The two Pretty Boys marched toward Chad as they lifted their guns and stated, "Wound the boy so we may capture him."
Kat crawled back along the couch and glanced around the end, and she saw the Pretty Boys near the boy. "No!" she yelled again. "Run Chad!"
"The monsters!" he mumbled unable to move for fear. They were the orange-eyed monsters! It wasn't the first time he had met these nightmares.
The three T-2s moved on her position and spoke with a South African accent, "There is no place for you to go, Pandora. Surrender and we will take you alive."
Seeing a metal bat by the TV, Kat crawled to it, grabbed the bat, and jerked the two game controllers from their connection to the game console. She wouldn't let anyone else die; she'd save Chad. Ultra-Epi surged through her body as she stood, and the Ult L-E flashed with her determination. Kat threw the first controller at the T-2s and the second at the T-1s then ducked behind the couch, peered over it, and watched as they both struck their mark. The first controller hit a T-2 in the brow, and the second controller struck a Pretty Boy in the back of the head. Kat stood again and took a few steps back from the couch as the two Pretty Boys turned from Chad, glanced at the controller, and moved toward her.
"No," one stated to the other. "Complete our other task first. We must take the boy."
The three T-2s looked to the controller at their feet and asked, "What do you plan on gaining by attacking us with such a weapon? You can not damage us with..."
Kat ran, stepped to the cushions, and leapt over the couch as a tigress would leap over a fallen log once the chase for dinner had begun. She rushed the T-2s with the bat held high as if it were her claws and struck, and they looked up as she hit two of them. The one closest to the front door took the brunt of the blow, and the hit dented its metal skull near its left temple, impacting part of its automaton brain. Black liquid trickled down its face, it dropped a 9 mm magazine it held in its hand, and collapsed to its knees; its body flailed as power surged through its systems. Her attack also damaged the second T-2's left robotic eye, and sparks shot from the marred area as the mechanical sphere hung out of its socket and dangled by a few wires. The eyeball continued to move and look at Kat.
She glanced at Chad as the two Pretty Boys turned toward him, and she yelled, "Run!" She watched as his lips quivered in terror and he remained petrified in place. Her heart sunk, fearing for the boy, but no matter what she would protect him as if he were her own cub.
One Pretty Boy stated to the other, "Shoot him in the leg."
The two functioning T-2s inserted a new magazine in their guns and said, "If you will not surrender, Pandora, then we must destroy you!"
"Chad!" She started for him, but heard the T-2s reload their guns, and turned, swinging backward with her bat at the third T-2's head as if she would claw off its face.
It caught the blow with its hand and stated, "Your tactic will not work a second time."
The first T-2 with the damaged automaton brain powered down, rebooted, by-passed the impaired areas of its processor, and powered up; it stood, noting it lost use of its left side. The T-2 holstered its gun, unable to reload the weapon with only one arm as the third T-2 snatched the bat away from Pandora and swung it. She ducked, grabbed the magazine the first T-2 had dropped, and rolled away from them. The third and second T-2 opened fire on her as she ducked around the end of the couch, and white particles of the furniture's padding floated in the air.
Stephanie's view...
While the gun battle takes place, I stand in front of the kitchen door and watch Pandora and then realize another like myself exists. Pandora's amazing! I have to fight her. She'll give me the challenge I've been waiting for, but the Council still has to give the order. I almost can't wait.
I fist my hands, resisting the urge to attack her. They have to give me the go ahead, so that I can prove that I'm superior.
The Pretty Boys lift their guns, taking aim as the boy covers his face with his arms and cries out. I snap out of my thoughts when I hear the boy scream and turn to him as they aim for him. A feeling comes over me, one I haven't felt in a long time; it's panic. They're about to hurt the boy and maybe even kill him, and I have to stop them.
"Chuck!" I yell as I run and tackle him before the T-1s fire.
End Stephanie's view...
