The armored SUV rumbled through the outskirts of the Slums, each jolt and sunctuatih's thoughts with a grim finality. Her pale firaced idle patterns on her metallic briefcase as she sat, surrounded by the silent, bnk expressions of her captors.

  They approached the colossal structure known as The Wall—the border wall that divided the slums and the metropolis, its sheer size a testament to the chasm betweewo worlds. Massive sentry guns turned with meical precision—sing for the identifying impnt signal all residents of the metropolis bore within their body.

  It wasn't the ideal sario when it came to returning to the metropolis, but in the end, there was no other way; Edith was ing back—whether she wao or not.

  A wry smile curled her lips, tinged with a bitterness she savored like a rare spice.

  The SUV rolled to a stop at a security checkpoint. MetSec guards, sleek uniforms, approached the vehicle with light tactical armor, bat helmets, and meized ons at the ready. Edith smoothed out her hair and shifted the gsses on the bridge of her nose.

  Suddenly, a massive tremor shook the ground and rattled the walls around them.

  MetSec officers shouted and scrambled as debris rained down from the upper levels. In the fusion, the guards surrounding the armored vahrown off bahey stumbled and fell in an unprofessional heap. One guard even slipped on a puddle and nded on their back. The SUV shook as if caught in a powerful riptide.

  Then as quickly as it came, the tremor ceased. The dust settled.

  What the hell just happened happened? Ahquake? No. It was way too brief. Could it have been an explosion?

  But there were no ns of something big going off. Whatever this was, it was a surprise to both parties.

  As the shakeSec personnel regaiheir posure, they approached the SUV once again. The officer in charge fshed a badge at the van's opaque winds. The dark gss dissolved into light, revealih and the others. The officer took a moment to s the passengers with a handheld ser before speaking.

  "Stay put at this checkpoint. We o check for damages from that quake. No one's allowed in until we get firmation from HQ," the officer ordered. His posture and expressiorayed his uhe man gnced over his shoulders every few seds. Theurned and walked back to his station.

  Edith's escorts didn't seem bothered. Not outwardly at least; as far as she could tell, they had already recovered their usual unreadable, yet professional demeanor.

  "Well..." she murmured to no one in particur. "It certainly seems we'll be sitting here for a while."

  Eventually, the MetSec guard returned. IDs were sed, ons and traband verified in the checkpoint's light field, and gave the all clear. "...alright! Let them through," she heard him say.

  The Wall's massive gate slid open with a grinding hiss, revealing the world she had been exiled from. With a lurch, the SUV tioward the city limits. Ohe vehicle passed through, her escorts began to rex, each shifting away from military-like disciplio a more casual state.

  The transition was immediate and jarring. The squalor of the slums fell away like a shed skin, repced by the gleaming, ordered efficy of the Metropolis.

  She sat back with a quiet sigh and gazed out the window at the cityscape.

  Gss-windowed skyscrapers broke the skylih edges and polished trim, jutting upward like spears. Aerial vehicles darted to and fro amid a flock of drones—some marked with the symbols and logos of various businesses encies.

  Even the sidewalks here were marked and segmented into ordered nes—watg out for people and autonomous traffic as the walkways themselves performed an effit dah preprogrammed chraphy. It all bio make the city move with a harmonized order...all people serving a fun and pying their part—like cogs in an engine.

  She pulled away from the window...wishing her mind hadn't led her on this walk down memory ne...where everything had seemed so simple back then. When she had the world at her fiips. Now...well...now it was just a reminder of how she'd lost all that she'd held dear...how she'd thrown it all away—if she wao be truly ho with herself.

  The SUV tis journey, now navigating the meticulously maintained roads in silence...as she settled bato her thoughts. Every traffic signal was aligned, every curve and edge smooth...not a single spec of litter to be seen. Each of the vehicles driving along the city's streets had an almost meical uniformity as they navigated in preprogrammed patterns.

