"They bypassed the perimeter shields completely," another replied, his fingers flying across a touchpad. "There was no spatial displacement warning. No pulse trails. Nothing."
Then came the sound. Not from the speakers but from the world itself. Like a low bell tolling in the marrow of the Earth.
"They're here," muttered a technician, pale-faced.
The security feed outside the compound crackled for a moment, momentarily corrupted by the energy surge. Then it resolved.
They saw them.
Fifty High Priests of the Church of Evolution, each draped in their religion cloaks, each standing impossibly still.
And at their center, two figures whose mere presence contorted the video resolution, distorting their silhouettes in flickering light.
Silence took the room.
Then, chaos. One of the operators shouted into a headset. "We need containment teams on full alert. Override Gate Protocols 3 through 9. Dispatch all active Evolvers!"
But the orders came too late.