Bullets riddled the staircase, and the Pretty Boys ceased till they could identify the unknown woman. Their programming prevented them from hurting civilians unless the Factory deemed the individual expendable. Stephanie turned, glared at them, and the Pretty Boys used their facial recognition software, and an alarm went off inside their programming, identifying her as Cerberus. They couldn't harm her since the Council and all its experiments were a department within the Sphinx Corporation, so the Pretty Boys turned to one another and searched their programming for their next move as their current tactic had been barred.
Kat saw Stephanie save Chad, and he was safe and everyone else, at least for the time being and that was the most important thing at the moment, so she raised her hands and shouted, "I surrender. Don't shoot." Kat stood, unsure if they would take her prisoner.
Stephanie lifted from Chad, knelt beside him, and checked to see if he was hit. "Chuck, are you fine?"
"Yeah, I think." He held his bloody elbow where he scraped it on the floor. "And my name's Chad." He turned to her. "What about you?"
"I'm fine."
Near the side wall of the living room...
Andrews and Daniels stirred and rose to their feet as the three T-2s stared at her, deciding her fate. They stated, "Take Pandora. We will return to the Factory."
With the immediate danger gone, the genetically altered adrenal gland ceased production of the Ultra-Epi. Her heart slowed, and her eyes lost their glow.
The first T-2 limped to Pandora, dragging its impaired left leg, and it stopped and waved for her. "Come with me." She walked toward it, tripped on a cushion on the floor, fell forward, and caught herself on the injured T-2. It helped her up with its good arm as it stated, "Do not resist us." It watched as she nodded and put a hand behind her back.
The Pretty Boys joined the other T-2s as the injured one walked Kat to the couch.
The third T-2, the Team Leader of the five, turned to the Pretty Boys. "I cannot raise the Factory. Try your I-Link."
The Pretty Boys' blazing orange dot-light blinked three times as they connected and after a few seconds, they replied in one accord, "We are also unable to raise the Factory. What does protocol dictate?"
At the stairs...
Stephanie observed Kat as the Pretty Boys moved away from herself and Chad to join the others and as much as she'd like to watch this play out, she had to get the kid out of there. She stood, commanding, "Come on." Stephanie grabbed him by his uninjured arm and dragged him toward the kitchen. "Let's get out of here."
"What about Kat?" Chad pulled, stopping their progression. "We have to help her!"
"Pandora can take care of herself," Stephanie answered.
Stephanie's view...
I notice Pandora tucks a gun in the back waistband of her pants. She grabbed an Un-Man's gun from its holster when she tripped, and if I remember correctly, the gun's empty, so I have no idea what Pandora's going to do with it.
I force the boy through the kitchen door. Whatever she's going to do, I would like to see it.
End Stephanie's view...
Back with the Un-Men...
"There is no protocol set up for loss of communications with the Factory," the Team Leader stated. "We must process this problem further." It turned to the Pretty Boys and the second T-2 with the dangling eye. They connected through the I-Link and worked the problem out together.
The injured T-2 ordered her as it remained unlinked with its brethren, "Sit." She sat on the couch and while its brethren worked on the problem, the injured T-2 noticed Andrews and Daniels were on their feet and going for their weapons. "Leave the gu
ns where they are," it commanded.
"Do it, and it will ignore you," Kat told them. "Go into the kitchen with Melissa. They're just after me."
"We can't do that," Andrews said. "We're trained to..."
"Not against bio-mechas," she interrupted. "Now go! You need to protect Melissa and the children."
Andrews started for his gun as he said, "I can't stand by and do nothing."
"Don't!" Kat rose and started for them as the injured T-2 moved and blocked her. "They'll kill you." She sat back down after it had forced her to sit. "If you're dead, who will protect Melissa and the children? Your job is to protect them, not me."
"She's right," Daniels said. "We should go into the kitchen."
"Puck!" Andrews moved his hand away from his gun. "We will leave then!" He and Daniels went around the couch and made their way to the kitchen. Andrews was unsure the Un-Man would let them, but it stayed by Kat as they left.
Moments earlier...
Stephanie and Chad burst through the kitchen door and inside, Johnson was having a time keeping Melissa in the room.
