A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, Sugar.

 

What had Sugar? Cake. Pudding. Ice Cream.

 

It was lump after lump of sugar, turned into liquid and then used as an ingredient, turned into solid and used as an ingredient, and then used to create a work of art. In a nutshell, it was sugar placed atop of sugar and sprinkled with some extra sugar.

 

Did it have other things? Of course, it did. The cake had [Bread], the pudding had [Milk], and the [Ice Cream] had [Strawberries]. But at the end of the day, it was merely an accompaniment. The main thing was sugar over sugar, with sugar and some sugar on the side.

 

It was chock full of [Energy], and she could feel her body want to go into hyperdrive once again. However, her own effort and sound mind had prevented this, as she had started channeling the extra [Sugar] into [Sugar deposits] she made within her body. She would make them into crystals and hide them away to be used when needed or when she wanted to go into hyperdrive for some reason.

 

“Rhapsody…are you okay?” [Skye] asked on the side as she finished her own slice of [Cake].

 

[Skye] had only brought one slice, and Alexa now understood why. Had any average [Human] that didn’t have access to separate the extra sugar into their body…Yeah, that would be a nightmare to deal with.

 

“Yes, I just finished setting up aside the extra [Sugar] for later use. This will help me with my [Energy]problems quite well. Thank you for bringing me here.” Alexa answered as she set down her [Fork].

 

She still had some [Pudding] left, but to be honest…she hadn’t quite liked that one as much, the texture was weird, not hard to eat, but after eating such delicacies, the texture of the [Pudding]...it left much to be desired.

 

“Miss Rhapsody? Vulcanus would like to speak with you.” A [White Masked] minion said to them as soon as her [Fork] hit the table.

 

Right, [Billy] had said that Vulcanus wanted to speak with her, right?

 

What would [Vulcanus] want to talk about? Would it be about what she did?

 

“Okay, let’s go,” Alexa said as she stood. As soon as she did this, the [Minions] all around started chatting among themselves, as if they had been doing from the beginning. This was such interesting behavior.

 

“We will be waiting here; we do need to speak, too, when you return, Rhapsody. We will come clean about our Core Powers…but we will need a more thorough explanation in exchange.” [Golem] said to her without standing from his seat.

 

“Or you can ignore the big rock and just give us the important bits; it's up to you, really.” [Skye] said from her side, taking another bite of her [Cake].

 

….Alexa may go by the dessert table and grab another [Cake] slice, too.

 

“This way.” Alas, the [Minion] who had come to fetch her said, pointing to a set of stairs that…she hadn’t noticed before. They seemed to be almost transparent, and no one was paying attention to them. “After you.”

 

Was this perhaps another [Core Power]? Alexa wasn’t sure.

 

“[Detected Mana waves coming from stairs. Similar in nature to Human Designation: Chrysalis, caution is advised.]”

 

So it was a [Core Power], but it only used another different application of the [Barriers], huh?

 

Alexa took the first step upon the [Stairs], and when her feet found solid ground, she took a second step. One by one, she started climbing this staircase made of rainbow steps, and with each step, she came closer and closer to a second floor.

 

On this one, she could see several tables with masked individuals. Some of them she recognized…, but most of them she didn’t know.

 

She recognized the table with [Vulcanus] and the masked individuals that had been labeled as [Lieutenants]. Another one she recognized was the table that hosted [Scorcher] and those seated with him. He hadn’t reacted to her presence…But then again, not only was she different from how he had seen her before, but she was also wearing a [White Mask].

 

“Rhapsody, come.” [Vulcanus] said to her, and so she moved there. The people at the other tables stared at her, but Alexa ignored them. It was obvious for them to stare at her; she was currently [The Most Beautiful] after all.

 

“Rhapsody reporting,” Alexa said as she stood before the table. The other [Lieutenants] didn’t take mind of her and continued eating. Some of them did away with their mask and showed their faces. Others had done, like [Skye] and Alexa, and only dislodged the lower half of the [Mask] to allow their mouth to be able to eat.

 

It was an interesting dichotomy among the high-ranking [Minions].

 

“Good, we got reports of your decease.” [Vulcanus]said, and with the snap of his fingers, a huge [Screen] descended from the ceiling.

 

On it, an altered [Vide] of the events started being broadcasted, Alexa could see some of the [Frames] change as if someone had modified the recording to make it more…visible.

 

“Please do tell me if I got something wrong.” [Vulcanus] spoke as the recording started to arrive at the part where she had been knocked down.

 

From this moment onward, the discrepancies started. On the video, she could see [Chrysalis] punching her chest. “There,” Alexa said, pointing at the screen. As soon as she opened her mouth, the screen froze.

 

“Did I get something wrong?” [Vulcanus] asked. His voice wasn’t angry or anything, but it was more…curious.

 

“[Chrysalis] did not punch me, she got ahold of my [Breast] with her hand and crushed it between her fingers,” Alexa answered while pointing with her finger at her right boob.

