What is the Greater Good

by A M Lopez

  Eva glanced down at Anston before turning to look at the table. Words ran through the system as the schools loaded. There was a while before the percentages had loaded.

  "Why isn't it beeping?" Eva asked, looking at Max.

  He crossed his arms and examined the situation further. "He's a mix. A splurflegurd like we say here." Max pointed to Anston. "You're lucky, not a lot of people get this chance."

  "Lucky? I feel like my insides were turned to mush." He grumbled.

  Max rolled his eyes. "Yes, because you had a whole week to adjust. Poor Eva suffered the entire process in less than a day."

  Eva nodded vigorously. "Tell me about it."

  Anston took in a deep breath, and got up from his position. "So, what am I going to be doing?"

  "Half engineering and half medicine. You will be spending time at both."

  Anston shrugged. "I'm fine with that."

  Eva looked between both of them and shook her head. "Alright, let's go give them the news."

  That wasn't needed, because the door had slammed open. Connor ran in, desperation covered his whole face as he grabbed her. "We have to go now. The outbreak spread."

  Eva sputtered as Connor dragged her through the doorway. "What do you mean?"

  "The mutants broke through the containment, and the cure hasn't been multiplied. They're attacking the city."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “How did they get out?”

  Eva had started to run alongside Connor, Anston quickly following.

  “We have no idea.”

  Eva’s frustration was rising quickly. “Then what do we do?”

  Anston spoke, his athletic body catching up to them easily. “Keep them busy while the cure is being mass produced. Right?”

  Connor nodded. “You got it in one. We are heading to meet up with everyone else now.”

  The three neared a pair of doors, bursting through them. The sight they met will forever be burned into their eyes. All around them, agents were transforming into mutants at different speeds. Some were changing quickly, a human one second then an abomination the next. Others weren’t so lucky, their metamorphosis slow. Those agents were on the ground writhing, screams being torn from their throats.

  The three members of Astrolabe were frozen, horror overwhelming them. Suddenly, one of the mutants saw them and roared. It lunged for Anston, its long claws prepared to rip him to shreds. Connor was faster though and pulled out his gun, shooting a single bullet. The bullet landed in between the mutant’s purple eyes, the orange creature collapsing.

  “We need to go around. Follow me!”

  Anston and Eva immediately ran after Connor’s retreating form, his gun glinting in the hall’s lighting. Eva pulled out her dagger, ready to take down whatever creatures got too close for comfort. Anston decided to hang back, unarmed he was more trouble than help. As the three dashed down the hallway, screams erupted from all sides.

  Eva’s deep breaths were making talking hard, but she managed. “Where is the team?”

  Connor spared her a glance. “They’re—”

  Unfortunately, that one glance was enough for an enemy to ambush the combat agent.

  Eva yelled as she saw Connor get tackled to the floor. “Connor!”

  He was being held down by the green monster’s arms, trying to throw it off of him while avoiding its shark like teeth. She rushed to stab the mutant when a second pair of arms grew out of its back and swiped at her. Eva threw herself backwards and ran into another mutant, ducking before its katana arms decapitated her. She spun and brought her dagger up, ready to strike but faltered when she saw the mutant. Its face was not transformed, allowing her to recognize it as a stealth agent she had met during her training. Its clothes were tattered, but its shirt sleeves covered where katana met flesh.

  It swung its katana arms again and Eva barely moved out of the way in time, one slicing her cheek. She was forced to defend herself, unable to go in for an attack. The monster seemed to have amazing stamina, raining blow after blow in quick succession. Suddenly, it backed off and Eva saw an opening, rushing to stab the mutant in the torso. She heard more than saw the next blow heading for her, changing her direction last minute. Standing up from a roll, Eva saw the mutant’s other specialties, knives sticking from its feet. Unlike the katana arms, the knife feet had nothing to cover where metal and flesh connected. The sound Eva had heard was the sound of the knives sliding past bone, realization making her feel sick.

