Merchants of Death

Chapter 21



Even the smartest of people can make really dumb decisions sometimes, and Doctor Durga was no exception to this.



The scientist couldn't resist testing what was left of Selene in ways that his boss would not approve of. Fascinated by Selene's amazing regenerative powers.



The Mind Flayer was still in the med lab when everyone else (except for a few security personnel) had left for the night. Conducting an experiment that technically went against the orders Imperious Dakar had given Durga. But the doctor's first loyalty had always been to the search for knowledge, so Durga went ahead with the experiment anyway.



However, even though he felt justified, the research scientist still didn't want to be punished for his actions, therefore Durga had deactivated most of the security systems inside the med lab. Knowing that would prevent his actions from being automatically recorded.



Now he was lowering a mouse into the containment unit that what remained of Selene was trapped in. Curious as to what effect it would have on the psychic vampire's liquid form. Closely watching the mechanical arm holding the mouse (which was built into the containment unit) so that he could take in every detail.



Earlier in the night Durga had fed insects to the life draining creature, but there had been no visible change in Selene. The Mind Flayer was hoping that feeding a larger life form to the psychic vampire would produce more interesting results.



As soon as the mouse touched the dark mass of Selene it began shrieking frantically, its primitive mind overwhelmed by pain and fear. The liquid predator rapidly oozed up and over the mouse, engulfing the little scavenger as Selene consumed it. Then the dark mass started to quickly grow in size.



Alarms began to go off in the lab as Selene assaulted the spherical containment unit she was trapped in. Her liquid form somehow burning the inside of her high tech cage like acid, the energy from the mouse giving her enough power to attempt escape.



~No no no~ Durga thought as he realized what was happening. The full ramifications of his actions hitting him as the Mind Flayer watched Selene try to escape.



~If the witch escapes the first thing she will do is kill me~ Durga thought, all too aware that he now had more serious (or at least immediate) problems than angering his boss.



But Durga was neither a coward nor a fool, so he acted pragmatically. Hitting controls on the containment unit to freeze the inner walls, as well as activate the surgical lasers within the sphere.



Selene made a bubbling sound of pain as the walls froze her along the edges of her mass, then began to swirl around the inside of the containment unit madly as the beams of light from the surgical lasers struck her, in a futile attempt to avoid their painful strikes. Her thoughts turned from escape back to simple survival.



Soon the liquidy mass of Selene was just as small as it had been before the mouse was consumed, the extra mass frozen or burned away by the freezing walls and lasers. Thinking the threat most likely over, Durga turned off the lasers and cooling elements inside the containment unit. Breathing a sigh of relief that that crisis was apparently averted.



The Mind Flayer was so preoccupied studying Selene that he didn't notice a small humanoid form scurrying around the lab. At least not until it ran over to him and touched him.



Durga looked down at what seemed to be a naked doll sized version of Selene's normal youthful form. Gazing up at him with crimson eyes that gleamed with feral intelligence.



“What are you?” the illithid gasped in surprise.



The creature answered by biting his leg, her little razor sharp teeth piercing clothe and flesh with ease. Durga screamed in shock and pain, bringing his hand down to knock away the creature.



But before he could the little psychic vampire pulled in his life force, almost instantaneously turning the Mind Flayer's body to dust as she consumed his very soul. Durga's last conscious thought was to wonder how the hell this had happened to him.



*****



Mini-Selene never could have snuck into the the part of the lab where Selene was being held if Durga had not turned off most of the security systems that would normally prevent unauthorized entry. And Durga himself probably would have detected her presence long before she could attack him if he had not been so preoccupied by what he was doing to Selene.



But Durga had no way of knowing that there was such a dangerous creature wandering around the med lab that was instinctively drawn to Selene. Dying thanks to the condition that he most despised, ignorance.



Now Selene's creature was using the energy she had taken from the Mind Flayer to grow in size, intelligence, and power. Growing to a stature equal to Selene's normal size, though her mind and powers still lagged behind.



But she was still intelligent enough to hit the proper controls to release Selene from the containment unit, employing knowledge she had gained when she consumed Durga.



The dark mass of Selene oozed onto the floor, moving with the timidity of a predator that had been long caged and tormented. The creature that looked like a beautiful young woman, her curvaceous form concealed by neither modesty nor clothing, sensed the uncertainty of her creator and mistress. Reaching down to tenderly stroke the liquid mass.



“Your free” the creature said with childlike glee.



The dark mass of Selene began to ooze up her arm, and the childish predator giggled, thinking that she was being embraced by her beloved creator. But as the dark mass engulfed her right arm and began to cover her torso, the pseudo Selene sensed something was wrong.



