★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] And Tomorrow...The World! •22pp•

[El_Roy_1999]

He took a while to get his wits back. Then he said:
"I'm amazed this worked. We should probably be dead."
She nodded:
"Me too. Seriously, I just prayed all the way down."
"Apparently, it worked well. Can you walk?"
"I'm a little bruised, but that's about it. I guess I'll heal in a few moments."
He shook his head in disbelief. Maybe that supersoldier thing would work out eventually. The pair unpacked the equipment and Gladys tried to find out where they were relative to her prison. Eventually, she said:
"There's a shaft for waste disposal above us. We should be able to get in this way."
"So we're on top of the world and still wading in shit, aren't we?"
"Yes, but we have the stars above us."
He smiled as he looked up. Indeed, they seemed much closer than he had ever seen them. It was a little romantic.
Gladys started her ascension. He soon followed her. Watching her pull her massive, powerful body up, sometimes with just one hand, almost made him jealous. He knew that even before that supersoldier treatment, she probably could do this, but watching her almost fly up the vertical rock face was incredible.
Soon, they reached the mouth of the sewer. He had expected this to be sticky with shit, but it wasn't. Actually, it was quite empty. He shrugged. The Master and his friends probably used every part of the proverbial buffalo. They stepped inside. Immediately, they reached a solid steel gate made of large bars. Gladys harrumphed and said:
"I'll see what I can do."
"Try not to get hurt. Those bars look massive. We could use a lever or something. Or we could force the lock."
Before he could even start, she grabbed two of the longer bars and began pulling them apart. He watched as her wide back started to spread. With every new attack, the bars seemed to bend a little further. She was incredibly strong, he had to admit. He probably wouldn't have managed to move those things even a little and still, she slowly and steadily forced them apart. Her muscles were throbbing as she took off her jacket. Her back looked like an anatomy chart now. He had seen muscles like these only once at a freak show. She pulled again, little tears appearing in her shirt. She cursed under her breath, then attacked again. Finally, the space was big enough to squeeze through. She gasped and tried to get all the blood from her face. He said:
"Thank goodness. I thought you'd have a heart attack!"
"I don't know. That was really hard. Still, we have to be quick."
They climbed inside.

[El_Roy_1999]

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[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth stood up carefully. There were moments when something in her body was off. Maybe she had grown too fast? She couldn't tell. Introspection was no longer something she thought to be necessary for her. She walked over to Karel's eye and asked:
"What's going on?"
The machine had been waiting for her to respond, but when it understood that she was still occupied with her two women, it had opted to leave her alone.
Hilde asked:
"What's up?"
Ruth turned to her and gave her a sign that she was taking care of it. The machine slipped out a printed slip of paper. Ruth slid her fingers over it, noting the slight elevations the printing process had produced. She understood. Quietly, she walked over to Hilde and Little Phoenix and said:
"I am not yet entirely certain of everybody's loyalty, so we'll treat this with a certain discretion."
She could almost smell their confusion. She took a piece of paper and quickly wrote down a few sentences. She handed them to her companions, who nodded. Then, she quickly burned the paper in the fireplace. She had been careful not to allow Karel to see it.
Then, she said:
"Relax, enjoy a little break and I'll be back soon."
She cleaned herself up and slipped on her uniform, careful to take her weapons with her. No sense in getting everybody nervous or even allowing her opponents, such as Velasquez to attack her position now. If everything worked according to plan, she'd be rid of him in the inevitable counterattack.
After this, the only loose end would be Washington. And that fool would be easy to deal with.

At the same time, Gladys led the Captain through the labyrinthine back-alleys of the gigantic fortress. She had to help him occasionally to climb up into the rafters or balance over some rather flimsy rail under the ceiling, but all in all they progressed nicely. The first big step would be to reach her hideout and get the supplies and materials there. However, before that, there was another thing to do. She had to visit Washington. It wasn't that she trusted him, but she just wanted to know what he was thinking about the recent events.
After a while, the Captain asked:
"Private, I don't want to sound impatient, but how long is it going to take to find a hiding spot? Our trick won't protect us forever and I wouldn't want to be caught in the open here."
"Sir, we have a little thing to take care of before we proceed. I know it's a risk, but I really need to clear this up. If we don't fix this first, we're going to run into trouble later."
"It's about Washington, isn't it?"
"I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to notice."
"I have met a few women in my lifetime, and you are definitely the worst at hiding your feelings." He took her hand and looked her in the eyes. "Listen, Gladys. This is something you shouldn't do. You are aware that you might have to kill him. It's actually very probable."
"And you think I wouldn't be able to do it?"
"No. I'm certain you'll be able to force yourself. But that would be another thing that would ruin your life. If I kill Washington, I kill a close friend I respect. That's bad. But if you kill him, you kill a man you love. That's worse. Also, I've been in the killing business for decades now and I think I'm better at it. He wouldn't suffer."
She stared at him. He was making sense, of course, but to see all this stated bluntly and clearly like that made her uneasy.
"I understand."
"So I'll talk to him. If he's as horrified by what happened as we are and if there's a slight bit of reason, I'll get him on our side and we'll manage. If not ..."
"... you kill him."
"That's the way it is."
She nodded.
"Good. Well, not good, but I have to accept this. Now. We'll meet at the spot I told you as soon as you're done. We resupply and we take on the woman."
"Alright."
He left. Gladys remained where she was. The whole enormity of the situation hit her.

