X-GENE OMNITRIX-Chapter 16: XGO

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As they placed Alex on a lab bed, voices drifted around him like fragments of a broken dream. He floated in that liminal space between consciousness and oblivion, his body leaden, his mind swimming through murky waters.

Logan's voice rumbled through the room, a primal growl carrying ancient threats. "Next time you pull that stunt, Fury... you'll be six feet in the grave." The words hung in the air, heavy with promise.

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Alex heard it all.

The sedative coursed through his veins like ice water, but it wasn't enough to drag him completely under. Three years of experimentation had rewritten his biology. His body had built up a resistance to most drugs—chemical compounds now recognized as old enemies. Yet simultaneously, the lab had made him dangerously addicted to them—his cells crying out for the chemical hooks that had been planted deep within him.

The only reason he hadn't transformed yet, hadn't torn the building apart atom by atom... was because he was trapped in a hallucination.

A memory.

One that haunted him through countless nights, bleeding through the carefully constructed walls of his mind.

A dimly lit room carved from shadows and fear.

A young boy, no older than six, curled up in the corner like a wounded animal. His knuckles were white as he clutched a worn-out toy to his chest—action figure which look like made from crystal missing one arm, its paint chipped from years of desperate love. His small hands covered his ears, pressing hard enough to hurt, trying to block out the deafening gunfire that rattled the windows and shook dust from the ceiling.

He was terrified.

Not the fleeting fear of a child afraid of monsters under the bed, but the bone-deep terror of someone who knows monsters are real—and they carry weapons.

The walls trembled with each explosion, concrete cracking like brittle bones. Shouts echoed down the halls, desperate commands mingling with screams of agony. The smell of burning metal filled the air, acrid and choking, coating his tongue with the taste of desperation.

Then—a hand rested gently on his head.

The boy's eyes shot open, pupils dilated with adrenaline.

Standing before him was a man in his 30s. His face was rough but kind, weathered like leather, eyes that had seen too much yet somehow maintained their warmth. His presence was strong yet comforting—a mountain offering shelter from the storm.

The moment the boy saw him, he leapt forward with a strangled cry, throwing his arms around the man's waist, burying his face against the rough fabric that smelled of gunpowder and home. "Father!" The word emerged broken, half-sob.

The man held him close, one hand rubbing circles on his back while the other remained on his weapon—protection and comfort offered simultaneously. "It's okay, Max. I'm here." The voice was steady, a lighthouse in the chaos.

The gunfire outside grew closer, no longer background noise but an imminent threat. They had to move.

Lifting the boy into his arms with practiced ease, the man rushed through the crumbling building, navigating fallen debris and flickering lights. His footsteps were deliberate, measured even in crisis—the movements of a man who had spent a lifetime preparing for disaster.

Outside, people were scrambling onto trucks, a chaotic mass of desperation. Children crying, adults shouting, fear hanging in the air thicker than the smoke.

As they reached the convoy, a woman broke away from the crowd and ran toward them, her hair wild, clothes stained with ash.

"Max!" she cried, tears cutting clean paths down her dust-covered face. She wrapped the boy in a tight embrace that smelled of lavender and terror. "Oh, God, you're safe!" Her voice cracked under the weight of relief.

The father's expression was grim, shadows gathering in the lines around his eyes. "You need to leave. Now. It's not safe here anymore." Each word was measured, final.

Max clung to his father's sleeve, small fingers digging into the fabric as if he could anchor him there by sheer force of will. "But... what about you?" His voice was small, but the question loomed large between them.

His father smiled, a sad yet resolute smile that didn't reach his eyes—the smile of a man who had already accepted what was to come. "Your father has to stop this war, Max."

The boy's lips trembled, tears welling in eyes that had already seen too much. "Why do you have to stop it? What about the heroes? Why isn't he here?" The question of a child who still believed in salvation.

His father knelt down, bringing himself to eye level. He placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder, callused fingers gentle against the fragile bone. "He will come. But until then... we have to do what's right." The words carried the weight of generations—an inheritance of duty.

Before Max could respond—a bright red laser shot through the air behind them, cutting through the smoke like a crimson scythe.

The father's expression hardened, vulnerability replaced by determination in an instant.

"You have to go. Now." No longer a request but a command.

Max shook his head violently, refusing to let go of his father's arm, nails digging half-moons into the skin.

Seeing this, his father reached into his coat and pulled out a badge.

It was made of silver, not bright and shiny but weathered with age and purpose. Shaped like a hexagon with an intricate emblem engraved in the center—two interlocking rings with a starburst in the middle, symbols of unity and hope amid darkness. It was smooth and polished from years of being touched, yet worn with age—a legacy passed through generations.

He pressed it into Max's palm, folding the small fingers over it with deliberate care.

"This symbol... it stands for something greater than just power. It stands for duty, for justice, for protecting those who cannot protect themselves." Each word was carefully chosen, seeds being planted that would grow into purpose.

Max stared at the badge, his teary eyes reflecting its metallic glow as it caught the light of nearby flames.

"Always remember what it represents. And hold onto it for me." The unspoken promise hung between them—until I return.

The boy nodded, his chest tight with emotion too complex for his young heart to fully comprehend.

The mother hugged the father one last time, a desperate embrace that tried to compress a lifetime of love into seconds. Her fingers traced his face as if memorizing it by touch before she stepped into the vehicle, pulling Max with her.

As the truck began to move, engine growling over the sound of distant explosions, Max twisted in his seat, watching his father diminish against the apocalyptic landscape. He pressed his palm against the window, leaving a small handprint on the glass.

The last thing he saw was his father standing tall, silhouetted against flames, facing the approaching enemy without flinching—a solitary figure against the tide of chaos.

Then—darkness swallowed everything, as the truck rounded a corner and the world he knew vanished forever.

Back in the lab, Alex's fingers twitched against the sterile sheet, muscle memory searching for something long lost.

His breathing hitched, chest rising unevenly as past and present collided.

His grip tightened on the watch on his wrist and its symbol reminding him of his past.

And as his eyes fluttered open, pupils contracting against the harsh laboratory light—so similar to places that had taken everything from him—the first thing he felt...

Was the weight of a long-buried pain.

Not the physical kind they had made him to endure, to compartmentalize, to ignore.

But the kind that had carved out his humanity, piece by piece—leaving only the cold, efficient weapon they wanted him to be.

The memory of what it felt like to be protected.

The ghost of what it meant to be Max, before they remade him as Alex.

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