Overdrive snapped through my body like someone had kicked reality into greater FPS.
The world sharpened.
Edges glowed.
The augmented woman moved, but to me she may as well have been slogging through wet cement.
Unfortunately, even with Overdrive, she still looked menacing.
Her metal arm came up in a clean arc, then thrown at me with venom. I stepped sideways, felt the wind of her swing brush my cheek, and planted my foot against her ribs.
The impact echoed like hitting a rusted container.
She slid back.
Not far at all.
She looked at me with genuine surprise.
"Better," she growled.
"Funnier," I said, "would be great. But I will settle for better."
She lunged again. Overdrive bent the motion into ribbons of movement I could follow, but her sheer mass still hit like a collapsing building. I ducked under the strike and shoved her shoulder. It rocked her back two steps.
Her eyes widened.
"So you're not a novice."
"I learn fast," I smirked.
She answered with a knee strike directly aimed at my chest. I blocked, and the collision rattled my entire ribcage. Pain lanced across my sternum.
Battery: 84%.
Overdrive countdown: 00:08:37.
Her fist came down. I twisted aside, grabbed her elbow, and tried to leverage her weight. She resisted, planting her augmented leg like a rooted tree.
"Stubborn," I muttered.
"You have no idea," she said.
She tried to grab me again. I rolled under her arm, grabbed Selene's wrist, and pulled her behind me.
Cadence spoke fast and clipped. "Iris. She is stronger than you even in Overdrive. You cannot win. Escape is the optimal path."
"I noticed," I said. "She hits like a train."
"You are finally using metaphors accurately."
Battery: 82%.
Countdown: 00:07:32.
The woman charged. One more full collision and I would be lucky to remain in one piece.
I grabbed Selene properly this time. One arm under her knees. One behind her shoulders.
She squeaked. "Wait what are you.."
"No time," I said.
I sprinted.
Countdown: 00:06:17.
The hallway blurred. The old cold storage walls streaked past in pale white flashes. Behind us, the woman roared and gave chase, her metal feet hammering the floor like someone swinging a battering ram at the world.
Selene clung to my neck. "Left at the stairs. No the other left. Your left. Wait. Yes that one."
Cadence's voice narrated calmly. "Her pursuit speed is high. You must increase velocity."
"I am already running faster than my legs legally allow," I said.
"You can run faster."
"I can, but Selene might disassemble."
Selene shouted in my ear. "I would very much prefer not to disassemble."
Battery: 79%.
Countdown: 00:05:33.
We hit the stairwell. I vaulted down the steps, two, three at a time. Selene squealed with every bounce.
The woman slammed into the stairwell behind us. Metal shrieked. Concrete cracked.
"She is persistent," Cadence said.
"I hate persistent people," I said.
"You are persistent."
"Apparently not as much as her."
We burst into an old hallway that smelled like mould and violence. Selene jabbed a finger forward.
"Straight. Straight. Then right. You will see a yellow door with a sign that says Danger. Ignore the sign."
"I ignore most warnings," I said.
"I've noticed that," said Selene.
Countdown: 00:04:55.
Behind us the woman crashed into the hall, gaining speed again.
Cadence said, "She is accelerating. Her augments are running hot."
"I am also running hot," I said.
"That is because you are using Overdrive beyond safe recommendations."
"I love when you say safe recommendations. Makes it sound optional."
Countdown: 00:04:16.
Selene pointed again. "Right here. Go right here."
We skidded through a narrow opening between two welded plates and emerged into a cramped maintenance tunnel. Cables hung from the ceiling like lazy vines. Pipes hissed like snakes.
"Where now?" I asked.
"Follow the grate path," Selene said. "All the way to the end. Do not fall. If you fall you will drop two floors and probably break something important."
"I do not plan on falling," I said.
"You also did not plan on fighting a monster woman," she said.
Countdown: 00:03:11.
A thunderous crash echoed behind us. The woman had reached the tunnel. She was too tall for it, too broad, and the sight was somehow worse. Bent, snarling, still forcing her way through.
"She does not know when to quit," I said.
"Hub rejects never quit," Selene said. "They are trained until quitting is removed from their personality."
"Delightful," I said.
Battery: 74%.
Countdown: 00:02:48.
We reached the end of the tunnel. A hatch. Rusted. Locked.
Selene slapped the side. "Kick it."
I kicked it.
It didn't budge.
"Kick it harder."
I kicked it harder.
Countdown: 00:02:05.
The hatch snapped open with a scream of metal and pride.
We tumbled through into a small room lined with old server racks. Dust coated everything except a clear space in the corner.
Selene pointed at a metal door hidden behind a tarp.
"In there. Quickly."
Countdown: 00:00:42.
I carried her through and shut the door behind us.
It was dark inside. Very dark. The kind of dark that deserved a warning label.
Selene reached under a crate and pulled a small lantern. She lit it.
The room filled with soft light.
A bed. A shelf. A water tank. A small desk.
It was… lived in.
"This is your hideout?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "Nobody knows about it. Not even my father. Especially not my father."
Cadence looked around. "It is surprisingly clean."
"It is mine," Selene said. "I like having things that are only mine."
In the distance the woman's voice echoed faintly.
"I will find you."
Overdrive wore off in a slow pulse under my ribs.
Countdown: 00:00:00.
The world sagged back into normal speed.
Everything hurt.
Battery: 70%.
Cadence whispered, "Iris. Sit. Your bones need to remember they are not optional."
I sat heavily on the small bed.
Nanites surged.
Tiny lightning crawled under my skin.
Selene knelt in front of me.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Define okay," I said.
"Not dead."
"Surprisingly close to that definition."
"You saved me," she said softly.
"You guided," I steered. "Good teamwork."
The nanites hummed louder.
Cadence said, "We will need time to repair. Minor fractures detected. Severe bruising. Nothing catastrophic."
"That is encouraging," I said.
Selene folded her arms, more like a cat trying to hide fear by pretending she had claws. "We are staying here for a bit. You need to recover. And we need to talk."
"Talk about what?" I asked.
She looked away.
"About why I was there, about my father, about what we do next..."
Her voice dropped.
"There's something else ... only my father knows."
I sat straighter despite the ache.
Cadence flickered, posture sharpening.
"Iris," she said quietly. "This will be important."
Selene looked at both of us.
"What ?" I asked.
She exhaled slowly...