THE FIRST

EVO UPRISING

Kipjo K. Ewers

Copyright © 2015 Kipjo K. Ewers

All rights reserved.

ISBN-10: 1511776862

ISBN-13: 978-1511776868

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

Copyright © 2015 Kipjo K. Ewers

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review.

ISBN-13: 978-1511776868

ASIN: B00ZEU5POW

Novel edited by Carol Thompson of "Readers' Favorite"

Table of Contents

Foreword

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

Epilogue

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For Jackie…

Foreword

I would personally like to thank the fans of my work and new readers for purchasing book number two of “THE FIRST… EVO UPRISING” the next Chapter of the EVO Universe. We finally made it!

The reason why I plowed into book two was because of people like you who loved what you read and asked for more. For that, I thank you sincerely. I write dialogue as if I am watching a movie; I do this because I want to draw you, the reader, into the story blowing up your imagination and making you feel as if you were actually there. Let’s face it, in real life people do not always speak properly. Some talk with slang and broken English, and sometimes we pause and hesitate in the middle of a conversation, which is the reason why I use “...”. Also in some conversations, as I stated, you will find some broken English, street slang, Patwah (Jamaican slang), and Creole slang. This is to keep the realism of this fantastical novel.

Now that you have a brief glimpse into the thought process used to write this next chapter in the EVO mythology, cozy up in a chair, sit comfy in your seat on the train, airplane, boat, or car. I hope and pray that you enjoy “THE FIRST… EVO UPRISING.”

CHAPTER 1

Friday, 10:45 PM East Flatbush, New York:

Eddie Brown knew what he was doing that night.

Two weeks ago, he bought a Beretta 92 from Sammy Fisher, the neighborhood crackhead, for fifty bucks. Sammy had lifted the gun from a house he had broken into and was anxious to unload it to pay for his habit. Eddie, a tenth grade dropout, with very few prospects, was looking to increase his investment. He surveyed Chang’s grocery and liquor store for three days to confirm the location of the surveillance cameras, the type of traffic that went in and out, and the best time to rob it when there would be the most cash flow. He figured 10:45 p.m. Friday was perfect because the majority of people getting off of work would head straight home to hear the lottery numbers announced on the news. There would be a gap between when the store would be empty.

Dressed in plain black jeans, hoodie, combat boots, leather gloves, ski mask, and shades to cover his eyes, Eddie drew a deep breath. He remembered he had to be in and out in less than two minutes tops while making sure his head was down with his back facing the cameras. He could not get greedy, taking only what was in the register. If all went well he would walk out with eight hundred to a thousand dollars easily.

He marched right up to seventy-one-year-old Annie Chang, who was in the middle of watching “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

“Put all of your shit from the register in a brown paper bag now, bitch!” Eddie screamed. “Do it, or I’ll blow your fucking brains all over the Newports! Now!”

Annie Chang was born to Mr. and Mrs. Chang in Brooklyn during World War II; her father named her after the comic strip Annie that he loved so much. At twenty-one she married her childhood love with the approval of her parents. At thirty, she and her husband took over her father’s family grocery business running it from then till now while raising and sending three children to college. All three graduated and obtained professions outside of the family business while nurturing families of their own. After forty-four years of marriage, her husband went home to join their parents. Despite the behest of her children, she continued to run her father’s store waiting for her time to go home and join her husband and family.

“I know you understand English, bitch!” roared a now desperate Eddie. “Money in a brown paper bag, now! Don’t make me kill your old, wrinkled ass!”

Eddie cocked the hammer to the Beretta to show that he was serious; he clutched the gun tighter so she would not see him shaking. This was now big time for him. He did not want to go to jail, especially after spending a weekend in county lockup for a nickel bag of weed. He was still on probation for the misdemeanor. Working as a stock boy at the local dollar store was not getting him anywhere but bargain basement gear, fourth rate women, and no respect. He couldn’t even afford to keep his prepaid phone on. He just wanted the money to get a couple of nice things. He was well over his two minutes as Annie Chang leaned forward turning up the volume so that she could hear “New Rules.”

“Goddammit, you fucking slant-eyed bitch!” Eddie yelled.

Finally losing his patience, he went to pistol whip Annie into taking him seriously when his heart stopped to see her turn to him with eyes ablaze. She lowered her glasses firing two intense beams of light from her eyes, first burning a hole through his wrist, severing all his ligaments. His useless hand dropped his gun as he emitted a blood curdling scream. Annie was not finished with him as she used the same eyebeams to blow a hole through his left kneecap. Smoke spewed from both Eddie’s wounds as he fell forward with a sickening thud on the tile floor. Very little blood spilled from the cauterized wound as he bawled and screamed on the floor. As the stench of charred flesh filled the air, Annie picked up her iPhone and proceeded to dial 9-1-1.

“Hello? Dis Chang’s Grocery and Liquor store at 875 East Flatbush,” Annie sighed. “Ya betta get down hea. One a dees little beatches try ta roll up on me, an I had ta smoke dat ass again. Come get dis piece a sheet off my floor…”

Annie hung up her phone, placing it back down on the counter. She turned the volume up higher on her television.

“Punk beatch made me miss “New Rules,” Annie muttered.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Fox Five Saturday Evening News…

“Rounding up our number five spot,” began news anchor Christina Park, “another robbery thwarted at Chang’s Grocery and Liquor store located in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Suspect identified as Edward Brown was wounded when he attempted to rob Mrs. Annie Chang, the owner of the store, at gunpoint. Mrs. Chang, a registered superhuman, wounded Brown with her abilities, which was caught on tape. This would mark the third time Mrs. Chang singlehandedly prevented a robbery in her store. Mrs. Chang was not charged with physically injuring Edward Brown. In related news, an intense downtown battle erupted between known New York superhero Captain Omega and the super-powered Brooklyn gang known as the Notorious Bastards. Captain Omega reportedly stormed one of their drug facilities causing an all-out battle that raged from Bedford-Stuyvesant all the way down to Central Park. Several people were injured in the incident. Six killed, including one of the Notorious Bastards at the hands of Captain Omega. The remaining members are currently on the run, while property damage is estimated in the hundred thousands. Captain Omega was not charged with the murder of the gang member and has issued a statement vowing to both bring the remaining members to justice and continue his “true” war on drugs… now Audrey Puente for the weather.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

2014, 12:45 AM United States Pentagon, Washington DC:

United States Secretary of Defense Robert Graves walked the halls heading to his meeting while followed closely by his Executive Assistant, Michael Mendes. He adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses amplifying his hazel eyes as he walked with purpose.

“Everyone is there, I presume,” Graves addressed Mendes without looking his way.

“Yes sir,” Mendes confirmed, “Dr. Alexander is all set to present his findings.”

“Good,” Graves nodded, “I want to get this show on the road the second I get inside.”

The two arrived at the fortified checkpoint protected by armed security personnel. They scanned their IDs and subjected themselves to a retinal scan before passing through the checkpoint heading to the conference room housing the Private US Armed Forces session.

Entering the conference room, Graves, followed by Mendes, took the time to greet and acknowledge each member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He finished by acknowledging and briefly talking to the presenter of the meeting before taking his place at the head of the long, deep-brown oval wooden table. Mendes took his place in a seat to his right.

“Call to order this US Armed Forces Session,” Graves began. “Dr. Egan Alexander, our current lead geneticists and expert on the EVO virus and EVOs, will begin with the current findings.”

Dr. Alexander, a slender man in his mid-thirties with a Drew Carey appearance, rose to begin his presentation.

“Gentlemen, based on findings as we already expected, the EVO population is indeed increasing,” Dr. Alexander said. “No longer through the spread of infection but through natural procreation. The virus has mutated and ingrained itself within the human DNA coding… becoming an actual gene.”

Rumbles and mutters came from those present as Dr. Alexander referred to his onscreen presentation of a normal human DNA strand on one side an extremely abnormal DNA strand on the other.

“As you can see, the normal DNA strand on the left possesses a double helix. The set of chromosomes in a cell makes up its genome; the human genome has approximately three billion base pairs of DNA arranged into forty-six chromosomes,” Dr. Egan Alexander pointed out. “The EVO DNA possesses a quadruple-helix. Its genome ranges in the trillion base pairs of DNA arranged into one-hundred-eighty-four chromosomes… the majority of which we are still currently unable to identify.”

After allowing this to sink in around the room, he clicked to the next section of his presentation.

“Spread of virus infection, which was caused by the Source colliding with a nuclear warhead in the upper stratosphere of the planet, now dubbed the “Big Bang 2 Incident” resulted in the virus being spread to the four corners of the planet,” Dr. Alexander continued.

He clicked again moving to the next slide.

“It contaminated not only our water and food supply worldwide but also became an airborne pathogen,” Dr. Alexander explained. “Extreme cases of infection resulted in either death or superhuman abilities. This has now decreased from one to zero percent, in fact, the last official death recorded by the virus was two years ago. The current population of EVOs can be estimated at point three percent worldwide; however, this only has to do with the infected. Currently an estimated point one percent of four-hundred-ninety thousand children born annually over the past six years possess the EVO gene. Our studies over these EVO pregnancies revealed that EVO children are being born to two parents possessing abilities, one parent possessing abilities in both male and female, and neither parents possessing abilities, which confirms another hypothesis. It is safe to say that every man, woman, and child currently living on this planet is infected with the virus.”

Unsettled rumbling came from the room again as Dr. Alexander moved to the next part of his presentation.

“Children born with the EVO gene are no longer defined as infected.” The doctor clicked to the next slide in his presentation. “They are True EVOs and with good reason. With the exception of certain types, all True EVOs' muscle and bone density are three times greater than that of normal human beings; they also heal faster.”

“How much faster?” Admiral James A. Murdock, Sr. USN, who is also Chief of NORAD, asked.

“Minor wounds heal almost instantly,” Dr. Alexander replied. “Greater wounds we speculate may take a couple of minutes to an hour, maybe less, depending on the severity. Due to the age of the subjects we are unable to test the maximum limits of their healing capability. The blood samples we took determined them to be exceptionally greater than regular humans.”

“Can you please review the types again?” General James N. Steiner of the USMC asked.

“Through studies, we are able to categorize EVOs by types based on their abilities,” Dr. Alexander answered. “Prometheans are EVOs with superhuman intelligence and mental abilities such as telekinesis, mind reading, and telepathy. Mercurians are EVOs possessing great superhuman speed and reflexes, along with strength, durability, and regenerative healing. Moleculars or Elementals are EVOs capable of alternating their genetic properties. We identify these types as mutations because they do not fall within the power set of the Source. Next, are Apollos, EVOs capable of harnessing, manipulating, and unleashing certain types of energy such as solar, electrical, nuclear, hydro, and even sound. Finally, we have Titans, EVOs possessing tremendous amounts of superhuman strength, endurance, and durability along with regenerative healing. These are the basic classes of EVOs thus far; we expect, however, to find new classes as True EVOs begin to mature.”

“Aside from physical traits, what other differences are there between True EVOs and the infected?” asked General Thomas Welsh, Chairman of the Joint of Staff.

“Our comparison tests have revealed that currently True EVOs at the age of three and four years old are ten percent equivalent ability-wise to most adult infected EVOs. Unlike the infected whose powers and abilities increase by honing or training,” the doctor pointed out, “True EVOs’ powers grow and develop with age. It is estimated that there is no limit to a True EVO’s power levels. We won’t know until one reaches full maturity, but it is speculated that some of them could very well rival or surpass the Source.”

A great degree of uneasy rumbling and muttering came about the room as Dr. Alexander adjusted his glasses concluding his presentation.

“We estimate that at the current rate of birth, over the next twenty years the purebred population will grow to 14,700… maybe even more,” the doctor finalized.

The mutters and rumblings became words. “Over fourteen thousand EVOs… with powers equal to the Source.” A great uneasiness filled the room as images of a possible dark and bleak future were imagined. A future where regular humans were knocked several notches down on the evolutionary ladder.

“Isn’t there a way to detect a child with abilities before birth?” General Norton B. Matthews of the USAF asked.

“Currently no,” Dr. Alexander answered, “other than the obvious physical traits that can be seen within eight to nine months, such as increased muscle and bone density, some powers and abilities do not manifest until the child reaches one to two years.”

“What about treatment… a cure?” General James N. Steiner of the USMC asked.

“To put it bluntly, there is no cure,” Dr. Alexander returned. “At its current evolutionary state the gene is immune to any form of treatment administered to it. It is, for all intents and purposes, incurable.”

One could cut the uneasiness throughout the room with a knife as Secretary of Defense Robert Graves took control of the meeting once again following the end of the doctor’s presentation.

“Gentlemen, due to the actions of one of our own,” the Secretary of Defense sighed, “Pandora’s box has been opened and unleashed onto the world, and there’s no way we can close the lid. The latest in biological weapons are superhumans. Both our allies and our enemies are paying a fortune to enlist EVOs as super soldiers. It is like the NFL draft out there. In the past, the White House has refrained from allowing the recruitment of EVOs into the United States Military. Under the current Administration that order has rescinded. We can no longer afford to fall behind as a superpower, especially on this level.”

“What about the current superhero activity going on in the country?” General Norton B. Matthews (USAF) asked. “It’s still reported that majority of EVOs reside in the United States.”

“Reside yes,” Graves answered. “Acting under, and on behalf of this government, no, and that is what needs to change. The White House is not happy at all with what’s going on in the streets of this country. Many of these costume-wearing individuals have caused more harm than good both on the human and property damage level costing this country billions of dollars. A bill is currently being drafted to regulate superhuman activity. Vigilantism will no longer be tolerated in any state by powered or non-powered individuals.”

There was a clear divide in the room as some agreed with his statement, while others were not too thrilled with superhumans becoming a part of the staple of the United States Military. Graves’ face read that he didn’t care what either side thought.

“Before that bill is introduced, it is imperative that an EVO division under the United States military is in place. Ready to aide in enforcing the laws of this land and defending both its borders and abroad if necessary,” Graves ordered. “To make this perfectly clear this new division will provide service and have authorization within all five branches of the United States military. This is not open for debate. Our Commander-in-Chief expects results within six months time; my office and staff will be heading the review and recruiting process for this new division.”

“Well, if you’re taking the reins on this Graves,” General Thomas Welsh scoffed, “what’s there for us to do?”

“Prepare your branches to happily receive and give them aide by any means necessary.” Graves smiled. “Let’s get it done, gentlemen.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

After the meeting, the Secretary of Defense walked the hallways of the Pentagon followed by Dr. Egan Alexander and his Executive Assistant, Michael Mendes.

“How do you think that went, Mendes?” Graves nonchalantly asked.

“I think it went as well as expected, sir,” Mendes answered.

“Considering we didn’t have to use an ounce of lube, I think they took it very well,” Graves smiled.

Mendes sneered, comprehending the Secretary of Defense’s comment.

“What is the ETA on viable candidates, Dr. Alexander?” Graves asked.

“Screening takes place tomorrow,” answered the doctor. “We should have a list of candidates in the next three weeks.”

“Make it two, please,” Graves requested. “The sooner we can get this three ring circus underway the better.”

CHAPTER 2

Nadiya Romanenko was sixteen years old. Two months away from her birthday, her world would end. Two years ago, she dreamt of becoming a veterinarian. In her hometown of Poltava, she brought home small, injured animals and cared for them.

Her mother passed away due to illness when she was six years old. For some time it would be just her and her father, who loved her dearly. Every day he walked her to school and picked her up afterwards. On Fridays, he brought home honey cake for them to share after dinner. She was his Маленький ягня, which stood for “little lamb” in Ukrainian.

This simple life went on for four years until her father remarried the local butcher’s wife. The childless woman, who was a widow two years before him, was unable to conceive by neither her former husband nor her father. Behind her father’s back, she had nothing but contempt for Nadiya. Nadiya, thinking only of her father’s happiness after being so long without her mother, held her peace despite full knowledge of the woman’s hatred for her.

She would not know that after three years of enduring, fate would take away her father when he intervened in a knife fight at a local bar.

No more honey cakes came after that night.

In their stead was verbal abuse and vicious beatings. No longer was she allowed to attend school. Instead, her stepmother rented her out as cheap labor cleaning houses and businesses from dawn to late evening just to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly.

For a while, she skimmed money from the pay she received in hopes of saving enough to run away, until her stepmother found out and almost beat her to death.

Four nights after the savage beating, men came and ripped her from her bed screaming. Her last glimpse of the inside of her home was of her stepmother taking a sizable stack of cash from the man who would be her new owner.

Yuri Bondarchuk was a well-known dealer of narcotics and white slave prostitution. A sadist with the local police in his back pocket, he purposely sought out virgins so that he could hold auctions and sell them to the highest bidder. Age did not matter to him as long as he could get away with it. The Ukrainian government’s extremely laid-back position on the situation allowed him to get away with a lot.

Yuri dashed away Nadiya’s dreams of becoming a veterinarian for grooming to become a sex slave. He forced her to take heroin between her toes to make her dependent, made her watch a girl two years older than her beaten to death with a lead pipe by Yuri himself to instill fear. Her virginity would go to the highest bidder, not to her boyfriend or husband, on her wedding day. Afterwards she would be raped repeatedly, every day for the remainder of her life, or until she died from a drug overdose, disease, or at the hands of Yuri.

Nadiya sat curled up on her bed in the middle of her cell-like room wearing a worn out cheap school girls outfit two sizes smaller than anything she had ever worn. She wept for a father who would never come. The cheers and howls outside meant the auction was over. The man coming to take her would be in her room soon. She tried to pull herself together remembering the warning from Yuri and the other girls if she did not perform as expected.

She wished Yuri had doped her up before casting her into hell, but he wanted the client to have the entire virgin experience. To not only feel, but see, the agonizing pain and tears as he ruined her with each thrust. She quickly wiped her eyes and sat up on the bed at the sound of heavy footsteps getting closer. Her first night in the house, Yuri told her to pray to her hearts content because there was no God. No one was coming for a little whore. She continued to pray, nonetheless, begging God to save her from this horrific fate. She never stopped until her first John walked through the door. She did not know what revolted her more—that he could be her grandfather, or that he still had his wedding ring on. He stumbled over to her still in his construction work clothes, the stench of booze raining down on her as he towered over her. It got worse as he cupped his filthy callus-ridden hand around her face, forcing her to her feet.

“Pretty face…” he grinned.

He grabbed her up groping and squeezing her rear under her skirt while doing the same with her left breast. She squirmed fighting to keep her tears from falling again. It felt like he was trying to crush her chest in his bare hand.

“Firm ass… nice tits… but are you as tight as I paid for?” he dryly asked.

Nadiya squealed, standing on the tips of her toes as she felt two of his filthy unmanicured fingers making its way in between her panties and inside of her. It felt as if he was stabbing her. She violently trembled, wishing for death. What she got instead was his liquor-stained tongue with bile forced down her throat. Her stomach turned, and she wanted to puke. She kept it down remembering what Yuri promised to do to her if the customer was not satisfied.

He grabbed the back of her blonde mane as he displayed a near toothless grin; it felt as if he was going to rip it out by the root.

“I paid good money to break you into a whore tonight, bitch,” he sneered, “and I’m going to fill every one of your holes… starting with your pretty little mouth.”

The next thing she heard was the unbuckling of a belt, the sound of a zipper opening, and his pants falling to the floor. With the pull of her hair, he slowly forced her down on her knees. The stench was worse than what was coming from his mouth.

“There you go… and if I feel teeth… I will knock them out of your mouth,” he growled.

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth moving closer to end.

Just then, the earth shook around her followed by a massive explosion viciously rattling everything. Smoke filled her small room as the old man, knocked on his rear with his pants around his ankles, cried out in fear. She crawled over to the door where she heard more yelling and screaming. Yuri’s voice, filled with obscenities, was the loudest.

Nadiya found the courage to enter the hallway where the smoke was the thickest. Most of the girls stayed in their room only poking their heads out along with their Johns. She moved toward the chaos, to her it was far better than spending another second in that room.

She got as far as the end of the hallway looking into the bar where the front entrance was no more. As the evening moonlight cast into the room, she could not see Yuri’s face because his back was turned to her, but she could sense fear and rage coming from him. All of it was directed toward the woman standing in the obliterated entranceway.

She was tall with dark caramel skin; Nadiya had only seen a person with her complexion once before. She wore a simple thin red leather jacket and long black tights. Her long dark woolen mane and red cherry-toed bare feet captivated Nadiya, while her piercing deep glowing blue eyes told her that Yuri, the devil, was a liar.

There was a God, and angels walked the earth.

“You have no right, bitch! This is not your country!” Yuri howled.

“No, asshole, but it’s my world,” she answered him in fluent Ukrainian.

“You fucking monkey,” Yuri sneered. “I come ready for you.”

Nadiya knew who Yuri was referring to. Her heartbeat sped up at the sound of the footsteps. She clutched the corner of the wall praying they would not notice her. Kostyantyn and Anastasiya, the two superhumans Yuri employed four months ago, and now she knew why.

She witnessed the almost seven foot wall of pure muscle with piercing gray eyes, known as Kostyantyn, crush both the forearms of a customer while suspending him in midair for busting up the face of one of the girls because she puked out his semen instead of swallowing it.

Yuri had him punished because he refused to pay extra for the damages to his merchandise. The girl’s punishment was to service every man in the building that night. If a single drop spilled from her mouth he promised to bash her skull in with a sledgehammer.

Nadiya didn’t know Anastasiya’s abilities. All she knew was that the platinum blonde’s eyes had a similar glow to the woman who stood before them, except hers was a piercing white. Lights flickered when she walked by. They popped when she was angered. In addition, men made sure to avoid her at all times, while Yuri showed her the utmost respect. She looked down at all of the girls in the stable with disgust and unbridled hatred, as if they were weak and deserving of their fate.

The woman standing before them showed neither fear or concern. Instead she just pointed to Kostyantyn.

“You I can see,” she addressed him before wagging her finger at Anastasiya. “You I find to be disgusting.”

“Don’t think you can lecture me bitch,” Anastasiya sneered. “This is the land of wolves and sheep. I could give a fuck about the “would be eaten” just because they have a twat like me.”

“Then I won’t have any regrets about what happens next,” responded the woman with the black lion-like mane.

With no more words between the two, Anastasiya kicked off her open- toes and planted her bare feet firmly on the ground.

In an instant, the room’s temperature increased significantly as parts of Nadiya’s frayed blonde hair stood up on end.

It was then that she bore witness to Anastasiya’s true terrifying power. Pure raw electricity poured from her slender toned frame. It violently snapped and crackled slithering about her. The white surge lashed out, either popping some of the remaining light bulbs in the vicinity, or cutting through the wooden floorboards with the strength of a high-powered arc welder. The display of power made Yuri duck behind the bar for cover. Anastasiya raised her hands and allowed the current to surge between them showing her control of it. Nadiya now knew why Anastasiya only wore skintight rubber outfits; the only material capable of withstanding the massive heat she generated.

She cowered as she watched Anastasiya lift almost three feet off the ground. The electricity flowing from the tips of her toes scorched the floor underneath her. It was like watching a furious demigod awaken. The only two people unfazed by her terrifying show of power were Kostyantyn and the woman standing in the blown-open entranceway.

“If you’re done showboating,” the woman sighed rolling her eyes, “I got some place to be.”

“Roll your eyes to this, bitch,” Anastasiya snarled.

She unleashed a violent bolt of electricity from the palm of her right hand hitting the woman in the middle of her chest, making an ear splitting sound.

Nadiya crouched low, barely able to stay near the room which became a serious hot zone. It was amazing it did not go up in blazes from the extreme heat generated. The woman buckled slightly from the bolt of human generated lightning.

To Nadiya’s surprise, and Anastasiya’s fearful shock, the electrical blast that could turn a block of wood to cinder appeared to be a slight discomfort for the woman. In fact, the charge meant to hurt her, appeared to be feeding her, as her eyes glowed brighter.

A savage grin formed on her face.

“So, what else you got?” she coyly asked.

“Kos… Kostyantyn!” Anastasiya nervously screamed as she continued to pour on the heat that did nothing but sear the woman’s leather jacket.

“Yeah, Kostyantyn, let’s see what you got,” the woman taunted.

