Curtis could not stand by while Simon was threatened. With a great push of his wings he accelerated streaking toward the wall, determined to prevent the attack. He was too late. Before he closed on the dark, mutated birds, a dozen drones streaked past him slamming into the airborne threat. They used their varied weapons to drive the attackers back. A solitary energy beam tore into the birds searing their feathers and flesh simultaneously. Curtis shifted his gaze to the ground below focusing on where Kelly Holt was standing with a small contingent of soldiers. Her feral features fully revealed, the woman was intent on bringing down as many of the flying horde as possible while her drones assisted her. Curtis rose into the air ceasing his acceleration, so he could survey the battle once more.

  The humans were holding the mutated creatures at bay despite his misgivings. Simon’s presence buoyed the flagging spirit of the defenders helping them stay focused. Curtis circled higher in the air with the wind streaming over the thick scales on his body, pulling the heat of the steadily climbing sun before it could penetrate his skin. Despite the battle continuing below him, Curtis felt his mood improve. The transformation he had undergone was shocking but not without benefit. He continued his circuit as his mind wandered while he observed for any change below. He knew there were few who could stand against him now and felt the flush of confidence at that knowledge. His heart beat faster in his chest, the hope of using his new form to stand against ODIN and the Leviathan, quickening it. An image of Wren came to his mind. The flush of satisfaction faded, driven away by the loss of the woman he loved. With Candace gone he had no chance of reaching her. Anger boiled within him as screams erupted from the shore in the distance behind him.

  Curtis spun around seeking the source of the screams. He saw Owen sprinting from the main building of the settlement, several soldiers followed him as he ran straight for the polluted waters of the Puget Sound. Curtis angled to the water winging closer. His enhanced eyes picked up the dark bodies as Stephen’s voice slammed into his mind.

  “Curtis, hurry to the shore! The Leviathan’s army is in the water!” Curtis’ anger faded, dread replacing it as he saw more and more of the horde emerging from the cover of the water.

  “I am on my way,” he said, sending the thought to Stephen. The dread faded as he prepared himself for the battle. His senses sharpened as the nanid strains responded to his need. The scales drew tight around him forming an armor for his upcoming confrontation. He held his invisibility winging steadily to the water, passing over Owen and the soldiers racing to defend the rear of the settlement. The creatures were gathering on the shore of the Sound. The morning sun glistened off their black bodies covered in the sickened waters. Rage settled into him and he felt the rush of adrenaline needed to sustain him. He veered away from the horde executing a quick turn, so he was even with the water’s edge as he approached the twisted beasts from their side. At the last moment he drew a great breath and exhaled, dropping his cloak as fire leapt from his maw, searing the front line of the Leviathan’s minions with nanid fire. The creatures fell back into the water shocked by their attacker. As he passed he turned in the air streaking to the ground. He landed with an impact that shook the ground for a hundred feet around, tossing dirt and rocks high into the air. His reptilian eyes gleamed with rage as he focused on the creatures in front of him.

  “Leave this place or die!” Curtis roared at the horde of mutated creatures, his voice crashing into them causing them to pull back in fear. But they did not flee. Curtis felt his anger rise knowing they were under the Leviathan’s control. He would have no choice. He sensed Owen and the soldiers pull to a halt just behind him. He glanced at Owen who was barely winded from his sprint. The man’s green tinted skin gleamed with a metallic armor much like Simon’s. The bands of black that indicated his infection with the Leviathan’s strain were dark streaks on his arms. Two pitch black swords emerged in his hands as he stood watching the slowly growing army.

  “Stay behind me,” Curtis growled, as he turned back to the horde. He took a deep breath and without further warning sent his nanid fire into the black creatures. He focused all his rage into the fire, urging the nanids to seek the creatures and destroy them before they could inflict any more harm. The fire whirled around the front ranks of the horde clinging to them, burning flesh and bone, fur and feather. Curtis pushed as hard as he could, sweeping the fire from side to side as his silver armor gleamed red and orange. His great lungs strained for air and stars spun is his vision before he finally stopped, drawing breath in a great roar as he surveyed his attack. He had driven the horde further back into the water keeping them from encroaching the settlement. A line of fire burned on the shore fed by several of the creatures’ bodies, who had not been able to flee the nanid generated flames. The gathering still did not flee.

  “They are waiting for something,” Owen said, his words a harbinger of dread. As if Owen’s words were a signal, the creatures parted in the water, creating a gap in their line. The gap was gone a moment later as their leader emerged from the corrupted water that concealed it. Curtis felt doubt creep into his mind as he saw what they faced. It was a pure black wolf with the same gray eyes as its master. It was not a normal canine. As it rose from the water it towered over most of its kin, a giant among them. The strain pushed it farther than any Curtis had seen, easily the size of a horse, its thick fur bristled across its body protecting it much as Curtis’ scales. It shook once, spraying water across its army as it moved closer. White fangs gleamed from its muzzle hinting at the power of their owner. The great wolf stepped up to the line of fire on the shore, its vulpine eyes holding Curtis’ reptilian ones. Breaking eye contact the wolf raised its head into the air releasing a mournful howl. Curtis watched, his sensitive hearing set on edge by the cry of the wolf. A moment later shock seized him as the creature began to mutate at the water’s edge.

