The room was silent, save for the sounds of movement within the specimen tanks and shuffling of cards. Summer grinned, he could not make a successful poker face for his life. Bracken quietly placed down an eight of spades with his tail. Then cackling wildly Summer threw down a shiny trading card,

"Haha! Go FISH!"

"Summer… we. are. playing. chess not 'go fish'," Bracken sighed.

I folded my cards back into the deck, looking around the fluorescently lit chamber. Specimen Study was where we often stayed when the surface weather was unfavorable, passing the time with whatever board and card game pieces we had available.

"Hey, why spacing out?" Summer squawked at me, "its feeding and tank cleaning time!" pointing at a non-existent watch with his front claw.

Three heads of lettuce, a gallon of sugarwater, and fishflakes- more than even last week. The gastropod inhabitants of tanks A and B raised their eyestalks to their meal eagerly. They and the caterpillars never seemed to mind the singular diet of iceberg lettuce. Odonata tanks C, D, E were content with their daily sugarwater, and finally the crickets: jumping excitedly at the fishflakes. I stood and gazed at the tanks and their unnaturally large occupants. It was unfortunate having to keep them contained, as prisoners. The least I could do was make their living space comfortable. Then came the least enjoyable part of every day: sample collection. I grabbed the syringes and approached the tanks again. Even if it was only a tiny bit of their flesh being removed, it still seemed wrong to cause them pain for it. Reminding myself of the importance of the goal their genome would accomplish, I gathered the samples, heading next to Third Layer- the Project.

The coldest room in the facility, its dark grey metallic walls differed from the rest of the porous pale concrete. It even smelled like ice. A single, cylindrical chamber dominated the room, surrounded by analytical equipment. This was the day, I could feel it. It had been months, or was it years, since I had begun the Project. A machine that would accomplish that which had been considered impossible, or not even considered at all- to transform the biological structure of living things, and reassemble them into a new form. A Chrysalis. I recalled the first time I had thought of this creation, what felt like lifetimes ago in early grade school.

I had been playing on the field with my friend, during the after-lunch recess. What if we could become other creatures, like how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly? Back then we had simply been children, imaginatively playing and free of concerns. We had seen the grass, trees, clouds, and animals; and not the robberies, murders, and riots. Now I might have finally found a way to change that. To return the world to natural purity. Resolved, I entered the sequences into the machine. Either the system was incorrect, bringing death, or it would work, and everything would fall into place. I stepped into the cylinder.

* * *

The officer stared at his monitor screen. Just five minutes ago, it had been perfectly clear. So clear of abnormal signals in fact, that his job consisted of trying to look busy and waiting for lunch. And yet, here was a blip on the screen, an Anomalous Energy Signal. He checked the reference files for a match: not an EMP, not a lone hacker, not a missile launch, nor a facility explosion. He frowned. This was something the higher-ups would have to deal with. He hesitatingly picked up the department phone and dialed the Undiscovered Signal Response office.

"Um..I'd like to report an unknown signal" He said, mentally cursing his awkward speech.

"This is the Homeland Defense USR section, what are the details of your report?"

"Signal does not match any on record, location..." The officer checked his monitor, "Location is 47° Northeast, 16 kilometers, signal indicates the origin point is below ground by...about 40 meters".

"Copy that AES, we'll investigate". He set down the phone, gazing back at his monitor, and wondered what had caused the signal.

* * *

The chamber doors slid open, and I stepped onto the floor. I was complete! Looking around, the room was sharper in clarity. I could see the slight cracks in the metal walls, the bits of machine grease, doors of the chamber reflecting my new form. Dark green feathers covered a still bipedal form, taloned feet like an owl, covered in small ebony scales. From my arms extended wing bones, connected by dark membrane; batlike with clawed hands. I left the room, ducking to get through the door.

Surfacing for the first time in over a week, I stared at the night sky. Out here in the wilderness it was still possible to see stars, shimmering like gems in between the silhouettes of fir branches. Bracken slithered out from the shack concealing the entrance to the facility, starlight glittering off of his jagged scales.

"Going to test out your new capabilities?"

I nodded, spreading my wings and leaping into the air.

* * *

The blades of the helicopters whirred as they approached the reported location. There was nothing to be seen for miles in these mountains but dense coniferous trees, one of the few remaining places that was not a sprawling urban center. As they drew closer, the investigation force observed a simple utility hut in a small clearing on the mountain face. They set down the choppers, releasing the technicians and troops. Floodlights from the transports cast stark white light onto the clearing, while the technicians scanned the building and surrounding area.

"Found something- sonar scans are showing evidence of large subterranean caves, likely manmade in origin. Cave system seems to have an entry point inside the shack".

The armed troops approached, and active weapons were recommended. A ladder descended into a dark open room, bright scope-mounted flashlights showing the way. This room contained what seemed to be experiment tanks, each containing unnaturally large invertebrate creatures.

"What in hell…" One of the troops muttered, gazing at a meter long slug with hardened plates growing from its back and sharp-looking mandibles in place of normally benign feelers.

"Over here!" another soldier whispered, gesturing to a staircase leading deeper into the building. The next room contained a generator producing a deep hum and smaller processing machines for water purification. The squad leader radioed the technicians aboveground,

"There's a weird looking generator down here, this what made that signal?" There was a brief pause

"Negative, the report indicated the pulse came from further down".

"Alright, start looking for a way down" the squad leader said, shutting off the radio.

They then entered what appeared to be the last room, and the source of the signal.

"Command, I think we've found what made the signal, looks like some kind of biomachine".

* * *

I stood on a rocky outcrop at the top of the mountain. From here I could see the distant glow of the city. So many people in that area alone. And to think, there were millions of these cities across the world. So many people. Too many. Summer flapped down hurriedly from the dark sky, landing on the rock near to Bracken.

"They found us!" He squawked, out of breath. "They've got helicopters and guns and stuff!"

"That no longer matters," I said quietly, standing.

"Are you sure? I would take great enjoyment in eviscerating them and their puny machines" Bracken hissed.

"Yes."

I could feel power emanating from the long metal horns on my head, small sparks of electricity arcing between them. Enough power to accomplish my goal: to create a storm powerful enough to tear all human life from the face of the Earth. Summer and Bracken simply watched with anticipation. It was hard to believe I was so close to everything I had worked towards for many years. With humanity gone, life could flourish again. It would be fascinating to see what would evolve to be the dominant species, to observe untainted evolution. However...the horrid, empathic thoughts came, those which I spent years training myself to avoid. What of my family? My friend? They were human, and would likely be purged as well. Humans had compassion, and families as well... I shook my head furiously. There was no time for morality.

I focused the energy from my horns directly, a massive electric bolt shot up into the sky. Stormclouds began to gather, their deep cobalt blue blotting out the stars. First one drop, then thousands fell from the sky. Thunder shook the hillside. Gale-force winds made the trees bend against their fury. Then came columns of violet lightning, striking the Earth with shattering force, causing thunder that sounded as though the sky itself was being ripped apart. Miles away, I could sense the destruction. Small huts were blown away like cards, mighty skyscrapers groaning as they were bent and gradually torn into the planetary typhoon. Arcing lightning caused the asphalt to boil. The desperate fleeing populace stood no chance, there was nowhere to escape. I could imagine them, clinging to one another in their final moments, or trying to fight defiantly against their inevitable doom. Regardless of their reactions, they were purged.

Gradually, the gale slowed to a steady breeze and the rain became mist. From the clouds strange, dark worm-like shapes emerged, coiling around the sky. My friends were silent. Staring out at the world once more, I could just begin to see an orange glow on the horizon. Dawn. The first day of a new era.