Chapter 4: The Missiles of Doom

Alden barely had time to swear before the air filled with fire and smoke. The micro-missiles launched from Prototype Omega's chest streaked through the sky, their glowing red trails zeroing in on his location.

His brain locked up. His muscles tensed. Time seemed to slow as dozens of warheads curved toward him like homing birds of death.

"I—WHAT?!" Alden yelped, stumbling backward. His feet scrambled against the cracked pavement. "THAT'S OVERKILL!"

From the corner of his eye, Iris Vale teleported away, disappearing into the safety of a shadow portal. Riggs was already moving, barking orders into his comms.

But Alden? Alden was still standing directly in the blast radius.

"Move, idiot!" Iris shouted from a rooftop, reappearing in a flicker of shadows.

His instincts finally kicked in. Overclock flared to life.

The world blurred. One moment he was standing in place, the next—

BOOM.

The missiles detonated on impact. A massive explosion erupted where Alden had just been standing, sending up a shockwave of dust and debris. Flames roared outward in a vicious inferno, the sheer force ripping through the academy courtyard.

But Alden… wasn't there anymore.

He stumbled several feet away, chest heaving, realization crashing over him. He had moved. Not dodged—moved. Faster than his brain could register. His body had blurred through the battlefield like an afterimage.

The Overclock energy fizzled in his veins, blue lightning crackling along his arms.

"What—what the hell was that?" he muttered, eyes wide.

Iris appeared beside him, staring. "That was you not dying. Good job."

Alden turned back to Prototype Omega, whose glowing red visor locked onto him again. The machine stood unphased, its massive armored frame reflecting the flickering flames from the destroyed courtyard.

It was still coming.

"Okay," Alden panted, raising his hands. "Not to be dramatic, but how do we kill the walking tank?"

"It's a classified military superweapon, not a tin can," Iris muttered. "And you're the only one that's actually damaged it so far."

"That was an accident!" Alden shot back.

"Then have another accident, fast!"

The machine charged.

Its massive metal-plated feet cracked the pavement, its heavy frame moving far faster than something that size should be able to. A pulse of energy flared along its arms, and its left hand morphed into a massive energy blade, humming with plasma heat.

"Of course it has a sword-arm," Alden groaned.

The blade swung down toward him.

Alden dodged.

He didn't mean to—his Overclock kicked in automatically, his body responding before his brain could catch up. One second, he was in the blade's path, and the next, he had moved behind the machine in a blur of speed.

It turned instantly, swiping its second arm at him. Alden ducked, narrowly avoiding a massive fist crashing into the pavement, shattering concrete.

"Okay, I changed my mind, I hate this," Alden muttered.

"Less talking, more hitting!" Iris shouted.

"HOW?!"

"USE THE OVERCLOCK THING!"

Alden had no idea how. He didn't even know how it worked. But he didn't have time to think. The cyborg lunged again, its energy blade swiping in a lethal arc.

Alden twisted, moving with unnatural fluidity, his body sliding just out of reach. He countered without thinking—a punch straight into its armor.

CRACK.

The force dented the machine's plating again. A shockwave blasted outward, sending sparks skidding across the battlefield.

The cyborg staggered.

Alden's mind raced. I did it again.

Whatever Overclock was—it was enhancing him in real-time. Speed, reflexes, strength—it wasn't just copying abilities. It was optimizing him.

Prototype Omega recalibrated. A mechanized hiss escaped its frame. Then its chest split open again—but this time, instead of missiles…

It revealed a second energy cannon.

Alden's stomach dropped.

"Uh. Riggs?" he called over the comms.

"Yeah?"

"The murder robot just upgraded."

"Figured."

"Advice?"

"Try not to die."

The energy cannon charged.

A deafening whirring sound filled the air as a blast of raw energy gathered in the machine's core.

Alden's hands clenched into fists. His body buzzed with electricity, the Overclock energy reacting to the danger. He didn't know if he could dodge this one.

Then, in a blur of movement, Felix Grayson landed between them.

Alden blinked. "What—"

Felix, Sentinel Academy's ranked strongest first-year, grinned like an idiot, cracking his knuckles. His muscular form was covered in bruises from the earlier explosion, but he looked thrilled rather than concerned.

"I was hoping I'd get a shot at this thing!" Felix roared. "Alright, you metal freak—you're my warm-up!"

Alden stared in horror as Felix charged at the machine head-on.

The cannon fired.

The energy surged toward Felix, a massive blue-white beam of destruction.

And Felix—

Did not dodge.

The blast engulfed him.