Nevada was the next resting spot after a long day of driving. They would be heading out the next morning and expected to reach LA before dinner time. Dr. Rawlings spoke with Kim and Wally, explaining that he and the rest of the science team had been invited to Jennifer Sawyer’s penthouse as well and were already in the city. “It’s gonna be a huge party, apparently,” Rawlings told them over the phone, “Sawyer will probably get us liquored up, then buy our silence or slap us with an NDA. I’m hoping for the money but we get free food and booze either way.” Astra, meanwhile, tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. She no longer tried to go with them inside restaurants or hotels, opting to stay in the car or occasionally perch on a rooftop.

This hotel was tall and had a great view of a mountain range from the rooftop and since Nevada was arid, she didn’t have to worry about her view being obscured by bad weather. Hours earlier, she let Kim know where she would be and was thanked but neither Kim or Wally went to the roof to keep her company. She knew she had been a burden to them. She accepted this. She was bound to leave them behind anyway so perhaps it was for the best that their friendship didn’t last. The sun was setting behind the mountains and they would be asleep soon so it was unlikely she would be getting any visitors. Above the orange and purple haze, she could see a few scattered stars becoming visible and wondered which one, if any, was her point of origin. Were the people who made her looking for her? Would they be her friends? Did their world make more sense? At that moment, she wanted desperately to meet them.

And yet when she heard the door to the roof opening, she was hopeful and happy to see Kim. As Astra was still adjusting to human expressions and body language, she didn’t notice her glassy eyes or lethargic gait. “Come downstairs with me,” Kim said in a monotone voice with a facial twitch that almost seemed like a smile. “Sure, what are we going to do?,” Astra asked but Kim did not reply. Astra followed her down the stairs and it wasn’t until they got to the main floor and entered the lobby that Astra noticed the front desk clerks staring ahead at nothing in particular, unmoving. A business man stood by the elevators and faced a wall, also unmoving. They passed by vending machines and a teenager stood still with a similarly vacant stare. That was when she began to suspect things were not as they seemed. Kim led Astra to a conference hall and opened the large double doors. Astra noticed Wally standing on the far side of the room, next to a stack of chairs and folding tables with the now-familiar glassy look in his eyes. The figure at the center of the room was unknown but she seemed to be much more aware of her surroundings than anyone else in the building.

Astra analyzed the air first and found traces of elements coming from the vents that were believed to be capable of putting humans in a trance-like state. Then she scanned the medallion around the woman’s neck as well as the skull face paint. The paint was used in certain Caribbean, African and South American traditions but the sigil around her neck was from the Iseda religion. She took note of the woman’s right eye, noticing a scar and a milky-white iris, indicating it had been recently wounded.

“Who are you and what have you done to everyone?,” Astra asked.

“They are only in a trance. It will pass soon enough,” her Haitian accent was apparent to Astra, “As for me, my name is Queen Faith.”

“What do you want with me?”

“You were reported in Winghaven by my people. We don’t know where you came from but you’re an abomination. You are a mockery of life and perversion of True Nature.”

“What have I done to make you hate me?”

“You represent society’s need to rely on technology at the expense of humanity. It has the audacity to replicate life with its machines.”

“I never asked for this life so I have nothing to apologize for. Now, leave my friends alone.”

“It’s possible you never asked for this life but you still exist and that is a blasphemy that cannot be allowed.”

Queen Faith opened her palms, releasing a ball of raw mystic energy that sent Astra out of the room and through the wall on the other side of the hallway. As Astra picked herself up, Queen Faith emerged from the smoke and threw a glass bottle that shattered against her.

She found her metallic skin rusting and corroding from whatever concoction was in that vial and while her nano bots worked against the effects, she found her morphing abilities to be compromised. She stretched an arm out but it was thin and not nearly as solid as it usually was. Queen Faith raised a mystic shield and Astra’s fist nearly shattered on it and she had to pull it back and revert back to her usual shape. Next, Faith waved her hand and a telekinetic force threw her through the door and spilled her out into the lobby.

Astra sat up, expecting Faith to exit the hall but instead, she emerged from the conference room doorway and blindsided Astra with a wave of fire that wrapped itself around her. The flames were hot enough that Astra’s metal body turned bright orange and nearly began to melt. Her morphing abilities were not at their usual levels but she was able to form a long whip which she used to her advantage now that she had been heated up. The red hot tendril came down, molten metal trailing in its wake. Faith threw herself out of the way as it slapped the floor, cutting a large swathe that heated everything near her; the priestess shrieked and quickly backed away, the convection causing her considerable pain.

Astra lunged at her with a punch but Fsaith blocked it once again with a shield. The image of a rhino appeared briefly and Faith charged forward, hitting Astra into the air. While sailing across the lobby, she stretched her arms out, embedding them into the floor before pulling herself back toward Queen Faith who was struck and slid along the floor. As she rose to her feet, she turned herself invisible and began summoning energy for the next spell. Sensing her heat signatures among other things, Astra had no trouble finding her. Faith created force winds that pushed Astra back and blew paper around the lobby but Astra crouched low to the floor and stretched her arm across the room and slapped the legs out from under her. The priestess hit the floor and tried to charge another attack but Astra closed the distance quickly and backhanded her, the blow rendering her unconscious immediately.

Soon after that, the effects of the trance wore off and the people in the hotel slowly came to their senses. By that point,Astra had already taken Kim and Wally out of the building in hopes they would not draw anymore attention. Once they were outside, Astra explained everything.

“I think she was an Iseda priestess,” Astra finished telling them what had transpired, “Maybe of the Iconoclast sect considering her hatred of technology.”

“So we’ve been attacked by a terrorist organization that believes technology is the next stage of evolution and a cult that views technology as evil,” Wally rubbed the back of his head in bewilderment, “Those two groups should get together to work out their differences and leave us alone.”

“I’m sorry,” Astra hung her head, “I tried so hard to make sure no one would fight us. It just keeps happening.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kim gave her a side hug, “Don’t feel bad.”

“But you both have been so mad at me.”

“We were never mad at you for being attacked. You had nothing to do with that,” she placed her hands on her shoulders, “We’ve mostly just been frustrated with the situation. This whole thing is about as new to us as it is to you.”

“But maybe we should keep in mind, you’re only about a week old,” Wally added, “There’s a lot you probably don’t get.”

Astra’s digital face appeared sad, “You told me not to come to breakfast in the diner and I did anyway.”

“Okay, yeah and that did make us mad once we were put in danger,” Kim told her, “But that’s the thing about people. We get mad and then we get over it and move on.”

“Like how I got mad at the IMD agents but stopped when I calmed down?”

“Exactly like that, Astra.”

“Are we still friends?”

“Of course.”

They began walking to their car. As they got in, Astra came to a realization, “But in the morning, you’ll leave me with Jennifer Sawyer.”

“Don’t worry,” Wally assured her, “We can probably come visit and besides, if you don’t like it there, you can always leave. I mean, what is she going to do to stop you?”

At Nantox headquarters, Jennifer Sawyer entered her private lab connected to her office at the top floor. Passing by several pieces of equipment, she gazed at the nano-chamber in front of her: a bed-shaped enclosure with an empty vial attached that once held nanobots. She raised her hand, stroking the surface of the machine. Outside the lab, grinding metal and exploding equipment could be heard