Fantasy A clash of desires.

[Becboc]

The morning after, it wasn't just Evelyn and her group who awoke before dawn had broken. For Kaya, the night before had been full of nightmares. She'd stayed holed up in her office until it was only her and a few security guards left in the building, desperate to find some kind of distraction from the thoughts and anguish that had started to churn around her mind since Nicholas's return. Kaya was generally well versed in numbing herself off to this kind of distress, and had needed to learn to do so to cope with the kind of secrets she held trapped in her past, but it would seem that the leader of Group X was struggling to contain her emotions on this occasion, and that coming face to face with Nicholas again after all of this time had broken down a part of the wall that she was usually so good at hiding behind. It was for this reason, that not even the solace of her empty apartment could grant her any kind of reprieve and despite what had happened between them earlier in the day, Kaya found herself lying awake in bed in the early hours of the morning, staring at her ceiling and wishing that Lucas was laid beside her. It was a selfish desire, one that Kaya knew would do neither of them any good, but Lucas had become such a good distraction from her own turbulent mind that in a way she had become somewhat reliant on him.

This thought however, did little to comfort the brunette, who restlessly turned onto her side. The thought of relying on anyone sent a wave of panic searing through her system, because Kaya knew, perhaps better than most, where that kind of trust could land you, and Lucas's recent betrayal had simply acted as a reminder of that. Their argument played over and over again in her mind until finally she slipped soundlessly into the realms of unconsciousness that in the end proved to be more detrimental to her than the hours she had spent agonising when she was awake. Nightmares were an enemy that Kaya had faced for most of her life, ever since the original Helix facility had been burned down. Ever since Nicholas had burned it down, with her parents still inside. She was haunted by the screams of people calling for help in amongst the blazing flames, and she often woke up with a feeling that her airways were being constricted by the strong, familiar arms that had wrapped around her torso, keeping her from running inside to save the only family she had ever known. Tonight, the dream was similar, but this time Kaya wasn't calling out for her parents, but for her team instead, and no matter how hard she tried to get to them, those same arms continued to hold her back. The same arms that had carried her from the rubble only a few days ago, and the same arms that Kaya had once seen as a blessing, but now saw as more of a curse.

It was the brunette's own screams that tossed her back into full consciousness eventually, and she sat up abruptly in bed, chest heaving and eyes wide from the panic experienced in her nightmare. It took her several moments to breathe herself back into her reality and after several moments of regaining control of herself, Kaya lifted a hand to brush the hair away from her face and in the end gave up on the idea of sleep altogether, in fear of it casting her back into a world that she couldn't control.

There were so many questions eating away at her mind, that any kind of attempt at rest felt futile. Was Kramer keeping to their deal? From what she had seen from how the MCB agents had treated Nicholas when attempting to extract him, she thought not. But then, what could she do about that? Her threats to reveal the past horrors of Helix could only get her so far. Was her time finally running out? And then there was Lucas. How could she ever work with him again if she couldn't trust him? And why didn't he trust her? They were all valid questions as far as Kaya was concerned and they churned away in her mind until she couldn't stand it anymore, and eventually pulled herself out of bed before daylight had so much as stroked the edge of her windows. Her head felt heavy and full of uncertainties, and that was before she had even attempted to pull her thoughts about Nicholas into some kind of coherency. It was a task that felt near enough impossible when her concentration was clouded by such little sleep, the exhaustion written into her pale skin tone and dark circles under her eyes, both of which wrote the story of her sleepless night and presented it to those who knew her well. But as was so often the case with Kaya, she was very good at ignoring such warning signs, and even better at pushing herself beyond her limits, and so she didn't think twice about heading into her office early that morning, with every intention to bury herself in her work and preparing for the interrogations that would take place in the next three days before her deadline.

It wasn't unusual for Kaya to arrive at work before the rest of her team, and for a good hour or so the quiet darkness of their headquarters granted her a little of the solace that she sought. But it wasn't long before her thoughts began to drift back to what had taken place with Nicholas the day before, and the fact that he was currently being held in the building next to her, after being brutally attacked by the MCB, just like Kaya had witnessed so many times before when they had both been younger. It was an all too tempting premise, knowing that Nicholas was so close to her and that currently, she had the opportunity to speak to him without witnesses, to perhaps start an interrogation in her own way, away from the pressures that she was now under from members of her own team. Further seconds ticked by as she considered this, seconds that quickly turned into minutes that quickly began to feel like wasted time. The more that Kaya thought about it, the more that this felt like an opportunity that she couldn't pass up and despite the fact that she'd never admit it, perhaps there was a small part of her that wanted to know how Nicholas was, too. She'd had no word since the incident yesterday, although she assumed on this occasion that no news was good news.

And so, Kaya made the call in the end, and left her office behind, unbeknownst to her that Thea would be entering only moments later, and that what she was about to walk into wasn't exactly the calm situation that she had been expecting.

There was a long corridor adjoining the floor of Kaya's building to the cells and the control room, allowing her to bypass Tommy and Gregor at the front entrance to the building, and Collins and Evelyn who were making their way inside through the same doors. Unsurprisingly, the building was quiet given the time of day, but Kaya couldn't help but feel a sense of unease settle in her chest as she approached the control room, only to find that the two guards who were assigned to the room at all times were nowhere in sight. Or at least, they weren't until she unlocked the door with her thumbprint, only to reveal the two guards lying in a pool of blood and unconscious on the floor.

"Shit. Shit." Kaya's eyes flashed from the bodies to the camera screen, which was currently showing up with blank space, rather than images of the cells where the prisoners were being kept. Her mind scrambled to try and formulate a plan, to find evidence of what might have happened here, but even as the questions flitted through her mind, a sense of unease had started eating away at her thoughts well before this discovery. She didn't need to ask the question, she already had a feeling that she knew exactly who was responsible for this, and it was exactly who she had come down here to see in the first place. Perhaps she should have been more surprised by this than she was, but given how well Kaya knew Nicholas, she also knew better than to question what he was capable of.

A quick check of the guards' pulse told Kaya that there was nothing more she could do for them and so the brunette wasted no time in heading for the isolation unit next. She moved quickly but quietly, stopping by corners to ensure that there was nobody coming down the adjoining corridor and taking shortcuts which she knew like the back of her hand. The brunette was only forced to come to a stop when she heard a man's voice echo into the empty space around her.

