Crystal felt a twitch as she injected the next vial into the interloper’s brother.

This has been the third one so far, and surprisingly he still held onto his mind.

Her earlier attempts to control his thoughts and collar his mind had failed due to his genetics.

That same blood, the one that only the goddess should possess…

It infuriated her, as that was her true specialty all along, the subtle manipulations of the mind that her goddess had gifted her.

The Hero’s League was her puppet because of such power, and now the world would be uplifted in her goddess’ image.

But for that to happen…

Crystal clicked her teeth as she went to grab the next vial.

“Girl, we need to catalogue his changes. Hold off on the next batch for a few more minutes.”

Crystal snarled as she turned to face the fool who thought himself the mastermind.

“The ‘goal’ has always been his death, what does it matter that we wait to see what happens?!”

She was already tired of hearing the old man’s excuses about the need to study and understand the myriad other R series.

Crystal already knew, for her mistress had already shown her exactly what they were needed for.

His death will spark the necessary steps towards her rise. Once the last of the vials are injected, not even his enhanced regeneration will allow him to survive.

And of course She will try to save him, it is what she has always done.

Crystal couldn’t wait to see that look of despair.

Sighing she pretended to hear out the old man as he catalogued what she already knew.

Still, she had to humor the old goat for a little longer, just as her goddess demanded.

Come, little Sarah, and see her greatness. Come, and return to your true master.

…

Chimera stopped at the bottom stair as she waited for Sarah and Clonemera to arrive.

She shook her head as they kept trying to take each stair down, instead of going blob and just rolling down the handrails.

“Slowpokes!”

“Huff* screw… you *huff*”

“How are you tired?”

“Stairs, I always hated them!”

Finally at the bottom, the three opened the only door that was there into a massive hallway.

They weren’t alone however, as a few people in lab coats walked around with glazed over looks on their faces, smiles plastered on their faces.

“She comes…”

“Praise be…”

Chimera looked around to see that there was glass doors leading to other small labs in the area.

And she saw the same look on the people inside.

“What the hell…”

“This is so creepy right? Who did this to them?”

Sarah walked down the hallway ahead of them, a look of grim determination on her face.

Chimera spinted up next to her as she tried to get her attention.

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“You alright?”

Sarah turned to look at her, still walking forward.

“I have a very bad feeling, Chimera. It’s a familiar one and that just makes it worse.”

Chimera grabbed a hold of her hand, and felt what she felt.

Ominous.

Foreboding.

A sense of… peace?

Chimera looked up at her with confusion in her eyes.

“What does…”

“We already knew that Monica had a way to mess with people's minds, and I’m betting that’s what happened to these people. There’s this… feeling in the air, and it’s trying to get in my head.”

Chimera didn’t feel any of it though, not unless she was touching Sarah’s hand.

She turned to look back at Clonemera, who also didn’t seem to be bothered by this strange force around them.

“Sarah, are you going to be alright then? What if this thing starts to control you?”

“It won’t… I can feel it sure, but it’s not able to get in my head. Not unless I let it.”

“Why would you? Why would anyone?”

She could see Sarah looking at the folks around her, their enraptured faces staring at nothing, but completely at peace.

“Some people would do a lot to feel peace.”

Chimera thought about that as they walked through the hallway, Clonemera joining them soon after.

The hallway stretched on for a bit, ending in another door.

This one was labeled however.

“R Series Final Stages?”

Chimera read it out as Sarah and Clone got to a side to push the door open.

With a twist, the massive door hissed as a release came loose, opening the door shortly afterwards.

Chimera, despite not really having a stomach, felt it lurch as she stared at the bodies around them.

Security uniforms were on their forms, and many of them had looks of terror on their faces, frozen forever on them.

“We need to keep going.”

Sarah pushed past a few as Chimera tried to follow.

She kept looking back on the faces, the horror on them.

“What did this?”

Sarah didn’t answer her as Clone came up next to them.

“None of the bodies were super, tested them myself. Just regular old joes… so whoever did this is likely enhanced.”

“Not likely, a certainty.”

With all the viscera on the ground around them, it almost didn’t seem like there was any clue as to who or what killed them.

But Chimera felt it after touching her clone’s hand.

Water, earth, metal, and force.

It was the same energy that the death children would use to kill with.

How could that be though?

Terralord’s dead, Technowolf got blasted away, and Aura and Crysta are…

Chimera suddenly felt a chill run up her spine.

“Sarah, you said something before, about how Pox grew his children, correct?”

Sarah nodded, but the confusion in her eyes asked her to continue.

“Where did he get the genetic material to create them?”

Sarah opened her mouth to answer, but the confusion remained.

“I don’t know…”

They continued down the blood soaked hallway, the doors on their left and right opened, but filled with even more bodies.

All killed with the same methods.

Chimera heard a cough as they were making their way into the next room.

It was a gurgling cough, like someone had too many fluids in their throat and were trying to clear it.

She rushed towards the noise, finding one of the security still breathing.

“It’s going to be alright, just hold on a second.”

Grabbing a hold on the man’s wrist, she started pumping solutions to heal his flesh, noticing his face turning a healthy shade after a few minutes.

“Thanks kid, I was pretty sure I was a goner there.”

“No problem officer.”

He seemed to wince at that as he spoke, “stopped being a cop a long time ago. Seems I’m not much of a security chief either.”

Sarah kneeled down next to him as both she and Chimera picked him up to carry him along.

Chimera got uncomfortable with the silence after a while and decided to get details on the only survivor they found.

“So, what’s your name sir?”

“Bradley.”

“Bradley… just what happened down here?”

The security chief seemed to grow despondent at that.

“I’ll tell you, just place me over there.”

After finally going down a stretch of hallway not littered with the dead, Chimera, Sarah and Clonemera placed the chief next to a door.

The chief, checking his side arm and resting his head against the wall after confirming it was still loaded, regailed them about the happenings he experienced below.

…