CH33: TRANSMUTATION

"Pharaoh, is that you?" Max asked himself. When the large mutant heard someone speaking, he turned around and saw the masked fireman. Memories of his defeat made the large mutant grant heavily and seeing that the fireman wasn't moving, he jumped from where he was and went to crush him.

" I'm gonna crush you like a bug." He yelled. Max dodged the attack easily and at the same time retaliated with an attack of his own. Max punched Pharaoh twice on his back, using the added stats he had.

[ Quest available. Defend your business and eradicate the two mutants. Rewards- instant level up for each.]

" Augh, he's so small but his punched are so strong." Pharaoh tried to grab the fireman again but he was too fast for his large mass to capture. Pharaoh then stretched out his arms like creeping vines , trying to capture the fireman. Max ran, ducked, slid, jumped and dodged every move in an organized manner. He then stood still, making Pharaoh feel a little cocky. Pharaoh stretched out one if his arms and nearly punched Max on the face but something held back his arms. Trying to wrap his head around it, Pharaoh saw that his four arms were tangled together, limiting his moves.

" For a mutant, you really are stupid." Max ran to Pharaoh and kneed him on his chin, causing the large mutant to fall to the ground, unconscious. Max smiled for a second because he defeated his number one enemy but just then, two arms grabbed him by the feet and lifted him in the air.

" He may be stupid but your are so careless to let your guard down." The female mutant said. " Let's see who's under that mask."

" No thank you."

[ Pyrokinesis activated.]

Max threw out two fire punches that landed on the female mutant's chest. The fire burnt her suit, revealing burnt skin. Max, who escaped from her grasp, continued with a barrage of fire attacks. The female mutant used her four arms to shield her body. Seeing that nothing much was being done to her, he decided to transform his fire into weapons, a new skill he learnt from the fight with the advanced mutant. Max concentrated his energy and made two short swords using fire.

[Warning: Fire weapons will take 5 energy points every thirty seconds.]

" I have plenty to spare." Max dashed to the mutant and sliced away, hitting her forearms. Every slice made a sizzling sound and the female couldn't help but try to dodge the attacks. Unfortunately, her extra limbs made her much slower and Max's attacks were getting more and more aggressive.

" I have to find a way of getting out of hear. His attacks are just to powerful for me to handle." The female mutant lept up in the air, landed by Pharaoh, picked him up and made a quick getaway. Max wanted to go after them, but there were casualties he needed to care for so he rushed in the warehouse and helped his gang members.

" Thank you boss."

" You saved our lives. We are forever in debt to you."

" Your the man, fireman."

As Max was helping out and getting the praise, a car pulled up in front of his warehouse. CJ, Sue, Rin and Phoenix had just arrived at the scene but to their surprise, no one was there.

" Did we scare them off or something?" CJ asked.

" You guys were too late." Max replied. " Turns out, it was Pharaoh and the same four armed lady we saw last week. If you guys were here earlier, maybe we could have finished them off." Max stopped in the middle of his thoughts and remembered his ability that allowed him to transform others into fire mutants.

" Guys...what if I told you you could become fire mutants?"

"For real. Be serious bro." CJ exclaimed.

" Hell yeah man. Hook me up." Rin cheered. Max and his friends went in the warehouse and closed all the doors and windows. They even asked their workers to give them the room for some time. Max went ahead and opened up the system panel which read:

[ Fire Pawns have the ability to transform others into mutants. Their transformed mutants can only evolve after the one who mutated them evolves to a higher level, however, a few of them can mutate into a different class. Transformed mutants have 70% of the original's power.]

[Transformed slots 0/5]

After explaining to his friends what the entire process was, Max went ahead and asked who the first volunteer was. CJ quickly raised his hand, since he was dying to become a mutant.

" Alright bro, hit me up with that fire power."

" Here goes nothing."

[ Process started. Transformation has begun.]

A small, glowing yellow ball left Max's chest and slowly flew into CJ's. CJ couldn't help but smile as the weird ball entered him but it all changed when it completely submerged in his chest.

" Aah, Max. Is it supposed to hurt?" He nervously asked. Max didn't reply and he could only hope for the best. CJ could feel a fiery pain go through him and his body started rising up. Like Max, fire grew from his feet and twirled around his entire body. CJ held in his screams as the pain intensified each second. After a minute, the fire entered CJ's mouth and the whole process ended.

[ Transformation complete. You have created a fire mutant under your control.]

[ Transformation slots 1/5]

" How do you feel?" Sue asked.

" I feel.. I FEEL GREAT." CJ jumped up and threw out his fist. A fireball left his arm but quickly dispersed in the air. CJ was smiling from ear to ear but there was something his friends noticed.

" Guys, what's wrong?" He asked.

" Your...your hair is...See for yourself." Rin handed CJ a mirror and he could see a single red line go from his front to the back. " This isn't so bad. I'm finally a mutant, do you know what this means?"

" That you'll now stop hiding during fights?" Sue teased.

" No, it means we can finally help Max grow much faster. We can take over the world if we like."

" Don't get ahead of yourself just yet. You still have to learn your new skills. Rin, are you ready?" Max asked and she replied with a nod. Rin stood in front of Max and closed her eyes. The process started all over again but this time, Rin didn't show any sign of pain at all. In fact, she was emotionless during the entire process. After the whole thing was done, she tried making firearms just like Max. Hers weren't as large and bright as Max, but they were better than nothing.

" Sweet. I never knew you had this much power." She said. Max looked over to Sue who looked a little worried. " Sue, are you ready?"

" No thanks. I'm good." She nervously said.