Mutation (1000+ Views!)

[Chewbacca]

Thank you for stopping by! This is a story I’ve been planning for a while. However, there is still much I’ll be making up as I go along. This story was inspired by NBC’s “Heroes”, as you’ll probably be able to tell. One of the greatest things about this story is that readers may submit their own characters for the story and, if they fit into my plans for the plot and I believe they would go over well, they will become characters in the story. I hope everyone enjoys!

MUTATION
Volume I: AGENCY
Volume II: DESTINY
Volume III: HISTORY
Volume IV: RIVALRY

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I am different.

I go to a restaurant and order my meal. The waitress returns 5 minutes later. She asks me if I wanted cheese on my sandwich; she claims to have forgotten. I wonder what could have caused her memory to fail in such a situation.

I call to order a product from a catalog. They ask me my name and address, so I tell them. They become distracted with something in their office for a few seconds. When they return, they once again ask for my name and address. “I deal with thousands of customers a day,” the man explains. “I can’t remember everything!”

Perhaps the woman in the restaurant cannot remember if I wanted cheese. Such a minor detail, it is easily forgotten. Maybe the man on the phone could not remember my name and address. Maybe he can’t remember everything. Maybe neither of them can.

But I can.

Everything I hear, everything I see, everything that I have ever known… I always remember. I can recall anything at will without missing a single detail of the incident.

I try to live a normal life to no avail. It is shocking and rather annoying how many times you see a single person, possibly a complete stranger, during your lifetime. One woman, I know not her name, I have met exactly 163 times on the roads of New York where I live, but I have yet to speak a single word to her. She has no idea who I am and believes we have never set eyes on each other.

I am still a young man with my whole life ahead of me. But how should I spend it with this unique ability? Am I a normal human being with a spontaneous power? Or am I meant for something more? Are there more of my kind in the world, those with abilities like me?

There are many roads that I can take. Which one should I follow? In which direction do I go? This is my story: the tale of Charles Knot.

VOLUME I: AGENCY

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Want to create your own character to be in the story? Here’s what you need to include!
A. Character Name (can even be your own!)
B. Physical Characteristics
C. Personality
D. Some Sort of Backstory
E. Power / Ability

[dark-wolf-5]

Nice story. Looking forward to more. And here's my guy!

Name: Vincent Wolf
Physical Char.: Long hair, about 6 feet tall, white, wears a hoodie, has glasses, and is average in strength.
Personality: Sarcastic, loud, points out the obvious at times, funny.
Backstory: Ran away from home for reasons he would not like to discuss.
Power/Ability: uses aura to attack, (kinda like Lucario) and can't quite control it, but at the right time can be devastating.

[Chewbacca]

Thanks for the character and response, first chapter is on the way!

[firealpha]

I'm going to be watching this story. Looks like it should be pretty good.

[Kazooie-Tooie]

Woah, Chewies back!

Also: Read a Titles.

[Chewbacca]

Sorry the chapter is being delayed; I'm haven't been feeling too well today. I might get it up tomorrow.

[dark-wolf-5]

Tomorrow, eh? HURRY UP!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

[Chewbacca]

Very sorry about the delay; I was sick for a few days and then was too occupied to find any time to write. Chapters will be released regularly and timely from now on. Please continue to send in characters, as well. I also appreciate every piece of feedback I can get so please comment and tell me what you think. Thank you, and enjoy!

Volume I Chapter 1
Memories

Charles Knot wandered through the streets of New York, as he so often did, learning everything he could, studying the mobs of people, and listening to what they had to say.

Knot was a strong, hard-looking man. He was about 6 feet tall and had a rather flat face with a slightly oversized nose. He had short, brown hair about the same color as his eyes.

Knot lived in an apartment by himself. His parents had vanished several years ago. Knot and his parents had never gotten along; he gave up searching for them after several months because neither he nor the police could find any trace of them. He had grown up in New York and knew the city like the back of his hand. For a normal human such a feat may not be possible. But it was for Knot.

Charles Knot remembered everything he ever heard, saw, or knew. He knew not from where the ability had come but he did know that he could remember everything after his 13th birthday. This meant that his strange ability had not developed prior to that date. For the past 11 years he had absorbed every piece of information presented to him and discovered that he could recall the strangest things and remember them as if they had occurred yesterday.

A Chinese man, walking in the opposite direction as Knot, passed him without even glancing at Knot. The Chinese man, of course, had no idea who the other man was. But Charles Knot, of course, knew the man’s name was Huang Yang, that he lived on 42nd street, that he had a wife and two kids, and that he was a lawyer. He also remembered one Tuesday afternoon when Yang had purchased a blue sweatshirt and had complained about the price.

This series of thoughts flashed through Knot’s mind when he passed Yang. In fact, a similar series of thoughts, some longer than others, interrupted his thoughts every single time he passed anyone in the streets. Sometimes it was annoying, but most of the time he found it rather entertaining knowing so much about random strangers. Every word in earshot Knot picked up on and could learn an extremely large amount about a person in just a few seconds.