 

“I was wondering what that small explosion-like event was, so that was your breast, huh. I assume they are natural?” [Vulcanus] asked while getting a glare from the [Female Minions] on the table, not that he seemed fazed by them.

 

“They are 100% made with muscle and fat tissue if that is what you refer to. I don’t have any alternative blueprint for their make.” Alexa answered in turn. The video rewound itself, and she now could see [Chrysalis] getting ahold of her breast and crushing it between her fingers.

 

Some of the [Females] within the seats winced at the scenery.

 

“Is this more accurate, then?” [Vulcanus] asked while pausing it when [Chrysalis] had sunk her fingers within her flesh.

 

“There was less blood leaking in squirts, [Chrysalis] barrier worked to prevent it from spreading that far.”Alexa answered, and the little blood squirts traveled backward, “Also, she was [Smiling] while looking down on me.”

 

The image of the [Heroine]changed from a placid look to a vicious smile, “Yes, like that. A little more [Hate] in her eyes…” Alexa added, and the image changed ever so slowly.

 

“And you? I’m sorry to say, but it isn’t quite normal for you to be that…quiet.” [Vulcanus] said while her form in the video seemed to want to move and fight. Right…she should be under great duress.

 

“I was suffering from [Shock] and also had turned most of my [Pain receptors] off,” Alexa answered. The first part, of course, was a lie. She had no doubts that [Eleanore] would catch on it, but that was fine. She wanted her to catch on it. She needed to record how her body reacted to [Lies] if she ever needed to deceive her…This would be of use, as for the second…

 

“Ah, a kindred spirit. Yes, I liked to do that when I had more Human parts.” [Vulcanus] answered to that part with a smile on his [Crystal-like face].

 

With that, the video resumed; the rest of it was normal. As [Chrysalis] started punching her in the face, she noticed how, in the video, her [Mask] started cracking under the hits. That was…false.

 

But a small, almost imperceptible movement on [Vulcanus] made her not point it out. [Chrysalis] also was weird in the recording. While her face did morph into more [Hate] and [Rage] as the hits started to pick up, this recording showed her more…[Feral].

 

Then…It came the significant bit, the part where she had started her act.

 

And sure enough, it was at this point where [Vulcanus] paused it again.

 

“Now here, here I’m not quite sure. You didn’t point anything before this point, but here…” [Vulcanus] said as the record started again. Her reflection on the screen began clawing away while a synthetic voice sounded with her pleading for help. “I assume it was something like this?”

 

“Yes, while this doesn’t have the exact words I used, the spirit is somewhat the same,” Alexa answered, her recording seemed to speak mostly incoherent words while screaming.

 

While she….did not scream like that, she liked this version more and would save it for later use if needed. The recording moved on as she started to pick up on volume and scream louder, and after reaching a crescendo…

 

Her lower half burst open as gore flew around all over the place. Some of those who had been eating stopped doing so and left their tables. Perhaps they wanted more stuff to eat?

 

Others started hollering and cheering for some reason at her apparent demise? That or at the fact that the recorded version of [Chrysalis] had part of her [Intestines] as a collar. She was almost sure that hadn’t happened.

 

But the next part had [Chrysalis] screaming and jumping away from her as she tried to clean herself.

 

And to be honest, Alexa also found that part quite funny.

 

“Did I get everything right?” [Vulcanus] asked as the screen once more froze at the point where the Alexa in the recording started walking away toward the sewer.

 

“Yes, sir,” Alexa answered, so the recording resumed again. The Alexa on the screen started crawling towards the sewer, grabbed the metal disk, and threw it at [Chrysalis], unlike what happened in the real world. This recording showed [Chrysalis]’s head moving at the impact.

 

After that, Alexa threw herself into the sewers, and the recording sped up. They saw [Chrysalis] raise Alexa’s lower body and, throw it down the sewers and close the sewer entrance with the metal disk again.

 

“She threw a square box,” Alexa said, making everyone stop.

 

“Oh right, Hermes did report something like that.” [Vulcanus] smirked as he rewound the video once more. This time, he placed a square object in [Chrysalis] 's hand. “Care to describe it?”

 

“A square white box with two liquid vials,” Alexa said. The image zoomed into the box and started changing as per her description: “The liquid on the left vial was blue while the one on the right side was green. They seemed to be connected to a third vial in the middle. There was a [Countdown] in the middle that marked fifteen minutes by the time I stopped pretending to be wounded.”

 

The image changed to reflect her description and some of those around had started speaking in hushed tones.

 

“Yes, this does seem to look oddly familiar. Any opinions on that Scorcher?” [Vulcanus] said turning to the table that hosted Scorcher.

 

“I sold the design, anyone could use it. Even Heroines in training.” [Scorcher] said with a grunt, “...Did it have anything on the back?”

