The first thing that Warden picked up when he dropped to the ground was the overwhelming smell that was a weird mix of gasoline and citrus. It was a truly unique smell that almost kicked up his allergies out of sheer confusion. Still the source of the smell was unmistakeable, especially considering the fact that it loomed large over the rest of the room. Sitting in the far side of the room was a massive metallic construction, around twenty feet tall, that seemed to be built out of dozen, if not hundreds, of different interlocking parts held together with wire or tubes or solid lights or even just antigravity. Still throughout the chaos of the multiple conflicting parts a vague silhouette that made itself known and there was a thrumming feeling of potential from the slumped over figure.

Five Eazel were busy darting around the combined husk placing piece after piece against the body securing it in some fashion. Their movements were frantically efficient and even the arrival of three people crashing through the ceiling didn’t disrupt their frantic motions. Standing a little bit away from the Eazel was a purplish gelatinous creature; a Silver if Wendy’s nose was to be believed; which most of the time it was. His actions were those of an overbearing overseer. Concerned with the minutiae he watched the Eazel sharply as if a single error would invalidate the entire procedure.

However to Warden’s untrained eyes the sleeping mound of metal possessed a robustness that couldn’t be stopped or delayed at this point. Whether it was instincts or his burgeoning precognition he felt a deep antipathy towards the idea of the thing that was being built.

“Ah the great Undo,” the other Silver stated turning around and facing the intruders only to flinch as three bursts of red splattered out of from the position just a couple feet in front of him. A transparent dome flickered into existence sending a buzzing noise throughout the room like discharging electricity before fading into invisibility.

“You know we are normally supposed to at least offer a chance for him to surrender,” Undo stated.

“Why should the mastermind suffer a lesser punishment than those he commands?” Warden stated coldly. “Wendy, try and break that shield.” His secretary sprang into action at his command launching herself forward towards the shield like an arrow from a bow crashing violently against the shield causing the dome to brighten at the point of impact before she back flipped and landed in front of the shield.

“Maybe because they aren’t immediately attacking us,” Undo stated stepping forward and drawing a pair of blasters before taking shots towards the shield. “What right do you think that you have to determine whether they live or die?” Even as they discussed there was no attempt at even slowing down his rate of fire.

“I don’t, but I believe in reciprocity,” Warden spoke stalking around to get a better angle on the shield. “Those who are prepared to kill should be prepared to die. Those who order others to kill bear all the sins of the subordinates in addition to their own,” Warden said. “Besides you and I both know that this guy is still far away from surrendering. Wendy give it some gas.”

“Yes, Sir,” Wendy stated. She had been hitting the shield previously but now her hands lashed out extending like whips slamming again and again against the shield causing it to become almost opaque from as the electricity peaked rose to a screeching noise. Those hands that looked so delicate could probably turn his bones into powder now.

“Wait, what are you doing,” the unnamed Silver said looking just a bit panicked at the attention. “Do you think you can beat me now Undo? Do you think you can stop me from having my revenge?”

“I didn’t know he was your friend?” Warden said stowing his weapon after seeing Wendy had it more in hand.

“I’m over four hundred years old,” Undo retorted instantly. “The number of people that have sworn revenge on me because I arrested a family member or shut down their gang or exposed them for the piece of garbage that they are is far beyond my ability to count or care. If you have a case number I can look it up for you.”

“You-you-you__” the other Silver seemed lost for words. He had lost his composure, thrown off by Warden and Undo and it caused an almost tangible drop in respect for the two who tended towards siding with the law. “I was heir to the Morntide estate. The estate you and your lackeys ruined and I will have my revenge__”

“Hey Wendy, try with your teeth,” Warden said cutting him off. That walking amalgamation of scrap machinery was still giving him bad vibes and he didn’t really care about the history between the two of them. As he spoke Wendy froze before she nodded and stepped forward slowly before lunging forward at a speed biting down on the dome somehow. With the sound of a screeching metal and a bright flash the force field became completely opaque before the entire dome shattered causing the bits of broken light to wink out of existence.

“Recommend me your dentist later, Wendy,” Warden said raising his pistol again and pointing it towards the enemy Silver who was standing there rooted in what was likely shock. “Are you going to surrender?” he asked giving one more chance for mercy towards the enemy Silver.

“I will neve__” he started before his body exploded in a burst of red and green as the warden and policeman both shot simultaneously tearing his body apart. His body collapsed into puddle of liquid that scooted backwards towards the ominous pile. The few Eazel that were still busy dragging the pieces to the pile continued mindlessly performing the same procedures again and again despite the danger.

“I’m not so keen on that thing,” Warden said gesturing with his pistol towards the amalgamation. The enemy Silver had retreated into the gaps between the parts, his gelatinous body allowing him to easily infiltrate the space. “Any idea what they’re making?”

“Trouble,” Undo stated shuffling forward. Suddenly he reached within himself and pulled out a white cylinder that he expertly tossed towards the Silver and the creation he was hiding behind. “Get back Wendy,” he yelled, far too late for any normal being to dodge, but the secretary/bodyguard still managed to do it easily retreating over twenty feet in a second.

A hissing noise sounded from the object before it exploded and in less time than it took to blink the floor, the ceiling, the walls and all of their enemies were coated in a layer of ice causing Warden to rub his arms vigorously against the sheer cold penetrating his relatively thin clothing. However this apparent knockout blow didn’t instil any relief in him; instead his nerves grew even more on edge. Every instinct in his body was telling him that the danger was far from over.

“Stay alert. It’s not over,” he commanded Wendy and was surprised to see Undo also give his unfounded accusation weight. The pair immediately turned towards the mass of frozen villains alertness present in their every motion and it was rewarded immediately as the ice began to crack. A second later the ice shattered and the sound of desperate wheezing rang out through the room as the unnamed Silver collapsed to the floor its body writhing in what might be pain.

Achingly slowly the discorporate parts morphed into a façade of wholeness. Devices that seemed only vaguely connected shifted to take on a more definite shape. No legs but a massive hunched torso which had four green diamond shaped eyes. It also had two massive looking arms that were about twice the length of its torso and stretched outward like wings covered by a strange black gleaming material. The bulky mechanical creature appeared to ignore the trio even as the unnamed Silver stood up shakily resolving itself into a less liquid composition.

“Now you’ll see,” the Silver boasted words falling from between his hypothetical lips like water from a tap. “I trawled through the depths of the Net, sieved every secret from every ancient ally that I could find and eventually found a set of blueprints. It took me years to understand them and even more years to get the parts but it became easier and easier. Today I have been blessed with the knowledge beyond your comprehension and I will use it to take my revenge on the people that have forsaken me.”

Even as he spoke, no as he desperately ranted, the machine made no movement towards them. Instead the pieces that had originally been cast off and buried under the ice regathered fusing seamlessly into the structure. The whining idiot wasn’t very much danger but what he built just might be. The being gave him a desperate sense of danger and he greatly desired to understand just why that was.

Target Identification System Unlocked

Name: N/A

Species: Anachrobot

Threat Class: 1

Strength: Very High

Speed: Low

Durability: Very High

Power: Fairly High

Ranks are compared to average abilities in threat class

Ranks proceed as such:

Extremely Low-Very Low-Low-Fairly Low-Below Average-Average-Above Average-Fairly High-High-Very High-Extremely-High

Warning!!!

The Presence of Anachrobots are considered a local class E-Threat with the implicit expectation that the threat rating will rise over time as more and more dangerous Anachrobots show up. Prevention of the invasion will garner a reward.

Reward: 3 Hearts 50 Scales

Recommendations: Prevent the Anachrobot from upgrading any further

“It’s an Anachrobot,” Warden said pretending as if he had any idea what was going on while trying to shake off the frankly offensive headache. His Personal Administrative might have just kicked in at the very worst time. “We need to destroy it before it continues to upgrade itself.”

“An evolving enemy then?” Undo stated as he walked towards them before he withdrew a massive box that unfolded into what could only be described as a bazooka.

