November: I Might Be A Superhero

015: Human-swallowing, Shape-shifting, Scene-Pausing Alien!?

Warning: This chapter is super long for a purpose, but it is interesting with slicing of horror and humor.

"His death took everyone by shock, I mean we've always known him to be sickly, but hey, we weren't expecting him to just die." Macey gestured, throwing her hand away.

"Oddio, he appeared quite alright during Calculus." Sebastian gurgled the last of his coke, wrinkled the can, and then did a bad throw of it. It ended up on someone else's table instead of the trash bin. 

"Perdón," he apologized with a wave of the hand. 

The urge to control the squeezed can with his quirk was great, but he had promised his mom not to use it anymore. To keep it buried within him for as long as possible. Holding the tray with his right hand, November casually walked over to the table where the can laid, took it, and disposed it in a nearby trash bin.

"Something just doesn't feel right about his death, I can feel it deep within." Macey tapped on her chin with narrowed eyes just as November got to their table with the cheeseburgers and fries they ordered for. They kept calling him over to their table for orders because they wanted him around as they discussed Timothee Mayfield's death.

"I just don't get why those suited, dark-shaded men from a pharmaceutical company would show up and take his body. Are they undercover clinicals?"

"Not to talk of how learning was suspended for the whole day and we were dismissed,"

"I started Winona's high from fifth grade and there's been no such thing."

"Do you think he was infected with the alien virus and couldn't body it because of his health condition? Cosas locas sucediendo en esta ciudad."

"Hey, hey, complete your statement in English." Macey slammed her fist on the table, "why does it feel like you're insulting the entire Indiana population and you don't want me to know because I'll tear off your limbs?" She cocked her head aside like a snake, grabbing hold of his fork immediately.

"Pardon me, Macey. I mean crazy things are happening in this town." 

"I'm not sure Timothee was infected with the alien virus. He was a rich introverted kid. Barely came out to associate himself with others because of his condition." November contributed as he bounced his head from Macey and Macey to Sebastian, then he proceeded to settle yet the fourth box of fries topped with ketchup and chicken wings.

 Somehow the two had come to his place of work to discuss about the boy who slumped and died at the school's field, wanting to engage him in the conversation even though he was super busy.

And Sebastian, being surprisingly loaded with bucks, kept on ordering because he wanted November around their table every five minutes. The table was already filled with varieties of food and November wondered if Sebastian would be kind enough to give beggars and homeless street panhandlers.

"Don't you think it's time you head home, Mace?" Although it unsettled him to say this, he wasn't comfortable with her around. Marion County's sheriff sure wouldn't like the idea of his daughter hanging around the workplace of the dangerous alien-virus-induced boy he had warned her about.

"What do you mean by that? I only just got here half an hour ago." Macey appeared offended, "and I'm still not done with my cheese burgers."

"I don't mean to be a jerk, but I still don't get why you two came over to talk about Timothee Mayfield. You should be in your room sketching aliens and doing more findings about them.

We could always discuss it at school," November stood aback after dropping Macey's orange juice. "This is my place of work and my boss keeps a watchful eye over me. One mistake, he'll deduct ten to twenty percent of my salary."

"Someone slumped and died at your feet and you aren't freaking the shit out?" Sebastian lowered his eyes in irritation as he slid his toothpick to the middle of his mouth.

"What are we now? Private investigators or something? That's none of our fucking business. People die, okay?" 

"Since when did you start being so edgy, November?" Macey frowned at him, "last time I checked you told me you wanted to save people."

And November slammed their table, startling a few customers close by.

"That was six fucking days ago, Alright? And it was all your fault that I got pulled into such a mess. I promised my mom I won't use any more of my quirk. And it's not like Timothee got kidnapped and he needs saving. He's dead. Dead, alright?" He gritted out, avoiding the eyes of his boss who was already shooting him a stern look above his newspaper.

"Can we at least know the cause of his death? There's this mysteriousness surrounding it. Mostly those guys who came to take his body as if they've been waiting for his death." Sebastian intertwined his fingers as he leaned forward.

