The Mission

Something was wrong. I could feel it when I entered the window of the tower from the 8th story. Even before then, As I scaled the building, it was quiet. Granted, my invisibility cloak may have had something to do with it, but I expected to set off alarms. Encounter heavily armed sentinels.

Something.
Anything.

Not a peep. Not a sound.

There was nothing. Not one guard. Nothing but me, hundreds of feet of dark metal and thick frosted glass, and the wind that whipped against my face, numbing my cheeks and becoming colder from the dizzying height. It was nothing I hadn't encountered before.

As I slipped through the 8th story window, I expected to have to use the clone keycard I created days before to make my way to the Laboratory. Crafting this was no easy task, and involved the interrogation of a few Overlord Supporters using tactics I'm not proud of, but nothing would stop me from accomplishing what I came here to do, so I came prepared.

A T420 Rifle slung across my back, with several laser cartridges strapped tightly to my chest for easy access, I was prepared to take out anyone and anything in my way to gain access to the Laboratory and stop the heinous experiments happening within. They were depending on me.

All of them.

But once again, I encountered zero resistance. I found one unlocked door after another. Could the Overlords be this incompetent? Was this a trap, or were they just fools? Did they have any idea who they were dealing with? Did they think I'd fall into a trap that easily?

No matter.

The answers to those questions were unimportant, as the situation at hand demanded my full attention. I made my way through what seemed to be a library, full of what looked like oddities from other worlds, leather-bound books, and carved wood vaulted ceilings that felt like an architectural marvel in their own right.

There was a roaring fireplace that seemed so out of place considering the cold, clinical feel of the Overlords Tower.
Could they actually be..human? Do they enjoy reading by the fire? Probably reading about how to further degrade us.

Probably that. I couldn't imagine the Overlords actually....relaxing. Enjoying things?

No.

At this moment I couldn't humanize them. I had to continue. I made my way through another giant wooden door that opened up into a large, oval black metal hallway lit with thick, lime-green LED lighting. What was this place?

This giant tower, a sinister overbearing symbol of evil that looms over our city, seemed to be built by several architects. Each room was different. A different feel, with different materials used.

I blinked twice to switch on the night vision tool within my Cyborg eye interface and continued.

Finally, The Door. 🚪

This, according to my heads-up display, was the entrance to the Lab. The way the desks are situated on my thermal blueprints, with a little luck, I could do this quickly and quietly. The Scientists back would be facing the door. Slumped over her desk, deep in thought, she would never know what hit her. If she was up and moving throughout the Lab, though, this was going to be a messy endeavor. And a long night.

I was prepared for both. I am always prepared for both.

I slipped the clone keycard, able to access any door within the building, into the Laboratory door.

*Click*

I slid the rifle from my back into my hands, slowly, and pulled the keycard back out.

*Beep*

*Click*

The door was unlocked. I was mere feet from potentially saving millions, if not billions of lives. I steadied my breathing. Calmed myself, and opened the door.

Breathe.

To my surprise, she did not move. Just as I had surmised, at this late hour, she was slumped over her desk, deep in thought.
I took two steps forward and pulled the trigger.

*PZZZZZZZAP*

Perfect shot. Though I expected nothing less. I've trained thousands of times to take that shot.

The rifle had fired a green laser about the width of a tennis ball through her chest. There was no blood, as the laser immediately cauterizes the wound as it passes through human flesh.

Clean. Efficient. Just the way I like it.

But something was wrong. I walked up to the Scientists lifeless body and looked at her hair. Unimaginable dread began to wash over me.

Beneath the unkempt blonde locks, brunette hair was peaking through. I pulled at her hair and turned her around. To my horror, a blonde wig slid halfway off, pinned to her actual long, brunette hair, and the Scientists assistant’s head lay lifeless in my hands.

I couldn't breathe.
And I can always breathe.
My hand doesn't shake.
Doesn't falter.
But it was shaking now.

What have I done?

Like a flash of lightning, it hit me. This is why I've encountered no resistance. No security. No drones. No alarms. Nothing. This was a setup. They dressed this poor young woman up like her superior and ordered her to sit here like a lamb for slaughter.

I dropped her head onto the desk suddenly and unintentionally.

*thump*

I was sickened. I glanced down at the desk to see if I could find something, anything, to salvage the mission. Or at least point me in the right direction. I was frantic. And I never panic.

But there was nothing. Nothing but one, single note that now lay under the deceased assistant's head that I hadn't noticed before.

I slowly slipped the paper note from beneath her head and began to read.

"You are too late. We know who you are, and why you have come. But your efforts are futile. It is already done. A new era has begun."

I dropped the note and felt my stomach wrench in a way I had never felt before.

I had failed.

I had not only failed my mission, something I had never done before, but I had failed millions of innocent people. They would be forever changed. Many would die.
There would be no help for them.
No sanctuary or safe haven.

It was done.

Then a thought washed over me like a cold, ocean wave. It reinvigorated me. It gave me purpose.

I could do one thing. One, simple thing, if not only to make myself feel complete but for the millions of lives that would assuredly be lost.

The Scientist who created the elixir, the Overlords who concocted this most despicable, disgusting plan. Everyone and anyone who supported them.

I could end them all.

.....I could get Revenge. 🩸

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