Mr Love: Dream Date Chap 21 Peeping of Dawn
Chapter 21 marks the end of the expansion Daybreak which is essentially a bridge into an alternate universe. The premise is interesting and thought provoking but I hope it isn’t a theme that keeps unwinding and rewinding itself until chapter 36.
As mentioned from henceforth, story progression is now dependent on using stamina to do missions to earn some kind of points to unlock the next scene. Story progression can happen everyday one scene at a time unlike having to wait for days on end to level up. Good and bad. Though the wait isn’t as excruciating, I actually do prefer to read a whole chapter in one seating.
Anyway chapter 21 continues immediately after the previous which was a cliffhanger ending. Spoilers ahead!
The explosion had caused destruction of an unimaginable scale. A portion of the steel cable bridge that spanned the river had been blown up, causing a segment to sag and collapse into the river. The skies were painted a fiery red as flames billowed, vehicles crashed into the river and a watery demise and people fled from the catastrophe. Stunned by the scene before you, the hysterical wave of people swept you from your position. You tried to regain your foothold but instead found yourself forcibly pushed into oncoming traffic.
In the midst of the commotion, somebody yanked you away from danger just as a car whisked passed you. You breathed a sigh of relief and turned to thank the person who had just saved you from an untimely death. Your eyes widened at the sight of Gavin who had just so coldly brushed you off a few hours ago. Your heart soared at this encounter, wondering that no matter in what time and space, he would always descend in the nick of time to save you.
You had so many things you wanted to say to him but the severe look on his face as he surveyed the damage shut you up. This was probably not the best time and besides there were other dangers to be concerned with hence you contended to just hanging on tight to him as he navigated through the incoming stampede to bring you to a clearing. Once he ensured that you were on safe ground, Gavin let go of your hand and told you to quickly get out of here and not to follow him. Then he dashed straight towards the scene of the explosion. You tried to stop him for fear of new explosions but a sharp pain in your ankle caused you to wince. By then, Gavin was no longer in view.
The fear of Gavin being in danger continued to grow as darkness loomed. You decided to follow after him and limped towards the scene of destruction. After scanning the area countless times, you finally spotted Gavin by the riverbank. He looked fine. Relieved you slowly made your way towards him. As you approached him, you began to feel a strong wind current whipping about you which made opening your eyes difficult. Then you saw an almost invisible swirl of wind rise out from the river strong enough to support the sagging bridge and allow more people to escape. The wind also continued to surge and blow at the flames until it was finally extinguished.
You were awed by the display of sheer power that was Gavin’s Evol. Since when had he become so powerful? When you were finally close enough to him, he reflexively turned in your direction and shot you a deadly stare. He asked you what you were doing here. You told him you were worried for him. He replied mockingly what you could do about it and could not understand why you keep putting yourself in danger which you had no way to protect yourself. I kind of agree considering the numerous times all your love interests had to save you.
In your defence, you told him that you were also an Evolver with the power of precognition (ironic because it was Gavin who first told you you had the Evol gene). Gavin guessed that you were in the area because you predicted the explosion. You nodded in agreement but added that you couldn’t tell when it would happen or you could have prevented the disaster. Gavin didn’t know whether to believe you but he cautioned you against acting on your Evol in future and leave it to the army to take care of such matters. You were taken aback by his words. Since when did Gavin become so deprecating of individual effort?
You replied defiantly that no matter how small your contribution is, you would still do what you can in your power to help. Gavin looked at you with a ferocity in his eyes, then it widened into a moment of panic as he dove for you and pulled you away from where you stood. You felt a force flash past you instantly raising the hairs on your back. Gavin quickly surveyed the surroundings then looked back at you. When you were sure the danger had passed, you asked him what happened. He asked you if there was someone who had a grudge against you. You couldn’t pinpoint anyone considering that everyone has forgotten you in this world. Gavin then brushed it off and said it could be targeted at Evolvers in general. When you questioned him further, he told you it was nothing you needed to be concerned with. Arg, some things never change.
