The levitating chair was an unnecessary luxury for someone who had total control over matter, but Mindshadow indulged herself all the same because she didn't want to distract herself with outside considerations. It was the first time she was conducting an entire mission from her base, using her powers to reach out and manipulate people like the pawns she thought they were. Their eyes were her eyes. Their hands were hers to control. And most of all, their thoughts were completely open to her will. And besides; it was a very comfortable chair.

Once Perle was inside, she took more direct control of his mind, steering him to the main area that housed the scientists. The first scientist who came into Perle's view was a bespectacled balding man who's thoughts identified him as Dr. Cal Pinkerton. She shifted her attention to the Pinkerton, gently releasing Perle with a suggestion that sent him straight to the base cafeteria. Unlike Perle, Pinkerton had the necessary access she needed. Inside his office, Pinkerton typed a command on his computer that opened an outside connection, which was all she really needed.

"Athena," she commanded.

In the blink of an eye, the super-powerful AI penetrated the now-opened electronic defenses, copying all the data that was logged in the base's computer. The amount of data was disappointingly small; apparently these government scientists didn't do as much work as she had hoped they would have by now. Once done, Athena then planted a subtle but powerful virus, which would silently and subtly corrupt the data on the base's computers. Mindshadow then followed up the silent theft by hypnotically fogging the minds of all the base personnel's lingering memories and telekinetically altering printed materials that might have been able to reproduce the data. Once she was done, the base's data would still appear legitimate. But certain numbers would be shifted, and certain diagrams would be altered, which would render the technical information essentially useless. After all, she couldn't very well have Autocrat's legacy falling into the hands of these lazy government bureaucrats, who weren't worthy of such power. They didn't have the vision for reshaping the world.

******

A light mind-touch interrupted her short break through the garden. Athena had completed collating and organizing the data stolen from her next-door neighbors. She phased through the arboretum's separating wall and levitated up to the main computer area. As she arrived, screens, hologram, and mental images came to life.

"The map for the Celestial Keep is very incomplete, given its size. According to government records, the initial investigations have not yielded much, other than penetrating the outer layer, which is mostly cosmetic. However, when the first government teams arrived, there was already signs that the fortress had been breached, possibly by other metahuman operatives."

She nodded. "My sources tell me that some of that technology has shown up in some of the preliminary designs published by Max Power's company. They have a number of operatives that could have penetrated the base's outer defenses."

"There was one excursion that attempted a preliminary exploration a few weeks ago. No problems were reported up until the team lost contact after penetrating the first perimeter ring."

She focused her attention as the 3-D map copied from the base focused in her mind. "What happened to them?"

"Unknown. They never came out. The base personnel assumed the worst. Since the raid was conducted without permission of the international community, it was kept quiet by the base commander."

She smiled coldly. So the Celestial Keep still had security after all. She had hoped that it was a powerless husk, but apparently Autocrat's security devices were just too good. Well, perhaps it was best this way. The security would have kept the bumbling fools out, ensuring that she would be the only benefactor of Autocrat's legacy. Of course, she'd have to take some precautions. "Have Nike prepared with all available navigation and tactical information available," she commanded. Next, she concentrated, reaching out to the minds of her pawn Hardware, silently tapping into his memories of the Keep incursion, then adding them to the computer schematics. Finally, she called up the data that Harbinger had given her at the start of the Ireland War. Once all the data was collated, Athena began to copy the information into her battle armor.

"Upload complete," Nike whispered mentally. Along her body, Mindshadow could feel a gentle tingling as the nanite-based systems made minor adjustments to the weapon systems. Once completed, she took one last look at the map and sighed. She had enough power flowing through her armor to incinerate a city if she needed. It was time to put it to use.

