Luke started grabbing the essential items that he needed to bring back with him. “We will be there. Have some food ready for Chimera but not an overabundance of it. We don’t want him heading into a fight like this on an empty stomach, but we don’t want him sluggish either from an overly large meal.”
“Copy that. The food will be ready.”
Luke hung up his phone to see that Diana was already sitting behind the driver seat of the jeep they had driven out in. She yelled to Luke, “Leave the tents and other camping supplies! We can send someone out from the base to collect them! Call Chimera and let’s get moving! If we have a chance to have Chimera fight that monster in a sparsely populated area, we have to take it!”
Luke grabbed his megaphone and left everything else. He ran over to the jeep and before climbing into it, he yelled into the megaphone, “Chimera, follow me.” A flock of birds took flight from the trees as Chimera’s stirrings shook the ground around him. The majestic kaiju rose out of the woods that he was sleeping in and towered above them as he reached his full height. Chimera stretched his arms out and roared, proclaiming to Luke and the world that he was awake and ready to do what was needed of him. Luke looked at Chimera and smiled. He then climbed into the car and said to Diana, “Let’s go kick Atomic Rex’s nuclear ass.”
Diana smiled back at him and then she spun the jeep around and started head back to base with Chimera following behind them.
Arctic Ocean
Atomic Rex’s mind was fixed on reaching the North America and in particular its East Coast. While the monster was keenly aware that this was not his Earth, he was still operating under the impression that the Americas would have ample food sources for him as they did on his planet. The monster also thought that the territory was still his and more or less devoid of the humans that he had run into on this planet. With his mind fixed on returning to what was as familiar to him as possible, the nuclear theropod continued his swim toward Canada.
Hudson Bay
Luke and Diana had managed to get Chimera to the Hudson in under forty-five minutes. They led Chimera onto the new ship where he found food waiting for him. Once Chimera was on board, Parsons immediately gave orders to set sail. As the ship was sailing across Hudson Bay, Luke and Diana were given a tour of the vessel by Parsons. Luke was glad to see that the Hudson was nearly an identical copy of the Argos. The Hudson was constructed with the Argos in mind to make it an easy transition for Chimera who was used to the older ship. While the ship’s layout was replicated from the Argos to accommodate Chimera, Luke had to admit that he found it helpful as well to have the ship be a copy of the one he was used to.
Luke was not a soldier or sailor by trade. He was a teacher of students with autism and one thing that students with autism respond well to are familiar surroundings and minimal change. For years, Luke had kept the layout of his classroom the same with the exception of a few minor tweaks here and there. As time progressed, Luke found that he become as accustomed to needing things to remain as unchanged as his students did. So, for Luke, having a ship with the same bridge, communications room, and war room as the ship he was accustomed to were welcome benefits.
He was also pleased to see that Captain Brand was the captain of the Hudson. Given his familiarity with the Argos, Brand was the natural choice to command her sister ship. Accordingly, many of the sailors from the Argos were also reassigned to the Hudson. As Luke walked around the ship, he saw and was thanked by many of the sailors that he had met in Baltimore.
Parsons also had the helicopter squadron from Fort Hood transferred to the Hudson, as it was large enough to carry several helicopters and jets. After the impression they had made on Parsons during the battle with Atlas, the general felt that the squadron from Fort Hood would be perfect for his new flagship.
Diana was surprised and pleased to see Captain Pressley aboard the Hudson. She said hi to Pressley and then briefly introduced Luke to him. While Luke realized that Pressley was the man that Diana had a potential date with, none of them talked about it with a mission looming and a battle with Atomic Rex on the horizon.