Once the rescue team had arrived at the scene, Gavin was able to finally relax his hold on the bridge and let his team take over from there. He walked you back to the main road. You observed Gavin and noticed that there was no hint of pain, anger or frustration on his face over the destruction and deaths of so many people. He looked strangely devoid of any emotions as if he had left behind all humanity. You wondered what he had gone through.
The evening news reported the events of the bridge explosion. Investigations were underway to determine the death toll as well as the cause of the explosion. You asked Gavin if he knew the cause – whether it was an accident or an elaborate plot. He told you their clues ran dry which also explained why he was staking out the place earlier. You offered to help using your Evol but he would hear none of it. He didn’t believe in illusions. Without giving you any opportunity to speak more, he told you to go back home and stay home no matter what your visions tell you.
While trying to stall him further, you reflexively grabbed his arm. In that instant, you caught an image of him and Helios facing off each other on a rooftop. Helios told Gavin to continue the partnership. You felt a sudden surge of pain as Gavin roughly pulled your hand off him causing you to stagger a few steps back. His face was contorted into a mixture of anger, violence and coldness. You quickly muttered an apology. Then Gavin turned around and walked away.
A static came over a radio channel that was not frequently used. Gavin told the receiver that his intel was wrong. The voice on the other end, supposedly belonging to Helios replied that he would take care of everything. Gavin spotted a gingko leaf bracelet on the floor and picked it up. As he rubbed his thumb over the golden gingko leaf, an inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart. Thinking that perhaps this might belong to you, he pocketed it.
You finally made your way home exhausted but relieved that at least you still had the familiarity of home in this new world. Though you were worn out, you turned on the computer to investigate the news and reports surrounding the events of today. On a particular forum, you were drawn to a thread where a person had publicised the study by the British researcher on Evol genes from 20 years ago. He then continued to lay bare evidence of the presence of superhumans throughout history and how they had been linked to all kinds of terrorist attacks in different countries. He finally concluded that this evening’s explosion must have been caused by a superhuman. His rhetoric was so convincing that other people started to chime in and even mentioned the superhumans that were featured on Miracle Finder.
As the speculations continued at a frenzied speed, people started to clamour for accountability and that these Evolvers should be made to pay for their crimes. You tried desperately to calm the netizens down, telling them not to react to fake news and to wait for the authorities to issue official statements. Suddenly your computer screen froze and you couldn’t move your mouse. Then a series of red words flashed on your screen – a warning that they will hunt and find you EVIL. Utter fear ran down your spine as you pulled out the power cord and your screen went black, reflecting your face that had gone completely white.
You retreated to the safety of your bed under the blankets. A pain shot through your head and you heard the beguiling voice telling you that humanity has always evolved and progressed at the expense of countless lives. You were foolish to think that you had the power to change anything. You tried to shut the voice up and force yourself to go to sleep. In your dreams, you saw a vision of a world at war. People were slaughtering and gunning each other down on both sides, the smell of fire, gunpowder and blood in the air. You walked down the streets powerless to put a stop to the madness. Then you heard a menacing voice behind you proclaiming death to the EVIL as a bullet pierced your chest.
I was right. This alternate world is the future where humans were saved but the truth of Evol was revealed which resulted in the extermination of Evolvers because they didn’t understand or feared the powers. Lucien was right when he said that it wasn’t the humans who needed protection here. This is beginning to really sound like a plot out of X-Men which is one of my favourite comics of all time. Lucien possessing the power to replicate any Evol is like Rogue, my favourite X-Men too. Thankfully he doesn’t suck my life force when he touches me! Though in this case, he seemed to belong to the Brotherhood more than the X-Men camp. The bullet at the end which pierced your heart makes me wonder if your death is really the only way to save the world.
