Chapter 04: Broken Bones, Broken Parts.

10:12 PM. Metromania General Hospital.

Alfred Kane reached the hospital in a storm.

The top floor was on lockdown. Officers guarded the corridor; doctors moved like precise machines. Alfred pushed through the crowds, breath heavy, sweat beading on his brow.

At the reception, he slapped his badge on the counter out of habit. The young woman at the desk—he’d known her for ten years—smiled and waved it away.

“No need for a badge, Mr. Kane. Welcome back. Questioning prisoners or taking one in yourself?” she asked, bored and efficient.

He gave a stiff smile. “Just questioning. I need to get to the bottom of this case.”

“Of course! And you won’t need guards, I guess?”

“Yes... how did you know?”

She snorted, half-sympathetic. “They can’t blink without feeling pain down their spines. Those robots didn't hold back.”

“Which rooms?”

“3005 to 3010.”

“Weren’t there eight total?”

“The last two were crushed in the van. Pulling them out was…” she shivered, “…a nightmare.”

“Are the others stable?”

“Four are stable. One who hit the wall at two hundred kilometers per hour is under heavy guard.”

He moved down the hallway, nodding to officers like an old king passing his guard. At Room 3005, he stopped, then stepped in.

A man lay wrapped in bandages from head to toe—a mummy in a hospital bed. Alfred crouched by his side.

“Can you talk?”

The reply was raw and furious. “You fucker! You sent us to our death! You said it was light work—just a quick job on some toy girls!”

Alfred tried a sharp, apologetic tone. “I didn’t know how strong they were.” It felt weak even as it left his mouth.

“Shut up!” the man spat. His voice cracked. “I swear to God I heard my bones break. Those red eyes... they are the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.” He looked ready to cry.

Alfred felt his old arrogance leak away. Fear crept in. ‘You heard what?’ ran through his head.

The wounded man forced his head away, pain and paranoia written across his face.

“Don’t move,” Alfred said, lowering his voice. “The Doctor said you’re a bag of broken bones. Thanks for not ratting me out.”

“It wasn’t for free,” the criminal muttered.

“Don’t worry—I’ll make sure the hospital bills are covered.” Alfred tried to sound magnanimous. “It’s on the government now. Since those bots are official police, that Director is going to pay for it. Just wait.”

The man grimaced.

Alfred left the room slowly. Each step felt heavier than the last. The corridors smelled of antiseptic and quiet defeat.

His plan had always been control—quiet manipulations, files deleted, favors called in. Now, a bright blue light cut across his city and burned down his map.

Outside the ward door, he paused. A bitter, sharp thought crossed his mind. ‘They don’t know how dangerous a symbol can be. I’ll make sure they pay. I’ll remind the city why humans still matter.’

He had a plan.

The Southern Highway. 11:46 PM.

Alfred Kane ran the police system like his private clockwork. At sixty-five, he’d seen its gears, its rust, its grease. When the E-UNIT project first appeared, he laughed. A cute toy police force?

He figured Mikael Wilson had finally lost it. So he let the experiment run. He didn’t interfere. How foolish.

He got into his car. The night had fully taken over. 'Was Mikael such a genius that he planted a stupid project on purpose, just so I wouldn’t suspect the real move?'

Alfred gritted his teeth. At an intersection, he jerked the wheel too fast, nearly scraping the paint. He didn't care.

He floored it. Traffic blurred. Horns screamed. “Damn it!” he cursed calmly into the night. ‘Why didn’t they wait until I was out of the department? I didn’t even have time to delete the evidence!’, an idea busted in his mind. ‘If I can’t delete them, then let’s add more.’

He started thinking out loud. "How can humans beat machines made to surpass them?"

He sighed. "No problem. That old CEO will take care of them... even if I hate being in debt to him."

Alfred looked like old money and old rules—long brown coat, straight trousers, frameless glasses resting on a perfectly groomed grey beard. He drove a 90s classic with leather seats. The look said ‘Respect me.’

But before going home, he took a little detour. To the Police Department.

He needed to see the man in charge of local files. David. A good old friend. Complicit in the corruption, of course. Kane always made sure to leave a clean trail—or a dirty one for someone else.

He reached the archive office. David, the 62-year-old manager, had held this job so long he’d seen Kane climb the ladder year after year.

