Time: Two Weeks
Mechanites are those who have been upgraded by Mechos to share some bit of his own power.
Do you wish to Research? Y/N
Again, this was no question. I added this to the research queue.
The basics taken care of, I had to consider the state of the facility. The upper levels were untouched and all my traps there were still functioning. Unused, something that was going to change as of today. Letting them get to Hydroponics before springing my traps seemed a good idea, but it kept failing. Repeating the same mistake twice was quite enough. I'd make my future test subjects fight through every bit of the place.
The floor of the Hydroponics level would need repairing again, as would effectively everything Hot Stuff came into any contact with during her escape. That really was one incredibly destructive human.
I ordered the Mechanites to conceal their vehicle on the surface and then assist me with repairs. Two at least were cooperative, the third—the one I made a widow—remained morose in the residential unit.
I would need to keep an eye on that one. If she decided to pursue some sort of revenge, I might have to either recycle her or see her moved into a proper testing maze.
I checked in on Mechos. I'd placed him into a large workshop. If I wasn't going to put him in a maze then the best way to observe and test his powers was to give him all the supplies he wanted and see what he could do with them.
He had at least regained consciousness.
"I see you decided not to stay dead after that atrocious performance," I said.
"It worked out?" Mechos asked. "Anna?"
"Horrible disfiguring burns. Excruciating agony. Your one minor redeeming virtue is in having provided some faint bit of entertainment in the way of her suffering."
"You actually care about her," Mechos said, with a surprised grunt.
I wondered where he possibly got that from anything I had said.
I asked, "You've yet to explain how you know me. Delusions of importance?".
"Knowledge is power. I know you think you're testing me, but I'm watching you, Emma. Impress me," Mechos said.
I didn't like him, but now wasn't the time.
Apparently I'd soon have bigger concerns; my proximity alarm was going off.
There were new arrivals outside the base.
18
My general strategy of late had been to pretend that the base was abandoned with nothing of interest inside. Unfortunately, the truck had yet to be hidden and it was too late now.
I signaled for the Mechanites to get back inside. The five new arrivals wore fitted body armor of white and gold, and carried rifles that looked both standard and well-maintained. These people were a marked contrast to the others who lived topside that I'd encountered so far.
Anna was still under in the Infirmary. That meant Mechos was likely to be my best source of information, if he would talk. I activated a monitor in his workshop.
"They look entirely too fancy for the likes of you. Still I must ask, friends of yours?" I asked.
Mechos frowned at the screen. "Enemies. They must have followed us here. They call themselves the Righteous. You've got a problem."
"Of course, I do. My base is filled with humans. Who are they?"
"The Righteous hate the Powered, which is funny because they are themselves. You'll find them resistant to almost any powered effects and a bit immortal," Mechos said.
"Immortal?"
"You can put them down, but they don't stay down."
I analyzed the weaponry on their vehicle. One cannon looked like enough to take down my main door in its current state. No point trying to keep them out.
I shut off the lights. I didn't need powered effects to kill them, I could manage it just fine with what I already had rigged.
They opened fire with the cannon and quickly destroyed the wheels of the Mechanite's truck.
The Righteous didn't want anyone getting away. That was very optimistic of them. I turned off the lights as the retreating Mechanites passed them, leaving the halls in darkness.
I told them, "Make your way back down to the quarters. We've got a stockpile of guns. If you're marginally more useful than your boss, arm up. No enhancing them or your bullets, mundane weapons and rounds only for this fight."
Although I had a Power core, nothing needed to be connected to it for powering my traps. They should be functional in their own right for what was needed.
All five visitors finally made their way inside, four men and one woman.
One of them released a sort of phosphorescent bat which began to circle their heads.
I was going to stick to my vows of earlier. I was going to make this hard on them as early as possible.
It didn't take long. The narrow nature of the security corridors made it the perfect place for spike traps and I had one rigged at a sharp bend in the corridor
With limited light they had clustered together and that was my moment to strike. Sharpened steel spikes sprang out of the walls. The results weren't as dramatic as I might have hoped. Their armor was good and sturdy stuff, and mostly stopped the blows. Only one, the woman, was speared through an eye and after a few savage twitches her body turned into a greenish goop and dissolved away.
I hadn't done that—that was unexpected. I resolved to collect a sample later.
"Theresa! Blast it, she had the charges," grunted one of the men.
"We'll find another way to breach the archives without them," said another.
Mention of my archives, again. Mechos and his people had been trying to reach them as well. I hadn't made any plans to investigate why just yet, but I decided that after this it would be a priority.
"I'm stuck," said another of them.
I'd caught three of the five in my trap, killing the woman and with two others still impaled.
"Thomas. Find another way around," someone, no doubt their leader, said to a man who had been trailing the pack.
Then he put his muscles into it and tried to pull free the two trapped on the spikes. The arm of one was half-torn off in the process, and despite their best efforts the other remained caught.
"Do it, Glenn," said the one with the wound.
"You sure?"
"Going to happen anyways. Make it quick and I'll see you tomorrow."
The leader nodded and raised his rifle. A shot went into the head of the injured man, and then another into the man still trapped. An impressive amount of blood faded a moment later into the same green gloop.
In another passage Thomas walked past one of my saw traps. I was proud of that one, multiple saw blades would spring from the ceiling in an attempt to shred the skulls of anyone nearby. I didn't trigger it. I had another trap in mind for Thomas.
The other two were moving forward warily, far more cautiously than before. It wasn't careful enough.
Sprinklers above them triggered and highly caustic acid rained down. It made their deaths surprisingly quiet, their lungs dissolved too quickly for them to start screaming. I was curious how the decomposed flesh would trans-morph—if it would. It did, turning to green gloop too.
I had a voice sample on file now. I put it to use. "Thomas?"
"Glenn? Is that you?" Thomas said, "I get a really bad feeling from this place."
That was the right sensation to feel. Thomas stepped forward. Glass walls slammed down on either side of him and I activated the suction to quickly remove the air.
Thomas fumbled with his gun—perhaps these men had orders to kill themselves instead of being captured. He didn't get time to use it. He collapsed to the floor a moment later and I pumped oxygen back in. I didn't want him dead.
19
With the invaders neutralized, still there was little time to waste. I'd heard them mention tomorrow. If they did have some sort of immortality, I had twenty-four hours to do something about it.