Chapter 13: Fire, Flesh, and Fatal Circuits

The rooftop was a warzone—alive with smoke, static, and a tension that burned hotter than the plasma cannons charging above them.

Cipher stood at the edge of the destruction, his red visor glowing like an open wound. Behind him, four Chrome Reapers flanked his sides—cybernetic limbs twitching, gun barrels humming, sawblades spinning.

And above them all, the drone hovered—a sleek predator of black metal and blue plasma—its cannons locked onto Elliot and Nova.

But Elliot didn't just feel the danger.

He felt her.

Nova still stood close—too close—the flickering lines of her bioluminescent bodysuit pulsing in time with the unstable electricity crackling under Elliot's skin.

His Neural Boost hadn't calmed—it had escalated. Every time Nova touched him, the feedback loop between their tech sent another violent jolt through his system, lighting up her suit in fractured patterns.

They weren't just reacting to each other—they were interfering with each other.

And Cipher noticed.

His visor pulsed. "Look at you," he said, his voice a low rasp. "Two broken circuits, feeding off each other. Pathetic."

Nova's blade hissed to life—violet and violent. "Step closer and I'll show you who's broken."

Cipher chuckled. "You can barely stand without short-circuiting."

Elliot's pulse pounded—part fear, part fury, part something else entirely.

[New Mission: Electric Carnage]

Objective: Survive Cipher's assault.

Bonus: Don't let Nova collapse from the feedback loop.

Hidden Reward: ???

The drone above them beeped—a cold, mechanical warning.

Nova didn't flinch.

Elliot didn't blink.

Cipher raised his plasma arm—aimed directly at Nova's heart.

"No!" Elliot moved without thinking—his Neural Boost surging again, his reflexes faster than his brain.

The plasma bolt fired—screaming through the air.

And in a flash of electric blue, Elliot shoved Nova aside—taking the hit himself.

The plasma bolt grazed his shoulder, searing through his jacket and biting into his skin.

The pain was instant. A white-hot burn that tore through his nerve endings and made his vision glitch—static crawling over his sight like a corrupted screen.

[Health: 47% — Plasma burn detected.]

"Elliot!" Nova's voice was sharp—panicked.

He staggered but stayed on his feet, smoke rising from the hole in his shoulder. "I'm fine," he gritted out. "Just a little crispy."

Cipher laughed. "That was stupid."

Nova's blade flared brighter. "He's full of stupid."

"Hey," Elliot coughed. "Standing right here."

The Reapers charged.

One—a hulking brute with twin plasma cannons for arms—fired a blast straight at Elliot.

His Neural Boost flared again—turning the world into a jagged slow-motion scene. He dove, barely avoiding the shot, rolling behind the wreckage of the drone they'd destroyed earlier.

Nova was already in motion—spinning like liquid death, her blade slicing through the first Reaper's gun arm. Sparks and blood sprayed the rooftop.

But her suit—still glitching from Elliot's unstable feedback—faltered.

The bioluminescent lines across her body blinked violently—stuttering like a failing circuit board.

She stumbled.

"Nova!" Elliot shouted.

A second Reaper swung a serrated blade at her.

Elliot didn't think—he moved.

Before the blade could connect, Elliot tackled the Reaper from behind, driving him to the ground. The impact sent another violent jolt through his system—his Neural Boost reacting to Nova's presence, sending sparks flying from his fingertips.

The Reaper convulsed—his cybernetics short-circuiting from Elliot's touch.

"Holy shit," Elliot muttered. "Did I just—"

"Behind you!" Nova's voice cut through the static.

Elliot spun just as the third Reaper lunged—this one with a plasma whip snaking from his arm.

The whip snapped toward Elliot—fast and deadly.

His Neural Boost overloaded again—his reflexes spiking—his muscles moving faster than his mind.

He caught the whip mid-snap.

Electricity shot through his arm—violent, painful—but his hand didn't let go.

The Reaper blinked—stunned. "What the fuck—"

Elliot yanked the whip hard—pulling the Reaper forward—and slammed his knee into the guy's face.

Bone crunched. Blood sprayed. The Reaper dropped.

Nova, still flickering with electric feedback, stared at Elliot.

Her voice was rough. "You… shouldn't be able to do that."

Elliot wiped blood from his lip. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Cipher—still watching—tilted his head.

The red glow of his visor pulsed—like he was recording them.

"You're not just some random stray," Cipher said, his voice colder now. "You're a glitch."

Elliot's Neural Boost spiked at the word.

He staggered—his whole body convulsing—another violent spark shooting from his fingertips.

Nova grabbed his arm—trying to steady him—but the second she touched him, her suit flared again.

The feedback loop surged—electricity arcing between them.

Nova's head snapped back—her body jerking from the shock—her bioluminescent lines glowing brighter than ever.

"Nova—" Elliot gasped.

She bit back a moan—half pain, half something else—and dug her nails into his chest to steady herself.

"Stop reacting to me!" she growled.

"You stop reacting to me!"

Another spark cracked between them—violently bright—making the rooftop lights burst again.

Cipher's voice cut through the chaos. "How fascinating."

The drone above them locked onto Elliot—its plasma cannons glowing again.

"Move!" Nova shoved him—again.

The plasma blast hit the ground where Elliot had just been standing, scorching the rooftop.

Cipher's voice was a purr. "I don't need to kill you… not yet. I just need to study you."

Nova's blade hissed louder. "Over my dead body."

"Gladly."

The drone charged another shot—this one aimed directly at Nova's chest.

Elliot's Neural Boost snapped.

Everything turned white-hot—his system flaring past its limit.

And without thinking—without trying—he reached.

Electricity surged from his hand—violent, uncontrolled—and connected with the drone.

The feedback loop jumped from Elliot's skin to the drone's core—raw, crackling energy flooding its circuits.

The drone exploded.

A flash of blue fire. Metal shrapnel raining down.

Cipher's visor blinked rapidly—scrambling to process what just happened.

Nova stumbled back—breathless, blinking in disbelief. "You just… fried that thing."

Elliot's whole body shook—sparks still dancing between his fingers.

His voice was hoarse. "I didn't know I could do that."

Cipher's visor flared again.

"Now I really want to take you apart," Cipher growled.

Another blast—this time from Cipher himself—fired straight at Elliot.

Nova grabbed him—jerking him to the side—both of them crashing into the rooftop wall.

The plasma blast missed—but barely.

Elliot's breathing was ragged—his Neural Boost still pulsing—his fingers still sparking.

Nova's voice was rough, breathless, furious. "You're a fucking disaster, rookie."

Elliot met her burning gaze—his chest heaving, his skin still buzzing.

"You keep saying that," he rasped. "And you keep kissing me anyway."

Her lips curled into something between a snarl and a smirk.

Cipher took a step forward. "Let's end this."

And the rooftop—still charged with heat, static, and unfinished violence—exploded into chaos again.