"Kill them both!" the distorted voice shrieked through the speakers as fifty-three children with rolled-back eyes began closing in like mechanical dolls programmed for murder.
Ethan stood perfectly still, one arm wrapped protectively around Lily while his enhanced vision analyzed the nightmare unfolding around them. The children moved in perfect synchronization, their small faces blank as porcelain masks, their humanity erased by military-grade neural interference that turned angels into weapons.
"Tank" launched himself forward like a human cannonball, his chubby frame moving with inhuman speed and precision that defied every law of physics and childhood innocence. Roxanne threw herself between the boy and Lily, but Tank's casual backhand sent her flying into a concrete wall with bone-crushing force that echoed across the playground like thunder.
"Run!" she screamed, blood streaming from her mouth as she struggled to stand on legs that no longer wanted to support her weight. "Take Lily and run! This is black magic—military-grade mind control that shouldn't exist!"
But Ethan didn't run.
Instead, he activated The Eye of Truth.
**[NEURAL ANALYSIS INITIATED - EMERGENCY PROTOCOL]**
**[DATA STREAM: PROCESSING QUANTUM ENCRYPTION...]**
**[CONTROL SOURCE: SKYNET TECHNOLOGIES (NASDAQ: SKNT)]**
**[SIGNAL ORIGIN: MILITARY ENCRYPTION SATELLITE - CLASSIFIED]**
**[MARKET CAP: $3.2 BILLION USD]**
**[CURRENT STOCK PRICE: $127.84 - RISING]**
Tank's fingernails, sharpened to razor points by whatever demonic force had taken control of his innocent mind, aimed directly for Ethan's femoral artery with surgical precision. One scratch would mean death in minutes, bleeding out on a kindergarten playground while his daughter watched.
Ethan pulled out an ancient flip phone that looked like it belonged in a museum and dialed a number with movements so casual they bordered on insulting to the chaos surrounding them.
His foot touched Tank's forehead with surgical precision, applying just enough pressure to neutralize the boy's momentum without causing harm. Tank froze mid-attack, straining against an immovable force like a fly trapped in amber.
"Buy every share of SkyNet Technologies," Ethan said into the phone, his voice carrying the authority of someone who owned small countries and reshaped reality before breakfast. "Market price, full acquisition. I want controlling interest in the next sixty seconds."
---
The voice in the speakers erupted with hysterical laughter that sounded like broken glass mixed with the screams of dying dreams.
"Did this delivery boy just say he's buying SkyNet? That's a three-billion-dollar company, you delusional piece of—"
"Cheap at twice the price," Ethan interrupted, his eyes never leaving Tank's frozen form while his voice carried the kind of calm that preceded nuclear explosions.
The Puppet Master's laughter died like a candle in a hurricane as trading alerts began flooding financial networks worldwide. SkyNet's stock price shot up like a rocket breaking free from Earth's gravity, triggering circuit breakers as massive buy orders consumed every available share like a financial black hole.
Wall Street traders stared at their screens in disbelief as billions of dollars moved with the speed of thought and the precision of divine intervention.
**[DING!]**
**[SUPREME DAD SYSTEM - FINANCIAL WARFARE MODE ACTIVATED]**
**[EXPENDITURE: $3.2 BILLION USD - TRANSACTION PROCESSING]**
**[HOSTILE TAKEOVER: COMPLETE]**
**[CONGRATULATIONS: YOU NOW OWN SKYNET TECHNOLOGIES]**
**[BOARD POSITION: CHAIRMAN AND CEO - ABSOLUTE CONTROL]**
Ethan removed his foot from Tank's forehead and straightened his tie with the casual confidence of someone who'd just bought a corporation the way other people bought coffee and donuts.
"SkyNet Technologies, this is your new owner speaking," he said to the air, his voice carrying across hidden frequencies and encrypted channels that connected to satellites orbiting in the cold darkness of space. "Activate parental controls. Immediately. Override all existing protocols."
The invisible strings controlling fifty-three children snapped like broken guitar strings in a symphony of liberation.
The speakers crackled with electronic feedback, then filled with the cheerful theme song from a children's cartoon about friendship and sharing, drowning out the Puppet Master's screams of rage and disbelief in a tsunami of innocent melody.
Across the playground, children blinked in confusion as their minds returned to them like birds coming home to roost. Tank looked around in bewilderment, his chubby face scrunched with the kind of fear that comes from remembering nightmares that felt too real.
