[Later That Evening – Rooftop Garden]
The wind had picked up since earlier, brushing past us in sharp, clean gusts. Zane sat beside me now, legs hanging off the ledge like he didn't care how far the drop was.
"You ever think about them?" he asked suddenly. "The ones we were locked up with?"
"All the time," I murmured. "I remember faces more than names. Screams more than voices."
Zane nodded slowly, jaw tightening. "I had a brother."
I turned my head sharply, surprised. He didn't look at me.
"His name was Kael. Younger than me by four years. Smart. Quiet. He used to hum when he was scared."
A hollow breath escaped him.
"My parents kept him. Sold me off to the scientists like spare meat. Said I wasn't special enough for a future, but good enough to be part of 'something greater.' I never saw Kael again after they took me."
Something coiled tight in my chest. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I wouldn't have survived out there. Not like he did."
He paused, gaze distant. "But there was something they did to us… remember the detoxing phase?"
I stiffened. "Vaguely."
"They'd inject us with concentrated poisons. Strip the impurities out of our blood. Break us down to nothing—and then rebuild us, cell by cell, until we could resist the toxins. Our bodies adapted faster. Hardened. Became something else entirely."
My mind lit up like a wildfire.
"That's it."
Zane blinked. "What?"
"That's how we beat them—the Nomu. They're made to regenerate and adapt, right? But if we can force a chain reaction of toxic instability—something their bodies can't counter fast enough—we might finally have a weapon that sticks."
He raised a brow. "And where exactly are you going to get something like that?"
I stood suddenly, heart racing. "I know someone."