Chapter Text
There were times where it felt as though every step I took with my friends had been full of lies.
I lied about parts of my powers.
I lied about whether or not I’d ever been captured.
I lied to protect myself, because I’d been through more than I could ever tell them.
I suppose it had all started when I’d gotten the chance to study in Korea. It was a great opportunity and I’d been lucky enough to go. I’d visit my parents during breaks and I’d be a little homesick, but I could handle that.
It’s not like anyone expected the world to go sideways.
Honestly, I hadn’t gone back home when the world was supposed to end because my parents and I were arguing.
Maybe I should have. Maybe things would have been different.
Too late to know now.
I had been too close to where one of the meteors hit and then I guess I’d fainted. When I woke up, I wasn’t human anymore. I was a test subject.
Apparently, the mutagen caused my DNA to change. The very fabric of me shifted into something else, and there were scientists wanting to know every detail of what I was.
There were others, too.
I’d be woken up for another round of tests, greeting the zombie boy who was in the same testing room, trying to be cheerful about the situation. He didn’t say much to me, but I like to think he enjoyed my one-sided banter.
I didn’t know how long I was there, but the moment there was an opening to run, I took it.
I was on the run for a few weeks before I ran into them.
I’d been hiding in an alley, hugging my knees to my chest and breathing hard as the footsteps grew ever closer. I could feel the fear building as tears welled up in my eyes. Whoever they were, they were getting close, and they were going to find me. I’d only just buried my face as best as I could when a hand reached out to my shoulder and gently shook.
The voice that spoke was small, “You okay?”
Slowly, I lifted my head, meeting the bright eyes of a boy - definitely younger than me - with dirt-covered clothes and a bright smile. He offered a hand to pull me up, calling out to others when I refused to move.
One of them, someone about my age, walked over. He eyed me cautiously a moment before turning back to the boy. “Everything okay, Mark?” he asked, patting the boy’s head lightly.
“I think he might be hurt,” the boy - Mark - answered, nodding his head towards me. “Can we do anything?”
“Markie,” the other sighed, cooing slightly, “Not everyone on the street needs or wants help.”
“But Dongyoung,” the kid whined, causing another person to jog over.
“Dongyoung,” the newcomer sighed, running his fingers through his dark red hair, “Why is my son whining?”
“Your s-... Yong, you only found him three weeks ago!” Dongyoung groaned, “And he’s found three more strays since. Like a damn superhuman tracker.”
Mark bristled slightly at the comment before coming to sit next to me while the others continued to talk, stretching his shorter legs out. “They get like this a lot,” he explained, “Are you like us?”
“What, exactly, is like you?” I asked after a moment to contemplate things.
He thought for a moment before grabbing a rock from the ground, holding it out with his hand palm-up as he concentrated. His tongue stuck out a bit, his brows furrowed, and the rock very gently lifted into the air, rising slowly. “We’re special,” he concluded.
“How do you do it?” I asked and he shrugged.
“Focus.”
Considering it, I held out my hand, “May I?” He nodded and I very lightly touched his hand, concentrating with all my might on not messing this up as I picked up another rock and lifted it into the air. It wasn’t telekinesis, as I’d originally thought. No, this kid had gravity bending to his whim. Definitely special.
He looked in awe. “We have the same powers?”
“Not exactly,” I sighed, “I just borrowed them for a little bit.”
A moment passed before he gave another grin, “I’m Mark.”
I nodded, returning his smile with a smaller one of my own, “My name’s Yuta.”