Well, it looks like it's time for the heroes and villains to clash for the finale! Hope you all like this chapter!
Sam sat in her car, wiping her profuse sweat with many napkins from her glove compartment. All she could do was watch in deep anxiety as the police, FBI, SWAT, and Weyland Security surrounded Bishop Tower, sitting helplessly, and unable to help in any way herself. From where she was, she could not see her friends.
"I sure hope they can get out of this shit okay..." she said to herself.
"This has gone on long enough!" Kai said, keeping his gun leveled on Meyers. "Surrender yourself to the authorities! Your little nuke-site of a planet will never happen now!"
Meyers clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "Like hell!"
He raised his pistol into the air and fired off a single warning shot. Everyone flinched, Kira attempting too late to cover her ears, and Kai nearly misfiring due to his startled trigger-finger. SORIA took a moment to assess what exactly Meyers was armed with so as to determine which of her defensive security equipment would be best to neutralize him. A text readout appeared on her screen:
-SENTRY CONFIGURATION ACTIVE-
THREAT ANALYSIS: ARMED HOSTILE
HOSTILE'S ARMAMENT: 10MM AUTOMATIC HANDGUN
-ENABLE X6-R ELECTROSHOCK HARDWARE-
An instrument that resembled a two-pronged fork instantly extended from SORIA's main module, generating an arc of electricity that extended to Meyers, shocking him repeatedly
"N-n-n-n-ngh...!" He groaned. "...OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!"
Kira took the opportunity to get around Meyers as he fell to his knees, and then all fours. She got behind Kai as SORIA continued to administer the shock.
"Why does SORIA have all that weaponry shit in her?" Kira asked.
"Let's just say..." Kai began, "...Weyland-Yutani needs something a little more contemporary than distant, hesitant security guards to deal with threats in their laboratories. Few consumers actually know of the special sentry models with defense hardware. All SORIA units are programmed to defend their users, as well as anyone associated with them."
Fighting through the shock, Meyers managed to summon the strength to level his gun at SORIA, before he pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through the computerized assistant's master module. Kira, Kai, and the xenos jumped at the second gunshot, and readied themselves to kill him if necessary. However, the madman dropped his weapon as his free arm gave out under him, and he collapsed to the floor, panting and groaning.
Kira rushed over to SORIA. She noticed that SORIA's screen was flickering and staticky. The regular blue tone of the screen's background had turned red, with plain, white text "HARDWARE MALFUNCTION" flashing on her screen repeatedly.
"...K-K... Kira..." SORIA's voice glitched. "...was I-I... of... assist... tance-tance-tance-tance...?"
SORIA's module began beeping as "TOTAL SYSTEM FAILURE," in red, flashed on her glitching screen for a moment. And she shut off, her screen deactivating, and her cooling fans powering down. Kira gasped.
"SORIA...!" Kira uttered.
She tried pressing the power button, but SORIA would not boot up. The motherboards were so damaged from the bullet, that she could not function.
"Control, shots fired, shots fired!" One agent reported over the radio.
"New parties and unknown specimens have appeared on the scene," another said. "All appear to attempting to neutralize and apprehend the perpetrator."
"All units, hold your fire," the senior officer spoke. "Do not engage. Sit back until we give the all-clear. Standby."
"And now, Ms. Sykes... and Mr. Ripley..." Meyers spoke, slowly picking up his handgun, "...time for the two of you to meet... your ultimate fate...!"
"What are you waiting for, Kai?!" Sugarcube said. "Shoot him!"
Kai shook his head. "Death's too easy for him. I want him alive, if we can manage."
He aimed his own weapon at Meyers.
"Don't even try it!" Kai ordered.
Meyers laughed maniacally. "It's... too late for that...! You will... die... now...!"
Before he could get a proper hold on his weapon, all who were presently on the roof heard a metallic rustling sound. It was coming from the air ducts. After a moment of this, the rain cover of one duct shot up, off of it, startling everyone present.
Emerging from the duct was a very familiar being to all of them... and this one in particular was quite familiar!
"...You..." the xenomorph spoke telepathically, "...you NEVER touch my mate, OR my daughter!"
Kira and Star both froze, trying to process what was happening right then and there. And then they did realize who it was...
"...Aster...!" Kira barely uttered, tears welling in her eyes.