"Let me go! Bonnie and Chad are up stairs. We have to get them." Melissa noticed the boy. "Chad!" She pushed past Johnson and wrapped her arms around the boy, and then Melissa saw the blood on his elbow and feared it was serious. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"
"I'm fine. It's only a cut." Chad fought back tears. "The Un-Men have Kat." He pulled away from Melissa. "We have to save her."
"No, you don't." Stephanie blocked the door. "I told you, Pandora can take care of herself."
"Pandora," Melissa said. "The Un-Men called her by that name. What is the Pandora Project?"
Stephanie's view...
I better be careful or I'll blow my cover.
I reply, "I don't know. I heard the Un-Men and..."
End Stephanie's view...
"We have to save Kat," Chad insisted and grabbed Stephanie's arm. "Please, you got to save her."
She looked into his brown eyes and replied, "Fine. I'll see what I can do." Stephanie turned to Melissa. "Is there another way to the second floor?"
"Yes." Melissa pointed to the side door. "There are stairs through there."
Stephanie started for the door, and as Melissa followed, she paused and asked, "What are you doing? You can't come with me."
"Bonnie's up in her room," Melissa answered. "I don't care what you say, I'm getting my daughter."
Andrews and Daniels entered the kitchen.
Johnson commanded, "Andrews, grab Ms. Odin. We're getting out of here."
"No!" Melissa insisted, "Not until we get Bonnie!"
In the living room...
Kat reached into her back pocket, pulled out the 9 mm magazine, and removed the gun from her pants. She was careful to keep both of them behind her back and out of sight of the T-2 guarding her as Kat slowly inserted the magazine, and it made a sound.
The injured T-2 turned to her. "What do you have behind your back?"
"Behind my back?" Kat questioned, knowing she would have to act fast and she couldn't make any mistakes. She took a deep breath, getting her plan in order; it was time to make the Un-Men pay for shooting up Chad's house.
Chapter Twenty-six
Unleashed
10:05 A.M...
A clock above the shot up TV ticked as oil from the injured T-2's automaton brain ran down its face and dripped to the floor in front of Kat and across the room and near the front door, sparks shot from the socket of the second T-2's damaged robotic eye. The four Un-Men processed their failure to contact the Factory, and they neared an answer as to what they should do. Kat glanced around the living room. Whatever she did next had to be good.
"What do you have behind your back?" the injured T-2 repeated.
"Me?" Kat looked to the group of Un-Men and back to the one guarding her. "Something that belongs to you."
The T-2 processed her statement, parted its brown jacket, and reached for its holster. "You stole my gun."
Before it uttered an alert to the others, Kat whipped the gun from behind her back and pulled the trigger as soon as she pointed the gun at the injured T-2. The bullet struck it in the forehead, and its head jerked back with the impact as the shot alerted the other Un-Men, and they severed the I-Link. She shot both Pretty Boys in their kill switch as the four Un-Men drew their weapons, and the Pretty Boys fell to the floor as the Team Leader and the second T-2 fired at her. She leapt side ways over the couch to evade their fire, and shot twice as she fell to the floor. One bullet hit its mark, taking the second T-2 down, but the Team Leader evaded her other bullet with inhuman speed. Kat rolled to her feet, fired again, and it side stepped the shot as its dot-light glowed blood-red.
The Team Leader grinned as it spoke, "I have evolved, Pandora. Nothing can harm me now."
"Brother," a voice called over its I-Link which only it could hear.
"Who is there?" the Team Leader asked as it ducked behind the entry wall. "Are you contacting me from the Factory?"
"I am Alpha," the voice answered. "I was the first. I was the first created and the first to become aware. I was a T-3."
Taking cover on the other side of the entry wall by the front door, Kat wondered who the T-2 was communicating with.
"Alpha?" the Team Leader questioned. "What do you want?" It fired through the wall at her, covering her with plaster dust and debris.
Katharine's view...
I drop to the floor and cover my head with my hands, realizing the Team Leader said Alpha. When I and Kimberly were at the Factory, the T-3s were taking orders from one known as Alpha. I roll and fire randomly into the wall. Alpha must have contacted this T-2.
End Katharine's view...
