The Great Discovery (Not Really.)
Grian sighed as the door closed in his face, listening to the shuffle of what seemed to be bedsheets before going back to the sad couch he was going to rest on for the night.
He needed time to think about his day... Kind of. Not really.
You see, Grian, before announcing his presence to Scar in the back of Scar's Honda, had already been awake. He had curiously peeked over the other man's shoulder and viewed his texts with Gem, realizing that his two new roommates were Reborns and running from the government or something along those lines.
He had re-grasped the subject of Reborns while Gem berated him with questions, specifically when she asked him what a reborn was and Scar served the definition to him on a silver platter. Of course, Scar had to keep up the act of a citizen and called Reborns freaks. It took almost all of Grian’s power not to laugh or even giggle a little bit when Scar said it.
But thinking about the past would have to come later. With this newfound information from his roommates and a few resurfaced memories, he now remembered what Reborn was.
A million years ago, he had created LIFE as a world to add to a star that had been planetless for a few hundred million years. When creating LIFE, he couldn’t think of any unique ideas for this world. So, he let his impulsive thoughts carry him along as he worked to create the most twisted leaders and governments the universe had ever seen.
After turning LIFE into the wicked dystopian community you would typically see in a novel, Grian had placed Reborns into this world as an experiment but also a source of entertainment for himself. Reborns were essentially hybrids of some sort of living organism. Citizens affected were given the features and powers of the creature as well. For example, a feline Reborn would typically harbour excellent night vision and a pair of ears or a tail.
The Reborns were originally introduced into LIFE to see what the government would do with them. Turns out, they decided to organise a group including all of the more powerful Reborns and put them through torturous death games as Reborns were seen as monsters and outcasts to society. How swell.
Still, Grian wasn't sure what role Scar and Gem played in this world. Hell, he barely had a single idea what was going on! All he knew was that one, his roommates would probably be executed on the spot if found out and two, the economy is in shambles and the rent was quite literally the opposite of cheap.
Now that he thinks about it, he's probably broker than the average 6-year-old. If he wants to continue freeloading in this apartment, he should start earning some currency.
Grian walks over to the couch, sitting down and taking in the apartment around him for the first time since he got here. Behind the couch, there was the kitchen. A few pictures and notes were scattered on the fridge, held up by some cheap-looking magnets. He would have to look at those later.
The sink was surprisingly clean with not a single dirty dish, probably religiously cleaned by one of the residents of this place. Sitting above the sink, one of the only windows he's seen in this complex is there, the moon softly glowing through the glass panes. A coffee machine sat on the countertop next to an old stove which had a metal holder that held a couple dozen different coffee creamers.
To the right of the kitchen was a hall that split into two rooms. Grian had to physically get up and quietly tip-toe to the section to get a good look at the area. To his disappointment, the place was void of any interesting objects except for a singular calendar hanging up on the wall.
On each month of the calendar, a man who Grian swore he'd seen before poses intimately in swim trunks. It seems like Gem wasn't exactly happy with the photos pasted on the calendar as most of the man's face was covered in blank sticky notes. To be fair, whoever was on this calendar was fairly attractive. Grian finds himself wondering how much one of these would cost, which makes him frown at himself.
Grian shakes his head, pulling his eyes away from the calendar to walk over to the fridge. He still wanted to check out those notes he'd seen on the metal surface. Sadly, nothing of too much importance seemed to be hanging up there. A few drawings of people he didn't know, wanted posters with their faces violently scribbled out in black pen, and weirdly, a burning ship.
However, one sticky note caught his eye. It seemed to be a conversation between Gem and Scar, noticeable by their different handwriting.
˚⊹ ‧✩⋆⁺₊𓆩✦𓆪⋆⁺₊✩‧ ⊹˚
┎
Scar, did you see? Joel won. He died at the end.
I know. He was a good person, can't believe he'll be a target now.
He barely beat Ren though. I wonder what would happen if he
would have won instead.
