The reinforced steel doors groaned open, not by force but as if they had been waiting. Their weighty locks disengaged with a hollow thud, and the corridor's low hum vanished into silence. Luthar stepped inside first, his robes dragging across the polished surface with quiet authority.
The chamber beyond was pristine, sterile—unnervingly so. Walls shimmered under the glare of white light, every surface polished like chrome. But beneath the gleam, there was something unnatural, almost staged, like the set of a theatre rather than the nerve centre of a military operation.
Two Skitarii lay twisted in the middle of the room. Their forms were grotesque mockeries of technology and flesh, limbs pulled apart, wiring dangling like torn veins. Their optics, once burning red, were shattered black glass staring into nothing.
Natasha slowed at the threshold. At first glance, there was no trace of any fight.
Irina clutched her arm, visibly unnerved. Anya glanced away, pale, unable to look at the carnage. Freya remained silent, her expression unreadable, but her sharp gaze lingered on the wreckage, cataloguing every detail.
And there, at the far end, sat Dreykov.
Perfectly composed, as though he had been waiting all along. A glass of amber liquid rested lazily in his hand, the other tapping in idle rhythm on the desk. His face wore a mask of mocking calm.
"Interesting sight, isn't it?" Dreykov's voice carried smoothly through the sterile chamber, calm but edged with mockery. "Flesh bound to steel… a fascinating experiment. But in the end, they were rather stupid."
Natasha's jaw clenched. There was no warmth in her expression, only simmering contempt. Yet her eyes flickered between Dreykov and the corpses.
Luthar advanced, his steps unhurried. His mechanical eye whirred faintly, its lens shifting focus, streams of encrypted data whispering in his vision. The destruction of the Skitarii told him more than Dreykov ever could—but he said nothing.
Instead, his masked face lifted. His voice was calm, heavy with authority.
"Stupidity takes many forms. And you are one of them."
After dismissing the idea of the penitence engine, his gaze pinned Dreykov where he sat. Natasha's hand drifted to her pistol, though she already suspected it wouldn't be needed.
Dreykov chuckled softly, sipping from his glass. "I think only time will tell who is truly stupid."
He raised his hand. The walls around them seemed to vibrate, a low hum filling the chamber. The polished surfaces flickered under the lights, revealing faint striations—thin seams, patterns disguised as design.
Irina gasped as her earring tugged sharply against her ear. Anya staggered, her belt buckle rattling violently. Natasha's sidearm wrenched halfway out of its holster, pulled by an invisible force.
"Magnetic field," Dreykov said with a smirk. "Every piece of metal in this room will tear you apart. All of you."
The hum deepened, the pressure thickening like a storm pressing down. Screws, clips, and hidden fragments began to tremble across the chamber. Even the twisted Skitarii corpses twitched under the pull, dragged weakly toward the floor.
Natasha gritted her teeth, forcing her pistol back into place, her muscles straining. Anya fell to her knees, clutching her belt as it yanked toward the ground.
And then, all at once, the pressure vanished.
The field cut out with a sharp crack of static, the hum dying into silence. Natasha stumbled forward from the sudden release, blinking in confusion. Irina gasped as her earring fell still against her neck.
Dreykov froze, his smirk faltering.
Luthar had not moved. His mechanical eye flickered once, its lens narrowing as a cascade of foreign code unravelled across his vision. He had seized control of the coils the instant they activated.
"Painted walls. Composite surface beneath," he said coldly. "Your command room is fake as you.."
He tilted his head slightly, as though dissecting the very air with thought alone. "Your magnetic field is Strong enough to cause a little bit of trouble, but they have a very interesting weakness: they're controlled by computers that can be controlled."
Freya allowed herself a faint smirk, the corner of her lips curving. "Looks like the fight is over before it's even started"
Natasha forced herself upright, anger burning behind her eyes. " I don't know what gives you the courage this time to face us."
The man at the desk chuckled again, though his voice carried a note of strain now. "Say what you want, little Natasha. But -."
His words died as Luthar moved, ignoring him. He walked forward, each step echoing with mechanical weight. His gaze was fixed on the wall.
Tilting his head as though considering the structure's very heartbeat, his mechanical eye glowed, data streams racing across its lens.
"Enough of this nonsense," he said, his voice steady, cold. "Are you going to come out… or do I have to drag you out?"
A low hum vibrated through the chamber—the distant whine of machinery. Luthar's gaze flicked to the seams of the wall, recognising the signs of hidden mechanisms.
Without hesitation, he stepped back.
The lights in the chamber dimmed suddenly, plunging the room into darkness. A cascade of sparks erupted; the unmistakable sound of a machine gun rattled through the chamber.
"Stay behind me!" Luthar barked, and instantly a shimmering energy field flared, deflecting the incoming rounds. Bullets struck harmlessly, sparks scattering across the polished floor. Natasha pressed closer, her eyes scanning the chaos, trying to understand the situation.
With a single tap on his wrist controls, Luthar restored the chamber lights. The hidden wall slid open with a hiss, revealing the real control room. The body double lay riddled with bullets, sprawled lifeless—confirming the deception.
And then they saw it: the incomplete, bulky war-machine armour. Panels flickered, exposed cables hung loosely, and sparks arced across the exposed joints. Despite its unfinished state, the suit's guns, missile pods, and energy weapons were active, lashing out at the group from its concealed vantage.
From inside the armour, Dreykov's distorted voice echoed: "Let's see how many rockets and missiles your energy shield can block."
Luthar didn't flinch. His mechanical eye glimmered, racing through unseen data streams, hacking every system in the base.
As Dreykov prepared to launch missiles, the hum of machinery grew erratic, alarms sounding from within the armour. Regardless of his commands, systems began to fail, shutting down one by one.
Dreykov's voice rose, panicked, distorted by failing comms. "I—this isn't—!"
Luthar's eyes remained fixed on the armour as he advanced, ignoring the chaos. "Since I arrived at this base, I've been taking over every electronic system here," he said, voice steady, cold.
The incomplete armour is struggling against the invisible override. Systems failed one by one. With a final step, Luthar arrived in front of the suit. Behind him, the body double lay dead, clearly a decoy, and the real Dreykov was inside his armour.
Luthar paused briefly, scanning the armour and the room. His mechanical eye glimmered, confirming the systems were fully under his control. He gestured for the Widows to remain back. Then, with deliberate precision, he stepped closer to the armour, preparing to extract Dreykov and end the stalemate once and for all.
--
Authors note: so this entire story took 10 chapters The original plan was just 5 chapters but got stretched if you think that was too long then you need to imagine upcoming Apollo ark which is way to long the most interesting point story is not going around Apollo that much.
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