Make sure to check my Patre.on out if you want to support and want to read advanced chapters: Patre.on/VQuintessence
[18 Chapters in Advance on Patre.on]
.................
Chapter 134: The Power Of Words
.................
Two days after the livestream that shook the world, Cypher HQ remained a fortress under siege.
The street before the building was of blue; police cruisers parked at aggressive angles, their lights still flashing even in the grey morning light.
Barricades stretched across every entrance, manned by officers in full tactical gear.
And at the center of it all, facing down a dozen drawn weapons, stood Adam Cypher.
He looked immaculate. White suit, perfectly styled hair, a smile that suggested he was attending a garden party rather than a police standoff.
"GET ON THE GROUND! NOW!" An officer scread, his voice hoarse from repetition. "HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"
The warrant for Adam's arrest had been issued hours after his confession.
Legally, it made perfect sense; you couldn't have citizens deciding who deserved murder and acting as judge, jury, and executioner, no matter how justified.
The justice system required a trial, required due process, required that even righteous killings be examined under the cold light of law.
But the parties pushing for that warrant went far beyond legal principle.
Hydra, bleeding from Adam's weekly leaks, saw an opportunity.
phisto, the patient demon, had undoubtedly greased wheels in dark corners.
Even Shaw pulled so strings. Sebastian Shaw had his own reasons; reasons connected to a certain island owned by a certain Epstein.
Shaw happens to be a regular visitor of Epstein's island, but as you'd expect from soone like him, he was there for compromising material on powerful people, to satiate his ambitions.
The Epstein network itself, reeling from Adam's leak, was desperate for any action against the man who had beco their personal apocalyptic horseman.
They all feared Adam. Feared his leaks, his exposure, his ability to turn secrets into giant dildos that weren't made for regular use.
He was the leak sewage, the truth tsunami, the information apocalypse given human form.
He was the mouth breather who couldn't keep secrets, the verbal diarrhetic who exposed conspiracies like other people sneezed.
And here he stood, smiling at the officers who wanted to arrest him.
"Sorry about the disappearance," Adam said, his voice carrying easily over the tension.
"I've been busy. Crafting so lovely new toys; a toaster that reads your dreams and burns bread into prophetic images, a vibrator that doubles as a lie detector, and a line of cologne that slls like whatever your ex misses most about you. Business is booming."
The officers exchanged confused glances.
"GET DOWN!" Another yelled.
Adam shook his head, almost sadly. "Unfortunately, that's impossible. You see, I'm not even here."
He raised his hand and slowly, deliberately, passed it through his own head.
The image flickered. For a mont, the officers could see through him; the entrance of the building beyond, the empty space where a man should have been. Then he solidified again, still smiling.
"Hologram," He explained cheerfully. "Fancy stuff, right? I'm actually about..." He glanced at an invisible watch. "Three thousand miles away? Maybe four? I lose track."
"The point is, I'm a very law-abiding citizen. I would never evade arrest. I'm a good boy." He winked.
"The only reason I'm not there in person is my superhero duties. You know how it is."
"Gotta stop a bank robbery, rescue a kitten from a tree, prevent an interdinsional demon from rging with a reality-altering artifact. The usual Tuesday."
He spread his arms wide.
"Trust . I'll co quietly when the ti is right. Just not today."
And then he vanished.
No fade. Just gone, as if he had never existed. The officers stared at empty air, their weapons still raised, their faces masks of stupefication. What the fuck just happened?
The technology is sothing Adam ca up with long ago, and it all functions through drones that can emit realistic holograms and can even turn invisible, thus the instant disappearance.
[Well, can't say I didn't expect the arrest warrant.]
["I'm not even here." That sounds so cool.]
["Three thousand miles away." He's not on the sa continent?]
[Man, that so sounds like Land from Frieren.]
Three thousand miles away; give or take; Adam Cypher walked through the gilded doors of the Hellfire Club's New York mansion.
Yeah, that was just bullshit. He isn't three thousand miles away. He's in the sa fucking city, but exaggeration is one of his middle nas.
And if you ask him, he wasn't too far off, just like 2999 miles off.
He knows Emma isn't here. Not only can he sense her exact location but he knows exactly what she's doing, all according to plan.
So when the invitation ca from "Emma," Adam had smiled, and understood what was going on instantly.
