the secret

He strode purposefully down to the basement, the space a typical rich-family affair with a home theater and a pool table. But Emka ignored all that, heading for a blank, unassuming section of the concrete wall. He pressed his palm against it. A nearly invisible seam glowed with blue light before the section of wall slid silently inward, revealing a sleek, obsidian elevator.

The ride down was a descent into absolute blackness, a silent, stomach-dropping plunge deep into the earth. When the elevator doors hissed open, it was into more of the same oppressive dark. Emka stepped out onto the polished floor.

With his first footstep, a wave of cool, white light radiated outwards, spreading across the floor and up the walls in a silent, blossoming wave. The light revealed a cavernous space that defied belief. This was his real sanctuary. Sleek, powerful car prototypes sat under dust covers. Against one wall, racks of impossibly advanced gadgets gleamed. In the center of it all, dominating the space, was a hypersonic aircraft, not much bigger than a sports car, its matte-black fuselage seeming to absorb the light around it. And on a raised platform, stood his masterpiece: a suit of armor, all sharp angles and glowing blue circuitry.

"Good morning, Emka," a voice resonated through the lab. It was deep, calm, and held an intelligence that was distinctly not human. "Your vitals seem elevated. A result of your successful deception?"

"Morning, Cyber," Emka said with a smirk, running a hand over the cool metal of the suit. "Just getting the blood pumping. I'm taking the Mark V out for a spin."

"I would advise against that," Cyber replied, its tone unwavering. "The atmospheric stabilizers are still only 94.7% calibrated. There is a non-trivial chance of catastrophic failure at high velocities."

"Yeah, yeah, non-trivial," Emka scoffed, his arrogance flaring. He wasn't in the mood for Cyber's cautious algorithms. "I'll be the judge of that." He stepped onto the platform, and the suit began to assemble itself around him with a series of satisfying clicks and whirs. "Just keep up, old friend."

A section of the mountain far above the house retracted, opening to the clear blue sky. With a deafening roar of energy, Emka shot upwards, a black-and-blue streak against the clouds. The feeling was pure ecstasy, a rush no earthly stimulant could ever match.

"Alright, Cyber, let's open her up!" he yelled over the wind. "Take me to Mach 10!"

"Emka, that is suicide," Cyber's voice was firm in his ear. "The friction and atmospheric pressure at that velocity would sublimate the suit's alloy. You would be incinerated in 0.8 seconds."

"Fine! Buzzkill!" Emka gritted his teeth, wrestling with the controls as the suit bucked under the strain. "Give me what you've got!"

"I can safely accommodate Mach 5," Cyber conceded.

"Do it!"

The world blurred. The suit surged forward with a gut-wrenching lurch. Below, the landscape became a watercolor painting. He saw a familiar black car on the highway and, in a moment of pure, reckless abandon, decided to give them a little show. He swooped lower, a black comet screaming through the sky.

The sonic boom was instantaneous and violent.

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