"What's happening to the kid, It's definitely a mutation, but I've never seen cells like this before. This is a new discovery, the first of its kind in human history. A mutation that alters the entire human microorganism system!" A woman wearing glasses with green lipstick was looking into a microscope, her white coat on her shoulders. She was thrilled to observe the cells in her microscope.

The cells were spherical with many spines, changing colors repeatedly, found in the blood sample. They multiplied continuously, replacing blood cells and other cells.

Khairul was still lying in his bed while Nasuha sat in her wheelchair. Rose, Shaurya, and Ehsan were also present; the bespectacled woman turned her chair toward them.

"I still don't know what's really happening, but I can study it. It's fascinating; I can't wait to learn more," the woman said, her face slightly flushed.

"Calm down, you mad-scientist... I want you to study Khairul and Nasuha, but hurting them for experiments or research is not allowed," Rose reprimanded.

"I'm not that crazy, but a small piece of flesh wouldn't hurt them too much, would it?" The woman shifted her gaze toward Khairul and Nasuha, both of their expressions turning fearful.

"I've already said, don't hurt them, and that's final."

"You're so sensitive, Rose. How am I supposed to study them if I have so many limitations?" the woman questioned.

"From their stories, we know their powers activate under stress and uncontrolled emotions. We need to find the safest way to ensure they're not too stressed... We're not sure they can fully control their powers," Rose explained, crossing her arms.

"Sigh... okay, I get it. But we've already broken so many rules. I think you're crazier than I am now, Rose, for a police officer, and you too, Shaurya, just following her like a loyal dog..." the woman replied, turning to Shaurya.

"I believe in Sister Rose... That's the only reason I'm here."

"Love truly is blind, huh..." the woman said, then turned her chair back to her desk.

"You're the only one I can trust, Bella. Don't betray me..." Rose warned, and Bella gave a small smile.

"Don't worry about that. I've told you, I'm not that crazy. I won't betray my friend..." Bella replied.

A few days had passed since the incident at the Ipoh Hospital. Sister Rose and Shaurya had moved me and Nasuha back to Selangor. Apparently, they lived here too, and in Putrajaya, there was a friend of theirs who would study me and Nasuha to find out what had happened to us.

My injuries and Nasuha's were healing quickly; according to Bella, it was because of our mutations. Our cells healed and changed faster than a normal human's. There was a new type of cell in our bodies, enhancing and creating something new within us.

I didn't understand anything she explained...

"Nasuha, you need to go back to school..." Ehsan said, sitting in front of Nasuha, while Khairul just watched them from his bed.

"Huh?" Nasuha replied, confused.

"I already spoke with the school, and they already know what really happened. The kids who bullied you won't bother you anymore. Nasuha, you need to go to school. I'll discuss this with Rose too..." Ehsan explained.

"I don't believe what you're saying right now," Nasuha sighed.

"Your future, Nasuha. That's important to me! You're not a monster; a few days have passed, and you've managed to control your powers. I don't want you to fall behind in your studies," Ehsan replied, and Nasuha clenched her fists.

"You really don't understand anything... I don't want to go to that school anymore," Nasuha stated, causing Ehsan to fall silent for a moment.

"You heard her...old man," Khairul chimed in, and Ehsan shot him a glare.

"Shut up! Don't interfere," Ehsan said.

"You're nobody to me... Did you have time when your kid wanted to jump off a bridge? In the pouring rain? If you saw what I saw that day, you wouldn't let Nasuha go back to that useless school," Khairul retorted, causing Ehsan to stand up and approach Khairul.

"You! No wonder your father tried to kill you; you're such a disrespectful child! You don't understand what it means to be a parent! Nasuha's life is a mess because of you!" Ehsan yelled, pulling Khairul's shirt.

Khairul just smiled.

"Blame me if that makes you feel better about yourself. Can't accept it, can you, old man? You're equally irresponsible, which is why you're putting the blame on me. I'm not stupid; I've been in situations like this many times..." Khairul replied, and Ehsan looked even more enraged.

"Enough, both of you!" Nasuha shouted. Ehsan and Khairul fell silent, and Nasuha glared at both of them, then took a deep breath.

"I'm not going to that school anymore, that's final! And Khai, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. He's still my father; show him some respect... even if he's wrong," Nasuha admonished. Ehsan released Khairul's shirt while Khairul averted his gaze, both of their expressions still unsatisfied.

"Enough... Don't argue, don't argue... What's wrong with you, Khairul? Don't make your future father-in-law hate you," Rose chided as she entered their room, clapping her hands a few times.

"Sister Rose..."

"Don't even think about it... I won't let my daughter be with a useless kid like you..."

Khairul fell silent. Rose stopped in front of the three of them and placed her hands on her hips.

