Noah Langford - May 2114
I've never understood the appeal of hitting things.
There's no precision in it. No clean logic. Just motion and instinct, both unreliable variables. If you swing too wide, you overextend. Too narrow, and you leave yourself open. There's no formula for perfect defense. No theorem for surviving a punch.
And yet, Kai moves like someone who knows the formula.
I sit just off the mat, perched on an old equipment bench that creaks if I shift too much. The room smeels of musk and the paint's peeling. A stalk contrast to the laboratories I am used to.
I watch from the corner, while pretending to be fully absorbed in my book. He's faster than he was last week. More efficient. Less reactive. Owen's been pushing him harder lately, I can tell by the bruises he tries not to show.
He says he's training for fun. But Kai never trains for fun. He trains like someone preparing for war.
Finn goes down again. That's the third time this session.
"Noah might be the brains, but you hit like a truck."
Kai helps him up. "That's the idea".
Finns comment catches me off guard. I raise an eyebrow but don't say anything. I know Kai to well to know that power alone isn't what makes Kai strong.
He groans dramatically, arms spread across the floor as he slumps next to me. "I'm beginning to think your brother has anger issues."
Kai flips him off wordlessly.
They've gotten closer lately, the kind of close that doesn't need talking. The way they move together, fast, sharp, almost like they're learning to read each other without speaking. They laugh like they share secrets I'm not part of. I've caught them doing that more than once.
I'm... not sure how I feel about that.
Uncle Owen leans against the wall, arms crossed. He always watches Kai when he fights, not judging, just observing. Measuring. Like he's collecting data. I understand that look.
Sometimes I feel a little in awe of the way Kai moves. I wonder if I could move like that, if I trained, if I tried. But I wasn't built for this kind of thing. I don't have the endurance. Or the drive.
My strengths lie in observation. In equations. Not fists.
Kai was born second, but it took me years to understand what that meant.
He always seemed happy. At school, he was popular. Confident. People liked him. I didn't have many friends, not until Kai introduced me to Finn. Another thing he helped me with without asking for anything in return.
I used to think everything in our house was normal. That how our father treated us was just... the way things were. I was blind to what Kai was going through. I didn't see it, not really, not until it was too late.
He once told me he wished he could've been born as me. Said he was weak.
But I think he's stronger than me in every way that matters.
"Same time tomorrow?" Finn asks, brushing dust from his shirt.
Kai nods, all quiet determination. Always steady. Always watching.
Finn turns to me. "You coming?"
I hesitate. I have a project to prepare. A major one. Father's expecting me to present it at the next board meeting at GenX, and I can't afford to disappoint him.
But something in Finn's eyes makes it hard to say no.
"Maybe," I say.
It's not a promise. But it's not a no either.
He smiles at that. Just a little.
_____________________
Later, I'm lying on my bed, notebook open in front of me in the east wing, the room Father gave me. Bigger. Better view. Every comfort accounted for.
Except comfort itself.
The walls feel too wide. Too white. Too... sterile. I came straight here after training to catch up on work. This project has to be perfect.
GenX Biotech is the highest-ranking genetic modification company in the country. I'm going to work alongside Father. I have to.
Years ago, Father and a team of elite scientists came together to solve a problem: crime. It was rising. People felt unsafe. So they created a solution the best way scientist do by inventing. They created the Lunex Vial.
A strange, luminous orange serum, so potent, it either kills you or changes you. I only ever laid my eyes on it once, and only with the permission from father.
If a person survives the injection, they're genetically modified. Each one emerges with a unique ability. A trait. A power.
GenX used it to create the Guardians, a team of superhumans who swept the streets clean with their abilities. Crime plummeted. Safety returned.
For a while.
Then counterfeit vials appeared. Criminals began using Lunex to give themselves powers. But without regulation or proper testing, the results were chaotic. Destructive. Worse than before.
That's why I can't fail my project.
I want to reverse-engineer the Lunex serum. To find a way to neutralise its effects. To take the power away when it's abused. If I can perfect this, if I can develop a neutralising agent, maybe I can make a real difference.
Maybe I'll finally earn Father's full respect.
A knock pulls me from my thoughts.
Kai. He doesn't wait for permission. He never does. He walks in barefoot like the room isn't a symbol of the divide between us, caused by our Father.
He tosses a protein bar onto my bed. "You didn't eat at dinner."
"I was working," I say, not looking up.
"You always say that."
"Because I'm always working."
He shrugs, leaning against the wall. His knuckles are raw. Bruised. Poorly bandaged, as usual.
"You shouldn't push so hard," he says quietly.
I glance up. "And you shouldn't keep treating your hands like they're disposable."
We're quiet for a moment.
Then I ask, "Why do you train like that?"
Kai looks away. "Because I want to."
He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world. No anger. No resentment.
But I know what he's doing. He thinks I don't see it, what he's preparing for. Who he's becoming. I know he thinks I'm weak and clueless about the real world.
That I can't protect myself.
I want to tell him he's wrong. That I see everything. I just don't always know what to do with it.
Instead, I say, "You don't have to protect me, you know."
Kai looks at me, and for the first time tonight, he smiles.
"I know," he says. "But I will anyway."
He crosses the room and drops onto the bed, right across my stretched out legs. He's heavier than he looks, but I don't complain.
We sit in silence for a while. He doesn't ask about the project, he knows I'll get frustrated if I admit I'm not finished. So he says nothing.
Eventually, I lower my notebook and glance at him. He's picking at the scabs on his knuckles.
An image flashes in my mind, earlier, on the mat. Kai hitting Finn too hard. Blood everywhere. Finn laughing it off like it didn't matter. Kai panicking, wiping his friend's face with his own sleeve.
Without thinking, I blurt, "So... are you dating Finn?"
Kai freezes.
The look on his face is so baffled, a mix of confusion and vague horror, I almost laugh.
"Ew! No! Why would you think that?"
Did I miscalculate?
"You two just seem really close. And, you know... he's a guy. You're a guy…"
Kai holds up a hand, cutting me off. "How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?"
I frown. "That doesn't make logical sense."
He laughs. "Just… no. That's not how it works. I mean, yeah, I may be interested in guys. But that doesn't mean I like every guy."
"Oh."
"Plus, Finn is..." He trails off, before standing abruptly.
Did I offend him?
I set my notebook down, ready to apologise — but he just walks over, ruffles my hair, and smiles.
"You've worked too hard tonight. Eat the food I brought and get some sleep. You've still got time before the presentation and I know you'll crush it."
I look at him. He always knows how to say exactly what I need to hear.
Father may not have chosen Kai.
But I did.
He's the brother I got.
And I'm lucky to have him.