EVO Universe 1: The First

by Kipjo Ewers

  What he did not calculate was Sophia dropkicking #3 into the building behind her sending her half way through it while using the momentum to launch herself backwards into a spin at #4 delivering a crushing flying shoulder charge knocking him into an insane tailspin.

  “Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shiiiiiiiiiit!” he screamed while bouncing around in the cockpit.

  The force of the hit sent him flying about 15 blocks before he actually hit the streets where his machine bounced violently off the concrete destroying everything in its path while going another five blocks before coming to a rest. Black smoke began to seep out of the damaged areas of his mech as #4 slumped in the seat of his cockpit rattled and dazed.

  Sophia brandishing a confident smirk, descended back down to the streets, she was doing it; she was winning. She was beating the giant manned killer robots.

  In normal reality, she would be like everyone else in the vicinity running, screaming, cowering for safety. Here she was in the middle of it all. No longer running, she was fighting, and winning.

  For a split second, she felt unstoppable, until she remembered there was four of them as a recovered #2’s mech leaped into the air with its cannon for a rifle aimed right at her. It was just then Sophia remembered that she could not actually fly which meant she was literally a sitting duck in mid-air.

  “Oh shit…,” she said breathing heavily.

  Point blank range, despite trying to cover up Sophia took the full hit of the hand cannon that was the length and size of a Harley Davidson. She felt the sheering heat once again as it scorched her skin and clothing. The force of the impact propelled her through an office building sending people screaming and diving for cover as she exited out the other side hitting like a meteorite destroying everything in her path unintentionally while bouncing off the concrete creating human size craters before coming to stop in a heap.

  Smoke wafting from her caused her to choke again, as she slowly rolled to fight back up to her feet despite being in agonizing pain. Her skin felt like it had first-degree burns, while her lungs felt as if filled with smoke and acid. Her vision was extremely blurry; she looked like a train ran over her dragging her nonstop for about five miles straight.

  She was so out of it, she could not react to the B.A.M crashing down on top of her. Smoke and debris flew everywhere, some of it shattering windows and taking out parked cars as people ran ducking and looking for cover from the warzone.

  As the smoke cleared those brave enough to peek out and look could see Sophia trapped underneath the foot of the massive B.A.M belonging to #3.

  “Where’s that puffed up chest now bitch?” she said going external with her taunt.

  Sophia groaned and growled as she managed to get her hands underneath her, and perform a push-up getting some space between her and the ground. #3 growled as she tried to crush Dennison under her machine’s foot, but Sophia refused to budge as she managed to get her feet underneath her. She then used her piston like legs to explode with enough force to hurl #3 off of her landing her several yards away on her back only for #2 to come leaping out of nowhere driving a crushing bi-pedal foot into Sophia’s chest drilling her further into the crater she was already in. It was amazing how the ground did not give way all together dropping them into the sewers of D.C.

  A determined Dennison covered in dirt and blood from wounds that already healed growled again as she gripped the bi-pedal toes of the humanoid machine standing on top of her pushing her further into the crater. Sophia continued to struggle even with #2’s cannon trained on her once again at point blank range.

  “You move super bitch,” #2 warned, “And you die…doubt you can survive me unloading several rounds in your face at this range.”

  “What…part of me…killing all of you…did you not get?!” said a defiant Sophia literally ripping the bipedal foot of #2’s mech in half spilling an unknown red fluid all over her.

  It forced #2 to scream feeling the neural feedback that made it felt as if she actually did rip his foot in two. #2 still managed to pull the trigger, but not before Sophia lurched forward and stuck her entire arm up the barrel of the mech’s gun causing it to blow up right in front of them.

  The force of the explosion along with shrapnel sent a badly damaged #2’s machine crashing to the concrete, while Sophia also dashed to the street by the impact let off a blood-curdling scream clutching her chard right arm.

  Tears of rage ran from her face, which had also been badly burned as she watched her arm; with half the skin burnt from it reform before her very eyes, while #2 desperately tried to right his now smoking machine on its badly damaged foot.

  #1 and #4 both no longer with aerial capability came running down West Virginia Avenue joining #3, as Sophia now once again fully healed rose to her feet. With no more words wasted, they opened fire on her, but instead of outright dodging, she made slight movements and short speed bursts zipping out of way; dodging the barrage of cannon fire. As they tore up the street she weaved through shot after shot getting closer to them; it was a clear message she was sending to them. She was going to kill them…and nothing on Earth could stop her, not even them.

  “We need to fall back…now!” said an unnerved #1.

