Chapter 14 – Blood and Ashes
The faint glow of emergency sirens cast red streaks across the evening sky. News anchors spoke with urgency across every channel.
Reports of escalating cartel violence flooded the airwaves—territory wars, assassinations, kidnappings. Civilians had started living in fear, not of metahumans in general, but those with power and no restraint.
One name resurfaced repeatedly.
El desastre
Leader of the Mexican Mafia syndicate. Ruthless. Strategic.
Metahuman with terrifying kinetic amplification abilities—capable of launching devastating concussive blasts with a single strike.
His organization had begun advancing aggressively through the city's underworld, with constant clashes against local gangs and law enforcement.
But in the heart of this chaos, one woman stood silently in the AMCU infirmary, observing a bleeding officer being wheeled past on a stretcher.
Her eyes were still. Her heartbeat wasn't.
Lara Morales.
Lara sat near the window in the medic wing, watching raindrops collide against glass. Each droplet reminded her of what she had lost.
Flashback.
Twelve years old. Warm evening. Family barbecue on the outskirts of Monterrey. Music. Laughter. Her father grilled carne asada. Her brother, Miguel, showed her his custom-built bike.
Then headlights.
Three black trucks. Engines still running.
They called her father "traitor." He had alerted authorities about a drug smuggling route.
The sound of gunshots. Screaming. Blood.
She remembered crawling under the table, watching her mother fall. Her brother shielding her—his final act. His body slumped over hers.
That day she survived… and awakened.
Her metahuman abilities emerged from the trauma. Bio-Auric Regeneration—her body could survive nearly any wound. Sensory Overdrive—her perception heightened to the point of hearing footsteps from blocks away. But it came with overloads.
Migraines. Pain.
She became the thing her enemies feared most.
A witness.
She fled Mexico, aided by internal intelligence services. Later, she volunteered for risk operations with international agencies, using her skills unofficially. Eventually, she was recruited into AMCU—her one condition: access to intel on the Mexican Mafia.
She didn't want justice.
She wanted prevention.
A difference.
Present – Aiden and Kael's Absence
With Aiden and Kael occupied in low-risk rescue and strategic planning, Lara assumed a temporary advisory role within AMCU.
She reviewed new case files. Another attack. Another dead officer. Her hands clenched around the folder.
Victim: Detective Bruno Elias. Assigned to trace cartel distribution networks. Murdered execution-style. Evidence suggested kinetic impact consistent with El Martillo's augmentation.
She closed the file slowly.
A high-ranking officer approached. "You don't have to look, Morales. This isn't your fight."
She turned, voice steady.
"It became mine the day bullets took my family."
No further objections.
In recent weeks, the Mexican Mafia had:
Attacked five police convoys, killing twelve officers.
Annexed four city blocks, forcing residents to flee or pay protection.
Executed a journalist live-streaming an expose on cartel-linked politicians.
Begun recruiting metahumans, promising money, family protection, and immunity.
A message appeared online—signature encrypted, but unmistakably one man's words:
"We do not fear your laws or your heroes.
Those with true power seize it.
Let cowards hide behind badges and capes."
— El desastre
Pressure mounted for AMCU to act swiftly. Government officials wanted to make an example.
Public tension split between gratitude and fear of metahumans in law enforcement.
Lara walked to the rooftop of the facility at midnight. Wind whipped across her hair. She held a small pendant—Miguel's old bike key.
She knelt, voice barely a whisper.
"Miguel… I don't want vengeance. I want to make sure no one else goes through what we did."
Tears formed, but she didn't let them fall.
Footsteps approached.
It was the AMCU director.
He placed a hand over hers briefly. "There's a mission being assembled. Intel suggests a possible cartel operation moving through West Dock next week. We'll need someone who understands how they think."
Lara looked over her shoulder. Her eyes sharp. Determined.
"When do we start?"
"Tomorrow morning."
The Cartel's Move
Elsewhere, inside a dim warehouse lit only by flickering bulbs, El Martillo watched a live news report about the AMCU's formation.
Behind him stood thirty men, a few radiating faint metahuman energy.
He smirked.
"So, the government is preparing their heroes."
He cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing like thunder.
"Good.
Let them come."
He turned to his lieutenants.
"Tell every operative—increase the pressure. Three days from now, we strike the transport line. Leave no survivors."
He stepped forward into the light.
"And if the AMCU interferes…"
He raised his fist, micro-shockwaves rippling outward.
"…I'll show them why they named me the Hammer."