“No more than two,” Howie replied as The Godhand snapped his left hand forward and plucked Charlie’s RPG from the sky.
“Oh no!” I cried out as he tossed the smoking RPG towards Tango and Ace who were still lying motionless on the floor a few meters in front of him.
Time slowed down around me once again as I jammed two of the adrenaline injectors into my thigh and struck out towards Ace and Tango at nearly seven-hundred miles per hour.
“Run, Charlie!” Howie screamed as The Godhand leapt high into the air before Charlie could fire another rocket at him.
I zipped by and yanked Ace and Tango away from the blast just as the RPG near them exploded and ripped into the marble floor. I quickly dropped them to the floor across the room but by the time I turned back towards Charlie, The Godhand had already descended upon him.
“Come on, Charlie, move!” I shouted as he dropped his RPG launcher and dove to his right in order to avoid being crushed by The Godhand’s floor shattering stomp. Charlie’s eyes widened with panic as The Godhand’s surprisingly quick hands shot out and latched on to the tail of his duster coat before he could get away.
I rocketed across the room in hopes of intervening, but The Godhand easily backhand slapped me into the air once again as he hoisted Charlie into the air with his other hand. Huge chunks of marble and debris fell on top of me as I slammed into a wall across the room and crashed to the floor below. I was seeing double as I pulled myself from the rubble but even though I was dazed I could still see clearly enough to notice The Godhand ragdoll Charlie to the ground in front of him.
A powerful surge of adrenaline rippled throughout my body as I zoomed over and grabbed my Anokian-Steel bats from the floor then rocketed towards Charlie’s motionless body just as The Godhand grabbed his massive sword and prepared to finish him. Sparks shot into the air as I thrust my bats forward and blocked The Godhand’s gigantic blade just before he could chop Charlie into pieces.
“Get up, Charlie!” I barked as I struggled to keep The Godhand’s blade at bay. He was completely motionless at first, but Charlie suddenly began to stir as I continued to yell at him and after a few moments he attempted to drag himself away as The Godhand pulled his giant sword upward and held it high above his head. I swung my bats downward and threw him off balance as I bashed him in his right knee. Charlie crawled away to safety on the floor below us as I whipped around into a spinning uppercut with my bats and caught The Godhand on his chin, sending him flying across the room.
“How much time do we have, Echo?!” I asked as I watched The Godhand’s body sail through the air and crash hard against a large pillar across the room.
“Less than ten minutes. We still have enough time for Plan B but you have to make sure The Godhand is out of the picture. Otherwise the plan won’t work,” Howie replied.
“Howie, I— I don’t think I can stop him,” I admitted as The Godhand slammed his hands to the marble beneath him and leapt back to his feet.
“Yeah, we can, Hoss,” Charlie said as he hobbled over to my side.
“No, Charlie. I’m not going to watch you die. Now get the hell out of here right now!” I ordered.
“I ain't goin' nowhere, Hoss. Not until this fight’s over,” Charlie protested as his dark brown duster coat fluttered in the air around him.
“Dammit, Charlie, you can barely stand!” I protested.
“Well it's a good thing I don't shoot with my feet, Hoss! Now give me two of them dadgum injector doohickies, will ya?” Charlie insisted as he looked over to Tango and Ace who were still lying unconscious in the middle of the floor.
“What do you need them for?” I asked as I pulled two adrenaline injectors from my inner coat pocket and handed them to Charlie.
“You just keep the big’un busy, ya hear? Ol’ Charlie’ll take care of the rest,” he replied as he tucked the injectors into his coat pocket and whipped out his giant revolver. “The world ain’t gonna save itself, Hoss. Now git to it!” Charlie continued as he thrust his gun forward just as The Godhand charged towards us.
Charlie fired his massive revolver as he broke into a hobbled sprint towards Tango and Ace and I rocketed forward and slammed into The Godhand just before he could move to stop him. The Godhand easily pummeled me to the floor with a single blow but I quickly leapt to my feet and grabbed him around his waist as soon as he turned towards Charlie. I gritted my teeth and heaved with all my might as I lifted his three thousand-pound-body into the air. His massive arms and legs flailed wildly as he tried to regain control but I fell backward and slammed him hard to the floor before he had the chance to overpower me.
