Jack jammed the pistol against his sternum.
Thud— the Quicksilver Catalyst slug plunged into flesh and detonated a storm of sigil vectors. Liquid metal rippled through his veins; bones softened to mercury glass, skin shimmered like mirrored water. Jack's body temperature plummeted even as nerves ignited.
"Whoa—" was all he managed before his torso sagged into a reflective tide.
Ω's crimson visor registered the change. The hunter swung a dampener blade, intent on bisecting Jack's liquefied chest. But Jack flowed around the steel, torso parting like a split river and resealing behind the blade.
Crowd gasped—Lyra, Reina, Patch—everyone froze at the surreal sight.
Jack grinned, face distorting liquid-smooth. "Mercury jokes later… move now!"
---
Fluid Warfare
Jack surged forward, limbs elongating into silver whips that wrapped Ω's wrists. The hunter attempted to yank free, but Quicksilver arms absorbed momentum, shifting handholds across the armor.
Lyra shouted, "Conductivity!" She discharged a bolt of technomantic lightning into Jack's liquid form. The current raced along the metallic pathways, amplifying, and arced straight into Ω's chassis.
Ω convulsed; internal circuits sparked. Dampener blades flickered, power-cycling. Jack maintained the circuit, but cold fatigue gnawed at his thoughts—the Quicksilver state leeched heat and calories faster than basalt ever had.
Reina darted in, pulse-knuckle blazing, hammering cracks along the dent Jack had made earlier. Each strike resonated with the internal surge, widening the breach.
"EMP!" Lyra tossed another puck. Patch dive‑bombed, pecking the detonation switch mid‑air. Blue shockwave blossomed.
Ω's systems stuttered. Visor flickered from crimson to static gray. The hunter froze mid‑swing.
---
Infiltration
Jack split his right arm into a ribbon of mercury that seeped into the crack. Inside Ω's armor, he felt hot servos and colder sigil conduits. He concentrated—micro‑threads of liquid metal infiltrated the neural link, scrambling signal relays.
Ω rebooted—alarm tones rang. The hunter staggered back, stabbing blades wildly. Jack retracted, corporeal torso re‑forming though semi‑transparent.
Lyra yelled, "Jack, disengage! You're freezing!"
He ignored the numbness spreading from his fingers. "One more second…"
Ω's power core spiked, venting steam from joints. Dr. Cross's remote voice screeched through external speakers: "Omega, purge infected lattice! NOW!"
Too late. Jack triggered the sigil pulse he'd woven inside. Silver filaments short‑circuited the dampener array—Ω's blades collapsed into inert slabs. Energy back‑surge launched the hunter into the far wall, cratering brick.
Jack stumbled, Quicksilver form losing cohesion; limbs dripped mercury droplets that hissed on the dusty mat.
Reina caught him, her warmth a shock. "Shift back, Wilson!"
He willed it, pulling the metallic tide into his core. Skin regained flesh, but a metallic sheen lingered in veins. His pulse fluttered weakly.
Ω pushed free of the wall, chassis sparking, visor rebooting amber. The hunter raised a gauntlet—now morphing into a rail‑gun port.
Patch screamed, "Incoming!"
Lyra slammed her gauntlet on the gym's breaker panel. Overhead lights exploded, showering glass. Zara flooded the building's old power grid—an electromagnet surge ripped rail‑gun bearings out of Ω's arm before it could fire.
Ω assessed rapidly, damage thresholds breached. A cold synthetic voice intoned, "Fallback protocol: retrieve hybrid sample later."
The hunter activated a vertical thruster. Jack, half‑collapsed, watched Ω shoot through the ruined skylight, trailing sparks into morning clouds.
Silence dropped, broken only by Jack's ragged breathing.
---
Aftermath
Jack's vision tunneled. Memories slipped—he couldn't recall the taste of the ramen he'd eaten hours before. Panic flickered.
Lyra pressed a heated compress to his chest, hands trembling. "Stay with me. Sugar infusion now!"
Reina mixed a bottle of honey, salt, and caffeine, forcing it between Jack's lips. He gulped, tingling warmth fighting the mercury chill.
Patch flitted anxiously. "Omega retreated south. Zara's drones lost track past the rail yard. We bought time, not victory."
Jack exhaled a shaky laugh. "Time's a luxury. I'll take it."
Lyra searched his eyes. "What did it cost?"
Jack hesitated. The ramen memory was gone—but deeper, he felt a missing gap: the name of the foster brother whose laugh had echoed in his dream. He simply shook his head.
Reina rested a steady hand on his shoulder. "Your body paid in heat, your mind in memories. We must pace the experiments, or you'll hollow out."
Jack managed a smirk. "Freedom's price tag keeps growing. Better start saving."
Lyra wiped perspiration from her brow. "Then let's invest smart. First rule: strategic upgrades only. Second: we stop Omega before next time."
Jack's eyes regained focus. "Agreed. We hit Cross's lab, destroy the remote link. Or Omega keeps respawning."
Patch nodded. "Zara's intel shows a subterranean sigil node powering Cross's controls. Deep vault. Heavily guarded."
Reina flexed bruised knuckles. "Good. More to break."
Jack hauled himself upright, metallic sheen fading. "Crew meeting in one hour. Bring catalyst prototypes, power bars, and—" he paused, forcing humor "—a playlist so I remember the mood."
Lyra smiled thinly. "We'll make new memories."
Jack's grin returned, weary but determined. "And tear down every chain."
---
Epilogue Tease: Dr. Cross's Resolve
Deep in Guild HQ, Dr. Valerie Cross surveyed Ω's damaged frame via holoprojection. She clenched a scalpel. "Wilson's quicksilver hack suggests stage‑three adaptability. Fascinating."
Guild Master Marrick's mask flickered onscreen. "Fascination is worthless without containment."
Cross's eyes gleamed. "Then we escalate. I'll create a counter‑morph serum—turn Wilson's own tissue against him."
"Do it," Marrick ordered. "And prepare Project Excision Phase Two."
Cross smiled, surgical lights reflecting in her glasses. "Let's see how much freedom his body can tolerate before it devours itself."