Maxwell Lin, well-known policeman was packing my bags. I stood by the corner of my small, lovely apartment that I had decorated on my own, watching him place all my clothes on my bed and fold them up neatly before placing it in a big, massive bag that would have been able to fit my dead body in.

He sat at the edge of the bed, doing the same thing to each piece of clothing in silence.

"You really don't have to do that."

Max looked up, surprised. He must have been in his own mind when I spoke.

"Oh... I mean, I'm just trying to speed up the process of packing for you."

"You want it fast, you can just shove it in," I told him, walking towards him and placing all the unfolded clothes in the bag. "Bam. Bam. Bam! There you go!"

Done with one swift motion. I had dropped all the crumpled clothes into the bag and beamed at him. I closed it, zipping it up and giving it a pat.

"Wait. I need my insides," I said, going to the balcony where my undergarments were being hung.

"Insides?"

"Close your eyes, Maxwell Lin!" I said, Max bringing his hands up to shield his eyes. "I don't need you seeing how bombastic my insides are!"

My insides, or my undergarments, were a bunch of granny panties and sports bras. They went into the suitcase. Along with my pink rabbit mug and my paints.

"Should I bring this lamp?" I asked, Max lowering down his hands. He scratched the back of his neck.

"We can come get it if you're sure you want to stay."

"My mother gave me this lamp."

"I thought you were an orphan?"

"I am. I just wondered how it would feel like saying that," I replied. "I bought it from a thrift shop because there was a moth living in it. It's dead now."

"Why would you buy it if there was a moth living in it?"

"Because if someone beat me to it, they'd kill the moth!" I lowered my voice. "People think moths are bad omens, y'know?"

After a few back and forth on what to bring and what to not, we were now loading everything into the car. Max shoved the lamp onto the backseat.

"It's a long drive. The office is kind of isolated from society?" His voice rose into a nervous question.

I noticed that Maxwell often changed his statements to questions whenever he was nervous. Once he said: Sorry that it landed on your pigtails?

I don't know what he was nervous about, but it may have been because he accidentally grabbed one of my top-insides and flung it across the room. It landed on my head. I tugged the bra from my head and removed it from sight – Maxwell looked more comfortable without having any of my insides in view.

"Let's go!"

Maxwell briefed me. I would have to manage five people. Workers, or some sorts. Deal with their lunch schedules, make sure they achieve operational excellence, and just try to make sure nothing goes wrong.

"How hard can that be?" I asked, Max telling me that everything from the lunch menus and schedules are provided. It would be my job to make sure it everything gets done without any issues.

"Not that hard?" Max replied. I wondered why he made it into a question.

Little did I know that Maxwell Lin, a devout Christian, was praying in his head for God to forgive him for all his sins.

_______________________________________________________________________________

It was a manor. There was nothing "office-y" about it. I expected a high-rise building with rotating glass doors as an entrance and a reception for people to smile at you when you enter with a keycard.

Part of the reason why I said yes to the job was because I wanted to feel important coming to work every morning.

"This is the Sunset Manor," Maxwell said, parking right in front of the door. The door was bordered by intricate designs engraved on the door frame. There were two thick columns on either side of the steps.

"Looks like the front of the national library," I told Max who gave out a dry chuckle that sounded like he was choking. "I forgot to ask. What do these people do?"

"Y-Y-You'll see," Max spluttered. "They are very important people."

For a moment, my big brain wondered if he brought me to see the Superhumans as a surprise since I once told him I was a big fan. However, I was reminded of him telling me that there were exactly five people I had to manage, and everyone knew that there were only four of them.

A fan meeting wouldn't need me to pack my whole wardrobe.

Massive was an understatement. The size of the living room was equivalent to a parking lot at the central city mall. Beyond the windows, I could see the grassy green yard that stretched far beyond. Looking up there were four floors to this establishment, all floors connecting by a marble staircase.

I noticed signs. Big banners with warning signs.

Do not scream!
Do not run!
Bedtime at 10:30 pm!

Some of the banners were ripped apart into shreds, the threads hanging loosely.

"Wow," I whispered.

"Hello?" Max called out to no one in particular, grabbing my bag and trying to haul it in. He staggered and my arm shot out to help balance him out.

The sound of... Something caught my attention, and I cocked my head to the side to see a colorful (dominated by pastel pink) ball roll towards my feet. Someone must have kicked it from one of the corners of the living room.

"Oh look! A ball!" I exclaimed. Max's eyes were strained on his phone, not responding to my excitement of seeing a ball. I leaned over to pick it up just in time for Max to yell out.

"No! Don't touch i—"

But it was too late. I was holding the ball and inspecting the weird graphics on it, not understanding why the colors sunk into each other with no pattern. I turned it with my hands to then see that there were a pair of eyes blinking at me.

I stared at it.

It stared back.

I let out a blood curdling scream, dropping it onto the ground. It bounced up and took the form of a lanky, pink-haired human with an exuberant smile.

