INN HQ – NEW ATLANTICS – COMMAND FLOOR
The city has stopped screaming..
That's the worst part.
New Atlantics lies wounded beneath the morning haze—smoke columns rising where streets once were, emergency sirens echoing in uneven intervals, news drones circling like vultures too polite to land.
Inside INN Headquarters, the command floor feels hollowed out.
Not defeated.
But shaken.
Screens replay the same footage on loop:
Skybreak descending.
Buildings folding.
Agents thrown like paper.
The cost scrolls beneath it—
CIVILIAN INJURED: 143
ECHO TEAM CASUALTIES: CRITICAL
PSI ENTITY: STATUS UNKNOWN
MADISON CONNOR stands at the center console, arms folded tight—not defensive, but bracing.
CHARLES LIVINGSTON stands beside her, jaw set, eyes burning with calculations he can't afford to voice.
CHARLES LIVINGSTON:She vanished clean.
MADISON CONNOR :No residual tear. No portal echo.She didn't leave.She was removed.
A pause.
Then—
A hesitant voice.
AGENT TOM:Director… Sir?
Both turn.
AGENT TOM stands near the rear console, tablet clutched a little too tightly in his hands.
Twenty-three.
New badge.
Too much responsibility for someone who still looks like he expects permission to breathe.
MADISON CONNOR:Go ahead, Agent.
Tom swallows, nods, then steps forward.
AGENT TOM:I… I was cross-referencing post-incident satellite sweeps with recent missing-persons reports. Mostly routine.
He taps the tablet.
A face appears.
Unwashed hair. Sunken eyes. A woman wrapped in layers too thin for the season.
AGENT TOM:She was reported missing twenty-eight days ago. No fixed address. Classified as transient.
Madison leans closer.
MADISON CONNOR:Zoom in.
The image sharpens.
Then—
Tom switches the feed.
Skybreak.
Floating. Glowing. Terrifying.
The room goes quiet.
AGENT TOM:Facial mapping confirms a ninety-nine-point-six match.
He exhales, voice trembling—not from fear, but weight.
AGENT TOM:They're the same person.
Charles closes his eyes briefly.
CHARLES LIVINGSTON:Name?
AGENT TOM :Records list her as Evelyn Marr. No criminal history. No enhancements. No known affiliations.Just… homeless.
The word lands hard.
Madison straightens slowly.
MADISON CONNOR : Show us everything.
INN HQ – FORENSIC MEDIA ROOM – MOMENTS LATER
Footage rolls.
Grainy. Poorly lit.
An alley.
Rain pooling on cracked concrete.
Evelyn—before Skybreak—sits against a wall, arms wrapped around herself.
Then—
The image glitches.
A figure steps into frame.
Distorted. Unstable. Like reality doesn't fully agree with his presence.
The glitched figure.
He stands in front of her.
They speak.
But—
No sound.
Muted.
Tom scrubs the footage carefully.
The figure raises a hand.
Makes a small, deliberate gesture toward her forehead.
The frame tears.
Both vanish.
Static floods the screen.
End of footage.
No portal. No explosion. No witnesses.
Just absence.
Silence lingers in the room.
MADISON CONNOR: (quiet) That's all we have?
AGENT TOM:Yes, ma'am. That's… that's the furthest evidence trail we've ever recovered on him.
Madison nods once.
Not angry.
Not relieved.
Worried.
MADISON CONNOR:You did well, Agent Tom.
Tom stiffens—surprised.
AGENT TOM :Thank you, Director.
Charles watches him carefully.
CHARLES LIVINGSTON:You're young.
Tom blinks.
CHARLES LIVINGSTON:But you were thorough.That matters here.
Tom exhales—relief mixing with gravity.
He steps back.
Madison turns to Charles.
MADISON CONNOR: She wasn't chosen for power.She was chosen for vulnerability.
Charles nods grimly.
CHARLES LIVINGSTON:Which means this wasn't a random attack.It was a demonstration.
NEW ATLANTICS –CITY STREETS – DAY
Chaos without direction.
People argue. Some flee. Others demand answers.
Echo Team medics load wounded agents into armored transports.
Civilians film everything.
Fear spreads faster than debris.
JAXON STEEL'S APARTMENT
The news plays softly.
Too softly.
JAXON STEEL stands near the window, arms crossed, staring at the city skyline.
Skybreak's image freezes on the screen.
He doesn't blink.
NEWS ANCHOR :—authorities confirm the attacker was human. Enhanced by unknown means—
Jaxon turns the TV off.
Silence.
He presses his forehead lightly against the glass.
The city reflects back at him.
A city he failed to protect.
A brother he couldn't save.
Lopez's face flashes in his mind—
Chains. Red glow. Empty eyes.
Hydra's weapon.
JAXON STEEL:(whisper) I'm breaking.
No answer comes.
Only the city breathing beneathhim.
INN RESEARCH LAB – EVENING
PROFESSOR MICHAEL MORGAN stands near a holo-display, arms folded behind his back.
SUSAN THOMAS listens quietly as data scrolls.
MICHAEL MORGAN:Skybreak changes the equation.
SUSAN THOMAS:She proves something else.
Morgan tilts his head.
MICHAEL MORGAN:What's that?
Susan's voice is calm.
SUSAN THOMAS:That power doesn't need technology anymore.Just access.
A beat.
MICHAEL MORGAN:Then we're already behind.
They exchange a look.
Concern without panic.
UNKNOWN LOCATION – MENTAL PLANE / VOID SPACE
Darkness.
Not empty.
Occupied.
Skybreak floats alone.
Still. Obedient.
Then—
A voice enters her mind.
Smooth. Fractured. Commanding.
GLITCHED FIGURE (in her mind):You will go to him.
Her eyes glow brighter.
SKYBREAK:Who?
A pause.
The name is spoken.
Carefully.
Deliberately.
GLITCHED FIGURE : Azrael Shen.
Something inside her stirs.
Recognition without memory.
SKYBREAK:Understood.
She vanishes.
No light.
No sound.
Just absence.
ABANDONED STRUCTURE – NIGHT
The space where Skybreak stood moments ago is empty.
Then—
A foot steps into frame.
Alien.
Clawed.
Heavy.
The ground cracks slightly beneath it.
The creature pauses.
Feels the air.
Feels what passed through.
We do not see its face.
Only the implication.
Then—
TO BE CONTINUED..