Terminated

Posted on Wed Jul 23rd, 2025 @ 12:04pm by Kyleigh Arynson & Glitch & Ombretta del Carlo

2,871 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Welcome to the Hometown
Location: Facility: The Corridor

In the dim lighting of the corridor, a metal monstrosity came around the corner, a hulking, brass-plated automaton, its frame adorned with intricate gears, exposed pistons, and curling filigree in burnished gold. Heavy rivets securing copper plating, hissing steam vents releasing bursts of vapor from its spine.

Its eyes glow with an eerie amber intensity, housed behind segmented lenses that adjust with a faint clicking sound, scanning for targets with mechanical precision. Tubes of pressurized gas snake across its limbs, feeding into pneumatically powered joints that drive its movements with a brutal efficiency.

Its weapons are a fusion of archaic elegance and sheer destructive force—an ornate Gatling-style firearm mounted on one arm, steam-powered and ready to unleash an unstoppable barrage. On the other, a hydraulic claw, fitted with finely tuned gears and razor-sharp brass talons that gleam under the gaslight.

The sound of its approach is a symphony of metallic clanking, steam hissing, and the occasional deep thud as its heavy boots strike the cobblestone streets. It is the relentless march of progress twisted into a weapon—an unstoppable enforcer of brass, steam, and the grim future imagined through the lens of Victorian industry.

Johnny's eyes went wide and he dove into the room filled with coffins. "Yikes!"

Celia's eyes went wide and she immediately began loosening and making adjustments to the gears on her arms. "Oh bloody bollocks!"

Ombretta had a different reaction. Whereas others had retreated or began to take some kind of action, she froze. The monstrosity that approached was terrifying and for the woman that preferred to remain in her apartment, she didn't appreciate the additional reminder that she was so far removed from her element. Her eyes closed, and she started to sliently chant under her breath, desperately straining her ears to listen for a familiar song.

Kyleigh focused on the hulking metal beast and quickly scanned over its body looking for anything that might be a weak point. There were a couple that she could see, but to get to them would require her to get a bit up close and personal if she wished to use brute strength. That, however, wasn't an option presently, she electricity would have to suffice.

Electricity crackled at her fingertips, dancing like threads of raw power weaving through the air. Her breath steadied, deep and deliberate, as she focused the current surging through her veins. The dim glow of of an electrical charge flickered in the air around her, unable to compete with the growing energy coiling beneath her skin. Static pulsed in the air, lifting strands of her hair as if drawn to the electricity she commanded.

Her muscles tensed, charged with anticipation as arcs of lightning sparked between her palms, illuminating the area with fleeting bursts of white-hot brilliance. The ground beneath her hummed with energy, responding to the sheer magnitude of her control. Her eyes flashed with an unnatural light, reflecting the storm building within her. She clenched her fists, feeling the power reach its apex—unstoppable, untamed, waiting for release.

Cordelia looked over at Kyleigh and back at the monstrosity coming down the corridor. "Shall we shake and bake, love?" She asked as she brought her arms up and prepared to unleash a barrage of gravimetric waves.

The song that Ombretta sought was fragile but eager to sing for her. They were in the form of spores that covered everything around, but had no foothold to grow, including on the abomination coming their way.

And find the song she did. It was disjointed, like multiple voices in a harsh cacophony, and begged for someone to turn the discord into order. Ombretta was eager to oblige, moving her hands slowly while her eyes were still closed, sorting altos with altos, sopranos with sopranos. As they came together, the song began to harmonize and intensify.

When she opened her eyes, she found greenish colors forming on top of the hulk's joints. Some of the colors morphed into moss, and others began to turn into root- or vine-like structures.

"If we all work together, there should be no reason why we couldn't take this thing out," Sparky said, her voice crackling with the same electric charge that the air around her did.

Ombretta opened her eyes to see what the others were now seeing. Just like hours ago in the clearing, she was just as surprised that her ability to conduct the chorus was having another unexpected turn. "And just how do we do that?" she asked, her tone still dripping in nervousness.

The machine whirred and brought up the arm with the Gatling gun on it, the barrels starting to slowly turn, but a rattling sound came from it. Vines sprouted and tangled in the intricate gears as they answered Ombretta's song.

Cordelia gave a shout at the own pain her powers caused her and unleased a barrage of gravitonic waves at the mechanically monstrosity. Gears, tubes and plating began to shake on it and it took another lumbering step forward.

Kyleigh’s palms burned with raw energy as she unleashed a torrent of crackling electricity, the arcs twisting through the air like serpents of pure power. She was using her full power, hoping the current would slam into its chassis and send sparks cascading across its metallic frame as well as through it.

Ombretta, keeping her eyes open this time, focused intently on the vines sprouting around the gun. She was so focused, she didn't even notice that she had raised her hands in front of her, stretching the digits of her fingers while encouraging the vines to grow faster.

