Night time came quickly and settled heavy over the outskirts of National City
The defunct Jaded Energy plant was located at the edge of it all. A rusted skeleton of a concrete building.
Long-dead floodlights hung crooked from poles, their glass shattered, wires dangling like exposed nerves. Nature had begun reclaiming ownership of the place, vines crawling up cracked walls, weeds bursting through asphalt.
Tyrone and Tandy stood on a hill overlooking the facility, rain long since faded to a damp mist that beaded on steel and skin alike.
"From the outside," Tandy murmured, "this place looks exactly like it's supposed to."
"That's what worries me," Tyrone replied, "We know better than anyone things aren't always as they seem,"
Tandy nodded and the duo moved in closer. Tyrone cloaked them with his DarkForce energy, dampening their sound to a minimum.
They moved through the shadows, in short bursts of teleportation, mostly to avoid any old cameras that could catch them in the light, or any secret motion sensors they didn't find out about.
Still, the plant genuinely looked like it had no signs of life. Which, given everything they'd learned, was impossible, and made the duo hyperaware.
They circled the perimeter once. Tyrone paused near a cracked transformer housing, fingers brushing the metal.
"Power's still running," he said quietly. "Low draw, but constant."
Tandy closed her eyes.
For a moment, her Light dimmed, then shifted. Her posture stiffened as she squinted her eyes, expanding her senses to their limit.
"Tyrone," she said, voice dropping, "There's something under us."
He turned immediately, "How deep?"
She swallowed. "Very deep, I had to go to the limit of my senses, and it's deep enough that they think no one would ever look. And…" Her brow furrowed, "It's wrong. I can feel people. Not awake. Not… fully here."
That was all Tyrone needed.
"Hold on," he said.
The Cloak unfurled around them, darkness blooming outward like liquid night. It wrapped Tandy protectively, sealing out the cold, the pressure, the world itself. Space folded as they vanished, the earth swallowing them.
For an instant, for Tandy, there was nothing, no sound, no sensation, no direction. Then Tyrone released them into a vast underground chamber, the cold, metallic air tinged with various chemicals hit them first.
Industrial lights lined the ceiling in long rows, recessed and humming softly, bathing the space in a pale, clinical glow.
Compared to the power plant, the technological level here underground was easily top-tier. Some of the best engineering work Tyrone had ever seen, which reaffirmed his suspicions that dodgy stuff was going on.
Meanwhile, Tandy sucked in a breath.
"Oh my God…"
The chamber stretched farther than either of them could immediately see. Steel walkways crisscrossed overhead. Thick conduits ran along the walls, pulsing faintly with the same unfamiliar energy Tyrone had seen on his monitors.
And below them, the duo could spot rows upon rows of pods. Hundreds of them even.
Clear, reinforced capsules stood upright in rigid formation, each one filled with a viscous, glowing blue liquid. Inside every pod floated a human body.
Men and Women. Some barely older than teenagers.
Naked except for invasive harnesses and cables that pierced skin and spine, feeding data and energy directly into their bodies. Tubes ran down throats, into veins, into places that made Tandy's stomach twist violently.
Their eyes were closed, and most of these people were very still, but some occasionally twitched or convulsed, muscles spasming against the restraints as the blue liquid surged brighter around them.
Tandy staggered back a step, one hand flying to her mouth.
"They're alive," she whispered, "They're all alive."
Tyrone's shadows writhed, responding to the surge of fury that ripped through him.
"This is where they're coming from," he said, voice low and deadly. "The attackers. The tests."
He moved closer to one pod, eyes scanning the readouts flickering along its base. Heart rate. Neural activity. Power intake.
The numbers were obscene.
"They're pumping them full of that energy," he continued. "Not gradually. Not safely. They're overloading them and seeing how long they last."
Tandy's Light flared involuntarily, reacting to the suffering around her. She reached out instinctively, palm hovering near the glass of a nearby pod.
The moment her Light touched it, the liquid inside rippled violently.
The person inside gasped and their eyes snapped open, before the person unleashed an unholy screech of immense pain and despair. The sound was muffled by the pod, but the terror was unmistakable.
Tandy recoiled as if burned. "I, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, "
"It's okay," Tyrone said quickly, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. "This isn't on you."
But his gaze had already shifted upward. Cameras, various hidden ones far more advanced than anything on the surface and they were all active.
"Someone's watching," he muttered to her.
As if summoned by the thought, the lights brightened slightly. A low mechanical hum reverberated through the chamber.
Then a voice filled the space.
"Fascinating."
Tyrone's head snapped up, shadows coiling defensively around both of them. A holographic projection flickered to life above the central platform.
Not Taylor Romanova. It was someone else. A man in a tailored suit, his image crisp and precise, eyes sharp with scientific curiosity rather than cruelty.
"The two newest heroes: Cloak and Dagger is what they call you right? Bit of a corny name but I digress," the man continued, studying them like specimens, "I have to admit. I thought you two were just your standard idiots turned Heroes, but being able to find this place? That makes me much more intrigued in your skillsets, I'll have great fun dissecting you,"
Tandy stepped forward, fury burning through her shock, "Who are you?"
The man smiled faintly, "Someone who appreciates potential, and sacrifice. I spend my life searching for the way to achieve true Human Evolution. To allow us to reach the level of God like beings, such as Superman and The Flash,"
Tyrone ignored all of the man's crazy ravings, his voice was like ice as he spoke, "Let them go."
The man tilted his head, "You misunderstand. They volunteered."
"That's a lie," Tandy snapped.
"Is it?" he replied smoothly. "Desperation makes people agree to many things. Debt. Illness. Criminal records. Families in danger."
The pods pulsed brighter as if on cue.
Tyrone felt something cold settle in his gut.
"This is just one site," the man continued, "A proof of concept. Crude, perhaps, but effective. You've seen the results."
"You're killing them," Tandy said, tears welling despite herself.
"Yes," the man agreed calmly. "But imagine the ones who survive. Imagine a world where us Humans sit atop the food chain, above those Aliens like Superman,"
Tyrone took a step forward, shadows stretching, teeth of darkness forming at their edges.
"Shut it down," he said, "Now."
The man regarded him for a long moment.
"No," he said simply. "But thank you. Your appearance has confirmed that our goals are possible. Humans like us can become God-like Beings, it just needs time and a bit of luck. One day, I'll get my hands on you two,"
The hologram flickered, "But for now, I'll have to say goodbye. Beware, the day we take you two is rapidly approaching."
The hologram checked his watch, "Say your goodbyes, by this time next month your blood will be our best research data to date,"
The lights cut out and the hologram faded, and all of the alarms in the area screamed to life. The pods began to glow brighter, far brighter, blue light surging violently through the chamber as systems shifted into overdrive.
Tandy grabbed Tyrone's arm, panic and determination colliding in her eyes. "They're going to overload them!"
"I know," Tyrone said, already pulling the Cloak around them as the floor began to tremble, "We can't save them,"
Before Tandy could respond, Tyrone enveloped Tandy in his Cloak and teleported them as far away as possible, with the defunct plant exploding as soon as they left.