"Mr. Ehsan, I understand how you feel. But Nasuha needs more time to adjust to her current life. Out there, there are many dangers we're unaware of with the presence of mutations and monsters. Nasuha is only 16; she has plenty of time to catch up on her studies when the time comes," Rose advised. Ehsan nodded in understanding, and a smile formed on Rose's face.

"Now I'm going to contradict what I just said. Today, both of you, Khairul and Nasuha... let's go out for a stroll!" Rose pointed at them.

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

Khairul and Nasuha wore nearly identical confused expressions.

"You two have been cooped up for far too long. Your wounds are healing quickly; you're not in much pain, right? You're just being dramatic sitting on that bed and in that wheelchair," Rose's words pierced them like arrows.

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"You both have gone through so much; it's time to reward yourselves with a little outing. Go relieve some stress, of course, Shaurya and I will keep a close eye on you to ensure nothing unexpected happens. So where do you both want to go?" Rose offered.

Nasuha thought for a moment, but Khairul quickly answered without much thought.

"To the burger shop... the place where I used to work, I want to go there."

"Alright... Shaurya can take you. What about you, Nasuha?" Rose turned to Nasuha.

"I'm not sure... but if I could go home and pick up my things from my room, that would be okay too. I want to get my phone and my stuff," Nasuha replied.

"Damn..." Rose didn't know how to react to their requests.

These kids... Rose thought. Usually, others their age would take this opportunity to really let loose—go to the mall to unwind, or go to a park to take pictures, or anywhere fun like a fair or an amusement park...

One wants to go to a burger shop... the other just wants to go home.

"Khai?" Hazim looked surprised to see Khairul in front of his burger stall. He was wearing an apron and arranging the tables.

"Hey..." Khairul smiled faintly and raised his hand. Hazim looked angry and approached Khairul.

"I know you're mad. I did something stupid, didn't listen to you, disappeared for days, didn't contact you all... You must be going to fire me. I understand, and I deserve to be fired... I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Hazim. I can't repay—" Khairul's lengthy apology was cut off when Hazim hugged him.

"I was worried, you know? What did you do this time?" Hazim released him and held both of Khairul's shoulders, looking very concerned.

"It's a long story... but I really can't return to work anytime soon. There's something important going on with the police... I can't share everything, but Hazim, my father is gone... He might be dead." Khairul recalled when Nasuha shot Zaki with the Star Beam, sending him flying. Zaki's fate was still a mystery, but Khairul was pretty sure Zaki was dead.

"That's good... You won't be hurting anymore," Hazim smiled, and Khairul nodded.

"If anything comes up, let me know. Call me. If you have nowhere to go, come back to my place. You just have to put up with my little sister's antics, she can be annoying," Hazim advised.

Khairul smiled a little. "Yeah, I'll call you... once my issues are sorted."

Hazim glanced behind Khairul at the black car where Shaurya was watching them.

"Is that the police?" Hazim asked.

"Yeah... Don't worry, he just wants to make sure I'm safe," Khairul replied.

"Khai... you're not alone; I'm here for you."

"I know... I've got other friends now too."

"Is it that girl from the other day?" Hazim asked.

"Yeah," Khairul nodded with a smile.

Nasuha left her house with a suitcase filled with her belongings. She got into Rose's red car, where Rose and Ehsan were waiting.

"That's all, I think..." Nasuha said as she settled into the back seat.

"Alright." Rose started the car engine, and Nasuha leaned her head against the window, looking at her house. She took a deep breath and then shifted her gaze forward. Ehsan was silent but looked clearly disturbed. Rose observed them and let out a long sigh.

"You both need some family therapy. Follow me; it's time to strengthen your family bonds," Rose chided, and Ehsan and Nasuha turned to her with confused expressions.

"You... are the weirdest cop," Ehsan sighed.

Rose took them to an arcade in a shopping mall, where Nasuha and Ehsan stood in front of the arcade, still puzzled. Rose walked toward them and showed them a point card for playing at the arcade.

"This card has 50 points on it; we have to play until we drop," Rose said.

"Sorry, Sister Rose. I really don't understand what's happening right now..." Nasuha interjected, and Rose sighed.

"Just follow me and play..."

"I'm too old for all this," Ehsan replied.

"I'm older than you if you want to know," Rose shot back. Ehsan turned to her and sighed again.

They played air hockey first, with Rose and Ehsan competing while Nasuha stood by watching.

"Ready?"

"Whatever."

Rose hit the puck hard multiple times, scoring a lot. At first, Ehsan ignored her, but as Rose kept scoring, he became more serious about the game, and before they knew it...

Player 1 - 23 Score!

Player 2 - 10 Score!

"What a noob..." Rose teased.

"Noob? What does that mean?" Ehsan asked, puzzled.

"It means someone who isn't good at a game," Nasuha suddenly chimed in, surprising Ehsan.

"Oh... okay..." Ehsan nodded in understanding. Rose smiled, noticing how focused Nasuha was while watching them play.

