Chapter 1: My name is…

I guess I should start from the beginning huh…? I mean, the basis of any story is a good beginning to get the reader up to date about what's going on. And, since this story is based on what I've been through, I need to tell it clearly. So with that said, let's get started with introductions shall we? My name is "Number Thirteen." No, I'm not kidding, I'm being entirely serious; that's what my dog tag says and I'm sticking to it. I… wasn't exactly "born", per se… Well not in the traditional sense anyway. I never had parents. Wait… actually that's a lie; I did have something that you could consider "Parents" if you want to call them that. When I was younger, I was told that I was part of an experiment, along with twelve other children. (Yes they were numbered 1-12, but I'll get into the details about that in a minute).

The thirteen of us, were created for an important reason. The specifics were vague, but all I remember was going through a lot of training growing up. I was fluent in six languages at the age of five, mastered about eight Marital Arts by eight, mastered firearms and swordsmanship by nine years old; and at the current age of Seventeen years, learned how to live life like a normal teenager. As you can probably tell, I'm the youngest out of the bunch, with the others like the 9-12 groups being around my age to a year older, 5-8 about two- two and a half years older and then 1-4 being about four years older than me. Numbers 1-12 have experienced the real world, and they've blended in very well.

Now I'm gonna stop here and fill in the few plot holes I've just created. All thirteen of us were, as I said: Created. We never knew our real parents. No, we weren't kidnapped out of a hospital and turned into mutant freaks or anything like that with no idea who are parents were. We're Human… and then, we're not. I would say we're Hybrids, but I don't think we're half of anything besides Human. I know we aren't robots (I've failed a number of classes, especially math.) I guess I could say… we were artificially created? Yeah, let's go with that. We are Artificial Humans; Homunculus. We were born from the DNA of two willing participants (A male and female) and we were created, through science and stuff. So yeah, by appearance we are 100% human. But since we were created in a lab and trained to be secret agents by the time we could stand on our two feet, we can be considered Homunculus; but of course, as long as you get the idea. Now then, Technology like this shouldn't exist. Of course, not in your time, I'm assuming is when you're reading this. But here in the year 2033, it's possible.

Since the start of the millennium, Scientists have strived for the dream of creating Artificial Humans, to aid in upcoming events that would plague the planet. From various catastrophes such as the September 11th incident, the War in Afghanistan and other countries in the middle east, to natural disasters like the Tsunami in Japan and Earthquake in Haiti in the 2010's, Artificial Humans, who could have the strength of a dozen men, with the endurance of some of the fastest animals on the planet, were a dream. Real Super Heroes, coming to the aid to those who needed it. And then in the dawn of 2012, the first sign of Artificial, Organic life… was found.

Her name was Alpha. I guess I can call her 'Mom.' She was the very first successful Homunculus created. From the pictures I've seen and the stories I heard, she was a very curious, fun twelve year old to have around. She definitely helped in the 'Saving the world' aspect. And then the Scientist figured that she needed help. And that's when her little brother: Omega came in. Omega… how could I put this nicely… He was the polar opposite of Alpha. Where Alpha was curious about the world around her, Omega was curious about what could burn the fastest. Where Alpha wanted to help people in distress after watching the videos of the catastrophe, Omega would rewind it, and play it in slow motion to watch it second-by-second. Omega was just a psychotic ten year old, truly a mistake on the Scientists fault. Of course they realized this and attempted to dispose of him. But as you might know, Omega wasn't going to take that easily. Omega went on a rampage, murdering his creators in cold blood and then he hunted down his sister; Alpha wasn't a pushover, mind you. With that said, this led to two super powered preteens brawling and in the process, nearly wiping New York City off the map. That event in 2012 was assumed by many as the destined Apocalypse that the Mayans predicted (even though we all know that that's a load of crud in the first place) due to not only the damage, but the disappearance of the two once the event was over.

It took a while to get back on their feet, but in the summer of 2015, New York City returned; bigger, better and more high tech; with that said, the Old New York was gone. Neo Tech City was standing in its place. 'Neo York City' was kinda… 'Meh' with the construction crew on the project. So they settled with Neo Tech City: The City with a new beginning, for not only itself, but for those who lived there. So then, you guys are probably tired of me rambling on.

