11:07 PM
(Rex's group in the hallway)
Rex, Ender, and Selena sprinted down a long corridor lined with identical doors, the air thick with the metallic tang of blood and the distant echoes of alarms.
Rex: Crap, i hope we going the right way... (he yelled over the din, his eyes scanning the numbered cells.)
Suddenly, a monstrous roar ripped through the hallway from a side passage. A figure, impossibly tall and broad, dwarfing even the inhuman soldiers they had encountered, lumbered into view. Much of its frame was encased in bulky grey armor, light blue lenses glowing menacingly from the helmet's visor. Its mouth, and sections of its forearms, biceps, and sides, revealed incredibly dense musculature and a light-tanned skin complexion. The behemoth charged directly at Rex.
Rex: What the shi...!
The impact was like being hit by a truck. Rex was hurled backwards, crashing through four reinforced walls in rapid succession before landing hard on the cold concrete floor in a mangled heap of debris.
Ender: REX! (He cried peering through the gaping hole in the wall, his rifle raised.)
Just then, a lean man with pale skin, long white hair flowing from beneath a black hat, and wearing a long black coat stepped out from the shadows beside Ender. His palm was extended, a sickly green aura emanating from it, washing over Ender. An unbearable agony ripped through Ender's body, forcing him to his knees, gasping for breath.
Before the man could inflict more damage, a blur of motion caught Ender's eye. Selena, her eyes narrowed with fierce determination, reshaped her metallix orb into a razor-sharp spear and hurled it with deadly accuracy. The spear pierced the lean man's head from the side, the impact causing him to drop to the floor instantly, the green aura dissipating.
Ender: Oh... Thanks, Selena! (Ender gasped, trying to stand.)
Selena: Ender, behind you! (Her warning was sharp. She pulled him back just as a volley of silver bullets slammed into the spot where they had been standing. Inhumans in grey uniforms appeared at the end of the hallway, their rifles raised. Selena's spear reformed into a rectangular shield, deflecting the incoming fire.
Ender: Boi. Am i glad you in the team, Sel. (He raises his rifle) Give me an opening...
Selena focused, a small section of the shield momentarily dissolving, allowing Ender to unleash a burst of shots. Most of the inhumans evaded the fire with practiced ease. Suddenly, one of them hurled a grenade. It detonated instantly against Selena's shield, the force of the explosion ripping through the barrier, sending Ender and Selena flying backwards despite its protection. The world dissolved into a ringing silence and a cloud of smoke.
Ender: Oh... fucking hell... (He said, dazed as he got up to his feet, pulling Selena down beside him, firing wild shots into the swirling grey.)
In the area where Rex had landed, the towering armored figure roared, its light blue optics fixed on its target. Rex, groaning, scrambled to his feet, pulling two of his explosive rods from his belt. Charging them with kinetic energy until they glowed intensely, he hurled them at the behemoth. The rods impacted the armor with loud thuds, but no damage was inflicted. The giant charged again, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground. Rex sidestepped, the armored figure crashing heavily into the wall.
With a grunt, the beast ripped a large chunk of concrete from the wall and hurled it at Rex. Reacting instantly, Rex threw his remaining charged rods at the debris. The chunk of wall exploded into dust and fragments, momentarily obscuring the beast, but as the dust settled, the giant was already upon him, a massive fist hurtling towards his face. Rex managed to raise his arms, the blow sending him crashing into another wall, the impact forcing a heavy cough and a spray of blood from his lips.
He heard the monster's guttural roar as it charged again. Seeing a massive foot raised to crush him, Rex rolled desperately to the side, the force of the foot stomping the ground beside him lifting him slightly off the floor. Before he could fully recover, powerful hands grabbed his torso, lifting him into the air. The beast's grip tightened, its thumb pressing deep into the center of Rex's chest, the pressure immense.
Rex's fingers scrabbled for a rod, finally finding one. He charged it with a frantic surge of kinetic energy and slammed it against the beast's helmet, but the armored head remained intact. In a desperate move, Rex grabbed the armored gauntlet of the arm holding him aloft and focused all his remaining energy, charging it with a massive burst of kinetic force. The resulting explosion ripped Rex free from the beast's grasp, the behemoth roaring in agony as its arm was violently torn away.
