A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

“How much did we make?” One of the [Black Masked Minions] asked as they pilled upon the [Van].

“Around 2,000 Axolotl-Dollars in high-end tech, why?” Other of the [Minions]answered back, only to be hit on the head by the [Minion] that asked first.

“Don’t ever use the full name for A-Dollars. I swear to god the asshole that changed the name from Dollars to A-Dollars just did it to annoy people….” The [Minion] in question said while pulling a small square-shaped paper with the symbol of money (According to a quick search on the internal database) and a [Creature] that seemed familiar to some kind of aquatic reptile?

“Stop the chitchatting, we are leaving.” [Golem]’s voice came from the speakers of the [Van] as [Mikey] started the [Engine] and so they started moving, leaving behind the [Warehouses].

“Quick question…” Alexa said from her spot while looking outside, “What does [Chrysalis] look like?”

“Not now Rhapsody, I need to focus.” [Mikey] said back as he focused on the road ahead while moving faster than he did when coming this way

“By any chance is she a purple-haired [Young Woman] who flies like [SuperForce] and glares at [Vans]?” Alexa said still looking to the outside.

“....yes….why?” [Mikey] said still not turning in her direction, but his hands seemed to be twitching as Alexa turned to look at him.

“Is [Chrysalis] accompanied usually by other people? Namely a [Young Man] dressed in a full [BodySuit] like the one I am using, but only using a half mask?” Alexa said while recording the appearances of the suspects for later search when she got a connection to the internet network at large.

“....Fuck….” [Mikey] sweared as he pulled the [Radio] and started speaking, “Golem? Rhapsody saw Chrysalis and V-8. Rhapsody? ETA? Location?”

“They are over there,” Alexa said pointing to her right, when she did so the [Woman] screeched and then what followed was…weird.

First the other [Human] turned into a blur, next thing she knew was that he was standing at [Mikey]’s Door pushing the [Brake] and making them stop, then doing the same the next second on [Golem]’s [Van]...And the same to [Skye].

“Fricking speedsters…Great he took the keys too…” [Mikey] grumbled as he turned to look at Alexa. “Well, that’s it. We can’t outrun a speedster and with Chrysalis as a spotter we can’t run.”

That was…weird, didn’t he want to [Survive]? Surely failing on the first [Job] would put that at risk?

“Can you explain to me the [Core Powers] of our current [Targets]?” Alexa said as she started thinking of strategies, the [Speedster] seemed to have only that going for him. Speed. If Alexa could predict where he may come then dealing with that would be easy. Perhaps she would burn more [Energy]than needed, but if she managed to incapacitate him…

Well, she could always turn around afterward and deal with him.

“Nothing for it, V-8 is your classical base speedster. He is fast but not strong, anything he throws returns to the normal speed it should have if he did it at normal speed. Heals faster but that is at best twice as fast. If you get a good hit on him you can knock him down, but the problem is hitting the MF.” [Mikey] grumbled as he described the blue blur who was now running around the [Vans] taunting the [Minions]. No one paid any attention to him as far as she could see. “Chrysalis is the problem, she is known to over-extend her hand while fighting, that is why she gets the place of spotter nowadays, if we want to run away we need to deal with her, but while she is on the sidekick program, she is more of a heavy hitter Hero Class. She makes barriers out of telekinesis to protect herself, she uses them to fly and also uses them to mimic super strength.”

…That was…

“[Unfair].” Main Core was right, that [Heroine] had so many applications available to her from one set? Did she have more? What kind of [Wish] did she have that granted such a versatile power?

“If I deal with [V-8] and manage to distract [Chrysalis] you would be able to complete today’s [Mission Objective]?” Alexa said as she finished setting up her countermeasures against the [Speedster].

“I mean...sure? But we would need to get the keys from V-8…wait, what are you doing Rhapsody?” [Mikey] said as Alexa opened the door and left the [Van].

As soon as her feet touched the ground the blue blur started walking around her, she could barely see the [Man].

