Shift

I was never like the rest. They could form their bodies into anything they desired, but I only could only morph into one thing. In this unfair world, your level of power was all that mattered. The more animals you could learn to master, the more powerful and famous you became. For me, I was near the bottom of this caste system. Although it was mostly a curse, it could also be a blessing at times. In the end, though, it would prove to be a life saver.

When I was young, I would keep my distance from the others as they became several different animals. A grown man - the same man - was all that I could shape-shift into. He was unknown to me, and the world as well. No one knew why he was the only one I could transform into. It was mostly useless except for times when I needed to be older in order to procure certain things.

As for the elders, they wouldn’t do anything to help people like me. Instead, they actually would kidnap people, put them in huge cages, and force them to fight to the death with men betting on the winner. That’s why I was always in hiding. Since I would obviously lose, the elders usually left me alone. It would be a boring fight, after all.

However, one day, this changed. After going to sleep on the streets again, I woke up to bright lights. Even though I tried moving, there was a futuristic handcuff on my left hand with blue lights holding me down to the floor. My only option was to shape shift, which I tried, but failed. As the lights dimmed down, I realized I was in an arena. Another man was also chained down on the other side. He laughed, and then spoke.

“You can’t shape-shift, boy! The cuffs won’t allow you, too,” he said. “Besides, what would you change into? You’re nothing but a Uniform.”

Uniforms were people who could only change into one thing. I didn’t know how he knew that I was one.

“I’m going to destroy you when they unlock us! Why did they even choose you, anyway? You’re as weak as they get,” he scoffed.

“Wait!” I yelled. “You can’t do that!”

“Why would that be?” he questioned mockingly.

“B-because it’s immoral,” I lamely replied.

“Immoral? Ha! I just want to survive, kid. Whatever it takes. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that?”

Actually, someone had told me that, my father, who died. As much as I respected him, though, I couldn't kill someone, so I just stayed quiet. Suddenly, I could hear the mechanical sound of the doors. Two men came in.

“What do you see in him?” one of the men asked, pointing at me. “He’s nothing.”

“Trust me,” the other man said, approaching me. “He’s more than he looks. Aren’t you, kid? You’d better be, or it’s the end of the line for you.”

Gas was sprayed all around me, and I went unconscious. Some time later, I woke up again, but this time, the arena was filled with people above me. It was like a stadium. The other prisoner woke up as well and grimly smiled at me.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” an announcer yelled. “Today, I bring you X, a level one hundred Hunter!”

Gulping, I realized that there was no way I was going to win. He was the best of the best.
“And over here, we have I, whose level and form are unknown!”

That was me. Names were kept simple in today’s world. No one would put their money on me, an Unknown. I looked weak, anyway. The cuffs clicked, unlocking. Immediately, X turned into a tiger and sprinted towards me. Leaping to the side, he crashed into the wall. Although it was of little use, I turned into the only thing I could - the man.

Still as a tiger, X roared and laughed at the same time. He ran to me once again, but this time, I was more prepared and ran. As my heart raced, my hands began to glow. Instinctively, I raised them towards my enemy and fired, making him fall to the ground. I smiled, as this form was finally of use to me. All it took was some pressure and a life or death situation.

Stunned, the announcer called out, “Send in another!”

The doors unlocked and a man walked in. He turned into a large brown bear and as he neared the tiger, he morphed with it, creating a gruesome animal. This hybrid was now over two times as large as the tiger or bear alone. It was quite literally two men in one. Using my new powers, I easily took it out and looked up to the announcer. His face was in shock, but then he evilly smiled.

“Release all the prisoners!” he dramatically cried out.

Now, I was shocked. My powers felt powerful, but now they would be put to their limits. Several men walked through the unlocked doors. They turned into vicious creatures and all morphed together. Now, each body part came from a different animal, making it the ultimate hybrid. Although the new creature was clumsy due to its size, it was still capable of destruction. We fought for awhile, but I was losing energy. Even with my powers, it was highly improbable that I would survive.

Then, out of nowhere, the a clone of the creature in the arena also appeared, but this one had red eyes and looked evil. They morphed together since they had no choice. I thought I was done for. Instead, the two just disappeared into dust. All that was left was a pile of sand on the floor. It took me a second, but I understood. If you have something positive and its negative combined, there would be nothing left. Whoever thought of this and saved my life was a genius.

Hearing an electric-like sound, I turned and saw a young lady forming next to me. She was the one who had done this. Grabbing my hand, we teleported to safety out of the prison. Unlike the others, we wouldn't accidentally morph together because we were Uniforms.