The battle between the Mutant Guard Squad and the mutant intruders entranced Kai. He had given up on seeking the entrance point they had used to break into the facility, which he wouldn't have been able to reach even if he had wanted to.
But it seemed as though his observing eyes hadn't gone unnoticed...
A flash of icy blue cut through the air. Kai barely had time to react before a sharp wave of frost slammed toward him.
"Shit!" He yanked the double doors shut, the ice shattering against them in a brittle, crystalline spray.
A cold voice rang out, laced with disdain. "Did you think we didn't notice you watching us this entire time?"
Kai peeked cautiously from behind the door. The ice-wielding woman, Irina, stood with her blade-sharp eyes locked onto him.
'I knew mutants had heightened senses, but this is ridiculous.'
'Wait... how the hell did I know that? Damn it.'
Before he could dwell on it, a second projectile hurtled toward him - this time a fiery, crackling orb courtesy of the wild orange-haired mutant.
"Oh, come on!" Kai dived to the side as the orb exploded against the door, leaving scorching marks and debris raining down.
'Great. Now both of them want to get rid of me.'
Without wasting another second, Kai sprang up to his feet and bolted, his heart pounding in his chest. "Hey, don't mind me! Why don't you go back to fighting each other?" he called over his shoulder, his voice drenched in nervous sarcasm.
Risking a glance back, he was relieved to see the two mutants had turned their attention back to each other. He wasn't worth their effort. He was insignificant. For now...
Breathing heavily, Kai slowed as he turned a corner. 'No way I'm going back in that direction.' He scanned the hallway ahead. 'I guess I'll just have to try slipping in with the guards, wherever they ran off to.'
Kai was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one side, deadly mutants who could kill him without much effort. On the other, dozens of armed guards and who knew what else.
Yet, weirdly, he felt... calm as he sped through the facility.
The corridors were a maze, littered with the bodies of guards and test subjects. Kai vaulted over them, the metallic tang of blood thick in the air, each crimson smear igniting a dark pull within him.
Meanwhile, the blaring alarm and flashing lights grated on his nerves, a constant reminder of how trapped he was. It felt like the walls were closing in on him and he was both lost in his mind and the facility.
But Kai gritted his teeth and pushed forward, wanting nothing more than to get out of the facility he was trapped in.
'Anything's better than sitting in that cell, waiting for that psycho to inject me with another concoction...' he said to himself.
As if conjured by the thought, a faint, chilling laugh echoed in the distance.
Kai froze, the sound sending a shiver racing down his spine. "Nyx," he muttered, his jaw tightening.
Something twisted in his gut, but he sprinted toward the familiar cackle without hesitation.
-
Not long earlier, Isaac rushed through the facility, the walls trembling with the distant echoes of battle. Explosions rattled the structure, a sharp reminder that his companions, Nadya and Takeshi, were risking everything to buy him time.
Moving like a shadow, he phased seamlessly through walls, slipping past guards without a sound. Every step was deliberate. Every second counted.
One objective filled his mind: find and destroy Nyx's research.
At last, he stopped in front of a set of reinforced lab doors.
"This has to be it," he murmured, his voice barely audible over the muffled chaos outside.
Beyond these doors lay what seemed to be the heart of Nyx's operation. The mission's success hinged on whatever was inside.
However, the eerie silence gnawed at him.
He'd barely encountered any guards, and the facility's security was almost pathetic. A far cry from what he'd expected.
'It feels too easy...'
A chill crept down his spine.
'Did I miss something?' he wondered. But with no time to hesitate, Isaac clenched his jaw and stepped forward, phasing through the doors.
The lab was dead silent. Unlike the rest of the facility, it remained pristine - cold, sterile, untouched by the battle raging outside. The usual hum of machinery was absent, replaced by an unsettling stillness.
And in the centre of the room, standing calmly with his hands clasped behind his back, was the man behind it all.
Dr Nyx.
A slow, twisted smile stretched across his face, his eyes gleaming with dark anticipation.
"Ah, the esteemed Phaser," Nyx sneered, his voice a blend of mockery and delight. "I've been expecting you."
Isaac's pulse quickened. He scanned the empty lab, tension coiling tighter in his chest. 'Where's the equipment? The research? The data?' His fists clenched, agitation and confusion battling for control. He'd expected a fully stocked lab to dismantle, something he could destroy or salvage.
Nyx chuckled, his amusement palpable. "Evacuated," he said with a dismissive wave as if reading his mind. "The researchers, data, serum… all safely en route to a new facility. You didn't think I'd leave it here for you, did you?"
'Damn it!' Isaac gritted his teeth, his mind racing. 'This was a trap.'
Nyx's relaxed, arrogant gaze made Isaac feel like a puppet on a string, every movement controlled by the twisted man in front of him. But he kept his composure, refusing to let the situation overwhelm him.
'I can always get away if I need to, and maybe this can also work...'
Nyx was a narcissist, obsessed with control. A man like that wouldn't trust or delegate to those around him. He'd keep what was most critical and valuable with him at all times. And even if that wasn't the case, he himself was the root of all their troubles.
As such, Isaac concluded, 'If I can take him down, I can end this.'
But he soon came to realise that he was still merely dancing in the palm of Nyx's hand. Everything was going as the sadistic man had predicted and seemed hopeless.
That was until they were joined by an unexpected guest, one that was thought to be dead...