The tour of the ship took an hour after which Parsons had Luke, Diana, Brand, and other key people on the ship meet in order to discuss how they were going to engage Atomic Rex. Parsons brought up a map of Baffin Island on the main screen and began to lay out his plan. “We are going to have the Hudson anchor near the port of Nanisivik. It’s an abandoned mining town located in the northwest corner of the island which is in the process of being turned into a naval base. The plan is to have our helicopter squadron fly out and engage Atomic Rex before he makes landfall. From what we have seen from the kaiju so far, he is very aggressive and will pursue anything that attacks him. While the helicopters are engaging Atomic Rex, we will have Chimera head to shore where he will wait for the kaiju to make landfall. Additionally, we will also have our engineers set up our portal to Asgard there and activate it.”
Parsons shifted his gaze toward Luke. “Luke, you will have to handle this battle differently than any other conflict that you and Chimera have been in. The radiation given off by Atomic Rex in his normal state is enough to kill anyone. If he unleashes the small-scale nuclear attack that he had displayed, it will give off enough radiation to kill any human within two miles of him, regardless of the protection we give them. Captain Pressley has volunteered to fly you to land where you will wait with Chimera for Atomic Rex. Once you see the kaiju approaching, direct Chimera to engage him and force him into the portal. Once you have given Chimera the directive, return to the helicopter, and Captain Pressley will fly you back to the Hudson.”
Luke sighed. Parsons could see the disappointment and frustration on Luke’s face. “Son, I know how much that monster means to you and how you feel responsible for him, but there is no way that you can be with him in this battle. You simply would not survive being that close to Atomic Rex regardless of if Chimera defeats him or not.” Luke nodded as he knew that Parsons was right. As much as it pained Luke to admit it, there was nothing that he could do to help out Chimera in this fight.
With Luke accepting his reduced role in the mission and everyone else aware of their duties, Parsons brought the briefing to an end. “All right, we have roughly one hour until we reach the target. If we are successful in this mission, we will eliminate the threat posed by Atomic Rex and the Asgardians. If we are lucky, we may even take out the threat posed by Cronus as well. You are all dismissed.”
Atlantic Ocean
The symbol that was holding the beast trapped beneath the ocean was starting to show cracks that spider-webbed across it under Cronus’ assault. The cracks continued to grow and multiply until something from beneath the symbol burst free and shattered it. A second after the symbol shattered, something that was massive beyond description shot up toward the surface. The amount of water displaced from the beast rising up from the depths sent tsunamis heading out in every direction toward three of the Earth’s continents.
Cronus flew up into the air to the very stratosphere nearly twenty miles above the earth. Cronus was skyrocketing upward when he looked down to see the face of Jormungand the World Serpent coming towards him!
Jormungand’s face resembled that of constrictor snake such as a python or anaconda with the notable difference that it was two miles long. Myth had exaggerated Jormungand’s length to be equal to the circumference of the planet. The mistake made by god and human alike was a simple one. Jormungand’s body was not as long as the Earth’s circumference. The beast’s length was equal to the extent of the earth’s stratosphere. The creature’s height when fully extended was slightly over twenty-seven miles long. At that length, if Jormungand was to lift his head from the ground to its fullest extent, he would reach a height that would almost place it in space. It was this feat of nearly being able to reach the vacuum of space while still on Earth that earned Jormungand the title World Serpent.
When Cronus had flown as high as he could prior to reaching space, the titan halted
his progress and focused all of his newly acquired might into forming a shield around himself. Cronus strained his new powers to the limit to form a translucent bubble of pure energy around his body and then he waited. A few seconds after Cronus had created the force field, Jormungand’s head appeared next to him. The World Serpent unleashed a hiss that shook the sky when he saw the being that had imprisoned him so long ago. Jormungand then unleashed a blast of energy that enveloped the titan.
When the blast hit Cronus’ shield, the Dark One felt as if he were trying to hold back the power of a supernova. The titan quickly realized that Jormungand’s attack was not a quick burst but rather a sustained beam that was wearing his defenses thin. Cronus clenched his fists and gritted his teeth when he saw cracks forming in his force field. Seeking a way to escape from the monster he had freed, the titan diverted a small portion of his power to creating a portal back to his own dimension behind him. His force field was on the verge of collapsing when he jumped into the portal. The titan landed in his own dimension as Jormungand’s blast tore through what remained of his defensive bubble.