But there was one man today on the streets of New York that Knot did not know; one man that he would soon know much better than before. As Knot passed a narrow alley way, the man in ragged clothes whirled his shovel through the air and slammed it right on top of Knot’s head. Charles Knot fell to the ground, unconscious, as other travelers paid little attention to the incident. To them, the strong, flat-faced man who had gotten hit on the head with a shovel was naught but a vague memory several hours later.
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[dark-wolf-5]

When you say regularly, how regularly? Also, great chapter! Can't wait for the next one!

[Chewbacca]

By "regularly" I hope to release chapters once a day.

[LoMoNoCrAt]

Is it bad that I read the title as "Titless"?

[Siege]

Originally Posted by LoMoNoCrAt

Is it bad that I read the title as "Titless"?

Nope. I did it too.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by mebecj

Nope. I did it too.

I'll come up with a real title soon then. For now, call it whatever you want.

[Siege]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

I'll come up with a real title soon then. For now, call it whatever you want.

I'll do it the same way my freinds do EP&MSWLT... We call it Epsom salt.

[Chewbacca]

This one's pretty long.

Volume I Chapter 2
Agents

“Where am I?”

Charles Knot was lying on a simple bed in a well-furnished room. The walls and ceiling were a strange glassy blue; he could see right through them but nothing was beyond but darkness. The floor was the same, a bottomless chasm Knot thought he might fall right through if he stood up. Looking up, he noticed the ceiling was different. Instead of being glassy blue it was plain gray metal.

A woman arose from a leather seat behind a large desk the same mysterious color as the walls and floor. She was rather short and her hair was turning from brown to gray, but her face looked very strict and serious.

“Charles Knot, I presume.”

Knot was startled and quickly stood up to face the woman.

“I am Knot, who are you?”

“From this point forward you will address me as ‘ma’am’,” she answered smoothly.

Knot swallowed. “Why would I do that?”

“Because I am in charge here and you now work for me.”

“I don’t know who you think you are but you will let me out of this place right now,” retorted Knot.

The woman found Charles Knot’s reply quite amusing. “You sure don’t seem wise enough to deserve possessing an infinite memory.”

Her insult caught Knot off guard. “H-how do you know about… that?”

“I have agents everywhere.”

Knot realized his vision was a bit fuzzy and sat back down on the bed. There was also an uncomfortable bump on the top of his head. He suddenly remembered the man in ragged clothes, the shovel whirling toward his head, and a small child crying out in alarm as Knot fell face-first on the ground. Knot started as a large square from the metal ceiling began to slowly descend towards the floor. It was an elevator of sorts and the man riding it was the one previously in ragged clothes, now wearing a suit and tie.

The gray-haired woman turned to welcome the newcomer. “Ah, Stanford, glad you could come welcome the mysterious Mr. Knot. Knot, this is Stanford. He’s an agent just as you soon will be.”

Stanford reached out his hand to Knot. “Hello, sir, glad to meet you. Sorry about that, er, incident we had earlier.” Stanford looked up at the unpleasant-looking bump on the top of the other man’s head. “I hope it didn’t hurt too much.”

Knot ignored Stanford’s hand and instead glared at the woman. “I will not do anything until you explain who you are, what this agency is, and why you brought me here.”

“So impatient!” the woman declared. “Alright, relax and I’ll tell you everything you need to know. You are the underground headquarters of the New York Agency. We just call it the Agency for short. We are several miles under the streets of New York City right now. The government knows nothing, at least as far as we know, about the Agency and we’d like to keep it that way. For generations my family has been dedicated to serving the good of the nation and the world but we don’t want to be bound to the government. If you insist on knowing it, my name is Susan Parker but calling me by either name is unacceptable. ‘Ma’am’ is the only way you are allowed to address me. You, Knot, are wanted because you can remember anything and everything. This makes you invaluable to us. You will be the greatest agent we have ever had.”

Knot was satisfied that he had gotten some answers but still rather confused. “You mean we’re entire miles below New York City?”

“Yes, Knot, we are,” Parker replied. “Stanford dragged you down the alleyway you passed and went through the hidden entrance. There he took an elevator that runs from here to the surface.”

Knot was still skeptical, but he moved on to the next topic in which he was interested. “So, what are my options now?”

Parker turned to face one of the walls and stared into the dark infinity beyond. “Simple. You become an agent, or you die.”

A lot of thoughts and memories crossed Knot’s mind during the next 60 seconds. He thought about his boring life, his desire for something more, his anger at the woman and the man who knocked him unconscious. He considered his ability, whether there could possibly be anyone else like him in the world, and even what his parents would have wanted for him, though he didn’t care much about what their opinion would have been. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke up. “I’m ready for a new challenge. I will work for you and for the Agency… ma’am.”
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