The debrief after the pier encounter was short and brutal. ARGUS had captured enough bioelectric signature data to predict SG-01’s next likely hunting ground — a dense residential district just outside COMA’s surveillance perimeter.
ARGUS (through COMA HQ speakers):60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGajnhsoJul
“Probability of SG-01 activity in sector 14-B: 84%. Suggested strategy: lure with high-yield bioelectric bait. Ravenfall units will act as intercept and containment.”
Damien folded his arms. “Bait means one of us.”
“I’ll do it,” Luce said immediately.
“Over my dead body,” Sayaka snapped.
“It might be over his dead body if you keep arguing,” Ishaan muttered, earning a sharp glare from both twins.
Avni cut in. “We can’t put Luce in direct bait position. SG-01 recognized him last time. That’s an unpredictable variable.”
Lev leaned forward over the holo-map. “We use a decoy signal — replicate his bioelectric pattern and push it into a controlled kill zone.”
ARGUS: “Replication possible with modified COMA pulse harness. Volunteer must maintain close proximity to emitter to avoid drift.”
Saira exhaled slowly. “So someone still has to be the target.”
“I’ll do it,” Raiden said before anyone else could speak.
Erik’s head snapped toward him. “Raiden, no—”
Raiden smiled faintly. “Relax. It’s a trap. He won’t touch me.”
The Setup
Sector 14-B was quiet that night. The rain-slick streets reflected the dim glow of streetlamps, and every sound seemed to carry too far.
The team divided into three zones around the “kill box” — an abandoned intersection between crumbling apartment blocks.
Zone A (Close Guard): Raiden (bait), Erik, Saira, Ishaan
Zone B (Sniper Overwatch): Luce, Sayaka, Avni
Zone C (Intercept): Damien, Isolde, Lev, Veer, Dev
Raiden adjusted the pulse harness under his coat. It was silent, but he could feel it — the faint buzz against his skin, the mimicry of Luce’s signature running through him like an invisible beacon.
“You ready?” Erik asked quietly.
“Ready,” Raiden said, scanning the shadows. “Question is — is he?”
First Signs
Twenty minutes passed. The rain fell harder.
Then ARGUS’s voice came through the comms, low and precise:
“Target signature detected. Approaching from the north, elevated position. Estimated arrival in forty seconds.”
Luce’s grip tightened on his rifle. Sayaka saw it. “Breathe,” she whispered.
On the ground, Raiden shifted his stance, letting his hands hang loose. Erik stood just behind him, blade drawn but hidden beneath his coat.
From somewhere above, the sound of water dripping changed — a heavier splash, deliberate.
The Arrival
SG-01 emerged from the darkness without hurry, stepping off a rooftop and landing silently on the wet asphalt ten meters away.
“Not you again,” he said, eyes narrowing at Raiden. “But close enough.”
Raiden smiled faintly. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“I’m not disappointed,” SG-01 replied. “Your heart will do nicely.”
The Spring of the Trap
ARGUS: “Engage containment field. Now.”
From Zone C, Lev activated the remote trigger. A surge of pale blue energy burst between the four portable emitters placed around the intersection, locking the space in a shimmering cage.
SG-01 glanced at it, expression unreadable. “A box? For me?”
Damien’s voice over comms was sharp. “Hold position. Snipers ready—”
But SG-01 didn’t lunge. He stepped forward slowly, fingers brushing the field’s edge. The energy sizzled and spat where his skin touched it — but he didn’t flinch.
“Interesting,” he murmured. “You think this holds me?”
And then, impossibly, he stepped through the field. The containment hissed, sparked — and failed.
Chaos
“Go, go, go!” Damien barked.
SG-01 was on Raiden in an instant. Erik moved, blade flashing, forcing him back. But the biohuman was fast — too fast. He pivoted away from Erik’s strike and grabbed the pulse harness under Raiden’s coat, yanking him forward.
From above, Luce fired — the shot clipped SG-01’s shoulder, forcing him to release Raiden.
But instead of fleeing, SG-01 looked up at the rooftops — directly at Luce. That faint, unreadable smile returned.
“You’re wasting your time,” he called, and then simply vaulted backward into the shadows of a side street, gone before anyone could give chase.
Aftermath at the Site
Everyone regrouped in the rain-soaked intersection, adrenaline still running high.
“Containment didn’t hold,” Lev muttered, checking the charred emitter. “He overloaded the frequency somehow.”
ARGUS’s tone was clinical:
“Hypothesis: SG-01 can modulate bioelectric output to bypass field resonance. Containment strategy must be revised.”
Raiden adjusted his coat, ignoring Erik’s furious glare. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” Erik said sharply. “If Luce hadn’t shot—”
Raiden cut him off. “If Luce hadn’t shot, he still wouldn’t have taken me. He was… playing with us.”
Private Moment
As the others packed the gear, Sayaka found Luce still staring down the street where SG-01 had vanished.
“You froze for a second,” she said quietly.
“I didn’t freeze,” Luce replied, though his voice lacked conviction. “I just… recognized something in him. Not his face — something else.”
Sayaka’s eyes softened. “We’ll figure out what he is. Before he hurts anyone else.”
Luce’s gaze stayed on the rain-dark street. “He’s not just going to hurt people. He’s going to break them.”
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GMXYZRB3U
and then Add to home screen.