Dragonborn: Genesis

I ran down the road leading away from the school like the devil was on my heels; my heart pounding in my chest like a jackhammer.

“C’mon, Charlie!! Are you too scared to face me? Are you chicken?” Marc’s cackle rang in my ears, as did his friends’ laughter.

I only ran faster. “I’m done with you and your bastard friends, Marc!!” I shouted over my shoulder, picking up speed.

Glancing up at the sky, I noticed it was just past sunset, and happened to glimpse the rising stars of the constellation Draco, the Dragon, just above the northern horizon.

I only took a split-second glance, then looked ahead again, and put on a burst of speed.

My legs and lungs both burned, as my heart pounded.

The back lane leading home was closer now, but then...

Hearing a loud honk, I spun just in time to see a silver grill and headlights, but managed to catch a glimpse of the driver, a man clad in black, with long, greasy black hair, almost like Sirius Black from the ‘Harry Potter’ series!!

His grin revealed yellowed, rotten molars.

However, seconds before impact, I instinctively dived, spinning as I rolled up the windshield, and flew high over the truck, twisting gracefully in midair, falling, then landing lightly on my feet, exactly how Lucian did in ‘Underworld’ after Selene tried to run him over!

I turned onto the hill-road by the store, and continued running, not looking back.

I didn’t stop until I had reached the bottom of the hill, and, exhausted, sat down by the side of the road to catch my breath.

I didn’t want to deal with this anymore. I wouldn’t.

As I gazed up at the sunset sky, I breathed deeply of the cool evening air. ”Lord, if there is some way, let all of this pass away from me! Let Your wrath fall on my enemies to crush them!”

I relaxed somewhat upon noting that my enemies weren’t pursuing me, but I knew it wouldn’t last.

After a short while, I recovered my strength, and got back up, but just as I was about to continue, I heard a soft shuffling sound behind me, and spun, only to suddenly feel a stab of pain in my left arm, and then...

WHACK!!

...

I gradually began to regain consciousness after what seemed like forever, finding myself lying on a soft mattress in a small room.

The single bulb cast a soft white light around, and as I sat up, I saw the room was bare except for a wooden table and chair, and a mirror on the wall.

I noticed a glass of water on the table, which helped both quench my thirst and soothe my headache. My arm still throbbed, and pulling back the sleeve of my t-shirt, found the telltale mark of a needle injection in my shoulder!

I looked around, seeing the door was partway open.

“Hello?” I called. No one answered.

Getting up, I went to the door, opening it, stepping out into a large white hallway. Another door just down the hall was a washroom.

The hallway was a dead end, but the other end, which I was just outside of, was a huge open rest area with a snack bar, some vending machines, a phone, and a lounging area with a pool table, shuffleboard, a checker/chess board, and also a backgammon table.

Judging by the wide open land outside the windows, I surmised I was now on the outskirts of town, and also by the sheer size of the main area, surmised that this place was an old warehouse.

I walked over to the lounging area, sitting in one of the armchairs. Questions ran through my mind.

How did I get here? Why was I alone? Did Marc and his friends do this? What had I been injected with?

Knowing that there was no immediate way to answer those questions, I tried not to think as I went to the snack bar for a ham sandwich and a bottled water, making the sandwich myself, before grabbing a paper towel from the roll beside the sink, and the water from the fridge.

As I ate at the bar, I tried not to think of my enemies. I didn’t want to any more, since I had fought them for what would have been 31 years to the day, tomorrow.

After finishing eating, I went to the bathroom to clean up, and brush my teeth.

But upon coming back out, I suddenly noticed something on the small table beside the sofa in the lounge area, and as I walked closer, I gasped.

There, spinning on its telltale round, mirrored steel base, was what I recognized as one of the ForeverSpin metal tops; judging by how perfectly it was spinning, and how long, I smiled upon recognizing the tungsten carbide top.

But, as I continued to stare at it, I began to feel slightly dizzy and tired, before my legs buckled...but just before I fell, a flash of pain surged up my left arm; the human skin stretching, hardening and darkening into what I instantly recognized as dragon scales.

Dragon scales!!!

Then I blacked out.

As I lay unconscious on the floor, my bones cracked audibly as my muscles started growing and shifting, tearing my clothes to shreds!

