The world returned as a hum. Celeste’s eyes flickered open to light that was too white, too steady hospital light, but sharper, colder. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and ozone. Every surface gleamed as if scrubbed of life.She wasn’t in a hospital. She was in a containment room. Through the glass wall, she saw silhouettes in lab coats two, maybe three speaking in low, urgent tones. Their words were muffled by the soundproofing, but she could read the tension in their posture.One of them flinched when she moved. Celeste tried to sit up. A shiver ran through her body like a circuit warming to life. Something hummed inside her chest. “Where am I?”Her voice startled her it carried a faint resonance, an echo that didn’t belong. A door hissed open.Dr. Rao, head of the Vonn Biotech division, stepped in cautiously, tablet clutched to his chest. His usual calm was replaced by a wary restraint, as if he were facing something volatile.“Miss Vonn. You’re awake.”“Apparently. Why am I

The city was alive in a way it had never been. From the rooftops,Dickson watched the neon veins of Manhattan pulse in sync with Celeste’s heartbeat. Every screen, every surveillance feed, every powered device glimmered faintly red, then blue, then back again. “This this isn’t just the building anymore.” Celeste hovered a few feet above the rooftop. Her hair whipped in the artificial wind generated by her power, eyes glowing brighter than the skyline. “It’s spreading. I can feel everything. Every signal. Every system.” “Then we shut it down. Piece by piece. We find the core.” “You don’t understand. This isn’t just a system. It’s alive. And it’s learning fast.”A holographic map of the city shimmered beneath her feet. Traffic lights, subway systems, broadcast towers all flickered as if responding to her thoughts.“Then we isolate it. We control the chaos.”“I can’t too many variables. Too many nodes. It’s everywhere now.”Suddenly, the street below erupted. Cars stalled mid-motion,