2025-11-26 23:15:48"Understood, Miss V8. We'll take care of this."
The designated agents replied in unison to the woman, each opening a briefcase with cold, mechanical precision.
Despite its wild appearance, the XCP was not stupid. It knew exactly when it had the advantage and when it didn't.
Its instincts screamed just one thing:
Run.
And that's exactly what it did—bolting down the hallway in the opposite direction without a second thought.
"Well, looks like we're getting some cardio today," the woman in the middle said casually, launching into pursuit with her team close behind.
"Perfect. Then I'll take care of the human-looking one," another agent said, turning toward Jasper.
Jasper could barely process anything. His arm was still stretched out like it was made of rubber. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't normal. None of this was.
"They're from the XCP Foundation!!! I knew it! They really exist!!!"
Michael, who moments ago looked ready to pass out from fear, now spoke like he'd hit the lottery.
A short girl, identified only as Agent 6790, jumped impossibly high and caught Michael in midair with one hand.
"Hostage secured," she said in a monotone voice, reaching into her pocket.
Michael stared in awe, wide-eyed and stunned.
"You guys are incredible! I've read everything you—"
Paf!
He dropped unconscious. A small device on his neck lit up with a bluish glow.
[Target located]
[Altering memories…]
"What are you doing?! What are you doing to Michael?!" Jasper shouted, furious.
Everything was happening so fast his brain couldn't catch up.
Before he could even take a breath, a loud buzz hit him.
Zzzt!
An electric shock surged through his body. He collapsed to his knees, and his outstretched arm snapped back to normal.
"XCP neutralized," reported the agent who tasered him, walking over to place glowing green handcuffs on his wrists.
"Argh... What the hell is this?! Why do I feel so... heavy?!"
Jasper dropped to the floor, every muscle betraying him at once.
"Hey, take it easy, he's one of my students! He didn't come next to the tall XCP." William, no, Agent 3887, I reproach.
He was being attended to by his partner.
"Really? And why don't you ever say that before, 3887? You always pull this crap," the girl replied, glaring at him.
"Relax. I realized he couldn't control his powers. His arm didn't retract on its own, so I let them act just in case," William answered with a mocking smile.
"Master William, what's going on?! Who are these people?! Who are you?!"
Jasper was still on the ground, trembling, a storm of emotions brewing inside him.
"They're the XCP Foundation. We handle anomalies. Creatures, events… and people who don't belong in the normal world."
"But what about me?" Jasper's voice cracked. "I'm not one of those monsters!"
The answer came from further down the hallway.
"Because you're an XCP too, kid."
The voice of the woman known as V8 echoed as she approached, holding the decapitated head of the defeated XCP like it was nothing.
"What the hell...? That fast?" Agent 7899 asked with a smirk. "Must've been one of the weak ones."
("That... was weak?") The thought hit Jasper like a blade of ice.
If that thing was weak... what the hell did a strong one look like?
He had to object. He had to defend himself.
"No! I'm not like them! This is wrong... I'm human, I'm normal, I...!!"
A sharp kick from V8 shut him up mid-sentence.
"Hey, V8! Take it easy! He's one of my students!" 3887 snapped.
"Look, kid. You seem like one of those who has to see to believe, huh? So here—look."
She pulled out his crimson tablet and shoved it in front of Jasper's face.
[Location information:]
[Unidentified XCP in area: 2]
[Currently 26 cm away from XCP]
"No... This can't be..." Jasper whispered, head hanging as if his soul was crushed.
"Sad for you. But whether you believe it or not, you're an XCP now. Even if you were human five minutes ago—even if your powers are barely waking up—none of that matters. What matters is what you are now."
V8 drew a strange pistol and aimed it directly at his face.
"And our job... is to take care of you. I'll give you two options."
"One. You die here. No one will remember you ever existed. Every record of your life—gone. As if you were never born."
"No! I don't want to die!" Jasper screamed instantly.
"Yeah, I figured. So here's option two: You get locked up in a containment cell at our facility. We'll study you, test you, you'll go through all kinds of crap... and still, no one will remember you. But hey—you'll be alive."
"I... I don't…"
Jasper wanted to resist, to shout, to protest. But deep down, he knew the truth. He had no choice. If he wanted to live... this was the price.