  It rushed her, and she immediately fell into a fighting stance, only for the monster to get shot in the chest. The shot was off point though, and it continued to head toward her. Thankfully, it was slowed down enough for her to slip behind it and stab it through the neck. The mutant finally fell and Eva looked up, hoping to see Connor. Instead, she was met with the sight of Anston shooting the mutants pouring into the hallway. His aim needed improvement but it got the job done for now. Turning away from him, she scanned the hall for Connor. He was to her right, the green mutant dropping at his feet. They made eye contact before a roar was heard coming from the end of the hallway. Snapping their heads toward the sound, their blood ran cold.

  A huge, buff mutant stood in front of the others. It had enormous muscles and looked like the definition of a human tank. Anston was still shooting down the hallway, but the bullets bounced off of the new mutant. Suddenly, the bangs from his gun turned into quiet clicks, he had run out of bullets. The tank mutant roared again and began to charge toward Anston, who paled and started running for his life. Connor immediately brought up his gun and shot the tank monster, but it again had no effect. The two were too far out of range to fight it, leaving Anston to handle it on his own while they ran toward him. Unfortunately, Connor had to take Anston’s place of shooting the mutants to keep them at the end of the hall. This left Eva and her dagger his only hope against a bulletproof mutant, not the best odds but better than nothing. Fortunately, Anston’s time as his school’s best wide receiver gave him the ability to run quickly.

  As Eva rushed toward him, she couldn’t help but think of Anston and the mutant as a matador and a bull. Anston’s turns and spins were too quick for the tank monster to keep up with, causing it to run into walls. Thankfully, Anston was fast enough that he could outrun the mutant when he didn’t have the chance to move in another direction. Eva couldn’t help but think that it was impressive, until he started running right towards her. By his surprised face, she knew he hadn’t realized she was there. Unfortunately, there was no time for him to change directions, the tank mutant was already running at them.

  They both dove out of the way in opposite directions, the monster rushing between them and running into a wall. The two quickly pushed themselves up, facing the mutant tank as it shook off the collision.

  Anston was struggling to take in enough air, panting. “Do you have any idea on how to stop this thing?”

  Eva raised her dagger, eyes narrowed at the tank mutant. “Nope.”

  Anston groaned, body tense and ready to run. “Fantastic.”

  “You have an idea, smart guy?”

  The tank monster growled, scanning the room for them.

  “We—” An explosion goes off to their left, creating a huge hole in the wall. “ —could go through there.”

  Eva rolled her eyes, heading toward the hole with Anston on her tail. “Connor, let’s go!”

  Connor shot down a few more mutants before glancing back at them. “Wha—Ahh!”

  He throws himself to his right and rolls, back on his feet and running toward them in seconds. Behind him, the monsters are screeching from being run over by the tank mutant.

  “You could’ve warned me!”

  Eva laughed breathily. “Shut up and lead us, idiot.”

  Connor huffed, speeding up to pass her and Anston. “This way, fools.”

  Anston snorted, still panting. “Whatever you say, dude.”

  The three ran down hall after hall, having to change their route multiple times to avo
id any mutants.

  Connor pointed ahead. “There. That’s where we meet up with everyone.”

  Anston firmly nodded. “Then let’s go.”

  Eva ran behind them, choosing to stay silent. The three bursts into the room and duck, shrieking. Above them stood a muscular man with an axe, his brown beard a mess. The light reflected off a green goo-like substance on his pale, bald head. The man pulled his axe back, wincing.

  “Sorry, about that. Thought you might be more mutants.”

  Eva blinked rapidly as Connor spoke up. “It’s alright, I would’ve done the same.”

  Anston began wheezing, not getting enough air as he began to laugh lightly. “We were almost killed by a man, in a suit, with an axe. That shouldn’t be as funny as it is.”

  Eva rolled her eyes, recognizing the navy suit as the standard uniform for HQ agents.

  Standing up, she began introductions. “I’m Eva and they are—”

  “Jack knows who you are. Come on, we’ve been waiting for you guys.”

  Looking passed Jack, the three saw a familiar, comforting sight.

  Connor let out a sigh of relief. “Good to see you alive too, Aaron.”

  Aaron gave them a small smile before going monotone again. “Follow me.”

  The three stood and walked after Aaron, waving at Jack when he said goodbye. Aaron led them through a pair of doors, only a few people waiting inside. The Director sat at a table pushed against the far wall of the room, facing whoever walked into the door. He gave them a quick glance before returning to a conversation he was having with a blonde woman standing next to him. The blonde had light green eyes and was wearing a navy suit, a bloody mace hanging from her hands.

  To the left of the room were three people in lab coats, they were talking to other scientists with tablets. They were two females and a male, all talking in hushed voices with the people on their tablets so no one else in the room could overhear their conversation. One woman had brown hair and silver eyes, a pair of glasses were hanging off the bridge of her nose before she pushed them back up. Her tan skin was radiating even in the poor lighting. The other woman had short green dyed hair and hazel eyes, her black leather glove clad hands typing rapidly on her tablet. Her pale skin looked sickly, as if she belonged more in a bed with chicken soup than a war zone. The man was rubbing his temples, black hair sticking up as if he had been pulling at it. His narrowed blue eyes standing out against his dark skin.

  “Guys, you’re okay!”

  The four turned to the right side of the room and saw a disheveled Arthur rushing towards them, Dimitri close behind. Arthur practically tackled Eva, Connor, and Anston in one gigantic hug. They stumbled backwards from the impact but Arthur was light so they held him up easily. Suddenly, he was yanked off them.

  Dimitri immediately replaced him, except he scanned them instead of hugging them. “You don’t know if they’re hurt, Arthur! You could’ve made any injuries they have worse.”

  Arthur’s eyes widened. “Are you guys okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  Anston laughed, ruffling Arthur’s hair and receiving an indignant squak in return. “We’re fine, nerd.”

  Arthur pushed his arm away, glaring. “I see that now.”

  “Enough chit chat.”

  Everyone froze and spun towards the Director, who had stood up.

  “We have a war on our hands. How long will it take for the cure to finish mass producing?”

  The brown- haired woman spoke up, hands clenched tightly on her tablet. “In less than an hour.”

  The Director’s eyes narrowed, his glare piercing the woman like a knife. “I need it quicker than that, Dr. Rodrigues.”

  Dr. Rodrigues glared back. “Mass producing the cure is no easy feat, Director. The fact that you are getting it so soon is a miracle in its own right.”

  “It’s not on its own, Bianca. It is with a mutant outbreak.”

  Anger flared in Dr. Rodrigues’ eyes. “Do you think I don’t know that? You—”

  The green haired woman interrupted. “We will do what we can, Director. However, show some respect. We deserve at least that much.”

  The Director gritted his teeth, eye twitching. “Dr. Yordnik, we are short in time. I am simply— ”

  “ —wasting that time.”

  Everyone turned to the male scientist, whose glare was even worse than the Director’s.

  “Dr. Jelani, we—”

  “ — need to finish the cure, so let us.”

  With that the three scientists turned their backs to the rest of the room and continued what they had been doing on their tablets. The Director looked like he was about to start screaming when he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He opened his eyes, back to being calm and cold.

  “While they finish mass producing the cure, we need to go out and help who we can.”

  Aaron raised a brow, annoyance on her face. “We? Since when does my team going out to fight include you?”

  The Director looked his daughter in the eyes. “I’m going with you.”

  Aaron’s eyes widened, disbelief written on her face. “You’re going to what?”

  “Fight alongside you.”

  Aaron narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “With what weapon?”

  The Director moved to the front of the table and lifted up his pant leg to show a pistol strapped to his ankle. He leaned down to pull it out of its holster, then stood up.

  “I had the best aim of every agent in the leadership school when I was there.”

