2012

Houston, Texas

Friends of Humanity (FoH) Main Compound

(Omniscient POV)

"If you're going to try and kill me, go ahead." The little kid states quietly as he glances over at Brock, who stands across from him. "But I want you to know that I won't let you do it without a fight."

Silence falls within the decimated compound as Brock stares over at the boy with a quizzical look... before an amused smirk overtook his face.

"Relax kid, no one is going to try and kill you or put you in a cage," Brock says as he tries to present a calm and amicable aura towards the boy. "What's your-"

Brock suddenly stopped speaking as he feels a slight tingling sensation reverberate at the back of his mind. Instinctively, his body began to move as...

*Zap!*

Another purple electrical beam shot out from the silver Teddy Bear's eyes, striking Brock square in the chest. The smooth purple beam effortlessly shreds through Brock's tattered shirt and clashes against his bare skin, before evaporating and leaving a charred and blackened gouge in his flesh.

"Fuck." Brock grimaces as he glanced down at the scorched skin in the middle of his chest that quickly began to stitch itself back together, before looking over at the small boy who just stood frozen as he watched the feat with utter shock and confusion written plainly on his dirty face.

"Are you deaf?" Brock snaps, irritated at the boy as he steps closer to him.

"Y-You're not human?" The boy mumbles in a trembling voice. "You're like me....a Mutant."

Brock steps in front of the boy and narrows his eyes down at him as he lets out a sigh.

"I'd rather not explain myself to you." He states calmly. "In fact, I don't even know why I'm talking to you at all. Most people who attack me don't live long enough to have a chat after."

The boy stares up at him with wide eyes for a moment, speechless at finding someone who was like him.

"Not human..." He mutters under his breath as his vision began to narrow and dizziness started to overtake him. "Not... human..."

The boy slowly slumps to the ground as the fatigue and stress of the battle became too much for him to bear.

"Great..." Brock mutters as he watches the boy fall to the ground unconscious.

At the same time that the boy hit the ground, the metallic Teddy Bear next to him began to melt and condense into a sphere of molten liquid metal that levitated a few inches off the ground.

"The fuck?" Brock exclaims as he watched the liquid metal cascade over the body of the unconscious boy, dissolving as it absorbed into his flesh.

Nothing but the sound of soft crackling of flames echoed throughout the compound as Brock glances around the area once more, extending his senses out to search for any other signs of life, before turning his gaze back down at the passed-out boy lying on the ground at his feet.

As he stares at the boy, thoughts begin to race through his mind.

Where had this boy come from?

What is his power?

Is he really a Mutant?

Do Mutants even exist in this universe?

And if they did, what did that mean for this Universe's timeline?

As these questions swirled around in Brock's head, he was beginning to feel like his knowledge of this world was becoming more and more redundant as he continued to discover the many alterations that were made to this Universe.

Brock rubbed the back of his head and let out a frustrated sigh as he pushed the thoughts back before he reached down and picked the unconscious boy up like he was a sack of potatoes, throwing him over his shoulder as he took one more look around the compound.

"Alea iacta est." He muttered quietly in Latin to himself as turned around and moved towards the exit of the destroyed compound.

**********

Houston, Texas

Outskirts of Friends of Humanity (FoH) Main Compound

Twenty Minutes Later

(Zeru Matsuya POV)

I stood within the encampment of the homeless settlement, watching as the children from stable families played outside while their parents slept inside nice warm homes. I'd spent the past hour observing the comings and goings of the people here. It was interesting to note that most of them, despite their apparent differences seemed to have similar traits: they all held themselves with an air of superiority, they all carried themselves in an arrogant manner, and they all seemed to be completely void of any compassion or sympathy as they looked upon us, those less fortunate than them, with utter disgust and loathing.

The scene in front of me suddenly shifts as I now find myself crouching inside a dirty cell as a blonde-haired man stood above, hitting me with a whip repeatedly.

"HOW DARE YOU TRESPASS INTO OUR WORLD!" The man bellowed angrily as he cracked the whip against my back again, peeling off a thin strip of flesh. "YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE AND GOD WILL SEE TO IT THAT YOU BURN IN HELL FOR WHAT YOU ARE...A FILTHY MUTANT!"

I curled up into a ball in pain as I felt the whip continue to strike me.

"WHAT DID WE TELL YOU ABOUT TALKING BACK?!" The man yells furiously as he raises the whip high over his head and cracks it down on my back again, sending waves of agony coursing throughout my entire body.  I whimper in pain, hoping that the whipping would end soon.

Please stop.

"DISGUSTING FREAK!" The man screams as he lashes me again with the whip.

His words cut deep into me as they reminded me of how different I truly was from everyone else. The thought alone made me feel isolated as tears welled up in my eyes and spilled onto my cheeks.

