CHAPTER 60 : NO CHOICES

My strategy failed to defeat the White Tigers and put HOPE in danger...Two of my team members were attacked, one severely injured, and the other captured...Once again, we nearly lost, and I put HOPE in danger again...I've failed many times."We tried that before, when we fought the White Tigers last time, but they betrayed us first.""Exactly, I don't want to put us in that dangerous position again, Khalid.""I can sense what you're feeling, Khalid. You're scared and unsure," Mei said as she approached Khalid, who was standing alone on the balcony, staring up at the night sky. Khalid turned to her, his face showing sadness."Everything we're doing now isn't like before. Our investigation hasn't led to anything... Even before, our battles with other villains were chaotic, we lost, and I can't deny that. As the leader, all this is my responsibility," Khalid explained. Mei placed her hand on his back."Mei, honestly... I don't know what to do anymore," Khalid sighed."I'm just as responsible as you are, HOPE is our team. This is our dream," Mei replied. Khalid let out a small sigh."I know this isn't going to be like the cartoons or the stories I watched. I know I'm going to fail, but how could I have failed so many times like this? Eventually, they'll lose faith... Someone like Mikael or Ali is more deserving to be the leader than me." Khalid clenched his hands as memories of his defeats, like the ones against White and Zaki, replayed in his mind."Khalid," Mei called out, gently patting Khalid's shoulder, causing him to look at her again."HOPE still believes in you and needs you, I know that. There's no blueprint for success in what we're doing, sometimes we fail, but Khalid, I see how far you've led us... You're my hope." Mei placed her hand on Khalid's chest and gave him a small smile. The wind blew softly, pushing Mei's hair to the side, revealing her full face to Khalid."Mei, you could use your power to make me confident again, right?""Yes, but that's not what you want, Khalid. The Khalid I know builds that confidence himself.""Maybe." Khalid gave a bitter smile as Mei withdrew her hand.Meanwhile, downstairs, Mikael and Kyoko were sitting together in Mei's backyard. Mikael pulled out a cigarette box."There's a limit to how far I can control my shadow. I thought about setting up a moving shadow as an alarm at the Special Force base, but right now I can't even feel or detect it..." Mikael lit a cigarette and exhaled smoke to the side. Kyoko rested her head on both hands."Mei gave Rose that strange eye thing, if I'm not mistaken, so if there's an emergency, we'll know... hopefully," Kyoko replied."Have you guys found anything?" Khairul asked, walking toward Mikael and Kyoko with both hands in his pockets."Nothing," Kyoko sighed."We fought them while knowing only a little, and we almost lost... How can we win when we know nothing?" Khairul asked, doubt showing on his face."In my years as a police officer, most of the time I faced enemies I knew nothing about. We need to be sharp, not rush in, and not be afraid... that's the key. Staying calm helps us think better. When we're scared, we let our emotions take over," Mikael advised, glancing at Khairul."We face our enemies whether we understand them or not. The important thing is to be smart and know our own capabilities," Mikael continued, pointing a thumb toward his head.Khairul reflected on his previous battles, where he often rushed in and sometimes lost control because he couldn't manage his emotions. He let out a small sigh and nodded in understanding."I'll try, old man."The next day...Special Force members in the tower, armed with snipers, were scanning the area around their base. Guards were stationed at the entry gates, and the entire base was filled with armed Special Force members, prepared for an attack from any direction.The police unit under Rose was guarding the laboratory. Rose adjusted her bulletproof vest and put on her dark blue helmet. Shaurya tied a red bandana around his head and spiked his hair, both of them picking up their automatic rifles. Rose checked her pistol's ammunition before pulling the slide."All set... You can come out now," Bella said. Zaki, wearing an exoskeleton that covered his entire body, stepped out of the capsule, looking uncomfortable."I said I would join that Special Force program, didn't I? You still don't trust me?" Zaki asked."Of course, you need to prove that you can be trusted first. You've hurt and killed many people before, so it's no surprise we don't trust you completely... That machine can detect whether you're attacking enemies or our team members. If you even think about harming the Special Force or innocent people, the machine will fully control your movements," Bella