Kostyantyn growled, rushing the woman with blinding speed, breaking floorboards and shaking the structure of the building. He hauled off with a right cross to the side of the woman’s face emitting a mini shockwave violently rocking the building. Nadiya fell on her rear while a staggered Anastasiya broke off her electrical attack. The seismic quaking of the building did not stop as Kostyantyn rained down building toppling blows on the woman. But as destructive as his blows appeared to be, they neither staggered the woman nor forced her backwards.

Out of nowhere, the onslaught was over with one earth-shattering blow. Neither Nadiya nor Anastasiya could see when she landed the punch, but it was clearly a body blow. Kostyantyn came almost two feet off the floor before dropping to his knees. He clutched his gut as he hacked up a massive amount of blood. His entire body trembled as he groaned.

“Breathe… breathe… slowly.” The woman placed a hand on his back, “Your body will regenerate… just breathe slowly. Now, do you want another?”

Kostyantyn shook his head yielding to her.

“Then stay there and don’t move,” she ordered him. “As for you…”

She locked onto a terrified Anastasiya.

“Get away from me, you fucking monster!” she screamed.

Anastasiya blew out the roof of the building with another massive lightning bolt. Her plan was to make a break for it amidst the falling burning rubble and smoke. The superior superhuman thwarted her attempt to flee, snatching her out of mid takeoff.

“Please! Please!” Anastasiya pleaded.

The woman she had ridiculed a couple of minutes before the fight, held her by the neck displaying her own form of propulsion shaking the very structure of the building. Nadiya covered her head believing all the unnatural power would bring the brothel down on top of everyone.

The energy she generated was far more powerful than Anastasiya’s, yet controlled. There was some heat behind it, but not enough to set the floors on fire. It pounded the wood and vibrated everything bringing down almost every bottle on the shelf behind the bar. Yuri, from behind the bar, screamed as a couple clocked him while coming down.

“The big bad wolf is begging for mercy now?” the woman sneered, tightening her grip on Anastasiya’s throat to stop her annoying pleas for leniency. “Well, I’m not in a merciful mood today.”

Anastasiya let out a blood-curdling scream as she lit up like a Christmas tree. Nadiya coiled back shielding her eyes as bolts of electricity shot everywhere scorching walls and blowing out the remaining lights in the bar. At first, it appeared as she was electrocuting Anastasiya, which made no sense to her. Nadiya did not need to be a rocket scientist to know that Anastasiya was immune to the fatality of electrocution. Looking closer, she realized the woman was actually drawing energy from out of Anastasiya. Her eyes flickered becoming somewhat normal, while the woman’s eyes became an intense burning blue.

Anastasiya drained of almost all of her power went limp. The woman lowered herself back to the floor releasing her where she collapsed into a heap.

“What… what did you do… to me?” Anastasiya wheezed.

“Think that would be obvious,” informed the woman. “I drained you of your power. Electricity being one of the main power sources that feeds me allows me to do that. I could have taken it all, in which case you would be a lifeless burnt out husk right now. For now, I just took enough so that you’d be incapable of conjuring up a spark. Unless you find a massive generator, it’s going to take you awhile to get back to full power. How does it feel to be just a sheep?”

Anastasiya mustered enough strength to roll to her side and slowly curl into a ball.

“Yeah, Van Dam you ain’t,” said the woman dismissively.

She returned back over to Kostyantyn who remained kneeling on the floor.

He stopped gasping and puking up blood, apparently healed from the earth cracking gut check that he received. The big man, as instructed by the goddess who brought him to his knees, moved not an inch. She now stood over him contemplating his fate.

“On your feet,” she ordered.

Kostyantyn slowly rose clutching his gut towering over her. It was clear he still felt the effects of the thunderous blow.

“Do you have a sister?” she plainly asked.

Kostyantyn shook his head no.

“Do you have a mother?”

Kostyantyn nodded yes.

The next thing to follow was a vicious slap across the face that sounded like a thunderclap. His eyes widened with rage as his nostrils flared. His chest expanded rapidly as if preparing for round two. He, however, did not budge an inch as the woman stuck a finger in his face.

“Shame on you,” she scolded him, “how dare you use the gift you were given for this. Using it to hurt and subjugate others; squandering it to line the pockets of that animal cowering behind the bar. I should knock that stupid looking head clean off your shoulders. Guess why I haven’t done it yet?”

He did not answer her as he continued to stare her down; she did not wait for him to ask as she stepped closer.

“Because my parents taught me to never look down at a man unless you’re picking him up,” she delivered her message with a motherly tone.

Her words proved to be more powerful than her fists as Kostyantyn hunched his shoulders and bowed his head. Nadiya was dumbfounded to witness a man, who was once Yuri’s savage right hand of fear and intimidation, swat away tears of shame and regret from his eyes.

“Raise your head,” she ordered him as if talking to her own son.

Kostyantyn obeyed, staring into her blazing blue eyes again.

“I’m going to give you a chance to straighten out your life,” she pointed at him again. “You get only one chance to clean up your act. If I ever catch you in a place like this, or doing anything remotely similar to something like this, and I mean running drugs, guns, hit man for the Mafia, anything illegal. You will know me as your mother on that day. I will take you out of this world, and no amount of begging or pleading will stop me. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes,” Kostyantyn nodded.

Nadiya was floored again as this was the first time she had ever heard the big man speak.

“Get out of here,” she gave her final order.

An instructed Kostyantyn left through the obliterated entrance of the brothel not giving a thought to his former employer whimpering behind the bar. A nervous smile grew on Nadiya’s face as she continued to hide near the entrance leading into the bedrooms. The woman sauntered over to the bar placing her hand on the beer-stained wood top and slowly tapped her fingernails across it.

“If you make me rip this bar apart to get to you, I will bludgeon you to death with it,” she warned him.

The pimp, rapist, sadist, and murderer of women fearfully rose to his feet with cuts on his hands and face from broken glass. He reeked of booze that splashed on him during the demigod battle in his bar. He timidly raised his hands searching for mercy.

“Please… please, let us negotiate,” he quivered.

“The ‘F’n monkey doesn’t negotiate.” She leaned forward, sneering at him.

She purposely put a fraction of her weight down on the bar causing the middle to crack and splinter as she caved it in. It appeared as if the whole bar would rip from its foundation folding in two lawn chair style. Yuri fell back against the shelves that held the liquor. Two more bottles came down on top of him. He stooped down nursing his bruised skull.

“I said stand up!” her voice boomed.

The powerful voice made even Nadiya weak in the knees with fear. Yuri timorously rose to his feet whimpering like a child fitting to get a lashing. It was then that Nadiya felt like a deer in headlights as the woman looked in her direction. She wore kind softness upon her face as she stared at her, something Nadiya had not seen since her father. It kept her rooted in place, even though her heart attempted to beat itself out of her chest. Her fear was natural after baring witness to the terrible power this woman possessed.

“Hi, it’s okay. You don’t need to fear me. Come,” she gestured, extending her hand as if coaxing a fawn in her native tongue.

A fraction of her wanted to run, thinking that she was trading one monster for a more terrifying one. She slowly crept forward believing that before her was salvation sent by God.

“That’s it,” a smile grew on the woman’s face. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. He can’t hurt you anymore. What is your name child?”

“Na… Nadiya… my name is Nadiya,” she said slowly.

“Nadiya,” the woman said, her face lighting up.

It was a sincere smile that put Nadiya more at ease.

“Very beautiful name, how old are you?” she asked.

She glanced over at Yuri who looked at her sending a sliver of intimidation her way to keep her mouth shut. Unfortunately, for him, the woman caught it. The next thing Nadiya felt was a whirlwind making her scream. Yuri screamed louder as the woman with one hand grabbed the bar and snapped a huge portion of it off, tossing it near the smashed open entrance. It hit the ground bringing back the reality of how heavy it actually was. She then stomped over to Yuri shaking the ground and let her fist fly.

It went past his skull blowing out the wall bringing in the open air on the other side. From the look of Yuri, as he cringed, it appeared as if he soiled himself.

“Ya mad?! Yah ah try fe intimidate dee pickney right in fronta me?! Ya wan me murdah you?!” she howled.

Nadiya could barely make out the weird broken English she spoke. She, however, did not need to understand it to tell that she was beyond livid and through with Yuri.

“No! No! I swear! Please! Please!” he screamed with trembling legs.

“Bow your head!” she roared in Ukrainian.

He quickly complied.

“And keep it bowed unless you want me to rip it from your shoulders,” she growled.

She took a minute to let her kindness comeback before addressing Nadiya again.

“How old are you child?” she asked calmly again.

“Sixteen,” Nadiya shyly answered. “I will be seventeen in two months.”

“Sixteen… years old.” The rage came back as she looked down at Yuri.

“Please! Please! I did not know she was that young!” he pleaded.

His body shook violently expecting a vicious pummeling.

“He’s lying!” Nadiya broke down hysterical with tears. “He bought me from my stepmother! He gave me drugs! He sold my virginity to the highest bidder! A dirty old man in the back was about to rape me!”

“She’s…” he stammered.

Before the word “lying” came from his lips the woman grabbed him by his bottom jaw standing him up on the tips of his toes. Yuri let out a muffled scream as it felt as if she was going to either crush or rip his jawbone out.

“Shut your lying tongue before I tear it out,” she ordered him. “How many girls are in the back, honey?” she asked Nadiya.

“Twenty, no, twenty-five,” she returned nervously, “Twenty-five, I am sure of it.”

“Let’s make sure,” the woman said.

She walked to the entrance leading to the bedrooms while dragging a squealing Yuri by his jaw.

“Alright everyone in the back!” her voice boomed with a flawless Ukrainian dialect for all to hear. “Listen up! Nadiya will be walking to the back going from room to room! When she opens the door each girl will walk out fully clothed, and the John in the room will have all of his clothing removed down to his underwear ready to hand to her! He will also hand Nadiya his wallet if he has one and all of his money! He will then remain in the room until called! If you give Nadiya or the girl in the room with you a hard time, I will come back there, and I will kill you! If you attack the girl in the room or try to attack Nadiya, I will come back there, and I will kill you! If you attempt to run, I will hunt you down and kill you in the most painful way possible! Basically, the only way you are walking out of here alive is if you do as you are told! All Johns bang on the walls three times if you understand what I am saying!”

On command like trained monkeys, a series of three loud bangs came from the back.

“Nadiya,” she addressed her, “when you go to the back and get the first girl, ask her to help gather the next set of clothes, and so on, and so forth.”

Nadiya nodded and slowly walked to the back, her stomach knotted as she opened the first door. As commanded, she found the John on his knees stark naked with his clothes in his hands and wallet on top of the pile ready for her to take. It was hard to tell if he was trembling because it was cold, or if he was racked with fear. The girl in the room was Kateryna, who was two years older than her. Kateryna sat on the bed with her head down, afraid to move.

“Kateryna, come it is time to go. You do not have to be afraid anymore,” Nadiya motioned.

As she moved toward her, Kateryna coiled backwards shaking like a leaf. She had been there a year longer than Nadiya and had to both see and endure more horrors than her.

“Who is out there Nadiya?” Kateryna asked not looking up. “Who is she?”

“Our freedom,” Nadiya smiled, “She is our freedom. Come, you have to come.”

With those words, Kateryna slowly got to her feet and followed Nadiya going from room to room collecting the girls inside and the clothing from the Johns. Nadiya was off by two girls; there was twenty-seven including her. Except for her and Kateryna, who held her hand tightly, everyone else huddled into a group like penguins trying to keep warm. All of the clothes for the Johns were placed into a pile, and the wallets and money found laid on one of the tables that had survived the battle.

The woman wore the softness of a mother as she held Yuri’s jaw forcing him down to his knees. She looked at each of the girls within the room. Some were clearly younger than Nadiya, others older with worn out hallowed eyes. Some had the shakes going through withdrawals from not getting their regular fix used to keep them compliant. All of them, except for Nadiya, had fear written on their faces. They looked down at the floor unsure if they were trading one master for another.

“Big man you are,” the woman growled, “subjugating innocent women and children to fill your pockets. I wonder if I was to ask them all what I should do with you. What do you think they would say?”

Yuri swallowed hard looking up at the group of women and children that he tormented, terrorized, and forced to do his will enduring rape, torture, and humiliation just to make him wealthy. Some had the courage to lift their eyes and look at him. All of those eyes that met his gaze had hatred and rage in them.

“The reason why I am not going to ask them is because I already know what the answer would be, and I won’t allow your filthy blood to be on their hands,” she said. “However, that doesn’t let you off the hook. You’re my bitch now. You can come in!”

To everyone’s surprise, a woman wearing a black biker helmet covering her identity in a full skin tight leather bike outfit with matching boots and gloves strolled through the massive hole that use to be the entrance to the bar/brothel. She stood next to the superwoman looking down at Yuri. The superwoman reached into Yuri’s back pocket pulling out his wallet to look at his ID as he squealed again.

“Yuri Bondarchuk,” she announced, “you have been found guilty of kidnapping, slavery, rape, molestation, and sexual assault of women and minors, distribution of narcotics to unwilling parties as well as minors, and murder. Your sentence, which is to be carried out immediately, is a life sentence to live just as you have treated others… as a whore in my stable.”

She pulled Yuri up to his feet yoking him up by his jawbone to extend his neck. As he gagged, the woman in the bike helmet pulled out what appeared to be a pink collar with a small pink box attached to it. She strapped it around Yuri’s neck and locked it with an unusual key. She then stepped back as the superwoman switched from holding his jaw to grabbing him by his new collar, forcing him to his knees like a dog.

“You’re new name is Bitch Number Four,” she announced. “The woman standing before you in black is your official handler. You don’t need to know her name. Her job, which she is being paid handsomely to do, is to track you. And I will have you know she was willing to do this gig for free. The collar around your neck is both waterproof, tamper proof, and unbreakable. In fact, the only way you can get it off is to lop your ugly ass head from your shoulders.”

She pulled him up to his feet so that she could look him in the eyes.

“Your new job is to do what I say,” she barked. “That entails doing the exact opposite of what you’ve been doing. As of now, you are out of the drug business. You will gut this rat hole that you own, turning it into a proper boarding home. You will then go out and find women and children who are suffering the way you have made these women and children suffer. You will take them in, clothe them properly, feed them, make sure they get a proper education and the work skills that they need to survive. You will protect them. You will be a true father to the weak and defenseless in your country. In addition, while you are doing that you will lobby to effect change for laws to protect women and children. You have six months to do this.”

“How…” Yuri gagged, “how am I to do this?”

“Not my problem, bitch,” she snarled yoking him up. “You’re a ho now, and whatever a ho’s got to do to get the job done, he better get it done. If you try to run, I will find you and kill you. If you attempt to find out who your handler is, and she will know if you try, I will find you and kill you slowly and painfully. And if you haven’t done what I just ordered you do in the next six months…”

Out of nowhere she grabbed his right hand giving it a simple squeeze. He wailed as she crushed it. Nadiya and the girls slightly cringed as they heard the sound of breaking bones—much like the sound of pretzels snapping.

“I just broke eight bones in your hand,” she informed him, “next time I will be back to re-break it along with your wrist. Next time it will be the hand, the wrist, and the forearm… and so on… and so on.”

She finally released him. He collapsed to his knees sobbing hysterically, clutching his broken right hand.

“Oh dear,” she had a sarcastic look of shock to her face, “are those tears I see? Are you scared? Do you feel humiliated? Am I treating you like an animal?”

She stooped down giving him a look that would scare the Devil himself.

“Good, now you know how they felt,” she scowled at him, “and that is how I break a bitch.”

Yuri crumbled into a heap bawling hysterically still grasping his destroyed hand. The woman drew a deep breath and turned to the masses huddling close and bracing themselves.

“My name is Sophia Dennison,” she softly announced in their native language, “and I will not hurt you. I am here to make sure no one will ever hurt you again.”

Cries and sobs erupted within the flock of women. Nadiya quickly grabbed Kateryna around her waist, keeping her from collapsing, as she clutched her chest weeping uncontrollably.

“Today you have two choices,” Sophia explained, “you can go with my friend here. She has a place where she can care and provide for you until you can get back on your feet. If you are addicted to drugs, she can get you clean. If you need counseling, we can get you the help that you need to get through this. If you have family that you know is looking for you, we can, and will, get you back to them. She can also provide you with the means to begin a new life anywhere in Europe that you want to go, with either school or a job waiting for you. We can do this for you.”

“What is our other choice?” one of the older women of the group nervously asked.

“You can come and live with me,” Sophia smiled. “I have a place, a very large place, where there is warm tropical weather, blue sea water all around, and pearl white sands.”

“For how long?” Nadiya lifted her hand asking.

“For as long as you like,” Sophia said. “You can each decide for yourselves what you want to do.”

Sophia once again turned her attention to the back of the brothel with rooms filled with stark naked Johns waiting to hear their fate.

“All Johns in the back listen up!” her voiced boomed again for all to hear. “You have all been found guilty of rape and soliciting sex from unwilling women and minors! All of your money is forfeited along with whatever this flea-ridden mutt at my feet has, which will be divided and given to the women and children you subjugated and terrorized! Your clothes will be burnt to ash! Now with two knocks, how many of you are going to go home and tell your wives, girlfriends, and families what you did here today?”

A couple of knocks rang out, which made Sophia sneer in disgust.

“Stop! Stop!” she yelled. “You lying sons of bitches, stop! You all know damn well if you make it out of here alive, you not going to tell anyone what happened here. And that doesn’t sit well with me. I like my rapists to be seen and known. Fortunately for all of you back there, we have a way of making that happen.”

“How will you do this?” Kateryna nervously asked

“Anyone see Inglorious Bastards?” Sophia innocently asked.

The women looked around at one another unfamiliar with the cult classic Quentin Tarantino movie.

“Well, my friend, here,” she motioned. “Has her own twist that she loves to do, minus the Apache knife.”

Without a word, the woman pulled out what appeared to be a black telescopic baton from her right jacket pocket, snapping it open to a full foot long length. She then pulled out a large metal letter “R” from her left pocket screwing it on tight to the top of the baton. As she held it out, Sophia heated the large metal letter “R” turning it bright red with a concentrated blue atomic eyebeam blast.

All of the women’s eyes widened as they now fully understood the fate of the Johns in the back that treated them less than animals.

“Anyone who doesn’t have the stomach for roasted flesh,” Sophia suggested, “can wait outside.”

On that night, the only screams and cries that could be heard were from cowardly evil men.

Not one woman or child left to wait outside.

CHAPTER 3

Two weeks later, within a secure and disclosed facility underneath the Pentagon itself, Secretary Graves sat at the head of an enormous conference room table equipped to seat fifty people. He sifted through his secured computer tablet viewing digital files of superhuman candidates prepared by Mendes and Doctor Alexander. Both men patiently sat flanking him on opposite sides of the conference room table as he viewed their report.

“So,” Graves began with a dull smile, “what do we have to offer the American public out of this pool of genetic misfits.”

“Based on both standard and newly implemented tests for EVO recruits,” Dr. Egan Alexander scrolled through his tablet, “we found five possible candidates…”

“One of them Captain Omega?” Robert Graves grabbed his coffee taking a sip.

“No,” Dr. Alexander responded.

“He never applied,” joined in Executive Assistant Mendes.

Graves gave a dry snort.

“Why am I not surprised?” he sighed rolling his eyes. “America’s number one “hero.” America’s number one failure, I should do well to remind him of that someday.”

Mendes and Dr. Alexander gave each other concerned eye contact baring witness to the Secretary of Defense’s subtle rant.

“So who did we acquire?” he returned from his thoughts. “God help us if it’s any of those idiots from Chicago.”

“Abraham Rogers,” announced the doctor.

“Who?” Graves cocked an eyebrow.

“Sergeant Abraham Rogers,” expanded Mendes as he tapped on his own tablet bringing Roger’s file up on the theatre size conference room flat screen, “Widower… age forty-eight…”

“Ancient,” Graves furrowed his eyebrows.

“Former United States Marine receiving the Medal of Honor for the Iran-Iraq War; a silver star for the Invasion of Panama,” added Mendes, “served during Desert Storm. He received the Purple Heart after injury by an IED with full honors. Almost ninety percent of his eyesight was gone in his left eye.”

“Ancient and crippled,” Graves took another sip from his coffee.

“Eyesight was gone,” Dr. Alexander emphasized. “It was restored when he was infected by the EVO virus. He is currently a class five Titan, possessing tremendous superhuman strength lifting in the fifty ton range. Nowhere near, Captain Omega’s level, but still impressive. He also possesses almost high level superhuman durability, endurance, stamina, and regenerative healing.

“Combine that with his former military background you have…” Mendes tried to close.

“The perfect soldier,” Graves finished his sentence. “I retract my cynicism, gentlemen. Good pick, who else do we have?”

“Oliver Brandon,” Mendes selected the next file. “Age twenty-two, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A class nine Apollo EVO.”

“What can he do?” Graves dryly demanded.

“Mr. Brandon possesses the ability to store, channel, and manipulate electricity on an extremely large scale,” informed Dr. Alexander.

“How large?” asked an inquisitive Graves.

“We didn’t get an accurate reading,” reported the doctor looking at his notes, “but if I had to guess, he has the potential to drain all of the energy out of half the Northern Hemisphere. He is capable of taking the same energy and engulfing either a portion or his entire body in a plasma form of pure electricity. He can achieve flight and move at speeds of one-hundred-eighty-six thousand miles per second. His electrical output produces heat greater than any electrical arc ever created, thus, allowing him to burn through some of the hardest metals on this planet. Very few Apollo types in the electrical class possess his variety of abilities.”

Secretary Graves watched with disturbing fascination as Brandon, wearing a special protective black bodysuit, stood in a controlled testing room. Without uttering a word, he transformed into a being of pure electricity. Extending his right arm, he unleashed a blinding electrically charged beam at a brick wall forty feet away obliterating it on impact.

“I think I like this one,” Graves nodded. “Another good pick. I must say I am impressed so far.”

“Rosann and Adrian Esposito,” Dr. Alexander adjusted his glasses before selecting their file on his tablet to project on the flat screen, “both twenty-three… paternal twins from Staten Island, New York.”

“Brother and sister EVOs?” Secretary Graves knitted his brow.

“An extreme rarity,” the doctor explained, “but plausible considering they are twins who share some of the same traits, both are classified as mutants, and sub-categorized as Elemental EVOs. Rosann Esposito is an organic Elemental. When her adrenaline levels rise microscopic hollow barbs protrude from her fingertips allowing her to collect DNA samples from carbon based lifeforms. Once it enters her blood stream, her body morphs taking on the physical traits of the person or animal she touches. Regular form returns once her adrenaline levels normalize. The sample does not even have to be alive for her to change just organic based. With animal DNA, she transforms becoming a half-human, half-animal hybrid form. Strength, speed, endurance, and agility vary depending on the animal. The transformations seem to be extremely painful, but are easier as long as she remains within classes such as mammals, reptiles, and certain amphibians. The last recorded organic Elemental that attempted to assimilate bird DNA died due to complications of incompatibility; the same fatal results also appear to happen with all aquatic DNA. In addition, she can only assume one form at a time. The barbs in her fingertips retract and remain so once in a transformed state.”

“What about humans?” Graves carefully scanned her file with interest.

“The transformations seem to be much easier,” noted the doctor. “Slight changes take place turning her into the subject’s monozygotic or identical twin, although sex does not change when she comes into contact with male subjects. Height, weight, eye and skin color, as well as hair all change to match any subject she touches. What makes her extremely interesting is when she comes in contact with another EVO. She is capable of mimicking their abilities, not on an extremely high level as the subject she encounters, but enough to be quite formidable.”

A faint smile grew on Graves’ face.

“That’s very useful, what of her brother?” he asked.

“An inorganic Elemental,” the doctor said. “The barbs in his fingers are apparently stronger than his sister’s. When he touches noncarbon based materials such as wood, stone, or metal, his entire body transforms from the inside out taking on the same properties. His transformations appear to be painless. Strength, durability, and endurance also increase based on whatever he touches. His sister can duplicate his abilities when she touches him, however, he cannot do the same when it comes to her. It is also unclear why they react differently to carbon and noncarbon based materials.”

