Bluemars has two main characters:
Wolf - a young boy with ADHD, and
Joe - a boy who is unable to walk and uses a wheelchair.
The story began with Wolf pushing Joe through the miniature city they inhabited on Mars. Their task was to awaken everyone, a responsibility assigned to them by Earth itself. The residents of Bluemars all had various disorders and were sent from Earth on what was considered a momentous occasion.
Wolf's spacesuit was a shade created by mixing green and blue—a color he couldn't quite recall but which the others called cyan. Joe's suit was black. Joe, a natural motivator, uplifted everyone's spirits, while Wolf was a helper, always assisting others.
Once Wolf finished pushing Joe, his work was, for now, complete.
"Isn't it amazing, Wolf?" Joe said, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Everyone has a job. Everyone has a purpose. This is how we all feel equal."
Wolf simply stared out at the metallic landscape. "We don't need jobs to prove our worth, Joe. Our inherent value as humans is what matters."
Joe considered this, then nodded. "You're right. I guess I just… I want to feel like I belong."
Just then, Wolf's wrist communicator buzzed. He answered the call and left, leaving Joe alone in his room. Joe sat in the silence, his gaze fixed on his useless legs. "We're not equal," he whispered, a quiet bitterness in his voice.
The scene shifted to Wolf, who moved from one person to the next, helping them with their daily tasks. Back in his room, Joe struggled to force himself to walk, but his legs failed him, and he collapsed, feeling defeated.
Wolf was cleaning the glass roof of a massive greenhouse when a large shadow fell over the dome. He looked up, his heart pounding in his chest. An enormous spaceship, sleek and menacing, hung silently in the Martian sky. Before anyone could react, explosions erupted across the city. Boom. Boom. Boom. They were under attack.
Homes were obliterated in a rain of metal and glass. Wolf watched in shock as alien figures descended, their weapons blazing, shooting everyone on sight. Joe, still in his room, was unaware of the chaos unfolding.
Wolf scrambled to his feet and ran toward the armory. He grabbed a weapon, but it felt strangely light, and he realized it was a fake. He tossed it aside and grabbed another, then another, his hope turning to frantic desperation. They were all useless props. As people were killed outside, Wolf stood amidst the worthless arsenal, his frustration mounting.
"Forget it!" he yelled, "I'll make my own!" He quickly fabricated a makeshift weapon from some loose parts and ventured out to fight. He held his own, surprisingly well, for a minute, before a blast sent him flying backward. He landed hard, his body severely damaged.
Back in Joe's room, a loud bang made him jump. His door burst open. "Wolf?" he called out, but his voice died in his throat. An alien stood in the doorway and shot him in the chest. Joe cried out in agony, looking down to see a vibrant, parasitic creature burrowing into his flesh. His screams intensified as the alien watched, impassively, as the parasite took control.
As the color of Joe's eyes flickered, Wolf, his body severely damaged, heard a voice in his head. "HEY! LISTEN TO ME! I CAN FIX YOU! I'M THE CITY'S AI SYSTEM. YOU JUST NEED TO GET TO THE MAIN POWER ROOM."
"Are you joking?" Wolf replied, incredulous. "My legs have been shot off!"
"That doesn't matter! What's crucial is you get in here!"
Wolf looked at the dead bodies surrounding him. "I can't. I won't."
"Joe is still alive!" the AI's voice pleaded. "Come on, use the bodies as cover, move beneath them, and make sure you aren't seen. I can enhance your strength and agility, enough to even defend this town. Do you WANT everyone to die?"
Wolf's resolve hardened. "No." He began to move.
Meanwhile, Joe felt his life flashing before his eyes. "Why is this happening to me?" he thought. "Here I am again, useless, a burden to everyone." He felt himself sinking deeper into the blinding emptiness of his mind.
Wolf, cautiously moving through the rubble, kept a low profile. He advanced, then hid, ensuring he stayed out of sight. When aliens appeared, he concealed himself beneath the fallen bodies. The aliens fired at the corpses as a precaution, and a stray shot grazed Wolf's arm, but he stifled any sound. The alien glanced back and then continued on, giving Wolf the chance to escape.
As Wolf moved, Joe fell further into the parasite's influence. His body visibly changed, growing larger and taller. He could feel himself standing, his new form towering over him even in his mind. The massive parasite loomed beside him, pulling him deeper. Then, a memory of Wolf flashed through his mind, and the phrase "we're all equal" resonated. The parasite attempted to fully seize control, but Joe resisted. "No," he declared, his voice echoing in the emptiness, "I won't let my body be used like this!" He began to fight the parasite within his mind.
