The ventilation shaft deposited me onto the platform of what had once been the Christopher Street subway station, now a tomb of broken tiles and abandoned hopes in the post-invasion world. Emergency lighting cast sickly yellow shadows across the platform, and the air carried the metallic taste of ozone and decay.
But most importantly, I could hear the distant rumble of a train approaching through the tunnels—one of the few automated systems still running on emergency power throughout the city's transportation network.
[NANOMACHINE COUNT: 47,892,156,734 UNITS]
[SYSTEM EFFICIENCY: 14%]
[CRITICAL THRESHOLD: BREACHED]
[WARNING: EXTENDED ACTIVITY NOT RECOMMENDED]
Forty-seven billion nanomachines. I had fallen below the critical threshold, entering a range where my enhancement could begin catastrophic failure at any moment. Every movement, every use of my abilities, was now gambling with complete system collapse.
"ATLAS," I whispered as I stumbled across the platform toward the tunnel edge, "how long can I function at this level?"
"Unknown, Jack," my AI companion replied with digital anxiety. "You're in uncharted territory. Nanomachine counts this low weren't part of the original testing parameters. But I'm detecting significant degradation in non-essential systems."
Non-essential systems. As if anything about my enhancement had ever been non-essential. But I was beginning to understand that certain abilities—wall-crawling, toxin production, basic structural enhancement—were prioritized by my nanomachines for survival, while others—electrical generation, advanced matter manipulation, large-scale acid production—were being shut down to preserve core functions.
The train's headlight appeared in the tunnel, a single bright eye cutting through the darkness. It was moving at reduced speed, probably an automated emergency run designed to maintain some semblance of public transportation despite the city's devastation.
Behind me, I could hear sounds of pursuit. Not the heavy footsteps of the Prometheus team—they were probably still engaged with the Xynos forces in the storm drain system. But something was following me through the ventilation system, something that could climb as well as I could.
Hunter's voice echoed from the shaft I'd just exited: "Target signature detected in subway station. Nanomachine count has dropped below critical thresholds. Evolution is vulnerable."
So much for the Prometheus team being delayed by alien interference. Hunter's bio-tracking equipment could apparently monitor my nanomachine levels in real-time, which meant they knew exactly how weak I had become.
The train was a old subway car, probably running on automatic systems, its windows dark except for the emergency lighting inside. As it began to slow for the platform, I made a decision that was either tactical genius or suicidal desperation.
I jumped.
My weakened nanomachines barely managed to absorb the impact as I landed on the train's roof, the metal buckling slightly under my reduced but still enhanced weight. The train continued its deceleration, and I used my wall-crawling abilities to secure myself against the surface as it picked up speed again.
"Evolution is on the train!" Hunter's voice carried clearly through the station as she emerged from the ventilation shaft. "Repeat, target is mobile on automated transport!"
But the train was already moving, accelerating through the tunnel system toward whatever destination its programming dictated. For a moment, I allowed myself to hope that I had finally escaped immediate pursuit.
That hope lasted exactly forty-three seconds.
The first indication that my escape attempt had failed came when I felt the train beginning to slow despite being nowhere near another station. The second indication was the sound of electromagnetic discharge from somewhere behind me—Pulse's energy signature, which meant the Prometheus team had somehow managed to catch up.
"ATLAS, how is that possible?"
"Jack, I'm detecting massive power drain from the train's systems. Someone is using electromagnetic manipulation to force the train to slow down by overloading its electrical components."
Through the train's windows, I could see sparks flying from control panels as Pulse systematically destroyed the automated systems. But more disturbing was what I could see in the tunnel behind us—movement along the tunnel walls that could only be Spiderons using their climbing abilities to pursue the train at high speed.
The train was now moving at barely thirty kilometers per hour and continuing to decelerate. At this rate, both human and alien pursuers would overtake us within minutes.
But the train's roof wasn't empty. As I struggled to maintain my grip on the slowing vehicle, two shapes detached themselves from the tunnel ceiling and landed with predatory grace on either side of me.
Spiderons. They had somehow gotten ahead of the train and positioned themselves for an ambush. In the confined space of the train's roof, moving at reduced speed, I was at every possible disadvantage.
The first alien attacked immediately, its poison stinger seeking my throat with mechanical precision. I managed to deflect the attack with my forearm, but my weakened nanomachines couldn't form the usual defensive enhancements. The stinger penetrated my flesh, and I felt alien toxins beginning to circulate through my bloodstream.
