Joseph and the Mutant Killers

by John Martinez Hulsey

  Dropping Elissa to her knees, the Dark Warrior leaped towards Joseph… as the Mutant Killer leaped towards him. The lone warriors collided in mid-air, and then fell to their hands and knees just inches away from each other.

  Joseph held his bleeding left pectoral, where the beast had clawed him good, while the beast held his broken jaw, where Joseph fed him a savory knuckle sandwich.

  General Magnum and the soldiers stood ready for combat, and aiming their combat rifles in the direction of Sam Ael. But they wouldn’t fire; knowing Joseph would take him out first.

  Joseph and the Warrior stood to their feet. Everyone in the complex grew silent as the tension grew earsplitting.

  Finally coming to, Cristo reached for the grenade launcher strapped to his back.

  “Joseph!” Cristo yelled, as he tossed the weapon.

  In one swift motion, Joseph snatched the grenade launcher out of the air, aimed and fired in the direction of the beast.

  The Dark Warrior took the round directly in the soft spot of his belly. The grenade exploded inside its body, as it released a terrifying, inhuman siren of a cry. The Dark Warrior’s upper-torso flew across the room as its legs toppled over and began to kick spastically. Sam Ael was no more.

  Running to his side, Elissa embraced Joseph and joyfully replied, “It’s finally over.”

  Outside, Assault and Michele were still engaged in combat. Michele was growing furious, she didn’t like fair fights – and this was one of the fairest – since her telekinetic powers wouldn’t work on Assault. He learned his lesson, when they fought once before – avoiding the curse of her seductive eyes.

  Pulling a small photon-pistol on the Mutant seductress, Assault replied, “Looks like I’m gonna win this one after all, sugar.”

  Michele started to cry, hoping to trick Assault and make him think she had changed back to her Marie persona – it worked once before. But her old nemesis had grown wise.

  “Oh, give me a break,” Assault exhaled before firing two rounds. Both bolts of energy hit Michele’s body – shocking and frying her innards. She fell to the ground - her body convulsed, her eyes melted in their sockets, and her entrails bled unrelentingly.

  To make a long death short – the chick was toast.

  Minutes later, Assault ran into the complex and only met General Magnum and the rest of CIMA.

  “Where’s Joseph and the others?” he asked.

  “They went back to their fighter,” Magnum answered. “You’re not thinking of joining them are you?” She looked away… for she already knew the answer.

  He nodded and asked, “What are you gonna do?”

  “We have orders to clean up this mess… we could really use your help.”

  He could sense the melancholy in her voice.

  “We’ll meet again,” he assured her.

  Before she could say goodbye, Assault exited the building.

  Boarding the fighter, Assault paused when he came across his friend. Joseph looked at him, wondering why he had chosen to come. But neither spoke a word, Assault just bowed his head and smiled – he was pleased to know the man named Joseph Blades was still alive.

  Sitting down and strapping himself into one of the fighter’s seats, Assault thought of Michele and whispered to himself, “Ding dong, the bitch is dead.”

  Stardate: December 8, 3275

  The Imminent System -

  The war between the Imperial Rebels and the DMTO Soldiers of Darkness was about to embark on its 1000th year of ongoing death and annihilation. Many innocent lives were lost in the legion of battles fought across the Imperial Worlds, including the planets of Celestial, Elysian and its moon, Izon.

  The only Izonians remaining in the Mutant’s killing ground were in the city of Tobias. The DMTO had done well, except that it had taken too long – the Human Resistance had taken root and was growing stronger every day. They had time to develop specialized weaponry, time to form elite anti-Mutant units modeled after the old Mutant Killers and Counter-Intelligence on Mutant-Affairs forces.

  From atop a war beaten cliff, near the battle site of the ongoing war, stood a man that was too important to be risked in the line of fire. So he stood and watched as explosions and firefights took place, killing and sometimes severely injuring his soldiers. As much as he hated to see his warriors die in the line of duty, he knew their lives were a small price to pay for the freedom of all the Imperial Worlds.

