CHAPTER 12 — "Dust & Echoes"
1. INTELLIGENCE BREACH
06:45 AM — AMCU Operations Center, Washington D.C.
The room was silent except for the rotating hologram of satellite data. Red markers blinked across a cluster near the US-Mexico border.
Commander Solstrike reviewed the feed.
"Another body. Third one this week. All linked to drug routes crossing into inland sectors."
"Victim: Enrique Vazquez — known police informant."
Sentinel leaned forward.
"Carved up. Signs of execution. And enhanced impact patterns?"
A tech analyst nodded grimly.
"Meta-assisted. Bullet resistance involved — matching wound imprint consistent with 'El Martillo' (The Hammer). One of the three involved in the checkpoint massacre last week."
Solstrike's eyes hardened.
"Then today we make an example."
Sentinel glanced her way.
"We don't make examples. We make arrests."
She slightly smirked.
"Same result. Different headline."
A tracking drone zoomed in on a dense urban block in El Paso, Texas.
MISSION DESIGNATION: Operation Nightfall — Priority Retrieval (High Risk)
Objective: Bust drug den, confirm meta-presence, capture "El Martillo".
Sentinel addressed the room.
"Failure is not an option. If meta engagement occurs, Solstrike leads. Keep collateral to zero."
The tension was thick as armor.
2. BUST AT THE BORDER
11:03 AM — El Paso, Texas
Eight armored vehicles moved silently through an abandoned district sinked in desert heat. The AMCU squad deployed like tactical phantoms—minimal noise, maximum precision.
Solstrike stepped forward, golden energy subtly illuminating her armor beneath a cloak.
Sentinel followed, augmented gripping rifle synced to his cybernetic arm.
Solstrike (quiet): "Feels wrong. This used to be a residential zone."
Sentinel: "War never sends invitations."
CRASH! BOOM!
"AMCU! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
Gunfire erupted. Dozens of cartel combatants scattered, some firing wildly, others trying to incinerate evidence.
A bulky figure stepped from the haze—skin like concrete, eyes bloodshot.
El Martillo.
He grinned.
"You finally came. I was getting bored."
Solstrike raised her hand.
"You're under arrest for multiple counts of felony murder and meta-weapon assault."
He spat.
"You ever bury a man with your hands, sunbeam?"
He rushed.
Concrete fist swung like falling rubble.
WHOOM!
Shockwave rattled nearby buildings.
Solstrike caught his fist midair with both palms, energy ionizing the air.
"I don't bury people. I pull them out."
Sentinel moved with cold precision—launching magnetic suppressor shots that embedded into El Martillo's knees.
THUD!
He collapsed, roaring.
Sentinel applied principal directive pressure point locks, forcing the meta bruiser to the ground.
"If you resist further, I am sanctioned to sever motor function. Choose wisely."
El Martillo screamed.
Solstrike deactivated her energy field and slapped magnetic cuffs over his wrists.
"You're done."
3. AFTERMATH & PUBLIC RESPONSE
15:30 — AMCU Press Hall
The media was in frenzy.
Headline Broadcast:
"AMCU arrests first meta-linked cartel figure. Violence surges near border."
"Authority claims no casualties. Metahumans now 'key to containment'."
Secretary Mercer appeared satisfied during her briefing.
"Today we demonstrated that metas can stop metas. We are not powerless… we are prepared."
Though behind the cameras, many officials whispered:
"We succeeded… but what happens when we face someone stronger?"
Solstrike walked out silently. Sentinel reviewed future deployment.
Neither spoke, but both knew—this was only the beginning.
4. PARALLEL — TRAINING & REALIZATION
Meanwhile — Undisclosed Location
Kael stood in a destroyed training hall, dust swirling around his boots.
His right arm, black with luminescent rune glyphs, flexed unconsciously. A once smooth wall now had a crater where it stood seconds before.
He stared at it.
"Again without meaning to."
He clenched his left hand.
"Control the body. Not the decay."
Sweat dripped. He struck the air. Controlled.
He lifted a dumbbell. Controlled.
He picked up a coin. It disintegrated.
"Damn it… why can't I choose what breaks?"
He hit the reinforced floor hard.
THOOM!
Web cracks spread.
But his body didn't exert antimatter—only raw physical force.
He looked at his stable arm.
"So I can fight physically. If I shut the antimatter off."
He forced his breathing slow.
Outside the observatory glass, two scientists whispered nervously.
"He looks mentally stable."
"He looks like a bomb taught to whisper."
Aiden entered slowly.
"You've improved."
Kael nodded.
"Physically. The rest…" He gestured to his glowing arm. "That's still chaos."
Aiden placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then our rule is simple. When we enter the field—"
Kael finished.
"—I don't use it on people."
Aiden nodded.
Kael stared at his arm.
"On people…"
He looked at the ruined training hall.
"But what about those who stopped being people long ago…?"
5. END NOTE (Mission Control Log)
AMCU CASE FILE: EL MARTILLO CAPTURE
Risk Rating: Tier 3
Interview Scheduled: Pending sedation
Confirmed Involvement: Checkpoint Massacre; Drug War escalation
UNKNOWN CONTACTS: 2 remaining suspects
Reported Enemy Strategy: Expansion
INTERNAL VIGILANTE ACTIVITY: "YELLOW & BLUE"
Unregistered, unidentified.
Suspected combat prowess above Tier 3.
Priority for future containment: High
—Compiled by: Commander Sentinel