Chapter Text
“So, to make a long story short, I’m kind of a were-cobra,” Gabe said, wincing as he said it. Pete and Ryan were sitting next to him for moral support, and his band looked shocked, like they hadn’t quite processed the words yet. Ryan cleared his throat.
“I mean, technically, the encantado in you is probably pretty diluted with human, given that it’s supposed to be kind of like the selkies in Ireland, where you can only be human for brief periods of time. I imagine multiple generations of interbreeding with humans reversed the process with you, which is fascinating. It’s also interesting that you’re a cobra, given that this usually happens to dolphins. Supposedly you could tell encantados at parties because they wore hats to hide their blowholes.”
Possibly bringing Ryan along for moral support was a bad idea. Unfortunately, he knew more about what Gabe was than anyone. He was a walking myth encyclopedia, and Gabe’s father had no advice on the matter. Apparently, it was a trait he had inherited from his mother.
“A were-snake?” Ryland asked after a long pause.
“More of a reverse-selkie,” Ryan said, and Gabe glared at him.
“Do you get any cool powers?” Nate asked.
“Aside from the act of physically changing form?” Gabe asked.
“Well, I mean, turning into a snake doesn’t really sound as useful as, say, flying or superstrength,” Nate shrugged. “If we’re gonna have to keep fighting off the end of the world every time Pete fucks something up, it’d be nice to have more of an edge.”
“Hey, I never asked you to fight off the end of the world!” Pete said indignantly. “Have you ever actually had to go hand to hand with a monster?”
“No, but we’ve been training in our free time because we know it’s inevitable,” Victoria said. Gabe covered his face with his hands.
“I might be venomous?”
“That’s pretty badass,” Nate admitted.
“Most cobras are, so it would stand to reason,” Ryan said.
“Plus, he’s really fucking big,” Pete said. Gabe felt his cheeks heat up, because they were making it sound way cooler than it was. Mostly, being an entirely different species was terrifying. He was working on being able to transform on command, but it was difficult. It wasn’t like having a superpower. It felt more like a quirk or like lactose intolerance than like being a superhero. Just an unusual reaction. Patrick got hives when he was surrounded by cats. Gabe turned into a snake when he was on peyote. It didn’t feel like something to brag about, but their expressions were slowly turning awed.
“Really, it isn’t that cool,” Gabe insisted. To his surprise, Alex started laughing, slowly at first, then doubled over with laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Gabe demanded. Alex looked up, his eyes watering as he did.
“Do you… realize...” he laughed, trying to get the words out with some difficulty, “Do you realize that you named the band after yourself?”
No one was able to help but laugh, even, eventually, Gabe.