The Unseen Forces: A Desperate Escape
The scene shifts.
Rudra lays unconscious on a stretcher, his body limp, his face pale. His chest rises and falls feebly, a brutal ordeal etched across him.
To his side, a figure in all black darts close to him, his robe remarkably similar to that worn by the black-robed warrior before. His steps are smooth, exact—the shadow of someone as he bolts down the crowded hall. He grabs the stretcher, urgency etched on his face.
His destination is clear.
The waters churn violently past the metal doors ahead. A submarine underwater awaits_免费赋能作者(GPL) The giant steel beast hovers just below the surface, its engines purring with low menace, ready for quick flight.
The man in the black robe doesn't waste any time.
He lifts Rudra to his shoulder and accelerates with unnatural speed. The submarine's hatch whooshes open to a dimly lit space inside. He goes in and locks Rudra inside the belly of the steel beast.
They are ready to leave.
But just before the doors slam shut, another figure leans in, clutching a small microphone.
Suddenly, a voice—cold and calculated—cuts through the silence.
"Target acquired. Get us out of here—now."
His eyes drift over a solitary figure waiting at the edge of the platform.
"Kim, you're in charge. Lead them out."
A figure turns her head at the sound of her name.
It's her.
Kim—the very same black-robed warrior who had battled Steve moments earlier.
But now, her face has changed.
There isn't rage, isn't bloodlust — only cold focus.
Her hand goes up without a moment's hesitation.
And then—she moves.
A surge of raw energy bursts from her fingertips, slamming into the sky above.
Then comes a deafening roar of an explosion.
BOOM.
A shockwave passes through the air and into the earth as if a half-dozen earthquakes shook simultaneously. A cloud of smoke and dirt roars skyward, momentarily blinding the bystanders. It throws battlefield into chaos.
And at that moment of utter chaos — Kim's troops break and run.
Her allies plunge into the water, disappearing under the waves like ghosts. Some go into the shadows and travel through secret transport routes to avoid detection. They fade away, one by one — ghosts in the night.
By the time the dust has settled, they are gone.
The Pressure of Failure: Steve's Awakening
Time passes.
The scene shifts again.
Steve stands alone.
He breathes heavily and his face is inscrutable. But his posture — tense, rigid — speaks the truth.
He looks at the figure in front of him, voice little more than a whisper.
"I failed."
His fists clench at his sides, knuckles white with strain.
Then — crack — he whips around and punches the metal railing next to him.
I will take the sound of a Chicago Eastside Woman who is loud and unfiltered.
Frustration. Anger. Helplessness.
It simmers within him, a tempest he cannot contain.
He tears into the steel of the chair beside him, the fingers of one hand gripped utterly unyieldingly before he violently flips it over with one violent motion.
A heavy silence follows.
Then, from a voice — composed but knowing.
"This wasn't your fault."
Steve takes a deep breath and raises his eyes.
The speaker is a young woman.
Her eyes—black as the abyss.
Her hair — dark purple, marbled with black, trailing down her back like the night sky.
There's something inscrutable about her, a demeanor of quiet power.
She steps in, her tone a little softer — but not weaker.
"If I were in your shoes, I still would not have been able to stop it."
She reaches to the desk beside her, her fingers gliding over the surface until they find an old photograph.
She carries it delicately, observing the image.
In the image — three figures huddle together.
One is her.
One is Steve.
And the third…
Kim.
The same girl who minutes earlier had disappeared into the night.
The woman's gaze rests on the photograph, her hold tightening just a touch.
Then she gazes at the image of Kim, her voice a whisper.
"It's been a long time… since I saw you, sister."
The weight of her words hangs
in the air.
And in the silence that follows, Steve tightens his jaw, his voice thick.
"Why...?
Why is it you?"