Author: J. Pal
Date: 2021-07-15 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Post Apocalyptic; Action
Description: Apocalypses come with wins and losses. We suffered more of the latter than the former. The first week of Survival Planet claimed two of my dearest friends, but we managed to come away with friend in high places. Our enemies pursued us into a sector with a higher threat level than the last. Biometal behemoths hunt us, and leathery, shock-proof dinosaurs haunt the sky. The future looks bleak but giving up isn’t an option. I refuse to let innocents and the people I care about die. I refuse to let the space elves get away with their crimes. I refuse to bow to this new world. The new sector will be

THEY CALLED ME MADDER

©2021 J. PAL

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ALSO IN SERIES

THEY CALLED ME MAD

THEY CALLED ME MADDER

THEY CALL ME MADDEST

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Thank you for reading They Called Me Madder

About the Author

ALSO IN SERIES

Chapter One

Where the Crushing Things Are

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The ground trembled beneath our feet, and the alley’s walls shook as we ducked in its shadows. Dust and fingernail-sized concrete fragments rained on us from the buildings as the tremors grew in intensity. We held our breaths, not just to keep ourselves from inhaling the powder, but to quiet ourselves as well. The last thing we wanted was for the creatures to see us again.

Then the monstrosity turned a corner, rolling onto the street. Two days had passed since we’d first encountered them, and we still couldn’t get used to their horrific appearance. The cars parked on either side were dented, bruised, and pushed up on the pavements from their previous visits. The few that were still functional came to life with their loud, whining alarms. Kitty and I both breathed out and then in again, hoping the annoying beeps had drowned out the little sound we had made. We heard the crunches and high-pitched whining before one of the alarms went silent. Moments later, a ball of silver and black metal came crashing down on another loud car to our right.

Kitty tucked her face into my shoulder as the horrid amalgamation of flesh-and-machine giant wandered closer. It moved on continuous tracks much like a tank—except it was much larger than any tank I had ever seen. The horror’s width took up the entire two-laned street. Bloody metal supports connected the tracks to a gray human-like torso. Metal paneling blended into the flesh in parts, making the creature more monstrous than its height of two stories already made it. One arm was mostly human: upper arm, forearm, and hand. The bloody spikes haphazardly impaling the flesh between the elbow and wrist added to its grotesque appearance though. The other limb’s lower half was all gray metal, ending in a three-fingered claw.

We watched the arm crush another car. The creature raised the vehicle above its head and squeezed all the oil and transmission fluid into its giant mouth. That’s right. It had a head too—mostly human, but with a Terminator eye and metal cap along the right side. The lack of neck only added to the entity’s terrifying appearance. A red light shone from the mechanical eye, scanning the street and surrounding buildings as it went about silencing any car that made a noise.

My technopath senses came to life as it passed us, alerting me of the monster’s violent red energy. I didn’t make the same mistake as before and avoided probing said energy. My technopathic abilities weren’t nearly as powerful as I thought. The last time we did that—a day after entering the sector—the creature had gone on high alert and hunted us for a couple of days. We’d almost lost all of our food escaping it. Despite my protests, Kitty had piled all the supplies into Morpheus and moved with me on foot. The bike golem still dragged the cart of crafting materials behind it. It proved much safer than dragging two carts, as they would often bang against one another, giving away our position.

After some scouting, Liam discovered that these hulking creatures roamed only a tenth of the sector, concentrating their efforts mostly around the area where it met two others. We hypothesized their presence was focused around the pylon. On entering the border into the region, we had made the mistake of looking for a hideout close to our target. Now we had spent several days trying to get away from the heavily guarded streets. The three of us had no other choice but to hole up within the crumbling buildings, moving in between them away from the pylon whenever one of the creatures was far from our location. Besides the patrols, all unwanted noise seemed to attract them. To put it simply, the bastards were downright terrifying.

“Get ready to move,” Liam told me through the comms link. “Recon is creating a distraction in thirty. Head straight for the overpass. We should have little trouble getting out of here if we follow it.”

“Roger,” I replied.

I took Kitty’s hand, giving it a little squeeze. Morpheus buzzed to life next to us, and Winnie checked that the bindings attaching it to the cart were secure. We could see the overpass ahead of us. The quickest route there would be through the parking garage, but we knew better than to head through it like last time. The sector housed nocturnal monsters too, and they were using parking structure as their nests. We weren’t ready to find out what these monsters were or what they could do.

My scanner goggles counted the thirty seconds down. It felt like time to go, but only ten had passed. It was probably our racing hearts and stress—they were skewing our perception of time. “Deep breath in, deep breath out,” I whispered. “We’re going to be okay, Kitty, just don’t let go of my hand.”

Kitty didn’t say anything but slipped her fingers in between mine, locking them in place. She proved how amazing she was with every passing day. The lovely woman had a fire and positivity within her, unlike anything I had seen before—not that I had a ton of experience. If not for her support, I would’ve crumbled under the heartbreak of losing Rajesh and Pallav. Bloody hell, when we found ourselves cornered by a duo of the destructors a couple of days ago, Kitty had kept me from giving up.

“Go!” I exclaimed as soon as the counter hit zero. Morpheus took the lead, Kitty and I chased after the cart, and Winnie, the stuffed bear golem, brought up our rear. As soon as we exited the alley, an explosion sounded in the distance.

I didn’t need to worry about Liam. It was Recon that had caused the explosion while he was in flight mode following us overhead. Neither of us had the time to look up and look for him, but my technopathic abilities told me he was close by.

The ground shook underneath our feet once again. “Shit!” I swore, trying to figure out what direction the rumbling was coming from. “Why is there one coming this way?”

“I don’t know, Matt,” Liam answered. “That’s not an excuse to go near the parking garage, though. Stay on the route, and I’ll direct you if the crusher gets close.”

That wasn’t its correct name. I had scanned the creature the first time we’d encountered it. The system called it a Biometal Hybrid Devourer. The scanner claimed they were supposed to be solitary beings but were attracted to strong psychic activity. The data said nothing about why so many of them would cram themselves into a corner of a giant hexagonal sector.

The rumbling got louder, and the world trembled around us once again. Kitty and I didn’t slow though. We could see the overpass ahead of us. It stood on large concrete pillars covered in cars, marking the border of the crushers’ territory.

“Where is it coming from, Liam?” I asked through ragged breaths.

“The road to your left. It’s scanning the buildings. As long as you just keep running straight, it won’t see you.”

Liam’s words didn’t give me a lot of confidence. Red light illuminated the street in front of us. Was the crusher scanning the area? Why the hell was it here? The explosion near the pylon should have drawn it away from the overpass. Either way, Morpheus had already crossed the exposed area, but we were lagging far behind.

“Send Winnie ahead,” I told Kitty.

“What?”

“I’ve got an idea. Tell him to slingshot himself over the street. Let’s see if the crusher can track movement outside of the light.”

It was only going to get harder once we crossed the street though. We’d be running uphill, and the incline was steep as hell. We desperately needed to pass it unseen, because there was no way Kitty or I would be able to outrun the continuous tracks of the crusher.

Winnie overtook us and his little bear arms shot forwards, wrapping around a lamp post. We slowed, watching him take a few steps back to get the elastic limbs nice and taut. Then he launched himself. Winnie shot past the pole, releasing it mid-flight, and soared through the air over the street. Instead of falling to the ground, Winnie extended an arm and latched onto a fire escape. He hung there, waiting for us.

The crusher’s red light didn’t budge. Great! We had nothing to worry about. The rumbling was still getting closer as it approached the junction, but as long as we went over the street, it wouldn’t see us.

“Climb on,” I told Kitty, kneeling. She looked between the red light and me, wide-eyed and hesitant. “We’ll be fine. Trust me!”

She sighed and accepted the piggyback ride. I tapped my heels, releasing the shoes’ wheels. Then I took a running start, mentally nudging the motors to get the wheels spinning. Once I had gathered enough speed, I bent my knees, closing in on the junction. Then I activated the Pogo Heelies’ jump function and they launched me into the air, sending me flying over the street.

We were doing it! Kitty and I were flying over the light. My heart thumped as escape became a real possibility. A week had passed since we’d entered the sector, and the crushers had kept us trapped in their territory. After tracking their movements over several days, Liam had finally found a safe way out. Just as we crossed the jump’s apex, the hunting monster’s searchlight shot up and narrowed on us. My stomach dropped. If my heart rate went up any further, the damn muscle would explode. The crusher had seen us. Thankfully, the Pogo Heelies’ stabilizers helped me with the landing. The momentum pushed me up the incline’s gentle start before we came to a stop.

“Run!” Kitty exclaimed, jumping off my back.

Morpheus was already halfway up the incline, lugging the trolley behind it. We just needed to get to the top, and then we’d be out of the crusher’s territory. Hopefully it wouldn’t follow us to the overpass.

“Speed up!” Liam said through the comms link. He had more to tell us, but a deafening roar drowned out his words. I dared to look over my shoulder. The damned crusher was right behind us, turning slowly to chase us up the slope.

“Don’t look back,” I told Kitty. “We can do this. We’re going to make it!”

She tightened her hold on my hand. Much like the rest of our bodies, our palms were wet and slippery from all the sweat. Her grip was so tight that it hurt, but without it, I’d fall behind. Kitty’s cardiovascular prowess was far better than mine. I needed her help to keep up.

We were a third of the way up the slope when the crusher roared again. It tossed a car, but unlike its usual throws, it landed far from us in the middle of the street. The follow-up attack struck far away from us as well.

“Matt, it’s alright,” Liam said. “You can stop running!”

“What? Why?”

“Just look behind you, mate.”

It took a little bit of pulling and convincing to get Kitty to stop. We leaned against a neighboring building, struggling to catch our breaths as we studied the scene behind us. The crusher roared again, trying to chase us. Its tracks moved a couple of meters up the incline but struggled to go further up, forcing the creature to slide back onto the horizontal plane. Due to its lack of a neck, the creature couldn’t look up either. The red light shook wildly several meters behind us. We were in the clear.

“It must be too heavy and off-balance to go up slopes,” I coughed out, still catching my breath.

“Meet me at the overpass,” Liam told me. I looked up to see the recon drone meet him over our heads, and they merged into a single triangular form in mid-flight. Then he picked up speed and zipped on ahead.

“That was intense,” Kitty said, wiping sweat from her brow. Despite the chill in the air, we were both soaked. “Come on.” She pulled on my arm. “Now’s not the time to rest.”

We ignored the crusher as it roared behind us and continued on our way up the incline. It was of no threat to us now. If we had figured out the creature’s limitations earlier, we’d have escaped their territory long ago. Despite my Pogo Heelies’ power, I didn’t dare jump from roof to roof yet. However, there were plenty of sloping roads in the sector. Some of the inclines were probably gentle enough for the crushers to climb, but the descent would have likely slowed them down enough for us to avoid them easily.

Liam was waiting for us when we got to the overpass. He had resumed his spider form and hung upside down on the structure’s underside. “We need to head to the hills,” he said, pointing to the sector’s heart. “It’s high above sea level, and the slopes are steep enough to ensure that the few crushers roaming the upper half of the city can’t chase us there.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kitty said, studying the buildings in the distance. “Looks like a residential area too. Maybe there will be shops with more food there.”

“Let’s get going then,” I said. “As long as we have access to freshwater, I’m happy to settle anywhere.”

Chapter Two

Ratings Fever

Liam traveled with us on foot while the recon drone kept a constant check on our perimeter. We stayed in the underpass’s shade, heading towards the hills in the distance. If not for the food and crafting materials we’d get there within the hour, but we trudged along slowly. Pallav had been right to suggest that I construct a proper trailer or towable container for Morpheus. It would make everything so much easier.

Liam suggested we stash all our belongings, get to our destination, then come back for everything, but I shot the idea down. We didn’t know what monstrosities the new sector housed. Encountering the crushers had been a humbling experience. After gearing up, we as a group had assumed we’d steamroll through all the creatures we encountered. Then the staggering difference between the threat levels had set us straight.

The Charge Launcher had hurt the monstrosity I’d tested it on, but it alone wasn’t enough. We needed bigger and more powerful weapons to bring down creatures its size. As soon as we’d struck it, the beast had screamed, and the other crushers had charged to its rescue. Liam theorized that the Alvans had placed the crushers there to protect the pylon. Perhaps there were similar creatures in the other sectors too. It had to mean the structure carried greater significance compared to the others.

After failing against the crushers, I didn’t want to take any risks with the sector’s other inhabitants until we gathered more information. For one, we didn’t know how many different monster types inhabited the area. The nocturnal creatures were living in the parking structures. I hadn’t gotten to scan them yet and had only seen silhouettes of them stalking through the night. Liam pointed out four-winged birds flying overhead too. I worried that there could be more monster types in the area. Just because our starting zone only had three varieties of nests didn’t mean the current area would be the same.

The sun was starting to set when we reached the bottom of the hilly area. Unwilling to risk it in the dark, we took shelter in an old fire station. Winnie and the recon drone went in first, checking every nook and cranny for hostiles before we followed them in. Kitty and I were exhausted. Due to the crushers’ constant patrolling and scanning, we’d struggled to sleep through the few nights we’d spent in their territory. Liam would wake us up after every couple of hours of sleep to change location. But now we could finally rest.

Unfortunately, the day was far from over. As soon as we closed the door behind us and barricaded it, the world went gray and a portal blinked into appearance. Time didn’t freeze for just me though, but Kitty and Liam as well. They looked at me, terrified.

“It’s alright,” I told them. “It’s Delta coming in for an unscheduled visit.”

“That’s right,” the chrome egg said, entering our plane of existence. “Weapons down and stay calm. This isn’t an official system-mandated visit.”

Like last time, Knurven’s giant eye peeked out of the portal first. Kitty stood firm, staring it down, but Liam’s spider legs took a couple of steps back. If he still had a face or body, I imagined Liam would flinch when Knurven showed his full body. Now he remained impassive when the alien and System Assistant exited the portal.

“I’m so sorry about your friend,” he said through Delta’s little speaker drone. “My colleagues and I offer our condolences for Rajesh’s death. We are glad you accepted my offer though.”

“It’s been our goal to take down the pylons and free as many people from the mind hack all along,” I told the balloon-person. “We were taking our time with the plans for the sake of Pallav and Rajesh. Now that we’ve lost them, there’s nothing holding us back.”

“We’re pursuing this goal for their sake.” Liam scuttled forwards, speaking up. “If not for the mind hack, there would’ve been fewer barriers between us. Rajesh wouldn’t have gone off the deep end trying to prove himself and challenging our decisions and Pallav wouldn’t have lost faith in us.”

I disagreed with the sentiment but kept silent. The events leading up to the unfortunate incident that took Rajesh’s life were a lot more complicated than that. The mind hack played a part in it, that was true, but my poor decision-making contributed to the mishap too.

“Well, I’m here to express how happy we are with your decision.” Knurven bobbed up and down as the speaker transmitted his words. “I nominated your group for an exclusive channel when you helped the Artifact Technician take out the Neoporcuhog king. My colleagues weren’t happy about it, but I jumped the gun and purchased the rights to it as soon as the Alvans approved the launch. Your follower count has been growing ever since, although there was a slight stall when you chose to share the McGuffins with the boy instead of taking them. Too many viewers called you a sentimental weakling, but we managed to get over the hump.”

“So it’s true?” Kitty asked. “This is a reality show, and people are genuinely watching everything we do?”

“Almost everything. The invisidrones cut off while you’re in the bathroom.”

“What about when we’re getting intimate?”

“Your genitals are censored for the sake of the children, but everything else is broadcasted,” they answered. “My research team suggests billions across the galaxies have been petitioning for a subscription service that broadcasts everything without censoring.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that,” Kitty commented, going silent.

“Well, your budding relationship appeals to members of all genders that have passed the pubescent stage in their growth cycles. After your defeat of Mama and the ambushers, you hit a million followers, and that doubled after the emotional goodbye with Pallav.” Knurven almost sounded excited, and I didn’t like it one bit. I understood that we were an investment to him and he needed to make money to help us, but it was the tone that got to me. “Several viewers said they would’ve preferred it if you’d stayed and fought the raiders—”

“What does it mean when you say you have control over our channel?” I asked, cutting him off. “Does it tailor what content goes out and what doesn’t?”

“Precisely. It’s streamed through the Alvan’s broadcasting systems, but only my colleagues and I have full access to the invisidrones watching you. They’re shielded from technopathic abilities, so don’t try anything. We decide what content gets out, so you don’t have to worry about more people finding out about your lack of limiters and knowledge of what’s going on.”

“If our partnership is going to work, there’s one thing I need from you,” I said. “None of our physically intimate moments get broadcasted. Put on commercials or cut to something else. I don’t know how things work in the rest of the galaxy, but we humans are reasonably private beings.”

Knurven’s giant eye drifted between the three of us. “Fine,” he replied. “It will cost me a few hundred thousand followers, but I can live with that. On second thought, I could market your channel to younger and more conservative audiences! Yes. This can work.”

“Excuse me, but what do we get out of this?” Kitty asked. “You’re profiting off us risking our lives—do we get anything out of it?”

“As long as the pylons stand, the Alvans have full control over this region. The most we can offer you without raising red flags is information. I’ll look into sending you the occasional blueprint using whatever materials are locally available. Once in a blue moon we might be able to send you an extra McGuffin or materials Matt can use for crafting. Unfortunately, our System Assistant friend demands a significant number of McGuffins to remain in our employ.”

“That’s the cost of risking my life,” Delta said. “Nothing I can do about it.”

The conversation proved illuminating. We asked for information regarding the sector and its residence, but Knurven needed to spend time on research to ensure his intelligence was accurate. Delta wouldn’t let him divulge more without payment either.

“The three of you dodging the—crushers I think you called them—has been thrilling to watch,” Knurven told us when Delta started pressuring him to leave. “Your viewer count has risen considerably, and we’re expecting a follower boom soon.”

“On the subject of the crushers, they feel a tad out of place,” I said. “Is there something they’re protecting? Because each sector should have six pylons at the corner of each hexagon where it meets two other sectors. We scouted the last one and Recon has explored this one, and there aren’t any mega death machines protecting the other ones.”

Knurven went silent. He looked between Delta and us. “Good. Since you’ve come to the hypothesis yourself, it’s okay to share this tidbit. I believe the one near you is especially significant. It’s larger than each of the neighboring sectors, which have a small but powerful group of monsters guarding the pylon. We’ve witnessed many such structures distributed across the world, and I believe taking it down will cause significant damage to the Alvan’s control.”

“That’s enough,” Delta said. “My warning signals are going off. You’ve said too much and we’ve maintained this freeze for longer than we should’ve. Goodbye.”

Knurven hurried to get in a few final words before leaving. “In the future, if you do kill another human, try not to throw up. It’s bad for ratings. We had quite a few teenagers whine about you being a ‘pussy’ and unfollowing.”

A blue portal blinked into existence, sucking the pair in. Time resumed as soon as they left us, and we sat together in silence, trying to process everything we had learned.

There were millions watching our every move. Knurven claimed it was a measly amount. As we grew stronger and others died off, more people would gravitate to our channel. Several thousand who had been following the raiders had switched over to our channel after we’d defeated them. This was only the beginning. I tried to cuddle up to Kitty, but she shuffled away from me. The thought of people watching everything we did must have come as a shock to her, so I didn’t take it personally.

We ate a meal of bread, cheese, and sliced ham and washed it down with a carton of orange juice. Liam had packed some Powerade for himself and sipped it while we ate. The first station had a little dormitory on the second floor. Kitty and I claimed separate beds for the evening. She sent Winnie to keep Liam company and went to sleep. Even though I was exhausted, I lay awake for several hours thinking about the people getting their kicks watching us. The thought disgusted me. However, our lives depended on them now, and without their support, we’d never succeed on our mission to bring down the Alvan pylons.

Chapter Three

Location, Location, Location

We reached our destination around midday without any interruptions or distractions. The buildings on the hill did not match the rest of the sector and looked like a standalone town contained within an industrial city. From what we could tell, it housed academic centers and housing for the big wigs running the factories below. After some discussion, we decided not to go all the way to the top of the hill. Instead, we opted for a neighborhood where we could see our goal. Well, the pylon was invisible to the naked eye, but we knew where it stood.

More importantly, the buildings in the area struck a perfect balance. They hovered between standing at eye level with the telephone towers and giant office buildings and looking over their roofs. We could see the streets below and in between the structures instead of just their top halves.

After some thought, we decided not to go for one of the mansions. They had too many glass walls and open-plan designs spread around large courtyards. Defending them would be a pain in the arse. We had found a nice central location and weren’t too keen on moving again anytime soon. Due to it being a residential area, there were plenty of shops, and most of them appeared fairly well stocked and untouched. Liam suggested it wasn’t necessarily a positive sign, as something must have made the locals flee, but I got a good feeling about the place.

Kitty liked the area too. There was no way in hell the crushers were going to make it up here, and there didn’t appear to be a lot of preferable spots for the nocturnal monsters. When Recon spotted a man-made lake at the center of the community, we were all sold. This was bloody perfect. Whatever threat roamed this area, we’d deal with it.

After some discussion, we settled on a cube-shaped building. Most of the sign out front was missing, but the lower half said “Universität.” The side walls were solid concrete, while the front and back were glass but had long metal plates standing against them at an angle from the ground floor to the roof, almost like vertical Venetian blinds. When we had a peek inside, we hypothesized it was a university’s engineering department: suspended car engines, a poorly made replica of Disney’s Iron Giant, and a hideous junk metal sculpture decorated the lobby.

The prospect of the building having equipment and materials in the plentiful got us excited. Not only could I use Technogogue to make equipment, but Liam could use his degree and Mega Brain to tinker up toys of his own. Kitty didn’t care as long as the building had a kitchen and a place to bathe. I couldn’t be sure about the latter, but we found the former on the ground floor behind reception. In addition, the building had its own little cafeteria. It was just three benches long enough to seat six people, but it came with a commercial kitchen. Who in their right mind would scoff at that?

Liam took full credit for the find since he had been scanning the area with his technopathic abilities—they were keener and more practiced than mine. His search for working power sources had led us to the building. Most of the locals had working generators or solar panels, but the university building had the best ones around. Considering the locality, Kitty guessed it might have been a research building—and not one for regular undergraduate students. Either way, the generators were still alive and the fridge and freezers were working. Besides our stock of grub, the building had stores to feed Kitty and me for quite some time.

“We hit the jackpot!” Kitty exclaimed. “I don’t even care if they have a working bath or shower. I’ll just use the neighbors’.”

“Or Matt could build you one,” Liam said. “It’s not a particularly difficult task.” He scuttled over to the suspended car engine and poked it with one of his spider legs. “I don’t believe in divine intervention, karmic justice, or any of that bullshit, but this feels like the universe compensating for the hell it put us through over the last few days. We couldn’t have asked for a better hideout.”

“Let’s not jump the gun, guys,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I saw some damage on the upper floors. Let’s make sure this place is secure before we settle.”

“If it isn’t, we’ll make it secure. I’m telling you, mate. We’re not going to find anything better than this. Just down here, we’ve got a kitchen, washroom, and a golem husk for Kitty to use if Winnie or Morpheus get smushed. What more could we ask for?”

“He’s right, Matt. How about you and Winnie go scout out the upper floors for peace of mind. Liam and I will check things down here and barricade the exits. How does that sound?”

“Fine, I suppose.” I sighed. “Start with the basement, though. I sense the generator is below us. Just make sure there’s no monstrous creepy-crawly down there.”

Liam sent Recon to check it out, and I headed upstairs. It turned out Kitty was right. The building didn’t have the same feel as the engineering department at our university. There were no lecture halls or labs big enough to fit dozens of students. Instead, I found plenty of offices and high-tech lab spaces big enough for teams of two to four. Perhaps a building dedicated to postgraduate and doctorate study? I couldn’t tell. It just reminded me of the workspaces used to shoot The Big Bang Theory—a sitcom starring four nerds working as academic researchers.

The building started winning me over when I didn’t see anything out of place on the first two floors. Moreover, it had an abundant supply of materials. I would probably need to go out for the ridiculous bits Technogogue asked for, but the high-tech pieces which had previously been out of reach were now at my fingertips.

The vending machines on the third floor were dead. I cracked one of them open with the Charge Launcher’s inbuilt blade and helped myself to a lemonade. Far from all local light sources, the beverage had stayed cold. It wasn’t the only vending machine up there either. There were ones for hot drinks, junk food, and a water cooler. Pallav would have loved it. Thinking about him made my chest hurt. Having spent the last few days running for our lives, he and Rajesh had been out of my mind. However, now that I was back in a university building, I couldn’t help but think about how things would be if they were with us now.

No.

I needed to focus on ensuring this could serve as our new home. Satisfied with the third floor, I moved onto the fourth. A bone-chilling breeze hit me as soon as I exited the stairwell. This had to be the floor with the hole on the outer wall. Everything appeared in order at first. I assumed someone had tested their power in the wrong place and at the wrong time. It was Winnie who realized something was off first. In the dim lighting, I failed to notice the bloodstains on the carpet. Heading further in, we found them on the walls too. Then a musty smell similar to the hedgehog’s nest hit my nostrils, and my vision narrowed.

Winnie extended spikes from his arms the second I powered up the Charge Launcher. The vambrace’s shield-shaped guard clicked open and the barrel slid out from between the two halves. Blue energy pulsed and hummed around the muzzle as the weapon came to life. When I’d hit the crushers with one of its shots, it had melted the skin and burned some of their flesh away but hadn’t gotten deep enough to hurt the vitals. At the same time, I wasn’t sure what class of monsters they counted as normal, elite, or boss. I hoped to get better results with the sector’s other monstrous inhabitants.

“Liam, there might be something up here,” I said through the comms.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m on the fourth floor and there are bloodstains all over the place. The creatures might be gone, but I’m not sure yet.”

“Scout it out but don’t engage,” he told me. “I’m on my way.”

“No. You stay down there. Morpheus isn’t too good with stairs, and I don’t want Kitty unguarded. Stay down there unless I ask for backup.”

“Fine,” Liam replied after a long pause. “Just don’t do anything stupid. Please. We can’t afford to lose you too.”

“Don’t worry, mate. I’ve got Winnie and plenty of equipment to keep me alive. Just keep an eye out for anything trying to sneak up on you and sit tight.”

“Roger.”

I wasn’t trying to hide anything from Kitty. She’d likely heard everything I’d said through Winnie, but until I got around to making some equipment for her, she was the most vulnerable one of us three. Besides, I couldn’t be sure where we stood anymore. We had gotten together out of loneliness and convenience. It had grown into attraction—for me at least. However, due to recent events, we hadn’t gotten the opportunity to think, let alone talk about anything besides survival. After yesterday, we were probably nothing more than friends.

Either way, I didn’t want her to come up to the fourth floor. I wanted to focus on fighting—if it came to it—instead of protecting her. After all, we were two people short.

Thanks to the Pogo Heelies’ stabilizers, my footsteps were quiet. Winnie didn’t have any issues due to his padded feet. Going in deeper, we found scraps of black fabric littering the floors and hanging off the furniture. My scanner highlighted the shredded bits but failed to identify them. Curiosity got the best of me, and I picked one up.

“What the hell?” The words almost sounded like a gasp coming out of my mouth. The fabric felt velvety and as thin as paper but also had a leathery strength about it I hadn’t expected. I was giving it the good ol’ sniff test when Winnie growled. For a moment I was amazed, because he’d never used the Sonic Blast Generator for anything but his roaring attacks, then I heard an almost inaudible scraping behind me.

Following my instincts, I fell into a crouch and activated the Barrier Projector. A dark figured leapt through the space my head had been seconds ago. Two dark limbs scraped the barrier as it passed, shaving a sliver off its energy bar. I didn’t take the time to see what it was I’d be facing. It was too dark anyway, and the enemy looked like it was draped in the leathery velvet fabric we had found. Instead, I raised the Charge Launcher and extended the inbuilt dagger—we were much too close to use the explosive projectile—and slashed at the creature blindly as it came in for a lunge.

A satisfying hissed filled the air as it bounced off the barrier. I couldn’t tell whether it was the Charge Launcher working of its own accord or if I had triggered the effect using my technopathic abilities, but blue energy arced from my blade. When the edge made contact with the enemy, it didn’t just rip through the cape of strange fabric but also produced strands of electricity that danced off the barrier and my target’s skin. It fell to the ground, writhing, and I finally got a good look at the monster.

The fabric was its skin or perhaps some sort of membrane. It not only covered the torso but also extended from wrist to midriff and midriff to ankles. The mouth featured a hooked beak, but the eyes were oddly mammalian. I recognized what it was when I’d stabbed the head with my electrified blade—the four-winged bird Liam had spotted gliding high in the sky. Except it wasn’t really a bird.

Infant Hook-Billed Platyhawk

Infant platyhawks haven’t yet learned how to use their wings or read air currents. However, their soft padded paws and light bodies make them excellent stealth hunters. To train their younglings’ instincts, adult platyhawks drop off live prey in their dens for the infants to train on.

Due to their lack of control over their bodies and budding intelligence, infant platyhawks are exceptionally vicious.

Holy shit. If this was just an infant, where were its parents? Several chirps sounded all around me coming through the walls, and a deeper rumbling followed. Dang. The room shook, and a crack spread across the wall next to me. A familiar glow leaked out of it, adding a golden-blue hue to the shadowy room.

“Liam, forget what I said,” I whispered through the comms link, running for cover. “Get Kitty, Morpheus, and your drones. We’ve got a nest up here!”

“Get out of there!” Liam exclaimed. “Kitty and I are on our way up.”

“Keep her down there with M—”

“She’s riding Morpheus. I’m powering up the elevators.”

Then the chirps and fluttering got louder. I prepared the Sonic Shotgun as the sound filled the room. It was coming through the walls. A thud shook the floor, and I grabbed the nearby door frame for support—more out habit than necessity. Then I realized much too late where it was coming from. “Leave the elevators alone,” I hissed. “They’re in the shaft.”

“Too late,” Liam said, and I heard screeches and chirps down the communications channel as well. “Lots of little birdies down here. Will be a while before we get to you.”

On the bright side, whatever Liam did drew a good deal of the chirping away. I hoped the upgraded gun drone and Morpheus wouldn’t let them down. The sound of thumping and rattling metal sounded from the elevator shaft, and I pushed all other concerns out of my mind. The accompanying growling sounded like something big and nasty was stuck on my floor and trying its hardest to find a way down.

The fact that my little scuffle with the infant hadn’t gotten any attention came as a surprise. Did these monsters not have the best hearing? I crept down the corridor, trying to find the large beasty. If I could pop a couple of Charge Launcher shots off and hit critical spots, perhaps we could get through this without too many injuries.

When another infant dropped down on us through a crack in the ceiling, Winnie went to town on it with his spikes. His slashes ripped through the skin, and then he stabbed the head over and over again. Watching a waist-high plush toy express such aggression was disturbing to say the least. Eventually, I had to push him off the mass of pulped flesh. Neither it nor the last specimen could be disassembled, so we moved on.

Liam’s comms cut in and out. It was much too loud to figure out what was going on. Meanwhile, the thumping and growling on my floor were getting louder too. Then the cracks on the wall got wider and the nest core’s glow filled the room, illuminating the target in front of me.

Elite Hook-billed Platyhawk: Queen In The Making

The elite Platyhawk has absorbed a McGuffin and is in the process of establishing a nest and upgrading to a boss-class monster.

While her mate travels far and wide hunting food for the younglings, the soon-to-be queen will protect them and her nest to the death.

The creature is in a transitional stage, and its qualities may differ from other members of the species.

So, she was an elite transitioning to a boss-class monster. The creature didn’t look any different from the younglings except for her size and the long spindly arms which ended in long, curving talons. I couldn’t see the head, as it was in the elevator shaft while the shoulders were trying to force themselves through. The talons raked and scratched at the walls on either side of the entrance, leaving deep gouges in them. Letting this creature get in close would be a bad idea.

Winnie tried to charge forward, but I grabbed his furry shoulder and pulled him back. The golem behaved no different from a child. A child built to kill anyone who dared oppose its guardian or her friends, but a child none the less. Kitty was likely too busy downstairs to control Winnie, so it would be up to me to direct him.

Since it was just the two of us, we’d have to put the creature down as quickly as possible, followed by any other little ones on the floor above. If not for Kitty and Liam opening the elevator shaft, we’d probably have them raining down on our heads from above. For a moment I considered heading back downstairs, killing the younglings, and then coming back with my friends. Then the elite took a couple of steps back and charged the entrance into the elevator shaft, shaking the walls and creating more cracks.

“Damn it!” I swore under my breath. It sounded like there were dozens of the tiny buggers downstairs. Dealing with the mother and the swarming younglings together in an open space like the lobby would put us at a disadvantage. I’d have to keep her busy here and hope to last long enough for my friends to finish up and join me. “Get ready, Winnie.”

I fell into a crouch to help steady my aim and waited for the crosshairs to line up. With the head and neck in the elevator shaft, there was no way for me to reach either. So I aimed my shot to hit where the two sets of wings met around the midriff and fired. The projectile flew true and hit my mark, exploding and showering my target in the arcing bolts of electricity. The elite screeched, recoiling from the hole. Jagged bony protrusions had ripped through the skin around the top of her head, flaring backwards into an almost crown-like shape. Fresh blood tinted them red, and I guessed it was a part of her transformation into a boss. Didn’t matter—I wasn’t going to let her get there.

The platyhawk’s skin absorbed most of the energy from the Charge Launcher’s projectile, but the arcing energy managed to burn holes in her wings. When she turned and flapped them, the undamaged side lifted her off the ground, but the other failed, making her tilt awkwardly and swerve into the neighboring wall. I didn’t waste the opportunity and fired the next shot at her head. Much to my disappointment, it did no damage at all. The creature slowed for a second, but the energy traveled through her body and dissipated, only inflicting damage to the wings. The bastard was electricity proof.

Winne shot a spike at the platyhawk, but the projectile bounced off the creature’s head. She caught the second spike he fired with her beak and bit clean through the metal. The elite charged at us chuffing like a tiger. Winnie extended an arm, grabbing a nearby pillar, and slingshotted himself away. Meanwhile, I launched myself to the side using the Pogo Heelies. A blast of wind followed the platyhawk as it leapt past us. It interrupted the stabilizers as I tried to right myself and ended up slamming into a blocky computer console. It crunched and cracked as I rolled off it onto the ground.

The wall crumbled when the platyhawk pulled back. Her skull and beak were unharmed, while the wall had caved and cracked like an eggshell. However, bits of rubble had fallen on her back and left scratches on her hide. I guessed the bone plating was her boss-class upgrade and it hadn’t spread all over her body yet. We needed to take advantage of that weakness. The monster shook her head, probably dazed by the collision.

“Winnie, get on her back and scratch the hell out of it.” The stuffed bear nodded and ran off to the side. The golem was getting smarter by the day. He understood the importance of flanking instead of attacking head-on.

From what I could tell, the creature wasn’t accustomed to fighting in small spaces. I needed to use that to my advantage. So before it could mount another charge, I ran straight at its face, Charge Launcher raised. The weapon changed form as I got in close. The barrel slid back in, and the split shield halves tilted upwards at an angle, exposing the Sonic Shotgun. When the almost-queen lunged, snapping her beak at me, I activated the lab coat’s repulsors and shot sideways, firing my weapon at the same time.

The blast only chipped the beak, but I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t expect the blast to damage the bone-plating. The creature’s mouth opened in a wordless shriek as it swayed and stumbled. The shockwave appeared to inflict internal damage too, rattling the eardrums and the brain. Winnie took the opportunity to jump on her back and dig in with the spikes. The high-frequency vibration generator and neural disruptors would hopefully layer on the damage and slow it down further. The creature somewhat recovered and tried shaking Winnie off, bending her head backwards to reach him.

I ran in from the side, held my weapon up to her face, and fired again. This time she staggered sideways and into the cracked wall leaking the nest core’s light. It collapsed on top of her, covering her and Winnie. Much to my surprise, instead of the usual cube, I found a McGuffin floating in the air with wisps of blue light swirling around it. Great! The nest hadn’t formed yet! Most curious of all was the giant clutch of eggs that lay underneath it. We had arrived in time to save the area from a swarm of new, winged bastards.

When I advanced towards the core, the platyhawk chuffed and weakly reached towards me. Was I really going to slaughter her unborn young? No. That wasn’t me. I hoped without her to incubate the eggs, they wouldn’t hatch. Or we could chuck them in the fridge and hope someone with a beast-tamer-like power showed up. However, we were claiming the building as our home, and I wouldn’t allow a nest to form here.

“Sorry, girl,” I said, extending my blade and electrifying it, “it’s the way of the world now, and I can’t trust you not to attack us. You need to die.” I side-stepped her final desperate attempt at snapping at my legs while blood trickled from her beaked mouth. Then I stabbed my blade into the platyhawk’s eye, angling it towards the brain. Life left her within seconds of me scrambling her insides.

I stood for a moment, catching my breath and marveling at the power of my new weapon. The platyhawk had proven almost resistant to electricity, but my Sonic Shotgun had scrambled her insides. I not only had long-ranged prowess but close-ranged too. Perhaps eventually upgrading my Pogo Heelies for supercharged kicks wouldn’t be too bad an idea.

“How are things downstairs?” I asked through the comms link.

“Almost under control,” Liam answered. “Hold on for a bit longer. We’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

“Won’t be necessary.” I moved the rubble off the platyhawk, helping Winnie out of the mess before walking up to the nest core and giving it a strong poke. The McGuffin fell out of the air into my hand, and all the lights disappeared. “We got here just in time. These things were creating a new nest. On my way down now. I’ll help with clean up.”

“Roger.”

Chapter Four

House-warming

Materials stored for creation and upgrades:

- waterproof elite platyhawk hide
- plasma absorber
- hardened bone crest
- queen platyhawk beak
- hawk-eye optics
- elite platyhawk skeleton
- elite platyhawk talons
- McGuffin

The nest core gave me a McGuffin too. I headed back downstairs, leaving the decision regarding the eggs for later. When I got there, most of the creatures were already down. The gun drone was struggling to pin down the last few as they fluttered along the ceilings trying to get away.

Winnie made short work of them. The golem’s control over his stretchable limbs was getting better by the day. He climbed up to the high corner the creatures had retreated to and took them down within seconds. Liam cursed his still budding marksmanship skills and went about double-tapping any platyhawks still stirring.

We needed to find a way to dispose of all these bodies efficiently. We still didn’t know whether the system had removed the corpses in the last sector or if the monsters were feasting on the bodies, and now wasn’t the time to find out. Kitty happily gave her golems the job of gathering all the bodies together. I scanned a few of them, and the “Disassemble” button didn’t light up. I guessed the mantises were a one-time thing. We were back to only elites and boss-class monsters giving us usable materials.

For the time being, we piled them up in a corner before forcing the elevator shaft’s entrance closed and barricading it. The elevator’s roof had been ripped to shreds. It looked like the monsters had been using the cables and surfaces to sharpen their beaks and test their strength. It was pretty much useless now, and if Kitty wanted to take Morpheus upstairs, she’d have to struggle with the stairwell. It turned out the issue wasn’t going up the stairs as much as fitting between the wall and the railing. The two bulky arms would make it fairly difficult.

“That was stupid, Matt,” Kitty said when we stopped to take a break. “Why would you even consider taking on a boss monster solo? You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“It wasn’t a boss yet,” I answered. “The creature was in the process of upgrading while the top two floors turned into a nest. If I didn’t stop it, the bastard would’ve flown down the elevator shaft and made life hell down here. Believe me, you didn’t want to fight her and her babies at the same time.”

“What were they?” Liam asked. “Looks like a strange bird—bad hybrid.”

“The system has labeled them platyhawks.”

“Like a duck-billed platypus?”

I nodded. “Managed to get some decent materials off the creature too. A couple of McGuffins as well. Do you want anything made, Kitty?”

She shook her head. “I’m good for now. Focus on Liam.” Kitty continued to keep her distance from me. I didn’t give it much thought. We weren’t pursuing anything romantic anyway.

“I have another idea,” Liam said. “Is there any way you can use the McGuffins to upgrade the generator or reinforce the building? I’d rather we invest the McGuffins in something that can help us fortify this place. I’ll try rigging something to control the metal plates, and that’s two sides of the building armored. Then it’s just a matter of creating a defense for the other two.”

“Are both of you sure about this? I like this place too, but I imagine building a base is going to be a significant investment. If things go wrong and we have to cut and run, it’ll cost us.” Liam’s transparent dome displayed two square-shaped eyes. His emoticon face didn’t give a lot away. “Things aren’t particularly stable right now. What if the crushers find their way up here? The raiders could track us down—”

“Pessimism isn’t a good color on you, Matt,” Kitty said, taking my hand. “We can’t keep running. Our objective is here. We need to take the pylon down and then ensure the Alvans don’t plant a new one. There is no home base better than this one.”

“I don’t disagree,” I told her, my shoulders relaxing now that I knew my friends were all for it. “I just wanted to make sure you understand that we’re taking a massive risk and chances are our investment isn’t going to pay off. If things go wrong, we might have to leave everything behind. McGuffins we could’ve used to empower ourselves will go to waste.”

“That just means we’ll have to figure out the right balance.” Kitty leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my lips, and it was all the reassurance I needed. “We know what’s at risk. Don’t we, Liam?” A pixelated thumbs-up appeared on his dome. “This is a risk we’ll have to take if we want to help people. The sooner people know the truth, the better. Perhaps people won’t attack one another but will team up so we can stand up against the assholes in the sky.”

“So what do we need to start erecting defenses?” Liam asked. “I think upgrading the generator for power output and fuel limitations should be the first move.”

Knurven or our viewers were likely waiting for our conversation to reach that point, because a portal no bigger than my head popped into existence. It ejected a fist-sized sphere before winking out. The chrome ball had the same texture as Delta. As I watched it float at eye level, I expected two little eyes to appear, but my goggles lit up instead.

Inert Hub Core

Once upon a time, the core may have sustained an underground bunker or a space station, but now, without fuel and purpose, it is near death and almost useless. Without a Technogogue or Technolord’s touch, it will soon die and crumble into the base elements it’s born from.

“Holy shit.” I gasped.

“What is it?” Kitty asked, her hold on my hand tightening. “Please tell me we’re not going to see another ugly eye.”

“That’ll give the viewers a chuckle,” Liam commented, scuttling close. “Whatever it is, it’s dead. I don’t sense anything from the hunk of junk.”

“Be nice, Liam!” I exclaimed. “Our sponsors and viewers picked the perfect house-warming gift. It looks like we have some base-building in the future.”

“Like in your post-apocalypse gamey stories? Oh hell yes!” Liam scuttled closer and poked at the sphere. It didn’t move. “I guess I owe them an apology and a thank you. First things first. What do you need to get it started?”

When I focused on the device, the “Upgrade” button lit up, so I selected it.

Upgrading the Hub Core is impossible in its current state.

The following materials are necessary for core activation:

- power source
- Hub
- McGuffin x2
- building material

“The details are vague,” I answered, reading the details out loud. “It’s the building material that I can’t figure out.”

When I touched the core, it dropped out of the air and I scrambled to catch it. The sphere had a nice weight to it, and even though it was inert, my technopathic senses lit up, telling me of its potential. Following Kitty’s lead, I headed down into the basement. As soon as I approached the van-sized generator, “power source” and “Hub” lit up.

“I’ll get on Morpheus and do a little scouting,” Kitty said. “We might find something down in the city.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Liam stated, joining us in the basement. He dropped one of the infant platyhawks at my feet, and much to my surprise, “building materials” lit up on my interface. “You introduced me to the dungeon core and evolution books, Matt. Don’t quite a few of them use cores and monsters as biomass for construction? Perhaps there’s some truth in their hypothesis.”

“That brain really is Mega.” I laughed.

The one body wasn’t nearly enough. The interface claimed we didn’t have enough material, so all of us got to work bringing the countless corpses downstairs. Morpheus gathered them at the top of the stairs. We all worked together, shoveling them to the bottom and then painstakingly carrying it all to the generator. By the time we finished, our backs were sore and we were covered in gore. The interface deemed we had done enough and offered to start the process, and I gladly accepted.

The Hub Core lit up as the McGuffins disappeared. It melted into a mercury-like fluid that first enveloped the generator, then the corpses. An alien hum filled the air. It started within the generator, then spread through the walls and floor until we could feel it in our bones. Then the mound of dead platyhawks turned to liquid, flowing to the generator and covering it. Kitty squirmed as countless silvery threads shot out from it, running along every surface. They seeped up our skin too, leaving an uncomfortable chill in their wake. However, when we noticed the dirt and blood disappearing off our clothes and skin, none of us complained.

The entire process took five minutes, and when it finished the building resembled a brand-new construction. The paint had the sheen of a fresh coat to it, and all signs of wear and tear were gone. My jaw dropped, looking at the generator. The process had shrunk it and made it sleeker, large pulsing pipes connecting to all the walls.

The device felt more alive than anything I had created or upgraded so far. There was a young consciousness about it. I could feel it trying to get in touch. The reborn core wanted to know what to do first. It desired to be a home for us by keeping us safe and comfortable. So I told it to do just that by repairing all of the upper floors, strengthening the two upper walls, and creating defensive structures on the roof. The generator replied with a silent confirmation and got to work.

“Matt!” A sharp implement prodded my side. It was Liam’s spider leg. “Are you alright?”

I was about to complain, but then I noticed the time displayed in my interface. Close to an hour had passed since I’d started the process. I must have fallen into a daze communicating with the Hub Core. My mastery over technopathy was severely lacking. I’d probably lost myself to the link.

“When we aren’t struggling to survive, could you please teach me how to commune with machines?” I asked, falling on my arse. My energy bar only had a sliver left. It was more than that, though. Using my newest abilities had severely drained me as well. I needed the time to understand them. “I think I need some food.”

“You look awfully pale,” Kitty said, pressing a hand against my forehead. “Burning up too. Let’s get you upstairs—”

I was out cold before she finished her sentence.

Chapter Five

Post-Apocalyptic Base-Building

When I came to, my heart rate jumped to a hundred and I leapt into attention. It wasn’t just that I’d awoken in an unfamiliar place, but also because I wasn’t wearing my goggles, lab coat, boots, or headpiece. Kitty had probably figured that I didn’t need the latter anymore since Liam didn’t sense any telepathic waves in the air. She was most likely right, but one couldn’t be too careful.

If finding myself alone wasn’t alarming enough, there was a blue screen floating in front of my eyes even though I didn’t have my goggles on. It took a few seconds for my eyes to focus before I could read it.

Congratulations!

You’re the first human to establish a .

You may choose a free B-rank upgrade for the Hub Core.

Congratulations!

You’re the first individual on Planet Earth to establish a hub.

You may choose a free B-rank upgrade for the Hub Core.

Congratulations!

You have impressed the system staff by overcoming incredible odds.

You may choose a free A-rank upgrade for the Hub Core.

“Holy shit!” I gasped, reading over the notification again. The System was really throwing me a bone.

Available B-rank upgrades:

- Telepathic Null Zone: Only approved individuals can use telepathic, empathic and illusion-based powers around the hub. Psychic limiters will suffer limited functionality when within the zone.

- Farming Floor: Farmer Drone managed patches of vegetation grow at an accelerated rate on the designated floor. They will provide higher yields than normal. Animals and insects may be added to form a self-sustaining eco-system.

- Menagerie: All manners of beasts grow at an accelerated rate, stronger and smarter than normal on the designated floor. Caretaker Drones will ensure they’re fed, watered, and cleaned. Creatures that have lived in the Menagerie will protect the Hub to the death.

- Automated Plasma Turrets: Smart turrets will populate the building’s roofs and entrances, ready to fire at all entities hostile to the Hub and its owner. User will have the option of using lethal or non-lethal force.

I selected the Telepathic Null Zone without question. It was precisely what we needed. Things with Pallav and Rajesh would have ended differently if we’d had one of these from the start. Kitty had told me not to think about it, but I’d spent much too long wondering whether Psiconstructor would’ve helped me remove the limiters from people. She told me it was unlikely I’d be able to do so straight away. More importantly, she’d questioned whether I’d be comfortable meddling with people’s minds, and I didn’t have an answer for her. Telepathy came with too many moral complexities, and anyone willing to use it to its full extent would be crossing way too many lines.

Choosing the second upgrade proved much more difficult. The Automated Plasma Turrets would turn us into a fortress, but at the same time, it felt redundant. I could build turret systems and install them around the building. Sure, it would take time and materials, but I could use this opportunity to ensure we always had food for ourselves and any other survivors who joined us.

Before making a final decision, I checked the third window waiting for my attention.

Available A-rank upgrades:

- Nuclear Bunker: The floor around the Hub Core will become a near-impenetrable safe room. The core will recycle all food, water, and air to sustain the inhabitants and will absorb ambient energy and biomass to rebuild the Hub.

- Nurturing Field Generator: The generator will spread a field that encourages recovery, regeneration, and growth across three floors. It will ward off disease, and all organic entities living within it will enjoy longer life spans.

- Hub Butler: The system-created butler will watch over the day-to-day running of the Hub and will run it following your express directives. They will be endowed with a random C-Rank ability to protect the Hub to the death.

Nurturing Field Generator was the winner. It was much too overpowered to pass up. Not only would it heal us and keep everyone healthy, but it would also influence the growth of things on the neighboring floors. I could build a farming drone myself and use it to run a garden on the floor below the generator. Once we figured out how to avail these upgrades without free gifts, I could upgrade it to a Farming Floor, but until then it would serve us just fine. Instead, we could combine the Nurturing Field Generator with the Menagerie for the perfect building defense.

The floor with the platyhawk eggs became the Menagerie—all the equipment up there was too damaged to use anyway. I placed the Nurturing Field Generator below it. The third floor had an office with a shower, and we could easily transform a section of it into a living space. Perhaps I should’ve consulted my friends before making the decisions, but I knew they’d be pleased with my choices.

Upgrades installation in progress.

For future upgrades, please consult your Hub Core interface.

The windows disappeared, and my attempts at opening the interface failed. I’d probably have to go down to the basement to figure the rest out.

After taking a moment to study my surroundings, I understood where I was. Kitty and Liam must have carried me to the little break room behind reception and laid me out on the couch there. Now that I didn’t have screens blocking my vision, I found my personal effects by the door and put them back on—except the Doc-Brown headpiece. Unless we left the building, I didn’t need to wear it anymore. My scalp could now breathe and not get all sweaty.

The door to the break room burst open, and Liam burst in. “We need to get out now!” He exclaimed, already fused with both of his drones. “Something is attacking us.”

“What? Are you sure?” I asked, pulling on the Charge Launcher and fastening the Pogo Heelies. We’ve only just established the base—”

“My telepathic field went off,” he answered. “I can’t feel anything! The floors are shifting as well. It’s just not right, mate.”

“That was me.” I sighed, my shoulders relaxing. “The System rewarded me with a few free upgrades for being the first in the world to establish a Hub. The first thing I installed was a Telepathic Null Zone.”

“Thank the fucking System,” Liam replied. “You have to tell us before you do something like that, mate. If I had a heart, it would’ve exploded back there.”

“Sorry.” I laughed. “Well, we’re pretty much protected from the Alvans now. No mind hacks or limiters are going to get us. If any other survivors join us, it will limit the psychic limiters too.”

A scream interrupted our conversation. We jumped into action simultaneously. Liam ran towards the kitchens and I followed. We didn’t need to go as far. Kitty stood in the dining area, clutching one of the tables as the floor around her shifted and reformed.

“What the hell is going on?” she screamed.

“It’s cool, Kitty,” Liam said. “It’s Matt doing mad shit.”

So I told them about the upgrades. Liam was disappointed that I hadn’t picked the turrets. After killing Mama, he had invested in the technopathic elements of his power further. He believed he could have bent the turrets to his will and commanded them to focus down targets. However, as I explained how the Nurturing Field Generator worked, he changed his mind.

Liam very much liked the idea of using the monsters the Alvans had set on us against them. Despite us having platyhawk eggs to use, he sent Recon out to scout for other creatures. He went as far as to suggest we consider investigating the forested sector. If we could find infant monsters or eggs from an area with a red threat level, our defenses would be near incomparable. Since the System’s laws kept the Alvans from attacking us directly, we’d be more or less in the clear.

Kitty was more excited about the prospect of a floor dedicated to farming and growing. Having grown up on a farm in the Welsh countryside, she liked the idea of growing fresh fruit and vegetables. Kitty insisted that setting up a floor dedicated to creating a stable food source was of greater importance than turrets or any other defenses. Canned and dried goods wouldn’t last forever. The sooner we could grow our own food, the better. In fact, she believed it was vital if I intended to make allies and bring others into the Hub.

So we explored the building from the top floor down, inspecting all the changes the Hub Core had made. I hadn’t gone up to the top floor yet, but I knew that the platyhawks had severely damaged it. Now we found clean carpets, and everything else was intact. It had a few offices, a conference room, and a large lab space. The Hub Core had removed almost all of the equipment except for a massive 3D printer, a few soldering irons, and power packs. I guessed the rest had taken too much damage for the Hub Core to keep around.

It was Liam who noticed it, but there was a slight leathery feeling to parts of the wall and floor. We went down to the fourth floor and inspected the repaired damage to find much of the same. Some parts of it were harder than others.

“Of course!” I exclaimed when the realization hit me. “The Hub Core is using biomass to fix the damage.”

“It’s better than grotesque fleshy bits, but creepy nonetheless,” Kitty said.

The fourth floor looked nothing like before. Liam claimed it was the lack of furniture, but I was sure it looked bigger than before. The dimensions didn’t make any sense. Had the System made some TARDIS-styled changes? Was the Menagerie bigger on the inside?

We had a little scare when knee-high, gray-faced alien creatures scurried past our feet. I had to stop Winnie from attacking them when I realized they were the drones taking care of the Menagerie. The platyhawk eggs now sat in a corner under heat lamps, and machines plopped out cubes of processed meat that stank to high heaven. We guessed it was their feed.

“Two days until hatching,” the largest of the drones told me. “Genius move placing us within the Nurturing Field. When are we getting more eggs and babies? We drones get antsy when there isn’t a lot of work to do.”

“We’re working on it,” I managed to say. We were all a little shocked to hear the creature speak. They resembled the typical big-eyed, flying-saucer-riding aliens from cartoons. Since they were drones, I didn’t expect conversation or personality from them, and the little guy had delivered both. It would take some time before we got used to them.

What we wanted to inspect the most was the third floor. I expected to find a giant machine in its center, but only found odd discs attached to the walls like fire alarms.

“It’s not just me that feels refreshed, right?” Kitty asked.

I shook my head. “I think this will serve perfectly as our living quarters. What do you think?”

“You lot do what you want,” Liam said. “I’m calling dibs on the top floor. We’re going to find a few McGuffins and get that 3D printer running. Then I’m getting to work.”

Kitty and Liam argued a while, both trying to decide what was of higher priority: Farming Drone or the printer. I stayed out of it and headed downstairs. Kitty had been preparing dinner when all the craziness started, and I was famished.

We tried not to talk about it, but it would come out in conversation sometimes. Where were our families? Were they dead or alive? There was no way for us to know. Struggling to survive and always striving for the next goal had kept us sufficiently distracted. Now that we had an official home base where we could house others besides ourselves, relatives kept slipping into the conversation.

I’d been the first to bring it up when I’d made the mistake of comparing Kitty’s chicken pot pie to my mother’s. I thought she’d get mad, but she laughed instead and told me about her grandmother’s iteration was the best and didn’t compare to anything I could’ve possibly ever tasted. Liam chimed in about his uncle, the fine-dining chef, but he shut up when we didn’t entertain his attempts at one-upping us.

All three of us were careful to avoid topics along the lines of their location and status. If a once densely populated area like our current sector could have a threat level of orange, there was no telling what it would be like for them. In the stories, people would spend forever pining for their families or scouring the scorched landscape for them, but we had no way to tell where they were now. Besides, thinking about them hurt a bit too much. When we had asked Knurven about it, he’d failed to answer the question. Instead, he’d called the System’s terraforming cruel but fair.

I didn’t tell my friends, but my hopes were riding on the pylon and my technopathic abilities. If I found a way to control the alien structure instead of taking it down, perhaps we could use them to track down family and lost friends. I bet if I tinkered some more and got Pallav in the base, removing the limiter would become a possibility.

After settling in, one of our primary tasks had been to organize all the materials we had brought with us and cataloging what the base had to offer. After toying around a while with the Upgrade menu, I found a perfect set-up for Liam. Using a couple of McGuffins, I could get the 3D printer running for him. Then using it and all the materials we had available, he could build his own drones and turrets for the building. The new printer would use all materials as long as we could provide them in a liquid state. Following some experimentation, we figured out that included the biometal.

Kitty was disappointed when I declared that the first two McGuffins would go to Liam. However, she changed her tune when I took her down to the basement and read out the Hub Core menu to her. For the price of one McGuffin, rubber sheeting, hoses, and fertilizer, I could transform the second floor into a D-rank Farm. Due to it being within the Nurturing Field, the interface informed me that it would give us C-rank output and, as a System-made structure, would require a lot less work. Then as we got more resources, we could upgrade it to meet the needs of our Hub’s population.

We spent our second day in the new base clearing the second and third floors. We first let Liam pick everything he wanted and helped move it all up to his new home on the top floor. Then we kept whatever I needed for crafting and the rest went to the Hub Core. Even though it declared biomass as its preferred building material, it happily accepted a variety of materials for crafting.

The Hub Core let me designate roles to certain floors, and a few of them didn’t have any cost. So we designated the third floor as our living quarters. Much to my surprise, the interface let me redesign the floor’s layout. For the time being, I decided not to make too many changes besides adding a few beds to the larger offices as well as a few shower rooms. Kitty and I had spent our first night in our new home sleeping on couches. Deciding not to make any assumptions about our sleeping arrangements, I made a separate living space for her. Whether she wanted to use it or not was up to her.

By day two, the Caretaker Drones had made a ton of progress. They had food ready and preserved for when the eggs hatched. The Nurturing Field kept them nourished and pushed the little guys to go beyond their duty. The creatures had put together mental enrichment exercises to keep the infants stimulated when they hatched. Watching them at work got me excited about getting more drones to take care of the building’s upkeep. Once we had a Farm up and running, we’d have Farmer Drones to watch over it. I wanted a few Cleaning Drones and Security Drones too. Liam wanted to take care of the latter, but it would have to wait until we got the necessary materials.

“What happens when we run out of meat?” Kitty asked one afternoon after we’d finished lunch. “Have you seen any animals besides monsters?”

“Well, if there are dogs and cats out there, there have to be others that survived too. There might be other creatures out there with edible flesh.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Kitty said.

“The challenge will be finding it. Using the Menagerie and the Farm, we could grow animals for eating. It’s just not a priority right now.”

“It will be once the freezer is out of meat and we struggle to get iron in our diets.”

“Considering it’s just the two of us eating right now and the size of our stocks, we don’t need to worry for several months. I’ll keep it in mind, though. Kitty needs her meat.”

The statement got a good laugh out of her, and it was just what we needed to reset the building tension. Kitty kissed me or held my hand from time to time but never let things escalate any further. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it: things were getting a tad difficult for me. She was an attractive young woman and had a strength about her I hadn’t encountered before. However, after losing two people dear to me, I found myself hesitant to push for anything more. Besides, we had time now. There was no reason for us to rush or jump into anything.

All of that went out the window when she joined me in my room that night. I expected her to vent at me for following Liam’s project first or explain her reasoning for keeping a distance. Instead, she stripped and joined me under the covers. We didn’t talk.

My mind wandered while we were together. This was all too nice. We were facing monsters and a superior alien race that would soon make us their target—if they hadn’t already. Yet the three of us had spent the day enjoying our new home and now this. It all felt too good to be true. Perhaps this was the calm before the storm.

