Salt Water

[Megafauna]

Alex woke with a start. Her dreams had been one bad memory after another except for the last one, which had the courtesy of being a regular nightmare, that had shocked her awake. The only consolation to a night of fitful sleep and nightmares was that, upon waking up, Alex could barely remember them. There had been the even worse than she'd expected coming out to her parents but it was an old wound and she was over it. Mostly. She had more important things to worry about.

She groaned, rolling over to check her phone. The date was bright, too bright because she'd been watching a movie and forgot to turn the brightness down before passing out late last night, and clear. Rent was due tomorrow and she had enough, she always did, but she'd been planning on buying extra food with what she thought was extra money. But it being the end of the month explained that. Time ran together when you stopped paying attention to the date, one example of how time was fake.

"Kill me." She muttered, fixing her blanket back over her shoulder. It was Sunday and her day off so there was no reason for her to get out of bed before ten. But she did have to pee. "Wait." She put her hand under her shorts. "Sweet. Wet but not that wet. And it's cold anyway."

Alex had fallen asleep in what had been a recently wet diaper so it was cold after a nights sleep. One of many reasons she decided it was best to wet it again. It was an adult diaper and huge, it could take at least three huge wettings before she had to change. She still couldn't wet laying down although she'd been enjoying diapers for years. Alex tossed her blanket off and knelt on her bed, diaper crinkling as she moved. The noise was something Alex enjoyed a lot.

"Mrrow!" 

Of course.

"I didn't forget you, you furball. Give me two minutes and i'll get breakfast for both of us." She told the fat, one eyed, grey cat her girlfriend Morgan had named Odin. He jumped down from her desk and pat pat patted over to the bed. 

"Murrrowwww." He cried, digging his claws into the comforter and stretching his back.

"Ok, ok, jeez. You're so whiny today." Alex said, bending down to pet him for a second. "I miss her to. Goddammit, Abby." Abby was Morgan's mother, a cold women who never seemed to care about anyone but herself, least of all Morgan and her girlfriend. But Morgan was visiting her for a few days in the hospital after she had a stroke. Alex thought she was better off dead so Morgan had one less thing to worry about, they could even leave the funeral arrangements to her brother Jake.

Alex climbed off her bed and waddled into the kitchen for breakfast. Odin followed impatiently at her heels. She bent down to open the cupboard under the sink and pulled out his food, pouring out a good amount of food into his bowl that she was sure he'd complain about later. Satisfied after he started to eat, she put his food away and started a pot of coffee. She made a mental note that they were out of coffee and she'd have to buy some before Morgan got back tomorrow.

"Shit." She said, realizing the second she started the machine that she'd made enough for two people instead of one. Alex couldn't help but smile at what Morgan's reaction would be. Morgan would say 'you're so adorable, I love you so much.' and then kiss her on the cheek. Morgan was wonderful.

Alex stood in front of the coffee pot as it dripped coffee, spread her legs a little to get comfortable, and began to wet herself. At first it was a spurt, greedily soaked up by her diaper. Then she breathed out the tension and relaxed. The floodgates opened and Alex listened to the drip of the coffee as well as the hiss inside her diaper. She wasn't sure what was better.

The warmth that was spread throughout her diaper was hard to contend with though, especially since  she hadn't even had a sip of coffee yet. She trusted it to hold another wetting if she stayed in it that long but she didn't trust the powder to prevent a rash and she definitely didn't trust the chair if she sat down. Alex checked the pot, not even half full yet, and decided she had enough time to at least put on pants. A shower would take too long and her coffee would either burn if she left the pot on or grow cold if she turned it off. Pants would do. The shirt she had only worn to bed so it would do for the day since she didn't plan on going anywhere important.

She crinkled back to her bedroom, grabbed the wipes from the end table, and laid down on the rug. "This sucks." She said aloud. "Fuck, you stupid old woman. I want my damn girlfriend back." Alex ripped the tabs off one side of her diaper then the other and raised her hips so she could slide it out from under herself. Then she balled it up and set it aside to be dealt with later. Wiping herself clean took only marginally longer than getting the sodden garment off had. She grabbed the diaper and walked it and the wipes over to the diaper pail and tossed them in. After she wiped her hands on her legs for good measure she put her Wonder Woman panties on and threw on a pair of black hip hugger jeans.

Alex walked back into the kitchen and prepped her mug for coffee by adding far too much sugar. She turned off the pot and poured herself a cup. "What do I want for coffee, Odin? No, wait, I have coffee. Breakfast. I need breakfast." She asked the cat laying on the table. Technically he wasn't supposed to be on it, Morgan always brushed him off, but Alex didn't have the heart to. No food was on the table so she didn't see the harm in letting him relax a little. They put the table under the window for a reason, Odin enjoyed the warmth of the sun like they did.

