I’d gotten hit by a star. When had that happened? When Flare had gotten struck? I hadn’t even felt or seen anything, just a stomachache. Moreover, I hadn’t changed physically at all. Or at least, it didn't feel like anything had changed. I’d just gained this really creepy power of... feeling out and reconstructing my insides via these black roots? What kind of power was that?

I shook my head. It didn't matter. The important fact was that I was a star hybrid now, and I didn't turn into a monster. That meant I was immune to the effects of any future starstorm. If I didn't become a monster yet, I wouldn't become one anymore.

I let out a sigh of relief.

But that didn't mean everything was fine. I wasn't an idiot. My power was extremely creepy. What if people call me a monster anyway? And then lock me up or straight up kill me for it? No, for the time being, I needed to hide the fact that I was a hybrid.

“Attention, please. The starstorm has ended. However, there are still two A-class threats on the loose in the city. Please, stay in your shelter for the time being. I repeat, stay in your shelters.” The principal's voice resounded from the speaker mounted on the ceiling corner.

Two A-class threats. I still vividly remembered the one I had seen with my own eyes almost a year ago now. Eruption, a monster born from a little girl who had melted an entire building. Not crashed or leveled, melted... with lava. So many people had died there. And I heard she’d never gotten captured or killed. She escaped. Still out there, capable of murdering hundreds. Just like my-

I shook my head to cull that thought process. I’d promised myself I would stop brooding over that specific subject. It only ever led me to more negativity. I needed to think about something else.

Flare... what about Flare? She hadn’t turned into a monster. Or at least it hadn’t seemed like she did. She’d looked to be quite lucid, although her speech was a bit mumbled. But if the ground melting around her was of any indication, her powers were clearly very dangerous. What were they planning on doing to her? Locking her up? Killing her just in case? No, I was descending into darkness once again. I clenched my teeth and breathed out through my nose, hoping to get my anxiety under control. One more deep breath in and a slow exhale.

I decided to shift my attention to myself for a second.

What kind of star hybrid was I? No animal features, no wings, no horns, no hair color change, every part of me still perfectly opaque, nothing glowing. As far as any onlooker could tell, I didn't change at all. Unless something happened to my eyes that is, but I had no way of checking due to the lack of mirrors in the room. Although since nobody in the room mentioned anything, I assumed my eyes stayed the same as well.

That meant I was a stage one hybrid, with my regular human form and hybrid form perfectly separated. That was good, it meant I could remain unnoticed. But I still didn't know what kind of hybrid I was. I probably had to actually transform to find out, but that would have to wait until I got home. No way was I transforming and outing myself in front of all these people.

Now then, as a stage one, my mind shouldn't have been affected in my human form, right? Well, I certainly didn't feel like anything had changed. But I could have been wrong. Maybe my way of thinking has already shifted. I could have been all part of the change and I wouldn't even notice. That was a bit terrifying to imagine, but once again, I shook away the ever-present worst-case-scenario thoughts.

Okay, the power I got. Black roots crawling under my skin. I didn't really want to try anything with them, they were so unsettling to look at. But curiosity won over my fear. I focused on it and made them spread inside my stomach. It wasn't as uncomfortable as before. Now that I knew about them and could properly guide them, they felt more like an extra appendage or two... or a thousand. Well, thousands of infinitely flexible and branching appendages, to be more precise.

I didn't dare spread it outside of my stomach, I didn't want people seeing it on my hands or legs. And the whole organ reconstruction thing? I didn't try that either. What if I accidentally deleted my heart or something? Sure, powers supposedly couldn't hurt their user in any direct way -- only indirectly, such as damaging a building and making it fall on top of you -- but my paranoia got the best of me and kept me from experimenting.

Moreover, my power probably already did some things to me. Somehow, I felt lighter, more flexible. Subtle muscle aches I got so used to overtime were gone. My eyesight felt a bit sharper as well. That disturbed me a little. Did the roots get into my eyes and changed them while I wasn't paying attention? Did anyone else notice my eyes going black like in some horror movie? I hoped not. Nobody said anything, but I couldn't really be sure.

A hand on my shoulder jolted me from my thoughts. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was happening, someone was about to politely ask me why the heck were my eyes crawling with black roots.