Chapter Six

Where Is She?

I hoped Knurven had kept his word and cut away from us during the night. From what I understood, the channel didn’t just focus on me, but all three of us. Hopefully he’d cut to Liam when Kitty had started peeling her clothes off. I don’t know whether she’d accepted that eyes were watching our every move as an inevitable part of our life or if there was something else going on. She had established that she didn’t want to talk, and I realized that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The next morning we were feasting on my favorite breakfast in the world—French toast—over the sink when the building shook. It wasn’t like the vibrations from when the Hub Core had transformed the building. Instead, it reminded me of day one when our section of the city had dislodged from the ground and flown up into the sky. This felt like a truck had rammed the side of the building.

The building got darker all of a sudden, and a loud metallic thud echoed through the building. It took us a moment to realize it was the metal shutters. Liam must have figured out a way to control them and triggered it as soon as we got hit.

After enjoying the morning in bed, we had wandered down to the kitchen ravenous. I had my goggles on me, as I refused to go anywhere without them, but the rest of my belongings were still in the room we had shared. Kitty and I both ran up the stairs to get clothed. She hadn’t gotten much use out of the Shadowskin coat yet, since she spent most of her time in fights riding Morpheus. Besides the stealth and almost negligible defense, it had a mobility function too. It would take her some time to get used to it but had the potential to increase her survivability several-fold.

“I need you up on the roof,” Liam said through the communicator built into the goggles. “We’ve got company.”

“On my way,” I replied, pulling on my many devices while Kitty scrambled to get dressed too.

“Get up there and help him, Winnie,” she told her stuffed bear golem when it tugged at her boots. “I’ll follow you upstairs on Morpheus.”

“The elevator isn’t operational yet. Will he fit up the stairs?”

“I’ll figure something out. Go help Liam.”

We parted ways at the stairs. I headed to the roof and she to the ground floor. Kitty and I had talked about it, and we both agreed: it was time for her to get more equipment. We wouldn’t invest McGuffins in her yet, but it was vital that she learn how to protect herself. The focus would need to be mobility, with repelling or disabling enemies being secondary. Once she got more proficient with whatever weapon suited her, we would look into adding lethal force to the equation.

A shiver ran up my spine and my nerves felt like they were made of rubber and had been stretched to their elastic limit. The System rewards had turned the base into a valuable commodity. What if the Alvans or one of their allies had the ability to inform people of what we had and our location anonymously? Bloody hell. I didn’t want to kill another human being. The anguish and rage from Rajesh’s death had sort of helped me deal with killing the invisible woman, but my conscience wouldn’t let me justify doing the same again.

“What is it?” I asked at the top of the stairs. Liam was waiting at the landing. He had joined with both of his drones to take on the large armored spider-bot form.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I didn’t want to head outside without checking with you.”

“I should add some surveillance cameras.” The Charge Launcher’s barrel powered up, and I checked all my displays. As expected, everything except for my jacket’s repulsors were fully charged. Whatever it was, we’d deal with it together. Then we heard a deafening bang, and the building shook again. This time, it was hard enough to make me stagger. Liam’s eight legs kept him stable. “I’ll go out first with my barrier up. You follow gun blazing. Alright?”

Liam gave me a digital thumbs-up before I threw the door open. We didn’t see anything as we ran through, but the chirping and screeching told us who it was. Large platyhawks flew above our heads, circling the building. One of them flew high up into the sky before diving. Its massive eyes were focused on us. I aimed at the creature and just fired.

The projectile exploded against the platyhawk’s beak, covering the animal with arcing bolts of electricity. The creature’s eyes went blank and its tight form spasmed, running its trajectory. Still, I dove to the side, putting several meters between me and it. The creature struck the roof, shaking the building again. This time I was prepared. My stabilizers and conscious effort together managed to keep me stable.

The creature tried to get up, but its twitching limbs gave way,] and smoke rose from its head. Liam reacted quicker than I did. He charged in. The barrel extending from his underside unloaded glowing projectiles at the creature one after another. A second barrel poked out, shooting pellets of poison too. Liam didn’t take time to figure out whether the beast was dead or not. He climbed on top of it and stabbed one of the spider legs into the platyhawk’s eye.

Elite Platyhawk

Unlike the younger and weaker members of the species, elite platyhawks have adapted to survive lightning storms. The sonic distortion is still too much for them, but they make up for it with their sturdy forms. It helps them survive falls and dive-bombs from incredible heights.

Platyhawks already have incredibly powerful beaks and claws. An elite can easily shred concrete and carve up stone.

I scanned the monsters flying above us as well. A third of them were elites, and one was similar to the creature we had fought before: an elite transitioning into a boss-class monster. Its scan data came with “Biometal” in the name. The beast’s wingtips and beak glinted in the morning light. That had to be the mate. It had come looking for its partner and had figured out the new residents had killed it.

“Liam, my Charge Launcher is no good against these things,” I said. “Think you can fly up and knock them down?”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” he replied. “They’re dive-bombing us now. Any weaknesses?”

“Sonic attacks.”

A third barrel extended from Liam’s underside. The new one’s muzzle resembled my Sonic Shotgun. I didn’t think too much about what was going on with him or how he was morphing my creation. I focused on the three platyhawks dive-bombing us instead—one elite and two normal ones. Liam shifted into flight mode and shot up into the air. He got in the elite’s face, and his new weapon proved much more effective than my Charge Launcher.

I fired the Charge Launcher at the two diving beasts. Unlike the elite, they interrupted their dive and swerved off course. I missed, but they were no longer coming for me. Instead, they flew after their falling elite. My energy bar dropped by five percent as I upgraded my goggles with a part I’d gotten from the last elite. It gave me the telescopic sight I was after. The elite was already dead. Even though he was in flight mode, Liam had extended two spider legs from his torso and clung onto the beast. I watched him pull a glowing drill out of the elite’s skull.

There were nine platyhawks left: seven normal, one elite, and the almost boss-class. I pointed the Charge Launcher at the boss, took aim, and fired. It didn’t try to swerve out of the way. One of the ordinary platyhawks dove in front and took the shot. Unlike the elites, it didn’t resist the Charge Launcher’s shot. The creature exploded with the projectile, turning into a cloud of red mist.

“Above you!” I exclaimed when the boss changed its lazy flight pattern and swooped towards Liam. He had set his eyes on the last elite and was advancing towards it—his cameras didn’t give him the ability to see directly above his dome.

Following my warning, Liam swerved away from his target and zigzagged, trying to lose the creature following him. Unfortunately, it had more practice flying than he did. “Try the cell tower! It can’t get you if you stick close to it.”

Liam followed my instructions, zooming towards the metal structure. He flew around the structure, sticking close to the metal bars. Much to my disappointment, it didn’t deter the monster. The creature flew straight at him, and when it missed, the bastard kept going. The metal-tipped wings and beak all glowed a bridge blue before it swept through the tower. My jaw hung open as the creature’s wing cut straight through metal like a hot knife through butter.

I didn’t get the opportunity to observe Liam’s fate. The dumbarse that I was, I wasn’t watching the other platyhawks. Fortunately, it was one of the little ones who came for me. The creature fell on me with its claws extended. Even though they ripped through my lab coat, the contraption blocked most of the force. I fell on my bottom, trying to activate the repulsors, and got no answer from them. Then Winnie fell upon us, spiked arms swinging. I felt the metal humming millimeters off my skin.

It was a struggle to crawl out from under them as the two wrestled. The creature tried to take off again, but my bear friend ripped at the wings, grounding it. I left them to their wrestling and rolled to the side, just in time to see the elite diving for me. It crashed onto the roof next to me, sending tremors through the floor. The beast recovered from the collision in a heartbeat and then charged at me.

The Sonic Shotgun didn’t fail me. As my temples throbbed from the near-death experience, I activated the Pogo Heelies to propel myself backwards and it threw me into a neighboring wall. The collision knocked the air out of my lungs but got me away from the elite’s snapping beaks. I fired at the creature’s face, and it did an excellent job of putting my target down. The Barrier Projector activated just in time to arrest the charging creature’s momentum. The force filled up the shotgun’s charges. The creature threw up blood before collapsing in a heap and going still. It didn’t have the same resilience as the almost-queen and went down much easier.

When I tried to get back up, pain shot up and down my back and hips. “Holy shit, that hurts.” I groaned, pushing myself upright. The other platyhawks were coming for us now, and I needed to be in fighting form. Then the door to the roof burst open, and Morpheus pulled himself through the opening using his massive metal arms.

“About time,” I said as the golem shot me with a dart of healing fluid. It stung but didn’t compare to the ache from my fall. “Let’s take these pieces of shit down.”

“This sucks,” Kitty growled. Neither she nor I could pin down any of the platyhawks. The projectiles were slow, and our targets flew much too quickly. No matter how hard I tried, the two crosshairs refused to line up. Perhaps my next upgrade needed a lock-on function. “We’re just wasting ammunition.”

The sound of destruction rang out all around us. The almost-boss sliced through metal and concrete with its glowing, biometal-lined wings. Liam was doing an excellent job of keeping it away from our new home but hadn’t inflicted any damage to the pursuing monster. Unlike me, he had little trouble landing his shots. Unfortunately they did little to no damage.

The projectiles from his McGuffin-powered nail gun pinged off the glowing body parts. “They’re just chipping the biometal lining,” Liam said. The only time I had heard him so panicked was when the elite mantises had attacked after Mama’s death. “The poison pellets aren’t doing much either, mate. What the fuck should we do about this bastard?”

“Aim for the eyes,” I told him. “Those won’t have the same protection, I guarantee it.”

“Don’t you think I’ve tried that? It’s too fast. I can’t do jack without your help.”

I didn’t know what to tell him. We were sitting ducks. The creatures were smart enough to know we’d put them down if they got close. So they stayed high above us while their leader continued to mince the surroundings. Occasionally one of them would scoop up rubble and drop it from above, trying to push us out of cover. Morpheus didn’t care, and, when necessary, I blocked the falling debris using the Barrier Projector. The device must have grown since its creation, because the attack only depleted a tenth of the bar.

We needed to figure out something soon though. For all we knew, these creatures had greater numbers elsewhere and could return in force. Meanwhile, our weapons had limited energy. Liam and the golems could probably sustain a siege, but I couldn’t. No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t figure out what to do.

“Any time now, Matt.” The stress in Liam’s voice was building. “You established yourself as our leader and tactician. Now would be your time to shine.”

“Lead him towards the building.”

“That’s a stupid idea. It’s precisely what we don’t—”

“If it’s close we can hit it where it hurts!” I exclaimed, saving the Barrier Projector’s charge and side-stepping falling bricks. “For your fat brain’s sake, Liam, you’re the only one who can fly. We’re not going to hit these monsters without a year of marksmanship training or smarter weapons. If you get it down here, I can hit it with the Sonic Shotgun or Morpheus can pin it.”

“That thing will rip through Morpheus and take me with him!” Kitty exclaimed through her golem’s glass barrier.

“Not if we disable it,” I told her, checking my power levels and firing the Charge Launcher to clear the platyhawks. They were flocking together for I don’t know what, and I intended to disrupt their attack with a single shot. “I don’t know why, but I think it relies a fair bit on momentum. Once it’s pinned down, we won’t have to worry about much besides the beak and claws. What do you think, Liam?”

He took a while to answer. “I think we’re screwed unless we try.”

My heart leapt into my throat when the elite behind me stirred. I was sure the sonic attack had scrambled its brains. Why the hell was it getting up now? The king above shrieked, and his knight spread its wings, ready to take off. The elite wasn’t watching us. Its eyes were focused on Liam as he accelerated in front of the almost-boss.

“Kitty, pin that bastard down!” I exclaimed, running towards it, Sonic Shotgun at the ready.

As instructed, Kitty shot towards the monster, ramming it with Morpheus. The bike golem’s two arms grabbed onto the platyhawk’s head and beak and held it down. This time, I shot the beast point-blank.

“Careful!” Kitty exclaimed. “I felt that too.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. It was about time I got in the habit of double-tapping my targets and ensuring they were dead. To err on the side of caution, I stabbed the creature in the eye with the Charge Launcher’s electrified blade. The creature spasmed awhile before going still. I went so far as to Disassemble it too. There was no coming back from that.

Materials stored for creation and upgrade:

- waterproof elite platyhawk hide
- plasma absorber
- hawk-eye optics
- elite platyhawk skeleton
- elite platyhawk talons

A giant metallic hand wrapped around my torso and pulled me backwards, and a heartbeat later a brick landed where I had been standing seconds ago. It shattered, pelting me with red fragments. I felt a sting along my jaw and above my right eye. A trickle of warmth ran down my face.

“Stop getting distracted, for fuck sake,” Kitty told me. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“Oi, lovebirds! I’ve got monsters on my tail.”

Liam had flown up high, and it wasn’t just the king who was chasing him now, but all his subjects too. All of a sudden Liam changed angle and dove straight down at us, flying directly through his pursuers towards us.

“Try to miss me,” he said.

Winnie, Morpheus, and I aimed past Liam at the mass of flapping wings behind him.

“Swerve as soon as I fire.”

My shots wouldn’t hurt the king, but it would hopefully thin the herd behind them. Winnie jumped the gun and released a barrage of spikes first. I scrambled to unleash my Charge Launcher too. Liam swore and weaved to the side. The boss followed, but the ordinary platyhawks were slow to react. They turned into pincushions for the biometal-covered projectiles before the Charge Launcher’s shot exploded in their midst. Its energy danced among them, bouncing between them, and just like that we’d halved the size of their flock.

The remaining three platyhawks screeched and came straight at us, forgetting about Liam and their king. “The king doesn’t have absolute control over them yet,” I commented. Perhaps he needed to transition into a full-fledged boss first. The monsters were smart enough to split up, making it harder for us to get them. Fortunately, Winnie’s attack had ripped one of their wings and it was having trouble flying. I managed to snipe it when it fell into an uncontrolled spiral.

Liam waited until the boss was almost on him before swooping upwards. The king tried to follow, but he didn’t expect his prey to change shape in mid-air and fall on his face. Liam’s spider claws curled around the boss’s head, and he unloaded all of the gun drone’s weapons at point-blank range. The boss screeched and broke into a barrel roll, trying to shake Liam off. He succeeded, but blood burst from her hide when he broke away from her.

My chest tightened, watching Liam fall. He was missing a leg, and the glass dome containing the brain had a large crack. It took him longer to switch into flight mode than usual, and I had to shoot the Charge Launcher to deter the platyhawks from collapsing on him. As soon as he had finished transforming, Liam shot towards us.

“Is Liam okay?” Kitty asked.

“I sure hope so.” I didn’t like this one bit. Liam’s speed had dropped considerably, and I felt like a sitting duck watching him. “Get over here, Liam!” I exclaimed. “You don’t have enough firepower to do this alone.”

“My sonic attack wasn’t powerful enough to do real damage. It’ll have to be you, bud.”

Once Liam was a half-dozen meters above the roof, he switched to spider-mode again. The propellers compensated for their low power with high control. Liam simultaneously shot to the side and slowed his fall. The king tried to do the same, but his weight made it impossible. The beast crashed into the roof and his head went straight through the floor. Cracks spider-webbed from the point of impact, destabilizing my footing.

The stabilizers kept me from falling, and I launched myself at the king using the Pogo Heelies. Unfortunately, I found myself flying a meter off my mark. Perhaps a grappling mechanism would need to be my next invention. The giant platyhawk was struggling to pull his head off the floor, so I charged in and hit the bastard with the Sonic Shotgun.

The platyhawk thrashed harder, claws flying everywhere. If I didn’t activate the Barrier Projector, the biometal-lined appendages would’ve shredded me. The projector’s energy bar dipped towards empty, but I heard a ding as the Sonic Shotgun’s ammunition refilled.

Morpheus braved the unstable ground and smashed the king’s head deeper into the ground. The cracks widened, and the floor shifted once again. The attack kept the beast down though, and the thrashing weakened. I hit it with a point-blank blast again. The biometal coating around its neck cracked and fell apart, revealing raw skin. Morpheus planted a couple of poison darts in the opening, and I stabbed it with the charged dagger blade.

The king pulled his head out and screeched. Morpheus grabbed me around the waist and threw me away from the monster. Meanwhile, Morpheus’s arm blocked a clawed swipe. It ripped through the metal but stopped at the central skeletal structure. Flames burst from the wounds.

“Ditch the limb, Kitty!” I yelled, extending the Charge Launcher’s barrel. Her fuel tank was damaged and leaking.

Kitty hesitated for a moment, but then the king snapped the limb off with its beak, taking the decision away from her. My crosshairs were already lined up. As soon as Morpheus had cleared the area, I fired a condensed sphere of crackling energy at the creature. I didn’t miss, and the limb exploded, enveloping the king in flames. It screeched, trying to rise into the air, but Liam was ready. His gun drone’s barrel glowed white before multiple shotgun blasts burst from it, most of which burned through the creature’s wings.

As soon as the creature fell to the floor, the spider-bot was on it again. On the ground, the form had greater mobility and grip. He got on the king’s neck, drilled through the skin, and unloaded the gun drone’s weapons once again. The oversized platyhawk’s thrashing and movements slowed before it collapsed altogether. We ran in and continued our attacks until the “Disassemble” option lit up in my interface.

Materials stored for creation and upgrades:

- king platyhawk hide
- plasma absorber
- hawk-eye optics
- elite platyhawk skeleton
- elite platyhawk talons
- king platyhawk beak
- biometal gland x4
- plasma charger x2
- McGuffin x2

The remaining platyhawks screeched and flapped their wings, creating distance between us swiftly. They cried at one another before disappearing amidst the tall buildings below us.

“Reckon they’ll be back?” Kitty asked, watching them.

My eyes remained on the corpses lying on the roof. Usually the bodies disappeared when I absorbed the parts. The parts I hadn’t absorbed slowly melted into the floor, and it rippled. The cracks shrunk before the hole started closing itself up. The filling looked fleshy at first, but then it darkened and eventually took on the color of ambient materials before blending all together. The texture remained leathery though.

“We’re going to make sure they don’t,” Liam said. “We need McGuffins, and wherever they’re going, there should be plenty.”

“I don’t get it.” Kitty’s brows furrowed

“What Galaxy Brain is trying to say, Kitty, is that there must be another nest close by,” I explained. “My guess is they’re well past capacity. Since they don’t need to compete for resources and no local predators, they’re looking to expand.”

“That’s insane,” Kitty stated. “There could be lots of these pairs around us, creating more nests.”

“Exactly. So we find these places and put them down. It’s much easier than combatting them in the sky. That’s our McGuffin sources sorted.”

“I got two McGuffins from that one and a biometal gland,” I said. “I reckon both could come in handy for the 3D printer.”

“Screw that for now,” Liam told us, staggering as he struggled to get accustomed to seven legs. “Upgrade the spider-bot. It needs a power-up to fight the creatures in this zone.”

“I could use the other one.” Kitty climbed off Morpheus. “He’s ready to shed the golem core but needs a McGuffin to take over as the energy source.”

“Does that mean we’re getting a new golem friend?” I asked.

Kitty nodded.

Chapter Seven

New Toys For Everyone!

Plasmade! – Too many spawnlings? Not enough amorous partners to help with their care? Need fuel to grind away at your button-pushing, dead-end job? Ingest Plasmade! Top up your bodily fluids and power-up with the energy of a thousand species!

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The lead drone in the Menagerie begged for a plasma charger and biometal gland. Liam’s 3D printer needed one of the latter, so after a little hesitation, I gave it up. The drone claimed he could ensure creatures born in the Menagerie would have both parts. It not only confirmed that they’d be more powerful than their natural brethren but, if they fell in battle, we’d get more of the invested materials back.

“We need to get more beasts and parts,” Liam said. “This is bloody amazing. Imagine how powerful our base could get. We could build an army of elites.”

“With platyhawks like that king, we could very well carve up the crushers—”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I stated, interrupting Kitty. “It took way too much effort to put those monsters down. The creatures in this sector are in another league. We need a lot more firepower and more hands before going after the crushers.”

“Good luck finding trustworthy hands until after we’ve taken them down.” Liam scoffed. “For the time being, we can’t rely on anyone but one another. So let’s get powered up and take down the platyhawks first. Doc, do your thing.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to call me that for all this time.”

Kitty’s process of upgrading Morpheus was much quicker than expected. She sat down cross-legged in front of her golem and held the McGuffin out in front of her. As she focused, the sphere’s color changed to match the cores that accompanied her power. The part of Morpheus that was the gas tank opened up. The golem core floated out of its resting place, shining with a hauntingly beautiful silver light. The McGuffin took its place, and Morpheus started shifting.

Silver strands connected the golem core to the McGuffin, and the latter took on the former’s color. The bike golem regenerated its old arm first. Then the skeletal frame groaned and creaked, transforming. With every metallic crunch, the golem became sleeker and more streamlined. The arms and sides appeared less bulky but more robust than before. Kitty fed the golem our hoarded biometal, the plasma absorber, and elite platyhawk hide. The latter only served to make the bike’s seat soft and cushioned, but her comfort was just as important as power.

Kitty picked her golem core out of the air and sighed deeply. I watched, amazed, as her eyes shone and Morpheus continued to shift. Biometal coated his exterior and then darkened to match the golem’s charcoal shade. Then more armor appeared around the rear too but folded into a more compact form. Finally, the wheels got wider and ridged. They looked like they belonged on a monster truck.

“Do you have any ideas for your new golem?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered and turned to Liam. “You’re not going to like this idea very much, but is it alright if I take the biometal gland?”

I expected Liam to flare up, but an emoticon smile appeared on his cracked dome. “Go for it,” he said. “I get the feeling we’ll find plenty in the nest. What kind of golem are you planning?”

“You’ll see.”

She took the parts and retired to the corner where I’d stacked all the materials I couldn’t put to good use. Then it was Liam’s turn.

Spider-bot MK II: Arachnophilia

- biometal chitin
- biometal blades
- plasma absorber
- elite platyhawk talons
- queen platyhawk beak
- McGuffin

Liam explained how he intended to increase the power of his inbuilt tools: drill, knife, saw. He hoped the McGuffin would supercharge the venom gland as well. The upgrade would likely increase his melee potential. My energy bar dipped by a third as I started the upgrade. A silver light consumed Liam, and then I found myself alone.

Now that I didn’t have others to attend to, I turned my attention to the lab coat. It had saved my life once again but had suffered greatly for it. The left breast was shredded. Meanwhile, the back had one massive hole where the repulsors had exploded. The lab coat had served me well and it didn’t deserve to go in the bin.

At first, I had assumed the device was dead altogether. My technopathic sense barely picked up any signs of life from it. However, when I focused, I detected a soft glimmer. It was like a candle struggling to sustain its flame. If I didn’t fix it soon, the lab coat would die. Even though it was just an article of clothing, I treasured the piece and would’ve loved to invest a McGuffin in it. Unfortunately, that would have to wait.

Lab coat damaged.

Evolution energy lost.

One Upgrade available.

Repulsor function lost.

Two Upgrades available.

Pick one of the following material’s body for repair:

- elite platyhawk hide

- king platyhawk hide (Upgrade: elasticity + gliding)

Upgrades available:

- Camouflage (royal mantis stalker chitin)
- Flexo Armor (imperial mantis matron chitin)
- Plasma Cloak (plasma absorber + McGuffin)

The upgrade options had me drooling. I didn’t know what a Plasma Cloak was and I couldn’t wait to find out. For the time being, I picked the king platyhawk hide and royal mantis stalker chitin. I’d gotten the latter part from killing the creature who’d killed Rajesh. In some screwed-up way, it felt like a part of him was living on in the lab coat now. Now I’d have stealth to get around battlefields and reposition for maximum damage.

I preserved the second royal mantis stalker chitin for Liam. He wanted stealth for his Recon Drone. We’d have to wait for a McGuffin before going through with that Upgrade though. My energy bar dipped by ten percent, and then I poured more into the device to speed up the process. The sooner my lab coat was functional again, the better. Hopefully I’d get more use out of the device and it would grow in strength quicker.

When the process completed, I was glad to feel the lab coat’s old consciousness in a corner of my mind. It wasn’t just excited to be alive but was keen about the changes too. Testing the gliding function would have to wait until later, but I got a taste of my lab coat’s new stretchiness. It still had a leather feel but felt light as air. When I pulled on one of the sleeves it stretched like a rubber band, and my arms weren’t long enough to pull it to the elastic limit.

Much to my disappointment, the Camouflage didn’t make me completely invisible. When I checked in the mirror, it looked like an image of whatever lay behind me was projected on my front. The odd reflection reminded me of the creatures from the film Predator and their transparent outlines while cloaked. A new bar had appeared in my interface too. This one was black in color, and it drained quickly as I switched the camo function on and off. Overall, I couldn’t be happier.

Leaving my friends alone, I went down to the kitchen to make a celebratory snack. It was then that the world around me turned gray. Knurven appeared in his usual fashion and, much to my surprise, they didn’t have the System Assistant on their tail.

“You, my friend, are the best bet I’ve ever made,” they said through a black triangular speaker molded into the flesh above their eye. “Good job. Your following has quadrupled since our last meeting. My colleagues were hesitant when I splurged on the Hub Core. We’ve not only made our money back but are already enjoying the dividends.”

“That hunk of junk set you back by that much?” I asked. “It’d be useless to anyone but me.”

“Well, it’s a hunk of junk way beyond your planet’s technology level. We managed to hide the contents of the package from the Alvans, which cost us an arm and a leg. However, they managed to discern it was advanced tech and their agents demanded extra. Then there were the bribes to keep the package’s origins and destination a secret. The device cost us only a tenth of what it took us to get it to you.”

“So the Alvans don’t know about us yet?”

“Oh, no! They do. Viewers are ecstatic to see base building this early in one of these shows. The forums and talk shows are electric with discussions regarding the use of your upgrades—”

“What are the Alvans doing about it?”

Knurven rolled their single eye at the interruption. “Nothing,” the balloon person answered. “We bought the exclusive rights to several channels when we bought yours. Then our agents scrambled their records. All they have in hand are your aliases. We’re keeping the location vague enough to keep them guessing. They have the technology to find out, but it will take them a while since they have to conduct everything through the pylons and their own drones.”

“That’s pretty devious, Knurven. I’m impressed.”

“We learned from the best.” They laughed. “The Alvans have spent so long conning people and getting away with it. They’re mostly unprepared when the tables are turned on them. In fact, the Alvans are so convinced they’re the most intelligent scammers in the universe that they don’t expect others to get the upper hand. It’s ridiculous really. You’d think they’d learned their lesson after my people—a comparatively underdeveloped civilization— debunked their claims and beat them to a stalemate. But no, they didn’t. They’re making the same mistakes again, and we’re going to take full advantage of it.”

“So what’s up with this visit?” I asked. “Anything of importance we need to discuss?”

“I’m mostly here to tell you how good of a job you’re doing and to ensure we not only censored but also cut away from your intimate moments with Kitty.” Knurven looked hesitant between me and the still-open portal. Delta was probably waiting on the other side, ready to censor classified information. “The Alvans know someone like you exists. They’ve gotten in touch with a few groups desperate to mate with the Alvans. These people know to look out for individuals with unusual technology. All Tinkers, Technopaths, and Technomancers are now under scrutiny. If such a group finds you, they’ll try to take you down for a fast track to the pleasure palaces.”

“Damn.” I sighed, hoping the raiders from our last sector weren’t foolhardy enough to follow us here. Regardless, we needed our base ready to defend against the monster and human threats.

When evening came, I sensed a new presence in the building. Knurven had not been gone long, and my friends were still busy. There was no telling how long the spider-bot would take to upgrade. It, and the glass container which contained Liam, had long become one entity. It wasn’t just a drone we were upgrading, but his body. Meanwhile, Kitty appeared to be working on something fairly complex. The glow from her now-white golem core was so bright that looking at her hurt my eyes.

Winnie had been following me around all this time, but he froze as well. Could he sense whatever I felt? It was coming from the first floor where my two friends were. I knew not to be worried though. The presence didn’t feel malicious but calm, intelligent, and curious. We raced up the stairs, confirming my suspicions as soon as I stepped onto the floor. It was Morpheus. He was an independent tech-born entity, and therefore my technopathic abilities could sense him.

The bike golem’s headlight and the front wheel turned to look directly at us. Kitty’s power no longer shielded his mind from me. I guessed henceforth all growth and upgrades he received would need to be of his own choosing. The dim consciousness that was the Medi Gun had disappeared. There was no sign of the Flash Gun either. Morpheus had assimilated both, and I could feel the two McGuffins within him. This was fascinating.

The bike golem rolled towards us, and Winnie stepped up to meet him. Kitty’s two creations made contact as the stuffed bear pressed his fluffy head to the headlight. I didn’t quite understand what kind of entities the two were anymore, but it was clear they had an invisible bond. Would my Creations reach a similar level of existence someday? Perhaps once we had some time, I could focus on nurturing their minds.

Kitty wanted her newest golem to be a surprise, and I couldn’t wait to find out what it would be. When she rejected my assistance, I half expected her to animate the giant metal sculpture on the ground floor. It stood close to three meters tall and had sufficient bulk needed to wreak havoc on anyone who attacked our base. Considering its size, a golem of its sort would’ve done a great job of helping us against the crushers. Come to think of it, since we’d met, this was the first golem Kitty was working on without my input. Perhaps it was important I take a step back and let her do her thing.

Winnie stayed with Morpheus as I went up to the Menagerie. The drones had already put together a strange device to put our gifts to good use. A large vat sat on a set of wheels near the eggs. Clear pipes connected it to the eggs, which were not only now larger but covered in minuscule cracks.

“Thank you for the gift, boss,” the lead drone told me. “The lads were going mad with boredom. Now they’re focused and excited about their work again.”

“Are the platyhawks going to be okay?” I asked. Sure, he was all enthusiastic about the improvement, but the contraption’s appearance didn’t give me much confidence. It was the tubes pumping the silvery, mercury-like fluid that sent shivers down my spine. “These don’t look particularly healthy.”

“Don’t you worry, boss. They’re going to be born stronger and more powerful than what your average queen creates. Your little minions will start off as elites, but with parts you’d only find in an orange-threat, boss-class monster. Thanks to the Nurturing Field, they’ll mature like the Menagerie was A-ranked, and then we can use the female to create more of these beauties.”

“And this place will be as good a fortress,” I mumbled, imagining an entire flock of platyhawks with abilities similar to the king. We needed some variety too, but that would have to wait. “We need to look into getting some ground and ranged defense too. The sector has a nocturnal, four-legged creature we could use.”

“Not my place to say, boss, but you don’t want to count on nocturnal beasts for your ground troops. They might be great for night-time patrols or to set up ambush spots for anyone trying to sneak up on the base, but not for all-round ground troops. In most cases, these creatures will have developed to excel in the darkness, but this comes at the cost of poor performance during the day.”

“Well, you have the ability to grant creatures you raise new abilities. Can’t you take away their nocturnal nature?”

The drone shook his head. “At B-rank the Menagerie lets us add and remove parts from a creature. If you want to edit creatures or build chimaera, we’ll need a floor upgrade.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I told the drone. “Keep it up, mate. You’re doing a good job. I can’t wait for the eggs to hatch.”

“Thank you, boss. The upgrades have enabled us to speed up the incubation process. You’ll have your platyhawks tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t wait.”

Before heading back down, I checked the top floor and roof. The leather-textured parts of the wall had disappeared. It had all blended into the homogenous concrete-like hardness. The Hub Core was extraordinary. Looking around, I knew for sure I had made the right decision picking Technogogue. Psiconstructor probably would’ve helped us in the short term, but using my power, I could build a safe haven for friends and allies. I’d have the ability to equip people to stand up against the Alvans, possibly even leave their territory, and find independence.

Perhaps when I had some time, I’d contact Delta for more information on Hubs. I wanted to know whether it would be possible to use a Hub Core to power a spacecraft. If not, maybe we could find a way to use the same technology the System had used to move sectors to take our home to the sky, far from people and most monsters. I found myself imagining a floating city traveling around the world, helping people that needed us and picking up allies along the way.

Liam was done upgrading when I returned to the ground floor. Like with Morpheus’s transformation, the core spider-bot body had condensed into a more compact form. However, the new look had a strange weighty look about it. The glass capsule that housed the brain was now more exposed than ever before. I couldn’t figure out why Liam wanted to leave himself so vulnerable. Then again, he had two McGuffins powering his body now. For all I knew, the glass could be as hard as diamonds and have regenerating capabilities. The metal now only covered a bottom third of the capsule and the legs growing out of it were thick and cylindrical.

Unlike the previous spider-bot, the new version looked less like an individual entity and more like a control center to slot into a larger body. Come to think of it, that’s precisely what Liam was going for. Once we got the necessary parts and Liam had his 3D printer running, I expected him to build several drones of his own. He hadn’t finished his first year at the university, but his Mega Brain gave him the potential to become much more intelligent than an ordinary human.

“How do you feel?” I asked him.

“Stronger than before and more energetic,” he answered. “It’s like every part of me has become supercharged, and I don’t need intent to control or guide it. I’m not sure how to explain...” He scuttled around for a couple of minutes, testing his new body. “Until now, it felt like the spider-bot was a remote-control car, and I was behind the controller—a very intuitive controller. Following the upgrade, it all feels like a complete organism.”

“Better be careful with your limbs then. Try not to let any beasts rip you apart.”

“They couldn’t if they tried.”

Liam fused with his drones, but this time they didn’t assume the normal ground spider form. First, the metal plates grew from the base, covering the glass in its entirety. Then the spider-bot’s eight legs paired off, each set fusing into a singular limb. They were thicker and longer. The recon drone’s propeller fans shrunk into the base where all the legs met, and the gun drone’s air propulsion system sat next to them, forming a triangular shape.

The rest of the recon and gun drones wrapped around the metal-covered capsule, forming armor and four arms. Each of them ended in a large three-fingered hand. I didn’t see the gun drone’s barrels, but I assumed they would grow out of the appendages when needed.

“What do you think?” Liam asked when the transformation completed.

“Badass,” I said, struggling to find better words. “You look like a Terminator out of a James Cameron fever dream. How does the biometal feel?”

“Light and flexible. I’ve used it for the internal joints and in the stress points. It’s not the most resilient of materials, but damn does it feel good.” He tested his arms, flexing the joints and checking the radius of movement. “Best part of it is, nothing is forcing me to always take this shape. I might take a minute or two to transform and will probably have to test optimal forms, but I can change to suit the scenario pretty damn easily. With two McGuffins in me, I have enough power to run four drones like Recon.”

“That’s pretty damn awesome. Do you have any idea what you want?”

“I’m thinking something with bulk,” he answered. “I can bring the pain with the gun drone and my melee weapons, but I don’t have much in terms of strength or defense. Instead of four small drones, I’m thinking of going for two complex modules.”

“I think I understand. You want the option of switching from assassin to ranged damage dealer to bruiser.”

“Precisely. When fighting the king, I had the weapons to put him down but couldn’t get to the critical spots or take down the defenses. I’m hoping this will solve that.”

“I imagine you eventually creating a body similar to the crushers’ and dominating any that dare oppose you.”

Liam laughed. “Or we could keep stacking modules until I become a hyper-intelligent Hub.”

“Is this your ploy to get us to live inside you, mate?” I asked, chuckling.

“That wouldn’t be weird at all,” Kitty said, making us jump. She must have finished creating her new golem while we were talking. Dark circles sat below her eyes, and she looked pale. The process must have taken a lot out of her.

“Where’s the golem?” Liam asked.

I scanned the room but sensed nothing besides Liam, Morpheus, and my devices. A good deal of the biometal was missing—it had to be a tech-based golem, right?

Kitty leaned against me, smiling. “You’ll see tomorrow.” Considering the amount of weight she put on my shoulder, I guessed she was having trouble standing up. Come to think of it, Kitty hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. “The construct needs some time to form before waking up.”

“I wish you wouldn’t leave us in suspense and just tell us,” Liam commented, heading for the stairs. “You two go eat dinner, I’ll be on the top floor if you need me.”

Chapter Eight

Hatchlings

The following day we rushed to the Menagerie first thing in the morning. It was time for the platyhawk eggs to hatch. We were all eager to meet these infants programmed to serve the Hub. The fact that these creatures would be born elite with a boss-class monster’s abilities also played a big part in our excitement. The beasts would help us rule the skies.

My mind drifted to Rajesh once again. If he were still with us, we’d have figured out a way for him to communicate with our platyhawks. He could’ve led them and become a badass aerial troop commander. I’m sure he would’ve loved it. After all, he loved animals and often said that if his parents hadn’t forced him into engineering, he would’ve pursued veterinary science.

Liam was already there, waiting for us in his base spider-bot form while the drones scurried around him. I couldn’t tell whether their numbers were double what we had seen the night before or it looked that way because they had gathered around the eggs in mass.

Except for the leader drone, they were all identical in appearance: gray skin, long spindly limbs, no genitals, and large egg-shaped heads. They spoke to each other using clicks and little beeping sounds. Their leader—the one with the little fin on top of his head, appeared to be the only one capable of human speech.

I found myself wondering whether the countless UFO sightings had some truth to them. The descriptions matched. It could be that the spaceships were portable Hubs and the aliens people claimed to have seen were System-made drones. If we had picked a different building material for the Hub Core, would the resulting drones be different in appearance?

Perhaps the drones were a species in service to the System. I hoped their employment was voluntary. If the System was willing to assist the Alvans in their endeavor to screw over humanity, perhaps slavery wasn’t a big deal to them. I planned on having a solo one-on-one with the lead drone later. They did seem to love their work though.

“The little one is hatching!” Kitty exclaimed, grasping my hand. She pointed at the smallest egg as it quivered and large cracks spider-webbed across the top half. A little beak poked out, dislodging a fragment of shell. “Please don’t let it be ugly.”

“Have you seen the adults?” Liam asked. “Except for the king, they were all ugly.”

“The queen wasn’t much of a looker either.”

Then more of the eggshell fell away, revealing a tiny head with large puppy eyes. Kitty got her wish. It wasn’t ugly.

“Rajesh would’ve loved this,” I commented. Imagining Rajesh gush over the newborns made my face break into a little smile. “Don’t you think so, Liam?”

“And Pallav would’ve been terrified.” He laughed, a toothy smiley face appearing on his tinted dome. When a pair of passing drones stopped to scrutinize the brain and tap the glass, he had darkened his container. Liam didn’t divulge to what level it bothered him, and I thought it best not to ask. “I’ve never been a fan of babies or newborns, but these things are bloody fascinating. Note how there are no external biometal parts yet. A thermal scan suggests the glands are present but dormant. I bet they’ll become active around adolescence.”

The egg next to it burst open, and its inhabitant came stumbling out, cooing. Much to our surprise, this one didn’t have wings. It had a tail as long as its body instead and a load of baggy skin. Tiny bumps ran along its spine from the top of its head to the end of the new skinny appendage.

“Forceful addition of parts sometimes changes the creature at its base level,” explained Fin—it’s the name Kitty had designated the leader drone. Apparently, his people didn’t have the need for names and people rarely bothered speaking to them. “We can’t do much to control it until you upgrade the base.”

“Is it a new creature altogether?” I asked.

“Think of it more along the lines of lateral evolution. We’ll know more as it grows. It’s got the beak and the claws, so it won’t be too far from what the parent creature was. If it’s a new species and the abilities are desirable, we can look into breeding more of them.” Fin raised a hand, anticipating my next question. “Our processes take away unwanted genetic anomalies born from breeding related pairs. Until you get us fresh stock, we can use artificial processes to impregnate female subjects as well. So you need not worry about incestuous relations among the stock.”

“You sound like you know what you’re doing, Fin. I guess I have no option but to trust you.”

“My people have been running the System’s Hubs for several millennia, and my family has been in charge of Menageries for sixty generations now. So we know what we’re doing.”

The conversation confirmed one thing. The drones weren’t mindless or System-created, but individuals with minds of their own. Before I could ask Fin more questions, he rushed off to help another drone with the wingless platyhawk. After licking up the fluid that had spilt from its egg, the creature was now trying to climb the walls.

We watched, amazed, for close to an hour as three-quarters of the clutch hatched. The majority of the creatures were the normal winged platyhawks. Most of them were bigger and louder than the first to break free of its egg. While they yipped, mewed, and screeched at one another, the little one climbed to the top of the discarded shells, watching its siblings with curious eyes. Seven more tailed platyhawks hatched, bringing the total number of critters to twenty-four.

“We didn’t have enough equipment to feed the remaining eggs,” Fin told us. “The newborns need cleaning. Once they’re settled, we can get started on the others.”

“Hold off on that for a while, Fin,” Kitty said. “In fact, if possible, put a hold on the hatching process. We’re on the hunt for more nests. We could find parts useful for other variants.”

“As good an idea as that is, I can’t execute any orders unless they come from the Hub’s owner,” the leader drone said, looking at me.

I hesitated. Did I want to give Kitty and Liam authority over the base? I trusted them both with my life, but giving them power over the Hub was probably not the best idea. Kitty and I hadn’t known each other for very long. We had the same goal, but what if she had different ideologies from mine? She still had part of a limiter installed in her head too. On the other hand, Liam and I had known each other forever. He was an arsehole, but he was our arsehole. However, he had a brashness about him and lacked compassion.

“We’re a democracy,” I said. “Decisions regarding the Menagerie need to be approved by all three of us.”

“Might I suggest you set up a voting system with the Hub Core? Then you can give your friends moderator access and share decision-making regarding certain floors.”

“We’ll sort that out later. If possible, freeze the hatching process for the remaining eggs. We’re going to go out scouting and pursue a nest not long after. There’ll be more parts. But, for the time being, focus on the hatchlings.”

Fin nodded and went back to work.

Liam sent his recon drone out straight away. He didn’t intend on joining us for the outing. The gun drone and his new body would keep him safe. Until the Menagerie prepared our pet platyhawks for the sky, we had no defense besides the shutters. Liam wouldn’t get to his planned defenses until we got his 3D printer up and running. Perhaps I’d need to divert some resources to the Hub Core as a deterrent.

Kitty’s golems and I went down to the ground floor. Besides Morpheus, there was a solid metal ball waiting for us. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it—I was disappointed. Kitty’s upgraded core had probably endowed it with incredible powers, but why couldn’t she divert some resources in appearance? After hearing several complaints regarding how ugly Pinky used to be, I expected her to make her golem cool or cute.

“How far are we going?” Kitty asked.

“Liam’s scanning the roofs and higher floors for nests. We’re going to check the ground and lower levels.” I tightened the Pogo Heelies as we left the building. Winnie rode on Morpheus, standing on the rear of the now longer frame. He sat clinging to the tinted shielding protecting Kitty underneath. “Those are some damn fine upgrades, Kitty. Your new golem coming with us?”

She nodded. The golem had sat immobile, leading me to believe it was asleep—the technopathic signal coming from it was feeble. Now the wheel-sized sphere rolled after us, coming to a stop next to Morpheus. I hoped the golem could do more than just roll.

Chapter Nine

Risky Shopping

The spherical golem had little trouble keeping up with us. It matched Morpheus’s speed, rolling right behind me. I clung to the upgraded bike golem’s rear as it picked up speed, weaving through car collisions, overturned buses, and debris with more ease than it ever had before. The best part of it was the silence Morpheus moved with. Outside of taking driving lessons in an electric car, I hadn’t spent much time with one. This felt no different.

Now that we weren’t in a rush to find shelter and terrified of every shadow, Kitty and I took our time riding around. After descending from the hill, we explored the sector, traveling outwards in concentric circles. We were careful to go down every alley and keep our eyes open for all signs of movement. We saw none. My goggles highlighted fragments of biometal plating on the floor. It appeared to be part of some sort of armor, and not from the platyhawks or crushers. We left them alone, prioritizing scouting over collecting them.

Our biggest question was: where had all the locals gone? Our last sector had been brimming with residents—we’d tried our best to avoid them, but there were plenty of them around. We had yet to see another human in this new sector though. I hoped they had fled and not gotten themselves slaughtered.

Chances were that most of the people in crusher territory had perished not long after the System had come online. It was almost nighttime when the nests awakened. Whoever had escaped the crushers had probably gotten picked off by the mysterious nocturnal beasts. I didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about it, but a part of me hoped to find people we could help.

I wouldn’t take things to the same level as Metalsmith and demand people provide McGuffins to earn refuge in my Hub. They’d, of course, need to contribute to the running and security of the Hub, whether that be cleaning, helping run the Farm, or going out to gather materials. As long as they didn’t try to loot us or blindly worship the Alvans, we’d allow them to find a place in our group. Liam considered the thought too idealistic and had begged me to avoid bringing people in until we got better defenses. I had reassured him that I wouldn’t unless we encountered someone in dire need of our help.

I kept my thermal scanners on as we explored. They couldn’t see through walls, but I stayed on the lookout for buildings that were warmer than the others. Much to my disappointment, I only spotted parking structures, warehouses, and underground storage units with signs of heat within. Neither Kitty nor I wanted to risk exploring them, as we were sure they housed the nocturnal beasts. At least that’s what we had observed in crusher territory.

After a couple hours of exploring, my goggles detected a working extraction unit. We approached it warily and were glad to find it was from an old bakery’s freezer. Kitty and I spotted an open window on the building’s second floor and sent Winnie in to scout.

“It’s clear,” Kitty told me after her golem had explored the building. Winnie came down to the front door and let us in. Morpheus stayed by the entrance while the new golem followed us in. “I named her Miley.”

“Miley? Because she can roll a mile in the blink of an eye?”

“No!” She laughed. “She’ll come in like a wrecking ball and clobber your face in. Don’t you get it? It’s like the song.”

“I get it.” I chuckled. “Can’t tell whether it’s lame or funny.”

“As if your naming skills are so much better than mine. Pogo Heelies? That’s so not very creative, is it?”

“You just wait,” I said, poking her side. “I’m going to make a jetpack drone called McFly. Then we’ll see who sucks at naming.”

“Then you’re going to make rocket-powered boxing gloves and name them Biff.”

“You’ve got me pegged.” Kitty planted a playful peck on my cheek before focusing on exploring the building.

It came as no surprise that the pastries in the display case were dead. The refrigeration had probably helped them last a week longer than they would’ve, but now they were moldy and disgusting. We happily raided the beverage fridge though. The cartons of yogurt drinks had long shelf lives, so Kitty stuffed her pocket with those. Meanwhile, I dug through the different bottled juices, checking the expiration dates. All but the orange and apple juices had gone off. I loved the former and hated the latter. I guzzled down a half liter container of orange juice and placed a few more in my pocket.

The dry store was a treat. Sacks containing several varieties of flour sat stacked against the wall. We found large amounts of sugar and salt too. But that wasn’t the best part. We found giant mason jars of homemade jams and relishes. They were all neatly labeled, detailing their contents and the date they were made.

Almost everything in the fridge had gone bad. The vegetables were moldy, and the trays of brined or marinated meat looked too slimy to risk. However, we found loads of cured meat in vacuum-pack bags. After a little searching, we spotted the two restaurant-grade “VacPack” machines too. The labeling was in German, but we deduced one was for raw goods and the other for cooked food. I disassembled both. I’d make better versions of the machine once home.

The freezer was the real prize. It was packed with chicken, large joints of pork, beef and lamb, as well as a few game meats I didn’t recognize. Perhaps adding a translation feature to my goggles was the next order of business.

“Now, this is a good find!” I exclaimed, grabbing a box of veal schnitzel.

Once we had a Farm up and running, we’d be set for fruit, vegetables, herbs, and beans. The meat was a whole another story. I figured the Menagerie could solve that problem. First, we’d need to find a System-modified creature we’d happily eat. Liam suggested the forested, red-threat-level sector would be the best place to find such a beast. Checking it out would have to wait until the pylon came down.

“We’ll have to make quite a few trips to get all of this home,” Kitty said. “I spotted a couple of shopping carts outside, but I doubt they’ll be enough.”

“No. We’ll need a proper trailer for Morpheus or a new vehicle for transporting resources.” Perhaps it was time I explored devices that could facilitate dimensional storage. Considering how my power interface could store disassembled parts, an “inventory”

had to be possible.

I checked the floor with the thermal scanners once more and, much to my surprise, found a third cooled door. Its temperature wasn’t as low as the fridge’s or freezer’s, but there was some machine at work keeping things nice and cool. A cellar, perhaps?

“It’s a basement,” Kitty said, opening the door. Unfortunately, the lights weren’t working, so we sent Winnie down first. “It’s a second kitchen. Considering the temperature control, it might be for making pastries.” She continued when I looked at her quizzically, “Most pastry work requires butter, and it melts much too quickly at room temperature. My sister used to be a pastry chef in London.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” I commented. “Was she working the night of the broadcast?”

Kitty nodded. “She’s strong and tenacious. If anyone is going to survive this mess and come out on top, it’s her.”

We left the topic there and headed down the stairs. The less we thought about family, the better. We advanced with caution, using the Charge Launcher’s barrel for illumination. My goggles didn’t pick up anything. The floor housed a dough mixer, several high-end blenders, and a few ice cream machines. I disassembled it all, happily adding the parts to my growing pool of crafting materials.

We were sure we had struck gold when I spotted the curing cupboard. It had large chunks of meat hanging from hooks. I wanted to take some of it with me, but there were large storage boxes in the way. Kitty was helping me move them when everything around us trembled.

“What the hell was that?” Kitty asked, looking at me, alarmed.

“It can’t be the crushers,” I said. “I checked the maps. We’re well out of their territory.”

“Maybe they detected the Telepathic Null Zone and got sent over to investigate—”

The building groaned again when I put one of the heavy boxes down and stepped away. “It’s the floor,” I said. “It’s not stable. We need to get the hell out of here.”

Kitty nodded, and her golems headed towards the stairs. Miley was crossing the middle of the room with us behind her when the floor cracked. I froze, trying to regulate my breathing and get my racing heart under control.

“Careful! This place is going to collapse.”

Then we heard a scraping far below us. Kitty looked at me, wide-eyed. I mimed breathing in and out deeply and shot her a reassuring smile. Miley stayed in place while Kitty carefully took a step towards the stairs.

The scraping stopped.

Kitty sighed, her shoulders relaxing, and her golems followed her towards the stairs. I hesitated for a second, looking between the curing cabinet and them. Were we making a mountain out of a molehill? What if the building hadn’t settled properly after the System rearranged the world? On second thought, no. Better safe than sorry. There was too much on my shoulders to take unnecessary risks.

Kitty and her golems were almost at the stairs, so I hurried after them. What we’d found upstairs was plenty. I needed to stop behaving like a greedy dumbarse. I was halfway across the room when a loud thud sounded from below the floor. I managed to stay on my feet, but the floor gave way under Kitty and her golems. I activated the Pogo Heelies and launched myself towards them, desperately hoping to catch Kitty before she slid down the slanting floor into the darkness below. Unfortunately, I was too slow. Her golems fell into the hole, and she followed them, reaching out towards me and screaming.

Chapter Ten

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Now wasn’t the time to hesitate. I used my new technopathic abilities to communicate with my goggles and turned up their sensitivity to light and movement. Even though the infrared vision was damn useful, I wasn’t used to it, and trying to process the information made my eyes and temple sore. I needed to be clear-headed going in after Kitty. For all I knew, she could be separated from her golems and hurt.

Damn it! Why had I never gotten around to making a new comms device for Kitty?

Even though it was tempting, I didn’t dare call out to her in the darkness. What if she wasn’t alone? Any communication could alert a monster down there to both of our locations.

While staring into the hole, I regretted not investing in night vision. My friends and I were into nerd culture, but nothing military or stalkerish. I didn’t know how night vision worked, but since my lab coat now had camouflaging capabilities, it was time to kit out my goggles properly.

“Matt, you dumbarse,” I muttered to myself. We were spending too much time thinking about the future and losing focus on the present. “Get in. Find Kitty. Get out.”

A quick thermal scan didn’t tell me anything. There was too much dust in the air, and parts of the structure were agitated from the collapse. Winnie had hopefully saved Kitty from getting seriously injured. Unlike humans, the little bear golem didn’t suffer from shock or hesitation. Perhaps Winnie had grabbed Kitty and then used his stretching abilities to arrest her fall. On switching off the infrared vision, I spotted a soft golden light in the distance. It was a golem core’s light! Kitty was probably using Winnie or Miley to illuminate the darkness.

I was preparing to jump into the hole when crashing and banging from the shop above put me on high alert. The collapse had created quite a racket and sent tremors through the entire structure. Were the shelves collapsing, or had the noise attracted predators? Unwilling to take a risk on the matter, I aimed the Charge Launcher’s barrel up the basement stairs at the door at the top. If an unknown appeared, I’d shoot first and ask questions later.

Deep breathing helped keep my heart from jumping out of my chest. Bloody hell, I was used to a sedentary life and preferred it. It had been just over a month since the apocalypse, and my body still wasn’t used to all of this stress. Much to my relief, it was Morpheus who appeared at the doorway. Well, it didn’t look like him, but I recognized the golem due to the Flash-Gun-enhanced headlight shining down at me.

Kitty had used her upgrade to turn the bike into a full-on transformer. Morpheus stood well over two meters tall and had legs to match the skinny arms. The wheels had moved to sit on his back, and the handlebars stuck out from the top of his head like horns. The golem’s new structure made it easier for it to climb down the stairs, but he still had to move sideways. There was less room between the wall and the railing than at the base.

“Kitty, is that you controlling him?” I asked in a whisper.

“Oh.” The construct was now a sentient entity with a mind of his own. Morpheus had made the conscious decision to abandon his job of keeping watch to go after Kitty. Since she was technically his parent, the golem probably cared for her deeply.

“Can you dim your light?” I asked.

Lacking the power of speech, Morpheus didn’t say anything. Instead, the headlight’s intensity weakened until it was no brighter than a night lamp.

“Perfect. Keep it that way unless I say otherwise. If there is something down there, we need to stay as quiet as possible.”

Morpheus nodded.

I took the lead climbing down, and he followed, barely fitting through the hole. The dim headlight and my hypersensitive goggles—thanks to the upgrade I’d gotten from the platyhawk queen—made looking for hand and footholds possible. I hoped whatever was down there wasn’t impervious to the Charge Launcher or the Sonic Shotgun.

Morpheus’s body shifted in size and width as we moved through narrow passages, heading towards the golden light. His ability to shift and reshape must have been modeled after Liam’s interactions with his drones. I couldn’t tell whether it was Kitty signaling us or Winnie making a desperate attempt to make contact. I wanted to believe Kitty was conscious and had the sense to remain silent, but reality often disappointed me.

The bike golem froze all of a sudden, and I followed suit, lying flat against the smooth gray bricks like him. My ears hurt moments later, even though I didn’t pick up any additional sounds. The heads-up display on my goggles suffered distortion for a couple of seconds before going back to normal. It took me a second to figure out what just happened. We’d been hit by a sonic wave outside of my hearing range, followed by a light technopathic pulse. I could still sense the lingering effects as my devices repelled them. My power outmatched the opposing one. It shielded the devices from alien detection and control.

When Morpheus hastened his descent, I knew there was something else in the darkness with us. There was no way to tell whether it had detected us or not, but the aggressor probably knew of Kitty’s presence and had unleashed the wave to feel her out. We needed to get to her as soon as possible and provide backup against whatever monstrosity was hunting us. What if it was the nocturnal beasts? It was likely they patrolled the sewers or whatever this underground structure was. It was mostly brick and mortar, so it could have been part of a subway system as well.

The scraping started again, and concerns of a second collapse filled me. In the current state, we could still climb back up. If more of the structure we were climbing down fell apart, we’d have to look for a different exit. I didn’t have high hopes for us in the darkness. We’d survive one or two attacks, maybe—but if a swarm of nocturnal beasts descended upon us, we’d be done for.

My jaw dropped when we got to the source of light. The fact that the glow was coming from Winnie’s open chest didn’t surprise me. Instead, it was the large silver dome behind the bear. Looking at the color and texture, I knew straight away that it was Miley. When Morpheus pressed a hand against the structure, a face-sized hole opened up, and Kitty peeked out.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

She nodded. “Something lunged at me when we landed,” Kitty said. “Miley managed to knock it out of the way, but I twisted my ankle.”

“Damn it.” I sighed. The bike golem brightened its light, illuminating the underground structure. “Morpheus is going to get you out of here, alright? Miley, Winnie, and I will cover you and then follow.”

The silver dome melted away, the liquid metal pooled together before solidifying into the usual spherical form. Once this was all over, I’d grill her about the new golem’s capabilities. I respected her desire to make it a surprise, but considering the state of the world, we couldn’t afford to play such games with one another.

“Can you climb onto his back?” I asked, patting the bike golem’s back. “Or do you need some help—”

My jaw dropped much like the floor had. Morpheus’s rear blossomed up, creating a Kitty-shape hole. It reminded me of what Wile E. Coyote left in his wake while chasing his lifelong roadrunner nemesis. She climbed into the golem and it closed around her, getting a touch larger in the process. Holy shit. She had turned Morpheus into a living power suit. Had we rubbed off on Kitty, or had she been a secret sci-fi geek all this time?

“We’ll get out of here together,” Kitty said. “Morpheus can keep me safe.”

Another sonic pulse accompanied by technopathic energies washed over us. This one was stronger and left a metallic taste in my mouth. What followed made me jump out of my skin.

“Was that a meow?”

“Sure as hell sounded like one,” I replied, running my scanner over the area around us. We heard it again moments later, and it was much closer. Cats could see at night, but that didn’t mean they had sight in the pitch dark. They needed a minimal amount of light for their hyper-sensitive eyes to work. So whatever we were dealing with had to be more than an ordinary feline. “It could be a trick. We don’t know what’s down here.”

Movement on the edge of Morpheus’s light caught my attention. I raised the Charge Launcher, fully prepared to blast whatever creature was trying to sneak upon us. My breath caught in my throat when I saw that it was a kitten. It wasn’t a mutated or System-perverted animal. Instead, we found ourselves staring at an ordinary kitten.

“Holy shit. How the hell did it get down here?” Kitty asked, trudging towards it. Morpheus didn’t appear very stable carrying her and moving on two feet. This was the first time she had ridden him in such a fashion after all. The metal plates that formed the power suit continued to move. “We should get it out of here.”

The sonic blast passed over us again, and my eyes widened when I sensed something new. “Kitty, stop!” I exclaimed as she knelt a meter from the creature, the mechanical hands waving it closer. “That’s not a cat.”

Kitty recoiled as the cat’s eyes glowed a bright red before exploding. The blast didn’t have much power, but it sent shards of metal flying everywhere. If not for the protection Morpheus provided, it would have killed her. A growl sounded from within the darkness, and a much larger feline form leapt at Morpheus. Miley jumped into action, accelerating at a ridiculous speed and launching herself at the beast like a wrecking ball. The creature’s tail shot backwards and latched onto the ground like a hook, helping it change direction midair.

It looked mostly like a cat. A large metal contraption akin to a pimped-out muscle-car engine stuck out of its midriff. Its ears were bigger than my hands, and the hole stretched all the way to the empty eye sockets. Then, a little hole opened up on its underside, and a kitten fell out. Now that I focused on it, I knew that it wasn’t a feline at all but a little metal construct covered in metal bristles.

“Why the fuck are you keeping still, Kat?” I yelled. “Get back.”

I got a better look at Morpheus’s front. Bits of the metal plating were dented, and shards had embedded themselves around the softer bits. I hoped none of the damage had gotten through to Kitty. The new monstrous wheels on the bike golem’s back slid down to his feet. Morpheus reversed just as the kitten bomb exploded. He threw his metallic arms up, blocking the shower of shrapnel.

“Matt, I’m hurt.” Kitty’s voice sounded shaky. I hoped it was the layers of metal muffling her voice and not something major. “I’m heading up.”

“We’ll cover you,” I said. “Get moving.”