Wolf finally reached the power room, where robotic arms emerged from nowhere, lifting him up. "This will hurt," the AI stated as the arms began to tear him apart. Wolf blacked out.
Joe, now fully transformed, stood at seven feet tall. He hung his head and screamed, a guttural cry of frustration and fear.
Wolf awoke mid-surgery, a large sun core now embedded in his chest. He was still in immense pain and screamed, the sound echoing through the walls. He lost consciousness again, and suddenly, all power in the city cut out.
Joe fell silent. The alien controlling him believed it had succeeded. But then it looked up and saw glowing green eyes staring down at it. Outside the room, a loud crunch echoed through the halls. Aliens rushed toward Wolf's room, weapons raised.
Boom! The door was ripped off its hinges, flying through the air and striking three of the aliens. They peered into the dark room, seeing only piercing blue eyes in the gloom, accompanied by a mechanical whirring sound. The AI's childlike voice announced, "UPDATE COMPLETED."
Back with Joe, his feet were visible as he took tentative, baby-like steps. He stumbled, then tried again. Gradually, his steps became more confident and faster, and then laughter began to erupt from him. "Hahaha! I can! Haha! I can! Ahahahahahahaha! I can! Hahahaahhahaha! I CAN WALK!!!" He ran down the building at increasing speed.
An alien was about to kill a girl when the sound of laughter and running approached. Before the alien could react, BOOM! It was sent flying by a single punch. The girl looked up, startled, at a towering seven-foot figure with glowing green eyes looking down at her. He lowered himself to her level, his face now illuminated by her suit's small light. He offered a wide, albeit unsettling, smile, and she recognized his voice. "JOE?"
"Don't worry, it's me," Joe reassured her. "That stupid parasite could never fully control me. I won't allow my body to harm any of our people." He gently picked her up and leaped seven stories, setting her down safely. "I'll take care of them. Hide, and I'll find Wolf."
Wolf began to walk out of the power room. Aliens immediately opened fire, and in the red glow of their weapons, he was now visible in a large megasuit, striding through the gunfire unscathed. The core in his chest was spinning, a beacon of power. Wolf now stood 12 feet tall, mostly robotic except for his head, which was encased in a dome. The dome, a gleaming cyan, was the same color as his suit.
From Wolf's perspective, the aliens appeared as harmless cartoon figures. The AI, now integrated with him, commented, "This is so you don't have a hard time killing them."
"Don't worry, I won't," Wolf replied, transitioning from a walk to a run toward the aliens.
A fierce battle ensued, the scene alternating between Wolf and Joe. Wolf was focused and determined, relentlessly striking back, ensuring he incapacitated all the aliens.
"Are you sure you know how to shoot?" the AI asked.
"Yes, I've played games like this before," Wolf said.
"This is not a game."
"Shut up, AI man, and let me work."
"It's AI GIRL," the voice huffed.
"I don't have time for this!" Wolf shouted as he rejoined the fray.
Joe fought with unrestrained ferocity, laughing maniacally as he effortlessly manhandled the aliens, absorbing their attacks and healing rapidly. He threw them around, beating them almost too brutally. He rescued survivors, placing them aside before rejoining the fray. Wolf, being so immense, allowed the remaining aliens to stand before him, his size providing cover for others.
However, Joe's fighting style became increasingly violent and reckless, even with those he rescued, whom he roughly threw aside. As Joe fought, he began to understand the aliens' language. He grabbed one by the neck, lifting it up, and demanded, "WHO SENT YOU??"
"HUMANS," the alien replied.
Joe didn't believe it and slammed the alien down with such force that it died instantly. He recoiled in shock, his eyes momentarily flashing yellow before returning to green. "LIAR!"
He grabbed another alien. "WHO SENT YOU!!"
"HUMANS! HUMANS! THEY SAID KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL! WE DON'T NEED USELESS TRASH LIKE THEM!"
Joe hurled him away with an astonishingly powerful punch, sending him crashing into a wall. Joe approached the fallen alien. "I'll ask you one more time. Who the fuck sent you?"
He lifted it up. "HUMANS."
BOOM! His punch went straight through its head. He looked down at the headless body, then up. His eyes were now yellow. "LIAR."
That alien was the last one. The Martian survivors approached Joe cautiously. He remained in the darkened room where he punched through the alien, unseen.
"JOE?" a voice called out.