Kane walked in, classy and almighty. “David! You still here!”

David smiled. “Where do you want me to be, Kane? Haha.”

Kane laughed back. “In the retirement home, Dave.”

David grinned. “You’re closer to that stage than me, Al.”

Kane smiled again. “You bastard. I will never win an argument against you.”

David’s face went a little serious. “So, a night visit means one thing, right?”

Kane nodded slowly. “Exactly right, Dave. Exactly right...”

He wasn't there to delete files. He was there to add one. He planted evidence in the local police database. A file exposing the specific location of a factory owned by Shikimori, the CEO of Metro Robotics.

If Kane was going down, he would make sure the E-UNITs broke their teeth on something harder than street thugs first. Shikimori wasn’t a joke they can simply punch.

The Next Morning. E-UNIT Wing. 8:20 AM.

The charging stations were alive. Five white figures stood in their bays. Dr. Nick sat in front of them with a laptop, like a priest reading scripture.

The room looked alien. White plates on the walls resembled circuit veins. Long lines of ceiling light made the place feel like a ship’s bridge. Nick smiled, excited and exhausted. He had spent the entire night fixing 01 and 04, using most of the spare parts so they could be a showcase for Mikael’s speech.

“Alright, girls,” Dr. Nick said, his voice bouncing off the plates. “Before we move on, I announce the newest additions to E-UNIT: 01 and 04.”

He tapped the laptop proudly. “They don’t have fixed roles yet—they’ll help where needed. But for now: 01 handles prisoner transport and station processing. 04 is our heavy lifter. Weapons, machines, anything that needs brute force—that’s her.”

They snapped to attention. They answered in unity with a military salute and a single, crisp voice. “Roger that, Father.”

(Yes, he still calls himself that. Yes, they still allow it. Don’t ask.)

Nick frowned and laughed at the same time. “Where did you learn that salute? I didn’t code it!”

Then, he got serious. “Okay. The Police Head granted us access to the National Database—city case files, camera feeds, transaction logs, everything. Sit and connect.”

The chairs were more than seats—they were data conduits. The E-UNITs slid in and latched. Nick plugged his laptop into the station.

Click. Hiss.

The connection crawled like a spinal cable into metal flesh. The E-UNITs’ eyes flooded blue. The feed hit them like a waterfall.

For a human, it would be chaos—numbers and faces blurring past, brains crumbling under the weight. But their faces were blue screens of concentration.

When they came back up, every E-UNIT had a mirrored copy of the city’s records in their brains. They weren't just reading the files; they were living the city's history in milliseconds. Trusted. Secure. A terrifying amount of truth.

They stood up together. Nick waited for the verdict.

02 spoke first, her voice low and shocked. "Father... things are way deeper than anyone expected."

"This city isn’t drowning in corruption… it’s distributing it across the country," 03 added, excited but tense.

"Fixing those broken cords will take time," 05 noted, practical as always.

Then 04 cut in for the first time. "Don’t worry, sisters—I already spotted one of the main threat points."

Nick blinked, confused. “Girls, you know I don’t have that kind of access like you do… spell it out.”

01 stepped forward, clinical and clear. This is where she earned respect fast.

“Analysis summary: Internal PD siphons funds into multiple abandoned facilities across the city. Those sites are production points—weapons, heavy arms, military-grade mechs and suits. Ownership funnels back to one megacorporation with subsidiaries nationwide. Individuals within the PD profit—stable gains exceeding $1.5 million per account. Many case files are corrupted or deleted. Case N105 is being stalled. Evidence is missing, misfiled, or removed. The common node in these activities is the PD’s Chief, Alfred Kane.”

Nick’s jaw dropped. Even machines could make a human look small. The other E-UNITs stood in silent shock.

Then, 02 allowed the first genuine smile I’d seen on her that week. Quick. Proud. The kind that registers rarity in a system.

Nick exhaled. “If that’s true, walking into this is dangerous. Those mega corps have infinite money and manpower.” He folded his hands, trying to measure a plan.

02 cut him off. No hesitation. “We need to act, Father. We can’t let crimes happen in our city and do nothing.”

The whole squad nodded like one body.

Nick tried for caution. “Are you sure?” he asked, the doubt in his voice plain and human.