"Ah—" I forced myself to stop screaming when I noticed who it was. "Jay? Jay Holder?"

"Jay, get off from the ground. Can you please not scare her?"

My mind was whirring. Jay? Jay Holder? From Superhumans?

I gawked and he gawked back, mimicking my features but elongating his jaw so it looked morbidly creepy.

"Stop it," Max groaned, and Jay brought his jaw that was hanging almost to the floor back to its original position.

Jay stomped his feet once. Twice. "I just wanted to give her a warm welcome! Nice to meet you, m'lady."

I squealed, stepping closer to inspect him. Jay took a step back. I stepped forward one more time before grabbing his shoulders and shaking them violently.

"I'm a big fan!"

My excitement seemed to put Jay off for a moment, the superhuman tilting his head in confusion. "She ain't afraid of me. Why is she not afraid of me?"

I beamed, turning to Max and throwing my phone to him. "Take a picture, take a picture!"

Click.

Turning back to Jay, I thumped his back twice. "So, what ya doing here?"

Jay turned to Max, assessing the situation. "Well, well, well. You didn't brief her, did you? You didn't tell her!"

"Tell me what?" I asked, staring at the photos that were taken of me and Jay. I zoomed it absentmindedly with my fingers.

"I am Jay Holder to the public, Nana to those within the walls of this house! Most likely the best out of all the Superhumans!" Jay puffed his chest out proudly then placed a hand on my shoulders, squeezing it with a mischievous smile. "You're new! I didn't know Champion would hire anyone for us, considering our predecessors... all... failed."

"Hire?" I turned to Max. "I'm managing the Superhumans?"

"I-I-I know what I said. I just think this would be an amazing opportunity—"

"Or a life-changing one, in a way where therapy would have to be involved after you try to manage us," Jay added pointedly.

"— but you seem like someone who'd be able to...." Max seemed to be at a loss for words, trying to fumble for an explanation on why he tried to hire me to manage the Superhumans.

I lunged at him.

Max flinched, bracing himself for impact.

I hugged him.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I hugged him tighter, looking up to see Max gasping for breath. His eyes bulged out of his sockets. I let go. "Maybe this is my purpose!"

"Yes," Max answered weakly, coughing. "Maybe this is. Exactly what I was thinking when I tried to hire you."

I turned back to Jay to address him properly when there was a flash from somewhere across the room. Someone toppled onto the ground and quickly stood up. All this happened in a blink of an eye, and I was face to face with the youngest of the group.

"Hi Andy," I greeted, Andy narrowing his eyes at me.

"Andy, give the lady some space. Have you no manners?" Jay chortled. "That's our little Andy. He goes zoom, zoom!"

Andy disappeared, a blur line bringing him to the farthest corner before he cried out. "She's scary! Who is she!"

I recalled Andy being nine. In his interviews, he spoke less and just smiled. There were some accounts on the Superhuman fan page saying that he acted more like five-year-old child. The most popular video was of Champion Tremaine going out with the boys to shop. Andy was put on a leash.

Before anyone could answer his question, Andy appeared right in front of my face once more, eyeing me warily. He gave me a once over.

"She's the new manager, isn't she?" Andy asked, breaking into a grin. He ran towards the second floor, popping his head over the marble staircase railing. "You're going to have such a fun time, Ms. Manager! I'm very fast!"

"Andy enjoys showing his talent to new people. He's the easiest to deal with out of everyone, really," Max whispered to me.

A booming sound echoed from the fourth floor, the signal lights in the mansion that were spaced out evenly began flashing red. I felt something on my ears, covering them snuggly by a material that was meant for the cold.

Earmuffs.

Then sharp, shrill scream wailed from the second floor. It was so loud, I winced at the pressure that seemed to be building in my ears and eyes. I could see Andy speeding out of the room just to come back in a split second, his face drained of color.

"Who moved my coat last night?!"

Everyone froze. Andy was muttering to himself rapidly; I could not make out what he was saying. I had to remind myself that there were four of them and there were two more to meet. A young adolescent blonde, fourteen years of age, emerged from one of the second room bedrooms wearing a long coat that dragged over the ground.

The earmuffs that were covering my ears were pulled out with one swift motion by Andy who stood behind me, cowering.

"You haven't met all of them and it's already a racket." Max looked concerned.

"Who moved my coat last night?" the newly awoken member demanded, his lips pursed. His eyes skated around the room and fell to the person behind me. "Andy? Was it you?"

"Be nice, be nice, Chester. We have guests. It is morning and you must eat your breakfast. We were told to follow a meal plan, Chester," Andy rambled behind me, his hands holding the back of my T-Shirt.

Chester was halfway through a scowl when he saw me. "New manager?"

A nod from Max.

"You. What's your name?" Chester cocked his chin towards my direction. "Wait. I don't care. Don't think you're going to last very long."

I crossed my arms over my chest, about to berate him for jumping to the conclusions when he didn't know anything about me. Opening my mouth, I paused.

From my left peripheral vision, my left braid was floating.