"FREEZE!"

The sound seemed to bounce of the silence that the walls held, and Kaya fully expected some kind of commotion to ensue, but instead there was a sound of crumpling, like a body hitting the floor and then nothing, the silence from earlier filling her ears even louder than before, alongside her own drumming heartbeat. Whatever she was about to walk into, Kaya knew that her chances of success in facing it alone if it involved Nicholas were low, but then, what other choice did she have? She had to try, no matter the cost.

Taking a deep breath, in the next instance Kaya started to move further down the corridor, towards the room she had heard the first voice come from. She could just about make out further mumbled voices, although who they belonged to she wasn't yet sure, or at least that was until she rounded the next corner and was suddenly met with the sight of Nicholas coming towards her with... Beth? For a moment, the female mutant froze up, their gazes meeting from across the corridor. She looked at Nicholas first, then at her teammate who once again instinctively moved in front of the male. It felt like an age past with the three just looking at each other, waiting for who would speak first. In the end, it was Kaya, once she had managed to swallow past the dryness in her throat, confusion marring her features.

"Beth, what are you--"
"Don't Kaya," the blonde interrupted, her eyes a little wider than they had been before. "It's best if you don't ask. Just move aside. Please." The latter word was whispered.

Kaya could feel herself frowning in further confusion, her eyes laced with concern as she looked at her teammate. "Are you... Are you helping him? B-but why? I... I don't understand." Dark waves of hair gently brushed against her shoulders as the brunette shook her head, her gaze eventually moving to Nicholas and changing to a look that closely resembled anger when she met those icy blues she knew so well. It took Kaya all of a second to notice that Nicholas no longer had the collar around his neck, meaning that she was at risk of being severely outnumbered if this didn't go her way.

"If you've hurt her I swear to God, Nick." Kaya's hands had started to tremble, and her power sizzled around her fingertips in small lilac bolts of energy. Her attention switched back to Beth. "Beth, listen to me. Whatever he's told you, or promised you... You can't trust him okay? Just listen to me."
"Kaya..." Beth whispered in response, her voice shaking with the exertion of her own confusion. "I... I don't know what's happening to me. But please just... You need to move." A gust of wind began to whip through the corridor then, gently at first and slowly growing in power. Kaya knew that she could fight Beth if she needed to, but Beth and Nicholas? That wasn't something she was equipped for, especially not in her current state.

Her mind was shifting into overdrive now and Kaya's thoughts quickly flicked to her other teammates, who she knew would be arriving at work soon if they hadn't already. She needed back up, she needed them. So in the end she did the only thing that she could think to in that moment, and lunged for the panic button that was on the wall of the corridor between them.

 

[Jack19XK]

The night had not been peaceful for Lucas as he rose from his bed before the brisk of dawn. After giving his eyes some time to adjust, he reached for the phone laying on his bedside table. It was 4:28 on a Friday morning and the city had barely begun to awake. Lucas then proceeded to check his notifications, which there were many, but none of it was from the one that he’d hoped to hear from the most.

The last few days had made it difficult for the male to rest even in the slightest. His mind was continuously plagued with the imageries of him and Kaya but more so of Kaya and the man called Nicholas.

Lucas had been shocked to learn of the two’s past. He had never seen Kaya so discombobulated and derailed from her duties as the leader of their team. That was the reasoning behind his decision to reach out to Kramer as he had hoped to relieve Kaya of the torture of having to face her past. As one may expect, Kaya was enraged when she had uncovered his actions. She had viewed it as a betrayal despite Lucas’ assertions that it was for the best of the team. Although despite what Lucas kept telling himself, his true reasoning runs far deeper than that.

As for his team, they had found out about his deception around the same time as Kaya did. In the hours following, Beth was the only one who had reached out regarding the matter. Her texts were comforting but she wasn’t the one that Lucas had wanted to hear from. Isaac and Thea had both contacted Lucas during this period as well, but their messages were largely work-related and had no mention of the morning’s incident.

And of course, there was also Director Kramer, who had attempted to contact Lucas multiple times since Kaya’s actions. Lucas simply wasn’t in the mindset to speak to the director and had largely ignored his calls.

However, as Lucas scrolled through the texts, he came across one that was more recent. It was from Isaac. Earlier this week, the whole team with the exception of their leader had made a plan to come to work earlier than usual Friday morning. They had hoped to work together to complete as much of Kaya’s paperwork as they could before she arrives. This was their way of showing gratitude as Kaya had been working nearly nonstop in recent days. But according to the recent message, both Thea and Beth had failed to respond to Isaac. Chopping it down to them having overslept, Isaac and Lucas decided to continue on to HQ. They might not be able to get as much of the work done as they had hoped but it would still be something.

At this point, Lucas found no purpose in remaining in bed. Hoping to silence the raging thoughts within his head, Lucas turned to the only solace he could: work. Both Lucas and Kaya were well known for arriving to work during the early hours but this was even sooner than normal. There were also many times when they had departed for work from the same resident, given their occasional nights together. But today, Lucas was going alone.

After taking a brief hot shower and completing his usual morning routine, Lucas was ready for work. By the time he departed from his loft, it was 5:24. He had also sent a reply to Isaac, informing him to meet him at the front of HQ.

Isaac and Lucas would arrive at relatively the same time. As they pulled into the parking lot located under HQ, they could see both Thea and Beth’s cars already parked in their usual spots. This was a surprise for sure as neither of them had been in contact with Isaac and Lucas since last night.

“I guess the two managed to wake up after all.” Isaac simply assumed that the two had managed to make it to HQ early as promised and had not responded for some reasonable excuse.
“Looks like it. Let’s go, we don’t want to be the late ones.” Lucas responded

As the two entered the facility, everything appeared to be on order. With the exception of the cleaning crew, they did not run into any suspicious individuals on the way downstairs to their offices. As they traveled down the hall leading to their cubicles, their attentions were caught by an ear-piercing cry.

The cries would guide Isaac and Lucas to the control room, where a fear-stricken janitor can be seen frantically pointing at the two bodies of the security guards laying before her. The floor below them had become soaked in pools of fresh flowing blood. Without a moment of hesitation, the two rushed forward. Isaac would comfort the traumatized worker while Lucas approached the seemingly lifeless bodies. Aside from the causes of death, Lucas had also noticed neither had drawn their weapons. The murderer had somehow gotten close enough to two well-armed guards and killed them without any apparent difficulty. This hinted at an element of surprise that only someone of familiarity can accomplish.