"We don't have any food. Kill me." Alex said, looking up at the cupboard which should have a couple things of cereal but did not. The fridge was empty yesterday. The cupboards had enough canned goods and pasta for a while but no boxed mixes and barely any snacks. She opened one to check on the state of her peanuts. None. No toffee, honey roasted, or even regular ones. "Right, I finished those last night. Looks like I need to go shopping, Odin. Might as well get breakfast on the way."

The 1917 was a coffeeshop she and Morgan liked to visit at least once a week and the perfect place to stop in to for breakfast. It was small and eccentric, old french jazz followed by modern klezmer was common from the couple of wireless bluetooh speakers throughout the place. They went there often enough that they were personal friends with everyone who worked there and their phones could connect to the speakers.

"Hey, Claire." Alex smiled at the lanky blonde behind the counter. Claire had her hair up in a messy bun which left the bandage of a new neck tattoo on display. Alex, being friends with Claire, knew that it was supposed to be a rose with the name Sebastian in it. Sebastian was Claire's dog. He wasn't dead, Claire just loved him. She was adorable.

The bandage was on the opposite side of her neck from an old tattoo. The old one was an image of the wicked curved beak and profile of some bird of prey, an homage to the fact that Claire could fly. Claire, like many other people, was an SPI- a super powered individual. It was the stupid, official, government acronym. Alex preferred the more general term- variant human, variant for short.

"Yo." The taller woman gave a quick, two fingered wave to her as she handed a latte to a customer. "Regular?"

"Yes, please." Alex said before paying and tipping her. She figured that she and Morgan gave a good ten dollars a week in tip to Claire. Not that they minded. Claire was funny, charming, nice, and totally gorgeous. Just like Morgan. She and Morgan were working up the nerve to ask her out.

"Here you go. Cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter, large hazelnut coffee with a bit of caramel swirl and a dash of cinnamon, and a fresh baked jumbo, vegan, croissant. All made with love." Claire announced, putting it all on the counter with a flourish. 

"Thanks." Alex could feel her cheeks go pink. Morgan and her would definitely have to sit and down and talk about asking her out. She went to sit down at her table so the guy behind her could order.

"Hey, what'ya think of the the bill they want to put through?" The man, no one she recognized, asked her.

"The one that would make them nonhuman with no human rights? It's fucking bullshit. They're people like everyone else. Obviously." She all but growled. 

"Good, good. You look like someone who'd go to a protest. There's a rally at the statehouse Tuesday, starts at noon. We need the bodies." He said.

"I'll think about it." She said before she settled at her table with her breakfast. A protest was good but that didn't mean she was about to trust some rando. He could be a fed or anti-variant. Or worse, both.

Her breakfast would've been good, the food and coffee were always delicious, but Rally Guy had other plans. "Mind if I sit?" He asked. 

"Yes." She replied. 

He faltered. The man was pretty and obviously enjoyed using his boyish good looks. "Are you sure?"

"Pal, I have a girlfriend and i'd like to eat my breakfast in peace. Please stop bothering me." 

"Fine." He said with no small amount of disgust.

Which was exactly why Alex didn't advertise her powers like most people. She got enough flak for being an autistic lesbian, she didn't need to tell everyone she was a variant while she was at it. Alex barely tasted the rest of her food. Hopefully food shopping would go better, it was usually relaxing. Usually being the keyword she found out.

[Wannatripbaby]

This was a really good start. you have knack for the little details. I love the one-eyed cat named Odin, and when you said the superhumans were known as SPIs I was like, "wow, that's a stupid acronym." Then you followed that sentence up with, "The stupid official government acronym" and it made me smile like this

You can be sure I'll be following this story. Now the only question is: will you be able to deliver going forward? The 1st chapter was pretty chill, so it shouldn't be hard to build on the foundation you've made. I hope this doesn't end up being another one of those stories that gets abandoned after a chapter or two.

[Megafauna]

Food shopping turned out to be an almost complete disaster. 

Alex hadn't even gotten to the store yet and she was already annoyed. "Go! Christ, you're in the high speed lane! Go, you moron." Still the car in front of her seemed to only inch along. "I'm going to die of old age before I get to the store, oh my god." She blamed her mother's road rage for her own.

"Christ, I found a parking spot on a weekend quicker than it took me to move five feet behind that idiot." She muttered to herself as she parked her car. A quick glance told her she should hurry up. The sky had gotten dark since she'd left her apartment. Dark, heavy, rain clouds filled the sky. Alex had sensory issues with rain, she was determined to be out before it started raining. If Morgan was here she could have bent the water away from the both of them. But Alex still had to wait almost a whole day to see her beloved, five days away was far too much.

