With the current events playing out for the group, they are bound to cross paths with the unknown mercenaries, who have recently taken an interest in them. What would this mean for our group? Let's see how it would change their progress of integration into the Outlands.
We then see Duncan currently walking through Solace City, currently heading home after a disappointing search for a job. It was not like he didn't try, he knew he had to knowing the group's situation. But the night has already engulfed the night sky, and now he has to head back to their apartment.
"Hmm… I could try again tomorrow, but I don't know what'll happen if this happens again for the next few days." Duncan muttered about his situation. "...huh?"
Duncan then noticed Shawn's group exiting a nearby thrift shop, where they finished getting their much needed clothing, and at cheap prices as well.
"Hmm. Fancy meeting you guys here." Duncan called out to the group.
"Duncan? What are you doing at this hour?" Shawn asked.
"Just heading home after looking for a job." Duncan stated. "And I take it that you guys have been doing something more productive than wandering around?"
"Well, not much. But we decided to get some new clothes from the thrift shop." Sky explained. "I wonder if anyone else forgot to buy?"
"Oh. I guess we have. These are the same clothes I've been wearing since we got here." Duncan stated.
"How could you forget something like that? I would be cautious if I wore something more than once." Dave raised an eyebrow at this.
"It's something I got used to. I was a delinquent, after all." Duncan stated. "So, anything happening on your end?"
"Well, we're thinking of going job hunting tomorrow. The money's not gonna last forever." Jasmine stated.
"Good. Maybe someday, when we're more financially stable, we can hang out at the Paradise Lounge." Duncan suggested.
"I hope so. I want to help everyone recover from this." Shawn says.
"Listen. We all do." Sammy says. "And we're gonna make it happen."
"Nice to see you happier, Sammy. Did clothes shopping work?"
"For the most part, I guess." Sammy says.
"Well, I'm off. Make sure to let us know if something comes up." Duncan says as he walks away from the scene.
As Duncan turns to leave, he accidentally bumped into Shawn. The two were stunned for a brief second before Duncan decided to speak up.
"Um… were you standing there?" Duncan asked awkwardly.
"Yeah. I was standing here the whole time. You didn't see me?" Shawn was confused by this.
"No. I didn't see you until after we bumped into each other." Duncan raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm. This was like that time with Lightning a couple days ago." Shawn recalled the moment a couple days ago.
"What do you mean?" Sammy asked.
"I remember Lightning running into me while he was on a jog. For some reason, he said he didn't see me. It was like he was more confused than angry." Shawn explained.
"That time? Yeah, I kind of wondered what happened there." Jasmine stated.
"Um…" Sammy then notices something odd.
"You thinking of something, Sammy?" Sky asked.
"Uhh… not exactly sure, but I think I figured out why those incidents happened." Sammy says as she pointed at Shawn.
The group were confused by this statement, but quickly realized what she was on about when they took a look at Shawn. From the looks of it, Shawn began to fade in and out of sight, almost like he was a ghost.
"What the- Shawn!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"What? What is it?" Shawn asked.
"Look at you! You're fading like a ghost!" Sammy exclaimed.
Shawn then took a look at himself and saw that his body was truly fading in and out of sight. Like he was going invisible for short moments. Immediately putting the pieces together, he looks at the others in surprise.
"Guys, you know what this means, right?" Shawn asked the group.
"Wait, you mean… you're the third mutant?!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"Uh-huh. And I think it would be more beneficial if you don't yell it out loud." Dave stated.
"Hold on, I think I got something." Sammy says as she reaches into her bag.
Sammy pulls out a cloak and hands it to Shawn, who tries to cover himself and hide his fading form. But all this did was cause the cloak to fade as well.
"What in the-" Sammy exclaimed after seeing this not work.
"Well, looks like a cloak doesn't work." Duncan says as he approaches the guy. "We have to get him to your apartment. Quickly, before anyone notices."
"Good call." Jasmine says as the group begins to jog back to their apartment. "Stick close together, mates. We don't want anyone to notice."
"Well, I guess on the bright side, the mystery of who the three mutants are is solved." Duncan stated.
"Yeah, I'm glad nobody else other than Gwen and Emma are mutants." Shawn stated. "I'm especially glad that you aren't a mutant, Jasmine."
"Listen, I'm flattered, but we can't ignore the fact that you also got the short end of the stick." Jasmine stated. "Duncan, can you call the others?"
