The streetlight overhead flickered twice, then it bursts, plunging the alley into strobe lit darkness. The sharp sound of shattering glass fades into a moment of unnatural silence...
Mayhem's laughter pierces the dark. She launches herself forward a blur of red and black, limbs twisting with circus trained precision, madness glowing in her eyes. She flips over Brevin, barely touching ground, and zeroes in on Jor'Danna like a wolf after its prey.
Jor'Danna's heart skips a beat, but her hands snap into motion. The wind blew hard and her eyes lit up. Two doppelgängers peel off from her body, mirroring her panic, and they dashed off in opposite directions down the alley.
Mayhem doesn't slow. She cartwheels between the illusions, springing into a double kick mid-air.
One clone bursts into stardust on contact.
"Cute trick," Mayhem growls, mid-spin.
But Jor'Danna is already moving, shoulder-rolling into a low powerful sweep and coming up fast. Her glowing fist crashes into Mayhem's jaw.
The sound is sharp, a sickening crack explodes sending Mayhem flipping backwards, crashing hard against a parked utility truck. The metal buckles, and the windshield spiderwebs.
Jor'Danna blinks, stunned at her own strength. Mayhem laughs. Loud. Wild. Bloody. She wipes crimson from her mouth with the back of her glove.
"So, barbie actually hits the gym." She snapped.
She springs off the car hood, lands on the side of a dumpster, and with force lunges herself off coming down with an axe kick aimed at Jor'Danna's face.
Jor'Danna barely rolls aside in time, the blow cratering the concrete beside her. Mayhem whirls around, elbow-first. It slams into Jor'Danna's ribs with a thud that knocks the air from her lungs. She stumbled, gasping, but caught herself on one knee.
Mayhem didn't let up. She shot forward like a blur, cackling as she grabbed a fistful of Jor'Danna's curls and yanked her head back. She drove Jor'Danna's face down into her knee with a brutal crack.
Blood streamed from Jor'Danna's nose. Before she could recover, Mayhem's fist slammed into her chest, sending her crashing into the alley wall like a ragdoll.
"JOR'DANNA!" Ozias' voice echoed in panic.
Her vision was blurred. Dust filled her lungs, and pain pulsed through her ribs, but beneath it, something sharper bloomed.
Anger.
A low growl formed in her throat as she pushed herself to her feet, blood on her lip, eyes glowing brighter than before. Two doppelgängers shimmered to life beside her. All three charged.
Mayhem laughed, flexing her fists. "Aww, is Barbie upset?"
She threw a punch, but Jor'Danna ducked clean under it. One copy snatched Mayhem's wrist and twisted it behind her back. The other slid low and grabbed her ankles, locking her in place. Jor'Danna closed the distance. Her fist ignited with energy and she drove it hard into Mayhem's chest.
BOOM!
Mayhem flew backwards from the impact, but before she could hit the ground, a third clone appeared behind her and kicked her square in the back, sending her spinning midair before she crashed into the asphalt with a scream. She squirmed in pain, dazed and coughing.
Jor'Danna stepped forward, blue fire still pulsing from her hands. Her voice was cold.
"Don't ever put your hands in my hair, you psychotic bitch."
On the far end of the alley, Rage moved. Slower than Mayhem, but heavier. Deliberate. Each step thudded like a war drum. Shadows rippled behind him, thick and violent, rising like smoke given form. They twisted into jagged, slashing arms that snapped and flailed in rhythm with his breath. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. He locked eyes with Brevin. A silent challenge.
Brevin's body tensed, heart thumping in his ears.
"Shit."
Rage lunged a massive fist cocked back with force behind it, but just before the punch landed Ozias jumped between them. Rage's fist slammed into Ozias's chest, sending a shockwave down the alley.
Ozias slid back several feet, boots carving into the ground, absorbing every ounce of the blow.
He didn't fall. He absorbed it. His eyes flared an earthy yellow. His veins lit up with pulsing energy as his forearms crackled like heated stone.
"My turn," Ozias growled.
He lunged forward closing the gap with a brutal right hook. The seismic energy exploded from his fists on impact.
Rage was launched backwards, smashing through a parked truck and slamming into the brick wall behind it. Metal crunched. Brick shattered. Dust clouded the air.
"Whoa," Brevin muttered, eyes wide. "Thanks, man!"
Ozias gave a curt nod, already turning back toward the wreckage.
Brevin didn't waste the moment. He leapt into the air, vanishing into the shadows above like smoke dissolving into the wind. He landed on a fire escape, crouched low, heart pounding. The chaos below was muffled from this height just the dull echo of fists, crashes, and screams.
