Shadow Reckoning

They met Lauren in an underground bunker beneath an old subway station. It was one of the last safe places left in Guardian City.

Lauren didn't waste time. She tossed a folder onto the table. "You remember Blacksite 17?"

Shade frowned. "Yeah. Government-run black ops facility. Shut down three years ago."

Lauren nodded. "Except it wasn't shut down. It was taken over."

Shade felt a pit form in his stomach. "By who?"

Lauren's face was grim. "By Lucian."

Jade swore. "Jesus. He's been planning this for years."

Lauren exhaled. "That's not even the worst part."

She opened the folder.

Inside were classified documents—military files. Human experimentation reports.

Shade's blood ran cold.

Lauren's voice dropped. "Lucian wasn't just running a gang. He was running a fucking lab."

Jade's expression darkened. "And let me guess—he wasn't testing for allergies."

Lauren's hands trembled as she pointed to one specific name on the list.

A subject number.

A name.

Project Revenant—Subject 01: Gabriel Cross.

Shade froze.

His real name.

His past.

Jade frowned. "Who the hell is Gabriel Cross?"

Shade clenched his fists. His voice was quiet.

"…Me."

Silence.

Jade blinked. "Wait. You're telling me you were part of this?"

Lauren swallowed. "Not just part of it. He was the first."

Shade's chest tightened. Memories flooded back. Flashes of things he had buried. Needles. Chemicals burning through his veins. Hours of conditioning. Pain beyond comprehension.

Lucian hadn't just known him.

Lucian had created him.

Jade's voice was cautious. "Shade… what are you not telling us?"

Shade forced himself to meet her gaze.

"I wasn't just trained to fight." His voice was hollow. "I was built to kill."

Jade's breath hitched.

Lauren looked away.

Because the truth was worse than any of them had imagined.

Shade wasn't just a vigilante.

He was one of them.