"Nope, only Courtney has our phone." Duncan stated.
"And we left ours back at the apartment." Sky added.
"Ugh… well come on, we need to hurry and contact the others." Shawn stated.
As the group ran down the streets on their way to their apartment, we see Gus and Sonya watching them from the roof of a building. With a certain device in her hand, Sonya manages to sneakily listen into their conversation.
"Hmm, so there are three mutants." Sonya stated after the conversation ended. "I'm guessing Gwen was the one who stopped the truck back in our attack, and Emma is probably the one who activated the shields of the truck."
"Yeah. So a total of three mutants we're gonna track down." Gus says. "Let's take this back to L.S. and see what he thinks."
"Aye aye, captain." Sonya seemingly rolled her eyes through her goggles.
"Why the sarcasm? Are you seriously bored on the job?" Gus asked.
"You know me so well. Plus, I'm still getting sleepy, y'know?" Sonya groaned. "And besides, what do you think will happen if these fuckers are connected to someone? I know that fucking Kuben Blisk was the one transporting them, but what if we're treading into dangerous territory?"
"What do you mean?" Gus asked.
"With a group this big, they may be something special. That means they might be connected to something we won't expect." Sonya stated.
"Well, that's where you come in. You can tap into their conversations and put in the pieces." Gus stated. "I believe we can uncover valuable info there."
"Alright. I'll try to get close." Sonya stated before stretching her arms.
Chapter 6: Seeds Among Thorns
We see Mirage laying down plates of glazed pork chop onto the counter top in front of Emma's group.
"Wowee. These look scrumptious." Dwayne stated.
"What's the glaze made of?" Noah asked.
"The standard glaze; mustard, honey and maple syrup. And the chosen spices? A bit of cinnamon, cloves and cayenne." Mirage explained.
"Wow, cloves, huh? Aren't cloves supposed to be overpowering?" Kitty asked.
"Y'know, that was something I didn't know the first time I made it. Didn't know what it felt like to be punched by flavor until after the fact." Mirage stated.
"Well, luckily your robot friend hadn't made the same mistake." Junior says.
"Thank you, friend." Pathfinder says happily while displaying a stylized Thank You on his screen.
"So. Eat up, guys. We're gonna need some discussion upstairs." Gwen stated.
Gwen turns to the outside of the bar and begins to head to the apartment. There, she sees Owen, Courtney, Heather and Alejandro just arriving.
"Hey guys, hope you're hungry." Gwen says. "Mirage just made some pork chops in the bar. Just make sure you have to pay for it."
"Thanks. We were just getting hungry." Courtney says. "Has Duncan arrived yet?"
"Uh, no. I thought he would be with you guys." Gwen gave an odd look at them.
"We split up throughout the city. I remember agreeing that we should meet back where we split up." Owen stated.
"Don't tell me he got lost." Alejandro groaned. "Do you think we should find him?"
"Not me. I'm already hungry. I think I'll take up on your offer." Heather says.
"Go right ahead." Gwen says, nodding towards the Paradise Lounge.
Owen, Heather and Alejandro head inside the Paradise Lounge in order to eat dinner. Meanwhile, Gwen and Courtney stare awkwardly in the distance.
"Highly unlikely that he might be lost. I'm sure he might be taking things at his own pace as usual." Cortney commented as she crossed her arms.
"Hey, if that were the case, then at least we know there are some people coping well." Gwen says. "So what have you found?"
"We managed to find a library nearby, I might be able to use that." Courtney stated. "Other than that, I don't think we have anything of use."
"Well, that sucks." Gwen commented. "Let's call the others and see what they have found."
The moment Gwen says this, Courtney's phone begins to ring. Curious, she takes it out and sees Shawn currently calling them.
"Shawn? What could they have found?" Gwen asked.
"I don't know. Let's see." Courtney says as she answers the call. "This is Courtney speaking."
"Yo, Court. Are you with the others?" Duncan's voice was heard on the other end.
"Duncan? Why are you calling from Shawn's phone?" Courtney asked.
"Listen, I encountered his group on the way home, and we found something interesting. I'm in their apartment as we speak." Duncan explained.
"What do you mean you found something?" Courtney asked in confusion.
"The third mutant. Shawn is the third mutant." Duncan stated. "He has invisibility of sorts, and he can't seem to control it."
"What?" Courtney then turned to Gwen, who was listening to the conversation.