But then there was a shift in the air. Cold. Heavy. Predatory. Before he could react a blast of shadowy energy struck him in the back. Brevin was flung from the ledge, crashing to the concrete below with a thud that rattled his bones. He groaned, rolling over, blood dripping from his mouth as he pushed to his feet. A silhouette stepped from the shadows holding blades gleaming like teeth.
"Missed me?" Reaper sneered, twirling his twin blades with practiced ease.
Brevin's breath caught in his throat. "You again."
Reaper grinned. "Ready for round two?"
Brevin didn't answer. His eyes instantly glowed, bright and cold. His fingers twitched, and in the same instant Reaper's right arm jerked unnaturally to the side.
Before he could stop himself, he'd turned his own blade inward, and slashed himself deep across his thigh. The blade came forward and went deep into his side.
"AGHH!" Reaper screamed, dropping to one knee as black blood spilled down his leg and leaked from his side wound. His expression twisted in fury.
Brevin stood tall, shadow curling around his hands like tendrils.
"You really should've stayed down the first time."
Reaper snarled, clutching his bleeding thigh. "Cute trick."
He reached behind him and clicked something on his belt. A pulse of light rippled across his body disrupting the energetic strings attached to him. It shimmered like heat waves.
Brevin felt it instantly. His grip on Reaper's limb faltered, and the string of connection disconnected.
"What the hell—?" Brevin muttered.
Reaper surged forward, fast.
Brevin ducked just as a blade whistled past his head, metal slicing the air.
Reaper came down hard with the second blade, but Brevin caught his wrist mid-strike, twisting it and using his puppeteering power to briefly lock the limb, but the energy field fought him. Brevin's grip was unstable glitching, fading in and out like a weak signal.
Reaper took advantage and headbutted Brevin square in the face. Brevin stumbled back, blood blooming from his brow.
"Can't use your puppet master tricks now can you pussy." Reaper grinned.
Reaper dashed forward, hurling one of his blades.
A blur of steel cut through the air.
Brevin barely dodged, but before he could counter, Reaper vanished into black smoke, and reappeared behind him. Steel pierced his flesh.
"Gah—!" Brevin staggered as the blade drove into his side, hot pain flaring across his abdomen, but he didn't crumble.
With a grunt, he threw a sharp elbow backward, slamming into Reaper's jaw with a crack. Reaper stumbled back, and Brevin forcefully dug his black clawed hand it into Reaper's ribs. He screamed in pain as Brevin's black claws slashed across Reaper's chest, ripping through leather and skin drawing blood.
Brevin floated back, clutching his side, wincing, but his claws with reapers blood dripping from it began to move. Precise. Controlled. Dangerous.
Reaper's body jolted.
The puppeteer was back in control.
Reaper's arms lifted against his will, his own blades turning toward his throat. The edges pressed to his skin just enough to draw blood.
Brevin's eyes were cold fire. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't take your fuckin' head off."
Reaper chuckled through clenched teeth, blood dripping from his mouth. "You don't have the balls."
Brevin's fingers twitched, to cut Reapers head off, but
a low whistle sliced through the air. Before he could react, a streetlight pole crashed into him like a missile
slamming Brevin out of the air and into the ground with a thunderous impact. The pavement cracked beneath him and his body went still. Unconscious.
Reaper dropped to the ground, gasping in relief, blood still pouring from his wounds.
Ozias turned.
He'd felt the impact.
His eyes locked on Brevin's unmoving form, and then shifted to the one who threw the pole. Rage.
The massive Obsidian stood in the center of the alley, muscles flexed, black tendrils whipping behind him like live wires. He turned and charged toward Ozias.
Ozias planted his feet deep in the ground. His arms glowed orange-red and pulsing with the stored energy of the last blow. The ground trembled beneath him.
Rage collided with him in a burst of shadow and force, fists swinging like sledgehammers. Ozias blocked the first hit, countered with a seismic punch of his own, shockwaves cracked the air like thunder.
Rage lunged, grabbing Ozias by the arm, and drove a brutal punch into his chest. The impact rocked Ozias, and before he could recover Rage slammed his forehead into Ozias's skull. Ozias' vision blurred. Pain throbbed through his head and a tight, burning pressure built in his chest.
Rage didn't stop. He roared, fists pummeling Ozias with savage force, one after the other like a maniac beast set loose.
"It's time to end this," Ozias growled through gritted teeth.
In a flash, veins of light surged down his legs, crackling across his calves and heels. He reared back and slammed his foot down onto Rage's with bone-shattering force.