You awoke in cold sweat, relieved that it was only a dream. Or perhaps a premonition of a future to come when humans and Evolvers will kill each other. You shudder at the thought as the voice in your head reminded you that you play a crucial role to either give the world a new life or to destroy it. Looking out your window at the wintery white world that looked so peaceful, you resolved to do your best to protect it. You decided to give Lucien another visit. His cryptic words from yesterday was beginning to make sense and if there was anyone who could shed some light on what was happening, it would be him. If this event was indeed caused by an Evolver, could it be one of BSC’s ploy?
The streets were empty and the protesters had disappeared. You slipped into the research institute via the side door again. Mustering up your courage, you knocked on the door to Lucien’s office. No response. A colleague of his stepped into the hallway and eyed you suspiciously. When you told him you weren’t here for an interview, he told you that Lucien had left his office yesterday and did not come back. You figured that if you could look into Lucien’s future, you would be able to locate him. Closing your eyes and focusing your energies on Lucien, you saw a vision of the abandoned building that was once Ultima Bioresearch. You had visited this place with Lucien back then to find the electro magnetic wave emitter. It seemed this place was inextricably linked to Black Swan.
You saw Lucien’s tall and dark form standing over a person curled up on the floor issuing a chilling instruction to kill her. When your vision ended, a sharp pain throbbed in your head. I wonder since when your powers became so convenient that you were able to focus on anyone and look into their future without touching them. Anyway you tried to recall the notes your dad had left on Ultima Bioresearch. It had been set up by the World Gene Organisation 70 years ago but the Loveland City branch was only opened 20 years ago. 17 years ago, Key had hacked into the server of the research center and stolen or erased the census of Evolvers. This had caused a worldwide outcry. Was there still anything left at the abandoned institute that Lucien would be interested in?
The abandoned research center looked the same as before. Fresh footprints in the snow led to the building and you followed after them, convinced that Lucien must be here. In the deserted hallways of the center, you heard movements and voices coming from a room at the end of the corridor so you crept quietly towards it. Just as you neared the door, an ear shattering scream broke the silence which caused you to jump, creating quite a bit of noise. You realised that two pairs of eyes were staring coldly at you.
In the room, you saw Lucien standing near the window with half of his body illuminated by the light coming from the window. He had such a look of detached indifference as if he borne no emotions. Next to him was a woman clad in a black leather outfit whom you immediately recognised as the BSC agent you had seen at the Loveland TV station. She was standing over a man who was kneeling on the ground, obviously the subject of their torture.
The man spat out the words viciously that he would kill all EVILs before he was stunned silent by a blow to his face from the woman. As his body slumped to the ground, she turned to face you. She said ruthlessly that since you had witnessed this scene, there was no escape for you. You turned to run but she was faster. Grey mist shot out from her fingers towards you and you felt the acidic burning sensation as the mist wrapped around you threatening to kill you.
Lucien told the woman to stop. Immediately you were released from the hold and caught quick breaths, relieved to still be alive. The woman looked at Lucien questioningly. Lucien told the woman called Artemis to leave with the man first. He would personally take care of you. Artemis shot you a murderous glare, picked the man up and then warned Ares not to let you affect their plans. With that she vanished leaving only both of you in the silence.
It seemed like a long while that both of you studied each other. With the passing silence, you realised that whatever hopes you might have had of Lucien was fading away. Lucien eyed you like a predator at his prey. Though it sounded silly at that time, you blurted the question that was on your heart. You asked him why he had saved you. Lucien raised an eyebrow, amused at your naive question. He said that it was because you appear to be know more than he thought and there could still be use of you. Disappointment flashed across your face at the answer and Lucien asked if there could be another answer.
He then asked you why you had come to the research center. Whatever clever response you had concocted on your way here dissolved under his intense look so you threw the question back at him. Lucien seemed to be in a good enough mood to entertain you. He explained that 17 years ago when the World Gene Organisation’s database was leaked, it had contained the information of thousands of Evolvers, amongst which was the carrier of the Queen’s gene. When you heard the word, your eyes grew wide with recognition and shock. Both the man and the Black Swan were searching for the queen!
