Lightning split the skyline ahead, bathing the streets in stark flashes of blue-white. Max's optics adjusted instantly — HUD lines sharpening, target reticles snapping into focus. The air smelled of ozone and wet asphalt, the kind of scent that always came right before something exploded.
The drone's signal pinged on his vision — closing fast. Its hum was low at first, almost like thunder's echo, until it grew into a roar that vibrated through his chestplate. Then it appeared: a towering Militech combat frame, easily four meters tall, landing with a quake that cracked the pavement. Its armor was blackened chrome, its optics a burning crimson slit. Each footstep sent tremors up the block.
"Mary," Max said, still running, "feed me its schematics."
"Negative," Mary replied. "It's not in any Militech database. Whatever that thing is — it's custom. Experimental."
"Perfect." He grinned. "Means it'll break easier."
The drone rotated its upper chassis with a mechanical growl, locking onto him. Twin cannons whirred to life, glowing hot. Then came the barrage.
Bolts of plasma tore through the night, turning rain into steam. Max darted left, sliding across slick asphalt as explosions shredded the road behind him. He leapt off a wrecked taxi, flipped midair, and landed in a crouch beside a half-collapsed overpass.
"Mary, divert auxiliary power to kinetic dampeners."
"Done. Max, you're about to take a direct hit if—"
She didn't need to finish. The drone fired a cluster missile that slammed into the overpass, the shockwave hurling debris into the air. Max raised his hand, his kinetic barrier snapping open — blue energy bending around him as the blast rolled past.
When the smoke cleared, he was already moving. He sprinted straight at the monster.
The drone adjusted its aim, but Max was faster. He vaulted off a fallen beam, drew his sidearm, and fired — six precise rounds, each aimed at a glowing vent seam along its left leg. Sparks flew, plating shattered, the drone staggered back.
Max landed hard, rolling to his feet as Mary's voice cut through. "Structural weakness detected. You can destabilize its reactor if—"
"Yeah, yeah," Max interrupted. "Working on it."
He sprinted again, weaving through the hail of fire, every step measured, almost playful. When a missile screamed toward him, he jumped — right into the explosion — vanishing inside the blaze.
The drone scanned the smoke, systems recalibrating. Then, through the fire, Max's silhouette emerged. He was walking — calm, deliberate — the flames curling harmlessly off his armor as his regeneration protocols flared to life, burning bright under his skin.
"Man," he said, almost laughing, "I missed this."
He raised his arm. A small device ejected from his wrist and clattered to the ground. It blinked once — red, then blue.
Mary gasped. "Max, that's a quantum destabilizer—"
"I know." He smirked. "Gotta make it cinematic."
He aimed his pistol at the device and fired.
The world detonated.
A dome of blinding energy swallowed the entire intersection. Metal melted. Shockwaves tore the walls apart. The Militech drone convulsed midair, its systems shorting in a storm of glitching red light before it was ripped apart molecule by molecule — pulled inward toward the collapsing sphere of blue plasma.
When the light faded, nothing remained. Just scorched concrete, twisted rebar, and the faint hiss of cooling rain.
And Max — standing in the center, smoke rising from his coat, eyes glowing faintly beneath the hood.
"Mary," he said, exhaling a laugh. "Status?"
Her voice crackled softly. "Target destroyed. And you're… still alive. Against probability."
"See?" he said, brushing ash off his sleeve. "Told you I'm hard to kill."
He turned toward the ruined skyline, the rain washing soot from his coat. In the distance, neon lights flickered weakly through the haze.
"Signal the others," he said. "Tell them the drone's gone."
"Done," Mary replied. "But Max… Militech's grid just flared again. Multiple signals. They're waking more units."
Max smiled, half amused, half tired. "Then they'll have to wait their turn."
He started walking, boots echoing through the empty street — one man against the storm, his shadow swallowed by the lightning as he disappeared into the neon rain.
The storm hadn't let up by the time Max reached the edge of the industrial sector. Steam hissed from manholes, streetlights flickered like dying stars, and the city's pulse seemed to echo in rhythm with the low hum of his reactor core. He stopped beneath a half-collapsed skybridge, rain sliding down his coat, washing away the grime and plasma soot from the earlier blast.
Mary's voice came through the comms — steady, but faint under the static.
"Max, I've confirmed the readings from the blast site. The drone detonation registered as a total loss. Militech's tracking network believes you're gone."
He smirked faintly, wiping rain from his optics. "So they think I died?"
"Yes," she said. "And they've pulled back. Patrols are retreating from the blast radius. For now, you're off the grid."
Max exhaled slowly, his breath misting in the cold air. "Good. Gives us a window."
He adjusted the collar of his coat, glancing up at the broken skyline — where the glow of distant neon was already fading behind sheets of rain.
"So," he continued, "are the false IDs ready for the others?"
"Ready and active," Mary confirmed. "I uploaded them to their secure nodes two minutes ago. V, Jackie, and Lucy are already moving under new credentials. Their new biometrics are live."
"Means their face implants are synced too?" Max asked.
"Already done." There was a flicker of pride in her tone. "I rerouted their visual implants through the same quantum layer you use. Their features have shifted to match their new profiles. DNA traces, retinal signatures — all updated."
Max chuckled under his breath, the sound low and tired. "Damn. You even gave them new faces."
"Subtle changes only," Mary said. "Enough to fool Militech's scans. To the naked eye, they'll just look a little different. But on record… they're ghosts now."
Max leaned against the cold steel support beam, letting the rain patter across his hood. For a moment, he was silent — just the sound of wind and distant thunder filling the space.
"Guess that's for the best," he muttered. "Let them start over. Away from this mess."
Mary hesitated. "And you?"
He smiled faintly, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll stay dead a little longer. Let them think the explosion wiped me out."
"Militech won't stop looking," she warned.
"I'm counting on it," Max said. "The moment they start searching for a ghost, they'll overlook the real problem."
***
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