It was a mission no one else could touch: a heavily fortified weapons facility deep in the industrial heart of Sigma City. The client was vague about the details, and even the payout seemed suspiciously high. The only instructions were clear: infiltrate, retrieve a data chip hidden in the vault, and get out.
This meant one thing: Zoey and Etrius were on the case.
"Alright, listen up, fox," Etrius's low growl echoed through their shared comms as the two mercenaries prepared for their mission in a dingy underground parking lot, away from prying eyes. "We need to do this quietly. Get in, out, no alarms. We stick to the shadows, no unnecessary—"
"I'm sorry," Zoey interrupted, not remotely sorry at all, "did you say quietly? Have you met me?"
Etrius shot her a glare, his neon green eyes cutting through the dim light as he adjusted his hood and black cloak. The contrast between the two couldn't be starker. Etrius looked like the embodiment of stealth—slim, silent, and calculated. Zoey, meanwhile, was decked out in her usual Vulpes Titan exo suit, which hummed as she double-checked the oversized guns mounted on her back. Her mechanical arms twitched with anticipation, as if even they were getting antsy.
"We’re dealing with a high-security facility here," Etrius insisted. "Security drones, automated turrets, elite guards—"
"—a perfect excuse to put all this hardware to use!" Zoey patted her chest plate, which clanked louder than she probably intended. "Besides, do you know how boring sneaking around is? I swear, if I have to crouch for more than five seconds, I’m gonna blow something up out of spite."
There was a heavy sigh from Etrius. "Just... follow my lead. Try not to draw attention. Please?"
"Yeah, sure. Scout ahead, Kitty," Zoey said, waving him off. "I'll just... cover you."
Her grin was way too wide, and Etrius knew—just knew—that this was going to end with some kind of explosion. Probably multiple. Still, he couldn't argue with results, even if they were messy ones. With one last sigh, he vanished into the shadows, his footsteps completely silent.
The facility loomed ahead, a monolithic structure surrounded by towering walls and patrolling drones. Inside, a labyrinth of steel and concrete awaited, every corridor crawling with guards and sensors. This place was impenetrable... theoretically.
Zoey, standing at the edge of the perimeter, was already flexing her trigger fingers, eyeing the facility like it was her next meal. Meanwhile, Etrius had scaled the outer wall with feline grace, already inside, silently disabling cameras and slipping through the shadows like a ghost.
"Status?" Etrius asked over the comm.
"Staring at the front door. Thinking of knocking," Zoey responded, her voice casual.
"Don’t. Go around to the side. I found a service entrance—"
"Too late!" Zoey cackled, and suddenly, Etrius’s entire HUD lit up red with alerts.
"Zoey, what did you do?!"
"Just a little firework display to set the mood." Zoey’s comm chimed, her voice dripping with mischief. "You should see these drones scramble—wait, hang on."
Etrius could hear the thunderous boom of a rocket launcher, followed by another burst of laughter from Zoey.
"Scratch that. There were drones."
Etrius pinched the bridge of his nose, though it was pointless—no one could see his exasperation but him. "So much for the stealthy approach."
Inside, the contrast was even more obvious. While Etrius glided through the dim hallways like a whisper, neutralizing guards with his plasma blade and retractable claws before they even realized he was there, Zoey was a one-fox-army. The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and clattering armor echoed through the facility. If anyone wondered what the hell was happening, the answer was simple: Zoey.
She stomped down the halls, turrets firing uselessly at her thick exo armor, as she nonchalantly shot back, taking out security systems with laughably little effort. At one point, she passed a break room, gave a bemused glance at a group of terrified guards cowering under a table, and simply said, "Don’t bother," before moving on.
"Zoey, you're supposed to be stealthy," Etrius growled into the comm.
"I am stealthy!" she shot back. "No one’s left to raise the alarm. Pretty effective, huh?"
Etrius couldn’t argue with that logic, as flawed as it was.
At one point, their paths crossed inside the vault room. Etrius had already bypassed several layers of security, deftly working on the biometric lock. He was focused, precise, and nearly finished when Zoey stomped in.
"Alright, I’m here! What’s the plan?"
Etrius didn’t even look up. "The plan was for you to be outside, keeping the heat off me."
Zoey leaned against the vault door, which groaned under her weight. "Eh, I took care of the heat. They’re mostly in... pieces now."
"Of course they are."
"Hey, quick question," Zoey said, leaning in, her helmet visor glinting under the dim lights. "Why don’t you just let me rip this door off its hinges? You're taking forever."
