Round 112

The building's pulse intensified suddenly, a sharp spike that made Hera whirl toward Silra instinctively. "Silra? What's happening?" Her voice was tight with concern, eyes fixed on the engineer as she worked with desperate speed.

Jeane moaned softly behind her, the sound raw and needy. Hera ignored it, focusing entirely on the situation at hand. The air felt charged, almost alive with energy. The capacitor began to glow more brightly, casting flickering shadows across the room. Silra's hands were a blur of motion as she worked, sweat beading on her forehead. "It's... it's not right," she gasped out between clenched teeth. "The field's unstable. I need to reroute the power surge—"

Without hesitation, Hera moved to stand beside Silra, close enough to help if needed but not so close as to impede her work. "Tell me what to do," she said firmly. "I can hold tools, pass components, whatever you need."

Jeane staggered forward, drawn by the building's increasing intensity. Hera held out an arm, stopping her cold. "No," she snapped, her voice sharp. "You'll interfere. Back off." The heat radiating from Jeane's body was almost painful against her palm.

The capacitor pulsed again, brighter this time, and Silra cried out in pain as a spark jumped from the circuit board to her fingers. "Fuck!" she yelped, shaking her hand vigorously. "Hera, grab that... that thing..." She gestured frantically at a metal clamp on the workbench.

Hera snatched it up without thinking, turning back just in time to see Silra's face set in grim determination. "I'm going to need you to hold this in place," Silra said, her voice tight with concentration. "Right here." She indicated a point on the exposed circuitry. "And don't let go no matter what."

Hera nodded once, sharply, and moved into position. The metal clamp felt cold and heavy in her hands—a stark contrast to Jeane's fever-hot skin. "Got it," she said, voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through her.

Silra began to work again, faster now, her movements almost frenzied. "This is going to be messy," she warned, not looking up. "The surge is building. When I say so, you're going to need to ground yourself—touch metal, anything conductive."

Hera's grip tightened on the clamp, her eyes fixed on Silra's hands as they danced across the circuit board. "Understood," she said through clenched teeth.

Jeane whimpered behind them, a sound of pure need that made Hera's skin crawl. "Please," the woman begged, her voice thick with desperation. "I can't stand it much longer..."

Hera didn't respond, her entire focus on the task at hand. The building's pulse was almost painful now, each throb sending fresh waves of unwanted sensation through her body. "Almost there," Silra muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

And then, without warning, everything went white.