New Human

Meanwhile, Nemesis continues to tear through the drones that now seem as though they are desperate to combat her. She wonders if the other Olympians are carving through them with as little issue as she is. She hopes they are she thinks just as one of the drones crushes her ankle within its outstretched grasp. Nemesis topples to the ground, screaming in pain. She feels the agony for only a few seconds before the nanomachines in her body suppress and then fix the damage. She slashes at the drone, cleaving the skull at the temples. Then she drives both blades downward into its body, pinning it to the rocks below, so that she can clamber back to her feet. She casts her gaze around and finds the street is empty, littered with bodies and a few small fires. Nemesis snarls as the drone continues to scratch and claw, desperately fighting to get free. That is until Nemesis crushes its head beneath her boot. The putrefying gore squelches out with a sickening noise as she pulls her blades free and then swipes them across the torso cutting the body into three. The drone goes limp now that it is finally dead, but as she turns to walk away she hears a slow clapping behind her.

Nemesis spins round but sees only shadows. However, she knows what she heard and stares deep into the darkness.

“Hello…little one.” Hades voice booms from the darkness seconds before he steps forward to reveal himself. His body towers over Nemesis by several feet, his body mechanical and without an ounce of flesh, bar the face which is too white to be alive. She recognises the face immediately, but it looks wrong. It should look alive, be tanned and olive coloured with black hair and yellow eyes, but it has none of that. Though she can’t quite place how she knows the… And then it all comes rushing back to her. She remembers the face, its name and worst of all, what it did. Hades killed her sister Eris, without mercy and without pause. Eris had been suspicious of Hades and what he’d been doing in secret. She knew he was up to something but she had never guessed it would be experimentation on people. He’d shot her, in the head. If only I’d have listened, Nemesis tells herself as her rage boils over.

“You killed my sister!” Nemesis roars with more rage than she can ever remember feeling before in her life. And for Nemesis that says a lot.

“Ah, you remember.” Hades booms with a voice she doesn’t recognise as ever having been his before a disgusting smile creeps across his face. He is enraged that his drones failed and doesn’t understand it. At least it gives him the chance to end Nemesis himself now and that pleases him greatly.

“I had worried the damage might have been too much. I know how weak you are.” Hades taunts as his synthetic tongue runs across his metal fangs.

“You’ll pay for what you did Hades.” Nemesis promises as her eyes burn brighter. She grips her nanoblades tightly in her hands as she drops into a defensive stance ready to fight.

“Come now little one. You don’t really think you can best me. I am Hades.” Hades roars triumphant before the fight has even begun.

“You’ll be scrap when I’m done.” Nemesis fires back angrily and through gritted teeth as she sneers.

“Come then. Show me what you’ve got.” Hades concludes with a wave of his hand that calls for her to begin their battle.

Nemesis wastes to time as she explodes into a sprint, roaring angrily as she does, but Hades simply raises his blade covered arm to block her attacks. He howls with laughter as she slices at his metal body. Her blades glance and bounce off his husk until he punches her. The impact sends her flying and she only stops sailing through the air when her body slams into the wall of a building. Hades roars with laughter as her pain is almost immediately suppressed and then the damage repaired, allowing her the stagger back to her feet.

“Pathetic.” Hades exclaims with a shake of his head.

“How you ever beat my drones out in the wastes I will never know.” Hades continues as he lumbers toward Nemesis.

“Because like you they underestimated me.” Nemesis retorts as she merges her twin nanoblades into a single heavy blade, which she grips with both hands as she launches herself up into the air, the blade above her shoulder. Hades cackles sure of her failure as he raises his arm to block her strike, but the blade slams and slices straight through his metal left arm, cutting deep. Hades recoils in shock as Nemesis begins to turn the blade widening the gash as it continues to slowly cut deeper. Hades wrenches his arm away and then punches at Nemesis but she deftly evades his strike and simply heaves the blade and with the flat edge of the sword slams it into his clenched metal fist. Hades’ right fist explodes into shrapnel because of the force, while Nemesis spins and then thrusts the sword downward skewering Hades’ arm. He bellows with rage as his metal fangs flash and his face morphs into a twisted scowl all while he tries to rip his arm free. But Nemesis keeps her grip on the hilt forcing Hades at throw his free but damaged left arm at her. She evades it just in time, but the break allows Hades to pull the sword free from his right arm. As he holds the blade though his left hand begins to glow red and burn as the nanoblade begins to turn molten. Hades roars as he casts the blade away, hurling it toward Nemesis who blocks the flat edge with her right arm. The blade is sent spiralling end over end in the air above her before she grabs hold of the hilt, confidently.

“Enough of this game.” Hades thunders as he rips his right hand free to expose the plasma cannon barrel below which he unleashes upon Nemesis.

She jumps, dives, dodges and ducks the blasts as she tries to get close, but as she does he rips at her shoulder. Nemesis screams in agony as Hades hauls her off her feet and holds her level with his own face. He snarls and sneers as he squeezes her shoulder, but she doesn’t scream now. Her eyes simply burn as she grits her teeth and thrashes trying to break loose.

“The end is nigh little one.” Hades cackles as he raises his plasma cannon and presses it against her gut.

“You were always the weakest. And this world is survival of the fittest.” Hades roars as he slams the barrel of the plasma cannon hard into her gut just as the weapon completes its charge and fires. The plasma shot splashes against Nemesis’ abdomen, but she lets out no scream. Instead her eyes simply go wide and she lets out a brief exhale.

