Adrian didn't hesitate.
The second Dante spoke, he fired. One shot. Straight at the bastard's face.
Too late.
A Silver Hand operative stepped in front of Dante, caught the bullet mid-air—with a metallic hand.
The thing smiled.
Isabella stood paralyzed in the corner, chest heaving, eyes glassy and wrong—like something was crawling behind her vision, rewriting her from the inside out.
"Isabella!" Adrian shouted. "Look at me. Don't listen to him."
She didn't blink.
Dante stepped closer, hands behind his back like a priest presiding over her resurrection.
"She was designed to evolve under stress. The more pain, the stronger she gets. Until her will breaks… and we program the rest."
Adrian emptied his clip into the nearest operative.
The armor cracked, but didn't fall.
"Cute," Dante said. "But you're outgunned."
From the corner, Isabella twitched.
Then she screamed.
It wasn't human. It was a frequency—a surge that made the walls tremble and Adrian stagger to one knee. Lights flickered. Monitors shattered.
Then Isabella collapsed.
Adrian lunged forward, grabbing her before she hit the floor. Her skin was ice. Her pupils fully dilated. And her pulse—too fast.
He looked up. "What did you do to her?"
Dante smiled. "Just lit the fuse."
He turned to leave.
"You're not taking her," Adrian growled.
Dante paused. "We don't have to."
He tossed a small black cube onto the floor.
STATUS: KILL CODE ENGAGED. SUBJECT: 3A. REMOTE CONTROL: UNLOCKED.
The cube blinked once—and disappeared into the floor like it had been swallowed whole.
The wall behind Dante sealed shut. The Silver Hands followed.
Adrian was left with a woman who might not be one anymore.
Minutes Later – Safehouse Lab
Isabella woke strapped to a medical table—iron restraints binding her wrists and ankles. The room was spinning. Her skin burned. Her head felt like someone had buried an axe in her brain.
"What…" she croaked. "What's happening to me?"
Adrian sat beside her, sleeves rolled up, hands bloody from smashing through Council tech.
"You blacked out. Your heart rate tripled. Your eyes changed."
She blinked at him. "Why didn't you kill me?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he touched her face—gentle. Like she was still real.
"You're not a weapon," he whispered. "You're not their puppet. You're you."
She swallowed. "You're wrong. I can feel it… in my spine, in my veins. Like something's crawling through me."
Adrian held up a scanner—Council tech rigged to a hacked tablet.
"This shows the neural override is active—but it hasn't taken full control."
"So they can still switch me off. Or worse."
"They won't."
"How do you know?"
Adrian stood. Walked to the corner. Opened a drawer. Pulled out a syringe filled with black fluid.
"Because I found what Julian was hiding."
He held it up.
"Protocol Nullifier. Experimental. One shot kills the neural code permanently."
Her eyes widened. "Then use it."
Adrian didn't move.
"There's a catch," he said. "If we use it before full override, it might wipe everything—memories, language, identity."
She stared at him. "I'd forget who I am?"
"You'd forget me. Your mother. Your name. Everything."
She swallowed hard. "But I'd be free."
He didn't answer. Just held the syringe between them.
Isabella whispered, "What would you do?"
Adrian stepped closer. His eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them.
"I'd rather love a stranger than lose you to them."
Then he touched her cheek again—and injected the serum.
Somewhere Else – Council Chambers, Isolation Wing
Eva sat in a cold chair, still cuffed.
The door opened. A woman stepped inside. White coat. No name tag.
"You're her mother," the woman said. "You have a code buried in your memory. A failsafe Julian embedded before Isabella was born."
Eva looked up slowly.
"I buried it because I didn't want her to be this."
The woman placed a small device on the table.
"If you don't give it now, she dies."
Eva exhaled. "She might die either way."
"Maybe. But one path ends with her free. The other ends with her body on fire and her soul sold to the Council."
Eva touched the device.
"Tell her this when the time comes," she said. "'The trigger was never in your blood. It was in your name.'"
The woman nodded.
And left.
Safehouse – Ten Minutes Later
Isabella screamed as the serum took hold.
Adrian held her down. Her body convulsed—veins glowing faintly, eyes turning milky then clearing again.
"Stay with me," he begged. "Don't let them take you."
She arched—then collapsed.
Silence.
Adrian hovered, breath ragged. "Isabella?"
Her eyes opened.
No glow.
No code.
Just her.
She blinked at him. "I remember…"
He leaned forward. "What?"
She sat up slowly, jaw tight.
"I remember what Julian did to me when I was six."
Adrian froze.
"What did he do?"
She turned to him.
"He didn't protect me from the Protocol. He helped build it. He thought if I survived it, I'd be strong enough to destroy it."
A tear slid down her cheek—but her voice never cracked.
"He raised me like a daughter. But I was always the experiment."
Adrian's hand reached for hers. She didn't flinch.
She squeezed it.
"Then let's burn this system to the ground."
Cut To – Council Secure Line
A hidden server blinked to life.
A voice crackled through the static:
"Subject 3A has initiated Override Suppression. Nullifier successful."
"Proceed to Phase Three."
RELEASE: SUBJECT 5B – ASSET NAME: CAIN