The Hade War

by Luke Carlisle

  “Understood,” he responded.

  Maggie had now picked up super human speed as she charged through the force to the front line. As she got closer and closer her body was now so huge that she burst out of her clothes as she jumped into the air. Josiah could hardly believe his eyes. It was both beautiful and terrible at the same time. In mid air, as if in slow motion, Maggie’s shape transformed into that of a huge stallion, three times the size of any horse he had ever seen before, light still flickering from her. Landing with an almighty crash which broke the road under her hooves she galloped at full speed for the bulwark, tearing up the concrete as she ran. Only meters away from the dome she let out a roar unlike anything that would ever escape a human or horses mouth, her now horse’s body glowing brightly. She leapt into the air and seemed to fly for several moments before crashing with an earth shattering thud against the bulwark.

  In the depths of the Skyborn Jessen coughed violently.

  Fragments of light fell to the ground like broken glass and shattered. The horse had now vanished into a haze of light and energy. The immediate area of the bulwark Maggie had crashed into was now flickering like an old television set, obviously weakened. On the ground at the foot of the dome Maggie lay on the road, naked and unconscious.

  “She’ll be fine. Get a flyer to bring her back here,” Manning instructed. “Her part in this is over.”

  Above the force Metalcore signalled to his nearest flyer and pointed at Maggie. Instantly they swooped down and picked her up.

  “Back to Manning!” Greyfall ordered and the flyer returned back down Austin Avenue with Maggie in his arms.

  Inside the Skyborn Kennedy clapped his hands.

  “Ha! There, see?!” he said confidently to Frank as they watched the scene on several large screens in one of Kennedy’s offices.

  “Useless. Their big plan was to have a sparkly horse head butt the bulwark?! Hilarious!”

  On the front line Greyfall slowly walked towards the flickering and damaged section of the dome by himself.

  “Now what’s this time travelling clown doing?” Kennedy mocked.

  As he walked Greyfall reached his hand up over his back and grasped the handle of Manning’s weapon.

  “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh… but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” Manning recited.

  Slowly Greyfall pulled the stone weapon out of the holster on his back.

  “Is that what I…” Kennedy began.

  The weapon was now fully emerged.

  “Son of bitch! Manning you thief!” Kennedy yelled and grabbed for his communicator.

  Now just several feet away from the bulwark, Greyfall raised the weapon high into the air.

  “Go! Go! Go! Go! Everyone to the bulwark now! Everyone!” Kennedy screamed into his communicator. Frank didn’t know what to do, transfixed on the screen showing the time traveller holding this mysterious weapon his boss seemed suddenly terrified of.

  Greyfall clasped the weapon with both hands now above his head.

  “Simon!” Kennedy yelled at his top scientist through the communicator. “Simon, brace Hade! Brace Hade!”

  Kennedy’s world began to move in slow motion. He couldn’t bark out orders quickly enough. Frank simply stared at the screens.

  Greyfall swung the weapon down with all of his might. Aiming directly at the middle of the damaged section of the bulwark, the stone crashed against the dome and shattered, sending a wave of light flying outwards in all directions.

  Inside Jessen wailed and spat up a mouthful of blood.

  The already weakened area of the bulwark glowed brightly, the army having to momentarily shield their eyes against the light. Suddenly a huge section of the dome fell like a shard of glass and shattered on the road. Another section followed suit, smashing on to Austin Avenue. Greyfall stood his ground as bit by bit an area the width of the road and three stories high crumbled and fell to the ground with tremendous noise. The remainder of the dome stayed in tact.

  “No!” Kennedy bellowed, now furious and panicking.

  Jessen was violently coughing, shaking and spitting up blood now.

  “Sir! Mr Kennedy, I think we’re losing him!” Simon cried into his communicator.

  As the final piece of dome shattered to the ground, the defiant force watched in awe as Greyfall stood alone in an opening in the bulwark, a glistening golden sword now held aloft over this head. The Hebrew lettering shone in red along the blade.

  Turning to his companions Greyfall took a moment to look the front line in the eyes.