Another exploding kitten popped out of the creature. I gave neither of them time to move and shot the Charge Launcher at them. It came as a surprise when the creature didn’t dodge. I expected it to jump out of the way, but the creature remained still and my projectile struck its shoulder and burst into countless strands of crackling energy. The kitten exploded, and the larger feline hissed as shards of metal pelted it.

I needed to know what I was dealing with, so I scanned the beast.

Elite Auranther: Exploditty Carrier

Originally bred by the eyeless aurins to live on their dark planets, auranthers are experts of hunting and surviving in the darkness. When the aurin species mysteriously disappeared, their neighbors assumed it was their pet felines that’d wiped them out. Now the auranthers live in dark space, preying on lost travelers and traveling to young planets to feast.

Besides their exceptional hunting skills, what makes elite auranthers extra terrifying is their ability to grow biometal tech into their biology. As a result, most opt for carrier-based modifications and use drones to assist in their hunting.

Damn. I needed to disassemble this beast.

I had tons of questions regarding how this creature functioned. Where did it get the materials for creating the exploding kittens? A gland would explain the biometal, but the kitten needed to have explosive material within it to pull off their kamikaze attacks. Distracting the creature and retreating would be the smarter move, but curiosity and greed got the best of me. As long as I had Winnie and Miley backing me up, everything would be fine.

The auranther had retreated into the darkness while I read the scan data, so I kept Winnie close to me. With Morpheus focused on climbing out of the hole, the little bear was my only source of light. When I switched on the thermal scanner, everything lit up around us. It was the shrapnel from the exploded kittens. I lowered the mode’s intensity so it was a barely visible overlay over regular sight. It probably wouldn’t help me spot more than sudden movement, but that was as good as anything I could hope for in our current situation.

I knew for sure the creature hadn’t retreated. Small pools of a hot liquid had sprayed around its initial position—blood. My infrared vision detected bright spots of it in the darkness, and they continued to pop up all over the room. The creature had stuck around. I couldn’t tell whether the collapse had trapped it in here or if it was too obstinate to accept the loss and leave.

The fact that my Charge Launcher had caused some damage gave me confidence. The projectile had struck the metal part of its body and not done much, but the arcing bolts of electricity had burned its flesh. A carefully aimed shot would probably put it down.

“How’re you doing up there?” I called, keeping my eyes on the darkness ahead of me. I shifted my position so my back was to the erect parts of the collapsed floor.

“Halfway there,” Kitty answered. “I’m sorry.”

“Focus on getting out, love. We’ve got this.”

A moving cold patch caught my attention, and I fired off a shot without hesitation. Instead of relying on the crosshairs, I aimed the projectile at where the blip was moving. I missed, but the Charge Launcher’s bolt exploded in front of the moving green light and showed it with electricity. It exploded, sending hot biometal shrapnel all over the place.

“Damn it!” I swore. It was a kitten. I needed to find the elite and put it down quickly. Even though I wanted the parts that made this creature tick, we needed to put it down and get out as soon as possible. The explosions were much too loud, and the auranthers clearly used sound for hunting. In fact, the pulses I’d sensed before were probably a natural sonar. Other members of the beast’s species could’ve heard the noise and might descend on us at any moment.

I caught another glimpse of movement and fired the Charge Launcher again. I hit nothing. The momentary flash of light illuminated the creature’s hooked tail as it zipped into the shadows. Then out of nowhere, two kittens came sprinting into the light. I activated the barrier projector, but thanks to Miley, I didn’t need it. She rolled in front of me and shifted into a thick barrier. Much to my surprise, the golem didn’t just block the explosions but absorbed the shards of biometal too.

Instead of sticking by my side, Miley rolled on into the darkness, two skinny spikes extending from either side along the horizontal axis. Moments later, a growl sounded from within the dark, and my goggles picked up a sizeable warm mass leaping through the air. Unfortunately, there was too much rubble for me to get a clear shot, so Winnie and I rushed forward together to get a hit in.

“Get back to the wall!” Kitty screamed from above. “Miley is rolling around blindly. If that thing gets behind you, you’re done for.”

I ducked and activated my barrier as the creature entered the light, leaping straight at us. Winnie didn’t let the beast make contact. The bear golem stepped in front and took the blow, allowing the creature to grab his torso using its massive jaws. The auranther realized much too late that it had made a big mistake. Winnie’s arms stretched and wrapped around the creature’s neck before spikes burst from almost every part of his body.

Muffled and panic-filled meows filled the room, but the little bear put an end to them by roaring in the beast’s face. I imagined the attack was as good as gouging the creature’s eyes out. It continued running around, banging its head and shoulders against walls, but failed to peel Winnie off. That’s when Miley came in like a wrecking ball and slammed into the creature’s side. She changed shape again, becoming a four-limbed starfish. Silvery biometal spikes extended from the appendages before they bashed wrapped around the creature’s rear.

The creature’s still-free metallic underside opened up, dropping a kitten and a half—the second half only had two limbs and a head. It was running low on materials! The auranther fell onto its side, angling Winnie and Miley to take the full blast. It got hit by some of the shrapnel too, but the explosions forced the bear golem off its target. The creature turned its focus on Miley when it should have been preparing for me. I ran in and hit the beast in the face with a point-blank blast from the Sonic Shotgun.

Much to my disgust, the sonic attack made the auranther’s skull and shoulders wobble like jelly before the creature collapsed. Blood poured from its mouth and nose, and I hit it again with the precautionary double-tap. When “Disassemble” lit up on my HUD, I knew for sure the creature was dead.

Materials stored for creation and upgrades:

- elite auranther grapple tail
- elite auranther ears
- elite auranther fangs
- biometal gland x2
- boomjuice gland
- mini-drone constructor
- mini-drone carrier
- sonar

Damn. This was an awesome take. Liam would have little trouble building his 3D printer now, and I had several ideas for the remaining parts. Winnie waddled up to me in rather ragged shape. His leathery skin always sealed itself after withdrawing the spikes, but now his head hung limply to one side. Kitty would need to fix that up once we were out.

A chill ran up my spine as a wave of pain washed over my eyes and temple. I sensed multiple technopathic signals. The creature’s death cries must have summoned its friends or hastened their arrival. I suspected the collapse had sealed off the entrances to the area—otherwise the injured creature would have retreated—but I didn’t want to find out. So I activated the Pogo Heelies and launched myself partway up the collapse. Winnie and Miley followed after me in their own way.

Kitty had Morpheus shine his light down at us, so I had an easier time finding handholds. Booms sounded from down below, followed by several weak sonic pulses. The auranthers were probably trying to find their way into the sealed-off area. I didn’t know what kind of family structure these creatures followed, but if it was a lion-pride-like setting, maybe these creatures wanted to help their friend. When they found out it had died, they’d probably follow our scents out into the building.

I didn’t want to take any chances. So once at the top, I had Kitty and her golems go up the stairs before unloading the Charge Launcher on the cracked floor, causing all of it to collapse. If we were lucky and these creatures sucked at climbing, perhaps we were safe. Kitty came up with the idea of destroying the staircase and barricading the door. Morpheus and I moved around a few fridges to block the entrance and wedged them in place for security. We couldn’t afford to lose the building; it contained too many valuable resources.

“You’re lucky the generator wasn’t in the basement,” Kitty said when I collapsed on my bottom, breathing heavily. My head and body ached from the stress and exertion.

“Either way, we need to empty the building soon and get everything back home,” I told her. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I bit the bullet and got Morpheus to use the Medi Gun on me.” The bike golem opened up, letting her out. Two little beads of blood marked her pale collarbone. I lifted her bloody top and gave her a once over. A patch of raw red skin sat above her right breast, and she had a similar bit on her left hip. The damage had already disappeared off Morpheus, but hers would need the Nurturing Field generator. “I wanted to wait until we were home.”

“You don’t like needles, do you?”

“I never have,” she answered.

We fell silent when a loud rumbling sounded far below us. I didn’t sense any more pulses though. It probably meant the sonars had a limited range, and we were far out of it—the bastards couldn’t climb up after us. So it was safe to assume that the auranthers were the nocturnal creatures haunting the parking structures. They had probably spread throughout the sector using the dark underground tunnels.

After grabbing a snack and a drink, we headed back towards home base. Hopefully, Liam had a few leads regarding the platyhawk menace. Once we had dealt with them, we’d need to investigate the extent to which these half-metal felines had infested the region. If there were any of them living up on the hill, we needed to up our defenses as soon as possible. Unfortunately, our platyhawk defenders would probably turn out somewhat ineffective against them.

Chapter Eleven

Target Acquired

It was late in the afternoon when we started our journey back home. The sun was getting low in the sky, but it was still light. I hoped that would be enough to keep the auranthers in their dark hidey-hole. Unfortunately, the scan data hadn’t specified that they avoided daylight, but I went with observational knowledge and deduction. Compared to the elite platyhawks, the auranther was comparatively flimsy. They most likely relied on fighting in pitch blackness to ambush their prey and refused to risk fighting in the light where their enemies could see them. As a result, we didn’t need to worry about them.

Since coming to this new sector, the Sonic Shotgun had proved so much more potent than the Charge Launcher. It was a good thing I had equipped Kitty and Liam with sound-based weaponry too. Liam’s would probably be much stronger now that his base body had an extra McGuffin. When we had materials to spare, I’d have to pimp out Winnie’s sonic blast generator. With a more powerful roar, he could make short work of auranthers and platyhawks.

I was happy making the Charge Launcher my primary weapon. However, it still needed more power or additional firing modes. Perhaps a high-speed projectile would cover my bases. I’d need something that didn’t need too much aiming though. Along with that, I required a utility device. With Rajesh gone, we didn’t have many options for crowd control. From now on, Morpheus would be our primary tank. With some training, Kitty could probably teach him to grapple, but I wouldn’t feel particularly secure until both of us had decent tools for disabling enemies. I already knew what I wanted for myself.

Stick n’ Save Gloop Shooter

- hand-sanitizing gel
- burn cream
- toothpaste
- iodine
- water pistol
- super glue
- Sleepy-Time cough syrup
- instant coffee
- McGuffin

We had gathered all of the necessary materials when fleeing the previous sector. All I needed a spare McGuffin to finish it. The device required some design upgrades so it sat on my forearm, but besides that, it was perfect. We’d have an additional source of healing when out in the field, and the “Sticky Gloop” would be excellent for setting traps or disabling foes.

Kitty would need to decide what would be best for Morpheus. I had considered adding a harpoon to the Charge Launcher and electrifying it, but considering my fighting style, it wasn’t ideal. On the other hand, perhaps the bike golem could benefit from such a tool.

While on our way back, I checked the comms link. Not to get in touch with Liam, but to check whether Pallav was within range. I couldn’t get through. He was either too far away or had found a way to disable the function. I certainly hoped it wasn’t the latter. Sure, he blamed me for Rajesh’s death—to be honest, I did too—but we’d left things on a positive note. Cutting each other off was certainly not the answer. I reckon upgrading the gauntlet and his power without consent had probably rubbed him the wrong way too.

“Once we bring in all the meat, we’ll have enough to feed a family of ten for almost a year,” Kitty said. “Given we don’t go crazy, of course. The challenge will be eggs and grains. The Farm will be great for vegetables, but things like rice and flour take a lot of space.”

“Once security is no longer a concern, I’ll look into investing in the Farm heavily,” I told her, clinging onto Morpheus as we looped around the hill. “If the Menagerie can help improve beasts, there has to be a way to do the same with crops. Planting doesn’t have to be traditional either. We could look into vertical farming and stacking things up to the ceiling.”

“What we need is Timelord technology so we can make things bigger on the inside.”

It took me a second to get the Doctor Who reference. Was Kitty a secret nerd? She had gotten the inspiration for Miley from the Terminator franchise.

As we approached home base, I spotted movement on the roof. It wasn’t just Liam’s drones, but Fin and the wingless platyhawks too. Then I spotted a hole on the fourth floor’s outer wall and the little guys milling around it. In the few hours since they hatched, the creatures had almost doubled in size. Fin and I needed to have words. He and his followers were supposed to raise the animals and keep them in check, not let them damage the Hub and run amok.

Liam climbed down the wall in his spider mode and made a beeline for the hole. When he got close, the two wingless platyhawks milling around the area screeched at him before hurrying up and away from him. Fin seemed to have gathered the rest on the roof, and they appeared to be heading for their siblings. As soon as they had cleared the area, the hole closed up.

Once we entered the building, I went straight for the stairs, but Kitty stopped me. She pointed at Miley as her liquid metal body opened up, releasing a bag of flour and several vacuum-packed sausages. She must have done a quick raid on her way out.

“She can’t transport much, but everything looks undamaged,” Kitty said. “We can use her for transporting a decent volume.”

I nodded. “That’s great. I’ll look into building Morpheus’s trailer soon. Let me find out what’s going on up there first.”

Kitty nodded and headed towards the kitchen. The bike golem transformed into his humanoid form, gathered the foodstuffs, and followed her. Miley stayed on the ground floor while Winnie followed me. I was pretty sure it wasn’t Kitty who’d instructed him to do so. The stuffed bear appeared to have taken a liking to me. The feeling was mutual. It was a cute little murder-hobo. The damage to his neck had been fixed during our journey back, and he looked no different from before.

When I got to the roof, Fin and Liam were still struggling to reign the critters in.

“What the hell are you lot up to?” I asked. “Hasn’t your family been doing this for dozens of generations, Fin?”

“I’m sorry,” the leader drone replied, his giant-eyed face remaining expressionless. He looked down at the floor though, so I took it as a genuine apology. “Variant creatures are unpredictable. Platyhawks love sharpening their beaks, and that appears to be amplified in this lot. They don’t like being cooped up and managed to wear down the wall and break out. We’re trying to figure out what to do with them, because containment isn’t an option.”

I sighed. Taking a negative tone with people wasn’t my thing. But things had changed. We were facing the end of the world, and I was responsible for the Hub and its current and future residents. The last thing I wanted to risk was security. As the man in charge and considering what was at stake, I’d need to be harsh and short with people. The thought didn’t sit well with me, but perhaps fairness and occasional rewards would balance the scales.

“What do you think we should do, Liam?” I asked.

“Let the creatures roam free,” he said. “We need to install a door on the Menagerie’s outer wall so the residents can exit the building more easily. As the Hub’s owner, you determine how far they can get from the building, from what I gather. By keeping the nourishment indoors, you can ensure feeding and bedtime brings them back in the Nurturing Field until they’re fully grown.”

“I suppose that’s our only option. Perhaps we can do exits through the elevator shaft as well. That way the beasts can exit through the roof and basement too.”

Then I told Liam about the auranthers and showed him the parts we’d collected. He was ecstatic to get his spider hands on the biometal glands. Liam took one of the glands gladly but rejected the rest of the auranther parts.

“Drones take a fair amount of brainpower to manage unless they have some degree of artificial intelligence,” he told me. “The last thing I want is to split my attention between my modules and mini-drones. I’d suggest you use it in conjunction with the Hub Core for security or make yourself a new device. With your growing technopath powers, you might find a better use for it than me.”

Good. That’s what I wanted. Since Liam had more experience with drones, I’d offered the device to him first. I wasn’t sure yet what function or role I wanted the machine to fill, but I had plenty of ideas: scouts, kamikaze bots, bladed-flyers, and a lot more. Thanks to the Menagerie, the Hub Core didn’t need mechanical drones. Besides, due to its inclination with biomatter, beasts would probably synergize better.

Liam snapped me back to attention and told me about what Recon had seen. There were close to a dozen platyhawk nests littered around us. One in the buildings below us was massive and the source of the almost-boss monsters. These creatures had established nests and transitioned past the elite stage. However, only two of these could count as real nests, and most of them were in a nascent stage similar to what we’d discovered on our arrival.

When the wingless platyhawks had launched their prison break, an elite had been circling over our building. On seeing the critters, the bone-crowned beast had flown away. Liam believed we needed to always have a couple of winged and wingless platyhawks outside the building. It probably made our monstrous neighbors think this building was still a nest and they’d keep their distance. In the meantime, we could focus on taking the nests down one by one. Not only did we have access to a lot of materials, but this would be great for Kitty and Liam too.

Kitty’s golems needed monster deaths to grow. We could accelerate Winnie’s transition into an independent golem and get Kitty another follower. Liam’s power upgrades came from killing boss monsters. He tracked it using a bar in his personal HUD. Three more boss monsters would give him enough energy to advance his technopathy and give him an Omnifabrication-styled ability. Paired with a McGuffin-powered 3D printer, he could make a ton of useful tools, leaving me to focus on crucial upgrades.

Even though the possibility of Liam taking a lot of work off my hands sounded great, I struggled to get excited about the matter. Despite Liam’s Mega Brain, he had a habit of underestimating people and enemies. In my opinion, the platyhawks were smarter than the average beast. How long would the Menagerie-bred creatures fool them?

“Where’s the closest nest?” I asked.

“Further up the hill,” he answered. “There’s an observatory up there. It’s a newer nest, and the creatures there are mostly infants.”

“And the bosses?”

We headed down the stairs together, helping Fin keep the chirping and yipping platyhawks in check. The lead drone wanted me to name the creatures, but I decided to hold off until they were fully grown.

“A mama-papa pair. Unlike the creatures we fought, it looks like the male doesn’t leave the nest often. I reckon he might be injured.”

“That’s our established target then,” I declared. “Kitty’s new golems are pretty badass and effective. As long as we keep the platyhawks in the observatory, it would be easy to keep them grounded and take them out swiftly.”

Liam’s dome showed a little thumbs-up image. “What’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?”

“Food. Then I’m going to try to whip together a trailer for Morpheus. First, we need a better method for retrieving large quantities of food and materials.”

“Dimensional storage, mate,” Liam told me. “You need to get to the drawing board and start whipping up your crazy ideas. Consider contacting Knurven too. Now that we have a permanent roof over our heads, it’s time to focus and prioritize.”

Chapter Twelve

Armed And Ready

Building Morpheus’s trailer was no trouble at all. I dismantled a few cars for the materials, then used the creation command’s design function to build a chassis around the best axle I could find. A pair of large truck tires and independent suspension ensured obstacles and terrain would prove no trouble. Lastly, I added a sliding shutter that curved over the top down to the front. With the two sides left open, the trailer could house bulky objects or act as a chariot of sorts.

When I showed Kitty the Creation, she was ecstatic. Much to my surprise, she didn’t leave it aside to attach to her golem whenever needed but had him assimilate it. The axle broke into two and attached to the bipedal golem’s back, while the metal added to the armor. The change made him grow in size and become bulkier. The wheels joined the other two on the back.

“If needed, he can detach the component,” she said. “We’re going to need more armor for the auranthers, and the axle halves are solid enough to use as weapons.”

“Do you even need me for such components? The trailer has no tech behind it. It’s just an inert mechanical hunk of parts.”

“I can only create living parts for my golem,” she said. “Modules or additions like these would take away from what’s connected to the central core. Your trailer is an independent component that Morpheus has assimilated for convenience right now.”

Her reasoning made sense. The auranther had done enough damage to the bike golem to hurt Kitty inside. When not in trailer mode, the heavy chassis had enough plating to give her decent protection. I worried about bulk though. Wouldn’t Morpheus have maneuverability issues when going through tight spaces? I supposed we’d deal with the matter when we faced such challenges. Making the trailer didn’t cost a lot of time and energy, but I’d still be annoyed if we had to ditch it mid-battle.

I wanted to take some time to design a new device using the auranther parts, but I visited the Hub Core first. We had plenty of materials and biometal still lying around and, much to my surprise, the core happily accepted it as biomatter. The interface created a separate tab displaying how much biometal it had to work with. Making three biometal doors would use up most of what we had in stock, but thanks to the glands, it was no longer a limited resource.

I first installed a sliding door to the Menagerie wall. It sat close to where the wingless platyhawks had opened their little escape hole. I added one on either end of the elevator shaft too. As for the elevator, the platyhawks had destroyed it. The core’s interface let me get away with adding a flat platform that would move up and down the shaft. It would lay flat against the back wall when the beasts were using the vertical passage.

Fortunately, the core didn’t ask for too many materials to reactivate the elevator. Most of the pulleys and chords were already there; it was the carriage that had been damaged. The core had absorbed the wires and circuitry from the previously wrecked top two floors. My power synergized beautifully with the core’s interface and let me design exactly what I had in mind, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Liam would most likely be annoyed that I’d taken this long to get something so simple done.

Finally, I moved onto designing my next project.

Mini-Drone Launcher

- backpack
- biometal gland
- mini-drone constructor
- mini-drone carrier
- camera
- microphone
- thermal scanner
- sonar
- transmitter
- string
- boomjuice Gland
- McGuffin x2

The two McGuffin cost came as no surprise. I used Miley and Liam for inspiration when designing the drones. In their base form, they’d be spheres capable of rolling around for the sake of swift movement. When encountering obstacles or instructed to scale walls, they’d open up to expose mini spider legs.

There would be two types of drones and they would share several functions. They would each have a camera and microphone. They’d transmit information to my goggles and let me run reconnaissance without relying on Liam or Kitty’s golems. The string, paired with a biometal hook and boomjuice-powered launcher, would allow the drone to grapple up surfaces.

The two types of golems would be called Trappers and Boomers. Trappers would shape biometal into teeth, wire, and hooks. They’d weave trip wires or webs and would either bite down on my targets or pepper them with biometal shrapnel. On the other hand, Boomers would climb onto their targets and explode or turn themselves into mines or timed explosives. My technopathic link to them would serve brilliantly as an ignition switch too.

Unfortunately, the interface refused to let me bypass certain limitations. I wanted to keep the size and weight down to keep the Creation from getting too unwieldy. The carrier backpack would only house four drones at a time and would need an hour to create a new drone. The interface informed me that the Trappers and Boomers wouldn’t live long outside their carrier either. They’d live as an active drone for an hour at most and a passive drone for a couple more.

My interface failed to go anywhere when I tried to put together a dimensional storage device. First of all, how would you design such a device? I didn’t know where to start or how the physics behind such a machine would work. I made a note to ask Knurven or Delta about whether such a Creation was possible at all. Requesting them for the blueprint of one would make things a lot easier.

Finally, I made a new device using the auranther’s tail which I called a Grappling Belt. It replaced the belt I wore on my trousers, and the hooked mouth lay flat against the buckle. It didn’t have a whole lot of range but would give me some control over the Pogo Heelies’ launches. Once I was done and satisfied, I joined Kitty in bed, expecting to wake up in no less than five hours.

Kitty had to shake me awake the following morning. I had been up much too late sketching and tinkering, and getting out from under the covers was a bit of a struggle. In fact, I tried pulling Kitty back into bed so I could leech off her warmth. It wasn’t until she reminded me of our urgent need of McGuffins that I sat up. That’s right. Until Liam had his 3D printer and Kitty her Farm, I couldn’t start crafting my new toys. Besides, we suspected Winnie would be ready for his upgrade soon, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a couple of extra McGuffins at hand.

We freshened up and had a quick breakfast of cereal with long-life milk. Liam joined us in the kitchen with Fin in tow. He had brought a wingless platyhawk with him. The creature was almost twice as large as it had been the day before. Little bony protrusions peeked out of the bumps along its spine and tail. Jagged bone poked out from the top of its head, flaring backwards like little horns while the beak and claws were large and sharp. The creature looked more like a dinosaur than a bird now.

“I think we should call it an ankylopus,” Liam said.

“Holy shit.” Kitty looked it up and down, wide-eyed. “That thing looks terrifying. Is it fully grown?”

“Still a long way to go, Queen Bee,” Fin answered. After getting sick of “sir” and “madam,” we’d asked him to use our System aliases. It would take some time for us to get used to being called those. “We expect at least two meters length from nose to tail.” He looked at me. “I’m not sure how you feel about this, MAD, but these specimens seem to have rejected the biometal glands. We tested their bones—they’re extra dense and can absorb and project plasma. I suspect they’re going to have plating over most of their body by the time they’re fully grown.”

“Tank ground troops,” I mumbled. “Would their offspring benefit from biometal glands?”

“I suspect not. The bone insulates against heat as well as electricity. Biometal would make these creatures vulnerable. If you’d like, we can neuter this batch and try again—”

“That won’t be necessary.” Fin’s shoulders relaxed on hearing my words. I suspected he got emotionally attached to the animals he raised—not that it was a bad thing, but I’d figured that after generations of running Menageries, his people would avoid getting too invested in individual specimens. “We’ve got ground troops. Try keeping them within the Nurturing Field as much as possible until they’re almost fully grown. Then we can have them patrol the hill.”

“That’s great!” Fin exclaimed. “As far as the power level is concerned, the ankylopus are already as strong as the standard beasts in this zone. By the time they’re fully grown, they’ll rival most elite creatures.”

“What about the platyhawks?” I asked.

“They still have a long way to go. However, we’re expecting a growth spurt pretty soon. Meanwhile, we’ve successfully put the remaining eggs in stasis. I await your instruction and any other parts you’d like included for their development.”

We bid Fin goodbye, leaving him and the platyhawks in charge of our new home’s defense. Hopefully, just seeing the platyhawks would deter most hostiles. My jaw dropped as I saw our new ride. Kitty didn’t think much of the chariot idea. Morpheus hadn’t just fused with the new trailer but with Miley as well, forming a four-wheeled vehicle. Kitty sat upfront under a protective glass dome. Behind her, the vehicle had a raised seat. It appeared like a perfect spot for a gunner, and I accepted it as my spot. Winnie climbed atop Morpheus. His lifeless, beady eyes focused on me.

“Kitty, am I in his spot?”

She didn’t answer, just laughed, so I spoke to the golem directly.

“Am I in your spot, buddy?”

It came as no surprise that Winnie didn’t respond. Instead, he climbed atop Morpheus and squeezed into the cramped space. It would’ve been cute if he didn’t weigh a whole lot more than a standard stuffed bear. After an uncomfortable minute, he settled in between my legs.

We started our outing not long after six in the morning. Unlike the auranthers, the platyhawks appeared to prefer daylight. However, the sun hadn’t risen yet, so we hoped the platyhawks would still be asleep or waking up. Morpheus proceeded towards our destination slowly to avoid too much noise while Liam went on ahead. During the journey, we went over our game plan.

All of us agreed that our best bet would be to split up and take out all the ordinary platyhawks first. The chances of any of us taking out a boss with a single blow were zero, and we’d have to deal with two at the same time. If the little ones were taken care of beforehand, there would be less to worry about.

Since my lab coat now had a camouflaging function, I’d head off on my own with Winnie. He and I worked well together. Kitty would ride Morpheus and have Miley watching her back. Meanwhile, Liam wouldn’t stray far from her so they could group up if shit hit the fan. The plan went into play as soon as we arrived at the observatory. The front doors were wide open. Kitty and Liam headed left. Winnie and I went right.

It was darker inside than out. I had a peek at the central domed room and found the boss pair cuddled together. The ceiling was partially open, making the building a perfect place for the platyhawks. They could fly in and out of the building freely. Eggshells lay on the opposite side of the room and a large bed of bones between them. There weren’t just human remains, but auranther too. I spotted a third kind among them but couldn’t discern what animal they belonged to.

I closed the door and backed away. The pair would have to wait. I snuck along the corridors, checking every room for platyhawks. There were plenty of infants lying on their backs with bloated bellies. Winnie and I put them down swiftly using our melee weapons. My charged dagger cut through the adults with ease as well. We didn’t encounter any challenges until passing the old food counter. A trio of elites lay spread across the room with a half-eaten auranther between them.

Following my directions, Winnie waited by one while I made my way over to another. I did a silent countdown and plunged my blade into the elite’s open beak. The creature’s eyes shot open, and it thrashed for a few seconds before going still. Winnie copied my movements, but his target moved in its slumber, and he struck a bit of bone-plating instead. The elite platyhawk’s eyes shot open, and it snapped at Winnie. The bear leapt away from the leather-rending beak, avoiding damage, but now the beast had room to get upright. It yipped, awakening the other elite, and now we had no option but to fight them.

I didn’t waste any time. The more time we wasted on this, the more sound we’d make. This needed to be quick and quiet. So I ran at the third elite while it groggily looked up, trying to figure out what was going on. The creature’s eyes cleared when it saw me. Unlike the other two elites, it was skinny and had long claws.

My assumptions of it being a swift attacker proved correct when it slashed a flesh-rending claw at me so fast that my eyes barely registered the movement. Planning on saving the barrier for when my shotgun needed recharging, I relied on the Grappling Belt to pull me away from danger. It didn’t disappoint. Once away from the threat, I used the Pogo Heelies to launch myself directly at it. The creature turned to face me head-on, but I used the new grappling device to pull me up towards the ceiling at the last second.

The still-lying-down platyhawk struggled to reach me, and I went over its head, landing softly behind it. The Pogo Heelies didn’t fail me, keeping me stable throughout the man oeuvre. Then, still unwilling to use the Sonic Shotgun and alert the bosses, I sped forwards and slashed my electrified blade across the platyhawk’s back. It let out a soft surprised yelp, but before the creature got any louder, I climbed atop its shoulders and stabbed at the back of the skull.

Much to my disappointment, I struck reinforced bone. The platyhawk took advantage of my failure and swung its head backwards. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my lab coat no longer had an impact absorber and repulsor functions in the heat of battle—activating it did nothing to protect me from the blow. I turned invisible but was still knocked off the beast and to the ground.

It jumped up and spun around, looking for me. I lay very still, worried a single movement would give away my location. While getting my breathing under control, I checked on Winnie. He hadn’t killed the platyhawk. Instead, the stuffed bear had wrapped his stretchable limbs around the monster’s skull, keeping the giant beak shut. He had extended his spikes from all over his body too. Unfortunately, only a few droplets of blood had collected on the floor. He hadn’t penetrated the elite platyhawk’s skull; it was trying to shake him off and failing miserably.

When my opponent stopped looking for me and approached his entangled sibling, I launched my attack. Using my technopathic link to the Charge Launcher, I channeled extra energy into the blade and slashed at the creature’s hind limbs. Somehow my attack cut clean through, spraying blood all over the floor. It opened its mouth to screech, but no sound came out. Instead, the creature convulsed! The electricity had gotten through. So when it turned around with its beak still open, I stuck the Charge Launcher’s barrel in and fired a projectile.

The third elite intensified its struggling when its sibling exploded. The hide might’ve been insulated to protect from lightning, but the insides weren’t. I ran to the final elite, trying to slash at its limbs, but the platyhawk moved swiftly, refusing to let me flank it. The temptation to use the Sonic Shotgun hit me, but I wrestled the urge down. There was still no sound coming from the main room. The bosses were probably still asleep.

Combat would become so much easier once I had my new devices. The designs made me think I had been going around battle the wrong way so far, but such thoughts would have to wait. Winnie followed my instructions once again and released the creature’s neck, moving the bindings to the forelimbs. Once they were secure, he released the elite’s beak, and its first move was to lunge at me. The powerful hindlegs gave it propulsion but no control—I dodged the attack with ease and plunged my blade into its side.

Much like its dead sibling, the platyhawk opened its beak, but no sound came out. Its insides were in shock. I poured more electricity into the dagger, making the creature convulse. Winnie slipped his fluffy arm into the monster mouth before extending all his spikes at once. The death was a tad slower than what I liked, but it got the job done.

Once the last elite went still, I fell on my back, panting. We were lucky the sounds hadn’t attracted the attention of any residents of the building. After catching my breath, I dismantled the monsters and continued on my way along the curving corridor. When we encountered the others, they were just finishing up a massive horde of infants and normal platyhawks.

We assumed the beasts had split up the building using different parts of it as the lair. King and Queen had the center, while the elites had taken up an entire quadrant for themselves. This couldn’t have worked out any better. I kept my thoughts to myself, of course. Superstition had never been my thing, but after what had happened in Mama’s lair, I knew better than to make light of easy progress. Besides, it made people complacent, and we couldn’t afford to get overconfident.

Chapter Thirteen

Three-Winged Dance Party

Neither Kitty nor Liam worried about the smell within the building. Morpheus filtered the former’s air, while the latter no longer had a sense of smell. The odor of rot and decay filled the air. It was the scent of all the carcasses the creatures had littered all over the place. At least they hadn’t defecated within their home. That would’ve added a whole another layer of unpleasantness to the general aroma. Perhaps my next upgrade to the lab coat could come with a face mask.

The smell intensified when we entered the central domed room. A telescope lay on the ground, dividing the room into two. It appeared mostly undamaged, but the monster’s claws had ripped the side into spaghetti. The device’s console sat against the wall, primarily intact. The screens were cracked or shattered and the keyboards covered in gunk, but besides that they didn’t appear significantly damaged. We didn’t have much use for the telescope—the chances of it surviving the fight were low anyway. On the other hand, the console likely had high-end parts which would prove invaluable with time.

This was our first organized fight since the party had split apart. I didn’t count the attack on the Hub, since it hadn’t on our terms. We’d been defending our new home and on the back foot. Now, we had the luxury of proceeding with a proper battle plan.

Miley and Morpheus would be our frontline. With Pallav gone, we had no other choice of tanks. Since Kitty wore Morpheus as a power suit now, he would keep her safe. However, I worried the creatures would rip through the protective layers and hurt her vulnerable and powerless body underneath. Kitty assured me she had designed Miley to fight by her side. The liquid metal body enabled her to shift between offense and defense with ease, making the golem an excellent off-tank. I was dubious, but at the end of the day, it was her choice.

Liam switched into flight mode. The domed ceiling gave him plenty of room to move around. The latest upgrade had enhanced the sonic blast generator in the spider-bot, so he positioned himself near our monstrous opponents’ heads. As soon as the fight started, he’d take to the air.

After a long discussion with Kitty, we had agreed that Winnie was no longer an assassin. The spikes, the ejection system, and the launcher weren’t strong enough to damage the creatures in the new sector. However, his roars and stretchable limbs made him an excellent supporter. He could get people out of trouble and disable problematic foes, leaving me to bring the pain. Unfortunately, I suspected the Charge Launcher couldn’t challenge the super-football kid’s destructive power.

We all took up position around the platyhawks’ heads. Morpheus and Miley stood behind me while Winnie and I joined Liam on either side of the bosses. I took a deep breath in, then slowly exhaled. For the first time since the end of the world, my heart wasn’t beating like crazy before a big fight. We had this. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I knew we had the tools and skills. It was a matter of keeping a cool head and zeroing in on our enemies’ weaknesses.

The nest core didn’t remain stationary above us like it had in the other nests we had visited. Instead, it floated around the room’s perimeter. The moving light kept our shadows dancing around the room. It wasn’t just us, though—the bones on the floor appeared to be moving too. It sent shivers down my spine, but my heartbeat remained steady.

I pressed the Sonic Shotgun against the metallic-looking platyhawk. A scan confirmed it was the male. Biometal being light, flexible, and strong made it excellent for construction. According to the scan data, it gave the platyhawk king a great balance of offense, defense, and mobility. Fortunately, now he had a missing wing. If we took the king out of the picture first, we’d have little to worry above.

Liam and Winnie aimed their sonic weapons at the female. Unlike the almost-queen I’d fought in the Hub, bone armor covered almost all of her body. It made sense. Spending her time mostly in the nest, she took charge of defending the eggs and newborn. I guessed she would be the harder of the two to combat.

After a short countdown, we all attacked at once. Both sets of eyelids burst open, and they opened their beaks to screech. Like with the elites, no sound came out. My hypothesis was correct. Sonic attacks messed with their brains, and that’s just what we needed—stunned and confused. When combating creatures bigger and badder than us, we couldn’t ask for anything better.

Even though it was tempting, we didn’t let the single advantageous moment get the better of us. Liam retreated. I fired the Sonic Shotgun again before following him. Morpheus rushed in and doused the king with his flamethrower. Two spikey tentacles burst from Miley and stabbed at the same target.

I was glad to see Kitty had taken my discussion to heart. Winnie descended on the queen. His limbs stretched and wrapped around her head. The bear golem roared again and extended spikes from all over his body. They didn’t penetrate the queen’s bony head, but it kept her blinded and confused, allowing us to focus on the king.

Both platyhawks jumped to their feet. The queen thrashed blindly, trying to claw at her eyes, but ended up staggering sideways into the telescope. The force dented it, and shards of glass from either end of the tube exploded outwards.

The king spread his one wing and flapped it. He must have forgotten about the missing limb, because he failed to take to the sky. The platyhawk staggered but remained on his hind legs. The blast of wind that spread through the room threw all of us, but Morpheus and Miley managed to maintain their balance. Liam had to compensate for the added turbulence and flew into the wall. He managed to transform into his spider-form just before the collision and scuttled up towards the dome’s peak. Two barrels extended from the mechanical body, and he started with the glowing-white projectiles.

Morpheus didn’t let up. Instead, he continued to bathe the king with the flamethrower. The biometal glowed red, and the smell of burning skin filled the air. Now when the monster opened its beak, an ear-ripping screech filled the air. I fired the Charge Launcher, hoping to get my shot in the platyhawk’s mouth. I missed, but the projectile exploded and showered the beast’s head in arcing bolts of electricity.

I expected the king to brush off the attack, but much to my surprise, he screeched. The attack had gotten the platyhawk’s eyes. “Pin the bastard down, Kitty!” I yelled and ran towards the king, approaching from the newly blinded side. Once close enough, I activated the Pogo Heelies and launched myself onto the beast’s back. I shot the Sonic Shotgun into the creature’s neck. He screeched and thrashed.

The king platyhawk writhed, trying to shake me off. Then, using a mental command, I launched the belt’s grappling hook. It wrapped around the creature’s neck and paired with my stabilizing devices. I stayed on my feet. An uncomfortable warmth washed over me, and the smell of burnt skin was much more pungent than before. The creature had suffered plenty of damage. His movements were weak, his hide damaged, and the biometal warped. Strange. The platyhawk was impervious to lightning but not fire?

Crouching, I pressed the Charge Launcher against the king platyhawk’s neck. Using my technopathic link to the weapon, I poured electricity into the dagger blade. A blast of the Sonic Shotgun softened everything further. Morpheus held the creature’s hind legs, and Miley pummeled the head.

Unfortunately, I’d failed to pull off my attack. Heavy thuds stormed towards us. It was the queen. She had come to save her king. I didn’t get around to ejecting the dagger blade. The queen had managed to get herself free of Winnie. I launched myself into the air using the Pogo Heelies and activated the Sonic Barrier Projector. The queen’s open beak came for me, and for a moment, I was sure it was going to get me.

Once again, I found myself in a dire situation, moments from death. Like every other time, all my devices sang to me. But they didn’t want me to use them. Instead, the devices directed my attention to their newest sibling—the Grappling Belt. When I activated it, the little mouth shot forward and bit down on the platyhawk’s wing. It pulled me away from the creature’s head and over her back. The stabilizers in my boots helped me land on my feet, and I spun around to study the scene behind me.

Fortunately, Morpheus had gotten clear just in time. The queen must have lost control over her flight, because she barreled into her mate. The giant claws meant for protecting the nest ripped giant gouges into his back. Liam dropped down on the king from the ceiling and stabbed his barrels directly into the creature’s flesh. Smoke rose from the king, and he collapsed onto his stomach. The queen’s following screech shook the building. She lunged at Liam, and he failed to dodge. The attack knocked him off the giant platyhawk, and my breath caught in my throat as three spider legs flew free of his body.

“Liam!” I exclaimed. “Are you okay?” I got no answer. “Keep her busy, Kitty.”

I rushed to where he had landed, jaw clenched, and my breathing exercises failing. As long as Liam’s jar remained intact, he’d be okay. After what had happened, though, I couldn’t help but imagine the worst. The queen platyhawk screeched once again. I spared a glance and, fortunately, her attention was split between the golems and her other half. We couldn’t tell whether the king was alive or dead, but at least he was down for the count.

Liam’s metal bits had enveloped almost the entire glass dome. I couldn’t tell whether it had suffered any damage or not. Besides the three missing legs, there were two more hanging off the edge. My technopathy informed me that the inner machinery was all intact. The damage was mostly external.

“C’mon, buddy. Get up!”

I almost jumped out of my skin when something poked my leg. It was the spider-bot! The three-jointed limbs were making their way towards me like fat metal worms. The warped bits of metal on his body creaked and groaned, straightening themselves into their initial form.

A static-filled voice spoke in my ear a minute later. “Bloody hell, mate. I’ll be fine! Help Kitty with the fight.” Liam must have figured out a self-repair system with the last upgrade! He continued when I hesitated. “Priorities! Get your head in the game.”

Liam wasn’t wrong. I returned my attention to the platyhawks. While Morpheus and Miley kept the queen busy, Winnie had climbed back on top of the queen. I watched him extend a long skinny spike from his left paw before plunging it into her eye. The spike missed but sank into the flesh under the socket. Winnie had found a weak spot!

The queen screeched and flapped her giant wings, sending a powerful blast of air through the room. It knocked Morpheus backwards and me onto my bottom. Her thrashing sent Winnie flying, but he extended an arm, hooked onto the wall, and pulled himself away. The little guy must have picked up the idea of going for the eyes after watching me do it numerous times.

During her panicked thrashing, the queen stumbled backwards, rubbing at the wound with one of her forearms. She ended up putting all her weight on her left hind leg and accidentally stepped on her mate’s back. A sickening crack filled the room, and the “Disassemble” button lit up on my display. The queen screeched again. This time, she almost deafened us. Finally, she understood what had happened. The big girl had just killed her mate.

Miley reshaped her liquid-metal tentacles into a single appendage and speared it up towards the queen’s head. The newly made golem missed as the giant beast leapt off her mate. The attack pierced one of her wings instead, traveled through, and hit the wall behind her. The tentacle’s point spread, attaching itself to the wall before pulling Miley upwards. She slammed into the wing and pinned it to the wall. Then Morpheus aimed his left arm at the boss and doused it in flame.

Meanwhile, I had gotten back on my feet and ran to the domed room’s wall. Miley and Morpheus had the queen pinned—all of her attention was on them. The lab coat’s camo function made sneaking around easier. Now I needed to get in unnoticed and attack a critical point. Once in position, I activated the Pogo Heelies and launched myself into the air high above the queen’s head. When passing the apex of my jump, I latched onto the wall using my belt. My heart thumped in my chest as I hung above the queen. A single slip up, and I’d land straight on her head.

The queen looked up and saw me above her, Sonic Shotgun at the ready. Damn. I had made too much noise getting in position, and her keen eyes saw through the device at close range. She screeched again, thrashing intensifying. The platyhawk slashed her free arm blindly and kicked her hind legs, trying to keep Morpheus away. She tried stretching her neck to snap at me but, fortunately, I was just out of her reach. In return, the queen got a blast to the face. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the daze effect I wanted. We were too far from one another, and her bones were too thick.

Much to my surprise, the beast sacrificed her pinned limb. When it became clear that getting Miley and Morpheus off was impossible, she launched herself towards me using her hind legs. Miley remained pinned in place, ripping through the fabric that formed her wings. Again, the beast was willing to sacrifice her well-being to end me. She came at me, beak wide open. I scrambled upwards, firing the Sonic Shotgun at her again, but again, it didn’t do enough damage.

Then it hit me—her beak was open, and I had other weapons available! The Charge Launcher’s shield parted, and the barrel slid out. “Hurry the hell up!” I yelled at the gun, and the device followed my instructions, charging up in the blink of an eye. I noticed my energy bar drained partway too.

Did this mean I could burn energy to speed up the systems or overload them? “There is no try. Only do,” I mumbled to myself and watched my energy bar continue to shrink.

Morpheus and Miley had grabbed a limb each and were trying to drag the queen down. I supposed Kitty felt terrible that she had failed to keep the monster’s attention. But to be fair, I had only needed the stealth to get up high. My best source of damage against this monster was the Charge Launcher, and to hurt her, I needed her attention.

The muzzle glowed brighter than it ever had before, and my arm felt warm as the weapon overheated—the next upgrade would require cooling systems. I waited for the perfect moment. The queen snapped at me before she dropped. Then her muscles bunched up before she launched at me once more. I unleashed my attack when she opened her massive jaws again.

If Liam had already recovered, his Mega Brain would’ve likely done the math and told him I was an idiot and needed to retreat. We didn’t realize this was the queen’s all-or-nothing gambit. We had killed all of her children and her mate. She had likely realized that her chances of survival were nil. As a last-ditch effort, she wanted to take one of us with her. These creatures had long proven to us that they were smarter than they appeared.

The queen’s jump carried her much further than we’d expected or thought possible. I fired, and the projectile shot down her gullet, but her massive beak didn’t close as it continued to fly towards me. My muscles locked up, and a painful grip closed on my chest, watching my arm disappear inside the boss-class monster. The Charge Launcher charged up much faster than it ever had before firing once again.

I was sure the projectiles were ravaging the queen’s insides, but nothing deterred her. Kitty screamed through Morpheus, but her words made no sense to me as I watched the massive beak close on my arm just below the elbow. Then she fell, and a blinding pain ripped through my right shoulder.

When the monster fell, she took my forearm and the Charge Launcher with her. A heartbeat later, several syringes peppered my leg, shoulder, and left bicep, washing away the pain in my bicep and shoulder. However, the alarm from seeing everything below my elbow missing had my stomach churning and head spinning. At the same time, a burning rage burned through my body. I still felt a link to my weapon. It sat in the creature’s mouth, and she was about to swallow. So, using a mental nudge, I activated the Sonic Barrier Projector.

We didn’t observe any physical change, but the queen’s eyes bulged, and her beak opened. Then I got the Sonic Shotgun to fire too. We heard the boom through her massive maw, and she spat the weapon out before collapsing. Miley speared her through the neck, and my goggles confirmed her death.

Kitty opened up Morpheus and leapt out as soon as I got to ground level. She spoke so fast that almost none of her words registered. I did pick up more than a dozen “sorries” though. It wasn’t just the missing limb that alarmed me. Instead, it was the lack of pain and the already-closed injury. My brain didn’t want to accept that the limb was missing.

Liam scuttled over wordlessly. He collected the mangled and blood-covered mess that was my arm. I failed to keep the vomit down when I saw it. Kitty rubbed my back as I threw up breakfast and stomach acid.

“At least the Charge Launcher is okay,” I said, wiping my mouth. Neither of my friends replied.

Chapter Fourteen

Dismembered

“I’m so sorry, Matt,” Kitty said through tears as Liam took apart the nest’s core. She threw her arms around me, sobbing. “I lost my balance when she crouched, and Miley isn’t ready to go independent yet. I should’ve been controlling her—”

“It’s okay,” I told her.

“No, it’s not! I failed, and you got hurt.”

“It’s not your fault.” The pressure from her holding me helped alleviate the discomfort in my chest. “We had her, Kitty, and she knew it. The queen lost everything, and that was a last-ditch effort to take us out with everything she had left. None of us could have seen that coming.”

“He’s right,” Liam joined us, holding two McGuffins. His legs had reattached themselves, and all the bent metal bits were smooth and straight. Only scratches remained as a memory of the damage he had suffered. “We did everything as well as we could considering our numbers and weapons at hand. Animals are supposed to look for a way out when everything is lost or give up altogether. We couldn’t have foreseen her making a suicidal move just to take Matt out.”

“You and Miley had her pinned. If anything, she should’ve been going for you and trying to get free.” I gave her a little squeeze. “It’s not your fault.”

Kitty studied the wound. The half a dozen syringes lying on the floor around us had all emptied their contents in me. Pale skin had grown over the little nub that remained of my forearm. It looked ridiculous when I moved the limb, and I felt my stomach churning again.

“Are you okay, Matt?” Liam’s metal armor receded as he spoke, revealing more of his brain.

“Of course not,” I replied. “I lost a bloody arm, and it hurt like hell.”

“Can’t we fix it?” Kitty asked. “Reattach it, maybe?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Liam answered. “It’s pretty freaking mangled.”

“What the hell is wrong with you, Liam? There’s no need to be so—”

“Can we get out of here and continue this at a later time?” I asked, cutting the conversation short. Liam had not recovered from significant damage, and Kitty’s eyes kept wandering to the stump. Her pale face and quivering lip suggested she wasn’t okay. “This isn’t going to be okay for quite some time, and if you didn’t fill me with the Medi Gun’s drugs, I’d be worse off. We can’t deal with it while we’re here though.”

Liam peeled the Charge Launcher off what remained of my forearm. Neither Kitty nor I could bear to watch. She busied herself by fixing the little damage Morpheus and Winnie had suffered. Meanwhile, I took apart the two bosses. Out of habit, I reached for the first corpse with my right arm. The squeezing feeling in my chest intensified—this would take quite a while to get used to. Most jarring of all was to see it gone but not having pain accompany the discomfort.

Materials stored for creations and upgrades:

- king platyhawk’s hide
- queen platyhawk’s hide
- queen platyhawk’s skeleton
- king platyhawk’s claws
- queen platyhawk’s claws
- king platyhawk’s beak
- queen platyhawk’s beak
- biometal gland x3
- boneplating
- bone-growth accelerator
- bone compressor
- McGuffin x4

The list went on and on, listing several materials I already had or didn’t need, like optics upgrades and plasma absorbers. I planned on saving them for Kitty’s future golems or handing them off to the Menagerie.

“Do you think you can build a device to regrow the limb?” Kitty asked.

“I’ll try whip up some designs when we get back, but I don’t know where to start. None of us has the medical knowledge to ensure a device can pull off something that complicated without doing more damage.”

“What about asking Kn—” she fell silent, her eyes darting from side to side, “for help?”

I didn’t have an answer for her. The “bone-growth accelerator” sounded promising, but wouldn’t it be selfish using the device on myself? Fin could put it to better use. I made up my mind then. All the bone-upgrade materials would go to the Menagerie. We’d have to figure out something else for me.

We left the building without taking apart the telescope or its console. The queen had managed to shred it during the fight. None of us were surprised. We had expected such an outcome. Since my storage space had a limit, I prioritized the bosses’ parts. Besides, Liam had all the necessary materials for his 3D printer. Soon he’d have the ability to create most components. We’d need materials besides biometal of course, but I hoped those wouldn’t be too hard to find.

We froze on exiting the building. Liam had just sent the recon drone up to scout the area, and it had detected movement.

“Four figures heading this way,” Liam told us, extending his barrels. “Humans. I think. They’re sticking to the shadows, and it’s hard to tell for sure.”

“Remind me to use a thermal scanner when we upgrade the drone,” I said. More focused on the approaching force, Liam didn’t respond.

Kitty helped me strap the Charge Launcher onto my left arm before climbing onto Morpheus. Winnie helped me get into the raised seat but didn’t join me. Instead, he stood behind me, spikes ready to fire from the leather-covered arms.

“We should run,” I said. “I’m not in fighting form, guys.”

“It’s too late for that.” Liam hovered above us, ready to open fire. “They’ve split up and cut off our escape routes.”

“Don’t worry,” Kitty told me before raising Morpheus’s hood. “The golems and I have got this. We’ll disable them and escape.”

Refusing to feel helpless and not contribute to the solution, I prepared the Charge Launcher. Unfortunately, my coordination with my left arm wasn’t so great. I didn’t trust in my ability to line up the damn crosshairs.

“It can’t be the raiders, can it?” I asked. After we’d settled in our new home, a part of me had hoped they’d follow us into the new sector. Rajesh’s death needed avenging, and we had plenty to use against them. Unfortunately, we weren’t in a position to get into a big fight now. “They’re not stupid enough to follow us into a new sector, tight?”

Much to my surprise, Liam reverted back into his spider-bot form, and the recon drone flew back to join him. “We’re on the same side,” he said, using the sonic boom generator to amplify his voice. “You’ve met us, David, Caitlin.”

It took me a moment to recognize the names. Then they appeared from a side alley. David walked out of the building’s shadow holding his giant multitool weapon. Red metal covered his arms, shoulders, and chest. Caitlin followed him, carrying a massive firearm. A wire extending from its base disappeared under her top. They remained on guard when approaching us, but I stood up and waved at them—using my stump again—and their faces lit up.

“It’s you!” David rushed forward. The metal plating receded, and the multitool shrunk until it was no bigger than his hand. His sister followed him more warily. “Jay! It’s safe!”

Another figure emerged from the street opposite us—they’d been planning a pincer attack. I recognized the name before the face. It was Woofcano! His husky stayed close behind him. She was giant as always. If Liam had said one of the involved lifeforms was a canine, I would’ve assumed it was them sooner.

“That explains why it stinks around here!” Jay yelled.

“What are you doing here?” I asked when they got close.

“We split up when scouting, and I rounded up every cat and dog I could find,” Caitlin answered. “Before Jay could get back and rescue them, the birds got us. Maya tracked them to the observatory.”

“It’s a good thing you’re here,” Jay said. “Want to help us investigate this place?” He petted the giant husky. “Maya thinks they’re in there.”

“We just cleared the nest,” I told them. The pit in my stomach sunk further. “The only thing in there were platyhawks—the birds. I’m sorry, but everything they took from you is long gone.”

Jay’s shoulder drooped. Maya whined, licking at his face.

“We’ve set up a base nearby,” Liam interjected. “We’re not in the best shape and would rather not stay in the open. Would you like to come back with us?”

His offer surprised me. I had told Liam about Jay, and he had met the other two. We didn’t know how taken they were by the mind hack or how the limiters worked with them. I appreciated Liam inviting them though. We needed people, and all had agreed that Woofcano was someone we wanted. Considering his desire to rescue dogs instead of pursuing Alvans, it was safe to assume that the mind hack had taken with him. As for the other two, they felt like good people. We’d have to approach the subject of Alvans carefully.

Morpheus’s dome slid back, and Kitty stood up. “We’ve got plenty of food, soft beds, and hot showers. It’s safe, and we’d love some friends.”

Caitlin and Jay exchanged hesitant looks, but David stepped forward. “You were fair in the hedgehog nest. I like you.” He looked back at his companions. “Let’s go.”

Caitlin sighed audibly, and Jay nodded. We started our journey home, and they followed.

We maintained a slower pace when heading back. Liam flew over our heads, keeping watch, and Jay did the same with a cat. It was as big as an auranther and black as night, yet the feline didn’t shrink as it ran away from us. Watching Jay speak to it and then wave as the cat ran away put a smile on my face. I liked him and his power. It suited him very well.

Morpheus had reverted into his bike form and dragged the trailer behind him. Caitlin, David, and I stood in it together as we descended the hill using the serpentine roads. Kitty rode her golem with the protective shielding down and struck up a conversation with Caitlin.

“It’s good to see a familiar face. What happened to the other two?”

“We went our separate ways—”

“They betrayed us,” David said, interrupting his sister. The little guy spoke through his teeth as he continued. “After fighting the hedgehogs, we went back to our base to rest. Leah was freaking out about almost dying and wanted to go to the Metalsmith straight away, but we only had enough McGuffins for three people.”

“She fought you for them?” Kitty asked.

Caitlin shook her head. “Leah drugged us. When we woke up the next morning, the McGuffins were gone, and so were they.”

“I’m so sorry,” Kitty said. David looked alarmed when she took her hands off Morpheus and turned around in her seat to face us. “It’s fine. Morpheus drives himself. You didn’t deserve to get robbed.” Kitty glanced at me for a second with worry in her eyes. “Did you tell them about the power upgrade service?”

“I’ll be honest,” Caitlin said, sighing. “We didn’t believe you. I was sure you’d lied to David so he wouldn’t fight you about the McGuffins. Only Leah had a System Assistant summon left and, considering her jumpy state, we kept the information to ourselves.”

“Maya and I found them not long after we met.” Jay joined the conversation. He’d been riding behind the trailer, bringing up the rear. “I told them about the upgrade too, but they didn’t believe me until I tried it in front of them.”

“What happened to your friends?” David asked. He shot Liam a wary glance. “I liked the big guy.”

Kitty looked at me questioningly, but I didn’t see the point in lying, so I told them the truth.

“I don’t know what they call themselves, but one of the groups attacking the Metalsmith ambushed us. We got distracted, and a mantis killed Rajesh. Our group dynamic fell apart not long after. Pallav thought it best if we parted ways.”

The rest of the journey back was in relative silence. We were taking a significant risk with the new lot. I wanted to believe it wasn’t just tinfoil that made people resistant to the mind hack. These were good people. Woofcano—Jay—had started off with a C-rank power, but he’d dedicated his existence to saving animals in the apocalypse. The other two I wasn’t so sure about. David’s voice was still relatively high and would crack at times. I couldn’t tell whether he had matured enough to show sexual interest in either gender yet. Caitlin was just as big of a wildcard.

After everything with Pallav and Rajesh, I chose to take a more gentle approach with the new lot. I’d ease them into what I knew and everything that was going on in the world. Their powers would prove invaluable in our purpose.

Jay told us about how things had been since they’d joined up. Together they had taken on several rat nests and used the McGuffins to upgrade Caitlin’s and David’s powers to B-rank. Then after sufficiently upgrading the multitool using McGuffins, he’d given them two options. Join the Metalsmith and live a life of reasonable security, or follow him to the new sector. They had come to our sector looking for animals not affected by the System or not perverted by the nests. Looking for us had been a secondary goal. After entering the new sector, they had assumed we were dead.

Most of what they said went in one ear and out the other. My latest loss made focusing near impossible. I ran my fingers over the stump, and the skin felt unnaturally soft and smooth. How the hell was I supposed to get used to this?

The new trio fell silent when we arrived at the Hub. We’d put the base on lockdown before leaving, so it looked like a cube with two concrete walls and two made of steel. Following my mental commands, the vertical metal plates swung open, making Maya jump backwards in fright. Jay and his friends had a good laugh. Unfortunately, Kitty and I weren’t in a laughing mood, and Liam rarely projected his emotions.

When a pair of wingless platyhawks came climbing down, the newbies went on the defensive. I had to stop Caitlin from firing at them physically and explain what the Hub was and its features.

“You mean this is territory you have a hundred percent control over?” Caitlin asked, looking at her brother and Jay warily. “So we’d be under your control. I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“It’s fine, Caity,” David told her, grinning. “It’s a high-tech base with monster guards! That’s pretty cool.”

“Yes, but we’d be living under someone else’s control.”

“I haven’t met Liam before, but Matt and Kitty are good people,” Jay said, hopping off Maya and helping Caitlin down from the trailer. He put an arm around her and looked deeply into her eyes. “When I first met them, they were rescuing pups from a mantis. Then they taught me how to class-up my power, and you know what they asked for in exchange?”

Caitlin nodded. She sighed, looking at me. “I’m sorry. Leah was my best friend. After she robbed and abandoned us—”

“It’s alright,” I told her, smiling. “We understand.”

“How about we go inside?” Maya nudged Jay with her snout as he spoke and made the strange talking sounds huskies often made. “I sense it too.” He looked at me. “You’ve got a telepathic field here, don’t you?”

“It’s an anti-telepathy field, actually. Will that be a problem? It’s an extra security measure.”

Jay’s lips spread into a wide smile. “I think we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Chapter Fifteen

The Tour

After getting in, Kitty and David whipped up a meal for everyone. Caitlin didn’t particularly enjoy the kitchen, but her little brother loved everything food-related. It had been a week since the team had eaten anything that wasn’t crisps or straight out of a can, so the pair fried frozen hash browns, grilled sausages, and mushrooms. David announced to everyone that he needed more fiber in his diet—much to his sister’s annoyance—and got to work making a salad of pickled vegetables as well.

The official tour would have to wait. Jay absorbed Maya into his chest before we took him and Caitlin up in the elevator. I wasn’t surprised when they picked out a room to share. They were both desperate for a shower, so we made plans to unite on the ground floor for food in twenty minutes and parted ways. Then Liam and I went up to his workspace.

“What can I do to help, Matt?” Liam asked as soon as we were alone. He didn’t toe around the matter but scuttled over and prodded the stump using one of his spider legs. The newcomers had all stolen nervous glances but avoided mention of it in conversation. “The Medi Gun did a good job of fixing it up. Any tenderness?”

