Chapter 45: Breaking the Sound Barrier When Lightning Becomes Lethal
The subway car was no longer a vehicle.
It was a missile.
A lightning-fueled, neon-drenched, death missile tearing through the Nexus-9 tunnels at Mach 5 — the walls vibrating so violently they warped under the pressure. Metal beams bent inward, glass lights along the tracks burst from the shockwaves, and the rails below glowed white-hot from the friction.
The only thing keeping the car moving?
Elliot.
Or rather — the storm he had become.
Electricity poured from his body, blue lightning spiraling off his arms and feeding into the train's rigged circuits, his Boost howling at 480% and climbing. The storm wasn't just snapping off his skin anymore — it was surging through the car itself, raw bolts of energy crawling through the walls, melting metal, and making the air scream.
And Elliot?
His vision blurred. His pulse synced with the storm. The Raijin Protocol wasn't just burning through him — it was devouring him.
He wasn't controlling the storm.
The storm was controlling him.
The System buzzed — violently glitching — its voice a warping mess of AI warnings and absolute meme chaos.
---
[Critical Alert: Boost Exceeding Safe Limits]
Current Output: 490%
Warning: Neural collapse imminent.
Pro Tip: You're not just a storm now — you're a damn hurricane.
---
Nova clutched the plasma rifle, still braced at the back of the car — the neon lines of her bioluminescent suit pulsing dangerously bright with every flicker of Elliot's Boost.
The feedback loop between them — the one Kain had supposedly severed — wasn't just active.
It was reactivating.
Every time Elliot's storm flared, Nova's suit responded — glitching in violent pulses along her ribs, waist, and thighs.
Every shock from him lit her up like a fuse.
Her voice cut through the roaring wind. "Rookie — your Boost is going to kill you."
Elliot's teeth clenched — the storm still feeding into the train. "If I stop — the car dies."
The System buzzed again.
---
[New Mission: Live Fast, Die Electric]
Objective: Stabilize your Boost before you burn out.
Bonus: Don't fry Nova… again.
Failure: Neural collapse, tunnel implosion… or becoming one with the lightning.
---
Kain, still clinging to a half-destroyed control panel, grinned. "You're a human lightning rod, kid — but even a storm's got limits!"
The train lurched forward — speedometers cracking as they smashed through Mach 6.
The air behind them exploded — the shockwave tearing apart more of the tunnel, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
And behind them?
The Chrome Reapers weren't giving up.
Their last hoverbike — smoking from Nova's earlier plasma blasts — roared alongside the train, plasma cannons still glowing white-hot.
Rend, the Reapers' gunmetal leader, grinned through his cracked visor. "You can't outrun me, lightning boy!"
Nova raised her rifle. "Watch me."
She fired — plasma bolts screaming through the air — but the hoverbike zig-zagged along the track, dodging every shot as Rend locked onto the train.
The System buzzed.
---
[New Side Quest: Speed Kills]
Objective: Disable the Chrome Reapers' hoverbike — again.
Bonus: Do it without blowing up the train.
Hidden Reward: More cool points.
---
Nova cursed. "Rookie — I need an opening."
Elliot's Boost flared to 500%.
The Raijin Protocol howled.
He didn't answer Nova.
He didn't hear her anymore.
The storm was too loud.
Blue lightning erupted from his body — surging down his arms, coiling into a massive sphere of raw energy above his head.
The train glowed from the electricity — bolts of lightning crackling through the walls, crawling along the roof — every metal beam vibrating under the pressure.
Nova's glowing eyes widened. "Elliot — what the hell are you doing?!"
The System buzzed — glitching so hard it practically screamed.
---
[New Ability Unlocked: Raijin's Cataclysm]
Effect: Channel every volt of your Boost into a single, devastating lightning strike.
Cooldown: Unknown.
Warning: May cause permanent neurological damage.
---
Elliot's voice was distant. "Ending this."
Kain's grin faltered. "Kid — that's too much power—"
The Chrome Reapers' hoverbike fired — twin plasma bolts screaming toward the train.
Elliot's Boost hit 510%.
The Raijin Protocol erupted.
He unleashed Raijin's Cataclysm — a massive lightning strike tearing from his body, a single, searing bolt of raw power that didn't just intercept the plasma blasts — it devoured them.
The energy spiraled into Elliot's storm — absorbing the plasma — before redirecting the full force of the blast back at the hoverbike.
The lightning bolt collided with Rend's bike — a blinding explosion of blue and red energy — and the hoverbike detonated.
Rend was thrown into the tunnel wall, slamming into concrete and disappearing into the neon blur behind them.
Nova stared at Elliot. "You just blew up a plasma blast… with more lightning."
The System buzzed again.
---
[Achievement Unlocked: Collateral Damage King — Mach Edition]
Reward: +5 Reflex Boost.
Penalty: You're now a walking bomb.
---
But Elliot wasn't listening.
His Boost hit 520%.
The storm wasn't slowing down.
It was consuming him.
His vision blurred again — arcs of blue lightning snapping through the air — as the train screamed even faster.
The steel rails beneath them melted from the friction.
Kain's voice was distant. "Kid — PULL IT BACK!"
Nova grabbed Elliot's arm — a violent shock of electricity snapping between them — and the feedback loop exploded.
The neon lines on Nova's suit flared dangerously bright — her ribs, thighs, and back glowing in sync with Elliot's Boost — and for a moment, it was like the storm had dragged her into it.
Her voice cracked. "Elliot — STOP!"
The System screamed.
---
[Emergency Alert: Boost at Critical Mass]
Current Output: 530%
Warning: Total neural collapse imminent.
Pro Tip: Maybe don't die, yeah?
---
Elliot's heart pounded.
The storm raged.
And the train —
Still fueled by a living thunder god —
Was seconds away from derailing.