As promised, Ky was still holding on to Xiao tightly as she lay on his chest inside the same maintenance closet they fell asleep in. The flashlight that was once illuminating the room had died, leaving them in complete darkness. Both of them were asleep, however, their slumber would soon be interrupted by the sounds of the metal door being forced open.

As soon as the door opened, light entered the room, hitting the two lovers and awakening them.

They opened their eyes to see soldiers standing at the door, pointing real guns and anti-mutant weapons at them. Some of the guards, beneath their masks, looked at the two of them with mixed emotions.

Some of them were disgusted, whereas others felt just a small bit of sympathy. Their whole lives, they were fed the idea that mutants were animals and freaks who sought to harm people. However, seeing the two of them like that, holding each other as their final wish in life, challenged what they were taught.

Regardless, their overall opinions on mutants went unchanged.

"Don't fucking move!" one of the soldiers shouted, his finger itching for an excuse to pull the trigger.

Ky's arm was already instinctively covering Xiao to protect her, though this gesture was overall meaningless. If they fired a bullet at them, his arm would do nothing to stop it.

One of the guards stormed into the closet and pulled both mutants out, one by one as their power dampeners were activated once more and held their arms together.

The two of them were then taken to what appeared to be Waller's office. With guns to their backs, both mutants were tossed to the ground, right at Waller's feet. For once, he didn't have a hint of a smile on his face. He looked dead serious, staring down at the two of them with hatred in his eyes.

"How'd you do it?" he asked them both. He wanted more than anything to kill them, but it was in his nature to have the answers to everything. He couldn't leave any stones unturned.

Neither of them said a word, they didn't even look at him. At this point, death was expected. They knew how much Waller cared about knowing the ins and outs of their abilities, therefore, they were prepared to rob him of that knowledge, even if it cost them their lives.

"Okay." Walker walked over to his drawer, pulling out a tablet before turning it on and pulling up a screen with all of the numbers of every single potential Dark Angel on it. Both Xiao and Ky could see their own names, causing a pit to form within them both.

"Tell me or I'll fucking kill both of you." Waller still had that incredibly serious expression on his face, one filled with disgust and malice.

Xiao and Ky both looked at him, their gazes not wavering for a moment. They were ready to die, however, Ky had something to say before that was to happen.

"Kill us, Waller. You kill us and you lose your two most powerful pawns. The amount of power the two of us have is far beyond anything you can comprehend. It'll be a loss that you'll never recoup and I bet it'll eat you up at night knowing you lost something so precious to you." as Ky spoke, Xiao looked at him with enlarged eyes. She was shocked that he would tell Waller how he truly felt at a time like this, knowing his head could be popped at any moment.

"There's a reason you let things get this far between us. What was it Waller? Were you entertained? Did you find it funny? You wanted to see how far it would go, didn't you?

You wanted to see us grovel at your feet, begging for you to spare our lives, huh? You hoped Xiao and I were going to plead for our lives while you take away that one single wish regardless. Maybe you even wanted one of us to kill the other, but that will never happen. I'll die before I ever even consider taking her life and she would do the same for me.

I know what you seek; you seek strength but you can't have it. You're weak. You're just a pathetic, weak human who fears mutants more than anything, so much so that you dedicated your life to rounding them up, studying them, and using them for your own agenda; using them to kill other mutants!

And you know what else I think? I think you're afraid to lose us. Why haven't you killed us already? You showed us just how fast you'd pop someone's head just because you didn't like what they had to say. But when you have two prisoners escape, you go looking for them and bring them to your shitty little office instead of killing them with just the snap of a finger?

Press the fucking button, Waller. Lose your two strongest assets." Ky stared blankly at Waller as he made his dare, showing no signs of being afraid to die. However, Ky's fear wasn't hidden from the one single person who could read him.

Xiao could feel the intense fear resonating off his body, almost like an aura of terror. His heart was pounding and it was taking everything inside of him to not tremble in front of Waller.

He didn't want to die, and he especially didn't want Xiao to die. However, challenging Waller in this way was the only thing he could think of, especially since he was such a loose canon.

Waller, tablet in hand, looked down at Ky with his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes would've murdered him if looks could kill alone. However, that frown shifted into a smile as Waller started to laugh, grabbing his stomach as if he was just told a funny joke.

Both mutants looked forward, still frowning as he continued to laugh at Ky's words. The four guards behind them all exchanged looks, some shrugged as their nutcase boss continued to laugh.

"You've always been my favorite, Ky." Waller spoke Ky's true name again, not his number. Ky was the only one whose name was ever said in place of his number. It was true, Ky was his favorite, but only because he found him so intriguing and because of the untapped potential of his time-warping ability.

"You're right. You are valuable to me. I can't use your powers when you're dead, can I?" Waller told them, hinting at his true intent with those words alone. "0111, however…" Waller held up the tablet, ready to press the button and end her life in an instant. "I can't say the same about simple mind reading."

Just before he was about to press the button, Ky spoke. "What about mind control?" These words stopped Waller's fingers in their tracks. He didn't know about Xiao's new ability, but if this was true, then it would explain how she escaped.

