Genesis

by Kipjo Ewers

  Everyone else that was not a Titan or Mercurian was either turned to ash or charred bone depending on where they were in the range of the blast.

  A seething Freedom no longer in control of her emotions clenched her fists as she slowly turned to the Thracian warrior nonchalantly standing in the center of the mass destruction she caused looking back at her.

  As much as it killed her, there was no time for mourning or to help the injured.

  Freedom’s war cry of vengeance was lost in the sonic boom lift off she used to propel herself at Attea who followed suit barreling towards her in a superhuman game of chicken in which they both slammed into each other creating a ginormous shockwave sending debris and brittle structures spraying similar to leaves blown from a gale wind.

  In the exchange, no quarter was given on either side as they savagely bounced off one another. Knocked back several feet from the brutal impact Earth’s only champion, and foreign aggressor regrouped pouncing on top of the other unleashing thunderous strikes and punches that vibrated the area they fought.

  Arrogance was wiped off of Attea’s face as she fought fueled with her warrior pride on the line and the rage that a mere human not only lasted this long against her but was becoming more and more difficult to put down.

  Freedom’s tank was restocked by a dark place and a desire to rip the soul out of the alien invader who obliterated her home and brought senseless death and destruction to her homeworld.

  She no longer cared for the reason for the attack.

  She cared that she finished the fight with the interloper dead at her feet, and whoever was watching from the massive ship above seeing her do it.

  In the midst of their brawl, Attea with several centuries of combat experience made an amateur mistake throwing a mountain splitting roundhouse kick that Freedom caught using the momentum to crater her into the ground with a leg fling.

  A savage sinister grin formed on Freedom’s face as she kept her pitbull lock on the leg hitting two more human size crater slams with the Thracian High General’s body. She then performed a tornado swing swiping her around at speeds that would have torn an EVO apart before hurling her into the sky.

  As an enraged and humiliated Attea stopped her own momentum, she barely got her guard up as the human she underestimated caught up to her and struck her with a right haymaker knocking her out of her hovering pattern.

  Freedom continued to give chase delivering another powerful right hitting her from Europe all the way to the middle of North America.

  Pumped with overconfidence, Freedom forgot for a split second who she was dealing with as she ran right into Attea reminding her who was still stronger and faster by standing her ground in midair and smacking her out of her trajectory with a thunder-clapping right cross of her own after a quick recovery.

  A stunned Freedom kept her wits about her as she rolled with the hit strafing away and quickly went hypersonic performing her flash step technique which created numerous deafening sonic booms around Attea.

  The Thracian High General hovered in place both unamused and unimpressed by her plan of attack following her with just her eyes.

  Freedom believing, she found an opening dove at Attea with her right fist cocked back aiming for her blindside in an attempt to regain the upper hand she had.

  All she came up with was another white dwarf star right cross punch to the jaw as the Thracian warrior quickly turned upending her from her blindside. Freedom became a line drive hit splitting the Mount Rushmore image of George Washington’s skull into that of a cracked egg.

  Attea followed up with a dive with the intention of drilling her right through the entire mountain, only to run right into Freedom barreling back out from whence she came with a force that removed part of Jefferson’s face. She landed her second solid hit on the bewildered High General forced to go on the defensive for the first time in their battle.

  A hit that knocked her from South Dakota all the way into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

  As Attea reeled from the punch that snapped her neck back bloodying her lip, a smirk came over her face. It was mirrored by her brother who leaned back in his command chair seeing what she saw.

  “Mother’s ability in the body of a mere human,” Merc shook his head with a chuckle. “What a small twisted little universe we dwell in.”

  A battle calm Attea waited over the Atlantic as Freedom once again closed the gap between them in mere seconds before revealing her trump card.

  It forced Freedom to hit the brakes as terror fell over her face.

  In those mere seconds, she knew how Leroy from the “Last Dragon” movie felt like when he faced Sho Nuff in the final battle.

  Before her very eyes the warrior from another part of the universe that traveled light years to do battle with her lit up her veins in her neck and face with a reddish hue matching her eyes as the power she unleashed caused a massive whirlpool in the ocean underneath her.

  They lit up for only a second. Attea’s skin returned back to normal as her eyes continued to have a cauldron blaze while the ocean that violently swirled under her began to subside.

  Not only could she tap the unfathomable power with her; she also had perfect control over it.

  The entire planet savagely jittered as every living creature felt Attea’s movement delivering a punch that split the ocean and shattered every window on the East Coast while sending Earth’s mightiest champion sailing as her world turned black.

  Her body, however, would not allow her to rest as she awoke seconds before crash landing near the border of Missouri and Kansas. The crash drag her body created tore up the main street of a small town she hit.

  As she rolled to her hands and knees to spit up a thick fountain of blood and a tooth that would grow back, the daze in her eyes stayed longer as her entire body rattled from the god blow she was struck with.

