LONE: The Journey Beyond

"You don't have enough time... They are coming soon..."

In the dark, a voice rang out. It was hard to tell whether it was a male or female voice.

"What the hell? Where am I?" Reven questioned.

"No, it's already here, and soon..."

"What the fu*k is that supposed to mean?"

"You have to grow strong, much stronger; only then will everything be revealed... Beware of the World Energy... Beware…"

The voice abruptly vanished; it seemed as if it wanted to say more but couldn't.

Reven opened his eyes as he looked at his surroundings, confused.

He mumbled, "Beware of the World Energy. What's that supposed to mean? The strange energy that's covering the Earth? Just what kind of a dream was that?"

"I haven't gone senile or something, have I?" He frowned, but soon he put this matter in the back of his mind.

"Oh, you have woken up."

Just then, the door of the room opened, and Dr. Giovanni came in, as he said to Reven.

"How are you feeling?"

"Absolutely fine; I am feeling like I can run a few marathons like they were sprints."

"Sure you can. The GEP is no joke, kiddo; you are a Meta-Human now."

"Thank you for your assistance, doctor."

"It's fine, kid. You are one of the people on whom the ISC will depend soon. Don't disappoint us.

And yeah, you have a week; take rest and meet your family. After that, your true training will start. It will push your mental and physical capacities to the limit."

"Got it, sir." Reven acknowledged.

-----

A week passed, and Reven met with all his friends once and told them that he would be busy doing special training for the next year.

He met Aimee and Vera too, and they discussed many things. Surprisingly, Aimee and Vera told him that they would also be part of the team that trained the Meta-Humans.

Next day. June, 2124.

A young man, around 8 years of age, looking absolutely packed for someone of this age, could be seen coming out of his room as he was greeted by an attendant.

The attendant said, looking at the boy, who was none other than Reven, "Mornin' sir. Everything is prepared; please sign this document, and you will be set."

"Okay." Reven replied as he read the document and then signed it.

The document was a large one. It contained the Non-Disclosure Agreement, Servitude Papers, and No-Objection Form.

These were very important steps, as the ISC would not allow some Meta-Humans to simply roll out in the public and freely do whatever they want.

That was why they selected subjects very carefully and after much consideration and review.

They didn't want something this powerful to fall into the hands of someone dangerous.

In the United States, they directly implanted a chip into the brains of Super Soldiers to control them. The Communists were even worse; they totally wiped out the consciousness of the subjects and used them like puppets.

This even caused a rebellion in the US as someone regained control of the chip inserted in their brain. The guy destroyed an entire US army base in Alaska. It was a disaster before US forces neutralised him.

ISC was much better in this regard, as they didn't issue the chip system. It was truly correct to say that someone's mistake was a lesson for someone else.

"Let's go now. I really want to meet my seniors." Reven muttered.

He was really excited to see other Meta-Humans. They will also be a part of Reven's team for quite some time.

"Okay." The attendant took Reven to his new classroom.

As they entered, Reven remembered the names of his supposed team.

Talos Brightt, the Weapon Master;

Aleena Camaron, the Supercomputer;

Parth Firemane, the Heavy Machine-Gun;

Geena Mayo, the Strategist;

Jun Xiaoyao, the Martial King;

Ken Matsumoto, the Sword Master;

Felix Hicker, the Blood Hunter

and Ronny Strika, the Sharpshooter.

They were the other eight members of the Meta-Humans Squad.

Each one of them was distinguished in some way or another. They were famous in the academy too, as they were the best in their classes and in the academic rankings.

Reven saw them and smiled as he introduced himself, "Names' Reven Greh, nice to meet you all."

"So you are the ninth, huh? Nice to meet you, pal." Talos greeted.

"Nice to meet you." The others also replied.

"Well, I'm looking forward to our training together." Aleena said.

"Same here, everyone." Reven replied with a smile.

-----

"Now that all of you are here, let's start with the details. From today onwards, all the information, including classified information, no matter which category it belongs to, is made available to you.

Though all of you may seem like teens, with the GEP, your brains are a hundred times better than all the adults.

Of course, this means your responsibilities will also increase, and you will be held accountable for your actions.

You are Meta-Humans and we expect you to take this seriously like we do.

Now about how your mental training will be done:

You all are required to learn the entire history, geography, politics, and science of planet Earth, which should be easy with your brains.

For social development, there is a special curriculum, which will be explained later on.

Finally, in physical training, you will be given world-class training that will push all of your bodies to their limits. There are tens of scientists working for months on how to develop you guys to your maximum potential as soon as possible.

Next, your rights:

No political party has any influence or right to give you orders. All your orders will mainly come from Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Sir Rudraax Rawanth, either directly or through procedures.

Things you should never do:

Do not betray us or our trust. You should know the situation in the world after the 3rd War.

The male-to-female ratio was 3:7, which led to the entry of mass female soldiers into the army, but then the 4th War struck, and this led to their pointless deaths as they were neither trained properly nor had the right mentality to fight the war.

The already dwindling population structure crumbled because of it. Now, we do not have any other option but to train children from a young age to at least have someone to defend our homes and, most importantly, to protect themselves.

I hope you understand the situation. This world is no longer the same as it was a hundred years ago. It's more of a dystopia than a happy human society.

We are all cursed to be born, but since we are born, we have to put up a fight.

All right. Dismissed."

The lecturer dismissed the class with a serious look on his face.

With that began Reven and his team's new training regime.

…..

Author's Note:

>> With all the historical, geographical, political, and social backgrounds set, the story will pick up pace and focus in its development now.