“Hey, are you asleep?” I turned my head and saw a blond guy I vaguely remembered from Chemistry class smiling at me.

His face didn't seem to be screaming in horror, so that was a good start. He must have been trying to talk to me while I zoned out.

“Uh, no… just tired. You were saying?”

“We were discussing our favorite heroes! Come on, who's your favorite hero?” His enthusiasm had me stumped. Everyone in the room was looking at me.

“Bubbles?” Somehow, my answer ended up being a question.

“Oh! And why is that? You got a crush on her?”

This guy had no breaks. I didn't know what to say back. Sure, Bubbles was pretty and cute. But I couldn't fall in love. I just couldn't.

“Attention, please. All major threats around the city have been neutralized. However, due to damage done to the school, classes are temporarily suspended until Monday. You are free to leave the shelters and go home for today.”

The announcement came just in time to save me from the interrogation.

“Oh. Guess I'll be going. Bye!” I ran out of the room before anyone could say anything.

As I closed the door behind me, a thought struck me. My legs and my back were completely healthy. No sign of the bruises I got before. Somehow I’d completely missed this in the chaos earlier. So, my power had healed me? Of course, reconstruction. From what I understood, that's what my powers were about. It shouldn't have surprised me that my power could reconstruct damaged tissue into a healthy one. I wondered what the limits of this self-healing were.

As I ran through the shelter hallway, my eyes passed by the distorted floor where Flare melted and wandered to the room they had dragged her into. I didn't hesitate and darted towards the door there. A teacher stationed in front of the door stopped me. It was Mr. Grendt, my Physics teacher.

“Where do you think you are going?” He frowned.

“Flare is in there. Right? Is she okay?” I blurted out.

“Flare? I don't know where she went.”

That made me nervous. Was he trying to cover something up?

“Can I go inside? Look for her?”

“No.” The teacher crossed his arms and frowned.

“But-”

“I said no. You can't go inside.”

Completely denied. I’d wanted to see her and make sure she's alright, but I couldn't do anything with this teacher in the way. I knew she was inside though. I’d seen Crust drag here there. So why was Mr. Grendt saying he doesn't know? Was he lying? Had something happened? Once again, my anxious mind came up with various worst-case scenarios.

“Why are you still here? You heard the principal. The classes are suspended for today.” He leaned a bit forwards. “Go. Home,” he said in a harsh tone.

I was about to give up and go home as he said when a thought flashed through my mind. I also got hit by a star, and that room is for the new star hybrids. If I told him, he would be more than happy to let me in. But would that be worth it? I already told myself getting outed would be the worst-case scenario.

Suddenly, the door behind him opened and Threadmaker peeked out. Our heads turned to her.

“Hm? What's happening here?”

“This kid wants to go inside, thinks his friend is in there,” the teacher declared whilst pointing his thumb back at me.

“Hmmm?” The heroine looked me up and down with a frown, evaluating me.

“You got struck too?”

My heart stopped. How had she known? 

“No?” I managed to answer while avoiding eye contact.

But that ticked her off. Her hair threads lashed out at me. I reflexively jumped back to avoid them but was too slow and she was too close. The hair tentacles latched around my limbs and held me up. From one second to another, I was at her mercy. I noticed her frowning at me.

“Wha-ughm!” And then they stuffed my mouth. Hair in my mouth felt gross.

“Frostie! There's potentially another new hybrid!” she shouted back into the room.

The teacher stepped aside and stared at the scene unfolding in front of him. My pleading look did nothing to make him help me, not that I expected him to do anything. In another second, Frostfeather stood in the doorway and looked at me. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me.

“Didn't you say you weren't hit?” She remembered me.

I managed to shake my head, still maintaining the pleading eyes.

“Threadmaker, he's denying it. Why are you saying he's a hybrid?”

“He acted all shifty when I asked him if he is! He's suspicious!”

Frostfeather frowned and looked from Threadmaker to me. Her gaze then dropped a bit lower to my stomach for some reason. A moment later she sighed.

“Alright, come inside. And you, release him,” she commanded.

Reluctantly, Threadmaker let me go, while giving me an angry eye. I ignored her unreasonable hatred for me and moved inside as ordered.