“It hurts...why does it hurt?” the creature said in confusion, feeling real pain for the first time in her life.



I AM SORRY CHILD BUT I NEED YOUR STRENGTH.



The words were unspoken, and felt more than thought, but they hit the young predator's mind like a freight train, telling her the painful truth. Selene was trying to eat her.



She panicked and tried to pull the liquid mass of Selene off her, but at this point it had engulfed most of her torso as well as her right arm, and was moving to cover her legs and other arm too.



Her powers were similar enough to Selene's and the wounded witch was currently weak enough that the younger psychic vampire should have been able to fight off her creator. But the young predator didn't know how to, struggling against Selene physically when she should have been fighting against her creator mentally and spiritually.



“No not like this mama” the creature cried out pitifully as her body was completely engulfed by the dark mass of Selene, hoping that her 'parent' would show her mercy. But Selene's first love had always been herself, so she didn't hesitate to take what she needed from her rescuer.



The frantic creature tried to escape from the suffocating mass, which was now entering her every orifice, probing and infiltrating her body more like a virus than a mammalian predator. Intent on consuming every particle of her being. Soon her humanoid form began to dissolve into and merge with the mass of Selene, at that point the young predator stopped struggling, too overwhelmed by pain and fear to fight back anymore. Shocked at the ingratitude and betrayal of her 'mother.'



Selene took everything from her.

The life force and spiritual energy the young vampire had taken from Durga and her other victims, the spark of power that had first given the creature life, and even the components of the stone that had made up the young predator's original form. They were all fed to Selene's ravenous hunger.



There was now nothing left of pseudo-Selene's body and Selene's growing mass covered several feet of the floor. Then the mass contracted, becoming denser and smaller, taking on vaguely human proportions. The thing turned from a dark (almost black) color to a pale flesh tone, as finer features like eyes, toes, breasts, and hair formed. The process finished as details like a bellybutton, nipples, teeth, and toe nails were added.



Selene gingerly touched her restored body, appearing young, beautiful, and human to the naked eye. Feeling no remorse for the murder that it had taken to achieve this state of affairs again.



The ancient witch slowly stood up, still a bit unsteady on her feet. Realizing for the first time that she was alone in the lab. Smiling as thoughts of conquest and vengeance filled her mind.



*****



It had been surprisingly easy for Kimie Li to secure passage to the Iberian capital. The Iberian official she had spoken to was a fan of the pornographer's work, and was more than happy to issue foreign workers visas to Li and her crew when she explained that Sinful Li Produced wanted to shoot a movie in Neroka.



Now Christopher Lera was sitting beside the businesswoman on her private plane as it flew towards Iberia, trying to fight off the conviction that something would go wrong. Worrying that they had forgotten some vital detail.



“Are you sure that nobody knows I'm gone?” the Minister of Foreign Relations asked.



“Yes Chris...I left one of my girls there disguised as you and everyone at the mansion...even your bodyguards...thinks she's you...remember” Kimie said in exasperation.



Christopher recalled watching a wizard in Li's employ change one of the pornstars working for Kimie into an exact (physically at least) replica of him. Admitting to himself that it was probably enough to fool all but the most perceptive observers.



“All right...but will MY disguise fool them” Christopher asked.



Kimie took in Lera's current appearance as she considered the question. Gazing at Christopher's pale skin, reddish brown hair, freckled face, and willowy feminine curves. Which was in stark contrast to Lera's usual male dark elfin form.



“Chris honey...I barely recognize you myself right now” the demon answered with feeling.



*****



“How much does Magnus know?” Imperious Dakar asked Susan Zweller.



“Pretty much everything” the werewolf confessed.



Susan Zweller, Imperious Dakar, Angelus, and Udragoth were meeting in the office Imperious had in the Neroka portal facility. Unlike the last meeting these four had, none of them were tied up or had a gun pointed at their head this time. Nevertheless it could not be described as a friendly meeting.



“Why?” Dakar asked coldly.



“Honestly...he paid a lot better than you” Susan admitted.



“Then why has he demanded to know where my money is coming from if he already knows about my off world business?” Dakar inquired.



“I am not sure...Magnus doesn't seem to trust me that much” Susan calmly answered.



“That is because he is not a fool” Angelus added.



The truth was, Imperious already knew the answers to a lot of the questions he was now asking Susan, thanks to all the information he had taken from the chaotic mind of the werewolf during her interrogation. But he wanted confirmation on some of the more important things he had learned while in the werewolf's mind, and besides it was hard to make sense of certain bits of data he had taken from Susan's fragmented consciousness.



