Chapter 53: Stormcall When Lightning Answers to No One
The air was alive.
Electricity still crackled from Elliot's fingertips — faint arcs of blue lightning snapping along his arms, pulsing with controlled fury. His Raijin Protocol hummed at a steady 500%, no longer a wild beast. It was a weapon now.
And Elliot held the leash.
The Voltage Vault was a war zone — smoking plasma burns across the walls, shattered neon glass on the floor, and the still-twitching body of the Juggernaut enforcer slumped against the far wall, his massive plasma cannon fried and fused into molten slag.
The strike team?
Gone — dragging their unconscious leader with them.
But the storm?
Still here.
Kain grinned like a maniac, leaning against a half-destroyed console, his cybernetic arm still sparking from Elliot's last "test" of Raijin's Charge. "Well, kid," Kain said, voice buzzing with static. "That was a hell of a flex."
The System buzzed in Elliot's head — practically vibrating with excitement now.
---
[Status: Thunder God Mode — Active]
Boost: Stabilized at 500%.
Abilities: Raijin's Charge, Raijin's Pulse, Raijin's Fang.
New Unlock: Raijin's Stormcall — Summon lightning from the sky, targeted and lethal.
Pro Tip: You are the storm.
---
Elliot flexed his fingers — the Raijin's Fang dissipating into a soft crackle of electricity — and for the first time, the storm didn't lash out. It waited.
It was his now.
Nova's glowing gaze hadn't left him.
Her bioluminescent suit still flickered — the feedback loop tethered between them, neon lines down her ribs, back, and thighs flaring faintly every time Elliot's Boost pulsed.
Even with the storm calm, their connection still hummed.
It wasn't broken.
It was adapting.
Her voice was steady but edged. "You're not spiraling anymore."
Elliot exhaled slowly — blue sparks trailing his breath. "No. I'm not."
The System buzzed — glitching into full meme god mode.
---
[Pro Tip: When life gives you lightning… start a thunderstorm.]
— Zeus… allegedly.
---
Kain's grin widened. "So… how's it feel to be a walking apocalypse?"
Elliot met his gaze — the storm still simmering beneath his skin. "Like I'm finally driving it instead of getting dragged by it."
Nova's voice was sharp. "Then let's put it to the test."
Before Elliot could ask—
The alarms screamed.
A violent red light washed over the Vault — emergency sirens blaring as Kain's central console lit up like a malfunctioning Christmas tree.
The holo-screen above the panel flickered — a map of Nexus-9's industrial sector glowing bright with incoming signatures.
Corporate reinforcements.
Kain cursed. "Oh, they're coming back for round two."
Nova's jaw clenched. "How did they trace us? You said this place was untraceable."
Kain punched the console. "It was — until someone went full thunder god and fried half the block's surveillance grid."
The System buzzed.
---
[New Threat Detected: Corporate Enforcer Squad — Tier 4]
Numbers: 15+
Tech: Plasma rifles, combat drones, EMP grenades.
Special Unit: Another Juggernaut detected.
Pro Tip: Zap first. Ask questions never.
---
Elliot's storm flared — his Boost twitching at 520% for a split second before snapping back to control.
He didn't lose focus.
Not this time.
Nova checked her rifle — the plasma core glowing green — then met Elliot's gaze. "You control the storm now?"
Elliot clenched his fist — blue electricity coiling along his arm. "Yeah."
Her smirk was sharp. "Prove it."
Kain threw open a hidden side panel — revealing an emergency exit leading to a narrow alleyway behind the Vault. "We can't fight all of them here — not without leveling the whole block."
Elliot's Boost growled.
He didn't want to run.
Nova noticed. "We're not running," she said. "We're baiting them."
The System buzzed.
---
[New Mission: Thundertrap]
Objective: Lure the enforcers outside.
Bonus: Use Raijin's Stormcall for the first time.
Hidden Reward: Unlock Advanced Storm Techniques.
---
Elliot's storm roared.
The crackling energy wasn't chaotic — it was coiled — like a snake ready to strike.
He stepped into the alleyway first.
Nova followed, her plasma rifle raised.
Kain slapped the side panel shut and smirked. "I'll lock down the Vault — keep them focused on you two."
Elliot's Boost flared again — 550% for a heartbeat — before he forced it back down.
The storm obeyed.
Then—
The sky split open.
The first wave of corporate enforcers charged down the alley — plasma rifles humming, combat drones hovering overhead.
At the end of the street, a second Juggernaut unit loomed — plasma minigun already spinning up.
Nova's voice was steel. "Hold the line."
Elliot's storm roared.
His Boost surged to 600% — but this time, he didn't spiral.
He commanded.
The Raijin Protocol howled in his mind — begging to be unleashed.
And Elliot finally answered.
"Stormcall."
The air around him exploded.
Electricity detonated from his body — a swirling vortex of lightning that twisted into the sky, ripping through the clouds.
The System buzzed — on the edge of meme oblivion.
---
[Ability Activated: Raijin's Stormcall]
Effect: Summon a focused lightning strike from above, hitting all enemies in a 30-foot radius.
Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Damage: Absolute destruction.
---
A pillar of blue lightning shot from the sky — a blinding bolt of raw energy slamming into the ground right in the middle of the enforcer squad.
The shockwave was instant.
The combat drones exploded — circuits fried in an instant — and the enforcers' plasma rifles short-circuited in their hands.
Sparks danced across their suits — nano-plating overloading — and half of them collapsed, twitching violently from the storm's impact.
The Juggernaut staggered — his systems glitching — but still raised his weapon.
Elliot didn't blink.
Another Raijin's Fang flared to life in his hand — the lightning spear humming with power — and this time, the storm didn't fight him.
It listened.
He was the storm now.
And the storm obeyed.