The decommissioned lab was a relic of concrete and steel, hidden in a forgotten corner of the city's outskirts. The hum was a roar now, vibrating through the ground as Adrian and Mei Lin approached. The air crackled with static, and the sky above was heavy with storm clouds, as if the Spark itself was summoning the weather.
"Cozy," Mei Lin muttered, her knife ready. "Bet it's got great ambiance."
Adrian's lips twitched. "Stay sharp. We don't know what's waiting."
They slipped inside, the hum guiding them through dark corridors. The lab was a maze of rusted equipment and shattered glass, but at its heart, another Lupus machine pulsed, its core a blinding white. A figure stood before it—tall, cloaked, their mask gleaming under the light.
"Welcome," the figure said, their voice distorted but familiar. "You're right on time."
Adrian raised his gun. "Step away from the machine."
The figure laughed, the sound grating against the hum. "You think you can stop it? The Spark chose you, but it belongs to us."
Mei Lin stepped forward, her knife gleaming. "Then come take it."
The figure moved, faster than humanly possible, and the fight was chaos. Adrian's shots ricocheted off an energy field, while Mei Lin danced through the figure's attacks, her knife finding gaps in their armor. The hum roared, fueling their movements, binding them together in a deadly rhythm.
As they fought, the machine's core pulsed faster, and Mei Lin's vision blurred with flashes—Elena's face, a child's hand, a promise of power. She stumbled, and Adrian caught her, his arm around her waist.
"Stay with me," he said, his voice raw.
She nodded, her hand finding his. The hum steadied, their connection a shield against the chaos. Together, they pushed forward, Mei Lin's knife slashing through the figure's cloak, revealing a glimpse of a tattoo—a wolf's eye with a spiral of light.
The figure retreated, vanishing into the shadows. The machine's core dimmed, but the hum remained, a warning in their blood.
"We need to destroy it," Adrian said, his voice tight.
Mei Lin shook her head. "Not yet. We need answers."
He looked at her, his eyes fierce. "Then we find them. Together."
She smiled, her heart racing. "Always."