Lucas’ eyes then moved to the multitude of screens above the control desk. All that he saw were reflections belonging to himself staring back. “They disabled the security cameras.” Lucas exclaimed as he glanced back at Isaac. The two could see the rapid realizations within their eyes as they processed the severity of the situation.

“Sound the alarms. We need to check the containment cells now!”

----------------------------------------------------------

Nicholas had spotted the security switch located of near equal distance between them and Kaya. Even so, he made no attempts to stop Kaya as she threw herself towards the button. It was Beth who would act. With a swing of her hand, a loud screeching burst can be heard as a strong gust of wind collides with Kaya’s body and throws her against the wall on the opposite end.

Beth would show no emotions towards the harm she’d just inflicted upon her close friend. Her eyes no longer displayed the level of confusion that she’d expressed moments earlier. In fact, her stare had grown callous as she aimed her palm against Kaya. The room’s air would suddenly feel heavier as pressure and wind began to gather around her hand. “I warned you. Let us go, Kaya. I don’t want to hurt you even more.” Beth’s voice remained unchanged. It was still the warm-sounding voice that Kaya was familiar with. But now in combination with her distant words and cold tone, the voice sounded nothing short of malicious.

Before anything further could be done, the facility was awoken by the sounding of its alarm. Horns buzzed into the distance as lockdown mode commenced per protocol. Confusion filled Nicholas and Beth’s faces as they glanced over at the security button. It remained inactive thanks to Beth’s efforts earlier, so how was the alarm triggered? Someone else must have triggered it, whether it is intentional or not.

“We need to get out of here. We’re going to be locked in here with the authorities closing in.” Beth warned Nicholas. Having worked at the facility for years, Beth was more than familiar with the facility’s intruder protocol. The authorities she had mentioned were not the normal police force but the special response team of the MCB. This included several mutant agents such as themselves, meaning that it will become a big issue once they arrive. It wouldn’t be long now before all the doors and exits become sealed and they are left waiting for their subduers.

“No, there’s something we need to do first.” Nicholas responded back as he glanced over at Kaya before turning to take his leave.

The pair would only be able to make a few steps down the hall before Lucas’ body came into view. Thanks to his unnatural stamina and endurance, Lucas was able to arrive ahead of Isaac, only to find his worse fears confirmed. However, he was quickly strike upon by confusion when Beth quickly placed herself before Nicholas with an urgency to defend him against any dangers. Lucas was taken aback by Beth’s daunting stare. He had never seen Beth in such a way before and that made him feel a sense of dread.

 

[Becboc]

It was a long shot that Kaya would get to the panic button before Nicholas or Beth might get to her. She was outnumbered after all, but that was hardly a reason in her mind not to try. Her fingers were inches away from the device on the wall when her feet were suddenly swept out from underneath her by a gust of wind that she never had a chance against. Within moments, Kaya’s body was slammed into the wall at the opposite end of the corridor, an uncomfortable cracking sound echoing around the walls just before she crumpled into a heap on the cold floor beneath her. The force of the blast on this occasion wasn’t enough to knock Kaya unconscious, but the impact of her body against the wall was enough to stun her and she found that she was unable to move straight away as her vision blurred and she struggled for breath. She was disorientated and trying to make sense of the muffled sound of Beth’s voice above the ringing in her ears. Kaya couldn’t for the life of her figure out what was going on, why Beth was behaving like she was or why she had gotten involved with Nicholas in the first place. Of one thing she was sure though, Beth wasn’t herself and he was the reason why.

———————————————————

Meanwhile, back in the entrance corridor of the cell block, Evelyn and Collins had just been about to round the corner towards the control room when suddenly an alarm rang out from behind them, their bodies immediately cast into a flashing red hue that filled the space they had been heading towards.

“What the hell is that?” Evelyn hissed to her partner, who she noticed looked just as confused as she did. As far as they were both concerned they had covered their tracks well from the moment they had arrived earlier that morning, and the plan they had settled with Gregor and Tommy was fool proof. They hadn’t felt a shockwave from Tommy, so this shouldn’t be happening… Unless something else had set the alarms off? Heading towards a computer panel on the outside of the control room, Collins began to tap the keys in search of answers, but after a minute or two he let out a grunt of exasperation. “The security system’s been activated. I can’t do anything. We’re blind.”

The redhead looked at Collins with something close to anger shining in her pale green eyes. “Damn it, I knew this was going too well. Okay Eve, think. Think.” She began to pace, while Collins remained his usual calm and collected self beside her. “We can’t turn back now,” Evelyn continued after a short pause, running an irate hand through fiery locks. “We’re so close. We need to get to Nick before the doors lock him in, then we can figure out what to do from there.” Giving a nod of agreement, Collins started after Evelyn as she started back down the corridor, mind whirring over the possibilities of what could have happened to land them in this position in the first place. The more he thought about it the more he couldn’t see a way that their team was responsible for this, unless something had happened with Gregor and Tommy outside. But then they had put a system in place to alert each other, if anything had gone wrong, Evelyn and Collins would know about it. That meant then, that the only possible explanation he could fathom, was that something, or someone else had set off the alert. Something or someone that had nothing to do with their team.

———————————————————

Back in the hallway leading out of the isolation unit, Lucas finally found himself face to face with the reason that this had all started in the first place and he was momentarily stunned into silence in seeing that it looked like Nicholas hadn’t acted alone in attempting to break out of his cell. Beth had a look about her that Lucas didn’t recognise and although the familiarity of his friend and teammate was there, it felt very much like he was looking into the eyes of a stranger. Something wasn’t right here, but Lucas was yet to find out what that was.

“Beth? What are you doing down here? You need to get away from him, right now. Get behind me.” Lucas’s eyes had moved to Nicholas, his jaw tight with the tension that was fizzing through the hallway. When Beth didn’t immediately move however, Lucas’s gaze flickered back to her once more. “Beth, did you hear me? I said get--“ But before he could even finish his sentence, another burst of wind erupted from Beth’s outstretched palm, knocking Lucas backwards. Unlike Kaya however, Lucas had strength on his side and was able to withstand most of the blow without being knocked off of his feet. When the gust eventually passed, he stared at the woman in front of him, trying to piece together what was happening. “What the hell are you doing?” He yelled at her, frustration etching into his voice.

