Wolf, a young girl about 15 years old, stares with wide eyes, her face bruised and bloody. Her eyes express confusion and shock as her hands tremble. She sits on her hands and knees as she stares with horror across her face.

“What… happened?..”

She asks softly as she stares into a crater where a city once stood filled with thousands of innocent lives.

TIME UNTIL “The Yupond Incident”: 3 MONTHS.

“My name is Wolf Anderson. You don’t know me yet… but you will.”

Her voice sounds in darkness as suddenly, an adult woman rushes through some thin woods and bushes, panting and looking around as if in fear of something hunting her. As she runs, her foot hits a thick root sticking up from the ground causing her to tumble forward. She falls through the bushes and trees before slamming onto an asphalt ground, a road under the dark of night. She lifts herself up a bit with a pained look, rubbing her head.

“You should really watch your step. You don’t want to trip and fall, do you?”

The woman’s eyes open wide as she turns around but sees nothing. She quickly gets to her feet and looks around in a panic as a young girl in shorts, a purple jacket and black boots with socks going up just under her knees, crouches on a branch over her, watching her. 

“Then again, tripping is the least of your problems right now.”

The girl says with an ominous tone. The woman spins and looks at her in the tree quickly but before she can do anything, Wolf tackles her to the ground. The woman hits the ground hard with a yell of pain as Wolf sits on top of her, a smirk spread across her face.

“Now tell me, why did you have to hurt the kid? Surely, this isn’t what you wanted, was it?”

The woman struggles beneath her but can’t move.

“Just leave me alone! What does it have to do with you anyway?!”

She yells. Wolf smirks before getting off of her and stepping back. The woman looks confused but still focused as she begins to stand up cautiously.

“I see why your name popped back up on the registry. Most people tend to heed the warning given to them the first time but you. You’re special.”

The woman gets a frustrated look before slowly sliding her hand behind her, reaching for a knife she has hidden in her pocket.

“Look, I’m really sorry for what I did. I promise to never do it again. In fact, why don’t we go back together and you can watch me make it up to him personally!”

She lies with a deceptively innocent smile on her face as she readies the knife. She then swings it out and down at Wolf while still lying, trying to catch her off guard but without hesitation, Wolf catches the knife with her right hand, the blade running straight through her palm. The woman’s eyes widen with shock as she watches this teenage girl stop the blade that just ran through her palm without the slightest bit of flinching. Wolf’s eyes focused on the woman’s as the smirk doesn’t leave her face. Stunned by the action before her, Wolf strikes her across the face, sending the woman flying across the road before slamming back down. She lays still on the ground for a moment before groaning and trying to lift herself up again, blood dripping from her mouth and nose, her cheek swollen. Wolf steps forward as her smirk disappears.

“You know, I don’t really care about people all that much. If I don’t know them, I don’t care what happens to them.”

She says casually before slamming her foot against the woman’s back and stomping her into the ground. The woman screams in pain as Wolf leans in close to her, a sharp toothed smile on her face.

“But you beat that boy, that innocent child. I can’t stand trash like you. So now, I’m going to do to you what you did to him.”

The woman shakes as she looks back at Wolf with fearful eyes, the last thing she sees is Wolf’s fist.

Wolf walks down the street, still the same night, wrapping her palm with bandages before tearing it with her teeth and sliding the bandage roll in her hoodie pocket. She walks to an abandoned looking building, tagged with graffiti and slightly damaged, where a kiosk window sits, a metal shutter closed over it. She knocks on the cover and waits for a moment before it opens up, a man hunched over on the other side. 

“626-27. Pleasure to see you again.”

“Yeah, yeah, I finished my job. Pay up.”

She says while looking away, uninterested in his words.

“Your evidence?”

The man’s scratchy voice speaks. Wolf looks at him before lifting her closed fist over the tray in the kiosk and opening her hand, teeth falling into the tray, clanking around before settling. The man grins, satisfied. 

“As usual, your work is without delicacy.”

“Whatever you say. Pay up.”

She repeats before a stack of five Isos slides through the slot. 

“500 Uni Credits. Please do return for more jobs later.”

His scratchy voice says through curled lips as Wolf grabs the Isos. She stares at them for a moment with a blank stare that is filled with slight underlying distress.

“Remind me again who posted the ad.”

