Corda and Buffy approached cautiously and hid when they heard voices.
"Dr. Walsh's dead. The Adam project killed her. Skewered her though the back." One voice said.
"I thought she was going to insert one of her control chips into it."
"She never got a chance and all it really does is induces pain. We intend to use it to show these creatures their place. Doing what we tell them."
"Nevermind that, how are we going to find the Adam project?"
"Apparently it enjoys killing, like alot of these things seem to. We follow the trail of bodies and we bring it to heel. Arm the men with blasters and spread out. If they run into anyone, just have them tell them they're hunting a dangerous animal. Which they are."
"Yes, sir."
Corda pulled out her scanner and began scanning for dead bodies, it didn't take long to find one.
"Come on, there's a dead body this way." She murmured and knew Buffy would hear her. She saw Buffy nod and the two of them headed for the dead body the scanner had found. They found eight, human and demon, before they found 'the Adam project'. Just a few minutes before the soldiers found them.
"And who are you?" The creature asked. Corda had her scanner out and was scanning it.
"I'm reading parts from eight different demons in that thing, held together with cyber connections. Also, scanning equipment of its own. My scanner shows a nuclear battery powering it. Avoid the chest, we don't want to risk making that thing go critical."
"I'll shoot the legs, you shoot the head?" Buffy suggested. "Since you're better with the pulse pistol then I am and I really don't want to risk hitting that."
"Agreed." But before either of them could fire, soldiers appeared and fired on the creature themselves with some sort of blaster. Buffy fired at the legs and Corda fired at the head, simultaneously. The creature dropped back and fell to the ground.
"What did you do?!" Someone demanded to know.
"Killed the thing killing humans." Corda said. Suddenly a whining sound could be heard. Corda pulled out her scanner again. "Oh you idiots. Whatever you're using to power those blasters of yours, just fed it, they didn't do anything to stop it. Worse, they fed into its nuclear battery."
"What nuclear battery?" One of the soldiers asked, confused.
"The one in its chest cavity. Which is why we were firing on the head and legs to avoid it. It's heading for critical and if it goes, it'll take a significant portion of the city with it!" She pulled off her personal shield, it was Alteran, not one of the reverse engineered from Earth tech ones that Oz and Johnathan had made, which was a good thing, because it could handle alot more. She hurried over to the remains and set the little device on the chest and activated it.
"What are you doing?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Containing the explosion." She answered. And not a moment too soon, as the battery went critical. A burst of light and energy so bright it could have damaged eyes if people hadn't looked away could be seen. When they looked again, the creature had been obliterated, there just wasn't anything salvageable left.
"You're under arrest." One of them said. "Charged with destroying government property, among other things. I don't know how the Hell you did that, but I intend to find out." They aimed their blasters at Corda and Buffy.
"Don't." Corda murmured, so softly only Buffy could have heard her. "Alexander will come for us. And we don't want them knowing what you can do." In a louder voice she said. "Didn't you hear me? You destroyed it, I stopped it from destroying the city."
"And I'm supposed to just believe you? Bring them."
"Who are you? And by what authority do arrest us?" Corda asked.
"George Overby of the NID. You interfered with a government project. It'll be a long time before you see the light of day again."
"I sincerely doubt that. What you were doing here can't possibly be legal, and we have government contacts of our own. Making us disappear, won't stop them from coming after you."
"What government contacts?"
"My name is Cordelia Chase, I am the Chief Financial Officer of the Altimah Project, which has recently become a government contractor. A number of our patents are of use to the U.S. government."
"I've never heard of you. Or your company, but I will find out everything about you. Let's go, bring them."
Corda was very grateful she was wearing a reverse engineered communicator on her ear. It may have looked decorative, but that was just a disguise. She was also grateful, that it could be switched on with a touch. All she'd had to do was act like she was brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. Alexander had heard everything from the moment she and Buffy had overheard the conversation between the two men at the factory. He would come for them, for her. After all, he'd once sworn he'd refuse to move onto another life without her. She wouldn't move on without him, either.