Deviant: No Longer Human

The Hyperions were one of the most terrifying forces in the world—once human, yes, but now little more than killing machines.

Each one a heinous criminal who had been rotting in maximum security prisons, only released on the condition that they could kill at the government\'s command.

The weight of her words sent a ripple of unease through the group.

"What if they... turn against us?" someone in the back finally voiced the question everyone had been too afraid to ask.

Isabelle shook her head confidently. "That won\'t happen. Their control is in my hands. If they even think about it, we can kill them remotely."

A collective sigh of relief went through the group.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Suddenly, the sound of slow, deliberate clapping echoed across the cabin.

"!"

Everyone spun around, instantly on edge, their eyes locking onto a figure approaching from the shadows of the jet\'s corridor.

A man, flanked by two women, strode toward them, his hands still clapping lazily. His presence was unnerving, as if he enjoying the tension in their faces.

"Ericka!" Isabelle\'s eyes narrowed in fury as she recognized the woman in the back.

But her anger quickly shifted to confusion when she noticed who else had arrived with them.

Her eyes flicked to Wang Xiao, Wang Xueying\'s brother. \'What the hell is he doing here?\' she thought, confused.

Wang Xueying\'s face mirrored Isabelle\'s confusion as she took a step forward. "Brother? What are you doing here? It\'s not safe..." Her voice was shaky, as if she couldn\'t quite believe her eyes.

Wang Xiao ignored her question, his expression cool and distant. "The real question is," he said, his voice cold like a blade, "what are \'you\' all doing here, in a place where you don\'t belong? I\'ve never seen chickens so eager to throw themselves on the slaughter board."

Isabelle\'s frown deepened as she caught the warning in his words. "What do you mean?" she demanded, her instincts flaring.

Before he could respond, a shout erupted from outside.

"General!" one of the Hyperions cried out, his voice full of disbelief. "How is this possible?!"

Isabelle\'s heart sank as she turned to look out of the jet\'s windows.

Outside, the battlefield that had been littered with the remains of Skinwalkers began to stir.

The bodies—shattered, sliced, and torn apart—were moving.

Detached hands crawled through the blood-soaked ground, seeking out torsos. Limbs dragged themselves across the battlefield, like insects drawn to a hive.

The sight was... disturbing.

The Skinwalkers\' remains didn\'t seem to care about whose parts they picked up—organs fused with limbs that didn\'t match, creating twisted abominations of flesh.

Some creatures had massive hands attached to small, malformed bodies. Others dragged legs far too large for their upper torsos.

Squelch! Squelch! Squelch

The sickening squelch of flesh merging with flesh filled the air as the monsters rebuilt themselves, undeterred by their earlier deaths.

In mere moments, an army of Skinwalkers stood once more, glaring at the twelve Hyperions who floated effortlessly above the carnage.

Their bodies, though malformed, seemed somehow more terrifying than before.

"What the fuck?" one of the Hyperions spat through his helmet comms. Even they—trained killers and elite soldiers—felt the terror of this eerie resurrection pressing down on them.

General Abel hovered in the air, his face hidden behind his helmet, but the tension in his voice was evident. "This is... unexpected."

"Unexpected?" Isabelle hissed under her breath, her heart pounding as she watched the creatures below, now reanimated into an army. Her mind raced as she replayed Wang Xiao\'s cryptic warning.

"Looks like your slaughter board isn\'t quite as safe as you thought, who would have thought — jumping into an unknown portal could result into facing creatures — beyond — what you ever faced?" Wang Xiao said, his voice calm but laced with amusement.

His eyes glinted with a knowing look, as if he had seen this all coming.

Isabelle\'s stomach twisted. "What\'s going on?" she demanded, turning to him, her frustration bubbling over.

Wang Xiao gave her a slow, deliberate smile. "You\'re dealing with creatures that don\'t die the way you think they do. You should have known better than to bring just monsters to fight monsters."

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!

The Skinwalker army, now patched together, let out a bone-chilling roar. Their glowing yellow eyes fixed on the Hyperions as they began their second assault—this time, with even more intense, twisted forms that seemed immune to fear or pain.

BANG!

"How the hell do we stop these disgusting things...!" Isabelle snarled, her fists slamming down onto the control panel with a resounding crack.

Hiss!

The sharp sting shot up her arm, but it was nothing compared to the frustration burning in her chest.

She watched helplessly as the Skinwalkers, ugly and misshapen, reformed outside the jet, their bodies mangled yet more ferocious.

This was far from over, and the realization struck her like a punch to the gut—her prized Hyperions, once the pinnacle of human weaponry, were facing an enemy that brute force couldn\'t destroy.

These creatures defied death itself.

Wang Xiao, however, seemed unbothered by the growing panic. He walked past Isabelle with an unsettling calm, his eyes locked on the chaos beyond.

"By bringing an even bigger monster..." he whispered, his voice cold and ruthless.

Isabelle blinked, her mind struggling to comprehend his words. "What...?"

The crew could only stare in blank disbelief as Wang Xiao continued walking, his movements eerily fluid.

He didn\'t stop when he reached the walls of the jet—he simply kept walking, as if the reinforced steel and layers of isolation meant nothing.

His body passed through the solid walls like a ghost, leaving no trace behind.

"Did... did he just walk through—?" one of the crew stammered, eyes wide with shock.

Isabelle\'s hands tightened into fists once more. "What is he?" she whispered, but no one had an answer.

All they could do was watch as Wang Xiao vanished, leaving them behind with only his cryptic words.

Outside, the Hyperions hovered in the air, surrounded by the growing horde of Skinwalkers, their weapons still at the ready, but even their mechanical precision seemed futile against the creatures that refused to stay down.

"General Abel, report!" Isabelle questioned through the comms, her voice strained.

General Abel\'s voice crackled through the speakers, grim but calm. "They\'re regenerating faster than we can cut them down. Something\'s changed. This isn\'t normal behavior for them."

"Normal? These things are already beyond normal!" Isabelle shot back, her frustration boiling over.

Suddenly, there was a low, rumbling noise from beyond the walls of the jet—something deep, primal, and terrifying.

The ground trembled beneath them, and the air outside seemed to shift as though something massive had stirred.

The Skinwalkers paused, their bodies twitching as they turned toward the source of the sound.

Isabelle\'s heart pounded in her chest. "What... now?"

Her question was met with silence, and then—another bone-rattling roar, far louder than before.

This wasn\'t the screech of Skinwalkers. It was something far more... far more monstrous.