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  Nemesis remained long enough to see if anyone would climb out of the van. No one did, but he knew, at least, Jonathan would. Made of the same mutagenic stuff as himself, he would not die so easily.

  Nemesis turned and ran toward the house. He leaped over the porch steps and crashed through the front door, sending splintered wood flying in all directions. Almost immediately, a Taser weapon fired a scatter of pulsing prongs into his body. Though they possessed no trailing wires, the effect was the same. Electrical current surged through his body, nullifying the molecular bond of his cells. He burst apart, literally, at the seams.

  To Jay’s assistant, Lily, he had appeared to disintegrate before her eyes. She stood near the ornate circular staircase with the Taser in hand, waiting to see if it was really going to end as easy as that. She peered around the room, looking for any trace of the man who’d crashed through the door—the same she had just seen flip the police van from her window—only then, he had appeared as a black gelatinous creature.

  Nemesis gathered his molecular mass. He had not expected the current to have such an effect on him. He misted through the room and reformed behind the woman in his pitch black, humanoid form. She turned on him, with the gun in hand, firing point blank. He dodged aside quick.

  Nemesis smashed a black tentacle across her chest, sending her hurtling into the foyer. Lily collided with a decorative glass case. Shattered glass rained upon her as she skidded to a halt near the front door. Blood oozed to the surface of her skin from glass cuts all over her body, but she remained unconscious and still.

  Time to find the girl.

  Nemesis began his search in the few large rooms on the first floor—nothing. The girl would likely be upstairs, hiding in a closet or under a bed. He sprinted up the circular stair case to the landing and took on a normal human appearance. No use making this more traumatic than necessary. If the girl did have latent power, like Stokes had said, then she would certainly be more inclined to use them upon a pitch black monstrosity than a normal looking man.

  He advanced through different rooms on the second floor, then spotted a closet at the far end which had been cracked open. It was shut. Nemesis smiled as he walked toward the closet door in the dimly lit hallway. The doorknob rotated, and things in the closet shuffled around. “Hiding won’t do you any good, little girl.â€� He grabbed the doorknob, turned, and pulled it open. “Gotcha!â€�

  The closet was empty.

  Someone darted behind him toward the stairs—the girl. She had manipulated the closet with her mind. He realized she must have some understanding of her mental power already.

  Nemesis raced after her. As he reached the top of the circular staircase, he saw Margot already leaving the bottom step. He heard the sound of sirens approaching outside. More police. For his plan to work, he had to get the girl while she was away from the others.

  Nemesis leaped over the banister, opened pouches under his arms like a flying squirrel, then sailed down right on top of her. She screamed as he enveloped her in his black, gelatinous form. He muffled her scream, then went to work siphoning a part of himself away to infiltrate the girl’s body. He had to reach her brain if he ever hoped to join with her and control the power she wielded.

  •

  Jonathan had only begun to extricate himself from the mess in the van, when he heard sirens blaring all around. Jay sat up beside him, holding his head. “Man that hurts!â€�

  “Are you bleeding?â€� Jonathan asked.

  “I don’t think so. What happened?â€� Jonathan looked on the floor of the van where Samuel lay unconscious, then he looked out the windshield. Police Mechs were approaching Jay’s house fast, sirens screaming, and blue lights flashing. “Stokes couldn’t have done it, and the police just got here. My gut tells me Trenton has resurfaced.â€�

  Jay sat there listening. “Where is he then? Why hasn’t he finished us off?â€�

  They looked at each other simultaneously. “Margot?â€�

  Jonathan burst out of the back of the overturned police van, smashing the double doors out of his way. Jay followed hot on his trail. “Jonathan, don’t let him hurt her!â€�

  Jonathan needed no telling. Any daughter of Jay’s might as well have been his own. He sped up to the house, leaving Jay in his wake. “Stay back, Jay! Trenton will only kill you, too!â€�

  “Halt!â€� A Police Mech hovered over the driveway, landing with a hydraulic crash that cracked the paving stones. Jay did as he was told. The .50 caliber machine gun turret, aimed at him, made sure of that.

