Flaws Of Our Nature

“Just a few more inches…”


Troy grunted as his claws worked at the dirt in front of him. His planned routes of escape had already been cut off by the collapsing bunker complex. The original plan had been to shut down power to the facility, but something has caused a massive overload which led to the destruction of the facility. Once the others were safe, he was going to have to inquire further as to what went wrong.





A side effect of all the debris between him and the surface had been his inability to communicate with them. To get the rest of his plan in motion, he needed to get himself topside and in the clear.





Above him, he could hear the sound of distant explosion through the soil. Troy hadn’t counted on the battle beginning so soon; the original estimates had the bulk of the response team not arriving for another half hour. It was more likely, he presumed, that it was only one or two units sent in to do reconnaissance. There was still a chance for this wild plan to succeed. He only need to dig a little more to contact the subjects…


Juliet watched the indicator lights on her heads up display rapidly wink out, one by one. Each of those small beacons represented her squad members vital signs, and they were all dying or dead by the time she could react.


She slammed her fist against the console and turned her attention and oriented the vertibird towards the squad members last location. Her thermal sights picked up two signatures close to the location of the bodies of her comrades.





“See you in hell you damn freaks!” She flipped up a switch and painted the nearest target, then loosed a rocket straight at him…


Troy finally broke through the rough dirt and saw his own HUD come back online. Immediately, an alert flashed over his eyes and painted an incoming rocket streaking towards one of the subjects, Siegfried he recalled his name.


“No one else dies today..” Troy was already in armored form from moving through the facility. He leapt up from his fresh burrow and soared skyward with the assistance of some jump jets the Underground had provided. With his arm raised, his body curled up so that only the shield was exposed to the streaking missile.





With a thunderous roar, the rocket impacted the hardened surface. Flames washed harmlessly around the shield. However, the force was extremely potent and try was flung downwards, crashing into a nearby tree and putting a human sized dent into it.





Troy stood up from the impact and shook himself off. Tilting the shield over, he examined it closely and was relieved to see the impact only put a small crack along the center of the shield. The shield was quickly regenerating itself and would be up to full strength in a short while.





Knowing that there was no time to waste, Troy reached up and tapped on his forehead…





The practice of placing neural implants had only become common practice a few years ago. And while most of the poorer people couldn’t afford one just yet, a recent study found that over 80% of the people in the United Northern States had already received their implants. Installation was done by injecting specialized nanites into the base of the neck. These little constructors than formed together into a solid block that made up neural network that was for all intent and purposes, a small computer.





Modern life was now becoming just as interconnected to the implants, just as the advent of the Internet had made itself inescapable by the early 21st century. You need only think about a certain topic and the information would appear in front of your eyes. Want to know your location? The implant would access GPS satellites and show your location on a over-laid map. Feeling hungry for some pizza? All you had to do think on it and a browser pulled up in front of your face and sent your order in moments to your favorite pizza place over the world wide network. In thirty minutes or less, your order was ready at your door.





Like any computer though, and if you had the right codes, it was able to be hacked into. It wasn’t a simple process though as every neural implant was encrypted with 512-bit security that made it almost impossible to hack unless you have the codes to the individual unit. The underground had these codes for everyone of the subjects already available to them through moles inside Hyberdine. And Troy was now accessing those codes to send a digital message to all of those subjects that were in the area.





Appearing before each of the subjects, was a full scale image of Troy. From organizing movie nights for to subjects on level one, to smuggling down sweets and sim-discs to the level three subjects, this was a young man who had done everything in his power to make the lives of all the subjects a little easier. he was a man that all admired and looked up to. However, less than a year ago they were all told that he had died during an failed breakout.





“Brothers and Sisters,” he spoke with a commanding tone. “For too long, you been prisoners to the designs of GenCorp. I come with glad news, that this is the moment of your liberation! They told you I was dead, that I only thought of myself! I say to you, that this was not true, and I did not forget you! An organization, called The Underground, has helped me to come back to you and without their assistance I would not of been able to bring you this far.”





The image of Troy fluttered as he grasped his side and winced in pain, and could feel that one of his kidneys were punctured from being tossed like a rag doll. For anyone else, this would make the escape a harrowing experience. However, he could already feel his body working to repair the injury.





He did his best to hide the agony he felt, composing himself and standing straight once more. “I’m sending you coordinates to a pick up location, where The Underground is waiting to take you to freedom, and to start a new life.” In front of all the subjects, a small beacon glowed in the distance, showing each of them their path to freedom.





“If you don’t trust me, than you don’t have to follow me. I am not GenCorp and will not force you to come.” Another beacon appeared, this one much farther off and to the right. “Theres a large industrial park at this location, that connects to a sewer system that opens up to the rest of Bethesda. If you would prefer to strike out on your own, you can go here. It’s time for you to make your own choices.” With a deep sigh, the connection with the other subjects were cut off. Now, only the two beacons in the distance remained in front of their gaze.





Surveying the area around him, Troy noticed that there were three subjects around him; he recalled that their names were Kaiden, Siegfried, and Tony. And of course, there was still the vertibird that was hovering above them.





Springing into action, he looked over at Kaiden and motioned over to Tony. “Kaiden, if your coming with me, help Tony to the evac site.”





“And Siegfried, please make that aircraft go away…” Sliding a large tubular device off his shoulder, he flung it in the direction of Siegfried. It was a portable, heat seeking, anti-aircraft missile launcher. Troy had come prepared for this possibility.





“I’m going to make sure the others get out ok.” Troy then turned and started towards a pair just exiting the facility.


