"I have the perfect place," Doctor Laos said with a calculating smile. "Since these children are orphans, we can start with the orphanages. What was the name of the one Aiden and his group came from? Ah, yes... the Order of the Sun."
Zeus nodded in satisfaction.
"Excellent. That way, no one would suspect a thing. Who's going to stand up for a bunch of orphans?" he added with disdain. "You're a genius."
He rose from his seat, his tone firm as he continued.
"I'll send my men to work while you, with Lady's team, prepare this place for large-scale Metalux production."
Doctor Laos frowned, intrigued.
"And how do you plan to do that, boss?"
Zeus flashed a malicious grin and replied casually,
"If things go smoothly, I'll have them adopted. But if it takes too long... I'll have to use plan B."
His eyes gleamed with a sinister light before he turned and left.
Richard, the doctor, wasted no time contacting Lady to coordinate the restructuring of the facility. They needed to adapt it for simultaneous use by more people. Meanwhile, Doctor Swang, accompanied by several assistants, oversees the transfer of the children to special cells designed specifically to contain individuals with abilities.
"Make sure to tie up the long-haired brat. I don't want him opening a portal to escape," she ordered coldly.
The assistants nodded and moved swiftly.
"I'll be back shortly. I want to see what powers the other three have developed," she added before walking away.
Zeus reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleek black holographic watch, a more advanced model designed by Lady. Activating the device, he contacted his team. A helmeted man appeared in the projection, snapping to attention immediately.
"I want everyone in my briefing room in fifteen minutes," Zeus commanded.
"At once, sir," the man replied firmly.
Fifteen minutes later, the room remained in darkness. A sharp knock on the door broke the silence. Seated in a grand chair that resembled a throne more than anything else, Zeus gave permission to enter.
The doors swung open, and the room lit up, revealing a vast hall capable of holding a hundred people. A group of men, all dressed in uniforms similar to those of special forces, their eyes concealed behind helmets with tinted visors, entered in formation and bowed.
"Enough with the formalities," Zeus said with disdain. "It's time for you to do something big for me, as you always have."
One of the soldiers, who appeared to be the team leader, stepped forward. His voice was deep and seasoned.
"Are you referring to acquiring more test subjects, sir?"
"That's right," Zeus confirmed.
The soldier hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"Sir, the situation has become complicated. Finding specimens on the streets—both children and animals—has become difficult. People are starting to notice the disappearances."
Before Zeus could respond, another soldier cut in with an authoritative tone.
"Silence, soldier! You are in the presence of our Lord," he warned.
Unlike the others, this man bore an insignia on his shoulder, marking his superior rank. Zeus observed him with interest before shifting his attention to a younger soldier, one with a noticeably different build.
"And who are you?"
The young man hesitated, feeling the weight of Zeus's gaze.
"I... I'm Lieutenant Fernandez, sir."
"So, Lieutenant Fernandez..." Zeus smiled wisely. "You're right, but as it happens, we're in luck. What happened at the Milan facility has been forgotten, thanks to a charitable hand."
He chuckled, knowing full well that they were the very ones responsible for it.
"Now, we'll do something more subtle... and perhaps even easier. You will go to orphanages all over the world and adopt children up to seventeen years old, just as you've always done. I don't want animals anymore. I want humans. Understood?"
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Fernandez swallowed hard before daring to ask,
"And what if the paperwork takes too long, or they refuse to hand it over?"
Zeus tilted his head slightly, his smile widening with amusement.
"Good question, soldier. If they don't cooperate... you'll apply option B. You know what that means, don't you, General Ube?"
The general gave a single nod. No words were needed.
"Ah, before you go..." Zeus activated his holographic watch. "I want you to start here. The Order of the Sun. You'll find the coordinates on your communicator wristbands."
The team acknowledged the order, fully understanding their mission.
"Everyone may leave except you, Fernandez." Uve exited, not without patting him on the shoulder, hinting at good luck.
Everyone left, and Zeus descended from where he was to tell him, "It's good that you take the initiative and care about the quest, but I demand respect as your ultimate authority." He delivered a strong punch to the face, causing the lieutenant to fall instantly. "Interrupt me or contradict my decisions again, and nothing will be left of you. Serve me, and I will make you shine. I only ask for zero failures, understood?" Fernandez rose from the ground, regaining his breath, and said, "Yes, sir," with a bit of blood in his mouth. "Good soldier, fulfill your quest and leave at once."
The lieutenant left, not without thinking about how strong that person was. "I thought he was only feared for his way of speaking and his power as the head of the entire company, but I saw that he saw strong, that guy who knocked me down with a single blow. Who is this guy?" he wondered, adding this while thinking about everything in his mind.
Once the soldiers were gathered, General Uve indicated to his lieutenant, "You see, I told you not to question or interrupt him. Mr. Zeus is a dangerous person. I only follow his orders without hesitation, even if I think it's wrong. I only do it for the money. Besides, you don't know what he is capable of just by interrupting him. Look how he left the side of your face. Don't do that again; ask for permission first," Uve added. "Yes, I know; now it is clearer to me who we work for, sir," Fernández replied, still pained by the blow.
"Well, it's time for everyone to dress as civilians and go after them." Quickly, everyone changed their military uniforms for civilian clothes. They use a kind of pill, a technology created by Lady to modify their faces and not be recognized in case the quest fails, and if captured, they will not be identified and lead the trail to Zeus. General Uve, an elderly man who served Zeus, revealed his worn face with his gray mustache and short hair glued to the sides and a gradient in the center of gray while the sides were still black. And Lieutenant Fernández with blond hair in the center and black on the sides, with his blue eyes and his face swollen from Zeus's blow. They took the pills that made them change their faces.
All the soldiers, more than a thousand it seemed, boarded different ships and set off towards the places marked on the map. Fernández was assigned to go to the orphanage where Aiden and his friends came from. "Great, I have to go to a small town in Austria," he said as the ship took off with the course plotted.
In the laboratory, Richard Laos indicated everything that Lady had to do. She indicated that she would make the changes as soon as possible. The doctor said "excellent," not without telling her that he had to do some things so that he would be right back. He went out alone outside the laboratory, looked to see if anyone could follow him, and seeing no one, he pressed a hidden button on the wall, and a door opened. He entered, and it led him to a kind of small room, and there was a kind of altar where he placed the black stone that he took from Urion's lair. "I will keep you here until I know what to do with you; you will be the key to creating better things that my father did and that I may be able to create to implant in an adult, but I will be cautious until it works. Soon I will be a powerful being," and he laughed fiendishly.