Just one more piece of info before we get started however; you guys must be wondering why the thirteen of us have been training like this. Yes we're secret agents and yes we're artificial humans. What? You didn't really think that we were the only ones, did you? Apparently while America's been having fun with this 'science project', other countries learned about Projects Alpha and Omega. And of course, they made their own creations. (I just realized I've said 'Of Course' quite a bit… Don't judge me) their creatures have been imperfect as far as we're concerned, not living past a few days, some are lucky to live a few months to be honest; most of them are so imperfect that they look Chimeric in fact. Some have wings, some have gorilla-like arms, some just even look like real animals; it's a result of their imperfections. However, that doesn't mean that the opposing countries haven't tried to use their creations for whatever purpose they had in mind. Some of them even broke loose from their creators. We have a name for them. If they're Homunculus that isn't any one of us thirteen: they're called 'Bounties'. To keep them from going on a rampage, we're sent to take them out. The thirteen of us, have gained the Nickname: Hunters (Get it? Bounty Hunters…?) Bounties, due to their imperfections, tend to go into a state of hysteria before they die. And most of the time it's them going nuts and breaking stuff and causing as much destruction before they bite the dust themselves; I think that's how Omega was…

But yeah, we go in, put the poor sap out of its misery and go on our way. Some are willing, some play it the hard way (love it when it gets like that) but at the end, we get the job done. Speaking of which, as I'm telling you this, we're in a plane heading to our destination right now; we got a call of a bounty sprouting up in Tokyo and Numbers 9, 10,11, 12 and I are heading out there now.

Well… maybe I should be clearer on this. It's actually their mission, not mine. I actually convinced them to let me tag along. You see… Numbers 1-12 have their DT's, so they're more than capable when it comes to fighting. "DT" stands for "Digital Transmorphers." They also stand for "Dog Tags". Which is what they're based on, the Dog Tags that were hung on our cribs as babies, to tell us what Number in the set we were. They were sets of four, by the way. So when Numbers 14-16 are born, if they're born… I can stop feeling like a 5th wheel to everyone.

"God I'm so bored." I yawned looking out at the clouds that resembled big white fluffy mountains. Considering that we were as close to Heaven as we were going to get physically, I actually imagined God replying to that comment, telling me ways to kill my boredom.

"We should've left you home." The voice next to me replied. I turned to the auburn haired girl that sat next to me. This, my new friends, was Kelly Robertson. AKA: Number 11. She's beautiful, I'll admit it. But her attitude towards me is one that I'd personally stay away from. Even from kids we had this rivalry with each other. Like Alpha and Omega being polar opposites, she was mine. She wore a bright blue t-shirt and blue jeans, along with cyan blue and white Air Jordan's. She kept her legs crossed as she flipped the page of her magazine, keeping quiet aside from that comment she made about my boredom.

"Oh come on Kelly, be nice." A second voice replied, overhearing us. I looked over at the opposite row and saw the twelfth member smile at me. Her strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and easygoing smile always made me feel better for some reason. Number 12 was also known as Megan Jones, and out of all of the twelve members, she was the one I really loved a lot. She was the only one that actually accepted me, despite being Number 13. She didn't mind me being the 5th wheel, and she cut me slack, compared to the rest.

Kelly shrugged her shoulders, not interested in what Megan had to say to her. She flipped another page of her magazine and continued to read.

"Yo guys, we're getting ready to land!" A male voice called out from the front of the Jet. That was Number 10; you'll meet him in a second.

"Finally;" I stretched my stiff limbs, looking forward to breathing some fresh air.

"I don't see why you're getting excited about…" Kelly commented. "This is our mission, not yours. You're just going to be studying us."

I gave Kelly a glare and turned back to the window. "Sorry, guess I forgot." But how could I forget? I've been on dozens of missions with the twelve, but our commander doesn't feel that this is the right time for me to actually take part, which is the reason why he held back in giving me my DT's. And without them, I'm pretty useless out there.

