Chapter 17: Circuits, Sin, and Smirks

The rooftop was a graveyard of static and smoke—each breath Elliot took tasting like scorched metal and danger. Cipher was gone, but his threat still hung in the air like a virus, a promise of more violence to come.

And then there was Nova.

Still standing too close—still too dangerous.

Her glowing violet eyes locked onto Elliot's, her bioluminescent bodysuit flickering with each slow rise and fall of her chest. The glitching neon lines across her body hadn't stopped pulsing—not since the feedback loop between them had spiraled into pure, raw electricity.

One last spark jumped from Elliot's fingertips to Nova's hip.

She didn't flinch.

She didn't move.

Her lips—curled into that dangerous smirk—were too close to his mouth.

Elliot swallowed hard. "You're still sparking."

Nova's voice was a low rasp. "So are you."

He flexed his hand—another jolt of static snapping between them. "Yeah… noticed."

[New Mission: Burn or Break]

Objective: Get out of here—without frying Nova (again).

Bonus: Figure out what the hell just happened between your tech.

Hidden Reward: ???

Nova's fingers—half metal, half skin—trailed down his chest, a slow line of cold and heat mixing where her hand hovered over his still-crackling Neural Boost.

Elliot tensed. "Uh… you're still touching me."

"Observant," Nova murmured.

Another flicker from her suit—this time the glowing lines along her ribs and thighs rippled at his touch, reacting to him like they were both just parts of the same broken circuit.

His voice cracked. "Are we… gonna talk about the fact that we just turned into a human EMP back there?"

Nova's lips grazed his jaw—so close they almost didn't touch. "Later."

His brain went static. "Cool… cool…"

[Libido Meter: MAXIMUM OVERLOAD.]

"Don't start," Elliot muttered internally.

Nova tilted her head. "Talking to yourself again?"

He blinked. "I—uh—it's a quirky habit."

Her smirk deepened. "You're a terrible liar."

Another pulse of electricity snapped between them—this one so violent that Nova's suit lit up from her waist to her chest, the lines of neon flickering like a live wire.

Her jaw tightened. "We need to fix this."

Elliot fought to focus. "Fix what?"

Nova's voice dipped lower. "Us."

His heart stuttered. "Excuse me—what?"

Nova's hand grabbed his wrist—hard—sending a fresh shockwave through both of them. The rooftop lights flickered again—still feeding off the static in the air.

"Your Boost is still reacting to me," Nova growled. "And my suit is still syncing with your neural patterns."

Elliot blinked. "So… we're, like… linked?"

Nova's lips twitched. "Don't sound so excited."

He cleared his throat. "I'm not—"

Another spark snapped from his arm to her hip.

Nova's breath hitched—more frustration than pain. "Rookie—control your damn Boost."

"I'm trying!" Elliot shot back. "But maybe you stop reacting to me like a malfunctioning sex bot!"

Nova's eyes burned into his. "Careful."

He raised his hands—still sparking. "Hey—you're the one lighting up every time I touch you!"

"Because you're overloading me," Nova snarled. "Literally."

"Yeah, well," Elliot muttered, "you're not exactly helping by pressing up against me like a human Tesla coil."

The sparks flared again—another violent jolt snapping between his palm and the glowing line across Nova's stomach.

Her body arched—just slightly—at the shock.

She bit her bottom lip.

Elliot's brain broke.

[Warning: Libido Meter has surpassed critical limits. Neural Boost unstable.]

Nova's breath was ragged now—her hand still clutching his shirt, her suit still glitching from the feedback loop. "We have to reset this."

Elliot's head spun. "How?"

Nova's eyes burned into his—like she was about to kill him… or do something worse.

Her voice was a growl. "We either burn it out—"

His pulse pounded. "Or?"

"Or we ride the feedback until it breaks."

He blinked. "That sounds suspiciously like—"

Nova yanked him by the collar—slamming him against the rooftop wall.

Her mouth was on his—fierce, violent, hungry.

It wasn't a kiss.

It was an explosion.

The feedback loop between them snapped again—electricity surging from Elliot's Neural Boost straight into Nova's glitching suit.

The glowing lines across her body flared dangerously bright—pulsing in time with the violent sparks racing from his skin to hers.

Nova moaned into his mouth—half pain, half pure fire—and the sound nearly broke Elliot.

His fingers found her waist—clutching the flickering neon lines running down her hips—and the moment he touched her, another shockwave erupted between them.

The rooftop shook.

A light overhead exploded.

Elliot broke the kiss, his breath ragged, his brain a static mess. "Nova—"

Her lips grazed his jaw. "Don't stop."

"We're gonna blow up the whole building," he gasped.

Nova smirked against his neck. "Then kiss me harder."

Another snap—another violent jolt—their tech burning with every touch.

The feedback loop wasn't breaking.

It was spiraling—feeding off every kiss, every spark, every ragged breath.

And Elliot?

He wasn't sure if the fire between them would stop…

Or if it would burn them both alive.