by Jaime Mera
Mathew’s feet buried inches into the concrete as he forced himself to stop hopping. He looked back at the darken and exploding sky, Creator and Night flying down next to him. “They’re retreating into the city.” Mathew turned back towards the rubble extending a hundred meters. “Their vehicles won’t be able to traverse the streets if the buildings get demolished the entire way.”
Lee and the other two flew down by the group as Creator stood next to Mathew. “They’re moving back to draw us in. If the hundred thousand vehicles coming this way are slowed down or stopped, they will have accomplished their job.”
“What job is that Boss?” Night asked, floating above the slabs of wall fragments.
“They’re buying time.” Creator scanned as far as he could into the rubble and nearby standing front of buildings. Every building has turret guns and many of the lower floors are kill boxes. Just having a building fall on the tanks and carriers won’t win the war, but it will stall them.”
“So, what do we do?” Ghost’s voice came out of the air.
“We stop fighting on the outskirt and get to the center.” Lee replied as his black energy suit became semi-transparent. “I’m sure the beam going into the atmosphere is what they’re protecting.”
Ghost, Rat Bastard and Io appeared behind the group. “I can get you guys to the center, but we’ll be alone and surrounded.” Ghost said, floating in mid air wearing an SIA dark green battle uniform.
“Lee, you go with Ghost and whoever else can help. I’ll stay here and help pave the way for the South American Soldiers to get through. Once Cindy gets back, we will be able to get to you if you need it.” Creator said as he grabbed a slab of wall, weighing several tons, tossing it fifty meters away from the covered street.
“If you can’t take the damage from their attacks, I suggest you stay here and help the Soldiers.” Mathew stated, also grabbing debris and tossing it a block away.
Lee looked at Cynthia, then at Ghost and the three with him. “You should stay with the army; I will go with Ghost’s group.”
“We will stay with Mathew.” Valerie said, as she appeared with Kyle and Diana.
“Okay, people let’s move.” Creator started triple timing his clearing of debris as massive explosions in the sky shook the ground.
Lee slid in front of Ghost. “Okay, I’ll fly there. I want to see what defenses they have.”
“What if they don’t shoot at you?” Rat Bastard asked.
Lee looked down at the three foot black rat. “When I get to the center, they’ve wish they had.” He flew at top speed towards the center of the city, twenty miles deep, intentionally leaving six sonic booms in his wake.
Rat Bastard’s sharp teeth blared with a smile. “I like that guy.”
“Yeah, me too.” Ghost said and touched Rat and Io next to him. The three disappeared, a second later Spot as well.”
“I’ll topple the buildings ahead of us to the outside.” Cynthia said, and flew ahead several hundred meters.
Creator swiftly threw debris to the right side while Mathew took the left. He kept alert to his surroundings for an android attack or incoming artillery, but nothing came as they cleared fifty meters of debris in less than a minute. Valerie caught his attention as she was tossing small metallic discs on top of large piles of steel and concrete. The volume of debris shrunk hundreds of tons into hand sized rocks. She flew them a hundred meters to the side and the massive piles of rubble bloated back to their original state on top of other debris.
“So that’s how you got the stealth fighter without being seen.” Creator muttered.
“Yeah, I miss those days.” Mathew’s sarcastic tone let out a grunt as he threw truck size debris to the side.
“You know Boss, this is going to take forever.” Night breathed heavy as he kicked boulder size objects away from the street.
“All we have to do it get through the rubble from the artillery rounds and laser attacks. Cynthia and the rest of us can continue to bring down the buildings so they don’t cause a natural obstacle like they are now.” Mathew countered.
Creator looked back away from the city towards the horizon. Distant thumping of explosions and clouds of dust covered the legion’s advance on the city. “They’ll be here soon.” He doubled his speed, moving with an uncanny swiftness that even impressed Night.
Hawk fighters flew over them attacking deep into the city. Air defense missiles, lasers and guns sprayed the sky with a dozen fighters getting hit hard. Thunderous explosions deep in the city added to the noise of artillery and gun fight all around them. Machinegun fire sliced through the block hitting the heroes indiscriminately. Mathew jumped in front of Valerie as she reflexively shrunk down to ant size. Creator and the rest turned their attention to open shutters in line of sight from the high windows of the far buildings.
Creator picked up a beam of bent steel and threw it at one of the building tops. The beam flew hundreds of meters through the air, burying itself inside the superstructure. It stopped gunfire from two windows, but the volume of projectiles from numerous locations hitting the block they were clearing continued without pause.
“That didn’t dent anything.” Night said as rounds hit him, deflecting into the ground or the air.
Creator clenched his jaw as armor piercing rounds also hit him bouncing off or mushrooming to the ground. “Yeah, I can see that.” He turned towards the legion tanks approaching now a hundred meters from them; shooting at the side buildings without restraint. He flew towards the now thousand tank formation to his front and landed on top of a tank in the rear. He knelt in front of a scope on the turret. “Commander I need your tank so we can make a clearing for the rest to follow.” Creator said.
The tank continued to move, but the commander’s hatch opened up. “What do you need from us Creator?” His helmet and mouth covering didn’t impede his yelling over the sounds of battle and vehicle movement.
“I need your tank so all of you need to dismount.” Creator stood on the turret as if his feet were magnetically affixed to the hard surface.
“Stop the tank. Everyone dismount.” The tank commander ordered into his mic; the tank smoothly stopping and the other three crew members quickly exited the vehicle. “We will load into an APC. I’m assuming I won’t see this tank again?”
Creator smiled. “That’s correct commander.”
The commander looked at the massive movement in front of him along with the dust cloud covering a clear view of the city. “Make sure they know it’s my tank.”
Creator watched the commander and his crew jump off; hailing an APC to hitch a ride. With all the Soldiers he had fought with or against since WWI, these Soldiers were a conglomeration of the best of the best, not once questioning his motives as a superhero. A curl of his lips came as he flew under the tank and flew off with it. His hands morphed, spreading out to encompass the eighteen foot belly. At his max flight speed he soared five hundred miles per hour ten feet off the ground, hitting the right side of the buildings beyond the rubble and spearhead of the main attack.
The tank’s superstructure sliced through the concrete, steel and metallic reinforcement of the buildings he flew through. The surface area the tank took on building material into the next building, and the next, and the next.
Mathew and the rest watched Creator topple a stretch of three miles down the street. The buildings were very strong, but the tank and Creator’s move through forced the weight of the buildings upon themselves. Many buildings fell to the side colliding with adjacent buildings halting in an awkward unstable lean. Cynthia flew down next to Mathew. “Well I think he can handle what I was trying to do.”
Mathew sighed looking at the green sky. “This is going to take too long.”
The tank Creator gripped started to lighten as he tore through sixty buildings, but it was not due to the tank deteriorating, but to the fact that debris which was initially collected by the move through wasn’t sticking to the tank’s outer shell. He sped up seeing the buil
dings behind him fall away from the main street. Ten miles into his maneuver, the terrain changed with a large three hundred meter clearing in a circle pattern around the city. Creator knew the clearing was there being able to see through buildings out for half a mile, so he took advantage of the clear space, making a perfect u-turn plowing into the left side of the street on a return trip. All of the buildings around him came to life with gun fire and missiles. Rounds hit him and the tank, but besides almost losing a firm hold on the tank, the fire was ineffective on him and the rugged South American armor. He flew once again down the strip of blocks, with the gun fire ceasing instantly as if someone had an on and off switch.
Creator looked straight through the tank making sure he was striking the main support framework on the sides of the buildings. A few dozen buildings down, movement at the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He turned his head as a human flew into him; grabbing Creator by the waist and piling him and the tank into the ground across the street.
