The Boy Who Became Dr. Death

Mortifer was the reason his family was dead. After their passing he went from foster home to foster home. Mortifer did not deny that he was the cause why he was alone. How could he? When those around him always died.

This is why he always preferred to be alone. When he turned sixteen, he began traveling using the pension that his parents left behind. One night, as he waited to catch a bus to the next city, he saw an old woman dressed in all black. A small veil attached to the hat on her head draped over her face. She glanced up at him, a smile on her face.

As the bus came to a rolling stop and its doors opened, she spoke in a soft yet eerie tone.

"It’s a good thing that you here."

"Excuse me?" he questioned.

Mortifer watched as she stepped inside. Stunned, he just stood there not knowing how to react.

The driver looked at him and pressed "Are you getting in?"

"Y-yeah." Mortifer nodded ascending the steps and he took a seat. The doors closed and the bus jerked forward going on its way. He nervously fidgeted in his seat as he tried not to look around at anyone. Mortifer hoped nothing would happen while he was on this metal death trap. Mortifer hoped his stop would be coming up soon.

He swore there were eyes on him...

When the bus came to a stop Mortifer rose from his seat. He looked over his shoulder at the people on it. All of them were smiling. Shuddering, he moved quickly down the steps and down the sidewalk. The older woman in black mouthed thank you as the bus left, disregarded the red light at the intersection, and hit by a semi-truck.

Mortifer heard squealing tires and the crash of metal, making him jump. It was not long before the sound of sirens blared in the distance. He hated to accept it that wherever he went death followed him. Including those he crossed paths with. Mortifer with a shaky breath turned down a sidewalk leading to a convenience store.

This would be an excellent place to stock up on supplies. Mortifer took his chosen items to the counter. The clerk looked at him striking up a conversation "Are you going somewhere in particular?" they asked. He shook his head "Not really."

They nodded and looked past him as if seeing someone or something.

"Well...you take care out there."

Mortifer nodded and left the store, he crossed the street to the other side. Once on the other side he bumped into an individual wearing all black. Their concealed ensured that Mortifier could not discern their features. He kept his head down trying not to look at them.

"Are you Mortifer?" they asked.

Surprised that this individual knew his name Mortifer nodded. When he looked up, he could see an odd-looking mask on this person’s face. "I finally found you." they whispered an odd giddiness to their voice. Mortifer shivered. Why were they looking for him?

"I’m sure you’ve noticed something peculiar about yourself by now."

Mortifer nodded. He honestly would not call it peculiar, but more of a curse.

"Have you ever wondered why people die around you?"

He questioned it all the time. It started with his family and then foster parents. Random people that he would meet. All of them met horrible fates even just now with the bus and the people on board. Mortifer looked up at this person and nodded.

"If you follow me, I can give you the answers you seek."

Mortifer was hesitant at first but followed the man leading him to who knows where. They came upon an abandoned building. It has decorated with string lights on the outside and hooked up to a giant generator. A low hum reverberated from it followed the smell of gas filling the air. The person turned facing him outstretching their arms "Welcome to Coalesce!" they said with enthusiasm.

Coalesce...what kind of place was this?

“Ah, let me introduce myself, my name is Kao. Other than me there is Chenda, Dalia and now...you.” Kao grinned under their mask. "So where are they?" Mortifer looked around trying to see if someone was hiding out of sight. "They’ll be back soon." They hummed digging a key out of their pocket and unlocked the door pushing it open leading the way inside. Kao flicked a switch, and multicolored lights flickered to life.

Inside was an awry of dividers that were assorted colors and sizes used to section the living room off from the makeshift kitchen. Spiral steel stairs painted as if a rainbow threw up on it. Must lead to what Mortifer assumed was the second floor where the bedrooms were. He shut the door and watched as Kao plopped themselves down onto the couch propping their feet up on the coffee table. “Have a seat Mortifer. I promise I don’t bite too hard.” They laughed and it quickly turned into a dark chuckle.

Mortifer swears he can sense a dark grin from under that mask and sits down across from Kao.

He sits his bag down and glances around the living room. A broken bookshelf propped up with a half piece of two by four. With random books from encyclopedias, manga to magazines. Kao hums to their self-staring up at the ceiling. A variety of plant species thrive in one corner of the living room.

The only thing out of place is the mismatched furniture. Like when you go to your uncle’s bachelor pad and he says he got it all for a great price at a garage sale. "Can I ask...why you want me to meet Chenda and Dalia?" Mortimer asked, breaking the silence. Kao stops humming and leans their head up the mask slightly askew. The mask itself was pallid, cracked resembling porcelain with deep painted on fissures running across the cheeks and forehead.

"Ah, that’s because...we want you to join Coalesce!" They clapped their hands together.

Join Coalesce and become part of a group he did not know? Mortimer did not know if he should stay around. What if he caused Kao and their friends to die? He would never forgive himself, especially since this was the first person that Mortimer had an actual conversation with. Not like the ones he had with people before they you know...ended up dead.

