The three perfect clones raised their weapons. On Earth, the white clone pointed its plasma rifle at the hiding civilians. On Delta-9, the purple clone aimed its knife at the rebel leader. On Echo-4, the blue clone raised its heavy shield to block the escaping human army. Their eyes were completely black. The ancient monster from the void controlled their minds. On the glass bridge of Sigma-12, Commander Oliver dropped to one knee. His supercomputer brain was fighting a terrible war. The monster’s virus was a thick, dark wall blocking his thoughts. He could see his clones, but he could not move their arms. "Commander!" General Vega yelled. "What is happening?!""The enemy hacked the avatars," Oliver stated cleanly. His metallic voice was tight with strain. "My clones are going to execute our allies in exactly four seconds." "You have to stop them!" Captain Iris cried. She knelt beside him. "My

While Commander Oliver stood on the floating island of Aethelgard, a massive battle raged across the galaxy. Millions of miles away, the portal dropped Billy the hacker onto a world made entirely of metal. This was Mechanus Prime. It was a planet-sized machine. There was no dirt. There was no water. The ground was made of colossal, spinning brass gears. The sky was filled with thick black smoke and giant, moving steel pistons. Billy knelt on a wide, rusted gear. He held his cracked computer tablet tightly. He was breathing hard. He was not alone. Behind him stood a hundred brave human soldiers and giant mutant rebels. They had trusted Billy to lead them. Commander Oliver had ordered Billy to hold this machine world. If Mechanus Prime fell, the Overlord would use its giant factories to build endless armies of metal monsters. "Boss is busy," Billy whispered to himself, wiping dirty sweat from his forehead. "I have to do this myself. I have to be the Commander today." Billy looked u

The air on the planet Pyre did not just burn. It melted. This was a dying sun-world. There was no dirt. There was no water.The entire surface of the planet was a massive, rushing ocean of boiling liquid metal. Bright yellow and blinding white magma flowed like a violent river. The only places to stand were small, jagged islands of floating black rock. A glowing, golden ghost stood on one of these black rocks. It was Commander Oliver. He had split his mind across the stars. This was his fourth projection. He was made of pure, solid light and dark magic, commanding a strike team of fifty tough human soldiers. The soldiers wore heavy thermal armor, but it was not enough. Their boots were melting. Sweat poured down their dirty faces. They were exhausted, thirsty, and terrified. "Keep your eyes on the rocks," Oliver ordered. His voice was cold, smooth, and absolute. He did not yell. He did not show any pain from the apocalyptic heat. He watched the floating islands. He tracked their sp

The golden sky of Aethelgard was beautiful, but the ground was covered in nightmares. Commander Oliver stood perfectly still on the soft green grass of the floating sanctuary world. This was his white avatar. He was a projection of pure light, sent across the galaxy from his true body on Sigma-12. Just a moment ago, his mind was breaking. But now, his eyes no longer glowed with just white light. They shined with brilliant, solid silver. His connection to his main body was absolutely flawless. The terrible pain was gone. He felt only cold, freezing clarity. Oliver looked at the enemy. Standing on the steps of the grand white temple was the first Wraithborn General. The monster wore a dark cloak made of stitched human skin. Its face was a hollow, empty skull. Behind the General, the massive white stone monoliths covering the island cracked open. Hidden inside the ancient, holy pillars were dark, ugly Wraithborn warships. And strapped to the front of the largest ship was a towering

The glowing blue ocean of Mnemosyne was perfectly clear. Captain Iris stood at the edge of the crystal boat. She looked deep down into the water. Miles below, buried in the sand, a colossal machine made of golden gears slowly turned. It was the ancient Builder clock. Huge, burning red numbers hovered in the water above the clock. [00:04:59.] [00:04:58.] "It is a universal reset switch," Iris whispered. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. "If that clock hits zero, the Overlord will erase the entire universe. He will restart time. We will all be deleted." Private Davis leaned over the railing. He stared at the deep water. "Captain, we cannot reach it! It is miles down! We will drown before we even get close!" "We do not have time to argue," Iris said firmly. Her voice was not cold and robotic like Commander Oliver’s. Her voice was warm, brave, and fully human. "We are going into the water. Gather around me." The fifty human soldiers and the fifty giant mutant rebels stepped clos