Beth however, remained expressionless and looked to be preparing another blast.

“Move aside, Lucas,” she responded softly. “You can’t fight us on your own.”

“Except he isn’t on his own.” There was a beat of silence before Isaac appeared from the end of the corridor, having overheard the brief conversation between Lucas and Beth once he’d caught up with his teammates, which allowed him to piece together a pre-emptive image of what he was about to walk into. He didn’t know why or how Beth was involved in all of this it was clear that for whatever reason, she currently wasn’t on their side.

“No, he isn’t.” Isaac had just been about to speak himself when a third voice sounded from behind Beth and Nicholas, one that this time none of the group had been expecting. Kaya came into view next, with an arm wrapped against her torso as she tried to hold herself upright against the pain that was searing through her ribs. She looked at Lucas first, their gazes meeting briefly. “Kaya…”

“I came in early this morning,” she went onto to explain weakly, swaying ever so slightly but trying to hide it now that the attention was on her. “When I came down here I found them both. I-I think he’s done something to Beth. She won’t listen to me.”

Another small silence passed over the group then as Group X looked between one another, almost as though they were communicating without words. They had a slight upper hand now that there was three of them, but that didn’t meant that this fight was going to be easy, not when they were against a Class S and one of their own teammates, one of the very last people that they would ever want to hurt. It was for this reason in the end that it was Kaya who spoke again next as a lilac force field filled out into the space behind the group, creating a square wall at the end of the corridor that would prevent anyone from leaving. Or anyone else from entering.

“This is your last chance,” she tried to reason. “Give up now and nobody needs to get hurt. We don’t want to fight you, Beth. But we will. If we have to.”

What Kaya was currently unaware of at this point however, was Evelyn and Collins’ presence at the entrance to the corridor. It hadn’t taken them long to navigate towards where they knew that Nicholas was being held and upon hearing the interchange between the group, the two had come to a stop to listen, to gather information about exactly what and who they were currently faced with and to come up with some kind of plan. Or at least, that was the idea, right up until Evelyn heard Lucas say Kaya’s name.

Evelyn was well known within her team for her hot-headed behaviour and ability to jump the gun without really thinking things through, but on this occasion Collins had trusted that both he and Evelyn knew that their power in this position came from the element of surprise. He hadn’t thought for a second that she was give up that position, especially for something as small as point proving. But to Evelyn, hearing Kaya’s name and her voice for the first time had reignited the uncomfortable feelings of jealously that had been conjured up for her earlier, when she had watched her former partner retrieve the brunette from the rubble. Suddenly, this wasn’t only an opportunity to rescue Nicholas anymore, but also an opportunity for revenge, too.

It was for this reason that the next sound to cut through the tension was Evelyn’s chiming bell laughter that froze the members of Group X into place as they glanced around the corridor in search of where it was coming from. Collins looked at Evelyn when she started to move forwards and reached out to grip her arm to pull her back. “What are you doing?” He hissed, but she easily dodged out of his grip and languidly made her way towards the group of mutants, eventually emerging into the corridor and revealing herself to them for the first time.

“My my, it looks like you’ve set up quite the party here, Nick. I’m almost a little hurt that you didn’t think to invite us.” The way that Evelyn moved was almost casual as she sauntered down the corridor, coming to a stop just outside of Kaya’s force field. Pale green eyes roamed over the crackling energy and flashed as they landed upon the brunette who was standing just a few feet away from her and now staring right back. “And what do we have here?” Evelyn’s voice had lowered and grown noticeably colder now, but her eyes remained fixed on the body at the other end of the room. “Aren’t you going to let us into your little gathering?” A small tutting sound emanated from Eve, her lips smacking together in the silence that followed her question. “No? Well you’re no fun at all, are you? Nick, be a doll and get rid of this barrier, would you? I’m dying to meet your new friends properly.”

 

[Jack19XK]

“I’m starting to get really sick of seeing you.” Nicholas said in response to spotting Lucas, who was followed close behind by Isaac. Nicholas could only assume that it was him who had triggered the alarm given the convenient timing. The two exchanged quick glares before Lucas’ attention was grasped by the sight of Beth’s figure moving in front of Nicholas.

“Beth, what the hell are you doing with him?!” Isaac exclaimed with utter bewilderment. Her early arrival at the MIB HQ wasn’t that surprising itself given what they had planned for today. It was her current position by Nicholas’ side that roused many questions. Why was she putting herself in front of Nicholas? Did she and he have a history of sorts too as Kaya did? Isaac was almost certain that it wasn’t the case. Unlike Kaya, Beth had shown no strong reaction to Nicholas throughout their entire mission. It made no sense as to why she would suddenly defect to his side like this.

“I am protecting him from traitors like you.” She replied with ardent anger.

“Traitors? What are you talking about?”

The brief exchange between the team and Beth was relatively meaningless as the latter gave no useful or clear reasoning behind her current stance, much to their disdain and bafflement. Not long after, Lucas would catch sight of Kaya, who appeared injured but alive. Despite Beth’s apparent betrayal, Lucas still breathed a sigh of relief seeing the two of them.

“Hear that, Beth? They want us to give up. What do you think?” Nicholas’ question was met by an almost immediate reply.

“I would rather go down fighting than surrender to them.” Determined to defend her leader, Beth would open her hands as she felt the surrounding bodies of air begin to circulate through her fingertips in the form of thundering clouds and gusts. This would result in the drastic dropping of the surrounding atmospheric pressure as they began to build up within the palms of her hands. The first few strikes had been a warning to them but Beth had no intentions of holding back any longer if they continued to refuse passage.

Nicholas couldn’t help but smirk grimacingly at Beth’s response. Her reply was exactly what he had predicted it would be. Better yet, it was exactly how he had predicted it to be. This was the terror of Nicholas’ powers. Possession required only a few seconds of active eye contact and most wouldn’t even realize that they had become a puppet until it was far too late. Once fallen victim to his trance, the victim’s very mind becomes tainted with Nicholas’ own consciousness as it twists and warps their own realities. This was Beth’s current state as both her memories and mind had become distorted from reality.

