Act IX: Future Wars, Chapter II: The Eight Primers
Juarez, North Mexico - 2062
A column of ten armored personnel vehicles disturbed the lonesome dirt road that had not seen a town for the past twelve miles. This convoy, a small battalion dispatched from the Domicile resistance occupying North Mexico, mobilized to reinforce the falling numbers on the border between it and El Paso, Texas. The status report from the Texas Domicile checkpoint came as an alarm; the Prime Federation had dispatched themselves an airship of their own and launched an attack on the base.
"HURRY, WE NEED YOU RIGHT-" An explosion rocked and echoed through as static, ending the transmission from the Domicile fighters at the checkpoint.
"Why the hell is the Federation this far south? They don't usually come here!" one member inquired through his comms. "And at some gate, too! What the hell is that all about?"
"The Prime Fed probably have nothing to do, they're just psychos trying to kill humanity outside of its own might one Dom base at a time until there's nothing left!"
"They've got the advantage, not just with numbers, but with phenos and their high tech."
"Give it a rest, Johnson..."
"Anyone else? Oh, come on! Have hope! A world free of war! A world that knows not the smoky skies of ash, or the smell of decaying corpses that nauseate you at the crack of dawn!"
"I'll cheer to that, buddy!" the only female of this armored vehicle, which was the third one in the convoy, shot her hand up and flashed a thumbs up. Alex had infiltrated this section an hour before it rolled northbound. "Have hope, it's the best thing you can have today!"
"There you go!"
Before anyone else could share an opinion or even open their mouths, Alex plucked two grenades from her gear, yanking the pins from them and rolled them to the cab side. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
"WHOA- GRENADE!"
The driver and passenger in the cab died instantly once both grenades went off, injuring half the remaining insurgents aboard. Alex paced out through the back in a jog, exiting the vehicle just as the convoy grinded to a halt. "Mercer, Chang, on me!"
Two portals opened up five feet above on either side of Alex, bringing Lissandra and Bethany to the party. "Don't forget we've got codenames!"
"Shut it, lizard breath!" Alex fired her rifle upon the Dom soldiers up ahead. "Clear them out, I've got the first two!" She turned around and fired upon the crew inside the damaged vehicle.
"No need, mother dear," came Liberty's voice through the Lobelink comms. "Clear the danger zone, I'm coming in hot!"
"From where?!" Bethany sliced and diced her way through several Doms, defended by Lissandra who, in her beastly form, ran around clawing and biting at the shooters. The latter made sure to be shot at, knowing nobody in this column brought any anti-pheno ordinance to the party.
Liberty landed at the rear end of the convoy, going unnoticed long enough to activate the Silver Element on her wrist. "COVER YOUR EYES, LADIES!"
Lissandra pulled Bethany behind a vehicle and shielded her from the light. Alex slapped her arm over her eyes before the white light blinded everything. The familiar rumble followed in place, indicating Liberty had transformed already. Alex put her arm down once the flash had gone, and Lissandra and Bethany peeked over the vehicle.
Where Liberty stood, a fifty-foot faceless humanoid of illuminating white skin had replaced her. The foreign being swung a leg forward, hitting two of the vehicles. It advanced, attacking the Doms, stepping on several of them while the others scattered in multiple directions.
Alex aimed down her sights on the stragglers on the right. "Hey, lesbians, help her and get the runners on the left!"
"What'd she call me?!" Lissandra took with a grain of salt. "Why, I oughta-"
Bethany sprinted towards the final Dom insurgents, whipping out a pair of shuriken blades from her sleeves, throwing them. Two of them fell after the blades made impact. "Bullseye!"
Rose Santiago arrived at the scene, standing on the roof of a vehicle. "Aww, did I miss the- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
Alex jerked her head back. "Right, you haven't seen Liberty in this form yet. Take a good look, sis, that's what you become when you put on the Silver Element and activate it."
"It doesn't just rewind time?" Rose remained stupidly amazed at Liberty, right on the border of fangirling away at a magnificent superpower. "Dude, that's seriously amazing!"
"Yes, comrade," the battle-hardened Laika Letenko agreed with Rose. She removed the mecha helmet to properly see the devastation her unit had created in the name of Dylan Blood. "Da, wonderful! The true beauty of alien power Sauhlerstraam in hand of human girl."
"With a power like that, we can't possibly lose this war," Lissandra smirked, wiping the blood off her claws with her shirt.
Liberty regrouped back to her unit, towering them before turning back into herself, shrinking away in the process. "So, what'd you think, Rose?"
Rose still had some questions. "You can do that at will, right? How come you don't end the entire Domicile resistance at once? I'm sure-"
"Doesn't work like that, unfortunately," Alex chimed in. "That form requires... Well, a sort of battery..."
"Battery?"
Liberty snapped to get Rose's attention. "So basically I need to store time inside the Silver Element, right?" She held it up to show Rose. "And to store time, I have to steal time from history."
"Go on..." Rose developed a headache.
"Let's say if I'm in the past and I rewind an hour back, not only do I go back an hour, but that time is taken from reality and stored in here," she explained and tapped upon the watch-like device. "I can also do it to individuals too- which I've been doing. You'd be surprised how many people believe they've blacked out! Haha!"
"Is that time how long you have when you use that power?"
Liberty shook her head. "The bigger I am, the faster the time depletes. I had six hours in here, gone in under five minutes."
"Oh..." Rose now understood why the Silver Element wasn't too useful like it should've been. "Alright, I got it."
"I thought she knew already," Lissandra whispered to Bethany.
"I guess she didn't," Bethany shrugged.
"Hey..." Lissandra attempted to reach through to Bethany, moving her hand into the latter's, only for Bethany to pull her own hand away. "Oh..."
"Not right now," was Bethany's reply, still distancing herself from Lizy.
"Prime Supreme be proud of you Primers," Commander Letenko complimented her unit. "Me as well. You good girls, good soldiers. Keep up good work."
"Yeah, we will." Alex was happy to have proven not only her own worth, but the worth of everyone in the team unified. "Now, uh, is that one gonna be watching?"
Laika let out a laugh and nodded, commending Alex's awareness of the environment. "At least one of you noticed... She wanted to see, but to notice her is test itself, comrade."
"Notice who?" Bethany looked left and right.
Alex tilted her head up. "Eyes high."
No less than eighty feet above, a figure suspended in the air looked down upon them like ants. They never moved down to meet with the Primers, only disappearing through a portal.
"I'm guessing that's Estelle," Lizy assumed. "Right, Commander?"
"Estelle Grimm, da," Letenko exhaled, beginning to recollect on her time in the Prime Federation that predated the Primers.
Birth
Then - Prime Federation HQ
"The best this Federation has to offer?" Dylan Blood bore witness to seeing Lissandra and Estelle Grimm, a second-generation pheno, and the only child born to any of the Loud clones, duking it out. "I let you do a test to all female soldiers and these two-"
"You wanted fierce, cold fighters, I bring you closest thing from the female regiment, but I see potential in the one you've been training yourself, why not her?" Laika stood by her opinion in selection.
"Think she's ready?" Dylan, although protective of Bethany, considered putting her through the wringer.
"Let me put her fighting skills to the test, I show you she is!" Laika confidently expressed.
"Are those two the only pair to meet the qualifications?" He moved out of the doorway, taking Letenko with him. "No, I'm sure you have more recommendations, knowing you."
"Alex Loud, direct daughter of Lincoln Loud, is showing quite the promise. She's climbing the ranks pretty fast through her scout runs, that's for sure. Losing her mother and uncle proved to be the push she needed to join the cause, who knew?"
"She came with-" Dylan had forgotten the other's name.
"Her cousin, Rosalina Santiago, is far from her if this be race, I not say she good to be part of this new Primer thing, not yet at least."
