Scene 2

His footsteps echoed through the long corridor.
A dark passageway, sheathed in the metal that safeguarded the entire facility.
He couldn’t look at it the same way anymore.
It had once been his empire.
Today, he had to let it go.
He stopped before the massive doors leading into the laboratory.
His hand moved quickly through his pockets until he found it—his access card.
He studied it for a moment. A photo of… himself. Wearing a mask.
His gaze shifted away in quiet distaste. He swiped the card through the scanner. The doors slid open at once.
He stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was Levy—one of his most loyal collaborators, and exactly who he’d come for.
“Levy!” he called out.
Levy turned, his expression unfocused, caught off guard by the urgency in Andrew’s voice.
It was the first time he had ever seen him like this.

“What happened?” he asked.

There was too much—everything tangled together. Andrew couldn’t form the words.
Levy couldn’t help but wonder what could have shaken him this badly. What could possibly do that to Andrew? He had known him for years—he had never seen him like this.
He pulled a stool from one of the workstations and set it in front of him.

“Sit,” he said. “Breathe. Calm down, and tell me what’s going on.”

Andrew nodded, more out of reflex than understanding. He could barely grasp even the simplest things.
He didn’t move.

“This is bad,” Levy muttered, gesturing insistently toward the seat.

Andrew looked at it—then understood. He sat down quickly.
He tried to steady his breathing, but each breath came stubborn and uneven.
Levy hurried to a nearby water dispenser and brought him a glass.
Andrew took it with a trembling hand and drained it in two gulps.
He exhaled sharply, as though forcing something lodged inside him out.
He wiped his mouth with his wrist, then slowly lifted his gaze to meet Levy’s.

“We’re screwed,” he said.

“I figured that much. What’s going on with you?”

Andrew lowered his head, pressing his hand against his face.
“I think… I don’t know… I had something like a—what, a revelation?”

Levy tilted his head.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me…” Andrew said, lifting his gaze again. “I just know I don’t want to keep doing this.”

Levy felt a jolt in his chest. “Shit,” he said, looking away for a moment. “That’s…”

“Bad?”

“No. No…”

Tell him the truth? Or was this some kind of test?
Levy swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

Andrew let his head fall, his fists tightening.
“Just help me get out of this. Whatever it takes.”

“I think I can help,” Levy said, turning toward his phone on the lab’s front table. “I’ve got a friend in the Canadian government. He can… help you.”

Andrew rose from the stool and moved quickly toward him.
Levy turned.

Don’t kill me…

Andrew extended his hand.
Levy’s eyes widened fully.

“Thank you. Really,” Andrew said, a faint smile touching his lips.

Levy clasped his hand. “It’s nothing.”

“How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it. I owe you my life. And it’s not like I’m short on money.”

Andrew released the handshake, his hand falling slowly to his side.
“Right… yeah.”

---

Levy offered Andrew a place to lie low while everything was put in motion.
An old bunker, built beneath an abandoned hospital.
Andrew didn’t remember ever asking him to build something like that.
Right at the entrance, shelves lined the walls—stocked with food, water, toilet paper, anything one might need to outlast the world above.
And the place felt like an extension of the facility.
Armored in the same metal. The same harsh geometry. The same air that never came easy.
He walked toward a screen that cast a cold glow across the room.

A moment later, through a wash of static, Levy’s face emerged.
“Everything alright?”

“I guess,” Andrew said. “It’s… fine.”

“About this… revelation. How did it happen?”

Andrew set his hands on his hips. The memory resisted him.
“I remember flying. Then I looked back—there was a missile,” he said. “After that… nothing.”

He glanced at his hand, trembling—like it disgusted him.
“I saw everything I’ve done,” he said, curling his fingers into a fist. “But it wasn’t the same. There was no rush… just…”

Levy watched him carefully.
This was not the Andrew he knew.
He folded his hands together.
“Listen. I’ve got a contact in Montreal—someone who might be able to help you,” he said. “His name’s Gilben. He’s recruiting.”

Andrew let out something close to a laugh—thin, almost mocking.
“Recruiting what? Heroes? Where exactly do I fit into that?”

“Listen to me,” Levy said. “If what you’re telling me is true—if you really regret it—you’re going to spend the rest of your life carrying the weight of things you did while you were… blinded.”

He paused.
“You need something to hold onto. Do something good. Find a reason.”

That caught Andrew’s full attention.
“A reason?” His heartbeat picked up. “Tell me about your friend.”

“Canada’s a mess right now,” Levy said. “After the war, factions started forming. Everyone wants control.” He didn’t bother softening it. “I’ll keep it simple—you have power. They need power.”

Andrew looked down at his hands.
The hands of a criminal.
A killer.

Or maybe—

No.

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
His body loosened, just slightly.
Maybe he could never change.
But he could be something better than this.

“Alright, Levy,” Andrew said, his voice steadier now. “I want to work with your friend.”

“Good,” Levy replied, a smile breaking across his face. “I’ll call him. I’ll tell him I’ve got the perfect candidate. It won’t be long before he has your new documents ready.”

Andrew nodded. The call cut out soon after.
His lips twisted.
His gaze dropped.

“Fuck,” he muttered, exhaling slowly.