"...D-Daddy...!" Star chimed in.
It was indeed the former Weyland specimen... the one who was the first to escape... the one who set off this long chain of events... and the one who would finally have the vengeance he craved all his life!
"...I didn't go down for good," Aster said. "Not yet... I still have a life to live with my family!"
"How did you get here?" Kira asked.
"It wasn't easy, given how badly I was hurt..." Aster said, "...but I managed to trace Meyers' brainwaves, and figure out he was coming here. So, I carefully made my way inside the building and hid until he arrived."
"Wow," Kai said. "Your timing couldn't be anymore perfect, Aster!"
"Now, c'mon!" Kira said. "Let's get old baddy here locked in irons!"
"You have underestimated me, Ms. Sykes..." Meyers said, reaching into his jacket pocket. "...for I have my own contingency plan!"
He pulled out a hypodermic needle with a yellow-green liquid in it.
"What the hell is that?" Kai asked.
"This..." Meyers began. "...is my salvation."
Without much delay, he stuck the needle into his lower forearm, injecting the fluid before he discarded the syringe completely. For a moment, he sat still, nobody making any move, but then Meyers started convulsing uncontrollably. It then led to thrashing and strained growling as he shut his eyes and clenched his teeth. Kira and Kai both looked at each other for a moment, and the xenos all moved in to surround him.
Then, Meyers' veins bulged out grotesquely, his skin turning a sickening shade of gray... and his body lengthened, his muscles growing to the point where his clothes began to rip at the seams. It was this bizarre metamorphosis that made the xenos step back.
"Wh-what is THIS...?" Aster asked.
"I-I've... never seen a-anything like it...!" Sugarcube said.
As he continued to thrash about in agony, Meyers' hair fell out completely and his eyes had sealed themselves shut. He skull lengthened in the back, but not by a considerable amount. Kira and Kai both watched in utter horror, the latter having lowered his pistol as he watched, unblinking at the change the former doctor underwent.
"K-Kai..." Kira uttered.
"...I don't know, Kira..." Kai answered before even receiving the question he knew she would ask.
Soon, Meyers' change stopped, leaving him in a very revolting form, somewhere between human and xenomorph... but horrifically mangled in terms of body proportions, color, and physique. The creature then stood, and before anyone had a chance to process what had just happened... it darted for Kira and Kai. Using their xeno-augmented instincts, however, the two separated and dodged, leading the mutated Meyers to tumble down the stairs.
The two young adults promptly fell back for cover.
"What the hell just happened?" Kira asked. "Where did Meyers get that weird... stuff he stuck himself with?"
"I don't know what that stuff was..." Kai said, "...but obviously, it must've been some sort of highly-mutagenic serum. And it seems to have made him, well... feral, to say the least."
"Control, we have an update," an agent spoke over the radio. "Suspect has mutated! Repeat, suspect has mutated! He has been exposed to a chemical mutagen!"
"Copy," the Weyland senior officer responded. "Do we have update on the unidentified parties and specimens?"
"They appear to be sheltering from the now-violent suspect," another agent reported.
"All units..." another high-ranking officer spoke, pausing for a moment, "...prepare to engage. Snipers in position, disengage all safeties. Prepare to take out only the suspect. Leave the unidentified parties and specimens alive."
"Roger that!"
"Copy!"
"Yes, sir!"
With that, all the WY snipers took aim through their scopes, ready to perform a simultaneous shot on all vital areas of Meyers. Each unit sniper was assigned a particular organ to target, so the ones who were to shoot the brain and heart had to take extra care.
The next few minutes consisted of Aster, Sugarcube, Star, and Chase trying their best to neutralize the creature (who Kira decided to call the "xenomeyers"), but even with all four xenos, he was too violent and rapid to take out.
"Die, you abomination!" Aster shouted, thrusting his tail at the xenomeyers, but unfortunately going wide.
"Eat THIS!" Sugarcube exclaimed, propelling her secondary mouth inches from the xenomeyers' neck, barely missing it.
Chase somehow managed to pull Star off to the side while their xeno parents continued to occupy the xenomeyers.
"I don't think we're gonna get out of this one alive," Chase said.
"But if we don't stop him, the entire WORLD could be in danger!" Star said. "Imagine if he got loose from this place!"
"We know, Star," Kira said. "But whatever he did to himself, Meyers obviously now has better speed, reflexes, and strength than all of us."
