The Wardens Offer

Glitch had been in the dark for what felt like days. Time meant nothing in the depths of the prison, where the only light came from the cold, flickering glow of security drones that hovered overhead like metal vultures. The cell was small, barely enough room to stand, and the only company she had were the distant screams of other prisoners—some real, some just echoes in her mind.

She sat against the wall, her cybernetics disabled, her body weaker than it had ever been. They had stripped her of everything—her weapons, her enhancements, her connection to the Matrix. But the worst part? The silence. No data streams, no HUD overlay, no voices in her head feeding her information. Just her thoughts, raw and exposed.

The cell door slid open with a hiss. Heavy boots echoed against the steel floor. Glitch didn't look up at first—she had learned that showing weakness invited pain. But then she heard the voice.

"You're tougher than I expected," the Warden said, his tone amused.

She looked up, and for a split second, her mind couldn't process what she was seeing. The Warden's face flickered, like a glitch in a corrupted data file, and then it settled into something familiar.

Juno.

Her blood ran cold.

Juno grinned as he crouched in front of her, resting his forearms on his knees. "Surprised? Thought you killed me, didn't you?" His voice was calm, almost playful. "Well, I have a habit of rewriting my story."

Glitch's jaw clenched, but she forced herself to smirk. "Can't say I'm happy to see you. The last time we met, you were—oh yeah—dead."

Juno chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, Glitch. Always so witty, even when you're completely powerless." He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and metallic. It took her a second to realize what it was—one of her teeth. The ones reinforced with micro-tech to hack into security systems.

He twirled it between his fingers. "You had some fun little tricks hidden in your body, but we took care of that. Piece by piece."

Glitch didn't let her expression falter, but inside, rage burned through her veins.

Juno leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I'm going to give you an opportunity, Glitch. Work for me, and I'll set you free. No more prison, no more suffering. You'll have power again. And in return? You help me break the others."

Glitch's muscles tensed. She wanted to lunge at him, tear his smug face apart, but she couldn't. Not now. Not yet. Instead, she forced a smirk.

"You think I'd betray them?" she scoffed. "For what? A front-row seat to your evil villain monologue?"

Juno sighed, shaking his head. "I was hoping you'd be smart about this." He snapped his fingers, and two guards stepped in. One of them grabbed Glitch by the arm, yanking her to her feet. The other pulled out a surgical tool, a long, thin instrument that glowed at the tip.

Glitch gritted her teeth. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

Juno watched, waiting.

Minutes felt like hours. Pain blurred her vision, but she didn't break.

Finally, Juno leaned in again, voice soft. "This is just the beginning, Glitch. Say yes now, and you'll walk out of here intact. Say no, and I'll keep taking pieces of you until there's nothing left."

Glitch's breathing was ragged. She knew she couldn't win this battle—not here, not now. She needed time, a way to turn the situation around.

She swallowed her pride. "Fine."

Juno's grin widened. "Good girl."

But inside, Glitch wasn't submitting. She was planning. Juno had just made his biggest mistake—he thought he had won.

And that meant he wasn't ready for what came next.

Glitch's wrists were cuffed in heavy restraints, her arms locked behind her back as the guards shoved her forward. The pain still burned through her jaw, fresh from Juno's little "demonstration," but she kept her expression blank. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing fear.

Juno led the way down the prison corridor, his long coat sweeping across the cold metal floor. The guards flanked her, their grips tight, as if they expected her to make a break for it. If she still had her cybernetics, she could have disarmed them in seconds. But now? Now, she was just another prisoner being dragged to an uncertain fate.

The hallway opened up into a large docking bay. A sleek black transport ship, lined with glowing red veins of circuitry, waited for them. Juno stepped up the ramp, gesturing for the guards to follow.

"Welcome aboard," he said smoothly as he took his seat at the front. "I'll be honest, Glitch, I was hoping you'd hold out a little longer. I was looking forward to the next round."

Glitch gave him a flat look. "Yeah, well, I figured I'd spare you the trouble. Wouldn't want you getting tired torturing me."

Juno smirked. "Oh, I don't get tired. But you, on the other hand? Let's see how long that defiance lasts once you see what I've been working on."

The transport ship rumbled to life, the engines roaring as the docking bay doors split open. Within moments, they were soaring up through the thick, polluted sky of the prison complex, breaking through the storm clouds above.

And then—Cyber City came into view.

The neon skyline stretched for miles, glowing in shades of electric blue and crimson red. Hover-cars zipped between the towering megastructures, while massive holograms advertised everything from cybernetic enhancements to underground fight clubs. It was a city that never slept, never stopped evolving. But as Glitch stared at it now, something felt… off.

Juno caught her staring. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

She didn't answer.

The ship banked right, descending toward the outskirts of the city, where the structures were less polished and more industrial. Juno's hideout was nestled deep within one of the abandoned districts—a place the world had long since forgotten.

As the ship touched down, the guards yanked Glitch to her feet and marched her down the ramp. The air was thick with smoke and oil, the scent of rusted metal and burnt circuitry clogging her nose. The building before them was massive, a once-grand facility now crumbling with age.

Juno led the way through the rusted doors, into a vast underground laboratory.

The walls were lined with server racks, their blinking lights casting eerie shadows. Suspended in the center of the room was a massive data core, its wires snaking out like veins. But what caught Glitch's eye was the holographic display on the far side of the room.

It was a map—a live tracking system. And on it? The rest of her team.

Juno turned to her, his grin widening. "Time to hunt them down."

Glitch forced herself to remain still, but inside, she was already calculating.

She had just found her way back into the fight.