244 RUN…EVERYBODY RUN
Argent collapsed onto the platform, his body scarred, portions of flesh eaten away by corrosive wounds.
"I was chased… attacked by Corrosivers," he said weakly. "I barely made it down here."
"We'll talk later," Sienna said sharply. "Get him into the cabin—now."
They rushed Argent aboard as the remaining personnel followed close behind.
Celadon glanced back toward the tunnel. "What about Mortuum?"
He never appeared.
"We're out of time," General Bierra warned. "The fighting above has destabilized the tunnels. If we don't leave now, we won't escape at all."
Sienna's fists clenched.
After a moment, she nodded. "We move. Mortuum can take care of himself. He has to."
"No," Isabelline said, stepping forward. "I'll go back for him."
Celadon hesitated. "Are you sure? It's dangerous out there."
"That's exactly why someone should go," Isabelline replied. "If Mortuum's in trouble, he won't survive alone."
Sienna studied her for a heartbeat, then nodded. "Take the meta soldiers. We won't need them once the train's moving."
Isabelline gathered a squad of meta soldiers and rushed back toward the entrance, their mission clear—recover Mortuum.
Moments later, the train lurched into motion.
The platform was left behind as the train surged through the collapsing tunnels, racing out of Central Subway.
As the darkness swallowed the station, Sienna watched Argent from across the cabin, unease tightening her chest.
Something was wrong.
She just didn't know what.
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[A while ago at the subway entrance]
"Told you," Mortuum murmured to himself as he watched Sorrow being torn apart by Black Halo high above. "Even Superman isn't safe from my Kryptonite."
A faint, satisfied smile crossed his face.
He was enjoying it—the fall of a Super Soldier, made possible by his own psychic strike.
"You'd never be able to kill him without me, Black Halo," Mortuum said proudly.
"Argggh—!"
His thoughts vanished mid-breath.
Mortuum's knees buckled as his body collapsed to the ground, his mind extinguished in an instant.
A single bullet had punched cleanly into the back of his skull—the one place he couldn't defend—killing him before his psychic senses could even react.
"Clean hit. Just as planned," a voice said calmly behind him.
The assassin didn't linger.
He turned and walked toward the subway entrance without a second glance. Dozens of drones slipped into motion behind him, retreating in perfect silence.
By the time Black Halo descended from the sky, Mortuum was already gone.
So was his killer.
------
The train veered sharply into an unused tunnel.
This was the failsafe route—an emergency passage designed to carry them out of the city if Liberty City ever fell.
Sienna had prepared for this day.
She just hadn't expected it to come so soon.
She had poured everything into this city—defenses, contingencies, ideals. Her vision of a better world had taken shape piece by piece… only to collapse almost as quickly as she had built it.
Questions crowded her mind.
"Why did the central force field fail?" Erythos asked. "Every precaution was taken. It shouldn't have been compromised—let alone hacked."
Sienna said nothing.
"Even a Quantum Mind couldn't breach every firewall across all force-field stations simultaneously," Celadon added.
Then he hesitated. "Argent is the only one who could control the city's force fields."
The words settled heavily in the cabin.
And then Sienna realized the question she'd been avoiding.
"Argent," she said quietly. "How did you get back to us?"
Argent sat at the far end of the train, his legs drawn up, head lowered covered by his hood.
He didn't respond.
Sienna frowned and stood. "Argent? Are you alright?"
She took a step toward him…when…
…. The train slammed to a halt.
"What the hell is wrong with this damn train?!" Gamboge shouted—then screamed as he collapsed to the floor.
Blood spread across his chest.
He'd been shot.
The train's hull tore open with a shriek of metal.
Massive silhouettes hovered outside, blocking the tunnel lights as they descended.
They were Juggernauts and other android machines.
"How did they find us on this route?" Erythos whispered, horror creeping into her voice. "No one was supposed to know about it…"
Sienna's gaze snapped back to Argent.
And suddenly, everything became terribly clear.
"Hell… are we going to die here?" Celadon muttered.
"Don't ask—run!" Erythos screamed.
Tentacles burst from her body, lashing outward in every direction. Some tore into the Juggernauts and advancing machines; others ripped through the train's hull, prying it open to create an escape.
At the far ends of her tendrils, powerful meta-humans materialized—fighters bound to her will, already forming ranks.
Force fields flared to life, layered barriers holding back the machines as metal screamed and sparks flooded the tunnel.
Then the train split apart.
"Get out—now!" Erythos shouted.
Sienna rose abruptly, as if jolted awake from a trance.
"No," she said sharply. "This isn't right."
Her eyes locked onto Argent.
He sat at the far end of the train, unmoving—oblivious to the gunfire, the screams, the tearing metal around him.
"Argent, run—get over here!" Celadon yelled.
Argent didn't even look up.
Something inside Sienna went cold.
"There's something wrong with him," she said. "That's not Argent."
Celadon swallowed. "He's another face changer…again?"
Sienna shook her head. "No. He's not a fake." Her voice dropped to a grim whisper. "His mind… it's been taken."
Celadon's eyes widened. "What? How is that even possible?"
Sienna's gaze darkened as the pieces finally fell into place. "Everything… it's becoming clear now."
"Clear? What do you mean?"
"The only person capable of shutting down the city's force field… controlling all the defenses… was Argent," she said. Her words landed like a hammer. "He's the one who broke the city's protections."
Celadon staggered back, disbelief written across his face. "Why… why would he do that? He's our brother…"
Sienna said nothing.
The truth was worse than betrayal—it was a weapon turned inward.
Before she could answer, a Juggernaut's massive hand slammed into the train, crushing steel like paper.
"Run! Now—run! We can talk about this later if we survive this," Erythos screamed again.
They poured out into the tunnel as Erythos and her bound meta-humans fought to slow the machines. Explosions lit the darkness. Metal screeched and bodies fell.
"There are too many of them!" Erythos shouted. "What do I do?!"
Sienna hesitated—just once.
She glanced back at Argent one final time.
Then she turned away.
"Release the people," she said quietly. "Block our retreat."
Erythos froze. "The people in my realm?" Her voice trembled. "They're civilians. Our citizens."
"Do it!" Celadon shouted. "If we don't escape, everyone dies!"
Erythos understood.
Dozens of tentacles plunged into her inner realm and released people into the tunnel—not soldiers, not meta-humans, but terrified civilians.
The machines tore through them almost instantly.
Then more were released.
And more.
Dozens became hundreds.
Hundreds became thousands.
Screams echoed through the tunnel as the machines slowed a little but… just enough.
And they ran.
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