I do NOT own Kim Possible
Alien names already used:
Warfelken (female) - Warfalcon
Warchof (male) - Warchief
New alien names:
Warlider (female) - Warleader
Warlyder (male) - Warleader
Warhak (male) - Warhawk
Warfilkin (female) - Warfalcon
Wardawg (male) - Wardog
Wardowg (female) - Wardog
A lot of similar names. Sorry. Trying to keep it the same as in the show. War+something. Except for Warfelken and Warchof who are always on the ship they are pretty much interchangeable. Warlider and Warlyder will be leaders of small teams of the others.
Time: A week later.
Lorwardian History,...
Ron walked through the corridors of the captured vessel. There were a dozen technicians and engineers working at various jobs within the ship, but one room had been marked off limits. It was where he was working on a certain project, the only way he could think of to stop the earth's destruction. It wasn't as though they could pretend that Warmonga was running this ship forever. And when that little ruse was discovered Warfelken and Warchof would unleash every weapon at their disposal on the earth. According to their protocols they would have too.
The Kimmunicator beeped and he pulled it out.
"How's the project going?" Wade asked. His eyes didn't focus and his voice sounded drained. His movements were jittery.
He studied the genius. He's lost a lot of weight, Ron noted to himself. But then he must have been pulling twenty hours a day since we knew another ship was heading our way. If we don't soon finish this he's going to end up in the hospital. "Another day at the most." He replied. "If thing's go well it might even be this evening."
"Thank goodness." Wade said. His head dropped a little before he shook himself back awake. "A second." He added, turning to take several pills.
"More caffeine pills?" Ron asked.
"Can't afford to sleep right now." Came the answer.
"You're overdosing."
"I know." The genius gave a tiny smile.
Ron nodded. "What did Mrs. Dr. P say about the Lorwardian psychology?"
"It could go either way. They've been programmed with three primary protocols. Preserve the home world, ensure the security of their ships, and keep advanced technology out of the hands of pests."
"I really don't like the odds." Ron commented.
"Me either." The genius said, blinking and looking a little dizzy. His reached out with his hand to grab his desk for second.
"Wade. Sleep." Ron commanded. "They haven't done anything for a week and we'll need you when I'm finished here."
"Might be best." Came the reply. "Even a few hours." He nodded forward again before he caught himself. "But I did find out a few more things about them. It might help determine whether this will actually work or not."
"What is it?"
"The Lorwardians were once very much like us." The genius said. "They had nations like we do and even fought wars amongst themselves."
"How did you find that out?" Ron asked. "There wasn't anything on their culture in the computers."
"It was there. It just wasn't listed under any of the things we were looking for." He explained. "They don't even have a word for culture. I had to fit tiny pieces of it together from other files." He yawned and wobbled a bit in his chair. "Anyway. It seems they had a major technological breakthrough. Much like cybertronics, only in the field of genetics. Several of the nations were hostile to each other and they set about using that technology to create super soldiers. They thought it was pretty safe since they made sure everyone of them was programmed to be loyal to their superiors and their top commander was a normal Lorwardian. In addition there were protocols that prevented them from waging war against their home nations. They were programmed to defend it against all threats."
"What happened." Ron asked.
"There was a war. Several of the super soldiers were trained as assassins and they targeted each other's command structure. In one of the nations they lost over three dozen of their top leaders. A Lorwardian stepped up and became the top commander. Since her programming dictated she had to defend her nation against all threats that's what she set about doing. She didn't harm any of the normal Lorwardians, but to face the hostile nations she demanded more soldiers. She couldn't make peace since they were threats and the war lasted a long time. Centuries."
"Centuries?"
Wade nodded. "The breakthrough in genetics meant their soldiers would live a long time. I think around a thousand years."
"Wow." Ron replied. "That's long."
"Too long." Wade answered. "The normal Lorwardians weren't modified to live that long and as the wars continued they died and those who replaced them were soldiers. She had been programmed to defend the nation and soldiers were better at it."
"So eventually they ended up with a nation of nothing but the modified Lorwardians." Ron said.
"Yeah." The genius said. "And eventually she eliminated all the threats on her own world so in effect all of Lorwardia became the nation she was programmed to defend."
"You find anything to indicate why they're all psychopaths?" Ron asked.
Wade nodded. "Normally people don't like to kill, and unless they're given a reason they generally don't. That's not good in a soldier so they were designed to feel no compassion at all. At that point they didn't enjoy causing misery, but neither did they mind causing it. But it didn't stop at that point. Those soldiers continued to modify themselves and even created their own language that they encoded in their DNA along with their culture. Then they learned to travel the stars and found there were new threats. The logical response from their point of view was to eliminate them. To do that they improved themselves once more. But there was only so much information their genome could store. Something had to go and they got rid of almost all their emotions."
"But they feel." Ron pointed out. "They love seeing people in pain."
"Almost all." Wade repeated. "Other than fear, if they are in danger, they need to see something suffering to feel anything. They no longer want to just eliminated threats, they need to cause misery. It became a drug to them. I think there's something in them that expects them to feel yet they can't. It compels them to cause pain to satisfy that craving."
"And their command structure, the fact they need to obey their superiors, keeps them from tearing into each other?" Ron asked.
"That's my guess." Wade answered. "Otherwise they would destroy themselves. And even then they need the recordings of misery to keep the peace on their world."
"Find out what the Great Blue is?"
Wade nodded. "Their command structure has sixteen levels. The top rank is called by the name blue. The Great Blue is the Lorwardian who took over that first nation. As it stands they can't colonize since the colonies would diverge from the home world and become threats. Their legends have it that the original commander will return and be seen as the leader of all Lorwardians forever. They will be able to colonize and subdue the entire galaxy."
