THE NEXT DAY
6:00PM…
Dr Reed walked through the halls of the facility, his mind full of thoughts and plans as he contemplated his dilemma. He walked past a door, a security guard dressed in black opened the door, spotted him and called for his attention inside. The door led to a surveillance room that looked over all the cameras inside and outside the facility with half a dozen security personnel stationed in the room. The guard directed Reed to a particular monitor that shows the boys, Lareto, Nkosi and Acid discussing.
"sir, the night shift noticed this group from yesterday. They were quite adamant that it may be something of interest." the security guard explained.
"why is the sound switched off?" Reed asked
"apparently the camera that captured this had some maintenance issues yesterday, that's why there's no sound." the guard answered. Reed squinted his eyes as he watched the footage, he also noticed the depth of the discussion and started thinking it may be something of interest.
"ok. Send the footage to my tablet and have one of the IT boys meet me at my office." he instructed.
"yes sir. Should also inform Dr Kane?" the guard asked.
"no. Don't bother, I'll… I'll speak to him about it." Reed answered.
"yes sir." the guard said. Reed then walked out of the room and headed to his office. A small window of opportunity may have presented itself.
9:55pm…
Its a few minutes to lights out, a few minutes before its time to take action. Ahmad sat on the floor, his hands trembling slightly, but his face remained firm. Sadiq lay still, lips moving in silent mumbling to himself. Nasir watched the guards, memorizing their patterns. Umar had grown quiet, fists clenched, shoulders taut. The plan was set, their roles were clear and the objective at hand. Acid, was in a cell on his own with a gas mask on his face, giddy with excitement. Lareto and Nkosi in their own cell pacing around, nervous about whats to come.
9:58pm, the time has come. Ahmad signals to Sadiq. Sadiq walked out of the cell and headed to the exit at the end of the hall. As he walked, he nodded at Lareto and Nkosi. They tensed in anticipation, but were ready. They began to argue while pushing each other, faking a fight. They slammed into the cell doors, drawing the attention of the guards at the end of the hall. They moved to stop the fight, Sadiq stood by the wall as they passed him, he then moved swiftly to the control box by the exit and opened it. The guards voices echoed through the hall as they tried to separate Lareto and Nkosi. Sadiq moved fast, cutting wires and reconnecting others until finally, the lights above flickered. A low hum passed through the facility, followed by a piercing beep. The collars made a sound, then going quiet just as suddenly.
"LARETO, NOW!!!" Sadiq yelled out. Without missing a beat, Lareto got free of the guard restraining him and let out a huge burst of electricity, sending the guards to the ground and the shockwave through the entire section with a loud cry.
All the collars in the hall short-circuited along with all the other electronics, The lights cut off completely. For a heartbeat, there was darkness. Then, red emergency lights kicked in, bathing the corridors in blood-coloured light. The prison went completely silent for a few seconds, then the loud wailing of emergency sirens blasted through the speakers. The guards looked at each other on the ground, confusion and fear evident on their faces. Heavily armoured guards rushed into the hall with loaded weapons and shields, "ALL PRISONERS GET BACK INTO CELL-PODS NOW!" one guard shouted as he pointed his gun at Lareto and Nkosi but they remained still, "I SAID GO! OR I WILL FORCED TO SHOOT YOU!" the guard yelled again but still no reaction from Lareto. He cocked his gun, ready to fire but before he could, Nkosi generated a small vortex that then carried all the gaurds in the air and threw them in different directions as another troop of heavily armed guards marched in.
The entire hall exploded in chaos as other prisoners realized they had their powers back. The guards fired; Sadiq swept water from a nearby pipe and blasted them backward. Nasir launched a compressed wind burst, knocking weapons from their hands.
"CODE 49 — SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED," the automated voice blared. Umar blasted out of the cell and stomped his foot into the ground, generating a large crator and sending 2 guards falling into it. Suddenly, the reinforced door began to come down on the main exit door.
"Ahmad! The exit!" Sadiq yelled. Ahmad came up to the hall way, flames bursting all around him with his eyes glowing as other prisoners cleared out of the path. He took a deep breath and fired a massive blast at the exit, completely obliterating the reinforced door but the main exit remained closed. Ahmad's face frowned but before he could move, a hand touched his shoulder and a familiar odour traced his nose.
