“Walch!” one of the MG officials screamed, voice cracking and sharp, echoing off the steel containers that formed the makeshift alley. Panic dripped from every syllable.

  It was the official with the angry mustache who had collapsed to his knees, his body convulsing uncontrollably. Foam bubbled at the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the cold, wet concrete beneath him.

  His jacket — once crisp and well-fitted — was now stretched to its limit, seams screaming as they ripped repeatedly, splintering like thin paper under unbearable tension. Each tiny movement of his swollen muscles sent fresh tears across the fabric. His arms twitched violently, jerking in reflexive spasms, while clumps of hair drifted down from his scalp, landing silently on the puddles of rainwater reflecting the dim evening sky.

  The black device that had electrocuted him lay discarded on the ground. Its glass tube, once brimming with a viscous, deep purple liquid, was empty. The contents had been injected directly into his bloodstream, coursing through his veins in a horrifying experiment of Varrak’s design. The acrid metallic smell of the liquid mingled with the damp air, leaving an almost suffocating tension around the scene.

  The MG officials had seen enough. They held their swords in trembling hands, their knuckles pale, and took only a few tentative steps forward, unsure whether to flee or confront the abomination in front of them.

  Varrak’s drones hovered silently, unseen at first, then revealed their sinister presence. Built-in laser emitters glimmered red in the dim light, targeting the officials' heads with terrifying precision. In an instant, red dots landed squarely between the eyes of each man and woman, a cold reminder of the control Varrak wielded.

  Frozen like statues, they stared at the scene before them, incapable of blinking, speechless with a mixture of fear and awe. Varrak stepped forward, his arms spread wide, exuding calm authority that belied the chaos. His voice, deep and controlled, carried easily across the wet, empty space.

  “Watch. The show’s about to start.”

  A metallic object hurtled through the air and struck one of the containers like a bullet, sending a metallic clang echoing through the maze-like structure. The officials froze, realizing almost simultaneously that it was a deformed metal buckle — the kind normally used to secure swords to their backs. The realization was immediate and chilling.

  Then came the sound. A loud, visceral rip that made their stomachs twist in anticipation. Their eyes snapped back to Walch. His jacket had split entirely down the back. Beneath it, the skin — already stretched to its limits — began to tear and separate, forming jagged gashes. Normal flesh, anyone might think, would be pale pink or reddish in hue. But what lay exposed was dark, bruised purple, swelling grotesquely with each heartbeat.

  A tremor of regret and revulsion swept over one official. Tears welled up, sliding down his cheeks as he gasped, “What have you done to him?” His voice broke with a combination of horror, guilt, and helplessness.

  Walch — or what remained of him — slowly rose to his feet. The transformation had been more than just physical. It was complete. He looked like a creature carved from a nightmare, muscles grotesquely thick, bones audibly adjusting beneath stretched, glossy skin. His back remained slightly hunched, but the sheer density of his form made him dominate the alley.

  Every movement made the sinews and tendons groan audibly. His bald head tilted upward, nostrils flaring, and then, with a mouth opening impossibly wide, he emitted a scream — primal, heart-shaking, a sound that could have shattered eardrums. It resonated like the roar of a Xenosapian, echoing off every metal surface.

  Tee and her teammates stumbled back, their landing from teleportation shaken by the scream. Her heart raced. Could that be what the Commander had been preparing them to face? Something akin to the vicious monsters they had mistakenly believed Saeda had mutated into? Her stomach churned. She had never confronted a Xenosapian, only observed them from afar, from stories and mission reports.

  Dammit.

  It was Kie’s fault, she thought, replaying the moment he had informed the Commander about Saeda allegedly mutating. That had been before the elders clarified the truth. Sade had sealed a Vergant vulture inside hers. But none of that reassured her.

  Miko’s mind raced too, conjuring visions of monsters from Kie’s campfire stories. Why did the Commander always put them in impossible situations?

  Outside, under the dim, wet glow of the evening sky, global curfew had long since passed. Zod remained silent, head bowed, his spirit drained. He only wanted to survive the mission, end it quickly, and avoid confronting the nightmare that roamed the shipping containers.

  Using their enhanced hearing, the team pinpointed the origin of the scream. Without hesitation, Kie leapt onto the stacked containers, which towered two stories high, and sprinted toward the source. The others followed, eyes scanning the ground for any sudden movement.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  One female official dropped her sword entirely, frozen in disbelief as she stared into the eyes of what had once been Walch. The man beside her blinked repeatedly, desperately trying to erase the image of the monstrosity from his mind.

  “This isn’t a weapon!” an official shouted, stepping forward despite the red dots still painted across his forehead. His voice trembled with tears, a raw mix of fury and disbelief. “How do we fight Xenosapians with… that thing?” He broke off mid-sentence, incapable of forming words that could describe what he saw.

