Jack collapsed against Maya.
Not unconscious—but close.
His body trembled in a way that frightened her more than Mantis, more than Helix, more than anything she had ever seen in her life.
His breath came in shallow, uneven gasps.
His skin burned with fever.
His eyes flickered dangerously between brown and silver.
He wasn't stable.
He wasn't safe.
He wasn't… Jack.
Not fully.
Rafael holstered his gun and knelt beside them.
"His pulse is too fast," he muttered. "We need med support immediately."
The reinforced wing doors slammed open.
Two medics burst inside with a stretcher.
Maya didn't move.
She held Jack in her arms as if letting go would kill him.
"Agent Rios," one medic said nervously, "we need you to set him down."
Maya didn't respond.
The medic swallowed, voice trembling.
"Maya—please."
Slowly, painfully, she loosened her grip.
Jack whimpered when they lifted him away from her, reaching out instinctively—
"M-Maya—don't—"
"I'm right here," she whispered, gripping his hand as he was placed onto the stretcher. "I'm right behind you."
Only then did he stop fighting the medics.
Rafael placed a hand on Maya's shoulder.
"You're bleeding," he said quietly.
She ignored him.
"Rafael," she said, "walk ahead and clear the path."
He nodded and sprinted out.
The medics hurried after him.
Maya stayed by Jack's side as the stretcher rolled through the corridor.
Every time the wheels hit a bump, Jack winced in pain.
Every time he winced, something inside her cracked.
He looked so much smaller than he should.
So fragile.
So human.
Despite what Helix claimed he was.
Despite the power she witnessed a moment ago.
He was still Jack.
Her Jack.
No—
Not hers.
Never hers.
She forced the thought away.
Medical Wing — Isolation Bay
The doors burst open, and the medics wheeled Jack into a sealed room with reinforced glass and internal dampeners.
The same type of room used to contain high-risk biological anomalies.
Maya's stomach twisted at the implication.
Jack wasn't a weapon.
He wasn't.
He wasn't.
They lifted him onto a diagnostic table, attaching scanners, sensors, and neural monitors to his skull and spine.
His eyes darted wildly, terrified.
"Maya?" he whispered.
She stepped forward immediately.
"I'm here," she said. "I'm not leaving."
One of the medics hesitated. "Agent Rios, we need you behind the barrier."
"No," Maya snapped.
The medic stiffened. "But—"
"No," she repeated. "I stay."
Jack tightened his grip on her fingers.
"Don't go," he whispered.
Her heart broke.
The medic exchanged a look with the supervising doctor—a tall woman with sharp features and a calm demeanor.
The doctor sighed. "Let her stay. He stabilizes faster near familiar anchors."
Maya blinked.
Familiar anchors.
She knew what that meant.
But she pushed the realization aside.
The Diagnostic Scan Begins
The medical scanners hummed to life, mapping Jack's neural pathways and internal activity onto a translucent screen.
The doctor narrowed her eyes.
"That's… impossible."
Maya tensed. "What is it?"
The doctor zoomed in on a section of the screen.
Jack's amygdala and hippocampus—the emotional and memory centers—were glowing bright red.
"His neural imprint has doubled in density in less than six hours," the doctor said.
"Meaning what?" Maya demanded.
"Meaning his Alpha traits are accelerating."
Jack flinched at the word "Alpha."
Maya stepped closer to him, brushing her thumb over the back of his hand.
"You're still Jack," she whispered. "Ignore them."
The doctor crossed her arms.
"Agent Rios… you need to understand something."
Maya didn't like that tone.
"What?"
"Jack isn't the same anymore."
Jack froze.
Maya's grip tightened painfully.
"He's still—"
"No," the doctor said gently. "He's not."
Maya's pulse hammered in her throat.
Jack's voice trembled. "Then what am I?"
The doctor stared at the screen.
"A hybrid," she said finally. "Half-human, half-engineered… and now the engineered half is waking up."
Jack looked like someone had punched him.
Maya nearly snapped the doctor's neck.
The Confrontation With Ward
The medical bay doors slid open with a sharp hiss.
Ward entered.
Rafael followed her, face taut with stress.
Ward looked at Jack.
At the monitors.
At the readings.
Her expression tightened.
"I was afraid of this."
Maya rounded on her. "You KNEW this would happen?!"
Ward didn't flinch.
"I knew it was possible."
"Possible? Ward, he almost tore a drone apart—he nearly had another surge—he can't control ANY of this!"
Ward lifted her chin.
"We have to think of the bigger picture."
"No," Maya said. "We think of Jack. Not your 'bigger picture.'"
Rafael stepped between them. "Enough. Let's just focus."
Ward exhaled slowly.
"Maya, listen. Jack's awakening is dangerous. Not just for him—"
"He's not a threat."
Ward ignored her.
"—but for Astra. And the world."
Maya stepped so close their foreheads almost touched.
"If you try to lock him down… if you try to cage him… I will break you."
Ward's jaw clenched.
"And if he becomes a danger—"
"He won't."
"You don't know that."
"I do," Maya said.
Something burned in her eyes.
Something fierce.
Something that made even Ward step back.
Rafael cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… not to interrupt the dominance contest, but you both might want to see this."
He pointed at the diagnostic screen.
Specifically, a new line of neural activity forming near the base of Jack's brainstem.
The doctor gasped.
Ward squinted.
"What is that?"
The doctor whispered:
"A lock-key sequence."
Maya stiffened.
"What does that mean?"
The doctor swallowed hard.
"It means someone… is trying to activate him."
Jack's heart stopped.
Maya's heart dropped.
Rafael muttered, "Mercer."
The doctor nodded grimly.
"Yes. And he's close. Very close."Jack Breaks
Jack trembled violently.
His eyes flooded again with silver.
"No—no, no—please—don't let him—don't let him activate me—"
Maya grabbed his face.
"Jack. JACK. Look at me."
He did.
Barely.
His eyes were more silver than brown.
"Maya… I can feel him."
Her blood turned to ice.
"Feel who?"
"…Mercer."
She shook her head. "No. No, he's not here."
"He's in my head."
The surge built again.
Maya held him tighter.
"Jack—listen to me. He can't control you. You're stronger than him."
His breathing quickened.
"No—no I'm not—I'm not—"
She forced him to look into her eyes.
"Yes," she whispered. "You are."
His trembling softened.
The silver dimmed.
But then—
A soft chime came from the console.
Everyone turned.
A message appeared on the screen.
In large, perfect, clean text.
Straight from the neural frequency reading—
—meaning it came from inside Jack's head.
Six words.
Six horrifying words.
PHASE 5 IS NEARLY COMPLETE.
Jack screamed.
Maya grabbed him—
But this time—
she wasn't anchoring him.
He was anchoring her.
The Collapse
Jack slumped back onto the table, chest heaving.
His eyes flickered wildly.
Brown.
Silver.
Brown.
Silver.
Maya pressed her forehead to his.
"I'm here," she whispered. "I'm here, Jack. Just hold on."
His hand reached up and grabbed the back of her neck desperately.
"Maya…"
"Yes?"
"Don't let me become him…"
Her voice cracked.
"I won't," she said. "I promise."
He shook uncontrollably.
"Maya… I'm scared…"
Her throat tightened.
"I know," she whispered. "I am too."
His eyes fluttered.
"Maya?"
"Yes—?"
"I don't want to lose you."
Her heart shattered.
"You won't," she whispered.
He closed his eyes.
The monitors screamed.
Ward shouted to the medics.
Rafael swore under his breath.
But Maya didn't move.
She held Jack's hand—
—as the silver in his eyes faded…
—and darkness pulled him under.