Davina turned and sank back onto the couch, elbows on her knees, one hand covering her eyes as if she could hide from the memories clawing their way up her spine.
"He makes it seem as if I fought him and won," she murmured, voice cracking at the edges. "But in reality… I was only lucky to survive." She lifted her gaze to Sebastian, eyes shining with a fear she rarely allowed anyone to see. "I swore I'd never let what happened to me happen to anyone else. But how do I face him?"
Sebastian crossed the room without hesitation and knelt in front of her, steady and unshakable as stone. "You don't," he said softly. "You fight him."
Something in her posture shifted—barely, but enough. A breath steadied. A decision crystallized.
Davina straightened, her eyes drifting toward the window as if searching for courage in the fading light. Then she stood. Her hand slipped into her pocket and withdrew a small, sleek device—no bigger than a compact mirror, its surface a smooth, dark chrome that reflected her face in warped fragments.
She flipped it open.
The reaction was instantaneous.
A soft whirr filled the room, followed by a faint static crackle as millions of microscopic machines surged outward like a living shadow. They spilled across her skin in a wave—crawling, sliding, locking into place with the precision of a thousand synchronized gears. The air shimmered around her as the nanites began their work, rewriting the very fabric of her clothing at a molecular level.
Her jeans dissolved into a cloud of black particles, reassembling into reinforced polymer threads that wove themselves tighter than Kevlar. Her shirt unraveled into luminous green filaments that braided into armored plating along her ribs and shoulders. Each piece fused seamlessly, the nanites stitching atoms together in patterns no human hand could replicate.
The transformation wasn't just visual—it sounded like evolution. A soft metallic hum. A faint clicking as layers interlocked. A whisper of energy as certain sections hardened into indestructible composites, the nanites aligning carbon structures into diamond-like lattices.
Her hood formed last, rising from the back of her neck like liquid fabric before solidifying into matte black. The mask slid over her face in a smooth, organic motion, its green accents pulsing once as the suit synced with her heartbeat, as a black utility belt appeared at her waist.
In less than three seconds, Davina Wayne was gone.
Siren stood in her place—silent, armored, and terrifyingly capable.
Sebastian exhaled, not in surprise—he'd seen the suit before—but in something closer to pride. "There she is."
Davina flexed her fingers, feeling the strength humming beneath her skin, the indestructible plates settling like a second skeleton. The fear was still there… but now it had something to stand behind.
"Let's do this," she said, her voice steady, the mask modulating it into something colder.
And for the first time since hearing Lucifer's name, she felt ready to face him—not as the girl who survived, but as the woman who would end him.
York City was chaos.
Sirens wailed in the distance, drowned out by the thunderous crashes of super‑strong, drug‑fueled attackers tearing through the streets. Streetlights flickered. Smoke curled from overturned cars. Glass rained from shattered windows like glittering snow.
And through it all, a streak of electric blue carved through the destruction.
Speed—Ben—zigzagged between collapsing debris and swinging fists, his movements a blur. Every time he stopped long enough to land a hit, the ground cracked beneath the attackers' feet. They didn't feel pain. They didn't hesitate. They just kept coming.
"Come on, come on…" he muttered, dodging a wild swing that would've flattened a truck.
He zipped behind one brute, delivering a rapid series of jabs to the ribs. The man barely flinched. Another attacker lunged from the side, forcing Ben to pivot, slide, and sprint up the side of a bus before flipping off it.
He landed, skidding across the pavement.
Too many. And they were getting stronger by the minute.
A shadow loomed behind him.
Before he could react, a massive hand clamped around his arm like a steel trap. Ben's eyes widened.
"Oh, that's not good—"
The brute swung him overhead and hurled him straight into the side of a brick building.
The impact exploded through his body. The wall cracked. Dust billowed. Ben slid down the rubble, hitting the ground hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs.
For a moment, everything was muffled. His ears rang. His vision blurred at the edges. He tried to push himself up, but his arms trembled beneath him.
"Not… now…" he whispered, forcing his body to cooperate.
The attacker stomped toward him, each step shaking the pavement. They raised a fist the size of a cinder block, ready to bring it down with enough force to crater the street—and Ben with it.
He braced, teeth clenched.
A sharp metallic whirr cut through the air.
Then—BOOM.
A miniature boomerang struck the attacker's chest and detonated in a burst of controlled concussive force. The brute was launched backward, tumbling across the street and crashing through a parked car with a shriek of twisting metal.
Ben blinked, stunned.
Smoke drifted past him, glowing faintly teal.
Boots touched down in front of him—light, precise, confident. A silhouette stepped through the haze, framed by the flickering streetlights. Sleek black suit. Green circuitry pulsing along the seams. Hair pulled back. Eyes sharp and focused.
Siren.
Davina's voice carried that familiar mix of command and warmth.
"Speed, you look like you're having a rough night."
Ben let out a breathless laugh, still half‑dazed.
"You always know how to make an entrance."
She extended a hand, energy humming faintly at her fingertips.
"And you always know how to get thrown into buildings."
He took her hand, letting her pull him to his feet.
"Hey, in my defense, that guy was huge."
"Mm‑hmm." She smirked, stepping forward as another roar echoed down the street. "Save the excuses. We've got work to do."
Ben steadied himself, the world finally snapping back into focus.
"Together?"
Siren's eyes glowed brighter, her boomerang launcher unfolding along her forearm.
"Always."
TO BE CONTINUED