The door opened another inch.
Nobody moved.
Elias stood between the doorway and the boys.
His eyes were fixed on the darkness beyond it.
"Kane. Kade. Kian."
The brothers looked at him.
"Stay behind me."
Kade swallowed.
"That's becoming your favorite sentence."
Elias almost smiled.
"Then listen to it."
The door opened wider.
Nothing stood outside.
Just an empty corridor.
Adrian raised his weapon.
"Where is it?"
Elias didn't answer.
He was staring at the floor.
There were wet footprints.
Small ones.
Bare feet.
They began at the doorway and continued down the corridor.
Kian noticed them.
"They're going away."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
Kade looked confused.
"Shouldn't we be happy about that?"
"No."
Elias's answer came immediately.
"It wants us to follow."
Adrian stepped beside him.
"Then we don't."
A child's voice came from the corridor.
"Daddy?"
Elias closed his eyes.
Mara watched him carefully.
"You know that voice."
Elias opened his eyes.
"I know the voice."
"Whose is it?"
He didn't answer.
Kane stepped forward.
"Dad."
Elias looked at him.
"What?"
"Tell us the truth."
Elias stared at his oldest son.
Kane didn't look frightened anymore.
He looked angry.
"You know what's happening."
Elias nodded.
"Some of it."
"Then tell us."
Elias looked toward the corridor.
"There were three children."
Kade frowned.
"You already said that."
"No."
Elias's voice became quieter.
"I said there were supposed to be three."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"What are you saying?"
Elias walked toward the control panel.
"Before you were born, the people running this facility discovered that certain mutant abilities could appear together."
He brought up another recording.
A series of medical scans appeared.
Three patterns.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
"They believed these patterns could be reproduced."
Mara stepped closer.
"And they tried?"
"Yes."
"On children?"
Elias didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Mara's face tightened.
Kade looked at the screen.
"Were we made here?"
"No."
Elias turned toward them.
"You were born naturally."
Kane watched him.
"But they knew about us."
"Yes."
"How?"
Elias hesitated.
"Because of me."
The room went quiet.
Adrian stared at him.
"You told them?"
"No."
"Then how?"
Elias looked at Mara.
She understood before anyone else.
"They had records of you."
Elias nodded.
"When I was investigating the facility, I discovered they had been monitoring my bloodline."
Kian looked confused.
"Bloodline?"
"Our family."
Kade looked at Kane.
"So we're special because of Dad?"
Elias shook his head.
"Not special."
He looked at all three.
"Different."
A crash sounded from somewhere down the corridor.
Everyone turned.
The child's voice came again.
"Daddy…"
This time, it sounded closer.
Elias's face changed.
"Stay here."
Kane stepped forward.
"No."
Elias stopped.
"What?"
"We're coming."
"You don't understand."
Kane's voice was firm.
"You keep telling us to stay behind you, but you haven't told us what we're running from."
Elias looked at his son.
For a moment, he seemed to see himself at that age.
Then he nodded.
"Fine."
Adrian looked at him.
"You're taking them?"
"They deserve to know."
Mara stepped beside them.
"Then I'm coming too."
Elias nodded.
They entered the corridor.
The footprints continued ahead.
Small.
Bare.
Fresh.
Kade stared at them.
"Whoever made these is about our size."
Elias didn't answer.
Kian touched the wall.
His fingers suddenly became faint.
He pulled them back.
"What?"
Adrian noticed.
"What happened?"
Kian shook his head.
"The wall feels strange."
Elias looked at him.
"Don't touch it again."
Kian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because this place responds to certain abilities."
Kian looked down at his hand.
"So it knows I'm here?"
Elias nodded.
"It knows all three of you are here."
They continued.
The corridor ended at a large circular room.
In the center stood a glass chamber.
Empty.
Its door was open.
Kade stared.
"Was someone inside?"
Elias didn't answer.
Kane noticed something written on the chamber.
SUBJECT 04
Kane's stomach tightened.
"Fourth."
Elias nodded.
Kade stepped closer.
"What happened to Subject 04?"
Elias stared at the empty chamber.
"We don't know."
Adrian frowned.
"You said there were three."
"There were three successful subjects."
Elias pointed toward the chamber.
"This was different."
"How?"
"They couldn't control it."
Mara looked at the empty chamber.
"What ability?"
Elias shook his head.
"We never found out."
A soft laugh came from behind them.
Everyone turned.
The stranger from earlier stood at the entrance.
His weapon was lowered.
He looked exhausted.
"You found the chamber."
Elias stepped forward.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you."
Adrian aimed his weapon.
"Who is Subject 04?"
The man looked at Elias.
"You never told them?"
Elias's expression hardened.
"Don't."
The stranger smiled.
"Why not?"
He looked at the brothers.
"They deserve to know."
Elias moved toward him.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
"I understand perfectly."
"No."
Elias's voice became sharp.
"You only know what they told you."
The stranger's smile disappeared.
"And you know what they showed you."
Silence.
The stranger looked at the brothers.
"Your father didn't discover this place alone."
Kane asked:
"Who helped him?"
The stranger looked toward Adrian.
"Your father's closest friend."
Adrian's expression changed.
Elias stared at him.
"No."
The stranger nodded.
"Yes."
Kade looked confused.
"Who?"
The stranger pointed toward Adrian.
"Adrian Vale."
Mara looked at Adrian.
Adrian didn't speak.
Kade's eyes widened.
"You knew about this?"
Adrian lowered his weapon.
"I knew about the facility."
Kane's voice became colder.
"How much?"
Adrian looked at Elias.
Elias didn't answer for him.
Adrian finally said:
"Enough to know your father was trying to destroy it."
Kane stepped closer.
"And did you help him?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you bring us here?"
Adrian looked genuinely shaken.
"I didn't know this place was still active."
The stranger laughed bitterly.
"None of us did."
A sound came from the empty chamber.
Everyone turned.
The glass began to fog from the inside.
Slowly.
A small handprint appeared.
On the inside of the glass.
Kade stepped backward.
"But there's nobody there."
Another handprint appeared.
Then another.
The stranger's face went pale.
Elias whispered:
"No."
The glass cleared.
A small figure stood inside.
A boy.
He looked about six years old.
His clothes were old.
His hair was messy.
And his eyes were completely black.
Kian stared at him.
The boy stared back.
Then he smiled.
Not at all three of them.
Only at Kian.
"Kian."
Kian froze.
"How do you know my name?"
The boy placed his hand against the glass.
"I've been waiting for you."
Elias rushed forward.
"Don't listen to him!"
The boy's smile disappeared.
He looked at Elias.
"You left me."
Elias stopped.
"I tried to save you."
"You promised."
The chamber began to shake.
The boy's eyes changed.
For one second, they became green.
Exactly like Kian's.
Kian stepped closer without realizing it.
Elias grabbed him.
"No!"
Kian struggled.
"Dad!"
"Don't go near him!"
The boy suddenly screamed.
Every light in the facility exploded.
Glass shattered.
The floor split beneath them.
Mara fell.
Kade grabbed her hand.
Kane grabbed Kade.
Adrian grabbed Elias.
And the boy disappeared.
Silence.
Then Kian whispered:
"He's gone."
Elias looked around frantically.
"No."
Adrian asked:
"What?"
Elias stared at the broken chamber.
"He didn't disappear."
A cold breath touched Kian's neck.
Kian slowly turned.
The boy was standing directly behind him.
Smiling.
And this time, nobody else could see him.
The boy leaned close to Kian's ear.
"Your brothers don't know yet."
Kian's eyes widened.
"Know what?"
The boy whispered:
"You're not the youngest."