Ch 2: The weakest link

5 years ago...

"Vexx!" called a young girl with long white hair and Hazel-brown skin. "Vexxxxx, Come out, come out wherever you are!" she was wandering through the forest in a black colored gown and knee-high black boots. She was in search of her twin brother, who liked to play hide and seek in this exact forest. "Now where could that little Rascal be." She said in a low but irritated tone. Then at that moment, she heard some rustling in the bushes next to her, she glanced over and started to form a devious smile on her face. She then yelled out "Well I guess he's not here, I'll just have to check a different part of the forest." Her tone was obviously sarcastic but to a young child like Vexx, it was utterly believable. As she pretended to walk away, Vexx snickered and watched her leave behind a tree. The young boy got up and started dancing in triumph. The boy had white hair just like his sister but it was much shorter in comparison, he also had brown-colored skin. His sister had brown hazelnut eyes, while he had two eyes of differential color. One was red and the other was orange. The boy was in a short-sleeved white shirt and blue shorts, with sandals on the bottom of his feet. He had never beaten his sister Vixen in a game of hide and seek before, so you can imagine the excitement that washed over the child. However, while he was getting in his last few "Oh yeah's!" and "I'm the man's!" a jet black figure darted down from the trees and startled the boy, who was later greeted with an "I found you!" It was his sister, Vixen. Vexx sighed with relief to see that it was just his sister but then started to present a look of disappointment after realizing that he lost the game. His sister stood proud feeling victorious, then after bragging as they began to walk back home, she grabbed on tight to her brother and hugged him. Vexx, although happy to receive such a great gesture of love from his sibling, started to have trouble breathing and protested for her to let him go. Vexx and Vixen were very different in both looks and personality. Vexx was a handsome and lovable lad, kind-hearted and charismatic, but he was also a sickly child who had trouble doing many physical activities and usually ended up bedridden most days. Vixen was just as adorable, if not cuter than her brother. Other than her sibling, she was mean and rude to others but still made friends nonetheless. She was very athletic and energetic when it came to challenges such as games and other activities. Despite Vexx's unfortunate physical state, she had great respect for her brother. He had been fighting his illness for quite some time and still somehow, someway was able to find the energy to keep her company on beautiful mornings like this one. The girl gleefully skipped on the way home but slowed down when she noticed her brother was lacking in speed. Worried She ran to him concerned and ready to give aid. Vexx looked up at his sister and said "They're doing more testing today." He spoke in a sad tone. Vixen looked at him uncomfortably, not knowing how to comfort her weak-bodied brother. She then pulled herself together and yelled out to him "You'll do great!" Vexx sluggishly looked up at her in an attentive state. She continued "Your the best brother in the world and no matter what happens we will be together forever!" She proclaimed this, hoping that it would cheer up her brother. Vexx understood that his sister was trying to motivate him but was emotionally unmoved. He didn't want Vixen to feel bad so he forced a smile on his face. The little girl knew it wasn't real but walked up put her hands to her brother's face and said "It'll be ok if they don't accept you. Mother will still be around to take care of you and I'll be sure to visit you every chance I get." These words actually struck a blow to Vexx's defeated soul and the boy looked up to his sister with a more determined expression. They hugged out this moment and made their way back home. When they arrived, they were greeted by their oldest and youngest siblings. The 2 boys sat at an outside table stacked with food. The one on the left was named Lexx, the eldest of the four. He was young but taller than all the other children, he had spikey blue hair to compliment his height. At first glance, one could tell that he was related to his younger siblings, but had darker toned skin and a pair of light blue eyes. On the right side was a younger, chubbier looking lad who was helping himself to some toasted bread. The boy had short bristley hair and a pair of scarlett red eyes, his name was Orix the youngest of the four children. They were both wearing the same garments as Vexx was, however Lexx had all blue colored clothing and Orix wore all white, but splattered with food stains all over them. "Oh thank goodness your o-..." Said Lexx who stopped abruptly after seeing Vixen present her villainous smile. "I mean... it's about time the 2 of you showed up to lunch." Said Lexx, with a stern yet embarrassing voice. Orix quickly dropped his bread and ran past Vixen to hug his brother, Vexx. The boys short stature made him only meet his brother at the stomach. Vixen spoke in jealousy to her adorable younger brother "Where's my hug?" As she held her arms out in anticipation. However Orix glanced over as Vixen's smile presented numerous sharp teeth, which made an unwanted entrance into the boy's vision. He widened his eyes in fear and rushed behind Vexx's back. Orix had always been a fearful child and wasn't ashamed to show it. Bugs, people, animals, even his own shadow at times caused the boy great discomfort. Yes, just about everything accept his older brother Vexx. Who always comforted Orix when dread would wash over him. Vixen made a surprise look and dropped her mouth wide open at the obvious rejection shown by her baby brother, Lexx snickered at a low tone. Then after he had his laugh he regathered himself and spoke up in a commanding tone "Alright that's enough fun, we need to eat our food and get moving to the testing area. Mom's out getting fruit so we have to walk their by ourselves." The children then ate their food and moved toward the testing facility. Once they got there, they were greeted by some well-dressed men who escorted them. Vexx felt nervous, but Vixen gave a hand to his shoulder and said "You'll do great." Vexx nodded in assurance to her. The group stopped at the first room, Lexx took Orix by the hand and walked him inside. A large boulder awaited them. Lexx walked out and left Orix inside, who immediately started to show discomfort with being all alone. It was a grey room fill with nothing but Orix and the giant mass of rock to provide any sort of decorative presence. After a large horn