Bonus Episode Nine: "Midnight Heist"

It was an unusually quiet night at Mythos Labs. The staff had departed hours ago, leaving the halls empty except for the night watch. Their presence had increased slightly since the NAU group’s visit—a quiet precaution—but their patrols remained routine, almost lazy. Dr. Julius Mythos was a demanding employer, but few guards felt truly concerned about their post.

Deeper within the facility, beyond layers of security where only the most trusted personnel dared to tread, a slender shadow slipped through the darkness.

She paused.

With practiced precision, she activated a small device, sending a pulse through the corridor that momentarily scrambled the security systems. Cameras flickered. Sensors went blind.

Too easy.

Adjusting the spectrum settings on her goggles, she scanned the area. A high-energy signature pulsed from behind a heavily reinforced door—a vault. The hottest point in an already scorching network of electronics.

Bingo.

This was what she had come for.

The thief moved swiftly, each step silent against the pristine floors of the Lab’s corridors. She adjusted a dial on her wrist-mounted control device, disrupting the last layer of security measures as the reinforced vault door loomed before her. Whatever they were keeping locked away in here, it wasn’t just another prototype.

A gloved hand retrieved a specialized containment case, its interior lined with shielding materials designed to suppress energy signatures. The information she’d been given was clear—no direct exposure.

A sharp click echoed in her earpiece. The lock disengaged. The door hissed as it slid open.

Inside, a smooth, metallic device hovered slightly above its pedestal, cradled in a magnetic field. Its surface shimmered, shifting like liquid metal in the dim light.

The moment she stepped inside, the hum it emitted changed—not louder, but deeper, almost like an awareness settling over the room.

She froze.

This wasn’t in the intel.

A deep breath. No time for hesitation.

She moved quickly, retrieving a handheld calibration disruptor, tweaking the frequency of the containment field just enough to safely retrieve the device. The moment she pulled it free, the lights flickered—not just in the room, but down the entire corridor. A ripple of power pulsed outward, forcing her to steady herself against the table.

Not good.

Then came the sound she didn’t want to hear.

Footsteps.

She ducked behind a console just as a security guard entered the hallway.

“Great,” she muttered under her breath. 

She wasn’t supposed to trip any alarms.

The guard’s flashlight beam cut through the room, passing over the now empty pedestal. His pace quickened.

She could take him out—quick, clean, no lethal force. But that would cause even more problems. She needed another option.

Then, an idea.

The lights flickered again. This time, she acted with the disruption, flipping her visor to night vision and throwing a small pulse grenade toward the opposite wall. The device emitted a low, electromagnetic burst, forcing the emergency lights to momentarily overload.

The guard cursed, tapping at his earpiece.

She moved.

Slipping through the shadows, she made it past him just as he turned toward the disturbance. By the time his vision adjusted, she was already sprinting down the corridor, vaulting over a railing to the lower level. Her exit route was still clear. 

Hustling through a planned path, guided by a hidden display in her goggles, she crossed through corridors to a research wing. Herpetology… She didn’t care for anything creeping or scaly… how did she specifically end up walking directly in the middle of… 

She paused, taking away precious seconds from her carefully timed and laid out plan for escape. 

What she saw on one of the displays left a sickening feeling in her gut. 

“No time to get involved… just take the asset and get out… leave this for someone else to deal with…” she told herself as she hurried out.

Once outside, she blended into the night as she slipped into the city's labyrinth of alleys to eventually gain altitude on the rooftops.

Only when she was in the clear did she slow, taking a moment to catch her breath. She set the case down on a rooftop ledge and pulled a sleek, encrypted communicator from her belt as she pulled back her mask to cool off.

A single button press. A soft chime. A voice answered almost immediately, smooth and unreadable.

"Replika… You're early."

She smirked, brushing a stray hair from her face.

"You make it sound like a bad thing, Mr. Sunshine."

A pause. Then, amusement crept into his tone.

"I assume you have it?"

She glanced at the case, still sealed tight.

"It wasn’t easy, but yes. It’s in my hands now. The Echo Drive is as good as ours."

Another pause. This one heavier.

"Good. It’s time to come home."

She exhaled, glancing back toward the distant glow of Mythos Labs. If they weren’t already scrambling, they would be soon. 

“I saw something else that I wish I didn’t…” she added. 

“Might want to have someone look into it.” 

Mr. Sunshine did not wait long to respond. 

“If it’s concerning the latest developments in the doctor’s research, we are aware of it.”