by Kipjo Ewers
Flying over head, Peace was in cruise mode on her way to the White House. Adding to the rumbling of the sky was Wendigo flying as her left wing woman thumping “Narcissistic Cannibal” by Korn featuring Skrillex and Kill the Noise to give her propulsion, while Revenant flew as her right wing man.
Below the Ghoul ran ahead of them tearing through the streets of an abandoned DC to reach 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Her emotions where half and half that morning. Half pleased that she had no opposition, and half disappointed that there was not any. She at least expected a squadron of F-22As or several fleets of M1 Abrams in strategic parts of the streets with some M167 VADS on the roof tops of buildings looking to shoot her down. They would all fail miserably to stop her, but she was a bit disappointed there was not one piece of military equipment out there ready to defend the President of the United States.
As she approached the White House, her face turned from slight disappointment to one of trouble. She hovered a block away from her destination bringing both of her wingmen to a halt as well. They all wore the concerned look of flying into a trap.
She expected at least the entire block in front of the main gate and the lawn to the flooded with every heavily armored weapon and personnel they could deploy in less than twelve hours. Instead the street and grounds were as vacant as the rest of the city save for one lone soul standing on the lawn.
The President of the United States himself.
“Anchimayen,” Peace projected her thoughts, “is that the real President of the United States down there?”
“Yes it is,” the child responded back from the safety of their North Pole hideout. “He has not left the White House all night. That is him standing before you.”
“Where’s Dennison?” she looked up toward the skies.
“Still in space in the outer orbit where you left her,” he answered. “She has not moved since you exiled her there.”
She nodded before looking down at the leader of the free world standing alone facing his imminent death.
“You’re just hell bent on showing the world what a big pussy Bush was, aren’t you?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Big bad Bin Ladin Al-Qaeda ninja drone killer now standing on the lawn of the White House with his gangsta lean facing down a world killer like me.”
She grinned, biting her lip.
“Kind of sexy,” her voice went a bit high, “makes a girl wanna come down there and do the ole Monica on you.”
“I stand out here so that good Americans do not die needlessly,” he responded back, “so that…”
“And then he talked.” She rolled her eyes. “And turned something that I found really hot a second ago, into something that just pisses me off to no end. Ghoul…”
Ghoul strolled up to the front gates brandishing his new blades slicing a section of it down with a couple of well-placed swipes, all that stood between him and the President.
“You see, this martyr shit does not sit well with me,” she scowled, “sends a bad message of hope where there should be none. Now had you cowered under your desk like you were supposed to I would have given you a quick, somewhat painless, death. But since you want to come out here like Harrison Ford, I’m going to have Ghoul here butcher you on the front lawn while your wife and kids watch screaming from the windows. And then right before the last breath leaves your body I’m going to make you watch as I obliterate the White House with them inside of it.”
A sweat-drenched President slowly turned to a rabid grinning Ghoul pointing one of his machetes at him getting ready.
“This is for da homeland you cunt,” he grinned, “whether dey appreciate it or not.”
A smile came back on her face as she realized in two seconds her plan would come to fruition. She would finally win, all due to her perfect plan.
With the major player taken off the board, there was little resistance. The demise of the Defenders of Justice meant no annoying heroes she had to swat out of her way. Not even the Regulators, who she suspected were not dead, came out of their hiding place to make a final stand against her. She would decide later either hunt them down or leave them to rot in the hole they cowered in.
She basked in the euphoria of her perfect plan until she realized it was more than two seconds and Ghoul had not moved an inch to dip his blades in Presidential blood.
It was because he was transfixed on the portal that opened up behind President.
In two seconds she watched her perfect plan go up in smoke as a female speedster in a high tech gray and white bodysuit wearing a Kabuki mask to cover her identity popped half way out of the portal.
“Sike!” yelled the mystery superhuman while flipping her off.
Wrapping her arm around his waist, she snatched up the President of the United States pulling him into the portal with her.
“No!” roared Peace.
She unleashed a powerful stream of raw power that sheared the air itself. The portal however closed as quickly as it opened causing the blast to only leave a massive crater in the White House lawn.
“The goddamn Egyptian who I told you to find,” Peace howled turning to Revenant with murderous intent. “Find them! Find out…”
Before she could finish her rant, two more portals opened in midair several feet from them. In the first one, the powerful Egyptian demigod flew out and hovered with a grin that quickly turned into a sneer as he locked eyes with Revenant who brandished a devilish grin.
She did not even need to guess who was coming out of the second portal. She could feel her coming. Somehow, she always found a way. Something Peace both respected and loathed.
The Earth trembled as EVO Zero barreled out of the portal with all the rage of hell on her visage. Revenant and Wendigo wisely scattered, while Peace covered up bracing herself for the first impact.
