The acrid smell of ozone and burnt circuitry filled Maria’s nostrils as she stepped into the corridor. Her cybernetic eyes struggled to adjust, flickering between normal and enhanced vision modes. She held up a hand, signaling the others to follow. “We need to move. Now.”

Gertrude nodded silently, her sniper rifle at the ready. Agatha brought up the rear, her massive frame filling the doorway. A thin trickle of blood ran down her leg, and her breathing came in ragged gasps.

The sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Dozens of them, moving fast.

Agatha’s eyes narrowed. “More of those green fuckers. You two better go—fast. I’ll try to buy us some time.”

Maria’s fingers flew over her wrist-mounted holo-display, fighting against the surging mana levels that threatened to overload her systems."Not yet. There has to be another way."

The bruiser’s cybernetic arm whirred as she clenched her fist. “Are you out of your damn mind? We can’t let them catch up.”

Even now, the dark stain of blood slowly spread across Agatha’s hip, and the coppery tang of it was thick in the air. Yet, the old bruiser stood tall, defiant, ready to face the incoming swarm.

Maria shook her head. She knew the feeling. The overwhelming need to protect her team, to sacrifice herself for their safety, if necessary. But this was not yet the time for heroics. Just because their entrance hadn’t gone as planned, didn’t mean the whole thing was doomed.

“Plan C,” the netrunner said, a smile creeping up her face. Her fingers flicked and jabbed the holographic display with a speed possible only due to decades of training and specialized cybernetics augmentation. “The distribution panel is right behind the elevator shaft. I’ll upload the bypass hack into your modi—”

“No time,” Agatha interrupted, already rushing past Maria and pulling on the maintenance hatch to the elevator shaft, almost tearing it out by the hinges. With another powerful tug, it sprung open.

“Are you insane? The entire paneling will be electrified! Your system can’t possibly take this kind of abuse without overload.”

Agatha spared the hacker a sideways glance, her steely gray eyes almost glowing with determination. “Maybe.” A small crooked smile curled her lips. “At least that’ll cauterize my wounds. Don’t worry, this is exactly the sort of shit I’m good at—punching things.”

Without a further hesitation, her fist crashed into the fuse box. Blue arcs of electricity erupted from it, engulfing the old bruiser’s arm. Her teeth clenched, a low growl escaping her as she fought against the current. For a moment, it seemed like she might be overwhelmed, but then her cybernetic implants kicked in, channeling the energy out.

The lights flickered and died, plunging the corridor into darkness. Only the faint glow of emergency strips remained.

Maria’s night vision engaged automatically, revealing Agatha slumped against the wall, smoke rising from her arm. She rushed to the woman’s side. “Don’t move. Let me see...”

Despite her injuries, the bruiser’s face bore a smug grin, obviously satisfied with her handiwork. “Didn’t expect that, eh?” she chuckled, though a slight wince betrayed her discomfort.

“No, you big brute, I didn’t. Now, can you even stand?” While speaking, her eyes skimmed the data scrolling on the lower edge of her vision, analyzing the feedback from Agatha’s cyberware. Although not ideal, the readouts showed stable life signs, and thankfully, no fried components.

A groan, followed by an audible crack, and Agatha stood up, still a little shaky on her feet. “Now that I don’t have to electrocute myself anymore, yeah. Let’s move. We don’t have much time until those pricks catch up.”

As if on cue, outraged guttural voices rang out from the stairwell, followed by the frantic shuffling of dozens of feet. Another string of loud curses, this time in some language her translator chip didn’t immediately understand. But the meaning was clear, regardless.

Maria glanced at her wrist display one last time, confirming their target location: “Two flights down.” Then, adjusting her visor, she made the call. “Screw it, let’s do it.”

The black mouth of the elevator shaft loomed before them, cold, silent, and foreboding. Three heartbeats passed before Maria accepted the inevitable. She cursed under her breath and cast a reproachful look at the injured bruiser before jumping in and grabbing the cable. Gertrude leaped in next, but when Agatha’s massive bulk followed, the cable strained with a concerning creak.

As they neared their destination, a harsh voice reverberated through the shaft from above. “Fan out and search every level. They couldn’t have gone far.”

Another voice responded, “The mana surges are disrupting our sensors, sir.”

A frustrated grunt echoed downwards. “Then we do this the old-fashioned way. Eyes open, noses to the ground. If they’re injured, there’ll be a trail. Find it.”

The sound of boots stomping and weapons clanking followed, growing fainter as the search parties dispersed.

Maria signaled for them to halt as they reached their target floor. Pressing her ear against the closed elevator doors, she listened intently. On the other side, a gruff voice barked orders, “You three, labs. You two, with me. We’re checking the corridors.”

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As footsteps faded in different directions, Maria carefully pried the doors open just enough for them to slip through. Gertrude went first, her rifle at the ready, scanning for immediate threats. Maria followed, helping Agatha, who winced with each movement, her damaged arm hanging limply at her side.

Once through, they paused to catch their breath and assess their surroundings. The sterile white walls they’d seen above had been consumed by a network of pulsing, vein-like growths. These organic tendrils writhed and twisted, seemingly reacting to the ebb and flow of mana in the air.

Gertrude scanned the growths, rifle at the ready. She moved closer to examine the veins without touching them. A flicker of disgust crossed her usually impassive features.

Agatha pushed herself off the wall, flexing her injured arm with a slight wince. “Well, this is familiar,” she muttered under her breath. “Looks like She’s been busy.”

“Yes,” Maria replied, fighting a wave of nausea at the sight. “She never stopped her experiments, even after...” Her voice trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought.

As they pressed deeper into the facility, the growths became more pronounced. Entire sections of walls disappeared beneath intricate, unsettling patterns that seemed to writhe in the dim light.