Ron blinked. "But that first leader was female? And Drakken is male. So..."
Wade shrugged and nearly toppled from his chair. "I don't think Warmonga had much common sense."
Ron sighed. "Anyway, get some sleep Wade." He ordered.
The genius nodded and signed off.
Ron considered the news. He didn't know how it affected the chances of his own project succeeding. He sighed and decided it didn't matter. It was the only hope they had. He headed towards the room where it was stored. Time was running out.
Warfelken,...
Warfelken roamed the ship. The pests below had found and killed all four Recorders. That was unusual. Even more rare was the fact that they had killed eight of her subordinates. It was probably the first time something like that had ever happened. Landing and killing some of them with their own hands would win her and Warchof a lot of prestige. There would be no trouble replacing those she had lost.
Still, she mused to herself, we had expected there to be recordings to view from this world. There was a need within her for those missing images of the pests suffering. A need that was eating into her. She roamed the ship some more before pausing to watch the views on the screen.
The war machines were destroying building after building. But there was something wrong with the media reports from the world below. There was panic but not as much as there should be. They had rebuilt their communications and transportation infrastructure to resist the jamming that naturally came from a ship broadcasting power. In fact it seemed as if most of the vermin were continuing with life as normal. The images could no longer satisfy the need within her. There was something wrong with them, though she couldn't tell exactly what it was. The images of panic didn't stir anything with her and the speed at which they rebuilt stuck her as being anything but fear stricken.
She paced some more, trying to resist the burning need to hurt. There were records of pests from other worlds suffering, but she wanted to see the vermin of this world screaming in agony. She sighed and turned towards the place where the remains of the dead Lorwardians were being kept. She had meant to process the corpses earlier but the need that was consuming her had made her delay it. Still, it had to be done.
She started scanning the bodies. First she checked their brains, to ensure they were damaged beyond recovery. They were. None of them could be regenerated. There was nothing unexpected there. The corpses were badly mutilated with most of them not just damaged, but nearly incinerated. Still there was one, Wardowge, whose corpse contained a partially intact recorder. She grew excited. Maybe, she though, some of the data is still retrievable.
It was and she sat back to watch the show as he targeted two girls. She had learned one of their major languages and had even been the one to plant the Recorders decades ago. Unlike Wardowge, she could tell what the girls were saying. At first they were just in awe of how large he was. That was to be expected. But, she mused to herself, why aren't they running? She sat up as she heard them talk about striking for the eyes. Not just running, but planning to fight. That was insane. Yet that did just that, moving faster than any pest should be able to, and were struck down. One of the pests vanished while the other dodged her dead subordinate's attempts to grab her with incredible agility.
Then the view changed. Something struck from above. A jet, she realized a few seconds later. One of the girls dropped a jet on top of him. It was ingenious for, what she recognized to be, immature pests. He was pinned by two children. She laughed at the insanity of it. His suffering was good and helped alleviate the need within her. But she heard the girls talking, laughing, as though a Lorwardian warrior was nothing. And she watched the way they tore him apart bit by bit. Cleverly taking his spear from him and then immobilizing his hands. The removal of his eyes. Each move well calculated and ruthlessly implemented. The way they laughed and talked. If this was the way the immature pests of this world fought then she decided she would stay on the ship and settle for records of suffering. There were always other worlds where the pests were more like pests and not battle harden Lorwardian warriors.
She froze the image of the two girls on the screen. Something was wrong. Why would they look familiar? Disbelieving she rose and accessed the files on the four Recorders she'd planted here. The computer maintained a copy of the genetic code of the camouflage and she used it to generate a picture of what the they would look like. The images on the screen slowly changed as it showed four girls growing from fetuses to young women. Two of who looked exactly like those who had killed Wardowge.
She turned and headed towards the six remaining Lorwardian warriors.
Sara,...
"Can I see the picture of my brother again?" Sara asked.
"Of course." Hope answered.
Sara watched the picture that rose in front of her. Her brother, she thought. Emotions swirled inside of her and she was, for a short while, happy. He was alive and whole. Not just that, he could laugh and smile. Her heart started beating faster.
"Ready for the next lesson?" Hope asked.
"I am." She watched her brother until his image faded. She would never tell him who she was. But, if she could be sure the demon would never possess her again, she would one day meet him. Talk with him. She turned back to Hope.
Willow and Jenny,...
"Sara is doing well." Willow said. She looked across the table to where Ron would usually sit and sighed.
"That's good." Jenny smiled excitedly. "When will she wake up?"
"Not for a long time yet. But she will." Willow promised. "She no longer wants to cease to exists, but it will take time. She still doesn't fully recall what she did while the demon, as she calls it, had control of her."
"Oh." Jenny recalled what she knew. Over two hundred permanently injured. It would be tough to deal with that. She should know. Nineteen was bad enough.
"Wonder how Ron is doing with the project he's working on?" Willow mused, sighing.
"Hope it going well." Jenny answered. She sighed. "I miss him." She recalled the way he used to take her out to lunch back when she wasn't allowed to leave her room alone.
Willow looked at the girl wondering if she was more competition, but dismissed the thought. She was pretty sure Jenny's feeling for Ron was more friendship based. At least she hoped so. With her blonde hair and blue eyes she would be able to win any guy's attention.
Warfelken,...
Warfelken had programmed her six remaining subordinates with knowledge of one of the local languages, including the written language, and whatever data the ship had on the pests' electronic systems. Find the camouflage, and discover how the pests know about merging and unmerging species, were their orders. They would be dropped in an area where the ship's computers had detected numerous military jets similar to the one that had been used on Wardowge. If they found signs of the Recorders they were to retrieve them.