[El_Roy_1999]

Washington was in his quarters. Ever since the Master's death and the destruction of the capitals, he felt sick. It was hard for him to stay calm. It was his fault. He had screwed this up. He had had the chance to stop all this. He should have seen that someone would snap and it had been pretty obvious it would have to be her. Ruth had been turning herself into a living weapon over the last months and he had just ignored this. He had simply rested on his laurels, glad to have ratted out his friends to the cult. He had felt so clever.
What a fool he had been ...
After all, that was one of the main tenets of the Open and Closed Hand: Mankind always fools itself, so fooling it is what man has to do. He had thought this meant only the others. He had believed that the Master was above all of this. And now, he was stuck. If he went back on his decision, he would stand alone. Besides, he was quite certain Ruth would pull this off. She was insane enough to just destroy everything in her path and then, there would be nothing to go back to. His head was hurting again. The migraine had held him in the darkness of his room for days. His mind wasn't working well.
Sometimes, he suspected that Ruth would just kill him. She was planning on destroying the others too, he was certain.
He thought of Gladys. At least, she had survived, at least he hoped so. Was this his redemption? Or was this just another attempt at fooling himself? Saving the woman he loved just to ... save her for later? What a weakling he was!
He went back to circling the room. Somehow, he had become isolated. Karel no longer reported important information to him. Someone was moving quickly. Was it Ruth or was she just another tool in this fight?
He sat down. His head hurt. The pain was hammering in his skull. He rubbed his temples. That didn't do much good, but at least, he lived in the illusion that he could do something. He opened his nightstand's drawer and took the handgun out. He checked it.
He had kept his service pistol. It was somehow more "real" than the new-fangled stuff the engineers poured out.
He loaded and cocked it and contemplated it. That was the easy way out. He could write a note to explain it all. That wouldn't do much good. Whoever found him would find the right words to push his or her agenda.
He sighed.
This wasn't getting him anywhere.
He put the gun away again, carefully removing the ammunition. He said:
"Karel, please turn on the light."
The machine slowly increased the level until it started to hurt bad. With a wave of his hand, he made it clear that it had been better before. In the twilight, he took out the card he'd been working on. Maybe that was the thing to do?
He grabbed his pen and tried to concentrate.

The Captain sneaked around in the base as quickly as he could. He could almost feel the tension that ruled this place. It was as if they would all pull out their knives any moment and get stabbing. He hoped he could at least convince Washington. As for van Rothe, he was quite certain she was wasting her time. He sighed. He had called her Gladys. He shouldn't have. It was unprofessional and it was a bad idea when he was about to talk to her lover.
A bad idea.
Gladys reached her former hideout. She had her gun ready, but a first look showed that the place was still as she had left it. Good. This would be a base from which to work. The little detour before this was a good safety. She set down the box. Good. Now to get ready for the big talk.
At this moment, a huge shape emerged from behind a stack of crates. Gladys was surprised. Her gun went up and she took aim. She stared at the most massive, incredible shape she had ever seen. What was that supposed to be? It took her a moment to understand what she was looking at.
If her own physique was Olympian, this one was godlike. The creature that stood in front of her was a goddess. Only now did it dawn to her that this was her interrogator. The titaness looked down on her and asked:
"You're looking for me?"
Gladys was speechless for a moment. Then, she managed:
"How did you do that?"
"You've been a great help. You brought us the technology we needed. In a way, you are the agent of your own demise."
Ruth lifted her powerful arms. Ripples of muscle went trough her body. She said:
"I have to thank you. You've been a great help. You distracted everybody, you brought me this incredible strength and you killed the Master, the only person that stood in the way of world domination. You are perfect in every way."
Gladys stared at her.
"But ..."
"Oh, come on. Didn't you notice the little help you had every now and then? The 'secret hideout'? The fact that no one checked your credentials when stealing a plane? Do you think we are so stupid?"
"So it was a trick?"
"It was mostly improvising. But your initiative went the right way. So, thank you. If you have any desire to change sides, you've already made yourself known and liked."
"You're offering me a place in your organization? Isn't that stupid? How can you hope that I'd agree?"
"You don't have to. But you're already mostly on our side anyway: We don't care about your sex as long as you do your best. We won't look down on you if you fuck Washington."
Gladys recoiled at the way the other woman spoke, but her words did strike a chord. Ruth continued:
"We're offering you freedom. Self-fulfillment. The chance to change the world for the better. The other side offers you ... nothing. You're stuck: With a body and a life like yours, you can't even be a housewife. It would be a waste, too. Are you seriously going to defend that? Besides, this world is going to burn anyway. And then, we'll build a new one."
The shorter woman hesitated. The horrifying part was that her counterpart was making sense. She lowered her gun.
Ruth smiled. The poor, confused kid. Her mind filled with plenty of nonsense, made into a little soldier and not even aware of what she was fighting for. She held out her hand:
"Relax. We're going to watch the fools sacrifice themselves for their masters. Yes, I know they're coming. And that's why they have no chance."
Gladys was shocked.
"You're going to kill them all?"
"What else should I do? They don't understand. You do. Now, will you come with me?"
Behind Gladys, Little Phoenix and Hilde stepped out of their hiding places.
"Don't worry. These are just my companions. You'll find they're excellent people."