  Connor cut in. “Some mutants are bulletproof.”

  The Director raised a brow. “Then it is a good thing this doesn’t shoot bullets.”

  Connor was about to speak again when the Director interrupted him, “Now, let's get going.”

  Aaron stepped forward. “We can’t.”

  Her father glared. “And why not?”

  “My team isn’t complete. We need to wait for Allison.”

  “There is no time.”

  Aaron glared and took a step forward. “I am not leaving without my team.”

  “Then I will lead them myself. Follow me.”

  The Director walked past his daughter, the blonde woman following close behind. He waited for her team to join him at the door, only to be shocked when they stayed in their spots.

  “I told you all to follow.”

  Eva glared. “You aren’t my leader, and you never will be. I know for a fact that every single member of Astrolabe agrees with me.”

  The rest of Astrolabe proved her right by staying perfectly still.

  The Director narrowed his eyes. “Fine, we do this your way, Aaron.”

  Immediately, Aaron dished out orders. “Arthur try to contact Allison. Everyone, get prepared to move out.”

  Arthur rushed to the right side of the room, grabbing his satchel that he left near the closets lining the wall. He pulled out his laptop and began typing rapidly. Dimitri followed his twin and took stock of what medical supplies he had. Eva and Connor spread out to see what could be used as weapons, shields, etc. Anston stood still and scanned the room, not exactly lost but not familiar with the process.

  The Director glanced at him. “Should he be out there with us?”

  Anston’s eyes widened. “Me?”

  “Yes, you aren’t a fighter.”

  Anston laughed bitterly. “Tell that to my old bullies. I may not have been born a fighter, but I was raised one.”

  The Director squinted his eyes before sighing. “Suit yourself.”

  Eva raised a brow. “He wouldn’t look good in the HQ suits. Navy isn’t his color.”

  The members of Astrolabe had begun to snicker, smirking at each other as the Director let out a long sigh.

  Anston started to speak when he saw Connor take something out of a closet to examine it. “What do you have there?”

  Connor continued to twist and turn the circular metal object. “A possible weapon.”

  Anston tilted his head.
“Can I see?”

  “Sure.”

  Connor handed Anston the object, wondering what he was going to do. Anston scanned the object himself before running his hands over the surface. His hand stopped when he felt something.

  “Bingo.”

  Anston pressed down on the bump in the metal and the small cylinder extended into a metal baseball bat, he smirked. “This will do nicely.”

  Connor smirked back, slow clapping. “Nicely done, nerd jock.”

  “Thanks, dork combat.”

  “Anytime.”

  Arthur groaned, stretching out his hands to prevent them from cramping. “Guys, Allison won’t be joining us.”

  Aaron raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

  Arthur sighed. “She called me. She’s setting up Dawn’s defense and offense systems to fight the mutants.”

  Aaron pinched the bridge of her nose. “We need to move as soon as possible.”

  Dimitri walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “We can have Arthur set up a digital beacon for her to track us and we go. She didn’t even know to meet here, Arthur said the message didn’t go through before the systems shut down.”

  Aaron took a deep breath. “Alright, we are going out there without Allison but keep a look out for her. Everybody ready?”

  Arthur typed on his laptop before putting it in his bag, taking out a tablet instead. “The beacon is set up.”

  Dimitri held up his bag. “I got the medical supplies.”

  Eva showed her weapons. “I have my dagger and a machete I found in one of the closets.”

  Connor raised two handguns. “I found these in another closet. I also have my regular gun.”

  Anston twirled his bat in one hand. “I have this bat. Good thing I took little league baseball, and my dad said it would never come in handy. Boy, do I love to prove him wrong.”

  Aaron laughed. “I have my knife and pistol. Let’s move.”

  She turned on her heel and walked toward her father, the rest of Astrolabe falling seamlessly behind her. The group walked out of the room and said goodbye to Jack. He let them through and locked the door behind them.

  The Director glanced at his daughter. “Where are the most mutants?”