THE NEXT DAY
11:40AM…
The boys woke up from their exhausted rest, their bodies still in pain from the last nights battle. They sat the dining area eating breakfast as they discussed. G walked in shortly after, his calm gaze on the boys.
"You boys fought well," G said. He moved towards the cupboard, intending to make some tea.
"That one pass fight G, it was a war." Umar said sporting a bruised jaw, he managed a weak chuckle. "Dimension Retro."
"B level 450. Almost an A-level." Sadiq grunted. "How the hell does that even happen?"
"Well, I'm proud you were able to defeat someone that much stronger than you. It shows how strong you are as a team." He looked at them with pride, but his smile faltered.
"It shows that you are the ones that are meant to fix this." he said.
"Fix what?" Nasir asked.
"Everything. The Nucrons taking over villages and cities, your mates that have gone rogue and most importantly, your good friend Dr Kane." G explained as he sat with them on the table.
"We realised something like that yesterday, when we stopped those Nucrons from attacking another town before we reached Retro." Sadiq said.
"Hmm… you know all this time I trained you boys, I knew you were going to use them well but I never thought it'll be anything like this." G contemplated, sipping from his tea.
"Serious? I always thought we would do something like this eventually." Sadiq said.
"Well technically we didn't just start. We've been doing this for a while. Remember Mama Ayo?" Nasir interjected
"Yeah… even before then, in Js3. That Along driver that tried to kidnap us on our way back to school." Umar added.
"That one was annoying. We said we'll walk back home to avoid it happening again." Sadiq said as he chuckled.
G laughed alittle, "Its been quite a journey." he looked at Ahmad, a scar still visible on his cheek as his head faced down at his plate, lost in thought.
"Ahmad… whats wrong." he asked.
"... I'm fine." Ahmad replied. G looked at him concerned.
"No you're not. Speak." he commanded.
"(sighs) I lost control.. again." Ahmad said, his face covered in regret and shame.
"the final blast I fired that took Retro down, it was too much. I did more damage on the village and its people than on Retro." he explained. G with a look of empathy got up from his chair and sat beside Ahmad.
"Listen to me, in times of crisis, there are decisions you must make. To survive, to advance… to win." G explained.
"You did what you did because their was no other option, Retro wasn't going to surrender. And I remember you boys telling you was never right in the head." he continued.
"But we need to pull ourselves together, you need to pull yourself together because for all this to work, you need to be leading this team." G stated.
"This is going to be a long and hard journey. Its time for you to step up and save this country, infact this entire continent from Kane and any other threat that shows up." he said. Ahmad looked up at him, his face determined.
"You didn't lose control, you made a decision that every man, every soldier, every leader must make. It happened and it paid off. You've gained a lot of control over your powers since your incarceration, and you SAVED those people from him. So stop beating yourself up and step to the head of the line, work with us… LEAD your team, so we can win." G encouraged. The others looked on, fired up by G's speech. Ahmad, now rejuvenated, his eyes glowed slightly as his fist clenched.
"Lets keep it going." he said, standing up with G.
"Good." G answered, pride evident on his face. Just then Dr Reed walked in, his eyes tired and hair dishevelled, smiling as he witnessed the scene before him.
"Good morning gentlemen. Boys, congratulations on yesterday's victory, it was clearly hard fought." he said.
"Good morning Dr Reed." G greeted as the boys followed suit.
"I wanted to see how you were doing while Ayah compiled all your data from yesterday." Reed said clutching his tablet.
"How about the villagers? What's their state?" Ahmad asked.
Reed, without looking up from a complex scan on his tablet, replied, "Traumatized, but physically unharmed. Retro's constructs provided advanced infrastructure, but it was a gilded cage. Ayah's running a full systems sweep now to help reintegrate them with standard infrastructure. And I have acquired a shell company that will be there hand-on. And a trusted individual overseeing the entire project."
"And Retro?" Sadiq asked.
"He's in a containment unit, unconscious and a little injured but stable. He is as strong as you described, digital sparks still flicker around his body but he remains subdued contained by the Vault's specialized tech. Ayah is monitoring his neural patterns. It's complex." Reed answered.
"He truly believed he was creating a utopia. A warped sense of protection, born from his own trauma." he continued.
G nodded slowly. "We'll keep him. Study him, maybe find a way to… unravel this 'system' of his. He's too dangerous to leave, and too valuable to just discard."
"But for now, the priority is clear. We need to get more active." he added.
"Ayah's got a lot of intel on Kane's operations now, thanks to Sadiq's backdoor access," Reed said, tapping his tablet.
"His global distribution of Nuragen is progressing, and the mind-chips are being mass-produced, its being masked as a registration program where all Nucrons can be identified. He plans to activate them remotely, turning every chipped Nucron into an Enforcer. Starting with Abuja." he explained.
The reality of the threat settled in, heavy and cold. The casual Nucron crime they'd stopped yesterday was just a symptom. Kane was the disease.
"So what do we do now, G?" Umar asked.
"We need more fire power, we need more allies. Reed, you said there were other Nucrons from their school, also missing?"
"Yes," Reed confirmed, projecting images of Zainab, Christina, James, Chike Obi (sound manipulator), and Amara Eze (light constructs) onto the main screen.
"Their power levels are varied, but all show signs of Nuragen exposure. They would have been prime candidates for Kane's Enforcer program."
"They are also victims," G stated, his voice firm. "We find them. We free them. And we turn them against Kane. He uses them as weapons, we will use them to fight for freedom."
Sadiq's face softened as he saw Zainab's image. "Zainab… she was acting so strange before."
"Calm down Sado, we can't assume they're all under Kane's control. Retro showed us that the hard way." Ahmad said.
"Zainab is special case… similar to Retro, we need to prepare for her." Nasir added.
"Is there a way we can find out who's been given the chip?" Sadiq asked.
"Possible, I will look into that immediately" Reed conceded.
"Also, the neural integration results were mixed, according to Kronos's own internal reports. Early prototypes could induce aggression, cognitive dissonance. So even with the chips, some are still unpredictable" he added.
"Then we need to stop them too." Nasir said quietly, a determined glint in his eyes.
"So how do we go about all this?" Umar asked. "We don't know how the chips work yet, so we can't just go and fight everybody around."
Reed tapped his tablet. "Sadiq's unique analytical ability, combined with Ayah's processing power, might provide a solution. But it will take time."
Ahmad looked at G, then at his friends. The exhaustion was still there, but a new resolve had replaced it. They weren't just escaping anymore. They were fighting back.
"Okay," Ahmad said, a fire reigniting in his eyes. "First, we get those others. Then, we find a way to break Kane's mind control. We can't let him turn our people into his slaves."
G nodded. "Ayah, begin triangulating the last known locations of the missing Nucrons. Prioritize those with higher power levels, or those who were taken from the school. Reed, prepare the dropship for multiple deployments. Boys, rest up. Your next mission starts soon. We are no longer just reacting. We are taking the fight to him."
The hum of the Vault, once a mere background noise, now felt like the heartbeat of their growing resistance. The fight for Nigeria, and perhaps the world, had truly begun.