Chapter 14: Prisoners of Their Own Power

Alden ran faster than he ever had before.

His Overclock flared wildly, unstable and unpredictable, but he pushed forward anyway, forcing his body to move at speeds it barely understood. The warning alarms screamed overhead, flashing red lights bathing the facility corridors in an eerie glow.

Iris and Felix were walking into a trap.

And if he didn't reach them in time—

No. He couldn't think like that.

Alden gritted his teeth, focusing on the blurred walls racing past him. Every instinct screamed that he was still too slow, that no matter how fast he moved, the failed subjects were already ahead of him.

He needed to go faster.

Alden's hands clenched, Overclock surging in his veins. He pushed—harder, faster, past the limit—

Then—his body glitched.

His vision flickered, his movements jerked out of sync with reality for a brief second—like his body had overrun itself.

He stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

No, no, no—

Alden bit down the panic, forcing his legs to keep moving. His Overclock wasn't stable. It was overloading, reacting to his desperation instead of his control.

If he didn't get a handle on it—he was going to crash.

A sharp buzz crackled through the intercom.

Specter's voice echoed overhead.

"Your power is rejecting you."

Alden ignored them. Kept running.

Specter's tone remained maddeningly calm. "You're forcing it too hard. That's not how Overclock works. Haven't you figured it out yet?"

Alden didn't answer. He didn't have time for whatever twisted lesson Specter was trying to teach.

But their next words froze him in his tracks.

"Your friends won't survive if you go in like this."

Alden skidded to a stop, breath ragged. His hands shook, his Overclock fluctuating violently, still refusing to stabilize.

Specter was right. If he lost control now—

He wouldn't be saving anyone.

His fists clenched. He forced himself to breathe. Think.

His Overclock wasn't a simple power-up. It wasn't just boosting his speed and strength.

It was learning. Adjusting. Optimizing.

Then why was it failing now?

Alden closed his eyes, drowning out everything else—the alarms, the pulsing red lights, the distant echoes of the facility's destruction.

And then—he felt it.

The glitching wasn't a failure.

It was Overclock trying to sync.

Trying to adapt to something new.

Alden exhaled slowly, unclenching his fists.

Then let's do it your way.

Instead of pushing Overclock to its limits, Alden let go.

The energy inside him shifted.

And this time—it synced.

The erratic flickering stopped. The unstable surges evened out.

Alden opened his eyes.

And then—he vanished.

Iris Vale had fought a lot of things in her life.

She had fought gifted fighters with super-speed, enhanced mercenaries with military training, and even a man who could split himself into clones.

But she had never fought something like this.

The moment she and Felix had turned the corner, the failed Overclock subjects were waiting.

They didn't walk, run, or charge like normal enemies.

They blinked.

One second, they were across the hall.

The next—they were on top of them.

Iris teleported on instinct, phasing backward into the shadows just as a warped fist tore through the air where she had been standing.

Felix wasn't as subtle.

He swung first, his enhanced strength sending a shockwave through the hallway. His fist collided with one of the subjects' chests—

And the moment of impact, Felix was sent flying backward.

Iris's eyes widened.

That wasn't normal.

Felix was stronger than that. His Titan's Might should have flattened anything he hit.

And yet—the failed subject had absorbed the attack.

Felix crashed through a nearby wall, coughing. "Okay. That was—different."

Iris gritted her teeth. "They're adapting to us."

Felix groaned, pushing himself up. "Awesome. I love fights where I get to punch something that doesn't feel it."

The failed subjects twitched violently, their bodies phasing in and out of reality. One of them lurched forward, its arm stretching unnaturally, warping like a liquid.

Iris teleported again, reappearing behind it. She went for a clean takedown—

And her body froze.

Her shadow portal didn't activate.

A sickening wave of distortion rippled through her body, and for the first time in her life—

She couldn't teleport.

Iris gasped, staggering. Her golden eyes widened. "What—"

The failed subject turned to her.

And then it copied her ability.

Iris watched in horror as the thing shifted, its form flickering into a shadowy blur—

And then it teleported directly in front of her.

Oh, hell.

Iris barely dodged, twisting away as the subject phased in and out of reality, mimicking her teleportation—but imperfectly.

It was copying her abilities, but breaking them in the process.

Felix leapt back into the fight, swinging for the subject's head. The thing phased out of existence the moment his fist reached it—then reappeared behind him, slamming an elbow into his back.

Felix stumbled, swearing. "Okay, I hate this. What's the plan?"

Iris scanned their opponents, brain racing. The failed subjects weren't copying abilities perfectly.

They were syncing. Trying to stabilize.

But it wasn't working.

Iris saw it. Their movements were slower. More erratic.

Their bodies were breaking apart.

"Felix," she called, dodging another warped strike. "We just have to keep them unstable. If they're trying to copy us, we can overload them."

Felix cracked his knuckles. "Got it. You confuse them—I hit them."

"Basically."

"Best plan ever."

Before they could move, a sudden pulse of energy surged through the room.

Iris's breath caught.

That energy—she recognized it.

A high-speed blur tore through the battlefield, moving faster than anything should.

A rush of Overclock energy slammed into the failed subjects—one by one, they collapsed backward, their unstable forms unable to keep up.

And standing at the center of it all—

Was Alden.

Iris blinked. "...You're late."

Alden exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders. "Yeah. Had to… figure some things out."

Felix grinned. "You good?"

Alden looked at his hands, Overclock buzzing steadily for the first time.

Then, he clenched his fists.

And smirked.

"Oh yeah. I'm good."

Cliffhanger: The remaining failed subjects recovered, twitching violently. Specter's voice came over the intercom.

"Now let's see how well you work together."

The fight wasn't over yet.