The dank air of the subway tunnels hung heavy with tension as Dashuan led his ragtag group of Aberrants through the winding passages of the undercity. The flickering emergency lights cast long shadows, making the already unsettling mutations of his followers seem even more grotesque as they skittered along.

Dashuan saw beyond the physical changes, focusing instead on the frightened eyes and trembling hands of people thrust into a world they no longer understood, running for their lives from the government that used to protect them.

Among the group were children, their small bodies warped by the strange energies unleashed during the eclipse. A young girl, no more than seven, clung to her mother's hand, red lizard scales shimmering across her skin.

A teenage boy walked with careful steps, each footfall causing small tremors in the ground around him as his skin was like that of metal.

Dashuan's heart ached for them all, but especially for these young ones whose childhoods had been stolen in an instant. He had just begun to think they might find some temporary peace in the depths of the subway system when familiar voices echoed from up ahead.

"Dashuan!" Arc's abrupt tone cut through the murmurs of the group. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! That is so many more than the few!"

Rounding a corner, Dashuan saw Arc and Derek standing like sentinels, blocking the grimy path forward through the tunnel. Derek's suit gleamed in the dim light, his posture rigid with tension but still twitching at times.

"I was able to do better than I thought, so what...Since when were you two so buddy-buddy?" Dashuan replied, keeping his voice calm yet almost as sharp as hers. "These people need help, same as the people up there."

Derek stepped forward, his pearlescent faceplate sliding back to reveal a troubled face. "You can't just bring a horde of unstable Aberrants into a 'safe zone'. It's too dangerous--The military won't allow it...you're putting everyone at risk."

A ripple of fear went through the group behind Dashuan. He could feel their anxiety mounting, threatening to spiral into outright hysteria. He turned to face them, projecting an atmosphere of composure he didn't entirely feel.

"It's alright," he assured them as his eyes began to glow lilac. "No one's going to hurt you here or turn you away. We're all just trying to figure this out, together."

Arc's hair crackled with stifled energy waves as she glared at the assembled Aberrants. "Figure it out? Dashuan, look at them! We have no idea what they're capable of, what kind of threat they might pose...The few already are too much for Ultress--How the fuck are we supposed to transport this many people?!"

"They're not a threat, not to us at least." Dashuan insisted, his patience wearing thin. "They're victims, just like we were. They need our help, our guidance. Tell whoever Ultress is that she can tell me herself why they can't go to wherever you disappear off to" Jealousy took his tongue, nearly revealing the resentment that had formed since Arc left him to fend for himself.

"And what happens when one of them loses control?" Derek demanded with a flair of his hand. "When their powers lash out and hurt someone?"

Dashuan could tell Derek was speaking about Cassandra, though neither he nor Arc seemed to care deeply. "We can't risk the safety of the few stable individuals we've managed to gather here--let alone the slight peace we have with the other Originals." Derek's eyes finally flashed left, glaring at Arc for only a solid second.

Dashuan felt a surge of frustration swell. "So what's your solution? Leave them to fend for themselves? Let the military hunt them down like sitting ducks after I saved them?"

Without warning, the entire tunnel shook violently, sending loose debris raining down on their heads. The assembled Aberrants cried out in fear, their various mutations reacting instinctively to the perceived threat.

"Damnit! They tracked you, dumbass!" Arc shouted over the rumble of collapsing grey masonry.

Dashuan's blood ran frigid as realization dawned. "They must have detected the concentration of Aberrants here." He remarked.

Another impact staggered the underpass, much closer this time. Cracks fissured across the ceiling, and Dashuan knew they had only moments before the whole structure came down on their heads.

"Everyone, stay close!" he shouted with all his might, reaching out with his powers; Dashuan created a bubble of altered gravity around the group, reinforcing the weakening tunnel walls with the opposite energy of the field around them.

Derek's suit whirred to life, projecting a small forcefield that merged with Dashuan's gravitational barrier. Arc then channeled electricity into the metal supports, trying to hold the structure together through sheer force of will while nearly welding the metal together.

