The Phoenix flapped her wings wildly, clearing the smoke from the air as she tried to free herself from Atomic Rex’s death grip. The saurian kaiju clenched his jaws tighter around the Phoenix’s neck until he felt his teeth reach her spinal cord. With the Phoenix firmly in his grasp, Atomic Rex swiped his claws across the Phoenix’s mid-section, ripping her stomach open. As a mix of blood and organs fell out of the Phoenix’s body, Atomic Rex twisted his jaws and snapped the Phoenix’s neck.
The nuclear theropod let the lifeless body of the fire bird drop to the ground. He then lifted his head into the sky and roared, letting this world know that he was its master. The monster had taken a few steps away from the dead Phoenix and toward the ocean when he felt the strange presence within his mind urging him to attack the city. The saurian creature was fighting against the influence when his body suddenly became very aware of something that it craved suddenly appearing behind it.
Blocking out the influence attempting to take over his mind, Atomic Rex spun around to see the Phoenix’s body burning with bright blue flames. The cells in Atomic Rex’s body were immediately able to identify the power that the Phoenix used to regenerate itself. It was the power that Atomic Rex had sought his entire life and had not been able to find. The Phoenix was able to regenerate herself through the power of nuclear fusion. Until now, Atomic Rex had to absorb radiation from external sources that generated radiation through fission. The absorption of radiation from nuclear fission was able to temporarily satiate Atomic Rex’s need for radiation, but the absorption of a nuclear fusion power source would give him the ability to generate his own energy as he needed. Atomic Rex realized that in order to obtain that power, he would have to kill the Phoenix once again. With a desire to slay something that he had never felt before, Atomic Rex roared and charged at the reformed Phoenix.
The Phoenix took to the sky and streaked toward Atomic Rex. The fire bird fluttered above the kaiju’s head, using her flaming beak and claws to ravage Atomic Rex’s face. Atomic Rex attempted to use his own teeth and claws to tear into the Phoenix, but the nimble bird proved too evasive for the nuclear theropod to touch. Blood started to slide down Atomic Rex’s face from the damage being inflicted upon it. Atomic Rex changed tactics by lowering his head and spinning around so that his tail struck the Phoenix on her right side.
The blow sent the Phoenix tumbling through the air. The Phoenix had nearly crashed into the ground before regaining control of her flight pattern. Once she had steadied herself, The Phoenix increased her altitude to put some distance between herself and the charging Atomic Rex. The fire bird circled above Atomic Rex then she looked skyward and flew into the stratosphere. When she had flown as high as she could, the Phoenix turned and dove directly toward Atomic Rex. As she was diving, the flames around her body began to grow. The fire bird once more intended to unleash her full power on Atomic Rex, but this time, she would do so with the force of a meteor falling from space behind her attack.
Atomic Rex looked skyward to see the flaming form of the Phoenix plummeting toward him. Knowing what the Phoenix was attempting to do, Atomic Rex shook his head and once more he began to call forth the nuclear energy stored within his cells. Just prior to the moment that the Phoenix would have struck Atomic Rex, the saurian beast unleashed his Atomic Wave. The Atomic Wave collided with the streaking hulk of flames that was the Phoenix. The blue dome of the Atomic Wave pushed against the mushroom-cloud explosion created by the Phoenix. The result of the conflicting attacks was an explosion that shook the Earth and caused many of the buildings in the nearby city of Adrar to crumble from the shockwave.
As the flames and smoke dissipated from the dual attack, both Atomic Rex and the Phoenix were lying still above the field of glass they had created from the heat they released. It was Atomic Rex who rose to his feet first. The nuclear theropod was exhausted and nearly drained of energy, but when he saw the Phoenix still on the ground a few hundred feet away from him, he forced his body to move as quickly as it could. The glassy ground that Atomic Rex was forced to walk across was difficult to traverse, but the monster continued to push himself toward his prey.
