The hinges give way as you kick it, sending the door flying inward. Your newfound strength is still a source of excitement; finally, it is the world that's breakable, not you. You step inside with a smile on your lips.
It's empty, with no guards or alarms, but you recognize the familiar hum of dampeners nestled right next to the central generator. Of course, Carter is rich enough to have his own power supply and not deal with the frequent outages in this remote area.
With a grin underneath your helmet, you pull the breakers. Immediately the humming stops, the weight on your mind lifts, and the house is plunged into darkness. You don't need the power to get what you want; it's easier without it. Darkness never stopped you, that's where you live, with the rest of the nightmares.
You take a deep breath, mentally stretching your back as you no longer have to carry the weight of the dampeners. There's a certain amount of glee as the nanovores devour them. It's the same every time; even though you think you are aware of the pressure, you never realize how much it's been weighing on you until it's gone.
And you're free at last to let your mind soar.
The chaos you've caused should be a blaring red alarm to whoever Carter has got guarding him. Even if they don't know about the dampeners, this is the building's power hub, and that going down means trouble.
The first thing anybody would do is to check out what has happened. Perhaps in person. Perhaps through cameras. But you've eaten those even if they did have a battery backup, so no luck there.
Delegating keeping track of your surroundings to the Rat King, you close your eyes and skim over the surrounding minds.
Afraid. Confused. Staff—little pinpricks of I'm not getting paid enough for this you're ignoring as you come across them. Security staff lights up stronger with intent, with duty. Secure the perimeter. Get to your station. Find out… aaaah, there. You catch a whiff of interesting thoughts and pull them closer, brushing your mental fingertips through the undergrowth to find the facts that you need.
Four security guards on the way. Not your target.
Whoever it is, they are probably sticking close to Carter. Oh no, you hate it when they get professional. Better find the man of the house then; those four are not even going to slow you down.
Here We Go
The four guards pose no challenge; you go through them like a hot knife through butter, leaving wrecked bodies in your wake. Not dead. Just in need of a hospital visit.
As you race upstairs, the emergency lights switch on, dim, red bulbs illuminating your progress. Good, you know from experience that red stresses people out, makes them even more susceptible to your manipulations. Why they wouldn't have gone for a soothing green, you have no idea, probably lacking the urgency they want.
An urgency you feel right now—one born from excitement.
…there!
Oh no! You pick up the thought just as you turn the corner of the stairs, spotting a shadowy figure, the Rat King squeaking danger, so you…