Even though Peace had her guard up protecting her face, Dennison’s building leveling haymaker knocked her clear across the skies of DC. She felt the blow in her bones. She hit the breaks to stop her reverse momentum and get her bearings, but Sophia was already on her with murder in her eyes. The next thunderous punch connected smacking Peace out of the sky hurling her through the Jefferson Memorial. The seventy-one year old monument did not stand a chance against her wrecking ball body crashing through it. Parts of it exploded like an eggshell, while another part collapsed in on itself. Peace bounced violently off the grass lawn behind the monument producing several large craters before coming to a stop.
She rolled to her feet shaking out the cobwebs and dusting herself off. She realized in their second fight Sophia was holding back. Her strikes were harder and actually causing pain. That was all the time she had to think as Dennison landed putting a huge crater into the lawn as well. She did not hesitate or utter a single word charging straight for Peace sending dirt and well cut grass spraying everywhere. She let her fists do the talking for her as she roared throwing left and right bombs at break neck speed tagging Peace across her jaw, both sides of her ribs, and the left side of her face.
The word of the day was attack… and to keep attacking.
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
The same time Sophia returned to Earth, the bay window to the Dennison’s home along with a good portion of the front of their house detonated. The cause of it was a body hurled at unimaginable speed sailing over the gate and crashing into a black Ford Fusion across the street.
A dazed and furious Nachzehrer pulled herself from the wreckage of the car, while Sister Shareef appeared from out of the new hole made in the Dennison’s home. She traded in her prison attire for a black and purple version of Heavy Element’s bodysuit along with matching boots, and black bracers similar to Sophia’s bracers.
“Heffa, you done picked the wrong house to threaten!” she yelled out.
She leapt from the house clearing the fence landing in the middle of Seventh Avenue. A rabid Nachzehrer, with knife still in hand, wasted no time pouncin
g on her. They both slammed into a Hyundai RAV 4 crushing the vehicle between themselves and the curb. Nachzehrer roared fighting to overpower her, so that she could drive her blade into either her neck or chest, while Shareef with a vice grip lock on both her forearms muscled back to keep her at bay.
The commotion drew everyone in the neighborhood onto their porches while Sophia’s parents looked through the new hole in their home. A livid Mrs. Dennison appeared as if she wanted to get in the middle of the fight while her husband held her back.
Shareef feeling the knife edging closer broke the stalemate with a neck snapping headbutt to the face stunning her; she repeated the process two more times for good measure. Realizing she had to do something explosive to remove the knife that Nachzehrer held as if welded to her hand. Shareef, with a three-second window, tucked her head under the Nachzehrer’s right arm while reaching across her chest and around her neck with her near arm, allowing her to control both her knife arm and upper body. Using her pistons for legs, Shareef propelled herself into the air slamming Nachzehrer violently back-first into the already totaled Ford Fusion. A chorus of “Oooooooh!” rang through the neighborhood of witnesses as Shareef now in control wrenched the knife from Nachzehrer’s grip tossing it away.
“Rock Bottom! Rock Bottom!” an onlooker screamed out.
She then straddled her and proceeded to rifle her with sledgehammer right haymakers to the face.
“Dat’s right!” screamed Mrs. Dennison throwing her own left and rights shadow boxing. “Lick out her what’s it not!”
“Nopel!” yelled Mr. Dennison holding her back. “Mind your blood pressure! Mind your blood pressure!”
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
The same time Shareef’s portal opened up in Mount Vernon, another portal opened on Sophia’s island at 6 AM Pacific Time. This one was ten times larger than all the other portals. The Draugr and Jiang Shi turned mystified, while residents of Sanctuary still awake exited their homes to witness something straight out a science fiction movie. Many were terrified, some like Kyle and Akram were fascinated, while Kimberly saw hope.
A fearless Draugr walked toward the portal to cleave whoever or whatever came through in half. What he got instead was chest full of a 41.6-ton assault vehicle plowing into him like a wild boar. The impact knocked the monster off his vertical base sending his battle-ax flying. As he rolled backwards onto his feet still brandishing his sword, Lady Tech inside the Warthog locked her main cannon onto his chest.
“Choke on this, you son of a bitch.” She furrowed her brow.
With two simultaneous button pushes from her hand controls, the long barreled main cannon of the Warthog lit up displaying a white light. A build up of kinetic energy unleashed a plasma shell round striking the Draugr dead center lifting him off his feet tearing through the village causing destruction and a chain reaction of explosions.
The monster, still gripping his sword, crashed landed yards from where the village ended and the beach began.
Jiang Shi coming her senses after the Regulators’ startling entrance shot up into the air via a column of flames in an attempt to turn them and the village to ash.
“You shall all…” she began her catchphrase while channeling flames through her hands.