She says softly. The attendant stares at her for a moment with the same crooked smile on his face, not blinking before breathing out.

“Only because you’re my favorite.”

Wolf looks at the man as he speaks.

“It was the boy’s caretaker, his uncle. Upon seeing the bruises and lost teeth after being returned by his mother, he decided to file once again for more intense measures.”

The man answers with casual cadence. Wolf looks down for a moment before shoving the Isos in her pockets. She turns to walk away before stopping and speaking one last time.

“Tell him to file again if the boy is ever hurt again. And remind him that if he does let that boy out of his sight again, I’ll take his teeth next.”

She commands aggressively but quietly. The attendant simply maintains the awful smile he has.

“Understood. Good night 626-27.”

The shutter shuts once again as Wolf walks away. She throws her arms behind her head as she looks around. 

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“That went faster than I thought it would. I wonder if there’s anything else fun to do while I’m out?”

She thinks out loud before there's a rumble and explosion in the distance, deeper into the city. She looks over quickly as the smoke rises. She smirks.

“Well that looks like fun.”

She says before bolting in the direction of the explosion and jumping up against a wall, then wall jumping from there over a stone wall blocking her path.

At the scene, people being to run and screen in terror away from the sight of the explosion and now fiery, dangerous area. Wolf lands from up high off a nearby building as people push past her. She steps in the chaos’ direction, bumping into people until one man slams against her but he simply hits the ground from the impact, Wolf unphased. She looks down at him as he rubs his head for a moment.

“Guh.. Hey, come on! We gotta go-”

He begins to shout at her to come with but stops when he looks at her. He stares in shock for a moment as Wolf stares down at him, her purple eyes seemingly glowing. The man freaks out a bit before scrambling to his feet and running away. Wolf’s eyes droop a little before her ears perk up at a certain sound.

“Go go! It’s a Torn!”

She hears shouted as people run by. Her eyes widen with seeming excitement as she snaps her head back to the scene.

“A Torn!”

She thinks. Wolf prepares to rush in but before she can, she stops as a look of surprise spreads across her face. She watches as a bus begins to rise from the smoke and debris. Soon, she sees a large man, roughly 3.5 meters in height, lifting a bus full of people on his shoulders with a smile across his face. He stomps on out of the smoke and lowers the bus to steady ground with Peace Officers and EMS gathering to help the people. 

“Make sure the injured are tended to and keep everyone else back. This is a big one.”

The large man commands as he turns and looks back to the center of the crater from the explosion. A monster with no eyes, long arms and claws screeches as fire bursts from its hands. Wolf watches and overhears a couple EMS responders talking.

“Another Torn attack?”

“They’re happening more and more often now.”

“Yeah, and this one might even be a Grand Fracture.”

Wolf’s eyes widen as she looks back to the large hero now facing off against the monster. 

‘Southpaw, the strongest hero in the world, about to fight what could be a Grand Fracture!’

She thinks as her eyes shine with excitement. Southpaw smiles as the monster screeches, blasting its waves of fire in all directions, aimlessly. Southpaw starts stomping down the crater towards the creature, his smile never leaving. The monster notices him before snapping its head his way. It screams again and slams its hands together, blasting a powerful fire wave at Southpaw. Without stopping, without even flinching, he continues to stomp through the fire towards the monster until he stops for a moment. He then lifts his leg up before slamming it down with tremendous force, blasting the fire out with the shockwaves and dispersing it, putting out the fires all around and knocking back the monster. It stumbles back for a moment when suddenly Southpaw appears right in front of it with blistering speeds. The creature is stunned as Southpaw quickly grabs hold of it by the neck, lifting it off the ground. It struggles for a moment before slamming its claws against his body and shoulders repeatedly until it strikes the man’s head but they shatter on impact. 

“Your Soul may be Fractured but you are Torn. May peace go with you.”

He says with his smile still intact but a softer tone in his voice as the creature screams before Southpaw crushes it within his grasp, black blood falling around and under its body. As silence falls over the area, the crowd that is still around begins to cheer for the hero’s victory and in relief of the monster’s defeat. Wolf watches with wide eyes and a warm look on her face. 

‘Heroes are so…’

She thinks as her eyes shine brightly before suddenly they go dull as she gets a bored look on her face.

“Boringggg.”

She groans as she throws her arms behind her head again and starts to walk away.

