As the slaughter unfolded in Joker’s mansion, Victoria, Caleb, and Charlotte looked at each other.
This seemed to be an open and close case. Joker wanted to usurp the throne, so he went after Apollo. After the poison failed, he tried to act as if nothing happened and get away with it. After he was exposed, Joker tried to kill Apollo. That failed. Joker died. The end.
But...something felt off. It was no surprise that Joker wanted Apollo dead, but why would he act now when he has remained silent and obedient for months? What changed? What prompted him to act? And after the poison failed, why didn't he just leave Camp York? Even after the vial was discovered, he could’ve stuck to his story of a frame job. Instead, he went straight to the fighting and got himself killed. Did he really think he had what it took to take on Apollo all by himself?
The other Mutants found herself with a ton of questions, and not a single answer. Distinctly, they could feel this wasn’t over. In fact, this might only be the beginning.
Suddenly, another trooper ran out to Apollo and showed him something. This made the Mutants look at each other in confusion. Once again, Apollo looked up with furious eyes. This time, he was facing Victoria.
“Is this yours?” He held his hand out. In his hand was a necklace.
Victoria frowned. This was her necklace. “My lord…”
“How did it end up in Joker’s house, on his bed?”
“My lord, I…” Victoria really didn't know what to say. “I am...I was! I was sleeping with Joker, but...but I really didn't know anything about what he was going to do!”
Even now, Victoria didn't think things would go wrong. Yes, she slept with the culprit, but so what? Everyone in Camp York knew she was a very sexually active person! She slept with everyone! Even Apollo himself!
But Apollo didn't seem to think that way.
“How come no one told me?”
“I…” Tell you? What should we tell you? What did any of this have to do with you? Was I supposed to report everyone I slept with to you? Victoria found herself stuck in silence with no idea how to answer Lord Apollo.
It was her silence that Apollo took the wrong way.
“You’re speechless? Fine! Let me do the talking! You have been conspiring with Joker all along! You hid your relationship with him from me so you could take me by surprise! You want me dead as well!”
“What?” Victoria’s mouth hung open. That level of imagination...you would've made an awesome screenwriter or something! “My lord...it’s a necklace! What type of evidence is that?”
“Then it’s a good thing I am not keen on evidence!” Apollo replied before waving for several of his guards to approach. “Escort Victoria to the dungeon! Now!”
Victoria was standing there, still trying to understand what happened. The Lord Apollo she knew wasn’t like this! Yes, he was cruel and sadistic, but he would never slay his second-in-command and cripple himself over some false evidence! Even if he was almost assassinated!
Something was seriously wrong! Apollo wasn’t being himself!
But as the guards approached with handcuffs, Victoria realized she had to stand down. The guards were nothing to her, but Apollo was just on the side. Victoria was a Tier 2 Mutant, but she was one of the weaker ones. In a fight, even Joker could probably kill her. She wouldn’t stand a chance against the Sun King himself. With that in mind, she gave up and allowed herself to be taken away.
She didn't know Apollo was almost maimed. Then again, even if she did, that wouldn’t change her decision.
Caleb and Charlotte exchanged a glance. In the course of a day, one Tier 2 Mutant was dead and another was imprisoned? Oh how fast things could change!
Apollo turned to them, suspicion in his eyes. Joker betrayed him. Victoria betrayed him. Now, who was left for him to trust?
“You don’t have anything to hide from me, do you, Caleb?”
“My lord, of course not!”
“Good. If you do, I will make sure the same thing that happened to Victoria and Joker happens to you!”
“Yes, my lord.”
Apollo tossed Charlotte a similar threatening look before departing.
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When Aryan returned to Camp York, everything had changed. After his personal troopers that stayed at Camp York informed him of what happened, Aryan went straight to see Apollo. At the very least, he had to express his opinion that he would always stand by Apollo’s side.
Even now, Aryan was still confused as to how all this happened. Joker was definitely a madman, but even madmen would choose self-preservation over near-certain death. What Joker did was...possible, but highly unlikely.
Walking into the Sun Throne, the first thing Aryan noticed was how many guards there were. Dozens and dozens of elite York Troopers locked the entire building down. Gauss Machine Guns were locked and loaded. He swore he saw an Archon I at one corner. Since when did Apollo need the protection of these mortal weapons?
Finally, in the middle of the grand hall, sitting on his throne, was Apollo himself. Caleb stood right next to him.
As soon as he saw Apollo, Aryan found himself frowning. He wasn’t as weak as Victoria. He could easily sense that Apollo didn't radiate the same level of threat as he did before. If legend was true, then taking down Joker didn't leave Apollo unscathed. That was...good to hear!
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“My lord!” As he got close to Apollo, Aryan lowered his head in obedience. A necessary act in a situation like this.
“Ahhh...Aryan!” Apollo grinned, as if he was taking a breath of relief. “I am so glad you are back. With the recent events...I just don’t know who I can trust anymore!”
Aryan frowned. Honestly, he couldn’t tell if Apollo was really distraught, or if he was just putting up an act of being weak to lure the other conspiracists into the open. He went with a safer approach.
“My lord, you saved my life more than I can count! Whatever happens, I will always stand by you!”
“Comforting words.” Apollo nodded. “Yet, I remember Joker and Victoria said the same words before to me. And now...look what they did!”
“My lord, how can I prove my loyalty?”
Apollo thought about it before making up his mind.
“Victoria is currently held prisoner in the dungeon. I want you to go there and interrogate her. Find out if she had any other allies in this foolish attempt. And when you do...terminate those allies!”
“Yes, my lord.”