  “Let’s go get Hade,” he said calmly and confidently.

  Israel charged forward towards the time traveler and was immediately followed by Warstone, Elaine and Silvercord’s force. The flyers followed Metalcore as he flew inside. A roar went up from the forty-thousand as they streamed into the wasteland surrounding the Skyborn Building.

  Chapter 25

  The first five blocks that surrounded the Skyborn still stood. The wall of energy had passed over them as it stretched from above outwards across the five block radius that Kennedy had ordered on live television. This made Greyfall and the front line wary. There could be anything or anyone hidden inside those buildings. They also blocked the entrance to the Skyborn from view for the most part. If and when the enemy showed itself, it could be a total surprise and not a slow trickle making their way out of the doors of the towering skyscraper in the middle.

  “Reader!” Greyfall yelled back to Dustin who looked towards the time traveler as they ran. “Are there people in the surrounding buildings?”

  “We’re too far out to tell, especially for something that size. I need to be closer.”

  “Damn,” Greyfall muttered under his breath. “Into the unknown it is.”

  The unknown made itself known sooner than Greyfall had anticipated. In the distance dark figures began appearing in windows and doorways in the five remaining blocks of buildings. These figures began to fly out of windows and off of rooftops. They began to stream out of doorways and seemingly out of thin air.

  The rushing alliance of super powered slowed in their tracks at the initial sight of the enemy. Greyfall was having none of it.

  “To the enemy!” he bellowed, raising his sword upwards, making sure it was seen by their entire force.

  A roar went up from the charging force as they sped up as one towards the now visible enemy. Second by second more and more of Kennedy’s creations and hired super powered beings were revealing themselves and coming together to form a line to meet Manning’s army.

  “Left and right flanks forward. The middle, hold back a second, let them get ahead,” Manning instructed from Warstone’s apartment, watching on several screens.

  The edges of his force gained ground on the middle creating a cup like shape as they charged. Many of the force were still making their way through the broken bulwark. Outside the police and army officials couldn’t believe their eyes. Josiah was trying desperately to hold back tears but was failing. He was in good company. His companions were hugging and shaking hands, cheering the super powered beings on as they plunged forward through the wall and into battle.

  Inside, Jessen’s heart rate was slowing. A slow trickle of blood continually flowed out of his open mouth. Simon was in a panic as he raced back and forth between Jessen and his machinery, flicking switches and typing orders into his computer frantically.

  “Sir! It’s not good down here! Not good at all! We’re going to lose him!” he cried into his communicator.

  Upstairs Vince sat in his chair and looked out the window to the oncoming enemy in the distance.

  “Do whatever you have to do to keep him alive Simon. If Hade dies, you die,” he responded.

  “Yes sir,” Simon answered, seemingly ok with the terms.

  “How far has the serum for the Masterpiece come?” Kennedy asked.

  “Yeah I, uh… I think it’s good to go. I would have like a little more time to test but I�
��d say we’re good to go. Have you got a suitable vessel?” Simon responded, still rushing back and forth in his lab many stories below his employer.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Kennedy casually answered.

  Simon stopped in his tracks.

  “Sir, the serum could kill someone. Zero point zero four out of ten people have a chance of surviving, that’s not even taking into account what it might end up doing to them if they did survive.”

  “I thought you said it was ready Simon?!” Kennedy barked.

  “It is! It is! I’m concerned that giving an unsuitable person the serum could be catastrophic. It could be a disaster for all of us!”

  “Then a disasterpiece it shall be,” Kennedy declared.

  “Yes sir,” Simon saw no point in arguing further. He had to keep Jessen alive for the bulwark to stand. The army could destroy the Skyborn in seconds with the amount of artillery they had outside the wall. Simon injected something into Jessen’s neck.

  “Don’t die asshole,” he told him.

  Outside the force was close enough to make out the faces of their enemy. Step by step and second by second drew them closer to potential death but onwards they charged. Kennedy’s army was now a substantial size as men and women with all kinds of powers made their way out of the five buildings to meet the invaders. No one had visibly appeared from out of the Skyborn yet.

