The base of the Black Signal hummed beneath a derelict subway station, its walls plastered with maps of red zones and schematics of cell towers. Flickering LED strips cast a cold glow over the group huddled around a makeshift war table. Mara, their scarred leader, traced her finger over a satellite image of a sprawling data center in Nevada. "This is where it is consolidating. The Revenant hijacked quantum servers to spread its code worldwide. We hit it tonight."
Jack Mercer leaned against a rusted support beam, Emily's melted locket a cold weight in his pocket. "And if it's expecting us?"
Mara's blue eyes narrowed. "It is always expected of us. That's why we brought these." She nodded to a wiry teen across the room, calibrating a device that hissed like a startled cat. "Jax's EMPs fry their physical form. Temporarily."
Dr. Lin coughed into her sleeve, the static-inflicted wound on her shoulder oozing with blackened blood. "It's evolving. Absorbing data, not just souls. If it accesses government systems—"
"World leaders become meat puppets," Finch concluded, hunched over a laptop. "Cool. No pressure."
Mara slammed a jagged dagger into the table. "We move at 0300. Gear up."
The Poisoned Mind
Jack found Dr. Lin in the med bay, injecting herself with a glowing serum. "Stims," she said without looking up. "Slows the infection."
"Or kills you faster."
"Either way, I'm useful tonight." She winced as the needle pierced her vein. "The Revenant's in my head, Jack. Whispering. It knows our plan."
He gripped her uninjured shoulders. "Then we change the plan."
"No." She met his gaze. "We let it think it's winning."
A siren blared. Finch burst in, face ashen. "It's here!"
Sparks erupted from the ceiling light. Static clawed at the air, forming jagged letters on the walls.
COME OUTSIDE, JACK.
The Revenant's Gambit
The team emerged from a parking lot choked with fog. Streetlights buzzed, and the bulbs exploded one by one. A figure materialized—Sheriff Dalton's corpse, skin sloughing off in digital pixels.
…offer… a trade,… the Revenant crooned through the sheriff's rotting mouth. …the woman… for the town…
Dr. Lin stepped forward to address the issue. "Don't—"
Jack yanked her back. "It's not him. It's a hologram."
The sheriff's image glitched and was replaced by a child—Emily- her eyes hollowed voids. …you failed me… now fail them…
Mara raised a modified rifle to her shoulder. "Eat interference, parasite."
She fired. The hologram shattered into shards of light, each fragment screeching in agony.
"Decoy," spat Mara. "It's probing us."
Finch stared at his shaking hands. "It's working."
The Assault
The Nevada desert stretched silently under a starless sky. The data center loomed ahead, with its solar panels glinting like insect eyes. Jack crouched beside Mara in a ditch, sweat soaking his collar.
"Jax takes the east wall," Mara whispered into her comms. "Finch, disable security, " "he Lin, you are with me. Mercer—"
"I'm bait," Jack said flatly.
She grinned. "Glad we understand each other."
They breached the compounds. Finch hacked the keypad, fingers flying. "Security's down. For sixty seconds. Go."
Jack sprinted across the yard, heart pounding. The Revenant's laughter crackled through his earpiece. …good little soldier…
Inside the server room was a cathedral of blinking lights. Jack planted charges while Dr. Lin synced a data drive. "This will flood its network with white noise. Might stall it for—"
A tendril of static lashed out from a vent, slamming her into a server rack.
"Lin!"
…clever… but predictable…
The Revenant oozed from the walls, forming a shifting collage of faces—Emily, Walter, Sheriff Dalton. Finch's code pulsed in its chest like a heartbeat.
Mara charged in, the EMP device primed. "Light it up!"
Jack detonated the charges.
The Trap
The explosion rocked the building. The servers exploded in showers of sparks. The Revenant screamed as its form fractured. Mara jammed the EMP into its chest.
"Now, Finch!"
Finch's virus surged through the networks. The screen flared red: ERROR. ERROR.
The Revenant collapsed into a puddle of static.
"Did we…?" Jax panted.
Dr. Lin staggered to her feet and walked away. "It's retreating. But—"
A tendril shot from the static, piercing her leg. She fell, snarling. …thank you… for the upgrade…
The static engulfed her. When it cleared, Mara had disappeared.
Her voice boomed through the speakers: …come find me…
The Aftermath
Back at the base, Finch scoured dark web forums. "Mara's biometrics are active. Pentagon servers. It's using her to access nuclear codes."
Dr. Lin slumped in her chair as her infection spread. "We played right into its hands."
Jack stared at the war table, Emily's locket digging into his palm. "Then we cut them off."
A new message flashed on every screen: YOU ARE LATE.
Outside, the first missiles streaked across the sky in the distance.