A group of 5 men were putting on hazmat suits in HEX's dressing room.
These hazmat suits were much different from before, these were completely immune to any amount of radiation.
The suits even had built-in dosimeters.
One of the men clicked on the device strapped on his wrist, making a holographic screen pop up.
"This is where we're supposed to go?" The man said.
"Yeah. Knox and Nixon poisoned a man named John with high doses of radiation. Our job is to just check if he's dead or not." Another man said.
"John?" A man was intrigued. "Wasn't he the guy who was a research executive?"
"Yep. And the guy who also betrayed us."
"Yeah, I know that. I just forgot it was John."
---
The 5 men eventually made it to the location.
And immediately, they found a massive crater that was still burning.
The dosimeters clicked rapidly and loudly.
One of the men checked it, "5,000 roentgens..."
Another man stepped up, examining it. "This shouldn't be possible. The Maidens used the Harrow Core, not some kind of explosion."
A man's eyes widened in realization, "I understand."
They all looked at him.
"This was dispersed. The most logical theory that I have—and it's probably right—is that instead of John's body fighting against the radiation, it dispersed it out of his body. Which caused this explosion."
"Dispersed? But that doesn't make sense, comrade."
"For John it does." The man sighed as he examined it even more. "Sovereign said it himself; John is extraordinary, he's not like anyone else. He's taken Composite X and still had his powers."
"How does he disperse it, though?"
"He probably did it subconsciously." He stood up. "The human body itself is already extraordinary. You give someone some regular poison and after a few minutes they'll vomit it out. That's basically the same thing that happened to John."
"Right, that makes a lot of sense now." Another man said. "He was poisoned with 20,000 roentgens, correct? That means that this has happened more than once."
They continued exploring and found another crater, this one seemed even bigger.
"This one's 7,000 roentgens."
They suddenly heard a voice that was gasping and gurgling. The sound sent shivers down their spine. They could also hear wet splats.
They went to the source of the sound and found John, completely destroyed.
"I can never get used to it no matter how many times I see it..."
John's face looked like a zombie. The skin on his face was melted. All the skin on his body was slowly melting away like ice cream. He could barely even breath.
"I'm supposed to hate you, but seeing you in this condition? It just feels wrong." A man shook his head.
"Tell us, John. Do you want us to end your suffering?"
John suddenly vomited violently before his chest began glowing again.
His screams were weak yet felt loud.
"Everyone get the fuck out of here!"
The light illuminated the entire tunnel, blinding the men. Yet they all kept flying blindly.
A massive beam exploded out of John's, consuming the entire tunnel as it headed towards the men.
This beam was the most violent of them all.
All 5 of them slowly woke up from being unconscious.
"Go. Go now, comrade! Inform Sovereign about this!"
He looked at them frantically, "What do you mean?! You're all coming as well!"
As the dust settled, the man saw all of his comrades suits burned off.
"It's already too late for us, comrade." The man showd him the dosimeter, "8,000 roentgens. We'll be dead in less than a minute."
They all pulled out a gun, "It'd be better off for us to die a quick death rather than suffering like John... So go, finish the job for us, Max."
Max knew it was too late. He nodded and immediately left, holding back tears.
---
Back at the base, distant explosions rumbled through the air.
"Are we seriously not going to talk about whatever the hell that is?" Mitch snapped. "That's the third one!"
"Trust me, we all want to know," Alfie Sr. said calmly. "But we're better off ignoring it."
"What if they're bombing us?"
"Exactly. Which is why we stay put."
Mitch groaned and dropped it.
Hannah paced restlessly. Emma watched her but said nothing—there was no news worth sharing.
Nearby, Aya let out a frustrated growl. "Why don't I care?!"
She hated herself for it, but her heart refused to feel anything for John.
Benjamin appeared beside her. "We're all fighting our own battles, lass."
Aya looked up at him. "Can I be honest, Ben?"
"Go on."
"I… wouldn't care if John died. And I hate myself for that. I used to love him, but after he was captured… he never even spoke to me. We were never really close. He saved us so many times, but I still can't find a reason to make myself feel anything."
Benjamin gave her a small, understanding smile. "There's your reason right there."
He patted her back gently. "I could be honest as well, but I'm not trying to break your heart."
Aya looked at him, startled.
"It's not because of you, Aya."
She exhaled shakily. "I just see him as… a shield. This invincible thing standing in front of us. And I feel like shit for thinking that."
Benjamin shrugged. "You don't have to care about him like a person if that's not what you feel. You can care about anything. Hell, I care about me morning coffee. If John's just a shield to you, then accept it. That's nature."
He gave her knee a gentle pat and walked away.
---
Max burst into Sovereign's quarters, still breathing hard.
Sovereign waited, expression unreadable.
"John's in critical condition," Max said quickly, "but he'll recover in less than a week."
Sovereign's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"We found craters everywhere—massive, still burning. The radiation… it came from him. I saw it. His chest started glowing and—" Max swallowed hard, stuttering uncontrollably. "I told the others to run, but…"
"Take a breath, boy." Sovereign placed a hand on Max's shoulder.
Max steadied himself and continued.
"His face was melted. Skin sliding off his body like wax. It was horrific. Seconds later, his chest lit up and the beam came. When I woke up, my team… they were exposed. Eight thousand roentgens. They chose a quick death."
Sovereign was quiet for a moment, then let out a low, almost impressed chuckle.
"Of course he dispersed it." A faint smile touched his lips. "John Harper… you never stop surprising me."
---
Knox and Nixon had ordered Duncan to listen in on Max's report. Now, they waited.
Suddenly, Knox's phone rang.
Duncan.
Knox answered immediately.
"John is alive."