Between the vibrations, electrical barrage creating havoc in the few electrical systems the abomination had, and the vines that grew from every crevasse and tightened around every gear soon brought it to a grinding halt.

"Ha..." it ground out before it tilted forward and fell to the floor.

Ombretta held her ground, and kept her hands outstretched. She blinked, unsure whether or not she should move. "Did... uh... Did we do it?"

"It would certainly appear that way, but it's always better to be safe than sorry," Sparky said as she continued to emit electricity. She approached the hulking beast and placed her hands on either side of its head, pumping more electricity into it as she brought her hands together to crush it at the same time.

There was a final grinding sound as the mechanical monstrosity moved for the last time and that was due to its head in Kyleigh's hands came loose.

"Holy crap!" Cordelia said as she lowered her gauntlets, shaking from the rush and fatigue.

"Is it safe to come out?" Johnny's voice came from inside the room.

"It's safe," Kyleigh confirmed as she moved to the arm of the monstrosity that happened to be the Gatlin gun. "Think we should take this with us?"

Cordelia nodded. "If we can figure out how it works."

Johnny peeked around the corner. "I'm sorry about that, but I can't fight something like that."

"That's going to attract attention," Flora remarked to Kyleigh, who was standing over the weapon. "Though if that's the first defender we've seen, they might not be expecting a lot of company."

"What now?" Cordelia asked.

As if to answer her question, a solitary rat ran around the corner. It saw them, squeaked in surprise and fled back the way it came.

Johnny increased his illumination in shock at the appearance, thinking it was another monster and the hallway lit up like noon.

Kyleigh looked toward the noise the rat had made. "We follow that," she answered. "Let's go."

Around the corner was a long straight corridor with a door off to the left about halfway down before it turned to the left again. The smell of mildew and decay was heavy on the air as well as something sickly and sweet that hung in the air.

"Wait a second." Flora kneeled down next to the fallen monstrosity. She brushed her mossy hand over some of the encrusted gears, matching their song and amplifying it. She gently tugged at what covered the gears, slowly generating and pulling a sheet of moss away from it. "Here," she said, tearing the sheet into smaller pieces and distributing them amongst her colleagues. "Facemasks. These will help with the smell."

Kyleigh accepted her makeshift facemask. "Thanks," she said, putting it on. "This will definitely come in handy, I think."

"Thank you," Cordelia said she accepted one and put it over her face.

"Thanks," Johnny said. "Do you need more light or anything?"

"Anything more, and it might attract more of these," Ombretta remarked, rising back to her feet. "Then again, if they don't know we're here already, then I feel like we're just really lucky people." With that, she decided to keep moving forward, making her target the next door on the left.

"I have a feeling they already know we're here, and given how easy it was for us to take this thing out, I would say security is about to get much more intense," Kyleigh said, looking toward the area the rat disappeared. "Regardless of that, we have to keep moving forward. Now is the time to turn back should you feel the need to."

Cordelia took a moment to put the mask on and gave a nod. "Then we should get ready again," she said.

Johnny gulped and took a step back, but didn't leave. "I may be useless, but I'm not leaving," he said.

Ombretta led the way, walking gently down the hall until they reached the next set of doors. She stopped in front of them, and cautiously gripped the door knob. The woman inhaled, held her breath for a beat, then slowly exhaled as she turned the knob.

Kyleigh wasn't too far behind Ombretta, just in case things got a bit dangerous. She knew their companion could hold her own in serious situations, but it was better to stick closer together.

A woman stepped out of the door as Ombrettra tried it. Her skin flickered between iridescent scales and ghost-white petals. Her eyes refracted light like cracked crystals, and her voice glitched into digital tones mid-sentence. "Why are you here?" she asked in her odd voice, one hand raised and pointed at them accusingly.

Flora paused, blinking in surprise at the sight before her. Her hand was still outstretched, attempting to clutch a knob that was no longer there. "We had... friends taken from us," she honestly replied.

So, there was life present within the facility aside from the rat after all. That also made things a little dicey. "And we're here to retrieve them," Kyleigh replied. "I don't suppose you would be a doll and tell us where they are? It would make things so much easier."

The woman's orchid petals grew from all over her body in Johnny's light and she looked curiously at Flora, sensing a kind of kinship. Her voice changed, dropping an octave and became more songlike in a way that Ombretta would recognize deep in herself as a lure. "Why do you not also join me?" she asked reasonably.

Cordelia looked confused at that and shook her head. "We just want our friends."

Despite himself, Johnny felt like he wanted to give the woman more light even if it burned his own skin and he intensified his radiance.

"Join you?" Flora asked, her head tilting slightly askew. There was something... melodic about this woman. It was almost like she was slipping into a trance, a siren's call of sorts. Ombretta didn't seem to notice that this was happening, especially since her already outstretched hand began to move in a different direction. "Why... not...?"