BOOM! The ground cratered beneath them. Rage screamed, staggering as his face contorted in real pain for the first time. Ozias's eyes lit up fully now, glowing like molten lava. Energy shot through his body from his shoulders to his fists, like lightning racing through stone. With a roar, he punched Rage in the chest, sending a shockwave through the Obsidian's ribs.
Rage doubled over, and Ozias came with a second seismic punch right in his face.
Blood exploded from Rage's nose as the force launched him across the parking lot. He slammed into a brick wall with devastating speed and dropped. He tried to rise, but his legs gave out. He collapsed. Ozias was hit with major fatigue and dropped to one knee.
A harsh laugh echoed behind Ozias sharp, feral, and cruel. It was Mayhem.
She drove a hard kick into Jor'Danna's side, sending her skidding across the pavement with a pained grunt.
Mayhem dashed after her, boots scraping asphalt, and stopped just over Jor'Danna's body. She grabbed her by the collar and jerked her upward viciously slapping her in the face. Punching her in the nose. Blood started trickling from Jor'Danna's nose.
"C'mon, Barbie!" Mayhem cackled. "You were starting to be fun."
Jor'Danna's eyes lit up. A flicker of awareness sparked, and she spotted one of Reaper's blades glinting on the ground nearby. Behind Mayhem, a doppelgänger appeared silently pulling her backward and did a swift kick knocking Mayhem's feet off from under her.
Before Mayhem could hit the ground, the clone twisted and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending her crashing across the pavement like a broken doll.
Jor'Danna flipped to her feet in a single breath.
She sprinted after her, snatching up Reaper's fallen blade along the way. Two more doppelgängers split from her sides, racing ahead toward Mayhem.
Mayhem flipped upright and dashed forward, wild and furious. She obliterated one clone mid-sprint, her fists a blur, but the second clone grabbed a fistful of her pigtail and yanked her head back delivering a powerful elbow to her face.
Mayhem staggered, dazed. The same clone spun behind her and delivered a devastating kick to her spine, launching her directly toward Jor'Danna.
Mayhem gasped, but it was too late. The blade drove through her abdomen.Everything stopped. Jor'Danna's eyes glowed bright and cold. Her grip didn't shake.
"Is this fun enough for you?" she snarled. Her fiery blue fist connected with Mayhem's chest. The impact launched Mayhem across the alley, straight into Reaper's already broken body, knocking them both to the ground in a heap of blood and groans.
Jor'Danna stood over them for a beat, chest heaving, hand slick with blood. Then she heard a groan from across the lot. Her eyes dimmed and retuned to normal. She turned and saw Ozias on one knee. His breath steady but ragged.
"We need to go!" she called, already running toward him.
Ozias nodded once.
"Where's Brevin?"
Jor'Danna's face shifted fear returning. They sprinted together across the lot. Brevin still lay where Rage's pole had slammed him to the ground, blood streaked along his temple.
Jor'Danna dropped to her knees. "Brevin. Brevin!"
He didn't move.
Ozias reached down, lifting him up like nothing, careful but fast. Jor'Danna threw open the SUV door they had parked around the corner, the engine still warm from earlier. They piled in, Ozias in the back holding Brevin steady while Jor'Danna slid behind the wheel.
The SUV roared as she sped out of the parking lot, tires screeching against the pavement. In the rearview mirror, she caught one last glimpse. A swirling, black mist tore open the air like a wound. A portal. Through it, she saw the Obsidians broken, bloodied, limping.
Mayhem clutched her side, Reaper staggered with one arm hanging, and Rage dragged his foot. They held onto each other as they disappeared into the darkness, vanishing with a final hiss of shadow.
Behind them, distant sirens began to scream, their shrill wail rising like a warning. Jor'Danna exhaled shakily, eyes locked on the road. She pressed the gas harder.
"Hold on," she muttered, headlights cutting through the Tennessee dark heading back to the sacred mansion they now called home.
Back in Oklahoma, Echo tried retracing Anika and Sabrina's conversation to see if she could get clues about where they're heading. Her red eye began to glow as she attempted see into the past. Usually, it was clear, exact like watching surveillance footage no one else could access. This time was different.
Every time she tried to view where they were headed, the images slipped through her grip, like fog on glass. Flashes. Fragments. Nothing solid.
"Dammit!" Echo snapped. "She must be using something to shield herself."
Her comm beeped.
GENERAL PITMAN – INCOMING.
Echo tapped her earpiece.
"General."
"What's the update?" Cory's voice came through, crisp, controlled.
Echo hesitated.
"I lost her."
There was silence...
"Lost her? How?" Cory barked.
"The doctor. Anika." Her jaw clenched.
