As Mark’s eyes opened, the rich aroma of cooked food met him like an old friend. The familiar fragrance of bacon and eggs greeted him, and for a moment, he let himself bask in the unexpected normalcy. Memories of te breakfasts and zy Sundays danced briefly in his mind before dissolving into the present. He turned his head and saw Katerina moving about the kitchen area with energetic efficiency. She had dressed in jeans that hugged her curves and a thin, green turtleneck that complimented her figure and brought out the vivid sparkle in her eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she looked at him with a smile that suggested both relief and focus.

  “You’re up,” she said, her voice cutting through the quiet of the room. She motioned towards the table, where a mountain of bacon, eggs, and pancakes awaited. Mark smiled back, gratitude mingling with the rumble of hunger in his belly. He sat down with a look of disbelief at the spread she had managed to prepare so quickly. The food looked inviting, and as he began to eat, Katerina joined him with her own pte, seating herself across from him.

  “Got the whole menu, huh?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

  “First decent meal I’ve had in a while,” she replied, digging in with appreciation.

  Mark nodded as he savored another bite, then gnced at her, his mind shifting from the pleasure of breakfast back to the gravity of their situation. “I think I have a pn,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “I assume this Broker is pretty connected to the streets. Maybe she can point us to where Griselda is—help us avenge Mira. I can take her to jail or something.”

  But Katerina shook her head, an amused but knowing glint in her eyes. “No one’s gonna rat on her,” she said, her tone tinged with the pragmatism of someone who’d considered this before. “Not when they all live in her Tower. She runs it. If they’re found out, she could still put them out on their ear in the cold, with no other pce that anyone could afford.” There was a pause as she watched Mark absorb the information. “People just don’t find thugs to rob after they beat them up.”

  Mark chuckled, appreciating the insight. “I guess that’s a fair point. So what do you suggest?”

  Katerina put down her fork and reached for something she had set aside. It was a small bracelet that appeared to be an old-school watch. She held it up for Mark to see, a hint of excitement in her expression. “This is a Super Detection Band. It’s used to find out what powers a person has, how many powers, and how many they can learn. I’m a Rank 2 Super. I only have one unlocked, and it's not super useful. I can only recharge power supplies and batteries. I’m not sure what my second ability is though.”

  Mark nodded, listening intently. Before he could respond, he found himself caught up in the possibilities. “So you know you’re a Rank 2 Super,” he said, eager to make sense of it, “meaning you have two superpowers—one unlocked and one locked. But you don’t know what it could be or what it could do? How do you unlock them?”

  “It’s a special serum that gets injected into the bloodstream. It allows a person to unlock their next power. These shots are really expensive, and most people can’t afford to get them. They run anywhere from 10-15 grand if you’re an official Super and 50-70k if you’re trying to get them on the street.” She looked at him, gauging his interest. “But go ahead and try it on.”

  Mark gave her a slow nod before slipping the band onto his wrist, an electric anticipation buzzing through him. He felt a small pinch, and then the results appeared, revealing a truth more shocking than he had imagined:

  Rank 7 Super PotentialPower 1: Peak Superhuman BodyEvery faucet of your being beyond Superhuman. You can see and perceive things as far as an eagle, agile as a Leopard and can smell as good as a bear, and can easily lift 50 tons. This also gives you a minor healing factor on top of being highly resistant to anything short of rge caliber rounds.

  The results blinked with surreal certainty, and Mark could hardly believe the bombshell conclusion that lit up the small screen. He was a Rank 7 Super, with the very power she'd predicted—Peak Superhuman Body. He gaped, the words tumbling out almost involuntarily. “I am a Rank 7 Super! You were right about the Peak Superhuman Body as well. Does this mean that I have potentially seven powers with six of them locked?” He met Katerina's gaze, and for a moment they both seemed suspended in pure, electric awe.

  Katerina's jaw dropped as she ran over to see it for herself. “It is true… Generally speaking, your first power is a pretty good indicator of how strong the rest of your powers will be. While Peak Superhuman Body is what I would consider S-ranked, most people who’ve got S-ranked powers are usually never more than Rank 2. Maybe Rank 3 if they're incredibly powerful. You could really become one of the strongest Supers in Sin City.” She shook her head, like trying to clear a daydream, but the excitement wouldn’t let go, her eyes alive with it. “This really changes things!”

  Mark thought for a second, his mind a flurry of possibilities, before speaking with the urgency of a new revetion. “New pn,” he said, a determined edge in his voice. “Disrupt their activities—rob 'em blind and get as many Evo Shots as we can. If I'm this strong with one power, then I know I can really change things at Rank 3 and Rank 4.” He paused, the excitement seeping into conviction. “We’ll get as much information as we can buy from this Broker and really shake up this hellhole.” He looked at her, gauging her thoughts, and saw the spark of agreement in her expression.

  Katerina nodded, not just in consent but in a shared resolve. “It’s risky. Griselda’s not going to take something like this lying down.” Her voice was intense, but the fire of determination was clear. “If we’re going after those shots, we need to be ready for anything. She won’t hesitate to crush us like bugs if she smells us coming.” She leaned forward, her words like a vow. “We’re gonna need to be smart. Fast. Hit hard and hit first.”

  The enormity of it all hung in the air, charged and exhirating. The threat of it looming like a shadow, but one that Mark and Katerina seemed ready to step into with eyes wide open. Where danger loomed, so did potential, and they both knew it.