The Dock
Jace stood at the threshold of the final confrontation. The air in the shipping wing was thick with dust and burnt oil, every breath tasting of metal. His body ached from the fight with Joker's clones, but adrenaline pushed the pain aside.
The factory's emergency lights blinked overhead, painting the walls in pulses of red. At the far end, the heavy bay doors stood shut—the only exit—and the last of the Wizards were guarding it.
Smokey leaned against a shipping crate, a giant of a man whose cybernetic ball-and-chain rig gleamed in the dim light. Beside him stood Doc, his right arm a sleek, weapon-laced prosthetic glinting with surgical precision. They talked lazily, unaware that their time was almost up.
Jace crouched in the shadows above them, steadying his breathing. He needed this done fast. One mistake and those weapons would end him.
He closed his eyes briefly, focusing. Hack.
A faint pulse rippled through his HUD.
[Hack Successful]
Target: Smokey's Ball-and-Chain Rig
Status: Primary Motor Control Overridden
Hack Count = 2 (8 remaining to next upgrade)
Smokey's arm jerked suddenly, the chain clattering to the floor.
Doc frowned. "What the hell are you doing?"
"It's not me!" Smokey barked, panic cutting through his voice.
Jace moved the rig like a puppet master pulling strings. The massive weapon swung wide, smashing into Doc's face with a wet crunch. His body hit the wall and crumpled.
Before Smokey could react, the chain wrapped around his neck. Motors whined. Metal tightened. The giant kicked once, twice, then fell still—dangling like a broken marionette.
The clang echoed through the dock, then silence.
Jace exhaled slowly. There was no satisfaction in killing—only necessity.
He scanned the floor—one group left.
And then he heard it.
Heavy boots. The whir of electric motors. A voice, rough and furious.
"Smokey? Doc?"
Six Pack.
The gang leader's silhouette appeared in the flashing light, flanked by a figure rolling forward on mechanical wheels. His cousin—Wheels.
---
The Quest
Six Pack's glare burned through the haze. "I don't know who you are, but you're going to pay for this."
A sharp chime rang through Jace's head.
[Quest Received]
Objective: Eliminate the criminal leader Six Pack
Rewards: System Rank Up | Select One Passive Skill | Select One Item from System Store
The words faded as fast as they appeared. For the first time, the System had given him a directive—an evolution of its own making.
Wheels rolled forward, a mechanical horror of chrome and whirring gears. From the neck down, nothing human remained. Four tentacle-like arms extended from his torso—two ending in claws, one tipped with a retractable spike, the last a miniature gatling laser. Motors spun at his waist, twin wheels grinding against the floor.
"Let me scrap him," Wheels rasped, voice filtered through a vocoder.
Without hesitation, he lunged.
Jace reacted, firing his stinger low across the floor—a trip line to bait him. Wheels' internal sensors detected it instantly; he veered, accelerating with blinding speed and slamming into Jace mid-roll. The claws clamped around Jace's shoulders, lifting him off the ground.
Pain flared. Instinct answered.
[Swipe Activated]
Target Acquired: Wheels' Cybernetic Arms
Acquisition: Complete.
Wheels froze, confusion cutting through his digital snarl. In a blink, all four appendages vanished, leaving only sparking stumps at his sides.
Jace didn't hesitate. He drove a boom-knuckle uppercut straight into the only flesh left—the head. Bone cracked. Circuits sparked. Wheels collapsed instantly.
[Steal Count: 11]
[19 more to level Charlie]
Six Pack roared, electricity arcing across his own augmented arm. "You killed him!"
He charged, the limb glowing bright orange from overloaded voltage.
Jace spun, re-establishing his hack on Smokey's fallen rig. The dead man's chain rattled to life once more, sweeping between them like a pendulum. Sparks rained as it slammed into the floor, forcing Six Pack to backstep.
Jace sprinted forward, sliding beneath the swinging chain. His stinger snapped outward, wrapping around Six Pack's legs and jerking tight. The leader crashed down hard.
Jace lunged, pressing one palm to the man's temple.
[Memory Steal Activated]
Target: Six Pack
Extraction Complete.
Combat Training Data Received:
• Brawling – Lvl 3
• Mechanics – Lvl 3
• Motorcycle Operation – Lvl 3
• Leadership – Lvl 3
Jace staggered back, the rush of raw experience flooding his senses—flashes of fights, commands, chaos, and victory. His mind steadied; his fists felt different now—precise, disciplined, deadly.
Six Pack's electric arm swung up, firing a burst of current that barely missed. Jace twisted aside, then countered, smashing his gauntlet into the arm's power core.
Impact + Voltage Reaction.
The explosion lit the dock in white light.
Both men were thrown apart, tumbling through smoke and debris.
Jace's knuckles were shot; the gauntlet's charge cell cracked and dead. But Six Pack's prosthetic hung useless, blown apart at the joint.
Time to end it.
Jace rushed him, boots sliding through oil. He hit Six Pack like a storm—body shots, hooks, elbows, knees—every move drawn from the stolen memories. Each strike heavier than the last.
Six Pack tried to rise; Jace stomped him back down.
Then again.
And again.
The floor slicked red.
Finally, silence.
A faint chime echoed in his skull.
[Quest Complete]
Target Eliminated: Six Pack
[Rank Advancement]
System Rank: Cadet-Epsilon
Rewards Available in Menu | Store Unlocked
Jace stood over the fallen leader, chest heaving. The faint blue glow of the System flickered across the dark steel, reflecting off the broken metal of Six Pack's shattered arm.
He knelt, detached the prosthetic, and stored it. The body didn't move again.
For the first time all night, the factory was quiet.
He turned toward the doors, eyes catching the gleam of the stolen chopper parked just outside.
He swung a leg over, engine growling to life.
The back tire spun, burning rubber across the concrete as the bike roared out into the cold night.
Behind him, the factory smoldered—ashes, oil, and silence.
The Wizards were gone.
But HexGate's shadow still stretched long across the city.
And Jace wasn't done yet.