[El_Roy_1999]

They arrived at the command center. Ruth was careful not to let Gladys out of her sight, even if she trusted Little Phoenix and Hilde to intervene should she try anything funny. She was pretty certain that her explanation had stuck a nerve, but this had to settle. She could literally smell the doubt. Sometimes, she wondered how she had been able to live such an isolated, numb life. Only since Hilde's operation was she able to truly understand people and it was as if somebody had lifted a veil. Incredible. She wondered whether the effect could be increased further. Maybe there were some more limits to be conquered. She was quite certain there were.
Gladys looked around. There were many strange machines, a big table and a lot of communications equipment. Through a cupola, they could see the night sky. One of the operators said:
"Madam, they are approaching."
Ruth smiled and asked:
"How long until they're here?"
"Twenty minutes. We have plenty of time to prepare."
"Very well. Send up some scouts to show them that we're prepared."
Gladys asked:
"How can you tell that they're coming?"
Ruth smiled:
"A new machine our engineers have developed. It uses radio waves. I haven't yet had time to look at the specifics and I'm beginning to doubt I can understand them, but it's like a kind of telescope that spots any approaching enemies. Fascinating and very useful."
Gladys was impressed. Ruth ordered the antiaircraft troops to get ready. She said:
"Honestly, I doubt they will even reach the ground alive. Fools."
Gladys tried to stay calm, but seeing these men ride to their doom was hard to bear. She suddenly realized she had planned to convince that woman to stop the hostilities, but that she had completely forgotten about it. After all, the available power was so overwhelming that she seemingly had no bargain chip at her disposal.

That's when the systems crashed.

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth listened intently. Nothing. Everybody was holding their breaths. She could sense the panic and confusion well up, the smell of sweat rising. It was sabotage. Something had gone wrong with Karel. After the repeated crashes, the engineers had checked the system, but they had only found a few problems. They had declared they had found the errors and fixed them. And now this. The timing was too perfect for it to be an accident. She recovered, then said:
"Hilde, take some engineers with you and get the system running again. Little Phoenix, escort our prisoner to her previous room. I'll take care of the welcome of our proud soldiers."
With a quick nod, she had one of the assistants take over the command center and headed out. The second-in-command immediately dispatched runners to start emergency procedures.
The older woman called up three of the technicians, switched on her torch and headed to the computing room. After running down a flight of stairs, they reached the gate and found it locked. She knocked on it. No response. Well then. She took a few steps back and charged. With a crash, the door gave in. She let the light sweep the room.
"Anybody here?"
It was completely silent. Compared to the thunderous racket the thinking machines produced, it was somewhat creepy. Nobody down here. She walked to the control board, a kind of huge organ, and looked for the switches. She found them and tried to turn on the machine. Nothing happened. She had to admit that she didn't know much about it, so she called the technicians. They went to work on it but soon declared:
"It won't work. We're locked out. We actually have to take the whole thing apart if we want to make it work again."
"Really?"
"Of course. For now, we'll have to manage without it."

