Chapter 5: The Blood Pact Brand
575 Words
Upper East Side, Manhattan – The Fu Family Estate
As Alexander’s Aston Martin Valkyrie pulled up to the cliffside villa, the car’s onboard AI suddenly emitted a warning:
“Military-grade biometric system detected. Optical camouflage recommended.”
Lynn pressed his hand down before he could activate the invisibility mode. The phoenix tattoo on her waist flickered with golden light. The fifty-meter-high titanium alloy gates slowly descended like a medieval drawbridge, revealing the World Tree emblem above the doorway.
“Sweetheart,” Alexander steered the car toward the estate, a smirk playing on his lips, “Are you sure this is my house, not Valhalla?”
Before he finished his sentence, twelve armed drones shot up from the gothic tower. Lynn lowered the car window, her eyes flashing with data streams:
“Odin’s Eye protocol terminated. Access code—Ragnarök.”
The drone swarm immediately shifted their weapons, forcing the Homeland Security convoy trailing them to halt at the edge of the cliff.
Inside the Villa
Lucas was absorbed in a God of War: Ragnarok holographic game when he saw them. His controller slipped from his hands.
“You brought Pentagon agents here?!”
Alexander tossed a Thor’s hammer-shaped USB drive in the air, catching it casually.
“Just borrowed a little energy from the Rainbow Bridge.” He leaned in close to Lynn’s ear, his voice low and teasing.
“Time to pay for the ride, little witch.”
Lynn traced her fingers over the tattoo on his neck. A 3D star chart materialized in the air.
“You want to know which of the Wall Street Three is possessed by Loki? Or how your grandfather used my DNA to create a cloned army during the Cold War?”
The Following Early Morning – Winchester Manor
The butler activated the DNA scanner, blocking the door.
“Master’s orders. The escaped experiment doesn’t have permission…” He froze mid-sentence, his eyes widening as the security feed displayed that Lynn’s hacking program had already taken down the entire Manhattan power grid three times in the last ten minutes.
“Move.” Lynn raised her phone, which glowed with arcane runes.
“Or I’ll make The New York Times headline read ‘Winchester Family’s Illegal Gene Editing Exposed.’”
The holographic projection suddenly flickered to life. Mrs. Winchester, wrapped in a bathrobe, sneered at her.
“You think hacking our security system will get you back in? Without the inhibitors we provide, your X-gene…”
Before she could finish, every electronic lock in the estate failed simultaneously. Alexander’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker:
“Apologies, madam. I’ve just acquired full ownership of your security company’s stock.”
Underground Secret Laboratory
Lynn stared at the dozens of clones of herself suspended in liquid nitrogen tanks, a sharp pain shooting through her from the chip embedded in her chest. The pain brought a flash of memory from 1954, at the Bikini Atoll nuclear test site—members of the Winchester family, clad in protective suits, had been collecting her radiation-mutated cells.
“So this is your so-called ‘living blood bank’?” Alexander used a laser to slice open the vault, revealing a meteorite engraved with runes inside.
“Looks like we need to redefine what ‘family’ really means.”
Lynn pressed the meteorite into her chest, and the entire lab began to levitate off the ground.
“Now it’s their turn to become the experiments.”
- Writer