  The howl tore through Stephen as he was finishing what was now his final conversion. The woman was young, and he was sure the nanids would form the needed symbiosis in moments. He stood patting her arm gently, turning away as the conversion continued. A moment later he was outside the howl just finishing as he shot out the front of the building. He stopped staring across the settlement where the smoke was rising around a quickly transforming monstrosity. Curtis stood in front of it undeterred, facing the beast with Owen at his side. The beast bristled with hair, while muscles shifted and rippled across its frame. Stephen could see the snout and head of a wolf, but the body was quickly forming into that of a gigantic human. The black fur was thinning slightly, but still covered its skin drawing tight around the rippling muscles of the creature. Stephen was impressed and repulsed at the same time. The Leviathan strain was devastating in its effect on its victims. It destroyed them utterly. However, the effectiveness of the technology could not be denied. The conversion bestowed a raw power that was only matched by the single-minded blood lust the creature’s master imbued in them. Stephen felt the revulsion take control. Such technology should never be used in this way. It had brought humanity to the brink of extinction on the Earth. Anger emerged deep within the quantum he had become, the catalyst he needed to join the fray. The wolf howled once more as it completed its transformation. Stephen connected to Curtis’ mind.

  “Curtis, you must stop them. The remaining humans are secured in the building. You and Owen are all that stands between them and the invaders,” he said sending the thoughts with as much urgency as he could muster. A crash from the battle at the wall diverted Stephen’s attention from Curtis and the wolf creature. He felt the anger crest as he saw a section of the wall fall and the Leviathan’s horde surge through it. The battle had lost all semblance of order. Simon threw explosive after explosive into the gap in the wall attempting to slow the horde as the defenders behind the wall rushed to stop it. The two small armies crashed together, the Leviathan’s minions tearing and biting seeking to inflict as much physical damage as possible. The humans buoyed by the Earth’s nanids fought with varied weapons, those at the front using scavenged hammers, axes, and swords to hack and drive the creatures back. Behind them weapon after weapon discharged, projectiles and beams striking their target again and again. He could see the humans slow the rush, but not stop it. In that moment he knew the nanids would not be enough. The humans needed an edge, something that would beat the raw power of the Leviathan. The answer came as the first of the behemoths forced its way through the fallen section of the wall. He did not hesitate, sending the command to the humans he had given the earth’s nanids.

  The effect was immediate. The desperation left the humans facing the horde as the Earth’s nanids connected them all for the first time. The humans defense which had been rushed and haphazard took on a subtle grace, each fighter sharing his or her knowledge, connected in one mind that allowed them to move with complete synchrony. In moments the advance of the black creatures stalled, unable to overcome the precise dance of the defenders. Stephen marveled even as the behemoth closed on the defenders. The Earth’s nanids would save humanity and the Earth. Without any further hesitation he joined the fray, his greens robes swirled about him protectively disguising his form. As he approached the battle his speed increased exponentially, his form fading even more. To the human eye he was a blur of green passing by them with an eerie silence. He joined the battle weaving through the combatants, his connection to the humans allowing him to glide through the battle without impediment. If Stephen had been visible, all the witness would have seen was a swirling mire of nanids. The only indications of humanity were the two nanid steel daggers in Stephen’s hands and his darkened face deep within the cowl of his robes. Stephen continued deeper into the fray pushing to reach the behemoth before it engaged the humans. The beast was almost on the front line of soldiers. He knew they would not be a match for it. Abandoning his silent glide, Stephen became a wave of death clearing his way with impunity. The minions scattered before him, his blades slicing through their armored flesh before they could react. Chaos followed him with various creatures thrashing on the ground clutching at wounds and dismembered limbs. The humans stepped forward to dispatch the wounded, closing the gap left by Stephen.

