The base was a mess. Plates stacked on counters, clothes draped over chairs, bundles of equipment leaning against walls. Dust clung to the corners of the room. The air smelled like sweat, old food, and the faint metallic tang of paradox energy.
It was lived in—a home, not a headquarters.
Axe walked in carrying a tray of food. His heavy boots thudded against the wooden floor. He set the tray on the table with a solid thunk. Stew. Bread. Water. Simple, but warm.
"Eat," he said. "You all look like you haven't eaten in days."
Monti grabbed a bowl, hissing slightly as his burned arm stretched. "Thanks, Axe."
Axe nodded and walked away, his broad shoulders disappearing through the doorway.
Dante leaned back in his chair, eyes scanning Monti's battered body. His grin widened.
"Damn, Monti. You look like you went three rounds with a truck and lost."
Monti snorted, taking a bite of stew. "Says the guy who smells like he fell into a dumpster."
Dante clutched his chest in mock offense. "That's called character, my friend. You wouldn't understand."
"I understand you're wearing the same shirt from yesterday," Monti shot back.
Sarah snorted into her bowl.
"Well you smell like shit," said Dante
"I feel like it too," replied Monti with a smirk as he took another spoonful of meat and broth. His bruised ribs ached with each movement, but the warmth of the stew helped.
"Language," Jade said from the head of the table. His eyes scanned the room, processing everything. He waited until everyone had food in front of them before speaking.
"Axe, this room is quite filthy," said Jade, his tone flat but pointed.
"The other rooms are under maintenance, so," replied Axe from the doorway.
"Of course," Jade said. His eye glanced over everyone now seated and eating. Dante was already halfway through his second bread roll. Sarah was picking at her stew with her good hand. Kínitos had his crutch propped against the table.
Jade set down his spoon. His eyes moved between Dante and Monti with deadpan precision.
"If you two are finished, we can return to the topic of survival."
Dante opened his mouth to respond.
"That wasn't an invitation," Jade added.
Dante closed his mouth.
Monti grinned.
Jade's voice cut through the clatter of spoons against bowls.
"Two Fang is building an army," he said. "Zombies, abnormals, hybrids—all under his control. His goal is to force more paradox users to emerge."
Marco looked up from his bowl. "How do you know that?"
Jade's gaze flicked to him. "I have eyes in places you don't. Cameras. Informants. Patterns." He spoke with deliberate precision, each word measured. "His movements have been consistent for weeks. The Stack incident was a test. The woman on the fifth floor was a manager. She reported to him. And he reports to someone else."
Sarah leaned forward, her bandaged arm resting on the table. "Who?"
Jade paused. His fingers tapped the table—a rare nervous habit.
"I don't have a name yet. But I have a location. Two Fang is operating out of a network of tunnels beneath the old district. The abnormals are being bred there. The undead attacks are being coordinated from there."
Marco frowned, pushing his food around his bowl. "Why is he after me specifically?"
Jade's eyes met his. "Your paradox. Parrondo's Paradox. Two losing strategies combining to win. He believes he can use you to stabilize his experiments. To create more undead—or maybe for another reason. We still don't know."
Marco set down his spoon. It clinked against the bowl. "I don't even know how to use it. I don't even think that's how it works."
"Doesn't matter if he believes it," Jade replied. His fingers stilled on the table. "He's coming for you."
Jes spoke up, still levitating a few inches off her chair. "We fought abnormals tonight. Slug creatures. They were breeding. Eggs everywhere."
Jade nodded. "I'm aware. I was monitoring your progress." He paused, taking a sip of water. "You did well."
Monti blinked, pausing mid-chew. "You were watching?"
"I always watch." Jade's tone was flat. He set down his glass. "It's how I keep everyone alive."
He turned to Marco.
"Two Fang's operation is large. But it's not invulnerable. We know where he is. We know what he wants. Now we need to decide how to stop him."
Marco leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. "What do you suggest?"
Jade folded his hands on the table. "We hit him before he's ready. Strike the tunnels. Destroy the breeding grounds. Cut off his supply of abnormals."
"And the person above him?" Sarah asked, her fingers tracing the edge of her bowl.
Jade's expression didn't change. "One problem at a time. If we weaken Two Fang enough, his superiors will have to reveal themselves."
He looked around the table.
"Vex and Violet are tracking a lead. They'll report back soon. In the meantime, rest. Heal. Prepare."
He stood. His chair scraped against the floor.
"I'll have more information by morning."
He walked toward the door. Then paused.
"And Dante?"
Dante looked up, a bread roll halfway to his mouth. "Yeah?"
"Stop eating lollipops at the table."
Dante grinned, his teeth sticky with sugar. "No promises."
"Everyone clean up after yourself. I mean it," said Axe.
Jade left. Axe followed right behind him. The door clicked shut.
Dante took a bite of the bread roll. "So. Anyone else want dessert?"
Monti laughed, then winced. "You're impossible."
Dante shrugged. "I've been running around all day. I chase. I think it's called for some dessert." He pointed at Marco with the roll.
Marco smiled, shaking his head. "Eat, Dante. We'll need your energy."
Dante took another bite. "Fine. But only because you asked nicely."
Sarah pushed her bowl aside, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "It's crazy how two whole blocks got cleared by Two Fang."
Kínitos, still leaning on his makeshift crutch, shrugged. "I mean, they're superpowered people."
"Yeah, but they're in block 12 and our district. The other side of the train yard," Sarah continued.
Monti's hand froze mid-reach for another spoonful. "Those are nowhere near the Stack." His eyes narrowed. A thought formed. A small idea.
"What are you trying to get at?" asked Dante, mouth full, crumbs falling onto his shirt.
Then in that second, it clicked in Marco's and Monti's minds. They locked eyes across the table.
"That's where the Lo Los and Blood Brother gangs are at!" said both men in unison.
Jes finally dropped back into her chair, her feet touching the floor. "The what now?"
"A group of gangs in the counties," Marco said quickly. "There's four major gangs. My family and them are one more." He leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table. "What was the location?"
"Near the water yard," said Monti, pointing with his spoon.
"And the broken neighborhood," Kínitos added.
"Those are where they keep their supplies," Monti said.
Jes lifted an eyebrow, her chair slowly rising off the ground again. "Now why would they attack your enemies?"
Marco's fingers drummed against the table. Monti's jaw tightened.
Outside, the first light of dawn crept through the windows.