"Do you think you can bring him here without anyone noticing?" Gwen asked.
"No dice. His clothes also fade with him. Even the cloak we gave him can't seem to stay opaque for a few seconds." Duncan stated.
"Well, that bites. I guess we have to head to you. I'll get Noah and her group as well." Gwen stated.
"See ya." Duncan says as the call ends.
Courtney puts the phone back in her pocket, and the two try to process the new information given to them.
"Well, I guess that's the third one down. The rest of us can rest easy knowing we aren't mutants." Courtney stated. "But now, what are we gonna do?"
"That is why Noah and his group came here in the first place. Well, I guess we need to head to Shawn's apartment for a while." Gwen stated. "I think you should eat up. It must've been a long day for you."
"Oh, you have no idea." Courtney chuckled at this before the two headed into the Paradise Lounge.
As Courtney sat down to receive her meal, Gwen turned to Emma's group who was just about finished eating.
"Change of plans guys, we're heading to Shawn's place." Gwen stated.
"Really? How come?" Emma asked.
"Something just came up. I'll head upstairs to get a jacket. Some of you guys may go home now, but I'll need Emma to come with me." Gwen stated. "The third one has come up."
This caused the people around them to open their eyes in surprise (save for Mirage and Pathfinder as they do not know what this meant).
"Wow, that quickly? Who is it?" Junior asked.
"It's Shawn, from the Pahkitew group." Gwen says as she went to their apartment. "Wait for me, I'll be quick."
We then see Duncan currently sitting in the Pahkitew group's apartment as they try to absorb the new information given to them.
"Wow. You mean you're the third mutant? Man, I feel sorry." Rodney says to Shawn.
"It's okay, Rodney, it's just invisibility. Nothing too crazy." Shawn says. "So, are they on their way?"
"Yep. They're also bringing Noah's girlfriend along." Duncan stated. "That way, all three mutants will be in the same place."
"That is certainly an upside. But what should we do now that we know who the three mutants are?" Ella asked.
"I don't know. But at least this is a start." Jasmine stated.
A knock was heard on the door. Sammy goes to open it, and is surprised to see Gwen, Noah, Emma and Kitty; with Gwen having a black trench coat covering her.
"Wow. Hey guys." Sammy greeted the new arrivals. "Nice jacket, Gwen."
"Thanks, just recently bought it. Figured if we're gonna make a network, there's gonna be a bit of night traveling involved." Gwen smiled. "So, Shawn. How did it happen?"
"I don't know exactly, it just happened at random." Shawn stated.
"Can you try to control it?" Gwen asked.
"Well, I don't know. But I'll try and see if I can." Shawn says.
"Come on, let's get this started." Noah says as the group heads into the apartment. "Oh, make sure to close the door, Kitty."
"Oh, right." Kitty says as she closes and locks the door behind her.
With that the group sat down in a circle in the center of the room, and waited for anyone to begin the conversation.
"So, have you guys eaten yet?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah, before we left. What about you, Duncan?" Gwen turned to Duncan.
"I could go for some grub later. I think I shouldn't sit this one out." Duncan stated.
"Right. So, the mutants are all here." Emma sparked a conversation. "I know we weren't expecting us to be the mutants, but I think it's better than any of the more impulsive and erratic of the group to gain mutant abilities."
"Yeah, I mean, Izzy in general has a knack of creating trouble. Imagine if she had Gwen's strength, or hell, your electricity ability." Duncan stated.
"That is something to be thankful for." Dave stated.
"Well, I guess I'll put something on the table, so to speak." Emma stated as she gave her suggestion. "I say we shouldn't risk an unexpected event regarding our powers to happen. We cannot draw attention to ourselves."
"And how are we gonna achieve that?" Noah asked.
"I know this is gonna sound redundant, but I feel like we have to train our abilities." Emma stated.
"Isn't that gonna attract attention anyway?" Max raised an eyebrow at the prospect.
"We've got apartments. I'm sure we can manage if we are careful." Noah stated. "What, you think Emma's electricity bursting in a room is no better than it bursting among a large crowd?"
"Well, I may be a tad bit biased towards the latter option." Max added.
"Right, your evil knows no bounds." Dave rolled his eyes at this.
"So what about the other groups? We're already gonna set up a network, right?" Sammy asked.
"Yeah, I believe that should be established as time goes on." Gwen stated. "So how are they doing right now? Have they gotten themselves jobs now?"
