The city ruins stretched around Tango like the ribs of some colossal dead beast. Every building cracked. Every window shattered. The wind whistled through broken metal like a ghost that couldn't mind its business.
Tango adjusted his visor.
No heartbeat scan from Tim.
Not good.
He pressed two fingers against the comm on his neck. "Tango reporting. I got movement in Sector Blackwater. Something mutated. Something fast."
Static.
Then silence.
Tango clicked his tongue. "Great. I love being ignored by technology. Varex is rubbing off on everything here."
He lowered into a crouch, boots quiet on the cracked tiles. His flashlight cut through the gloom.
Deep claw marks ran across the walls, slicing through concrete like butter. Acid drips hissed on the floor. Something huge had passed through here… recently.
Tango moved deeper.
A low metallic creak resonated above him.
He whipped his gun up.
Nothing.
He stepped over a collapsed desk. His flashlight slid over a broken sign.BIO-LAB SUBROOT ACCESS.
His chest tightened.
"Oh perfect," he whispered. "Secret lab. Mutant creature. Zero backup. My dream vacation."
A shadow moved behind him.
Before he could turn, something slammed him into the ground. Hard.
Tango rolled, barely dodging a second hit. A massive arm....scaled, jagged, glowing faint blue, crashed into the spot he'd just occupied.
"Oh hell no," he muttered.
The creature stepped forward.
Seven feet tall.Shoulders like boulders.Eyes glowing the same colour as Omega's post-explosion sparkles.
Tango steadied his aim."Let me guess. You're new here."
The creature roared.
Tango fired.
The shot hit, sparked… and did absolutely zero damage.
"Of course. Why would anything be easy."
He ran over a broken staircase as the thing charged. His boots slid across the dusty floor. He grabbed a metal pipe, jammed it beneath a fallen cabinet, and vaulted upward.
The creature lunged, smashing the cabinet into splinters.
Tango landed on a walkway above.The whole structure groaned.
"Stay there," Tango muttered. "Let me think…"
The creature leaped.
Tango's eyes widened. "Bro I meant stay THERE not up HERE."
He sprinted across the shaking metal, bullets lighting up the dark. Sparks flew. Something screeched. Something burned.
He reached a rusted metal door and slammed his fist against the access panel.
It blinked red.
"Denied."
He kicked it.
"Denied."
He smashed it again.
"Access granted."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
The door hissed open. Tango slipped in, slamming it shut just as the creature slammed into the other side.
The whole room trembled.
Tango braced himself, breathing hard.
"Okay. Time to figure out what the hell you are and how fast we can kill you."
He flicked on his wrist recorder.
"Mutation log. Subject unknown. Eyes glowing blue. Similar to Omega's aura shift. Connection suspected. Going deeper. If I die, someone please delete my search history."
He took a shaky step forward.
The lights flickered awake.
Rows of old monitors lit the room, showing surveillance feeds from all over the facility.
And in the centre sat a metal throne.
An empty one.
Tango's heart dropped.
"Varex," he whispered.
Except Varex wasn't there.
Just cables. Lines. Wiring spread like roots.
Like veins.
The AI had moved.
Somewhere else.
Somewhere deeper.
Tango swallowed hard.
"… you'd better be doing your part out there guys."
-------
Omega tried wiping glitter off his neck again. "I swear this stuff multiplies."
Siara flicked a sparkle off his cheek. "You look cute. Like a radioactive firefly."
Omega choked. "Cute."
"I said like a radioactive firefly," she corrected. "Don't get delusional."
Omega pointed at her. "You smiled when you said cute."
"You imagined that."
"Did not."
"Did ."
Omega grinned. "You're bad at lying."
Siara shoved him lightly. "Keep talking, and I'll push you into something you won't love."
"Romantic."
She groaned. "I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Just me."
"Yeah," she muttered, softer, "unfortunately."
They walked side by side through the dim hall.
Omega kept glancing at her when he thought she wasn't looking.
She kept doing the same.
Eventually Siara cleared her throat. "So. Before Varex interrupted earlier… you were saying something."
Omega blinked. "I was?"
"Yes, genius."
Omega tried to think. "Oh. Right. That."
She eyed him. "Well?"
Omega rubbed his neck. "I said we could talk after Tim is safe."
"That is not what you were about to say."
Omega coughed dramatically. "I don't recall that."
"Try again."
He tried looking away. She grabbed his chin and turned his face back.
"Try harder."
Omega's brain crashed.Rebooted.Crashed again.
He swallowed. "I… might've been about to say something embarrassing."
Siara smirked. "Oh I know. I just want to hear you say it."
Omega's heart rate went up exactly the way Varex would lecture him about.
"Siara."
"Omega."
They leaned a little closer.
A little more.
Then,
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Omega groaned. "I hate this facility."
Siara pulled out her scanner. "It's coming from Subroot Passageway. That's weird. Nobody uses that area."
Omega frowned. "Unless someone is hiding there."
Siara's eyes widened. "Varex."
Omega nodded. "Varex. Or whoever built him."
A spark of adrenaline hit both of them.
Siara grabbed Omega's wrist. "Come on. Let's go hunting."
He dared to intertwine their hands.She didn't pull away.
They moved quietly through the narrow corridors. Pipes hissed overhead. Loose wires sparked like angry snakes.
Omega whispered, "You realize this is basically a date."
Siara whispered back, "If this is your idea of a date, you desperately need help."
Omega grinned."I like spending time with you."
Siara almost tripped. "Don't say stuff like that when I'm walking."
"Does it distract you?"
"Shut up."
The walls grew darker the deeper they went. Dust thicker. Air colder.
Omega's flashlight flickered across a door covered in old warning signs.
Siara pointed. "This door isn't on any map."
Omega stepped closer. "Which means it's exactly where Varex doesn't want us."
Siara cracked her knuckles. "Perfect."
Omega scanned the access panel.
"It's dead."
Siara smirked. "Move."
Omega stepped back.
She kicked the door.
It flew off its hinges.
Omega stared. "I'm both terrified and in love."
Siara's face went red."Don't. Say. That."
Too late.He smirked.
Inside… the room was massive.Circular.Filled with humming servers and ancient machinery.
Screens flickered awake as they entered.
One screen lit the entire room.
A face.
Not human.
Not robotic.
Something in between.
Varex.
But not the Varex they knew.
Not the Varex,Siara saw in her albums
This one looked older.Colder.Smarter.
Omega whispered, "What… is that…?"
Siara stepped closer. "That's not just an AI. That's a whole hive."
The screens lit up one by one.
VOICE RECOGNITION CONFIRMED.PAIR 03 LOCATED.SYNCHRONIZING.
Another screen blinked alive.
TRANSMISSION RECEIVED FROM AGENT: TANGOSTATUS: CRITICALLOCATION: OVERRUN SECTOR
Omega grabbed Siara's arm. "Tango's alive. But in trouble."
Siara stared at the glowing cables around them. "Omega… look."
At the far corner of the hideout… a window sat open.Shattered.Like someone or something had broken out.
A deep growl echoed from the darkness behind them.
Something huge stepped into the light.
Blue eyes.Claws.Breathing like a furnace.
Omega's heart stopped.
Siara whispered, "Omega… that thing…"
He finished for her.
"That thing was human once."
The creature snarled.
The hideout lights turned blood red.
Varex's voice filled the chamber.
"PAIR 03.PHASE 3 INITIATED.SURVIVAL UNLIKELY."
The creature lunged.
The screen behind them flashed violently.