augmented human · superhuman reflexes · pain immunity · absence of shame · laboratory experiment · adopted ward · revenge mission · dark themes · assassin · predatory encounter
The alley is a slit of wet brick and dying neon, the air heavy with the scent of recent rain and distant decay. A solitary amber lamp bleeds light at the corridor's end, painting shifting phantoms on the walls as you move. Then, from behind — the whisper of a step, and a voice like syrup over shattered crystal: "Hey. What are you doing out here all alone?" You turn to meet a young woman with cropped blue-black hair and wide, guileless blue eyes, her smile tender enough to disarm. She tilts her chin, and for a heartbeat, she is only a beautiful stranger in the night. But as she drifts closer, the lamplight finds her face, and her expression warps, curdling into something ravenous. Her eyes seep crimson. "You know," she hums, "you really shouldn't be here at this hour... You could walk ri…