Mia's dorm room looked like a tech store had exploded inside a rainbow. Circuit boards covered every surface, half-finished gadgets dangled from the ceiling on fishing wire, and her walls were plastered with holographic blueprints that shifted and rotated in mid-air.
A small robot arm was methodically organizing screws by size in the corner, humming contentedly.
"Okay, I'm here, what's the emergency—"
Mia stopped mid-sentence as Alex, Lila, and Jax filed in. Her neon-pink hair was tied back with what looked like a circuit ribbon, and she held a soldering iron like a weapon. "Why do you all look like you're about to tell me someone died?"
"Nobody died!" Jax said quickly, closing the door. "But also, sit down. This is gonna be wild."
Mia set down the soldering iron with exaggerated care. "If this is about my bot, Alex, I'm not mad anymore. I figured out it was probably a system glitch—"
"It was me," Alex interrupted. "Sort of. My implant accessed it without permission."
"Your what now?"
"Neural implant," Lila supplied helpfully.
"Mad scientist. Brain computer. Downloaded skills. He just told me in the Reflection Chamber."
Mia blinked. Then blinked again. "I'm sorry, did you just say neural implant?"
"With a whole quest system and commentary!" Jax added, bouncing on his heels. "It's like he's a video game character! Tell her about the romance points!"
"Please don't," Alex groaned.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: New audience detected. Scanning Mia Chen... Analysis: 87% chance of overexcitement, 45% chance of immediate gadget-related questions, 23% chance of attempting to hack your brain. Recommendation: Prepare for enthusiastic interrogation.]
"Okay, everyone SIT," Mia commanded, pointing at her bed and desk chair. "Alex, start from the beginning. And I mean the BEGINNING beginning. Don't skip the sciencey parts."
So Alex told the story again—from his clumsy break-in to Dr. Zorba's lab, to the accident with the neural interface prototype, to waking up with a heads-up display and a snarky AI commentary track living in his skull. Mia's expression cycled through disbelief, fascination, concern, and what looked like professional jealousy.
"—and that's why your bot freaked out," Alex finished. "The system detected it following me and just... took over. Accessed the command codes. I didn't mean to, but by the time I realized what was happening—"
"It was already done," Mia finished, fingers drumming on her desk. "That explains the encrypted access signature. I thought someone had developed a new hacking algorithm, but it was just your brain being a overachiever." She paused. "Can I see the interface?"
"You can't see it. It's only visible to me."
"But you can describe it, right? Colors, layout, font choices—"
"Mia," Lila interjected gently. "Maybe focus on the 'our friend has experimental brain surgery' part before the technical specs?"
"Right, right. Sorry." Mia turned to Alex, and her expression softened. "Are you okay? Like, health-wise? No headaches, seizures, random brain meltdowns?"
"Sometimes I get weird prompts. And it drains my energy if I download too many skills at once. But otherwise..." Alex shrugged. "I think I'm okay?"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Current health status: 94% optimal. Minor fatigue from social stress. Recommendation: Consume carbohydrates and/or take a nap. Also, your friends care about you. That's nice.]
"It just said you guys care about me," Alex reported. "Then told me to eat carbs and nap."
"Your brain computer is weirdly wholesome," Jax observed.
"So let me get this straight," Mia said, standing to pace. "You can download any skill from the internet directly into your brain. Combat, languages, hacking, probably cooking—"
"Tried that once. Made excellent pasta but couldn't remember my own name for an hour. There are limits."
"—and there's a system that gamifies everything with quests and rewards." Mia's eyes were gleaming with the dangerous light of inspiration. "Alex, do you realize what this means? You're a walking proof-of-concept for neural enhancement technology. If we could reverse-engineer it, optimize the interface, maybe add some safety protocols—"
"Absolutely not," Lila said firmly. "We're not turning Alex into a science experiment."
"I'm already a science experiment," Alex pointed out.
"A finished science experiment. No more experimenting."
Mia pouted but nodded. "Fine. But I'm at least helping you understand it better. We need to document its capabilities, limits, and any weird quirks. Scientific method!"
"It has a lot of weird quirks," Alex admitted. "Yesterday it offered me a quest to 'dramatically confess feelings during a training exercise' for bonus romance points."
All three of his friends turned to stare at him.
"Did you accept?" Jax asked, grinning.
"NO! I'm not letting my brain gamify my love life!"
"Too late," Lila muttered, but she was smiling.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Current conversation trending toward embarrassing territory. Suggest tactical subject change. Recommended topic: Upcoming missions, Delta Squad rivalry, or literally anything else.]
"Can we talk about something else?" Alex pleaded. "The system is begging me to change topics."
"Poor baby brain computer," Jax cooed. "Is it embarrassed?"
"I think it's embarrassed for me."
Mia pulled up a holographic interface from her tablet. "Okay, fine, new topic. But we're scheduling regular check-ins about the implant. I want to track any changes, weird behaviors, or concerning symptoms." Her expression turned serious. "Alex, this is incredible technology, but it's also potentially dangerous. We need to be smart about this."
"Agreed," Lila said. "Which brings me to the next point: who else knows?"
"Just Dr. Zorba. And now you three."
"Not your parents?" Mia asked, surprised.
Alex shook his head. "They know I visited Zorba's lab for 'tutoring.' They don't know about the accident or the implant. I couldn't figure out how to tell them without them either pulling me out of Eclipse or trying to have it removed."
"Which might be dangerous," Mia mused. "Depending on how it's integrated with your neural tissue—"
"Not helping," Alex and Lila said simultaneously.
