As soon as the recorded video from White Knight's suit finished, the entire group of scientists- as well as their leader- stared at the screen, their eyes wide with shock.
They found it impossible to speak for the next few minutes.
After a while, Cesar hesitantly turned the salvaged footage off, then turned back to his peers. "Safe to say... none of us were... expecting that."
Black Knight coughed, finding it difficult to comprehend what she'd just watched. "I'm... I can understand where that came from, but... I don't even-"
"I don't even know what we just saw either," Meechum finished for her, just as stunned. "I mean, we all do, but that was just... unheard of. Even Van Kleiss is caught off guard, and he's not even all there."
The pessimist's words rang true. The former king of EVOs remained silent, but they could all see the bafflement in his expression that matched their own.
Gabriel turned to his boss. "What are we going to do about this? We have solid proof he's dead. And Rex... what's become of him?"
Cesar glanced back at the screen, rewinding the video to pause at the sight of his younger brother's angry face. "Something must have affected him badly. We all know White Knight has a few issues. He might have... broken Rex."
"Broken, broken, Breach's shiny token," Van Kleiss murmured. "But a token of justice."
"Color me unsurprised," Peter remarked, wincing at the recording. "From what I've seen, the man's just as stubborn as Rex is. Even almost used nuclear warfare the Big Apple. I say there probably was some justice done."
"It's still highly erratic behavior," Black Knight pointed out, "But debatable justice aside, Rex's little offshoot group is without a leader. Do you think they know?"
Cesar shrugged, then shut the screen off. "Rex obviously knows, but... I doubt he'd tell the others. He knows there would be consequences, and there's no safe way to reveal what he did."
"Real eyes realize real lies," the gauntlet clad scientist rambled, his eyes still on the screen. "Prisoners don't see light."
"He's right," Rylander piped up, the yellow glow of his capsule suddenly brighter. "I think Rex wouldn't tell anyone, or else he'd be captured and locked up indefinitely. Everyone would see him as a menace."
"Why wouldn't they?" Meechum interjected, waving his hand at the camera set. "He's dangerous. Who knows how long he'd been planning that?"
"That's a bit harsh," Cesar said quietly, though just loud enough for his peers to hear. "I don't want people to see mijo as a monster."
Peter glanced at the older Salazar brother, a rare spark of regret forming in his eyes. "I didn't mean he was, but.. I just meant that he's clearly done something most would see as ruthless. We saw what he did, Cesar. There's no denying facts."
"Still, we both know that White Knight isn't exactly the epitome of kindness either. I say the man pushed him to it."
"There might be a way to prevent authorities from taking him away from the world," Black Knight spoke up, silencing the two. "In fact, he'll be much closer to you, Cesar. Wouldn't you want that?"
Cesar nodded. "Sí. But how do you plan on making that happen?"
The woman in black grinned. "Follow my lead."
Rex sighed and flopped onto a chair against the wall, giving his aching legs a rest. Holiday sat on the other side of the Base's control room, having completely forgotten about her earlier EVO samples as she fiddled with various communication lines and trackers.
"You should relax," he urged the doctor, observing anxiety in her normally bright eyes. "I mean, c'mon. I'm back home safe."
The woman sighed. "I know you are, Rex, but White Knight isn't. This isn't right. He should be here by now."
"Why?" Rex questioned, keeping up his façade. "It could just be taking him longer, or maybe he's grabbing a bite to eat."
"His suit is too powerful to let an EVO of that level fight him for this long," Holiday informed him, ignoring the boy's joke. "The only way this could happen is if... his suit was compromised. But that would take nothing short of miraculously advanced hacking. Still, that's just a theory."
An icy cold feeling settled in the teen's stomach.
"How about we just watch some TV to calm down, huh?" Rex quickly suggested, grabbing a nearby remote for the giant screen above. "We can always turn it off if there's an incoming call from Mr. Bleach."
The boy switched on the screen, sifting through the channels to find his beloved soap opera. But the pretty face of Ms. Farrah made him pause his surfing. It wasn't her looks, but her expression. She seemed to be quite excited for someone who normally reported daily EVO rampages. If drastic events like that had mellowed her out over the years, whatever had caused a surge of energy in her voice had to be important.
And besides, it's not as if her news channel hasn't entertained him before. He giggled at the memory of her reports on Agent Six.