“That’s one of the issues, mate,” I told him. “I don’t feel anything at all. The pain only lasted for a few seconds before it got fixed up. If it were still around, perhaps I’d have an easier time accepting that it’s gone, but now—”

“You’ve gone straight to phantom limb syndrome without the time to process the missing limb?”

I nodded.

“I’m sorry, mate.” Liam scuttled over to the space he had cleared for the 3D printer and started bringing all the materials together. “If I had been more careful, I wouldn’t have been out of the fight. This was completely avoidable.”

“Please! Can you and Kitty stop playing this game? I already feel shit about losing an arm, and you two moping about it doesn’t help in the slightest.” The words came out louder than I intended. My heartbeat’s tempo had increased as well, and I had to spend a minute of focused, deep breathing to slow it down. “Let’s think about what we can do next instead of what we could’ve done differently. It’s not productive or helps us in any way. For the record, if anyone is to blame, it’s me. I was enjoying the fight a bit too much and took an unnecessary risk. No one pushed me to make such a maneuver. We could’ve played safe, worn her down, blinded her or poisoned her. Instead, I tried to do something cool and flashy and paid for it.”

Liam didn’t say anything. Instead, he got everything ready for the new device and gave me the final design. The biggest cost involved in the creation were two biometal glands and two McGuffins. However, considering the value the 3D Printer would have in the long run, I considered it a worthwhile investment. The Creation drained a third of my energy bar, but it grew by ten percent as well.

13 McGuffin-fueled Creations or Upgrades until the next power upgrade.

“Would you like me to do the Recon Drone now as well?” I asked. “We can add thermal imaging, sonar, and camouflaging abilities to it while I’m at it.”

“No,” Liam answered. “Focus on yourself for a while. I don’t know how good you are at drawing with your left hand, but see if you can come up with an idea for a decent prosthesis. You’ve already used two McGuffins today for my sake. Hold onto the rest and see what you need to help with your stub. As soon as you have something, I’ll get to work on the chassis or whatever parts you need.”

Before the apocalypse had come and everything had changed, I’d often find myself annoyed by how Liam spoke. It mostly had to do with his phrasing or lack of tact. Now, I appreciated his directness. I didn’t want him to sugarcoat his words or walk on eggshells when it came to the subject of my missing limb.

“I appreciate that, Liam. I really do. Would you like to join us for lunch?”

“I’m good.” One of his spider legs pointed at the crate of sports drinks stacked in a corner. “As soon as the printer is ready, there are quite a few projects I need to start on. I’m going to start preparing the designs and everything else.”

“Fair enough.”

When I got back to the ground floor, Jay and Caitlin were done washing up. David had just finished laying the table, and Kitty was bringing out the food. We sat all together and dug in. Kitty and I were famished after the fight. The other three were desperate for hot food, so we didn’t talk for the first half of the meal. Everyone stuffed their faces until their plates were half-empty before slowing down.

The first topic that came up was the base. We couldn’t get into the matter without explaining my power, so I told them what I could do. It was still too early to trust them implicitly, so I fibbed and told them I was a B-ranked Technopath. My power involved creating and upgrading devices. We couldn’t very well explain how we’d come upon the Hub Core and glossed over the subject. Jay and Caitlin probably sensed my reluctance about discussing the matter. Fortunately, they didn’t push it.

To help change the topic, Kitty explained how her power worked, and it turned into a discussion of everyone’s abilities. Jay started off, even though we had discussed it during our last meeting. Now at B-rank, his power gave him the ability to create up to five habitats in his chest. Each habitat could house a single type of animal. While inside, they’d enjoy regenerative healing and grow bigger and stronger. However, they’d rapidly lose these bonuses after if they lost skin-to-skin contact with Jay after leaving the habitat.

The Packmaster ability also gave him the power to feed an individual specimen McGuffins and empower them permanently. Maya’s size, strength, and healing factor were now permanent. He had also given her an ice-breath ability. It wore her out significantly, so they used it sparingly.

David’s power had changed from Artifact Technician to Artificer. His multitool worked similarly to Kitty’s golem cores and my device’s upgrades—it grew the more he used it in battle and defeated foes. Once the artifact reached a power threshold, he could use a McGuffin to give it a new ability or empower it. The multi-tool could function as a club, drill, blade, or even a cannon. Lately, he had been investing in defense and, when in use, the multitool coated parts of him in armor. At B-rank, he could create two more artifacts, but unwilling to split McGuffins between multiple objects, he hadn’t created anything new yet.

We asked whether he could make artifacts for other people, and he replied in the affirmative. Unfortunately, they’d still rely on him for upgrading them, and they wouldn’t have the intuitive control over them that he did.

Finally, we turned to Caitlin. At first, she appeared a lot more guarded about her secrets than her friends. It wasn’t until Jay egging her on that she truly opened up to us. Caitlin called her power Multi-Power Plug. Initially, she’d only had the one socket on her belly button. Now she had two more on either side of it. Anything she plugged into the socket used her body as a power source, and she hadn’t suffered depletion yet despite extended usage.

Caitlin’s power also enabled her to upgrade the devices plugged into her body, granting them a multitude of abilities related to their base function. The more she used a particular type of device, the more proficient she got with it and the more abilities she could grant them. Her current go-to for offense was a hairdryer. She could use it to fire compressed and superheated air projectiles for long-range or turn it into a flamethrower.

Listening to how Multi-Power Plug functioned got me excited and helped me ignore my injury for a short while. Caitlin’s face lit up when I told her my plans of making devices for her to use in conjunction with her power. Most of the devices I created relied on McGuffins as the power source first and the super abilities second. Anything I created for Caitlin wouldn’t need a power source and would therefore be especially powerful.

After we had finished eating, I gave our friends a tour of the building. They got to see the basement and the generator that was now the Hub’s Core, but I told them the level was off-limits unless I was present. Only David expressed any displeasure at that, but I didn’t hold it against him. He had not long entered his teens.

The first floor was technically my workspace, but so far, I only used it for stashing materials I liked. Before Jay and company joined us, we had discussed what to do with the floor. My power didn’t require an entire floor. We’d planned on figuring out a more efficient use of the space but had drawn a blank. Now that we had more people, I told them they could have input on what we did on the floor as a gesture of goodwill. The offer was on the terms that they joined us for good, of course. I kept the secondary requirements to myself. None of us was sure how the Telepathic Null Zone worked and how it would affect our new friends. We’d have to wait a while before finding out.

Caitlin warmed up to us more when she found out what we intended to do with the second floor. She and David had grown up in Greater London, and their parents had loved gardening. They grew herbs and all manners of vegetables. Much to my pleasure, it had become a bonding point for her and Kitty. Both of them wanted to get stuck in with farming.

“What do you need to get it up and running?” she asked me.

“The materials for a D-rank Farm are easily available,” I answered. “It’ll take one McGuffin and a couple of things we’ll have to scavenge for.”

“D-rank? Isn’t that low? What’s the difference between D and C?”

“The residential floor has a field that enhances healing and growth. Plants in here will grow like they were in a C-rank form. Besides that, the System will provide more drones to run a C-rank, so it’ll be equipped for better quality and higher yield. It costs three McGuffins though. Right now we can’t afford to make such a big investment.”

“It’s a price worth paying for good food though. Didn’t you say the base requires biomatter to fuel itself, grow, and repair damage? Well, all waste and byproduct from the Farm is biomatter!”

“That may be true, but we can’t afford it yet,” I said. “The difference in power between the creatures of this sector and the last are ridiculous. We came here equipped to the teeth but are barely getting by. It cost me my arm today, and I’m not letting that happen to anybody else. Whatever McGuffins we have need to go towards strengthening ourselves and reinforcing this base’s security. Only then we can afford to upgrade the Farm.”

Caitlin went silent, and we continued with our tour. Jay’s face lit up on seeing the Menagerie. He couldn’t believe his eyes. When a juvenile platyhawk crawled over to investigate the newcomers, David and Caitlin took a step back. On the other hand, Jay approached them excitedly. I introduced him to Fin, and the two got talking about how the floor functioned and its purpose. Watching the two talk, I knew Jay would want to stay with us. He didn’t join us to see the other floors and said he’d see for himself later.

There wasn’t a lot to see on the fifth floor. The newcomers had a short chat with Liam, and he welcomed them to the Hub before we moved on. Caitlin took her time enjoying the view on the roof, but David left us to watch the giant glowing cuboid that was the 3D printer. It wasn’t complete yet, but I guessed the concept got him excited. Caitlin and Kitty continued their conversation while I sat on the ledge, petting a wingless platyhawk that had wandered over. I petted it while listening to the chatting pair. The day had cost me greatly, but the prospect of new friends gave me hope for our future and goals.

Chapter Sixteen

Big Adjustments

Sleep eluded me throughout the night. I’d doze off for a while, then I’d see the queen platyhawk severing my arm. The memory of the following pain would jolt me awake, and some part of me would wait for the countless severed nerve endings to start screaming all at once, but they wouldn’t. Then when trying to fall asleep, an itch would develop on my nose or the urge to hold Kitty would awaken. Out of habit, I’d go for it with my dominant arm. When I recalled it no longer existed, my mind would go into high alert and take forever to calm down.

It was around dawn that I gave up on sleep altogether and went down to the first floor. The room Kitty and I shared had a desk and chair, but I didn’t want to disturb her sleep by switching the lights on. Her body was like clockwork—it wanted to go to bed and wake up at regular set times. I, on the other hand, slept whenever I felt like it and slept as long as my body or life allowed.

Life wouldn’t be the same ever again. The sooner I got a new arm, the sooner I’d regain any form of normalcy—or so I hoped. I sat down at my workstation to design a new arm. It came as no surprise when I failed miserably. My left hand could barely write, let alone draw. After several minutes of frustrated scribbles, there were broken pencils and shredded scraps of paper littered all around me.

“What’s wrong?”

I almost jumped out of my skin. David had appeared next to me almost out of nowhere. He didn’t look like the stealthy type. He and his power had a “look at me” vibe about them. In my frustration, I had blocked out the world. David must have approached me then. That made more sense.

“I can’t draw with my left hand,” I said. Listening to how small and pathetic I sounded, anger boiled out inside of me, but I had nowhere to direct it. “Drawing and writing were my two favorite things to do before...all of this happened.”

David picked up all the bits of paper I had thrown on the ground, but they had already started sinking into the floor. The System probably countered biodegradable materials as biomatter. I didn’t have a wastebasket so made a neat pile by my desk, and they disappeared not long after.

“Paper is a limited resource now. If you’re really into drawing, you shouldn’t waste it.” David’s direct tone pulled me out of my self-wallowing. “What are you trying to draw?”

“A prosthetic arm,” I explained. “If I’m going to make a new one, I need to sketch out a few ideas for the blueprint.”

“That sounds cool. What are you thinking? Fullmetal Alchemist or Fury Road?”

“I don’t want something big and monstrous,” I said, surprised by David’s pop culture knowledge. I didn’t think people his age would be interested in either. “Most of those are unreasonably big and heavy. I’m thinking more Star Wars with hidden weapons?”

“Reckon your power can pull off something so complicated? You’d need to connect it to your nervous system.”

“In all honesty, I don’t know where to start. Probably best to start simple and then upgrade it with time.”

“Get up.” David picked up a pencil and poked me out of my chair. “You tell me what you want, and I’ll draw it.”

“Why aren’t you in bed?” I asked, still unsure whether I wanted his help or not.

“We’ve gotten into the habit of sleeping in shifts,” he answered. “It’ll take some time before I can let my guard down and sleep throughout the night. When I heard you in the hallway, my body went on high alert. You looked pretty upset, so I followed.”

A little more than a fortnight had passed since I’d met David. He’d come across as a little boy back then. Now, talking to him, it felt like I was dealing with a grown man. He and Caitlin must have suffered when their friends had betrayed them. Then leaving a reasonably safe sector for our current one had most likely hastened him towards maturity.

David’s artistic skills proved excellent. I’d never pursued it as a hobby and only drew to accompany my stories. The sketches employed the help of rulers and grids and always resembled schematics. David employed a more freehand approach and was just as good. He first drew a hand, wrist, and forearm. Then we added the mechanical elements to it. The end product would need some bulk if I wanted to add things to it. A bionic arm alone would be great, but that wasn’t good enough for the apocalypse. I needed to make the most of it.

We got carried away at first, adding power and strength enhancements. The idea of an arm with super durability and piston action sounded great in theory. Then I had to remind myself that I wasn’t a melee fighter. This had happened in the first place because I’d gotten overconfident and been too close to a boss. The Sonic Shotgun was originally a close-range weapon I’d designed for security. Relying on it as a primary weapon had been a mistake.

Before we knew it, dawn was upon us. David and I dove deep into theorycrafting, coming up with several different ideas for what my new arm could do. We still couldn’t decide whether to focus on offense, defense, or utility. In the end, we narrowed it down to three separate models, one to serve each purpose. We were about to refine them further, but Caitlin showed up looking for her missing brother, so we decided to leave it there. I scanned the blueprints using my goggles before following them down for breakfast.

We all helped with breakfast. Well, I tried to help but ended up getting in everybody’s way. None of them shooed me away or complained—instead, they were all patient with me as I awkwardly used my left arm for tasks it wasn’t used to executing. Once done, we all sat down together. Everyone but Kitty and I looked better than the day before. Had she not slept much either?

“We’ve come to a decision,” Caitlin announced partway through the meal. “You seem like good people and your Hub Core provides security we’re unlikely to find anywhere else. We want to join you but have a few…”

“Caveats.” Jay finished her sentence when she trailed off looking for the correct word. “How determined are you to earn the right to join the elves? To join them, procreate with them or whatever.”

Kitty and I shared concerned looks. Liam had come down as well for the company, and his fidgety spider-leg-hands went still. Had we made a mistake? Was it in our best interests to lie? No. We needed to decide now whether to stick together or part ways. Lying would only complicate things in the future.

“Not at all,” I answered. It was probably a risky move, and I hadn’t discussed this with Kitty, but I decided to pull the trigger anyway. “Liam has no sexual urges until we find a way to get him an organic body—and that’s if he still wants one. I’m getting everything I need physically and emotionally from Kitty. We have no plans of entangling ourselves in any way with the Alvans.”

Jay audibly sighed his relief. “Caitlin and David have some degree of telepathic resistance.” The siblings grinned at us as Jay spoke. “We discussed it with the System Assistant when upgrading, but it turns out a small percentage of humanity, about one in a hundred thousand, have more evolved brains than the rest. This manifests in the form of eidetic memory, perfect pitch, minor precognition, or many others. Minor telepathic resistance tends to accompany such gifts often. Whatever force compels people to blindly trust in the Alvans and refute any claims against them doesn’t affect these two. I imagine it’s the same with you?”

“Nah, mate,” Liam said. “These two survived because of tinfoil, and I had to die and end up in this form before I saw the truth. What about you, Jay? What makes you special?”

“My power,” he answered. “For the first day or two, I was convinced it was all the truth. Whatever they did to my brain didn’t affect my love for animals though, so I picked a power that would let me help them. It was the dogs that helped me see the light. I can converse with them somewhat, and they kept telling me about massive metal towers reaching for the sky. Maya told me she saw the elves land on the street and plant nests in the woods. I’ve always trusted dogs more than people, and I suppose something snapped inside me along the way.”

“Would you still stick by us if we told you two have evidence against the Alvans being frauds?” I asked. “What if we were making enemies of them and preparing to mount an assault against one of these metal tower? Are you willing to risk yourselves staying here?”

“As long as it’s nothing too insane,” Caitlin said.

“Well, it’s downright mad.” My words managed to get a chuckle out of Kitty. She put an arm around me and planted a kiss on my cheek. Liam laughed too when he connected the statement to the System-assigned alias. The others didn’t get the joke and looked at us with confusion. “As soon as the base is secure and we’re geared up, we intend to bring down one of the pylons. It stands where this sector meets our old one and the forest. I suspect that without it, the Alvan limiter and mind hack will fail. We can free everyone.”

The trio took a moment to share glances and whisper to one another. Then Caitlin fished three McGuffins out of her pocket and placed it on the table. “The Metalsmith would’ve asked us for a McGuffin each to join her refuge. Consider this a sign of goodwill.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said, throwing up my hands—hand.

“Take them,” she insisted. “I want a C-rank Farm, and these are all the McGuffins you’ll need for it.”

Even though I wanted to, I couldn’t say no.

Chapter Seventeen

Fullmetal

Kitty, David, and Caitlin went out to gather the necessary materials to finish the Farm Floor while Jay and I followed Liam up to the fifth floor. The 3D printer had completed its build during the night, and we all wanted to see the creation. Liam wanted to show off his newest project, and I now had a spare McGuffin to power up his recon drone. The enhanced stealth and scouting abilities would prove vital in and out of battle.

We took the elevator up, since my joints ached from the lack of sleep. The Nurturing Field alleviated discomfort when inside but did nothing for sleep or mental strain. I didn’t have much hope for such a device or base upgrade. The chances of it relying on telepathy were high, so the null field would most likely render it useless.

The fifth floor was brighter than usual. I trusted Liam and, after some thought, had given him full autonomy over the level. He had changed its layout, removing several walls. The center of the floor was now a large singular room punctuated by several pillars with the elevator shaft slightly off center. The 3D printer now sat in the middle of the largest clear space, its light acting as one of the few illumination sources.

The new machine sat on a set of six wheels, extending from the floor almost to the ceiling. We had limited its height and width so it would fit in the elevator if we ever needed to move it. LED lights of several different colors blinked all over the machine, and the biometal glands sat in a tank at the top.

When Liam scuttled over, the machine’s glass front slid open and the light coming from its interior almost blinded me. I lifted my goggles off my face, rubbing at my eyes and trying to adjust.

“Would you be better off upgrading those things?” Liam asked. “Make them transparent so we can see your eyes or turn them into lenses.”

“Why? I rather like it that enemies can’t see where I’m looking during a fight.”

“Add a feature that lets them transition between transparent and opaque then. That blinded you much too easily. It’s going to get you hurt even further.”

“You’re not wrong—”

“What is that?” Jay asked, ignoring our conversation. Instead, he stood focused on the biometal frame Liam had created. It had a shiny chrome finish, reflecting all of the 3D printer’s internal lights and dazzling in the darkness.

“It’s for Matt,” Liam said.

Intrigued, I stepped closer. Due to the multitude of colors shining off the surface, I had trouble identifying it for a moment, but then I understood what it was. “Is that a skeletal arm?”

“I scanned your damaged limb and then your intact one. This is a working prototype constructed using the data. I don’t know whether you can use it for whatever you’re planning, and the joints will need a lubricant—”

“If you still had a body, I’d hug you right now.” Liam didn’t complain about the interruption. Instead, a smiling emoticon appeared on his dome. “Thanks, mate.”

“It’s the least I can do,” he said. “You brought me back from almost dead and gave me a new body. Thanks to you, I feel better now than I ever have before. But I’m not sure whether I want to go back to being... human.”

He went silent, and for a moment I didn’t know what to say. “That was way too emotional for you, buddy.”

“Let it all out, lads.” Jay laughed. “I’m going to give the two of you some privacy. If you need me, I’ll be in the Menagerie.”

“Take these with you,” I said, taking the boneplating, bone-growth accelerator, and bone compressor out of my goggles’ storage. They were a tad heavy for him, so he let Maya out of the canine habitat and used her help to carry them into the elevator. “Fin will know what to do with them.”

“So have you thought of what you’d like to do for the prosthetic?” Liam asked once we were alone.

“I’m not sure yet.” I sent him the schematics for my three ideas through our technopathic link. “I can’t decide which to get.”

“Do you really need to choose? If I were in your position, I’d make something using biometal with abilities like Morpheus’s. You know, a device that can shift and adapt to fulfil your current needs. Then give it the ability to assimilate your other devices temporarily.”

“That does sound awesome, but anything involving assimilation will be a touch too complicated,” I replied. “I’ve thought about it, and I can’t fathom how to include it in a blueprint. Kitty can do it due to the golem core’s upgrading powers. I reckon it will require parts from a creature that already has assimilation-related abilities. You’ve given me a pretty sick idea, though.”

“What is it?” He asked.

“I’d rather show than tell. It’ll be better for the viewers. They’ve gotten enough tell with the new folks telling us about their powers. So let’s give them a nice surprise.”

After giving Liam the specifications for the chassis, I went around the building collecting my devices. Yes! All but the Grappling Belt were ready for upgrades. Engrossed in the prospects of making a new device, I hadn’t thought about upgrading any of my current ones. Initially, I’d been leaning towards incorporating the Stick n’ Save Gloop Shooter into the prosthetic. However, a part of me had been hesitant.

Learning to aim my weapons with the left arm would consume time we didn’t have. The right arm would have to continue working as the offense while the left would serve better for defensive and utility tools. So I pulled up the schematics for the offensive arm under the database log in my display, removed the biometal gun parts I had designed for it, and made the relevant changes. Next, I pulled up my Creation interface to study the relevant materials.

Biometal Attack Arm

- Charge Launcher Mk II
- biometal arm skeletal frame
- biometal arm chassis
- biometal gland
- plasma absorber
- plasma charger
- sci-fi manga/anime
- McGuffin x2

Charge Launcher Mk II has sufficiently grown to facilitate two new upgrades. The planned changes will consume the stored energy.

The schematic demanded one more McGuffin than I had been willing to spare. When I read the material list out to Liam, he laughed.

“If you’re planning what I think you are, are you surprised?” he asked.

“I’m serious, mate, this could be a gamechanger, and if it’s going to be my arm, I don’t want to compromise,” I told him. “Where the hell do we find manga or anime around here?”

“Have you thought about where we are? This is a post-grad engineering department: home of nerds. The Hub piled up all the books on the first floor, didn’t it? Let’s have a dig around there. If we don’t find any there, we can try the surrounding buildings. Rich kids are bound to have tons of disks or little libraries lying around.”

Liam sent out the Recon Drone to explore the surrounding houses. Meanwhile, I checked the ground floor. I didn’t find any disks—to be fair, with streaming and digital storage, why would anyone bring disks to their place of work? Digging through the books, we found several valuable volumes. My eyes lit up when I found the works of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein. They were the foundation for the Void Cannon—the first weapon I had looked up after upgrading my power interface. It was tempting, but I needed to stay focused.

I found what I needed buried under a pile of porn magazines. Somehow our civilization’s advancements in digital storage had done little to halt their publication. I didn’t complain, of course. They found a home piled in a corner hidden behind a pile of garbage magazines no one would want to touch. The real prize was a copy of “One-Punch Man.” It was in German, and the contents made little sense to me—three years had passed since the compulsory German lessons in high school. I barely remembered any of it.

“I’ve got something that should work!” I exclaimed through the comms link.

“I’ll call Recon back,” he said. “Come back up. The chassis is ready.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I ran back up the stairs, excited for my prosthetic. Liam handed me the chassis and frame, and I was surprised by their weight.

“Holy shit, they’re light.”

“Of course. That’s what makes biometal as good as it is: weight, flexibility, and its magnetic abilities. It lacks hardness, but we can work around that by adjusting the density.”

“Is that what you’ve done with the frame?”

Liam sent me an image of the cross-section, and I was surprised by the internal intricacy. The outer shell was thick, but each individual piece had a hollow center with little metal supports running through them. Liam wasn’t a civil engineer, but his Mega Brain must have been working overtime.

“I’m impressed, mate,” I said before starting the Creation. It consumed a little more than half my energy, and the pool grew by twenty percent. It was tempting to pour extra energy into the process to speed it up, but I resisted the urge. “Now that that’s sorted, let’s upgrade your Recon Drone. I’ve got parts for thermal imaging, sonar, and stealth. Is there anything else you want?”

“Mostly aerial mobility and speed as a secondary,” he answered.

Liam had collected a range of fans and motors. I picked the smallest and powerful of the lot for mobility and another plasma charger to assist with propulsion. The Upgrade used another McGuffin and consumed almost all of my energy, leaving my muscles weak. It would be a while before the two processes completed, recovering a part of my energy bar. I’d have to put up with the tiredness until then.

10 McGuffin-fueled Creations or Upgrades until the next power upgrade.

Liam started up the 3D printer again to build his new drone. I offered my help, but he rejected it. With the 3D printer and the parts we had lying around, he could build his own drones. Liam would still need me for McGuffin-fueled upgrades, but he wanted to figure out how to do that too. Both Creations would take quite a while—my arm would most likely require a lot more time than the drone, so I left Liam on his own.

I went down to the Menagerie to find Jay playing with the smallest platyhawk. I recognized it as the first hatchling from the clutch we’d found. Its eyes were deeper than that of its siblings, almost human. Jay would throw her, and she’d glide across the room before running back to him, chirping and yipping. I watched them, engrossed and amused.

Saying that Jay had a way with animals was an understatement. They gravitated towards him. If what they had said about there being people out there with some degree of telepathic abilities were true, I’d put my money on him being one of them. A part of me wanted to believe the limiter not working on them was an anomaly or lucky occurrence. However, one couldn’t be too sure in this new world.

The platyhawk looked up at Jay excitedly as he played, reading his expression. Jay being likeable was no secret. I was glad to have him on my side. Did I want to tell him about the reality show and Knurven? Perhaps not yet. We needed to give the newcomers time to settle in and ensure they weren’t lying to us.

“He’s good,” Fin said, walking over. “Platyhawks rarely take a shine to anyone, and he has one literally eating out of the palm of his hand.”

“The little guy seems smarter than the rest. Are you sure it’s not...different?”

“It’s a start. The specimen might be the runt of the litter, but she’s the smartest of the batch. The others will see her and the rest will follow.” A wingless platyhawk crawled over to Fin, and he pulled a cube of meat out of thin air and fed it. The creature looked up at him the same way the runt looked at Jay. “Before you know it, he’ll be one of us. Menageries perform better with a dedicated System-user watching over it.”

“It’s too soon for that,” I told him. “Why are the platyhawks growing slowly?”

“You should be asking why the ankylopus are growing as quick they are.” Fin’s grin sent shivers running up and down my spine. It came across more creepy than friendly. “Given their exposure to the Nurturing Field, the platyhawks are growing at the expected rate. Unfortunately, we can’t figure out why the modified specimen are progressing as they are or how they’ll end up. They don’t have biometal, but their bone-plating makes them perfect for ground defense.”

“What about the new parts? Think you can use them to make the specimens stronger?”

“If we can work the bone-compression into the ankylopus, you’ll have something compelling. I don’t know how well it’ll work, but I’d like to request an experiment.”

“Go ahead,” I said, surprised by Fin’s direct approach. “The platyhawks we’re birthing have plasma absorbers in them by default. If we can give them plasma chargers as well, you’ll have specimens that can use the energy they absorb. Imagine how powerful the ankylopus could become.”

I gave him the requested part without question. The platyhawk king had given me a few, and I didn’t think we’d get much use out of it. But, even after giving him two, there was still one left in the goggles’ storage.

“You won’t regret it,” Fin told me.

“The Menagerie hasn’t disappointed me yet. But, with all of these new parts, how long until the remaining eggs hatch?”

“If we want the new parts to take, it’s for the best if we give it a couple of days. Then, following that, give it half a week for the ideal incubation. Creating variant beasts isn’t an exact science.”

“We’re working on turning the second floor into a Farm,” I said. “Reckon that’ll help up here at all?”

“During incubation? No. But the waste from the Farm will add to biomass stores and help us make more nutrient-rich feed—as a result, the beasts will grow quicker and healthier.”

More little ones were now playing with Jay. It wasn’t just the platyhawks but an ankylopus as well. The rest groggily watched them play. I hadn’t seen Jay in combat since he’d fought the rat king, but if he could do the same with platyhawks, the pylon would be as good as ours. I didn’t want to get my hopes up though. It was too early to run the idea by him. His powers limited him to domesticated animals for all I knew, but it didn’t hurt to dream.

I was lost in my daydreams when my Technopathic senses alerted me of Morpheus’s presence. I had assumed this would happen, but now I could finally see results. Using McGuffins weren’t just growing my energy pool but was also improving the other abilities that accompanied the Technogogue power.

“They’re back, Jay,” I said, calling the elevator. “Would you like to join me?”

“Of course!” He exclaimed, and we headed down together. With my energy drained, taking the stairs down from the fifth floor to the third had been too damn tiring. I didn’t want to brave it all the way down to the ground floor.

Morpheus was the first one I saw. Dirt covered his black body, and the trailer behind him was piled high with sacks and boxes. Miley stood next to him, spherical and spotless like always. Morpheus’s dome slid open, and Kitty climbed out. I smiled at her, and she returned the gesture halfheartedly. Then the others followed her in, and I understood why. Caitlin was covered in blood.

“What happened?!” Jay exclaimed, rushing forward, and I followed.

“It’s not my blood,” Caitlin said, fending him off as he checked her all over for cuts and bruises. “It’s David that got hurt.”

“I fixed him up though,” Kitty told us.

“What was it?” Blood covered David’s clothes, and pale lines marked his face and neck: signs of the Medi Gun fixing injuries.

“Auranthers,” Kitty answered. “The basement in the hardware store had collapsed like in the deli.”

“We need to be more careful about them.” I sighed, shaking my head. “Let’s make it a point to scout the buildings on the hill and make sure there are no exploding kittens around.”

“That’s what got me,” David said. “We split up for a bit, and a kitten crawled out of the basement. I couldn’t just ditch it. When I got close, the thing exploded!”

“You were lucky. When one of them got the jump on me, the shrapnel got through Morpheus.”

“My artifact’s armor is pretty solid.” David grinned. “When the mantises took over the sector, I had no choice but to sink McGuffins into my defenses. It can put up with a fair bit.”

“The mantises took over the sector?” I asked. Kitty and I exchanged wide-eyed looks.

“It happened a couple of days after us our last meeting,” Jay said. “They came out of the ground through holes throughout the sector. Before then, we’d seen a handful of them traveling alone or in pairs. Then they came out of nowhere, eating everything they encountered. Thanks to Maya, the sneaky ones were easy to track and kill, but the big, armored freaks were a bit too much.”

“It was the raiders,” I told them. “We fought a mantis boss the day after we met. She’d been busy increasing their numbers, and they’d been living in the caverns under the sector. I think the caves were linked to other nests, and they were feeding on rats and hedgehogs mostly. The raiders cut through the cave walls to get the jump on us. They let the bugs out.”

“Bastards,” Caitlin uttered more colorful swear words, and her brother laughed, listening to them. “We saw them sneaking around preparing to stir things up with one of Metalsmith’s scouting parties when we left the sector. I should’ve set the assholes on fire.”

I let her and Jay rant for a while before inspecting everything they had brought back. We finally had all the materials necessary for the Farm. But it wasn’t just that. They had brought back seeds and cuttings of fruit trees for the floor once it was ready. Once we were done talking, Kitty, David, and Caitlin washed up, and we all ate a meal together.

While we were eating, a small sliver of my energy bar recovered. Finally, the Recon Drone was complete. Together, they helped push the fatigue out of my muscles, and then we got to work.

Chapter Eighteen

Right to Mecha Arms

Morpheus pulled his material-laden trailer into the elevator, and we took it down to the basement. While taking the materials down, I modified the elevator’s settings, granting the Hub’s newest residents access to it. I chose to limit which floors they could access, though. Liam liked his privacy, and I didn’t want anyone messing with the Hub’s Core, so I restricted their access to the two floors. Of course, we could invite them to either if we wanted to, but that was it.

David and Jay helped me unload the trailer. We piled everything up next to the generator. They both took a couple of minutes to admire the machine that fueled our home. It had changed over the last couple of days. It was no longer a hunk of metal and plastic. I had expected there to be fleshy bits and drops of blood, but the moss and mushrooms around it took me by surprise. A rich earthy smell filled the air in the basement. It smelled like life.

Jay’s eyes lit up as he sniffed at the air. With my permission, he approached the core and instructed it. The rest maintained a healthy distance. The more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to trust him implicitly. By extension, his friends had my trust too. However, the last thing I wanted to do was rush into things and get burned. I reasoned it had to do with Rajesh’s death and Pallav leaving us. Their absence had left a hole in my life that I wanted to fill. Jay came across as a perfect candidate to fill that emptiness.

I didn’t know Caitlin and David particularly well, but the latter was loveable. The former’s gesture of contributing three McGuffins to the betterment of our home was the perfect gesture of goodwill. Yet, a little voice in my head told me to hold back and take it slow. So that’s what I did.

The Hub Core’s interface had a message waiting for me when I accessed it.

Materials available for C-rank Farm. Would you like to start the build?

The core’s pulsing fleshy bits lit up as soon as I said yes. The yellow light coming from within made it look more like bioluminescent vegetation than meat. I still couldn’t decide whether the generator was beautiful or horrifying in appearance.

Combination Upgrade detected.

Since the Farm and Menagerie are both within the Nurturing Field Generator’s effect, the two levels may be linked.

As a result, they’ll both enjoy natural growth, their own eco-systems, and scaling spatial upgrades.

Besides producing food at the same rate as a B-rank Farm, the floor will also enhance the recycling of waste material, including water. Due to the enhanced oxygen production, the Hub will enjoy its own life-support system.

I froze. Was this the “bigger on the inside” kind of upgrades I wanted? The prospect of becoming Doctor Who and the Hub my Tardis appealed to me very much. A green pulse traveled through every surrounding surface, over our bodies, and disappeared into the ceiling above. The materials we had piled up sank into the floor before bright blue flowers blossomed on the core.

I reread the latter half of the message. With future upgrades, I could make the Hub self-sufficient to the point that we wouldn’t need external sources of water or food. Over time, perhaps it could grow into a city! This was the best investment I had ever made.

“Thank you,” I said, approaching Caitlin. “The C-rank Farm is going to do more for the Hub than I imagined. I’m going to put you and Kitty in charge of it.”

Kitty smiled, placing an arm around me. “My parents own—owned a farm. If the floor has drones like the Menagerie, we won’t have to do much hands-on work, but it’s good to have the know-how.”

“I’d love to help!” Caitlin explained. “Give me some time to find my feet, and then I’ll be up there non-stop.”

“It won’t be our only responsibility though.” I raised my voice, addressing everyone. Liam hadn’t come down to join us, but I knew he would agree with me. “Our first priority is getting the local monster population under control. By that, I don’t mean wiping them out. We’ll need to keep a few nests around to keep the McGuffins coming. They’re our lifeblood. This hill needs to be our territory. Once the platyhawks and ankylopus are grown, I’ll send them out to run patrols on the hill. Meanwhile, we’ll go down to ground level and only wipe out the nests on our perimeter.”

“As well as the main platyhawk nest which is spawning the other ones,” Kitty added.

“That’s a given,” I said. “I’d rather leave a few of the smaller nests up for our McGuffin farming. We can regularly cull the numbers and kill the bosses but leave the nest’s cores alive. With time they’ll replace the bosses—” My energy bar refilled to the forty percent mark, and a refreshing wave of warmth ran through my body. “Let’s continue this later.”

“Is everything okay?” Kitty asked, her voice full of concern.

“My prosthetic is ready!”

Everyone followed me into the lift, and we took it up to the top floor. Liam stood by the elevator doors waiting for us. He looked sleeker than before—smoother curves and streamlined design. A grinning emoticon appeared on his darkened dome as he scuttled towards where my new arm lay.

“I think you might want to give it a light paint job,” Liam said.

He wasn’t wrong. Having grown up with me, Liam knew I wouldn’t say I liked overtly shiny things. He liked to call my preferred aesthetic the “Matt-effect” jokingly. The forearm sat on the floor where I had started the Creation. Its biometal surface had a chrome effect and reflected the ambient lights much as the frame and chassis had.

The prosthetic almost had the same dimensions as my left arm. The hands were pretty much identical, but everything wrist downwards was a tad wider. It wasn’t unexpected, since it had to house the Charge Launcher, Sonic Shotgun, Sonic Barrier Projector, dagger, the new weapon system, and the biometal gland that fueled it.

It was significantly heavier than the Charge Launcher, but Liam assured me that it wouldn’t feel the same when I wore it. After all, a part of the weight would be my new arm. My breathing quickened as I studied the device’s rear end. I had designed it and knew what to expect, but that didn’t mean the expected pain didn’t make me nervous. The end opposite the hand had several needle-like attachments growing out of it. At my touch, they rotated and squirmed, looking like little tentacles.

“What are those for?” Kitty asked, but I decided to show her instead of explaining.

I held the prosthetic up to my stump and grunted when the needles dove into my skin. It grew into a soft scream as I felt them digging through my muscles and ripping open skin. My vision got blurry as tears threatened to break free. It hurt almost as much as losing my arm. Then everything started burning from my neck to the end of the pointed stump, and it was worse than anything I had felt before.

“I’m getting Morpheus!” Kitty’s words made little sense as I fell to my knees.

“Don’t,” Liam told her. “It’ll be over in a second. The socket is connecting the controls to his nervous system. If Matt wants to regain any normalcy, this is necessary. The healing serum might react poorly to the melding process.”

I heard Caitlin usher David back into the elevator. In hindsight, I should’ve done this in a private room away from everyone’s eyes. Jay followed them out, but Kitty stayed by my side. She knelt next to me and stroked my back. I barely felt her touch over the pain, but knowing she was by my side made everything better.

The prosthetic clicked into place and settled on top of my arm. The pain ceased, but the burning remained. It was my nerves screaming from the shock of melding with the machine.

“You can go get Morpheus now,” I told Kitty. “I’m going to need a syringe or two before I can get back on my feet.”

“You’re an idiot for not warning me about this,” she said, hovering over me for a moment. Then she disappeared down the stairs and Liam burst into laughter.

I collapsed on my back, trying to get my breathing under control. Ideally, I should’ve waited an hour before testing my new arm, but I couldn’t help myself. I raised it up towards the ceiling, studying the smooth metal and different segments. A clear ring sat not far above the stump where the prosthetic connected to the socket. That’s right. Someday in the future, I’d craft more weapons and more arms. The option of detaching the Charge Launcher would make life a whole lot easier.

Liam brought over a bottle of sports drink.

“You know I hate that shit, right?”

“It’s not for you to drink, genius,” he said. “Try picking it up.”

Even though it felt like parts of me were on fire, I sat up. Neither of us could wait to test out my newest creation. I almost jumped onto my feet when the wrist shook. It took several seconds of psyching myself up before I tried opening my hand. It obeyed! I excitedly looked up at Liam but got nothing from his blank dome. His spider leg pointed at the bottle of blue sports drink.

I nervously reached for it and put my fingers around the bottle. Unfortunately, when I tried to pick it up, my fingers closed too hard and fast. The force crushed the bottle, and the resulting pressure knocked off the easy-drink nozzle, spraying the ceiling with the blue fluid.

“It’s probably for the best if you take it off in bed,” Liam said, looking up at Kitty. Focused on the given task, I hadn’t heard the elevator door open. “At least until you’ve mastered its use.”

“Are you mad?” Kitty laughed, and Morpheus shot me with two syringes. “I don’t care how good he gets at using that thing. Nothing kills the mood like cold metal. He’s not touching me with that thing any time soon.”

Chapter Nineteen

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I woke up late the following morning. Much to my surprise, Kitty was still in bed with me. She was awake but had her arms wrapped around me. Some things needed doing, but I struggled to tear myself away from the warmth and comfort. It wasn’t just that; her smell had something comforting about it. I breathed it in deeply and then let the air out of my lungs slowly.

“You slept like a log,” she said, kissing my neck. Things were changing between us. It no longer felt casual, like we were together out of convenience. “How do you feel?”

“Good,” I answered, taking her right hand in my left. “Why are you still in bed?”

“It looked like you needed the sleep. I didn’t want to disturb you by moving around.”

“Isn’t that sweet?” I laughed, turning around to face her.

“Seriously, though. How do you feel?”

“Better now. It’s like the technopath part of me is comforting my brain as it bonds with the prosthetic.” Noting the puzzled look on Kitty’s face, I continued. “I imagine it’s similar to how Liam adapted to his new body as quickly as he did. He’s in tune with it. I’m not saying I’m there yet, but I feel better than I did yesterday. Right now we can’t ask for more than that, can we? I have you to thank for a good deal of that too.”

“You’re amazing. Do you know that?” Kitty kissed me, and I wiggled my left arm in under her waist to pull her in closer. Following her request, I had detached my prosthetic before getting into bed. The metal socket had fused with the stump—thanks to the Medi Gun. When I shuffled, the flat biometal ring grazed Kitty’s skin, and she squealed. For a laugh, I poked her with it, and she smacked my chest in retort. “That’s cold!”

“How’s Winnie doing?” I asked once she had snuggled into me again.

“Just fine,” she answered, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, I have an extra McGuffin. I’ve spent three on Liam, two on myself, and have one left. If Winnie is ready to upgrade—”

“It’ll take a couple more boss fights to get him there, and I’m not rushing into those any time soon. Either use it for the Hub or see if you can make something for Caitlin. It feels like her power is a perfect companion to yours. Plus, she made a major contribution to the Farm. It’s the least we can do.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I think I’ve got the perfect device for her as well. She did us a solid. I still think we’ve been pretty lax about the Hub’s security though. We have people and assets to protect.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I answered. “The building is pretty solid and recovers from damage fairly quick. A deterrent or offensive upgrade could go a long way. Maybe I’ll have a look through the D-rank upgrades first.”

“Probably for the best. I still think you should make something for Caitlin as a gesture of goodwill though.”

We left it at that and, after a while of morning canoodling, got washed and dressed. When Kitty opened the door out of our room, a small box and message were waiting for me.

The prosthetic is a touch too heavy for your shoulder. Use the supports until your body gets used to it. Maybe get off your arse and start working out. I didn’t want to disturb you since you were still asleep.

Going to be busy furnishing the top floor and making new shit, so please don’t disturb me unless we’re under attack.

P.S.: I have the drone out patrolling the neighborhood. If anything comes at us, we’ll know.

The box housed a harness made of several wide straps. The material felt very much like the platyhawks’ wings. Excited to try it on, I put on the prosthetic first. The cylindrical plug at its base slipped into the socket and the inner mechanisms took over. The biometal rings rotated the metal limb until everything was perfectly aligned and then clicked into place. The process took a minute from start to finish.

I started my testing by rotating the wrist and then wiggling my fingers. My control had improved since the day before. When I’d first toyed with prosthetic, all the movements had been too fast and out of control. I’d ended up warping a door handle, bending two forks, and shattering a mug. The prosthetic almost did what I intended now. I suppose the human body has limiters in place so a person’s movements didn’t cause immediate damage or wear and tear. My new limb didn’t have any such hard-wired limitations. The wrist could rotate all the way, and the fingers could spin and bend in any direction.

Liam was right. I hadn’t complained about the prosthetic being too heavy, but he must have picked up on things others didn’t see. After removing my lab coat and t-shirt, I slipped my hand through the harness’s loop before fastening the bands around my shoulders. Thanks to the snug fit, it didn’t feel like I had anything on at all. However, my shoulder did feel more comfortable with it on. The Mega Brain helped Liam see things we took for granted. That much was true.

When Kitty and I went down to the Farm level, the others were already present. The floor housed a lot more drones than the Menagerie and was almost unrecognizable. When we had stopped by to have a peek the night before, the floor had been cleared of all pillars and inner walls. Railings divided the space into walkways and large squares.

Now the ceilings were doubly high, and the squares were full of dirt. The drones were running around scanning the soil or hanging from the ceiling, working on the new lights or sprinklers. The spatial changes were already at play. I couldn’t tell whether my eyes were playing tricks on me, but the floor didn’t just appear taller but had more square footage too. My upgrades were turning the Hub into the Tardis!

“How’s it going?” Kitty asked the newcomers.

“All good,” Caitlin answered. “We were just discussing what should be our priority crops.”

“Why would we need priority crops?” I scanned the area for the lead drone. First, we needed to figure out how the Farm worked. “There’s enough space to set down whatever we want.”

“That might be true, but we need to think about our staples and necessities: potatoes, onions, garlic. Then we need greens, fibers, and root vegetables.”

“Herbs would be nice as well,” Jay added. “I like me some coriander in my curries. What about rice, wheat, and lentils? Those are pretty great too.”

“They are, but not very space efficient,” Caitlin told him. “For the time being at least, we’re better off focusing on potatoes as our primary carbohydrate. But, in the long run, we’ll want whole grains. They provide just as much energy, plus vitamins and fiber.”

“You really know your stuff,” I remarked. “Were you studying agriculture?”

“Not quite. I used to be a personal trainer but did a few nutrition courses. The growing knowledge is more due to self-interest. It’s a good thing you have these little gray helpers. We’re going to need the practical know-how.”

The Farm’s drone leader interrupted our conversation. Like Fin, she looked different from the other drones. But, instead of a fin atop her head, she had wide shoulders and well-defined musculature. I knew nothing about growing food, so I took a step back, putting Kitty and Caitlin in charge.

After handing over the seeds, cuttings, and root vegetables for planting, we went down for breakfast. After that, the group made plans to go out and explore the buildings in our neighborhood and then the rest of the hill. When I asked how we’d split up our groups, they shut me down.

“You’re not coming with us,” Kitty said.

“Why the hell not?”

“You’re not in the correct headspace. Take some time to get used to your arm and take it easy for a few days.”

That was the end of it. I couldn’t get her to budge on the matter, and Caitlin backed her up. Then Jay and David lined up behind them, and I didn’t have a leg to stand on. They split into pairs: Jay and Caitlin, Kitty and David, before heading out. I understood where Kitty was coming from, but I hated the thought of them getting hurt and me not being there to help. No matter how hard we tried in this new, dangerous world, there was no way for us to prepare for every scenario.

After seeing them off, I went down to the basement to keep myself busy. I still couldn’t decide how to spend the McGuffin, so I turned to the Hub Core’s interface for inspiration. Several new D- and C-rank options appeared on the list. I focused on the options that would add to the building’s offense and defense.

Taken aback by the sheer number of options, I found myself spoiled by so many choices. Almost all of the available upgrades took advantage of the biomatter, Farm, and Nurturing Field. It took me almost half an hour before I narrowed the list down to the best possible D-rank candidates.

Entangling Brambles: What’s worse than brambles? Animated brambles. They grow rapidly, covering the Hub’s exterior surfaces, and attack all unwelcome visitors. Of course, your Hub won’t be the most attractive home for your residents, but they’ll sleep easy with this extra layer of defense.

Balloon Pods: Have you pissed off a superior force? Do they outnumber you? Then you need exploding traps. Set them free to float around your base or plant them strategically at the ground level. Fight the attackers on your terms, not theirs. Not only will these bulbous fungi explode in your attacker’s face, but they’ll cover them in burning spores while at it!

Toxic Blooms: There’s nothing wrong with chemical warfare when your home is at stake and the world is out to kill you. Don’t let the bulbs’ sweet smell fool your fellow residents. Depending on which variety you pick, they’ll paralyze, kill, or put the unfortunate sniffer to sleep.

Toxic Blooms didn’t meet the brief. I didn’t want the Menagerie beasts wandering too close and falling victim to the flowers. I’d have to choose between the other two if I went this path. The Entangling Brambles sounded great. They would act as an extra protective layer over our current defenses and entrap anyone who got too close.

But after some thought, I decided the Balloon Pods were the winner. During the second world war, London had filled the sky with blimps to deter German air raids—or so I had learned from an episode of Doctor Who. Balloon Pods in the air space above our base and planted on the ground around it felt like the best option, so I locked it in. The gift for Caitlin would have to wait.

Chapter Twenty

We Are Not Alone

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Plant-based defenses would require minimal maintenance. They would feed on the remains of the defeated creatures to grow stronger and recover any damage. Unlike the Toxic Blooms, the interface gave me the power to designate friend and foe. Fortunately, that included the Menageries’ residents. The Balloon Pods wouldn’t explode if the platyhawks and ankylopus got too close.

I browsed through the Hub Core’s interface. The options for vegetation-based defenses were endless. There were upgradeable turrets that melded machine and plant matter, monstrous Venus flytraps capable of functioning as bear traps and monstrous pitcher-plant pitfalls. The prospect of the latter ones terrified me the most. It would digest attackers and turn them into usable biomatter.

Once I was done setting everything up in the holographic display, I stepped out of the base to have a look at the new installations. At first, I struggled to find the bulbs. I couldn’t see any signs of them on the walls. Then a trio of excited ankylopus got my attention. They stood huddled around a corner, yipping and chittering to another. The smallest of the group leaned in for a chomp, but the others snapped at the little guy, warding him away.

When the ankylopus became alert of my approach, they watched me in curiosity for a second before rushing up the wall towards the roof. I found a fist-sized bulb growing out of the wall. It resembled a raisin and housed a soft pink glow. When the light pulsed, the wrinkles wriggled, making me jump back. I supposed the bulbs needed time to grow and balloon up. I’d check on them later.

Things were coming along beautifully. A few more defenses of the like and we’d become an impenetrable fortress. Once the Menagerie beasts reached maturity, no creature in the sector would stand a chance against the Hub—not even the crushers! There weren’t a whole lot of the half-metal monsters, and the platyhawks would have little trouble swarming them.

Since we were prioritizing taking down the local nests, I’d soon have enough McGuffins to make devices for all the newcomers. Kitty would benefit the most from my Creations, but I would like to gift Jay a couple as well. Chances are he wouldn’t participate in combat unless things got dire, but I wanted to show him my appreciation for joining us. Besides, I needed to use ten more McGuffins to upgrade my power.

The little raisin-like plant doubled in size while I stood pondering what direction to take. Standing out in the open didn’t bother me. Liam had his Recon Drone keeping an eye on the surroundings, and I trusted him. The others were on and around the hill. If anything approached the Hub, they’d know before me. So I watched as the pink glow brightened and the bulb continued to pulse and grow. How big would it get? We’d have to wait and see.

The interface had only let me plant a dozen. However, the benefit of biomatter-based defenses was that they would grow and evolve with time, functioning much like the Menagerie. If the balloons killed something or a creature died within their range, the plants would feed on its body and produce more bulbs that I could place around the base. Depending on the materials absorbed from the corpse, there was a chance of the bulbs gaining additional abilities as well.

I loved the idea of incorporating something based off the bulbs in my devices. It was what I had intended with the drone carrier, but I wasn’t so sure about it anymore. It almost made sense to pour a little more effort into it and give the device to Caitlin. With no need for a power source, the McGuffin’s power could focus on creating minor AI for the temporary drones. Besides that, I had a couple more ideas for equipping Caitlin: a supergun to replace the hairdryers, and something that could potentially benefit her as well as me.

It was around lunchtime when Kitty and David returned. They had found several boxes of cereal, cartons of long-life juice and milk, as well as enough dried grains to meet our carbohydrate needs for the month. When Kitty climbed out of Morpheus, she had a giant grin on her face.

“We saw a person!” Kitty exclaimed.

“What?!” I had been lazing in the cafeteria, coloring my prosthetic black. Her words almost made me spill the paint all over my lab coat and trousers. “Where? Was it the raiders? What did they say?”

“Slow down there, tiger.” Kitty laughed. “Let me answer a question before you ask the next one. It was at the bottom of the hill, and I’m pretty sure the raiders haven’t made it to our sector yet. Liam and Jay would spot them sooner than us. It was an older man: gray hair and a crooked back. Plus he had dirty lederhosen on. I doubt the arseholes from our sector would ever be caught dead in something like that.”

“I get that. What did he say?”

“Nothing,” she answered. “He almost had a heart attack when he spotted us. The old bugger dropped all his cans and ran into a narrow alley. We thought it best not to chase him.”

“That’s great news,” I said. “It means there are people in this sector. Perhaps we can find them and see if we can bring them over to our side! Even offer them our protection.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Matt,” David said. “While exploring the sector, we encountered some German folk. They kept away from us though and stared at us creepily. Caitlin said it’s our accents. It gives us away as outsiders, and they want nothing to do with us. I just think they’re weird.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“I don’t know. They looked at us funny and had strange clothes on. Besides, when they saw us, they stared for way too long. Then when we tried to approach them, they ran away. Maya didn’t appear particularly interested in tracking them, and Jay didn’t push her, so we moved on.”

“I wish you’d told us this before.” I helped them unload everything they’d brought back. “We were convinced that the monsters in the sector had killed all the people. In all honesty, I miss having more people around. It’s too quiet.”

“There’s a reason for that though,” Kitty said. “Not everyone is resistant like David and Caitlin. I’m pretty sure Jay breaking free of the mind hack due to his power is an anomaly too. We can’t just trust anyone. Even if we find these people, would you feel comfortable trusting them enough to let them into the Hub?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Perhaps we could turn the first floor into a refugee center. We bring people in and give them access to the first floor and cafeteria. If they pass a probationary period and fit the bill, we let them stay.”

“I’m with David on this one.” Kitty placed a hand on my shoulder. “You’re a good person, Matt. Jay wants to help animals, and you want to help people. While his rescues are easy to trust, yours won’t be. I understand if after what happened to Rajesh you want to go out of your way to save lives. Let’s keep our eyes open for these new people but continue taking it slow. Alright?”

“Fine.” I sighed. “But we’ve got sanctuary to offer. I just don’t want it going to waste.”

Caitlin and Jay returned after we had eaten lunch and gorged themselves on cold leftovers. They claimed having seen people raiding shops at the base of the hill too and repeated David’s story. The people the pair had seen were of varying ages, but all wore dirty or torn clothes. Due to the increased threat level, they probably didn’t have the luxuries we enjoyed at our old home.

I found myself wondering why they had remained in the sector. What was keeping them here? If not for our ambitions to take down the pylon, we had nothing keeping us in the area. I hadn’t analyzed the neighboring sectors, but there had to be more regions with low threat levels. If I were in their shoes, I’d abandon the sector as soon as possible. Every creature we had encountered was much too powerful for ordinary C-ranked individuals.

Jay and Caitlin had done more than see people. While exploring an old church, they had found auranthers in the basement and slain them without any injuries. More importantly, they had found a trio of eggs and brought them back for the Menagerie. We rushed up to the fourth floor and passed them onto the drone running the show.

Fin and his gray employees exploded into motion at the prospect of a new species in their Menagerie. They took the eggs out of Jay’s hands and got to work, setting them up for incubation. When I looked at their incubation setup, I noticed the floor had grown too. There were spaces between the machines and more hands running them. This was all a result of the Farm’s addition! Perhaps it would benefit us to add plants to the ground floor too.

They set up two eggs connected to pipes that fed them biometal-related materials and the third to the tube that provided bone enhancements. An auranther’s biggest weakness was their lack of durability. Bone-plating would make up for the weakness.

After everyone had eaten, we discussed our next move. Several more platyhawk nests needed taken down. We picked the ones closest to the Hub and then went onto the roof to study the landscape. Following a little chat, we decided to focus on the ones growing around the main roads and escape routes. So far, neither pair had spotted any auranthers on the hill. Perhaps there was no underground system under it big enough for them to traverse. I couldn’t make up my mind and decided to take a step back and leave it to the group.

We had all made mistakes with Rajesh and Pallav and didn’t want any repeats. Either way, none of us were ready for another boss fight, so we agreed to take some time and continue exploring. Perhaps we’d find some nervous neighbors while we were at it and make friends. It came as a surprise that Liam’s Recon Drone hadn’t spotted any yet. Maybe he needed to increase the scouting range on it.

After lunch, the girls wanted to do some batch cooking while David and Jay decided to continue their explorations. As expected, Kitty didn’t let me leave. So when I insisted she give me something to do in the kitchen, she assigned me the job of opening tins of tomatoes and beans and crushing garlic. I ended up enjoying my time in the kitchen more than I had expected.

Chapter Twenty-One

Big Brother Is Watching

We visited the Menagerie once everybody was home. Fin approached us with an update. The day for our little platyhawks to leave the nest came upon us suddenly—speaking figuratively of course. They had started flying around the Menagerie for several days. Now, the littlest of the flock had made it her mission to follow the ankylopus out of the base. The Hub had hardwired them never to wander too far, and they thought of it as their nest, so we didn’t have to worry about them leaving us. I considered it a perfect opportunity to increase our intelligence-gathering capabilities and control over the sector.

Kitty, Caitlin, and David busied themselves on the Farm. Jay hung around to play within the Menagerie. Meanwhile, I busied myself on the first floor. The pile of junk we had lying around included several surveillance cameras, smartphones, and transmitting equipment. Using my power, I whipped together several video recorders, transmitters, and communication devices. There were quite a few of us now. We all needed to stay in touch.

After taking a few measurements, I put together collars for the platyhawks. They’d survey the world as our animal guards and broadcast the information to a receiver on the Hub’s fifth floor. When I got in touch with Liam and told him what I was planning, he didn’t mind at all. Kitty, he, and I were the founders of the Hub and could go wherever we pleased, but I still thought it important to get his permission.

Liam cordoned off a little section of the floor set between the stairwell and the elevator. That way, we could access the room without getting in his way. Once the receiver was active and passed our test, I gathered the monitors, speakers, and consoles from around the base and put together a surveillance room.

Now everything we or the platyhawks saw when outside the base would be recorded. This way, if one of us couldn’t go into the field due to injury, mental health, or whatever reason, that person could stay back and act as our eye in the sky. Having the ability to playback our experiences outside and see what we did wrong in a fight or analyze a curious occurrence would go a long way as well.

“You need to set up a couple more,” Liam said, watching me work. “We need cameras on each side of the base at ground and roof levels. Wouldn’t hurt to get a few within as well.”

“Wouldn’t that be wrong? Like we’re spying on our own people?”

“I’m not telling you to put them in peoples’ rooms or the residential floors, but everywhere else. You plan on bringing in more people, don’t you?”

I nodded. “At least start a dialogue. There might be more resistant people among them, or we could fix them using the Telepathic Null Zone. I just want to know if they’re like us or the raiders.”

“Then you need surveillance,” Liam continued. “Not so you can spy on them, but for the sake of safety. Things can go wrong; accidents happen. Having recordings will help us ensure fights don’t break out. Someone we bring in might have interests different from ours. What if they lie and work against the other residents or us? It’s a matter of safety. Wouldn’t hurt if we had eyes in the Menagerie and Farm either. We need to know what’s going on in our home.”

“You’re not wrong,” I replied. “I just don’t want our new guests to think we’re keeping tabs on them.”

“So don’t—”

“I’m not going to lie to people, Liam. Before you say anything, that includes an omission. I’ll implement cameras on all floors except for the third. Let’s leave this one mostly blind except for the space between here and the elevator. We’ll disclose their existence to everyone but won’t tell them where they are, whether they like it or not. How does that sound?”

“It’s a decent compromise.”

We went down to the Menagerie first. Jay and Fin were locked in conversation. We told them what we were up to and, much to my surprise, Jay asked why we hadn’t done it any sooner. He took over the responsibility for placing the camera collars on the platyhawks. He and Fin picked the most adventurous members of the flock, since they were most likely to go exploring. Liam and I set up cameras all around the room before heading down to the Farm.

David didn’t seem to care, but neither Caitlin nor Kitty liked the prospect of having cameras everywhere. They understood why we needed to have surveillance but still considered the thought creepy and perverse. Millions of subscribers watching our every move was bad enough, but at least they were strangers. It took a while to have them see our viewpoint, but that didn’t mean they liked having the cameras around.

After placing a few on the ground floor and basement, Liam and I started on the outside. He took charge of the roof cameras. Meanwhile, I worked on the ones at ground level. We didn’t know how much good they would do us with the bulbs and planned plant-based defenses, but they’d definitely keep us safer. While we took a step back to take in the Hub, Jay and Fin opened the metal shutters on the fourth floor and the platyhawks flew out.

Only a third of the flock left the Menagerie, but Fin had expected as much. They were still juveniles after all, and not all of them had found their bravery yet. On the other hand, all the ankylopus were out and about. Their growth had slowed down, and Fin believed the creatures were almost full-sized now. From nose to tail, they were longer than the platyhawk bosses we had recently fought but didn’t match them in girth or height. Fin claimed the former was only a matter of time. The bone-plating would widen their build soon, but we didn’t know what to expect for the height.