Juliet watched on her screen as the missile impacted 10 meters from its expected target. Waiting for the cloud of debris and heat to dissipate, she sat back and reached over to turn off the communicator to home base. With shock, the young pilot realized that no one had been killed by the missile. She tried to launch another missile but found the guidance system was locked up.


“Damn it, their trying to stop me…” Juliet furiously worked her fingers over her console to release the locks put onto her aircraft. All she could manage to unlock was her flight controls, and launch control for her last missile. Eyeballing the target, she released the last one down in the area of the group that had formed.





The missile missed, going wide right of the group. It impacted at the base of a large tree that was a little more than 15 meters from the group. Unbeknownst to the group below, the tree was slowly beginning to descend towards Kaiden.





 
When the snake person killed the rest of the squad,Sigfried relaxed. They were on the same side,then. He was about to say something when a man-sized ball of ceramic plated armour crashed into a nearby tree. His head snapped to look at the object,but his vision was suddenly consumed by a familiar person. He's dead... The man gave his message,and highlighted two locations for them;one was escape to The Underground,while one was escape from everyone. I need a queen... Suddenly,the image vanished,with the two beacon locations visible. Then,the man from the transmission approached them,and started giving orders. Sigfried felt compelled to obey.


Sigfried hadn't changed back into a human yet;they were still in immediate danger. He was handed a SAM launcher,and was told to shoot down the VTOL. "Gladly." He pinned the weapon to his torso,under one of his left arms. Because of his extra arms,it would be impossible to hold it properly. He looked at the lights on the side of the weapon,but before the green ight came on,a missile slammed into the same tree that the newcomer came from. After regaining his balance from the blast,he resumed his aiming. The green light turned on,with a shrill beep. "Finally. A purpose." He pulled the trigger,and the missile was ejected from the end of the tube. The missile was obviously back-heavy,as it's back end was almost immediately dragged down. The primary thruster fired,and almost instantly after,so did stabilizers,and the missile shot straight up into the air. It soared well above the VTOL,and then began to arc back down,to strike the craft from above.


Sigfried could hear a creaking sound,but he paid it no mind. He began to run to the evac site,with a call of, "One poeple. One purpose." He still held onto the missile launcher;just in case he needed it.
 
Tony had been focusing on only a few feet ahead of him, dead tired, which was the only reason he missed the commotion until he was upon it. Hybrids and soldiers- alarmed, he stumbled backwards on one foot, trying to make himself unseen. This was the real world now; he had to keep a lookout, use his eyes- oh crap, a missile!


A flying figure soared by, and the projectile exploded on it, making Tony stagger slightly with the force of the explosion. The missile, however, was worse for the wear than the newcomer, who slid to a stop nearby. Bewildered, the boy hopped to his feet and slid back, trying to distance himself from the action. He'd be of absolutely no use in a fight at the moment. Or, really, any time. Who was it- two hybrids, felled soldiers... The former were not from his level. And the newcomer-


That was Troy's shield!


Before Tony could even move, the image snapped to life in front of him. Startled once more, he fell and scrabbled behind a tree. It was Troy, a mirror copy of the one standing a ways in front of him. He spoke about liberation. He wasn't dead! He had escaped, and he'd come back for them. Thank God for that.... Troy had been like family to everyone in the bunker. He'd taken the time to teach Tony sign language, for one.


But Tony's relief was short-lived as he was given a choice. He had always meant to be alone, even so in escape; set off by himself and fly wherever he wanted. But he knew that wasn't realistic. He was wounded, tired, and in no condition to feed himself, let alone while running from GenCorp.


And Troy was dependable. He'd pitch himself with him, and whoever followed him; maybe he could leave later. Maybe.


The image disappeared, and Tony, slowly, got to his feet and limped towards the others. One of the hybrids was tossed a large weapon by Troy- the vehicle flying above was taken care of. He had a shell encasing him and six arms... He thought he remembered some mention of an insect hybrid in Three.


He looked at Troy instead. There he was, like he'd always looked, in his armadillo casing, giving orders. Kaiden... Who was Kaiden?


Tony turned to the other two. Neither looked very friendly. One was the insect hybrid, and the other looked very intimidating. The man in black armor began to run towards the beacon in the distance, yelling something about a purpose.


So it was the other one. Left alone with him, Tony regarded him warily. He looked more likely to eat him than to help him limp to safety.


Man, he wished he could use his wings at that moment.
 
Rhys was startled by the appearance of the man thought dead. He had covered for him a few times when Rhys was napping and not where he was suppose to be, mainly experiments. Rhys was relieved to see that not only was he alive but he was helping them.


"This is it. The Underground will help us," he said to the others. No way was he going out on his own. Even with Mara. They could not survive. They had to trust in these people. He just hoped the others did.


----


Shelby had just attacked someone when Troy appeared in front of her. She tensed for a moment but then paused. She listened to what he said and glanced back at the two with her. The girl was just waking up but she seemed weak. She would go with them to the location and then...


Shelby was smart and able to live on her own. She could do it. But did she want to? She nodded and motioned to them to follow her.


"We should head to the Underground people. The girl needs help."


Then she would figure out what to do.
 
As Troy's image lit up before them, Mara gasped, her mouth opening slightly, and she could feel goosebumps breaking out over her arms. She recognized him, of course...he had been the only person at the facility that she had thought was decent towards her and the others, the only one who seemed halfway human- though that, of course, was a figure of speech. He had not punished her for her sarcastic comments and occasional small defiances, nor had he lorded his position over her or made her feel as though he saw her as a thing rather than a person. He had organized events that were purely for pleasure and looked her in the eye...it had not surprised her when she had been told he had died, for who would be allowed to stay with an attitude like that?


