New York hummed with artificial light and breathless anticipation. Beneath the manicured calm of Draxon Tower, war was already underway but not of bullets or bombs. This was a war of identity, loyalty, and revelation.
Elias Thorne stood at the apex of it all, no longer hiding behind the mask of Mr. Dime. That alias was a memory now a mask that had served him, shielded him, transformed him. But Elias was no longer a shadow. He was a name the world feared, and soon, one it would kneel before.
But even kings must prepare for the storms they cannot see.
At the Draxon Situation Room, Jude's fingers flew across the digital maps that lit up the entire glass table. Pinpoints flared on European routes.
"We've confirmed it," he said. "Athena's last known location was in Zurich. She boarded a private aircraft no clearance, no trace. But I ran a satellite scan and"
Magritte interrupted. "She's here, isn't she?"
Jude hesitated. "She landed hours ago."
Elias's brow furrowed. "Where?"
"Brooklyn. Industrial docks. We're tracking four bodies found in the vicinity. All guards. She's not hiding."
Elias nodded. "Because she's hunting."
Magritte turned to him, worry in her voice. "Do you know what she wants?"
Elias met her eyes. "I think she wants to finish what the program couldn't."
Meanwhile Valerie Dexter's Mansion, Valerie paced across the velvet-draped room. Her team of private investigators and loyalists surrounded her.
"She escaped?" Valerie snapped.
"Yes, ma'am," the lead agent said. "The facility is under military lockdown. No one saw her go. Four confirmed dead. And her name has surfaced publicly now."
Valerie's red lips curled. "Good. Let her draw fire."
"Shall we inform the Board?" one asked.
"No," Valerie said. "Let Elias believe his sister is the threat. He'll exhaust himself fighting her."
"And you?" the agent asked.
She smiled coldly. "I'll exhaust everything else."
A Private Suite, Later That Night Elias sat across from Lewis, the ex-military strategist who had saved his life more than once.
"She's like you?" Lewis asked.
"She's more," Elias answered.
"What do you need from me?"
"Prepare contingency routes. Mobilize private teams. Secure Magritte and Jude."
Lewis narrowed his eyes. "And you?"
Elias smiled grimly. "I'm going to draw her out."
Meanwhile Athena in Manhattan. Disguised in a sharp black trench coat, Athena walked among the city's masses. Her hair was shorter now. Her silver eyes hidden behind dark shades.
She had learned fast.
Draxon's digital web couldn't track her not yet. But she wasn't here to hide. She was here for one thing.
Her brother.
She knew the pain of creation. The prison of perfection. The lies coded into the bloodstream. Elias had escaped and claimed glory. She had been left to freeze in the dark.
No more.
She watched the broadcast tower ahead of her. If she could find him, she'd confront the only soul who might understand her. Or kill him.
Whichever proved more necessary.
At the Penthouse Early Morning, Magritte stood at the window, sipping coffee. Elias approached silently and wrapped his arms around her waist. It startled her how comforting his touch was now.
"She's here," Magritte said softly.
"I know."
"And you're not afraid?"
Elias pressed his lips to her shoulder. "Fear is a luxury I've outgrown."
Magritte turned to face him. "Then let me be afraid for you."
He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Don't be. She's not the end. She's the beginning."
"Of what?"
"Of the reckoning."
Later Midtown, The Trap, Elias walked alone into the public plaza where he knew Athena would strike.
He wasn't armed.
He was the bait.
From the rooftops, Jude and Lewis monitored with long-range optics and high-end sonic tech. Magritte's voice buzzed in Jude's earpiece.
"Do you see her?"
"I see shadows. She's watching."
Athena moved like liquid wind across ledges, behind statues, through streetlight flickers.
She descended like a whisper.
And then
"Hello, brother." Elias didn't turn. "You've grown."
"I froze," she said. "While you were playing CEO."
He turned now.
They stared at each other.
Two experiments. Two survivors. Two gods in a world of sheep.
"You've killed people," Elias said.
"I was taught to kill," she replied. "You were taught to pretend."
He stepped closer. "We're not enemies."
"You became human," she said with disdain. "I stayed pure."
"Then what do you want?"
"To see if you're still better than me," she whispered.
She lunged.
