Apex 2: Rise of the Super Soldiers

by Adam Moon

  It was perfect kindling for Delacourt. As a lifelong military man, he knew first hand that he should strike while the iron was still hot. He had to test his small group on the bunker quickly, and when that was accomplished, take the fight wherever he thought he’d get the most exposure. The nation needed strong leadership. But the nation was weak; its inhabitants too stupid to decide for themselves. So he’d decide for them.

  Hank and Sally had both filled out with inhuman musculature during their short stay at the latest hotel. Hank couldn’t stop checking himself out in the mirror. Delacourt even noticed a slight increase in mass in himself. It filled out his wrinkles, making him look ten years younger. He felt younger too. He felt like a man on a mission.

  When he suggested they move on the mountain right away, Sally and Hank agreed without hesitation. That could mean just one thing: his mind manipulation had worked on them.

  But before they left, Sally had a surprise for them. She said, “I knew I could do something. I just didn’t know what it was until now. I’ve been practicing. Watch this.”

  Her eyes became bloodshot as she concentrated. And then a strange, nearly opaque bubble surrounded her body. Hank cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what she was up to.

  She said through clenched teeth, “Try to get to me.”

  Hank looked at Delacourt and he nodded his approval. Hank walked toward her but when he reached the opaque field, he was forcefully thrown backwards. He hit the far wall with a thud and then slid to the floor, dazed but otherwise unharmed.

  She said, “It’s like a force field but it does more than that. It also repels things. If someone shot it, I bet the bullet would ping off of it and go right back at the shooter, with even more velocity.”

  She blinked her eyes hard a few times and then said, “I have to stop,” before letting the force field vanish.

  Delacourt shook his head sadly. “It’s a fine ability to save your own ass but it hardly adds anything to our arsenal.”

  She scowled at him. “It doesn’t just have to be around me. I could put it around all of us. You can shoot through it but no one could shoot from the other side.”

  “How can you know so much about it already?”

  “I’ve been practicing out in the corn fields behind this place. I made a mess but I learned a lot. I can also project the force field elsewhere. If my aim gets better, I’ll be able to project it so that it cuts things in half, with one half inside the field and the other half outside. I could kill all the Greys at the base like that.”

  Delacourt smiled now. If he had the shield, coupled with all of their firepower, and complimented by Hanks ability to blow shit up and his ability to manipulate people, they might just be unstoppable. He also smiled because Sally still thought the mission had anything at all to do with killing the Greys, which it didn’t. But if it was the only way to get her to accompany them, then he’d let her have her fun with them after the base fell to them.

  Hank stood up and took in a deep breath. “Now that’s a cool power. You pack a hell of a punch, girl.”

  “Thank you. I can’t let the boys have all the fun, right?”

  Delacourt chuckled. “You got that right. Let’s get going.”

  Attack

  Watson, Melanie, and Jack heard the echoed boom through the labyrinthine tunnels of the bunker. They were under attack.

  They stood up as one and Jack vanished. He returned a moment later and said breathlessly, “It’s not another alien attack. It’s Commander Delacourt with those other two infected soldiers. They’re killing people out there.”

  Watson mumbled something under his breath and then the radio on his hip came to life with a cacophony of noises, some screaming, and others fearfully looking for orders.

  He keyed the radio and said, “All available personnel to the entrance. We have come under attack.”

  Then he said to Jack and Melanie, “Follow me.”

  He led them to the armory which was already swarming with troops stocking up on firepower. He asked Melanie if she could handle a handgun to which she replied that she could. Jack refused to take a gun, partly because he didn’t need one and partly because he had no clue how to use one, besides pulling the trigger.

  Jack said to the Commander, “Keep your men safe. Melanie and I can go out and take care of this.”

  Melanie nodded but Watson wouldn’t hear it. “You are civilians under my care. You’ll stay put. I only offered you each a gun to defend yourselves in case we fail and they get inside. Don’t argue with me. Stay here.”

  Jack looked over at Melanie to see what she thought about being given such a disastrous order but she was already staring at the floor, defeated and compliant. Before Jack could talk some sense into anyone, Watson left the armory with all of his troops hot on his heals.

  Melanie said, “He might be right, you know. Plus, haven’t we sacrificed enough defending others.”

  Jack waited until she looked into his eyes before saying, “We’ve only sacrificed enough when evil is vanquished or when we lose our lives trying to vanquish it.”

  Melanie laughed out loud. “We’re not real superheroes, Jack. We’re infected with an alien virus of some kind. We’re clueless pawns. Sometimes I think you’ve let your abilities go to your head.”

  Jack furrowed his brow, wondering where all of this was coming from. She’d changed. Maybe she’d seen too much devastation. Maybe she had some form of shellshock or PTSD that was scrambling her thoughts. Or maybe she was right. He had let his powers go to his head. But how could he help it? It was a tremendous gift. He just assumed she felt the same way he did.

  He was stuck though. If he went against Watson’s orders now, she’d know she was right that his ego had inflated beyond his control.

  He walked away from her before he told her what he really thought.

