CHAPTER 3: MARKED FOR CHAOS
The noodle-bot's metal claw hovered inches from Finn's face, steaming miso broth dripping onto his nose.
"Consumption imperative, defective meat-unit!" it chirped.
Finn swatted it away, sending the bowl clattering across the capsule hotel's floor. "Vroomba! Why is this thing—"
A shrill alarm blared from his wrist-com:
[QUANTUM CARTEL SWEEP DRONES: 00:27:12 REMAINING]
Vroomba's headlight flared. "Kael's 'gift' is emitting a chaos signature. Every drone in Sector 7 is homing in on your sparkly new hair."
Finn grabbed a cracked mirror. His reflection showed electric-green locks pulsing like a glowstick—with occasional flickers of hot pink.
"Why would Zara let him—"
"She didn't." Vroomba revved. "Chaos gods don't ask permission. Now move."
THE CHASE: NEON AND BLOODRain sheeted down as they burst onto the arterial road. The city pulsed around them—holographic geishas winking from billboards, their faces glitching occasionally. The air smelled like ozone, synthetic pork broth, and burnt circuitry.
The drones came in waves:
Scouts
Dove-shaped with prismatic lenses
Emitted high-pitched pings that made Finn's teeth vibrate
"Just sniffing for chaos energy,"Vroomba growled.
Stalkers
Panther-like with retractable taser claws
One grazed Finn's arm, leaving a Lichtenberg scar that glowed blue
"They're herding us!" Finn ducked as another lashed out.
The Trap
A dead-end alley stacked with EMP-shielded crates
Above, a drone gunship unfolded like a mechanical orchid
Finn's nose tickled.
Sneeze.
"EeEeEEk!"
The gunship's targeting lasers wavered—confused by the dolphin noise.
"NOW!" Vroomba launched a grappling hook, yanking them onto a fire escape as bullets shredded the alley below.
THE RUSTY MICROCHIPThe bar's flickering sign buzzed like a dying wasp. Chuckles—eight feet of scarred metal and hydraulic rage—blocked the door, buzzsaw hand idling.
"ID, Glowstick."
Finn's wrist-com projected:
> FINN CARTER
STATUS: DECEASED (REANIMATION PENDING REVIEW)
"He's with me," Vroomba cut in. "Tell Mira her favorite pain-in-the-ass wheels is here."
Chuckles' optic sensors narrowed. "...Bleed on the upholstery, and I'll recycle your bones."
Inside, the air hummed with the low-frequency vibration of overclocked neural implants. A bartender with four mechanical arms mixed glowing cocktails, while holographic fight matches played on loop above the bar.
Mira Sato sat in shadow, her plasma-cannon arm—hairline fracture visible along the barrel—disassembling a pistol with terrifying precision. The blue glow from her cybernetic eye intensified as she eyed Finn's hair.
"Zara's stray." Her lips curled. "Adorable."
She slapped a chip. Skyforge Tower erupted in holographic menace—a black-glass monstrosity crawling with hunter-killer drones.
"Omni-Core moves at dawn. Your alley ghost, Lysander? He's running security."
Finn's throat tightened. "The silver-haired guy from my death?"
Mira's smile didn't reach her eyes. "He carves omega sigils into live skulls." Her organic fingers tapped a rhythm on the table. "Bring earplugs. The screaming gives me migraines."
THE DREAMStatic swallowed Finn whole, textured like TV snow against his skin.
Zara's face flickered, her neon-blue hair fraying at the edges. "The hair wasn't Kael's idea. He's being used—same as Lysander."
The vision tore open, revealing:
A throne room lined with screaming faces frozen in code
The Omega Symbol, liquid shadow pulsing like a heartbeat
Lysander kneeling, his silver hair now streaked with Finn's glowing green
"It's waking up," Zara whispered. "And it's hungry for glitches like us."
CRASH!
A noodle-bot with a Quantum Cartel insignia burst through the dream-wall.
"MEMORY LEAK DETECTED. PURGING CORRUPT DATA."
Finn woke choking on phantom ramen, the taste of copper in his mouth.
CHAPTER 4 TEASER0500 hours. Tower ascent.
Vroomba: "Sneeze near the laser grid, and we're plasma confetti."
Above them, Lysander's coat billowed like wings. His eyes weren't silver anymore—they were void-black.
"Hello, little glitch," he crooned. "Let's see how deep your code goes."