The World Serpent looked through the portal at Cronus. Jormungand was fully capable of following the titan into his own dimension and destroying him, but the massive snake decided that revenge was his to take at any time he pleased. The monster laid back down into the water, generating another barrage of tsunamis, and then he began heading toward North America. From his own dimension, Cronus watched as Jormungand swam away. The titan breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that he was not ready to face the World Serpent, but his newly acquired powers had brought him closer to Jormungand’s level than he had been during their last encounter. As the pilot fish swam beneath the great white shark and devoured the scraps that fell out his mouth, so would Cronus follow Jormungand’s path of death from his own dimension, swallowing up some of the life energy from the creatures the World Serpent slew.
Cronus knew that both the gods and the humans would need to try to fight back against Jormungand. He hoped that between the extra power he gained in the serpent’s wake and the energy Jormungand expelled fighting the humans, gods, and monsters, he would be able to attack the serpent when it was weak and slay him. If was able to slay Jormungand and absorb his life energy, Cronus would become the most powerful being in any dimensions across the multiverse.
Baffin Island
Luke grabbed his megaphone and ran out to Pressley’s helicopter which was preparing for take-off. Luke climbed into the vehicle and strapped himself into the seat near the open side door. Pressley took off into the air and flew to the back of the Hudson. Once the helicopter was positioned in the back of the Hudson, a huge door opened up to reveal Chimera. The monster didn’t need Luke to prompt him to enter the water. The kaiju had been out of his natural element for too long and was anxious to swim in the cool waters of Hudson Bay. Chimera walked to the opening of his hold and slid into the water.
Luke let the monster swim several laps around the ship in order to get his body lose and his blood pumping for the upcoming battle. Luke saw another helicopter take off from the deck of the Hudson and head for the island. He guessed that it was the helicopter which was carrying the trans-dimensional portal that Chimera was going to try and force Atomic Rex through.
The former teacher shifted his neck from side to side, causing it to crack a little. Luke was always nervous before leading Chimera into a battle, but this time, he was even more nervous than usual. While Luke was truly happy that he would not be almost under foot of two monsters as they clashed, he felt a little guilty about it. Luke knew that he was asking Chimera to put his life on the line and part of him felt that if he was going ask the kaiju to do that then he should be willing to do the same. If at all possible, Luke would have been on the ground with Chimera, but there was simply nothing he could do about it. Atomic Rex’s body was giving off incredible amounts of radiation and it was more than any human could stand. Chimera’s body would be able to withstand the radiation at least to the extent that he would have a fighting chance against Atomic Rex.
Once he felt that Chimera had enough exercise and the engineers had enough time to construct the portal, he called out over his megaphone, “Chimera, follow me.”
The monster spun around in the water and followed his trainer. As they were making their way toward the island, Luke tried to take his mind off his apprehension over the upcoming battle by pressing Pressley about his date with Diana. “So, I hear that thanks to Grimm coming to life and defeating Atlas, you have a date with Diana?”
Pressley laughed. “Yes. As I understand it, you are her best friend and big-brother type. Are you going to give me the lecture about how I should treat her like a lady or else you are going to sic your monster on me?”
This time, it was Luke who laughed. “The wrath of Chimera is nothing compared to what Diana will do to you if you piss her off! Seriously though, she is a great girl. Just relax and have fun.”
Pressley shrugged. “She is certainly unique. I mean, who else has the ability to have the highest-ranking general in the US Army pressure a movie studio into making a good Fantastic Four movie?”
Luke smiled. “Only Diana Cain.” The two men shared a laugh and then Luke noticed they were over the island. He watched as Chimera stepped ashore and then his tone changed when he saw a half-dozen helicopters take off from the deck of the Hudson. He pointed at the ascending helicopters. “Is that the squadron that will be engaging Atomic Rex and leading him to us?”
