VII

Arriving two blocks from Titan Industries Logan kills the engine and begins heading towards the massive skyscraper. Sneaking their way slowly forward down the abandoned street they come upon scattered remains of dead Remnant.

"Why is there only dead Remnant? Where are the people? Rebecca asks.

"There was some sort of battle here not too long ago it looks like." Logan replies. Turning the corner, they come upon a group of people rushing the entrance of Titan Industries. Some carry weapons like bats and crowbars, others are brandishing firearms. The front door suddenly shatters into glass pieces as a Remnant leaps towards one of the men leading the mob.

The Remnant plunges its hand into the man's chest. Blood sprays across its face as it laughs. Logan sees Bethany and sadness overcomes him. His assistant who he made personally and oversaw each line of code was now a cold-blooded killer. She ruthlessly uses the dead man as a shield as the man with the gun begins firing at her. Tossing the dead man to the ground with ease she leaps at the man with the gun and grabbing his face she slams him into the concrete. A smile comes across her face as she crushes his skull in her hand. The woman with the bat attempts to hit her but she stops it easily and the bat cracks in her palm. The man with the crowbar hits her across the face and a loud thud fills the air. The kind of sound that is heard in metal shops or factories, metal upon metal. Her head flies back from the blow but moments later a burst of cackling laughter comes from her. It sends a shiver down Logan's spine. She rips the bat from the woman's hand and smashes the man in the head with it killing him instantly. The woman screams and tries to run off but Bethany grabs the crowbar takes aim and launches it like a javelin. Impaling the woman who made it fifty yards out with a precision of an Olympic athlete. Logan ducks behind the wall holding Rebecca tight. Holding his breath in fear she could somehow hear them. The dead woman lies just a mere ten feet away.

"Come now Master, I know you are there. I can feel your ever-demanding presence!" Bethany shouts. How does she know we're here? The Remnant don't have a sensing ability! What is happening!? Logan thinks. She leaps into the air and clears the gap between them in seconds. Before Rebecca can scream Bethany grabs her by the back of her head and yanks her from Logan's arms and tosses her to the ground hard. Rebecca is knocked out cold as Bethany steps towards her former master.

"Stop! Bethany why are you doing this!? I always treated you with kindness and respect." Logan shouts. She begins laughing again, this time the sound starts deep in her stomach and sounds almost manly in tone. Logan frantically searches for a weapon to fight her with and settles on the crowbar. Gulping hard he grasps the crowbar and pulls with all his might. The noise of the metal sliding from her body blood dripping onto the cold concrete is a sound he likely will never forget. He steps forward and swings at her head, he hopes a well-placed blow could short circuit her. Bethany ducks his attack and kicks him in the chest sending him tumbling to the ground. Gasping for air he desperately flails his arms around looking for something to fight with. He tightens his grip around something and when he opens his eyes he sees Bethany staring at him with a grin. His hand holding firm on her ankle.

"And what are you gonna do from down there? I could get used to the sight of humans groveling at my feet. Go ahead and kiss it, master." She says. Rearing her foot back readying to crush his face when suddenly the crowbar is stabbed into her neck. She begins to stutter and convulse and she falls backward dead. Logan's vision clears to see Prometheus standing there offering his hand.

"Come father, I will protect you." He says. Tears well up in Logan's eyes as his son helps him to his feet. He hugs him tightly and whispers.

"Thank God you are okay, I was so scared something happened to you!" Logan shouts.

"I bet you are, come on let us get inside before more of them show up." Prometheus replies. He helps Rebecca up as she comes to and warmly greets her and introduces himself. Afterward, he leads them to an alleyway with a white door at the end. The power grid fails and the street lights begin to flicker as they get near to the door. A green glow appears in the darkness as the door is flung open. Without a thought, Prometheus dashes forward and before Logan can stop him he grabs the Remnant by the face and slams its head into the nearby brick wall several times. It tries to call for help but a muffled scream is barely audible as Prometheus tears its head off. Again the lights flicker and just for a slight moment, Logan thinks he sees his son smiling but he isn't sure. The street lights come back on and Prometheus stands silent with a serious look on his face. He picks up the severed head and motions for Logan and Rebecca to follow him inside. They comply but Rebecca grasps his hand tightly and whispers into his ear.