"Because," Etrius replied, now visibly annoyed, "this vault is rigged with enough explosives to flatten half the district if tampered with. So maybe... just maybe, let me work."
Zoey frowned, crossing her arms. "Pfft. Boring. You’re taking forever."
Two minutes later, the lock clicked. "Done."
"See? Told you I’m faster." Zoey smirked.
Etrius shot her a sidelong glance but said nothing. He stepped inside, Zoey following close behind, her massive frame nearly scraping the ceiling.
Inside the vault, they found the data chip—about the size of a laptop, and apparently the source of all this trouble. Etrius examined it carefully, while Zoey looked visibly underwhelmed.
"This? This is what we were risking our lives for? Feels like a setup."
Etrius nodded slowly. "Something doesn’t add up."
Before they could ponder it further, their comms crackled with a new transmission. A deep, robotic voice filtered through.
"Congratulations on retrieving the data chip. Now, kindly return to us. You've done exactly what we wanted."
Etrius’s eyes narrowed. "Who is this?"
"Oh," Zoey grinned, hefting her gun, "I think we’re about to find out."
The moment the eerie voice filtered through their comms, the vault door slammed shut with a deafening clang, sealing them inside. Zoey immediately tried to rip it open, but even with her mechanical strength, the door didn’t budge.
"Uh, you sure you don’t want me to rip this off now?" Zoey muttered, turning to Etrius.
Etrius was already scanning the room for another exit, his green eyes glowing with frustration. "If it didn’t explode before, it’ll definitely explode now," he growled. "Looks like we’ve walked right into a trap."
"Not we—you," Zoey quipped. "I wanted to blow the place up from the start. You were the one with all the 'quiet and sneaky' talk. So much for that plan." She slumped against the wall, folding her arms, the exosuit humming with her annoyance.
"We don’t have time for this." Etrius pressed a few buttons on his wrist pad, bringing up a map of the facility. The schematics flickered into life as he scanned for possible exits. "We’ve got hostiles incoming. Whoever hired us is probably already here to collect."
Zoey perked up at the word hostiles. "Now you’re talking my language!" She cracked her knuckles, her prosthetic fingers emitting an eager whir. "What’s the plan? I hope it involves a lot of shooting."
Etrius’s voice was cold. "Not yet. We’re in no shape to take them on headfirst. First, we find a way out of here without letting them know we’ve figured out their plan."
Zoey groaned. "You and your sneaky sneaky! Fine, you go ninja around. I’ll hold off the goons and create a little distraction." She leaned in, eyes twinkling. "Or, y’know, a big one."
Etrius frowned. "Do you ever think things through?"
Zoey grinned. "What’s the fun in that?"
Etrius moved silently, weaving through the narrow vents high above the facility’s corridors, and the vault door opened with a loud groan as he managed to bypass the lock once more. Below, Zoey was doing everything but being silent.
The guards storming the facility were not prepared for a walking tank. The instant they spotted Zoey, the firefight began—and it was a mess. Zoey stomped through the chaos, sending bullets, drones, and unlucky guards flying in every direction. Her laughter echoed through the comms as another explosion shook the facility.
"I’m making friends down here, Kitty," she called out, glee evident in her voice. "You sure you don’t wanna come join the party?"
Etrius, perched above in a vent, was trying to disable a security system and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. "Just keep them busy. We need them to think we’re still trapped in the vault."
"Already on it!" Zoey bellowed, and a second later, the comms were filled with the unmistakable zoop of a grenade launcher going off.
"Busy does not mean leveling the entire building!" Etrius hissed.
"Oops. My bad."
Zoey’s version of a “distraction” was more like a demolition job. She sent drones spiraling through walls with her heavy firepower, tore through squads of guards, and casually strolled past a turret that had been reduced to molten slag. Etrius, meanwhile, was slipping past the chaos, disabling the facility's security systems one by one.
"I hope you know this entire place is going to be crawling with reinforcements soon," Etrius said, his voice calm despite the mayhem happening below him.
"Good! More fun for me!" Zoey replied, mid-gunfire.
Etrius smirked. "You sound like you're enjoying this."
Zoey’s laughter rang out again. "You know me, Kitty. If it ain’t loud, bloody, and full of explosions, I’m not interested!"
As Zoey continued tearing through the facility, Etrius finally reached the control room, tapping into the mainframe. The data chip they’d retrieved held more than just blueprints; it was an override key. Whoever had hired them had planned to shut the whole facility down remotely once they got the chip. Etrius was starting to piece it together. This wasn’t a simple theft job—this was about control.
