Anyone & Everyone

Prologue

It all started about nine months ago I was an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life, in a small town called Southend on sea in the UK. Everything changed when an experiment in another country changed me, along with a few hundred others worldwide. After spending three days in a coma I woke to discover that I could see and hear better than I ever could before. I also found out that I had the unique ability to become anyone I see or meet, even characters from films like Hellboy or the Fantastic Four! If I saw you across the street or on TV I could look like you but if I met you and shook your hand I could become you. Because I spent three days in a coma I lost my job and so I turned to crime, after all how could I get caught robbing a bank if I looked like you! Anyway to cut a long story short I was caught, by MI5, but instead of sending me to prison they recruited me as the ultimate spy and sent me to various army camps around Britain to learn about weapons, explosives, terrorist tactics and a whole lot more. I was flown around in Chinook helicopters, a Eurofighter Typhoon, Harrier, and F18 jets.

With my newly acquired abilities I also discovered that if I touched someone I would get their memories straight from their electrical energy and DNA. I learned quickly and after only a few weeks I was sent to Berlin where I infiltrated a terrorist cell intent on causing as much mayhem as they could in key locations around the world. It didn’t take long for me to discover and become their key players and within a week the mission was over. I’d become a hero and returned home to a massive pay rise and two weeks rest and relaxation, but that would be the last time I had to myself. After my break I was sent to Liverpool to infiltrate a rogue BMP organisation but halfway through the first week they recalled me saying that the American FBI had asked if I could assist them with a serial killer that had been terrorising Los Angeles.

I’d never been to America before so naturally I jumped at the chance and after an exhausting day flying halfway around the world I began investigating their serial killer. Their only witness and all their evidence pointed to another shapeshifter that we tracked to Santa Monica. It was there I met this other shapeshifter, his name was Laeeq, and he showed me what I was truly capable of. I learned to fly as a bird and together we discovered and hunted a third shapeshifter across LA as werewolves, vampires and an assortment of exotic animals. Several battles later and a few chases across LA and the Grizzly Adams serial killer was eventually caught and sent to dreamland, otherwise known as Area 51.

During the hunt both Laeeq and I discovered a plot by a NASA scientist called Kelso who also wanted to capture both of us. They wanted to experiment on us both at Area 51 so Special Forces soldiers were sent to catch us, they all failed, how can you catch someone if you don’t know what they look like? Anyway after leaving Los Angeles we travelled to Eagle Lake, Texas where we discovered another plan to kill millions of people in every country worldwide, using the HAARP array in Alaska, and an experiment to create an army of shapeshifting soldiers. Robbing banks along the way before we split up, Laeeq went to find another shapeshifter in Quebec, and I travelled to Calgary to try and find another. On the way I met Lucia the daughter of a deceased drug lord from Buenos Aires on the run and fearing for her life. She helped me find Zach Tyler a shapeshifter from Calgary before she too was sucked into a wormhole and changed into a shapeshifter like me. After meeting again with Laeeq we headed into Canada to arm ourselves for the coming battle in Alaska.

Posing as filmmakers we gathered explosives, flares and smoke bombs before we discovered a nearby Army base with a huge supply warehouse. The raid on the warehouse went fairly smoothly considering, but that is where the first real casualties happened. We managed to steal claymore mines, grenades, plastic explosives, guns, and even took an APC and tank to help our escape. The soldiers in Canada launched helicopters and unmanned Predator drones which shot our tank and APC but we had already escaped. Shortly after we escaped we employed a pilot, who happened to be a smuggler, to fly us to Anchorage. Unsure of our pilots intentions we took control of the flight, changed course, and headed to Gakona and the HAARP facility.

The army seemed to be ahead of us at each step and more soldiers waited for us at Gakona and fired three million watts of electricity into me, Laeeq, Lucia, and Zach as we prepared to destroy the HAARP complex. Many more lives were lost before the day was out, including Laeeq, Giles Richards who was head of Special Forces, and countless soldiers from the USA and Canada.

