Kai Langford - October 2120
The engine hums low beneath us, steady but not loud enough to drown out the silence.
I sit in the passenger seat, one hand resting against my leg, the other loosely curled near the door. My eyes stay on the road ahead, but I'm not really looking at it.
"Do you really think they would go to the warehouse?" Daniel asks me.
"it seem the most likely location" I reply.
"But they know that we know where it is, wouldn't it be risky?" he asks.
I take a second to think. "Christopher told us how many people are at the warehouse, we just need to be careful"
We need to make sure we don't make any mistakes, which means we have no space for mercy. Our only real target we need to bring back it Ray... and I am only doing that for Ethan sake.
Everyone else could potentially pose a risk towards Trinity... towards Ethan in the future and I will not allow that to happen.
And now that Christopher knows Noah is involved, I can't allow him to live and risk his safety.
And as I glance at Daniel, I know he thinks the same thing.
"Are you sure you're fit enough to fight again?" I ask him.
He scoffs "I'm fine, Sophie patched me up fine"
We continue the drive in silence.
_________________________________
The warehouse comes into view, and Daniel pulls the car just out of sight.
And there it is… Ray's car.
"That bastard." Daniel's hand tightens on the steering wheel. "I really hoped-" He cuts himself off.
"Come on. Let's move." He steps out, and I follow silently.
"There should be eight guards in total. Two with powers," I inform him as he begins unloading the gear.
Ray being here changes everything. That makes three with powers… this just got a lot more dangerous.
"Stay here" I tell Daniel. "I'll scout ahead."
I slip closer to the other building, keeping my shadows stretched, probing for any movement. They slip across the ground and walls, whispering back every vibration, every flicker of life.
Climbing the side of a nearby building, I survey the warehouse from above. Everything else looks abandoned and my shadows confirm it, no signs of life beyond the warehouse.
Four guards patrol outside, guns in hand, scanning.
I let my shadows slither down the building and slip into the gap in the door. They twist and shift, searching, stepping lightly across the floor. Six distinct movements register.
I pause, weighing the situation. Ten people in total. Dangerous, but manageable if we're careful.
I return to Daniel's position. "Looks like ten all together."
He nods. "So, what's the plan?"
I glance between the car and the warehouse. The explosives we brought could flatten the place in seconds… but that would kill everyone inside, Ray included.
We go over the plan quickly, efficiently. Every step calculated.
"Alright." Daniel straightens, ready. "Let's do this."
Shadows curling at my feet, we move toward the warehouse.
I signal Daniel with a subtle nod. Shadows coil around my feet like living smoke, ready to stretch and strike. The four guards outside are still scanning, unaware.
I release a tendril of shadow. It snakes across the ground silently, wrapping around the first guard's ankle. He stumbles, and before he can call out, another shadow lashes from behind, piecing his chest, and he collapses. One down.
The second guard turns, alert, gun raised but shadows swallow his weapon, twisting it from his hands, and drag him into darkness. There is a sharp snap followed by a muffled thud.
Daniel moves fast, silent and lethal. His vine slash out and wo more guards go down in a flurry of precise strikes, one with a strike to the neck, the other slammed into the wall.
There are no alarms. No chaos, just the quiet inevitability of their end.
The air is thick with tension. My shadows linger over the bodies, ready to react, as I sweep my senses across the warehouse. Six more inside. Three of them have powers.
I gesture for Daniel to follow. We slip through a side door, shadows hugging the walls. Inside, the warehouse is dim, the hum of machinery masking our approach. Footsteps echo faintly, a rhythm we can track, a rhythm we can exploit.
The first pair of guards we encounter barely have time to react. Shadows wrap around them like black vines, pulling them down before their shots can fire. Daniel moves like a shadow himself, taking the second pair with brutal efficiency and plunges the knife deep into their necks.
So far, every guard we took down didn't have powers. That meant the remaining three were going to be a different story.
I nod at Daniel, and we split up. He moves to cover one flank, I slip around the corner, shadows stretched along the walls and floor like living smoke.
