"Target is hiding in the sector east. Five minutes before the bomb explodes. If it does, you will be Infected, and we will be in the obligation to execute you. G-G...o...d lu-u-k J-Jaeger. Ove..."

The message ended in a wave of electronic interference. Rhett let out a frustrated sigh as the line disconnected.

"Dammit," he cursed, throwing the transmitter to the ground. The blue screen cracked, letting him see a deformed and static version of Zacharius and his hideous VR glasses, before it shattered under the weight of his heel, creating a web of white lines on the floor.

A sudden electric-blue spark burst from the shattered device. From the remnants, a small metallic spider shot out, its legs twitching as it crawled at unnatural speed.

Rhett fired twice. The weapon released ultrasound waves, making every electronic device within ten meters short-circuit instantly. The power in the surrounding buildings flickered, then died.

The spider screeched a mechanical whine before it disintegrated into iron dust. The dust floated for a moment in the air, frozen in the residual energy, before drifting down like cheap confetti onto the glass roof.

"I hate those things," he commented to himself, sliding the rectangular-like gun back into his belt. The weapon retracted until it became a small cube fitting in the empty hole. A horrific cry screeched underneath his feet.

Rhett clenched his jaw, lowering his gaze. Through the dusty surface of the roof, he could see, dozens of meters underneath, a massive, glitching silhouette wandering in the main hall. The Infected knew about his presence; it wouldn't be long before it found his position. The hunter cursed himself for neglecting to check his transmitter.

'It will teach me to trust Aleksei.'

He checked his watch; four minutes and twenty-one seconds remained before the explosion. He didn't have time for regrets or thoughts. The success of his mission was the only thing that mattered. It was an old model from the twenty-first century, one that shot real bullets.

He exhaled sharply. No fear. No hesitation.

"Fear is the mind-killer."

Rhett aimed at his feet and pulled the trigger. The bullet shattered the fragile glass beneath him, and suddenly, there was nothing but open air. Wind rushed past his ears and into his hair as he fell down forty stories. His heartbeat thumped against his ribs. A crease formed between his brows as gravity pulled him downward.

"Lupus!" he roared, his voice swallowed by the howling wind.

The sound of his voice awakened the AI embedded in his suit, triggering its combat mode. His thin bulletproof vest hardened into rigid, impenetrable plates, while his combat boots morphed into thick steel layers. The collar expanded, encasing his neck and face, leaving no exposed skin, creating a sleek black armor. The lines flowed around the smooth surface, reprogramming it at each movement to offer him the best protection.

Nanotechnology, this damn invention. It was the root of their deadliest problem, and ironically, their only solution.

He felt a strong impact as he landed on a stage, creating a crater around him. The force of impact sent a jolt through his legs, the suit absorbing most of it, but he still felt a sharp strain in his muscles. He opened his eyes as information and figures appeared, pointing out the best exit routes and searching for any survivors through the cloud of debris and crushed concrete, almost tripping on a broken metal bar lying in front of his feet.

His vision turned red. He fell on his knees just on time, as an electromagnetic blast exploded where his head was an instant ago. He pivoted and threw a powerful kick to the Infected. The jet black animal-like creature looked at him with his blue pixelated eyes, glitching at every step it took. The Infected frowned its muzzle and let out a twisted robotic growl, launching for him. He didn't waste any time and landed a punch at its throat. The monster stumbled back but managed to grab the hunter's wrist pulling him into his fall.

'Just as planned,' he thought as he said out loud, "Step RW."

He felt his helmet hardening as the Infected jaw dissolved in thousands of blue numbers, freeing a violent wave of energy blinding the Jaeger. Rhett didn't lose any more time and shot in the eye of the Infected, before turning off his face protection. For a short moment, it felt like time had stopped, as the world unraveled before him like he was seeing for the first time. The background became a distant blur as his red iris focused on the Infected. The dark moving mass had turned into the defined shape of a wolf. Below the mass of thick fur and wires, the hunter saw the blue tint of its core floating in the back of its neck. He reactivated his helmet and the moment broke. The monster launched before stopping in the middle of its jump.

"Got you," panted the Jaeger holding the tip of a metal bar.

Something blue dripped from the teeth of the Infected and around the sharp tip of his weapon lodged in its tender artificial flesh. The body lost all of its strength and Rhett only had the time to roll on the side to avoid getting crushed by the corpse of the once-human. It fell loudly on the floor creating more creaks on the tiles.

The hunter's gaze lingered for a moment on the blue liquid staining his arms, feeling an uneasy knot in his stomach.

"Oh, yes the bomb," he sighed when a burst of alarmed notification popped on his screen.

He pushed himself upright, but a sharp pain traveled  through his legs. He gritted his teeth as heat flowed beneath his skin. Thin red bands flickered to life around his limbs, scanning rapidly. A notification flashed across his vision:

FRACTURES DETECTED. INITIATING REPAIR.

Rhett pressed down on one of the glowing lines. He couldn't see the nanotech needles, but he sure as hell felt them as they plunged deep into his flesh, stitching bone and muscle together at an alarming speed.

Two minutes and five seconds.

The message blocked part of his vision before a map appeared, leading him to the next room. Rhett tapped two times on his forehead before the nano-material slid off his face like a snake, melting into his collar. Rushing through the empty building, he jumped over the destroyed desks, slid through the holes of the torn walls. He didn't stop when two corpses blocked his way or when the puddles of blood almost made him slip.

'How could an infection this weak manage to cause this amount of damage?' he thought, looking at the red splatter covering the walls like a cheap modern art replica.

