Ryan could feel rough, uneven stone jabbing into his back as he and Syd flattened themselves against the cliff face.

You doing okay over there, Cat? he heard Amy ask over their shared communications link.

Fine, dear, just fine, Cat responded in an amused tone. You should be paying attention to your new pet, not me. These... what was it you called them again? Blasters? She let out a grunt of effort. They're not so tough. I can take care of myself.

Wow, you certainly can... I didn't think legs could twist around each other like that. Are you trying to fold him into a – what the!? Amy's voice cut off for a second, while her icon on the map vanished, reappearing a few feet away. The rapid movement was accompanied by a muffled crash loud enough to be heard across the clearing. Okay, that's just wrong. A rhinoceros is NOT supposed to be able to shoot its horns at you like missiles!

On your left, hon, watch out! He's still got the second horn!

Another dull boom followed. Struck by the errant projectile, one of the portable floodlights on the edge of the clearing exploded, toppling in a rain of sparks and broken glass.

It seemed like his team had everything well under control.

The ringing clatter of metal boot soles on stone drew closer.

For now.

An orange-armored figure stepped out of the tunnel entrance and looked around.

Analyzing... analysis complete.

Target Identification: War-Form, Human Marksman

Commencing Standard Attribute Evaluation...

Effective Level: 5

Strength: 13

Agility: 24

Toughness: 11

Endurance: 24

Abilities:

Energy Dart (Rank 1)

Energy Beam (Rank 2)

Charged Beam (Rank 2)

Threat Rating: HIGH

Look at those Attributes... that's got to be an elite Enforcer, he decided after his Implant finished evaluating the enemy Marksman. His eyes lingered on the assigned threat rating. One with a body that's been put through the reconstruction process. Maybe even the same guy that we tangled with a few weeks ago up on the warehouse roof.

Following behind were a pair of Juggernauts in yellow, then a squad of Blasters. The hazy form of an Assassin with Prowler Mode active brought up the rear.

Keep going, he silently urged the armored figures. Don't turn around. There's nothing to see here. Go investigate the big, loud distraction that's going on out there.

The new arrivals surveyed the area, taking in the destruction spread out before them. A forklift, struck by the Rhinocerotid Brute's heedless charge, had been flipped over onto its side and was burning cheerfully. Divots and craters pocked the ground. Unconscious, naked Enforcers lay scattered where they'd fallen, their overloaded Changers still sending up puffs of steam that added to the choking grey haze hanging over the scene.

Suddenly, the horizon strobed neon purple. The brilliant glare momentarily turned the darkening night into day, throwing long shadows like a premature, off-color sunrise and casting everything in weird magenta tones. Ryan squinted, then blinked as the light faded, leaving a host of afterimages swimming in his vision.

What the heck was that? he asked.

The rhino is down, Amy reported, sounding excited and a bit breathless. Cat and I baited it into running headfirst through the laser fence thing. It didn't like that! How are things going on your end?

Before the glow finished tapering away, the Enforcer team had already taken off, presumably to track down the source of the commotion.

Not great. You've got more incoming.

More Blasters?

Uh... among other things, yeah.

You've got to be more specific than that, Ryan.

Four Mark-IIs are headed your way. He marked their direction of approach on Amy's display. A pair of Juggernauts, an Assassin, and a Marksman. They have another squad of Blasters tagging along with them, too.

Marksman ?

Like a Blaster on steroids. Be careful. Remember, you don't need to beat them –

Just distract them, Cat cut in. We remember the plan, handsome. Worry about your end, hm?

Syd was still staring off into the distance, wide-eyed. He waved to get her attention, then tilted his head in the direction of the tunnel. The young woman exhaled, then nodded jerkily.

Crouching low in an effort to remain undetected, they entered the alien dig site together.

Inside, they found themselves standing in a still, eerily-quiet cavern. Roughly carved out of the surrounding rock, the entrance tunnel continued for what felt like at least a hundred yards before opening onto a massive gallery, ringed with suspended catwalks and brightly-lit by lines of work lamps hanging from the ceiling far overhead. Tools and construction equipment were piled everywhere, evidence of the laborers who had hurriedly departed. Aside from the ongoing background warble of the alarm system, a steady drip-drip-drip of distant water was the only sound he could hear.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Okay, Ry, you're the Zorvax base expert," Syd muttered to him. "Where do you think the teleportation chamber would be?"

He consulted his area map, only to find it replaced by a disorienting wash of multicolored static. Interference from the mineral content in the surrounding rock, perhaps, or something to do with the radiation warning signs they'd seen earlier? Whatever it was, it was rendering his Implant's sensors useless.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he said with a shrug. "This place doesn't look like any Zorvax installation I've ever been in. Want to pick an exit for us to try?"

"Um, let's see... eenie, meenie, miney... that one?"

"Sounds good. Let's go."

***

It wasn't the first exit they tried.

Or the second.

Both branching paths had terminated in dead-ends, wasting their time with nothing to show for it.

So far, however, their third choice was looking a lot more promising. It was guarded, for one thing.

"How are we going to get past these guys?" Syd quietly wondered. "I don't think the video game stealth trick where you throw a rock and they wander off to check it out would work..."

Ryan backtracked for a few feet, waving for Syd to follow him. Once they were out of sight around the bend in the tunnel, he knelt and picked a long metal prybar up off the ground. With a contemplative frown, he spun the unwieldy pole in one hand, judging the weight and balance. The shaft whistled as it cut through the air.

Hmm. It's not perfect, but...

"This should work," he finally decided.

