Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When I was 8, after a horrible day at school, my dads sat me down and explained to me that a lot of persons did not approve of their relationship. At first it was hard for me to understand, my dads were awesome and they were superheroes, why would anybody hate them. My dads would always tell me these amazing stories of them going overseas and vacations were always fun. The only sad part of my life was that my dads would leave a lot for work and as much as I hated it I knew they were saving people. It was fun that I had two rooms one at home and on at my grandma’s house.

When I was 11, my dads explained to me what being Navy Seals meant. I spent the whole night doing research and by end of it I had come to the realization that I could lose them both. And because they never tell me who they were going after I had to find a way to find out. As a result at 11 I taught myself to hack. Which brings me to where I was today 16 and sitting in an interrogation room waiting on an CIA agent.

Let me put this into context for you. My name is Harlow (KIt) Spenser- Sawyer and four days ago my dads went to base and it’s been radio silence since then. Now the thing is that my dads team know nothing about me or that they are even together. So its not like I could walk on to base to visit. Even after DADT was repealed a lot of persons still had a problem with gay enlisted members. So I decided to work the problem. I tried hacking the Navy database but JSOC is well protected. I got pass the first few firewalls and while no one can prove that I did hack into the system, a friend of mine was helping me and he called me telling me he found something and it was massive and that we should meet up. When I got there the place was full of suits and I got arrested.

Chapter Text

The door squeaked and in came a tall, white woman with dark hair entered the room. The look on her face was like a stone wall. I have seen her before my dads had pictures with her in their office.
“ So let’s not beat around the bush. Why were you at Jaden Harrison’s apartment?” she asked.
“I was visiting my aunt next door Jaden sometimes has the key, he looks after her cat” I answered without hesitant.
“Whats your aunt’s name?” she asked.
“Melinda Harkness, she is a nurse” I replied
“ Look, in this folder I have everything I need to know about you” She said. At its at that moment I knew she fucked up. When I started hacking, I hacked into the Black Queen’s server. She was sympathetic to my cause and wiped all my records no one can retrieve them.
“ Look I was just there to visit my aunt I don’t know what you think I’m apart of and I know Jaden was into some freaking shit I know no one should be that obsessed with elves and warlocks. And I that there may be text on his phone from and they may be flirty but it was nothing. He liked me and I flirted with him to get some tickets to a concert. I know that wrong but they have been sold out for months and he said that he could get them if I went on a date with him” I said acting flustered to throw her off. But in reality I was buying time there was a program running on my phone that was creating a backdoor into their system.

“Please I need to be home soon or my grandmother is not going to get her meds please” I added.
“What did you know about Jaden’s friends?” She asked.
“Not much they will hang around a few but not for long” I said.
She continued to question me before letting me going and having me dropped off at the apartment building. But I wasn’t stupid I know that I was being followed. My dads are crazy about me being able to ditch a tail. By the time I got to my grandma’s house I was clean.
As I approached the house I something was wrong. The door was slightly opened. I took my pepper spray from my bag and entered the house with caution. Everything was a wreck. Someone has tossed the place.

“Mema” I called as I entered the house. As I went deeper into the house the dread in my stomach got worse, “Mema its Kit where are you?”

I walked into into the kitchen and there tied to a chair was Mema badly beaten.

“Mema” I said as my voice creaked. I walked towards her, each step my feet feeling heavier and the air gets thinner.

By the time I was kneeing next to her I could hear my Dad in my ears telling me ABCs. I quickly jumped into action cutting her bindings and laying her on the floor. I took my phone out of my back pocket and call 9-1-1.

“9-1-1 what’s your emergency” the operator said.

“ My grandma has been beaten badly, she has a pulse but is weak and she not breathing I’m doing CPR. I need help at 605 Queensgrove Court” I rattled off.

“Ok ma’am I’m dispatching RA and police units to your location right now” She said, “ My name is Jennifer ok I’m going to stay on the line with you until help arrives ok”

“Alright” I said as tears ran down my face.

“What’s your name sweetheart?” she asked.

“My name is Harlow” I answered

“Alright Harlow is there anything else about what happen to your grandmother” Jennifer questioned.

“I just got home and the place was wreck I found her in the kitchen tied to a chair.” I said “I can hear the sirens”

“Ok Harlow continue doing what you’re doing till they get there ok” she said.

The paramedics came in and took over. I stood there as they shocked Mema. I stood there praying for a miracle. Then the words came and it was like the world slowed around me.