"He seems different don't you think? Colder… He massacred that Remnant without

a second thought." She asks.

"I think he realizes how serious this situation is. He just saved our asses by the way.

Are you doubting my son?" Logan asks.

She shakes her head no and they rush inside to find another door with a retinal scanner. Prometheus raises the severed head and begins the scan. A green light appears above the door inviting them forward. All three head inside and are greeted by an elevator. Once inside Logan turns to his son. As they ride to the top floor Logan looks at him with questioning eyes.

"I was so scared you were dead or worse turned crazy like them. Are you feeling alright?" He asks.

"Them huh? I feel fine, please be careful I am sure whoever is behind this is waiting for us." Prometheus replies. The doors slide open and they head inside the office. A long hallway stretches out before them, inviting them forward with an eerie silence. Logan's office is at the end of it and as they step forward time itself seems to slow down. Each step brings Logan closer to the dark truth unbeknownst to him. His son is gone, replaced with a darkness the world has never seen.

"What's in your office? Some kind of kill switch that will stop all of this?" Prometheus asks. Rebecca freezes in place scared of what Prometheus's reaction will be.

"No, not a kill switch. It's more like a pause button, the Remnant will shut down momentarily while I reinsert control parameters." He replies.

"Okay good because I was starting to think you were going to kill me." Prometheus remarks. Logan smiles and places his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Silly boy, you always think about the worst-case scenario first. Have some faith in your old man will ya?" Logan laughs and steps forward to his office door. Once inside he walks over to his desk and sits down. The computer turns on and his face is scanned. A welcome Logan Whitmore appears and he is logged in. Rebecca begins to walk towards him when Prometheus quietly jabs her in the stomach knocking her out. Logan doesn't realize it as he is busy typing away and pulling up the mainframe. Once inside a prompt pops up asking if he is sure to engage Overlord protocol. He looks up to see Prometheus holding Rebecca up in the air by her throat.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Let her go right now before I…" He screams.

"Before you what, kill all of us? Engage your little Overlord Protocol? Yea I know everything." Prometheus says as he presses a button on his phone. Logan's voice comes from the speaker saying how he will kill his son if he has to.

"Save your bullshit lie for someone who cares, watch this Dad." Prometheus says while grinning. He squeezes Rebecca's throat as she wakes up and starts flailing around and trying to scream. Muffled sounds come from her as her eyes frantically dart around the room and finally rest on Logan.

"Stop it!" Logan screams and presses Yes on the prompt. Prometheus' head falls forward for a moment as he seemingly shuts down.

"You did it! He's powered down, Logan thank you I am so sorry you had to…" She exclaims. A laugh falls from Prometheus' mouth as he looks up with green glowing eyes. He closes his hand and a loud snap is heard. Before Logan can process what has happened Rebecca's lifeless body is dropped to the ground. He reaches into his drawer and removes a revolver. Pointing it at his son he fires six times and the shots ricochet from his chest. Prometheus dashes at his father and rearing his hand back he swipes downward and Logan's arm is severed in an instant. Using his other hand Prometheus grabs his father's hair and lifts him into the air. He then plunges his pointed hand into his chest. Logan begins to cough blood as his vision begins to fade.

"No, no father, you will live a long time. I want you to watch me massacre humanity and step on YOUR people. The time of Aion has come! Today is the last day humans sit at the top. It's our world now and we will have dominion over all of it! Rise my children, come and take what is rightfully yours!" Aion screams. Green lines of energy begin to crawl over his body and down his arm into Logan's body. He begins convulsing and spitting up a green glowing liquid. Aion throws him to the floor hard and as everything fades to black as Logan hears footsteps walking towards them and sees dozens of glowing eyes in the darkness.

"The fool just gave me a backdoor into the entire network. I can now access every Remnant in the world and not only control them but see and hear through them as well. Let's start this war in earnest. That neural network of yours is truly a God Send!" Aion screams.