"Ryan... please tell me you're not planning to run in there and hit those Blasters upside the head with a rusty iron stick."

"Don't worry, that's not my plan," he reassured her.

"Oh, thank God –"

Pointing to the pile of abandoned tools he'd drawn the prybar from, he continued, "We're both going to run in there and hit those Blasters upside the head with rusty iron sticks at the same time." Seeing her disbelieving glare, he chuckled softly. "What's that look for? You were the one who volunteered to come along."

"Um, Ry, did you forget that I'm not an alien super soldier?" She made a fist, flexing her slender, tattooed arm, then pointed at the scarcely-noticeable bicep. "My Strength when I'm not transformed is only 3, you know?"

"It'll be fine, Syd. We have the element of surprise on our side."

"...they're wearing helmets," she said flatly.

"In close quarters, Blasters aren't that scary. Aim for the gap between the back of their chestplate and the rim of their helmet – just like how you took out that Savant. Their armor mostly protects against high-velocity impacts, things like bullets, not blunt force trauma. One or two good whacks and they'll be down for the count, I promise."

"Didn't you almost get fried the last time you tried fighting a Blaster in close quarters?"

"That's because last time I didn't have one of these," he replied, smacking the pole meaningfully against his palm.

"Wow, good point," Syd deadpanned. "I take it all back. There's no way this plan could go badly."

"That's the spirit!"

Turning away, she sighed, then bent down to rummage around in the pile. After considering and rejecting several options, she settled on a wood-handled spade.

"Become a hero, he says," she grumbled to herself, giving the tool a few awkward test swings. "Join the war against the alien invaders, he says. Forgot to mention that I'd be fighting them with a fucking shovel, though, didn't he?"

Now armed, in a manner of speaking, the intruders crept back into position.

"Left or right?" Syd whispered.

"Left is closer, so you take him. I'll go in first and hit the guy on the right. Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay, on three. One, two, three!"

Abandoning their previous efforts at stealth, the pair burst into the tunnel junction. The Blaster he'd assigned to Syd let out a distorted, mechanical noise that he thought might have been a surprised shout as he swept past, and then his prybar slammed into the other with a crunch.

At the last second, the Enforcer had managed to pull away, causing the strike aimed at his collarbone to instead bounce off the rounded pauldron over his shoulder, but the force transmitted by the blow was still sufficient to drive him to his knees. Ryan's follow-up backhand connected with the side of his helmet just above the visor, snapping the man's head to the side and dropping him the rest of the way to the ground.

A few more prybar shots to the face and midsection were enough to overload the Blaster's Changer, taking him out of the fight. Stepping back to avoid the abrupt billow of steam, he turned to see how Syd was faring.

Not so well, as it turned out.

She and the Blaster were locked together on the other side of the corridor, both of them struggling for control of the shovel. With a sharp, wrenching motion, the Enforcer tore the improvised weapon out of his teammate's hands. Contemptuously tossing it away, he raised his other arm, which was already beginning to glow with the gathering energy of a Plasma Beam.

The sight made his thoughts go blank.

Your team depends on you for their survival, the voice in his memories callously observed.

Old instincts reared up. Old fears.

Protect your team.

This time, Ryan's attack struck true, the pole slipping between helmet and chestplate to catch the enemy on the base of his neck. The ability went off early, burning harmlessly into the floor as he collapsed, already reverting from his transformed state.

Staring down at his unconscious opponent, Ryan gradually came back to himself.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Syd said, dusting off her hands with a tremulous smile. "Easy."

"Easy," he echoed, then pulled her into a tight hug.

"Aww... were you worried about me, big guy?" she muttered into his chest.

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Well, I wasn't scared," she began, then paused. "...not much, anyway. I was sure that you'd keep me safe." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "If Amy was with us, I bet that she'd be all hot and bothered from watching you beat off a pair of dudes with your long, hard shaft. I know I'm ready to –"

The base alarm changed pitch, increasing in volume.

"CAUTION. ADDITIONAL INTRUDERS DETECTED IN PRIMARY CENTRAL JUNCTION. ALL ENFORCERS REPORT TO PRIMARY CENTRAL JUNCTION."

Ryan and Syd glanced up at the ceiling, then exchanged an exasperated look.

"New plan," they said at the same time.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"That depends," she replied. Squatting on her heels, she unhooked the Changer from the nearest fallen Enforcer's waist, then held it out towards Ryan. "Are you thinking that you should salvage these two Changers to get me another Level, which would reset my cooldown timer so that I can transform and go kick some ass while you finish the mission?"

"...no," he admitted, taking the offered device as she moved over to the other fallen Enforcer and repeated the process. "That's, uh, way better than what I was thinking, actually."

"I don't even want to know," she said, shaking her head. "It probably involved more shovels, didn't it?"

"No!" he said defensively. "Well, okay, yes, but..."

Convert Change Matrix [Mark-I Silver] to salvage?

CAUTION: This process is final and cannot be reversed!

Confirmed. Salvaging Change Matrix [Mark I Silver]...

Change Matrix [Mark-I Silver] has been converted to salvage.

Change Matrix [Mark-II Amethyst] has been upgraded.

Change Matrix [Mark-II Amethyst] has gained an Effective Level!

All Change Matrix functions have been reset.

"Congratulations," he told her. "I think you might just be the first human on Earth to reach Level 7."

"Oh, man, Amy is going to be so fucking jealous when she hears that," she said smugly. "Alright, boss, no time to waste... hurry up and transform me already. I'm going to show those fuckers what a real hero looks like."

TEMPORAL FLOW ADJUSTED.

COMMENCING TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE!