?The theatre door opened, just as Elijah and Savannah were about to go through, the captain yelled, “Hold on!”

  ?He walked towards them and, raising his arm, pushed Savannah to the side. “Do you mind?”

  ?He clicked a button on the wall, and the statue Elijah had broken glitched out, seemingly teleporting back to its original spot.

  ?“You guys are lucky we use expensive tech. If we didn't, you'd probably spend half your lives trying to pay that off. Wait, weren't there three of—”

  ?Lance, the guard, fell to the floor.

  “Ughhhh!”

  ?“Lance, what's wrong with you?” The captain rushed to his side.

  ?Jakob appeared next to Savannah and Elijah. “We should get inside,” he said, guiding them forward as the wails and sobbing of the guard faded into the background.

  ?“Man, what did you do to him?” Savannah asked.

  ?“I only—” Elijah coughed vehemently, cutting Jakob off. “You don't wanna know.”

  ?Savannah, now curious, continued, “But I actually do want to.” She turned to Jakob. “Come on, tell me.”

  ?Jakob looked at her and then at Elijah, who shook his head.

  ?“Hmmm? Savannah, how old are you?”

  ?“Fourteen, turning fifteen. Why? What does that have to do with it?”

  ?Jakob immediately straightened up, adjusting his glasses. “You don't want to know. We'll sit over there.” Jakob pointed to the far left back corner of the theatre. “People are unlikely to sit there, and if someone tries anything, we'll see them coming.”

  ?“But—”

  ?Just then, Savannah’s jaw dropped. “Woah!”

  ?Having been distracted, she hadn't noticed the inside of the massive theatre until now.

  White metallic alloy seats stretched upward in clean lines. Each chair had a high back that extended above the passenger’s head, the end of which featured a large curved monitor, creating the silhouette of a scorpion.

  A low electrical hum filled the air, steady and constant beneath their footsteps.

  ?At center stage, holograms of the F.F.H.’s top twenty heroes rotated in slow motion, their poses heroic yet slightly overdone.

  ?“Woah,” she breathed, taking it in. Her gaze trailed across the walls—each marked with the F.F.H. emblem: a dragon, wings spread above the words ‘Fighters for Humanity. Est. 2122.’

  ?“Twenty-one twenty-two?” she muttered. “I thought humans became Neos in 2050.”

  ?Elijah raised a brow. “Oh right, I'm guessing pacifist rogue colonies—”

  ?“Careful,” Savannah remarked.

  ?Elijah raised both his hands. “—I mean, Calmara didn't have access to the best educational resources.”

  ?“We got what was necessary.”

  ?Elijah shrugged. “Whatever the case, if you are to be my enforcer, you need to get up to date with what we know.”

  ?A slight smile rose on Savannah’s face. “I'm assuming there won't be any biases and propaganda?”

  ?“Of course there will, but you might as well know the script.”

  ?As Elijah started, Savannah rolled her eyes. “In the year 2050, humanity was hit with a radiation wave that mutated a few of us, making the first Neos. As time went on, more Neos had kids, and with them came more powers. At first, human beings with powers were nothing more than a conspiracy; however, three decades later, it became common knowledge. And, of course, that's when the problems began.

  ?“Governments panicked. They shut down all their nuclear programs and began focusing on the new threat to humanity: us. The so-called value of ‘human life’ disappeared instantly—”

  ?Savannah cut in. “If them being human is a problem, just call them something else.”

  ?Elijah flicked his fingers at her, making a gun gesture. “Right on cue with the pessimism. But yes, right off the bat, they began hunting us down—kidnapping, breeding, experimenting. You know, the type of stuff your group loves to wail about.”

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  ?“Yes, how unreasonable,” she sighed. “Wait, if there were that many Neos to do that with, why didn’t they fight back?”

  ?“Some did,” Elijah replied, walking ahead. “But humans had better weapons. Also, most captured Neos were Zeros. Funnily enough, for the first time in history, humanity actually became united. I guess when your species is allegedly on the line, no one cares about skin color.”

  ?He paused and stopped walking, looking at a particular superhero hologram. Jakob spoke up: “Then?”

  ?Elijah turned his head and continued walking. “Then around 2108, humanity lost control. Wars broke out. Europe went first—countries wiped each other out, leaving only fragments of desolate land. The survivors split into human and Neo factions, each pushing their own ideals. The first Rogues were born. Although it's a mess, Eisenhelm was all that remained. The rest of Europe and Russia had become extinct.”

  ?“Yeah, I noticed,” Savannah muttered.

  ?“Asia came next, however, their fate was different. Their rate of deterioration was significantly slower, probably because their societies were more homogeni—” he frowned, trying to find the word, “—homegeniu—”

  ?“Homogeneous,” she corrected with a smirk.

  ?“Right, that. They saw what happened to Europe and hit pause. After some minor infighting and wars, they split off into five regions, hence the name Wu Go Alliance . Each one was built around different classes, mainly: power, speed, strength, intelligence, and lineage.