"That's disappointing... I need to have some restructuring since these days all my soldiers do is the bare minimum. Less reports on the Dom attacks, or even the scavenger raids on our supplies." The Prime Federation's army had become a group of pushovers the more the days passed. Soldiers who never really ventured outside the safe zones, and those who did, the scavenging convoys, did not favor going too far from the eastern seaboard.
"I deal with that, yes?" The redhead drew out her final recommendation. "Katie Raymond, ruthless and pretty vocal. Ask me, I take liking to her."
"Bring those two in, take them to the combat room, and show me results of all four soldiers to my quarters when you're done with the assessment. I want positive results, Commander!"
"Sir!" Laika Letenko relieved herself of his presence, happy to know the Primers' forming was advancing as fast as she hoped. A proposed idea that looked and felt good when read on paper, and in her head, solely and mainly because it put her as the exclusive leader of the team. Her and her alone.
Meaningless Blood
Katie Raymond removed the pink hoodie from her head, allowing her blonde hair to be free again, and folded her fists as she raised them. Her opponent, Lizy, dashed onwards, and was dealt a five-punch combo that started at her abdomen, ending with a hard punch to her face. Katie ended the fight with a leg sweep, making Lizy fall hard on her back. "Sloppy, but you have balls to rush me... So to speak."
"Yeah, yeah, help me up already!" Lizy shot her hand up. "You owe me."
"Heh, is that so?" Katie planted the latter back up on her feet. "I'll help you get better, but that's it!"
"You wish!" Lizy rubbed her hand on her back. "Okay, maybe that wasn't so bad."
"It's all about the speed when punching, you gotta throw in combos. Learn some martial arts!"
"If you're both done with the clear flirting," Alex interrupted, "Bethany and I are taking our turn now."
Lizy gave both Alex and Bethany the finger before being led away by Katie. "Come, let's go to my room, babe."
"After three rounds, really?" Alex had her laugh, to which Bethany also shared a light giggle. "The PF's elite, Commander Letenko said she wanted the best of the best, but that bitch is weak when it comes to defense. What a joke."
"What's your story?" Bethany positioned herself across from Alex. "You're Charlie Company's finest, right? Heard enough from the others to know you had a rough life. I mean, extra rough in comparison with the others, you know?"
"I lived in neutral territory until..." Alex broke off.
"No need to say, I think I understand." Bethany stretched her arms.
"If only it were different back then," Alex lamented in sorrow.
"Past can't be changed, even if it has its perks-"
"Trying to justify the horrors than I've gone through?" Alex placed her hands on her hips, scowling at Bethany.
"All I'm saying is, if it happened, it was meant to be. The idea of fate, that's what it is."
"My mother, uncle and his wife- Dead because fate willed it to be? How's that fair?"
"I never said fair," Bethany corrected, "It isn't fair, it's just fate. The very same fate that took my parents away during the Decimation and put me on the path to this life today. I'm here for this, for something that I won't know until it happens, until it makes sense for me."
"Whatever you say, man," Alex disregarded. "I'd call that unfair, fucked up even- Wait, wait, wait. How old were you when that happened?"
"I didn't hit double digits yet," Bethany answered, unknowingly stirring suspicion.
"So you should be- I dunno, older than you are?" Alex seemed puzzled. For one thing, Bethany should have been as old as the Commander.
Bethany let out an alarming peep. Too late to retract what she had already let Alex in on. "Don't get any funny ideas-"
"The math isn't adding up here, but being the Prime Supreme's pet certainly has its advantages." Alex formed a half-smile and winked.
"Oh..." Bethany, humbled, could not help but laugh. Alex was more perceptive than she had been given credit for. "I guess you don't need me to confirm anything."
"Anyone else know?"
"Commander Letenko knows, and she's angry he didn't save her those years."
Alex slowly nodded. "I'd be jealous too if the Prime Supreme didn't put me in my prime self in the Federation. Still, I think it was best for her in her case, she's quite the leader."
"She's certainly something else," Bethany agreed. "Can't imagine anyone other than her being fit for the role. Hey, you believe in this little Primer thing they want formed?"
"Well, if they were any smart, it'd be a team made up of phenos. Well, maybe like half of the team or something, then that way the squad would be a true nightmare for those Domicile idiots. See, I qualify already due to being half-pheno."
"Y-you?" Bethany babbled. "I don't believe you."
"It's true," a third voice chimed in. Both girls turned to see yet another teenager enter the sparring room. This girl had white hair that barely reached her neck, pale-cold skin that made her look much like a vampiric being, the lightest of blue marbles for eyes that were rather warm than icy and soulless. From top to bottom, the girl's fashion sense was gothic. "Alejandra Santiago, illegitimate daughter of one Lincoln Loud, abandoned by him and left to a life of poverty until she's forced to take her place in the Federation."
"How dare they've talked about me..." Alex grew angry. "If they knew-"
"Doesn't matter anymore, but it seems the children of past Loud generations are just made to be discarded like litter."
"You're one of theirs, too?" Alex asked the girl.
"Daughter of Lucy Loud's clone, and most certainly-" She floated up three feet in the air. "I am a pheno, too."
"So, what, we're related?"
"Wasn't that already clear?"
"Fine..." Alex forgot to be mad now. "What's your name anyway?"
"Estelle Grimm," the goth answered.
"Grimm Girl herself has a daughter?" Alex cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "There's no way..."
"I'm not Grimm Girl's brat," Estelle corrected before continuing to her business, "but I have a lengthy assignment. You haven't seen much of me and you won't get to. Not for a long while, actually."
"Understood." Alex waved her off.
"Nice meeting you both." Like some balloon, Estelle floated off the way she came, due to return to her ongoing mission.
"This can't be real..." Bethany applied a hand to her head. "You, and her... And those two blondes-"
"What, Mercer and Raymond? What can those two do?"
"They're both morpher phenos, the same as Luna Loud."
"A pair of Superbeasts? You're kidding me!"
"I wish, you should see them in action, we're all from the same company." Bethany stepped off the mats and strutted to the exit. "They volunteered for it and somehow survived the trials. We don't get many of those around here but now-"
"You've volunteered to turn yourself into a pheno yourself?" Alex speculated. "You did, didn't you?"
Bethany shook her head. "Our Prime Supreme has given me all types of training, including hours of combat and simulations personally overseen by Commander Letenko. I know warfare is more than just fighting, because they both taught me about military installations and how to weaken them."
"Uh-huh..." The big words only seemed to confuse the listener. "Cool, I suppose."
"I can infiltrate enemy bases and more."
"Oh!" Alex snapped and waved her hand in approval. "Rad, my guy."
Flames Past
Lizy had her legs spread out wide enough for dear Katie's head to make contact with her tight kitty. The tongue that entered inside the clit, this special, welcome guest Lizy enjoyed greatly, rotated clockwise and reversed its pattern. The intense quaking of Lizy's body made it more enriching in sensation; her legs twitched inwards briefly, going outwards, and repeating second after second and longingly for Katie to notice and laugh, deeming it cute of Lizy.
"Y-yes, mommy, k-k-kuhhh..." Lizy rolled her head back into the pillow, sinking halfway in while rubbing her lover's head lovingly. "Deeper," she demanded eagerly, craving for more satisfaction.
"My tongue can only go so far, honey," Katie chuckled. "How about this?"
Lizy hiccuped sexually right after Katie invaded her body and touched one of her breasts, squeezing and rocking it about. "Oh, my God, yes! I fucking luhhhh-"
Katie exchanged her tongue for her fingers, inserting and rubbing Lizy's now-moist womanhood. She was tender and firm, but otherwise slow with her crimes of passion. "Like that, hon?"
"You're a total- MEEP- goddess!" Lizy yelped out. "Goddess from the-"
"Such a cutie," Katie smirked, continuing her fingering. "Go on, sugarplum. Get wet for mommy, hehe."