“If I had to guess why the old dragon is pretending to be more ignorant than he really is...he didn't want to reveal that he had a source inside your company...and...please note this is pure speculation...he thought you would be more willing to make a deal with him regarding the off world business if you thought he was in a weaker bargaining position” Susan stated, more eager than ever to prove her value to Dakar now that he had so much power over her.



Dakar simply nodded in response. Susan's words closely matching his own thoughts on the matter.



“And how much have you told your Illuminati masters about what's going in this country?” Angelus demanded to know, his handsome elfin features somehow making the sneer on his face all the more ugly.



“Virtually nothing...if they knew what was really going on here they would have tried to kill you and Dakar by now to either stop the business or take it over themselves” Susan answered with unusual honesty.



“True...but why give less to them than Magnus?...I doubt it was out of concern for us” Dakar replied dryly.



“I honestly can't stand those smug Illuminati bastards...besides they haven't given me a raise in years...not even for inflation” Susan complained.



Dakar smiled, his teeth gleaming like a shark's as he regarded the treacherous werewolf. That predatory grin staying on his face as he replied “oh Susan...that won't be a problem for you anymore my girl.”



“Why not?” the werewolf asked warily, all too aware that Dakar's thuggish way of speaking signaled that he was acting in a more calculating manner, not less.



“Because Kitten...from now on WE shall manage your finances” Dakar answered, that horrible smile not leaving his face as he spoke.



“WHAT...YOU CAN'T DO THAT” Susan said in shock.



“Of course I can bitch...but relax...I won't be taking away your money...just keeping track of it” Dakar explained, though there was little reassuring about his expression or words.



“NO” Susan said in denial as her bestial persona emerged, too shocked and appalled to repress Cain the way that she usually did in situations like this. Her flesh shifting as she began to change into her wolfwoman form.



But Angelus had been waiting for such a reaction and punched Susan in the stomach before she could finish her transformation. His mechanically powered fist striking with enough force to crush organs and shatter ribs, the blow knocking her across the room and against a wall.



“Stay down” Angelus commanded as Susan hit the floor, more than willing to kill the werewolf if she continued to attack.



“That's enough Angelus...Susan is no threat to us now...as for you girl....I have had more than enough of your-” Dakar started to say, only to be interrupted by someone rushing into the office.



“Sir you have to come see this” the man said frantically.



“I said I didn't want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency” Dakar all too calmly told the employee.



“Yes sir...but its...a bit more than a regular emergency” the company man nervously explained.



*****



The Vampire Slayer Alliance attacked the Imperious Industries portal facility on Terra One without warning. The powerful witch Willow Rosenberg blasting through the mystical defenses surrounding the base to teleport herself and over a hundred Vampire Slayers into the facility, giving the troops protecting the base virtually no chance to defend themselves before the Slayers started slaughtering them.



As the news reached Imperious Dakar the businessman reacted immediately. Doing his best to protect his threatened assets.



“Tell them that the main priority is to defend the portal that leads here and that reinforcements are on the way...summon Omega Squad and tell them to get ready for battle” Dakar commanded as Angelus, Udragoth, Susan, and the technomancer all walked to the Portal Room. Surrounded by worried employees looking to their leader for direction.



“Where is my armor?” Angelus asked, relishing the opportunity to test out his new body in combat.



“In the lab” Dakar replied as he gestured for Angelus to follow.



“Call Impala and tell her and Angela to come here immediately...its time we see what that girl can do in real combat” Dakar said as he turned to another one of his aides.



“Who is Angela?” Angelus asked curiously.



An expression almost like worry briefly flashed across Imperious Dakar's face. But it was so fast that no one watching was quite sure that they had seen it. Then Dakar's manner became completely businesslike as he answered “I'll tell you on the way.”



*****



With Buffy Summers gone the most experienced, powerful, and toughest Vampire Slayer left was Faith Lehane. So despite his complicated (and often painful) history with Faith, Xander Harris had chosen her to lead the strike force of Slayers attacking the portal facility.



Like the late Buffy Summers, Faith led from the front, so she was among the first Slayers to reach the Portal Room. Accompanied by just thirty Slayers (the others were busy mopping up resistance throughout the rest of the facility) who were all armed with heavy weapons like assault rifles, bazookas, grenade launchers, and even a few heavy machine guns (devices that could only be considered portable if one had super strength).



There were over fifty armored soldiers, twenty Epsilon units, and ten floating A.S.R. (Automated Surveillance Robots) guarding the entrance to the Portal Room. Faith wasn't too worried about the security personnel, but each of the Epsilon robots dwarfed all of the Slayers in size and was more heavily armed than any of Faith's team, while Lehane and her girls didn't know what to make of the ominous floating black spheres near the ceiling by the door to the Portal Room.