explained. Zaki looked at the exoskeleton around his arms and exhaled deeply."A second chance for you, Zaki..."The night before, Zaki, still inside the capsule, had a conversation with Syafiq, accompanied by Bella."I want Mutants who can work together with the Special Force," Syafiq said. Zaki smirked cynically."What makes you think I want to join you?" Zaki asked."We know quite a bit about you... your grudge against your own son, your history of abuse toward him. You were a monster, Zaki, even before you became a Mutant. If I followed my feelings, I would've killed you by now," Syafiq replied with a sharp glare. Zaki returned the glare, transforming into a monster."Go ahead and try to kill me," Zaki challenged."To fight a monster, you need a monster! You have no choice but to become that monster because of your powers, and I'm offering you a reason—be a monster for the Special Force!" Syafiq raised his voice. Zaki paused for a moment."You can reclaim your life, that's my guarantee. Forget about your past; if you choose to be our monster, you'll live like a king. Think about it. If you win, your son will still face hardships. His Mutant group doesn't seem interested in joining us, and if they continue to resist the Special Force, one day you'll have to fight him again..." Syafiq explained. Zaki seemed intrigued by Syafiq's offer."When that time comes, you can kill, torture your son, but this time you'll have permission—from the Special Force and the government. Mutants who oppose us will be considered no better than Strays, whether they maintain their humanity or not... If they go against the Special Force and the government, they become enemies." Syafiq continued, a sinister smile appearing on Zaki's face. Bella glanced at them, momentarily frightened but quickly regaining her composure."Hahaha... Listen here, 'captain'... I'll lend you my strength for now, but if you break your word... I'll kill you and all of the Special Force."Syafiq recalled Zaki's words from the previous night as he tapped his head."I have no choice... I have no choice..." he muttered to himself. Syafiq remembered how terrifying Zaki's monstrous form was, as well as how Nasuha saved the other Special Force members alongside him.I need a monster like him, which means I'll have to meet his wicked demands...No way I'm letting him kill the kids! Not a chance!I just need him for now... I'll figure out a way to control him or just kill him when I don't need him anymore...Syafiq walked out of the tent, took a deep breath, and picked up his helmet. His steps halted when he saw Bella walking with Zaki out of the lab. Rose glanced at them before shifting her gaze toward Syafiq as well.Disappointment and anger were evident on Rose's face as she quickly turned away. Syafiq sighed, knowing exactly how Rose felt."I had no choice...""The right response, Special Force... Look how tightly this base is guarded." Danielle, hovering in the air far from the Special Force base, spoke as the wind blew, causing his hair to fly upwards."You can begin." He brought the walkie-talkie to his mouth before crushing it, letting the pieces fall to the ground."You want to see it, right, Sui'ra? The war between humans and mutants... Let's see who wins."Sui'ra watched through his holograms, grabbing some popcorn and placing soda cans next to the sofa. He popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth, smiling slightly."Show it to me, Danielle."As Bella walked with Zaki, the ground suddenly trembled slightly. Zaki looked down, eyes widening as thorny roots emerged from tiny branches. He immediately grabbed Bella and moved her away from the roots.Several members of the Special Force were thrown back, one impaled through the chest by a root. They quickly raised their weapons toward the approaching vines and fired."We're under attack!"Chaos erupted. Zaki set Bella down near Rose and Shaurya. Bella, still in shock, simply turned to look at Zaki."Haha... It's them," said Zaki. Lilly emerged from the ground alongside a massive tree that produced thorny roots, tearing open a large hole in the center of the Special Force base. Sniper and automatic gunfire rained toward her, but she was shielded by a translucent, bulletproof barrier made of leaves."I'm sorry. Don't worry; I'll kill you all as quickly as possible so no one will suffer." Lilly extended her hand toward the Special Force members in front of her as the thorny roots moved toward them, releasing red seeds that exploded repeatedly.Syafiq, along with a few Special Force members, tried to make their way to the center of the base where Lilly was attacking, but they were stopped by several Strays, each one mutated into different forms resembling animals. Behind them, Syakir, also encased