Jayden pulled Cassandra into the corridor just as the first wave of guards burst through the stairwell door.

Eight men. All armed. All pointing weapons directly at them.

"On the ground! NOW!" One barked.

Jayden didn’t comply.

Instead, his hands erupted with fire.

"Get down," he told Cassandra.

She dropped immediately.

Jayden thrust both hands forward, sending a wave of flame down the corridor. The guards scattered, diving aside. One wasn’t fast enough—his uniform caught fire and he screamed, rolling to extinguish it.

Jayden had originally planned not to use his fire ability, but right now, that was the most effective in causing destruction. He had no choice.

Then he charged.

His fist—enlarged and wrapped in flame—caught the nearest guard in the chest and sent him flying backward into two others. Telekinesis ripped weapons from hands. A spinning kick dropped another guard.

"GO!" Jayden shouted to Cassandra, pointing toward the stairwell.

She ran, and Jayden covered her, fighting off the remaining guards with brutal efficiency.

They burst into the stairwell. Started climbing. Made it to Sublevel 1 before more guards appeared from above, blocking their path.

"Get back!" Jayden pulled Cassandra behind him as gunfire erupted.

Energy bolts scorched the walls. Jayden created a wall of flame, forcing the guards back, then grabbed Cassandra and jumped the railing—they fell one full story, Jayden using size manipulation to expand the mass and muscles of his legs, to absorb the impact when they landed.

Cassandra gasped but didn’t scream. She was holding together remarkably well.

"This way," Jayden said, pulling her through Sublevel 1 toward the emergency exit Big T’s blueprints had shown.

They burst through the door—straight into ten more guards.

"Dammit." Jayden cursed in frustration. He put Cassandra behind him and prepared for another round of assault.

But before he could move. A voice resounded across the entire area.

"Enough!"

The voice cut through the chaos like a knife through silk.

The guards immediately stepped aside, creating a path.

And through that path walked none other than Scorched.

He was exactly as his dossier had described—late thirties, lean but muscular, covered in burn scars that traced patterns across his exposed arms and neck. His eyes were dark, cold, assessing. He wore simple black tactical gear, and his hands... His hands were wreathed in flames that burned white-hot, the air around them shimmering with heat.

"So," Scorched said, looking at Jayden with something approaching interest. "You’re the kid who’s been causing problems in Emerald City. The one who took down David’s operation and freed his captives."

Jayden’s expression hardened. He wasn’t even surprised that Scorched already knew him. He knew word of the chaos he’d been causing so far would eventually spread.

Scorched gaze shifted to Cassandra. "And now you’re trying to steal my acquisition."

"She’s not an acquisition," Jayden said, his voice deadly calm. "She’s a person. And I’m taking her home."

Scorched smiled. "No. You’re not."

He gestured, and his guards raised their weapons.

"Kill the boy. Capture the girl."

Jayden pushed Cassandra behind him, his own flames igniting hotter, brighter.

"I’d like to see you try." He said coldly.

The guards opened fire.

Jayden’s telekinesis lashed out, creating an invisible barrier that deflected the first volley of energy bolts. Then he pushed, sending five guards flying backward into walls and equipment.

Cassandra screamed as one guard got through, grabbing for her—Jayden spun, his fist connecting with the man’s jaw and dropping him instantly.

"RUN!" Jayden roared at her. "Get to the stairs! Get out!"

Cassandra shook her head. "Not without you!"

Jayden didn’t want to leave her alone either. But he couldn’t let her be here... in the range of attacks. She could get hurt.

"Go!" he said sharply, but in a calm tone. "I’m right behind you."

Cassandra hesitated one more heartbeat, then ran.

Jayden turned back to the guards. There were too many. Even with his abilities—it would take some time and effort. And then there was still Scorched.

But then something happened....

Scorched moved.

He didn’t wait for Jayden to take out the guards before coming to him, he decided to act now.

A column of white-hot flame screamed toward Jayden. He dove aside, felt the heat scorch his jacket. The concrete wall where he’d been standing liquefied, molten stone dripping to the floor.

Jayden responded with his own fire—a concentrated blast aimed at Scorched’s center mass.

Scorched walked through it like it wasn’t even there.

"Cute," the Pioneer said. "But you’re outclassed, kid."

He thrust his hand forward. Fire erupted in a wave that filled the entire corridor.

Jayden threw up a telekinetic barrier, but the heat was intense. His Advanced Tactical Suit’s fire resistance and temp regulation were working overtime. His skin felt like it was blistering despite the protection.

He couldn’t win this. Not here. Not like this..

So he changed tactics.

Jayden grabbed a support beam with his telekinesis and wrenched it free. The ceiling groaned, cracks spider-webbing across concrete.