[TOXIN DETECTED: XYNOS PARALYTIC COMPOUND]
[NANOMACHINE RESPONSE: INSUFFICIENT]
[ESTIMATED TIME TO PARALYSIS: 4.7 MINUTES]
Four and a half minutes before the alien poison shut down my nervous system. But the second Spideron wasn't waiting—it launched itself at me with all claws extended, clearly intending to end the fight quickly.
I rolled sideways, using the train's reduced momentum to carry me toward the edge of the roof. The alien's attack missed, but it recovered immediately and began stalking toward me with the patient confidence of a predator that knew its prey was wounded.
My nano bullet system activated, but the projectiles emerged sluggishly and with poor accuracy. One found its target, punching through the second Spideron's exoskeleton, but didn't carry enough force to disable it. The alien hissed in pain but continued advancing.
[NANO BULLET EFFICIENCY: 34%]
[NANOMACHINE EXPENDITURE: 1,234,567,891 UNITS]
[REMAINING COUNT: 46,657,588,843 UNITS]
Forty-six billion and falling. Each use of my abilities was consuming nanomachines faster than they could reproduce, creating a death spiral that would end with complete system failure.
The first Spideron, the one whose poison was spreading through my system, decided to try a different approach. Instead of direct attack, it began cutting through the train's roof with its claws, trying to create a hole that would drop me into the passenger compartment where I would be trapped.
But that gave me an idea.
"ATLAS," I transmitted as I dodged another attack from the second alien, "can you access the train's emergency systems?"
"The electrical systems are severely damaged by Pulse's interference, but... yes, I can reach the emergency brake release mechanism."
"On my mark, engage maximum emergency braking. Everything the train has."
"Jack, at current speed, emergency braking will throw everyone on the roof forward at approximately sixty kilometers per hour. Including you."
"Including them," I corrected, bracing myself against the train's surface as the aliens continued their coordinated attack.
The first Spideron's poison was beginning to affect my coordination, making my movements sluggish and imprecise. But it was also affecting my pain response, which allowed me to ignore the various cuts and scrapes I was accumulating from alien claws.
"Now, ATLAS!"
The train's emergency braking system engaged with a shriek of metal on metal that could probably be heard throughout the tunnel system. The deceleration was immediate and violent—from thirty kilometers per hour to zero in less than three seconds.
Both Spiderons were thrown forward off the train's roof, their claws unable to find purchase on the smooth metal surface. But I had been braced for the impact, my nanomachines reinforcing my grip just enough to keep me attached to the train.
The aliens hit the tunnel wall ahead of the train with wet, crunching sounds that suggested they wouldn't be continuing the pursuit immediately.
But my victory was short-lived.
"Jack," ATLAS said with urgent concern, "the emergency braking has attracted attention from both pursuit forces. I'm detecting Titan's approach from behind, and there are more alien signatures moving through the tunnel system ahead."
[NANOMACHINE COUNT: 45,891,234,567 UNITS]
[POISON PROGRESSION: 67%]
[SYSTEM EFFICIENCY: 11%]
[WARNING: MULTIPLE SYSTEM FAILURES IMMINENT]
Forty-five billion nanomachines, alien poison shutting down my nervous system, and enemies closing in from both directions. The stopped train had become a trap rather than transportation.
But as I struggled to maintain consciousness, ATLAS delivered one piece of information that changed everything.
"Jack, I'm detecting a massive energy signature at the end of this tunnel. It's... familiar. Government frequency, but much more powerful than anything we've encountered before."
"What kind of energy signature?"
"Nanomachine storage and replication facility. Jack, there's a government installation ahead that contains approximately... " ATLAS paused as if doubting its own analysis. "Approximately fifty trillion nanomachines in storage."
Fifty trillion. More than twenty times what I'd possessed at my peak. Enough to not only restore my abilities but to evolve them beyond anything I'd previously imagined.
If I could reach it before the poison killed me, before the Prometheus team captured me, and before the Xynos forces tore me apart.
The train sat motionless in the tunnel, and from both directions, I could hear the sounds of my enemies closing in. But ahead, barely visible in the darkness, was the faint glow of what might be my salvation.
Or my final destination.
[ESTIMATED DISTANCE TO FACILITY: 847 METERS]
[TIME TO PARALYSIS: 2.1 MINUTES]
[PURSUIT ETA: 90 SECONDS]
[STATUS: DESPERATE MEASURES REQUIRED]
The race was about to begin, and I was no longer sure I was fast enough to win it.