by David Bruno
“No. I’m done with you, Doe. No more,” whimpered an exhausted and penitent Dr. Huang.
“Very well then.” Dr. Doe fired two shots into Dr. Huang. He fell to the floor and quickly bled out.
“No!” screamed Ironside as he watched one of the few people in the world who understood him be put to death. You’re forgiven, good doctor. We’ll finish this.
Doe turned his attention back to the heroes. “Our new übermenschen here are much more powerful than you.”
Two towering, muscular, shirtless figures rounded the corner. Their terrifying entrance looked as if it was in slow motion due to their enormity. Dr. Doe disappeared behind them, leaving the heroes alone to face his two new superhumans. Ironside pulled out his sidearm and fired at Dr. Doe as he retreated. It was too late. He missed.
Rocco towered over seven feet tall, had deep-red flesh, and wore a scabbard on his back. The handle of a large blade protruded just above his shoulder. On sight, he charged Ironside. His body was already noticeably armored. Clearly, Rocco didn’t need the benefit of a kinetic attack to activate his power. Ironside knew bullets wouldn’t hurt Rocco and he quickly returned his weapon to its holster and put his hands up taking a defensive posture. With a mighty punch, he struck Ironside’s stomach, launching him into the wall behind him. Pieces of concrete burst outward as Ironside smashed into the wall and slid to the floor.
“Ironside!” screamed Aegis, but she had concerns of her own. Orro, a golden monster of colossal proportions like his cohort, swaggered toward her with his eyes glowing like blue fireballs. He unleashed a full-on assault from his ocular beams directly at Aegis. At the speed of a synapse, her shield spread out in front of her and deflected the beams. But something was different. Her energy began to fade. Somehow the beams consumed her force and dug into her shield. She knew she couldn’t hold out for long before the beams penetrated her shield. “MWAHHHH!”
Ironside, fully powered from the attack, returned to his feet and engaged Rocco in a melee of titanic measure. While more skilled, Ironside was no match for the force of Rocco’s assault. It became a street fight. Blow after blow, Ironside absorbed the devastating assault. Unable to keep Rocco at a safe distance, Ironside allowed the behemoth to get too close and put him in a rib-crushing bear hug. Breathing became impossible as he began to gray out.
Aegis gasped as she witnessed the brutality of the beatdown and came to the aid of her partner. Despite her dwindling energy, she launched a second shield toward Rocco. It knocked him to the side and was just enough to allow Ironside to work free.
This selfless act was not without consequence. Aegis grew weaker and fell to her knees as Orro’s beam consumed her power. The beams had almost completely burned through her shield. She was moments from certain death.
Ironside flung a surprise kick to Rocco’s chest, causing him to lose his balance. The mighty giant crashed to the ground. With lightning speed, Ironside grabbed his legs and swung him in the direction of Orro. His body flew straight and true into his brother. Orro was struck by Rocco’s flying body and crashed to the floor, ending his assault on Aegis—for the moment.
The heroes regrouped. “Thanks, sweetie. We need a better plan. These guys are tougher than us,” said a sober Aegis as she caught her breath and began to regain her energy.
“Hit him with your arrows, Aegis,” commanded Ironside as he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her close, and planted a quick kiss on her lips before letting her go back to the battle. “One last kiss, babe. Thank you too.”
Aegis frowned. “Do you have a head injury? Fight!” She drew in a deep breath and rapidly fired a flight of five bolts into Orro, who had returned to his feet. The arrows stuck into the golden skin of his forearm and chest. With a hearty laugh, Orro blew a kiss toward Aegis and simply pulled them out and tossed them to the ground. She charged toward him, grabbed his waist and tried to use her new skills to take the behemoth off his feet. But he was simply too big and strong and laughed at her attempt. Now what?
“What do you think you’re doing, little girl? We can go somewhere quiet.” Orro chuckled at Aegis’s vain attempt to subdue him.
Undeterred, Aegis jumped on his back and swung her legs around his neck to execute a choke hold, much like she had done with Benny in practice, except that this adversary stood on his feet. She grabbed her foot and squeezed as her body hung upside down from Orro’s neck.
