"Who is that?" Alison looked in the direction that Maria was pointing in and saw General Armando’s lapdog, Alpha, leading two people through the compound. The man was someone whose sense of fashion could only be called either genius or irreparable. His amalgamation of clothes matched for some reason, although the combination was so outlandish that it garnered the attention of everyone he walked past in the military compound.

Even more startling, however, was his light grey hair. If he had been older or at least showed signs of aging, that would have been a different story. As it stood, his unblemished skin marked no sign of old age, but the shadow from a fresh shave denotes the fact that he was probably in his 20s or older.

"Enough about him, who's she?" Robert chimed in, pointing to a woman behind him, who she somehow failed to notice on her first glance at the trio.

The woman wore a combination of black and white that seemed so bewitching, yet her curves were not lost to the incredible outfit, but were instead accentuated by the colors adorning her body. A pair of shades hid the eyes of her well framed face, and she clearly had a relationship with the man, who was leading her through the compound by her hand. Another nod to that were the pair of matching silver bands on their ring fingers.

Leading both of them was Alpha, a particularly troublesome agent who always wore his trademark trench coat, even if it got him into trouble because management thought he looked too suspicious. Alpha glanced over at the three of them having lunch, then placed a finger over his mouth in a silencing gesture before disappearing with the couple towards the Board of Directors' office building.

"What the fuck...?" Alison muttered before Maria slapped the back of her head. Alison shot her an angry glare but she just shot one right back.

"Watch your language Alison!"

---

"I thought we were supposed to take a left there. Did you guys move the building again?" I asked the back of the trench coat. I heard a stifled laugh which turned into a hearty snicker. One of America’s Zodiacs - Warrior’s who had been genetically modified and enhanced with animal characteristics - Alpha was usually an easygoing guy, and he put it on full display when bashing the entity he worked for.

"Yeah, after your destruction of the last one our board of directors wanted to make sure another rampage wouldn't end up destroying the new one, so we used a double reinforced foundation and completed it this past summer." He smiled to himself and continued, "You should have seen the General's face, it was priceless."

I looked back towards Dantae, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, and saw her just staring at the ground. I felt a slight tremble through the hand I held, and squeezed to show that she had my support. She looked up and gave me a weak smile before going back to inspect the stone walkway. I leaned in close to her ears and whispered, "Is it an overdose again?" She blushed and nodded slightly. Well damn, it looks like I'll have to take care of her when we get back to the hotel.

I turned my attention back to Alpha and struck up a conversation once again. "So... who were those three who were staring earlier?" Alpha stopped walking, and stood in place for a full minute before continuing to walk again.

"Who? I didn't see anybody?" I felt my forehead throb while recollecting the gesture he made towards the three. There's no way it isn't nothing.

This time, I decided it was my turn to stop, and took a detour over to a set of stairs by the road. I sat with Dantae to my left, never letting go of her hand. "Want to have the directors come here, or have me go to the building? The choice is yours Alpha."

“Come on kid, don’t be like that. Why don’t you tell me about your married life instead?” He gave me a smile, but I had no time for anyone other than Dantae and gave him a bored look. The shady man sighed and shrugged in his oversized black trench coat before taking a seat to my right. "Okay kid, you got me. Ask away."

I looked him straight in the eyes and asked, "Were those kids from Project Gemini? Has the research lab not learned anything since my creation?" Alpha stifled a laugh before answering.

"Heaven forbid, I think they learned their lesson the first time last year. No, they were regularly processed recruits, not clones created by us. You know, I’ll never understand Armando’s fascination with that DNA cloning of his." I took the information and processed it for a few moments before coming to a conclusion.

"Would there really be people willing to take that DNA-altering serum after what was publicized about it last year?" Alpha shook his head at my conjecture before elaborating.

"You underestimate the hate that humanity has for the Dimension Eaters. Whatever they are, they're hated. After taking people and historical locations into that pocket dimension of theirs, they’ve left scars on this planet and its inhabitants, and those won't soon fade." Alpha's face adopted a rare solemn look, before returning to his cheshire cat default. "Of course, to someone like you who doesn't know what hate is it would just seem irrational." I looked up at the bleak skyline, trying to collect my thoughts. I have felt hatred, that pitch black emotion that dyes every one of your thoughts and actions in an irreparable murk. But he doesn't have to know that, The less they know about me, the better.

"Anyway," he continued, "that's where the recruits come in! We managed to stabilize the serum administered to you last year by diluting it with samples of your blood during the compounding process! As such, we can give them the proper dosage without the negative side effects you experienced." Alpha managed to end sounding happy, clapping twice to draw my attention back from my thoughts.

"That's all you're getting from me though. The next person to answer your questions will be the General." Sitting up, he dusted off the back of his pants and pointed across from the stairs. "We're here already anyway, you might as well just finish up in there."

I shrugged and stood stood up but felt immediate resistance. Dantae was sat on the stairs, a blank expression on her flushed face. I grabbed her by her collar and gently lifted her up, causing her to regain consciousness.

"Endure it just a bit more Dantae, otherwise I'll have to punish you." Her body shook and she leaned in so we could share a kiss, which elicited a well-timed cough from Alpha.

"Get a room you two, we have business to attend to, so if you could?" I noted in my mind how this was all his fault for rushing us out of Boston without relieving Dantae of her photon overdose, but I held back and walked with Dantae in tow towards the pitch-black building in front of us.