The needles hovered inches from Luce's temples.
Cold.
Precise.
Waiting.
The machine hummed louder as the extraction chamber powered up, violet energy pulsing through the thick cables attached to the platform.
Arcturus Vale stood beside the console, watching the readings with quiet fascination.
"Begin neural extraction."
One of the scientists hesitated.
"Sir… the subject's brain activity is spiking."
Vale's lips curved slightly.
"Of course it is."
His eyes never left Luce.
"Extraordinary abilities rarely surrender quietly."
The technician swallowed.
"Extraction cycle starting."
The machine whirred to life.
The metal arms above Luce lowered further.
And inside his mind—
The network exploded into noise again.
Signals everywhere.
Security cameras.
Elevators.
Power grids.
Thousands of digital whispers flooding into his thoughts.
But the dampening cuffs crushed the connection again.
ZZZZZT.
Pain stabbed through his skull.
Luce clenched his teeth.
Not yet.
He forced himself to focus on the smallest signal.
The maintenance drone.
Far above the chamber, inside the ventilation shaft, the tiny drone twitched.
Its camera flickered.
For a moment—
The drone's vision became Luce's.
A narrow metal tunnel stretched ahead.
Dust.
Pipes.
Darkness.
Then something moved in the distance.
Footsteps.
Heavy ones.
The drone's camera adjusted.
Four figures stepped into view.
Luce's eyes widened.
Beneath Joltic CityThe underground tunnels beneath Joltic City were nothing like the streets above.
No neon lights.
No towering skyscrapers.
Just endless steel corridors twisting through the earth like the veins of some ancient machine.
And every turn looked exactly the same.
Joren kicked a loose bolt across the floor in frustration.
The metal clanged loudly down the corridor.
"This place is a maze."
Kayden didn't argue.
Because it was.
He had designed it that way.
Years ago—before the war.
Before the Council.
Before the Bayonets.
The tunnels had been built as a defensive labyrinth, a hidden infrastructure beneath the city meant to protect civilians from invasion.
A system designed to confuse enemies.
Dead ends.
False corridors.
Rotating walls.
Hidden traps.
Jay looked around uneasily.
"You built this?"
Kayden nodded.
"Before the war."
Jackie crouched near one of the tunnel walls, examining a small mechanical panel.
"Why make it this complicated?"
Kayden's voice was quiet.
"To stop armies from reaching the city."
He glanced down the endless corridor ahead.
"And apparently… to stop us too."
Joren ran a hand through his hair, clearly losing patience.
"We don't have time for this."
His voice was rough.
"Hailey's down there."
Jay placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll find them."
Jackie stood up slowly.
"Assuming we don't starve in this maze first."
Kayden stepped forward toward a large metal junction in the tunnel.
Four corridors branched outward.
Each identical.
He studied them carefully.
Then pointed left.
"That one."
Joren frowned.
"How do you know?"
Kayden exhaled slowly.
"Because this entire labyrinth was built around one rule."
He tapped the wall beside him.
"Every wrong turn leads deeper underground."
Jay blinked.
"That sounds… counterproductive."
"It was meant to trap invading forces."
Jackie smirked slightly.
"So we follow the path that goes up?"
Kayden nodded.
"Exactly."
They began moving again.
Their footsteps echoed through the tunnels.
Somewhere far ahead—
A distant mechanical rumble vibrated through the walls.
Joren froze.
"What was that?"
Kayden's face darkened.
"The extraction chamber."
Joren's fists clenched instantly.
"Then we're close."
Jackie glanced toward the darkness ahead.
"Or walking straight into a kill box."
Jay adjusted the flashlight in his hand.
"Either way…"
He looked at the others.
"…we're not turning around."
Extraction ChamberBack on the operating platform—
The machine began its first extraction cycle.
The needles lowered.
Closer.
Closer.
Vale watched the monitors with growing excitement.
"Signal stability is increasing."
One of the scientists leaned closer to the screen.
"Incredible…"
"What?"
"The technopathy signal."
The scientist's voice trembled slightly.
"It's adapting to the dampeners."
Vale's eyes lit up.
"Of course it is."
He stepped closer to Luce.
"You see?"
"Even suppressed… your power is evolving."
Luce glared at him.
"You're insane."
Vale smiled faintly.
"Visionaries often are."
The machine lowered further.
But inside Luce's mind—
The drone signal strengthened.
Because the figures he had seen earlier were moving closer.
Closer.
Closer.
The drone's camera flickered again.
And now Luce could see them clearly.
Kayden.
Joren.
Jay.
Jackie.
They were here.
Luce's heart slammed against his chest.
The rescue team had made it into the tunnels.
Vale noticed the change immediately.
"Interesting."
Luce froze.