“No, Aegis! Attack from a distance!” screamed Ironside.
I got him. But Orro was too strong. He simply opened Aegis’s legs like a wishbone and tossed her onto the ground. Pain ripped through her hips as she thrashed in agony, unable to walk.
Rocco reached behind his back, unsheathed his falchion, and pointed it toward Ironside. The majestic sword glowed along the edge. “This here sword is enhanced with meteor dust. It can cut you in two, armor or no armor. Come here, little man.” The giant hooted; his victory was imminent.
Ironside’s eyes widened as he pondered his next move. Okay, Benny, focus and stay away from that blade. Rocco mightily swung the sword. Ironside jumped safely away from the first swing—and then the second. The giant was much quicker than someone his size should be. On the third swing, the blade sliced into Ironside, cutting through his uniform and deep into his abdomen. “AHHHH!” he screamed as he doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. His body was opened just above the chrome belt. A pulsing yellow glow from Ironside’s muscles illuminated the room as they became visible. Rocco threw the blade to the ground, deciding to finish Ironside with his fists. With one final uppercut to the jaw, Ironside’s wounded body became airborne once again and smashed into the wall. He slumped to the ground—motionless. The glow from the fissure in his abdomen faded as life left him.
“Ha, ha, boy. Make way for the new and improved. You’re just an accident, never meant to be. We’re the real deal—flawless,” Rocco bellowed an animalistic roar as he beat his chest in victory over Ironside.
Orro unleashed another ocular assault on Aegis as she lay on the ground. As her shield weakened, she gazed upon Ironside’s motionless body.
“NOOOO!” Tears flew from her face as she dug deep and found the strength to stand once more and project her shield at her adversary. She no longer had the energy to crush Orro, but for the moment he was pinned against the wall. It was now two versus one against her. This is the end. We failed, Victor. I’m so sorry.
“Hey, Orro, quit playing with the little girl and let’s finish Ironside. Let’s snuff him out together,” said Rocco in a jovial tone.
“Gladly.” Although Orro was pressed against the wall, he was able to move his head and look in Ironside’s direction. He shot a high-energy beam at Ironside’s immobile form. Orro detected no motion from Ironside and quickly released the beam. “He’s dead already, Rocco.” Aegis, exhausted from attempting to subdue Orro, released her shield and hobbled toward Ironside.
Rocco and Orro laughed on the other side of the room, ready to finish off Aegis as they had Ironside.
But Ironside was not dead—not yet. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head toward Aegis as she held his shoulders up from the floor. He whispered, “Find Rick and Phil and protect them. Shield them. Go… now.”
“I’m not leaving you. I’m not leaving you. We win or die together, remember?” Aegis cried.
He inhaled shallowly, barely able to speak. His organs bulged from the opening in his gut. “Save yourself. Save them. I’m done… overloaded… exploding… dying. Go!” Ironside’s eyes began to glow bright white. Defying his injuries, he slowly came to his feet. Aegis had seen this before and knew he needed space. She limped to the side, away from both Ironside and their foes. But this time was different. He was injured. Ironside’s skin turned blood red, and his hair became pure white and stood on end. His body lifted and hovered inches above the floor. He held out his arms as static energy crackled from his fingertips and jumped to the walls. The gap in his abdomen began to glow again, bright as the sun and sizzling like bac
on in a pan.
Aegis’s heart pounded as she witnessed the metamorphosis of her man. He’d become something else—something she’d teased him about before. He’d become a true demigod—and he was losing the battle for his life. Power coursed through his body in seemingly infinite intensity, yet he lacked the power to heal the damage that had been done by Rocco. “No!” Aegis shouted. “You can’t do this alone, Ironside. We can do this together. I love you!” She wailed at the horror show unfolding before her eyes.
Ironside caught a brief glimpse of her. Steam rose from his burning, dying eyes as moisture boiled off of them. In a calm, measured manner, he said in a strange, deep, metallic timbre, “Don’t cry for me, babe. You gave my life meaning. You are my purpose and you saved me. We came here to save the world. Now let me use what’s left of my life to save you.” He paused as he struggled to grab another breath before addressing her one final time. “I thought I told you to run.”
