The training floor felt less like a room and more like a gladiatorial arena. I stood in the center, my "intern" jumpsuit swapped for a flexible under-suit. Opposite me, Elizabeth-Nightshadow-held two training batons that crackled with non-lethal energy.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVV3nncIRd
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9OLi90Y2Q
"Concentrate, Vega," Elizabeth snapped. "Your armor is reactive. If you only wait for a tragedy to trigger it, you're useless in a fight."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZuy3YiHUQ
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDSIrVgw4v
I closed my eyes, trying to reach for that violet and green spark. Think of the rivers. Think of the hum. But all I could think about was my father sitting alone at the kitchen table. The guilt of the lie was like a lead weight, keeping the Watch cold.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5jXhZkFvZ
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pdybjzhH7
Whack!100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvQhFhVVn6
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabgsRediPp
A baton struck my ribs, sending a jolt of pain through my side. I tumbled to the floor, gasping.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYo3C5vAWu
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GSEltLkeS
"Too slow," Elizabeth muttered, spinning her batons.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXSYEabhSn
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6K4XZQxmb
"Give her a break, Liz," Avan called out from the sidelines. He was leaning against a pillar, charging his phone just by touching it. "It took me six months not to blow up every toaster in my house. She's only been here six hours."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERSYajFZOF
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUJEIXzZ6M
"We don't have six months," Garder West's voice boomed over the speakers. "Sensors are picking up a signature. North Docks. It's not human, and it's not Atlantean."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8D6iWXMkY
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7z4SNzBuxZ
Leon stood up, his eyes turning a deeper shade of blue. "The water is restless there. Something is pulling energy from the grid."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMPsFSkLXB
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqpZQTMotG
West's silhouette appeared behind the observation glass. "This is it. Mission One. Victoria, if you can't summon the suit, you stay in the van. I'm not sending a civilian into a slaughterhouse."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAyVE8waNi
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPl7MERIYsL
The Docks: Mission One100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1uHjTJjTo
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsUetUxFCA
The North Docks were a graveyard of rusted shipping containers and foggy air. We moved through the shadows. Avan was a blur of blue static; Leon moved through the puddles like a ghost; Elizabeth was simply gone, invisible in the dark.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBkCYTDHQgZ
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSKxS3xIfd
And then there was me. Clumsy. Human. Clinging to a silver cuff that refused to glow.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwYpvf1oRe
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dk78vo4ZU
"Stay back, intern," Elizabeth's voice hissed over the comms. "We've got movement."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qNKPhtucF
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6B3SNCMihY
A massive shipping container was ripped in half like tin foil. Out stepped a Scout Drone-a spindly, four-legged machine with a single red eye that pulsed like a dying star. It wasn't human tech. It was jagged, metallic, and etched with the same glyphs I saw in my father's journals.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOsPtDpUNF
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9Hw7MvDFa
"Doctor Science," I whispered. My blood went cold.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7c0rTX36I
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrhWtn9Kyi
Avan struck first. He lunged like a thunderbolt, slamming a fist of electricity into the drone's leg. It sparked, but the machine barely flinched. It swung a heavy limb, swatting Avan into a pile of crates.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnPIF57b1p
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQsnxtGBsa
"Avan!" I yelled.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGnNCJ3Sa9
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucDAbYAPZu
Leon surged forward, pulling a literal spiral of water from the harbor. He slammed it against the drone, trying to short-circuit its systems. The machine let out a high-pitched screech, its red eye focusing. A beam of concentrated thermal energy shot out, evaporating Leon's water shield and throwing him back.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUbOzPiHmT
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvjYE8hcs7
Elizabeth dropped from the sky, planting explosive charges on the drone's neck, but the machine's armor shifted-it was liquid metal. The charges slid off and detonated harmlessly in the air.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLHg91cbZD
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbycVA6wBX
The drone turned toward me. It recognized the Watch.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8LJuWv4cu
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl21Su37N7
"Anomaly detected," the machine droned in a voice that sounded like grinding glass. "Retrieve the Relic. Eliminate the Host."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTL4bzJDXLV
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5kDTczKhm
It charged.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYuT24CfMj
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJENLgyE3k
I backed up, my heel catching on a rail. I fell, the drone looming over me, its red eye glowing bright as it prepared to fire.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMk9ou0oPa
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPpaRBjnxg
"Victoria, move!" Elizabeth screamed, lunging to tackle me out of the way, but she was too far.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrTL7WZ86f
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVg1OwQi5ta
In that moment of pure terror, I didn't think about my father or the secret. I thought about the trash can. I thought about the mother who threw me to safety. I thought about the sister who died so I could breathe.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpp1Eqb9jM
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JNgAlCj38
I am the last daughter of a world that burned, I thought. And I will not let this one burn, too.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcJFLqkZ1C
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChenUqfe20
THOOM.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpYoN5Utqp
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡav1DJCpYES
A shockwave of violet light exploded from my wrist.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEU3BIX2Mv2
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxo4B88sdLs
The purple metal surged over my body, sealing with a hiss of pressurized air. The green light solidified, forming jagged, glowing pauldrons and gauntlets. I didn't just stand up-I rose on violet thrusters.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuOl6sHTDK
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDoLHPRDhB
The drone fired its thermal beam. I didn't dodge. I raised my hand, and a massive green construct shield, shaped like a knight's buckler, manifested from pure light. The beam hit the shield and reflected back, scorching the drone's own face.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhJyFKHHAu
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi72yQWugdB
"My turn," I growled.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5eTstehXG
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡon6nVtO4kx
I lunged. My gauntlet glowed, and a green energy blade extended three feet from my wrist. I sliced through the drone's front leg, the magic-science edge cutting through the liquid metal like a hot knife through wax.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRybG9i9KKs
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDLiGT9lIT
Avan, shaking off the dust, let out a cheer. "Okay! The intern's got moves!"100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViaHAy55dn
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZHxAR6pF6
With one final surge of power, I drove the blade into the drone's core. It let out a digital death rattle and collapsed into a heap of junk.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqJSe00igs
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOl085BeYDz
The Aftermath100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYlt2NTT1l
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oKm1DVvL0
I stood over the wreckage, my breath coming in ragged gasps inside the helmet. The armor retracted, melting back into the Watch. My skin felt like it was buzzing.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iZFbI2VtX
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVDQ6IE7cO
Elizabeth walked over, sheathing her batons. She looked at the destroyed drone, then at me. She didn't smile, but she gave a single, sharp nod. "You weren't a liability. This time."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTPJgIRQfz
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhq0XMOAWVS
"We're a team now, Vic," Leon said, stepping out of the water, his hand on my shoulder. "The V-Team. West is going to have a lot to say about this."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJSwKZxCXn
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpvZmbtbQT
I looked at my hands. They were shaking. I was a hero. I was a weapon. But as I looked at my phone and saw a missed text from my dad-Be home soon, I'm making tacos-I realized the hardest part wasn't the drones.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5OyxHW0Dc
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzjywsEBhy
It was the fact that I was becoming a stranger to the only man who still loved me.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90SXbwalkw
100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdfU2TUEbi
1234 copyright protection96ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6OYXuTmNI 尼100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAG6ZAsK9v