"It has been five hundred years ever since the Great Cataclysm and ever since then, mankind has entered a new era of prosperity."
"The era of heroes, ever since the event of the Great Mutation...."
The sounds from the news report became a background sound for the customers inside the cafe.
Chatters filled the cafe, creating a lively and warm vibe.
"Have you heard? A few heroes..."
"They were tortured by a suspected newly rising villain who loves torturing his opponents....."
"That villain Compressor was too cruel. He actually....."
"The stock market...."
"A few bases of the Global Hero Association had been hacked recently....."
A dark green haired man sat alone at the silent corner of the cafe. The cafe is located on the second floor of tallest buildings in the Wall Street, making it convenient for him to enjoy the vibrant night view of the city.
The man's green jade eyes looks down on the reflection of himself from the dark brownish liquid inside the cup he is holding. The scent of tea invaded his mouth as he takes a sip.
Elegant.
That is the way to describe his presence. Warmth, soothing and somewhat laid back with a hint of a noble elegance.
He has dark messy green hair paired with a beautiful pair of jade green eyes.
He can be somewhat handsome.
Possibly almost the most handsome man in the world if not for a certain defect on his face.
Crash!!
A loud crach resounded.
The man can't help but look to his side, to the window that overlook the entire city.
Not just him, even a few of the customers can't help themselves from look over to see what had just happened.
A truck had just crashed to the side road.
Crowd had gathered around.
Then....
Boom!
A huge explosion.
"It's a villain attack!"
"Where are the heroes?"
"Shouldn't we go somewhere safe?"
The shouts of those down below can be heard.
A villain attack.
Not that abnormal, but sure is annoying.
The man was about to stand up, only to stop when he sees a golden light flashing at the corner of his eyes.
He sat back down, choosing the continuing to enjoy his tea and chocolate cake. A dark chocolate cake.
Somewhat suitable for his sense of aesthetic.
"Mommy! Why does the creepy man's face is so weird." A child can't help but points out.
"Shhh." The kid's mother can't help but give the man an apologetic smile.
Miyakuro smiles back.
His hand can't helps but reached up to his cheek, feeling the rough skin that goes from the corner of his lips up to his ears.
"Look! It's Supersurya"
"The number one hero!"
"And just like that, the number one hero of the United Federation of America saved the day." A cheerful voice spoke beside him followed by the sound of a slurping.
The man glances to his side, seeing a pink haired beauty wearing a pink turtleneck sitting beside him with a cup of tea in her hands.
His tea.
His tea that she had just drank from the same spot he had drank from.
His gaze shifted to the now empty plate.
His chocolate cake.
His half eaten chocolate cake.
This woman.....
"Raisa." The man nodded his head, giving a form of acknowledgement to her presence.
Not that anyone in this cafe can sense her.
However, something is different from her usual cheerful voice.
As if she is trying to hide something.
"Any reason why you wants to see me?"
"Matrix had said that he had gotten some news." Raisa put down the cup she is holding, her voice starting to quiver.
She had imagined this scene a thousand times on her way here and oh god does it still hard to explain to him.
Her hands subconsciously reached out to grasps the man's hand that is laid on the table.
A form of comfort. Something that he will need.
"It's about Bulan"
The man can already tell it's not going to be good.
"He's dead..... Matrix had stated that he had died for almost half a year now." The woman silently spoke.
"Samara, all these years he had been hiding in the country of Samara, doing any mission that can be offered to him."
"A mission gone wrong. No one knows what happened to him afterwards."
Miyakuro clenched his fist. His killing intent leaking out only to stop when he sensed her leaning her head on his shoulders.
"Reports that Matrix had gathered stated that had had adopted a kid. After his death, the kid had gone missing."
The tranquility within the man's gaze tremble.
"Kuro?"
"Brandon might have not be the strongest of us. However, he is the most resilient and added with his Aspect, surviving the most hardest of missions is just like eating a lunch for him." Miyakuro added, "Surviving in the waring country of Samara would be a piece of cake for him."