 

The attention returned to Alexa. “I did not see. I reported the presence of the box and was instructed by [Hermes] to run away. I recovered as much as I could from my gear and ran away to the rendezvous point,” added Alexa at the end.

 

The video resumed once more with [Chrysalis] throwing the square object down and then the footage speeded up, it slowed at the 10-minute mark where [Chrysalis] spoke to someone as she placed a finger on her ear. She had turned to look back and so the camera didn’t had focus on what she was saying.

 

Then it continued at a fast speed, at the 20-minute mark [Chrysalis] left flying away and sometime after that the metal disk moved a little and let some smoke go.

 

“And that’s about it, of course Rhapsody wasn’t there by that moment, but this is another clear evidence of Chrysalis going over the line against a Minion.” [Vulcanus] spoke as the video rewound back to the moment when [Chrysalis] had started punching her, this time her hands seemed covered in blood. How was that possible? Probably more editions done by [Vulcanus].

 

“And?” [Scorcher] scoffed, “What do you want us to do? You turn squeamish when I try to burn down civilians, but you would have me go out of my way to get into more problems with the Heroes? The only reason I’m not burning you all is because you are useful.”

 

“Not that I want to support Scorcher, but our hands are tied. If we go after a Sidekick, whether she got it coming or not. The Heroes will hunt us all down, we need evidence of her wrongdoings. And we need it public, your Minion is safe and isn’t wounded, as far as Chrysalis and The Heroes go. She wasn’t hurt and this video is fake.”Another one of those around spoke, this one had a mask that barely hid his eyes and had some hair above his lip. A quick internet search determined that this was a [Moustache].

 

“What do you want from us Vulcanus? Will you stop us from using your network if we don’t support you? Will you start accepting jobs against us? Speak. Why have you called us here?” Another one of those seated in this floor spoke, this one had a domino mask with four points on its forehead.

 

“Haephestus’ Forge will offer discounted rates for our minions to anyone that can provide evidence of Chrysalis suffering….unfortunate accidents. This bonus will be retroactive for any crimes or fights from this point onwards.” [Vulcanus] spoke making everyone on the site turn quiet. “Of course we won’t accept hearsay; we will need evidence, and each instance will only be valid for one discount. So if you want more discount, you will need recorded evidence of…more accidents. You will also need evidence of being there or being the cause of it. So, why did I bring you here?”

 

[Vulcanus] stood as he walked toward the end of his table. “It is to present you all with this opportunity for new business and to celebrate the first good job of the new Minions in our organization. By the way, the one affected on this occasion is this one here. Say hi to them, Rhapsody. They will probably require your services soon enough.”

 

Alexa looked around and noticed that people were starting to notice her. The scorcher's eyes remained longer on her, as if she were being evaluated. Alexa didn’t like the look she was getting from that one. Was it because it was the one that almost killed her the first day she got out of her first [Den]?

 

Another [Human Emotion]? That was hard to parse, perhaps she could check later?

 

“[Saving emotional state for later peruse during night debug.]”

 

Thank you [Main Core].

 

“Greetings. My name is Rhapsody, and I am a member of the [Fairy Team] of [Haephestus’ Forge].” Alexa said to the ones seated on this floor and to some of the [Minions] looking from the lower floor.

 

“Good, now with that out of the way you can leave Rhapsody.” [Vulcanus] said pointing with one of his hands towards a [Door] behind his table. “Cerberus wants to speak with you about your next assignment. Good luck.”

 

So with that out of the way, Alexa walked towards that [Door], anything to get away from the eyes of [Scorcher], she got the impression that the [Villainess] wanted to attack her and was restraining herself. What had Alexa done to her?!?

 

She had gotten attacked by her first! If anything, it should be Alexa the one that wanted to start a fight!

 

As soon as Alexa walked through the [Door] and closed it behind the feeling receded, what she found, however. There was a hallway with [Eleanore] waiting before one of the doors.

 

“Ah, welcome Alexa. We need to speak.” Said [Eleanore] opening another door and walking inside, she hadn’t spoken to her using her Rhapsody moniker, she had used her Alexa name. So Alexa removed her mask and walked through the door.

 

She found herself in a [Room] with a table and two chairs on each side. So after seeing [Eleanore] sitting in one she sat in the other.

 

“ There is no easy way to say this so I will just get it out.” [Eleanore] said as she placed several folded papers atop the table. “Pick one, that will be your school.”

 

School?

 

“[Institution were childrens go to study and socialize.]”

 

“I personally recommend this one.” [Eleanore] said as she pushed one of the papers towards her. A friend works here, and she is good. I don’t know if she still is there since she was working there as a substitute teacher the last time we spoke.”

 

[Nightingale Primary School]

[Lewis Middle School]

[Henderson High School]

[Roy’s University]

 

“Nightingale Primary School?” Alexa asked as she took the paper depicting the suggestion. It seemed to be a school that focused on the education of [Child Stage Humans], so she would need to go in her [Child Stage] form…

 

That ought to be…interesting.