"Yesyesyesyesssssss," was Lizy's reply, full of excitement and arousal. "Finger me, eat me out, scissor me, do everything!"
"You bet I will."
The fun between the two girls went on for the next half hour. They had become undressed completely and performed about a quarter of the moveset they were able to physically achieve, ending with Lizy tribbing on Katie in the reverse cowgirl position, causing Katie to squirt out after Lizy had blown her load post-fingering.
The spot beneath their lower bodies had become stained with their love juice. Lizy slithered right next to the kindred Katie who in turn welcomed her in open arms. Lizy burrowed herself comfortably against her and took hold of the latter's arms and locked onto both of them. The gears in her head kept turning, fueled forward by the passion within their intercourse as well as the romance between them. Oh yes, little Lizy had her gay heart be entangled in a web of romance. The butterflies in her stomach, albeit a funny feeling, kept her soul warm; she found comfort and love in being with dear Katie, a gift from the heavens- one that she would treasure during this dreadful age of war and death, the world she belonged to. The world she was born into.
"I love you," Katie whispered behind Lizy, planting a kiss on the back of her neck.
Lizy gripped Katie's hands tighter. "I love you too," she said back with a content tone and grin.
Rising
Now
I love you too...
Lizy's heart ached again. It made zero sense why she was hurting, yet at the same time, she knew well why she was in pain and where it had been sourced from. Bethany had been distant as of late, a hindrance in their relationship. It was obvious what Bethany had been feeling as of late, but had been in her place of solitude, where she didn't want Lizy to follow.
Maybe Bethany needed the space, and then things would patch up. Made sense, knowing what was asked of her as of late. The assignments in the past. Meeting the younger version of the woman who saved her. The vague warning about the Decimation.
The Decimation... The one event that ascertained victory for Dylan Blood and the conquered territory he claimed with his countless followers. The end of old America's reign after being established over two hundred years ago.
Bethany seemed to keep to herself today, drawn in only by the combat and the willingness to stay atop her game to keep the Prime Supreme proud of her. At least that was what Lizy believed Bethany's current goal to be, after the punishment by Commander Letenko that happened a few days ago. Only it wasn't like that at all.
"We finished already?" Lizy's body yearned to go back to bed and sleep the rest of the day away at this rate.
"Tired already?" Letenko didn't appreciate the apparent laziness in her squad. "May we replace you with Bethany, yes?"
"No, not tired, I just..." Lizy didn't have an excuse to show. "Not really feeling it."
"You were feeling it five minutes ago," Alex sassed.
"And now I'm not."
"And now she's not!" Rose joked away, making Liberty laugh up a snort.
"Shut it, windbag."
"Hey, hick-" Alex lunged and shoved Lizy. "Show some respect."
"I've got it right here!" Lizy swung out her clawed right hand at Alex. "Hold still-"
"Stop it, you're both acting like dipshits," Bethany glared at the two. "Cut it out."
"It's okay Alex-" Rose tried to keep Alex from fighting back. "Let her say whatever she wants."
"You're not deserving to be one of us, hick!" Alex threw her weapon at Lizy, who slapped it out of the way, leaving a short moment for an opening that she went for, striking Lizy hard in the face. "You were the weakest of us, only here because you had a pheno upgrade did you make the cut. You and that other blonde- You know, your ex who got done in by Luna Loud!"
"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Lizy flipped her bodily switch again, going on all fours and using the ground to boost momentum, circling Alex before going for the offense. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
Bethany drew one of her katanas and rushed Lizy in a midair jump, slicing against one of her arms. "BAKA!"
"Hey, how much battery life is on there?" Rose tapped upon Liberty's Silver Element. "Couldn't you stop them?"
"Seriously?!" The albino clone turned to Letenko. "Aren't you gonna do something?"
"I don't need your help, ninja girl!" Alex put Lizy in a headlock, dragging her backwards to keep her off her feet. "Yield already."
"Let go-!" Lizy scratched upon Alex's arms. "Fuck you! Fucking bitch!"
"As soon as you're out cold, yeah?" Alex gripped tighter.
After Lizy reverted back, Bethany's next move stunned even the mighty but hardened Laika Letenko; she pierced Lizy's ribcage with her blade, running it deep that Alex let go of her and moved back to avoid being stabbed. "Jesus!"
"Comrade, not to be killing girlyfriend-"
"Enough of this," Bethany coldly uttered, leaving the blade inside Lizy. "Pull it out yourself."
"What kind of discipline...?" Rose began, too flabbergasted to finish.
"That just might be one of their kinks or fetishes," Liberty teased shamelessly.
"B-B-..." Lizy wheezed.
"Honestly..." Alex removed the katana from Lizy's body herself. "If you were able to do that, why now?"
"These petty, trivial squabbles between the two of you became too much for me at this time." Bethany looked on the two rivals with dead eyes.
"Okay... So why her and not me?" Alex questioned, relieved she didn't get the blade herself secretly.
"Who started it?"
Alex accepted the point Bethany made. "Fine. That's fair but... She's your girl, you know. Not even I, just saying."
"For real, that was cold," Rose yammered.
"As someone said..." Bethany glanced over at Laika intently. "Tough love is needed, is it not?"
And Laika Letenko broke into a great heap of laughter. "MY COMRADE, IS GOOD, HOW YOU SAY, TIDINGS? You show these other girls how is done! Pride be with you, friend Primer!"
Child
Then
Lizy, Katie, Bethany and Alex stood proud, facing the entire Prime Federation battalion as they waited eagerly for the Prime Supreme to officially promote them into the new Primers squad. The podium seemed so small from afar, when they were part of the audience, but now it felt like they stood on the edges of a giant frame looking inward into the crowd of their many fellow soldiers, the friends in the units they've made.
Commander Letenko wasn't too keen on having a quad of short girls take up arms and be assigned to the elite faction when there may have been better soldiers fit for the role, and that included taller ones. It was a disgrace in her opinion, but they have passed the qualifications to become worthy candidates in the end.
These four, just girls who'd likely get in her way. To hell with that, Laika Letenko was no babysitter, and surely didn't climb the ranks shielding rookies and teaching slow-minded amateurs.
Lizy and Katie were in the same pheno class; morphers with the same abilities as Luna Loud. Considering they were younger than that Loud, they were faster and more powerful, especially together in the field. The fight Luna Loud had been calculated to lose.
Bethany trained mostly around melee weapons, but had training around firearms, specifically anti-pheno weaponry under the belt. Her kill count of Dom resistance members was last marked at sixty and counting, the top number of kills out of the Primers squad.
Alex, the superhuman pheno, could kill with her own punches, impressive but only just. Her temperament was a compromising factor that could get her into trouble, but Laika didn't mind it as long as Alex could channel the fire inside her and redirect it well towards the enemy.
Laika had known that this was not the number Dylan Blood wanted from the beginning. Of course, these four were the initial batch, and there'd be others to join the squad. And lo and behold, Rose Santiago was considered into the squad- and only after the decision to clone Alex graduated from a concept.
Liberty Loud was no mistake when she appeared to the Primers squad, and by the time she was walking out of her tank, Katie Raymond had been torn in half by Luna that same week. Being an albino turned out to be intentional; she was constructed to be an infiltration model. The genetic cells that did not come from Lincoln Loud were eliminated, effectively destroying half of who she was physically. Not that she minded, given that she retained memories of the original Alex.
She was practically set to be a Primer, but had only one initial test that Alex was also a part of; Liberty was dispatched to collect the SCX supercomputer chip in an alternate timeline, with Alex acting as the observer, to judge Liberty's skills while also dispatched to acquire it. The only thing that bothered her was-
"She'd have a better life being a regular soldier," Alex told Rose at the cafeteria. "Not one of us, especially when we're dispatched against the Louds."
"Afraid of Liberty ending up like Katie?" Rose used her fork to cut into the scrambled egg before her. "Make it so she doesn't become a Primer. Easy thing to do, right?"
