Chapter 1: normal life… kinda

The story began in California, in a city called San Francisco. There are about a million people living there, doing what they do every day. Going to work, getting stuck in traffic, and dealing with the house bills. Yes, life in the city was completely normal. Well, almost. The story began in a small cafe on the corner of the street.

"Hey, did you see the newspaper yet, Fred?" a man in a work suit asked as he tossed the newspaper to his friend. "No. What happened, Silas?" Fred asked. "Someone broke into the candy store again," explained Silas. "Really? That must be the third time this week that someone broke into the candy store," Fred muttered, rubbing his chin. "The cops are having a hard time finding out who did it; there is barely any evidence at the crime scene. They did find some fur, probably the owner's cat fur," mumbled Silas. Then a teenage girl wearing a red hoodie, who was sitting near them, stood up. She went to the counter and put down some dollars. "Give me three donuts, please. I'll take them on the go," she said, pointing to the donuts covered in chocolate. The cafeteria's worker nodded and grabbed a bag. "Did you hear that the police didn't find anyone on the camera when the crime scene happened? It's almost like they were invisible," Fred explained. The girl's eyes grew narrow, but she didn't say anything. Then the cafeteria's worker returned with the donuts, and she paid him. She walked toward the door and swung it open; the bells jingled as she stepped out of the cafe and into the busy streets. She walked down the sidewalk, mumbling hello to the passing elderly woman. She went past a group of teenage boys who were talking. "Hey, where are you going, street girl?" asked a boy in a red hoodie. "It's none of your business, Bruce. Besides, my name isn't street girl, it's Maya," she snapped as she walked past them. Bruce chuckled. "She is a strange one, isn't she? She likes to hang around, but she barely talks," he mumbled to his buddies. Maya rolled her eyes and stepped up the stairs to her apartment. She went inside the building and took off her hoodie, revealing two gray wolf ears. She went into the living room. A young boy with black hair was reading a book on the couch. "Leo, I heard some gossip about the candy store at the cafe. Did you break into that place again?" Maya asked, her face serious, as a wolf tail appeared behind her, lashing around angrily. Leo smirked; a flash of sharp teeth appeared as two black and pale ears appeared on his head, twitching around playfully as he closed his book. "Awww, sis. I promise that I paid for the candy that I got," Leo said, tossing the book onto the table. "Leo! You know how serious it is to break into a building. You could have been thrown into jail for that. You know we have been living here for a few years now," Maya explained as she opened the bag. Then Maya's younger sister came in, rubbing her eyes and yawning, as a beautiful long stripy tail trailed behind her. "Hey, guys, I just woke up from my sleep." She looked at Maya's face and groaned, her orange ears flattening against her head. "Please don't tell me that Leo did it again," she explained. Maya sighed. "Good morning, Lily, and yes, he did. He broke into the candy store and stole some candy," Maya mumbled. "But, sis, I was running so fast, nobody saw me. I got the candy and left some money to pay for it. It is a win-win for everyone," Leo explained as his long spotted tail appeared as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Then he reached for the donut. "Except for the police. They are having a hard time already, and you are just making it even harder for them. Besides, what did I tell you?" Maya asked, looking at Leo. "Never show your power or true identity to humans. But…" Leo answered. "No buts. Listen, you are a human-cheetah, Lily is a human-tigress, and you know that I'm a human-wolf. We can't exactly walk out with our disguises off. The humans are not ready for us yet. But one day they will," she explained. "Yeah, Leo. They'll be scared of us when they see our claws and sharp teeth. Besides, we came here to hide, as well as to connect with the humans," Lily explained as she grabbed a donut. Then they heard someone knocking on the door. Maya's ears flattened. "Quick, retract your claws and hide your tails and ears," she growled as her ears disappeared, as well as her tail. Lily and Leo quickly obeyed. Maya went to the door and opened it. "Hey, street girl," Bruce asked, standing near the door with two of his friends. "Hello, Bruce, what do you want?" Maya mumbled as she opened the door wider. "Nothing. Me and my buddies don't think that you and your siblings belong here. You are too weird, always staying inside and whispering to each other," he said, smirking. "That's not true! We go to the same school as you," Leo explained, appearing beside Maya. "Hey, little twerp, nice seeing you here," Bruce chuckled as he ruffled Leo's hair. Leo grumbled and swatted Bruce's hand away. "Ow!" Bruce explained as he pulled his hand away. "That's what you get for not respecting my personal space," Leo snapped. "Leave us alone, Bruce. We just want to be left alone," Lily growled as she appeared on the other side of Maya. "See you later, Bruce," Maya explained, slamming the door in his face. She turned around to face her siblings and sighed. They didn't speak for a long moment. Finally, Leo spoke. "I wish I could rip him apart," Leo mumbled. "I agree. He is the most annoying human I've ever met," muttered Lily. "Me too. Let's go back to the living room and finish our breakfast," Maya explained.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, "They think they can just slam the door in my face! Well, think again," Bruce grumbled. "Hey, calm down, boss. They're nothing but losers," explained a teenager in a black jacket. "You're right, Karl. But there is something about them that I don't understand. Let's go see our buddy who lives near the dock," Bruce explained. "You mean Glitch?! But he works with a group of teenage hackers called Data Breaker. They're the most rebellious hackers in the city," Karl gasped. "That's why we need him," Bruce muttered as he walked toward the docks. Karl scrambled after him, twirling his fingers around nervously. They walked across a busy street and went through a dark alley. Finally, they reached an abandoned part of the dock and went to a warehouse. Bruce put a finger to his lips and knocked on the door three times. The door whined as it creaked open, revealing a young teenage boy with blue hair wearing a black hoodie. "Who is it? What do you want?" the boy asked, his eyes narrowed. "It's just me and Karl, D0ge. We want to see Glitch," Bruce replied. D0ge glanced at Karl and then back at Bruce. "Wait here. I'll be back in a minute," D0ge grunted and closed the door. "Are you sure that we can trust them?" Karl asked, shaking a bit. "Yes, Glitch is my old buddy from when I used to go to tech class. He'll help us," Bruce explained. Then the door opened, and D0ge motioned them to get in. Bruce went inside without hesitation, while Karl stood there for a few seconds before following Bruce. Inside, the building was filled with tables with laptops on them. Wires ran throughout the floor of the building and onto the walls. Several teenagers were gathered around a laptop, while others were working on their laptops. They lifted their heads as Bruce and Karl passed them. "What are they doing here?" whispered a teenage girl with pink hair to a boy with robotic hands. Karl stalked near Bruce, trying to avoid eye contact with them. Finally, they reached a big table near a window. There, sitting on a chair, was Glitch. He was wearing a red hoodie, and his hair was dark blue. He was looking at his tablet when he saw them. "Hey, Bruce! Long time no see. How are you doing?" Glitch asked, putting his tablet on the table. Bruce laughed as he shook his old friend's hand. "I'm doing fine. What happened to you? Have you been selected to be president of Data Breaker?" Bruce asked. "As a matter of fact, yes. I have been selected to be president of this. It happened about a week ago, and I'm still getting used to this," Glitch explained, opening an energy drink. "Glitch, I need to ask you for a favor," Bruce whispered. Glitch turned his eyes to Bruce and smiled. "You helped me a lot in the past, so I'll help you. What do you need?" Glitch asked.