She watched as they dropped from the ship. For the Recorders she'd used her own genetic material to create clones. She wondered why knowing they were probably dead hurt. It wasn't as though her species were attached to their young. All were just soldiers to protect Warlordia. Still, she wished to know what had happened to them. Their records would be interesting to watch. As it was this race would have to be destroyed. But so long as the ships were secure they could take their time and wring as much misery from the pests as they could.
Ron,...
His Kimmunicator beeped and he pulled it out.
"Problem." Wade said. His head jerked as he spoke and his hands were trembling. "Six Lorwardians are landing."
"Damn." Ron sighed. But he'd made his decision when he'd come to the ship. "Another twelve hours." He said. In that time they might kill a hundred to two hundred people He shuddered at the thought. They wouldn't kill fast, but take their time to torture.
"Their target seems to be the Middleton Global Justice base." Wade added. "Depending on how long they remained focused on that there shouldn't a huge number of casualties. But they've got to be heading there for a reason."
"What's the plan?"
"Dr. Betty Directory has authorized small scale nuclear weapons. Kiloton range at high attitudes. We're using them now. Once they've landed we will let them enter the base and destroy it section by section."
Ron nodded. At a high enough attitude even nuclear weapons shouldn't do any damage to Middleton. And destroying the base was always an option. "The faster I get this done the better." He said.
Wade nodded, his head twitching. "I will let you know about any developments. One of the aliens seems to have been destroyed by the nuclear weapons. Five will make it to the ground." The screen went blank.
Warfelken,...
Warfelken frowned as the six Lorwardian warriors dropped to the ground. The pests were trying to destroy them using small scale nuclear devices. That was unexpected. Sure they had used them before, but not over a major city. For that matter, how could they tell when she was dropping soldiers? Their radar technology shouldn't be that advanced. More and more interesting.
She watched as a swarm of a hundred missiles assaulted her troops. If they'd had the normal barriers for use on a pest infested world they would have died. As it was eighty of them expended themselves on a single soldier and Wardawg perished. They'd struck his force field at a rate of one per second until it went down. The other twenty had targeted another soldier, Warfilkin, but twenty wasn't enough to overwhelm her defensive shield. Normally she wouldn't have minded the loss, but she wanted to know what was going on. Too bad protocol prevented her from using truly advanced technology on the world.
The Trap,...
Warlider cursed. They were supposed to enter the base in two groups of three and scout it. Access its electronic systems and download all its contents. Then get out, taking any camouflage they found with them. But one of her subordinates had been destroyed in a missile attack. Bad luck, but it meant she now only had Warhak to command.
And how does one download data from destroyed electrical systems? Each computer they found had been reduced to a pile of fused metal. The pests had been prepared for this. Explosives collapsed roofs, blocking access to corridors, and their barriers went up time and time again as energy weapons, mounted on the walls, fired at them. If they'd been using normal force fields they would have died long ago.
Another wall mounted weapon fired at her and she waited for her force shield to adapt and reflect the energy back. After a while she realized it must be changing frequencies. She modified the weapon she carried and fired out through her own shield reducing the wall mounted laser to rubble.
A few steps further and the corridor collapsed on top of her, causing her to curse. Once more her barrier had protected her, but it took ages to get clear of the debris. They had been allowed weapons for this mission. A hand mounted laser and a larger device that fired explosives. It was the larger device she used to get through such obstacles. Her shield protected her from the backlash and it let her fire large rounds. But still it took time.
The base was seriously understaffed. Despite being able to house over a thousand people it currently held a little over fifty. Due to the alien threat there were hundreds of jobs the Global Justice agents had to do and that left the place practically empty. It meant fewer people to evacuate, but it also meant the people who should have organized the retreat were gone. The technicians who should have handled the controlled destruction of the place were instead working on other jobs. It made things difficult and mistakes were being made.
"We're screwed." Willow said, staring at the debris that blocked their path. She gulped..
"I know." Jenny answered, her eyes glancing nervously around.
The two had been ordered to evacuated, but the message had been late reaching them and the route they were supposed to follow had been blocked by debris. It left them inside the base, with five demented aliens, as the place was slowly being demolished.
"What do we do?" Jenny asked.
"No clue." Willow answered, looking at her Kimmunicator. It wasn't working. "Anyway. We need to move and find a way out. Come on." She marched forward, rounded a corner, and froze.
"Another blocked route..." Jenny started to asked before she too rounded the corner and looked.
Warlider smiled. It had been a pain getting in this far, but the two camouflage she'd been told to be on the look out for had just walked into her hands. She surged forward to get them.
"Run." Willow screamed and turned. Jenny followed her.
"Where too?" The girl asked.
"No idea no idea no idea." Willow screamed running. She dared a look backwards. The aliens were chasing them, but thankfully their large sized reduced their speed in the corridors.
Jenny tried to think. Panic clouded her mind and angrily she pushed it aside. She'd made her decision to not let those demented monsters reduce her to less than a person again. Anger burned in her and she smiled. "We know this place." She said. "They don't. Let's play."
Willow gulped, but her friend's tone calmed her. "Play?" She asked.
"Yeah." Jenny looked back. "If we don't run into any blocked tunnels we're just as fast and I know a place they should enjoy."
"Where?" Willow asked, glancing at her friend.
"You'll see" Jenny smiled. "We will need to fight a bit though. Think you can manage to survive against them for maybe two to three seconds?"
"I think so."
The two of them raced through the corridors. Once in a while they drew too far ahead and would turn to throw taunts at their foes.
"Hey." Jenny called out. "Your Great Blue was a dickhead."
Willow tried a few of her own. "What's dumber than a Lorwardian?" She shouted.