Even before he began to speak her heart leapt with her hope, because if Troy was alive, then they truly did have a chance.


As Troy's words concluded and he faded out of sight, Mara hesitates. She has little trust for any beyond Rhys and Aliele...but Rhys, she can tell, wants to follow him, and she will not leave without him, even if it does mean potential death and betrayal. If this is what Rhys wants...maybe this time, she'll let him have it.


She isn't thrilled at the thought of sharing her space and time with a ton of people, STILL, though.


"You thinking sewer?" she asked Rhys and the others.
 
After Troy's image dissipated, Emma thought about which option she should take.


She was not made for combat; she was more of an intelligence type. It would probably be smart to join some combat types. She'd also have some new toys to play with.


But she'd probably have to live by set rules and that's no fun. Plus most people didn't really like her. Hell, most hated her condescending attitude and fondness of pushing buttons . . .


Eh, screw this. She could survive among humans on her own. To the sewers!
 
Adriana watched in shock as the image of Troy appeared before him. She watched the video with a little hope building in her. But she thought again. She didn't trust anyone let alone someone she had never actually met. Maybe she should trust Troy and head to the sewers. Then again what if this was a trap, should they head to the town as they had originally planned. Adriana herd her new companions saying that they wanting to head to the sewers. For once in her life Adriana didn't want to go it alone.


"Fine. Let's head toward the sewers"
 
Sedina watched the battle before her while still cradling the tree. Another hybrid had joined in the fight, his shield greatly resembling that of a large bug. If there were any more troopers out there, she wanted to be ready. She felt her scales form, the bare smooth surface now giving a cool effect. Her body somewhat felt looser, though her tongue felt the most irritated, being constricted and mangled into a longer, thinner fork.


Off in the near distance, she could see the aircraft hovering about the Hyberdine area. She was ready to duck down, should it come her way. The aircraft sent a middle into the battle zone, seemingly ending the quarrel with a large explosion. When the smoke began to clear, she saw one figure that definitely stood out, though it was hard to recollect who it was after many years of rumors and no-shows. Could it be...?


Her answer was given in the message he sent. Troy was actually alive, and seemed to be responsible for the breach that occurred, and was offering the others help. Midway through his summons, Sedina slithered her way to the very top of her tree, and moved her body forward. The tree bent back in response, and she leaned forward again, the tree bending further and further back each time. Once she bent forward far enough, she shifted her weight backwards once the tree pulled back. When she strained the tree enough, she allowed herself to catapult forward, catching the third tree she flew over.


The same mechanism was repeated with the next tree, and the next, until she had one tree left. She catapulted herself off the tree, not seeing, let alone knowing, that a missle was meeting the base of it. As soon as her hand met with bark, the missle detonated and disoriented her landing. She slipped as the tree began to lean, but quickly caught another branch. The first hybrid she caught fighting --another snake-- was directly in the tree's falling path. She willed her body forward, allowing herself to fall faster than the tree did. She landed on the male's back, her hands digging into his shoulders. She used her weight and the impact of her fall to bring him to the ground. Gluing her feet to the small of his back, she found a technique to save him by roll him out of the way. One of the branches on the tree bearly smacked one of their arms, but nevertheless neither of them were mortally wounded.
 
But Rhys shook his head. He knew the others might be for the sewers but Rhys did not think he could make it. He was not strong or smart. He could get people to do what he wanted though but none of the hybrids. He had to make a choice. Argue to go to the Underground people or agree to the sewers. He had to make it fast. They had little time for debating.


"Do you think we can make it alone?"
 
Surprised that Rhys is considering that, as she would not have predicted it was within his nature, Mara looks over at him with raised eyebrows, then slowly smiles. Going it alone would definitely be what she preferred. And as for could they...well, wouldn't it be good to at least try?


"Of course we can," she said with confidence, nodding. "Let's do it."
 
Rhys thought about it and then nodded. He was not going to fight about it with Mara. Not that they actually fought. It was more they had different opinions. They both said what it was, Mara kept on about her's and Rhys eventually gave in. Still it was a waste of time they did not have.


"Okay. I trust you Mara."
 
Smiling back at him, Mara leaned forward, lightly brushing Rhys's lips with hers before she turned her attention back to Aliele and Adriana, addressing them as well.


"We're going on our own. What with all our skills combined, we can do this...and it's our only shot. If you don't want to go, that's your call, you can head towards the sewers now and we'll all act like we never saw each other. But if you want to come with us...we're heading towards town."


She waited with little patience, still hyper alert to her surroundings. Her sensitive hearing is picking up continued explosions, and she can see brief flashes of light through the trees that make her think of fire or bombs. Whatever the others decide, they better decide quickly, before their decisions become nonexistent.
 
Kaiden could only suck in a sharp breath as a new pain presented itself, his arms thrown outward and flailing as if something were out there to hold onto in his descent. Though, what his hand closed about, he realized was no branch he'd hoped to grab hold of to cease his fall. It had been flesh, an ankle, too small to be one that belonged to the other males about him. But the strangest thought occured to him, that he must pull this person-- hybrid, whatever it was, to him. And strange as it was, despite the discomfort of human or otherwise, hybrid contact, this person, whoever it was, was wrapped up in his arms, body curled about her, assuming from her size and weight, as if to protect her from the results of whatever it was that decided it had been convenient at that very moment to attack him, when he was much too busy glaring at Troy.