Little Phoenix led Gladys through the corridors. She said:
"Faster. I don't have much time."
"That's too bad for you."
The tall Asian musclewoman smirked:
"If it were up to me, I'd just shoot you now and be done with it. It's just Ruth who insists you might still be useful."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I have little need for ..."
She was abruptly interrupted by Gladys spinning back kick. She dropped down immediately and evaded Little Phoenix' shot. Then, she turned around and knocked the gun from her hand. Little Phoenix reacted with lightning quickness and stepped into a fighting stance. She unleashed a flurry of blows against her opponent. Gladys barely managed to sidestep the first attacks, dodge the second volley and finally block the last attacks. Little Phoenix didn't care and completed her onslaught with a sudden kick that caught Gladys' arm. There was a cracking sound as her radius broke. Pain hit her hard and she had to concentrate not to lose sight of her opponent. Luckily, her reflexes kicked in and she managed to evade the follow up that would probably have shattered her jaw.
She shrugged off the attack and concentrated on keeping up with her foe. Little Phoenix wasted no words. It was clear that this was a talented and well-trained fighter, able to control her emotions and using the extended reach of her legs to maintain her advantage. However, Gladys noted two things amidst the raging exchange of attacks: First, her own upper body was probably stronger and Little Phoenix focused mostly on striking. Second, her kicks were fast, but compared to punches, they were rather slow.
Using that to her advantage, she switched her strategy and charged.
Little Phoenix was surprised. She retreated to get in another kick, but Gladys was already within her reach and too close to land an effective hit. She tried to jump back, but the hulking blonde slammed into her and slung her enormous arms around her. She screamed and tried to punch her, but Gladys used her weight to her advantage and threw her to the ground.
They landed on the ground, the mass of the taller fighter concentrating on Little Phoenix' chest. Despite her outrageous muscularity, she could feel her ribs crack. The pain was horrifying. Gladys slung her arms tighter and started squeezing. The situation was dire. Little Phoenix craned her neck and bit at Gladys' ear.
The blond woman shrieked as her enemy ripped off one of her lobes. For a moment, her grip loosened. Little Phoenix head-butted her, breaking her nose. Gladys was blinded for a moment, but instead of withdrawing, she went berserk.
Without warning, a torrent of blows rained down on Little Phoenix. She was caught under the titaness and tried to deflect her sledgehammer fists. She felt her cheekbone being ground into powder and screamed for help when another blow broke her teeth.
Only when she gave up and laid low did Gladys leave her.
The victor stood up, her face covered in blood. Out of her nostrils, a steady stream poured down. Her broken arm was strangely deformed by her own attacks. She almost collapsed immediately. Gladys barely managed to lie down without landing on her wounded arm. She slowly realized that she was badly hurt and that she had probably killed her opponent. She couldn't tell now. Also, reinforcements were probably heading her way.
She had to leave, but she didn't have the strength.
Was this the end of the road?

[El_Roy_1999]

Outside, the gliders carrying the supersoldiers approached. In front of them, several squadrons of bombers accompanied by fighter planes prepared their attack. They were to be the diversion to allow the gliders to land. The young men were nervous. This was a strange contrast: On the one hand, each one of them was a paragon of humanity, tall, muscular, powerful and immune against most things that might hurt lesser men. They wore heavy armor and carried guns able to destroy a tank with a single shot. They had been drilled mercilessly over the last weeks and prepared for this attack. On the other hand, they were young, inexperienced and afraid. Even though their training had focused on psychological hardening and on the creation of an esprit de corps, they were still teenagers.
Still, no one would dare show weakness in front of their comrades.
The squad leaders, chosen amongst the most able trainees and further prepared for their role, went through the standards of motivation.
This was the revenge the nations of the civilized world were craving. The mindless destruction of the Master's creatures would be answered with technical precision and utter lack of mercy. When that day was over, the Master's dream would lie in ruin and then, the recovery process could start.
What a time to be a young, virile fighter!

Strangely, there was no reaction at first. The bombers opened their bays and started their attack run. Only after what seemed an eternity did the antiaircraft batteries start their fire and they were unexpectedly off. The shells soared and detonated, but there was a lot of ranging in and hardly any effective concentration of force. In the same the fighter wings that had taken off seemed uncoordinated. They did fight, but their attacks were largely ineffective. Despite their tremendous technological advantage, they barely managed to down the distraction before loosing focus.
The crews of the bombers were almost relieved as they dropped their deadly cargo.
The gliders started their descent. Once again, the defensive fire proved to be ineffective. They sped downwards, shells exploding around them. Something was off. How could the Master's force, an army that had struck against the hearts of Western civilization, fail so completely?
The gliders touched down.
Shouts of "Out! Out! Go!" accompanied the disembarkation. The supersoldiers were greeted by sprays of machine gun fire, but their response was quick and decisive. The shells of their guns were sufficient to eliminate this first line of defense. They swarmed the area, finding strong points and setting up crossfire positions. Several squads advanced on the main gate and planted explosive charges. Meanwhile, any remaining defenders were mopped up.
Before the charges could go off, the gates opened.

The supersoldiers dropped down, readied their weapons and awaited the attack.
When it came, they were shocked.
The first part was a flash of missiles that instantly pulverized one of their positions. Then came the second part. With a ear-shattering clanking, an automated suit of armor marched out, all guns blazing.
The soldiers fired, but their guns were worthless against the machine's plating. Ruth sat in the cockpit, her eyes and ears open. The explosions hurt her senses, but she didn't care. This was battle, and she loved it. She rattled off a burst of shots, watching the fools die in droves. She saw what they were trying to do and laughed. Textbook knowledge.
Seeing as they couldn't penetrate her suits front armor, they tried to move to her back. Nice, but pointless. She flicked the switch and engaged the flamethrowers she had had installed there. The screams made her even more aggressive. Wonderful!
She charged the hastily thrown together defenses and tore them apart with the powered arms of her machine. The knocked-out assistance system made the machine slow and cumbersome, but with her inhuman muscles, it wasn't too hard to keep it moving. It wasn't the same as just flowing through her attacks, but then, screwing up their morale was more than worth it.