"boss… allow me, make I show you." Acid said as he stepped forward. Ahmad stepped aside as Acid prepared his attack, he took a deep breath and vomited a green toxic acid, sending it as a projectile to the exit door. The door melted, giving way to the outside of the hall.
"how you see am?" Acid asked with a smirk. Ahmad smiled, knowing they were that much closer to their goal.
Moments earlier in the observation booth…
Kane stood at the observation window overlooking the containment wing, hands clasped behind his back. The hum of machinery and distant hum of alarms filled the room. Reed stood beside him, jaw tight, watching the monitors.
"You really think they deserve this?" Reed said quietly. "They're just kids, Marcus."
"They're not kids," Kane replied without turning. "They're weapons. Weapons we forged. They belong to us, and now it's time we show them their place."
Reed shook his head. "so what do you plan to do with them once they're caught? They won't submit to you, they never will."
"We'll put them to sleep after a few hours of… discipline. And wake them up once that mind control chip is fully functional." Kane answered, finally turning to face him.
"There's another way," Reed pressed. "its not too late, we could teach them. Guide them. USE them to reach out to the world in a better way." he continued.
"Still the idealist. I don't why I try with, you're useless" Kane chuckled darkly
Suddenly, a loud thud was heard from the distance. Then the control panel blared: CODE 49 — SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED. Kane's head snapped toward the screen, eyes narrowing. He stabbed a button on the console. "Who authorized—"
Reed pointed a pistol at him. "I did."
Kane smiled slowly, darkly. "Ah. So that's how it is." With a wave of his hand, Kane unleashed a dark blast that ripped the pistol from Reed's grip and flung him against the wall.
"You always disappoint me, Emeka." he said menacingly
Reed, now looking skinnier and drained, coughing blood from his mouth. "You made this war, Marcus. I'm just leveling the battlefield."
"you have an equal share in this so-called war my friend, with all your insight I'm surprised you haven't noticed that." Kane sneered.
"I know. That's I've been working so hard to screw you." Reed answered with a smirk as he brought out another weapon from his pocket and fired a blast at Kane, sending him crashing into the control panel as sparks flew.
Alarms screamed louder now. Footage of the chaos raging flickered across the monitors, the boys escaping and fighting their way out along with other inmates, guards trying their best but can't stand up to their fire power.
Kane struggled to his knees, his power grew weaker but still crackling around him. "what have you done?" he mumbled.
"I found a compound to counteract your power. And it worked even better than I expected." Reed answered as he got up.
"You will regret this." Kane sneered.
"I have a lot of regrets since that fateful day ten years ago, but not today. I'll see you soon old friend." Reed said as he walked out of the room. Kane filled with rage at the betrayal, barely containing his powers. He crawled to the control panel and pressed a white button.
"activation code:KANE49… Defensive measure 5, INITIATE!" he said as he fell to the ground, loosing consciousness.
A few minutes later…The boys burst out of the containment wing and found themselves in the wide-open prison compound, an open space surrounded by watchtowers and electrified fences. But standing dead center was a figure they hadn't seen before.
A towering figure, shrouded in a black exosuit, glowing faintly with Nucranium energy. Mechanical limbs and organic muscle fused in terrifying harmony. The air around him crackled with radiation. Reed was running through the hall when he noticed a monitor that showed what was happening outside. His eyes widened in shock and fear.
"no… Project Titan." he trembled.
The figure raised his head, a mask peeled back to reveal a familiar face. It was Ayo, Mama Ayo's son, enhanced, reprogrammed, and fueled with Nucranium.
"no way." the boys exclaimed silently.
"hello, long time no see." Titan growled, his voice warped by machinery. "I believe we need a reintroduction."
Without warning, Titan charged. Umar stepped forward to block him, but Titan caught his punch mid-swing and hurled him across the compound, crashing him through a metal crate.
Nasir fired a gust of wind— the Titan barely flinched, slamming his foot down and sending a shockwave rippling through the ground. Sadiq formed a water whip, but the Titan vaporized it with a pulse of heat.
Ahmad summoned his flames—this time brighter, hotter—and hurled them at the Titan. For a moment, the fire engulfed the figure... until the Titan burst out, his armor glowing red-hot but unscathed.
