Chapter Text
The tip of the blade hovered inches away from his throat, yet he calmly kept his arms behind his back. The red Sword Legion – his creation – had successfully fractured its glass prison but struggled to edge its sword forward and finish the job.
Just one more inch...
He smirked as he watched the blade slowly disintegrate. Before the Sword Legion could react, a metal collar with a long glowing blue chain snapped around its neck.
It bellowed in pain and struggled as the restraint dragged it away, sending sparks across the floor. The chain dangled it into the air like a hanging man, and the Legion dug its metal-plated fingers between the gap, trying to pry the collar off. Still clutching the noose around its neck, it gave one final anguish roar before its body twisted and turned, the red glow from its body changing to blue as it shrunk smaller and smaller before it turned into a blue cube that could fit into the palm of his hand.
The cube dropped to the floor with such a small clink that it was hard to believe just minutes earlier the room was ravaged and torn by the destructive monster. Knowing the procedure, scientists in white hazmat suits proceeded calmly and quickly into the isolation chamber. One bent down and picked up the cube delicately with their index finger and thumb – the center pulsed a blue light like a beating heart.
Five times he has seen this, yet each was just as exhilarating as the first one. It reminded him that the fight was not over and that he remained in control.
“Have the next candidates been chosen?” he asked his colleague and kept his eyes focused on the blue core.
“Yes, they have,” she said, “but they are not from our usual channels. They’re two new officers who just joined criminal affairs.”
He finally turned to her and waited for the drop. His colleague was more than thirty years his junior and an attractive yet highly skilled researcher in her own rights. He knew her well enough to know that there was a catch. She paused and looked away from him, but her short blue hair wasn’t able to hide the uneasiness in her green eyes.
“They’re Captain Max’s children – the twin orphans he took in,” she added for clarification, still unable to lookup. Instead, she pressed a button on the tablet in her hands, and the candidates’ profiles appeared in the air for him to see. “I’ve seen their test results,” she continued as she gazed at the broken bullet-proof glass.
The other scientists were finishing up with the small blue cube, now suspended in a cylindrical tank, and carefully placed it on the trolley.
“None of the other candidates have come close,” she continued slowly, watching them take their new specimen away. “I’ve already taken the liberty of filing for their transfer to Neuron.”
An icon flashed on her tablet, and distracted, his colleague clicked on it to read the message. However, he kept his eyes fixed on the names and photos on the screen. The resemblance to each other was obvious though it was clear neither of them look like the captain.
“Ah, yes, I remember them now,” he muttered. “The Devil’s children…”