Of course, by the time she got to the doors, rain drops were already starting to pepper the ground. "Perfect." She had neither a coat nor an umbrella. Alex also had sensory issues with bright lights but thankfully the lights of the store didn't bother her like they sometimes did.

"Peanut butter, cereal, rye bread, almond milk, coffee, cat food, and chocolate for Morgan. Popcorn if I can swing it." She told herself, checking her wallet to make sure she had enough money. "Stupid rent." 

Picking up a basket by the door, Alex hurried to start and finish her shopping. She walked past the produce section even though she and Morgan loved fruit and vegetables, she was there just for supplemental shopping. Morgan would get her paycheck Wednesday and they'd shop for more food then. 

Alex walked down the peanut butter isle and picked up a large tub of both smooth and crunchy peanut butter as well as pumpkin spice coffee. Morgan would drink it year round if she could and Alex enjoyed it while it was in season and it wouldn't be for much longer, they'd drink it while it was. 

Next was the cereal aisle. One big bag of cocoa krispies would last them a while. Alex grabbed the bread, milk, cat food, and popcorn just as fast. 

It was only as she walked out of the store that she realized she had totally forgotten the chocolate. "Crap." If she had still been in line than she wouldn't have cared, she could have just grabbed it. But now she had bags and it was officially sprinkling out, the chocolate would have to wait.

"Stupid rain." She scowled as it prickled her skin. Rain felt like needles on her skin and it drove her mad. Alex could do something about it, she could use her powers as a shield, but the car wasn't that far away. Just the entire parking lot. It wasn't worth the pinch she got. The one behind her eyes when she used it for too long. Or the stares. Staring was one thing when she was jumping up and down or when she was holding her girlfriend's hand or kissing her lips in a beautiful act of defiance to the world. Then she could deal with, relished it even maybe. But not when she was alone. Not when she didn't need to deal with it. Even though she had seen five variants use their powers in the store, she couldn't do it. Even though one of the variants couldn't pass for a non variant with the horns on their head. And the three eyes, that was hard to miss to. Especially since one was in the back of their head. But Craig was fine. Except for his ridiculous love of John Travolta movies. But otherwise Craig was fine.

It was hours later, almost two in the morning, when the rain finally let up and Alex decided she had nothing better to do than go out and buy chocolate for the love of her life. Skyrim and Odin had kept her preoccupied and awake, far from sleep. The fact that she'd run out of her melatonin pills probably had something to do with the recent bout of insomnia as well. 

The corner store would have the stupid expensive vegan hazelnut chocolate candy Morgan loved so much. Alex didn't even need to take the car it was that close. The cool night air wouldn't make her drowsy but seeing the world at night, after the rain, with Winter on the rise, was worth any lost sleep. It was beautiful. The leaves swirled with every bit of wind, the puddles glistened from the street lights, rain dripped, plop plop, from the trees. Alex felt alive, attuned to the world. Spending three minutes inside the store and waking up the almost asleep clerk didn't kill the mood she was in either.

What did though, what made her blood run cold, was what she heard as she passed the empty alley. A gross, wet, crack. The sound of someone's head hitting something it shouldn't.

"Shut up! Make more noise and I swear i'll kill you." 

Alex stopped, stared into the definitely empty alley, and blinked. Still empty. 

"Alex!" 

Alex didn't see anyone but she recognized that voice. Claire! She dropped her bag at the same time as the disgusting monster dropped his illusion. 

The man looked like anyone. Normal except for the look in his eyes. Evil shown through. "Back off! Move and I kill her. I'll do it." The knife at Claire's throat backed it up.

"Help me!" Claire shouted, eyes wide with terror as blood from her head wound trickled down her nose. "Ack."

The man pressed his knife against her throat. It drew a small bead of blood and it sure as hell terrified the both of them.

Except, no, on second thought Alex realized she wasn't terrified. Not at all. She was calm. Claire was terrified and Alex thought she should be terrified, her friend could be killed! But she was calm. 

"Let her go." Alex said. Surprising herself again, she even sounded calm. 

"And what? You'll call the cops? Blondie's throat'll be redder than your hair before you get your phone out." He sneered. He had all the power.

He thought he did anyway.

"Claire, I can get you out of this. Ok?"

Claire didn't dare nod her head with a knife at her throat but she made a noise. It would have to do.

Alex held out her hand, palm spread like she was holding herself up against a wall. 

"Back off! You can't hit me without hitting your friend! One energy blast or tentacle and she gets it!" He shouted.

Alex smiled at him even as she felt that pinch behind her eyes. "I don't do that kind of thing." 