"She was here, sir. She beat me to Sabrina. Got her out before I could engage."
Cory's voice dropped to a low growl.
"I thought she was in Tennessee with the others."
"So did I." Echo glanced toward the ground.
Cory glared at his monitor, his face lit by the red glow of internal lights. Across from him sat Lieutenant Monroe, handcuffed, his mouth taped shut and his nose still bleeding.
Cory reached forward, ripped the tape away, and without warning punched Monroe in the face.
"You're working with Anika, aren't you?!" Cory shouted, eyes wild."You knew your daughter was one of them!"
"No!" Monroe cried, spitting blood.
"I didn't know anything! She never showed signs! I haven't seen Anika in years, sir. I swear!"
"Then why is your daughter with her now?!"
Monroe's face was slightly relieved.
"I—I don't know. I just came to watch Sabrina compete... They killed my wife over something I didn't even know!" He was shaking, terrified.
Cory slammed the tape back over his mouth, breathing hard. Then he turned back to his comm.
"I picked up three energy signatures in Tennessee. I sent Rage, Reaper, and Mayhem to deal with it."
"Get back to base," he said coldly.
"We need to regroup and come up with a plan."
"Yes, sir," Echo replied, her voice colder than ever.
The line cut. She stood in the middle of the empty lot, the scent of failure thick in her lungs. For the first time in her life, the past refused to speak to her.
Anika parked the black SUV in a corner far from the entrance. She killed the engine, the ticking of the cooling metal the only sound between her and Sabrina for a moment.
She looked over. Sabrina sat still, eyes blank, hoodie pulled tight over her head. The sleeves covered her hands. Her knees were pressed together, her whole body closed off.
"We're here," Anika said gently.
They stepped out. The night air was brisk, airport lights buzzing overhead. Planes in the distance lined the tarmac, their tail lights blinking red under the dark sky. Anika walked around the back of the SUV and grabbed Sabrina's small duffel. As she slung it over her shoulder, a sudden vibration buzzed against her wrist.
She froze. Her watch lit up, red and urgent. Anika's stomach dropped. She stared at the screen, her chest tightening. Even without the readout, she could feel it, a ripple in the spiritual current.
""Dr. Anika?" Came Sabrina's voice beside her.
Anika looked up quickly and tapped the screen, darkening it.
"Yes sweetie?"
"You okay?" Sabrina asked. Her voice was soft, but her eyes searched Anika's face like she already knew the answer.
Anika forced a quiet smile.
"I'm alright."
She glanced toward the glowing terminal doors, the harsh airport lights buzzing overhead.
"Let's get checked in."
She offered Sabrina another reassuring nod and walked forward, but her thoughts were anything but calm.
She smiled, trying to silence her mind, but something had erupted in Tennessee. Deep in her gut, a familiar pit of dread formed tight, cold, and unshakable.
A hiss split the silence.
A swirling column of shadow twisted open in the middle of Obsidian Base, clawing the air like a tear in reality.
Mayhem stumbled through first, coughing up blood, one arm pressed tight to her bleeding side. Her signature smirk was gone, replaced by grim exhaustion.
Reaper limped behind her, his face pale, soaked in his own blood. One of his twin blades was missing. The other hung loosely from his hand, dragging on the floor.
Rage emerged last, bruised and slow. His left eye was nearly swollen shut, and the tendrils across his back sparked with unstable energy. He staggered a step, then dropped to one knee.
The portal closed behind them with a low shhripp, sealing the darkness. The compound lights blinked on. Red emergency tones. Cory was already there. He stood at the edge of the landing platform in full uniform, hands behind his back, lips pressed into a furious line. He said nothing at first. Mayhem tried to smile, but it twitched into a grimace.
Cory didn't blink.
"You had the numbers. We gave you the power."
His voice was cold, flat.
"What the hell happened?"
A long silence followed.
Then Cory's voice erupted.
"ANSWER ME!"
Mayhem stepped forward with a snarl.
"There were three of them—not two like you told us! We barely made it out alive!"
"Brevin still controlled me, even with the dampener device!" Reaper snapped, blood running down his jaw. "It didn't work."
Rage growled, voice low and gravelled. "What the hell are we even fighting?"
Cory's eyes narrowed, his voice like steel.
"You're fighting destiny. And right now... you're losing."
"You failed."
Mayhem's glare sharpened.
"They were more skilled than you led us to believe, sir."
Cory's tone snapped like a whip.
"Watch your mouth when you speak to me."
His eyes locked on her.
"Don't forget who made you."
Rage stepped forward. "We're not rag dolls."
Cory's expression turned venomous.
"You're weapons," he barked. "With a mission."