Is it a trap? He wondered, strolling through the opulent halls. Almost certainly.
He paused at the entrance to the main hall, murmuring to the empty air; "Oh my Guardian Angel, watch over on this promised day and fulfill my wishes."
Just the words of an unhinged maniac. He smiled and pushed through the doors.
The main hall was configured for business; a long table, ornate chairs, the royal seats of the Inner Circle prominent at its head.
Adam walked directly to the White King's throne and settled into it as if it were his personal recliner.
Across from him, in the Black King's seat, sat Sebastian Shaw. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes tracked Adam's every movent without a blink.
Flanking Shaw were two figures in masks; dark clothing, hidden features, the kind of anonymity that scread "deniable assets."
Adam noted them, filed them away, and turned his attention to the fourth occupant of the royal seats.
The Black Queen's throne was occupied by a woman of breathtaking presence.
Selene Gallio. She appeared to be in her pri; raven hair cascading past perfect shoulders, features carved from aristocratic marble, eyes black as obsidian and twice as deep.
Her gown was midnight silk, her posture that of a queen accepting tribute. In truth, she was one of the oldest beings on Earth; a mutant who had lived for millennia, sustained by absorbing the life force of others.
A sorceress of imnse power. A predator who had outlasted empires.
She had joined the Hellfire Club recently, and her presence had shifted the Inner Circle's dynamics in ways Adam finds interesting.
Adam broke the silence first. "Where's Emma? And who are the new arrivals?" He gestured at the masked figures.
Shaw's smile was thin. "Emma will arrive shortly. As for these two; they've joined us recently, and they value their privacy."
He leaned forward. "But I don't wish to take too much of their ti. Let's begin. About the recent..."
Adam's hand shot up. "Wait." He looked directly at Selene. "Why are you looking at like that? Like you want to eat ?"
Selene's lips curved.
"I an, I get it." Adam gestured at himself. "Delicious looking. Handso. Smart. The best. I'm a whole al. But still."
Adam turned to the masked figures. "And you two. Looking at like I'm the most appetizing white chocolate you've ever laid eyes on." He chuckled. "But oh well. Understandable."
The tension in the room spiked. No one moved. No one spoke.
Adam broke the silence again. "Look, I understand why this eting had to happen. My actions. The leaks. Everything. It compromised the interests of the club."
"No doubt you've received calls, Shaw. Complaints. Angry essays from people whose secrets I've aired." He spread his hands.
"But trust ; I didn't an it. I was just targeting the M.R.D. The rest was unintentional."
"Like, for example, when I tried to bake a cake for Anna's birthday and accidentally summoned a minor demon who now runs a very popular food truck in Brooklyn. Unintentional."
"Or when I tried to fix my toaster and accidentally created a sentient AI with a BDSM fetish. Unintentional. Or when I..."
Shaw's jaw tightened. "Your point?"
"My point is, the intention was the M.R.D. And I was very successful."
Adam leaned back, crossing his legs. "Have you heard? Out of the thirteen known M.R.D facilities, seven have been burned to ash."
"And out of the three secret facilities; the ones not even on official records; two have been destroyed by Magneto."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"How did he find them? I don't fucking know. But I heard it was soone famous for leaking stuff. Aside from , of course."
Shaw's expression darkened.
"Why the long face?" Adam asked, genuinely curious. "This is great news. It's the most united mutants have been in decades."
"My files let them see; really see; all the evil done to them. Just for an RNG spawn they had no control over."
"The M.R.D. treated them like garbage. Like lab rats. Like things. And now mutants all over the world are rising up. Attacking anti-mutant organizations. Burning the M.R.D. to the ground. All on their own initiative."
He smiled, brilliant and ominous.
"The power of words, Shaw. Never underestimate it."
[The power of words is really... But fuck, nine of their facilities already destroyed? Tf.]
[Magneto got involved? That's my man!]
[Well, he's the kind to be very angry at the way M.R.D treats mutants, and likely looking for more additions to the army.]
["Summoned a minor demon who runs a food truck." He spews so much bullshit it almost drives deceased, like what?]
[Selene already joined? That's bad news, or good news if you're the yandere guy.]
[She a lost cause, so evil that you cannot expect loyalty from her. And she's too strong.]
Reviews
All reviews (0)