ANCIENT INN FACILITY – DEEP FOREST – NIGHT
The forest swallows sound. Wind murmurs through vines that wrap around rusted steel.
Madison Connor pushes aside overgrown brush and steps forward, her flashlight beam slicing through decades of dust.
Behind her, Agent Rise, Agent Vero, and Dr. Iris Kade follow.
[MADISON CONNOR]:(low, firm)
"This base shouldn't exist. And yet… here we are."
They reach the shattered, overgrown entrance. Old INN insignia barely clings to the cracked concrete.
Twenty years gone. Still breathing secrets.
Inside, the air is stale.
The team moves through corridors half-collapsed, vines crawling down walls like veins.
[Agent Vero]:Feels like walking inside a grave.
Madison stops at a sealed steel door — dented, burned, but still intact.
It's labeled: HUMAN RESEARCH – NEURAL AUGMENTATION DIVISION.
Iris stares at it, stunned.
[Dr. Iris Kade]:This… this predates the modern Neuro-Link project. INN must have shut it down before any of us joined.
Madison forces the door open.
The chamber inside is cold. Silent.
Rows of broken incubator tubes gleam faintly.
One tube—still powered—glows dim yellow, frost creeping down its surface.
Inside, a figure lies preserved.
[Madison Connor]:…Subject in stasis.
Rise checks a console.
[Agent Rise]:Vital activity minimal. Cryo fluid still active. Someone kept this running.
Madison nods.
[Madison Connor]:Wake him.
The chamber hisses. Frost blooms. The tube opens slowly.
The man inside collapses outward — frail, pale, covered in sensor scars.
Subject-09 gasps like someone drowning in memory.
His eyes — unfocused, terrified — lock on Madison.
[SUBJECT-09] :(broken whisper)The… ghost… never died.
Madison freezes.
[SUBJECT-09]:They're waking. All of them. All… from the dark…
He convulses. Iris steadies him, checking vitals.
[Dr. Iris Kade]:He's deteriorating. His neural links were… torn out.
[SUBJECT-09]:Ghost Serpent…rises again…
He dies.
Silence.
A crack of dread runs through the team.
Madison straightens, jaw tight.
[MADISON CONNOR]:Find every document that survived. We need answers.
The dusty Neuro-Link files in Madison's hand…
the pages naming long-lost subjects…
and one damaged file stamped:
---
INN HQ – TEMP OPERATIONS ROOM – NIGHT
Jaxon Steel stands over a flickering holo-display.
Hydra-07 attack footage loops — corrupted, scrambled.
He narrows his eyes.
[Agent Steel]:…This isn't normal system failure.
He expands a file — ACCESS RESTRICTED.
Another — RESTRICTED.
A third — LOCKED BY LEVEL-OMEGA CLEARANCE.
Jaxon frowns.
Someone is blocking him.
Dr. Romer approaches, tension masked behind professionalism.
[ROMER]:Agent Steel. Shouldn't you be in recovery?
[Agent Steel]:I'm fine. What's going on with these files?
[ROMER]:(tight)"Old security protocols. Nothing to worry about."
He glances around — avoiding eye contact.
Steel sees it instantly.
[Agent Steel]:You're lying.
Romer freezes for a fraction of a second before forcing a smile.
[ROMER]:Let the technical teams handle it. Focus on recovery, Steel.
Steel watches him leave, expression unreadable.
A soft voice interrupts.
[Dr.Susan Thomas]:You shouldn't stress your neural nodes tonight.
Susan steps beside him — gentle, calm, carrying medical gear.
Steel's hard edges soften slightly.
[Agent Steel]:I'm not stressed.
[Dr.Susan Thomas]:(smiling lightly)You're calculating and overthinking. I can practically hear it.
He exhales.
[Agent Steel]:…The attack felt staged. Hydra-07 didn't come to win. They came to test me.
Susan's eyes flicker — she knows more than she can admit.
[Dr. Susan Thomas]:Walk with me. Fresh air will help you think.
He hesitates, then nods.
---
HYDRA MOBILE HEADQUARTERS – UNDERGROUND CARRIAGE – NIGHT
Red lights flicker. Machinery hums with mechanical life.
Ravenstrike kneels, helmet off, face bruised but eyes burning with anticipation.
Shardeye stands beside him, cleaning her rifle, expression analytical.
Heavy footsteps echo.
The door hisses open.
VANGOR DRALE(Hydra Leader) enters.
Broad. Cold. His armor lined with serpent-shaped circuitry.
His voice — deep, metallic, commanding.
[VANGOR DRALE]:You failed to kill Agent Steel.
Ravenstrike lifts his head — calm, not afraid.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:We weren't sent to kill him."
Shardeye's mechanical eye rotates.
[SHARDEYE]:Mission parameters achieved.
Combat signatures scanned.
Neuro-Link output mapped.
Agent Steel's evolution curve identified.
Vangor Drale steps closer, towering over them.
[VANGOR DRALE]:And your conclusion?
[RAVENSTRIKE]:He's strong.
[SHARDEYE]:Next time… we bring the right firepower.
Ravenstrike smiles — a crimson, dangerous grin.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:Next time, the serpent strikes deeper.
Vangor Drale nods once.
[VANGOR DRALE]:Prepare. Our real campaign begins soon.
The Hydra insignia glows blood-red as lights dim.
NEW ATLANTIS – CITY STREETS – LATE NIGHT
Steel and Susan walk quietly.
The war still echoes in the streets — sirens, broken glass, drifting smoke — but here, in the small glow of street lamps, life breathes again.
Susan stops him gently.
[ Susan Thomas]:Sit.
He does.
She kneels in front of him, cleaning a cut near his hairline.
[Susan]:You took a hit harder than you admit.
[Jaxon Steel]:It's nothing.
[Susan]:(soft, smiling)You always say that. Even when it's something.
Steel watches her hands — steady, warm, careful.
His walls lower, just a little.
[Jaxon Steel]:You stayed during the attack. You didn't run.
[Susan]:I stay where I'm needed.
He looks at her — really looks.
Something unspoken flickers between them.
Susan stands, offering her hand.
[Susan]:Coffee? Before you start analyzing the next ten threats?
He almost smiles.
[Jaxon Steel]:…Yeah. Coffee sounds good.
They walk together toward a small late-night café light glowing across the street.
Two silhouettes.
One destiny.
And the wind carries a soft, static-filled whisper — the same glitching distortion
TO BE CONTINUED.....