After Ilya opened the metal doors, a wash of cold night air and the smell of blood flooded inside. Framed in the doorway stood Lillian, Adolfo, Cullen, Blanchette, and Albus, faces grim, weapons still warm from the fight outside.
"Where is she?" Adolfo's voice was low but dangerous, his stance tense, ready to spring.
Ilya stepped forward a few paces, stopping just at the edge of the threshold.
"By she, I guess you mean the vampire queen. She is… comfortable," Ilya said with a smug smirk. "Safe and not dangerous."
Cullen's jaw clenched.
"You!"
"Me?" Ilya questioned.
"You are the scientist who made her immune to garlic."
"Oh yes, me."
Cullen's voice was sharp.
"My dog. Where is she?"
Ilya waved a hand dismissively, turning his back on them.
"She is perfect. A successful experiment. And no, you can't have her back."
"You do not get to make that choice," Cullen growled, stepping forward, both pistols rising in unison.
"On the contrary," Ilya said over his shoulder, "I make all the choices here. Callidora is mine now. And so is your hound."
The tension in the air crackled like static, each heartbeat stretching into an eternity. Cullen's pistols did not waver, but Ilya's smirk only deepened.
"Oh, you want to threaten me in my own lab?" he said, tone mockingly light. "Then by all means…"
His thumb flicked a small switch on the side of his watch. The click was almost too soft to hear. From the far side of the lab, movement. The first to step forward was the humanoid mite. Its many black eyes blinked in unnatural unison. Beside it came the humanoid turtle, moving with deceptive slowness. The chameleon emerged next, nearly invisible until the light hit him just right. However, this time, Ilya had called for more.
The air stirred, and a shadow swept across the room then landed with a heavy, controlled thud. The humanoid albatross towered over them, its wings folding in with a whisper of feathers. Tall and lean, its beak long and sharp as a blade. It wore light leather armor fitted close to its frame. In its hands was a curved bow, and there was also a quiver of steel arrows at its back.
The last figure rolled in. The humanoid leopard's movements were fast, smooth, and silent. Its full-body tactical suit was matte black, reinforced with carbon-fiber panels over the chest, forearms and legs. Where its feet should have been were small, high-speed wheels, allowing it to glide across the lab floor. A heavy pistol rested in its clawed hand. The faceplate of its helmet hid everything but two glowing yellow eyes that locked on their targets with predatory calculation. Ilya spread his hands like a gracious host presenting a meal.
"Allow me to introduce my associates. They are very… persuasive."
Blanchette raised her flaming sword, the reflection of the fire dancing in her eyes.
"You think these freaks are going to stop us?"
Ilya chuckled.
"I think they will make sure you regret coming here at all."
The albatross's wings began to unfurl again, the leopard's wheels spun up with a low whine, and the mite scraped its weapons together in anticipation. A fight was about to explode. The moment Ilya's smug grin faded into a hand gesture, the room detonated into chaos.
Blanchette met the mite halfway, her flaming sword cutting an arc of searing orange through the sterile air. The mite's long sword met her strike in a ringing clash of steel, sparks scattering like fireflies. While one hand locked Blanchette's blade in a deadlock, another swung the battle axe low, forcing her to leap back as its edge bit into the floor, shattering the tiles. A curved dagger darted in toward her side; she parried with the flat of her sword, flames licking across the mite's armored wrist. The stench of scorched chitin filled the air, but the creature did not flinch. It simply spun the chained flail in a vicious overhead arc. The spiked head whistled past her cheek, close enough to pull at her hair with the gust of its movement.
"You have got too many hands," Blanchette growled, her eyes alight with both fury and thrill.
She ducked under the war pick's sudden stab, answering with a horizontal slash that lit the air in a ribbon of fire. The mite spun away, its weapons moving like a storm, every blow perfectly timed to break her rhythm. Their clash became a whirl of spinning steel and fire, neither of them giving ground.
Albus activated his bracelet. Gold light surged into form, first a gleaming spear, then a shield too. He slammed the shield into the ground just as the humanoid turtle lunged, swinging its detached shell like a battering ram. The impact rattled the room, but Albus dug his heels in, absorbing the blow.
"Strong," Albus muttered, eyes narrowing, "but slow."
