The lab groaned around them, its dying breath echoing along ruined corridors like a sinking mausoleum. Sparks rained down from hanging panels. The smoke-filled air stank of concrete dust, and every step threatened to crumble beneath.
Ace gripped Justin so tightly his arms throbbed, teeth ground, and Von paced beside him, heart pounding, ears pounding. Every corner felt like it might be the last.
And then—Von's eyes caught a flash of metal coming through a gap in the far wall.
Von (pointing):
"There! That vent—it's an exit!"
They moved for it without hesitation.
But before they reached it, the ceiling above creaked—and came crashing down, shrouding the path ahead in a rain of rubble and steel.
They slowed to a halt, dust choking their lungs.
Von (desperately):
"No! No, no, no—come on!"
He turned on his heel—but the sound of another collapse behind them stopped him cold.
The hallway they had just come from was gone.
Trapped.
The heat in the room rose. The lights flickered. A loud whine surged through the walls, warning of imminent structural failure.
Von (staggering back, heart racing):
"We're trapped! We're trapped! There's no way out!"
Ace (tightening his grip on Justin, eyes scanning):
"Damn it. Think, Ace. Think."
His hands were shaking, his mind reeling. There wasn't time. The lab wasn't collapsing—it was imploding inward like a starving star.
Then he halted. Glanced up at the ceiling.
Ace (gritting his teeth):
"Screw it."
He whirled to Von.
Ace (serious):
"Hold on to me."
Von (breathless, bewildered):
"What? Why?"
Ace:
"Just trust me!"
Before Von could argue, Ace seized him by the arm, pinned Justin tighter against his side, then bellowed—
Ace:
"HEAT ROCKET BOOST!"
There was fire from Ace's legs, a massive explosion of flames that propelled them upward like a rocket. Von screamed as they exploded through the sagging ceiling, flames and debris flowing behind them.
They blasted through several floors, glass and metal battering all around them, before exploding out through the roof in a sheet of smoke and fire.
They streaked over the open air for a moment—time slowed down—and then slammed into the ground outside the lab, a cratered shape where they landed.
Dust billowed over the field. The charred-out sky above was clearing.
Von was lying flat out, eyes wide open, chest heaving. His legs were jelly. His ears rang.
Von (groaning):
"I thought we were going to die…"
With him was Justin, paralyzed, eyes wide open but stunned. Ace, on his knees, was struggling to breathe, his face dripping with sweat from the heat of his power. But he was smiling.
Ace (grinning from ear to ear):
"Whoa! That was great, wasn't it?! Right through the freaking 'ceiling! I should've taped that!"
Von leapt to his feet, furious.
Von (snapping):
"Are you insane?! You could have killed us all! You didn't even have a plan—what if we crashed into a beam?! What if the ceiling didn't fall?!"
Ace (shrugging, wiping soot off his brow):
"Well... I figured if we're going to die anyway, we might as well make it dramatic."
Von (scowling):
"You're the worst role model…"
Ace (laughing once more):
"I get that a lot."
Justin then abruptly groaned, opening his eyes upwards at the grey sky above.
Justin:
"What the hell happened?"
Von spun to him immediately, worry blinding his fury.
Von:
"You're awake!"
Justin (struggling to move):
"Ugh… I can't feel anything. My body's like—numb."
Ace:
"Yeah, paralysis serum. Rhane used it to keep you in check. Don't worry—it'll wear off."
Justin (dazed):
"Von… how do you know Ace? And… how do you know about the Resistance? I never… told you…"
Von (hesitating, then smiling softly):
"It's a long story… One, I'll explain once your arms and legs work again."
Justin tried to smirk but winced instead.
Justin:
"Man… this sucks."
Ace laid Justin down gently, stretching his arms with a wince.
Ace (serious now):
"That lab… It's gone. But something else was in there. Something worse."
Von's smile faded. He looked off into the distance, where faint smoke still curled into the sky from the lab's ruin.
Von (quietly):
"I saw him… The man with the helmet. The one who saved us. The way he fought—he was nothing like us. He was something else…"
Ace (in affirmation):
"Yeah. I could feel it too. That man wasn't powerful. He was on a higher plane altogether."
Von kept silent.
For in his mind, he could still hear the voices.
"Why? Why reject us? Why? Why resist us?"
He swallowed. Something had changed. Something had awakened in that lab… And it wasn't just the people in pods.
He looked at his hands. At Justin's. In the sky.
Von (whispering):
"This isn't over… is it?"
Ace did not smile now.
Ace:
"No. Not even close."
Justin:
Hey, hello, I'm still in the dark here.