Vale leaned closer.
"Your heart rate just increased."
He studied the monitor carefully.
"What are you seeing… Luce?"
Luce said nothing.
But inside the tunnels—
Kayden suddenly stopped walking.
Jackie nearly bumped into him.
"What?"
Kayden frowned at the wall.
A faint vibration pulsed through the metal.
He placed his hand against it.
Then looked up sharply.
"That's impossible."
Joren stepped forward.
"What?"
Kayden's eyes narrowed.
"There's movement in the ventilation network."
Jay frowned.
"Security drones?"
Kayden shook his head slowly.
"No."
A faint mechanical hum echoed through the tunnel.
Then a small maintenance drone floated down from a ceiling vent.
It hovered in front of them.
Lights flickering.
Jackie tilted her head.
"Is that… guiding us?"
The drone rotated slowly.
Then flew down one of the corridors.
Kayden stared at it.
A slow realization spreading across his face.
"…Luce."
Joren's eyes widened.
"He's controlling it?"
Kayden nodded.
"Barely."
The drone blinked its light once.
Then flew forward again.
Joren cracked his knuckles.
A fierce smile finally spreading across his face.
"Good."
He started walking.
Fast.
"Because we're coming."
And deep inside the extraction chamber—
The needles finally touched Luce's skin.
Vale whispered softly.
"Let's begin."
The needles pierced Luce's temples.
Pain erupted through his skull like lightning.
The extraction machine roared to life, violet energy flooding through the cables attached to the platform.
Monitors surrounding the chamber filled with cascading data streams.
Technicians leaned closer to the screens.
"Incredible…"
"The neural activity is climbing rapidly."
Arcturus Vale stepped closer, his eyes shining with fascination.
"Just as I suspected."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"Emotional catalysts accelerate metahuman output."
Luce gritted his teeth.
"You're insane."
Vale ignored him.
"Pain. Fear. Anger."
He gestured toward the console.
"These are the forces that awaken potential."
A scientist suddenly spoke.
"Sir… the signal is unstable."
Vale's smile widened.
"Of course it is."
He pressed a button on the console.
The chamber doors slid open.
Heavy footsteps echoed into the room.
Luce forced his eyes open.
Two guards dragged prisoners inside.
His heart dropped.
"Hailey…?"
Hailey stumbled forward, her wrists bound in the same glowing power-dampening cuffs.
Behind her—
Eddy.
His hands were restrained as well, though he still somehow managed to look annoyed.
"Oh good," Eddy muttered.
"Front row seats to the torture show."
Hailey's eyes immediately locked onto Luce.
"Luce!"
She struggled against the guards.
"Let him go!"
Vale studied the moment carefully.
"Perfect."
The scientists exchanged uneasy glances.
"Sir… what are you doing?"
Vale spoke without looking at them.
"Demonstrating a theory."
He stepped closer to Luce's platform.
"Your abilities react strongly to emotional stimuli."
His gaze shifted toward Hailey.
"Let us see how strong they become… when someone you care about is threatened."
Luce's eyes widened.
"No."
Vale nodded toward the guards.
"Begin."
One of the guards activated a control panel.
Electricity surged through Hailey's cuffs.
Hailey gasped as the shock forced her to her knees.
"Hailey!" Luce shouted.
The machines around him screamed with feedback.
The monitors spiked violently.
Vale's eyes lit up.
"Yes…"
"There it is."
Another scientist leaned toward the monitor.
"The technopathy signal is increasing!"
Eddy glared at Vale.
"You know… villains usually monologue before the torture."
Vale ignored him.
The shock surged again.
Hailey gritted her teeth but refused to scream.
Luce's vision blurred.
Inside his mind—
The network exploded open again.
Machines.
Signals.
Security systems.
Everything was suddenly louder.
Stronger.
The dampeners struggled to contain it.
Vale whispered softly.
"Beautiful."
Beneath Joltic CityThe labyrinth tunnels twisted endlessly through the earth.
Kayden led the group quickly now, following the small maintenance drone hovering ahead of them.
The drone's light blinked once.
Then twice.
Jackie narrowed her eyes.
"He's guiding us."
Kayden nodded.
"Barely."
Joren walked faster.
Too fast.
His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white.
Jay glanced at him.
"Easy."
Joren didn't slow down.
"They're hurting her."
Jay frowned.
"You don't know that."
Joren stopped suddenly.
He turned slowly toward Jay.
His voice was low.
"I know."
The tunnel lights flickered faintly.
Kayden checked the drone again.
"It's reacting to Luce's signal."
Jackie glanced down the corridor ahead.
"Which means he's still conscious."
Joren stepped forward again.
"Then we're close."
The drone suddenly darted forward.
Then stopped.
