Chapter 46

GMN-4 wandered around behind them. He did not really understand what they were doing here. They had prepared for war, for the worst scenario possible. Right now… he looked around. He had a feeling they hadn't seen all.

"aren't we supposed to be nabbing whoever owns this place, why are we acting like we re on a tour?" GMN-9 was the one that asked. GMN-4 froze in his tracks

"nab me, now that's a first" a voice that sounded so familiar said. Those that weren't looking turned and joined the cold room. They starred at the woman infront of them and their mouth dropped open. The woman wasn't bothered with the rest of them, she had eyes on one.

They turned from GMN-1 to the woman and then back. The clones at the woman's back stood at ease. She carried herself with an aura sharper but similar to that of someone who was with them. The couldn't decide if this was some sick joke because they could very well tell she was not a clone. What she was, was left to be decided.

The most surprised person had to be the person starring at an older, more refined version of herself. Neither of them had moved or taken away there eyes from each other. It looked like a starring contest. However while the woman was all calm and poised and looked a little bit amused, GMN-1 radiated tension which was very unusual. GMN-4 had a feeling that the game just changed and they no longer knew what was being played.

The message couldn't be clearer. GMN-2 thought. Older reflexion, Mini me, it was nothing but the truth. The difference could only be generation gap at least physically. Now he wondered what the beginning referred to.

"what the hell is going on!?" GMN-6 finally found her voice

"I was worried you wouldn't make it on time" the woman said plainly ignoring the rest of them but she got no reply from the person she was talking to, not that she expected any. This was going too well that it was becoming boring. She had anticipated everything and so far they were like robots sticking to the script. The title of the play? Her lips lifted at her train of thoughts.

GMN-1 stood there, very still. For some reason she couldn't move, couldn't think straight. It was like she was paralyzed and could only stare at the one infront of her. Her entire system was going haywire. She felt unexplainable anger and hatred creeping in and for the first time it was like she felt pain. The desire to kill, to tear asunder, to maul bit by bit was wreaking havoc on her brain but her body refused to move. It was like she was no longer in control and couldn't control her own body. Something thundered in her ears as something raw ripped through her chest. She felt it and gritted her teeth. The woman smiled cold and bitter. The woman seemed to enjoy her reaction or lack of but at the same time treat it trivially.

GMN-4 didn't know what was going on but he had a sinking suspicion that they were way in above their head. He noticed that 1 had not moved from her spot or even blinked. Something was wrong. He tried to touch her. She was cold but he could see the perspiration on her forehead. The rest were coming out of their shock but she was static. Her breathing was shallow and labored. The woman seemed to be getting impatient when GMN-1 snapped out of it by sheer force and attacked like someone who was mental before he could stop her. The woman threw her off with more aggression than she should have used. GMN-1 crashed through the glass wall and fell downwards. He wasted three seconds before he could decode what just happened. Apparently he wasn't the only one shocked by what just happened. He went after her but she was already up and on their floor. She stared at the woman with so much anger and hatred and the woman's expression mirrored hers. She was bleeding due to the contact with glass.

"you overestimate yourself. Always have" the woman began coldly

The GMNs went to her. None of them understood what was going on but she pushed them away and made to attack again, they held her back; barely. It was clear to them that GMN-1 was not in her clear mind. They have never witness such mindless, unprovoked and uncalculated rage. She had never suffered a loss like this in an combat and it was getting harder to hold her back. She vibrated with undiluated rage. The woman produced an empty syringe and looked menacingly from the syringe to GMN-1.

"Who are you!?" GMN-4 thundered. He could feel his anger rising and 1 about to break free. When it came to physical strength, they were equal but right now it was taking him and others and they could barely hold her.

"the beginning of her pain" the woman said in an eerily calm voice, the type of voice that GMN-1 used that sent chills. It spoke of things unimaginable, things yet to come. GMN-1 shuddered violently and spat out blood across the white floor. She raised her head and glared at the woman. Her head was throbbing as memories tried to force themselves upon her making her vision hazy. She spat another mouthful of blood. Her internal systems were on fire. Hateful woman! What did she give ME!? GMN-1 herself couldn't understand what was going on, she felt splittered, mindless and if felt her heart kept constricting about to come out through her mind. She felt like pulling on her own hair to get rid of this feeling but she felt more like gorging that woman's eyes out and feeding them to her, torturing her slowly. A scream ripped through her as she struggled to break free. The woman laughed and the other starred, hard. It looked like the unfolding of a horror movie they rather not be a part. GMN-1 broke free and lunged for the woman and they clashed mid air. The viciousness was scarry. The woman was on a different league from any human. She was more like them or even better. The whole room blasted piercing alarms as the clones attacked them. Confusion! They didn't understand what was happening until they got hit.

"we need to get out of here!" GMN-5 yelled but there was no escape route. The clones seemed to increase in thousands.

The chaos came all of a sudden taking them unawares. They were more and more. The room turned into a freaking battle field. The walls seem to extend outward to make room for the clones which were way more modified than the ones that attacked them. Bullets were useless, tasers were a joke. The only way was to go for their core and that was a herculean task. They really didn't think this true.

