The First Vectors (Complete)

[Virion]

Hidden within the bushes, pressed flat to the ground, the burly hunter edged slowly towards his quarry. The foliage above him swayed lightly in the breeze, the dappled sunlight scattering and shifting in response.
There was a pristine quality to this forest, something almost mystical in the thick woodland air. Drawing his hunting rifle into place, the hunter took aim at the large stag feeding up ahead. He looked down the barrel of the gun, lining up his shot carefully. This vintage rifle was one of his favourites, unlike these newfangled weapons most hunters use, it took a certain level of... 'refinement' to master this gun.

The deer cocked an ear, raising up to look out towards the hunter's location. He held his breath, beads of sweat descending slowly down his furrowed brow. Right as he was about to make the shot, a rusting by his side startles him.

"Ohhoho that's a nice one Vance" complimented the man, managing to both destroy the sense of mysticism and ruin Vance's shot all in one fell swoop. Without invitation the newcomer rustles in next to where the hunter was hiding, and raising his own gun to peer down the sights at the stag.

Evidently suspecting danger, or perhaps hearing the hunters less-than-astute comrade, the buck fled.

"Cohh, bad luck V." said the newcomer, nudging Vance in the side and noisily rising back to his feet, dusting off the odd bits of leaf litter that stuck to his overalls.

Angrily Vance also got to his feet, grabbing his hat from his head and scrunching it in a clenched fist, before rapping the other man over the head with it scathingly.
"Dammit Ryan, what-cher gotta go do that fer!?", the other man flinched back, rubbing his noggin.
"That's the second 'un in as many 'ours... I swear if-"

Vance's beration stopped before it had really begun, for in that instant Virion appeared, having chosen at random these two power signatures to transport himself to.

--

The two men stared, slack jawed at the monstrous creature who had just appeared out of thin air right before their eyes. Virion's gaze on the other hand was directed towards his surroundings, partially unfocused, as if looking off somewhere into the distance of a world only he could see.

First left, then right, not even pausing as his slitted eyes passed over the men before him. It was as if they weren't even there. Invisible.

"M-m-m-monster..." wailed Ryan, his voice coming out in barely more than a strained whisper,
"y-you're ...s...seeing it, too, then... r-right?" stammered Vance, a note of urgency creeping in to his fearful tone towards the end of his question. Ryan nodded his head fervently, perhaps a little two fervently, taking a few trembling steps backwards before tumbling to the ground.

Many thoughts and questions still ran through Virions head, his mind still focused back on the Lookout and his encounter therein. He did not pay any attention as Vance raised his gun, nor as Ryan scrambled across the ground on all fours, any more than a man would give their attention to a couple of ants scuttling under foot.

"gugh... uuguh... ughhhhhhhE-EatLead!" came the garbled, terror-stricken shout of Vance, as he raised his gun and fired. Not even waiting to see the results, he instead took the opportunity to immediately turn tail and join his rapidly fleeing companion.

The bullet stuck to Virion's chest, unable to pierce the skin or cause any damage, but still having enough force to squash it in place. He looked now towards the backs of the men, taking even the slightest notice of them for the first time, watching as they disappeared into the shrubs. He could feel their energy signatures fleeing off into the distance even after they had gone out of view.

The flattened bullet finally slide from his chest and fell to the dirt with a light little clink. After a few lingering moments of stillness, Virion used his instant transmission to make another jump.

[Virion]

"Oh man oh man" blubbered Ryan, as the two hunters sped away in their hover pick-up truck.
"They ain't... never gonna believe us" breathed Vance, puffing heavily with one hand clutched to his chest. He leaned out, looking back behind and them, before sitting back in again.
"I ain't even.... sure I believe us... ... What WAS t'at thing man..."

Both men had scrambled back to the truck, running their hardest. Vance barely pulled open the door before Ryan engaged the engines and was up and off. But now, out of imminent danger, they had time to collect themselves and work out what exactly they had seen,
"I don't think it's followin' us... I shoot it up pretty good" continued Vance
"It was like some sort of... bug-monster-man!" enthused Ryan, his excitement at the adrenalin rush finally starting to overwrite the mind-numbling terror he had felt,
"Yeah, with horns like some sorta... el diablo.. thing, or somethin'"
"Yeah, and wings!"
"It didnnuh 'ave no wings ya idiot!" snapped Vance, smacking his friend across the back of the head, before slumping back down and crossing his arms thoughtfully,
"But it did have a tail... Man, it just 'peared outta god-damn nowhere! just..." He made an nondescript hand gesture, miming a 'poof' sound.

