Alexander stepped forward, ignoring the pain spreading throughout his body. Looking at the Lord Redeemer, he could see the power inside the man, slowly working, trying to counteract his status and knew it would only be a matter of time before it happened, giving himself thirty seconds to move. The knight's power was one he couldn't understand properly. It was why he was waiting for the perfect chance to act, and with the knight distracted by another intruder, it gave him an opportunity.
Stepping forward again, the blood falling from his face grew thicker, as his body felt like it was shattering. Stopping time on such a large radius to cover the holy land was dangerous, even for him, but he had no choice. It was one of the few places on the planet that followed its own rules and physics, having been warped over centuries by people's beliefs.
Taking another step, his gaze focused on James. His eyes narrowed, looking at the man, recognising him as the one whom Lucas had ordered Magnus to kill. Seeing the key in his hand, he stepped closer and grabbed it, leaning forward and looking into his eyes.
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James watched as the man stepped closer, although he couldn't move his body, he could move his eyes. His mind worked, although his thought process was slower. Feeling him reach towards the key, his eyes darted towards it as he desperately tried to move his hand, fighting against whatever it was holding him in place.
"Oh." The ruby-eyed man said with surprise. Pulling the key from his hand, he placed his thumb under James's eyes and pulled the eyelid down. His eyes moved to look down at the thumb, making the man thinly smile. From his finger, he felt a surge of new power run straight towards his chest, where the single scale he had copied from Xavier existed. "It can't be." Speaking to himself, the man stared into James eyes.
James wished to fight back, activating his eyes to see the man's aura. The moment he did, the man seemed to notice, pausing, with a widening smile. The cold eyes that looked ready to kill him softened slightly, having a teasing look instead. The man moved his hand down, towards James chhek but stopped and slowly turned around.
The knight who had been stuck exploded with a golden light and began to move in a robotic way. "The.... lord.... said...." His words were slow as the light from within him exploded out again, protecting him from the stasis. James saw the eye within, now fully awake, the power radiating from its pupil. The more he saw, the more he couldn't understand his power. If anything, it felt like he wielded part of the power they claimed their God to have.
The ruby-eyed man lifted his hand up with great effort and put his fingers together, "Before.... me...." Snapping his fingers, the woman who held the stopwatch could finally move. James saw a ring on her finger that lit up, warping the space around her.
'A Aretfact that controls Space.' If he could, James would have gulped in horror. He had realised what the man's power was after thinking about it, and couldn't help but be terrified by the power he wielded. 'This is far beyond anything Xavier can do. This is the power of a God.' James mind was engulfed with fear, but internally, taking a breath and calming down, he looked at the man and focused his gaze on him. He instantly regretted trying to read his aura.
Millions of Clocks existed inside his body, each of a different nature. Some were old, some small, some big, some new, some dirty, some clean. Each one tried to tick past twelve o'clock, but under the stasis, their hands bounced back as if broken. James looked away, the influx of information from looking at one of those clocks giving him a mind-numbing headache, instead focusing on the woman behind. Her figure vanished, reappearing in front of the knight.
"Time...." The woman slowly lifted her hand and reached out to grab the man's head. He didn't try to avoid, knowing it would be pointless under the time stop. "Ret..." Her hand grabbed his head. James saw the aura inside her move, a thick blue fog that made someone feel lost in. It rushed towards the man's brain. Watching, he saw the knight's body freeze up, and his eyes roll into the back of his head.
The stopwatch in her other hand ticked, finally coming to a stop, releasing the stasis everyone was under the effect of. The ruby-eyed man collapsed to his knees, grabbing his mouth, coughing into it. Pulling his hand away, James saw blood covering his palm as the woman came to his side, helping him up, no longer affected. From her nose, a drop of blood.
Her frosty gaze washed over him, and as she reached out to touch his head, he grabbed her arm. "No, we've got to go. Now." Slowly rising, he turned around and, with her help, left the Archive. James thought for a second to stop them, but looking at the knight with his ability, he saw the fog clouding his mind being quickly destroyed by the golden light inside his body and knew he had less than a minute to get away.
Shaking his head, he collected himself and followed behind the two, watching as they went a different way than he entered. Activating his invisibility once more, he made his way out.
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Xavier retook the poison he had been in when time stopped and waited. Counting in his head the seconds, he hit sixty and saw everything return to normal. "twetn..." The cardinal paused, unsure why, and shook his head, "Sorry. Twenty-nine."
Nodding to himself, Xavier rested his hand on Fredrick's leg and made a rhythmic tap. 'Don't show a reaction. Time was stopped.' Fredrick paused as he reached out pick up his fresh glass of water. Blinking, he nodded to himself and carried on as if nothing happened, taking a sip of his drink.
Xavier sat unbothered about the rest of the deal, leaving Fredrick to sort out the remaining details. From his pocket, he felt his phone vibrate and took it out, peeking down and seeing that James sent a message.
'Failure. I will tell you the details when you get back.' Looking at it for a second, he suppressed his sigh and rested on his hand, tapping the side of his head in boredom.
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"Sir, that was stupid." Freya, inside the small safe house, attached a blood bag to Alexander and moved to begin the transfusion. Alexander leaned back, his face pale white as a second man in a doctor's robe stepped forward. Resting his hand on Alexander's stomach, they glowed with a yellow light.
"The damage isn't light. Numerous scars on every organ. I can heal it in one go, but it's better if I drag it over a few days." The doctor said with a serious voice. Getting a nod from Alexander, he began his work, sweat quickly forming on his forehead as he let his power seep into Alexander's body.
"Do what you must," Alexander said without care, and lifted the key, staring at it. "We're one step closer." Bringing it to his lips, he kissed it in delight and handed it over to Freya. The ring on her finger glowed once more as she vanished from the room. After twenty minutes, she returned.
"I have handed it to Lucas men. They will deal with it from here." Alexander nodded and closed his eyes. Freya stared at him in confusion, finally working up the courage to ask what she wanted. "Why didn't you let me deal with him. You gave that man a chance to escape."
Alexander took a weak breath and smiled, "You wouldn't understand." Letting his mind drift, not bothering to explain himself, he slowly drifted off to sleep.