Odd One Out - Prologue
A/N: Hello all! So to anyone who read my original version of this piece, I have gone and rewritten the plot. I was not happy with it, hence why I did not continue with it. But I love my ideas now, so enjoy!
*Note - I like to use the Read More feature so people can easily scroll past if they are not interested. Oftentimes the Read More feature hates mobile users, so that is why I also put my fics on AO3, the link is right below this!
AO3 link here.
Summary: In a world full of those who are extraordinary, Dan Howell is the odd one out. He has no powers, no advanced abilities, nothing to make him exceptional in this fantastic world of heroism and talent - unless you count being the only person in the world without superpowers as something special. In that case he is definitely supreme.
“Hey, mum?”
Seven year old Dan Howell’s voice interrupts the worried voices of problematic fictional witches on the small, square television, spurring his mother to turn her attention from the rerun episode to her eldest son.
“Yes, dear?” Adjusting her giggling year old son on her lap, her youngest, she smiles fondly, watching as the child makes his hands invisible only to make them appear again, like his own game of peek-a-boo.
“Why can Alexander do special things and I can’t?”
This attains the young mother’s full attention, to which she directs her gaze to the boy sat on the ground, leaning back against the deep green, well-used sofa. He looks at her with such wide, innocent eyes, eyes searching for an answer that his mother has given so many times before.
“It takes time, honey, you know that. You’re just a late bloomer, I’m sure of it. Besides, though you may not be able to do what your brother can, you can play the piano and he can’t. That’s something special about you. Can any of the kids in your class at school play the piano?”
At that, she watches as Dan’s cheeks flush with glee, a delighted, yet muted giggle escaping him.
“No.”
“That settles it then, you’re just as special as everyone else in your own unique way.”
Yeah, Dan is special all right. Special in the sense that he is the only human being on Earth to not harbor any powers.
Daniel James Howell, born of Melissa Abigail Howell and Thomas Esau Howell, is a twenty year old law school drop out, living off of the tips he gains from the places he plays piano for, though when people catch sight of his thrift store suit in the midst of upscale restaurants, he tends to get snubbed on the daily. He gets by, considering he is paid hourly by the restaurants as well, but that is just it - he gets by.
He isn’t living the life he wanted for himself, the life he dreamed of late at night when he was an adolescent. Child Dan would envision himself as a person with A class abilities, the top dog of capabilities all around the world. Instead, he is alone in no class at all. He would rather be in class Z if it meant having something to define himself with, something to tell people when they ask what he can do - but he is left with the same answer every time.
“Nothing. I don’t have any gifts.”
Pulling his hands away from the heating pad they had been lying upon, Dan flexes his fingers, breathing out a quiet sigh as he wiggles the often overworked appendages. Hours of practicing piano along with playing in order to make money has lead to Dan needing to take special care of his hands, his little moneymakers, as he commonly thinks of them as. According to the internet, heat stimulates blood flow to areas where it is applied and loosens tissues, and Dan can’t afford to not properly care for his moneymakers and end up somehow causing irreparable damage to his right pinkie.
His life works on a nonstop routine. He works two jobs. It can be tiring, having places to be so often, but he doesn't mind it all that much. Any time he is not working he is either practicing the piano or watching anime, resembling a lump on his bed. He occasionally sits in his lounge, but he finds that the people who live in the apartment above his are always break-dancing in the living area. That must be why it always sounds like a stampede up there.
As loud as the people above him are, Dan figures that his apartment is not that bad.The layout is quite simple: The door opens to the lounge. The lounge is not anything spectacular, just a rectangle with the occasional crack in the ceiling. Water never drips from the cracks and, as far as Dan knows, insects do not make a home in Dan's apartment from the cracks, so he willfully ignores the blemishes in his living room. The kitchen, directly beside the lounge, harbors enough space to walk back and forth between the counter and the dining table. Living alone, the small space does not bother Dan. It isn't like he has someone to bump into, after all. The bathroom and bedroom are at the end of a minuscule hallway that stems from the kitchen. His bedroom is basically a carbon copy of the lounge, minus the cracks in the ceiling. The only real difference is that the bedroom has a walk-in closet, which is filled to the brim with clothing. Dan does not have a whole bunch of money, but he is weak to buying clothing. Overall his apartment is a shoebox, yes, but it is an apartment in London. Considering how many people live in London, finding an apartment in itself is quite the feat. Finding one for the price of Dan's is even more rare and is something he supposes may be his talent. He can't teleport or run at superhuman speeds, but he can sniff out ways to save money like a champ.
Now that his hands are well and prepared for practice, Dan unplugs the heating pad (gotta save on the electricity, right?) and rises from his seat at his dining table, pushing the seat in once he is fully standing. He checks his phone to see that it is 4:09pm, releasing a sigh. He has to get to work by 6:00pm. Before he gets ready for work, though, he needs to check the mail. Checking the mail is definitely an adult responsibility that Dan loathes. He almost always forgets, to the point that his landlord has had to come bang on his door on a few occasions just to force Dan to collect his mail.
Exiting his apartment, he jogs down seven whole steps to get to the main floor, where the mailbox area is directly by the entrance. He uses his key to unlock the box labelled apartment 8, along with a nice and faded sticker reading ‘HOWELL’ haphazardly stuck on the top. He pulls out his mail before locking the faded bronze box again, traveling back to the safety of his apartment where he doesn’t have to risk obligatory social interaction with strangers.