The next day, "Morning, sis. How did you sleep?" Leo asked as he sat down on the chair, rubbing his eyes. "No good. I've got the same nightmare that I have been having for weeks now," Maya groaned as she placed a plate of pancakes with bacon. "Let me guess. You dreamed that the dark hybrids that were chasing us came to Earth and found us," Leo muttered as he took a bite of the pancake. "Yes. Now I'm going to go wake up Lily. She ate some catmint so she could sleep better. We can't be late for school," Maya explained as she went into a different room. Moments later, she came back with Lily, who yawned. "I really hope we don't see Bruce. He is so annoying. I mean, he must be the most annoying human on the planet," Leo grumbled as Lily sat down to eat. "Don't worry, Leo. He might get in trouble and miss recess," Lily mumbled, grabbing a blueberry and tossing it into her mouth. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast. We can't miss the school bus. And watch out for people who have black hair and eyes; they are dark hybrids in disguise," Maya explained. Little did they know, a robotic spider was spying on them behind the toaster.

Back at the warehouse, "Glitch, the spider bot is on and in position," explained the pink-haired girl. "Good. Send me the video link; I'll take a look at what they're doing," Glitch muttered as he turned on his tablet and clicked a button. Leo's voice rang out. "Hey, sis, how did you sleep?" Leo explained. "Not good. I've got the same nightmare that I have been having for weeks now." Glitch heard Maya groan. Then Leo spoke again. "Let me guess. You dreamed that the dark hybrids that were chasing us came to Earth and found us." Glitch's eyes grew wide as other hackers began to talk to each other. "Dark hybrids? Chasing them? What is that all about?" whispered the robotic-hand boy. "Shh, we'll find out soon. Just listen," grunted a boy nearby. "Yes. Now I'm going to go wake up Lily. She ate some catmint last night so she could sleep better. We can't be late for school," Maya said. Glitch paused the video. "Catmint? Why in the world does her sister need catmint to sleep better? Isn't that for cats?" he muttered. "Glitch, I did some research about catmint, and apparently catmint is not poisonous, but we don't usually eat it," explained the robotic-hands teenager. Glitch nodded and started playing the video. "I really hope we don't see Bruce. He is so annoying. I mean, he must be the most annoying human on the planet." Glitch heard Leo grumble. "Did they say that Bruce is the most annoying human? Aren't they human too?" a male hacker asked. "Don't worry, Leo. He might get in trouble and miss recess." They heard Lily talk. Then they saw Glitch's eyes grow wide, and his face turned pale. "Glitch? What is it?" D0ge asked. "I think I need to show you this," he stuttered as he connected his tablet to a big screen nearby. A video appeared, and they saw Lily getting ready to catch the blueberry. As she opened her mouth, they saw a flash of sharp teeth. "Whoa!" D0ge yelped, nearly falling off his chair. "That's definitely not a human thing," whispered the pink-haired girl. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast. We can't miss the school bus. And watch out for people who have black hair and eyes; they are dark hybrids in disguise," they heard Maya say as they watched her grab her bag. Glitch paused the video, and silence filled the air. Then D0ge spoke. "Did you hear that? The older girl told her siblings to watch out for people who have black hair and eyes," he mumbled. "She said that people who have black hair and eyes are dark hybrids in disguise," whispered a boy nearby. "I think we're not dealing with kids anymore. I need to warn Bruce about this and tell him what the girl warned her siblings about," Glitch explained as he pulled out a burner phone and entered Bruce's phone number.