Night settled over the city, heavy and cold. From high above, the old apartment complex looked like a rotting tooth in a dark jaw. A lone figure in black leather slipped through its entrance, face hidden, footsteps deliberate. Seconds later, the world tore open. The explosion ripped through nearly an entire floor, fire and debris raining into the alley below. Smoke punched upward, staining the night sky. Before the flames even settled, a motorcycle burst out from behind the building, its engine screaming as it sped away. From the front, a car and two additional bikes gave chase.

***

At the orphanage Michelle paced outside, nerves fraying with each loop she carved into the concrete. Amelie leaned in the doorway, arms crossed in a shape that implied equal irritation and fondness.

“Come in before you wear a hole in the sidewalk,” she sighed.

But Michelle didn’t move. Her breath caught when headlights turned the corner. The van rolled up, and Talia, Trella, Katya, and Liza stepped out.

Michelle bolted toward them. She didn’t think. Didn’t question. Her arms wrapped instinctively around the girls, clinging to them like she had nearly lost them forever. Trella froze — stunned — but only for a heartbeat. Slowly, her hands came up to rest on Michelle’s shoulders. Liza let out a soft chuckle. Katya blinked, puzzled, but accepted the hug without protest.

“You’re safe… Thank God, you’re safe…” Michelle breathed, almost in tears.

Trella pulled back slightly, meeting her eyes. For the first time, Michelle didn’t see the strategist, the leader, or the weapon — just a girl her age who understood fear just as well as she did.

“You were worried about us?” Trella asked, amazed.

Michelle nodded, embarrassed. “Of course I was. You’re… you’re my friends now.”

Aya appeared in the doorway with a wide grin.

“Well, look at that. Our civilian wants to be one of us! First you need to grow up a little.”

Laughter broke the tension. The girls began heading inside. Trella lightly tapped Michelle on the shoulder in passing.

“Don’t worry!” Liza chimed. “This was nothing! And we were just there for the ride. Katya was the main star of the day!”

“Not really,” Katya replied calmly. “It was just one bullet.”

Michelle watched them drift inside, then tilted her gaze to the clear, starry sky. Talia was last to enter.

“Hey, stargazer. You coming, or what?”

“What? Oh—yeah, sorry.”

“What’s up?” Talia asked, studying her.

“N-Nothing. It’s just… so strange. Everything feels peaceful. Even the sky. And the girls… They just killed someone, and they look like nothing happened.”

“For them, it is just like that. Daily bread.” Talia paused, reading her expression. “Looks like you have a lot on your mind. Wanna talk?”

“Yes… but can we stay outside? Please?”

“It’s chilly, but sure.”

Michelle exhaled, bracing herself. “What was the mission about? If you can tell me...”

“Nothing much…” Talia said casually. “Some stinking rich drug lord finally got his overdue dose of lead.”

Michelle blinked. “And what did Liza mean by ‘they were just there for the ride’?”

Talia smiled slightly. “You see… Every girl has her own specialty and place in the team. Trella’s our leader — the strategist. Liza excels at close range. And Katya’s our sniper.”

“And you?”

“Me? I’m not an assassin. I’m their tech girl. I fix everything and operate the drones.”

“Wow. I think you said you joined two years ago. How did you end up here?”

Talia let out a quiet laugh. “By accident. I overheard them talking about needing repairs. And since I needed a quick buck, I stepped in and offered them my services. I´ve been doing those things for years. Living in a Detroit ghetto among dealers, street gangsters, with every other guy wearing a gun, you quickly learn the craft and get rid of any moral boundaries. But let me tell you, when they put their hardware on the table, including Amelie's big ass machine gun — I nearly passed out. But I fixed everything. After that, I stuck around. It’s not like I had any future out there.”

Michelle opened her mouth to respond, but got interrupted. A roar tore across the street. A motorcycle shot into the courtyard and slammed to a halt in a sharp back wheelie. Steam and smoke gushed from the mangled engine. The rider stumbled off. Her suit was shredded with bullet holes and burns, blood smeared everywhere. She tugged weakly at her helmet, took two steps and collapsed.

Michelle and Talia were standing there stunned. The door burst open. Trella, Aya, Amelie and Anya rushed out. Anya ripped the helmet off — and everyone froze.

Trella’s voice broke. “Oh my god… is that—”

“She looks like Maya!” Amelie yelped. “Is that really her?”

Aya pointed at the scar on the woman’s head. “It IS her!”

“She’s bleeding out!” Trella snapped. “Anya, get Milena and Liza! Fast! Aya, help me carry her!”

The girls hauled her inside. Michelle and Talia were left staring after them.

“Who… who is that?” Michelle whispered.

“i have no idea,” Talia murmured.

Inside, chaos exploded.

Amelie opened the door on Milena's clinic so hard, she nearly tore them off the hinges. Trella and Aya followed, carrying Maya’s limp body. Milena stormed in moments later, already pulling on surgical gear. She froze for a heartbeat when she saw Maya.

“Holy shit… Liza! Cut her clothes and pass me the instruments!”

What followed was a frenzy.

“Retraction! Sponge! Clamps! Clamps! Hold that artery, damn it!”

Michelle pressed herself to the wall, trying not to be sick. Milena worked like a machine, cursing under her breath as she fought to keep Maya alive.

“The girl’s a mess! What the hell was she doing?” Milena barked. “Good thing she has those enhancements, or she’d be dead already!”

Enhancements. The word slammed into Michelle like a punch.

She blinked hard, trying to process. Her gaze flicked to Maya’s scorched skin, the bullet holes and Milena’s quick, sure movements. Everyone else seemed locked in focus, but Michelle stood frozen, pulse hammering, that word echoing in her mind. The procedure dragged on like a nightmare, Milena muttering under her breath, the girls tense and silent as they assisted. Michelle could barely breathe until, finally, Milena leaned back with a grunt.

“She’ll live. Barely. No more heroics anytime soon.” She stripped off her gloves. “Everyone out. She needs rest. And I need a drink.”

Later, the girls gathered in the living room, shaken. Michelle approached Trella cautiously.

“Hey… Trella? I didn't want to ask earlier, but… You look like you know her. Who is she?”

Trella’s voice was steady, but heavy. “Her name is Maya. She was one of us. Went solo years ago. Never heard from her ever since. We thought she was dead.”

Michelle hesitated. “In the clinic… Milena said something about enhancements. What did she mean?”

Silence.

Aya looked at Trella. Amelie shifted uncomfortably. Katya stared at the floor. Trella straightened. She didn’t avoid Michelle’s eyes. She held them, steady and unflinching.

“Sorry we didn’t tell you. That was one secret we wanted to keep.” She took a breath. “Our bodies… They're not just a result of hard training… We were experimented on.”

Michelle’s heart nearly stopped. Pieces of the puzzle began to shift, forming a picture she wasn’t sure she wanted to see.

“E-Experimented? W-What do you mean?”

Trella’s voice softened with guilt. “We were given experimental serums. They enhanced our bodies.”

“That’s terrible… And at this age—”

“No,” Aya cut in. “We were way younger.”

Michelle swallowed. “How young?”

Mei-Ling answered softly. “I don´t know… Six? Seven?”

The words hit like a gutpunch. Michelle trembled. She couldn´t hold back her emotions anymore. But now she saw them not as monsters or soldiers, but as victims. Experimented on, mutilated, their childhood taken from them... And for what?

“So instead of playing with dolls… you played with hand grenades…”

Anya spoke quietly. “Trust me. We wouldn´t be playing with dolls either way. We don´t remember our pasts, but from what we have been told, we were all abandoned children left to die. For us this was basically a second chance.”

“You… don’t remember?” Michelle whispered.

Trella shook her head. “The procedure erased our memories.”

“And you never tried to find out?”

“No. And it’s better that way.”

“Why…?”

Aya’s answer was cold and pragmatic. “I tell you what I know about my past. I grew up in Africa. And because of THIS” -pointing at her white hair - “my tribe wanted to make me a religious sacrifice. How's that for a childhood? The others ain't better off. That´s why we don´t talk about the past. That´s why we don´t care about the past.

A heavy silence fell — until Talia walked in like it was just another Monday.

“Girls, Maya’s bike is still in front. What do you want me to do with it?”

That instantly yanked them from the emotional storm back into combat survival mode.

“Shit,” Aya muttered.

Trella snapped into command. “Put the bike in the garage. Fast! Samira! Mei!”

Mei-Ling: “Buckets!”

Samira: “Chemicals!”

“Katya!”

“Roof.”

“Liza! Amelie!”

“In sync: “Perimeter!”

Michelle watched them transform — from damaged victims to hyper-efficient soldiers.

***

Maya drifted awake slowly. The scent of antiseptic hit her first. Then the pain. Bandages tugged at every part of her body. She groaned.

Milena’s voice cut through the haze. “About time.”

She looked exhausted herself. “You’re lucky you crawled to the only people stupid enough to patch you up.”

Maya rasped, “St. Helena?”

“Where else?” Milena snorted. “You were half-cooked. I had to stitch arteries, replace skin, pull shrapnel out of your ass... You should be dead.”

Maya turned her head. A girl sat nearby — eyes wide, wearing a school jacket. Michelle.

Milena waved dismissively. “Don’t mind the civilian. She’s seen too much already.”

Maya blinked, confused. Michelle forced a shaky smile.

“I’m a friend. You’re safe here.”

Safe. Maya wasn’t sure of that. Darkness pulled her under again.

Later, the door creaked open. Maya stirred. Milena almost fell out of her chair.

“Don’t crowd her!” she barked.

Which, of course, meant everyone crowded her immediately. Trella stepped in first, Aya right behind her, Mei-Ling silent but present. Michelle shrank back, trying to disappear.

Trella’s voice was low, authoritative. “What happened, Maya? Who did this?”

Maya let out a weak smirk. “Straight to business, huh, Boss? Some things never change.”

“Answer me,” Trella said.

Aya folded her arms. “She wouldn’t be here unless it was serious.”

Mei-Ling softened her tone. “We’re glad you’re alive. And that you came back.”

Maya’s gaze drifted across the room — the familiar faces and the unfamiliar one. She exhaled.

“Someone didn’t like me saying no. They tried to make sure I never got another chance.”

“People who hired you, did this?” Trella pressed.

Maya let out a dry laugh. “Looks that way. Listen… the other day - you saved a girl from being snatched. You know who she was?”

“Yes,” Trella replied. “We were hired for protection.”

“Thought so. After those bimbos screwed the job, I was hired instead. When I saw your faces on the feed, I refused. Next thing I knew, my apartment was blasted halfway to Jordan.”

Michelle blurted out, “Do you think my dad can help? Her intel could be a good lead.”

Maya snapped toward her. “Your dad? Who the hell—”

Trella cut in. “He’s with the CIA.”

Maya jerked upright, wincing. “WHAT?! Are you all insane— oww!”

“We work for them sometimes,” Trella said calmly. “In exchange, we get cover.”

Michelle’s thoughts spiraled.

So this is why Dad is involved in all of this…

Maya glared. “The CIA’s after my ass too.”

“Then maybe we can include you in the deal,” Michelle said quickly. “You’re one of them. And you have intel—”

“Missy, don’t make me hurt you,” Maya growled. “One more naïve remark and I’ll punch your teeth out.”

Milena snapped without looking up. “You stay right where you are, Maya. I just pulled a whole scrapyard out of you. You look like a damn patchwork sample.”

Trella leaned forward. “Actually, her idea isn’t that bad. We should tell him. It could get the CIA off your back. And help us deal with the idiots who did this.”

Maya’s voice dropped to a dark snarl. “I want to rip them apart myself.”

Trella smirked faintly. “One doesn’t exclude the other. A high politician and his family are in danger. Good chance they’ll greenlight a cleanup operation.

Maya looked at her in disbelief, but she had no choice…