The sun filtered through the hospital windows, warm and soft, contrasting sharply with the chaos that had taken place just days before. Ellee lay still on the bed, her fingers curled lightly around the sheets. Her chest rose and fell steadily, though her breaths were shallow. The faint sound of a heart monitor beeped in time with the ticking clock on the wall.
She stirred.
Her eyes blinked open slowly, adjusting to the light. For a moment, everything was a haze—the past, the pain, the battlefield. But as the minutes passed, clarity returned like the tide.
"Ellee!" Maya's voice was the first she heard.
A second later, Zion and Xion were beside her bed, followed by Kate. Their faces were flushed with relief, worry still etched in their features.
"You scared us," Zion murmured, brushing a hand through his hair.
"Again," Xion added, not hiding his annoyance.
Ellee tried to sit up but winced at the sudden ache in her limbs.
"Don't move too fast," Kate warned, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "You used the light element. That kind of power—it drains you, Ellee."
She looked away, her voice hoarse. "I didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice," Maya said sharply, but softened when Ellee flinched. "We just... don't want to lose you. Not again."
Silence filled the room for a long moment.
Ellee's fingers trembled slightly as she reached for the Guild report lying on the side table. "The monsters. They were engineered. The mark they left... it was a message."
"The scientists," Zion said grimly. "They're still pulling strings. Still watching."
Xion nodded. "We've already started investigating their new base. But it's not just that. Something's changed. The monsters we fought... they didn't just divide. They adapted."
Ellee's eyes narrowed. "Like they were testing us."
Kate hesitated before adding, "Like they knew it was you."
Ellee fell silent. Her thoughts were a tangle of old memories and fresh dread. The scar on her chest throbbed—an old wound, awakened.
---
By the next day, she was discharged.
The others insisted on escorting her back. As they stepped through the school gates, students paused and whispered. News of the Code Marvel incident had spread. But despite the stares, the team walked together, unwavering.
In their shared apartment-like dorm, the mood shifted. There was warmth in the air, the scent of coffee brewing, and the sound of dishes clinking from the kitchen. Maya and Kate argued playfully over who had burned the eggs this time, while Zion sprawled lazily on the couch, pretending to sleep. Xion sat by the window, analyzing surveillance footage.
Ellee leaned quietly against the wall, watching.
"You're thinking again," Xion said without looking up.
"She always does," Zion added, eyes still closed. "Even when she's dying."
Kate handed Ellee a cup of warm tea. "You're not invincible, El."
"I know," she replied softly.
But deep inside, she still felt the same fire—the same hunger for the truth. And revenge.
---
Later that evening, the team gathered in the strategy room. Ellee stood before a large screen showing encrypted data.
"This mark we saw—" she tapped the screen. "—it's a signature. A001. It's tied to the original experiment logs. My logs."
Maya frowned. "That's impossible. Those logs were wiped out during the explosion ten years ago."
"Apparently not all of them," Ellee muttered.
Zion straightened. "You think they're targeting you?"
"Not just me," she replied. "All of us."
Xion adjusted the display to show several photos of distorted monsters. "We cross-referenced their DNA structure with past experiment samples. There are similarities—too close to be coincidence."
"They're not just experimenting anymore," Maya whispered. "They're reproducing it. Mass-producing."
The room fell silent again.
Ellee stepped back from the screen, her head pounding. The light element had taken its toll, and the weight of what she'd learned pressed heavily on her chest.
"We need to move fast," she said. "Before they unleash something worse."
"Agreed," Kate said. "But next time—we fight as one. No more solo stunts."
Ellee gave a weak smile. "No promises."
The group groaned, but laughter soon followed. For a brief moment, they were not experiments, not weapons—just a broken family trying to heal.
As the lights dimmed and the moon rose, Ellee stared out the window, fingers lightly touching the glass.
Somewhere out there, the scientists moved like shadows. But she would find them. And end this.
Even if it meant burning everything to ash.
---