More gliders landed. She laughed and shot two of them down, sending them crashing to the ground. She incinerated the next one before its passengers could even try to get out. She flicked on the public address system and shouted:
"Is that all you got? I was told there would be supersoldiers! This isn't even regular fare. This is a shame!"
The men tried to reform their positions and mount an attack. Another volley dispersed them. At last, one of the gallant young men gave up, grabbed his gun and charged, screaming his rage and hitting the armor's knee joint with his gun. He pulled the trigger, detonating the gun, the armor's leg and himself.
Ruth shrieked when her machine collapsed, but she just clambered out, dodging the follow-up with ease.
"Ah, finally! I thought this would be a waste of my time!"
She unholstered her gun and blade and went to work. So much killing to do!

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys heard the fighting outside. She tried to move, but the pain was still overwhelming. She couldn't tell whether Little Phoenix had just moved, in any case, it wasn't by much. She tried to stop the nosebleed and rearrange her face, while ignoring the pain of her broken arm. She hadn't yet acknowledged the fact that half her ear was missing.
What a shitty situation!
And to think that there were two more of these, one of them a mutant murder giantess. The pain hit her again. She just hoped her body would heal itself again. She closed her eyes. If they found her like that, she was done for. They wouldn't start a big fight, they'd just pull out their guns and shoot her in the head. And that would be it. She spat out a clump of blood. Somehow, she was starting to regret her life choices. Maybe a life of violence wasn't the answer after all.
She was awoken from her misery by a familiar voice:
"There she is!"
It was Washington. She was screwed. The traitor wouldn't have much choice now, even if the lover might still have spared her. She pulled out her spare pistol and opened her eyes, ready to sell her life dearly. She was surprised to find the Captain at Washington's side. She asked:
"What's going on?"
The two men knelt down next to her and started treating her wounds. Washington explained:
"The Captain came to me. We talked. Honestly, when I heard what happened with the attack, I was about to just kill myself."
Gladys stared at him, her face still covered in blood.
"You can't mean that."
"I did. It was just too horrible. They have betrayed all the Master wanted. At least I hope it wasn't his plan in the first place. I'm just confused by all this."
The Captain interrupted:
"The point is, I told him you were here with me and that we have found that it's getting hard to chose sides now, so we'd just try to calm everybody down. Just to get some time to think."
Washington nodded:
"Yes. This isn't over. There's got to be a new way of life after all this, but right now, we just have to stop any more deaths."
Gladys sighed, another spray of blood running from her face.
"Well, good luck with that. Your boss is murdering her way through the supersoldiers outside."
There was another series of loud bangs. Washington stared at them:
"Supersoldiers?"
The Captain shrugged:
"It would take too long to explain, but we've got to stop all this."
Gladys had to suppress a scream as Washington set her arm. She sighed as the pain leveled off.
"I have a plan. We've got to get that thinking machine back to work and make it broadcast something."
The two men were surprised. Washington asked:
"What are you planning to do?"
"Well, I've taken the opportunity to record the big woman's speech when she captured me. It won't do her any favors and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want her minions to hear it. The problem is, I have no idea how to get it on the air."
Washington smiled:
"As a matter of fact, I can help you with that. The current crash is my work. If we act fast, we can make that work before they retake control."
She nodded.
"I'm so glad to have you back."
They helped her to her feet. Time to get some airtime.

[jcboyd]

Your stuff is just great fiction.  Well done. 

[El_Roy_1999]

Your stuff is just great fiction.  Well done. 

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it.

[El_Roy_1999]