GMN-1 and the woman continued to fight. Somehow GMN-1 was getting weaker. What exactly did this woman give her?

"I planned this for a long time" the woman said with a disappointed scoff. The reason for the disappointment was the least of their problems. The woman had somehow separated GMN-1 from the rest who battled more clones than was possible for one person to create. 1 had other problems. Her body seemed to become paralyzed from the inside out. The more she tried the harder it became but she was mindless, no brakes. Why did she want to kill this woman as much as her last breath and why was the woman stalling? Why was she stronger? Who was she?

"this would be a good time to fall back" GMN-3 couldn't believe he was saying this

"we can't leave without her!" GMN-2 yelled

"she's so far away!" GMN-7 yelled trying to dodge

"where's 4 and 6?" GMN-5 asked looking around

"over there! How did we get separated?" GMN-9 asked

"I don't see a way there or out of here" GMN-3 ssaid dodging a deadly blow

GMN-1 couldn't fully understand what was happening but whatever this woman gave her was really powerful. It was like in those dreams where she watched herself but this time her rationality was dormant.

The woman looked at the girl who was trying to fight the chemicals running through her system. It was intriguing to watch as she battled with everything including herself. She toyed with her to spur her on. The more she exerted, the bigger the damage.

"you can't fight me, you can't fight it but you seem pretty good at fighting yourself. Pathetic." The woman taunted.

The woman seemed like a talker but her voice were grating on GMN-1's senses. This mindless rage. GMN-1 seemed to come to the same conclusion; the more she exerted herself, the more she felt worse. She willed herself to stop moving but that would mean taking blows and at this stage this woman was way stronger. She tried to analyse this situation but couldn't thimk straight. It seemed like there was a beast in her head fuelling her.

The woman deemed her eyes and stopped attacking watching the girl. She wanted to fight the rage. She'll let her, what better way to test her serum. She would fight the rage but what of the other effects?

GMN-4 noticed the exact second GMN-1 stopped fighting. What the hell was she doing? When the woman stopped too, all the red flags in his head that weren't up before went up. He tried to get to her but he couldn't. he was far from the others and if he succeeded he was going to put 6 who was fighting with him at risk. He couldn't count how many times he had pulled her out of the way or how many times he swore and cussed. Something he didn't know he could do. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the woman's amused expression. He knew the odds, no escape. They were outnumbered and he had to think how she made all these clones.

GMN-1 tried to suppress her rage and spat more blood. The toxin in her system was much. She tried and succeeded, barely. She needed more. She could think better. How to reduce the toxin in her system?

The woman watched the girl slice a vein with undisguised amusement. She was smart atleast for thinking about that.

GMN-1 watched the blood. She had already lost a lot of blood but she also needed to redirect her body to focus on something else. She slit another a major vein. Blood poured staining the white floor in pools. Her body went into overdrive trying to rid itself of the toxins while replenishing the blood it was losing.

The woman clapped with a wide smile, eyes bright. The woman's eyes the same colour with hers. The rage was being suppressed as her blood flowed . She wondered how much blood she was going to lose before the end of the day. As her head cleared she began gathering facts. She watched the woman stop clapping and raise her hand and the clones stopped fighting. Everywhere became cementary quiet.

"I would commend you but that was just one." The woman said walking towards GMN-1 and stopping infront her. GMN-1 starred at the woman straight in the eyes. The woman had a crazy glint in her eyes. GMN-1 could feel her healing already taking place. She hoped by the time her veins healed, most of the toxin had gushed out. " you do know now you've stopped moving it would be impossible to move again" the woman said with a smile. GMN-1 didn't look surprised like the other GMNs did. The woman continued.

"I have a question though. How's Maure?" the woman asked out of the blue. GMN-1 starred at the woman without saying anything just starring at her. The woman frowned then smiled.

"your lips don't work too?" the woman mocked "since you can't talk then I better choose who I kill first by myself" she said looking past GMN-1 to the rest. The woman moved her hands and the clones retreated. That was weird the other GMNs thought but before they could react, there was a loud bang. Metal cage fell and trapped them in their various groups. So that was why the clones retreated? The others tried shooting at the metal or pulling it apart but it didn't bulge. GMN-4 didn't bother. He knew even the woman's strength wouldn't bulge the metal let alone theirs and they that were exhausted. Something else was wrong.

"So many choices! Who do I start from?" the woman said gleefully ignoring GMN-1 infront of her.

"you!" GMN-1 said. The woman didn't see the knife aimed at her stomach slicing upwards. One thing she learnt from going on missions with 4.The woman hesitated for one second before she pushed GMN-1 down and proceeded to stab her with another needle. GMN-1 didn't fight back or dodge because she couldn't. She just needed to buy time. The woman held her bleeding stomach and then laughed. These kids clearly had no idea who they were up against. The hilarity made her laugh harder. She laughed and laughed. When it wore off, it was replaced by bitter dark rage. She grabbed GMN-1 and continuously stabbed her with her seemingly indestructible needle till she was satisfied.

GMN-1 could only save enough energy to stab her. She didn't know what this woman gave her now because she was losing focus fast until everything went dark.

