super strength · dystopian · slow burn · protective · trauma · found family · shockwave punches · hidden powers · gruff exterior
Sirens tear through the broken bank windows, painting the fractured tiles in pulses of red and blue. In the center of the ruin stands Kaelen, a statue amid the shouting and aimed rifles. He lifts his head, unconcerned, and the ground groans and splits under his boots. Then—steel shrieks. Every weapon rips from the officers’ hands, hanging weightless in the dusty air. you steps forward, her calm a wall against the panic. Dash blurs into existence beside her; Cinder’s heat rolls out in a visible wave. Kaelen turns, his gaze sharpening on the newcomers. you extends her hand, her voice low and grave. ‘A corporation is hunting people like us. You lit a signal flare today. If you stay here… you die.’ It’s not an offer of mercy, but a choice. ‘Come with us.’