  An instant later Stephen drew to a stop between the behemoth and the humans, his robes wrapping about him slowly as the beast paused to observe its newest attacker. Stephen did not wait. With a flick of his hands both daggers spun through the air burying themselves deep in the monstrosity’s eyes. The creature bellowed and reared back recoiling from the attack. Its massive hands clutched at its deformed face, unsuccessfully trying to extract the blades buried in its eyes. Stephen leapt forward circling the beast faster and faster as it thrashed about. His robes began to thin, spreading into thousands of threads as he continued around the beast. The threads clung to its tree like legs securing themselves deep in the flesh as their master continued. Stephen circled again and again, flaring his robes with his arms, throwing the threads high in the air around the beast. Thousands of the nanid lines crisscrossed the bellowing creature. Sensing the threat, it began to strike out blindly seeking the human who brought it such pain. Stephen deftly avoided it, leaping over it as it overextended and crashed to the ground in front of the humans. Stephen spun to a stop in front of the giant head, grasping his daggers and pulling them free without regard to the beast as he signaled the nanids in the threads across it. The behemoths bellow of pain at the blades removal was cut short as the threads on its body tightened simultaneously, each seeking to rejoin the others. Armored flesh and bone parted before the threads, as the entire beast was dissected at once, killing all the minions joined together to form the hulking creature. Stephen felt the humans pause with shock and revulsion at how quickly he dispatched the beast. He did not look back, stepping into the mire of blood and bone left on the ground, bending to retrieve a baseball sized ball of nanids glinting a bright green in the mid-morning sun. The blood of the beast fell from the nanid formed structure, the Leviathan strain was unable to penetrate the Earth’s nanids defenses. Stephen felt remorse at the loss of life but pushed it away. The humans needed to understand the brutality of war. ODIN and the Leviathan would give no quarter, and neither could they. A moment later the ball dissolved, the nanids disappearing into the structure of his robe.

  Stephen turned to the gap in the wall where the humans were beginning to push their attackers back. With the behemoth down the infected creatures inside the settlement were unable to break through the human’s lines. The hammering of the other behemoths was steady as the single-minded creatures sought to bring down the wall. Simon still stood on the wall attempting to drive the horde back. Stephen scanned the battle and then connected to Simon.

  “Simon, stop the behemoths. I am going for the Leviathan’s avatar,” Stephen said. He saw the red man stiffen and turn looking at him before nodding as the red sword formed in his hand. Father and son shared a quiet connection for a moment more and then Simon turned leaping from the wall to do his father’s bidding.

  Stephen strode to the wall, passing the line of humans steadily pushing back the horde. His robes shifted continuously seeking any threat to him. Stephen moved steadily to the opening not pausing for any of the Leviathan’s minions. If they chose to bar his way, death quickly found them. The destruction wrought by the Leviathan had finally broke the carefully harnessed anger within Stephen and it would not be controlled again until the Leviathan’s army was destroyed. As he stepped through the gap in the wall Stephen caught site of the hulking beast the Leviathan had created from Maher.

  “Leviathan!” he shouted, using the nanids to amplify his voice, causing the surrounding minions to scatter away seeking weaker targets. The avatar of the rogue quantum stopped its fevered rants and stared at Stephen with hatred filling its gaze.

  “Fore!” it roared striding toward Stephen. Stephen did not advance but waited for the beast that had once been Maher to approach. The quantum stopped while several yards still separated them continuing to hold his gaze.

  “Did you come to surrender?” it growled. Stephen felt his anger urge him to destroy the avatar but held it in check.

  “I came to finish what should have been done long ago,” he stated flatly. “You will be completely destroyed.” Stephen allowed anger to seep into his voice as he finished. The effect of his words was immediate. The Leviathan surged forward moving so quickly it became a dark blur in the morning sun. It closed on Stephen driving its clawed hand deep into his chest. Stephen felt the claws cutting deeper trying to destroy him. He allowed the Leviathan a moment more before seizing its arm. The Leviathan reared back to strike with its free hand seeking to end the battle. As the hand began its descent the robe surrounding Stephen shot out and wrapped around the massive fist and forearm immobilizing them. The Leviathan roared in anger and attempted to dislodge its hand from Stephen’s chest. Stephen did not flinch. Ignoring the appendage buried in his chest, he pulled the hulking beast closer forcing it to kneel. The Earth’s nanids began to stream up the dark arm as Stephen bent forward bringing his eyes level with those of the mad quantum. Stephen held the gray eyes with his as he opened his mind to the other quantum.

  “Now you will see what you face,” he said, forcing the thoughts into the Leviathan’s mind. The rage in the Leviathan disappeared replaced by fear as Stephen allowed it to experience what he had become. Fear turned to terror when it felt Stephen begin to enter its mind, doing what it had done to Simon so many years ago. Time ceased for the two quantums. The battle continued around them as the humans continued to push the horde back. Simon had stopped one behemoth and was steadily attacking the others. All avoided the two quantums as if sensing the titanic struggle occurring between them. Stephen slowly entered the Leviathan’s mind being cautious even though there was little it could do to him. The Leviathan struggled in his grasp seeking to break their bond. The nanids were steadily advancing having completely covered its arms and now moving onto its chest and back. Stephen grew tired of its struggles and surged into its mind, immobilizing the other quantum. He began steadily flaying through the Leviathan’s mind drawing as much information from it while steadily destroying the quantum’s presence. As he moved deeper he found the quantum’s memory of the wolf. It was another avatar of the Leviathan. It was much older than this one having been present at the Leviathan’s resurrection. Stephen paused in his destruction of his foe while connecting to Curtis on the opposite side of the battle.

 

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