I'm on a roll. Sue me.

Plus I'm always happy to update for my favorite dog :)

Thanks for reading!

TBF101

Chapter Three: Introductions

"So…" Misaki said. "You're all…like me?"

Nowaki nodded thoughtfully.

"Come sit down and I'll explain."

Misaki went over to the row of back seats and was about to sit down between Nowaki and the blind one, when a piercing shriek caught him off guard.

"HEY! What makes you think you can sit there?" Said the empty seat.

"I uh—" Misaki stumbled back in surprise. "Sorry…"

"You can't sit next to Miyagi!" It shrieked. "Only I can sit by Miyagi! You got that moron!"

"Epsilon!" Nowaki scolded, motioning Misaki to come around and sit on the end. "Be nice to Digamma. We shouldn't be fighting."

Misaki's eyes widened as a blonde boy even younger than himself materialized out of thin air, sitting in the chair and scowling like a cat in a bath.

"H—How did he do that?" Misaki whispered to Nowaki. "It's impossible…"

"We all can do the impossible now Misaki." Nowaki replied. "You saw a measure of my ability earlier."

"You mean, when you threw those boulders?"

"Yep." Nowaki smiled, pointing to his the patch on the side of his chest. Misaki took a closer look and noticed a little bashfully that everyone was wearing a suit identical to his own. However, instead of VI, Nowaki's patch read II.

"I am Beta, and I was the second experiment." The giant explained. "I was engineered to have the strength of a thousand men. I am this group's hands."

"Wow," Misaki gapped. Nowaki was big and muscled, yes, but he had the ability to move mountains around like empty boxes.

"Miyagi over there," Nowaki said, pointing to the blind one. "Is Gamma, the third. He's blind, but he isn't sightless. Rather than seeing the present, he sees the future and also he can look at places that are miles away. He is our eyes. He was able to find you and give us direction to get you out."

Misaki looked over at Miyagi again, this time with awe and gratitude.

"And then there's Delta, the fourth," Nowaki continued with a large smile. "His name is Hiroki, but I call him Hiro-san—"

"CAN IT NOWAKI!" Hiroki screeched from the cockpit. But the giant just kept smiling.

"Hiro-san is able to control heat and fire. He's a living furnace."

"Is that why…he's on fire?" Misaki asked hesitantly, flinching at the sight of a few flickering flames dancing on Hiroki's shoulder.

"Well—er yes," Nowaki sighed. "You see, Hiro-san's power is often triggered by his emotions…so when he's angry it gets harder to suppress. You shouldn't worry though, he's never burned anything down…well nothing big anyway…plus I imagine he'd be great to make s'mores with…

"And next up is Epsilon, the fifth," Nowaki hurriedly moved on. "Shinobu is a camouflage expert, and can turn himself and other things invisible, which is why you didn't see him earlier. He was also engineered to be able to shape shift into animals but he hasn't been able to develop it much yet, so he can only do one."

Misaki cocked his head curiously.

"What kind of animal?"

"A hamster." Miyagi snickered.

"Shut up old man!" Shinobu snapped. Misaki frowned. This epsilon character was hard to understand. One minute he was practically claiming Miyagi as his personal property, the next he was insulting him. It made little sense, but somehow Misaki sensed that was usually the case, as immediately after growling at him, Shinobu shifted closer, hugging Miyagi's arm and resting his cheek against it.

"But Nowaki…" Misaki murmured. "If I'm—I mean, if there are six of us then…who's the first?"

"Well, why don't you ask him?" Nowaki nodded to the cockpit. "Alpha."

The man in the captain's chair undid his seat belt and stood, nodding to Hiroki.

"Try not to crash her right away, Delta."

"Blow it out your brains asshole." The co captain muttered. Alpha walked over to the back of the cockpit, showing his face to Misaki. The man was tall and lean like Nowaki and Miyagi, but his face was much different, with a shock of gray hair and expressionless eyes that entranced Misaki with their gaze.

"You're…Alpha?" He asked. The man nodded.

"Yes, I am Akihiko, and I was the first."

"You're the one who spoke to me in there…you got me out. Th—thank you."