I sense movement ahead, a figure waiting. I send a tendril of shadow forward, sliding it across the ground, ready to strike, but the shadows hit something solid and freeze.
I pull them back instinctively. The figure steps forward, a slow, amused laugh escaping him.
"Looks like we have a rat" he says, his grin wide.
Then his hand moves, and shadows around him ripple and twist. Shadow manipulation... Just like me.
The figure tilts his head, eyes glinting with amusement as he looks at his hands. "Haha… this is pretty cool."
I steady my stance. Every muscle tense. My shadows coil, ready to strikem but he moves first.
A sharp wave of darkness lashes toward me, fast and jagged. I lift my hand instinctively, letting my own shadows rise like a wall to block it.
The clash echoes through the warehouse, shadow against shadow.
He doesn't stop. Strike after strike comes at me, spikes, waves, tendrils, chaotic and wild. I notice something immediately... they're messy, unrefined. Uncontrolled. Like a child mimicking an art they don't understand.
That's when it clicks. His power isn't original. He copies. He can mimic someone else's abilities, but he doesn't truly know them.
I nod slightly under my breath, narrowing my focus. I can use that.
He lashes again, faster this time, trying to overwhelm me. I meet his strikes with precision, letting my shadows absorb the hits, redirecting some, deflecting others. My shadow tendrils twist, coil, strike, not to kill yet, just to test him.
He stumbles slightly as my shadows trap his feet. He laughs, a nervous, sharp sound. "Not bad!" he says, swinging wildly again.
I notice the strain now, the copying power tires him quickly. His movements are exaggerated, sloppy and I push harder.
I shoot a tendril at his chest, but he blocks it clumsily, sending it ricocheting into the wall. I twist, sending another at his legs, forcing him backward. My shadows shift around him like chains, tightening slowly.
"You're strong… but predictable" I murmur.
He sneers, slashing with a jagged wave. I let it strike, but redirect it upward, smashing it into the ceiling. Concrete dust falls, shadows swirling around us.
I close the distance, my shadows wrapping around him, constricting like coiling ropes. His laughter turns into grunts of effort. He struggles to lift his arms against the pressure, and I can feel the energy drain from him, the copying isn't perfect, and every strike weakens him.
"Copy all you want," I say calmly, "but you'll never beat the original"
He lashes one last time, desperate, wild, and I let him. I step aside, and his own shadow wave smashes into a stack of crates behind him. The noise echoes, giving me the opening I need.
My shadows lash forward with surgical precision, binding his arms and legs. He's on his knees, trapped, trying to fight but failing.
I lower my hand, letting the shadows hold him steady. His chest heaves. "You… you're… fast," he gasps, frustration burning in his eyes.
I glance at him, then slip a dagger from behind my back. I can't rely solely on my shadows, burnout is a risk I can't afford right now.
The it's silent for a moment… but the noise we just made isn't going unnoticed. The others know we're here.
I raise the blade, aiming for his neck, ready to end this quickly. Then, a strange sensation hits my feet, they lift off the ground.
I glance down. The floor seems to vanish beneath me. Crates, debris… even the man I've been fighting are rising, floating like gravity has been switched off.
I grab at my shadows instinctively, trying to anchor myself, but they twist and writhe, unable to hold me fully. My balance teeters, and I force myself to focus.
Then I spot Daniel.
He's standing on top of a crate, vines wrapping tightly around it like tethers, holding him in place as he floats inches above the floor. His face is tense, alert.
In front of him stands a woman, expression cold, almost serene. Her hand is raised, fingers splayed, and the air around her seems to warp. Crates hover, weapons drift midair, and the subtle pull of gravity shifts like water under her control.
Gravity manipulation.
I feel a tight knot in my chest. Every step, every movement now requires precision.
The man I was about to kill struggles against the shadows, but he too is lifted, spinning slowly. My dagger feels heavy in my hand, useless without footing.
I take a deep breath, letting my shadows stretch around me, wrapping the floating crates and objects like black ribbons. I anchor myself to them as best I can, letting them respond to the changing environment.
The woman tilts her head, eyes meeting mine. Her calm is unnerving. This isn't just power... it's mastery.