With a steadily rising body count we destroyed the Gakona HAARP array, and a control town called Glennallen, with modified Thralaxium nuclear bombs. We even managed to trap Doctor Kelso’s top agent, a Russian shapeshifter called Sidorov, in a prototype sonic tank before being confronted by the Grizzly Adams serial killer we’d hunted in Los Angeles. Joining forces with Winston and another shapeshifter Laeeq had seen, and almost made contact with in Quebec, we hijacked an Apache gunship and an MI-8 transport before destroying another almost completed HAARP facility we spotted near Beaver Creek.

As we attacked the Beaver Creek facility two F18 fighter jets were scrambled from a nearby air force base at Fairbanks. When they reached us they attacked and shot down the transport with Zach, Jon and Winston onboard. Lucia and I shot down one of the jets but were shot down in the Apache by the other jet. Before we were hit we dropped another modified nuclear bomb on the Beaver Creek station. We managed to eject before the missile hit and the EMP from the nuke took out the F18 as well as the HAARP station. Without parachutes we shifted into birds as we dropped but got separated by falling debris. Alone and hundreds of miles from civilisation I was confronted by Winston who informed me that Lucia was dead and Zach and Jon had been killed in the MI-8. After a very brief fight Winston escaped leaving me alone with a suspicious local hunter until Lucia appeared. All we could do then was make our way slowly back to civilisation. We had to find other people like us around the world who might help us destroy the particle accelerators that still created the wormholes that made more shapeshifters like us.

Unknown to us at the time another pair of shapeshifters at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland had been sabotaging the facility on a regular schedule. Every time they destroyed a section a repair team was sent in to get the facility running again. Eventually the two shapeshifters stole enough plastic explosives from the onsite soldiers and destroyed several key sections of the complex to put it out of action for a few years, maybe even permanently.

Chapter 1

Large Hadron Collider, Cern, Switzerland 09:00 29th July 2010

Looking out of his office window Steve Sergeant couldn’t believe he was now out of a job. Clear bright blue skies were broken only by half a dozen small clouds that sped towards the horizon. Four craters spread out from three hundred yards out to about a mile away on the left side of the fields in his view. He shook his head and turned back to his colleagues before sitting at the conference table You say sectors twelve and fifty six have been completely destroyed?

Amir nodded just after five am the first of the explosions ripped through sector twelve, a few minutes after that sector fifty six collapsed as well. In fact you can see most of the craters in sector twelve from here. The fire truck is still lying on its side halfway down the crater over in sector fifty six!

Steve nodded looking around at Amir, Liz, and Claude any news on Clarke or Thumper?

Everyone looked at each other before Claude said nothing, I’ve been listening to the soldiers since I got in two hours ago and they are saying that they think Clarke was caught in the blast, no one seems to know about Thumper though.

They think he was caught in the blast, what does that mean? Steve asked.

One of the Lieutenants said he saw someone heading along the tunnel when it blew up, he sounded sure that it was Clarke.

I don’t believe that, you know the janitor Joerg? Steve asked and Claude nodded he was over at the ALICE complex at six am and said that one of the third floor windows was smashed outward.

So, what does that mean? asked Amir frowning.

Steve smiled that means that someone or something went out that way, it could have been both or either of them.

Claude looked at Liz you said something about the soldiers before Steve got here Liz tell him.

Liz opened her eyes wide oh yes I nearly forgot, she looked at Steve you remember that Doctor from NASA? Steve nodded well I heard two soldiers talking about him coming here either today or tomorrow, apparently he’s in Israel at the moment but he’s on his way.

Steve shook his head great, that’s all we need.

What can he do though? asked Claude I mean this place is dead now and will now take years, and billions of dollars, to repair.

Steve nodded then looked around at his friends yes I don’t suppose anyone will pay that much to repair this place now so what are we going to do?

As he finished speaking there was knock on the door and they all turned as it opened and a soldier stepped in. He looked around the room then walked over and handed a note to Steve then he waited while Steve read it.

Steve looked up at the soldier what the hell is this?

The soldier smiled as two more armed men walked in holding their machine guns ready and looked around at the group.

This facility is now the property of the United States Government, the soldier said bluntly please gather all of your belongings and go home.