  After an hour, the SUV began to slow...and stopped. One of the enforcers wordlessly opehe door to allow her out. With her briefcase in hah stepped onto the curb and turo fa all too familiar skyscraper...the Genomics Labs—her former pployment...now just a cold and imposing pce—with more painful memories to give...than warm recolles to receive.

  She stepped toward the double-gss doors—through a vestibule—and into the lobby beyond. An eborate holo-waterfall gurgled from a wall on her left. It flowed between sleek sculptures...immacute trim...a topiary of grass and hedges...a huge desk tht manned by a secretary.

  Her escort, a taciturn man whose eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts, maintained a professional distance. He swiped a badge across a panel on the desk and ushered Edith forward; she strolled into the atrium to stand before a massive vid-s dispying a current list of successes from the corporation—images and names flitting past in a rapid blur—presumably showg all of their great achievements. She gred at the s.

  If only people knew about the hidden nature of these "achievements," what secrets and research these successes meant...but the public had to be kept in the dark for the sake of maintaining the peace. Or at least, that's what the Syndicate-in-the-corporations said to their flunkies like Edith—as they reminded her of her status—of where her position put her...how useful she could be to their pns.

  But all things e with checks and bances; her role allowed her to dictate their vision—even if they could ultimately stop her or impose restris to what she did—to where her research could take her...what her limits were. It was all a fine baween what they wanted and what she could provide.

  The gover ahiission ensured she worked within the framework of what the world had deemed acceptable...they reminded her of her duty to the metropolis and all its people...not just its sponsors or patrons. All within reason.

  Edith knew what they meant by within reason. How they stretched the meaning of the words and used it against her. To prevent her from digging too deep...to prevent her from ever going off the beaten path or endeav into an impossible hypothesis.

  They'd wahe results—wahe innovation and potential implications. The stists and teocrats always did...but that path...that path led to the only real on she'd had at her disposal...a on that gave her leverage—her Metahuman serum.

  Finally, after waiting a few more moments, aor—imposing in its ht—squeaked open with a dignified ding. Its oct—dressed in the blue b coat uniform—strode forward with purposeful strides, an ID badge pio his jacket; his curly, grey hair and even greyer goatee perfectly coiffed...a trast to the pierg eyes hidden behiangur spectacles. His hawkish face settled into an impassive gaze as he came to a halt before her.

  "Wele back to Genomics. Let's skip the pleasantries—shall we? Dr. Salvatore is expeg you in his office." He flicked a dismissive hand and turned. Without a backward gnce, he walked off, his b coat trailing behind him.

  Edith shook her head and followed; the rest of the group—as well as her taciturn enforcer—closed ranks around her and the man in blue. Her eyes settled on the grey-haired man's ag...the only formality he'd been able to uphold. His name was Dr. Luca Kinney...her former direct supervisor—who had always been more ied in chasing an imaginary ledger than his actual job.

  Kinney led them into a spacious elevator and tapped a panel on the wall. He keyed in a code—bizarrely eborate—with more binations than there were floors in the building. When he finished...a tinny voice weled him and aowledged the "passphrase"—its tone warm. "Wele back Vice Director Kinney—I see you've brought guests."

  The elevator—keying off Kinney's response—whirred as it slid shut and began to desd—her stomach fluttering in response.

  For a minute...maybe two...there was silence as the elevator made its journey; she leaned back against the wall...tried to steel her nerves...but for all her stoicism...she couldn't shake the sensation of ing full circle...returning to her past.

  There would be no breaking from what had transpired here; she would have to deal with this new circumstance...just as she had when they'd banished her to the Slums.

  So...so be it.

  The elevatround to a stop...and opeo a hallway decorated with paintings of various b techs through the turies...set against sleek bck walls and ambient lighting. Each of the stists seemed to have their own unique spin to their b coats...some formal...others outndish...but all striving toward the same goal: the adva of teology and sce.

  A familiar phrase hung suspended in a dispy case. "Teology unshackled...improving lives one day at a time."

  They moved like a small but purposeful fleet; they marched past several rooms...stopping at an impassive steel door beled "Director Salvatore." Another biometric ser awaited her approach as her taciturn enfed a step behind—unneeded...unwanted...and quite frankly...in the way.