Kaiden hissed his displeasure as he came to a halt, his back ramming into a tree that was, quite irritatingly, in his way, stopping their dizzying roll backwards enough for him to raise his head from the locks of red he'd buried his face into. Eyes of light olive green set into a glare, his mouth formed the words "what the ****" as response to the too-fast events that had landed him upon the floor, his displeasure raised to the third power at the utter bothersome nature of it all. He hadn't the second of rest since yesterday, having decided, moronically, he'd spent his energy, which had built up in his time lying awake with thoughts running wild, punching the makeshift punching bag-- or rather wall-- he'd made from the sideward position he'd left his bed. He was sore, muscles creaking in protest with every sudden movement he'd take, which involved mostly everything. And now, he was pretty damn sure he had the bottom of this girl's shoe imprinted on his back.


The snake, though, still did not realize he still had not let her go.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




​



Niya's eyes would drift upwards, feeling the pain of her arm subside to numbness as ever second ticked by, aware of just the amount of blood leaking from her arm. She was aware of the coughs that seemed to materialize after their long absence upon exiting, though not as strong, more like her lungs attempting to work properly again. Though failing miserably. She was aware, even with her dizziness taking over her sights and swaying it about, they were on the move, out and away from the facility. Where she'd grown up. Her home--


No... This is no home...


Niya, completely oblivious and seemingly deafened by the explosions within the facility, given her sensitive ears, didn't turn to see her brother. Instead, she'd just allowed her eyes to flutter shut, allowing herself to succumb to sleep once again.


 
Watching as Shelby quickly and efficiently knocked down one of the unfortunate scientists that had happened into their path before moving to attack the other, Oliver moved forward before the man could right himself, foot drawing around and expecting resistance he couldn't help the surprise and slight satisfaction as he felt something easily give upon contact with a loud and sickening crack, a broken rip or several no doubt.


The man's body curled reflexively about his foot with a pained and soundless cry, the air ejected from his lungs in a hack of blood, and as Oliver followed through with his kick, scraping up his crumpled form, the man was sent skidding and rolling across the earth like a lightweight ragdoll dragging up dirt.


He had never realised humans possessed such fragile bodies until now. Rather they, the scientists and security guarding them, had always seemed so indestructible, confident they could not be touched that it was surprising how easy it was to take them out and he found himself staring after the broken form that had been so easily broken and had now come to an awkward halt, lower limbs hooked about an unyielding tree trunk. Needless to say he was taken aback by the image that was projected before him.


As his mind quickly processed what was happening, what it was, Oliver smiled at the all to familiar hybrid's image, releasing a short disbleiving laugh and nodding in affirmation; Troy. He'd always felt there was more to it than what the facility had, had to offer in explanation to Troy's disappearance and so while it was shocking to discover, he was nonetheless unsurprised to find he'd broken free. He didnt need to consider his decision even without hr girl in his arms or Shelby to urge him.


He had already made up his mind to escape with the underground. It was his best shot at finding Sedina in this sh*t storm.
 
"We better get going," Shelby said. Then she stopped for a moment as the hybrid in the male one's arm began to wake. She was not sure what to do but decided it was better to just continue on. She looked at Oliver.


"Are you going to be able to carry her all the way to the location?" Shelby was half worried he might drop her and half worried he would slow down by the weight. He seemed to have done well so far but you could never be too careful especially if either one could put them in danger. "I would offer to carry her but..."


Her left arm was most definitely broken now that she had a new chance to test it out. Still her legs were working and that was all that matter.


----


Rhys blushed from the kiss as short and light as it was. He was always embarrassed by affection. He liked it well enough and sometimes sought it out. But Rhys didn't like people to know how much he enjoyed it either and so he always got embarrassed or nervous.


He looked around as they waited to here whether they would be going alone into the sewers or not.
 
For the first time since eveything had begun Oliver smiled, a small, cocky sort of smile that conveyed the amusement he felt upon hearing Shelby's concerns and he turned his head slightly to look at the stirring hybrid that rested against him, his hair drawing across the girl's cheek at the movement, as he considered her words.


He had kept up easily enough, the girl's lightweight frame easily supported, powerful legs and cloven hooves spreading under the increase of pressure enabling him to follow quickly and easily match Shelby's pace without fear or stumble. To tell thre truth she barely made a difference at all in regards to hindering his movement, it was simply a matter of ensuring the girl did not fall, his free arm useless and hanging limply at his side, and he closed his eyes in resignation. He had brought her this far, she was his responsibility, and he had no intention of leaving her in the care of strangers.


"Take her"


Moving closer to Shelby he knelt before her, balancing and sitting the unconscious girl upon his leg as he reached his working arm up to pull Shelby into crouch before him, slipping the girl carefully against her before standing and moving a short distance away, lacking the fingers of both hands as he moved. Coming to a halt he lifted a leg, hooking hands about his raised knee, and he stood like that for several moments immobile and steady, breathing deeply, gearing himself before leaning back at the same time as his knee pushed forward, grimacing in pain.


The 'pop' resounded loudly as the joint slipped easily back into its familiar place and his balance failed in his total distraction, leg dropping heavily to the ground to steady as his hand closed about his shoulder. At least he could move it, and he did just that flexing his arm experimentally and slowly rolling as he quickly made his way back to the two girls nearby, dismissing the lingering protest and ache of its relocation for now.


Lifting his now relocated arm to brush the hair from the slumbering girl's face Oliver reached out with the other, curling his arm about her and hoisting her up, cradling her form close against his, and ignoring the relief he felt to have her in his arms once more as he stood upright, nodding at Shelby. Professional medical attention would have to wait.