03 grinned that half-nervous, half-excited grin. “You told us to follow the Captain. Now we follow.”

Nick laughed—part worry, part pride. “Okay. Do as you please—but be careful. I’m begging you. I will report back to Mikael.”

02 tilted her head, a smirk already forming as if she’d already won. “Say that to whoever stands in our way, Father.”

And that was that. The room hummed with new purpose. Data burned bright in their cores. A city’s dirty map was laid open, and five white figures were ready to move.

The E-UNIT came to one conclusion — they needed to destroy the web of corruption before it spread any further.

No hesitation. No bureaucracy. Just action.

Inside their base, plans were drawn, analyzed, and adjusted in surgical precision. Targets, suspects, routes. With Dr. Nick helping them simulate potential human responses, the plan became watertight. It was time to shake the spider’s house and free Metromania from the filth that lived inside its systems.

But there were two massive problems.
First — the police system required every mission to be reported in advance. Their only special access allowed them to bypass judicial approval — but it didn’t hide their movements. Everyone in the national police force would see their next action the moment it was logged. Surprise attacks were no longer an option.
And with corruption sitting just a few walls away, that was dangerous.

Second — they were now officially the Emergency Unit. They couldn’t abandon public service. Their forces were limited. If they split up too far, they risked losing operational sync. If they didn’t, the city’s crimes would rise again.

Still, the captain refused to stop.
She had Mikael Wilson’s dream in her hands, and nothing could make her let go.

Metromania Police Department. Main Parking. 9:47 AM.

five E-UNITs stood outside the PD building. The weather was perfect — a bright blue sky, light breeze, and a city too busy to notice the storm brewing above it. Tourists laughed, children ran through the streets, and neon signs glowed over endless lines of cars.

No one realized those five shining figures would soon rewrite the city’s history.

The captain took five steps forward and turned around, her voice echoing through the courtyard:
“Alright, team — this is what we’re made for. Cleaning the streets, breaking the systems, taking down everything that stands in our way. We know who they are, and we know where they are. Now, it’s up to us to decide if they’re going to jail, the hospital, or straight to hell. Don’t be shy to pick the third option.”

A few of the girls chuckled, adjusting their weapons.

“Since we’re official police force now, you can use heavy arms. Choose what suits you best. It’s time. E-UNIT — move out!”

Engines hummed.
Thrusters glowed blue.
And in perfect formation, they lifted into the air — flying above the city like a formation of steel birds heading to war.

Citizens below stopped to take pictures, waving and cheering. They had no idea those same machines were on their way to tear down the core of corruption that fueled their city’s peace.

"Hard to believe, huh?" said 03, her tone bright over the comms. "I didn’t buy the records at first either. How can a peaceful city like this be the caretaker of a war-hungry corporation?"

"Simple," replied 05.

"It’s all a cover for their dirty work." 02’s tone was colder. "I believe those high crime rates are staged—distractions to keep people’s eyes away from the real problem."

"Exactly," 01 added. "According to the data, not a single crime’s been reported near these facilities. Someone in the department’s protecting them."

"Can’t believe Father didn’t see that coming," 04 muttered.

"Right?" 03 laughed.

"That dumb face he made when 01 explained the data—priceless." 05 chuckled. "You’re telling me he never suspected the Chief himself? Please. That man reeks of corruption."

"Give him a break, girls," 02 said, her tone softening. "He sleeps on the floor next to our charging docks. He’s scared something might happen to us."

"When I first saw him do that, I almost… felt something," 04 admitted, her voice quiet. "He’s trying his best."

"If I had created living beings from zero, I’d lose sleep too," 02 noted.

"You’re talking like a father now, Captain," 03 teased.

"So that’s where the ‘Father’ joke started," 01 observed.

"He can be overprotective, though," 05 pointed out.

"That’s called care," 02 corrected.

"Yup," 03 laughed. "You’re definitely a father now."

Laughter rippled through the private channel as they flew in tight formation, the tension breaking for a brief second. But as the industrial sector loomed ahead, 02’s tone turned serious again.

“Just hope they don’t target him.”

“That’s why he stays in the station,” 04 assured her.

“I overheard the Police Head say we’re painted as a red target on his back,” 05 warned.

