NEW ATLANTIS, RAIN-DRENCHED BACKSTREETS
A storm has rolled into New Atlantis, lightning splitting the sky as traffic drones hum overhead. The city feels tense, like the whole ecosystem is bracing for an unseen audit.
INN HQ – ANALYTICS BAY – NIGHT
Jaxon Steel stands in front of a holographic table, jaw tight, eyes scanning through live intel streams.
Susan Thomas enters quietly, observing him with a subtle, almost involuntary warmth.
[Dr. Susan Thomas]:You haven't blinked in ten minutes, Steel.
[Agent Steel]:Hydra-07's footprint is unpredictable. And this… glitch signature— it's not their playbook.
She steps closer, her shoulder almost touching his.
[Dr. Susan Thomas]:You don't have to take the whole city's burden solo. Collaboration is a strategic advantage.
There's a small pause — not romantic yet — but deeply human.
A moment where trust stabilizes between them.
---
HYDRA-07 MOBILE COMMAND UNIT – MOVING
Inside the armored convoy, the Hydra Leader — VANGOR DRALE — monitors Steel's movements through a quantum lens.
Vangor Drale, stern-faced, battle-scarred, voice like gravel on metal:
[VANGOR DRALE]:Steel is resilient. But he's stretched thin.
Initiate Phase Vector.
A subordinate nods and executes commands across a hex-screen.
---
"RAVENSTRIKE" (THE SNIPER)
Perched a top a skyscraper construction frame, scopes locked onto the distant INN building.
The wind barely touches him.
A voice modulates through his helmet:
VANGOR DRALE (comm.): You know the target."
[RAVENSTRIKE]:I always do.
His cybernetic eye glowing faint red.
A bullet chambers with a whisper.
---
INN HQ – ROOFTOP ACCESS – MOMENTS LATER
Susan and Steel exit onto the rooftop.
He needed air — she followed.
They stand close, city lights brushing their silhouettes.
[Dr. Susan Thomas]:You push people away. Even when they're trying to help.
[Agent Steel]:People get hurt around me, Susan.
She steps in front of him, arms folded.
[Dr. Susan Thomas]:Then maybe stop running alone.
A moment of pause.
A softening.
A near-confession glimmering beneath their professional armor.
---
THE SNIPER LOCKS ON.
A red dot flickers over Susan's shoulder.
Ravenstrike squeezes the trigger.
BOOM—
But Steel's Neuro-Link spikes a danger alert milliseconds before.
He grabs Susan, spins, and the plasma round scorches past them, detonating a nearby comm tower.
Susan grips his arm, eyes wide.
[Dr. Susan Thomas]: …They're escalating.
[Agent Steel]:No. This is precision. Someone new just joined the party.
He taps his earpiece.
[AgentSteel]:HQ — rooftop breach. Bring full spectrum drones. Now.
---
RAVENSTRIKE MOVING
He jumps across scaffolding, fluid and silent, heading deeper into the industrial sector.
He mutters:
[RAVENSTRIKE]:Steel dodged. Impressive. Assignment just became… interesting.
---
OBSERVATION ROOM In Some where
A massive holo-screen displays Steel saving Susan.
In the shadows…
the glitched figure stands, watching.
The homeless girl is unconscious beside him — floating mid-air.
He speaks in a layered, glitchy voice:
[GLITCHED FIGURE]:Hydra-07 moves incorrectly.
But the Ghost Syndicate… moves with purpose."
"HE LOOKS AT YOU "
[GLITCHED FIGURE]:And it's time for Helix Widow to awaken.
---
AGENT STEEL & SUSAN WALKING BACK IN
Both still shaken.
Their steps slower.
More in sync.
As they ride the elevator down, the doors close — and Steel finally allows one moment of vulnerability:
[Agent Steel]:I'm not letting anything happen to you.
Susan looks at him — not as Dr. Thomas, but as Susan.
[SUSAN]:Then stop trying to be invincible, Jaxon.
The elevator descends —
INN HQ – SUBLEVEL CORRIDOR – NIGHT
The elevator doors slide open with a soft pneumatic hiss.
Steel and Susan step out side by side.
The corridor is quiet, humming with faint blue operational lights — the kind the HQ activates only during late-night protocol.
Susan walks a few steps ahead, arms loosely folded.
Steel follows, hands in pockets, that rare uncertainty breaking through his otherwise steel-cut posture.
There's a charged silence between them.
Not awkward… but aware.
---
RESEARCH WING – GLASS OBSERVATION SUITE
Susan enters first, switching on a series of dim desk lights.
Steel hesitates at the door — almost as if entering this room with her requires more courage than facing a cyborg in the streets.
Susan turns, taking in his quiet posture.
[SUSAN]:You can come in, you know. I don't bite.
Steel smirks — barely.
He steps inside.
The door closes behind them.
---
– ACROSS THE TABLE
Susan leans against a desk casually, fingertips brushing datapads.
Steel stands across from her, arms crossed — trying hard to keep his composure.
[SUSAN]:You risked yourself without thinking tonight.
[Agent Steel]: You were the one in the crosshairs.
[SUSAN]:And that justifies you getting blown off the roof?
Steel shifts his gaze — evasive.
She steps closer.
[SUSAN] (soft):Why is it so hard for you to let people care about you?
Steel exhales.
A rare crack in his armor.
[STEEL]:Because caring gets complicated.
Because when I let someone close… I mess it up. Or they get hurt."
Susan studies him — the way someone does when they already care more than they should.
She steps one step closer again.
Now they are one arm's length apart.
---
THE ENERGY CHANGES
Steel feels it too — his posture stiffens, as if bracing against a surge he can't control.
[SUSAN]:Jaxon… you didn't hesitate up there.
You didn't think.
You chose me.
Her voice goes faint — almost fragile.
[STEEL]:I didn't choose.I reacted.
[SUSAN]:"And maybe that tells us something you're not ready to say."
Steel looks down, jaw clenching.
[STEEL]:You're important to the mission. That's all.
Susan steps even closer — now only inches away.
[SUSAN]:Then look at me and say that again.
Steel looks up.
And the tension crackles.
Their breaths sync.
Neither moves.
Neither speaks.
The invisible line between them thins… dangerously.
She can see the heat in his eyes.
The unspoken something.
The weight of everything he never lets anyone see.
She whispers:
[SUSAN]You don't have to be made of metal all the time.
He swallows — slowly — eyes locked to hers.
[STEEL]:Susan… I don't know how to do this.
Any of this.
[SUSAN](gentle, steady) : We'll figure it out.
Together.
A long pause.
Steel's hand twitches — as if he wants to reach for her… but stops.
Susan catches the micro-movement and smiles softly.
[SUSAN]:You're allowed to take the first step, Jaxon.
The atmosphere is electric.
Close.
Magnetic.
Steel finally lifts a hand — hesitating — then tucks a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
A small, delicate gesture.
Her breath catches.
Their foreheads almost touch.
The tension is on the edge of something real — something neither of them can ignore anymore.
---
But right then—
An emergency alarm beeps twice.
Both freeze.
Steel steps back instantly, the moment breaking.
[HQ VOICE ](comm.) : Agent Steel. Dr. Thomas. Report to Command. Hydra-07 movement detected."
Susan exhales — but with a small smile, knowing what almost happened.
Steel turns to leave, but stops at the door and looks back at her.
[STEEL]:This conversation isn't over.
Susan smiles.
[SUSAN]:I'll hold you to that.
They walk out — side by side — closer than they've ever been.
TO BE CONTINUED...