Alex Thorne's brain was a double agent, and he was starting to hate it. The neural implant, courtesy of Dr. Zoltan's mad-scientist toaster, let him download any skill from the internet—parkour, hacking, even magic tricks that got him through the market chaos against The Whisper. But the glowing system prompts only he could see were turning him into a traitor. Tucked in his pocket was the real data drive from The Whisper, which he'd swiped before Shadow Squad could grab it, thanks to the system's rogue mission. Now, it was pushing him further down a shady path.
SYSTEM PROMPT: Mission Unlocked! Objective: Deliver The Whisper's data drive to the alley drop point at the docks by midnight. Reward: Unlock 'Combat Reflexes' skill. Failure: You're stuck with 'Interpretive Dance' for a month.
Alex slumped in the back of the stealth van as it rumbled back to Eclipse Academy. The drive felt like a ticking bomb. Handing it over to some mystery contact instead of his team—Mia, Jax, and Lila—was a betrayal that made his stomach churn. Especially Lila. Her sharp gaze in the market had nearly burned a hole through him when he'd fumbled the "decoy" excuse.
Mia, fiddling with her soup-can drone, shot him a look. "You're quieter than a busted gadget, Alex. Spill. What's with the zombie vibes?"
"Just tired," Alex mumbled, his implant pulling How to Deflect Questions from a sketchy forum. It suggested "fake a cough," so he hacked dramatically. Mia rolled her eyes.
Jax, still wearing his ridiculous market hat, grinned. "Tired? After that epic tackle? You're a legend, man! Though next time, don't lose the drive." He punched Alex's shoulder, nearly sending him into the van's wall.
Lila, polishing her sniper scope, didn't look up. "He didn't lose it," she said, voice cool as a winter stakeout. "He's hiding something." Alex's heart skipped. Did she know about the implant? The system? He forced a grin, but his implant unhelpfully flashed Top 5 Ways to Impress Your Crush. Number one: "Don't lie." Great.
Back at Eclipse, the squad had a few hours before the midnight docks mission to follow The Whisper's lead: his buyer was meeting there. Professor Grimshaw's briefing was short and grumpy: "Find the buyer, secure any intel, don't blow up the docks. Thorne, no sneezing."
Pre-Mission Prep:
The dorm was a chaotic sanctuary. Mia's corner was a scrapyard of half-built gadgets, Jax was practicing "stealth punches" (aka breaking a chair), and Lila was reading a rom-com novel, Love in the Crosshairs, which Alex's implant identified instantly. He blushed, then covered it with a fake yawn.
To kill time, the squad started a card game, but it turned into a spy-style bluffing match. Jax bet his hat, Mia wagered a prototype stun-fork, and Lila tossed in a sniper lens cap. Alex, distracted by the system's nagging prompt, bet a protein bar and lost spectacularly when his implant glitched, downloading Poker Face Fails instead of strategy.
"Dude, you're worse at cards than stealth," Jax laughed, snagging the bar.
Mia smirked. "Maybe he's distracted by someone." She nodded at Lila, who raised an eyebrow. Alex's face went tomato-red, and his implant flashed How to Recover from Embarrassment. Step one: "Change the subject." He blurted, "So, uh, docks! Water, boats, super sneaky, right?"
Lila snorted. "Smooth, Thorne."
The system buzzed: SYSTEM PROMPT: Focus, Romeo. Alley drop's behind the red warehouse. Don't let the squad see you.
Alex excused himself to "gear up," slipping to his bunk to check the drive. His implant scanned it, pulling Data Analysis 101. The drive held Eclipse security codes—bad news if Vortex got them. Why did the system want it dropped off? Was it testing him, or worse, working for someone else?
Midnight at the Docks: Action and Awkwardness
The docks were a foggy maze of crates, cranes, and flickering sodium lights. The air smelled of salt and diesel. Shadow Squad moved like ghosts—Mia's drone scouted, Jax cracked his knuckles, and Lila perched on a shipping container, scope glinting. Alex's job was recon, but the system's mission screamed louder.
SYSTEM PROMPT: Drop point's 50 meters west, behind crate B-17. Move now.
Alex slunk through shadows, his new Stealth Mastery skill making him near-invisible. His implant pulled Navy SEAL Night Ops, guiding his steps. But guilt gnawed—he was ditching his team for a glowing text box. At crate B-17, a hooded figure waited, face hidden. "Drive," they hissed.
Alex hesitated, hand on the drive. His implant flashed Ethics of Espionage, unhelpfully quoting, "Loyalty is a choice." Great timing. Before he could decide, Jax's voice crackled over comms: "Buyer spotted! East dock, moving fast!"
Alex panicked. The squad was closing in, and he was at the wrong spot. The hooded figure lunged for the drive, but Alex's implant surged, downloading Krav Maga Basics. He sidestepped, tripping the figure into a crate with a cartoonish thud. The drive stayed in his pocket.
"Alex, where are you?" Mia snapped over comms. Her drone buzzed overhead, spotting the scuffle. "Is that the buyer?"
"Uh, random thug!" Alex lied, sprinting east to join the squad. The system blared: Drop failed. Complete it by dawn or face the dance penalty.
The real buyer, a slick-suited man with a briefcase, was slipping onto a speedboat. Lila's sniper dot pinned him, but he tossed a smoke grenade. Fog and smoke mixed, turning the docks into a blurry nightmare. Jax charged, punching crates like a human wrecking ball, while Mia's drone jammed the boat's engine. Alex, desperate to redeem himself, dove into the water, his implant pulling Competitive Swimming Hacks.
He caught the boat's rail, but his implant glitched, blasting How to Salsa Dance. His legs kicked in a rhythmic twirl, splashing like a deranged mermaid. The buyer laughed, thinking he'd escaped, but Alex's flailing knocked the briefcase loose. It splashed into the water, and Mia's drone swooped, snagging it.
"Got it!" Mia cheered. Lila's shot grazed the buyer's jacket, pinning him for capture. Jax hauled Alex out, grinning. "Salsa swimming? New tactic, bro!"
Lila frowned. "You were at the wrong dock. Explain."
Alex, soaked and shivering, mumbled, "Got lost?" His implant's Lie Better tip failed him. Lila's stare could've melted steel.
SYSTEM PROMPT: Nice save, Aquaman. Drop the drive by dawn or interpretive dance awaits. Reward still active: 'Combat Reflexes.'
Back at Base: Secrets and Suspicions
Back at Eclipse, Grimshaw debriefed them. The briefcase held encrypted buyer comms, another lead on Vortex. "Sloppy, but effective," he grunted. "Don't let Thorne near water again."
In the dorm, the squad celebrated with stolen cafeteria pizza. Jax reenacted his crate-punching, Mia tweaked her drone, and Lila studied Alex like a puzzle. "You're off, Thorne," she said. "What's with the side quests?"
Alex's heart sank. He deflected with a joke, but his implant pinged a stray file: Eclipse Experiment Logs, Subject V. Voss. Vortex wasn't just a rogue student—he was Zoltan's first success. And Alex? Maybe his second.
As the squad slept, Alex slipped out, dropping the drive at the alley point. A drone whisked it away, and the system chimed: Success! 'Combat Reflexes' unlocked. New Mission: Hack Grimshaw's tablet for Vortex intel. Reward: 'Disguise Mastery.' Failure: 'Karaoke Champion.'
Alex trudged back, the docks' fog clinging to him. The system was turning him into a spy against his own squad, and the academy's secrets were piling up like unpaid bills. He needed answers—before Lila's suspicions, or his own guilt, broke him.