"I believe I heard Cameron is currently looking for anything where he can use his mechanical skills." Sky stated.
"Ah, already got someone who might help. A friend of my employer Elliot Witt." Gwen stated. "I believe her name was Ramya. She's got a workshop at the back of the bar.
"A workshop, huh? What do they specialize in?" Duncan asked.
"Hold on, Elliot and Ramya? I believe I heard those names before." Shawn stated. "Jasmine, can you hand me the phone?"
"Alright." Jasmine says as she hands the phone to Shawn.
The other people in the room look with intrigue and curiosity as Shawn scrolls through the phone, looking for the information he say before.
"Have any of you heard of the Apex Games?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah, both Elliot and Ramya compete in it." Gwen stated.
"Ah, that's what I thought." Shawn says as she finds a video feed online. "Take a look at this."
Shawn turns the phone screen around to show the others what he meant. It was a recording of the Apex Games, on another island of Solace, but it wasn't what they expected. Mirage and Gibraltar were currently firing rifles at another group, as if they were competing in a death game.
"Sending out a decoy." Mirage quipped as he sent out a hologram of himself at the opposing group.
The opposing team take the bait and began to fire at the holographic decoy. Mirage then snuck around and bashed one of the opponents on the head with a… golden handheld trophy of himself.
"Hah! You got bamboozled, look at you." Mirage chuckled at the misfortune of the opponent.
Suddenly, shots were seen being fired, and Mirage was hit on the shoulder. The attacker was seen to be Wraith with a revolver. Mirage drops to the ground because of the wound.
"How many times are you gonna taunt before realizing there are other team members nearby?" Wraith asked.
"Look, it's a thing, alright?" Mirage says before the two head into another firefight.
The scene plays on as the group were watching in shock at such a competition. Meanwhile, Gwen was confused after seeing both Mirage and Wraith perfectly healthy and casually talking to each other.
"Whoa. Your employer's a beast with that rifle." Duncan stated.
"So that's what he meant by a bloodsport." Gwen commented. "Kinda weird that I saw them talking to each other at the bar."
"So you mean they compete in this thing regularly?!" Kitty asked in confusion.
"Yeah, but how are they still alive, though?" Gwen turned to Shawn.
"It says here it's a top secret exclusive to the Apex Games." Shawn says as he reads the page. "But still, you know people who compete in this?"
"I guess… wow. That's quite a coincidence to stumble upon." Gwen stated.
"Now back to the point. You said Ramya, right?" Shawn asked. "I'm guessing she's a weapons engineer. Even one of the weapons here in the games is of her own design."
"Whoa. Quite a workshop to be keeping behind one's bar." Duncan stated.
"Still, it's something worth noting for the guy." Gwen says. "And if I were to guess, these guys may have some form of protection since they seem to be regular competitors to this thing."
"Other than that, any news on the other groups?" Duncan asked.
"Not much. It's still only the second day, after all." Shawn stated. "We may be able to get updates within the week. Until then we can focus on getting settled up."
"And maybe we should also get some new clothes as well." Kitty stated.
"Of course. It's gonna get messy if we don't do that first." Emma stated.
"Yeah." Gwen smiled. "So is that all?"
Everyone else in the group nodded, signaling that they do not have anything to put on the table anymore.
"Alright." Gwen stated. "Next week, we'll head somewhere to an apartment of one of the other groups for a meeting. Alright?"
"Yeah yeah. No need to tell us twice." Jasmine nodded.
"Okay now. Come on, Duncan. Mirage has prepared glazed pork chops for dinner." Gwen says as she and the other visitors begin to leave the apartment.
"Wow. So he's a holograms expert, gunslinger and a cook." Duncan snickered at the absurdity. "See you guys later."
"Yeah, see ya." Shawn waved the visitors goodbye.
The visitors left the apartment, and eventually parted ways. Duncan and Gwen were seen walking back towards the Paradise Lounge and their apartment before a thought began to cross Duncan's mind.
"Hey, mind if we talk for a second?" Duncan asked.
"Maybe. Depends on the topic." Gwen glared at Duncan with a bit of indifference.
"Definitely not what you think I'm gonna talk about." Duncan says. "Listen, what's the deal with that bloody pencil you have?"
Gwen's eyes grew wide at the mention of it. She shot her eyes at her companion in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Well, you seem to bring it around with you. The hell's up with that?" Duncan explains his concerns.
