The world slowed as Starr lunged at Raze, her blades cutting through the air with lethal precision. Sparks flew when they collided with his cybernetic arm, the force of the impact reverberating through her body. Raze grinned, unphased, his other arm already swinging toward her in a crushing blow. Starr barely ducked in time, her enhanced reflexes the only thing keeping her alive.
The room they fought in was a massive industrial service chamber—rows of towering servers, cables snaking along the walls like blackened vines, and the constant hum of machinery filling the air. The ambient neon light flickered off the polished steel surfaces, casting distorted shadows of the two combatants in their deadly dance.
Starr spun away from Raze, her feet barely touching the ground as she used the momentum to launch another attack. Her blades were fast, faster than any unaugmented human could follow, but Raze wasn't human anymore. He was a monstrous blend of man and machine, his body built for war, and his response was just as quick. He blocked her strikes with ease, his grin never fading.
"Is this the best you've got, Layne?" he taunted, his voice a deep rumble of amusement. "You were better in the stories."
Starr didn't waste time responding. She knew that Raze was trying to rattle her, but she wouldn't let him. Not now. Her mind was focused on every move, every tiny detail. The way his joints moved, the slight delay in his right arm's response—everything mattered. If she could exploit one weakness, just one, it could give her the upper hand she so desperately needed.
She feinted to the left, drawing him in, before twisting her body and going low, aiming for the exposed wiring near his knee joint. Her blade sliced through the air with deadly accuracy, but Raze was faster than she expected. He pivoted on his other leg and brought his fist down toward her, forcing her to roll away.
The ground shook beneath her as his cybernetic fist smashed into the concrete floor, sending cracks spider-webbing across the surface.
"Nice try," he growled, standing back to his full height. "But I'm done playing."
Before Starr could react, Raze reached down to his side, pulling out a heavy combat shotgun. The gun, sleek and menacing, gleamed under the cold, flickering lights, and Starr's eyes widened for just a split second. Raze raised it toward her, his finger on the trigger, ready to blast her into oblivion.
Starr didn't hesitate. She dove behind one of the nearby server racks as Raze pulled the trigger, the deafening roar of the shotgun reverberating through the chamber. The server beside her exploded in a shower of sparks and twisted metal, the concussive force sending her sprawling across the floor. She felt the searing heat of the blast on her skin, but she pushed the pain aside. Pain meant nothing if you were dead.
She needed to think. Fast.
Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the environment. The server racks were scattered across the chamber, forming a loose grid that could provide temporary cover. But they wouldn't hold for long under the power of Raze's shotgun. She needed to move—keep herself out of his line of sight and figure out a way to turn the tables.
As Raze fired again, Starr rolled to her feet and sprinted deeper into the room, weaving between the server racks. Another blast followed her, shattering a row of machines just inches from her back. She felt the hot wind of the blast on her neck, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't keep dodging forever.
There had to be a way to shut him down, or at least slow him. Something she could use.
Her cyberdeck pulsed with activity, constantly scanning the room for any exploitable systems. And then she found it. The power core for the servers—located just a few floors below her. If she could reach it and cause an overload, it might be enough to fry Raze's augmentations, at least temporarily.
But getting there meant getting past him.
She activated her cyberdeck's camouflage subroutine, her body shimmering as the nanotech wove a layer of optical camouflage around her. It wasn't perfect, and it wouldn't last long, but it would give her a few moments of invisibility. With a deep breath, she darted to the left, her footsteps silent as she moved through the shadows, circling behind Raze.
He fired another shot at where she had been moments before, his frustration growing.
"Where the hell are you, Layne?" Raze growled, his eyes scanning the room, the red glow of his cybernetic vision sweeping over the server racks.
Starr kept moving, slipping through the gaps between the machines, her heart racing. She could hear the hum of Raze's mechanical systems as he stalked through the room, searching for her. His heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber, every step a reminder of the power he possessed.
She reached the far side of the room, her eyes locking onto a hatch in the floor—a service entrance that would lead her down to the power core. But just as she reached for it, Raze's voice cut through the silence.
"There you are."
Before she could react, Raze charged at her, his massive form barreling through the server racks like a freight train. The machines toppled over, crashing to the ground in a cacophony of sparks and screeching metal. Starr barely had time to dive out of the way as he slammed into the wall behind her, the impact shaking the entire room.
Her camouflage flickered and died, her body becoming visible once more.
"Gotcha now," Raze snarled, turning toward her, his eyes glowing brighter.
Starr gritted her teeth, her mind racing. She couldn't take him head-on, not like this. She needed to be smart. As Raze closed in, she activated her cybernetic legs, boosting her speed as she dashed toward the hatch. Her hand found the release mechanism, and with a hiss, the hatch opened, revealing the ladder that led down into the bowels of the building.
Without a second thought, she threw herself down the shaft, her body twisting as she grabbed onto the ladder to slow her descent. The sound of Raze's shotgun echoed above her as he fired into the shaft, the pellets ricocheting off the metal walls. Starr didn't stop. She slid down the ladder as fast as she could, her hands burning from the friction, but she couldn't afford to slow down.
She hit the bottom with a thud, her knees bending to absorb the impact. The room she had landed in was dark and cramped, the air thick with the smell of ozone and coolant. The power core was just ahead, its glowing blue light pulsing like a heartbeat.
Starr sprinted toward it, her cyberdeck already working on accessing the core's control system. The screen on her HUD lit up with lines of code as she hacked into the system, bypassing the security protocols one by one. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she worked, every second ticking away like a countdown to her death.
Above her, she could hear Raze's heavy footsteps as he climbed down the ladder, his shotgun reloading with a mechanical whirr. He was coming. Fast.
"Come on, come on," Starr muttered under her breath as she worked, her fingers flying across the interface. She was so close—just a few more seconds and she could trigger the overload.
And then, the system beeped. She was in.
With a final keystroke, Starr initiated the power core overload. The blue light of the core began to flicker and pulse more rapidly, the hum of the machinery growing louder as the energy built up. In just a few moments, the entire chamber would be flooded with a massive EMP, enough to knock out every piece of tech in the vicinity—including Raze's augmentations.
But it would also take out hers.
Starr took a deep breath, her eyes locked on the entrance to the room as she prepared for the inevitable. She could hear Raze's footsteps getting closer, his heavy breathing echoing through the narrow corridor.
"Layne!" His voice was a roar of rage and desperation. "You think you can take me down with this? You're a dead woman!"
He rounded the corner just as the power core reached critical mass.
Starr grinned, her eyes meeting his for a brief moment. "See you on the other side."
And then, the world exploded in a blinding flash of light.
A Dark Awakening
Starr's world was a void. There was no light, no sound, only the faint sensation of being pulled through a cold, endless abyss. Time had no meaning in the space between consciousness and oblivion. She wasn't sure if she had been floating for seconds or years.
And then, slowly, she began to hear something. A faint, rhythmic beeping. Her senses began to return, piece by piece. The cold sensation of metal against her skin, the sterile scent of disinfectant, the distant hum of machinery.
She opened her eyes, blinking against the harsh fluorescent lights above her. She was lying on a surgical table, her body strapped down by thick restraints. Panic surged through her as she struggled against the bindings, but her muscles were weak, sluggish.
"Easy now," a voice said from somewhere nearby. "You've been out for a while."
Starr turned her head, her vision still blurry, but she could make out the figure of a man standing beside her. He was tall and lean, his face partially obscured by a **surge.