KRONOS LABS,
7:38PM…
The cold hum of Kronos Labs' headquarters in Lagos was a stark contrast to the storm brewing in Dr. Marcus Kane's mind. He sat in his office, the large, holographic monitors displaying grainy but horrifyingly clear footage of the recent skirmishes in Landvilla Estate. On one screen, Umar, a blur of raw geokinetic power, smashed an Enforcer into the earth like a hammer driving a nail. On another, Nasir's tempestuous winds shredded armor and sent a squad of soldiers flying. A third showed Sadiq's precise water blasts, short-circuiting weapons and immobilizing enemies with chilling efficiency.
But it was the fourth screen, the one showing Ahmad, that held Kane's gaze the longest. The young man, his flames a roaring inferno of crimson and orange, moved with an unbridled fury that Kane had never seen. The Enforcers, his supposed elite soldiers, were neutralized with a terrifying ease that spoke of not just immense power, but of a deeply personal and vengeful rage.
"They're not just strong, sir," Professor Charles said, his voice clipped and nervous from behind a monitor.
"The Nuragen has made them formidable, yes. But their power signatures... they were off the charts. Uncontained, unbridled. They fought with a... a fury. It's what allowed them to defeat our units so quickly."
Kane's hand trembled, his knuckles white against the dark console. He had watched the footage a dozen times, each viewing stoking a fire of frustration and something akin to fear. "They were not fighting for control," Kane murmured, more to himself than to Charles. "They were fighting for revenge. We crossed a line, Charles. A line they have now accepted."
Charles, ever the pragmatist, nodded, but his eyes were wide with a dawning horror. "Yes, sir. By attacking their families, we've given them a focus. A personal objective beyond just escape. They will be coming for us now. For you."
A manic grin split Kane's face. He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, his eyes darting around the room, a frenetic energy crackling just beneath his skin. His dark energy, a silent presence that usually sat coiled within him, now pulsed visibly, making the monitors flicker and hum.
"Let them come!" he roared, a flicker of lightning in his eyes. "They are the strongest Nucrons to have ever existed! I'll break their wills, break their spirits, and absorb every single ounce of their Nuragen-infused power!" his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, filled with a crazed hunger. "Their energy... it's so pure, so potent. It's calling to me, Charles. Like a beautiful woman singing a melodious song. I can feel it. It will make me invincible! More than a god! I will be power itself!"
"Sir... the plan," Charles stammered, trying to steer the conversation back to a semblance of order. "We've run into... another complication. The mind-chips. My labs are still reporting mixed results. The neural feedback is causing some of the test subjects to become catatonic. We need more time for advanced testing." Kane slammed his fist onto the table again, the force of it leaving a dent in the reinforced steel.
"Time?! There is no more time, you fool! Those troglodytes will be coming for us with more force than anything e've ever experimented on! They will find this facility. And when they do, your 'mixed results' will be the least of our problems!" he shot up from his chair, pacing the room like a caged animal. He felt a deep, gnawing hunger, a craving for the power that his body was still trying to fully contain.
"The prisoners we have no longer satisfy my hunger, I must have theirs." he stated.
The Nucranium, the Nuragen—it was giving him everything he wanted, but it was demanding more and more in return. His eyes flickered between the footage of Ahmad's burning rage and his own reflection in a dark monitor, seeing a man barely held together by his own frantic ambition.
"We activate 'Black Dawn' now," Kane commanded, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of hunger and desperation.
"But... sir, the satellite network still needs two days to be fully repurposed. And we don't have enough Enforcers in place to handle the immediate fallout. We'll be exposed. The world will be at our throats."
"Let the world come! We don't need all the mind-chips to work perfectly. We just need enough of them. The raw chaos will distract the governments, occupy their militaries. By the time they figure out what's happening, it will be too late. They'll be too busy fighting a phantom war against their own kind to come after us." Kane turned to Charles, his eyes glowing with an unholy light.
"Prepare the signal. Initiate the activation sequence in two days. At midnight. We will drown the world in chaos, and from that chaos, I will build my new world order! Losing is not an option, Charles. Not for me."
Charles, terrified, could only nod mutely. He began working frantically, a cold sweat beading on his brow as he followed the commands of a man who was no longer just a brilliant scientist, but a madman on the verge of unleashing an apocalypse. The end game had just been set. And the boys, now fueled by rage, were walking directly into the fire.
THE VAULT
9:15 PM…
The dropship descended into the hangar of The Vault, Ahmad, Umar, Nasir, and Sadiq disembarked, their clothes stained with dust and the lingering scent of ozone. They were bruised, battered, and their eyes blazed with a focused fury that had replaced their earlier despair.
G stood waiting for them, his face a mix of pride and grim determination. He embraced each of them, a silent acknowledgment of the war they had just fought. Reed stood a few feet back, a holographic display in his hands, his expression a mix of relief and trepidation.
"I saw the footage," G said. "You did well. Too well. You've woken a sleeping giant, and now he's coming for us all."
"He came for our families, G," Ahmad growled, his fists clenching. "He started this war, not us. We are just finishing what he started."
Umar, his voice still hoarse from shouting, stepped forward. "We need to go now. We need to hit Kronos Labs. Make them pay for this."
Reed's voice, a steady counterpoint to their rage, cut in. "We can't. Not tonight. Kane is unhinged. Our last intel from Agent Layi suggested he's become frantic and his power is growing . He's going to accelerate 'Black Dawn,' but before he does, we have a small window to strike ." He displayed a complex schematic of Kronos Labs.
"We need to hit the Nuragen core, destroy the mind-chip manufacturing plants, and overload the antidote storage. It will cripple his operation, force him to come out of hiding, and it will be enough to stop him from carrying out his ultimate plan. But we have to be fully prepared and at full strength ."
G nodded grimly. "He's right. A frontal assault now is suicide. We hit him when he least expects it. You boys are exhausted. You need rest. Tomorrow, we'll plan this out and move. losing isn't an option boys, is it?"
"Yes sir!" they all answered, G smile ith pride.
The boys, though seething with rage, knew G was right. They had pushed their bodies to their limit. They went to their quarters in The Vault, falling into their beds, the furious adrenaline of the past hours finally giving way to a deep, bone-weary exhaustion.