  “That thing has got my daughter!â€� Jay yelled.

  The officer fastened inside the mech robot looked toward the house. The kicked in door and splintered door jam were clearly in view. Five more Police Mechs joined the first on the lawn. More cars joined the heavy artillery, and officers began to spill out onto Jay’s property with their weapons drawn. Agent Wong got out of a police car and ran up to Jay, wanting to know the situation.

  Jay shook his hand, actually relieved to see the man. “We believe the Nemesis creature that broke out of Halo Tech’s cryo containment unit has my daughter and executive assistant held captive inside. My friend, Jonathan, has gone inside already.â€�

  Wong looked puzzled, searching the property with his eyes. “What about Stokes? Wasn’t he in the van with you?â€�

  At that moment, it occurred to Jay exactly why the police were here. They had followed a tracer on the van—it was their equipment after all. Wong hadn’t shown up with the cavalry for any other reason than he expected to get a hold on Samuel Stokes. “What happened to Stokes?â€� Wong asked again.

  Jay pointed to the wrecked police van. “He’s still in there, unconscious.â€�

  Agent Wong signaled to the Police Mech standing over them and spoke into his transmitter-receiver. “The van! Cover the van. Stokes is unconscious inside.â€�

  The manned robot moved away, focusing its machine gun on the flipped vehicle laying in Jay’s yard. The other police mechs did the same, while their fellow officers moved in to investigate the open rear doors.

  At that moment, a rush of wind flushed out of the police van. The approaching officers ducked for cover in the grass. The van cracked like an eggshell and peeled away as Samuel Stokes levitated into the air. The mech robots locked their machine guns on the boy, as he surveyed the scene around him.

  HALLOWED_GROUND

  16 MARGOT

  Jonathan ran into Nemesis in the living room. The creature was huddled in a mound on the floor. Jonathan charged toward it through the front door. It screeched and rose up with a pitch black face and devilish, black pools for eyes.

  Jonathan skidded to a halt on the hardwood floor as the little girl, Margot, was revealed in the creature’s grasp, nearly covered in its gelatinous mass. “Let her go, Trenton!â€�

  Nemesis rose up, slinging the little girl across the living room onto a sofa near a large picture window overlooking the yard. Jonathan tried to grab her, but the creature blocked the way. The sirens outside had ceased. Now Jonathan heard loud commands given by police officers.

  Nemesis whipped a black tentacle at Jonathan. He flipped over it, using his momentum to slam a kick home. The creature seemed solid enough. Jonathan realized he might have made a mistake.

  The creature hammered him with four arms like some enraged Hindu god. Jonathan tried to repel the blows, but they were coming too fast to keep up. He dodged away, hoping to get to the girl.

  Jonathan noticed that Margot was awake. Nearby, he spotted the body of a woman who must have been watching Jay’s daughter in the house. She appeared to be breathing, but had sustained several nasty gashes from the broken glass surrounding her on the floor.

  “Margot, I’m a friend of your father, here to help. Try to get outside
to the police!�

  The girl didn’t respond to him, though she looked his way. Jonathan supposed she must be too frightened to act. He grabbed a pole lamp standing in the corner near the stairs, whipping it up over his head as Nemesis closed in. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish with all this, Trenton, but I’m not going to allow you to harm anyone anymore.â€� He had hoped this bravado might get Trenton talking again. At least, he might learn a little of Trenton’s plans. He had always loved hearing himself speak, especially when it came to his own brilliance.

  But Trenton didn’t answer him. He only circled, seeming more animal now than psychotic. Maybe he’s degenerated in this form. Jonathan wasn’t sure what to think. Science had always been Jay’s department.

