Chapter 259 Done.

Chapter 259: 259 Done.

"Alright, people," I said, turning back to the group and giving them a close look. "Are we ready?"

"Hoo-rah!" Steve barked. His clones echoed the cheer, aggressively pumping their fists.

"Glacia?" I asked.

"I will show them the true fear of winter’s bite," she replied. A freezing gust of wind swirled around her boots, frosting the concrete of the loading dock.

"Great. Vanessa?" I said, looking over at the young heroine.

"Ready, of course," she said. It might have just been my imagination, but she actually sounded a bit more animated compared to our museum job.

Hopefully, she was finally getting into the spirit of the production. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my end, but a live scheme like tonight’s was always an massive rush once the wheels started turning, and this was going to be a spectacular set piece.

"Great," I said, checking my watch again. "We’ve got exactly five minutes. Lacey, if you wouldn’t mind showing everyone to their marks."

"Of course, Miles. And where exactly will you be?"

"I’ll be up on the roof with Glacia and Hex. It is much easier to keep an eye on the floor from a high vantage point. Alright, everyone. Let’s go."

I fed a heavy magnetic pulse into my bracers, lifting myself smoothly into the night air. I brought the massive, hollowed-out frame of the tiltrotor up right behind me, dragging it through the sky like a dead iron whale.

Vanessa and Glacia followed a moment later, rising on a flurry of cold air and glowing white magic.

I scanned the sprawling Intergate complex as we flew over the adjacent warehouses, keeping an eye on the blinking emergency lights.

Nothing jumped out at me as a direct threat, but my guard was still firmly up. Something was bound to go sideways tonight. I just didn’t know what shape it would take yet.

We touched down silently near the massive glass skylight capping the main laboratory.

I crouched near the edge, keeping far enough back into the shadows so the tour group wouldn’t spot us prematurely. I leaned forward, looking down through the glass.

Ah, there they were. The heavy double doors had just swung open. Lindquist marched inside, leading his group of VIPs.

They definitely looked like big money. It was a sea of tailored suits, heavy diamond necklaces, and imported Rolexes.

They followed the excited engineer while constantly looking around, only half-paying attention to the multi-million-dollar hardware on the floor.

They already knew they were scheduled to survive a villain attack tonight, and they were busy trying to guess where the breach was going to happen.

A few pointed up at the skylight and whispered to their neighbors. Another guy was staring intently at the concrete floor, likely expecting a giant subterranean drill to burst through the tiles. Not a terrible concept, honestly. I’d have to ask Rhea if she could build me one of those.

Lindquist stopped directly in front of the Atoma Cell. He gestured animatedly at the glowing prototype, drawing the crowd’s full attention. I tensed, waiting. Timing is everything in this business, and he was just wrapping up his speech.

"Ready?" I whispered to Glacia.

Glacia spread her hands wide. A biting, freezing wind gathered out of nowhere, swirling violently around her body.

She lifted her arms. High above the skylight, the moisture in the air began to snap and crackle, rapidly freezing together.

In seconds, an icicle the size of a delivery van hung suspended in the dark, hovering over the glass like the Sword of Damocles.

"Ready, sir," she said, her eyes glowing with pale blue energy.

"Knock ’em dead," I told her.

"But not literally," she smirked.

She threw her hands down.

The massive chunk of ice plummeted. It slammed into the skylight, detonating the reinforced glass with a deafening, explosive crash.

Screams of genuine shock erupted from the floor below. The wealthy tour group stumbled backward in a panic, bunching up behind Lindquist as they stared up at the shattered ceiling.

Riding a blast of freezing wind, Glacia stepped off the roof and floated slowly down into the laboratory. Her white coat billowed around her like the mantle of a winter goddess.

Her bone-white hair whipped in the icy breeze, and a look of absolute, amused contempt was plastered across her face.

Damn, she was good at this.

My chest swelled with actual pride as Glacia halted her descent, hovering a few feet above the crushed glass with her arms crossed imperiously beneath her bust.

"A fine device, Doctor," Glacia announced, her voice echoing off the walls, smooth and dripping with aristocratic amusement. "I think I shall take it!"

"Wh-who are you?" Lindquist stammered, playing his part flawlessly.

"I am the Winter Queen!" Glacia declared, throwing her hand out in a sweeping, theatrical gesture. "And I demand that machine for my master, the Iron Polaris!"

Excited murmurs rippled through the VIPs. They looked far more thrilled than terrified, whispering to each other. That suited me just fine.

Bored billionaires acting like they were on a theme park ride meant nobody was going to panic and intrude on the choreography.

"What? What on earth?" Lindquist demanded. "What possible use could he have for it?"

Glacia let out a high, mocking trill of laughter. "Poor, ignorant fools. You have absolutely no concept of the potential housed in this machine!

"With the energy it produces, combined with the Horadrix Cube, my master can power a ritual strong enough to summon forth a horde of demons under his command! But that is of no concern to the likes of you."

Excellent exposition delivery. Just enough lore to get the crowd thinking and set the stakes.

Right on cue, Glacia snapped her fingers.

The heavy loading doors burst open. A dozen Steves flooded into the laboratory.

The heavy thud of their combat boots and the terrifying skull masks sent a fresh wave of panicked chatter through the crowd as the henchmen fanned out, securing the room.

"Take them away!" Glacia commanded, waving a dismissive hand at the VIPs. "I have no use for them."

"Move it!" one of the Steves barked. He raised his assault rifle and fired a loud, echoing burst of blanks into the ceiling.

Several of the investors shrieked and scrambled backward. They knew they were paying for a show, but the deafening crack of gunfire in an enclosed space shook their certainty just enough to give them a genuine rush of adrenaline. Perfect execution.

I grinned as a squad of Steves aggressively herded the group up the metal ramp and into the observation deck. Two clones stepped inside with the VIPs, slamming the heavy door shut behind them to keep the civilians contained.

With the floor secured, Glacia turned her smug attention back to the Atoma Cell.

A handful of Steves immediately moved in, slapping heavy nylon straps around the generator and rolling the bulky machine directly under the shattered skylight.

"Ready to hoist, ma’am," a Steve announced, snapping a crisp salute that bounced off the brow of his skull helmet.

"Then let it be done!" Glacia commanded.