“Jiang Shi!” screamed Merge getting her attention.
Standing in the open top hatch of the Warthog, she injected herself with a syringe filled with Oliver’s blood. In an instant her skin color changed to match Oliver’s, while her hair turned into a frizzy afro. Her eyes blazed white as she focused channeling an electrical charge propelling herself from the top of the vehicle toward the fire witch.
Jiang Shi shaken rocketed higher into the sky to get some distance between her and an enraged Rosann now locked on her with a bloodhound mentality.
The skies became blazed with fire and lightning over the island as a vengeance seeking Merge picked up where Blitz left off.
“All right girls,” ordered Erica, “time to get to work.”
Additional parts of the Warthog opened jettisoning the android sisters. Angie and Jennifer landed on the Warthog, while Maxine brandishing two automatic plasma rifles touched down before the frightened villagers.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, if you will please follow me,” she instructed, “we are going to the far side of the island until the fighting is done.”
Everyone was still too frightened to make a move until Kimberly found courage to step up and speak.
“Come on people!” she yelled, “we have to follow the lady robot!”
“The correct term is android,” Maxine corrected, “but, yes, please follow me.”
“What is everyone waiting for?” Earl howled also helping to lead. “Let’s move people! Move it! Grab smaller children and help the older people! Let’s go!”
Merge strafed across the skies evading Jiang Shi’s flame attacks. The flame witch became erratic unleashing volleys and streams of intense plasma heat trying to turn her to cinder. Even with half of Blitz’s power levels, her speed outmatched the fire witch’s accuracy. Rosann was purposely frustrating her, patiently waiting for her to make a mistake.
Spotting an opening, she darted by striking her across the face spinning her around in midair. It was like pulling a pin out of a grenade as she screamed in rage turning the sky red as she created a fire storm. All of the villagers running to safety with Maxine leading them, looked up into the sky in fear of hell blazing above them.
“Think we should give Merge some help?” Lady Tech asked as she drove the Warthog.
“My sister’s got this,” Heavy Element answered. “Let’s just worry about mowing down that big ugly son of a bitch.”
Jiang Shi halted her flaming rampage to see if Rosann’s chard body had fallen from the sky. What she received instead was a roaring Merge bursting through her flames slamming right into her. The strike was so fast and hard, it sent them flying half a mile off from the island. The fire witch unable to recover from the blow, plummeted into the Pacific Ocean back first. Rosann released Oliver’s power while straightening her body into a diving position. Before she hit the water, she rubbed two of her fingers across the bottom bone slab on her wrist band.
A gagging Jiang Shi swam back to the top and frantically looked around. She was in an element that rendered her abilities useless. She prepared to swim back, when Rosann rising from the water pounced on her.
Jiang Shi screeched as Merge taking the form of a human hybrid sea otter sank her razor sharp claws into her arms forcing her back first into the deep dark depths of the ocean. The fire witch struggled to break free, but Merge’s sea otter DNA granted her superhuman strength and greater lung capacity. She watched the life fade out of her as her lungs filled up with water. Her vengeance almost fulfilled, Oliver’s words from when they spoke in the hallway echoed in her mind.
Rosann reluctantly shot back up to the top with her breaking through the ocean surface where the early morning sun beamed down on them. Jiang Shi weakly hacked up the water she took in and groaned as Merge locked her in a one arm under chin headlock. She used her powerful legs to swim back to shore with her.
Back at the island, her teammates continued their full on assault of the Draugr.
“Full throttle,” ordered Rogers. “We have to keep that bastard on the beach.”
“Yes, sir,” Lady Tech acknowledged.
She gunned the high tech assault tank tearing through the village while tracking the Draugr’s trajectory trail to pinpoint where he landed. It was not too hard to find him, the man beast charged straight at them with thoughts of slaughter in his eyes.
“Dennison’s gonna kill me for tearing up her island.” Erica gritted her teeth. “Time to let it fly, Angie!”
“Yes, ma’am!” the bubbly android acknowledged.
She locked her tripod feet into sections of the tank to stabilizer herself as a compartment in the Warthog opened in front of her pushing up
two gargantuan rifles that were half the size of her body. Her sister armed up as well as her back opened up once against allowing her to connect and pull out her swords.
Angie grinned, raising one of her hand cannons as her targeting system locked onto the Draugr. She pulled the trigger causing the gun to make a humming sound before discharging an energy projectile round striking him on the right side of his helmet.
The heat and impact forced his head to turn and buckle while causing superficial damage to his helmet. It did not stop him from charging; it instead motivated him to increase his speed.
Angie adjusted her stance, raising both her guns opening fire unleashing one round after another from both barrels. Majority of them found their mark knocking the big man around, but it did not stop him from coming.
