LOGINInside the Ship's Corridors:
"Swipe it!" Mia whispered, watching the hallway.
Alex swiped the stolen keycard against the reader of the Main Server Room.
BEEP. Green light.
"We are in!"
They slipped inside. It was a massive room filled with humming servers and blinking lights.
"Alex, hurry," Mia guarded the door, holding a heavy wrench she found. "I hear gunshots upstairs. Dad is fighting."
"I'm going as fast as I can," Alex plugged himself into the mainframe. "I need to find the internal security grid. If I can activate the automated fire doors, I can trap the bad guys and clear a path for Dad."
He typed furiously.
[ SYSTEM ALERT: Intruder Detected. Lockdown in 30 seconds. ]
"They know we are here," Alex wiped sweat from his forehead. "I have to override the lockout."
On the Upper Deck:
Jackson was pinned down behind a metal crate. Bullets sparked inches from his head.
"Surrender, Sterling!" A mercenary shouted. "You have nowhere to run!"
Jackson checked his ammo. Empty.
He pulled his combat knife. The rain was washing the blood off his hands.
"I'm not running," Jackson whispered.
He waited for the reloading pause. Then he moved.
He slid across the wet deck, dodging fire, and tackled the nearest mercenary. He didn't just fight; he dismantled the man with brutal efficiency.
But then, a larger shadow loomed over him.
One of the Hybrids—a man with patches of lizard-like scales on his neck—grabbed Jackson by the vest and threw him across the deck like a ragdoll.
SLAM.
Jackson hit a steel wall. He gasped, ribs cracking.
The Hybrid roared, charging at him. It was faster and stronger than a human. Jackson tried to stand, but his vision swam.
"Die," the Hybrid raised a massive fist.
BZZZZT!
Suddenly, the automated turret gun mounted on the wall above them spun around. Instead of aiming at Jackson, it aimed at the Hybrid.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
The turret unleashed a hail of bullets. The Hybrid screamed as he was cut down by his own ship's defenses.
Jackson stared at the gun.
A voice crackled over the ship's PA system. It was high-pitched but commanding.
"Target eliminated. You're welcome, Dad."
Jackson laughed, spitting out blood. "Alex?"
"We are in the server room, Deck 3," Alex’s voice echoed. "I locked the hallway doors. The guards can't get to us. But Dad... you need to hurry."
"Why?"
"Because I found a countdown," Alex’s voice trembled slightly. "Silas rigged the ship. If the sensors detect a loss of control, it auto-destructs."
"We have 10 minutes before this ship blows up."
Jackson pushed himself off the wall. The pain disappeared, replaced by pure adrenaline.
Ten minutes.
He picked up the assault rifle dropped by the dead Hybrid.
"Hang tight, kids," Jackson said into the nothingness, his eyes burning with resolve. "I'm coming down."
He kicked open the hatch to the lower levels.
He wasn't fighting for survival anymore. He was racing against a bomb. And woe to anyone who stood between a father and his children.
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
Sparks showered from the ceiling. The sound of tearing metal was deafening.The dining car groaned and tilted violently to the right. Tables, chairs, and expensive wine bottles slid down the slope, crashing into the wall.Jackson slammed one hand into a window frame, his other arm locked around Serenity’s waist. He stopped them from sliding into the pile of broken glass below."Don't let go!" Jackson shouted over the noise.Serenity looked down. Through the shattered window beneath them, she saw nothing but swirling snow and darkness. They were dangling over a canyon."The coupling is breaking!" Serenity yelled, pointing to the metal hook connecting their car to the rest of the train. It was stretching, groaning under the weight.CLANG.The door at the top of the tilted car (the one Zero left through) was kicked open.Two figures rappelled down into the car on zip lines.They wore sleek, matte-black armor. No faces. Just glowing red visors. They moved with robotic precision, magnetize
The Midnight Express tore through the darkness of the Swiss Alps at 300 kilometers per hour.In the exclusive private dining car, crystal glasses jingled softly with the vibration of the tracks. Outside the window, nothing existed but snow and night.Jackson adjusted his cufflinks. Under his tuxedo, he was wearing a ceramic knife taped to his ribs—the only weapon the metal detectors didn't pick up.Serenity sat opposite him, looking breathtaking in a black velvet gown. She held a clutch that contained a small vial of Margaret’s anti-serum."Nervous?" Jackson asked, pouring her water."I’m having dinner with the man who tried to kidnap our children," Serenity’s eyes were cold. "I’m not nervous. I’m restraining myself from stabbing him with a fork.""Patience," Jackson whispered.The door at the end of the car slid open.A man walked in.He looked nothing like a villain. He was handsome, in his forties, wearing a grey suit that cost more than the train itself. He had silver hair and a s
"Close your eyes," Liam commanded softly.The nursery was dimly lit. Aurora and Alex lay on the large rug, pillows under their heads. Liam sat between them in a lotus position. Jackson and Serenity watched from the couch, feeling useless but alert."Grandpa, this is unscientific," Alex muttered, keeping one eye open. "Telepathy isn't real.""Quantum entanglement is," Liam placed a finger on Alex's forehead and another on Aurora's. "Connect."A pulse of violet light rippled through the room.The Dreamscape.Alex gasped. He wasn't on the rug anymore.He was standing on an endless plane of pure white water. The sky was white. The horizon was white. It was a blank canvas."Whoa," Alex looked at his hands. They were glowing. "High definition rendering. Zero latency.""Where are the toys?" Aurora appeared next to him. In the dream, she wasn't wearing pajamas. She was wearing a sparkling fairy queen dress.Liam appeared in front of them. He looked younger here, powerful and majestic."This i
That night, the Palace was quiet. But the air was heavy.In the royal nursery, five-year-old Aurora was tossing and turning in her bed. She was sweating.“No… go away…” she whimpered in her sleep.Around her room, objects began to react to her distress. Her teddy bears floated into the air. The heavy curtains rustled as if caught in a storm, though the windows were closed. The water in her glass began to boil.In the Dream:Aurora was standing in a field of grey ash. The sky was purple.In the distance, a massive Black Tower stretched up into the clouds. It looked like a needle piercing the sky.Standing at the top of the tower was a man. He didn't have a face. Just a smooth, white mask with a single vertical line drawn on it."Come here, little star," the man’s voice echoed inside her head. "Your light belongs to me."Shadowy hands reached out from the ground, grabbing Aurora’s ankles."Daddy!" she screamed in the dream.In the Real World:CRACK!The mirror on Aurora's wall shattered