"you can do better than that." Titan roared as he kicked Ahmad away like a football, sending him crashing into the concrete wall.
Sadiq summoned water from the ocean a few meters away, submerging the Titan. Umar exploded from the ground with 2 large boulder, hurling them at the submerged Titan. At the same time, Sadiq pushed the water away, sending the Titan flying across the compound and crashing in the concrete fence, seemingly defeating him.
The boys regrouped, breathing heavily as the regained their wits. Suddenly, the Titan explodes from the rumble, standing tall and completely uninjured.
"that was fun." he said.
"but I'm not the boy you beat up those months ago… I'm a whole, new, MONSTER!" he roared as he shot a green radiation beam from his mouth, blast the boys head on and burying them into the ground.
Ahmad shoots up, flying into the air as his flames raged. He fired a blast at the Titan, and he countered with a blast of his own, the two beams collide in an explosion as both Nucrons refuse to relent. The Titan roars and his beam overpowers Ahmad, blasting through his fire and creating an explosion around him. The Titan then flies into the air to meet Ahmad and with his huge fist, punches him down to the ground. The impact of the crash shakes the ground but the Titan was merciless, he buried his foot into Ahmad, creating a even bigger crator than the one before. The Titan then raised Ahmad up and slammed on the ground, making him bounce back up which the Titan then kicks him forwards sending him flying and then crashing into the wall, defeating him.
The other boys get up from their crator and witness Ahmad's fight. Umar swells with anger, he makes a gesture with hand, the ground around the Titan grabbing onto him and seemingly trapping him in place. Nasir and Sadiq swoop in to attack the Titan while trapped. Nasir uses air to reinforce his fists as he starts to punch the Titan repeatedly in the mid section while Sadiq uses water to tied his hands back, trying to restrain him and giving Nasir his opening. The Titan grows impatient and lets out a huge burst of energy, pushing back Nasir and Sadiq, but before he could do anything, Umar ran up with a huge boulder, smashing it into the Titans face. He then followed with a few punches to his face, and then brings up two more boulders from the ground and smashes the titan in the middle, creating a cloud of dust as he jumps back. Ahmad, beaten and bruised, jumps and launches a huge fire ball at the Titan, making sure he is beaten.
The dust settles, revealing the Titan, slightly damaged but still standing tall as he smiles slowly. The boys stand firm, bruised and battered, ready for his next barrage of attacks. Then, from inside the prison, Reed appeared behind the boys, clutching a plasma disruptor.
"He's running on Nucranium cores—we need to overload them," Reed shouted. The boys turned back stunned, their eyes wide.
"what the hell?" Umar exclaimed
"those cores on his chest… they're filled to the brim with unstable Nucranium. that's his weakness." Reed said as he held out more plasma disruptors.
"you have to hit him as many times as you can, as hard as you can in that spot. He knows all your moves and he's programmed to counter all your powers… this is your only chance" he continued.
"fine… fine, but you're shooting too." Ahmad said. Umars eyes widened in shock
"do you actually believe this son of a..." he started before Ahmad interrupted him.
"do you have a better plan? Or you just want to keep fighting until he kills us?" Ahmad yelled as he grabbed a disruptor from Reed. Umar gritted his teeth, knowing he was right and grabbed a disruptor along with Nasir and Sadiq.
"ok… how do we do this?" Sadiq asked.
"same way we've done everything else, together." Ahmad said as he stood firm.
"the only way we can land a hit is if we take one, so we move in fast and hit the target. No mistakes." he continued.
"understood." Umar said, powering on his disruptor.
"you, take cover and shoot from there… and don't even try shooting one of us." Ahmad commanded Reed and he nodded. The boys made a stance as Reed took cover and prepared to attack. The Titan stared them down with a smug grin on his face.
The boys leaped into action, Ahmad jumping in first throwing a fire ball at The Titan. The Titan swiped away the blast and slapped Ahmad into the ground. Before anything else could happen, Sadiq swooped in, delivering a powerful blow with the disruptor right on one of the Titans cores, stunning him momentarily as he groaned in pain.