As my human feet and legs slowly morphed into a draconic form, there was a loud ripping sound, as my runners exploded, and my socks tore to shreds; my human feet rapidly transforming as the bones and muscles shifted; the skin deepening in colour as thick greyish-brown dragon scales swiftly overtook them, and my human toes merging and extending into three large clawed ones; the lethally-sharp ebony talons gleaming in the light of the fading sunset, as a dewclaw slowly formed on the outside of each foot!!

My human proportions rapidly started changing; powerful muscles weaving through my legs, arms, chest, back, and shoulders, before my neck and torso begin lengthening and broadening; scales creeping slowly up my face as it started to broaden and stretch; gentle massaging sensations coupled with soft yet sickening cracking and oozing sounds as my human face and head reformed smoothly into that of a dragon!

My hands involuntarily flexed, twitching as they changed; the pale nails breaking and falling off for lethal talons to emerge, I managed to pry open my now-glowing purple dragon eyes and look down; everything seeming much smaller now due to not only my longer neck, but my overall larger size as well!!

I had a horn formation almost similar to Draco’s from ‘Dragonheart’, but with only two sets of horns instead of three.

Turning my attention to the rest of my body, I admired my metallic black scales; my middle and ring fingers seemingly having merged into one finger, leaving me with three fingers and a thumb per hand, but I found, much to my amazement, that they were as dextrous and natural as my human hands had been!!

I glanced back as I slowly unfurled my wings. While not massive, like Draco’s, they were still big, reaching exactly 48 feet at full span!!

I suddenly realized that I was standing quite comfortably on all fours now! Startled, I tried rearing up on my hind legs to stand like a man, finding either stance to be perfectly natural!!

Walking slowly, I was also surprised at how well-balanced I was on my new feet, even though my tail helped with counterbalancing my weight, since I was now naturally leaning slightly forward, which I quickly became used to!

Glancing around, I saw my destroyed clothes scattered around, but also noted with some relief that there was no one outside the compound, so nobody had seen this.

Catching my reflection in the mirror through the open bathroom door, I gasped; my purple eyes widening as I instantly recognized the Ender dragon, from Minecraft (not that I’d ever played the game, or had a liking for it; I just recognized the dragon from pictures)!!

I glanced back, slowly unfolding my massive wings once more, awed by what had happened to me.

Lifting my tail, I examined the peculiar scythe-like spike at the tip, then heard a sudden metallic clattering sound as I glanced up, surprised to see that the top had ceased spinning, and had fallen on its side!!

The realization hit like a sledgehammer:

As seen in the film ‘Inception’, the top possessed by Dominick Cobb, known as a ‘ForeverSpin’ top, kept spinning if he was dreaming, but fell over in the real world.

Somehow, an unknown force had controlled the top to spin for as long as my transformation had transpired; now that I had become the dragon, the force had ceased, letting the top fall over!!

A weird case of deja vu, if you ask me.

Testing my new body, I found I possessed enhanced strength, invisibility like Peter Petrelli’s, slightly different in that thermal devices couldn’t track me, limited telepathic abilities like Peter Petrelli’s (mind/memory reading & scanning, and telepathic persuasion), a powerful healing/regenerative factor, as well as Sylar’s telekinetic powers, Magneto’s powers, and also limited reality-manipulation abilities similar to Matt Parkman’s!!

Using my magnokinesis, I grabbed a large kitchen knife from the vendor, readying it upon clairvoyantly sensing my enemies, before manifesting my invisibility; only my glowing purple eyes remained visible.

The doorknob turned, and the door swung open as Marc and Judas walked in.

I snarled viciously, readying the blade.

“Nice place!” Marc said, surprised, as his friend grinned.

“It’s perfect, Marc!! Hey guys, c’mon!”

A few minutes later, Moloch, Curtis, and Dallas ran in.

I stayed where I was, watching my enemies like a hawk; my invisibility kept them all from seeing the huge Ender dragon standing by the vendor, watching their every move, and my power was such that even the most advanced thermal imaging technology would’ve been useless in locating me, unlike in ‘Heroes’.

I released the weapon as my magnetic power took hold of the knife, levitating it so it was level with my right shoulder, then I whistled.

Dallas spun...just as the knife shot at him like a bullet!!

”GAARGH....!!” he uttered a choked, wet gurgling sound; blood bubbling from his mouth, as Marc screamed his name, running toward his friend just as he collapsed, but before Marc could grab the knife...

