The Black Chamber Breach

Location: Tavara – Raven Safehouse Echo, Sub-Level 1

The breach was fast. Calculated. Brutal.

The kind of incursion only executed by those who knew the architecture of the facility better than its designers. As soon as the red lights began flashing, Raven agents were already dropping. Silent darts, thermal overloads, and kinetic rounds that tore through reinforced walls like paper.

Shade and two of his lieutenants led the counter-assault on Sub-Level 1.

"They're using blackout tech," Shade growled into his comm. "EMP dampeners active, disruptors on the grid. Whoever this is—they've been briefed on every inch of this place."

Nora and Damien stood behind reinforced blast doors in the medical chamber, their eyes glued to the security feed. On-screen, masked figures dressed in shadow gear advanced like phantoms, disabling cameras before they could even be identified.

"They want her alive," Damien muttered. "Otherwise, they'd have carpeted the place in thermobarics by now."

Ashford worked feverishly on a separate console, fingers blurring across the keyboard. "I'm overriding the internal locks and rerouting the auto-defense systems. But we've got a 20-second window before they override my override."

"Make it count," Damien said.

Nora turned to Subject Theta, who stood beside the containment unit. Her small frame looked fragile, but her eyes—still glowing softly—were sharper now. More aware. There was clarity behind them. Strength.

"You're not just a target," Nora said. "You have a choice. You can run. Or you can stand with us."

The girl blinked. "If I fight… some part of me may not come back."

"Then we make sure the part that does is yours," Damien replied.

Just then, the wall across from them exploded.

Concrete, steel, and flame burst outward as three enemy operatives stormed into the medical chamber.

Shade tackled the first one mid-air, snapping his neck in a fluid motion. Damien ducked behind cover, firing precision shots that took out the second intruder. The third raised a stun lance—aimed at the girl.

Before he could strike, Subject Theta raised her hand.

A ripple of energy blasted from her palm—pure, unfiltered kinetic force.

The intruder was flung across the room, embedding into the wall with a crunch that silenced the chaos for one breathless moment.

Ashford looked up from his console, stunned. "She just short-circuited the laws of physics."

The girl turned slowly, breathing heavy, eyes still aglow. "They want to control me. But I'm done being controlled."

Damien walked to her side. "Then let's take back control—together."

"More coming," Nora warned, glancing at the feed. "They've breached the secondary wing."

The girl stepped forward. "Let them come."

Her skin shimmered faintly. Micro-circuits embedded within her began to glow in sequence.

"They're not ready for me."