Devendra's remaining cables flailed like black snakes, trying to capture Vikram.
But Vikram was too fast. He slipped and rolled under the cables, his boxing footwork flawless. He was a ghost in the red light of the overloading reactor.
"Rhea!" Vikram static-called, hoping his Band VI energy could penetrate the interference. "Can you hear me?"
"Vikram!" Rhea's voice came through, thin and garbled. "The Core... it's reaching critical mass. You have thirty seconds before the rift becomes permanent!"
"I'm at the capacitor," Vikram said, standing in front of the primary terminal.
"You have to drive your Prana into the center," Rhea said, her voice crying. "But Vikram... the feedback... it will vaporize anything that isn't stable."
"I'm stable," Vikram said, looking at his glowing hands.
Devendra lunged from behind, his hands wrapped in solid shadow blades. "I won't let you!"
Vikram didn't turn. He folded the shadow, appearing on top of the reactor console, just out of Devendra's reach. He raised his right fist, the bio-electric Prana humming at the cipher's frequency.