Page 18 of Cyborg's Tether
As they returned to their stations, Xavier analyzed Dr. Vex’s recent behavior. Something had shifted, not just between him and Amaya, but in the facility as a whole. The mystery of the sabotage was deepening, and trust—something that had onceseemed clear—was becoming harder to hold onto. They couldn’t afford trusting the wrong person, so it was safer to keep their trust in each other—which somehow felt right anyway.
Chapter 7—Amaya
AMAYA TAPPED THE HOLOGRAPHICdisplay, gaze darting between multiple screens as she frantically tried to make sense of the chaos erupting around her. The facility’s alarms blared, their urgent wails mixing with the sounds of distant explosions and panicked shouts.
“Status report.” Dr. Vex’s voice crackled through the intercom, strained and urgent.
Amaya swallowed hard, forcing herself to focus. “Multiple breaches detected in sectors three, seven, and nine. Security protocols are failing. I can’t—” She broke off as another explosion rocked the building, closer this time. The lights flickered ominously.
Heavy footsteps approached, and Amaya turned to see Xavier striding into the control room, his cybernetic eye glowing an intense green. “What’s happening?”
“We’re under attack. Unknown forces. They’ve somehow bypassed our outer defenses.”
He scowled while studying the screens. “How is that possible?”
Amaya shook her head. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t be. Unless...” She trailed off, a terrible suspicion forming in her mind.
“Unless what?” Xavier pressed, moving closer.
Amaya hesitated. This was the moment. The information she held could be crucial to their survival, but sharing it meanttrusting Xavier completely. She glanced at him, taking in his intense gaze. In that split second, she made her decision.
“There’s a backdoor,” she said quickly, lowering her voice. “A hidden access point in the facility’s defense grid. It was designed as a failsafe, but if someone with inside knowledge got their hands on it...”
His eye widened slightly. “They could use it against us.”
Amaya nodded, already moving to pull up a new set of data. “Exactly, and I think that’s what’s happening now.”
“How do we stop it?”
“We need to manually override the system from the central hub,” she said, bringing up a schematic of the facility. “But it’s on the other side of the complex, and with the attacks...”
Another explosion punctuated her words, this one close enough to shake dust from the ceiling. His cybernetic components whirred audibly as he processed the information. “We’ll have to fight our way through,” he said grimly.
Amaya nodded but was unsure she should do this. “I’ll need to get there to input the override codes, but I’m not exactly combat-ready.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get you there and protect you while you do what you need to do. Trust me.”
The word ‘trust’ hung between them, loaded with meaning. She took a deep breath, nodding. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
They moved swiftly through the corridors, Xavier taking point with his enhanced senses and combat skills. Amaya followed close behind, clutching a data pad with the necessary codes.
As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with a group of intruders—humanoid figures in sleek battle armor, their faces obscured by dark visors. Xavier reacted instantly, his cybernetic arm transforming into a laser cannon.
“Stay back,” he shouted to Amaya as he engaged the attackers.
She pressed herself against the wall, watching in awe as Xavier moved with inhuman speed and precision. His movements were a blur of deadly efficiency, each strike calculated and devastating.
One of the intruders broke away from the group, lunging toward Amaya with a crackling energy weapon. She ducked, narrowly avoiding a blast that left a scorched mark on the wall behind her.
“Xavier,” she cried out, scrambling to avoid another attack.
In an instant, he was there, interposing himself between Amaya and the attacker. With a swift, brutal movement, he neutralized the threat before he turned back to Amaya, concern evident in his human eye.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded, struggling to control her breathing. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
They pressed on, encountering more resistance as they neared the central hub. Xavier’s prowess in combat was matched only by his laser focus on protecting Amaya. For her part, she relied on Xavier, trusting his judgment and following his lead without hesitation.