The New Apex
The Apex Hub pulsed, its walls shifting like breathing metal. The air crackled with a resonance I could feel in my bones, a frequency that scraped against my neural pathways like a whisper from something ancient.
And standing before us—
Was something new.
---
It had the shape of a man—broad-shouldered, tall, its movements smooth, deliberate. But its skin was a fluid lattice of metal and flesh, shifting like an Apex Warform but refined—controlled.
Its eyes, pits of shifting gold and black, locked onto me and Priya. And I felt something crawl through the bond—like it was reaching into us.
"You are... anomaly."
Its voice was calm, smooth, not a screech or a growl like the other Apex creatures. This was something different. Something designed.
I tightened my grip on my gauntlet. Hypermind was already screaming warnings.
---
Hypermind Scan – Apex Variant Identified
✔ Designation: Apex Prime Ascendant
✔ Threat Level: Omega-Class
✔ Neural Processing: Human-equivalent cognitive ability detected.
✔ Combat Adaptability: Extreme.
Conclusion: Not a monster. A commander.
---
Priya exhaled slowly, her Apex resonance flickering against mine. "I don't like how it's looking at us."
Hart's grip on her shotgun tightened. "Because it's thinking."
Orin, rifle raised, muttered. "Horizon made this?"
I shook my head. "No. This evolved."
And the moment I said it, the Apex tilted its head—like it understood.
"Correct."
Priya flinched. "Oh, hell no—"It moved.
Faster than anything I'd ever seen.
One second it was standing—
The next, it was in front of us.
Hart fired first—her Gauss shotgun roared, plasma rounds hitting dead center—
And the Apex phased—its body bending around the impact, absorbing the energy like liquid metal.
Then it countered.
Hart barely dodged as the Apex's arm shifted, its forearm solidifying into a blade that cut the air where her head had been a second ago.
Priya reacted next—her Apex form blazing with energy as she met the strike head-on, her hands catching the Apex's blade—
Their resonance collided.
The shockwave sent me and Orin skidding back, Hypermind flooding me with error warnings—
Priya and the Apex stood locked, their energies writhing against each other.
And then—
It spoke again.
"You are not... complete."
Priya's teeth clenched, her Apex veins glowing. "Watch me."
She threw it back—but it landed smoothly, unfazed.
And smiled.
I stepped forward, my gauntlet sparking with Hypermind energy, feeding every calculation into my neural core.
"You're not just here to kill us, are you?" I said coldly.
The Apex inclined its head. "No."
Hart scowled. "Well, that's new."
Priya's voice was sharp. "Then what do you want?"
The Apex didn't hesitate. "To evolve."
I felt something shift. The weight of its words settled like stone in my chest.
The Apex wasn't just fighting us. It was testing us.
Learning.
Studying.
Adapting.
And through the link, I felt what Priya felt—
It was looking at her like she was... unfinished.
Like she was a prototype.
Like she was the next step.
The Apex took a slow step forward. "You resist... yet you are one of us."
Its golden-black eyes locked on Priya.
"Come with me."
The words hit like a gunshot.
Hart's gun snapped up. "Like hell she will."
Priya stiffened, her fingers twitching, her body instinctively reacting to the pull in the Apex's voice.
And I—
I felt it too.
Through the bond.
Something... deep inside her was responding.
---
Hypermind Alert – Neural Pattern Shift Detected
✔ Priya's Apex Signature is fluctuating.
✔ Possible Influence from Apex Prime.
✔ Unknown Subroutine Triggered.
---
Priya's voice was low, almost shaken. "You think I'd just... join you?"
The Apex tilted its head, something almost human in the gesture.
"You already are."
I felt her through the bond—
And I felt the choice forming.
This wasn't just a battle of strength.
This was a battle for her mind.
For her identity.
If she wavered—if the Apex's influence took hold—
She wouldn't be Priya anymore.
She'd be theirs.
---
I moved before I thought.
I grabbed her wrist, our Apex resonance colliding like a shockwave—
Her eyes snapped to mine.
Gold.
Then human.
Then gold again.
---
The Apex Prime watched. Studying. Waiting.
This was part of the test.
I gritted my teeth, my voice a snarl. "She's not yours."
Priya blinked, her breath ragged—like she was waking from a dream.
Then—her grip on my wrist tightened.
And her eyes locked onto the Apex.
And she laughed.
Her voice was fierce. Herself.
"You think I'm incomplete?" She took a step forward, her body glowing with Apex fire. "Then let me show you what I can do."
Then she attacked.
Not defensive.
Not holding back.
A full-powered, Apex-overloaded strike.
The Apex Prime met her head-on.
Their resonance flared, golden-black energy clashing with Priya's raw, blazing power.
The ground shattered beneath them.
The Apex Hub walls rippled, reacting to their fight—responding.
And I—
I knew what I had to do.
While Priya fought, I moved.
Into the Hub.
Into the Neural Core.
Into the heart of the Apex.
And I prepared to do what I did best.
---
Not Just Fight.
Rewrite.