I quickly hopped to my feet and snapped his head around with a right hook that landed so hard that it loosened the hinges on the left side of his shimmering golden helmet. I tried to follow up with another haymaker but he pulled his head back just in the nick of time and countered with a devastating right punch that sent me sailing through the air yet again. The Godhand darted towards Charlie as I crashed to the floor several meters away but I leapt to my feet and tore after him as Charlie hobbled closer and closer to Tango and Ace.
“Oh no you don’t!” I yelled at The Godhand as I prepared to tackle him from behind. Having somehow sensed my approach, The Godhand quickly sidestepped my charge and connected with a massive spinning heel kick that sent me crashing into a wall on the far side of the room.
“Get up, Reaper! We’re all going to die unless you get up!” Howie screamed as I collapsed to the floor and faded in and out of consciousness.
He’s right. I have to keep fighting! I told myself as I pushed hard against the pain and finally pulled myself from the floor.
Charlie hurriedly limped towards Ace and Tango as The Godhand rumbled towards him from behind. I thought for sure that Charlie was a goner but luckily he was able to dive to the floor just in time to avoid a massive right hook from The Godhand which would have otherwise splattered him across the room.
“Too late now, Hoss!” Charlie chimed as he reached out and plunged the adrenaline injectors into Ace and Tango’s legs.
I took off as fast as I could as The Godhand leapt into the air and prepared to crush Ace and Tango beneath his feet before the adrenaline could pull them back into consciousness. Excruciating pain exploded in the left side of my chest as I shattered the sound barrier and pushed myself to run even faster. The Godhand’s massive boots were inches away from crushing the life out of Ace and Tango when I zoomed by just in time to scoop them from the floor and whiz them across the room to safety. I fell to one knee and gasped for air as I dropped them to the floor and tried desperately to slow my heart rate.
“How are you guys doing?” I asked between gasps as Ace and Tango began to pull themselves from the floor.
“Feels like a sack of bricks fell on my head,” Tango groaned as he rubbed his head and looked up at me. “But besides that I’m— Charlie, no! Run! Charlie! Run!” Tango suddenly shrieked as he leapt to his feet and darted away.
My eyes widened with horror as I whipped around and peered across the room only to see The Godhand inches away from snatching Charlie into his massive paws. My already racing heartrate instantly tripled as I shot past Tango and rocketed toward Charlie but the pain in my chest suddenly exploded into my left arm and threw me to the ground before I could make it to them.
“No, no, no!” I cried out from the floor as the gigantic Lord Commander yanked Charlie into the air and slammed him headfirst into the marble floor. I tried my best to ignore the debilitating pain in my chest and pull myself back to my feet but unfortunately the pain had gotten so intense that I could barely move.
Blood trickled from a gaping wound in Charlie’s head as The Godhand grabbed him by his feet and dangled him upside-down in front of him. Despite his life threatening injures Charlie still found the strength to whip out his legendary revolver and fire six thundering shots at The Godhand’s helmet as Tango and Ace dashed towards them. All six of Charlie’s bullets ricocheted off the left side
of The Godhand’s helmet but they at least managed to further loosen the hinges that I had damaged when I struck him earlier.
“Is that all you got, you flippin' pansy?!” Charlie asked as he spit a load of blood into The Godhand’s face just as I finally pulled myself to my feet. The Godhand trembled with rage as I struck out towards them once again, but as he suddenly grabbed Charlie’s head in one hand and his feet in the other my speed instantly left me and my entire body became heavy with grief.
Tango and Ace both paused within their tracks beside me as The Godhand bent Charlie’s body backward and folded him in half the wrong way. My comrades cried out in a mixture of pain and anger as the sickening sounds of Charlie’s shattered spine echoed around the room. I too wanted to cry out as I could tell with a single look that Charlie was dead— but I was so overcome by grief that I couldn’t utter a single sound. My eyes grew heavy with tears as The Godhand tossed Charlie’s broken body aside. And the anguish brought on by the sight of his lifeless eyes staring back at me consumed my body so completely that I was instantly brought to my knees.