"Did I bring it?" Gwen asked as she began to search her pockets.
After a few seconds of browsing her pockets, Gwen immediately takes the bloodied pencil out of her jacket's pocket. Her expression turns worried at the sight of it; something Duncan has eyed.
"What's the deal with that thing? The blood's all crusty." Duncan stated.
"Listen." Gwen sighed a bit in sadness. "Let's just say it is something related to the way before we jumped seven-hundred years into the future. Hell, even way before Total Drama was even aired. It's a past that… I do not want to talk about."
"Wow. Well, if you say so." Duncan shrugged.
The two continued walking after the conversation made them a bit more uncomfortable. Gwen began to dwell in her thoughts as she was just reminded of that fateful day of her life.
"I have a question for you." Gwen turned to her friend.
"Mmm-hmm? What is it?" Duncan asked.
"Say if things turned from bad to worse in a situation like this, like the time back in the facility we woke up in." Gwen asked. "What do you think would be an acceptable line to cross if it meant protecting the people you love?"
"Whoa, you think I'm the right guy to ask? I was in juvie before. I've crossed some lines before for my own interests." Duncan chuckled at the question being directed towards someone like him.
This caused Gwen to frown in discouragement, which caused Duncan to realize he said the wrong thing.
"Listen. I may not be the guy to ask, but I think you should ask the rest of our buddies." Duncan stated. "What? Not comfortable bringing this subject up to the crowd?"
"Yeah… I guess you can say that." Gwen sighed.
"Look. Maybe some of our old friends can help you. We've been with them since the beginning, after all." Duncan explained. "Look at Leshawna, for example. Remember when she helped comfort you after Heather tricked Trent into kissing her?"
"Yeah. She once told me she'd pay anyone to woo Alejandro to make Heather jealous." Gwen chuckled after remembering the thought, slightly wiping some tears that were slowly forming. "Remember when she chased her throughout the island all night after Harold accidentally saw her… you know what I'm talking about."
"Hah, yeah. That one." Duncan laughed at this. "That was a double whammy on Heather's part, despite you guys still winning that challenge."
"Yeah. She definitely needed that kind of embarrassment to set her straight." Gwen smiled. "So, maybe I'll talk to Leshawna some time about this."
"Hope you feel better." Duncan smiled.
As the two continued walking, we see Sonya sitting inconspicuously to the side of the road, covering her face with a holographic screen in front of her.
"Hmm. So they jumped seven-hundred years from the past, huh?" Sonya took an interest at the mention of the fact. "Being mutants is one thing, but that? That is something to consider."
Sonya then contacted Gus through an earpiece, with her teammate nowhere to be seen at the moment.
"I've got something. These guys seem to be from the past. Around seven-hundred years ago." Sonya relayed the info.
"Seven-hundred? That's way before the Frontier systems were colonized." Gus stated. "The only planet they could've been on would be Earth."
"Well, we did see them on Earth before they got transported here." Sonya stated. "Maybe it has something to do with the file we stole back in Kuben's Base back on Earth."
"Did you copy the file before we sold it?" Gus asked.
"What do you take me for? It's basically a form of muscle memory for me." Sonya says. "Head back to base, I'll meet you in a minute."
"Alright. Just be quick, who knows how many people in that city will recognize you." Gus stated.
"I get it, sheesh." Sonya says before she begins to scroll through her file network.
The Next Morning…
We then see Emma, Noah, Kitty, Shawn, Jasmine and Sammy currently walking to the apartment of Gwen's group. Currently, they're in the middle of a discussion as they continue walking.
"Have you guys heard of Dwayne Junior's suggestion?" Kitty asked the group.
"Yeah, his father was the one who told us about it." Emma stated.
"We don't know, what is it?" Sammy asked.
"He says maybe we can find somewhere we can use to commemorate our families in the past." Noah explained. "Somewhere like a tree where we can hang memorabilia on. Or maybe something else, it's up to you guys."
"I'm in love with the idea. Maybe I can tag Carrie along to find a place." Kitty stated. "We should definitely let everyone know. This can help everyone in our group."
"I'm glad you're optimistic about the idea. And you're right. This may help the other groups cope with the situation." Emma smiled at this.
"It's nice that you're finding ways to boost the others' spirits." Jasmine smiled.
"Yeah, goodness knows we need it." Noah says as they reach the door to the apartment
Emma reaches out to the doorknob and opens the apartment. She was immediately met with a metal pencil flying towards her.