"alright, lets go"
 
Adriana looked at the others wondering if she should stick with them or go it alone. They were closer to town, but then again she didn't exactly act very well when it came to humans. "I'm heading towards the sewers." Adriana said. Kind of depressed that she was going it alone again. But the sewers seemed the best route for her to escape and remain hidden.
 
Shelby balanced herself awkwardly as she held the girl with her one good arm and her legs. It was not an easy thing to do, but she was not going to put her down. If she did and had been found, it would have been difficult and time consuming to try and pick her back up. So Shelby waited until Oliver was ready to take her again. Shelby smiled at him and for second all her emotions about Kaiden started to bubble up, but she forced them back down. She would think about that later. Once she was safe she would cry and scream and whatever. For now she ran.


As she ran she smiled a little to herself. She did not really know the hybrids with her. She thought she might have seen them around but she did not know their name or even what animal they were part of either. If they stayed together she would eventually figure it out. But still she had a good feeling about them. Even knowing them so shortly, especially with the young girl passed out, she felt she could trust them. Mostly Oliver.


So she kept her pace so that they could remain near to each other. The foxgirl would not abandoned them, not now. Maybe if she had met them first thing she might have. But not now. Not when freedom was so close for all of them.
 
Juliet watched as the missile arced high above her, the lock on alarm blaring in her ear. It was far to close for her to counter the missile’s trajectory and knew her death was imminent. She reached over and brushed her finger over a small holographic projection on her flight console, no more than a few inches high. It showed her a life size image of her with April, at their wedding day.


“I love you,” she spoke in a soft whisper before a blazing explosion consumed her…


Debris from the destruction of the vertibird fell onto the tree tops below, protecting the occupants below from bulk of it. Small chunks of metal and slivers of fire managed to break through the canopy and rain down on the inhabitants below.


Troy caught sight of a particularly large piece of wreckage coming down strike a dazed hawk-hybrid that was resting up against a tree. Dashing forward, Troy pressed his body up against him, sheltering him, and raised his arm. The fragment slammed into his shield, killing its momentum and dropping it harmlessly to the side.





As Troy leaned back, it was only now he noticed that the person he was shielding was an old friend from his time at the facility, Tony.





He used the ASL that Troy had taught him during their occupation at Hyberdine, “Are you okay?”


The question was meant more to reassure him than it was an inquiry. A casual glance over the hawk man was enough to see that he was badly injured. More than likely, Troy assumed, he had tried to make his escape through the elevator shaft that would have been compromised due to the explosions. Those unexplained detonations hadn’t been part of the plan, and Troy was resolved to determine the cause of them once the others were safe.





For the moment, there were far more pressing concerns…





“YOU FOOL!” Windermere shouted in an animated tone, gripping tight to his cane as he tried to suppress the anger building within him. He was still in holographic form at the UC Command Center. Rashinko thought for a moment he saw something crawling under the skin of the old man’s neck, but dismissed it as interference due to the connection.


A soft growl could be heard from the UC Commander, annoyed at the show of disrespect towards him. They had just witnessed his pilot launch a missile into a pack of hybrids that had slaughtered her teammates.


Technically, orders were not to risk the lives of the subjects. A higher and unspoken rule was to watch out for one another. Even if that was the case though, he would have been forced to discipline her when she returned to base. A few moments later when the connection was suddenly cut off, he realized that was no longer necessary.


Rashinko returned his attention to the elderly holograph man and addressed him in a business-like manner, “Mr. Windermere, I suggest we institute sterilization protocols immediately to contain the subjects.”


The GenCorp executive looked down and thought carefully about the commander’s proposal. These subjects were humanity’s best hope, and to so callously throw away their lives would be such a waste. The only idea more vile to him was thought of his subjects being exploited by the militaries and governments of the world. That was the precise outcome that he envisioned should they learn of Project: Evolution.





Arthur couldn’t manage to form the words in his mouth, it sickened him so. Instead, he gave a sorrowful and acknowledging nod…


Fifteen minutes later, a lone jet taxied out onto the runway at a private airport in the Canadian wilderness. Its lights were off; only the illumination of the full moon gave away the mysterious craft. “This is UC 172, prepared for take-off on special mission,” the pilot called out to the tower.


“UC 172, you’re cleared for take off,” the tower confirmed the airplane’s orders. Lights began to grow out on the runway, marking the path and length of it for the Aircraft.





The plane itself was an older F-35 Lightning II that was in the process of being replaced by the US Military. Congress authorized the selling of the old aircraft as a way to cover the Pentagon’s ballooning costs. One of those buyers, was UC Security





“Confirmed.” The pilot replied, and then reached over and flicked a toggle to engage the engines. He held onto the brakes and allowed the aircraft to build up to full speed before letting it go. After taking a deep breathes, he released the breaks and allowed the craft to rocket forward.





He was thrust back into his seat from the intense g-forces. The aircraft lurched off the ground and ascended skyward before leveling off at its operating altitude.





“Package is in the air. ETA to target, 32 minutes…”


Half a mile from where Troy was now working to comfort Tony, ten unmarked black vans pulled off the main highway. They came to a screeching halt in a semi-circular formation at an open area of the forest that had been previously designated as the Evac Point.





In the rear of the convoy, Yuki was furiously working over her computers to break into UC communications, jumping from one laptop to another. She was attempting to link into the GenCorp wireless network as a means to piggy back onto UC communications. After only a few minutes, she shot her hands up in the air excitedly and proclaimed “POCKY!”





“Alright super-secret bad guys… lets see what you got.” She grasped her headphones and pressed them to her ear and pressed on an active communication link to see what it was. “…ETA to target, 32 minutes.”