In front of his eyes her power manifested. His knife cracked, splintered, and crumbled. Steel became grains of salt in a second. She danced the salt in the air in front of him like a leaf was battered by the wind. Then she wove it together. Alex formed it into a menacingly, deadly sharp, needle and pressed the tip of it against his throat. 

"Ok, ok! No need to get hasty." The guy said, letting his grip on Claire go so he could hold his hands up in surrender. 

"I want you to know something." Alex said as Claire rushed to her side. "I'm gonna monologue, I hope you don't mind. I could do a lot with just this. I could shove it in your eye either sharp like this or slowly up behind it. I'm sure that wouldn't be fun. Or I could draw all the salt from your body and kill you. Or, you know, turn you to salt like I did your knife. Or just a part of you into salt. I just want you to know that."

The would be attacker was almost as white as the salt. 

Alex smiled again. Fear was the least he deserved. But Alex absolutely did not want to deal with the complications of a murder investigation. So fear would have to do. The salt needle danced in the air away from his neck and he ran. Then she stabbed him with it and made sure to bury every last grain in the wound. Alex had no idea what salt actually did to a wound but she hoped it hurt more.

"Fuck!" He shouted. He grabbed the shoulder Alex had stabbed in him and vanished.

"Are you-? You're bleeding, of course you're hurt. A hospital! You need a hospital." Alex said as the pinch behind her eyes faded and she could think more clearly. She was stopped from grabbing her phone by Claire who grabbed her wrist.

"I don't want to report it. They'd do that at a hospital. And I don't even know if they'd treat me being a variant. I just wanna go home." Claire said, shaking her head and wincing at the pain.

"I've got a first aid kit at my apartment and you're in no condition to fly. Is my place ok for the night?" Alex asked. Hopefully the first aid kid had instructions or she could find find them on google, she'd never had to put more than a bandaid on a cut. Did Claire need to stay awake? Was a concussion a problem? Alex had no clue.

"Yea, that's fine. That's-" Claire stumbled but Alex caught her before she hit her head again. 

"Oh boy. Ok, we can do this. It's not far. Ok, Claire?" Alex asked, voice pinched. She was definitely afraid now. 

"Candy." She mumbled.

"What? We can get candy later after I patch you up, ok Claire?" Was this a sign of brain trauma?

"No, your candy. Why you were out."

"Wow, uh, that's so not important right now. Whatever." Alex bent down as carefully as she could while still supporting the taller girl and grabbed her bag. "I have my candy, now we seriously need to get you on my couch so I can figure out how to fix you." 

"Sounds like a plan, boss."

[Wannatripbaby]

An interesting chapter. Let me break it down:

You're doing very well at world-building. We now know that Variants (love the name btw) are treated very poorly in this society by both citizens & government. And we know that "energy blasts & tentacles" must be fairly common compared to powers like Alex's or else the thug would've been a lot more wary when she lifted her hand. Or maybe he's just stupid. Could go either way.

Alex's power is very unique. I've never heard of a Salt-Bender before. And the way you showcased what she can do; having her monologue to a thug, was much better than just telling us in exposition what her powers are.

Near the end you used the term "first aid KID" instead of "first aid KIT." You might want to edit that.

Lastly I'm wondering if diapers will actually be significant to the plot or if they're just going to end up being a tacked-on element? I'll be very disappointed if it's the second. I mean, if that were the case you may as well have just omitted it all together & increased your potential audience by not connecting this story to a kink.

[Megafauna]

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for catching the typo.

Diapers aren't going to be tacked on, I hope nothing feels like it is, but I don't think they're going to be a major plot point. I believe, currently, they'll be a minor one. They'll be present at the very least. I've wanted to post a story here for a while now that isn't all about kink and have indeed scrapped the kink element from other stories. So i'm hoping this satisfies people's desires for kink as well as a good story.

We'll both just have to wait and see.

[Wannatripbaby]

52 minutes ago, Megafauna said:

Diapers aren't going to be tacked on, I hope nothing feels like it is, but I don't think they're going to be a major plot point. I believe, currently, they'll be a minor one. They'll be present at the very least.

And if that's the case then it's perfectly fine. Anyone can write a diaper-centric story. But you're going for something different. And that's great. But since this is DailyDiapers, diapers (or other ABDL elements) need to hold some form of significance to the story. There are 2 main ways this can be done: Plot & Character development. Now, I'm guessing that diapers probably won't be important to the plot you're setting up about government crackdown on superhumans, so they need to have Character significance. Ask yourself, "How do diapers affect Alex's character?" As of right now we know she wets the bed (I think) and that she likes to wear and wet her diapers, but that she doesn't really wear them during the day (so far.) Now the question is: how are you going to use that information to develop her character? How you answer that question will determine whether diapers are a minor but important plot point or a tacked-on element.