I feel kind of bad for Etho, he has to room with the guy.
Do you think he'll be okay?
Hopefully. He seems strong enough to fend for himself.
Hey, Scar. I know we haven't written on this note for a bit,
but Joel just got registered while I was at work. I sent you a screenshot.
I saw. He's registered as The Scorpion, yes? I think he's the first arachnid
Reborn to corrupt lol.
┛
˚⊹ ‧✩⋆⁺₊𓆩✦𓆪⋆⁺₊✩‧ ⊹˚
Grian stared at this note for a while. He had gained all the knowledge he needed and absolutely nothing at the same time. From what he understood, a guy named Joel had won the most recent death game. Something about winning had made Joel 'corrupt'. Who knows what that meant? Also, Joel's roommate might be in danger, or maybe is already dead. Who knows how long ago this note was from?
After opening multiple drawers and trying to find hints as to what the 'corruption' could be or how it affected people, (only to be greeted with canned foods and a bottle of wine), Grian decided that it was time he went to sleep. It wasn't very late but he didn't feel like walking around the apartment for much longer as nothing good was coming from doing so other than that peculiar sticky note pasted on the fridge.
He walks over back to the couch, quietly laying down on it. His mind zipped from one topic to another, trying to decipher everything he'd learned all at once. Grian rubbed his temples, urging the thoughts to go away while curling up on the rather uncomfortable couch. After 10 minutes, he slowly fell into a light, peaceful sleep.
˚⊹ ‧✩⋆⁺₊𓆩✦𓆪⋆⁺₊✩‧ ⊹˚
Grian wakes up 6 hours later to a loud bang in the apartment. He springs up, getting ready to fight or run for his life. When he spins towards the direction of the sound, it turns out to be... Scar and Gem except dressed in clothing that made them look like they were about to kidnap someone. Gem was in a flowy bodysuit with green wing-like shapes splattered all over the fabric.
Scar wore a similar bodysuit, except his was skin-tight, the black stretchy fabric showing off Scar's muscles. Orange and Blue accents dotted his outfit but in an arrow-ish shape instead of Gem's almost dragonfly-like shape. A pair of shield sunglasses covered his eyes, holographic and looked like the kind to reflect into a bright light when taken a photo of.
He didn't even realize anything weird until his eyes floated to their backs. Massive black wings splayed from Scar's back while nimble, translucent green wings stretched from Gem's. Gem, noticeably had two pairs of wings instead of the usual one. If Grian had to guess, these were their Reborn features. It still didn't explain why they were in outfits that probably cost more than anyone could afford on a whim.
Scar was half bent over, hand reaching for his phone which fell on the floor. He stared at Grian, mouth agape as Gem covered her mouth, still as a statue.
"Erm.. hi?" Grian tried, shoving his hands in his pockets as the two people in front of him stared at himself, then at each other, then at him again.
"Why hello there, Grian," Scar said, a faulty but infectious grin spreading onto his face.
"Shh! Scar, be quiet! Maybe if we stand still enough he won't notice us standing here." Gem said, shoving Scar lightly as she shuffled behind Scar's wings.
"Stop. Don't you think he's unusually calm though? He's not screaming or calling the police or something along those lines." The taller man said, anxiously carding his fingers through his hazelnut hair.
"You're right..!" Gem takes a step towards Grian before faltering and stepping back again. "Grian..? You seem weirdly calm about the situation you're in... Well... In right now. How come you aren't calling the police on us?"
"Because y'knoww ... we're Reborns and all that jazz." Scar chimes in, leaning against the wall as he checked his phone for any cracks.
Oh.
Unfortunately, Grian lacked a reasonable answer to this question. He either breaks these two's trust by saying he was snooping around their house, explains his whole Watcher situation, or..
He fumbles for words before landing on a solid sentence. "It's no worries. I'm a Reborn too."
Oh no.
What had he just said?
