Unbroken: Rise of the Horde

Chapter Seventeen

The Horde warlord bent over the ruins of his robots. Now that the sanctum had been fixed up, the rest of his robots decided to go ahead and get destroyed.

He leaned down and delicately picked up a silver piece of metal. The kill switch. The clone sighed.

"Was this your doing?" he whispered, pausing. "Entrapta?"

"Entrapta?" Imp repeated, popping out from under the table.

Panic flared inside Hordak. He clutched the metal disk and raised his shoulders into a defensive position. He face grew warm. He hid his insecurity behind a scowl, but Imp wouldn't stop. He flew off the table and up into the air.

"Entrapta! Entrapta! Entrapta!"

Hordak sneered and flung the disk at him. His pet screeched and dodged, making his exit. The clone sighed. It wasn't the first time that Imp had repeated that word.

The disk rolled out on the floor, stopping at a figure's feet. Catra picked up the shiny metal, admiring it. She turned her attention back to Hordak.

"Owch," she said with a tilt of her head. "What happened here?"

You sound sleazier than usual, Hordak thought, but didn't say aloud. He grumbled. "The Rebels managed to capture one of our bots and retrofitted it with some sort of search device. It decimated an entire squadron of our machines."

Catra padded closer, tossing the disk up in the air. "Not to speak ill of the dearly departed," she oozed. "But exactly how many battles have your bots won us lately?"

Before she could catch the disk again, Hordak snatched it out of the air, but didn't bother to look at her. "You'd be wise to watch your tongue," he warned before further inspecting the damage.

Catra smirked. "Aren't you tired of losing? After all, clock's ticking. Big brother Prime's going to show up at any moment."

The name triggered a flash of memory behind Hordak's eyes...

Prime held his little brother in a choke hold. "You are worthless to me," he spat...

Hordak narrowed his gaze and whirled around. Catra seemed more afraid of him than usual. "Even you, Catra, should fear being this bold in my presence."

Someone clapped. Then out of the shadows, another Catra appeared. A sly smile slipped on her face.

Hordak turned to look from the first Catra to the second one. That's way too many Catras. One's hard enough. I hate this planet!

"Pretty neat trick, right?" the second one mused.

That's the real Catra, he decided. The other one had been off.

"Lord Hordak," the real Catra greeted. The first one traveled over to her friend and hid behind Catra. A devilish look on her face. "I'd like to introduce Double Trouble. They're our newest asset in taking down the Rebellion."

The impostor lost features as they turned to a dark black glittering mass, almost like sand. Catra's body lengthened and stretched until they were almost a head taller than the real one. The sand retreated and paled into flesh.

Before Hordak knew it, a strange creature had descended into a bow. Double Trouble glanced up from the stance.

"Apologies for being rude," they said before straightening up. Their hair had been shaved at the sides, leaving a flow of blond hair to cascade down their back. Their fashion sense was quite impeccable: black jumpsuit with green stripes and gloves. Not to mention the high heeled black boots. The clothes choice matched perfectly with their pale green complexion. "I was getting into character. Did it work? Be honest. As always, I'm open to constructive criticism."

Hordak studied them up and down. He hummed to himself. "A shapeshifter..." An actor no less. Double Trouble shrank down with a small smile.

"Impressive indeed. Do not attempt to deceive me again," Hordak warned.

Catra glanced down at the First Ones crystal which had started to pulse with pink light. Hordak glared at her smug expression before returning to his work. Double Trouble gave Catra a "he's intense" look. She shrugged it off before plopping down on Hordak's desk.

"So," she started. "What's all this about?"

Double Trouble folded their hands behind their back and walked away for them to discuss.

"The bots were a part of the occupation of the city-state of Elberon," he explained without looking up. He groped through the parts of the machinery to see what did and didn't survive. "A failed operation. The Rebels seized the town. It seems that their technological advances have improved since..." he paused. "Since Entrapta returned to them."

Catra winced, but Hordak failed to notice.

The clone stopped his inspection. "It is of no consequence," he muttered. "I will improve our machines and we will seize Elberon back."

"Elberon?" Catra sneered. "Why?"

Hordak narrowed his gaze and said dryly, "It may have escaped your notice, but we are trying to win a war."

Catra shook her head. "See, you're thinking about this wrong. Elberon doesn't matter, it's what Elberon can do for us that counts."

Hordak paused for a moment, reflecting on her point. "And what do you propose?"

The clone followed Catra's gaze behind him. Perched on top of a destroyed bot, sat Double Trouble.  The plan was about to be put into play.