in the same translucent leaves as Lilly, walked forward, wires extending from his fingers connected to the backs of the Strays he was controlling.Gunfire erupted, and the Strays began their assault, but bullets aimed at Syakir couldn't reach him."Today all of you will be destroyed," said Syakir as one of the Strays pounced on a Special Force member beside Syafiq, biting into his shoulder. Syafiq quickly drew a knife and stabbed the creature in the back of its head.Another Stray approached him, ready to swing its gorilla-like arm toward Syafiq, but he dodged and fired multiple rounds from his automatic rifle into the creature's mouth, pushing it forward."Aaaarghh!" Syafiq roared as he shoved the Stray off him and moved toward Syakir. Syakir remained calm while Syafiq, with rage on his face, advanced with a knife in his right hand and a rifle in his left."Don't think this changes anything; you're still a monster!" Rose taunted. Zaki glanced at her for a moment but ignored her words. He transformed into his monstrous form and leaped toward Lilly.Lilly's expression shifted to fear as she saw Zaki rapidly approaching her. His sharp claws tore through the leaf barrier that protected Lilly, causing her even more shock."Remember me, Lilly? You left me to die, huh? You betrayed me!" Zaki shouted with a sinister grin. A root grabbed his leg and flung him far away."You're still alive?" Lilly muttered to herself. Zaki quickly got up, grabbing an RPG from a fallen Special Force member, dodging the roots attacking him. He leaped toward Lilly again, aiming the RPG at her with a sinister smile."Goodb-"Before Zaki could fire, Danielle suddenly appeared from the sky, slamming into him and sending him crashing into one of the sniper towers."A-Arghhh!" The sniper in the tower fell along with parts of the collapsing metal structure."Are you okay, Lilly?" Danielle asked."Y-Yeah...""I'll handle him. You focus on the Special Force," Danielle replied, descending from Lilly's tree and facing Zaki, who was throwing off the fallen tower debris with a smile.Several more Special Force members appeared, focusing their attacks on Lilly's tree. One member, wearing fireproof gear, unleashed flames from a flamethrower onto the roots attacking other members of the Special Force.Rose wanted to step forward, but Shaurya grabbed her arm."Sis, we need to protect the scientists and the lab... That's our responsibility," Shaurya reminded her. Rose gritted her teeth but eventually stepped back. She held her rifle, ready to fight if they were attacked."Why are you helping humans, mutant?" Danielle asked. Zaki stepped forward, showing off his sharp claws that resembled blades."You don't need to know because I'm going to kill you," Zaki confidently replied."What a waste... At any moment, you could kill them all, but you bow to humans. Mutants like you are a disgrace." Danielle extended his left hand forward as Zaki lunged toward him, ready to strike."Chaos, Crush." A black-red aura shot out from Danielle's left hand, shattering Zaki's exoskeleton and crushing his flesh and bones, leaving him severely wounded on the ground."K-Ka...Ka-Argh..." Zaki couldn't move, blood pouring from every part of his body. With just one attack, Danielle had incapacitated Zaki completely."I'll give you time to think about this defeat... Maybe it'll make you realize how foolish your choices were." Danielle approached Zaki and kicked him back toward the pile of debris from the sniper tower, half of his body buried in the ground, hidden beneath the fallen metal."Just like that... He beat Zaki?" Rose, witnessing the fight, was utterly shocked. She recalled how powerful Zaki was, having fought HOPE members and almost won, yet Danielle had defeated him with a single blow.Danielle now faced the lab. Bella finally stood but her legs were weak. Rose aimed her rifle at Danielle, but her hands trembled. Shaurya fired first, but the bullets had no effect on Danielle."Realize how weak you all are now, humans." Danielle extended his left hand toward them. Shaurya quickly pulled Rose and Bella back.Suddenly, black rods surrounded Danielle, binding his entire body with a black fluid."Sooner than expected, HOPE," Danielle said, a small smile forming.A purple lightning bolt struck the Special Force member wielding the flamethrower before roots whipped him from behind. Kyoko gently laid the Special Force member next to the lab, glaring at Lilly.Mikael emerged from Danielle's shadow, immediately stabbing Danielle in the back with a spear that pierced through his body, the tip emerging from his stomach."Urgh!" Danielle coughed up blood, turning to look at Mikael, shocked."Your attack... managed to pierce me..." Danielle muttered."I'm your Death Reaper," Mikael responded.