The smart thing to do might have been to wait for more Vampire Slayers to get there before attacking. But Faith knew it was vital to capture the portal before Imperious Industries could bring in reinforcements.



~Besides...my momma always said I had more balls than brains~ Faith thought with a smirk as she threw a smoke grenade at the enemy position.



The security personnel and robots were still trying to set up their defensive position (having just received orders to defend the Portal Room at all costs) when the Vampire Slayers got there, so the attack caught them completely off guard. The smoke from the grenade Faith had thrown had not even finished spreading before the Slayers opened fire.



The Vampire Slayers holding the heavy machine guns moved their weapons back and forth so that they could target the whole enemy position. Most of the living troops they were facing died in the first volley, their armor providing virtually no protection against such concentrated firepower. The majority died before they even realized what was going on.



The A.S.R. units fared almost as badly, for the little floating robots had no armor to speak of, their chief defense being speed and maneuverability. But caught by surprise like this, their speed and maneuverability meant nothing, and eight of the black spheres exploded as they were hit by heavy machine gun fire.



Only the Epsilon units had the heavy armor necessary to take the machine gun fire without suffering damage. Unfortunately for the armored robots, the Vampire Slayers targeted them with most of their bazookas and grenade launchers. Destroying nine Epsilon robots as they were hit by the Slayer's explosive ordnance.



But the heavy infantry robots almost immediately counterattacked, opening up with the machine guns built into their own arms. Mowing down thirteen members of Faith's team in the second minute of the battle.



Then several of the Epsilon robots activated their primary weapon, their chest plates opening up as they targeted the Vampire Slayers with their radiation cannons. The green beams of energy striking out and incinerating four Slayers, who died so quickly they didn't even have time to scream.



~This isn't working...my girls are getting slaughtered~ Faith thought as she saw another one of her Slayers die. Grabbing a bag of grenades as she made up her mind.



“HEY LOOK AT ME YOU METAL BASTARDS” Faith yelled as she ran forward, accurately lobbing a grenade at an Epsilon robot's opening chest plates as she did so, not even glancing at the robotic soldier as it exploded.



Faith continued to attack the Epsilon robots head on, running at them as she threw grenades at the robots, cursing all the while, and avoiding all the bullets and rockets the Epsilons sent her way through a combination of luck and skill. Soon more of the heavily armed robots were targeting her than the rest of the Slayers.



“Ahhh” Faith screamed as a bullet went cleanly through her right shoulder, hit by one of the few remaining humans guarding the doorway. But he had no time to savor his victory, because a watching Slayer cursed in outrage and fired a round from her bazooka at him.



Faith watched as her attacker's body literally blew apart. In too much shock to feel any pain from her wound yet. Knowing that she had to keep fighting right now despite her injuries.



“COME ON GIRLS...WE CAN TAKE THESE METAL BASTARDS” Faith yelled as she picked up her bag of grenades and hurled it at the six remaining Epsilon units.



Just before the bag would have struck the closest Epsilon the robot fired at the bag with its radiation cannon. The resulting explosion destroyed the robot that had fired and its two closest comrades (an explosion that probably would not have even occurred if the robot had simply let the bag of un-ignited grenades hit it).



Then all the remaining Slayers targeted the three Epsilon units left with every weapon they had. Firing at the outnumbered robotic soldiers with machine guns, rockets, and grenades. The robots could do little more than calculate how badly the odds were stacked against them before they were violently blown away.



“SHIT...I'M HIT” a British Slayer swore as the last A.S.R. unit shot her in the stomach with a its built in laser cannon. Blood coming from her mouth as she tried to hold in her entrails.



Faith responded by grabbing the severed arm of one of the wrecked Epsilon units and swinging it like a baseball bat at the floating sphere. Smashing the round robot against a wall before it could react.



Then several other Vampire Slayers rushed to the aid of the Slayer that had just been shot. But she died from organ failure and blood loss just as they got to her.



Faith Lehane grimaced as she watched her team gather around their fallen comrade. The battle had lasted less than five minutes, but she had lost almost two thirds of her personal squad during it.



Nevertheless, everyone defending the entrance to the portal room was dead or destroyed at this point, so it was still a victory. Faith told herself as much as she turned to her Slayers and said “come on girls...let's make sure they can't send anymore of these damn robots here.”



Then Faith leapt at the heavy metal door to the Portal Room, her foot hitting it with enough force to knock the thing down. Landing roughly on her back as she violently entered the room.



~Fuck...that hurt a lot more than I thought it would~ Faith thought as she quickly got to her feet. Looking around for potential threats.



The room was much larger than the one she had just been fighting in, with large computer screens and control panels against most of the walls. The only other occupants of the room were scared looking technicians, who stared at the Vampire Slayer with a combination of surprise and fear.