Gertrude took point, moving silently and precisely. At each intersection, she paused to check for threats before signaling the others forward. The alarm had faded to a distant wail, replaced by new sounds - wet, organic noises echoing from behind closed doors.

Finally, they reached their destination. A massive steel door stood before them, plastered with warning signs in multiple languages. Maria’s scan showed heavy security measures in place.

She nodded to her companions. “This is it. The lab should be just beyond this door.”

As Maria set to work on the lock, Agatha and Gertrude took up defensive positions. The corridor behind them stretched into darkness, the pulsing veins creating an illusion of movement that kept them constantly on edge.

Just as Maria was about to crack the final layer of security, a commotion erupted from somewhere behind them. The sound of running feet and shouted orders quickly grew closer.

A gruff voice called out, “Movement detected on this level! Converge and neutralize!”

Her fingers flew over the holo-display in a race against time. With a final push, she broke through and the massive door slid open with a hiss of hydraulics.

“Inside, now!” she urged, ushering her companions through as the sounds of pursuit intensified.

As the door sealed shut behind them, cutting off the sounds of the pursuit, they turned to take in their surroundings. The lab was unlike anything they had ever seen. Rows upon rows of large, translucent pods lined the walls, each filled with a swirling orange liquid that pulsed with an unnatural rhythm. Floating within each capsule was a green, misshapen form, vaguely humanoid but grotesquely altered.

Maria’s stomach twisted as she took in the scene. The pods throbbed in sync with the veins outside, each connected to a dizzying network of tubes and wires that snaked across the floor and up the walls. Holographic displays hovered over them, streams of cryptic data scrolling by too fast to comprehend.

Between the rows of pods, complex machinery whirred and clicked. Robotic arms moved with eerie precision, adjusting dials and injecting substances into the bodies inside. The entire lab felt alive, as if they had stepped into the belly of some monstrous mechanical beast.

“Are these...” Agatha’s voice faltered, unable to finish the thought.

“Yes,” Maria whispered, scanning the pods, her mouth going dry at the sight of their mutated occupants. “She really did it. A new generation. We need to—”

A slow, deliberate clap interrupted her, freezing them in place. From behind a bank of monitors, a hulking figure emerged.

Gertrude’s reaction was instantaneous. Her rifle snapped up, and a deafening crack split the air as she fired directly at the figure’s head.

At such close range, the slug should have turned even the most well-armored target’s brain into mush. But to their shock, the bullet never reached its target. With impossible speed, a giant green hand snatched the projectile out of the air.

“Now, now,” a deep, rumbling voice chided. “Is that any way to greet your host?”

The hobgoblin stepped into the light, his towering form dwarfing the surrounding equipment. His verdant skin was crisscrossed with glowing circuitry that pulsed in time with some unknowable rhythm. The creature’s eyes burned a fierce red, his sharp features twisted into a cruel grin. A heavy leather jacket hung open, revealing a broad chest adorned with a gaudy gold medallion.

“I must say, I’m disappointed,” he continued, casually flicking away Gertrude’s bullet. “When She told me that mercs had been contracted to rob this facility, I expected... more.”

His gaze swept over them, lingering on their gray hair and weathered faces."Instead, I find three old women, well past their prime. Did they send you here to die, grandmas? Are you a distraction? Or simply a mercy mission?"

Agatha stepped forward, her cybernetic fists clenching. “Why don’t you come closer and find out just how much fight these old women have left, you overgrown toad?”

The hobgoblin’s laughter boomed through the lab, making the pods quiver. “Oh, such spirit!” His grin widened, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. “But spirit alone won’t save you here.”

Maria’s eyes darted around the room, her fingers subtly working on her wrist computer. The hobgoblin’s gaze flicked to her hands, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.

“Looking for a way out, little hacker?” He crossed his massive arms. “Go ahead, try. This system’s been upgraded to handle threats far beyond your outdated skills.”

Gertrude’s grip tightened on her rifle, but she remained silent, her eyes never leaving the threat before them.

“You seem awfully confident,” Maria said, her voice steady despite the growing tension.

The hobgoblin’s grin grew wider. “Confidence born of superiority, old timer. You’re in my domain now.”

His massive frame shifted, cybernetic implants gleaming under the harsh lab lights. Every motion he made was smooth, forceful, demonstrating the cutting-edge technology fused with his body.

“Nice hardware,” Agatha said, her eyes narrowing. “But it takes more than fancy chromes to win a fight.”

The hobgoblin’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Oh, I’m more than just hardware, grandma. I’m the perfect fusion of flesh, steel, and something you can’t even comprehend.”

As he spoke, an aura of palpable menace began to fill the room. The air grew thick with an otherworldly energy that set their implants buzzing uncomfortably.

Maria’s fingers worked faster on her wrist computer, sweat beading on her brow. “What are you?”

“I am the future,” he declared, his voice resonating with power. “A warrior bred for combat, enhanced beyond your wildest dreams. You think your little skirmishes have prepared you for this? You have no idea what true power is.”

“You flatter yourself too much. We’ve faced worse odds before.”

The hobgoblin’s lips curled into a sneer. “Have you now? Then please, by all means, show me what you’ve got. It’s been so long since I’ve had a real challenge.”

He took a step closer, looming over them. “But know this,” his voice dropped to a menacing growl. “When I’m done with you, there won’t be enough left to fill a trash compactor.”

His eyes glinted as he surveyed the three women before him. “It’s almost a shame to end this so quickly. But duty calls, and She doesn’t pay me for talking.”

With a lazy wave of his hand, the lab’s security systems sprang to life. Turrets emerged from hidden panels in the ceiling, their barrels tracking the intruders.

“Now then, ladies.” The hobgoblin cracked his knuckles. “Shall we dance?”