Point-of-View: Alexis Tucker
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"Well, what are you waiting for? You coming?" Inquired the blonde guy, as he opened a portal.
"I still don't trust you, you know...I don't even know your name, so how can I not be suspicious?" I responded warily, taking a step back, as a couple of sparks crackled around me.
This is so annoying, small sparks of lightning keep crackling around me every few seconds, the sound is really starting to get to me, like nails on a chalkboard...
"Huh? Wait, didn't I introduce myself to you?" He replied with a look of surprise.
"No...you didn't."
"Really? I could've sworn-...well, whatever, I'm Neo Cronje, sorry for the late introduction," He apologized sheepishly.
"...how do I know that this isn't a trap or something?" I inquired cautiously.
"You're overthinking it. I mean...do you really think there's a better trap than a room with no doors or windows?" He countered objectively.
That's...true. If he wanted me trapped, all he has to do is leave me in here. The same applies if he wants me dead...I'll eventually starve and die if he leaves me here and doesn't bring any food or water.
"Hm...yeah, you have a point there, I suppose. Wait, if this room really is completely sealed off, how does it have air?" I responded as I realized that fact.
"Oh, that's simple...look at the top corners, the edges where the ceiling and walls meet. There are small holes in each of them, and they're about the width of a thumb," He explained, pointing them out.
Now that he's mentioned them, I can kinda see the holes that he's talking about, but they're really easy to miss. They sort of look like shadows or spots of dust at first glance, no wonder I didn't notice them till now.
"Why does a room like this even exist?" I frowned in confusion.
"Oh, when I was a bit younger, I thought it'd be cool to have a room that only I can enter, so I requested that this be made for me. I still pop in from time to time, that's why the fridge is stocked up," He explained in response, before adding as he gestured to his open portal, "Well, then, you coming or not?"
"Alright, fine...lead the way, I guess," I gave in with a sigh, stepping forward.
I mean, I'm bored out of my mind in this room, I'll definitely regret it if I turn down this opportunity to get out of here for a bit.
"Okay, then, let's go," He replied, walking through the portal.
Here goes, I guess...I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, before stepping into the portal nervously, holding my breath without realizing it.
"Hey, I'm back. Wow, talk about an awkward silence...," I heard Neo remark as I began to emerge from the portal...
There were two guys sitting on the floor, one looked a bit older, maybe in his early twenties, with messy black hair, a heavy stubble and black eyes, with a brown skinned complexion. And as for the other guy, I already knew he'd be here, Neo had mentioned-...
"You're the girl that almost got gangbanged!" He suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening with recognition after staring at me with narrowed eyes for a couple of seconds.
...of course that's how he'd remember me. Still, to just blurt that out like he did, pisses me off...
"Tch, fuck off, you dick," I growled in response.
"Huh, that's some attitude towards the person that saved you from being raped," He replied dryly, glaring back as I glared at him.
"Hmph, just because I'm grateful for that doesn't mean that I'm gonna tolerate you being a dick to me, shithead," I countered icily.
"That's-...actually fair enough, I can't fault that," He admitted after a brief pause, before adding firmly, "But I wasn't being a dick, you just overreacted."
"Grrr, for someone I'm only meeting for the second time, you really piss me off-," I began with a growl.
"Hey, uh, wait a sec...if you're here too, then, uh, you've got some kind of, like, superpower too, right?" He interrupted me in realization.
Huh? His speech suddenly got a lot more awkward and clumsy...he was speaking just fine while arguing with me, but he seemed to be struggling a bit now...
"Yeah, it was after I ran into you...and then I got kidnapped by this guy," I muttered in response, nodding at Neo.
"Oh, uh, same here. And, he's in the, uh, same boat too," He replied, pointing at the other guy, who looked kinda sullen...and had sand all over his clothes...and it looked like there were some blood stains under his nostrils.
"How do I jump overboard?" Grumbled the new guy, looking kinda sullen.
"Ahem, this is a touching reunion and all, but let's get to the matter at hand," Interrupted Neo with a loud clap of his hands, as a door opened and another guy walked in, "There you are. What'd the higher ups say, Mike?"
"Well, first off, it seems like they're referring to these artificial Meta-Humans as 'Outliers'," Replied Mike, the guy who'd just walked in, "More importantly, Tara and Richard failed, so Eden have managed to capture two Outliers."
"Are you serious? Me, the guy who can't even sense Auras beyond a couple dozen meters, captured three out of three, while those two, who can both sense Auras for several kilometers, both failed?" Responded Neo incredulously.
"From their reports, it looks like Tara got careless and was outsmarted, while in Richard's case, Eden beat him to the punch, he arrived too late. You might get some blame too, since Tara made a point of mentioning that she'd have almost certainly succeeded if you'd transported her using your portals."
"Wha-...how is that fair!? I've gotten almost no rest in between capturing these three, they can't pin those failures on me!" Protested Neo indignantly.
"Hey, I'm just the messenger, don't shoot me. I think some of the higher ups still see this whole thing as your fault, since the orbs got scattered due to your power in the first place," Pointed out Mike.
"Oh, so that's what the twintailed girl was talking about, this whole mess is your fault," Chimed in the third kidnappee as he narrowed his eyes, whatever his name is.
"Twintailed-...did you run into X out there?" Frowned Mike, shifting his gaze to Neo.