He thrust the spear forward in a lightning jab, aiming for the glass plates across its torso. The turtle twisted at the last moment, the spear glancing off reinforced bone beneath the glass. In response, it swung the shell low, trying to sweep his legs. Albus vaulted over it, spinning midair, and launched a fireball from his free hand. The fire splashed across the turtle's chest, flames clinging unnaturally to the glass, making the organs inside pulse and writhe. The turtle let out a muffled roar, retreating a step, only to charge again, this time snapping its jagged beak toward Albus's throat. He blocked with the shield, the metal ringing like a gong, and used the rebound to ram the turtle back with his shoulder. Another fireball ignited the floor between them, but the turtle simply stomped through the flames, eyes fixed on him like a siege engine with no sense of pain.
Adolfo's growl rolled out like distant thunder. The leopard met him with a mocking glide, wheels whispering against the ground. Then, with a sudden burst of acceleration, it darted past, pistol flashing twice. Bullets sparked off the wall where Adolfo had been a heartbeat earlier. The werewolf lunged, but the leopard weaved away, moving too fast for normal footing, its wheels granting an unnatural glide and pivot. Adolfo's claws swiped empty air, his target already sliding sideways, the carbon-fiber plates on its limbs glinting.
The leopard turned sharply and fired again, a shot grazing his shoulder. Adolfo ignored the sting, charging harder, forcing the leopard to zigzag between steel pillars. Every time Adolfo got close, the leopard rolled backward with predatory grace, pistol always ready. However, the werewolf was relentless, closing the gap, his claws flashing just short of ripping through that black suit.
Lillian tilted her hat brim down, eyes narrowing as the albatross unfurled its massive wings. It moved in a blur, taking to the air with a rush of wind. The bowstring thrummed, an arrow streaked toward her. She spun sideways, the arrow slicing the air where her head had been, and drew her six-shooter in one smooth motion.
"Alright, birdie," she muttered, cocking the hammer, "let's see how you like bullets."
Her shots cracked like thunder, chasing the albatross as it banked sharply overhead. The bird-man's wings snapped once, propelling it higher, then it folded them partially to dive, loosing two arrows in rapid succession. Lillian rolled, one arrow shattering on the floor beside her, another grazing her coat. She aimed high, leading her shots, each bullet forcing the albatross to weave midair. It was fast, almost too fast, using the vertical space to escape all bullets.
The chameleon shimmered, fading into the walls, but Cullen's robotic eye tracked the faint heat signature with clinical precision. The pistol in his hand barked once, metal striking flesh. The creature screamed, reappearing as it clutched its leg. Cullen did not hesitate, firing again and again until the chameleon collapsed in a heap. His head turned toward Ilya.
"You. Dog. Now."
Ilya only smiled faintly, backing toward the lab's upper platform.
"Fine. I will let her come to you."
Ilya's smirk deepened as Cullen's footsteps closed in. Instead of flinching, the scientist turned toward a heavy steel door embedded in the far wall. His fingers moved in a quick sequence over a keypad, metallic clinks and hisses sounded as magnetic bolts released. The door swung open with a slow, almost ceremonial groan, and from the shadows within stepped a figure Cullen instantly recognized even though she was… different.
"Daisy…" The word escaped him like a gasp, his voice cracking.
She was taller now, her stance upright like a human's, but her features, the blue eyes, the familiar slope of her ears, were unchanged. Her fur was sleek and brushed, streaked with silver at the tips. She wore a tailored outfit of deep royal blue and violet, a long, fitted coat over a high-collared shirt and slim pants tucked into soft boots. Lightning flickered faintly along her arms, traveling over her fingers like restless serpents of pale blue light.
"Meet your precious pup," Ilya said with cruel satisfaction, stepping aside to admire his work. "Rebuilt. Refined. Improved."
Daisy's eyes locked onto Cullen. For a heartbeat, the electricity along her body faltered, and her expression softened l, recognition blooming into something almost like joy.
"…Cullen?" Her voice trembled, the sound somewhere between human speech and a low canine growl.
"It is me, girl." His pistols lowered slightly, his breath quickening. "You are safe now. We can go home."
She took one step toward him. Just one. Then Ilya's fingers twitched over the slim control device in his palm. Daisy convulsed, her eyes snapping shut, a strangled whimper escaping her. Her limbs locking in place before she staggered back.