"She'll do all that she can to stick by me, which is only a hassle for me." Alex didn't really touch any food from her platter. "If she was only created to die right away... I can't let that happen."
If I fail to keep her safe from harm in any way, does that make me unable to keep myself from harm, too? Is this... Is this my greatest challenge? Her hand only moved the utensil she held in a circular motion, eyes narrowing painfully. Liberty, how am I supposed to see you? The same as me, or a child...? Should I really be watching over you or...?
"Alex, are you feeling okay?" Rose detected the feeling of uneasiness within her. "Spill, I can tell you're-"
"I didn't-!" Alex yelled through shaky breath, then calming herself, speaking more quietly. "I didn't ask for this... To have- Have another me wandering about. Why wasn't it Commander Letenko instead of me? Why me-" She gasped.
"What... Are you thinking now?" The sudden shift of expression on Alex's face, a decoloring flush of pale terror, was enough to spread it into Rose. "Hey, come on now-"
"Is she meant to replace me, Rose?"
"HOW DID YOU MAKE THIS ASSUMPTION?!" Rose barked. "Absolutely not! You were commended and ranked up, you're literally one of the first Primers ever in all of history! There's no way someone of your skillset would be replaced that fast. If anything, I'd say Liberty is just here to take Katie's place. That makes more sense, doesn't it?"
"But... A clone..."
"It's not that deep. Maybe they see a marksman worth more than a pheno with claws and pointy teeth. I mean, Lissandra Mercer is practically useless if Doms put a suppressor on her. You don't need to be in close quarters to get kills, given our training with sniper rifles."
"You think so?"
"I do! Katie just proved that even Luna Loud can be killed rather easily, if you think about it. The both of us, better then all the Superbeasts this world has seen."
"Yeah... Yeah, perhaps you're right-"
As Strong As Its Weakest Link
Liberty didn't merge victorious in her first fight against Luna Loud, even with Alex and Bethany accompanying her. The three-against-one made all the girls cocky at different levels, but Luna repelled them enough to push this uneven battle to a draw. Liberty sustained the most damage, bleeding profusely but was still in the clutches of the original Superbeast.
"Let her go! She's-" Alex slipped on herself and stumbled back down.
"If someone doesn't tell me why she's looking a whole lot like our deceased Linka-" Luna had less patience in this broken era; her willingness to show mercy had dramatically declined over the years. "No, no... I can see you two look alike. Twins, maybe, but this one..."
"A-Alex-" Liberty whimpered.
Bethany remained still, katana gripped in her hands. "I say we rush her from opposing directions!"
"We'll get you outta this, Liberty!"
"Liberty?" Luna was further bothered by the tradition of L-names now being adopted by her enemies. "You... You really-"
"Let her go!"
"I can't do that, I know you're going to continue killing us off!" Luna set her fingers upon Liberty's neck. "My zoomer sister is already on her way, and you three won't have it easy! However... I'm feeling a little weary of it all..."
"W-weary? What are you-?"
"Tell me more about this one and I'll let her go just this once!" Luna bargained. "I can tell you care so much! Your heart is beating out of place and I can smell the sweat on you, you're really conflicted on what to do."
"She's-" Alex had then begun to shudder. "That's my own blood... My own-"
"Clone?" Luna narrowed her eyes angrily. "They cloned you, is that it? Then why-?"
"BECAUSE I'M YOUR BROTHER'S DAUGHTER, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!"
Flash
The look on that woman's face. No. She didn't know about me. She wasn't told I existed. If that were the case-
"Alex?" Rose knocked only after reaching out, disconnecting her from the internal thinking. "Hey, sis."
"Hey yourself... Should've locked myself in."
"Glad you didn't," Rose dryly laughed. "I didn't want to be alone. The others are training-"
"Liberty, too?" Alex faced away from her bed, looking right at Rose's face to read her. "Of course... After today..."
"The Letenko Treatment..." Rose sighed. "Liberty's still afraid, but you haven't tried to console her yourself."
"Why would I?" Alex faced away now, putting on a gloomy display. "She should form her thoughts and seek consolation through them. They'd be the same as mine, right? I'd only be telling her what she knows."
"Maybe she needs to hear it from you," Rose proposed ideally. "It's as if she doesn't ever doubt herself. I've seen you doubt yourself often, and don't say otherwise."
"I can't help her-"
"Yes, you can..." Rose objected. "If you believe you can't, your future here is temporary. We've survived enough up to here, I don't see why she can't endure what we've endured."
"Man..." Alex had no other option but to take Rose's advice. "Things could have been different... I'm telling you, Rose, the Louds don't know us. I thought... After all this time..."
"That's horseshit, we wouldn't be here it that were true..." Rose denied. "Even if so, we're far better off being here. Those fuckers have it hard, we don't! We belong here, or am I wrong?"
Alex nodded in agreement with Rose. "Yeah, this side is a luxury, you're right! Don't know what I was thinking... I just want to know more, you know?"
"Both sides of our family are history-"
"But it doesn't have to be!" Alex emotionally blurted out. "We're a mix of Loud and Santiago and I'd just love to learn more about both my family trees. It's because we have no other connection to our Mexican bloodlines that I feel we ought to try and learn about our American side, right?"
"They're our enemies-"
"T-to call those who I should be referring to as my aunts and cousins... No, none of this is right..." Alex didn't notice herself gripping her fists tightly. "They should be family... They don't have to be our enemies... Right?"
"They never will be..." Rose faced away from Alex to end things there. "Get your head right, you've seen they only aim to kill us. It won't be them in graves if you keep deluding yourself we can all put our weapons down and have a feast together."
"M-maybe you're right..." Alex let the hurt settle in. "What am I thinking?"
Zoomers and Witches
The day the Louds lost Lana Loud was one of the toughest, darkest days for them, but a grand victory for the Primers. Lana had taken a different route; a narrow street that formed into a T section. The end of that street had a line Subside mines concealed within the rubble left over, connected with one another. When Lana set one off, all of them went off and depowered her.
She had tired herself out after outrunning a horde of the Federation's Blader bots, coming into contact with Lissandra lonesome. The sun was setting, the sky glowing orange in the distance. Lana stumbled down, with an injury on her left leg- and that was when Lizy came running from the other direction, cutting her off. Lana was fast enough to call in for help through her Lobelink, but nothing else. In seconds, Lizy had herself a speedster platter, biting away at Lana's arms and much of her upper body. Through the cries and screams from the fresh meat, Lizy devoured in peace and comfort, making a mess of the corpse.
Bethany and Alex had barely arrived on scene as Lizy tore away at Lana's arms, eating at the bloody ends of each arm, sucking her fingers after every bite. Alex looked away from the graphic nature of the setting, but Bethany, somehow made desensitized to the raw scenery present, watched Lizy continue to devour the former Loud zoomer.
Lizy never finished the body completely. "The maggots and the stupid crows can have the scraps. Oh!" Lizy took interest in Lana's red cap, taking it to place on her head. "This will be a trophy, a reminder to those fucks they ain't invincible! Wouldn't y'all sissies agree?"
"This will put a bigger target on your back, idiot," Bethany scolded instead of applauding her. "Your scent's been all over it, and Luna Loud is going to get you. Don't go wandering off on your own from now on!"
"Think yer my mother? You gon' really try and school me?"
"I'm being reasonable, Mercer!"
"Then I guess you'd better stick by me from now on to make sure-"
"Comrades! North supply convoy is under attack! Need Primer support!"
"Who's attacking, Commander?!" Bethany clicked her Lobelink, almost crushing in between her finger and head. "Is it the Dom resistance fighters?"
"Is that devil girl in dark red dress again!"
Sixteen Miles North
Laika Letenko let her rifle unleash its firepower, aiming for the corner of the armored truck ahead of her, where the unexpected hostile had taken cover. "YOU NOT TAKE MORE OF OUR SUPPLIES, WITCH WOMAN!"
