Kara's defiant flicker of a pulse wavered as the extractor's needle burrowed deeper into her brain, its siphon tearing at her consciousness, fragmenting memories into jagged shards—her brother's face, Neon City's neon glow, all dissolving into a void of pain. The crevice's walls ground together, the slab's crushing weight splintering her chest, each breath a wet gurgle as blood filled her lungs. The fireball's heat seared her skin raw, blistering her arms as it pulsed with renewed fury, while the enforcers' rifles hummed, their laser sights converging on her heart, a single trigger pull away from oblivion. The second drone's tether, recoiling like a viper, lashed her cheek again, splitting it open, blood streaming into her eyes.
The extractor's recalibration beeped—initiating a full neural wipe—its wires sparking with a sinister hum, the needle twitching as it probed for her core identity. The gas pocket's ignition flared, a secondary explosion rocking the crevice, dislodging a molten rock that grazed her shoulder, fusing her jacket to her flesh with a hiss. The enforcers advanced, their boots crunching over rubble, one slamming a stun baton against the wall, its electric crackle inches from her face, the heat singeing her eyelashes. The chasm's final collapse loomed, a deep rumble signaling the walls' imminent fusion, the air thickening with ash and despair.
Kara's good hand spasmed, brushing a jagged shard from the broken conduit, its edge cutting her palm as she gripped it. The needle's siphon intensified, her vision splitting—hallucinations of Lena's sneer, Marcus's buried cries—merging with the real torment. The slab shifted, pinning her arm, the pressure snapping a finger, her scream choked by the tether's lingering bruise on her throat. The fireball surged, its flames licking her legs, igniting her boots, the stench of burning leather mingling with her own flesh. The enforcers fired, a bullet ricocheting off the slab, splintering into her side, the pain a white-hot explosion.
The second drone malfunctioned, its claw jamming the extractor's wires, sparking a feedback loop that jolted Kara's body, her muscles seizing as the neural wipe stuttered. The crevice's walls cracked further, a new fissure unleashing a torrent of scalding water that splashed her face, blinding her with steam and agony. The masked leader's voice—Marcus's—faintly pierced the rubble: "Kara… fight… now!" but a cave-in silenced him, burying the sound. The stun baton struck, grazing her neck, the electric shock locking her jaw, her tongue bleeding as she bit down.
The extractor's needle plunged deeper, a cold void spreading through her mind, her brother's face fading as the wipe neared completion. The fireball's heat melted the slab's edge, dripping molten rock onto her trapped leg, fusing it to the stone with a sizzle. The enforcers closed in, one raising a neural clamp to finish the extraction manually, its prongs glinting. The chasm's walls slammed together, the slab tilting to crush her skull, and the conduit shard slipped from her grasp, tumbling into the void—her last weapon lost.