Scorched’s eyes widened. "You fucking—"

Jayden pulled harder. The ceiling collapsed between them, tons of concrete and steel crashing down, separating him from Scorched and creating chaos among the guards.

Jayden didn’t wait. He ran, following the path Cassandra had taken, his enhanced speed carrying him up the stairs three at a time.

Behind him, he heard Scorched’s roar of fury and the sound of fire cutting through fallen debris.

"He’s coming." he thought.

Jayden burst onto the ground floor. Cassandra was there, fighting with a guard who’d grabbed her. Jayden’s telekinesis threw the man into a wall, and he grabbed Cassandra’s hand.

"Come on!"

They ran through corridors, guards appearing from every direction. Jayden fought them off—fire, telekinesis, poison, whatever worked. He was bleeding from a dozen places, his suit damaged but still functional, the self repairing nanites fixing it slowly.

They reached the main entrance. Jayden kicked the door open—

Thirty guards were waiting outside, weapons aimed.

"Fuck."

Jayden skidded to a stop, pulling Cassandra behind him.

"Surrender," the lead guard commanded. "There’s nowhere to run."

Jayden looked up to the roof. His gaze landed on the fire escape Big T’s blueprints had mentioned.

"Hold on to me," Jayden told Cassandra.

Her brows raised. "What—"

He grabbed her, activated his size manipulation to enhance his leg strength, and jumped.

They sailed upward twenty feet, Jayden’s enhanced muscles carrying them both. His hand caught the fire escape railing, and he pulled them up.

Below, guards shouted. Gunfire erupted.

Jayden and Cassandra scrambled up the fire escape as energy bolts scorched the metal around them. Two flights. Three. Four.

They reached the roof just as an explosion of flame announced Scorched’s arrival on the ground floor.

Jayden pulled out his hoverbike glove, activated it. The bike materialized in seconds.

"Get on!" he shouted to Cassandra.

She climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Jayden engaged the engine. The bike lifted off—

A white-hot flame struck the roof in front of them, creating a wall of fire.

Jayden looked back.

Scorched was emerging onto the roof, walking through the door he’d just melted open. His entire body was wreathed in flames now, heat radiating from him in visible waves.

"End of the line, kid," Scorched said, his voice carrying over the roar of flames. "Shut down your bike and surrender the girl. Maybe I’ll let you live."

"Not happening," Jayden replied. Then he something unthinkable.

He got off the bike.

"Take the bike and go," Jayden said, his voice low, his eyes never leaving Scorched.

Cassandra froze. "Wait, what? No! Get on, we can—"

"No," Jayden interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You need to get out of here. Fly low, stay off the main transit routes, and don’t stop until you hit Emerald City."

"Are you insane?!" Cassandra cried, panic bleeding into her voice as the heat from Scorched’s flames licked at them. "He’ll kill you! We can escape together right now!"

"If we run, he tracks us. He’s a Pioneer. He won’t stop until he finishes the job," Jayden said, stepping between her and the blazing mercenary. "The only way to ensure he never hunts you again is to end him here." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Jayden, please!" Tears welled in her eyes. "I can’t let you die for me!"

Jayden glanced back at her, his expression softening just a fraction. "I came here to save you, Cassie. Even if it costs me my life. Now go."

Cassandra looked at the boy standing between her and a literal human inferno. Her chest heaved, a sob catching in her throat, but she saw the absolute, unbreakable resolve in his eyes. He wasn’t going to budge.

She gripped the handlebars. "You win," she whispered fiercely, tears spilling down her bruised cheeks. "You win, and you come back to me, okay. Promise me you’ll come back to me."

"I promise," Jayden said.

Cassandra gave one last look at him, they she slammed the throttle. The hoverbike roared to life, shooting off the edge of the roof and diving into the night sky.

Scorched, seeing that Cassandra was escaping, gritted. "You think I’m letting my paycheck fly away?" he snarled. He thrust both hands forward, sending a massive, spiraling pillar of white-hot plasma directly at the retreating bike.

Jayden didn’t hesitate. He lunged into the path of the blast, his hands glowing with telekinetic force. He formed a wedge-shaped barrier, gritting his teeth as the sheer kinetic force and heat of the flames slammed into him. The barrier splintered, the edges of his tactical jacket catching fire, but the attack was deflected wide into the night sky. And Cassandra managed to escape. She was gone. Safe.

Scorched lowered his hands, the flames around him whipping into a frenzy. "She got away," he growled, his eyes narrowing into slits of pure hatred. "I’m going to burn the meat off your bones for that, kid. You’re dead."

Jayden patted the burning embers off his jacket, his eyes dead and cold. "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you."