The Titans face twisted in anger and shock, not believing they could actually damage him. Umar hurled two large boulders at the Titan, smashing them against his face and blinding him, Nasir then follows up with a barrage of attacks to his cores with his disruptor, speed increased by his air powers. The attacks damage the Titan severely, the biosuit around his body starts sparking and leaking out blood and Nucranium as he fell to his knees. The boys look at each other, knowing they now have the advantage. The Titan shoots up in rage, roaring with a crazed look on his face. The boys stand firm and leap back into action, Nasir pushes the Titan back with a powerful air blast, Umar uses the earth around him to hit the Titan on his back, shooting him up a few feet in the air. In the air Ahmad fired a giant fireball down at the Titan, creating an explosion on impact. As he crashes to the ground, Sadiq swoops in with all four disruptors on full power and slammed them into the Titan in a single, blinding blast.
The Titan roared in defiance—but the armor cracked, the Nucranium overloaded, and with a final explosion of light, he fell to his knees, collapsing with a deafening crash.
The compound fell silent as the boys regrouped.
"nice… that was nice." Ahmad said panting heavily as he sat on the ground. Reed came out from his cover position and started walking towards them.
"stop there!" Umar shouted.
"You have to understand… I'm here to help." Reed pleaded.
"why?" Nasir queried.
"this has gone too far. Kane has lost it, and we need to stop him." Reed answered.
"really? If I remember correctly, you didn't fire even one shot from where you were hiding." Umar stated.
"I didn't have a good line of sight, you guys were all over the place and I didn't want to risk hitting one of you." Reed explained.
"and I was the one who brought those plasma disruptors which defeated the Titan in the first place." he added. Umar gritted his teeth.
"please, we don't have time. Kane will send more and he won't relent, we need to move… NOW." Reed pleaded.
"... fine… how do we get to a car or plane or whatever is the means of transport here?" Ahmad asked as he got up from the ground.
"we're on an island, there's a carrier plane at the harbour. We'll take it…" Reed answered.
"... along with the other prisoners." Sadiq added.
"that plane won't carry all of us, there's a cargo plane on the runway, we can…" Reed was interrupted by a load crash from the building. Lareto, Nkosi and Acid ran out from the exit, followed by a blast from Kane's energy blast barely missing them.
"RUN!" Lareto shouted. The boys and Reed, tensed up, there eyes wide in fear. A loud shriek echoed from the building as the exit doors were blown off. Kane walked out slowly from the smoke, his dark energy pulsing around him with a menacing look on his face. The boys took a stance, ready to fight.
"NO, STOP! You can't fight him, you'll be captured. If we run now we can get to the harbour." Reed yelled. The boys look at him, knowing he was right. They make a run for the giant reinforced gate along with Lareto, Nkosi and Acid. As they ran, Kane was spamming energy blasts at them, creating small explosions as they ran and tried to dodge the barrage of attacks.
"that gate is pure titanium, you can't break through it, jump over it." Reed yelled out as they ran.
Upon reaching the gate, Nasir grabbed Sadiq and jumped, flying up and over the gate and continuing to the harbour. Umar also used his powers to jump over the gate. Ahmad and Reed were up next, Ahmad grabbed him and boosted them both into the air. As they flew, Ahmad looked back and saw Lareto and Nkosi right behind him. Before they could get to the gate, Kane fired a huge energy blast that made contact with the two, the blast engulfed them and they fell to the ground, screaming in agony as he absorbed their powers and life force. Ahmad sees this and just when he's about to turn back, Reed stops him.
"wait.. you can't help them, you'll be captured too." he said.
"do you really expect me to just leave them there?" Ahmad questioned.
"I know you want help them but you can't do that now. I have a device that can counter his powers but it was only good for one blast. If we escape I can fix it and make it better and we can really have a chance at stopping him." Reed explained. Ahmad hesitated as he looked back at his friends being attacked, Acid was fight back with his breath but Kane was blocking it effortlessly with an energy shield. It pained him but he knew Reed was right. Reluctantly, he flies away to the harbour where the others were waiting and Sadiq was already able to get the plane started.
Kane was eventually able to overpower Acid and subdue him along with the other two, the carrier plane then takes off and flies away into the distance, leaving all the chaos behind. Kane looked on, anger boiling up in his body.
"I'll see you soon old friend." he said with menacing look as his energy still grew.