Leaving the underground base, Lily quickly and quietly vanished into the darkness of the night with the flames of the building burning behind her.
Slipping away was very easy— even without the distraction caused by the burning building, she would have been able to get away unbothered. The fire was mainly meant to cover her tracks.
As she moved through the city streets, taking empty alleyways and paths unused in the night, her mind was focused on something more important than the empty streets around her.
She had gained much from her latest stop— a total of eight new abilities, not even including the fact that some of her existing abilities were further enhanced by combining similar ones she had gained.
This was probably one of the bigger gains of mutant abilities she had— her body and mind were coursing with the changes that had been brought to it.
It was slight, but she could also feel her very being seemingly changing— her racial limits were beginning to awaken, and she could feel the powers of her race taking a new shape.
Evolving.
But it wasn't there yet— she needed more; something was still missing.
Despite her impressive haul of new abilities, rather than feeling satisfied, she only felt more hungry. She desired more in order to grow even further— her very being was urging her to grow at a quicker pace.
She couldn't shake the gnawing feeling at the edge of her consciousness that there was something incomplete with her— she wasn't whole, and she wouldn't be whole until she found the missing piece of the puzzle that eluded her grasp.
But she didn't know what it was— she didn't know if these feelings she felt were her own but if they came from the blood that flowed within her.
'Is this what my ancestors felt? This unyielding hunger and craved more and more.'
As she navigated the darkness of the city at night— making her way to her next stop— she couldn't help but think back to the memories she had gained when she awakened her racial capabilities.
The downfall of her species was brought about by their own greed— their unyielding hunger that led them to devour everything until they even devoured themselves.
Would she go down that same path if she couldn't control herself?
'No— I can't let myself be overtaken by this feeling. Power is good and necessary, but I can't allow myself to be devoured by the craving for power.'
Lily shook her head and reinforced the idea in her mind— she wanted power, but she didn't want power to the point that she would destroy everything and everyone to gain it.
What was the point of power if there was nothing?
She wanted power in order to be safe— to be happy— that's all.
She wouldn't allow these feelings— instincts— to control her will.
A sigh escaped her lips as she came to a stop and stared out before her. A large outstretch of land that was covered in stone and sand— a few buildings littered the area, but they were all abandoned and left to ruin.
Using her Scout Hive Units, she found the location of the largest mutant base in Bahrain— the fortress, as she called it— and scouted the area around it.
Even though she couldn't scout the inside of the building without her hive units suddenly being killed, it didn't stop her from searching around the building.
Thanks to this, she learned a few key information.
Firstly, the area around the fortress was empty of civilian life— no one lived here, and it had been left empty for miles in all directions. This made it perfect for her to operate without being spotted by normal people.
Secondly, the area had very little cover. Meaning if she tried to approach the fortress, she would instantly be spotted, and they would be alerted— putting her at a disadvantage.
To make up for this, she decided to use one of the nearby abandoned buildings as her temporary base of operation and proceed with her plan.
Her plan was simple— swarm them.
Lily never really used her swarm units for combat aside from minor assistance for a variety of reasons, but it couldn't be overlooked that Lily was a hivemind.
Her entire species was born and thrived in fighting as a hive— swarming enemies was how her species primarily fought.
Up until now, she had been fighting alone, but now, with the lack of information and the danger that this fortress might pose to her, it would be foolish to not use her capabilities fully.
The abandoned building she stayed in would serve as her staging ground— a place to prepare for the assault and control the hivemind from a safe distance.
Once she had deemed that the situation wasn't dangerous to her, she could move to the scene and take it into her own hands from there.
She quickly surveyed the interior of the building, noting any potential entry points, hiding spots, or defensive positions. It was in a decrepit state, but it would have to do for now.
She didn't plan to allow them to get this close to begin with.
Once she had secured the area and made a makeshift barricade using whatever debris she could find, fortifying the position while still maintaining a look of abandoned ruin, she decided to first look over the abilities she had gained.
She had yet to do so primarily because she was lost in thought and was on the move— she also wanted to get into a safe location before she explored the new abilities in case any of them proved to be unstable.
Now that she had secured a place— and she wasn't in a rush to begin the assault just yet— she would overlook them.