While it may be true that Nicholas is outnumbered, he did not feel threatened in the slightest. With Beth on his side, he knew that he had all the leverage. Despite what Kaya had said, Nicholas had his doubts regarding her expressed willingness to harm Beth. The longer Beth’s mind remained in a corrupted state, the more of her mind was opened to Nicholas. By now, Nicholas had learned enough of the team to know that they wouldn’t simply harm her so easily. Even if they were so heartless, it will take a great deal of effort to bring down S and E-classed mutants.

Lucas would glance over at Kaya as the two slowly come to the realization that they may have to fight Beth. As much as Lucas wanted the opportunity to put Nicholas down once and for all, this was far from the place to do it. Not only were they inside a large building with other workers still inside, but they were also within the HQ of the MIB. Having witnessed the damages that Nicholas had inflicted on the large building the other day, Lucas was desperately trying to come up with a plan to avoid total destruction of HQ.

Just as the opposing tensions closed in at its breaking point, a new voice interjected from the position behind Kaya. From the nearby corner of the corridor, Evelyn had made the impulsive decision to make herself known. Lucas and his teammates quickly exchanged looks as they attempted to process the identity of this new individual. The group knew of most that worked within the facility, especially those possessing powers of their own. Neither of them appeared to recognize the red head, but the same couldn't be said for Nicholas.

“I told you to stay put.” Nicholas said to Evelyn. He did not return the same sentiment of glee that the red head possessed from seeing him. If anything, he was irritated that his plan had been led on a spiral.

Nicholas had guessed that it would be only a matter of time before his team received news of his capture. Although he had specifically briefed them on the measures to be taken if the plan had gone wrong, Nicholas knew Evelyn too well to believe that she would actually follow through with his instructions. He had hoped that Collins would be able to dissuade her from acting rashly but that was evidently too optimistic of him.

“You know I couldn’t do that, Nick.” There was no way that Evelyn could sit in wait as their leader was put into chains and locked into isolation. She knows as much as anybody here of the horrors that the MCB and MIB inflict upon its captors. Being her savior and occasional partner, she would do anything to keep him from falling to his childhood fate again. Besides, Nicholas is the leader of a team that has grown dependent on him. He must never be captured by the likes of these people.

“I had it handled.”

“It certainly looks like it.” Evelyn replied sarcastically as she flashed a sharp glare over at Kaya. “Fine then, I’ll do it myself.” Evelyn’s right hand opened to a wave of glowing scarlet energy. The energy flowed through her fingers like sparks of electricity as they concentrated into the shape of a makeshift ball. Before Nicholas had time to interrupt, Evelyn had already began her attack as she fired the body of psionic energies into the barrier created by Kaya. The blast collided with the surface of the shield, creating a small shockwave through the barrier. Given that both Kaya and Evelyn’s powers were psionic in origin, the resulting collision was much more controlled as the opposing abilities counteracted one another.

“That’s quite the defense you got there. Let's see if you’re good as they say you are.” With a smile filled with malice, Evelyn moved to attack again. This time, the scarlet energies can be seen gathering in both of her hands as she proceeded to fire them into the barrier again, and again, and again. All thoughts of escape had left her mind by this point. All Evelyn wanted to do now was to harm Kaya and to see just what's so special about her.

As unexpected and unwanted as Evelyn’s presence was, Nicholas had decided to capitalize on this new development by going on the offensive. As the impact of Evelyn’s attacks reverberated through the barrier and distracted Kaya, Nicholas and Beth quickly turned their attention to Lucas and Isaac.

In an instant, Beth released the clouds she was gathering within her palms as a small typhoon aimed at both Lucas and Isaac. The speed was too quick for either to react as both were blown against the edge of the shield. While Lucas had the enhanced durability to take such an attack, Isaac wasn’t so lucky. The heavy impact against the wall was felt through his body as he winced in pain. However, it will take more than that to take a member of Group X out.

With Beth having successfully knocked Lucas and Isaac off their feet, Nicholas would follow suit by sending a rapid barrage of pitch dark flames with the goal of incinerating everything in their path. At the same time, he would keep a close eye on Kaya, who thanks to Evelyn, was too busy trying to keep her shield afloat.

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There was no doubt that Collins was far more calm and collective than Evelyn. His attempt to safeguard their element of surprise was futile as Evelyn rushed out of their hidden position. Collins wasn’t above freezing her in place and would’ve likely done so had it not been for how quick she had disappeared from his sight. Yet, even with her having revealed herself, Collins remained within the shadows as he listened in to the conversation. It was then that he heard a voice sounding much like his leader. The following exchange between Evelyn and Nicholas validated that assumption. Collins could feel a heavy weight dissipate off of his chest upon finding Nicholas, although the latter didn’t seem that overjoyed to see Evelyn.

As the two sides began their assaults on one another, Collins remained in hiding as he awaited an opportunity to utilize his element of surprise. That was until he suddenly heard several rapid footsteps originating from the opposite ends of the hall. Moments later, a large group of men can be seen turning the corner towards his position.

Collins could only assume that these men belonged to the facility’s security team. They donned body armor and were equipped with large automatic weapons. Collins couldn’t tell whether they were utilizing live or tranquilizing rounds but given the severity of the situation, it’s probably the former.

“Who’s there?! Freeze and show me your hands now!” Yelled out the head of the group.

Collins would not comply and had instead moved to place himself at the center of their path.

“I SAID SHOW ME YOUR HANDS” The head guard yelled out again. Just as before, Collins remained non-compliant.

It took only one loud crackle before a barrage of bullets was released toward the blonde-haired male. The male’s eyes shined with a malevolent intent as he released a sudden burst of frost from his palm that disturbed the trajectory of the bullets. Not a single one would reach their target as the bullets simply dropped before Collins’ feet. Some had even shattered on impact while those that didn’t were covered in ice.

Unlike the typical security detail, these men were familiar with the inner workings of the MIB and were knowledgeable about mutants. They had accepted the job knowing full well of the dangers that they might encounter. And so, Collins’ demonstration of power just now had done little in bewildering them. Rather, the group quickly moved to fire again, aiming to overwhelm the male with numbers. Each of them had been provided with adequate training to help them respond to various situations. Unfortunately, there’s no amount of preparation in the world that could fully safeguard you from the likes of mutants.

“How suicidal.” Collins can be heard mumbling softly as his eyes glowed a ghastly shade of blue. An icy aura, even larger than the first, was released from his entire body against his enemies. The dozen of security guards would feel a quick wave of unearthly chills as frostbite overwhelmed their bodies, transforming them into statues of ice and frost. Most didn’t even have time to react as their bodies became encased with the stern expressions they had held at that moment.