“Always thought twins were weird,” Graves huffed. “Even my brother’s set. Who’s the final member to our list?”

“Last we have Erica Champion,” Dr. Alexander projected the final applicant to the screen, “originally from San Francisco, California… age sixteen and a Promethean class eight EVO.”

“Wait, what age again?” Graves narrowed his eyes.

“Age sixteen,” Dr. Alexander reiterated. “A child prodigy diagnosed with autism, until the EVO virus infected her, curing her of her autism while granting her intelligence on a superhuman level with access to eighty percent of her mental capability. Her abilities include reading minds, telepathy, psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, and low-level telekinesis.”

“No recruiting of children,” Graves emitted with passive sternness. “They’re a pain when it comes to taking orders and a PR nightmare waiting to happen.”

“Actually, Ms. Champion is already on the payroll, sir,” informed Mendes. “She’s also known as Lady Tech.”

Graves leaned back in his seat for the first time, stunned by Mende’s news.

“She’s Lady Tech?” he pointed to the screen.

“The top anti-cyber terrorist in the agency responsible for re-firewalling all of the United States government’s security systems.” Mendes nodded. “Harvard graduate at the age of eleven with a masters in biology, biomechanics, biophysics, bionics, robotics, Aerodynamics, quantum physics, nuclear physics, atomic physics, astrophysics, cybernetics, computer science, and criminal law. She is also the top expert on EVOs. She volunteered to become a part of this group.”

“Her knowledge and intelligence would give this group an extreme advantage like none other, in addition to her technological advances,” Dr. Alexander interjected.

“Technological advances?” Secretary Graves asked with a spark in his eye.

“Ms. Champion holds several patents on fully functional combat ready applications that she is willing to share should she be picked for this group,” informed the doctor.

Graves narrowed his eyes while leaning back further in his seat as he tapped his chin.

“She’s in,” he sprang forward in his seat reversing his decision. “We’ll just keep her out of combat situations; focus her strictly on R&D. So this is the ‘best’ this country has to offer?”

“Those willing to take the offer,” said Mendes.

“God damn Bush,” Graves muttered, “he’s made it that even superhumans don’t want to be all that they can be. This bunch will have to do for now.”

“How do we proceed?” Mendes asked.

“Set up a base of operations for them,” Graves instructed, “Pick an old facility we no longer use. I don’t want them interacting with our regular kids.”

“As for training?” Mendes asked taking notes on his tablet. “Considering we’ve never trained EVOs for combat before.”

“Well, we’ve got that covered right here,” Graves pulled up Abraham Rogers’ profile again on his tablet. “The good sergeant also has experience as a drill sergeant. I don’t think he’ll have any problem whipping this crew into a lean mean fighting team.”

Mendes and Dr. Alexander’s eyes briefly met again with concern before looking back at the Secretary of Defense.

“And I’m sure the brain child can provide whatever educational data needed to make them the best of the best.” Graves motioned to Lady Tech’s profile while addressing Dr. Alexander. “That’s how you balance the budget gentlemen. Get Rogers on-boarded and up to date first along with “Lady Tech” before you drag the rest of them in. I want the base and them assembled within three weeks time for orientation and training, and I want them combat ready in six months. Make it happen.”

CHAPTER 4

Alison Jefferies would be a statistic by tonight. She was already a statistic, being one of the 633,782 people across America who is homeless. She lost her job in the recession of 2008 along with her health benefits. Her unemployment wasn’t enough to cover the mortgage for her condominium despite selling her car and other possessions leading to foreclosure and her losing her home altogether. With no family in the state of New York she bounced from friend to friend’s house sleeping on their couch. They all gave her the same story as if reciting from a textbook. She could only stay for a week or two, after that she had to have a job to get back on her feet or find another place to stay. With no job prospects and wearing out all of the welcome of people she thought to be her friends, she spent her first night with what little possessions she had left on a bench in Central Park.

Almost five blocks away from where she used to work, she remembered the day she sat on one of the very same park benches eating lunch, only to get up in disgust as a vagrant sat down next to her. On that same night, she contemplated suicide, being a Catholic, all be it not a steadfast one, prevented her from taking her life. Within four years, she endured four muggings, two of them happening within a shelter, two physical assaults, and one sexual, also within a shelter. The hardened life on the streets put an additional twenty years on the thirty-two-year-old’s face and body in less than seven years.

Four days ago, Alison found herself caught in the middle of a freezing March downpour. Fear of the shelters kept her from seeking warmth and cover. She now sat huddled in the corner of a building on Park Avenue, dazed with a sickening cough and a heavy wheezing in her chest, all clear signs of full blown pneumonia.

Her eyes watered and snot ran from her nose as she cried out for help, but the difficulty of her breathing kept her voice small among the noise of the concrete jungle. She was now among the ignored. People walked by not even giving her a second glance as if she was a part of the trash on the street, while those who did acknowledge her tossed whatever spare change they had into her plastic cup. Clearly, not the assistance she was looking for.

Each attempt to breathe became more painful. She would not last another cold night. By tomorrow, the police or cleaning crew would walk by and give her corpse a sharp kick ordering her to move. She doubted she would even get a proper burial. Slowly she closed her eyes accepting her fate and dreamed of better days. She dreamed of finding true love and children, things no longer in her future.

Teetering between the land of the dead and the living made her oblivious to the world coming to a halt around her. Everyone else around her was forced to lift their heads as they witnessed an angel descend from the heavens.

An angel donned in a skintight blue and black two-piece running outfit.

Debris kicked up as vehicles both big and small shook from the powerful force of propulsion keeping her airborne as she hovered closer and closer to the streets of Manhattan. Two feet off, she canceled out the power landing on her cherry-toed bare feet. At the sight of cameras and other video recording devices aimed at her, her eyes blazed disrupting them with an electromagnetic pulse. The masses became invisible to her again as she walked with purpose to the only person that she felt warranted her attention. Now towering over a semi-conscious Alison, she knelt down gently touching her cheek.

“Hey… honey, are you with me?” Sophia asked.

The warmth of Sophia’s touch made Alison slowly open her eyes.

Immediately she believed she had passed on, beholding a woman whose glowing eyes were a bright warm blue color. However, she could still feel cold, the soreness of her throat from coughing, and the difficulty of breathing. She should not feel pain if she had passed on.

“You’ve come to take me… to the light?” Alison asked as tears fell from her eyes.

“No dear,” Sophia smiled.

“You’re not an angel?” Alison inquired.

“I’m a doctor,” Sophia responded, “And from what I can tell, you have a severe case of pneumonia… can you tell me how long you’ve been like this?”

“I… I don’t know” she got out between violent coughs, “Am I… am I… going to die?”

“Not on my watch,” reassured Sophia stroking her hair. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Alison…” she answered.

She could not remember the last time someone spent more than a minute with her. She knew she smelled putrid with snot and bile running from her nose and mouth, and yet this woman was stroking her thin, greasy black hair and dirt-ridden cheeks as if they had been friends for ages.

“Alison… would you like to come home with me,” Sophia got to the point extending an invitation, “so I can take care of you?”

“Till I get better?” Alison asked nodding in and out of consciousness.

“No… for as long as you’d like,” she answered.

She was conscious enough to hear the words “as long as you’d like.” She burst into tears hunching forward as the violent cough rang through her again allowing her only to nod her head. Without hesitation, Sophia scooped her up in her arms cradling her like a newborn.

Images of her late father holding her whenever she fell asleep in the back of his station wagon came to mind. She rested her weary head against Sophia’s bosom feeling warmth and a powerful heart.

As Sophia walked back to the center of the street ignoring the flabbergasted masses, she whispered into Alison’s ear, “Hold on tight… the take off is a little bit rough.”

She coiled her powerful legs causing the ground to shake underneath her before leaping into the air leaving a small crater where she stood. Once again, the powerful force that gave her flight erupted from the soles of her feet allowing her to ascend above the skyscrapers into the heavens above Manhattan. She would go slow adjusting to the precious cargo in her arms.

Alison Jefferies looked down, and saw that she was no longer one of the ignored. She was not a statistic. Those who looked up would remember her and this day.

CHAPTER 5

0800 hours—Marine Corps Mountain Warfare School located in Bridgeport, California—a tiny base in the midst of a huge national forest, founded during the Korean War to prepare Marines for mountain warfare. Later, mothballed during the Vietnam War when the Corps determined it was no longer needed.

A CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter disrupted the tranquil peace of the land as it descended on the once active base. Waiting for it to land was a party of ten standing next to a jet-black twin engine Sikorsky private helicopter.

Secretary of Defense Robert Graves, with arms folded behind his back, stared at the descending helicopter. He was flanked by Dr. Alexander and Executive Assistant Mendes, while his Department of Defense agents remained vigilant to ensure that the perimeter and his wellbeing were secure.

Sitting on the folding steps of the Sikorsky was a teenager in her own world with bright sea-blue dyed hair similar to a Japanese Anime character. Her hi-tech glasses, skintight bodysuit, and boots separated her from everyone else in the group as she fiddled around on what appeared to be a clear glass version of a computer tablet.

The Sea Knight powered down after a ten-point landing, the exit door opened as the folding steps lowered allowing the occupant inside to exit. Stepping out with a large military duffle bag in his grip, dressed in a standard issued Marine service uniform with the rank of Sergeant on his right breast, was a man who looked like he was not born, but forged out of raw iron by God Himself.

His face showed his age, while his facial scars, especially the one across his left eye, revealed how he weathered a brutal world. Physically he looked as if he could bring down Everest. If the Marine Corps were the known pitbulls of the United States Military, Sergeant Abraham Arthur Rogers was one of the fathers that sired generations. Rogers stepped down from the helicopter marching with purpose over to the party waiting for him. He halted within respectful distance from the Secretary of Defense snapping a crisp salute as he reported for duty once again.

“Sergeant Rogers,” greeted Graves, “great to finally meet you soldier. Welcome to project Regulators. You already know Executive Assistant Mendes. This is Dr. Egan Alexander, lead geneticists and expert on the EVO virus and EVOs.”

“Sir, pleasure to be here,” answered Rogers with a gruff voice. “Are all the new recruits present?”

“Negative. Three of them will be here tomorrow at 1100 hours, we thought it best to get your orientation squared away before bringing them in,” Graves returned, getting down to business as well. “We’re looking on a six-month turn around on this Sergeant. We need a superhuman fighting force our nation can both respect and be proud of. In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to one of your new teammates who is currently here.”

Graves rolled his eyes as he attempted to introduce Rogers to the blue- haired young woman more interested in playing Candy Crush on her tablet than an introduction to Rogers.

“Ms. Eric Champion,” Graves cleared his throat, “also a lead geneticist and expert on the EVO virus and EVOs. In addition, she is also the lead tech specialist and strategist of this facility with a background in many other fields…”

“That would make Einstein himself look like a retard,” Ms. Champion blurted out while focusing on her game. “I also prefer to be called Lady Tech gramps, if you don’t mind.”

Both Graves and Rogers had mirrored expressions of contempt for the lack of respect of today’s youth. Lady Tech turned her gaze long enough from her game to catch it and responded with an apologetic look laced with sarcasm.

“I’m sorry,” she smiled. “I forgot what the PC terminology is for geriatrics these days.”

With a slide of her hand, she switched off the game, and sprung to her feet strolling over to the group standing before Rogers.

“Sergeant Abraham Arthur Rogers, forty-eight years old,” she began to recite. “Born in Manhattan New York. Former Marine, received the Medal of Honor for the Iran-Iraq War from 1987 to 1988, a silver star for the Invasion of Panama, and a purple heart for injury from a landmine that ended your military career during Operation Desert Storm. In addition to that, a former professional wrestler for Battlefield Wrestling Alliance, holding four World Championship titles, on top of being the company’s third Triple Crown Champion and second Grand slam Champion. You also don’t like the fact that you have a kid on your team.”

“You got all of that from reading my mind?” Rogers steely asked.

“Heck no,” she grinned, “I follow the Xavier code of ethics. First part I got through your files, second part you can just Google. Not to mention my little brother is a huge fan of yours. My parents took us to the Memorial Coliseum to see you fight $ee Money to retain the BWI Undisputed Platinum and American Championship belts in that Prison Rules match. One of the best matches of your career, and then at the Garden when you defeated Scott “The Crippler” Bentley at “Legacy Three” to win your first World Heavyweight Championship.”

With a slide of her hand and a couple of finger taps her tablet projected a 3D YouTube video feed of Rogers wearing his wrestling attire, a Desert Storm-colored wrestling leotard topped off with matching knee/elbow pads and black boots. Patriot tattoos adorned his left breast, right shoulder, right forearm, and left shoulder. As he sets up into a three-point stance in a ring corner before hollering “Charge!” He bolted slamming a dazed opponent with a vicious shoulder tackle driving him into the mat of the ring. He then pulled the same opponent to his feet, slapping on a front facelock while throwing the challenger’s arm over his neck. Abe saluted the fans before hoisting him into the air, as if going for a vertical suplex. Instead he moved his arm from around his neck letting him fall backwards down to earth. He timed it plowing him into the mat with a side slam completing his Search and Destroy finisher. Rogers hooked him up getting the three-count. Kid Rock’s “Warrior” blared as Rogers sprung to his feet, marching over to a turnbuckle leaping on the second ropes. He saluted the cheering fans celebrating one of his latest victories. With another hand swipe, she cut off the feed.

“The rest about not liking me,” she shrugged. “I got that from your facial features.”

There was a calm silence as Rogers leaned forward looking her in the eyes removing the cockiness she had; she flinched a little while holding her ground.

Rogers leaned in closer giving her a look over and then lunged forward to whisper into her ear.

“First off, I don’t hate kids,” Rogers dropped in a stern tone, “I hate disrespect, and I hate disobedience; things that children such as yourself are full of these days. You want to prove me wrong; you tighten up right now, and do, as I say, when I say… no discussion. You disobey or challenge me; I won’t give a damn if you built the entire world. I will throw you out on your ass faster than you can calculate the speed in which I do it… do you understand me?”

Erica swallowed as she struggled to meet Rogers’ extremely intimidating gaze, which felt like it was putting a ton of weight on her.

“Yes…” she began to utter.

“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Rogers calmly snapped at her.

“Sir! Yes, Sir!!” she quickly barked out snapping to attention.

Rogers stood tall again looking down at her. Graves smiled with approval that he had chosen the perfect candidate for this new operation.

“Well expert,” Abe motioned to her, “show me what I’m working with.”

“Gentlemen,” she coughed getting her groove back, “welcome to the Ranch. Ninety percent of the facility is operational. Completion of the other ten percent will be by the end of this week. With my modifications and upgrades this is the most fortified base of operations on the planet.”

All four men looked around at the abandoned base, which clearly had not been touched.

“What modifications?” Graves raised an eyebrow.

“Oh right,” she smacked her own head, “I forgot; this is the ten percent, this way please.”

Minus the Secretary’s security detail, Rogers, Graves, Dr. Alexander, and Mendes followed Lady Tech taking the lead to one of the old hangers used to maintain helicopters. As they neared the massive doors, a large black orb twice the size of a basketball emitted an array of green and red beams that scanned each individual present.

“Please stand still for scanning,” a female voice echoed from hidden audio speakers within the hanger, “recognize, Erica Champion, EVO Class 8 Promethean, and Creator. Recognize, Robert Edward Graves, human, United States Secretary of Defense. Recognize, Egan Nathanial Alexander, human, doctor in human genetics and biology. Recognize, Michael Eduardo Mendes, human, Executive Assistant to Secretary of Defense. Recognize, Abraham Arthur Rogers, EVO Class 5 Titan; reinstated United States Marines Sergeant under the Regulators project. Bio scan completed and stored in memory for future records. Welcome to the Ranch.”

The massive hanger doors slid open revealing an empty room. Graves’ face scowled as he glared at Mendes unimpressed with what he had seen so far. Lady Tech strolled into the hanger before the four men.

“Step lively gentlemen,” she asked in her best British voice. “Step lively, these doors close fast.”

Rogers stepped through with no hesitation, followed by Graves, then Mendes, and Dr. Alexander in unison. The doors closed behind them locking shut, leaving them in darkness for a split second before interior bright lights brought sight back into the room.

“Brace yourselves boys, the initial disengage is kind of jolting,” she warned.

Aside from Abe and Dr. Alexander, Graves and Mendes didn’t even notice that the floor of the hanger that was originally concrete was entirely metal. Yellow and red siren lights flipped up from each corner of the floor. Half of the floor, which ran the length of a high school football field, disengaged underneath them descending on a sliding slant down into a massive complex. As the lift brought them down, the Secretary of Defense looked around in amazement at the underground facility, but more so the assortment of two-armed quadruped-legged droids. Some of them clung to steel rafters like spiders drilling, welding, and installing structures as well as electronic components. The underground complex was three quarters the size and length of a super carrier.

“They’re call Doozers, multi-application droids created to build, run, maintain, and defend this facility if need be. The entire facility runs underneath the camp, and a little beyond,” Lady Tech explained. “Top side will be reconstructed to give the illusion of a regular military base, while the real operations will take place down here. 360 degree surveillance on both ground and air. The entire complex is fortified from top to bottom with a new metal alloy that I created called dark metal.”

“Dark metal?” Graves asked.

“Tungsten mixed with titanium, carbon nanofibers, and a dash of a woman’s best friend,” she smiled. “Very difficult to mix and blend, but once you get it right, it’s virtually indestructible. This place can take more punishment than the President’s safe room.”

The floor came to a rest at the bottom of the underground base, locking into place with the ground floor.

“Welcome home, Miss,” emitted the same female voice from the facility’s speaker system.

“Thank you, Maxine,” Erica acknowledged. “She’s the central computer that runs everything within the facility with the most advanced AI system created to date. She runs the Doozers, security, defenses, and can link to worldwide surveillance and satellite systems in every country on the planet. There’s really nothing she can’t do. Right now, she is compiling research on every EVO on the planet and categorizing them by type, power level, threat level, and location. If they’re affiliated with a government or terrorist organization, if they’re just civilians, whether they’re current superheroes or criminals.”

“What does Maxine stand for?” asked Graves.

“Uh nothing,” Erica shrugged, “I just thought it was a cute name for an A.I.”

Rogers and Graves turned their attention to four human size Doozers. Two were working on a large aircraft type vehicle, which was smaller than a cargo jet with the look of a space shuttle. The other two were putting together a heavily armored vehicle that appeared to be a cross between a tank and a Humvee.

“That’s the Tornado,” Lady Tech pointed out, “our mission air transport. It has V/STOL capabilities like a Harrier and can outmatch the speed of an SR-71. It even has suborbital capabilities, which have not been tested yet. It also includes an advanced targeting system for tracking up to twenty multiple targets and can fire anything from armor piercing, heating seeking, and heat plasma based rounds.”

“We have someone to fly this?” questioned Graves.

“Yep, me,” she answered with no hesitation.

“Come again?” Mendes stepped into the conversation.

“When I got my driver’s license, I also went for my pilot’s license,” she huffed. “Was pretty easy. Tornado has special signature recognition protocols in place recognizing only me as its pilot. So only I can fly it. Worst-case scenario if I am unable fly, Maxine is capable of remoting in and piloting it. Next is the Warthog, an all-terrain transport with aquatic capability. Heavily armored with dark metal and outfitted with various guns and cannons some possessing anti-aircraft capability. There isn’t a conventional combat vehicle on land, sea, and air that can beat it.”

“Fascinating toys, Ms. Champion,” Graves came off dryly, “but I didn’t hand you over a two-point-five billion dollar budget to bring to life things that you see in a blockbuster movie.”

“My apologies,” Erica returned with a sardonic tone, “I should have shown you the flashing Regulator signal first, but I’m still deciding between the middle finger and the forearm salute.”

“Young lady,” Graves’ tone had steel coursing through it.

“You gave me a two-point-five billion dollar budget to put together a superhuman unit capable of handling threats both domestic and abroad Mr. Secretary,” Erica returned with her own steel-like tone. “Every piece of equipment that I have fabricated here is essential to doing just that. So excuse me if I take offense to you thinking I’m not taking my job seriously just because I’m below the drinking age. Especially since this place will be charged with housing some of the most dangerous superhumans on the planet.”

“What do you mean by “housing”?” Rogers sternly asked.

An awkward silence lasted for half a minute before Lady Tech burst out with a chuckle.

“Holy shit,” she shook her head. “He never told you.”

“Watch your mouth,” Rogers warned her, “Tell me what?”

“Rogers,” Graves sighed while switching to a delicate tone, “there were some slight changes made to your role and that of your new team subsequent to you signing on.”

“What changes?” The bass in Abe’s voice became more forceful.

It made the conversation all the more uncomfortable for everyone except for Lady Tech.

“Sir,” Lady Tech stepped in, “you weren’t just recruited for this new unit to be a soldier again; you were also recruited to be a cop and a prison warden. Maxine, project an entire layout of the facility, please.”

Her tablet lit up again as the camera projected a holographic schematic of the entire base revealing a lower level underneath them.

“I call it Purgatory,” she sighed. “A fortified prison facility constructed to incarcerate EVOs.”

“Why is there a prison located on this base?” Roger’s voice grew with irritation.

“Because no regular human wants to be a C.O. in a prison where the inmates can either tear you apart with their bare hands or turn you to ashes with a snap of a finger.” She rolled her eyes. “Why do you think we were given this big ole space in the middle of nowhere? Superhumans may be the norm of society now, Sergeant Rogers, but we still make regular folk a tad bit nervous. We’re good enough to protect them, but just not good enough to be in the same room as them. Ain’t that right, Mr. Secretary?”

A chainsaw could cut the awkwardness and tension that had developed, Dr. Alexander, a man of science stood in an uncomfortable spot between the Secretary of Defense with loyal Mendes at his side, and the super humans.

“I can smell bull manure a mile away Secretary Graves,” Erica sneered. “I don’t need my nose rubbed in it. I think I speak the same for the Sergeant even though I just met him.”

“What the kid said… sir,” Rogers changed his stance standing next to her.

Graves’ face said it all. With formality thrown out the window, he shifted into a more authoritative stance to project the point of who was really in charge.

“Let’s get an understanding here, shall we?” Graves began dropping the base in his voice. “The only reason this unit was even authorized was because POTUS could no longer ignore the threat growing at our door steps. As of now China, Russian, the UK, North and South Korea, as well as Israel and Iran either have or are assembling superhuman units of their own. It is a completely new Cold War out there, and we do not intend to lose this one either. However, do not make the mistake of believing that you are irreplaceable. If I have to, I will take away all of your toys and find someone more suitable to run this operation, for the right price.”

“I’d love to see you try,” Erica scoffed at him.

Graves raised a finger to warn Erica that she was testing his patience, when Rogers stepped in.

“Last I checked, sir, there was me, the kid, and only three other recruits for this job,” Abe dryly stated. “So unless you intend to throw a couple billion more of the tax payer’s money into this, I believe your claim is slightly over exaggerated.”

Graves focused his attention on the Sergeant, whose visual intimidation had his beat ten-fold. Graves, nonetheless, did not back down from him.

“We’re not going to have a problem are we Rogers,” Graves sighed, “because I really do like you.”

“As long as you don’t continue to yank my chain, sir, we won’t,” Rogers returned, “and it’s Sergeant, I work for a living.”

“Fair enough,” Graves nodded finally backing down.

“Now that we’re done measuring sizes,” Lady Tech jumped in, “shall we continue the tour?”

The two elder men once again were at an accord turning their disapproving gaze on a fresh mouth Erica. She returned fire with an eye roll before giving them her back as she continued the tour.

“As I was about to say,” she proceeded to walk away not caring if the men followed her or not, “I constructed Purgatory with various unique holding cells capable of dampening EVO powers and abilities across the board regardless of power levels, all except for the Source that is.”

“What’s the Source?” Rogers asked.

His question once again stopped the procession, as Graves grabbed his nose feeling a migraine coming on. Lady Tech spun around on her heel in disbelief.

“You’re joking, right? You don’t know?” Erica turned her disapproving attention to Graves and Dr. Alexander. “Out of curiosity, what exactly did you tell the good Sergeant to get him to join this operation?”

