---
Chapter 44 – Shadows and Light
The reinforced doors groaned as they slid open, releasing a wave of cold air tinged with disinfectant and rust. The chamber beyond hummed with machinery, dim lights throwing long shadows across the floor.
Two figures stepped forward to block the path.
The first was a girl in a white suit that clung to her frame like a second skin. A smooth mask hid her face, though bands of pale light shimmered faintly around her hands. A metal collar locked around her throat, etched with the number 326.
Beside her stood a boy cloaked in ragged purple, shadows curling at his feet as though alive. His collar bore the number 327.
Daredevil's grip on his batons tightened. His voice was low, edged with dread. "Experimental subjects."
Tony's HUD whirred, scanning them. "Correction: experimental subjects with powers. And I already hate this." His repulsors came alive with a steady hum. "All right. Let's make this quick."
He fired first. A pulse of blue light streaked across the chamber—fast, precise.
But the girl was faster. Luminous blurred aside, her movements sharp and fluid. Light bent in her grip, hardening into a dagger that gleamed like molten glass. She lunged straight at Tony, the blade angled for his chestplate.
Blue light flared again—Mayura. She teleported into her path, snatched Luminous's wrist mid-swing, twisted, and hurled her backward with a brutal snap of motion.
Before she could follow up, Void surged forward. His cloak unfurled like a living tide, shadows spilling across the floor. They swept around Luminous, pulling her back into his cover. Darkness thickened, their silhouettes flickering unnaturally in the shifting light.
Tony's jaw set inside the helmet. "Fantastic. One stabs, the other plays goalie."
Before he could reposition, Luminous blinked back into sight—this time directly above Daredevil.
She came down fast, her dagger slashing downward in a streak of white fire. Daredevil rolled aside, his baton snapping up just in time to catch the blow. The impact rang out like steel on steel, the vibration rattling through his arm. He twisted low, aiming a crack across her ribs—
Shadows lashed out, tendrils wrapping his wrist before the strike could land. The grip yanked him off balance, dragging him back.
Tony swooped in, blasting the shadows apart with a repulsor shot. The tendrils unraveled into smoke, forcing Void to stagger. But Luminous pressed forward without pause.
Her blade cut close, searing a line across Daredevil's shoulder fabric. He gritted his teeth and struck back, baton slamming into her thigh. She stumbled, just for a moment—then froze.
Her dagger hovered above his chest, trembling. For a heartbeat, she didn't move.
"You don't want this," Daredevil said quietly.
Her mask tilted. A tiny shake of the head. Then her collar flared red.
A surge of electricity ripped through her body. She screamed, arching against the current, her muscles locking. The shock drove her arm down again, blade aimed straight for Daredevil's throat.
He barely rolled clear, the dagger gouging molten scars into the steel floor.
Tony's voice cut sharp. "It's not her. The collar's pulling the strings!" He raised his voice. "Mayura—break the link!"
The battle spun into chaos. Daredevil fought desperately, his batons whirling in a blur, blocking strike after strike. Tony laid down bursts of repulsor fire, forcing Void's shadows to bend and twist to shield them both. Mayura blinked in and out of the fray, teleporting Daredevil free each time shadows closed around him.
But the kids were relentless. Luminous's strikes came faster, fueled by each shock the collar delivered. Void's cloak warped the battlefield, turning every step into a trap—shadows lunged for ankles, wrists, throats, threatening to drag them into suffocating darkness.
Warnings screamed across Tony's HUD. Daredevil's ribs throbbed with every breath. Mayura's visor flickered, straining under constant teleportation.
Finally, Mayura stopped. She lifted both hands, blue sparks crackling across her visor. Her voice was sharp and steady. "Enough."
Her technopathy surged. Circuits screamed as the collars sparked. Metal warped, wires split. Then, with two deafening bursts of light, both collars shattered.
The energy discharge slammed into the teens. Luminous and Void convulsed violently before collapsing, unconscious, their bodies twitching from the last echoes of electricity.
Silence rang in the chamber.
Tony's faceplate retracted as he dropped to one knee beside them. He reached for Luminous first, prying the mask from her face.
Beneath it was a girl. Barely sixteen.
"Damn it," Tony whispered. His scanners swept them both—burns along their necks, nerves rattled, but vitals stable. Alive. Just kids.
Behind him, Daredevil's fists clenched, his knuckles white. "They turned children into this." His voice shook with fury.
Mayura's hands trembled as she lowered them from the air, her visor dimming. "They weren't fighting by choice." Her voice was flat, but the edges cracked. "This is cruelty."
Tony exhaled sharply, forcing his own anger down. "Not for long. Not while I'm here." He looked back at Daredevil. "Someone needs to stay with them."
"I'll do it," Daredevil said instantly. "If they wake up, they shouldn't be alone."
Tony nodded once. "Good. We'll finish this."
He and Mayura pushed deeper into the base.
The corridors grew heavier with each step. And then they found it.
Rows of shattered glass pods. Rusted tables strapped with restraints. Piles of discarded bodies—infants, teenagers, adults. All broken, twisted, abandoned after failed experiments.
Mayura froze, her whole frame trembling. Her breath hitched hard behind her mask. "Monsters," she whispered, grief and fury spilling into one word.
Tony said nothing. His armor recorded every detail, but his gaze burned forward. His usual wit was gone. Only cold, focused rage remained.
They pressed into the next chamber. An empty workstation stretched before them—papers scattered, vials glowing faintly, computers still running.
"Mayura," Tony said tightly, "pull up the feeds."
Mayura raised a hand. Sparks leapt through the monitors. The screens flickered, then came alive with recordings.
The Tinkerer appeared, hunched over his work while assistants swarmed around him.
A soldier rushed in, breathless. "Sir—Iron Man and two vigilantes are outside. What should we do?"
The Tinkerer didn't look up. His glare was sharp, his voice colder. "Hold them off. Send everyone—including 326 and 327."
One assistant faltered. "But sir, they're your most stable—"
"They're failures," Tinkerer snapped. "Ungrateful brats who'd run without the collars. I've already gathered the data I need. Start evacuation, Dr. Johnathan."
Another man stepped forward. A lab coat, eyes sharp, and shadows rippling unnaturally at his back. His voice was low, smooth. "Call me Spot. The Tinkerer's right. They're disposable. We leave—now."
With a gesture, he tore open a swirling hole of darkness. One by one, the assistants fled through. Tinkerer followed without hesitation.
The feed cut to black.
For a long moment, the room was silent.
Tony stared at the blank screen, his fists curling inside his gauntlets. His voice was low, flat, simmering with fury. "That's a lot of crap I just watched."
Mayura turned away from the screen, her visor glowing faintly in the dark. "And it's not over."
---