“No why are you stopping!!!!” I cried out “Help her why aren’t you helping her”

Someone hugged me from behind and whispered in my ears she is gone.

The weight of the world crushed me in that moment and all the air left my body and all I wanted was my dads. I fell to my knees and the blood on my hands shined like diamonds.

“Is there anyone I can call to come get you” one of the officers asked.

I shook my head. I couldn’t call my dads they wouldn’t see my calls. All I wanted to do was have them wrap me up in their arms like they did when I was 8 when Daniel Stevenson told me that I didn’t have parents because someone couldn’t have two dads. For the first time in a really long time I was alone and scared

Chapter Text

I have only been to the base twice and both times I stayed inside the car while my dad went inside. If you how I drove from my house to the base I’ll tell you I don’t know I honestly did.

I pulled into the visitor parking lot at the base, as I stepped out of the car I looked at myself I covered in blood and my face was stained with dried tears. I grabbed my sweater from the back seat of my car. The hoodie had belong to my papa when he just join the Navy. My dad always said I was swimming in it but it was doing a good job hiding the blood on my clothes and my hands. With my bagpack on my on my shoulders I walked up to the security post.

My dads were always specific with one thing: in case of emergency if you have to come to base ask for Lieutenant Commander Eric Blackburn or Ensign Lisa Davis.

“Excuse me, I’m here to see Lieutenant Commander Eric Blackburn” I said to one of the sailor on gate duty.

“Is he expecting you?” He asked.

I shook my head no “ Can you please tell him it’s an emergency? My name is Harlow Spenser”

The sailor picked up the phone and made a call then told me he needs to search my bag. After that he escorted me inside. We had been walking for a while when I saw the woman who had questioned me earlier today walk out of a room with some people including my dad and papa.

In that moment all my I wanted to do was to hug them, all my restrain left my body and I took off running and I didn’t stop until my arms were around my dad or my papa. I didn’t know which one I hugged until I hear him whispered “ Ducky” it was then it was like a dam broke and all my emotion flooded my system and I was drowning and I could hear my papa trying to calm me down.

3rd Person POV
Clay Spenser was a man of many words but he was observant. He could withstand torture and not break, he could stare death in the face and not be scared. But as he held his 16 y/o daughter fall apart in his arms he was not sure what to do. He held her closer and looked over at his life partner who looked as lost as he was.

Trent was still trying to process the fact that Harlow was standing in Clay’s arms when he saw it the blood on her hands. A shock ran through his body he grabbed her from arms and unzipped the hoodie.

“ Harlow whose blood is this” he asked.

She tried her hardest to compose herself. She knew she was about to tell her dad that his mother was dead.

“I tired to save her I really did” Harlow spoke trying to convince herself “ I did it just as you taught me but by the time they got there she was gone I’m so sorry I tried my best I promise I did she was beaten so badly and there was so much blood.”

“Who Harlow?” Trent asked.

Harlow at her dad an apology still running in her heart then she said it “ Mema”

The only only sound that could be heard was the sobs of Harlow and the other people who pass in the hall some had stopped to stare.

“How about we moved this inside” Blackburn said still trying to understand the situation.

The group was shuffled into the room they just exited.

“Can someone explain what the hell is going on? Sonny asked. The others with the exception of Full Metal mumbled in agreement.

Knowing how shaken up Trent was learning his mother was dead Clay decided to take lead.

“This is Harlow” he said pointing at her “ She is me and Trent’s daughter”

“ Wait what?” Jason asked shocked.

“You’re not making sense Sunshine” Sonny said “ How is she your daughter?”

“Trent and I adopted her when she was 5 y/o” Clay answered.

“I think I know what you’re saying but I don’t think I understand what you are saying” Ray said.

“Clay and I have been together for almost 19 years” Trent finally spoke up.

“OK” Jason said. He had knew both men gay but he never knew that they knew each other outside of work before the team.

“Even after DADT was repealed things were still hard for us so we decided that for our safety and hers we would keep it a secret.” Trent said.

“Brother, you must have known that we wouldn’t have had a problem with you guys” Ray said and the others agreed.

Trent still overwhelmed by everything that just happen was slowly process everything that Harlow had said finally realize that Harlow said that his mother was beaten badly.

“You said that mom was beaten badly” he asked her.

“I came home and found her tied up in the kitchen” Harlow whispered. Trent covered his mouth to stop the sob from coming out.