"I’ve got eyes on the real target," Etrius whispered over the comm. "The chip isn’t just for data. It’s a kill switch for the weapons they’re producing here. Whoever hired us plans to take control of everything once we leave."
Zoey’s voice crackled back, "So, what, they double-crossed us? Classic bad-guy move. Gotta say, not impressed."
"Focus, Zoey. They’re going to make their move any minute now." Etrius quickly disabled the security lockdown and opened the emergency exit near Zoey’s position. "I’m sending you a route to an extraction point. Keep the heat off me while I access the main server."
"Copy that," Zoey replied with a sudden seriousness. "I’ll keep ‘em busy for ya, Kitty. But you owe me a big chicken sandwich after this."
"Deal."
Moments later, Zoey’s massive frame crashed through the nearest door, flinging it off its hinges and slamming it into an unlucky guard. "Whoops!" she said, in a tone that wasn’t remotely apologetic. Behind her, the clatter of collapsing walls and the distant sound of gunfire filled the air.
"Zoey, I’m almost done!" Etrius’s voice was tense. "You’ve got incoming from the west and north. Can you handle it?"
Zoey smiled beneath her helmet, her oversized rifle at her side. "Handle it? Kitty, I was born for this." She stepped forward and opened fire. Bullets ricocheted, explosions rocked the facility, and soon, the hallways were littered with what used to be elite security forces.
"I’m impressed," Etrius said dryly over the comms. "You haven’t leveled the whole building yet."
"Give me five more minutes."
With the facility in chaos and their mysterious employers closing in, Etrius finally downloaded the last piece of data. But just as he did, the deeper mystery was revealed.
"Zoey," Etrius called, his voice laced with sudden tension, "I’ve got something... strange here."
"Strange? You mean besides the fact that I’m carrying a rocket launcher into what was supposed to be a stealth mission?"
"I’m serious. The data isn’t just for weapons. It’s..." Etrius hesitated. "It’s for... you."
Zoey stopped dead in her tracks. "Wait. What?"
"I’m looking at schematics for your exo suit, your body, everything about you."
Zoey’s tone dropped into a growl. "Someone’s got their hands on my tech."
Etrius’s voice was cold. "It’s worse than that. They didn’t steal it. They’ve been improving it."
Zoey paused, her usual humor drained away. "Who the hell are we dealing with, Kitty?"
The comms crackled with interference as the robotic voice from earlier cut through again: "Congratulations. Now that you’ve retrieved our data, we’ll be in touch—Warlord."
Zoey’s fist clenched, her metal knuckles creaking. "Oh, this just got personal."
Etrius’s voice was steady. "Time to get out of here, and then we find out who’s behind this."
Zoey’s grin returned, but this time it was colder. "And when we do, I’m gonna make sure they really regret pissing me off."
-----
Zoey stormed out of the wrecked hallway, her armor steaming from recent blasts, her mood as dark as her sense of humor had been a few minutes earlier. The facility lay in ruins behind her, a trail of destruction marking everywhere she'd gone.
"You look like you enjoyed yourself," he remarked dryly, nodding to the charred remnants of a turret in the distance.
"I’ve had better days," Zoey growled, yanking off her helmet and tossing it into her arms. Her black hair, still slicked back, was damp with sweat. "Now, who’s behind this crap, Kitty? And why do they know my tech?"
Etrius kept his eyes focused on the horizon, already scanning for any sign of extraction. "That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?"
He pulled up the schematics he'd stolen on his wrist pad, showing them to Zoey. "This isn’t just your exosuit. There are designs here for tech beyond even what you’ve got. Whoever they are, they’re not just looking to replicate your abilities. They’re looking to upgrade you. Your genetics, everything about your body, you would be a lot more like me in terms of your body and genes. You know I'm a chimera - a hybrid of a few animals."
Zoey snorted. "Upgrade me? I’m already the best there is. They really think they can improve on this?" She gestured to her towering frame, raising an eyebrow. "Fat chance."
"They think they can, and they’ve been studying you for a while, judging by these records." Etrius's tone was clipped, controlled. He was processing everything at light speed, but Zoey could see the concern flickering behind his green eyes. "Whoever hired us knew exactly what they were doing. They weren’t just after the vault—we were part of the plan."
Zoey’s tail lashed with irritation, the spade tip scraping the floor. "And what’s the endgame here? Clone me? Good luck handling that, because even I don’t handle me well most days."
