Shooting Star

Chapter 7

(Disclaimer: Chapter 7 includes disturbing subjects that affect people in real life, such as depression, mental illness stigma (especially in men), brief sexuality stigma, and suicidality. Please exercise caution when reading this chapter. If you or someone you love currently or have previously struggled with these subjects, you are not alone. You are not weak, attention-seeking, or dramatic for struggling with these things. If possible, seek professional help, or open up to someone you trust. Every moment in life is worth living. Take care. Thank you.)

Terrance Porter was a relatively new immigrant of the country that came with a purpose: to find one. He was still young at the time, being 20 years old with minimal experience in this world, but ever since he was 15, he had been struggling with himself. Terrance felt like he had no sense of identity, and he decided to explore the world to find it for himself. His family couldn't understand why he felt this way, but regardless, when Terrance told them that he was leaving to find out who he really was and what he truly wanted, they supported him in all of his endeavors.

He had no problems with money, so he was able to find a place to stay, but for the most part, he would explore the nearby cities and find life experiences that interested him, and more and more, he began to find himself. His trips to parks and evening hikes in the wilderness cemented his love for nature, animals, and quiet afternoons. Going to nightclubs and attending events for queer people helped him explore and accept his bisexuality more than he ever could when living at home. Career wise, he had nothing in mind yet, but he was considering going to college regardless. But despite this seemingly happy and peaceful life, he was always so lonely. Despite being well-regarded in his home country, he didn't have a lot of friends once he immigrated, and often remained by himself. It wasn't that he was not social, but rather he enjoyed the solitude for what it was, finding it easier to handle. And unfortunately, one day, this lonesomeness was what ruined him.

What was supposed to be a quiet early morning walk turned into a fight for his life. At that moment, he truly believed he was going to die. Terrance remembered every aspect of that encounter with Bonnie. The feeling of impact when the much taller and stronger woman ambushed him and threw him to the ground as soon as he nearly passed the alley of the urban city. The violent struggle that ensued between the two the moment the doctor pulled out her syringe. The screams that Terrance cried out, even though nobody was around to hear them. The seemingly endless river of tears coming from his eyes as he realized that he was not going to be able to get away. The slight confusion that it was not a man doing this, but a woman, and that the gender roles in this kind of encounter were drastically reversed. And finally, the feeling of the syringe piercing his neck as his limbs became heavier, inch by inch, eventually falling limp onto the cold concrete beneath them as his bloodshot eyes fluttered shut.

He remembered nothing of the labs, being unconscious the entire time. When he finally arose, he was on a bed in the Hyena Labs facility, his body chilled, still heavy, and briefly paralyzed from the neck down, when Bonnie appeared to tell him the success of her "experiment," with two guards prepared to take him to the Wolverine Army Concentration Camps just like all the others. It wasn't until he was pushed into his dorm at the camps when he finally regained control of his body, when it was already too late to run away.

Terrance was given SANDLock_65, resulting in him being able to control sand and even manipulate his body to do so. The labs gave him a new name: "Pharaoh." The Hyena Labs were proud of their work at first, but they were disappointed when the compatible match for SANDLock_65 turned out to be soft and pacifist by nature. His first few missions were rough for him. Pharaoh was capable of doing anything that Gregory instructed him to do, but when it came to harming or even killing others at his master's demand, he hesitated and refused to fight, aggravating his peers and forcing them to finish the job. The first time Pharaoh mustered enough strength to kill someone– a victim in the camps that managed to escape– he violently sobbed, even hours after he managed to do it, and the guilt destroyed him. However, since Minako was murdered around this time, and the Wolverine Army desperately needed a new Elite, Gregory put up with it, though he considered Pharaoh to be his least favorite of the Wolverine Trio as a result. Even though it caused him so much despair in this "profession," Pharaoh never considered his soft heart a bad thing. It helped him comfort Kitten during her time of loss, and, being the kind soul he was, he even told Bonnie that he forgave her for what she had done to him. Bonnie was visibly confused, and told him to get back to work; he had no idea what she was thinking.