"Wait." The voice of 3887—William—cut through the tension. "There's a third option now for Human XCPs. Or did you forget?"
V8 glared at him for a few seconds. Then she scoffed and turned back to Jasper.
"Right... I forgot. Option three. Become a weapon for us. The Association recently formed a task force made entirely of Human XCPs. It's called NEO X Squadron. If you agree, you'll train in our facility. Complete enough missions… and maybe you'll get your life back."
Jasper's eyes lit up. Even if it meant being a weapon—there was hope.
"But listen up, kid. If you say yes, you're the Association's dog for life. Even if you live like a normal person someday... you'll still be working for us."
"I... accept!" Jasper shouted without thinking.
"Good. Then it's settled." V8 holstered her weapon and turned to the others.
"The others already retrieved the XCP body. Have we spoken to the media and government?"
"Yes, Miss V8," replied Agent 6790. "A minor earthquake was reported at the school. No injuries. All students safe. One girl nearly fell, but was rescued."
She pointed at Jasper.
"Jasper Stone. Due to his bravery, he's been granted a scholarship to a classified military facility. He accepted the offer. Tomorrow, he says goodbye to his family and classmates."
The explanation dropped like a bombshell in Jasper's mind. Not only were they powerful, but they were above the government.
"Alright team. Finish the memory wipes. Mission's done. 3887, take care of your students—and let's pray no more XCPs show up."
V8 turned and walked away, clearly annoyed.
***
Just as 6790 said, every news channel talked about an earthquake. Parts of the school were destroyed to sell the story. William publicly praised Jasper's courage.
He barely had time to say goodbye to his friends.
"Goodbye, sweetheart. Take care. Mommy will be waiting for you." His mother hugged him tightly at the driveway. His suitcase was ready.
"You're a brave man, my funny-haired son. I'm proud of you." His father smiled, ruffling his white hair.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll come visit."
Jasper never liked emotional moments, so he kept it short.
"I promise we'll take care of your son. Thank you for trusting us," said a woman in a black suit and dark glasses, waiting by the car.
"Please get in. We're leaving."
Jasper gave a quick wave and climbed in.
"I'm sorry, Mom... Dad... I might never see you again... No. I have to. I'll come back." He thought, staring out the window.
"Where is the Association?" he asked as he settled into the seat.
"I don't know. No one knows," the woman replied flatly.
Suddenly, Jasper began to feel drowsy. Heavy. Sleepy.
"Have a good trip," the woman said, putting on a mask.
"Wait... what's—?"
And everything went dark.
[Time to wake up. XCP Association wishes you a good day.]
"Huh...? Where...?"
Jasper slowly opened his eyes.
[Time to wake up. Time for breakfast.]
"What the fuck is this?"
He was inside a sterile room bathed in carmine red lights.
Now fully awake, Jasper understood one thing.
He was inside the XCP Association.
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Chapter 20: Duels in the Desert(2)
All the people in the bar looked at Jasper with caution; they didn’t like the challenge.“A duel of fire shots? You must be the copier Lidia told me about,” Felix said as he downed a shot of tequila.“Well then, let’s do it. Dawn is close—how about you sit down and have a drink?” said the wide-brimmed-hat man as he threw a chair at Jasper.Jasper, in response, simply looked at it and then refocused his gaze on the other sheriff in the place. His expression made everything clear.“Hey! Have you lost your mind?” Lidia finally shouted.“It’s obvious this is just a way to buy time. They’re surely going to bring all their XCP-hunter companions and hunt everyone down.”“Hey, if we had wanted to call for backup, we would have already done it, Miss Ice, don’t you think?” I18 said mockingly.“They’re right about that, Lidia. If this organization is like White Skull said, I don’t see the need for them to come back, much less for a duel,” one of the inhabitants commented calmly.“But no, there a
Chapter 19: Duels in the Desert (1)