The interior featured several beds lined up, each surrounded by glass walls. I noticed some guy covered in black leather with sharp claws growing out of his fingers. He was restrained on top of one of the beds with leather belts. Then, there was a guy floating above his bed, looking like a ghost. A blue flame orbited him. Crust stood near him with a notepad and pen, probably asking him questions. There was also a girl with bright red hair, sitting on her bed, sipping from a glass of water. There were four more people in various rooms, but I didn't recognize anyone. Everyone had conspicuous domino masks on. On top of that, the individual glass sub-rooms seemed to be sound-proof.

My intestines wriggled. Was Flare not here?

“Here.” Frostfeather handed me a domino mask.

“Uh.”

“Masquerade used his power on it. You won't have to worry about your identity.”

“Oh.” I nodded dumbly and put the mask on.

I finally understood. Masquerade's masks made people unable to connect you without the mask and you with the mask on. That meant Flare was probably somewhere in here, I just didn't recognize her.

The winged heroine frowned and looked me up and down again, perhaps forgetting who I was as I put the mask on. But eventually, she sighed again and led me to a room next to the red-haired girl. She opened the glass door and pointed at the bed. I obediently sat down. Frostfeather pulled out a notepad and a pen and stood in front of me.

“Well, first, what should I call you for now? Some kind of code name?”

“Um.” I scratched my head awkwardly.

“If you can't think of anything on the spot, just give me some random name. Or I can think of one for you.” She shrugged.

“Chris? I guess?” I gave her my real name.

I felt like punching myself in the face. She went so far to help me hide my identity and I just gave her my real name. Good job, me.

She nodded as her pen scribbled on the notepad.

“So, what happened? Did you get injured? Some stomach pains maybe?”

“Uh, yeah. Threadmaker tossed us down the stairs. The landing was rough, my stomach hurt.”

“So falling down the stairs gave you a stomachache instead of, let's say, bruising your limbs?”

She was onto me. Once again, my mouth ruined everything.

“The teachers caught us. Something hit my stomach?” Again, I phrased it like a question.

“Hmm, alright. Next up, did you notice any changes in your anatomy?”

"No, not at all."

“Transparent body parts, animalistic features, wings, glowing hair, or eyes?”

“No, none of that.”

"Any indication of having powers?"

Yes.

“No.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No... really... nothing,” I lied.

“What about changes in how you think? Adjusting your worldview? How you see other people? Your fears? Likes? Dislikes?”

I shook my head. Frostfeather tapped her notepad with a pen, frowning at it.

“Well, officially, from what you said, you don't appear to have any of the typical new hybrid syndromes except for a mild stomach ache. But the standard procedure is to keep you here for a bit just in case since sometimes it takes a while before powers and hybrid forms manifest.”

I gave her a silent nod, wondering why she said officially.

“Unofficially--” She sighed and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Then she opened them and looked at me apologetically. “--I know you are a hybrid.”

I went pale. She knew. How? How did she know? What had I said to out myself? Was I just a stupidly bad liar? And... what now? I couldn’t run. I was locked in here with her.

“Calm down... like I said, unofficially, I know. But there is no real evidence for it and you aren't confirming it, so I'm not going to push the issue.” She shook her head.

She was covering for me? Why?

“Just promise you won't become a villain or otherwise break the law, and we'll let you live in peace, alright?” She suggested.

“I... yeah... wasn't planning... on breaking the law... or something,” I stammered out.

“But if you ever change your mind and decide to join the Neo Wardens, I'm sure there will be a space for you.” She gave me a nod.

I jerkily nodded my head in response. That was her cue to exit the room and leave me on my own inside.

I breathed out a sigh. I had been certain I would get gutted or something when she’d said she knew. But that had just been my irrational thoughts crawling their way into my head. I knew for a fact that this kind of thing happened pretty often. Live and let live kind of mentality. Some people were simply happy to not have turned into a monster and decide to live their life as a regular human, hiding their powers and all, only using them in a pinch. The heroes were supposedly pretty respectful of that. As long as you didn't go and commit crimes with your powers, of course.

To me, it felt like if you had powers, you had to make use of them as best as you could, but I couldn't really fault those who didn't. And with powers like mine, it might just be for the best to keep on being a civilian and never show a sign of my powers to anyone.

