The Mark

Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Only three minutes had passed since the first attack was made on one of the buildings; already seventeen skyscrapers were destroyed. Their rubble could be seen lying all around. Massive clouds of dust had filled the air, which could be seen from a distance as well.

Everyone was taking part in wreaking havoc and destroying everything as if it was a celebration which they were enjoying. Amongst the Dark Variants, only one was standing behind, not taking part.

It was Raia who stood calmly with folded arms as he watched the chaotic state of the city while hearing the loud screams which reverberated all around him.

He was still standing on top of a tall building where their helicopter landed a while ago. Most of the buildings in the area were destroyed except for the one which he was standing on.

He couldn’t help but gaze at the sky as if getting bored, wondering when his guest was going to arrive.

"By now, they should have received the information. At best, it’ll take them an hour to get here. It would take my team the same amount of time to reach the facility...."

...

While Raia was having a conclusion of his own, the Alpha Squad of APF was sitting on the helicopter that was still advancing towards the Dilion Research Facility.

It was at that point when Varant’s phone started ringing. He picked up the call and placed the phone near his ear, realizing that it was a call from their base.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure?’

"Alright. I’ll go there."

Saying three short lines, he disconnected the call.

"Where are you going?" Riali asked Varant, curious.

"We need to go to Elantra. Tell the pilot to change the destination," Varant told Riali as he gazed out the window, lost in thoughts.

Riali walked over to the pilot without asking twice and told him to change direction before he came back to Varant.

"Did something happen in Elantra?" Finally, he asked the question which was in his mind.

- : Enemy Is Here!

- : Enemy Is Here!

- : Enemy Is Here!

"Yeah. Variant Uprising members are going crazy in Elantra, destroying the city. We need to stop them," Varant answered.

"Huh? So does it mean they are not attacking the facility? Is our assumption wrong?" Gensi inquired.

"Yeah. That’s what it seems like. Or maybe something more is at play. Let the other teams stay in the Facility to make sure it’s not a trick. We are the only ones who will go to Elantra. I think our force is enough to stop them," Varant replied.

"Understood," Gensi said, closing his eyes. He stopped talking as he had no further questions.

"Raia and the others, huh. It’s been more than a year since we last had an opportunity to come face to face with them. I wonder how strong they have become. I can already feel the excitement," Riali said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I am certain that they improved somehow, or else, they would never have dared to set foot in Elantra, causing massive destruction and wreaking havoc. Their actions seem like they are challenging us heads-on for an all-out battle," Varant said, his expression unreadable.

He was still trying to figure out what Variant Uprising was scheming and plotting this time.

"Anyway, I will not let them escape this time," Varant said with a lot of conviction in his words.

Riali and Gensi just smiled upon hearing those words from Varant. As expected of their leader, he was so confident with himself.

Unaware that this was just a diversion tactic of Variant Uprising, the helicopter of the Alpha Squad turned back and started flying in a different direction towards a different city altogether.

....

The plan of Variant Uprising was slowly falling into place. The first thing they wanted to do was keep Varant far away from Lucifer, because of which they attacked a city. The plan worked perfectly as Varant fell for it and started going to Elantra.

Now that the first and the most important part of the plan was successful, the battlefield was going to be less chaotic and risky for Lucifer.

The second part of the plan was simple now. It was to overwhelm the rest of the APF squads that were going to be at the facility and help Lucifer take his revenge.

All the pieces were falling into their right places according to the plans of Variant Uprising, and the APF was playing right into their hands.

Unfortunately, APF had no other choice. They couldn’t just leave Elantra to be destroyed. Their main priority was to save and protect the people.

That was the problem with them. The Uprising wanted to destroy, which was much easier than the goal of APF, which was to protect everyone.

...

Meanwhile, seeing the destruction in Elantra, not only the APF but the army had also started moving out to protect their citizens.

Elantra already had the presence of a police force that was already taking action. Aside from that, more resources and military personnel were also being sent to the city to help them.

...

On the other hand, far away from the city of Elantra, the helicopter that was transporting Lucifer and other variants had finally reached their destination.

"We should be there in five minutes. Get ready!" Caen informed everyone as he stood up.

He walked over to the gate and looked into the distance.

