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There's no man in sight. No spacesuits. No breathing tubes.
No superhumans around either.
The area is empty as he had last witnessed. Destructured, abandoned building. Black with soot. Unliveable.
Jeongin knows he is playing a gamble here. This could be the lost paradise his watch had directed him to.
Or he might have gotten tricked by the dystopian location finder.
Hard to say. This universe is full of mistrust and trickery. Survival of the fittest.
A game to win.
To gain power.
To steal powers.
Cell phones have stopped working for a hundred years now. The nuclear war had wiped every trace of communication. Satellite or underground. Their only source of communication is through these watches. One for everything. Navigation, calling, message, capturing blued images. Like they used to have in the late 20th century.
Everything is slower than before.
Movement. Trust.
Their bunks low. Walls higher.
Jeongin still has intact chambers to call home. A round blob under the ground. He resurrected that himself. Morphing through walls and dunes.
He has been living on planet earth for 350 years now.
He was there when they first fought. Wars, guns, weapons. Nations fighting against each other for control. Few win, others lose. They lose money, peace. Years of struggles to recover. Then they would fight again. And again.
It wasn't until the earlier 22nd century when they lost everything. Jeongin included.
Nuclear attack. Wiping of the entire civilization. Only a few survived. Jeongin included.
He witnessed the downfall from under his bunk. Young boys selling newspapers. Pagers. Phones. TV broadcast. Internet. Then nothing. Just static.
Dead silence.
Just like this building.
No, Jeongin is not here to stroll.
He is here to correct his mistakes. His blunder.
He knew leaving Minho alone while he was recovering would get to this. There was a possibility.
But his hunger for power got the best of him. A game of cat and mouse. Instigated by the one he hates the most. And he fell into the trap. Willingly.
Minho is very crucial. His survival is very crucial.
Yet, he failed to protect him. Shield him.
No one had to know of Minho's existence. For other fellow survivors he is already dead. Immobile. Useless.
But Jeongin needs him. His powers.
Even an injured lion like Minho is more powerful than the rest of the clan. Superhumans or humans.
And he needs to make sure Minho is alive. No one has to know. He will get the lion back.
Sooner than later.
He is here on a mission. Jeongin is at fault and he will revive it.
This abandoned building has got nothing on him. He will diverge. Play around.
Camouflage.
350 years and he is aware of what he is capable of. He can blend through surfaces, take multiple forms. Gel through metals. Solid or liquid.
At some points he is just a blob on the ground. Like the tar from the seepage. Remnants of the prominent war.
Comes in handy. He can move without getting noticed. Nothing but speckled sheets.
But he can grow his powers even more.
This might be just rumors. Gossips.
But no smoke is without a fire.
The versions, the legend might have overplayed it. Or even underplayed it.
There is a way, they say.
A lion.
Jeongin is tired of being a 3rd class superhuman. He doesn't show it. His jealousy.
But he wishes he had something more.
Maybe he has something more.
And he was so close to finding it out.
And then he lost it. Lost Minho.
Minho is not aware of his strength. There's no way he will move on his own. Jeongin checks his pulse every 10 minutes. Well, he used to.
Constant.
Brain dead.
Unaware.
The lion is deep in sleep.
Deep in sleep and somewhere dangerous.
Minho has been abducted.
The buildings make no sound. The buzz of smoke. Foggy glasses. Soot and nothing else.
He moves slowly. Making the dirty ground his shield. He has to lay low, literally.
It is a gamble.
The alabaster roof is near to giving up. One moment and it will collapse. Jeongin hopes Minho is not beneath it. He has no way to move. He will die.
Superhumans rarely die. But Minho will.
Jeongin doesn't believe in any superior entity. He himself is higher than anyone of the same decorum.
And with Minho's power he is going to be unbeatable.
The God himself.
The 'Main' in this dystopian society. Not a mere shadow Jeongin is right now.
The Lion has a lot to give.
He will save him, take his help, and then he will kill him.
There cannot be two lions in the jungle.
Jeongin will rule. Alone.
-------------
The trickery.
It was indeed a ploy.
Jeongin should have realized it sooner.
The building is not a building. It is a projection.
Jisung.
Jeongin is fuming. At everything. At his own stupidity.
The chase. Cat and mouse.
Jisung is smirking at him. His form is visible clearly now. Midnight blue hair a backdrop shining under the fake soot. Fake fog.
The project.
"Oh hello! Look who we've got here."
"Get out of my way."
"Yeah? Aww. Poor Jeongin. Got tricked by his best friend."
"You are not my best friend."
"You break my heart, Innie. I thought you loved me? Cared for me? You do listen to what I say, so don't deny. You love me still."