“I’m pretty sure, Ms. Champion, you can, and will, update Sergeant Rogers on all EVO affairs later,” Graves’ said steely. “Especially considering the Source is not an imminent threat at this time to National Security. Now may we continue the tour? I have other appointments to keep.”

“I’ll fill you in later,” Lady Tech’s mental voice came like a whisper in Rogers’ ear.

It made the old Marine wince as he narrowed his eyes at her. Clearly not accustom to telepathy, he would have a talk with Ms. Champion later about invading his mind without permission.

“Anyway, to your left are the living quarters,” she continued her tour, “and down this way is the Hurt Locker.”

“Hurt Locker?” Graves raised an eyebrow.

“Training facility for our new recruits to develop their super powers,” Erica answered with her now trademark sarcastic tone.

A tone that was visibly wearing the Secretary of Defense’s patience thin. As they continued to walk through the massive facility, a pack of miniature Doozers the size of small dogs scurried by disregarding them to get to their next project.

“Over there is the mess hall, armament, fabrication, and my lab,” she pointed trying to wrap up her tour, “and over here is the central command.”

Before them was a massive circular steel door with the symbol of a metallic eagle with its wings spread out with the letter ‘R’ etched into its chest covered the door. The insignia broke into two as the two halves of the door opened. As they walked in, aside from Lady Tech and Dr. Alexander, the look of awe broke through both Rogers and Graves’ granite exteriors, while Mendes believed he was standing on the main deck of the starship Enterprise. A gargantuan theatre display screen wrapped around half of the room. In the center of the room, flashing pictures and identification of known EVOs around the globe were sorted and catalogued around a holographic globe that rotated as red lights popped up one by one indicating their locations on the planet. The entire room had a sleek clean look to it with its white on black color scheme and steel blue accents. Everything operated by voice command, touch screen, or holographic projection.

“Welcome home,” greeted Maxine.

Her voice threw off men as it projected from inside the room as if among them, not over the speaker system like before. They turned to face the real Maxine not prepared for what was before them.

Her hairstyle was similar to Lady Tech’s, but colored pink with white streaks. The pink lipstick she wore matched her hair along with her large pink glowing eyes, which were clearly not human. They also matched her body, which was also not human. Aside from her head, the upper part of her thighs and shoulders appeared human. The rest of her body from the neck down, along with legs and arms were hard cybernetic metal in a pink and white color scheme. Blue lights glowed silently from different parts of her limbs, body, and neck indicating an unknown power source allowing for her animation. Mendes pinched his arm to ensure he was not dreaming.

“Thank you Maxine,” Erica smiled.

“I thought you said she was a computer?” a fascinated, yet disturbed, Graves snapped.

“The term is A.I.” She rolled her eyes. “This is her cybernetic android form that she uploads into in order to do physical tasks when necessary to assist me.”

She walked up to Maxine looking up at her near six-foot form with motherly pride.

“Cybernetic battle chassis built out of dark metal,” Erica explained.

“And her power source?” asked an inquisitive Graves.

“Ionized liquid mercury, or what I like to call Liquid Ion,” she smirked, “a mixture of mercury, saline water, and a compound gelatin that can conduct electricity on the level of a nuclear submarine. Several miniature pulmonary generators circulate the liquid through her circulatory and central nervous system giving her a constant cycle of power.”

“Like a human,” said a fascinated Mendes, who moved forward to get a better look, “is it a self-sustaining power source?”

“Not yet,” Lady Tech shook her head. “The mercury eventually evaporates requiring a transfusion every eight months, which is great progress considering the first batch I made only lasted for twenty-four hours. Her eyes are constructed with microscopic solar panels providing her with a secondary power source, putting less of a strain on her main power supply. The goal is to make it self-sustaining once I either find a bonding agent to prevent the mercury from turning to vapor, or a replacement for it altogether capable of holding and cycling a charge of that capacity indefinitely. All in all, she cooks, cleans, and is proficient in all forms of combat. She is also an excellent pilot and driver.”

“Why the human parts?” questioned Mendes.

“It looks cool.” Erica looked at him as if he asked a stupid question. “Not to mention, I’d get creped out always talking to something out of a Schwarzenegger movie.”

“So why not make her look completely human?” Mendes asked.

“Because it looks cool!” she responded in a loud and slow tone, acting as if Mendes was either deaf or mentally challenged.

Mendes wore a face expressing that he too was tired of her displays of disrespect.

The round metal door parted again, forcing Mendes to spin around and jump backwards bouncing off a wall known as Rogers. The cause of his startle was two more female android creatures similar to Maxine. A bubbly one with long orange hair and big glowing orange eyes had a rustic red and orange color scheme to the metallic parts of her cybernetic body, while her molded bust was slightly larger than Maxine’s metallic bosom. The female droid adjacent to her wore a cynical look on her face with her arms folded, her hair was cut similar to Erica’s and Maxine’s but dyed purple with black streaks matching her deep glowing purple eyes; her color scheme was a gothic gunmetal gray with light yellow accents. Unlike Maxine and her companion, the glowing lights on her limbs and body were an orange color. She frame was more slender with a smaller chest as opposed to her other two “sisters.”

“You built more than one,” Graves asked with a hint of displeasure.

“Well, I couldn’t just build one,” Lady Tech shrugged. “The one in orange with the fire top is Angie and the brooding one in purple and gray is Jennifer, my lovely dolls.”

“Dolls…” Graves’ tone became more displeased by the second.

“Uh… yeah… I’m a girl.” She gave him the same look that she gave Mendes a minute ago as if he too was slow. “I like dolls. I specifically designed their A.I.s for each of their bodies, but they can also upload into the main system like Maxine or into other bodies. Angie was designed for heavy lifting, while Jennifer was built for speed using lighter armor and ridiculously fast lightning speed processors.”

“Again, using this facility as your personal little playground,” Graves frowned.

“Actually, I built them because I don’t trust normal stupid people to work on my projects with me,” returned Erica with a flat tone. “Considering all of their A.I’s were mapped from my brain, it’s like having three more of me to execute the tasks I need done so I’m not wasting your little 2.5 billion that I could make ten times over if I decide to rejoin the private sector.”

The awkward silence returned as new school and old school locked eyes again giving neither an inch nor a quarter.

“Why don’t you stick your tongue down her throat, you perv?” The android, designated as Jennifer, broke the silence with her raspy voice. “Isn’t that the reason you’re staring her down so hard?”

“Jennifer! That’s rude!” Angie scolded her sister with her high-pitched Valley Girl voice. “He’s the Secretary of Defense!”

“Well, he’s acting like Bill Clinton, damn lolicon!” Jennifer sneered.

The comment made Rogers grunt, Mendes forced himself to choke on his chuckle, and Dr. Alexander just shook his head. Graves slowly turned to the android who wore a look of disgust as she glared at him, and decided he had his fill, specifically of Lady Tech’s company.

“I believe we’ve seen all we need to see of this facility,” Graves dryly began his exit speech, “and I have more pressing matters to attend.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Eight minutes later everyone, excluding the androids, were topside once again. Dr. Alexander and Mendes boarded the helicopter while the Secretary, now flanked by his agents, addressed Abe and Erica.

“As I stated earlier Rogers, the rest of your team should be arriving tomorrow at 1100 hours,” said Graves. “I’ll take it I don’t have to worry about you getting them squared away in the six months time required.”

“No sir.” Rogers kept it tight and formal with Graves.

“I know we got off to a rocky start.” The Secretary cracked a fake smile. “But I have every faith that I have chosen the right man for this position.”

“I’ll do my job.” Rogers’ granite exterior cracked a fake smirk. “Sir.”

Before Graves could extend his hand for a shake, Rogers snapped a crisp salute bidding him farewell. Graves smirked and nodded.

“Ms. Champion,” Graves addressed Erica without making eye contact with her.

“Secretary,” she returned with a bright cheese grin.

Graves turned and walked up the steps followed by his entourage with derogatory thoughts about jarheads and today’s youth running through his mind, while Rogers watched him leave with derogatory thoughts of pencil pushing bureaucrats.

They observed as the Secretary’s helicopter ascended into the air and took off; neither cared where it went.

“So,” Erica sighed, “Just you and me now.”

“You know that thing where you were whispering in my head,” said Rogers looking up at the sky.

“Don’t do it again,” she answered also still looking up.

“Also, if you think you’re going to run roughshod over me like you did the Secretary,” said Rogers still looking up, “you will lose.”

“Fair enough,” she smiled. “Care to return to the Batcave and get settled in?”

He glanced at her before about facing back to the hanger. Erica turned and skipped, following him from behind.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Another eight minutes later they returned underground to the main central command accompanied by the android sisters.

“So,” Lady Tech got down to business, “what do you want to know about the Source?”

“Everything,” Abe answered.

“Maxine,” Erica addressed her android form.

Upon command, an onscreen image of a prison record appeared on the theatre size screen before Rogers.

“Sophia Dennison, formerly Sophia Matheson,” introduced Erica, “widow, thirty-nine years old, United States Citizen born in Mount Vernon, New York, originally resided in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Texas Southwestern with honors, formally a licensed doctor and skilled surgeon. Sentenced to death by lethal injection, which was carried out in 2008 for the murder of her husband, a former highly decorated United States Marine veteran.”

“I know her,” nodded Rogers. “The super woman from the incidents in Texas and DC back in 08.”

“Very good,” Erica nodded, “she is also the reason why you and I are the way we are now. She is the Source, the first EVO, or EVO Zero, and the cause of what we now call the Big Bang 2 incident. She was the one who stopped that nuclear warhead from wiping out the West Coast.”

“A General went down for that, Bernard Matheson.” Rogers began putting the pieces together, “He’s…”

“Her father-in-law,” Erica filled in the blanks. “Don’t know any of the stories between the two of them, but I image there was some pretty nasty family history there.”

“How is she the reason we are who we are?” Rogers asked.

“Maxine,” Erica requested again, “please bring up sequence theory 091312.”

The holographic globe in the middle of the room disappeared as a simulated projection of Sophia flying toward a nuclear warhead appeared.

“It’s all just a theory, but when our girl slammed into that nuke she must have taken some considerable damage. I’m thinking deep tissue damage, maybe even more,” she began her explanation, “those cells, however, didn’t burn up and die, they regenerated into a viral form, multiplied, and went airborne allowing the winds to take it to the four corners of the earth thereafter contaminating our air, food, and water supply. As it infected a host, it either killed, remained dormant, or in the case of you and I, systematically destroyed our normal cells while replicating new ones in its place rewriting our DNA; turning us into who we are now. She is our “mother” so to speak, responsible for giving birth to the entire superhuman race.”

The holographic image changed displaying her abilities in detail.

“EVOs are designated classes one to ten based on their ability to cause destruction from a city block to an actual city with the scale being Manhattan,” Erica pointed out. “Ms. Dennison has no designated class, since her powers can devastate on a continental, maybe even planetary level. She is stronger and faster than any EVO on this planet, impervious to conventional firepower including energy based weapons and nuclear armament, immune to any and all diseases, and for all intents and purposes immortal.”

“Where is she now?” Abe inquired.

Erica pulled up the holographic globe once again.

“Right there,” she pointed to a lit up blip, “one thing she can’t do is hide; she emits some kind of bio-energy signature that lights up like a dwarf star. She created her own island half the size of Brazil, which is located in the middle of the Pacific…”

“Wait,” Rogers paused her. “What do you mean “created?”

“I mean she descended to the deepest depths of the ocean,” explained Erica slowly, “where she either plowed or blasted her way underneath the Earth’s crust all the way down to the tectonic plates. She then physically began to move plates around, while diverting a massive amount of magma upward to erupt an underwater volcano. She then found a way to push the volcano to the top of sea level where the lava eventually cooled forming a surface. Lucky for us she decided to create it in the most remote part of the Pacific. The most Japan and the West Coast felt were some small tremors. Then she started terraforming it. She began with swiping trees from different forests around the planet, especially ones that would have been the victims of big business. The whole process took about six to eight months to complete, which is nothing for someone who does not need to sleep.”

Erica projected a detailed image of the large ghost land mass. The first thought she could tell was swimming in his head based on his facial expression was why this was not headlining news anywhere.

“No one knows about this?” asked Rogers looking at the globe.

“The majority of the general public around the planet does not know about this,” Erica said. “Every government and scientist on the planet does know about this. They also attempted to show Ms. Dennison how unpleased they were with her little project.”

The holographic globe disappeared again as another video began to play.

“Behold the ass kicking never televised,” Lady Tech narrated, “Russia and the U.S. in a joint Co-Op mission sends in the Siberian Machine, the leader of the Russian superhuman unit Утюг Спецназ, which stands for “Iron Spetsnaz” and Captain Omega, who for some reason volunteered for this harebrained scheme, to either capture or terminate Ms. Dennison on sight. Both are Class 10 ranked Titans with exceptional durability, endurance, and strength lifting within or above the eighty-five thousand to one hundred thousand ton range. Parts of the footage were slo-moed over a thousand times just to see what actually happened. Oh, by the way, I have it on good knowledge the fight actually started due to the Siberian Machine saying some very disparaging things about Ms. Dennison and her mother.”

The audio system boomed with the sounds of gods warring. Rogers watched as a woman with dreads in a black and yellow wetsuit, was in the middle of fending off two of the most powerfully recorded EVO Titans on the planet with a combination of Muay Thai and Krav Maga techniques.

“For a doctor, she has some moves,” Rogers respectfully nodded.

“That’s thanks to her photographic and muscle memory,” Erica smirked.

“What do you mean?” Rogers turned to her.

“She can retain anything she sees, hears, or reads like a super computer,” she explained, “probably works with scent too. Anyway, this not only allows her to obtain a vast amount of knowledge and speak basically every language on the planet, but it also allows her to duplicate a physical movement just by seeing it performed one time as long as it’s within her physical capability, which as you can see are pretty vast. She’s also immune to mental attacks and mind reading.”

Blows capable of reducing a skyscraper to rubble she blocked and defended, but that was not all that Abe saw. Even the most trained combatant ducked or evaded a blow to either get some breathing room or mount an offense. Sophia not only blocked every punch and kick thrown at her, she stepped into the blows, which was an offense on its own as she knocked each man backwards every time they struck her.

It was similar to watching toddlers playfully pushed around by a larger adult.

She was controlling the fight. Her defensive maneuvers were positioning the Captain and the Machine where she wanted them to be.

As she purposely allowed them to flank her on both sides, both men with a split second eye contact came up with the idea to shoot and tackle her at the same time. That one unified attack defined the difference in power between the three combatants.

Sand exploded into the air as Sophia charged the Siberian Machine shattering his shoot attempt with an NFL style shoulder tackle, which knocked a man twice her size backwards almost six feet into the air, and twenty yards across the three-day-old beach.

As the Russian went crashing in a painful and awkward way, Captain Omega, who regained his footing after missing his initial shoot attempt, kicked up sand of his own as he attempted another tackle. As the former All American from Virginia came in for a sack that could derail a freight train, Sophia dug her toes into the sand assuming a football stance of her own. With a burst of force with a distance of only three inches per Erica’s readings, she derailed the unstoppable force known as Captain Omega.

To Rogers it was like watching a motorcyclist from one of those reality television shows slamming into a brick wall going sixty miles an hour and wondering how they survived. The Captain’s neck snapped back violently as he, too, was lifted off his feet before coming down on the upper part of his shoulders. As the rest of his body came down, he folded like a lawn chair. Erica who viewed the footage multiple times still winced from watching the brutal blow.

It was clear to Rogers what Sophia was doing. With her speed and apparent hand-to-hand combat skill, she could easily have dismantled the super-powered duo with a couple of well-placed strikes.

She, however, was looking to etch this fight into their skulls.

As the Captain groaned slowly unfolding himself from his painful position, Sophia continued her lesson on the slow rising Russian. This time she took the offense blasting across the sand with a sonic boom sprint on her newly raised island darting straight toward the Machine. Just before impact, she had to hop to hit her six inches taller target. With a clothesline that would make the legendary Stan Hansen wet himself in Rogers’ eye, Sophia dismantled the Machine turning him inside out. He crashed back down to the semi-moist sand once again never to rise. Only a fluttering groan signified that he was still breathing.

As she looked down at the semi-conscious Russian, a roaring Captain Omega back up on his feet came out of nowhere using his pistons for legs to propel him back into the fight hitting Sophia across the face with an earth quaking superman punch. He followed up with a full on assault of lefts and rights delivering face and body shots staggering her.

Rogers knew it was not the case; she saw him coming a mile away and could have swatted him out of midair. Instead, she chose to drop her guard allowing him to wail away at her. Readings showed that the Captain had struck Sophia over twenty times and counting with thunderous blows that could total a tank. It appeared as if the Captain was winning with each blow.

The grin on her face said otherwise.

Even with Sophia’s tremendous durability and endurance, the sand she stood on could not hold her in place to withstand Captain Omega’s devastating hits causing her to slide around every time he struck her.

The tale ended with her catching one of his missile blows in mid strike. She followed up with a brutal gut check to a man he saw single handily pull two aircraft carriers to shore with just a steel chain for a charity benefit a year ago. It echoed throughout the central command with the distinct sound of hammered bone cracked by a sledgehammer.

The punch lifted him six feet off the ground, dropping him to his knees in defeat. Ms. Dennison grabbed him by the front of his leather red and blue cosmic-themed costume with one arm draping him up. She slowly began to ascend to the sky with him, kicking up a sand storm partially covering the Machine.

She was sending a message to those watching aboard the USS George H.W. Bush.

The audio could not pick up what she was saying, but it was not hard to read her lips, “Don’t come back.”

Even with his regenerative healing being several times greater than Rogers, he still could not recover from the fight ending body blow. At his weakened state, she could have done anything she wanted with him. She decided on something a little humiliating. Rearing back her head, she cracked him in the skull with a nose splitting headbutt that made his whole body shake. The Captain went limp in her grip like a puppet on a string.

Sophia descended back down to the Earth to collect the downed Machine on his hands and knees still shaken from the pro wrestling lariat she used to take him down.

She grabbed him by the pants of his red, white, and blue costume military attire and flew them back to the US aircraft carrier they sailed on. She gently dropped them onto the deck of the ship in front of a shocked and terrified crew and captain.

“They will recover,” she said. “The Captain’s ribs are cracked, so keep him straight so they have a chance to heal properly.”

With no more words, she rocketed off diving into the ocean. The USS George H.W. Bush violently shook and groaned, as everyone on deck screamed while fighting to keep their balance. Another view from a Russian class destroyer that accompanied the carrier named Sovremenny caught footage of Sophia physically lifting the 102,000 long tons vessel up a good twenty feet into the air.

She used her propulsion to twist slowly in midair, rotating the building size carrier along with her so as not to break it in half before lowering it back into the ocean. Rising from the waters once more, she grasped the rear of the ship, and with just a simple one-arm push sent it sailing like a paper boat back from whence it came never to return.

At the end of the feed, Rogers stepped back. His face was the same impenetrable stone expression, but his body language revealed the footage rocked even him.

“I don’t understand,” Abe turned to Lady Tech, “why did they send in a two man team? The Russian team is a six man crew alone.”

“Yeah, that would be the logical response,” she coughed, “but the speedsters would have just got in the way, and energy based EVOs would only make it worse. She can absorb energy attacks increasing her strength.”

“How does she possess this array of abilities?” Rogers asked while one of his eyebrows raised.

“Ms. Dennison’s primary talent, which no EVO on the planet has,” Erica explained, “is the ability to not only regenerate when injured, but to build physical defenses preventing her from being hurt the same way twice. The tradeoff is she sometimes acquires powerful offensive abilities.”

“So the more you try to hurt her,” Rogers concluded, “the stronger she gets.”

“Very good,” Lady Tech nodded, “After the much failed mission, an emergency UN Security Council meeting was called in secret. By a unanimous decision, they categorized Ms. Dennison as a “force of nature,” advising no further confrontation with her under any circumstances. She can go wherever she pleases, war torn countries hold a cease-fire whenever she is in town, and Al-Qaeda and ISIS scatter like roaches when she shows up in their region. Her island will never be mapped, and a five thousand mile radius around it is designated as a no fly and sail zone. Also under the advisement of their governments, almost every major news network on the planet has agreed not to cover her. She also keeps an ultra low profile and has a cute knack for emitting a small burst electromagnetic pulse to ensure she doesn’t become a YouTube or Vine exclusive. The woman loves her privacy.”

Rogers nodded before turning back to the holographic view of her island.

“What does she do there?” he inquired.

“As you can see, she’s built an entire village and wildlife preserve for endangered species. She takes in and cares for anyone looking for sanctuary,” Erica answered while pulling up a satellite view of Sophia’s village, “the homeless, orphans, drug addicts, victims of white slavery, refugees from some of the most evil places on the planet. She takes them there, cares for them, and protects them.”

“Doesn’t sound like the actions of a cold-blooded killer,” said Rogers.

“Yeah, the whole thing stinks about that,” Erica scoffed. “If you remember, she made it all the way to CNN in Washington to declare her innocent, and ratted out our nations infamous unknown death squad known as the D.E.A.D. It’s one of the reasons why no one is lifting a finger to bring her in, on top of the fact that no one or nothing on this planet can stop her.”

“You keep saying “nothing on this planet,” Rogers observed, “as if you believe in something… off this planet.”

“Due to my own personal studies in regard to the virus, I’ve come to believe it was not created or engineered by anyone on this planet,” she snorted, “reverse engineered maybe, there are proteins and elements within it, which number in the trillions, that are clearly nowhere on any periodical chart. Unfortunately, the virus has successfully integrated itself into the human gene pool as a cell. The only way I can successfully decipher its origins is if I got a sample directly from her.”

“If you got a sample,” Rogers furrowed his brows, “what would you hope that it could tell you?”

She turned to him locking eye contact. “Who really made her who she is now, and us.”

Rogers turned narrowing his eyes as he stared up at Sophia’s profile on the big screen.

“Well, I guess you’ll want to get settled,” Erica huffed, “before the fresh meat arrives tomorrow, dinner is at 1800 hours. Maxine, what’s on the menu?”

“Stir fried night for you, and for the Sergeant’s palette I cooked up a prime rib steak, with mash potatoes, and greens,” Maxine chirpily answered.

“Angie, can you please escort the good Sergeant Rogers to his new living quarters,” Erica motioned.

“Don’t get lost.” Jennifer turned to her sister smirking.

Angie smilingly gave her sister the finger as she strolled up to him.

“This way Sergeant Rogers,” she motioned.

Abe followed her stopping to pick up his bag near the entrance way, he halted to ask Lady Tech one final question.

“How come the enrollment for this outfit was so low,” Abe furrowed his brow. “I thought the US had the second largest population of EVOs to Europe?

“Aside from you and the other three recruits picked,” she sighed, “the other six applicants that applied had psychological and personality problems that made them unfit for this team.”

“Ten in all?” he wore an uncomfortable look. “No one else applied?”

“People tend not to forget the treatment of others, and how our government dragged their asses to treat heroes who ran into toxic rubble of fallen buildings to save lives at the risk of their own.” Erica took two steps toward him. “They also did not forget the lives of service men and women lost for wars that did not need to be fought. Because of that, people don’t really like our government very much these days and are less inclined to stick their necks out. That includes superhumans. The current hero community is willing to fight the good fight, just not under the banner of the US government.”

“So why are you doing this?” he asked.

“I have multiple reasons,” she smiled. “One them happens to be that like it or not we need to feel as if we can trust our government again. People need to believe that it will step up to protect us from the right people and the right situations. That’s not done if everyone just sits on their asses.”

Rogers nodded in agreement with her logic, he turned following the orange-haired android leading the way to his new quarters, looking around once more at his new home.

CHAPTER 6

Gatesville Women’s facility, Gatesville Texas:

Sophia sat in the courtyard examining her next move. It was her usual weekly visit. Sister Shareef had taken out her queen’s knight and king’s bishop in five moves. Her last defense for her king was her queen, a pawn, and a rook. Sister Shareef sat patiently across from her waiting for her next move attacking with two bishops, a queen’s knight, a king’s rook, and two pawns. One of them was at the end of Sophia’s board ready to become a queen.

