The skiff bucked against churning waves, rain stinging Alex Mercer's face as he gripped Valor's three orbs, their flickering light a fading lifeline. Kael's mocking laughter echoed from the coastal rig—a decoy, Zenith's trap to lure them away. His father's warning burned: The safehouse—Zenith's back, with something new. His parents, Daniel and Elena, were there with Laura, under attack. Maya steadied a bleeding Jace beside him, her sling soaked red. Fae, dripping from her dive, gunned the skiff back to shore, her bio-tech scars glinting with grim focus. The van waited, engine roaring, but time was bleeding out.
"Floor it!" Alex shouted, syncing Valor's faltering signal. The holo flickered—Zenith's assault on the safehouse blazed, drones and exosuits swarming. "They're hitting hard."
Maya's voice was tight. "Marcus can't hold long—not against that."
Jace, pale but stubborn, clutched his rifle. "What's 'something new'?"
"Trouble," Fae growled, leaping to the van. "Move!"
They piled in, Fae tearing through muddy trails back to the ravine. Alex's arm throbbed from Kael's graze, but fear for his parents drowned the pain. The orbs dimmed further—Zenith's dark grid was draining them. "Hold on," he muttered, tweaking their output. A faint pulse stabilized New Haven's shield, but it wouldn't last.
Daniel's voice crackled through the comms: "Alex, they've got a prototype—Valor's twin, warped. It's tearing through!"
Alex's stomach dropped. Zenith had weaponized the stolen blueprint. "We're coming," he said, voice steely.
The safehouse loomed—a bunker aflame, its steel gates buckled. Zenith's exosuits stormed the courtyard, drones raining plasma. Marcus's pistol flashed from a barricade, Laura beside him, her rifle steady. Elena and Daniel fired from a shattered window, their faces grim.
Fae rammed the van through a drone swarm, scattering them. "Go!" she yelled, blade flashing as she leapt out, cutting a path. Alex followed, staff crackling, stunning an exosuit's chest. Maya dragged Jace behind cover, her strikes fierce despite her sling. Jace fired, dropping a drone, blood seeping through his bandage.
"Core room!" Marcus roared, blood streaking his scar. "They're targeting it!"
Alex sprinted inside, the bunker a maze of smoke and sparks. Valor's console flickered, under siege by Zenith's prototype—a hulking rig outside, pulsing dark, its signal clawing at the orbs. "It's syncing," Alex gasped, plugging in the orbs. A clash erupted—Valor's light versus Zenith's shadow, the holo trembling.
Laura joined him, her calm unshaken. "Counter it—reroute the shield's power."
He worked fast, hands shaking. The orbs flared, pushing back, but the prototype's pulse was relentless. An exosuit breached the room—the towering man from before, his growl chilling. "Orbs, Mercer. Now."
Maya tackled him, staff sparking, but he hurled her into a wall. Fae lunged, blade piercing his armor, but he backhanded her, blood spraying. Alex swung, stunning his leg, buying seconds.
"Keep going!" Elena shouted, firing from the door. Daniel dragged Maya clear, their defiance a spark in the chaos.
Alex rerouted Valor's core, a surge erupting—New Haven's shield flickered, holding, but the prototype's grid spread, locking systems city-wide. "It's too strong!" he yelled.
Then a holo flared—Kael, patched through Zenith's signal. "You're outplayed, Mercer. My prototype's live—New Haven bends to us."
Laura's eyes widened. "She's not at the rig—she's here."
A shadow moved outside—the prototype shifted, revealing Kael atop it, her pistol gleaming. "Surrender, or I crush your precious bunker."
Rage surged through Alex. He synced Valor deeper, a desperate pulse frying the exosuit's systems—the man collapsed, groaning. But Kael's rig fired, a dark beam tearing through the wall. Laura dove, shielding Alex, debris grazing her arm.
"Mom!" Alex yelled, pulling her up. She waved him off, grim but steady.
Fae staggered to her feet, smirking through blood. "Let's dance, Kael."
The team rallied—Marcus and Daniel stunned troops, Elena and Maya held the line. Alex worked the console, Valor's orbs blazing as he hacked the prototype's signal. A holo flickered—not Kael, but Voss, the traitor scientist, his face pale. "Alex, Zenith's not what you think—Kael's a pawn. The board's bigger."
The feed cut. Alex froze, Voss's words a jolt. "Bigger?"
Kael's beam fired again, the bunker shaking. "Enough!" Alex roared, slamming the orbs' power to max. A shockwave erupted—Valor's shield surged, shattering Zenith's grid. The prototype sparked, faltering, but Kael leapt free, vanishing into the chaos.
"Retreat!" she barked, her troops falling back. The rig collapsed, its dark pulse dead.
Silence fell, broken by the bunker's groans. Alex sank beside the console, orbs dim but intact. "We held," he whispered.
Marcus limped over, bloodied but alive. "Barely. She'll regroup."
Laura checked the holo—New Haven's shield stabilized, but cracks lingered. "Voss's message—what's bigger?"
Elena's voice trembled. "Zenith's board—executives. We knew them… they wanted Valor's origins."
Daniel nodded, guilt heavy. "We thought they'd forgotten."
"They didn't," Alex said, anger flaring. "And Voss knows."
Fae wiped her blade, grim. "He's their weak link—find him, we find the truth."
The team patched up—med-gel for Laura, stitches for Jace. Alex stared at the orbs, Voss's warning looping. Kael was a pawn—someone pulled her strings. "We hunt Voss," he said, voice hard. "Coastal base—he's there."
Marcus nodded. "Rest, then we move."
As they prepped, a holo blinked—anonymous, encrypted. A distorted voice hissed: "Mercer, Zenith's board sees you. Run, or fall."
The feed died. Alex's pulse raced. The board was watching—and their next move would be merciless.