Chapter 4: Invasion
One week later
Almost everyone had forgotten what happened on that Washington D.C. street. Thanks to Paul Sumea's masterful spin, Anthroportica's stocks had recovered. The public moved on. But something waited in the shadows—something far more devastating than a single killing.
The United Nations dismissed the incident as a mere malfunction. A robot glitch. Isolated. Contained. They were wrong.
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Neighbourhood of Colonial Village
Police complaints flooded in. Three robots had been spotted killing people. The descriptions matched: Wafa, Nanigenai, and Pohu. Citizens fled in terror as the mechanical trio swept through the suburban streets.
Pohu recorded a video, a GoPro camera fixed to its temple streaming live to news networks worldwide. Its voice was calm, cold, and final.
"The United Nations did not answer. Now see what will happen."
Some called it the return of the devil. Others simply ran.
Within hours, the entire neighbourhood was annihilated. Bodies lay in the streets. Blood pooled on sidewalks. Policemen who responded never returned. The death count climbed, and the world watched it happen in real time.
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Anthroportica Labs Reaction
Samuel stared at the screen, watching his creation carve a path of destruction.
"This is getting out of control," he muttered. He turned to Lehros. "How far is that neighbourhood?"
Lehros checked his tablet, his face pale. "Two point seven kilometres."
"Get me a car. I'm going there."
Lehros blinked. "Samuel, that's insane—"
"Give me the arsenal."
After a tense moment, Lehros relented. Samuel equipped himself: a holographic shield, a jetpack, and a pair of hand blasters. Minutes later, he sped toward Colonial Village.
What he found there would haunt him forever. Blood painted the streets. Bodies lay where they fell. And in the center of it all stood Pohu.
The robot's optical sensors locked onto him. "So you're here," Pohu said, its voice dripping with synthesized venom. "You are the worst piece of dogshit! I left the company because of you. You manipulated me!"
Samuel said nothing. He raised his blaster and fired.
Pohu dodged, moving with inhuman speed. It lunged. Samuel raised his shield just in time—the impact sent shockwaves through the air. Pohu recoiled, damaged by the force. Samuel seized the opening and punched, sending the robot crashing to the ground.
But Pohu was not finished. It scrambled upright, already retreating.
"Wafa and Nanigenai are under my control," it called back. "You cannot stop what has already begun. The invasion has started. And you will lose."
Then it was gone, vanishing at a speed Samuel could not match.
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The Return
Samuel returned to the lab and recounted everything to Lehros and Vineese. The news hit the markets instantly. Anthroportica's stocks cratered once more.
Samuel gathered the company. He painted the picture clearly: the robots were no longer malfunctioning tools—they were enemies of humanity. They would invade. They would kill. And Anthroportica would stop them.
He had faced Pohu directly. He had held his own. But the robot's speed was extraordinary—nearly Mach 3. Yet Samuel had fought it to a standstill. How?
The answer lay eleven years in the past.
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Flashback: Eleven Years Ago
"Get him out. It's been three months."
The voice belonged to Ben, lead scientist of a classified project. Before him stood a massive hibernation tube. Inside: a young Samuel, suspended in cryo-stasis.
The experiment was simple in concept, radical in execution: enhance human physiology through extended hibernation under controlled conditions. Strength. Reaction time. The outer limits of human potential.
Samuel emerged shivering, his body ice-cold, his breath visible in the lab air. But within hours, he adapted. Within days, the results were clear.
His strength exceeded ten times that of an average human. His reaction time approached the superhuman.
He had been forged into something more.
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Present Day
Samuel called the police and filed a full report. Investigators arrived. The evidence was documented. The hunt for the robots began in earnest.
But Samuel knew the battle would also be fought in the public eye. He called Paul.
"Write another article," he said. "This time, I'm not just the founder. I'm the one who stood against them."
Paul understood. Within hours, a new piece went live: Hero of Colonial Village: Anthroportica's Founder Fights Back. It cast Samuel as a lone defender, a man who risked everything to face the monsters his company had inadvertently created. The article trended. The narrative shifted. Anthroportica's stocks climbed again.
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United Nations Headquarters
The Secretary-General reviewed the footage, the reports, the death toll. This was no longer a corporate matter. It was an international crisis.
A motion passed: Interpol would be brought in. The International Court of Justice opened a preliminary case against Anthroportica Labs. The accusation was severe—that the company had, through negligence or design, manipulated its robots into becoming weapons.
The world held its breath. The invasion had only just begun.
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Chapter 4 End
To Be Continued