"Actually I—" Mortimer began to protest but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Kao were back!" yelled a rich and resonant female voice that was velvety smooth to his ears.

Followed by the sound of boots on concrete a girl older than Mortimer walked into the living area. Her dyed bright pink hair stood out complemented by her outfit and pair of spike studded custom headphones. They blared a type of heavy metal music she jerked her head towards Mortimer while looking at Kao. "That’s Mortimer the death kid." they told her, and she nodded holding her hand out to him "Name’s Chenda, but you can call me Chen." she smiled. He shook her hand, and she smiled "Dalia, Kao found him."

"Really?" said a gentle and soothing voice that had an airy quality to it exuding warmth. A girl with platinum blond hair peered around Chen heels clicking across the floor. Mortimer locked eyes with her "Are you Dalia?" he asked. She giggled and smiled "Yes that is me. It is a pleasure to meet you." Dalia replied curtly. What exactly was it that the four of them do?

Chen eyed Mortimer before letting out a sigh tapping the right side of her headphones pausing her music "We Coalesce are anti-heroes. We use our gifts to punish people who consider people like us freaks." she explained. "Kao was tasked was supposed to tell you that." Dalia huffed looking at them with her hands on her hips. Kao shrugged hopping to their feet "Girls you know I am not good at stuff. That is why I waited on you, and to make sure Dr. Death here didn’t try to book it out of here." they chuckled, adjusting their mask. "Chen and I told you not to break any more people’s legs." Dalia gasped.

"Excuse me...what?" Mortimer blinked, looking up at Kao.

"Ahh it was just by accident! Turns out they did not have a gift, just bad luck." they scoffed with a wave of their hand. Now that he thought about it, this group knew what his cur—gift was. What was theirs? As if hearing him Chen rolled her eyes "Mine is mind reading. If I read someone’s mind too much it can cause them to go mad. Dalia has such good luck that she can convince anyone to give her anything. Like money, clothes, and businesses." she frowned trailing off.

"Her folks had her locked up in a basement. It is how Chen found her. Chen had just broken out of juvenile hall for putting her folks in the mental hospital. She could hear her thoughts from the outside and barged inside brain frying Dalia’s folks whisking her away like a fairy tale princess." Kao continued.

"What about you?" Mortimer questioned looking at Kao.

Without saying a word Kao walked over squatting in front of him and slowly took off their mask.

There in front of him was his own face. Mortimer backed away in surprise. "Pretty nifty, isn’t it?" Kao played with the mask in their hand "I have been able to do this for as long as I can remember. I don’t think...I even remember what my own face looks like. If I even had an identity to begin with." placing the mask back on Kao stood. Mortimer trembled he saw it before they had put their mask back on. There on Kao’s neck marked through with a scar was the word Mimic along with a swirling darkness of onyx and violet.

"Now who’s hungry!" exclaimed Kao heading over to the kitchen.

"Oooo me! Me!" Dalia giggled following after them.

"Don’t let it get to you Mortimer. Kao will grow on you just give it time." Chen smiled at him.

He nodded and took a deep breath before letting it exhale. She held out her hand to him, pulling him to his feet and leading the way to the make-shift kitchen. Mortimer helped Dalia set the table. It had been so long since he felt anything like this. The feeling of family.

After dinner Kao led Mortifer upstairs to a set of four rooms. All of them bared a nameplate except for one next to the shapeshifter. He reached out and opened the door pushing it open. The room was decorated with a bed, dresser, blackout curtains on the window and a string of lights around the top trim of the ceiling. He slowly walked inside and dropped his bag next to the bed.

Mortifer turned looking at the shape shifter "Why am I here?" he questioned.

"There are a group of people who need to die Mortifer." they crossed their arms.

Kao entered the room closing the door behind them. He shouldn’t have known that this is what Coalesce wanted him for. Mortifer sighed, shedding his jacket and sat down on his bed. He hated it when people died because of his so-called gift, but if it could get rid of some bad people.

Mortifer was willing to use it for something good.

"Alright, tell me about who these people are, and why they need to die."

The shape shifter began to tell him about who this group was and what they had done.

They the Takers kidnap people with gifts and use them for their own gain. They treat those people no better than cattle. Many of them those people being missing persons. When they got their use out of them, they disposed of the bodies as if they were trash. Though even if Mortifer took out the Takers wouldn’t some other group take their place?

Mulling it over he nodded "I’ll do it."

Kao grinned under their mask holding out a hand to Mortifer "I’m glad we have an accord."

Shaking hands with the shapeshifter Kao left his room giving Mortifer a two-finger salute.

As the door shut, he let himself fall back onto the bed and close his eyes. Sleep would soon consume him. Tomorrow he’d wake up with a room over his head. Something he hasn’t had in a long time. Mortifer was a part of something now, so he had to push those feelings aside.