Chapter 9: System Override

Alden struggled against the restraints, his heart hammering in his chest. The mechanical arms descended, lined with scanning devices, glowing injection needles, and far too many things that looked sharp and unpleasant.

His Overclock still wouldn't activate.

The faint hum in the air—the same one that had been buzzing in the background since he woke up—was suppressing it.

He gritted his teeth. They had planned for him.

Specter watched from the other side of the room, unmoving. Their glowing mask flickered with shifting data streams, tracking his vitals. "Relax. You won't feel much pain."

"Oh, great, so it'll only be a little pain?" Alden shot back. "That's so reassuring, thanks."

Specter ignored the sarcasm. "The first test is simple. We just want to observe how your Overclock reacts under controlled conditions."

Controlled?

Yeah, that definitely didn't sound ominous.

A monitor flickered to life beside Specter, displaying Alden's biometrics—heart rate elevated, neural activity spiking, but no active energy signatures.

Because they had him locked down.

"Let's begin," Specter said.

A sharp hiss echoed through the room.

The first needle plunged into his arm.

Alden flinched, gasping. It wasn't the pain—it was the burning sensation that followed. A strange, electric heat spread through his veins, crawling up his arm and toward his chest.

"What—what the hell is that?" he panted.

"An adaptive stimulant," Specter replied. "It's designed to simulate combat stress and trigger ability activation. If your Overclock responds, we'll be able to analyze its limits."

Alden's head swam. His pulse raced. His muscles twitched involuntarily as the chemical spread.

They were trying to force Overclock to activate.

But—nothing was happening.

The suppression field still held.

His Overclock wasn't responding.

The realization sent a chill down his spine.

Was he… powerless without it?

No. No, that wasn't possible.

Alden gritted his teeth. Focus. Think.

Overclock had always reacted to danger, but now it wasn't. That meant one of two things:

1. The suppression field was too strong.

2. His ability needed a new trigger.

And if it was the second option…

He was about to find out the hard way.

The machine arms shifted, and a new device unfolded. A mechanical scalpel-like tool extended toward his wrist, humming faintly.

Alden tensed. "Wait—wait, what is that?"

"Relax." Specter's tone remained infuriatingly neutral. "This will only be a minor incision."

INCISION?!

His breath hitched.

This wasn't just testing his combat reflexes anymore.

They wanted to see how Overclock handled physical damage.

Alden yanked at the restraints harder, panic seeping into his voice. "Okay, let's maybe not slice me open—"

The scalpel descended.

Alden's heart slammed against his ribs.

The room blurred.

Then—

A warning blared through the speakers.

"ERROR: Suppression Field Unstable."

Specter's head snapped toward the monitors. "What?"

Alden felt it immediately.

Something in the air shifted.

A spark—a flicker—his body suddenly felt lighter.

The suppression wasn't fully gone, but it had weakened just enough.

Enough for Overclock to slip through the cracks.

Alden took the chance.

He twisted his wrist—a small movement, almost unnoticeable. The moment his muscles tensed, his Overclock surged forward like a dam breaking open.

His entire body snapped into motion.

Before the scalpel could touch him, he yanked his arm up with sudden, unnatural speed.

The restraint snapped.

A rush of energy tore through him—not full power, not yet, but just enough to move faster than they could react.

Alden lunged.

With a sharp twist, he ripped his second arm free, shattering the restraint. His legs kicked upward, forcing his entire body into motion, and in a single explosive movement—

He flipped off the table.

The machine arms whirred in alarm, but he was already on the ground, his chest heaving.

Specter took a step back.

Alden met their gaze, electric blue energy flickering around his hands.

"Yeah," he exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "I think we're done with testing for today."

Specter was silent for a moment. Then—

"Impressive."

They lifted a single hand—not in surrender.

But in command.

The walls shifted.

And then—they came.

Two more figures stepped into the room.

Alden's stomach dropped.

Both were wearing sleek, high-tech combat suits, lined with pulsating energy nodes that looked suspiciously like something designed to counter Overclock's speed. Their visors glowed faintly, scanning him like a machine locking onto a target.

Alden immediately did not like them.

Specter tilted their head. "You got farther than I expected."

Alden's hands clenched. The rush of Overclock still thrummed in his veins, but it wasn't stable.

Not yet.

Specter continued, voice as calm as ever.

"But let's see how you handle a real fight."

Alden barely had time to process the words before the two combat specialists moved.

The one on the left vanished.

A split second later, Alden felt a shockwave slam into his ribs.

His body launched across the room, crashing into a metal wall.

Pain flared across his back, and for the first time, he felt his Overclock flicker—almost like it was failing.

The second figure was already in front of him.

Their palm slammed into his chest—a perfectly controlled, blunt-force strike meant to disrupt his balance.

Alden gasped, staggering back.

Fast. Too fast.

They weren't just using brute force.

They were trained specifically to fight someone like him.

His eyes darted to Specter, who remained completely still.

"Consider this your second test," Specter said. "No restraints. No suppression. Just you… and them."

Alden barely got his footing before the first operative vanished again.

Then—

A sharp pain exploded in the back of his skull.

His vision blurred.

The room spun.

The last thing he saw before his legs buckled was the faint red glow of their visors.

Then—

Everything went dark.