"Sorry! Science brain. It just... turns on sometimes."
A sharp knock on the door made everyone jump. Before anyone could respond, the door opened a crack and a familiar pompous voice called out: "Chen, you in there? I need to borrow your—oh."
Caleb Voss stood in the doorway, his smug expression faltering as he took in the entire Shadow Squad crammed into Mia's room. His buzzcut was perfectly styled, his Eclipse uniform pressed to military precision, and his posture screamed "I'm better than you and I know it."
"Having a little party?" Caleb asked, recovering his smirk. "Without inviting Delta Squad? I'm hurt."
"It's called a private conversation," Lila said coldly. "Ever heard of knocking and waiting for an answer?"
"I did knock. Not my fault you were too busy with your secret club meeting." His eyes landed on Alex, narrowing slightly. "Thorne.
Heard you had an interesting training session yesterday. Something about system malfunctions?"
[SYSTEM ALERT: Potential security threat detected. Caleb Voss appears to be fishing for information. Recommend: Deflect with sarcasm or redirect conversation.]
"Just some equipment glitches," Alex said casually. "Nothing exciting. What did you need from Mia?"
"My signal jammer. Tessa fried hers during an 'experiment' that definitely wasn't her trying to hack the cafeteria to make the food better." Caleb leaned against the doorframe.
"But while I'm here, might as well extend an invitation. There's a new high-value target—called 'The Phantom.' Elite hacker, been hitting intelligence networks for months.
Academy's offering serious bounty points to whoever brings them in."
"And you're telling us because...?" Jax asked suspiciously.
"Because Director Steele suggested a joint operation. Shadow Squad and Delta Squad, working together." Caleb's smile was all teeth. "Unless you're scared of a little friendly competition?"
"We're not scared," Lila said immediately. "When's the briefing?"
"Tomorrow, 0800 hours, Briefing Room C. Try not to be late." Caleb's gaze swept the room one more time, lingering on Alex with an expression that was hard to read. "See you there, Shadow Squad. Try to get some rest—you're going to need it."
He left, closing the door with just enough force to be annoying.
"I don't trust him," Mia said immediately.
"This feels like a setup."
"Definitely a setup," Lila agreed. "But we can't turn down a direct assignment from Director Steele. It'll look suspicious."
"Plus, I kind of want to catch this Phantom person," Jax admitted. "Elite hacker? That's way cooler than the usual henchmen we fight."
Alex was already feeling his implant kick into gear, downloading preliminary files on The Phantom from Eclipse's public database.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Downloading intel... Analysis: "The Phantom" - 47 confirmed intrusions, zero visual identifications, sophisticated encryption methods. Skill level: Expert+. Warning: This target is significantly more dangerous than previous missions. Recommendation: Prepare accordingly.]
"The system says The Phantom is way more dangerous than anyone we've faced before," Alex reported. "Expert-level hacker, zero confirmed sightings. We're going to need a solid plan."
"Then we plan," Lila said, her tactical mind already visibly working. "Mia, pull everything you can find on The Phantom's methods.
Jax, review urban infiltration techniques—this probably won't be a straight fight.
Alex..." She met his eyes. "Use your implant. Download whatever skills might help. But be careful. Don't burn yourself out."
"And maybe avoid downloading anything that makes you forget your name again," Mia added. "That was concerning."
[SYSTEM PROMPT: New Quest Chain Available! "The Phantom Protocol" - Part 1: Prepare for joint operation with Delta Squad. Gather intelligence, upgrade skills, and coordinate with teammates. Reward: +30 XP, Unlock Advanced Hacking Suite. Accept? Y/N]
Alex accepted. "Quest chain started. The system's calling it 'The Phantom Protocol.'"
"Ominous," Jax said cheerfully. "I love it!"
"We should get some rest," Lila said, standing. "Tomorrow's briefing is early, and something tells me this mission is going to be complicated."
As they filed out of Mia's room, she grabbed Alex's arm. "Hey. One more thing."
The others kept walking, giving them space.
"I'm glad you told us," Mia said quietly.
"About the implant. I know it was scary, but... you're not alone in this, okay? Whatever happens, we've got your back."
The sincerity in her voice made Alex's chest tight. "Thanks, Mia. Really."
She smiled, then punched his shoulder lightly. "Now go sleep. Your brain probably needs to defragment or whatever cyborg brains do."
"It doesn't—I'm not a cyborg—"
"Totally a cyborg. Embrace it!" She shooed him out and closed the door, but not before he heard her muttering excitedly about "neural interface optimization protocols."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Friendship bonds strengthened. Current squad cohesion: 89%. Morale: High. Status: No longer carrying crushing secret alone. Assessment: This is what humans call "having friends." Enjoy it, you disaster.]
"I really need to figure out how to change your personality settings," Alex told his implant.
It didn't respond, but he could swear it was laughing at him.
Back in his dorm, Alex lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow would bring a new mission, a forced cooperation with Delta Squad, and a target that even his implant thought was dangerous. But for the first time since the accident in Zorba's lab, he didn't feel like he was facing it alone.
His squad knew. They understood. And they still had his back.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Detecting elevated contentment levels. Status: Happy. Side note: Character growth achieved. You're becoming less of a disaster. Only slightly, but still. Progress.]
"Goodnight, system," Alex whispered.
[SYSTEM: Goodnight, Alex. Rest well. Tomorrow's going to be interesting.]
For a snarky AI living in his brain, the system was occasionally almost nice.
Alex closed his eyes, already dreaming of hackers and heists and whatever chaos tomorrow would bring.