Wade's workshop was a mess of wires, sparks, and secrets.
The faint hum of a half-built exosuit echoed off the metallic walls. Crushed energy drink cans littered the floor, and a cracked monitor flickered with lines of code, constantly rewriting themselves. At the center of it all, Wade crouched beside a glowing tablet, eyes locked on the impossible schematic that hadn't existed yesterday.
It wasn't his design. It wasn't anyone's.
The blueprint pulsed like it was alive. Lines shifted when he looked away. Symbols rearranged themselves. At the top corner of the screen, a time flashed:
04:44 AM
"D.O.N. awaits. Decide."
He didn't know who or what D.O.N. was. But ever since the file appeared—no download, no signal trace, no sender—something had changed. His tools worked better. His thoughts were faster. His dreams... darker.
He reached for the edge of the tablet—and the lights in the room flickered.
Then the voice came, smooth and cold like polished steel.
"Nice toys, Wade. But the world needs more than toys now. It needs you."
Wade spun, wrench raised. A woman stepped out of the shadows like she'd been part of them. She wore a dark suit—half military, half tech armor—and a faint blue sigil on her chest shaped like a circuit branching into a shattered crown.
Not police. Not corporate. Something worse.
"Who are you?" Wade asked, backing toward the wall.
"You already know. You've seen the blueprint. The decision's been made."
She reached into her coat and tossed something to him. He caught it—barely. A black chip, smooth as obsidian, with three glowing letters etched on the side:
D.O.N.
Wade narrowed his eyes. "You think I'm just going to plug some shady chip into my brain and play superhero?"
"No," she said, stepping closer. "I think you already did."
The tablet beeped behind him. The blueprint had finished rendering. The device glowed red, then black. A warning flashed:
ACTIVATION LOCKED: CANDIDATE VERIFIED
Wade K. Vire – Shadow Circuit Node 07
BEGINNING SYNCHRONIZATION...
He stared at it, heart racing. "What did you do to me?"
"Not me," the woman said. "You were chosen. D.O.N. doesn't recruit. It awakens."
The walls trembled. Outside, the distant sound of a drone engine roared. Red lights swept across the alley through the slits in his window.
"They found you," she said, eyes narrowing. "Your signal's lit up half the grid. If you want to live, you come with me now."
"And if I don't?"
She looked at the door. It exploded inward, scattering sparks and metal.
A dark figure stepped through—armored, faceless, humming with cold blue energy.
The woman shoved Wade aside and drew a blade made of pure light.
"You don't have time to not believe me."
Wade looked down at the chip in his hand.
The decision had already been made.
[To be continued]