silveradept | Short story-writing.

A short story I've writ for

ampersand. It's over the comment list by 95 characters, so I'll turn it into a post. Leave commentary if you want.
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"The transformative process takes a while. You'll have to be patient."

"I hope it's permanent. I'm tired of being myself. I hate being a loser with no hope of redemption. I can't wait to be like you."

"It will be a permanent process. I wonder more about your motivations. With your new reality, you'll have new concerns and new problems."

"Yeah, but I can crush them then with the new abilities I have."

"A brute-strength approach rarely solves more problems than it creates. It's more likely that you'll have to exercise more control than before."

"Control? I've been exercising control all my life! Do you know how much control it takes not to just go out and slaughter all the people who look down on me?"

"I can empathize with that. But if you were worried about being weird before, this will only make you weirder."

"No. It will make me respected. Even if I have to force the matter."

"I don't think you understand..."

"I DON'T CARE! Give me the power so I can fix things!"

"Why do you want this so badly? Your life isn't some categorical failure. By most standards, you're doing well. I'm inclined to say you need counseling more than you need this."

"I had counseling. Buncha quacks, those doctors, saying a lot but not understanding. They kept telling me it had something to do with hormones going crazy. I don't believe it. It's been going on too long for that."

"High school's not a great place. Once you get out of there, things do get better, you know."

"Huh. You don't get it, either, I suppose. I don't want to just laugh at it when I'm old. I want to fix it now so that nobody else has to suffer through it."

"Admirable, but that's not the way to go about it. I should know. Remember the Feingold School?"

"The one that burnt down?"

"The same. Guess who was responsible for torching it the second day after he became a pyrokinetic?"

"....no way. They didn't have this operation back then."

"Believe it. I'm a natural. With me and a few thousand others, they developed the process. They can't control the results, but they're thinking strongly about either killing the whole program or mandating that everyone go through the process. But that's beside the point. The truth is, someone pissed me off pretty good, and I told him off. His friends jumped in on me, and I blew my top... and the whole school."

"Why?"

"I was pissed off. I didn't know until afterwards, because the effort to reduce that school, and everyone in it, to fine ash left me sleeping for two days. When I woke up, I was already under arrest for the murder of 500 people. I even torched my two best friends in that. It's not something to be taken lightly."

"So what do you suggest as an alternative? Just taking it, day after day?"

"You have friends there. You have to. Hang around with them. It seems like hell now, but it does get better. You'll have a lot better life outside there. Don't make my mistake."

"I still think you're full of it."

"Better to have your life instead of a life of servitude. The only reason I'm still here is because they told me my options: Be a guinea pig or be a dead man."

"You could've taken them."

"Sure, but think about the consequences. Living a life on the run, potentially dying at any given time? Not my idea."

"And this is better?"

"Than the alternative, yes. I'd still rather be out living a normal life."

"Right. So are we going to do this, or what?"

"My little sermon didn't work for you?"

"It would work on someone who wasn't convinced. I'm convinced."

"I see. Well, if you're convinced, then I can't say otherwise. You're legally old enough to sign your life away."

"That's what I like to hear. Let's get this going."

"All right. Just remember the contract said that we're not responsible for what you do if it ends up being destructive. We're also not responsible if you can't take it and end up dying or crippled. Got it?"

"Bring it on."

"All right. This has the gene-altering virus in it. You take the pill, you drink the water, you wait. You'll pass through hell both coming and going as things rework themselves in your body. If you're still alive and sane on the other end of it, you'll be done. Of course, we'll want to know what exactly it did to you, so there will be some tests afterward...last chance to turn back, kiddo."

"No way."