The superhuman’s body was hard as iron around Creator, but the impact itself only annoyed him. Creator released the tank and slammed a fist on top of the man’s head. The man in an Australian skintight wet suit let go of Creator’s waist and flopped on the rubble. Creator instantly got into a hand to hand combat stance as twelve androids and two superhumans teleported around him.
Creator kept the tank behind him as he smiled with his black shades on his face seemed like it was self cleaning without a smug on it. An android charged at him, but Creator bolted at the most dense area of hostiles. With extended fingers and both hands, he jabbed at two androids penetrating their heads. In a fraction of a second, his hands expanded into basketball size fists. Before the androids could initiate a self destruct, Creator’s hands returned to normal and hurled the bodies in opposite directions in the midst of the surrounding attackers.
The android’s energy explosions took six attackers unprepared, sending them to an early grave. Creator blocked an android’s attempt to grab his arm, but another android was able to tackle him against the track of the tank. With his free hand he grabbed the android’s head and blasted it with his telekinetic energy bolt coming out of his palm.
The other android to his left formed his arm into a spike and poked at Creator’s face. The sharp point was hard, and maybe with more force it would have punctured Creator’s skin, but Creator’s physical makeup was consistent with every genetic cell in his body; much stronger now than fifteen years ago. Creator focused on the android’s head and blasted him as well. The android exploded on Creator, disintegrating the concrete and steel debris beneath him, but nothing else. Creator swiveled his head expecting another attack, but the remaining two androids had already teleported out of sight.
He turned to the tank in amazement. Except for the main gun being bent and turret machinegun torn off, it was fairly intact with operational tracks. He took a breath, recovering from the explosions and scanning the area around him. There were many androids within small arms range, but they were keeping their distance. He quickly reverted to grabbing the tank and continuing his fly through the buildings back to Mathew’s position.
UFS Tarsus Bridge, Orbit above Australia
“Forty-nine ships are in position, Sir” Commander Hobbs reported; his heavy voice having a delicate echo.
“Stand by.” Eduardo stood between Stargazer and Rick sitting at the firing console. “See there.” Eduardo pointed at the coordinates and simulated surface of Apex in co-relation to the last known location and mapping intel of the city.
“Firing one.” Rick said, as Stargazer looked for the impact.
“Impact is there.” Stargazer touched the impact coordinate, a few hundred meters from the intended location.
“Adjusting.” Rick touched the screen as another particle beam penetrated the green force generator energy field and hit the building they were targeting.
“Hit.” Stargazer said as half the building practically disintegrated into a fizzle of white and black smoke.
“Okay line it up and clear a path.” Eduardo said, going back to the Captain’s chair. ‘Estabon, are you ready?’
‘Yeah, here are the coordinates.’ Estabon replied as he stood on top of an APC. The city on the western border was quiet, but the distant battle to the east was clearly heard and rise of a dark cloud in the horizon indicated heavy fighting. “All units prepare to advance once the starships start their bombardment.” Estabon said through his armored ground suit helmet comms.
Captain Ruiz and the entire platoon of bodyguards sat on top of the carrier with weapons at the ready and free hands holding on to the carrier’s mounting handrails. Estabon held on to the open hatch as the APC commander directed the vehicle behind a battalion of tanks.
Electron particle beams flashed through the atmosphere, but the constant concentration from twenty starships made it seem as streams of laser beams pulverized buildings to the foundations a block wide and many miles deep. The lead company of tanks raced forward as several hundred tanks fired their main guns directly at the surrounding buildings to prevent them from having a concentrated effort to halt or bog down the lead units.
“Hold on guys.” Estabon spoke on the local team channel as he held on to the modified .50 Cal machinegun mount and commander’s hatch.
The dust popping up from the many vehicles ahead did little to obscure the view as the visors in all the Soldiers’ helmets displayed the thermo and ultraviolet picture coming from the APC’s internal optics and gunnery scopes.