Etrius looked up from the datapad, meeting her gaze. "It’s not about cloning you. It’s about controlling you."
There was a pause as the weight of his words sank in. Zoey’s playful demeanor slipped away entirely, replaced with a simmering rage.
"Controlling me?" Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "I’d like to see them try."
Before Etrius could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. His ears twitched as he listened intently. "Let’s move."
As they slipped through the ruined facility, heading for their extraction point, Zoey’s mood was a simmering mix of frustration and anger. The idea of someone messing with her tech, with her, had thrown her off balance. And that wasn’t something she was used to.
"Kitty, you ever think about what you’d do if someone tried to pull your strings like this?" Zoey asked, her voice low over the comms as they navigated through the back corridors.
Etrius didn’t break stride. "I’d cut the strings."
"Yeah? That simple, huh?"
"Life’s complicated enough without letting someone else control it." His eyes flicked toward her, a rare moment of vulnerability in his otherwise stoic demeanor. "But I’ve been through enough to know when someone’s trying to manipulate me."
Zoey chuckled bitterly. "Guess I should’ve seen this coming. I mean, how many people are lining up to get their hands on all this?" She waved a hand over her body, indicating both her massive, augmented frame and her suit. "I’ve pissed off more people than I can count."
"True," Etrius said, his lips twitching into the faintest smile. "But most people don’t live long enough to actually make a plan like this."
"Damn straight," Zoey agreed. Then her eyes narrowed. "But these people did. And they know more about me than I’m comfortable with. Which means we need answers."
Etrius stopped at the final door leading to their extraction point, checking the surroundings before opening it. "First, we get out of here. Then, we start hunting."
Zoey’s grin returned, sharp and dangerous. "Now that is a plan I can get behind. And once we find out who’s behind this, I’ll show them what real upgrades look like—right before I blast them to pieces."
The door slid open, revealing the dark night sky outside. Their extraction point was just beyond, a small shuttle waiting on the roof. But before they could make their move, a familiar robotic voice crackled over the facility’s loudspeakers one last time.
"Run while you can, Zoey. We’ll be waiting."
Zoey’s fists clenched, and for the first time in a long while, Etrius saw real fire in her eyes—not the playful, destructive rage she usually wielded, but something far more focused. Far more dangerous.
"Let ‘em wait," Zoey muttered as she stormed toward the extraction. "They’re gonna regret it."
-----
As they boarded the shuttle and took off, the facility shrinking into the distance, Zoey leaned back in her seat, her mood still simmering.
"First thing tomorrow, Kitty," she said, staring out the window, "we’re tracking these bastards down. I don’t care if it takes weeks. I’m not letting this go."
Etrius nodded, his mind already piecing together the next steps. "We’ll need more information. I’ve got a few contacts who can dig deeper."
"And I’ve got a few explosives that can help with that digging." Zoey smirked, though her voice held a darker edge. "Let’s make sure whoever’s behind this gets the message loud and clear: no one screws with Zoey Lavender, the Mistress of War."
As the shuttle zoomed through the night sky, the mystery of who had set them up, and why, loomed larger than ever. But one thing was certain—they wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
And when Zoey and Etrius found them, there wouldn’t be a facility—or anyone—left standing.
Zoey slumped into the shuttle’s seat, her body still buzzing from the adrenaline of the fight. The Titan Vulpes suit hummed softly, its alien crystal core still radiating a faint energy pulse, barely perceptible beneath the noise of the shuttle’s engines. She ran her hand over the suit's forearm, fingers trailing over the familiar, worn carbon fiber plates.
"I’ve been running this suit into the ground for years, Kitty," she said, her voice low, as if confiding in herself as much as to Etrius. "It’s never let me down. And now some alien bastards think they can ‘upgrade’ me?"
Etrius, seated across from her, studied her quietly for a moment. "They’re not just trying to upgrade you. They’re trying to control you." His tone was cautious, careful not to provoke her while still emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
Zoey snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. They don’t know the half of what they’re dealing with. I’ve been through hell, E. The kind of hell that would break most people a thousand times over." She flexed her prosthetic hand, the tungsten carbide skeleton creaking softly as her fingers clenched into a fist. "These arms? They’ve seen more than their fair share of carnage. They’re industrial-grade, meant to haul tons of molten rock, and now these freaks think they can improve on that? Fat chance."
Etrius tapped his wrist pad, pulling up the schematics they’d stolen from the facility. "They think they can because they’ve got the tech. But they don’t know what’s really inside you, Zoey. You’re not just a machine. They don’t understand what makes you tick—literally and mentally."