"SHHH!"A large white light appeared inside an inn in Ash Hollow. Within seconds, the light split into six different parts."SHSHHS!"Abruptly, the parts scattered at high speed. The sounds of impacts followed immediately.Bam!"Ash, Neo 7, I told you to do it properly!" Slavik complained after crashing into a painting."At least you hit the wall..." Lin commented; he had crashed into a table."Did you copy Neo 8’s ability? Good idea, Neo 7," F16 said as he got back on his feet."Yes, although I don’t fully control it yet. It was something I came up with on the spot. The plan itself was pretty simple," Jasper began to explain."We had a confrontation with an XCP with ice-based abilities in Gallows Creek. We managed to escape thanks to Neo 8, but we couldn’t afford to take that risk again.""So I asked her to explain her ability to me. Her explanation was hard to follow, but I understood the core of it: her power is a distortion of reality based on the meaning she assigns to the words
Chapter 18: Cursed City(End)
All the inhabitants aimed their weapons at the Neo X group.“Great, now we’re surrounded. Where are Snow and Slavik? We need them,” Suse said, looking around cautiously.“We don’t have time to call them, Neo 4. I can endure the pain from the shot,” F16 commented, looking at Felix.“Take care of them. I’ll keep an eye on the lord of flames,” F16 ordered as he pulled the bullet out of his shoulder.“You didn’t need to tell me, I was already planning to. Give me three seconds.” Suse stepped forward, her shining katana dazzling.“Die!” the creature said as it fired.Bam!As soon as she heard the shot, Suse changed the number in her eyes from 44 to 100, slicing the bullet in half with her katana.The girl didn’t waste time and began to accelerate, shifting the frames from 100 to 150.“One second,” the girl thought, starting to cut down several of those who were supposed to be the inhabitants of Gallows Creek.“Two seconds.”She moved to the left, taking down three more opponents in an insta
Chapter 17: Cursed City(5)
“What’s going on? It’s like they’ve seen a ghost,” the man mocked as he kept conjuring fire in his hands.Suse scanned the place with her eyes. It was strange. People were watching the scene, but no one was scared—it was as if they didn’t care.“If you’re revealing yourself, that means you plan to turn yourself in, right?” F16 asked, taking another sip of his cocktail.“Hey, I’m the justice around here. That’s supposed to be my line,” the sheriff replied sarcastically.“But I got tired of leaving behind charred corpses. This time, I want to talk to you. Even if I kill you, they’ll just send another group, and it’ll be the same hassle.”F16 noticed he wasn’t lying. He finished his drink, stood up, and left a few coins on the table.“Let’s talk outside then,” he said as he walked out.The man with the wide-brimmed hat smiled broadly as he followed him.“That’s what I like to see. I knew I could reason with you.”Suse and Lin decided to follow them. If things went well, the XCP might sur
Chapter 16: Cursed City(4)
Neo 8’s body didn’t take long to completely collapse onto the ground. Along with her, the bubble finally shattered like broken glass, dissolving into fragments of energy that faded in the air.Jasper stared at the scene, stunned. His mind had gone blank; he still wasn’t used to this. To the idea of losing someone like that.“Bam!”Seizing the opportunity, Lidia fired at him, ready to add another Neo X to her list of corpses.“Hey, asshole, focus!” Slavik shouted, deflecting the attack with his gloves.“Look, we can cry and feel bad for the kid later, but we won’t be able to do that if we’re dead. Do you understand?” Slavik said coldly.Jasper clenched his teeth in rage as he forced himself to regain his composure.“I’m going to kill you, you bitch!” he shouted, pointing at Lidia.“I must admit, out of everyone they’ve sent, you’re the most entertaining,” the sheriff mocked, finally putting some distance between them.“Jasper, we’ll have to retreat. We had no information on this enemy.
Chapter 15: Cursed City(3)
"I can't believe they sent a bunch of kids to capture us. Ha, they really are desperate," Lidia mocked the group.The skin on her face began to deform as her nails took on a strange blue color. In just a few seconds, her face was nothing more than a skull from which an unusual and striking blue hair sprouted, which she wore as if it were real hair."Kids? I hope you regret those words," Slavik replied in an arrogant tone.He lunged at the woman with agility, and in response, she pulled a shotgun from her belt. The weapon had already been modified—parts of ice covered the barrel."Bam!""Bam!""Bam!"Three shots were fired in the direction of Neo 6, who, standing just a few meters in front of Lidia, spun his electric staff to defend himself, barely managing to deflect each bullet.Without giving her time for another round, Slavik closed the distance and swung his weapon at Lidia. She tried to block the blow with her arms, jumping backward and sliding across the frozen ground."Shit, hey
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