The First: EVO Uprising (50 page)

“
You ever been in a bar, where everyone was packing?” Peace asked. “Of course you haven’t, you’re a ‘Miss Goody Two Shoes.’” I’ll have you know it’s one of the most peaceful and safest places to be, except for those who are not armed. Because everyone knows that the guy next to him is holding, and the last thing you want is a bar packed with guns blazing.”

“
You want to bring back the Wild West?” Sophia followed her movement.

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I want to make us all truly equal,” she answered. “I want us to be independent of trivial things that we really don’t need! I want to get rid of our old parasitic shells that continue to drag us down and become the race that we were meant to be! One solely focused on reaching our true potential! You tell me how much more noble can one get than wanting that for her people?”

“
Why the rush?” she asked. “Another ten years the next generation would have matured, and if the birth rate of superhumans continues steadily as it has, we’ll be what five maybe ten percent of the population?”

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You really have blinders on, don’t you?” Peace looked at her in disbelief. “You really think those cockroaches are going to allow that to happen? Just because they haven’t gone and ‘William Strykered’ us does not mean the so called ‘powers that be’ aren’t working on measures to either thin out or eliminate our herd should we ‘dare’ step out of line or overtake them. They’re quiet now because they know they can’t match us. And now they have some of us taking up sides with them against each other for worthless things such as ‘loyalty’ or ‘money.’”

She turned, spitting in disgust into the sand. Her act brought back more demons from their past.

“
This so called new ‘Cold War,’” she gestured, “is against us! Maybe if you pulled your head out of the sand of that island of yours you’d see it! If we’re against each other, we’re not against them! And as long as they keep us plugged into their madness we are destined to repeat the insanity of their failed miserable race! In order for us to grow and thrive, to see each other as a one race, and not separated by the color of our skin, stupid flags, fucking religion, or money; we must become unplugged permanently! The human race must die along with their poison!”  

Peace stood waiting for her to buy her pitch. She could already tell from her facial expression that it was not a sell.

“
You’re about to tell me to go F--- myself, aren’t you?” Her nose twitched.

“
And I intended to use the full four letter word while doing it,” she snidely smiled. “What gave it away?”

“
You’ve been collecting the heads of warlords.” Peace pointed a lecturing finger at her. “And breaking the bones of white slavers among other devious things. Yet you continue to remain on the fence because you still see what? Redeeming qualities about them?”

She leaned in as Sophia wore a stunned look that she knew so much about her activities.

“
Oh, yes, Ms. Dennison,” she grinned. “I have been keeping very close tabs on you. I have a theory about our little intimate time in the heart of the nuclear explosion. You see, I think a little of you got into me, while a little of me… got… into… you.”

“
I’m nothing like you,” Sophia growled.

“
Save that movie line for someone who will buy it,” she snorted. “The eyes tell all. You’ve got some rage in you, long before you knew I was still alive. Come on, deep down you know what I am saying is the truth. You want hands off your family? That little island you got there? I’m a woman of compromise. One island and a couple of normals from your bloodline isn’t going to hurt the cause. What else do I have to do to get you on my side?”

“
Why everyone?” Sophia mustered the strength to reason with her. “Why not just eradicate those that do evil?”

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Because they’re all the problem!” Peace threw up her hands again. “The weak are just as guilty because they are weak! This twisted circle of life bullshit that we are trapped in is the reason for the downfall of our society and our planet because it is easily abused. We must shatter it and wipe the slate clean, and the only way to do that is for every last one of us to be strong! There can be no chink in our armor for us to succeed!”

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Your brought up the ‘flood’ a couple of minutes ago,” Sophia scoffed. “What makes this plan any different than that one?”

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Rolling out a better product line,” she smiled.

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And that’s the end game?” Sophia asked. “A world of just superhumans. I guess you didn’t take the possibility of overpopulation into consideration.”

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Which would be like what a hundred or so years from now?” She shrugged. “Yeah, I did, but by that time our planet would have been healed, we would be ready to write the next chapter in our soon to be epic history.”

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You’re planning on going back out… there?” Sophia looked up, figuring out her long term plan.

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Very good,” she clapped. “I told you I have no intentions of being a leader, but a conqueror of worlds I can do. And with the discovery of several super Earths around the known universe, we’d be crazy not to claim them as our own, thus also solving our population problem.”

“
That’s not just it,” Sophia shook her head. “You doing this because you want an army… for what? What do you know?”

“
Come on.” She dully glared at her. “I don’t need a college diploma to know that the virus that made us what we are now wasn’t created in some Petri dish in a lab.”

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What do you know of Project Evolution?” Sophia asked, forgetting that they were talking about worldwide genocide for the moment.

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I love this one-sided ass relationship we have where you think you can just ask me anything without giving anything back.” She sarcastically rolled her eyes. “When you torched #1 on that day at Mount McLoughlin, you also obliterated the tablet that held all of the data concerning Project Evolution. But the times I got to snoop around Rosen’s files after I put him to bed with my good stuff, I learned that our universe is not only as vast as we may think, we are definitely not the only ones in it.”

“
What are you talking about?” Sophia’s eyes widened with interest. “What did you see?”

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I didn’t see jack,” she sneered. “It’s what I read. When the US Forces invaded Nazi Germany and liberated the Ohrdruf concentration camp, they found an entrance to a secret research lab that ran underneath the camp. There they found what they codenamed ‘The Holy Grail.’ They took it and everything else that was there, detonated the lab, and smuggled it out of Europe and back to the US.”