For a terrifying eternity, the world around them shook and crumbled without end. The lesser Aberrants huddled together, their powers flaring erratically in response to their anxiety. Dashuan saw flashes of unexpected beauty amidst the chaos--

flowers blooming from cracked concrete, shimmering forcefields overlapping with his own, a child's scream transforming into a haunting melody that seemed to soothe the very earth itself as they braced against the tonnes of weight above.

When the bombardment finally ceased, they were left in near-total darkness. The emergency lights had failed, leaving only the glow of Arc's electricity and the bioluminescence of several Aberrants to light the scene of solidarity.

"Is everyone alright?" Dashuan hollered out, his voice raspy from the dust that plagued them in the almost neutral gravity.

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A chorus of quivering affirmatives answered him.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he saw that their combined efforts had preserved a pocket of safety amidst the rubble of the old subway.

He knew they couldn't stay here--

The air was already growing thin, and there was no telling how stable the remaining structure was without continued support.

"We need to move," Derek said, his voice fierce behind his faceplate. "The military will be sending ground forces to clean up any survivors...and they will not be happy to find out we had a hand in helping more than they allowed."

Dashuan bobbed his head, then realized Derek might not be able to see the gesture in the dark. "Agreed. But where? The entire city must be a war zone by now--Arc maybe just try to contact, uh; Ultress?"

"The old water treatment plant," Arc suggested quickly without addressing him fully. "It's on the outskirts, mostly abandoned. Plenty of room and the underground sections might provide some shelter from further attacks--I will try to contact Ultress, but there's no fucking way she's gonna go for this bullshit. She wouldn't even take you after the stunt you and Derek pulled 2 months ago"

It was as good a plan as any.

Dashuan turned to preach to the group of Aberrants, many of whom were still shaking with dread and shock. "Listen to me," he said, infusing his voice with all the conviction he could muster.

"I know you're scared. I know this isn't fair. But right now, we need to work together to survive. Can you do that? Can you trust me to lead you to safety?"

There was a moment of apprehensive silence, broken only by the sound of settling debris and the odd infant among them bursting into tears. Then, slowly, heads began to nod fervently. A few voices murmured agreement as they all began to hear the rumblings of tanks above.

"Good," Dashuan declared.

"Now, we're going to move as quickly and quietly as we can. If you have any powers that might help us-– night vision, enhanced strength, anything like that-– speak up. We're all in this together now."

As they began to move through the ruined tunnels, Dashuan couldn't help but marvel at the resourcefulness of the Aberrants. Those with enhanced physical abilities helped clear obstacles and assist the weaker members of the group.

Even the children found ways to contribute, their uninhibited imaginations allowing them to use their new powers in ways the adults might never have considered as they squeezed into narrow passages to find an exit.

Though, the journey was far from easy.

More than once, they had to stop and hide as military patrols passed overhead and in parallel tunnels. The sound of distant explosions and gunfire was a constant reminder of the danger that lurked above as they slaughtered any and all lesser aberrants that still remained on the surface.

As they neared the exit that would lead them closest to the water treatment plant, Dashuan pulled Derek and Arc aside.

"We need to talk about what happens next," he articulated in a low voice. "These people aren't just going to disappear once we reach safety. We have a responsibility to them--I have a responsibility to them."

Derek's faceplate slid back, revealing a scowling face. "Dashuan, I understand you want to help them. But we can't ignore the reality of the situation. Some of these Aberrants are dangerous, whether they mean to be or not...Humans aren't ready to just be intermingled! The repercussions could be catastrophic"

"So we help them learn control, like I've been spouting off" Dashuan insisted, knowing they were just beyond earshot of the group. "We've had YEARS to come to terms with our powers. They've had hours, at most. With proper guidance-"

"Guidance?" Arc interrupted, her voice terse. "We're not fucking teachers, Dashuan. We're barely keeping our heads above water ourselves--Same shit I told you when we first met and you wanted to follow me around like a puppy!" Arc was almost yelling as the main group finally caught up to them. "How are we supposed to manage fifty unpredictable Aberrants on top of everything else?"

Dashuan felt his frustration mounting further. "So what then!? Abandon them? Turn them over to the military?"

"Of course not," Derek said, his tone appeasing. "But we need to be realistic. We can't save everyone, and trying to might just get us all killed."

