Back at the Council of Government, the atmosphere was tense. Scarlett stood before a panel of officials, each of them staring down at her from their elevated positions. She could feel their eyes scrutinizing her every word, every movement.
“The situation is getting out of hand,” one of the council members said, his voice stern. “The mutants are becoming a real threat. We can’t let this continue.”
Scarlett nodded.
“That’s why I’m here. If we’re going to stop this uprising, we need to change our mindset” there is brief silence.
“To change it we need deeper understanding” the council members look at each other taking in her words, she continues, “I need to recruit some… unconventional help.”
“Unconventional?” Governor Ellis leaned forward. “What exactly are you proposing?”
“I want permission to recruit three mutants. Each of them is a criminal, currently held at the EDVAC containment facility. But they have skills we can use. Skills that will help us track down REX.”
The council members exchanged glances, uncertainty hanging in the air. The idea of recruiting mutants—especially criminals—was not going to sit well with the public. But Scarlett knew it was the only way.
“What skills exactly?” said another member, Scarlett face betrays her as she almost shows her disgust.
“To find a criminal…think like a criminal” she says,
“Give me access to them,” she continued. “I’ll handle the rest.”
After a long silence, Ellis nodded. “You have our permission. But make no mistake, Scarlett—if this goes wrong, it’s on your head.”
Scarlett gave a curt nod. “Understood.”
The EDVAC Containment Facility was a fortress. Built to house the city’s most dangerous criminals, it was lined with cutting-edge technology and guarded by an elite force. The mutants held here were not just common criminals—they were individuals whose abilities had made them too dangerous to leave uncontained.
Scarlett was led down a series of sterile corridors, her footsteps echoing against the steel floors. She stopped outside a heavily reinforced door, the guard at her side looking uneasy as he entered the code to open it.
“You sure about this one?” the guard asked. “He’s… unpredictable.”
“Mm,” Scarlett replied, though in truth, she wasn’t. X was a mystery to her, but everything she had heard about him made it clear he was a force to be reckoned with.
The door slid open, revealing a large, dimly lit room. At the center, restrained by heavy metal cuffs, sat X. His head was tilted back, his greenish-hued eyes glowing faintly in the low light. He looked up as Scarlett entered, his gaze locking onto hers.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. There was an air of quiet danger about him, the kind of danger that came not from reckless violence, but from someone who knew exactly how much power he held.
“Scarlett Adair,” X said, his voice a smooth baritone that sent a chill down her spine. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Scarlett took a step closer, her eyes scanning the restraints that bound him. Even now, locked in this room, X’s presence was almost magnetic. His abilities had caught her attention—elemental adaptation, regenerative healing, energy absorption and redirection, and shadow manipulation—but there was something more about him, something that unsettled her. He was... pleasing to her eyes, in a way she hadn’t expected.
“I need your help,” she said, her voice steady despite the tension she felt.
X smiled, a slow, dangerous smile. “Isn’t it funny how the hunter now needs the help of the hunted?”
Scarlett’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t about me…X. It’s about REX. And if we don’t stop him, EDVAC will burn.”
X leaned forward as much as his restraints allowed. “And why do I care, what do I get in return?”
“You get to walk out of here. I’ll make sure the government doesn’t hunt you down after this is over.” X scoffs, “the government”
“They are going to kill us off anyways…” he says staring into her eyes. Scarlett is just quiet, he continues, “or not?”
For a long moment, X said nothing, his glowing eyes studying her. Then, he nodded slowly. “Alright, Scarlett. I’ll help you. But let’s get one thing straight—I’m not doing this for you.”
Scarlett nodded, knowing full well that this alliance was built on thin ice. “Fair enough.”
As they left the containment facility, Scarlett couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. She had made the first step in recruiting her team, but working with X was a gamble. His powers were formidable, his personality unsettling. He was dangerous in ways she couldn’t fully predict, and the thought of relying on a mutant—even one she found strangely captivating—made her stomach churn.
But there was no turning back now. The mutant uprising was in full swing, and she needed every resource she could get.
Later that night, as Scarlett continued her investigation into REX, she found herself in a dark alleyway, deep within the Lower District. The streets were eerily quiet, the air thick with tension. She had come to meet a contact who claimed to have information about REX’s whereabouts, but something felt off.
Suddenly, a figure darted out of the shadows, lunging at her with a blade. Scarlett barely had time to react, her instincts kicking in as she moved to defend herself. But the attacker was fast—too fast. He swung the blade toward her, and she knew in that moment that she was outmatched.
Before the blade could land, a shadow moved between them. It was X.
In a flash, he absorbed the energy from the attack, redirecting it back at the assailant with a force that sent him crashing into the wall. Scarlett watched, wide-eyed, as X’s form shifted, his body seemingly merging with the shadows around him.
“Next time, try not to get yourself killed,” X said, a faint smile on his lips as he looked at her.
Scarlett’s heart raced. She had just witnessed an extent of X’s power, and it had saved her life. But the unease she felt only deepened. This alliance was going to be more dangerous than she had ever anticipated.
As they stood amidst the wreckage, Scarlett realized one thing: the hunt for REX had only just begun, and X—whether she liked it or not—was her only hope of surviving what was to come.
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