But Faith barely noticed any of that, because her attention was on the swirling vortex of energy that dominated one of the walls. Which cast ever changing multicolored lights across everything in the room.



Faith swore (if only to herself) that she could feel the raw power coming off the thing, and instantly knew that it was the dimensional portal.



~DAMN IT...WE WERE SO CLOSE~ the senior technician mentally complained as he saw the Vampire Slayer enter the room. Knowing that reinforcements were supposed to come through in the next few minutes.



“We surrender...but it will take a few minutes to safely shut down the...” the senior technician said in a pleading tone.



Faith recognized stalling when she saw it, and screamed in response “ANYONE WHO DOESN'T WANT A SHOT IN THE HEAD LEAVE NOW.”



Despite the fact that the Slayer no longer had a firearm of any sort, most of the technicians scattered (including the one who had tried stalling Faith). Heading for an exit Faith had not noticed until then.



But not all of them.



One of the technicians was armed, and tried to shoot Faith with her little handgun. However, the skinny woman was a lousy shot, and the bullet hit nothing but the wall. Faith reacted by rushing the technician and tearing the gun out of her hands.



“BITCH” the shooter swore as she was disarmed.



“No...I'm THE BITCH” Faith replied as she punched the woman in the temple, knocking the technician out with one swift blow.



But Faith had taken too long, and just as her battle with the technician ended something started to come through the portal.



The first thing that emerged from the portal was a large armored hand, black in color and with fingertips that came to a point (like claws). As the rest of the figure emerged it became apparent that its entire body was covered in black armor.



Faith saw the armored thing coming through the dimensional portal and responded by holding the gun she had just confiscated with her good arm and opening fire. But the bullets just harmlessly bounced off its armor.



Now the figure had completely emerged from the portal.



The creature was basically humanoid in shape, though whatever human features it had were hidden by the black armor that covered its entire body. Its 'face' was an angular black mask with (glowing) blue goggles for eyes and a wire grill for a mouth, while a thick black helmet shaped like an ancient samurai's covered the rest of its head.



The creature was about seven feet tall and out massed Faith by more than two hundred pounds, it held a gun that looked bigger than Lehane in one large hand, and Faith swore that its deep breathing filled the entire room.



“What're you supposed to be...Darth Vader?” Faith said mockingly.



“Angelus” the creature replied in a deep, artificial sounding voice.



Any further resemblance to Darth Vader was mentally pushed aside at the sound of that hated name.



“Figures” Faith muttered bitterly as she thought of the cruel vampire that shared the name. Wondering if that undead sadist had any connection to the creature before her.



But Faith should have been paying more attention to the enemy in front of her. Before he had even finished saying his name Angelus had moved his gun arm to aim at Faith. Moving with super-elfin speed to target the Vampire Slayer with his massive weapon.



The gun shot what appeared to be a massive burst of green fire, which hit Faith before she could even begin to dodge. The blast essentially burned away all of Lehane's body below the waist, and for one timeless moment the Slayer's head, arms, and torso seemed to hang suspended in the air. But then what was left of Faith's body fell to the floor.



“Oh God Oh God...what the hell happened to me?” Faith whimpered as she lay helplessly on the floor. Instinctively trying to move the legs she no longer had. Saved from immediately bleeding to death only thanks to the fact that the shot from Angelus's gun had cauterized her extensive wounds as it made them.



Angelus walked over to the helpless woman, feeling neither remorse nor pity as he loomed over the Vampire Slayer that he had half destroyed. The cyborg considered shooting her again, but decided not to waste the shot.



Instead, he simply raised his foot, lifting it above Faith's head as he prepared to step down. As she looked up Faith could see nothing but the bottom of Angelus's armored foot, knowing that the end was near.



~Sorry Buffy...I tried to do right by your girls~ Faith thought just before the boot descended. Crushing her all too fragile human head beneath more than half a ton of weight.



*****



Angelus's new armor basically looked like his old armor (except for the fact that it was somewhat bigger and heavier). But it was actually quite different.



This armor had far more built in weapons than the cyborg elf's old armor, and unlike the previous suit it did not rely solely on its armor plating for protection, possessing a force field generator similar to (but much more powerful than) the one Imperious Dakar had. Like the old armor it had a direct neural link between Angelus's cybernetic brain and the armor's systems (allowing the elf to mentally control the armor like the limbs of his own body) but this new armor had more sensors feeding data on the environment around him directly to Angelus's brain.



It had sounded very impressive to Angelus, but the veteran soldier would never fully trust a weapon he hadn't used. That was part of the reason why Angelus had decided to go ahead of the rest of the Imperious Industries reinforcements.



