The following story depicts the life of Lance Mitchells starting with the day he recieved the invitation to the party, up to the moment he realized he was a mutant. Enjoy the (minimal) blood and violence that follow!

This story is rated PG for Phreaking Great! Oh yeah, and for the intense situations that may not be suitable for some.

Invitation to Death!

An invitation! Lance's mind reeled. He'd never been given an invitation before. He cautiously looked at the red envelope that signalized that the bearer was invited to some of the coolest parties ever thrown, afraid that it might burst into flames or fly off. Lance was no where near popular enough to receive one. Was it a mistake? Was it just a big practical joke?

While Lance was contemplating the red envelope, he heard a voice. "Woah dude, you got an invite?" It was his friend Chase.

"Yeah dude, I don't know why though. Maybe it was just a mistake."

"No way man, they never make mistakes like that with the invites." Chase reassured him.

"Well, I dunno if I should go." Lance said warily as if forseeing a trap.

"DUDE! You gotta go! You think this sort of thing happens all the time? You've gotta be like the first non-cool person ever to get invited."

"Gee thanks man." Lance said with a laugh.

"Anytime bro."

Diiiiiing!

"Well, that's the bell. Catch ya' later dude." And with that, Lance headed off to 3rd period Biology.

The rest of the day went by normally enough. Now that he had an envelope he was given special treatment by others. The other students gave up their seats for him, everyone wanted to sit next to him, he even got to sit at the popular table and, much to Chase's chagrin, he did just that. After school let out he went home to get ready for the party. Little did he know that tonight would be the last normal night of his life.

Road Rage!

All freshened up and ready to party, Lance hopped in his car and drove off. The party was being held at his classmate's house and it was just his luck that he lived on the other side of town. In an attempt to make up for the distance, Lance foolishly gunned his engine and took off across Skyway City at 70 miles per hour.

Lance swerved in and out of traffic, dodging pedestrians and Clockwork alike. Unfortunately, he wasn't so good at dodging the Trolls. Several of them decided to play chicken. Lance was going so fast, he barely even saw the green man in front of him, much less registered what had happened until one of the Troll's buddies grabbed him.

Lance watched in dismay as the Trolls proceeded to smash his car to pieces, but they didn't stop there. After the car was destroyed they turned to Lance who was still being held by the Troll.

"Lemme at 'im." it was the Troll that Lance had ran into. "I got a score to settle with him."

Left with no other options, Lance did the only thing he could. He raised his leg and brought the heel of his foot down, hard, on his captor's foot. Screaming in pain, Lance's captor released him, this was just the break Lance needed. Choosing not to stay and find out what happened next, he took off running.

When he finally felt that he had lost the gang members, Lance slowed down. His dad wasn't going to be very happy about the car. Little did he know it, but Lance would never have to explain what happened. Lance's mind shifted to a more pressing matter. Where exactly was he? He was definitely late, there was no doubting that, but he didn't recognize any of his surroundings. Should he just go back the way he came and go him? No, Lance resolved to go to the party, this might be his only shot at becoming popular and besides, he might run into those Trolls again if he decided to turn around.

Luckily for Lance, he had actually run in the right direction. A few minutes later, Lance found the place. The bouncer asked to see Lance's invite and for a terrifying moment, Lance thought he'd lost it, but it was still safely concealed in his jacket pocket where he left it. As he stepped inside he was astounded.

Party Time!

The house was amazing. The modern furniture mixed with the elegant paintings and tapestries on the wall to create an elegant look. The refreshments were laid out on a long table covered in a beautiful silk table cloth. There were butlers dressed in tuxedos walking around serving hors d'voeures to the other party goers. This was truly how the other half lived and partied.

"Ugh, how did he get in here?" Brianna McDowell, head cheerleader, was obviously disgusted.

"Simple. He was invited." Jason said as he walked up. Jason was the football quarterback for their highschool, as well as Lance's personal tormentor.

"And why would he be invited?"

"I thought it'd be fun to mess with him, you know, add some entertainment to the party."

One of the other cheerleaders had overheard the conversation and decided to chime in, "Come on guys, he's actually kinda cute."

"Please Ashley. He's about as attractive as a fruit fly." Brianna said in disgust.

Ashley giggled, "Fruit flies can be cute!"

"Ugh, you're hopeless." Brianna said as she rolled her eyes.

As the two girls were arguing, Jason decided to have some fun. He walked over to Lance, who was busy scarfing down the food that was laid out, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey buddy!" Jason said, using the friendliest tone he could.

