Gotham has faced tough times before, but tonight? Tonight, it's getting hit by a category-five storm.
Rex stands on the edge of a crumbling high-rise, glaring at Dominion's command bunker a few blocks away. It Looked like a tumor, hiding under the remains of an old research lab, with paperwork and concrete on top and rot underneath. Nice work, guys.
Evelyn is next to him, bent over her tablet, the blue light illuminating her face like a ghost. "Main access is under the loading dock," she mutters, poking a map with her finger. "But it's a total kill zone. Dominion isn't holding back anymore."
Rex shrugs and tosses Rebellion over one shoulder. "sensitivity overrated. Let's see who messes up worse."
She shoots him a glare. "We do this smart, Devil Boy. No drama, in and out."
He gives her a crooked grin. "Hey, I'm all about efficiency."
"Yeah, sure."
She's got a point.
They blend into the shadows, Rex's boots making hardly a sound as they slip down toward the perimeter. Evelyn moves like a surgeon, tight and precise. Dominion's patrols are predictable, all formation with no creativity.
It doesn't matter. Rex isn't the prey. Tonight, he's the hunter.
First breach was easy. Two guards didn't even realize they're taken out. Rebellion knows when to play nice.
Second breach is everything goes sideways. Sirens alarmed, turrets poped out of the walls, bullets flying everywhere. Rex is already gone before they can hit him, moving through the chaos like he's allergic to getting shot. Evelyn is behind cover, guiding him through the hallways over the comm.
"Left leads to command," she says. "But the real prizes are deeper."
"Perfect. I'm getting bored anyway."
With each step down, Dominion ups the stakes. Gene-modified thugs, living experiments, you name it. Rex cuts through them, D.A.N.T.E. pulsing with energy. He's not just tougher,he's more brutal, faster, healing on the go like he's got hacks. Not invulnerable, just too stubborn to quit.
Evelyn's patching him up between firefights, as calm as a surgeon on sedatives. They're not just a team—they're in sync. War in stereo.
The command center is a nightmare with monitors everywhere, Dominion's higher-ups watching from above like uninterested gods. The lead operator glanced down, all clinical and unimpressed.
"Persistent, aren't you, Rex?"
Rex steps forward, Rebellion gleaming in the light. "Honestly? You're boring me."
The suit gestures, and the ceiling opens like a bad omen, revealing Dominion's last hope: the Archon.
Not a hulking beast, but sleek,seven feet of black armor, its face smooth except for a single blood-red eye-slit. It's not there to capture you. It's there to finish you off.
"We created this to counter you," the operator says. "It learns every move, and adjusts it to every hit."
Rex smirks. "Bet it can't predict when I'm bored."
Then chaos erupts. It's not just a fight—it's a duel. The Archon moves like it can read minds, every strike calculated, every counter flawless. But Rex doesn't fight by the rules. He fights like an angry jazz drummer who is improvising, relying on instinct, no rhythm but his own. The Archon tries to keep up the pace, but it's just a code and cold logic. Rex is defiance in action.
He slips behind it, kicking the Archon so hard that its armor rippled. He keeps it guessing, keeps it recalibrating, never letting it settle.
"You can't code rebellion," Rex snarls, driving Rebellion into a weak spot and exposing wires.
The Archon stabs him, literally in right through the side. Pain crashed over him, but Rex doesn't flinch. D.A.N.T.E. offset away the hurt, turning agony into fuel. He grabs the spike, flips over the Archon, and tears its arm off mid-air.
Evelyn's voice comes through, sharp in his ear. "I'm in their uplink. Thirty seconds."
"Make it twenty."
"Just don't die."
He grins, bleeding but unbeaten.
Not tonight.
The Archon—down an arm but not giving up it's now changing shifts, new blades sprouting from its stump, turning into something sharp and deadly. That doesn't concern Rex. He's focused, completely in the zone. The D.A.N.T.E. rig isn't guiding him anymore; it's just got along for the ride, with muscle memory and instinct leading the way.
He isn't moving faster. He's moving smarter. Every strike and dodge cuts through the Archon's fancy programming like it's paper. Power? Overrated. Precision? That's how champions are made.
Evelyn's voice crackled back in. "Control uplink is fried. Dominion can't see a thing."
Rex grins wide. "Just how I like it."
He drives Rebellion straight through the Archon's chest, twisting for effect. The armor screamed and twisted and panicked, but Rex doesn't eased up.
"You were built to control me," he growls, voice low and fierce. "Now watch me break free."
The core explodes, and the whole thing shaked before collapsing like a dying bug. Dominion's leaders just stared, mouths agape as their so-called weapon fails.
Rex raises his gaze, Rebellion still dripping something vile. "Told you," he barks over the comms, "I evolve on my own terms."
Evelyn appeared beside him, as cool as ever, pistol drawn. She fires a shot and the glass shattered, and the console behind the suits spark's. They dive for cover like rookies.
"This war is over," she declared.
"For you, maybe," Rex shoots back, flipping Rebellion back into place. "For me? This is just the warm-up baby."
Dominion's command center crumbled within the hour. Systems shut down. Troops? Gone, scattering. The League would come in, clean up, and spin a tale for the media. Whatever. The victory was already certain not by some suit's handshake, not by a treaty, but by sheer, stubborn defiance.
Later, at the safehouse, Rex sat in the glow of the window, city lights blinking below. Evelyn joined him, mugs in hand.
"Coffee," she said.
He accepted one, smirking. "You're starting to figure me out, doc."
She grinned back. "Terrifying, right?"
He took a sip. Comfortable silence settled in. For once, it felt earned.
"You did it," she said softly.
"We did it."
Her nose wrinkled. "You're still a dumbass."
"An evolving dumbass."
He flexed his fingers, watching the D.A.N.T.E. patterns shifted under his skin. It didn't feel like a cage anymore. More like the scars had learned new tricks.
Evelyn plopped down beside him, shoulder to shoulder. "So now what, Devil Boy?"
He looked out over Gotham, a grin sharp as broken glass. "Now? Time to show them what real evolution looks like."
Deep underground, in a forgotten Dominion bunker, a single monitor flickered to life. Cold, ancient eyes watched the footage of Rex's last move.
"Not bad," a voice rasped. "But you're still chasing my shadow, Devil."
Things were starting to move again. But Rex? He never cared for second acts anyway.