Elsewhere, minutes prior, the wind roared across the snowy peaks.
Without warning, the air itself seemed to fracture - a glowing crack splitting reality apart. From the shimmering rift, three figures emerged, their steps deliberate as they touched down on the icy terrain. The fissure instantly sealed behind them, vanishing as if it had never existed.
Jagged shards of ice lashed at their skin, carried by the bitter cold, but none seemed fazed. Without hesitation, they began their march forward, their presence as unyielding as the storm around them.
Leading the group, a rigid man in glasses adjusted them for what felt like the hundredth time. His sharp eyes scanned their surroundings, but his concentration kept breaking as the orange-haired woman behind him hummed while trudging through the snow, undeterred by the cold. Her outfit - a skimpy, dark top that flaunted her curves and chest, and cargo shorts - seemed ridiculous in the conditions, but she seemed perfectly at ease, grinning with wild anticipation.
"It should be around here," he stated, as they all reached an abrupt halt.
"Alright!" she bellowed, her Russian accent slicing through the wind. "Me and sword boy here will go in, blow everything to pieces, and you-" she jabbed a finger at the man with glasses, smirking "-do whatever nerdy things you gotta do!"
Beside her, the swordsman simply nodded, his movements calm and deliberate, as though he belonged to the very air around him. He wore loose robes that flowed around him in the wind, his katana resting at his side. And despite the blindfold across his eyes, he moved with unerring grace.
The man in glasses pinched the bridge of his nose, already weary. "I will retrieve and destroy anything I can from the lab. You two create a distraction - not a massacre," he emphasised, giving the woman a hard look. "I need time, and ideally, minimal bloodshed. Then, once I am finished and rejoin you two, you can signal for extraction."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the woman replied with a roll of her eyes. Her fingers began pulsing with fiery orange energy, sparks dancing along her palms. "Just don't keep us waiting too long!"
Before he could protest, she formed a blazing explosive orb in each hand and then flung them on the mountainside ahead. They exploded against the rocky terrain, sending snow and stone flying, revealing a thick steel wall beneath.
The swordsman moved next. With an almost ethereal calm, he unsheathed his katana. In one fluid motion, he sliced the air vertically, then horizontally, the blade whistling as it cut through the wind and the wall, splitting the steel like a hot knife through butter.
"Later, nerd boy!" Nadya shouted, cackling as she dived into the opening, her laughter ringing through the crackling air. Already, two more explosive orbs blazed to life in her hands, primed for chaos.
The swordsman, Takeshi, followed her silently, slipping through the breach like a shadow, his katana gleaming faintly at his side.
Behind them, the man in glasses sighed, sinking into the ground and disappearing. "This better work," Isaac muttered, his voice lost in the wind. "If Nyx succeeds in creating those mutant suppressants... We're all done for."
-
Inside the facility, chaos reigned.
The blaring of sirens echoed through the corridors, triggered the moment they breached the facility through one of its reinforced walls.
Sensors must have picked them up immediately, as guards inside were already prepared, crouched behind pillars and firing bursts from assault rifles.
But it made no difference to Takeshi. The blindfolded swordsman moved like a phantom, his katana deflecting the storm of bullets with effortless precision. Not a single round came close to him.
Behind him, Nadya, the large Russian woman, cackled as she lobbed explosive orbs at the guards. Her attacks thundered through the corridors, the blasts sending bodies and debris flying.
"Ha! How'd ya like that?" she bellowed, ducking behind cover as another explosion rattled the walls.
Takeshi remained silent, a stark contrast to her wild energy. His blade sliced the air, unleashing razor-sharp gusts of wind that tore through metal doors as if they were paper. Each swing was deliberate, each strike deadly, cleaving walls and guards alike.
"Damn, Takeshi! You're a freakin' beast with that thing!" Nadya laughed, lobbing another orb toward a control panel. The explosion sparked wires and sent shrapnel flying, adding to the mounting disarray.
Takeshi merely nodded in response.
He advanced calmly, his katana carving a path through the next wave of guards. Each movement was fluid, every step part of a deadly dance. More guards poured in, shouting orders and firing wildly, but their efforts were futile.
"There's no way we can fight against these monsters!"
"The intruders are mutants!"
"Call the mutant guard squad!"
Their frantic cries echoed through the facility, and soon, reinforcements arrived...
-
As Takeshi and Nadya reached a wide-open area, the atmosphere shifted. Once a giant dining hall, it was now closer to a war zone. Splintered benches and shattered tables lay scattered across the room, debris strewn in every direction.
The air was charged with anticipation - both suddenly feeling on edge as heavy footsteps announced the arrival of their new opponents.
Four figures emerged from the smoke, two of them towering over the fleeing guards. The newcomers were mutants, their presence palpable, the sheer force of their abilities bending the very air.
At the front, a hulking brute of muscle and sinew cracked his neck, a smug grin spreading across his face. Perched comically on his back was a small woman clutching his shoulders, her size a stark contrast to his massive frame. Beside them, another giant, his body coated in jagged, rock-like armour, stomped forward, each step shaking the floor beneath him.
But the one who truly commanded attention was the woman who followed them. Her voice, sharp and icy, sliced through the noise.
"Long time no see, Nadya."
A tall figure stepped into the dim light, frost trailing from her fingertips. Her mocking smile met Nadya's glare, her chilling presence dominating the room.
Nadya's grin vanished, replaced by a tense, dangerous scowl. "Irina." Her voice was low, venomous. "Didn't expect to see the Association's Ice Queen crawling out of her hole. How's life as their little lapdog?"
Irina flexed her fingers, frost spreading across her palms. "You betrayed me, Nadya. Walked away from everything we fought for."
"Better than being their mindless pawn," Nadya spat, summoning two crackling orbs. They glowed fiercely, their light casting fiery shadows across her face. "Let's just fight already."
The room grew colder, frost creeping along the walls as Irina unleashed a torrent of ice. Honed icicles flew toward Nadya, who dodged and hurled one of her explosive orbs in response. The collision of fire and frost shook the facility, sending shards and flames scattering in every direction.
The two women clashed with unrelenting fury, Nadya's fiery explosions meeting Irina's icy barrages in a chaotic display of power. Smoke and frost filled the air, each attack carving destruction into the walls around them.
Meanwhile, Takeshi faced his own battle. The brute lunged at him, a massive fist swinging down with crushing force. Takeshi sidestepped, his katana slicing through the air, but the mutant's thick skin barely bore a scratch.
The stone-covered giant slammed his fist into the ground, sending shockwaves that cracked the floor beneath Takeshi's feet. He leapt back, landing gracefully, his katana raised in readiness.
Immediately after, a burst of searing energy streaked toward him from the eyes of the small woman who had been on the brute's back. Her twin blasts scorched the air, narrowly missing as Takeshi twisted away, their heat leaving blackened holes in the walls.
Then began their flurry of coordinated attacks using their mutant abilities, which would have laid waste to hundreds of the normal guards.
Yet they couldn't lay a scratch on the swordsman.
Takeshi weaved through their relentless attacks. His blade flicked through the air in calculated strikes, each motion a blend of grace and lethality. But the mutants were well-trained and experienced, and their combined efforts forced him to stay on the defensive.
But he was still faring well against his opponents, unlike his companion, who appeared to be outmatched.
Across the room, Nadya battled Irina, her breath misting in the frigid air. Frost and fire clashed, explosions and icicles colliding in a dazzling yet destructive spectacle. Nadya's movements were fierce but growing slower, her energy waning as the battle dragged on.
'You better be quick, Isaac,' she couldn't help but think as their battles raged on...