Aryan nodded and accepted this mission. He had his doubts of if Victoria was truly responsible, but he knew rushing to Victoria’s defense would only doom him as well. Right now, he needed information, and hopefully, he could get that information from Victoria herself.
As Aryan left the room, Apollo suddenly scoffed. A vicious look in his eyes.
“Don’t let me down...Aryan!”
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Even as he walked across the filthy streets of Camp York, Aryan could feel his head spinning. Whether he liked to admit it or not, the situation at Camp York has taken a dive for the worse. Two of his fellow Tier 2 Mutants were dead or imprisoned. The unity between the Mutants in the camp was nowhere to be seen. It might be time for him to seek a way out.
Fortress Alpha felt like a decent option…
As he walked, groups of patrolling York Troopers saluted at him. Ordinary survivors, cold and hungry, begged him for some aid. He didn't stop for either of them.
Strangely, there wasn’t a single guard at the entrance of the dungeon. Aryan frowned once again. This was weird, but he didn't think much about it. As a Tier 2 Mutant, he wasn’t afraid of anything except for his fellow Mutants. He wasn’t John. A few grenades couldn’t kill him. Even if anything was off, he could easily fight his way out. He had his confidence.
The dungeon cells were strangely empty. There were neither prisoners in the cells, nor guards in the halls. As Aryan moved, he quietly formed a layer of ice armor across his body.
A layer of frost followed his footsteps.
Finally, Aryan reached the end of the cells. He knew where Victoria was imprisoned, in a specialized cell designed to hold Tier 2 Mutants. Just like he expected, a female figure was laying on the ground with her face down.
He couldn’t see her face, but just from her clothing, Aryan knew this was his fellow Tier 2 Mutant.
“Victoria.” Aryan started. “What happened? Were you framed?”
Victoria didn't move. Aryan frowned and repeated.
“Victoria, I am here to help you. Just tell me what happened.”
Once again, nothing.
Aryan’s expression suddenly changed as he smelled something in the air. It was...it was blood! The Tier 2 Mutant’s eyes went wide as he suddenly dashed forward. An ice blade formed in his hand and clashed with the cell door.
At first, the cell door, composed of specialized alloy, didn't budge, but soon, a layer of blue ice slowly crept over the metal. Finally, with a single tap, the frozen metal door collapsed.
Aryan charged into the cell and flipped the figure over. It was indeed Victoria, except there was a bullet hole in her forehead.
“What the…” Aryan frowned. There was no way Victoria was just killed by a bullet. The same person who probably framed her must’ve silenced her in the cell! Victoria was probably drugged or something and made defenseless, yet...who could this be the handiwork of?
Who would want to bring down every Mutant in Camp York?
Aryan didn't know the answer to that, but what he did know was he couldn’t go back to Apollo. Someone was using the Tier 3 Mutant as a weapon. To kill Joker. To capture and disable Victoria. If he wanted to find out who was responsible for all this, he had to save himself first.
He had to run.
Aryan dashed back out of the dungeon. This time, instead of going back to the Sun Throne, he went straight for the exit of Camp York. There were Apollo’s spies inside his personal guards, that he knew. Return to his mansion and he might as well be digging his own grave. He had to escape Camp York, presumably to Fortress Alpha, and then work his way back.
Once again, Aryan moved swiftly, throwing York Troopers and common survivors alike behind him. Before he reached the exit, the Mutant knocked on the door of a house. A man opened the door. When he saw Aryan, he saluted.
“Sir!”
“Get the car ready!”
“Yes sir!”
This was a secret establishment secretly held by Aryan. In the case of emergencies where he had to flee, like this one, using vehicles that belonged to Camp York obviously wasn’t the most discreet. So he bought this house and put an SUV and one of his personal guards here in case of emergencies. This house was close to one of the exits that led out of the settlement and into the wild.
The man quickly brought an SUV into the driveway. The driver jumped off and was replaced by Aryan. Before he left, Aryan turned to his bodyguard.
“Thank you for your service.”
And then he sent an ice blade flying through the loyal guard's heart.
He couldn’t risk it.
The SUV drove straight out of the driveway and cruised down the streets of Camp York. A few survivors cursed loudly as the vehicle almost ran over them, but most just kept their heads low and thanked the gods they survived. Whoever owned a car like this wasn’t someone these grassroots of the camp could risk pissing off.
The sound of engines roared across the streets. Aryan slowly took a breath of relief as he could already see the exit. As long as he escaped into the wild, even Apollo couldn’t track him down. He might lose his position in Camp York, but at least he would get out of this mess alive.
And then an Archon I smashed into his SUV from the side and knocked it off the road. The SUV slammed right into a pair of survivors, crushing both.
A flash of blue cut through the SUV, and the Archon I stumbled back. An ice dagger has pierced its way across the Power Armor’s chest, and the frost and ice were spreading across the entire armor. Finally, the Power Armor crumbled into a million pieces, along with its wearer.
By this aspect, Aryan was much stronger than Ford. Then again, when Ford was cornered by two Archon I, he was already shelled by artillery rounds and missiles and explosives for several minutes, so it wasn’t quite a fair comparison.
As the Archon I hit the ground, Aryan wasn’t relieved. Instead, he felt chills down his spine, which honestly shouldn’t be that odd given his power.
Around him, York Troopers slowly approached with their Gauss weapons raised. Out of the streets. From the houses. Defender-Is. A handful of Defender-IIs. A few York Troopers even took out grenade launchers.
Finally, a handful of York Troopers stepped to the side, revealing the menacing figure of a furious Apollo. Behind him was the last Tier 2 Mutant on his side, Caleb.
“Aryan…” The Sun King whispered. “you disappoint me…”