“So, twenty-eight girls,” Sister Shareef sighed glancing upward into Sophia’s blue glowing eyes.

“Twenty-eight girls,” returned a steely Sophia not looking up from the board, “and I got all of them this time. One was working with two cracked ribs, one was pregnant and only fifteen years old; she wants to keep the baby by the way. Two have Chlamydia, one so bad it may leave her sterile because it was left untreated for so long, and one is H.I.V positive. That is on top of the mountainous psychological damage they are all going to have to endure for of rest of their lives. Day one on the island they asked to occupy four huts between twenty-eight of them, they sleep two to a bed, and they move in unison like meerkats. It’s almost adorable if you didn’t know the story behind it. What bothers me the most is how they all walk around with their heads down; they all flinch and coil at anyone who comes near them. Every night I can hear one of them waking up screaming from night terrors. That son of a bitch didn’t just break those girls… he shattered them, and now I have to put them back together.”

Shareef leaned back in her seat, now less interested in the pending victory she had secured on the board, and more with her friend’s state of mind.

“When was the last time you slept, baby girl?” Sister Shareef asked with a head tilt.

“You forgot already, sis, I don’t need to sleep,” returned Sophia with a sneer of frustration as she scanned the board. “I also don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe air. I can survive the crushing depths of the ocean and the harsh cold atmosphere of space itself. If this god forsaken world ever ends it’ll be me and the friggin roaches that are left.”

“Even with all you can do now,” Shareef began her lecture, “you’re not…”

“I swear if you utter the word “super” I will slap the taste out of your mouth right here,” Sophia sternly warned.

She moved her pawn forward in disgust, the only move she had to play as Shareef now glared at her none to appreciative of the verbal threat she fired her way.

“I was going to say God, queen me,” she fired back moving her pawn to the end of the board turning her into a queen.

Sophia snarled as she took Shareef’s pawn replacing it with her captured queen rook, protected by her original queen. She moved her pawn forward again only for it to be taken out by Shareef’s king’s bishop. Sophia’s final attack was to take out the newly promoted queen, allowing Shareef to take down her queen with her own.

“Check,” snapped Shareef now focused on the game.

With her rook on the other side of her king, Sophia had no choice but to move her king forward. This allowed Shareef to move her queen across the board taking out Sophia’s rook.

“Check again,” stated Shareef knowing the end was coming.

Sophia’s eyebrow twitched as she moved her king forward again, allowing Shareef to move her queen across the board to F8 while her king’s rook sat comfortably on H1 flanking her on both sides of the board forcing her to move forward again. Shareef calmly moved her king to F1, Sophia’s only move was to advance forward again. Shareef then shifted her king’s rook left to G1.

“Check,” she sighed not looking up from the board.

Sophia returned a deeper sighed as she played her final move to H4, allowing Shareef to move her queen back to H8.

“Checkmate, and if you knock this board off the table I’m going to slap you,” Shareef sternly warned her back.

Sophia glared at an unintimidated Shareef with her arms now folded staring her down. Sophia’s face softened as she looked down at the table, although the frustration was clearly still there. Shareef leaned forward resting her forearms on the table. She reached out grabbing one of Sophia’s locks playing with it; her dreadlocked mane had grown even longer since her escape from prison almost seven years ago.

“Soph, talk to me. What is really wrong?” Shareef calmly pressed her friend.

“I had to fight, two more superhumans,” she finally said. “They were his hired muscle.”

“You didn’t have to…” Shareef cocked an eye fearing the situation had gotten fatally ugly.

“No,” Sophia shook her head, “I easily overpowered them, but they were there. They were there because of me.”

Shareef left out a huff as she put her head down.

“Soph, if you’re going to start with the ‘Diary of an Angry Black Woman’ pity party cliché shit, I can go back to my cellblock and take a nap,” Shareef said with steel like tone to her voice.

Sophia raised her head with her eye cocked a bit stunned by her friend’s remark.

“You were expecting me to whip out a tit and nurse you?” Shareef continued before Sophia could say ‘Excuse me?’ “You got a mama in New York that can do that for you, and I am personally getting tired of having to reaffirm for you every time you come here, that nothing currently going on in this crazy messed up world today is your fault. Greedy men searching for power they had no business searching for is why the world has gone from zero to shit in overdrive. You were unfortunately caught in the middle of it, and considering that you could have been rotting in a six-foot grave for a crime you didn’t commit, the world can kiss my ass! A lesser person would have let Oregon and the West Coast go up in flames after what you learned and endured, but you chose to take a nuke head on despite it all and saved millions of lives. No one has the right to blame you for anything. The Judgment Day virus is not your fault, superhumans walking the Earth is not your fault, and what happened to Bishop’s son is not your fault! You did not kill Miguel, the virus did.”

“I couldn’t save him either.” Sophia’s eyes poured glowing blue tears as she looked at her friend.

“And you weren’t meant to, honey,” Shareef leaned forward, “but you gave them both something just as precious, a little more time to say goodbye.”

“In medical school they drill it into your head not to get attached,” Sophia wiped her eyes, “never to make it personal, and accept the fact that sometimes people will die even under your watch. Knowing what dying feels like has changed everything; I can’t ‘not’ feel.”

Sister Shareef sighed as she placed her hand on top of her friend’s hand to comfort her.

“A part of me wishes I died the day of my execution,” Sophia admitted. “I accidently remade the world, yet, I don’t fit in it. I thought I could pre-occupy my time by trying to help people, but this isn’t a stupid comic book! People’s lives just don’t miraculously get better because you swoop in and save that day!”

“Girl, don’t you know comics ain’t what they use to be?” Sister Shareef scoffed. “I just done heard on the news that they killed off Archie. Now you know it’s some bull vine defecation when they decide to cut down little ole cute and indecisive Archie. Who’s next? Snoopy?”

Her jest achieved the crack of a smile she was looking for.

“You’re right, life is not like in the comic books.” She leaned forward. “And no one expects you to live your life as if you’re in one. You of all people know even before you gained these powers, that you can’t save everyone no matter how hard you try. And maybe having them has temporary blinded you to think that you should, but you’re not all powerful, Soph. Someone else still holds that title. I know that, and Bishop definitely knows that.”

“How is she?” Sophia nervously asked.

“She’s holding up,” informed Shareef. “She has to for Annabelle and Manuel. She calls me almost every day and drives up every month to come see me. Shows me pictures of the latest custom she’s working on.”

“I’m glad.” Sophia managed a smile.

“She never stops talking about how her big sister gave her a garage with all the fixings,” Shareef said sternly. “She keeps asking me that last time I heard from you and how much she misses you.”

“Well, someone’s dreams should come true,” Sophia nodded. “I’ll make time to go visit her.”

“Yeah, you will,” she ordered.

Shareef spied the warden on top of one of the watchtowers. He nervously pointed to his watch letting her know time was up. She nodded in agreement.

“Well as much as I adore our weekly visits and chats, time for me to mosey on in.” Shareef began to rise to her feet.

Sophia groaned as she got to her feet as well; once again, she was looking up at Sister Shareef who now towered over her a powerful four inches. Much of the signs of age and prison hardening no longer ravaged her face, the only thing revealing her true age was her longer silver dreads.

“You know this is bull,” Sophia informed her.

“I have to set a good example for the girls,” Shareef shrugged.

“But you don’t have to stay here,” Sophia went on. “It’s not like anyone can stop you if you decided to leave, especially considering what you did was justified.”

“No it wasn’t,” Shareef sternly returned. “I don’t regret what I did, but it was not justified, and I am guilty. And the ones who paid the biggest price for my actions were my own children. I murdered their father in front of them and left them without a mother. Don’t ever tell me what I did was justified, ever.”

Another uneasy silence came over the two as Sophia apologetically lowered her head in regret.

“I’ve been a real buzz kill this last visit,” a sheepish Sophia admitted.

“Hell, yeah,” Shareef snapped back, “but it’s still great to see you.”

Shareef pulled her in for a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead.

“You are not alone,” Sister Shareef whispered to her, “you are never alone. How much worse would those girls be if you did not save them? And, yes, there maybe people out there doing bad things with the abilities they were given, but what about those who are out there doing good?”

“It just doesn’t feel like the scale is balanced in our favor.” She lowered her head again. “And I didn’t sign up for the neverending battle against good and evil.”

“Then you should ask yourself why you became a surgeon in the first place.” Sister Shareef placed her hands on her hips. “Dr. Dennison.”

“To help people…” Sophia muttered.

“You may think your yoke is a heavy one.” She moved some strands of dreads from Sophia’s face. “But you were given the strength to carry it. And you got to believe there was a reason you did not die on that table that day. No matter how bad things get, you got to believe you are here to make a difference. No amount of pep talk from me is going to open your eyes to that. You have to see and believe it for yourself.”

She appreciated the pep talk even though it did very little to help how she felt.

“Our next visit will be more pleasant,” Sophia smiled.

“I hope so,” she huffed, “now go on. Get.”

“You might want to stand back…” Sophia began to warn.

Sister Shareef stopped her with the “You forget who you’re talking to” look.

“Right,” Sophia smiled. “Next week then.”

With a powerful leap, she exploded into the air kicking up dirt and small rocks leaving another sizable carter underneath her. After clearing a good thirty feet, Sophia ignited the near invisible propulsion at the soles of her feet rocketing off into the skies.

CHAPTER 7

The next morning, Rogers was up early at five in the morning. Erica, not a morning person, slept in until 9 a.m. going for ten until Rogers pounded on her door repeatedly until she got up. He could hear the slew of profanity she muttered under her breath behind the closed steel sliding door of her room; some of it was in Spanish. It went on until the door slid open and she shot him a dirty look.

“Good Morning,” he smirked.

She rolled her eyes walking past him heading to the mess hall to get some much needed breakfast and distance from the Sergeant.

She found one, but not the other, as Rogers sat across from her sipping his extra black Columbia brewed coffee as she dined on a helping of pancakes, eggs, with turkey bacon, and a side of orange juice.

“I hope you enjoyed your long beauty rest,” he said between sips, “because that’s the last one you will be taking as of today.”

“Excuse you?” she asked leaning back while munching on a piece of bacon.

“The second the new recruits land.” Rogers took another sip. “Everyone will get up by five and down by nine for the next six months, no exceptions.”

“But I’m a growing child,” Erica shot back. “I need my beauty sleep.”

“That’s why I’m allowing you to get up at seven,” said Rogers. “You want to be a part of my outfit, those are the rules.”

“Miss, Sergeant Rogers,” interrupted Maxine, “the new recruits will be landing in ten minutes.”

“Thank you, Maxine,” Erica said before giving Rogers a sardonic smile. “Guess we better get ready to meet the new fresh meat.”

Rogers sat there deflecting her smile with a dull look as he calmly sipped on his coffee.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Six minutes later, they road to the surface in silence, this time with Maxine’s cybernetic form next to them; Erica glanced at the old soldier’s stone demeanor and could see the wheels turning. Although she would never attempt it, she wanted to know what he was thinking. For her own personal moral reason, and his warning about staying out of his head, she decided to remain in the dark. As the doors to the hanger opened once more, they stepped out into the light as a similar CH-46 Sea Knight descended from the sky landing on one of the designated helicopter pads. As it touched down the door opened, allowing the new recruits to step out one by one. As they lined up next to one another taking casual stances, Erica’s expression revealed she was none too impressed with what she saw, even though she and Dr. Alexander personally handpicked them.

“Oh joy,” her sarcastic smile returned as she whispered, “our new team members are Will Smith pre Fresh Prince, Pauly D, and JWoww.”

“I seem to remember you being a part of the selection process,” Rogers reminded her.

“Based on abilities, physical health, mental state,” she said, “and stable personalities meaning the ability to work and play well with others. Not attitudes.”

“Attitudes are easily broken,” Rogers answered while walking toward the new recruits. “That’s why I’m here.”

Erica muttered a curse under her breath as she picked up the pace to catch up with him while Maxine kept in step with her. They both stopped a couple of feet from the new recruits as Rogers wasted no time getting face to face with the lightning charged EVO known as Blitz who had a good four inch height advantage on him. With a smirk on his face, he showed zero signs of intimidation as he locked eyes with the battled hardened Sergeant.

“Name,” Rogers asked flatly.

“Blitz,” he smirked, “I wanted to go with Black Lightning, but it was already taken.”

Snickering came from the direction of the twins, which Rogers pretended to ignore. He mentally marked it down as ammunition to make their lives a living hell later. He leaned in closer to ask him again.

“Guess I wasn’t speaking English,” his voice boomed full of bass, “real name… now.”

“Oliver Brandon.” Blitz coughed as he quickly fell into line.

“Oliver Brandon.” Rogers looked him up and down. “The next time I ask you something, I expect a straight answer. The next time you give me anything other than that, I will pull your jawbone out by the root, is that clear?”

“Yes sir.” Brandon straightened up more.

“Sir, yes sir” when you address me!” His voice sounded like thunder.

“Sir, yes sir!” Brandon yelled back snapping to attention.

He attempted to make his body as straight as a steel pipe.

Rogers nodded with satisfaction, sensing he had broken the will of the lightning wielder; he now towered over Ms. Esposito. Her smirk and gum chewing vanished the first time Roger’s voice boomed. She shuddered as she looked into the eyes of Abe burning a hole into her very soul.

“Name,” Rogers asked again with the same flat tone he addressed Brandon.

“Ro… Rosann… Esposito…” she stuttered.

“Why are you stuttering?” Rogers pressed her.

“Sir?” Rosann began to clam up.

“At least you know to call me that.” Rogers began the verbal pounding. “You and dumbass over here are snickering like a bunch of pubescent school girls when your mouths should have been zipped shut with eyes forward.”

“Hey, how about easing up, ‘Cap,’” her brother Adrian returned fire on his sister’s behalf.

Abe made note her brother’s comment, marking it down as strike two. He leaned closer to Rosann as if he was about to kiss her.

“That’s gum in your mouth, right?” he questioned her.

“Sir… yes sir,” she stuttered.

“Swallow it,” he ordered.

“Screw dat Rosey… hey, yo pops,” Adrian scowled, “raise up out of my sister’s face! We ain’t sign up for dis shit!”

Rogers continued to ignore Mr. Esposito mentally marking his final offense as strike three. He waited for Rosann as she slowly swallowed the gum she had been chewing. The dark-haired, hazel-eyed Staten Island resident had stood up to some tough customers in the past, including her own brother and father, but staring back at the battle scars which ravaged the side of his face down to his neck told her this was not the type of man she wanted to mouth off to. In her skull, she cursed her twin, praying for him to shut up. His back talking did nothing but make the situation worse for her.

“Why are you here?” was Rogers’ next question.

“Sir, to become a hero, sir,” Rosann stammered.

“You think this is one of them reality shows?” Abe tilted his head.

“Sir… no sir,” Rosann answered, fighting the trembling of her body.

“You see any cameras or film crew around here?” Rogers looked around.

“Sir, no sir.”

“No!” he barked in her face, “and last I checked I didn’t come out here wearing my underwear outside my pants sporting a cape and asking you for the secret friggin handshake. I am a United States Marine, trained to kill in the service of my country, which means I train killers. Are you a killer Rosann Esposito?”

“Sir, no sir…” Her stuttering returned, “but I can…”

“You had me at ‘No sir.’” His roar rattled her spine. “It’s obvious by your answers that you’re in the wrong place. You’re not a killer, you want to be a superhero. So why don’t you take your French manicure, gum chewing, disrespectful little ass back to that bird over there, go home, and go find one of them leagues. Go avenge something.”

“Sir,” she fought through her fear of him, “I wanna be here…”

“Why?” He kept the pressure on her.

“I got these powers for a reason.” Her eyes became glassy. “To help people, and I want to be taken seriously… not another joke from Staten Island.”

“My asshole bleeds for you, girlie,” Rogers sneered, “it really does.”

Rosann lowered her head, wiping her eyes as Rogers looked up to the heavens contemplating her fate.

“Seeing as how you refuse to leave, guess I’ll take you in. See if there is a killer inside of you,” Rogers sighed, easing up for a split second.

“But the second I hear a whimper, an ‘I can’t do it,’” he growled, “I will personally drag you by the roots back to Staten Island and dump you where that chopper picked you up from… are we crystal clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” she answered with conviction.

“You’re on my shitlist, little girl.” He made sure she smelled the coffee on his breath. “Don’t expect to get clean anytime soon.”

Rogers turned donning a ‘pleasant’ smile on his face as he took one full step and turned again to face Rosann’s twin brother Adrian. He was an inch taller than Abe wearing a blue and white Nike jumpsuit with a white wifebeater underneath two sizes smaller that his tan muscular physique that it hid. With his spiked gelled black hair, all he was missing was a Z-IROC or a tuner vehicle to finish his look. Mr. Esposito took the first offensive leaning forward. Grasping the crucifix around his neck, he transformed into the metal element of Platinum locking eyes with Rogers. Rosann lowered her head wishing at that moment she was not a twin.

“Oh shit,” Rosann whispered with a huff, “here we go…”

“Adrian Esposito, but you can call me ‘Hard-On’ soldier boy.” He cracked a smile. “Am I close enough for you to try to kiss me?”

“Thank you.” A huge grin formed on Roger’s face.

It was the first one Erica had seen on the old man’s face since meeting him. She could sense without reading his mind that it was an omen to something bad coming in a couple of seconds.

“Thank me for…” Adrian knitted his eyebrows wondering the Sergeant’s game.

Rogers disrupted Adrian’s question by the sound of human skull smashing into his Platinum metal nose. Esposito’s neck snapped back as he grabbed his nose, shocked that he was registering pain in his metallic form. It shocked him so much that he did not see the haymaker punch Rogers caved his chest in with lifting him off his feet sending him a good forty feet away.

“Adrian!” Rosann screamed.

“Oh shit.” Blitz turned watching his new teammate go sailing.

Rosann watched in horror as her brother landed back first into the ground creating a crash drag; he used the momentum to backward roll to his feet, while digging his fingers into the dirt in order to brake. He shook off the cobwebs as newfound rage filled his eyes. As Adrian prepared to take on an advancing Rogers, Rosann went to reach for a tiger tooth necklace around her neck.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Erica projected her voice into Rosann’s mind, stopping her.

Rosann whipped around turning to the culprit inside her skull.

“Get out of my head you little…” She bared her teeth at Erica.

“Rogers is a professional, and your brother needs some schooling,” Lady Tech returned echoing again in her skull. “So stay out of it.”

“That’s my brother you, little bitch!” Rosann fired back.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Erica scoffed. “Transform or move from that spot, and I’ll make you think that you’re going blind with an itchy asshole that needs a good scratching.”

A frustrated Rosann reluctantly watched as her enraged brother proceeded to pick up speed charging at Abe.

“You cock sucker!” he howled. “You wanna go? You wanna piece of me? Let’s go!”

Rogers did not bother answer him as he continued to advance in his direction, Esposito went to shoot on Rogers for a takedown, but a more experienced soldier stuffed his shoot attempt with his powerful legs digging deep into the dirt. With no hesitation, he used one hand to keep him bent over while raining brutal forearm blows down onto his back.

“You old bastard,” Adrian growled, “can’t… hurt me…”

Hard-On roared as he powered out of Abe’s grip and swung for the hills with a powerful right. A skilled Rogers stepped in, catching his arm. He hit a well-executed judo flip slamming him into the dirt creating a small crater.

“My arm now…” Abe growled back.

Rogers sunk in a powerful armbar forcing Adrian to his feet. Adrian was baffled that he registered pain in his metallic form. He proceeded to whip Adrian around into a giant swing taking him off his feet before leaping into the air a good thirty feet. While in midair, Rogers delivered another judo throw hurling Hard-On back to the Earth creating a human size crater with his body; before he could recover Rogers returned to Earth delivering a boot to his chest causing a mini dirt explosion adding insult to injury. Rogers removed his boot from his chest and placed it on his throat forcing him to gasp for air as he squirmed trying to get free from underneath Abe’s boot.

“Now that we’ve established that I’m not only stronger than you,” he dug his boot in deeper, “but can kick your miserable ass hide three ways to Sunday and then some. Why are you here?”

“Thought… it was cool,” Adrian Esposito gasped, “to be a part of a real… superhero… team… sir…”

“Same damn answer as your sister.” Rogers drove his boot even deeper into his throat. “But at least you’re honest and to answer your question why you lost, it’s because you’re an ignorant dumbass. I know all about your power, just because you can transform into the properties like metal or stone doesn’t mean you’re not human. Blood still courses through your veins, and you’re nervous system still lights up, which is why if I hit you hard enough, you can still feel pain. Now you got five seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t send you home with a permanent limp?

“I… can… be… better,” Adrian gurgled, “sir… give… me… chance…”

“Chance? Before you were a bad ass.” Rogers twisted his boot. “Big dick wily swinging with your bra shirt, all “blinged” out looking to show me something, now you want a chance? Well let me think about that.”

Rogers once again looked to the heavens scratching his chin as he contemplated the male Esposito’s fate.

“Okay Limp, I suppose if I can throw your sister over there a bone, I can throw you one too. Aside from being a total waste of human excrement… you got guts,” Rogers scowled, driving his boot deeper into Adrian forcing him further into the dirt, “but you so much as look at me sideways I’ll pop you like a Pepsi can, you hearing me, boy?”

“Sir,” he gurgled, “yes… sir!”

Rogers finally released Esposito allowing him to struggle to his feet; he powered down and stumbled back to the line standing next to his sister with his head down. The Sergeant calmly strolling back over, again stood before the completely humbled new recruits.

“Now that I know who you really are,” Abe’s voice boomed, “allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sergeant Abraham Rogers, and you will all address me as “Sir, yes sir,” calling me anything else to my face will make you subject to cruel and unusual punishment.”

“Sir, yes sir!” all three managed to sound off in unison.

“My job is to take you three pieces of turds out the crack of God’s ass, and turn you into a fighting force capable of defeating and killing the Devil himself.” Rogers began to pace. “And I will have you know that I have never failed when a mission has been presented before me. The only way this will fail, is if you fail me. Are you going to fail me?!”

“Sir, no sir!” all three howled in unison again.

“No, you won’t, because I will physically kill you if you do. Each of you had a chance to opt out,” Rogers continued to bark. “You didn’t take it so now you belong to me… heart, body, mind, and soul. Rule number one, obey me as if your life depended on it… and it will because to not obey me means I get to physically kill you… is that understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!” all three yelled in unison for a third time.

“Rule number two, no one is allowed to use their powers and abilities unless ordered to do so,” Rogers howled, “you were shit before you had powers, and you’re still shit with them. My job is to pound you worthless pieces of shit into fertilizer so that you can grow into the most feared and respected fighting force this country has ever seen. To do that you all must become human beings before you can become superhuman beings, and you’re not human beings. In my eyes you’re nothing but a bunch of freaks of nature taking up God given Earth, air, and space… you want my opinion to change… then it’s your job to prove me wrong… failure to follow rule number two means I get to physically kill you… is that understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!” all three screamed in unison again.

“Now allow me to introduce you to your other teammate,” howled Rogers.

All three turned their attention to Erica stepping up with a bright smile on her face to stand next to Rogers.

“This here is Lady Tech, she is responsible for designing and building this facility and all of the tech and gear needed to both train and prepare you for future missions should you survive me,” Rogers roared, “which means she’s got more brain power in one strand of her hair than all of you combined. I am God… she is Jesus Christ… which means despite being half your age you are to give her the respect of someone twice your age, because she knows damn well what she is talking about. Failure to do so means I get to physically kill you. Is that understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!” all three shouted in unison one final time.

“Now that you understand,” Rogers nodded, “get your shit, and get ready to descend into hell.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Ten minutes later, the twins and Brandon all wore similar faces of disbelief as they looked around at the massive facility, vehicles, and independent automatons moving about the base. They all looked as if they had descended into another world, or centuries into the future.

“This is the Ranch, our base of operations and training ground,” Rogers began his introduction, “here you will eat, piss, shit, and learn to be a proper soldier … on my level… and it’s a very high level people… I’m talking looking God in the eye type of level… Lady Tech.”

“Sleeping quarters are this way,” Erica pointed out, “each of you have been assigned your own quarters.”

