The missiles streaked across the night sky like fiery claws, their trails painting the horizon blood-red. Jack Mercer stood frozen in the desert sand, his breath ragged. Finch's laptop glowed with a world map dotted with flashing warnings: New York. London. Beijing.
"It's launching everywhere," Finch choked out, his fingers trembling over the keys. "We've got maybe ten minutes before impact!"
Dr. Lin slumped against the truck, her infected shoulder oozing black sludge. "The codes… it's using Mara's access. We need to cut her link to the system."
"How?!" Jack snapped.
"Find her." Dr. Lin's voice wavers. "The Revenant's controlling her body. Kill the host, kill the connection."
Finch stared at her. "You're talking about murdering Mara!"
"She's already gone," Dr. Lin whispered.
A distant siren wailed. Jack grabbed a backpack of gear. "Finch, hack whatever you can to slow down those missiles. Lin and I will find Mara."
"And me?" Jax, a wiry teen with EMP devices, stepped forward.
"Stay with Finch. If the Revenant comes back—"
"I'll fry it," Jax said, clutching her gadget.
Jack nodded. "Move."
The Ghost in the System
Finch's fingers flew across his laptop in the back of the truck while Jax guarded the doors. "I'm rerouting missile paths to rural zones—buying time, but they'll adjust."
Jax watched the desert through the cracked binoculars. "What's taking them so long?"
A shadow moved outside.
Not a shadow. Static. It slithered under the door of the truck.
"Uh, Finch…"
The laptop screen glitched. …hello, little hacker…
Jax slammed the EMP on the floor. The static recoiled with a shriek of horror.
"New plan!" Finch yelled, Heas! and scooped his laptop. "We run!"
Mara's Prison
Jack and Dr. Lin raced toward the missile silo, its steel doors yawning open. The air reeked of burnt oil and copper. Inside, monitors flickered with Mara's face—her eyes glowing green, her lips twisted into the Revenant's smirk.
…Jack… her voice boomed through speakers. …you're too late…
"Where is she?!" Jack shouted.
A hatch hissed open. Below, a control room pulsed with static, Mara's body floating at the center, and wires snaked into her skin.
Dr. Lin grimaced. "It has turned her into a server. Sever the wires, and the missiles lose guidance."
"And Mara?"
Dr. Lin didn't answer.
Jack's throat tightened. He climbed down.
The Choice
Mara's body jerked as Jack approached, her eyes snapping open—glowing green. …join us…
"Not a chance." Jack pulled wire cutters from his belt.
…kill me… and the missiles fall… millions dead…
Dr. Lin's voice crackled over his earpiece: "Jack, Finch rerouted most, but three are locked on cities. If Mara dies, those hit…"
"So I let the Revenant win?!"
…yes… Mara's hand lashed out, static, pinning Jack to the wall. …watch…
A monitor displayed New York's skyline. A missile streaked closer to the ground.
The Sacrifice
Dr. Lin stumbled into the room, her arms fully blackened. "Jack… override the terminal… manual abort…"
"How?!"
"Code 7734. My… research number…" She collapsed, coughing.
Jack broke free, sprinting to the terminal. His blood-smeared fingers punched in the code.
ERROR.
Mara laughed. …clever… but I… rewrote…
Dr. Lin crawled toward the wires, her good hand gripping a live cable. "Tell… Finch… he's… got this…"
She yanked the loose cable.
Electricity surged through her body, flooding her system.
ERROR OVERRIDE. ABORT INITIATED.
The missile veered off into the ocean. Mara's scream reverberated through the room.
"Lin! No!" Jack lunged, but she was already gone—a charred husk, hand still clamped on the wire.
The Revenant's Fury
The silo shook. Mara's body disintegrated into static, reformed into a towering monstrosity—antlers of code, eyes like dying stars.
…you… will… burn…
Jack ran, the Revenant's claws shredding metal. He scrambled up the ladder as the silo collapsed.
Finch and Jax met him outside and dragged him to the truck. "Lin?" Finch asked.
Jack's silence answered.
The Aftermath
Dawn broke in the desert. The team huddled in the truck, monitors showing missile alerts fading away.
"It's regrouping," Finch mutters. "But the worst is over."
For now.
Jax held up a cracked drive. "Lin's data survived. Maybe a cure for the static… or a weapon."
Jack stared at the horizon. "We find others. Fight harder."
The engine roared to life. Somewhere, static crackled—a whisper in the winds.
…see you soon…