"Nothing." Jenny replied. "They're the very definition of dumb."
"Not even a rock?" Willow asked.
"Nay. A rock is way smarter than a Lorwardian."
Warlider growled. The pests should be screaming in fear, yet they were throwing insults back at them. That didn't make sense.
"What's wrong with them?" Warhak asked.
"Too stupid to have any common sense. Maybe." Warlider replied. Running in such a low tunnel was slowing them down, letting their prey keep their distance. She screamed. Being insulted by pests was intolerable. She wished she could use her weapons to stop them, but that might kill them and she wasn't sure if Warfelken wanted them alive or not. It wasn't often one was asked to find a certain pest and she hadn't thought to ask for more specific orders at the time.
"Okay." Jenny said. "You've been to this place, but you were probably unconscious at the time. I was there when they took the Lorwardian out of Sara."
"What's so special about it?" Willow asked.
Jenny grinned. "Even the small ones are fast and strong." She started to explain.
Down three levels and a hundred meters later they came to the place.
"The tunnel here is a bit larger." Jenny said. "So we need to really run and get to the room a few seconds before they do."
Willow nodded. "Okay." She said, knowing her friend wouldn't see the nod.
"Hey slimeheads." Jenny yelled back. "Is it the slime that makes you so dumb?"
"It can't be." Willow yelled in reply. "Slime is a lot smarter than a Lorwardian."
The two turned a corner and ran at full speed.
Warlider grinned. The tunnel was larger here. The pests had made a mistake and soon she would feel her hands tearing at their flesh. She would leave them alive until she had further orders, but she wouldn't leave them in one piece. It would feel so good. She raced along the corridor and Warhak kept pace with her.
Willow and Jenny burst through a doorway and brought themselves to a stop. They grabbed the bed in the center of the room and swung it around on its wheels to rest against the wall. Then, hearing the aliens approach, they pushed it into their path.
Warlider and Warhak saw the obstruction being pushed in their way at the last second. Rushing as they were they had no chance to stop. Warlider reached out to push it out of her way only to find something slapped around her wrist. Warhak tripped over the bed and fell. He felt something being slapped around his ankle.
Jenny slapped one of the titanium cuffs that were attached to the bed around the wrist of the alien that tried to push it out of the way. Willow dared to risk a dash in with another cuff and placed it around the ankle of the other one. Then they both turned and bolted from the room. A few meters outside Jenny turned and hit a button. A titanium wall fell down to block the corridor.
She smiled at Willow. "I asked about it after I was removed from this place. That's a ten foot thick solid plate of titanium. It extends ten feet above the ceiling and ten feet into the walls and goes down ten feet into the floor which has a section that moves out of the way." She shrugged. "What can I say. After the first one nearly got loose Dr. Betty Directory made a really secure room to remove the others in. All the walls are at least fifty feet of solid stone."
Willow looked. "Wow." Was all she said for a bit. Then she asked. "You mean they were that afraid of the banshees?"
Jenny nodded. "Very afraid. But they got a huge budget so they could afford it. Ron talked about one of this projects. It would have cost several billions dollars and Dr. Betty Director didn't hesitate to approve it."
Warlider cursed and pulled at the cuff that held her wrist. She felt it bend under her strength, yet it held. She eventually used her laser to cut it free. It was tough, but the laser was pretty powerful. Warhak did the same with the cuff around his ankle. Soon both were free.
"Damn pests." Warlider said, as she raised her weapon and aimed it at the door. The laser started to burn into it but didn't cut through. She aimed the larger weapon that fired explosives at it and tried it. Thunder echoed in the room, but the door held with a large black splot smashed in its center. This, she decided, is going to take some time. She started to fire round after round.
Pounding came from the door and Jenny jumped.
"They're going to get out." Willow said, frowning. "They got weapons this time."
"So do we." Jenny replied. She started pushing buttons next to the door. "If the alien killed everyone inside the room there were controls to make sure people outside could kill it." She explained. "This replaces the air in the room with carbon dioxide and a sedative."
"Why both?" Willow asked.
"The sedative is to put it asleep. The lack of oxygen is supposed to kill it." She flipped another switch and a monitor showing the inside of the room lit up.
Warlider cursed. The backlash from the rounds hitting the door was making her dizzy. She kept up the fire. Eventually she fell to her knees. So had Warhak. She detected a foreign chemical agent in her system and ordered her body to filter it out. She shook her head as she still felt dizzy. Then she collapsed into unconsciousness. Warhak fell to the floor beside her. Their force fields were supposed to detect incoming threats, not analyze the air, so it didn't come up.
"And now." Jenny smiled and pressed another button. The two turned to watch as a corrosive acid poured into the room. It was slow, but the flesh of the two aliens was being eaten away.
"All this for the banshees?" Willow asked again.
Jenny shrugged. "You had yours under control, so maybe you don't really understand." She looked at her friend. "For all they knew those things could have breeded if they got loose. They were terrified." She turned back to watch the aliens in the room slowly dissolve. Even the rocks touched by the liquid was bubbling. "For all they knew after those things got free of us they could have dropped a thousand eggs and repeated the process each month until there were billions of them."
"Oh." Willow replied, thinking. "I never thought of it like that." She looked at her Jenny. "You know, I used to try and scare the banshee with an image of a ten megaton bomb being dropped on me. Now I'm wondering why they didn't do just that. Capturing us was risky."
"I wonder that too at times. Of course I was usually in a city so it would have killed hundreds of thousands. But still." She shrugged. "I'm glad they didn't. I want to live."
Her friend smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. So do I."
"Where to now?" Jenny asked.
"Hrm. You know a copy of the message was sent to DNAmy at the same time. I wonder if she got out. Lets check on her?"