WHIIIIRRRRRTTTT...!! the piercing hum of powerful magnetism reverberated, as the knife shot back out of Dallas’s chest, then was suddenly jerked to a stop in midair; the sound of Peter Petrelli’s invisibility resounding, as the flesh-and-blood Ender dragon slowly materialized out of thin air leaning against the vendor counter; the knife now clenched in his fist.

They all stopped dead, staring at me in utter shock, as I slowly looked up at them; my purple eyes blazing as I grinned viciously.

“Du bist also alle zurückgekehrt! Wessen Blut möchtest du zuerst vergießen?” I asked in a deep draconic growl; my tone cold as ice!!

Marc screamed in rage, running at me, but I dodged him in the blink of an eye, elbowing him in the back and sending him crashing into the vendor!

Spinning easily out of Moloch’s grip, I easily wrapped my tail around his leg, and squeezed; the man screaming bloody murder as the dagger-like spikes dug into his flesh, piercing the muscle until they reached the bone!!!

I then suddenly spun swiftly; Moloch screaming as he was swung like a mere rag doll, before there was a crack like a whip as I threw him clear across the room; his screams cut short when he slammed headfirst into the window, smashing it before falling and slamming dead onto the ground; several large shards of glass now stuck into his head and face!!!

I felt Curtis grab my shoulder, but spun and telekinetically threw him up to pin him to the ceiling, leaving him there, but also constricting his vocal cords so he couldn’t scream!

Using my telekinesis, I opened the cooler in the vendor, taking a Clausthaler Golden Amber, cracking the cap and taking a shot, before looking up at Marc just as he got up, grabbing his Glock from behind his back and levelling it...

A sudden force like a giant hand seemed to grab hold of the gun, while at the same time tightening my enemy’s grip so he couldn’t let go of the weapon.

Marc’s face twisted in rage as he tried with all his might to direct the weapon at me, but the force now controlling it was far beyond his strength, instead directing the gun to point up toward Curtis!!

The trigger then pulled itself and the gun went off, as my enemy screamed in horror, watching the bullet hit his friend; blood spraying across the ceiling as the bullet sliced through the man’s forehead directly over his right eye, then I mentally released him, as the corpse fell and slammed into the floor, before I grabbed my enemy’s wrist in the blink of an eye, tearing the gun from his grip and magnetically crushing it at the same time, before pulling his knife from his belt; my eyebrows lifting in surprise as I recognized the exact same knife that one of the two men Eric encountered in the pub, wielded, with German etched into the blade!! I grinned menacingly.

“Wessen Blut möchtest du zuerst vergießen, Marc?” I snarled, as his eyes widened.

Before he could answer, I drove the knife down into his wrist so hard that it was pinned to the table, ignoring my enemy’s screams of sheer agony as I casually took another shot of beer; my telekinesis easily preventing my scales from being touched by the blood of the enemy.

“Who...?!” Marc stammered in sheer terror, almost sobbing. “W-what...are you?!”

I finished the last of my drink, then cast a devilish sidelong glance at him; my narrowed eyes blazing as my fangs gleamed!

I looked Marc in the eyes. “I...” I snarled; my eyes glowing as steam curled from my nostrils. “am your worst nightmare! Just call me...the Ender!”

With those final words, I effortlessly threw Marc back across the tavern to slam into the wall, before smashing my beer bottle so it was only intact up to just above the neck, then threw the broken bottle at him like a knife!!!

Marc’s scream of terror was cut short as blood shot from his mouth, spraying across the floor in front of the vendor; the broken bottle now stuck into his chest like a sword!!

Watching my greatest enemy slump slowly to the floor, leaving a trail of blood smeared on the wall, I grinned again, before exiting the bar, and heading out of the building.

As I walked down the lonely highway, I surmised that whoever had given me that injection, had wanted me to have a better existence, and whatever had been in that syringe, had now given me a gift that I knew I would cherish forever!

By now it was just past sunset; the stars gradually starting to appear in the sky, and I smiled upon glancing to the north, seeing Draco gradually rising. I crouched, slowly spreading my huge wings, then tensed my muscles.

Taking off, I roared joyfully as I blasted a bright purple jet of flame across the evening sky, before turning to fly off into the west, disappearing into the twilight, never again to return.

“Now the doors have opened, and the road before me is a new beginning...!” I smiled as I realized the REAL adventure was just beginning...