Point-of-View: X
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"Hi, there...I've been assigned to keep an eye on you, the name's X. Nice to meet you," I greeted as I walked in.
"Hm? Sure, whatever-...oh, wow, how'd you get all those scars?" Came a curious-...no, more like fascinated...-inquiry.
"Huh? Why, uh, do you want to know?" I responded, a bit taken aback.
It was a day later, the 15th of May, and the newly captured Outlier had just arrived. She'd been dropped off in an empty cell, the one next to Osian's. I'd been curious about her, after seeing the videos of her concert that went up in literal flames, so I'd come over to her cell to see what she's like.
"No reason in particular. I just really wanna know. Were you, like, tortured or something?" She asked me with a look of intrigue.
After watching those videos, Miraliz and I looked her up out of curiosity. Her name is Luna Castillo, and she's a new, highly popular singer under the stage name Astra, she's known for having a super bubbly and cheerful personality, but looking at her now, it's clear that that persona is just a dumb act.
"I guess you could say that. I've got a question for you too, by the way...that fire, you did that on purpose, didn't you? As in, it wasn't just a result of anger or fear, you deliberately burnt all those people to death, didn't you?" I inquired, addressing my hunch.
"Yeah, but a lot of them escaped...and besides, when someone burns to death, there's no bleeding," She sighed wistfully, before asking me, "Hey, have you killed anyone?"
Oh, okay, no doubt about it...this bitch is crazy. I, uh, better activate my Nullification, just in case.
"I have, yes."
"How did you do it?" She inquired immediately in response, her eyes gleaming with fascination and curiosity.
"I, uh...mostly stab people through the heart or head, or slit their throats, I guess," I answered, feeling kinda bemused.
This insane girl is really supposed to be a famous pop star? She's kinda terrifying...she's a scary good actress too, to be able to keep up that cheesy persona at all times in the public eye without breaking character is quite impressive.
"Hey, the first time you did, were you surprised by how much blood gushed out? This woman who said she was from Harmony or whatever tried to get me to go along with her, before she was decapitated by the guy who brought me here...when her head was cut off, the amount of blood that poured out was just...just insane! There was so much, it gave me chills. A few seconds ago, she'd been talking to me, and then, just like that, she was dead! I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it," She sighed as a shudder went through her body, her face slightly flushed.
Is she...getting off on the thought of blood? I mean, sure, I've grown to enjoy killing people, but this is just creepy. This girl's a total freak.
"Well, anyway, it was nice to meet you. I'll, uh, come back later, so if you have any questions about Eden and whatnot, I'll be happy to-," I began, as I started to head back out.
"Nah, that guy who brought me here told me enough, I'll figure the rest out as I go along," She interrupted with a look of disinterest, picking up a small beetle that was scuttling along the ground.
Huh, so if there's no blood involved, she's not interested. Also, who just picks up random bugs off the ground?
"Uh...okay. Alright, then, I'll see you later, I guess, Miss, uh...what should I call you?" I asked her.
"Eh, doesn't really matter, either Luna or Astra is fine...don't call me by my last name though, not sure why but I find that patronizing, even if it's not meant to be," She responded, as she began plucking off the legs of the beetle, a slight gleam in her eyes as it began struggling and squirming.
Yeah, uh, I don't think I'll be spending too much time with this girl, she's way too scary for my taste. I quietly left her cell, she didn't even seem to notice me leave, totally engrossed in slowly picking apart that bug.
I let out a slight shudder as I shut her door and locked it, my skin crawling...that was seriously disconcerting and off-putting. I need a palate cleanser.
And so, I headed for Miraliz's cell.
I unlocked the door and walked in with a sigh, before shutting the door and approaching her. She was laying down on her bed with a bored look on her face, before sitting up as I walked in.
"Oh, hi, X, what's up-...," She began, before trailing off as I flopped down on her bed next to and planted my face on her lap with a dramatic sigh, "Uh, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Just had an unsettling experience is all...ughh, the new Outlier is so creepy," I groaned, as she awkwardly patted my head in bemusement.
"You mean that pop star who's gone viral?" She responded in surprise.
"Yup, that's her...hey, watch yourself around her once she joins in on the training. She feels like the type who'd randomly stab or bite someone on nothing but impulse," I sighed in response.
"Uh...I'll keep that in mind, I guess."
"You probably think I'm exaggerating or being dramatic, and maybe I am just a bit, but trust me, that bitch is crazy. She casually admitted that she'd deliberately burnt up most of her audience during her last concert, and then went on about how burning people to death doesn't make them bleed, so it wasn't as satisfying as it could have been," I informed her.
"Wait, seriously? Yeah, uh, that's kinda creepy...let's not tell her about our plan to eventually break free of Eden's shackles, just like how we're keeping it from Mr Osian," Decided Miraliz with a frown.
"Good call. And speaking of which, that sleazy douchebag hasn't been giving you any trouble, has he? Since you've both been training together and all," I asked her, her expression stiffening for a moment before she responded...
"N-no, not really."
"You could at least try to sound convincing, you know. Come on, you can tell me," I pressed her, feeling a bit concerned.
This is probably new for me, being genuinely concerned about someone other than myself, even if it's just a little bit.
"Well...I can sometimes feel him staring at me really hard, and it makes my skin crawl, plus he makes creepy comments at times too. And during the first day of training, he grabbed my butt a couple of times, it felt so gross," She admitted as I felt her tremble slightly.
Tch, that fucking pedo...she's only fourteen, what kind of sick fuck sexually harasses a kid like that?