Chaos Erupted, Elias dodged, swift from training. Her strike shattered the marble fountain behind him. A shockwave rippled through the plaza.
People screamed.
Lewis called for evac.
Jude cursed.
Elias parried her next blow with a street sign. It bent like cardboard.
"You're not a killer," Elias growled.
"But I could be," she hissed.
He landed a punch that sent her stumbling but not falling.
Magritte's voice crackled, "Elias, abort!"
"No," he said. "This is where we finish this."
Athena surged again.
Then a whistle split the air. A sniper, A bullet grazed Athena's arm.
She vanished into smoke. Gone.
Later That Night, Magritte nursed Elias's wounds in the penthouse. Neither spoke for long.
Finally, she said, "She'll be back."
"She's not alone," Elias replied. "Someone's helping her."
Magritte looked up. "Valerie?"
"Or worse." Elias stood.
"The game's changed again."
Magritte took his hand. "Then change with it."
The morning sun cast golden slants across the towering windows of Draxon Tower, but inside, the mood was stormy. Elias sat in the command room, eyes narrowed at a flickering display. The footage from the plaza had been scrubbed from public servers, but not before twenty-seven million views had exploded across dark forums and encrypted feeds.
"She's out there," Jude muttered, pacing. "And now everyone knows."
Magritte sat beside Elias, reviewing files. "She didn't come to kill you. Not yet."
Elias nodded. "She came to test something."
Jude paused. "You?"
"No," Elias said slowly. "Her control."
A Hidden Facility Draxon Archives, Sublevel 9
"Project Primis," the AI assistant said, unlocking the vault.
Only six people in Draxon had ever known about Sublevel 9.
Only two had access.
Elias stepped inside, greeted by cold blue lights and cryo-storage units with forgotten names and sealed codes. He walked past failed versions of himself. Clones terminated for instability. Some whose faces matched his. Others... worse.
"Why bring me here?" Magritte whispered.
"Because answers are buried," Elias replied. "And they're about to unearth themselves."
He pulled a data drive from the central core.
The label read, "ATHENA V1, Re-Creation Protocol."
Meanwhile Valerie Dexter's Estate, Valerie read the headlines and chuckled.
"Unknown Meta Weapon Sighted Battling Draxon CEO."
Her assistant handed her another file. "Reports indicate military interest. Multiple agencies now monitoring your activity."
"Let them," Valerie replied, uncorking a vintage wine. "It's almost time."
"What of the Chairman's Will? The board thinks you're acting without oversight."
She turned sharply. "I am oversight."
He flinched.
Valerie sat, sipping slowly. "Athena thinks Elias is her nemesis. He's just her test. The true war comes after she breaks him."
"And what if she doesn't?"
Valerie's gaze sharpened. "She will."
Brooklyn Athena's Hideout, Athena stitched her wound with robotic precision. Her ally, a tall androgynous figure in a trench coat, handed her a neural-suppressor chip.
"You let him live," they said.
"I needed to know if I could still choose not to kill," Athena replied.
"And?"
"I can't afford that again."
The ally turned. "Valerie wants chaos."
"She'll get it," Athena said. "But not hers. Mine."
Back at Draxon Tower 3 Days Later, Elias stood at the press podium, calm and controlled. A carefully tailored black suit hugged his frame, his jaw square, eyes cold.
"There are threats biological, technological, political emerging," he said. "Draxon will face them all."
Whispers flooded social media: Is he still human?
Behind the curtain, Magritte watched, eyes scanning for anomalies.
At her side, Lewis grunted. "This isn't a speech. This is a challenge."
Hours Later Magritte's Apartment, their bodies met with longing and desperation. The danger had pulled them close; now it consumed them.
Elias kissed her like a man who knew time was running out.
Magritte's voice cracked against his skin. "What happens if she wins?"
He pulled her tighter. "Then I'll need you to remind me who I am."
They didn't sleep that night.
Darknet Encrypted Forum Thread
USER: WRAITH09
SUBJECT: Project PRIMIS.They're waking up
CONTENT, Elias Thorne is just the prototype. The others… they're no longer frozen. Draxon has more than one god.
Thirty seconds later, the thread vanished.
But not before it reached Valerie.
And Athena.