Zoey glanced at him, eyes narrowing. "Yeah, and that’s their biggest mistake."
The shuttle jolted as it hit turbulence, but neither of them flinched. Zoey was deep in thought, her mind circling back to her suit. The Titan Vulpes had always felt like a part of her—more than just armor. Its alien power source had fused with her on some level, amplifying her strength, her endurance, making her feel nearly invincible. But now… there was something different. Something unsettling about what they’d discovered in that facility.
The improvements to her tech weren’t just cosmetic. The aliens had been working on far more sophisticated modifications than she’d anticipated.
"Let me guess," Zoey said, breaking the silence. "Their so-called ‘upgrades’ involve more than just the suit, right?"
Etrius zoomed in on a series of alien symbols and diagrams. "The catch is, they’d be in control. They could override your movements, your thoughts, maybe even your emotions. They wouldn’t need to upgrade your body when they could simply control it."
Zoey’s lips curled into a feral grin. "Control me? I’d like to see them try. My head’s a mess even on a good day." She tapped her temple. "You know how many wires are crossed in here? PTSD, addiction, anxiety, self hate...and if there's someone controlling me and they see all that, they'd probably kill themselves… They’re going to have one hell of a time trying to sift through that."
Etrius let out a rare chuckle. "They clearly don’t know what they’re dealing with. If they tap into your brain, it’ll be like riding a roller coaster blindfolded—at high speed."
Zoey snorted, but her grin faded slightly. "Still, this isn’t just about my mind, is it? They’re after the tech in the Titan Vulpes too."
Etrius nodded, tapping on the display to zoom in on more detailed schematics of the suit. "They’ve got advanced upgrades planned—things we haven’t even seen before. Nanomaterial reinforcements and an auto-repair system that’s borderline self-aware. This tech would make the suit practically invulnerable, maybe even sentient."
Zoey’s eyes widened slightly, her grin returning. "Sentient, huh? I could use a chatty suit for once. Imagine the banter."
But her humor didn’t last. "If it’s sentient, that means they could give it orders. Control it just like they’re planning to control me." Her voice darkened. "I’ve been dealing with enough people trying to run my life. I’m not adding my damn suit to that list."
Etrius nodded solemnly. "There’s more. The power source—the alien crystal—it’s more than just an energy supply. It’s a node, a conduit to something else. I haven’t figured out what exactly, but the data suggests it’s linked to a larger network, maybe even a hive mind."
Zoey stiffened. "A hive mind? You’re telling me I’m walking around with a piece of some alien collective in my suit?"
"Not exactly," Etrius said, holding up a hand. "The crystal’s been dormant—at least from what we’ve seen. But if they activate it, they could turn your suit into a receiver for whatever that network is. It could start communicating with… whatever’s out there."
Zoey’s eyes darkened as she processed the information. "So, not only do they want to upgrade me, but they want to use my suit to phone home to their alien buddies? I’m not liking this situation, Kitty."
Etrius’s green eyes locked onto hers. "We need to figure out who’s behind this and why they’re so interested in you. These aliens—whoever they are—they’ve been planning this for a long time. But they’re missing key information. They don’t know about your prosthetics, your augmentations, your…" He gestured to her tail. "They still think you’re just the original ‘you,’ before all the changes."
Zoey laughed, the sound harsh and mirthless. "Then they’re in for a nasty surprise. I’m not some flesh-and-bone fox anymore. I’m a walking, talking nightmare with enough firepower to level a city block."
Etrius didn’t respond immediately, his mind clearly still working through the puzzle. "They didn’t account for everything. Your prosthetics are too unique, too advanced for their blueprints. They were made for environments that even their tech doesn’t fully comprehend. Volcanic eruptions, toxic wastelands—your arms aren’t just strong. They’re indestructible. And your mental state? They have no idea how unstable you are."
Zoey grinned again, this time with more genuine amusement. "They’re going to regret messing with me. Let them try to control my suit, let them try to hijack my mind. I’ll tear them apart piece by piece. And then I’ll upgrade them—into space debris."
Etrius smirked, his rare sense of humor surfacing again. "I’ll bring the popcorn."
As they flew through the dark, starry sky, Zoey’s mind was already racing ahead. She’d faced off against war machines, mutated creatures, and everything in between—but this? This was personal.
And if these aliens thought they could control her, they were about to learn the hard way just how wrong they were.
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