His eyes sharpen, "If anyone can kill him, then it's going to be someone who should be an equal to a Constellation level threat."
"So what are you saying now?"
"Necron." Miyakuro suddenly said, putting the face mask on.
He stood up, walking away while holding Raisa's hand, his fingers enterwining with hers.
Outside, the cheers of the people resounded.
"Supersurya!"
"Supersurya!"
"Supersurya!"
"Supersurya!"
"The hero of light!"
"The embodiment of hope!"
A small smile adorned Supersurya's handsome face. His golden eyes looking down on the civilians below while waving at them.
Supersurya is a handsome young man who looks to be in his early thirties. His eyes are molten gold, gleaning like the sun, hair of white like snow in winter, high nose, and paired with sharp eyebrows and eyes.
His hero costume is a a pristine white that clungs tightly to his body, allowing one to slightly see the ouline of his lean physique.
On his back a while cape flutters in the wind, making him more heroic in the eyes of the people.
Suddenly, a voice is transmitted to his mind.
"Sir.... I'm sorry to say this but...."
"The child is missing...."
For a split moment, Supersurya's eyes widened in shock and terror. In the next second, his eyes returns back it's tranquility, remaining calm as it was before.
At least he tried to.
His smile, his wave even his entire aura turned stiff, trying his best to suppress the killing intent surging inside his heart.
•••••
International Cyber Airport.
A ding echoes. The cabin lights brighten to an artificial glow. The voice that follows is cheerful, mechanical, and just a little too rehearsed.
Assalamualaikum. Good morning. Namaste. Sawadikap. Selamat pagi. Ni hao. Ohayou gozaimasu. Bonjour. Zdravstvuyte. Peace be upon you. Glory to the Ancients. And to all digital entities, may your firewalls remain unbroken.
Ladies and gentlemen, non-binaries, those who identified themselves as animals, vehicles and even those who identified themselves as a certain superhero from the 21st century because they have a super regeneration power, regardless of your beliefs systems, colour or everywhere you came from, welcome to Cybercity International Airport, where unity is a brand.
In the background, a literal pigeon in a pigeon size suit and a fedora hat looks to his side to see a man dressed in a red skin tight costume, reminiscent to a certain hero who is practically immortal.
"Nice costume."
"Thank you."
For those who are Muslims, Assalamualaikum, happy Eid Mubarak although I suppose it's already too late for that, but thank you for not scaring the islamaphobes. As for the islamaphobes, please refrain yourself from showing any pictures of porks, for the 312th time this week, I have to say this again, the Muslims are not scared of pork, they just sees it as an inconvenient for having to cleans it with water before they could pray.
A woman with the head of a pork turns to the woman clad in black clothing from head to toe.
"Don't worry, I can clean my clothes later." The Arabian woman waved her hands awkwardly.
For those who are from the United Maphilindo Nation, please stop bullying any Singaporean, I know your ancestors always had a beef with theirs but now that all three countries are united under one banner, please remember that all of you still somewhat came from the same root. They are just your ex, you are already happy with your two new partners.
A man looks to his side to see a Singaporean. He sniffed then closed his nose.
The Singaporean rolls his eyes.
Those from Brunei, shout out to you, you are not doing anything and just sitting there in silence, but still, thank you.
At the back of the Malay and the Singaporean, a man is silently sitting.....not doing anything.
To... uh... all those who share distant roots but sometimes forget it-thank you for remembering, if only occasionally, to treat each other with a little kindness.
A light chuckle can be heard from the cabin.
"Then again, thank you for using Echelon Airlines, because we know you don't have any other choice."
The passengers inside the cabin all did as they were told: wearing their seatbelts
"Sir, do you need any help?" One of the flight attendant can't help calls out when he sees an elderly man having a hard time wearing his seatbelt.
Suddenly, a slender arm reached out from beside the elderly man.
A man in a business suit had stepped in, helping the elderly man to buckle the seatbelt.
"Thank you." The elderly man smiled politely.
The man nodded, before buckling his own seatbelt.
The plane soon landed on the terminal.
The passengers walks down, going into a checkpoint for checking.