  Israel glanced across to both of the far ends of the enemy line. It was growing larger and larger as the buildings all around the Skyborn were emptying.

  “Who knows how many more of them there are in those buildings, never mind in the Skyborn itself,” he said aloud, knowing those with communicators could here him.

  “Focus on the task at hand Israel,” Manning instructed.

  “Right. Kick all these guys in the face then find out if there’s more,” Israel declared.

  “Exactly. You get killed? Kill them back,” Manning said.

  Kennedy’s force was now in full charge as one massive group, running, flying, crawling, transporting at full speed towards Manning’s army. It was impossible to know who fired first. Before a war cry could be yelled or instruction given, it was all out mayhem, immediate and bloody mayhem. The flyers flew, the speedsters ran, shooters shot, the mighty struck, the iced froze and fired burned. The mind controllers turned ally against ally and the shape shifters betrayed. Weapons of both ancient and futurist design clashed as axe met laser and bullet met sword.

  Manning watched on his screens, choosing not to communicate for several moments while the initial anarchy ensued. It was Simpson who broke the radio silence.

  “Israel move!” he yelled through his mask which muffled his voice to almost sound robotic.

  Israel looked up just in time to dodge a huge falling rock which crashed to the ground where he was standing and broke apart. Looking around he searched for the source of the attack. Through the smoke and dust kicked up in the battle it was hard to see far. Another boulder flew into the air from about fifty yards to his right. Israel ran at full pace towards the source, jumping over ally and foe as he bore down on what must be an enemy of great strength to hurl rocks that size. On approaching the target Israel had to do a double take on what he was looking at. A hulking great man with two heads and four arms was pulling chunks out of the ground and hurling them at random at Israel’s allies. Charging at full pace Israel jumped at the enemy and kicked him in the chest with all of his strength. The enemy stumbled backward but regained his composure quickly. A laser shot blasted in front of Israel’s face so close he could feel the heat of it.

  The shot came from a little way of to Israel’s left. A wild looking older woman with a mask covering her face was firing wildly into the crowds, not caring who or what she hit. Her face met the might of Greyfall’s fist. As she fell a scampering little imp of a creature jumped on Greyfall’s back. The time traveler made light work of it by slapping it in the face and hurling it far into the distance.

  Flying above the battle Metalcore had to swerve to dodge the imp. A whip had managed to become attached to one of his ankles and he was dragged down onto the dusty wasteland. Metalcore gathered himself and was slightly struck by the beauty of the young woman who had dragged him out of the sky. As she walked confidently towards him Metalcore simply tilted his head to the side waiting. His attacker did not expect the ground beneath her feet to freeze. Slipping she fell on her back but was immediately hoisted up by Elaine. With a frozen fist Elaine punched the attacker full force in the chest, breaking several ribs and sending her flying towards Metalcore who side stepped out of the way. The attacker landed hard against Simpson’s back. The masked man in black turned his gun around quickly only to realise he was not under attack from the woman, now writhing on the ground. Seeing an ally in need in the distance he raised his weapon and fired laser shots at a creature similar to a lion, but much larger and more powerful. The terrifying beast was tearing at the legs of a fallen victim. The laser blasts hit it in the side and immediately it swung its head around to find it’s new prey. Simpson continued his barrage of laser blasts as he walked confidently towards the beast. Reaching down he pulled a second gun from his upper thigh and shot twice as many blasts at the oncoming terror, only slightly slowing it down. Only several yards away from Simpson the beast slowed significantly as if it was struggling. Simpson stopped shooting, curious as to the strange behaviour. After several moments the animal had stopped entirely and was standing stationary in mid walk, staring at Simpson who took several steps to the side. Standing behind his foe was Elaine, gently holding the tail of the animal which was now a solid blue and white colour. He found himself almost admiring the beauty of the creature until it shattered into a thousand pieces. The Battle Giraffe ran helmet first at full speed through the frozen cat and off into the fray.

  Israel was now waking away from his fallen, two headed, four armed foe and towards Simpson and Elaine.