Noticing your reaction, Lucien closed the distance between the two of you. He said that he had finally figured out why you were so confident that he wouldn’t harm you the first time you met him. By the time you understood the meaning behind those words, he had grabbed you by the neck and steadily tightened his hold on you. You gasped for breath and struggled to get out of his hold by thrashing about but he had enveloped you in his force field leaving you no quarter. You commanded him to let you go and he retorted cruelly that he had already let you go once. He was so close to you that you could feel his warm breath on your face. So intimate and yet reeking with danger.
As his grip on your throat continued to tighten, you vision whitened and once again you found yourself staring into a whiteness with a mish mesh of black lines flowing. You felt the same welling of power in your body and the emergence of strength. You grabbed Lucien’s wrist releasing the energy and the force field trapping you weakened giving you room to move. Lucien slowly let go of your throat. The weakness in your legs caused you to fall to the floor. Lucien spoke in measured tones revealing that you are the Black Swan Queen. Was all that just a test? Helios had done the same thing to you, seemingly the only way to reveal your identity is to squeeze the life out of you.
You vehemently denied the revelation and told Lucien you were never the queen and even if you were, you would never help the Black Swan fulfil their ambition of evolution. Lucien told you that you are mistaken, that the march of mankind would progress regardless with or without your assistance. You recalled how the Black Swan had brought about this so called evolution using the virus. Lucien went on to explain that one in every tens of thousands of people would possess the Evol gene. However the existence of the queen is singular, the pinnacle of evolution and supposedly impossible to exist. While the queen is able to help others evolve, you were too weak now and unable to control your powers.
A change in his expression brought about a new threat. You felt the air around you tensed up and realised that Lucien was preparing to imprison you. Before you knew it, you had pinned Lucien down with your newfound powers, surprised at how quickly this had turned around. Lucien looked shocked at how fast your powers were growing. Not hesitating another second, you got up to your feet and told him with much determination that you would prove him and everything he stood for was wrong. Then you ran away as fast as your feet could carry you.
Once you were out of sight, Lucien easily shrugged off the energy threads that had supposedly held him down, a smile on his face. He looked at your retreating figure through the window, his eyes mesmerised by the bright fiery light around you which gave color to his grey vision. Something tensed up in his heart at the sight. He muttered to no one that it won’t take too long now. Even in his very cold calculated way of doing things, Lucien never cease to make readers wonder his true intentions of every action. Where does the head end and the heart begins? Perhaps he himself doesn’t understand. At least for now perhaps let’s not add any adulation and just assume he is a cold blooded mercenary.
After running for a very long time, you finally slowed down to catch your breath and relax, yet the danger had not dissipated. The burden in your heart hung heavy. Who are these EVILs that people want to get rid of and how were they a threat? Your thoughts were interrupted by a vibration in your phone. It was a message from Shaw. He advised you not to head southeast today. You studied your surroundings and realised that you were indeed heading southeast. You did a quick scan to see if Shaw was spying at your from nearby then replied Shaw before tugging the phone in your pocket and continuing in your original direction.
Meanwhile in a faraway barren land, we see Shaw surrounded by a group of attackers. In the midst of a dangerous standoff, the tension was broken by the incoming beep of a phone. Despite the danger, Shaw casually took out his phone to read the message. You had thanked him for the advice. He noted the sarcasm in your message and chuckled.
Then he looked back at the men surrounding him, smugly saying that he needed to finish this up quick while cracking his knuckles. Immediately the bright skies turned dark and flashes of lightning filled the air. The crackle of electricity caused hairs to rise on end. Then with a smirk, Shaw released gigawatts of current onto his assailants while shielding himself from the incoming bullets and energy blasts with a net of electricity around him. Soon he was the only man standing. He kicked the only still conscious person. Leaning in he asked who had sent them – STF or the Black Swan.
