Location: Safehouse, Black Forest
Snow coated the pine trees like powdered sugar. The fire crackled inside the cabin, casting long shadows across the wooden walls. For the first time in months, silence didn’t feel like a threat.
Leon leaned against the windowsill, staring at the storm rolling in from the east. His instincts were never wrong.
Something was coming.
Behind him, Ava slept curled in a blanket, her breathing even. Serena sat at the table, running a systems diagnostic on a sleek new datapad.
“Say it,” she said without looking up.
Leon didn’t move. “We bought time. Not peace.”
Serena nodded. “How long?”
Leon’s eyes narrowed. “Hours. Maybe less.”
Geneva – Marcus’s Hidden Lab
Deep underground, Marcus Hale stood before a stasis pod.
Inside, something moved.
Not a clone.