“[Starting testing phase…stretching tendrils….]” Main Core of course was hard at work, he started producing small and thin tendrils from her body and sending them out. They were barely visible and got caught in the wind made from the blue blur running around her. “[Accelerated perception of time detected within target entity. Accelerating consciousness stream to match target objective.]”

“Come on girl, don’t make this harder…I am pissed as it is since Chrysalis pulled me to this, I will get a penalty on my record from this. All because I wanted to get a date. I didn’t think she would pull this on me…And then you fricking Minions making my work harder?” The [Man] was speaking to her…no. At her, he was barely walking, not even running. And yet…it looked as if he was running before?

Was…was his power only making it seem as if he was fast?

“[Target objective doesn’t seem to have accelerated thought process, only accelerated perception of time.]” Main Core said as she noticed how her tendrils were starting to tangle more and more around the [Speedster]. They were thin and so it wouldn’t matter much…

unless….

“Increase thickness of tendrils around target feet, make it so he stumbles into the approximate area where my fist will be.” Alexa said as she started moving.

Her perception of time returned to normal and she prepared to throw a punch, it wasn’t the same type of punch she had used before where she focused all her strength into a single spot. It was instead a normal [Human Punch].

She didn’t aim at any spot in particular, instead, she only threw it straight ahead.

She could probably link her feet or fist towards the neural sensors on her tendrils to make her body react on her own, but that might end with her leg or arm broken. So instead she made [V-8] trip into her fist.

From the outside it looked as if [V-8] tripped just in the right way to fall into Alexa’s fist, Alexa felt her fist hit into the [Man]’s face and she heard a crunch, was this…was this [Man] this feeble?

Either way, the man hit the ground and seemed to bounce a few times before stopping completely. Alexa walked towards the man to make sure he was out cold.

“Rhapsody! Are you okay?” [Golem]’s voice was the first to come as Alexa kneeled beside the [Man], she found a pouch with some square-shaped things covered in what seemed to be some kind of foil-like materials, Alexa took the pouches full and put their things in her own pouches. Going over the things she finally found the keys and threw them to [Golem].

“With this, we can turn the [Vans] again right?” She asked while placing one of her [Feet] atop the leg of the [Speedster].

“Yes, but we still need to deal with Chrysalis, we can’t return to the base with her looking.” [Golem] said eyeing the [Speedster].

[Mikey] had said that this one would recover twice as fast as a normal [Human], so when Alexa felt him stirring under her feet she crushed the [Bone] following the example that [Golem] had given before.

“AAAAAAAAAAAH” And the [Human] started trashing as he moved as a blur that rolled on the ground away from her.

“Heh, that’s kinda funny,” Alexa said before she knew it, weird. “[Chrysalis] is a [Hero] right?”

“Yeah, why?” [Golem] answered at her as he passed the [Keys]to the [Minions] responsible for each [Van].

“If I claim that normal [Humans] are at risk, will she follow me?” Alexa asked.

“No, Chrysalis must know we are part of Haephestus’s Forge, she knows we will not attack Civilians.” [Golem] answered first, so the [Heroes] knew of the rules they worked under? That seemed….

“[Unwise]”

“...It may work.” [Mikey] said at the side, “She is on the Side-kick program because she causes too much trouble, so she must be wearing a body cam. If you scream that at her, she must act under the premise that you will fulfill the threat. If she doesn’t then you will be able to run away and report to base. If she follows you then we will finish the mission.”

“Can you escape if she captures you?” [Golem] asked turning to her, she could swear that for half a second the man had glared at [Mikey], weird. She couldn’t see his eyes, but how could she know it?

“Yes, unless I am isolated in a sealed chamber with no access to [Biomass]. But they shouldn’t go that far…right?” Alexa asked as confirmation, she did not want to experience something like that.

“Not probable, not with a Shape Shifter Core. They do that to Virus Cores or Toxic Cores.” [Mikey] said in a reassuring tone.

“Okay, back to the Vans! We are leaving!” [Golem] said in a loud voice, all the [Minions] got into the [Vans] and prepared to move. So next was Alexa’s turn.

