Rex Splode’s boots crunched over the cracked tiles as he moved through the cold, darkened halls of the lab. The air smelled faintly of chemicals and something metallic, like the faint echo of a fire that had long since burned out. It didn’t take much to figure out this place had been abandoned. The equipment was in shambles, wires dangling from the ceiling, broken glass scattered across the floor, and the lights flickering sporadically.

His mission was simple: get in, get whatever intel was left, and get out. But something felt off about this place. His instincts, honed over years of dangerous missions, were already on edge. He moved through the corridors silently, every step calculated, his explosive powers on standby in case things went sideways.

As he turned the corner, he froze. There, in the middle of the room, was a child. Small, no older than eight or nine, sitting on the floor. Their clothes were ragged, as though they’d been living in the lab for far too long. The child’s eyes were wide, glassy, but there was a spark of awareness in them—unnervingly sharp for someone so young.

Rex’s heart sank. This wasn’t what he’d expected to find. The mission had been about intel, not... this. But the child, abandoned in a place like this, it hit too close to home. His mind raced, and a sense of familiarity gnawed at him. The isolation. The abandonment. It reminded him of his own childhood—being treated as a weapon, thrown away by people who didn’t care.

He stepped forward cautiously, fists clenched, trying to push past the feelings that threatened to overwhelm him. He was Rex Splode, the guy who could blow stuff up with a thought. He didn’t get rattled, but this? This was different.

“Alright, kid, this is weird, even by my standards,” he said, voice rough but with an edge of awkward humor. “You lost, or just playing hide-and-seek in the wrong place?”

Rex crouched down, trying to seem less intimidating, though his gauntlets cast an eerie glow. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m not leaving you here. Let’s figure this out.”