Chapter 18: The Lab in the Sky
Above Bastion — 50,000 ft Elevation
A floating research fortress loomed in the sky, anchored by gravitational pylons and invisible magnetic locks. From the city below, it looked like a drifting star. From above, it was a laboratory of horrors.
Rayven stared out the dropship's viewport, fists clenched.
"They built this to hide from the world," he said. "And to play gods."
Jex adjusted the power regulators strapped to his vest. "According to the recovered data, this place isn't just a lab. It's a cradle—the birthplace of the Reconstructed."
Selene checked her pulse blades. "Then let's burn it to the ground."
Infiltration – Silent Storm
The dropship latched onto the underside of the sky fortress.
Rayven, Selene, Jex, and Rhea dropped into a loading bay cloaked in shadows. No alarms. No guards. Only silence.
"Too quiet," Selene muttered, eyes scanning every corner.
The door ahead opened by itself.
Rayven led the charge in.
The corridors were pristine. Sterile. Cold white lights buzzed overhead. Monitors showed biometric data scrolling fast—unreadable even to Jex's enhanced lenses.
"They knew we were coming," Rayven said.
"No," Rhea added. "They want us here."
The Nursery
They entered a vast chamber filled with vertical incubation pods.
Dozens. Maybe hundreds.
Inside each: humanlike beings—some half-formed, others eerily perfect—floating in neon blue fluid.
Some looked like Rayven. Others like old Resistance commanders long thought dead.
Selene recoiled. "They're… cloning legends."
Rayven stepped closer to a pod that showed a young version of him—before the fire, before the fall.
It opened its eyes.
So did every other pod.
Then alarms screamed.
Trapped
Metal shutters slammed shut behind them.
An automated voice boomed across the chamber:
"Sequence 9A initiated. Biological threats contained. Initiating purge in 4 minutes."
The pod-borne clones began to move, slamming against glass, snarling like feral beasts.
Jex ran to the console. "I can override it—but I need time."
Rayven and Selene took defensive positions as the first pod shattered.
A clone of Rayven, younger and bulkier, charged out with a roar.
"This is what they wanted," Rayven spat, dodging a fist. "To replace me."
Selene sliced through a second clone. "Then let's prove we're not obsolete!"
Countdown Chaos
3 minutes left.
The chamber exploded into chaos. Dozens of clone versions burst free—some nearly indistinguishable from the original Resistance members. They fought without fear, without pain.
Rhea activated her magnetic field, slamming multiple clones against the walls.
Rayven fought a clone of himself wearing Seraphim armor.
"You are just a memory," Rayven growled.
"And you are a mistake," the clone replied.
With a cry, Rayven cracked its skull.
Escape from the Nursery
Jex finally broke through the override.
The chamber doors opened just in time for the group to flee into a vertical shaft leading toward the lab's core.
Behind them, the entire nursery ignited—clone tanks combusting in a fiery chain reaction.
Selene looked back once. "What they were making… it wasn't just soldiers."
Rayven nodded grimly. "It was a legacy they could control."
The Core Room — Father's Voice
They reached the main chamber, where a massive hologram flickered to life.
A tall man with pale eyes. Regal features. Familiar.
Rayven froze.
"Father."
The hologram smiled coldly. "You survived. Good. Then my blood still has potential."
Rayven's voice broke. "You're dead."
"You think a king dies so easily? They preserved my mind here. My vision. This lab… this is my will."
The group stood stunned.
"You were born to rule, Rayven. But you chose weakness. So I made better versions. Stronger. Obedient."
Rayven stepped forward. "You created monsters."
"No. I created continuity."
Decision at the Core
A control panel rose from the floor—marked with Rayven's bloodline signature.
Jex whispered, "That's a full-sequence core override. If you touch that, the lab crashes."
Rhea added, "But so do we. No way off in time."
Rayven stared at the controls. His father's voice echoed again.
"This city will never follow a boy who doubts. But it will follow a name that endures—through any body. Even a clone."
Rayven raised his gauntlet and placed it on the panel.
"Then let the city rise from truth, not a lie."
Crash from the Heavens
Warning sirens blared across the sky fortress.
Auto-destruct began. Gravity anchors failed.
The entire lab began its descent—plummeting from the sky like a dying god.
Rayven and the team sprinted to the hangar as explosions tore through the upper decks.
They reached a small Seraphim interceptor—just big enough for four.
Selene piloted. Rhea manned the rear cannon.
Rayven sat beside Jex, staring back at the falling lab as it disappeared into the clouds.
The Crash Site
The lab struck the ground outside Bastion with a monstrous roar—cracking the crust and sending dust clouds across the horizon.
The Seraphim responded in minutes—but too late.
The Resistance watched from a distance.
One of the children from the slums looked up at Rayven.
"Was that… your tower?"
Rayven looked down at his bloodstained gloves.
"No. That was my father's."