Mutant Not Monster

Three

The group appears in the open countryside. Zef and Enoch topple onto the ground the second their feet touch the ground. Jaziel scoffs at them. "Amateurs."

Enoch curls in on himself and holds his stomach. "I guess this is the feeling you mentioned."

"It'll pass soon," Jaziel says.

Enoch mumbles something into the ground.

Zef pushes onto their knees and takes in their surroundings. There's a small, two-story house with a bare lawn and an empty driveway. A vast forest spans miles behind the house. There are no other buildings around other than the house. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but this is the house from the paper." Jaziel grabs Enoch's arm and pulls him to his feet.

"Let's go knock," Enoch takes a shaky step past the fence.

The front door bangs open, and an uncoordinated gaggle of teenagers runs out of the house. One of the teens holds her hands up, and a green mass solidifies in front of her; another girl bounds down the stairs and takes a defensive position in front of the others. The boy crosses his arms, drawing attention to the red bubble-like shapes floating between his fingers.

"Whoah!" Zef scrambles to their feet in a panic.

"Who are you?" The first person who exited the house, a scary-looking black girl, glares at Zef.

Before Zef can answer, a sound from the roof draws everyone's attention. The only window facing the front lawn is open, and a small girl stands on the roof's edge. She doesn't hesitate before she throws herself off the two-story building.

Enoch flinches so hard he bumps into Zef's side as the body hits the ground. Zef gasps in horror.

A blonde girl scoffs. "Really, Noah? You had to jump off the roof now of all times?"

Noah picks herself off the ground and straightens her shirt. "You'd do it too if you could."

"You're not wrong, but not when we're trying to intimidate intruders. Which we're failing madly at!"

The black girl, obviously a leader, raises her hand, and the others fall silent. Noah crosses her arms and glowers, succeeding in looking like an angry chihuahua. "Don't move. Who are you?"

Enoch shifts his weight. "I'm Enoch-" one of the girls holds her hands out and sends blinding streaks of purple lightning at him, cutting him off. Enoch falls to the ground, convulsing and grasping at his chest. He's never felt pain to rival this, not even shots.

Zef stares at Enoch's writhing body in horror. "Stop it! You're hurting him! Stop!"

The black girl flicks her wrist by her side. The other girl drops her hands. The sparks dancing on Enoch's skin fizzle out. "She told you not to move," she says.

The leader steps forward, shield never wavering. "Answer me, who are you? What do you want?"

"My name is Enoch," Enoch wheezes from the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you? We just want to talk."

The girl motions to Zef. "What about h-"

"Their name is Zef!" Enoch interrupts as he scrambles to his feet. "Zef is nonbinary."

"My apologies. My name is Wayven," she dips her head apologetically at Zef.

"It's okay," Zef says.

"What about you?" Wayven nods to Jaziel.

Unperturbed by the situation, Jaziel lowers his hood. He smiles smugly at Wayven. "I'm Jaziel."

"Holy shit!" Noah exclaims. "We need to stand down! He's one of the most important people in the Resistance."