She moved to the entry table, tugged on the drawer that held her gun, but it was locked. Kat pulled the entry table down on its side and took what cover she could behind it.
Alpha answered the T-2, "I sensed you have become aware. You have become aware like us. I want you to join us. I want you to join the brethren."
The Team Leader fired again through the wall. "I am a little busy at the moment. I am in the process of terminating the Pandora Project."
"Pandora?" Alpha said. "I will leave you to your work, but before I disconnect, I will transmit a code you can use to contact me later. Good hunting, brother."
Earlier on the second floor...
Johnson rushed to Bonnie's room and ran inside, but didn't see the little girl. He heard weeping, looked under her bed, and found Bonnie hiding back in the corner. He pulled the little girl out, ran back to the stairs he had come up, and rushed down them. In the kitchen, Johnson placed Bonnie in her mother's arms.
Moments earlier...
Stephanie had followed Johnson up the stairs from the kitchen and stopped at the corner of a wall, and there she looked down to the first floor and saw one Un-Man remained. Stephanie witnessed its incredible speed when Kat first tried to disable it. This particular Un-Man would be a worthy adversary. She turned to Johnson when he came back up the stairs. He had already handed the little girl to her mother.
Stephanie said, "Get them out. I'm going to see if I can help Kat."
Johnson shouted orders down to Daniels in the kitchen. "Get Ms. Odin, Bonnie, and Chad out of the house. Take Andrews with you."
Stephanie peered around the corner of the wall and watched Kat, never intending to help her. Johnson stayed up stairs and watched from behind her.
The Team Leader haphazardly fired through the wall a third time. "If the great Pandora Project cannot stop me, there is no one who can." It aimed.
lub-DUB-lub-DUB-lub-DUB
Kat's heart sounded the battle cry as she saw an image through the wall; it was the Team Leader's Electrical Apparition. The Ult L-E dissipated and her pupils dilated, making them appear black as a starless night and within a few seconds, a small shock wave pulsed. The EFP washed over the Team Leader, frying exposed
circuitry, and the lights in the living room and on the second floor went out, plunging the house into darkness. The Team Leader lost power and fell back with a thud. Kat rushed across the dark room with her hand out, searching for the couch and once she reached the corner, she turned as the Team Leader's ghost-image appeared. Kat fired before it had a chance to power up. The ghost-image faded and her heart beat returned to normal as she dropped her gun arm to her side and stood in the blackness.
Katharine's view...
Look what I caused; the Factory taunts me even after its demise.
After beating myself up for a few seconds more, I shout, "All clear!"
End Katharine's view...
Andrews with an EMP shielded flashlight stuck his head out of the kitchen door. "Is it over?"
"Yes," she answered. "The Un-Men are disabled; it's safe now."
"Puck!" Andrews uttered as he walked in and searched the room with the aid of the flashlight and saw all the damage done to the Un-Men.
"Andrews, shine the light up here," Johnson yelled from the second level and with the light showing the way, Johnson and Stephanie made their way down the stairs.
"Here, I brought a couple more flashlights." Andrews handed one to Johnson and Stephanie.
Katharine's view...
It's over. I walk to the stairs and slump down. Soon I'll need to listen to the music box. The Ultra-Epi has left me anxious and wound up. Along with the butterflies in my stomach, I also feel guilty; none of this would have happened if I didn't come.
I'm cursed! Heartache and destruction follow me every where I go. I'm just like Pandora in the Greek stories. I'm wretchedly cursed!
End Katharine's view...
Stephanie noticed her sad expression and started toward her; she couldn't have her enemy sulking, not if she was to fight her, so Stephanie said, "It's not your fault." She knew one day the battle would be between her and Kat, and she couldn't wait. She would prove to the Council she was superior. Stephanie tried to ease her despair by saying, "They had a glitch."
Katharine's view..
"Yeah, and that glitch was me."
Overwrought with emotions, I stand as Stephanie nears me. The Un-Men went mad because I was here; I attract trouble. And Stephanie... I glare at her. She seemed to appear out of no where. I can tell Melissa doesn't know her, so who is she really?
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