You're also probably wondering why the Megan and Kelly have names while I have the number "Thirteen" as mine. Well the backstory behind that (it's very brief, don't worry) is that at our eighteenth birthday, we're considered young adults. As such, we can choose a name for ourselves and learn how to live in the world like normal people. For missions and things related, we keep our Numbers as codenames. My birthday is tomorrow; and I've been having trouble giving myself a name. Megan volunteered to name me, but they told us that these were a personal gift to ourselves; the ability to give us our own identity.

After about ten minutes the private jet skidded to a halt on the runway, and we found ourselves in Tokyo. The five of us walked out, the first two being Trevor McKnight (Number 9, the Leader of the group) and Mitchell Rodriguez (Number 10) followed by Kelly, Megan and I, with the four of them having Katana Blades strapped onto their backs (Details in a second).

Trevor had spiky black hair and he wore sunglasses, along with a blue button-down shirt with the collar undone and a black jacket on; along with jeans and black dress shoes, while Mitchell was wearing a white shirt and black vest with black jeans and white Nikes.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu!" the cheery voice of the older Japanese man said as he walked up to us with his suited agents behind him. That means 'Good Morning' by the way.

"Watashi wa Sori daijin Hashimura Gentaro gozen!" (I am Prime Minister Gentaro Hashimura!) He announced with as much enthusiasm. Kinda took me aback some, making me wonder if someone this cheery actually called us for a Bounty mission.

"Hajimemashite, Hashimura-Shusho;" (Pleased to meet you, Prime Minister Hashimura) Trevor replied and bowed. "Wareware wa, kono yōna jōkyō o shien suru tame ni CORE kara wariate rareta chīmudesu. Shitagatte, sore ni kanren suru teikyō suru koto ga dekimasu nin'i no jōhō o itadakereba saiwaidesu."(We are the assigned team from CORE to assist in this situation. Thus, any information that you can provide pertaining to it would be greatly appreciated.)

The Prime Minister nod and motioned his hand, telling us to follow him to his cars up ahead, which consisted of two limousines. Trevor and the Prime Minister were going to ride together with the agents, while the rest of us were jumping into the second one behind it.

The cars pulled out of the area and onto the main road which lead us into the inner city. Taking in the sites, I was surprised how Tokyo resembled NTC, possibly being even more high-tech than back at home. It didn't help that my Japanese wasn't the greatest in the world to be honest. (I only know English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese and Italian. Japanese's in the works at the moment)

"So what are you guys going up against?" I asked Mitchell as the green holographic screen sat in front of his face, being held up by the air itself.

"Trev is sending me the info as we go along. Apparently, this Bounty went nuts about three days ago. No deaths have been reported however, just a few injured."

"That doesn't sound like a Bounty." Kelly remarked. "More like a Homunculus searching for something."

Mitchell nodded in agreement. I noticed his demeanor change when Trevor sent another batch of information his way.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"This bounty…" Mitchell started to say, making the rest of us kinda skeptical.

"What about it?" Megan spoke up, a slight hint of fear in her voice. She's known Mitchell to not be scared of anything, but if something could even trigger a slight disturbance in him, then that's definitely a cause of alarm.

"His Bio readings are nearly identical to ours…" He told us grimly.

All three of us felt our spines freeze up hearing that. As I mentioned, America's the only country with the ability to create Perfect organic life forms such as ourselves. The other countries failed constantly in attempts at that, resulting in Half Human, Half animal hybrids. But Mitchell just made the discovery that Japan succeeded in making a Bounty that was just like us.

"Are you sure that Trevor isn't messing with us?" Kelly asked.

Mitchell shook his head, wishing that was the case. "These readings are identical, there's no doubt about it. Whoever this bounty is, he can pass for one of us easily.

"Well if anything, that could explain why he hasn't gone berserk like the others we've encountered." Megan replied. "Even so…"

"If he's not going berserk, then why did he break out?" I pondered.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is where we got our answer.

The Limos came to a sudden halt that took us all by surprise, which was followed by loud crashing and explosions of cars up ahead of us. We each came up with three answers to this sudden situation that was dropped onto us so suddenly.

A) It was an attempted assassination of the Prime Minister.

B) Our "new friend" is causing a riot in downtown Tokyo

C) Our "new friend" is the assassin gunning the Prime Minister.

We all jumped out of the limos to see what was going on, as we saw the burning wreckage of the cars and the people scrambling for their lives. As Hunters, when we encounter a Bounty, two things must happen without question. One: Protect the public; get anybody and everybody as far away as possible and save anyone trapped in the crossfire. And Number Two: Detain the Bounty and kill it if necessary.

Kelly, Megan and I didn't hesitate to do option 1 as we ran over and guided people out of the area. Since we're Superhuman, our bodies could endure crazy heat temperatures and most other things that would normally overwhelm a normal human.

Trevor and Mitchell hopped on top of the first limo to look out ahead and find the source of the destruction.

"Target's dead ahead." Trevor confirmed. His sunglasses had data running across them as they focused themselves on the target, which stood on a burning car roughly five yards ahead. His lips turned slightly down, as if he wasn't thrilled to see the Bounty. "I was afraid of that."

"So it is just like one of us, huh?" Mitchell asked as he drew his Katana. He swung the red-hilted sword away from him and turned back to Trevor, who did the same with his blue hilted one."

The silver-haired Homunculus turned his head and saw Numbers 9 and 10 staring ahead, drawing their weapons. He adjusted his black blazer and smirked, his red irises making contact with Trevor.

"Should I do the honors?" Mitchell asked.

"No, I want this guy gone. There's only thirteen for a reason…"

Mitchell nodded and gave the floor to Trevor. He detached one of his two Dog Tags from his neck and slid it onto a slot of his Katana.

"LEVEL: 1!"The device announced. The air around Trevor grew colder as his blade froze into ice.

"Gonna freeze him to death?" Mitchell raised his eyebrow. "Personally I'd like to see the reject light up like those cars he demolished."

Trevor ignored Mitchell's comment and jumped from the roof of the limo, racing up towards the mysterious Bounty.

"Eat Liquid Nitrogen!" He jumped forward and lunged towards the Bounty.

The opposing Bounty smirked and grabbed the blade. Due to its properties however, the Nitrogen began to freeze his hand rapidly, Ice growing across his hand.

"Didn't think that one through did you…?" Trevor smirked.

The Bounty looked down and smirked as well. "Guess you don't know me as well as you think you do." He pulled his right fist into the air and socked Trevor, forcing him to let go of the blade and back to the ground.

Trevor slid on his hands and shook it off, wiping the blood from his lip. Standing back on his feet, he turned back and realized that the nitrogen was melting off the Bounty's hand. He was surprised by that, seeing that Liquid Nitrogen was way below the freezing point.

"A Fire-based bounty huh…?" Trevor asked.

"And you a Water-based one." The Bounty replied, tossing Trevor his blade back. He drew his gun, a Glock 17 9MM and slid, to Trevor's surprise, a DT."

"LEVEL 1!"The Bounty's gun announced as he aimed at Trevor.

"How…"

"You have no idea what you got yourself into." The Bounty smirked. "Let's just say… I'm the newest model."

He pulled the trigger, shooting black-flamed bullets, which Trevor didn't hesitate to move away from as he leapt behind one of the crashed cars.

"Just what's going on…? Flames are one thing, but DT's too?" Trevor contemplated, while thinking of a counter attack.

"Need help?" Mitchell's voice travelled from Trevor's Bluetooth.

"Jump in at any time." Trevor replied.

"Kid Draco's incoming!" Mitchell announced.

Trevor looked up and saw Mitchell leaping overhead with his Katana igniting the crimson red flames.

The Bounty reloaded his gun and aimed at Mitchell, the smirk not leaving his face for a second. "Slay the Dragon…"

He fired three shots, but Mitchell swung them aside like nothing still flying towards his target with his hunting intent.

"Gotta try harder than that you bootleg freak!" Mitchell called out as he sent his blade down overhead. The Bounty blocked the blade with the barrel of the gun, the force of the clash blowing the flames of the blade upward.

Mitchell pushed down with his blade, trying hard to break through his guard; however the Bounty stared at him, his demeanor not changing. The same amused expression that his body gave off remained as Mitchell struggled.

"Not bad for a reject." Mitchell commented.