The Captain and Gladys followed Washington through the endless hallways of the complex. They had pretty much lost their way in this maze by now. For Washington, everything was plain and simple. Neither of his companions could shake their skepticism. What if this was another feint? After all, he had already betrayed them once. Of course, he seemed sincere, but in this game of tricks and double-crossing, who could say where he really stood?
Finally, he made a gesture for them to stop. He signaled that he would go in first and see what was going on. If there were any problems, he'd call them. The Captain nodded. Gladys gritted her teeth to deal with the pain. She just wanted it to stop.
Washington disappeared through the doorway. They heard him:
"Hilde, what are you doing here?"
"The machine no longer works. The engineers are trying to fix it. I'm keeping an eye on them. Also, should any of the attackers come in here, I can deal with them."
"I see. Well, I'm going to take over for you. Ruth needs you."
"She does? How come?"
"Well, she's outside, fighting. She needs reinforcements."
There was a pause. Then, the older woman said:
"Grant, I think you underestimate her. Also, I'm certain she hasn't sent you for me. After all, you weren't even at the headquarters and the communications are down. I don't know what you're up to, but I'm not buying it."
"Err. Well." Washington lowered his voice. "To be honest, you're right. Someone has sabotaged the machine and I think I saw them outside. If you take care of them, I can see if I can fix that."
Beyond the door, Gladys and the Captain exchanged furious glances. The Captain was about to charge in when Gladys suddenly pulled him away. He wanted to resist, but found he couldn't.
Moments later, Hilde appeared in the door-frame and looked around. She saw them disappear and followed up. Gladys stopped and leveled her gun on her. She shouted:
"Stop right there or I'll shoot you!"
Hilde stayed very calm:
"With that gun? Sure, you'll hit me, but don't think the bullet will get through that armor. And then, I'll have my gun and it'll go right through you."
Gladys hesitated. The older woman advanced on her.
"Besides, you are wounded. I don't think you want a fight. You want to flee. Also, you want to mate."
The amazon was confused:
"What?"
Hilde used that moment to pull out her gun and shoot.
The Captain, who had been distracted by the exchange, threw himself forward and caught the bullet. He fell to the floor, bleeding. As if on command, the machines all around came to life.
Hilde triumphed:
"Wonderful. The male sacrifices himself for the female, aware of his own expendability. This is applied psychology child. Eros and thanatos. Love and death. Put down your gun and I'll let you tend to your man."
Gladys hesitated. The Captain was in pain. Hilde added:
"Be quick. The machine is resurrected, and there will be many guards." She turned to the mechanical eye: "Karel, send a troop here."
"I'm afraid I can't."
"What?"
"I'm afraid this is no longer possible. I do not accept your orders."
"How could that happen? Who changed this?"
That's when Washington hit her on the side of the head with a steel rod. There was a sickening crunch as Karel started speaking in Ruth's voice:
"... distracted everybody, you brought me this incredible strength and you killed the Master, the only person that stood in the way of world ..."
Hilde dropped to the floor, trying to stay on her feet. The right part of her face was bruised and swelling. Washington attacked again, aiming for the temple. Hilde grabbed his weapon, twisted it from his hands and bent it into a hook. She stood back up and threw it at him at full force. The steel struck Washington right in the shoulder, piercing his clothes and his skin. He yelped in pain and fell.
Hilde shook off the pain and picked up her gun. She pointed it at Washington. She was about to shoot, when the wounded man shouted:
"Karel! Stop her!"
There was an instant reaction as the machine started spraying fire-extinguishing foam on her. Washington scrambled away on all fours, trying to find his gun.
Gladys opened fire. Bullets whizzed by. It was hard to aim in all the confusion. Eventually, a bullet hit Hilde's leg. Gladys had spent her last shot. The massive woman stumbled and crashed to the ground. Gladys charged into the pandemonium of foam, sirens and lights while Ruth's voice continued:
"... mostly improvising. But your initiative went the right ..."
She crashed into her opponent, her arm burning with pain. Hilde fought back, focusing on Gladys' wounded arm. Every blow struck it again, worsening the wound. The young woman tried to get a grip on her foe, which was now slick and still surprisingly aggressive. She managed to stun her for a second with a straight blow to the chin. Gladys could feel her fingers bruise, but Hilde was out for a few seconds. She kicked the gun away to Washington and wanted to get to Hilde's knife too, but the other woman put her hand firmly on her broken arm and squeezed.
Gladys felt she was passing out. She heard Hilde snort:
"Ich reiß' Dir den Arm aus, Du Fut!"
Then, there was a horrible pain, accompanied by a discharge.

[El_Roy_1999]

Hilde collapsed. Her body suddenly turned into an unsupported mass that just rolled off Gladys. The woman hit the ground and produced and "oof"-sound. Then, she stopped moving. Her eyes stared into the distance, unfocused. Gladys tried to get up, but her wounded arm hurt so much she almost lost consciousness. She fought back the darkness as good as she could, feeling her fingers go numb. Suddenly, everything was getting cold. She shivered and dropped to the ground. Washington was somewhere nearby, doing something with the Captain. She couldn't tell from where she was lying.
Was that it?
Was this death?
After all that struggle, she'd just die in some ugly concrete corridor on a mountain on the other side of the world?
She cursed herself, the world and all the idiotic adventure fiction she had read that had brought her into that situation. What a stupid way to live! What a stupid way to die ...
Hands appeared above her. There was a light, a deep hum, something soothing. Were those the angels coming to carry her to God's Throne? She was a little afraid. She had a lot of sins to be ashamed of. Now that she thought of it, she had a lot to be afraid of. She couldn't die now. She had to fix this somehow.
She started to pray when she noticed that something was off.
The hands did not lift her up too much. Instead, they merely moved her a little, then started to work on her. Her mind was still clouded, but the pain had subsided.
She looked around.
"What's going on?"
She heard Washington's voice:
"You're badly wounded. Karel is taking care of you."
"Okay ... So I'm not dead?"
"Not yet. But it doesn't look too good."
"That's bad."
She said this in a matter of fact way. She just somehow didn't care. Maybe that was the drug Karel had given her. Washington went on:
"Your arm is pretty screwed up. Karel says it's damaged beyond repair."
"Oh?"
"Yes. He says it would be better to remove it before it gets infected."
"Ah. That's bad, isn't it?"
She was completely detached now. So the machine was going to cut off her arm.
"What part?"
"Err ..."
He turned to the machine, said something, there was an indistinct noise, then he looked back at her.
"The forearm. Under the elbow."
"I see. And there's no other option?"
She didn't really care. She just felt it was the right thing to ask.
"No. He says no. I can't tell."
"Whatever."