"I tell you Vance, I ain't been that scared since i was a boy" Ryan was shaking his head, an involuntary shudder creeping up and then back down his spine,
"Not even when that sabre tiger caught you?" asked Vance, one eyebrow raised
"Sabre tiger didn't appear out of thin air right infront of me, now did it?" Ryan replied, giving a pointed look to his friend,
"and at least I knew what it was! This thing on the other hand scares the willies out of me... Could it be some sorta aye-lee-ann (alien) ya think, like that one from on the TV?"

Vance's hand went to his chin, rubbing his thin stubble,
"Could well be... Been alotta un’naturu’ral stuff going on lately.” He nodded to himself a few times, eyes closed thoughtfully,
“Yep, we’s lucky we got outta there alive Ryan. Them aliens’d kill ya as soon as look at ya. Blew up Central City, and attacked Satan City not long after that, now didn’t they? They’s going after the most densely pop-u-lated areas…”
“but there ain’t no cities near here Vance” said Ryan.
“They gotta space ship ya nincompoop! Anywhere is 'near here' for them. They probably beamed him right down from space” He said, waving his hands around and indicating towards the sky,
“that’s how he just appeared out of nowhere like that!”

---

Meanwhile, 2 miles east in the Sansho suburbs, Virion was making a move.

“Come now, don’t be afraid. I assure you this will be a completely symbiotic relationship” He stood now, towering over the man before him. Three people had the guy pinned down, and as Virion approached, hand extended and palm outstretched, the small maw in his deformed, 4 fingered hand opened, revealing the odd sharp tooth. From along his arm a worm-like tube extended, wrapping itself around his wrist, and rearing over his hand like a snake ready to strike.
A woman screamed in the background, witnessing the spectacle of this monster at work, drawing the attention of Virion’s three vampiric associates.
“We’ll sort her after” asserted Virion dismissively, not breaking his locked gaze from the man before him.
"P-p-p-please-" begged the man, finally finding his voice.

His pleads were short lived though, the man instead letting out a frightened cry as Virion struck; his palm latching to the man’s chest, and the worm-like tube also grabbing hold, leech-like, piercing through the top layer of flesh.
“uhh, Ahh, AUGHH!” The man struggled for a moment, but the ones pinning him seemed unnaturally strong.
“That should be more than enough” Virion said after barely a second, straightening and releasing his grip on the man, who slumped to the ground like a rag-doll, eyes glazed.


The lady had begun to run, but there was no point. In one bound Virion had caught her and performed the same task as he had with the man before her. She too slumped to the ground, unconscious from having feinted.

Sirens began in the distance, closing in. Evidently someone had called the police.
“Your assistance is unnecessary, but I thank you anyway my new brothers and sisters.” He said, addressing the group of followers, who now numbered seven and had acted as the pinners in the preceding interlude.

The man he attacked before began to rise, and when he looked up he was no longer scared. His eyes had gone pink, and fangs had developed in his mouth. Through his torn shirt was visible the ‘bite’ marks from Virion’s palm, the area swollen and pulsating slightly, large veins raised visible through the skin.

Their metamorphosis has begun, thought Virion, feeling the trickle of energy being transmitted to him by his latest catches. Like a single drip of water onto a travellers parched tongue, it was hardly enough.

---

Virion was not like the other Bio-androids. He was a series of his own, featuring a number of improvements and characteristics unique to his design. Old models had utilised Bio-extraction as a method of empowering themselves, draining their victims of all biological material. Virion however had no need for this function, and instead worked upon an infection principal.

In his Perfect Form he could inject part of his own bio-essence into a host body, causing the rapid production of his own genetic code within their system. In a matter of anywhere from hours to mere minutes a new copy of Virion would be born, all trace of the host gone, allowing his kind to spread rapidly throughout the galaxy and achieve their goals. The use of an already-developed host body allowed their growth cycle to be rapidly accelerated, instead of taking years development like the tube-born did.

Although his ability had lost potency since his regression to this state, he was still capable of implanting his own genetic material into another. The process at work was very, very slow, but Virion was sure that eventually these vectors would undergo the same full metamorphosis that use to occur almost instantaneously before. For now however they served a different function.

When infected by Virion the host bodies Ki would change, would begin to resonate with Virion’s own. Merely through their existence and proximity they strengthened him. Back in his own time this had given all Virions access to an even greater strength. Despite their separation across the galaxy their Ki’s were perfectly matched, and this perfect resonance empowered them all, like a cosmic choir that they could tap into at any time.

His resonance with these people might not be nearly as perfect as that, but it still provided him with a new source of strength, and through them was the possibility that it would spread, for now they too held the key to turning others, like some sort of vampiric cult.

The town was relatively small, but Virion had much more work to do.
“Perhaps I can speed things up a little…”

[Virion]

Closing his eyes and bowing his head Virion concentrated. A gruff murmur began in his throat, growing into almost a growl. His energy grew, the restraints weakening. His aura flowed, then grew in intensity, suddenly his growl turned to a yell, as he appeared with a burst to step out of his own skin.