"Nasuha, it's your turn now."

"O-Okay." Nasuha looked excited.

She competed against her father, hitting the puck more slowly than Rose, allowing Ehsan to return the shots, and this time, Ehsan scored first.

"Haha..." Ehsan felt a bit proud. Nasuha looked distracted and hit the puck harder, and Ehsan responded with harder hits as well. They played and, without realizing it, started having fun together.

One by one, they played various arcade games together with Rose. Nasuha and Ehsan began talking more as they played until they entered a game where they were in a car shooting zombies.

"Nasuha..."

"Yes?"

"It's been a while since we went on a vacation, right? When I think back, since your mom passed away, we haven't spent much time together..."

"I've been busy with PT3, right? You've been busy with work... What can we do?"

"I regretted it... what happened to you; I know I was wrong." The game they were playing ended right after Ehsan spoke those words, and Nasuha fell silent.

"Do you remember when you slapped my face? I was really scared, afraid that things at home would be like at school. I was scared," Nasuha replied, and Ehsan's expression turned horrified.

"Nasuha...I-I..." Ehsan didn't know what to say.

"Let's go see another game..." Nasuha suggested, but Ehsan grabbed his daughter's hand, and Nasuha froze for a moment.

"Nasuha... I'm sorry, what I did was all wrong. You've never disappointed me before; I was foolish. I should have just trusted you. I should have known you better..." Ehsan pleaded, and Nasuha remained silent for a long time, looking at her father with a sad expression.

"Right now I don't think... I can forgive you," Nasuha said, and Ehsan released her hand, looking away with tears in his eyes.

"But... I want to try. Give me time," Nasuha added, and Ehsan looked back at his daughter.

"Okay... Sure..." Ehsan smiled bitterly.

"Look what I won!" Rose showed off a plush toy she got from the claw machine, a Ms. Star doll.

"Ms. Star plushie," Nasuha said.

"Take it..." Rose offered.

"Ah, okay." Nasuha took the plush toy and just looked at it, recalling when she used the Star Beam.

"It feels ironic to give you that plushie," Rose said, resting her chin on her hand.

"I see Ms. Star... The power you used back then was the Star Beam, just like Ms. Star, right?" Rose asked. Nasuha looked at her palm.

"That's it... Every time I think about it, I don't understand at all. But at that moment, what I was thinking was the Mantis' words that Khairul said, and in my heart, I kept saying, 'If you're the Mantis, I'll become your Ms. Star.' Before I knew it... I could shoot the Star Beam," Nasuha explained, and Rose listened intently.

"Don't move," someone warned. Rose and Nasuha looked alarmed, seeing a man behind Rose and a woman with short purple hair behind Nasuha, her hand at Nasuha's back.

"W-Who are you?" Rose asked.

"That's not important right now..." the man behind Rose replied, his hand over Rose's concealed pistol.

"Where's the one with the mutation aura?" the man asked the woman with hair covering her left side; her right eye was red with an oddly shaped iris.

"This girl, she's a Mutant," the woman replied, glancing at Nasuha.

"Nasuha, are you okay?" Ehsan asked. Suddenly, the man and the two women from before disappeared, and Rose placed her hand on her pistol, ready to draw it while Nasuha looked around.

"What just happened?" Ehsan was confused.

"We're not enemies; relax," the man reappeared in front of them with the two women. He had short hair and wore square glasses. A shorter man, whose hair covered both his eyes and looked scared, stood behind the woman with hair covering her left eye.

"We're Mutants, just like this girl... We're currently gathering other Mutants who haven't fully turned into monsters. I'm the leader of this group; my name is Khalid." Khalid introduced himself, while Rose and Nasuha still appeared anxious. Ehsan stood in front of them, blocking Khalid and his group from getting closer to Nasuha.

"Mutants?" Rose asked.

"Yes... Strange creature incidents have been occurring since recently. They are the result of Mutants who can't control their powers and emotions, turning them into Strays. The Mutant Cell in this girl has already activated; if she doesn't learn how to control it, she will become a Stray," Khalid explained.

"How do you know so much about this?" Rose was still skeptical, while Nasuha clenched her fists, unsure of how to react.

"We know who is spreading the Mutant Cells. It seems you also know something about what's happening now; my guess is you're a police officer. With a high rank. Trust us, what we want to do is ensure that the tragedies that occurred on the highway and at Ipoh Hospital don't happen again..." Khalid urged, extending his hand towards Rose.

"Someone is spreading these strange cells?" Nasuha asked.

"Yes, and more precisely, they are not people but other life forms. There's a lot to explain, and this isn't the right place. Follow us, I'll take you to that alien that is spreading the Mutant Cells. All I ask for is your trust," Khalid offered. Rose thought for a moment while Nasuha had already made her decision...

"Show us. We'll see that alien." Nasuha replied.

"Alright," Khalid said with a smile.