******

On the horizon, the fortress was almost concealed by ice and snow, but the sheer size of it kept it visible for miles around. Most of it would be under the glacier; buried when it came crashing down at the end of the war. Mindshadow came to a stop at the perimeter and examined the outer hull. Already, she could tell she was onto something special. Her senses could tell that the hull was composed of a number of atomic structures that she had never felt before. She reached out telekinetically and obtained a molecular sample as she circled around the massive structure. This alien metal had protected the fortress from everything Mankind could throw at it; it would no doubt be of tremendous use on improving the protective measures of her armor suit. After a few minutes, she arrived at a crack in the hull. It was immediately apparent that people had been here before. She held her breath with anticipation as she entered.

******

******

Her eyes narrowed as she scanned some of the rooms; there were clear signs that someone else had been here recently. Scorch marks were visible along with some equipment that had been reduced to slag. Self-destruct or did someone else not want this equipment falling into other people's hands, she wondered. Most likely the latter; most of the damage looked external. If she ever found out who it was, she would make sure to punish them suitably.

The corridor opened up as she made her way to the next room, which was unmistakably a museum. She willed her armor to increase its pulsing hypno-light to illuminate the room better. Her molecular senses could perceive the room well enough, but there was still the aesthetic pleasure of seeing it for herself.

Glass cases lined the walls. The nearest glass case contained a bone of some sort, thick and heavy on one end. The plaque near the base of the case read, "First weapon used in anger." The next case contained a brass shield, which was beaten around the edges and dented in the middle. The plaque on this case read, "Shield of Achilles." Farther down the line was a glass case containing a medal of some sort. Engraved upon the medal was a swastika. No plaque adorned that case.

Mindshadow smiled with satisfaction. Autocrat might have been a power-mad dictator, but he had a tremendous sense of history. In fact, one could argue that he was history. The room had countless other artifacts, all depicting mankind's historic inhumanity to man. After thinking it over, she concentrated. The contents of the entire room began to flicker as her telekinetic powers reached out and disassembled them into molecular patterns. The patterns were gathered and stored into her battle armor for safekeeping. Although it wasn't why she was here, she decided that these artifacts were far too precious to simply leave behind. Within seconds, the room was empty.

Suddenly, she looked up. Her molecular senses tingled as she sensed the abrupt flow of power. "Something's about to happen," she willed.

"Weapon systems are being engaged," Nike replied. "Armor deflection systems standing by..."

Right on cue, panels opened on the walls and ceilings, firing bursts of lethal force at the perceived intruder. The beams bounced harmlessly off her armor. Undaunted, the weapons continued to fire, doing their programmed best to wear the intruder down. Mindshadow gestured; she could have used her telekinetic powers, but her armor's weapon systems could use the practice. Bursts of white energy flew from her fingertips, guiding themselves to their targets. The weapons exploded on impact, ending the threat seconds after it had begun.

"Did you get all that?"

"Weapon systems are consistent with data already acquired from the Mercury Squad raid," Nike replied.

"Anything we can salvage?"

"We could salvage the weapons, but the expertise behind them are already available to Athena. Mission parameters suggest saving storage space for newer technologies."

"Very well. Then let's proceed deeper."

******

******

"Fool..."

She almost jumped at the interruption. She hadn't heard that, had she? "Did you say something?" she asked.

"Negative. But sensors are detecting minute movements 600 meters and closing."

She shook her head. There were occasions where her incredible sensitivity to thoughts could a disadvantage; much like a person with sensitive hearing could find noisy places painful. She had trained herself over the years to filter out other people's thoughts unless they were thinking of her directly. But something about this place didn't feel right. It was as if...

"Your powers will avail you not..."

She stopped again and concentrated. She could feel it; somewhere in this fortress, a mind was out there. Ordinarily, she would simply reach out and enslave them. But for some reason, she couldn't get a fix on it. If she could find them, she could put an end to this nonsense. She reached into her own mind, tapping into her powers and began to boost them to higher levels.

"Definite movement. Humanoid, moving approximately four KPH to your position," Nike interrupted. "Do you wish to lock sensors on target?"

Humanoid, she thought as she willed her confirmation to Nike. That was probably what was giving off the annoying thoughts. Probably remaining mutant slaves who were left behind when Autocrat made his escape. For some reason though, she couldn't get a fix on their thoughts. Probably shielded, she thought; she was picking up stray scatters because of her telepathic sensitivity. Once she incinerated them, she could get back to the business at hand.