“Give me that sword,” Tango growled as he extended his hand to Ace without taking his glowing cybernetic eye off The Godhand.
“This is not the time to—”
“I said give me the damn sword!” Tango roared as the red glare of his cybernetic left eye intensified.
“Alright, but make sure you twist the ends of the handle in opposite directions,” Ace instructed as he nodded and tossed his sword to Tango.
Bright blue bolts of electricity crackled up and down the blade of Ace’s sword as Tango twisted the handle then angrily trudged toward The Godhand.
“You just made the biggest mistake of your life, pal,” Tango snarled as Ace and I followed a few steps behind him.
“I can see that his death troubles you tremendously, human, but fear not— for I shall soon end your suffering as well,” The Godhand mocked as he raised his armored fists in front of him.
“We’ll see about that!” Tango shouted as he dashed forward with Ace’s sword held tightly in hand.
The Godhand flipped high into the air to avoid Tango’s aggressive sword sweep. I rushed forward and tried to ram him to the floor as soon as he landed, but once again his combat skills proved far superior to my own and he easily used my momentum to hurl me to the ground.
Ace darted in to assist with the attack but Tango angrily shoved him to the ground and leapt after The Godhand himself. Ace’s sword crackled with bright blue bolts of energy as Tango used it to viciously lash out at the towering Lord Commander, but The Godhand used his unusual quickness to keep himself just out of Tango’s range. Anger and indignation burned in Tango’s expression as he yelled at the top of his lungs and relentlessly pursued The Godhand. The Lord Commander did well to evade most of his attacks but the tables suddenly turned when he missed an uppercut and opened himself up to a lightning quick counterattack from Tango.
A tornado of sparks erupted as Tango ducked beneath the uppercut and whipped into a powerful spinning sword attack, crashing Ace’s electrified blade against The Godhand’s helmet before he had time to react. The Godhand retaliated with a vicious backhand that instantly knocked Tango unconscious but as I pulled myself to my feet and prepared to zoom back into action it was clear that Tango had achieved his goal. Ace’s sword sparked and rippled with power as The Godhand tried to pull it from the left side of his damaged helmet while Ace and I rushed him from opposite sides.
We were hoping to take advantage of the momentary opening in his otherwise impregnable defense but to my surprise The Godhand was able to pull the sword from his helmet and leap out of the way of our attacks just in the nick of time. A huge fissure ripped through the marble floor beneath us as the Anokian Commander stomped his right foot and shook the entire room. Blood rushed to my face as I fell to the floor while The Godhand leapt towards Ace, who was also struggling to maintain his balance. Luckily Ace managed to slip under The Godhand’s deadly grasp but my heart nearly leapt from my chest as his momentum suddenly stopped when The Godhand latched onto Ace’s flickering headband and yanked him high into the air.
Time slowed down around me as I zoomed over and grabbed The Godhand’s massive right fist just before he could hammer Ace into a pile of mush. I pulled against his fist with every ounce of strength that I could muster but even with my naturally flowing adrenaline steadily increasing my power I still struggled to keep his tree trunk of an arm at bay.
“Come on, Reaper! You can do it!” Howie screamed in my earpiece as I gritted my teeth and pulled harder. “You’re the only one who can stop him!” Howie continued as another powerful rush of adrenaline surged throughout my body.
I planted my feet and yelled at the top of my lungs as I somehow found the strength to heave against his fist even harder. My already racing heartbeat quickened even more as, inch by inch, I finally began to force The Godhand’s fist away from Ace, who was still trying to untie his headband in order to escape The Godhand’s deadly grasp.
“No!” I shouted as The Godhand suddenly yanked his right arm away and caused me to stumble away and nearly fall. By the time I caught my balance and whipped back around to face him, The Godhand was already towering over Ace with both hands raised above his head. Another surge of adrenaline spilled into my blood stream as I rocketed towards them just as his giant fist descended towards Ace.
Faster! I screamed inside my head as time seemingly slowed down around me, but despite my supersonic bounds toward them I could tell that I wouldn’t make it in time to save Ace.
