The headquarters was unusually quiet.
Slade sat at the central table, the files from the Shadow Collective spread before him. The fragments had united. The new alliance was forming. And he had let them walk away.
The weight of that decision pressed down on him like a physical burden. He could have killed them all. He could have ended the threat before it could grow. But he'd hesitated. Because his team was in the blast radius. Because he wasn't willing to sacrifice them for victory.
Ember approached him, her footsteps soft on the concrete floor. "You're still thinking about it."
"I'm always thinking about it. The fragments are out there. They're uniting. They're building something new. And I let them go."
"You made the right call. If you'd triggered that cascade, we'd all be dead. And