They funneled through the cleared street easily hitting fifty miles per hour, but the appearance of humanoid figures caused the lead unit to scramble to the side. An android leaped from a few hundred meters in front of the lead tank and rammed it with her shoulder, low and near the hull. The tank launched into the air like a car in a movie stun, propelled eight car lengths, falling on its side. The android’s legs entrenched themselves into the asphalt as neither seemed to physically give in to deformation. The tank’s left skirt and side marked foot deep trench marks as it skid several meters before the weight of the tank brought it to a complete stop.
Rapid popping fire came from two APCs witnessing the encounter of the android and tank. Shooting dual purpose grenades at the android, caused a massive chain of explosions where the android stood. Tank and APC main gun fire erupted in all directions as the android blew up creating a ten foot crater. Another tank instinctually rolled up at an angle tapping the tipped over tank, pushing it back onto its two tracks.
The follow on tanks and APCs rolled past while firing at any moving or stationary enemy targets. Particle energy beams continued to destroy a direct path to the center of Apex, as the armored vehicles slowed down, adjusting to android ambushes.
Eduardo guided the ground attack in front of Estabon and the 8th Armor Legion, while coordination by Rick and Stargazer helped out the 17th Armor Legion on the southeastern side of the city.
Pylaxian Space Cruiser Bridge, Subterranean Complex, Apex, Australia
“Captain, human starships have concentrated above the city.” A Pylaxian sensor technician reported. His insect quad peddle feet hugged the porous rubber like floor.
The captain stood in the middle of a waist high semicircular ring of instrumentation. His human like features from the waist up was covered by padded armor, hiding his distinguishing colored skin designs on his chest and back. However, his head was marked by bright green and black tribal markings, easily identifying him as Captain of the scout spaceship.
“Helmsman.” The Captain said in a high pitched language, but no other word followed as his head stiffen with death.
Eve 109 stood next to him with her hand inside of the Captain’s head. The navigator who was looking in the captain’s direction at the time twirled into a charging stance.
But he too, froze with bugged eyes as Adam 17 teleported underneath his head and shot a spiked hand through his throat and into his skull.
The other crew of eight met their similar d
emise as eight androids simultaneously took control of the bridge. Eve 109 quickly looked at the main screen and grabbed the Captain, tossing his body close to one of the two entry doors. Standing in the center of the Captain’s consoles she read the displays and started pushing buttons and activating menus. Her perfectly long black silky hair and beautiful face was emotionless as she opened the cargo hold doors.
The other ten androids in the room also tossed the dead alien crew in a large pile. Half of the androids took posts at stations, quickly configuring and inputting commands. The high pitched Pylaxian language worked on multi-vocal low and high frequency tones mimicking a mixture of insect and bird calls. The androids spoke the language fluently, commanding personal to assemble into large rooms of the ship.
The remaining androids exited the bridge in a rush, moving through the unsecure areas of the cruiser. Eve 109 pulled up a display of the targeting data from the ship’s sensors. The South American forces were already several miles into the city, and ninety-four objects in orbit indicated the path to outer space was being blocked. She scrolled through information, gathering new information on the alien ship’s weapons and defense capabilities.
“Director Quinn is on board.” Adam 17 reported as he started to pick up dead bodies and moving them out of the bridge.
“Thank you 17.” Eve 109 replied and smiled as she read all of the information as fast as the console could display.
It wasn’t long before the dead alien bodies were gone from the bridge along with dark green blood puddles, leaving small stains on the floor as the floor automatically cleansed itself.
Eve 109 finished her research and monitored the ship’s status. Even thought the South American starships were not supposed to be able to target the ground through the green energy generator, they were doing very well in pulverizing the defensive building structures intended to stop a direct assault. The alien ship was on the northern side of the city which helped in not worrying about the particle beams from somehow penetrating the surface and hitting their newly acquired ship, but it didn’t matter. The data she just read confirmed the ship’s energy shields would be able to withstand multiple beam attacks. Their plasma guns were also much stronger than the particle beams, but she knew not to under estimate the South American technology which seemed to have some aspects of Argonian influence.