Then, my phone rang. When I fished it out of my pocket and looked at the screen, I saw that Flare was calling me. I glanced around the glass rooms and noticed the red-haired girl right next to me with her phone next to her ear. Narrowing my eyes, I picked up the call.

“Uhh...” She let out a timid sound while the girl in the next room shifted her eyes around her room. I connected the dots and broke through Masquerade's illusion. I felt a slight sting in my brain as the two personas merged. I understood now. That girl was Flare. Or... was she? It was very unlike Flare to be this shy.

“Hey Flare,” I whispered her name, grimacing.

“I'm sorry.”

For some reason, she apologized. That shocked me. What was she apologizing for? I didn't understand.

“I even said I would protect you in the next starstorm. But instead, I became the danger you needed to be protected from.” She stared at the floor.

“It's fine! It's my fault we didn't make it in time! My fault you got hit!” My attempts to drag the blame onto myself backfired. Her expression fell even further.

I didn't know what to say. My social skills were never good. The only reason why I got along with Flare so well was because she did most of the talking. But when faced with Flare who barely spoke, I had no idea what to do.

“No... but... I... still.” She trailed off, her voice getting weak.

“Flare, look... look to your right.”

“Uh?” Flare raised her head and looked right into my eyes.

“I'm fine Flare.” I gave her a little wave.

She sat silently for a second before widening her eyes. Then, her head jerked, her eyes half-closing, as if someone hit her head.

“Chris? You're here? What are you doing here?” She continued staring at me.

“They... um... they think I got hit as well.” I scratched my cheek.

“And... well, did you? Get hit?” She snuck a peek at Frostfeather and Crust, who were busy talking to ghost boy. Threadmaker seemed to have left at some point.

“I... well, yeah... probably.” I wanted to keep it a secret, but Frostfeather already knew anyway. And also, Flare was different. I knew she, of all people, would be understanding.

“Probably?”

“I can do this, look.” I glanced around again to make sure nobody else was looking and then held out my hand. Closing my eyes and focusing, I summoned back the black roots, letting them crawl inside my hand. The phone made a squeaking sound.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Flare staring in shock. I didn't blame her. It did look really creepy. Thin tentacles wriggling through my skin, clearly visible to anyone looking. I retracted them.

“That's... oh my god. What was that?”

“I'm... I'm not sure.”

We fell into silence, both staring at my hand.

I began to wonder what she thought about it. Did she blame herself for me getting this power? Did she find it repulsive? After all, although hers was clearly quite dangerous, but the wings she got were beautiful.

“Does it hurt?” she finally asked, looking at my hand.

“No, not really. It feels a bit strange though,” I answered.

She nodded and descended into silence once more. A few more minutes passed without any word uttered. And then finally-

“So, um. Saturday night? Can I still come?” Flare gave me an awkward smile.

I stared at her for a second, before my mouth curled up into a smile of my own.

“Of... of course! I can't wait!”

I understood Flare's hidden message. We both survived, we were alright. My power was pretty scary, but there was no way it would hurt me. So, stop worrying about what was or what could have been and look towards the future instead.

Once again, I felt grateful to have a friend like her.

“Looks like your legs are alright now?” She tilted her head.

“Uhh, yeah. These creepy roots... apparently, they can... like... heal me?”

“Oh, that's nice! A bit weird way to regenerate, but hey!”

I chuckled.

“I can probably do more with them. Just need to test it more.”

“Alright, keep me in a loop. That looks to be really interesting!” Her bright smile was back in full force. I couldn't help but smile back.

“What about you? What can you do other than melting the floor?”

“Ohh, I can summon burning ash and toss it around! And I probably also regenerate because my legs are fine as well now!” She grinned with excitement.

“Hey, you know I was thinking about joining the Neo Wardens. You know, be a hero, save the day, that kinda thing. You think I could do it?” She continued.

“A hero? Umm, I don't know. You would have to fight villains and stuff. Wouldn't that be really dangerous?” Besides, she already was a hero... my hero.

“It's fine! Even if I get hurt, I regenerate! And, well, since I have powers, I would feel like I'm wasting potential if I didn't do anything with them.”

