(The Enforcers prison facility)
11:20 PM
(Willow's group)
Willow led the small group down the dimly lit corridor, her relief palpable despite the grim circumstances. Claire supported a still-shaken Jaxan, while Ivy, though clearly terrified, managed to walk on her own, flanked by Willow and Claire. They moved quickly but cautiously, their ears straining for any sign of pursuit.
They finally reached the entrance of the facility, slipping out into the cool night air. A collective sigh of relief went through the group as they put some distance between themselves and the imposing structure of the Enforcer facility.
Jaxan, despite his pain, slowly knelt beside Idris's lifeless body, a deep sorrow etched on his face. He reached out a trembling hand, gently closing Idris's open eyes.
Jaxan: Idris… (he whispered, his voice choked with a mixture of grief and regret.)
His shoulders began to shake, and he buried his face in his hands, the weight of their loss crashing down upon him. Claire knelt beside him, placing a comforting hand on his back, but there were no words to ease his sorrow. Willow and Ivy watched them, a heavy silence settling over the small group.
Suddenly, the beam of multiple flashlights cut through the darkness, illuminating them. A voice, cold and authoritative, echoed from the shadows.
"Freeze! Hands in the air!"
Six figures in dark tactical gear emerged from the surrounding foliage, their rifles pointed directly at Willow, Claire, Ivy, and the kneeling Jaxan. Willow's eyes widened in surprise and apprehension. She recognized the gear and the tactical posture – these are Viktor's agents.
Willow instinctively tensed, her muscles coiling as she tried to summon the familiar electric aura of her superspeed. Frustration flickered across her face as nothing happened. She tried again, focusing her will, but the familiar energy remained stubbornly absent.
The lead agent, a woman with tightly cropped blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, stepped forward, her weapon still trained on them. It was Kira Davies.
Kira: Well, well, (she said, her gaze sweeping over the small group.) Looks like you've all been busy... Where are the others? (Her eyes narrowed, her suspicion evident.)
Just as Willow opened her mouth to respond, the ground beneath their feet shuddered violently. A deafening roar ripped through the night air, followed by a shockwave that sent tremors through the surrounding landscape. The D.E.I.S.T.R. agents stumbled, their weapons momentarily wavering.
Inside the chaos of the breached Enforcer facility, the blare of klaxons echoing through the ravaged corridors, Martin Shaw moved with a grim efficiency. His team of four Enforcers, their grey uniforms stark against the flickering emergency lights, followed closely, their silver rifles spitting bursts of controlled fire down side passages and into crowds of escaping prisoners. The air was thick with the stench of ozone and fear, punctuated by the desperate cries of inmates scrambling for freedom.
Martin: Clear this section! Move!
He barked orders, his gaze sharp, his focus solely on reaching his objective. They cut a brutal swathe through the panicked escapees, the specialized rounds from their rifles leaving smoking holes in orange jumpsuits. The screams of the downed prisoners mingled with the shouts of the Enforcers.
Rounding a corner, Martin spotted a reinforced steel door, marked with a familiar security designation.
Martin: In there, let's go! (He pointed, and his team swiftly secured the area around the door, one of them using a keycard to override the lock.)
The heavy door hissed open, and they piled inside, the thick steel shutting out the immediate chaos of the hallway.
Inside the small, windowless room, the harsh fluorescent light flickered erratically. Martin leaned against the cool metal wall, his breathing heavy. Then, the edges of his vision began to soften, the harsh light dissolving into a swirling darkness. A low, resonant tone, a voice that vibrated deep within his skull, reached out to him, a familiar mental intrusion that none of his men could perceive.
???: Martin... Report. (The voice was a low, controlled fury, the mental equivalent of a growl.)
Martin closed his eyes briefly, gathering his thoughts.
Martin: M–Master, (he responded mentally, the familiar tone a cold comfort amidst the turmoil,) the facility has been infiltrated by Viktor's operatives.
???: (A mental silence stretched, thick with barely suppressed rage.) Viktor...
Martin: But, (he interjected, his mental voice firm,) I have a plan. It's… unfolding.
The mental presence of his boss lingered for a moment longer, a palpable sense of fury still radiating, then, with a suddenness that was almost a physical sensation, it withdrew. The dark blur around Martin's vision receded, the flickering fluorescent light of the safe room snapping back into focus.
Martin opened his eyes, his expression hardening. He turned to his team, his voice sharp and commanding.
Martin: You two, find Phil. Tell him I need Arthur Dusk brought to me immediately. Snd you two, bring the mutant, Maya Sterling, as well. Now! Now! Now! Now!"
The four inhumans, their faces grim, didn't question the urgency in their commander's voice. They spun on their heels and sprinted out of the safe room, disappearing back into the chaos of the facility.
Alone in the safe room, Martin took a slow, deliberate breath. His gaze flickered across the bare walls, his mind already several steps ahead. Then, a subtle flicker of light caught his attention. Near the ceiling, one of the emergency lights sputtered for a single, tantalizing second, its brief illumination painting a fleeting shadow on the wall before dying out again. Martin's eyes narrowed, his silent attention fixed on the now still and dark bulb.
In a section of the facility that had been ripped apart by the explosion, Ender groaned, his eyelids heavy as if glued shut. He coughed, a thick cloud of dust erupting from his lungs, the gritty particles stinging his eyes when he finally managed to pry them open. He lay amidst rubble and twisted metal, the air thick with the acrid smell of smoke.
Beside him, Selena stirred, pushing herself up with a groan.
Selena: Ugh… my head… (She mumbled, rubbing her temples.) What… what happened? (She rasped, her voice hoarse and laced with pain. She looked around at the devastation, her green eyes wide with disbelief.)