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As the plan had dictated, both Tommy and Gregor had been lying in wait when the blaring of the facility’s alarms caught their attention. The two instinctively looked at one another, confusion mounting on their faces. “What the hell……” Tommy said in a perplexed tone. “Did those two mess up already?”

Tommy and Gregor’s task was to be the lookouts on the outskirts of the facility. They were instructed to delay any security and to warn the rest of their team if something was to occur. But neither of them had seen anything worth arousing suspicion. They were situated near the front entrance, and thus blinded them from the earlier arrivals of Kaya and her team. Nevertheless, they were confident that they were not the cause of the alarm. This could only mean that something had gone wrong on Evelyn and Collins’ side.

“What should we do?” Tommy asked as he looked up at his partner.

“Stick to the plan.” Gregory responded as he moved towards the windows. Glancing into the streets outside, he spotted no signs of reinforcements approaching from the relatively empty streets. But there’s no telling how long these roads will remain vacant. If the MCB was to arrive, the two would need to buy as much time as they could for Evelyn and Collins to find Nicholas and escape. The next few minutes will prove vital. “We need to buy as much time for them as we can. I trust that they can handle themselves. Just get your shockwave ready to warn them when reinforcements arrive.” Tommy and Gregor may have brute strength on their side but Evelyn and Collins had the brains needed to pull this off. They have no doubt that they will be able to do just that.

“Don’t worry. I’m on it.” Tommy responded confidently as he balled one of his hands into a fist. Moments later, the loud sirens of the MCB can be heard blaring in the distance.

 

[Becboc]

The interchange between Beth and Nicholas made Kaya feel sick. The team were now very aware that Beth wasn’t herself and the thought of going up against one of their own only compounded their feelings of anxiety. Despite Kaya’s feigned confidence that they would fight against Beth if they had to, the leader of Group X knew that when it came to it not one member of her team, including herself, would be able to do this easily. She didn’t want to fight Beth, not if she could help it and her mind scrambled to find another way around their current dilemma. There were ways that they could try to disarm her perhaps, which if successful would give them a fighting chance of taking Nicholas down too. These thoughts whirred around Kaya’s mind but were short-lived and quickly interrupted by the entrance of a certain red-head that her team hadn’t come across before.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Kaya, the way in which Evelyn addressed Nicholas, in a way that suggested familiarity, and their short interchange after her arrival only seemed to confirm this. They had clearly spoken before and if Kaya assumed correctly, knew each other well enough to be on a nickname basis. The thought caused a momentary discomfort to flutter in her chest, one that she attempted to ignore until it eventually began to blossom into something more when the red haired stranger’s pale green eyes locked with her own. There was clear disdain reflected in Evelyn’s expression, but the reasons for why weren’t yet clear. Kaya was trying to get a read on her and although she guessed that the woman’s dislike for her came from the fact that they were on opposing teams, she also got the feeling that there was more to it than that. Evelyn had hardly looked at anybody else since making her presence known – whatever issue she had here, there was a part of it that was clearly personal. And that meant it was personal for Kaya too.

Before Kaya could react or do anything more than stare back however, Evelyn had already launched into her own attack in an attempt to bring down the lilac barrier that had initially been initiated to keep Nicholas and Beth in, but was now proving to be much more than a safety net – it was keeping Evelyn out too. If she got through the barrier, the numbers would almost equal out and Group X’s chances of winning this fight would look slim at best. However, with Kaya already weakened from Beth’s earlier attack, she felt the red shock of energy that Evelyn launched at the wall almost tenfold, and she found that she had to brace herself against the blast. Thankfully though, Kaya’s barrier still remained for now, much to Evelyn’s annoyance, and it wasn’t long before the red energy was fizzing at her finger tips once more. Her taunt was spoken with a malicious grin, one that Kaya didn’t warrant with a response – she wasn’t one to play games and she didn’t want to give this stranger the satisfaction of a reaction. So instead she threw her energy into maintaining her defence, the wall of power crackling with each ball of red that hit against it.

Unsurprisingly, Evelyn’s attack acted as a catalyst for Nicholas and Beth to spring into action while the team were distracted, which meant that Isaac was caught completely off guard by the gust of weather power that was thrown in his direction, leaving Lucas momentarily alone. That wasn’t enough to deter him however, and in the next moment he lunged for Beth, wrapping strong arms around her smaller frame in an attempt to contain her with this strength. “Isaac!” He yelled as she struggled against him. “Now!”

It wasn’t unusual for Group X to formulate a plan between each other without verbalising what was going to happen. They had trained and worked together for so long that more often than not they caught onto what was going on without a need for instruction or reiteration, and this was how Isaac knew exactly what he needed to do next. From where he was just starting to pull himself up onto his knees, the wall crumbling slightly from where he had smashed against it, he reached out a hand towards Beth, two columns of rock erupting from the ground beside where she and Lucas stood. Lucas moved just as quickly, pushing Beth towards the columns where she was suddenly captured into what looked like a cage made of stone. Given Beth’s power, both Lucas and Isaac knew that this probably wouldn’t hold her for long, but it would at least give them a chance to tackle Nicholas without her, and it was this direction that the two men turned to next.

As this was going on, Kaya remained focussed on the blasts emanating from Evelyn, each of which seemed to be getting stronger the angrier that she became. It was also becoming quite clear that Kaya was starting to struggle as her force field began to crackle, occasionally fading when another burst of red hit against it. The brunette could feel that her legs were getting weaker, and a warm trickle of blood had just started to pool from her nose, a sure sign that her energy was fading and fading fast. Evelyn noticed this almost immediately and let out a gleeful laugh. “Aw, poor thing,” she cooed as she continued her tirade. “Getting tired already?”

Kaya knew that it shouldn’t, but Evelyn’s words were starting to grate her on her and despite herself she pushed back against her weakness and moved a little closer to the barrier, close enough that they could see each other clearly. If she had been feeling at full strength, this would have been a good opportunity to extend the use of her power, but she wasn’t, so she didn’t, and instead through pants that were becoming quicker as her strength ebbed away from her, Kaya managed to utter out, “Who are you?” Through gritted teeth. Evelyn smirked at the question, and retrieved her red energy for a moment so that she could feign thoughtfulness by tapping a finger against her chin. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she smiled. “As much as I’d love to fill you in though, I’ve got better things to be doing with my time right now. Like taking you down, for example.”