The ankylopus crawled down the buildings but didn’t leave their vicinity. I intended to make cameras for them too. For the time being, aerial surveillance took priority. Besides, most would run at the sight of the ankylopus anyway. They weren’t particularly stealthy and looked like beaked lizards. The pointed bony protrusions running along their spine had already started breaking the skin, and their crowns weren’t far behind. Once they started patrolling the area, the hill would become our safe haven.

I hurried back to the fifth floor and brought the system online. It took a little prodding, using my technopathic abilities to link the receiver to the console. Then the screens came to life all at once, displaying a jumble of feeds. Considering I had covered an entire wall, keeping up with them was no easy feat. Liam and I spent several minutes organizing them.

First, we divided them between outside and inside views. Then the inside got sorted by the floor and the outside by stationary or moving.

“I’ve linked myself to the system,” Liam said. “When in the base, a partition of my mind will always keep an eye on the outside cameras.”

“I didn’t know you could do that. Is this due to Mega Brain?”

“Yeah. How else do you think I move around and control the drones at the same time? I used one of my last upgrades to increase my partitioning abilities and the other to improve technopathic capabilities.”

“Have you ever considered making an AI to ease the burden somewhat?” I asked. “You could have it run your remote tasks. I reckon having a JARVIS of your own could help a ton.”

“I’ve thought about it,” he replied. “Thing is, in my current state, how different am I from an AI? Might be for the best if there is only one intelligent entity in this body. Now that we have a base and the 3D printer, I’ve been considering building one to take care of the fifth floor for me. It can help with surveillance and run everything we build.”

“As long as you don’t give it any control over the Hub, I don’t see any problem with that. What else are you planning on building? Doesn’t the printer give you pretty much everything you’d need?”

“You’ll see.” A grinning emotion appeared on Liam’s dome. It disappeared seconds later, and he pointed at one of the screens. The eight around it went blank for a moment before displaying the one feed across all nine of them. It was one of the platyhawks. It had perched on a high windowsill. The camera zoomed, and Liam’s sudden change in tone made sense. “Those are people.”

“What’s that on their backs?” I asked, studying the segmented metal plates running along on their spine.

“Looks like armor, or it might be part of an exoskeleton,” Liam said. He increased the speakers’ volume, and we could hear their distant whispers. “It’s German. They’re too far away though. I can’t decipher their words.”

“Exoskeletons—that might mean they have a tech-based power user among them! We should make contact. What if they have an Omnifabricator making power suits for them?

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. For all we know they could be like the raiders. How about I send a drone out with a message?”

“Perfect!” I exclaimed, watching the people loading a pushcart with biometal.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet the metal spine-bracer-wearing strangers. The young platyhawk got bored of watching them and fluttered off to investigate something else. We couldn’t control its actions and found ourselves blind. Without it, Liam’s Recon Drone couldn’t home in on the camera collar’s technopathic signal. By the time it found the alley where they’d been loading their pushcart, the people were long gone.

He had the recon drone do circuits of the surrounding areas, looking for where they could’ve disappeared to, but they hadn’t left any tracks. It was like they had disappeared into thin air.

“You need to add GPS trackers to their collars and set up a screen that displays everything we’ve mapped,” Liam told me. His tone gave away his frustration. “I don’t particularly want to invite them over for tea or go over to borrow a cup of sugar, but it would be nice to know where they went.”

“We need more smartphones and satnavs,” I replied. “I didn’t have enough GPS trackers and only put them in the communicators. It’s a good call, though. Perhaps we should put them on the more adventurous members of the flock.”

“Might not hurt keeping a couple on the lazier ones too. It’s good to have eyes in the neighborhood, even though there’s not a lot going on.” Liam pointed at the screens displaying the building’s exterior. We have plenty of blind spots, and there are quite a few buildings attackers could use to take cover.”

“Take the drone back to where they were working,” I said. It had scanned the block once more, but the only heat signature visible was around where they had been working. “Let’s see what they were up to.”

The building’s door was closed, so Liam had the drone fly through a closed window. The glass shattered, showering the area with shards. It took a second for the camera to adjust to the change in light. When it did, we found ourselves looking at a bloodbath.

“Are those—”

“They are,” I said. “Correction. They were auranthers.” I had almost forgotten that Liam hadn’t seen the creatures up close yet. I pointed at the bits of biometal. “I suspect these were the elites. They killed them to harvest parts.”

“Killing elites in a sector of this threat level shouldn’t be possible for them. Don’t you think?” Liam directed the Recon Drone to hover close to the butchered corpses, inspecting the wounds inflicted on them. “I see tearing, cuts, and burning. You and Kitty had trouble with these guys, right? How are people with C-ranked powers taking them down?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re ambushing or trapping the monsters. I doubt they took all the auranthers together. Look around the room. The walls aren’t damaged at all. I suspect they killed them elsewhere and brought them back here for butchering.”

“I don’t like this,” Liam told me. “If you’re right about the metal on their spine being part of exoskeletons, they have someone like you equipping them. We don’t know what else they have or what they’re using the biometal for.”

“Well, if you’re right about exoskeletons, I imagine they’d invest all of their biometal in armor and weapons. They’d need someone with Omnifabrication abilities or someone capable of biomechanical upgrades. Whichever it is, another ally whose power gels with mine could go a long way.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, mate. We don’t know where their allegiances lie. For all we know, they could be fanatical about the Alvan’s deal. The last thing we need is to expose our assets to another faction like the raiders.”

“Either way, we need to start a dialogue,” I said. “It’s important we know what they have, their , and what they’re up to. A known enemy is better than an unknown one. Besides, I’d happily bet that the base, our powers, and our equipment puts us at a significant advantage over most people.”

“That’s assuming they haven’t upgraded their powers too. I know you understand what’s at stake, Matt. I’m just asking you to be careful and proceed with care.” I knew Liam was right. We’d made the mistake of rushing into things too many times. Care was of the utmost importance. I couldn’t afford to lose any more people. I nodded. “Give me a list of what you need. I’ll sort them out for you.”

“You’re going to go out?” I asked.

Instead of answering, he pointed at the 3D printer. A pair of bulky spiders as big as him crawled towards us. They had the sheen of unadulterated biometal, and, unlike Liam, they had six legs coming out of their base and two clawed arms growing out of their sides.

“I’m calling them Scavengers. If we give them the specifications of what we want, they’ll go out and get them for us.”

“That’s pretty amazing,” I said. “Can they fight?”

“No. I’m still working on the machinations that’ll let them transform and join my main body. For the time being, their processes only include searching, extraction, and retrieval. I’m hoping to add a ‘trap building and setting’ function though.”

I gave Liam a list of everything I needed to upgrade the collars and build more. The spider drones scuttled into the stairwell and disappeared. The printer was busy at work. The current project appeared much bigger and bulkier than anything he had built so far. I asked Liam what they were for, but he didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure whether it was going to work or not, so I left him alone and went down to the Menagerie.

As expected, Jay was presently playing with the specimens not ready to leave the nest. I asked him whether he’d like to go out with me and investigate the strangers. Jay refused. If the people weren’t friendly like I expected, we’d end up in a fight. If they were strong enough to take on elite auranthers, the people could do some serious damage to his animals.

Jay was only willing to get into a fight if we were under attack or facing similar dire circumstances. He had long declared his intention to avoid the crushers at any cost. He’d scout, provide backline support, and pull people out of dire situations. He wouldn’t risk any of his beasts’ lives. They were just as important to him as Caitlin or David. It came as no surprise that he didn’t value us as much as them. After all, we barely knew each other. I didn’t expect him to risk his animal friends for us.

Once I was done visiting with him, I went down to the Farm to find Kitty. She was working with Caitlyn and David to spread seeds and plant root vegetables and cuttings. Meanwhile, the drones worked on building vertical planting setups and setting up supports for vines. Besides the sprinklers and sun lamps hanging from the ceiling, they had set up a drip system as well. The drones knew how to use their resources efficiently.

We had achieved self-sufficiency for food and oxygen but still relied on external sources for water. Once we had McGuffins to spare, I intended to find a relevant upgrade to sort out the issue. Perhaps then the Hub could take to the skies, becoming a floating fortress. Then we’d track down our families, rescue however many people we could, and maybe find our way into outer space.

“You want to do what?!” Kitty exclaimed when I told her about the strangers.

“They’re our neighbors,” I said. “We need to find them and introduce ourselves. I suspect they have an Omnifabricator or Bio-augmenter among their ranks. Someone with such a power set could—”

“You’re not ready to go out yet, Matt. Entering a situation that could devolve into combat is out of the question. These people could take you hostage and claim control of the base. Then it wouldn’t just be you at risk, but everyone else too. I get that you to want to help people, but wait until you’re in better shape first.”

“I’m fine, Kitty! The prosthetic is all good, and I’m ready to head out. You don’t need to dote on me.”

“Then why have you been using your left arm for everything?” she asked. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. Matt, we haven’t defined what’s going on between us, and I don’t want to come across as the person who tells you what you can and can’t do... I care about you though, and I love... how badly you want to help people.”

“I understand what you’re getting at,” I said. “I appreciate that you care about me, but when I say I’m doing okay, you need to trust me.” Kitty didn’t answer and diverted her eyes to the floor. “I’ll admit it: I’m not a hundred percent used to the new arm. Bloody hell, I don’t know if I ever will be. It obeys my commands, but I don’t feel a thing it touches. Figuring out what’s appropriate pressure will take forever. So I might as well get used to using my left arm.”

“Give it a couple more days? Just so I’m sure you won’t be spacing out anymore.”

“Tomorrow. For your sake, I won’t go out today and I’ll do some dexterity exercises to fine-tune my control. Then we go out tomorrow. We’ll keep it to just you and me so we can get in and out of sticky situations quickly. How does that sound?”

“I can live with that,” Kitty said, smiling.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Weapons Testing

We were eating breakfast as a group the following day when Liam’s voice echoed through the base. He had rigged an intercom system without telling all of us. “Gear up and get to the fifth floor!” He exclaimed. “Now!”

We did as told. David and Jay ran up the stairwell. The rest of us took the elevator to the third floor. I had my prosthetic on but needed the Pogo Heelies, lab coat, and Grappling Belt before getting into a fight. Kitty pulled on her black coat over her pajamas. She still hadn’t gotten used to its grappling function, but it gave her some degree of protection. When we joined the others on Liam’s level, Morpheus and Miley were already there.

“What’s up?” Caitlin asked. She had her hairdryer and blood pressure machine plugged into the sockets on her abdomen.

Liam and I showed them to the surveillance room. All the screens displayed the base’s exterior. More specifically, the direction facing our old sector. Giant plumes of smoke rose from all over the sector.

“It looks like a war zone.” David gasped.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it looks like chaos.” He pointed towards lights flashing from two opposite ends of the woodland. “If I were to put money on it, I’d say the nests are well under control, and they’re fighting for territory.”

“The Metalsmith’s people versus the raiders?” Kitty asked. “That’s far from us and none of our business. Why did you have us gear up?”

The screens shifted to display the skies around us. Elite and king platyhawks filled it. “I don’t know whether it’s the smoke or the sound—I don’t know what it is. I figured there’s an invisible field keeping creatures and stimulants from moving between the sectors, but something has gotten them agitated.”

A blinding flash consumed one of the screens before spreading to the others. It took a moment for the cameras to adjust, and a large plume of smoke rose from around the sector. A violent shockwave spread through the area but stopped abruptly at the border. The platyhawks in the sky went wild.

“It’s their eyesight,” Jay said. “They can see it and communicate.”

“Our ones too.” Liam switched to the cameras showing our roof—our little platyhawks were flying around while the ankylopus were screeching their lungs out. That’s right. The wingless ones had great eyesight too. “They’re drawing unwanted attention.”

He wasn’t wrong. A pair of elites and a boss-ranked platyhawk were circling high above us. Our little ones were so distracted with the smoke and the lights, they hadn’t noticed the creatures circling high above them.

“What the hell is Fin doing?” I demanded.

“They’re out of control.” Liam pointed to a corner screen. Fin stood alone on the roof, yelling at the creatures. He stood, yelling and waving them closer, but failed to bring them in.

“Damn it,” I swore. “We need to get up there.”

“Are you mad?” Caitlin asked.

“He’s right,” Jay said. “The kiddos might be stronger than the average platyhawk, but at the end of the day, they’re just kiddos. It won’t be that bad.” He pointed at the screens. “There are multiple bosses and elites in the sky, but they’re almost all too distracted by the chaos and are sticking close to the sector’s border.”

As he spoke, a giant glowing claw shot out from among the buildings, hooked a platyhawk, and dragged it down into the urban jungle.

“That’s a crusher claw.” Kitty had seen plenty of them up close to identify the monstrous appendage. “They’ve got plenty keeping them busy. The only platyhawks close to us are those three. We could be inflicting a crippling blow to a nest if we kill them.”

Matter settled. We took the elevator to the roof. Fin shot me an apologetic look, probably expecting my assistance—I could be wrong. The gray face and black eyes that consumed most of his face weren’t the easiest to read. Instead of berating him or providing his reassurances, I waved him into the building. He paused, mouth open, but didn’t get the attention we needed.

“Liam, you taking to the skies?” I asked.

“Not with my new weapons,” he answered. Liam’s metal plates shifted to cover the dome completely while the spider legs dug into the roof and locked him in place. Barrels bigger than anything he had displayed grew out of his body. “I’m going to try my best to turret them down.”

David shifted his weapon to cannon mode. Jay summoned a large border collie out of his chest hole. Like Maya, the dog towered over all of us. Most curious of all were its long, furry wings. The collie spread them, and Jay sprang onto its—her—back.

“Try not to hit me,” he told us. “I’m going to try to herd them in.”

Neither Kitty nor Caitlin had access to any long-range weapons. As a result, they agreed to cover us if the creatures tried to dive-bomb us. I was finally going to put the upgraded Charge Launcher’s new weapon to use.

My forearm split down the middle, from between the middle and ring finger all the way down to the socket. A biometal projectile formed at the central bar’s base, while the rings placed at regular intervals along it pulsed with a bright blue light.

David was the first to identify the weapon. “Is that a rail gun?” He asked.

“No,” I said. “They’re too powerful and cause a fair bit of wear and tear. It’s a coil gun.”

“I doubt his shoulder would survive a rail gun’s recoil,” Liam laughed. “I’m going to try to lead their flight. The two of you blow them out of the air. Agreed?”

“Yep,” David and I replied in unison.

Liam started off by firing rapid shots, almost like an anti-air machine gun at the circling platyhawks. After seeing us, they had flown closer. As kings of the sky, they probably didn’t expect us to attack first. They broke away from their formation and responded to our attack with their own.

Fortunately, the noise and flying bullets spooked our little ones. They scrambled, and Jay was ready to control their flight patterns. He swooped past them, yelling something intelligible. Much to our surprise, most of them followed. With them out of the way, I could aim in peace.

David’s weapon’s cannon mode suffered the same issues as our old weapons. The projectile speed was much too low. His payload burned bright yellow and, instead of flying straight, it changed trajectory. The shot carried too much weight and didn’t get high enough. When the projectile started falling, David squeezed a button on the cannon, and the volatile sphere exploded. It wasn’t particularly loud, but a shockwave of hot air washed over us a second later. I could foresee the weapon bringing a lot of hurt against creatures on the ground, but it wouldn’t do much good here.

“It needs a few minutes to recharge,” David said.

“Stay on defense until they get lower,” I told him.

Then it was my turn. Since the prosthetic was a part of my arm, I had a much easier time lining up the two crosshairs. It started with a hum. I felt the Charge Launcher’s vibrations in my bones. Before long, I had to use my left arm to keep the weapon steady. It took close to half a minute before the Coil Gun was ready to fire. Then once it was hot enough, I fired my first shot.

The projectile flew at near blinding speeds, leaving a bright blue line in its wake. Locked in a dive, the boss-ranked platyhawk didn’t have time to dodge. Two of the elites appeared to almost teleport, coming to their leader’s rescue. One shielded the king using its bone-plating. The other flew into the monster’s side, knocking it off course.

The Coil Gun’s shot ripped through the first creature it hit. My projectile struck the elite’s bone-plated skull, but the armor didn’t provide sufficient protection. I missed the boss but managed to strike the other member of its guard too. The bullet didn’t kill the second platyhawk, but it did take out a limb.

The monster fell several meters, fluttering violently, and suffered several of Liam’s bullets. He didn’t do much damage though. The creature righted itself and climbed to higher altitudes, the boss-ranked monster following close behind it.

“Holy shit!” Caitlin exclaimed. “Do you even need us?”

“The more charge I pour into a shot, the longer the weapon takes to recharge,” I said, feeling proud of my Creation. My shoulder burned from the attack. I had expected a harsh recoil but hadn’t expected the joint to suffer as much. I didn’t vocalize my discomfort, however. “It’ll be a few minutes before I can fire something as powerful.”

“Still. That thing is bloody terrifying.”

Everyone but Liam agreed with her. I couldn’t tell whether he knew it or not, but I had taken several liberties during the Creation process. Considering his Mega Brain, Liam had probably figured it out. I could increase the rate of fire at the cost of projectile speed, but Liam’s turret mode had that sorted, so I followed up by firing a couple of spheres of crackling electricity from the base of the Charge Launcher. It wouldn’t hurt the beasts flying above us, but it did what I wanted. The projectiles kept them scared.

It didn’t take long before more platyhawks joined the battle. They didn’t pose much of a threat though. I had expected it to happen sooner or later, so I activated my trap card. When I’d last activated with the Hub’s Core, the system had given me the ability to interact with it remotely. I suspected it had something to do with my latest installations.

When the moment felt right, I accessed the interface, opened the menu displaying the traps, and released the balloon pods. They rose rapidly, tethered to the balloons by a thick green covered in large, ugly thorns. They interrupted the platyhawk’s flight patterns and kept them from diving. It got in the way of Liam’s firing too, but I considered it a decent trade-off.

The platyhawks now had two options: continue their attack or retreat. It came as no surprise that they picked the former. We had angered the king by killing one of his pets. We hadn’t seen a close bond between a boss-class creature and an elite since the first nest we’d cleared. The trio of rat elites had put everything they had into defending their queen. She had mourned when we put them down. Now the king wanted revenge.

When the wind picked up, the balloons didn’t stay still. They waved back and forth, making things harder for the attackers. Fortunately, Jay managed to get all of our platyhawks within the base before things got ugly. The ankylopus was a different story, but they had climbed down the Hub’s walls to the ground levels, so I didn’t worry as much about them. My sole focus was the attacking force. We needed to sort them out as soon as possible.

Instead of diving at us, the injured elite tried to sever the vine connecting the Hub to the balloon. I had been hoping one of them would try such an attack. As soon as the biometal-covered wing cut through the vine, it sprang to life and wrapped itself around the platyhawk. The additional drag slowed down the creature’s flight, making it easier for Liam to hit it.

While attempting to escape the trap, the elite ended up pulling the balloon pod into one of the new platyhawks that had joined the battle. The pod exploded, killing the creature immediately and sending glowing red spores everywhere. A couple fell on the elite, and it screeched, its biometal taking on a similar sheen. The ordinary platyhawks hit by the attack died almost straight away.

“Damn!” Liam exclaimed. “We need more of these traps!”

“More will grow from the spores that fall on and around the building,” I told him.

We watched as the panicking elite flew into another balloon. The point-blank explosion killed it immediately and a second lot of spores got to the boss. It screeched too as the volatile spheres of red burned holes into membranous wings. It didn’t matter. The creature had slowed and was low enough for David’s weapon—he fired.

It came as no surprise that the projectile missed. The boy’s marksmanship was worse than mine. However, he managed to trigger its explosion just right and set off two more balloon pods, showering the boss and several other platyhawks with the spores. The little ones died, and the big one found itself severely slowed.

The Charge Launcher’s new weapon had just about recovered, so I poured energy into it once again. This time, I gave it more energy than the last while tracking my target. I knew my shoulder would suffer, but I’d get Kitty to fix me up right after. After that, I’d fashion some armor that attached to my right upper arm and shoulder. Hopefully, it would provide support and help reduce the strain.

The boss was struggling to regain altitude and get away from the panicking platyhawks and floating spores. I took advantage of the confusion and fired. This time, nothing got in the way of my attack. The shot struck the king’s side and came out the other side, leaving a pure white line in its wake.

I tried to keep myself steady, but the resulting recoil jerked me backwards. The Pogo Heelies tried their best, but I had learned some time ago that the stabilizers didn’t help in this regard. I stumbled several steps, trying to right myself before running out of roof. My heart leapt into my chest as I found myself falling backwards.

The Grappling Belt came to my rescue. It sprang to life, shooting outwards and biting down on the ledge. Physics being the arsehole it is didn’t help me come to a gentle stop. I swung violently instead, bashing my sore shoulder into the Hub’s side repeatedly. Either way, I was glad not to fall down to the ground floor. Theoretically, the Pogo Heelies would’ve helped me land on my feet and absorbed the impact. However, it wasn’t something I’d like to test.

Morpheus came to my rescue. The golem reached down with its giant mechanical hand and pulled me back up. Kitty had him shoot me with a couple of syringes without warning. I couldn’t see her face, but it felt like she was pissed with me.

“I didn’t realize it would be that powerful,” I said, grinning. “I promise. On the bright side, we know this will bring down a crusher for sure.”

Kitty didn’t say anything. She helped me up onto my feet and looked away. The king had fallen out of the sky—it lay on a neighboring building’s roof, bleeding profusely. David lobbed another one of his slow payloads at the creature.

Liam didn’t wait to see whether the projectile hit or not. He switched into flight mode and flew up into the sky. The roof’s door burst open, and several Scavengers scurried out. They leapt off the ledge and followed him, propelling themselves with fans under their main body. The spiders moved much slower than him but had little trouble covering the distance. Much to my surprise, they didn’t butcher the thing there and then. Instead, they lifted it into the air and carried it back to the Hub’s roof.

After watching us for a few minutes, the remaining platyhawks departed. There was still a lot going on in the neighboring sector, and it was just as interesting. A fight had broken out between several bosses and the crushers. The battle drew away many of them too.

“Thank god it’s over.” David sighed.

“They know where we are now, though,” Kitty said. “They’ve already seen through our platyhawks, and now the bastards know we live here too. The base is going to become a target.”

“We should invest more in the base’s defenses and deck you lot out some,” I told Caitlin. “David is pretty much set with his artifacts, though I think he should make a couple more. You, on the other hand, need better equipment.”

Liam and his scavenger drones backed away from the king’s corpse before heading off to find the elite’s remains. I pressed my hand against the boss’s side and disassembled him. It gave Caitlin a little jump. David didn’t react, as he had seen me do so before.

“What do you have in mind?” Caitlin asked, watching wide-eyed as the Hub absorbed the flesh and whatever materials I didn’t want.

“This thing just gave me three McGuffins. How about I give one to you, David? The second I can use to upgrade our defenses, and the third for Caitlin’s new toy.”

“I’m good,” David said. “You did most of the damage. Make something so the new arm doesn’t kill you next time.”

“Good call.” Kitty huffed before storming away.

I knew I was going to get an earful from her. She thought I was reckless. That just wasn’t true. I knew very well what I was up to and what was at stake. We weren’t the sector’s apex predators yet. If we found the strangers, I wouldn’t tell them what we had straight away. Instead, we’d take some time to get to know them and figure out their motives and ambitions.

Sure, I wasn’t used to my new arm yet. This was the first time I had used the Coil Gun feature, and yes, it had damaged my shoulder. However, weapons needed testing. It wasn’t like we had the leisure of doing things in our own time. The longer the pylon stayed up, the more people would risk themselves for the Alvans’ lies and die. We needed to get things under control as soon as possible. At least now I had an undeniably powerful weapon. We just needed to figure out a way for me to use it without doing long-term damage.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Gotta Love New Toy Day

It wasn’t until the following morning that I got to work. We were wiped out after the fight. The Hub didn’t ask for much, but the interface had a bar showing the biomass stores. It had been painfully low ever since we’d built the Farm, and it needed filling up. So after the fight, we all chipped in bringing in all the corpses. I disassembled the elites first, of course. Even though we had their parts in surplus, it didn’t hurt to have extra.

Liam’s new scavenger drones did most of the heavy lifting, but we still found ourselves pretty tired out by the end of it. We spent the rest of afternoon cleaning ourselves up and the evening relaxing. None of us brought up going out the following morning. Jay and Caitlin did go out and scout though, while Kitty and David worked in the Farm.

I went down to the basement to check the Hub’s core. The basement had a ton of empty space. Moss, vines, and mushrooms covered the core and the neighboring walls, but besides that, it was mostly empty. I tested the walls. Since it housed the Hub’s heart, they were exceptionally thick down here. Come to think of it, I was wasting room by using the first floor as my workspace.

The basement was mostly empty, and I didn’t want people roaming down here, so I got Kitty’s permission through the commlink before asking Morpheus for help. Together we moved all the materials, my bench, and my chair to the floor. It took two trips in the elevator but didn’t take very long.

The golem helped me pile everything up in the corner. As we worked, I probed his mind using my technopathic abilities. Kitty’s core no longer protected Morpheus from me. That didn’t mean I’d mess with him of course. I just wanted to know how he was doing, perhaps even communicate. What I got was devotion. Morpheus worshipped Kitty and would happily do whatever she asked of him. So that was a load off. I wouldn’t have to worry about him leaving us. He didn’t mind my intrusion but rejected my attempts at communication.

Once I had settled everything into the basement, I had a good look at all the free space. Much like with the first floor, I had no idea what to do with the basement. Letting others down here wasn’t an option. Kitty and Liam could visit, of course, but it was still too early for the others.

Before spending the McGuffins, I took the time to sit at my desk and sketch out ideas. It had been a while since I’d dedicated any real time to it and I had needed to adjust to my new arm and hand. My understanding of the system had increased significantly, and there were things I wanted to try out. My power let me scan drawings and turned them into editable blueprints.

This had one major limitation. Concepts like dimensional storage and teleportation were much too hard to sketch. I had moral qualms regarding the latter and left it alone altogether. The physics behind teleportation carried too many questions. There was no way for me to know whether the transported object or entity was the same as the original or a newly made copy. I focused on dimensional storage instead.

It took several sketches and compiling multiple blueprints before my interface understood exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, my efforts proved fruitless. Creating a micro dimension that would safely store my belongings and allow organized retrieval was impossible. However, creating a mini two-way portal wasn’t. I’d need something on the receiving end that could stash whatever I wanted to be stored. It would have to assist with sending it back too. The device would require three McGuffins and materials I had no hopes of finding, but now I knew for sure.

Once done, I moved onto a device for myself. My body would need support if I wanted to use my new weapon safely. Instead of giving the interface all the information, I asked my Technogogue power for help. What would work best with my current devices? Armor wasn’t the answer. If I didn’t find anything suitable, I’d pick it as an option, but it would make me bulky and slow. Speed and stealth were much too important to me.

The lab coat and Pogo Heelies spoke up. They both wanted upgrades. More specifically, they wanted me to give the lab coat an impact absorption mechanic around the injured arm and my two shoulders. Anything larger would interfere with camouflaging abilities. The Pogo Heelies would feed on the absorbed force to charge its stabilizer and jumping functions. Then the Grappling Belt demanded a role in the process too. It would like to tether me in place so any unabsorbed force didn’t knock me off my feet.

I was over the moon. My devices were proliferating and sentient! This was what it meant to be a Technogogue. I took care of my Creations, and in turn, they wanted to do the same for me. We were friends. After several minutes of toying around, I found a design I liked and gave the lab coat the necessary upgrade, linking it to my belt and through it the Pogo Heelies. Nothing changed cosmetically.

Now that I had an extra McGuffin, I made a new device for myself—the Stick n’ Save Gloop Shooter. Instead of a gun, it took the form of a retracting gauntlet. Biometal made the job quick and easy. In its inert form, the device could live hooked to my lab coat’s inner pocket. I ran a quick test by slipping my wrist into the finger-thick bangle and giving it a quick nudge. Biometal bled from it, covering my forearm within seconds.

I flexed my fingers first, testing each joint individually and altogether. There was no resistance. The device bulged at the wrist, providing extra protection, and also housed the two barrels: one for the save and the other for the gloop. All my other devices lit up with excitement. Someone new had joined their little party. The gauntlet went all the way up to my elbow. If anything did get past my barrier, it would help me block an attack before I unloaded the Sonic Shotgun in the attacker’s face. If that didn’t kill it, the gloop would disable them.

Feeling pretty good about myself, I started on a device for Caitlin. There was a list of items I wanted to make for her. The Void Rifle was at the top of the list. I almost started its creation but then changed my mind. Caitlin’s power pretty much turned her into a living McGuffin. She turned ordinary objects into something they weren’t, providing them with a deep well of energy and giving them incredible abilities. What if I made her a device that let her store whatever energy fueled the sockets?

I got drawing. It needed to be something that Caitlin could easily wear while plugging it into one of her sockets. That wasn’t the primary issue, though. I’d need to solve containment first. Much to my surprise, the answer lay in the king and queen platyhawk parts we had stored.

Ultra Shield Battery Belt

- king platyhawk hide
- plasma absorber
- plasma charger
- projector
- Dragon Ball Z manga/disk
- bubble bath
- bath bomb
- McGuffin

It came as a surprise that the interface wanted bubble bath soap and a classic cartoon for the Creation. Fortunately, due to our searches of the local houses, we had plenty in store. I suppose it made sense. The Dragon Balls were magical balls of power, and Spirit Bombs consumed a ton of energy. I couldn’t figure out how bubbles would store all that energy though. That’s what the McGuffin did. Since the project used materials similar to my barrier device, I threw the projector into the mix.

Once done, I made two more devices.

Void Rifle:

- paintball gun
- Relativity: The Special And General Theory
- A Brief History of Time
- rubber tubing

Mini-drone Launcher:

- backpack
- biometal gland
- mini-drone constructor
- mini-drone carrier
- camera
- microphone
- transmitter
- smartphone
- bracelet
- string
- boomjuice gland

My interface refused to let me make the devices until I linked them to the belt. It worked very similar to how I had first constructed Liam’s drones. Neither device would function unless Caitlin slotted a faux McGuffin into the weapons. I’d upgrade them as soon as we had the means. The rifle would get an increase in power and the latter would improve drone AI. As long as Caitlin kept them plugged into her sockets and fed, they’d function just fine.

I couldn’t wait to demonstrate either device for her. The rifle would be a great improvement over her hairdryer. It would give her range, damage, and some degree of control. The Mini-drone Launcher would let her function as a grenadier and trap setter. I made a few final changes to the Mini-drone Launcher before locking in the Creation. Altogether, the devices drained over half of my energy pool, leaving me worn out. I didn’t mind though. Unlike Jay, Caitlin had no trouble going out into the field and fighting. She had embraced the new world and understood what needed to be done. It felt good investing in her.

I couldn’t tell what to upgrade for the base. What kind of improvement would serve us best? Internal or external? When browsing the interface, I found myself gravitating towards the bunker. Having an emergency room would go a long way.

Bunker: The floor around the Hub Core will become a near-impenetrable safe room. The core will recycle all food, water, and air to sustain the inhabitants and will absorb ambient energy and biomass to rebuild the Hub.

At the same time, if we continued to strengthen our exterior, did we really need a bunker? If something did invade the Hub and we escaped into our hidey-hole, we’d turn into prisoners. They’d have access to an incredible source of food and a fair bit of security. Sure, I could shut down the Farm and Menagerie, but they’d still have run off the place and could set up traps for when we exited.

After a little browsing, I found a second upgrade that would help us out of such a scenario. It was drastic though.

Self-Destruct Button (Biomass): All the biomass outside of the bunker will come to life and swallow everything within the base. It won’t stop until the building and all its contents have dissolved, allowing the Hub’s owner to rebuild everything from the ground up. All upgrades to the Hub outside of the bunker floor will be lost.

No. it was way too drastic. I could foresee making this an eventual upgrade, but it wasn’t something I’d willingly invest in yet. We still had the System’s protection. The Alvans and other alien civilizations couldn’t attack us directly. Human and orange-threat-level foes still posed a threat, but we could deal with them. So I turned my attention to the external defenses.

Our list of options had grown once again. The core wasn’t just taking the Farm and Menagerie into account, but Liam’s 3D Printer too. After several minutes of scrolling, I narrowed it down to three options.

Entangling Brambles (Vines): What’s worse than brambles? Animated brambles. They grow rapidly, covering the Hub’s exterior surfaces, and attack all unwelcome visitors. Of course, your Hub won’t be the most attractive home for your residents, but they’ll sleep easy with this extra layer of defense. Due to their synergy with the Farm and biomass core, thorny vines will replace the brambles that can grow Balloon Pods and other plant-based securities.

Scurrying Chompers: Menagerie drones like to work, so give them something to do. Chompers live to do one thing: chomp. They’ll burrow into walls and camouflage their holes. If a hostile entity gets close, chompers can launch their little bodies like bullets and chomp until death. With a brambles and vines upgrade, they’ll have more places to hide and will make their nest among them instead of damaging the Hub. Vines will also give them a passive source of food and result in increased reproduction rates.

Living Turrets: Biometal and biomass mesh excellently well. The Hub will make the 3D Printer a permanent installation and allow the planting of plant turrets. They’ll fire biometal bullets laced with a choice of natural toxins, acids, and fungus.

The Entangling Brambles seemed like the best choice. Its synergy with tons of other upgrades made it extra desirable. I delved deeper into what it would provide, and the possibilities got me excited. It wasn’t just that plant-based upgrades would grow on them, but they’d reproduce naturally, populating the Hub’s exterior. It would just be the Balloon Pods at first, but eventually, we’d have enough to repel all attacking forces.

Creatures born in the Menagerie would instinctually be wary of the thorns and know to climb around them. I wondered whether we could train the ankylopus to draw attackers to the traps or eventual turrets. I was ready to lock in my decision when the world turned gray. I sighed. It had been a while since Knurven had come for a visit. Considering the timing, I guessed he was coming in to tell me how wrong I was.

The blue portal opened, and he exited it, followed by Delta. Much to my surprise, time didn’t stop, and the gray was only localized around us and the portal.

“What’s going on, lads?” I asked. “Did I do something wrong?”

“The opposite—you’ve been doing something right,” Knurven answered. “I’d go as far as too say a bit too right.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Your channel’s viewership has breached trillions. So you’re attracting unwanted attention.”

“The Alvans know what we’re up to?”

“Affirmative,” Delta said. “They’re questioning how you knew what you do and the Hub Core. They’ve filed injunctions to review all your footage since we bought the channel legally. However, my colleagues and I have managed to keep it all under wraps. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep it up, but for the time being you’re still in the clear.”

“Trillions, huh?” That was way more people than a single planet could house—or so I assumed. “When did that happen?”

“You’re the only one with a Hub; you’ve fashioned a prosthetic that rivals most technology out there; things are tense with your friends because of the risks you’re taking. Your channel has drama, excitement, and so much more.” Knurven’s single eye glowed as the speaker drone spoke for him. I guessed the light signified his excitement. “The Alvans know what you have but not what you intend to do with it. We’re going to try to keep things hidden from them until they figure it all out. They’re aware that the six of you aren’t under their limiter’s effects though. It has them worried and scared.”

“I’d urge you to get what you intend done sooner than later,” Delta added. “They suspect foul play and are questioning System Staff. If my superiors start an investigation, you can kiss my partnership goodbye.”

“I’m moving as fast as I can,” I told him. “We’re almost equipped well enough to combat the crushers.”

“I can’t say much without Delta censoring me, but they’re not the only defensive measure in place.”

“Can’t they ask the viewers for our plans? I’m sure there’s a loud-mouth out there—”

“You have no idea how much the universe loathes the Alvans,” Knurven said, cutting me off. “Someone will leak the information sooner or later, but we’re okay for now. My spies tell me the Alvans are looking into sponsoring groups in neighboring sectors. They’re bound by the system’s rules too and can’t send them extravagant gifts. It’ll take a talented Technopath or Technogogue to create another Hub or weapons that can rival it. Everyone’s watching to ensure there will be no foul play. It could cost them dearly, but if the bastards discover what you’re trying to do, they might panic and do something big.”

“What do you think they could do?”

“We have no way of knowing. Our analysts think their best bet is them leaking the power-rank upgrade process and then sending people after you. Considering the war going on in your old sector and the low population in the others around you, I think you’re okay. For now at least.”

“Well, thanks for keeping me posted. I’m glad the ratings are good and all, but why does your timing suggest there is more to this visit?”

“One of your avid fans has sent you a gift,” Delta said. A cube floated out of the still-open portal and into my hands. It opened on contact with my skin, revealing a coin and crystal shard housing tiny emerald petals. “It’s a fossil and an information packet. The information is sparse, since the Alvans always screen data coming through, so we managed to get it through as bric-a-brac and a silly message. Viewers often send such gifts to their favorite players. More than often it’s a joke or something to confuse them, so they fell for it. I can’t tell you much about it, but we hope you can figure it out.”

“Viewers love where you’re taking the base, by the way,” Knurven told me. “People have been theorycrafting what you can do by combining your three key floors. Calling the possibilities endless is an understatement.”

“What kind of combinations?”

“Well, you’re not too far from self-sufficiency—”

“That’s enough,” Delta interrupted. “It’s much too risky without a Chrono freeze. If the satellite feeds pick up the portal’s interference, we’re done for.”

Knurven froze just before entering the portal. “You should work on your marksmanship. The viewers are getting unhappy about how often you miss your shots. They understand you’re a civilian and not an athlete, but they’re still getting frustrated.”

“Before you go, tell me one last thing! The Alvan surveillance, does it cover telepathy? Can viewers read telepathic conversations?”

Knurven didn’t answer my question. His giant eye glowed for a moment, and I was sure it was amusement I sensed. Then the pair were gone, leaving me with more questions than before.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cosmic Intervention

The portal consumed the grayness before closing, making my life so much harder. I had made my decision before. Even though neither Delta nor Knurven had said anything outright, I knew the latter was trying to guide my choice of upgrade. Unfortunately, Delta hadn’t let him finish his thought, so I’d have to figure things out for myself.

What was so important that they had interrupted me just then? I refused to accept that it was a coincidence.

I lifted the coin out of the container. Its resemblance to a British pound threw me off. Who was the mysterious benefactor? Did its appearance carry any significance? My technopathic senses detected there was more to the metal disc than met the eye. It was a given, but when I couldn’t find a trigger for the remote device, I dug in deeper.

I like the way you move it, especially when you break wind and make water.

“What the fuck?” I swore out loud. This wasn’t a cryptic riddle or puzzle but a troll message. There had to be more to it, right? I activated the coin again but got the same answer. I sighed and dropped it back in the box, turning my attention to the crystal. I’d never seen such material before. It was as hard as a diamond but even clearer. I scanned it with the goggles.

Moondrip Amber

True stasis is nearly impossible to achieve. The energy requirements to maintain the status demands several McGuffins, and even then it doesn’t last forever. That’s unless you preserve the object in Moondrip resin. Often mistaken for Aurin Zirconium, Moondrip amber’s authenticity is often questionable but if you find some, hold onto it for as long as you can.

Much to my disappointment, the scan didn’t tell me what the amber housed. Considering how the pair had gone on about the gift, I guessed the true treasure were the emerald flecks deep inside. I was about to put it back in my box when a momentary change in the crystal caught my attention. When I studied it again, though, nothing had changed. No. It wasn’t my imagination.

I held the crystal close to the container, but nothing changed. Something stirred when I held it up to the light. The emerald flecks were fluttering! It took me a moment to realize: the generator’s warmth was bringing the amber’s contents out of stasis. So I scanned it again.

Infant Hydrospawn Plasmabear

Tardigrades have been around for aeons and will continue to live long after all intelligent life has left this universe. They’re the ever living. No one knows what birthed this mysterious variety. They were first found on the desert planet of Tantopheen. The indigenous tribes carried them in their crystal flasks, relying on the creatures to feed on the sun’s rays and the sand’s heat to create water.

Considering the abundance of energy around the universe, one would think plasmabears would grow and populate every corner of it, but they don’t. Unless the local atmosphere and source of energy meet their likes, they go into hibernation and refuse to wake. However, the variety of environments they’ve been found in do not correlate, and researchers believe plasmabears have tastes—likes and dislikes. Most can’t figure out what determines them, but most believe they’re formed not long after birth. Research data is inconclusive, since infants of the species are nearly impossible to find.

I read the data over and over again as everything fell into place. Our mysterious fan had given us the key to self-sufficiency! That’s what they’d meant by “make water.” The rest of the riddle had to make sense too. What if moving meant rearranging how we had laid out our base? The plasmabears would most likely appreciate the Nurturing Field, which meant it needed access to the third floor. However, when I moved the amber away from the core, their activity ceased.

It took me a moment, but I figured out what they were talking about. The answer sat in the upgrade options that didn’t require McGuffins. Most of them demanded insane quantities of biomatter, so I’d ignored them before, but after the last battle, we had plenty to spare.

Rearranger: What’s the point of owning a Hub if you can’t mix things up now and again? Redo your kitchen, move your bedroom for a fresh view, or move your defenses before a battle for maximum output.

It would’ve made sense to warn the people still in the Hub, but I was too excited to go looking for anyone. Besides, the Hub was careful never to hurt people when I made my changes. So I invested a third of our biomass stores on the upgrade and moved the core to the third floor. When I got to the level, the Hub’s interface popped up, asking me whether I’d like to fuse the core with the Nurturing Field Generator. I selected “yes.”

The change was instant. The resin wobbled like jelly in my hands, and the field expanded to every floor and several meters outside of the building. When a prompt asked whether I wanted to exempt anyone from the nurturing effects, I selected yes. Only Hub residents and people I considered allies would benefit from it.

After some thought, I used the Rearranger function to move the residential quarters to the first floor and carried the amber over to the upgraded core. Heat pulsed off it and little water bubbles appeared around the emerald flecks. The plasmabears were already getting to work.

Planning on giving them a real home, I focused on the amber and selected the highlighted “Upgrade” function.

Plasmabear Habitat

- infant plasmabears

- The Blue Planet narrated by David Attenborough

- Nurturing Field
- biomass Hub Core’s energy
- plankton
- algae
- sunlamps
- McGuffin

This was the first time the interface had asked for anything living or abstract. Standing in the generator’s presence highlighted the Nurturing Field and biomass Hub Core’s energy requirements. The plankton and algae threw me off though. Much to my surprise, it was highlighted too. Scanning the amber again made me aware of their presence. Tiny flecks of them had been hiding in the plasmabears. The water and ambient energies were now making them reproduce.

After fetching the DVD from our pile of unused junk, I completed the build without hesitation and fell to my knees as it consumed all but five percent of my energy pool. The Hub’s core interfaced with me again.

Plasmabear Habitat is compatible with the Farm and Menagerie.

Would you like to link the three?

I selected “yes,” of course, and the Moondrip amber in my hands melted away. It expanded into a thin sheet and surrounded the generator, elevator, and me, forming a bubble. Holes emerged on the ceiling outside of it, and pipes grew along the floors.

Choice of vegetation and plant-based upgrades expanded.

Water-based upgrades are now available.

Once the aquatic level is full, consult the Menagerie’s chief drone to populate it with marine life.

Once the aquatic level is full, consult the Farm’s chief drone to populate it with vegetation.

Congratulations!

Self-sufficient Hubs are not uncommon, but you’re the first in your galaxy to achieve it using biomass alone.

Once the aquatic level is online, you may choose a free A-rank upgrade for the Hub Core.

A white glow consumed everything outside the Moondrip amber bubble. This was the first time I had built anything biological using my power, and the Hub had asked to fuse with it. It left me wondering: if I hadn’t picked biomass as the Hub’s fuel, would it want to do the same with my regular Creations? It didn’t make a difference now, but if I ever got my hands on another core, I’d pick a different build path. For the time being, I couldn’t be more pleased with where we were going.

As soon as everyone got home, I called a meeting. No one had been up to the third floor yet and didn’t know what was up. Before showing it to them, though, we needed to come clean regarding what we’d learned and were planning.

“Liam, do you ever use your telepathic powers?” I asked.

“No,” he answered. “Besides the null field, I have aluminum shielding around the spider-bot. Why do you ask?”

“We need to have a conversation that excludes our beloved viewers. They might not like it now but will appreciate it in the long run. Let’s head outside the field.”

Kitty placed a firm hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure about this? We haven’t been outside without our shielding since all of this started.”

I nodded. “Our new friends here have been in and out of the base multiple times. Have you noticed any change in them?”

“We’re not resistant like them though.”

“It’s fine,” Liam added. His spider bots popped out of the kitchen carrying aluminum foil. “We can make a little cage so external telepathic forces can’t interfere.”

“Does it really work?” Caitlin asked. “It feels silly that a powerful alien civilization’s powers can be foiled by something as simple as aluminum foil. Isn’t it possible you’re resistant to telepathic domination like us?”

“It hasn’t failed us so far,” Kitty answered, shrugging. “Matt started off with an A-rank power, and I with B. Even if it’s silly, the tin foil did something.”

“The aluminum protection on my dome keeps me from using my telepathy.” Liam tapped the glass using a spider leg. “I reckon that’s evidence enough. Should we get moving?”

With the matter settled, we all headed out to the neighboring park. It lay behind the surrounding mansions, well beyond the null field. For the sake of caution, Liam sent out his Recon Drone to keep an eye on everything. Jay kept Maya by his side and had a pair of panther-sized cats patrol the neighborhood. If anything tried to sneak up on us, we’d know.

Liam directed us to the jungle gym, and we climbed under it. It took the spider drone ten minutes to wrap the structure in foil until we were enveloped in darkness. Then Liam withdrew the metal plating that protected his dome, bathing us in pink light. Something changed in the fluid that housed his brain. The color got lighter and the liquid more transparent than before.

“It’s safe,” He told us. “Nothing is trying to breach my shield.”

“Can we get more light?” Caitlin asked. “This is too creepy for my taste.”

She wasn’t wrong. We stood cramped together, separated by the jungle gym’s metal bars, and Liam’s soft glow reflected by the aluminum added an eeriness to it. Kitty had Winnie unbutton his chest and add the golem core’s light to the mix. It made things slightly better, but we left it at that.

Once we had the lighting set, Kitty and I removed our protective gear and Liam formed a telepathic link connecting the six of us. Then the explanations began. We started from the beginning, telling them about my experience when the world had ended. I expected the trio to call me mad when we got to the bit about the television show and Knurven, but they didn’t bat an eye.

Jay claimed the dogs had told him a similar story. He had brushed it off since they had vivid imaginations and often misinterpreted information, but this confirmed everything. Even though David and Caitlin trusted him implicitly, they had a hard time accepting the fact. They considered it farfetched, but my relationship with Knurven explained the Hub. My explanation regarding the latest addition to the Hub drove the point home.

“I get that we’re self-sufficient now, but wouldn’t it have been better to invest in more concrete defenses now and add the rest later?”

“Yes and no, Caitlin,” I said, trying to articulate my thoughts. After everything that had happened with Pallav and Rajesh, I understood the blunt approach wasn’t always the right one. “By fusing the Nurturing Field Generator and the Hub Core, we’ve expanded the field’s range. It will accelerate water creation, and together they will accelerate the Balloon Pods’ growth. We’ll have more of them without wasting biomass, and it’ll be the same once we can afford more defenses. Also, what’s a plant defense’s biggest weakness?”

No one answered.

“Fire. I reckon the aquatic floor will be overflowing pretty soon. We can use water as a deterrent!” After some thought, I decided not to tell them about the free upgrade coming our way. I intended to consult Kitty and Liam but not them. “More importantly, it won’t just affect the Farm and Menagerie, but the lead drones will populate the aquatic level too.”

“Fish and sea vegetables?” Caitlin asked.

I nodded. It looked like she had more to say but didn’t. Then we moved onto explaining our goal. It came as no surprise when Jay announced his refusal to participate. He had nothing against our plan and agreed that we intended to do something good. However, he wasn’t willing to risk his animals. He agreed to scout, provide support, and do anything that wouldn’t involve combat.

Caitlin and David respected his decision, and we kept our mouths shut. I had hoped our objective would sway him, but it wasn’t too much of a loss. I didn’t want any dogs or cats getting hurt either. However, he promised to assist in the Hub’s protection, and I considered that it was as good as things would get.

David got hyped up over the idea of taking down the crushers and then removing whatever effect had everyone so screwed up. Caitlin made it clear she would rather stay out of it, but at the same time, she wouldn’t let anything happen to David. Even though he was a minor, she couldn’t exactly stop him from listening to us. I bet she was worried that pressuring him would have adverse effects, so she decided to play along. She wouldn’t admit it, but I was sure Caitlin agreed with what we intended to do and wanted to be a part of it. She let off a rough, uncaring vibe, but I was sure it was all a facade.

Once done, Kitty and I put our headpieces back on. Then the spider drones and Morpheus took the aluminum foil down, letting us out. Everyone headed back towards the base, but I took Caitlin aside. Everyone had seen me lugging around a big case, but none of them had asked what it housed. When I told her I had made her new toys, her eyes lit up. David decided to stay back and watch, but the rest went back to investigate the new floor.

“You want to turn me into a McGuffin factory?” Caitlin asked when I explained how her belt worked.

“They’re batteries that store whatever energy your power utilizes,” I explained. “I’m pretty sure I can’t use it for crafting, but it will let you use your devices without plugging them into your belly button. On top of that, if you plug them in and feed them a battery, they’ll be extra powerful.”

“And I just leave it on all the time?”

I nodded. “The shielding effect is a bonus. It’s pretty powerful but has a downside. Your power doesn’t give you technopathic control over your devices.”

“What do you mean?”

“None of my devices require a trigger mechanism,” I answered. “They respond to my thoughts and react accordingly. You, on the other hand, have to operate your devices manually. So when you activate the belt’s barrier, it will remain active until you squeeze the buckle again or you drain the charge on the current slotted battery. In the heat of battle its more likely to be the latter.”

“That’s pretty nifty,” David commented. “You make me feel bad about not building more artifacts, you know.”

I laughed. “I just enjoy coming up with cool shit, that’s all.”

Explaining the rifle and drone carrier’s functions were much easier. Caitlin wanted to test them out straight away, but I convinced her to hold off until the following morning. We could go out as a group and test her toys once she had charged batteries for her weapons. Then a woman’s scream sounded from the hill’s base, and we heard several footsteps coming from the same direction.

Chapter Twenty-Five

More Friend Than Foe

A massive thank you to c6OmegaVerdant for his subtle gift to MAD.

The few that avoid Survival Planet’s monsters die to disease and starvation.

Thanks to the aforementioned subscriber’s contribution to our thinktank, MAD is on his way to achieving a self-sufficient Hub. With the correct upgrades, our favorite group of humans may rain chaos on the producers.

Good job for making the bookmakers rage!

“Sounds like someone needs our help,” I said, double-checking my prosthetic’s fitting. Fortunately, I had brought the Gloop Shooter for a little test. “The rifle isn’t charged. In its base form, it will shoot freezing plasma—”

“That’s not a thing.”

“I know, just giving you the cliff notes.” Instead of making the Mini-drone Launcher just a backpack, I had turned it into a breastplate. “The two buttons on either side of your collarbone will release a drone. Right for exploding. Left for wire. Unfortunately, without charge, the best you can do is point where you want it to go. If it’s a location, they’ll set up a tripwire or mine. If it’s a person, they’ll be entangled or boomed on.”

“I get it!” Caitlin said, fidgeting as another scream sounded from the hill’s base. It was much closer than the last one. “Let’s go already.”

“You two hang back and cover me,” I told them, activating the lab coat’s camouflage. “Don’t come in until I signal, David. Let’s assess the situation before we attack.”

“Got it,” he replied.

I released the Pogo Heelies’ wheels before charging downhill. Fortunately, everyone had a communications device now. I alerted the rest of the team while speeding around a thicket of growing Balloon Pods. Liam took to the air straight away. Kitty had just undressed to get into the shower. She’d need a few extra minutes to get to us. Jay responded last. He’d gone up to the Menagerie and struggled to hear us over its regular racket.

“Don’t go in alone,” Kitty said, and Liam repeated the sentiment.

“I won’t.”

“I mean it, Matt.” I heard the shower turn off in the background and Kitty yelped, probably having slipped on something. “If you have to engage, stay at range and on the defensive until we get there.”

“I’ll be there to pull him out if things get hairy,” Jay told us.

The lab coat didn’t make me invisible, it just made it easier to blend into the environment. So I stuck to the pavements, moving between cars and buildings. Traveling down the middle of the road would make it easier for whatever we faced to spot us. Caitlin and David followed me on foot. We didn’t know how many people we’d be facing or their sensory capabilities, so they traveled at a brisk walk, keeping their heads low.

To err on the side of caution, I prepped the Charge Launcher. It was the oldest of all my Creations. Perhaps it was the age of the device or maybe the several McGuffins powering it, but the Charge Launcher had the most potent “voice” and consciousness of everything I had built so far. After using it against the platyhawk king, we understood each other a lot better. The device told me the most appropriate form for the situation, and I trusted it.

Thanks to the several moving parts and biometal gland, the Charge Launcher no longer had a set form for each mode. The Charge Launcher and I had the power to tweak each weapon to meet the current requirements. The Charge Launcher’s projectiles were too flashy and would give my location away. The Sonic Shotgun would suffer from range issues no matter what shape the weapon took.

In the end, I went for the Coil Gun. My right forearm opened up, and liquid biometal flowed around the opening, forming a cylindrical barrel. Liam had helped me come up with the form during the night. It sacrificed firepower for speed. It was as close to a semi-automatic weapon as the Charge Launcher would ever get. The gun hummed to life, making a lot less noise than usual. The barrel contained the usual sound and masked the blue glow too. I intended to test a couple of other forms for stealthy maneuvers, but that would have to wait for later.

Once near the bottom of the hill, I activated the Pogo Heelies and launched myself off the ground. The Grappling Belt helped me reach a neighboring building’s roof. I got in position and steadied the Coil Gun.

“You won’t believe this, guys,” I said as the goggles zoomed in on the scene. “It’s the raiders. The spined-armored locals are chasing them.”

There were seven of them. I recognized Blur and the once-handsome student president. The rest of the group consisted of one more man and four women. The closest local pointed his hand at the fleeing trespassers and a spike flew from it, striking President’s shoulder.

“What the hell are they doing here?” Kitty asked. I could hear her footsteps echoing in the background. She had to be running down the stairs.

“It must’ve been the chaos from yesterday,” Liam answered. “I bet they pissed Metalsmith off and that was her flushing them out. I wouldn’t be surprised if she and her people got the mantis threat under control. Imagine what she could do with a consistent source of biometal. How do the raiders look?”

“Reckon we should help the locals take them down?” Kitty sounded a tad out of breath.

“President is covered in blood,” I told them, studying the pursued. “They all appear more or less injured, but it looks like he’s been soaking up most of the hurt to cover their escape.”

“Are they coming towards us?” Jay’s words were barely intelligible over Maya’s husky babble.

“Looks like they’re trying to escape onto the hill. Hold on a second.” I had caught a glint off one of the fleeing women. I saw it clearly after zooming in on her. She had metal running along her spine too. It wasn’t just her. Of the seven, three wore the armor. “Something’s not right here, guys. It’s not just the raiders. There are three locals getting chased as well.”

President got hit by multiple projectiles and slowed. The locals were much faster than him. I couldn’t tell why Blur didn’t just speed away. The raiders were assholes, but maybe they did share some degree of camaraderie. Perhaps he couldn’t get himself to leave his friends behind. I couldn’t decide. A part of me wanted to help them, but at the same time, the bastards had gotten Rajesh killed.

Liam landed on the roof next to me. The upgraded Recon Drone made him so silent that I didn’t hear him approach or land. If not for the technopathic energy his body gave off, I would’ve missed him altogether.

“This doesn’t look good,” he said. “Reckon we should help them?”

“Are you serious?” Kitty demanded through the comms. “You help these arseholes today, they’ll screw us over tomorrow. Didn’t you want to ally with the locals? Why the hell would you want to—”

I stopped listening. Not because I intended to dismiss what she had said, but because the scene below went from bad to horrible in seconds. Flames consumed the local lagging at the back of the pack. At first I assumed one of the raiders or their new friends had set a trap during their escape. Then the man shot forwards, parting his companions on the way to President. He left a trail of fire in his path. As soon as he caught up to President, the local thrust both hands into his target’s back. Flames burst forth, consuming President. He screamed, falling to his knees.

Blur zipped back to help his friend. Unfortunately, the spike-shooting local rained projectiles in the speedster’s path. Blur dodged to the side, but much to everyone’s surprise, the local’s power wasn’t just shooting spikes but controlling them as well. The man waved his left arm, and the jagged projectiles changed trajectory, peppering President and Blur. The latter only suffered one injury to the left leg. That’s all it took. He didn’t have President’s hardiness. He fell to the ground, shouting and gripping his leg.

Instead of continuing their escape, the pursued turned around to help Blur. I couldn’t tell why the hell they hadn’t done the same for President. Perhaps they expected him capable of surviving the worst of blows. I assumed the speedster’s power had made his body light and fragile, which is why a glancing blow to the calf was enough to disable him.

Turning around proved to be a big mistake. The fire manipulator waves his hands sideways, and the flames on President’s back spread like a pair of large angel wings. It consumed everyone but two of the women: a raider and a turncoat local. All the screams blended into a singular, blood-curdling cry of pain.

The unharmed local woman’s arms shot into the chaos. They stretched much like Winnie’s, wrapping around Blur and pulling him out. The flames had consumed his left arm and shoulder, while blisters covered his face. Then they were on the hill.

“We should help them,” David said through the communicator. “I get it, they’re bad people, but standing by and letting this happen feels wrong.”

“I agree,” Caitlin added. The pair had not long caught up and had taken a position on the ground floor. “We don’t have to risk ourselves with the burning lot. I’m pretty sure all but the big guy are dead anyway.”

“Besides, they’re on our territory now.” Liam switched into flight mode as he spoke. “Probably for the best if we use this opportunity to establish boundaries with the locals. They need to know that they can’t get on the hill without our permission.”

“I don’t particularly want to fight that fire guy either.” I aimed the Coil Gun at him as the flames pulsed, devouring everyone but President. I couldn’t figure out how the man’s power worked. The fire licked at President’s skin but didn’t kill him. “Only fire warning shots. No lethal blows or crippling injuries. We only want to scare them off. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” everyone confirmed, one after another.

I fired first. It took the Coil Gun five seconds to fire ten shots before it needed a moment to create more bullets. All the projectiles hit the ground between the spike-throwing local and the pursued. It separated the flame-wielder from the others. The attack drew their attention to the roof. Most of the locals slowed, but the flame-wielder continued chasing and roared. The fire coming off his body shrunk and turned blue.

Liam flew off the roof, flashing a bright pink light. His voice boomed through the neighborhood, amplified by the sonic blast generator. “Cease your chase immediately. If you proceed onto the hill, you will be trespassing on MAD territory. We will have no option but to open fire if you do.”

As he repeated the words in German, Kitty caught up to us. Morpheus skidded to a halt and transformed into his bipedal form. Winnie stood on his shoulder, spikes extended from both arms and aimed at the locals. Miley took up position in front of them as a rippling silver sphere. She looked the least aggressive of the three golems, but the mystery surrounding her added to the threat.

David fell in next to Kitty, his artifact in its cannon form. He fired a warning shot too. It landed awfully close to President and fire-wielder. The projectile exploded, showering them in the burning orange plasma. He didn’t have to worry about hurting the fleeing group. All but President were dead. We weren’t making assumptions. The flames had burned their bodies black and parts were starting to fall off.

