Page 63 of Stripe Theory

The call ended just as her monitors registered multiple breaches in the building’s security. Genesis Corp’s enhanced teams were sending reinforcements.

His tiger’s fury crashed through their connection, nearly overwhelming her own senses. The depth of his concern for her safety warred with his tactical focus, creating a tempest of emotion that threatened to sweep them both away.

Save the conference attendees, she reminded him, even as her own heart ached with the need to be at his side.

The cure component was nearly stabilized. Just a few more minutes of precise conditions, careful monitoring, and?—

The lab’s reinforced door exploded inward.

Three enhanced operatives burst through the smoke, their movements unnaturally fluid. The virus had changed them, pushing shifter limits beyond what should be possible. Their eyes gleamed with an eerie luminescence - a side effect of accelerated cellular mutation.

“That’s far enough,” Alora stated, positioning herself between them and the cure synthesis. “Unless you’d like toexplain to Leeta why her virus samples turned into strawberry Jell-O. Again.”

The lead operative paused. “Again?”

“Science involves a lot of trial and error.” She shrugged, using the movement to edge closer to her workstation. “Sometimes those errors are more... gelatinous than others.”

The lead operative’s enhanced eyes narrowed, tracking her every movement. “Step away from the samples, Dr. Sky.”

“You know, that might have worked better if you’d said pretty please.” Alora’s mind raced through possibilities as she kept them talking. The cure needed exactly ninety more seconds of stabilization. Behind her, delicate equipment hummed through final processing stages.

The operative on the left moved with unnatural speed, closing the distance between them in a blur. Alora barely managed to dodge, her injured shoulder screaming in protest. She stumbled into her workbench, sending equipment clattering.

His tiger’s rage crashed through their connection with such force, she almost shifted despite being fully human.Stay calm, she reminded him, even as she narrowly avoided another enhanced strike.I’ve got this.

“Leeta doesn’t want you harmed,” the lead operative stated, circling closer. “But accidents happen.”

“Funny you should mention accidents.” Alora’s hand found what she needed on her workbench. “I’m something of an expert on those.”

She triggered her emergency protocols. Liquid nitrogen lines burst in strategic locations, instantly filling the lab with obscuring vapor. The enhanced operatives’ heightened senses worked against them as the extreme temperature change overwhelmed their systems.

But they adapted faster than she thought possible.

A hand shot through the vapor, catching her injured arm. Pain exploded through her shoulder as the operative yanked her forward. Their eyes gleamed with viral modification, pupils contracting unnaturally.

“Enough games,” he growled.

Alora drove her knee up, channeling every self-defense lesson Maya had ever drilled into her. “I don’t know.” She twisted free as he doubled over. “I think we’re just getting to the fun part.”

Her tablet chimed - the cure reaching final stabilization. Sixty seconds left.

The other two operatives converged from different angles, their movements a disturbing blend of human and predator. She recognized the virus’s influence - they were caught between forms, trapped in a perpetual state of partial transformation.

“The virus is killing you,” she tried reasoning, ducking under another strike. “Those enhancements? They’re breaking down your cellular structure. Let me help?—”

“We’re evolving,” the female operative snarled, her voice distorting. “Becoming something better.”

FORTY-EIGHT

“Yeah, that’s definitely the virus talking. Along with a concerning amount of megalomaniac propaganda.” Alora reached behind her, fingers finding familiar equipment. “Quick science lesson - evolution isn’t about being better.”

She grabbed the centrifuge tube she’d prepared earlier, thanking every deity that her habit of “creative” lab protocols had finally proved useful. “It’s about adaptation!” She threw the tube on the floor.

The glass shattered at their feet, releasing a carefully calibrated compound. The enhanced operatives’ mutated senses betrayed them - overwhelmed by the up-close chemical reaction, they staggered back.

Forty-five seconds.

Hold on,his thoughts carried desperate intensity.We’re coming.

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