******

******

Not that it mattered, she thought as her armor systems powered up, amplifying her telekinesis. With a mental shrug, the first wave of energy swept through the corridor, crushing the wave of drones into puddles of dark-colored, bubbling ooze. The individual nanites, no longer attached to their biological hosts, scattered and dispersed, seeking new hosts. Before they could move, a second wave of telekinesis disintegrated them.

"All opposition destroyed," Nike reported. "Scanning for additional threats..."

She drifted over the organic remains of her foes and looked down with contempt. All too easy, she thought, then caught herself. Perhaps this was simply a probe - a test to measure her power and prepare a true response. She looked at the remains more carefully and noticed some scraps of extraneous materials. She waved her hand and a single scrap of plastic drifted up to in front of her.

Dr. Ivan Williams
Field officer
Bio-science specialist
United Nations Antarctic Science Station
Expiration: 01-31-2006

Uh, oh, she thought. She telekinetically sifted through the other remains and found similar scraps, confirming her suspicions. These zombies were the science team that the government team lost only a few weeks ago. Based on what she knew about Autocrat's technology, this kind of genetic and nanotech manipulation was beyond even his automated defenses. Which left the uncomfortable conclusion that there was some kind of power and intelligence running this place after all.

"Witness what will be your fate..."

She shuddered as the mysterious voice echoed again in her head. Did Autocrat some how make it back from the other dimension? No, she thought; he was far too egotistical to resort to this kind of harassment. If he did return, he'd have surely challenged her directly. Of the Elite, he was the only one she really feared in a one-to-one fight; any of the others, she was confident she could handle. Logically, someone was probably using the Keep's technology to try and set her up for an ambush. Not a trivial threat, but one she was equipped to handle.

She gestured to the large door and willed Nike to override the security lockouts. A few seconds, the door panel beeped and slid open. She levitated forward and nodded with relief at seeing the main deck, where the final fight had taken place a few months ago. It wouldn't be long now.

******

******

"Scan the room," she ordered.

A few seconds later, Nike replied. "The flat panels on the center table are the main interface. The user places his palm on the panel and the sensors reads the subtle pressure to interpret commands and convey information."

How clumsy, she thought. But probably as close to a direct mental link that a non-telepath could achieve. Also a perfect way to verify identity, she realized. "Is there a way to bypass this interface?"

"Negative. Unable to detect any artificial intelligence within this unit."

She frowned at that. It didn't seem right that someone of Autocrat's stature would resort to a non-AI-based computer to store his information. Unless he was being cautious about Brainchild - no doubt Brainchild would have been able to telepathically interface and control AI computers. But didn't normal computers need a lot of maintenance? She wasn't sure, but from everything she was told, one of the main advantages AI computers had over their conventional counterparts was that they didn't need mundane maintenance. She knew Autocrat would never lower himself to having to do system maintenance each week, but Autocrat was also a paranoid who would never trust his most valued technological secrets to anyone, not even the members of the Elite. Which meant someone else was in charge of the Holy Grail.

"This is your last chance to run away like the coward you are..."

She shook as her head tingled all over. The voice was much clearer; almost all around her. But she still couldn't isolate who was making the threats. But it was obvious that there was a presence. It was almost as if... She shook her head; she had come too far to back out now.

"Scan the panel and set up a computer bypass," she ordered. Wherever the presence was, the computer that held the data was just a computer. And Nike had the hacking tools to penetrate any computer system in the world.

"Scan complete. Bypass ready."

She carefully pressed her palm against the screen and held her breath.

"You will never find my legacy. You will now be punished for your impertinence..."

A surge of energy lanced up her arm, causing her to jerk back in pain. A shower of sparks cascaded from the screens as the terminals went dark. Simultaneously, the doors around the room dropped, sealing the room. Overhead, a loud voice shouted, "Fool! You were warned and now you will pay the price! Escape is futile! Now you will be imprisoned for your impertinence! All hail Autocrat!"

