The scene is the rooftop helipad of a very tall building (Not a Skyscraper), obviously built by some very aesthetically challenged architects. One may notice that the surrounding structures are of a similar design, Disgustingly industrial and naked as to show their purposes. Despite it being 5:15 AM, however, the streets and avenues of the city were choked with automobiles and pedestrians with no actual purpose except to mill around aimlessly and look like so many sheep to the slaughter.

The city is, quite obviously, an important commerce hub, or something similarly important, for what other reason is there for absolutely every light in every building to be on at this ungodly hour ?

A large, apparently aerodynamically retarded helicopter, quickly descends to the aforementioned rooftop. There appear to be a number of relatively unfit men dressed in laboratory coats and shaved bald waiting for the next aircraft to land. These men managed to board the aircraft with some difficulty, notwithstanding the fact that it had already landed, and settled down within it's confines, panting heavily.

'Alright, is everybody strapped in ? Well, it's time I lift this weasel off! Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Coburt Fresno, I will be your pilot flying non-stop from Chicago City to Seattle. Please follow the lovely stewardess' instructions on how to buckle your seatbelts and operate your lifejackets.', spoke the pilot up front, gesturing to his copilot as if regarding him as the stewardess.

'Shut up, you jackass, firstly, you're not back in Delta-', retorted the copilot.

'Oh.', responded the pilot.

'And secondly, stewardess ? If you're this incredibly stupid, I don't see how we're going to survive this flight. We're lucky those guys back there can't hear us arguing, otherwise they'd be praying to God that your incompetence doesn't end up in this fat piece of junk crashing into the ground.

'Copilot ? I didn't turn the intercom off.'

'…Shit.'

With that, the copilot turned back and gave a wide smile towards the occupants of the cramped and uncomfortable cabin, who were all staring wide-eyed and frightfully at the front of the helicopter. Some were muttering prayers.

'Well, there doesn't seem to be any delay here, so I should just take off.'

A voice from the outside penetrated the noisy confines of the helicopter – a very strong voice, apparently, to be heard over the helicopter blades.

'Wait! Wait! I just had to clear out the infusion lab! I have important materials right here with me!'

The pilot, glancing at his rear view mirror, acknowledged the presence of this latecomer and began to take off.

'Sorry, doctor, but we're getting delayed and we can't spare a moment to pick you up.'

'What ! I'm 5 yards off! Just let me get on!'

'We thank you for booking a seat on this flight and are terribly sorry for your inability to make it-'

But at that moment, the scientist, in a move that surprised all of the present company, took a leap of faith off the rooftop. Through the air, he soared towards the helicopter, ready to grasp the sidebars on the door and pull himself in.

'Well, I guess we need to be closing the doors then, huh copilot ?'

'I have a name, asshole, it's Trent. And we need to get that guy off the roof, looks like he's carrying some important shit… a bottle of blue wavy stuff, looks like it.'

'Blue wavy stuff.'

'Uh huh.'

With that, the pilot initiated the helicopter door close sequence, and was rewarded for this action a few seconds later with a loud thud against the door.

The helicopter lifted off the rooftop, and remained hovering thirty feet in the air while the late scientist lay sprawled over the rooftop, blood pouring from his nose, mouth, and former cheek. The contents of the container he was carrying had spilled over, causing the scientist's coat to glow an evening purple.

Meanwhile, within the helicopter…

'We're too heavy. Someone's got to go. Who'll it be ?', asked the pilot.

'The infusion lab ?', asked the tan woman. This was Leila Nassif – intelligent, attractive, and determined, she was a force to be reckoned with in the scientific community. She was currently staring out the window, or so it would seem to the casual observer, but she was actually in deep contemplation regarding the current situation she was in.

'Doctor Nassif, I really think we should get out. We're like, 20 floors beneath the helipa-'

'THE INFUSION LAB, Stan.'

'Uhh, right. Evacuated.' Stanley Terrence was Leila's second-in-command, a position that was a mixed blessing, depending on your perspective.

At the moment, he was looking over a set of fast-paced, colored monitors indicated the statuses of several aerostat bots located around the city. Not surprisingly, since the information displayed was completely incomprehensibly by any man's standards, he reverted to his original thoughts.

