“Am I the man or what?” Jackson said smiling. He walked up towards Joe and rested his arm around the block of ice.
“Dude, you got your phone on you? Take a pic, I gotta put this up on Pictagram. That Kristi chick from class is going to love this!”
Shayne shook his head. “Kristi transferred last semester. If you attended class once in awhile, you'd know that!” Jackson made a face, that little revelation certainly killed his happy buzz.
“Don’t get too cocky!” Jessica said as she flew down near her brother and Shayne. She knew never to underestimate an enemy.
“I’m just saying in less than a minute I took out this dude that’s been raising all kinds of hell out here. I think I should get an award or something!”
Jessica’s eyes grew wide, but before she could give any warning, Joe broke free from the solid ice that held him captive. “Jackson move!” Jessica shouted but shouted too late.
Joe nailed Jackson with a backhand that literally sent Jackson off his feet. He came crashing down towards Bianca, but fortunately for him, Noah used his telekinesis to guide the cocky teen safely to the ground.
“Make sure the job is finished before you start celebrating,” Noah said sternly.
“Yes dad,” Jackson replied sarcastically.
“Do not mistake me for Jason, Shayne or the rest of the group that put up with your shenanigans. When we are out here in the field your mind better stay focused on the task at hand. Leave that childish BS elsewhere. You understand?” Noah asked.
Jackson didn't dare say something in reply, he simply nodded his head and then turned his attention back to Joe.
Noah charged forward and used his superb reflexes to evade the wild punches Joe threw at him. He got in close enough to attack him. Noah unloaded a barrage of punches to the body and face of Dorgan. The attack seemed to have a slight bit of success.
Commander Sullivan looked on impressed. “That Noah guy is pretty impressive!”
Commander Sullivan was convinced Noah had to of had some sort of advance military training. That was the only way to explain Noah's effectiveness. Mr. Connors could just see the ideas forming in the Commander's head.
“Yes Commander Sullivan, he certainly is,” Mr. Connors replied, hoping the Commander wouldn't dig too deep into Noah's file.
“You sure he never served? His proficiency is quite impressive. I know we've been training your members but he's as soundly trained as any of my top men.”
“I'm positive,” Mr. Connors replied hoping the commander would drop the subject matter.
Noah continued his onslaught of offensive attacks while Joe tried to regain the upper hand. Commander Sullivan gave Mr. Connors a sideways glance and then whispered something to one of the agents standing nearby. In the corner of Mr. Connors' eye, he caught the Commander giving out instructions. He was fairly certain the order had something to do with Noah.
“Mind if I join in?” Shayne asked. Shayne used his sonic force speed to hit Joe with close counter attacks and avoided getting hit. “Now Jessica!” Shayne shouted. Jessica flew down and threw an electric net to trap the giant sized man. She wore protective gloves to ensure her safety. Shayne pushed Noah out of the way so he wouldn’t be affected by the electric shock. Joe screamed in pain. Shayne, Jessica, Noah, Jackson and Bianca gathered around the captured criminal. They all looked on to make sure the big man was actually defeated. The electric shock sent waves through Joe’s body, but Joe fought through the pain and started making his way back towards his feet.
“What happened to the bigger they are the harder they fall?” Jackson asked.
“He's right, everyone get back!” Jessica shouted. The massive Joe Dorgan struggled to free himself. The anger boiling inside of him made him grow taller and bigger, and consequently stronger. Joe ripped through the electric net and hurled it at Jackson. The young man was unable to get out of the way in time and the electric shock left Jackson trembling in severe pain.
“Everyone fall back!” Shayne demanded echoing Jessica's orders. He scooped Jackson up off the ground and then sped out of the way before Joe could grab them.
Jessica grabbed Bianca and flew away before Dorgan was able to grab her as well. Noah took a few steps back to reevaluate the situation.
“Bianca, help Jackson!” Shayne shouted.
