The Protogen Generation

Light and thunder

“Woah… that's intense.” Winter quietly said. “And what has happened since then?” Asked Oscar.

Avera sighed, “We devolved, to put it simply. We developed the means of natural reproduction, our life spans shortened, and we have long since lost many of our augments. We are a far cry of our ancestors who lived on Zenith, and we are proud of that. We are unique and we truly experience life.”

Oscar and Winter were silent. I couldn't tell if they were about to cry from the information bomb, or from the fact they hadn't blinked. It's convenient that blinking is something I don't even have to worry about.

“So, anyways,” I said, “How long is Michael going to be like this? It's not going to be permanent, is it?”

“Oh it wont, or at least it shouldn't” Garrett replied, “If studying serves me correctly, his current mental state should only last 10 to 30 minutes.”

I took a long look into Michael's eyes, “hang in there, you'll be out of it soon enough.” I said, patting him on the shoulder. It just was not easy seeing him in such a state, stripped of his mind.

Winter went up to the doorway towards the kitchen and stopped, “Sooo… I could make some tea for you all while we wait for him to get back to his senses.”

“That would be fine, thank you.” I nodded.

Vita and Avera, with great effort, moved Michael onto one of the living room couches. Oscar fetched a blanket from one of the closets and put it over Michael. After some discussion, it was decided to leave him alone for a little bit.

We made our way into the dining room where we all took a seat at the large table. Vita and Garrett began furiously typing away on their own computers, making sure to type every detail of Michael’s new condition. Oscar was playing with his thumbs, staring off at who knows what. As for the commander and I, we both sat deep in thought. What if we all become susceptible to any sudden loud noises? What if Michael never snaps out of it?

The dining room continued to be briefly lit up by flashes of lightning, followed by the distance rumble of thunder. The worst of the storm was beginning to pass, so the thunder wasn't going to be as bad. Unfortunately there was still a while before the storm would end completely.

Winter came out of the kitchen holding a large tray with glasses of dark liquid, tea, as it was called. A large pitcher and some small white cubes were also present.

She passed a glass to everyone, and we all took an eager sip. It tasted funny in a good way. Apparently it was common to put a sweetener in these drinks as well. It was something I'd have to try.

as I reached forward to grab a small cube of sugar on the tray, the strangest thing happened.

A low orange flash bled through the window shutters. This was immediately followed by a distant roar and a low, deep rumbling sensation. The whole house shook as it happened.

The orange flash stopped shortly thereafter along with the shaking. I wasn't sure if it was the lightning that had caused it. A quick, short ‘thud’ was felt as well. As if something small had also hit close by.

“The hell was that?” Said Oscar, getting up from his seat. “Did a transformer blow up again?”

Winter looked equally shocked, “We still have power!” She ran to the window and opened a shutter, “What the fuck?” She whispered.

Everyone else joined her at the window, myself included. It looked misty outside, you couldn't see very far. Far in the distance, a subtle orange glow reflected off the sky. It almost looked like it was flickering. Could something have been on fire? What if the lightning lit someone's house on fire?

We all looked Dumbfounded as we stared at the distant glow. I didn't know if we should have been going outside at that moment to check what happened. But if we went outside and were close to any lightning, we might be sent into shock like Michael.

“Oscar, get your raincoats and boots, NOW!” Winter yelled as she ran into the living room. He followed her, with us protogens in tow behind them.

Winter stuffed her arms in a bright yellow jacket, and Oscar followed with his own blue jacket. “Where are you all going?” Garrett asked, squinting at them.

“Outside. I want to know what just happened.” Said Winter. “You guys stay here. I don't want you all to end up like your friend.”

“No.” Avera said, “I'm going as well.”

We all looked at her like she was crazy. I was beginning to think she was crazy. “Wait, you can't just be going out there.” I said to her.

She nodded, “As my second in command, you have the right to challenge any of my decisions, Lucas.” she bent down and picked up her flight boots, “But as the first in command, I also have the authority to do what I want, whether it's a good decision or not.”

“Alright let's go.” Avera said, painting at the front door.

“Jesus christ, okay then.” Oscar said, “See you guys again in a minute.”

Winter opened the door, letting in a gust of cold air. They all filed their way out onto the front porch.

“Screw this, I want to watch.” I said as I stepped past everyone else. I followed the trio out onto the porch.

It was very gusty outside, and a chilling wind could be felt as well. Out over the treeline, the orange glow had become much fainted, likely a result of the constant rainfall.

The commander stepped off the porch along with the wolves, walking a course toward the treeline. They didn't even get halfway across the yard before a figure began emerging from the mist. I couldn't tell who it was, but they had a bulky figure and looked to be holding a large knife.

Avera stopped in her tracks as the person drew closer. I noticed they were orange, kinda like Garrett. It looked like an old flight suit, including the helmet.

Within a couple yards of the trio, the person stopped as well. They stood frozen for a couple seconds. Slowly, their hands reached up towards their helmet. It twisted and came off, revealing the outline of a protogen.

Over the noise of distant thunder, the frantic pitch of Avera's voice could be heard.

“...Conrad?”

End of chapter 16

Fun Fact: The Protogen Generation originally started life as a webtoon comic called Proto-Life. This was done in 2022 with a close friend of mine. The comic itself didn't get very far before I gave up on drawing it. The plot of the first ‘season’ was very different, and involved the teen versions of Lucas, Michael and Kyle. They basically found a little portal box that accidentally brought a wolf to their own world.

The second ‘season’ was going to involve Lucas and Michael going to space. Things happened, and they would use that portal box to save themselves, and would be sent to wolf earth as a result. You can see where TPG got its current plot from. And out of all the characters, Michael has probably remained the least changed of all the characters from his original concept in 2022, and was based on/created by the co-author. And I'd say that Lucas is most closely based on myself.