From her briefing that had occurred earlier in the day, Yuki knew immediately just what the “package” was. When things got a little to hairy for UC, or they just wanted to cover something up, they had access to several powerful fuel-air bombs. She back traced the communication to a spot 50,000 feet above a UC airstrip in Northern Canada.





“Uhm, hey boss? You know that uh… that thing you wanted me to tell you if it was coming? Well …. It’s coming,” Yuki almost shouted in as she spoke to the head of the convoy.


　





 
Sigfried was near the clearing marked by Troy. He barreled out into it,only to be greeted by a multitude of black vans and humans. He snarled. They must've known... He pointed the launcher at the assembled vehicles,unaware that it was empty. As the green light came on with a plainly audiable and shrill beep,Sigfried pulled the trigger...Only to hear a click issue from the tube,and the weapon's computer to calmly tell him, "Ammunition depleted. Please reload." Sigfried roared in fury,and simply elected to hurl the weapon towards the people before him.
 
The next few events happened in a flurry. Suddenly, there was the debris falling- a charred chunk bombed into the turf a few meters to his left- and dust rose from the floor, clouding his vision. With a cough, Tony faltered closer to the ground, hearing loud crashes from wherever the pieces of aircraft fell. His sharp eyes barely made out some falling shape in the distance, and suddenly a shadow from above.


Alarmed, he tried to scramble out of the way on one leg, but the shape approached much too fast and his leg was suddenly entangled on a root. He fell, but the glancing pain in his broken leg was the least of his problems.


In an almost dream-like feel, he wondered if he was about to die.


But a movement-


Tony saw Troy leaping in, heard the explosion, and subconsciously flinched away, but even after he landed and the movement ceased, he still felt the dread that he had felt that all the world could be torn away so suddenly.


He staggered upright as Troy talked to him with sign language. I'm mute, not deaf, he thought, but instead signed;


My left leg.


His hands were quick as they made the symbols, and his eyes were locked unwavering on the other hybrid. It was how he looked at things, no matter how disconcerting it could be to the certain 'things' he looked at. His peripheral vision, however, continued to track the scene carefully. Through the clearing smoke, he noticed a tree had fallen.
 
So this was the way it would be...the way Mara had wanted it all along, ever since the day she first met Rhys. The two of them together, on their own- well, and Aliele too, possibly. If Adriana wanted to go the other way, that was fine with her...she had trusted the girl in the brief time she knew her, as much as she could, anyway, but if she wanted to separate from them, it wouldn't hurt her feelings. All she needed was Rhys, and she knew he would never leave her, even had she chosen to go with the others.


She could not guarantee that they would be safer on their own, fumbling their way through their new life together, but the thought of depending on other people who might not know any better than her or Rhys did not sit well with her. Mara Conway had been taking commands for too long. Now was her time to give them to her own self.


Taking Rhys's hand, she began to head in the direction of the sewers, her chin lifted in determination even as she remained alert, her eyes shining in the growing darkness. If she is to run into anyone hostile on the way, she is more than ready to fight back.
 
Bright green eyes were focused on the smoke from the explosion, the girl that held them almost mouthing the words she kept repeating to herself in her head. Wait here, wait here, wai- The blast was a little too showy for her liking and she found herself panicking when the man she was waiting for wasn’t seen. Enough so that she crossed and re-crossed her arms several times, his late arrival making him miss his plan in action. More than the mediocre subjects managing to find their way to an exit though, she was truly worried about the loss of John Abbott.


A familiar voice calling out made the worry vanish, sending her heart into an immediate frenzy, “Nidria!” he calls toward her. The girl immediately turns to approach him, smiling as she moves in for a hug; the scruffy bearded man simply shoves her aside. “Sir?” she immediately questions the man as he walks past her, “How could you be so stupid, Nidria?” he yells back, righting his suit. “What do-” the dirty blonde is cut off again, and visually flinches when the man raises his voice in her direction. “The soldiers, Nidria, you let my soldiers get away!!” he’s close to her face by this time and her mouth quivers slightly, making her piercing catch the moonlight.


The man seemed to be in one of his moods again, and she tentatively reached out to touch the man’s sleeve. What she didn’t expect was the opposite arm to fly out, striking her across the face to leave a numb tingle and causing her glasses to fling off her face. The girl could barely recognize anything past his threatening face glaring back at her now, “You will follow them, you know your duty” he demands. Tears were already pooled in her eyes, making even everything undistinguishable as she shakes her head. Cold hands cup her face, making her stop and look into his own blue eyes; she leaned into the satisfying touch and cupped her own hands over his much bigger ones.


“I am doing this for you Nidria” the girl nods, “A queen is nothing without her soldiers” he notes, wiping some of her fallen tears away. A sloppy smile forms and she nods again, “You will follow them” he instructs again, and rather than nodding she confirms with an “I know my duty.” The man smiles, and gives her a hard kiss, which she is eager to respond to; unfortunately he simply shoves her away like always. She fidgets when he bends down after an irritated sigh, the movement scaring her until she realizes he is handing over her glasses.


The girl is quick to slip them on, and adjusts her nose piercing in hopes it wouldn’t hurt so much, not expecting John to yell at her. “Go! By now Troy has taken them and we will lose our chance” she has a slight jump at his yelling and immediately turns for the brush. The girl starts for the first point John had told her about, not settling on an exact speed to reach them. If she arrived too early, the subjects may not be keen on approaching her but if she arrived too late…she couldn’t even think of what John would do to her. Her right cheek still burned, and she thought back to how stupid she was; how could she let the man she loved down like that?