Pressley nodded. “Yes, they have him on radar.” He looked down at the crew who were working to put the portal together. “Those guys better hurry up. It won’t be long now.”
Atomic Rex was swimming along the surface of the water as he was approaching land. The monster planned to swim around Baffin Island and then cross Hudson Bay on his way to the Northeastern United States. The monster was starting to swim around the island when he saw the helicopters coming toward him. The kaiju let loose a small roar when he saw smaller shapes with smoke trails behind them detach from the helicopters and streak toward him. The missiles exploded against the face and head of Atomic Rex. The kaiju roared in anger at the small machines that were attacking him and changed his course to intercept them. The nuclear theropod followed them toward the island and when he lifted his head out of the water, Atomic Rex could smell another kaiju. The saurian beast roared out a challenge to this creature that had dared to enter his territory and who was also a possible food source. Atomic Rex took several steps on land and then he saw the awesome form of Chimera standing there with the helicopter flying around him. Atomic Rex recognized Chimera as the monster that Cronus had tricked him into thinking had grabbed him and brought him to this Earth. Atomic Rex roared at Chimera and then he charged the man-made monster.
The group working to set up the portal made the last connections mere seconds after Atomic Rex had roared. The two pillars were up and through them, Luke could see Asgard. While the portal was only forty feet tall, Luke knew from experience that it was capable of transporting a kaiju through it. He had once taken Chimera through a portal of the same dimensions in order to rescue his wife from Asgard.
The men who were working on the portal ran to their helicopter and took off. Pressley turned around and yelled to Luke, “Give your monster directions quickly! We need to get out of here! The radiation readings coming off Atomic Rex are off the charts!”
Luke grabbed his megaphone and walked to the open door of the hovering helicopter. He had been working with Chimera on being able to process multiple step commands. Still, getting Chimera to understand that he wanted the monster to push Atomic Rex through the portal rather than to try and kill him was something Luke was not sure that Chimera was able to comprehend. Luke took a deep breath and yelled, “Chimera, look at me!” The monster’s head turned away from the approaching Atomic Rex and toward his trainer. Luke first pointed at Atomic Rex, and then at the portal. He yelled, “Push through there!”
As Luke was s
aying “there,” Pressley was flying back toward the ship. Luke watched as Chimera threw his hands out at his sides, roared, and then ran toward Atomic Rex. Luke could tell that Chimera that was slightly larger and heavier than Atomic Rex just by looking at them. He hoped that Chimera’s size would make the difference in the fight. The monsters were just about to slam into each other when a bolt of lightning streaked down in front of the helicopter as it hovered over the deck of the Hudson. For a brief moment, Luke thought that Zeus was finally playing his hand but when he looked out his window, he saw the thirty-foot-tall form of Thor standing on the deck of the Hudson. Pressley quickly landed his helicopter on the ship. Luke climbed out of it while dozens of soldiers and sailors surrounded the thunder god. Parsons and Diana walked out on deck and Thor looked directly at them. “You must return my belt to me! A horror has been unleashed that is beyond comprehension! If I do not stop this beast, it will destroy not only this Earth but all of the Earths in every conceivable dimension.” Thor shook his head. “The battle between the two beasts on the island is a secondary matter at this point! The End of Days are here!”
Parsons looked over at Diana. “What’s he talking about?”
Diana looked down at her tablet. “We have reports of tsunamis wrecking coastal areas along the US, Europe, and Northern Africa.” She shifted the view on her screen. “We have a visual of something in the Atlantic, but it’s too big for me to…” Diana stopped talking and then she gasped. Her face turned a pale white as she looked at Parsons. “It’s Jormungand! Cronus has freed Jormungand!” She looked back at her screen. “Parsons, we are talking about a kaiju that is over twenty-five miles long according to our satellites!”
Atomic Rex_The Conquest of Chimera Page 18