"Okay."
They both turned away from the sight of the two aliens being dissolved. With the skin gone the process was going faster. For the most part only bones remained.
DNAmy,...
The order had come to evacuate and she had reluctantly tried to leave only to find debris blocking the path. Trying another route it had been the same. She had stopped to think. Villains, she knew, often had self-destruct buttons in their lairs. They had technology they didn't want anyone to get their hands on and were often required to flee. Lairs were usually meant to be of a transitory nature. Global Justice was different. Their bases were permanent things. While they could be sacrificed it required people to go through the base setting explosives to collapse it. It made sense. If Global Justice used a self-destruct button then their bases could be destroyed as easy as a lair could. In a pinch they could use a nuclear device, but this was under Middleton. They wouldn't do that here.
She returned to the lab, pushing Sara's bed as she did so. She would wait and if someone came to collapse the lab then she would follow them out. If they didn't then it was safe. Besides, the mutator was there and she didn't want to leave it. Ron had modified it to a power beyond anything she had ever dreamed of. Without his help, or someone like him, it was irreplaceable.
She stood in the lab and thought, staring at the mutator. There were alien attacking and they might come here. She smiled. That would be interesting. If they came she would be ready. Turning she starting opening cabinets and taking out DNA samples. Briefly she wondered if she should try to capture one, but their ships recalled them after a while. It was best to kill it. That wasn't in her nature, but she'd looked into their genome, had seen the files Wade had emailed her about their culture. With something like that killing it was best.
Warlyder walked through the passageway, keeping his head low. There were no signs of the pests and every machine he came across had been totally ruined. A few of the corridors had collapsed on him and it had taken time to get through. But that was happening less frequently now. He had sent Warfilkin and Wardowg down different routes with orders to call him if they came across anything. He continued in the direction he had been going in, deeper into the base.
He came to a room that was nearly high enough to let him stand up. In it there was one of the pests. Not being on the list of the camouflage he decided to kill her. But first he would get information. Something flickered around his head and he swatted it away. The pest turned to look at the large insect he'd knocked to the ground.
"It took me over an hour to create that." DNAmy said, sighing.
"Where's a data terminal I can access?" He demanded, not paying attention to the words of a pest.
"There are none." She replied.
"Do not lie, pest. I spotted several on my way in here that were destroyed. Some must still work." He looked around the room. It was full of machinery and various devices.
She shrugged. "They are meant to be easily destroyed by a power surge. One was sent through the base. None would have been spared. When things are okay again the ruined ones only need to be unplugged with new ones just as easily inserted." DNAmy answered.
"Where is the central terminal? Those were only machines meant to access a larger one." He drew his spear and approached her.
"The data would have been kept on several disks, sorted according to security level." DNAmy explained. "The disks with anything important on them would have been removed and taken to some place safe. They wouldn't be here anymore."
If the pest was telling the truth then the assault on this place might have been pointless. Still he would have fun with her. But since she was being so cooperate he would continue to get information from her. "What is this place?"
"This base? It's run by people's whose purpose is to keep peace on this world."
"Why aren't you trying to get away?" That had him confused.
DNAmy shrugged. "Does it look like I'm any good at running. One of these days I really got to lose some weight." She sighed. "But I'm always so busy and eating helps me think."
"I'm going to kill you." He pointed out.
The woman shrugged. "Then there really is no point in my running is there?"
"No." He admitted.
"Besides." She said. "If I run then I can't experiment on you."
He blinked. "I am going to kill you." He pointed out again.
"Can you move?" DNAmy asked.
"Of course." He replied and tried to stroll towards her. He fell over.
"Good. It's working." DNAmy smiled.
He tried to move and his limbs sluggishly obeyed him. "What?"
"Just a little something I whipped up. Don't worry. I'm not cruel and you won't feel any pain." She looked around. "Now how do I move you to the MRI?" She sighed. "That's not going to work. Oh well." She picked up a device and moved closer to the Lorwardian.
He tried to filter the toxin from his blood, but it seemed fine. There were no toxins in it. "What?" He asked again, his vision starting to fade.
"Just something that will keep you from moving." The woman said. "It will eventually kill you when it starts affecting the heart and the other major organs. But until then I can experiment. I will be sure to destroy your three brains before your ship recalls you. Wouldn't want them to read your memories and see what I did." She smiled down at him.
"Why..." He managed to get out, losing the ability to speak.
"I modelled it after your own white blood cells." DNAmy explained. "Your body won't recognize it as a poison." She looked around. "So much to do and so little time to do it in. No wonder I'm overweight." She mused to herself. "Wish I had something to munch on. It helps me think."
He struggled to remain conscious, but it was a losing battle. How does she know we got three brains, he wondered. Or how to create such a toxin,... The world around him went black.
Jenny and Willow,...
Jenny and Willow rushed into the room where DNAmy usually worked. They stopped and stared.
"Hello girls." DNAmy greeted them.
"What happened to him?" Willow asked.
"Just a little something I whipped up." She replied and sighed. "It's only been a half hour and he's dead already. I had expected him to live for at least an hour." She looked up."Guess I better destroy those three brains of his before the ship recalls him." She paused. "But given how far we're underground I wonder how it's going to do that?"
"No clue." Willow said. "But better do it before it does recall him."
DNAmy nodded and going to a cabinet pulled out three large syringes. She filled them with a clear liquid and insert them into the three brains.
"What did you use?" Jenny asked.
"A powerful acid. It will dissolve them. But I better do more than that. Just those three places would be a dead giveaway. Grab some syringes and help me."
They went to work. With three of them it only took minutes to uses up DNAmy's entire supply of syringes. The corpse of the Lorwardian was almost in pieces by that time.