"We have to try," Dashuan said firmly. "If we start turning our backs on people now, where does it end? Today it's the unstable ones, tomorrow it's anyone who looks too different. We're better than that. We have to be."

A commotion from the group behind them drew their attention. They turned to see a soldier standing at the mouth of the tunnel, rifle raised toward the face of a child.

Dashuan saw the fear in the soldier's eyes, the finger tightening on the trigger.

He saw the Aberrants recoiling in terror, some of their powers flaring instinctively.

Most importantly he saw the child with the earthquake footsteps, stepping forward in confusion, unaware of the danger of the United States military.

Without conscious thought, Dashuan moved.

He threw himself in front of the group, hands outstretched. A wall of intensified gravity sprang up between them and the soldier, just as the rifle fired repeated shots into the crows.

The bullet hung suspended in the air before dropping to the ground with a slight clang. The Aberrants, already on edge, reacted with panic and rage.

Dashuan, Arc, and Derek found themselves caught in the middle of a jumbled melee. The soldier was quickly overwhelmed by a surge of mutant powers, while more troops poured in from outside of the bottlenecked entrance.

"Stop!" Dashuan shouted, trying to be heard over the bluster of battle. "This isn't the way!"

Mere hours of nervousness and persecution had finally boiled over, and the Aberrants were lashing out with all the pent-up fury of the powerless suddenly granted strength of gods.

Derek's faceplate slid into place, deploying countermeasures designed to subdue without killing as the crimson bolts stunned those who tried to get too close.

Arc's electricity raced through the air, scathing friend and foe alike.

As the fight raged, Dashuan locked eyes with Derek across the chaos under his shaded visor.

At that moment, he saw something that chilled him to his core--

Resignation. The same look that had replaced his normally easy-going demeanor when Cassandra was ripped from the mortal coil

Derek had expected this, had been preparing for it. And now, he was acting with a cold efficiency that spoke of long-laid plans in the darkness of the human soul.

"Derek!" Dashuan shouted, deflecting a stream of acid spat by one of the Aberrants that melted a soldier's skin within seconds. "What are you doing?!"

"What needs to be done," Derek's voice came back, distorted by his suit's speakers. "I'm sorry, Dashuan. But we can't let this spread any further--We tried your way."

With disgust written on his face, Dashuan realized that Derek wasn't just fighting to subdue. He was herding the Aberrants, corralling them into a killzone where the military could easily contain or eliminate them like pigs in a slaughterhouse.

"No!" Dashuan roared as he finally realized why Derek was being so helpful, pushing his powers to their limit. He created a dome of altered gravity, separating the Aberrants from both the soldiers and Derek. "I won't let you do this!"

Arc stood frozen, clearly torn between her loyalties. "Dashuan, Derek...Get your heads out of your asses and help me!"

It was too late for reconciliation.

The lines had been drawn once again, and Dashuan found himself standing between Derek and the desperate, frightened people he had sworn to protect.

"Derek," Dashuan said, his voice heavy with sorrow as he took flight. "I've known you for a short time. You were there for me even after what happened. You helped me get a job with the police for fucks sake! But I can't stand by and watch you do this. These people deserve a chance and I will give it to them."

Derek's faceplate slid back, revealing a face etched with ridged lines. "And what about the chances of everyone they might hurt? The lives they might destroy if we let them run wild? Sometimes, Dashuan, there are no good choices. Only necessary ones." The suit had begun to adapt to Dashuans powers, sending more power to the thrusters than Dashuan was able to contain.

The two acquaintances stood facing each other, the air between them heavy with unspoken words and shattered trust. Around them, the battle settled, Aberrants and soldiers locked in a desperate struggle against the enhanced gravity.

There, stood fifty frightened individuals whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time when the world changed forever.

Children with powers they couldn't control, adults struggling to hold onto their humanity in the face of terrifying changes, all of them looking to Dashuan with a mixture of expectancy and nervousness.

Dashuan knew that whatever came next, things would never be the same, but as he stood his ground, shielding the vulnerable from both the military's wrath and Derek's misguided attempt at containment, he felt a sense of purpose crystallize within him.

"I'm sorry, Derek," he said softly. "But I can't let you do this. Whatever happens next, whatever it costs me... I have to believe there's a better way. For all of us."