With your only information source dried up, you decided to investigate the scene of the explosion to find more clues on the mastermind behind this destruction. However the police had set up a parameter around the place, forbidding any reporters from getting near. Prevented from any further investigation, you trudged back from where you came from. This time, you sensed that there was someone following you behind. As you rounded a corner, you quickly glanced at your stalker. He was wearing a hoodie so you couldn’t make out his features, except that there was a malicious intent in his eyes. You quickened your pace to find safe haven but someone threw a black bag over your head and you were abducted. The last thing you recalled was the confirmation that you were the right person because of your association with another person.
When you came to, your abductors had taken you to some kind of warehouse that you are not familiar with and bounded you to a chair. Before you were a group of men. You asked them who they were and what they wanted to do with you. The ringleader who wore a hoodie smiled cruelly at you and told you he had already issued you a warning and addressed you as EVIL. This triggered your memory of the red letters on your computer last night. It dawned on you that that wasn’t a prank after all. The man asked if you were the queen that everyone was looking for. You denied the allegations. The man simply shrugged his shoulders and replied that it didn’t matter anyway because they would just claim that you are whoever they want you to be.
You asked him what his goal was. He didn’t share any details but simply concluded that it would end with the death of all EVILs. He spat out the last line with so much contempt and hatred. You recognised that it was the same voice which you had heard in your precognition. It was him who had set off the explosion! Soon you were left alone with a lone guard standing in the distance. You brain sprang into action and tried to look for a way of escape. You remembered that you had fortunately decided to bring Helio’s knife with you today, which you had tugged into your back pocket. After much straining, you managed to pull it out of your pocket and started to use it cut through the ropes that bounded you, suffering some accidental scrapes in the process.
Suddenly, you were jolted from your actions when a small rock fell from the sky in front of you. You looked up at where it came from and saw a figure in the shadows sitting casually in the rafters. His silver hair gave away his identity. You heart swelled when you realised it was Helios who was now laughing at your attempt at escape. Then he started to move. He leapt onto a rope and slid down it to the center of the large hall. Turning to face you, Helios gave you a slight smile and then said ‘Found you’. Though Helios had never established himself as a friend or ally, those simple words made you breathe a sigh of relief in a world that had forgotten you and gone mad.
Helio’s entrance had drawn the attention of the guards and soon he was surrounded by men brandishing weapons. Helios did not wait for them to take action as he charged into them, easily overpowering them with swift kicks and agile movements that were so fast that you couldn’t see clearly. It almost felt like you were watching a scene out of an action movie where Helios was the lone star. Soon, Helios was the only man standing with unconscious and bloodied bodies around him. After wiping the blood off his mouth, Helios strode towards you. You opened your mouth to thank him but he simply walked passed you with the intention to leave you still bound to the chair.
You were completely stunned by his actions and desperately called out to him. He turned towards you and asked impatiently what it is you wanted. When you asked him if he was really just going to leave you there like this, he replied matter of factly that you would soon be able to cut through the ropes yourself and it would be a waste of your effort if he interfered now. I actually laughed at this scene. It is so practical and yet so humorous in the midst of such dangerous times. You managed to convince Helios to lend you a hand so that you could quickly leave the place as well and not remain a threat to his plans. After you were freed, you quickly gathered your items and ran after him.
You asked Helios if he knew what these people wanted to do with the queen. He didn’t seem interested in answering your question. When you told him you had the Evol gene and could help, he rebutted you fiercely. It didn’t seem that he thought Evol was a good thing. You told him how your dad had always taught you that having Evol didn’t make you a monster or dangerous but just someone a little more special. However you had no idea why the world had changed into one where humans killed Evolvers or the other way round. Helios just replied that humanity was complicated.