  Just as #1 gave the order to retreat, Sophia like a lioness on the hunt launched herself plowing into #2 barely able to stand taking his machine completely off its compromised feet.

  #2 in desperation tried to throw a right from his back to knock her off him, but Sophia proving to be much faster and far more powerful simply caught the mechanical fist eight times the size of her own hand and crushed it in her grip. The neural feedback made him scream again as if she turned his actual hand to powder. She then grabbed the machine’s arm by the forearm getting another good grip, and ripped the entire arm off completely sending the weird fluid that looked like blood flying everywhere. Within the cockpit of the machine, #2 hollered again in pain as if she ripped his own arm off while sparks and mini explosions erupted inside all around him.

  “Fall back now…lead her to the rendezvous point…” the Director’s voice came over #1’s audio system.

  “Sir…#2…” stuttered #1.

  “Is dead as of right now…,” said the Director coldly as he gestured to the technicians within the helicopter.

  Lights went off in #2’s cockpit along with the sound of a female mechanized voice, “Self-destruct sequence has been initiated...self-destruct in five seconds…”

  “No! No! No!” screamed #2.

  While outside Sophia with her bare hands tore open the chest plate of the machine and got a glimpse of the black clad human she had seen four years ago within her bedroom. One second before the B.A.M blew underneath her along with the torn off arm delivering a force that would leave no recognizable trace of the machine, or the pilot sending her flying while taking out half the block around her. The other three machines staggered backwards barely shielded from the intense blast that had now claimed #2.

  “I have now bought you sometime,” the Director began to instruct #1, “Fall back to the rendezvous point before she comes to…I will take care of the rest…”

  “Sir…” confirmed #1 to the Director, he then motioned to #4 and #3, “You heard the order…let’s move out…”

  #4 and a livid #3 turned tail and ran following, as a now smoldering Sophia knocked a good six blocks away by the blast rose to her feet off a now smashed in BMW X5 courtesy of her. Aside from the hit to the leg she took earlier, her leather pants weathered the battle. Her now torched jacket however did not survive.

  She looked around and noticed Nathanial Walters a.k.a Deuce in his business suit cowering and trembling in a store entrance looking at what was left of the parked X5 she stood on.

  “My car…” he stammered.

  A replacement for the vehicle she wrecked. Mr. Walters realizing her eyes were on him went faint collapsing to the concrete floor.

  With a shake of her head, Sophia hoppe
d off the wrecked luxury vehicle quickly noticing a mannequin wearing a red mid-riff leather jacket in a storefront where the glass was shattered.

  She leaped into the display area pulling out whatever chard bills she had in her pockets tossing it at the foot of the mannequin. She then unzipped the now one arm jacket she had on, which fell apart due to the scorching heat from the explosion tossing it away, and torn off what was left of the still smoking blue skintight short sleeve Under Armour shirt quickly revealing her frilly red push-up bra chest.

  She quickly took the jacket off the mannequin throwing it on. It was a snug fit, but it would have to do as she zipped it up.

  Clothed once again, she hopped out of the storefront and exploded into the sky with a leap now hunting the remaining three D.E.A.D members.

  Despite the head start they had on her Sophia could see them booking for their lives down Maine Avenue; she planned her next leap for the Reflecting Pool, and from there she would launch herself further in order to cut them off before they got to the Jefferson Memorial.

  #1 had the lead as #3 and a badly damaged #4 trailed behind him. People scattered screaming to safety as the trio turned quickly on 14th street clearly heading for the Memorial.

  “Keep moving! We are almost there! We’re almost there!” yelled #1 gunning his B.A.M.

  Almost would not be good enough as the sound of what could only be described as a Tomahawk missile grew louder before a massive impact cratered a portion of 14th street sending chucks of street their way.

  The trio backed their machine’s up in defense mode as Dennison causally hopped out of the crater she created dusting herself off.

  “Hey…where yawl goin?” she casually asked, “Don’t you all wanna see how much my life has changed?”

  She advanced cracking her knuckles while the trio of the most advanced machines unknown to man reversed clearly in fear of the walking female juggernaut now playing the grim reaper. As she prepared to charge for another round, a blast of dust and the whirling sound of a black Sikorsky helicopter appearing in the sky overhead interrupted her. Slowly it began to descend between a now irritated Sophia seeking vengeance and the remaining disheveled D.E.A.D looking for safety.

  Knowing in her heart inside the descending craft was the head of this sick and twisted operation; she allowed the copter to land safely so she could come face to face with the person who orchestrated the ruination of her life.

