Mutations

"As you may have noticed, I can manipulate the blood. I'm still learning, but my last fights and tests have taught me a lot. I'm sure I can use it to wrap my knives sharpening it, absorb it to heal or strengthen me, I can wrap my body with it too, like armor, I gain some resistance with that. I can also feel the other mutants around me, I call this [Blood Intuition]."

Lucas took a moment to ponder what to say next. He didn't want to say something he wasn't sure about. Before continuing his explanation, he heard laughter and then a teasing.

"Brother, are you naming your abilities? Are we in a movie now?" Ace again could not control himself and laughed out loud.

"Oh stop, it's kind of cool! But, it's still funny." Ruby didn't stop commenting, laughing too.

The two didn't hold back their laughter as they spoke, but Lucas didn't mind and continued.

" *coff* *coff* Anyway, in our near-last kill, I've done things I don't understand yet, but it looks like I can drop blood bullets and..." He stopped abruptly. "It seems to be just that, as far as I know. I'll test later when I can."

"I took the first step towards trust, but I'm not a fool, I won't reveal everything," Lucas thought.

Hearing the explanation of their abilities, the cousins ​​hesitated no longer and revealed their mutations in detail. Ruby took the initiative.

"As I said before, I can control the light. I am able to affect my body and small objects to allow light to pass through without reflecting, and it becomes invisible; increase or prevent the light from reaching certain places, not that far, I think about 10 to 20 meters, I've never tested it properly." The girl spoke with a slight tone of uncertainty and insecurity.

Afterwards, Ace spoke part of it:

"I think mine is very intuitive, I just focus on moving things and that's it. It's that simple, there's nothing more to say."

"Hmm, I understand. How did you find that out?" Lucas didn't hold back his curiosity.

"Well…" Ace hesitated a bit to speak.

"When we left the building, we had to fight to survive. That thing wasn't the only one. There were some that looked like cats, they had tentacles in their mouths, something like that. Ace knew how to control his… mutation, as you say, before me. If it weren't for him I would die there in the city too, it seems I owe my life to you two." She completed her line with a laugh.

Lucas didn't quite know how to react to the last sentence, but he didn't give it much thought. As for Ace, he scratched his head and went back to paying attention to the trip.

Ruby continued:

"I didn't understand how to use my mutation until the next day, when it was night and we had to sleep in the car. All of a sudden, I started to glow in the middle of the night, it was quite a scare, but when I realized it was okay, I understood a few things. And so, during our journey, we discover more and more about what we can do." Her Tom was relaxed and she looked directly into Lucas' eyes..

The three exchanged a few more ideas before changing the subject. Over time, it was time for bed and as they didn't have portable tents, they had to sleep in the car. Ace left the car off the lane on the shoulder. Lucas moved to the front passenger seat, leaving the entire backseat for Ruby, she said she didn't need to, but he insisted, and soon everyone fell asleep.

However, he couldn't sleep well at night. He couldn't stop thinking about the countless possibilities for his mutation, in addition to analyzing Ace and Ruby's. Even trying not to think about it, he couldn't stop. Unable to take it any longer, he got out of the car and looked for somewhere to sit. He found a rock a few feet from the car, sat down and started to think. There was a lot for him to worry about, especially when it came to his mutation.

'I was really stupid, why did I never try to control my own blood? Another, because my blood turned purple and acidic?" As he thought, he looked down at his hands, moving them continually, as if there was something hidden in them.

"Well, I'll think about fights first." He pondered his alternatives on the battlefield a lot and soon saw that he'd made several mistakes. He spent about an hour analyzing and organizing all his mistakes and synthesized the main mistakes.

'In short, in the fight with dogs, I failed to stop the dogs from surrounding me, besides, I don't know how to use knives well. Even though I hit the mutants whenever I cut, it wasn't in the vital points. I also only decided to get out of the siege when I was already badly hurt, my god, what a stupid thing." He put his hand to his forehead in an act of self-assertion.

'Against the birds I was even worse, even with the purple blood to help me, I was still on the brink of death. Everything would be resolved if I could control the blood freely from any part of my body. I couldn't stand up and aim at the birds, but with my [Blood Intuition] I already knew where they were, all I had to do was use the blood on my back to kill them. Definitely an advantage I didn't use, thank goodness they arrived in time." His intonation was one of complete regret, he would definitely change everything if he could turn back time. After reviewing his fight with birds, he arrived at the most iconic part.

'I might as well have carried Ace and Ruby at the same time, taking first the farthest Ruby and then Ace. My hesitation. Well, there were other flaws, but it was all because I didn't know the limits of my mutation." After the battle analysis, he departed for his new powers.

He searched the surrounding earth for some sharp stone and when he found it, he cut his palm. The cut went from side to side; purple red blood spilled, but soon stopped. The healing process was very fast, but a few drops still fell to the ground and the grass they had bathed in them quickly dissolved.

Lucas watched all this with curiosity, why did his blood now have a purple hue and corrosive properties? He quickly found the answer.

'The snake! They didn't say anything about a snake, but I passed out with it still in my hands. There's only one alternative then." He sighed as he finished the sentence, closed his eyes and tried not to cry.

'As with my father, so with the snake. My father died so I could walk, and now my blood has the poisonous properties of a snake. How far does it go?" His thoughts ached, he felt deep melancholy. Remembering her father's death was not pleasant.

After considering this, he shifted the focus of his thoughts. Lucas didn't want to keep thinking about his father right now. He then reflected on his 'new' abilities.

'Apparently, I can shoot blood like a bullet. This is very useful for long range attacks. I'll call it [Crimson Shot]. I still have to find a quiet time to test it. As for controlling my own blood…" He cut his hand again and controlled the few drops that came out.

The drops formed a sphere under his control, it was red with shades of purple, then transformed into various shapes. Following his control, the liquid danced continuously. Sunlight reflecting off the moon created a beautiful view of the sphere, so he reasoned more about it:

'I still need to test many things, if my body can absorb properties of other living beings… how can I do this consciously? Both times I was passed out. Maybe if I lu-'. His thoughts were interrupted when a sharp blade touched his throat.