Hawkeye: "…"
Are you kidding me right now?!
Polka Dot just sold me out?!
He felt a chill crawl up his spine, his gut twisting at the thought of facing that monster himself. For just a second, he pictured it—him standing face-to-face with Alex.
And instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
But what he didn't expect—what nobody could've expected—was what happened next.
Alex didn't even respond.
He didn't interrogate.
He didn't threaten.
He didn't bargain.
He simply fired a beam of heat vision—and disintegrated Polka Dot on the spot.
Thud!
Polka Dot's body hit the ground hard, a look of pure confusion frozen on his face.
As if he'd died wondering…
Wait, seriously? No deal?
Even if he'd only pretended to give up Hawkeye's location just to buy time… didn't this guy want the info?
Couldn't he at least have listened!?
---
"Polka Dot… just got executed?"
Back in the surveillance hub, Hawkeye was stunned.
That quick? That final?
The man who was just bluffing with a deal—gunned down without hesitation?
---
And then, he realized why.
Because on the screen, Alex suddenly turned his head.
Right at him.
Right through the camera.
As if staring across miles, across cities, and into Hawkeye's soul.
---
"Found you."
---
"What?!"
Hawkeye felt his knees go weak. His body went ice cold. He sprang to his feet like he'd been electrocuted.
"No—no way! He sensed me!?"
"Impossible!"
There was no way.
Nobody—not even the Master—had ever sensed him using his power.
This guy couldn't have. He couldn't have!
---
"Hawkeye, what's going on? What happened?"
Skullface turned to him, voice tense.
But Hawkeye's reply was barely a whisper:
"He… found me."
---
"What!?"
Skullface froze. His face behind the black mask went pale.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a sonic boom echoed through the building—then abruptly stopped.
---
They stared at each other.
A silent panic settling in.
Both knew exactly what that sound meant.
Too late.
---
CRASH!
The door exploded off its hinges.
And there he was.
Alex.
Standing tall. Calm. Terrifying.
---
"You… you… you…"
Hawkeye pointed a trembling finger at him, stammering.
Sweat poured down his face like a broken faucet.
---
He found us. He's here. In person.
Skullface said nothing. But his soaked mask said enough.
---
Alex didn't bother with introductions.
He just looked around and gave a dry chuckle.
"Tsk. Tsk. So the military's commanders are mutants now?"
"How curious…"
---
It was curious. Mutants had only just begun making headlines.
Magneto was still a rising threat—barely organized, certainly not embedded in the government.
And yet these two? Embedded. Operational. Commanding units.
Who were they working for?
Alex's eyes gleamed with curiosity—and something else: the itch to uncover a bigger game.
---
"That's impossible!"
Hawkeye snapped out of it.
"There's no way you sensed me! How did you find me?!"
Alex just smiled.
He didn't answer.
Because the truth was simple: he'd used super hearing to trace Hawkeye's voice—first through Polka Dot's earpiece, then through the ambient noise.
Like finding a thread in a haystack.
Simple… for him.
---
"It doesn't matter now," Skullface said, his voice turning grim.
He reached up—and tore off his mask.
Beneath, his face was covered in strange, shifting tattoos.
No—not tattoos.
The markings began to squirm.
Come alive.
Tiny phantom-like faces emerged from the patterns, forming snarling, demonic visages. They peeled away from his skin and lunged toward Alex.
---
Or tried to.
---
Alex tensed for a moment—expecting an attack on his mind.
A psychic assault?
A fear hallucination?
But—
Nothing happened.
---
The "ghosts" passed over him like mist through glass.
No pain. No fear. No effects.
It was like watching a 3D movie with no sound.
Alex blinked, unimpressed.
"That's your power?"
"Looks spooky. Kinda fun. Halloween vibes."
---
"You… you're not affected!?"
Skullface stumbled back.
His powers were designed to paralyze minds. To trap enemies in hallucinations so real they lost themselves—screaming, gibbering, sometimes even dying of fright.
But Alex?
Alex looked bored.
---
And it wasn't just resistance. It was immunity.
What Skullface didn't know?
Alex's mental resilience was nearly ninety times stronger than a normal human.
You'd need a top-tier telepath just to tickle his brain.
Skullface didn't even qualify for a headache.
---
"Gulp."
Hawkeye swallowed hard.
His skin felt clammy. His legs were jelly.
He'd thought Skullface might buy them time—but Skullface had already used his ability…
And it did nothing.
---
"W-what is this guy?"
"This isn't right. Nobody's supposed to be this strong!"
---
Hawkeye's hands were shaking.
He did the only thing left: he yanked out his secure comm and screamed into it:
---
"Master! We've got a problem—a real problem!"
"Please! Send help! We're gonna die!"
---
Across the line, there was a pause.
A quiet, eerie calm.
Alex didn't stop him. In fact—he looked intrigued.
If they were calling in the Master, that meant Alex was about to learn exactly who he was dealing with.
---
"Let's see who's been pulling the strings."
For 60 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
https://patreon.com/Twilight_scribe1