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm trying to control you're story. I'm not. I'm just really analytical and want to help you get the most out of your story. I actually just started my first story on here last week (it's called "Angel Hunter" if you want to check it out.) Us storytellers have to stick together.

[Selpharia]

It’s nice to see more queer superhero stories! This is really well written and intriguing

[diapersnpaws]

Firstly, thanks for the original content and concept. I don't know what your plans are for this work, but it looks like it could run a good long time.

I'm also appreciative of the disabled but fully capable vibe that Alex gives off. I have a couple kids with disabilities myself and I know first hand how hard everyone in my house works to let them be normal as possible. I'm really proud of my boys who are aware, but ignore the trouble (when life and peers let them). Like with Alex, I see my boys as a baseball stat card where their issues are asterisks in fine print while knowing how hard they work to get their stats where they want them. 

Seeing a well written relationship (of any order) adds to my enjoyment of a series. I'm really looking forward to Abby getting home and what Claire's role will be. I even found it entertaining when the current political climate engaged the story in a potentially negative way. And, as mentioned above... I like your take on Variants. I look forward to reading this for a good long time!

[CDfm]

I think you are doing a fantastic job writing this so far. I don’t need diapers in the story to make it enjoyable for me. This is exciting and interesting. I really want some more background. How did we come to have a mix of humans and variants? It sounds as though different variants have different abilities. What are they and can we tell by looking at the variant what special abilities they have? I am really looking forward to reading more of this story. 

[Sarah Penguin]

Enjoyed this hope you'll post more soon

[Megafauna]

Sorry for the wait, I got a new job and it's taken up a lot of my time. I wanted to post this before I let it get away from me so I apologize for it's relatively poor quality and brief length. I'm hoping the next chapter will be longer.

-

"There you go." Alex announced as she placed a second blanket on the couch for Claire. She couldn't help but stare at the bandage she'd placed on the other girl's forehead. It had been a miracle she hadn't puked looking at it. It wasn't the blood that made her want to lose her lunch but the memory of that sound. That awful, wet, crack as the man slammed Claire's head against the wall. Gross didn't come near describing it.

"Thank you. Again. I don't know what I would've done without you." Claire said. Alex didn't know if the tremble in her voice was because of what she was thinking or because she was cold.

"It's no problem. I don't use my power that much and it feels good to use it every now and again." The feeling she got when she used it hurt for a little while but it wasn't bad. It went away if she stopped. Or if she used it long enough.

"So, I have no idea if you have a concussion." Alex began. "But, apparently, you don't need to stay awake if you have one. So that's good. It's late even if you did have one. So you can just go to sleep. You haven't puked, you're not dizzy, you might be fine. I think you should stay here to orrow though. Symptoms might be delayed and I want to make sure you're ok. Morgan can you check you out when she gets back."

"You do that all the time though." Claire said. She backed it up with a smile that quickly soured into a grimace.

"Oh fuck, are you ok?" Alex asked, fear killing any embarrassment she would've had. They'd deal with it later, Claire was in pain and that was a bad sign. Alex was certain it meant she had a concussion. "You need a hospital, Claire. Or a clinic or something. You're not one of those superheroes who has a secret identity that needs keeping, you're not even in a costume for Pete's sake."

"I'm fine, Alex. It's ok. Just a headache." Claire mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut for a few seconds.

"It might not be." Alex said as she paced up and down in front of the couch. She'd been trying to reach her girlfriend for over an hour with no response. Even as she dialed again, she didn't dare take her eyes off Claire. She was worried. Terrified. And Morgan wasn't answering her damn phone! "Ugh, mach shnel!" Alex took her phone and chucked it at her recliner. Alex was pissed but she wasn't stupid. 

Then it began to ring.

"Thank you!" Alex exclaimed, whacking her knee against the coffee table in her haste to pick up her phone. "Fuck!"

"What's the matter, babe?" Morgan asked. Alex thought she sounded tired, she probably just woke up. Worried of course, seventeen missed calls in a little over an hour would do that to someone, but tired to.

"What do I do for a concussion?" Alex asked. She glued her eyes back on Claire who watched her back.

"You have a concussion?! What happened?" Morgan demanded in an angry whisper. Alex guessed she was on the train, an earlier one than she expected.

"No, I don't have a concussion. Claire has a concussion. I was walking home from the store when I found Claire being attacked by some dick. I chased him off but not before he smacked Claire against a brick wall. I bandaged her head but she has a headache." Alex explained as she paced in front of the coffee table.

"Going to the hospital is a good place to start."

"She doesn't want to do that." 

"Take her anyway." 

