Shadow Protocol

The city never truly slept.

Even at two-thirty in the morning, Ebonridge glowed beneath a blanket of clouds. Towering skyscrapers reflected off rain-soaked streets while neon signs painted streaks of blue, red, and purple across the puddles below. Sirens echoed somewhere in the distance. Traffic still crawled through downtown. Somewhere, someone was laughing. Somewhere else, someone was screaming.

Silas stood on the edge of a thirty-story rooftop, the cold wind tugging at the ends of his sandy blond hair.

He looked like any other teenager—at least until the matte-black helmet folded into place over his face with a smooth mechanical hiss. A dark visor covered his eyes, glowing white as the system came online.

*"Systems online."*

A city map lit up across his visor.

Police calls.

Traffic cameras.

Emergency alerts.

Everything streamed past in real time.

Silas took one slow breath.

"Entros online."

A chorus of familiar voices answered through his earpiece.

"About time," Jett laughed. "Thought you overslept."

"I was early," Silas replied.

"You were thirty seconds late," Elias said.

Silas rolled his eyes beneath the helmet.

"You counted?"

"I always count."

Callum's calm voice cut through the chatter.

"Can we save the sibling argument until after patrol?"

Silas couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Fine."

Xavier spoke last, his voice steady enough to quiet everyone instantly.

"Standard patrol. Report anything unusual. Stay in pairs unless necessary."

Silas already knew what came next.

"Elias, keep an eye on your brother."

"I know."

"I don't need a babysitter," Silas muttered.

Ryker chuckled over the comms.

"Kid, everybody needs somebody watching their back."

"I'm not a kid."

"You literally are."

The channel erupted with laughter.

Silas groaned.

Without another word, he stepped off the rooftop.

For one impossible second, he simply fell.

Then darkness stretched beneath his boots.

A ribbon of shadow shot from the side of the building, wrapping around a nearby antenna. Silas grabbed it, swung through the air, and released at the perfect moment.

He landed silently on another rooftop.

Rain splattered against his armor.

The city spread endlessly around him.

This...

This was where he belonged.

---

Across town, Theo's voice suddenly sharpened.

"Hold on."

The joking stopped immediately.

"I've got multiple emergency calls coming in."

Silas slowed.

"What kind?"

Theo's fingers flew across his keyboard somewhere beneath the city in the team's headquarters.

"Armed robbery."

"Location?" Xavier asked.

"Westbridge National Bank."

Ryker whistled.

"That's bold."

Theo frowned.

"No..."

The hesitation in his voice caught everyone's attention.

"This isn't normal."

Silas jumped another rooftop.

"What do you mean?"

"There are no police dispatches."

"What?"

"I'm looking directly at city cameras."

Theo's voice grew quieter.

"They've all gone offline."

Silence filled the comms.

Xavier didn't hesitate.

"All units converge on the bank."

Twelve voices answered almost at once.

"Copy."

Silas sprinted.

Shadow platforms formed beneath his feet as he crossed impossible gaps between buildings. Wind whipped past his helmet while his visor marked the fastest route.

Blue lightning flashed overhead.

Not from the weather.

Jett shot across the skyline like a living bolt.

Elliot rode powerful gusts between rooftops.

Ryker simply crashed through a rooftop access door before jumping to the next building.

Silas couldn't help smiling.

Show-off.

Callum landed beside him with effortless precision.

"You keeping up?"

Silas snorted.

"You wish."

Together they leapt across the final rooftop.

The bank came into view.

Every window had been blown out.

Smoke poured into the street.

Dozens of civilians fled in panic.

Cars sat abandoned in the intersection.

And standing in the middle of it all...

...were six masked figures dressed in black armor.

Each carried a metallic case marked with a glowing symbol Silas had never seen before.

One of them looked up.

Their helmet tilted.

Almost as if...

They had been waiting.

Then every streetlight surrounding the bank exploded at once.

Darkness swallowed the block.

A distorted voice echoed through the night.

"Shadow Protocol..."

A pause.

"...we've been expecting you."

Silas's grip tightened around his pistols.

Xavier's voice came through the comms, calm as ever.

"Shadow Protocol."

A heartbeat.

"Move."

The team launched into the darkness.