The scanner ding, litting up in red as the man walked passed it.
[ Metallic objects detected ]
The holographic screen glitched into existence.
The guards immediately sprint into action.
"Sir, please follow us for a brief checking." One of the guards sternly said to him.
"Is it a suspected terrorist attack?"
"Probably one of those muties again."
"Damn mutants."
"I just hope we can get this over with."
The man was escorted to a small room.
A few heroes and guards can be seen staring down at him with cautions.
The man, in response merely noded to them before sitting down.
The moment he sat down, the chair broke.
All the heroes are alarmed, immediately surrounding him.
"Gentlemen, please." A hero stepped in, stopping the other heroes.
"Forgive my men for their rudeness." The hero in red smiled warmly, helping the man to get back on his feets only to realise that the man's weight is quite heavy.
How heavy.
However, the hero did not reveal his surprise. He smiled warmly, giving a friendly air.
"This is the airport after all. Us heroes must make sure the safety of the civilians."
The man merely nodded.
"If you don't mind, may I take a look at your id card?" The hero politely asked, "This is a part of the protocol.
The brown haired man pulls out his id from his wallet. A small transparent card without any features.
The hero looks down on the id, scanning the id to the machine on his arm.
---
Name: Elijah Wood
Nationality: Citizen of the American Communist Nation
Aspect Type: Mutation - Skeletal Metallization
Mutation Description: Elijah's bones have undergone a complete transformation, turning into a metal-like substance. His ribcage has fused into a solid iron-like plate, forming a natural armor around his organs. While nearly indestructible, the density and weight of his bones cause limited mobility, making each movement deliberate and heavy.
---
"Ah," he said, the sound laced with realization. "I see what happened."
He turned to his team, shaking his head with a half-smile. "It's just a Mutation Aspect. His bones are metal, that's all. No weapons, no threat. You people overreacted again."
His voice was light, almost teasing, but the undertone carried disappointment. The guards shuffled awkwardly, a few looking away in guilt.
"Sir, we were following standard-"
"Standards don't mean much when they ignore context," the hero interrupted, but his tone stayed friendly. "He's registered. Everything checks out."
Mutation Aspect bearers, especially those with physical changes, often faced suspicion. Unlike Control or Transformation Aspects, Mutations were unpredictable-often grotesque or misunderstood. People feared what they couldn't categorize neatly.
The hero turned to Elijah. "I apologize for the... enthusiasm of my subordinates."
Elijah, who had remained still like a statue, finally raised a hand slowly. His voice was deep, resonating slightly-perhaps from the metallic echo in his chest.
"Can I leave now?"
The hero laughed, a hearty sound that tried to dispel the tension in the room. "Hahaha! Yes, of course. Please do. Again, I'm truly sorry for all this."
Elijah gave a short nod, his face still unreadable. He stepped forward, each movement deliberate, as if gravity clung to him more than others. His duffel bag clanged softly as he picked it up-metal inside, or perhaps just his touch making it rattle. No one dared stop him this time.
As he walked out of the airport security zone, boots heavy on the tile floor, no one spoke.
Even so as Elijah exited the terminal, his eyes glows in a sinister red.
The Be Continue.
World Building Note
The Great Cataclysm.
An extinction level event that have caused the death of more than half of the population on this planet. Also known as the third world war, this event was started by the Dump Royal family -a dictatorship family that forcefully took over the nation of USA - which resulted in an almost extinction of mankind.
"We are going to make the country of America the greatest nation in the world and it's history." - Ronald Dump, King of USA.
A few hundred years later, a professor sighed as he put down the history book, "And that's boys, is how USA is no more and on it's place is this era's version of North Korea and South Korea."
"Two nations that are constantly at each other's throat because of the difference of ideology."
"So because they chose one stupid guy to rule, with records of bad management and just overall a bad businessman, now half of what was known as USA is a communist."
Silence.
"Yes, yes I'm afraid that's true."
"Didn't that other country also supported the ideology of a superior master race-"
"That is a story for another time." The professor cut off his student.