You can’t do this, we’re owned by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research and it’s up to them where we go, Liz said keeping an eye on the soldiers with the guns.

The two soldiers loaded a round into the chamber and raised their guns as Steve passed the paper he’d been given to Liz not anymore Liz, the site is dead now anyway so come on let’s pack up and get the hell out.

Liz read the order signed by the American president and her bosses at EONR this is bullshit she said standing up and looking at the fully armed men in front of her and there’s no need to bully us out, you just had to ask politely.

Come on, said Steve lets get our stuff and go for a pub lunch, I’m buying. They spent ten minutes clearing out their desks and all left the building together. They didn’t even look back as they got into their cars and drove away.

After leaving the LHC at five thirty am Clarke and Thumper had watched the pandemonium on site for half an hour before shifting to birds and flying towards Geneva. Once they got to his apartment Clarke packed some things and got some cash before they went to his brother’s house to borrow his car. By the time Steve Sergeant and the others walked out of the Atlas building for the last time Clarke and Thumper were boarding a train in Lyon that would take them on to Paris.

I don’t understand why we need to go to London first; didn’t you say that there were shapeshifters in Strasbourg, Berlin, Paris, and Brussels? Why don’t we go and see them first? Clarke said as they sat down.

Thumper had shifted to look like a five year old boy and Clarke looked like his brother as Thumper said I feel them, Paris and Berlin shapeshifters are almost together in Paris, we meet them then we go Ondon meet more. Thumper touched Clarke’s hand and shared his memories.

Seeing the two energy patterns in Thumpers mind Clarke understood how the former rabbit could detect where the other shapeshifters were, ah I see, you can connect with them in dreams, how does that work and how many humans were changed here when I was changed?

Thumper concentrated on the energy patterns that had been sucked into this world from the other dimension. Clarke watched in his mind’s eye as hundreds of images flashed past showing where the energies had landed after the wormholes opened. As the images changed Clarke watched as one energy pattern joined with another and then another and finally two more before four of them moved apart. The remaining energies split into two groups until finally only two patterns remained. The dream images showed the energies in a distant land and Clarke watched as two of the patterns grew ever brighter as they neared.

I don’t understand what I’m seeing, is that people that have been changed already? Clarke asked.

Thumper looked around at the train for a second then said we seek these four energies, they are strong and in dream one called Lucy tell me they come to Ondon soon, the images continued in his mind and Thumper showed Clarke the dreams he’d had of a shapeshifter that seemed to be fighting with other shifters, against shapeshifters.

One is very bad, a killer, they fight him and learn more about other bad people!

They fight him, who fights who and what other bad people? Clarke asked more confused than before they’d begun.

Bad man kill others, was all Thumper said they catch and then they chase by soldiers.

Why are they fighting though that’s what I don’t understand? Clarke looked puzzled and frowned as an image of soldiers that had been changed started shooting at the energies they were watching.

Thumper glanced out of the window then concentrated on the images he’d got in his dreams bad men want shapeshifters to, Thumper thought for a second then added speriment on!

As the train pulled out of the station Thumper narrated inside Clarkes head what he was seeing your energy Clarke can be taken away so you are normal again, the four in dream are melded and cannot be apart, like me, I cannot be change. The four energies are far away but one, the woman Lucy, say to me in dream that they meet us in Ondon soon, we have to join them to fight and stop the soldiers killing both our worlds.

Clarke nodded to the boy understanding more now we’ll stop them, or die trying.

Chapter 2

Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel, Edmonton, Canada 15th August 14:00pm

After two weeks scavenging and hunting for food, flying as eagles, and running as wolves, running from Alaska, we finally made it back to Edmonton. We’d tried to get a lift, and then we tried to steal a car, in Whitehorse but failed, almost getting arrested, and flew south still living off the land. The first time we had a hot meal in weeks was after we robbed a small bank in Grand Prairie yesterday. After eating and resting for a couple of hours we continued on the final leg of our journey here.

Lucia and I booked into the same hotel we’d stayed in before we left for Alaska. After showering and a hot dinner Lucia said this is nice just the two of us, but do we have to leave so soon? as I looked around at the same room we’d stayed in almost a month before.

