Sunlight leaked through broken skylights of the abandoned gym Zara had commandeered for training. Dust motes swirled like lazy fireflies; obsolete treadmills lined the walls beside racks of cracked mirrors. Perfect place to break a few bones—on purpose.
Reina Takahashi cracked a bamboo practice sword across her palm. "Elastic mode. Three-count rhythm. Dodge, compress, release."
Jack bounced on the worn mat, arms noodle-stretching to warm up. "Copy that—rubber jazz hands."
Lyra lounged atop a pommel horse, tablet ready to log vitals. Patch nested in a hanging ring, peanut gallery at the ready.
---
Drill One – Elastic Footwork
Reina lunged. Jack's ankles stretched, planting ten feet away like bungee cords; knees recoiled, slingshotting him behind her. He tagged Reina's shoulder.
"Too slow," he teased.
Reina pivoted with snake speed, catching his elastic arm mid-recoil and spinning him overhead. Jack slammed into the mat—rubber spine absorbing impact but leaving him dizzy.
"Too predictable," she countered.
Lyra tapped notes. "Lesson: randomize length variation."
Patch added, "And don't taunt the sensei mid‑stretch."
---
Drill Two – Mix Form Combo
"Add stone skin for end‑strike," Reina instructed.
Jack inhaled—the sigil flickered; forearms hardened into coarse basalt as he whipped them forward. The extra mass converted stretch energy into a pile‑driver smash. Floorboards splintered.
Reina sidestepped, palm‑striking his elbow joint. Stone cracked; Jack hissed.
"Fusion forms have structural seams," she said. "Shield them or lose the limb."
---
Memory Echo
As Jack shook off the sting, a phantom image flashed: a shabby birthday cake with eleven candles. A child's laughter—his own? The fragment dissolved. He staggered.
Lyra rushed over. "Memory hit?"
Jack blinked hard. "Just déjà vu." He forced a grin, but Lyra's frown deepened.
Reina lowered the practice sword. "That's enough for today. Overtraining invites collapse."
"Collapse is my middle name," Jack joked weakly.
Patch scoffed. "Your middle name is 'Impending Disaster.'"
---
Warning from Zara
Zara's voice blared over portable speakers. "Crew, eyes on screens." A live drone feed projected Asset Ω marching through an industrial avenue, each step pulverizing asphalt. Bystanders fled; city cams glitched from sigil dampening waves.
Lyra's blood ran cold. "ETA to our sector?"
"Eleven minutes," Zara replied. "And it's immune to remote hacks—Cross is piggy‑back shielding the neural link."
Reina snapped her bamboo sword across her knee, eyes burning. "Then we meet force with form."
---
Battle Prep
Jack flexed aching arms. "Basalt slows me. Elastic alone won't dent neutron‑steel."
Lyra tossed him two new Catalyst Rounds—one labeled Carbon Web, the other Quicksilver."
"Carbon for light armor; mercury for fluidity," she explained. "Choose fast, side‑effects unknown."
Jack loaded Carbon Web and shot his thigh. Tendons re‑wove into black lattice—lightweight yet rigid like spider silk. He bounced experimentally—speed surged, air whipping his hair.
"Nice," he whistled. "Add elastic, get sling‑speed without stone drag."
Reina clipped a pulse‑knuckle to her wrist. "I'll cover flanks; you hit weak points. Lyra and Patch handle evac for the rescued test subjects."
Lyra adjusted her gauntlet. "Zara's got EMP packs ready. Omega's blades use sigil dampeners—maybe a localized burst scrambles them for five seconds."
Patch flapped. "Five seconds? Luxury vacation."
Jack rolled his neck, feeling chaos energy hum. "Let's make it enough."
---
Omega Arrives
The gym doors exploded inward, metal curling like paper. Asset Ω stepped through the dust cloud: towering armor plates, visor glowing crimson Ω symbol. Twin dampener blades hummed, swallowing ambient magic.
Jack's new carbon‑elastic limbs itched for action.
Ω spoke in a synthetic baritone. "Wilson. Termination and retrieval protocol engaged."
Reina raised her guard. "On my mark—"
Ω blurred forward, faster than expected. Jack yanked Reina aside, elastic legs vaulting them over kettlebells as a blade cleaved through the mat where they'd stood.
Shockwaves rattled walls; mirrors spider‑webbed. Ω's second blade arced for Jack's torso—he phase‑shifted an arm (0.8‑second glitch taught by Zara) letting steel pass harmlessly before snapping an elastic‑carbon punch to Ω's visor.
The strike dented armor but jarred Jack's bones; feedback stung. Ω staggered one step.
Lyra hurled an EMP puck. Blue pulse swallowed the room. Ω's blades flickered—dampening field dropped for precisely five seconds.
Reina capitalized, unleashing chi‑charged strikes to joint seams. Jack compressed, rebounded, and landed a double‑heel kick to the same dent—carbon lattice amplifying force.
Ω reeled—then rebooted. Blades reignited, carving a cyclone that sent everyone scattering.
Patch dove under a bench. "Timeout expired!"
Jack's chaos meter dipped; vision hazed at edges. He glanced at Lyra—she tossed the Quicksilver round.
"Last shot!" she shouted.
Jack caught it mid‑air, thoughts racing. One more experiment… or fallback? Ω charged, crimson visor promising ruin.
Jack grinned. "Experiment, obviously."
He raised the gun toward his own chest.