[El_Roy_1999]

Ruth sighed. The supersoldiers, if one could call them this, had mostly panicked. Watching their idiotic expressions on top of their godlike bodies was priceless. Someone had probably believed that the mere show of strength would be enough to enforce their will. Well, no. That had failed spectacularly. They were now holed up in the wreckage or still running, probably falling to their death within the next moments or freezing over the next few days. That was satisfying. The Closed Hand had won again. It was good to see that this world was coming to an end.
The muscular giantess stretched. She decided that she'd let the regular troops mop up any survivors. This was something she didn't need to waste her time on. She put her hood back on, welcoming the soothing calm of darkness. Letting all those sensations in was incredible, but it was also tiring. She walked back, passing the fallen giant. It was a little sad to watch that marvel of engineering lying there stranded. How depressing. All that hard work for nothing. Still, they'd probably fix it in the next days and next time, with the thinking machine's help, it would work as planned.
She calmly dodged a bullet some desperate straggler had fired. She didn't even return fire. Being untouchable and invincible was wonderful. She returned inside. Ruth hoped the machines were back up. They had to strike back now. The provocation was there, her enemy had overextended himself. She was now justified in exterminating them. A comforting thought.
As she entered the headquarters, she felt everybody's eyes on her. It wasn't admiration, though. She shrugged. Probably all the blood. She had to be disgusting to look at. Maybe she should just go and clean herself.
Then, she heard her own voice:
"... have to thank you. You've been a great help. You ..."
She hesitated. For the first time in months, she was losing confidence. Slowly, she took off the hood and looked around. Everybody was staring at her. No face was friendly. Little Phoenix and Hilde were missing. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
Journeyman Velasquez appeared, gun in hand.
"Ruth, I'm sorry, but I have to arrest you for treason. Also, for helping in the murder of our Master. Please put up your hands and come with me."
"You're arresting me? You?"
"Of course. How could you? He was my friend. He was your friend. He was the only person to give you a chance."
"And I took that chance. Honestly, Jacob was a nice guy, but he was mostly a con artist. He duped you all into joining his little sideshow and when it worked, mostly due to my hard work, he chickened out. I would have preferred if he had just seen it by himself, but he was an optimistic fool. Did anybody of you seriously believe that you could take over the world with a little agriculture and a few robots? That's not how it works."
The Journeyman hesitated:
"But it did work ..."
"In a way, yes. Because we were in the middle of an economic crisis. But once they would have started to build up their armies seriously, they would have recovered. And we would have lost all these nice followers." She paused. "There was no endgame. Jacob never thought of endgames. He was a wonderful chess player as long as he could blow his opponent away in the first few turns, but then, he'd blow it. I've seen it many times."
"But you shouldn't have killed him."
"Do you think you would have followed me if he had resigned? You're just as foolish as Jacob was. Is this contagious? I probably should wash my hands." She looked at the crimson paws. "Definitely."
Velasquez was now quite silent. The other people at headquarters looked at her in confusion. She was making sense.
She smiled:
"Listen, I know this is horrible. This is something I'll have to live with. Not you. It's not your fault. You did what you could and our goal is in our reach. We will have our new world, our better world. It's a little push, but we're almost there. Our enemies are dazed now. They can't find a good reaction to what we're doing. If we fight among ourselves now, we lose that advantage and we're not getting it back." She opened her arms. "I'm making you an offer: Trust me on this and as soon as it is over, I'll step down and answer for my crime. The cause is more important than the man. Jacob knew that. That's why he appeared in a disguise to you, so that he could be replaced. Imagine him dying of a disease without being done. What would you have done then?"
She felt all eyes on her. She had them. They hated this, but they knew they had no choice. Excellent. Now for the last push.

[El_Roy_1999]

"I don't know. But not this. You're ruining everything the Master worked for. Stop."
Washington had walked in the room, followed by Gladys. She was still groggy from the treatment and the stump of her arm, although well-bandaged, looked atrocious. They had left the Captain in the guard of Karel. Ruth turned around and looked down on Washington:
"Grant, so you're a double traitor now? It's almost funny to watch yourself getting stuck further and further in the mud of your disloyalty."
Washington sighed:
"Honestly, Ruth, just stop. You've caused enough pain already. If you go now, we can still try to find a solution. There's been a terrible crime, but we can beg for forgiveness if we stop now."
"A crime? Grant, this is war. Victims are to be expected. Just like losses."
"What do you know of war? I've fought in a few of them and for me, those were enough."
She was uncertain of how to answer this. Still, she advanced on him. Maybe she could just intimidate him ...
"You're a weak, pathetic excuse for a soldier. If it's too much for you, it would be best for you if you retired. We could get you a nice place once the fighting is over."
Washington shook his head.
"I'm done with you. You obviously think that wars end." He looked up. "Karel, seize her."
The arms of the machine descended on her. Ruth laughed and said:
"Nice, but pointless. Do you think that these can hold me? I'm so much stronger!"
She lifted her arms, her muscles bulging. The other people had to admit that this display was impressive and shocking. Gladys gasped at the unnaturally massive cords of power.
"I can tear apart a tank with these muscles and you sick Karel on me? You're worse than an optimist, you're a fool! I'll crush you like I'll crush the world!"
That's when the other officers and operators got up. Velasquez lowered his eyes.
"It would be best if you left. This is not what Jacob would have wanted."
Ruth laughed:
"Make me, you idiots!"