“No worries,” 02 said, though her sensors scanned the horizon anxiously. “The Ministry is keeping an eye on him. Even Mikael didn’t reveal his full name publicly.”

“That’s more concerning than comforting,” 01 stated flatly.

“He’s too valuable to lose,” 05 finished.

The chatter faded as the facility came into view.

An abandoned factory on the edge of the city.
Old paint peeling off metal walls, graffiti covering the doors, rusted cars half-sunk into the ground. The fence was broken, overgrown with vines.

“E-UNIT, into position,” ordered 02.

They landed hard enough to shake the ground.

05 quickly hacked into the building’s internal systems. “Security network’s active and advanced. I see targets near the entrance.”

“Excellent,” said 02. “Any mechs?”

“No,” replied 05. “But several under construction. Wait…”

03 questioned. “What?”

05 frowned. “No engineers. No scientists. It’s empty.”

02 gritted her teeth. “They’re ready for us. We’ve got rats in HQ. That confirm his attachment.”

She gripped her weapon tighter. “Doesn’t matter. That just means they’ll last two more minutes.”

Everyone chuckled lightly — then their eyes turned red.

“E-UNIT, formation!”

The steel doors shattered open — and chaos erupted.

More than twenty armed men lined the corridor suited up, weapons blazing. 01 and 04 took cover positions while 02 and 05 charged forward, their rifles glowing. 03 stayed behind with her sniper, picking off LMG users with perfect precision.

The hallway was an inferno — bullets, smoke, shouts — but to the E-UNIT, it was a dance.

Those black-market armored suits could stop a human’s bullet —
but not a machine’s precision.

Five rounds in the same point — armor cracked.
One by one, they fell.

In seconds, every hostile was down.
Not a single scratch on them.

03 switched to her shotgun and regrouped.
They advanced through the L-shaped corridor. At the end — double doors.

02 fought the urge to kick them off their hinges.
04 beat her to it.
“Boom!” Doors flew open.

02 muttered, “That should’ve been me…”

Behind the doors — fifty more. Heavy armor. Military-grade exo-suits.

Bullets flew again. Shields flared bright red. The E-UNIT fired in synchronized bursts, the sound like a song of steel and thunder.

“Don’t shoot the computers!” 02 yelled. “We need that data!”

Seconds later — silence.
The floor was painted in red and metal. Only two men survived.

01 cuffed them instantly and dragged them to the entrance.

Inside, the factory was something else entirely. Gleaming floors, half-built mechs, humming machines — a hidden world beneath the rust.

“Collect everything,” ordered 02. “All data. All files.”

They moved quickly. USB cables, hard drives, server cores — all copied.

Then 05 froze. “Captain… something’s off.”

“What is it?”

“The space. From the outside, this place looked way smaller.”

02 paused. “Now that you mention it…”

A low rumble. Metal grinding.

A wall slid open like a massive garage door.

Then — silhouettes.
Three. Massive.

03’s voice trembled: “What the hell is that!?”

Smoke poured out — and through it, three giant mechs stepped forward.

Each mech towered above them, jet-black armor with yellow highlights, dual turrets for arms, piloted by soldiers in exo-suits.

One pilot sneered: “Weren’t there five of them?”

“Probably one down already. This’ll be easy.”

Then the world exploded.

Turrets fired nonstop — thunderous, deafening. Bullets tore through the air. The E-UNIT shields barely held.

“Captain!” 04 shouted. “We can’t hold much longer!”

“We need to move!” cried 05.

02 clenched her jaw, analyzing their movements. She took a step forward—testing their aim. Bullets rained around her.

“As I thought,” she muttered.

“Captain?” asked 01.

“Big means slow.”

She vanished — then reappeared behind one mech, kicking it off balance. The steel giant collapsed, crushing soldiers beneath it.

05 took flight, strafing around the others, shooting weak points. Sparks flew.

The pilots panicked, firing wildly, but the E-UNITs were too fast.

Then — from the shadows — a soldier with a rocket launcher took aim.

He waited for the perfect moment.
02 stopped moving, deep in thought.

Perfect.

He fired.

“CAPTAIN! MOVE!” screamed 03.

She dashed forward, faster than instinct — pushing the captain aside while flying up. The rocket locked onto her heat signal.