She silently cursed as the tingling faded from her arm. Fortunately, her armor blunted the brunt of the attack. The voice overhead sounded like Autocrat's, but it might have been a recording for all she knew. But her first priority was always her own safety. "Nike, can you override the doors?"

"Negative. System overload has reduced computer resources 35%. Unable to override security lockouts."

She took a moment to examine the walls and doors; the walls were being charged with a polarizing form of energy. That meant she wouldn't be able to phase through the doors. So she focused her powers on the doors, prying them open telekinetically. The doors groaned reluctantly as the frame began to slowly buckle. Her brow began to furrow; virtually no one else in the world would have been able to pry them open like this, which didn't bode well for what was on the other side of the door.

"Warning - movement detected," Nike cautioned. "Multiple contacts converging from the other side of the bulkhead."

"More of those zombies?"

"Unlikely. Contacts are small and are exhibiting fast, agile movement."

She opened her mind, allowing her mental senses to synchronize with Nike's technological sensor array so she could get an early mental lock. She couldn't sense any sentient minds from the contacts; they felt like shape-shifting drones with highly unusual molecular structures. Her head tingled painfully as the irregular combination of organic and inorganic components tumbled like razor blades in her mind.

As the bulkhead door finally pried open, the detention units finally came into sight. They were glowing blue amoebas; solid yet possessing liquidity that more resembled invertebrate life forms. They slithered along the floor, walls and ceilings with impunity, spreading apart as they entered the room, denying their opponent an easy single target.

She gestured, blanketing the room with telekinetic energy. She had to do this with a little care, she reminded herself. She didn't want to destroy the room; only the creatures. So she targeted the atomic bonds that held the composite atoms together, leaving the actual homogeneous masses alone for further examination. The units froze as one, turned gray, then crumbled into powdered bio-mass and nanotech circuitry.

"Any more of them?" she asked Nike as she levitated one of the remains up to the laboratory table for further analysis. She rubbed her temple absently. The effort to defeat the creatures was trivial, but something else was beginning to bother her. She could feel something else in her mind. A presence; akin to a mind, but almost too vast to comprehend. And it felt like it was all around her and closing.

"Affirmative," Nike confirmed.

She set the dead unit down as she got ready for the next wave. She decided to save her armor's offensive power for the moment; if they were more of these detention units, she would simply destroy them as she did before. Right on cue, the next squad slithered into the room. They seemed slightly larger, but were otherwise identical in construction, down to the irregular molecular structures.

Once again, the air shimmered as telekinetic energy flooded the room, stopping the creatures in place. But this time, she frowned. "Something's wrong. I can't seem to separate their molecular bonds this time."

"Analysis confirmed. Molecular valances have changed frequencies," Nike reported. "Increase your molecular telekinetic frequency to compensate."

She furrowed her brow slightly, increasing her telekinetic strength by an additional order of magnitude. She relaxed as the next wave of units crumbled like the first. "If they keep changing like that, I won't be able to transform them much longer."

"Sensors detect that units are vulnerable to conventional forms attack as well. However, sensors are detected additional units converging from two different directions. Recommend changing location to reduce them to a single attack angle."

That sounded like a good idea, she thought to herself. Turning her attention to another passage, she focused her power on the sealed door. The frame around the door began to groan as the metal door buckled and slowly crumpled against the overwhelming force. Just as she flew through the gap, she could hear the sounds of slithering behind her. The drones were coming.

"Targets locked," Nike said. She gestured again and several powerful bolts of energy lanced out from her fingertips. Each bolt found its target, vaporizing most of the units into vapor. The remaining few units snaked their way through the breached bulkhead and lunged at her.

"Warning, monomolecular acid detected," Nike warned. She paused her attack, willing herself to phase state, causing the units to pass harmlessly through her. As they fell to the deck, she turned her attention back to them, crushing them into pulp with her telekinesis.

"Any more of them?" she asked.

"None at this time," Nike replied.

