Chapter 50: Thunder Reborn When Chaos Meets Control
The armored transport screeched to a stop.
A hidden entrance in the heart of Nexus-9's industrial underbelly hissed open — a camouflaged metal gate flickering with holographic distortion — revealing Kain's untraceable hideout.
And inside?
It wasn't some dingy hacker's den.
It was a high-tech storm fortress.
Neon circuitry lined the walls — glowing blue veins of electric conduits pulsing in sync with Elliot's Boost. Half-built plasma weapons were scattered across workbenches, and prototype cybernetic suits hung from reinforced racks like suits of futuristic armor. Massive servers thrummed softly, feeding into a central terminal that looked like it could hack the damn city itself.
The place didn't just hide from corporate surveillance.
It laughed in its face.
Kain grinned as he killed the engine. "Welcome to the Voltage Vault — home sweet home."
Elliot, still crackling with faint arcs of blue lightning, barely registered the words. His Raijin Protocol simmered at 300% — steady, but still growling beneath his skin — the storm coiled, not gone.
Nova stepped out of the car first — her bioluminescent suit still glitching from the feedback loop, the neon lines down her thighs and ribs faintly pulsing in time with Elliot's static.
Her glowing gaze flicked from the tech-laden lair to Kain. "This is your safe house?"
Kain's chrome arm sparked. "What, were you expecting a basement with a broken coffee machine?"
The System buzzed in Elliot's head — but louder now — its voice no longer just glitching… it was thriving in the chaos.
---
[New Location Unlocked: Voltage Vault]
Security Level: Untraceable.
Tech: Advanced.
Vibe: Absolute mad scientist energy.
---
Elliot blinked. "The System just called your hideout mad scientist energy."
Kain smirked. "It's not wrong."
The storm twitched again — lightning snapping off Elliot's shoulder — but this time, he didn't lose control.
The electricity didn't explode outward.
It coiled back into him.
Nova noticed. "You're… holding it back now."
The System buzzed.
---
[Boost Stabilized: 300%]
Status: Controlled.
Warning: But only just.
---
Kain clapped his hands. "Alright, kid — time to fix you up."
He grabbed a glowing data spike from a workbench — a sleek needle-like tool humming with violet light — and flicked open a panel in his cybernetic arm.
Nova folded her arms. "What exactly are you planning, Kain?"
Kain grinned. "Buffer chip."
Elliot blinked. "A… what now?"
Kain jammed the data spike into a console — a glowing hologram of Elliot's neural network popping up, a pulsing web of storm-like circuits wrapped around his brain.
The Raijin Protocol was a live wire — flickering blue arcs of data coiling like a hurricane of code.
Kain pointed at the flickering map. "Right now, your Boost is like a raging storm — no off-switch, no brakes. But this—" He tapped the data spike. "—this buffer chip will reinforce your neural feedback loop. It won't kill the storm…"
His smile widened.
"It'll let you aim the lightning."
The System buzzed — ecstatic.
---
[New Upgrade Unlocked: Storm Buffer]
Effect: Stabilizes Boost surges, allowing controlled bursts of Raijin energy.
Bonus Ability: Lightning Charge — store electrical energy in your body and release it through physical contact.
Cooldown: None — because you're a goddamn thunderstorm now.
---
Elliot's eyes lit up. "I can shock people by touching them now?"
Nova blinked. "So you're a walking taser?"
The System buzzed — completely unhinged.
---
[Pro Tip: When life gives you electricity… zap someone.]
— Benjamin Franklin… maybe.
---
Kain snorted. "More like a living lightning rod."
Elliot could feel it — the Raijin Protocol pulsing through him, no longer an untamed beast… but a weapon he could control.
He clenched his fist — and a tendril of blue lightning snaked down his arm, glowing along his knuckles, waiting.
For the first time…
The storm didn't control him.
It answered him.
Nova's voice was calm but firm. "Test it."
Kain grinned. "Yeah — go ahead, zap me."
Elliot blinked. "Are you sure—"
"Do it, kid." Kain laughed. "Let's see if you're all buzz."
The System buzzed again — now doubled down on the meme energy.
---
[New Ability Activated: Lightning Charge]
Effect: Store a concentrated bolt of energy and release it on contact.
Warning: May cause mild electrocution.
---
Elliot moved without thinking.
The blue lightning coiled tighter — Raijin's Charge roaring to life in his palm — and he punched Kain's metal arm.
The contact sparked an explosion of raw electricity — a violent snap of blue static detonating from Elliot's hand and surging through Kain's cybernetic limb.
Kain's arm locked up instantly.
Sparks flew.
Circuits fried.
And Kain was launched backward — crashing into a pile of half-built plasma rifles.
Nova blinked. "You just fried Kain."
The System buzzed.
---
[Achievement Unlocked: Friendly Fire]
Reward: +3 Combat Reflex.
Penalty: Kain might hold a grudge.
---
Kain, smoke still pouring from his metal arm, grinned like a lunatic.
"Holy hell, kid!" he laughed. "You're a walking lightning bomb now!"
Elliot flexed his fingers — the Raijin Protocol humming beneath his skin — the storm now a living pulse he could control.
It wasn't wild anymore.
It was his.
Nova's glowing gaze didn't leave him. "You're different."
He looked at her — at the faint static still dancing along her suit, the neon lines still twitching from the feedback loop between them.
"Yeah," Elliot said, his voice steady for the first time in days. "I am."
The storm wasn't a curse anymore.
It was a weapon.
And Elliot was about to unleash it on whoever came next.