Emergence

by Various

  It was a start.

  She would figure it out one day. Kennedy had patience. She had money. But mostly, she had an ever-growing number of chimerics who she could study, kill, and experiment on.

  There was a groan behind her.

  She turned to where Albert Tanner was strapped to a surgical table that had been elevated so he could see everything on the screens, and what she had done to Rick.

  Taking him had been simple. He was predictable. Took the same route to work every day. Ate at the same places. Went to bed at the same time. Never changed the codes to his security system. Made people hate him, and so, he had no real friends.

  “Hello, Al.” She crossed the room to him, then reached up and pulled the piece of tape away from his mouth. Predictably, he began screaming for help. It hadn’t worked the first few times she’d removed the tape, and it didn’t work now. She sighed and patted the top of his head like he was a dog. “No one can hear you, Al.”

  Without warning, she lashed out with a fist, and connected with his nose. She felt it give way with a delicious crunch beneath the blow. Blood exploded outward, soaking her blouse. Yes, she thought, I definitely should have changed first.

  Al wept. He didn’t even have the heart to spit blood at her. It was disappointing. Kennedy expected that at the very least.

  “What do you want?” Al whined. Blood leaked from his ruined nose and drooled out the corners of his mouth.

  “Oh, Al. Honey. I just want you to face the consequences of your words. You tried working with Peter Farnsworthy to discredit me. It was a pathetic and telegraphed play. The best part? No one misses him. Just like no one is missing you.”

  “What do you mean…is Peter…is he…?”

  “Oh, Al. Sweetie. I cut him to pieces. On this same table. He had more fight though. We had quite a time, let me tell you.”

  “Oh no…oh no…”

  “Yes. I was going to let you go, Al. You were a terrible reporter—everyone agreed, I’m sure you saw the message boards—but harmless enough. Even plotting with Peter Farnsworthy against me wasn’t enough to ’punch your ticket,’ as they say. But then you questioned me. And you tried to ruin the statue ceremony for Ted.

  “So here we are.” Kennedy waved a hand around the basement. “You are costing me valuable study time, Al. The Human Shield isn’t going to kill himself, and I have a lot of deaths to plan.” She smiled again. Her smile was lovely, or so she had frequently been told.

  “You are killing…them all?”

  “All of them? Me? Hardly. That’s a lot of effort, Al, and I don’t have any actual powers to speak of. I’m not like them, and I won’t ever be like them—naturally, at least. But it is exceedingly simple to find them now, and give their information and whereabouts to their closest rivals, their enemies. Even other governments. Oh, the right kinds of chimerics are worth a lot of money.” She patted him on the head again, then picked up a scalpel from the medical tray attached to the surgical bed.

  “But hey,” she continued, her lovely smile never leaving her face. “If I have to kill a few chimerics—or a few hundred, for that matter—to get the vengeance I deserve, that’s just fine by me.”

  “But…but…you’re Kennedy Ross…this isn’t you!”

  Kennedy took the scalpel and dragged the blade across his throat. Blood sprayed, covered her.

  “Actually,” she said to his convulsing form. “They call me Epilogue.”

  Stay tuned for more Humanity 2.0!

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