The woman in the burgundy dress cackled maliciously, mocking Letenko's efforts. "Can't stop me, Russian. Couldn't then and never will-"
Letenko pulled the pin off the grenade in her hand and rolled it underneath the armored vehicle. "Ha!"
"Have it back!" The grenade returned, stopping once it struck against her foot. "Nice try, lady!"
"Shit-" If not for the Mechabeast armor, this could have been the end for her. The blast of the explosive sent her flying backwards, hard on her back. "AGHHH!"
The mysterious woman climbed up onto the roof of the armored truck with little effort, courtesy of her acrobatic skills. "Disengage," she told the PF soldiers as she snapped her fingers. In seconds, they fell into her trance, complying with her order. "I'll be taking all of these supplies. I need one driver in each ride, the rest of you are to keep that iron bitch in submission until I leave!"
"DON'T LISTEN TO HER, MEN! KILL THE WITCH WOMAN!"
"Too late, my dear!" Burgundy woman snapped again, forcing the men to do her bidding. "I'm in control of these puppets now. You're lucky I'm not interested in taking over your entire infrastructure. I just want to remain the queen in the empire I've made away from here! The one that will keep growing... But to be undisturbed by the likes of all of you!"
"Evil witch-" Laika struggled getting up once she was stripped out of the suit, held down tightly by her soldiers. "FUCKING WITCH WOMAN!"
Red
Prime Federation HQ
"This is the fourth supply run we've lost to this woman, again under your watch!" Laika Letenko endured the hard disappointment transmitting from her leader's dry mouth. She sat right in the seat across from him, wishing she could disappear by sinking into the chair. "I didn't appoint you to establish some serious fuck-ups at any point in your time as Commander! We'll have to shorten out the rations and essentials until the next supply run."
"I have Primers on me next run-"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE THEM DEFENDING THE CONVOY, LETENKO?!"
She shivered fearfully, opening her mouth while trying to find the words to form. "S-sorry, Prime Supreme, sir."
"SORRY DOES NOT MAGICALLY TELEPORT THE MISSING SUPPLIES BACK TO US, DOES IT?!"
"N-no, sir..." Laika held it in. How could she have the stomach to tell him she actually held back when her own men cornered and subdued her? That would have been a moment of weakness in his eyes, but Laika could not bring herself to harm those she had been in wartime with. It wouldn't be right, nor would it have been an easy feat. "I'll try better next time."
"You most certainly will!" Dylan Blood patted his chest and cleared his throat before excusing her. "Now go arrange your squad for preparation, I want all of you on patrol around the eastern seaboard. Sonar has picked up a warship approaching from the east, but we won't risk sinking it until it gets real close."
"Understood, sir."
Enemy
"Is that the ship?" Alex witnessed the titanic warship approach quickly through black binoculars. "Why aren't we acting if we know they're a hostile unit?"
Bethany sheathed her katanas while sitting upon a boulder, minding her own business.
"One ship wouldn't come here to attack, would it?" Rose theorized. "I mean if it attacks, it'll be quickly outnumbered. Don't all the eastern armies know by know the Prime Federation is the big dog around here? So... Are we still gonna sink it, Commander?"
Laika, not wearing the Mechabeast armor this time, kept her eye looking through the scope of her sniper rifle. "We may have to, yes. Are we all set?"
Liberty dragged an inflatable raft into the incoming tides, jumping on it as the tide pulled the raft away. "Primers, away!"
"This is a dumb idea, they'll see her coming and shoot her!" Alex lowered the binoculars, letting Rose take them from her. "Is this really-?"
"I don't see the problem," Lizy expressed, "the clone will activate her silver form before they can even take aim. How much time does she have in that thing?"
Laika locked and loaded the rifle's chamber. "Five minutes to destroy."
"Does she need to go all the way out there?"
Once Liberty was ten feet away from the shore, she yelled back at her team with her arms high in the air. "HERE WE GO!"
"Idiot..." Alex scoffed.
"Uhhh... Can someone give me a push? I don't have the paddles..." Liberty foolishly waved frantically to her teammates.
Lizy let out a snort in response.
"Idiot!" Alex repeated.
"Did she not pack paddles?" Lizy squinted at the tiny Liberty.
"Uhhh, I don't mean to alarm anyone but uh, the ship is turning!" Rose alerted.
Alex swiped the binoculars off of Rose's face. "Let me see that."
"Comrade, can you see name on ship?" Laika asked. "Scope not get range."
"Commander, I'm no rocket scientist and I don't wanna be one but uh, I think I'm looking at Russian letters."
"Give here," Laika requested, extending a hand out after moving her head off the scope. "Da, they are Russian."
"What are they doing here?"
Liberty returned back to the shore and made her way to her team, soaking wet from head to toe while shivering away. "F-f-flipped on me, man! C-c-c-could I get a t-t-towel?"
"IDIOT!"
The best the Federation has to offer... Great joke, that is, Laika thought. She clicked on her Lobelink device, "I need all SAM sites lined up for a wet bogey steering into the east line of Grid Two."
"What, we're sinking it?" Alex drew visible confusion. "I thought-"
"Name on ship," the firm Commander replied, "they are not here to survey."
"What's the-"
"That, comrade Primer, is the Red Annihilator!" Laika kept her eyes glued to the warship. The Red Annihilator, an infamous piece of scrap metal that was known for its participation in the Russia-Ukraine War and the Second Cold War. Between then and now, the behemoth had sunk over thirty vessels, both warship and non-warship, a kill count that estimated well past a thousand. For Laika to witness it was a sort of honor, but to sink it- "Today, she goes down!"
In seconds, a rain of missiles struck to bomb the Red Annihilator from the face of the planet, sending it and all of its inhabitants to a watery grave. The girls were amazed by the power of the Federation displayed once more, with Laika cheering away in her language, celebrating the destruction of the warship. "URA! URA! SLAVA UKRAINI!!"
Fear
"We're not the only one with an arsenal of unconventional weapons, I'm afraid," Dylan informed his appointed commander; Laika removed the empty clip from her Colt piece and reset the gun back to base, setting it down on the red table in front of her. "Aerial surveillance has picked up a surge of activity in New Russia's old capital. Since they've managed to restore their power infrastructures, I imagine they've been racing to duplicate schematics and formulas from the leaks of those Patriot archives."
"It be possible they have the right equipment to create weapons?" Laika began to disassemble the gun calmly and precisely.
"The drones caught images of a sizeable battalion. The AI system itself tells me the Russians are working on high-grade armor and next-level weapons, that includes the plasma gun prototype the Black Network created."
"Reminds me, we are running scarce of plasma battery cells-"
"I am aware, Commander Letenko. It seems a change in weapons assignment is in order. Keep the heavy plasma weaponry intact, recall the rifles. Put every regular soldier on SCARs and 1911s, squad leaders appointed with plasmas."
"Yes, Prime Supreme," Laika accepted. "What about the Blader bots?"
"Cut their number in half and put their batteries in storage, preferably the ones with more energy. The remaining Blader bots will service as drones until they die, then we'll salvage them into new parts."
"It shall be done," Laika pressed a hand to her chest, bowing before him. "Long live the Federation."
Equals
"STOP IT! PLEASE!" Lyra Laude pleaded with Lizy, growing and drooling out blood. Bethany ensured Lyra remained subdued on the ground, lying stomach down with her two katanas sticking through her back. "DON'T HURT HER!"
Lizy dragged the badly-beaten Nyla closer to Lyra, showing the former just how injured her sister was. "I want one of you, so pick!"
Lyra extended her hand out, gasping in labored breathing. "P-please let us go!"
"Quit playing around and just end her," Bethany insisted, weary of the unnecessary delay. "Commander will have our heads-"
"Then go back, I'll finish this."