A Losing Battle,...
Warfilkin muttered to herself. She'd followed the passageway she'd been instructed to and had come to a dead end. There was just a series of storage rooms. Turning around and retracing her steps she'd tried to contact Warlyder for more orders. He hadn't responded. She'd followed the path he'd taken and had found... How could pests have killed such an accomplished warrior? She'd raised her weapon to kill them when she'd noticed two of them were the camouflage they'd been ordered to find.
Jenny looked up. "Company." She said, seeing the alien in the doorway.
Willow moved, tossing the bottle of acid into the ceiling above the alien and throwing a scalpel at her eyes.
Warfilkin flinched away from the flask even though she didn't feel threatened by it. It was going to miss her. But then it shattered on the ceiling and acid splattered over her skin. It startled her and distracted her enough that the scalpel nearly hit her right eye. She aimed the laser at the pest who had thrown it. She couldn't kill it, but she could maim it.
Jenny moved, grabbing more flasks and throwing them. A second later Willow joined her.
She dodged the thrown objects, not knowing what was in them. If one held more acid and hit her in the face... The speed at which they were being thrown didn't give her a chance to use the laser on the pest. She might end up killing it.
Jenny and Willow grabbed scalpels and raced at the alien. Willow took the lead and raced in close, slashing. But it was feint and she dodged away, leaving the alien open for Jenny behind her. Jenny didn't come too close but did slash open the arm held out to block Willow. Then she twisted back out of the way.
One was behind her and and the other one was in front of her. She couldn't keep them both in view at once. She hurriedly raised the laser to maim the one in front of her with blood dripping from the arm. Pests had managed to wound her. The shame. But then they had managed to kill Warlyder. She would worry about shame later.
When she saw Willow racing at it from behind, Jenny threw the scalpel. The alien flinched from the thrown weapon just as Willow tried to jumped up and slashed at her eyes. The alien smashed her away, but not before the scalpel slid across her flesh. Jenny grabbed another from the huge pile DNAmy had lying around and raced forward.
"Blood in her eyes, but she's still got two of em." Jenny yelled, slashing at them again.
"Damn." Willow yelled back. "Still if we get her then that's four down." She raced at the alien once again.
"Wonder how many there are?" Jenny yelled, glad to hear her friend's voice. She'd been hit pretty hard.
"Worry about that later." Willow screamed. She slashed at the demented creature and saw blood gushing from the huge gash in her back. But it slowed almost immediately and stopped. It would take an awful lot of cuts to stop her.
Jenny moved closer and tried to get at the eyes again, but they were covered by an arm and she settled for jabbing it in between the monster's ribs. The sharp blade pierced one of the alien's brains and she twisted as she pulled the knife free.
This is insane, Warfilkin thought to herself. I'm being overwhelmed by two immature pests. She managed to get her vision back and lowered the arm. She raised the laser and fired. The pest she'd aimed at twisted to one side and it missed, though it scorched her flesh.
"Not again." Jenny screamed, nearly growling.
"What?" Willow yelled, worriedly.
"It's just that I'm sick and tired of burns." She yelled back. Looking at the alien she showed her teeth and growled. "You're going to pay for that."
Warfilkin blinked her eyes. The pest was threatening her. But then so far she was the only one who had taken any wounds. She swung the laser only to feel something stab her in the back, penetrating deep and being twisted before it was withdrawn. They had targeted her two auxiliary brains. How do they know about those, she wondered and cursed. She could have killed them easily, but Warfelken wanted them. She wasn't sure if killing them was the plan.
She moved closer and grabbed for the pest only to have it dance out of the way. It was so nimble. Perhaps, she thought, there are some advantages to being small. She went to grab for it again, but instead twisted around and struck the one who was racing for her back. The pest went flying, but actually turned in mid air and hit the ground on its feet. Its momentum still knocked it to the floor, but it rolled and stood up right away. She blinked. Just what were these pests. Camouflage, the thought came to her. But then, she wondered, where are the Recorders? It didn't make sense. Maybe Warfelken knew more but she had only given orders, not explained.
Willow knew she had some cracked ribs, but for now they didn't matter. She grinned at the enemy's surprised look. "We have an expression." She said. "The bigger they come, the harder they fall." She held the scalpel she'd held onto during her journey through the air and circled the alien.
Jenny noted the alien's pause and rushed in. She only managed to slash it a little, but still blood flowed. A return blow grazed her and she felt the side of her face become a mass of pain.
Time for a change of tactics, Warfilkin thought, and ignored the one behind her. Rushing the one she'd just struck she lashed out, using all the speed inherent in her race. It dodged, but went down as it was tripped. She lashed out again and her blow stuck its head. It went still, dazed. Turning she focused on the one behind her that was rushing in to try for her eyes again. "A Lorwardian isn't so easy to kill." She raged, even knowing she was speaking to a pest.
Willow stood back and shrugged. "For pests we two did pretty good. Three of you, not counting that one." She pointed to the half dissolved mess on the floor. "We can't take credit for him." She explained.
She blinked. They had killed three Lorwardians? Impossible.
Sara,...
"I'm sorry." Hope said to the girl.
"For what?" Sara asked, with a puzzled expression.
"Soon we will both die." Came the sad answer. "I had only just begun to exist. But I am glad I knew you."
"Die?" She had sought oblivion, but now she had a brother and was going to see him one day. She was going to talk to him.
"Your friends are fighting demons. Soon they will die."
"But I thought they were all dead?" She gulped, stepping back nervously.
"The ones that were in the four of you are. But there are others and now your friends are fighting a losing battle." Hope explained.
"Oh." She slumped down, defeated.
"Do you wish to die here, or fight as a warrior?" The teacher asked.