Finally heeding Ironside’s demand, Aegis burst into tears. Still in pain from being ripped from Orro’s shoulders, she sprinted as fast as she could out the door past Rocco and Orro, who became indifferent to her. The brothers stood in awe at the revival of the man they’d thought to be dead. Aegis had been weakened, and they could terminate her later. To finally slay Ironside, they needed to attack as a team.
Ironside glided silently in the air over to Rocco who unleashed the only weapon he had left, his punch. Ironside tilted his head to the side, raised his hand, and grabbed the fist flying toward him. With an ethereal squeeze of a single hand, he crushed Rocco’s armored fist. It was both graceful, and devastating.
“AHHHH! What the hell are you?” screamed Rocco as he hunched over and pulled his mangled hand inward.
Orro screamed, “My brother! You’re gonna die, little man!” Before Orro could move, Ironside flew at lightning speed toward the sword, as if by the force of his will alone. The sword lifted from the floor to his hand like iron to a magnet. He then flung it toward Orro. The sword spun like a boomerang and struck Orro in the leg just below his knee, severing the lower half.
“AHHHH!” Orro shouted as the bottom half of his golden leg separated and fell to the floor. He crashed to the ground and grabbed at his wound, attempting to stop the bleeding. The severed calf twitched and flopped in pool of blood.
“Wanna go for a walk, big guy? Oh, I see. Some other time then,” cracked Ironside in his deep, metallic timbre. “You should’ve been nicer to us.”
Ironside turned back to Rocco and recalled what Max had told him. All of the Agency’s creations had a weakness—areas of unarmored flesh. He needed to find them. Ironside hovered around Rocco in search of the spot as the giant favored his smashed hand. He found it: a small patch of normal-looking skin was visible in the middle of Rocco’s red back.
“Lookie here. Don’t worry… ” Ironside grabbed Rocco’s neck with one hand and thrust the other into Rocco’s back. Rocco let out an agonizing cry as Ironside effortlessly removed his spine and pieces of ribs. “… I got your back, Jack,” Ironside quipped with the bloody body parts in hand.
With his spine extracted, Rocco fell silent and limp as he converted from armor to regular flesh. Blood rained onto the floor as Ironside held up the body with one hand and the spine with the other. With grim satisfaction, Ironside released Rocco, letting his parts fall to the floor. “Invertebrate worm.”
“This isn’t possible!” cried Orro as he sat on the ground and wailed in pain. “You killed him! My only brother!” He paused and took several deep breaths, trying not to bleed out. In a deep, slow tone, he asserted, “It’s my turn now.” Orro trembled as he unleashed the full force of his ocular beams. Ironside shuddered as he was thrown backward, absorbing the energy. His power increased exponentially. Every cell in his body hummed as the energy multiplied. Static sparks crackled from his skin. Ironside’s whole body pulsed as a corona formed around his perimeter. He had become amplified beyond his limits—a reactor on the verge of a meltdown. The crack in Ironside’s abdomen began to widen and grew deeper as he careened wildly around the room.
Orro released the beam and smiled at his achievement with horrible satisfaction as he rested on the floor. Knowing that he had beaten Ironside, he savored the vengeance achieved for the death of his brother. It was only a matter of time until Ironside fell, this time for good.
*****
Aegis fought tears as she ran through the fiery lab to find Rick and Phil. She needed to locate the helicopter pad. Recalling the map that her dad had forced them to memorize, she found the door to the pad. The noise on the other side was deafening. She heard the sound of a large gun unleashing its fury on someone and hoped it was used against the Agency and not her mysterious new partners. She flung the door open with one hand while a shield formed on her other. She saw the helicopters had been consumed by flames, their battered shells belching black smoke. Pieces flew off of the skeletal remains of the aircraft. Heat from the blaze warmed her as she entered the battle zone. A knowing grin formed on her injured face as she realized what had happened. Well done, boys. Rick and Phil appeared from their cover, having finally taken out the last remnants of the Agency’s guards.
