Cuffing Jace hadn't been difficult, his initial burst of power seemingly exhausted or suppressed. He moved stiffly, shoulders hunched as two officers dragged him down a corridor and into a stark, windowless room. The air inside felt cold, sterile, the only furniture a heavy steel table bolted to the floor and three chairs arranged around it. Axel, followed closely by Rob and Steve, entered, the rest of the platoon remaining outside, a silent, watchful presence.

  Axel took the chair opposite Jace, Rob and Steve flanking him, their usual swagger diminished in the confined space. He leaned forward, his gaze intense. "Let’s try this again, shall we, enhanced?" He let the word hang in the air, a clinical label rather than an accusation. "I am Axel Reed. And this," he gestured, a clipped movement of his hand to Rob and Steve, "is Counter-Defense Against Enhanced."

  Jace’s brow furrowed, the confusion returning, momentarily eclipsing the simmering anger in his eyes. "Enhanced? You keep saying that word… like it’s a bad thing. Like… like me?" He gestured at himself again, a bewildered shake of his head.

  Axel’s lips tightened, a vein pulsing faintly at his temple. "It's not about good or bad, Jace. It's about… potential. Individuals possessing abilities beyond the natural human range," he enunciated each word carefully, "represent a potential… disruption. An instability." He stepped closer to the table, his voice dropping slightly, becoming almost conversational, yet retaining a hard edge. "CDE exists to manage… maintain… the established order. And right now, your actions are distinctly… un-managed."

  He paused, letting his words sink in before pressing the core question. "So, let's cut to the chase. Why were you protecting the maker?"

  Jace blinked, genuine bafflement etched on his face. "The… maker?" He tilted his head, looking from Axel to Rob and Steve, a flicker of hope in his eyes as if they might understand what he was missing. "Who are you talking about? I don’t… I don’t know any maker."

  Rob scoffed, shifting impatiently in his chair. "You rip my car apart! Will you allowed him, the maker, to make a getaway then you attacked me!"

  Jace’s confusion deepened, hardening into a frustrated frown. "I lost control of my powers, okay? And I only defended myself after you attacked me! You came at me first!"

  Steve leaned forward, placing a hand gingerly on his own face, wincing slightly as if touching a bruise. "Yeah, and then I came and saw you guys scuffling, and knocked you out." He rubbed his cheek again for emphasis.

  Jace rolled his eyes, exasperated. "I still don’t know who this ‘maker’ is you keep talking about! I stopped you two because you were causing havoc! The bridge was falling apart, people were screaming! It looked like… like you were trying to rob an armoured truck. The one carrying money!" He spread his hands, gesturing wildly, his voice rising in pitch. "What maker are you even talking about? I just stopped you from… from killing people and stealing money!"

  Silence fell in the room, thick and heavy. This time, however, the silence carried a different weight, a palpable shift in the atmosphere that Axel absorbed instantly. Rob and Steve remained locked in their self-justification, oblivious to the gathering storm.

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  Axel’s face, previously firm and controlled, remained outwardly composed. There was no visible flush, no dramatic paling. His expression didn’t waver, yet a subtle hardening set in around his eyes, a barely perceptible tightening of his jaw. Internally, however, a cold wave of realization washed over him. The "armoured truck." It wasn’t just a random vehicle. It was the vehicle. The Maker's mobile lab. The sheer scale of their miscalculation, the potential ramifications of attacking the Maker’s own transport while completely misreading the situation… it was a catastrophic failure of intelligence, a professional nightmare.

  The carefully constructed mask of authority didn't shatter, but it became a steelier, more dangerous mask. He didn't avert his gaze to the table. His eyes remained fixed, but their focus sharpened, the intensity now laser-focused. The subtle discomfort from before solidified into a glacial certainty – this was a disaster.

  He cleared his throat, the sound sharp and precise in the sudden stillness. His voice, when he finally spoke, was lower, colder, the usual unwavering certainty now laced with an undercurrent of something far more dangerous – controlled fury. "Armoured truck… money…" He repeated the words deliberately, each syllable clipped and precise, the weight of their implications hanging heavy in the air. He turned his head, his gaze now locking onto Rob and Steve. It wasn't embarrassment they would see in his eyes. It was the chilling appraisal of a leader assessing a critical failure, a leader now contemplating the consequences for those responsible.

  Axel remained silent for a long, tense moment, his gaze locked on Rob and Steve. Then, with a barely perceptible nod of his head, he gestured towards the officers flanking Jace. "Remove the leg restraints. And one from his arm."

  The officers moved quickly, unclipping the heavy cuffs, leaving one cuff on Jace’s left wrist, still attached to the table. It was a calculated gesture – a loosening of control, not a complete release.

  Axel leaned back slightly in his chair, a subtle shift in posture that suggested a change in tack. His voice, while still firm, lost some of its earlier edge, becoming almost… analytical. "Let's clarify a few things. Based on what we've heard, and… some recent realizations…" He paused, letting the unspoken implication of 'recent realizations' hang in the air, a pointed jab at Rob and Steve without explicitly calling them out.

  "It appears my men were… overzealous in their pursuit. Their methods endangered civilian lives. That is unacceptable." He stated it plainly, directly, a mark of a leader willing to acknowledge fault, even if indirectly. "Furthermore," he continued, turning his gaze momentarily towards Jace, "you, while acting with perhaps… good intentions, misread the situation. And," his gaze hardened slightly again, "you demonstrated a… concerning lack of control over your abilities. A lack of control that caused significant damage."

  He paused again, letting his words land before delivering the core information. "The individual we were pursuing… the one you referred to as being in the 'armoured truck'… is known as the Maker. He is distributing… enhanced technology. And understand this clearly, Jace, this technology… is dangerous in its own right. Just as dangerous as any enhanced individual, perhaps more so. It is designed to replicate, amplify, and weaponize abilities that should not be replicated or amplified. It is falling into the hands of… less than reputable individuals. Low-level criminals."

  As Axel spoke of "enhanced tech" – technology as dangerous as enhanced individuals – a cold dread washed over Jace. Weaponize abilities. The words echoed in his mind, instantly pulling him back to the convenience store robbery. He saw it again, vivid and sharp: the panicked cashier, the shelves overturned, and the robber… He remembered the distorted voice, the boast of a suit that "can level buildings." A sleek, black full body suit that amplified strength to a point where metal groaned and sparked under pressure. He recalled the hidden blade, the sudden burst of rocket boosters for a desperate attack. This tech wasn't just gadgets; it was raw power, weaponized and readily available. The encounter now felt less like a contained incident, and more like a terrifying glimpse of a future filled with threats he barely understood, amplified by technology that shouldn't exist.Axel, observing the stark shift in Jace’s demeanor, the palpable fear now etched on his face, continued, his tone shifting again, this time to something approaching… contrition, though still carefully measured. "Jace," he said, his voice softening marginally, "it appears we… acted prematurely. Based on incomplete information. For that," he inclined his head very slightly, a curt, formal gesture, "I apologize. You were treated as hostile… when perhaps you were not."

  But the apology was quickly followed by a stark warning. "However," Axel’s voice hardened once more, the steel returning, "that does not negate the fundamental issue. Your… lack of control, Jace. Abilities like yours, untamed, undirected… will inevitably lead to hostile situations. Sooner or later, your lack of control would have made you a threat. And CDE’s purpose is to manage… potential threats, before they become reality