They passed several science labs where all manner of experiments must have taken place – but Felix assumed, primarily upon people – as there was a solid steel slab of a bed in each room. Some were pristine, whilst others were covered in various substances.
And a few had bodies. They were splayed apart in various stages of dissection. But the corpses were ancient and desiccated. The skin taut and dry, and organs long since shriveled. Following the golden line of Detect Object, they arrived at a T-section. To the right, where the line led, was labeled Stasis Labs. To the left was Operations. “Which way first?” Tinuriel asked.
“This Verse’s Penny is probably dead given the state of the rest of this place,” Felix replied. “Let’s check out Operations and see what was happening here. It might give me a clue as to what’s happening in my own ‘Verse.” He reflexively ducked as he heard loud bangs from the hallway behind them, and took cover behind the wall of the T-section.
Tinuriel grabbed Reth and pulled him with her to take cover with Felix as bullets pinged at ricocheted around the space. Undetectable Step, Felix thought as he activated the Skill.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/z5skH47n/Undetectable-Step-WEBP.webp]image [https://i.postimg.cc/LSwNw1Vt/87-1.webp]
Poking his head out, he saw several humanoid figures. They were heavily mutated like those on the bridge, their arms and legs bulging in odd places with quivering, purple masses. They were covered in various bits and pieces of scrapped together armor, but their weapons looked like they were stock grade from a warehouse. M-16 rifles that spit hot lead down the hallway. Some glass rained down on Felix as the lights were shot out above him. Oh, good idea. He lifted his wrist-pistol and took several accurate shots to darken the whole hallway. Shadestep.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/fw8K3LqL/Shadestep-WEBP.webp]
He warped through the darkness and arrived behind the trio that were firing down the hallway, alternating reloads. Taking his Omniknife, he stabbed the first one in the back of the head as they fell slack – unconscious.
“Fred!” one of them shouted as he turned around, looking for the attacker. “Did one of them survive?”
“I can’t see! Fucking useless!” The other one reached into his pocket for something.
Felix didn’t let him grab whatever he was grabbing, as he stabbed him in the temple and he crumpled to the ground.
“Jimmy!” the remaining one shouted. He was wild, eyes panicked. “I surrender! Don’t kill me!”
Felix had the knife ready, but Lucifer spoke in his head. He’s given up. We can press him for information.
Fine. I’m still knocking him out. Felix slashed across the man’s throat, and he took several staggered steps back before falling prone. The blood sucked back into him after he fell unconscious from blood loss. He’s lucky I have that Talent.
[Experience Awarded = 30]
Tinuriel came up and gently kicked one of them. “Prisoners?”
Felix nodded and grabbed one of them under the arms, “We’ll use one of those rooms we passed. Come on.”
The trio grabbed the unconscious bodies and dragged the men to one of the empty experiment rooms. Digging through the various cabinets, he found several restraints used to tie one to the gurney, and he handed them to Tinuriel along with the Scepter of Truth. “I leave the interrogating to you. Reth, please keep an eye on the entrance. I’m going to check out that Operations wing. The sooner we leave here, the better.”
Reth nodded and left to stand at the large vault door. Tinuriel took the Scepter with a look of excitement on her face and nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll learn everything I can from them.”
Felix left his allies, choosing to keep Undetectable Step active with Ghostwalk. He slipped down the corridor and towards the Operations wing. There was a large door that blocked his path – one with a complex keypad. Some type of palm scanner was on the front. Electrical Bypass.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/TfLCKPQt/Electrical-Bypass.webp]
image [https://i.postimg.cc/kJ0sb051/87-2.webp]
Five Anima got him access as the door slid silently open. The room he found himself in was a command center of some type. There were several still-active monitors set to login screens. The room was empty save for the various banks of computers. Going to one, Felix used Electrical Bypass once more, spending the rest of his Anima to do so. No one here and a dead end. Turning off the rogue Skills.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/byDLdyqS/87-3.webp]
The computer unlocked. Right. What can I find out.
Let me take over. I can interface a lot faster.
Alright. Go for it. Felix felt his awareness narrow as he became a silent observer to his body’s actions. Lucifer’s hands danced across the keyboard, and Felix saw the closest thing he’d ever seen to a hacker in movies. His Versewalker Core flew through thousands of files within minutes. Giving back control. Felix’s awareness re-entered his body and he felt control reasserted. What did you find out?