Bianca and Jessica stayed back to look after Jackson while Shayne and Noah charged forward once more to confront the massive man.
“Any ideas?” Shayne asked humbly.
“We keep fighting until he falls down or we’re unable to get back up,” Noah replied. Noah ran out ahead of Shayne and let loose with his precise attacks.
Joe was too much for the two men. No matter what they threw at him it had little effect on him. He seemed to be enjoying the battle immensely. The more the League fought, the more aggressive Joe decided to be.
Noah and Shayne approached Joe from different directions, hoping to get close enough to do damage. Joe grabbed both men, one in each hand by the throat and slammed them into one another knocking both men out and leaving them crippled. There was a loud gasp coming from base camp as they watched what Joe had done to the two men. Joe Dorgan was too much for an entire team of specialists and it appeared as if he was too much for a team of Post Humans as well.
“Is this it? This is the best you all have to offer? I almost feel bad for you. If this is the best you got, what's coming next is going to annihilate you all!”
Commander Sullivan looked over towards Mr. Connors to see if he had any idea as to what Joe was talking about. Mr. Connors did not.
“Let me do you a favor and put you out of your misery then! At least that way you won't have to witness as to what happens next!”
Joe scooted Shayne a little closer to him and then proceeded to punt kick Shayne. The punt sent Shayne flying several feet in the air and the defenseless young man landed on a car. Shayne's body was broken. He was completely crippled by Joe's attack. The only reason Shayne was still alive was thanks to his ability to self repair.
Tears swelled up in Bianca's face as she witnessed what happened to Shayne. She had to remind herself that he would recover though. Noah however would not survive such a brutal attack. Regardless of Noah’s increased durability, an attack that devastating would kill him instantly.
Joe looked down at the unconscious man. He had no idea who Noah was, and he didn’t care one bit. All Joe cared about was causing chaos. Joe simply wanted to raise some hell because he could. Noah just happened to be in his way. He picked Noah up and heaved him as far as he could. The unconscious man had no way to defend himself. He had no way to prevent the impact of the fall.
Jessica watched Noah fly pass her, she quickly left Jackson’s side and flew after Noah; she caught him just before impact. She flew back towards Bianca and looked at her team. Jackson was still out cold from being electrocuted. Shayne was badly crippled and Noah was unconscious. Never had Jessica seen so much destruction. She knew her team weren't indestructible, but never did she imagine them receiving a beating this bad.
“God help us!” Commander Sullivan mumbled. Things did not look good for the League of Protectors and there was still no sign of Jason Shaw.
To Joe’s left he could hear the sounds of a foolish news reporter and camera man capturing the live action. Joe looked at the camera and smiled and sinister thought plagued his mind. Joe walked over to the news truck and lifted it off the ground.
“Report this!” Joe shouted as he heaved the truck in the direction of the news crew.
21
A Test of Strength
The truck descended towards the news reporter with alarming speed. Both the reporter and the cameraman stood still, frozen with fear for what was about to happen. The cameraman tried to move but he found himself in shock. The woman tried to scream, but no words came out.
With unbelievable quickness, speed so fast it looked like nothing more than a blur, Jason Shaw arrived on the scene. Flying low, Jason embraced the truc
k, stopping it from colliding with anyone. Of course by now everyone had heard the stories of Jason's impressive strength, but Joe did not believe the hype. He didn't believe there was anyone else out there capable of matching or even coming close to his strength.
Jason looked to his left and safely placed the truck down on the ground out of harm's way. The two men stood on opposite sides of the street staring one another down.
“Just because you caught a truck doesn't mean nothing!” Joe shouted.
In what looked like a classic showdown, Jason stood on one side of the street positioning himself while Joe stood on the other side. For both men, this would be the first time they battled each other one on one.
“Glad to see him here!” Commander Sullivan stated with a slight grimace. Being grateful to see Post Humans wasn't something the Commander wanted to make a habit of, but he was genuinely thankful for their presence that evening.