"What do you care? His parents are going to bury him and it will all be over. Death is no big deal. People die every day all around the world."

"Now you sound heartless." Macey gritted out, her fist was taking the shape of a baseball bat and it seemed she wanted to hit him with it.

Sebastian's eyes rose because it was the first time he was seeing Macey use her quirk. He didn't even know she had a quirk.

And there was a heavy silence on the table.

"Calhoun! Leave that table and attend to other customers." Mr. Ravenscort yelled at November.

"I'll be needing more fries and chicken wings!" Sebastian yelled with his thick Spanish accent. His voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone. And November just rolled his eyes.

"And more cheeseburgers!" Macey chipped in, stuffing the cheeseburger in her mouth and she took it in one big, hard hurtful gulp with quivering eyelids.

Sebastian's jaw touched the floor.

"Jesus, have you ever been deepthroated!?" November blinked, and Macey kicked him in the shin.

"As far as you're concerned, yes! I've been fucking deepthroated by a big hard cock that has one healthy vein after the motherfucking other!" She unknowingly shrieked and earned weird glances from everyone.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She muttered under her breath and cast her head down in embarrassment.

"You kids can have a waitress attend to you, this particular waiter seems upsetting." Mr. Ravenscort interjected after observing the trio.

"Can I at least have a vagina?" One kid yelled and there was a bit of commotion as people spat out their beer, choked on spicy food, or snorted and ended up sneezing.

All eyes were on the three to four years boy who appeared confused why everyone was looking at him as if he had grown two horns.

The mother who was trying so hard to hold back laughter, cleared her throat and apologized, "he means lasagna," she told November.

"Oh," 

"Bring the kid his order, Calhoun," Mr. Ravenscort said after wheezing.

"We are the customers and we demand that he keeps attending to us because we still have a lot more to buy, except you wanna lose a customer, ¿te gustaría eso?" Sebastian's tone was sharp enough to shut the man up.

He and November exchanged looks for a bit too long, and November was beginning to have this indescribable feeling settling at the pit of his stomach. He had never felt this way over anyone before. It was foreign. 

Was it his quirk possessing him with weird emotions when he looked at Sebastian?

Or maybe because Sebastian was a bit too good-looking. But he was a boy.

"Hey, you two." Macey waved her hand to break the stare exchange between the two boys. "Don't tell me you boys are fighting a war in your heads,"

"I'll go get yo.." He barely finished with his words when a strong abrupt rush of wind shoved the transparent doors opened and begot a cessation to everything.

There was a pause in the whole diner. A guy holding a beer glass to his mouth, an Asian woman with a raised fork of pasta an inch away from her agape mouth. A rowdy toddler was halfway in the air because he was doing a backflip. 

Sally, the ginger-haired waitress, was bent over a couple's table, refilling the man's glass. Even the wine was on a halt as if it was iced. And the man's partner had her phone slammed to her ear, with her smile stiff.

A waiter was bent over the floor, gathering shattered pieces of a broken glass cup, and he was just frigid. It felt like a movie to November, except that he was involved.

 

Macey had unknowingly made her hand the same shape as her juice glass and Sebastian was biting on his index finger as his gaze remained on November.

November's body was under this pause impact like everyone else, but his eyes were moving and he could see everything appeared normal outside with vehicles and people moving until someone in a black cloak walked in, and the same wind shut the doors.

November tried to move, but he could not. His body felt like it was turning into a molded statue the more he tried to move. 

His eyes followed this person who appeared feminine and seem to have such a powerful quirk to pause everything, including humans in a certain scenario.

She walked around, taking people's phones and opening their wallets to steal money, and then had a second thought about stealing after staring at an elderly woman who was seated alone with nothing on her table. She looked starved and had an empty purse. So this hoodie girl returned everyone's item and added some stolen money into the woman's purse.

November knew his body couldn't move an inch, but he felt proud of this mysterious person, until she transformed into an alien, swallowed the woman, and shape-shifted into the woman, taking her exact position.