Bethany turned and twisted the blades inside Lyra. "It was a fine idea to patrol the west section. You've slipped through us numerous times, taking from our regular patrols and convoys, arming and feeding the resistance. Taking you down here and now is enough to turn the tide of war, our guaranteed safety. Even with your mother and that other zoomer Loud out there, our tech and our numbers are still sufficient. So, if I'm to be honest, I appreciate you both for being more ballsy than Big Red and Pinkie."
"And I appreciate this trophy," Lizy tapped her red cap twice, smirking devilishly. "Keeps my head cool most times."
"L-Lyra-" Nyla gagged forcefully, sputtering through the blood that flowed from her mouth.
Lizy pressed her clawed fingers against Nyla's neck. "I say this one if you don't pick."
Neither Primer detected the German Shepherd that came sprinting behind Lizy and sank its teeth into her arm. She screamed painfully and let go of Nyla, who fell face-first on the ground. Bethany pulled her katanas out of Lyra's back, holding them up in front of her. "They have pets now?"
Lizy pulled the dog off of her arm. "Damn mutt!"
"RUN, THOMAS!" Lyra howled, her voice cracking.
The dog charged at Lizy again, but this time, the Primer girl caught the dog mid-pounce and smashed it against the dirt. The agonizing yelp that emitted from its mouth diminished the remaining speck of hope out of Lyra. Lizy inserted her claws into the dog's abdomen, continuing its streak of painful cries. The wounds on Lyra's back healed now, unbeknownst to Bethany.
"Stupid dog, that's what you get-" Lizy looked back at Bethany. "SHE'S GETTING UP!"
"Huh-" Bethany was too late to keep Lyra down again. She was down with a single sweep that knocked her off the ground, blades falling from her hands. "KILL HER!"
"With-" But Lyra raced behind Lizy and folded her arms back, then kicked at her knees and brought her down. She was unable to say a single word as Lyra placed her in a chokehold.
"You're g-gonna pay for that!" Lyra vowed as she fought the tears. "You piece of shit, he was-"
Lizy tried to claw away at Lyra's folded arms, but only guaranteed Lyra to have a stronger grip that ended up putting her unconscious. Once Lyra felt no resistance from Lizy, she let go and slowly made her way to the now-dead dog. "Oh, my God..."
She placed the side of her head against it, hoping to hear even a faint thumping of the heart. But nothing. "N-no... T-" She placed her hands on the dog's face, and once getting down on her knees, she lifted and placed the head on her lap. "You furball... You just had to follow us, didn't you?"
Bethany got up and studied Lyra, but had not picked up her katanas. "I didn't know you girls had a pet..."
Lyra, with tears streaming down her face, looked up at Bethany. "Did you think we were monsters incapable of sentiment or something? We have hearts, we have love-"
Bethany made her way to Lyra, having no hostile intention at the moment. "They make us ignore all that, we're just supposed to kill you..."
"Is it all worth it?" Lyra turned Thomas' face to Bethany. "Is this worth your place in their ranks? W-we all just want to survive... We have the right to a life just as you, why do they decide the dissenters need to be wiped out?"
"I..." Bethany turned away. "I'm sorry."
"Not even us, Primer," Lyra continued, "not even us want to become killers like you or your friends."
"How do I...?" Bethany closed her mouth before finishing the question to which she had already known the answer to; there was simply no fixing this.
"T- take your friend and just go..." Lyra steadily said, controlling her breathing. "I don't care for you two, I want to be alone-"
Nyla began to twitch, advancing from the dirt she had been eating. "What- What's with the ruckus? Lyra, my head-" Nothing could have ever prepared her for the single scene that would go on to destroy her from that point on. "Ahhh..."
"N-Nyla-"
"Mmm-mmm..." Nyla raised a hand and pointed at them. "Mmm- Ahhhh... That's- That's my good boy-"
Bethany turned her back to Nyla. "I'm so sorry..."
Nyla drooped her head down and angrily pounded her fists up on the ground. "NO, NO, NO, NO! WHY HIM?! WHY?!"
They are our enemies, but they're also... Bethany shot her eyes at her two blades that were still stained with Lyra's blood. They are also us.
No more than a hundred meters away, Alex set down the binoculars and went back to leaning alongside the broken wall, understanding Bethany and experiencing a hard moment her own heart had forced upon her. This isn't right...
Moral Conflict
"It's a stupid idea, Chang," Alex voiced her opinion directly, "they'll catch us in a heartbeat and execute us."
"It's not like we're defecting, but..." And did she sign with a hand pressed on her head. "It wasn't until I saw and heard them cry over their pet that I see that we are to them what the Prime Supreme said they were to us. They're not... They're not evil, at least I don't think so."
"Lincoln Loud was."
"And were the rest of them like him?" Bethany sat down in between Alex and Rose. "What if... What if we have it all wrong? What if it's been us all along? I mean, I'm not short-sighted in considering we're the enemies in the eyes of those we've been at war with... but saying we are bad guys is a whole different thing. And I'm not sure, I didn't see myself as a bad person-"
"We aren't, end of story!"' Alex ended, returning to the matter at hand. "Now regarding the hick..."
"I say Bethany should try," Rose hopefully shared. "at least with Lizy, from..."
"I can certainly try to have her change her perspective, seeing as how she's always eager to spill blood, especially blood that belongs to members of your own family tree. It's a miracle she's not trying to kill you both as it is." Bethany ran a finger through the side of her head, hoping her cards would be played right. "Well, I'd better go propose the question."
"Wanna bet Mercer will reject her?" Alex teased, snickering away.
"Wallet says Lizy tongues her before the night," Rose doubled down.
"You're on."
"You simpletons aren't helping..." Bethany exhaled heavily. "A false relationship just so I can rewire her mindset... I'd be using her but so help me if she were to fall in love with me."
"Odds were that she'd likely fall for you anyway, unless another girl was tossed in with us."
"Now get going!" Alex turned her around and gave medium shove. "Be on your way!"
Because I Love You
"Then tell me more..." Alex could only request of her ally, the grief-strickened Bethany. The pair were alone in the latter's room, locked in and in sync with the sound of silence the room was promising them. "Make me understand."
"It's the same thing I've told you, those beings attacked, they killed my family, my cousins and their parents- I'm sure I'm the only surviving member of my entire family tree. We were there-" She wiped away her leaking face. "We were on vacation, right? We joined together to visit our Chinese relatives, and... It was something we did yearly, but not always with my extended family members so..." Bethany let out a sly laugh.
"Go on."
"See, my Chinese relatives are aggressive towards my father. Or, were, right? Being half-Japanese to them, they outright hated that. I've done my history, I'm aware Japan invaded China long before I was born-"
"Yeah..." Alex only agreed despite being ignorant of world history prior to World War III.
"If not for my mother, Alex..." Bethany continued, "My mother defended us to the bitter end. Actually, the real point of the visit that year was to settle all the existing differences to rest once and for all. That's why my aunt and uncle went with us, they sided with us because uncle married an American, it was the same ordeal with him as well."
"I understand."
"I wanted to get along with my other family members... I was happy to even be on that trip, but..." She shook her head. "I can't even remember their faces anymore. Bad enough I don't know their voices anymore-"
Alex did the unthinkable and pulled Bethany's face towards her with a single pull of her gentle hand and leaned in to press her lips upon the sobbing girl. Both girls, stunned, then pulled away from each other momentarily. Bethany opened her mouth, gasping in awe. But rather than trying to protest or criticize Alex, she shut her mouth and closed the distance between them. Soon, they were deeply kissing after laying upon Bethany's undone bed. Sloppy kissing between two pairs of formerly dry lips that got wetter with each exchange, the crashing of red waves onto each other on repeat, followed by faint, lowly moans of satisfying pleasure.
