Leo's POV
Motherfucker!
"Leo!" Gwen cried out my name in horror, a pool of blood formed around my body.
A sharp pain shot through my torso and neck. Blood began to fill my lungs; one of the bullets pierced my throat from the back.
On instinct, my Biomass Shifting kicked in. Threads of muscle formed within me, reconnecting and stitching part of me back together. A strange sensation coursed throughout as it began to heal and force the bullets out.
Gwen pressed her hand against a bullet hole, trying to keep me from bleeding out, only to pull her hand away in shock as she watched my body squeeze out a bullet.
Despite wanting to keep my abilities a secret, I don't really have a choice at the moment.
Unlike Alex Mercer, I can't come back from a nuke. If I die, I'll stay dead.
With a grunt, I tried to push myself back up, only for the Kriegstaffebot to press his foot onto my back, forcing me back to the ground.
I let out a violent and bloody cough. While my lungs were healed, they were still filled with blood.
Either way, fuck this thing. I'm going to rip its head off and turn it into a bowl for Om Nom.
Gwen let out a scream as it grabbed her and began to lift her into the air.
"Let me go!" She yelled as she began to swat at its arm, trying to break free.
The Kriegstaffebot pulled its fist back. Gwen closed her eyes in fear.
With a final surge of strength, I pushed my Biomass Shifting into overdrive.
"Don't you dare—" I grabbed its arm. Gwen opened her eyes as she heard my voice. "Fuckin—" I pulled my fist back. It began to twitch and bulge as it increased in size. "Touch her!"
My fist slammed into the side of its face, sending it stumbling into a wall.
Gwen let out a yelp as she fell to the ground, but I ignored it. My arms bulged as they continued to shift. They tripled in size and density as I channeled every bit of excess Biomass.
The Kriegstaffebot swung its arm. I ducked underneath it and slammed it into the wall. Before it could react, I threw a double jab and followed it with a wind-up punch that slammed its head into the wall.
"I'm going to bash your goddamn head in." I threw another punch, then a second, a third. Eventually, I lost count after the fifth punch.
It slid down the wall, its head utterly bashed in.
===
3rd Person POV
Gwen dropped to the floor, frozen in shock as the Kriegstaffebot was sent flying into the wall.
Leo stood above her, his breathing ragged. His shirt was soaked in blood, and his arms were unnaturally massive.
Three times bigger than what should be physically possible for a man of his size.
She watched as Leo punched it, slamming its face into the wall.
"I'm going to bash your goddamn head in." Leo practically growled.
He released a flurry of punches, slamming its head into the wall over and over.
After the 12th blow, Leo began to slow.
He let out frantic breaths as the Kriegstaffebot slid down the wall, its face caved in. The light in its eyes flickered before fading entirely.
"....Leo?" Gwen spoke, still in shock.
Leo looked at her and frowned. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath. "Look, I can—" He let out a violent cough, blood spraying out of his mouth.
"Leo!" Gwen screamed as she scurried toward him, holding him by the side to keep him steady.
"It's all right—" Leo began, his arm shrinking as they returned to their original form.
"No, it isn't!" Gwen cut him off. "How are you still alive!? You were bleeding, but—but—but then you just started healing!" She questioned frantically.
"It's a long story." Leo pulled away from her, letting out another bloody cough.
"Oh my god!" Gwen panicked. "Hold on, let me think of something to help. Maybe—"
"No! It's okay, that should be the last of it." Leo cut her off.
"What do you mean the last of it?" She asked.
"My body already healed itself. The blood I'm coughing up is just what was left over from my internal bleeding." Leo explained.
Gwen froze at the explanation, the gears turning in her head. "....Are you a mutant?" She instantly regretted asking that. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" She defended.
Leo sighed. "No, it's complicated." He took a pause as he looked for the right words. "I'm enhanced."
"Enhanced?"
"Yeah, like Captain America or Bruce Banner," he explained as he examined the Kriegstaffebot.
Leo's comparison only worried Gwen more. "Did somebody inject you with a serum or something?!"
"....Something like that," Leo lied effortlessly.
"When did this happen? How did this happen? You healed. How does that work?" She began to spiral.
Leo grabbed her by the shoulders and slowly nudged her towards a janitor's closet. "Wait, what are you doing?" She asked.
"Stay here, and stay hidden." Leo tried to close the door, only for Gwen to let out a pain yelp as she stuck her hand out.
"Ow!"
Leo stopped before letting out a tired sigh as he let Gwen out.
Gwen rubbed her arm in pain, a small bruise already forming. She gave him an angry pout that kind of fell flat.
"You're too cute for that to be intimidating." Leo stated bluntly.
Gwen blushed. "Stop trying to distract me!"
Leo pinched his brow. "Gwen, please just get in the closet where it's safe."
"No, I want to know what's going on. How did this happen to you? What is happening to you? Are you okay? Does it hurt?" She continued to rapid-fire questions.
"...Please don't make me carry you." Leo begged.
".....I'll scream," She threatened.
