On a surprisingly sunny day in Virginia, a boy wakes up to his fifteenth birthday. Everyone knew him by Manatee, as he always was so smooth in the water. He went into the bathroom, and started to take a shower. However, as soon as the water touched his neck, he burned, and couldn't breathe. He staggered, and as soon as his neck was not touching water, he was able to breathe again. He finished his shower while avoiding water on his neck, but when he got out, he found small cuts on the side of his neck. He was sure he scratched himself in his sleep, and put on a hoodie to disguise it.
He went to school with no other incidents, and afterwards, he and his friends went out to the lake by the school, for the last swim of fall. His friends jumped in and swam to the other middle of the lake immediately, but as soon as Manatee's foot brushed the edge of the water, the scratches on his neck began to itch. He hoped that they had closed since the morning, and dived in. Big mistake. As soon as his neck was submerged, the scratches opened, and he felt water moving through them. His neck burned, and after a minute of agonizing pain, his body relaxed and he just lay there.
He thought he was dead. His eyes were closed, but he could hear and smell much better than he could normally. Then something brushed his leg. His eyes popped open, and he could see that he was still underwater. "What's happening to me?" he wondered. Then he realized his friends must be looking for him, and he had to get to the surface quickly. But as soon as he thought it, the water currents changed, and carried him up. He reached the surface, and his lungs took over breathing once again. He swam over to his friends, and luckily they didn't see anything that happened. Unfortunately, they were not alone in those woods.
The men had recently came across technology that allowed mutations to be tracked (commonly known as Cerebro), and had found one case in a fairy large city. They had come to investigate, and found Manatee, who had just grown gills. Manatee was coming back alone from school when they got him. The men shot a dart into his neck, and he was out in seconds. They sent false texts to his parents saying he would be spending the night at a friends house.
When Manatee woke up, he saw doctors standing over him. He was worried, but they had strapped him down. "Who are you?" he asked. "My name is Dr. Timothy Faurent, I work with Weapon X. You are at our facility on a small island of Hawaii. You are now under our control, escape attempts are futile." So Manatee was forced to lay back, and was gagged, forcing him to watch as the organization attempted to make him into a weapon. He was being injected with various substances, and was being exposed to different types of radiation.
However, the scientists had miscalculated part of their plan. A week later, the ground beneath Manatee began to shake. He was still suffering from the radiation they had exposed him to earlier, and could not even make a sound. Suddenly, lights started to flash, and alarms were ringing. Suddenly, a small crack appeared in the floor. Manatee watched as lava started to seep through it, blocking the door, and slowly coming towards him. Soon, he saw it come to the base of the bed, and he felt its heat on his face. He closed his eyes to prepare for the burning. And then it hit him. The lava touched his hand, and he felt it burning his skin. Then suddenly, his hand stopped burning, at least it felt that way. He opened his eyes, and saw that where the lava had touched, his skin had turned orange. He grew worried, and as his heart started to beat faster, flames appeared on his hands. Soon the lava had covered his whole body, leaving only his head above it. But when it came, the gills on the side of his neck snapped into action. The radiation allowed them to adapt, and Manatee was able to breathe in the lava. Soon, the whole room was submerged, and he had increased strength under the molten lava, and broke his bonds. He swam through the halls, able to see through the lava, just as he had in the lake. Soon he came to the door, and with a burst of current, broke it open. What he had not expected however, was for that door to open into a cliff. The lava pushed him off the ledge, and he fell through the air.
He looked down, and saw the sharp rocks beneath him. The flames on his body began to intensify as he grew more nervous, and the wind could do nothing to douse them. He twisted, so that his legs would be down first. But when he hit the ground, he did not stop as he expected to. The intense heat of the flames and the lava caused the rocks to melt as he touched them, softening his landing, and allowed him to survive the fall. But he was not sure he liked where he landed at all.
Less than a mile away, a large village sprawled out before him. He knew the lava pouring from the mountain would destroy them, and it was possible they didn't even know the volcano had erupted. As fast as he could, he ran to the village. He was shocked to find he had increased speed and reflexes, as he got the village in only a minute. He saw that they were still asleep, and he would not be able to wake them in time. He ran through the town anyway, yelling about the volcano, and as he did, he focused the flames to create a bright light that surrounded his body. Luckily, the town heard him, and were about to leave when the lava got to the edge of the village.
Seeing he was out of time Manatee had one last attempt. He ran toward the lava, and dove into it, and tried with all his might to push it back to the ocean. His whole body stung as he used all his power at once to redirect the lava, and after what felt like hours, he was dunked into the cold ocean. He stood, as his now orange skin steamed as it was exposed to the water. The flames had gone out, and he was able to walk back to the village. As he arrived, the villages praised him, and named him Volcanic Torch Manatee, and had a great feast to celebrate this great hero.
Manatee made his preparations to go back home, but as he boarded the boat, he was contacted by the Avenger, Iron Man. He had heard of his good deed, and was there to grant him a gift - a uniform to wear to keep his identity, and a Stark Industries hologram projector, which was disguised as a watch, so he would appear as a human, and could live a normal life. Manatee thanked him, and headed home, ready to start a new life as a hero.
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