Waller then looked at Xiao, seeing her glancing to the side, wincing. She didn't want to reveal that new power to him. If it was up to her, she'd die before giving Waller the satisfaction of learning more about her powers. He saw her as nothing more than a science project and that disgusted her. However, Ky couldn't just let her die knowing this could save her.

"Is this true, 0111?" Waller asked; the smile on his face growing in size as if he had just stolen Christmas.

"Perhaps you should try coming a bit closer so I can demonstrate first hand." Xiao spoke with venom in her voice. She knew he wasn't dumb enough to let her try it on him, but if he did, she'd make him snap his own neck on the spot.

"You, step forward." Waller spoke to one of the guards, prompting him to step forward toward Xiao. Xiao's dampeners were deactivated and her hands were then freed.

"Show me." Waller told her, still holding the tablet in his hand.

Using one hand, Xiao touched the soldier's chest. For a few seconds, nothing happened, giving some people the idea that Ky was perhaps lying about the whole thing. However, the soldier suddenly aimed his gun at Waller and started to pull the trigger.

𝘽𝙊𝙊𝙈!

The soldier's body plopped on the ground, along with chunks of his brain and skull. His head exploded, revealing that the guards also had chips in their heads, ready to explode in case they step out of line.

"I figured you'd try that." Waller had a massive smile on his face as he thought about the many possibilities of her power. Breathlessly, Waller spoke one word. "Wonderful…"

Waller turned off his tablet and placed it back on his desk. "Take them back to their cells. And clean up this mess."

Just as ordered, the remaining three guards escorted the two of them back to their cells, leaving Waller in his office by himself to think with that same distorted grin on his face. 'Time warping and mind control… I'll be unstoppable.'

Back inside the dorm he shared with Ky, Tom sat on the top bunk with his legs hanging from it, thinking about what he would do with Ky gone. Ky was important to him, not just because of his powers, but because he trusted him.

However, to his surprise, his roommate was back, getting tossed into the cell before the door slammed behind him. "Ky!?" Tom exclaimed, getting a small smirk from Ky himself. Tom had completely written him off after he disappeared and never came back, but he was happy to see that he was wrong. "Morning, mate." Ky put on a fake English accent before returning back to his normal voice. "I guess we're gonna be exploring the outside world after all."

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳...

Inside one of the many metallic, lifeless rooms, Waller was seen standing with his arms behind his back, looking at five young mutants in front of him, the five mutants who made the cut, becoming a Dark Angel.

Since this was the first time many of them were meeting each other, Waller gave everyone a short introduction, starting from right to left.

"Number 1226: Ky Thatcher. Code name: Tempo.

He has the ability to warp time backward for just a single second. It may not sound like much, but it makes him untouchable and his accuracy deadly."

Ky stood with his arms behind his back. His face was completely covered, as he was wearing a black helmet with a sci-fi look to it. Since his eyes glowing was a tell of when he used his powers, he opted to have his entire face hidden.

On his body, he wore all-black combat gear, equipped with guns, ammo, and dual swords on his back. Time warping was useless in combat on its own, at least at the level Ky was able to use it, so he needed weapons.

"Number 0304: Tom Turner. Code name: Fixer

Fixer is capable of making almost anything his brain could imagine, as long as it's in the realm of possibility, using whatever scraps he can find. Bombs, lock picks, weapons, you name it, he makes it."

Tom wore a more casual outfit, sporting a long coat with jogger pants, though he did wear a bulletproof vest for protection. On his forehead were a pair of goggles. On his hands and feet, he wore custom-made high-tech gloves that gave him enhanced grip, control, speed, and other enhancements only known by himself.

"Number 0111: Xiao Chen. Code name: Answer.

She can read minds, but she can also control them. Not to mention she is a master martial artist."

Xiao wore an all-white combat suit with her shoulders exposed. There were white straps covering her body and she wore white gloves on her hands. She also wore black boots and was equipped with a black, retractable bo staff that hung from her hip.

"Number 1964: Pietro Maximoff. Code name: Quicksilver.

He can move and think at superhuman speeds. Similarly to Tempo, it makes him practically untouchable. He's rather talented in hand-to-hand combat as well."

Quicksilver had silver hair and goggles over his eyes. He wore normal clothes, just a t-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket due to the fact that he was certain he'd never be hit, therefore he wouldn't need fancy armor. He had a confident look to him, along with a young face that looked to be around the same age as Ky.

"Lastly, we have number 1963: Bobby Drake. Code name: Iceman.

He can turn his entire body into ice, granting him dozens of ice-related abilities while also enhancing his own strength."

Bobby, with his brown hair and blue eyes, stood with his arms crossed, wearing his striped prisoner's uniform before his body was suddenly covered in ice, just as Waller said. The ice was so cold, the rest of the Dark Angels could feel it in the air.

The Dark Angels had finally been formed, ready to go out on their first mission. However, each member of the team was reluctant to do so. None of them wanted to go out and kill their own kind, however, this was their only key to life.

It was kill or be killed.

Nothing more. Nothing less.