The cold words slipped from the young man's lips. At the same time, his mask began to glow with an artificial, electric blue that soon reflected in his pupils and the tips of his hair.
This wasn't normal— not even among military modifications. Tina knew that much, but she couldn't comprehend what she was witnessing. That unnatural radiance... she had only ever seen it in mutants. Yet no mutant retained a human form, much less consciousness. Even so, the shimmer in the young man's eyes and hair were unmistakable traits of a Beta-class mutation or higher. Fear crept up her spine as Rex's cold gaze locked onto her.
She immediately dropped her partner. The woman she had carried so gently moments ago now hit the ground like discarded cloth. Tina's hands trembled. She couldn't understand why that boy filled her with such dread. She could swear that what stood before her was no man— but a monster beyond comprehension.
—Stop! —she shouted.
It was useless. The young man only smiled beneath his mask and, in the blink of an eye, launched himself straight at her, closing the distance.
With a sharp horizontal swing of her right arm, Tina sent five rows of threads cutting through the air. Rex didn't hesitate— he leapt aside with surgical precision. Instantly, the blonde repeated the motion with her left hand, this time in a vertical sweep. But the impossible happened: the boy twisted his body midair with superhuman grace, slipping between the threads as if they were harmless ribbons.
Before she could react, Rex struck her square in the abdomen— right between the knot of her jacket and the pit of her stomach. The blow lifted her off the ground a full meter before dropping her hard onto the marble.
Rex straightened calmly, watching her without the slightest intent to finish her off. Tina writhed on the floor, gasping for air, while Captain Trinnus watched helplessly as a mere human not only stood against his executives but humiliated them— as if he himself were a golden-ranked Overman.
—Had enough? —Rex asked, his voice calm and detached.
—Shut up! —the woman screamed, lashing out with a shockwave from the threads still wrapped around her hand.
Rex jumped to evade, but the wave rippled unpredictably— rising and falling with each motion— until it grazed the tips of his boots, throwing him off balance. He rolled several meters across the marble floor. The executive twisted her wrists, and the shockwave coiled into a sky-blue vortex that began to close in on him. Tyranus could barely distinguish where the real threads were.
Then, with an agile flick of her right hand, the trajectory shifted— five threads converged diagonally into one deadly strike aimed straight at him. There was no time to block, no way to react. He could only kneel, brace himself, and curl into a tight ball, waiting for the impact on his back.
The hit sent him crashing down immediately. His leather vest had absorbed most of the impact, but without it he was certain more than a few bones would have snapped. Even so, Rex rolled over and charged at the blonde once more.
She summoned another wave— this one burning crimson— but this time Tyranus didn't hesitate.He sprinted straight toward the storm of threads. Panic flickered across the executive's face.
—Don't! —the captain barked, too late.
The strike landed. Tyranus caught it barehanded. The threads wrapped around his fists, their pulsing red glow reflected against the synthetic skin of his gloves. The woman tried to pull away with her other hand— only to be caught as well.
Without mercy, Rex swung her down brutally, slamming the executive into the floor. She lost control of the threads in her left hand and hit the marble with a sickening thud. Blood streamed down her face as she tried to break free— only to realize her right hand was entangled in her own weapon. The cords glowed now in a violent crimson.
Panic distorted her expression as she screamed:—Please… don't!
Rex hesitated, raising his left fist— still tethered to the threads binding the girl's hand.
—My hands… they're still… mine! —she cried through tears.
It took Tyranus a moment to understand. Her hands… they're still biological.
—And why the hell would I care? —he replied coldly.
With a savage motion, he brought his fist down.
When...
—She told you to stop.
The thunderous blow from Trinnus sent him flying backward, tearing him free of the threads as he tumbled across the ground.