High above MegaCity-9, where clouds were thinner and the air was cleaner, stood the HelixCore Spire.
A black tower of glass and metal that pierced the sky like a blade.
Inside it, people did not walk.
They floated.
Anti-grav platforms carried executives across open halls of light and silence.
The world below felt… irrelevant up here.
Director Kade Mercer stood before a wall of shifting data.
Human behavior models.
Economic predictions.
War probability charts.
Every line, every number, every simulation told the same story:
Humanity was unstable.
Emotional.
Violent.
Predictable.
"Primitive," Kade whispered.
Behind him, the Helix Board assembled.
Seven figures.
Faces hidden behind translucent identity masks.
Not for privacy.
For power.
"Subject 07 has been confirmed alive," one of them said.
Kade's jaw tightened.
"So the containment failure is real."
"Yes," another replied. "And worse — an external actor is involved. A Runner."
Ari Vex's profile appeared in the air.
History.
Crimes.
Psychological evaluation.
Kade studied her.
"Curious," he said.
"Defiant."
"Empathetic."
The word sounded almost insulting.
"They leaked preliminary data," a Board member said. "Public reaction is minimal. The world trusts us."
Kade smiled thinly.
"They always do."
"Still," another said, "the symbol matters. If people believe we steal children and rewrite souls…"
"We do," Kade replied calmly.
Silence fell.
"Because someone must."
Kade turned to the window.
MegaCity-9 glowed below.
Millions of lives.
Millions of variables.
"Humanity is approaching its limits," he said.
"Population, climate, resources, conflict — the system is collapsing."
"We don't create monsters," Kade continued.
"We create solutions."
"Subject 07 is a prototype for a new species," Kade said.
"A version of humanity that does not destroy itself."
"No wars driven by pride.
No genocide driven by hatred.
No irrational love that sacrifices the many for the few."
A Board member shifted.
"And freedom?"
Kade laughed softly.
"Freedom is a story we tell children so they feel important."
"Find them," Kade ordered.
"Retrieve Subject 07."
"And the girl?"
Kade considered.
"She is inefficient."
A pause.
"Terminate her."
Far below, Ari shivered.
She didn't know why.
She just felt… watched.
Kade turned back to the Board.
"The age of chaotic humans is ending," he said.
"The age of designed humanity begins now."
The city sensed violence before it arrived.
MegaCity-9's systems shifted into a quiet alert mode — traffic lights slowed, drones altered their patrol paths, emergency units moved closer to potential conflict zones.
But Ari felt it in her bones.
She and Leo had barely left the underground station when her cyber-optic eye flared red.
Threat Level: EXTREME
HelixCore Signature Detected
Hunter-Class Unit Incoming
She stopped walking.
Leo noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
"We're not alone," she said.
And then the street lights went out.
Darkness swallowed Sector 17.
Neon signs flickered, then died.
Only the rain remained, falling like whispers from the artificial sky.
From the end of the street, a single figure stepped forward.
Tall.
Broad.
Not quite human.
His body was wrapped in black synthetic armor that absorbed light. Thin red lines pulsed across his chest and arms like a living circuit.
His eyes glowed Helix red.
Hunter Unit designation flashed in Ari's vision.
H-03: Reaper Class
A corporate god's personal executioner.
"You are Ari Vex," the unit said, voice smooth and empty. "By order of HelixCore, you are to be terminated."
Ari stepped in front of Leo.
"You're blocking traffic," she replied calmly.
The unit tilted its head.
"Humor detected. Irrelevant."
He raised his arm.
The street exploded.
A shockwave slammed into the ground, ripping concrete apart.
Ari grabbed Leo and dove sideways as a beam of compressed energy tore through the space where they had stood.
The wall behind them vaporized.
Glass rained like crystal dust.
"RUN!" Ari shouted.
They ran.
Again.
But this time the city ran with them.
Traffic systems crashed.
Drones fell from the sky like dead insects.
Helix had activated city override — turning MegaCity-9 itself into a weapon.
Barriers rose from the ground, blocking streets.
Advertisements switched to HelixCore logos, their smiling faces watching her from every wall.
Ari's vision filled with warnings.
Her neural implant was overheating.
She felt blood trickle from her nose.
She didn't slow.
They turned into an abandoned marketplace.
Stalls stood empty, plastic fruits frozen in fake perfection.
Leo stumbled.
Ari caught him.
"Stay behind me," she said.
He shook his head.
"I can help."
"No," she said sharply. "Every time you use it, you lose something."
"I know," he whispered.
"But if I don't… you die."
Before she could argue, the Hunter unit dropped into the marketplace like a falling god.
The ground cracked beneath its weight.
"You are inefficient, Ari Vex," it said.
"You fight for a failed species."
Ari smiled.
"Yeah," she said.
"But it's my species."
She launched forward.
Her coat burned away as she activated her combat augments.
Muscle fibers reinforced.
Reaction time accelerated.
She slid under the unit's first strike, rolled, and drove an electric blade into its side.
The blade screamed.
Sparks exploded.
The unit barely reacted.
It grabbed her by the throat and lifted her effortlessly.
"Organic resistance is statistically insignificant," it said.
Ari couldn't breathe.
Her vision blurred.
Her systems screamed overload.
Then Leo shouted.
Time bent.
The rain froze midair.
The Hunter slowed.
Ari felt herself fall from its grip.
She hit the ground hard, gasping.
Leo stood between them now.
His veins blazed bright blue.
His eyes glowed like stars.
"Leave her alone," he said.
The Hunter analyzed him.
"Subject 07," it said. "Asset recovered."
It lunged.
Leo raised his hand.
Reality twisted.
The Hunter was hurled backward, smashing through three stalls and into a concrete pillar.
The pillar collapsed.
Dust filled the air.
Leo dropped to one knee.
Ari ran to him.
"You're burning out," she said desperately.
He smiled weakly.
"I'm still here."
The Hunter rose.
Damaged.
Angrier.
Its red lines burned brighter.
"You cannot win," it said.
Ari stood.
Blood on her lip.
Fire in her eyes.
"Watch me."
She accessed her deepest implant layer.
Something she rarely used.
Something illegal.
She unlocked it.
Pain exploded through her nervous system.
Her scream was silent.
Her body glowed faint white as she overloaded her own limits.
She ran.
Faster than thought.
She leapt.
Her blade struck the unit's core.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
On the fourth strike, the core shattered.
Light burst outward.
The Hunter froze.
Then collapsed.
Dead.
Silence returned.
Rain resumed.
The city lights slowly flickered back on.
Ari fell to her knees.
Exhausted.
Shaking.
Leo crawled to her.
They held each other.
Alive.
For now.
Above them, HelixCore satellites shifted orbit.
Watching.
Learning.
Adapting.
The war had begun.