"The Midnight Floor?"
Phoenix took a mixed drink from the girl Lexi, taking her seat and flicking her bubblegum pink hair off her shoulder. She leaned on her fist closer to him. She couldn't stop eyeballing Phoenix's charming looks till Maverick told her to stop and that it was her turn when Phoenix started to get creepy out. She tossed a few chips in the center and went to her cards while Maverick stirred his drink with its small black straw. "Yeah. Our net worth to the black market is higher than yours and Sunny Side."
"That's what your floor is called." A guy in a basket ball jersey and harem pants nodded, picking up his beer. "It's the most well known floor."
Phoenix blinked, astonished. "I didn't know there was more of us."
"There's four floors." Maverick held up fingers, idly staring him down. He started to count them down. "The sunrise floor or the Maternity Ward, the midday floor where the little ones grow up, the sunny-"
"Wait." Phoenix held his hand up, making everyone look. "They're not sent off to the black market?"
The other guy snorted while the rest remain subtle, he drummed his fingers on the table. "They be stupid if they shipped off baby grenades all around the world like that. Midday isn't far from here—annoying little shits." He rolled his gleaming grey eyes, Phoenix's jaw tightened and Maverick noticed.
He pinched his straw between his finger while he picked up his drink, "They have a system, don't worry." Phoenix's eyes landed on Maverick, baffled by how laid back this guy's vibe was. For a split second there, Maverick's crystal blue eyes flashed golden yellow. Phoenix'a gaze hardened when Maverick took a couple gulps then settled it down, licking his lips and tilted his chin up. "I'm sure you're concerned why you got dropped on this floor. Not many little fish like yourself get dropped into the shark tank of our legendary selves."
Phoenix grimaced, "Legendary?"
The other girl, Lavender had crossed her arms and leaned on the table. She sheepishly shrugged with a soft smile, "Where do your think your mutation sources comes from?"
Phoenix and her stated at each other, Lavender blinked her pretty pastel purple eyes. Purple Iris were impossible, but so were golden. His mind paused, drifting to stare at the table. Maverick chuckled, "We weren't the first they experimented on, but the first batch of successors." He rose a brow at the table, spacing out. "We are the origins of everyone's DNA mutation strands."
"That's impossible." He murmured, glancing around the table to see everyone look at him. He realized only one person hasn't said a word yet and it was goth kid in all black, tossing a couple chips. He flicked his jet black hair out of his face and glanced off to the guy in the basketball jersey who playfully nudged him and went to his hand.
"It's not really." Lavender murmured, sipping on her soda. "They take our already mutated blood, play with it some more, then inject it into you. They just hope for the best fallout."
Phoenix gently shook his head, glancing to his hand. Lavender and Maverick exchanged looks, Lavender seemed to hesitate for a second. "What's your gift?"
"I..." Phoenix swallowed hard, pulling hand into a fist. "Can turn into a dragon and emit black fire."
The guy in the basketball Jersey whistled in awe, making Phoenix look to him grinning. "No wonder you showed up here."
"Oliver, please." Lavender gently scolded.
Being revealed, Phoenix fluttered his eyes and stared harder at the guy. "Oliver..." He repeated, Maverick intently watched Phoenix's reaction. "You're the one who breaks in the new girls. That's what I heard, no one know what he looks like including the girls."
Oliver nipped his lips and grinned at his cards, Maverick softly exhaling through his nose and rose a brow. "Oliver's gift is manipulation by touch, smell, or sight depending on his host. His skin emits this smell and rapid accelerant that makes him irresistible and cooperative.l
The goth guy suddenly spoke with a raspy voice, "He's a borderline Rapist."
"Please." Lavender rolled her eyes and shit him a cold look. "More like a full blown one."
"Regardless." Oliver said it slowly with a smile, locking eyes with Phoenix then. "If I don't persuade these beautiful woman to do their job, I die."
"By being a failure? What's so wrong about that?" Phoenix muttered coldly.
The girls snorted while Maverick glanced off to Oliver when his smile twitched closer to his ears. The goth guy eyes swivel from Phoenix too to Oliver. "No...as in I poison myself and die. That also includes everyone I have induced under my gift." He wiggled his fingers, "My toxins are in them and it's irreversible or so that they been trying." He dropped his hand, tossing four chips in and tapped the edge of the table twice.
"It was a fuck up from the higher ups. So now they have to choice to poison the rest till they find a cure." Lexi broadly smiled at Oliver who stuck his tongue out and rolled his eyes.
