The mid-morning sun glinted off the glass towers of downtown Sherwood. Inside the West Corp van, the air was thick with tension. Austin was hunched over three different laptops, his fingers a blur.
"Okay, Laura, keep your breathing steady," Austin whispered into the comms. "Police scanners say there are four heavily armed UMAs inside the First National Bank. They have some kind of 'Phase-Tech' that lets them walk through vault doors."
"I'm ready," Laura said. She was tucked in the shadows of an alleyway, wearing a lightweight tactical suit. The shard in her arm was humming, a warm vibration that felt like a coiled spring.
From the rooftop above, Victoria watched through her visor. She was staying out of the fight—this was Laura's test. "Remember, Laura: The goal is to save lives, not to win the fight. Use the minimum force necessary."
The Breach
"Go," Victoria commanded.
Laura didn't fly—she leaped. She cleared the street in a single bound and crashed through the bank's skylight. As she descended, the emerald light erupted. For the first time, she focused her intent: Defense.
The armor materialized in mid-air—sleek, bright, and shimmering like starlight. She landed between the robbers and a group of hostages, her boots cracking the marble floor.
"Bank's closed, guys," Laura said, her voice amplified by the suit.
The Battle of Instinct
The robbers didn't hesitate. One of them, a "Heavy" with skin like rusted iron, charged at her. Laura’s instinct screamed to blast him with everything she had.
"Laura! Minimum force!" Austin yelled through her ear-piece. "He's a UMA, but he's still human!"
Laura gritted her teeth. Instead of a lethal blast, she channeled the energy into her palms and clapped them together. A Sonic Concussion rippled through the air, knocking the Heavy back without breaking his bones.
But then, the leader—a "Phase-Shifter"—flickered out of reality and reappeared behind the hostages. He leveled a high-tech pulse rifle at a teller. "Back off, shiny, or she’s gone!"
The Surge
Laura felt it then—the same dark, cold fear that had nearly consumed Victoria in the past. Her power began to spike. The blue energy turned a jagged, electric violet.
"Laura, stop!" Victoria’s voice was sharp. "You’re letting your fear take the wheel! Breathe!"
Inside her mind, Laura saw her father. She remembered his voice: 'If someone needs help, you don't ask permission.' She realized that "helping" meant staying calm.
She closed her eyes for a split second. The violet faded back to a steady, hopeful green. Instead of attacking the leader, she used her speed. She moved so fast she became a blur of light, snatching the rifle from the leader's hand and crushing it before he could pull the trigger.
She didn't punch him. She grabbed his arm, and the Cybergem's energy performed a "Neural Dampen," short-circuiting his phase-tech and knocking him unconscious.
The Aftermath
The bank went silent. The hostages looked up at the new hero with awe. Laura stood there, her armor shimmering softly in the morning light.
"Austin?" she whispered. "Did I... did I do it right?"
"Everyone’s alive, Laura," Austin said, his voice cracking with relief. "No civilian casualties. Total property damage is... well, the floor is trashed, but you did it."
Victoria landed silently beside her. She didn't say anything at first; she just looked at the prisoners being led away by the UMA-response team. Then, she placed a hand on Laura’s armored shoulder.
"You didn't just fight them," Victoria said, pride shining in her eyes. "You protected them. You're a hero, Laura Dawson."
The Shadow in the Sky
As they stepped out of the bank, the crowd began to cheer. But the cheering stopped as the sky suddenly turned a bruised, sickly purple.
A massive Rift opened directly above the Sherwood Music Festival grounds. Unlike the other rifts, this one didn't bring ships. It brought a view of a city that looked like New York—but the buildings were made of bone, and the sky was filled with ash.
"Is that... a different world?" Austin asked, his tablet beeping frantically. "I'm picking up signals from... Avengers Tower? But it's destroyed!"
"Dementra," Victoria whispered, her face pale. "The training is over. She’s ripping the multiverse open to find us."
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