“Sweet,” Adrian whispered.

“Mess hall is here, central command, which you will see soon, is down that hallway,” she continued, “and over here… is what I’d like to call the Hurt Locker.”

The twins looked at each other in bewilderment as Blitz swallowed, anxious to see what awaited him on the other side of the steel doors. As they entered they found a massive bare room.

“Looks like they forget to put in the ‘hurt,’” whispered the male Esposito.

“Shut up, Adrian,” Rosann whispered, “not trying to catch shit again…”

“This is a multi-scenario combat room, built for training in multiple combat situations,” Lady Tech explained. “Here we can upload holographic environments from jungle…”

Out of nowhere, a deep forest jungle area similar to Vietnam appeared around them with amazing realism.

“To urban,” she continued.

The environment switched to downtown Times Square with people walking around them.

“The environment and civilians are created by a holographic force field generated simulator. It is as you can see realistic, sensitive, and made to interact with your actions creating combat scenarios that you can learn from,” she pointed out.

“So we’re supposed to train off of some ghosts?” Adrian raised a hand.

“Adrian!” his sister growled.

“What?” he shot back, “I can’t ask a simple question?”

“No, you’re expected to train off these,” Erica answered.

The floor opened up in front of them creating a huge square opening as a platform rose in the place of where the floor was. Standing before them were six human beings of various sizes, shapes, and ethnicities wearing similar outfits to Lady Tech; they appeared to be asleep on their feet. The Japanese woman in the front was the first to awaken revealing her green eyes. She raised her hand, which began to spark. It erupted from a spark into a large flaming sphere, which she controlled.

“Whoa,” Rosann’s eyes widened.

“Holy…” Adrian tilted his head stunned.

“They’re called Replicators,” Erica smiled, “cybernetic androids underneath a synthetic organic grown skin. They have the ability to imitate regular humans, or in this case EVOs.”

“EVOs?” Rosann raised a hand.

“You, you’re brother, and Mr. Brandon,” motioned Lady Tech, “it is the government classification for “super humans” such as us. People infected by the EVO Virus, which you know as the Judgment Virus after the Big Bang II incident. The sub-classification is Prometheans like me, Moleculars or Elementals, like you two, which are extremely rare. Apollo types like Mr. Brandon. Mercurians, which are the speedster class.”

A small yet ripped male Latino Replicator exploded into a run creating a sonic boom forcing everyone but Abe to cover their ears as he moved and turned at blinding speeds through the imaginary street of New York City before returning back to his spot again.

“And Finally… Titans like Sergeant Rogers,” she pointed to him, “by training with them you will learn how to combat various types of EVOs on different power levels and in different environments. Here you will be able to hone your abilities and hopefully increase them as well as learn your limitations. Being superhuman does not mean you are invincible. Understanding that will teach you to rely on other tools aside from your abilities.”

“How come there aren’t any Replicators with our powers?” Adrian held hand up his hand again.

“Good question,” Erica addressed him. “I have not been able to develop the technology to replicate your abilities. Yet. Molecular types’ cells are highly evolved to the level of being almost sentient, which is how you are capable of transforming the way you both do.”

A broad smile appeared on Adrian’s face, then vanished when Rogers stepped over to get in his face again.

“Your bodies maybe evolved.” He looked him up and down. “But not that pebble rattling around in that skull of yours.”

“Sir, yes sir,” Adrian swallowed while standing at the stiffest attention again.

“Anything else Lady Tech?” Rogers asked while burning a hole through Esposito.

“Shoot, how rude of me.” She smacked her head. “Let me introduce you to the rest of our family. Maxine, please call in Angie and Jennifer.”

“Yes Miss,” Maxine acknowledged.

Less than a minute later, Jennifer and Angie walked through the door gabbing with one another.

“Holy smoke, there’s three of them,” Oliver swallowed.

They walked over to their sister standing nonchalantly next to her, ending their conversation as they turned to look at the new recruits before them. Jennifer appeared disinterested, while Angie showed particular interest zeroing on one particular recruit. With a bright smile she waved and gave a wink.

Adrian furrowed his brows realizing she was addressing him.

“Maxine, you have already met,” Erica began to properly introduce, “she is not only an android, but the main AI computer for the entire base. Next to her are her sisters, Jennifer and Angie. They will also be your instructors and sparring partners from time to time. All three possess a well of knowledge that you can tap. So if you pass them in the hallway, and have a question, don’t be afraid to ask.”

During Erica’s introduction, Adrian began to uncomfortably fidget as Angie continued to make flirty suggestive advances toward him from afar. They were mostly puckered kisses, lip licks, and eye winks.

He lowered his head pretending not to see and to avoid getting on Rogers’ bad side again. Jennifer catching her sister’s antics gave her a sharp elbow. Angie retaliated with an elbow of her own. Before it turned into a full blown fight, Maxine showing emotion for the first time glared at her two younger sisters with bright pink glowing eyes ending the disagreement.

Lady Tech ending her tour and introductions stepped back allowing Rogers to step in again.

“Now that we’ve all be properly introduced,” Rogers glanced at each of them, “the schedule for the next six months is pretty damn simple. Asses up at 0500 for breakfast, training from 0600 to 1200 hours, and then lunchtime. Training begins again from 1300 to 1900 hours, after that is chow, and the rest of the night to do as you damn please, which should be getting rest to do it all over again the next day, and then the next. Do I need to send you an email or text message about this schedule?”

“Sir, no sir!” the trio yelled.

“Good, because the dumbass that shows up one second late will suffer, and the ones that show up early will suffer twice as worse.”

Rogers’ threat made Oliver and Rosann both turn their eyes to Adrian standing in the middle. He answered the non-verbal accusation with a dirty look.

“Now I would like you three to get the hell out of my sight till tomorrow,” Rogers grinned. “Maxine will escort you each to your new quarters. By all means explore and take in this grand facility, because come tomorrow, each of you are going to wish you took that chopper ride home. Dismissed!”

“This way please,” Maxine gestured with a smile.

The trio grabbed their duffel bags and followed Maxine out of the Hurt Locker with Angie sashaying behind in tow until her sister bounced her in disgust. The two sisters began arguing again exiting the room leaving just Rogers and Lady Tech.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Rogers motioned.

“Nah, they argue all the time,” she snorted.

“I was implying to the orange-haired one giving Esposito ammunition for a sexual lawsuit,” Rogers elaborated.

“That’s what happens when you build highly evolved artificial intelligence,” she shrugged, “it’s just a harmless school girl crush, you want me to reel her in?”

“No,” Rogers shook his head, “Let’s continue to make Mr. Esposito uncomfortable for now. See which one makes him break… her or me.”

“So what do you really think of our new recruits?” She turned to him.

“My true opinion is not for young ears such as yours,” he answered, “six months will tell me if this is or isn’t waste of our time.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Three months later, Rogers made good on his promise of breaking the will of the trio. The first day of training told him what he already knew. Despite their impressive physiques both Adrian and Oliver’s stamina and endurance not only did not meet up to Marine standards, it barely met the standards of children, while Rosann failed to meet both standards all together.

Although he already knew what he was working with, it did not stop him from tearing into them. And so began the task of breaking their bodies in order to rebuild them. From morning till noon, he drove them into the ground until they puked their entrails out, and then after lunch he did it again for another five hours before handing what was left to Erica.

Every night for almost a month, he’d walk pass Rosann Esposito’s room, and hear her crying to herself, wishing to go home. Every day when they fell in, he waited for her to raise a hand, giving her resignation and request to go home. Every day she never uttered a word.

During the two hours which took place in the Hurt Locker, Erica taught the trio EVO physiology 101 to better understand, control, and employee their abilities in combat situations.

Oliver had more practice and control over his abilities than the twins. He had already mastered flight and energy manipulation. Unlike his other counterparts that wielded electricity, Oliver could use his abilities in a wide array of ways. By focusing, he could envelop his body in a white electrical plasma form without harm to himself. This apparently bolstered his abilities to an even greater level. Oliver had two problems. The first one which Erica saw was that his emotions affected his abilities. Emotions such as anger and frustration brought him to uncontrollable levels especially in the heat of battle. Left unchecked he could accidentally unleash a multi-direction electrical nova blast devastating a radius of two hundred miles.

Erica created a special suit along with boots to help him regulate his powers until his could consciously control them on his own.

His second problem which Rogers caught as a result of his first was that he hesitated in combat situations. Even when civilians were not present in combat scenarios, Oliver hesitated with the knowledge of Rosann and Adrian in the area. His main tactic was strafing and evading; searching for an opening he would use concentrated attacks to bring his opponents down. This in Roger’s eyes prolonged fights that did not need to be stretched out, and left the team to further unknown dangers. He constantly pushed him into heavy populated scenarios, especially those where civilian lives were lost. Abe had to make him understand that if he hesitated lives would be lost. And even if he did not hesitate lives could still be lost. It was something he had to live with if he wanted to be an effective soldier.

For Adrian it was learning the properties of different metals and other noncarbon based materials, and how they would affect both his strength and durability. Aside from his antics that constantly bore him to the wrath of Rogers, Esposito proved to be a quick study with the great potential to be a skilled soldier. His problem was both over confidence and an eagerness to prove himself the capable soldier the Sergeant still believed was not there. Because of this he performed some risky acts. Some were successful, while others badly backfired. In the first he found no praise from Abe. The second found him dragged through the seven levels of hell and back after Rogers was done with him.

Rosann’s training was similar, except hers consisted of both getting use to her hybrid transformations which were painful for her, and a course in Zoology. Through practice Erica revealed to her that transforming into mammal hybrids was easier on her body because theirs and human physiology was somewhat similar, and that repeated transformations was key to them becoming easier. She taught that it was similar to stretching a muscle. In time it would become both painless and second nature to her.

Human and EVO transformations proved to be much easier for her as the only thing that changed was her skin, hair, eye color, and sometimes muscle physique. When it came to duplicating other EVOs powers and abilities, her feats were similar to her brother’s when she duplicated his ability. However, when she duplicated Rogers’ Titan abilities or Oliver’s electrical powers she was slightly weaker than her male counterparts.

Erica explained the reason for this was based on compatibility. Because her and her brother’s DNA was virtually the same it was easier for her cells to accept her brother’s cells and all of its properties. However when it came to others whose DNA was not similar to her own some properties would be lost or discarded giving her the ability to duplicate whoever she touched powers, but not at the same strength or intensity of the originator.

Erica also pointed out to both twins that the properties they absorbed were not gone when they reverted back to human form, but dormant. Once they absorbed a property it remained within their cells, touching the property again only triggered and activated their abilities. In time with training and concentration they would be able to morph without the need of a trigger.

Rogers stood in front of the observation training window with Lady Tech watching as the twins and Oliver took part in a fierce simulation battle with three Replicators.

The purpose of the training session, which he explained prior to it taking place, was for the team to learn to deal with fighting in single combat situations, while figuring out how to get to their teammates in order to fight as a unit. They were placed in an urban city scenario several blocks from one another. One stipulation which was enforced on Rosann was that she was not to borrow her brother’s or Oliver’s powers at anytime during the battle. She had to rely on her own abilities in order to help her team win.

Rosann in a female humanoid cheetah form tried her best to match speed with a Mercurian Replicator, while her brother Adrian in Titanium form took on a Titan Replicator. Blitz matched his lightning ability against a Replicator possessing the ability to unleash intense heat and flame.

“They’re not doing too bad. Oliver is showing great control over his power. The twins’ combat prowess is getting better. Adrian’s using more of what you taught him and less brute strength.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Now let’s throw in the wildcard.”

The wildcard was a fourth Replicator with the power to manipulate water. Powering up it pulled air together focusing and channeling a massive amount of H20. It used it for aerial propulsion. Its first act was to team up with the fire Replicator. They purposely crossed streams of fire and water to create a steam smoke screen.

“Guys!” yelled Oliver. “Could really use some help here!”

Adrian seeing Blitz being double teamed even through the thick steamy mist sidestepped the Titan Replicator slamming its gut with a knee and then booting it to the side of its skull knocking it down.

Turning on his heel, he rushed to Oliver’s side only to run into an ambush from the flame wielding Replicator blasting him with a full dose of plasma heat. His titanium physiology saved him from fourth degree burns, but he choked and gasped within the airless environment.

Oliver with fist cocked and charged of electrical power, dived down to his teammate’s aid clobbering the Replicator with enough force to send it crashing against a concrete building.

There was no breathing room as the water wielding Replicator unleashed a hurricane force stream on both a recovering Adrian and an electrically charged Oliver. The blast shorted out Blitz’s powers and sent him flying along with Adrian. He went crashing through the window of a Walmart, while Oliver smacked up violently against a parked Honda Civic.

A feral Rosann barely took down her Replicator speedster. She landed a lucky open handed slash to its face. The Replicator’s synthetic body and reaction where extremely realistic as it hit the pavement in writhing pain with simulated blood pouring from the four gashes made by her claws across its face.

It caught her off guard a bit. Even though it was not a real person, the scene was all too real for her. Especially when her hands trembled at the sight of the blood on them.

“She’s freezing up again,” Rogers sighed.

Rosann’s feline senses detected an incoming attack forcing her to leap backwards as the recovered Titan Replicator came down with both fists looking to hammer her head off. It ended up cratering the concrete instead.

Twenty feet up it left her open to a midair attack from the water wielder blasting her with the same powerful stream it hit Oliver and Adrian with. She slammed violently against the simulated concrete wall of a building, but her feline reflexes allowed her to get her feet underneath her.

She recovered quickly enough to see the water wielder hovering over her, the Titan flanking her left, while the recovered speedster flanked her right side. She roared preparing to fight when the simulation came to an end. The Replicators went into standby mode as the force field generated holographic buildings and cars disappeared leaving a blank room again.

A soaking wet Rosann reverted back to human form as her brother, also drenched, got back to his feet, and transformed. He walked over grabbing Oliver’s hand helping him up to his feet.

“Where should I begin,” Rogers’ voice boomed over the audio system, “Esposito… and I mean the male Esposito… you once again failed to neutralize your target with a neural damper. Knocking him down does not mean that he’s out especially when he possesses regenerative healing. So your sister can thank you for getting her triple teamed and possibly killed.”

Adrian bowed his head and nodded acknowledging his screw up.

“Mr. Brandon, you’ve been told a million times your electrical abilities only stun fire wielding EVOs,” Rogers began to admonish him.

“Sir! I was attempting to do that sir!” Oliver answered.

“You also know heat does not have any effect on you,” he continued, “so why didn’t you bum rush that Replicator and beat the hell out of him instead of getting into a damn dog fight with him?”

“Sir… I,” he stammered.

“You froze again, Brandon, relying once again more on your powers and not your physical abilities and training,” Rogers sternly pointed out. “Had you done so, you could have bagged and tagged him and then dealt with Mr. Super Soaker. FYI, water is a perfect conductor of electricity, which means a concentrated blast from you would have dropped him and not the other way around. You would have known that had you not gotten rattled by being double teamed.”

“Sir, yes sir,” he nodded.

“Female Esposito,” Abe sucked in some air and then exhaled, “mind telling me why you froze again after turning that speedster into a scratch post?”

“Sir, no sir,” she lowered her head, “I… don’t.”

“Yeah, you do,” Rogers shot back. “You froze at the sight of fake blood on your hands. You froze because the reactions of that dummy standing before you was all too real for you. Am I right or wrong?”

“Sir...” She hesitantly nodded, “you are… correct… sir.”

“Now answer this rhetorical question,” he continued, “if this was a real life situation, and the other way around, do you think your opponent would hesitate or finish the job?”

“Sir, finish the job, sir,” she answered.

“Esposito, the only reason you’re still standing there with your brother and Brandon,” Rogers said with raw iron sternness, “is because I lost a fifty dollar bet with Champion here that you wouldn’t last a week. You have proven me wrong as to whether you have both the physical and mental aptitude to be here… so far. Psychological-wise remains to be seen. This is not the Peace Core Esposito, this is a superhuman combat unit, which means there will be times when you must fight, draw blood, and possibly kill. Disciplines needed not just to save your life, but possibly the life of your team that you will be fighting next to. A hard truth that you need to come to terms with and decide if you are both able and willing to do or not, and you need to decide quickly Esposito, or else I will decide for you. Is that clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” she acknowledged.

“The purpose of this training is to see how you all do in both individual combat situations and as a team.” Rogers addressed all three of them. “There may be situations where you begin fighting as a team and end up separated. Where the odds will not be in your favor. Where you must think on your own and battle to get back to your team. Failure to do so will result in a certified asskicking and a possible toe-tag. Do we understand one another?”

“Sir! Yes sir!” they all howled in unison.

“Dismissed then,” he barked, “get out of my sight and get some food in you.”

Rogers watched all three leave, reading their body languages. Rosann, with her shoulders hunched over clutching her right bicep, glanced at the Replicator speedster she clawed down with troubled plastered all over her face. Oliver’s shoulders were not hunched, but his head was lowered. A look of disappointment was written all over his face. Adrian yawned and stretched seemingly without a care in the world. Rogers came to learn it was the opposite. As annoying as Esposito was at times, he had a hard work ethic. He did not dwell on the mistakes he made; he worked hard to do it better the next time around.

“Well, they didn’t do too bad,” sighed Erica.

“They didn’t do good either,” Abe grunted, “and I need perfect.”

“You can at least say we’re doing well with three more months to go,” she glanced his way.

“No,” was his flat answer.

He turned walking out of the observation deck as she shook her head blowing blue-dyed bangs out of her face.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Thirty minutes later Rogers sat at the desk of his quarters examining video images and Intel of superhuman combat units already established in several countries. Russia had a six person unit known as the Iron Spetsnaz; the United Kingdom had a five person unit known as the Lions of Elizabeth. In China there was an eight person team known as the Order of the Dragon, while in North Korea there was the Guards of the Republic. It was unknown how many EVOs was a part of their team, but intelligence guessed there were possibly six. South Korea countered them with a five person team named the Heroes of the Republic. There were also teams being formed in Iran, Israel, Australia, and possibly Japan. Russian had the strongest team, all class ten; followed by the UK with the second strongest, while China possessed a number of heavy hitters and the numbers game. Between Russian and North Korea possessed the most experienced superhumans with military combat backgrounds.

Rogers leaned back regretting he did not have more of a say in the selection process of the team before he took the position to both train and lead it.

“Maxine,” Rogers called out, “Are you there?”

“Yes Sergeant,” Maxine responded, “how may I help you?”

“Other than the battle with Captain Omega and the Siberian Machine,” Abe began his question, “how many other combat situations has Ms. Dennison been in against other EVOs?”

“I calculate six different confrontations,” Maxine confirmed, “two within the Ukraine, three within the continent of Africa, one in Mexico, and one within the Middle East.”

“Where in the Middle East?” he asked.

“She defeated a class eight Titan by the name of Alborz Mahmoudieh near the border of Iran and Afghanistan,” Maxine reported.

“What happened there?” Abe knitted his brow.

“Alborz Mahmoudieh a low ranking member of Al-Qaeda, apparently became a top lieutenant when his abilities activated. On March 11, 2013, he marched into a small town with a regime of thirty men looking to set up a temporary camp. Unbeknownst to him, Ms. Dennison was also there bringing medical aid to the villagers,” Maxine explained. “Ms. Dennison asked Mr. Mahmoudieh to kindly leave the village and set up camp elsewhere. Mr. Mahmoudieh did not take kindly to being ordered by a woman and attempted to assault Ms. Dennison. She soundly defeated him in three seconds.”

“Send me all the footage you have of her in combat situations.” He leaned back in his chair. “And any stats currently compiled on her.”

“Certainly,” Maxine compiled. “Shall I include the Miss in your research?”

“Negative,” he shook his head, “this is my own personal research. But inform everyone to show up in the debriefing room at 2200 hours tonight.”

“Yes sir,” she acknowledged, “compiling data.”

Rogers leaned forward as Maxine created a folder compiling the video footage and data he requested.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Debriefing Room 2200 Hours.

The trio wore the same faces they had on after leaving the Hurt Locker. Erica seated next to Adrian, leaned back in her chair reading updates from a well-known comic book news website known as Comic Vine from her tablet as they waited for Rogers.

“So uh,” Adrian fiddled around, “do you know what this is about?”

“Nope,” she sighed.

“No clues,” he continued to fidget, “none?”

“The only thing I know is Wolverine dies,” she answered nonchalantly reading her tablet, “and Tom Hardy just got signed for the Captain Omega movie. He is so hot. ”

He slowly leaned over to check out the content on her tablet, when Rogers entered the room making him stiffen up along with his sister and Oliver. Erica continued to scan through her tablet. As Rogers neared the center of the room, he did a quick scan looking into their eyes. No one wanted to go home.

“You’re not diamonds, but I bet I can trade you all for a three-piece, and a Happy meal,” he huffed. “Top brass wants you ready within the next three months. I say you all need at least six more months to get your balls up. Unfortunately, orders are orders so it’s time to switch things up to some on the job training.”

The trio glanced at one another with both confusion and eagerness. Lady Tech lifted her head from her tablet glaring up at Rogers with uneasy narrowed eyes wondering what he was up to, especially since he did not debrief her privately on his plans first.

“Maxine, bring up the file,” Abe requested.

Lady Tech’s eyes bulged while almost falling backwards out of her chair. Oliver and the twins glanced her way before turning back to the mug shot and rap sheet on the screen.

“Her name is Sophia Dennison,” Rogers began the debriefing, “a very powerful EVO, probably the most powerful one on the planet. She’s currently located on a remote island in the Pacific which we will be paying a visit to tomorrow, where the word of the day will be ‘recon’ people. This is an information gathering mission only, with the emphasis on ‘information gathering.’”

He did another scan of their faces to ensure they comprehended what he was saying.

“Any questions?” he asked.

Erica’s arm shot up into the air. She violently waved it demanding his attention.

“Ms. Champion,” he narrowed his eyes.

“Exactly what type of intel are we expected to gather on this ‘recon’ mission?” she asked narrowing her eyes back at him.

“I will be the one actually gathering the intel,” he informed her, “you four will be providing back up, and that is all you will be doing. Any more questions?”

No one else had any questions, but they were all uncomfortable at the sudden tension between Lady Tech and the Sergeant.

“So tomorrow make sure you’re suited up and on the deck by the bird no later than 0900 hours,” he ordered, “anyone late for our little field trip will be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, and those that are early will get worse.”

Oliver and Rosann’s eyes turned to Adrian again who returned their glare once again with a dirty look.

“Dismissed,” he turned exiting the debriefing room.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

As Rogers entered the hallway walking off, Erica with the demeanor of an irate rabid ankle biter followed behind him.

“Permission to speak freely, sir!” she snapped.

“As long as you keep it G rated,” he returned dryly.

“What the hell are you doing?” her high pitched stern voice echoed the anger and frustration on her face.

“Close enough,” Rogers sighed

He halted turning to face her.

“Why the hell are we going to Ms. Dennison’s island tomorrow?” she yelled. “And why wasn’t I debriefed?”

“I just debrief you.” Rogers tilted his head unimpressed by her temper tantrum. “And for a college grad with a list of degrees longer than my arm I think you’d understand the meaning of the word ‘recon.’”

“This is more than a reconnaissance mission and you know it,” she sneered at him, “and what part of her island being a ‘no fly zone’ did you not get?”

“I’m banking on her being such a humanitarian that she wouldn’t bring down a vessel with no hostile intensions,” he scoffed. “And any additions to this mission is on a need to know basis, which at this time you do not need to know.”

“As co-leader of this group I demand to know,” she shot back.

Rogers sighed stepping forward now towering over her with a stone cold look, making her feel smaller than she already was. As extremely intimidating as the Sergeant was, she tried her best to stare him back down.

“Let’s get something straight.” He brought out his instill fear bass voice. “There is no co-leader; there is only one leader. Me. I’m the adult, you’re the child… I run this team… you’re part of the team who I give some extended authorities to because your brain pan is a lot bigger than our current Three Stooges. However, you still do what I say, and if you don’t like it then you can take your toys and your gadgets and get off my base… and the next time you decide to grow a pair and challenge me like I put a ring on your finger. I will personally throw you off this base… are we clear?”

