Five may have had the day off from his job at the Hinobi store, but that didn't mean a day of rest. No, a day off for Hector Nieves meant a day behind the grill of his grandparents' food truck. He wasn't complaining, though, as he donned his apron and hair net and took his place at the large metal plate. No sooner had the windows been opened than customers began to line up for a taste of China-Mex fusion. "All right, mijo, I'm gonna need two General Tso burritos and a couple of fried tamales," his grandfather announced. "After that, I've got a bulgogi taco with extra fried rice, beef broccoli nachos, and an extra spicy veggie stir fry burrito!"

"On it, Papi!" Five dropped the tamales in the deep fryer as he got to work on the burritos, laying out the flour tortillas and spreading finely chopped chicken and rice in the middle. He doused the mixture with General Tso sauce and completed the burritos just in time for the tamales to come up. The fry bucket came out of the oil with the tamales piping hot and ready to go, and Five plated them with sides of sour cream and salsa as he handed the completed order to his grandfather. "One down," he said to himself as he returned to the grill.

The orders came and the orders went as Five put his skills and reflexes to good use, preparing the food and getting it out in no time flat. Another order was plated and ready to go, and once his grandfather handed it off, he saw that a familiar face was next in line. "Miko! Always nice to see you," he exclaimed. "You want your usual?" Five smiled at his Papi's announcement, but that smile faded when he heard Miko's response. The tension in her voice was unmistakable as she said, "Not today, sir. I need to talk to Five."

Her partner poked his head around the corner of the serving window and asked, "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Not really," Miko sighed. "Phil called an emergency meeting at the store. And as much as I'd like to skip it and get the short version from Zahra or Nix..."

"Let me guess," Five grumbled. "It's mandatory."

"Unfortunately."

"Aw, nerds." He took his apron off and said, "Lo siento, Papi. Looks like my day off turned into a workday."

"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, mijo," he replied with an understanding smile. "Your abuela and I can handle things here, no problem."

"And if you get off early, don't hesitate to come on back," his grandma added with a wink and a grin. Five smiled and replied, "If that happens, I'll be back as fast as I can. Thanks again, guys!" He gave them both a hug before tossing his hair net in the trash, donning his bike helmet and joining Miko as they pedaled towards the Hinobi store. When they arrived, they headed straight for the locker room and jumped into the portal to HQ. Landing in the vast white space revealed all their coworkers milling about and talking with each other, while Phil and BITT were engaged in an animated conversation with Mitch on the opposite side of the room. It didn't take long for BITT to notice their arrival, and he greeted them with a cheerful, "Hello, Miko and Five! Thank you for attending this mandatory team meeting!"

"It's not like we had a choice," Miko snarked as she headed downstairs with Five in tow. "What's this all about?"

"I'll answer that," Phil said as the duo took their places next to Zahra and Haneesh. "Thank you all for coming. The reason I called this emergency meeting is because - and there's no easy way to say this - Mitch was almost killed last night dealing with a glitch." Those words sent a shockwave through the room as a series of gasps rang out, and all the while, Mitch showed no reaction as he kept his head down.

"Oh, don't worry, it gets better," Phil continued with maximum sarcasm dripping from his words. "Judging by what I saw on his gauntlet cam, the glitch in question is from Near Scream, and for those who don't know, here's a quick crash course. Near Scream was released ten years ago, and its ad campaign touted that players would never have the same gaming experience twice. This was due to a piece of programming known as the AIQ chip that altered the game's code as the player advanced through the storyline and completed missions. Once the player reached 100% completion, they would unlock New Game Plus mode... and that's when the trouble started."

Five raised his hand and asked, "What kind of trouble?"

"I'll answer that," BITT replied as he floated to the front of the stage. "What players expected was a harder version of the game they had just completed. What they got instead was a game that had adapted to the strategies and maneuvers that were used in their initial playthrough. Since the game adapted, the player would have to follow suit and figure out new and different strategies to beat the game a second time. Like the ad campaign said: never the same game twice, but still the same game." A murmur swept through the crowd as Zahra said, "I can't be the only one who realizes how dangerous that is. I mean, the game is basically an A.I. at that point."