===
Leo walked through the hallway, Gwen following closely behind.
"I can't believe you actually screamed." Leo stated.
"You grabbed my hips!" Gwen shouted, a blush on her face.
Leo had grabbed her, and tried to shove her in the closet. She screamed, and thrashed around like wild animals. Eventually, Leo gave up when he realized she wouldn't go quietly.
Leo pressed her hand over her mouth gently. "Quiet, we don't know how many of those are in here."
Gwen went quiet, she stared at the ground with a shameful look.
Leo noticed and sighed. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, Gwen. It's just a very stressful situation right now."
"No, you're right. We have no idea how many of those things are in here.... What are those things?" She asked.
"I'm not sure," Leo lied. "I examined the one I took down earlier. It's some sort of mechanical soldier. Some sort of advanced robot, probably built for combat, considering it came with a Gatling gun in its wrist."
Gwen frowned. "But where did they come from? You know tech better than I do. What do you think?"
"I'm not sure, but we can worry about that later." Leo stopped as he reached a door labeled Winter Clothing.
Leo broke the door handle and stepped inside.
"Did you just break that with your bare hand? Is super strength one of your abilities?" Gwen asked as she followed me inside.
Leo began to rummage through boxes, examining the clothes inside. "No, no, too small, too ugly."
"What are you looking for?" Gwen turned red as Leo began to undress.
Despite how he acts, Leo is a very body-conscious person. It's one of the things he loves about Biomass Shifting: he can choose what kind of body he has.
If he's being honest, he kind of ran off with it.
He gave himself more of a lean physique, something he could hide under a hoodie. Broad shoulders, toned arms, a muscular back, and an 8-pack. Overall, he looked like somebody out of an unrealistic magazine.
"What are you—AHHHHH!" Gwen screamed as Leo removed his pants.
She covered her eyes with her hands, only to immediately peek through her fingers with a blush on her face.
Leo grabbed a pair of XXL sweatpants and put them on. "You can look now if you want." He told her.
"What are you doing?" She asked nervously, still red in the face.
"I'm changing clothes. I don't want anybody to recognize me. Which reminds me, hold on to these for me." Leo handed her his shoes, socks, pants, and bloodied shirt.
"Wait—"
"Don't lose that shirt. I don't want anybody getting their hands on something with my blood." Leo cut her off.
"Wait, what are you doing? What do you mean you don't want anybody to recognize you?" Gwen asked.
"If I am going to take those things down, I don't want anybody tracking me based on my clothing."
"You're going to do what?!" Gwen questioned. "You can't fight those things. They have guns! You'll get shot…again! I mean, you barely took down that last one." She pointed out.
"Well, this time, I'll be prepared." Leo's body began to shift and expand.
Gwen watched in shock, and a little bit of curiosity, as Leo increased in size.
In seconds, he grew in height by at least a foot. His body tripled in size, wider, broader, built like a linebacker on steroids. A bone-like material shot out of his forearm. It began to expand and encase his forearm and knuckles. Leo modified the collagen and calcium within his bone, increasing its durability. While not unbreakable, it is better than nothing and makes some pretty decent bone armor.
"That's—that's—" Gwen struggled to find the words. "Incredible." She began to examine Leo. "What did you do?"
Leo sighed. "My ability gives full control over my anatomy and biological structure, allowing me to—"
Gwen's eyes widened. "You have full control over your molecular structure and biology!? That's incredible. You have full body manipulation. Do you have any idea what that means? You can—"
"Gwen, this is no time for one of your cute nerd rants." Leo teased as he wrapped a scarf around his head.
"Well—" Gwen stopped as she saw his eyes. "Wait, you can change your eye color?" She asked as she stared into his now blue eyes.
The rest of his face was covered, a red scarf wrapped around his face, and a blue beanie on his head.
"This should do," Leo spoke out loud.
"Wait, Leo, are you actually going to fight those things?" Gwen asked, grabbing his now massive hand.
"Somebody has to, and don't call me Leo when I'm like this. I don't want anybody to know of my abilities, trust me. It's for everybody's safety." He explained.
"Why can't you just stay here? We can wait it out." She argued.
"What about everybody else? Harry, Ned, MJ, what about them? They need help, and I can't just stand by and do nothing when I have the power to do something." Leo told her, secretly quoting a certain pink-haired protagonist.
Despite her fear, Gwen knew he was right. She understands the mindset, her dad's a cop after all.
"What do I call you?" Gwen asked. "In case anybody asks."
"Its probably safer if you act like you don't know me." Leo told her.
Gwen frowned. "But—"
He continued, "Just in case, you can call me."
"BIOMASS"
===
P.S. From Author
I'm sorry if this chapter was kind of cringey. I'm trying to develop Gwen and Leo's romance, but if I'm being honest, I've been single my whole life. I've never even been on a date. In my defense, though, I have touch aversion. Either way, I can promise you one thing. I have big plans for Leo's and Gwen's romance, but unlike other stories, there's no stupid drama, just cringe and fluff.