The metallic hum filled the lab, low and menacing, vibrating through my bones. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, but my feet were frozen. Phase Three’s green optics pierced straight through me. It wasn’t just observing, it was reading, analyzing, and predicting my next thought.
Vordon’s hand gripped mine. The pressure was grounding, but it couldn’t erase the fear twisting in my chest. “Veronica,” he said, voice taut with control and something more, something protective, something vulnerable. “We can’t let it touch your mind. Not now. Not ever.”
“I know,” I whispered, but my hands betrayed me, shaking as I hovered over the override console. Pride, fear, rage, all collided inside me. This wasn’t just survival. It was control. My creation versus my will. And I refused to lose.
