Chapter 15: Voltage, Violence, and Vertigo

The rooftop was a graveyard of shattered tech and molten metal—flickering lights and smoke still twisting through the electric haze. The storm of static between Elliot and Nova hadn't settled.

It had gotten worse.

Every nerve in Elliot's body still buzzed, his Neural Boost stuck at an uncontrollable high. The electricity snapping off his skin surged every time Nova got close—each flicker of power causing the bioluminescent lines of her bodysuit to flare and glitch harder.

And Nova?

She was still pressed against him—one hand fisted in his shirt, the other trailing down his chest—fingers twitching from the sparks leaping between them. Her glowing violet eyes were wild now—not just with anger or adrenaline, but something darker.

Something hotter.

Cipher's visor flickered erratically, his cold voice cutting through the static. "This shouldn't be possible."

Nova's blade flared to life again—violet and violent. "Neither should you still be breathing."

Cipher's plasma arm whined, charging another blast. "I don't need to kill you yet. I just need to study him."

Elliot's blood went cold.

Cipher didn't see him as a threat.

He saw him as an experiment.

[New Mission: Shock and Awe]

Objective: Survive Cipher's next attack.

Bonus: Don't let your Neural Boost destroy you—or Nova.

Hidden Reward: ???

The feedback loop between Elliot and Nova snapped again—a fresh jolt of electricity crackling from Elliot's fingertips to Nova's hip.

She hissed—half in pain, half in something else.

The glowing lines on her suit rippled in response—lighting up along the curve of her waist and trailing lower, flickering violently.

"Rookie," Nova growled, her voice a dangerous rasp, "you're gonna fry me alive."

"Maybe stop touching me then!" Elliot shot back.

Nova's lips curled. "I don't think you want me to stop."

Another spark jumped from Elliot's arm to Nova's chest—lighting up the pattern along her ribcage, the glow rippling dangerously close to where the suit clung to her.

Her breath caught—half a gasp, half a curse.

The rooftop lights buzzed louder.

Cipher didn't move. His visor flared as he watched the violent reactions between them, his head tilting like he was recording every flicker of electricity and every pulse of light.

"You're more connected than I thought," Cipher muttered.

Nova's blade inched closer to him. "Shut up."

Cipher ignored her. "Your tech… it's not just colliding—it's syncing."

Elliot's head spun. "What the hell does that mean?"

Cipher smiled beneath his visor. "You're not just a glitch, Elliot. You're an unstable circuit. And she's the trigger."

Another pulse.

Another violent snap between Elliot and Nova.

The electricity lashed out between them—crackling arcs dancing between his skin and her suit—like they were both just conduits for something bigger.

Something darker.

Nova's voice was rough, her jaw tight. "Rookie—if we don't break this loop—"

"Yeah, I know."

His Neural Boost spiked again.

The feedback loop flared so hard that Nova's suit glitched entirely—the glowing lines running from her ribs down her thighs flashing wildly, the material shimmering as though it was caught between solid and light.

Her head tipped back—her body arching for half a second—like the shock had torn through every nerve in her system.

She bit her bottom lip to stifle a sound that was definitely not pain.

Elliot's stomach flipped.

"Nova—"

Her hand shot up—grabbing the side of his neck—sending another jolt through them both.

The rooftop lights exploded.

Cipher's visor sparked. "Fascinating."

Nova didn't let go.

Neither did Elliot.

The raw electricity snapping between them was unbearable now—so much more than heat. It was pain and desire wrapped together—an unstable circuit of lust and violence feeding off itself.

The glowing lines of Nova's suit burned—rippling with every fresh jolt from Elliot's Boost—lighting up along the curve of her thighs, her stomach, her chest.

Elliot's mind blurred—too much sensation, too much her.

Her voice—raw and ragged—cut through the static. "We have to break it."

"How?"

Nova's hand slid lower—over his chest, along his ribs—metal fingers twitching from every fresh shock.

She bit back another sound—half pain, half something else—and grabbed his wrist.

Elliot groaned.

Another jolt.

Another violent pulse.

The rooftop cracked beneath their feet—small shards of glass vibrating from the raw energy flooding the air between them.

Cipher's voice was a low rasp. "I wonder which one of you burns out first."

Nova's blade flickered in her free hand, but her focus was still on Elliot—on the violent storm sparking between their bodies.

Her lips hovered near his ear. "We either push through it—"

Elliot's heart slammed in his chest. "Or?"

Her grip on his wrist tightened.

"Or we let it destroy us."

Another shockwave—brighter this time—ripped through the rooftop.

Cipher's visor blinked violently.

The feedback loop peaked.

And then—

The world exploded.

A final, violent snap—so loud it drowned out even the plasma hum of Cipher's weapon—erupted from the space between Elliot and Nova.

Electricity roared through their bodies—an unstoppable pulse of raw energy.

The shockwave flared outward—blowing out the last rooftop light, sending cracks spiraling through the concrete.

Cipher staggered back—his visor failing—static rippling across his HUD.

And Elliot—his Neural Boost now completely unstable—collapsed to his knees, his whole body still sparking.

Nova stumbled too—breathless, her suit still glitching—lines of bioluminescent light crawling over her skin like liquid fire.

Her voice was a ragged whisper. "We broke the loop."

Elliot could barely think—his vision still swimming, his skin still crackling.

He forced out a laugh—half delirious. "Yeah… feels great."

Cipher's visor blinked erratically. "You're both a disaster."

Nova's blade snapped back into place, her glowing eyes still wild. "You're just figuring that out?"

Cipher's plasma arm whined—charging again—but his movements were slower now, his systems still scrambled from the shockwave Elliot and Nova had just unleashed.

"Get up, rookie," Nova rasped. "We're finishing this."

Elliot's Neural Boost buzzed again—still broken, still burning.

But this time—he didn't care.

He rose to his feet, his hands still crackling with stray sparks.

Cipher raised his plasma weapon. "Let's see who burns first."

Nova smirked. "It's not gonna be us."

And the rooftop—still smoldering with static and lust—exploded into chaos again.