You know what’s coming Lucia and if no one else knows about it or believes its going to happen then it’s up to us to do something.

Aw I know but can’t we just relax for a month first then get back to it, I’m fed up eating small rodents and raw fish! She always pouted when she wanted something and I nearly laughed out loud as I checked the bedroom and bathroom.

We wait here a week that’s all, it’s taken us two weeks to get here and I’m as tired as you but if Jon and Zach are dead then we wait a week just to make sure, then we move on, I checked out of the window at the street below and turned back to Lucia we have a choice, one, we get all of the Thralaxium and stop these wormhole openings, or two, we destroy any particle accelerators we find or we’ll have an army of shapeshifting soldiers chasing after us.

I don’t think they’re dead she said as if it was a matter of fact.

I smiled sitting on the couch and changed the subject a cuppa would be great do you want to order?

No I mean it, every night I dream of them and talk to them, she said don’t you?

I shook my head and laughed my dreams don’t make sense unless you count talking to rabbits as normal.

Lucia ordered coffee then put the phone down and looked at me smiling you mean Thumper don’t you.

What, I was shocked she knew about my dreams as we hadn’t touched since leaving Whitehorse how do you know about him?

Silly I dream about him too, I think he’s like us but he lives so far away."

Wow I didn’t realise you dreamed about him too. In my dreams I hear him calling but can never remember if I answered or not, to be honest I thought it was just a weird dream and paid it no real attention. I thought for a minute then added do you think Thumper was caught in one of the wormholes like we were?

It was nice to sit down in the hotel room and talk about our dreams and of other shapeshifters around the world. Lucia ignored my question and said do you realise that somehow our dreams are the same?

I nodded I do now, then I heard the lift doors open down the hall and I looked around half expecting to see Laeeq disappear into the bedroom.

Coffee’s here, Lucia said and went to the door.

Careful, I said shifting into the Russian shapeshifter Sidorov, hardening my skin and backing into the bedroom like Laeeq used to.

Lucia nodded as a knock sounded on the door, she shifted to look like Giles Richards and looked back at me before opening it.

I didn’t recognise the man who brought the trolley in and Lucia looked at me nervously as I stepped out of the bedroom that is fine just leave it there for us.

Yes sir, he said stepping away from the trolley Lucia handed him a five dollar tip before he nodded his thanks, turned, and left.

We heard the lift again and we both shifted back to ourselves as I laughed and said are we really getting that paranoid?

She smiled back at me and poured a coffee for us paranoid keeps us safe and at least we don’t get caught, she thought for a minute then added so I for one am happy we’re so careful.

Well I’m just happy to be back in a world of coffee, pastries, and people to hide among I said picking up an iced bun after this though I need a shower and some sleep, perching in a tree doesn’t work that well for me as I need a comfy bed and a soft pillow.

Amen to that, she smiled I’m tired of hunting for fish, I feel like I could eat a million burgers then sleep for a week.

We finished our pastries and coffee and I left Lucia watching the television while I had a shower. Coming back into the room afterwards I saw she was fast asleep on the chair so I shifted into a werewolf and carried her to the bedroom. After laying her down I went to check the news reports and see what we’d missed while in Alaska.

Can’t beat CNN, I muttered as I changed the channels there we go so what’s new?

The news report was about some pro footballer that had been caught cheating on his wife with four other women. I finished the last of the coffee and flicked through the channels just to see what else had happened while we’d been away.

A bolt of lightning shot from left to right across the sky lighting everything below my view. Trees, houses and cars were illuminated by its blast as I walked along through the trees. A spinning vortex opened in the air right in front of me sparking electricity and lightning as it formed. I couldn’t move, frozen to the spot like a statue, as I watched a dark shape emerge slowly through from the centre. Whispers filled my head from the creature that lowered fully to the ground as the vortex shrank back into itself and disappeared. It had no clear shape or form and it blurred from the shapeless shadow into a silhouette of a rabbit. Just as quickly it changed into a small humanoid shape, then a demon and finally a rabbit again. Behind the rabbit another shadow appeared of a man but unrecognisable and distorted but definitely man shaped, without colour and like a living shadow.

