9 Call me mister Corbin

Lying on the ground in an open field, a man stared at the strange sky recalling how he got himself in such place.

It has been three days since he got 'kidnapped' as he believes, yet he has been walking the seemingly endless field surrounding him for a way out and of course with no use.

Thus, tired and hungry he had nothing to do but look up as he rested on the green ground thinking and still trying to link what happened so far but somehow ended up thinking about a certain topic that he was convinced was the reason behind all the current troubles in the world.

Super heroes, their heritages started as fiction in different types and kinds of stories and comics until world war 3 when the first beings with powers defying that of normal people emerged, back then humanity was desperate after the first sentient A.I decided it was time to end the era of humans and for machines to take over.

'Project super' as it was named back then was a desperate attempt to retaliate at the sentient robots that nearly conquered the planet as many scientists fed up with arms and technology that failed them to fight the robots that could easily access and control practically all matter of machines and techs not to mention their superior raw strength and processing ability.

As normal people, strength is nothing without firearms and proper weapons against the different kinds of threats, and against robots that could easily replace their broken parts and easily replace those that no longer functional, their numbers and might were simply superior in all different aspects, in other words humanity stood no chance if it continued to challenge such beings with tech and weapons, they were simply adding to the fire should they continue to face the sentient robots with ordinary means if anything they were helping them advance and evolve further or so was the conclusion that humanity came to after few years of hard confrontation with the sentient robots.

Humanity at that time was living what many sci-fi producers and writers imagined in movies like 'Ter*****or', 'I, ro**t' and many other famous movies that imagined how life would become should AI ever progress to beyond our control as human beings.

After some time of brainstorming to come up with an alternative to the current tech and specifically they wanted a solution that could give the upper hand to the humans and of course that solution must be something special that the robots can't use, access, apply and preferably can't remake, thus after some debates a solution was to pursue the manipulation of genetics or 'genetic engineering'.

The idea was simple yet seemed unreal at that time and many didn't believe in it and of course the knowledge in the prospective field wasn't advanced enough yet, however, thanks to the current state of the world back then lots of people weren't exactly in their right minds and some even confused reality with imaginary, one of those people was a genius doctor who also happens to be the one who proposed the idea of 'Project super' which consisted of enhancing human beings genetically and make them have powers and strengths beyond normal.

Little did everyone know that it wasn't just a proposed idea, but the genius was already running experiments long before the war even started, doctor 'Hijikata Kuseno' surprised everyone gathered back then when they looked at him confused, the man was a veteran, a true reference in the field, yet how could he suggest something straight out fiction saying "Let's make super soldiers!" but their surprise was when he introduced what he called 'successful prototypes', they were three people.

The successful prototypes as he said, had eyes devoid of light, they looked dead in every sense of the word, one could guess from their expressions and appearance that whatever the three experienced was something dark and brutal, they looked and behaved like dolls, only listening and never speaking, moving nor reacting unless doing what the doctor ordered them.

The other present minds gathered to discuss the fate of humanity didn't pay much attention to the three presented prototypes as much as they paid attention to the doctor's speech about his research and what the three prototypes can accomplish.

- Super human strength, enough to shatter boulders

- Speed nearing that of sound

- Enhanced vitality and healing

- Boosted senses and reaction speed

- But most of all, signs of awakened psychic abilities

The present people back then were both listening and staring at the doctor, their expressions were a mix of awe and confusion.

If anyone else said what the doctor said, they would call him or her a retard, no they wouldn't even bother to listen as the doctor spoke full of confidence and his gaze and tone were those of arrogance hinting that he could accomplish what others struggled to do for decades if not millennials, it was clear that he was looking down on everyone else present there despite them being the leaders of the survivors, hopes of humanity, many of them were even scientists and doctors of their specific domain.

Naturally with doctor's 'Hijikata Kuseno' attitude, the gathered people couldn't remain silent for long and as if waiting for the right moment before they all snapped, doctor 'Hijikata Kuseno' signaled at one of the prototypes to act.

The prototype in question was well past two meters in height nearly three meters tall with a buff build that if he was green, he wouldn't look much different from a certain gamma powered green angry giant.

That prototype had a large number '1' on his back as if it was burned or engraved on him.

That number '1' became the nightmare for all those present there as the giant prototype wreaked havoc in that bunker where they gathered.

Those that remained safe frozen from fear stared at the giant prototype as he led many of the less unfortunate ones to waste, some even tried to defend themselves before they fell into the clutches of the unleashed beast with what little guns and daggers they carried but their efforts were in vain as bullets were repelled the moment they touched his skin and the blades broke the moment they touched the over bulged muscles of the giant.

