"You have my sympathy, Zax, this is a pretty rough first Mission," Remarked Kumar, patting my shoulder as we got ready to leave, "Well, not that you look particularly nervous or anything."

"Well, there's no point in being nervous, that'd only make me do worse," I replied with a shrug.

​​

That wasn't totally true though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit nervous. I mean, how could I not be, right? It was 5 AM on the 4th of August, 2116, and I was currently in one of the underground bunkers, waiting for us to start heading out towards the Wight campsite. Some of the other X-Warriors were setting up Teleportation platforms outside so that they could teleport the vehicles we were going to be using.

There were the several large bus-like vehicles that were heavily fortified and could hold upto fifty people each, along with jets that could carry ten people each. Ten buses and five jets, for a total of somewhere between five hundred and five hundred and fifty X-Warriors. Those with mid or close-range X-Abilities were given XFE guns, while those who had both long-range attacks and the ability to fly made up those that would be in the jets.

Kumar was also going to be in a jet, as was I. I'd be using the drone-jetpack and my own custom weapons to lead the aerial assault, which my sister was also going to be a part of. Kumar was included so that he could skydive towards the campsite while forming his Primary Manifestation and then stomp around, after we wipe out as many of them as possible with long-ranged attacks, both from above and below.

Kumar entering the fray would be the cue for the X-Warriors to cease their long-ranged assault and attack the remaining Wights up close. I was then to stay up in the air and make sure that the jets weren't attacked, along with the rest of aerial troops, as well as to back up those on the ground where possible.

I hadn't made any changes to my X-Blasters, they were more or less perfect as far as I was concerned anyway. My Barrier Bracelets had been upgraded so that the barrier would be stronger, while my Square Blaster was also unchanged. My glasses' lens had been upgraded too, it even had night vision now...which was crucial, since we'd likely arrive at and attack the campsite when it's dark.

My most significant upgrades were to my X-Blades, Ruby had adjusted the handles so that they could be combined and connected like puzzle pieces, which would change the size and shape of the manifested blade, depending on how I link the handles. There weren't any other Anomalies who were going to be a part of this Mission, because they were rare and therefore valuable, so I was free to use my X-Abilities if need be.

Oh, and I'd been working on flying using the drone-jetpack thingy, and I'd tried using Pause while in midair, and...it worked, I didn't fall or anything, but I couldn't fly around while time was frozen, I could move my limbs and body just fine, but only in the same spot where I activated Pause, I was just kinda suspended in mid-air.

I'll have to be careful about using Pause, I shouldn't be too hasty with it. But I don't need to worry about that now, I still have plenty of time before we get there.

Speaking of which, looks like it was time to leave now. I headed up the elevator platform to the opening leading to the outside, along with the other X-Warriors that were in the underground bunker that I was in. I had received a message on my I-Watch, detailing my role and which vehicle I'd be in, which was one of the jets.

"Hey, Zax, which one are you in?" Greeted Kilella, as we reached the surface.

The jets were labeled from A to E.

"B, according to this," I replied, showing her my holoscreen.

"Aw, too bad, I'm in A," She sighed with a look of disappointment, before glancing at Kumar, "What about you?"

"C."

Great, that means that I'll be stuck with a bunch of strangers. Well, whatever, this isn't exactly a field trip or something, so I'll just have to deal with it.

"Alright, looks like we're ready to head out. Here I go," Sighed Kumar, picking up a loudspeaker and heading for the front.

Director Silva or any of the other officials weren't going to be tagging along, since they aren't Paragons and wouldn't be able to survive the radiation for long. And so, Kumar had been put in charge of this Mission. There were four other Aces on this Mission besides him and my sister, wonder why the Director didn't opt for one of the more experienced Aces to lead.

"Hey, sis, how much do you bet that he'll activate his Primary Manifestation now, so that he'll be taller than everyone else?" I inquired with a smirk, as he climbed onto one of the buses.

"Well...I don't think he'll do it here, I mean, this is a serious Mission, so-."

"!"

"...you were saying?" I remarked with a slight smile, nudging her.

"...I stand corrected. That overly self-conscious idiot..."

This should be entertaining, if nothing else...

"Ahem...alright, listen up, everyone! HQ sent all of you the precise details of what your role will be in this attack, follow that to the letter!" He exclaimed into the loudspeaker, as he towered over everyone with his Manifestation at full height, "Keep this in mind, we're outnumbered pretty much twenty to one, so if we fail to execute the plan, we're screwed! That's all I have to say, and I won't take any questions...now, then, let's move out!"

Huh, that actually wasn't too bad...

"I thought he'd be more...well, I don't really know how to put it, but I wasn't expecting him to be so sensible, if not a little blunt," Said Kilella with a laugh.

"Same, definitely surprised me too."

Anyway, not long after that, we began to depart. It was actually kinda surreal, considering the fact that this was the first time I was flying in an aircraft...pretty sure that applies to everyone else here as well. But while the experience of flying in an aircraft for the first time was indeed a pleasant one, the same couldn't be said of the experience of flying with nine other people who were all glaring at me.

After the whole framing incident went public, I had less unpleasant encounters with other X-Warriors, but the dirty looks remained, if anything, they've gotten even worse for some reason...talk about petty, even on what was arguably the most important X-Warrior Mission yet, they couldn't set aside their dislike against me...it's kinda sad honestly, grown adults acting this way.

"Hey, you, student...you'd better wipe that look off your face, you think you're better than us, don't you?" Remarked one of them, walking over to me.

Do I really have to put up with this shit...

"I don't know, you tell me...I mean, you're a full-fledged X-Warrior trying to intimidate a student, and yeah...I'd say I'm better than that, at the very least," I replied with a sigh, before looking up to see a fierce glare directed at me, "Huh, you look kinda familiar..."

Ohh, if I'm not mistaken, she's another Ace...if I remember right, her name's Zarina Serik, she was one of the few X-Warriors to have undergone the Awakening Procedure before the X-Warrior Zone was built, and the only Ace with that distinction...in other words, she was the oldest of the Aces, at thirty-three years old.

She was of the generation in which possessing XFE was about fifty-fifty...Director Silva was about the same age, but she wasn't even a Paragon at all, she didn't have any XFE in her, and thus didn't have the heightened resistance to radiation, which was why she wasn't a part of this Mission.

"What did you say to me!?" She growled threateningly, grabbing my collar.

"Hey, here's a fun fact for ya...people with fewer braincells are more likely to turn to violence, because, you know...they're not smart enough to use their words. Mind letting go?" I inquired, remaining calm and unflinching.

I've been dealing with people who look down on me pretty much all my life, and she's no different...

"You think you can tell me what to do!? I'm the most experienced of the Aces, you're just a student, and a Dud, at that!" She sneered spitefully.

"Indeed I am, do you have a problem with that? Well, oldest of the Aces?"

"Why you little-...!" She snarled, as some of the others chuckled quietly.

She was known as someone who was hard to get along with, because of her attitude. I can see clearly now that that's no exaggeration, she's pretty awful. I bet the other eight X-Warriors in here are loving this...a clash between two of the least popular people among all X-Warriors right now. This is gonna be a long, annoying flight...

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