Alex took and spread Bethany's arms against the bed, pinning them down whilst locked with them. Her mouth worked her way down to Bethany's neck, passionately kissing upon it, further pleasuring the Asian girl. "H-how long did you-?"
Alex removed her lips from the left side of Bethany's neck. "Not long... I don't know, I just started looking at you differently... Don't ask me why-"
"Don't stop..." Bethany, entranced by Alex's affection, leaned up and reconnected their mouths together, continuing their private, synchronized dance.
Alex readjusted herself while she had a comfortable, happy Bethany half-awake in between her arms. The latina girl leaned her head forward and turned to the side and kissed Bethany's cheek, leaving behind the sweet smooch sound and her lip imprints on the latter's skin. "You know, I didn't think you'd put yourself in this position with her. I didn't force you to-"
"I know, and I don't care, I'm not in love with Lizy and you know that, babe," Bethany reminded her real lover. "I don't think she can be changed. After all of that, she could have tried to help me when Letenko pulled the revolver on me. She... I can't do it anymore, Alex. It's just us three now."
"Then be done with her," Alex notioned. "At least then I can be openly affectionate with you. I hate how you had to come sneaking in here and leaving... I want you longer than that, I know that in my heart."
Bethany took Alex's hand and kissed the center of her palm. "I love you."
"Te amo," Alex responded softly in her tongue, making Bethany blush, to which Alex smiled. "It's so cute seeing you turn red."
"It's your fault!" Bethany stroked her lover's face softly. "Always your fault."
The knock at Alex's room told both girls that Rose was outside, asking for entry. "Urgency!"
"Come in, come in!" Alex allowed, then turned to Bethany. "Off you go, my sweet."
"This better be good, Rose!"
"Oh but it is!" Rose had come to relay an update to her Primer companions. "The Commander is readying us up for a mission. The six of us are going to the past for a false flag operation!"
Lizy sported the red cap, already set for the mission. She waited for the rest of her crew in the lounge in the facility. Her legs, spread out across the couch, right over the armrest opposite her. "Hey, have you bothered to get the intel from the Commander?"
Liberty, drinking a cold brew coffee, flashed a thumbs up her way. "Something about eradicating diplomats and making phenos look bad."
"Prime Supreme believes he can change the timeline to his favor, killing and antagonizing phenos, I'm sure this will help reduce the amount of scattered pheno stragglers who fight us." She yawned and jerked her legs upward. "I like these time travel missions. We're not at risk when we're back in the old world, you know? I mean, the threat is significantly less."
"I know that," Liberty agreed, "but we're not always going to have it easy, I'm sure. You'll get an assignment that won't be so easy, same as the rest of us. Only a matter of time before we're put to the maximum test by the Prime Supreme."
"Pffft, don't count on it," Lizy teased.
Alex, Rose, and Bethany walked into the lounge, escorted by Commander Letenko. "Comrades, I explain mission-"
Liberty scurried away like a child to Alex's side.
"We are intercepting convoy, target is politician assets, we are going to hit them in daylight."
The Linka Assignment
Bethany read the official Prime Federation file on Linka while laying on her back. "The clone was released involuntarily to combat Lincoln Loud when he discovered the Black Network base... Yadda yadda yadda... Hm?"
Lizy remained in place, staring through the binoculars for the convoy that carried the frozen Linka. "I don't see the need to study that, she's dead in our time. Well, both of them, and good riddance too."
"It's wise to go through this, honey," Bethany objected. "It might prove- Wait... It says here she has a chip in her brain called the SCX. It's an interface that allows her to-" Bethany mentally read the next few words, becoming shocked. "Hey, the clone has a serious power! She can control devices and technology! Well, as long as they can connect to the internet! She's... This is insane!"
Lizy didn't seem that impressed. "She can control what, phones and stuff? What a bore..."
Chad McCann was on Bethany's left, sitting down on the concrete curb, listening to them and glancing around aimlessly. His task they wanted him to perform was not yet made clear, but he surely had no reason to object, especially when they made it clear they would quickly end him. "Are you two really, uh...?" Context had indicated they weren't from around this time, but he wasn't too sure if he heard right. "This girl is important, why again?"
"Shut yer trap-"
Bethany had other ideas. "No, he has a right to know, if that's what he wants."
"Yeah, that's why I'm asking!" Chad sarcastically said. "Duh!"
"You are the only shapeshifter, and we need that skill. We need you to turn into the clone, this Linka chick, alright? I understand you need to make physical contact with whoever you want to turn into."
Chad nodded. "That's correct."
"You'll have to touch Linka-"
"I see the convoy!" Lizy transformed into her beast form, sprinting towards the convoy.
"Wait, damn it!" Bethany pulled out her katanas. "You stay here, McCann."
"Sure, I guess..." Chad felt useless.
Phenocide
"By 2039," Dylan explained with his six Primers inside his office, "the USMC employed registered phenos to fight America's wars with international powers with their fellow soldiers. They're all over the place, but I have files that details where these phenos were stationed in that year. What I propose is taking out these key points, an eradication of Dom resistance fighters before they can become Doms. I want this done in secret and as fast as possible, as many as you can strike. Obviously there will be noise and this is not a thing any of you can keep under wraps."
"Sir..." Alex spoke up, questioning it. "So we're going to destroy military bases that occupy phenos?"
"Correct!" Dylan Blood formed a sinister grin. "Wipe them all out, leave no survivors."
"If we can time travel, we can hit them all at the same time, can't we?" Liberty theorized. "However many there are-"
"I understand where you're coming from, but that will not do."
"That's going to take a lot of time," Bethany reasoned, "and not even you have the time stored in the Element to take care of enough of them."
"In addition to the depleting plasma battery we have..." Dylan was irritated. "Your Matrix devices cannot afford to waste battery like that as of now. I give you three hours to go strike. All of you, synchronize your watches, get your gear and destroy our enemies before they become our enemies! Long live the Prime Federation!"
The Next One
"How dare you..." The woman who concealed her identity using a Dom uniform stood firmly in the shadow on the corner of the building opposite Dylan. "She's mine, she will never be yours."
"But my dear, she isn't your daughter and we both know the truth. I can see a future for her with us, what could you possibly offer her?" Dylan threw the cast and let it float; he had Lynn in his grasp surely. "You can't give her everything, but I have it all, I would surrender her if I were you."
"No..." Lynn objected, while knowing full well that he was right. Lynn Loud III would know the worse things the first generation Loud survivors had come to know. The suffering, it was intolerable, a nasty dream that had no business existing. A horrid life no child should've experienced. "She-"
"Will be treated better with us," he promised. "Better food, better healthcare. Better everything."
"I..." Lynn did have the girl's best interest at heart, and a chance like this was too rare. "I love her... I'd be-"
"I would not deprive of you the chance to see her again, but this must be kept a secret between us." Dylan turned to face Lynn. "Think it over."
"I didn't..." Lynn broke into tears. "There were times when she had to starve because we didn't find even one single piece of fruit... Do you have... Do you have everything to keep her healthy?"
"We have it all, yes," he confirmed. "She'll be well fed."
"I'd hope so..." Lynn gave in. "I won't lead her into more suffering... I can't, and Luna-"
Her heart sank; the two women were about to lose the final Loud child in the household. It stung like crazy, more than she expected. It ached, she could feel the ugly feeling down in her system. A nauseatingly heartbreaking feeling that would make her bawl. "Here..." In Lynn's hands was the sleeping child, oblivious to the deal that had been made between the pair. "She needs new glasses too... And watch her teeth, that's from Luna's pheno genes."
"You did right, dear, and for this, I will pull back my Primers away from you." He accepted the girl from her arms, holding her firmly.
"Thuh-" She wanted to say thanks but could not. "Make sure... Make sure that she's-"
The Prime Supreme opened a portal back to his empire. "No shortage of love here."