“I WILL GO INTO THE [HOUSING AREA] AND [KILL] AS MANY [HUMANS] AS I CAN UNLESS YOU STOP ME!” Alexa screamed at Chrysalis, making sure to increase the volume of her voice as much as possible.

She saw [Chrysalis] stopping for a second as if she wasn’t sure in what direction to move, so Alexa took the chance and started running towards the nearest [Housing Area] she remembered seeing before.

It wasn’t long before she [Felt] a [Gaze] upon her back, turning her head slightly back she found a projectile flying straight to her [Head]. So letting her body fall she dodged the thing, it seemed that it was a [Pole] with the letters [Stop] on it.

…Was this a [Direction]?

Either way, Alexa didn’t stop running and continued on her way, she started running towards the nearest [House], only for something to hit her back before she was even halfway through the streets.

“Stop resisting, don’t make this more annoying for me.” The voice of the [Woman] said as she was forcibly made look to the night sky, she had fallen face first and this [Woman] turned her body upwards so her face ended up looking up.

Atop of her was a purple hair [Woman] dressed in a [Mini Skirt] and a loose [Blouse], on her head were a pair of purple [lenses] that could barely hide her identity. The [Woman] seemed annoyed at the situation as her legs constricted Alexa’s torso.

She wasn’t being directly touched by the [Woman], she felt as if her whole body was being encased in an invisible wall, unlike the time she was stopped by [SuperForce], this time the [Woman] had needed to touch her physically to encase her, and unlike with [SuperForce], she got the feeling that this could be breached with enough force.

“[Warning, Host is currently held tightly. Probability of escape is low.]” So Alexa was stuck indeed.

She tried to struggle to no avail, no matter how she moved she felt herself held tightly together. What she noticed was that…this [Barrier] was similar to the one that the other [Human] had used.

“You are the one that gave that [Man] his [Shield]?” Alexa asked as she tried to worm her way away by limiting her strength and speed.

“That won’t work on me, I am regulating this barrier. Unlike the fake ones stuck in those weird Saintsworth’s Loaders. This is the real deal. You only get to breathe because I allow it.” [Chrysalis] said with a smirk on her [Face]. “You made me work extra, had to leave my partner on the ground because of you. I couldn’t rescue him since you threatened the civilians.”

Somehow, Alexa got the feeling that this [Woman] was not feeling anything of what she said, her face was morphed into a scowl and she was writing something on a [Phone] that was away from the very obvious camera stuck on her chest.

Was that the [Camera]? The one [Mikey] spoke about. How to use this…

“You must behave like a [Hero] and prevent wanton destruction of [Human] life right?” Alexa asked as she started shifting under her [Bodysuit] she would move as much [Biomass] and [Energy] to her torso

“...you can’t make me leave using that again. Your fellow minions must be running back home with the crumbs they got.” [Chrysalis] smirked at her as she grabbed her [Breast] with one of her hands and started squishing down. “Really, you fucking cow Minions always making my life hard….”

Alexa wasn’t quite sure what was happening right now, but the [Woman] was starting to get angry, she felt the pressure rising on her chest as the muscles on her breast started rupturing and the pain started rising up.

That made her plans easier to execute, so while [Main Core] started cutting nerve endings she moved to the main part. This would be….hard.

“Main Core, start virtual machine, set up split consciousness stream, and set up emotional responses.” Alexa sent the prompt and felt the thug on her [Mind] as something seemed to refuse to split apart.

“[Warning, this exceeds the threshold of what is deemed within the range of responsibilities towards this Core Unit. Asking administrator…Admin Call…]” What? Wasn’t she the admin?

But even so, Alexa didn’t feel the incoming call.

“Hah? So they are fake and that is why you don’t squeal like the bitch you are huh?!?!?” And then there was the [Woman] screeching atop her who started punching her face. Or well, her mask. Even so, the [Woman] was doing something with her [Barriers] as she felt the impact as if it was hitting her through her [Mask].

