The sky above Echo City was gray, clouds stretched across the horizon like cracks in glass. The sun barely broke through the cover, but even that dim light was brighter than anything the lower grids had ever seen.
West stood in the open square at dawn. No armor. No weapons. Just weighted cuffs strapped to his wrists and ankles, metal glinting faintly under the pale light. His breath formed steady clouds in the cool morning air, each exhale perfectly timed.
One hundred push-ups.
One hundred squats.
One hundred pull-ups on a rusted beam set between two support pillars.
Around him, young fighters from Sigma Unit's training division gathered silently. Their helmets rested on the ground beside them. Faces tense, postures straight. Eyes fixed on the man in front of them—the one who broke Grid-Zero's core not with implants or machines, but with raw strength and human will.
West finished his final set, arms flexed and scarred from years of frontline battle. Sweat rolled down his back in slow streams, soaking into the simple black combat shirt he wore beneath weighted bands.
He rose to his feet with deliberate calm.
"Again," he said.
A single word. Heavy as steel.
The trainees dropped into motion instantly, repeating the same sets he'd just completed. There was no hesitation.
---
Across the city, inside the central command tower, Aria sat before a circle of holo-screens. Seven panels hovered in the air, each one feeding her data streams from a different sector.
Her hair was tied back in a simple braid today. No battle armor. Just black sleeves, slim gloves fitted with pulse sensors along each finger joint.
Her eyes glowed faint silver, scanning reports with machine-like precision.
Power grid efficiency: 78%.
Food ration balance: Green.
Pulse shield stability: 92%.
Resource transport lanes: 68% clearance.
More importantly—threat detection.
Nothing hostile. But signs of rising stress levels among Zone-3 residents. Increased chatter about shortages. Rumors of missing supply crates.
Aria's fingers flicked left. A new window opened.
Internal conflict log:
Two fights in Zone-3. Both marked non-lethal. Reason: Resource hoarding.
Patrol report:
Zone-7. One unit missing. Last signal recorded two hours prior.
Aria's pulse lines along her forearms brightened faintly, indicating active system adjustments.
She didn't sigh. Didn't show stress. But her mind processed the information like solving a living puzzle.
She tapped her comm line.
"West. Zone-3. Situation check."
"On it," came West's steady reply.
---
Down in Zone-3, West arrived faster than most vehicles could.
The district was smaller than central Echo. Narrow steel corridors between repurposed buildings. Makeshift market stalls. Blackened walls from old fires. Every surface told a story of what came before—and what they fought to rebuild.
West walked through the crowd without speaking. His presence alone cleared a path.
Two men were already down—bloody-faced, knuckles swollen. A third stood holding a curved blade, cornering a younger worker near an exposed pulse generator.
The air smelled like sweat and rust.
West didn't slow.
The blade-wielder lunged.
West caught his wrist mid-swing. Shifted his weight. Brought his free hand up into the attacker's shoulder with brutal force.
The man hit the steel wall face-first, hard enough to leave a dent.
Silence followed.
The man slid down unconscious. His weapon clattered to the floor.
The surrounding crowd didn't cheer. Didn't speak. They simply faded back into the alleys and side corridors.
Echo City wasn't a place for noise.
West wiped his hand on his sleeve, tapped his comm.
"Situation handled."
Aria's voice answered almost immediately.
"Zone-7 patrol still missing. Priority check?"
West's jaw flexed once.
"Priority confirmed. Send coordinates."
---
Back in the tower, Aria pulled up the patrol signal trace. Her pulse light steadied as she pinpointed the last known location—just beyond Echo City's north perimeter, where the map turned dark.
She sent out a drone unit with a flick of her wrist, code strings flowing across the holo-panels in layered commands.
West was already moving again.
Echo City kept breathing.
Steel and code.
Muscle and mind.
Both necessary.
Both unstoppable.