"NO!" Cullen lunged forward, but a blast of lightning from Daisy's own hands ripped across the floor in front of him, not aimed at him, but enough to force him to halt.
"She remembers you," Ilya said, his voice dripping mockery, "but memory means nothing against obedience."
He tapped the device again, sending another surge through her. Her posture stiffened, and when she looked up again, the warmth in her gaze was gone, replaced by a sharp, empty coldness.
Cullen's voice broke.
"Daisy… please. It is me."
The air between them shimmered with heat from Cullen's pistols and the acrid scent of ozone from Daisy's crackling lightning. She stepped forward, slow and deliberate, lightning rippling down her arms and pooling at her fingertips.
"Do not do this," Cullen said, his voice low but shaking.
His robotic eye adjusted, locking onto her vital points, but he could not bring himself to aim.
Ilya leaned casually against the wall, watching.
"Oh, she will. She has no choice. She is the only one I installed mind control inside."
Daisy's lips curled in a snarl, but it was not directed at Cullen. He could see the tremor in her jaw, the faint wet glint in her eyes even as she raised her hand. Lightning burst outward in a jagged spear of blue-white, tearing a scorch mark across the floor where Cullen had just rolled aside. He came up in a crouch, pistols raised.
"Fight it, girl! You are stronger than him!"
She answered with another volley, this time, three arcs fired in rapid succession. The first seared the air above his head, the second cracked into the metal beam beside him, and the third struck his shoulder, sending a spike of agony through his muscles. He gritted his teeth, keeping his balance as smoke curled from his jacket.
"Damn it, Daisy, you are gonna have to do better than that if you want to take me down," he muttered, not as a taunt, but as a plea, trying to snap her out of it.
Her expression faltered for a split second.
"I… can't…" she whispered, so faintly he almost did not hear it.
Then Ilya pressed his thumb harder on the control device, and she screamed, the sound raw, animal, and heartbreaking, before surging forward in a blur of motion. Cullen barely had time to cross his pistols in front of him as she slammed into him with enough force to knock them both across the room. The lightning surged through his weapons into his arms, burning and numbing them at once. He kicked her off, rolling back to his feet, his heart pounding for all the wrong reasons. Every strike she threw was lightning-fast, a fist followed by a jolt of electricity, a sweep of her leg trailing a whip of crackling energy. Cullen dodged where he could, blocking only when absolutely necessary, his mind screaming at him to end it, but his chest aching at the thought.
"Cullen…" she rasped mid-swing, eyes flickering gold beneath the harsh blue glow. "Help… me…"
"I will, Daisy. I swear it," he growled, and for the first time, he aimed not at her, but at Ilya.
The scientist's smirk did not fade.
"Go ahead. You will never reach me before she breaks you."
Daisy's next strike came in the form of a full-bodied tackle, lightning exploding from her in a blinding burst. Cullen took the hit head-on, wrapping his arms around her mid-charge instead of dodging, holding her tight despite the electricity surging into him.
His teeth clenched against the pain, but his voice was steady: "I am not letting you go. Not again."
The room had become a battlefield layered with overlapping wars. Blanchette's fire sword clashed against the mite's whirling storm of weapons, sparks and embers raining like molten snow. Adolfo's snarls and the screech of wheels marked his relentless pursuit of the leopard down the far corridor. Lillian's gunfire rang sharp and precise as she and the albatross circled, his arrows slicing the air like hawk talons.
In the middle of it all, Cullen still held Daisy. She softened for a minute, but her eyes flared blue again as Ilya twisted the dial on his watch. She convulsed, crying out, and then broke free with a surge of unnatural strength, sending Cullen sprawling across the floor.
Cullen looked up just in time to see Ilya step back from the fight, his expression one of smug detachment. The scientist keyed in a sequence on a wall panel, and a secondary lab door hissed open.
"Where do you think you are going?" Cullen barked, but Daisy was already on him again, forcing him to dive aside as she unleashed a bolt that tore a molten line across the steel plating.
Ilya ignored him. He strode into the balcony above where Callidora was in the glass chamber below. Tubes and needle-like conduits fed into her arms, neck, and spine. Ilya tapped a few commands into the console then a liquid started to flow into her.
"Time to elevate you, queen," he murmured. "No longer will you require humans to add your kind. You will birth your armies directly, pure blooded, loyal, and endless, and you will be mine."