“You think I will let you,” the unnamed Eazel said drawing his own smaller weapon, but even the words he spoke slowed himself down enough that by the time the gun was raised the bazooka had already been fired. A massive explosion ripped through the bottom of the mansion causing the entire structure to shape and Warden found himself carried backwards by Wendy as the shockwave almost knocked him off his feet. A screeching sound of pain or fury tore at his ears as metallic wires tore out of the dust and smoke lashing out blindly. A massive four fingered hand came into view crushing the stone where it landed.

“It survived that?” Undo asked retreating backwards at a speed that belied his expectations. “I wasn’t exactly still using small arms.” As he spoke he tossed another pair of grenades which exploded in blasts of light causing the robot to lash out blindly as more and more cables flew out of the smoke grabbing the floor and dragging it to the trio’s location.

“Any idea how to take it down,” Warden asked taking shot after shot at the bulky figure. “Wendy do you have anything left?”

“I can try, Sir,” Wendy said. “But I’m going to have to ask you to stay back.” Without any more words she launched herself like a spring towards the massive metal arm. With a sound like a car accident she punched into the massive arm and the thing buckled bending backwards before it straightened out and lashed towards her. In a move that Warden couldn’t even see she somehow dodged the arm and landed on top of it before launching herself towards the chest with the sound of a second car crash even worse than the first.

“It seems to have some self-repair capabilities,” Undo stated sorting through a box of equipment. “I don’t suppose you have any idea how we are going to get past them?”

“I don’t __” Warden stated taking a step to the left a second before a falling piece of rubble would have struck his shoulder. “We__” he paused. “Wait this building is collapsing.”

“And you think we should try to drop the whole structure, consisting of tons of metallic weight on the robot,” Undo said. “What a truly dangerously idiotic idea. I absolutely love it. How do we do it?”

“This whole room is about to collapse,” Warden stated. “How long can you hold him Wendy?”

“Indefinitely, Sir,” Wendy said as she took a punch that crushed her against the floor before she slipped out between the fingers. “Can you try to throw another one of the Ice Grenades Undo?” she suddenly asked. “I work a lot better in cold temperatures.”

“Sure,” the Silver said with barely any hesitation causing Warden a small spike of irritation at his willingness to throw a grenade at his employee; even if she did ask for it. An icy explosion froze both Wendy and the Anachrobot but where it seemed to slow down the enemy the ice merely coated Wendy like a winter coat and in the next second she punctured a hole in the Anachrobot’s chest with her bare hands.

“Well done,” Warden stated holstering his pistol before he pulled out his Psionic Enhancers and in one motion lit them up. A numbing coldness descended upon him and his emotions were slowly cut off one by one until he felt detached. The egg of potentiality he called HIM that he was always vaguely aware of came into stark focus and disconnected images of the future sparked into existence burning themselves into his grey matter.

“Drag him ten metres to the left,” he stated not even hearing his own voice. A vision of the ceiling collapsing sending a massive oblong piece of metal into the back of the robot was fulfilled and he vaguely felt some sense as if it was slipping from past to future. He mechanically took another puff of his Enhancer and the future remained clear.

“Move its right arm three metres to your right,” he said and a musical instrument of some sort fell from the ceiling severing its arm in two. He mechanically took another puff of his Enhancer and the future remained clear.

“Flip it over,” he commanded and Wendy did so causing the thing to be buried under a simply massive quantity of metal. He mechanically took another puff of his Enhancer and the future remained clear.

“Attack for three seconds then retreat,” Warden directed and Wendy did. Slamming her fists into the carapace of the metal robot and Warden dispassionately watched as crumpled metal coated with frost gave way to mechanical insides before the entire ceiling gave way sending dozens of shards into its unprotected body. He mechanically took another puff of his Enhancer and the future remained clear.

“Move its left arm,” Warden stated watching the destruction of the creature before him. The robot’s strength and durability were made null by its complete lack of speed. Wendy was able to dance rings around the slow moving robot. Its destruction was becoming clearer and clearer in his mind’s eye and as he mechanically took another puff of his Enhancer__. He stopped as his Enhancer was no longer in his hands. In fact he could no longer feel his hands at all. He stood within a complete void watching as the future became clearer and clearer.

With a clarity that exceeded even that of his eyes he watched as his body, freezing and unbreathing, collapsed to the ground.