From the report he received and his meeting with the Infected he believed it was a newly mutation type werewolf. Nothing he hadn't already encountered before, and this one had been relatively easy to deal with. It didn't concord with the damages nor with the states of the victims.

"I will ask the board to start an investigation," he muttered between his teeth.

One minute and thirty-eight seconds.

He shot down the broken door before bursting into the room. Standing in the corner of the room a woman holding a broken shred of glass flattened herself against the wall. Behind the curtain of dirty sticky hair, two haggard and terrified eyes looked at him.

'Do I really look that terrifying?' he wondered, wiping a trace of blue off his shoulder. The blood of the monster only spread more on the smooth surface emitting the smell of burned circuits and plastic.

He walked toward a white cubic device sitting on a glass desk. On the white surface, a number was floating in the middle of a floating rectangle. Each second, the shape pivoted and the number lowered dangerously. The wounded woman let out a scream of horror as he snatched it in his left hand. He closed his fist around it, ignoring the intense heat radiating through his fingers and pressed. When he opened it, only a deformed shaped ball was left. He threw the destroyed bomb away and tapped his ear.

"Start. Here Jaeger R1_1-E29-SS. First Division. The two threats have been dealt with. Heading to the headquarters right away. Requesting a team of healers. At least one survivor and two victims. Over."

A small clicking noise confirmed that his message had been sent.

'Finally,' he sighed, 'it's over.'

Seventy-four. It had been seventy-four hours since he had slept, and had instead participated in five different missions. Not even the adrenaline could sustain him anymore. His breath was short and irregular as he clutched firmly the edge of the table.

The image of a hot bath and a night of sleep imposed itself in his mind. He allowed himself a few seconds of rest, feeling an unpleasant mist starting to shroud his focus. The anesthetic was stronger than he expected, leaving him wondering to what extent his body was injured. He could not afford more; even if he killed the Infected, the risk of staying inactive was too high. He turned back around, his heavy combat boots maintaining firmly his injured legs like a metallic cast. He started to walk toward the exit, crushing the pieces of pots, glass, and printers. Something moved in the corner of his vision.

"W-Wait, please help me!"

The plea of the woman barely reached his ear, but he still tilted his head toward her. She was in a pitiful state. Her glasses were broken. The left side of her face was covered in blood. Some shreds were lodged in her skin and on her torn once white informatician uniform.

"I called a team of healers. They will be there in three minutes," he responded flatly, without blinking in front of her appearance.

She opened her mouth in shock, letting her red tinted teeth shine under the bright spots. She stumbled slowly toward him holding herself with the wall creating a bloody line. He stayed still as she grabbed his sleeve. His suit turned hard, ready to protect him.

"Please," she begged, while her knees weakened. He grabbed her arm and helped her sit on the floor, "It hurts so much."

The contact was lukewarm and unsettling.

'I don't want any more blood on my suit.'

"Your injuries will get life-threatening in fifteen minutes. You are going to be alright. A team will arrive before this deadline," he answered with any once of sympathy in his cold voice.

He pulled away from her grip, and walked quickly out of the room. He stopped in the hallway and checked for any new data. His body tensed hearing the faint sound of hesitant steps.

'How reckless,' he sighed, closing his eyes before shrugging: it wasn't his problem after all if she didn't want to listen to him. Whether she lived or not wasn't his problem. He saved the rest of the suburb. Sacrifices were necessary. The deaths of the victims should and will be honored, but if someone was willing to endanger themselves by ignoring the direct advice of a Jaeger, then it wasn't a loss worth caring about.

His sharp eye lifted, and he observed the area. The ninety-meter ceiling, the transparent walls, the stillness of the wind, and the minimalist offices lining into a perfect symmetry made the entire place look like an infinite reflection.

"How empty."

The comment escaped from his lips without any notice. He lifted his hand and placed it on his chest. With the layers separating his palm from his skin, it was impossible for him to feel the slight warmth of his body, or the movement of his chest changing with every breath he took, let alone the faint sound of his heartbeat.

He knew he wouldn't find what he sought, yet his cold stubbornness couldn't abandon.

A faint sound made him turn around. He grabbed one of his cubs. When he pointed his hand toward the source of the disturbance, the small object had turned into a gun. Fifty meters away from him, the injured woman had stumbled down holding her stomach with a firm clutch, her face paler than a few minutes ago.

Rhett clicked his tongue, feeling his body relaxing, "Dammit! I told you to wait! I..."

The rest of his sentence died as, next to the woman, an exact copy of her appeared looking completely clueless. Everything was identical from the state of their clothes and the bruises darkening their skin. The two women judged each other with widened eyes, mirroring their movements as they touched their faces, necks, and hair. Despite the gruesome circumstances, an uncanny curiosity pushed the original to stay still in front of her copy, if it wasn't another emotion. Whatever her motive was for not running away, he didn't have time to ponder about it.

Rhett reached for his ear, "Start. Here Rhett. First Division. New threat. Infected skill: shifter," he whispered urgently feeling the blood draining from his face.

His hand slightly trembled when he took off his eye vision. His naked eye furiously focused on the women but nothing changed. He couldn't uncover the core of the Infected. He couldn't see any difference between them.

His hand wavered between the two identical women.

Who was real? Who was fake?

Rhett narrowed his eyes, his pulse hammering in his ears. There was no sign of a core. None. That meant...He had no choice. The healers were going to arrive at any second now, if they came and were Infected by the virus...

He tightened his grip on the handle of the weapon. He couldn't hesitate. The success of the mission was the only thing that mattered.

He inhaled and shot.

Both of them.