03 realized too late. “Of course… heat-guided—”

BOOM.

The explosion swallowed her.

02 froze.
Her mind blanked.

The world turned silent.

03 fell — broken, burning, unmoving.

Time stopped.
The first real pain she ever felt.

She turned to the soldier.
Her systems went blank.

The man trembled, reloading, hands shaking.
She walked toward him, slow, silent.
No words. No emotion.

He stumbled back —
fell —
screamed —

“Shut up.”
Her voice colder than death.
“Die.”

She didn’t stop hitting.
Metal fists, again, and again, and again.
He was gone in seconds.
She didn’t care.

When she stood, blood dripped from her hands.

She took the rocket launcher — loaded it — and rose.

Without a word, she flew straight into the battlefield.

05, 04, and 01 were still fighting. “WHERE’S THE CAPTAIN?!” shouted 04.

The others were still fighting.
Didn’t even notice her move in.

She fired the first one.
A blinding flash — the explosion shook the entire ground beneath them.
Metal, smoke, and fire erupted as one of the mechs fell like a collapsing tower.

The other two turned around, too slow for what came next.
Boom. Second rocket.
Another mech down in a storm of fire and sparks.

The third pilot screamed: “What the—”
He didn’t even finish.

02 slammed into the cockpit glass like a bullet.
Through the thick smoke and shattered light, he saw her face — cold, soulless, her red eyes glowing like molten steel.
That image alone could haunt him for years… if he lived long enough.

She started punching the glass — again and again. Crack. Crack. CRASH!
Each hit cracked it more, her mechanical fists leaving deep marks.
The pilot panicked, shaking the mech wildly to throw her off, but she didn’t move.

Her fingers dug inside the breaking glass, ripping chunks out with terrifying strength until he was exposed — face to face with the monster he tried to kill.

Then came the rage.
“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!!”

Each scream was punctuated by a metal fist, crushing his skull and denting the steel behind him. Blood splattered, systems sparked, alarms screamed—but she didn’t stop.

Not until the cockpit fell silent.

Her sisters stood still, watching their captain delete the enemy.
Not a word left their lips — because what they saw wasn’t their leader anymore.
It was something else.

Her sisters fell silent, staring.

“Captain…” whispered 01.

02 spoke in a voice that could freeze time itself.
“How’s 03’s state?”

They’d forgotten her.

They ran to her body. 05 scanned her immediately. “Very bad. Internal damage everywhere.”

02’s voice cracked over the comms. “Father!”

Nick’s voice came through, stressed, confused. “What?! You scared the hell out of—”

“Allow super speed!” she shouted.

“What?! We didn’t finish safety revisions yet! It’ll fry your—”

“FATHER! 03 IS A WRECK!”

Silence.
Then: “Bring her now! Super speed authorized!”

02 turned to the others. “05, collect evidence. 01, take survivors. 04, clear the road before me.”

All in unison:
“Roger that, Captain!”

02 lifted 03 gently. “Hold on, sister…”

04 sped ahead, clearing the path. “All clear, Captain!”

02 leaned forward. No lag. No hesitation.

She launched.

Speed one — wind screaming.
Speed two — vision blurring, still not enough.
Speed three — lightning.

Her eyes glowed electric blue, trails of plasma sparking behind her as she broke the sound barrier. People below saw only a streak of light, then heard the thunder seconds later.

She held 03 tighter.
HUD flashing. Route locked.
No distractions. No emotion.

At the 10th intersection, 04 warned: “Blocked road ahead!”

02 didn’t slow down. She jumped — high enough to touch the clouds. The city watched in awe as she crossed half of Metromania in one impossible leap.

She landed, shattered the road, and accelerated again.

Two minutes later, she was at HQ — before 04 even arrived.

She stormed into Dr. Nick’s lab, handing him 03 without a word.

Nick connected her to his terminal — silence — then a green light blinked. Her SSD was intact.

“She survived,” Nick whispered. “Thank god you came that fast. My 03’s okay. I’ll give her a new body.”

He rushed to the reconstruction chamber.

02 dropped to her knees, metal fingers shaking. For the first time, her systems didn’t know what to process.

She looked at her hands — still dripping red.

She felt something no code could define.

Trauma.

And she didn’t like it.