Department of Defense – Operation: Shimmerblight. The goal of this research outpost was to isolate various genetic diseases and find a way to weaponize them. Participants, like this ‘Verse’s Penny, are kept in cryostasis, and their genetic material extricated as necessary to identify the genetic markers to recreate variants of the disease. Then, it is implanted into abducted illegal immigrants to find a potent, uncurable, genetic-based weapon. The experiment did not result in any fruitful outcomes.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The description disgusted Felix. Using genetic diseases as weapons? Penny’s disease wasn’t horrific, but it was debilitating. Who did they want to use it on?
Enemy population centers. Afflict the citizens with a genetic disease that wouldn’t kill but cripple them. Something that could be covertly applied. It’s devious.
Well, they had the whole AI issue and the two-‘Verse collision.
Speaking of – we should go to where you were taken from. They probably have the Jormungandr AI housed there. And, from my System query when we arrived, I know that the other AI, the defeated Leviathan one, was able to isolate it.
So, we could examine it and find a weakness to exploit on the Basilisk!
Precisely.
[Experience Awarded = 50]
Felix turned and left operations, going to the other hallway, and found a cracked-open security door. As if it was ripped open. That’s not good. He activated Ghostwalk once more and crept forward.
The room was massive. Easily fifty feet across and just as deep, with rows of pods stacked two high. He could see the frosted-over capsules, and within, humans. People who looked normal. Not mutated like the ones they had captured.
Something lurked in the darkness, and his eyes barely caught movement. Looking towards it, he saw something peering at him from the shadows. An unnatural darkness covered it, and he slowly backed away into the hallway and towards his allies. The creature just stared as he rounded the corner and kept backing up, eventually backing into Tinuriel.
“What did you find?” she asked.
“There’s something in there,” Felix whispered.
Tinuriel’s eyes narrowed, and she gripped her blade, using her other hand to give Felix the Scepter. “Allow me.”
Felix glanced down the main hallway and spotted Reth still at his post. Lucifer, can you pass messages along to Escorts?
Nope.
Felix cursed under his breath. “Reth, come on. We might need you up here,” Felix shouted.
Reth came down the hallway, hustling, and got next to Felix. “What’s going on?”
He pointed at Tinuriel who was now entering the room, “Something is in there.”
Reth raised his staff, “Let’s investigate. I’ve got your back.”
Lucifer, Anima Elixir please.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/J1dP1DCW/87-4.webp]
Felix crept behind Tinuriel but in front of Reth. The creature had moved from where he last saw it, and Tinuriel kept walking along the banks of cryopods. She turned to her right as a metallic, dog-like form launched itself at her. She fell to the ground as its mouth caught on her blade, and it tried to claw around her armor.
And then it spoke. A robotic, grinding voice came out of it. “Intruders detected: Initializing restraint protocol.”
Tinuriel grunted and Felix saw her flexing. “Wait!” he shouted to her. “Electrical Bypass.”
image [https://i.postimg.cc/TfLCKPQt/Electrical-Bypass.webp]
image [https://i.postimg.cc/fwb8n7FK/87-5.webp]
The yellow lightning arced from Felix’s fingertips and jolted the robotic-canine. It let Tinuriel go and leaped away before slowly approaching Felix and sitting down. “New commander?”
[Experience Awarded = 21]
“Oh, no. Use Felix instead. What’s your name?”
Tinuriel stood up and brushed herself off. “I should be killing this thing,” she muttered.
The robotic dog glanced at her for a moment before turning to Felix once more. “This Unit is assigned the name of R0V3R.”
“What is your current assignment?”
“To protect the personnel and test subjects. To secure laboratory.”
“Right. Did you break down the door?”
“Affirmative. It was locked. This unit had to perform patrol. Obstacles were removed.”
“Right. Let’s go ahead and…Hey, Lucifer? Can I give this thing free will?”
“If you get it into the VBV, yeah. You can add a Function that gives free will to robotics that aren’t ‘dumb’. This thing qualifies as a smarter piece of tech. Probably cutting edge if not wholly unique in this ‘Verse.”
Felix nodded. As soon as we get back in, I want you to add that.
I’ll add it now.