“Who would want to hurt Mema she hardly leaves the house” Clay said.

“I don’t think they were there for her” Harlow said meeting Mandy’s gaze.

“You weren’t at Jaden Harrison’s apartment to visit your aunt were you” She asked.

“ Wait, What does Harlow have to do with Jaden Harrison” Clay said getting defensive of his daughter.

“ I told you I interview someone today and I had them followed but they lost their tail it was her” Mandy replied folding her arms.

“What?” Trent and Clay said simultaneously.

“I have been tracking you since I was 13. Every mission that you have done since then I’ve following it. And then Papa got hurt in Manila I started keeping closer tabs on you and placing bits of information into your system to help your guys out trying to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt anymore. Jaden was my proxy his encryption was a bit better than mine so I would run my hacks through his system to cover my tracks. But then you guys went dark and what ever you were doing I couldn’t see so he was working on it and he found something and I asked him to get information for me that’s why I was there he found something and what ever it was it freaked him out to the point where he wouldn’t say it over the phone.” Harlow said.

“ When we were hunting Al-Hazred a file appeared on my computer with information and I knew it was not there before” Lisa said

“ You guys were looking in the wrong place” Harlow replied simply

At this point everybody was shock and trying to comprehend what they just heard. Was this little girl really the one who has been helping them out of the jams they constantly got themselves in.

Little did they know it was just beginning

Chapter Text

Harlow POV

I sat down as my dads argue with Mandy about questioning me without parental supervision and not wanting me involved in whatever it was that they were working on. Lisa had given me a new shirt and help me clean my hands off. I could feel my dad occasionally glancing my way. My phone pinged and I pulled it out and checked the notification it was a new email from my Papa. I looked down at my phone then at Papa then at my phone. Ok this is weird. I opened the email, this is definitely not from my Papa.

The email read:
Dear Persephone,
Take a bite of the Pomegranate
1 Attachment
Zeus

I opened the attachment and files auto downloaded. There were a lot of surveillance photos and audio files. I immediately grabbed my bag from the table and grabbed my laptop. All of a sudden everybody’s eyes were on me. As soon as the computer was booted my fingers started flying over the keys.

He knew someone was coming after him he sent me everything he found. Fuck Jaden. As I decoded and browser through the files he sent one thing became very clear something big was happening and me and all my little rag tag friends were in the middle of it.

As I went through the documents I found a audio clip that Jaden had tagged as urgent. I clicked on it and press play:
Speaker 1: How hard it to find a little girl
Speaker 2: Sir no one can find anything on her.
Speaker 1: So you’re telling me I’m paying you millions and a little hacker calling herself Persephone. If she releases what she found one those drives years of planning goes up in smoke. Find this bitch I don’t care who you have to kill bribe or blackmail. Get me her.
Speaker 3: The only thing we have so far is that she is in Virginia.
Speaker 1: Find her and her little friends I want them dead.
Speaker 3: Sir our friends in Russia have located the Novichok the will be able to get it into the country by the latest Friday.
[ pauses]
Speaker 1: Good at least that is still on track. By the end of this month we will have two country with the best nuclear power under our thumbs.
Recording end.

I looked at the date of the recording it was dated two days ago.

“ Well fuck me” I said.

“OK what the hell was that” Papa asked.

“That’s what Jaden found” I whispered “That’s why he was killed”

“Why would the kill you friend if they were looking for someone else?” Jason asked.

“They weren’t just looking for someone else” Ray said, “They were looking for Persephone, You are Persephone aren’t you?”

For I second it hit me Jaden died because of me because I asked him to look into this for me. I slowly nodded.

“It was never supposed to come to this” I said “No one was supposed to die”

“How many of you are there?” Mandy asked

“I don’t know what you are talking about” I replied

“What are you talking about?” Dad questioned Mandy.

“Persephone does work alone she never did CIA have been tracking her network for years you maybe Persephone now but you haven’t always been” She said

“I don’t know what you are talking about” I replied lying flawlessly.

“The CIA have been hunting Persephone for almost 25 years so unless you were coding as an egg you are not the only Persephone” she rebutted

“I honestly don’t know what you are talking about” I said

I was prepared to go back and forth with her for days but my phone rang and it was my best friend Hannah.

“Hi” I answered.

“Hi babe Look we know that this may not be the best time H told us about Mema but we have a serious problem” Hannah said I could hear how shaky her voice was.

“What’s wrong?” I said

“Someone killed Jessica” she burst out in tears.