"Your will is strong. But even your power is limited. Soon, you will fall..."

She winced as she rubbed her temple again. That voice just kept echoing in her mind and it was really beginning to irritate her. Despite all her power and skill, she still couldn't track the voice. But how could that be? She could track a single mind in an entire city of minds. Why couldn't she track this one in an empty wasteland? It was as if the voice was echoing all around her, ringing in her mind like a gong.

"Warning - additional contacts detected," Nike warned.

"More of the same?"

"Similar properties detected, but larger in size."

Just as she readied herself, panels on the ceiling and floor snapped open above and below her. The units on the bottom lunged up and wrapped themselves around her legs. Almost immediately, her armor's force field began to sizzle and smoke. Mindshadow willed herself to phase, but the units still remained attached to her.

"They've adapted to my phasing powers," she said with growing concern.

"Shock field activating," Nike said. Instantly, a powerful field of plasma energy enveloped her armor suit, incinerating the units sticking to her.

The remaining few units pulled back and hesitated. They moved in a holding pattern, trying to find a weakness in her defenses. Mindshadow snapped her fingers, generating a powerful shock wave of concussive force, smashing the remaining drones against the bulkhead wall.

"If they keep adapting, can you alter the weaponry in the armor to keep up?" she asked. For the first time, she was beginning to worry. If she had been here without her armor, she would have probably already fallen in battle. Even with all her advanced technology and vast personal powers, she didn't know how much longer she could keep it up.

"To a limited extent, yes. But adaptation capability without contact from Athena is limited."

Mindshadow concentrated, reaching out with her mind, only to find herself blocked. It didn't surprise her; of course the Keep was shielded against mental contact. But without Athena's vast database of technology, Nike was limited to the attack patterns and weapon designs stored in the armor suit itself. And if the drones continued to adapt to each attack, they would eventually win. She had to change her approach.

"Warning - additional contacts detected."

"Bring my teleport boots online and find me a large open area on the map," Mindshadow ordered. In her mind, a three-dimensional map appeared, and then oriented itself to account for her position. A moment later, a clear trail marked itself to what appeared to be the old throne room. Using her telekinetics to open a path, she flew towards the designated area as new slithering sounds crawled out of the woodwork.

Seconds later, she flew into the throne room. Like the rest of the fortress, it was a monument of palatial opulence, albeit cold and sterile as a hospital. It was as majestic as she remembered it when she was last here shadowing and manipulating the players of the Ireland War to suit her desired outcome. A pity it was all about to go away.

"Calculate how much antimatter I can detonate without compromising the fortress' integrity," Mindshadow commanded as she willed her telekinetic force field to expand around her and encompass the room. Next, she created a second telekinetic bubble between her hands, expanding it to the size of a baseball.

"Calculations complete. Based on the tensile strengths of the Keep walls and bulkheads, 7.6 milligrams of antimatter can be detonated without compromising the overall structure. However, the blast will be lethal out to a radius of three miles, even with bulkhead containment."

"Find me a safe place in another part of the Keep to teleport and lock coordinates." As she telekinetically prepared the smaller bubble, she could feel mental pressure against the larger bubble surrounding the room. The units had caught up to her and were beginning to burn their way through. The sensation of acid tingled in her mind; she could tell that it was stronger than the one that tried to burn her armor earlier. Her bubble wouldn't last very long.

"Coordinates locked. Teleport standing by."

"Synchronize the teleport with my small bubble," she commanded. Inside the small bubble, she concentrated on the stray air molecules, willing them to reverse their molecular spin and invert their electrical charges. The bubble began to sparkle as stray single atoms of newly formed antimatter micro-detonated against their normal counterparts.

Seconds later, the outer bubble burst and hundreds of the swarming units charged in. They completely surrounded the room, several of them merging into larger units like a giant amoeba. Mindshadow waited, allowing them to get close before she released the small telekinetic bubble into the center of the mass. As expected, the small bubble vaporized almost instantly against the large aggressive units. Simultaneously, Mindshadow disappeared just as the units were about to grapple her.