From the few survivors that gathered and didn't die from number '1' prototype's brutality became either crippled or missed a limb or two, only few remained safe as the giant monster '1' unleashed by the doctor, always grabbed the nearest to him, spun them in the air and smashed them left and right, up and down like a spoiled child messily playing with his toys.

After few minutes, the doctor signaled to the other two to reign in number '1'.

The two left protypes just like prototype '1', they also were numbered, number '2' and number '3'.

Number '2' had the appearance of thirteen or fourteen years old blond boy while number '3' was a girl of much younger age than the other two prototypes with dark skin and long white hair, her eyes were gleaming in a silver color.

Number '3' looked at number '1' as she lifted her right hand pointing at him and with that gesture, silver aura suddenly appeared surrounding number '1', that visible silver aura was like a rain of light that targeted number '1' bombarding him like thousands of tiny needles.

That sudden silver rain looked gentle yet surprisingly it was a lot painful and put lots of pressure on the giant bulky body of number '1' as it made him fall on his knees with a pained expression, he suddenly looked like he was struggling to stand and move, as if was facing trouble with his body weight and mass, as if the gravity was several times stronger to him alone.

Those that were frozen from fear only watched in silence as the giant was brought to his knees by a little girl who didn't look like she was even of ten years of age.

Meanwhile number '2' walked to those that looked like they were severely injured or in critical condition and the moment he touched one of them, she or he quickly healed physically as all apparent injuries vanished and their facial expressions became calmer and better as all symptoms of their pain almost instantly were gone.

Watching the agape and dazed like expressions of those that watched the little show that he put, doctor 'Hijikata Kuseno' grinned evilly as he maniacally laughed proclaiming his superior intellect and demanding them to follow him, he spread his arms as he looked up as if he was standing at the top of the world and declared to all other to become his followers, that he was the chosen one, the new messiah, he will bring humanity salvation and that he will be the one to put an end to the ten years of war with the robots.

After showing them the performance of the prototypes and made that declaration, surprisingly there was no jeers, or rage of any kind only applaud.

It was only ten years but it felt much longer for those who survived, and those that gathered in that bunker facing the might of those prototypes rather than feeling terrified after such brutality, they were in awe, as they strangely and strongly believed that such brutality from fellow human was much better than what they experienced and saw from the slavery of the sentient robots, if anything they saw the light in those three and the work of doctor 'Hijikata Kuseno' thus the applaud.

And so, a new path was paved after that meeting, the genius doctor was actually hailed as a savior for a while as his work was shared amongst those that swore allegiance to him in that meeting and showed sincerity to him later.

The doctor wasn't afraid of his research being exposed to others as he had a much bigger plan but it was too early back then to reveal it… not to mention he needed the opinions of other scientists and as the saying goes 'two minds are better than one' therefore with many others helping him, his work became much faster and showed even better results than expected.

It was only two years later that 'Project super' was put into practice becoming public to humans, twenty super soldiers were revealed to the public, each having a different and powerful powers compared to the others, those twenty in just few months liberated the earth and thus returning the humans back to the top of the food chain.

It wasn't much later after the robots' defeat, till new laws and regulations were released as now with the threat gone, new breed of people known as supers came into existence.

The supers although saviors but with them being on the loose many became afraid of them even more then the robots, at that era humanity was yet to accept the change and the newcomers but just as there was those against the existence of those supers there were those who promoted them, encouraging their help and existence into making a better future.

Amongst those who liked the idea of super heroes, many started infusing the concept and encourage it in many forms, like hero organizations such as and which was the most successful one the HGO which lasted for more than seventy years and gained lots of admirers as it was formed by some of those saviors and those who announced and made them to eradicate the sentient robots' domination.

As the world of humans gradually thrived, news of doctor 'Hijikata Kuseno' didn't last for too long until it disappeared, in fact it was strange but all matter and proof of his existence except for him being the founder of 'Project super' all disappeared in just few weeks after humanity's win…

The man still lying on the ground clicked his tongue, what saviors? He sincerely hated the very existence of those called supers from the deepest of his heart…

Suddenly a buzzing sound reverberated in the place for a second as two silhouettes took shape out of nowhere.

The man looked around after he sat down to look at the newcomers.

They were a girl and a young boy, they both looked very calm for some reason.

The girl looked at the boy and said something to which he nodded.

The two approached the man who kept looking at them suspiciously.

The girl introduced both herself and the young boy with her, she was called Sara and the little boy was her sibling called Saïd.

Hearing them the man sneered, he didn't see the coming of these two children as a good sign, if anything he was lost, tired and hungry, and now he was supposed to take care of two kids as well?

The man sighed as he stood up then said "The name's John, John Corbin, but to you two, call me mister Corbin, understood?"

John Corbin renewed his determination, he couldn't tolerate himself to look weak and unreliable in front of two 'kidnapped' kids…