The rain fell in sheets, turning New Havoc City's streets into rivers of neon-reflected sludge. Detective Alex Mercer stood in the alley, his breath ragged, the politician's son bleeding out at his feet. The gun in his hand still smoked.
*This isn't happening.*
"Drop the weapon, Mercer!" The voice belonged to his partner, Marcus Kane, flanked by Eclipse Corp mercenaries in black tactical gear. Their insignia—a jagged sun eclipsed by a serpent—glowed faintly on their armor.
"Marcus, you set me up!" Alex snarled, his badge glinting in the downpour. "Eclipse killed that kid, not me!"
Kane's smile was a knife. "Evidence says otherwise. Body cam footage, fingerprints... even your *wife* thinks you snapped."
Alex lunged, but a stun baton cracked against his temple. Darkness swallowed him.
---
**Six Months Later**
The prison warden's laugh echoed through Cell Block D. "Volunteer for the trial, Mercer. Maybe you'll live long enough to see your appeal."
Alex, shackled and gaunt, glared at the man. "What trial?"
"Eclipse Corp's new... *rehabilitation* program." The warden gestured to a line of inmates being marched toward a steel door. "They call it Project Rebirth. Sounds cozy, eh?"
Alex's cellmate, a wiry carjacker named Finn, muttered, "Heard they're testing some serum. Last batch? Twenty guys went in. Two came out. The others? Melted like candle wax."
But Alex didn't care. Death was better than rotting here.
---
The lab was all cold steel and flickering fluorescents. Strapped to a gurney, Alex watched as a technician injected a glowing blue liquid into his IV.
"Phase One: Neural Catalyst," droned a voice over the intercom.
Fire erupted in Alex's veins. He screamed, thrashing against the restraints. Around him, inmates convulsed, their skin blistering. One man's eyes burst like overripe grapes.
*Not like this. NOT LIKE THIS—*
Then, a surge.
Blue electricity spiderwebbed across Alex's fingertips. The metal cuffs melted. Alarms blared.
"Containment breach!" a guard shouted.
Alex stumbled off the gurney, his body humming with raw power. A guard lunged, taser crackling. Instinctively, Alex raised a hand—lightning arced from his palm, reducing the man to a charred husk.
*What am I?*
Chaos erupted. Inmates rioted, overpowering guards. Alex ran, his reflexes dodging bullets as if time itself slowed. He reached the prison yard, rain slashing his face. Above, an Eclipse drone's spotlight pinned him.
"Halt or be terminated," the machine intoned.
Alex raised his hand. Lightning lanced upward, frying the drone. Its molten carcass crashed into the fence, sparking a wildfire.
*Power. Vengeance. Justice.*
He vanished into the storm.