“[Contact with ND0 System achieved. Executing.]”

And that was the last thing Alexa remembered, for afterward the world turned blank.

---

“GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!” It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!!!!

Alexa never had felt something this bad, she could feel her chest being squished, and she could feel her face being bruised, “STOP PLEASE!” She could feel the [Fear], the same one she had felt when facing P8-Variant.

The same one she tasted the first time she delved into the ramifications of what the man would do to her if she hadn’t managed to kill him…The [Fear] of being…[weak].

“Main Core what is happening?” So Alexa asked inwardly, and…felt nothing.

She couldn’t feel her [Core], nor [Main Core] for that matter, her [Nanites] didn’t answer to her call, and she couldn’t even do the simplest of shifts. She had no strength in her lower body either, as if nothing was there.

“THAT’S THE FEAR OF GOD I WANTED YES! SCREAM FOR MOMMA!” And then there was [Chrysalis] atop of her who was laughing while hitting her face repeatedly.

Alexa could feel the tears forming on her face as the [Woman] laughed at her, she had felt something burst on her chest and could feel a warm liquid traversing her chest.

Several warnings blared on her [HUD], and some injectors within her [BodySuit] had started injecting some [Drugs] to ease her pain. But even with all of this, Alexa couldn't help but scream while trying to move her arms and shield her face.

"WHAT? IS THAT ALL?!?! THEY DON'T MAKE WHITE-MASKED ONES LIKE BEFORE?!? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR GUTS HUH!?!?!? YOU ARE ONLY MAKING ME LOSE MONEY FOR NOTHING?!?!? YOU WANT TO SCREW MY NIGHT?!?!?!? HUH?!?!?" The [Woman] continued screaming atop her while hitting her.

At some point Alexa didn't had more energy to scream anymore, she still tried to call upon [Main Core]...But nothing answered.

"Main Core?" She tried to call, but nothing answered back, it was as if...as if she was trapped with no contact with the outside.

"WHAT?!?" The [Woman] screamed while placing a finger on his ear, " Hah? She is a White Masked, so she has some Core Powers. I am just making sure the boys in blue don't have trouble when transporting her. Of course, she is fine, here look."

And as if to make a point the woman materialized some kind of blunt object made with her [Barriers], and with one motion of her hand, she made it crush her right arm.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Alexa's throat was raw from the screams, but even so, she couldn't help herself.

"See? She is still lively...What? Why does it matter? Not like these records will be shown to the public anyway..." The [Woman] continued speaking as if she wasn't even here...As if she was nothing...No, less than nothing.

"NO!" Alexa screamed as she felt something start constricting on her abdomen, "STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"

"Wait a second. I'm not doing anything! I'm speaking with you, how would I even have time to play with this cow and speak with you?!? I am wasting energy by keeping her trapped as is!" The woman continued speaking as if nothing was happening. But Alexa could feel it, her waist was being crushed.

"HELP!!! SHE WANTS TO KILL ME!!! SOMEONE! ANYONE!!!" So she screamed while fighting against the barrier that was keeping her in place. She tried to fight, she tried to make her body shift, to move all her [Biomass] and turn it into muscles, to free herself.

To escape!

Alas...

*burst*

It wasn't meant to be.

"...WHAT THE HELL?!?!?" Was what she heard as the [Woman] flew away from her covered in gore, her face was...funny, as she seemed to want to make sure nothing had stuck to her.

If only Alexa wasn't bleeding out...

"[Notice: Nearby exit route behind host's body. Circular metal doorway. Proceed with caution.]"

The voice at the back of her head spoke, Alexa was so tired...so so tired...But with her only remaining arm she pulled herself while the [Woman] was busy trying to get Alexa's gore from her body. It seemed that some of that had traversed below the threshold she had set for her [Barriers].

So Alexa dove into the darkness as her consciousness faded away.

*Splat*

"Such a funny sound..." Was the last conscious thought Alexa had before darkness claimed and her body stood there in the middle of the darkness, she...didn't have a beating heart anymore.