As soon as he is in the solitude his apartment provides, Dan begins flipping through the various envelopes. Bill, bill, advertisement for furniture- Dan’s grip tightens on a pamphlet with large black lettering across it, reading ‘A power development? In MY home? Open to learn more.’ He cringes at the ridiculous wording on the paper, but, even so, he finds himself opening the pamphlet. He knows what this is. It is education on the different classes, and Dan knows everything there is to know about the different classes. That doesn’t stop him from reading up on everything, hoping that one day there would be a class for people like him, people who have no special abilities.
The first section has a heading that reads ‘EXAMS’ in a bolded font larger than the rest. Dan doesn’t need to read through it all intently so he settles for skimming through the material. All people who exhibit abilities must undergo a physical and intellectual exam once they reach a certain age in order to be placed into a class. People under the age of thirteen are restricted from taking the exam, as they are quite young, but people that are aged thirteen and up are able to be placed into classes. Reading on, Dan looks to the middle of the first section of the pamphlet, where a large ‘Z’ is printed.
Class Z is considered the lowest class. People with abilities that are evaluated to be less powerful than others are placed here. Class Z is the most common of classes. Dan can recall fellow classmates through school that were in class Z, and they had mundane abilities such as being able to change their eye color at will, grow their nails at a rapid pace, glow in the dark. Even if it was having a color changing mole on his neck Dan would give anything to be class Z, but fate isn’t so kind to him. Actually, a color changing mole is worrisome - but he stops his mind before it trails off into a tangent.
The next section has a large ‘Y’ leading the text. Members of class Y have abilities that are a step up from class Z, though they are not exponentially more gifted. Typically, people within class Y have a variety of powers that are seen as advanced, but those with super speed are not as fast or those with super strength are not as strong as members of the class above class Y. There are members that can even manipulate fire or ice or even nature, to which Dan has always found that fascinating.
The class above Y is class X, to which there is a large ‘X’ at the top of the fourth section, following the theme. Again, following the theme of abilities heightening throughout the progression of the pamphlet, class X harbors those who are even more gifted than class Y. They are on the verge of being the best of the best. They are the fastest, the strongest. Some are invulnerable, some harbor abilities to not only manipulate fire, ice, and nature, but they can even conjure those things with their minds.
Then comes the last class in the pamphlet, class ‘A.’ The people in this class truly are the best of the best, the cream of the crop. They are the people that are more qualified than anyone else in the world to do what they do, and Dan admires all ten members of class A. The biggest difference between members of class X and class A is that members of class A are not just qualified in their gifts, but they scored exponentially well in the physical and intellectual portions of the exam. In order to be placed in class A, one must go through special psychological examination and interviews. Members of class A, unlike the other classes, are automatically registered to be a part of the Star Catalog.
The Star Catalog is a list of people who are certified to take on crime fighting or deal with disasters, like a person certified to administer CPR, in a sense. Every country has their own organization similar to the Star Catalog, each with a different name, but the English version is known as the Star Catalog. Those who score well enough on the exams are given a chance to be registered in the catalog, where their class and photo will be placed upon a public forum for all to view. People have the option to remain anonymous or reveal who they are, and to Dan, he has noticed that those who are higher up in classes tend to remain anonymous, opting for nicknames. All ten of the members of class A are anonymous, functioning under guises and mystery.
There is a total of one hundred ninenty-one people in England registered in the Star Catalog - forty-seven class Z, fifty-eight class Y, seventy-six in class X, and all nine within class A at the top, as it is required of them. The members of class A form the special branch of the Star Catalog called CAPP, aka ‘Class A People Protection.’ CAPP is responsible for responding to catastrophes that could result in the loss of many lives, though Dan has heard of many instances of class A members responding to even petty theft. He supposes it is to keep themselves busy or to show off.
Blah, blah, blah, Dan has read all of this information a countless number of times before. Closing the pamphlet, he flips it to its back and sets it on the counter, but the large ‘AA’ at the top of the section manages to pull his attention back in. Picking up the paper, he purses his lips in thought as he takes the time to formally read the words, brows furrowed in concentration.
‘Class AA, the highest attainable class, harbors those with abilities above any other class. Members of this class are incredibly gifted, are intellectually and physically qualified, and are brimming with potential. Abilities that one would need to harbor to be classified as class AA include: Telekinesis, mind control , mind reading, shape-shifting into other persons. Number of members within class AA: 0. In order to be inducted, it is required one undergoes further intellectual and physical examination, intensive psychological examination, and they must agree to reside within Star Catalog headquarters in London.’
Dan has heard about this. People with the ability to do anything listed in the class AA section are extinct, or so that is what Dan has been taught. People who can move things with their mind, who can control, manipulate, and see into minds, people who can take on the form of anything or anyone - they were seen as threats to humanity, to the top tiers of society, so about two hundred years ago they were hunted by people who feared them and killed off until no one remained. It is referred to as The Extermination, if Dan remembers correctly. Since then, there has not been a single instance of anyone exhibiting any of those abilities. A shame, really, because Dan would find their abilities interesting.
Finally through with the pamphlet, he sets it aside and cracks his knuckles. As soon as he hears the first pop, he grimaces and internally curses himself. He knows how bad that is for his joints, but he supposes it is a nervous habit. With a wary glance at the cracks in the lounge ceiling to ensure that no critters have come to invade, Dan ventures into his bedroom so that he may get ready for work tonight. He has plenty of time to get ready and get to work on time, but Dan always has been a bit of a diva when it comes to his appearance, even if he isn't dripping in jewels like some of the restaurant customers.
"Where are they..." He grumbles under his breath, surveying his closet and acknowledging for the umpteenth time the fact that his closet is in desperate need of reorganization. Dan, ever the king of procrastination, convinces himself that he will clean up tomorrow and sets out to locate his favorite shoes.
The pamphlet is forgotten as he digs around in his closet, forgotten along with Dan's dreams of developing any sort of ability.
