Chapter 1: Ghosts Don’t Die
Rain slammed against the streets of Chicago hard enough to make the city look drowned.
Neon lights flickered through puddles mixed with oil, blood, and garbage while distant sirens screamed somewhere downtown.
A cargo warehouse near the abandoned docks stood silent beneath the storm.
Too silent.
Inside the warehouse, terrified people sat chained together beside wooden crates marked with military symbols.
Children.
Teenagers.
Runaways.
Human trafficking victims.
And standing over them with rifles and black tactical armor were armed mercenaries wearing skull masks.
One of the traffickers grabbed a crying teenage boy by the collar.
“Shut the fuck up before I cut your tongue out.”
The boy trembled violently.
Then suddenly...
BOOM.
The entire warehouse shook.
Every light exploded.
The mercenaries instantly raised their weapons.
“What the hell was that?!”
Another impact hit the roof.
BANG.
Dust rained from above.
One mercenary slowly looked upward.
Too late.
CRASH.
A figure smashed straight through the ceiling like a missile.
Concrete exploded everywhere.
The floor cracked beneath massive boots.
The traffickers opened fire instantly.
Gunshots erupted across the warehouse.
But the man standing in the crater didn’t move.
Bullets bounced off his body.
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
One mercenary slowly lowered his rifle.
“No fucking way...”
The stranger stepped forward through the smoke.
Tall.
Massive.
Wearing a black combat coat soaked by rain.
His glowing blue eyes stared at them without emotion.
Marcus Donovan Steele.
Bulletproof.
The oldest soldier in America.
“Jesus Christ...” one trafficker whispered.
Bulletproof cracked his neck.
“You boys picked the wrong warehouse.”
Then chaos exploded.
Marcus moved faster than human eyes could process.
BOOM.
His fist tore through a mercenary’s chest armor and launched the man across the room hard enough to shatter steel containers.
Another charged him with a combat knife.
Marcus grabbed the attacker’s wrist.
SNAP.
The arm bent backward in a horrifying angle.
The mercenary screamed.
Marcus slammed his face into a crate.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Two more fired shotguns directly into Marcus’ back.
Nothing happened.
Marcus turned slowly.
“You done?”
The men panicked.
One tried running.
A loud whistle suddenly echoed through the darkness above.
Then claws dropped from the ceiling.
SHHK.
Blood splattered across the floor.
The fleeing mercenary collapsed with deep claw marks carved into his throat.
A massive winged figure landed silently behind the body.
Glowing yellow eyes.
Dark feathered wings.
Razor sharp talons.
Great Horned.
Damon folded his wings casually.
“You guys seriously suck at security.”
One mercenary screamed and unloaded an SMG toward him.
Damon vanished into the shadows.
The shooter blinked.
“Where the fuck did he go?!”
A whisper came behind him.
“Behind you.”
CRACK.
Damon twisted the man’s head completely backward.
Meanwhile, outside the warehouse...
A blur bounced across rooftops at insane speed.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Jaxon Carter laughed like a maniac while leaping between buildings.
“Last one inside buys dinner!”
Beside him, Selena sprinted across a vertical wall effortlessly.
“You’re literally rich, dumbass!”
Jaxon grinned.
“Exactly why you should buy dinner.”
Selena rolled her eyes.
“I fucking hate you.”
“You wanna kiss me so bad.”
“I wanna throw you into traffic.”
“That’s basically flirting.”
Selena growled.
“You are unbelievably annoying.”
Jaxon smirked.
“And yet you keep following me around.”
Before Selena could answer, gunfire erupted from inside the warehouse.
Her expression instantly changed.
Serious.
Predatory.
Silver light glowed inside her eyes.
“Focus, idiot.”
Jaxon’s grin slowly disappeared too.
“Right.”
Then both launched themselves through the warehouse windows simultaneously.
CRASH.
Glass exploded everywhere.
Selena landed directly on top of a mercenary.
Her claws ripped through tactical armor like paper.
The man screamed as blood sprayed across the floor.
Jaxon bounced off a steel pillar and drop-kicked another mercenary hard enough to break his jaw instantly.
“Holy shit!” Jaxon laughed.
“This place smells like piss and bad decisions!”
One trafficker grabbed a hostage and pressed a pistol against her head.
“BACK OFF!”
The entire warehouse froze.
