Chapter 22 · Apex Loop: Glitch Evolution - Chapter 22: Symbiotic Trap

"Hold him down!" Vivian snapped.

Three restraints slammed across my shoulders before I could get my claws under me. Metal bit into the mimic-skin covering my arms. The borrowed human body jerked, but the straps held. A fourth band locked around my throat.

"You said the trial was over," I growled.

Vivian stepped into my view, tablet tucked against one hip. She wore a clean white coat, dark gloves, and the same calm expression she used when she cut pieces off me.

"The trial was over," she said. "This is the correction."

"Call it what you want. Take these off."

"No."

The word landed harder than the restraints.

I pulled anyway. The table groaned beneath me. Under the human skin, my real body flexed and pushed. Black plates broke through my forearms, then melted back when I forced the disguise to hold.

Vivian’s eyes sharpened.

"There," she whispered. "That reaction. Do it again."

"Get bent."

"You are about to be injected with a living genetic shard. If you fight the bonding, it will tear through your core and kill you. If you cooperate, you may keep your mind."

"May?"

"I am being generous.