Sara looked up. "Can I make a difference?"
"I don't know. But unless you try there is no chance."
"I wanted to see my brother." Sara cried. "I wanted to talk to him and see that he is okay."
"All will die if the demons have their way."
"Even my brother?" Something insider her cracked.
"Yes. I'm sorry."
"No." The crack grew and rage erupted out. "No. That is not going to happen. If I save my brother then I can atone for what I did." She looked up. "I want to fight. I need to fight."
Hope smiled at her. "Then so be it. Strike for the eyes."
There was light and sound around her. She had not stood for months but her modified DNA had made sure her muscles had not atrophied. She tensed her legs and arms, flexed her hands. She was unharmed. She looked around to see one of the people she knew to be Jenny lying on the floor. Someone Hope had told her was a friend. Across the room, held against a wall, was Willow. Another friend. In a corner was a woman, unconscious. Slowly she moved and stood, making no sound. It took a few seconds for the dizziness to subside. She saw the scalpels and took two. One for each hand.
Warfilkin squeezed her fingers and felt the bones of the pest start to crack. After the first pest had fallen it had been easy. She'd struck down the fat pest with no effort and had been free to confront this one. The one on the bed was already unconscious. Still the pest she held didn't flinch. Didn't cry out in pain. She took her spear and ran it across the arm of the pest. Blood poured out. It was so good. Then something slammed into each of her eyes and she was blind. She stumbled back in shock, letting go of the pest she held.
Willow dropped to the ground and rushed to Jenny. There was a pulse and she was breathing. "She's okay." She said to Sara who was standing, looking at the monster she'd just stabbed in the eyes. She moved and checked on DNAmy. Once again a pulse and breathing. Still she was more badly hurt. She didn't know how to take a blow like Jenny did. "Hurt, but okay." She said and stood.
"That's a demon?" Sara asked, still staring.
"Yeah. A mature one." Willow answered. "I called mine a banshee. And Jenny just called hers the something inside." She shrugged. "Whatever you call it, it needs killing. By the way, hi. Glad to see you're awake." She smiled at the girl.
"They can die?" Sara asked, still staring.
"Of course. They're big and strong and fast. But they can still die. Trust me." Willow said.
"If you say so. I just want to see my brother and I need to kill it for that to happen."
The two of them took more scalpels and started slashing the alien. After a while Jenny stood up, looking a bit dazed, and joined in. It took a while, but eventually the psychotic creature dropped from blood loss."
"There's where you two went to." Came Shego's voice from the doorway. She walked in and looked down. "Been busy I see." She looked and saw the pale girl with black hair. She blinked, startled. "Hello Sara. It's nice to finally met you." She finally said, smiling at the teenager.
"Hello." Came a timid reply.
"Two down and one died while trying to land. Three left somewhere."
"We killed two others." Jenny said.
Shego blinked again. "How?"
"Lured it to the room where we took the something out of Sara. We dissolved them." The girl explained.
"So one left. Well that explains things. We had sensors all over the place designed to explode when they came close. But they just weren't exploding as often as they should have." She looked down at the pool of blood. "Stand back and I will make sure it never gets up again."
Jenny and Willow moved out of the way dragging Sara with them.
She called the plasma and sent it at the nearly dead Lorwardian. It's skin cracked and burned. Soon bones started to show through. She made sure all three brains were destroyed. Turning she went to work on the one that was nearly in pieces. It didn't seem like it needed it, but better safe than sorry.
Sara stood back and watched, wide eyed. How could a person blaze like a comet and yet not burn up, she wondered. Yet she recalled seeing it before. Vaguely, as though through someone elses eyes. Back when I allowed the demon to control me, she realized, ashamed.
"Why couldn't it recall to the ship?" Willow asked. She'd seen the creature repeatedly stabbing at the controls on her belt.
"Probably because this place blocks nearly every form of radiation there is." Shego explained. "I don't know what they use to transmit signals, but if its a normal electromagnetic frequency then it would be blocked. And given they don't want us to get our hands on anything too advanced it probably is."
"Oh." Willow said. "So what now?"
"We get you out of here." Shego said.
"I know how to kill the last one you said was left." Jenny said.
"How?" Shego studied the girl. She was battered, but her posture said she wanted to fight.
"The prison."
The Final Battle,...
Wardowg chased the two girls who fled before her. They were fast and nimble but eventually they would have to tire. Wouldn't they? They were after all just pests. Yet they raced ahead of her calling back taunts. From their wounds she knew they'd been in a fight. But if they had fought other Lorwardians why were they still alive? It made no sense. She tried to run faster despite the low ceiling.
They turned and stopped, watching the monster approach.
They'd stopped running. Why? She knew she was in danger, but how could two pests harm her. It was unthinkable. Yet she approached them with caution.
Shego stepped out and flung plasma at the beast. As expected its force field went up. That was okay. She smiled. She focused the plasma at its feet. It still couldn't lower the barrier, or its feet would be hurt, slowing it down. Still, she knew she had only a short time before the plasma came back at her. But then the blazing inferno ate through the grating at the feet of the deranged alien. It fell through, unable to even try and grab hold of something as it fell into a shaft that went nearly two kilometers, straight down, into the earth.
She fell into a pit that seemed endless. As she descended her flesh began to burn. It wouldn't be bad if she could get out soon. Still she fell. The bottom rose up to meet her and she felt one of her arms crack. That was bad. She would need it to climb out. For some reason she couldn't recall to the ship.
Shego waited at the top. As the alien approached she flung plasma at it and its shield went up again. It fell once more. She felt like laughing. What better place for a monster than a fiery pit deep within the earth. The irony also didn't escape her. This was the place those three girls had fled months ago. It had come full cycle.