The hostage cried violently.
The mercenary trembled.
Selena’s eyes narrowed.
Jaxon slowly raised his hands.
“Easy, buddy.”
The mercenary looked completely terrified.
“You freaks stay the fuck away from me!”
Marcus stepped forward calmly.
“You can still walk away.”
“SHUT UP!”
The mercenary pressed the gun harder against the hostage’s skull.
Damon perched silently above the rafters.
Watching.
Waiting.
The criminal’s finger slowly tightened around the trigger.
Then suddenly...
BOOOOOOM.
The entire warehouse erupted with a sonic explosion.
Windows shattered instantly.
Concrete walls cracked.
Every mercenary flew backward violently.
The hostage dropped safely to the floor as a massive figure walked through the destroyed entrance.
De’Marcus Holloway.
Warden.
Smoke rose from his body.
His glowing fists vibrated with raw sonic energy.
He looked around casually.
“You assholes started the party without me?”
One unconscious mercenary groaned beside him.
Warden kicked him across the room.
“Rude.”
Jaxon pointed dramatically.
“There he is! The angriest bald man in America!”
“I will literally throw you into a fucking wall,” Warden replied.
Selena crossed her arms.
“Please do it.”
“Wow,” Jaxon said softly. “Betrayal hurts.”
Marcus sighed deeply.
“Can we finish the mission before you idiots start flirting again?”
Silence.
Selena froze.
Jaxon blinked.
Warden immediately burst out laughing.
Damon nearly fell off the rafters trying not to laugh.
Selena pointed aggressively.
“WE ARE NOT FLIRTING.”
Jaxon instantly pointed too.
“YEAH. WE’RE PROFESSIONALS.”
Marcus stared at both of them.
“Mhmm.”
Another trafficker suddenly pulled out an explosive detonator.
“If I die, this whole warehouse blows!”
Everyone’s expressions changed immediately.
The trafficker grinned nervously.
“Thought you freaks were the only monsters?”
The walls suddenly revealed hidden explosives.
Dozens.
Connected together.
Enough to erase the entire block.
Including the hostages.
Marcus stepped forward slowly.
“Listen carefully.”
The trafficker’s hands trembled.
Marcus’ voice became cold.
“You hurt innocent people.”
Another step.
“You traffic children.”
Another step.
“You put bombs in a room full of civilians.”
The trafficker panicked.
“STAY BACK!”
Marcus stopped directly in front of him.
“You know what I learned after almost a hundred years of war?”
The detonator clicked nervously.
Marcus smiled slightly.
“Monsters like you always think fear makes you powerful.”
Then suddenly...
WHOOOOSH.
Selena vanished.
Jaxon launched himself upward.
Damon dropped from above.
Warden charged forward.
Everything happened at once.
Selena sliced the detonator hand clean off.
Jaxon grabbed the hostages.
Damon ripped the explosives from the walls.
Warden tanked the blast from a shotgun directly to the face before crushing the shooter into concrete.
And Marcus...
Marcus grabbed the trafficker by the throat.
Lifted him slowly.
The man choked violently.
Marcus stared into his eyes.
“You are not the worst thing this world has created.”
CRACK.
The neck snapped instantly.
Silence filled the warehouse.
Rain continued pouring outside.
One rescued little girl looked up at Marcus nervously.
“Are... are you superheroes?”
The team exchanged looks.
Warden laughed first.
“Nah, kid.”
Damon folded his wings.
“We’re worse.”
Suddenly...
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
Marcus looked toward one of the confiscated laptops.
A classified symbol appeared on screen.
Project Iron Sentinel.
Marcus froze completely.
His face darkened.
A video file automatically opened.
An old military scientist appeared on screen.
Older.
Terrified.
Bleeding.
“If anyone is seeing this... listen carefully...”
Static flickered.
“They restarted the program.”
Marcus’ eyes widened.
The scientist coughed blood.
“Project Iron Sentinel never ended.”
Behind him...
Something massive moved in the darkness.
Not human.
The scientist whispered one final sentence.
“They finally created the perfect soldier.”
The screen suddenly cut black.
Then a pair of glowing red eyes appeared on the monitor.
Watching them.
Smiling.
And deep beneath an unknown underground facility somewhere in America...
A monstrous voice growled:
“Find Bulletproof.”
END OF CHAPTER 1
