Alix moved fast.
Her boots echoed across twisted steel and shattered tile as she descended deeper into the ruins of the Magistrate Tower, Lyra unconscious in her arms. Every hallway groaned like a dying animal, support beams bent from the collapse above. The walls flickered with broken holo-screens still trying to broadcast a "Containment Protocol" message that no one was left to hear.
Behind her, the VTOLs circled like vultures.
"Kiran," she hissed into her mic, adjusting Lyra's weight across her shoulder. "I need an exit—now."
"There's an old transit shaft two levels down. Used to connect directly to the Roe R&D sub-facilities before they were shut down. It's not on any live Magistrate grid, so it might be your best shot."
"Might?"
"Well," Kiran replied, "assuming it hasn't been sealed off or completely flooded with radiation. Your suit can take a little, right?"
Alix didn't bother answering. The girl in her arms came first.
She ducked through a breached doorway and found herself in what had once been a server vault. It was torn open—racks bent sideways, data cores charred to useless black. But at the far end, nestled between two collapsed girders, was a maintenance hatch.
She kicked it open.
Inside was a shaft that stretched into the dark, cold and narrow, ladder rungs disappearing below.
"I've got your visuals," Kiran murmured in her ear. "That route should bypass the surveillance net. Get her out. I'll handle things top-side."
"You better," Alix grunted as she climbed in, one arm wrapped around Lyra, the other guiding their descent. "If I die in a basement, I'm haunting your ass."
A minute later, they landed in water up to Alix's knees. The sub-level was a graveyard. Old transit tracks split off in three directions, covered in rust and thick with grime. Broken maglev cars sat like tombstones. The air smelled of ozone and rot.
Alix scanned the area.
Dead power lines.
No heat signatures.
Good.
She laid Lyra down gently on a metal bench, checking her vitals. The suppression collar still held, keeping her dormant—but Alix could feel something in the air around her. A pressure, like static before a storm. Whatever was inside the girl, it was still stirring.
Alix touched her comm. "She's stable. For now."
"I'm trying to reroute an old power grid to open the tunnel doors on the east end," Kiran said. "If I can get them open, you'll have a straight shot out under the river to Sector Nine. But Alix…"
"What?"
"There's chatter. Unmarked comms. Someone's already in the tunnels."
Alix's jaw tightened. "They followed us."
"I'm pinging motion signals—multiple. They're coming from the southern tracks."
Alix drew her blades.
The silence returned.
Then—footsteps.
Not heavy.
Precise.
A group of four emerged from the shadows, dressed in matte-black armor with no insignias. Helmets obscured their faces. Their weapons were sleek, glowing faintly with blue plasma—a mix of Magistrate tech and rogue enhancements.
One of them pointed at Lyra.
"Hand her over."
Alix didn't flinch. "You first."
They didn't laugh.
They just opened fire.
Alix moved like liquid shadow. Her blades flashed, slicing through the first plasma bolt and sending shards of heated metal into the walls. She lunged, spinning, and took down two in a blink—non-lethal strikes, enough to drop them without killing.
The third came at her with a shock baton, aiming for her ribs.
Big mistake.
She caught his arm, twisted, and slammed him into the wall hard enough to leave a dent.
The last one tried to retreat—but froze when he saw Lyra stir on the bench.
He raised a small remote.
Alix's eyes widened. "Don't."
He pressed it.
The suppression collar sparked—and then died.
Lyra's eyes opened.
White and violet light surged from her, flaring like a sun being born. The air trembled. Alix turned just in time to shield herself from the force wave.
When it cleared, the agent with the remote was gone.
Vaporized.
Lyra floated again, barely conscious. Her voice was layered—echoes of something older, deeper, inside her.
"I didn't mean to…"
Alix stood slowly, blood trickling from her lip.
"I know."
She approached carefully and reactivated the collar with a spare cell, dimming Lyra's glow again.
The girl collapsed into her arms, sobbing silently.
Kiran's voice came through. "Tunnel's open. Go now. Before they send reinforcements."
Alix didn't respond right away.
She looked back at the remains of the four soldiers. She'd seen plenty of mercs before, but these were different—more disciplined. Trained. Loyal to something that wasn't the Magistrate.
Someone else wanted Lyra.
Someone who had the tech, the access, and the authority to use it.
And she had a sinking feeling they weren't the only ones.
She moved.
Far above the city, across the burning clouds, a satellite hummed to life.
Inside it, a figure stood before a dozen holo-screens showing feeds of the tower's destruction, Lyra's pulse, and Alix's path through the tunnels.
He was tall, older, wrapped in a crisp white suit stitched with red thread. His eyes glowed faintly with artificial light, a sign of cortical enhancement.
He turned to his aide.
"Have Revenant prep for deployment."
"Sir," the aide asked carefully, "what of Zenith?"
The man smiled.
"He's done his part. Now let the girl fulfill hers."
Let me know if you'd like Chapter Three, more world-building, or a deeper focus on Lyra or Zenith