Droplets of blood escaped Rex's mouth as he used his remaining arm and legs to drag himself backwards across the floor, trying to put distance between himself and the enraged giant, who now focused its remaining light blue optic lens on Rex. The beast's remaining arm flicked, and a sharp, large blade extended from the forearm of its gauntlet. It began to lumber towards Rex.
Knowing the creature was upon him, Rex stopped dragging himself and turned to face the approaching giant on the ground. His trembling fingers fumbled for the last two rods on his belt. He threw one, charging it just before release, towards the beast's side – the same side where its arm had been blown off. The impact caused the behemoth to stumble, its remaining arm flailing, another agonizing roar escaping its throat. As the giant faltered, Rex grabbed his last rod. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, glowing with a bright purple light, electricity crackling around his body. He looked down at his hands in confusion as the fluorescent light of the place flickered turned to red with a loud klaxon alarm blared in his ears. Then, an unimaginable force erupted from Rex's body, a massive wave of energy exploding outwards in every direction at once with unprecedented intensity.
(Elsewhere...)
Inside a small white room with harsh fluorescent lights of the cell flickered, casting long, skeletal shadows across the cold, white walls is Maya with a cold metal of the collar bit into her skin, a constant, irritating reminder of her helplessness. It hummed softly against her neck, a subtle vibration that effectively choked off the vibrant pink energy that usually coursed through her veins, her bio-mechanical suit nowhere to be seen. Heavy restraints, also cold steel, encircled her wrists and ankles, securing her to the hard, unyielding surface of a metal examination table in a dimly lit room. The only illumination came from a harsh overhead fluorescent light that flickered intermittently, casting long, distorted shadows across the sterile walls.
A figure stood beside her, their face completely obscured by a smooth, featureless white mask. The mask gave them an unsettlingly blank and impersonal appearance. They wore sterile blue scrubs, and their gloved hands held a syringe filled with a viscous, green liquid. The air in the room carried a faint medicinal scent mixed with a metallic tang that Maya couldn't quite place.
Maya: What are you doing? (She rasped, her voice hoarse and tight with a mixture of fear and defiance.)
She tugged at the restraints, the metal digging into her flesh, but they held firm. The masked figure didn't respond immediately, their movements deliberate as they prepped Maya's arm with an antiseptic wipe. The silence in the room was thick with unspoken dread. Finally, without looking up, the figure spoke in a low, monotone voice that offered no comfort. "You're going to take a long nap."
A shiver ran down Maya's spine despite herself. The vague answer, the coldness in the figure's voice, sent a wave of icy fear through her.
Maya: A nap? W-What kind of nap? (she persisted, her heart pounding against her ribs.)
Just then, the overhead lights flashed red, bathing the room in an ominous crimson glow. A loud, blaring alarm shrieked through the facility, its piercing sound echoing off the metal walls, amplifying Maya's anxiety. The masked figure's hand, holding the syringe, froze inches from Maya's arm as a violent tremor shook the room. The examination table rattled against the floor, and a low, guttural rumble vibrated through the walls. The red lights flickered and died, plunging the room into darkness as the alarm abruptly cut off.
Silence reigned for a few heartbeats before a dim, red emergency light flickered to life in the corner of the room, casting long, distorted shadows that danced with the aftershocks still subtly vibrating through the floor. Maya felt a sudden cessation of the irritating hum against her neck. The collar, she realized, was no longer active. The masked figure, momentarily stunned by the sudden chaos, glanced down at Maya, their masked gaze seemingly fixed on her eyes. In that brief moment of distraction, Maya roared in defiance and ripped her arm free from the restraint with a sickening tear of metal. The sudden force of her movement caught the masked figure off guard, and she followed through with a powerful punch that sent them sprawling backwards onto the cold floor, the syringe clattering away.
Adrenaline surged through Maya as she strained against the remaining restraints, her enhanced strength now uninhibited. With another series of violent tugs, the weakened metal gave way, and she was free. The masked figure scrambled back, their movements betraying a palpable fear as they turned and fled towards the door. Reaching the open doorway, the figure was suddenly struck from the side. Their head snapped to the right with a sickening thud before they collapsed onto the ground, unmoving.
Maya, breathing heavily, instinctively called out, "Rex?" expecting to see one of her rescuers. Instead, Gary Holden stood in the doorway, a smoking pistol held loosely in his hand, a grim expression on his face. He looked down at Maya and shook his head slowly. "Nope, just someone better, doll-face."