The abandoned workshop on the city's outskirts was little more than a dust-coated relic. But to Kaiya, it was sacred. Here, away from Brightwell's suffocating walls, her mind could breathe.
She spread her blueprints on the rusted metal table as Mira adjusted the flickering lights overhead. Jericho leaned against the doorframe, scanning the perimeter with quiet alertness. Eli stood back, observing, absorbing.
Kaiya's fingers moved quickly, expertly. Her prototype—a spherical core layered with energy-insulating alloys—rested in the center of the table, half-assembled but glowing faintly with stored potential.
"It's not just an energy stabilizer," she explained. "It's a bridge. A way to create clean, sustained motion for machines that don't rely on fossil fuels or standard grids."
Jericho whistled. "And they called me a genius."
She grinned, despite herself.
Eli stepped closer. "This—if finished—could change the world. Why hide it?"
Kaiya's voice softened. "Because when I tried to present it, the board said it was fabricated. My parents told me to stop making waves. To focus on grades, on image... on being normal."
She looked up.
"But I don't want to be normal."
Eli gave her a solemn nod. "Then stop apologizing for being exceptional."
---
They worked through the night. Mira provided focus, steadying Kaiya's confidence. Jericho handled the physical tasks—lifting parts, calibrating tools, welding when necessary. Eli interfaced with the stabilizer's code, unlocking hidden protocols even Kaiya hadn't accessed.
> System Integration Detected
Thread Merge in Progress
Abilities Enhanced: Electromagnetic Sensitivity | Minor Technokinesis Initiated
Eli winced as a spark of light pulsed from the device into his wrist.
"Are you okay?" Kaiya asked.
He nodded slowly. "The system... it's syncing with your tech. It's adapting again."
Mira leaned in. "That's not normal, is it?"
"No," Eli replied. "But neither are we."
---
By dawn, the stabilizer hummed with life.
Kaiya stared at it, eyes wide. "It's finished."
The machine pulsed, a soft rhythmic glow. Stable. Quiet. Powerful.
"We need to show them," she said. "The board. The press. Everyone."
Jericho frowned. "You sure?"
She nodded. "It's time I stopped hiding."
---
The presentation was scheduled in secret.
With Mira's guidance, Kaiya organized a mock demonstration for a small group of Brightwell students and underground media contacts. News spread fast. Faster than they'd anticipated.
On the morning of the reveal, Eli felt the system thrum with tension.
> External Threat Detected
Subject: Kaiya Rivers – Flagged by "The Compliance Division"
Status: Under Surveillance
"What's the Compliance Division?" Mira asked, reading the alert.
"Not a school department," Jericho muttered. "That's deeper."
A black car pulled up just outside the gates.
Three figures in suits stepped out. Clean-cut. Identical movements. Too controlled to be faculty.
Kaiya paled. "That's... that's my father."
The tallest man stepped forward—sharp gray suit, steel gaze.
"Kaiya Rivers," he called out, voice flat and final. "You're coming with us."
"No," she said, voice trembling but firm. "I'm not."
"This rebellion ends now. You've embarrassed us long enough."
Jericho started forward, but Eli stopped him. "Not yet."
Kaiya raised her hand, revealing the stabilizer core now embedded in a wearable shell across her wrist.
"I'm not your legacy. I'm not your shame. I'm mine."
She turned and activated the core.
The energy pulse swept outward—not violent, but undeniable. Every phone, drone, and light in the courtyard blinked, recalibrated, and synced. Her tech worked. Publicly. Irrefutably.
> Thread Lock Achieved
Kaiya Rivers – Integrated
Stability Secured. Risk Level: Reduced.
The suited men froze. Whispers rose in the crowd. Cameras flashed.
Her father took a step back, his expression unreadable.
Eli smiled. "You just rewrote your future."
---
That night, Kaiya joined the team officially. She didn't ask where they were going next—only when they'd leave.
> Target Search: In Progress...
Far away, in a dark room filled with screens, a woman in a red coat sipped tea and studied Eli's glowing image on the monitor.
"Threadweaver detected," she whispered. "Let the hunt begin."