“NOOOO” several of the Vampire Slayers exclaimed as they entered the Portal Room. Arriving just in time to watch Angelus crush Faith Lehane's skull.



The armored cyborg was getting struck by bullets just as his foot hit the floor, as Faith's personal squad tried to avenge their fallen leader. Then a rocket from one of the bazookas hit Angelus, throwing off enough smoke and flame that he was briefly hidden from view.



But when the smoke cleared Angelus stood where he had been before, apparently unhurt.



“Stupid little girls...did you really think that you could defeat us with our own weapons?” Angelus rumbled contemptuously. Rubbing his foot across the floor to get off the broken bone and brain matter, smiling beneath his mask as the Slayers screamed and charged him.



Two Vampire Slayers came at him with one of the heavy machine guns, carrying it like a battering ram as they tried to smash it into him. Firing at him the whole time, the bullets bouncing off the armor to strike objects all over the room.



Angelus raised his massive gun and pointed it at the Slayers charging at him with the machine gun. His gun was essentially a portable (if something too big for the human hand to grip properly and weighing hundreds of pounds could be considered portable) version of the radiation cannon all the Epsilon units had. But unlike the Epsilon version it required virtually no charge up time before firing.



His two attackers had no time to react before getting irradiated, the blast of green energy reducing their bodies to little more than fragments and melting the machine gun beyond recognition.



However, Angelus had allowed himself to become too preoccupied with his new toy. While he was killing the Slayers with the machine gun the others surrounded him, shooting or hitting him at point blank range. Some so mad with rage that they apparently thought that their mere fists could achieve what explosive ordnance had failed to do (penetrate his armor).



~What would happen if I activated my force field while their within touching distance?~

Angelus wondered. Deciding to find out by experienced.



A transparent bluish sphere shimmered into existence around Angelus as he activated his force field. It knocked most of the Slayers away from the armored cyborg, but one was unfortunate enough to have a firm grip on his head (because she was trying to break his neck) when the force field was activated. The energy barrier met her flesh and the flesh gave, making the Slayer shriek in agony as her arms were cleanly severed near the elbows.



Angelus put the wounded Vampire Slayer out of her misery with a quick shot from his gun. Proving to himself that the force field prevented things from going in but not coming out.



As Angelus shot down most of his remaining attackers the brutal cyborg admitted to himself that the main reason he had gone ahead of the other reinforcements was not because he needed to test out his new armor, or even because they needed to send someone powerful through to secure the dimensional portal as soon as possible (although these were factors). It was because Angelus truly enjoyed destroying his enemies personally.



*****



Willow Rosenberg was in the process of finishing off the only decent wizard Imperious Industries had in the portal facility when the Vampire Slayers invaded. Watching with relief as her spells reduced her opponent to a red smear. Glad the hard fought battle was over.



But the witch had no time to savor her victory, receiving a call on her cell phone, recognizing the caller ID as belonging to one of the Slayers that had gone ahead with Faith to capture the Portal Room.



“What do you need?” the Wiccan said crisply, assuming that none of the girls would call her during a battle unless it was an emergency.



“Faith dead...fuck FUCK...giant metal monster...send help NOW!” a terrified voice on the other end of the line babbled.



Then the line went dead.



*****



The Vampire Slayer who had tried calling for help was dead, killed by a blow from a massive armored fist to her right temple. Now there was only one Slayer left fighting Angelus.



Although 'fighting' was probably not the right word.



Her feet dangled in the air as Angelus's right hand tightened around her throat, held up thanks only to armored fingers slowly crushing her neck. Her broken arms hanging uselessly at her sides.



“Monster” the dying Slayer choked out.



“Perhaps to you” Angelus answered indifferently.



Then both the cyborg and his victim were distracted by an explosion of light and sound. Turning their heads to watch as Willow Rosenberg appeared in the Portal Room.



The witch was floating several feet off the ground, wearing a simple green dress that almost completely hid her willowy curves and an angry expression. The air around the powerful magic user seemed to sparkle and sizzle as she commanded in a thunderous voice “PUT HER DOWN.”



Angelus stared at the angry redhead and said calmly “as you wish” and then threw the helpless Slayer at the witch. The move surprised Willow and she was knocked back as the dying woman collided with her.



However she remained airborne (although the poor Slayer fell to the floor and landed on her head) and immediately counterattacked, muttering a spell that sent a fiery gust of wind strong enough to knock Angelus off his feet.



~I should not have turned off the force field~ Angelus thought as he fell down.



But even as he hit the floor Angelus was aiming his gun at Willow. Firing off a massive burst of radiation in the witch's direction. As Rosenberg saw the massive bolt of green energy coming her way she knew that she couldn't let it hit her, flying out of the way just before it hit (and burned through) a wall.