John Abbott. The man was truly a mystery to her, but she still remembered the dark haired man staring at her from outside of the plexiglass. His hair was gelled back those times, but his grey suit remained the way it was now, untouched and almost forbidden by the way it contrasted with the scientists white lab coats. The girl often smiled mischievously to the man from inside her cell, her queen instincts had been calling for a mate for some time. It was the human part of her that had chosen this man, who was no scientist but someone who had better plans for those of her kind.


The girl hadn’t known his plans immediately, she simply listened to every order he had given to her from the speaker, completing it quite easily. Simply because every time she did something right, he gave her the attention she had craved for, complimenting on both her strength and ability. There was not many in her facility so in tune with their animals, but that was why the girl resided on a special fourth level. The man soon visited her every day and she found herself eager for his company, and falling in love with the man who introduced himself as John Abbott. More than the simple guise of tests that was put up in front of the scientists; she appreciated the tales of freedom. The man spoke of an underground, where he could lead them somewhere they could spend their lives together. Nidria would truly like for that to happen, but the scientists did not think she was truly ‘done’; her vision was still very poor.


They thought it to be a flaw and extensively tried to fix her vision to only make it worse, and John, out of the goodness of his heart had decided to get her out of there. It was an operation he had planned out with a colleague and with the help of her abilities, the two made it out of her facility. Nidria felt it to be her love story, but John kept thinking about her happiness, every queen had to have soldiers. The man of course had his own true intentions, but the blonde currently treading through the forest didn’t care…


She would do anything for him.


A screech of tires pulled her away from her thoughts and she realized that she had arrived just in time to meet with the convoy. Perfect enough timing, except she had yet to succumb to her hybrid mode and was left staring as the doors opened on the vans. It seemed one of this facility’s members had made it to the evacuation point, and was currently pointing a very large launcher at those who were bringing him to safety. The girl almost laughed at the irony, but had to take the chance to go hybrid, cringing as her murky green shell grew over her clothes and form.


Antenna branched out from the crown of her head, as she also grew whiskers and her legs were covered in the familiar lose-together shells that turned red at the end. From the bone, jutted a tail that curved around her butt and ended in the familiar fins of a shellfish, half of the arm on her left side had turned into a claw that was bigger than half of Nidria, in two separate pieces. The other arm only had a claw that was the size of her middle forearm to the tip of her fingers, shelling covering the rest of her arms. When her DNA was spliced, it was with that of an Alpheus Snapping Shrimp and although most doubted the combination with such a docile creature, Nidria was one of the top subjects of that facility.


While she was going into hybrid mode, the men that had come out of the vans were forced to catch a rocket launcher that was sent hurtling their way. Three had tried and ended up with many broken ribs and dented vehicle behind them that threatened to tip before coming to a rest. Nidria stepped out from behind the tree as half of the slightly bigger claw started pulling back. Unlike those of the ocean, the girl could actually control how much she snapped and let it go slightly before it reached 45 degrees. The two pieces clapped against each other loudly, sending out a sound wave that toppled the occupants of the clearing, shaking the vans and trees to a big degree.


The girl didn’t think it would affect the hybrid though, and she turned towards him, remembering John’s words. After he had offered her the soldiers she needed, he explained some of the hybrids in different facilities and she tried to put a name to the hybrid in front of her. Names didn’t really matter at this point, she realized, she simply need to tell him what John had told her to. The girl needed to play leader for them, as she wouldn’t be seeing the man for a while now; he had things he needed to attend to. “Attacking your own escape route seems pretty gutsy” she started with what she was truly thinking of the man at the moment.


“Maybe you’re not completely happy with what Troy has offered you though?” she asks, quirking her dark and trimmed brows. “I can offer you something much more, if you come with me… a purpose…” she explains, still a little unhappy with her word choice. “I don’t think many of you understand that as hybrids we are the superior species, yet we were caught by humans. They must pay for what they have done, and not only the scientists but the population that supported our experiments as well. Why do we have to be hidden away when we can rule?” she questions the man in front of her, taking a step forward to offer her claw.


Her hybrid form shifts back into her body right after it is offered, with little discomfort showing as Nidria was used to hiding such things. Instead of the claw being in front of the man, it was a human hand, which was the same slight tan as the girl’s face.


“Come with me, and we can rule…”
 
Although Tony was too respectful to call out the older hybrid, Troy could sense the hidden scolding for his misguided use of ASL. Of course he understood the difference between deaf and mute, and realized that Tony could hear and comprehend the words he spoke. For all the good qualities of Troy, he did have a tendency at times to lack some common sense, especially when he was focusing on different tasks at one. .





“Sorry,” Troy apologized softly. “Guess I just got use to doing that sort of thing with you.”





Turning his attention to Tony’s leg, he knelt down and examined it with a discerning eye. Not being able to determine the extent of his injury with a glance over, he pulled out a hand-held digital assistant and punched on an icon before proceeded to scan over his leg. Nodding in acknowledgement, the image clearly showed the leg was broken in several places. Troy didn’t have the tools with him to treat the break himself, but he could lessen the pain the boy was experiencing.





Reaching once again into his belt, he flipped open a pouch and took a small pen-like object. He dialed up on it and the first aid syringe device beeped to signal that the medicine was ready. “Alright Tony, I’m going to apply a local anesthetic that will help with the pain until we get you back to base. You’ll feel a soft pinch, and then it should feel better,” remembered this time to speak a loud.





He pressed the pen against the boy’s leg, just above where he had located the upper most breaks and allowed the small needle to puncture the skin. The chemicals released and quickly went to work to soothe the agony the boy was enduring. In a matter of a few moments, the torment would have been replaced by a more pleasant, but tingling sensation.





