章 60: [60] Meeting Moira MacTaggert Again
Las Vegas
In Julie's apartment, Brian's ears twitched slightly.
An invisible ripple spread instantly from his ears, traveling outward.
In a flash, Brian could hear every sound in the entire city of Las Vegas.
The murmur of human speech.
Soft, shallow breathing.
The rhythmic beating of countless hearts.
Even the subtle sound of blood flowing through veins.
The symphony of life itself.
Every sound reached Brian's enhanced ears.
Moments earlier, Brian had obtained Julie's super-hearing ability, refined through his unique power to comprehend the operational laws of all things.
What's more, under the optimization of this ability, Brian's super-hearing was immediately elevated to its maximum potential.
Now, with this heightened power, Brian could accurately locate any individual through sound, just like DC's Superman.
The primary difference, however, was scope—while Superman could hear all the sounds of the entire world, Brian's range was limited to a single city.
Brian closed his eyes, focusing intently.
As he did, a detailed auditory projection of Las Vegas materialized in his mind. The countless sounds blended together—not as chaotic noise, but as a perfectly structured, harmonious arrangement.
The hum of human voices.
The roar of car engines.
The faint buzzing of mosquitoes.
The subtle vibrations of the ground.
Brian could hear every sound in the city, down to the most minute details.
Even the beating of human hearts and the rhythmic operations of internal organs were as clear as day in his ears.
Moreover, Brian could pinpoint the exact location of each sound and discern the actions of its source simply by the subtle differences in the sound waves. He could determine not only what a person was saying but also whether they were walking, driving, eating, or drinking.
Using his super-hearing, Brian could create a stereo sound projection of the individuals he was tracking. This projection functioned much like the mental projections that Professor X generated using the Cerebro brainwave amplifier.
Of course, the sound projection Brian created was more limited—it could only outline a general human figure and identify gender. Unlike the mental projection, it couldn't provide a detailed representation of facial features.
But Brian's super-hearing wasn't limited to just passive reception.
He could also filter out unnecessary noises at will. For instance, with a simple tap to his ear, Brian muted the mechanical noise of the entire city.
Only human voices remained.
Brian could now filter sounds at will, focusing only on what he wanted to hear. He could even select specific words or sounds for targeted listening.
After acquiring Mutant Julie's super-hearing ability, Brian finally possessed a power that allowed him to monitor a wide area effectively.
"Not bad. Even though super-hearing only reaches the level of a Category 4 mutant ability after optimization, its practicality exceeds most Category 5 abilities," Brian said with a satisfied smile.
His gaze shifted downward to Mutant Julie, who was still writhing and wailing in pain.
Without hesitation, Brian opened his mouth and emitted a low-frequency infrasound wave.
Pop—Spulch.
Julie's body exploded into a bloody pulp.
The mutant with super-hearing was no more.
Just as Brian prepared to leave for Siberia, his ears twitched slightly. Super-hearing picked up a faint but familiar voice.
Concentrating, Brian quickly identified the source: it was Agent Moira MacTaggert, someone he had crossed paths with before.
Focusing more intently, Brian used his super-hearing to construct a sound projection, forming a clear picture of the scene in his mind.
It was happening in an alley 10 kilometers away.
A young girl fell to the ground with a dull thud as her body hit the pavement. In front of her stood three adult men, advancing on her step by step.
Brian listened intently, eavesdropping on the conversation between Agent Moira MacTaggert and the three men. His interest was piqued.
"Agent LeBron, are you here to take me back?" Moira's voice echoed through the dark alley.
In the dimly lit space, Moira MacTaggert, clad in a combat uniform, stood facing three heavily armed men. These men were elite field operatives of the CIA, tasked with eliminating traitors within their ranks.
The mere presence of these agents was enough to signify that the CIA now considered Moira a traitor.
"Moira MacTaggert, you've been showing serious signs of mental instability. We're here to take you back for a mandatory mental health evaluation," said Agent LeBron, his tone firm but measured.
"Fuck, I've told you a hundred times—I'm not crazy! I'm perfectly sane!" Moira shot back, her frustration boiling over.
Ever since the destruction of the CIA headquarters, Moira had been under suspicion. While most surviving agents chalked up the catastrophe to a natural disaster under Professor X's powers, Moira vehemently insisted it was caused by mutants.
Her claims were met with ridicule by her peers. To them, the idea of mutants was absurd—a sign, they believed, that Moira was cracking under the pressure of her job.
For the sake of their agents' well-being, senior CIA leadership, including Congressman Robert Kelly, made the decision to dismiss Moira MacTaggert from her position as a CIA agent.
Despite Moira's repeated arguments and protests, her efforts were futile. The CIA not only ignored her pleas but also attempted to forcibly send her for a mental health evaluation.
Unwilling to accept being branded as a lunatic, Moira used her exceptional skills to escape from the CIA.
"Moira, since you're so adamant that mutants exist, where's your proof?" Agent LeBron asked impatiently, his frustration evident.
Moira had no response.
She couldn't provide any evidence because her belief in the existence of mutants was based entirely on intuition. Deep down, she felt certain that mutants were real and that she had even encountered them before—though those memories seemed oddly inaccessible, as if blocked.
For some reason, Moira's heart clung stubbornly to this conviction.
"Moira," Agent LeBron said firmly, "there are no mutants in this world. There never were, there aren't now, and there never will be. Admit it—the so-called mutants are nothing more than a figment of your imagination."
Agent LeBron stepped forward decisively. In mere seconds, he overpowered Moira, knocking her down.
Thud.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Moira really is tied to mutants, isn't she?" Brian mused as he listened in on the scene through his super-hearing. "Even after having her memory erased twice, she still remembers mutants exist. It seems Moira has a real fondness for mutants."
Brian's face lit up with an odd expression as he continued eavesdropping on the conversation between Moira and the CIA agents.
Unexpectedly, Moira MacTaggert was now being hunted by CIA agents—an indirect result of Brian's actions.
After the destruction of the CIA headquarters, Brian had tasked Professor X with handling the aftermath. However, something seemed to have gone wrong.
Perhaps due to her earlier exposure to mind manipulation, Moira had somehow developed a resistance to memory erasure.
Or maybe there was another reason entirely.
In any case, while Moira had forgotten about Brian and the others, she still retained her knowledge of mutants. Strangely, the repeated memory deletions only strengthened her belief in their existence. This conviction had become deeply ingrained.
Even without concrete evidence, Moira stubbornly clung to her claims about mutants.
"Mutants are real!!" Moira said firmly, clenching her fists as Agent LeBron restrained her.
Her declaration, however, was met with laughter.
"Come to think of it," Brian had a bold idea, "Moira was the first to stumble upon Apocalypse in the X-Men: Apocalypse. Maybe she's some kind of mutant treasure-hunting rat."
As Moira struggled against her captors, it became clear she was about to be taken back to the CIA for psychological evaluation. Watching from afar, Brian decided to intervene.
After all, Moira might prove useful in helping him locate Apocalypse in the future.
~~"Child, do you need help?"~~
___________
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