Hordedoom

One day after the end of the war.

The vast underground halls of the bioengineering complex could be visible through limpid partitions. In myriad separate chambers, white-clad personnel worked diligently under hermetic conditions: performing surgeries on future Problemsolvers, studying rare disease cases, setting incurable patients in stasis, and experimenting with collected samples. Suspended in liquid medical solution, enhanced youth slumbered in capsules, the scars on their skin smoothing. Stronger and faster, these brave men and women would form the core of the Iternian infantry.

Even here, occasional perils awaited researchers, and she tensed, preparing to open a portal and help when green, oily tendrils shot out of an open container six levels below. The unknown creature wasted no time in confusion; the tips of their tendrils tapped on a keyboard panel, clearly recognizing which button should open the door.

Upon failing to activate the mechanism, the throbbing green limbs mimicked, perfectly blending in with the chamber. Her eyes discerned through the camouflage, watching the ropes closing on the researchers, sprouting spiked hooks. They bounced off the protective energy cocoons around the Iternians, and more force fields activated, restraining the creature's limbs with surgical precision, and a warm, mechanical hand touched her shoulder.

"Lay," Artificer said strictly to Eugenia. Today he used a humanoid frame, with green neon lights flickering on the smooth surface of his visor. "The personnel here can handle any accident without your help, Geni. Rest a little." His five-meter-tall body leaned forward. "Noticed how the prisoner immediately oriented itself and went for the buttons and then tried to secure prisoners? It is not animalistic…"

"They are a guest, not a prisoner," Eugenia instinctively corrected him. The researchers extracted the thrashing, panicked, cow-sized sphere from the container, spraying it with paint to make it visible. A man activated a portable translator, trying to calm the bioweapon that had been found in an unearthed laboratory. Soon their guest will be sent to a psychiatric ward for rehabilitation. "It's a demeaning term, and addressing them as a prisoner might lead to needless aggravation. Good manners cost nothing."

Green flickers ran up the black visor, imitating a gesture of rolling eyes. Artificer remained at her side like a concerned nanny, warming her heart with his silent support and care. An array of medical equipment fluttered above the Elite, carefully implanting new spleens, kidneys and fixing the torn colon. Tweezers painlessly pulled out broken teeth, and a swarm of nanomachines sent pleasant tingles throughout her body as it toiled, rebuilding her.

They were supposed to enjoy a vacation on a beach together later today, but he had said nothing about regretting skipping the long-awaited opportunity. Instead, Artificer had stormed in with over a hundred balloons bearing handwritten wishes for Eugenia to get well soon signed by her friends. He tied the balloons to the hospital bed, forcing the instruments to navigate their path around. Then the two of them had a brief pep talk before he brought out the food he had prepared for their shared rest.

She couldn't eat all of it, even if her condition permitted it, so the Elite had satiated her hunger and tasted the new set of teeth on the fruitcakes and steaks.

"Tell me, where did you go wrong?" Artificer asked.

"I assumed I had Mad Hatter's measure," Eugenia answered. "I was arrogant, and her slash had caught me off guard."

"More than that. Prior to that, there were over two hundred and forty opportunities, based on purely preliminary calculations, to deliver a decisive attack and win." The other Elite folded his arms, projecting a holographic image of the battle from his helmet. "Here. When you tried to make her stab herself. Notice she took a breath. If you had used hallucinogenic gas…"

"Her immune system would've had ignored it."

"Not if you had used F-967, it wouldn't," Artificer said, and Eugenia craned her neck to look at him.

"Arti. That gas caused an explosion of paranoia that resulted in the depopulation of a satellite. Its use is prohibited under the rules of the Containment Act."

"Funny you should mention it, because I don't see Mad Hatter's signature on it. Geni, you were dealing with a maniac. You got mutilated trying to take her alive…"

"She is a living being," Eugenia said stubbornly. "The difference in our abilities wasn't that wide for me to miss a chance of bringing her in."

"She was." A chuckle came from Artificer's dynamics, and he bent a knee, taking her hand and warming his gauntlets. His nanomachines shifted, emulating a human touch. "Not everyone can or should be saved. Had you lost, had Ravager not arrived, Houstad would no longer be on the map. Compassion is a good thing, but not when it makes you forget the full extent of your capabilities…"

"Your whining grates my membranes, Elite. There is no correlation between Eugenia's irate focus on preserving the unworthy existences and her failure to accomplish the objective," said Nero Rho. "Her biological parameters were not up to par, plain and simple. No need to search for mysteries where there are none."

The owner of Rho Biological was rarely content with any singular form. Today, instead of normal skin, he had opted for scales of the palest blue hue. Purple pupils devoured every ounce of white, and six arching arms with flat palms carried the thinnest of torsos around. Only his pristine white business suit, tailored to accommodate the unusual body, reminded of the fact that he was a natural-born Iternian. Clicking his tongue, he drank from a can of cold beer, slamming it next to a pod on the table.

