What happens when humanity doesn’t tolerate their better kind?

Superhumans.

Who are we?

What do you care?

To you, we’re just a bunch of inferior sub-humans who have no right to be here in the first place. To you, we have no rights, no lives, no morals, and no humanity. So why do you tolerate us?

You don’t.

So who am I? You wouldn’t bother to find out before you blew my head off in front of all my other loved ones who would soon follow. To you, I’m no different than the superhuman you saw last week on the news who was sentenced to execution for a reason that wasn’t apparent in the superhuman community. Without trial.

And yes, I knew him. We went to middle school together before this nightmare began. I had just talked to him two weeks ago and tried to convince him not to expose himself in hope that he could move on without fear of being hunted down. The next time I’ll see him is in hell.

Now, I’m sure there’s a select few out there who see this as a vulgar display of American fundamental beliefs. Too bad. You get about as much say in the matter as we do.

See, we’re considered a threat to society. That’s why we have to hide like fugitives and live our lives always watching over our shoulders for the SWAT caravans that would come and swoop us up, never to be seen again.

Hiding isn’t always unbearable, though. We bond together against a common evil. But it isn’t the government.

There are those among us who, like humans, think they’re better than the rest. So, we united together against each other.

Leagues, they’re called. There can be multiple in one city, or one major in the area. We meet in complete secrecy, sworn to silence with protecting the identity of those who still chose to try to live in society; our last hope for being human.

That doesn’t stop us from fighting against other leagues. Bitter rivalries have sprung up over the years that go unchecked and in open view of the public. In short, we war against each other in fights that shatter already-ruined lives.

No one knows who the first superhuman was, either. Probably because they were too scared to admit that they were different. But, it came out eventually. And threw the world into panic when it did.

So, how did this all come about? No one is really sure. Some say it was God’s bidding; a test to bring about humanity’s transformation into a more accepting society. Some say that we’re a government experiment gone wrong and they’re trying to cover it up.

Less skeptical people say that it’s just the next step in a long process of evolution. No matter the reason, we are shunned.

So, you ask who we are.

Well, let me ask you this first; who are you?

A single, glistening raindrop made its epic journey earthwards as I admired it. It made its way determinedly down the window that I watched out of as we sped down the highway, blasting my music to drown out my parent’s discussion.

I watched as the drop zigzagged back and forth, but still demanding to keep its original direction. I became frustrated as it halted, stopped by some unseen force. Probably the same one that was gripping it to the window.

It finally unglued itself and continued its journey southward until finally disappearing onto the rest of the car.

I sighed in relief and settled in to watch the farmlands zip past me as I fought to quell the anxiety that kept blossoming inside me.

The thought of starting over horrified me. We were moving.

My mom’s career as a surgeon had demanded that she move northwards to the hospital that resided in northern Michigan. We had left my home town of Grand Rapids to reside in the small- well, minute, town of Kalkaska in the outskirts of the looming Traverse City. Overall, it sucked.

And my dad had been perfectly willing to tear apart my security. There would be absolutely no one that I knew here. And high school wasn’t exactly the ideal place to start over.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by my phone vibrating. I checked it to see that my boyfriend had texted me, asking if I had arrived, yet.

I quickly replied that, no we hadn’t.

Tory was my boyfriend of two years at this point. We had started dating in ninth grade, much to the dismay of just about every other girl in the school. And surrounding area.

See, Tory had the world at his feet. And me. It’s not like he had everything, though. In fact, I was better off than he.

How did he manage to rule our school, then? With his steamy good looks and uncanny ability to know who was talking about him.

He had clawed his way to the top with his superior intellect.

And his ability to teleport through another dimension.

See, not only did he rule the school, but he also ruled greater Grand Rapids. He was the top superhuman in the Grand Rapids League of Superhumans.

And I was second.

Though my parents had no clue. They were oblivious to the fact that I was secretly a freak that roamed the dark streets at night along with a mass of others like me and Tory.

To them, my black-brown haired blue-eyed boyfriend was just like every other guy my age. Except they actually like him. And so did I, I suppose.

The only catch was that every girl in my old school hated my guts. They would all drag me off and murder me given the chance. Because I had managed to change the status of the hottest guy in school for the past two years.

Strangely, he had no reason to be popular. He wasn’t on any sports teams, for obvious reasons, and had squat as far as money.

He was smart, though. Dangerously smart. But not by his own doing. He learned by absorbing the thoughts of everyone around him. There was no reason for him not to ace every test he took, just by listening in on the teacher’s thoughts.

And that’s the thing. He was incredibly developed in his powers. He had worked his mind and powers to the point where he was a threat to anyone not on his side.