As both of you left the building, a sudden breeze caught your attention as a knife flew towards you. You instinctively held your hand to block it to the severe scolding from Helios. When you opened your eyes, Helios had somehow deflected the knife from you and dispatched your assailant. Probably finally fed up with your ineptitude to protect yourself and your incessant questioning, he grabbed you by your wrist and pulled you roughly away to safety. When you were finally cleared of the building, Helios let go of you hand and told you to continue on your own way.
You tried to stall him by asking if he knew how to resolve the situation and again offered to help. Frustrated at your attempts, Helios slammed his foot at the fence behind you, confining you in the space between his body and the fence. He bore the facts before you, you were simply too weak to do anything now. His explosive reaction took you by surprise and tears started to well in your eyes. You told him you wanted to get stronger and stop having to depend on others to protect you or getting them into trouble in the process. Helios replied that if you really wanted to make a difference then you needed to grow stronger using any means necessary, including abandoning yourself. If you were not willing to pay the price, then you should just go back to the beautiful world that you came from.
Without any other word, Helios turned around and left decisively. You heard a static voice over his walkie talkie (I guess that’s Gavin) who asked him what was the situation. Helios replied that the person got away, then faded into the snowy background. I actually like it that Helios is using tough love on you in his own ways. Hopefully to get you to wake up your idea and either make yourself useful or at least don’t get in the way. Though being the queen yourself, it’s not like you have a choice about not getting into danger.
Left alone in the cold and snow falling even harder than before, the loneliness in your heart grew stronger. How can you restore their memories of you and go back to the familiar warmth and tenderness? A call came in and you took it subconsciously. It was Shaw. Hearing your voice, he commented sarcastically that you didn’t sound so good considering that you chose to ignore his warning. You asked him how you could restore this world back to what it was. Shaw told you that he didn’t have the answers. The only thing he knew was that as the queen, you had the power to lay waste to world or bring it to complete annihilation. When you repeated that you won’t do it, Shaw simply said soon you would be forced to make a decision and he looked forward to seeing the future you would show him.
The next morning came after another fitful night of dreams of death and destruction. You awoke to notifications on your phone. Panic filled you as you read reports of how your studio had come under fire for its repeated showcase of superhuman powers. Protesters were seen lobbying outside your building, calling for its closure and accountability for the explosion incident. Fearing for the safety of your friends and colleagues, you rushed out to your office building. Even before reaching your office, you could hear the loud chants from the protesters and scores of people marching with banners overhead. It had only been 1.5 days since the explosion, how did the fear and speculation escalate so quickly out of control.
Then you heard one of the protesters cry out, ‘She’s one of them!’. Following that cry, you saw the crowd was rushing towards Kiki who had appeared outside the building. Kiki’s eyes widened in fear as the protesters overwhelmed her and shoved her to the floor. No one seemed to be bothered that a small young girl like her was being tramatised and bullied. Infuriated by the actions of the protesters, you started to tear your way forward, pushing and shoving them aside to arrive next to Kiki. You quickly pulled her to her feet and pushed her into the safety of the building itself. In the midst of the scuffle, you accidentally lost your footing and winced in pain as you landed awkwardly on your ankle. Seizing the opportunity, the person who was galvanising the protesters turned their anger and rage towards you.
You raised your hand to defend yourself from the impending assault which never came. Everything around you froze in mid air and the clamour that was deafening suddenly became deadly silent. It was then that you spotted Victor standing in the distance between the gaps in the crowd. Victor strode slowly and confidently towards you, seemingly unaffected by the commotion taking place around you. When he got to you, you could only mutter his name softly. He asked if you could walk and when you tried to, your twisted ankle caused you to collapse. Victor tsked in frustation, then he effortlessly cradled you in his arms and brought you to his car. The doors were still open which probably hinted that he had left in a hurry.
He rested you gently on the passenger seat then drove away. As the car drove off, the protesters came back into action and the violence seemed to continue unabated. You were disturbed by how events have escalated so quickly and uncontrollably. You asked Victor what he was doing here and he said he was simply passing by. When he asked you if you were protesting, you shook your head quickly. Then he sarcastically asked if you were playing the heroine. You tried to defend your actions but considering that Victor ended up having to save you from your predicament, he was probably right in giving you this attitude.
