Chapter 76
Sidekick
Alexander stepped out of Precision Unlimited’s workshop into the station’s eternal twilight. His shoulders slumped from exhaustion, but his stride remained confident despite the seventy-two hours of near-continuous work. Behind him, three sets of black armor floated in formation: chest plates, bracers, shin guards, and thigh pieces, all suspended by his Metallokinesis. He wore the fourth set himself, though his bracers were replaced by the specialized gau...
2025-09-27 13:42:54 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 75
The Weight of Heroes
Augustus stepped through the doorway onto cool stone tiles, the shift from Argentum’s afternoon to Mediterranean night immediately apparent. Stars blazed overhead in a clarity impossible near any city. The terrace’s exterior lighting cast warm pools of gold across the stone, highlighting the pool complex and outdoor kitchen and barbecue area. Salt air mixed with the scent of citrus and wild herbs carried on the night breeze.
His tactical...
2025-09-27 13:42:24 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 74
Moving
Augustus stepped through the portal into the estate’s living room. Through the wraparound glass walls, late afternoon light painted the mountains gold. Two hours until the Doorman arrived. Alexander was busy at work in the station’s workshop, leaving the move to them.
He found Annie in the kitchen, organizing supplies into boxes while the scale-shimmered alien watched with interest.
“We should start packing,” Augustus said. “Essential thin...
2025-09-27 13:41:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 73
Pay to Win
Alexander stepped through the doorway into the workshop he’d rented through Precision Unlimited and stopped, taking it all in.
The workshop stretched out before him, industrial and beautiful. Clean steel surfaces, overhead gantries for heavy lifting, power feeds running in organized channels along the walls. The air carried that particular mixture of machine oil and ozone that meant serious work happened here.
But it was the equipment that mad...
2025-09-27 13:37:35 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 72
Pressure Points
Augustus stood in the reception area, watching Paul rise from behind his crescent desk of polished black stone. The Truthseeker’s measured gaze took in his appearance with the same weight as always, but there was something else there. A flicker of recognition, perhaps. Or concern.
“Mr. Greaves,” Paul said, voice carrying that subtle pressure against the mind. “The Queen is expecting you.”
Augustus had called ahead this time, a cou...
2025-09-27 13:37:12 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 71
Henchmen Manifested
Annie forced brightness into her voice as she stepped back into the living room. “How’s everyone doing? Still enjoying the Barkforce?”
She stopped mid-sentence. One of the aliens, the one with scales that shimmered like oil on water, held her tablet. The others huddled close, multiple eyes and sensory organs focused on the screen. But it wasn’t the show playing. The translation app was open, fragments of broken text visible as they pa...
2025-09-27 13:36:43 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 70
The Big Lie
Alexander made it back to the estate without further incident. The walk from the lake gave him time to process what had just happened. A bounty on their heads, big enough to motivate even the cautious. The kind of wealth that could turn anyone into an enemy.
He found most of the team in the kitchen, far enough from the living room where alien laughter mixed with Barkforce's dramatic soundtrack. With a look, he managed to pull Annie away, joining the ...
2025-09-27 13:35:41 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 69
A Nice Day
Alexander woke to the sound of chirping outside and the faint thrum of dramatic music from inside the house. After getting dressed, he made his way downstairs, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, and froze at the bottom step.
All the aliens except the Syltharian sat arranged around the holo, watching Barkforce. The crystalline one had somehow folded itself into Augustus's favorite chair. The blue alien sat cross-legged on the floor, gills fluttering wi...
2025-09-27 13:30:26 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 68
Choosing the Dream
The rest of the day passed in a blur of strange normalcy, punctuated by the oddity of alien foods.
Augustus returned through a portal with bags that clinked and sloshed with their bizarre contents. He muttered under his breath while unpacking.
"Fermented tree bark. Crystallized sulfur. High-alkaline water that costs more than wine." He held up a jar of something viscous and green. "And this. The vendor assured me it was strong enou...
2025-09-27 13:29:55 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 67
Practical Matters
After a brief discussion about the quest that continued to blink insistently at the corner of Alexander’s awareness, they set it aside. The System wanted an answer, but it could wait.
“Medical first,” Talia said, already moving toward the nearest alien. “I need to assess them properly.”
Alexander watched her work, methodical and careful. She checked each one, using gestures and the fragments of Galactic Common some understood. T...
