XTRAVAGANZA

Chapter 6: Money Calls

X stood there in front of a burning building, his head down low. Looking up, he saw the same man in the bluish-gray hoodie and pants, gray mask, with the glowing blue X in the center of it.

X looked at the man with disgust. The man saw this, speaking. "Do you feel remorseful? Because if you don't, you shouldn't be hating me for what you did." His voice was deep and calm, there was just a certain charm to it.

After the man finished speaking, he started walking towards X, eventually passing by him and continuing his stroll.

X turned around, watching the man walk away from him. Something told him to just stay silent but he just couldn't. "24 people lost their lives today! Innocent people that didn't do anything!" He yelled, anger filling his eyes.

The man stopped, turning around to face X once more. "But they weren't innocent. Not in your eyes at least." The man paused for a moment before speaking again. "So I'll ask again. Do you feel remorse, pity, empathy for the people that died?" The man started walking towards X, eventually stopping right in front of him. "Because when I look into your eyes, I don't see any of that. All I see is a broken and desperate man, clinging onto whatever humanity he has left."

The man turned around again, walking away once more, leaving X standing there in the endless flames of his guilt.

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He woke up in the waiting lobby inside the fancy hotel he was told to meet Siobhan in.

Looking over at the front desk, he saw Yuki, the girl he had met the last time he was here. Yuki noticed his gaze and gave a friendly smile with a small wave.

He waved back slightly, giving a small smirk. As he did, Siobhan walked into the lobby from the main hall of the hotel. "Come now, let's discuss business."

X slowly got up from the chair he was seated in, giving a small wave bye to Yuki. He followed Siobhan who led him to the backyard garden of the hotel.

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The two seated themselves down at a rounded table with a small man made pond next to it.

Siobhan looking across the table at X, his piercing red eyes feeling like they were staring into X's soul. "So for starters, I'm curious, what exactly are you planning to do?" He asked, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair slightly.

X pondered his question for a moment before speaking up. "Frankly, whatever the hell I can do. This world is unkind to people who are different. Take the disabled for example, or those with mental health issues or neurological or behavioral disorders. You get the idea." X quieted down for a moment before resuming once more. "And then there's people who are Anomalies. There have been proven studies that people who are anomalies have a far higher chance of committing crimes then those who aren't" X exclaimed. He was surprisingly starting to get worked up about the whole situation .

"So what I wanna do is build Neo City in my own image. It could help more people than we ever know." X sat there, waiting for Siobhan to break his silence.

"I thought I was gonna be funding some a promising up and coming mafia. Not a god damn charity organization." Siobhan said, glaring at X.

"That's just the thing. Achieving my goals legally will be down right impossible." X paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I assure you, although what I am doing is for the greater good, it isn't exactly a legal operation. Which is why I still the need the funding to start my own mafia, organization, whatever..." X tried sounding as kind of a man as possible, hoping to win Siobhan over.

Siobhan pandered in silence for a moment, just staring into X's eyes. Finally, he would break the silence after what felt like an eternity of waiting. "I'll start you off with 10k. Do whatever you please with." Siobhan then pulled out a brief case that was sitting next to his right leg the entire time without X noticing. Siobhan began sliding the brief case over to X.

Right before X could grab it, Siobhan yanked the brief case back. "However..." he started saying. "If I do not like what you are doing with the money, then it's your life." As soon as he finished speaking, he tossed the brief case over to X who quickly grabbed it.

"Thank you sir." X said, reaching out to shake his hand which Siobhan happily accepted.

"Pleasure doing business." Siobhan said, gesturing for him to leave which X quickly obliged to.

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As X entered the hotel lobby, Yuki called out to him. Turning his head, he looked over at her. "So, how did your little meeting go?." She asked, with her ever-beaming smile.

X paused for a moment, wondering if he should say anything at all. "It went well, thanks for asking!" He said, putting his own smile on his face.

Yuki's smile grew wider. "No problem!" She paused for a moment, staring into X's eyes. He didn't what for exactly but it looked like she wanted to say something.

"Right, well I best get going! Maybe I'll cya around!" X started waving goodbye. As he began to leave the lobby, Yuki called out his name. "Wait, X!"

He slowly turned around, seeing her leaned over the counter, looking at him. "I was wondering if..." she said, pausing before she could finish. She now had the same indeterminate look on her face that she did a few seconds ago.

Eventually, that look vanished and she started speaking again. "If maybe you would wanna go out sometime?"

X stood there frozen for an eternity, or that's what it felt like to him at least. In reality, it was only a few seconds. X pondered for a moment before just releasing a quick and quiet. "Sure"

Yuki's face lit up with joy. "Really? Thank you!" X half expected her to start jumping up and down like a little girl on Christmas. But she remained calmer than he thought she would. "Does tomorrow work?" Yuki asked, the smile on her face seeming like one that would never vanish. "Sure, tomorrow's fine." X replied, shooting back his own smile.

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X slowly walked into his apartment, putting the brief case down on small wooden table next to the entrance.

He walked through the messy arrangement he had created for himself, eventually stopping at the window inside his apartment that over looked Neo City.

He stared out the window, admiring the sky scrapers that stretched far taller than the apartment building he was in. As X continued to stare over the city, he eventually focused on the cities governmental building. Looking at it through the window, he slowly held up his right hand in a finger gun for formation. Pointing his fingers in the direction of the building, he did a motion with his hand that looked like he was firing a gun, accompanied by a small sound effect he made with his mouth.

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Damian slowly walked into a small office, stopping in front of a desk with a computer screen on it.

"Where the hell is X..." the man behind the desk asked, his face covered by the computer in front of him.

"He evaded me, sir." Damian replied, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "A normal person was able to escape you? For some reason I don't believe that." The man behind the desk replied. Slowly, the man reached out and grabbed a cup of whiskey that was sitting on the desk. His pure white arm with black striping along the wrist as illuminated by the light hanging above them both.

"Forgive me, sir." Damian replied, lowering his head slightly in a sort of bowing gesture before raising it again. "But that X person, he's not normal. There's something...different, about him." Damian said, half expecting to be killed within the next second or so.

The man behind the desk started speaking again, this time in a colder tone. "You bring me X's head by next week or it's your life." With that, the man gestured Damian out of his office who happily obliged to leave.

Upon exiting the mans office, a sigh of release escaped Damian's mouth not soon after. He slowly opened his eyes, glaring down at the floor. "Things are gonna be different from now on..."