Chapter 015: Unmasked... Almost

Zane rocketed through Brooklyn's night sky, the SYNEX-01 suit's flight mode pushing him faster than he'd ever gone. The city blurred below, neon signs, honking cabs, lives unaware of the storm coming. The Synthorium shard in his chest burned, its hum frantic, matching his panic. LYNX's warning echoed: Synthorium signal spiking at target address. 247 Maple Street, Apartment 3B... Clara and Sophia's home. Cipher's cold voice taunted in his mind: Say hi to Clara and Sophia for me. The technopath had breached The Vault, shut down his suit, and now they were here, targeting his family. Zane's fists clenched, the suit's nanofiber musculature amplifying his rage. He'd end this tonight.

The NeuroVisor flashed data, wind speed, distance, a 3D model of his brownstone but glitches lingered from Cipher's hack, static flickering across the HUD. "LYNX, keep it together," Zane muttered, heart pounding. Clara's trust, Sophia's suspicion, they were all he had outside The Vault. If Cipher hurt them, he'd never forgive himself.

Systems at 82% stability, LYNX replied, voice steadying. Synthorium signal localized to target. Caution advised, multiple anomalies detected. The HUD marked the apartment, a faint red pulse blinking like a heartbeat. Traps, maybe. Zane didn't care. He'd face anything to keep them safe.

He landed silently on the roof, the suit's quantum cloaking snapping on, rendering him invisible. The street was quiet, too quiet, the usual buzz of Brooklyn muted. A faint hum vibrated the air, like the drones Cipher unleashed in The Vault. Zane crept to the fire escape, peering into Clara's window. The living room glowed softly, Clara knitting on the couch, Sophia texting at the kitchen table. Safe, for now. But Sophia's hand rested near her pocket, where Zane knew the Synthorium fragment glowed, the one he'd dropped. If Cipher was tracking it…

A flicker caught his eye, a tiny red drone, no bigger than a sparrow, perched on the windowsill, its lens glinting. Cipher's. Zane's breath hitched. He activated Tachyofocus mode, the world slowing as the NeuroVisor sharpened every detail, the drone's Synthorium core, its laser port priming. He lunged, forming a hard-light blade, and sliced it in half before it could fire. Time snapped back, the drone sparking as it fell, but the suit's cloak glitched, flickering visible for a split second.

Sophia's head snapped up. "What was that?" she called, standing, her dark hair falling over her eyes. Clara looked over, frowning, setting her knitting down.

Zane froze, cloaking again, his heart hammering. He'd been so close, Sophia almost saw him, the suit, everything. He backed away, the Synthorium's hum urging caution, but another drone buzzed from the alley below, then another. Cipher wasn't just watching, anything his plan was, he was closing in.

"LYNX, scan for traps," Zane whispered, descending the fire escape. The HUD lit up, marking five drones circling the building, each pulsing red. Worse, a hidden device blinked inside the apartment, a Synthorium-based jammer, disrupting tech. That's why the street felt off; Cipher was isolating them.

Jammer detected, Apartment 3B, LYNX reported. Neutralization requires direct contact. Risk of exposure high. Zane gritted his teeth. He couldn't leave it, Clara's phone, Sophia's laptop, anything could be hacked. But going inside meant facing them, risking his secret.

He phased through the wall, the suit's phase-shift mode smooth despite the glitches. The living room smelled of Clara's lavender candles, grounding him even as his pulse raced. Clara hummed softly, unaware, while Sophia paced, muttering about "weird vibes." The jammer, a sleek black orb sat under the coffee table, its red light pulsing. Zane crept closer, cloaked, and reached for it, the suit's gloves dampening its signal.

Sophia spun, eyes locking on the spot where Zane stood. "Who's there?" she demanded, grabbing a lamp like a weapon. The fragment in her pocket glowed faintly, visible through the fabric, and Zane's HUD spiked—Synthorium resonance detected. It was reacting to his shard, amplifying the signal.

"Soph, it's nothing," Clara said, standing, but her voice wavered. She sensed it too, the wrongness Cipher brought.

Zane's hand shook, inches from the jammer. He had to act fast. He sent a micro-pulse through the suit, frying the orb's circuits, but the cloak glitched again, his silhouette flickering. Sophia gasped, dropping the lamp. "Zane?" she whispered, eyes wide, like she saw a ghost.

He bolted, phasing back through the wall, heart in his throat. The drones outside swarmed, lasers cutting the air. Zane decloaked, forming a hard-light shield, and smashed two drones mid-flight. "LYNX, where's Cipher?" he growled, dodging a blast. The suit's systems stabilized, but the neural link buzzed, Cipher's hack still lingering.

No direct signal detected, LYNX replied. Drones operating on pre-programmed protocol. Suggest evacuating civilians. Zane glanced at the window—Clara was at the door, checking the lock, Sophia frozen, staring outside. They were safe, but trapped, and Cipher's drones were tightening the net.

A new trap sprang, wires sparking across the alley, forming a Synthorium-charged web, crackling with red energy. Zane dove, but the web grazed his suit, the NeuroVisor screaming: Energy surge. Systems at 65%. He crashed into a dumpster, pain flaring, the suit's plates dented. Cipher's voice crackled through the comms: Running to Mommy, Zane? You can't hide them forever. The Synthorium's mine, and so are you.

Zane staggered up, fury drowning fear. Clara's words, Keep doing good fueled him. He activated Tachyofocus again, time slowing, and wove through the web, slicing wires with a hard-light blade. The drones regrouped, but Zane was faster, smashing them one by one, the suit's musculature roaring. The web collapsed, sparks fading, but the apartment's lights flickered, Cipher's next move.

He flew to the roof, scanning for more traps. The HUD showed no drones, but the Synthorium signal pulsed stronger, centered on Sophia's fragment. Cipher was using it as a beacon, drawing them here. Zane's chest ached, he'd brought this danger home by dropping that fragment.

Inside, Sophia's voice carried through the window: "Clara, something's wrong. Zane's not answering his phone." Clara's calm reply hid worry. Zane wanted to burst in, tell them everything, but Cipher was still out there, watching.

LYNX chimed: Incoming transmission from The Vault. Firewall restored. Team requests update. Jaxon's voice broke through: "Yo, rookie, you good? We're holding the fort, but Liora's picking up something weird, Cipher's tech matches old Synthorium experiments. Corin's acting cagey."

Zane's jaw tightened. Mr. Corin—always cryptic, always watching the Synthorium. Was he tied to Cipher? No time to dwell. "I'm at the apartment," Zane said, voice low. "Clara and Sophia are safe, but Cipher's targeting them. I need backup."

"On it," Liora cut in. "Stay sharp, glowstick. Cipher's not done."

Zane nodded, the suit's flight mode priming. He'd saved them for now, but Sophia's fragment was a ticking bomb, and Cipher knew too much. As he prepared to leave, a red pulse flared on the HUD, not from the apartment, but a nearby rooftop. Cipher's voice hissed: Run all you want, Zane. I'm always one step ahead. The pulse vanished, leaving a chilling void.