  “A freaking giraffe! Manning this is too weird. I mean, I know you taught me about all the oddities of life but that’s just stupid,” Israel spoke into the communicator implanted in his dark blue and black battle outfit.

  “I know right. But seriously, the guy’s an asshole. After you win maybe a loose shot catches him in the side of the head by accident, yeah?” Manning responded.

  Israel didn’t answer. He was already grappling with a ferocious enemy who was strong in martial arts.

  Greyfall fought hard against the speedy opponent but struggled to defend against her lightning quick movements. She was unpredictable and furious. A rock was smashed across his face causing a long cut and deep blue bruise to form in his right cheek.

  Metalcore was fifty feet in the air in a fist fight with two of Kennedy’s flyers. Without warning one blasted him in the back with a beam of energy that shot out of their eyes. Metalcore fell to the earth below. His attackers swarmed down on him like vultures going after their prey. Suddenly the singer turned on his back an emitted his sonic shock which caused the flyers to grasp at their ears in agony. They fell to the ground and writhed for several seconds before passing out. Daniel stood up and flew hard towards Greyfall, smashing into the back of the super fast woman punching him with rapid repetitiveness. Dazed, she stumbled around on the earth for several moments before Greyfall struck her face. She fell back unconscious.

  Warstone grappled with what seemed to be a vampire like being. He moved around like a mist only taking solid form to strike at the wrestler with three inch long claws. Even for Warstone it was a searing pain. The wrestler realised the only way to get a hold of his enemy was to let him strike then grab at him while he took solid form. The vampire raised up in front of him menacingly and sliced at Warstone’s face. Wrenching his body to the right he grabbed the vampire’s wrist with his left hand and snapped it. An unearthly howl came from the bowls of the enemy who flew into the air and across to the other side of the battlefield. The enemy had done something no other person had ever done before, he made Warstone bl
eed. Touching his face, Ronan looked at the blood on his hand. A moment of panic took over his soul. To add insult to injury a huge explosion shook the earth one hundred yards behind him. Bodies and limbs of his allies were thrown into the air in every direction. Another blast exploded about two hundred feet to the right of that. Another cloud of dust and limbs filled the air.

  Simpson ran forward blasting anything that moved in front of him. Several of the heroes, including Dustin, The Reader, followed him pushing forward yard by yard towards the five block perimeter around the Skyborn. A lighting bolt surged past his head and struck the ground one hundred yards ahead. Dozens of Kennedy’s fighters were knocked aside leaving a large opening. Several of the speeders rushed past Simpson to make sure the gap wasn’t reformed. They fought and resisted against every enemy that tried to push them back as Manning’s force surged forward within a stones throw from the first line of buildings of the five block radius.

  “These buildings here!” Dustin yelled to Simpson over the noise, pointing at the first couple of buildings closest to them. “Totally empty!”

  “You sure?” Simpson voice crackled through his mask.

  “I’m sure,” Dustin confirmed

  Simpson stopped running and reached a hand round to grab a small metallic ball that was attached to his militaristic outfit then reached down to his left ankle and pulled out a rectangular piece of metal. Pushing them together they forged magnetically and two thin strips folded out automatically from the ball, connecting itself to the longer rectangle. Simpson pulled out a short but thick handgun which was holstered onto his right thigh, the barrel of which was larger than anything Dustin had ever seen before. Simpson stuck the rectangular end down the barrel and signalled to Dustin.

  “Definitely empty?” he needed complete confirmation.

  “Do what you’re gonna do man,” Dustin was now completely intrigued.

  Simpson raised the gun and shot at the two closest buildings. The Reader found himself almost disappointed. Nothing visibly came flying out of the weapon like a rocket launcher of flare. It just seemed like Simpson fired two regular bullets at the buildings. His disappointment didn’t last long. In the blink of an eye two large flashes were visible inside the buildings which both cracked from edge to edge through their middles. Slowly the upper floors began to sink then suddenly the entire buildings collapsed inwards on themselves. The noise was deafening to the point that Dustin had his fingers in his ears.