Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 673: Capturing the lambs and wolves.

Emmet’s smirk faltered. He blinked, looking genuinely baffled. He had never set foot in Fortress Four or come across Sunshine in his entire life. Why did she know who he was and why was she suddenly pale? "How do you know my name?" he asked, his voice dropping an octave. "We’ve never met, lady."

Sunshine didn’t answer him. Her mind was racing through memories of a past life where this boy and his friends had been the stuff of nightmares. Wherever they passed, blood had a habit of flowing like a river. People died. Buildings were set on fire. Orphaned children also disappeared.

It was safe to say that bad things followed Emmet. She pulled a dragonoid pistol very fast and turned it on him. "Where are your friends, Emmet?" she demanded, her voice hardening. "I know they’re here. Don’t play the lone wolf game with me because I will blow your brains out in a heartbeat."

Around Sunshine, her people drew weapons as well, though they were uncertain of what had prompted the rise of another battle.

Emmet shrugged, trying to regain his cool. He had trained himself not to flinch in the face of weapons or threats. "Friends? I don’t do friends, lady. They’re bad for the health in these bad times. Not enough food to go around."

"Liar!" Sunshine roared, her patience snapping. "I know all about the Lambs and the Wolves little boy. I know exactly what you lot are capable of." She turned to the perimeter guards, her arm cutting through the air in a sharp command. "Search the area! Now! They’re nearby, hiding in the thick bushes. Find those kids before they decide to turn this place into a graveyard. And don’t treat them like victims, they are hardened criminals, the whole lot of them. One of them can block superpowers, use your suits."

Emmet tried to shift but Sunshine fired a bullet that was accompanied by flames. It flew over Emmet’s head. "Ah-ah, don’t move. The next one won’t miss." She raised her voice, "Come out you little munchkins, before I make you leaderless."

What happened next looked like something out of a high-budget sci-fi movie. The guards didn’t just draw weapons; they tapped their wrists. With a series of mechanical whirs and clanks, their exo-suits hissed to life. Plates of carbon-fiber armor slid into place, and miniature thrusters ignited on their heels.

The guests, Emmet, Ceaser, even those in hiding gaped in silence. They had seen a lot of weird things since the apocalypse started, but this level of technology was supposed to be straight out of an alien movie.

The guards took to the sky, their visors glowing with thermal tracking. High above, Major Elio’s voice crackled over the comms, amplified by his helmet. "Found them." He bellowed loudly, diving toward a cluster of gnarled trees just outside the gate. He landed softly, the hydraulic pistons in his legs absorbing the impact. "Alright, kids," Elio said, his voice surprisingly polite despite the terrifying suit. "Let’s make this easy. Come out quietly and nobody gets harmed."

The bushes rustled. One by one, the Lambs emerged first, looking more like a pack of bedraggled runaways than a world-ending threat. Then Dustin came out next. He stumbled toward Elio, his face a mask of exhaustion and pain.

"Save me," Dustin croaked. It was the last thing he said before his knees buckled and he collapsed into the dirt.

The transition from the mutated trees to the King’s Bridge gate became a blur of silver armor and terrified shouting. The guards didn’t take chances; they grabbed the kids who played wolf and flew them back, dangling them by their collars like misbehaving kittens.

When they landed in front of Sunshine, the mood shifted from high-tech chase to grim reality. Sunshine’s heart sank when she saw Dustin. His hands were bound so tightly with coarse rope that the skin had split, leaving dark, tacky blood smeared across his wrists.

"He’s in bad shape," Father Nicodemus said, stepping forward. He gently scooped Dustin up. "I’m taking him to the King’s Bridge medic bay. God willing, he’s just exhausted."

Sunshine nodded solemnly. "Do what you can, Father. After I question him, he will be off to prison. Give him a suppressant first. Tell Sister Anna to use the permanent kind." He had burned her in her last life, so in this one, she was taking away what he used to be so proud of.

As the priest flew away, Hades followed to keep an eye on Dustin and make sure things were done as Sunshine wanted.

Sunshine turned her attention back to the kids. They were standing in a semi-circle, looking defiant despite being surrounded by flying soldiers. To anyone else, they looked like victims. To Sunshine, they looked like ticking time bombs. The first thing she did was count them, all 36 of the were there.

The number was less than what it was towards the end of the apocalypse in her last life. Emmet had grown quite the child army by then. But it was well known that the original number was 36.

Some things had remained constant in this life.

"Suppressants!" she shouted.

"Suppressants?" Emmet started to say, but he was interrupted by a chorus of thwip-thwip-thwip.

Pneumatic darts hissed through the air, burying themselves in the kids’ shoulders and thighs.

"Ow! Hey!" Estella yelled, plucking a dart from her arm.

"What the hell did you just inject me with?" Emmet demanded, rubbing his shoulder and glaring at Sunshine. "Are you sedating us?"

"It’s a temporary ’off’ switch," Sunshine replied coldly. "I’ve taken your abilities. For the next one month, you’re just ordinary children."

The kids burst out laughing. It was a hollow, arrogant sound. "Yeah right, you think a little needle can stop us?" Estella asked, stepping forward with a smirk. She closed her eyes, trying to call upon the air she usually commanded. She waited for the familiar cold tingle in her fingertips.

Nothing happened.

Beside her, a boy tried to ignite a spark between his palms. He just ended up rubbing his hands together like he was trying to stay warm in a drafty room.

The laughter died instantly.

For the first time, the cockiness drained from their faces, replaced by a creeping, cold realization. Their greatest weapon_ their only weapon_ was gone. They looked at the massive walls of Fortress Four, the flying guards, and the stone-faced woman in front of them, and for the first time, they felt small.

"Why are you treating us like criminals?" Estella cried out, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and indignation. "We’re just kids! We’ve been through hell!"

Sunshine leaned in, her eyes narrowing. "Because you are little tyrants and terrors, girl. And you will only become worse. I know what you do when you think no one is powerful enough to stop you. Great news, you have finally met that someone."