Chapter 14:The Message
Dante's pulse pounded.
Alyssa had barely finished her sentence before he was already moving.
"We need to go. Now."
Zane frowned. "Wait—what? We don't even have a plan yet—"
Dante shot him a glare. "We don't have time for a plan, Zane. If Null is hunting Stacy, they could already be there."
Alyssa grabbed her jacket. "He's right. If we wait, we might be too late."
Zane muttered a curse under his breath but didn't argue. "Fine. But we better not get ourselves killed."
Dante had no intention of dying.
But Null?
They had to die first.
---
The car ride was tense.
Zane floored the gas pedal, speeding through the streets, while Alyssa tried calling Stacy.
No answer.
Each unanswered ring made Dante's stomach tighten.
Alyssa slammed her phone down. "She's not picking up."
Zane gritted his teeth. "Then we hope we're not too late."
Dante didn't speak.
His hands curled into fists.
He could feel it.
Something was coming.
---
They arrived in record time to Stacy's house.
Dante barely waited for the car to stop before jumping out.
Alyssa was right behind him.
They sprinted up the driveway.
Stacy's house was eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
Dante's chest tightened.
Then—
Alyssa gasped.
The front door was wide open.
Dante didn't hesitate.
He ran inside.
---
The house was dark.
Shadows stretched along the walls.
Dante's breathing was slow, controlled.
"Stacy?" Alyssa called, her voice trembling.
No answer.
Dante moved fast, checking room after room.
Nothing.
No signs of struggle.
No signs of life.
It was like the house had been abandoned.
Then—
A sound.
A soft thump upstairs.
Dante's head snapped up "Alyssa take me up there now!"
Alyssa grabbed Dante's shoulder and then he felt as if his body was splitting apart and then in an instant they were upstairs.
---
The hallway was dimly lit, the only light coming from a slightly open door.
Dante reached for it—
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
The air was heavy.
Like pressure was building, waiting to snap.
Zane and Alyssa flanked him, both tense.
Dante took a slow breath.
Then—
He pushed the door open.
And his blood ran cold.
---
As the group entered the room Stacy was there; Lying on the floor.
Unmoving.
Alyssa screamed.
Zane cursed.
Dante rushed forward.
His heart hammered.
She wasn't dead—her chest was rising and falling, shallow but steady.
But her body was covered in burns.
Her skin was pale, her lips cracked.
Dante's stomach twisted.
She looked like she had been drained.
Like something had ripped the energy out of her.
Alyssa fell to her knees beside her. "Stacy! Stacy, wake up!"
No response.
Zane ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell happened to her?"
Dante already knew.
His fists clenched.
This was a message.
And they all knew who sent it.
---
Alyssa grabbed Stacy's wrist, feeling for a pulse.
"She's alive," she breathed. "Barely."
Zane exhaled sharply. "This is bad."
Dante wasn't listening.
He was staring at the wall.
Because carved into it—burned into it—was a single word.
MISTAKE.
Dante's blood ran cold.
Alyssa followed his gaze. "What the hell does that mean?"
Dante swallowed hard.
It was for him.
Null knew.
They knew what he was.
What he had done.
And now?
They were calling him out.
---
Zane carried Stacy downstairs, loading her in his backseat.
Alyssa was still on edge.
Dante walked behind them, his mind racing.
Null wanted him afraid.
Wanted him to feel weak.
But all they had done?
Was piss him off.
Dante's jaw tightened.
No more playing defense.
No more waiting.
It was time to strike first; and for that they'd need answers.
---
They dropped Stacy off at the hospital, Alyssa decided to stay by her side.
Zane and Dante stood outside, staring at the night sky.
Zane cracked his knuckles.
"So, what's the plan?"
Dante let out a sigh "We wait till Alyssa wakes up and get some answers ".
Zane rubbed his face in frustration "We're not making it home in time for dinner, are we?"
Dante smirked at Zane's half hearted joke
"Strap in; we've got a long night ahead of us ".
---
Dante sat in the dimly lit hospital waiting room, his leg bouncing impatiently. The scent of antiseptic burned his nose, and the soft hum of machines filled the silence.
Across from him, Zane was half-asleep, arms crossed, his head tilted back against the wall.
Alyssa was inside Stacy's room.
They had been waiting for hours.
Dante hated waiting.
Every second wasted was another second that Null had to plan their next move.
He clenched his fists.
The word MISTAKE burned into Stacy's wall haunted him.
It wasn't just a message.
It was a warning.
A promise.
Null knew about him.
And they weren't going to stop.
---
The door to Stacy's room creaked open, and Alyssa stepped out.
Dante shot to his feet.
Zane grunted awake. "She up?"
Alyssa exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "No. But she's stable."
Dante frowned. "Then why do you look like you just saw a ghost?"
Alyssa hesitated.
Then, softly—
"She's… mutating."
Zane blinked. "What?"
Alyssa folded her arms. "Her body is… changing. Adapting. Like it's fighting back against whatever Null did to her."
Dante's stomach twisted.
Was it because she was part of Project Phoenix?
