INN HQ – STRATEGIC OPERATIONS FLOOR – DAY
The room hums with restrained urgency.
Holographic projections rotate above a central table—energy spikes, city-center anomalies, containment alerts, and one file blinking persistently in red:
HYDRA-07 – RESTRICTED ACCESS
JAXON STEEL stands at the edge of the table, arms folded, jaw tight.
Across from him: SUSAN THOMAS, now fully in director-mode—composed, controlled, eyes sharp with institutional responsibility.
Between them lies an invisible fault line.
[ANALYST:] The Oversight Committee wants a full lockdown of all prototype-related operations.
No field engagement.
No unilateral moves.
Jaxon's eyes flick to the HYDRA-07 file.
He already knows what's in there.
[JAXON ]:And Agent Lopez?
A brief pause.
Too brief.
Susan answers.
[SUSAN ]:His status is classified. Pending internal review.
Jaxon turns to her slowly.
[JAXON] :Susan— (low, controlled) That's my brother-in-arms. You don't "review" people like him.
Susan holds his gaze.
She doesn't flinch.
[SUSAN ]:You don't dismantle the system from the inside by acting on instinct. Not at this level.
The room goes quiet.
Everyone feels it.
Not an argument.
A divergence.
INN HQ – OBSERVATION CORRIDOR – MOMENTS LATER
Jaxon walks fast.
Susan follows.
The glass corridor reflects them side by side—but slightly misaligned.
[JAXON] :You knew. Didn't you?
Susan stops.
He turns.
[SUSAN ]:I knew enough to prevent a panic. And enough to keep you from making a mistake.
Jaxon laughs once.
Sharp.
[JAXON] :That's what this is now? Damage control?
Susan steps closer, lowering her voice.
[SUSAN] :This is about survival. Yours. Mine. The agency's.
She hesitates—just for a fraction.
[SUSAN ] :There are political eyes on you, Jaxon. They're looking for a reason.
He studies her.
Not angry.
Disappointed.
[JAXON]: You're protecting the chair. Not the people.
The words land harder than he intended.
Susan absorbs it—but something behind her eyes tightens.
[SUSAN] :And you're forgetting what happens when heroes stop listening.
They stand there.
Close.
But not aligned.
ABANDONED LAB – UNKNOWN LOCATION – NIGHT
Flickering lights.
Cold steel.
The CREATURE—the interdimensional anomaly—stands in the center of a containment circle etched into the floor.
Not restrained.
Observing.
As if learning.
A distorted screen flashes images of New Atlantis, INN insignia, and—briefly—JAXON STEEL.
The creature tilts its head.
Recognition?
Or selection.
HYDRA-07 LAB – LOWER LEVEL – NIGHT
AGENT LOPEZ is strapped to a reinforced chair.
Restraints on wrists. Restraints on ankles.
His face is bruised—but defiant.
Electric arcs crackle along neural probes attached to his temples.
A TECH adjusts dials.
[TECH] :Stimulus increase. Let's see what he knows.
Lopez screams—not in fear.
In resistance.
Between pulses, he gasps out—
[LOPEZ ]:Jaxon… don't—
The shock hits again.
ROOFTOP – NEW ATLANTIS – SAME NIGHT
Jaxon stands alone, city lights stretching endlessly below him.
His Neuro-Link interface flickers—unauthorized pings, encrypted fragments.
Ghost signals.
A pattern emerges.
HYDRA-07.
His expression hardens—not impulsive, but resolved.
This isn't anger.
It's clarity.
He pulls out his comm.
Pauses.
Doesn't call Susan.
Instead, he opens a private channel—one that shouldn't exist anymore.
[JAXON ]:(quiet) I'm going dark. Just for one move.
The city doesn't answer.
But the decision is made.
INN HQ – SUSAN'S OFFICE – LATE NIGHT
Susan stands alone, staring at a classified projection.
She notices a blinking alert.
AGENT STEEL – LOCATION UNSPECIFIED
Her breath stills.
She closes her eyes for a moment.
As a woman who knows exactly what this means.
[SUSAN]: (soft, to herself) Don't do this.
She straightens.
Activates a secure channel.
[SUSAN] : Override request. Level Seven. If he falls… I need to be able to reach him.
The system hesitates.
Then accepts.
Susan exhales—equal parts fear and resolve.
Jaxon disappears into the night—moving toward HYDRA-07.
Susan watches the system track a man she cares for… becoming a liability.
The board is set.
Love didn't weaken him.
It sharpened him.
And that may cost them both.
INN HQ – CONTAINMENT LAB CORRIDOR – NIGHT
The corridor outside Prototype-2's containment chamber is sterile, silent—almost reverent.
The lifeless form of Prototype-2 floats behind reinforced glass, suspended in blue containment fluid.
Two figures stand before it:
CHARLES LIVINGSTON
Director of INN -Nexus City.
Strategist.
Guardian of balance.
And beside him—
MADISON CONNOR
Director of INN – New Atlantics.
Former field agent.
Former partner.
A soft chime echoes.
Charles's wrist console lights up.
His expression changes instantly.
Not fear.
Calculation.
[CHARLES ]:(low, precise) He's off-grid.
