8. Already Dead

8. Already Dead

"Yes, the children!"

Pietro furrowed his brow. Seeing Alex's message, he finally realized what was wrong. This orphanage was unnervingly quiet.

Ever since entering the Church of the Next Generation's orphanage, Pietro's nerves had been on high alert. Unlike Alex, he was born and raised in this world and knew better how deranged mutants like himself could be.

Although it had been a long time since anyone saw Emma use her mutant powers, and rumors claimed she had abandoned them to fully commit to the church, neither Alex nor Pietro believed it. To them, mutant abilities were less a 'gift' and more a 'curse'.

Curses are not something one can easily abandon. With his heightened senses, Pietro felt a peculiar magnetic field or some extremely unusual psychic energy the moment he stepped into the orphanage.

This psychic energy was imperceptible to ordinary people but detectable to mutants with innate psychic abilities like the White Queen or President X. Pietro could also sense it when running at high speed, because his brain being in a heightened state.

In a flash of silver, Pietro appeared in the orphanage's cafeteria.

"Not here."

Before finishing his sentence, Pietro vanished again, leaving only a hoarse echo. As he darted through the orphanage, Pietro's expression grew more frustrated. The psychic feedback intensified. Initially, it was just a fleeting sensation, but as he ran, the energy seemed to 'come alive' and began to focus on him.

"Not in the dorms either. Damn it."

Pietro, with an instinctive aversion, tried to shut out the vague psychic energy, focusing entirely on searching for the children. However, he soon realized he was already enveloped in that eerie energy.

In his high-speed state, the world appeared almost still. Usually, the only sound in Pietro's ears was the rush of wind. But now, he was horrified to find everything around him changing.

A substance, like mud was floating in mid-air, it was constantly bubbling out of the white mist, like asphalt boiling under high heat. It was everywhere and growing. When Pietro tried to look at it, it seemed nonexistent. It was something that continuously emerged and vanished, like Schrödinger's cat.

Pietro didn't want to notice it or tried to ignore its presence, but the energy quickly spread and enveloped him.It felt like being touched by slime or some other amorphous creature, sending a shiver down Pietro's spine. He couldn't fathom how it managed to catch him in his high-speed state.

The next moment, a murmur, like someone talking in their sleep, began to echo in Pietro's ears, drifting around him. It was a voice devoid of logic or useful information, filling Pietro with agitation, unease, and other negative emotions.

"Not in the chapel either! Damn, is today not Sunday? Why is the choir room empty..."

To confirm this, a faint sound of recitation drifted from a distant classroom. Alex turned towards the direction of the classroom.

"Would you like to see them? The children would love to meet you." Emma tilted her head, inviting him kindly.

Listening to her, Alex's smile slowly faded, replaced by a stern, cold expression.

"No need."

As he spoke, Alex raised his left hand. Instantly, a particle beam gathered in his palm.

Pong!

Crack—

The repulsor blast struck 'Emma' square on her chest, it's sound was followed by the sound of shattering glass. As she fell to the ground, Alex turned, hiding the Iron Man gauntlet in his sleeve, and looked at the collapsed 'Emma.'

"You deceived me, Emma."

It was a dried corpse, with a palm-sized hole in its chest from the blast. It had been dead for some time, its clothes decayed and emitting a faint stench of rot.

"I guess you are Sister Lisa."

Staring at the corpse for a moment, Alex slowly pulled out the photo he had taken earlier. The picture now showed two lifeless, hollow-eyed corpses.

...

10 advanced chapters on p@treaon

For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

9. Still Alive.

10. Madness.

11. Twisted Minds.

12. Escape.

13. Downfall.