Exiles (Exiles #1)

"Amber Hunt is Mine"

A high school student named Amber Hunt is one of the most popular girls in her school and very spoiled. In the middle of her biology class, Amber Hunt and the rest of her classmates find that a battle between ultras, people with super-human powers, is going on right outside of their school. To Amber Hunt's surprise, she finds that both factions of ultras are fighting over her. The winner of the fight, the Exiles, gather Amber Hunt before she can escape and they take her to their secret headquarters: an island off the coast of California. There she meets Doctor Rachel Deming, who explains that the Exiles saved Amber from certain death. Meanwhile, the Supreme Soviet informs Malcolm Kort, the man who hired him to capture Amber Hunt, that he has failed. Supreme Soviet still demands payment and Kort introduces him to Hot Rox, a powerful ultra. Hot Rox places Supreme Soviet in a holding tank that exposes him to an mRNA gene therapy that would give people with the Theta virus a super power, but kills those without it. Since Supreme Soviet is only human, it effectively killed him.

Meanwhile, another contingent of the Exiles, Catapult and Mustang, goes on a mission to gather another potential person with the Theta virus, Timothy Halloran. There they are met with Bruut and Bloodbath, two agents also trying to get Timothy Halloran. A fight ensues and Timothy's mother becomes a fatality. Bruut is also taken down, but Bloodbath is able to escape with Timothy.