“Jessica is dead” ,My heart dropped.

Mandy was right I wasn’t the only one there was a whole network of us. We each had different skills and different causes. Jessica was an environmentally Hack-tivist. She was full of life a ray of sunshine if you must. Every time I saw her she was wearing yellow. I looked at my dads and their team, I never wanted them to find out about who I was outside of their little girl. But right now my friends were in danger. Some one was killing my friends information that I not have had to begin with. Cronus may hate me after this but he can hate me while he is alive.

“Tell everyone to get to the hub I’m on my way and I’m bringing unfriendly company” I told her

“OK I will” she replied

“And Hannah be careful” I said before I hung up.

Chapter Text

Hi Guys
I know you guys are waiting on a update and I'm working on it
I've been really sick the last couple of days but I'm hoping to get the chapters out to you soon.
Thanks so much for the support.

Chapter Text

Life for me was generally good, my dads made sure of it. I started hacking for a very good reason in my opinion. The Olympians were my team. Each person had levels to what they do. I'm not going to lie, some of what we do is extremely illegal. Well, the majority of what we do is illegal, but we do good always. Sure, we've had persons to come after us before but no one has actually found us. Now I've loss 3 persons in one day for something I might not even have.

Trent's POV

I've been on so many missions, I've walked through fire, faced backlash for loving the man I love, been blown up, tortured, and raised a teenager. But for some reason, this was scarier than any of those. Clay and I did everything to keep this life away from Harlow but it seems like we did a really crappy job. We pulled up to an office building people walking in and out. This couldn't be the place, right? Harlow lead us into the underground parking and parked the car. We walked over the elevator packing in a whole Tier One team, a CIA officer, a Navy Intelligence Officer, and a 16y/o girl covered in blood. Harlow waved her phone over the scanner and the lift started moving down. How far down does this thing actually go. I felt Clay's hand slipped into mine and I gave it a squeeze. Clay was the love of my life and the father of my child and the one person I trust unconditionally. We had gone through so much together and done so much wrong we hoped that our daughter would never and to experience life as we did.

We came to a stop and Harlow typed something on the screen beside the scanner. The lights in the lift flicker then an automated voice came next.

"Welcome Persephone, please provide your access code," the voice said.

"KitBravo46" Harlow responds.

" Access granted" the voice reply

Harlow's POV

We entered ' Olympus' and I could instantly feel the difference. Jessica was the life of the den. She always made everyone happy. Hannah walked up to me and hugged me. Even with everything I lost I felt it for Hannah she and Jessica were dating for the last 2 years.

" I'm so sorry Hannah we are going to find who did this and let them pay," I whispered to her. She nodded into my shoulder. " bring them to the breakroom I need to talk to Cronus"

I turned to my parents and their team "follow her I'll be with you in a minute."

Look not to be dramatic but there are a lot of things my dads are going to find out today but my 21-year-old best friend is not one of them. Even though they may never see his face the way Cronus and I interacted with each other it is obvious we are close. As I enter his office I could feel his presence.

" I want to call you crazy for bringing the CIA into the lair but things have changed," Cronus/Killian said " Hera is dead she was found in her car an hour ago she was found tortured in her house"

" They are looking for me," I said.

"What?!" Killian

"What they think I have I don't but I think you do in the archives," I said " I would have been something I was working on in the last few months and Jaden may have access it too but never downloaded it, everything he sent me was talking about some called Novichok but I don't know anything else. I need eveybody's help on this I need you to have everyone met in the arena"

Chapter Text

Harlow POV

The Arena was a wide-open space two floors beneath Olympus. It wasn’t flashy like the rest of the hub. Just industrial lights, matte black floors, and digital walls that could shift from simulation to secure intel screens in seconds.

Normally, we used it for training runs, strategy sessions, or brainstorming tech projects. But today? Today it was for war.

As I walked in, I could feel the shift in energy. My team—my family—was already gathered. Tight circles of people with their heads together, others at consoles pulling up footage, maps, chatter logs. They’d heard what happened. Jessica. Hera. Mema. They were scared. But like me, fear wasn’t gonna stop them.

Killian stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, brows tight. He looked at me, then gave a nod. It was my call.

I stepped forward. Cleared my throat. My voice wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be.

“They’re killing us,” I said. “Whoever they are. One by one. I don’t know what they think I have—but they’re willing to burn down everything to get it. Hera’s dead. Jessica’s dead. Mema—” My voice cracked but I didn’t let the tears fall. “They didn’t care who she was. They thought she was me. Or knew something. Or maybe it was just a message. Either way… this is war.”

No one said a word. Then: “What do you want us to do?” Hannah asked, voice hoarse.

“I want us to find out what’s in the archives. I want everyone’s eyes on anything related to Novichok, ‘Zeus,’ or whoever this faceless son of a bitch is. If they want me? Fine. But they don’t get to take us down without a fight.”

A cheer rose up. Not loud. Not cocky. But steady. Like a drumbeat building.

And then, the doors opened behind me.

Clay, Trent, and the entire Tier One team stepped inside.

You know that moment when two worlds crash into each other and you can’t tell if it’s gonna be a miracle or a mess?

Yeah. That was this.

The room froze. These weren’t just dads in dad mode anymore. These were trained killers in uniform, eyes sharp, postures stiff. Every hacker in the Arena went quiet like prey sensing a predator—except for Killian. He looked like he wanted to throw a challenge coin across the floor just to see who’d flinch first.

Clay looked around, jaw tight. “This is what you’ve been building?”

I nodded. “This is Olympus.”

Trent looked over at a wall of monitors, then at a 14-year-old girl casually coding malware to block international drone signatures. “You’re all just… kids.”

“Most of us,” I said, quietly. “But we’re all good at what we do. We don’t just play hacker. We’ve stopped bio-terror plots, exposed corrupt corporations, and got civilians out of war zones before you guys even landed boots.”

“I don’t care,” Trent snapped. “You’re 16! You should be in high school sneaking out to parties and posting too much on social media, not fighting goddamn cyber wars!”

Killian stepped up then. “With respect, Chief Petty Officer, your daughter saved your ass in Manila with that patch I sent. You didn’t get hit because your op was tight. You got lucky because she was watching your six from a continent away.”

Clay stepped between them before it could get worse. “We’re not here to fight,” he said, voice low. “But we are staying. We’re not leaving Harlow—any of them—alone in this.”

And just like that, the wall that’d always been between me and my dads—the one built with secrets and fear and love—cracked.

“Fine,” I said. “But you follow my lead here.”

Trent raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t give me that look, Dad. You trained me to be calm in chaos. You said it yourself—I don’t flinch. And right now, the people I love are dying. So yeah… I’m taking point.”

For a second, no one moved. Then Clay smiled. It was small, tired, but proud.

“Alright, Persephone. What’s the plan?”

⸻

Clay POV

You ever feel like the rug’s been yanked out from under your whole damn soul? That’s what this was.

I thought I was protecting her.

But she was out here protecting us.

As we stood around that massive table and listened to these kids throw out codenames and geolocation theories and satellite recons, I realized something terrifying.

They were good. Like, scarily good.

And I didn’t know if that made me proud or sick to my stomach.

“Sir,” one of the kids—Apollo, I think—said to Harlow. “We just pulled an archived upload with a full audio dump from a wiretap in Prague. There’s a reference to an asset called ‘Minerva.’ They said she was compromised.”

Killian’s face paled. “Minerva’s one of our oldest assets. Embedded in a Russian biotech firm. If they got to her… they’re further ahead than we thought.”

Trent muttered a curse.

“What are they after?” Jason asked.

“That’s what we need to find out,” Harlow said. “If I’m right… Novichok is just a distraction. A way to rattle the hornet’s nest. The real target is something deeper. Something called ‘Project Pomegranate.’”

The room went still.

“You said that word in the email,” Clay said.

She nodded. “I think it’s connected to a multi-country data collapse protocol. Jaden scratched the surface, and they killed him. I need access to the archives before anyone else does.”

Killian looked at her, then turned to the room. “Let’s get to work.”

⸻

Trent POV

Clay held my hand again as we watched Harlow move between screens like she was born to lead. There was grief in her posture. In every keystroke. But she didn’t crumble.

She rose.

And I saw something I wasn’t ready for.

Our baby wasn’t a baby anymore.

She was a warrior.

Harlow POV

I was running on fumes.

Barely 24 hours ago, I was walking home thinking about what to binge-watch on Netflix. Now I had blood on my hoodie, a target on my back, and a team looking to me for direction.

But I couldn’t stop. Not now.

We broke out into smaller groups—Intel, Surveillance, Encryption, Field Support. Killian pulled most of the Olympians into a working huddle while I motioned my dads and their team to follow me into one of the strategy pods along the Arena wall.