"Yeah, unfortunately. I managed to dump her in the middle of the ocean somewhere though, she's probably dead," Responded Neo with a sigh.
"Why not a volcano instead?"
"Because, uh-...okay, that was an oversight, but in my defense, we were in the Sahara desert, it was insanely hot, just ask Inoka! Plus I was being strangled, and it takes a lot more precision and focus to drop someone into a volcano than into the ocean. Not to mention that it was hard to think straight after roasting under that intense heat, and besides...she's highly unlikely to survive being dropped into the ocean," Neo defended himself.
"I'm sorry, why were you in the desert?" Mike inquired in bewilderment.
"It's, uh...a long story..."
He then went on to explain what had happened on his last mission to kidnap the new guy, Inoka. It all sounded hard to believe, but it's kinda hard to deny it when I've literally got lightning crackling all around me. Speaking of which, I'm starting to feel kinda tired...
"Hm, I see...," Muttered Mike, after Neo finished explaining, "Alright, then, I'll go make the report for you. You should get some rest, you're looking pretty worn out, like an overused condom."
"...was the last part really necessary?" Sighed Zoraiz with a look of exasperation.
"Just ignore it, kid, you'll get used to it eventually," Remarked Neo wryly.
"Ahem...anyway, I have one more thing to relay to you from the higher ups. Move these three to our most secure base, the one in Antarctica," Mike informed him.
"I figured as much, that's definitely a good move right now," Responded Neo with a nod.
"'Kay, then, I'm gonna go report to the higher ups, drop these three off in that facility and then go get some rest...there's no telling when the next Outlier will pop up, after all."
"I gotta say, labelling us as 'Outliers' feels kinda...discriminatory," Muttered Zoraiz with a frown.
"Well, to be fair, it's Eden that came up with that title, we're just trying to maintain consistency, you know?" Replied Neo sheepishly.
"Awfully cooperative for two sides that claim to be enemies," Chimed in Inoka sullenly, before adding, "Come to think of it, that twintailed girl and you didn't seem all that hostile to each other. Like, you were arguing a lot and all, but it didn't feel all that hateful or anything."
"Hm, now, that is suspicious...maybe this whole thing is just one big elaborate conspiracy and-," I began with a frown.
"Typical American, everything's a conspiracy with you people," Sighed Neo, before suddenly opening portals beneath the three of us before we could react.
I let out a surprised yelp as I fell through, landing in a place that looked...very similar to where we'd just been.
"Who are you!? Where did you come from!?" Came a loud exclamation, as we were immediately surrounded.
"Calm down, everyone," Said Neo with a loud clap of his hands, as a portal opened behind us and he walked out.
"Hey, you bastard, that really hurt, give us a warning or something next time!" Growled Inoka, as he stood up with a grimace.
"Oh, relax, your bodies have grown stronger than any regular human now, a fall like that is no big deal," Shrugged Neo in response.
"Just because that's the case doesn't mean that we're fine with falling, you bastard," Countered Zoraiz with a glare.
"Okay, fair enough. But, hey, it wasn't an uncomfortable as a plane ride, am I right?" Neo attempted to defend himself.
"Wouldn't know, I've never been on a plane," Responded Zoraiz with a shrug.
"Yeah, me neither," I admitted with a sigh.
"I've been on one when I was like three or four, and I don't really remember it, so effectively speaking, same here," Added Inoka.
"Aw, look at you guys, already getting along so well, you have so much in common," Replied Neo, with a sheepish smile.
"Yeaaaah, you're totally right, we have sooo much in common...let's see, we were all kidnapped by a random shithead, AND we don't know what it's like to be on a plane...knowing all that, how could we possibly not be best friends?" Remarked Zoraiz sarcastically.
Before Inoka or I could add to that, or Neo could retort to it, one of the Meta-Humans surrounding us spoke up...
"Sir Cronje, this is unacceptable, they're so disrespectful, despite not even being natural Metas like the rest of us! Their Auras are certainly immense, but by all rights, they should not even be allowed to exist!"
"I concur with that, why must we waste our time with these abnormalities?" Another one of them added.
"Because I said so. Not to mention that the higher ups commanded it. They'll be training here for a while, Mike will be here tonight, and some others in the upper-Categories will also join in soon," Responded Neo icily.
"B-but, sir, this is-!"
"That's enough. One of you, give them a tour of the place and then let them each choose rooms for themselves, I'm sure there are plenty of vacant ones available. Hm, and clothes too...and they can freely use the cafeteria when it's open. Basically, treat them how you would any Meta-Human in their position, simple as that. I'll warn you once, you're not allowed to mistreat them in any way," Stated Neo, before causing them all to flinch as he added in a blank yet terrifyingly cold tone, "Unless, of course...you've got a problem with that?"
"N-no, sir, no problem at all!"
"We'll d-do as you say, you have our word!"
"Good, I believe you...after all, I'm sure you know that I hate liars," He remarked in that chilling tone, before opening a portal and turning to the three of us with a smile, "Well, alright then, I'll see you kids later."
"Okay, that was, uh...kinda unsettling," Muttered Inoka, after a brief silence as Neo left.
All this time, he'd come off as kind of an idiot...but the moment he disappeared through his portal, several of the Meta-Humans around us broke out into cold sweats, some collapsing onto their knees. I'd already figured as much before, but this confirms it, there's more to this guy than meets the eye...
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