GHOST

The Bastion hummed with quiet activity. The Clan was finally catching its breath after the last few days of relentless chaos. Razor was checking their security grid, Echo and Cipher were arguing over a miscalibrated program, while Blaze cleaned his weapons in the corner.

It felt almost normal. Almost safe.

Myst sat near the central table, still processing everything she had revealed about herself. Their reactions had surprised her. Not a trace of fear or rejection, only anger at the Government.

She should have felt reassured, yet an uneasy weight still pressed on her chest.

The lights flickered.

A moment later, the Bastion's security alarms blared.

Razor bolted to the console. "What the—?"

Before he could finish, the entire hideout trembled with the force of a controlled detonation.

"Incoming!" Blaze barely had time to grab his weapons before the reinforced entrance exploded inward.

Smoke and dust filled the air as a squad of elite operatives stormed in. At the front stood two figures: a bounty hunter, one they had tangled with before, and beside him, a new enemy face.

The newcomer's presence alone sent a chill down Myst's spine. He wasn't just another mercenary—this was a Government agent.

His movements were calculated, precise, each step cautious as he scanned the room. Then, his eyes locked onto Myst. "Subject Blue Rose."

A command, not a name.

The attack was immediate. The fight erupted before anyone could think.

Razor opened fire, Shade moved fast, taking down one of the intruders in a single strike. Nyx engaged the bounty hunter in a brutal exchange of blows. Cipher and Echo worked together, using both brute force and precision strikes to take out two operatives who had attempted to flank them.

But the agent didn't engage the others.

He came straight for Myst.

She barely dodged the first strike—fast, too fast. Her body moved on instinct, countering before she even processed the motion. A new clarity rushed through her, her mind calculating the agent's movements before they happened.

But the agent expected it. He adjusted, mirroring her reactions, as if he knew exactly how she would move.

Myst faltered. That moment of hesitation was all he needed.

A sharp twist—her arms pinned behind her—

She was trapped.

Pain flared as he tightened his grip, his voice low but commanding. "Come quietly. We'll spare everyone else."

Myst struggled, but his hold was unyielding. He leaned in slightly, voice dropping lower. "You were never meant to be out here. You belong to us."

Before he could move her, Cipher slammed his hand onto the console, activating the Bastion's emergency lockdown. Metal barriers slammed into place over the exits, and several high-voltage security turrets dropped from the ceiling, forcing the intruders to shift their focus.

A shadow blurred past them.

Flux's attack was impossibly fast. The agent barely had time to block before his movements turned sharp, almost too refined, too familiar. He matched the agent's precision strike for strike, as though he had been trained the same way.

That fighting style.

A memory—a glimpse of someone in the lab. It hit her like a shockwave, but she had no time to dwell.

The Government agent gave Flux a calculating look, then smirked. "Interesting."

The fight raged on. Blaze took down another soldier with a brutal swing of his rifle, but not before one of the operatives slashed a knife across his side. He gritted his teeth, pressing a hand to the wound, but still forced himself to keep fighting.

Razor managed to disable the last of the reinforcements, and Shade drove his knife through the armor of an operative trying to retreat.

The emergency lockdown continued to escalate, turrets whirring, automated defenses firing at the remaining operatives. The agent's smirk faltered as he realized the Bastion had turned against them.

He blocked another strike from Flux, but his eyes darted to his remaining squad—outnumbered, losing ground.

With a sharp signal, he reached for a device on his belt. A high-pitched pulse rang out, scrambling the sensors momentarily. The squad used the brief opening to fall back, retreating toward a breach they had made in the side wall.

The Bastion was still locked down, but the enemy had forced their way out. As the last of them disappeared, the agent's voice echoed in the room.

"This isn't over."

And then they were gone.

The attack was over. But the message was clear.

They weren't just after Myst. They're now coming for all of them.