Felix smiled and crouched, “R0V3R, may I call you Rover?”
“This unit accepts that designation.”
“Good!” he gestured to the pods. “I want to rescue these people. Take them to a safer facility. Does anything in your programming prevent that?”
“Negative.”
Reth came up and knelt next to it. “It looks like a wolf but made of metal. Fascinating.” He reached a hand out to touch, and Rover put its snout into his palm, eliciting a squeal of delight from the mage. “I never thought I’d touch a wolf!”
Felix looked at Tinuriel who appeared extremely angry. “What did you find out from those humans?”
She looked at him and growled, “Nothing. They were as dumb as rocks. Just a group of mutated humans who are holding out against psychic bugs at some triangle-shaped tower.”
“I know that tower. Lucifer, what would the System Admin or Vicky think about us rescuing people trapped in this double-smashed ‘Verse?”
“I’ll ask. Give me a few seconds…We are approved to do altruistic deeds, and she pushed us in the queue. VBV portal incoming.”
The grey oval appeared in space. Felix poked his head inside and called over several people who were milling about. “I need strong folks to help carry some survivors.” He looked to Rover, “How do we safely remove the pods?”
Rover looked at the grey portal. The voice shifted to that of an old-timey news broadcaster from the 1950’s. “The Cryopod Deluxe, brought to you by Archcorp, has a ten-hour battery life. Simply remove the cable at the back, and you, too, can keep your loved ones with you on the go. Defrost them when you arrive!” The voice shifted back. “Is this data sufficient?”
Felix nodded. Within a few minutes, a flood of volunteers from the VBV came through the portal. He directed them to remove the cords and carry the pods through and into the VBV. After fifteen minutes, the whole of the cryo-room was emptied.
[Experience Awarded = 10]
The System is being generous with the experience.
They weren’t expecting a Versewalker to go to a collided pair of Universes and start rescuing people. The Admin might hate my guts, but the System is impartial. You’re doing it a favor, of sorts, so it’s rewarding you.
Felix pointed to the portal, “Alright Rover, in we go.”
Rover went through the portal and its eyes shifted from a glowing red to a soft, bright pink. The voice shifted once more. It sounded like an enthusiastic teenage girl. “Oh, my, gosh! This place is amazing!” The dog turned around in place a few times before sitting and facing Felix. “Wow, okay, this, is, like, totally cap.”
It uses that slang? Felix rubbed his temples, having heard plenty of it from his sister. “Right. So, you’re still Rover?”
It nodded, “Yup! This place is lit. Can I stay?”
Reth nodded, “Yes! Of course! Here, I’ll show you my house.”
Felix groaned internally as Reth led Rover away. He turned to Tinuriel, “Go bring those mutated humans in here please.” She went and a few minutes later came back with the trio tied up. As they came into the VBV, their eyes glazed over, their bodies shifted and returned to that of normal humans, and their eyes shifted from a neon purple to more human colors. Felix crouched next to them. “Hi. I’m Felix Winters. Versewalker. I have a proposal…”
He spent several minutes laying out instructions – they were to return to their people and guide them to the portal in this facility. Felix would keep it open for only three hours. The trio immediately agreed to fetch other survivors, and left the VBV, dashing through the portal and sprinting to where they had left their guns.
Ready to talk to this ‘Verse’s Penny?
No. That’s…weird. We aren’t done in ‘Verse #4003 either. I want to fly across the bay and see if this AI is in the same place as the one is in my ‘Verse.
Reth rejoined them, followed closely by Rover. He turned around, “Okay Rover, I have to go and fight some psychic monsters. Be a good girl!”
The robot dog nodded and it’s tail wagged. “You’re great. You have the rizz. No cap.”
Felix groaned and went through the portal. Tinuriel followed close behind, “I don’t know what this ‘rizz’ is, but apparently, Reth has it.”
Reth shrugged and chuckled, “That thing said many strange phrases that didn’t translate with the Adaptation Talent.”
“It’s…just take it as a compliment,” Felix muttered as they left the secret government facility, climbed atop the elevator, and through the now-pried-open doors. The sight of the lobby was grisly – corpses of both mantis’ and mutated humans were strewn about. All had been killed either during the combat, or with execution-style headshots. “Come on, we have one more place to visit.”