"Why thank you…" The Bounty replied. "However, I'm no reject."

"So what should we call you then, 'Mr. Not-a-Reject'?"

"You can call me… Number 14…" He replied with a sadistic look in his eyes, knowing full well that it was gonna sink into Mitchell's concentration and throw him off.

And just like he thought, Mitchell ended up leaving himself wide-open.

"LEVEL: 2!"

Mitchell snapped back into reality, unfortunately realizing that the Bounty's right arm was covered in jagged black and red armor. His eyes darted down and saw the Bounty's handgun now a part of that armor, resembling a crossbow installed onto the gauntlet, with the DT's flashing red on the gauntlet.

"DT's…" Mitchell recognized.

"Indeed they are." He replied, kneeing Mitchell in the stomach. Mitchell fell forward and suddenly felt his throat being crushed by the Bounty's tight grip. He gasped for air as his eyes came into contact with his red eyes.

"It's a shame; Being 3rd generation I'd assume that you'd provide more of a challenge." Fourteen said bored. "Guess I was wrong."

"Just … what are you…?" Mitchell gasped to make out.

"As I said: I'm Number 14 of 'Project 13.'" The Bounty chuckled. "Well, since I'm here we can't call it 'Project 13' anymore now can we?"

"You're… not one of us…" Mitchell snarled.

"Never said I was…" Fourteen struck back. He tossed Mitchell back as Number 10 bounced off the hood of the car in front of them. Trevor caught his choking teammate as his hunter-like instinct kicked in, seeking Fourteen's blood.

"Where's Number 13?" Fourteen demanded. "I'll allow you to live if you tell me where he is."

"Like heck we're going to give him up like that!" Trevor yelled. "What do you want with him?"

"I want him to join us…" Fourteen held his armored hand out. "Where he belongs…"

"Where he belongs…?"

Fourteen nodded. "War's approaching and we as the 4th Generation will stand on top of the world after its destruction. And Number 13 is our trump card!"

"Thirteen's a trump…? What does he have that makes him special?" Trevor asked.

Fourteen raised his eyebrow. "You don't know…? He's-

"That's enough!"

I stepped forward, my anger fueling my movements. To be honest, I had absolutely no idea why I was so enraged. But just seeing that guy, and seeing both Trevor and Mitchell laying there in distress just set my anger over the top. My hunting instincts switched on instantly, seeing my prey in my sight, as if a tiger was ready to strike on its prey and desperately wanting to tear that poor animal to shreds.

"Well well, if it isn't Number 13… Or should I say: Alpha's little boy…?"

I stopped in place, the Bounty's words striking me suddenly. I turned to Trevor and Mitchell, who were also in shock.

"What did he say…?" I turned back and the Bounty nodded.

"Don't tell me that you haven't noticed it. Out of all the Homunculi that were created after Alpha and Omega, you are the only one who's Wind-based. Not only that, the same Wind basis as the Alpha Homunculi herself…"

"That's impossible!" I snapped. "Alpha disappeared twenty years ago, there's no way I'm related to her in any way!

"Oh it's possible. After all; I have Omega's Black flames." He snapped his fingers with the black flames leaping off his fingertips. "I have the basis of Omega's Black Dragon Program in me; you on the other hand, have Alpha's White Tiger Program. Half of their DNA is intertwined with ours respectively.

"That's not possible… Is it?" Mitchell turned to Trevor. "I mean, after what happened in 2012, Alpha and Omega disappeared without a trace so there's no telling what happened to them.

"Well… anything can happen in Twenty years so… maybe their bodies were discovered during the rebuilding?" Trevor hypothesized.

"You're lying!" I shouted in disbelief. "My DNA comes from the members of CORE; I am not the son of a lost Relic!"

"If you aren't then why have I done all of this, just to lure you out? Why have I tried so hard to reach this moment and reveal the truth behind your origin? What purpose do I have to do all of that?"

"What do you want…?"

"Join us."

"I refuse…"

Fourteen's demeanor finally changed to a disappointed expression. "Very well then… You can perish with the rest of Tokyo then…" he held his gauntlet to his face and spoke into it.