“Let's see you try picking on someone your own size” Willow said coldly, then she spoke a few key phrases in Latin and made the necessary gestures to cast another spell. Attempting to reduce Angelus to the size of a small lapdog.



Nothing happened, the spell just seemed to bounce off the cyborg's armor.



Willow had no way of knowing that Angelus's armor was infused with the magic of a technomancer, which had been applied specifically to protect the cyborg from spells like the one that she had just cast. But she was a smart girl, and could still adapt to the situation.



Rosenberg pointed at his gun and uttered another spell, the Latin sounding quite menacing as she glared at the cybernetic elf.



Angelus's gun was not protected from magic like his armor, and the cyborg was surprised to discover that it had been replaced with a huge snake. Transformed into a python by the power of Willow's magic.



The large snake reared back its head and tried to bite his forearm, the magical serpent's fangs piercing his thick armor like paper. Making Angelus cry out in surprise and pain as the Python's teeth sank into his flesh.



But Angelus was a soldier first and foremost, so he didn't let the pain stop him. Aiming his right arm at Willow as he fired off the sonic canon built into it. Crushing the life out of the python with his left hand as the concentrated burst of sound hit the redhead.



“AAAHHHH....OH GODDESS MAKE IT STOP” Willow shrieked as the attack struck her, her eardrums bursting as the blast of sound hit her. Completely unprepared for this sort of attack.



The witch fell to the floor, her concentration utterly shattered by the sonic blast.



Angelus let go of the dead snake and took aim with his left arm, activating the laser canon built into it as he opened fire. Shooting at the fallen witch who seemed to be lying in a broken heap.



But a flaming pentagram appeared to intercept the laser beam, absorbing the destructive burst of light and then disappearing just as quickly. Then Willow stood up, her hair and eyes turning black in color, blood coming from her ears and running down her neck as she sang an eerily melodious spell.



Angelus was on his feet as well at this point, and activated his force field, which shimmered into existence around him. Only moments later Willow hurled a glowing black mass at him, that hit the blue energy barrier and then fell to the floor, rapidly burning through everything it touched like powerful acid.



Angelus was very glad that he had activated his force field.



“I'm so sick of you self-righteous military types” Willow said as her dark eyes looked up and down the cyborg's body, her voice possessing a condescending and cold quality it had lacked before.



Then the witch touched her ravaged ears, healing them just in time to hear Angelus's reply.



“And I loath arrogant spoon benders.”



“Then let's not waste anymore of each others time” Willow said with an evil smirk.



It was easy (all too easy) for the witch to embrace the Dark Magic again. As Willow felt the dark power course through her she imagined a dozen ways to destroy the enemy in front of her. However, Angelus was thinking along similar lines.



Panels all over the cyborg's armored torso suddenly opened up, revealing dozens of tiny missiles. Fired from their launchers by Angelus's mental command.



Willow suddenly found a virtual wave of missiles flying towards her, screaming a spell to freeze the missiles in midair. They stopped mere inches from her, and Willow breathed a sigh of relief.



Only to realize that Angelus had never stopped attacking her. The big cyborg was charging her, and as his force field smashed into the missiles they detonated.



The force of the explosion was enough to blast a little crater into the floor where Willow and Angelus had been standing, and sent both the witch and the cyborg flying backwards. But Angelus's force field prevented him from suffering any real damage. Willow was not so fortunate.



The blast had horribly burned the witch and hurled her across the room with enough force to break her spine. The only reason Willow had not instantly died was the huge amount of magic currently coursing through her system (which had partially protected her from the explosion).



At this point Willow borne a startling resemblance to the way that Selene had looked when Rosenberg had burnt the psychic vampire with lightning. Her skin was all either charred or burned away to reveal the pink muscle beneath, the witch's formerly red hair was now all but gone, and her clothes were nothing but charred rags.



But Willow Rosenberg's eyes were glowing pools of darkness, and magic coursed through her more strongly than ever. Offering up part of her own essence to the forces of destruction and chaos in order to cast a powerful spell. Giving up years of her own life span to destroy the enemy in front of her.



Willow raised her right hand and what looked like a massive spear composed of red light took shape in it. Then she hurled it directly at Angelus.



Angelus saw the spear of crimson heading towards himself but he made no attempt to dodge it. Confident that it couldn't pierce his force field and armor.



He was wrong.



The red spear went through the blue energy barrier like it wasn't there, and then struck the cyborg's armor. Smashing through the tough metallic armor like a hot knife through butter, burning through the elfin flesh beneath, and then tearing through the mechanical systems at Angelus's core.