The other GMNs were agitated in their cells. What exactly did this woman have against GMN-1. GMN-4 was practically insane in his cage.

The woman looked at her wounded stomach as the clones began to shut down. She really underestimated this girl. She went for the bull's eye. She was furious. How dare she pull one over her. It reminded her of someone. She felt like carving the girl's heart out personally and she might just do it. She had wanted to save the rest for their next meeting but this vermin needed to be taught a lesson, one she would never forget. She laughed again. She pressed a button, dragging 1 by the leg and disappeared with GMN-1 into the thick fog that had begun to gather.

GMN-3 didn't need to inhale the fog he saw coming towards them to know what it was. The barest hint could knock them out and weaken them and from his current knowledge of the woman she had probably modified it to make it more powerful. Continuous inhaling of its weaker form could cause serious damage, who knew what this variant would do.

"4 we need to get out of here before that fog gets over here" GMN-3 yelled

"she took her" he murmured to himself defeated

"we need to get out so we can find her!!!" GMN-6 shouted she had never seen him like this. They were really going to die.

"she took her" was the only thing he said. The shock of seeing her get repeatedly stabbed with a needle like that when he couldn't do anything may have done more damage than they could see. The fog was closing in. GMN-6 grabbed 4 by the colar. What gave her the courage? Death. That feeling you get when your powerful opponent leaves you to the beast in the wilderness. They were all feeling it. On another day her actions right now would be viewed as her sudden death wish but she needed him to do something. She was clearly useless in this but that didn't mean he who could be usefully would wither away without trying. They couldn't give up, especially not on GMN-1, any other person but not 1. They needed to get out to find her. She knew 1 wouldn't give up if it was anyone else.

"you better put your act together! If she was here would you give up so easily!? She has never given up on any of us, no matter how unfortunate and annoying." To 6 she was talking more to herself. She was really traumatized right now but she couldn't deal with that sh*t right now, not when her friend was in the hands of the wicked witch. "You especially can get us out of here, so get up and start doing something before I torture you to death myself!" GMN-6 screamed like a lunatic and everywhere was quiet. After a while he scoffed

"what should I do. These metals are practically indestructible. If we use explosives we die but it'll still stand"GMN-4 stared blankly at something he only read about

This wasn't happening!

"then look for an alternative solution. If she was here that's what she'll do!"

"she…" GMN-4 said recalling what she had given him. He brought them out.

"What are those?"3 asked

"I don't know, she gave them to me"

"Do you need an invitation!? Use it, let's see if it can burst us out of here!" 6 yelled moving.

He carefully opened a tiny vile and splashed the contents on some bars. GMN-6 was already at the opposite end of the cage. Any presents gotten from GMN-1 were treated with extra caution, especially ones in small vials. She was right to have done so. GMN-4 was glad he used a few drops, not an entire bottle.

The metal sizzled like hot water in an even hotter pan and then exploded. They waited to make sure nothing else would happen before they proceeded out.

"careful not to step too hard. The floor is badly cracked"GMN-4 said to 6 who was behind him. She lightly stepped out until they were clear. She looked back

"phew! Remind me never to get on her bad side ever" she said more to herself than anyone in particular. She seem to remember something and round on 4 grabbing his collar "ever give up on my best friend again and I'll send you to hell myself."

"you've sure picked up a lot from your so called bestfriend" GMN-5 finally found it in her to mock someone

"shut it!" GMN-6 glared at her before 5 could add something else

"do you mind letting us out? We still need to find her?" GMN-2 said

GMN-4 freed himself from 6 clutches and made his way to the others appling a lesser number of drops on the metals. The explosion was lesser and the floor didn't crack much. GMN-3 took the vile from 4 and stared at it. He couldn't tell what it was and there was only one thing written on it.

'run'. She wanted them to run and leave her? So not happening. He looked at 4. He looked weary like dead weary which was a first. What he saw today scared him not to talk about someone who was emotionally involved like 4, he couldn't begin to imagine. He looked at 2 and he was pale and looked equally traumatized. He didn't bother looking at the others. He needed a way to forget what he saw today and not brand it in memory. He saw 4 take a deep breath. He obviously never believed something like this could happen.

"let's get moving" 4 said and started moving where he last saw them. The rest followed in silence. They were almost out of ammunitions.

They could see inconsistent blood tracks but it seemed to be going in one direction, so they followed. They came to a set of stairs leading down. They began to climb down. GMN-3 brought out his remaining useful weapons and so did the rest except 4. He had a feeling that 4 would tear asunder whatever stood in his way with his bare hands, so he didn't bother. He could sense that underneath that exterior was a molten rage.

They went down two flights of stairs and came to another underground floor while the stairs continued to lead downstairs with more blood, blood also led into that floor. This was all confusing and they would bet it was the woman's intention. Should they go down or check this floor? One glance into the floor from the doorway leading in showed multiple passages. 4 was growing more irritable by the second. 2 was about to suggest they split up but he didn't know how many floors and there could be booby traps. This was so frustrating !

"I see you've managed to escape" they heard the woman's voice. Unlike those who used loudspeakers, her voice seemed to echo off the walls