"I'm pretty sure she'd try flying away if I did." 

"Of course she would." Morgan groaned. "Put me on speaker."

"Ok." Alex said. She hit the speaker button and knelt down next to Claire. "You're good."

"Can you hear me, Claire?" Morgan asked. Her voice came through tinny and garbled but loud.

"Yea." Claire said.

"You got your head smacked against a brick wall. A concussion is likely. That means you have a traumatic brain injury, Claire. Go to the hospital. Or the clinic I work at. It's an hour bus ride but if you're worried about being a variant, don't be. It's not a free clinic but it's cheap and half the staff are variants, you'll be fine." Morgan explained.

"I don't like hospitals. When do you get back?"

"Six but you can get to a clinic faster than waiting for me."

"You're gonna make me pay after I got attacked?" Claire asked.

'Smart.' Alex thought.

"Fuck. Alright, i'll check you out when I get back. But try to get some sleep before then or i'm dragging you to a hospital myself." Morgan threatened. 

"I'll make sure she does, babe." Alex said.

"Thanks. I'll be home soon. Try and get some rest to, babe." Morgan said through a yawn.

"You to. I love you."

"Love you to. See you soon." 

"Good night, lovely." Alex said. She hung up and slid her phone on the table, all of a sudden she was completely exhausted. "You're going to sleep, right Claire?"

"Yea, I got the message." Claire said, looking up at her with an expression Alex couldn't interpret. 

"What?" She asked.

"What?" Claire repeated. 

"What's with the face?" 

"You're cute together. You always have been when I've seen you. It's nice."

"Oh. Thank you." Alex wasn't in the frame of mind to deal with Claire's subtext and she let it show in her voice.

"I'm polyamorous. You two know that right?" Claire asked.

Alex was definitely not able to deal with what Claire was saying either. "I get what you're saying, Claire. But I so cannot talk about that right now. After we all get some sleep, after Morgan checks you out and makes sure you're ok, after some breakfast, then maybe we can talk about it. Ok?"

"Ok." Claire said, voice clipped, before rolling over to face the back of the couch. "Good night."

Alex took a deep breath. Of all things, she was not prepared to get in a fight right now. "Good night, Claire." She grabbed her phone and stood up to turn off the light so Claire could get some rest. She stood at the light switch for a second, checking on Claire one final time for the night, before she flipped it off.

Alex let out a long sigh as she walked the couple of feet into her bedroom. It had been a long night. She kicked off her jeans and left them on the floor to deal with in the morning. Alex was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

-

Mach shnel- hurry up

[Wannatripbaby]

9 minutes ago, Megafauna said:

The feeling she got when she used it hurt for a little while but it wasn't bad. It went away if she stopped. Or if she used it long enough

Interesting. So using her powers a little causes her pain, but going all out doesn't? Like she has to hold herself back mayhaps?

Also:

11 minutes ago, Megafauna said:

mach shnel!

What does that mean?

[Megafauna]

I'm sorry for not being clear. Using her powers for a short amount of time causes her a little bit of pain. Like a minor headache. But after she uses her powers for an extended period of time it goes away.

[CDfm]

Mach shnel! It’s German and means hurry up. 

I liked the new chapter. Back a few years ago they really didn’t do much for a concussion. They just didn’t want you sleeping. Today they are much more concerned about activity that might further jar the brain and cause more bruising of the brain. They are also concerned with swelling in the brain.  I will be looking forward to meeting Morgan when she gets home. 

[Sarah Penguin]

[Megafauna]

So I know it's been over a month since I've posted anything but I wanted to let anyone who's interested in this know that I haven't abandoned it, life's just been extremely busy as of late. But I have more planned and I think you're going to like it. I'm hoping to be able to post more sometime this week. The next chapter will introduce the main plot and I'm excited to show it to you.

[Wannatripbaby]

Thank you, Megafauna, for keeping us informed.

I've never asked that my storytellers keep up some ungodly or unreasonable pace. We all write at our own speed. All that I ask for is honesty & transparency.

So thank you for being honest with us.

[Megafauna]

Alex woke up to light and Morgan tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey, babe." She mumbled into her pillow, she was glad Morgan was back but it was still early and she liked to sleep.

"Hey, love. I'm about to wake up Claire and check her for a concussion." Morgan said, voice still thick with sleep.

"You're a saint." Alex said as she rolled over to face her girlfriend, she couldn't help but smile. "I missed you."

"I missed you to." Morgan smiled back. "Next time Abby has a stroke, remind me Jake can deal with her. It's already better being back for five minutes and about to check someone for freakin' brain damage."

"What are you going to do if she has one?" Alex asked, sitting up and brushing the sleep out of her eyes. "W-"

"It's 6:45. The drive was fine and I already fed Odin." Morgan answered before she bent down and kissed her girlfriend's forehead.

