"What's this planet called again?" Cha HyunSo asked, peering outside through the translucent walls of their space vehicle. Built like a cube, the machine was larger on the inside, or so he was told by their boss, Professor Pipaluk. 

The man, whose back was turned towards HyunSo, signed. His dark, expression-devoid eyes scanned the document lying on the desk. "Pipaluk calls it Lazarus. I am pretty sure that's not what its natives call it."

"Natives?" HyunSo’s brows furrowed. He walked over to his frenemy. "How are you so sure it's inhabited?" Leaning over the document, he tried- and failed- to make sense of the gibberish the older man had buried himself in for the past few hours. "I haven't seen anyone since we arrived. Have you?"

"We have talked about this, HyunSo." EunHyuk turned to face the man, who it seemed, had no understanding of the importance of personal space and was presently too close for comfort.

"Um?" the younger man quirked his brow. A moment later, understanding dawned on his features. Stepping away from his senior, he lowered his eyes. "Sorry."

"Accepted," the latter replied with practiced nonchalance. "And to answer your question, yes, I have." Without elaborating further, he picked up the document by its frayed edge and waved it in HyunSo's face. "See this?"

"Mn."

"This is the reason we are here." The look of innocent ignorance his companion threw at EunHyuk tickled his heart. He was beginning to understand how his sister must have felt back when the the duo hung out at Green Home, their appartment complex, before the pandemic had painted their world red. "This planet is our future, our new home. Pipaluk says the monsterization virus originated here. Meaning, both transitioning humans and neo-humans will be able to adapt to this atmosphere."

"What about the infected?" The six-foot-three youth demanded, looking at EunHyuk with eyes full of hope. 

Why does he keep bringing that up? Does he want to become Pipaluk's guinea pig? HyunSo was an anomaly, the last of his kind; on Earth, he had no equal, but the neo-human couldn't be sure if that would be true here on Lazarus. There was no telling whether his mutated body, his monster, would accept or reject Lazarus's atmosphere. "You will survive," EunHyuk said, avoiding looking at the young man. 

"Giving hope, I see," a voice, thick and commanding, reached the men, making them stand to attention. "Mr. Lee,"—the stout, clean-shaven man with specks of grays lining his otherwise amber mane cut short like a marine's entered the space they called the observatory—"I thought neo-humans were incapable of compassion," he paused and looked between the two Asian men, "or any feeling at all, for that matter." 

"As long as we try, we can learn anything," Lee EunHyuk clarified and moved closer to HyunSo, the boy responsible for saving not only his sister but scores of his acquaintances in his absence, back on Earth. Back when they called Green Home their home. "HyunSo has walked amongst the Originals. There is much I can learn from him," he lied with ease.

The humans of Earth who had lived and died as humans were dubbed Originals. Those that existed now were segregated into two groups: neo-humans and transitioning humans. 

Neo-humans were considered superior. Their bodies had accepted monsterization and evolved into beings that merely regenerated when killed. With added speed and an agile mind, the neo-humans were found to be capable of everything except emotions, while transitioning humans were ones yet to evolve into neo-humans. Characterized by weak bodies and even weaker minds, these unfortunate beings were the ones EunHyuk feared for most. 

"True." Professor Pipaluk said, holding his hand out and eyeing the document in the neo-human's hand. "I was wondering where these went."

"I didn't know they were of much importance any more." EunHyuk pulled in a deep breath trying to reign in his anger. Since embarking on this mission, his emotions had started to return, a fate he had thought impossible. Handing over the document reluctantly, he asked a question that had plagued him for days. "What will happen to the natives?'

"Ah,"—the professor's blue eyes shone with interest—"you can understand the script."

"It would appear so," EunHyuk struggled to keep his tone bare. He had never trusted Pipaluk, what he had read had cemented his views. "So, what will happen to the natives?"

"None of your business." 

The offhandedness of the response irked the neo-human, but he kept mum. The same couldn't be said about HyunSo, who took a step toward the one in charge of their mission. 

"Mr. Pip-"

EunHyuk grabbed his companion's wrist, stopping the youth dead in his tracks. He shook his head, signaling the latter to hold his tongue. 

The professor knew nothing about HyunSo's status as an infectee on Earth. When he had first made contact with their colony HyunSo had been running an errand outside the settlement; thus he had never met the young infectee's monster. 

Thinking about what would have happened if Pipaluk knew what HyunSo truly was, made goosebumps rise on the neo-human's arms. The man who had informally taken charge of the survivors when their country had fallen to ruins met their superior’s blue eyes with fake confidence. "I understand, Sir."

Pipaluk narrowed his eyes at the younger man. "Is there something you want to add, Mr. Cha?"

HyunSo opened his mouth, but the increasing pressure on his wrist made him close it. He shook his head and lowered his eyes. 

"Good. Now suit up and come see me in cube six in an hour."

"Are you sending us out?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Lee?"

"No, just confirming." EunHyuk shrugged. "I take it we will be briefed when we see you."

"Absolutely." Professor Pipaluk smiled like he was doing them a favor and not sending them on a suicide mission. "If there is nothing else-"

'There is something," EunHyuk interrupted their superior.

"What is that?"

"I would like to know the planet's name, Sir. Its real name."

"Que1101." Pipaluk replied before turning away and leaving the two men's line of sight. 

No sooner did the observatory’s doors close, than HyunSo's inky eyes turned blue; snatching his wrist out of EunHyuk's grasp, he grabbed the older man's collar. "How dare you try to restrain me!?"

The intimidating act didn't frazzle the older guy, much to HyunSo's alter ego's annoyance. "Just because HyunSo puts up with you doesn't mean I will. Don't you ever try-"

"We don't have time for this." Ebony eyes met blue ones. "Pipaluk wants to send us to our deaths. I don't know if I can regenerate here like I do on Earth."

HyunSo's hand dropped to his sides. "What?" he snarled. 

"Can you stop the boy from eavesdropping on our conversation?" EunHyuk directed the question at HyunSo's monster. "I can't deal with the boy now. He has too much heart. I need you." Then without waiting for the blue-eyed version of his friend to reply, the neo-human turned his back on him. "Come see me when you have put the boy to sleep. We are sitting ducks right now. We need a plan. We need it now."

***

Pipaluk couldn't get the boyfriends, as he liked to call the Green Home settlers, out of his mind on his way back to his quarters. There was just something about the two neo-humans that he couldn't put his finger on, but that didn't matter now, they were the best candidates for what he had in mind: to rid Que1101 of its natives. 

Entering his space, Pipaluk pulled a book from his dresser drawer. Thumbing over its title, he caressed its spine, flipped to the last page and read it for the nth time:

"The natives are special. Strong, but vulnerable. They are immune to all but Earth's fire; it is their Kryptonite. Is it any surprise then that in our time together, it was I who cooked all our meals."

Dedicated to: My girl from another world. 

A story by Jack Somerhalder. 

Pipaluk closed his eyes and recalled his first time meeting the once blacksmith, Jack, who had shot to fame with his newly written book: My Girl from Another World, barely a week after its release. 

To the rest of the world, the book was an excellently written science fiction; to Pipaluk, however, it was a treasure trove of information. Information, that could change the course of humanity. And it had. A few months later, the first wave of the monsterization pandemic hit humankind. The resulting domino effect had led them to Que1101, the very planet to which Jack's girl from another world belonged.

Pipaluk smiled at the thought of building a world that would be his to command; a world where he would be king, once the natives were burnt to a crisp, of course. 

*****
[Word count: 1499]

Written for Round 1, Part 1 of The Spec-fic SmackDown.