"I see it as a good thing." Maverick calmly commented, everyone but the goth guy was looking to him. Phoenix's heart skipped a beat, shocked. Poisoning and potentially killing people is a good thing? Maverick watched Oliver toss in four chips and thumped the table, going to his hand. "If this project ever falls i to the wrong hands, we just have to Kill Oliver and that wipes out majority of the evidence."
Phoenix's stomach twisted, feeling his mouth salivate at the thought of Dolly. Lavender made a soft noise, drumming her nails on the table. "You make every bad situation sound good, Mavy."
" And is that so bad?" Maverick stared at her.
Phoenix gulped his sickness down with his drink, grimacing. He noticed the goth guy was staring emotionless at him. Phoenix wanted to shudder by the deadness in his dark brown eyes. After a moment, Maverick noticed. "Don't be phased by him. He's a people watcher, I'm surprise he's out and about tonight."
"He was the first successor." Oliver nodded, "Didn't talk to any of us for months. But then again, he tongue was still growing back. We just assume he was a shit talker back on the surgery table."
Phoenix got instant goosebumps and the guy narrowed his eyes. "Does he give everyone that look?" Everyone looked at him now then went back to the game.
"He's not staying with us, don't worry." Maverick muttered to his hand. Like a snap of his fingers, the goth looked to his hands and rolled his shoulders. Maverick called it and tossed his cards down, Lexi perking up. Maverick laid his hands on his thighs and leaned back, locking eyes with Phoenix as Lexi went. "He's not a fan of you so be lucky you're just visiting."
"...Yeah." Phoenix swallowed and wanted to look over when he felt eyes were on him, but didn't. "How do I get back?"
"When they get you." Lexi smiled big and slid a stack of chips in. "That's when you get to go back to nice, warm bed. Until then, you're stuck with us baboons."
"Be nice." Lavender rose a playful brow, Lexi rolling her eyes and leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. Lavender then nudged Phoenix for his attention. Turning back to her, Maverick dully watched them. "You said you can turn into a dragon and play with black fire?"
Phoenix gently nodded.
Lavender perked up. "No wonder." She glanced for a second at the goth who placed his hand of cards down and tilted his chin up. "You are a host to two people here. Two of the greatest. One of them is none other than Mavy here."
Stunned, Phoenix turned back to Maverick who scooted his seat back and stood up. "I'm calling it a night. Goodnight kids." He nodded to Oliver who did the same, everyone watching him leave the room. When gone, Oliver rose a brow at Lavender who shrugged. "What?"
Oliver licked his bottom lip and exchanged looks with Lexi who sighed softly and gazed at Phoenix. "Mavy isn't a big gloater about his gift. Last person he met that host the same gift begged to learn from him, find out later the girl pushed herself past her limit and killed everyone in the room including herself. He now prefers not to be in the same room with anyone else same as him."
~~~~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~~~
Dolly stepped into the game room, holding her breath when she saw a couple guys surrounding Dozer. Slowly making her way over, she was within earshot of the drama.
"So did you see the new girls?"
"Is she hot?"
"I call dibs."
"Yeah, right. If anyone does, it'd be the Ghost Oliver bastard."
Dozer sat on the edge of the pool table and smirked at the game that was going on. "No, I didn't get to see her, only her heard walking by." He half lied. She wasn't walking, more like fighting and getting dragged down the hallway. From the sound of the roars and bellows, Dozer had a feeling that Phoenix had shifted since the lights shook and flickered in his holding room. Hell, the sirens were down the hallway but still rattled his ear drums. Did they show Phoenix to her as new protocol? That would scare anyone these days. He smirked at the thought of standing in front of a dragon, not knowing if he was gonna live or die in the seconds to come.
A blonde guy hit the cue ball then stood up. "So have you heard any word on Phoenix?"
Dozer's smile shrank a little. "No nor Derek."
"Derek's gonna be in the box for a while. He used his powers on the floor." A guy slipped his hands into his pockets. "You think the guy would know better by now."
"It's Derek." A girl rolled her eyes, making a couple guys chuckle.
"Do you think Phoenix is coming back?" Dolly suddenly spoke up, surprisingly everyone look to her. A few blinked in astonishment of her presence, Dolly doing her best to ignore them. Dozer on the otherhand, wasn't phased by her question.
"I'm sure he'll be back. This is Phoenix we're
talking back."