Mindshadow reappeared an instant later in another part of the Keep, just in time to hear and feel a powerful concussive blast shake the entire fortress. The shockwave ripped through several bulkheads, destroying several floors of rooms and setting off seismic meters for miles around.

"Arrgh...you dare...!"

Mindshadow abruptly clutched her head as the sound of a telepathic scream echoed through her mind like a gong. In a flash of images, she could feel the entire Keep all around her tremble in pain, overwhelming her mental senses. The sensation of a hot stabbing explosion filled the center of her being. She grit her teeth and focused her concentration. The pain wasn't hers, she realized. She was feeling the pain of another sentient being. Which left only one conclusion.

She had been looking for a powerful being controlling the Keep's systems, but it was far more than that. She was dealing with a being who encompassed the entire Keep itself, she realized. There was only one logical reason she would feel the entire Keep in her mind. She hadn't been sensing the thoughts of a Keep inhabitant. She was sensing the thoughts of the Keep itself.

The Keep was sentient. The Keep was alive.

******

******

Mindshadow stiffened as she heard the numbers began to countdown in her mind. No time to rest from her battle, she realized. What was going on now?

"You are more troublesome than appearances suggest. But you have only won a battle, little one. Now our engagement will continue...in otherworld..."

Uh-oh - she didn't have to be a telepath to figure out what was coming next. The Keep's defenses weren't destroyed yet. And now it was going to teleport itself and everyone inside to a more-favorable battleground. Briefly, she thought about finding the central control center and destroying the teleport mechanism. But she knew that was a fool's errand. The Keep was the size of a large city; finding the right mechanism would be nearly impossible. And as powerful as she was, she had no idea what she'd be facing in another dimension. It was a risk she couldn't afford to take.

Seizing the largest puddle remains of her recent opponents, she flew up the main corridor, using Nike's navigation map as a guide. Better to escape with a scrap of bread, than be caught trying to steal the whole loaf.

"No...you can't get away..."

She came to a sudden stop as several bulkheads began to slide shut in front of her. She reached out telekinetically, freezing the doors in place. She could feel the doors' resistance and hear the sound of the motors grinding against her power as she sped through the gap. Once she was through, the doors slammed shut behind her. Ahead of her, she saw the arboretum at the top level of the fortress. As the passed through, bolts of energy bounced off her armor. The walls around her began to shimmer as she passed through the outer ring. Seconds later, she was clear of the fortress.

As she pulled away from the fortress, she paused to look behind her. The entire fortress began to shimmer and flicker with light. Then, with a bright flash of light, the entire fortress seemed to collapse in on itself as the dimensional barriers were split open. The landscape echoed with a booming sound as air rushed in to fill the empty void left by the disappearing fortress. She sighed; the fortress was gone. Where it would turn up, only time would tell. The only comfort she could take back to her base would be that no one else would have the technology after all.

******

After several minutes, she rose up and summoned the armor to reassemble around her. It seemed meaningless to be wearing her combat armor while she was as safe as she could ever be inside her own base, but she liked the sensation of power between her fingertips even so. Athena gave her the breakdown; the hull of the Keep was an alloy of unknown elements and would require further analysis before it could be easily replicated. The anti-body drones themselves were made of the same kind of technology that seemed to defy conventional rules of science.

If she could crack the basic concept, it would potentially offer an entire new realm of power for her to exploit. But it would take time, probably months. She briefly considered letting some of Prometheus' best scientists examine it, but decided against it. If this technology was as vital as she suspected, then she couldn't afford even the slightest chance at a leak. And Athena was already equipped with the best science knowledge in the world; it was doubtful anyone else would be able to offer much more help.

She sighed as she looked at the middle of the room. On the sample dish was the single non-active anti-body drone she had captured. All around the room, probes and scanners of every kind began to peel it apart, atom-by-atom. Elsewhere, the metal alloy was being subjected to similar analysis. She would have Autocrat's secrets eventually. And once she did, combined with her powers, she would reshape the world according to her whims. And that day would come. Soon.
 

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