"Cool." Alex said, smiling again at the kiss and as Morgan's auburn hair tickled her nose. Her warm brown eyes sparkled down at her. Alex loved her so much. Alex grabbed her phone and followed Morgan into the living room. She didn't care that she was in the same clothes as last night, especially with her worry about Claire coming back.

"Are you up, Claire?" Morgan asked as she entered the living room. Claire's face was burried in the back of the couch with one arm between her head and the arm of the couch and the other holding tight to a blanket.

"Get outta my house." Claire mumbled.

"You're in my living room, Claire." Morgan said, gently. "I can't be entirely sure about whether or not there's swelling in your brain without equipment so, again, I strongly suggest you go to the clinic. But i'll do what I can for you here. I need you awake and alert though. Could you grab my med bag, Alex?"

"No problem." Alex nodded. Walking quickly, she went to the bathroom and opened up the sink cabinet and pulled out Morgan's back. She opened it quickly just to make sure it was the right one: Morgan's emergency bag and their diaper bag were almost identical, they'd gotten both for cheap at a flea market. Alex couldn't identify most of the medical equipment in the bag, at least not by name, but it was definitely the right bag. She sat it down next to the couch and Morgan who poking Claire awake.

"Ok, ok, i'm awake." Claire yawned. She sat up and Alex could see the second everything that had happened last night clicked back into place. "Right. That happened."

"I'm sorry, Claire." Morgan apologized before opening up her bag and rooting through it. She pulled out a pen light and held it up to Claire's face. "Can you follow the light for me?"

"Sure." 

Morgan clicked the light on and drew it slowly across the other girl's face. "Your pupils are responsive and you're able to follow it, that's a good sign. Do you have a headache?"

"No. I don't think I do, think i'm just tired."

"Good, good. Do you think you feel well enough for breakfast?" 

"What'ya got?"

"I have no idea. Alex?"

"Uh-" Alex was interrupted by her phone going off. "One second. Crap, it's work. It's me. What's up?"

All color drained from her face as Jimmy spoke. He was one of her contacts with the cops and he only ever called when there was a story. "I'll be right there." She swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat. Alex hung up.

"I have to go." She told her girlfriend, already on autopilot as she failed to not think about the sight and the smell that would greet her. At least she hadn't puked at their crime scenes yet.

"I'm so sorry, Alex. Do you-?" Morgan asked, test completely forgotten.

"No, no." Alex shook her head. "Keep after Claire. Try and have a good day. I don't know when I'll be back." Under her breath, she muttered, "That son of a bitch." 

"What's going on?" Claire asked. She knew Alex was a reporter but Claire didn't read the paper. Claire did know there was- "Oh shit. Is it that serial killer?"

"Yea." Alex said, scowling. "Mr. Hyde he calls himself. Monster."

It was only on the drive to the park Jimmy told her about that she remembered she was in pants that were a day old and a shirt that was two or three. She wasn't going to turn around, it's not like it was actually important, but it was just something she remembered. 

Of course the park was cordoned off with police tape by the time she got there, it had been about half an hour since she got the call. Jimmy worked dispatch for the local police and usually called as soon as he could to tell her about whatever was going on. He was the reason she was able to break the story but it was Mr. Hyde who gave himself the name. So the two, now three, murders earned the name Mr. Hyde Murders. It was an awful experience for anyone with a heart. Or a weak stomach.

Mr. Hyde had an energy based variance. Specifically, he could control lightning.

Alex knew that she, and anyone who read the paper she worked at, now knew too much about lightning. She ran through some basic lightning facts as she waited for a uniformed officer to clear her press credentials. She knew that, for instance, lightning carried an average of 10 billion watts. Or that it could be hotter than the sun. The reporter was let through but she was still thinking about it. Lightning could turn sand to fulgurite, hollow tubes of sand and other material formed by the heat, at least 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. The flashover, lightning moving across the skin, causes lichtenberg figures, burns in the shape of the lightning strike. It was usually after one received those injuries that they passed out from the shockwave. Or died after cardiac arrest either from the force of the shockwave, the one that caused thunder, or the short circuited of their nervous system.

The person, the corpse, laying nearby wasn't as burned as one might expect. Which meant that, thankfully, the murderer hadn't zapped them for very long. They're face was different than the rest of their body though. Alex almost gasped, the lichtenberg figures and more grisly burns on their cheeks suggested something even more horrifying than the last victim. He'd at least been taken by surprise and struck in the back. She couldn't tell from the distance but if she had to guess, she'd say that the victim had cataracts. And they probably didn't before they were killed. Lightning, and Mr. Hyde especially, was dangerous. She typed everything she saw out on her phone. 

