Creating Oasis:Mutant Dawn

Lake Alkali.

Deep within the icy mountain range stood a hidden base, buried in secrecy and steel. The infamous research facility known only as Weapon X.

Inside one of its dimly lit, reinforced concrete rooms—Wilhelm Stryker's personal office—a sudden ripple appeared in the air. A faint humming sound followed, like a dimensional frequency vibrating through reality itself.

Then, a portal materialized silently.

Before Stryker could react, a figure emerged from the swirling light.

Joseph.

He stepped through the portal as if he were taking a casual stroll, calm and composed, hands behind his back like he belonged there.

And he wasn't alone.

Right behind him walked Magneto, regal and grim, his eyes radiating magnetic tension.

At his side, Mystique, cold and sharp, already crackling with fury.

Stryker's face contorted into horror the moment he saw them.

"You...!"

He took a step back, voice trembling.

"You rescued Magneto... You shut down my entire base! It was you! You planned this whole thing! You're trying to destroy me!"

The panic in his voice gave way to a snarl. He was practically foaming with rage, his eyes fixed on Joseph like a predator pushed into a corner.

"Colonel Stryker, long time no see."

Joseph's tone was polite—mockingly so.

He smiled like a guest casually visiting an old friend.

Magneto didn't return the pleasantry. His silence was more menacing than words, his killing intent radiating off him in waves. Mystique didn't bother hiding her contempt either. Her expression said everything.

As for Stryker, he had long been viewed by Mutants as a ruthless, unrepentant enemy of their kind.

This was no casual meeting. This was revenge.

"It seems Alice has already introduced us," Joseph continued with a wry tone.

Then he shrugged. "Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Joseph, a student from Xavier's School."

He chuckled. "Charles asked me to say hello, though I doubt you'll appreciate the gesture."

Stryker's face twitched, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Joseph's confidence was blatant, even arrogant. But that was the point.

He was deliberately turning the tables—delivering the same attitude Stryker had once reserved for Mutants, right back at him.

"How… how did you know about my plan?"

Stryker drew in a sharp breath, trying to maintain composure. "Only Adam Robert, myself, and a few loyal men in the base knew about Nightcrawler's assignment to assassinate the president. I'm certain no one leaked anything!"

To his credit, Stryker was no coward.

Even now, as his carefully constructed world crumbled around him, he stood tall and tried to regain control.

But Joseph didn't answer.

He simply smiled—a sharp, dismissive smile.

"You really don't understand how outmatched you are, do you?" he said coolly.

The air in the room shifted. Joseph's calm demeanor turned sharper, his voice carrying weight.

"You want to destroy Mutants. But you forget—Mutants are miracles of nature. The powers we possess... they break the very laws of reality. Did you really think your little secrets would stay hidden?"

Magneto and Mystique glanced at him, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

They'd expected Joseph to be cautious. Diplomatic, even.

But this wasn't diplomacy.

This was contempt.

Joseph wasn't just confronting Stryker—he was looking down on him. Dismissing him entirely.

And Stryker felt it. He trembled, his rage mounting by the second.

Joseph stepped closer.

"You think you're a big man because you got away with it for so long. Because Professor Xavier chose kindness over retaliation. But let me break it down for you…" His voice dropped, cold and final.

"Charles could have erased your mind with a blink. Magneto could wipe this base off the map without lifting a finger."

Joseph leaned forward slightly.

"In the eyes of Mutants, your so-called Weapon X program…"

He scoffed.

"Means nothing."

Stryker's jaw clenched.

It wasn't just the words—it was the truth behind them.

For all his planning, all his secrecy, he had been playing with fire in a house of paper.

And now it was burning.

"You seem upset," Joseph added mockingly. "Is it because your clever little games only worked when the world wasn't watching?"

Stryker let out a low, bitter laugh. "You think you've won? You think that faked live broadcast will ruin me?"

His voice turned loud and defiant.

"I never authorized a mission for Adam Robert's team! No video call! No orders! Everyone in this base can testify to that!"

He glared with renewed fury.

"Send your 'evidence' to the White House. They'll know it's a setup! A trick orchestrated by you Mutants!"

Joseph said nothing at first.

Then slowly… he shook his head in pity.

"It's kind of tragic," he said quietly. "You're really lying to yourself now."

He pulled out a sleek phone from his pocket and activated a holo-projection.

Under the guidance of the AI, Alice, a light screen flickered into view before Stryker's eyes.

"The broadcast?" Joseph said. "It's still going."

Stryker stared in disbelief.

The holographic screen showed headlines. Blazing across it were the words:

"White House Calls for Immediate Public Trial of Weapon X Commander!"

The letters were large, bold, impossible to ignore.

Stryker's vision blurred. His knees buckled. He reached for the desk to steady himself.

But it wasn't over.

Joseph tapped again, and the screen switched to a new update.

"And here we have the Department of Defense's official response," Joseph said with a grin.

"They've thrown you under the bus, Colonel. Declared the entire assassination plan was your personal project. Purely your doing. Nothing to do with the military."

"They didn't even promise an investigation."

"They didn't even try to defend you."

Stryker stumbled back, pale and shaken. The color drained from his face.

He had been abandoned.

"They sold me out…" he whispered.

"Just like that…"

It was one thing to fear the Mutants.

It was another to realize your own government had decided you were more useful as a scapegoat than an asset.

Joseph watched it all with quiet satisfaction.

"Now you understand," he said. "Your power was always borrowed. Your confidence, fake. You were a pawn—nothing more."

"A bunch of shameless bastards!!" Stryker screamed, his voice cracking with fury.

Rage, despair, humiliation, and betrayal all churned within him. His eyes reddened, bloodshot and wild.

But even now, his desperation hadn't fully peaked.

He wasn't ready to die yet.

With trembling lips, he looked back at Joseph.

And like a cornered snake, he hissed:

"You think it's over? You think you've won?"

Joseph raised a brow. "Oh? What else do you have left?"

"The situation at the church…" Stryker muttered, lips curling into a twisted smile. "It's not over."

Magneto and Mystique tensed.

But Joseph didn't move.

Stryker's eyes glinted.

"Wade Wilson. My greatest creation—aside from Wolverine."

The projection screen turned again—this time showing the live broadcast from the church.

The scene was chaotic: Deadpool had entered, the X-Men were barely holding on.

"If you kill me," Stryker whispered, leaning in with a deranged grin, "he'll slaughter every last X-Man. You'll all go down with me."

It was his final trump card.

A final attempt to twist the knife in their victory.

Joseph walked casually around the desk and sat in Stryker's chair. He folded his hands and tilted the screen so Stryker could get a better view.

"This guy?" he asked calmly.

He gestured to the screen, where Deadpool was dancing between blades and bullets, carving a path of chaos.

"Yes," Stryker spat. "Wade is the future. You Mutants will die at his hands, and I'll die knowing I won."

Joseph laughed.

A long, hearty laugh.

"You've got Deadpool?" he said, leaning back. "I've got Iron Man."

"And… I'm still here."

Stryker froze.

For all his planning—for all his betrayals—he finally saw it.

He had lost.

Completely.

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