The rain poured harder, turning the neon lights of the Red Vipers' headquarters into blurry streaks of red and purple.
"The Pit" was a converted warehouse. Heavy bass thumped through the walls, vibrating the puddles on the street. Two massive bouncers with cybernetic arms stood by the steel door.
Zeph crouched behind a dumpster across the street, rain dripping off his nose.
"Scan complete," the AI whispered. "Hostiles inside: 32. Weapons detected: Plasma rifles, vibro-blades, and one localized energy shield generator."
"Thirty-two against two," Zeph whispered. "Math is not on our side, Kae. We need to cut the power, use thermal vision, and pick them off one by one."
Kaelen didn't answer. He stood up, walking out from behind the dumpster.
"Kae!" Zeph hissed. "Get back here! Stealth!"
Kaelen walked straight toward the front door. He didn't run. He didn't hide. He walked like he owned the pavement.
The bouncers saw him. They stepped forward, blocking the entrance.
"Lost, little boy?" the left bouncer sneered, flexing a chrome arm. "Cover charge is your teeth."
Kaelen stopped three feet away. "Open the door."
"Or what?" the bouncer laughed. He reached for a stun baton on his belt.
Kaelen raised a finger.
CRACK.
The streetlights above them exploded. Glass rained down. The alley plunged into darkness.
"What the—?"
In the dark, Kaelen's eyes glowed with a faint, purple-black energy. He didn't touch the bouncers. He swept his hand to the side.
Both bouncers were lifted off their feet by an invisible force. They were thrown—hard—into the brick wall. They slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Zeph ran up behind Kaelen, panting. "Okay, so stealth is out. Great."
Kaelen looked at the steel door. "Knock knock."
He placed his palm on the metal. The steel groaned. Rust spread out from his hand like a fungus, aging the metal instantly. The hinges screamed and snapped. The heavy door fell inward with a deafening CLANG.
Music blasted out. The club inside went silent. Thirty heads turned toward the door.
Kaelen stepped inside. Zeph followed, pulling his hood down.
"Who are you?!" a ganger with a red mohawk shouted, pulling a pistol.
"Combat Mode Engaged," the AI announced. "Music tempo: 120 BPM. Synchronizing movement."
"Let's dance," Zeph sighed.
The ganger fired.
Zeph moved. To the normal eye, he was a blur. To the AI, the world was in slow motion. Zeph tilted his head; the bullet missed. He grabbed a bottle of vodka from a passing waitress's tray and threw it.
Smash. The bottle hit the ganger in the face.
Then, chaos erupted.
The club became a war zone. Zeph moved like water. He didn't fight with anger; he fought with math.
Duck. Sweep leg. Elbow to solar plexus. Grab gun. Eject mag. Throw mag at enemy's eye.
It was a ballet of violence. Efficient. Clean.
Kaelen was different.
Kaelen didn't dodge. A ganger swung a vibro-blade at his chest. Kaelen caught the blade with his bare hand. The shadows wrapped around the steel, shattering it into dust.
"Weak," Kaelen grunted. He punched the man in the chest. A shockwave of black energy blasted the guy across the room, knocking over a pool table.
"Monster!" someone screamed.
Kaelen walked through the crowd. Men fired at him, but the bullets seemed to slow down and drop to the floor before they touched him. It was a gravity field.
He reached the VIP section on the balcony. The Viper Boss stood there—a fat man in a silk suit, holding a heavy machine gun.
"Die!" the Boss screamed, opening fire.
Kaelen looked up. He raised his hand.
"Sit," Kaelen commanded.
The gravity in the room shifted. Everyone felt it. It was like the planet suddenly got ten times heavier.
Zeph's knees buckled. "Gravity anomaly detected. Mass increasing."
The Viper Boss screamed as he was forced to his knees. The floorboards cracked under him. His gun became too heavy to lift. He was pinned by the air itself.
Kaelen walked up the stairs, heavy and slow. Thud. Thud. Thud.
He stood over the Boss.
"This is my chair," Kaelen said softly.
He kicked the Boss in the chest. The man tumbled down the stairs, landing in a heap on the dance floor.
The music had stopped. The gangers who were still conscious looked at their fallen leader, then at the man in black standing on the balcony.
Kaelen sat down on the velvet throne. He looked out over the club.
"My name is Kaelen Thorne," he announced, his voice amplified by the silence. "And this city is mine."
Zeph stood on the dance floor, surrounded by groaning bodies. He looked up at his friend. Kaelen looked natural on that throne. Too natural.
"Observation," the AI whispered. "Subject Kaelen's heart rate has slowed. He is not stressed. He is enjoying this."
"Yeah," Zeph replied in his head. "That's what I'm afraid of."