Story 1260: Synapse Meltdown

Juno stared at the syringe marked SERUM R-E3, the final gift from the one called He Who Heals the Dead.

It shimmered with iridescent hues, like oil on water—alive, almost curious. Inside it swirled a volatile blend of regenerative code, neural stabilizers… and something no one could explain: origin fragments.

“Restore or rewrite,” he had said.

Behind her, Shade and H-13 stood silent. The decision wasn’t tactical. It was existential.

Was she still Juno Mira, or a living echo of failed genome stitching—an avatar of what VIREX hoped humanity would become?

The floor beneath them trembled.

From deep below, something stirred.

The vault's core—the Synapse Engine—was waking.

H-13’s eyes went wide. “No. Not now. The system is trying to finish what it started.”

“Define ‘it,’” Shade said, pulling out his rifle.