November's eyes were swaying non-stoppingly because he just witnessed something beyond horrible. No one else could see this except him. A shape-shifting alien who could pause everyone, swallow humans, and shift into their form. 

He could not believe there was actually an alien in Indianapolis. He thought the ships only invaded, destroyed buildings, took lives and passed their virus over to them. He never thought of seeing a real alien.

The sight was horrifying and he tried as much as he could to move his body because this alien was dangerous, and could swallow yet another innocent woman. 

He tried as much as he could to move his body, using all of his inward strength, but he was still the same. His quirk felt dead. Only his last finger vibrated.

And just then, the alien snapped its singers and everything went back to normal as if nothing ever happened.

"-ur order," he unknowingly completed his unfinished statement and gasped when he saw the alien leaving, in the woman's form, causing the doors to dangle as she made her way out.

He dashed outside immediately, ignoring everyone else because no one had no idea of what he had seen. Everyone's life was endangered. The alien could've picked anyone, even himself.

He swayed his head from left to right, but couldn't see the malicious monster anymore. It felt like it had disappeared or something. Or like it never happened at all and maybe it was just a scary imagination of his.

Indianapolis was in danger with such creature roaming around freely. He wondered how many lives it had taken. Probably a hundred? Because he was certain this thing had been walking around since the alien-ship invasion. 

What if there were more of them? 

Jesus!

"November!" He heard his same from a feminine voice that sounded a lot like Macey's, but he was too fear-driven to respond.

"Why did you take off like that?" Sebastian blocked his vision with concern on his face.

And November's mouth parted and shut itself. He repeated the action twice and just could not utter any word because it felt like his world was shaken.

"What did you see?" Macey placed her hand on his, completely worried because she had never seen him that way.

"Something.. something I cannot express with words." His vocal cords decided they had had enough with the short break and decided to produce a cranky-voice mark.

"We should go inside.." Sebastian began to suggest but November cut him short.

"No, it's..it's here…I can feel it. This thing.." He walked ahead of Macey and Sebastian, leaving them behind as he was in search of this monster. He didn't know why his body compelled him to move forward.

"What thing?"

"What are you talking about?" They ran to catch up with him.

Finally, he snapped his attention to them with all seriousness, "Listen guys, this might be a hard pill to swallow but I just saw something." 

"What did you see?" Macey and Sebastian chorused.

"A human-swallowing, Shape-shifting, Scene-Pausing alien." November's stomach twisted uncomfortably as he said, staring at the busy street.

"What!?" They bellowed, horrified.

"It came in and paused everything, including me." He explained.

"Are you sure you aren't running a fever? When was the last time you had a doctor's appointment?" Macey stepped forward to place a hand over his forehead, while he swatted it off, clearly offended that they didn't believe him.

"Oddio, there are no aliens in Indianapolis." 

"Exactly!" Macey concurred, "although I've always wanted to see actual aliens, there are none. They only transfer their ships here to infect us with their viruses."

"I know what I saw, guys. This monster swallowed a poor woman and immediately took over her form." November tried to explain through frustration.

"Then why didn't everyone else witness it?"  Macey was seemingly annoying right now.

"Because it paused the entire diner," November scoffed sarcastically as he pushed his fingers through his hair and disheveled it, "every fucking person couldn't move. They were just like statuses at the museum. Including you two," He gritted out in exasperation.

Macey observed him for a moment and noticed he was restless. She had seen him like that only once and it was when Stacey was kidnapped by Turkish-child-trafficker, Penny MacFarlane.

She put her hand on Sebastian's and looked at him, "he did see something," she said quietly.

"I just find that very hard to believe,'' Sebastian responded.

"Weird things have been happening in Indianapolis since the alien-ship invasion." Macey paused and turned to November, "did this thing really pause time?"

"It was miraculous how my body was under this pause-impact and my eyes could still move and take in everything, while everyone else were like candle dolls in House Of Wax," he paused when his phone began ringing and slipped it out, before frowning and hanging up because it was an unknown number.

"Outside was completely normal with people going about with their lives, except the scenario inside."