"What the?!" The girl put her arms out on defense.
Emma manages to stop the pen from hitting her, but it wasn't in the way she intended. Electricity was seen emanating from her fingertips as it suspended the metal pen midair, akin to magnetism.
"Whoa. That's neat." Emma let out a sigh.
The group sees the strange scene the other group was in. Most of them were currently holding random objects whilst Gwen stood in front of them. Alejandro was somewhat watching the scene with an amused look.
"Well, glad to see you're here." Alejandro smirked.
"The feeling is mutual, eel." Noah stated. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"
"Well, we were thinking of some way I can train my abilities, and Heather just threw something at me to quote-unquote 'test my reaction skills'. One thing led to another, and all these guys followed." Gwen explained the scene. "It's been going like this for the past 10 minutes, and from the looks of it, it isn't going to stop before my shift starts."
"Well, did it make progress?" Emma asked.
"I guess it did. And only one object has hit me so far." Gwen stated.
"Courtesy of Owen and a bottle cap." Duncan says.
"We've also thought of some training for the both of you." Courtney stated.
"This better not involve throwing objects at us." Shawn stated.
"Calm down. Both of yours are much more tame." Duncan says as they are led to a lamp that is currently disconnected from the plug. "Just let the lamp light up without connecting the plug to the outlet using your powers."
"As in redirect the electricity? I guess I can try." Emma says. "For how long?"
"For about a minute or two. If you have trouble with it, we can lower it." Duncan says.
"Now, Shawn. To me." Alejandro called out.
"Okay?" Shawn says as he walks towards the Spaniard. "What do I do."
"Something simple. Every time I snap my fingers, you switch between visible and invisible. I expect a full transformation in the span of ten seconds." Alejandro stated.
"Ten seconds, huh? That's pretty lenient." Shawn stated.
"Yeah. Seeing as you only found out about your condition yesterday, it felt like this should be a suitable time window." Alejandro stated.
"So. I guess we can make ourselves comfortable?" Noah asked.
"Sure. Stay as long as you need to." Gwen says, before blindly catching a plastic cup directed at her back by Heather. "Nice try, Heather. I expected you to try that."
"Ugh." Heather groaned in annoyance.
"Alright. Let's see how this will turn out." Jasmine says as the other visitors sat down to watch the scene.
We then see the mercenary team currently watching as Sonya scrolls through the files they found on Earth.
"What is this? You found something?" Bruce asked.
"Yep. And it's pretty shocking to find." Sonya stated. "Remember when Blisk was away from the base when we attacked?"
"Yeah. What about it?" Gus asked.
"I believe I have found the reason why. This is a recording from one of the soldiers in the" Sonya says as she begins to play a video feed from a couple days ago.
The others watch with intrigue as the screen shows the sight from a body camera of one of Blisk's men, currently digging through a crevice that had recently been unearthed.
"How old is this place? Is this building on any archives we know of?" The soldier recording asked the others around him.
"Not that I know of, we better ask Commander Blisk about that." Another soldier was heard offscreen.
"Hold on, I think I can see an opening in the wall." The recording soldier says as he begins to dig through the rubble.
After a couple minutes of digging, the recording soldier finds himself in Scarlet's facility, gasping in awe at the size of the room as well as the tons of capsules situated inside.
"Whoa. We definitely need Blisk for this." The recording soldier gasped.
The other mercs in the group took a look with great intrigue, before L.S. went to the front with a request.
"Think you can fast forward to where they inspect those capsules?" L.S. requested.
Sonya obliged to this request and fast-forwarded the footage, up until the soldier bearing the body cam approached one of the capsules.
"What in the…?" The soldier was puzzled as the recording showed a figure under the capsule's foggy glass.
The mercenaries look closely as the soldier in the recording wipes away the fog on the glass that left the figure indistinguishable.
They then gasp as the recording showed an unconscious Gwen within the capsule. To the mercenaries, this solidified Sonya and Gus' assumption that they have come from the past. Aside from their brush with Kuben Blisk, these guys have no other connection to the enemies of the mercenaries, and the mutants are all ripe for the picking.
And that is chapter six of the rewrite. Bet you didn't expect this comeback after my initial 4 month hiatus. But after motivating myself with a… particular plot point going to happen later in the story, I've gotten the strength to do this story. What will happen next now that the mercenaries have deduced the mutants are worth the risk? Find out next chapter.