It didn't stop there though, for as the first pulled out and broke free, a second emerged, then a third. What at first appeared to be some bizarre shedding of skin, instead turned out to be something quite different. The aura died down along with Virions guttural snarl, and after a drawn out pause the wind whistling over the scene.

Four Virions now stood, each an exact duplicate of the first, regarding one another impassively.


The people Virion infected, who had been grouped nearby from before, had watched the spectacle with mild curiosity. It was only when one of the Virions turned to look at them they all appeared to decide that now was a good time to comply with Virion's earlier dismissal, resuming their previous activities almost as if nothing had happened, both just then to Virion, and too them before.

One of people hopped back into his car and drove off, catting idly with his friend, another picking up a bag and replacing the items which had fallen out, while the rest walked off in different directions to whatever activities they had been up to before Virion's interruption.
Asides from the vampiric qualities, pink eyes and the 'bite' marks Virion had given them, the only outward indication there was that these were different to normal people was their slightly sluggish demeanour.


The Four Virions turned now, closing their eyes and bowing their heads in unison, much like Virion had done before. This time however it was for a different purpose, as each was probing with their mind, sensing out all of the energy signatures in the area, pinpointing their exact locations.

Before the backdrop of darkness presented by Virions closed eyes the energy signals of the townspeople emerged like small beacons.
Two walking together here, Four sitting over there, a lone one there and another there. He counted them out in his mind, planning his next move with great precision.
Three Hundred and Twelve in total, minus the ones Virion has already infected. Sansho Town was relatively small, isolated, but that was part of the reason Virion picked it.

The sirens from earlier revealed their source, the police car hurtling forward before jerking to a sudden stop, the two officers bracing themselves against it's open doors, guns drawn,
"Freeze you-uuuwaaugh!?" The police officers jaw dropped as he beheld the creatures before him,
Numbly he reached for his radio in his pocket.
"..uh, yeah we're... we're at the scene of the... disturbance... yeah you might wanna get some more officers down here, we don't really know what it is we're, uh... dealing with here."

Virion however paid the officers no heed, ignoring the nearby noise of the siren as the officers ducked down for a stand off. As far as Virion was concerned these were just another of the many faceless energy signatures within Sansho Town.
"Put your uh, hands in the air and surrender, a-all of you!" Began the officer a little shakily, probably unsure of how exactly to address a group of insectoid monsters.

Each Virion opened their eyes in turn, looking back up in four different directions, each focussed seemly out beyond the immediate area and the policemen infront of them.
"Let us begin" They chanted in unison, evidently to themselves as they spoke straight over the policemen's shakily relayed orders for the group to 'cease and desist all felonious activity'.

The four Virions disappeared in a flicker, the Officer letting out a gasp of surprise. Looking around he leaped back with an even greater shout, for one of the Virions was right behind him, it's hand reaching forward to latch hastily onto his shoulder.

The officer struggled for but a moment as Virion injected his bio-essence, before crumbling to the ground in the same glazey-eyed state as the others before him. Virion instantly turned to the second officer, copping a bullet right to the face, which bounced off harmlessly.

Two more shots hit their mark fruitlessly, and in that moment screams and shouts could be heard in houses nearby. This distraction caught the second officers attention for but a second, but this single instant of inattention saw the man now face to face with the rearing figure of Virion, who in a very business-like fashion reached down and placed his hand over the man's face, muffling his cry of terror.

Once this man was infected too Virion vanished in another flicker, using his instant transmission to jump to yet another victim. With four of them working in tandem and each capable of jumping directly from human to human, the process was alot quicker then it otherwise would be.

Before too long the whole town had succumb to Virions infection.

---

"Ahhh, much better" rasped Virion, as the final clone merged back into his own body. His full strength once again attained, he could now properly feel the power resonating from these towns-people. Their energy flowed to him, and he drank it in with avarice, savouring the harvest of his work.

And yet all too soon the growth in power abated, leaving Virion feeling bitter and dejected. Why was he savouring such small gains? This was nothing compared to the power he had known!

While his strength had been whittled away he had drawn himself on in the knowledge that his objective was almost complete, that his entire reason for being would soon be fulfilled. Now however his lack of purpose tore deeply at him...
Would he forever be stuck like this, empty and unfulfilled?
Scraping by on what little gains he could, like some sort of parasite?
Left to eternally bemourn his fall from grace?

"Scum...." he said out loud, barely a whisper, his eyes distant.

Yes if this was the existence that life in the galaxy was forced to endure, then his creators were quite correct in that assertion. The universe was truly full of weak, insignificant scum... and now Virion was one of them.

---------------------------------
(Finished, power please

[Geurin]

2000

Excellent. If you find a way to enhance trainings like gravity, weighted clothing, or sparring, you could make some serious PL gains here.

Fantastic read