Inside the warehouse's subterranean lab, the air was sterile—too clean, too quiet. Fluorescent lights buzzed faintly above as Bakuto stood over a reinforced glass table, observing the thick crimson fluid swirling inside a sealed vial.
Sue's bone marrow.
It shimmered unnaturally, reacting to the remnants of the Serum still pulsing within her blood. Bakuto's gloved fingers tightened around a scalpel as he studied the readouts on a nearby screen. Each scan revealed minute traces of regenerative anomalies—enough to confirm what he already knew:
The Serum had bonded. Fully. Irreversibly.
"She is the key," he whispered, his voice a mixture of reverence and obsession. "The final step… no more decay, no more death."
Sue lay nearby, still restrained on the cold metal operating table, unconscious, breathing shallowly. Her body was pale, weakened—not from the serum, but from the constant draining. Tubes ran into her arms, drawing samples at intervals. She was a prisoner in stasis—half-alive, half-harvested.
A young technician approached cautiously. "Sir, the test results confirm it. The regenerative compound is only active in her marrow. Reproduction without her genetic base is—impossible."
Bakuto didn't respond right away. Instead, he slowly turned, face tight with cold intent. "Then we don't waste time. Begin preparations to extract her spinal tissue—slowly. I want her alive until the final cell is taken."
The technician's eyes widened. "But—sir, that could kill her—"
Bakuto's eyes darkened.
"She's not a person anymore. She's a vessel."
Outside, Alex and Colleen landed silently on the rooftop above the lab entrance.
Alex's eyes narrowed. He could feel something dark pulsing from within the building—not chi, but something twisted. The wrong kind of life.
"Whatever's going on down there… it's bad."
Colleen nodded, gripping her katanas. "Then let's make it worse—for them."
They slipped into the shadows, unseen. Below them, time was running out for Sue.
Inside the lab, the tension was thick. Machines hummed. Vats bubbled. The room reeked of antiseptic and dread.
Sue's fingers twitched.
Her body, despite the sedation and suppression cuffs, was reacting. Somewhere deep in her system, the serum was stirring again—responding to the trauma, adapting. Her regenerative abilities flared subtly, desperately trying to resist the constant siphoning. But she couldn't wake up. Not yet.
Bakuto leaned in close, his breath fogging the glass of her chamber. "You feel it, don't you?" he whispered. "Your body knows this is the end."
Before he could speak further—
CRASH.
The reinforced skylight shattered.
Two figures dropped into the room like lightning.
Alex landed first, his Silver Devil Cane drawn and infused with demonic energy—radiating a deep violet glow. The floor cracked beneath his feet.
Colleen followed, her twin katanas drawn in a cross. Dressed in her sleek white ninja armor, she moved like moonlight on steel.
The alarms didn't even have time to scream before the first ninja flew at them.
Alex's hand flashed. A burst of demonic energy formed into orbs in his palm. He hurled them forward like bombs, and they exploded with devastating force—shockwaves tearing through the lab, shattering walls, and sending Hand ninjas flying. Even Bakuto had to summon a barrier of Dark Chi to shield himself from the blast.
Through the smoke and chaos, Alex darted forward. His eyes locked onto Sue.
He infused the cane with demonic energy, slashing through the remaining restraints on her. As she slumped forward, he caught her in his arms, whispering urgently, "I've got you."
Just then, Cypher emerged from the shadows, grabbing Colleen with one hand and moving to rrof hole where they come from. With the other, he reached for Alex.
"Just get us out," Alex said urgently.
Without a word, Cypher grabbed both Alex—who carried the unconscious Sue—and Colleen, pulling them close. In a blur of shadow and motion, they vanished into the night, leaving nothing behind but the wreckage of their escape.
Back in the depths of the ruined hideout, Bakuto emerged through the swirling smoke, blood trickling down the side of his mouth, his expression twisted with fury.
He scanned the devastation—no Sue, no intruders. Only shattered equipment, scorched stone, and silence.
His rage boiled over.
"Find them! Find those bastards!" he roared, voice echoing off the broken walls.
But his command came far too late.
They were already gone.
In the quiet of Colleen's dojo, the old wooden shed at the back shuddered—then burst open.
A shimmer of distorted air followed, and from it Cypher emerged, carrying Alex, Sue, and Colleen as if tearing through the veil between worlds.
The three collapsed onto the floor of the training hall, breathless.
Alex gently laid Sue down on the tatami mat. Her face was pale, body limp, but her pulse…
"She's okay," Colleen said, placing two fingers on Sue's wrist. "Just weak… and drugged."
Alex exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from his brow as he turned to Colleen. "Do you have anything? Glucose? Saline? Anything?"
Colleen nodded and hurried off. "Yeah—I keep emergency supplies. Some of my students push themselves too hard, so I stock up."
She returned with a pouch of glucose drink and helped Sue sip from it slowly. Her eyelids fluttered. There was life in her yet.
"Damn," Colleen muttered. "They must've tested some brutal stuff on her. She's lucky to be alive."
"We need to take her to a real hospital," she added, worry in her voice.
But Alex shook his head.
"No hospitals. Not yet."
"Why not?" Colleen asked.
"She's marked," Alex said quietly. "They'll find her. If she goes into any public system, they'll know exactly where she is—and she'll end up back on their table. Or worse."
Colleen's jaw tightened, then she nodded grimly. "Alright. Then we do it here. We patch her up ourselves."
Sue stirred weakly, her fingers curling faintly. With great effort, her eyes fluttered open—blurry, unfocused.
Through the haze, she saw a figure kneeling beside her.
"…Alex?" she whispered, voice dry and fragile. "Is that you…?"
Alex leaned closer, a soft smile on his face. "Yeah. It's me. You're safe now. Go back to sleep."
Sue gave the faintest nod, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as exhaustion claimed her once more. She drifted back into unconsciousness, her breathing now calm.
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