Madison turns sharply.
[MADISON ]What do you mean, off-grid?
Charles expands the projection—Jaxon's tracker blinking irregularly, then stabilizing for half a second before vanishing again.
[CHARLES] :Unauthorized Neuro-Link maneuver. Manual dampening. He didn't want to be followed.
Madison's breath catches.
Not as a director.
Not as command.
As something older.
[MADISON ]:He's going after Lopez.
Charles doesn't deny it.
That tells her everything.
INN HQ – CONTAINMENT LAB
Madison steps closer to the glass, eyes briefly flicking to Prototype-2.
Her voice softens—but tightens underneath.
[MADISON ]:He's not thinking like an agent right now. He's thinking like a son who's about to lose his brother.
Charles finally turns to her.
[CHARLES ]:And that's exactly why this is dangerous.
Madison faces him fully now.
[MADISON ]:Charles… Jaxon doesn't know how to retreat. If he walks into a HYDRA base alone.
[CHARLES]: he won't just trigger a firefight. He'll trigger a narrative.
He gestures, and a new overlay appears:
OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE – ACTIVE MONITORING WINDOW
Red. Live.
[CHARLES ] :If Steel goes rogue on foreign soil, if civilians are harmed, if HYDRA turns this into a spectacle—
(Pause)
They won't just come for him.
They'll come for us.
Madison clenches her jaw.
She knows this world.
She helped build it.
But this time—it's personal.
[MADISON ]:He's not a weapon. He's still a man.
Charles meets her gaze.
[CHARLES ]:And that's what makes him unpredictable.
INN HQ – COMMAND CENTER – MOMENTS LATER
The room snaps to life.
Agents move fast. No panic. No noise.
Controlled urgency.
[CHARLES] :(over command channel) Reinforcement Team Echo. Stand by for immediate deployment.
Screens lock onto satellite feeds, signal triangulations, dark-zone overlays.
[CHARLES ] :I want Steel's last known vector extrapolated. If he reaches a HYDRA installation solo—
He pauses.
Chooses his words carefully.
[CHARLES ]: we intervene before the first shot is fired.
Madison steps in beside him.
[MADISON] :If you send a strike team too early, you spook him. He'll double down.
Charles nods.
He knows she's right.
[CHARLES] :Then we shadow him. Quietly. No flags. No alerts.
A pause
Then—lower voice
[CHARLES ] :And Madison…
She looks at him.
[CHARLES ]: If this turns kinetic, Oversight will demand accountability. Immediately.
Madison's voice drops.
[MADISON] :I'll handle Oversight.
That's not bravado.
That's a promise.
INN HQ – OBSERVATION DECK – SAME TIME
Madison stands alone now, looking down at the city through reinforced glass.
New Atlantics glows below—peaceful, unaware.
She presses two fingers lightly against the glass.
[MADISON]: (soft, almost a whisper) You should have waited, kid.
Her comm vibrates.
A silent alert:
POSSIBLE HYDRA-07 COORDINATE MATCH – 67%
Her eyes close briefly.
Then open—focused.
Resolved.
HYDRA-07 LAB – DEEP LEVEL – NIGHT
Lopez hangs forward in restraints, barely conscious.
Blood at the corner of his mouth.
The HYDRA TECH leans in.
[TECH]: You know what's coming next. Your friend won't stop. And when he arrives—
A monitor flickers.
Live feed.
JAXON STEEL moving through shadows.
Approaching.
Lopez's eyes widen—not in fear for himself.
For Jaxon.
[LOPEZ ](hoarse): Don't…
The Tech smiles.
[TECH ]:Oh, we're counting on it.
INDUSTRIAL PERIMETER – UNKNOWN LOCATION – NIGHT
Jaxon crouches at the edge of a forgotten industrial zone.
HYDRA defenses loom ahead—quiet, layered, lethal.
His Neuro-Link hums.
Calm.
Focused.
Too focused.
He doesn't see the silent drone repositioning miles above.
He doesn't hear the encrypted channel opening at INN HQ.
He only knows one thing:
If he hesitates now—Lopez dies.
INN HQ – COMMAND CENTER – SAME MOMENT
Charles watches Jaxon's projected path align with a red-marked structure.
[CHARLES ]:There.
Madison steps beside him.
Both understand what this means.
[CHARLES]: If he breaches that base alone— best case, he survives. Worst case…
He doesn't finish the sentence.
He doesn't need to.
[MADISON ]:Send Echo. Shadow protocol only.
Charles nods.
[CHARLES ]:And notify Oversight— controlled disclosure. If they find out after—
Madison cuts in.
[MADISON ]:—I'll take the hit. Personally.
Charles looks at her.
Old respect.
Old trust.
[CHARLES] :You always do.
FINAL SEQUENCE – INTERCUT
– Jaxon steps into HYDRA territory, alone.
– Lopez screams as another shock cycle begins.
– Susan watches a blinking tracker, helpless—for now.
– Madison stands steady beneath the weight of consequences.
– Charles prepares to hold the institution together as it begins to fracture.
This is no longer just an extraction.
It's a countdown.
Because if Jaxon Steel falls tonight—
He won't fall alone.
TO BE CONTINUED....