  Kinney waited o her and tapped his foot impatiently. He gestured toward the ser; Edith extended her hand. As she id her hand ft on the ser—a ser pio verify the reading...and with a whoosh...the door slid open...revealing a dimly lit chamber.

  Soft ambient music filled the air from hidden speakers, and the room's décor—if that was the right word—appeared as a sea of scattered b reports on various tables. Each of the report's data—expressed as numbers, figures, and notes—rojected from the scattered paperworks as they orbited a lone figure.

  He sat in the room's sole chair, surrounded by his papers, at a massive, disheveled desk—not b to turn around. The room smelled of earthy tones and old cigarettes. He idly scrolled through the holos mouo his desk; a golden watch, king on its , dangled from a belt loop on his right.

  With a stately walk, as if she owhe pce, Edith strode ihe door slid shut behind her as the rest of the group lingered in the hallway...their forms mere blurs through the translut gss.

  She stopped. For a few long minutes...she stood...waiting—hoping her legs wouldn't betray her by shaking, while the man at the desk kept to his work—as though she hadn't eveered the room...her existence being nothing more than a ghost of his imagination.

  Eventually, as she suspected he would, he took off his gsses—clipping them to the pocket on his coat. He ran his fihrough his shaggy locks and sighed. Salvatore, whose eention had been captured by the work on his desk, spoke up without turning to look at her.

  "You'll be happy to know that all the forces I sent to cause a bit of mayhem in the slums have been...excised." His words held a mog lilt; he paused—to g something on his s—before tinuing. "Your little...protégé...and Backfire, did most of the work. They're alive, if you're w."

  The st was muttered with a tone ing respect...almost an admissioh caught her breath but otherwise maintained a ral expression.

  The er of Salvatore's lips tugged downward in a wry smile; his hand paused over a data pad, finger poised. "Still, this was a siderable loss of my resources. My first priority will be to solidate...regroup and whatnot." He gnced back over his shoulder, and she could finally get a good look at his face.

  Rugged features and pierg greehat could probably and the room with ease. Even though his dark hair was styled to look messy, with flecks of grey in some pces, he'd dotle to hide the smooth lines of his face. Everything about this man—the way he talked, his clothing, his demeanor—screamed an uated form of wealth and css.

  Edith merely smiled cooly, arms csped behind her back. "And what about my ic? I'm sure you send yoons to try and scrape whatever data or secrets you believe I was hiding there."

  "I figured you expected the ic to be a target and prepared accly." Salvatore tilted his head. "I sent Mirage to scour the pce. Unfortunately, she had been killed by whatever tingency you'd left there. As, I don't have the persoo attempt a sed raid...and...if we're being frank here...the data you possess is enough to offset my losses."

  His words dripped with false passion...ending on an equally fake note. He twirled his pen, and his features hardened...steely gaze pierg her—his mood shifting back to a casual cruelty.

  "But enough of that," he said dismissively. "I know how you enjoy these games...the cat-and-mouse routine." With a sharp movement, Salvatore swiveled his chair to face her fully.

  The ers of his eyes kled in amusement. "You came to me retively willing...which means...I have something you need just as much as you have something I need."

  Edith managed a razor-thin smile of her own as she crossed the distaween them; her heels ccked with each step—eaent measured—each footstep weighted with expectation...and danger. Her tone—even to her own ears—held a tone of disected politeness. She stopped whehighs pressed against the side of his desk.

  "We could py these games all day." Her gaze never wavered from his—pinning him us weight...but also hinting at a lingering exhaustion...a forced civility. "However...you already have me...here...at your mercy. So why don't we dispeh the pleasantries a right down to business."

  She tapped one slender finger on the briefcase she carried.

  "My Metahuman serum is far from perfect—Axion is probably a one-in-a-billion fluke...if not a d while I would normally turn your offer down ft...I retly found out that your Adrenomancer drug might work together to achieve greater efficacy. So...here I am." She lifted the case up—putting it down with a slight thump as she leveled him with a smirk.