"You should've told me before-...no, I'm sorry for not asking. Want me to go cut his dick off? Cuz I've suddenly got a strong urge to go cut his dick off," I remarked with a frown.
"Nah, that's fine," She smiled as she let out a slight giggle after an initial look of surprise at my reaction, "I mean, I'm way ahead of him with Aura control training, so I can totally kick his ass now, and besides he's been too angry and frustrated to try anything with me lately."
"Yeah, well, be careful, he might end up trying to take that anger and frustration out on you eventually," I pointed out.
"I mean, he can't hurt me or anything, right? Since that'd be going against the Condition placed on him, wouldn't it?" She asked me.
"I'm not sure, actually...it all depends on intent. Like, we've both thought about betraying Eden, and even discussed it. But until that moment arrives where we're about to make a move or decision that'll irreversibly result in our betrayal of Eden, the effect of Condition won't kick in. And it'll only kill us if we try to ignore it and persist," I explained, before clarifying, "Well, that's my interpretation of it, anyway, I've tested it out and that seems to be the case, so I'm fairly certain that I'm right about how it works."
"Huh...that's kinda restrictive, but I think we can work around it when we get the opportunity. Nothing's ever perfectly airtight, there's always going to be loopholes," She responded, after mulling it over.
"You sure don't give up, do you?" I smiled at her optimism.
"I just don't want to resign myself to being a tool of some evil organization, you know? Speaking of which, is it really as simple as Eden being evil and Harmony being good? Seems awfully black and white, if you ask me," She mused curiously.
"When I first got assigned missions and stuff, I'd often be paired up with lower-ranked Eden Meta-Humans. Some were pretty violent and stuff, while some seemed pretty uncomfortable with their tasks. Quite a number of them seemed to be putting up a front...that's because Eden tends to execute those that wholeheartedly disagree with their views, so those that do usually pretend that that they don't and just go along with it. There have been cases of some Meta-Humans going rogue in the past, but from what I've heard, they were all found and executed," I informed her, before adding, "Oh, and Harmony isn't all rainbows and butterflies like their name might suggest, they can be pretty brutal too. Though they tend to have less people go rogue, since they're fine with their members living normal lives among regular society."
"You mean Eden doesn't allow that?" She inquired in fascination.
"Hell, no. But a part of that is because Eden has fewer members than Harmony, not by a lot, but still. Oh, both sides have approximately ten million members each...at least, that was the case a couple of years ago, but I doubt it's changed much," I replied with a shrug.
"Wait, you mean there's only around twenty million Meta-Humans in existence?" She responded in surprise.
"Yup, that's right. I mean, think about it, if there were a ton of Meta-Humans roaming around, staying hidden from regular society would be a lot more difficult," I pointed out.
"Fair point, I guess. What about way in the past? How long have Harmony and Eden been in existence?" She inquired, her interest clearly piqued.
"From what I've heard, around the 1600s. Before that, there were a few hundred Meta-Human clans scattered across the world, with conflicts and minor wars between each other. Eventually, they began forming alliances, until there were just two factions. A few neutrals did exist for a while, but after a while, they either joined one of the two main factions, or ended up getting eliminated."
"Wow, I see...by the way, how do you know so much?" She responded curiously.
"Oh, that's simple. I've told you before how Trevor would often come to my cell to complain when he's stressed out, right? Well, every now and then, he'd answer some of my questions, so bit by bit, I learnt a lot," I answered with a shrug, before adding, "And I also learnt some history from the books I was given back then."
"Seriously? My first impression of that guy is that he's a total dick."
"Same here, but in reality, he's a total tsundere."
"Yeah, I don't see it. Anyway, have Meta-Humans ever publicly revealed their powers? Because there's myths and legends about stuff like wizards and exorcists and stuff, right?" Miraliz pointed out.
"There were some cases, yeah. During time periods where some countries suffered heavy Monster infestations, a few Meta-Humans revealed their powers so that they could help without having to worry about hiding. Japan is a good example, they have a lot of legends about strange creatures and exorcists and stuff, those are based in reality. I think Russia and Ireland went through similar cases too, "I informed her.
"Oh, I see," She nodded with wide eyes, her attention firmly fixed on my explanation.
"This was all before the several Meta-Human clans joined up into two factions. After the two factions were formed, they efficiently took care of Monsters and kept their populations low, so that there'd be no need to reveal themselves to regular society," I continued, before adding, "Because unlike in Japan and some other countries, not all countries were accepting of Meta-Humans back then...Europe in particular was pretty brutal in response to Meta-Humans."
"This is all pretty fascinating...don't suppose they'd let me have a history book on Meta-Humans and other supernatural entities, huh?" She inquiried hopefully.
"You could ask, but I never got any specifically requested books, only random ones that Trevor picked," I sighed in response.
"Aw, that sucks. By the way, what kind of missions are you usually assigned?" She asked me.
"Uh, let's see...assassinations of identified Harmony members or rogue Eden members, spying or information gathering assignments, and the occasional Monster extermination, if any show up near an Eden facility that I'm not too far from. Eden does a lot less Monster extermination than Harmony does though. In fact, Eden uses those situations as opportunities to kill Harmony members; just ambush them after their done with the extermination," I surmised.
"Yeah, that makes sense, I suppose. Gotta say, all this Meta-Human history is pretty fascinating. And you know what, I'd like to be a part of that history...hey, destroying Eden should be enough to get my name in the history books, don't you think?" She remarked with a slight gleam in her eyes.
"You know, what, Miraliz...sometimes, you're kinda scary, kid," I replied with a wry smile.
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