  He fell back and wiped tears away from his eyes, as he glanced down at a picture he had of his son. He never had the chance to meet, or to hold, or to talk to his only child. One minute was all he wanted. But it would never happen. His son died over 900 years ago.

  But he will never forget his son, for he had read about him on numerous occasions. Everyone fighting for the Imperial Worlds had read about the great warrior and husband to the Empress of Celestial. Joseph Blades was admired by all.

  Suddenly, a bright maelstrom of lightning erupted from atop the cliff, thrusting the man against a huge rock. As the bedlam of light faded, the Father of the Imperial Worlds – Imperial Soldier 54-16’s eyes focused on the shadowy silhouettes of two individuals standing in god-like stances. He was amazed at what he saw. He looked at his son’s picture then at the two mysterious spirits before him.

  One in particular caught his undivided curiosity. “You’re Joseph Blades.”

  The man nodded and asked, “Father?” He recognized the man from his dreams.

  The two embraced.

  Joseph stepped aside to introduce the Mutant Killer that had followed him through the cosmos. “Father, I’d like you to meet…”

  “From the looks of his armor this has to be Mutant Kill Officer – Assault,” the stoic Zahn almost grinned.

  “It’s an honor and a privilege,” Zahn shook Assault’s hand.

  “It’s an honor as well, sir,” Assault’s voice was mechanical and raspy through his helmet.

  “Traveling through spacetime? You guys have become more powerful than I’d ever imagined.”

  The two Mutant Killers stood in silence studying the war-torn land at the foot of the cliff. Zahn stood by their side and watched.

  The Father of the Imperial Worlds turned to his son and finally asked, “Why are you here, son.”

  “To squash the Dark Curse,” he quickly stated.

  “We are here to join you,” Assault added.

  The three saviors of the universe stood, looking out over the devastated land.

  “The DMTO won’t know what hit them,” the always stoic Zahn grinned. Finally, there was hope.

  … the Legacy continues…

  BOOK THREE—

  THE BATTLE RAGES ON

  Stardate: July 7, 3278

  The Imminent System -

  History states that nearly 1000 years ago, the planet of Celestial, under the rule of Empress Elissa, was almost destroyed by the uprising of the Queen of Darkness, Astasia. This hellish assault was defended by the Empress’ husband, the great Mutant Killer Joseph Crow Blades.

  However, in the midst of rebuilding the planet, came another revolt; the coming of the Mutants. Chaos became interplanetary holocaust…

  Revolution came again as the surviving Celestials, along with surviving inhabitants from other worlds located across the Imminent System, rose up… Their mission was to destroy the Dominion Mutants’ Armies and its murdering Death Squad, a diseased horde of Mutant foot-soldiers who donned chrome-plated titanium masks, which resembled that of a human skull therefore given the name Death Squad. The members of the Death Squad could infect living beings with a transmode virus, turning their victims into living circuitry and then draining their life energy into themselves.

  In days past, Zahn and his feared freedom fighters’ missions were carried out against the Mutant population from Izon to Elysian. Theirs was a life of subterfuge and terror. But that life was long gone, buried under the rubble of humanity, crushed beneath the feet of the Dominion’s Battle Walkers.

  The sun of the Imper
ial Planet’s, Phoebeus, was beginning to set, showing faintly through the black smoke that rose from the battlefield. The conflict had carried on for weeks, but was finally over.

  Joseph Blades slowly began to regain consciousness, his vision still blurred and unfocused. The last thing he could recall was the brightness and heat of a fluorescent light, an ear-shattering explosion, and the enormously powerful blast-wave which carried him off his feet and plunged him directly into a nearby boulder. He slowly lifted himself up off the ground, his head throbbing with agonizing pain and his left shoulder dislocated and almost torn from his torso. His mouth was parched, so he opened his canteen and took several swallows. It had a particular salty taste to it, which he immediately identified as blood; he realized that the whole left side of his face was bloodied and lacerated from the impact with the huge rock. He tossed the empty flask away, before stripping off his Kevlar plated shoulder pads, rucksack, and helmet.