He could pick and chose the thoughts of everyone around him. He had explained it once as if he was grabbing objects out of the air for his own benefit; he was incredibly quick at it.

The only barrier was me. He was reasonable enough to respect my privacy. So he had taught me how to defend my mind, as he had said it was my most valuable possession.

Yes, you’re probably thinking that that’s so wrong. But it benefits us and the superhuman community.

In fact, that’s how he found me in the first place. One morning in ninth grade, I had woken up to the biggest and scariest surprise of my life.

I was a freak.

I had been unable to control the lightning-fast reflexes that revolted from my body. That and the fact that I could hear every tiny movement throughout my house. I had been terrified to go to school that day, not to mention telling my parents what I had turned into. I was sure I wasn’t ready to die, yet.

So, I went to school. And made it to school, but was stopped before entering. My mind drifted back to the encounter…

I bent my head against the rain that drizzled as I walked nervously to school. I hoped that no one would decide to pay special attention to me today. I walked slower than usual, hoping that my freakish reflexes wouldn’t decide to rebel against me suddenly.

I was so intent on not exposing myself that I barely noticed the figure that was standing inside the overhang that was the school entrance. I made to open the door, but a hand caught my elbow.

I turned to see who it was, and looked up into the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I was speechless.

He smiled a crooked smile that made my heart flutter momentarily, and could only gape unattractively as he spoke in a liquid voice that should never have been talking to me in the first place.

“Lara Jenson, right?”

I could barely get out a nod, and immediately hoped that I hadn’t uncovered my freakishness.

He cocked his head, causing his flowing black-brown locks to shudder. “Would you mind taking a walk with me?”

I struggled to make coherent words, “Wh-But I have to…go to class.”

He flashed another blinding smile, “Don’t worry. My friend will take care of that.”

I didn’t protest as he led me away from the entrance to the outlying woods next to the school. I vaguely wondered why the heck no one saw us.

We walked for a while to a clearing deep in the soaked woods. He finally stopped and turned to me.

I dumped all my stuff on a dry spot underneath a tree and tried to avoid his piercing blue gaze. Part of me was glad for my newfound powers, as I perhaps had a chance if this went wrong.

I heard him give a throaty chuckle, “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you. In fact, I’m here to help you.”

I could only stare, “Help me?”

He took a step forward and I watched as he held out a hand. “Would you come with me for a moment?”

“Where?”

Another crooked smile, “Come and see.”

Something in my mind told me to trust him. I wasn’t sure it was my thoughts. I hesitantly raised a hand and reached towards his.

As my skin brushed his, he suddenly closed the gap, grasping my hand in his. What happened then still befuddles me.

There was a deafening crack, and we weren’t in the woods anymore. I wasn’t aware that I was in a human body as I seemed to hurtle through a mass of swirling darkness.

Before I could comprehend what in the world was happening, we were elsewhere in a second. Another crack resounded in my ears, and I was standing in an alleyway in a city.

I sucked in huge breaths and fought to calm myself after the bewildering event. I was vaguely aware that my hand was still clamped around his like a vice until I heard him laugh behind me.

I turned to see his vibrant blue eyes watching me, the enjoyment from the experience evident in them.

I pried my hand off of his, and he brushed past me to a door that I had failed to notice before. He beckoned for me to follow as he opened it, and I staggered after him, still reeling from the experience.

After almost breaking my neck on a few flights of winding stairs that descended underground, we reached another door that he opened and held for me as I stepped through.

It should have been a dank and dark basement. But it wasn’t. It looked like a freaking war room.

The door shut behind me, and I turned to see Tory watching me once more. I finally found my voice, “What is this?”

He gestured to the room around us, “The Grand Rapids League of Superhumans. Welcome home, Lara.”

And it had all gone on from there. Under the tutelage of the other superhumans there, I had become a worthy opponent. I trained hard and long to master my powers. And it wasn’t long before Tory began to take notice.

He showered me with complements on my skills, and soon he promoted me to second-in-command. Only to ask me out the next day.

We had been dating ever since. He had been the perfect boyfriend, tailoring to my every need. And I had served him in response. In fact, he was the only thing keeping me from going insane with this whole moving thing.

See, I was on a mission. He had figured that, since I was going to be within the vicinity of our bitter rival league, why not spy?

No one really knows when the rivalry had sprung up between the Grand Rapids League of Superhumans and the United Superhumans of Traverse City Area. Perhaps an old vendetta or a deal gone wrong; who knew?

All I knew was that I knew who I had to take down.

Phoenix.