Ickoolas Alls, I T’umper, the rabbit said clearly in my head you go Ondon soon Lucy tell me you all go?

Its words were broken but the images that came with the words clearly showed Tower Bridge, London so I nodded saying we have to get or destroy the Thralaxium first then we come to London.

Come soon, we join, get Tra’aximum the creature said in my head.

Who is with you? I asked.

An image of a large man filled my head it is Lark and me, although the words sounded like Larke I understood the images of a man called Clarke and saw him sitting on a patch of grass near Tower Bridge we have to meet others too.

In my dream I nodded understanding where are you now?

Images flashed across in front of me like I was sitting in the cinema, I saw a long tunnel with a thick blue pipe running along its length. A flash of light blinded me and the scene changed to a view above the tunnels. Thumper told me that this was the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and I watched as a crater appeared then another in a puff of smoke and dust. Lightning flashed brighter and the ground below me shook violently and I stumbled.

Standing straight again I noticed the rabbit creature had gone leaving a spinning electrical storm. Another earthquake hit shaking the ground even more violently than before and I almost fell over before I heard a voice calling me.

Nick, wake up, Lucia shouted shaking me again, Nick.

I opened my eyes as she shook my shoulder okay, okay I’m up, what’s wrong.

What’s up, you were shouting again that’s what’s up!

I noticed the telly was off and it was dark outside as I sat up what time is it? I looked around the room and noticed the trolley we’d had the coffee and pastries on had gone.

It’s four in the morning, I put the trolley outside and have been sitting here for the last hour trying to wake you up, she looked up as someone knocked on our door, I just ordered more coffee too.

Four in the morning, jeez, it must have been about three in the afternoon when I started watching the telly, what happened to the time? The coffee arrived and Lucia thanked the waiter before I caught a glimpse of the same man who’d brought the trolley yesterday.

Lucia closed the door and looked at me as I held a finger to my lips shhh she nodded frowning so I whispered he hasn’t gone yet.

We listened but heard no footsteps in the hall and Lucia said loudly I need coffee and I’m starving so I ordered breakfast as well she looked at me questioningly and shrugged her shoulders.

I mouthed for her to play along and pour the coffees sounds good honey I’m starving too, what else did you order for us? I crept towards the door as she made a lot of noise pouring the coffee and stirring loudly, don’t drink it I whispered and she nodded but looked puzzled.

I put my ear to the door and heard a soft footstep to the left and down the corridor then I heard a man whispering something. I turned back to Lucia and whispered we might have to leave in a hurry and motioned there was two, maybe three people in the hall now as I stepped away from the door.

I held Lucia’s hand so she’d know my plan and she nodded shifting her shape to become a suitcase next to the chair I’d been asleep in. I smiled and silently opened the window and poured half of both of our coffees out before I put the cups back on the tray. I thumped the floor twice quickly then went to the corner of the room where I shifted to look like a small chest of drawers.

A few minutes later a shadow appeared at the bottom of the door and there was a soft knock. Almost two minutes later bunch of keys rattled outside then entered and turned the lock, the door opened and I heard a man whisper be careful they should be out cold but be ready just in case. I heard the ch-ching of metal on metal as he loaded his gun.

Two men stepped in and covered the room quickly aiming silenced pistols everywhere they looked. As they went through to the bathroom and bedroom another man entered the room and looked at the open window.

Nothing here boss, said the man who’d brought the coffee as he left the bedroom.

Or here, said the other noticing the open window you think they knew we were coming?

Did they have the drugged coffee yesterday?

They had a small dose and would have been asleep for three or four hours, said the waiter they’d have woke up with one hell of a thirst though unless they drank it cold a few hours ago.

The third man looked away from the window and glanced at the coffee cups if they drank that they’ll sleep for about fourteen hours, he looked back at the window take a look around outside if you find them call me then call a clean up crew, I’ll see if I can find anything here.

They both nodded and left as the leader went into the bedroom. As the lift went down I shifted back to me and changed my skin colour to match the