And he left her alone to weep and wail for the hardest choice she had ever had to make. One that she could only pray as the better choice of two. There was a sense of relief that came over Lynn, knowing that the growing girl was spared of all dangers. It should've been like that. It just had to be. Just one good thing from all of this.
The Last One
And this new girl wasn't a girl picked from the regiment, but a girl created from a tube the way Liberty was, rapidly growing in a cylinder tank, attached to monitors with cords running through and out of it. This child was not like the rest of the Primers, definitely not another clone of any of them, a heavy fact that impacted Lizy the most, the only one who felt she deserved to be cloned.
Alex and Rose visited the next addition to the unit. "Blonde hair, from what I can tell, she could be Lizy's..."
"No, the face on this one is different," Rose studied. "It's somebody else. I wanna say it's maybe Estelle, she makes the most sense. She can levitate-"
"I don't know," Alex ended. "We'll find out when she comes out, won't we? Still... I think maybe I do recognize her... I could have sworn-"
She closed her eyes and drew herself back to a face she had seen before and wondered if there was indeed a connection. Rose paid attention and knew what Alex was thinking. "You know something?"
"If I'm right..." Alex opened her eyes and put a hand on the thick glass case. "I studied the faces of all past Loud blood members. She almost looks exactly like..." But she forgot the name of the person in mind.
"A clone from...?" Rose looked at the clone again. "An infiltration model?"
"My guess is this is a clone he's going to send back for an infiltration of some sort. Yeah, that's gotta be it, right?" Alex sought for Rose to validate her theory.
"Makes sense," Rose accepted easily. "Lucky girl."
"At least it isn't Lizy, oh my God," the Mexican girl wailed with relief. "I couldn't stand two of them, you know?"
"I bet she's pissed," Rose added, giggling away. "She doesn't deserve it."
"That's for sure! Already I know this girl is my favorite blonde, haha!"
Rose chuckled heartily. "I hear that!"
"I'm getting hungry, let's work up an appetite with some more training!" Alex shot her hands up and stretched. "I'll soon be able to take Bethany, just you wait."
"Want me to use blades on you?"
"Do it!" Alex welcomed the challenge. "Use everything."
The Decimation
On March 16, 2039, an unknown force or group of persons yet to be determined, launched a global attack against all system infrastructures, managing to hack into all existing ICBM facilities, launching all nuclear missiles simultaneously upon various international government and military points, ranging from the United States to Europe. All Missile-To-Air units were remotely hacked and deployed against civilian aircraft, downing over seven hundred commercial airliners and military planes in minutes. Shortly after, all internet networks are taken down, followed by cellphone towers and power grids, of which were either remotely or strategically attacked by coordinated groups of unknown origin. The aftermath of this had seen terrified civilians go into a state of disarray and chaos, taking to the streets to riot and loot for essentials, due to the collective loss of investments in the Stock Exchange, the frozen money stuck within inaccessible bank accounts, and more.
The death toll, by the evening, has risen to 56 million lives, with a greater number of injured or missing people rising by the hour. Due to a drastic shortage of emergency services, numerous civilians offered assistance; registered phenos utilized their powers for search-and-rescue units. While government officials tried to return order, the attack was seen as an opportunity by various existing parties to take control and establish a minimal order. Most groups have failed to establish themselves; those who managed to become an established order were absorbed or vanquished by a bigger group. One of these successful groups, led by Isaac Sanger, the face of the anti-pheno movement, led his people from the aftermath of the Decimation and reestablished order. In such little time, the agency body known as the Patriot Division are accused of having knowledge of the Decimation and not acting to prevent it.
The entirety of the east coast soon falls under Sanger, becoming his territory as phenos and dissenters opposing Sanger spread in every which way, going as far as to the heart of Mexico. The global pacts between nations crumble down as every country focused on their own backyards. The Middle East retained ownership of its oil deposits, and in the following weeks, a 42% spike in gas prices was placed until the complete depletion of gas in the entirety of the West, Europe and Asia. The Middle East proceeded to continue producing oil, which however was plentiful that demand of gasoline was brought down, therefore prices deflated. Slowly but surely, word spread throughout by unconventional means. Russia and China quicky reformed their militaries, and began their campaign to acquire and control the oil deposits, thus beginning the early days of World War III. Once Isaac Sanger, otherwise known as Dylan Blood at the time, and his followers rebuilt New York in his image, he amassed an army consisting of ex-USMC, Navy, Air Force veterans and more, ultimately creating the new Prime Federation, a dream that was started decades ago by the minds of a select few in power.
The former United States, at a slow rate, becomes a wasteland outside the territory controlled by Sanger. The Prime Federation constructs walls to separate themselves from the wasteland, leading to the beautification of the northeast cities. With power restored and expert engineers and technicians, Sanger orders the creation and advancement of technology, bringing to life both new gadgets, transportation, and outdated tech overseen with new updates; examples include the Lobelink communicator, Eagle shields, electric-based vehicles, and the usage of plasma as a secondary battery resource, applied to advanced weaponry, standard regulation of the Prime Federation, and the robotic scouts known as the Bladers.
The west and mid US, knowing that supplies would run scarce, and that Sanger had control of a new lineup of resources, unified their resources and became the Domicile resistance, waging war with the Prime Federation in hit-and-run guerrilla tactics to take anything they can from the behemoth. However, some few scavenger groups remained independent of the Domicile, operating between both sides, surviving in groups or by oneself, sometimes attacking each other. The last of the surviving phenos fell into the Domicile force, giving the resistance the advantage against the Prime Federation. To combat pheno hostiles, Sanger put his own pheno agents who were granted amnesty for their loyalty.
WWIII further escalates as countries invade each other in an effort to claim depleting resources. Some of these military forces crumble apart due to the difference in numbers, leading to the inevitable downfall of over 60% of Europe's countries. Another 32 million perish from starvation or disease as a result. The remainder of these fallen countries migrated eastbound, believing Russia would welcome them with open arms, but the Red Nation mostly pillaged these foreigners, slaughtering them and taking the very goods they brung with them.
Japan, the first country to reach an advancement in automobile technology, had closed itself off to the outside world, managing to keep itself a neutral territory at the time. Sanger, making contact with the government of Japan, had offered a safe passage for its citizens to and from Sanger's territory if, in exchange, they provided him the resources and schematics to create various vehicles that were not dependent on gasoline. They agreed, thus establishing the beginning of a firm relationship between both parties. As extra, Sanger agreed to provide his Prime Federation forces if Japan came under siege from an invading force.
North Korea invaded its southern counterpart, to no one's surprise. For the next six months after the Decimation, the new dictator, Jae Min-Rok, forcibly declares both sides as unified Korea, throwing its society into a militaristic state, driven mad by the idea that it was able to finally invade and crush the States. Of course, Sanger had been monitoring every country and, once discovering the agenda of Min-Rok, deploys a hydrogen bomb upon Pyongyang, a warning shot to deter Korea from being erased from history, which led to the in-country civil war between its people and the North's military, backed by the government. The people not only won the war but managed to unchain themselves from the shackles of the tyrannical rule seen within generations. The state of Korea remained a neutral power, but has requested for aid from the fuctioning Prime Federation, enabling an agreement between them.
As the Middle East soared past the point of economical stability, Russia attempted an attack on two fronts; the Middle East and China itself, with the attack on China meant to throw the adversary off while control over the oil depots occurred. In that battle, Russia managed to take over the line and retrieved as much of the resource as they could. This siege lasted for nearly seven hours, due to a battalion of reinforcements having arrived to protect their money. In the years that followed, these three powers would go on to wage more war between each other and sometimes another smaller power.
To this day, the number of deceased remains unknown, but an estimate is shown to be at 5-6 billion. The Decimation has accomplished what its creator, as of yet unknown, sought to do. The future has, is and will continue to be in Isaac Sanger's way. Long live the Prime Federation.