2025-09-27 13:28:46 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 66
Spread the Dream
Alexander released the last of the restraints holding the alien. The creature’s breathing had steadied into something like sleep, chest rising and falling in a rhythm that seemed too slow compared to a human.
He glanced around the lab, once again taking in the blood pooling beneath the twisted metal coffin that had been Dr. Miller, and the shining gold liquid mixing with it.
Probably wouldn’t have been safe, anyway. He said it was ...
2025-09-27 13:25:20 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 65
The Good (Bad) Doctor
Alexander closed his eyes and reached into the security panel, unlocking the door.
The mechanism clicked softly. He eased the door open, peering through the crack. Dr. Miller stood with his back turned, tablet in hand, still addressing the alien strapped to the medical frame. The creature’s musical voice rose in what might have been a question or plea.
Miller chuckled. “No, no. You misunderstand the nature of progress.”
Al...
2025-09-27 13:24:36 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 64
First Contact
Alexander waited until the man had moved far enough away that he wouldn’t hear him, then he pulled on the hatch, easing it up.
He dropped down into the elevator with a thud; his drone floated down noiselessly after him.
Reaching for the doors, he gently slid them apart with a thought. Caution was the name of the game, now that he was so close to finding something he could use.
Ahead of him was a long, dimly lit, featureless concrete t...
2025-09-27 13:23:12 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 63
Subtle Unease
Alexander moved quickly through the dim corridors, his drone keeping pace. He kept checking for any change, but had so far found only disappointment.
His senses stretched wide across the facility. The place was quiet, with the only notable sound besides his footfalls being the air scrubbers working overtime. In a way, he could also hear the power lines carrying current across the base, but that didn’t really count. Nobody else could hear it.
<...
2025-09-27 13:22:20 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 62
Splitting the Party
Alexander leaned against a crate, taking a few moments to let his heart rate slow. Annie pulled her helmet off first, the small oxygen canisters starting to run low. Talia followed, and Alexander pulled his own off as well. The air in the room was chilled, but breathable.
One by one, they shrugged free of the parachute bags. They had been a lifeline in the event of a failure, but Alexander was happy not to have needed them. Not because it sho...
2025-09-27 13:20:45 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 61
No Witnesses
The rooftop was quiet.
Augustus lifted his wand, the beginnings of a portal forming, until Alexander caught his wrist.
Augustus turned his head, one brow raised.
“Two people below,” Alexander subvocalized across comms. “And the vehicle elevator’s coming back up for some reason.”
Augustus nodded, lowering his hand. “Let me know when it’s time.”
Talia slipped to the edge of the roof without a word, crouching low...
2025-09-27 13:20:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 60
Fear of Falling
An hour had passed since takeoff, the cabin’s steady hum broken only by the occasional rustle of movement, or the clinking of ice in Augustus’s drink.
Talia napped, reclining in her seat. Annie sat cross-legged with her boots on the seat, glued to the massive screen. Alexander appreciated that she’d switched to using headphones.
That left Alexander and Augustus sitting in silence. Comfortable enough, but heavy with thought.
Alex...
2025-09-27 13:19:26 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 59
Crime-A-Lot
Very early the next day, Alexander stood on a low platform while an elderly tailor circled him like a hawk, tugging at sleeves and muttering to himself in accented English. Augustus lounged nearby in a chair a touch too small for his frame, reading a tablet and looking completely at home.
“I still don’t understand why this is necessary,” Alexander said.
Augustus glanced up at him. “We can’t have you hiring a private jet looking like y...
2025-09-27 13:18:47 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 58
Auggy’s Crazy Plan
Alexander sat on the couch watching the holo, listening in on the debate between Annie and Augustus.
The news anchor’s voice droned on about riots flaring across the planet, crowds storming corporate branches, protests outside AEGIS offices, clashes with police and national guard. In some places, superheroes had been called in. In others, the newly christened super-augmented had shown up to put down unrest with force. Too many int...
2025-09-27 13:18:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 57
Kill Quest
Alexander spun lazily on the stool, holding his favorite drone in his hands. Little had changed in the few days since the System’s reveal.
The workbench was a place of chaos. To one side sat the alien cube, still giving off pulses picked up by his Technopathy. Still refusing to yield any secrets.
Only now there was one more secret it kept.
On the first night back, Alexander had pushed himself through fatigue and distraction, focusing on ...