Hovering in front of a massive reinforced door.
Kayden's face darkened.
"Security barrier."
Jay studied the thick metal.
"That thing isn't opening quietly."
Jackie cracked her neck.
"Good."
Joren stepped toward the door.
"Move."
Kayden grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
Joren glared at him.
Kayden's voice was calm.
"If you smash that door, every soldier in the facility will know we're here."
Joren didn't hesitate.
"They already do."
Then he raised his fist.
Extraction ChamberThe monitors began screaming with alerts.
"Sir!"
"The technopathy spike is exceeding safe parameters!"
Vale leaned closer to the screen.
Luce's neural readings were climbing rapidly.
The dampening cuffs flickered.
Vale's voice trembled with excitement.
"Fascinating…"
Eddy stared at the machines.
"Oh that looks unhealthy."
Hailey struggled to stand.
"Stop!"
Vale gestured to the guard again.
"Continue."
The electricity surged through Hailey's cuffs again.
She gasped.
The moment it happened—
Every screen in the chamber exploded with data.
Luce's eyes glowed faintly.
The machines around him flickered violently.
Vale whispered:
"Yes."
"You see?"
He turned to the scientists.
"Anger unlocks power."
But he didn't notice something else.
Inside the facility's ventilation network—
The tiny maintenance drone suddenly connected to something larger.
A security terminal.
Then another.
Then another.
Because Luce was no longer barely connected.
He was fighting back.
The Labyrinth DoorJoren's fist slammed into the reinforced door.
The impact sounded like a cannon blast.
The metal dented inward violently.
Jay stared.
"Well… subtlety is gone."
Joren punched again.
The door cracked.
Jackie smirked.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
Kayden watched the corridor carefully.
Because alarms were starting to echo through the tunnels.
Joren raised his fist one last time.
And drove it forward with full density.
BOOOOM.
The entire door exploded inward.
Beyond it—
A corridor stretched toward the heart of the facility.
Red emergency lights flashed.
Soldiers were already rushing toward them.
Jackie grinned.
"Finally."
Jay sighed.
"So much for a quiet rescue."
Kayden stepped forward.
"Everyone ready?"
Joren cracked his knuckles.
His voice was cold.
"They took Hailey."
The soldiers rounded the corner.
Weapons raised.
Joren stepped forward.
"Bad mistake."
Extraction ChamberThe machines around Luce began malfunctioning.
Sparks exploded across the consoles.
One scientist shouted:
"He's inside the system!"
Vale stared at the monitor.
His excitement only grew.
"Magnificent…"
Luce's voice came out strained.
"Let… them… go."
Vale leaned close to him.
"No."
He whispered.
"You're going to show me how powerful you can become."
Then—
A massive explosion echoed through the facility.
The entire chamber shook.
Vale looked up.
Another explosion followed.
Then gunfire.
The scientists froze.
One guard shouted.
"Sir—intruders in the lower levels!"
Vale smiled slowly.
"Ah."
He looked back down at Luce.
"Your friends have arrived."
His eyes gleamed with dark anticipation.
"Good."
He turned toward the guards.
"Prepare the defenses."
Then he looked back at the extraction machine.
"Do not stop the procedure."
Luce's heart pounded.
Because he knew exactly who was coming.
And somewhere in the corridor outside—
Joren was already running.
The first soldier never saw the punch coming.
Joren's fist collided with his chest like a meteor.
The man flew backwards down the corridor, crashing into two other guards and sending all three tumbling across the floor.
The remaining soldiers froze for half a second.
That was all the time Joren needed.
He moved again.
Another punch.
The reinforced wall cracked as a second guard was launched into it.
Jay ducked behind a metal pillar as gunfire erupted down the hallway.
"Well," he muttered.
"So much for subtle."
Jackie was already gone.
The moment the first shot fired, she leapt upward—her spider limbs bursting from her back as she vanished into the ventilation shafts above the corridor.
Kayden stepped forward, activating the mechanical braces on his suit.
Panels unfolded along his arms.
Energy weapons formed instantly.
"Stay moving!" he shouted.
Turrets dropped from the ceiling.
Kayden fired, Twin plasma blasts erupted from his mech suit, tearing through the descending ceiling turrets before they could fully deploy.
Metal rained across the corridor.
Jay slid forward, grabbing one of the fallen rifles.
"Left side!"
Three soldiers rushed around the corner.
Jay fired twice.
The shots knocked them backward long enough for Joren to close the distance.
Joren grabbed one of the guards by the armor plate and slammed him into the floor with terrifying force.
The concrete cracked.
Kayden glanced toward him.
"Joren!"
But Joren was already moving again.
Faster.
Harder.
Every punch carried more weight than the last.