"Exactly," BITT replied. "Hinobi realized this as soon as the complaints began to roll in, and a patch was made that removed the influence of the AIQ chip. So if you've played Near Scream at all over the last nine years, you've been playing Version 1.1. Now, as you all know, glitches follow their programming. However, the programming this particular glitch possesses, from the unpatched version 1, allows it to adapt... to adjust... to think. Which makes it the most dangerous glitch that any of us has ever faced." BITT turned to face Mitch as a sympathetic expression appeared on his screen and said, "You're lucky to be alive." The Brit gave no response as his posture remained unchanged.

"Thanks, BITT," Phil replied as the robot turned back around to face the crowd. A small projector emerged from the top of his head and began to play the footage that Mitch's gauntlet had recorded the previous night. Once the glitch was in full view, the video paused as Phil said, "Now, we told you all that to tell you this: the glitch in question is a secondary antagonist from Near Scream known as the Neurosurgeon. Mind games are his specialty, hence the name, but he's also adept with explosives. And judging by what happened last night..." The video continued as it cut to Mitch running away followed by the sound and bright orange hue of an explosion. The wide eyes of the crowd grew wider and more than a few shocked gasps were heard when the camera revealed the burning husk of the Hinobi van. The whole time, Mitch remained silent with his head down, replaying his encounters with the Neurosurgeon in his mind. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Miko and Five approached Phil, with the former saying, "Mitch wasn't the only one, Phil. We had an encounter with him yesterday."

Their boss' eyebrow arched as he replied, "You did?"

"Yeah," Five said. "You remember that customer that wanted to talk to us, and only us?" When Phil nodded, Miko asked, "Did you see what they looked like before you came and got us?"

"Uh... no, I didn't," Phil replied as he rubbed the back of his head. "I got the info second hand from Bergy."

"That's true," Bergy exclaimed. Everyone shifted their attention to him as he said, "I tried helping the guy, but he said that he only wanted to talk to you and Five. He turned me down, he turned Zahra down, he turned Nix down... so I went and told Phil. Speaking of which, can you show the footage of the glitch again, BITT?"

"Now loading." The image of the burning van switched to the grinning visage of the Neurosurgeon as Bergy looked it over. It took him all of two seconds to recognize the face before he nodded and said, "That was him. One hundred percent." Phil's eyes widened in alarm as Miko and Five turned their attention to Mitch.

"So not only did a glitch walk right into the store, you basically forced us to confront him on our own," Five growled. "You holed up in the bathroom like a coward-"

"I told you not to call me that," Mitch spat. Five gritted his teeth and yelled, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, guess what? I'M CALLING IT A DUCK! You said that you needed our help, but so far, you've just been the same old Mitch! We're in an honest-to-God life or death situation now, and you don't seem to care!"

"I do care," Mitch retorted as he raised his head and glared at Five. Hector returned the glare with one of his own as he leaned in close and said, "Then tell us: why is the great Mitch Williams acting like a frightened puppy all of a sudden? Is the Neurosurgeon too much for you to handle on your own? Did he get the drop on you or-"

"As a matter of fact, HE DID!" Mitch's yell echoed through HQ as Five backed away. "I followed his trail to an..." The words caught in his throat as he looked out at his teammates, and he felt a chill run through his body as the Neurosurgeon's warning echoed in his head: I don't want anyone else on my tail except you three. Mitch remained silent as Miko asked, "You followed his trail where? I mean, you must've found him if he was able to get the drop on you, so... where was he?"

"I... I can't say." Miko frowned and ordered, "Don't dodge the question, Mitch. If you know where he is, then all we have to do is send a team in and-"

"NO! Miko, you don't understand!" The irritation in Mitch's voice was offset by the panic in his eyes, and the combination gave Miko pause as he continued with, "He wants to fight you, me and Five, and nobody else! Look... right before he released me, he warned that if anyone besides us tries to bring him down, there would be consequences." He pulled up a still of the burning van on his gauntlet and projected it in front of Miko and Five, saying, "And if he's adapting as fast as I think he is... I shudder to think about what he's got in store next." Silence permeated the room as Mitch's words sunk in, and it wasn't long before someone spoke up and addressed the elephant in the room. That someone happened to be Haneesh, who asked, "So he wants the three of you to fight him? That's a pretty roundabout way of saying 'This glitch is mine.'"

