Page 182 of Villainous Rise

“Yes. It actively mimics the energy signature of a manufactured Super.” I rotated the projection to give her a better view. “The device samples my biorhythms and creates a counterfeit pattern that matches what you’d expect from someone who’s taken the serum.”

“That’s incredible,” she murmured, reaching out as if to touch the projection before catching herself.

“I have three more implants placed throughout my body,” I continued. “They work in concert to create a complete false signature. If one fails, the others compensate.”

I frowned. “Well, they should work perfectly, unless the fucking Hammer is used to deactivate all technology in the surrounding area.” The memory of that day in the Crucible resurfaced like a shard of glass working its way through my skin. The moment when everything went sideways, when Dread nearly killed her.

When he fucking killed me.

“So that’s why I felt you,” Annie said, her eyes widening with realization. “Dread had used the Hammer.”

“Precisely. The Hammer’s energy disruption field knocked out my implants along with everything else.” I flexed my fingers, remembering the sensation of exposure.

The same moment that had nearly taken Annie from me had also revealed my most carefully guarded secret to her. Dread had managed to fuck me over in more ways than one.

I deactivated the scanner and turned to face her, letting my fingers trail up her arm. I’d done enough thinking back on that fucking day. “Now that I’ve shown you, can we get back to the distraction I was hoping for?”

I watched Annie’s expression shift from fascination to suspicion, her brow creasing as she processed what I’d just revealed.

“Not so fast,” she said. “What doctor agreed to do something like that? You would have had to be fairly young when you tried out for the League. And I’m assuming you had it implanted before you started the program.”

I ran a hand through my hair, suddenly finding the technical readouts on my secondary monitor fascinating. “I was nineteen when I designed the implant, right before I entered training.”

“And the doctor?” she pressed.

“Dr. Smith implanted it,” I admitted.

“Dr. Smith,” she said slowly. Then her eyes widened. “You did it yourself? At nineteen? Are you insane?”

“Technically,” I said, raising a finger, “I built a robot to do it. So technically, the robot did it.”

Annie just stared at me, her expression a perfect blend of horror and disbelief. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Do you have any other implants I should know about?”

“Besides those? No, none that you should know about,” I replied, aiming for a light tone that might defuse her growing suspicion. The masking implants were one thing. They were a necessity for maintaining my cover. But the others...

“That wasn’t the correct answer,” she said flatly. “What else have you put in your body?”

Her genuine concern made me pause. I’d never had someone worry about me this way before. It was nice.

Uncomfortable, but nice.

I debated whether it was in my best interest to tell her about the other big implant. On one hand, she’d probably be furious. On the other hand, she’d definitely find out eventually and be even more furious that I hadn’t told her. Annie had an uncanny knack for discovering my secrets. And keeping things from her hadn’t exactly worked out well for me in the past.

Would telling her about the Hammer make things better or worse?

I realized Annie wasn’t going to let this go. Her stubbornness was one of the things I admired about her, even when it was inconvenient for me.

“Fine. There are a few other small implants,” I admitted, pointing out a barely visible line on my forearm. “This one connects to my central computer system. You’ve actually seen it in action before, when I pull up displays when not near a console.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “I thought that was part of your suit’s technology. Maybe something to do with your tattoos.”

“The suit enhances it, but the base capability is here.” I tapped my arm. “It’s mostly for convenience. When inspiration strikes at 3 AM, I don’t have to get out of bed.”

She shook her head slowly. “What else?”

“There’s an optical implant,” I continued, pointing to my right eye. “It interfaces with my main computer systems as well. Basically gives me a heads-up display when I need it.”