  They even used the F.F.H. level system to decide who could mate with who.”

  ?Savannah blinked. “They bred themselves?”

  ?“Whatever it takes to compete.” He adjusted his collar. “Africa, though—they went a completely different way. Instead of uniting, nations doubled down on strength, crushing each other until only rubble remained. However, despite all the infighting, a powerful nation lay in wait. They had seen Africa's doom coming, so they hid, focusing on breeding intelligence instead of power.

  ?“A century later—boom. They’re miles ahead of everyone. Technologically, that is. In other metrics, they're far too brutal, far too efficient—” Elijah paused. Clenching his fist, his voice lowered. “—far too cold.”

  ?Savannah coughed. “Uhm, so more people are coming in. Could you give me the short version?”

  ?He flared his nostrils. “I’m getting there. They had traded empathy for efficiency, becoming something else entirely. They became Zaferah, a small nation of cybernetic, genetically enhanced Neos whom you should pray never to meet. Side note: if you do meet one, just make it really inconvenient for them to kill you.”

  ?“Kinda sounds like Jakob.”

  ?Jakob turned. “No, it doesn't. I'm white.”

  ?“Yes, I know. I was just making a joke. You don't have to be so liter—”

  ?“The West,” Elijah cut her off, “had its share of wars, too. But when they saw everyone else falling apart, they made a deal. Putting aside their ego and national pride, the countries of the West fell under one banner: ‘The Western Front.’ And so began the birth of the world's strongest military, the F.F.H. The letters mean—”

  ?Savannah finished for him: “Fighters for Humanity.”

  ?“Exactly!” Elijah's eyes lit up. “Now, what’s really interesting is the Great War. See, once the nations settled, there was this—”

  ?“Pass.” Savannah brushed past him, walking away quickly, with Jakob joining her.

  ?Elijah deflated, his shoulders slumping forward like a burst balloon.

  ?“Why’d you stop? We’re still listening!” a voice called out.

  ?He looked up. Two guards stood at the balcony, starry-eyed.

  ?“What the?” Elijah whispered to himself.

  ?Another guard spotted them. “What are you two doing? Don't converse with the passengers!” The pair scrambled back into position, apologizing as Elijah stifled a grin.

  ?Savannah glanced at the dragon emblem again, muttering, “Maybe it’s just me, but having a dragon as your logo is definitely something a bad guy would do.”

  ?Jakob replied, “No, it isn't. Dragons are cool.”

  ?Her eyes widened. Smiling, Savannah tapped his arm. “See? You can do it.”

  ?Flatly, Jakob replied, “It's not a joke. Objectively, if dragons were to exist, they would be the best animal.”

  ?She exhaled. “We are not going to get along, are we?”

  ?Jakob simply turned his head forward.

  ?Meanwhile, Elijah scanned the balconies. Armed guards were above and more were below, but there was no sign of the soldiers.

  Up on one of the balconies, Pierce, the blue haired officer now guard, watched.

  Now he’s with the rogue girl? Who exactly is this guy?

  ?Once everyone had boarded, a large monitor descended on the center stage, playing a video. “Please settle down and watch the following video. This video will repeat until silence is observed.”

  ?The guards stomped in unison, holstering their weapons—instantly silencing the passengers. “Thank you.”

  ?The video showed a rocket, black as obsidian, launching from Eisenhelm, reaching orbit, and then descending on what used to be North America—now the Western Front.

  ?“…Robotic patrons can bring food to you, or you may visit the buffet yourself. Enjoy.”

  ?Tables rose from the stage. Savannah’s eyes sparkled.

  ?“ETA: 1 hour. This has been proudly brought to you by the F.F.H.”

  ?As people got up from their chairs, another video followed: “Remember—use of powers is strictly forbidden. If caught, you will be punished. Thank you.”

  ?The guards stomped again before retreating into the shadows.

  ?“Definitely the bad guys,” Savannah muttered.

  ?Jakob glanced at Elijah, who sat back with his eyes closed. “Are you good?”

  ?“Yeah. Just a headache. Same as always.”

  ?“That’s what you get for playing hero. Though this time—” He stopped, noticing Savannah bulldozing through food like she hadn’t eaten in days. “You may have made a good call.”

  ?Elijah cracked his eye open. “Careful. Your human side’s showing.” He tapped Savannah’s chair. “Stay with Jakob. Wake me up if something happens.”

  ?With a corncob in her mouth, she nodded.

  ?Jakob folded his arms. “Having her on our side may be useful... though it does have consequences.” He looked up, staring intensely at the ceiling.

  ?Meanwhile, on the other side of the ceiling, Amp stood at the observation deck, watching the Neos settle.

  That bearded man in the trench coat... it’s like he’s staring right at me.

  ?Behind Amp, rows of operators stood bowing. At the center of them, the three soldiers from earlier stood perfectly still, posing in a salute.

  ?Amp slowly turned. “At ease.”