Night fell over the city like a heavy cloak.
Sigma's stealth transport—sleek, black, and shaped like a dagger—hovered silently in the hangar, its thrusters glowing a cold blue.
Kairo stood at the ramp, hands trembling, sparks crawling faintly across his knuckles. This wasn't training. This wasn't a simulation. Tonight he would face someone whose pain felt like an echo of his own.
Hensley fastened a new stabilizer band around his wrist—stronger, reinforced with shock dampeners.
"Kairo," she said gently, "are you sure you're ready?"
He looked at her, heart pounding.
"No," he admitted. "But that kid out there… the one calling me? They don't have anyone else."
Hensley exhaled shakily, her eyes softening.
"Then we'll face it together."
Behind them, Eryn stepped aboard the craft, expression unreadable.
"Try to keep up, Static Boy. If this other anomaly is really as unstable as the readings say, we're all going to be in over our heads."
Kairo didn't respond. He didn't have the energy to argue.
Director Voss appeared at the base of the ramp, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Kairo," she said, "your priority is to locate the anomaly. Do not engage unless necessary. Eryn will provide containment support. Agent Hensley will handle extraction."
"And what will you do?" Kairo asked quietly.
Voss smiled without warmth.
"I'll be monitoring."
Meaning: I'll be watching what you become.
Kairo swallowed, nodded, and stepped inside the transport.
The doors sealed shut behind him.
The City at Night,
The transport lifted off, slicing silently through the clouds. From above, the city looked peaceful—rows of lights, moving traffic, neon reflections on wet pavement.
But Kairo felt the turbulence under the surface.
A pulse.
A warning.
A beacon of pain.
He clutched the seat straps as a sharp jolt of electricity shot through his chest.
Eryn noticed.
"You feel them again?"
Kairo nodded, jaw tight.
"It's getting worse. Stronger. Closer."
Hensley placed a hand on his back.
"Focus on breathing. Don't let the connection overwhelm you."
But Kairo didn't say what truly scared him:
Every time he felt the other one…
a tiny part of him felt like it belonged to them.
Industrial District — Ruins of Sector 11
The transport descended into the abandoned factories of Sector 11.
Tall chimneys loomed like broken bones.
Windows were shattered.
Graffiti swallowed the walls.
The air smelled of rust and burned metal.
As they stepped onto the cracked pavement, the wind carried a faint static buzz.
Eryn tensed immediately.
"I feel something. Air's charged. Ionized."
Kairo nodded. His fingertips tingled.
"They're close," he whispered.
Hensley activated her earpiece.
"Team is on foot. Proceeding toward coordinate point Gamma."
Sigma drones hummed overhead, scanning.
A shattered warehouse stood ahead—its walls scarred with black lightning burn marks.
Eryn whistled low.
"Someone was definitely here."
Kairo stepped toward the doorway.
The moment he touched the rusted frame—
a violent surge ripped through him.
Help me… help…
A voice.
Clearer than before.
Younger.
Terrified.
Kairo gasped and stumbled back.
"Kairo!" Hensley grabbed him. "What did you see?"
He swallowed hard.
"They're not attacking anything. They're running. Hiding. They don't understand what's happening to them."
Eryn frowned.
"Or they're baiting us."
"No," Kairo said firmly. "They're scared."
Another pulse rippled through the air.
Then—
footsteps.
Fast. Ragged. Panicked.
A figure burst through the far door of the warehouse—small, about Kairo's age, wrapped in a torn hoodie. Their eyes glowed bright electric blue.
Their entire body flickered with unstable lightning.
Kairo froze.
This is them.
The anomaly.
The voice.
The other lightning child.
The Lightning Bearer
The figure staggered forward, clutching their head.
"Stay back!" they screamed, voice breaking. "I can't— I can't stop it!"
Lightning erupted around their body, crackling, wild and chaotic.
Eryn raised his hand, telekinetic shield forming.
Hensley shouted, "No sudden moves! They're unstable!"
Kairo stepped forward before anyone could stop him.
"Hey," he said gently. "I know what this feels like. I know it hurts."
The kid looked up—eyes full of terror.
"You hear it too," they whispered. "The storm. The voices. The—"
A violent bolt shot from their arm and detonated against a metal beam, showering sparks everywhere.
They fell to their knees, sobbing.
"I don't want to hurt anyone… please… make it stop…"
Kairo's heart broke.
He took another step.
Then another.
"Kairo, stop!" Hensley shouted.
But he didn't.
He knelt in front of the trembling kid.
"What's your name?" Kairo asked softly.
The child shook, sparks ripping from their hands.
"L-Lyric," they whispered.
Kairo smiled gently.
"I'm Kairo. And I'm going to help you. I promise."
Lyric's eyes widened.
"You feel what I feel…"
Kairo nodded.
"Yes. And you're not alone anymore."
For a moment—just a moment—Lyric calmed.
The lightning flickered softer.
The air stilled.
Hope sparked.
Then the ground shook.
A deep metallic thud echoed through the district.
Another.
And another.
Eryn spun around, eyes widening.
"What the—? Director, we've got movement—massive readings approaching!"
Hensley's earpiece crackled violently.
Voss's voice came through, sharp and urgent:
"Team, pull back. Now. Something else is heading toward your location. Something large."
Kairo shielded Lyric with his body.
Lyric whispered, terrified:
"They found me."
Kairo looked up.
Something—
big—
mechanical—
and armed—
was emerging from the shadows.
Sigma had not told them everything.
Not even close.