“Imagine having to get permission to help people or becoming famous for that matter. Bleh!”

She sticks her tongue out with a displeased look. Then her look softens a bit as a small smirk spreads across her face.

“Still, I don’t think even I could’ve beaten that Torn and saved all those people that fast..”

She says with a hit of admiration in her voice as she walks back home.

In a small highschool, a girl with short, shoulder length brunette hair leaves a classroom holding a folder with papers in it. She walks down the hall, her hair flowing side to side with every step, and just as she rounds the corner, a couple older teens stomp in front of her.

“Well well well. Look who we have here.”

“The little birdie all by herself. Where’s the mutt, huh?”

“That don’t matter. We’ll deal with her later.”

They taunt her. The girl stops but doesn’t bother to look at the bullies as they step around her. The first bully leans down and gets closer to her face.

“Not such a loud mouth now without your guard dog around, are ya?”

The girl doesn’t react.

“You see, the Ring Gang don’t take kindly to those who hurt our members. We own this side of the school and people need to know their place. When we step up, everyone else steps aside.”

He says, trying to be intimidating. Down the hall, a girl stomps her way quickly towards them, her fist clenched tightly.

“So how about you come with us so we can discuss how you intend to pay us back for what you and your little friend did the other day?”

He says, eyeing her up and down as he goes to run his hand across her face but just before he can touch her, Wolf slams her foot down next to them and drives her fist directly into the guy’s face, sending him flying through the air and out of the hall. The girl looks up in surprise as the other bully gets a scared look.

“Johnni!”

She shouts as she rushes to his side where he lay unconscious. The bully looks back at Wolf and the girl.

“You!”

Wolf puts her hands on her hips and rolls her eyes.

“Yes, it’s me, Wolf Anderson. And you guys better remember the name because if I hear any of you trying to take claim over any part of the school again, I’m gonna trash each and every one of you, got me?!”

She shouts, threateningly as the bully freaks out. 

“Come on, hurry up! Let’s go!”

She rushes to her feet and helps the other guy up as they run away. Wolf then turns around and smiles at the girl, Phoenix Geist, with a little giggle. Phoenix shakes her head a bit with a soft smile.

“You know, I could’ve taken them. I was just waiting for the right moment.”

She says as Wolf shrugs and begins to walk away.

“Well, you know what they say, you snooze you lose and it looks like you snost and lost.”

She says before bumping into a teacher. She looks up and sees an older man with silver hair staring down at her with a disappointed look. Wolf droops with a sweat.

“Oh shit…”

She says before the teacher grabs onto her head with a tight grip. Wolf struggles underneath his grasp with a pained look.

“How many fights is that this year alone?”

“Well.. can you really call them fights if I win so easily?..”

She says sarcastically as she continues to struggle. Teach gets an unamused look before tightening his grip causing Wolf to yelp in pain.

“If it means anything, Teach, she was trying to protect me. Even if I didn’t need it.”

She says with an annoyed look at Wolf.

“Don’t excuse her, Phoenix. She knows better than getting into fights.”

He notices her hand bandaged from the night before and lets her go before grabbing her wrist with a frustrated look.

“Look! You’ve still got injuries from your last fight! When was this?!”

He shouts, shaking her hand in front of her face.

“Uh.. last night..”

Teach stares blankly for a moment before grabbing onto her head again even more frustrated.

“So what?.. Not like it affects me…”

Wolf says as Teach sighs and steps back, finally letting her go and putting his hands on his hips. Wolf pouts.

“I haven’t been training you for the past 9 years just so you can get into pointless squabbles.”

“No no, I have a point. I gotta let everyone know how tough I am. You know how much I value strangers’ opinions of me.”

She says sarcastically again as Teach stares at her for a moment before a loud bonk is heard causing Phoenix to flinch at the sight. Wolf then lays on the ground with a big bump on her head. 

“Anyway, did you get those papers for me Ms. Geist?”

Phoenix nods happily and hands over the folder.

“Yes sir!”

She says happily as Teach looks through them. He smiles satisfied before looking at Phoenix.

“Amazing job, as usual Ms. Geist. If only Wolf could learn some of that responsibility.”

He says as they both look at her on the ground. 

“Okay, you got this right?”

He says, looking at Phoenix who sighs at Wolf before smiling softly.

“Of course.”

She says before Teach walks away with a nod.