"

He stared down at his hands, now tipped with long, pointed talons. Just then, his eyes shifted in the mirror—turning from their usual stormy gray to a misty green with slitted pupils.

He staggered back, heart pounding. "What... what's happening to me?!"

"Gray!" Ur called again from downstairs. "You didn't fall back asleep, did you? If you're not down here in five minutes, I'm coming up there!"

"Oh no—no no no—I can't let Aunt Ur see me like this!"

Panicked, he dug through the drawer, grabbed nail clippers, and tried to clip the claws—snap! The metal clippers shattered in his hand.

"Oh come on! What am I supposed to do now?!"

And just like that, the claws retracted. His fingernails returned to normal, smooth and rounded. He looked back at the mirror—his teeth and eyes were normal too.

"Okay..." He took a deep breath. "So... that's new. At least it's gone before she saw. What the hell is happening to me?"

He finished getting ready, trying to act normal as he headed downstairs.

Later that day, he helped Ur clean out the attic. As they descended the narrow stairs, he felt something.

A flicker of danger.

He turned and saw Ur's foot slip on a loose board. Before she could fall, he reached out and caught both her and the box of fragile china she was carrying—effortlessly.

"You okay, Aunt Ur?"

She blinked, surprised. "Yes... I'm fine. Good reflexes, Gray."

"Thanks."

He hesitated for a moment. "Hey, since we're done up here, do you mind if I head over to Natsu's? There's something important I need to talk to him about."

She smiled. "Of course. Just be back before dark, dear."

"I will."

He kissed her on the cheek and headed next door. As close as he was with his aunt, there were some things he could only tell Natsu. Things like this. Cause if you told Natsu a secret, he'd take it to his grave.

...

Knock knock.

Igneel opened the door, greeting Gray with a warm smile. "Hey, kid. Feeling better?"

"Much better, Mr. Dragneel. Is Natsu around?"

"Sure. He's upstairs." Igneel called out, and Natsu came down a moment later.

"Hey," Natsu said, rubbing the back of his neck, as he stepped outside with Gray. "What's up?"

"Okay," Gray said seriously. "You're probably not going to believe what I'm about to tell you... but something freaky's happening to me."

Natsu's eyebrows lifted. "Freaky how?"

"It started last night. After I got home from the hospital, I felt weird—really weird. Then I passed out. When I woke up this morning... my body had changed."

"Changed how?"

"Well, first of all, I've got muscles. Like real muscles. Laxus-level muscles. And then... my teeth. They turned into fangs. And my eyes—my eyes turned green, like a cat's."

Natsu stared at him. "Wait... are you serious?"

"You think I'm joking?"

"No—I'm saying the same thing happened to me!"

Gray blinked. "What?"

"Yeah! My eyes turned yellow—reptile-yellow. My teeth sharpened, and my tongue got all long and... weird. Like a snake's."

"My tongue's still normal," Gray said. "But I had claws. But I can do-"

They stepped outside as they talked. Gray was about to demonstrate his new abilities when a car came speeding around the corner—its driver distracted by his phone.

Gray's instincts kicked in.

Without thinking, he grabbed Natsu by the arm and did a backflip, carrying both of them out of harm's way and onto the sidewalk.

"Maniac!" Gray shouted at the car as it sped away.

Natsu stared at him in shock. "Dude. Since when can you do that?!"

"I don't know!" Gray said. "That's what I mean! I can feel things before they happen—react faster than I should be able to!"

"Awesome," Natsu said. "I wonder if I can—"

He attempted to flip like Gray had, but ended up landing flat on his back.

"Ugh. No fair. Why do you get all the cool stuff?"

"Don't ask me. I don't even know why I can do this."

Frustrated, Natsu shoved a nearby lamppost—just to vent.

The pole snapped at the base and toppled over with a loud crash.

"...Oops."

"Wait. You did that?!" Gray asked, wide-eyed.

"I guess? Did I? I mean—wait, follow me to the garage!"

In the garage, Natsu walked over to the heavy car engine his dad had been working on. It weighed 350 pounds, there was no chance that a boy like Natsu would be able to life it. But he grabbed the motor with one hand—and effortlessly lifted it above his head.

"Holy crap," Gray breathed. "You're like... super strong!"

"I know, right?" Natsu grinned.

"Dude—your eyes! They're yellow!"

"What? Really?" Natsu dropped the motor and ran to the side mirror. Sure enough, his eyes were glowing yellow once more and reptilian.

"Agh—Is my tongue acting freaky again?" he muttered, opening his mouth.

To his relief, his tongue was still normal.

"Uh-oh," Gray said, lifting his hands. His claws had returned. "The claws are back!"

"Yikes! Those are long, man."

"Alright, I am this close to freaking out."

Natsu took a breath. "Do we... tell someone?"

"Who?"

"My dad? Your aunt?"

"No way. If Aunt Ur finds out I'm turning into some kind of... thing, she'll probably have to be sedated. We need someone who would at least have an idea of what could be wrong with us."

"How about Professor Clive? He pretty much knows everything."

"I don't know about that... but at least he won't hyperventilate from this."

Natsu nodded. "Let's get to campus. And pray he's working today."