mutated

chapter thirteen: if you blow something up, is it an art or a crime?

I went into the lift, going up to science labs that were newly un-restricted for people of my new rank. As we had left the room, Chase, Lily, and Phoebe had awarded us each with new dark grey stripes that we were supposed to add to our gears. After a little bit of fiddling and a little bit of sewing, I managed to find out where we were supposed to add the stripes. Turned out we weren't supposed to put them on our shirts, but the gear jacket.

The lift opened with a pleasant ding, and my eyes widened at the sight. "Woah. This place is very... white."

And white it was. It was pristinely clean, with sparkling walls and shining countertops. A man with messy black hair was typing in formulas in one of the corners, while a boiling tube was boiling over an open flame beside him. "Who is this? From your footsteps, I assume that this someone in the Theta test, which reduces the chance that you are Manucode or Paradisaea from 1 out of 8100 to 0. So now there is a 1 out of 9261 that you are designation X-20 of the Theta experiment. Are you X-20?"

"Um, yes?" I answered, scratching my head. "And please, it's Jade. I don't like being called an experiment. Even if I am. And you are?"

"Ptiloris."

"Pi-lo what?"

"Ptiloris, spelt P-T-I-L-O-R-I-S. Also known as the rifle-bird, one of the famous Birds of Paradise. Me and my brothers Manucode and Paradisaea are the Birds of Paradise, triplets that are telepathically connected to each other. Our genetic mutation is my super intelligence, Manucode's speed, and Paradisaea's sonokinesis. However, we were all born at birth with physical defects. I am paralyzed waist down, Manucode is deaf, and Paradisaea is blind." He rambled on. "But you may call me Maxim. Manucode is Jensen, and Paradisaea is Carl."

"What does the X stand for in my designation number?" I asked him.

"You are part of the newly formed Phoenix Squadron. We are all technically the Phoenix squadron, but you have been formed to be a group of expendable warriors for our cause to stop a gang war from destroying Hong Kong."

"Expendable, thanks." I muttered. "And Phoenix squadron? That sounds like something from Star Wars Rebels. About that, do you have any nano-thermites around here?"

"Yes, of course, I whipped up a couple of batches a few months ago, since Buzzard loves his explosives." He pointed to a box in the back with a label that read 'Buzzard.' "Canisters that can be used to spray the thermites are available, and so are needles that can withstand and make sure that the thermites won't detonate the moment they touch oxygen. I've also designed a different batch of nano-thermites that will only explode if you activate the detonator." The whole time he spoke to me, he had not turned from his seat, so all I could see was the back of his head and his shoulders.

"Thanks." I replied, before walking over to the box, and picking up one of the canisters that said 'detonator needed' in Chase's sprawling handwriting, I grabbed a detonator as well, and ran back to lift. "I'll be back!"

"There was a high chance that you would say that as well." He answered cooly, and the door closed again.

Clicking the floor that said 'Art studio and supplies', I tapped my foot impatiently, and the door dinged pleasantly again. Hurrying into the room, I was expecting it to be empty, but instead, I found Karyn, wearing an apron, and painting a self-portrait. "Um, hi?" I greeted, but I was only replied with a confused 'huh?'

I looked around, searching for the paint, but also ended up walking towards a large collection of Karyn's masterpiece. The first one, probably the oldest one, was a portrait of Abby's face, capturing every single detail, down to each of her bushy eyebrows. The second one was a full figure of Meredith's tall and slim body in full gear, a spear and shield in her hand.