"It's okay, buddy," Ethan said gently, kneeling to Tank's level with infinite patience and understanding. "The bad dream is over. You're safe now, and no one's going to hurt you ever again."
He scooped Lily into his arms, feeling her small body trembling against his chest like a bird seeking shelter from a storm that had finally passed.
---
As they walked toward the school gates, Ethan turned back toward the broadcast room and made a simple gesture—drawing his finger across his throat with the finality of a judge pronouncing a death sentence.
The message was clear: Game over. You lose.
They'd barely reached the sidewalk when the Supreme Dad System exploded with warnings that made his blood turn to liquid nitrogen:
**[CRITICAL ALERT - IMMEDIATE THREAT DETECTED]**
**[EXPOSURE METER: 55% - ENTERING DANGER ZONE]**
**[FINANCIAL TRANSACTION FLAGGED BY GLOBAL SURVEILLANCE]**
**[DARKNET BOUNTY UPDATED: $50 MILLION - PRIORITY TARGET]**
**[NEW HUNTER ACTIVATED: CODENAME "POISON DOCTOR"]**
**[INFILTRATION STATUS: COMPLETE - SCHOOL MEDICAL STAFF]**
A pristine white ambulance pulled up to the curb with the timing of a Swiss watch and the precision of a military operation, its red cross gleaming like a promise of healing that masked something far more sinister than any disease.
The woman who stepped out looked like every parent's dream of the perfect pediatrician—kind eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses, gentle smile that could have graced medical school brochures, medical bag that suggested competence and care for children's welfare.
But Ethan's enhanced vision saw through the facade to the truth beneath the carefully constructed mask.
**[TARGET ANALYSIS - THREAT ASSESSMENT CRITICAL]**
**[DR. SARAH CHEN - COVER IDENTITY CONFIRMED]**
**[REAL NAME: "THE POISON DOCTOR" - INTERNATIONAL ASSASSIN]**
**[WEAPON: PARALYTIC NEUROTOXIN - FINGERTIP DELIVERY SYSTEM]**
**[KILL METHOD: SIMULATED MEDICAL EMERGENCY - UNTRACEABLE]**
"Mr. Blackwell?" she called out, her voice warm with professional concern that could have fooled child psychologists and worried parents. "I'm Dr. Chen, the school's medical consultant. After today's... traumatic incident... I really should examine Lily for signs of psychological trauma or stress-related symptoms."
She extended her hand toward Lily with the practiced gesture of someone who'd perfected the art of appearing harmless to children and their protective parents, her smile radiating the kind of trustworthiness that made people lower their guard completely.
But Ethan could see the tiny blue needle concealed beneath her fingernail, loaded with enough poison to stop a child's heart in seconds and make it look like a tragic medical emergency that no one could have prevented.
He stepped smoothly to the side, placing himself between the assassin and his daughter with movements that flowed like water and struck like lightning, his smile sharp enough to cut through diamond and twice as deadly.
"That won't be necessary, Doctor," he said, his voice carrying undertones that made the temperature drop twenty degrees and caused small animals to flee the area. "My daughter is allergic to incompetent medical professionals. Especially ones who reek of formaldehyde and death."
Dr. Chen's perfect mask slipped for just a moment, revealing something cold and predatory beneath the caring facade—something that belonged in nightmares and government black sites rather than pediatric clinics.
"I'm afraid I must insist," she said, her hand moving toward the medical bag where more lethal instruments waited like sleeping serpents. "The child's welfare is my primary concern, and proper medical evaluation is essential after such trauma."
Ethan's laugh was like winter wind through a graveyard filled with the bones of people who'd underestimated fathers protecting their children.
"Your concern is noted and rejected with extreme prejudice. Find someone else's child to practice your... medicine... on."
The Poison Doctor's eyes narrowed as she calculated her next move, unaware that she was already three steps behind in a game where the stakes were measured in heartbeats and the penalty for losing was permanent removal from the game of life.
The Supreme Dad System hummed with lethal anticipation:
**[COMBAT PROTOCOLS: STANDBY MODE]**
**[DAUGHTER PROTECTION: MAXIMUM PRIORITY]**
**[THREAT ASSESSMENT: ELIMINATE WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE]**
**[MERCY PROTOCOLS: DISABLED]**
Some doctors healed the sick and comforted the suffering.
Others needed to be cured of their existence.
And Ethan Blackwell was about to perform surgery without anesthesia.