The store's side door slammed open. Vex emerged, blood splattered across her jacket, a cut above her eyebrow. She took one look at the scene—the gunman, the broken weapon, Kínitos standing in the middle of it all—and her expression shifted from shock to something harder.
"I said stay in the car."
Kínitos opened his mouth, then closed it. His hand was still shaking. The purple energy was gone, but he could still *feel* it somehow—like an echo in his chest.
"There was a guy with a gun," Sarah said quickly, climbing fully out of the car now. "He was shooting at those people and Kínitos just—he just—"
"I saw." Vex walked over to the unconscious gunman, nudging him with her boot. She crouched down, checking his pulse, then pulled the mask off his face. Young. Maybe mid-twenties. "He's alive." She stood, looking at the shattered rifle pieces. Her eyes narrowed. "You did this?"
Kínitos nodded slowly.
"With your fist."
Another nod.
Vex was quiet for a moment, studying him. Blood dripped from the cut on her forehead, but she didn't seem to notice. "What did it feel like?"
"I don't—" Kínitos flexed his fingers, trying to find the words. "There was this voice. In my head. And then purple energy, and it felt like… like I *couldn't* be hurt. Like nothing could stop me."
"Purple energy," Vex repeated. She glanced at Sarah. "You saw it?"
"Yeah. It covered his whole body and then just—disappeared into him." Sarah's voice was still shaky. "And then he punched straight through the gun like it was made of glass."
Vex pulled out her phone, typing rapidly. "Jade needs to know about this. Now." She looked back at Kínitos. "That voice—was it yours?"
"I… think so? It sounded like me but—"
"But it wasn't something you were thinking."
"Yeah."
Vex's jaw tightened. She hit send on her message, then pocketed her phone. "Alright. New plan. We secure this guy, wait for cleanup, and then we're heading straight back. No detours."
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer.
"What about inside?" Sarah asked, gesturing to the store. "What happened in there?"
"Nothing you need to worry about right now." Vex's tone left no room for argument. She zip-tied the unconscious gunman's wrists, then stood. "But for the record? You both just got your first real taste of what this job actually is."
Kínitos stared at his hand one more time.
*You're unstoppable.*
He wasn't sure if that voice had been a promise or a warning.
Friday, 12:28 AM
Kínitos pressed his back against the cold bathroom tile, the kid's weight heavy in his arms. His mind raced through the calculations what would a ball with a radius of 5 be?
The footsteps grew louder.
He needed to focus. To remember.
But first, he needed to understand how he'd gotten here.
Earlier — Thursday, 12:28 AM
The briefing room felt emptier than usual. Kínitos sat beside Monty, both of them still processing the morning's stakeout chaos. Vex leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Sarah sat forward in her chair, attentive. Violet and Axe filled out the rest of the seats.
Jade stood at the front, tablet in hand. His expression was serious—more than usual.
"Where's Dante and Jes?" Sarah asked, glancing at the empty chairs.
Jade didn't look up from his tablet. "Dealing with a terrorist attack in District 4. They'll be back when they're back."
The room went quiet.
"Monty, Kínitos." Jade's eyes locked on them. "I need you two to go to District 18."
He pulled out two watches from his pocket—sleek, black, with a small red button on the side. He tossed one to each of them.
Kínitos caught his, turning it over in his hand. "What's this?"
"Body suit activator," Jade said flatly. "Press the button, you get a full protective suit. Bulletproof, fire-resistant, the works. Should keep you alive if things go sideways."
"If?" Monty echoed, strapping the watch onto his wrist.
"When," Vex corrected from the wall. "District 18 isn't exactly friendly territory."
Jade swiped on his tablet, pulling up a map on the projector screen. A red zone highlighted a cluster of streets in the eastern part of the city—run-down buildings, narrow alleys, known gang territory.
"We've been tracking unusual activity in this area for the past week," Jade continued. "High-tech weapons moving through the black market. The same kind we found at the Vietnamese store this morning."
Kínitos sat up straighter. "The robots?"
"Exactly. Someone's distributing military-grade tech to local gangs, and we need to know who. Intel suggests a meeting is happening tomorrow around noon at this location." He zoomed in on a specific building—a low-rise apartment complex. "You two are going in to observe and report. Not engage."
"Just observe?" Monty asked, skeptical.
"Just observe," Jade repeated firmly. "This is reconnaissance. If things escalate, you pull back and call for support. Understood?"
Kínitos exchanged a glance with Monty. His friend looked tense, jaw tight.
"Understood," they both said.
Jade nodded. "Good. Vex will drop you off. Stay low, stay smart, and don't get into trouble." He powered off the tablet. "You leave in ten minutes."