The Weight of Truth
The safe house was quiet.
Too quiet.
The battle was over, the team was back together, and yet the tension in the air was suffocating. No one spoke. No one moved.
Jeffrie sat at the head of the table, his golden eyes locked onto the flickering holo-screen in front of him. Azul's fingers tapped furiously on her tablet, decrypting the stolen files from Sable's facility.
Ray and Trice stood nearby, arms crossed, tension rolling off them in waves. They had fought tooth and nail to break free from Sable's control, but now they were facing an even bigger unknown.
Sable had used them. All of them.
And worst of all?
He had been using Jeffrie the longest.
Jeffrie's fingers curled into a fist. His knuckles turned white.
He didn't even know who he was anymore.
Lily, sitting beside him, placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Jeff..."
He flinched.
Her touch was warm, grounding, but it did nothing to stop the storm in his head.
Scarlett, leaning against the wall, scoffed. "So, what now? We just sit here waiting for more bad news?"
Sophia shot her a glare. "Give him a second, Red."
Scarlett's green eyes flashed. "A second? He's been silent since we got back. Meanwhile, Sable is out there planning his next move."
Raven spoke from the shadows, her voice unreadable. "She's not wrong."
Jeffrie exhaled slowly, forcing his hands to relax. "We don't wait," he said, his voice sharper than intended. "We take the fight to Sable."
Ray smirked. "Now you're talkin', Brudda."
Trice nodded. "About damn time."
Azul let out a satisfied hum. "Good, because I just cracked the first layer of encryption."
The screen glowed brighter, displaying classified data logs. Azul's smirk vanished. "Oh... this is worse than we thought."
Jeffrie leaned in. "Show me."
The Files That Changed Everything
The decrypted documents scrolled across the screen. The more Jeffrie read the more his stomach twisted.
• List of test subjects—dozens of names, most marked deceased.
• Project Notes: "Subjects display increased strength, speed, and endurance. Neural suppression is active. Memory wipes successful."
• Command Codes: Hidden protocols. One phrase from Sable and any of them could be shut down instantly.
Scarlett cursed under her breath. "That bastard had us on a leash the whole damn time."
Trice clenched his jaw. "Not anymore."
But Jeffrie barely heard them.
His name was there—but it was different from the others.
There were no experiment logs for him.
Just a single line:
Classified. Non-human variant. Enhanced endurance observed. Further testing is required.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
Ray frowned. "Yo, Jeff... you good?"
Jeffrie forced himself to breathe. He wanted to say yes, but the word wouldn't come out.
He wasn't good.
Because something wasn't right.
The Flood of Memories
Pain shot through Jeffrie's skull.
His vision blurred.
The world around him flickered—
Suddenly, he wasn't in the safe house anymore.
He was back in a lab.
A sterile, white room. Cold restraints biting into his wrists. Bright lights overhead.
A voice echoed.
"Increase the dosage. His body shouldn't be able to withstand this. And yet, he keeps Healing."
The pain in his skull intensified.
Images slammed into his mind:
• Needles piercing his skin.
• Flames surrounding him—but they didn't burn.
• Water rising above his head—but he didn't drown.
• Shadows twisting at the edges of his vision—watching.
The whispers returned.
You are more than this.
His body jerked. His breath caught in his throat.
Someone was calling his name—
Then—
The fire flickered.
Jeffrie snapped back to reality.
The safe house came into focus.
He was on his knees, drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged.
Lily was gripping his shoulders, her face filled with worry. "Jeffrie! Talk to me."
Scarlett and Raven were hovering nearby, their postures tense.
Azul's voice was sharp. "BruddaBear, what the hell was that?"
Jeffrie swallowed hard, running a shaking hand through his hair. "I saw... something." His voice was hoarse. "Memories. A lab. Tests. But... not normal ones."
Ray and Trice exchanged glances.
Trice's expression darkened. "Cuzzo, we told you they did more to us than we remember."
Jeffrie exhaled, trying to steady himself. "Yeah. But this... this wasn't like yours."
Scarlett frowned. "What do you mean?"
Jeffrie met her gaze. "I don't think they made me stronger."
Silence.
Sophia leaned forward. "Then what did they do?"
Jeffrie's hands clenched. "I think... I was already like this."
The words felt foreign leaving his mouth, but deep down, they felt right.
He had survived every experiment. Healed too quickly. His memories weren't just wiped—they were hidden.
And now, piece by piece, they were returning.
The Next Move
A heavy silence settled over the team.
Then, Ray clapped his hands together. "Well, now we really gotta kill this bastard."
Trice grinned. "Bout damn time."
Scarlett smirked. "I always wanted to burn down an entire empire."
Sophia was already scanning the files. "Then let's start with this." She pulled up a live feed—an armed military convoy.
Raven narrowed her eyes. "What is that?"
Sophia's expression darkened. "Intel says this is one of Sable's major operations. Whatever's in that convoy? It's important enough for him to send his best soldiers to guard it."
Lily crossed her arms. "Then we make sure it never reaches its destination."
Raven smirked. "We hijack the convoy."
Jeffrie let out a slow breath. The uncertainty in his chest hadn't faded, but one thing was clear—
They weren't running anymore.
His golden eyes gleamed. "Damn right.