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys crashed into her. Her charge had been a total surprise, both to her and to her foe. She had just suddenly decided to do it. She was absolutely clear on the fact that Ruth was taller, stronger and more vicious than she'd ever be. The fact that she was missing half an arm was just the gruesome cherry on top. She just hoped that the drugs she had been injected with would dull the pain as she was getting ready to die.
Ruth keeled over. She had been standing there in heroic pose, but when Gladys' heavy body had struck her, she had toppled over a desk. The whole situation wasn't very dignified. They landed on the floor, tried to roll back on their feet and failed. Gladys somehow landed on top and slung her legs around her enemy's waist. She squeezed as hard as she could while pushing her hand into Ruth's face, trying to distract her. Ruth tried to breathe in and recover, but it was as if her lower body was caught in a vise. She noticed she was choking. It was a rather distant realization, she was quite clear that this was a hindrance, not a problem. Also, the hand in her face was annoying at best. She lifted her arms and grabbed her opponent by the shoulders. Bucking, she tried to wrestle her off her body. When that failed, she decided to attempt something more spectacular.
Gladys clung to her enemy for her dear life. She knew that releasing her legs meant getting beaten into a pulp. The sheer pressure Ruth exerted on her shoulders was so painful she would have passed out if it were not for the painkillers. Suddenly, she was lifted into the air as Ruth threw herself up in a kippup and stood on her legs. She stumbled about, Karel's hands grabbing for her. Gladys held her line and squeezed while trying to break the grip on her shoulders. She punched Ruth's face, but the taller woman just jerked her head aside and riposted by biting her. Then, Ruth pulled her closer.
People around them readied their guns, but they hesitated to shoot. The situation was too confusing.
Washington screamed something, maybe a warning, but Ruth just decided to finish this before she passed out and threw herself out of the window with Gladys still on her. The first blow wasn't enough to break the pane, but the next strike was enough. They fell.

The pair struck the fortification below, slipped down the concrete roof and tumbled further down. Gladys felt her body bruise and her skin break, but she held fast. Ruth tried to protect her head as she was overwhelmed by the whole chaos that spun around them. It was getting too much and not being able to breathe was not helping. They crashed on another ledge, spinning out of control and finally landing in a snowdrift. The cold hit them like a sledgehammer.
Gladys tried to hold on to her foe, but it was getting hard to do this. The cold, the pain, the numbness, all this was getting too much for her. She felt her legs slip. Ruth shut her eyes. The darkness and cold was soothing. These last hours had been a lot of stress for her. She calmed down. She felt the warmth of the other woman's body next to her. What a bizarre ending. Should she just roll over and kill her? This woman wasn't weak like the supersoldiers, but she was still an amateur. Also, she was wounded and confused. There wasn't much she had to do.
She sighed.
Let's get this over with.
She rolled over in the snow, the light shining through the whiteness around them. The other woman's legs were now slipping so far that she could breathe in. She pushed her hands through the snow, found Gladys' face and neck and began to wrap her fingers around her throat. The other woman didn't react at first. Maybe she was dead already, cooling in the snow. Maybe she was knocked out. Anyway, time to end this.

[El_Roy_1999]

There was an ear-shattering explosion above them. Clearly the bombers had been ordered to do another attack run, seeing how the supersoldiers had been torn apart. The detonations rocked the foundations of the fortress. Gladys, already cold and choking, was shaken by the shock wave and noticed that the whole snowdrift began to slip. Ruth tried to hold her, but the abrupt movement made her loosen her grip. The pair was separated for a moment when the mass of snow turned into an avalanche. They were carried off down the mountain, the masses of snow accelerating. They were thrown about, striking rocks and sad attempts of vegetation to take hold at this height. The noise was deafening. The avalanche accelerated, setting off a larger and larger mass of snow and ice.
Gladys tried to "swim" to the surface as she had read in some popular science book, but of course, this was pointless. They fell and fell, the snow getting faster and faster. Suddenly, they were flying through the air. She could get short glimpses of the ground below. They would land, and it would hurt.
They crashed into the snow. Without their incredible muscles and the unnatural resilience of their augmented bodies, the pair would simply have been smashed to bits. As they were, they survived, if only barely.
Ruth hung above it all in the remains of a tree, having escaped being impaled by mere inches. Gladys was below, her already wounded body now in very bad shape. She tried to move, but found it very hard. Still, there was something going on in her body. Something confusing ...