Chapter Thirteen
The clack of metal heels echoed through the curving hall, pausing as the lab's heavy, electronic door hissed open.
A tall man in red armor placed his pet rat back in its cage and turned to face the newcomer.
"And, how are our newest subjects adapting to their captivity?" he asked.
Mr. Sinister raised his head, his silvery features stern and cold.
"As one might expect," he reported. "They are young but, nonetheless, possess that arrogant conceit inherent to all Xavier's children. I should say his grandchildren, as these specimens are of the Nightcrawler's brood."
"Might such arrogance be a product of nurture or nature, I wonder," the tall man said, and seemed to smile, though it was hard to tell through the red helmet and body armor that seemed molded to his form.
"The Gatherers are growing impatient," Sinister said. "They wish to know when you intend to allow them to harvest the genetic samples required by the Technicians."
"You have dosed the subjects' food as I prescribed?"
"I have," Sinister reported, "though they refuse to eat. I therefore released an aerosolized form of the compound into the air. Their bodies have no choice but to consume it."
"Good, very good."
The red-armored man strode to a complex control panel and activated a large monitor. It showed a top-down view of a small, square room divided into six smaller plastic cells - five occupied and one still empty…still waiting…
"Tell the Gatherers," he said, "they can begin their work once it's clear the compound has taken effect."
"And my treatment?" Sinister pressed. "These mutants possess powers I yet lack. If I am, indeed, to serve as the template—"
"And so you shall. So you shall, my friend," the red-armored man said. "The Divine Code must be protected. By the time our foes unravel the clues we set out, your powers will be at their peak. The X-Men who thwarted our efforts during the war will arrive to witness the commencement of a new utopia nearly two centuries in the making. And you, my dear mentor…"
He smiled and seemed to grow, expand, his dark eyes beginning to glow a bright, clear white.
"You shall stand at the vanguard: a harbinger of humanity's cleansing. The corruption of the ages will fall away, leaving only those possessed of a pure genetic essence; a genome untainted by mutation, by evolution. The undistorted reflection of God's perfect image."
"At long last," Sinister intoned. "All genetic mutants will be purged, and with them all the sickness, ignorance, and inhumanity of these debased and accursed times."
"Our plans are in motion. Our traps have been set and effectively sprung," the armored man said, turning his glowing eyes toward the mutant Nightcrawler's caged offspring, his students, and the twin sister of Captain Britain. "By the time our enemies come to us, we will already have won."
Sinister nodded once, his silver features awash with fanatical pride. Then, he turned and strode back through the sliding doors, eager to continue his work.
To Be Continued...
There's more to come, so please stay tuned and thanks so much for reading! If you're enjoying my story so far, please review! :D
