Blood poured from my chest, as I laid my head shakily down across the table. Coughing blood from a lung with shrapnel embedded into it. The sounds of my suit yelling at me and performing intensive care. The authorities being called, but they wouldn’t come.

A rival leader had shot me point blank. Despite the hundreds of billions behind me and my force. I was eliminated. It was my own fault, building a regime composed of myself. I had no heirs, no second in commands. I commanded everything with the assistance of my mind alone and my AI assistant.

He gave a hearty chuckle as I saw from behind him, myself. Smiling, a teenager with bright eyes.

I gripped the metallic table, coughing a deluge of upon the floor as the leader laughed harder.

I would not die here, they could wait longer, they would wait longer. They would wait for me. I would not give them leverage over me.

The darkness creeping along the edges of my vision stabilizing as I raised my knees below the desk, before leaning back, and kicking up. The desk rose up and smashed against his chin, snapping his head up. I dropped down to my feet and got against the desk, my back to it as I threw myself against it.

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The desk tipped over, crushing the other leader as he tried shooting at me but couldn’t see where I was.

I panted, coughing more as I felt my lungs burning and my chest hurting. I could barely breathe, but bent my knees “Come on, are you so worthless, you’ll die” I jumped up, leaning forward and elbow slamming the desk “to an old man!”

There was a loud crunch as something broke beneath the desk.

I felt the movement weaken below the desk but didn’t stop. Getting to my feet and keeping the desk still with my legs as put my hands together. I slammed down into the desk, the metal buckling under the force as I heard another crack.

The struggles weakened with each blow, till eventually my nice boots were slick with sticky red. I stood up slamming my foot down one more time before kicking the desk over.

The barely recognizable leader laid there, dead as a doornail. Life drained from those eyes, hands gripping a handgun tightly. Newest model too, pierced right through the pretty tough suit that could stop most small calibers.

My eyes, tired and dull themselves turned towards the figure. With blood dripping from my lips, I gave him that same smile with red teeth.

“Not…even…close” I said, my voice shaky, I moved forward as the adrenaline wore off. Watching the figure back up.

I ran fingers through my silver and wispy hair before laughing, even as it hurt, as my consciousness faded, I knew. I wasn’t dying yet.