Days later, the haven gleamed—Upgrade's touch everywhere: walls fused with liquid metal, turrets auto-tracking, the moat's pumps humming. Bill patrolled, Upgrade active, merging with systems to tweak them—Four Arms' strain a memory, SCP-096's rage muted. Clara trained with her vibroblade, Lily shaped fire into drones—mock targets Bill upgraded for practice. Comics' lessons—Iron Man vs. Mandarin, tech as power—kept him sharp, but peace was fleeting.A roar split the sky—Trask's retaliation: a fleet of antidote drones, Prime Sentinels, and a colossal mech, its cannons glowing with cure-laced rounds. The enforcer's voice boomed: "Your haven falls. The antidote prevails."Bill faced them, Upgrade flowing—black-green tendrils ready. "Not today," he said, digital voice firm. Clara and Lily stood behind, moat flaring.Drones fired—Bill merged with a turret, enhancing its range, blasting them midair. Sentinels charged—Upgrade flowed into one, overriding its circuits, turning it against its kin—lasers carving through metal. The mech launched missiles—Bill swapped to Four Arms, catching one, then Upgrade again, merging with it—missile redirected, exploding drones."Lily, fire!" he called—her flames melted a Sentinel's arm, Bill upgrading the wreckage into a cannon, firing molten slag. Clara's vibroblade slashed a drone—Bill flowed to it, enhancing its edge, her next strike cleaving steel.The enforcer's mech stomped forward—Bill merged with the moat pumps, supercharging them—Lily's fire erupted, a wall of heat stalling it. He shifted—Steve crafted TNT, Upgrade fused it with Sentinel tech—explosive drones swarmed the mech, blasting its legs. Four Arms roared, ripping armor, SCP-173 snapped its cannon unseen.Sentinels adapted—antidote darts flying. Bill's hope wavered—SCP-096 surged, tearing one apart, but Upgrade reasserted—merging with a dart, neutralizing its payload, then spreading to others, disabling the cure. The mech fired a laser—Bill flowed into the haven's wall, reinforcing it, reflecting the beam—comics' ingenuity shining.Lily's fire shield held, Clara's blade danced—Bill swapped, Four Arms hurling the mech, Upgrade enhancing its wreckage into a trap—pistons crushing Sentinels. The enforcer ejected, fleeing—Bill let him go, exhausted but whole.The haven stood—walls dented, moat low—but safe. Bill reverted, human again, Clara and Lily rushing him. "You're incredible," Clara said, breathless."Shiny and strong," Lily added, hugging him.The system chimed:
"Host emotional state: Exhausted but triumphant. Template mastered: Upgrade. Physical status: Stable, minor strain. Objective: Maintain haven, counter antidote."Bill sank, Upgrade's renewal a balm—Four Arms' ache dulled, SCP's chaos tamed. Comics' heroes endured through adaptation—Bill would too. Trask's cure lingered, but with Upgrade, he'd outlast it—for his family.