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"What the hell are you staring at, vat-girl? You want me to carve a smile into that pretty, synthetic face?"
The Bloom rat didn't just look like a rodent; he looked like a nightmare made of wet fur and jagged bone. He had me pinned against a rusted shipping container, one clawed hand crushing my windpipe. I could smell the rot coming off him—sour, like old meat left in the sun.
I clawed at his wrist, my fingers slipping on the slime coating his skin. My lungs were screaming.
"Can't... breathe..." I wheezed.
"That's the point," the rat hissed. His voice sounded like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together. "You're a courier. You've got something in your head, don't you? A chip? A key? Give it up, and maybe I'll only eat one of your legs."
I didn't have a key. I didn't have a chip. I had a handful of credits that wouldn't even buy me a real ID, and a body that was basically a rental from a lab.
"I don't... have... anything!"
"Liar." He leaned in closer, his yellow teeth inches from my nose. "I can smell the genes in you. Pure. Untainted. You're a high-grade batch, aren't you? I bet you taste like luxury."
Suddenly, a high-pitched, grating voice exploded from the beat-up plush toy lying in the dirt between us.
"Oh, for the love of all that is digital, would you stop flirting with the trash and actually *do* something, Maya?"
The rat froze. I froze. We both looked down at the plush. It was a raggedy thing—some kind of stuffed rabbit with one ear hanging by a thread and a missing eye. But the remaining eye was glowing a neon, predatory purple.
"What is that?" the rat spat, glancing at the toy.
"I'm your worst nightmare in a polyester blend, you overgrown sewer-rat!" Pip yelled, his voice vibrating through the ground. "Maya, listen to me. Your combat genes just pinged. If you don't trigger the protocol in the next three seconds, you're going to be a snack. Move your left hip, pivot, and drive your elbow into his throat. Now!"
"I can't!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "I don't know how!"
"Stop thinking!" Pip roared. "Stop being a pathetic little vat-grown mistake and just *move*!"
The rat laughed, a wet, gurgling sound. He tightened his grip, and the world started to blur at the edges. I felt the crush of the container against my spine. I was going to die in a nameless alleyway, and my only witness was a talking doll with a bad attitude.
Then, something snapped.
It wasn't a choice. It was like a switch flipped in the base of my skull. My body didn't ask for permission—it just took over.
My left hip shifted with a speed that made my joints pop. I didn't feel the movement; I just saw it happen. In one fluid, violent motion, I pivoted, my shoulder slipping out of the rat's grip. Before he could even blink, my elbow slammed upward, catching him square in the soft tissue of the throat.
*CRACK.*
The rat flew backward, his grip breaking as he hit the pavement with a wet thud. He scrambled to get up, clutching his neck, making a sound like a broken vacuum cleaner.
I stood there, panting, staring at my own arm. My hand was shaking, but not from fear. There was a hum under my skin, a vibration that felt like electricity running through my veins.
"See?" Pip chirped, his voice smug. "Told you. You're not just a courier; you're a weapon with a very low IQ. Now, don't just stand there admiring your form. He's getting back up, and he looks pissed."
The rat lunged. He didn't go for my throat this time; he went for my legs, a blur of gray fur and claws.
"Duck!" Pip screamed.
I dropped. I didn't think—I just fell flat on my face. The rat sailed over me, crashing into a pile of scrap metal. I scrambled to my feet, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"What is happening to me?" I gasped, looking at the plush. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything, sweetheart. Your DNA did. You've got the Bloom Protocol baked into your marrow," Pip explained, his glowing eye flickering. "But you're still Level Zero. Pathetic. If you want to survive the next ten minutes, you need to kill that thing. Now. Finish it."
"I can't kill it!"
"Then you'll be the one getting finished!" Pip snapped. "Look at him! He's already staggered. Grab the piece of rebar next to your foot. Hit him. Hard. In the head."
I looked down. A jagged piece of rusted steel was sticking out of the concrete. I gripped it, the metal cold and gritty against my palm. The rat was trying to stand, his throat still leaking a thick, black ichor.
I stepped forward, my boots splashing in a puddle of iridescent oil. Every instinct told me to run, but the hum in my blood was louder. It felt like a hunger. Not for food, but for *victory*.
"Do it, Maya!" Pip urged, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous purr. "Feel it. The power. The fact that for once in your disposable life, you're the one holding the weapon."
The rat let out one last, desperate screech and leaped.
I didn't flinch. I swung.
The rebar connected with a sickening, wet thud, driving straight through the creature's skull and pinning it to the ground. The rat's legs twitched once, twice, and then went still.
Silence fell over the alley, heavy and suffocating. I stepped back, my chest heaving, the rebar still vibrating in my hand.
"Gross," Pip commented. "You got brain matter on your shoe. But hey, look up."
I looked up.
A holographic screen, translucent and neon blue, materialized in the air right in front of my face. It pulsed with a rhythmic, heartbeat-like glow.
**[TARGET NEUTRALIZED]**
**[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 100 XP]**
**[LEVEL UP: 0 ➔ 1]**
The moment the number changed, a massive, golden pillar of light erupted from my body, shooting straight up into the smoggy sky. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't quiet. It was a beacon, a flare that could be seen from three blocks away.
My vision blurred for a second, and a surge of warmth flooded my muscles, erasing the ache in my joints and replacing it with a raw, terrifying strength.
"Uh, Pip?" I whispered, staring at the light. "Is that... normal?"
"Normal?" Pip let out a digital cackle. "Maya, you just rang the dinner bell for every mutated freak and corporate hunter in the district. That level-up ping just told the whole city exactly where you are."
In the distance, a long, haunting howl echoed through the concrete canyons. Then another. And another.
The sound of heavy boots began to thunder against the pavement, coming from every direction.
"Run," Pip said, his voice suddenly devoid of humor. "Run right now, or we're both scrap."
I turned to bolt, but the sound of a heavy metal door slamming open echoed behind me.
"Target acquired," a cold, mechanical voice boomed. "Sector 4, Zero-One. Do not let the asset escape."