She had a point. Despite wanting to remain a background character, a civilian, I sort of felt the same way. Why not use your powers if you had them?

“I guess being a hero would suit you,” I said with a sad smile.

“Thanks.” She gave me a full-teeth grin.

“Oh. How about we join together? Wanna be a hero too?” she then asked.

“I... I don't think I can. My powers are too creepy.”

“You can still try! It wouldn't hurt!”

“I... no... sorry. I think I'm gonna keep to myself for now.” Her sheer enthusiasm almost made me change my mind. But I knew better than to be naive. Nobody would call me a hero with powers as creepy as these There was no way I would be allowed to be a hero. Moreover, I still didn't know what type of hybrid I even was. If I turned out to be a Tara, that would pretty much spell the end of my hero career before it even began.

“Well, alright. Your secret is safe with me, but as I said, keep me updated on what you can do!”

“Of course, I will. Who else am I gonna brag to?” I grinned back at her.

Her cheer truly was infectious. Even my grumpiness didn't last long in the face of Flare's radiance.

After that, our conversation topics turned to Arc Lords Online and our planned Saturday evening again. Escapism. I didn't want to think about Flare becoming a hero who could get into a fight with some villains and get hurt. Nor did I want to think about myself being hunted for what I've become. I pushed all my worries aside.

We stayed locked in the glass room for three more hours. My phone ran out of charge at some point, so we ended up communicating using gestures, although we weren't very good at it. The heroes sometimes came to one of our rooms and asked some questions. But in time, I was allowed to go home since they couldn't see any signs of me being a hybrid. Flare, however, had to stay, because she had dangerous powers and they needed to make sure she had them under control.

We parted with a little wave and a smile through the glass pane. Threadmaker then unceremoniously led me outside and slammed the door on me without even saying anything. Rude. I really didn't like her. Even though she was a hero, she just behaved like an arrogant brat.

At least they let me keep the mask. I figured it would come in handy. But at the moment, I didn't need it, so I stashed it in my hoodie pocket with my phone. Next, I made my way back to the classroom and picked up the stuff I left behind when I ran from the starstorm. Once done packing up, my stomach rumbled. I figured the school cafeteria was closed as well, so I made my way out of the school building and headed for the nearest fast food stall.

Without Flare to keep me distracted though, my thoughts once again began falling to the dark side. I got so deep into them that I didn't even notice the lights were red when I stepped onto the road. A car horn blared at me and finally pulled my mind back to reality.

Everything happened very fast in the next few moments. The driver stomped on the brakes and kept his horn blaring at me to get out of the way. I fell to the side. My palm touched the pavement and sprung the rest of my body. I flew through the air with a somersault and gracefully landed back on the sidewalk, just as the driver stopped his car on the spot I used to be a second ago.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed kid?!” the bearded man yelled at me in fury.

“I... uh... sorry.”

“Sorry, my ass!" he spat at me, before smashing the gas pedal and driving off.

I stood there in a daze, watching him disappear down the street. I didn't understand what had just happened. Where had that athleticism come from? I had never done anything similar before. Was it all part of my powers? No, I already had a hunch.

“Felice...” I whispered to myself.

The Felice were a type of star hybrid. Even ignoring individual powers, the Felice hybrids had enhanced reaction time and were faster than normal humans. I was pretty sure that what I just did, checked off both of these.

“Flare is gonna have a field day with that one.” I shook my head with a wry smile.

“Uh.” Then, I looked around me, trying to see if anyone else noticed what I'd just done. Luckily, there were barely any people on the streets, and the few I spotted didn't seem to have watched my stunt. Well, of course, there weren't many people, the starstorm must have scared most of them to go home. That was why I got so careless, there were barely any cars on the road. My amazing luck struck again. Out of the few cars on the road, one just had to be driving through where I was crossing.

I sighed and properly waited for the green light this time despite the lack of any more traffic. When I arrived at the fast-food stall, a man with floppy ears on top of his head greeted me. It surprised me the starstorm didn't scare him off and made him close down for the day, but I figured some people were just much hardier than others.