"But this," he continued, observing the torn hair floating inside the pod, "is about to assist us in winning the 'survival of the fittest' contest. No one will surpass Iterna again."

Nero swayed, positioning himself protectively over his desired treasure, and mouths opened in his hands, ready to spew ultrasonic noise capable of reducing even an armored trooper to a mist. Cannons formed on Artificer's arms, and Eugenia tensed as well when the door to the private laboratory opened. They weren't aware of any visitors today, but Eugenia relaxed immediately when she recognized the newcomers.

"Take care not to lose sight of why we seek improvement of our protectors," said a soft, commanding voice, and Ruvona Morvand, the former queen of Iterna, strolled in accompanied by Shadows, quickly crowding the room. "All too often, best intentions end up being twisted toward ugly goals."

Dressed in a long, dark red dress draped over her ceremonial plate, with hovering drones holding up the hem of her cloak and skirts from touching the floor and the last round drone bearing the helmet in its claws, Ruvona's pale skin and raven hair represented the national characteristics of a native Iternian. Age had taken its toll on the woman after she had chosen to age naturally, but the extensive rejuvenation procedures that had extended her life for over six hundred years before the Extinction had caused irreversible changes in her, and merely a couple of silver streaks snaked through her mane, giving Ruvona an uncanny resemblance to the Giver of Advice, a goddess of a sadly bygone religion once popular in the past.

The queen had abdicated to mourn the loss of her daughter and sons, but she still regained impressive political influence and material wealth on par with the richest corporations in Iterna, steely aiding the fostering of democracy in the country however she could. Ruvona joined the protest march during the Culling, politely refused the call to restore the monarchy, and stormed into the president's residence alongside Artificer and Eugenia, verbally dismantling the woman and her cabinet for their crimes against humanity before arresting them.

Since then, she had been endeavoring to rebuild the scorned relationships between Abnormals, Mutants, and Normies. Eugenia often met her in the psychiatric wards and juvenile halls, where Ruvona sought to enrich her knowledge of the world and offer advice to the troubled and the young.

"It is silly to accuse me of poor manners when you visit us uninvited, your royal highness." Nero stood on two arms and knelt, kissing the outstretched gloved hand. "Nonetheless, you brighten any place with your presence. You are welcome to visit my abode whenever you so desire."

"Ever the charmer, Nero." Ruvona smiled with the corners of her mouth.

"Have you perchance changed your quaint decision and come to accept an offer of everlasting youth? Drop but a hint, and we shall restore your beauty, along with correcting any faulty function."

"Thank you for your concern, my friend. Alas, I am here on a purely mundane inspection today, hence the surprise. Mortality has never frightened me." Ruvona approached Eugenia, accepted a nod from Artificer, and shook hands with the Elite. "My best wishes for a speedy recovery to you, Eugenia."

"So the battle is over, then?" Eugenia asked. "They keep me here like a mushroom. Completely in the dark."

"Hey, the food wasn't that bad!" Artificer argued.

"And I never said anything about it!" She showed him a tongue. "Artificer 'slipped' to reassure me, so I figured Mad Hatter was dead. But what about the rest?"

"News is still coming in," Ruvona said. "One of our eager reporters, Jacob Makarevich, weaseled out of the evacuation and is back in Houstad, interviewing the locals and the military. The Dynast claims everything is under control…"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Naturally," Nero snorted.

"As we would do in a similar situation, so I don't resent him for the deception," Ruvona said and explained the known situation. "It'll take years for Houstad to recover…"

"Can I donate to the victims?" Eugenia asked immediately.

"Haven't our brave and headstrong friends at the embassy done enough by involving us in foreign affairs?" Nero threw up his four arms. "Childish behavior. We still have no idea where the missing Barjoni is, and their matriarch is spewing venom."

"Let's hope she doesn't choke on her bile." Ruvona sighed. "It would be a shame."

"And quite a sight."

"Hush, Nero, today is not a day for gloating over petty rivalries," asked the former queen. "Eugenia's idea has merit. We have a unique opportunity to nurture better rapport. We can help, and we will."

Ruvona spoke easily, but Eugenia saw a glint in her eyes. She had no doubt that her credits would go straight to the charity; the queen's word was set in stone. More important was the unspoken part. The queen knew she would make such a request. What was this woman scheming today?

Relations between the Reclamation Army and Iterna were no longer hostile, and Iternian tourists felt comfortable in the distant land. No, there was more to it, a level or a method of potentially undermining the Dynast's authority. Eugenia didn't care. If the price of helping those in need was becoming an unwilling pawn in a political game, then so be it.

