Pandora.
Two guards slowly walked down one of the prison's endless corridors. One of them glanced at the clock mounted on the wall.
"How long until rotation?"
"Three months," the other replied.
A tired sigh escaped the first guard.
"Three more months..."
The second guard chuckled.
"I can't wait."
"For what?"
"Seeing my family." He adjusted the rifle hanging from his shoulder. "And getting the hell out of this place."
The first guard nodded. "Can't blame you."
For a while, neither of them spoke.
"You know," the second guard finally said, "they call this the safest prison in the world."
"They're probably right."
"Maybe." He looked through the reinforced cell doors lining the corridor. "But honestly... it's not the prison that bothers me."
His partner looked over. "What does?"
"The people inside it."
The first guard let out a quiet laugh. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
A faint voice suddenly echoed through the corridor.
A prayer.
The two guards exchanged a glance.
"...He's started again."
"What do you think he's praying for?" the younger guard asked.
The older one shook his head. "Not freedom."
"No?"
He looked toward the isolated cell at the very end of the corridor.
"If I were him, I'd have given up on that a long time ago."
The prayer continued.
Calm. Steady. Uninterrupted.
One of the guards sighed.
"What do you think about him?"
"Who?"
"Him." He nodded toward the isolated cell. "I don't want to question the higher-ups... but don't you think they're a little too hard on him?"
His partner raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that?"
"I mean, honestly..." He shrugged. "Compared to the other monsters locked up in here, he's practically pleasant."
The older guard didn't answer.
"The guy in Cell Six handed back his food tray the other day after taking a dump on it." The younger guard grimaced. "Compared to people like that, this guy's practically civilized."
"You're not wrong," the older guard admitted after a moment. "But there's a reason they treat him differently."
He folded his arms.
"At the end of the day... he's the man who humiliated Thalos."
"The company spent years rebuilding its reputation after what he did."
The younger guard nodded slowly.
"I heard the previous CEO couldn't live with the disgrace."
"He couldn't." The older guard's expression remained unchanged. "After failing to stop that robbery, he took his own life."
Silence settled over the corridor once again.
After a few moments, the younger guard spoke.
"It's still hard to believe Thalos recovered from something like that."
A faint smile appeared on the older guard's face.
"They were always going to recover."
"Why?"
"Because the man who took over was Mr. Artiom."
He gave a small shrug.
"Put that man in charge of any company in the city..."
"...and he'll have it standing taller than ever within a few years."
The quiet conversation came to an abrupt end as another guard hurried down the corridor.
"Get yourselves together," he said under his breath. "Mr. Artiom is coming."
Both guards immediately straightened their uniforms.
As the third guard walked away, one of them leaned closer.
"You think he's here for the usual?"
His partner gave a small shrug.
"What else would he come here for?"
The younger guard smirked.
"What do you think he brought this time?"
"I don't know."
"Last time it was cake."
He scratched his chin.
"I'm betting on burgers."
The older guard sighed.
"...Will you shut up?"
A few seconds later, footsteps echoed through the corridor.
A man in a perfectly tailored black suit came into view.
The lower half of his jaw had been replaced by an expensive metallic implant, polished so precisely it almost looked natural.
In one hand, he carried a pizza box.
He smiled warmly as he approached.
"Morning, gentlemen."
The guards saluted immediately.
"Good morning, Mr. Artiom."
"How's the shift?" Artiom asked. "Any problems?"
"No, sir."
"Everything's under control."
"Good."
He opened the pizza box and handed each guard a slice.
"Then you've earned lunch."
"My treat."
The guards accepted it with grateful smiles.
"Thank you, Mr. Artiom."
"Much appreciated, sir."
Artiom simply nodded before walking toward the final cell.
The heavy security door unlocked with a loud metallic click.
Inside sat Brick Birking.
His body was restrained by a series of specialized mechanical restraints fixed directly into the floor and walls.
Heavy cuffs locked both wrists.
Steel braces held his legs in place.
Even his torso was secured.
Moving more than a few centimeters was impossible.
His eyes remained closed.
His lips quietly continued the same prayer.
Artiom stepped inside.
The familiar chair was waiting exactly where it always was.
He pulled it forward and sat down.
Then he opened the pizza box once more.
The smell filled the small room.
He picked up a slice of pepperoni pizza and held it toward Brick.
"You want some, Brick?"
No response.
The prayer continued.
Artiom smiled.
"If you do..."
"You know my condition."
"I can end all of this."
Brick never even turned his head.
The prayer did not stop.
Artiom rested the slice on the box again.
"Just tell me where your partner is."
"That's all I want."
"Tell me where they are..."
"...and I'll put an end to your suffering."
Still nothing.
Only the quiet sound of Brick's prayer.
Artiom sighed.
"What a waste."
He calmly ate the slice himself.
Then another.
Once he had finished, he pulled a neatly folded napkin from his pocket, wiped his hands and the metal around his jaw, and stood.
"I'll be back next week."
He smiled politely.
"Perhaps you'll have changed your mind by then."
Brick never answered.
Without another word, Artiom left the cell.
The heavy door slowly closed behind him.
Back in Connection City, Ironhand and Emily stood in the middle of the laboratory, a holographic map spread across the workbench between them.
Emily carefully adjusted a few settings on a compact metallic device resting beside the projection.
"I think this is as stable as it's going to get."
Ironhand looked at the device.
"So it works."
Emily nodded.
"It works."
She couldn't hide the pride in her voice.
"I based it on the dimensional technology Brick stole from Thalos years ago. It isn't nearly as powerful as the original, but it doesn't need to be."
She tapped the device.
"It won't let us travel anywhere we want."
"It only locks onto one destination."
Ironhand already knew what that destination was.
"Pandora."
Emily nodded again.
"It bypasses the main gate entirely."
She paused.
"But there are limits."
Ironhand folded his arms.
"I'm listening."
"I can only open the doorway from one fixed location."
"And once it's open..."
She looked directly at him.
"We have one hour."
"After that, the connection collapses."
"The gate closes."
"And I won't be able to reopen it."
Ironhand remained silent.
Emily continued.
"So the plan is simple."
"We go in."
"We find Brick."
"We get him out."
"And we leave before the hour is up."
She smiled nervously.
"Simple."
Ironhand gave her a look.
Emily sighed.
"...Simple on paper."
Ironhand stepped toward the device.
"No improvising."
Emily nodded.
"No improvising."
"We stick to the plan."
"We get Brick."
"And we leave."
Emily took a deep breath.
"Got it."
She pressed her hand against the device.
Its core began to glow.
A low mechanical hum filled the laboratory.
The air in front of them distorted.
A narrow line of light appeared.
Then widened.
The space itself folded inward.
A doorway slowly formed.
Beyond it...
Darkness.
Emily tightened her grip on the device.
"It's stable."
Ironhand looked at her one last time.
"We stick to the plan."
Emily gave a determined nod.
"We stick to the plan."
Without another word, she stepped through the doorway.
Ironhand followed immediately behind her.
The portal closed around them.
Silence returned to the laboratory.