"Ow!" someone exclaimed after I turned and gave a hard punch, the person holding my braid solidifying into color. "OW!"

Chester let out a snort. Jay giggled, moving his fingers against each other in a conspiratorial manner like an evil villain who figured out a plan for world dominance. Andy let out a small gasp.

"She hit me!" Royal Finnigan yelled, pointing at me. He was exactly my height at five feet and I could look straight into his green eyes.

"I like her, I like her," Chester whispered loudly.

I frowned at Royal. "You scared me!"

"That doesn't give you a reason to hit me!" he yelled back.

"Being able to turn invisible also does not give you a reason for you to mess with my braids!"

Royal threw his hands into the air. Then he used a hand to massage his chest while he stalked away. Royal would be the hardest to handle, or so I thought at that moment.

Jay Holder's powers were noticeable: being able to stretch far and wide.
Andy's powers made it hard not to notice him. He was fast, but he left traces.
Chester's powers, siren screaming, was the type of power that begged to be noticed.
Royal's powers were him becoming invisible. Silent. Deadly.

"You don't look scared, I give you that," Royal said, plopping himself onto the couch and propping his legs on the low glass table in front of him. "Do you think you'll be able to handle us?"

"Definitely not," Chester answered for me, shaking his head and heading towards where Royal sat. "She'll be exactly like the rest."

"The last one didn't last very long," Andy mumbled. "But she was mean. Very, very, very mean. Will she be very, very mean?"

"Excuse me, why are you talking about me like I'm not here?"

"So, she speaks," Chester clapped his hands mockingly. Footsteps descended the staircase. "It's time, is it? It's time for the contract talk? Chop, chop!"

"Bet she doesn't even sign the contract," Royal sniggered. "Even if she does, I bet she stays only three days."

"I bet a day," Chester followed suit.

"I bet she never leaves!" Andy piped up, grabbing my arm as Jay broke into a smile.

"You think she's never going to leave, huh? You cute boy," Jay cooed to the youngest.

"Is she here?"

__________________________________________________________________________

Champion Tremaine knew Max was bringing someone he thought had 'potential'. What Champion did not realize was that she would be a small, petite woman with the body so tiny he could fit her in a cupboard and hair with long pig-tails.

Needless to say, he was beginning to question Maxwell's judgement in people.

"Expected more," Champion commented.

"Diamond in the rough," was the reply from Maxwell. "Good to see you, brother."

Champion walked over to Max, giving him a thump on the back. He turned to the new-manager-to-be, giving her a top-to-bottom once over before shaking her hand.

"We'll omit names. There really is no reason to get your name unless you become a long-term staff. We'll go by the same rules. Three days probation."

"Three days probation?" she echoed. "Isn't probation supposed to be standardized to three months?"

The superhumans let out a howl of laughter.

"Three months she said!" Jay chuckled wholeheartedly.

"Ms. Manager," Champion began, "one day with them is a blessing. How creative are you?"

"I don't know."

"Strong?"

"I don't know."

"Are you understanding?"

"Not sure."

"What do you know?" Champion asked and she beamed.

"Nothing. But maybe that's good." She winked twice. Once out of each eye.

Champion let out a grunt. "Alright. Like I said, we will not be using your name in this house. We don't want them to get attached. Andy gets attached to anything and anyone that moves. You can walk out any time. As I told Max, the last person ran out screaming."

She blinked. "Okay."

"Don't you want to know why?"

"Other people's failures have nothing to do with me."

Champion gave a curt nod. He began to pace back and forth. "Meal plans are your responsibility. We have an in-house cook – he sends the meals by the dumbwaiters and retires at 9 pm every evening. Their eating habits are your responsibility. Their training time and sleep schedules are your responsibility. Here is the contract."

Her eyes bulged at the numbers, Champion seeing that reaction one too many times.

"If Nana cooks, he must be supervised. Chester gets cranky in the morning. He likes to warm his throat so make sure you have earmuffs on you. At. All. Times. I've paid for exploding ear drums and hospitalization fees once, I do not wish to do it again."

Champion continued. "We have a system. One of them wakes up, the signal lights go off. You're going to be on the clock 24/7, that is what I'm paying you for. Everyone must eat on time; I cannot stress this enough. They burn calories like fire spreading through woods."

Champion stood still for a moment, trying to remember if there was anything else warn her about.

"I know there is one of you and five of them, but still. I would hire one more person, but Chester claims that six is way more than a crowd."

"Five of them?" she asked, confused. Champion was used to having to answer this question every single time. "Aren't there only four of them? Am I managing you, too?"

Champion breathed, his eyes falling on the elevator that led to the basement. "No, under any circumstances, do you go to the basement unless you want to get murdered. If you are okay with that, be my guest."

"We have a fifth member. He's human, he's the core of our operations," Max said from where he stood. "The public doesn't know of him."

"Who is he?" she asked.

"You'll meet him. His name is Aro Johnson."

_____________________________________________________________________________________