  She fought with her body to stand, but ended up collapsing in the dirt and debris she was in as it no longer wanted to cooperate with her.

  “Get up,” Freedom weakly mumbled to herself. “Get …the hell …up.”

  She knew it was as Lady Tech had warned her. She was not invincible. Her body had a limit.

  This warrior from the stars had pushed her to that limit. She had nothing left in the tank except her will to defend what was precious to her.

  Onlookers watched from the fragile safety of their town stores or vehicles as Freedom pounded the ground with her fist while letting out a frustrated scream.

  One lone male resident with fire red hair and a face full of freckles in his early mid-twenties mustered the bravery to run to her side.

  “Miss Freedom,” he asked with a shaky voice. “You aight?”

  “No,” she shook her head with a whimpering groan. “You have to … get out … of here. She’s coming ….go.”

  They both turned to the direction of thunder crackling across the sky with no clouds as the town trembled from the presence approaching.

  Freedom watched in disbelief as the young man apparently racked with fear stood up and became a wall between her and the Thracian High General.

  “Are you crazy?” I said get the hell out of here!” she screamed with a hoarse voice.

  “Two years ago, before you became an official superhero, you saved a platoon of Marines from an ISIS ambush in Baghdad,” the young man said without looking at her. “My older brother is alive because of you.”

  “No, she’ll kill you.”

  “She’s got to hit me first,” he smirked.

  Attea touching down stood unamused at the lone human standing courageously in between her and her prey.

  “Begone boy,” she softly ordered. “There is no sport in slaughtering livestock.”

  “I don’t know who you are lady, but your close encounter ass done came to the wrong planet!” He howled back. “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us! Everyone take cover!”

  “Aw hell, Steve-o's going for it!” an observing nearby Sheriff yelled. “Everyo
ne hit the deck!”

  Town residents began to scatter from their hiding locations either moving further into the buildings they were in away from the windows, or through back alleys which lead them away from the combat zone as the young man raised his both his hands up as if he was about to conduct an orchestra.

  As Attea stood with narrowed eyes curiously watching the young man with a “Make America Great” hat in his back pocket prepared to square off with her. A weakened Freedom whose strength returned at a crawl watched as with a wave of his hand the young man conjured up several hundred trillion tons of air pressure to hammer the Thracian High General into the ground sending nearby cars flying while blowing out windows and causing structural damage to storefronts.

  Freedom getting to her feet realized the young EVO possessed the ability to control matter itself which was a rarity among the infected. With just a thought and a hand gesture, he combined all of the molecules in the air turning it into a near invisible weapon to clobber Attea into the ground. He did not let up as he focused controlling the particles within the concrete and soil which came to life and began to move, entrap, and cover the female Thracian warrior.

  Freedom’s stomach began to swirl and turn in on itself realizing that Attea’s facial expression did not change as the young man continued to bury and crush her with tons upon tons of street concrete. Freedom forced her body to cooperate and find the strength to rise.

  “It’s not working,” she groaned. “You need to get out of here now!”

  “What are you talking about?” the redhead grinned. “Ain’t no way she’s getting out of that!”

  To prove his point, he moved his hands again turning it up a notch adding tons more rubble on top of her.

  She never got to know his full name, as the same blast that vaporized her home and torn through her island ripped open Attea’s tomb once again atomizing everything in its path including the young man while blowing a weakened Freedom clear out of the town several miles away.

  Although her body absorbed the majority of the blast adding it to her power, she was unable to withstand the destructive force it struck her with. Once again, she came to an awkward and painful crash-landing several miles outside of the town.

  This time with the power she absorbed, she forced herself to get up for the Steve-O who sacrificed himself to buy her some time. Somehow, she had to live and win not for those counting on her, but so that she could learn his full name.

  She thought about going to ‘World Buster mode,’ but what common sense that had not been knocked from her skull told her that was a suicide move for both her and the planet. With no control over the energies within her like her opponent, she would detonate taking the Earth with her before she got a sliver of an upper hand on the warrior who had been outmatching her at every given turn.

  It was then that she realized, she had no clue as to why she was being attacked in the first place. In her rage, she had cut the female warrior off before she told her why she had invaded her island wiping her home off the map. Freedom remembered the alien warship quietly orbiting Earth. However, this High General was the only one on the planet creating a ruckus.

  As much as she wanted to get payback for her the destruction of her home and critically injuring Earl, it was in hers and the best interest of the planet to find out what the invader wanted. As a soaring Attea approached, Sophia took a less aggressive stance while praying it was still possible to have a constructive conversation.

  Her heart began to quicken as the Thracian warrior landed violently on the open plain highway and proceeded to rush her to start battle anew.

  “Stop! Stop!” Freedom screamed. “I know you understand English, so stop! Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?”

  Her words brought the High General’s advance to a screeching halt. She came to an awkward stance with a befuddled look on her face. It was clear stopping in the middle of a planetary battle to the death to explain why she was attempting to murder someone was a first for her.

