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Perhaps he should clarify. He hated
imperfect organics. Mutants were not as such. Mutants, while flawed in the sense that they could think for themselves and feel emotion, were greater than their evolutionarily inferior cousins, Homo sapiens. But Aurus... Sometimes Deus thought, if there wasn't an agent as effective as he, Deus would replace him in a heartbeat. He was too brutal. Oh, he looked for a superhuman who felt nothing for humanity. But towards everything? To your brethren? No. One day, someone more efficient would come. But not this day. He sent him off to the group near the park, and continued to the south, landing amid a large crowd of people being corralled by Hunters and SWAT teams. His rail gun popped from its holster on his wrist, shooting the fiberglass orbs within precisely into the frontal lobes of the enemy soldiers, drilling into the concrete sidewalks behind them as they emerged from the back of their skulls. His drones took their places. "
PEOPLE." The screams halted. "
MY NAME IS DEUS. AMONGST YOU, I AM SURE THAT MANY HAVE NOW NOTICED THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONFORMING TO YOUR STANDARDS OF NORMALITY. YOU CALL THEM MUTANTS." He seemed to spit the word, which people cringed at, eyeing each other with wary eyes. "
TO THESE PEOPLE, OPPRESSED FOR YEARS BY THE GOVERNMENT YOU'VE COUNTED ON FOR SAFETY, I SAY YOU ARE NOT ALONE. YOU ARE NOT UNPROTECTED." He raised a hand. "
TO ANY WHO SEEK EQUALITY, WHO SEEK BROTHERHOOD. WHO SEEK JUSTICE. I OPEN MY ARMS TO YOU. YOU ARE MY BROTHERS, MY SISTERS, AS I AM TO YOU. ANY WHO WOULD HAVE THE COURAGE TO STEP FORWARD NOW, AND ACCEPT WHO THEY ARE, DO SO NOW. YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE." Almost a minute passed before the ranks of people broke, and a little boy, no older than 8, crawled through, followed by his clearly worried mother, who froze at the sight of the figure before her. Deus lowered his voice. "
And you would be?" He raised his hand to the boys mouth, the microphone within amplifying his speech. "My name is Nathan Sanders."
"
And you are one of us, Nathan?" His mother was shaking her head, tears streaming down her face. "Yes." Deus nodded, sympathetic to the boy. Cameras began to arrive, flocking into the air. The sound of gunfire erupted from the sides of the crowd, quickly silenced by his drone army. "
And what makes you one of us?" Nathan shook a little bit, and fur erupted from his body, shredding his clothing. Canines lengthened, ears stretched, limbs lengthened, torso and muscles expanded, his nose lengthened into a snout, claws sharpened from nails, and a tail sprang from his hindquarters. A newly transformed werewolf stared up at him. "
Interesting." But Nathan wasn't done. He shook again. His snout narrowed, his tail shed its hair, his fur became flat and greasy, his fangs flattened out, and his eyes became beady. Another tremor, and his body grew massive, his muscles growing, his snout shortening, and his fur gained a straw-like quality. "
A skin-changer? A useful trait for eliminating our enemies. We'll perfect you Nathan. Not hinder you. Now prove your loyalty." He gestured towards the sobbing woman. The bear's eyes looked uneasy. "
Nathan, I, and my comrades, are your family now. Not this woman who would have willingly flung you to the Hunters." At the mention of Hunters, Nathan's eyes showed fear, only to harden into obsidian orbs. His mother stopped sobbing, her eyes flashing up to her son. "N-N-Nathan? Sweetie?" The bear craned around, clawed hands raised. A roar issued from its maw, and a cloud of red flashed up into the air. The bear shivered and shrank into the boy it once was. It seemed a pain for Nathan to not cry. Deus knelt beside him, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder so as not to crush it.
"I'm sorry Nathan. But she was holding you back. She was prepared to kill you. But I'm proud of you. You knew what was best for you, and carried it out yourself." The boy looked up into the helmet of the man above him, eyes shining at the idea of someone holding pride in him. "
DRONE-18867. Take Nathan away, and get him some food and clothes." The skeletal form of one of the faceless drones strolled forward, walking the boy along by his hand. "
WILL ANYONE ELSE SHOW THE COURAGE OF A BOY?" It took about an hour to sift through all the superhumans that stepped forward afterwards, all following in the example of Nathan. Not everyone was prepared to butcher their loved ones, but were accepted by Deus all the same, each sent along with a drone. He was not looking for murderers. He was looking for soldiers. And scholars. And workers. And friends. Their powers varied [from strength far beyond that of ordinary men to telepathy (which Deus demonstrated could not work on him, thanks to the nanobots implanted within him controlling the electric impulses in his brain, keeping his brain in his grasp) and telekinesis], but all united under a common cause. Deus's cause. "
WE ARE UNITED, MY BRETHREN. MEN AND WOMEN OF NEW YORK CITY." He turned to the humans (for all the superhumans had since been diluted from the poisoned pool). "
WE HAVE NO MORE NEED OF YOUR SERVICES." He gestured to the psychic (who'd named herself Mente), and gestured with his hand. She nodded, and twisted her hand, promptly snapping the spinal vertebrae of the human audience. None of the superhumans batted an eye. "
Come on. We're leaving." He shot into the sky at Mach 5, leaving a crater in the asphalt beneath him, followed by his new horde of superhumans and drones. The end was coming.