'Hmm… I really should comb that hair over to one side… but the middle parting makes it look distinguished… I know how the ladies love that… And that goatee… Well, Stan, not looking too bad.', mumbled Stanley to himself.

'And the trainees, Stan ?', asked Leila through gritted teeth. This half-assed ignoramus was beginning to prove a burden on her. And they had to give her a man, at that. No man could do a job the way a woman could, thought Leila to herself.

'Yes, I-I managed to give them the word myself.', stuttered a nervous Stan.

'What did you tell them ?', asked Nassif. Her patience was wearing thin.

'I told them to run. Run like hell.'

'Good, that's all they need to kno-'

'Told them to run because there was a likelihood of a terrorist incident occurring right in front of the Academy. I offered up my own speculation as to who would try to destroy us anyways, but they wouldn't listen. Personally, I blame the United States Government.'

Leila stared unbelievingly at Stan. What a goddamn idiot, she thought. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

'And the aerostat perimeter ? has it been secured ?'

'See for yourself.'

'I'd rather appreciate it if you told me yourself, Stanley.', snarled an angry Dr. Nassif.

'To be honest with you, I haven't been paying any attention to these screens. You, on the other hand,' and at that, Stanley looked over his stark white jacket at Leila, a glint in his eye, 'I've been paying quite some attention to you.'

Leila rolled her eyes upwards. A womanizer, at that ? She didn't swing that way.

'WELL, would you think we're the target ?', asked Dr. Nassif in her loudest voice.

'Leila, aren't you going to say anything abou-'

'It would be an academic distinction if the terrorist really did have a nanite detonator, don't you think ?', she continued heartily.

Stan turned around – enough was enough. He was going to tell Leila.

'Leila, I think we shou-'

'Oh my, look, the detonator's gone off!'

Marcus Mervolo was having a terrible day, or more aptly, early morning. Being woken up at 2 AM was not his cup of tea, and now he had to dress up in these constricting yet stylish clothes of his and thumb a little device in the middle of some street or the other… He was very vague on the details. First, being shaken awake, then conducted to some ceremony where women cried and a man threw water across his head, and now he had to do some pointless task in at an hour where people shouldn't be awake, but were.

He was currently standing in an alley facing a T-junction, and was swaying lightly from right to left, and back again, in an almost rhythmic fashion that displayed the drowsiness of this man for all to see. From his perspective, he could make out a rich and vibrant intersection up ahead. Vulgar, he thought, Why would anyone be up at this time of day ?

The intersection was bustling with activity. Many flashy sports cars and other assorted luxury vehicles went speeding by, apparently oblivious to the traffic lights, and surrounding businesses, particularly an establishment named the 'Papyrus Hotel' were experiencing a massive influx of clients. The early morning haze of dawn combined with the streetlights to commit, in Marcus's estimation, a rape of the eyes at this time of day.

Marcus saw an aerostat bot pass him as we looked out from the alley. He was told to avoid those. After counting away several seconds, in which he flicked open the small device handed to him in the ceremony earlier in the morning, and put it back in. It, too, emit a harsh light that was a rape of one's vision. He walked out into the pavement. At that very moment, he was beset by a passing group of young men who, after seeing his fashionable apparel, decided to accost the lone man to see where he bought his clothes.

'Bro, where'd you get those clothes man ?'

'Dude, he looks bitchin' in that robe, I have to get me one of those.'

'Come on man, where'd you get 'em ?'

Marcus shook his head and walked out into the intersection. He was immediately greeted by the site of several cars at the intersection honking at him, with the occupants hollering at him to get off the road in very colorful terms. Whatever, he thought, I get to go back to bed after this is over. With that, Marcus took out his little device with his right arm, and raised it above him in a statuesque posture. Then, surrounded by the group of kids asking about his clothes and the newly withdrawn device, and to a lesser extent assaulted by the vulgar speech of those in their cars, he thumbed the device.

Finally, sleep time, he thought. Strange, I can't feel my arm… Oh fuckberries.

A viscous, metallic substance of some sort emanated from the device, rapidly enveloping Marcus, the young men, the cars on the roads, and the surrounding buildings, replicating.