Willow looked on as the cyborg's force field dissipated, seeing that there was now a hole about the size of her fist that went all the way through Angelus's torso, completely obliterating the area in a human where their heart would be (which is why Willow had aimed there). Smiling evilly as the large armored cyborg toppled over a moment later.



Rosenberg mentally recited the words to a healing spell, standing up as her charred flesh fell away, revealing black hair, smooth skin, and a face lined by blue veins (like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon). Another word of power restored her garments, and then the witch sauntered over to her fallen foe.



Angelus looked dead, silent and unmoving, with a massive hole in his chest that was big enough for Willow to see the floor by peering through it.



“Boys and their toys...did you really think that you could kill me without any magic?” Willow said with an evil little smirk. Then she contemptuously kicked the fallen cyborg.



Only to find her foot caught in a massive armored fist.



“Yes.”



Angelus was in a great deal of pain, the witch's attack had severely damaged many of his systems. But even though his cybernetic body was no longer operating at full capacity it was still functional. Because his current body had been designed with many backup systems and fail safes. Moreover, except for his brain, Angelus had no vital organs anymore (he was quite literally heartless).



So the cyborg had played dead, hoping that powerful witch would let down her guard, and give him an opportunity to attack her at pointblank range.



Now Angelus was firing at Willow Rosenberg with every weapon built into his armor (except the few melee ones) simultaneously. Hitting her with violent bursts of sound, destructive beams of light, miniature missiles, and weapons that Willow had never encountered before.



The attack occurred so fast that Willow never had the chance to utter a single spell in response, and with her foot held in the cyborg's unyielding grasp she had no hope of dodging. The witch's body seemed to simply burst in a shower of flesh, blood, and bone as the missiles, sonic bursts, laser beams, and other forms of destructive energy struck her at point blank range.



A moment later there was little left of Willow Rosenberg's body but a red smear. The only intact part of it was the foot that Angelus still held in his left hand.



Angelus tossed the foot aside and tried to get up, finding that the damage he had suffered had somehow compromised his balance. But he eventually managed to pull himself to his feet.



By the time he had more reinforcements had already arrived. Angelus looked around and saw over a dozen Imperious Industries security personnel and Epsilon units, with more emerging from the portal every few seconds.



One of the corporate soldiers turned to Angelus and asked “orders sir?”



“The Vampire Slayers tried to destroy us with a sneak attack...kill them all” Angelus commanded.



Then he looked down at his own wound, considering the massive hole in his chest.

~Perhaps I should have tested this body out first before going into combat~ the cyborg thought.



*****



Willow Rosenberg had been the most powerful person in the Vampire Slayer Alliance by far. Without her or their field commander Faith Lehane the Vampire Slayers had no real chance against Angelus and his forces.



The Imperious Industries corporate soldiers and robots tracked down the groups of Slayers scattered throughout the portal facility and eliminated them one by one. The Vampire Slayers were outnumbered, outgunned, and out of time.



*****



Neroka had a relatively large and well run airport, so Kimie Li's private plane had no trouble landing in the Iberian capital. However, things went less smoothly once her group tried to get off the plane.



“Stop right there” the grim Ministry of Defense official said as Kimie and her companions exited the plane.



Kimie smiled toothily as she stared down at the human official and his entourage of armed guards (all of whom were significantly shorter than the tall demon). Wondering how things had gone so wrong so quickly.



“Is there a problem sir?” Kimie purred as she looked at the military man, subtly thrusting out her impressive cleavage in a way that drew the eyes of several watching males. Including the one that she was talking to.



The middle aged man gulped and (with deliberate effort) looked at the voluptuous female demon's face. Wanting to set a professional example for his men despite the lusty thoughts the crimson skinned woman seemed to naturally inspire.



“I...need to see your papers” he eventually replied.



Kimie pulled the foreign workers visas out of her dress, making the Iberian official wonder just how she had stored it in such a skimpy garment. Amazed at the seductive way that the demon moved when handing him the papers.



But for all his masculine appreciation of Kimie's demonic sexuality he was still a professional, and as a professional the Iberian official was observant enough to notice something very suspicious.



“What's wrong with her?” he asked as he pointed at the freckled redhead in Kimie Li's group, a woman that seemed to be literally quivering with anxiety.



Kimie stared at the currently human and female Christopher Lera. Hoping that the Minister of Foreign Relations didn't freak out due to this unexpected development.



“Oh Nikki?...she's just nervous because this is her first video shoot” Kimie said with the ease of a practiced liar. Remaining outwardly cheerful and flirty despite her growing worry.



The Ministry of Defense official carefully looked over the documents she had handed him. Then he stared at Kimie again (making sure NOT to look at her cleavage) and said formally “Madam Li I am afraid that you and your friends will have to come with us.”