Stop.

"SHAME ON THE HUMAN RACE FOR ALLOWING YOU TO LIVE AS IF YOU WERE ONE OF US FOR EVEN A SECOND!" He continues to yell as he strikes me again.

"SHAME ON US FOR ALLOWING YOU TO EXIST! YOU MONSTER!" He brings the whip down again and I curl up into a tighter ball as the pain intensifies.

H-He's wrong.

I'm not a monster.

They're the monsters.

"YOUR KIND IS A DISEASE! AND WE SHALL PURGE THE EARTH OF YOUR INHUMAN PLAGUE" He declares venomously as he swings the whip back over his shoulder, ready to strike me again.

"Stop!!!" I scream out in defiance and the scene shifts around me as my eyes snap open and I awoke from the horrible nightmare.

"You alright?" A cold familiar voice asks from beside me.

I glance up to see the mysterious black-haired man hovering over me with puzzlement written plainly on his face.

"Just...a dream...?" I whisper hoarsely as I wipe away the tears from my eyes and look around. I was laying in the muddy swamp lands on the outskirts of the FoH Compound, which was left as nothing more than a smoking wreck in the distance.

The man nods his head and places a hand on my shoulder as he helps me sit up from the ground.

"How are you feeling?" He asks.

I take a deep breath and exhale before answering his question.

"Better," I tell him honestly. "Thanks."

He stares at me for a moment, before giving me a nod.

"I can't thank you enough for saving me back there," I say as I look over at him. "It was kind of you to help me out."

He looks down at me and gives me a wild smile.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, you probably could've handled it yourself if you wanted to." He chuckles softly.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so," I reply sarcastically as I scoff inwardly at the notion. Knowing full well how much using my ability like that took out of me.

The two of us then share a brief moment of silence before he finally speaks up again.

"What's your name? " He questions curiously.

I glance up at him, surprised by his sudden interest.

"My name...?" I ask him as I tilt my head to the side " Zeru. Zeru Matsuya."

He stares at me for a moment as if he were trying to remember something, before shaking his head.

"Well Zeru, let me introduce myself properly." He tells me as he reaches out his large hand, showcasing the intricate tattoos that ran down his arm. "I'm Brock, and it's nice to meet you."

Shocked by the sudden show of kindness from him, I shake his hand firmly before returning my focus to the scene around me.

"A-Are you a superhero?" I ask him.

Brock looks over at me with a curious expression before letting out another hearty laugh at my question.

"Hell no, why would anyone want to be a hero when there are so many other more fruitful options available for them instead?" He said and I couldn't help but agree with his statement.

Why would anyone choose to risk their lives fighting for humans? Why put themselves in danger for people who treat them like crap? It makes no sense to me.

"No, I'm just some guy who was passing by," He added as he glanced over toward the direction of the encampment.

I didn't know what to say as I stared up at him, overwhelmed by the sheer kindness and generosity he was showing me.

"S-So...what happens now?" I ask nervously.

At my words, Brock's gaze shifts back down to me.

"Well, I guess that depends on you." He replies. "You could leave and try to fend for yourself out there. Or you can come with me."

I stare at him in disbelief as he offers me the opportunity to stay with him. To be honest, I never thought I'd ever have the chance to be free of this place. But at the same time, I wasn't sure if I was strong enough to survive out there without help. In fact, I knew for a fact that I wouldn't make it very far at all.

What am I supposed to do?

I feel like I should take the offer but...why is he being so kind to me?

"I d-don't know... " I stutter as I look up at him.

Brock smiles faintly and tilts his head to the side curiously.

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to give you time to think it over," He says as he turns around and begins walking away. "Now get up, we need to move quickly."

He then turns back around and notices me still sitting on the ground.

"Oh yeah..." He adds as he glances back at me with a smirk. "I don't know what you've been told about Mutants, but you shouldn't believe everything you hear. Those without power tend to fear those with it."

With those words, Brock walks away, leaving me standing there confused as I look after him.

What does he mean?

I just met him. How could he possibly know anything about me?

But then again, how would anyone know what I've been through unless they've experienced it themselves...?

I stand up from the mud and begin following Brock through the swamp lands as he leads me deeper into the darkness of the wilderness.

*********

A/n: Hey Guys, so quick explanation on the character Zeru since he's the first real OC I've made for this story. Zeru is a combination of two minor mutants from the x-men comics: Takeshi Matsuya and Ziggy Karst.

To give a brief explanation of his powers, he has a variation of Technokinesis in the form of Technomorphing Modules that he generates from his body. These modules allow Zeru to do a wide variety of things that will be further explained in the story.

Hope you are enjoying it so far and as always thanks for reading!