Atomic Rex was a few steps away from the Phoenix when the mythical creature began to stir. The Phoenix had managed to lift her head off the ground and she was starting to lift herself up when Atomic Rex drove his clawed toes into the back of the fire bird and through her chest. Blood spurted out of the Phoenix’s beak as she tried to shriek in pain. The fire bird looked down at the claws protruding from her chest and then her head fell limp.
Rather than walk away as he had the previous time he slayed the Phoenix, Atomic Rex kept his foot embedded in the fire bird’s body and he waited. When the Phoenix’s body began to glow with blue flames, Atomic Rex absorbed the power that the Phoenix was trying to use to regenerate herself. As the energy of the Phoenix filled Atomic Rex’s body, he felt a power the likes of which he had never experienced before. The Phoenix’s ability to generate energy through nuclear fusion was purging Atomic Rex from the need to feed off nuclear reactors. From this moment on, Atomic Rex would be capable of creating his own nuclear energy.
The power that was running Atomic Rex extended throughout his entire body. When the energy that was once the Phoenix’s entered Atomic Rex’s brain, it forced out the presence that had been attempting to influence him.
In the space between dimensions, Cronus screamed in pain as his physical body was tossed backward as a result of Atomic Rex’s mind freeing itself from the titan’s consciousness. Cronus staggered back to his feet and looked through a portal at Atomic Rex in awe. Now that the creature was infused with the power of the Phoenix, it had the potential to destroy even him. Cronus’ sense of awe turned to fear when Atomic Rex looked back at him through the portal and roared. Cronus quickly shut the portal and then he shook his head in disbelief. “The creature has not only broken free of my control but by taking the power of the Phoenix, it has gained the power to sense me.” A shiver of fear ran down the titan’s spine. “Could he perhaps have the power to reach me now if he so wished?”
Through his attempts to control Atomic Rex’s mind, Cronus was well aware that the kaiju hated him and longed to destroy him. Cronus was weak from his attempts to control the monster and he doubted his ability to defeat Atomic Rex should he appear to attack him. Cronus knew that he needed to reenergize as quickly as possible should Atomic Rex realize that the mastery of nuclear fusion would now give him the ability to travel between dimensions. The titan opened a portal to both Surtr and Tiamat. He screamed at his brother Dark Ones. “Begin your attacks now! I will send you the life force energy I have gathered from Atomic Rex momentarily!”
Surtr growled and Tiamat hissed in anger, as they knew that without the life energy Cronus had promised them, they would be unable to teleport to the exact spot where they needed to be to start the apocalypse. As the two Dark Ones pierced the thin veil separating them from Chimera’s Earth and set foot upon it, their thoughts were fixed on first ending all life on this Earth, and then ending Cronus.
When Cronus saw Surtr and Tiamat both on Earth, he said to himself, “No more energy is coming to you, my brothers. You shall have to initiate Armageddon with the energies that you now possess. Hurry in this task, for I fear that Atomic Rex may come for us, and if he does, we shall need to have gathered the lives of as many organisms as possible.”
Chapter 11
Chimera Base
Luke and Diana both ran into Hangar Eighteen just in time to see Atomic Rex absorb the power of the Phoenix. Diana frowned. “That can’t be good, can it?”
Before anyone could respond to Diana’s comment, alarms started to go off throughout the hangar. Zeus’ face showed his sudden panic. “I can sense it. Two of the Dark Ones have set foot on Earth.”
One of the soldiers sitting at a computer by the main display screen called out, “General Parsons, sir, we have reports coming in from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming! They are reporting that a giant demon with
a flaming sword is making his way through the park and setting everything on fire!”
Parsons yelled, “I want visual on this creature now!” The computers at Chimera Base had access to every camera on the planet and above it. The soldier accessed this system to bring up security cameras and feeds from peoples cellphones to bring the monster into focus. An image that was close to the popular description of Satan himself quickly filled the screen. The creature had a distorted human-like face with two black horns sticking out of the top of it. Two long bat-like wings protruded from his back. The beast’s body was that of a stout but heavily muscled human. The demon had a hunched stance that made it appear more menacing. Its body had flames flickering around in the same fashion that the Phoenix’s body did. In the horror’s right hand was a flaming sword that was causing everything around it to catch fire.
It was Luke who voiced the thoughts of nearly every human in the room. “Is that the Devil?”
Diana shook her head. “Not quite, but close enough. I would bet that’s Surtr. A fire demon from Norse Mythology.”
Odin’s voiced boomed out, “Indeed, you are correct, human.”
Parsons could tell that Surtr’s demonic appearance was deeply disturbing to his mainly Judeo/Christian subordinations. The hardened general swallowed his own fears and tried to refocus the group on the task at hand. He looked toward Odin. “I take it Surtr is one of the Dark One’s you mentioned would be coming to end the world?” The ancient god nodded in reply. Parsons took a step closer to Odin. “What is he doing there that could end the world?”
The answer came not from Odin but from Diana. “During the events of Ragnarok, Surtr is said to defeat the gods and then with his flaming sword set the world on fire. If he is in Yellowstone, he could use his sword to cause the super-volcano beneath the park to erupt. If that happens, the eruption alone would devastate most of the middle of the country. The debris from the explosion will cover the world in ash and block out the sun. Within six months, nearly half of the world population will die. After that, things will get really bad.”
Parsons looked at Luke. The general didn’t say a word, but Luke replied, “On my way to Chimera, sir. We should be ready to be teleported out there in five minutes. I have a radio if you need to get in touch with me!” Luke ran out the door, sprinted to his truck, and then he took off into the woods after Chimera.
One of the soldiers yelled out from his computer, “Sir, Atomic Rex is turning north and away from the city Adrar! We have a helicopter following him to track his movements more closely!”
Parsons nodded. “Well, at least a bit of good news.” He turned toward Zeus. “You said that two of the Dark Ones have come to Earth. Where is the second one?”
Zeus closed his eyes. “He is somewhere north. It is difficult to say where exactly. There is something blocking my perception of the creature.”
Diana placed her hand on Parsons’ shoulder. “That’s why you should never say we’ve got good news. It’s like Fight Club, and what did I tell you is the first rule of Fight Club?”
Odin’s voice boomed throughout the Hangar, “General, your monster is not prepared to face Surtr alone. Bring me my belt so that I may join him battle! We can deal with the other Dark One and Atomic Rex after we address this immediate threat! I will need the belt to meet the demon on equal terms!”
Parsons nodded. “Head outside. We don’t need you growing to kaiju size in here and destroying the hangar.” He turned to Diana. “Go and get the belt as quickly as you can.” Diana ran out of the room. As she was sprinting down the hallway to the locked vault where Thor’s belt of strength was located, she kept thinking about Ragnarok and trying to decide if it was a myth or a prophecy.
Luke was driving as fast as he could to Chimera. He had seen and fought many strange creatures over the past two years, but nothing chilled him to the bone the way that Surtr did. Luke had been raised as a Catholic and seeing Surtr had a disturbing effect on him. He kept reminding himself that even if he looked like it, Surtr was not the literal Satan. Still, no matter how many times Luke told himself this, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was charging off to confront the Devil himself.
Luke’s mind was snapped back to what he was doing when he heard Parsons’ voice come over the radio, “Luke, come in! Have you reached Chimera yet?”
Luke could see the massive form of his friend sleeping in the woods ahead of him. He sped up and said, “Yes, sir, waking him up now!”
Parsons’ responded, “Good. As soon as he is awake, radio us back. We are giving Odin Thor’s belt. He will grow to kaiju size and then Zeus will teleport you, Chimera, and Odin to Yellowstone!”
Luke yelled into his radio, “Copy that.” Luke pulled his truck to a stop in front of the living mountain of flesh that was Chimera. He grabbed his megaphone and yelled, “Chimera, wake up!”
The monster stirred and then lifted his head up into the sky. Luke was glad to see that most of the wounds Chimera had suffered in his previous battles had healed over. Luke would have preferred to have given Chimera a small reward just for waking up, but he knew that time was of the essence. He yelled into his radio, “Parsons, we are good to go!”