“Guys! Get over here now!” ordered Aegis. “Ironside’s overdosed on energy. Exploding!”
Rick and Phil weren’t quite sure what she meant. A detonation was imminent, but what kind? They rushed toward Aegis.
“Kneel down next to me,” she said.
With one man on each side, under her arms, Aegis knelt and formed a bubble around the three of them. It was as large as she could make. In her exhausted state, she wasn’t sure it would be enough protection against whatever Ironside would do.
*****
Ironside continued to hover wildly. The break in his abdomen grew larger and deeper. In moments, it cut through. Ironside’s upper and lower halves peeled apart.
Orro observed Ironside’s fragmentation with glee and haughty laughter from his position on the floor. “This is it.”
Just then, a colossal explosion of fissile energy burst forth from Ironside’s midsection. His eyes widened in unfathomable pain as his body completed the split into two pieces. Energy rushed from Ironside and immediately burned Orro and the corpses of Rocco and Dr. Huang to vapor. Ironside’s torso fell to the floor with energy still pouring from it. His legs stood for a moment longer, with blindingly bright energy shooting upward from the split through the ceiling and into the sky. His sidearm was still firmly strapped to his thigh. Ironside’s energy filled the entirety of the laboratory complex with an extraordinarily intense rush of hellish fury. The heat of the energy burst formed a mushroom cloud over the site and illuminated the darkness of the evening sky. The surrounding cool air rushed back inward at super-hurricane speeds, leveling anything that remained.
Then, minutes later, there was peace. No life. No labs. No buildings. Nothing but smoldering ash. The entire facility and anything within a half mile had been reduced to a burned-out plot of blackened rubble and ash.
Just outside the building on the decimated helicopter pad, Aegis and the men felt the intense heat, even through the relative safety of the bubble. The rush of air tossed the bubble from side to side, crashing the trio into each other. Aegis struggled to maintain her strength under the load of the winds. But she proved she was a hero and prevailed, saving their lives.
After the worst was over and before their air supply was gone, Aegis and the men emerged, exhausted, from their cocoon. They were alive and unhurt by the blast, apart from some new bumps and bruises. Rick held pressure on his gunshot wound to control the bleeding. He needed immediate medical attention.
Remembering what Ironside had told her, Aegis reasoned that the explosion must have been the result of him giving his life for the team and the mission.
“NO!” screamed Aegis as she jumped to her feet and ran in the direction of the lab, ignoring her own pain. There were no walls remaining, but she knew the way. Fearing what she would find, she hurdled ov
er and sprinted around the ruins and soon came upon a set of bodily remains, split into two pieces—his. Her knees buckled in shock as she fell down by his head to hold him. His eyes were closed and his upper body was rigid. His suit was nearly burned to ash and barely covered what was left of him. The bright red color of his skin had faded into a grayish blue hue. She hugged his upper half and gasped at her new reality as Rick and Phil knelt beside her.
“I’m so sorry, Aegis,” Phil said. “He’s gone. Our cousin is gone, and we never really met him.” Rick and Phil had seen death before in the Middle East, but it was relatively new to Aegis, with the exception of losing her brother, Victor.
Aegis realized then that Rick and Phil were part of Ironside’s family. She released Ironside’s upper half and turned toward them. She hugged the men, one in each arm. “It makes sense now. You’re family. But how? How are you here?” Without letting them answer, she turned back toward what remained of Ironside.
“I killed him. I got him into this and should have stayed with him,” whimpered Aegis as she shook and wiped the tears from her face. She turned back to the men and wrapped both arms tightly around Phil.
“No, you didn’t,” said Rick. “The only people responsible for Ironside’s death are the Agency, and they’re all dead. Good riddance to them. Besides, if you hadn’t shielded us, we’d be dead too. Your shield might not have been enough to protect you or us if we’d been next to him.”
“He knew what was happening and made me leave him before he died. He kissed me during the fight and I scolded him. One last kiss, he said. He died alone.” She put her face in her palms, choked on her saliva, coughed and began to gasp for air.