“Sir… yes sir,” she snarled.

“I don’t give a damn if you’re Spock smart, you ain’t grown,” he snapped at her, “now we leave at 0900 hours tomorrow morning. I’m giving you the authority to make sure everyone is up, in gear, and on that deck by that time. If they’re not it’s on you. Are we clear?”

“Sir… yes sir,” she answered with grinding teeth.

Rogers marched off leaving Erica in a state of anger and hurt feelings. She stormed off in the opposite direction muttering something none too pleasant about the Sergeant.

CHAPTER 8

0500 hours the next day:

Rogers rose out of his bed as if it was another day and hit the floor executing his routine two hundred push-ups. By right, he no longer needed to do any push-ups based on his physiology that would allow him to do them into next week without tiring; push-ups, however, kept him disciplined, reminding him that he was still human.

He rose back to his feet, walking into the bathroom of his quarters and ran ice-cold water over his face. He then took a razor to both his skull and face for a quick clean up. He finished off his regimen with a thorough brush and floss.

After a last rinse and spit, he headed over to where he placed his fatigue and gear after checking it last night only to find that it was gone, and replaced by something else. Where his military fatigue and flak jacket use to be was a black bodysuit with a body armored look to it. Embossed on the front right breastplate was his rank as Sergeant, while both shoulders of the outfit bore the Regulator Eagle symbol. Rogers narrowed his eyes in bewilderment as he ran his hand over the material. Aside the from the breast and spinal plates, which had a rubber like feel to it, the rest of the suit seemed constructed from an extremely light and soft fabric.

“Maxine!” Abe barked looking around.

“Good Morning, Sergeant Rogers.” She came over the audio system in his room. “How may I help you?”

“What the hell happened to my gear?” he yelled.

“The Miss had it replaced last night while you slept,” she responded.

“What?” he barked. “How?”

A holographic image beamed down from one of the micro cameras in the room replaying the comical event that went down under his nose as a duo of miniature Doozers snuck into his room while he slept taking his uniform from off the table replacing it with his new uniform before scurrying out as he turned over during mid-snore.

“Where is it?” he howled.

“She had it incinerated,” Maxine calmly responded.

“Incinerated?” he roared in disbelief.

“Yes sir, incinerated,” she repeated.

“Where is she?” Abe reared his teeth.

“She has instructed me not to give you her location,” informed Maxine. “She will meet you at the expected mission time with the team up and ready. She has also instructed me to play for you a recorded message. Shall I play it now, sir?”

“Play it!” ordered an infuriated Rogers.

“Good Morning, Sergeant Dooshbag,” Erica’s voice rang over the audio system. “By now you’re probably throwing a hissy fit because I got rid of your old duds. Get over it. You may run this team, but I am still in charge of facilities, tech, and gear for all operations, and I’m sorry gramps your gear is severely outdated… Desert Storm was last… last year. Before you is the latest in high-grade body armor designed by yours truly that I like to call IMPACT armor. It’s a million times stronger and more resilient than the stuff you’re use to wearing. It can withstand a direct hit from a 120mm KEW-A2 cartridge, and is resistant to both sub-zero freezing and 6.6 million degrees Fahrenheit. Considering who you are sending us up against is a bazillion times worst, it would be in your best interested to suit up. Sorry about torching your other gear, but I really didn’t want you to have another option… at least I made you a new matching beanie… see you at 0900 hours… sir.”

“She’s just a child.” Abe ran his mitt down his face. “She’s just a child… she’s just a child.”

0845 hours:

Rogers marched into the hanger all business decked out in his new gear. He wore his new black military beanie hat low as his team stood in line minus Lady Tech for inspection.

Hard-On stood at attention wearing a similar outfit to Rogers in blue, black, and silver with the Regulator symbol also imprinted on the shoulders of his outfit. His boots were also similar to Rogers but in a deep blue color. Around his waist and right leg he wore a belt and holster system that housed his sidearm. Rosanna stood next to him wearing a blood red and purple leotard version of their outfit also bearing the Regulator symbol on both shoulders. She also wore matching fingerless tactical gloves, and a sidearm and belt set up similar to her brother’s outfit. On her feet, she wore a form of open toe shoe system in purple and red that covered a portion of her shins, ankle and foot up to her toes, which made Rogers look her in the eye.

“Sir,” Rosanna swallowed, “she said it was so I would not have to compromise the use of my abilities, sir.”

Rogers nodded as he walked up to Blitz wearing a different version of their outfit with a glowing blue electrical grid pattern to it. Like everyone else, the shoulders of his outfit was adorned with the Regulator emblem. He wore black metallic bracers and boots with the same glowing grid pattern as his outfit. They were used to assist him in regulating his power output. Unlike his teammates, he did not carry a firearm. His abilities would either damage or render them useless in combat.

“Where’s…” Abe began to ask, looking for Lady Tech.

A large booming sound interrupted him and made all three facing him step back and look up.

“Right behind you old man,” rang Erica’s voice.

Rogers turned around to another booming sound, forcing him to look up as well. Erica sat in its three-fingered and thumbed left palm as it carried her. It stood a humongous sixteen feet tall with two hind legs similar to a cat or a dog. Like the android sisters it had white lights pulsating a powerful energy source, unlike the sisters a large one glowed from its breastplate. Its armored plating was a shiny chrome black with neon green flames like one would see on a supped up tuner car; Erica’s personal touch as she wore a skintight gray and silver plug bodysuit one would see in an anime cartoon. Like the rest of her teammates, each shoulder displayed the Regulator emblem.

“What the hell is that?” Adrian was the first to break the silence.

“This people is S.A.M.” introduced Erica, “S.A.M. wave to everyone.”

“The goliath machine gave a cheerful wave with its free hand, unnerving everyone except for Rogers.

“Okay,” chimed in Rosann, “what the hell is S.A.M?”

“S.A.M. my good people stands for Synthetic Armored Mech;” informed Erica. “He’s my personal armored mobile suit.”

“You mean you can ride inside of him,” asked Oliver, “like in Gundam?”

“I do love a man who knows his anime,” smiled Erica, “but you are correct. S.A.M. here adds exponential muscle and firepower to our little team, which we desperately need.”

Rogers donned a sardonic smile as he gestured for her to come down so that he may have a word with her.

“Down please, S.A.M,” Erica nervously coughed knowing the conversation would be very unpleasant.

The large armored mech slowly dropped to one knee, placing its creator gently to the ground. Lady Tech slowly strolled over to the Sergeant as if bracing for a switching. He leaned forward forcing her to recoil backwards.

“I warned you, if you try to test me… you’re going to lose,” he calmly whispered to her. “Torching my uniform was strike one, your fashionably late grand entrance was strike two… you want to break Limp’s record over there?”

“Sir… no sir,” she swallowed hard.

“Then move your tail and fall in,” Rogers ordered with a bass filled voice.

Erica quickly scurried over to Oliver standing next to him and stood as straight as possible fighting through the embarrassing lecture she received. Rogers took one last look at the gigantic armor whose chest expanded as if it was breathing as it looked back at him. He shook his head as he turned to address his team.

“Now that we’re done admiring each other’s Halloween costumes,” he began, “based on the debriefing which you all should have read we are heading to an uncharted man-made remote island in the South Pacific. There are civilians on this island, some of them are America, which means we do not bring a firefight unless necessary. This is strictly a recon mission and nothing else… is that clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” all four howled.

“Alright then, get your gear and let’s load em up,” he gave his final order, “five minutes people, move it!”

Four and a half minutes later Rogers boarded the Tornado taking a seat in one of the swiveling passenger chairs, strapping in.

“Uh, excuse me, sir,” swallowed Adrian, “shouldn’t somebody be up there with her?”

“I can’t fly a plane,” Rogers answered plainly, “can you?”

Hard-On instantly transformed into metal form but not before Rosann quickly reached over touching him. She then grasped a metal portion of the seat transforming to a metallic form of her own. Adrian looked over to see Oliver grasping the armrests of his chair as if he was about to tear them off. A very ironic scene considering the electricity wielder seemed so comfortable in the air.

“Dude,” he asked cocking an eyebrow, “you afraid of flying?”

“Dude, I’m afraid of crashing,” Oliver got out.

Adrian showing compassion took off his crucifix chain handing it to him. Oliver quickly grasped it, giving it a kiss, and then held it tightly as he grasped the armrest again.

“Thanks, man,” Oliver said as he braced himself again.

“Alright ladies,” Lady Tech announced over the PA system, “normally I would push this baby to get us there in under an hour. But considering it would be rude to show up unannounced during breakfast time, we will be cruising the normal speed to get us there by lunch. So sit back and relax. Next stop, our funeral.”

The roof of the hanger opened as the Tornado was elevated to topside via the platform elevator it rested on. Daylight shined through the cockpit of the craft as Lady Tech went through final checks. The powerful engines whined and erupted sending gusts of wind and dirt everywhere. “Change the Game” by Jay-Z featuring Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek filled the cabin. Everyone in the cabin area looked at one another in disbelief save for Rogers who leaned back and tilted his beanie down to get some shut eye.

Lady Tech’s head bobbed to the music as the Tornado went vertical into the air. Dominant rear thrusters replaced the V/STOL as the Tornado rocked off toward its destination.

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1215 hours:

Almost four hours later the Tornado entered the no fly zone around Sophia’s island. Erica quickly cut the music getting everyone’s attention, while waking a slumbering Rogers, who was out for majority of the trip.

“Look alive people,” Lady Tech’s voice sounded over the PA system again. “We have reached the point of no return. We’ll be coming up on our destination in five minutes.”

The trio, along with Rogers, looked outside their respective windows to get a view of the massive land mass that was an official ghost to the rest of the world.

“Holy,” was all Adrian got out.

Rosann followed up with “Wow.”

Oliver who finally settled into his seat just sat there with a look of amazement of how beautiful the island looked from his viewpoint.

Sitting in the middle of the snow-white sand of the beach that circled half the island like a crescent moon was a gargantuan highly polished black granite stone with the words “Welcome to the Sanctuary” etched deeply within it. Fresh tropical vegetation covered at least ninety percent of the island. Integrated within the forest and foliage were large highly constructed huts the size of houses and mini mansions with what appeared to be solar paneling on the roofs. The team could view specks of what appeared to be people pausing to look back up at them.

Lady Tech’s bio signature tracking system pinpointed Sophia’s location as she piloted the Tornado to the far side of continent size island’s beach where there appeared to be new housing being constructed. Children running around on the beach playing tag stopped to look up in wonderment as the Tornado flew over them looking for a place to land. A bunch of women of various ages, sizes, ethnicities, and backgrounds sat at the edge of the beach to sunbath and get their feet wet looked up as well, and then at each other with worried looks wondering who was coming to disturb their peace this time.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

A young pale slender male covered in tattoos with piercings through his lip, nose, and ears sporting a purple Mohawk ran through the construction site of the new hut homes with a frantic look on his face. Some of the workers yelled at him telling him to watch it as he almost bumped into people and knocked over some building material as he rushed up the stairs of one of the newly constructed huts.

“Sophee!! Sophee!” hollered the panting young man.

On this day, she wore a bright yellow and black bikini top with blue daisy duke shorts, which displayed her extremely tone and womanly features. Her eerie glowing blue eyes and bright smile underneath her long jet-black dreads greeted the frazzled young man trying to catch his breath.

“Hey Zeek,” she chirpily responded.

“Soph,” he coughed fighting to get air, “there’s... a ship…”

“I know,” she chuckled, “just catch your breath and calm yourself.”

“Never... seen anything like this before,” he gasped. “Looks like we’re being invaded!”

“Doubt that,” she smiled, “but why don’t you do me a favor and quietly ask everyone on the beach to calmly head back to the village for me.”

“You got it Sophia,” he nodded ready to help.

As she watched a hyperactive Zeek run out of the hut again to do her proud, an older man, fourteen years her senior, and several shades darker with a cue ball look and peppered beard in a simple white tank top, jeans, and construction boots walked up to her holding a board in his hand.

“Trouble?” he asked.

“Don’t think so,” she turned to him, “but why don’t you take everyone back to the village as well for a break... just in case.”

“We can stay and help you know,” he gestured.

“If I need help,” she smiled, “I’ll scream.”

The man just grinned at her little joke of reassurance.

“All right people,” he howled, “lunch time, back to the main village!”

As everyone departed, Sophia strolled out standing at the open door of the hut, watching as the now hovering ship descended on the remote side of the beach several yards away. Despite the great distance, the force of the VTOL’s thrusts sent sand in her direction. Shaking her head with a smile still on her face she returned to work.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at the landing site, the Tornado’s crew disembarked and began securing the perimeter around their ship, while Lady Tech scanned the beach for the location of the inhabitants and their target.

“Save for those two over there,” she pointed, “everyone else is back at the village, and our target is still in the new construction.”

“Doing what?” Adrian asked.

“Working,” she shrugged.

“So what’s the plan, Sarge?” he turned to Rogers.

“Recon.” Rogers looked at him wondering if he was sleeping during the debriefing. “Which means you sit your tanned ass here, while I go have a conversation, and the next time you call me ‘Sarge’ instead of ‘Sir,’ I’m going to pound your sorry ass into the ground like a tent peg.”

Rogers walked off as Hard-On glared at him clutching his fists with sheer frustration.

“Is anyone else getting really tired of this shit?” he lashed out, looking around.

Rosanna answered her brother’s annoying whining with an eye roll, while Oliver just shrugged his shoulders.

Rogers walked the beach nearing the two stranglers implied by Lady Tech, the younger was Zeek yelling at an older gray-whiskered dark-skinned man sporting a bare chest with a potbelly in some knee-high jeans shorts. He held onto a fishing rod trying to cast his line while shooing Zeek away. Next to him was a bucket full of tropical fish he captured prior to the team’s arrival.

“Come on, Mr. Norton!” yelled Zeek, “we’ve got to go!”

“For the last time, Zeek, I ain’t going anywhere!” Mr. Norton returned. “I’m trying to catch me some fish for supper tonight, and as you can see I am on a role!”

“Mr. Norton, we can go to the other side of the island and fish!” coaxed Zeek. “It’s not safe here!”

“Today is not the day to go fishin on the other side!” the old man forcefully returned. “Today is the day to go fishin here! And what you talkin bout not safe, you can’t get no safer than Sanctuary, except maybe Heaven itself!”

“Mr. Norton, do you not see whose coming this way?” Zeek lost his cool again. “It’s about to be a warzone up in… oh… oh, no…”

Rogers walked pass a smiling Mr. Norton and a nervous and frustrated Zeek.

“Gentlemen.” Abe tipped his beanie as he walked by.

“Hey… hey, I know you,” Mr. Norton beamed, “you’re Abe Rogers right? Da Wrassler! Tell me I’m right!”

“Yeah.” Abe turned to address him. “I was.”

“I remember you! You probably don’t remember me! November 15, 2007 you were in Madison Square Garden.” Mr. Norton went into his story immediately, “After the show you were leaving and signing autographs… I had on one of your shirts I got at the Goodwill, and you signed it for me! Then you slipped me like a couple hundred dollars! You didn’t even look to see what was in your wallet! You just pulled it out and gave it to me… told me it wasn’t much but make sure I use it to get something to eat and stay warm… I would have been happy with just the autograph… I don’t have the money, but I still got the shirt!”

“I remember you,” Abe cracked a rare genuine smile.

“You ain’t come to start no trouble, right? You just come to talk to our Sophie,” Mr. Norton gestured, “cuz you just like her… a hero sent from God… to help people like me.”

“I’m not all that,” Abe answered, “but I did just come to talk to her.”

“Well she right over there!” Mr. Norton pointed.

“Thank you, Mr. Norton.” Abe tipped his beanie again out of respect.

Abe continued walking as Zeek gave him a nervous glare making it known that he did not like him.

“What the hell, Mr. Norton!” Zeek began to admonish the old man, “Why’d you tell him where she was?”

“Boy, hush yo mouth, and help me catch these damn fish here before I pull dat ring clear out of your nose!” the old man wagged a finger at him. “You look like a cracked out bull!”

The two continued to argue as Rogers finally reached the construction site, slowly he walked up the steps coming into view of Sophia casually placing a piece of hardwood cherry panel next to the others she put up to create the final piece of a wall. She began to push thick eight-inch nails into the panel attaching it to the beam on the other side as if they were thumbtacks.

“Welcome to my island, Captain,” she greeted him not looking his way as she continued to work.

“Sergeant,” he politely corrected her, “Sergeant Abraham Rogers… former United States Marines.”

“Figured you for a Marine,” she said as she ran her hand across the panel to make sure it was secure. “My apologies… I’m not up on all the latest superhero…”

“I’m not a superhero,” he corrected her again.

“Super Soldier?” she innocently asked.

“Just a soldier, ma’am,” Rogers cracked a simple smile.

“Humble… nice,” she nodded. “Hope you don’t mind if I talk to you while I work… I want to finish all these huts before tomorrow.”

“Not enough room?” he asked.

“Plenty of room,” she answered. “These are for new residents.”

Rogers watched as she grabbed a larger board laying it down and measuring it out; with her thumbnail she cut through the board like a scalpel through paper slicing it in half. She then took the board tacking it into the beam behind it as she did the last one.

“New residence?” Abe asked looking around.

“Yep, whoever wants to come,” she sighed motioning to the men he met, “Mr. Norton, who you just met, former Vietnam Vet… former alcoholic… homeless on the streets of Manhattan for twenty years ever since he was no longer able to work and lost his home and wife to cancer. Ezekiel Marsh from L.A, who you also met, was a former Heroine and Meth junkie… before that he was being beaten and molested by his father and older brother. We have people here from Cambodia, Iraq, Iran, Darfur, various parts of Africa, Europe, South, and North America… war refugees, homeless, drug addicts, rape victims, molested, oppressed… you name it… all get a chance to live and start a fresh clean life here.”

“Quite an admirable undertaking,” nodded Abe.

“Nothing admirable about this, Sergeant,” sighed Sophia while cutting some more boards. “Just good clean common sense. How many times have governments such as the US, UK, or Russia ‘intervened’ in war torn and impoverished countries to bring liberty and peace only to leave, making things a thousand times worse than when they came in? People going in and out of drug or alcohol rehab because when they reach a low point for any reason, the poison they are trying to stay away from is so easily obtainable. Then instead of being treated like people who are sick, they are locked up like animals, and their lives are forever destroyed by a system in need of a serious overhaul. One that fat geriatric bureaucrats are too lazy to fix. They can’t get a job because they have a record, and the next thing you know they’re left to die on the streets and looked upon like garbage.”

After cutting five clean new boards, she paused to give Abe eye contact.

“And that’s just a couple of many stories taking place in the messed up society of a world we live in,” she said. “Here in my own backyard, I control the playing field. Other than medicinal, which certified others and I administer, illegal drugs, and recreational alcohol are not allowed here, and everyone is perfectly fine with it. They can live without fear of someone raiding their village to rape and murder them or take their children away to be child soldiers. Here they can live as they were intended to live. Peacefully and like human beings.”

“Mind if I ask how you’re funding all of this?” Rogers asked noticing that the oak wood she cut was of extremely fine quality.

“You want to give me a donation, Sergeant?” she smirked.

It forced him to crack another smirk.

“Wouldn’t want your money anyway.” She gave him a wave in jest. “Let’s just say a woman with my ‘skill set’ can venture places mere mortals cannot go and make bank. Off record, I have acquired more liquid assets to dwarf, Mr. Buffet, Zuckerberg, and Ms. Winfrey combined, which is needed to run an operation like this. We use solar panels during the day and an industrial sized electrical generator at night. I also plan to order some wind turbines in the next month. We also have satellite and fiber optic connection allowing us the creature comforts like television and Internet.”

“What about education?” he asked, remembering that he saw children as they flew over the island.

“New York State licensed from kindergarten to high school,” she answered. “Personally interviewed and triple vetted by me. They’re paid their worth as long as they come with the passion to teach, which children need. So far who I have picked has not disappointed me. This is not a one- stop of everyone Sergeant. Some people have made this place their permanent home, and they’re welcome to stay for as long as they like. For other’s it’s a way to get back on their feet, and when they decide it’s time to leave, I ensure they remain on their feet.”

“And if they fall again?” Rogers asked.

“Like my mom always says,” she smirked, “you can always come home.”

“Sounds like a model Utopia.” Abe had a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

“There’s no such thing as a ‘model Utopia,’ she responded, ignoring the tone. “No society is perfect, and there are rules implemented and enforced by myself, and the council that I formed, and not everyone can come or stay here if they do not wish to abide by my rules. I don’t know if it’s a blessing, but in the past three and a half years, since I started this I had to remove only two people from this island. One was personally difficult to do, one wasn’t.”

She walked over looking through the open structure of the hut still under construction giving her a clear view of the village that was a five-minute walk away.

“In that time, I’ve seen people from all walks of life, race, religion, and nationality that were cast away, beaten, broken, and scarred heal and band together. Forming not just a community, but a family,” she smiled with pride. “People who just needed a real chance, have risen to become teachers, nurses, electricians, and as you can see construction workers. Some have made their own online businesses while here. Here the only label that matters is one of being a human being.”

“So down with religion and culture,” Abe asked.

“Quite the opposite,” she answered. “People here are proud of where they come from, free to practice their religion, and open to share their cultures with one another. That is because they don’t have ignorant greedy men whispering in their ear that the reason they’re poor is because of ‘those people,’ or ‘remember 9/11.’ When you treat good people equally and give them the basic rights of a decent shelter, good food, clothing, and the safety of not having a suicide bomber or drone dead leveling their home or killing their loved ones. They have more time to learn and realize that the person sitting across from them who maybe a different skin color, or maybe worship the same God just a bit differently or call Him a different name is not that different. In the end, good people want the same thing all over the world for themselves and their children. Greedy people with power and a sense of entitlement are the ones that make this world a darker place. They use their influence to turn innocent people against one another by exploiting their weaknesses and misfortune in order to fuel their own agenda. Racism, corrupted use of religion, and fear are age-old business ploys men of power use to line their pockets.”

“Greed isn’t good,” Rogers chuckled.

“I’d like to deck Oliver Stone for creating that stupid line,” Sophia snorted.

She began to chuckle at her own comment, which woke Rogers up to the realization that he was having a casual conversation with a woman he watched lay out two of the most powerful Titans on the planet. In a new world were the impossible was possible, it was still hard to fathom that so much unearthly power lay in a woman with such a pleasant warm smile.

“So Sergeant,” Sophia sighed, “let’s cut to the chase, shall we? You didn’t fly all the way here from the states to admire my artisanship or listen to my worldviews. I assume based on whatever file you have on me it’s not to ask for my surrender, so it’s either to enlist my services or for something else… which is it?”

“I did come here to enlist your services,” Rogers smirked, “but it’s for something else.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at the Tornado, a restless male Esposito paced the sand contemplating what was taking Rogers so long as the rest of his teammates casually stood around waiting for the Sergeant’s return.

“What is this shit?” snarled Adrian. “Standing here with our thumbs up our asses when we should be dragging this bitch out in restraints, not talking to her.”

“What part of a ‘recon’ mission do you not get, Limp?” Erica sighed. “And attempting to ‘drag her out in restraints’ would be just rude considering she extended us the same courtesy of not knocked us out of the sky before we got within a hundred miles of this place.”

“I’ve read the debriefings,” Rosann interjected in the conversation. “It’s still kind of hard to believe… I mean… about whom she is.”

“EVO Zero, also known as the Source and proverbial birth mother of all EVOs on the planet,” Lady Tech recited, “possessing god-like superhuman strength, speed, durability, and stamina. She has the ability of flight and possesses energy on what is calculated to be on a bio-nuclear level that can sustain all her functions indefinitely meaning she doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or even breathe normal air… for all intents and purposes she’s a fully functional immortal.”

“So she’s a bit “tough,” Adrian gave a dismissive gesture, “like the Sarge said, everyone has a weakness.”

“And you’ve figured out how to take down ‘Mom,’” Rosann scoffed, “in the thirty-five minutes we’ve been standing here?”

Hard-On gave his sister the look she knew indicating that he had an idea, forcing her to run her hand down her face indicating that whatever he was thinking was a bad idea.