The projectile didn’t deter the crazed man. All the surrounding fire withered, flowing into him, and he burned brighter. President collapsed on the floor unconscious as the fire-wielder’s shot passed him.

“He’s coming straight towards you, Caitlin,” I said. “Since his power is fire-based, your rifle is the perfect counter for it. See if you can hit his leg.”

“You said not to cripple them,” she replied.

“He’s burning too hot. The frozen plasma will melt before doing real damage. It will drop his temperature, though.”

I hoped I was correct. The man’s power had to be C-rank, at most B-rank. His power most likely drew from a source and, as a result, would suffer from some significant limitations. Caitlin’s marksmanship proved much better than mine. She fired two shots in quick succession. The first struck the ground just in front of him and exploded, showering him in cold and gravel. The second hit his shoulder. The affected bits dimmed considerably, and the man roared again but slowed his charge.

“It worked!” I exclaimed. “Hit him again.”

Caitlin did as requested. Every time he tried to flare up again, she dropped his temperature. The cycle continued until he stopped a couple of dozen of meters from the hill’s base.

Liam repeated his previous spiel, first in English and then in German. The fire-wielding man looked back at his friends before growling at us. “Those were warning shots,” I yelled from the roof. “We’re neighbors and would rather not start off on the wrong foot. Let’s walk away from this without further casualties. If you step foot on the hill, we will have no choice but to retaliate with lethal force.”

Even though Jay had no intention of fighting, he parked himself next to Morpheus. He didn’t just have Maya out but a couple of giant Jack Russel terriers, a beefy chihuahua, and a black cat bigger than the auranthers. They didn’t move or make a sound. All lined up, we made for an imposing defensive force.

The fire-wielder extinguished his flame and took another step forward. Kitty shot a bolt of frozen plasma at his feet. The man hopped back, probably worried the projectiles would hurt without the fire’s protection.

“They’re ours!” He exclaimed, pointing at Blur and the two women. The German accent came as no surprise.”

“Not anymore,” I replied, stepping off the roof. My coat flared outwards as I fell, fluttering wildly behind me. When I landed, my knees bent instinctively, but the Pogo Heelies absorbed all the force and helped maintain my balance. It must have looked badass, because the fire-wielder looked at me with his eyes widened. I pointed my prosthetic at them and the muzzle crackled with blue energy. “This lot have given us trouble in the past. We’d like to deal with them ourselves. You can keep the big guy.” President’s chest was still moving, but I couldn’t tell whether he would survive or not. “Or what’s left of him anyway.”

The man sighed, shaking his head. He glared at me for a moment before returning to his friends. It was then that I got a good look at his back. The armor running along his spine looked different from that of his friends. Not only did it cover more surface area, but each segment tapered into a pointed ridge. Despite the flames he wielded, the metal had a silvery sheen to it while the others had a matte effect. Was his armor special? Considering how powerful his flames appeared to be, they couldn’t be from an ordinary C-rank power. Perhaps the spinal armor worked as an amplifier or limit-breaker. We’d find out soon enough—one of their own was in our protection now.

We watched the group pick up President and go back the way they had come. The spike-thrower brought up the rear, watching us as they left. As soon as he looked away, Liam detached the Recon Drone from his main body. It activated the camouflage function and followed them. Now that we had pissed them off and knew they were violent, we needed to find out more about them. Once we were sure of their numbers and location, we could assess how big of a threat they were.

“Help us,” the female raider begged as she and the turncoat local dragged Blur towards us. “He’s fading fast.”

“That’s Sniper,” Liam said, transforming into spider form.

Considering how big a threat she had been, I expected someone older. The person in front of us was a girl around David’s age. How the hell had she gotten entangled with such a violent crew?

Kitty looked at me with hesitant eyes. Caitlin didn’t hesitate. She unplugged the Mini-drone Launcher and connected the blood pressure monitor to the socket. Then, on approaching Blur, she paused. Burns covered the man and his left leg was bleeding profusely. She didn’t know where to start.

“I know we were horrible to you before, but you have to do something!” The raider exclaimed, tears pouring from her eyes. “He’s my brother. Please.”

Kitty shot him with two syringes. The wound on his leg closed within seconds, but it did nothing for the burns. The smell coming off the singed arm made my stomach churn and breakfast threatened to make a break for freedom. Parts of the limb had been burnt so badly they had blackened and cracked.

Blur’s eyes were open, but the unfocused gaze suggested he wasn’t all there. We helped the women lay him down. Then I showered his body with the Gloop Shooter. It washed away his bruises and the blisters on his face and neck lessened, but the arm and shoulder didn’t change. Were they too far gone, or was this a part of the fire-wielder’s power?

“It’s no good,” Liam said. The pink in his dome became clearer as he spoke. “His body is shutting down, and the pain broke his brain. There is not a single thought in there, just emptiness.”

“You’re wrong,” Sniper said, wiping at her eyes. She knelt next to her brother and placed a hand on his good shoulder. “Get it together, Kyle. C’mon.”

“What if—” Liam cut me off with a poke of his spider-leg.

“I’m not being a dick because he got Rajesh killed.” He broadcasted the words directly into my goggles’ communicator. “The guy’s heartbeat is almost gone. I’m willing to bet the Nurturing Field won’t do anything for him now. It’s over. He’s responsible for getting our friend killed. Let him die.”

“I’d rather make him my prisoner and put him to work,” I whispered so only the communicator would pick up my words.

Kitty and I didn’t stop though. We checked Blur’s pulse and used the medical devices at our disposal. Nothing changed. The man’s body had given up. Sniper started bawling and the turncoat local—she introduced herself as Helena—comforted her. Morpheus lifted the body, and we carried it back towards the base.

“What about the girl?” Liam asked. “She’s shot Pallav multiple times, and the little bitch is partially responsible for what happened—”

“She barely looks thirteen, Liam.” The mention of her age shut him up. “Let’s have some empathy and find out her circumstances first. I’m not saying we forgive her. That’s off the table. But we can’t just kill a child or turn her away. Dialogue is everything. Let’s see what’s up. Killing all probable threats shouldn’t be our first reaction. We’re not murderhobos.”

We all decided silently to bring the two new people back with us. I’m sure everyone wanted to know their story, but that would have to wait. We didn’t trust them, of course. Despite her age, we were especially suspicious of Sniper. She had just lost everyone she knew though. We knew even less about the local.

“Let’s turn the basement into a holding area,” Liam suggested. “We’ll put the two there for now. Can you use the Hub’s interface to put a couple of beds and a toilet down there?”

“It shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” I said. “What will we do with them?”

“We can’t just throw them out knowing what the fire guy wants to do with them.” It came as a surprise when Kitty joined in. It wasn’t that I was trying to exclude her. I had assumed that Liam and I were on a private channel. “Once they’ve calmed down a bit and eaten, let’s find out what happened back there. In the meantime, let’s keep the pair under surveillance.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Prisoners of War

We tried to get Sniper to eat, but she wouldn’t so much as look at food. She sat in the lobby cradling her brother’s body for hours. We’d all suffered some degree of loss since the world had ended, but we didn’t know how to comfort her. Sniper was an enemy, after all. Her people hadn’t attacked us once but twice. Even though the raiders hadn’t killed Rajesh, we believed they played a big part in his death. First they’d opened pathways for the elites to sneak up on us, then they’d held us at gunpoint.

We didn’t have anything against Helena. However, after the display her former comrades put on, I couldn’t be sure about her. Winnie expressed more curiosity in her than he did in anyone else. Kitty figured it was the stretchy limbs. The little golem had seen the woman rescue Blur. He probably hypothesized that the two of them were the same.

After a while, Caitlin and David went up to the Farm. Jay left us for the Menagerie—the new batch of eggs were almost ready—and Liam retired to his lair. Only Kitty and I remained with the newcomers. We didn’t talk, just watched them, racking our brains on what to do.

I couldn’t get myself to kick them out. Where would they go? The locals would most likely attack them on sight. Two C-rank power users wouldn’t survive long in the sector either. At the same time, there was no way in hell I could trust either of them in the base. They’d only been on the ground floor, but that alone was too much intelligence for them to walk away with. What if the pair got captured by the locals and tried to bargain for their lives? Wouldn’t any details regarding the Hub prove as valuable chips? They hadn’t seen the beasts yet, but giving out our location could potentially hurt us.

We used biomatter for the building materials and plant matter for defenses. Until we got water-based deterrents up and running, the fire-wielder had the power to devastate our sanctuary. No. We had no choice but to take the two in for the time being. We’d keep our eyes on them and limit their access to the basement and ground floors. I left Kitty to watch them for a short while and excused myself to the third floor.

The white glow had faded, and the floor appeared to be complete. However, it hadn’t achieved functionality yet. Unlike the Farm, the sunlamps were built into the ceiling. There were four of them, one in each quadrant of the floor. Their luminosity wasn’t awfully bright but resembled the morning sun in early spring. Under each sunlamp sat spheres similar to the McGuffins in appearance. Little pools of water had already started growing on the mud-covered floor around them. I imagined it would take quite a while until the floor reached functionality.

I turned my attention to the Hub’s Core. It turned out that the remote access would only let me use the traps tab—the rest of them were set to view only. I first invested some biomatter to officially make the internal and external cameras a part of the base. Now if any of them got damaged, I could replace them cheaply for no effort. Next, I added more cameras to the ground floor interior, exterior, and basement.

Once satisfied with their placements, I made a couple of changes to the basement. An underground garden had blossomed where the generator used to be. It didn’t cost a lot, so I spent a bit of biomatter to add a sunlamp and a small water feature that would keep the plants hydrated. Next, I built a dormitory between the water feature and the doorbell. It had a couple of beds, a small sitting area near the garden, and a bathroom. Our cameras would monitor every square inch of the accessible regions except the toilet and shower areas.

Finally, I tweaked the Hub’s permissions list to include our two new guests. They had full access to the functional parts of the basement. They could use the stairwell too, but only to climb to the ground floor and enter the cafeteria. Everything else was off-limits. To ensure they wouldn’t cause trouble, I sent a message to Fin through the interface—I hadn’t known I could do that. When I gave him my instructions, he was ecstatic. The Menageries babies finally had some work to do. A trio of ankylopus would now guard the Hub’s interior. Two of them would stay on the ground floor to deter our guests if they tried anything. The third would chill out in the stairwell between the ground and first floor. The rest would patrol our immediate vicinity, ensuring nothing got close to the base.

Once done, I returned to the ground floor. Nothing had changed in my absence. Sniper looked at me, wiping her eyes. The girl needed to drink something if she wanted to continue crying. I wasn’t going to tell her how to deal with her grief—I had no right to—but she needed fuel and hydration.

“What’s your name?” I asked her.

She glared at me. While their actions had indirectly gotten one of our people killed, we as a group had killed two of theirs. The first had died when they’d followed Pallav and Rajesh home. I didn’t know who it was or how it happened. It was probably Liam who did it. He had disappeared for a while during the fight. Kitty’s rat golem, Pinky, had gone wild too. Then when they ambushed us in the mantis nest, I’d killed Chroma, the invisible woman, in self-defense. Sniper had reason to suspect me also.

“Anna,” she said after a couple of minutes.

“We can’t let your brother’s body just lay here, Anna.” I didn’t have a lot of experience with children. Our age difference was approximately half a decade, so out of respect, I treated her as someone my age. “This building—our base—functions off biomatter. Sooner or later, it will deem him as raw material and absorb him. How about we give him a proper send-off?”

“How can you be so insensitive?” Helena demanded, jumping to her feet. Her sudden movements took me by surprise, but I didn’t let it show. “Anna just lost her brother. Give her time to deal with the shock.”

Anna grabbed Helena’s hand, silencing the local woman. “Do you mean he’d permanently become a part of the building?”

I nodded. “The structure would repurpose him to fix any damage, add to the defenses, or for construction of any other structure I want.”

“Would you let me stay here if your building absorbs him?” she asked.

I looked at Kitty, unsure of how to answer the question. Anna, our former enemy, wanted to know whether she could join us. It wasn’t a decision either of us could make on the spot. It was something we’d need to discuss with the rest of the team.

“We can’t decide that right now,” I answered. “Considering our history and what we just observed, trusting you now wouldn’t be the smartest decision. At the same time, considering how important this base is to us, we can’t exactly let you go. For all we know, you could sell our location to someone.” Both Anna and Helena opened their mouths to protest. “I’m not making any accusations, but it’s the way of the world now. I don’t know about you, Helena, but Anna, your group had chosen the ‘by any means necessary path.’ To err on the side of caution, we’ll need to detain you for a while as we assess the situation.”

“In other words, we’re your prisoners?” Helena demanded, nostrils flared and brow furrowed.

“If that’s what you want to call it, sure,” Kitty said. “One of you has tried killing us with exploding arrows. The other got chased down by their former allies into our territory. I think we’re justified to hold you for the time being.”

“It’s alright with me,” Anna said. “Let your Hub absorb Kyle’s body. I’ll sit tight until you decide what you’d like to do with me. But, if my brother’s body becomes a part of this building, he’s a permanent fixture. I promise to do whatever I can to protect this place.” Her voice cracked and quivered as she spoke, but she didn’t let any more tears flow. “I know it sounds stupid, but he’d do the same thing for me.”

I didn’t address the sentiment. This was a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl I was dealing with, and reacting to such an idea appropriately was beyond me. “If either of you can fill me in on what was going on there, it will speed up the decision-making process. The more information we have, the better it will be for you two.”

Morpheus helped carry Blur’s body to the basement. We showed the pair where they’d be staying and the green area. Anna decided it was a perfect spot for her brother. As an avid fan of cross-country running, he loved everything green. We placed the corpse by the water feature and stepped away. I didn’t quite understand how it worked, but the Hub, most likely, understood what we intended. The floor came to life and rippled before consuming Kyle. Anna let out a soft whimper when the body disappeared but didn’t make another peep.

Our new guests were both famished but wanted to clean up first. For a moment, I wondered whether to warn them about the cameras or not. Then I reasoned that if the pair got up to any illicit activities, they’d try limiting it to the shower or toilet. We needed to behave as Big Brother until they proved trustworthy or the current threat passed, so I kept my mouth shut.

Kitty and I returned to the ground floor to prepare food. Considering the somber mood, we went for a hearty lunch. It was almost evening, so perhaps calling it dinner would be more appropriate. Kitty browned a beef shoulder fillet on the stovetop before popping it in the oven to roast. Then she started on gravy and salad, while I put my new hand to use, prepping the mash. Thanks to the lack of feeling, I had no trouble handling hot potatoes or crushing them. The meat was about halfway cooked when the pair came up to the cafeteria.

Helena tried to explore the ground floor, but the ankylopus blocked her way. They weren’t fully grown yet, but I assumed the bone armor made them as powerful as elites. Engaging a two-on-two fight against them as C-ranks wasn’t the best of ideas. Sniper didn’t have a weapon either. Then again, we didn’t know the details of her power yet. If their limited movements bothered them, the pair didn’t let it show. Instead, the two stood just outside the kitchen at the cafeteria counter, watching us work.

We called for the team once the food was ready, and we all assembled around the table. I openly disclosed what call we had taken with the new pair, and no one refuted my decision. An emoticon with raised eyebrows appeared on Liam’s dome for a second before disappearing. The discussion would have to wait until later, so we didn’t push the matter.

Tears streamed down Anna’s face as she ate. Again. None of us stepped forward to comfort her. Helena was so busy devouring the hot meal, she didn’t even notice. Both abandoned table manners and attacked the food. David watched Anna eating wide-eyed. Then Caitlin nudged the boy, setting him straight.

Helena put away more food than her petite frame could potentially store. Again, we didn’t call attention to it. Perhaps the locals didn’t have the means to prepare decent food, or her power demanded a lot more calories than the average human.

Around halfway through the meal, Helena started talking. She started talking about the locals and their hierarchy. There used to be three people running the show. Omar, the Bioengineer, built the spine armors for everyone that joined them. It enhanced the wearer’s powers and general physical capabilities. It was why they were collecting biometal.

Next, they had Frieda. She had been using her Stoneshaper power to build an underground shelter and network for their group. The woman was the glue that kept the group together and was the reason everyone felt safe despite the local threats.

Lastly, there was Arjan, the Emberborn. His power had experienced a giant boost since Omar’s upgrade. Arjan had recently taken over as leader of the group’s offensive force. Emberborn turned Arjan’s skin into living flame and let him project it at close range. If that weren’t already a terrifying ability, he could also “infect” others with fire, enhancing their abilities. Only a few willingly submitted to the procedure, since it was painful and could lead to death. The Ember-infected experienced enhanced reaction times, a quicker metabolism, and in rare cases, they could weave flames into their powers.

Arjan had been coercing the rescued to join the offensive force and submit to the infection. When they’d refused, he’d turn into a bit of a bully and Frieda had protected them. She’d suspected that Arjan’s powers grew stronger with every infected person he had around him. Things were tense, but the group had functioned just fine until Omar and Arjan had staged a coupe. They’d killed Frieda and tried to exert their control over the group. That’s when several people had fled the underground shelter.

Worried that the defectors would leak their location, data regarding the spinal enhancement, and Arjan’s ability, the offensive force went on the hunt. While fleeing, the turncoats ran into the raiders. The raiders tried to help them, but they were no match for Omar’s and Arjan’s combined upgrades to the locals.

Instead of killing everyone, Arjan had taken to capturing the raiders with powerful abilities. Neither Anna nor Helena knew why. A good deal of raiders had been caught or killed. The group we had seen running was the last of the group. Neither of them could be sure why Arjan had lost it and killed so many people. Helena claimed the man had anger issues.

We remained silent throughout the story, processing everything. If we had found the group earlier and joined forces, perhaps Frieda and so many others wouldn’t be dead. A larger party focused on keeping people safe would’ve maybe deterred Omar and Arjan. Then again, perhaps things could’ve turned out a lot worse. Mulling on “what ifs” was a waste of time and a bad call.

The story painted the raiders in a different light. They weren’t the aggressors but the protectors. Had they changed their tune after we’d kicked their arses multiple times? Or perhaps losing to Metalsmith had humbled them. Whichever it was, it didn’t matter now. We still needed time to observe the pair and decide whether they deserved our trust or not. Anna and Helena had known each other for a little over a day and couldn’t confirm one another’s story. What if Blur and President had wanted to get information regarding the locals and manipulate them to gain an advantage?

Since none of us spoke up, Anna took it as her turn to tell their story. She spent a couple of minutes listing the cast of her tale and introducing them. I didn’t think it important to learn their names, as most of them were dead. Most of the original raiders were roommates. Blur was the only one who hadn’t lived with his friends; he’d lived at home with their mother and Anna. When the apocalypse had happened, they had all been together, and the pair had no way of finding out what had happened to their mother. She worked at the local hospital and unfortunately it had ended up in another sector.

Then Anna sped through their initial attempts at surviving the end of the world, clashes with Metalsmith, and us. It turned out the raiders had taken over the guildhall as their hideout. Then Metalsmith had turned up with her growing band and tried to subjugate their group. When they’d refused to serve her, she’d had Siren mesmerize them and lock them out of the building. The group had spent a lot of time collecting resources from local supermarkets and hardware stores, and all of it was gone in a matter of minutes. It was why they had become so desperate and wanted my Creations so badly.

Anna accepted that they’d gone about it the wrong way. President and Chroma were politicians at heart and had played her brother like a fiddle. She’d tried to talk sense into him, but President was his best friend, and he’d been infatuated with Chroma, so he’d played along with their plans. Unwilling to let anything to happen to her brother, Anna had done as she was told. Anna reiterated that she wasn’t making excuses for their actions but was just telling us the truth.

After we’d clashed for the first time, the raiders’ numbers had swelled. President had successfully united all the groups that were against the Metalsmith. The only reason they’d found us in Mama’s cavern was because several small parties had entered the nest looking for us. They had gotten the closest but had come upon a dead end. So, Anna had used her power to cut through several cave walls to get to us. They hadn’t realized that the team had set the elite mantises free. While fleeing the caves after our little skirmish, they had lost a team of six people.

Finally, she told us about their attempts to take on Metalsmith. It had been a huge mistake. The woman hadn’t just been using her power to arm everyone who followed her, but had also used her power and McGuffins to build a large fort around the guild. Killing Mama’s elites had further improved the woman’s arsenal and defenses. The final battle had proved to be a massacre. Metalsmith and Siren had killed two-thirds of their raider army, forcing them to flee into our sector.

Then the raiders had bumped into the escaping locals and, already drained after the fight, Arjan’s people had had little trouble mowing them down. Anna had tears in her eyes by the time she finished the story, and David stepped up to comfort her. Much to our surprise, Anna let him come close. It was most likely due to them being the same age group.

We got some ice cream out of the freezer so the pair could have a little treat before having them return to the basement. Things were going to get dangerous pretty soon, and we needed to figure out how to proceed.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brought To You By The Nomicronion Empire

“They’re hatching!” Jay’s voice woke us the following morning. The sun hadn’t risen all the way yet, and my face was still buried in the crook of Kitty’s neck. It was among my favorite smells, and the warmth in there didn’t compare to anything I had felt before. A fist banged on the door. “Get up! The eggs are hatching! You can’t miss this!”

Kitty stirred, but I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her tight.

“Don’t make a peep,” I said. “If we ignore Jay, he’ll go away.”

“Maya can hear you, you know,” he told us through the door.

“Go away. We’re sleeping!” Kitty yelled.

“No, you’re not. C’mon. This is the batch we knowingly modified. Don’t you want to see how they turned out?”

I sighed, releasing Kitty. It was her turn to hold onto me tight. She looked at me with her big morning eyes, and for once, she didn’t want to get up either. Jay banged on our door again before moving on to awaken David and Caitlin.

We tried to snuggle up once again and go back to sleep, but we gave up a couple of minutes later. Instead, we pursued amorous activities. Unfortunately, listening to David and Jay excitedly talk about hatchlings was a mood killer. We crawled out of bed, pulled on our clothes, and joined them in the hallway.

David stood in his doorway, half-clothed and engaged in an animated discussion with Jay. Caitlin mouthed “sorry” at us, standing next to Jay. She had clothed herself and plugged in the battery belt, but her hair resembled a mane of wildfire. We waited for David to get decent before taking the elevator up to the fourth floor.

The Menagerie had changed. Instead of a laboratory, the room now resembled a farm. It wasn’t just a cosmetic change. It was like an open landscape with lots of green, a pen for the beasts, and a barn. It was another Tardis-level change. It took bigger-on-the-inside to a whole new level. Unlike last time, the drones didn’t run around like headless chickens. Fin barked orders at them, and they followed.

Jay assisted the drones with keeping the immature platyhawks under control. The rest moved the eggs into the barn, and I helped them. They had gone to bed the previous night after setting everything up for the hatching. When they’d woke up in the morning, everything had changed. Now they needed to redo an entire day’s work in a couple of hours.

When Fin had a moment, he approached me, furious that I hadn’t warned him of the incoming changes. The drone had never taken a negative tone with me before. Several pools had opened around the Menagerie. While rushing around in the morning, a dozen drones had almost drowned, so I gave Fin a pass. He had good reason to be mad.

Several cracks had appeared on the eggs overnight, but nothing happened for quite some time. We helped the drones set everything up and then were considering going down for breakfast when the first chick emerged. We identified it as an ankylopus straightaway, but the creature already had bits of bone growing out of its skin.

Unlike last time, most of the hatchlings were wingless. We got a few platyhawks too. They were all female, but larger and sturdier than the first clutch.

“They’re destined to grow into queens,” Fin said. Thanks to our contributions, his work for the day was done. Now he stood back with us while his subordinates tended to the hatchlings. “Well, the system will consider them elites, but they’ll be as good as a boss-ranked monster in strength when fully grown.”

Jay wanted to get involved with the new hatchings, but Fin kept him away. Unlike the previous clutch, the new batch was much too vicious. Despite being newborns, they had already started roughhousing. The bony protrusions could easily cut and bruise. Despite their years of experience, the drones could barely keep up with them.

Fin declared the final two eggs dead. They hadn’t survived the stasis and upgrades. We now had nine heavily armored ankylopus chicks—or pups, we couldn’t make up our minds—and three platyhawks.

After observing the changes in the Menagerie, the team was excited to see how the Farm had developed. I was curious too but was more excited to check out the third floor and parted ways. It was a good thing I did. As soon as I exited the elevator, the Hub’s interface greeted me with possible free A-ranked upgrades. I brushed it aside to study the floor.

Water filled the space outside of the shielded area. The sunlamps’ light danced on the soil-covered floor. The emptiness sent chills down my spine. There was something ominous about it, and I didn’t like it one bit. The Hub’s Core reacted to my thoughts, throwing a screen up in front of my eyes.

The Farm and Menagerie request access to the aquatic level. In exchange for biomass, they’d like to populate the floor with vegetation and aquatic life. A running ecosystem will result in an efficient food source for all of the Hub’s inhabitants.

I accepted the offer without a thought. The meters displaying our biomass levels dipped considerably. If Anna had earned our trust, I intended to show her the floor once it was populated. I had no love for her brother, but she’d probably be pleased knowing that Blur—Kyle’s remains—were now immortalized in the floor. All life within it had started with a part of him.

Then I moved onto the free A-ranked upgrades. There were several options, but I knew what I wanted and selected it without hesitation.

Aquaguard: Plant- and biomass-based defenses can recover swiftly from ballistic attacks, but fire and energy assaults, in general, can cripple them. Aquaguard base defenses won’t just make your Hub resistant to the attacks but will enhance all plant-matter installations too. Combined with the Nurturing Field Generator’s effects, Aquaguard will upgrade all defensive measures by an entire rank.

If the Hub has access to the water-production facility, Aquaguard can stockpile surplus water and use it for short-term barrier defenses.

Aquaguard is brought to you by the Nomicronion Empire.

Hands off our hatchlings!

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the description. It got my attention when I realized that the upgrade wasn’t System-created. Someone like me must have come up with the design and submitted it for inclusion with these niche Hub types. What had they gotten in return? Whenever someone bought such an upgrade, did the System grant them a few McGuffins in royalties? If such an option existed, my power was perfect for making a killing off the System.

My stomach was grumbling, so I decided to leave the Farm for later and went down to the ground floor for breakfast. It turns out the others had thought the same thing. The table was set, and David was helping the newcomers serve. Desperate for something hot in my stomach, I helped myself to sausages, hash browns, and baked beans. While eating, I filled the team in on the newest upgrade.

“I know we only have the Balloon Pods right now, but considering the direction we’ve been going, we might as well make our defenses plant-based,” I said, “which would make people like Arjan or anyone with energy weapons the biggest threat. Aquaguard should solve all of our problems.”

“You don’t have to sell us on it,” Caitlin remarked, spraying me with crumbs. “The plant matter defenses are a result of us investing in the Farm. Speaking of which, you might want to talk to your drones. Apparently, the Menagerie and Farm are halfway to A-rank with the new upgrades. These combined effects are bloody amazing.”

David nodded along with his sister’s statement. “I bet Aquaguard is going to buff all the plant-based defenses then? We should invest in the bramble wall you were telling us about.”

“I will as soon as I have more McGuffins—”

“Perhaps I can help with that,” Anna said, interrupting me. Caitlin had patted them down when they’d first arrived, but not very well. The teenager pulled a McGuffin out of her pocket. “Kyle is a part of this building now. I want to help you keep it secure.” She handed the glowing sphere to me. “Get whatever upgrade David is talking about.”

There was silence all around the table. Coming from a C-ranked individual, a single McGuffin had immense value. I was of half a mind to reject her offer. At the same time, considering the looming threats all around us, every McGuffin mattered now.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked. “We don’t know whether we want to let you stay here or not. Technically, you’re still our prisoner. You’re limited to the basement and the cafeteria. The ankylopus are on standby to rip you two to pieces if you step out of line.”

“I’m sure.” Anna’s bright blue eyes glared deep into mine. “This isn’t a bribe or a sign of goodwill. Some of your friends come across as good people, but you, Matt? I don’t like you. I don’t care what you think of me. This is for my brother.”

“What do you think?” I asked the group, taking them aside after lunch. “Do you think I should accept her offer?”

“No.” Kitty was the first to speak up after a minute’s silence. “There’s too much history here. I’m not sure we can ever trust her.”

“It’s not just that,” Liam said. He hadn’t joined us for breakfast, but I’d summoned him for the discussion’s sake. “The girl’s story just doesn’t line up. She’s much too reserved as well. I get the feeling there is a lot more going on in her head than she lets on.”

“Of course there is.” Jay sighed, shaking his head. “That little girl hasn’t just lost her brother, but everyone else in her life too. I’m not asking you to trust her, but accept the gift. It’s a sign of goodwill. We can work on nurturing the relationship from there.”

“I’m not sure about Anna,” I told them. “She’s hostile, and her attitude—”

“There’s nothing wrong with her attitude.” David interrupted me. “You’re extra biased because she said she doesn’t like you. Don’t you think so, Sis?”

Caitlin shook her head. “I’m abstaining from this decision. I don’t like either of them, but I say that about most people. Bloody hell, I’m not sure whether I like Matt and Liam yet, so expecting me to pass judgement on the new people is a bad idea.”

“She just comes across as dishonest,” I continued. “That’s all. On the other hand, Helena feels a lot more upfront. Did you see how surprised she appeared by Anna’s offer? It confirms that they’re not on the same page or working together.”

“I think she’s the one putting on an act,” Jay said. “Anna’s demeanor is acceptable. She’s young and vulnerable right now.”

“So you’re buying her shtick, ‘my brother is a part of the building’?” Liam asked. His tone wasn’t a particularly friendly one. “Helena hasn’t given up any bad vibes. I went down to chat with her this morning. She’s willing to cooperate with us. Once she’s settled in, I’d like to study her spine armor. If we can replicate it, we’ll be set.”

“Mate, you’re line of thinking is all wrong,” Caitlin told Liam. “First of all, have some compassion for the little girl. I know you have reason to doubt her, but Matt and Kitty aren’t as…” She paused, glaring at Liam, “they aren’t as heartless as you are. Studying the spine armor should be the last thing on your mind right now. There are more important things at stake.”

“Easy there,” I commented. “The last thing we need is for this to devolve into an argument. I’m happy to accept the gift but would prefer keeping Anna under surveillance for a while longer. We need to understand her power and her better before we give her access to the rest of the base.”

“Do it in stages then,” Jay said. “In a week or so give her free reign over this floor, then move her up to the residential area—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Anna called from the other end of the cafeteria, making all of us jump. Her ears glowed with purple light. She’d been listening to everything we’d said. “For the record, my power is called Imbuer. It lets me temporarily enhance a body part or object. Right now, it’s my ear, so I know what you think of me. Before I lost my bow and arrow, I’d imbue arrowheads, giving them penetrating or explosive power. It’s not the most powerful ability, but I like it because of its versatility.”

Anna hopped off her seat and walked towards me. Once she was a couple of meters away, she threw the McGuffin at me. Over the past month or so, my reflexes had sharpened considerably. I snatched the glowing sphere out of the air with my left hand.

“Take it. I don’t trust any of you yet, so I can’t expect any of you to bet on me.” She smiled at Jay and David. “Thank you for standing up for me though. It means a lot. I like your idea of staggered permissions. You don’t have to move me up to the residential area or whatever. I’m happy in the basement. Just don’t keep me locked down there. I’d love some kitchen access or anywhere I can work and stay busy. When I have nothing to do, I keep seeing Kyle’s face as he faded away.” Then she looked at Kitty and me. “I didn’t thank you. I’d like to think whatever you tried made his final moments comfortable. Kyle never dealt well with pain. That’s why he picked his power. It helped him avoid it. The burning must have been horrible to break him in the end.”

Anna’s voice quivered, and something in my chest hurt. I should’ve stayed stoic and not let my emotions show, but before I knew it, my body carried me to her. I knelt in front of the girl. No. After everything she had experienced since the end of the world, she was a young woman now.

“You don’t have to trust me or like me,” I told her. “I’m sorry about everything you’ve been through. Saying ‘it’s not your fault’ would be a gross simplification and placation, so I won’t. We were on opposite sides, but now we’re not. Give us some time to put the past behind us, alright?”

Anna nodded. Tears gathered in her eyes as I spoke.

“Would you like to come with me?” I asked. She nodded again. The others looked at me, questioningly. “Stay here.”

I led Anna into the elevator and we took it up to the third floor. She froze when the doors opened and didn’t follow me out. She just stood there, staring cautiously at the Hub’s Core and resin shielding. Drones from the Farm floor swam around in the water now. They didn’t wear any breathing apparatus. Gills had opened up on their necks and cheeks instead.

“This is what I used for your brother’s biomass,” I told her. “Well, the drones are still working on it. Before long, this floor, along with the one above and below it, will be part of a larger ecosystem. The aquatic level will have fish and water vegetables that’ll sustain us going forward.”

Anna stepped out of the elevator cautiously. She watched the little gray people swimming around and planting a variety of underwater plants.

“The upgrade is enhancing our Farm and Menagerie too. I’ll show you those eventually.”

“Thank you,” she said after spending several minutes taking it in. “Kyle would’ve loved this.”

I let Anna take a few minutes to admire the changes and opened the core’s interface. Thanks to the latest changes, the available plant-based defenses had grown by a rank but still required one McGuffin only. We had already decided on what to get, and I was happy to see that Aquaguard had further enhanced the option.

Spiny Naiad Vines: Brambles are only the beginning. Typically spiny naiads almost exclusively grow around underwater. Aquaguard gives the animated vines the ability to thrive on land and protects them from fire and other energy-based dangers.

Instead of reducing a Hub’s visual appeal like the brambles, spiny naiad vines add to its attractiveness. It still allows the Hub’s residents to sleep easy with the extra layer of defense. Due to their synergy with the Farm and biomass core, the vines will act as a home for all plant-based defenses and will help them spread and grow.

If any attacker gets within two meters of the brambles, the vines will attempt to grasp and entangle them.

As soon as I locked in my decision, little thickets of the plant blossomed from the soil around the shield and along the floor’s border. I couldn’t tell from the distance, but it looked like a good deal of it was growing into the exterior wall.

The interface showed upgrades for local plants and animals across the three floors. Due to our dwindling biomass stores, I decided against it. If we did get attacked and our defenses were damaged, biomass was essential for accelerating growth and repair.

After Anna had spent a quarter of an hour watching the swimming drones, I took her down to the basement using the lift. She couldn’t access its controls of course. The others looked at me questioningly when I rejoined them in the cafeteria. I put on my best reassuring smile and told them everything would be okay.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Richer

We got attacked by platyhawks again. There were two kings, a queen and a dozen elites in the sky above us, and we were shorthanded. After hearing Anna’s and Helena’s stories, we wanted to ensure there weren’t any at-risk people out and about. There could be other raiders or locals still fleeing Arjan’s crazed attacks. So, after breakfast, Kitty and Jay had gone out scouting. We weren’t worried though. It was our platyhawks that had attracted them, but now they were adolescents and close to full size. They flew close to our roof, far from the attacking force. If things got hairy, we could rely on them for support.

As soon as Liam alerted me of the attack, I released the Balloon Pods. A little over a day had passed since I’d gotten the Hub upgrade and half a dozen pods had sprouted and grown on the vines. They released all at once, filling the sky above us with explosive obstacles. The platyhawks would now need to retreat or get in close to attack us. They opted for the latter, but we weren’t worried.

Liam and I were the first to get on the roof. Much to my surprise, he had built a couple more drones. They were both as big as his base spider-bot body but bigger and bulkier.

“Armor,” he explained, merging with them. Two long, clawed legs sprouted from the drones’ underside, and biometal covered Liam’s dome. A pair of long barrels extended from his main body, and within seconds he was firing at our attackers. “New improved turret mode. It’ll only come in handy at long range, or if Kitty modifies Morpheus so I can latch onto him.”

“Let’s focus on what’s in front of us, boys,” Caitlin said, joining us. David was close behind her, but he wouldn’t be of much use in the fight. His cannon’s projectiles had shit range and were much too slow. Chances were he’d miss and ignite one of the Balloon Pods. “I’ve got four charged batteries, Matt. Tell me what to do.”

“The Mini-drone Launcher is pretty much useless against ariel foes,” I told her. “It’s intended to provide grenades or trap-setting drones. If you’re a decent marksman, there is no better weapon than the Void Rifle for this scenario.” I pointed at the circular hole just above the trigger. “That’s not for show. Hold a battery to it.”

Caitlin did as instructed. The weapon clicked, locking the faux McGuffin in place. The rifle hummed as the barrel extended and a second one grew from beneath it. A layer of frost rapidly covered both of them, but it abruptly cut off before reaching the battery and stock.

“The freezing plasma helps keep the weapon from overheating. Use it to nail your targets and slow them down, then hit them with the primary weapon. It’s slow-firing but powerful. Just make sure the shot won’t miss, and you don’t have any friends in the splash zone before pulling the trigger.”

We didn’t have any more time for explanation. The Balloon Pods deterred the elites but not the boss-ranked creatures. Liam started firing as soon as they got close. While fused with his new drones, his projectiles flew faster, leaving orange trails in the air. Unlike our last fight, the bosses didn’t just ignore his shots. They tried their best to avoid them. Even though the bullets didn’t penetrate their biometal and bone armor, I guessed the hot nails still hurt.

After learning my lesson last time, I knew better than to charge my new weapon all the way to rail gun. I kept it as a high-power Coil Gun. I tested it on the armored queen—the projectile didn’t punch through her, but it still pierced her armor. She shrieked so loud the closest Balloon Pod exploded. Much to my surprise, the burning spores didn’t fall to the earth but floated in place, creating more obstacles. They’d burn out sooner or later, but for the time being I couldn’t be happier.

“Liam, can you lead her in a straight line?” I asked. “Shoot at her tail so she’s focused on avoiding you.”

“I know what you’re getting at, Matt,” he told me and did as asked.

“Caitlin, you’re up.”

David stood behind her as she fell into a crouch. He had his multitool and armor covered his arms, shoulders, and legs. The two platyhawk kings had gotten close now, and if they dove, he was ready to defend his sister. Caitlin had little trouble nailing the queen with a bolt of frigid plasma. The projectile hit her wings, and she shrieked again. She fell into a spiral, and the elites finally joined the fight. They dove, coming to her defense.

I showed Caitlin how to switch the weapon’s firing mode and excitedly watched as she squeezed the trigger. Fluid swelled around the second barrel’s muzzle. Purple, blue, and yellow lights rippled as the weapon powered up and then a black sphere surrounded by white wisps shot forward. Due to the charge-up time, the projectile flew over the queen’s head and exploded. Glowing plasma spread in a bright supernova before the explosion’s heart sucked it all back in. It wasn’t just the plasma that got caught in the implosion though, but the diving elites and a chunk of the queen’s back leg too.

“Holy shit!” Caitlin exclaimed. “That’s…”

“Potent.” David finished the sentence, watching the falling carnage with his eyes wide.

I hit the falling queen with a supercharged shot in the neck. Both kings above us roared as their friend’s head fell free of her body. We didn’t waste time celebrating, though, and switched our focus to the other two bosses.

Proving their intelligence once again, the kings flew in unpredictable patterns, making it harder for us to get a clean shot for them. The Balloon Pods were no longer just obstacles for them to avoid but served as cover for them as well. They stayed far enough away from the traps so they didn’t get caught in their blast radius. In the meantime, the Menagerie-born platyhawks got to work attacking the surviving elites.

I watched, wide-eyed, as one of them flew through the still burning cloud of spores. Its biometal took on an orange glow and a wing sliced clean through a nearby elite. They were instinctively using the plasma absorbers and chargers as assault weapons! Fin was right. Our specimens would be as powerful as boss monsters when fully grown.

One of the kings dove. Instead of attacking us from above, he chose to stay at or below eye level. It limited his flight patterns, since the Balloon Pods’ coiling vines got in their way, but at the same time, he had plenty of cover. The other boss-class monster tried to do the same but failed to find a suitable window. It wasn’t just trying to avoid Liam’s fire but our platyhawks too. They had turned on him after slaughtering the elites.

Caitlin and Liam focused on the creature above us. Their shots were a lot more accurate than mine at long range. They’d have an easier time nailing the beast without hurting one of ours. Meanwhile, David and I targeted the creature trying to be sneaky.

There were only a handful of buildings high enough to provide cover, so we split up. The creature would have a more challenging time hiding from us if we targeted it from two different points of attack. David’s multitool didn’t give him a lot of mobility—it was a part of his next intended upgrade—so he stayed on the Hub’s roof where he could cover Caitlin and Liam if needed.

I launched myself forward with the Pogo Heelies, going for a long, arcing jump. It carried me more than halfway to my intended destination. Once my forward momentum turned into a downward one, I activated the Grappling Belt to latch onto the closest ledge. The adrenaline running through my system helped me bend my knees and catch my forward momentum on the wall. It charged the Pogo Heelies to full and helped me get all the way to the roof.

The king jumped on seeing me. Instead of flying, it had turned to cling to the building’s side. The creature was crawling along the walls to sneak up on us. I whistled just as it dropped down towards the ground, and within seconds our ankylopus guards came running. The king took to the sky just as they dove at him. It didn’t get high. My Coil Gun was ready for him. I got him in the head just as he reached above us. The low power shot wasn’t enough to kill it, but David was ready. He landed a projectile from the cannon mode. The explosion set the creature ablaze, and it fell to the ground screeching. I left the ankylopus to finish it.

The final king fell moments later. It was one of our platyhawks that helped us take him down. I recognized the little guy. It was the first creature our Menagerie had hatched. I didn’t get to see how she did it, but the little thing got the king to chase her. She flew along the Hub’s walls, luring the boss to the Spiny Naiad. As soon as he was in range, the vines came to life. They wrapped around his torso and limbs. Still reasonably new, they weren’t strong enough to hold the creature, but the momentary pause was enough for me to land a critical hit and finish the monster.

Liam’s Scavengers helped collect all the bodies. It was a repeat of parts we already had and didn’t have any immediate use for. Then again, we could never have enough biometal glands. I offered one to Liam, but he turned it down. He claimed adding a second one to the 3D printer would be overkill. He suggested I save them for Kitty’s next golem—Winnie would pop any time now—or another weapon for Caitlin.

After some thought, I decided to hold onto them. Despite the current situation, I had hope for the Hub’s newest residents, especially Helena. If we could bring her over to our side, she’d make for an excellent bonus for the team. During the prior conversation, she’d explained her power: Elasticity. It not only gave her the ability to stretch her limbs but set elastic limits and turned her body into a slingshot. Also, it made her resistant to blunt force trauma. She had the potential to become an excellent frontline fighter.

Each boss had given us two McGuffins as well. Calling it a windfall would be an understatement. With the threat of the locals looming over us, we needed to use every tool at our disposal.

“I need one of those,” David said. “The multitool is ready for another upgrade.”

“Of course.” I passed it to him without a second thought. “What are you planning?”

“I’m torn. I don’t know whether to invest in mobility or another ranged option. The cannon isn’t enough when dealing with the platyhawks.”

“That might be true, but we don’t have to worry about them for long,” I told him. “These last couple of fights reduced the number of platyhawk bosses by four. That means there are two to four crippled nests that’ll take ages to recover. They won’t remain a major threat for much longer. I’d say go for mobility.”

David looked at Caitlin questioningly, and she nodded.

“Perhaps we should use a few of these to upgrade your weapons—”

“Just do the Mini-drone Launcher,” Caitlin said, interrupting me. “The Void Rifle is sufficiently powerful. Use the rest for the others and reinforcing the Hub. The vines and balloons helped us four-man a superior threat. This building is our real weapon. Don’t you think so?”

“You’re right,” I said.

I had built the Mini-drone Launcher with room for a McGuffin in addition to the batteries. Caitlin accepted the McGuffin graciously, leaving me with four. After saving one for Winnie, I had three to play with. After some thought, I decided to use one for further upgrades to the base and not make any decisions about the other two yet.

We watched the base absorb what was left of the platyhawk carcasses before heading back in. If Kitty or Jay didn’t pick up on the fight, Maya would. They’d be home soon. I was about to head up to the third floor and browse upgrade options when Liam froze.

“Something is going on in the basement,” he said. Of course. His technopathic link to the surveillance system helped him keep track of everything going on in the Hub. How many partitions did his mind have? “Anna is attacking Helena! We have to get down there!”

We rushed down the stairs and, much to our surprise, the door wouldn’t budge. We could hear the pair fighting inside, grunting and screaming, but couldn’t reach them. It had to be Anna. I just knew it. It had all been an act, and now she was trying to silence witnesses who saw through her. Clenching my jaw, I activated the Sonic Shotgun. My arm transformed into a long, Megaman-styled blaster. It had little trouble blowing the door of its hinges.

I ran into the basement, ready to disable Anna, but barely made it through the doorway before freezing. Anna’s clothes were ripped, and blood trickled down her limbs. She held a long piece of wood, probably a chair leg, and swung it at Helena. The implement glowed with a red light. She must have imbued it for enhanced strength.

On the other hand, Helena appeared reasonably unharmed. Considering her power, that came as no surprise. What did shock us, though, was what she was using as a weapon. It was a long whip made of biometal segments. It oddly resembled her spine armor and ended in two pincer-like claws. When it got close to Anna, she blocked it with her weapon and charged in at Helena, wooden stake at the ready.

David reacted before us, rushing in with his multitool ready. Caitlin stayed by the door, unsure of how to proceed, and Liam did the same. I followed David, modifying the shotgun to avoid lethal damage.

I expected Anna to turn on us, but it was Helena who did it. Anna fell back panting, and David rushed over to stand guard over her. It was tempting to avoid the camouflage function, but after incorrectly assessing the scene, I was no longer sure. No. We needed to keep Helena’s attention on me while figuring out why she was attacking us all of a sudden.

Then the whip came at me, and I just managed to duck under it. It was then I noticed the countless little segmented digits growing out of the weapon’s sides. They wiggled like small appendages, looking for something to hook onto.

“It’s alive!” Anna yelled through ragged breaths. “She tried to put that thing on my back. It’s alive!”

Helena screamed, charging at me. If that weren’t terrifying enough, another whip shot out of her mouth. I activated the Sonic Barrier Projector, catching the weapon inches from my face. When it snapped at my nose, I finally realized what we were facing.

“Holy shit!” I swore. “It’s a centipede!”

My goggles scanned the creature as I raised the Sonic Shotgun.

Armored Skullipede

Skullipedes are bioweapons created by the Khjurnhalvan army during Season 2 of Survival Planet. When the events of season 1 taught them there would be individuals that resisted their mind hack, the showrunners added contingencies to their game plan.

Skullipedes are one such contingency. The parasites are designed to prey on developing vertebrate species. They lock themselves in over the victim’s spine and their pincers dig into the brain. They are among the few beasts added to the System that can take control of beasts and locals and then spill over onto neighboring sectors. For the sake of balance, only one may be planted in an area spanning a hundred sectors.

The skullipede then absorbs all of the victim’s memories and takes control of the body. Over time, it empowers the host and learns to control all of their System-given abilities. Skullipedes don’t die with their hosts or even if their armor body supports damage. If you want to kill a skullipede, go for the head.

Then I fired. Helena was thrown backwards by the blast. The centipede head stuck in the barrier stayed behind while the whip-like end went limp. Helena spat it out and was on her feet again in seconds. So she was resistant to the sonic attack too.

“What do I do?” Caitlin yelled from the stairwell.

“Stay back,” I answered. “Your weapons aren’t built for close-range combat. Contact the others.”

The Sonic Barrier Projector deactivated as my prosthetic changed modes once again. When Helena came at me, I hit her with the Gloop Shooter. It sprayed her lower half with glue. First she slipped, and then the quick-acting adhesive had her sticking to the floor. It probably wouldn’t hold her for long, but it was long enough to resume the base Charge Launcher weapon. The Coil Gun would’ve been better. Elasticity probably made Helena resistant to electricity too. A physical projectile would’ve likely pierced her body. I didn’t want her dead though. Everyone would want to investigate this creature further and figure out whether we could free her from its control.

The Charge Launcher’s projectile exploded on contact, showering her with bolts of electricity. It didn’t damage her skin, but her spine armor shook and wriggled, making her back spasm. The centipede she had been using as her whip froze. It fell to the floor, locked in a strange heap of loops. I kicked it at David, and he crushed its pincered head without instruction.

Helena tried getting back up, but I coated her arms in gloop. It didn’t give her enough traction to get up. Then the glue on her lower half hardened, sticking her to the floor. Caitlin ran into the room and threw a couple of drones at Helena. They came to life, running around the woman and tying her up with wire.

“I’m starting to think the story about Omar the Bioengineer is bullshit,” I said. “That’s an Alvan-made monster. If Frieda did exist, I suspect she dug into a nest and all of these buggers got body snatched.”

“You’re saying there are monsters out there with human-level intelligence and powers?” David asked.

“They don’t have powers, per se,” I said. “They’re controlling humans and supercharging their powers. I don’t think anything Helena has told us is true.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hard Decisions

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Even though I trusted the drones to keep Helena tied up, Liam had his new armored drones shape themselves around her limbs, locking her in place. Then we checked on Anna. I wanted to spray her with the Gloop Shooter’s healing fluid straight away, but Caitlin stopped me. She had us leave the room to talk to her woman to woman.

David and I turned our attention to the centipedes. The biometal plates running along their back had locked together, curving their entire body. Meanwhile, their segmented legs folded up under their frame around the squishy undersides. My stomach churned, studying the blood-covered filaments.

“I reckon they wrap their victim’s spines with these,” I said.

“Correct.” Liam lifted the creature’s head. When he parted the pincers, dozens of little tentacles sprouted from under the shell. “These must be what dig into the brain.”

“These things are terrifying,” David said, shuddering. “Does this mean all of the locals are actually monsters?”

I nodded. “Looks that way for sure. We need to figure out whether we can remove the parasite without damaging the host.”

“It’s unlikely,” Liam stated. He picked up a tentacle and prodded it with one of his appendages. “I don’t know whether you can see it, but all of these end in tiny, barbed blades. I bet they’re made to hook onto the brain. I bet they’ll shred it on the way out. But that’s not the worst of it.”

“What is it?” I asked

“I dunno whether it’s true, but I’ve got a little theory about the monsters in every sector.” David and I looked up at him, listening intently. Liam’s Mega Brain hadn’t failed us yet. If he had a hypothesis, it was worth considering. “Tell me, David—you checked out quite a few nests in the old sector before coming here, right?”

David nodded.

“Did any of them house mantises?”

The boy shook his head. I could tell from his eyes that he didn’t know where the line of questioning was going. To be fair, I didn’t either.

“I reckon there was only one mantis nest. Mama was likely the only named boss in the sector. That’s because she was a doomsday boss.”

“What the hell is a doomsday boss?” I asked, also trying to figure out Liam’s line of thinking.

“It’s just a term I coined because I have nothing better,” Liam answered. “Think about it, Matt. If we didn’t take down Mama, she would’ve continued reproducing. The army of elites would continue growing until the tunnel network didn’t feed their appetite anymore. Then the bastards would spill out into the streets and overwhelm everyone and everything. Mama is a boss designed to dominate the sector, destroying all life in it until there is nothing left. I don’t think the monsters can travel between sectors, so they’d war with each other and engage in cannibalism. Eventually, they’d be dead, and the sector would be nothing but rubble.”

“That sounds like a plausible but horrifying concept,” David commented.

“What if it’s the same for the centipedes? Instead of killing everything, their purpose is to assimilate all creatures until they’re all ruled by a single entity. Do you know what worries me even more? What if these parasites can ride humans into other sectors? I hope I’m wrong.”

“Me too,” I said. “If you’re not, we’re all pretty screwed.”

Liam dropped the centipede when Anna and Caitlin returned.

“Sorry, boys, I just needed to make sure none of these things got on Anna,” she told us.

“I guessed as much.” I kneeled in front of Anna and activated the Gloop Shooter. She looked at Caitlin, worried, and backed away from me. “It’s alright. This is a healing tool; it will fix your wounds while you tell us what happened.”

Caitlin shot her a reassuring nod, and she submitted to the tool straight away. Instead of just spraying her all over, I carefully applied the fluid to her wounds. It didn’t just close her injuries, but washed the dirt and dried blood off her skin too. It took five minutes, but by the end of it, she appeared calm and refreshed.

Anna said they’d been talking and getting along just fine all morning, but everything had changed when the building shook. We compared times and figured out it was when the Spiny Naiads captured the platyhawk king. The biometal-covered beast must have sent tremors through the Hub while struggling to get free.

Helena’s expression had changed all of a sudden. She’d gone from friendly to mean within seconds, talking about how she needed to get out of the Hub as soon as possible. Apparently, we were evil. She and her father would purify the lands, ridding it of the planet’s murderers. Then the centipede she used as a whip had crawled out of her mouth. Initially, she’d tried to convince Anna to accept the gift and join her, but then had turned more aggressive with each passing second. It hadn’t taken long for the conversation to devolve into violence.

To err on the side of caution, I scanned Anna. The goggles didn’t give me any information. Unless a centipede had managed to get inside of her, she was clean. I hoped these creatures weren’t capable of burrowing inside an individual and then exploding out of their chest. Ridley Scott had the stomach for such images, but I didn’t. Considering the filaments and tentacles developed for latching onto brains, we figured their capabilities were severely limited.

“I think we should put her down as soon as possible,” Liam said.

“What?!” I exclaimed. “No! We can’t just kill her. There has to be a way to safely extract the parasite. I’m betting there’s a person in there desperate to break free. Think about it, Liam. What if she can hear and see everything that’s going on and hates it? We could perhaps figure out a way to get her back in the driver’s seat.”

“Mate, in case you’ve forgotten, I scanned Helena and Anna when they first appeared. Not using technopathy or high-tech goggles, but telepathically. It’s not a case of two people in one body. The real Helena isn’t asleep in there or a passenger along for the ride. There’s just one consciousness present, and it’s this centipede.”

“Then why the hell did Arjan burn down his own people?” I asked. “This doesn’t make any sense. I’m guessing the centipedes don’t have full control over their victims. The Hub’s shaking changed something inside Helena which helped her get control—”

“Are you listening to yourself, Matt?” Caitlin asked. “You’ve got a major savior complex going. Think about your safety and that of people around you. Not everyone can be saved. Helena made up an entire story about it being spinal armor on her back and a man named Omar building it for her. Helena knew what she was doing. These things have used human intelligence to figure out what makes us tick. It played to your weaknesses and interest in biotechnology to get in your head.” Caitlin got in my face as she spoke. “Weren’t you sure for a bit that Anna was a liar and Helena was a safe bet for the team? You got played like a fiddle by a damned monster, Matt. So how about you get your head out of your arse and listen to reason.”

“So what would you have me do? Kill Helena?” I asked. My heart rate had picked up during her speech, and I could feel my ears burning. Sure. I had killed Chroma when she’d attacked us in the cave, but that was in self-defense. This was an entirely different story.

While exploring our options, I summoned Delta and asked him for advice. I hoped he’d give us a solution or perhaps save Helena’s brain, but he shot our ideas down after a scan. Much to our surprise, he refused to go into detail. The system had placed a limiter on what he could explain, making the centipede’s existence suspicious. Delta informed us that he didn’t have the clearance level to summon machinery that could separate Helena and the centipede.

“We have to try to save her first,” Kitty declared after she and Jay got back. We filled her in on the attack and the centipedes, and she made up her mind in a heartbeat. “Matt is right. The odds are stacked against this venture, but we need to try. Killing her outright is out of the question.”

I wanted to kiss Kitty just then, but it would have been inappropriate, so I held myself back.

“I’m afraid I’m with Matt on this one too, love.” I hadn’t called for a vote, but Jay cast it anyway. “Chances are you and Liam are right, but we have to try at least. I won’t be able to sleep at night if tomorrow a centipede falls off a host and all of a sudden they return to normal. What then? Can we live with the guilt of murdering someone that needed saving? The most practical or efficient decision isn’t always the morally correct one.”

“Sorry, sis, I’m with Jay too,” David said. “I don’t think an insect is capable of displaying empathy or affection like Helena did when Anna’s brother passed. Perhaps I’m wrong and this monster has absorbed enough human memories to mimic emotions. That doesn’t mean it’s okay for us to jump to killing straight away. Even if we fail, we’ll know how to deal with these things better and more efficiently.”

“I know I don’t have the right to vote, but I’ll side with Matt too,” Anna added. “I don’t think it’s Helena who tried to kill me. It was that creature. That thing had plenty of opportunities to jump me. For heaven’s sake, we slept in the same room. She could’ve put a centipede on me at any time during that period.”

“Or it could be the gestation period,” Liam said. “Perhaps the centipedes initially spread genuinely pretending to be spinal armor. What if this Omar is the one controlled by the boss? He lets the agents lay dormant, then is activating them on will. Either way, my point is the original Helena is gone. I don’t know whether it was when the centipede first dug its claws into her or if something triggered her earlier today. I can say this though—that thing we saw fighting isn’t human.”

Liam’s statement didn’t change the vote. He and Caitlin weren’t surprised when they lost, but they respected our decision. They were willing to assist but promised to put Helena down if things got out of control. I agreed to the sentiment. As much as I’d like to save the woman, risking my friends was out of the question.

After a short discussion, Anna agreed to submit to a telepathic probe. She had wronged us in the past but, considering what we’d be facing, her help would prove invaluable. As much as I wanted to, we couldn’t just trust her word. Anna wanted to take down the centipedes and Metalsmith. We weren’t so sure about the latter, but for the time being, we had a common goal. It was Liam’s idea to double-check and ensure that she didn’t have a hidden agenda. He wasn’t incredibly confident in his telepathic abilities, but it was better than nothing.

After they left, Kitty, Caitlin, David, and I got to work on Helena. After gathering all the medical supplies, I injected her with a sedative. Just in case it didn’t work, Miley and Winnie kept her limbs and joints immobile. We didn’t know the extent of her abilities and weren’t too keen on finding out in battle. Caitlin poured rubbing alcohol along the spinal armor before approaching it with a scalpel. My stomach did flips, and I struggled to watch as she made a two-inch-long incision.

“It’s like I thought,” she said. “The legs have a firm grip on her body. Even if we had the skills, I don’t think surgical removal is an option. It will kill her or leave her crippled.”

“What’s next?” Kitty squirmed, looking away from the incision. She appeared more squeamish than me. It came as no surprise, considering her dislike of needles. “Can we try something else?”

After taking a moment to psych me up, I extended a stiletto-like blade from my new arm. The Charge Launcher still had a bayonet function, but after adding the biometal gland, I’d removed the old knife. The metal hummed as I passed a charge through it.

“I told you, surgery isn’t an option.” Caitlin stepped up. “There’s no point in putting her through needless pain. We might as well put her down.”

“It’s not that,” I said, pointing at the dead centipedes on the floor. “They reacted to electricity. What if we can get it to release her?”

“We shouldn’t torture her, though.” Caitlin sighed. “I didn’t vote against trying to save her just because I thought it might be dangerous. I’m pretty sure there is no helping her. Everything you do while trying to save Helena might as well be torture. You’re tormenting her for the sake of this dumbarse savior complex of yours. Even if we can save her, the resulting quality of life can’t be worth it.”

“Look at the technology I can build, though—”

“Then why didn’t you build something to rebuild your damn arm? Because you’re as clueless about me when it comes to medicine, Matt. You know all of this sci-fi bullshit, but not biology. Even if we can save her, Helena will need spinal reconstruction.”

“You’re right,” I told her. “At the same time, we need to try. The more we know about this creature, its weaknesses, and how it does what it does, the better our odds against them.”

Caitlin looked between us for a moment, then rolled her eyes and stood down. “When things go south, I’ll leave it to you to kill her then. I wanted to make things easier for you and take the dirty work out of your hands.”

