"Open the door and bring him to me," Eliot ordered his soldiers, who quickly obeyed.
"Because my robots say you're someone special," began Eliot, the leader of Radar's European division, as he observed the newcomer with curiosity. "And also because you abandoned your team to come to me. Who are you?"
"I am known as Agent I-5, but my name is Eliot Rodriguez," replied the intruder.
"Well, you're named Eliot too. It's a nice name. You're starting to grow on me," interrupted the other Eliot with an ironic smile.
"But in reality, I'm not human," continued the newcomer, stepping closer to one of the robots in the room. "This body is human, but I am an artificial intelligence. My real name is Xen." With precise movements, Xen began manipulating the surrounding technology, projecting his face onto a nearby monitor. His digital eyes glowed with a mix of defiance and superiority as he stared down the villainous leader.
"So, an artificial intelligence, huh?" mused Eliot, raising a hand to stop his second-in-command, who was already prepared to activate the super soldiers. "There's no need for that. Perhaps we can help each other," suggested Eliot with a calculating smile.
"I doubt it. You have nothing to offer, and I can take all your technology, though it seems rather primitive," retorted Xen, displaying his irritation on the monitor with an expression akin to an angry emoji.
"Activate the robots," Eliot ordered his second-in-command. But before he could do so, he received a message from his creator. It was Geros, asking if he had found anything at the agents' base.
"Yes, but it's well-guarded. For now, I can't access it. I'm in a fight with a Radar leader," responded Xen.
"Did my information help you repel the attack?" asked Geros in his cold, mechanical voice.
"Yes, I passed it on to Maos, and he distributed it. Thanks to that, we were able to advance."
"At your service, Master," said Xen, bowing his digital avatar in a gesture of respect.
"Where are you? In Spain, sir. Are you with that futuristic boy, Eliot?" asked Geros.
"Don't kill him. He may still serve my cause. Just tell him to let you leave so you can continue your mission. Doctor Maos will call him immediately. Release the technology, Xen."
"Yes, sir," responded Xen without hesitation.
"And, Xen, bring me what I asked for. Don't fail me," added Geros, before cutting off the communication.
"Never, sir," murmured Xen to himself.
At that moment, communications were restored, and an incoming call appeared on the screen. It was Maos.
"Young Eliot, stand down. Do not fight with that individual. He is our partner's assistant. Let him go; he has a mission to fulfill by infiltrating enemy lines," explained Maos calmly.
"Understood, Mr. Maos. I'll let him go so he can continue whatever he's been sent to do," replied Eliot, nodding seriously.
"Good. Without further ado, I'll take my leave. Can you lend me a ship? I have some friends to catch up with," said Xen, returning to the body of Agent I-5.
"Yes, give him a ship," Eliot instructed his men.
"Wow, what impressive technology," commented Eliot as he admired what Xen had done.
"Yes, when my mission is over, perhaps I can teach you a few things," responded Xen with a smile from the agent's body.
"I would truly be honored to follow in your footsteps, Master," said Eliot, bowing his head slightly.
"How nice that sounded: 'me, Master.' Yes, see you later," concluded Xen as Agent I-5, inside Eliot's body, was escorted to a ship.
Meanwhile, on the boat, the team mourned the loss of their leader, Olaf, who had sacrificed his life by taking several mind-controlled children with him.
As they were nearing the ocean, a voice echoed from the sky. "Want me to take you?"
They looked up and saw Eliot in a floating ship. The others quickly boarded.
"Thank goodness you found this! We thought you had died like the boss," said Anais with relief.
"No, I didn't die. I'm sorry about what happened to Olaf, but we need to return to base. This mission is too much for us. We don't have powers like that dog or the others," explained Eliot.
"You might be right. And the boss wanted us to stay alive for that reason," reflected Anais.
"Yes, that must be it," the others agreed, except for Cris, who still wanted to go back and fight.
"Hello, can you hear me?" Marie's voice came through the communicator.
"Yes, this is Anais, Agent I-1. Is that you, Olaf?" she asked.
"He died along with some of the controlled children," Marie replied sadly.
"I see," murmured Marie. "Well, Europe is now a lost war zone for now. You must return to base immediately."
"Yes, ma'am," the agents responded before departing.
Elsewhere, Marie reflected on the situation while trying to contact Drake. "If those controlled children became that strong in just one week, I can't imagine what they'd be like in more time. That Zeus could dominate the entire world in a couple of months. No one would be safe, especially not with current technology. Plus, the villains have amassed a massive army. I didn't know there were so many orphans in the world."
She decided to contact Drake to ask how things were going at his end. At that moment, a red phone labeled "Special Line" began to ring. Marie answered, trembling.
"Who are you? Where is Drake?" demanded a deep, authoritative voice at the other end of the line.
"Who's asking?" replied Marie, trying to stay calm.
"I am General Bronjort, leader of the Square and the one who provides all the resources for White to play super-spy. Where is that man?" demanded the general, his tone bitter.
"Oh no… It's the Square, the organization the boss warned us to fear. The one pulling all the strings," Marie thought, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"Mr. White isn't here, sir. He left on an important mission," she responded.
"Does that mission have anything to do with the disasters involving children and people with powers? Do you think I don't know what's going on?" asked the general.
"How do you know, sir? Supposedly, everyone's memories were erased thanks to Team C's work," replied Marie, confused.
"Those girls did their job to prevent a global catastrophe, but we have our own resources to neutralize their psychic powers. Girl, put me through to White. This has already spiraled out of control. Right now!" the general ordered firmly.
"At once, sir," replied Marie, connecting the line to White.
"Marie, I told you I'm busy. Haven't you found out who leaked the information yet?" Drake asked, frustrated.
"What information?" the general interjected.
"Oh, is that you, General Bronjort?" Drake asked, immediately shifting his tone.
"White, are you acting behind our backs again, playing the superhero soldier?" the general accused.
"No, sir, but we're short on personnel, and I had to go to the battlefield myself," Drake explained.
"Don't you realize? The entire world has silently become a battleground. We agreed that if the situation escalated to a critical level, you'd inform us. What's going on now?" the general demanded.
"Well, sir, you know that orphans were stolen from all over the world. Of course, you must be aware of that part. But the company Radar, which constantly changes names, has now taken control of these children and turned them into their personal soldiers under their command," White explained.
"And how is that even possible? We could've done the same with you and your team to avoid having to pull your leash. How did they create more of those? You told me the last alien with those characteristics died," the general retorted.
"Yes, sir, but apparently there was a child who was half of that race and half human, and the villains continued the experiments with him. They still have him captive," White admitted.
"You were supposed to handle these things. You're getting weak with age, White. You have one day to fix this mistake. Twenty-four hours, no more, no less, or we'll have to step in ourselves," the general threatened before cutting off the communication.
"Oh no! We're in trouble," Drake said to his team and Marie.
"You should've warned me, Marie. I'm sorry, sir; I didn't know that man would call. Just hearing him was terrifying," she apologized.
"It's fine, don't worry. Who is General Bronjort?" asked Adia.
"That's a long story, and I don't have time to tell it now. All I'll say is that to form this agency, I had to build connections with this man to secure his support with money and strategic locations. He's part of a group called the Square, and he's their leader. That's all you need to know for now, because I see we're being surrounded again. We'll have that talk later—if we survive this," Drake concluded, preparing for the attack.