The VTOL's engines roared as it sped away from the academy, wind tearing at their faces through the open hatch. Below, the compound was a shrinking patch of black stone and flashing lights. Searchlights swept wildly, but none could catch them now.
Leo sat against the cold metal wall of the transport, chest heaving. The data core was still in his pack — heavy, but safe. Jack was slumped across from him, blood soaking through the sleeve of his jacket.
"You're bleeding," Leo said.
Jack gave a weak smirk. "You should see the other guys."
Eleanor moved between them, checking the wound. "You'll live. Maybe."
Ava sat beside Leo, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "Once we send this data to the resistance, the academy's finished."
---
They landed in a remote valley just before dawn, the VTOL touching down on a hidden airstrip. Waiting for them was a small group of figures in mismatched combat gear — the resistance network Ava had spoken of.
The leader, a broad-shouldered man with a cybernetic eye, stepped forward. "You have it?"
Leo handed him the data core. "Everything. Operation Glass Shadow, the orphan program, every assassination they've ever ordered. It's all in there."
The man nodded. "Once we transmit this to the world's media and governments, they won't be able to hide anymore."
---
The transmission went out within the hour.
By midday, the story was everywhere — leaked files, images, and recordings showing the academy's deepest secrets. The world was stunned. Some refused to believe it at first. But the evidence was overwhelming.
Governments severed ties. Hidden academy operatives were exposed and arrested. Funding dried up.
Within a week, the academy was no longer a shadow power. It was just a ruin in the mountains, abandoned and silent.
---
Three weeks later, Leo, Ava, Jack, and Eleanor stood together on a coastal cliff, the ocean crashing below. The sun was setting, casting the sky in shades of fire and gold.
"So… what now?" Jack asked.
Ava glanced at Leo. "We could disappear. Live normal lives."
Leo shook his head. "Normal isn't in our blood. There are still people out there doing what the academy did — taking kids, making weapons out of them. We stop them."
Eleanor smiled faintly. "Sounds like a job for the four of us."
Jack groaned. "Fine. But next time, I pick the mission."
---
As the last light of day slipped into night, they walked away from the cliff — not as orphans, not as tools of a machine, but as free agents with a purpose.
They had been assets, assassins, spies. Now, they were something else entirely.
Heroes.
---
The End