With my burger and a set of fries in hand, I stammered out a thank you to the man and set off towards the bus station. By the time I got there, the food-shaped grease was already in my stomach. It didn't take long till the bus arrived and I boarded it. On my way home, I kept thinking about the incredible maneuver I pulled and the implications of it. Naturally, me being me, I managed to skillfully think of all possible downsides and bad end scenarios and make myself depressed again.

I shook my head as I finally reached the door of my flat. I reached for my keys, unlocked the door, and swung it open into the empty silence of my home. Sighing, I took off my shoes and headed to my room where I dropped off my bag in the corner.

I glanced around my room, taking in the sight of every object, trying to delay the inevitable. Then, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was time to see the extent of my powers and my hybrid form. 

I was nervous. What if something went wrong? Sure, my power couldn’t directly hurt me, but there was still the inkling worry of accidentally erasing my lungs or something similar.

A few more deep breaths. I kept my eyes closed and tried to relax. I felt the black roots spread through my body and took control of them. First, my hand. I let my power overtake my hand in its entirety. I could feel them through my hand and I could feel my hand through them. Opening my eyes, I saw my hand turned pitch black. The sight should have unnerved me, but somehow I felt calm about it.

Next, the reconstruction. What were the limits? Could I make my skin as tough as steel? Make my muscles stronger? Grow claws? I didn't know, but for the time being, I wanted to see if I could do something simpler. I reached out to the tiny hairs growing out of my hand... and got rid of them, down to the roots.

It was an odd sensation for sure but in no way unpleasant. One by one, the tiny hairs disappeared. After they were all gone, I retracted the roots and traced the back of my hand with a finger. Smooth as silk.

“Wow,” I whispered.

It worked like a miracle and it felt incredible. I wanted the rest of my body to be that smooth. So I did it again. This time, I let the roots into every part of my body. My stomach, my legs, arms, and even my face. I closed my eyes and focused. Every corner of my body flooded with the odd sensation of mutually sensing the roots and being sensed by them. It drew a perfect 3D image of my entire body in my mind. I could feel my blood flowing through every vein, oxygen being filtered out in my lungs, even my brain sending electrical signals through my body. I could sense everything. By all rights, it should have been disturbing, but instead felt oddly relaxing. Zoning out the outside world, only feeling oneself.

I sat there for a while, just listening to my own body. At some point, my mind emptied and only focused on myself. My power prodded me, wanting me to use it. And so, I did. I let it overtake me. All hair except for the one on my scalp was eradicated. But I didn't stop there. I felt lighter and more relaxed every second. In the meditative state I entered, I let my power freely take its course. My skin smoothed. Subtle muscle pains disappeared. Little cuts, bruises, and scars I had... gone. The cavities in my teeth... taken care of.

I felt at peace. As if lying in a vast meadow, letting the wind brush by me, the sun warming my skin, all while someone was gently stroking my head.

I had no idea how long I let my power go for, but when I finally opened my eyes again, I found myself spread out on the floor. My vision was sharper, no headache upon waking up, every thought crystal clear. I felt like a feather... like a huge weight fell off of me.

I rose into a sitting position without resistance, none of the usual heaviness after waking up. Or rather, it almost felt like something pulled on every part of my body to help me rise. That's how light I felt.

“Wow.” I looked at my hands in fascination. But as soon as I heard the voice, I stopped in my tracks.

“Uh... hello?” That was my voice. It changed too. Softer, lighter, higher-pitched... more feminine.

“Oh... this is.” But I didn't hate it. Quite the opposite, a subtle sense of relief washed over me instead. Excitement. Anticipation.

I got up and walked a step before I realized my clothes grew bigger. Or rather, I shrunk. I should have felt uneasy, but I didn't.

I trotted over to the bathroom as if skipping on clouds in lower gravity. And the sight in the mirror stunned me.

A cute girl was staring back at me. She had perfectly smooth skin, silky black hair reaching up to her shoulders, yellow cat-like eyes, and, most perhaps most strikingly, a pair of black furry triangular ears sitting on top of her head and a cat tail snaking up behind her.

I touched the top of my head in a daze, my hand coming into contact with something fluffy. At the same time, the girl in the mirror touched her feline ear.

I transformed into my hybrid form. As I thought, I was a Felice, or catkin as some people called it.

But.

Somehow, for some reason, I also turned into a girl.