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You didn’t see any picture of this Holy Grail?” Sophia asked.

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Nope.” She shook her head. “Whatever they had, they didn’t want anyone to know what it looked like. It was all extremely cryptic. I do know whatever it was, based on what I read and could figure out, they were taking samples from it. Samples that they used to create the first strain of the virus.”

At that moment Sophia wrestled with whether it was a curse or blessing that she was still alive, as she willingly gave vital information to the origin of their new life.

“
So now that we’ve had this very groundbreaking sentimental conversation between the two of us,” Peace got back to business, “I got to know right now if you’re in or if you’re out.”

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No.” Sophia shook her head. “I cannot, and will not, allow you to do this. It’s not that I don’t agree with some of the things you said, which is hard for me to even admit, but the way you intend to implement change is not the way to go about it. Getting to the ends will not wash off the ocean worth of blood the means will bring.”

Peace wore not a face of anger or disgust. It was one of disappointed as she turned her back to her stepping away.

“
For whatever reason we survived that nuclear explosion,” Sophia said,  reaching out a hand to reason with her, “we’re alive. I have plenty of reasons to hate you. But maybe if I had your life I would have turned out the same as you or even worse. Time has opened my eyes where I can see the bigger picture. I can forgive in time. If a better world is what you want I’m in, just not this way. Surrender, pay for your crimes, and maybe we can work toward achieving that goal together.”

Her words were both earnest and tactical, #3, or Peace as she called herself, was not the same woman she pulverized seven years ago. She was powerful, maybe even stronger than her. To fight with her again would mean possible destruction on a global scale. She had to use all means of diplomacy to prevent that from happening.

“
A tempting offer,” Peace sighed before turning back to her with a dull look. “But one I am afraid I will have to decline. And since we both can’t reach an accord on the fate of this world. I regrettably have to ask you leave, and by leave… I mean the planet.”

Sophia looked like she was stuck for a minute as she held up a hand unsure if her perfect hearing had just heard what Peace ordered her to do.

“
Did you just tell me to leave the planet?” Sophia requested confirmation.

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Yeah, I did,” she nodded. “You see, we’re currently at a discord. I had hoped that you would come to your senses and join me, but I also made preparations to do this without you.  And as much as I would love to throw hands with you again, I kind of need the planet and the people here intact to implement my plans. Really sorry, wish there was another way, but you really need to raise up out of here.”

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Oh really,” she scoffed. “And how do you intend to do that, aside from going another couple of rounds with me?”

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It’s already done the second I hit the Regulator’s base,” she smirked. “Revenant is currently having afternoon tea with your dear old parents at their house, while Wendigo is right now hovering over your little island.”

Sophia’s eyes expanded again with shock and fear. Slowly the rage grew on her face.

“
And if you attempt to fly off,” Peace warned, “or put your hands on me again, my young resident telepath who has been monitoring this conversation has been instructed to tell Revenant to turn your parents to bone and dust, while Wendigo kills everyone on your island and then sinks it back to the bottom of the ocean that you raised it from to the tune of ‘Kill Everybody by Skrillex.’ I’m personally more of a Halestorm type of gal, but you can’t tell kids shit about their music these days. Oh, and if you think I’m bluffing.”

She quickly reached into a small pocket on the inside of her tight red leather pants pulling out a small carbon fiber looking case. She opened it up revealing an earpiece.  She checked to make sure it was still intact, tapped the button on the side to turn it on, and then tossed to Sophia. She snatched it out of the air and quickly put it on.

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Hello?” her voice quivered.

“
Hello, Ms. Dennison,” a gloating Revenant came over the other line, “you have a lovely set of parents. Your mother, in particular, is a very colorful and charming woman, I can see where you get your fire from.”

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Sophee!” her mother came loud and clear over her headset.

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Mummy!” She fought back panic and tears.

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Nuh worry bout we baby!” she yelled. “We nuh fraid ah no godless jackcrow dog! Look pon you! Yah fava ah ole whore!”

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Like I said,” sighed Revenant, “colorful woman.”

As he hung up on his end, she removed the headset crushing it in the palm of her hand. Her eyes blazed as tears streamed down her eyes burning a hole through Peace who tanked her glare.

“
Whatever chance you had of me not hating you anymore,” she reared her teeth, “you just lost it.”

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Yeah, I know,” she nodded, “but for the greater good I’m willing to take that hit. You’re not going to believe me because you’re all pissed off, but this is not personal between you and I.”

“
You made it personal… again.” Sophia narrowed her eyes as she fought to control the building rage.

Peace walked up, standing toe to toe with her to look her in the eyes.

“
Baby girl,” she whispered, “if I wanted to make it personal I wouldn’t need stooges to wipe out your entire bloodline, and everyone you ever loved and cared about. A month baking on Mercury, where I adjusted to, and then harnessed, the full power of the sun is all I need to do that. Hell… I could have wiped out the entire planet with one blast, leaving just you and I to fight to the end of the universe or till I kill you, and there is a way to kill you.”

She made a popping sound motioning to her head, her yellow eyes blazed showing the unfathomable power coursing through her as the two women once again sized each other up.

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But it’s like I said, it’s not about you,” she snarled. “So when I came back, I stayed under the radar, and made preparations to exploit your most obvious weakness. Do I really need to say what it is?”

She slowly began to stroll around her as Sophia lowered her head, grinding her teeth.