What happened next wasn't so friendly. Jason reeled back and swung a punch. His fist made contact with Lance's cheek and Lance was thrown backwards.

"Dude, what the hell!?" Lance screamed while rubbing his cheek.

"What, did you think we actually wanted you here?"

"Well..."

"Think again dweeb. You're here to provide entertainment. Kinda like a piñata."

Lance tried to form a plan. Should he fight back? Probably not, they might gang up on him. Maybe he could make a break for it, but any hopes of running were soon dashed as he took a look around the room. The other kids had surrounded them, eager to see more fighting. Unfortunately, Lance's decision was made for him as Jason threw an uppercut that knocked him on the ground for a second time.

"Let's take a step outside." Jason said with a sneer.

Jason hauled Lance to his feet and pushed him through the doorway that led to the backyard. Their classmates were quick to follow and even quicker to reform the circle so that Lance was once again trapped.

"You're gonna get what you came for now!" Jason said as he pulled a knife from his pocket. It was a Spartan folding knife, designed to be easily concealable and even easier to open. Seeing the four and a half inch blade glinting in the moonlight made Lance realize the gravity of his situation. This wasn't just another school fight, this time, Jason would be aiming to kill. Lance didn't know whether Jason was drunk, or fed up with him, what he did know, was that he had to do something. Unarmed and with no other options left, Lance did what most people would do in a situation such as this.

He ran.

Cornered

No longer caring what the others would do to him, he pushed and shoved people out of the way, trying to make it to the door. Unfortunately, Jason had been expecting this, and when Lance reached the door, he found it locked. He swore and forced himself to calm down. Looking around, Lance tried to find another way out. The backyard was completely fenced in, but there was a portion near the back that looked as if it was rotten. Lance ran for it, catching Jason unawares, he was able to dodge the clumsy attack. Lance ran into the wall using all his might, but he just wasn't strong enough. Luckily, he knew someone who was. He turned around and waited until Jason regained his composure. Right before Jason got to him, Lance jumped to the side allowing Jason to smash through the rotting wood.

Lance hopped over Jason, who was still trying to recover. Quickly surveying the area, he noticed that he was at the last house on the block. There was only one way to go and, silently cursing, Lance took it.

Being alone in Skyway City is dangerous, being alone and at night is even worse, and being alone, at night, and with a murderous football quarterback on your tail is practically suicidal, but Lance had no choice, he had to get back to his house, or at the very least the police station.

He ran past criminals and civilians alike. No one gave him any trouble, mostly because he didn't give them any chance to! He didn't stop running or even slow down even though he was clearly reaching the limits of his strength. He'd seen the look in Jason's eyes and knew that he wouldn't leave him alone. Not now, maybe not ever and that was what spurred Lance on. Lance thought about getting his family to move and change their names, but none of that would matter if he didn't outrun Jason right now.

Lance thought he was in the clear, that is, until he ran into a police officer. Officer Jennings was a veteran on the force, he'd seen everything from muggings to alien invasions. Under normal circumstances, Jennings was polite and helpful, but it was getting late and he was in a bad mood.

"Hey kid, watch where you're going! Don't you know it's past curfew? Unless you've got a Hero Liscense on you, I'm afraid I'll have to file a report."

"I-I'm sorry officer, but you don't understand. I'm being chased, the guy's got a kni-" Lance tried to explain, but Jennings cut him off.

"Look, I don't want excuses kid, you're breaking a law here. Now tell me, what's your name--Hey! Get back here!" he shouted, but Lance was already sprinting down the sidewalk, and when Jennings turned around again, he saw why.

There was another kid running towards him. He was wearing a Skyway High jacket and he was carrying a knife. So the kid really was in trouble!

"You! Stop right there!" Jennings shouted, but the kid completely ignored him, he was to focused on his prey.

"Don't make me taze you bro!" Jennings exclaimed. He smiled to himself as he shouted it out, unaware that the phenomenon was already old news.

This still had no effect. The kid was obviously deaf, or drunk.

The boy pushed the officer to the ground. "Shut it old man." Jason said as he shoved the knife in the officer's gut. It wasn't a fatal wound, but it was enough to make the officer pass out, but not before he concluded that the boy wasn't deaf, just really drunk.

Jason found Lance soon after that. He was huddled in a back alley, like a rabbit that knew the fox had found him. Realizing he was weaponless, Jason looked around. He noticed a rusty piece of metal that could have been a sword at one point. He picked it up and with a cruel smile on his face, he advanced on Lance.