"Only a few hours ago, Providence has informed us of critical findings in the local abandoned subway system," the brunette's voice began, distracting Holiday from her search. "Here are some clips our local camera crew have managed to capture."
Rex's heart shot down to his stomach as the screen displayed images of White Knight's ravaged suit lying on the floor, then being extracted through a hole and brought into the light. Holiday gasped at the shots of blood spatter littering the tunnels, dropping her work immediately.
"He's not in his suit!" the doctor shouted, pressing a finger to her earpiece. "Six! Are you seeing this? You need to come here- wait. You're already there?"
"Found him!" the boy called out to her, pointing at the green ninja on the screen. "He looks fine. He's just walking around in the background."
"We need to find out what happened to White Knight," she insisted, staring at the news footage. "He couldn't have gone far. There's-"
"There's a lot of blood," Rex pointed out, trying to slowly begin easing the doctor into the idea of their leader's death. "I don't think that's a good sign."
"Rex, think positive," the woman responded, watching Farrah report the details of the findings. "Those are probably from the EVO he fought. He's got a full suit of weapons to force that sort of damage- well, he had one. But he's resourceful."
The teen sighed, realizing it would be difficult to break her optimism. She was simply too attached to her faith in White Knight's reappearance.
Why couldn't she just be happy?
"Thankfully, the leader of Providence is here to explain the significance of this event." Diane turned to her side, pointing the microphone towards a newly arriving Black Knight. Rex shivered at the sight of the deadly purple haired EVO. "Can you please inform our audience of what we're looking at here?"
"I believe I can," Black Knight replied, looking right into the cameras. "My people and I have found the remains of the former leader of Providence's suit- a suit that granted him the ability to be completely nanite free. It appears that he might have joined the rest of us in biological unpredictability."
"So, there's no human on Earth safe from nanites anymore?" Farrah probed, standing a little too close for comfort.
"It seems so."
"What do you believe happened to him?"
The woman in black took in a deep breath, then suddenly gave the cameras a very strange smile. Rex's breath hitched as he tried to recall if he'd accidentally revealed anything to her during their battle. The woman's expression unnerved him, making him almost believe that she knew something he didn't.
Did she?
Or perhaps that was his paranoia talking.
"We are currently theorizing the man's whereabouts," Black Knight informed the audience, "But at this stage, we are still unsure of the truth. However, we do know of someone who might be able to assist us."
The boy's skin crawled.
"I know how you feel," Holiday spoke up, placing a hand on Rex's shoulder after spotting his distress. "That smile isn't normal. I think she's hiding something."
The teen glanced up quickly. "Like what?"
"I think... she might have something to do with White Knight's disappearance."
"How are you going to find this person?" Diane asked, drawing the their attention back to the screen. "Are they an esteemed forensic scientist?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't go into forensics," Black Knight denied, quickly glancing back at the woman. "We aren't sure if this is a crime. But the young man in question- he knows exactly who he is- is of interest to us. We would like to inform him of the private details of this case so that he may help us tie loose ends together."
"It's me," Rex mumbled, leaning forward in his seat.
"What if this anonymous individual doesn't reveal himself to you?" Farrah asked. Black Knight shrugged.
"Oh, I doubt that. If he ever wants to see Providence's former leader again, it's enough of an incentive."
Holiday shut the TV off immediately, her mind reeling from the onslaught of information.
"Rex, it's obvious," the doctor began, pulling up a chair. "They've captured him, and they want you to do something for them in return for his release. I didn't even think she could kidnap him. But it certainly explains why he didn't come back."
Rex's paranoia, as strong as it was only moments earlier, was now replaced with confusion. The truth of the matter was that White Knight had long died, but oddly enough, his dark counterpart had worded her statement to seem like he was still alive- captured, even. He didn't blame Holiday for coming up with those guesses. Even though he knew he was expected to respond by meeting up with her, something wasn't adding up.
The teen scoffed, and shook his head. The most likely explanation was that Black Knight was only pretending she knew where White Knight was, and was hoping that he, Six, and Holiday would be desperate enough to try and regain their leader. Clearly, the woman was only bluffing.
Suddenly, Cesar's face flashed onto the screen, interrupting his thoughts and startling the doctor next to him. His older brother's face was unusually serious, prompting Rex to shift uncomfortably under the stare.
"Come to us, mijo," the man began, an unusual look in his eyes. "We... need to talk."
The screen went black.
