REBORN 9 HOURS AFTER BETRAYAL

0008

The iron doors of the Hawthorne Physics Lab didn’t just open; they groaned like a giant with a hangover. Jaxen had managed to bypass the electronic lock by shoving a screwdriver into the manual override, his "Hyper-Awareness" helping him find the exact sweet spot in the wiring without even looking.

"Keep your head on a swivel," Jaxen muttered, his rifle tucked tight into his shoulder. "The air in here is... wrong."

"No kidding," I whispered back, my hand itching for the grip of my machete. The air wasn’t just stagnant; it felt heavy, like it was saturated with something that wanted to crawl under my skin. "The System is pinging like crazy. There’s a Subject nearby. An Architect."

We stepped into the lobby, and I felt like I’d walked into a goddamn horror movie. The walls, once pristine white laboratory tile, were covered in pulsing, black veins—the same crystalline "Black Veins" from the Black Sun terraforming manual. They were glowing with a faint, sickly violet light, thumping in time with a heartbeat I could feel in the soles of my boots.

"Look at the ceiling," Jaxen hissed.

I looked up and almost gagged. Dozens of people—mostly lab techs in shredded white coats—were encased in translucent, amber-like cocoons. They weren’t dead. Their eyes were open, rolling frantically in their sockets, but their bodies were being used as biological batteries for the hive-growth on the walls.

"Welcome! Welcome to the womb of the new world!"

A voice boomed from the intercom system, crackling with static and ego. It was high-pitched, manic, and sounded like someone who had spent way too much time talking to himself in the dark.

"Who the hell is that?" Jaxen barked at the security camera above the desk.

"That would be Subject 009," I said, my eyes narrowing as the blue screen flickered in my peripheral vision. "The Mad Doctor. In my... I mean, in the rumors I heard, he was a genius who cracked the genetic code of the Mist. Too bad he forgot to keep his own sanity in the process."

DING!

Subject 009: Dr. Aris Thorne (Distant Relative / Rival Architect)

Threat Level: High

Note: He has merged with the Lab's AI. He is the building.

My heart did a little somersault. Thorne? Was this prick related to my father? It made sense. The Black Sun loved keeping their twisted experiments in the family.

"Mateo! How wonderful to see you again!" the voice—Aris—cackled through the speakers. "I saw your father's notes on Subject 001. The 'Perfect Vessel.' But look at you, hanging around with a 'Null-Gene' grunt. You're dampening your potential, man! You should be ascending!"

"Lower the defense grid, Aris," I shouted, my voice echoing in the vaulted lobby. "I'm not here for a family reunion. I'm here for my house. And if you don't open the elevator, I'm going to tear those black veins out of the walls one by one."

"So much fire! So much rage!" Aris laughed. "But I have guests! Meet my 'Nurses'!"

From the shadows of the side hallways, three figures emerged. They were Tier 3 Mimics, but they had been modified. Instead of just mimicking voices, they had surgical blades grafted onto their elongated limbs. Their faces were smooth, featureless masks of gray skin, except for a single, vertical mouth that dripped with black ichor.

"Jaxen, back to back!" I yelled.

SYNC BOOST!

Survival Points Spent: 100 SP

Mutation Level: 25% - Combat Mode Active

The world turned sharp. The violet glow in my eyes flared, and suddenly the "Nurses" weren't moving fast enough. I could see the twitch of their muscles before they lunged.

"I'll take the two on the left!" Jaxen roared, his rifle barking in the confined space. Pop-pop! His aim was perfect, the bullets tearing through the Mimics' lead-heavy hides, but they didn't go down. They just shrieked and kept coming, their bladed arms whistling through the air.

I didn't use a gun. I wanted to feel the weight of the kill. I pulled the machete from the Space Warehouse and met the third Nurse head-on. He swung a three-foot bone-blade at my head, but I ducked, the move feeling oily-smooth. I drove my elbow into his "chest"—which felt like hitting a bag of wet concrete—and followed up with a brutal upward slash.

The machete tore through the gray skin, spraying black goo across my face.

Mutation Level: 28%

Warning: Mutation rising rapidly! Stabilize immediately!

The virus in my blood was screaming for more. I felt a surge of pure, predatory joy. I grabbed the Nurse by his featureless face and slammed him into the wall, right into one of the pulsing black veins. The vein hissed, reacting to my Sovereign blood, and started to wither.

"What are you doing in my lab?!" Aris shrieked over the intercom.

"I'm reclaiming it!" I shouted. I turned and saw Jaxen struggling. One of the Mimics had pinned him against the security desk, its bladed limb inches from his throat. Jaxen was holding it back with the butt of his rifle, his face turning purple from the effort.

"Get off him, you bastard!" I screamed.

I didn't run. I blinked. It was a short-range burst of speed that felt like folding space. I appeared behind the Mimic and drove my machete straight through its back, the steel point emerging from its chest. I twisted the blade, and the creature dissolved into a puddle of foul-smelling sludge.

Jaxen slumped against the desk, gasping for air. He looked at me, his blue eyes wide with a mix of gratitude and genuine terror. "Mateo... your skin. It's turning..."

I looked at my arms. Faint, violet lines were spider-webbing under my skin, glowing like neon. My Mutation Meter was at 29.9%. One more step and I'd lose the ability to speak.

I grabbed Jaxen’s hand, lacing my fingers with his.

CRITICAL SYNC!

Heartbeat Synchronization: 200%

Mutation Level: Dropping... 15%... 12%... Stabilized.

The violet lines faded. The "static" in my brain quieted down, replaced by the steady, comforting thrum of Jaxen's Null-Gene. We stood there for a second, both of us covered in black slime, breathing like we'd just run a marathon.

"You okay, 'Commander'?" I asked, my voice finally sounding human again.

"I've had better Tuesdays," Jaxen grunted, wiping blood from a cut on his forehead. He looked at the elevator doors at the back of the lobby. "Is that where he is?"

"The basement level," I said. "Level 4. The 'Sanctum.' That's where the main server and the serum vats are."

"Then let's go finish this," Jaxen said, reloading his rifle. "I'm tired of listening to that prick talk."

As we walked toward the elevator, I looked back at the cocoons on the ceiling. I couldn't save them yet. But I would. Once I took the "throne" from Aris, this wouldn't be a tomb anymore. It would be a fortress.

SP Earned: +300

New Skill Unlocked: 'Sovereign Presence' - Lower-tier mutants will hesitate before attacking.

"Hey, Jaxen?" I said as the elevator doors hissed open.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for staying. Most guys would've bolted by now."

Jaxen stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for Level 4. He looked at me, and for the first time, a small, grim smile touched his lips. "I'm an 'Anchor,' Mateo. We don't bolt. We hold the line."

The elevator began to descend, dropping us deeper into the heart of the mountain, where the Mad Doctor was waiting to see just how much "Subject 001" had learned about being a King.