Kaya felt her cheeks flush with irritation. “Oh yeah? And how’s that working out for you? Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like you’re getting very far.” With one final push, Kaya forced a blast out from her shield, one that took Evelyn by surprise. The red head absorbed the impact and emerged with a split lip, which she brought her hand up to examine. For a moment she was too stunned to say anything but slowly, once it registered what had just happened, her expression began to darken, the smile that worked its way onto her features more of a grimace than an expression of joy.

“Oh, you really, really shouldn’t have done that…” But before Evelyn could act on the rage that was building in a flush up her chest, a sudden rumbling began to tremble beneath the ground, and it grew louder as the corridor started to tremor, the walls around the group of mutants swaying slightly, and dust floating down from the ceiling. The sensation didn’t feel too dissimilar to that of an earthquake, except at least two of the people in the corridor knew that it wasn’t an earthquake at all. Once the ground began to still once more, Collins took this opportunity to emerge from where he had previously frozen the guards in place. He was still angry at Evelyn for her earlier rash decision to show herself to Group X, but he was sensible enough to realise that right now he had to push that feeling aside.

“Did you feel that?” He asked her as he reached her side. “Tommy’s shockwave. We need to get going. We might have more company soon.”

Evelyn nodded, but her eyes remained fixated on Kaya who for a moment had become distracted by trying to keep her balance in the aftermath of the shockwave. The redhead saw this as her opportunity, and began to conjure her energy at her fingertips, wrapping the sizzling bolts of red into a ball between her hands that she launched at Kaya’s barrier. With her defences down, the lilac wall crackled and shattered from the impact, leaving the brunette open and vulnerable to the two mutants that now stood before her. She didn’t stand a chance, especially now that there was an urgency added to their actions, and she certainly didn’t have a chance to react when Collins whipped a ball of what looked like ice into his hands, expertly throwing it through the hole that Evelyn’s earlier blast had created in the force field.

As soon as the ball of ice hit the ground, it exploded like a grenade into shards that ripped into Kaya’s clothing and her skin in various different places as they flew in different directions. There was a gash across her torso that ran especially deep, and blood started to pool onto the material of her shirt at about the same time that Evelyn launched a secondary attack and flung Kaya into the wall with another blast. The impact on her body this time was worse than the first given her severely weakened state, and Kaya gasped in pain once she hit the floor, her vision blurring as she fought to keep her consciousness. The world around her suddenly felt very far away; even breathing caused a searing pain to trip through her torso, and a ringing in her ears blocked out the sounds of her teammates. The brunette’s hazel eyes flickered as she caught sight of two feet walking towards her.

“Go and help Nick. This one’s mine.” Collins didn’t like taking orders, but right now it felt like they didn’t have time to argue. Now that Kaya’s barrier was gone, Evelyn easily stepped into the space that had previously been blocked off to her and she slowly wandered over to where the leader of Group X now lay, taking no notice of the chaos that was erupting around her. When she reached her, she quietly crouched down so that she came into Kaya’s line of sight, bottom lip stuck out into a pout.

“You don’t look so good. I’d maybe be more sympathetic if you hadn’t hit my pretty face. I don’t really think I can pull off a bust lip, do you?”

Kaya winced in pain, stifling a groan as she tried to get up, but her attempts were short-lived and she eventually collapsed against the floor again, breaths ragged.

Evelyn giggled. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Don’t worry though, the pain won’t last for long.” Then she leaned in and whispered, “I told you that you shouldn’t have done that,” as she began conjuring a shard of red energy in between her hands, moulding it into what didn’t look too dissimilar to a dagger.

 

[Jack19XK]

Out of his entire team, Nicholas was the only one who has fought against Group X. He had seen just how cohesive they were in fighting. That was one of the reasons that they were able to take him down in the first place. Learning from his mistakes, the male remained equally observant of both Lucas and Isaac, even when the latter was seemingly injured from Beth’s earlier attack. As he had expected, both of his enemies had quickly recovered and managed to take down their former colleagues. And now, with Beth remaining trapped within her makeshift confine, Nicholas sought to even the current odds against him.

Lucas would lead the charge as he raced past the imprisoned Beth and headed straight for his target. Seeing this, Nicholas sent forth a barrage of flames from his right palm in an effort to impede Lucas. With Kaya’s shield still in effect at that moment, Lucas was limited in his vicinity of movement. Seeing that there his teammate had no escape from Nicholas’ bombardment, Isaac quickly raised his hand up into the air as he summoned forth walls of thick aggregated stone several feet in front of Lucas. Noticing this, Lucas quickly paused in his tracks as he allowed for the wall of reinforced stone to take the brunt of Nicholas’ assault. The collision would result in a burst of smoke that filled the small area covered by Keya’s barrier.

Hoping to use the smog to his advantage, Lucas resumed his movement as he sought to close as much distance as possible. Despite still being imprisoned within Isaac’s enclosure, Beth still regarded assisting Nicholas as the highest priority. With a gesture of her hands, the female quickly summoned forth a strong gust of wind to propel all the smoke towards the direction of Isaac and Lucas. Nicholas’ eyesight would clear just as Lucas came over a few feet away. Now fully visible to his enemy, Lucas soon found himself propelled back by an all too familiar force. The male could do little as he was thrown in the direction of his partner, who quickly ducked down to avoid a friendly collision.

Just as Lucas hurried back to his feet, the earth below him began to shake. His first instinct was to look towards Isaac whose powers could easily have caused the vibration. However, upon catching a glimpse at his face, he knew that it wasn’t him. This brought his gaze to Nicholas, who did not appear all that shocked by the sudden earthquake. Even so, given that his balance had been disrupted as well, Lucas deducted that he wasn’t the cause of the earthquake either. This brings forth the question of who is responsible.

With Lucas back to square one, it now fell to Isaac to continue the offensive. The earthquake had resulted in a slight pause between the two sides but now it was back to business. Due to Kaya’s barrier, there was no escape from the lingering smoke that continued to impair their sight. However, Beth’s tempering had ensured that all the smoke was being blown towards the opposite half of the hallway. Fortunately, Isaac did not need sight for his next attack. Using the rubble created from Nicholas’ earlier blasts, Isaac would combine pieces of wayward stones to form sharp spikes that were quickly fired through the smoke. Just like Lucas’ attack, Nicholas was able to halt the stones in the open air as if they were all caught up in a large web. Nicholas then made a fist with his hand, causing the stones to crumble into miniature dust.