“Jason, you got him?” Bianca asked. Her Spanish accent was really noticeable right now. She tended to switch between English and Spanish a lot whenever she was nervous.
“I've got it.” Jason knew battling the massive man was not going to be easy, but it was a challenge he was ready for. It was a challenge he had to be ready for! The two men charged towards one another. Both were running at full speed, both wanting to see exactly how strong the other was.
Joe swung wildly at Jason, but Jason ducked low. He caught Joe by the legs and drove him straight down to the ground. The street shook on the impact. If Joe was any other man, the impact of the collision would've killed him. For Joe however, the street suffered more damage than he did.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Jackson said groggily.
Thanks to Bianca's healing ability, Jackson was recovering quite well from the high dosage of electrocution he was exposed to. Joe quickly stood back up and lifted Jason off his feet. Joe placed Jason in a bear hug and emphatically tried to squeeze the life out of him. The massive arms of Joe prevented Jason from freeing his hands. Jason could not power himself out of Joe’s hold.
“Looks like Jason could use a little help!” Jackson noticed.
Jackson grimaced slightly as he opened his hands allowing his freezing ability to work. He placed his hands downward so that the ice would hit the ground. Jackson was able to guide the ice pass Jason and direct it to only come in contact with Joe. The massive man was concentrating so much on hurting Jason, that he was unaware of the approaching ice. The ice shot up Joe’s body before he had a chance to react. This bought Jason enough time to free himself from Joe’s grasp.
“That ice isn’t going to hold him for long Jason!” Jessica called out. She was hovering over him positioning herself to help in any way she could. No sooner than the ice froze him, Joe broke through it.
“Haven't we been over this before boy? I'm indestructible. That little ice blasts isn't going to do anything to hurt me!”
“Maybe not, but this will!” Jason collected his strength and punched Joe square in the face with tremendous force. Joe fell backwards onto a car. The impact was so severe, the car was destroyed beyond repair.
Jessica swooped down and shot forward like a missile heading straight for Joe. Shayne’s healing factor was complete and now he was ready to rejoin the fight. He sped his way towards Joe and continued attacking the dazed giant.
Even with all the offense the team seemed to be mounting, the impact it had on Joe seemed minimal at best.
“Mr. Connors, does the man have any weakness at all?” Commander Sullivan asked completely baffled by Joe's resiliency.
Mr. Connors looked towards Stephanie who was with them via telecom. Stephanie’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and flickered as she concentrated on the genetic makeup of Joe Dorgan. This was the first time that Commander Sullivan got a chance to see the young woman put her talents to use. He couldn’t help but be slightly uncomfortable by what he saw. The way her eyes turned black and rolled around towards the back of her head was not an easy sight to take in.
In his reports later that day, he noted that it looked like the young woman was having a seizure. The commander had seen many things in his time, but what he was seeing that day surpassed them all.
“I cannot find any weakness in Joe Dorgan at all sir. His strength is impossible to accurately determine and his ability to resist pain is equally as impressive. I'm afraid I have nothing to offer in regards on how to stop him.”
Commander Sullivan looked over to Mr. Connors, “I've seen this man in action before. Why does he seem harder to stop now?”
“Because it is harder. Joe Dorgan's strength seems to have increased greatly since the last time we encountered him. I don't know what it is, but something has made this man even stronger than before.”
Commander Sullivan didn’t like the sound of that. Four agents lost their life the last time G.U.A.R.D tried to take Joe Dorgan down.
Jason lifted Joe over his head and threw him into a wall. He used a combination of strength and speed to mount a devastating attack on Joe. There was a life size hole in a wall thanks to the beating Joe took from Jason.
Jason was just as bit as strong and fought with a passion that was inspiring. Joe’s face was covered in blood, his nose broken, and his ribs were cracked,“Had enough big man?” Jason asked. Jessica floated above Joe, while Jackson and Shayne guarded the left and right side respectively.