  "Tell me...exactly...what it is you want...so we move past this." Her fiensed—rexed...then drummed the metallic g once agaiing her fidence ooze into her voice. "I'm sure we have a lot more to...discuss."

  Salvatore—that rarest of expressions—had the grace to appear slightly...nonplussed. He collected himself, crossing his legs to prop up a clipboard, a slight furrow marring his brow.

  "Oh? I was expeg a little more...sparring...banter...wames. A...here we are. That was almost refreshing...I almost admire how straightforward you're being...a shame really. In a...there is one more dition for our partnership...if I could even call it that." Salvatore pushed himself out of his chair and casually strode over to a window.

  The skyline of the metropolis could be seen—jagged lines of buildings standing against a backdrop of the m's sunrise. With a practiced wave of his fingers, he caused the holographic projes and the o scatter—to retreat bato a sembnce of order. Salvatore moved over to the window with a lighto his step.

  His features took on a calm...resolve...the face of someone who had a pn. It made Edith wary...cautionary.

  "Something ued happened iermath of my foray into the slums. There have been...plications." A slight grimad a troubled sigh punctuated his words. "Prime had desded into the slums himself to...deal with the matter."

  Edith's eyes widened involuntarily; the cool demeanor slipped from her face. It took an effort to school her features bato their earlier ral expression. Her mind raced.

  Oh no... Out of all the heroes that she thought would e...this wasn't in her pn. A seed of dread g her gut.

  Prime. Leader of the Ultimate Guardians. The hero of all heroes. She'd calcuted—calcuted—that there wouldn't be a response so immediate. What was worse was that he had a history with Virgil.

  If they entered Prime...or rather...when they entered Prime...then...then...

  "And now Prime is dead," Salvatore added dispassionately, not seeming to care or notice the fact he had brokeh's mental of thoughts. His features became pcid. He waited—paused for a moment—with an impassive expression and gazed out at the city beyond the window.

  W-What?! The world came to a screeg halt. Everything before this was withih's calcutions—her expectations...but this...this was pletely outside her uanding.

  "Did Virgil kill him?" Edith asked weakly.

  He was the only one who could possibly y a scrat Prime...the only one who came even close. If this had happened...then...

  "No...Prime was killed by your protégé—Axion," Salvatore remarked bluntly.

  Edith reeled. The briefcase cttered to the floor. She reached out with her fio grab the desk's edge—steady herself...pull her thoughts together.

  Fii mao beat Prime? Kill him?! This...this...she...she must have somehow...caught him off-guard.

  She ran through a thousand sarios...a huhousand expnations. Fii had barely been a Metahuman for half a year and now she had bee powerful enough to kill one of the most powerful Metahumans in the world... How?

  As if reading her mind, Salvatore raised an eyebrow in her dire. "It appears your little...Axion...is going to bee a rather promi figure in the world stage. The upper echelon of the Metropolis now has their sights on her. I want want her on my side. I need you to sway her to work for me...one way...or the other...before they swoop in. Surely you've guessed—with your keen intellect—my tingency." He fixed her with a dark look.

  His veiled threat and underlying meaning were obvious, but her mind still tched on to this moal achievement. Fii's sheer poas...unfathomable...her potential...she had severely uimated the girl.

  Edith covered her mouth with a shaky hand, head slightly bowed. A grin slowly spread across her lips as her gaze rose to meet his—an appreciative gaze.

  Her shoulders shook from held-in ughter—all in an effort to tain her excitement and uanding of what Fii's aplishme. She willed herself to speak past her delirium.

  "Is...is that all...Dr. Salvatore?" she asked with a raspy to had bee almost painful to keep her emotions in check. Edith took a step forward a doing the briefcase with a trembling finger.

  Her smile spread into a crazed smirk...her gaze never leaving his. She watched with a sense of perverse triumph at how unfortable she made him.

  This...this could actually work. Pn A has never been so promising.