  The winds died down as the helicopter finally came to a rest, she stood unimpressed as the door slid open and storm trooper like soldiers in black full body armor hopped out by the dozen circling her at a wide radius.

  Finally, the Director himself stepped out with a calm smile on his face and a manila folder in his hand; behind him, Special Agent Slater brought up the rear holding what appeared to be some form of restraints. Sophia’s left eye began to twitch at the sheer gall the Director was displaying.

  “Sophia Dennison…you’re gonna have to come with me…” the Director said plainly.

  “Is that so, and who the hell might you be?” she snorted.

  “You know “who the hell” I am…” he returned, “I’m the man responsible for who you are…and you need to come with me.”

  “To coin the phrase,” she fired back ready for anything at this point, “You and what friggin army?”

  Director Rosen with no fear walked right up to her, “I don’t need a “friggin” army…all I need is this…”

  Director Rosen handed her the manila folder, which she snatched away from him flipping it open. Her eyes widen and she staggered back trembling. Prepared for everything she was not.

  Inside the folder, she looked at the picture of a little girl with hazel eyes and her complexion with thick curly black hair wearing a light green jumpsuit with a pink flower imprinted on the front, and a pink shirt underneath sitting in a small chair in what appeared to be a sterile room. There was a blank expressionless look on her face which was close to fretting…she had seen it in pictures her parents had of her when she was young…but it was those piercing hazel eyes which forced tears from Sophia’s own eyes making her heart heavy. They were Robert’s eyes.

  “Now…before you do anything stupid…,” the Director warned.

  It was too late; she had snatched him by the front of his suit at breakneck speed thrusting him into the air. The shock troopers immediately trained their laser sightings on her from their high tech rifles along with the D.E.A.D in their machines, but Rosen holding onto her forearm with his right hand threw his left into the air for them to stand down as he calmly looked down at her from her grip.

  “Where is she?!” she screamed.

  There was a crackle and whimper in her voice, despite her power and strength, the Director now knew he was in control.

  “In a facility in Oregon…on the other side of this country…” he informed her, “What you don’t see in that room is a man waiting to decapitate her if you don’t comply with my orders…”

  It was as if his words had sapped her strength, as she reluctantly lowered him back down to his feet.

  The Director smoothed out his ruffled six thousand dollar custom tailored jacket, as he continued to speak, “We figured out that was the only permanent way to dispatch someone like her…if we put a bullet in her skull she’d just become just like you. It’s still a theory, but she would be our first test subject. Anyway we’ve wasted enough time rough housing in our nation’s capital.”

  Agent Slater walked up with the restraints.

  “I doubt these will keep you fully restrained, but they should be strong enough to hold you and allow us to do whatever we have to do to your daughter should you step out of line…,” said the Director, he then leaned in whispering to her, “So I advise you to be a good little girl for now on…”

  As the Director took the folder from her, Agent Slater proceeded to place the high tech restraints on Sophia without so much as a fight; they looked like large cannon shells covering her forearms and hands, while the shells connected together with a malleable thick metal bar. He then opened the panel on one of the cannon like shells flipping on a switch and turning up a digital dial to its highest level. Sophia’s face winced as she began to feel intense pressure on her arms.

  “Feel that?” said the Director smiling with fascination, “That’s an electromagnetic field delivering a gravitational force of several hundred tons. A normal person’s arms would be crushed to dust, but apparently that’s nothing for a big girl like you…shall we?”

  Sophia stared the Director down with eyes stained with tears and thoughts of murder. She straightened herself up as best she could as she walked with head held high to the helicopter. The Director smirked as he realized what she was playing at. She was the Alpha female, and no restraints, no threats could take away nor diminish that fact. As long as she continued to carry herself as a threat the playing field was still level. So she thought.

  As the Director watched as she entered the helicopter, he turned to Special Agent Slater, “Tell those three idiots to get those mechs back to the hanger…then get the other one…”

  “Dead or alive?” Agent Slater asked.

  “Dead if they find the samples and any data he has…Alive if they don’t,” he ordered, “We must locate those missing samples at all cost…it was already a pain lifting the samples and data from the FBI Houston office…tell them if they have to…kill anyone that’s with him if need be…”

  “Yes sir. What about all the commotion here?” Agent Slater asked looking around.

  “Come now Agent Slater,” Director Rosen smiled, “We’re the United States Government, we convinced the entire nation to go to war looking for WMDs…in time people will think this was some promotion for a blockbuster movie.”

  “And if they don’t?” Agent Slater innocently asked.

  To which the Director smiled with a shrug, “We’ll still be fine.”