  He stood motionless for a moment, staring at the vast, open prairie, its long grass swaying in the light breeze. He also noticed several things the battle had left behind: a heavily armored tank used mostly by Anti-Mutant Forces. It had taken one direct hit from an enemy missile directly under the turret, as the smoking, black hole in the armor implied; he didn’t even bother to check the crew for survivors. About 100 meters onward, he could make out the silhouette of a downed steam powered mod walker. He retrieved a long-range monoscope from his belt, switched on the infrared vision, and viewed the metal tyrant. It was a Dominion Mutant Battle Walker, a four-legged metal and steel reinforced unit which was a common site in open-field, forest and urban combat. The legs were still intact, but the cockpit was nothing more than a mass of black, twisted metal, its ruptured steam-powered pumps still burning and steaming. He realized that the outer-perimeter defenses had not been penetrated, and the Celestial City had not been overrun by the Mutants. The Planet of Elysian had fallen the year before, and a major offensive for the outer-perimeter of Celestial had been predicted – it was right.

  Joseph could vividly remember seeing the Dominion armored walker divisions advancing toward the city, and thinking to himself, “My God, they’ll kill all my father’s people.” But the Rebel Forces had held them out, and, for the time being, the Celestial City was still untouched by the greedy hands of the Mutants.

  “Assault,” Joseph spoke into his communicator, “I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but everything seems quiet over here.”

  A little too quiet, he thought.

  “Assault, my brother, how’s it going on your side of the front?” Joseph waited for a response.

  Suddenly, Joseph’s communicator erupted with the sounds of gunfire and explosions, followed by static and then dead air.

  Finally Assault responded, “Kinda busy over here. Can I call you back?”

  “I’m on my way to you.” Joseph picked up his gear and then began to run towards Assault’s location.

  On the other side of the city, the night grew nearer, as Assault huddled behind a fallen slab of steel, when he felt the ground shake in tiny tremors as a Dominion two-legged walker passed by, its steam-powered laser cannon keeping a suppressing amount of fire on the steel blockade. He signaled his platoon forward, the rebels moving under the oncoming bolts of laser-fire.

  Dropships and bombers filled the sky above, and on the surface, tanks and battle walkers fought desperately for control. An Imperial dropship descended to the ground below, the belly of the ship filled with infantry ready to be employed in combat. However, the pilot failed to notice the Dominion Walker unit approaching from his blind spot. Just as the ship made contact with the planet’s surface, and its bottom hatch opened to release the soldiers, the walker fired a rocket, which impacted with the ship’s left hover-thruster. The extension flew to pieces, and the ship diverged out of control, smashing nose first into the side of a nearby structure, which collapsed to the ground as the explosion destroyed its foundation.

  The Mutant walker moved forward, smashing through the remains of a fire blasted Rebel assault vehicle. Then, two soldiers from the Imperial Celestial Rebels Laser-Rifle Division appeared from out of the darkness. They quickly set up the automatic plasma cannon, and fired several shots at the walker. The intense heat of the plasma was so incredible it cut through the thickly armored hull which shielded its rear, and ruptured its power plant.

  The walker stopped dead in its tracks – its weapons no longer firing and its ultra-violet searchlight no longer illuminating the perimeter. This made it a perfect target for a Rebel Battle Walker. Three blasts from its heavy assault cannon, and the Mutant walker collapsed with a thunderous impact. The ground shifted in a tiny earthquake, and the Rebel Walker proceeded onward, crushing the Dominion cockpit with the massive foot of one of its mechanical legs.

  Just like Joseph, Assault had led his army to another victory against the dark forces of the Dominion Mutants. It had been almost three years since the Mutant Killers arrived on the moon of Izon. And in that time, Elysian fell to the Mutants, but months of struggled ensued, during which the Imperial Rebels regained strength, pushing back the Mutants until the majority aborted their secret hideaways on Izon. The moon fell once again under Imperial control.

  Fighting alongside Assault was a female Rebel named Die-Ann. She approached the Mutant Killer who stood next to a downed walker, surveying the battlefield. She saluted him, but Assault, wearing his faceless black helmet, simply nodded in her direction.