Joe slowly made it to his feet, “Enough? I’m just getting started.” He jumped up with surprising quickness and caught Jessica by the legs. He slammed her hard into the wall and left her there with no regard.
Jason sped over towards her and helped her back on her feet,“Are you okay?” The way she hit her head against the wall, Jason was concerned she had a possible concussion.
“Yeah, I'm alright.”
Jason did not want her involved anymore in the conflict with Joe Dorgan. Jason scooped the slender woman up into his arms and ascended to the sky out of Joe's reach. The flight did not take long, he descended back down to the ground and set her down near Bianca and the still unconscious Noah Winters.
“You two, fall back right now!” Jason ordered to Jackson and Shayne. The two young college men did not like the sound of that. They looked at each other wishing they had telepathic abilities so that they could reach each others mind.
“We can help,” Shayne said.
“I know, but I’ve got this one gentleman. Joe Dorgan has done enough damage here today. I will take it from him, now fall back!”
The two young men reluctantly did as they were instructed. Joe mocked them as they left the battlefield. “That’s right little guys run back to mommy and let the big boys play!” Jackson stopped. He turned back to face Joe again.
“Let it go Jack, we were given an order!” Shayne said placing a hand on Jackson's chest.
“Screw the order. We can take this guy!” Jackson said.
“No we can't, at least not yet. He's too powerful for us and we don't have the mental training yet to counter his strength. Besides, we were given an order and we need to follow.”
Again Jason and Joe found themselves staring each other down. Both men were in pain. It wasn’t often that they received the sort of punishment they were inflicting on each other. This was new territory for both of them.
“We have received word that the two amazingly strong men are Joe Dorgan and Jason Shaw. That’s right Jason Shaw as in the Vice President of Shaw Enterprises and member of The League of Protectors. It has become clear by what we have seen here that this Post Human infection is nothing but destructive!” a nearby news reporter stated.
Jessica Prescott couldn't believe her ears. Clearly the League of Protectors were doing everything in their powers to stop this giant menace, but even still, that wasn't good enough. That wasn't enough to gain the support of everyone out there.
Jessica flew into view of the camera, “First of all I just wanted to say that Post Humans do not have a virus. It’s a gift, an extra gene that for
whatever reason was given to certain individuals.”
The news reporter interrupted Jessica, “Yes, I’ve heard that before, but the fact remains that all you Post Humans are a threat to national security. After the events of tonight, you can be sure that the public is going to call for all of you to be locked up!”
If looks could kill, the look Jessica was giving the news reporter would've done the job.
“A threat to national security, are you serious?” Jessica walked over to the cameraman and pointed him towards the fight, “Do you see Jason over there? Do you see the beating he’s taking, the physical punishment he’s enduring? Do you think he's taking that beating because he wants to? No, he does what he needs to do to protect national security. He does it to protect people like me and you. Look at what's going on over there. We should be wishing Jason nothing but the best. He's out there risking his life trying to stop a man that no one else can!”
The cameraman kept the camera on the fight. Jason and Joe exchange punch after punch. Block after block, slam after slam. This brutal battle lasted several minutes longer with neither man able to hold the advantage for long.
Suddenly, a flashing light appeared. A light similar to the one that Jason and Agent Mallory witnessed on the island. The light easily covered a radius of several miles. Everyone nearby had to squeeze their eyes tightly to make sure they weren't blinded by the light. Even with their eyes closed they could still see how bright it was. Finally, the bright light vanished and when it did, so too did Joe Dorgan. Jason Shaw and everyone else looked on wondering where Joe Dorgan had disappeared to.
22
Cohesiveness
Noah’s eyes slowly began to open. He struggled getting his eyes to focus. He didn’t recognize his surroundings at all, and worst of all, his weapons were gone.
“Glad to see you’re alright,” a distinguished voice said. Noah turned his attention in the direction of the voice, “Good morning Noah, you took quite a beating last night,” Mr. Connors said.
New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age Page 17
