The extraction needles whirred, inches from Maya’s visor. The world seemed to slow down into a series of jagged, terrified heartbeats. But before the cold iron could pierce the armor, a streak of blinding silver light descended from the heavens like a falling star.
BOOM.
The Harvester was sent skidding fifty feet back, its heavy treads tearing deep furrows into the park’s pristine lawn. Standing between Maya and the machine was a figure that commanded the very air around her.
Laura Dawson Rose. The Cyberwoman.
She didn't look like the mother who packed Maya’s lunches or worried about her grades. She looked like a goddess of war. Her classic silver armor hummed with a terrifying, high-frequency vibration, and her eyes were glowing with a white-hot intensity that made the air smell of ozone.
"Mom?" Maya wheezed, pushing herself up on one trembling arm.
Laura didn't look back. She didn't offer a hand. Her gaze was fixed solely on the machine. "Stay down, Maya. You’ve done enough damage."
The Harvester recalibrated, its blue eye flashing. It surged forward, its arms transforming into rotating saw-blades. Laura didn't flinch. She met the machine head-on, her movements a blur of ruthless efficiency. She didn't "weld" or "anchor"; she destroyed. With a single, precision-strike, she tore the robot’s left arm from its socket, then drove a palm thrust into its chest that sent a shockwave through the entire park.
Crrr-ack!
The Harvester’s central core shattered. As the machine fell to its knees, sparking and dying, Laura stood over it. She reached into the wreckage and pulled out the main processor, crushing it in her fist like a soda can.
The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating. John and the panther-form Hana watched from the sidelines, frozen by the sheer aura of the legendary hero.
Laura finally turned to Maya. The glowing white light faded from her eyes, replaced by a look of cold, sharp disappointment.
"The Neo-Cyber suit is a weapon, Maya. Not a toy for your 'debut,'" Laura said, her voice like ice.
"I was trying to help," Maya whispered, her voice cracking. "Hana and John were in danger—"
"And you nearly got them killed by being overconfident," Laura interrupted. She looked at the cracked chest plate of Maya's suit. "You have the power, but you have no discipline. You thought winning a school contest made you a hero. It didn't. It just made you a target."
Laura turned and walked toward a waiting West Corp transport, her cape billowing in the wind. She didn't look back once. "Go back to the Academy. Victoria is waiting. If you ever want to wear that suit again, you’ll start from zero."
Maya stood in the middle of the ruined park, the shattered pieces of the Neo-Cyber Armor falling off her body like dead skin. Her mother’s words hurt worse than the robot’s blows.
"Maya..." John walked over, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
Maya flinched away, her head bowed as her hair shielded her crying eyes. "I’m an impostor, John. I’m just a girl in a costume."
As she walked toward the bus stop, alone, she didn't see the tiny drone hovering in the trees, recording her tears. Back in the lab, Doctor Science watched the footage, a thin, cruel smile touching his lips. The physical harvest had failed, but the emotional one was going perfectly. The Rose was finally starting to wilt.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycIz9bMCcS
and then Add to home screen.