  Freedom’s face became one of perplexity before her eyes narrowed attempting to read the weird expression on the being’s visage who looked to her like a Warcraft character from space.

  She was waiting for the tumbleweed to blow by as she was pretty sure by the slight movement of her lips the High General was either talking to herself or having a conversation with someone very far away.

  Onboard the crown prince’s ship, Merc was on his feet asking his sister a question.

  “What in the name of the old Lords are you doing Attea?”

  “She has inquired about the charges against her,” returned his sister. “I am obligated to inform her of them.”

  “No, you are not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “You do understand that she cannot leave this planet alive,” Prince Merc pressed. “She cannot stand trial.”

  “Your data was most inaccurate,” Attea spat back. “The human is much more resilient than she was analyzed to be, and now we know why. Her upper limits have never been tested.”

  “So, you can’t kill her?” Her frustrated brother demanded to know while folding his arms.

  “Of course, I can kill her,” Attea scowled. “You just might not have a planet left when I am done.”

  “That is the reason why you should have brought your sword your miserable woman!”

  A savage growl echoed from his sister before she retorted.

  “Listen well brother, the one thing that will not be sacrificed during this venture of yours is my honor. Which means I will not draw my weapon on an unarmed opponent, and I will not continue to assault an opponent when they request to know the charges laid against them.”

  “I am the Crown Prince!”

  “And I am the Crown Princess and High General of the Thracian Regime! Show me proper respect!”

  “Excuse me! Excuse me!”

  Attea turned her attention back to Freedom beckoning onto her.

  “I don’t know who you’re having a conversation with, or what you are saying, but I really want to know what this is about.”

  Prince Merc was in the middle of telling his sister not to say another word, and that he was coming down to deal with the female human himself.

  Attea was about to threaten him with bodily harm if he did. It was interrupted as the sky came alive with the roar of United States fighter planes. Freedom groaned and dropped her head.

  “That orange-haired orangutan looking son of a bitch …I was close. So, frigging …”

  The sound of cannon fire echoing from a distance was followed by the whistle of projectiles. Both women slightly braced themselves for the tank shells that landed detonating inches from each of them. At the same time, the squadron of military fighters comprised of F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-22A Raptors, and F-35A Lightning IIs began making their run for an attack.

  Attea did not wait for the jets to fire first.

  With an extended right hand, she fired an energy blast that tore through the squadron of planes vaporizing ten of the twenty-four aircraft that came to attack, while the rest broke off. She extended her left hand to turn on the tanks still firing on them when Freedom capitalized on the opening Attea left hitting her with a hard shoulder gut check taking her up into the air to get them away from the US Forces before she claimed any more lives.

  Her objective was to get them off the continent of the United States in hopes of starting the conversation that was interrupted.

  Attea took Freedom’s action of aggression as a sneak attack signaling that their combat was continued anew.

  Arching her upper torso backward, Attea performed a backflip flinging her off. Freedom spiraling violently in mid-air fought to gain control of her stability when she took a savage aerial shoulder slam from the High General. She had momentarily forgotten that the alien invader from the other world could tap and control the powers within her bolstering both her speed and strength to incalculable levels.

  Freedom’s own powe
r was not growing fast enough to catch up to the foreign invader’s power.

  Neither one of them expected to be intercepted and broadsided at the speed Attea was traveling.

  The hit was so brutal it broke her from the Thracian High General. Sophia spiraled uncontrollably downward back to Earth. Her enhanced eyesight caught flashes of the other two living meteors spiraling back to the planet.

  This time Freedom impacted the ocean sinking several leagues down before stopping her momentum. She rocketed back to the surface and realized that she ended up in the South Atlantic Ocean.

  “Goddamn, that child!” Sophia screamed with trembling lips. “Where is she? Where is she?”

  Freedom went hypersonic desperately searching for her daughter.

  The Earthshaking shockwaves which emitted from the inner edge of Angola making its way into the Congo. She had caught up with them to find Kimberly screaming as she threw mountain toppling blows against the female invader from another planet.

  Although Attea was defending quickly against her, there was a look of concern on her face as she backed up from her daughter’s attacks.

  This brought on a nervous feeling in Freedom’s gut. Kimberly was undisputedly the second strongest EVO on the planet, but the current level of her strength was the combination of two of Earth’s most massive continents. Yet she was unleashing power shots that rattled even the Thracian warrior.

  Attea having enough of being on the defensive backhanded an enraged Kimberly with enough force to turn her legs to rubber. She then latched onto her throat.

  Kimberly’s enraged mother closed the gap by rattling the heavens with her speed as she rocked the jaw of the woman who would dare lay a hand on her daughter.

  Freedom was actually shocked that she connected and that the hit was hard enough to take Attea off her feet sending her sailing. She ignored the path of destruction her body was causing which went for a mile or two as she grabbed Kimberly before she hit the ground.