'Stan, STOP IT, now!', replied Leila Nassif. She was propped up on a computer console, trying to ward off Stanley who was now on his knees, serenading her. She had a chair in her hands to try and beat him away.

'Leila, I-'

'Stan, look out the window.'

Stan took a peek out the window, and shrieked.

'Time to get out of here, Stan.'

Both Stanley and Leila quickly departed the security office and ran as fast as they could to the elevator, the viscous swell rapidly approaching.

'You know, we'd never manage to reach the roof in time, Leila, because the nanite swell would consume the elevator counterweight and leave us trapped in the elevator shaft.'

'Less talking, more running Stan!'

'I really think we should use the stairs.'

'We have 20 storeys to go!'

'It's a safety issue.'

With that, Stanley grasped Doctor Nassif's arm and led her off to the fire escape as an elevator conveniently landed on the floor they were on.

Billie Adams was walking to the rooftop of the Academy – but it was more like running to the average human. She was nano-augmented, as could be seen by the bright glare from here eyes. Her thoughts were occupied by the strange encounter she had just recently with the Project Director, Stanley Terrence.

'You know, Billie, if you pushed the right buttons, met the right people, you'd be in for a good run with Tarsus.' Spoke a somewhat preoccupied Stanley, as he straightened the pillows on Billie's bed.

'Director, I don't know wh-', replied a confused Billie.

'Shhhh, now, be quiet, let the old man speak.'

With that, Billie quieted down, and, as per his orders, let the old man speak.

'You have a future with us, Billie, a very good future, but there's room for improvement. Always room for improvement.', added Stan coyly, running his hand through his hair and immediately pulling it away, conscious of the hairdo he just ruined.

'Director, if you want me to sl-'

'Now now, Billie, nothing you don't want to do, of course. Just think about the opportunities. Imagine me as that strapping young fellow, Alex D is his name ? yes…'

Billie shuddered at the thought of that despicable little man trying to seduce her. As well as that, she couldn't think of Alex as anything other than a platonic friend, and that doubled her disgust.

Soon, she reached the rooftop, to find an incapacitated, bloody scientist with the remains of an infusion canister lying on him, and a helicopter hovering above, dropping random objects upon this poor soul. Billie effortlessly jumped up, landing flawlessly in the carriage of the helicopter, where, she found an assortment of scientists, along with Dr. Nassif and Stanley. Oh dear God, she thought.

'Two girls at once ? today's your lucky day, Stan' , Stanley thought to himself, unconsciously licking his lips as he thought of the possibilities. Dr. Nassif edged away from him, and Billie just stood in the helicopter entry way, looking disgusted.

'Well, it looks like we have another passenger,' spoke the pilot, 'time to take off.'

'WAIT!', came a voice from the helipad, 'I'm still alive! If you just landed, I could make it onboar-'

'No one to pick up, that's for sure. Hey, next stop, Seattle, everybody.'

From her new seat, Leila looked to Billie.

'Billie, what of the other trainees ?'

'I didn't see them, Dr. Nassif. I think they're all dead – well, I believe Alex managed to get onto a helicopter an hour ago. He loves being punctual.'

As the helicopter took off, the last remains of this terribly constructed building were consumed by the nanite swarm, and crumbled into it's depths.

4:30 PM, Tarsus Academy, Seattle

'Jesus, did they destroy the entire city to get at us ?'

'Looks like it, Leila.'

'Shush, I wasn't talking to you Stan. Now, pilot-'

'I believe, LEILA, these were my lines. Anyways… Ah, yes. I guess they did destroy the entire city to get at us.'

Leila looked disapprovingly at Stan. 'You can't be trusted with reading lines, anyways.'

'Back to the bigger picture, Leila ?'

'Ah, yes. We aren't equipped to fight a war.'

'We're going to change the terms of engage- is something wrong with my voice ? It sounds really throaty. Um, right.' Leila was giving Stan a dangerous look. 'We're going to change the terms of engagement. It's our war, not theirs. We don't need cities or armies – we have the cells of human bodies. An invisible weapon… for an invisible war.'

'First time I heard you say something interesting, Stan.'

'Do you like it ? I certainly do.'

'You certainly aren't quick enough to come up with that.'

'Shut up.'