"Look, I know it sounds like I'm making this up-"

"And how do we know you're not?" Haneesh crossed his arms and added, "For all we know, you've already captured this glitch and you're trying to make us feel sorry for you because you lost your van." Mitch recoiled and sputtered out an offended, "WHAT?! Why on Earth would I do something like that?!"

"'Cause you're you," Zahra said. "We know you, Mitch. Can you honestly stand there, look us in the eyes and say that this isn't a giant put-on?"

"YES! He said those words to me, verbatim!"

"And can you prove that?" Mitch sighed and replied, "I can't, because he removed my gauntlet! It was deactivated the entire time he had me tied up!"

"Well, that's convenient," Haneesh snarked. "All we have is your word... and I think we all know how much that's worth." His coworkers responded in agreement as Mitch broke into a cold sweat and his fists began to shake. Miko and Five watched him with concern as Phil regained control of the meeting and said, "I want all of you to keep your eyes peeled for this particular glitch. Do not try and take him on alone; I can't stress that enough. A van is one thing, but if I lost one of you on my watch... if that happened, I don't know what I'd do. Be careful, and be safe. Meeting's over."

Everyone returned to their normal routines while Miko, Five and Mitch stuck around and stuck together. Phil activated a portal and headed for the strip mall's parking lot, pulling his keys out of his pants pocket as he walked to his car. When he unlocked the door and sat down, he placed the key fob in the cup holder and prepared to press the start button, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. The nagging at the back of his mind prevented him from starting the car, and he opened the door with a mumble of, "Hell with it." He stepped onto the asphalt, crouched down and checked the underside of the vehicle, and it wasn't long before he noticed the silver cylinder sitting next to the fuel tank. Phil's blood ran cold as he used his gauntlet to scan the device, with the device returning a message of, "EXPLOSIVE DETECTED."

"Sh... show me how... to defuse it," Phil stammered as sweat began to soak through his shirt. The instructions appeared on the screen as he began to carefully dismount the bomb, which had been secured to the underside of the car via a pair of magnets. Phil thanked his lucky stars when he was able to pull the device down and met no further resistance, which led to an awkward shimmy out from underneath his car. He remained seated on the ground as he looked the device over, scanning it once again with his gauntlet. When he did so, a timer sprang to life and began to count down from 30 seconds.

Phil's pupils dilated and he let out a scream of terror as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him away from the strip mall. Twenty seconds. The timer continued its relentless march as Phil raced towards a nearby piece of undeveloped land, with his path leading straight to the middle of the field. Ten seconds. He dropped the pipe on the ground and used his gauntlet to encase it in a shield, and he took off running in the opposite direction. Five seconds.

He belly flopped into the grass and covered his head and neck with his arms, and it wasn't long before he heard a loud explosion. Phil sat there for ten seconds, his heart in his throat, before he checked his body for wounds. There were none to be had as he rose to his feet and ran back towards the shield, which now encased a large divot in the ground. A half sigh, half scream escaped from Phil's throat as his legs gave out, and as he fell to the ground, he never saw the green glitch jump down from the nearby transformer. It turned into the Neurosurgeon as it approached the burly man, and the sound of applause turned Phil's attention to the figure behind him.

"Bravo, sir. Bravo," the Neurosurgeon said with a grin. "That was some damn impressive footwork." Once he recognized who it was, Phil leapt to his feet and readied his gauntlet, only to be met with a pair of quick strikes to his chest that once again knocked him to the ground. The Neurosurgeon shook his head and said, "I heard everything you said back there, Phil. Consider this... a warning. If any one of your techs that's not Miko, Hector and Mitch tries to take me down, I'm not gonna be so nice. Fare thee well, sir."

Phil's jaw hung open as he watched the Neurosurgeon walk back to the power line, electrify, and jump into the transformer. The green hue disappeared into the distance, leaving a dumbstruck, terrified man in its wake. It didn't take long for that terror to give way to anger, however, as Phil's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched as he rose to his feet. There was fury in his eyes and purpose in his stride as he headed back to the Hinobi store, mumbling a threat under his breath.

"You're dead, pal. Nobody threatens my techs. Nobody."