Location: Detroit, The Iron Room — 22:40 p.m.POV: MariaThe Iron Room was not a place for peace. It was a fortress hidden beneath an abandoned steel mill on Detroit’s east side. The walls still smelled faintly of rust and oil, the air heavy with decades of dust. Tonight, it pulsed with the low murmur of men and women who shaped wars from the shadows.Maria sat at the far end of the table, her back straight, her eyes sharp. The leather chair creaked under her weight, but her stillness made it sound like a growl. She hadn’t asked to be here, but Harrington had insisted. “If we don’t show strength,” he had said, “we’ll leave as prey.”The room was lit by a single steel chandelier, its bulbs flickering like dying stars. Around the oval table sat the kingpins — cartel chiefs, warlords, arms brokers, and defected intelligence officers. None trusted the other. Each carried their own army outside, engines rumbling through the night as proof of power.At the head of the table sat Marcus Webb,

Location: Detroit — Lazarus Subterranean FacilityTime: 07:42 a.m.POV: MariaMaria woke to chains.Her wrists burned where steel cuffs dug into her skin, her head heavy from the sedative they’d pumped into her veins. The air reeked of antiseptic and ozone, a laboratory smell that never faded from Lazarus’s halls.She opened her eyes slowly. The room was vast, lined with glass cells that glowed faint blue. Inside each cell floated a shadow of a human—half-formed, features flickering like static on a broken screen. Copies. Ghosts that breathed but weren’t alive.Her stomach turned. So Harrington was right.“You’re awake.”The voice pulled her gaze to the far end of the chamber. The emissary stood there, immaculate in a tailored suit, hands clasped behind his back. His face was calm, his tone almost gentle.“You fought well,” he said. “But Lazarus doesn’t waste talent. You’re here because you belong here.”Maria’s throat was raw, but her voice cut through anyway. “If this is recruitment

Location: Lazarus Facility Tunnels — Sublevel 3Time: 08:42 a.m.POV: MariaThe tunnel swallowed her whole.Each step Maria took pulled her deeper into a world where sound twisted and memory blurred. The walls dripped with condensation, the air heavy with rust and damp earth. Behind her, Harrington’s warning still echoed: Not Isabel. Not anymore.But the song lingered, soft and fragile, carrying her back to nights when Isabel used to hum to calm the fire sirens outside their old Vinewood apartment. The melody was crooked now, halting like it came from a throat not built for music. Yet it was still hers.“Isabel,” Maria whispered.The tunnel widened into a chamber. Dim lights buzzed overhead, revealing cages welded into the walls. Inside, figures shifted—half men, half constructs, their skin patchworked with Lazarus biotech. Some stared blankly at her. Others whispered nonsense, voices broken by implants.Maria’s grip on her pistol tightened.From the far corner, the song stopped. A fi

Location: Lazarus Facility Tunnels — Collapse ZoneTime: 09:06 a.m.POV: HarringtonThe white light swallowed everything.For a heartbeat, Harrington thought he was dead. Then sound came rushing back—screams of metal, a pulse like thunder rolling through the walls, Maria’s ragged breathing just ahead of him.The Juggernaut staggered, convulsing. The override device blinked red against its chest, sending tendrils of energy crawling along its plated skin.“Webb!” Harrington roared. “Shut it down now!”“I’m trying!” Webb’s voice cracked from behind a pile of debris. Fingers flew across his broken keyboard, sparks licking his hands. “System’s fighting me—like it knows I’m in!”Maria scrambled back from the Juggernaut, her pistol empty, blood streaking her cheek. “It’s not going down—”The creature bellowed, a sound that shook the tunnel to its bones. Its chest split open in seams of glowing blue, wires writhing like serpents.Daniel, coughing blood but still on his feet, laughed hoarsely.

Location: Abandoned Textile Warehouse, Riverside DistrictTime: 4:07 p.m.POV: HarringtonThe storm outside was building, thunder echoing through the broken rafters like war drums. Harrington stood in the center of the warehouse, the flickering light from a broken bulb casting him in harsh lines. Every instinct screamed that time was short.Maria pressed a rag against her wrist, but Harrington caught the faint glow pulsing beneath her sleeve. He didn’t comment. Not now. The team needed unity, not fractures.“Listen up,” he barked, drawing every eye. “We don’t know when Lazarus moves, but they’re already close. We turn this warehouse into a fortress. If we fall, we fall with teeth bared.”Daniel grinned like a predator. “Finally. I was worried you’d tell us to run.”Webb set his laptop on a crate, already pulling cables from his pack. “I can rig motion sensors using the old factory lines. Won’t last long, but it’ll give us early warning.”“Do it,” Harrington ordered. “Daniel, reinforce