Jay muttered under his breath.
"He's losing it."
Kayden didn't answer.
Because he knew why.
Inside the Ventilation SystemJackie crawled through the narrow metal tunnels like a shadow.
Her spider limbs dug into the steel panels as she moved silently through the labyrinth of vents above the facility.
Below her—
She could hear the battle spreading.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Alarms screaming through the hallways.
Jackie stopped at a grated opening.
Below was the extraction chamber control room.
Technicians ran between consoles, shouting over each other.
And at the center of it all—
Arcturus Vale stood calmly beside Luce's platform.
Jackie's eyes narrowed.
"…Found you."
Extraction ChamberThe electricity surged through Hailey's cuffs again.
Her knees slammed into the metal floor.
But she refused to cry out.
Vale watched the monitors with growing excitement.
The neural readings were climbing faster now.
"Extraordinary."
He turned toward Luce.
"You feel it, don't you?"
Luce's teeth were clenched so tightly his jaw trembled.
The machines around him flickered violently as his technopathy fought against the dampening cuffs.
Vale leaned closer.
"Anger."
He gestured toward Hailey.
"Pain."
Then toward Eddy.
"Fear."
He smiled.
"These are the keys to power."
Eddy rolled his eyes.
"You know… most people just go to therapy."
Vale ignored him.
He nodded to one of the guards.
"Again."
The guard activated the cuffs.
Electricity surged through Hailey's restraints—
But this time—
Something changed.
The machines around Luce suddenly spiked violently.
Every monitor in the chamber erupted with warnings.
Vale's eyes widened slightly.
"Yes…"
"There it is."
Luce's voice came out strained.
"Stop… hurting… them…"
The cables around the platform began sparking.
The entire chamber trembled.
EddyEddy watched the machines flicker.
Then glanced down at his own cuffs.
He flexed his fingers.
Nothing.
Still blocked.
But something felt… off.
He glanced at Luce again.
The energy pouring from the machines was interfering with the dampeners.
Eddy smiled slowly.
"Oh."
He whispered.
"That's new."
He tried again.
POP.
Nothing.
He frowned.
"Come on…"
Another surge of electricity ripped through the chamber.
POP.
For a split second—
He vanished.
Then reappeared exactly where he had been.
Eddy's grin widened.
"Oh we are so back."
The Labyrinth CorridorAnother squad of soldiers poured into the hallway.
Kayden fired a blast that knocked two of them backward.
Jay slid behind cover again.
"This entire city is trying to kill us!"
Joren didn't slow down.
He crashed straight into the group of guards like a living battering ram.
Armor plates shattered.
Weapons flew from their hands.
Kayden grabbed Jay's shoulder.
"We're almost there."
Jay glanced at the massive reinforced door at the end of the corridor.
The extraction chamber.
Joren reached it first.
He placed his hand on the metal surface.
Then slowly clenched his fist.
His voice was barely controlled.
"Hailey…"
Kayden stepped beside him.
"Joren—"
But it was too late.
Joren punched the door.
BOOOOOOM.
The reinforced steel dented inward violently.
Jay stared.
"That door was built to stop tanks."
Joren pulled his fist back.
Then punched again.
The entire frame cracked.
Inside the chamber—
Vale looked up.
Another explosion shook the room.
The scientists froze.
"Sir… the door!"
Vale's smile slowly returned.
"So."
He looked down at Luce.
"Your friends have arrived."
Extraction ChamberThe reinforced door exploded inward.
Metal fragments flew across the room.
Smoke filled the air.
And through it—
Joren stepped forward.
His eyes locked instantly on Hailey kneeling on the floor.
The electricity around her cuffs flickered weakly.
His voice was low.
Dangerously calm.
"…Let her go."
Vale turned slowly to face him.
For the first time since the experiment began—
His smile grew wider.
"Ah."
"The lost brother returns."
Joren stepped forward again.
Every muscle in his body tense.
"You're done."
Vale tilted his head slightly.
"Am I?"
He gestured toward the platform.
The extraction machine roared louder.
"Because from where I'm standing…"
"…your friend is about to become the most powerful being on this planet."
Luce forced his head up.
"Joren…"
The machines around him sparked violently.
Vale spread his arms slightly.
"Welcome to the future."
Behind Joren—
Kayden, Jay, and Jackie stepped into the chamber.
Eddy suddenly appeared beside Hailey in a small teleport flicker.
POP.
"Hi," he said.
"Things got worse."
Vale watched them all with quiet fascination.
Because everything was happening exactly as he wanted.
More anger.
More chaos.
More power.
He looked back at the monitors.
The extraction readings were climbing higher than ever before.
Vale whispered softly.
"Yes…"
"Show me what you can become."
And the machine entered Phase Two.