Greenland — Black Vault Facility
05:42 AM
The bitter wind tore at your coat as you stepped off the helicopter onto the tundra. Your breath steamed in the icy air, and every exhale felt like a reminder that you were far from the warmth of the city. The Black Vault sat half-buried beneath the ice—an ominous fortress carved into the mountain.
Raze landed beside you, muscles tensed, eyes scanning the perimeter. "Frozen hellscape. Perfect place to hide your dirty secrets."
You nodded. "Pentor's relay—and possibly he—are inside. We can't underestimate what's waiting."
Your senses buzzed, adapting quickly to the cold and the sterile scent that leaked from the Vault's open hatch. Something told you the dangers inside wouldn't be limited to guards or automated defences.
Together, you slipped through the entrance, your footsteps muffled on the cold metal floor. The facility hummed with dormant power, corridors stretching endlessly, lit by dull white fluorescents. The air was thick with stale antiseptic and the faint hum of machinery running in the shadows.
Raze growled low in his throat. "This place gives me the creeps."
You scanned the area, adaptive vision highlighting faint energy signatures — low, but alive.
"Keep your guard up," you whispered. "We're not alone."
Deep in the Vault
You moved silently, following the trail of faint energy spikes on your internal HUD, each one a breadcrumb leading deeper into the labyrinth.
The facility was a tomb of forgotten experiments—empty cryo pods, shattered test chambers, racks of blinking equipment abandoned or destroyed. But the worst of it was yet to come.
Around a corner, you heard it — a low growl, ragged and filled with rage. You froze.
"Something's here," Raze said, fingers flexing into claws.
A figure lunged from the shadows — not quite human, its skin shifting between tones of gray and blue, flickering like a broken hologram. Its eyes burned with fury, and in its hands, crackling energy mimicked a crude version of your power.
It roared and charged.
You caught it mid-leap, adapting instinctively—absorbing the wild energy surging from its hands, converting it into a steady pulse that you redirected into a counterstrike.
The creature snarled in surprise, staggered, but recovered fast. It was raw, unrefined—Pentor's failed clone, your power mangled and unstable.
Raze jumped in, slashing with speed and strength honed by countless battles.
Together, you forced the creature back, but every time you landed a hit, it grew wilder — its mimicry spiralling beyond your control.
You realised then: these clones weren't just imitations. They were corrupted echoes of your ability, unpredictable and dangerous.
You dodged a blast of unstable energy and countered with a precise strike, pushing the creature into a containment field.
It shrieked, thrashing against the invisible walls, before finally going limp.
You exhaled.
"This is just the beginning," you muttered.
Command Center — Vault Interior
You hacked into the Vault's control panel, Raze watching the corridors for more threats. The screen flickered, revealing security feeds showing other cells, some holding similar unstable clones—failed attempts to recreate your power.
But then, deeper in the system, a single file caught your eye—a live feed.
Pentor.
He stood in a distant wing, surrounded by armed guards and high-tech equipment. He held a tablet, studying your every move.
His eyes narrowed when he saw the containment field holding his failed clone.
"This isn't over," he whispered.
You felt the weight of his gaze through the screen. He was more than a man now—more a shadow, a virus spreading your ability by force.
"We have to move," you said. "Find him before he escapes."
Escape and Pursuit
Alarms blared through the Vault, red lights slicing the darkness. You and Raze sprinted through winding corridors as reinforcements poured in—armed soldiers, drones, and more unstable clones screaming in rage behind containment doors.
Your adaptations were in overdrive—each burst of power remembered and refined on the fly. You ducked a stun blast, your body absorbing the energy and transforming it into a defensive shield. Raze tore through waves of guards with brutal efficiency.
"Pentor's not going to wait for us," you yelled over the chaos. "He's probably heading for the extraction point!"
You pushed forward, breath ragged, muscles burning with cold and exertion. The Vault seemed endless, a maze designed to crush intruders.
Finally, you burst into the extraction bay.
The helicopter was gone.
A trail of melting ice showed where it had lifted off.
You clenched your fists.
"He's out of here," Raze growled.
You scanned the area, catching a faint, flickering energy trail leading through a side door.
"Not yet," you said. "We follow."
Outside the Vault
You stepped back into the frozen landscape, the early morning light shimmering against the ice.
Pentor's trail led toward a cavern—hidden beneath layers of ice and stone.
You exchanged a look with Raze.
"We finish this now."
Inside the cavern, the air was heavy with anticipation and something older — primal.
You moved forward, senses sharpening.
And then you heard it.
A voice, cold and calm.
"Welcome, Copycat."
Pentor emerged from the shadows, his smile twisted.
"You're not just a mimic. You're a template. A key. And I am the lock."
Your heart pounded.
This was the moment of reckoning.