Victor then changed the radio channel to the news and you heard the news anchor announced that LFG would be entering into a $100 million dollar deal with HBS Productions, triggering speculations on their intention to enter the US market. You were thrown back by the news and questioned Victor on LFG’s decision to partner HBS. Victor frowned at your sudden outburst and you realised that you were probably out of line with your question since he had no memories of the incident with HBS and that Black Swan was behind the organisation. You asked Victor if he would reconsider the investment and asked if he knew about Black Swan. Before he could reply, a loud bang sounded in front of you.
Traffic came to a sudden standstill. Drivers got out of their car to survey the horizon and find out what was happening. Victor also got out and though he told you to stay inside, you also got out to see what’s happening. In the distance you saw a faint glow of redness, causing you to recoil in horror that this could be another explosion. You took a step back and held onto Victor’s arm for support. In that moment, you saw flashes of the future – of fires, explosions, destruction and death. Fear and panic overwhelmed you. Did you make a mistake coming to this world afterall, creating a new reality that couldn’t escape from its own demise.
Victor asked you calmly what was the matter and you told him the truth that you could see the future but up to this point had remained powerless to do anything to avert it from disaster. You blamed yourself for all the death and meaningless slaughter and lamented that if this power had been given to someone else stronger or more powerful, perhaps they would be able to save the world. Victor listened earnestly and then without any mocking or trying to pacify you, simply told you that those what ifs didn’t exist. He also said that if all these explosions were a conspiracy caused by a group of people, then it was long in plotting and there was probably nothing you could do to stop them from happening.
You asked Victor that if your actions could change the future, should you still try even not knowing whether you would be successful or make things worse. Victor just smiled warmly at you. He said he didn’t know the answer to the questions but he really hoped that you would be able to make a difference. It seemed that whatever Victor said was all you needed to give you the encouragement and push to make a resolute decision. You will do what it takes to restore the world back to normalcy and not standby and do nothing anymore. You thanked Victor for his words, then parted ways with him. Before you left you told him your name again just in case he had forgotten it. As Victor watched your receding figure, he simply mouthed the word ‘Dummy’. I guess you must have impressed Victor for him to call you that.
In the concluding scene in this rather long chapter, a woman announced on an international forum that the recent spate of terrorist attacks all over the world were attributed to an organisation. She went on to formally declare the existence of Evolvers and considering their threat to humanity, all Evolvers would be immediately placed under state surveillance. Shaw saw the news from his apartment and muttered interesting. We see an envelope with the letter A on his table. In a warehouse, Gavin and Helios met up as they faced off a group of gunmen. Helios told Gavin that things had gone ahead of schedule. In the building with full glass facade, a masked man told Ares that it was now ever more imperative to locate the queen. Ares said that he would take care of it personally. Across the ocean, Victor landed at an airstrip out in a remote snowy forest. He was greeted respectfully by an old man who then led him into a building with the words Black Swan Inc. Finally, atop a snow covered building in Loveland City, the gentleman in the white tuxedo surveyed the wintery whiteness around him and deliberately said that a long cold winter was something to look forward to.
It seems to me that the whole point of this expansion is to point to an alternate future where humans grew afraid of Evolvers and are looking to eradicate them. Black Swan could now be the anti-heroes who are trying to save Evolvers from being persecuted, and this could come at the expense of causing some drastic evolutionary change to humans. What the writers were also trying to bring out is your apparent helplessness to do anything and the constant need to be saved or protected, a fact which all your love interests pointed out to you. You were too weak in your current state to be of use. It almost feels like the writers are trying to explore which level of harshness is required to propel you to make the right decisions and achieve the desired outcome. I still don’t quite understand the role played by the man in white tuxedo – is he an observer or the antagonist?