"One third of the Wolf Tribe has been culled," Artificer said. "Shouldn't it be our priority to send them the relief?"

"They won't accept it," Eugenia whispered, heart sinking. A third. The black-furred Wolfkins were never very numerous, twenty thousand members based on their latest report. She looked to the side, where a newly formed ear floated in a tube, wondering why it wasn't needed today. "Their pride and distrust for us won't allow it."

"Sure, we will be rebuffed if we offer direct aid. But if unmarked crates appear on the border of their villages…"

"I promised her not to open portals near the lands of her children without her permission." Eugenia bit her lower lip. An idea brightened her face. "I can open them kilometers away and haul the gifts!"

"Don't bother with the chore. I've been waiting for a chance to test the latest generation of long-ranged stealth drones." He turned to Ruvona. "With your permission, your highness."

"I can give you my blessing, but not the permission. The Council governs the international relations, not me," Ruvona said. "Nevertheless, I see nothing harmful in your endeavor. Carry it out discreetly, and I'll settle any disagreements with the president. He is a reasonable fellow."

Eugenia grew increasingly more worried, watching Ruvona sauntering toward Nero's table and stopping at a respectable distance, observing Mad Hatter's hair. The former queen wasn't a person to act in reckless circumspection, and her ready acceptance implied that there was more to it than a simple act of friendship. Or could it be that friendship was the goal? If the drones recorded the delivery of supplies, it could be used in the future to apply pressure on the Wolf Tribe, implying their disloyalty to the Dynast to drive a wedge in their alliance and offer a marginalized group sanctuary afterwards…

No. I refuse. Eugenia decided to ask Artificer to not record any evidence of the delivery. If the queen's intentions were as innocuous as they sounded, then there was no harm. If Ruvona desired to profit from the situation, then she should have been clearer in her intentions and let the Council vote on the matter. Either way, it was Eugenia' and Artificer's credits, and they would be the ones to decide how to spend them.

"Is that it, then?" Ruvona asked, examining the pod. "The reason the Council had approved Eugenia's petition to assist the Reclamation Army in their hour of need? It seems so frail, not unlike my own."

"And you'd be surprised at what each individual hair can endure." Nero joined her, placing a hand on the pod. "We subjected it to the equivalent of one million Celsius and not a single burn. Then we applied a weight of a thousand tons to the same result. Finally, we experimented with the absolute zero and spatial cutting, and only the latter had had any effect, albeit negligible…"

"How peculiar," Ruvona said calmly. "Take heed not to waste the stock in vain, my ingenious Nero. I have been informed that we can hardly clone it."

"At this juncture, we can replicate inferior similarities. But combine that with our own knowledge of genetics, and I promise you a new generation of the Problemsolvers and enhancements that will let Eugenia match Ravager. The mastery of technology is ours for the moment. With it, we will unlock another step in the mastery over the flesh. And once we are finished, no extinction, internal or external, will ever topple the dream that is Iterna. A co-pacificis existentium utopia."

"Most ambitious. And most dangerous." A hint of steel crept into Ruvona's voice. "Find the strength to resist any unethical temptations, Nero. These children." She motioned toward the researchers and the sleeping Problemsolvers. "The citizens of Iterna and the people of the world are to inherit us. We are not gods to rule over them. If I see a mangled parody of Mad Hatter writhing in agony, tucked in some hidden chamber…"

"What the hell are you insinuating, Ruvona?" Nero asked bluntly, and the Shadows formed a tight circle around the former queen. "I indulge your barbs for the sake of our friendship, but don't ever forget who was the first to shout warnings about the Culling, and who was so oblivious as to ignore obvious signs. My work ethic is not in question." He approached the group, ignoring the mechanical hands resting on weapons. "I am an artist. Beauty comes from under my scalpel, be it visual, physical, or both. Find me a person who has been irreparably maimed by my methods, and I'll eagerly pay you two billion immediately." Gills opened on his neck from anxiety. "I even found the bastard who bullied me in high school and healed his leg to close this page. And you dare…"

The sounds faded, and Eugenia's vision momentarily blurred as needles slipped into the space between her eye and the socket, heading for the nerve. The medication had done its purpose, and the Elite felt no twinge of irritation, but she had suddenly imagined an orange cloud passing from the table back to the entrance. She blinked, unable to close her eyelids fully.

Nero let out a thin, faint hiss and lowered his head to the floor, where a line of orange spots led from the entrance to his research table. He whirled around, hurried to the pod, touched the seals on it, then rummaged through the table, stopping at his can of beer.

"Alert to all security stations!" the man bellowed, shocking Eugenia. A holographic display jumped into view on the partition with the officers' faces on it. "Begin an immediate security sweep of the complex. Search for any spatial or temporal anomalies and report back to me immediately."