  Super Villains

  Delacourt, Hank, and Sally had already killed the sentries outside the mountain bunker. It was easy. They approached the blast doors, all three of them sealed inside Sally’s shield. When they refused to surrender to the sentries, they were fired upon. Each bullet pinged off of the force field, leaving them unharmed. They returned fire but the soldiers found cover, none of them sustaining injury. It was at that moment that Delacourt decided to abandon all of his firepower in favor of using their abilities instead. Their arsenal was so much more powerful than any weapon conceived by man.

  Delacourt nudged Hank’s mind and he broke away, stepping outside the shield. He took a couple of rounds to the body but it didn’t faze him in the least. His chest puffed out and his hands shook and then a nearly invisible ripple shot from his body. It obliterated the sentries, smashing them against the mountain like rag dolls, the rock walls crumbling from the powerful wave. Their remains smoldered from the heat that accompanied the blast.

  Neither Sally nor Delacourt felt the power of the wave from within the safety of her force field.

  Hank fell to one knee but he recovered quickly; quicker than before. Sally and Delacourt went to him so that he was once again safe within the force field.

  And then the fun really started.

  The blast doors opened up and wave after wave of troops filed out, all taking up defensive positions. It was Delacourt’s turn to show the world what he could do.

  He said, “I’ve got this. Just keep the force field up.”

  He concentrated as hard as he could. There were dozens of minds out there, maybe as many as a hundred. And he had to get inside each and every one of them. His nose dripped a thin rivulet of blood and he was holding his breath when every single troop across from him stood up, turned their guns on each other, and blasted away, killing themselves. It was a bloodbath that sent a thrill through him but made Sally so uneasy that her force field flickered for a moment and forced Hank to look away.

  Delacourt realized that their hearts weren’t in this as much as he wanted. After the base was his, he’d have to work on them some more; get them onboard with
world domination. His quest was going to be dirty and if they were going to be useful to him, they had to acquire the stomach to handle the bloodshed.

  The last man standing across from them turned his handgun on himself, blowing his brains out of the side of his head.

  The air stunk of sulfur when it was over. But it wasn’t quite over yet. More voices approached from within the bunker.

  Sally heard them and said in a panicked voice, “We should go. I didn’t realize we’d be killing so many people.”

  Hank nodded and looked to Delacourt for confirmation which never came.

  Delacourt said as reassuringly as he could, “These cowards need to be defeated. You both agreed. We’ll be done just as soon as we mop up the few survivors. If we turn around and run now, the entire U.S. military will chase us to the ends of the Earth and execute us. Buck up, people.”

  Hank sucked air in between his teeth but he seemed to steel his resolve to what had to be done. Sally broke down and cried. “I just wanted to get revenge on the Grey’s. I didn’t want to kill my fellow man.” Her force field evaporated as her chest heaved with mighty sobs.

  “These people are worse than the Grey’s. They’ve allowed their captives to live while they’ve held you here against your wills. You’ll get your revenge, but these last few troops stand in the way.”

  Hank put an arm over her shoulder and said, “It’ll be over soon and then we’ll be free of the military for good.”

  Delacourt nearly chuckled. If Hank thought they were fighting for their freedom, he was dead wrong.

  Sally’s sobs lessened just in time. The first few troops trickled out through the blast doors and took up position where their fallen comrades had before them. Luckily the gore distracted them long enough for Sally to get herself together and re-erect her force field.

  When Delacourt saw Watson’s face among the handful of troops he almost whooped with joy.

  Escape

  The Grey Captain looked at her fellow captives. They all heard the din from outside and speculations abound as to what was causing it. It had to be the rescue party, a little late but better late than never. Nothing else explained the commotion. They were all tense, listening intently at the door. They’d heard the outside guard run off to help his compatriots. It was now or never if they were going to have a chance to liberate themselves. Even if they were wrong about the rescue party, it was still their best chance to escape.

  The Captain stepped back and then kicked the steel door with all of her might. It held, but she’d get through it with another couple of kicks. She hauled off another kick and the door gave.

  They filed out carefully, expecting to be fired upon at any moment, but the coast was clear. They closed the door back up and then hugged the shadows as they crept along the corridors, in search of their mechanized armor.

  They had one close call when a human soldier rushed past them, but he was too preoccupied to notice them hiding in the dark. They made their way to a brightly lit room with a single desk.

  They could almost smell the must from their armor permeating the air. It was a welcome sensation. A single suit was propped up near the desk. One of the Grey’s rushed towards it, putting it on as if his life depended on it. The others fanned out in search of the other suits. Strangely enough, the humans were too stupid to realize how insane it was to hold them captive in the same place their suits were being kept. Their armor was fitted to their individual specifications and biometrics to enhance the suits abilities. With incompatible suits, they’d be vulnerable. With the proper suit, they were nearly unstoppable.

  The Captain put hers on and felt peace for the first time in a month. The inside still smelled like fury and bloodshed and certain victory, at all costs. It was a particular odor that only her people exuded. It reminded her why she’d been struggling for so long to get to that exact moment. It invigorated her. She could already taste her first kill.

  They weren’t able to find their weaponry but they didn’t need it either. In fact, they’d have probably decided to forego it in favor of close combat kills anyway.

  She whirled around to see her men all staring at her, awaiting their orders.

  Intel

  Shaylo had a shuttle prepped. His First Mate had carried out his orders without compunction. That was a good sign. Maybe he’d finally found one he could trust.

  He had all of the data already but weak data, gathered from a distance wasn’t enough to formulate a plan of attack. He had to see what the Earthlings were working with with his own two eyes. It was risky, entering their atmosphere in nothing but a defenseless landing shuttle, but it was a risk he felt was necessary in order to gather intel. He could’ve sent someone in his place but there was no one he trusted as much as he trusted himself. Plus, he wanted to see these barbarians in action. It would make their demise that much more satisfying.

  Fight

  Jack felt the death and destruction all around him. It was the first time since rescuing those hikers on Everest that the empathic ability had surfaced. It made him feel sick. He looked at Melanie. “They’re all dying out there. I need to help them. I understand if you don’t want to come.”

  Her eyebrows shot up and she said, “I want to help. Don’t mistake my reluctance to take a human life as cowardice, Jack. If there’s no alternative then of course I’ll join in the fight.”

  He grabbed her wrist and teleported them both outside the mountain. They floated thirty feet above the bedlam. They saw Delacourt with Hank and Sally, standing before what was left of the military defenses. They were all enveloped in an opaque cocoon, not unlike the force field Scott used to be able to erect.

  Watson and a handful of his soldiers were across from them, crouched behind what little cover there was.

  Delacourt yelled out, falling to his knees, grabbing his head like it might explode. But he wasn’t in pain. He was concentrating with everything he had.

  And then they watched as the defenders seemed to lose their minds. They started to turn their guns around. Jack watched as a soldier bit down on the barrel of his own gun and squeezed the trigger. His head came apart and he fell over dead.

  Delacourt smiled fiendishly. Jack could only assume that the evil Commander was using some type of mind control to make them do his bidding.

  Jack acted quickly. He concentrated on the weapons and teleported them away just in time.

  Melanie’s hands shook as she used her powers against the attackers. Her eyes turned pink and she exhaled slowly as she used her inhuman skills. A boulder launched itself at the shielded invaders but despite the fact that it could’ve probably squashed a Mac truck, it blew apart the second it touched the force field. Only then did Delacourt notice them floating above.

  He stared at them keenly but if he was trying to use his powers on them it wasn’t working.

  Delacourt shoved Hank outside of the protecting force field and yelled at him to, “Blast the shit out of them!”

  Hank looked up with mouth agape, then turned back to Delacourt and shook his head. Delacourt locked him in a cruel stare and Hank started to quiver. He wheeled around and his head snapped up, towards Melanie and Jack. He shook his head again but he was losing the internal struggle against Delacourt’s mind manipulation. His body started to shake violently, skin glowing ever so slightly.

  But before he did anything with his powers, Sally dropped her force field and yelled, “Get Delacourt. He’s making us do this.”

  Delacourt stared at her like she’d betrayed him in a fundamental way. He knew he was screwed now. He couldn’t manipulate Jack and Melanie and the other two had managed to slough off his influence at exactly the wrong time. He was about to lose. But when he saw Watson peek out from behind cover, he knew what had to be done before he died. He would take Watson out before being taken out himself. If that meant convincing him to run head first into the blast doors or it meant tricking him into not taking another breath, he had time to enact one last move before the young superhumans go
t to him. Luckily for him, the teenagers and the two young soldiers were confused by what either side was doing. It gave him the time he needed.

  Alien Attack

  The Grey Captain ordered the attack. It would be easier than she would’ve ever expected. Almost all of the humans had already perished.

  Her men filed out through the crude blast doors of the bunker and took to the air in their mechanized suits.

  The sight before her made her heart skip a beat. That human girl was suspended in the air with her male companion. But it was too late to rethink the plan. They had to act, in the way they should’ve acted the last time they’d faced off. The Captain wouldn’t tactically surrender this time.

  She beckoned two of her men to follow her as she whooshed upwards at the youngsters. The rest of her men went after the remaining soldiers. The human ground troops fought valiantly but they didn’t stand a chance.

  Two of her men swooped down upon a single human soldier, tearing him in half easily. They both screamed out from the sheer overwhelming euphoria the kill gave them before moving on for more blood. Several of the unarmed humans tried to make a break for it, but they were quickly overrun and dealt with.

  The Captain used evasive maneuvers as a precaution as she approached the young superhumans. She’d fought against the girl before so she knew what to expect.

  Only then did she notice the three humans standing on the ground, watching the mayhem happen all around them. One was older than the other two. They looked like they wanted to flee but she wasn’t about to allow that. She ordered one of her men to break off and deal with them.

  He zipped towards them quickly and just as quickly exploded into wet squelchy pieces as a wave of heat washed over everyone.

  The young male on the ground was panting and kneeling, as though he’d overexerted himself. Had he caused that explosion? Did he have a hidden weapon or was he special like the two youngsters hovering above her?