  The monster’s gaze snapped to him, black-filled eyes piercing and unfeeling. The junior official stepped back, tripping over someone’s toe in sheer terror. The man’s outburst wasn’t about the misstep. It was about what he saw — the mechanical device latched to the young official’s head.

  Spit flew from his mouth as he shouted in rage, “Reverse whatever you’ve done to him right now!”

  Varrak’s calm, chilling voice carried from behind his weaponized androids. “You wanted a living weapon. Now you’ve got one. Oh, and this isn’t a magic show — that transformation is permanent.”

  “This isn’t what we meant…” one official stammered.

  “Well, you should have been more specific,” Varrak snapped, eyes glinting beneath his helmet. “To single-handedly defeat a monster, you’ll have to become one. Now leave, before I call Priman soldiers to get you all behind bars.” With that, he turned and began walking, each step precise and measured.

  Varrak’s human soldiers stood nearby with the abductees. All had been scanned and revealed positive. The adult male abductee scanned the surroundings, wide-eyed, memorizing escape routes should he ever muster the courage to run. The Mid-Guard troopers, in contrast, were volunteers, trained to withstand fear, and the little boy, oblivious, had no understanding of the chaos surrounding him.

  A white vortex shimmered before them. Varrak paused, a question halting his stride.

  “How do we use it?”

  Varrak didn’t turn. “Super strength, speed, enhanced hearing and sight. Imagine all sensory enhancement bundled into a single host. A living weapon, whose every action responds to whoever wears the controller.”

  The group realized immediately that the device Walch had received could not be the controller. All eyes shifted to the junior with the mechanical spider latched to his head. He had almost forgotten it was there, until Varrak’s words reached them again.

  “Think, and it will do anything—”

  Before he could finish, a flurry of fast-moving objects rained down from the left container wall. The MG officials scattered, believing law enforcement had arrived. One of the projectiles, a sword, slashed through part of the spider-device on the junior’s head, electrocuting him in a bright, painful arc.

  “Aaaah!” His scream mingled with the terrified cries of Varrak’s human soldiers, who had leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the weapons. The other hostages panicked and ran, leaving the little boy behind, crying in fear.

  Varrak ignored the chaos and analyzed a sword lodged in a container with augmented reality from his helmet. The white vortex began to close on the other side. Two human soldiers escaped, but a third was not so lucky. The vortex shrank before he could fully pass, splitting him in two. His lower half fell to the ground, blood gushing from a jagged wound, muscles spasming in death throes.

  Scraps of dismantled android parts littered the area. None remained functional. The last remaining MG official looked up from the alleyway, his voice trembling, “What is this, a set-up?”

  Tee and Miko peered down from stacked containers on one side, while Zod and Kie covered the other. From higher ground, they corralled the remaining men below, and ceased throwing swords once all the androids were destroyed.

  Kie recognized the activity for what it was. A trade. He had seen those transactions in his years with the Mid-Guard. Zod’s gaze swept the pitiful, fleeing adults before settling on Varrak, who stood so motionless in his white battle suit that he could have been mistaken for another android.

  Androids replaced men, teenagers replaced reinforcements — and Varrak had even more hidden surprises. About twenty drones emerged, firing lasers at anyone above. Varrak fused his hands into a massive laser weapon and unleashed a torrent of energy.

  “These extra drones were for Priman soldiers, but you can have their undivided attention instead!”

  Tee and her teammates jumped from container to container, dodging blasts. The noise, splashing water, and burning metal triggered a brief traumatic response in Tee, forcing her to crouch and hold her head to avoid reliving a nightmare of molten lava and deafening pain.

  Varrak paused, observing the steaming containers. He noted the four survivors from the last Vergant village — how had they survived those Vultures? Insulted, he aimed with x-ray vision, but the monster attacked his drones. The junior lay lifeless, crushed by its weight. Abductees had fled, MG officials collected their reward, and Varrak’s irritation mounted.

  The monster, wounded by lasers, fled. Kie, seeing Varrak escape, hurled a sword to intercept, but Varrak leapt, evading.

  “Where are you going? What about the monster?” Tee asked over her telecom, panic rising. She stepped out, summoning two swords to block lingering laser fire.

  “You’re taking down Varrak alone?” Zod shouted.

  “Pick a side and move!” Kie yelled.

  Miko zipped, swinging her swords, sparks flying. Zod emerged, staring after the monster. “I don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t a Xenosapian.”

  “Yeah,” Tee added, watching it flee. “Xenosapians don’t wear shorts.”

  “Xenosapian or not, it’s a monster, and we put it down,” Zod said, heading toward Kie. “By ‘we,’ I mean you two. Kie will need my help.”

  Tee resisted the urge to strike. She clenched her fists. Dammit! She had to pursue the monster with Miko. She would not let Kie finish Varrak alone and return to deal with the monster.

  “Miko, let’s go!” she ordered, adrenaline surging.