"Wonder how many times she will be able to climb up?" Willow wondered.
"No too many." Jenny answered, sitting and watching the show.
Sara sat, wide eyed, watching.
"After the third time the alien remained in the pit, the heat slowly consuming her flesh.
Stalemate,...
Warfelken watched the display showing the life signs of her subordinates. While they hadn't been allowed to take advanced technology with them she could, from the ship, monitor them. Even equipped with lasers and explosive weapons she saw them fade one by one. We are as fast as any creature can be made, strong as flesh will allow, yet they kill us, she thought to herself. We cannot allow this world to live. They are no longer pests, they are a threat.
She stood, and went to the center of the ship, where she could command the array of weapons the vessel had at its disposal. She activated one and the ship turned, aiming its front at the planet below. Slowly the massive generators began to build up the power the weapon would need. It would generate a small black hole in the center of the planet. Over time it would consume the world and in the process hid forever any technology left behind on the surface.
Ron worked on the device. It was finished, but testing would take another hour. He wondered how things were going back at the base. He hoped Willow and Jenny were safe. Shego he knew would be somewhere in the middle of it. Kim was still injured. He forced the thoughts out of his mind and focused on the task at hand.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
He cursed and answered it, not taking his eyes from the display showing the status of the machine he was working on.
"Out of time Ron." Wade said. "The ship is aiming at the earth and even through the barrier we can detect a massive energy build up."
Ron cursed. He would just have to hope he'd made no mistakes. If he had the earth would die. Shego would die. There could be vengeance, but it wouldn't bring back those he loved or the world that was his home.
He stood and hit a final button. "Send a message to the ship saying 'Stop.' He said, turning and rushing to the bridge.
Warfelken was confused. For so long Warmonga had remained on her ship doing nothing. Now she had sent a message ordering her to stop. She saw a message probe depart the other ship and accelerate at over a million gravities into space. She plotted its trajectory. It wasn't towards Lorwardia. Where then could it be going, she wondered.
Ron stood at the communications console wondering what to send. At least the message to stop seemed to have done something. He watched as a message appeared on the screen. It simply read 'Why?'
He started to slowly hit buttons. 'If the world below dies, then Lorwardia dies.' He simply sent.
She stared at the message in disbelief. What is going on, she wondered. 'Explain.' She demanded.
He read the reply and responded. 'The message probe launched has been modified. It carries a world destroyer that will target Lorwardia if its sensors spot the destruction of the world below.' He hit send and rose to turn off the war machines. The ruse was over. Either this worked or it didn't.
Warmonga and Warhok are dead. The thought came to her and she knew it to be true. She noted the war machines had stopped their assault on the world beneath her. Pests... No she reminded herself. A threat commanded the ship that once had been Lorwardian. A threat that knew the language and could modify Lorwardian technology. Impossible but true. She didn't know what to reply. Another message came in.
'We have a ship and the probe. Either can destroy your home world. The world you are programmed to defend. Retreat from this world or your world dies.' Ron sent
Sitting back he wondered how the aliens would respond. Their protocols demanded they destroy the earth, yet they also demanded they defend Lorwardia. Either could take precedence. To the first batch of super soldiers he knew a stalemate would be understood and accepted even as they plotted. After all Lorwardia had survived their centuries long war. But that had been thirty thousand years or more ago. He chewed his lip until it drew blood. He thought of the current Lorwardians. Would they be able to accept a stalemate? He felt dizzy. This was the world he was putting at risk in a game of chicken with psychotic aliens.
She didn't know how to respond. The threat below had to be destroyed, but Lorwardia had to be protected. She looked up. Warchof was there. He too was staring at the message.
'We have a ship and the probe. Either can destroy your home world. The world you are programmed to defend. Retreat from this world or your world dies.' They watched as the message came again.
Lorwardian ships were designed to be nearly indestructible. The threat must know that and if they knew how to operate it then the vessel was untouchable. It could go to Lorwardia and destroy it. The probe was lost in the vastness of space. It could not be found. It too could destroy Lorwardia. Even if they attacked and destroyed the ship Lorwardia would be destroyed. Warfelken let the thoughts rush through her mind. Lorwardia could not be risked. The threat could be destroyed later. With her mind nearing a mental breakdown she ordered the ship to return to Lorwardia at maximum speed. It didn't matter if the threat traced her course. They would have all of the stolen ship's navigation information. She looked at Warchof. He seemed to be nearing a breakdown too.
Ron watched the ship leave. Until it returned to Lorwardian, a twenty year trip, and a fleet returned, another twenty year trip, the earth was safe. He slipped out of his chair and sat on the floor.
He recalled what he'd remembered from the history lesson Mr. Barkin had given them all those years ago. After World War II a number of nations had started building massive arsenals of nuclear weapons. Enough to destroy human civilization. Given the accidents that could happen Global Justice had been formed to keep the peace. It had kept that peace for over forty years. There had been a name historians gave to that other path. MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction.
End of Chapter.
Really, how smart can a Lorwardian be? Going into a place where their size hampers their mobility.
Someone once asked why all the people merged with Lorwardians were female. The answer is simply because Warfelken used her own genetic material. Since she's female merging with another female would have been easier. Both would have two Xs. (Finally a logical reason.)
MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction. The Lorwardians were given a choice, destroy the earth and have Lorwardia destroyed too, or leave and both worlds survive. In this story Global Justice commanded peace after WW II. So the alternate path Ron discovered was what would have happened if there had been no Global Justice. Subs launched at sea with payloads that could destroy a nation. Or in the case of the story, modified probes that could destroy a world. It carries a price, Lorwardia exists and is a threat. But it buys time.
One very short chapter left.