"Level… MAX!" he talked into it.

"LEVEL: MAX!" The two DT's stopped flashing and it stayed the bright red colored glow. He aimed his crossbow in the sky and pulled the string back. The docked arrow ignited into a black flame as he took a deep breath of disappointment.

"Shame it had to end like this… Dragon's Rage!"

I watched the Black-flamed arrow launched into the air, as it shot fast and far up about 30 feet. As it hit its point and turned to make its way back down, it dispersed…

Next thing I know Black fireballs rain from the sky like a hail storm pelting everything in the area in its blast radius.

"Thirteen, Run for it!" I heard Mitchell call out as Trevor stood behind him, shooting ice bullets to put out as many flames as he could.

"Uh… guys…?" I spoke with my voice cutting out. "I… can't move my legs…"

Mitchell and Trevor turned to me in disbelief. It's one thing to be paralyzed via. Getting hurt, but one thing about being a Hunter, is that you can't let Fear Paralyze you…

And that is how I woke up back in Neo Tech City the next morning. Fear took over, and I got hit hard. Burn marks on my body and bandages wrapped around my wounded limbs, the mission ended in complete failure. Thanks to yours truly.

I got out of bed and limped to my bedroom door.

"I told you it was a bad idea to take him on the mission!" I heard Kelly's voice through the door. "I just knew he'd be a liability but Megan just had to talk you into bringing him, didn't he?"

"Well what was I supposed to do? I needed her on the mission and she wouldn't go unless I brought Thirteen along. At any rate I agree with you, he's useless to us. Twelve is enough, he's nothing but an appendix to us: Completely useless." Trevor replied with just as much frustration as Kelly had.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself to be honest. And in a way, I'm glad we failed that mission. They never liked me at all; none of them. Ever since I became aware of what I was, I faced nothing but resentment from them. I tried to be a part of them. After all, I was created for a purpose just as much so as they were, so I wasn't different from them. Unfortunately, seeing as I don't have my DT's, that's the last thing on their minds. Honestly should've reconsidered my decision back in Tokyo. Maybe joining that guy, for whatever reason he had, might've been the right decision. I wouldn't be treated like crap the way I am here.

I heard Kelly and Trevor's footsteps walk away from my door as I turned and got back in bed. Then just as I got comfortable, a knock was heard.

"I wanna be alone…" I told whoever was behind there.

"It's me, can I come in…?" I heard Megan's voice.

I really didn't want to see any of their faces right now, but at the same time, I didn't wanna reject her, so I nodded to myself. "Yes, but only because it's you..."

The door slid open and Megan rolled inside with her a metal cart, and a green tube of icing next to the metal dome that hid something underneath.

"What's that…?" I looked over.

Megan smiled. "Oh come on, you didn't really forget did you…?" she sat on my bed and pulled the cover off, where eighteen brightly-lit candles illuminated my once dark room.

After everything that happened, I forgot that it was my birthday…

"I made it myself." She smiled. "It's your favorite too."

I was speechless. I know I said that out of all twelve, I loved Megan the most, because she's the only one who didn't treat me like an Appendix, but, I don't think words can describe how much of an impact that really had on me.

"Take the Icing and write your name out." She pointed to the line under 'Birthday'.

Yeah, after everything that's happened, I forgot what I was going to name myself. Despite that it didn't take long to pick a name. I took the tube of Icing and began to write it out

A… D…A…M…

"There…" I nodded.

"I like it…" Megan nodded in approval. She pulled me closer and kissed on the cheek.

"Happy Nameday: Adam." She smiled at me.

"Nameday" was the nickname that we had for our eighteeth Birthday, since that was the day where we gave ourselves our names. And Adam seems perfect for me. After all; if I was Alpha's son, then this name seemed Appropriate. I couldn't help it as I found myself latching onto Megan and bursting into tears, the stress getting to me and questions flooding my mind. She wrapped her arms around and cradled me, kissing me on the forehead and leaning her head on mine.

I decided then and there: I didn't need the others; As long as I had Megan, my only love… Then I felt like I was part of something…

So before I leave for now, I just want to reintroduce myself: My name is Adam; and I'm very pleased to meet you guys…