Unfortunately for Nicholas, Isaac’s attack had been a faint as the male suddenly found himself the target of a recovered Lucas. The latter could be seen charging toward Nicholas again. Just as the male prepared to throw Lucas off his feet once more, his concentration was unexpectedly disrupted as he felt his body constricted by a large hand created from the same form of stones that was imprisoning Beth. With Nicholas temporarily subdued, Lucas would close his distance just enough for him to throw his first strike. The resulting punch would’ve knocked Nicholas onto the ground had it not been for the massive hand that currently bound the male in its hold. Lucas sought to continue his momentum after his first punch as he launched several more strikes.

At the same time, Evelyn had managed to create a breach in Kaya’s barrier. Collins had taken advantage of this by sending forth a grenade of pure ice through the gap. Seeing this, Isaac created a quick wall to block him and Isaac from the newly formed projectiles, causing a moment of weakness that the duo couldn’t afford.

The distraction from Collins was enough for Nicholas to regain his composure from the two punches that had landed upon him. By the time Lucas turned his attention back to Nicholas, he was quickly met with a face of rubble as the latter destroyed his binds. Lucas would find irritating familiarity in Nicholas’ next move as he was sent flying back once again. “Damnit, I can’t get close to him” Lucas said in an exasperated manner as he returned to Isaac’s side.

“I know.” Responded Isaac. “We can’t keep it up much longer like this.” The male glanced over behind them at Beth, who is no doubt trying to escape from her imprisonment at that very moment. “That won’t hold her much longer, I can feel the foundations breaking.” The two of them were already struggling in their fight with Nicholas. The conflict would only become all the more difficult once Beth escapes.

“Can you trap him like last time?”

“We’re too high up. I’ll destroy this whole place bringing vines up here.” Not to mention that Kaya had played a vital role in the team’s capture of Nicholas. Her power proved to be the best and only effective way of countering his. But as Isaac flashed a quick glance over at Kaya’s side, he could see that she was struggling just as much as they were.

“Well, we need to think of something fast.”

While Lucas and Isaac discussed their predicament, they were unaware of the approaching Collins from the sidelines. With them still distracted, Collins fired forth two blasts from his palm. Lucas was the only one fortunate enough to notice the attack from behind and hastily moved to dodge the blast. “Isaac watch out!” He warned but it was too late.

The second blast struck Isaac just moments before the male could move out of its range. The strike sent a shockwave of frostbite through his body as the chills forced him onto his knees.

“I’m impressed. No one has ever taken on one of my attacks like you just did. No wonder the files classified you all as Class E mutants.” Isaac had been the first of Collins’ many victims to not be transformed into sculptures of ice upon being struct by his attack, The male could only assume that it’s due to his augmented physical capabilities as a high classed mutant.

With Isaac temporarily immobilized, Lucas soon found himself between ice and fire, each just as deadly as the other. His situation would continue to deteriorate as Beth was finally able to break through her makeshift entrapment through the concentration of high and intense pressure against the stones. Now surrounded by three dangerous enemies, Lucas glanced over to Isaac in hopes that his partner was capable of continued fighting.

All hopes of that were quickly extinguished as Collins hit Isaac with another one of his attacks. This time, he targeted Isaac’s right arm, causing piles of ice to form on its surface. The male could only cry out in pain as his arm was frozen with burning agony. It felt as if his entire arm was being grilled with frost.

As his team closed in on their prey, Nicholas would glance over at the situation between Kaya and Evelyn. He could see Kaya lying feebly on the ground as Evelyn taunted her. At first, Nicholas had intended to not intervene and allow the two to fight it out. That all changed when he caught sight of Evelyn’s crimson dagger forming within her hand. Even Nicholas didn’t know what had went down in his mind at that moment as he rushed over before it was too late.

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If there’s one thing that Collins hated more than anything, it’s taking orders from Evelyn. It would be an understatement to say that the two were polar opposites in their approaches to missions. This was evident in their argument back at their base over their next course of action. Evelyn’s victory over the debate had already left a sour taste in Collins mouth, and now he was being barked at with orders. As much as he detested it, Collins did not argue as he was away from the current priority. He and Evelyn can banter later but now wasn’t the time for them to fall into disarray.

“Fine, don’t play with your food. We don’t have time for that.” Collins said to Evelyn as he rushed in the direction of his leader.

With Nicholas receiving support, Evelyn was able to turn her focus fully upon Kaya. There was genuine amusement in Evelyn’s sinister grin as she slowly approached the injured Kaya. Evelyn didn’t bother to hide the satisfaction of seeing her rival in such a pitiful state. Among the Revenants, Evelyn is probably the most sadistic of them all as she found genuine joy in watching her enemies suffer. In her mind, it was simply reparations for what the humans had done to her and others of their kind. “Now, as much as I wanted to learn about your history with Nick, I’m afraid that I don’t have the time. So I think I’ll just permanently bury that history instead.” With her last words, Evelyn pulled her hand back as she prepared to end Kaya with one quick attack. With a satisfactory smile, she thrusted her scarlet dagger forward. Before the dagger could reach Kaya’s heart, its momentum was suddenly halted as Evelyn felt a tight grip over her wrist. Looking over her shoulders, Evelyn’s eyes widened at the sight of Nicholas towering over her.

“What do you think you’re doing.” Evelyn asked with displeasement in her voice.

“That’s enough, we need to go. Did you not feel the earthquake?” Although his response was logical and filled with reason, what Nicholas got in return was a raised elbow and rising suspicions from Evelyn.

“I know but it shouldn’t take long. This bitch is tough, better off to finish her now than for her to become trouble later.”
“I said that’s enough.” Nicholas said in a loud and stern manner as he reaffirmed his earlier stance. This only raised further distrust within Evelyn as Nicholas’ response did not match his usual style of action. Had it been normal, Nicholas would simply tell her to “not take too long” and allow her to finish off their enemies. In fact, it was Nicholas who had emphasized to his team the dangers of leaving loose ends. So why is here standing here essentially telling Evelyn to spare Kaya, the woman responsible for his capture.