Ender: (He looked around at the devastation, then yelled,) I think there was an explosion!
Selena: (She frowned, looking at Ender intently.) Ender, are you alright? Why are you shouting?
Ender: What? (He yelled again, tilting his head.) "I think the explosion might have damaged my eardrums. Can you hear me okay?
Selena: (She stared at him, a mixture of concern and amusement on her face.) Yes, Ender, you're yelling. (She nodded.)
Just as the silence began to settle again, the air shimmered, and multiple figures materialized as if stepping out of thin air. Inhumans, their grey uniforms stark against the debris, descended upon Ender and Selena, their movements swift and brutal.
Two inhumans grabbed Ender, pinning his arms to his sides. He roared, snapping his head back, connecting hard with the first inhuman's forehead. The inhuman staggered, momentarily stunned. Ender seized the opportunity, twisting his body and firing a shot, point-blank, into the eye of the second inhuman. The inhuman crumpled, releasing his grip.
Ender struggled, kicking out wildly as another inhuman lunged for him, but strong hands clamped around his throat, cutting off his air. He gasped, his vision starting to blur, as he was pinned against a crumbling section of wall, the inhuman's grip tightening relentlessly.
Suddenly, a blur of motion caught his eye. Rex, completely naked and looking like he'd just wrestled a bear, appeared out of nowhere, wielding a jagged, reinforced rod he must have scavenged from the ruins. With a primal yell, Rex plunged the rod into the back of the inhuman's neck. The inhuman spasmed, its grip on Ender loosening. Rex, his muscles bulging, gripped both ends of the rod like a gruesome handle and twisted, a sickening crack echoing through the ruins as the inhuman's head snapped in the opposite direction.
Rex, breathing heavily, turned to see another inhuman, its hands glowing with a faint blue energy, and behind it, the shimmering forms of three more inhumans fading into existence. The illusionist. Rex, his eyes narrowed with fury, grabbed chunks of concrete from the rubble, charging them with kinetic energy. With powerful throws, he hurled the makeshift projectiles at the illusory inhumans, each impact resulting in a small, contained explosion that ripped apart the fabricated forms.
As the illusionist faltered, Rex spotted six figures in orange jumpsuits emerging cautiously from the gaping doorways of damaged cells, each watching the chaos with wide, confused eyes. One was a hulking, green-orc with large tusks protruding from its lower jaw. Another was a slender, winged female harpy with sharp talons. Three looked mostly human: a pale man with short, shaggy, auburn undercut short hair, a tan-skinned man with short red dreaded hair, and the last one a woman with striking emerald eyes. The final figure was a squat, rock-skinned gnome-like creature with glowing amber eyes.
Rex: Crap, (he muttered under his breath, seeing the prisoners.)
The illusionist, his blue glow intensifying, lunged at Rex, but Rex was too fast. He rained down a series of brutal punches on the inhuman's face, each blow landing with a sickening thud. He followed up with vicious forearms strikes, further bruising and distorting the illusionist's features until the inhuman slumped to their knees, dazed and bleeding.
Rex, his rage still simmering, grabbed hold of the illusionist's bottom teeth and chin. The inhuman cried out, trying to bite Rex's hand, a sharp pain lancing through Rex's flesh as teeth sank in. Rex roared in pain but didn't release his grip, pulling with all his might until a sickening tear echoed through the ruins as he ripped the illusionist's jaw clean off. He dropped the severed jaw to the ground, looking exhausted and furious as he turned towards the bewildered prisoners.
Meanwhile, Ender, regaining his footing, methodically shot down three more inhumans that had been advancing on him, one precise bullet to the head for each. Selena, her metallic orb having reformed into a wickedly sharp blade, moved with a fluid grace, slicing through the remaining inhumans in a single, swift swoop, their grey uniforms falling away in neat, bloody lines.
Rex, visibly exhausted, turned to Ender and Selena.
Rex: We need to keep moving, (he gasped.)
Ender stared at Rex, his eyes narrowing.
Ender: Okay, yeah, sure but first of... Why are you naked?
Selena, still catching her breath, looked around at the destruction.
Selena: And what the hell was that explosion?
Just then, three new inhumans shimmered into existence at the end of the hallway. One had an ethereal, almost translucent quality, with swirling patterns within their form, like looking into space. Another's body seemed to be composed of jagged, sharp crystals.
Before anyone could react, the crystal inhuman lunged, a sharp crystal shard extending from its arm, stabbing Rex in the shoulder near his heart. Rex roared in pain. The crystal inhuman then staggered as Selena's metallic blade, thrown with incredible speed, pierced its head, the impact shattering some of its crystalline structure. The inhuman collapsed. Ender immediately opened fire on the remaining two inhumans. The space-like inhuman raised a hand, and the bullets seemed to stop in mid-air, shimmering as if caught in an invisible field. The inhuman then began to walk slowly towards Ender, an unseen force pushing Ender back against the wall, crushing him against the cold concrete. As the inhuman continued to advance, Rex, his face contorted in pain, ripped the crystal shard from his shoulder. Charging it with a surge of kinetic energy, he hurled it at the space inhuman from behind, but the charged crystal rod remained suspended in the air, nowhere near its target.
Suddenly, one of the human-looking prisoners, the woman and the last one a woman with striking emerald eyes, extended her arm towards the space inhuman. A visible wave of energy pulsed outwards, and the space inhuman exploded in a shower of blood and ethereal particles, coating the walls and splattering Ender.
Ender spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide with shock.
Ender: What… the frick.
The auburn-haired prisoner stepped forward, looking at Rex, Ender, and Selena with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "Who are you people?"
Rex, still breathing heavily, looked at the prisoners.
Rex: Just… people looking for some people in this facility.