Dr. Evelyn Cross hated board meetings.
The glass conference room was perched high above the city, the skyline glittering beyond floor-to-ceiling windows like a smug reminder of everything NeoGeneX controlled.
Normally, she found power in that view. But today, it felt like the city itself was watching her, waiting for her to slip.
The Board sat around the obsidian table—eleven men and women in suits worth more than most cars, sipping imported water, shuffling papers they didn't understand. Investors. Politicians. Puppets dressed as kings.
And yet, they were looking at her like she was the one on trial.
"Your… creation," said Halstrom, the chair, voice oily as ever, "is not following directives."
Cross kept her face carved from marble.
"Harbinger is performing above expectations. His first live engagement yielded tactical dominance."
"Dominance," another board member snorted. "You mean reckless destruction. A public skate park leveled. Civilians terrified. Patient Zero escaped."
Cross's jaw twitched. "Collateral damage was minimal."
"Minimal?" Halstrom slid a dossier across the table.
Grainy photos spilled out—collapsed concrete, scorched earth, bloodied teenagers fleeing.
Headlines screamed from the margins: 'Monster in the Suburbs?' … 'NeoGeneX Secret Weapon Out of Control?'
Cross's fingers tightened on the table edge. She would not flinch.
"The media spins stories. Harbinger is loyal to NeoGeneX."
But even as she said it, the memory of his crimson smile burned in her mind. The way he had turned his back on her.
Halstrom leaned forward, fingers steepled.
"Dr. Cross, you assured us Harbinger was a weapon we could control. Instead, we see evidence he is—how did one journalist put it?—a rabid dog on a broken leash."
A ripple of chuckles spread through the room. Cross's teeth clenched so tightly her jaw ached.
Zara's Shadow
And then, as if summoned by her rage, Zara strolled into the conference room without knocking.
Cross's stomach dropped.
The Board froze. Security should have stopped her, but somehow she'd bypassed them—again. Zara leaned casually against the doorframe, smirk plastered across her face.
"Hope I'm not interrupting," she said. "Actually, no—I do hope. You all look painfully boring."
Halstrom blinked, scandalized.
"Who is this—?"
Cross stood so fast her chair screeched against the floor. "You are not authorized to be here."
Zara waggled her fingers. "Oops."
Then she leaned over the table, plucking one of the headlines.
"'Monster in the Suburbs,' huh? Catchy. Almost makes me want to buy stock."
The Board muttered in confusion. Some looked appalled, others intrigued. Cross wanted to strangle Zara on the spot.
"Out," Cross snapped, voice venomous.
But Zara ignored her, eyes sparkling as she addressed the room. "Here's a fun fact: your shiny new toy doesn't dance to Cross's tune anymore. He's humming a different melody."
Halstrom frowned. "Are you saying Harbinger is compromised?"
Zara grinned. "I'm saying Harbinger is free. And freedom?" She leaned closer, whispering like a secret. "Freedom doesn't sell well to shareholders, does it?"
The Board erupted into overlapping chatter.
Cross Cornered
Cross slammed her palm on the table. "Enough!"
The room went silent. Even Zara tilted her head, amused at the fire.
"Harbinger is not compromised," Cross said through gritted teeth. "He is evolving. Strengthening. Every adaptive phase comes with turbulence. Once complete, he will be the perfect weapon."
Halstrom's gaze was sharp. "And if he evolves beyond your leash entirely?"
For a moment, the room held its breath.
Cross forced a cold smile. "Then I will build another."
The Vote
The Board withdrew to deliberate, leaving Cross in the hall, seething. Zara lounged nearby, humming tunelessly
"You're welcome," Zara said at last.
Cross turned on her. "You sabotaged me."
Zara laughed. "Please. You sabotaged yourself. I just brought popcorn."
Cross's nails dug into her palm. "Why are you here?"
Zara's grin sharpened. "Because unlike you, I know the truth. Harbinger doesn't belong to you. He belongs to the tether. To Zeke."
Cross's blood went cold, but she masked it with fury. "You don't understand the science."
"Oh, I understand enough," Zara whispered, stepping close. "And guess what? I'm betting on the kid."
Before Cross could retort, the Board returned.
Halstrom cleared his throat. "After review, the Board has voted to suspend Dr. Cross's full authority over Harbinger. Effective immediately, oversight will be shared with the committee."
Cross felt the ground tilt beneath her. Suspend?
Her vision went red.
"You dare—"
"This is not a punishment," Halstrom interrupted smoothly. "It is… a safeguard. Should Harbinger become uncontrollable, we will enact fail-safes."
Cross's voice dropped to a razor's edge. "He is controllable."
Halstrom's eyes glinted. "Then prove it."
Breaking Point
Hours later, Cross sat alone in her lab, hands trembling against the console. The Board's words echoed like knives: suspend… safeguards… fail-safes.
Zara's smirk haunted her.
Harbinger's smile haunted her more.
And worst of all, beneath the rage, a flicker of doubt wormed its way in.
What if they were right?
What if she had built something she couldn't leash?
She stared at the containment chamber, empty now, but humming faintly with residual energy. For the first time in her career, Dr. Evelyn Cross felt something she had never allowed herself before.
Fear.