Kai pursed his lips. "Probably knew to use it as a last resort... and that doing so would really go out with a bang!"
Star pondered for a moment... and due to her instincts, realized what she, in particular, might be able to do. After having brief periods of an innate ability within her, triggered by positive emotions, she knew what it would take... and she had what she was fighting for be her motivator.
The young female xenomorph drone started making her way back toward the creature her parents were still battling.
"...Leave him to me," Star said. "I can easily make him back down, and still come out of it in one piece!"
Chase followed after her. "But... Star... what if he hurts you? I-I couldn't let you..."
"I HAVE to, Chase..." Star said. "...it's the only way."
"What are you gonna do?" Chase asked.
Star held a hand to her chest, slightly lowering her head. "Use a gift... from my father..."
She then came to heavily concentrate, letting her mind come free from the situation at hand. She recalled all the care and support her family had given her throughout her life... meeting more of her kind... the affection from Chase, and especially... seeing her father back, alive and well, mere moments ago...
Star's heart began to glow a bright green inside her chest. As if sensing it, the xenomeyers stopped brawling with Aster and Sugarcube, who were both getting very fatigued, and directed his attention to Star. He let out an angry hiss as glowing green patterns covered her skin. She subtly flexed, getting a feel for the new energy coursing through her body.
"...This power..." she said. "...oh, it's AWESOME...!"
The xenomeyers howled, and charged at Star, who swiftly dodged, using an aikido-style countermove to redirect the brute-force attack. Aster and Sugarcube met back up with Kira, Kai, and Chase, all of whom watched on in awe.
"No way...!" Kira remarked.
"What's happening with Star?" Chase asked. "Why did she just... light up like that?"
Kai folded his arms, smirking. "Seems she received the royal gene from her King father!"
"Queen Mode..." Kira said.
"And just look at how quickly she's dispatching him!" Sugarcube said.
Any effort the xenomeyers attempted to hurt Star was futile, as she was now much more powerful than him due to her enhanced abilities in Queen Mode.
"That's my girl!" Aster cheered on. "Now, how about you give him a little... persuasion to jump off this building and kill himself in shame!"
"You got it, Daddy!" Star responded.
Putting some distance between herself and her assailant, Star extended an arm toward him, the patterns on her skin glowing even brighter, and resembling fluid channels. The xenomeyers clutched his head, shrieking an earsplitting note. It took a bit of effort, but Star managed to get him to step toward a ledge that would lead to a straight drop off Bishop Tower. Once he was far enough out, that was when the agents and officers below had the perfect opportunity...
"Sir, we're all green!" The final sniper announced.
"Execute!" The senior officer ordered.
All snipers simultaneously fired on the mutated Meyers. The bullets tore straight through his head and torso, startling all who were up on the roof. The xenomeyers stood still for a moment... and fell backward, directly off the ledge. He then fell over fifty stories, flipping and limbs flailing around like a ragdoll, before...
SPLAT.
...his corpse ended up as a pile of blood, tissue, and bones on the asphalt blacktop of the parking lot.
"All units," a senior officer spoke, "suspect is neutralized! Repeat, suspect is neutralized! Move in!"
Star's glow faded, and she swayed slightly as she put a hand to her head.
"W-whoa..." she said.
Chase ran up to her. "Star! Are you okay?"
Star regained her sense of orientation after a moment. "...I think so."
"That was insane!" Chase said. "It was almost like... like you were possessing that dude's MIND!"
"Because, technically," Kai spoke up, "she was. See, Star has a special gene, which she inherited from her father, that gives her special abilities."
Aster nodded once. "It gives me the ability to become a 'King' for a short while."
Star grinned subtly. "...I guess that would technically make me a 'Princess'?"
The little joke did help lighten the mood a bit... but only just, as all six of them knew what was to come from here...
"I imagine we're gonna have to explain what happened to Weyland?" Kira asked.
Biting his lower lip, Kai nodded. "And no doubt, they saw our mates and children. I just hope they'd be willing to hear us out..."
Yeah, I'll admit the part with Meyers was a bit... improvised, to say the least. In any case, I do plan to bring this story to a close within the next few chapters, so stick around for things to finally come to an end. Thanks to everyone who managed to stick around, even when I wasn't there for a while! Keep holding on...