Jason woke to the sound of his own shallow breathing. His head throbbed, his limbs felt heavy, and a dull ache lingered in his chest. The air smelled faintly metallic—cold and sterile. He was lying on a hard steel cot, a single flickering light swinging above him. Metal bars stood between him and the dark, empty corridor outside.

Footsteps echoed. Slow. Purposeful.

The man who appeared from the shadows was older now, grayer, but the face was unmistakable. Jason’s heart clenched.

“Dad…”

Garek Anderson stepped closer to the bars, hands clasped behind his back. “You want answers, son?”

Jason’s voice was hoarse. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

His father’s eyes were cold, clinical. “Because I am the head scientist for a man who is pushing the boundaries of human evolution. We are giving people powers—true power. And you, Jason… you and Erik… were part of that vision. You were part of the Atomic Man Project.”

Jason stared, stunned.

Garek continued. “We sent the man in the suit to collect you. But you resisted. And somehow… you won. So, for the next phase, we made adjustments. We added… control.”

Jason’s stomach twisted. “Mind control,” he said quietly.

His father didn’t deny it.

Jason swallowed hard. “What about Adrianna?”

A faint smirk tugged at Garek’s lips. “She’s been with us for years. She’s been watching you, guiding you. Making sure you became exactly what we needed.”

The words hit harder than any blow. Jason’s breath caught. “No… No, that’s not possible.”

“She’s one of us, Jason,” his father said, almost casually.

Jason shook his head, trying to find the man he remembered from childhood. “We don’t have to do this, Dad. We could still be a family again. We could—”

But then he stopped. He saw it clearly now. This wasn’t his father anymore. This was a man who had been swallowed by obsession.

Without another word, Garek turned and left.

Moments later, the door at the far end of the corridor opened again. Adrianna stepped in.

Jason forced himself to meet her eyes. “Did I… ever mean anything to you?”

Her gaze faltered, but her voice was flat. “No.”

He knew she was lying. “You don’t have to do this, Adri. You’re better than this.”

Her shoulders tensed. “I was an experiment too, Jason. A failed one, at first. My parents abandoned me. The boss took me in when no one else would. He gave me… lightning. He gave me a home. This is the only life I know. I have no family outside of here.”

Jason’s voice softened. “Then let me be that family. I’ll be your everything. I promise.”

Her lips trembled, the smallest crack in her mask. She turned away, her voice barely audible. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

And with that, she left him in the cold, dim cell—alone with the truth and the faint hope that, deep down, she still cared.