False Gods | The Prime Archives #3 ✓

four

Upon arriving back at The Acropolis, which had been converted into a full-on military base for the United States Army, Stella was notified that General North was on his way to the facility. He had requested a meeting with her in the morning—and only her.

It was safe to say she wouldn't be getting the sleep she longed for.

That night was spent tossing and turning as she dreaded her talk with the steely general.

Surely the meeting would be about how poorly she handled the mission. While she may have apprehended Blessed Ann, she did damage quite a lot of property. If there was one thing General North hated, it was collateral damage.

When the first sign of the morning sun arrived on the horizon, Stella was wide awake. Her room, which was supposed to be her sanctuary, felt like a prison. The bright, yellow walls were now an eyesore.

Eventually, her alarm went off. The sound pierced her ears like a sword. Groaning, she slid out of bed and began her morning routine—which consisted of showering, doing her hair meditating, and going over the day's agenda. Once she was finished, she changed into a pair of shirts and an Atlas t-shirt.

As she approached her door, her reflection in the mirror on the wall stopped her in her tracks.

She examined her hair, which had been styled into a messy bun atop her head. Her hazel eyes weren't as bright as they used to be. The light that hid within the irises had dimmed over the years.

Her trademark smile barely made an appearance anymore. Most days, there wasn't much to be happy about.

Sometimes she didn't recognize the person looking back at her.

When she was a child, she wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to save people's lives. The dream eventually faded, but she never stopped wanting to help people. After she got her powers, she thought she would finally have the chance to. For a while, she did help people.

Things were different now.

General North and his Jaeger's were ruthless and operated on their own code of ethics. Thanks to President Crane and the United Nations, they were pretty much allowed free reign over anything Prime-related. They hunted down powered individuals as if they were wild animals. Some of the general's soldiers treated it like a game.

Stella usually wasn't proud to be a part of what had been going on in Atlas ever since Pearce Shaw was relieved of his duties as director.

Most of those captured were sent to The Vault, but every now and then Stella would hear about one being sent to some facility in the mountains of Sweden. Whenever she asked about it, she never got a straight answer.

Nowadays, she just kept her mouth shut whenever the subject came up.

She glanced at herself one last time. Sighing, she opened her door and left the room.

#

The Acropolis barely felt like home anymore.

Many of the Atlas agents Stella knew around the compound quit their jobs or transferred to a different company following Director Shaw's departure from the company. It had been three years now and she was still seeing new faces.

And, despite being on the same side, most weren't friendly.

The Prime Task Force had a few new recruits, but Stella barely interacted with them apart from missions and training.

Fortunately, she still had a few friends. She and Theo had gotten closer than ever. The two of them had been going to school together ever since they were kids, but they had never been more than acquaintances. Now with Chase gone, they had more time to bond.