Lucifer also stood up, feeling a rush in his heart. Finally, he was going to be back at that place! Finally, he was going to watch those scientists who made him into what he was today— an emotionless doll. Finally, he could place his hands around their throats and watch them suffer.

...

The guards of the Dilion Research Facility were guarding the facility, roaming around the vicinity.

They weren’t alone this time, though. With them, the members of the APF were also keeping an eye and staying on guard.

"Fix, Do you know what happened? Why are these people here?" A dark-haired guard asked his red-haired friend as the two of them walked together, patrolling.

"I have no idea. All I know is that we are ordered to keep the facility sealed and not let any of the staff leave until the government team comes. Maybe the doctors did something wrong? Who knows, I always had a bad feeling about this place," the red-haired guard answered, sighing deeply.

"Sigh, true. Maybe the facility will be sealed, and we’ll be assigned to a different place. I can certainly use a change of environment after working here for five years." The dark-haired guard nodded his head as he sighed.

"I wonder how long before the team gets here," he added as he looked into the distance.

"Huh?"

An expression of surprise spread across his face as he saw four helicopters in the distance coming towards them.

"The government team is here?!" he exclaimed.

"That can’t be. The higher-ups said that the team would take more than a day to get here. How could they be here so fast?" The red-haired man muttered in disbelief.

"Huh? If the helicopters don’t belong to the government, then who?" The dark-haired guard asked, feeling puzzled.

"Maybe more people from APF are coming. Let me ask them," the red-haired guard known as Fix said as he walked over to the nearest APF member.

"The helicopters that are coming, are they yours?" Fix asked a member of Delta Squad known as Jennor.

A look of confusion resurfaced on Jennor’s face as he heard that.

"Helicopters?" Jennor let out as he gazed at the sky. He indeed saw four helicopters coming in their direction.

"A helicopter of ours is going to come with the team of Alphas but certainly not four. They aren’t ours."

Jennor was certain that they were only expecting one helicopter that was coming today, which was transporting Alpha Team to this facility.

"If they aren’t yours and they aren’t ours, then who owns these helicopters? Who sent them here?" Fix asked, feeling a little bit anxious.

Jennor thought about his words before he realized what was happening.

"Enemy is here!"

- : Doctor Raos Intentions

- : Doctor Raos Intentions

- : Doctor Rao's Intentions

"Everyone! Prepare to intercept!" Jennor yelled out loud. "Some unknown people are approaching! Possibly the enemy!"

His voice was so loud that it reached every member who was outside the facility, all because of his abilities which gave him an ultrasonic voice loud enough to achieve this feat.

As per his warning, everyone was alerted. They proceeded to their respective guard posts, getting ready to defend if the enemies launched an attack.

"I’ll go and inform the two captains!" a beta squad member told everyone before he dashed inside the facility.

Since the whole facility was jammed only recently, they couldn’t call or communicate with the people inside through communication devices. They had to go and inform everyone themselves.

"Your voice is an asset! Warn them and get them down. Tell them that if they don’t get down and identify themselves, we will blow them up without any questions asked!" The Vice-Captain of Beta Squad said to Jennor.

Jennor nodded as he stared at the four incoming helicopters.

He took a deep breath before he opened his mouth and used his Ultrasonic Voice to relay a message to those unknown people who were approaching them.

"This is a message and a warning for the four incoming helicopters! Please get down and identify yourself! If you don’t go down within five seconds, we will attack! This is a final warning!"

His voice seemed so loud that it echoed everywhere. His voice even somehow managed to pass through the open building, resonating inside the facility where Xander and Ayn were sitting.

"Hmm? This seems like the work of Jennor. He is warning someone. I guess the guests are here," Xander said as he stood up and glanced towards the door.

"Let’s check," Ayn added, not wasting any more time as she followed Xander.

But even before Ayn reached the door, she turned back to look at the two Doctors, commanding them, "You two, stay inside. You’re not allowed to leave and go anywhere or else, you might suffer. We’ll be right back."

The two doctors just bobbed their heads absentmindedly, still shocked from the revelation they found out today.

Getting their response, Ayn and Xander stepped out of the office and walked towards the exit gate of the facility.

Doctor Rao and Doctor Layman were left behind, lost in thoughts.