Jeongin wants to wipe Jisung's smugness away. Probably with acid. Something that would hurt.
He knows Jisung isn't wrong. They were friends indeed.
But that was years ago.
Before they had a fall out.
Before they were divided into different classes of power. Jisung landed in the 2nd division. Jeongin rotted in the 3rd.
"Cut your bullshit, Han. I'm not free to entertain you."
"Neither am I. I know what you are trying to look for. And I can help you, if you want."
He is cocky. And confident. Jeongin should take his help.
But two lions.
"I don't trust you."
"I know. I will help you get him and then I will vanish. Simple."
Jeongin has been tricked multiple times by this man. He is not falling for his antics anymore.
He gets up from his position on the ground. Now face to face with Jisung.
Equals. Higher.
"What will you get from that?"
"Me? Ah, inner peace? That Great Jeongin needed my help."
Is he worth trusting?
This cocky man has powers Jeongin might need later in the search. It's hard to accept but his illusion skills have reached their peak already. Jeongin can attest.
A bitter pill.
Jeongin will use him. And then he will dump him.
"Okay."
"Sweet! Now let me take this place off, my hands hurt."
Jisung's projection comes from his wrists. He knows that. He has known that for a century now. A broken wrist will leave him crippled. Without powers.
He has a plan.
"Come, come. We have to set the navigators perfectly. You have any lead?"
Jeongin has none. Just Minho's smell. Minho's used wristband.
"I have this."
"Oh? Let me scan it once. There has to be something."
Jisung is bubbling with excitement. This search thrills him.
Or is he aware of Minho's powers?
Nah, not possible. Minho, for others, is just an ordinary human. Jisung only knows him because Jeongin had let it slip one day during one of their duels.
But Jisung knows of Minho's abduction. How?
"Wait, how do you know about Minho?"
"You told...me?"
"I mean how do you know he is missing?"
"Simple. I followed you. You weren't exactly hiding your stress, duh."
"So you tried to mislead me? On my search?"
"It was fun! And I wanted to come along. I love playing with you!"
"Shut up and trace it."
They look for hours. Setting new navigation, getting leads. Losing them.
Minho is nowhere in sight. Still.
"I am curious. Who would take him? I mean...he is just a human?"
"So? He is my friend. I will keep looking for him. Leave if you are tired."
"Awww, I got replaced. It hurts. Anyway, I'm staying. I will get bored at home."
Superhumans like Jisung love to play around. Boast. Display their powers. He just can't keep himself from showing off.
Especially if that meant showing he is superior to Jeongin.
"Do whatever you want. I don't care."
Jisung just giggles in reply. All this is just a game to him. A blatant display of power. Nothing more, nothing less.
Beep.
"Wait. This is beeping. The target is near."
This catches Jeongin's attention. And he pushes Jisung back. This is his time to shine.
To be the lion.
He is looking at a crater of sorts. Volcano dead and silent. More soot but something more silver in the center.
A disc shape.
A spaceship.
Focused lights. Shining on one sole figure.
Minho.
No one else in sight.
It looks suspicious.
"Stay back! This looks dangerous."
"Shut up!"
Jeongin moves fast. Dipping into the side to blend into the side. He is excited but not an idiot.
He knows the risks.
Especially when there are aliens involved.
Minho is getting closer now. Still unconscious.
So aliens needed him. They were looking for him. They abducted him.
They knew his powers and they wanted to exploit him.
But why this blatant display?
They could take him and go. Why have they got Minho displayed like an exhibition?
Oh.
"Such an idiot. Truly an idiot."
"Leave him alone."
"Really? Aww, you have learnt nothing, Jeongin. Look at him. Does he seem real to you? Or does anything here seem real to you?"
"What the…."
"Shh… So you really think you got it, right? That you will be the king and all the shit. Haha. Such an idiot."
Jeongin should have expected. Jisung is way ahead of him. In everything.
He should have known.
"What...what did you do to Minho?"
He is afraid to hear the answer.
"Oh? I killed him. Simple. He was of no use to me later. But wow, you were an idiot. And you fooled me too."
Jeongin inhales. Deep.
"You had me on his tail. You purposely made that 'accidental confession'. Made me curious. Made me run after you. Make plots. Kill him. And for what? Nothing? When all this while it was YOU who was the lion. You had already taken all his powers. And then you wanted mine."
Jeongin chuckles. So, Jisung caught on.
Perfect.
"You know what will happen next, right?"
"Naah, Innie. I know you will not do it. Because I will do it first."
A spade, a card. Fallen blood. Projection.
The lion.
Victory.