  “It’s an honor to fight by your side, sir.” She stood at ease and began to look over the battlefield, studying the destruction left by the war.

  Turning towards her, Assault replied, “Let’s get out of here. We need to check in with Joseph.”

  Die-Ann – Imperial Soldier 13-18 – was born in an alternate future where men and women were bred for combat, she mastered numerous weapons and fighting techniques; such as wushu, systema, and gun kata, to become an ultimate warrior. However, she possessed no super-human powers. Being a bad-ass was just in her nature.

  She landed on Celestial in the middle of a brutal battle between the Celestials and the Mutants. So she just got up and went at whoever thought they could take her down. Zahn was the only one brave enough to try and befriend her… and succeeded. Therefore, she joined in on the battle – on the side of the Rebels.

  Die-Ann could easily be identified, since she carved the words Mutant Killer across her chest with a boot-knife – leaving the words scarred clearly in her flesh. She was a strong believer in what Joseph Blades and his father stood for. So was every Rebel, who was battling against the Mutants. It was considered a great honor to be fighting along the side of Joseph’s father and the Mutant Killers.

  Rumor had it that the Dark Curse had taken refuge from the battle in a camp right outside the city. And now Zahn, Blades, Assault, Die-Ann, and the rest of their platoon were steadily advancing through the outer perimeter towards the Dominion Camp. A Rebel’s Battle Walker brought up the platoon’s rear. It was the dead of night.

  The Dark King was considered the God of Doom, he was thought of as the Devil in a Mutant form, leading his forces towards a human extermination. He sought to dispose of all humans and aliens alike and rule all the Universal Worlds.

  He possessed the conventional attributes of an immortal god. Hence, he was superhumanly strong and immune to all terrestrial diseases. His godly metabolism gave him superhuman endurance in all physical activities.

  In addition, he could induce death in a person merely by a simple touch. The King could also project powerful bolts of concussive energy from his hands. He could mystically speed up the aging process in other beings causing them to grow elderly within seconds. However, since the Dark King was the god of death, he was already dead – no one could kill him.

  This side of Celestial was a terrible site, only the bones of the unburied dead gave mute testimony that life ever shared this ground. The platoon cautiously moved closer to the camp. Suddenly, Zahn stopped in his tracks. Joseph
and Die-Ann looked at him. He heard something – absolutely nothing.

  A single scud was launched from out of the darkness; it hit the Rebel Battle Walker. Seconds later, the Walker along with its crew erupted into flames. The battle had begun…

  Zahn and the rest of his platoon began to fire their combat rifles as they saw the silvery skull faces of a Death Squad platoon advancing over a hill in the far off distance. Switching on their infrared night goggles, Zahn’s platoon advanced to safety, but that was only for a short while. For the Death Squad was closing in on them fast.

  Die-Ann leaped for cover and fired a hand-held steam-powered laser cannon directly at three charging Death Squad Mutants, blasting them off their feet – fried. However, the heat from the laser blast singed the side of her head. She sat up, groggy. A trickle of blood ran out of her left-ear and down her cheek. Realizing in growing horror that she could no longer hear anything out of that ear, she smiled with satisfaction when she saw what she had done to the Mutants. They lay on the ground, nearly cut in two – their flesh torn open, revealing their charred insides. One Mutant spasmed insanely, like a puppet tangled on its own strings. It only took a moment for the Mutant’s nerves to finally give in.

  The area was thick with dust and smoke. Die-Ann rose and stumbled over a pile of debris, her eyes stinging from the plasma fumes given off by the Mutant’s weapons. A chunk of muscle and skin had been torn out of her right-forearm by shrapnel. Her vision blurred was the only explanation as to why she didn’t see the other Death Squad Mutant. It came from out of the darkness and jack- hammered her in the ribs.

  She flew back into the open field, and gasped for a breath, realizing by the pain each inhale cost that at least three ribs must have been broken. The Mutant stood over her, aiming the barrel of its battle-rifle towards her head.