Genesis | Book One, The Genesis Series

TWENTY-FIVE

"Guardian, you and your team have been ordered to report to The Cortex for your mission briefing." PAL's soothing, computer-like voice boomed through the speakers in the cavern of a room.

"Tell Director Callan we're on our way." Kai said in a commanding tone to PAL as he racked the weights in the Battleground.

"Race you there!" Dylo exclaimed as he materialized into a blur of motion, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him that eventually evaporated. Adam heard a barrage of steps that sounded like machine gun fire as the blonde sprinted down the corridor.

Eliza facepalmed, her hand slowly sliding down her face as her black nails lightly brushed up against her radiant, white skin.

"Joke's on him." Adam chuckled. "He's going the wrong way."

#

Director Callan lightly placed his finger on his
holo-desk as a blue, rotating, holographic image hovered above the smooth, black table. The man's face wore an expression of poignancy and grief.

Amber knew it had something to do with Elias. She couldn't imagine the pain he'd felt seeing his son in that animalistic, violent state, deprived of any sanity. Callan had a right to grieve. While his son was still alive on the outside, he was definitely reduced to nothing more than a corpse on the inside.

She just wished that there was a way to save him-to save everyone. She wanted to have the perfect ending. Ajax would be reverted back to his original state, and the Callan family would be back together once again.

She knew that it wasn't possible, but she'd do the best that she could.

It would be no easy task, however. While they'd won against Ajax, it still hadn't felt anything like a victory. Primus agents were still running rampant across the country, and she figured that it would be a while before they captured them all-or saw home again. Plus, they still had to shut down Project X.

"You alright, Director Callan?" She asked, a compassionate expression on her face as she directed her water-colored eyes towards the formally dressed director. "You look a bit worried."

"I'm afraid not, Amber." Callan sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, directing his gaze to the hologram floating before him. "I've uncovered some news about Project Expansion that's... less than desirable, to say the least."

"What'd you find?" Troy asked, furrowing his brow at the holographic construct. It looked like some sort of machine-one that didn't look very appealing. Kai, Eliza, and the others walked in at that exact moment.

"Remember those crates on the aircraft the seven of you took when you snuck out of the facility? I personally searched them, and I found that they contained bits and pieces of titanium and steel. Screws, pipes, beams, everything. At first glance, they looked to be randomized materials chucked into a crate without a second thought."

If he didn't have Adam's attention before, he definitely had it now.

The director then pressed another button on his holo-desk, causing a huge, digital sheet to sprout up from the smooth, dark surface. Adam's heart jumped as he saw it. His suspicions had been correct. The white lines that littered the blue background were clearly meant to be schematics for something.

"So, it's some kinda machine?" Adam asked, adjusting his telekinetic gloves that plastered themselves against his tanned skin. "Like, a super-weapon?"

"Bio-weapon, to be exact." Matthews corrected, walking out of the Cortex bathroom. "Judging from the design alone, it's main purpose is to generate and expel an incalculable amount of energy over a wide radius in a very short time."

Kai huffed as he folded his arms, slowly realizing what this meant. The design on the blueprint was very similar to that of the enhancement chambers back at Primus-too similar. If what the doctor was saying turned out to be true, then Project Expansion was never about releasing the Genodium into the atmosphere.

Elias was trying to create his own army of superhuman soldiers all along.

His jaw clenched as his mind flashed back to what happened to the man in the chamber. He'd been disintegrated, molecule-by-molecule-reduced to atoms.

If there were still Primus troops out there, they were surely devising a plan to break Elias out of The Crypt, while simultaneously working on rebuilding that bio-weapon. If that machine succeeded, he and the others would have a lot more to deal with than Elias alone.

But if it failed to give the man's soldiers superhuman abilities, it would probably just kill them. Hundreds of thousands of people would be gone in an instant. Wiped from existence.

Either outcome would spell catastrophe for the team-and the entire world. He needed to ensure that the machine wasn't activated at all costs. Luckily, he'd already come up with their separate squads in his head.

"Alright, everyone listen up." Kai commanded, walking up to the front of the room as his teammates directed their gazes to their fearless leader. His commanding presence, mastery of diction, and resonant voice made him an effective platform speaker.

"The team will be splitting up into two squads. Squad One will consist of Blur, Cloak, Remnant, and Field. The four of you will be infiltrating one of Primus' headquarters to uncover anything you can about Project Expansion. Squad Two, captained by myself, will be staying here to watch over Elias and his operatives to make sure they don't escape. Inferno, Frost, and Grid, the three of you are with me."

"I'll lead my squad." Eliza firmly stated, twirling one of her daggers between her fingers as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Besides, stealth is my specialty. No one ever sees me when I'm doing my thing."

"Well Ajax sure did, so I think you need to work on your so-called specialty." Troy countered, smirking.

Eliza furrowed her brow at the pyrokinetic as she placed her dagger on the strap located on her hip.

Kai mounted his blade onto his back as the magnet vibrated his body, finishing with a low hum that relieved the boy's ear canals. Hopefully Eliza would be able to uncover some info about her brother's bio-weapon, and then they could put an end to all of this madness.

Hopefully.