Scar's jaw practically drops to the floor, almost dropping his phone for a second time. "What? What do you mean? You were going along with the 'all Reborns suck' act just a few hours ago! Wait- oooohhh.. "
Scar seemingly had understood whatever lie Grian came up with on the spot. Gem, however, seemed a bit more suspicious. "Reborn..? If you're a Reborn, then where were you during all the games? How come you weren't a participant? How come you haven’t been locked up by the government?"
Grian had just dug a grave for himself using his own words, he realizes. Since he's already said what he's said and can no longer take his words back, he supposes he should play along for as long as he can. "I just hid pretty well. No one suspects a homeless dude on the side of the road."
Gem nods. "Makes sense, I guess."
Scar glaces at Grian before checking his phone and shooting up from the wall he was leaning against. " Ohmygosh- Gem, we have to go, like now. "
Gem yelps and grabs the apartment key before grabbing Scar by the wrist. "Sorry, Grian. We gotta run. I- uhm.. We'll explain when we're back. Bye!" She wrestled open the door before sprinting outside. Scar takes the opportunity to quickly whip around and wink at Grian before literally jumping over the stair railings.
Grian blinks, wondering what just happened. He sits back on the couch, staring at the wall in stunned silence before formulating a plan. He had just basically botched up his whole life by randomly saying that he was a Reborn. So now, Grian has to act like one, and he better do a good damn job at it, less he wants to be kicked out.
He quickly manifests a phone, pressing the power button on the side and entering his passcode. Grian groans when he realizes that not only does he not have any connection to the internet, but he is also on 20%. Grian supposes that's what he gets for never using his phone anyway.
After playing around with the phone for a few minutes, he figures out this thing called 'cellular data', a green icon with bars on it. Using it, it finally gave him access to good ‘ole Google Chrome.
There were a few steps to pretending to be one of these Reborns, he decided. Grian had to choose a good organism to become, study up about it, and then morph into a Reborn. Checking the door one last time, he finally lets his wings show, sighing in satisfaction as they open up around him. Grian wanted one last chance to not be constantly using up his energy on hiding his Watcher elements before committing to doing whatever this was.
A few minutes of scrolling later, Grian had landed on the perfect organism -- or insect, one could say.
The Jewel Wasp .
According to a government website, Jewel Wasps, or Emerald Cockroach Wasps were a kind of wasp which could practically mind-control cockroaches. Reborns were reportedly able to control any insects for a set period, turning a victim into a submissive, brain-dead creature while under the influence of the venom. If Grian were honest, it wasn't too far off of what he normally does as a Watcher anyway, which leads to less effort and more energy in the long run. The wings would also be easy to replicate as all he had to do was manipulate the shape of the top two pairs, then hide his third pair and headwings. However, he quickly found a glaring error in his plan.
Grian realized that his manipulative abilities on his own body didn't work very well. The casual hiding-unhiding wings were easy as ever, but for some reason, summoning new limbs and changing shapes took ages. When he had attempted to turn his wings into that of a wasp's, instead of an immediate transformation, it worked painfully slowly from one tip of his wing to the other. At this rate, getting the two pairs of wings and the stinger would take about a week. So, he quickly tried to find an excuse. A cover-up, if you will.
Online, in the dark corners of the internet, he had found multiple sellers who sold potions which claimed to hide Reborn parts, some lasting up to a month.
So, Grian devised a plan. He would tell the two he was a Jewel Wasp Reborn when they got back. Then proceeded to explain that he had gotten his hands on one of these potions to hide himself from the government to avoid the LIFE games. If he made it believable enough, hopefully, it would all go down smoothly.
As soon as he finished, Grian’s phone decided to die on him. Just great, how in the world was he supposed to pass time now?
He stands up and rummages around the apartment before he finally finds a charger that works with his phone. Grian sighs in relief before plugging it in and going back to his rickety couch-bed to finally take a proper nap.