I closed the door, the hum of Olympus muffled behind thick glass.

“We’re not just dealing with a threat anymore,” I said, looking at them all. “We’re dealing with something coordinated. This isn’t just about the files Jaden found. They knew about me. They knew how to get into my life. That means someone either fed them information or has been watching me longer than I realized.”

“Then you’re not staying here alone,” Clay said firmly, arms crossed.

“I wasn’t asking for permission, Dad,” I replied. “I was warning you. If they’ve made it this far into our world, none of us are safe.”

There was a beat of silence. Jason ran a hand through his hair and whistled under his breath.

“Jesus,” he muttered. “She sounds like a SEAL team leader.”

“She was raised by two,” Lisa added dryly, glancing between Clay and Trent.

Trent looked like he wanted to say something, then stopped. His hand clenched the edge of the table. “When we adopted you, we swore we’d give you a normal life.”

“You did,” I said softly. “For a while. But the world’s not normal. I just adapted faster.”

“Who else knows about you?” Ray asked, cutting to the tactical angle.

“No one outside Olympus. Except Mandy. And now you,” I replied. “But that’s not the part that’s gonna get us killed.”

Clay narrowed his eyes. “Then what is?”

I tapped my tablet and spun it around. Surveillance photos. Names. Voice transcripts. Code maps. Then I slid my finger across and opened one specific document—a list of codenames under a header marked Project Pomegranate.

“What the hell is this?” Sonny asked.

“A kill list,” I said, my throat tightening. “Every one of these names has either been found dead or is currently missing. Most were white-hat hackers, journalists, whistleblowers—people who tried to expose something they weren’t supposed to.”

“And now you think they’ve moved on to your network,” Lisa said quietly.

I nodded. “Jessica. Hera. Maybe even Mema.”

“I’m gonna ask you this once,” Trent said slowly, voice tight with emotion. “Do you have whatever they’re looking for?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I think Killian does. There’s a backchannel in our archives we used for long-term cold storage. Jaden accessed it two weeks ago. I think he accidentally uncovered something none of us understood—something someone was willing to kill for.”

“Do you trust Killian?” Clay asked.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “But… I also know Killian hides things. He keeps secrets to protect us. He’s like you, Dad.”

Clay didn’t smile.

Trent’s jaw ticked. “Then we find out what’s in the archives. And we do it now.”

I nodded. But as I turned toward the door, something in my stomach twisted.

There was more to this. I could feel it.

⸻

Killian/Cronus POV

I leaned against the server housing our cold files, watching as Hannah and Micah worked silently to prep the decryption grid. Jessica’s spot was empty. Hera’s too.

Everything felt… thinner.

The walls of Olympus were strong, but even steel bends under pressure.

And Harlow—Persephone—she was about to learn a truth I’d hoped she’d never need to.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

⸻

3rd Person – Hallway Between Arena and Archive

As Harlow walked toward the restricted wing, she felt the weight of two sets of footsteps fall in beside her.

Clay on the left. Trent on the right.

“You okay?” Trent asked softly.

“No,” she said honestly.

Clay nodded. “Then we’re right where we need to be.”

They reached the biometric scanner and Harlow took a deep breath before leaning into the retinal lens. The light flickered green.

“Access Granted.”

The door slid open.

And behind it, was a dark room glowing blue with encrypted threads stretching like spiderwebs across walls and ceilings.

Harlow walked to the main terminal. Typed in the passcode. Waited.

One line of text appeared.

PROJECT POMEGRANATE – AUDIO FILE 01-A.

She clicked.

[AUDIO RECORDING – UNSEALED]

Speaker 1: “Phase One begins with destabilizing global communications. Civil unrest will rise once the blackout hits.”
Speaker 2: “And Persephone?”
Speaker 1: “She was never supposed to survive the Manhattan Protocol. If she’s still alive… remove her.”
Speaker 3 (female voice): “She’s not alone. She’s building something. And worse—she doesn’t even know the truth about her own name.”
Speaker 1: “Then make sure she never finds out.”

Silence.

Then Harlow whispered, “What the hell is the Manhattan Protocol?”

Trent stepped forward. “Wait. What did they mean… the truth about your name?”

Clay turned toward Killian, who had entered the room without a sound.

“You said Harlow was the first Persephone,” he said coldly.

Killian’s eyes didn’t flinch. “I said she was the only one that mattered.”