  The creature lunged, and Jonathan smashed it across the head. He used the opportunity to dodge past it and get into the living room where Margot still lay on the sofa, her eyes watching the scene. As Jonathan approached, she held out her hands to him. He snatched her up from the sofa, pulling her in tight to protect her with his body as much as possible. Another leap took them both through the large picture window and out onto the lawn.

  When Jonathan picked Margot up from the cool grass, he stood looking down the muzzle of a rotating machine gun cannon. The Police Mech attached to it looked even more formidable. The officer inside looked them over, saw the girl, then raised the cannon safely away.

  Nemesis flew through the shattered window, landing on the lawn. He ran toward Jonathan, Margot, and the Mech, fury burning on his hideous pitch black face. The Mech fired on the creature.

  Hundreds of .50 caliber shells tore through the beast like an old coat. Nemesis split, reformed, and was chewed to pieces again, screeching terribly the entire time. The officer must have realized the futility of simply dicing it up over and over again. The Mech’s left arm aimed at Nemesis. A blue pilot flame lit. A stream of fire issued from the vented, tubular muzzle, engulfing the gelatinous, black form writhing on the lawn. The scream that issued from it, when the flame thrower took over, sounded like a thousand children massacred.

  Jonathan ran from the horrifying scene with Margot in tow. Coagulated blood trailed from her nose, ears, and mouth, but otherwise she seemed to be in pretty good shape. Jay found them in the melee and rushed to scoop up his daughter. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around him.

  Jonathan and Jay looked back to where the creature, Nemesis, rose up from the burning lawn one last time. Another burst from the Mech’s flamethrower finished what was left. Nemesis rose no more. Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that’s finally over.â€�

  Jay grabbed his arm. “It’s not over yet. Stokes is awake!â€� He pointed past the garage to where their wrecked police van had come to rest. “That’s him hovering between the Mechs.â€�

  •

  Agent Wong’s voice could be heard above the rest of the commotion, calling over a bullhorn for Stokes to surrender peacefully. Stokes had spotted Jay, Jonathan, and more importantly, Margot. He blasted one of the Mech’s blocking his advance. Immediately, the other Mechs opened fire on him.

  The .50 caliber shells ricocheted away from an invisible barrier Samuel had placed around himself. He halted his advance, momentarily, in order to deal with the Police Mechs—not because he needed to, but because he wanted to.

  Inside the cockpit of the first Mech where Samuel’s attention fell, the operator’s body exploded in a crimson flash, painting the clear canopy red. The robot slumped slightly, and a medical warning light flashed on top, indicating pilot death had occurred. Another Mech lunged for him.

  Samuel pulled yet another Police Mech into the path of the aggressor. They slammed into one another before reaching Samuel. The aggressor tried to get his robot up, but the one under Samuel’s control opened fire at point blank range with both the .50 caliber machine turret and the flame thrower. All of the firepower bathed the downed Mech and its pilot. The bullet proof canopy shattered under the repeated hits, exposing the pilot to his doom.

  Samuel levitated the third Mech and sent it hurtling into the crowd of police now firing their guns on him. Agent Wong barely managed to leap away before the large robot bowled over his car. He stood, his clothes covered in dirt, his bullhorn cracked in his hands.

  Samuel continued his advance toward Jonathan, Jay, and Margot. They turned to run, but not quick enough. Samuel seized the men and tossed them away from the girl. He had considered killing them both, but thought better of it. His goal was to protect the girl, not cause her to hate him. She might anyway, but killing her surrogate father and his friend would guarantee it.

  Jay and Jonathan tumbled across the lawn as Samuel came to rest next to Margot. Surprisingly, she did not appear to be afraid of him. Perhaps, she already had some understanding of who he was—that they were more alike than any other people on the planet. “I’m here to protect you, Margot.â€�

  She looked up at him with puppy-dog-brown eyes. “What about my dad, Mister?â€�

  “He’s not like us, Margot. Surely you’ve already begun to realize the power within you,â€� Samuel said.