sound went off, which frightened the boy, a large plate of food was placed on the square shaped boulder. The smell it admitted, was a heavenly aroma, however the contents were unknown to the boy since the plate was wrapped up in tinfoil. Orix ran to the giant rock, but was at a disadvantage because of the height difference. Unfortunately for the food, this hungry lad was determined and in that moment he squatted down to the ground with his eyes flashing green, blasted off the ground and landed on the rock. Leaving the floor beneath him shattered, Orix grabbed at the plate but was surprised to find that neither the wrapper or plate budged an inch, no matter how much force he exerted. The infuriated little lad was angered by the trickery and his eyes flashed again and with one punch, smashed the entire boulder into chunks. Then he flashed with even more rage, smashing and crushing every last remaining spec, with animal like tenacity. This continued until he was finally presented with an actual meal by the test evaluators. Vexx watched, impressed with his baby brother's power. Then it was on to the next test, this one was for Lexx. The blue-haired boy entered into the room as proud as ever. It was a grey room just like Orix's, but instead of a boulder on the floor there was nothing but blank space. Only the ceiling had any sort of decoration appearance, there were exactly 10 circular metal plugs that covered the top of the room. A voice came from a loud speaker "When the horn sounds, 50 coins will fall from the sky, collect all 50 before they hit the ground." Lexx smiled in anticipation, while Vixen scoffed at him from the other-side of the glass that separated them. Then at the moment the horn blasted from the speaker, all viewers saw next was a bright flash of blue light emit from the boy's body. The metal plugs popped out from their sockets and unleashed a flurry of coins down onto Lexx. After that he took off in high speed, snatching up every coin that dared to cross his path. It started off at 3 coins a dash but quickly jetted to 5, 10, 12, to a powerful stride that shook the room and swiped up the last 20 in one go. He was like a bolt of blue lighting, his speed was dazzling and his movement was that of a star that shined bright blue light upon the viewers. It felt mesmerizing, it was a spectacular event that few could ever see and Vexx was glad to be one of those few to watch his brother's masterful wall to wall ascension. Lexx then slammed to the ground, leaving a crater for his finish. They evaluators clapped in congrats to the boys performance. Vexx smiled in excitement for his powerful older brother. Now the 3rd test awaited, this time for Vixen. She entered into a dark room with no lights, quite different from the other testing zones. The door closed behind her, at that same time she ran to stop it, but couldn't make it there in time. Terrified of the dark she immediately called upon her power and yellow energy burst from her body. This gave her comfort, sense it created light in the darkness that consumed her. Yet, she was not the only light illuminating the room. A bright yellow glowing beast, extremely large in size with wings and scales that were similar to a dragon awoke and fixed its sharp gaze on the girl. It took a stance that progressively formed into a crawl. Vixen quickly readied herself and in that moment of silence, the monster rushed at her snapping its teeth. Vixen immediately dropped below the the creature's snout and charged up one fist to uppercut the foul thing.Its head shot up like a bullet, which caused it to stumble backwards. This however did not stop Vixen she charged up her body and with one malicious smile, launched at the beast and kicked him right in the stomach, forcing it into the wall. She began using high powered punched at a seemingly fast pace, until the beast had sustained so much intestinal damage that it coughed up it's own guts. That coincidentally landed on the unsuspecting Vixen. She found herself drenched in green liquid, sense it didn't have the same red coloring as blood, it only grossed her out, more than it caused her fear. Vexx cheered in delight at his sister's success, ignoring the disgusting event that took place. One of the men tapped him on the shoulder and said "Follow me, child." It was finally his turn to be tested. After failing to show signs of any power affinity over the course of 7 previous tests, this was his last chance to prove himself to the evaluators.He walked into his test zone. The grey room he entered was almost completely empty, except for a stone wall with a target painted on it. A voice erupted from a loud speaker "Raise your left arm and concentrate, good luck." Vexx did just as the voice instructed and extended his left arm out to face the target that laid in front of him. He understood why the test administrator wanted him to use his left hand. Vexx never presented any talent after all this time of living on the testing site. However in theory, using the dominant hand of a child has helped them to focus their power and in return, wield their energy as a weapon. He closed his eyes and began to breath in and out, he felt something slowly start to flow inside his body. He placed all his attention on this energy flow and began to feel it rise.

He opened his eyes and his blank facial expression disappeared. He now had a fierce look, his siblings came to the room windows to observe their beloved brother. By everyone's surprise his body sparked with energy, white streaks popped off his body from head to toe. Confident in himself he took his right hand and placed it onto his outstretched left arm and tried to force the energy out, expecting a beam to emit from his hand. The white aura enveloped his body, the spectators watched in suspense, waiting to see what would happen next. Vexx was pouring all his energy into his left arm and in a flash the great power he manifested..., vanished...

Silence now filled the area. All who viewed the event sat in confusion and wonder. Vexx analyzed his body wondering where the energy went, then a small hissing sound emanated in his head and turned into a loud SHOCK. The power he was once in control of now turned against him and along with damaging his body, also blew off the shirt on his back and exposed a tattoo on his left shoulder. It was shaped with a plus in the middle with a circle connected at the bottom and two letter C's on the sides. Before Vexx began his descent to the floor he coughed up blood from his mouth. Then as he began to lose consciousness, he heard his siblings call out to him in a muffled tone. Their screams could barely be heard over the loud speaker's announcement..."MORTAL TARTARUS EXPERIMENT #227 HAS FAILED."