Femi lay on his bed, arms crossed behind his head, staring at the ceiling. The fan rattled weakly above, barely cutting through the Lagos heat. Outside, the city roared awake—hovering drones zipping past, motorbikes screaming, vendors shouting. Same chaos as always, but somehow… bigger.
He let his thoughts drift. Graduation done. Diploma in hand. Safe in the middle of the class. Not rich. Not special. Not someone the world would notice.
But the world… that was something else entirely.
Lagos was alive, yes, but it was nothing compared to the bigger picture. Mutants weren't just a city problem—they were everywhere. People with strange abilities, extra strength, energy manipulation, mutations that bent reality. Some were heroes, some were disasters. Governments tried to control them, but even the Popular Union—the Earth Union—couldn't contain everything.
Then there was space. Mars had fully functional colonies now, floating cities under domes, mining belts, research hubs. People lived, worked, and trained there. Saturn's moons—Titan, Enceladus—hosted experimental settlements. Enceladus was mostly research stations, ice-covered cities, strange labs. People joked about the "frozen vacation," but Femi knew it wasn't a joke. These were real places, with real money, tech, and power.
Back on Earth, nations still existed, technically, but the Earth Unionran the show. Global laws, mutant regulation, space exploration coordination, tech distribution. Some said it was efficient; some said it was oppressive. Either way, Lagos was a small piece of a much bigger puzzle.
Supers were rare, terrifying, and unpredictable. People who could bend reality, move mountains, or alter time in small bursts. Most were employed—or hunted—by the Union, but every so often one slipped through. Reports of them came from satellite feeds, news drones, intercepted transmissions. People whispered about them like urban legends, but the world had learned to adapt.
Femi rolled onto his side, staring at his cracked window. Somewhere above, satellites blinked lazily, scanning the planet. Drones patrolled cities. Ships prepared for Mars departures. Mutants trained in hidden facilities. Governments watched, controlled, and sometimes failed.
And him? Just a kid without even a motorbike, just a diploma, and a plan.
The army application on the desk. Money almost zero. Dreams messy, but alive.
He exhaled slowly. The city roared below. The world stretched farther than Lagos, beyond Earth itself, filled with danger, opportunity, and chaos. And somehow, Femi felt ready.
He had just submitted his application not long ago
He was now thinking... Thinking of the past, present and the future
He remembered his dead parents, who dies in a car accident and two yearsayer his brother left home and never came back, his last words was to be prepared at all times
He never understood why his brother never came back did something happen to him or did he leave on his own accord
The only thing he left him was a passkey that could be used to open parcel locker back at the public storage office
His brother told him to unlock it on his 16th birthday
That was tomorrow, but first he would visit his girlfriend, arelia and gift her something
He slowly drifted away in thoughts and before you knew it he was asleep