Chapter 0: I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire
A dark, gas facility stands silent under a clouded night sky, guarded by armed men pacing in half-lit watchtowers.
In the shadows, nine figures dressed in black combat suits and ski masks sneak through the darkness. One of them carries a black briefcase.
They move with sync and silence. One pulls out a jamming device and flips a switch.
The red lights of the security cameras across the compound flicker and get dim, one by one.
"Camera grid is down," one of them whispers through the comm.
They breach the side entrance. No words. Just signals. One hand up. Split. Sweep. Clear.
Each member fans out through the concrete hallways, checking rooms in silence.
Elsewhere in the facility...
A silhouette of a man sits alone in a dim-lit surveillance room. He's relaxed, legs crossed, sipping from a wine glass.
The dozens of monitor screens in front of him flicker with static and distorted images. The sound of broken feedback hums softly in the background.
He finishes his wine. (Clink.) The glass meets the table.
Back to the infiltrators.
A man signals... two fingers up, then points to a metal door.
He found it.
The others converge. Two stand guard. The rest go into what looks like a normal office room.
Until someone flips on a UV flashlight.
Purple light washes over the walls... and reveals hidden markings and fingerprins. A panel on the far wall glows faintly. One presses it, and a hidden door opens.
They enter a secret archive.....shelves packed with folders, documents, hard drives.
Government seals. Classified stamps. Files marked
(SOUL ALTERATION PROJECT
ANCE STUDIES
BIO-SYMPHONY DATA)
One of them pulled out a red folder. It has a mark ,a number nine (9)
They found it.
They place and open the briefcase on the table, revealing a compact bomb rigged with a countdown timer.
(Beep) Timer starts.
As others begin packing away valuable documents, one of the figures...clearly female by her frame...spots a folder lying on the desk. Curiosity gets her.
She flips it open. Her eyes narrow.
"...Chris M. Alcantara?" she whispers, confused and curious.
Suddenly....
(CRACK.....THUD)
A body crashes beside her, mangled and twitching, blood pooling fast. The corpse belonged to one of their own. His ribs snapped out of his chest, limbs twisted at unnatural angles, jaw dislocated....
She gasps, stumbling back.
"Shit! We've been compromised!" someone shouts.
The rest immediately aim at the door, fingers on triggers. Their breathing fast, erratic.
But then....
With a blur.
A man appears behind them like a ghost.
(CRULK)
He twists one member's neck in an instant.
"Open fire!" The team captain yells
Bullets fly....but the man dodges effortlessly.
One of them charges, throwing a punch. The man intercepts, slamming him into a wall so hard he spits blood under his ski mask
Another attacker swings a knife...but it's caught mid-air, and the blade is driven into his own eye.
"Shit! Captain, go!"
The one who got slammed on the wall stands firm, blocking the hallway with the other who got stabbed in the eye. Together, they plan to borrow time to let their captain escape with the red folder.
The Captain...the one carrying the red folder...hesitates. Then nods.
"Bunny, Bass, Pelican... move! We're getting out!" the captain orders.
The girl and two others sprint, dragging some hard drives and documents and leaving the bomb ticking behind.
As they dash through the hallway, they pass the corpse of their other member. Neck twisted. Eyes wide open.
Then gunfire erupts outside. Armed guards flood the compound. Bullets rain from above.
(BOOM!)
A grenade explodes nearby. They dive. Scrapes. Bruised limbs. But they're still alive.
They cut down several guards who stand to their escape
Just when escape seems close...
(THUD)
Something falls in front of them.
It's the ripped-in-half bodies of the two members who stayed to fight. Their organs spill out, intestines dragging across the ground like ropes. One of them is still twitching.
And then...
He lands in front of them.
Carrying the black briefcase, the bomb.
The man walks forward, covered in blood.
His hair is white, slicked back. His sharp red eyes gleam. He's wearing a white suit, now soaked in blood.
"Stay back!!" Bunny screams as she lunges at the man.
The three... Bunny, Bass, and Pelican...strike and attack the man together.
He effortlessly dodged and blocked their attacks.
He grabs Bass mid-air, slamming him into the ground hard enough to crack the ground.
Pelican throws a kick...caught. Leg twisted and got tossed at one of the trucks.
Bunny punches, but the man grabs her by the wrist and snaps her arm in reverse, then slams her into the wall.
The Captain stands alone now. Furious and Desperate.
He uses his power to ignite his palm.
A wave of fire erupts, engulfing the man in flames.
Fire and heat blur the area. The man should be ash. But through the fire, a hand reaches out.
He steps through the inferno like a demon.
Unscathed. His hand wraps around the Captain's throat. The Captain gasps, struggling, fire flickering from his skin.
"A-Agapov... you monster," he chokes.
The man..Agapov....playfully grins.
"Monster?" he echoes mockingly, tilting his head.
"You brought a bomb to a gas facility, and I'm the monster here?"
He looks at the Captain with a smirk and sarcastically says. "I don't want to set the world on fire."
Agapov straps the bomb to the Captain's chest.. pulls out the red folder in his procession
..and hurls him like a ragdoll into the gas tower.
Bunny, still conscious but badly hurt, look at Agapov in horror as he stares back at her while holding the bloody red folder. He then grins mischievously.
Meanwhile…in a distant woods, a blonde girl in a black hoodie is running fast, carrying a backpack and luggage.
She suddenly stops as she hears a loud explosion
The ground shakes. She turns, eyes widening at the towering fireball lighting the sky from afar.
She exhales slowly, pulling the hood tighter over her head. She then continued running...toward an empty bus stop at the edge of the highway. While a hooded figure is following her in the shadows.
To be continued.....