The training floor felt less like a room and more like a gladiatorial arena. I stood in the center, my "intern" jumpsuit swapped for a flexible under-suit. Opposite me, Elizabeth-Nightshadow-held two training batons that crackled with non-lethal energy.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZ2fq3kgIa
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrykKlBIDp
"Concentrate, Vega," Elizabeth snapped. "Your armor is reactive. If you only wait for a tragedy to trigger it, you're useless in a fight."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObmAV0IzND
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcbqdWqifr
I closed my eyes, trying to reach for that violet and green spark. Think of the rivers. Think of the hum. But all I could think about was my father sitting alone at the kitchen table. The guilt of the lie was like a lead weight, keeping the Watch cold.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4X3LtNyUXw
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMpWA1tZYg
Whack!101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxonLAkaGK
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4YDaHkQu6
A baton struck my ribs, sending a jolt of pain through my side. I tumbled to the floor, gasping.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhwyoagYlW
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBdMZgOViY
"Too slow," Elizabeth muttered, spinning her batons.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dumdiB78F
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51fmqb7kpC
"Give her a break, Liz," Avan called out from the sidelines. He was leaning against a pillar, charging his phone just by touching it. "It took me six months not to blow up every toaster in my house. She's only been here six hours."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQeLlrDMxO
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQzm1CufVQ
"We don't have six months," Garder West's voice boomed over the speakers. "Sensors are picking up a signature. North Docks. It's not human, and it's not Atlantean."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKjeTZPDK0
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8bHVYpJD7
Leon stood up, his eyes turning a deeper shade of blue. "The water is restless there. Something is pulling energy from the grid."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc22ZMZTd51
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47BETr1HiG
West's silhouette appeared behind the observation glass. "This is it. Mission One. Victoria, if you can't summon the suit, you stay in the van. I'm not sending a civilian into a slaughterhouse."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXf2rBtyOF
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfngqikqmg
The Docks: Mission One101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYzxfDlpb6
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzV7pjeC75
The North Docks were a graveyard of rusted shipping containers and foggy air. We moved through the shadows. Avan was a blur of blue static; Leon moved through the puddles like a ghost; Elizabeth was simply gone, invisible in the dark.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOEkmLQNvm
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7QiQKLrAx
And then there was me. Clumsy. Human. Clinging to a silver cuff that refused to glow.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJT2Ne6kUQ7
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4w2TbtIPhc
"Stay back, intern," Elizabeth's voice hissed over the comms. "We've got movement."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEzw0Cqa3p
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JGbi9i2ed
A massive shipping container was ripped in half like tin foil. Out stepped a Scout Drone-a spindly, four-legged machine with a single red eye that pulsed like a dying star. It wasn't human tech. It was jagged, metallic, and etched with the same glyphs I saw in my father's journals.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uFY0o1118
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sKifE3K3D
"Doctor Science," I whispered. My blood went cold.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zzMnzTz3d
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvTkcbXRBW
Avan struck first. He lunged like a thunderbolt, slamming a fist of electricity into the drone's leg. It sparked, but the machine barely flinched. It swung a heavy limb, swatting Avan into a pile of crates.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnI6Io05J6F
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacFaa8sI4a
"Avan!" I yelled.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsoKSKkpG3
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zIq74cyyl
Leon surged forward, pulling a literal spiral of water from the harbor. He slammed it against the drone, trying to short-circuit its systems. The machine let out a high-pitched screech, its red eye focusing. A beam of concentrated thermal energy shot out, evaporating Leon's water shield and throwing him back.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPS4YLJaiwa
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30dgHJruwx
Elizabeth dropped from the sky, planting explosive charges on the drone's neck, but the machine's armor shifted-it was liquid metal. The charges slid off and detonated harmlessly in the air.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNJgEEEvSo
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpfY5qini2
The drone turned toward me. It recognized the Watch.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMirRZMezw
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDodFZZ7aqE
"Anomaly detected," the machine droned in a voice that sounded like grinding glass. "Retrieve the Relic. Eliminate the Host."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDos8XgcM5
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebompSDUUa
It charged.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzj124K48G
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQ84uhbazQ
I backed up, my heel catching on a rail. I fell, the drone looming over me, its red eye glowing bright as it prepared to fire.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7o7sFePW2d
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3Tb3m71p2
"Victoria, move!" Elizabeth screamed, lunging to tackle me out of the way, but she was too far.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQN1BEHrpaR
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BREuePgTq
In that moment of pure terror, I didn't think about my father or the secret. I thought about the trash can. I thought about the mother who threw me to safety. I thought about the sister who died so I could breathe.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFVKmBLKYB
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aPM6zJTEI
I am the last daughter of a world that burned, I thought. And I will not let this one burn, too.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaE57nlEZw
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8QnmiWN9d
THOOM.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIh79Zk2YsK
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcLejeMD4A
A shockwave of violet light exploded from my wrist.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDFudNP93M
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD9Gi8jxYt
The purple metal surged over my body, sealing with a hiss of pressurized air. The green light solidified, forming jagged, glowing pauldrons and gauntlets. I didn't just stand up-I rose on violet thrusters.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcLND4h4lt
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyfktWjiCV
The drone fired its thermal beam. I didn't dodge. I raised my hand, and a massive green construct shield, shaped like a knight's buckler, manifested from pure light. The beam hit the shield and reflected back, scorching the drone's own face.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xKDtfSMmw
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJYRgmmpme
"My turn," I growled.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhM13dKZmE
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt18XeRqEAM
I lunged. My gauntlet glowed, and a green energy blade extended three feet from my wrist. I sliced through the drone's front leg, the magic-science edge cutting through the liquid metal like a hot knife through wax.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyr4JDN9Dwv
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMfcCbTpoG
Avan, shaking off the dust, let out a cheer. "Okay! The intern's got moves!"101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNE1LItD9A
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtc21adgsqP
With one final surge of power, I drove the blade into the drone's core. It let out a digital death rattle and collapsed into a heap of junk.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtEPdBYbKZ
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYgTEcEih6
The Aftermath101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA9bZ1UXb1
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbuK6iMVLm
I stood over the wreckage, my breath coming in ragged gasps inside the helmet. The armor retracted, melting back into the Watch. My skin felt like it was buzzing.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHV29W8bDV
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9gCDvlKBC
Elizabeth walked over, sheathing her batons. She looked at the destroyed drone, then at me. She didn't smile, but she gave a single, sharp nod. "You weren't a liability. This time."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vJnE9AVVX
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtNuUPtWKZ
"We're a team now, Vic," Leon said, stepping out of the water, his hand on my shoulder. "The V-Team. West is going to have a lot to say about this."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoelxAjh6P5
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL01vVZI0yX
I looked at my hands. They were shaking. I was a hero. I was a weapon. But as I looked at my phone and saw a missed text from my dad-Be home soon, I'm making tacos-I realized the hardest part wasn't the drones.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJqBIYWxjt
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDQWgMJXRK
It was the fact that I was becoming a stranger to the only man who still loved me.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3b2Ti69bT
101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMNQ3HpsuM
1234 copyright protection97ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJbRJLOAo1 尼101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSWpZmCkTn