Noah cracked his neck to the left and then to the right. He got in his fighting stance and moved forward towards Kyle.
Kyle cocked his head to the side and laughed amusingly. The two men charged forward, each of them with the same idea. Kyle and Noah both connected with blows to the face that sent both men backwards. The two men regained their balance and charged forward once again. Kyle swung wildly but Noah ducked and tackled Kyle to the ground. Kyle’s head hit the ground hard and he let out a painful yelp.
Noah mounted on top of Kyle and delivered devastating punches to the face. With each blow, Kyle found himself getting weaker and weaker. He struggled to free himself from the position he was in, but every attempt he made resulted in another punch to the face. Desperate, Kyle reached to his side and pulled out a hidden blade which he drove into Noah’s abdomen. Noah screamed in pain as blood poured from his body. Jessica looked back to see if he was ok, but she found herself rather occupied with the woman in white. Kyle kicked Noah off of him and smiled. He placed the blade back in its spot and watched as Noah stumbled backwards. Noah grabbed his side and withered in pain.
“This is a battle you can’t win Noah. You might as well give it up now and I’ll spare your pathetic life.”
Noah slowly stood up tall. Kyle seemed rather annoyed that Noah still had some fight left in him. He charged forward and unloaded an onslaught of punches. Some connected, but the majority of them missed. Noah tried to sweep Kyle's legs but Kyle jumped up and flipped over Noah. Facing Noah’s back, Kyle attempted a flying kick to the head. Noah quickly turned around and caught Kyle’s leg. He twirled Kyle’s leg sending the man flying to the ground.
Not wanting to let up, Noah pressed forward and caught Kyle just as he was getting up. He slammed Kyle back to the ground and then put him in a modified arm bar hold.
“Who’s your boss?” Noah asked.
Kyle spit blood from his mouth, “That’s none of your concern.”
Noah laughed. “You don’t know the identity of your boss do you? Guess you aren’t that high up the chain. You always did have trouble advancing in rank. Is that why you left the organization that made you? Is that why you're doing mercenary work now?”
Kyle cursed. He used his free arm to deliver an elbow to Noah’s face. Noah released the hold he had on Kyle and touched his face. The two men got to their feet and circled around one another.
“Give it up Noah.”
Noah ran full speed and blocked several of Kyle’s punches. Kyle was growing increasingly frustrated with Noah and began to get sloppy. Noah used this to his advantage. Noah connected with a straight kick to Kyle's face. Before his foot returned to the ground, he again kicked Kyle in the face. He followed his attack up with a series of punches to the face and body. Kyle was nearing his end.
“Is that all you got?” Kyle shouted, not wanting to concede victory. Kyle made one last attempt in turning the fight back in his favor. With all the strength he had left, Kyle drove his right arm back and thrusts it forward. Noah raised his left hand up open palm and caught Kyle’s right hand in his left palm. He turned Kyle’s left hand to his left and gave a power thrust to Kyle’s left under arm dislocating Kyle’s shoulder immediately. Kyle screamed in agony as he lay defeated. With victory in hand, Noah used a inhibitor syringe to suppress Kyle’s abilities. Noah then turned his attention to assisting others.
“Take that guy out!” Agent Mallory shouted to one of his snipers positioned around different rooftops of nearby buildings. The Post Human catching Agent Mallory’s attention was cutting through G.U.A.R.D agents with some sort of projectile ability. One by one agents fell as the Post Human ruthlessly assaulted them.
Noah closed his eyes and concentrated heavily on the area where Agent Mallory was. He thrusts his hands forward and put up a force field to protect the remaining agents in that vicinity. The man with the projectile ability didn’t take too kindly to Noah's interference. The man let out a projectile blast headed in Noah’s direction. Noah dodged the projectile blast and quickly reestablished the force field.
“Now!” Agent Mallory shouted.
The sniper stood at the edge of the rooftop of one of the buildings and fired an inhibitor dart at the Post Human. The dart connected and almost instantaneously began to spread through the Post Human’s body. His abilities were quickly being suppressed and for the time being, he would no longer be a threat.
“Nice shot Banks keep it going.” Agent Mallory said through his earpiece. Agent Jordan Banks, one of the newest G.U.A.R.D agents continued firing at the hoard of Post Humans charging towards the White House.
Shayne and Jackson made their way towards Erik and Seth. The four Post Humans had been anxiously awaiting another bout with one another. Seth and Erik wasted no time firing their abilities on Shayne and Jackson. As a bolt of electricity hurled towards Shayne, Jackson delivered a blast of ice to counteract the attack. Shayne lit the ground on fire forcing Erik to reposition himself. Jackson froze the ground around him and used it as a skateboard of sorts. With Erik distracted, Jackson slid towards Erik flipped forward, caught Erik by the head and proceeded to throw him to the ground. Jackson’s inventive offense was impressive, but he forgot Seth was nearby as well. With an opportunity presented, Seth used the speed ability he acquired from Shayne and sped over towards Jackson.
“Did you like that move?” Jackson asked Erik who was slow to get off the ground. Jackson was too busy taunting Erik to hear Shayne’s pleads to look out. Shayne’s warnings were too late. Seth tackled Jackson to the ground. He placed his hand on Jackson’s chest and absorbed all of Jackson’s abilities.
“Thanks for the assist,” Seth said smiling. Seth punched Jackson in the face and turned his attention back to Shayne. “That friend of yours certainly lacks discipline.”
Shayne was in no mood for Seth’s banter. He charged towards Seth. Seth realized hand to hand combat was not in his best interest, so he distracted Shayne with an onslaught of fireballs. Shayne flipped and dipped and did whatever else he could to avoid Seth’s attacks. He tried to push forward, but with every attempt, Seth continued hurling fireballs at him.
“I think it’s time I try out my new abilities,” Seth said.
As Shayne charged forward towards Seth, Seth unleashed a bolt of ice towards Shayne’s feet. The ice connected, stopping Shayne dead in his tracks. Shayne tried to break free, but before he could, Seth froze the rest of Shayne.
“Quite handy!” Seth said admiring his newly acquired ability.
A Post Human with a baseball bat charged passed Seth. As soon as Seth noticed the bat an idea came to mind. Frozen, Shayne's eyes grew wide with concern realizing what Seth was thinking.
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to give it back,” Seth said to the Post Human. The confused Post Human nodded his head and continued forward after one of the agents. Seth knew he could kill Shayne if he broke him into pieces while frozen. Whistling, Seth made his way forward towards Shayne. Suddenly as he closed in, he found himself unable to move. Seth looked down and saw his feet were frozen. He looked around and saw Jackson making his way back to his feet.
“You should’ve stayed down!” Seth said smiling. He dropped the bat and placed his hands downward and used the abilities he stole from Shayne to melt the ice. While Seth was distracted, Shayne heated up his body temperature allowing him to melt the ice that kept him prisoner. With Shayne on one side and Jackson on the other, Seth found himself at a disadvantage.
“You've lost,” Shayne said. Seth turned around only to realize that Shayne had freed himself. With the two extremely talented Post Humans closing in on him, Seth did not like his chances.
“Screw this!” Seth stated. With a blink of an eye, Seth opened up a portal and disappeared before Shayne and Jackson could capture him.
“I really hate that guy!” Jackson said frustrated by the constant disappearing act Seth pulled. Erik was back up and caught Shayne by surprise. He hit Shayne with a devastating shot of electricity that would’ve easily
killed anyone that didn't possess a healing factor.
“Shayne!” Jackson shouted as he watched his friend fall to the ground.
Jessica flew high to avoid the barrage of bullets and offensive projectiles flying in every which direction. When she was close enough, she swooped down and grabbed Shayne. “I’ve got him,” she said as Jackson looked on concerned.
Jackson was filled with anger. An emotion that could cost him dearly if he didn't effectively channel that anger into a productive counter response. He knew Shayne’s healing ability would kick in, but seeing a friend in that much pain was something no one wanted to witness.
“You're going to pay for that,” Jackson said. Jackson’s normally baritone voice was much deeper now. His words came out more like a growl.
Erik did his best not to look intimidated by Jackson’s anger, but seeing this particular side of Jackson was something he wasn't expecting.
Erik released a weaker shot of electricity in Jackson’s direction. Jackson rolled to his right avoiding the attack. He countered with a shot of ice which Erik countered as well.
“This Blueranium has made me stronger than I was last time we met. You don't have the skill to take me one on one,” Erik stated.
“We'll see about that,” Jackson replied without his usual sarcastic remark.
Erik inched closer towards Jackson. “I’m sorry about your friend, but I needed to show you just how powerful this Blueranium is. You needed to see how powerful you can be under the right leadership. The League of Protectors has no chance of winning this battle. You cannot comprehend the power in which my leader possesses. Oppose him and you will regret it.” By now, Erik and Jackson were within striking distance.
“So what do you say?” Erik asked. He stuck his hand out hoping to come to terms with Jackson. Considering how close the two men were standing to one another and no attack occurred, Erik was confident Jackson was going to take him up on his offer.
Jackson smiled, “The only thing I regret is not taking you out sooner.” Jackson grabbed Erik’s arm and before Erik could react, Jackson pulled out a inhibitor syringe and stabbed Erik in the arm with it. Erik dropped to the ground.
Jackson pressed the earpiece on his left ear and reported back to the G.U.A.R.D command center. “Erik Masters has been contained.”
As the battle continued the momentum was drastically shifting. The Post Human army found themselves over matched by the field experience of G.U.A.R.D and the other units.
Jason Shaw’s smart tactics and the determination of The League forced several Post Humans to retreat from the battle. Jason remained cautious about the battle. He didn’t want to become complacent. The man in the hooded robe had yet to make his presence felt. He remained completely calm even as his army started to fall apart.
Commander Sullivan watched the battle unfold from a safe location. It was difficult for him to watch the battle and not be in it, but as Commander, he had other responsibilities to think of.
“Commander we’ve got a problem!” one of the agents said urgently.
The Commander walked briskly to where the agent was standing. He looked at the monitor. Commander Sullivan immediately opened a channel to speak with Jason and the rest of the League.
“Jason this is Commander Sullivan do you copy?” Commander Sullivan had to wait momentarily for Jason to reply. Jason was busy battling the swarm of Post Humans surrounding him.
“I copy Sir.”
Commander Sullivan’s eyes stayed glued to the monitor. “There’s a group of Post Humans breaking off, they seem to be heading straight to the White House. Intercept them before they get too close.”
“Yes Sir.”
Jason was holding back on his opponents as he didn’t want to seriously harm any of them. With a group of Post Humans making their way towards the White House, Jason felt an urgency to neutralize his opponents faster. Jason leaped up several feet in the air. The Post Humans surrounding him looked up at him in amazement. They were astonished by the height of his leap. Jason returned to the ground, landing on his feet with a thunderous drop. The impact of his leap dropped everyone in the nearby vicinity to the ground. Dazed, the Post Humans and a few G.U.A.R.D agents as well struggled to regain their balance. The space Jason created gave him a chance to intercept those moving towards the White House. The ground beneath Jason’s feet began to rumble. Jason looked around thinking perhaps someone had the ability to create an earthquake. It wasn’t an earthquake that was causing the rumble; it was the fast approaching Joe Dorgan.
Joe hit Jason with a thunderous punch that sent Jason wheeling back.
“I’m on my way to you Jason,” Jessica said in Jason’s earpiece.
“No, stay back, I got this!” Jason barked. Jessica tried to argue with Jason but it was no use. Jason insisted on taking Joe alone. “Stop that group that’s heading towards the White House. Neutralizing them is our top priority at the moment!”
Jessica was not pleased with Jason’s orders. As strong as Jason was she worried about his chances facing Joe alone. On two separate occasions now the League went to battle with Joe Dorgan and on both occasions he proved to be the most difficult challenger they had faced. Nevertheless, she did as instructed. As much as she disagreed with him, she understood that Jason had to battle Joe Dorgan alone.
With a quickness rivaling Jason’s, Jessica soared above the fight and headed towards the White House. Jackson looked up towards the sky with concern as his sister flew off.
“She’s going to try and stop them!” the woman in white exclaimed. She, the short man and the man in the hooded robe had levitated to the roof of one of the buildings when the momentum of the battle started to change. None of them seemed too eager to involve themselves in the battle. They were just fine watching the two sides duke it out. G.U.A.R.D agents attempted to penetrate the force field surrounding them, but they were unable to do so.
“Brother, I can take her!” the woman shouted. She was quite annoyed that earlier the hooded man recalled her from the field while she was in the middle of battle.
“No, you will sit this out,” the hooded man ordered. The woman in white looked at her brother with a fiery rebellion. She was determined to intervene.
Jessica swooped down and contorted her body like a missile. Her advanced durability allowed her to propel herself into others without injuring herself. The Post Humans dropped to the ground while Jessica landed perfectly on her feet.
“Let me end her!” the woman in white shouted. The woman was filled with anger as she watched the army she help create become decimated.
“Patience sister,” the man in the hooded robe said.
The Post Humans making their way towards the White House collected themselves. Jessica stood tall ready to take them on. Noah came out of nowhere and rejoined the battle. Using a massive amount of focus, Noah activated his telekinesis and forced all those gathering at the white house to collide with one another. The impact in which Noah's telekinesis caused was gruesome. Broken bones, bloodied faces, concussions and more were guaranteed as the individuals slammed hard into one another. The look on Jessica’s face was perplexed. She was thankful that Noah was there to assist her, but at the same time, she didn't think it was necessary that Noah use such deadly force.
Noah looked at her and shrugged. “If even one of them got passed this gate, the repercussions...” He didn't have to say anything else, Jessica understood. She didn't like it, but she understood.
The National Guard made their way down the street. They took out what little of the Post Human army remained. The man in the hooded robe looked on at the destruction. Smoke filled the sky. There was blood and fire everywhere. The streets looked comparable to a war zone.
The hooded man turned his attention to Joe Dorgan and Jason Shaw. The battle between the two had concluded and somehow Jason was the winner.
“How is this possible? How did he defeat Joe alone like that?” the woman in white asked. Her intentions were solely focused on Jessica
Prescott that she didn't notice Jason defeating Joe Dorgan. The hooded man smiled. He saw the whole battle. He watched as Jason outsmarted Joe. He watched as Jason out muscled Joe. He watched as Jason outclassed Joe.
“Jason Shaw defeated Joe Dorgan because Jason Shaw was the superior being. He will be a great addition to our ranks sister, but first, I will show these people who the superior of all beings is.”
The man in the hooded robe levitated towards the ground. The National Guard, the other specialized units, G.U.A.R.D and the League of Protectors surrounded the man in the hooded robe.
“Your army has been defeated. This battle is over. Surrender now!” Jason Shaw demanded. Jason stood just feet away from the man in the hooded robe. The woman in white and the short chubby man continued to watch from the rooftop.
The man in the hooded robe laughed hysterically. “You are correct Jason Shaw, the battle is over, but now, the final confrontation begins.” The man in the hooded robe clenched his fist together and a massive build of energy formed from inside his body.
33
The Final Confrontation
Hundreds of lives were lost instantaneously, the result of some form of disintegrating energy from the man in the hooded robe. Noah dropped to the ground releasing the force field he put up. If not for his fast reaction, many more lives would have been lost. The amount of energy required to put up such a wide force field nearly drained Noah of all the energy he had.
“Noah, are you okay?” Jessica asked using the com link. From her vantage point in the sky, all she could see was Noah dropping to the ground.
“Yeah, I'm alright.” Noah replied with conviction.
Jessica screamed as she noticed Jason wasn’t moving. She was fairly certain he wasn’t inside the force field when the energy blast hit. Jessica swooped down, dropped to her knees and went to check on Jason. He laid motionlessly on his side, his eyes closed and there appeared to be no sign of life. She tried to roll him over but she had to let go before she could complete the task. Jason’s body burned from the impact of the blast.
New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age Page 25