He took a step closer, jaw tight.
"Fail that mission and you'll be terminated and replaced. There's always another test subject. You might be the first... but you won't be the last."
He turned, coat sweeping behind him as he walked off.
The room buzzed with silence. Rage clenched his fists. Mayhem looked like she might lunge. Reaper wiped blood from his mouth and muttered under his breath.
None of them said it aloud, but something had shifted.
Across the room, Echo stood in the shadows, arms folded, her red eye glowing faintly. She'd said nothing the entire time, but she saw it all. The cracks in their loyalty. The fire behind their defiance. The fear in their silence. Something had changed tonight.
Her gaze flicked to the corridor where Cory had vanished. For the first time, Echo wondered if they were on the wrong side of this?
The gravel crunched beneath the SUV's tires as Jor'Danna pulled through the iron gates of Anika's estate.
Even cloaked in night, the place radiated peace.
Ozias sat quietly in the passenger seat, his arms aching and bruised, Brevin groaning softly in the back. But as they crossed the threshold of the gate, something shifted. He felt it immediately. The tension in his shoulders loosened. The air grew cooler, softer and cleansing, like they'd driven into a spiritual sanctuary hidden from the world.
Ozias glanced out the window, eyes tracing the sweeping landscape. Towering trees arched overhead, their limbs swaying in a gentle breeze. Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting silver across the stone path and gardens. The grass looked untouched. The house, even in the dark, seemed welcoming, powerful, and safe.
"Damn..." he muttered under his breath. "This place is somethin' else."
Jor'Danna didn't respond at first. Her hands were tight on the wheel, jaw clenched. But her eyes softened at his words.
"Yeah," she whispered. "It's the only place that we can call home now."
She swung the SUV to a stop in the circular driveway. The tires crunched one last time before stillness wrapped around them like a blanket. They moved fast but careful. Jor'Danna throwing open the door, Ozias hurrying to lift Brevin from the back.
He groaned, barely conscious, but alive.
Together they carried him inside, the front door clicking shut behind them. The house was quiet, dimly lit by moonlight pouring through the tall windows.
They laid Brevin down on the large sofa in the main room, his breathing shallow but steady. Ozias knelt beside him, brushing a bit of broken glass from his hoodie. Jor'Danna pulled out her phone to text Anika.
SOS – Call ASAP. She hit send. Then exhaled, her shoulders dropped as she looked over at Ozias, who was now pacing slightly, his hands on his hips.
"You good?" she asked, voice low.
Ozias nodded, but his jaw was tight. "Yeah. I mean... not really. That was insane."
She sat down wincing at the pain from the battle. "Tell me about it."
He turned toward her, voice serious. "Those three back there? They were insane. They were trained. Weaponized like... soldiers."
Jor'Danna gave a tight nod. "We faced one of them before, but those other two that's the first time I've seen them."
She looked over at Brevin, then back to Ozias. "We barely made it out this time. But we got out."
There was a beat of silence. Then Ozias spoke, quieter this time. "That chick. The wild one. She...tried to kill you."
Jor'Danna's lip twitched. "Yeah. I know. She was pretty lethal."
"But you didn't let her," he said, a flicker of admiration in his voice.
Jor'Danna looked away, suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of what they'd just survived.
"They're dangerous," she murmured. "Anika's probably worried. We were supposed to lay low. It was reckless of us to use our powers... but we just wanted you to trust us."
Ozias nodded slowly. "Hey—I'm glad you did. Just imagine if I had to face them alone."
Their eyes met—battle-worn, unsure, but unified.
"You did great," Jor'Danna added. "There's no way Brevin and I could've handled that big guy. The psycho bitch was tough enough. I'm glad you were there."
Ozias gave a tired smile. "We made a good team."
"Honestly? Yeah. We did." Jor'Danna let out a long, shaky sigh.
Ozias shifted his weight to take a step, but his knees nearly buckled.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath.
Jor'Danna caught his arm gently.
"There's plenty of rooms here," she said, her voice softer now. "You should rest. We should rest."
She touched the tissue to her still-bloodied nose and winced.
Ozias gave a nod, eyes already heavy. "Yeah... I'm not gonna argue."
They stood there a moment longer, surrounded by silence and moonlight.
Brevin stirred faintly on the couch behind them, but didn't wake.
Jor'Danna looked toward the staircase, her voice barely a whisper. "We'll go back for your food truck tomorrow."
Ozias glanced at her, eyes soft but tired. "Thanks."
Jor'Danna nodded and gave a faint smile. As it faded, her eyes drifted back to Brevin, quietly hoping he'd wake up soon.