《Immutable》A Hunting We Will Go
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While June was packing Nathan and Alex decided to go over tactics for the battle ahead.
"Butterwhiskers here can curse the drones," Alex said, petting the Cat Sidhe under the chin. "I killed one with her powers earlier."
"If they're mechanical I can probably short their systems," Nathan replied.
Caleb ignored their conversation. It was fairly obvious to him. He was the tank, taking all the damage. Alex was the DPS, her cats doing all the killing. Nathan was the debuffer, keeping the enemy from being effective. He'd run in, guns blazing, and get all the women. Easy and simple.
Caleb kicked the dirt impatiently as he waited for June to finished packing. He made a little smiley face in the dirt and sighed. "I miss Bat."
Nathan and Alex looked over from the conversation they were having.
"Is he okay?" Nathan asked.
"He lost a pet bat before I met him. Poor thing." Alex answered. Nathan looked at Caleb in sympathy.
June walked out of her hideout, a large hiker backpack on her shoulders. "Ready." She said.
"Great!" Caleb said, springing up. "Onwards men! To victory!" He once again jumped on top of Jim-Jam, posing in picturesque beauty.
Kit appeared next to Alex, meowing. "Kit's got the scent." She interpreted, swinging up onto Jim-Jam while bringing out Rocket for the others. Both climbed up onto Rocket's back and the cats were off, following Kit.
The trail led the group into one of the ruined cities. Well, more town than city. One of those places that got big next to the interstate because everyone stopped there on their way to the actual destination. They passed broken gas stations and decrepit fast food joints. Caleb saw a shopping plaza in the distance and made a note to come back, one of the stores was bound to have another Bat.
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The cats passed through the area and into a residential district. And then past that towards a large factory on the outskirts of town. The building was surprisingly intact, though the parking lot was filled with broken cars and debris. Caleb looked at the off-white walls and blocky structure. "Factories always look like prisons, don't ya think?"
June shushed him. "You idiot, what if they hear us?" She whispered.
"I'll be fine." Caleb stage whispered. "In fact, let me go in first, draw them out." He jumped off Jim-Jam, landing on one foot and stumbling. The stumble brought him tumbling to the ground where he rolled a few seconds. Jim-Jam hadn't stopped before he got off.
"He's an actual idiot." June deadpanned. Caleb stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants.
"Count to ten and then follow." He said, running towards a large loading bay on the side of the factory. One of the doors had been blown off, which meant the perfect entrance.
June stared at Caleb, he was going to get them all killed! Quickly, she focused her power, willing it towards Caleb. She felt her focus drain, but nothing happened. Confused, she tried again. It was like her power hit a wall. Nothing she did worked on him.
"What?" She whispered incredulously.
"Nothing works on him," Nathan whispered. "He's a black hole in my vision and Alex said she couldn't appraise him at all."
"I found him naked before meeting you all," Alex said. "He told me he was eaten by one of the drones. He says he's immutable."
"Hello do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior Jesus!" Caleb bellowed, interrupting the other's conversation and calling all attention to him. A beam of light answered in response, washing over Caleb. "Alright fine! I'll leave but let me leave some pamphlets in your mailbox. You got one of those right?" He sauntered into the factory and out of sight.
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"Guess that's our cue," Alex said, she directed Jim-Jam to the door.
June sighed, she hated improvising. She wanted to spend at least an hour scouting the place. At least she had her pack. Nathan followed along, ready to intervene when needed.
The three entered in through the same door Caleb used. Inside were stacks of crates and pallets. At the back of the room was a door, though it had been broken down. Alex noticed there was a keypad on the side.
Caleb was currently passing through the door, two drones chasing. "Call me the gingerbread man cause you can't catch me!" He taunted.
June dismounted Rocket, pulling out her sword from the pack with a small buckler shield. Nathan unsheathed his sword as well, the large two-hander creating an intimidating picture. Alex brought out Sir Purrsalot in preparation. Kit was flitting back and forth, meowing in her ear.
"It seems Caleb has attracted the attention of almost every drone. Kit says a few are holding out in a smelly room." Alex relayed.
"That's where the overmind is," June stated. "We kill it, the drones all die."
Nathan nodded. "Let's go while the rest are distracted."
Alex directed Kit to lead the way.
Meanwhile, Caleb was having the time of his life. He had found himself in some production area. Assembly line after assembly line sat still, their product still on the belt. "Mama June's Salted Crawfish." He read. "Who would even eat something like that? It looks like an uglier sardine."
In response a bladed arm swiped down, intending to pierce Caleb's head. Instead, the drone gave a nice headpat. Caleb grabbed one of the cans and tossed it at her. "Here I fished this for you." The can bounced off the drone woman's head. Caleb took another can and tossed it over. This time the drone was ready and sliced the offending cylinder in half.
Canned crawfish and salty liquid spilled out all over the drone. "Ha! Gotcha!" Caleb exclaimed. The drone sat still, then vibrated. The various offending foods were eaten down to the last molecule by the machine's nanotechnology, emerging pristine and chrome. Once again it turned towards Caleb. Three more drones appeared, each morphing body parts into weaponry. Lasers, bullets, and other projectiles shot out while other drones slashed and pierced. The missiles all smacked onto Caleb's body before falling to the ground harmlessly. Each weapon swing would thump, doing no damage.
Seeing their attacks were useless, the drones all performed the last protocol given, absorb the threat. Clouds of nanites exploded outward, converging towards Caleb as he threw can after can. The cloud swept over him, disassembling molecule by molecule. Caleb laughed.
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