"Should we put the place on lockdown, sir?" a Problemsolver asked.

"No," Nero replied, pulling an ordinary clock out of a safe. "It has already happened."

" 'Happened' what, dear Nero?" Ruvona asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"An intrusion. I placed my beer strictly forty centimeters away from the samples. Now it stands forty-five centimeters away."

"You must've been mistaken in your estimation then," Artificer said. "It happens…"

"Not with me!" Nero yelled. "Don't you mock me, Elite; we know how important precision is in our professions. No. It has happened before. Objects are not exactly where I left them, displaced, as if by a careless hand. It irritated me to no end, and so I took a certain precaution…" He gestured to the floor. "To confirm my theory. Something, or someone, just stopped time in this room, walked in, examined the samples, and left."

"Mister Nero, you are being paranoid," Eugenia tried to calm him down. "We are hanging in the middle of the nest of research chambers. Surely any intruder would have been caught by the cameras or seen by the staff."

"Eugenia, my gorgeous doll, do me a favor. Once you are out, walk below and face my chamber. Use your eyes for something other than looking pretty! It is solid black to any sort of vision." Nero sighed. "We can see outside through its walls, but I value my privacy and the secrecy of my personal projects. Nothing, no scanner, can penetrate this material."

"I just linked into the complex's mainframe and reviewed the records. There was no intrusion," Artificer stated.

"Then what will you say about this, you dolt?!" Nero shoved the clock into Artificer's visor.

At first, Eugenia didn't understand what the man was raving about. It was a simple, old-fashioned clock, not even an electric one. But then she detected a discrepancy. It was 18:07 on the holographic security display, while the clock was showing 18:01. Six minutes were missing. She licked her lips in uneasiness and found her own watch, trying to convince herself that Nero's junk must've been broken. For safety's sake, her watch wasn't connected to the Net to prevent a possible leak of the private Rho's bioengineering templates, and it also read 18:01:37. She looked at Artificer, and the AI nodded.

"I haven't noticed," he admitted. "We've been had. Anything missing?"

"The seals are untouched, and the data is encrypted." Nero waved his hand. "No, I don't know the reason for the intruder's visit, but it wasn't to compromise our research. This is why I am taking it so calmly."

Is that what passes for a calm demeanor in these parts? Eugenia smirked and then frowned. Calm… She turned to the queen.

"A disturbing development," Ruvona said. "The Council will hear about it immediately. If you wish, I can request the Shadows to assist with security…"

"No need!" Nero leapt on the ceiling. There he sat behind a terminal, typing furiously. "I am a Rho, your highness. There is nothing we can't solve. I'll let you know when we discover our unexpected visitor and squeeze an answer out of it."

"Keep us updated, please. Your safety is paramount," asked Ruvona, walking toward the exit. "Eugenia, Artificer, Nero, it's been an enlightening pleasure. I have an inspection to complete, so if you have any questions, I'll be here for several more hours. We will start with the found bioweapon. The poor thing must be terrified. I'll try to communicate with them."

Questions. Right. Eugenia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. The inspections happened regularly, as the government preferred to monitor the Rhos and prevent any illegal experimentation. A laudable initiative, especially since her own first act as a non-vigilante taken under Artificer's wing had been to expose and arrest a member of that family for what he had been doing to the refugees.

But the unannounced arrival reeked of insult, so the inspectors tried to avoid it, and Ruvona was diplomatic enough to know how territorial the Rhos were. She also knew how seriously Nero took his craft, so the thinly veiled threat and insult must have been intended to provoke a reaction. A reaction that would involve the scientist stepping away from the pod. Following this line of logic, if the intruder had indeed entered the facility with Ruvona, could he be one of the Shadows? Was that why Nero had refused the invaluable help of the best national agents…

No, it didn't add up. Nero was riled up, and the Shadows closed ranks around Ruvona, thus no longer cramping the room and widening the path for one particular person to come in and do whatever. Does it mean that the queen led her own game? But to what end? She wasn't interested in ruling, preferring to pull the strings behind the curtain and willingly bow to the will of the Council. She was a prominent figure in charity and international relations, helping the broken to get back on their feet and the grieving to gather their will and move on.

It just didn't make much sense for her to act in such an underhanded manner. Nero wasn't stupid; either he or his offspring would connect the dots. What did Ruvona stand to benefit out of it? Perhaps I am simply imagining things. Eugenia thought. To her knowledge, Dalantai was the second recorded time manipulator in the world. To meet another, so soon, didn't seem feasible. What, were all these esoteric power users hiding in the bush? Once they were alone, she intended to discuss her suspicions with Artificer.

Iterna had endured one horror. They would not allow another.