The shadow stepped fully into the dim light, and Davion’s stomach dropped. The armor gleamed black, almost liquid in its motion, the eyes glowing red through the visor.“Of course it’s him,” Beverly muttered under her breath. “Figures we’d run into a welcome committee.”Davion’s fists clenched, every muscle coiled like a spring. “Iron Hand,” he hissed. “I should’ve known you’d be here.”The man—or whatever was inside that armor—didn’t answer. Instead, a low hum echoed from the walls, and the lights flickered violently. Davion realized, with a sinking feeling, that this wasn’t just a person. This was a weapon.Beverly took a step forward, blade raised. “We’re taking this facility down. Start talking or start moving.”Iron Hand tilted his head slightly, as if amused. “So brave,” his voice cold and mechanical. “You think destroying a building will stop me?”Davion’s jaw tightened. “Not the building. You.”The armored figure moved suddenly, impossibly fast. Davion barely had time to react

Dawn broke like a promise they didn’t know they’d made. The city was quiet, almost too quiet, as if it were holding its breath for what was coming. Davion pulled his jacket tighter, feeling the cool morning air prick at his skin. He and Beverly led the group through alleys and side streets, keeping low, keeping unseen. The glow of streetlights reflected off puddles from last night’s rain, and every step echoed a little too loudly in the stillness.“I hate mornings,” Maya muttered, rubbing her eyes. “Nothing good ever happens before eight.”“You’re about to make an exception,” Davion said without looking at her, scanning the rooftops as they moved. “Eyes up. Every shadow could be trouble.”Rami groaned. “You sound like a broken alarm clock. Wake me up with a threat next time.”“Quiet,” Beverly snapped, but her eyes were sharp, alert. “We’re close.”Lina pulled out her tablet, flicking through maps and signals. “Main access is two blocks ahead. Security is light—patrolling drones mostly

The streets were quiet when they finally stepped out of Iron Hand’s skyscraper. Quiet enough to feel wrong. Davion’s boots clicked against cracked concrete, echoing in the empty avenues, and every shadow seemed a little too long, a little too alive. The city wasn’t the same as when they’d come in—it was waiting. Waiting for the storm they’d just unleashed to settle.Beverly walked beside him, her blade strapped to her back now, face bruised but alive with that fire Davion always admired. She leaned against a wall, exhaling deeply. “Feels weird, doesn’t it?”“What, surviving?” Davion muttered, voice low. “Or walking out of a building that just tried to kill us all?”“Both,” she said with a faint smirk. “It’s like… like the world’s holding its breath.”Davion’s jaw tightened. “Yeah. And I don’t trust quiet.”They moved down the street, the group following—Maya with her daggers still ready, Lina carrying her laptop like it was a shield, and Rami grumbling about how his life had officiall

The safehouse smelled like burnt coffee and wet jackets, and Davion was pretty sure the floor was sticky from something that might’ve been breakfast—or a failed experiment of Rami’s. He didn’t care. He just wanted to sit somewhere and not think about Iron Hand for two whole minutes.Beverly leaned over Lina’s laptop, eyes scanning lines of code like they were magic spells. “There,” she said finally. “That’s one of the backup nodes. It’s… well, let’s just say it’s better hidden than Genesis was.”Lina nodded, fingers flying across the keyboard. “It’s secure, heavily encrypted, but I can trace the connections. Give me an hour, and I can map his network. Then we hit where it hurts the most.”Davion rubbed his face. “An hour, huh? That’s like… a lifetime when we’re talking about him. He could already be moving against us.”“You’ll be fine,” Beverly said, giving him a sharp look. “If you keep whining, I’ll make you run laps around the city to burn off that anxiety.”Davion blinked at her.

For a split second, no one moved. The room was a mess of sparks, overturned chairs, shattered glass, and the echo of the last blow Davion landed. Iron Hand pushed himself up slowly, wiping the smear of blood from his lip like it offended him more than the injury itself.“You think this ends here?” he said, voice low and too calm—like someone who’d already prepared a backup plan.The room felt too small for the chaos inside it.Iron Hand pushed himself off the desk, blood trickling from his lip. His perfect suit was torn at the shoulder, and for the first time since Davion had ever seen him, he didn’t look untouchable. He looked… human. But dangerous. Still extremely dangerous.“You think shutting off the system will stop me?” Iron Hand spat, wiping his mouth. “You children have no idea what you’ve started.”“We’re finishing what you started,” Beverly snapped, stepping in front of Davion. “And we’re not kids anymore.”Iron Hand laughed—sharp and humorless. “No. You’re weapons who don’t