Parsons was standing outside of Hangar Eighteen with Zeus and Odin when he got the word from Luke that Chimera was ready for battle. He called back, “Copy, we are just waiting for Odin to put on the belt and then Zeus is going to transport you!”
A garage door opened, and a golf cart driven by Diana pulled out of it. On the back of the cart, was a belt made for the thirty-foot-tall gods. She pulled alongside Odin. The Norse god promptly grabbed the belt and wrapped it around his waist. The belt immediately caused Odin to grow to a height of three hundred feet tall.
Parsons looked at Zeus and yelled. “Teleport them now!”
Zeus lifted his hand into the air and storm clouds surrounded Odin. There was a flash of lightning and then he was gone. Deep in the woods, another storm cloud surrounded Luke and Chimera. Lightning flashed around them and a moment later, Luke was struck by a wave of intense heat. Luke found himself in the center of a raging forest fire. His eyes immediately teared up as he was coughing from the smoke and soot in the air. He looked up to see what he could only describe as a creature of pure evil coming toward him. Surtr was huge. Chimera stood at roughly two hundred and fifty feet tall and Surtr had at least thirty feet on the hybrid.
Luke looked to Chimera and was surprised to see the mighty kaiju taking a step back as he stared at Surtr. Luke shook his head and said, “If even you find that thing disturbing, I am glad that we have back up.” Luke looked around for the giant form of Odin but he could not find the King of Asgard. Luke didn’t know what had happened to Odin, but when he saw Surtr getting closer with his flaming sword raised above his head, Luke grabbed his megaphone, pointed at Surtr, and yelled. “Chimera, attack!” Chimera roared and then charged the demon.
Outside the city of Adrar, Atomic Rex was trying to orient himself to the new sensations he was experiencing since he had absorbed the power of the Phoenix. The monster could sense the presence that had been trying to control him being forced out his mind. He could also sense that the presence was watching him from somewhere far away. Atomic Rex could not comprehend how, but when he focused on the presence, he could see it watching him. He could also sense that two creatures similar to one that was trying to control had suddenly appeared on Earth. One of the creatures was on the land across the ocean that he considered his territory. The other was up north where ice covered everything. Neither of the creatures was the one that had tried to control him but that didn’t matter to the nuclear theropod. Something had tried to control him and that thought enraged Atomic Rex. The saurian kaiju needed something to take his anger out on and the closest creature that he could find was the one in the Arctic.
Atomic Rex was heading north when another storm cloud appeared in front of him. The kaiju was surprised to see a human that was even larger than he was emerge from the cloud. The gian
t had one eye and a long white beard. Atomic Rex roared at the giant and then he began running toward him. The giant held up his hand and the movement stopped Atomic Rex in his tracks.
Atomic Rex was trying to move forward, but he found that he was unable to do so. He looked at the bearded giant who yelled, “Hear me, monster! The Dark Ones tried to control you and they have failed! The Phoenix belonged to the gods and she was under our control! You have since taken in her essence and you have now put yourself under our control as well! You will now follow my commands! Together, you and I shall put an end to the Dark Ones and then we shall slay Chimera! After that, I shall lead my fellow gods as we extinguish the blight of humanity from this world and restore it to its natural state! Now, monster, bend to my will and follow me!”
Atomic Rex could feel the presence of the giant in his mind. The giant’s control over the kaiju’s body was far greater than the influence that had possessed him before. Atomic Rex could feel his body being moved against his will in the direction of the giant. Atomic Rex’s anger grew to an inferno within his mind. Atomic Rex refused to let another being control him. The mutated dinosaur reached deep into cells, and Odin watched as the scales on the body of the nuclear theropod began to give off a bright blue glow.
The Congo
Allison and Aiden were sitting inside of their cave, watching the events unfolding before them through a portal just as Cronus was doing from his dimension. Aiden shook his head in fear and disbelief. “The Dark Ones have come to Earth! They will end all life on this planet including ours!” He turned to his sister. “You must send Toombs’ new monster into battle Surtr with Chimera! Together, they may stand a chance against the demon!”
Atomic Rex_The Conquest of Chimera Page 13