The man simply nodded again, and Misaki quietly continued.

How—I mean, what are… your powers?"

"It's complicated. It's kind of a cross between telepathy and telekinesis. I can control inanimate objects by speaking to them and concentrating, but occasionally I can also communicate mentally with others, as I did with you. Though while I have mastered my powers to a high degree, even I do not know how far they extend."

"In other words, his powers make no sense." Hiroki barked. Akihiko ignored him.

"And…my—my powers," Misaki said, the wheels of his mind slowly turning. "Are…time?"

"Not exactly." Akihiko replied. "Super speed is a more accurate term. You run so fast that things appear to move in slow motion, but they do not stop."

"Oh," The teen replied, staring down at his lap and processing. Akihiko peered out the window, his face still unreadable.

"If you have any questions Misaki, now would be the time." He said dryly. At his beckoning, Misaki swallowed hard and spoke.

"Why did you save me? Why go through such lengths for someone you don't even know?"

"Because," Alpha replied. "You are one of us…and, I am a friend of your brother."

Misaki's eyes shot open and he jumped out of his seat.

"You know my brother?" He said worriedly. "Where is he? Is he all right! We have to find him!"

For the first time, a flicker of emotion passed through Alpha's cold eyes, and it was pained.

"I'm sorry Misaki…but, Takahiro didn't survive the experiments…he's dead."

The melancholy news hit the traumatized boy like a brick, and he sank bonelessly to the floor. Alpha watched him with a tendril of empathy.

"I…tried to get his body out, but was unable to find it. I'm truly sorry… for Takahiro."

Hot tears leaked out of Misaki's eyes, spilling onto the floor as sobs rose in his chest.

"…Who did this?" He whispered. "Who changed me? Who killed my brother! Who's responsible for THIS!"

The teen banged his knuckles against the floor in agony, leaving fist-sized dents in the metal. Nowaki slid out of his seat and sat down next to the sobbing boy, draping a strong arm around his shoulders.

"The fault lies with a single organization."

Misaki's teary eyes rose back up to Akihiko's, whose gaze had turned cold.

"They are known as the Federation for Military Advancement, otherwise called the FMA." Alpha enlightened. "They're a secret division of the government that studies weapon enhancement, and recently, their methods of experimentation went too far. The group you see before you is the product of human genetic alteration. In other words, they created us, they took our names, they rebuilt our bodies, so we could become living weapons."

"Living…weapons?" Misaki breathed in horror. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Shinobu bury his face in Miyagi's chest, the blonde's shoulders beginning to quiver.

"Yes." Akihiko replied darkly. "And that is why we escaped and banded together, to show them that they cannot tamper with our lives as they please. We are now more powerful than any number of soldiers, and together, we might even be invincible."

"And now that we have all six of us," Hiroki added. "We can begin to fight back against the FMA."

"Fight back?" Misaki whispered.

"Precisely," Said Alpha. "Now Misaki, you have been given all the answers you desire, and it is time for you to make a choice."

Akihiko kneeled down in front of the boy, extending a hand.

"You are not a machine or weapon, and we will not force anything upon you. You may choose to stay with us and rebel against the ones who killed your brother, or you may leave and do as you please with the rest of your life."

Misaki stared incredulously at the man, his eyes still dripping with tears. In spite of all the gunfire and fear he had faced in just a few short hours, this was by far the hardest part. He was alone. He had no family, no friends, no future, and a body that almost frightened him. What was he supposed to do?

But as he looked into Akihiko's lavender eyes, despite their iciness…he saw shreds of humanity in them, even though the body they housed was no longer mortal. With a shaking hand, Misaki reached up and took Alpha's hand, his small fingers awkwardly fitting between the taller man's.

A flicker of warmth passed through Akihiko's eyes and he carefully helped the teen off the floor, ushering him over to the cockpit.

"Come on Digamma, I need another pilot protégé. Hopefully your instruction will be a bit smoother than Delta's was—" But his mocking words were abruptly cut off as the helicopter turned harshly, knocking Misaki straight into Akihiko's arms.

"Say that again," Hiroki seethed. "I dare you…"