"Goldman." Detective Thompson nodded his head as he walked over to her.

"Any closer to catching him?" Alex asked in way of greeting.

"We're pursuing every available lead we have."

"Has the victim been identified?"

"The victim was discovered at about 6:20 this morning by a jogger."

"No name?" Alex said, typing quickly.

"If I say yes, will you get out of my hair?" He asked.

She knew he wasn't actually being rude, it was just part of his personality. And his job. Alex liked the former, he had a way of distracting people from bad situations. But it was also chewing out by his boss security. While Alex hadn't written the piece, she was relatively new to crime journalism, her paper had written a not so flattering piece about the police department and sergeant in particular close to a year ago that the man wasn't over yet.

"I will if you tell me." She said, looking up at the tall detective briefly and batting her eyelashes.

He shook his head to hide a smirk from the nearby uniform. "The victim has been identified as 35 year old Lincoln Brown. From a part of his license that hadn't been burned. More information will be released at a press conference later today, time unknown. I'm sure you'll get a call from someone about it soon. Now go back to your wife and leave me alone."

"She's not my wife yet."

"Fiancée?" 

"Not yet."

"You're sure taking your time. You should do it quick before she realizes you're entirely insufferable. Now scram."

"As you wish, cousin." She winked at him and he shook his head again, this time for real.

She did need to leave, she wanted to get the story published as soon as possible. Already, other journalists and random passerby's were gathering. At least she had enough to start.

-
By Alex Goldman

According to local police, at approximately 6:20 in the morning at White Oak Park, the third victim of serial killer Mr. Hyde was discovered. The name of the victim temporarily withheld out of respect so that the family may be contacted. 

The victim was electrocuted in manner suggesting execution. Possible motives behind the grisly crimes eludes police as they hunt for the killer.

Implication of a Dr. Jekyll persona implied by the name the killer chose for themselves. No details yet as to such an identity nor to the true identity of the coward.

Alex had meant to type killer, she really had. But seeing coward in it's place, she just had to keep it. If her assignment editor had an issue with it than he could change it himself. Hopefully the title the new copy editor picked would be better than the last one. Alex still couldn't believe everyone had actually went with 'Mr. Hyde Strikes Again'. A man had just been brutally murdered, shot in the back by a bolt of lightning, and they made a joke about it. It was disgusting.

What made the fact that a third person was now a victim even worse was that anti variant sentiment skyrocketed, just like bigotry always did after a member of a minority group did something wrong. Bigotry was bigotry, it increased even after something good happened because of a minority. Alex really wasn't happy with people.

Anti-variant sentiment continues to rise, only partially in response to the Mr. Hyde Murders. 

She pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd been writing for just a few minutes but the lighting in the office was always too bright and she was light sensitive. Alex already needed a break. 

She saved and went to get a cup of coffee from the break room. 

"Morning." Ben gave a small wave from his seat. As always, he had a soda and pop tart. It was barely 8:30 in the morning. Alex had no idea how he was still alive.

"Hi." She said, flatly, sitting down with a paper cup of surprisingly ok coffee even as she told herself she needed to get back to work. It wasn't like she had much to do before the press conference. Jimmy or David, her cousin, would call to tell her when it was.

"It sucks, I know. You don't really get used to it. Or at least, I haven't." Ben said. He was pushing fifty and had been a journalist for most his life, crime for at least ten years though Alex wasn't sure exactly how long.

"That's comforting." She rolled her eyes. Journalists weren't supposed to be angry in their articles so she had to take it out on someone. Ben was kindly enough not to let it bother him.

"Not much you can do about it." He said, levitating his soda can over the sink and empty the last of it out before dropping it into the trash.

"Nothing about how reporting it would help?" 

"As if. Be nice though." 

"It sure would." Alex sighed.

-

I would appreciate your thoughts. Would you like to see the full article as a chapter or is that snippet enough?

[Wannatripbaby]

I think the snippet was enough. Unless the full article has some kind of clue that, at the time seems unimportant, but then plays a BIG part later. Otherwise the full article wouldn't really add that much to the story I think.

I'm glad to see you're back. this story is so interesting because, even though it's a Superhero story, instead of focusing on action you choose to focus on the anti-Variant sentiments and how it affects our Protagonist. I find that kind if stuff very interesting.

Any idea when we can expect more? I'm not trying to rush you, just curious.

[Sarah Penguin]

[CDfm]

Good chapter. That’s a powerful weapon Me. Hyde is using. Imagine the carnage one could cause with that amount of power. Make all these horrible shootings seem like childs play if he wanted. I didn’t have any more likes I could give it, but it was worthy of one.