Bright yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. Joe emerged, now nine feet tall. He didn't even glance at them. He just walked around, picking up the dead aliens to check if any were still alive, but they were all deceased.
"Joe?" a Martian asked.
"WHAT!?" Joe boomed, his voice distorted and angry.
The Martians explained, "Joe, we need to send a message to Earth's humans, warning them that aliens will attack them next."
"Why the fuck would I do that?" Joe spat. "They're the ones who sent them in the first place!"
"No, no, it can't be."
"What the fuck do you mean it can't be? They just told me this to my face!"
"The aliens could be lying."
"Nobody lies when facing death! Why are you defending them?" His eyes flashed yellow, then red, then back to yellow in rapid succession. "Why the fuck should we help the people who screwed us over, who look at us like trash? Why are you taking their side?" He shoved a Martian.
"But maybe..."
"What the fuck do you mean maybe!!?"
"Joe?"
Joe turned to see Wolf, who had arrived with more Martian survivors behind him. Joe's eyes flickered to green for a moment before returning to their enraged state. He walked toward Wolf, intending to explain what had happened, but Wolf's suit immediately adopted a defensive posture.
"Hey! What are you doing? This is my friend Joe!" Wolf said.
"No, it's not," the AI replied. "It's a human controlled by a parasite."
Joe recoiled for a moment. "What are you doing, Wolf? I can see you got a big upgrade." He resumed walking toward Wolf. "I need to tell you something."
Then, without warning, the suit attacked, sending Joe flying into a nearby building.
Joe lay against the wall, observing the fearful gazes of the Martians. He clutched his head. "They fear me. They're looking down on me. You… you fucking traitor, Wolf! I thought we were best friends! I thought you were on my side! I thought you saw us all as equal! I hate humans! I hate lies! I hate you, Wolf!"
He lowered his hands, and his eyes, now a furious blood red, focused on Wolf. "I hate that I now have to kill my best friend," he uttered in a chilling voice.
Joe charged at Wolf. Wolf transitioned from a defensive stance to no guard at all.
"What are you doing?" the AI asked. "Say 'AI fight'! We need to defend!"
"No," Wolf said, his voice quiet. "I can't hurt my friend."
Joe attacked Wolf, who didn't retaliate. Joe interpreted this as Wolf looking down on him.
"(Your friend is gone.)" the AI said.
"No, he's not," Wolf argued. He tried to reason with Joe, but Joe was consumed by rage. A girl attempted to intervene, but Joe swatted her away effortlessly. Wolf witnessed this and fell silent.
"Damn it all… so you're truly lost," Wolf whispered to himself, a profound sadness in his voice. "I guess… I have to put my friend down."
Wolf assumed a defensive stance once more and remained quiet. Then, they both charged at each other, and the true battle began. Blows were exchanged, shaking the surroundings. Wolf could no longer discern Joe's features; in his augmented vision, Joe now resembled one of the cartoonish aliens. Wolf's mind raced back to their shared past, their friendship, the stark contrast to their current reality.
The fight continued, with Wolf gaining the upper hand. Looking up at Wolf, who stood atop a ruined building, Joe shouted, "You're looking down on me, you bastard! I'll bring you down to my level!" He leaped upwards. They traded blows again. Wolf's dome shattered. They plummeted, face to face. Wolf's expression was one of profound sadness, while Joe's was contorted with fury.
Just as Joe threw a punch, everything went white. The image showed Joe being struck by Wolf, then Wolf pushing him away, releasing him. Joe spun backward and faced Wolf, a look of joy on his face as he tumbled away. But Wolf's face was etched with sorrow. He looked down and whispered, "I'M SORRY, BROTHER!"
The scene cut back to reality, showing Joe screaming in anguish as Wolf fired a suncore beam at him, sending him hurtling into space. Wolf, his face a picture of heartbreak, watched him disappear into the vastness of space.
A few minutes passed as everyone slowly picked themselves up. Wolf simply stood there, silent. The AI girl chattered incessantly, but he didn't listen, his gaze fixed on the heavens. The girl approached him. "What do we do now? The city is without power, and our food supplies are dwindling."
"We're going back to Earth," Wolf said, his voice heavy with finality. "We need to tell them what happened. This is the only way. It's time to say goodbye to our home, Bluemars."
He turned to the survivors, his voice regaining a semblance of its usual determination. "GATHER EVERYONE! IT'S TIME TO RETURN TO EARTH. OUR PLANET IS IN DANGER, AND WE NEED TO WARN THEM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! LET'S MOVE!"