The city was nothing but bones now.

Crows picked through broken windows. The skyline was jagged. Ash floated like snow. The war ended long ago—but the hunting didn’t. Soldiers swept sector after sector, rounding up anyone too fast, too strong, too strange. Most of the mutants were dead. Caged. Experimented on.

But not all.

Something stirred in the underground train station. Beneath layers of broken glass, a hand pushed upward through a grate. Then a body pulled itself out—shirt clinging to damp skin, back arched with exhaustion.

Jungkook, panting hard, eyes glowing faint red in the dark. His jaw clenched as he stood—muscles shifting under skin too perfect, too hard. His mutation: bio-adapted predator. Every part of him evolved beyond human. Fast-twitch fibers, vision in the dark, teeth that grew sharp under pressure. He sniffed once, picking up something on the wind.

Another presence.

Namjoon stepped out from an old stairwell, coat heavy, boots dragging. His hands were covered in fine dust, but his body moved like it weighed nothing. Gravity didn’t touch him anymore—not since the blast. His mutation let him manipulate his own weight, making his body near weightless—or impossibly heavy.

"You made too much noise," Namjoon muttered. "You’ll get us tracked."

"Tracked by who?" Jungkook snarled. "You?"

Namjoon’s hand twitched. He didn’t answer.

A flash of white darted past behind them—quick as a shadow.

Jimin appeared like a blur, landing with perfect balance atop a broken pillar. His arms were folded, caracal ears twitching slightly, tail flicking once behind him. He didn’t smile. His mutation made him a cat hybrid, silent and impossibly fast. His eyes glowed softly in the dark.

"You're all idiots for hiding above ground."

A sudden hiss of electricity echoed through the tunnel.

Yoongi stood near a downed wire, fingers twitching with static. Sparks crawled up his wrist, trailing toward the metal bolts in his collar. He could draw current from anything—even tension. A conduit mutant—his body stored and released voltage in exact amounts. Right now, his fingers sparked with warning.

Another laugh echoed. Not quite human.

Hoseok dropped from the broken ceiling, hitting the ground in a crouch. His eyes blinked sideways—gecko mutant, skin tough and regenerative, able to cling and climb effortlessly. His hands flexed, gripping old stone like it was bark.

"You guys do know this is an old patrol zone, right?"

A shadow passed overhead.

They all looked up to see a figure gliding—wings stretched wide.

Seokjin landed hard, feathers ruffled, eyes scanning every corner. A harpy hybrid, his wingspan nearly twelve feet. His bones were light, his hearing unmatched. He didn’t speak, just stared. Tall. Watchful. Dangerous.

"Military’s two blocks over," he finally said. "They’ll sweep this place by nightfall."

Last to step out was Taehyung, emerging from behind a snapped column. His face was blank, but his shadow moved differently—too long, flickering like a flame. He was a shadowmancer, pulling movement from the dark itself. His real weapon wasn’t muscle. It was misdirection.

"We need to move."

"No," Yoongi snapped. "Someone else is here."

They all went still.

Taehyung’s shadow curled unnaturally, sensing movement.

Jimin dropped low, ears flicking. "I smell something new."

Namjoon stepped back, letting his body float a few inches from the ground.

Jungkook bared his teeth.

Seokjin’s wings flared slightly.

And Yoongi whispered, "They’re watching us."

Another heartbeat passed.

Then—

Gravel shifted at the far end of the tunnel.

A silhouette stood just beyond the broken doorway. Not human. Not fully.

Hoseok’s fingers tightened on the wall.

"Another mutant?" Jimin murmured.

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed.

"Or a mistake."