We had made it to the gates of the White House after ten more excruciating minutes of mowing down the clones.

I had refused to count, but Vanessa informed me that, including the ones we had taken down on the train, and in the donut shop, we had eliminated ninety of the hundred clones.

‘Only ten remaining then?’ Hazeel asked. ‘I’m pretty sure I have a good idea of where they all are.’

I nodded. “So do I. They should be in the white house, guarding Christian.”

Maria sighed, and rubbed her temples. “I would bet money on it. He always did like to have a contingency plan.”

“Are you going to be ok, Leo?” Leresa came up to me and asked, a concerned look on her face. “You’re a bit pale.”

“I’ll be fine.” I waved her off. Zare even came up to me, and offered me a donut. “Try eating this. It’ll make you feel better!”

She was so adept at fighting, that I had forgotten the fact that she only recently became a teenage girl, with teenage girl solutions to things.

It was so out of left field that I couldn’t help myself. I started to laugh hysterically, taking the donut hole she had given me and placing it in my mouth.

“Thanks Zare. That was just what I needed.” The young girl smiled brightly, before returning to Leresa’s side with a triumphant look on her face.

I guess it must have been the stress of battle, but the two of them had been acting more like sisters since we had entered the city.

I shook my head, purging the idle thought from my mind, and looked up at the black gate that separated the building from the rest of the world.

I took Hazeel, and drove her blade across the fence, rending it in two. “Come on everyone. Let’s finish this.”

“Wait.” I heard Maria say, and turned to face her. She was shifting uncomfortably, and constantly looking between me and the White House.

“I don’t feel safe going in there. It was nice to see you again Leo, and I hope we can properly catch up after this, but I’m pretty much useless right now, as you saw.”

I nodded, and walked up to her. “Thanks Maria, for at least coming along with us up to this point. Even if you don’t come any further, your moral support is still helpful.”

Maria smiled. “Thanks. I’ll head back to the donut shop now. I can’t imagine there will be any dangers now that you’ve cleared the whole town out. Be sure to find me once this whole thing is over. I believe in you.”

She smiled and turned, her gaze cast downwards as she left. “She’s still dealing with something, isn’t she?” I asked Vanessa.

After a pause, she replied, ‘Definitely. I think these past ten years must have been very difficult to live through. Especially with the choices she’d made… a weaker woman would have committed suicide by now.’

I shook my head and walked up to the doors of the building, followed closely by Zare and Leresa, who were talking amongst themselves. The walk across the yard was relatively peaceful, but my heart beat faster the closer we got to it.

I placed my hand on the door, and was about to open it when Vanessa’s warning shouted in my mind, ‘Leo, Shield!’

My body reacted before my mind, and I put up a void screen in front of me. Just in time too, because an explosion blew the doors outward and into the waiting portal.

“Huh, I really thought that would have gone differently.” A man’s voice came from inside the lobby on the ground floor.

I dissipated the shield, and looked up. He had to have been no older than eighteen, with pale skin and dyed, pink hair.

His eyebrows betrayed his natural black though, and an accompanying set of chestnut eyes peered back at me.

He wore a similar suit to the Gemini Project clones, and saluted in our direction. “Jason Rodriguez, the academy’s number one cadet, at your service! Prepare to die!”

“Huh?” I let out in my stupefied state. Leresa and Zare’s gazes flickered to Jason, and then back to me.

“What did he say Leo?”

“Yeah, what did he say?”

“He’s an enemy.” I said, noticing for the first time that he had the remaining clones around him.

“Oh, well, that simplifies that.” Rexir’s voice said, and Leresa took a fighting stance. I sensed a black hole opening behind me, and quickly directed my photons to close it before it could appear.

“Looks like the clones aren’t holding back anymore.” I muttered. Jason smiled and began to walk forward.

‘They’re probably too close to the controlling device to properly resist it. It looks like we’ll have to fight hard for this one.’ Vanessa replied.

‘Just count on us.’ Hazeel chimed in. ‘Whenever you need us, Vanessa and I will be your strength!’

I smiled at her words as Jason pointed towards himself. “Leo Jones, humanity’s traitor! I read about you in the textbooks, but never thought I’d get to see you in the flesh. Allow me the honor of taking your head!”

He raised his hand, and the Vanessa clones scattered, with Jason coming at me from the front. I clicked my tongue and ran from him, thrusting my blade over Zare’s shoulder, and catching a clone that had been attempting a sneak attack off-guard.

The blade pierced her skull, and she wore a terrified expression as she disappeared into particles. I took a deep breath to keep myself from vomiting, and I felt a warmth from Hazeel’s consciousness pouring into mine.

‘You don’t have to take this on alone.’ She spoke, her every word soothing me. ‘We’re here, and we will bear this burden with you.’

I nodded, and dodged out of the way of Jason’s punch, which went right by my head. To my horror, I could feel gravity pulling at my face, and I used my photons to close the miniature black hole that had come into existence right next to my head.

“Your punches tear holes in space? What the hell have the academics been researching? How could they do that to you?”

Jason lifted up his sleeves to reveal metal forearms, which blew out steam as he assumed a fighting stance. “I wanted it. It was the only way to fight you off.”

He smiled, but that faltered a bit as I saw Leresa and Zare take down another Vanessa clone by working together. Leresa had taken a hit to her stomach, but she was still fine besides that.

“Like I said before,” Jason lifted his arms up, and a keen revving sound came from them. “Prepare to die.”