Sneak Peek
The facility is dark, the only light coming from the flickering white square lights hanging from the ceiling, enhancing the shadows of soldiers and scientists walking through the narrow hallways. The walk down to the sub-levels is quiet, the only footsteps being heard are his. He approaches a large metal door and stands still, letting the security camera scan his face.
“Access granted. Welcome Dylan Ackleborne.” The robotic voices echoes in the hallway through the speaker. Dylan waits as the doors automatically open, revealing a room full of computers and boxes stacked with reports. Dylan steps inside, seeing the man he’s looking for staring out over a glass window, viewing the room below. Dylan makes his way towards the man, standing to his side, a foot behind him.
“Well?” The man asks.
“Magneto has taken residence in Charles Xavier’s school, and it turns out, he’s got more children than the little girl,” Dylan reports. He sees the man turn his head slightly to Dylan, showing he is listening. “He has three children, all mutants, and fully grown.”
“I see,” the man replies. “Are they as strong as 568D?”
“Like 568D, it seems they all seem to carry his superior X mutations,” Dylan replies. “They’re all incredibly gifted.”
“Then it seems we need to meet them before they fully embrace their power,” the man decides. Before Dylan can speak, there is a loud scream, the sound coming from two girls. Dylan turns his head to the window, watching as a couple of guards wrestle two little brunette girls to the ground.
“They still giving trouble?” Dylan asks as he watches one of the girls extract metal claws from her fists and jab it into the throat of one of the guards while the other girl kicks her legs out, trying to break free of the man holding her down.
“X-23 always gives us trouble,” the man replies. “It’s when she’s around 568D that 568D tries to fight back too.”
“Will they both be ready when we bring his other three children here?” Dylan asks. He sees the man turn to him, the screams of the girls dying out as the guards wrestle them back into their cells.
“They’ll be trained by then,” the man replies. A knock on the door ends their conversation, and Dylan turns his head to the soldier at the door.
“Stryker, sir.” The soldier greets the man beside Dylan. “We released Weapon-X like you said, he should be on the move to America as we speak.” Dylan sees Stryker smile and he watches as the man nods.
“Keep tabs on him,” Stryker says. “We need to make sure this all goes smoothly. Prepare X-23 and 568D for a new round of training. We need them fully trained for what’s to come.”
Dylan watches the soldier nod and then leave. He then turns his attention to Stryker who seems to be watching the cells of the two girls on the monitors. Dylan sees X-23 screaming, trying to chew off the restraining cuffs on her wrists and ankles. He turns his gaze to 568D and sees the little girl burying her face into her knees, leaning against the wall and trying to make herself small while mumbling ‘papa’ over and over again.
He knows in a couple of days, both girls will be following orders and ready to partake in the next steps of their plan. He feels Stryker is right this time. They’ll be ready to take down Magneto for good and bring peace to the world.