The Godhand’s fists were inches away from crushing my best friend into a pulp when the sounds of a heavy machine gun firing suddenly rang out across the room. The Godhand stumbled away as his helmet and chest were suddenly riddled with a torrent of high powered machine gun fire. In a flash, I swooped by and whisked Ace away to safety while the stream of machinegun bullets continued to drive The Godhand backward.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat Ace down and turned to face The Godhand but my eyes suddenly widened with fear as I realized that it was Audrey who was standing near the entrance of the room and firing a massive belt-fed machine gun at the gigantic Lord Commander. My horror intensified as her machine gun suddenly ran dry and The Godhand pulled his hands from his face and prepared to retaliate against her. I saw nothing but red as Audrey dropped to one knee and withdrew another ammunition belt while The Godhand dashed towards her, but as she frantically began the complicated reloading process it was clear that she wouldn’t make it in time.
If I didn’t stop him, he was going to kill her— there was no doubt in my mind about that, but what he didn’t know was that trying to do so was by far the worst mistake that he could have ever made. My fists trembled with rage as an astronomical amount of adrenaline suddenly burst into my system and triggered my fight-or-flight response, throwing my entire body into what Howie referred to as “Reaper Rage”.
I broke the sound barrier with a single step and for the first time in my life, I topped Mach 7 as I rocketed towards them so fast that the entire room seemed to be frozen in time. The Godhand’s already damaged helmet shattered into shrapnel as I snapped his head around with a devastating superman punch at over five-thousand miles per hour. Audrey covered her head and dashed for cover as his massive body sailed through the air and crashed through the marble wall behind her.
Vengeance coursed through my veins as I zoomed after him and pounded him in the face with a massive right hook just as he tried to pull himself from the floor. A fountain of blood spewed from his mouth as my crushing blow completely shattered his jaw and sent him tumbling to the floor once again. Despite his horribly broken jaw, The Godhand still managed to pull himself to his feet fairly quickly, but I dodged his ensuing right jab in the blink of an eye then grabbed his arm and slammed him back to the floor in a matter of seconds.
“Reaper!” Howie yelled as I leapt on top of The Godhand and pelted him in the face with a barrage of earth shatt
ering punches. I continued to drop my armored fists upon his swollen face with as much force as I could muster but no matter how hard I hit him The Godhand still managed to somehow cling to consciousness.
“What are you doing, Reaper?!” Howie shouted as I suddenly stopped hitting The Godhand then zoomed back into the main hall.
“I’m ending this,” I growled as I grabbed one of my Anokian-Steel bats and peered over my shoulder at The Godhand who was still lying just outside the main hall in a puddle of his own blood.
“Reaper, you only have two minutes before the bomb blows! We don’t have time to—”
“He has to die, Howie! And I won’t stop until I ram this bat through his freaking skull!” I roared as I gripped the super-dense bat in my right hand and trudged towards The Godhand with angry tears flooding my eyes.
“Reaper, if you kill him and that bomb blows this will all be for nothing!” Howie objected. “Charlie will have died for nothing!”
“But he’s the reason Charlie’s dead! And he has to pay for what he’s done!” I protested as I angrily thrust my bat towards The Godhand.
“And I'll make sure he does!” Ace suddenly called out from just behind me.
“But—”
“Reaper, you have to save Monica, and stopping that bomb is the only way you can do that,” Ace insisted.
“Are you sure you can finish him by yourself?” I asked as The Godhand slowly pulled himself to his feet.
“He’ll be dead in three moves,” Ace said firmly as he twisted the handle of his sword and ignited the blade with several bolts of bright blue energy. “Now get over there and save the world, will ya?”
“You got it,” I said as I nodded and zoomed towards the antimatter bomb in the center of the room.
“Alright, big guy… let’s do this,” Ace growled as he firmly gripped his sword with both hands and glared up at The Godhand.
Despite his devastating injuries The Godhand still managed to lunge for Ace with astonishing quickness, but just as he had predicted Ace dodged The Godhand’s ensuing attacks with two lightning quick moves then unleashed a spinning sword sweep similar to the one that Tango had used to damage his helmet. Unfortunately for The Godhand he wasn’t wearing a helmet this time. Ace gritted his teeth and glared as his blade ripped into The Godhand’s face and sliced out of the back of his head in a bloody instant.
Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Page 25