Lance had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that this was probably his last day on Earth. Looking at the blade, Lance saw that if he didn't die of bloodloss, the rust would infect the wound. He may have a little while longer to live, but the result would be the same. Jason was so close now that Lance could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"This is for being born bitch." Jason smiled, and lunged.

A Second Chance

Lance was hudled behind a cardboard box in an alleyway. He knew Jason was close behind, he'd heard the police officer yell at him, and he'd heard Jason stab the man. He hoped the man was alright, but more importantly, he hoped Jason would give up soon. His hopes were dashed as Jason rounded the corner.

Jason saw him immediately. It would be hard not to. Despite Lance's best efforts to hide himself, the box just wasn't big enough to completely cover him. Lance noticed that Jason didn't seem to have the knife anymore. He realized that the fight was more fair and he hoped he could fend Jason off. This hope was quickly dashed too as Jason noticed a piece of metal on the ground. The metal was sharpened and rusted, but it looked like it could have served as a sword at one point. It certainly looked like a weapon right now.

Jason muttered something and lunged at Lance, but miraculously, Lance managed to dodge it. It was like he knew where it was going to be. At the same time however, Lance knew he should have been stabbed. In fact, he had been stabbed, but in this dream, he hadn't. It didn't make any sense. If Lance was stabbed, shouldn't he be on his way to heaven right now? Why was he dreaming the he dodged the blade and why did the dream seem so realistic? He didn't have time to answer any of these questions because he noticed a bright light racing towards him. This must be heaven. He forced himself to open his eyes, but what he found surprised him.

Lance found himself in the alleyway again, only this time, it was light out. The light he had seen had actually been a police officer holding a flashlight over his eyes. He forced himself up, despite his headache and took a better look athis surroundings. He found himself looking at a pretty woman in her twenties. She was wearing a PPD uniform. Her partner, the man holding the flashlight, was in his 40s. He had blonde hair and he looked relieved.

"Welcome back to the land of the living kid." The man said.

"Ugh, wh-what happened?" Lance asked groggily.

"We were out on patrol when we saw you here cuddling this blade. We thought you were one of them Lost fellows, but you were much to normal looking."

"Last I remember, this guy this guy chased me down here. He tried to stab me with this, but somehow I dodged it and fended him off." Lance explained, but then he thought about last night, "Wait no, I think he actually did stab me, but I still managed to dodge it."

The male officer laughed. "Well, you look fine to me kid, but it definitely wouldn't be the strangest thing if you turned out to be one of those mutants that could regenerate or something."

"I'm sure your parents will be glad to have you back." it was the female officer this time. "They reported you missing and when we found you, well, you weren't breathing, so we assumed the worst and made the call."

"My parents think I'm d-dead?" Lance asked.

"Afraid so kid, we were waiting for the ambulance when you woke up. Do you want us to call our parents and tell them the good news?"

Lance nodded, he didn't trust himself to speak right now.

A few minutes later, the female officer came back and told them that she couldn't get ahold of Lance's parents by phone.

"They must be out shopping." Lance said, but he wondered why they weren't at home mourning for him. Did they even love him?

"Oh, well, you can tell them yourself when you get home. Do you need a ride?"

Lance stood up, he felt strong enough, but he knew he couldn't get home by himself. "Y-yeah, I do."

A few minuted later, the officers and Lance arrived at his house. Sure enough, there were no cars in front. He knew that one of them was probably still with the trolls where he left it, but where was the other car?

"Here you are, safe and sound and don't worry, we'll be on the lookout for this Jason kid."

"Thank you sir." Lance muttered.

"It's our job, just be careful with that sword there." The officer gestured to the blade that was still in Lance's hand before driving off.

Lance looked down at it, then threw it on the sidewalk in disgust. He walked up and tried the door knowing it would be locked, but to his surprise, it opened wide. Lance entered the house and called out a few times, but no one answered. Growing more confused, Lance looked all over the house. There was no sign of his parents anywhere. He finally came to his parents bedroom, and when he went inside, he found the most shocking thing of all.

Everything was gone. Sure the furniture was still there, but all of the drawers and closets had been emptied out. It was as if his parents had just packed up and left. A million questions ran through Lance's head. Where were his parents? Why had they taken all of their possessions? Did they really think he was dead? And perhaps the most important question of all.

What happens now?

Fin.