Then something inside Ombretta snapped, as if a rogue thought broke through the crevices forming in her mind. The weight of the trance intensified as she uttered one single word in the form of a question, "...also?"

Kyleigh looked from the orchid woman, then to Ombretta. This wasn't right. "Johnny... your light... turn it off," she said. "Ombretta... are you okay?"

"Yes," murmured Ombretta, reaching forward. "Your song... it's beautiful."

Johnny pulled the light back into himself but he really didn't want to.

Vexa smiled as Ombretta reached for her and extended her own hand, tiny flickers of electricity playing around her fingers. "Just...a...touch," her voice rang like fine petals of pure silver.

Tremors frowned, then brought her arms up when she saw how Shine and Flora were acting. "Not today!" she said as she unleased a shockwave directed at the woman.

Instead of seeming to harm her, Vexa's petals collapsed against her body and she screamed, her voice changed to a lower octave and nearly male. "Now you die!"

Vexa's fingers had been mere millimeters away from Ombretta's. When the shockwave hit the unknown woman, Ombretta was snapped out of her trance. Ombretta did not immediately find her composure, instead she was disoriented and confused. "What?" she called out.

Ombretta thrust one hand forward, and without realizing it, the vines around her hand stretched out to seize Vexa's hand and redirect it away from her friends. "No! Leave them alone!"

Kyleigh blinked. It had all happened so fast, and Ombretta was way too close. She looked at her hand reaching towards Vexa and knew there was mere milliseconds to act. She threw a bolt of lightning toward Vexa's chest and prayed the timing was right. "Ombretta!"

The lightning didn't seem to harm the woman but it did brighten the odd orchid petals around body. She gave an unearthly scream and sent out a bioelectric surge from her body.

Johnny crumpled to the ground and went into convulsions,

Cordelia gave a weird shake of her arms and began to claw at her skin at the weird sensation shooting through her, but it didn't put her down like it did Johnny.

Ombretta's eyes widened. Even though her actions changed the melody of the song and caused those vines to unnaturally shoot out from her arms, the song suddenly soured, like a symphony yielding to jazz. She gasped at the unexpected change. Her vines wilted and lost their strength, falling limp to the ground.

The surge didn’t just illuminate Kyleigh—it amplified her. The lightning danced through the strange orchid petals clinging to the woman’s form, but Kyleigh absorbed the raw power like a moth to flame. Her muscles rippled with new strength, eyes blazing with purpose.

Without hesitation, Kyleigh turned herself into a living weapon. She crouched low, gathered her energy, and launched herself with explosive force. A shockwave burst from the ground behind her as she closed the distance in a blur of motion—arms outstretched with flawless precision.

In a single, fluid move, she collided with Vexa midair, locking her grip around the woman’s torso. She wasn’t just reacting—she was attempting to regain control of the situation.

Whatever Vexa had planned, it was not being hit by a supernaturally strong mutant. She fell backwards when Kyleigh grabbed onto her and hit the floor with a cry. The orchid petals on her spread out from her body and collapsed in around her as the sound of bones breaking came from within the woman and blood came from her lips.

Ombretta remained standing, almost frozen, as she bore witness to Kyleigh's powerful attack and its result. She blinked to regain a portion of her composure. The vines that had wilted and lost their strength snapped off from her arms and new ones began to grow. "What are you doing?" she called out, demanding an explanation.

Kyleigh looked down at Vexa. She hadn't expected that outcome, but had it not happened, they would have likely been the ones to die. She looked to Ombretta, still supercharged. "I'm saving our lives," she answered, nodding back toward Johnny and Cordelia who were under attack moments ago. "What are you doing?"

Tremors looked between the two women standing and the one laying on the ground. "What...the hell....was that? I felt like my skin wanted to crawl off"

Johnny moaned and sat up. "Ugh."

Ombretta stammered, "She... she heard the song. Just like I do. I've never met anyone who could do that before." As she stammered, she looked at Tremors and Johnny, seeing that both of them had been hurt. "I... I... just don't understand why someone so beautiful would want to cause so much pain."

Kyleigh moved over to the others to make sure they were okay. "Neither do I," she said with a frown. "but I have a feeling she's got something to do with Pulse and Elixir's disappearance. We still need to find them. Will you be okay?" Her eyes moved to Ombretta.

"I'm fine," Johnny said as he took a breath.

Cordelia rubbed her arms once more. "I will be after this feeling passes. Let's find Eb and Celia and get the fock out of here."

Ombretta shook her head and was about to turn around when she noticed some flickering from inside the dim room. "Um... maybe we should take a look in here?"

"I think you're right," Kyleigh said, moving over to the door to rip it away.

 

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