If Helena was still in there, I hoped she’d forgive me for what I was about to do. When I poked the metal segments with my electrified blade, nothing happened. The charge wasn’t strong enough. At the same time, I didn’t want to risk a more powerful charge straight away, so I probed where Caitlin had made the incision. As soon as the blade made contact with unprotected flesh, Helena’s back spasmed. The segments shifted, clicking against one another. They contracted, curling like prawn exposed to a heat source. A soft scream escaped Helena’s lips as her back arched inwards.

I pulled back, alarmed. Caitlin was right. Helena would be better off if we put her out of her misery.

“The blood on her back isn’t just from your incision, Caitlin,” I said. “I don’t know whether you saw it or not, but when she got hit by the Charge Launcher, the centipede wriggled. Close to half the legs came away from her back.”

“What about the head?” Caitlin asked, pointing at the bit that attached to the base of her skull. “Did that bit shift at all? That’s the lifeline. The spine can be fixed if by some miracle you get together a badass healing device, but I’m not so sure about the brain.”

As a last-ditch effort, I activated the Charge Launcher and shot her with a low-power projectile. Caitlin proved right. The centipede wriggled like mad and almost came away from Helena’s spine, but the bit around her skull didn’t shift at all. A scream escaped the woman’s lips again as she spasmed and cracks sounded all along her back and hips.

Kitty squeezed my shoulder. I got the message without her saying a word. This line of action wasn’t getting us anywhere. At least now we knew that the centipedes were weak to electricity. Considering Arjan’s fire-wielding powers, I couldn’t be so sure. The heat resistance could be something unique to his power though. It didn’t matter anymore. I stabbed my electrified blade where the centipede connected to her skull.

Helena’s spasms resumed, but she didn’t make any more noise. “The centipede isn’t dead yet!” David exclaimed, running in with his multitool. I didn’t need his help, though. My arm switched to the Coil Gun mode, and I unloaded three shots into the creature’s skull. The “Disassemble” option lit up, and I activated it without hesitation. We needed to know what made the beast tick.

Materials stored for creations and upgrades:

- biometal exoskeleton
- biometal claws
- biometal pincers
- altered McGuffin: Elastic Core

It broke my heart when Helena’s body went limp. My friends were right. There was no saving the centipede-people. We had no choice but to put them down.

Chapter Thirty

Mending Rickety Bridges

It was evening before Liam returned with Anna and Jay. They cleared her. Liam said she truly believed that her brother was part of the Hub. So when Anna said she wanted to protect the building’s interests and help empower it, it was okay to believe her. Jay had exposed her to Maya, and the overgrown pup had no complaints.

Jay’s canines initially had been confused about Helena and locals, and they couldn’t figure out why that was so. It was something about their scent that the dogs couldn’t figure out. He’d gotten a few of his upgraded dogs and cats out to study the centipede carcasses. Now he’d have an easier time tracking them down, and the monsters wouldn’t fool us ever again.

As a gesture of goodwill, I offered to move Anna up to the first floor, but she refused. The patch of green where we had laid her brother’s corpse sat in the basement. She wanted to stay around it for the time being. If we brought in new people and needed to use the basement for containment, then she’d consider moving.

After some thought, I gave Anna access to everything up to the second floor. She asked for permission to visit the third floor freely, but I refused. Only Kitty, Liam, and I had that luxury. The others would need to be accompanied by one of us if they wanted to admire the aquarium.

Anna expressed her excitement about contributing to the base. She prided herself in her cooking and volunteered to help with meals. When David asked Anna whether she’d like to join him on the Farm occasionally, the young woman happily agreed to that too. Most of all, she wanted to help us take down the centipede-controlled people. Unfortunately, she had lost her weapon during the battle against Metalsmith and needed something new.

“I think you should invest two McGuffins in her,” David said, taking me aside. “She’s going to become an asset. I can feel it.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that, David,” I said. “Let her help around the base a little bit and get used to the team.”

“Do we have time for that, though? Jay won’t fight. We’ve got platyhawks circling over our heads and body-snatched power users that’ll soon come after us. We need her upgraded and equipped.”

A part of me wanted to point out that David’s growing infatuation with Anna was clouding his judgement, but I didn’t. He was barely a teenager and still needed to figure things out.

“He’s right,” Kitty said, placing a hand on the small of my back. “I know how you feel about her, but even Liam’s cleared her. We need all the help we can get.”

“Anna!” I called, waving her over. We’d just finished dinner, and she was helping Jay clean up. Anna joined us, eyebrow raised. I passed her a McGuffin. “If you’re going to fight by our side, a C-rank power isn’t good enough. Summon the System Assistant tonight before bed, ask for Delta, and have him upgrade you to B-rank.”

Anna stared at the McGuffin in silence for a while. “You mean all this time we could’ve used these stupid things to power up?” she asked.

“Technically yes, but it would be up to the System Assistant. Delta and I have a special bond. The others might charge you a lot more for the upgrade, but since you’re associated with me, he won’t.”

“Thank you,” Anna said, looking up at me with a fire in her eyes. “It won’t do me much good until I get a new weapon though.”

“That’s my second reason for calling you,” I told her. “My power is centered around building things for the people around me—”

“A bow. I’ve seen the stuff you make. Just make it sturdy with decent draw length.”

“What if I make an artifact?” David asked. He’d been watching my eyes as Anna spoke. The look in them must’ve given away my hesitance. “You make the basic frame, and then I’ll upgrade it with a McGuffin. That way I can take charge of helping it grow and improve. If Anna ever betrays us, I can disable the artifact with a thought.”

“That’s a compromise I can live with,” I said. “No offense, Anna.”

“None taken.” Much to my surprise, she smiled up at me. “I’d rather it be born from your power, David. That way, technopaths like Matt and Liam can’t ever interfere with my weapon.”

While Anna finished cleaning up, I got a sketchpad and pencil. Then, David, she, and I sat down to discuss what she wanted out of the weapon. It took close to an hour of brainstorming with everyone throwing around ideas the others disapproved of, but we settled on one element: the ammunition. Imbuer required projectiles she could touch before firing. The solution proved simple: biometal glands.

It came to me then. We had platyhawk parts in abundance. I could use them to make the perfect frame. Imbuer passively powered up Anna’s body, increasing her speed, strength, and senses. She could focus energy to a body part and boost them further. This meant I didn’t have to worry too much about the weapon’s weight or hardiness.

A queen’s bone plating provided the material for the base bow. The other option would be to use all biometal, but Anna wanted some weight to her weapon. Besides, David suggested he could work a future upgrade into the artifact that used the bone to create armor. It would prove much more resilient than biometal, that much was for sure. The drawstring’s material didn’t matter as much, as it would get its strength from the McGuffin, so I used platyhawk hide for it.

Finally, we came down to the ammunition. The biometal gland sat just above the grip in the arrow rest. A little bit of feathered metal would stick out of it at all times. Anna would need to grip it and pull back to create arrows from liquid biometal. The physics and biology behind it weren’t exactly perfect, but that’s what the McGuffin was for. Making the weapon barely drained my energy pool, and I had a jolly good time using it.

While David got to work upgrading the creation into an artifact, I got thinking about what Anna had said. It was a vulnerability I had overlooked. We were all vulnerable to enemy technopaths. Kitty and Caitlin were mostly at risk. Once Kitty upgraded Morpheus with the McGuffin, the protection from the golem core disappeared. I could access his mind and, perhaps with some practice, even control it. Caitlin had no defenses against a technopath either. A talented individual could very quickly take control of their weapons and constructs and use them against us.

Liam and I had the power to resist such assaults, so now we’d have to figure out how to get Kitty and Caitlin the same awareness. Then I could look into installing a resistance device in the golems. Before we all parted ways after dinner, Liam joined us at the table. His spider drones followed him, carrying a crate of beer.

“Our numbers are growing, and you lot aren’t as horrible as I assumed,” he said, getting laughs from Jay and David. “So I was thinking we imbibe a little before mounting our assault tomorrow.”

“An assault?” I asked, unsure of whatever he was getting at.

“We need to take out the big nest sitting between the neighborhoods the locals control and us. I get the feeling it’s the big one.” Liam cracked a beer and extended a straw into the can to indulge. “I get it. Our primary threat right now is the centipedes. They seem to be on a crusade to collect biometal though. Since they live underground, they have a distinct advantage when it comes to taking down auranthers. Platyhawks are our domain. Let’s hit the big nest and all the ones we weakened in quick succession. We won’t just get a windfall of McGuffins and other materials, but take them out of the centipedes’ hands as well.”

“Are you sure about this?” Kitty asked, studying the holographic map Liam was projecting over the table. “Hitting all the nests in quick succession?”

“Not in succession,” Liam said. He pointed to the primary target lit up in red, “All at once. Matt’s Creations and the party’s growing competence has made it possible for us to decimate the platyhawks in their home. After taking out the big one, you’re going to split up into two teams and take out the others. There are a total of four crippled nests. We’ve taken out one half of the mating pair in each of them. As long as we play safe, it should be no trouble at all.”

Liam suggested the ideal team distribution. Caitlin, Anna, and me for a swift get-in-and-out crew. Kitty, David, and him for a more bruiser-styled ensemble to take on the hardier threats. Caitlin didn’t like being split up from her brother, and I would’ve preferred staying with Kitty, but I didn’t object. We needed to do what was best for the Hub.

Chapter Thirty-One

Living Defenses

I woke up before Kitty the following morning. My night had started with sweet dreams of my friends and I living the good life in the Hub. The Menagerie had filled the surrounding ground and sky with beastly defenders. Our plant-matter defenses had turned the building into a green beacon. It lured all manners of hostiles to our doorstep. The beasts and defenses killed them together. Then the Hub devoured them.

It felt like an ideal dream. We had nothing to worry about besides gearing up for taking down the tower. Once that was out of the way, we would move the Hub to a more strategically central location. Then we could guide everyone freed from Alvan control.

The dreams shifted into nightmares when my friends’ behavior changed. At first, they were just distant. Then they turned secretive and excluded me from their conversations. The dream took the final turn into nightmare territory when I got into bed with Kitty. I was caressing her back when my fingers touched cold hard metal. It ran all along her spine and disappeared into the back of her head. It was the centipede. I ran from her, and everyone gave chase. All of them had the strange creatures glued to their spines.

Every time I went back to sleep, the centipedes would work their way into the dream, resulting in a reasonably restless night. Caitlin and Jay had been out while we’d tried to take Helena apart, so they’d probably had an excellent night’s sleep. On the other hand, Kitty, David, and Anna were already in the cafeteria when I went down for a cup of tea.

“Can’t sleep?” Anna asked. Her new weapon sat on the table next to her.

“No,” I answered.

“The centipedes?”

I nodded.

Unwilling to talk about the nightmares, I questioned her about the bow, and she demonstrated it for me. After David had turned the weapon into an artifact, it had two modes. Instead of a bow, the base form was now a staff made of bone and biometal with platyhawk hide wrapped around the body for a grip. The biometal gland sat on the wider bony end of the stick. Kitty could use it to create a scythe blade, spearhead, or whatever she desired.

When Anna twisted the staff’s center, the metal and bone shifted and curved, taking on a bow shape. Two short blades grew out of either end, and the bowstring connected itself. That wasn’t all. Little segments of ridged bone and metal covered her bow-wielding arm from the back of her wrist all the way up to the shoulder.

David and Anna had discussed the weapon late into the night and decided that defense took priority over offense. Imbuer already gave her incredible offensive power—we had seen its effects firsthand—and mobility. By upgrading to B-rank, she had increased the potency and variety of imbued effects. While facing Helena, she had discovered the defense Imbuer provided was insufficient for the new sector. She could harden her flesh, of course, but it still hurt like hell. David had suggested they focus on defense and utility first. Once that was covered, they could look into improving the artifact’s offense.

The two suggested a Hub upgrade I hadn’t considered before. Once the defenses reached a sufficient level, they wanted a training room. I told them I’d think about it. A safe space to test our weapons, practice with them, and master our powers would make life a lot easier. It was a low priority project though.

After finishing my tea, I left the trio and headed up to the third floor. After investing in the newer members of the party, I only had two McGuffins left. It surprised me that Jay hadn’t asked for one to upgrade an animal yet. Perhaps he didn’t feel right taking resources away from people who wanted to contribute to our war effort.

I made up my mind to invest the last of our McGuffins in our base. My nightmares had gotten me thinking—the Hub was the best weapon we had at our disposal. It was one upgrade that made me think so.

Anti-Grav Transportation System (Biomass): Made the mistake of building a planet-bound Hub that’s not a transport?

The Anti-Grav Transportation System is just what you’re looking for. Your speed within a stronger gravitation field won’t be particularly high, but you know what they say—location is everything.

Anti-Grav Transportation System’s energy pool may be upgraded with McGuffin investments, allowing the Hub to travel faster and further. Lateral upgrades to the system will enable the Hub to lock itself in place no matter the altitude.

Biomass variation: The Hub will gain the ability to grow all manner of limbs at the cost of biomass. They may only be used for transport.

The base upgrade alone required five McGuffins. Several side tabs displayed the cost of improving the energy pool, the usage efficiency of said pool and biomass, and the lateral upgrades. There was no point in hoarding the McGuffins for it though. We’d be better off getting immediate improvements so, once mobile, the base had weaponry to take down anything that dared to attack us. Much like with the Balloon Pods, I spent the McGuffins with aerial as well as ground-bound enemies in mind.

Living Turrets (Aquaguard): Biometal and biomass mesh excellently well. The Hub will make the 3D Printer a permanent installation and allow the growth of plant turrets. They’ll fire biometal bullets laced with a choice of natural toxins, acids, and fungus.

After the initial planting, the Living Turrets will naturally grow from the Spiny Naiad.

Aquaguard will give the turrets and its projectiles resistance to heat, fire, and radiation. Lateral upgrades will provide it with the ability to shoot pressurized water jets or ice projectiles.

It was too good an upgrade to ignore. I needed to see them in action, but going by the description, aerial and ground attackers were now equally screwed. I invested two McGuffins in taking the upgrade to B-rank. Thanks to the Farm and Aquaguard, it would eventually scale to A-rank power by itself.

When I returned to my room to put my prosthetic on and get dressed, Kitty was waiting for me. “Winnie is ready for his upgrade!” she exclaimed. “The last fight must have gotten him close, and he just crossed the threshold! Give me a McGuffin.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“I thought he needed more time, and we should be getting a big haul from all the nests, so I spent them on the base,” I told her. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” Kitty sighed. “I let myself get all excited.”

Kitty’s shoulders drooped, and I felt miserable for not consulting her first. Considering the power-up Morpheus had gotten from his upgrade, Winnie’s effectiveness in battle would double. Besides that, it would free up a golem core.

“Anna and Caitlin want to get in some practice with their weapons before we head out. We were discussing the hunt tomorrow. Reckon we could pop out and find a McGuffin ourselves?”

“It could serve as training for the—” I lost my train of thought as my goggles made a suggestion. It had never done anything of the sort before, and its progress excited me just as much as the idea. My storage ejected the item, and it materialized in the palm of my hand. “What about this? Reckon it will work?”

Kitty lifted an eyebrow, confused by the silvery pink orb. Her eyes lit up when she reached for it, and the light picked up a platinum hue. “What is it?” she asked.

“The system calls it an Elastic Core. I got it from disassembling Helena’s centipede.”

Kitty gasped, pulling her hand away. “You don’t think the centipede absorbed her power into a McGuffin?”

“I think that’s exactly what happened. Perhaps they can turn the host’s power into a McGuffin. That way, when they move to a new body, they can take the power with them.”

“That sounds terrifying,” Kitty said, shuddering. “I hope there are some hard limitations to it. Otherwise, we could end up facing a monster with half a dozen insane powers.”

“Well, the sooner we take them down, the better. Can you use it though?”

Kitty nodded. “I don’t particularly want to, but we can’t afford to miss out on such an advantage. If the core can give Winnie Helena’s power in addition to his natural weapons, he’ll be a formidable asset in the battlefield.”

Much to our disappointment, Kitty’s power didn’t let her add any additional parts to Winnie during the upgrade. As soon as she offered him the core, all other material choices disappeared. We would’ve liked to improve the spike’s penetrative power and hoped the McGuffin would get it most of the way there.

The upgrade would take most of the day, so we both got dressed and went down to the ground floor for breakfast. Kitty didn’t join us straight away though. The ground floor housed the candidate for her next golem. It was what I’d been expecting when she’d made Miley. Once again, she didn’t ask for my help. She took the parts we had saved from auranther bodies she and David had brought back from a previous hunt and a biometal gland. Then she offered it all to the Iron-Giant-styled metal sculpture in the lobby. A tingle ran down my spine when its eyes lit up. No wonder Liam had wanted his team to assault the more heavily populated nests. Kitty was as good as an army.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Preparing For War

We woke before sunrise the following morning. While people made breakfast and got ready for the assault, I got dressed, armed, and headed outside. It came as no surprise that Liam was already flying around the building. When I waved at him, he joined me at ground level, transforming into his spider form as he landed.

“The 3D printer grew last night,” he said. “There are two printing stations now, and it works so much faster than before.”

“I imagine it’s been working non-stop then?” I asked, looking up at the half dozen turrets growing out of the Spiny Naiad. The barrels appeared one and a half feet tall. Not all the turrets looked functional, however. They seemed to be growing directly out of the Spiny Naiad, and I couldn’t tell where it would get its ammunition.

“More or less. How many did you set?”

“Twenty turrets took up half of our biomass stores. Of course, we could get more, but I’d rather have a stockpile in case of emergencies. Also, I’d rather have a contingency for the centipede controlling the guy. Considering the color of his flames, I imagine he can reach temperatures that would overwhelm Aquaguard and damage the Hub.”

“I’m glad you’re using your brain again,” Liam said. “Your bit about saving every damn person you see wasn’t just getting annoying, but scary too.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still want to help people,” I said. “What I wanted to do was start a dialogue. It would help us get information on them and find out where they stand regarding the Alvans. I was wrong, of course, in this scenario, but when it comes to other groups, I’d rather take the diplomatic approach. Think about it. If Anna’s people had chosen to speak to us first, things wouldn’t have gotten so messy. We could’ve made a trade deal for McGuffins.”

“What happened to you?” Liam asked. “You weren’t as trusting—”

“Kitty brought that up as well, and you’ve both got it wrong. I haven’t gotten trusting. I’m terrified of what happened to Rajesh happening again. But, at the same time, I don’t want what happened to him to happen to others. Think about all the people who died because of what the Alvans did. We have the strength to help them and unparalleled shelter. The point of diplomacy is to figure out whether we can trust people or not.”

Kitty joined us outside of the Hub, handing me a warm croissant stuffed with molten cheese and ham. I devoured the entire thing in three bites. Perhaps it was the anticipation of the upcoming fight, but I was ravenous.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been rushing into situations without thinking about your safety, Matt,” Kitty said, pecking my cheek. She must have been listening in on the conversation without my realizing. “Your intentions are good, but execution? Not so much. I can’t tell whether you rush into things without thinking about it or if you’re just impatient, but that’s what cost you an arm. Next thing you know, it’ll claim your leg or life.”

“I think she’s trying to say that she doesn’t want to lose you, Matt.” Liam chuckled, and for the first time his spider-bot body shook with laughter. If it weren’t for the big brain sloshing about in pink fluid, it would’ve been cute. I was glad to see a touch of humanity returning to Liam.

“Of course I am.” Kitty wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek once again. “No one can say I slept my way to the top either. He was at the bottom when I made my move.”

“It all makes sense now,” Liam said. “You made the first move. It’s a shame we don’t have a doctor among us. It would’ve been great to have you checked out for brain damage.”

My skin must’ve thickened since the end of the world, because I found myself laughing at the jibe too. Perhaps Liam had improved his tone and delivery.

Kitty’s golems joined us too. Morpheus had absorbed the cart again, forming the four-wheeled vehicle instead of a bike. Winnie stood on his back, looking no different from before. I looked forward to discovering how he had changed and grown. Miley and the new golem, Diesel—named after the actor who’d voiced the Iron Giant—followed the other two out. He was a lot bulkier than the Disney version, especially the torso and neck. I couldn’t wait to see it in action.

“What can I say? I must’ve been dropped on my head as a baby,” Kitty said with her mouth full of croissants.

A pair of ankylopus stalked over, sniffing at our croissants. I gave them scraps of ham, and they took them out of my hand gently. It had been a couple of days since I’d seen the beasts up close and realized how big they’d gotten in that time. They didn’t just have the Nurturing Field working on them anymore. The latest upgrades had pimped out the Menagerie too. When I pet the side of their head, they leaned into my hand, much like a dog would. The velvety, hairless skin did feel odd under my skin though. I wondered whether the creatures realized or not, but I had made clothes for everyone using their kinds’ hide. They all had minor shock-absorption abilities.

We discussed the latest upgrades to the Hub and watched the turrets come online when the others joined us. Besides the new toys I had built for Caitlin, she carried her blood pressure monitor too. I already had healing covered with the Gloop Shooter, but having a secondary source didn’t hurt. Jay came to see her off. He continued to stick by his word regarding not engaging in combat and would remain in the base. If the locals attacked, he would lead the platyhawks, dogs, and cats into battle. We had Jay’s word on that.

“Winnie will be with you once again,” Kitty said. “Between Diesel, Morpheus, and Miley, I have plenty of defense and control.”

“What about damage, though? Diesel has no weapons.”

“He’s got piston fists, hands for grabbing, and his weight. I’d say that’s plenty for now. Miley is getting better at controlling the liquid metal too. We’re set. Besides, it’ll mostly be Liam and me clobbering the bosses and keeping them busy while David does the real damage.”

“I got this,” David said, beaming. “My multitool will crack open the boneplating and rip through biometal. Those platyhawks don’t stand a chance.”

“I’ve scouted everything out for the secondary battles, Matt,” Liam added. “Just execute caution after we split up. Remember, your team is all about getting in, hitting hard, and getting out. Between the three of you, you have enough damage. None of the crippled bases will last long against you. Just try to keep the noise down. Let Caitlin and Anna snipe everything down, and you’ll be golden.”

“We’ve got the Mini-drone Launcher if things get out of control,” Caitlin said. “If things get hairy, we can use wire traps and mines to cover our tail.”

“Just a tad anxious, that’s all,” I told them. “I’ve not been in a nest since…” my eyes drifted to the prosthetic, “this happened. It’ll be the first time I head into a nest without you lot by my side.”

“Enough of that.” Caitlin clapped my back. “We may never have fought together outdoors before, but all three of us have several battles under our belts. You’re our scout and leader. Give us directions, and we’ll follow. Isn’t that right, Anna?”

Our newest member nodded, smiling at me for the first time.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Extermination

We moved down the hill and city streets at a brisk pace. Much to my surprise, Kitty had had the forethought to add padding to Diesel’s joints and under his feet. He had little trouble moving silently. His biggest drawback was speed. There wasn’t enough room on Morpheus for David, Caitlin, and Anna, so it didn’t matter. Walking was our only option.

It wasn’t long before Liam detected a couple of locals moving alongside alleys. He scouted ahead too and couldn’t find an ambush. They were most likely keeping an eye on us and biding their time. Their intelligence worried me. I couldn’t tell whether the centipedes were smart to begin with, or it came from the host’s brain. Either way, we needed to keep an eye out for them.

Kitty’s golems and their size gave us an intimidation factor. We hoped it was sufficient to keep them at bay for the time being. To be safe, Caitlin laid mines behind us. The drones went dormant as soon as she planted them, but as soon as someone got within five meters, they’d alert her. If a local dared to make contact with the metal spheres, they’d trigger, exploding or wrapping them up in sharp biometal wires. The added McGuffin had increased her drone carrying capacity. After planting four, she still had four on her person. They’d replenish at a rate of thirty every half an hour, so we didn’t worry too much.

“Remember, Matt, you’re a long, at best mid-ranged, combatant,” Kitty said through a private communications channel. “I don’t want to see you getting in melee range. This is the big nest which has spawned multiple bosses. Chances are the king and queen here will be stronger than the ones we’ve faced before. If anyone gets in trouble, have Winnie pull them out. Let Diesel and Morpheus get up close and personal.”

“You don’t have to repeat yourself, Kitty,” I replied, keeping my voice down so the others didn’t hear. Liam most likely picked up even the slightest of whispers, so there was no point in hiding anything from him. “I’ll be careful, I promise. You just make sure to have Diesel do all the tanking. I don’t want a repeat of what happened with the exploding auranther kitten.”

“Morpheus has more armor plating when I merge with the cart, but don’t worry. I need to split my attention between healing and crowd-control, so Morpheus won’t be taking too many attacks. Besides, the platyhawk beaks are terrifying.”

“Believe me, love, I know,” I said.

“Arjan is on the roof behind us.” Liam transmitted the image to my goggles. I barely recognized the fire-wielder without fire coming out of every orifice and the soot covering his skin. “He doesn’t appear hostile, but they’re watching us.”

“I doubt they’ll try anything until we split up.” I struggled not to look at him directly. No. The arsehole was no longer a person. Thinking of it as such would only make things difficult when we faced it in combat. “Either way, keep your drone detached and scouting. Winnie and Caitlin’s drones can watch ours.”

“I think we can take care of him,” Kitty said. “If they come after you, Matt, let us know and run. We’ll try to collapse on them from behind.”

“That should be the plan no matter who they go after. For the record, our odds against him are better than yours. All three of you encase yourselves in metal, and he uses fire. Caitlin can shut him down with her weapon charged to full. All my projectiles can rip him to shreds too. Regardless of whether they come at us divided or together, we can’t risk facing them unless we’re together. It’s not just their powers that are a threat. There can be centipedes that sneak up on us too.”

It took us a couple of hours to reach our destination on foot. The locals gave up on following us halfway to our goal, but Liam still kept his Recon Drone out. We would’ve reached the stadium that formed the prime nest much earlier if not for the many roadblocks. We couldn’t tell whether it was the centipedes messing with us or if the crushers had expanded their territory and gone on a destructive rampage. Between the destroyed vehicles and piles of rubble, we failed to identify the culprit. I hoped it was the former. If not, that meant the Alvans had meddled with the crushers to make our lives harder.

The sun’s rays had only just colored the skies yellow when we entered the titanic structure. It was still too early for the monsters and like in the observatory. We focused on taking them out quietly. That meant everyone but Kitty and I could take part. Miley and Winnie helped though.

Now that we had baby platyhawks growing in the Hub, the party struggled to put down the infant and adolescents. Our specimens were superior, but they still shared similarities. Watching Winnie skewer them with his foot-long spikes pulled at my heartstrings. He bounced around like a little ninja, moving with more grace than Caitlin did. Miley was a lot less graceful. She crushed whatever got in a path or pierced their spines and heads using pointed tentacles.

I was most keen on watching David and Anna in action. Much to my disappointment, the former’s newest upgrade made as much noise as the Coil Gun, so he grew a foot-long blade with a glowing edge out of his multitool. It sliced through elites and ordinary platyhawks like they were made of butter. Most impressive of all was Anna’s newest weapon. She kept it as a bladed staff and used it in melee with surprising proficiency. Her entire body took on a blue hue, making her move much faster than humanly possible. Her artifact glowed red, cutting through everything like it was butter.

Liam used the spider-bot’s base weapons to slaughter mercilessly. His kill methods were a lot less clean, but he still managed to stay efficient. He had to hold off on using the gun drone, even though it wasn’t incredibly loud. I didn’t question him and let him do as he pleased.

Caitlin appeared to be the only one enjoying herself. She didn’t smile, but I could see it in her eyes. How the hell did she and Jay get along? It made no sense. Her marksmanship left me feeling jealous as well. She fired frozen plasma bolts from the hip with no issue and didn’t miss a shot. To be fair, stationary targets didn’t put up much of a challenge.

After a while, I got bored of the slaughter. Kitty pulled Winnie out of the almost-genocide and instructed him to follow and obey me. I activated the lab coat’s camouflage function and set off to explore the building. Winnie followed me closely despite the invisibility. The little bear’s senses must’ve undergone phenomenal upgrades.

The sheer number of platyhawks in the stadium was overwhelming. My goggles mapped out the structure and transmitted the information to Liam. I flagged eggs we’d eventually retrieve for the Hub, clusters of elites, and a couple of bosses in the making too. Once we had explored the entire structure, we made our way over to the stadium’s field—or what remained of it.

The platyhawks had dug up the field—it now formed a giant crater. Eggs larger than any we had seen before lay within, and an equally large king and queen cuddled on top of them. It surprised me that their combined weight hadn’t destroyed the eggs yet.

“Guys, I’ve found the emperor and empress,” I whispered through the communications link. “They’re sleeping on top of what I’m sure are boss eggs. The pair are fifty percent bigger than all the kings and queens we’ve faced too.”

“Does the system recognize them as emperor and empress, or is that you exaggerating?” Kitty asked.

“The former, and the eggs they’re incubating are twice as big as the normal ones too. They’re breeding the next generation of bosses. We should try to save as many of them as possible.”

“No,” Liam stated, his voice stern. “Get that idea out of your head right now. Our objective is to kill all of these creatures. Any eggs that survive are a bonus. We shouldn’t take any risks by avoiding damaging them.”

“You’re right.” I sighed. “Just got greedy for a second, I suppose.”

“Stay where you are and map out the boss room. We’ll try to clear this place and be with you as soon as possible.”

“I don’t think you need to worry,” I said, noting the empress’s giant stomach. Bones littered the area around their crater. “I reckon these two have been busy baby-making and the other platyhawks are bringing them food. As long as we keep quiet, they shouldn’t be waking up any time soon.”

“I hope you’re right,” Liam stated.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chaos Of Battle

Things didn’t go how we’d hoped. They rarely did. The smoothest run we’d ever enjoyed was when we’d taken on Mama, and that had ended in Rajesh’s death. All things considered, the first rat queen we’d faced had been fairly routine too. It had been our first boss fight, and we were scared shitless. In the end, we’d pulled through without suffering any injuries. It had been thanks to Pallav playing the role of the vanguard though. Damn, I missed him.

The party’s chosen entryway housed a platyhawk boss not ready to fly the nest. It dropped down on them from above. They put it down almost straight away, but the monster’s death rattle rang throughout the structure. We then discovered that it wasn’t just the emperor and empress that we needed to fight, but several almost-matured kings and queens too. They’d been sleeping between their parents. The monsters awoke in unison, screeching loud enough to make the stadium’s ruined plastic chairs rattle.

“Caitlin, set all eight drones to wire mode and get them on the ceiling,” I said, watching them from above while waiting. “It’s too late to get a net on them, but we can still keep them from escaping through the roof.”

“Got you,” she answered. Caitlin needed to get in the habit of responding with the agreed-upon terms. “What about the rest of the setup?”

“It’s too late for any of that. Liam’s scouting didn’t tell us about the extras.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Not your fault.” I cut him off. It wasn’t the time for arguments or excuses. Instead, I doled out directions through the comms link. “Get in the air and try to keep anything that flies confused. There’s more of them than us. Might be possible to get them to fly into one another.”

“Roger,” he replied.

“Caitlin and Anna, I want you to stay together and snipe these bastards. Once your weapons are charged up, unload implosion shots or exploding arrows whenever they’re clumped together. David, stay with them and used ranged shots. If any platyhawks approach them, it’s on you to defend them.”

David and Anna responded with a “roger.” Caitlin did not.

Kitty didn’t need instructions. Despite the padding, Diesel’s giant feet thudded as he charged into the mass of platyhawks. Much to my surprise, Miley jumped off the ground and wrapped around his torso and arms. As soon as he reached the monsters, liquid metal spikes exploded from him, piercing multiple targets and making them screech. Damn. Perhaps it was time Kitty started giving directions and taking charge. Morpheus ran in behind Diesel. Kitty had moved all four of the golem’s wheels to his feet and he was roller skating about. She sprayed them with the inbuilt flamethrower, angering the platyhawks further.

Within seconds, everyone fell into their assigned roles. The empress’s bloated stomach and bone-plating kept her from lifting off the ground. Her mate stuck by her side to protect her. They relied on their children to protect them. Unfortunately for them, that’s what we were hoping for. The emperor wouldn’t cease skin-to-skin contact with the empress, so we ignored them altogether.

Liam’s erratic flight pattern and bullet spray managed to enrage the monsters. As soon as a trio started chasing him and got clear of Kitty and her golems, Anna and Caitlin started firing. Since the Void Rifle had limited implosion shots which took time to charge up, Caitlin stuck to the frozen plasma. Anna started off with a golden arrow. It ripped through a bone-plated platyhawk. The creature screeched, falling into the crater. The empress roared as her child died and took several eggs while at it. She flapped her massive wings, trying to take off, but failed. The movement sent a strong blast of wind through the stadium, disrupting Liam’s flight. Fortunately, the platyhawks chasing him were affected too, and Kitty froze one of their wings. It fell outside the crater, and I picked it off with the Coil Gun.

Instead of actively taking part in the fight, I kept an eye on Morpheus and the ranged attackers. If any elites or almost-bosses tried to sneak up on them, I shot at them. In order to conserve energy and not aggravate my shoulder, I stuck to low power shots for most of it. Once in a while, when I spotted a creature on the brink of death or in a vulnerable position, the Coil Gun got an extra burst of power for kill shots.

Probably tired of standing idle, David took the initiative and shot at the emperor and empress. They screeched and roared. More of their children took to the air, flying at David and the girls. He managed to keep them blinded with his bright projectiles. Caitlin and Anna focused their fire, killing a platyhawk with every third or fourth shot. This left Liam vulnerable though, and it was on me to keep him safe.

While I was busy lining up the crosshairs and eliminating the winged monstrosities, Winnie got into action. Several elites had managed to sneak up on me without my noticing. Instead of flying, they had crawled on the ground, hiding in the aisles between stadium seating. The bear golem stretched his limbs much faster than he could before. His arms wrapped around the closest elites head before spikes exploded from every inch of his body. It killed the beast instantly.

A pair of platyhawks managed to flank me, charging from either side. I sprayed the ground to my left with the Gloop Shooter’s glue. Meanwhile, my prosthetic switched from Coil Gun to the Sonic Shotgun. I missed using the beauty. It boomed like a base speaker, knocking the creature to my right backwards. Winnie assaulted it next, dispatching his target as quickly as the first.

When the second elite hit the glue trap, it skidded through it, slowing. The quick-drying adhesive restricted its movement but didn’t arrest it altogether. I used the Sonic Barrier Projector to stop the platyhawk. It charged my Sonic Shotgun to full, and I fired at point-blank range. The platyhawk died instantly, and I turned my focus on the other sneaky elites.

Unlike the last fights, I felt calm. My heartbeat was still elevated, but I managed to keep my breathing under control. We had this under control. The empress shrieked, and several of her children flew for the ceiling, trying to escape. They flew straight into the wire trap. It didn’t kill them but shredded their claws and wings, forcing them back to the ground. My friends worked on picking them off while I blasted an elite that jumped at my face.

The Sonic Barrier Projector’s power had grown significantly now that it could draw power from four McGuffins. It stopped multiple lunging attacks without depleting the energy bar completely. The platyhawks kept recharging the shotgun, so I continued to hit them with it. Winnie jumped between them, shredding wings, beaks, and killing them altogether.

“Matt. Dodge to your left.” Anna’s voice spoke to me through the comms. I had made her own earpiece and camera the night before. I did what she said, and a heartbeat later a bone-covered platyhawk crashed to the ground next to me. “Keep your eyes on the air,” she told me. “Now that they know escape isn’t an option, these things will go mad. They always do.”

Perhaps Anna was trustworthy after all.

We had almost taken out all of their children when the emperor and empress joined the fight. Since she couldn’t take off, the latter charged at Morpheus and Diesel. The bike golem zipped backwards, using the Flash Gun like a strobe light to disorient the platyhawk’s keenest sense. The empress blinked her eyes, trying to block it out. Diesel took the opportunity to duck under her head. He grabbed her neck and bulging stomach and lifted the beast onto his shoulders. I’d never expected Kitty to be a wrestling fan—I recognized the move. It was a fireman’s carry drop. Diesel dropped the empress facedown into the backed dirt, stunning her.

The emperor roared, charging at him. Liam and I both pelted him with our weapons, but they pinged off the biometal. His armor was a lot tougher than we had assumed. I’d have to switch to the Coil Gun setting to inflict fatal damage, and it was too early on our outing to damage my shoulder. That’s where Anna came in. We were on almost opposite sides of the stadium, but her following arrow glowed so bright that it lit the area up like a floodlight. Golden light spiraled around the projectile, and red consumed her bow and shoulders.

Anna claimed her power had improved by leaps and bounds with the upgrade to B-rank. It still suffered one major problem though: complex and powerful imbuements took time to build up. The limitation was mostly applicable when transferring the energy out of her body into a foreign object. I used the goggles to zoom in on the bow, and its filters helped me see through the light. The biometal arrow had adopted the yellow light’s spiral. Finally, I understood why she had enhanced the artifact and her body too. Holding on to the violently vibrating length of biometal would’ve been impossible otherwise.

When Anna fired, it looked like she had released a projectile of pure light. Aiming such a projectile must’ve been difficult, because Anna failed to kill the empress. It shot through where the creature’s left foreleg met the joint. The empress screeched, trying to pull her arm away. The limb fell free. Her mate roared, turning towards Anna. He beat his wings, and this time the blast knocked over not just us but the golems too. Then he charged at the trio across the stadium. Caitlin must have spent her downtime charging up the Void Rifle—she fired, and the implosion didn’t just consume the king’s tail but a large portion of his left hind leg too.

It was a good thing we didn’t celebrate too early. The fight was far from won. Parts of the ceiling collapsed, destroying the netting above. The entangled platyhawk kings and queens rejoined the fight. It wasn’t just them, though—more monsters followed from outside: full-grown bosses and elites.

“Take out the empress!” I exclaimed. “Focus fire on her.”

“We should be going for the emperor!” David protested. “He’s the bigger threat!”

“Just do it! Kitty, retreat while we focus fire.”

Only David hesitated. He was right about the emperor—the monster might have lost a tail and a foot, but it was still mobile. However, after weeks of observing the creature, I had realized: the platyhawks were fanatical about protecting their matriarchs. She laid the eggs and then used her bone armor to protect them through infancy after all.

As soon as we started our barrage, all the platyhawks at the stadium rushed to shield her. They got massacred. I increased my Coil Gun’s power to penetrate biometal armor and took out king after king; David blanketed the area with his arcing balls of volatile energy; and Caitlin fired an implosion projectile into their midst. I expected Anna to shoot exploding arrows, but she didn’t. The teenager continued to barrage the monsters with golden projectiles. They didn’t pack the same power as the one that had severed the queen’s leg but still managed to take out multiple platyhawks.

It was all over in a matter of minutes. The emperor roared, crawling towards the ugly mass of flesh, biometal, and bone-plating. All of a sudden, the fires started by our combined attack flowed into the emperor. The biometal lining his back and metals took on a crimson glow. The tail stump stopped bleeding, and the wound burned itself closed. But, on the other hand, the severed foot regrew.

“By Mario’s moustache.” David gasped. “This boss has a second-stage.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Anna asked. She fired another golden projectile, but it pinged off the biometal armor.

“The platyhawk males often have parts called plasma absorbers and plasma chargers,” I explained while running a dozen scenarios in my head. My heart rate finally picked up. My friends were potentially in danger now.

“This guy isn’t just working off plasma though,” Liam said. “He’s taking all ambient flames, heat, and the energy from Anna’s arrow too. Matt, check him out with thermal imaging.”

I did as requested. His body was going from red to orange and back again. When I deactivated the filter and zoomed in, I could see the emperor’s skin cracking and the flesh underneath burning too.

“This doesn’t look good,” I said. “We need to get out of here.”

“We can take him!” David exclaimed. “All the others are dead—”

“Once platyhawks realize they’re done for, they go wild. His Majesty, here, is burning himself alive to power up. It has to be a last-ditch effort attack!”

“Are you sure—”

“It’s how I lost my bloody arm, David. I know what I’m talking about.” I felt terrible about my harsh tone straight away, but we didn’t have time for apologies or better explanations. The emperor had his eyes set on where Anna, David, and Caitlin stood. “I want you lot to run. Kitty, have Diesel run interference. Liam, you help out from range and then get out through the ceiling.”

“We’re retreating then?” Anna asked. I could see from the distance that she had another arrow charged up. This one wasn’t just swirling golden energy but had red mixed in too. It was like a tornado of light had formed around the thick biometal bolt. “I bet the emperor won’t stand up to this.” Her voice sounded labored; she was pouring too much into the shot.

“Damn it, Anna. We’re not here to tire ourselves out. Fire that arrow and run.”

When she released the projectile, it left a trail of light behind it, much like a shot from my Coil Gun. It hit the emperor’s back and exploded. If not for my goggles, I would’ve been blinded.

“What the hell was that?” The shockwave from the blast threw us all back and him up through the stadium’s open roof.

A dust cloud hid where the platyhawk king had been standing. My heart jumped into my throat when an ear-piercing screech filled the area. A blast of air blew the dust away. The emperor stood with his wing’s spread; all the eggs under him were still intact. Nothing remained of the rest. Blood poured from all over his body, and only fragments of his biometal armor were left.

“Anna collapsed,” David said. “I’m getting her out of here.”

“Caitlin, you go with them,” I said. “Give her a once over, use the blood pressure monitor if you must. We’ll take care of this.”

“What happened to retreat?” Kitty asked.

“Anna just created an opening for us,” I answered. “We’d be stupid not to put it to use.”

“Roger,” she and Liam replied. Seconds later, Caitlin did the same.

Diesel was already running straight at him. The bleeding emperor flapped his wings to chase after the trio fleeing out of the stadium’s central space, but he failed to take off the ground. First, the three-meter tall golem grabbed his legs. Then Miley coated the limbs in liquid metal and helped strengthen the grip. The giant platyhawk flapped his wings hard, lifting all of them off the ground, but their combined weight made it impossible to take off. Then Morpheus rolled around to the creature’s front and bathed its face in flames.

Liam and I peppered it with shots, but it wasn’t enough. The creature was the patriarch of all the local nests. Holding back just wouldn’t do. He shook Diesel and Miley off and charged at Morpheus. Kitty had the bike golem zip to the side. Much to our annoyance, the emperor didn’t chase her. Instead, he took off the ground, flying towards the entrance the others had escaped through.

Chapter Thirty-Five

No New Grooves

The emperor’s giant wings sent powerful blasts of air through the stadium with each flap. It made aiming nearly impossible. I was sure he would reach the escaping trio and end them when Liam dropped down on the creature from above. When flying became near impossible, he switched to the spider-bot mode and went into free fall. My heart leapt into my throat as I watched him drop.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded.

Liam didn’t answer. The spider-bot’s bottom changed. The rounded dome opened up, and a sizeable conical drill bit grew out of it. It was then I realized his mass was the same as when he’d assimilated both of his primary drones. However, the Recon Drone was outside, keeping an eye out for the locals. Liam had made a new toy to use in battle. The drill bit had the sheen of fresh biometal. I guessed the latest module used a platyhawk king’s gland to either enhance weapons or create temporary parts. The drill bit’s buzz challenged the emperor’s wing beats.

The platyhawk screeched as soon as Liam landed on its back, drill first. The creature dropped down to the ground. His momentum carried him forwards through the dirt into the bleachers. Diesel and Miley were upon the emperor again. Instead of just grabbing him, they used their combined weight to pin down his back.

“We’re not doing enough damage,” Liam said. “I’m getting through the hide, but it’s like there’s biometal woven into this thing’s bones.”

“Diesel can’t hold him for much longer,” Kitty told us. “His arm joints are severely damaged, and if he doesn’t stop to self-repair soon, they’re going to get ripped off. We’ll need you to finish this thing. Hit it harder.”

This wasn’t a part of the plan. To be fair, the strategy had involved getting in quietly and killing one boss while it slept. We weren’t prepared for a mass of bosses and elites but still had prevailed. I needed to give up on the idea of conserving energy if we wanted to succeed.

While making new outfits for everyone, I had tweaked the lab coat too. It now had an improved shock-absorption mechanism. Liam claimed it wasn’t enough to absorb the Coil Gun’s recoil. I needed to either user non-Newtonian fluids to better distribute the force or resort to McGuffins. Whichever path we took would have to wait until later, since McGuffins were in short supply.

Now that Liam had brought the emperor back to ground-level, I didn’t have to worry about the wind throwing off my terrible aim. The prosthetic switched to the Coil Gun, forming a long, narrow barrel. I had to use my left arm and nestle it on the armrest between two seats for support. Liam had spent some time explaining the exact science behind my newest weapon. Power wasn’t everything. Coil Guns relied on projectiles accelerating down a long tube with magnetized rings at regular intervals: the longer the tube, the more significant the acceleration. Liam believed the only reason I was reaching current damage levels was because the McGuffins were distorting the space within the prosthetic.

The weapon hummed louder as it charged up, and I dreaded the growing vibrations around my shoulder. Much to my surprise, Winnie hopped onto my back. He stretched his leathery teddy bear arms and wrapped around the shaking limb. Was this the bear acting of his volition or Kitty controlling him? It didn’t matter. I fired.

After dozens of missed shots that had gotten my friends hurt or almost killed, I was glad the projectile didn’t miss. It wasn’t as powerful as the first Coil Gun projectile I had used but still had an orange trail in its wake. My shoulder discomfort was minimal as well. Winnie had absorbed the bulk of the force. There was no show of gore or satisfying spray, but the projectile punched through the emperor’s skull and his body went limp.

“Well, that went better than I expected.” I sighed, falling onto my bottom.

“That’s growth,” Kitty told me. “It means you’re being a realist instead of an optimist.”

“For the record, Kitty,” Liam said, “you’re fucking badass. You’ve been controlling Diesel all this time, haven’t you?”

“Diesel and Miley. Fortunately, Morpheus only needs to read a surface thought of what I need from him before executing directions.”

“I agree.” Deep breaths helped get my breathing under control. “Winnie too?”

“Yeah. Winnie does what Winnie wants now. He’s a lot more independent than before and more than a golem. Morpheus might be dependent on me for support, but Winnie is his own person.”

“What are your power levels like, Matt?” Liam asked. “Are you okay to take on the two nests I assigned you guys?”

“The Coil Gun’s power level is at 30 percent. It’ll need some time to recover, but unless we face threats like these ones, it should be fine. Let’s see how Anna is doing though. The plan relies on her doing the bulk of the damage so we can stay quiet.”

We got in touch with Caitlin and asked them to return. It would take a while for me to take apart all the corpses. Unfortunately, most of them were in such poor shape that the goggles’ “Disassemble” function didn’t light up for them. Much to my disappointment, the emperor and empress didn’t give me any new parts, but I got four McGuffins from each of them. Most of the other specimens hadn’t transitioned to full-blown bosses yet and I only got seven more, even though there were close to fifty bodies around us.

For the longest time, we couldn’t find the nest’s core. Then, while scanning the room, Liam detected an energy source under the broken eggs and dirt. The emperor and empress had buried it. We got four more McGuffins, bringing the take to nineteen. It broke my heart that most of the eggs had gotten destroyed during the battle. By my estimation, there had been close to a hundred of them when we arrived. Now only sixteen remained.

Liam summoned his Scavengers. It wasn’t just two or three that arrived, but a massive fleet of twenty. They picked up the eggs and flew out through the open ceiling. Liam informed us they would be traveling back and forth all day getting all the biomass and biometal they could. We didn’t want to leave either for the locals or the auranthers. If hostiles showed up, the drones would flee and clear out the other nests we targeted.

Anna was awake when the others joined us. She apologized before we could say anything. Apparently in the past President and Chroma would poke at her later if she didn’t pull her weight, so she’d wanted to prove herself. Besides that, Anna had hoped her self-imbuement would help her sustain the drain without collapsing. She’d overestimated her capabilities and promised not to do it again. Kitty insisted I give her a pass due to her age. If not for her, we would’ve been forced to retreat and lose out on our tremendous take.

We had a quick team meeting and decided to carry on. Anna had passed out from the mental strain after pouring more power into the arrow than she had ever before, but her stores were still more than half full.

The locals had seen us traveling and would spot the Scavengers carrying resources too. If the centipedes really got human-level intelligence from their hosts, they’d figure out what we were doing. With the primary platyhawk nest emptied, that was a large source of resources wiped from the sector. They’d rush to take out the other platyhawk nests, and we needed to beat them to it. In the end, the vote to carry on was unanimous. I trusted my companions and expected them to come out on top. Anna was the only one I still doubted. It was a good thing we’d be in the same party.

Kitty and I had a private moment before parting ways. It wasn’t a romantic one as I had hoped, but a request that I play it safe and run if things got hairy. She didn’t ask me to ditch the others, of course, but at the same time, requested that I prioritize myself over the others. Once done, she took one of the McGuffins. The fight had been sufficient to get an upgrade for all of her golems. Diesel still had a long way to go, but Miley was ready to graduate to an independent golem already.

Anna asked for two McGuffins, and David wanted one. I obliged. Their artifacts were vital to our ongoing success. Even though I was still working to trust Anna, I thought it safe to invest in her. Besides, I had Caitlin to watch my back. Even though she could be a touch rough at times, she had proven herself level-headed. I upgraded her Void Rifle with a McGuffin too. The total count went down to fifteen, but now I only needed six more McGuffins to upgrade my power.

Chapter Thirty-Six

From Enemy To Ally

Liam’s Recon Drone did a once over of the surrounding neighborhood before we split into two parties. The mission has brought us to the sector’s edge. It was another cityscape, and a scan identified the threat level as red. As far as Liam could tell, no one was waiting for us along the border. The locals hadn’t snuck up on us during the boss fight either.

“How do you have new drones already?” I asked Caitlin when she dropped a boom juice-filled drone. Instead of going inert, it followed us, scanning our surroundings. “Didn’t you use them all in the stadium?”

Caitlin raised an eyebrow, looking at me. She clicked her belt buttle, and a faux McGuffin popped out. She fed it to the drone carrier. The heavy breastplate and backpack lit up and hummed, coming to life.

“Didn’t you intend this as a function? Drone production speeds up when I feed the carrier.”

“Perhaps it’s your power that changed it?”

“Maybe,” she said. “It did change the ordinary tech that I plugged in. I wouldn’t be surprised if it did the same for your Creations.”

“Your power is bloody awesome,” I said. “Liam and I should look into building you an exo-suit.”

“As much as I’d love that, Matt, I can’t help but wonder why you don’t make something similar for yourself. Wouldn’t it make sense, given your technopathic abilities?”

“And lock me in a biometal coffin?” I asked, shaking the chill out of my spine. “Hell no. It might work for Kitty, but I don’t think I can deal with that. The Sonic Barrier Projector and lab coat’s shock absorption abilities give me sufficient protection. Once we finish this hunt, I might use a couple of McGuffins to build some shoulder and arm armor though. I’ve been thinking of employing non-Newtonian fluids for shock-absorption. Then I can use the Coil Gun at full power without worrying.”

“I don’t get it.” Caitlin sighed. “You made this breastplate for me but don’t make anything similar for yourself.”

“We fill different roles in the party,” I told her. “You’re our sniper and trap setter. Neither role requires you to run around too much. It would be best if you had passive protection in case something sneaks up on you. On the other hand, I fill whatever role the team requires. Mobility and speed are my focus. With time, I’ll upgrade my barrier to gain some passive protection too, but for now, this will have to do.”

“Fair enough, Matt. You do you. I’d work on that passive protection sooner rather than later if you insist on joining us in the field. I get it that you want to be out here and ensure we don’t get hurt, but if I had your power, I’d stay home. Drones and remote-controlled units would be a lot more effective.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry, Caitlin. If things go according to plan, before long none of us will have to leave the base. We can all sit at home and let the Hub do the fighting for us. Maybe I’ll put in turrets so you and Anna can continue to snipe people.”

“Jay will be ecstatic if you pull that off. Maybe put a long-range cannon on the roof too.”

We fell into silence as we continued our journey to the following nest. The goggles’ GPS function helped keep us from getting lost. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if we used the main roads. To keep the locals from tracking our smaller and flimsier group, we used side streets and alleys though. Liam broadcasted his position to me throughout the journey. They walked down a parrel road several blocks away. If either of us got attacked, we’d rush to rendezvous as close to the Hub as possible.

Winnie sat on my shoulder. He had his legs wrapped around my right shoulder, and an arm rested on my head. Kitty had done an amazing job of upgrading him. I guessed she had focused his improvements on intellectual development. Winnie’s physical capabilities had improved too. The fight displayed his improved stretching powers and speed, and the spikes had better penetrating powers also. The increased intelligence also gave him better control over his physical movements.

Anna’s artifact continued to transform as they walked. Bits of bone moved along the staff’s length, forming little segments. I did not doubt that getting hit with the weapon, imbued or not, would hurt like hell.

“What changes did David make?” I asked.

“High-power arrow imbuements strain my muscles a bit too much. David added armor and support so I won’t have to waste too much energy imbuing my body.” Anna rolled her shoulder absent-mindedly as she spoke. “He used the second one for a wire function. Imbuements and my natural flexibility are pretty good for mobility, but not enough. The artifact can produce biometal tethers now. It’ll take some practice but should be pretty awesome once I’m used to it.”

“Well you were pretty awesome back there,” I said, deciding not to berate her for defying an order. “The platyhawk emperor would’ve been an impossible challenge without your help.”

Anna smiled. “I get that you don’t trust me, Matt,” she said. “The others filled me in on what happened after the mantis nest. I’m not going to make excuses or pretend that didn’t happen. That wasn’t Kyle. That wasn’t me. I don’t know what made Kyle play along with his friends or why I did whatever he needed of me. Ever since you took me in, things have gotten so much clearer. Maybe I’m imagining things, but everything, until Kyle died, feels hazy. Looking back on everything we did, I can’t figure out what the hell we were thinking.” Anna sighed. She diverted her eyes to the staff. “Apologies aren’t my strong suit, Matt. Instead of rambling, I might as well just come out and say it. I’m sorry we got our friend killed.”

I took her words in, trying to figure out what she expected of me. Anna wasn’t wrong. I didn’t trust her, and I probably never would. The fact that she was trying meant something though. Anna’s artifact made her more powerful than Caitlin, and I put two and two together. If Anna wanted, she could kill us there and then. I’d only have a chance if I got my barrier up in time, disabled her with the Gloop Shooter, and then blasted her with the Sonic Shotgun. Timing would be critical in the confrontation. I doubted David or Kitty would have the resolve to pull off something of the sort, so if she turned on someone, I’d prefer it to be me.

“Have the others told you about what’s really going on with the Alvans?” I asked, changing the subject. Anna looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “It’s not your imagination. Everything before you entered the Hub feels hazy because it has a Telepathic Null Field around it. Your earpiece repels long-range telepathic waves too.”

“What the hell?” Anna froze, looking at me, alarmed. “You mean to say someone has been messing with our heads? I’m going to find Siren and—”

“It wasn’t Siren,” I said, interrupting her. “It’s the Alvans. Don’t you think it’s odd how almost everyone you meet is obsessed with the Alvans? How they either want to sleep with them or join their ranks? Don’t you think people have gone fanatical with the idea?”

“You can’t mean it’s the Alvans, right?” Anna asked. “That’s just mad, Matt.”

Caitlin laughed but didn’t join the conversation. “This might be hard to believe, but the Alvans didn’t just bring the system here but the monsters too. Our planet is the field for a massive survival game show.” Anna’s knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists. “How do you think I know about the power upgrades? How do you reckon we got this badass Hub? During the broadcast that started all of this, the world froze for several minutes. I didn’t though. A pair of them came down in a little ship to plant nests in the woods behind our old house. They were talking about the show too.”

Little goose bumps appeared on Anna’s skin. I couldn’t tell whether she believed me or not, but I continued.

“Liam and my friends didn’t believe me at first. Obvious hints from the System Assistants went ignored too. The Alvans had put something in everyone’s heads that got them the weakest possible tier of power. It kept them from seeing the truth too. I don’t know how it works, but they’re conditioned to ignore all the signs that give away the Alvans’ lie. Due to your time in the null field and now the shielding, you can reflect and see that Kyle’s behavior didn’t make sense.”

“Thank you for telling me this, Matt,” Anna said. “I don’t think you’re making this up, but it’s still a lot to take in.”

“It is,” I told her. “Take your time, Anna. It might take a while before I trust you. That much is true. At the same time, I know that you were under the effects of an alien mind hack. It wasn’t all you. After we take care of the centipede-people, we’re going to work on freeing the world from Alvan control.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to ensure the Hub’s safety and prosperity, Matt. I know that doesn’t mean a lot coming from a thirteen-year-old girl, but I mean it. If that means going against an alien species much stronger than us, so be it.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Farming McGuffins

The emperor’s and empress’s nests were the furthest of our targets from the Hub. With that taken down, our route took us through the crippled bosses towards home. Liam had mapped out the battle plan and believed we were hitting all the major platyhawk strongholds at once. There was a chance of young boss-ranked mating pairs already trying to set up new nests, and we didn’t mind. To some extent, it was for the best if they did settle and continue reproducing. Sure, there was a chance of the centipede-people getting to them before us, but we needed renewable sources of McGuffins.

Our first nest lived on the upper levels of an old factory. Since it was close to midday, the skies above it were full of flying and squawking platyhawks. They could most likely sense something was off. Now that we had taken down the giant nest, there were fewer of their kind in the air. Winnie and I took the lead while sneaking into the structure. Platyhawk eyesight would see a direct approach coming from a mile away, so we stuck to the narrow alleys. My lab coat’s camouflage ability let me turn every corner first without risking the squad.

When we finally reached our destination, Caitlin set two drone traps before we headed in. She left them dormant instead of active—they’d come to life only if anyone approached. That way, if they didn’t get triggered, Caitlin could pick them up on the way out. Then she’d have two extra drones to use until the energy source within failed. The exploding drones were better in this respect, since they could still function as grenades.

Since it was almost midday, most of the platyhawks were awake. They hung out in pairs of two or three, rough-housing or fighting over scraps of meat. Instead of attacking the beasts, I guided the team around them. Liam’s team intended to slaughter everything they encountered—the golems and David’s loud weaponry made sneaking around impossible—but I didn’t want to take any risks getting into a big fight.

My heart dropped when we found the boss. It was a larger female with more prominent bone-plating than all others of her kind. I’d bet that flight was no longer a possibility for her. Besides that, she had a swollen belly like the empress and several infant platyhawks climbing all over her. She reminded me of Mama. We had already killed her mate, and now she was all alone.

Letting the monster live wasn’t an option. We attacked her. Anna started us off by imbuing her body and bow with crimson energy. The light spread to her arrow as well before wisps of gold joined it. The colors swirled around one another. Our targets didn’t miss the bright display. They squawked and screeched. Caitlin made sure the queen didn’t escape by peppering it with frigid plasma.

I helped by firing the Charge Launcher’s basic projectile into the mix. The projectile wouldn’t hurt the queen, of course, but the arcing bolts of electricity did a good job of stunning the little ones and keeping them on the ground. The queen’s roar suggested that the blast had killed her children too.

Anna didn’t give her long to mourn. The bone armor around her bow arm grew and locked together. As soon as the limb stopped trembling, she fired. The projectile pierced the queen’s head before exploding. Shards of bone, biometal, and imbued energy shot in every direction, shredding all the platyhawks they hit. I stepped in front of Anna and Caitlin before activating the Sonic Barrier Projector. Little cracks spiderwebbed from every bit the shield blocked.

“Holy shit.” I gasped. “The emperor and empress would’ve gone down a lot quicker if we’d had David pimp your bow.”

“I reckon she’s a bit young for that reference,” Caitlin commented. “Bloody hell, Matt. We are too.”

“Memes never die,” I said, inciting simultaneous groans from Anna and Caitlin.