Hades roars with laughter as he throws her body away like she’s some broken toy, unwanted and uncared for. Her body slams and skids along the rock floor, a black hole through her gut, her eyes flickering closed as Hades raises his arms high, beaming with joy at his victory. He knows the other Olympians will serve as no match for him.

“Hades!” Athena roars as she, Ares and Hecate race toward him.

But the thing before them isn’t Hades, not really. It simply wears his face, albeit a face that is pale and dead.

“Nem!” Hecate exclaims as she spots Nemesis’ battered body lying on the ground lifeless.

“Brother, how could you?” Ares asks, his eyes burning with anger.

“None of you understand. You are all weak.” Hades sneers as he spits his words.

“First Eris, now Nemesis. You really are a monster.” Athena spits back.

“I have become what is necessary for us to survive.” Hades bellows arrogantly and triumphantly.

“You aren’t even human anymore.” Hecate replies as Hades blocks the space between them and Nemesis’ body. She’s dead and Hades thinks that they need to accept that now. Nemesis was weak, like they are weak and there is no place for weakness anymore.

“I am more than human. I am the new human. As soon all will be.” Hades exclaims, his arms spread wide as the drones swarm seemingly out of nowhere. They wash over the three Olympians who slash wildly but there are just too many of the drones who pile onto them before morphing into an endless mass. The mass restrains them even as they desperately and pointlessly try to break free.

“You are insane brother.” Ares shouts knowing that Hades truly is lost to his madness.

“No. It is you who are insane. You believed an old fool. Apocalypse is coming and you will never be ready.” Hades counters.

“And you will?” Athena questions.

“Nothing can beat me. Nothing! I am the pinnacle of technology. Cybernetic perfection. Unrivalled. Unstoppable.”

“So how come you haven’t stopped me.”

Hades spins round sure his ears cannot be hearing that voice, but somehow before him stands Nemesis, smiling smugly. His eyes go wide in shock. He doesn’t understand. It isn’t possible, he thinks.

“What? How? This cannot be!” Hades explodes violently.

“You wanna see power. I’ll show you power.” Nemesis says as she breaks into a run, nanoblades in her hands as she sprints toward the towering mass that is Hades.

Hades sneers back at her as he roars and throws himself forward ready to crush her body to dust. But Nemesis is quicker, much quicker than he anticipated as she slices past him, cutting at his cybernetics, severing links on his left side. His left arm goes limp as he spins round to fire the plasma cannon. However, Nemesis leaps higher and drives her foot down hard on the end of the barrel as he fires. The shot blasts into the rock floor at Hades feet, the detonation and shockwave sending him hurtling backward. Nemesis lands atop his chest moments before driving her blade into him. He roars in anger as he flails his right arm, but she skewers it with her other blade much to Hades shock. Then she yanks it upward, slicing through the components rendering it useless as she jumps off him allowing him time to clamber back to his feet.

Hades, blinded by his rage, roars and races headlong toward Nemesis as she morphs her nanoblades into the single heavy blade again, just in time for her to evade his lunge and in response brings the heavy blade down. It slices through his left shoulder severing his limp useless left arm, which thuds to the ground as he spins round trying to smack her with the dead plasma cannon, but he misses. Nemesis simply jumps away, her heavy blade balanced atop her right shoulder as the thirst for revenge burns in her eyes.

“Had enough yet?” Nemesis asks taunting Hades.

“Never! You won’t defeat me!” Hades roars in defiance.

“I hoped you’d say that.” Nemesis replies seconds before she explodes into a run.

Hades also breaks into a run, his heavy metal feet booming as they impact the rock beneath them. His right arm outstretched as he reaches for Nemesis who suddenly jumps and swipes across his face as she passes over his shoulder. She lands harmlessly on the other side of Hades her back to him as he turns to reveal his face carved open. Beneath it there is nothing but metal.

Hades roars angrily as he uses the barrel of the plasma cannon to tear the weak ragged dead flesh of his face free so his metal skeletal face is on show entirely. Athena, Ares and Hecate all recoil in shock. They had never imagined that Hades would discard everything that makes him human in pursuit of his madness. They could tell there was little left of his organic body, but this they never expected.

“You will suffer!” Hades announces with a tone so low that the walls rumble in response.

But Nemesis says nothing as she turns to face him with an expression that says she isn’t so sure he should be saying something so confident.

Hades launches toward her but Nemesis makes no attempt to attack or evade him as he gets ever closer. Then her eyes flare and shine red as she steps to the side and brings her heavy blade down. Hades realises too late as the blade slams down and cleaves his head from his body. Though, Nemesis doesn’t stop there as she quickly spins and then drives the blade down into the headless metal torso. The momentum of the airbourne frame continues to allow her blade to carve the body in half until its momentum finally ends and metal hulk crashes to the floor.

“This is not the end. I will never be defeated. I will rise again. You can’t stop me.” Hades protests loudly while Nemesis looms over his severed metal skull within which still resides his organic brain.

“This is for Eris!” Nemesis proclaims as she brings her boot down on the laughing head of Hades, crushing the metal skull and the brain of Hades beneath her boot with a sickening noise. His laugh continues on for a time even as the drone mass holding Ares, Athena and Hecate crumples and fails allowing them to worm themselves free.