Back at the HQ, the air was tense.
Jax stood before the team, arms crossed.
"We need to move out."
Kai frowned. "You think they'll come back?"
Jax nodded. "They know where we are now. The problem isn't that we can't fight them—it's that others are here too. Innocent people. We're not putting them at risk."
Saya sighed. "So, we pack up and relocate?"
"Exactly. I'll inform the leader. Everyone else, get ready," Jax said.
April leaned against the wall, still replaying the fight in her head.
She had him. And then
—
"April."
She looked up as Saya approached, her expression unreadable.
"You know what just happened out there, right?"
April raised a brow. "Yeah, I let that bastard get away."
Saya shook her head. "No. You awakened."
April blinked. "What?"
Saya pointed at the back of her head. "Touch it."
Confused, April reached up—and froze.
Something was there.
Something had grown from the base of her skull.
It was smooth, yet firm—almost metallic.
As she traced its shape, her breath caught.
An angelic wing.
One side had telescoped outward, a sleek, feathered silhouette made of her Gear's nanotech.
Her sigil.
Proof that she had taken the next step.
April stared at the floor, her mind reeling.
She wasn't just stronger.
She was changing.
And there was no going back.