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Scott stopped, this time knowing he'd heard something, knowing his ears weren't deceiving him. He turned his head and saw something moving behind him. Something paper-thin, but shaped like a person. It fired a low-intensity optic blast, not enough to burn him, but enough to leave a bruise. Whatever it hit screamed.
"Definitely a person," he thought.
She was a woman, a two-dimensional woman. Her skin was constantly changing color, passing through various shades of brown and green, and stopping at shades of pink and blue. She staggered back, staring at Scott in fear.
'Mutant, physical manifestation,' Scott thought, analyzing the opponent.
Which turned out to be opponents. He shoved Todd behind him, bracing himself as the wall shattered. A hulking body, 6'1" tall, in dirty, torn clothing, had crashed through. Scott adjusted his balance, dodging a punch from a massive hand. When the dust cleared, he saw a bald man with a face of pure rage.
"LEAVE TOMMY ALONE!" he shouted.
He swung another enlarged hand, which Scott dodged at the last moment. The man left a fist-shaped dent in the wall, and the tunnel itself began to shake.
'Enlarged head, feet, face, and arms, deeper voice, physical mutation that has caused a more severe form of acromegaly,' Scott continued, taking a step back, placing a hand on his visor.
"HEY, GET YOUR PAWS OFF!" he heard Todd shout.
Scott shot the giant in front of him, sending him tumbling down the hallway. He then turned to Todd, who was being held by a person with mole-like features, including a snout and fur all over his body. His mother was being held by an elderly woman, the typical image of a grandmother with oversized glasses.
"We have to go now, to sleep," the woman hummed, her eyes shining as she looked at Todd.
Her eyes rolled back as she fell into the Mole's arms.
"We have to go, we have to go now," said a higher-pitched voice behind Scott.
He looked at the giant and the paper woman; there was a new addition. This one had gray skin and, in contrast to the giant, was short and thin. There was an area on her cheeks and forehead that showed a clear widening of her bones; these formed ridges beyond her jaw and on either side of her forehead. The tunnel shook again, and some debris fell.
"Oh no, Caliban told you not to fight, the tunnel is going down, we have to move Sunder ," said the albino.
"I can't move it," Tommy said.
They opened their eyes when Scott grabbed the giant's legs.
"Come on, you two drag and I'll lift, MOVE!" Scott shouted.
He felt his back tense from lifting the weight. But he kept going, not thinking about the debris, only about getting the trio out of there. They jumped out of the tunnel and tumbled downward. Tommy landed in one of the adjacent tunnels, while Caliban hit the wall before falling with Scott and Sunder . Scott let go of Sunder , knowing that Caliban wouldn't survive a fall. He grabbed the little man and fired several blasts with his lightning bolts, slowing their descent. They fell into the knee-deep water, and Scott quickly grabbed the fallen Sunder , keeping his head above water.
"You saved Caliban and Sunder ," said the gray-skinned man.
"Saving people is my job, so who are you now?" Scott asked, leaning Sunder against the wall and looking Caliban in the eye.
"We're mutants, just like you," Tommy said as he fell to the ground like a piece of paper.
"I highly doubt it," Scott replied.
"You're right, our mutations are physical like those of that boy you took."
"He didn't take Tommy, he tried to help, like he did with Caliban and Sunder ," Caliban said.
"And Todd's mother was shot earlier, and if she doesn't get medical help, she'll die," Scott said.
What he said didn't seem to bother Tommy, though he saw it did bother Caliban. The gray-skinned man wanted to speak, but he was resisting, obviously holding back. Sunder coughed; he was weak, the fall having taken its toll. But not so weak that he couldn't speak and say something that would reassure Scott.
" Annalee will take you to the Alley, to Healer ," she said.
"Is he a literal healer?" Scott asked.
—No, he isn't. Shut up, Sunder . We don't know if we can trust him yet, Tommy said.
Caliban doubts Calisto will allow Healer to help her!
-For the love of God, Caliban, shut up!
"This alley is part of the tunnels, right? But it's obviously not an area any maintenance worker can access, right?" Scott asked.
"We won't take you there," Tommy replied.
"I'm not interested in ruining anything for you, I just want to make sure Todd and his mom are okay," Scott explained.
He closed his eyes and reached for the clasps on his visor. After undoing them, he offered it to Tommy.
"If I open my eyes, the tunnel would either be destroyed or my neck would be broken by the force of the blast. I'm in no hurry to discover either, but I am in a hurry to make sure that woman survives and her child is safe. So please, take me there," he asked, without pleading or threatening.
Finding common ground was what Xavier had taught him: to compromise. He couldn't see, but what Scott didn't tell them was that he was used to being blind. Even if he couldn't see where they were taking him, he counted the steps, memorized the changes in direction. Because, although he was willing to compromise, he wasn't going to risk his life because he didn't know where to escape. More importantly, he sensed that this alley was a place he must learn to return to.
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Hello everyone, what did you think of the chapter? Please let me know in the comments. If you want to download the full book, it's available on my KO-FI page. The link is here. 👉
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