"Are you ready?" Dr. Meyers asked as he prepared his instruments for surgery.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I said with a nervous smile.

He tightened the restraints on my wrists,  ankles, and torso. Plugging the USB cable behind my ear. Dr. Meyers said, "Prepare for shutdown sequence ALPHA." He kissed my forehead with a soft tenderness.

"Shutdown sequence commencing," ALPHA said.

As my eyelids grew heavier, I could feel the world slipping away. Dr. Meyers’ kiss on my forehead lingered like a fading warmth, the last bit of comfort before the darkness enveloped me. The soft hum of ALPHA's voice echoed in my mind.

"Shutdown sequence at fifty percent."

My body felt lighter, like I was floating just above the cold steel of the table. Each breath slowed, my senses dulling as if they were being switched off one by one.

"Shutdown sequence at eighty percent."

I tried to focus, to hold on to something—anything—but the blackness crept in, unstoppable. My thoughts, my fears, my very consciousness began to fade.

"Shutdown sequence complete," ALPHA announced.

And then, silence.

The darkness was all-encompassing, a void where time ceased to exist. In that silence, there was no pain, no fear—just emptiness. For a moment, it felt like I was nowhere and everywhere at once.

Then, a flicker.

A soft pulse of light pierced the black, followed by a faint humming sound, as if my body were being reawakened from the inside out. Slowly, sensation returned—my fingers, my toes, my chest rising and falling with each breath.

"Reboot sequence initiated," ALPHA’s voice echoed in my mind, calm and steady.

My consciousness flickered back to life, and I could feel the cold metal of the table beneath me, the restraints holding me down, but something else was there too—a new awareness, a sharper clarity.

"Upgrade successful," ALPHA declared.

I blinked, opening my eyes, but everything looked... different. Enhanced. My vision was clearer, sharper. I could see the fine details of the room, the minute scratches on the surgical tools, the subtle lines of concern etched on Dr. Meyers' face.

"Alex?" he asked cautiously, stepping closer. "Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you," I replied, my voice sounding stronger, more controlled. "I can feel everything."

Dr. Meyers let out a sigh of relief. "Welcome back. Now, the real fight begins."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About fifteen hours."

Dr. Meyers looked haggard and in need of sleep. "You should rest," I said, "You look like you could use it.

"I will as soon as I start the recovery process."

He typed several commands into the dashboard of his computer console.

"Fifteen hours?" I repeated, processing the time lost. It seemed like a blink in the darkness, but so much had changed.

Dr. Meyers gave me a tired smile. "You’ll need to test your new abilities soon. But for now, yes, rest."

I glanced at the monitor, seeing the charts and readouts of my vitals, all in perfect alignment. A wave of gratitude hit me. Dr. Meyers had risked everything for me.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

Dr. Meyers nodded, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. "Get some sleep, Alex. We’ll need all the strength we can muster for what’s ahead."

As he left the room, I lay there staring at the ceiling. The world had shifted, and soon enough, it would change even more. But for now, I closed my eyes, allowing myself a brief moment of peace. The fight could wait until tomorrow.

The moment felt heavy with anticipation. I lay there, eyes closed, trying to settle my mind. The quiet hum of machinery filled the room as I drifted in and out of consciousness. My body felt different—more alive, more powerful—and yet the burden of what lay ahead loomed large.

Dr. Meyers had given me another chance, another weapon in the arsenal for the coming battle. But as I floated between sleep and wakefulness, I wondered if it would be enough. Ashcroft was still out there, with his army of ACE soldiers, and we were vastly outnumbered.

The world seemed to slow in that quiet room, the weight of everything pushing down on me. But one thing was certain: I was ready to fight back. When tomorrow came, Ashcroft would know that I wasn’t just another experiment. I was more than that now—stronger, faster, better—and I would make sure he knew it.