Did that mean Null's ability wasn't perfect?
Dante exhaled. "How bad is it?"
Alyssa shook her head. "I don't know. But if this keeps up, Stacy might not wake up the same person."
Silence.
Zane muttered, "Shit."
Dante rubbed his temples. This was getting out of hand.
---
Zane stood, stretching. "Alright, so what now? We just sit here and pray she doesn't turn into a mutant?"
Alyssa shot him a glare.
Dante ignored them both.
His mind was already working.
Null had targeted Stacy because she was connected to Project Phoenix.
Which meant there had to be others.
And if he could find them first—
He could use them.
Dante exhaled. "We need more information."
Alyssa frowned. "From where?"
Dante's eyes darkened.
"From someone who was actually in the project."
Zane raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? And where do you suggest we find a classified government experiment?"
Dante smirked.
"I have an idea."
---
The Informant
Dante knew exactly where to go.
Not to a scientist.
Not to an old lab.
But to someone who made a living selling secrets.
A black-market dealer.
Elias Grey.
---
The drive was quiet.
Zane gripped the wheel, eyes locked on the road.
Alyssa was still scrolling through medical reports on her phone.
Dante leaned back in his seat, staring out the window.
He had met Elias once before—years ago, when he was still just a Zero.
Back then, Elias had ignored him.
Now?
Now, Dante wasn't a Zero anymore.
And that meant Elias would listen.
---
They arrived at a warehouse on the outskirts of town.
The building was old, covered in graffiti, but inside…
Inside was a goldmine of stolen information.
Zane parked. "You sure about this?"
Dante opened the door. "Nope."
Zane sighed. "Great."
Alyssa frowned. "Who is this guy?"
Dante smirked. "A rat."
Then he walked in.
---
The inside of the warehouse was cluttered.
Papers. Screens. Old monitors flickering with encrypted files.
And at the center?
A man in a suit, his feet kicked up on a desk, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Elias Grey.
He looked up as they entered, a lazy smirk crossing his face.
"Well, well," he drawled. "Look what the cat dragged in."
Dante crossed his arms. "We need information."
Elias chuckled. "And here I thought you just missed me."
Dante wasn't in the mood for games.
"We're looking for survivors from Project Phoenix."
Elias' smirk disappeared.
His cigarette burned down to ash.
Silence.
Then—
"Get out."
---
Zane stepped forward. "That's not happening."
Elias shot him a cold look. "You don't get it. You don't mess with Phoenix."
Alyssa narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"
Elias leaned forward, tapping his desk. "Because they aren't human."
Dante's jaw tightened. "You mean they're mutants?"
Elias snorted. "No. I mean they were built to be weapons."
He exhaled.
"Phoenix wasn't about power. It was about control."
Alyssa's stomach dropped. "Control?"
Elias nodded. "They weren't just making stronger Gifted. They were modifying them. Enhancing. Splicing abilities."
Dante's mind raced.
No wonder Null was hunting them down.
If even one of them survived, they could be unstoppable.
Elias sighed. "I don't know how many are left. But if you're looking for someone who actually remembers Phoenix…"
He slid a file across the table.
Dante picked it up.
The name read:
Morgan Raine.
Alyssa's eyes widened. "I know that name."
Dante arched a brow. "Yeah?"
Alyssa nodded.
"She disappeared five years ago."
Elias smirked. "That's because she doesn't want to be found."
Zane scowled. "Where is she?"
Elias exhaled.
"She runs a fight club underground."
Dante chuckled. "Of course she does."
Elias grinned. "You wanna meet her?"
Dante's smirk widened.
"Hell yeah."
---
The club was hidden beneath an abandoned subway station.
Loud music. Flashing lights.
And a crowd of Gifted fighters, all eager for blood.
Zane wrinkled his nose. "This place stinks."
Dante ignored him.
He was focused on one thing.
The cage in the center.
Where a woman with short silver hair and piercing red eyes was tearing through an opponent.
Morgan Raine.
Dante watched as she dodged a strike, twisted, and slammed her knee into her opponent's gut.
They collapsed.
The crowd roared.
Alyssa exhaled. "That's her?"
Zane muttered, "She's insane."
Dante grinned.
He liked her already.
---
Dante walked straight up to the cage.
Morgan was wiping blood from her knuckles when she noticed him.
Her red eyes locked onto his.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked.
Dante smirked. "Someone looking for answers."
Morgan studied him.
Then—she laughed.
"Cute. But I don't give answers for free."
Dante stepped into the ring.
Morgan arched a brow.
Zane muttered, "Oh, this is a terrible idea."
Dante just smiled.
"You want payment?" he said.
Morgan's grin turned sharp.
"Win a fight. Then we talk."
Dante cracked his knuckles.
"Deal."
---
The announcer called his name.
The crowd went wild.
Zane groaned. "We are so screwed."
Alyssa muttered, "He's gonna get himself killed."
Dante just rolled his shoulders.
His opponent stepped forward.
A hulking brute with steel-coated fists.
Dante was starting to regret his decision...but there was no backing out now.