  Margot nodded, peering up at him. “I suppose so, but now what do we do?â€�

  Samuel smiled down at her, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Now, we get out of here, before anyone else tries to harm us.â€�

  The air vibrated around them as Samuel reestablished the invisible shield with his mind. They rose up from the ground together, as though standing upon some invisible surface. Then, without further incident, the invisible bubble whisked them both away, across the city. Jonathan and Jay, along with all of the surviving police officers and Agent Wong, could only watch helplessly.

  HALLOWED_GROUND

  17 DECEIVED

  Samuel slowed their flight across the city and brought himself and Margot down upon the top of a skyscraper. They landed among the gravel laid out upon the rooftop, as Samuel’s invisible shield dissipated. He breathed heavily, stepping away from Margot for a moment.

  “Why are we stopping?â€� she asked.

  Samuel looked at the taller buildings around them. “I just need to rest for a moment, Margot.â€�

  The girl walked toward him with a grin on her face. “Does it make you tired using your power, Stokes?â€�

  Samuel turned sharply when he heard the menacing tone in the little girl’s voice—not quite like a little girl at all. He realized, too late, something was wrong.

  Margot pushed both hands toward Samuel, pummeling him with a kinetic blast that sent him hurtling out away from the rooftop of the building. His body ached from the power unleashed upon him. He barely had time to reestablish his forcefield before tumbling through the glass window of an adjacent building.

  Samuel picked himself up, amid panicked screams from office workers. Smashed desks and office partitions lay all around him as he stood. The astonished employees could do nothing but watch as the young boy, who had just crashed into their business, walked over to the shattered window, fifty stories up, and flew out through it again.

  As Samuel flew through the air, back to where Margot had attacked him, he saw the little girl standing upon the edge of the rooftop. Her wicked smile warned him that he may not be dealing with just a little girl anymore. “Who are you? What have you done to Margot?â€� It was a long-shot, but he had a hunch.

  Margot laughed maniacally. “Figured it out, did you? Well, I won’t give you an ‘A’ for effort. After all, I did sort of tip you off…of the building anyway.â€� She laughed again.

  “You’re that thing that Dr. Young and Jonathan were talking about, aren’t you?â€�

  Margot tapped her small chin as Samuel floated in the air before her. “You know, I just keep changing. Now, I’m M
argot, as well. That just means she gets to become a god with me!�

  The girl started to laugh, but then doubled over, seemingly in pain. She screamed furiously, and the true little girl seemed to return in that moment. “Get out of my body!â€� Margot grabbed both sides of her head, screaming as Nemesis fought for control in her mind. A shockwave surged away from her in every direction at once.

  Samuel shielded himself, but still it threw him back in the air. The windows on the neighboring skyscrapers reverberated and shattered. Showers of glass rained down upon pedestrians, and vehicles traveling on the streets below.

  “Margot, I’m trying to help you. Fight the creature!â€� Samuel pleaded.

  Margot looked at him menacingly. Nemesis had taken control again. He reached out through the girl’s body, sending the gravel from the rooftop flying like thousands of bullets toward Samuel. He dodged away as the rock shower pelted the building behind him like a shotgun blast. Concrete chips and glass shards fell away from the damage, toward the street.

  Margot managed to shield herself as Samuel rose up to the rooftop again, hitting her with a kinetic blast of his own. She tumbled inside her own invisible bubble and smashed through a digital billboard setup on the roof. The sign showered sparks down upon the building, but Margot had already regained control.

  Using her power, she tore away from Samuel through the air, heading for the street. Samuel followed after her. He still wanted to protect the girl—more than ever. But he had no idea how he could remove her from the grasp of the monster fighting her now from within.

  •

  “Well, we can’t just sit here! We’ve got to get my baby back.â€� Jay paced back and forth in front of the police van. “Isn’t there anything your people can do, Wong?â€