2025-09-27 13:17:56 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 56
First Defeat
Annie stumbled and almost lost her footing.
Her opponent was taller than her, not that it was any surprise, but he was also quicker than she wanted to admit. He fought with a clean, efficient style, and every strike landed with a weight that reached deep even into her metal.
She tried to press the fight anyway, finally slipping into the wild rhythm that had carried her through each victory so far. Strike, close, then grapple. Anything to break...
2025-09-27 13:16:57 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 55
Of One’s Own Accord
Annie looked at him askance. “You killed yourself?!”
“I didn’t mean to,” Alexander said, feeling defensive for some reason. “I think…”
Talia and Augustus exchanged looks. “At least we’ve confirmed that your story of being from an alternate reality is true,” she said.
Alexander turned to them. “You didn’t believe me?”
“We didn’t think you were lying, but it was certainly hard to wrap our head...
2025-09-27 13:16:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 54
A New Power
After congratulating Talia, the others quickly realized that they all had hit at least one threshold themselves.
The mystery of ascension had long since lost its charm in favor of the desire to clean up immediately. So the team went their own ways to handle their own ascensions, with Augustus shouting after Talia that he recommended she do hers in the shower.
Less than an hour later, they reconvened in the armory for a second time. Augustus lea...
2025-09-27 13:15:55 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 53
Rivals, Not Enemies
The agreement held, though the two teams kept their distance from each other.
Alexander found it strange, the shape of trust in a moment like this. Enemies who had seen enough to keep their word. People who might hunt him tomorrow, yet would not break faith today. He allowed the thought to settle and turned toward the bodies.
Two fallen knights lay near the curb, armor cracked and blackened. He crouched beside the first and reached out ...
2025-09-27 13:14:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 52
The Black Knight
The knight spun, swinging the heavy sword wide. It flared with light. Alexander seized his two crafted drones with Metallokinesis, dragging them into the path of what was coming.
The sword ripped through the air, releasing a wave of energy that crashed into the drones, carving into them in a burst of sparks and metal fragments. Their sacrifice bought Alexander precious moments to roll clear of the attack.
Stumbling to his feet, Alexander l...
2025-09-27 13:13:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 51
…Now.
Everything went white.
The next thing Alexander knew, he was rolling on the ground, screaming as fire tore down his spine, and agony exploded inside his skull. He was vaguely aware that everyone else was going through the same thing, though he could barely hear anything over the damn buzzing in his ears.
The suffering didn’t stop. Seconds stretched until they felt like minutes, and minutes until they felt like hours. Pain dug into bone and crawle...
2025-09-27 13:13:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 50
…Begins…
Alexander hopped through the portal, swinging the tonfa to deflect a barrier-javelin Maximilian hurled after Annie.
The portals winked out.
He studied Maximilian. Technopathy was useless here; the Throne of Scales had wisely left behind anything that could be turned against them. Metallokinesis still limited Cash’s options, even now that he had closed the distance to Augustus, and it continued to weaken Maximilian’s chains as well.
U...
2025-09-27 13:12:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 49
Phase One…
Alexander leaned against the wall while he waited, slowly winding spools of wire around his arms. Now and then, a portal appeared and a pile of objects tumbled through. With casual effort, he scattered them throughout the hallways of the junction where he and Talia stood waiting.
It was chaos.
Finally, Augustus and Annie stepped through, looking around in awe, or perhaps confusion, at the bizarre mess he’d made.
“Which stage of menta...
2025-09-27 13:11:28 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 48
Just Add Hands
“Are you okay?”
Julia startled, then glanced at Raelene. “What?”
Raelene didn’t take her eyes off her tablet. “I asked if you’re okay. I know I’m not very good at understanding interpersonal relationships, but you have been having episodes where you stare off into the distance ever since we tried to arrest your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Julia said just shy of shouting, turning red when Cash laughed fr...
2025-09-27 13:11:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 47
Secrets Unearthed
Talia pulled on the director’s consciousness. It was easy compared to what it had taken to do the same to Flashpoint or the Ice Queen even for a few moments. But it was harder than stealing a recent memory, as she’d done to the officer at the police precinct.
She pushed away the facets of her personality, isolating her thoughts and core self to reduce the strain. The usual scene melted away, replaced by a small windowless room with a single...
2025-09-27 13:10:30 +0000 UTC
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