Journal entry #5:

It’s been months since we last had contact with Exodus. After he teleported us to New York, we began traveling together. With him, Ferrum stood no chance. We effortlessly cut through everything they threw at us. He even helped us master our powers to a higher level. He taught me to be ruthless and use my rage to fuel my powers. In our travels together, problems occurred. His mental state began to deteriorate as he would have random outbursts and even talk to people who aren’t actually there. One day, he just snapped. He started killing everyone we came across. He even wiped out an entire assembly of soldiers. We didn’t like them, but we weren’t into the killing business. I tried talking to him, but it ended up turning into a full out brawl. Unfortunately for us, we stood no chance. He took us out as if we were flies. I didn’t know why he didn’t finish us off when he did, but I was grateful. We decided to continue our mission while searching for Exodus. We knew he was dangerous, but he was a mutant just like us.

“Still making that audio journal are we?” Drake asks.

“Yeah, I want to document our journey. Who knows, we might become famous.”

The thought of becoming famous excited me, but I knew we would have to strike Ferrum hard if we were going to make a difference.

“Famous, huh? I like the sound of that. So, we’ve been inactive for a few months now. Living here is kind of a nice break, but when is the X-Faction going to make its triumphant return? We going for a big fish, or just another factory again.” He said.

“I’ve been planning something big. We need to hit them back hard so they know we mean business.”

“So Chasey’s finally ready to smash some iron skulls?” Alyssa asked as she walked into the room, accompanied by Lily.

Drake quickly turned his point of interest away from me and on to them. “Hey, girls. Where’s Tank?”

“Tanks still at work. Not easy being a soldier with all these riots going on.” Alyssa said.

I diverted my attention to Lily. We knew her for a few months, but we didn’t know much about her. She was a quiet girl who usually kept to herself. Although she hasn’t been with us for a long time, we all got along very well. I still wondered why we found her in that tube. We assumed Ferrum was just performing tests, but it all seemed a bit shady.

“So, when are we going?” Lily asked as our eyes met.

“Well, we should probably go soon. Our best chance of attack is when Tank's on duty; that way he can take the soldiers by surprise. From there, we'll move on to the broadcasting station.”

“We're actually going through with this?” Drake asked.

“It seems like a suicide mission, I know, but Ferrum has to know who they're dealing with. They have to know mutants haven't given up yet. They have to fear us.”

We prepared our equipment and went over the plan one last time. When we were all ready, we left our apartment and headed for the center of the city. It felt weird using public transportation in our battle attires, but they were pretty normal, so no one paid any attention to us. When we reach the core of the city, the riots began. People were yelling and fighting. The soldiers were trying to keep order, but it looked like the riot would last a while. It was the perfect cover for our assault. We snuck past the soldiers and made our way to the broadcasting building. Before we could get near it, we were spotted.

“Don't make a move!” A soldier yelled.

“Let me do the talking” Drake said. “Is there a problem, my good sir?”

The second he opened his mouth, I knew we were done for.

“Are you authorized to be here? Please show your identification cards.”

“Bro, come on. You know me, I'm good.” Drake said.

“Identification card.”

“Fine, here.” He says as he hands the soldier his card.

“Okay, this is fine. You're still not authorized to be here. What's your purpose here?”

“Well, you see, me and my group here, we're actually performing a song for the music program. We're a band. We go by 'Viva la Drake'?” Drake blurted.

“Right, okay then. And what's in the bags?”

“Our instruments of course!”

“By instruments, you mean weapons” I muttered.

“Very well, you can go in.”

“Really? I mean, of course. Thank you, my good sir.” Drake said.

Just as we headed to the door, Drake mumbled, “Viva la Drake. What a starking moron.”

“So close.” Alyssa said.

“What did you say? Don't take another step.” The soldier yelled as he aimed his weapon at us.

I figured we should have made a run for it, but his reinforcements decided to show up. We immediately went for our weapons then jumped into battle. With our new abilities, we finished the job fairly easily. All went well until a mysterious man showed up. I could tell he was an iron soldier, but his armor was different. Instead a full suit, he only had armor up to his elbow on his arm, up to his knees on his legs, and a chest-plate.

“Greetings, I'm commander Gray. Are you guys by any chance, mutants?” The man asked.

“So what if we are?” I asked.

“Ah, I see. You guys seem so strong, it's a shame I'll have to kill you.”

“Kill us? Did you miss what we did to your soldiers?” Drake asked.

“Those guys? Yes, I ordered not to kill you guys. I feel selfish, but I saved that pleasure for myself.”

“Does he really think he can take all of us?” Alyssa asked.

“Who knows. He has a lot of weak points, so this shouldn't be too hard. I'm just wondering why he's wearing just compromising armor.” I said.

“You guys must be wondering about my armor. This is the new model. You see, it gives us the flexibility we need while also giving us the power that comes with the suits. It's for more skilled fighters like myself. I've been dying to test it on a real opponent for a while now. Now, will we get on with the fight? I'd hate to stand here all day.”

We didn't have any choice but to fight. I tried analyzing his armor as much as I could, but I couldn't figure out what made the weapons any different than the other soldiers.

“Here's the plan. Assuming he can fly, Lily, I need you to keep him down using your telekinesis. If gets up in the air, this will be difficult. Drake, you stay with Lily. Alyssa, you're with me. On the count of three, we rush him by surprise. One... two.... THREE!” I yelled as we jumped into action.

Drake and Lily took one side while me and Alyssa took the other. Gray didn't move an inch so far. I assumed he was waiting for us to attack first, which gave me the advantage since he doesn't know about our powers. I began charging a large amount of electricity while Alyssa grabbed me and teleported us right next to Gray. Just as I could make my first strike, a sudden pain shot up and down my arm.

“Did you really think that would work?” He asked.

In an instant, he shattered my collarbone.