The tension hung heavy in the air, a palpable feeling that electrified the atmosphere. Every member of the group seemed ready to square off against Crow, except for Jack. He vividly recalled the ease with which Crow had defeated them in their last encounter.

"No, we're not," Jack declared, stunning everyone with his unexpected statement.

"What do you mean we're not? Let's take him down!" Troy demanded; his voice filled with frustration.

"Think about what happened last time. We can't afford to underestimate him again. Besides, we have other urgent duties back at base," Jack reasoned quietly to Troy.

Crow chuckled mockingly, "Go on, heed your leader's words."

Troy hesitated, conflicted, before finally taking Jack's lead and boarding the waiting truck. Crow smirked as he watched the truck depart from District Five and then casually strolled over to the courageous civilians who had confronted him.

"You all showed remarkable courage. How would you like to join forces with me?" Crow inquired, a smile playing at the edges of the white mask concealing his face.

Back at Rainfall HQ, Troy stormed into the command center with a determined look on his face and demanded an explanation from Harry about the decision to return to base. He was visibly upset and didn't seem willing to accept any vague answers.

"I understand your desire for revenge, but it's too risky," Harry began, but before he could finish, Troy cut him off, his frustration boiling over.

"That guy is nothing special! Just a cocky punk. Why can't I take him down?" he shouted.

Harry held up his hand to calm Troy down before continuing, "I was about to explain that we have found a solution. You will all have regenerative powers installed in your bodies."

Anakin, who was listening intently, interjected, "Like the machine that's inside Jack?"

Harry nodded. "Exactly. It will take some time, but we need all the help we can get when facing Stallone and Crow. If anyone is reluctant to undergo the procedure, now is the time to speak up."

The room fell silent as everyone exchanged hesitant glances, silently weighing the potential benefits and risks of the new technology.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I'm in!” Both Asuka and Kairi said.

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Troy claimed.

“I’ve been with the group since the start. I’m in.” Anakin said.

“Ellie? What about you?”

Ellie looked at everyone else before making her decision. “I don’t know. I want to, but there’s something inside of me that doesn’t want this.”

Harry assured her that even if she didn’t want the device, she'd still have a part in the team, albeit not one of Jack’s team. With this, Ellie made her decision, “I’ll take the device.”

Harry smiled, “Good! Follow me, and we’ll get this device installed into your body.”

Everyone followed Harry to the medical center, where elite surgeons were ready before the surgery, and alongside them was Lily, who was watching on.

“Ah. Mr. Crawford, we’re all ready to begin.”

“Good job, Doctor Hale; excuse me a second.”

Harry went to introduce himself to all of the surgeons who would be performing the operations. Everyone aside Jack and Lily went to prepare themselves for surgery. Jack and Lily walked into a small, dimly lit room adjacent to the operating theater. Inside, a bank of monitors lined the walls, displaying the vital signs and heart rates of everyone involved in the surgeries. In the center, a large screen broadcasted live camera footage of the ongoing procedure,

“You okay, Jack? You look rather pale.”

“Yeah. I'm fine; it’s nothing. Don't worry about it.”

Lily looked and noticed that Jack was sweating more than he should be, and he was taking long, deep breaths.

“You sure? Why don’t you sit down for a while?”

“I’m fine, Lily. Seriously.”

Jack sat down on a nearby chair, gathering his breath. Lily opened her lab coat, pulled out a small flashlight, and shone the light into Jack’s eyes.

“You’ve used your left arm again.” She said.

“It’s nothing major to be worried about. I'm not going to pass out if that's what you're worried about.”

Harry walked into the room and asked what was going on. He was both worried and confused about what was going on.

“Is everything all right in here?”

“Yes, it’s just that Jack was looking rather tired, and I wanted to check to see if everything was okay.”

“And?” Harry asked.

“He’s fine, just tired as his left arm drains all of his energy once used. But it's not like the first time when he passed out.” Lily explained.

Harry was happy about the news of Jack’s condition and told both of them that the surgery was about to begin. He gave the green light and let the surgeons begin the operation.

Hours pass of agonizing stress and concern until the surgeons give the green light to Harry that all five surgeries were a success. Harry quickly praised all the surgeons present and told them that their work would be heavily compensated.

One of the surgeons told Harry, “Just like Jack, they will need some rest before returning to action. At the most, they should be ready in three days.”

“We don’t have three days. What’s the quickest time you can give me?”

“It depends on how the bodies react to the implants. My best guess would be Troy. His body was easy for us to operate with, and his heart rate was at a steady rate through the process. My best guess is that he’ll be ready in a day. The longest? It would be Ellie. Her heart rate was unstable; there were some points where we needed to stop at the risk of her dying,” the surgeon explained.

“Thank you for your feedback, doctor.” Harry said to the doctor.