“It’s not just the new artifact,” Anna told us. “Today is the first time I’m properly using my power since upgrading it. Imbuing is all about balance and limitations. It takes time and practice.”

We shot down the few remaining platyhawks while talking. I couldn’t help but feel a new level of respect for Anna. She behaved well beyond her age. David occasionally displayed bouts of maturity, but the apocalypse had forced Anna’s development. If we ever befriended a former child psychologist, Anna would most likely require therapy. Then again, considering everything we had been through as a group, everyone needed someone to talk to.

The queen gave me two McGuffins, and Anna recovered one more from the nest core. I sent out a ping on the GPS so Liam would know we’d finished our first objective. As soon as the Scavengers finished in the stadium, they’d sort out the nest.

Caitlin highlighted something odd when leaving the nest. Her drones hadn’t triggered, but one of them had moved. A little scan showed its tracks as it rolled across the floor. We theorized something had awakened the sphere momentarily but left its range before it could react. Since shadows covered the alley, it was safe for the auranthers. It could be them or the locals. There was no way for us to tell.

After some thought, I sent Winnie to scan from the roofs. His upgraded physique let him slingshot around silently. The little bear golem returned within ten minutes and shook his head. That was the best communication we’d get out of the little guy, so we accepted the message and moved on. There was still another nest to take out before we could head back.

Liam sent out a ping not long after we left the first nest. They had cleared their objective too. I’d expected his group to take considerably longer since they were tackling bigger and more densely populated legs. I should’ve known better. David’s artifact had considerable destructive power. Kitty’s golems brought a considerable amount of pain too. Liam’s presence was almost unnecessary. He kept his eyes out for locals and provided suppressing power when necessary.

Perhaps after this confrontation, I’d upgrade his gun drone further. Its damage was severely lacking when compared to my latest creations. I made a mental note to broach the subject once we got back.

The second nest proved more challenging than the first. It didn’t just house a boss-class monster, but elites too. The king and his royal guard were ready for us. My suspicions regarding the creatures being intelligent were once again confirmed. They had prepared an ambush for us. On arrival, we found the king lying on the warehouse floor with his eyes closed. None of us fell for the ploy of course. It was well past the creatures’ waking up time.

Winnie went in first. As soon as he crossed the building’s threshold, a trio of elites leapt from the cracked ceiling. Instead of slingshotting away, Winnie stretched his leather arms and wrapped them around the closest beast’s neck. He pulled himself close and let loose a close-ranged sonic blast. The McGuffin had improved the golem’s roaring abilities. It didn’t have the Sonic Shotgun’s power levels but did a sufficient job of leaving the beast dazed.

The king didn’t waste time pretending. As soon as he launched himself at Winnie, Caitlin threw both exploding drones into the mix. Winnie slingshotted himself away just in time. The biometal spheres exploded, spraying shrapnel and burning boomjuice on the elites and king. It came as no surprise when the latter’s biometal glowed red. It was the plasma absorber and plasma charger at work. With it active, the boss monster didn’t need to worry about my fire. The elites, on the other hand, scattered.

One of the fleeing beasts tried headbutting Winnie, and his stuffed bear body went comically flat. Then ugly vibrating quills burst from his body, skewering the platyhawk’s nest. I didn’t need to watch the fight to know that it was doomed.

I left the boss to Anna and Caitlin and focused on taking down the new elites flooding out of the shadows. The Void Rifle’s freezing plasma shits proved a perfect counter for the Plasma Charger. Caitlin took down the creature’s defenses while Anna charged up her shot. Unlike the last boss we killed, the king was light and agile. The plasma charger’s effects continued to reinforce his body as Caitlin sapped its effects. Then she hit the king’s face, covering his eyes in a layer of frost. Panicked scrambling replaced the artful dodging and Anna killed him using two arrows. The first took out the right foreleg and the second drilled through his neck.

Once done, the girls helped me take out the much faster elites. Most of them fled once they saw their king fall. We didn’t chase. I earned another four McGuffins from the nest, bringing our total for the day to nineteen. Liam’s team would get a few more, and I planned on investing the bulk of it in the Hub. We had achieved self-sufficiency, and the defense was reaching a stage that I could be more or less satisfied with. Now we needed a decent transportation system to relocate the Hub or keep it on the move. Some long-range offense would go a long way too. Besides that, I wanted to use six McGuffins for upgrades and Creations. I was keen to learn what upgrades the System would give Technogogue next.

I had just pinged our location to let Liam know we were done when Caitlin’s breastplate started beeping. We froze, all of us looking towards the exit. Several crates stood in the way, but we could see a flashing red light as the drone alerted us of another presence. This time we had employed wire drones—in case the king tried to flee.

Anna knocked another arrow, leveling at the exit, but didn’t pour much energy into it. Perhaps it was a hiding elite trying to sneak away. The drone carrier’s beeping cut off abruptly, and the red flashing lights became a constant glow. Then its color turned orange, slowly transitioning towards yellow. It took me a moment to catch on before I turned on thermal imaging. The goggles only picked up a bright orange glow before the crates caught on fire. I saw the silhouette of a man in its midst and knew what it was straight away.

“It’s Arjan!” I exclaimed, immediately sending out a double ping. Liam would know what it meant. “Retreat through the ceiling!”

“What?” Anna looked at me, wide-eyed. I hoped she wouldn’t forget everything we’d discussed and use this as an opportunity for revenge.

“Use the artifact’s tether function!” I wrapped an arm around Caitlin’s waist, and she tried to push me away. “You don’t have any mobility tools. Let me help you.”

The crates exploded, sending shards of burning wood and molten slag flying all around the room. Caitlin yelped as a giant chunk bounced off her breastplate and ripped through her sleeve. She didn’t bother assessing the situation and threw her arms around my shoulder. I held her tightly around the waist and activated the Pogo Heelies. They carried me almost all the way to the ceiling, and my Grappling Belt helped us cover the remaining distance.

Anna followed us moments later. She didn’t need to climb the biometal wire. Instead, she held onto her bow and the wire retracted into the artifact, pulling her up. She grabbed onto the roof’s broken edge with reinforced arms and shoulders and pulled herself up. We needed to pressure David to make another artifact. Their powers were borderline magical. Sure, it would be another McGuffin drain, but that was a cost I’d happily pay.

“What now?” Anna asked, looking around wildly. Her eyes were wide, and the hair on her arms stood on end. Seeing the man who’d killed her brother up close had shaken her. I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her ability to hold herself together.

“I tried contacting Liam, but he hasn’t responded. Either they’re still engaged with the boss and he missed it, or they’re in a similar position to us.” The fire consumed the building below, and we heard cheering from the street outside. I peeked down to find a dozen people with spinal armor. The spike-throwing clown wasn’t among them. “I don’t know whether they’ve got any mobility powers among them or not. Should we try racing back towards the base?”

Caitlin nodded. “There’s too many of them. Helena said—”

“We can’t take a word that came out of her mouth at face value,” Anna replied. “Alien insects control them, remember?”

Caitlin reflexively rubbed her neck and sighed. “Do we take the side alleys again?” she asked.

“No,” I answered. “It gives them more room to outmaneuver us. We take the short and quick route straight home.”

A ball of burning garbage flew up from the street below onto the roof, landing a foot from me. Winnie scrambled away from the fire and onto my shoulder. The burning building’s heat had us sweating already, so we didn’t waste any more time. I pointed at the street we’d be taking, and Anna leapt from the roof. Caitlin begrudgingly held onto me once again before we followed. She pulled away as soon as we were on the ground and then we started running. It didn’t take long for the centipede-people to get wind of our actions and follow.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Pursued

When the centipede-people found our trail, Anna surprised us with a new move. She imbued the artifact with red energy and pointed it towards the sky. A biometal and bone pyramid formed around the arrowhead, and a crimson hue enveloped it seconds later. Then gold spiraled the projectile, making the structure vibrate.

“Keep going!” she exclaimed, pouring more energy into the arrow.

Anna waited until a pair of locals were ten meters behind us before releasing the projectile. She ran without watching it do its thing. I dared a peek over my shoulder when she caught up to us. Anna squeezed a button on her bow. The arrow exploded near its apex, raining glowing shrapnel on everyone below. The girls were already several meters ahead of me, so I didn’t waste time watching the craziness go down. The Pogo Heelies came to life, helping me catch up to them.

“What the hell was that?” I asked.

“It was David’s idea,” Anna said, keeping up with me using her imbued body. “He called it Shrapnel Shower.”

“I wonder what video game he got that from,” Caitlin whispered through ragged breaths. Fire would only feed the Emberborn-power user, so she dropped two wire drones. They rolled around to the alley’s walls and clipped themselves in place. I paused for a moment and sprayed the floor between them with the sticky glue. I didn’t know whether it’d do any good or not, but we had to try.

It came as no surprise that they jumped us. We’d expected them to attack but didn’t think they’d bring a dozen along. I didn’t worry though. We weren’t far from the Hub, and Liam would catch up to us sooner or later. I sent him another double ping. This time, he responded with a single blip. My heart skipped a beat, thinking he was in trouble, then he sent one more.

“The map says they’re moving too!” I exclaimed, pausing to lay more adhesive gloop on the ground. A man and woman screamed behind us. The wire traps must have triggered. “I guess Liam wants to meet us at the base.”

“I don’t think I can make it that far,” Caitlin said, panting heavily.

Damn it. I should’ve made a mobility device for her.

“Anna, can you carry Caitlin?” I asked.

“No,” both women replied in unison.

“I can increase my strength and speed, but carrying someone results in an awkward load,” Anna explained.

“Then you two go on ahead. I’m going to hang back and buy us some time,” I said.

“Are you sure about this?” Caitlin asked. “You can’t possibly stand up to that many people together.”

“We don’t have much of a choice if you can’t run—”

“We can contact Jay through the comms! He’ll come and get us.”

“You do that, Caitlin, but it will take him a few minutes to get here,” I told her. “You two keep on going. I’ll try to slow them down. Can you turn all your available drones into wire traps?”

Caitlin nodded and squeezed a button on her breastplate. A panel on her back opened up and six biometal spheres dropped out of it. She looked at me hesitantly for a moment before Anna grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

I didn’t wait to watch them leave and got to work straight away. The centipede-people weren’t far behind us. I could hear their boots on the concrete and listen to them yell at one another in German. We had parted ways at a point where two alleys crossed each other: perfect for an ambush. I planted a biometal sphere just above eye level on each corner. Then I planted four more close together around my exit route. Two sat at ground level, and I intended to place two higher up but struggled to reach my target. Winnie surprised me then. I had forgotten about the bear golem during the escape. He used his stretchy arms to place the spheres just where I needed them.

“Why have you stopped moving, Matt?” Liam’s voice spoke in my ear. “Head back to the Hub! With the new turrets and ankylopus backing us up, these things won’t have a chance!”

I activated the lab coat’s camouflage function and held my tongue. My plan wouldn’t work without the element of surprise. Staying low helped conceal the prosthetic’s glow as it switched to the Charge Launcher mode and powered up. I held my breath as the weapon hummed to life.

The centipede-people turned the corner and didn’t slow. The fire-wielder wasn’t among them. I guessed he was still busy trying to free the others from the trap—or he could be trying to flank the others. Either way, there was nothing I could do about it now. Putting them down would be much easier without having to worry about insane temperatures.

As soon as they reached the intersection, the spheres exploded, firing biometal wires. They contacted flesh and embedded themselves in the walls and floor, trapping four of attackers while the other two paused to pull them free. I fired projectiles from the Charge Launcher one after another, as fast as the weapon would allow. They exploded on contact, showering the buggers with arcing bolts of electricity.

The centipede-people screamed. They shook violently as the energy coursed through their bodies, locking them in an ugly rictus and burning their skin. One of them melted into a pool of sludge before squelching their way out of the nasty mess. I didn’t stick around much longer to watch the mess. Considering the noise they were making, their friends would come to their rescue. I didn’t care whether they lived or died, so I fired another ball of electricity before running. The hosts were already dead, after all. It was the centipedes we were fighting.

My heart dropped when I turned the corner. Arjan, the fire-wielder, stood in my path. Fortunately, the bastard had his back to me. Black smoke rose from his glowing, orange skin. The sound of his screaming comrades didn’t bother Arjan. It was stupid of me to think he’d be helping his friends. He was probably trying to flank us instead. I struggled to get my breathing under control when he looked back at me. The lab coat kept me hidden, but it didn’t block sound yet. The same went with the Pogo Heelies. It cancelled out noise from walking and jumping, but I needed the jump function to get away from him. That was far too noisy, though, so I wasn’t sure what to do.

Arjan took a step towards me, and I tried my best to become one with the dumpster’s shadow. His eyes weren’t focused on me. The arsehole was looking past me at the alley with his screaming friends. They sounded weak. I hope my attack had fried the centipedes.

There was no getting away unnoticed. If I jumped now, he’d go on the offensive and attack. I had the element of surprise, and I needed to make the most of it. Arjan froze when my prosthetic switched to the Sonic Shotgun. Fortunately, the hum confused Arjan more than put him on edge. I fired the Sonic Shotgun and activated my Sonic Barrier Projector simultaneously. The latter had been a safety precaution but saved my skin. Flames burst from Arjan when my attack hit him. They washed over the barrier, far from my body, but I still felt the blistering heat.

Arjan’s body flew backwards, hitting the alley’s opposite wall, cracking brick and mortar. He didn’t collapse but lay stunned for a moment before stirring. I didn’t waste any more time and activated my Pogo Wheelies, launching myself to the nearest roofs. Arjan let loose a loud guttural scream from below, and flames burst from his feet. His jump carried him most of the way to my position. He had to catch himself on the wall below, digging his fingers into bricks cracking from the heat.

A part of me wanted to stand my ground and take him on. My weapons hurt him. That little morsel of knowledge egged me on to take the risk, but after some thought, I decided against it. I changed my weapon mode to Charge Launcher, fired a shot, and then leapt to the next roof. If Arjan wanted to kill me, he’d have to work for it.

Much to my disappointment, Arjan’s power gave him mobility too. When we’d first encountered the monstrous individual, he had used fire to propel himself forward a short distance. I hadn’t expected it to give him bursts of vertical movement as well. Once at the edge of a rooftop, he pointed his hands downwards, fire bursting from his palms and shoeless feet. They launched him in a diagonal and then Arjan used secondary blasts to right himself.

Fortunately, the Pogo Heelies and Grappling Belt gave me greater speed and control. It didn’t take too much effort for me to stay ahead of him. The Pogo Heelies’ ability to use absorbed kinetic energy to recharge meant they could keep me going indefinitely. Now it came down to stamina—who would run out of breath first? Me or Arjan?

If not for the giant metal centipede running down the former human’s spine, I’d bet on me coming out on top. Arjan’s flame-covered body most likely burned ambient oxygen, making it harder for him to breath. All powers came with limitations and weaknesses. That had to be his.

I paused when I heard a thud and pebbles scatter. Arjan had landed poorly on a gravelly roof and fallen on his front. Unwillingly to miss the opportunity, I raised the Charge Launcher, took aim, and shot two projectiles. Arjan jumped onto his feet and dodged the first. After watching him follow me, I had guessed his favored side and released the second sphere of electricity a couple of degrees to the right. He moved into its path and received an explosion of electricity for his efforts. Arjan screamed, falling onto his hands and knees. The centipede on his back wriggled and screeched. He opened his mouth, and a pair of long but skinny creatures slithered out.

“Oh, shit!” I swore. The smaller centipedes zipped across the rooftop and jumped to the next building. I relaxed for a moment when they missed the roof, but seconds later they were crawling over the edge. “I’m going to need backup or a pick-up, Liam.” The commslink buzzed as I spoke into it. “I had to buy time for Caitlin. Now Arjan is on my trail.”

The Pogo Heelies propelled me to the next building. I kept moving, using the wheels to speed across the concrete, and then leapt to the next. Arjan recovered surprisingly quick, continuing his pursuit. The centipedes had disappeared from sight, though, and it worried me.

“None of my drones will be much good against him,” Liam replied. “Caitlin and Anna ran into a trap. They’re not too badly hurt, but Jay is busy taking them back to the Hub. We are fighting a tail of our own while on the move. If you can rendezvous with us, great, or you can continue on your current route.”

The sound of skittering on the roof behind me interrupted my train of thought. I looked over my shoulder to see Arjan throwing the second bimetal-coated creature at me. It flew through that air in a tight ball, unfurling as it got close. I dropped a boomjuice drone at my feet before moving to the next rooftop. The sphere exploded just as the monster landed where I had been standing. The blast didn’t just catch my target, but it did hit the other one crawling after me.

Arjan roared, continuing his pursuit. He launched a fireball at my landing spot, but my belt helped change my trajectory. I would’ve met my end some time ago if I’d stayed at ground-level. Lone and attached centipedes would undoubtedly have set traps to catch me off guard.

As I wove my way through a cluster of factories, the Hub came into sight. If Arjan weren’t chasing me, I would’ve made my way directly home using the streets. Unfortunately, I needed to keep my route unpredictable to avoid his projectiles while ensuring the next building had easy-to-reach roofs around it. Anna and Caitlin were safe, at least. Not having to worry about others made everything easier.

A double ping from Liam highlighted the map overlay on the right side of my goggles’ screen. Much to my surprise, my unplanned route had set me on a collision course with him and Kitty. It was then I realized—Winnie had been guiding me towards her all along! The bear golem would pop up from time to time, directing me in seemingly random directions. I had assumed he was helping me avoid Arjan’s friends, but he had done something better.

The sound of Liam’s gun drone and David’s cannon helped me set my bearing. I peeked over my shoulder—Arjan had somewhat caught up when I paused to check the map. Instead of descending to the lower roof directly in front of me, I launched myself at the skyscraper to its left. The Pogo Heelies gave me more height than Arjan’s jump, but they didn’t carry me to the roof. I hooked onto the building with my belt and stabilized my position.

A manic smile spread across Arjan’s face as he ran at me. The bastard wasn’t going to give up. The centipedes had absorbed their hosts’ intelligence, but they still behaved like crazed beasts on the hunt when angered. I remembered how Helena had attacked Anna. In her final moments, there hadn’t been anything human about her. That’s precisely what I was expecting. As soon as Arjan jumped, I fired the ready Charge Launcher. His flame bursts gave him the ability to change trajectory mid-air, but we were much too close to one another.

The projectile made contact and exploded. The arcing bolts of electricity were so close that they almost hit me too. I didn’t stick around and pushed off my hanging spot, moving to my previously-intended building’s roof. Arjan screamed behind me as he fell to the ground. It didn’t matter—Liam and the others were so close that I could hear Diesel’s giant feet thudding on the ground.

Then my heart dropped. The spike-wielder was waiting for me. He launched a trio of spikes, and I stopped them with the Sonic Barrier Projector. More of Arjan’s cronies climbed onto the roof behind him. This wasn’t going to be easy.

My new opponents blocked my only exit. Arjan would recover any second now, so finding a new route was no longer an option. According to the map overlay, I’d need to weave through a block of apartment buildings before reaching my friends. As a result, I had no choice but to engage.

Before starting my offense, I sent out a double ping. There was no telling whether Spikey and his friends had been fighting Liam or not. If they were, then Kitty and her golems had fewer arseholes to deal with and could spare me some manpower. It didn’t matter now though. The situation was dire, and I’d have to fight my way out of it.

Instead of backpedaling across the roof, I tried to stay as far from Arjan as possible. A diagonal route took me back towards the skyscraper. The high ground had proven its advantages once already. I’d have to be stupid not to utilize it again.

Much to my disappointment, a fat centipede crawled over the ledge, blocking my path. I didn’t slow down, and fired the Charge Launcher. The creature proved much smarter than the skinnier members of its species and zipped to the side, avoiding the attack. Footsteps thumped on the rooftop behind me as Spikey and the others gave chase. I blindly shot at them over my shoulder, intending to deter their chase.

The centipede regained its focus and leapt at me again. My weapon needed a second to power up again between shots, so I activated the Sonic Barrier Projector and Pogo Wheelies simultaneously. The first blocked the centipedes’ assault, and the latter propelled me away from the roof. A trio of well-aimed spikes came flying at me. The first two bounced off the transparent shield, but the third pierced it and grazed my left calf. Cracks spiderwebbed from the point of impact, and I deactivated the barrier straight away. The final projectile had drained most of the device’s bar. I needed to give it a few minutes to recharge, or I’d be screwed when shit hit the fan.

When the building I had landed on shook, I didn’t bother looking over my shoulder. The monsters had taken control of incredibly destructive individuals. I didn’t waste any more time checking on my pursuers, and moved onto the next building.

“I’m coming to you,” I said into the comms. The latest events had made my breathing ragged, and I was starting to see spots. “Arjan and three of his friends are on my tail. Probably not the best idea if I engage them alone.”

“Good,” Kitty replied, her voice sounding strained. “We could do with some healing. Unfortunately, Morpheus has suffered too much damage, and the injection launchers aren’t functioning.”

“What the hell is going on?” I asked, ducking as spikes and fireballs flew past me. Arjan had rejoined the fight. “How many people do they have?”

“It’s not just people,” Kitty answered. “This lot haven’t just been using auranthers to harvest metal but have elites under their control as well.”

“Damn.” It was probably for the best we’d taken down the platyhawks. I’d considered them a bigger threat since they weren’t nocturnal and ground bound. I guessed the bone-plating and biometal made the winged monsters unsuitable for the platyhawk’s control. If the centipedes got strong enough to force them into their army, the Hub would struggle to repel them.

An explosion rocked the building I was running across. The Pogo Wheelies’ stabilizers helped me maintain my balance. That had to be an elite auranther. Had the centipedes forced them out of the tunnels? Or did they have a means of communicating with the specimens underground? It didn’t matter. Their tactics weren’t going to work on me.

Pain shot up and down my left leg when I took a step towards the roof’s edge. It was then I felt the warmth running down my calf and pooling in the Pogo Heelies. My knee turned into jelly, and the limb refused to support my weight. Spikey’s spike had bitten deeper into the muscle than I realized. It was a good thing that I collapsed though. Metallic and flaming projectiles shot through where my head had been moments ago.

First, I sprayed the injury with the Gloop Shooter’s healing fluid. It stung and then burned as the skin stitched closed over the damaged flesh. It was more powerful than the medium, but the wound still needed time to heal. Besides, considering the sloshing in my boot, I had lost a fair bit of blood. When I tried to get back on my feet, the limb still wobbled but didn’t give way. Then, before continuing my escape, I dropped the boomjuice drones and spilt sticky gloop all over the roof. They wouldn’t do much good against Arjan, but his friends wouldn’t traverse the ground easily.

“I’ve been hit,” I said, firing the Charge Launcher at my pursuers. They had done me a favor by clumping together. Their snarling faces remained unfazed, and they didn’t try to dodge. Spikey launched pre-prepared projectiles at the sphere of electricity, making it discharge a couple of meters in front of them. “They’re pulling out all the stops. I don’t think I can keep running.”

“Get down to ground level and hold them off as long as you can,” Liam said. “There’s only a couple of buildings between us. Let’s join up and take these assholes out together.”

“Roger,” I said, grimacing as I jumped from a five-story height. My right leg and stabilizers would hopefully compensate for the awkward landing. A scream still burst from my lips as soon as I made contact with the ground. I could feel the muscles writhe and rejoin under my skin. They had knotted and were pulling at the tendons around my knee and ankle.

“Was that you?” Kitty asked. The comms weren’t active on my end. “That’s it. I’m coming to you. Miley and Diesel can stay behind to give David back up.”

“Don’t leave them alone—”

“David is the one defending Kitty right now,” Liam said. “You can heal her up, and then we can converge at the next intersection.”

“Fine.” I sighed, forcing myself upright once again and limping towards the old stone church ahead. I couldn’t think of a better place to put up a defense until rescue arrived.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Possibly Final Upgrades

My new hiding spot stood out in the urban jungle of factories, warehouses, and apartment buildings. It simply didn’t belong. I suspected the System had placed it there while rearranging the topography. Come to think of it, I still didn’t know which of the two had rearranged the planet. Was it the System or the Alvans?

It didn’t matter now either way. I was confident the stone building would be the slowest to burn in the neighborhood. Sure, there was a lot of wood in the form of the pews, a grand staircase, and all the other ancient furniture. Arjan would have little trouble setting them ablaze. However, the old stone would take time to heat up, and every extra second of avoiding the flames was a bonus.

I left a trail of sticky gloop as soon as I made my way towards the back of the building. Perhaps the device’s next upgrade would involve adding a slippery fluid to the mix. Something flammable or conductive would combine wonderfully with the Charge Launcher, and it would make up for my horrid aim too. It probably wouldn’t matter once we pumped more resources into the Hub. I looked forward to not having to lift a finger in a fight ever again.

Thermal imaging helped me find the coldest and dampest parts of the church. I picked the darkest of them and pogoed myself to the spot in the rafters. For good measure, I put the windfall of McGuffins to good use. The Technogogue power only needed six to upgrade, and I wanted to minimize risks.

My lab coat was the first to get a boost. The shock absorption mechanism had already made using my prosthetic much easier. I channeled one McGuffin’s power into it, making the garment better at absorbing concussive force. It wouldn’t just help deal with recoil but also protect me from explosions and blunt attacks. The coat got a second McGuffin to improve the camouflaging abilities. Kitty had said anyone paying attention would still be able to detect my presence. I hoped the upgrade would bring me closer to true invisibility.

The next McGuffin went to the Pogo Heelies. The shock absorption already made my footsteps silent, but the launch mechanism was much too noisy, so I used part of the upgrade making improvements in that department.

Shock absorption function has been upgraded to include a silencer.

The noise-canceling features will mute the launching mechanism but not environmental sounds caused because of it.

Due to their intimate working relationship, the Pogo Heelies and Grappling Belt would like to strengthen their link through technocratic means. This will make the latter more intuitive when using the former’s launch function.

I happily approved of the link. It only used a fragment of the McGuffin’s power. After the silencer, most of the upgrade energy went to pimping out the device’s power and empowering the stabilizers.

When I heard the centipede-people outside, my heartbeat picked up. I needed to use three more McGuffins as soon as possible but was running out of devices. The Stick n’ Save Gloop Shooter wasn’t yet ready for an upgrade. My prosthetic would happily accept another, but the listed upgrades needed materials I didn’t currently have on my person, so I upgraded the Grappling Belt further.

Grappling Belt Mk2: Coiling Restraints

- Grappling Belt
- emperor platyhawk hide
- plasma charger
- plasma absorber
- empress platyhawk claws
- McGuffin

I wasn’t a fan of niche devices for myself, especially one that would suit a close-ranged fighter better. Perhaps it would serve as a secondary “oh-shit” tool. Between the lab coat, Sonic Barrier Projector, and the Pogo Heelies, I had enough defense. The new belt would serve as a restraint. I hoped the king platyhawk parts would help hold Arjan for a short while despite his temperature.

Four down. Two to go. I couldn’t figure out what to upgrade next.

“Where are you, Matt?” Liam asked. “Your signal has gone all fuzzy. The GPS can detect your rough location but is having trouble pinpointing it.”

“There should be a church by my initial position,” I replied, keeping my voice low. “It’s old and made of stone. You can’t miss it.”

“Matt, I think you’re in trouble,” Kitty said with a hopelessness that made me uncomfortable.

“What’s going on, guys?” I asked, more focused on scanning my surroundings for something upgradable. “There’s no question about me being in trouble. That’s why I changed my route to rendezvous with you lot. What’s your status? Still fighting the auranthers?”

“No, Matt, you don’t understand.” Kitty sounded shaky. “We can’t tell what’s happened, but there’s a massive empty patch in the middle of the street.”

“You’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.” Liam sounded just as hopeless. “I don’t know whether it was the centipede-people that did this or the Alvans, but you’re on your own. We can’t get to you.”

“The signal is getting through though!” I exclaimed. “I have to be close.”

“But you’re moving all over the place. It’s some sort of spatial distortion, Matt. I can’t do jack.”

“Hide,” Kitty whispered.

“If the Alvans are involved, I can’t do that for long. Don’t worry, guys. The viewers and our sponsors won’t let this fly. They’ll figure out something is wrong and make a big enough fuss that is fixed—assuming this is our mindfucking overlords.”

“What’re you going to do?” Liam asked.

A smile spread across my lips as I found my target. True, the situation was a hopeless one, but it also meant I could throw everything I had at it. There was no playing safe or taking the easy way out. My life was on the line, and I had to deal accordingly.

“I’m going to make some noise,” I answered. “The Alvans would have to breach too many System rules to move me somewhere far or phase me out if existence…I hope. I reckon they’re moving me around—so let’s screw hiding. Just follow the music. You’ll find me in no time.”

As expected of such an establishment, it had an organ—an electric organ. Sonic attacks were the only offense that hadn’t failed me until now, so I abandoned my hiding place and ran over to the giant instrument. The “Upgrade” option lit up when I scanned it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the materials for most of what my power demanded, but two McGuffins were sufficient to get what I wanted. The first would act as the power source, and the second would weaponize the amplifiers and pipes. Then I activated the lab coat’s camouflage feature and turned to the new screens that popped up on my display.

Power upgraded!

“Disassemble” will now work on all Earth and inactive alien technology.

Technogogue power upgrade available.

Choose one of the following:

Supercharge: Use Tech Energy to temporarily increase a device’s capabilities exponentially. Prolonged use can damage devices. McGuffin-created devices will require McGuffins for repairs.

Upgraded by Techfriend. Rate of deterioration to devices reduced.

Techfriend II: You and your machines are one. You may expend Tech Energy to cause enemy technology to malfunction.

Energy Mastery: Increased efficiency when using Tech Energy, but it regenerates at a reduced rate when awake. Disassembling devices or defeated lifeforms will accelerate regeneration.

Even though Techfriend II would come in handy when we assaulted the pylons, I needed to focus on my immediate needs. A little more than a third of my Tech-Energy bar remained. Hopefully, it would give me the extra power I needed to survive Arjan and his friends.

Chapter Forty

Sector Showdown

When Arjan and his followers entered the stone church’s giant main room, a screen appeared floating near the ceiling.

Battle for Sector 58005-06-90-N

Due to MAD’s intimate knowledge of the show, the Survival Planet producers are launching a new premium feature—Sector Showdown!

Two significant powers remain in faction 58008-06-90-N.

Now they must battle for dominance!

The system has agreed to the interference on the condition that the human race is adequately compensated.

If MAD loses, all of his friends shall receive free upgrades, boosting their powers halfway to A-rank, and 10 McGuffins to use for their Hub. The System agrees it is sufficient compensation for initiating the showdown without their presence.

As a reward for winning, the skullipedes will earn the ability to move freely between sectors of orange threat level and above without hosts.

Their strongest boss shall receive an upgrade to overlord-level strength and a chance at becoming the planet’s dominant species.

If MAD wins, the McGuffin requirements for his next power upgrade will be halved. His Hub will receive a free S-rank upgrade. The producers shall personally deliver five McGuffins to him also.

Furthermore, the producers of Survival Planet will pay a planetwide penalty.

Sector Showdown will become a standard across all sectors on the planet. The human leading a sector in social or military dominance may challenge the last emperor-class or highest-rank beast. They may use a team of four, including themselves or a Champion.

If the humans win the showdown, they shall receive a Hub core as a reward. It must be used within their sector.

In sectors yellow threat level or above, if humanity has already successfully dominated the area, the Sector Showdown will be a gladiatorial battle between representative parties from the leading factions.

My heart skipped a beat. The Alvans were getting desperate. That was a hell of a reward they put on the line. I’d bet the System forced the terms on them for trying to take me out of the picture. My progress and power usage scared them enough to accept it too. It wasn’t just the S-rank Hub upgrade that had my mouth watering, but also the benefits to the rest of the world. The System would force the Alvans to give humanity a fighting chance.

Three centipede-people followed Arjan. I tried scanning them but got no results. The hosts were most probably blocking my goggles. The screen continued to float by the ceiling. Its distracting light threatened to ruin my focus. The stakes didn’t help either. Humanity’s future was on my shoulders.

My heart rate picked up as the monsters got closer, scanning their surroundings. For a moment, when Arjan’s eyes paused on the organ, I forgot about the lab coat’s cloaking abilities. Then he moved on, and my body relaxed. Hiding or escaping wouldn’t help me through this. I needed to fight and win, for my sake and humankind’s. Timing was everything. So, I sat still and waited.

The centipede-people were smarter than I’d hoped. They split into two groups. Arjan and Spikey led them both, with an unknown lackey trailing behind them. Fortunately, it was the former who entered my kill zone first. They wandered into the space between two large amplifiers. I hadn’t taken a piano lesson in over twelve years and the organ’s two sets of keys intimidated me, but I let loose. I pressed down on ten keys at once, channeling The Phantom of the Opera’s soul.

The air rippled around each speaker around the church, and the sonic blast rippled through the room. It drowned out the centipede-people’s screams, but I watched satisfied as they fell to their knees, clutching their ears. The woman following Arjan appeared to be in the worst shape of all. Blood flowed from every orifice on her head, and I could no longer see the white in her eyes.

“No mercy,” I mumbled and smashed down on the keys again. That was when Winnie appeared. He targeted Spikey and the man following him. They weren’t as close to the blasts but had been momentarily stunned by them too. The bear golem descended on them, whipping his stretched, spike-covered arms. Spikey blocked the attack, catching it by extending spikes from his left forearm. The other failed to react in time. His entire body rippled before the muscles in his arm swole, but Winnie’s attack got through the guard. He struck the centipede-person’s neck, spraying blood all over the place before springing away.

Not content with just pressing keys at random, I started my best rendition of “Chopsticks.” My body hummed and bones vibrated from the sound waves bouncing around the room but didn’t suffer the worst of it. The McGuffin-powered organ successfully kept Arjan’s comrades down. He, on the other hand, set himself ablaze and tried to make his way towards me. It looked like he was wading through water though. He’d make it forward a couple of steps before falling on his hands and knees. My hypothesis was correct. Everyone struggled with sonic attacks.

“Are you playing that song from Big?” Even though the commslink broadcasted the words directly into my inner ear, I could barely hear David’s words. “That song Tom Hanks plays in the toy shop.”

“That’s the one,” I answered, trying to get my heartbeat under control. Arjan was still a couple of dozen feet away, but I could already feel the heat radiating off his body. “It’s the Alvans, by the way. They’re interfering to get rid of me, but the System has forced incredible rewards if we succeed. How’s it going? Any luck tracing my location?”

“Homing on the soundwaves is much easier than the signal,” Liam said. “It still keeps moving too fast, but I think I’ve found a pattern. Just keep doing your thing. We should be with you shortly.”

“Well, I don’t know how long I can keep this concert going.”

I poured ten percent of my remaining Tech-Energy bar into the instrument and felt a technopathic link forming between us. More specifically, I sensed the speakers powering up and allowing me to focus their blasts. Winnie was doing an excellent job of keeping Spikey busy, so I channeled everything at Arjan.

Instead of getting blown back by the shockwave, as I had hoped, he increased his temperature and thrust his hand into the stone floor. What the hell was his body made of? The flames didn’t obscure his face, and I could see straight and clear how much discomfort he was in, but he didn’t stand down. It had to be the centipede on his back. The creature was giving him incredible tenacity. I imagined the sonic blast didn’t bother it and only the host.

Then it occurred to me. Four centipede-people had entered the church. Two of them were down and probably dead. A mental prod activated my Sonic Barrier Projector, and a centipede bounced off it moments later.

“Damn it!” I hissed. My left hand continued to play the keys while the right transformed into the Charge Launcher and released a projectile. It didn’t miss. The creature fell in a sizzling heap. The other one came from behind me and struck the barrier as well. I shot at it blindly but knew for sure the projectile wouldn’t hit.

Winnie’s battle with Spikey continued without either side getting the upper hand. I needed him to help me take care of the centipede, but he wasn’t going to be any help.

Arjan made progress towards me again, so I poured more energy into the organ. Sparks flew from the amplifiers, but they held strong. The lead centipede-person contorted his face into an ugly snarl, and his orange skin started turning an alarming blue. Sweat collected on my brow as the stone around him began to melt and a nearby pew caught fire. He appeared wild and barely human. The prolonged sonic attack was most likely scrambling his brain. I just hoped it would knock him out, but the boss-ranked creature on his back held firm.

The free centipede came at me again, reducing my barrier’s energy bar to half. I removed my hand from the organ, spun around, and shot it down. The ball of electricity caught it mid-flight, and it landed not far from my feet. The highlighted “Disassemble” button on my HUD confirmed that it was dead.

It came as no surprise when a blast of heat washed over to me. It was Arjan. With the organ’s music paused, he had nothing holding him back. Fortunately, his temperature had fallen, returning his body color to yellow. My fingers bashed the keys just as the upgraded Grappling Belt activated. It launched off my waist like a snake and wrapped itself around the burning arsehole. He screamed and, shockingly, the belt did too. Arjan increased his temperature, and the belt started glowing too as it fed on his heat.

When I returned to playing “Chopsticks,” pouring more energy into the organ again, the amplifiers sent out one last sonic blast before exploding. My heart dropped. The increasing heat washing over my body had made me careless.

“We’ve got you!” Kitty exclaimed through the commslink. “The church is looping through several different places. We should be with you the next time it comes around. Just a few more minutes, Matt.”

“I doubt I have that long,” I said, turning on Arjan and firing. The Grappling Belt was already straining against his burning muscles. It didn’t have enough power to hold him.

Arjan thrust a burning orange foot into the ground, throwing up debris and making the Charge Launcher’s projectile explode prematurely. Then he ripped the last of the Grappling Belt off his torso and threw it back at me. Much to my surprise, the device hadn’t died. The device was knitting itself back together. It was still out of the fight, though, and wouldn’t save my skin a second time.

Refusing to let any window of opportunity go, I activated my back foot’s Pogo Wheelie, launching myself at Arjan. His eyes widened as he threw his arms up. The bastard was scared! I had managed to instill fear in the king centipede! My movement had been a gamble, meant as a feint, but now I committed to the action. During my flight, my prosthetic transformed from the Charge Launcher into the Sonic Shotgun. Once I was a couple of meters from Arjan, it activated, blasting him with sound and arresting my momentum. If not for the stabilizers in my upgraded boots, the maneuver would’ve failed. As soon as my front leg touched the ground, the Pogo Heelie under it activated, launching me into the air.

The Sonic Shotgun’s blast pushed Arjan backwards, throwing him off balance. Since he still had his arms up to reduce damage to his head, the centipede-person didn’t see me flying over his head. I shot straight down at him. Bones crunched as the blast threw him down at the floor. His flames flared, sending a wave of searing heat through the buildings. My throat and lungs burned when I inhaled the hot air. The prosthetic switched back to the Charge Launcher and fired at Arjan again. This time he didn’t have the mental capacity to block my assault.

A miniature sonic blast sounded next to me. It was Winnie. He had tangled his stretched limbs around Spikey but was struggling to bind his face. There were so many spikes sticking out of the two of them, I couldn’t tell which belonged to who. Spikey had grabbed the bear golem’s head and was trying to keep it as far from his face as possible while Winnie continued to attack him tirelessly. There was no question regarding who’d win a war of attrition. I left them to it and kept my focus on Arjan.

When my first Charge Launcher projectile made the centipede on Arjan’s back squirm, I hit him with another. Several needle-like legs came free from his back, raining blood on the floor. Most of the pressurized liquid vaporized into red mist as soon as it left his body, while the rest lay on the ground in sludgy clumps. This was going to work! I had the tools to defeat the monster before me, and I was bloody well going to do it.

First, I took my moment of respite to spray myself top to bottom with the healing fluid from the Gloop Shooter. It cooled my body and soothed the many patches of burnt skin. Even though Arjan hadn’t landed a direct hit on me, his fluctuating temperatures continued to leave bits of my exposed skin singed. The skin on my neck, jaw, and cheeks burned. I could feel tightness among them, too, as the outer layers dried and cracked. I hoped Kitty would still find me attractive if the battle left me horribly scarred.

The centipede reattached itself to Arjan’s spine and burrowed deeper into his neck. More blood poured for a second before his temperature skyrocketed, searing the wounds closed. Arjan’s eyes glowed white, and the hair atop of his head burned away. Spikey yelled in German when a wave of unbearable heat pulsed out from Arjan. The pleading words went ignored. I fired the Charge Launcher at Arjan again, but he ripped a chunk of wood from a nearby pew and blocked the projectile. It caught on fire from Arjan’s high temperature, and he threw it at me.

Instead of launching myself away, I blocked the burning wood with the Sonic Barrier Projector. The increasing heat had me sweating bullets as my body tried to cool itself down. I could feel myself tiring rapidly as well. Time seemed to stop when Arjan roared and charged at me. I looked between him and the ceiling. Was it worth it? Even if I won this fight on my own, chances were I’d leave forever scarred and crippled. I wanted to help and perhaps save humankind. At the same time, I didn’t want to sacrifice myself while doing so. It would be noble, but I’d be dead or not far from it.

“Screw this!” I mumbled and launched myself over Arjan at the stone church’s exit. The Pogo Heelies wheeled me forward as soon as I landed, increasing the distance between Arjan and me. He roared incoherently behind me when I reached the door and pulled. It didn’t budge. “C’mon!” I begged, hitting it with the Sonic Shotgun next. The screen on the ceiling flashed. I guessed the Alvans had trapped me in.

I turned on Arjan as he got close, and the skin on my face protested. The prosthetic had started heating up too, and I could feel it through the socket that connected it to my arm. A Sonic Shotgun blast deterred Arjan. The second pushed him onto his back. Within moments he was getting back up. My heart wasn’t far from beating out of my chest, my head felt tight from dehydration, and the burning in my eyes made it difficult to see. This wasn’t going to end well. My tests with the door all ended similarly. I was about to launch myself away towards the ceiling when it shook.

Arjan froze, looking between it and me. The stones around the door trembled as something banged on the other side. When Arjan backpedaled frantically, I understood what it was. My friends were here at last. I shot the door with the last charge in my Sonic Shotgun, and it exploded. Diesel charged in, barreling at Arjan. David followed, making a beeline for Spikey. He swung the enlarged multitool-club with all his might, making the centipede-person fold in half. Then a bolt exploded through the bastard’s belly, cutting him in half. Winnie leapt off the man, and the “Disassemble” option on my visor flashed.

As soon as Morpheus entered the room, I sprayed the damaged plates on its front with healing salve.

“Thanks,” Kitty said before charging at Arjan too.

The golems weren’t going to work against him. They’d only buy time until he got them hot enough to melt. It was a good thing time was all I needed. Now that I had my friends with me and help to keep Arjan busy, I could focus on putting him down without running around. Once again, my new Supercharge ability came in use. I dropped into a kneeling position and used my left arm to stabilize the prosthetic. Then I switched to Charge Launcher and fed it Tech Energy. The weapon hummed, and sparks danced off the muzzle. The tool was a part of me, so I didn’t want to overload and damage it. Yet, the burning in my lungs encouraged me to go as far as I could.

When I released the projectile, it glowed with a gold and blue light, unlike anything I had seen before. It was as if the Charge Launcher—my first Creation—had directly added Tech Energy to the shot. It zipped through the gap between Morpheus and Diesel before hitting Arjan and exploding. Kitty had the sense to guide her mount behind her newest golem when the bolts of electricity exploded in every direction. Miley jumped off Diesel, forming a wall to reduce the onslaught further.

Arjan screamed, falling to his knees. Then he went silent as the king centipede leapt off his back. Diesel lunged at it, but, unfortunately, his knees locked up. The biometal-covered creature made a beeline towards me. When I tried powering up the Charge Launcher again, it wouldn’t respond. The prosthetic refused to switch to a different weapon too. As a last-ditch effort, I activated the Sonic Barrier Projector and Pogo Heelies simultaneously, launching myself into the air. Much to my surprise, the centipede king didn’t try to attack me. It fled through the open door, disappearing from sight. It moved a couple of steps under superspeed, and much to my annoyance afterwards, I was too surprised to catch it.

Chapter Forty-One

Aftermath

David tried chasing after the centipede but froze at the door. He scrambled backwards, eyes wide.

“What is it?” I asked. A visible shiver ran through his body when he looked back at me. “Is the church still moving? Did you just have a near miss?”

David shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

“What the hell is going on, Matt?” Liam asked over the comms. I was surprised he hadn’t followed the others into the church. “What did you just do?”

“I killed Arjan. The king centipede got away, though.” My body burned, and my joints ached. I gave up on trying to stand upright and succumbed to the wobbling in my knees. “I don’t know if you can hear me, Anna, but I’m sorry. I know how much you want him gone.”

“That’s not important right now, Matt. Half a dozen flying saucers emerged out of nowhere, and two nearby pylons appeared for a couple of seconds. It’s the aliens, mate. They’ve landed.”

Either the Alvans could hear our conversation and had a flair for dramatic timing, or it was pure coincidence, but a trio appeared in the doorway. David ran past me, taking position next to the golems. Even though the three figures were the most beautiful women I’d ever seen, I didn’t let my guard down. Instead, I sprayed my entire body with the Gloop Shooter’s healing fluid again. The women looked too perfect and flawless, more like the new lifelike sex dolls than real people. I didn’t trust them one bit and prepared for another fight.

Now that I thought about it, were the Alvans really the sexy space elves they portrayed? Considering their technology, telepathic prowess, and general superiority, the Alvans’ appearances were probably a lie too. Perhaps they’d found the best form the planet’s hot-blooded, hetero males would like best and modeled themselves to look as such. It made a whole lot more sense than encountering an alien species that resembled humans as much as they did. Knurven didn’t resemble any creature native to our planet. What were the chances of the Alvans looking so much like us? I made a note of asking my beloved sponsor about it if we got out of the mess alive.

It took me a moment, but I recognized the three Alvans as they glided towards me. They were the trio from the broadcast in Piccadilly Circus. I tried to cycle power through my prosthetic and get the weapon systems online but failed. It wouldn’t respond. The Gloop Shooter’s healing fluid was all gone too. If this devolved into a fight, I’d have to rely on my mobility, glue, and lab coat to survive.

“That was an excellent show, MAD!” The lead Alvan exclaimed. “We at Survival Planet are impressed with your resourcefulness and tenacity. Congratulations on winning our show’s first-ever Sector Showdown.” The sounds of a whooping crowd and applause echoed through the room as the screen above flashed. “Do you hear that?” she asked. “That’s the sound of all the people celebrating your victory against one of our most fearsome creations.”

I had spent many a night going over what I’d say if I ever faced one of the Alvans. How could they sit by and let so many innocents die? What kind of messed-up species or organization could profiteer from such a show? I wanted to know how they could be so despicable and tell them they disgusted me for messing with an entire planet’s minds. Unfortunately, none of that came out. Instead, a smile spread across my face as new skin grew over it, replacing the blackened bits that fell off.

“Thank you for giving humanity the power to defend itself,” I said. “Granting every Sector Showdown’s winner a Hub Core will certainly help them survive the horrid beasts you—” I feigned surprise at the slip of my tongue. “I mean, the System, brought to our planet.”

The lead Alvan’s jovial expression didn’t waver. Her friends remained impassive too. “We’re making the announcement to the rest of the planet as we speak. The System has insisted that as their savior, we broadcast a live message from you to them. It’ll be no more than twenty seconds. The System believes it’s important they know who is responsible for this gift.”

I nodded. “I’m ready whenever.” The idea of speaking to an entire planet sent shivers up and down my spine. It was a huge responsibility, and I already knew what I wanted to say.

A fist-sized sphere floated out of the Alvan’s sleeve and stopped two meters away from my face. She nodded, her bright blue eyes watching me intently. A little red light flashed on the sphere, but they didn’t tell whether it was time to start or not, so I took her initial gesture as my cue.

“I go by the alias MAD and am responsible for the Sector Showdowns.” My voice quivered as I spoke. “I’ve won the first one, and the System has compelled our alien overlords to make it available in every sector. If you want a chance to win against your local monsters, summon your System Assistant and demand a power upgrade. The C-rank abilities we have aren’t enough. A single McGuffin will be sufficient for your upgrade, and it will make your lives much easier.”

I exhaled loudly, looking past the camera at the Alvans behind the camera. “Friends, family, and everyone else out there, good luck. There are no evil aliens coming. They’re already here—”

“I’m afraid that’s all the time you have.” The smile disappeared off the lead Alvan’s face as she interrupted me. She raised her arm, and five glowing McGuffins floated out of her sleeve into my hands. “That’s our half of the bargain taken care of. Despite the betting pools running around the galactic web, we wanted to assure our viewers: the Survival Planet production team doesn’t renege on an agreement.”

“Isn’t the System standing by to reinforce the terms?” I asked. “It’s a shame you didn’t let me finish the message, by the way. I know the limiters you put in everyone would make most people forget the truth, but it would’ve been too damaging, wouldn’t it?” Antagonizing the Alvans was probably not a smart idea, but they were pretty pissed off at me already. Besides, I, as a human, had the System’s protection. They wouldn’t let an advanced species further harm a member of a newly assimilated race—or so I hoped. “It was the information about the powers that took precedence. Thank you for letting me get that out.”

“Now that we’ve dealt with the official matters, MAD, we wanted to request a piece of information,” the lead Alvan said. “Who is your sponsor, and how did you get in contact? We suspect foul play on the part of the System and System staff. There are blackouts on our feed and we can’t allow it. You will be sufficiently compensated for the information of course. We’ll upgrade all your friends to A-rank and stay out of your way. You can liberate the locals, do whatever you want. As long as people are watching the show, we make money. However, we do not tolerate people who break the terms of an agreement or try to cheat us.”

“No,” I replied in a heartbeat. “As amazing as it would be to have all my friends strengthened, we’d rather not gain such a boost by betraying someone who’s helped us until now. Figure it out for yourselves.”

Searing pain pulsed through my skull. David and Kitty yelped too, and I recognized it as a psychic stab. Our protective devices were meant to defend against long-range and constant attacks, not something close range. The assault ended just as suddenly as it had started. One of the silent Alvans screamed as golden energy appeared from the ceiling screen and struck her. Her body unfurled, ripping her clothes and revealing a large, fleshy mass.

I was right. They weren’t humanoid! The Alvan turned out to be a starfish-shaped collection of five tentacles with an eye at the center. After spasming for a solid thirty seconds, she collapsed in a smoking heap. The System had recognized the psychic assault and come to our defense!

“The Survival Planet production team doesn’t renege on an agreement, huh?” I asked. “Just because the viewers can’t see psychic attacks doesn’t mean they don’t take place. I’d like to thank the System for saving us.”

The lead Alvan didn’t say a word. She turned around and pointed a finger at her still-writhing comrade. A blast of green energy flew from the digit, turning the person into ash. Then she marched out of the church and her surviving friend followed. We watched the patch of exposed skin on the surviving underling’s back writhe. Was that a fear response? I couldn’t tell. As soon as they exited the building, orange light burst through the door, and the screen above our heads disappeared. It was sunlight. The evening was upon us, and we’d won.

“Let’s go home, Matt,” Kitty said, walking up behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder. “It’s over. For now, at least.”

“Get out here!” Liam exclaimed. “Now!”

Heeding his request, we ran out of the building. Several flying saucers floated above us, and we caught a glimpse of the Alvans disappearing into the largest one. It wasn’t them that Liam wanted us to see, though, but the three pylons that had appeared near us. The furthest one was thicker than the other two. It was our target. As soon as the flying saucers zoomed through the clouds and out of sight, the pylons disappeared. I needed to figure out what gave them the power to hide.

As far as we could tell, all the centipede-people were dead. A few centipede-controlled auranthers had escaped, but they no longer had any human puppets. David, Liam, and Kitty had managed to kill everyone who’d had attacked them. The ones pursuing us had followed Caitlin, Anna, and Jay back to the Hub. Whatever they didn’t slay, the turrets and ankylopus had put down. They’d managed to kill the centipedes too and had arranged them all for dismantling. We ended up with a plethora of enchanted, altered McGuffins on top of the thirty-six from the platyhawk nests.

“That was brilliant, Matt,” Jay said when we returned to the Hub. He took my right hand and gave it a firm shake. “It was a good decision to tell the world about power upgrades. If they can get their hands on Hub Cores and find a way to work together, we’ll have a fighting chance.”

“Things will get a lot more violent too,” Caitlin said. The System must have sent out screens detailing the Sector Showdowns and my message. “No offense, Anna, but people like her old friends will get boosts too and use it to wreak havoc on others.”

“Hopefully not as much as before,” I said. “Think about it. If these people have a Hub, they’re going to be locked in a sector. Chances are, they’ll already be the ruling party there and won’t want to cross borders looking for fights. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be fights, of course.”

“We might soon have Metalsmith and her lackeys knocking at our door, but it was a necessary move,” Kitty said. “I’m with Matt on this one. There will be fewer humans dying to monsters.”

“But more people killing people.” Caitlin sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming you, but, being pragmatic, the Alvans sort of twisted this loss to their advantage. Sectors where humanity has won but live as separate factions will soon see a whole lot of violence. I just hope they limit it to these small gladiatorial matches instead of all-out war. Hub Cores are going to be a lot more valuable than McGuffins.”

A shiver ran down my spine as a tingling feeling spread through my right arm. It was the prosthetic. The device was coming back to life, and I could feel the device more intimately than before. It was as if channeling Tech Energy through the weapon had deepened my connection to it. Following my mental prod, it shifted back into its arm form. When I touched the thumb against the fingertips, I was sure it had gained a sense of touch.

“Speaking of McGuffins, I’m going to invest in upgrading the Hub,” I said. “My first priorities are the movement systems and getting all the accompanying perks, then getting a long-range cannon. I reckon that’ll take more than half of what we got. Do any of you have any requests of devices you’d like?”

“Something that boosts mobility for me, please,” Caitlin said. “I don’t want to be in that position ever again. I doubt I have the balance for anything like yours. Perhaps a jetpack or a hoverboard.”

“If you’re making hoverboards, I’d like one too, please,” Anna said.

“What about you, David?” I asked. “Would you like one too?”

He shook his head. “I think it’s time I make my final artifact.” He looked down at the floor, shoulders drooping. “The last fight would’ve gone a whole lot quicker if not for me. I need mobility and defense. It might be time I make some power armor.”

I smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll be Iron Man.”

“That might be copywritten,” Liam added. “Disney is a tenacious entity; I’d stay away from that name.”

Only Kitty and I laughed. The other three looked at us with their eyebrows raised. David claimed four McGuffins. One for his new toy, two to upgrade Kitty’s bow, and another for his multitool. Jay, as usual, didn’t want any. He was happy acting as the rescue service and running the Menagerie. If we had any left over, I planned on making him a protective device. He was a good guy and deserved something, even if he didn’t want to get involved in fights.

Kitty took a few altered McGuffins. She intended to use them for her golems. They’d proven invaluable and would continue to act as our frontline going forward. Even though we intended to fight from in or around the Hub, there would be times when face-to-face combat became a necessity.

We all took some time to relax. After the day we’d had, we deserved it. After preparing dinner together, everyone broke off to shower while meat roasted in the cafeteria kitchen’s ovens. Following our recent victories, the team needed some time to let off steam and celebrate. As I left the group to visit the Hub’s Core, a twinge of sadness poked at my chest.

“I wish Pallav and Rajesh were still with us,” I said, switching over to a private channel connecting Liam and me. “Do you think he’d be willing to come back to us after that broadcast?”

“I don’t know,” he replied after a couple of minutes. “Hopefully the big lug will come to his senses and find his way to the Hub. We’re a massive beacon atop this hill, after all. Once you install the upgrades and the Hub starts moving, people will see us from several sectors away.”

“It’s going to be fellow humans who come after us now, won’t it?” I asked, a pit forming in my stomach. “They’ll want what we have?”

“You got that right. It might be time to kick your savior complex in the arse. I’m going to screen everyone you invite to our home telepathically. That includes Pallav.”

“That’s fair. Let’s take a few days to rest before we get busy. Do you want any McGuffins, mate?”

“I’m going to rifle through whatever altered ones Kitty doesn’t need. I think purpose-built drones can be pretty damn amazing. I need more scouts if we’re going to weed out the centipede king.”

“Very well.” I sighed as the elevator to the third floor opened.

I couldn’t help but groan when I found it all gray. The schools of fish in our at-home aquarium lay suspended in water as if the water had frozen. A blue wisp popped into existence next to the Hub Core and blossomed into a portal. My sponsor wanted a chat, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk to more people. It had been a long day, and we were all tired. I wanted to start the upgrades, shower, and then eat. Perhaps slip in a little alone time with Kitty at some point for a little personal celebration also.

Knurven and Delta exited the portal together. Much to my surprise, two more of the balloon-person’s kind exited it too. Unlike him, they didn’t have speaker drones but had bands of armor covering their bulbous bodies.

“I’m sorry to disturb you now, MAD,” Knurven said, floating towards me. “We wanted to give you some time away from headaches, but the Alvans are tightening their security measures. They suspect it was Delta and me that helped you along but they’re struggling to find proof.”

“Cover-ups are my specialty,” Delta told me very matter-of-factly.

“It’s important we have our chat right now, as it might be our final visit until you take the pylon down. That’s going to be soon, won’t it?”

I nodded. “The sector is under control. The Hub is almost pretty damned badass, and everyone is going to get upgrades. It’ll be a few more days before we start our assault, but it’s next on the agenda.”

“Good.” Knurven’s giant eye narrowed. “Why do I feel like you have a big question for me though? Is there something bothering you?”

“I’m pretty sure you know that I saw the Alvan’s true form.” I removed my goggles and turned them down to show a recording of the event. “Why do these…things resemble you, Knurven? Are you one of them?”

The two armored balloon-people’s eyes glowed red for a moment before dulling. Knurven faced them for a moment before returning his attention to me. His tentacle stiffened, and his eye drifted down towards the floor.

“We branched from the same evolutionary tree, but no, we aren’t the same,” he said. “It’s a sore topic for our kind. We don’t have time to go into details, but we originated from the same solar system. For a long time, the Alvans visited our moon to aid us during times of peril. Then following a natural disaster on their planet, they evacuated it and left us alone. We were primitive back then, you see, and didn’t think much of it.” I could swear it was embarrassment that I sensed pulsing off the balloon person. “The Alvans became things of legend, and occasionally my people worshipped them as gods as the millennia went by. We were in the same stage as you technologically when they returned. My people heralded them as the many-tentacled ones and worshipped them. They responded by giving us access to the System and inciting religious conflicts. They pretended to be gods and ripped our community to bits.”

“Hold on a moment,” I said, interrupting. “Are you one of the species the Alvans used to upgrade their System access?”

“That’s correct. They used our naivety and religious beliefs to exploit the general population and run a Survival Planet season. We were almost driven to extinction, and only small factions of my kind remain. We’ve come to a truce after a long vengeful war, but things are still tense.”

“No wonder you despise them.” I sighed, slumping down on the floor next to the Hub’s Core. “Fine, let’s talk about what’s going on out there and what will happen once we take control of the pylon. We’ve got a planet to save and a species of lying arseholes to bring down.”

“Great!” Knurven’s giant eye lit up. “This is going to be fun.”

It would be fun for him and the viewers, perhaps. I knew it was going to be dangerous for my friends and me. Hopefully, our powers, weapons, and Hub would be a match against the crushers and whatever other defenses the Alvans had waiting for us.

The Nomicronion Liberation Front, partnered with Knurven Enterprises and Plasmade, has officially expelled Stellar Express from the hatchery planets.

Thanks to the viewers’ assistance, we’ve officially ended genocide!

The war isn’t over yet! While MAD pushes the producers back, we’re doing the same with Stellar Express. The enterprise must end, and we won’t rest until they face justice or the void’s cold vacuum.

Thank you for reading They Called Me Madder

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ALSO IN SERIES

THE MAD SERIES

THEY CALLED ME MAD

THEY CALLED ME MADDER

THEY CALL ME MADDEST

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