"Can you describe it? Does it appear like the ones I've have in my sketchbooks?" Macey tipped up her glasses.

"No, very different from the ones we see in movies and books. It came in the form of a girl in a black hooded cloak at first." 

"Who wears hooded cloaks in this 21st century? Halloween is seven months away. And this thing must've seen lots of historical movies to grace us with such a mysterious appearance." Sebastian folded his arms across his chest, thankfully his toothpick was not in his mouth this time.

"Calhoun, get your ass down here if you don't wanna lose your damned job!" Mr. Ravenscort was outside half a yard away from them.

"Shit, I gotta go." November told them, but then Sebastian placed a hand on his shoulder to restrain him from moving.

"What else did you see?"

"It stole and then returned everything to its rightful owners, before shape-shifting into this monster and swallowing a full human."

"Jesus!" Macey gasped.

"And then it shapeshifted into this woman it swallowed, taking her complete form and sat down the same way she had seated and snapped its fingers, and then everything adjusted to normal." November concluded breathlessly.

"Meidra," Sebastian swore in Spanish, taking his hand off November's shoulder.

"Does this mean the woman died?" Macey forced these words out of her throat.

"Of course she's dead. I'm sure it'd vomit her bones somewhere." November breathed out, completely avoiding his boss now, because what he had experienced was too much to handle. His mind kept flashing images of it.

"Ew, gross." Macey gagged. "People are in danger as it moves about freely."

"Who knows how many have suffered such cruel fate. Getting consumed by an alien in one gulp," November paced back and forth.

"What's even worse is that it pauses time before carrying out this malevolent act. Anyone can be a victim." Sebastian said.

Mr. Ravenscort on the other hand watched the teens from afar, wondering what the hell was going on with them because they seemed to be anxious. Disheveling their hair, pacing back and forth, kicking stones over the floor, biting lips and puffing explosive breaths. Surely they weren't doing drugs, were they? He pondered as he made his way back in.

"We've got to find a way to stop this thing." November's voice was hard when he took a step towards Macey and Sebastian.

"How? It's freaking powerful!" Macey disapproved immediately, "plus my dad will kill me."

"Well, that's if he doesn't value human lives because this alien can barge into the station and do as it pleases, and no one will be able to stop him. This is beyond natural, Mace." November wanted Macey to see things clearly from his perspective.

"First we were talking about Timothee Mayfield and now this human-gulping, scene-pausing alien?" Sebastian fumed.

"Do you even think we can eliminate this thing? Before we'd even act, it'd pause time and then eat me first, because I'm a girl, and then move over to Sebastian who is quirkless. You'll be lastly consumed because you're sort of unique and you can see what it does despite being under the pause-impact." 

"Jesus, how can you talk so fast without stopping?" Sebastian exclaimed, shoving his fists in his pants pocket.

"It's one of my flaws, sadly." Macey flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Just calm the fuck down, guys." November whisper-yelled, trying so hard to hold his frustration and anger within, scared if he let it out, who knows if Macey's blouse might rip off, and he'd see her bra. Or Sebastian's clothes totally shredding into pieces, leaving him stark naked.

"How about I join you to find out the cause of Timothee Mayfield's death and then you help me on how to catch and eliminate this alien?" He offered.

"You talk as if it's any easy peasy thing," Macey said with displeasure, "I'm curious about Timothee's death and the men who came over from the pharmaceutical company to carry his lifeless body, but I'm more intrigued by this monster."

"We can do little findings about Timothee Mayfield and then the human-gulping alien." Sebastian suggested and November nodded and they were about to turn their heads in opposite directions, when Macey held up a hand, stopping them.

"Wait a minute, how did you manage to squeeze yourself in our duo group?" She asked Sebastian, squinting. 

And the boy appeared taken aback for a moment, until November spoke up.

"What makes you think we were even a duo group? You aren't even supposed to be here right now."

"But you need me," Macey stuck out her tongue.

"Guys, let's just go." Sebastian interfered when he saw an argument ahead.

"Since when did you become a mediator?" Macey yet again squinted at him.