Damian watched as Sasha shifted into the superior officer's form, her mimicry flawless. She wore the man’s body as if it were a second skin, moving with the same authority and stiffness he had. Damian’s lips curled into a sly smile as he leaned in slightly and lowered his voice, a conspiratorial edge in his tone.

“With your new identity," he began, "you should make sure you’re on the team Kessler will send out to capture you.”

Sasha’s expression—now the superior’s—remained cold and composed, but Damian could see the faint flicker of acknowledgment in her eyes. They both knew how the future events would play out; this was just another step in ensuring that the plan stayed intact.

“Of course,” Damian continued, pacing slowly, his eyes gleaming with the knowledge they both shared. “Nothing should change from when Cole attacks you to free the Neon District from your influence. That’s inevitable.” His tone grew darker, laced with amusement. “And Kessler? He’s always had his eye on using your tar as a weapon. A biological weapon to unleash on this city, to mold Cole in his image.”

Sasha let out a low, almost contemptuous laugh, her voice slipping back to her own despite her current disguise. "He always did overestimate his control over me. He’s always thought himself above the rest of the world with everything in the palm of his hand. I wonder what face he’ll make knowing he’d been dancing in our the entire time."

Damian chuckled in agreement. "Well, let him think he’s winning. We’ll give them exactly what they expect. Cole will see you fighting to hold the Neon District, and Kessler will believe he’s captured his prize." He paused, letting his words settle in before continuing. “We left the infiltrator behind—a decoy that looks like the old you. That should fool Kessler and Cole for long enough.”

Sasha nodded, her eyes gleaming with understanding. “The infiltrator can fight and fool them for a time. Its abilities will be convincing enough. But it can’t produce tar like I can.”

“No it can’t,” Damian agreed. “Which is why you’ll need to stay close to it. You’ll make it appear as if the infiltrator is capable of producing tar. No one will know the difference as long as you're nearby.”

Sasha smirked, confidence radiating from her as she shifted her form back to that of the superior officer. "That shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll stay close enough to manipulate the situation. The moment things get tricky, I can pull out without raising suspicion."

“Good,” Damian said, his tone clipped and businesslike now. “Remember, staying in this surveillance blind spot for too long will call unnecessary attention. Move carefully. We don’t want anyone suspecting us or finding out that there’s more to this than meets the eye.”

Sasha gave a final nod, her demeanor shifting back into the obedient soldier she was impersonating. With that, she turned on her heel and walked off, her movements as sharp and disciplined as the superior officer’s. Damian watched her go, a sense of satisfaction settling over him. Everything was falling into place.

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Once Sasha disappeared from view, Damian turned and made his way back to the lab. His mind was already racing ahead, thinking of the next step in his plan. He needed to ensure that he would be part of every of the Ray Sphere project. To learn about it he needed time with the device—and that meant overseeing the newest experiments personally. With this success Kessler might deem him useful enough to oversee its new modifications.

When Damian entered the lab, he found Anabella had just returned, her hazmat suit already discarded and her face flushed with effort. She looked up as Damian approached, and her expression brightened immediately.

"Good work," Damian said with a smile, his voice smooth as ever. Anabella’s face lit up at the praise, clearly pleased to have done something that met his standards.

“Thank you,” she replied, a bit breathless. “I was careful with the samples, just like you said.”

Damian nodded approvingly, then gestured for her to follow him as he moved deeper into the lab. “Now, I need your help with the next phase.”

Anabella’s eyes gleamed with excitement as she followed him. They moved to a contained area of the lab, where the more sensitive experiments took place. Damian slid on a hazmat suit with practiced ease, and Anabella quickly did the same. He led her into the containment chamber, where the air was noticeably heavier with the hum of radiation shielding and filtration systems. The glow of the containment fields bathed the room in an eerie light.

In the center of the containment chamber sat a prototype component of the Ray Sphere, suspended in a reinforced glass case. The component looked crude and unfinished, its surface rough and pockmarked from earlier tests. Beside it, in a separate compartment, two chunks of irradiated RFE-charged debris rested, still humming with residual energy.

“We’re going to start by introducing the debris into proximity with the Ray Sphere component,” Damian explained as he gestured for Anabella to help him. “I want to observe how it reacts to prolonged exposure and see if the component can hold any of the energy from the debris.”

Anabella’s eyes widened slightly, her excitement palpable. “That’s incredible,” she murmured as she carefully positioned herself at the control panel. “If we can extract even a fraction of the energy from these samples…”

“We will,” Damian interrupted, his voice filled with confidence. “I have no doubt about that.”

As Anabella began operating the containment systems, Damian moved to the other side of the chamber, where a larger piece of irradiated debris sat on a reinforced table. This chunk was different from the others—larger, more stable, and of a higher quality.

“We’ll also be extracting silicone from this debris,” Damian continued, his voice calm as he set up the necessary equipment. “It should give us enough material to craft a new component for the Ray Sphere.”

Anabella’s fingers danced over the controls, initiating the containment fields and setting the prototype component into motion. She worked with careful precision, her eyes locked onto the screen as the irradiated debris moved toward the Ray Sphere component in its glass case.

“Are you sure the silicone will be stable enough to integrate into the new component?” she asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

“I’m confident,” Damian replied, his tone unwavering. “The material is more resilient than we initially thought. With a little adjustment, we can shape it into something far more durable than any of the previous prototype parts.”

As they worked, Beth sat at a nearby terminal, her fingers moving mechanically across the keyboard as she monitored the system data. Though she hadn’t said much since Damian had given her the task earlier, she seemed deeply focused on cataloging the Ray Sphere tests as instructed. Every so often, she would glance over at the containment chamber, her face a mixture of frustration and hatred.

For the next several minutes, Damian and Anabella carefully monitored the interaction between the Ray Sphere component and the RFE-charged debris. The screens in front of them flickered with readings—energy spikes, fluctuating patterns, and temperature increases that indicated the component was reacting to the debris in subtle but significant ways.

“This is just the beginning,” Damian murmured, more to himself than to Anabella. He watched the screen intently. Soon, all the pieces would fall into place, and the Ray Sphere’s full potential would be unlocked to him.

Anabella glanced at him, her eyes filled with admiration and trust. “You really think this will work, don’t you?”

Damian smiled, his gaze never leaving the screen. “It’s not about thinking, Anabella. It’s about knowing.”