Back at the convoy, the men had just begun to deploy from the vans to secure the area ahead of the arrival of the subjects. Unlike the spit and polish suits and high tech armor of the security forces the hybrids had previously encountered, these people were dressed in a hodge-podge of attire varying from hoodies and cargo pants to wearing nothing but blue jeans and bandanas. Their armaments were equally diverse, if not crude; most wielding surplus AK-47s, Uzis, and sawed off shotguns. These kids ranged in age from fifteen to twenty-five and had more in common with a street gang than a rescue party.


They had just begun to spread out as a hulking beast lobbed an empty rocket launcher at the vans. One young boy of about sixteen dived forward and took the impact directly into the chest and broke several of the poor child’s ribs in the process and then slammed into two others and breaking their ribs as well. Some of the more aggressive adolescents drew up their weapons in response and aimed at the stranger. There enthusiasm was quickly tempered, as a much older man turned to look at them and shouted loud enough to be heard by everyone in the area, “Lower those weapons, he is one of the subject we’ve come to rescue.”


Hank Austin, and older gentlemen and long time veteran of the underground, immediately recognized the subject through his overlaid HUD as Subject #2: Siegfried Bloch. As he returned his attention from his unit to Siegfried, he noticed a younger woman begin aim her hands towards the group. He had just managed to duck back in the van as the shockwave hit the rescue party, knocking down most and sending others slamming into the cans.


Grogily, he leaned back up and looked out at Siegfried and the woman and could just barely make out the conversation they were having. Cautiously, and with his hands up in the air to show he meant no harm, Hank approached the two to get closer look at the female that had begun to speak to him.


He allowed her to finish talking, before interjecting into the conversation, “Siegfried, my name is Hank, and I’m with Troy, we’re the ones Troy spoke of that came to help. And you do have a purpose with us. You are a very strong and capable warrior. The others will need you when GenCorp comes to try and recapture them. They need you, and more importantly, Troy will need you when that time comes.”


Truly, he believed that he probably wouldn’t win the argument but had to give it a shot considering the woman’s dangerous words. The real purpose however, was to examine more closely the young woman who had offered her hand to Siegfried. Just as he had suspected, the woman wasn’t on the files and that the mole had given them and that meant she wasn’t from the facility.


His gaze then turned towards the woman before he continued, “we will not stop you if you wish to go with her, but please consider this: You know what Troy’s purpose is… to protect you and all the other subjects. You don’t know this woman. Are you willing to entrust your life and possibly the lives of all the others to a woman whose purpose you do not know?”


As he allowed the question to hang silently in the nightly breeze, he opened up a secure link to Troy, and spoke through technological telepathy “This is Hank; we have a couple of problems here.”


“Shoot,” Troy responded through his link and turned to look towards the extraction point on his HUD.





A digital image of the woman was sent wirelessly to Troy’s mind for him to examine. Immediately, he knew the woman wasn’t from Hyberdine and that was disconcerting news. He had always suspected that there could be more research facilities beyond this one, but the Underground could never uncover any solid trace of such information.





“Try to keep her there and talking, I’m on my way. You said there was a second problem, what is it?” Troy asked as he returned his attention to Tony.





Speaking in ASL once more, he told the young boy, “Sorry again for the ASL, but I’m talking with the Evac Team at the moment, so this will have to do. Want me to carry you?”





Just as soon as Troy had finished communicating with his intentions to Tony, Hank came back and added in, “Oh yah, the package is in the air, so we need to get things moving.”


High above the frozen Canadian Shield below, the F-35 jet leveled off his flight and read over his gauges before calling out over the radio, “I am all green across the board. Time to target, 27 minutes.”





 
Had Tony not been as weary and injured as he was, he might have given a faint grin at Troy's apology. The older hybrid was so capable, but then unthinking at times. And then being capable again, reading his thoughts as easily as the novels on Tony's reading device.


Tony watched warily as Troy examined his leg, resisting the urge to pull the limb away. He trusted the armored man more than... Well, just about anyone in the world. He quickly looked over the device Troy pulled out, but looked back up to survey their surroundings; the smoke had cleared, and pieces of burnt aircraft lied sizzling on the ground. Several trees had fell, and a duo of hybrids were almost completely hidden from view behind them. Tony's eyesight could pick out green scales from between the branches. He doubted someone else could have noticed the reptilian feature.


The trees loomed from the edges of the small clearing, and the night sky was polluted with the ash and smoke. Tony wished it had been clearer; there would be no beautiful scenes to urge him forward.


God, he was tired. And his head had never stopped aching.


But now, after listening attentively to Troy's words, Tony felt the mentioned pinch in his leg before a wave of sudden relief. The pain in his broken leg was washed away, blissfully soothing. A small aching- no, a tingling- appeared in his leg after a moment; but he could live with that!


With a relieved grin, Tony's hands flashed out. Thank you, he signed, wishing he had a way to express his gratitude more earnestly. He could live with his back and his head and his wings smarting, as long as the pain in his leg was dulled!


Tony assume a more relaxed position against the tree. He noticed but didn't question Troy's sudden pause in movement, trusting an explanation would come. And it did; he was talking with an evacuation team.


At the other hybrid's offer in ASL, Tony responded simply, I can walk. Sign language was much slower than talking, and Tony always kept his statements short. He wasn't one to mince words anyhow.


He tagged on afterwards a question he'd had earlier; What is the base you mentioned earlier? Where were the hybrids being taken?


Tony watched for a second an ant that was crawling up a tree before turning his attention back to Troy.
 
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