by Brian Moon
~~~~
“A what?” Lord Nemesis yelled over the wind, now sounding like a freight train.
“A TORNADO!” The man yelled, but Nemesis just barely heard it. He had chosen this section of Victory and Freedom because of the buildings forming a natural choke point. With Thirty-fifth Street crossing between them for a natural support route. He called for the troops on Victory to cross towards Freedom, but his orders couldn’t be heard over the wind. How could anyone have known that this Elementar could conjure up such a destructive force of nature? The wind rushed between the buildings that enclosed thirty-fifth street. It filled instantly with metal debris as the tornado had room to expand as it passed through the intersection. Windows shattered and brick cracked as jaegers flew into the buildings, cars and anything else that got in the way of the mangled metal. Just as fast as it had started it was gone, and everything that had once been suspended in the air currents, rained down to the ground below. Nemesis didn’t bother looking for survivors it was a waste of time. Now only a third of his forces remained.
“Here they come!” a shout rose from the front line. Nemesis turned to look and he didn’t see anything but a dark shadow rushing up the street to meet them.
“Fire!” He yelled and a second later the front line fired into the blackness. Again and again they shot into the approaching blackness. When their guns were empty they moved back and let fresh troops open fire. They did this none stop. Soon the jaegers where over run with the blackness but they didn’t attack. So intent where they on the dark cloud, no one noticed the blur that rounded the corner from Victory. The Statesman hit hard into Nemesis knocking him off his feet and into a storefront of a hardware store. Vambrace was right behind Statesman springing off the corner of a building and right into the line of soldiers. The platoon covering their flank turned towards the attack only to be facing a woman in white robes, golden corset belt and Warhulk hammer.
“Come on boys, let’s dance.” Maiden Justice said and jumped into the front line, swinging in wide arcs. The men shoved their bayonets forward but there really wasn’t enough room with so many other men so close together. Men when down left and right, as she swung the hammer in wide arcs. Those soldiers unfortunate enough to get close to her and survive, would swear she was singer to herself.
Nemesis got to his feet quickly enough and again he could get his gun ports to open, but again he could not get them to fire. What was he thinking not changing bodies last week? Now it was too late to figure out how to work his new body. Statesman was on him again and the two men went at it exchanging blow for blow, each hoping the next one would bring the other down.
Dark Watcher moved out from the shadows from one side of the streets. He wasn’t in the dark cloud but directing it. Now he changed tactics and pulled sticky tar from the ground slowing the soldier’s movement. With a smug look at the trapped men he unleashed his full power of darkness on them. The soldiers shrieked trying to get away from their own fears. He walked in to do battle, the darkness cascading off of his body in waves.
Lord Nemesis had to concede this battle and pulled a red tube from his waist and fired off a red flare, the signal for retreat. He continued to fight Statesman for as long as he could to give his men time to get away, but in the end he leaped over Statesman and headed back towards the square. Several jumps had him there and onto the lift. He descended downwards and the hatch closed above him, but he knew Statesman knew where he had gone and it was only a matter of time until he continued the pursuit. Reaching the tunnel he moved to a panel beside the lift and threw the lever that he thought he would never use. The signal went out in a high pitched whistle. Any jaeger still able to receive the signal immediately went into count down mode. Ten seconds later all of the jaegers exploded violently from ruptured steam generators. The percussion of the explosions shattered windows and the metal fragments flew in every direction.
