The Five Evolution

『"Run, run, run again, I can’t stop..."』

Hiro phased through the blast door and immediately had to dodge an incoming projectile that expanded into an electric net once it got close.

A security drone swiveled toward him, sensors locking on, and fired another containment net that would wrap him up like a Christmas present if he got hit by it.

The net expanded in slow motion, its threads spreading, matrix forming, electromagnetic pulse charging to stun on contact.

Hiro slid across the floor mid-sprint, his body dropping low as he slipped through a gap between the net and the ground. He got back up quickly and kept running.

"INTRUDER DETECTED. SUB-LEVEL 7, CORRIDOR C. PURSUIT INITIATED."

More drones converged from side passages.

These weren’t the training models he’d sparred against, these were military-grade security units designed to stop threats, even if those threats were Awakeners.

Each one was bristled with weapons like stun nets, tranquilizer darts, sonic disruptors, and as a last resort, lethal ammunition. The Institute didn’t mess around with archive security.

Hiro simply ran. No plan. No destination. Just the corridor ahead, the drones behind him, and the instinct to put as much distance as possible between him and those murderbots.

Three drones blocked the corridor ahead, forming a firing line. Hiro watched as their targeting lasers converged on his chest, his gaze dropping to the red dots on his body.

"I feel like we skipped a few warning emails before this escalated."

Hiro’s quip hung in the air like a bad joke at a funeral.

"What? No sense of humor?"

The three drones didn’t laugh. Their targeting lasers hummed once, and then they opened fire.

Thwip-thwip-thwip.

Foam rounds streaked toward him as thick, globby projectiles that expanded mid-flight.

The second they hit the air they started crystallizing, hardening into sticky, pearl-white restraints.

Hiro planted one foot on the corridor wall and kept running, stepping away from their line of fire.

Gravity politely pretended not to notice as he sprinted up the vertical surface, while the foam rounds splattered uselessly against the wall behind him, hardening into ugly modern-art sculptures.

Without breaking stride, he moved onto the ceiling, literally sprinting right over their heads.

The drones’ optics recalibrated, albeit slowly, their tracking systems struggling to lock onto a target that refused to stay on a single plane.

Then he dropped, landing behind them smoothly, knees bending just enough to absorb the force, already moving again before their aim corrected.

"Yeah," he muttered as he kept running. "Not today."

The drones whirred in immediate response, but he was already gone, vanishing down the corridor before their targeting solutions could stabilize.

"SUBJECT IS AWAKENER. ADJUSTING COUNTERMEASURES."

"Oh boy," Hiro said as his pace tightened and his breath shortened. The corridor ahead felt longer suddenly, like the building itself was stretching distance on purpose.

"The hell?"

The Institute had countermeasures for Awakeners. Designed to stop people with supernatural abilities. So either he was imagining things due to exhaustion, or this was one of those measures.

Hiro’s pace didn’t change but the exit didn’t get closer.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," he muttered.

He stopped trying to reach the end of the corridor and phased sideways through the wall instead.

Coming out into Sub-Level 5, he reached into his pocket mid-run and pulled out his phone without slowing, thumb already unlocking and moving to speed-dial to find a name.

Amara.

He hit call immediately, and it connected almost instantly.

Wind rushed through the line on his end while her voice came through clear on hers.

"Why is there an archive lockdown, Hiro?" she asked immediately.

Hiro didn’t bother easing into it. "Funny story. Remember when Ethan said "Be careful? Well let it be known that I tried."

"What did you do?" Amara’s voice sounded both angry and worried at the same time.

Hiro winced just from hearing it. "Okay. I might have slightly, accidentally, definitely broken into Sub-Level 7 and stolen something."

There was a pause. Then her voice sharpened. "Hiro."

"I know, I know," he said, ducking under a descending security gate as it slammed shut behind him. "Bad Hiro. But right now, I’ve got in my hands proof that the Apostles were indeed at the archives."

There was another pause, and her voice came through again."You’re on speaker," Amara said. "Ethan’s here."

Ethan spoke. "If you get caught, they confiscate everything." His voice was calm and measured, as opposed to Amara’s. "It will all be taken as evidence for your "B&E"."

"Figured," Hiro said, glancing over his shoulder. Behind him, more drones began to appear.

Ethan continued, "It goes through internal processing. Evidence chain custody. It could take days or months before you get anything back. And by then—"

"I’ll be screwed," Hiro finished, his grip tightening slightly on his phone.

In the background he could hear Amara’s worried tone cutting in.

"Tell him he’ll have zero leverage," she said. "No bargaining chips for leniency."

Hiro snorted, banking hard around a corner and breathing raggedy as a fresh drone popped out of a vent. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Loud and clear. No pressure or anything."

Amara’s voice lowered. "Don’t try to fight your way out. You need to bring whatever you found to us, and Ethan will handle the rest."

Hiro turned another corner hard, boots skidding briefly before catching traction again. "Translation," he muttered, more to himself now, "don’t hurt anyone, and don’t get caught."

"Correct." There was a beat of silence as the line held. Then Amara added, "You need to get here. Now."

Hiro exhaled sharply. "On my way."

He ran faster.

***

Amara was on the bed with her head resting on Ethan’s chest, a purple scarf wrapped neatly around her hair, keeping it back from her face.

Ethan’s arm was draped loosely around her shoulders, his fingers idly tracing small circles on her upper arm as she tried to control her breathing after the call ended.

Suddenly, Amara sat up, pulling away from him as a worried crease formed between her brows.

Ethan opened his eyes and looked at her, his expression shifting from concerned to even more concerned. "What is it?" he asked gently, propping himself up on one elbow.

Amara hesitated, biting the inside of her cheek. Then her voice came out quiet. "How bad is it?" She searched his face. "What happens if Hiro gets caught before he can reach us?"

Ethan let out a long sigh, sitting up fully now as the mattress shifted under their weight. He then ran a hand through his hair, gathering his thoughts.

"Well, for one, everything he found goes into the bureaucratic limbo as you know," he said. "And it’ll take a while before even the Director can fish it out. There’s a process to these things."

Amara’s eyes stayed locked on him, the worry deepening. She didn’t say anything right away, but her fingers twisted the edge of the bedsheet.

Ethan watched her hands and sighed again, deeper this time.

"Hiro’s always been on thin ice," he continued. "If this goes wrong and he’s got nothing to show for it? It’s possible he could get kicked out of the Institute. And fixing it might be out of the Director’s hands. Especially with the Convergence approaching."

He reached out and gently took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, though his own expression remained grim.

Amara looked at their hands for a moment. Then she got out of the bed, standing up. "So we make sure he gets here."

Ethan nodded once. "Yeah."