The morning air was thick with tension. A muted gray haze settled over the ruins of a forgotten forest clearing where the entrance to the military facility loomed half-buried in the earth. Overgrown vines clung to its rusted steel frame, and weathered concrete bore the fading insignia of a forgotten program: PROJECT X13-HELIX. The building reeked of abandonment, and yet, something in the atmosphere pulsed—like the heartbeat of a long-dormant beast.
The Vanguard stood at the threshold, their eyes locked on the sealed blast doors. Adrian stepped forward first, scanning the entry with sharpened senses. His hand brushed over the aged keypad. The technology was outdated, almost antique, but a thin green light flickered as he tapped into the system. Smoke curled around his palm as he activated Smokescreen briefly, camouflaging the small burst of energy Warp Gate funneled through the wires.
The keypad clicked. With a low groan, the door creaked open.
"This place feels like it's been dead for decades," Bobby muttered, his boots crunching on debris.
"Dead doesn't mean empty," Sage replied, eyes narrowed, her fire axe already in hand.
They stepped into darkness. Inside, the air was stale—recycled through broken filters—and the silence was oppressive. Rows of shattered bulbs dangled from the ceiling like skeletal remains. Every wall bore burn marks, deep scratches, and the faint remnants of electromagnetic disturbance.
Cassie shivered slightly. "Whatever happened here... it wasn't peaceful."
Adrian took point, his mind racing through scenarios. He had six quirks available—six weapons he could wield. But his gut told him they might not be enough.
"We should split into teams," Adrian said. "We'll cover more ground that way. If any of us sees something suspicious, signal through the comms."
Peter and Cassie went west. Adrian and Bobby took east. Sage moved alone—by choice.
The corridors were labyrinthine, built like a maze. Adrian and Bobby moved quietly, passing shattered terminals and gutted labs. The rusted remains of syringes, cracked containment units, and restraints barely large enough to hold a child painted a grim picture.
"What the hell were they doing here?" Bobby whispered.
Adrian didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on a single word etched in a steel table with childish intensity: ELIO.
Far above ground, hidden by the forest canopy, the Brotherhood moved like a phantom storm.
"We're close," Wanda said, her crimson energy twitching at her fingertips. "His resonance disturbs the matter around him."
Magneto stood still, surveying the horizon. "We wait until they think they're safe. Then we strike."
Toad, crouched beside a moss-covered tree, held a cracked tablet scavenged from the ruins. "They've already breached the outer levels. We follow soon."
Mystique glanced down the ridge. "What if the Vanguard finds him first?"
"Then they'll deliver him right to us," Magneto said. "Whether they know it or not."
Cassie and Peter stumbled upon a command center—sealed behind a wall that looked burned from the inside. Peter tinkered with the rusted hinges until the door gave way.
A circular table with analog interface controls flickered to life. Holographic screens buzzed, half-fried but still intact. Old blueprints. Operation reports. One file stood out: OPERATION DUSK-VEIL.
Cassie pulled it up. The data showed Elio's full name—Elio Ramirez—and his mutant classification: Omega-Class Density And Matter Manipulator.
"He's just a kid," Peter said quietly. "They kept a kid in here like he was some kind of weapon."
Cassie's eyes scanned the last known update: Subject experienced molecular destabilization. Relocation to Isolation Room B. Access Restricted.
She tapped her comm. "Adrian. We found something. A control room. Sending location."
The team gathered in the war room.
Adrian studied the map. Red pins marked failed containment zones. A single yellow one blinked near the facility's lowest point.
"That's him," he said. "That's Isolation Room B."
Sage leaned against the wall. "It won't be easy getting down there. That wing collapsed years ago. There are only maintenance shafts left—and they're barely usable."
"Then we'll make them usable," Bobby said, cracking his knuckles.
"Should we call the X-Men?" Peter asked.
"Not yet," Adrian said. "If the Brotherhood's nearby, we can't risk alerting them."
Magneto moved through the forest, eyes closed, feeling the currents of magnetic disturbance.
"They're deep underground," he said. "I can feel the tremors of their movements."
Wanda's voice was low. "He's awake. He's afraid. But his energy—he's holding back. Barely."
Quicksilver circled the clearing. "I can break into the shaft now—do recon."
"Not yet," Magneto ordered. "We wait until the moment they uncover him. Then we take him."
The Vanguard descended into the lowest levels through collapsed stairwells and maintenance shafts. The path was narrow, suffocating.
Peter winced as dust filled his lungs. Bobby helped Cassie up a broken ledge. Adrian phased through rubble using Permeation while keeping Warp Gate ready for emergencies.
At the bottom, the corridor was burned black. The temperature shifted unnaturally—cold and hot in pulses.
"This is it," Sage said.
They saw it then—a sealed chamber door with a glowing handprint smeared in faint blue energy. As Adrian approached, his senses buzzed in intensity.
The handprint pulsed.
A shockwave exploded outward, sending them all tumbling.
Back outside, Wanda stumbled mid-step.
"He's active. The chamber is reacting."
Magneto raised his hand, metal shifting around him like a storm.
"Prepare yourselves. They've found the boy. The window is closing."