The sound of shattering glass and screams echoed through Moon Valley Mall's main entrance. Jessica felt the wolf inside her stirring, claws of instinct scratching against the thin membrane of her human control. Her muscles coiled tight beneath her cheerleading uniform as she rushed through the doors with Kevin, Salina, Henry, and Tiffany. The mall, once a bustling hub of consumerism and social interaction, was now a war zone.

  The air was thick with the scent of fear and the acrid tang of ozone from sparking electrical systems. Mannequins lay decapitated, store displays demolished, and scattered merchandise created an obstacle course of retail carnage—the distant wail of sirens mixed with the mall's cheerful Muzak in a discordant symphony of chaos.

  "We can't just rush in blind," Kevin muttered, his fingers flying across the screen of a handheld device he'd cobbled together from what looked like spare computer parts and duct tape. His eyes focused on Trampolina’s signal while his brow furrowed in concentration. "One wrong move, and she'll tear this place apart." His voice was steady, but the slight tremor in his hands betrayed his nervousness.

  Salina stood beside him, her black clothing a stark shadow against the mall's sterile white walls. "Tear it apart more than she already has?" She gestured at the surrounding destruction. The mall's once pristine interior was now a shattered glass and twisted metal landscape.

  A sharp, electronic laugh cut through the ambient mall music like a knife. The sound came from the direction of the Sunglass Hut, where display cases were exploding in a cascade of designer frames and tempered glass. Trampolina moved with a dancer's grace, each destruction a choreographed routine. Her synthetic blonde hair didn't move as she turned, those electric red eyes scanning her handiwork with cold calculation.

  "I've got something," Henry said, pushing his way between Kevin and Salina. He was holding another device, this one looking marginally more professional than Kevin's DIY contraption. "A tracking frequency, which can also hack into her system if I can get close to her. I built it just in case." His voice held a note of pride, but there was also a hint of regret, a realization that his creation had spun out of control.

  Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Just in case of what? Your killer robot going rogue?" His tone was sarcastic, but there was a genuine concern underlying his words. He had always been wary of Henry's experiments, always the voice of caution in their group.

  "Precisely," Henry responded, without a hint of irony. His focus was on the device in his hands, his fingers moving quickly as he tried to lock onto Trampolina's signal.

  Jessica's attention split between their banter and Trampolina, who was systematically destroying the Sunglass Hut. Display cases exploded in a cascade of designer frames and tempered glass. The robot moved with a dancer's grace, each destruction a choreographed routine. There was a methodical precision to her movements, a calculated chaos that was both terrifying and mesmerizing. She was not just destroying for the sake of destruction; she was learning, adapting, evolving with each shattered display and crushed mannequin.

  “Why is she destroying everything?” Salina asked. “She’s just attacking random stuff.”

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  “For a big show, I guess,” Henry suggested. “I programmed her to perform a great show for the audience. Whatever Tiffany’s stupid boyfriend did to her, she thinks destruction and mayhem is her show.”

  “So are we totally going to catch her without getting our asses wiped?” Jessica asked.

  Kevin's eyes lit up as he spotted a hobby shop across the mall. "I have an idea." He darted inside, emerging moments later with a high-end RC race truck. "We can use this to lure her into position. If she is attacking random stuff, this thing will catch her attention. There's a service corridor junction near the food court–perfect spot for an ambush."

  "And then what?" Jessica asked, her voice low. The wolf inside her growled, urging her to transform, to fight. But she knew better. Changing here would only add to the chaos.

  Kevin pulled a large net from his backpack. "We drop this on her. It's reinforced with carbon fiber–should hold her long enough for Henry to hack in and shut her down."

  Salina raised an eyebrow. “You have a carbon fiber net? For what?”

  Kevin chuckled. “You know… In case something weird is happening.”

  Jessica giggled. She knew her boyfriend was always prepared for a supernatural encounter.

  Tiffany jogged over, her cheerleading uniform somehow still immaculate despite the surrounding destruction. "Most people are out, but we need to hurry. Security's trying to keep everyone back, but they can't hold the perimeter forever."

  A display of fountain drinks exploded nearby, soda spraying in an arc and creating a sticky rainbow across the mall's floor. Trampolina's laughter echoed again, more sinister this time. She was moving faster now, her destruction more frenzied.

  "Positions," Kevin commanded, setting up the RC truck. Jessica and Salina took the net, finding elevated positions on either side of the service corridor junction. Henry stood ready with his hacking device while Kevin prepared to drive the truck.

  The RC truck roared to life, its electric motor whining as Kevin skillfully maneuvered it through the debris. The moment Trampolina spotted it, her head snapped toward the movement, those electric eyes blinking like a car alarm. For a moment, everything was perfectly still.

  Then she moved. “No rivalry! No rivalry!”

  The robot launched herself after the truck with inhuman speed, following its erratic path through the destruction. Kevin's hands were steady now, guiding the truck toward their trap with precision. As Trampolina entered the junction, Jessica and Salina dropped the net.

  The weighted mesh descended perfectly, tangling around the robot. Henry rushed forward, device in hand, ready to hack into her systems. But Trampolina was too fast, too strong. She grabbed Henry before he could connect his device, throwing him against a wall with casual force. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  Trampolina laughed again–that sharp, electronic sound that was neither humor nor malice, just pure, calculated chaos. With a single motion, she shredded the net and sprinted toward the mall's exit, leaving their failed trap behind.

  "Henry!" Tiffany rushed to his side, checking his pulse. "He's breathing, but he needs medical attention. I'll get him to the hospital."

  Kevin's tracking device beeped urgently. His face paled as he read the display. "She's heading toward the power plant." The implications hit them all at once–if Trampolina gained control of Moon Valley's power supply, the entire town would be at her mercy.

  Jessica exchanged looks with Salina and Kevin. They had to stop her before she reached the plant, before she could plunge the town into darkness. With Tiffany taking care of Henry, it was up to the three of them to prevent a citywide catastrophe.

  "Well," Salina said dryly, checking her gear. "At least we know where she's going next.”

  Kevin's device beeped again, more urgently. "We need to move. Now." His voice held no trace of his earlier nervousness, only determination. They had failed to stop Trampolina at the mall, but they couldn't fail at the power plant. The stakes were too high.

  As they rushed toward the exit, Jessica cast one last look at the destruction behind them. The mall's fluorescent lights flickered ominously, casting strange shadows across the chaos Trampolina had left in her wake. The wolf inside her stirred again, sensing the greater battle to come. This time, she might not keep it contained. This time, they might need the wolf to stop the machine.