“Adrian… no…” she whispered, “no!”

“You haven’t even heard my plan yet!” he yelled back.

“If your plan involves going against what the Sergeant told us not to do,” she lectured, “it’s a bad idea.”

“Recon means to gather information, correct? Which means we’re eventually going to have to go to blows with her.” Adrian attempted to reason with his sister. “So why not use the element of surprise to take her out while we’re here? Based on what little Miss Poindexter…”

“Bite me…” Erica blurted out.

Adrian ignored her remark while continuing to reason with his sister and Oliver.

“Source or not she’s still an EVO just like us no matter how powerful she is. What would happen if you were to touch her?”

The prospect of gaining the power of the Source was enough to make Rosann pause and think her brother’s idea was not too stupid.

“And how, pray tell, do you intend to get her close enough to touch her ‘genius’?” Erica butted in.

“With the help of our man Blitz over here,” he gestured. “Rosann touches him gaining the ability to fly at the speed of lightning, and while we’re distracting her, Rosann moves in close enough to touch her gaining her powers, and then we just triple team and beat her ass into submission, dragging her home in restraints.”

“Somehow this feels more complicated than you’re making it sound.” Rosann frowned unsure of her brother’s plan.

“Like the intel you forgot about how she can drain energy wielding EVOs like me increasing her strength, “Oliver finally butted in. “I would be like a power bar to her.”

“And I don’t remember telling anyone I created anything that could restrain the likes of her,” Erica followed up.

“Alright, let’s cut the shit!” Adrian howled. “We got an opportunity to take down the most powerful EVO on the planet today! It all comes down to us hitting her first!

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at the hut, the conversation between Rogers and Sophia continued as she leaned up against the doorway with her arms folded attempting to wrap her brain around his request.

“You want me… to help you train your team?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” he said plainly.

“I take it you didn’t get authorization for this request.” She gave a head tilt.

“I didn’t even ask for authorization to fly here,” he shrugged.

“Why me?” she shrugged back narrowing her eyes.

“I am currently in command of a four person team that is supposed to be the United States’ answer to this new brewing Cold War if you want to call it.” He snorted. “Our other job which I was informed on the day of orientation was to also handle domestic threats that arise.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility,” she nodded.

“Aside from me, all four of my other team members just came off the tit,” he sighed, “but despite being a bunch of snot nose brats, they’re good kids with a hard work ethic. I owe it to them to equipment them in any way possible to make sure they don’t get killed.”

“Then maybe you should advise them to quit Sergeant,” she coughed, “if we’re being honest I’m not a real fan of my fellow superhumans and less of a fan of ‘“superheroes.”’

“Something we have in common,” he smirked, “but I’m not trying to create super heroes. I’m trying to make soldiers.”

“Doesn’t make your argument any better,” she sighed.

She turned looking out into the white sanded beach she created.

“I’m fully aware of what is going on in the world Sergeant,” she said with a bit of sternness not directed toward him. “I choose not to get involved because I can’t stop what’s coming, and I honestly don’t care. I was dragged against my will into the affairs of men looking to be gods. I paid an extremely heavy price for that in more ways than you can image. I didn’t just build this island to help others; I built it because I want no part of a world that has cost me so much.”

“A lot of people paid a heavy price on that day,” Abe coughed.

“Then they should take it up with their government, Sergeant,” she snapped. “This whole mess got started because ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ and ‘Love and Hip Hop’ won over ‘What the hell is my government actually doing with my taxpaying dollars behind my back.’ Governments no longer fear their people, especially those that are elected into office, because they sadly see the people for what they are.”

“And what are they?” Rogers asked.

“A bunch of idiots,” she said bluntly, “ignorant, self-absorbed, easily manipulated, and distracted.”

“Kind of harsh,” he scoffed, “don’t you think?”

“Really? Who the hell with any common sense pays for an eight hundred thousand dollar house with a thirty thousand dollar income?” She looked him in the eyes. “The world didn’t just go to hell just because big business exploited the American Dream. It went the hell because ignorant people thought they could get away with partying like a rockstar on a poor man’s salary without consequences. We live in a world where people put brakes on the second they hit the cliff and are shocked when they fly off it.”

“You act like you weren’t a part of that world at one time,” he frowned.

“I very much was so.” She nodded. “Although I wasn’t as ambitious. I wanted what every girl wanted. House with the picket fence, a loving husband to care for, and children to love. The house I wanted only cost three hundred and fifty thousand, and we bargained it down to three zero.”

She let out a chuckle lightening the heavy subject.

“I can say that it was all taken away from me in a night, but that’s not true,” she shrugged. “My own ignorance blinded me to the signs right before me. I cracked my head a couple of times before I could see clearly. Now that I can fly, I see a world with both the power and potential to change but refuses to because the one percent is standing on the neck of everyone else to remain the one percent, while everyone else is killing one another to be the one percent. And amidst that chaos, were those working in the shadows with deeper, darker ambitions to become actual gods. Because of me, they both failed and succeeded. So now I choose to stay out of the madness and to protect those that wish to stay out of it as well.”

An irritated sneer crossed her face as she continued to look out. It did not make him uneasy as he knew it was not directed toward him. He could tell, however, that this conversation was taking her back to places she did not want to go.

“The world got its wish,” she snorted, “they wanted to bring fantasy to life, a world where people had super powers. Let them deal with the consequences.”

A strange silence fell over the both of them as they looked out onto the beach. It was if they were the oldest of friends, and Rogers had popped in for a visit. It was clear his initial mission would fail, and his request would be denied, but it was quite refreshing to stand and talk with someone over thirty. There were some things he agreed with her on, and some that he did not agree with her at all on, but even the reasons he disapproved of he could respect based on the intelligence behind her opinion.

She was not angry at the world; she was tired of it and its antics. She chose to politely distance herself from it so that she could be left alone.

“Apologies if my tone was a bit abrasive,” she said with sincerity.

“None needed,” he smirked.

“Looks like your team is looking to do something really stupid,” Sophia sighed while gazing in the direction where the Tornado sat on the beach.

“Say what?” Rogers sneered.

Rogers pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pouch to view Rosann touching Blitz’s hand, changing her hair into a black frizzed-out afro while her skin color and features also changed to match his. Her body began to emit a highly intense electrical discharge.

“What are those idiots doing?” Abe shook his head snarling.

“While we were here talking,” she answered, “I saw the hard body in blue rallying the troops with a plan to take me down.”

“You can hear what he’s saying?” Abe raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re asking if I have ‘super hearing,’ no I don’t.” Sophia turned to him. “But I do have extremely keen eyesight… and I can read lips.

“That dumbass,” Rogers muttered.

Rogers reached to contact Hard-On and the team on his headset but paused looking at Sophia.

“Say, you wouldn’t mind,” he began to ask.

“You want me to humble them for you…” she finished his request.

“Just a little…” Abe smirked.

“If I do this, I’m not going to see a bunch of warships at my front door, am I?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Like I said, no one knows I’m here.” He tipped his beanie. “So there’s no one to complain to.”

“So should I just walk out there,” she turned looking out again, “or do they need some motivation?”

“I guess some motivation wouldn’t hurt,” he shrugged.

“Then you owe me a new wall,” she sighed.

“Huh?” He cocked an eyebrow.

Despite him knowing it was a sell, Rogers was still surprised how easily Ms. Dennison snatched him up by the front of his combat harness hoisting him effortlessly into the air, and then flung him through the brand new wall she built launching him half a mile onto the beach he had trekked from. He did not need to sell the impact as his body bounced off the beach several times kicking up sand everywhere. He came to a rest in front of his team before they even put their plan into action.

“Holy...” Oliver stuttered.

“Sergeant!” Rosann screamed.

Sophia stepped through the large hole she created in the semi-built hut. She took her time walking down the steps into the warm sand of the beach allowing the grains to sink in between her bare toes.

“Let’s get the bitch,” Hard-On snarled.

Blitz and Rosann nodded in agreement. With knowledge of his abilities during training, Rosann powered up along with Blitz.

The two of them took to the air propelling themselves at Sophia while Hard-On transformed to metal form darting across the sand toward her. Rosann swung a tight U-turn in midair to take Sophia from behind while Blitz barreled straight toward her. An on looking Erica staying out of the fight shook her head.

“And the plan falls apart in five, four, three, two…” she started to count.

To the human eye, it was obvious they were going to overwhelm her. They, however, did not count on Sophia moving faster than the speed of lightning. Within nanoseconds, she darted out of their path of attack going straight for Adrian.

She slammed on the brakes extending her right arm out. Adrian unable to do the same ran chest first into an unbreakable arm turning him inside out.

He crashed violently, sending sand spraying.

Not too far off, Mr. Norton, still on the beach, cackled insanely while a terrified Zeek ran his hands through his Mohawk.

“He gonna feel that for a while!” laughed Mr. Norton hysterically.

“Mr. Norton, we got to get out of here!” yelled Zeek.

“Boy, I ain’t going anywhere,” said Mr. Norton. “This is the best seat in the house!”

Hard-On groaned as Sophia sashayed over grabbing him by one of his legs.

“Hope you don’t rust,” Sophia sighed.

In one motion, she hurled him into the ocean a half a mile off. She was sure he called her the b-word as he went sailing.

Blitz, the first to recover, was on his feet transforming his entire body into a plasma electrical form. He exploded across the sand while channeling a surge of energy into his right fist. On impact, it would deliver the force of two tons of TNT.

Sophia allowed him to land it tanking the building demolishing blow causing a mini three-second sandstorm. The blinding spray died down to reveal her holding him high by his throat.

“Power down,” she ordered him.

“Screw you,” Oliver groaned.

“Gotcha!” Rosann yelled.

Mimicking Blitz’s plasma charged form she snuck up behind Sophia the second after Oliver delivered his seismic blow. Transforming back into her normal form she quickly grabbed Sophia’s left arm and waited to take in her DNA and her power.

A half minute later, nothing happened.

“What the…” stood a startled Rosann. “What the hell happened?”

“Let me guess,” Sophia asked, “you’re a morpher, right?”

“Yeah,” stuttered a startled Roxann.

“The plan was to distract me so that you could grab me, right?” deduced Sophia. “In hopes that you can take in my DNA duplicating my abilities.”

Rosann slowly nodded as the sweat of fear washed over her.

“Yeah, see although the barbs on your hands possess the strength and density to pierce most organic materials, some with the density level of steel or titanium,” Sophia lectured, “my skin is denser than any material on the planet.”

“Oh… I see…” she swallowed.

“You probably chipped or broke a few grabbing me,” Sophia pointed out. “They’ll eventually grow back, but if you want them to grow faster, Sergeant Roger’s regenerative healing will speed up the process.”

During this whole conversation, Sophia still held Oliver high by his throat like a rag doll still in his plasma charged form.

“Let me… go… you…”gurgled Blitz.

“Boy, if you don’t want to be a sniveling drooling husk at my feet you better not let that word slip from your lips.” Sophia let the bass boom in her voice. “Now power down, or I will power you down myself.”

“Yes… ma’am,” Oliver managed to nod.

He obeyed reverting to his normal form.

“I’m going to put you down now,” she said with a stern motherly tone. “You going to behave?”

“Yes… ma’am.” Oliver groaned again as he held onto her arm to get a sliver of comfort.

She lowered him back to sand. Adrian, during this time, reverting back to human form to keep from sinking to the bottom of the Pacific, managed to swim back to shore. He remained on his hands and knees exhausted from the strenuous ordeal.

“Go help your friend,” Sophia ordered Oliver.

“Yes ma’am,” Oliver with head bowed obeyed.

As Oliver trotted over to fish Adrian from the shore of the beach, Sophia turned smiling to Rosann still holding her arm.

“Soft to touch, isn’t it?” she beamed. “I lotion it with scented baby oil after I shower, and coco butter at night, but it’s crazy how it doesn’t feel like dry elephant or rhino skin.”

“We lost the second we got out the gate,” Rosann finally pried her shaking hand for Sophia’s forearm.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” she smirked. “It was a decent tactic. Problem was you used it on the wrong person. Your brother also talks too much.”

Rosann turned to watch as Oliver pulled a drenched Adrian to his feet.

Rogers casually walked over, first glancing at Oliver and a disheveled Adrian with a smirk and a headshake. His gaze then fell on Rosann who lowered her head and quickly fell in line behind him.

“Hell of an arm you got there, Ms. Dennison.” He dusted himself off a bit.

“Hope I didn’t hurt you too badly,” she blushed.

“Think I got sand in places I don’t want,” he sighed, “but other than that, I’m as right as rain.”

“Well, I really appreciate the unexpected talk and the workout, Sergeant, but my answer is going to have to remain no.” Sophia smiled. “You’re more than happy to stay for lunch.”

“No, I think we’ve outstayed our welcome,” Rogers said.

He took a minute looking around, absorbing all that he saw, breathing in the fresh ocean air.

“You got a really nice set up here, Ms. Dennison,” Abe smiled. “It’s nice to know that these people you’ve taken in has someone like you to look out for them. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say what you’re doing here is almost god like. You know, deciding who gets to live in paradise and who gets to rot in hell.”

Sophia’s face switched to an unpleasant look, read by Rogers that she did not appreciate his comment and had officially worn out his welcome.

“Anyway, thank you for considering my offer,” Rogers nodded.

He turned to walk away, but then stopped snapping his finger remembering something else.

“Sorry, really sorry.” Rogers held up a hand. “Was wondering if you could indulge me by answering just one question.”

Sophia’s eye twitched not caring for the apparent game Abe was playing. Rogers, standing toe to toe with her, did not care.

“I was just dying to know,” he shrugged, “the day you decided to play chicken with that nuke, and basically turn our world into one nightmarish neverending Saturday morning friggin cartoon… did you…”

“No,” she shook her head.

She read into his eyes why he truly came to her island to see her.

“I did not know all of this would happen,” she stared back at him.

He nodded knowing she was not lying.

“If you knew?” he asked looking out into the blue ocean.

“I would have definitely done it differently,” she lowered her head.

“Well, at least you answer when I talk to you,” he smirked. “Thank you for your time. Sorry for disturbing you and starting a battle on your beach.”

Rogers about-faced walking off as Sophia stood there watching him leave. She left out a sad huff, placing her hands at her hips.

“Alright children,” he barked, clapping his hands. “Tuck your tails in between your legs, and let’s move out! Come on! We got ‘superhero’ shit to do! Move! Move!”

His team with wounded pride, minus Erica, followed him back to the Tornado dreading what was in store for them when they got back to the Ranch.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

The flight home was dead silent and uncomfortable. No music played, while the trio looked everywhere but at each other and Rogers’ direction. The Sergeant sat in his chair with his beanie over his face. They did not know if he was actually sleeping or didn’t want to look at the sight of them.

The second the Tornado landed and was secured in the docking bay the trio exited and lined up without being ordered to do so. They knew they were responsible for the storm coming and prepared in advance to accept the consequences for their actions.

Rogers strolled down the steps of the aircraft followed by Erica. She chose to sit on the steps of the aircraft and watch him get Medieval from afar seeing as how she had nothing to do with the harebrained scheme that she knew would epically fail in the first place.

Rogers, heading to his room, looked as if he did not notice them. He then stopped in his tracks and turned in their direction.

“You’re all waiting for me?” he asked, bewildered.

The trio nervously looked at each other, then back at him unsure how to answer.

“I’m just a bit curious,” he casually strolled over, “because from what I witnessed on that beach today, you three are apparently running this outfit. So why are you standing here waiting for me to talk to any of you?”

“Sir,” Adrian stepped up, “what happened was on me. I was the one…”

“I know what you did, Esposito. You know who else knew what you were up to before you put your dumbass plan into motion? The woman you tried to take down today. She could see you a mile away flipping that slit on your face and understood what you were saying.”

Adrian lowered his head in defeat. His accomplices did the same, throwing in a headshake to express how much they knew his plan was a bad idea.

“What part of ‘recon’ did you mental midgets not get?” His voice boomed. “Am I at fault for not realizing that in the age of stupid war movies and video games you three knuckle dragging Neanderthals can’t tell the difference between recon, short for reconnaissance, which is defined as an information gathering mission, as opposed to a combat mission, which you each failed miserably to pull off today! You three could barely work together to take on a couple of life-sized Barbie dolls, what made you think you had what it took to take her on?”

Erica scoffed shaking her head, catching Rogers’ attention.

“Ms. Champion, why aren’t you standing over here with everyone else?”

She looked around, thinking he was joking.

“Who me?” she wore a wide-eyed look.

“I don’t see anyone else sitting their narrow ass on the steps of that goddamn plane.” He turned, burning a hole through her.

“Whoa,” she coiled back, “what did I do?”

“Exactly,” he snapped at her, “what didn’t you do? Get your ass up and fall in, now!”

She slowly got up, walking over. The look on her face asked Rogers what he was doing as she fell in standing next to Oliver.

“On the flight back I’ve been wrestling with what pissed me off more.” Rogers stood over her. “These three ass clowns failing to follow orders, or you standing around while they got their asses handed to them.”

“I told them it was a bad idea!” she fired back.“How am I…”

“Sir!” he roared at her, “you are to address me as sir!”

“Miss,” Maxine interrupted, “Are you alright?”

Rogers turned to see Maxine, Jennifer, and Angie walking up with their eyes glowing extra bright apparently locked on him.

“Your heart rate is elevated to the point of distress,” Maxine said.

“I’m fine, Maxine.”

Her face and mannerism told a different tale. She felt small, scared, and embarrassed. Rogers showed not an ounce of compassion or letting up.

“You think because you make all these cool things and have your little degrees, you’re so smart,” Rogers scoffed, “but you’re not. You’re just book smart and world dumb, and that’s because you’re still a baby. You also showed me you don’t know what it is to be a part of this team. Because to be a part of this team means standing by each other’s side possibly to the end, even if they make dumb decisions. Not standing around playing Candy Crush while your team gets a mudhole stomped into them. It’s the only sliver of respect I have for dumb, dumber, and dumbass!”

“Uh… is that from me down or…” Adrian raised his hand.

“You’re two seconds away from getting shot in the face dumbass!” Rogers growled.

His hand hovered on his sidearm within its holster to show he was dead serious.

“Sir, yes sir!” Adrian straightened up.

Rogers gave a face of complete disappointment. It hurt her more than his words.

“I expected better from you.” He shook his head. “Much better.”

He backed up to address them all.

“I’m tired and can’t stand to look at any of you.” He looked down at the ground. “Make it your mission to stay out of my sight till tomorrow morning. Is that clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” the trio howled.

Erica did not answer as she looked down to hide her forming tears.

“Dismissed.” he turned away in disgust.

Rogers walked off leaving them standing there, each reduced to a microscopic state. Erica stormed off without a word flocked by the android sisters. Oliver fell against the side of the Tornado staring off into space, while Rosann turned to her brother with a look that said she wished she had a bat to bash his skull in with.

“I can feel you look, Rose,” Adrian snapped. “You ain’t got to tell me how I badly screwed up again.”

He stormed off leaving just her and Oliver alone in the hanger.

CHAPTER 9

A half hour after Rogers’ brutal verbal abuse, Adrian and Oliver stood at the door of Lady Tech’s R&D lab. Her do not disturb red light lit up on the comlink. Adrian huffed as he pressed the notification button letting her know they were standing outside of her lab.

“This Miss has informed me that she does not want to be disturbed,” Maxine spoke on her behalf from the audio system above the door.

“Maxine, tell her if she doesn’t open up I’ll do my metal version of Sheldon,” Adrian warned.

“I’ve seen him do it,” Oliver said. “It’s like really annoying.”

Instantly the door slid open, and the sound of “X Gonna Give it to Ya” by DMX spilled out of the lab assaulting them. They walked in not knowing what was more humorous, someone of Erica’s intellect listening to something so harsh, or Jennifer and Angie rhythmically nodding to the song as they worked along with Maxine at different tables assisting her in her projects.

She lowered the music before turning to glare at them.

“What do you two want?” she snapped.

“We were wondering if you cared to join us for some Mario Kart 8,” Adrian smirked.

“We also intend to raid the frig for some s’mores and ice cream,” Oliver added.

“As you can see I’m kind of busy here.” She threw on a sarcastic smile.

“No you’re not.” Adrian shook his head. “You’re working because you’re pissed. I know because I use to work on my ride when I was heated.”

He took an apologetic step to her with his head down.

“Look,” he huffed, “what happened on that island was my fault. It was all on me. I didn’t follow orders, I came up with that crazy ass plan that could have gotten us killed if things were different, and I got you yelled at today. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” She looked at the ground. “But it’s not your fault that our leader is an ass.”

“Yeah, he is an ass.” Adrian quickly looked around to make sure they were truly alone. “But at the end of the day he means well, he reminds me of my old man back home. Old school guys like him will always be as hard as stone, and they have a weird way of showing they care, but they do.”

“So why do you find ways to annoy him?” she curiously asked.

“Because that’s just me,” he snorted. “I’m always testing boundaries. He’s also not right about everything. Just most things. So come on, let’s go drive some video game go-karts on a sugar rush.”

“I get Princess Peach,” she muttered.

“Done.” He threw up his hands.

“Can I come too, baby?” Angie walked over crossing into Adrian’s personal space.

“Don’t call me baby!” Adrian turned, scowling at Erica. “You said you fixed her!”

“I did,” Erica innocently shrugged.

“You’re the only one who can fix me, lover,” Angie sensually smiled.

Oliver shook his head fighting not to laugh as Angie pinned Adrian up against one of the lab workstations while using one on her fingers to trace a circle on his chest.

“Please, let me come with you.” She nuzzled up to him. “please… please…”

“Alright!” He gave in grinding his teeth. “But you got to behave yourself! No monkey business, and no invading my personal space! Like right now!”

“I’ll behave.” She blew an air kiss at him. “For now.”

She eased up a bit allowing him to barely slide from between her and the workstation. Adrian turned to Erica desperately trying to hide her amusement under an innocent face.

“Fix her,” he whispered.

This gave Angie the opening to cup his rear, making him jump. He turned, shooting her his trademark dirty look.

“We’re not in the lounge area yet,” she coyly smiled.

He stormed off with her sashaying behind him. Jennifer with a sneer followed behind her playful sister.

“They’re going to have some ugly ass kids.” The sarcastic android shook her head.

Oliver walked up standing next to Erica as they watched the comedy unfold.

“You’re not going to fix her, are you?” he asked.

“Nope,” she grinned, “he must suffa!”

They both broke into laughter as they exited her lab followed by Maxine heading to the lounge area.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

As the trio, with androids in tow, ventured to find entertainment to blow away the gray cloud of the incident and aftermath of visiting Sophia’s island, Rosann found herself quietly walking into the firing range. There she found Rogers discharging armor piercing rounds from his modified M-45, tearing holes through steel structure targets. Two-handed was how he held it, just as he learned in the Corp, and how he taught them to do it. Because of his strength, Rogers did not need two hands, but the old soldier stood for doing things the right way. Rosann stood at a nervous attention waiting for him to notice that she was in the room; it was then that she glanced at three bottles of Jack Daniels among an M4 Carbine, an M16, and a M249 LMG. As he fired off his final round, he picked up one of the bottles of Jack and knocked it back as if it was water. He downed three-quarters of the bottle before pulling it from his lips.

“Use to be a time when five glasses of this would knock me on my ass.” He looked at the bottle. “Now all it does is give me bad breath and a gallon of piss. Damn regenerative healing.”

Rogers placed the bottle back on the table mixed with weapons, grabbing a clip to reload.

“You gonna just stand there gawking at me,” asked Abe, “or you gonna shoot something… here…”

Rogers grabbed the M4 Carbine tossing it to her; Rosann caught it checking for a loaded round as taught. She relocked and loaded; taking up position in the firing booth next to him. She aimed and breathed letting the Carbine rip as it tore through the steel target in front of her. The modified version still had a kick due to the powerful ammo it was loaded with. Rogers now with M16 in hand unleashed hell on a new standing steel target. Although she was hitting the target, his accuracy was far more superior to hers.

Rosann decided to transform into her ring-tailed lemur form, which allowed her the strength to hold the gun without it kicking back, as well as use her keen eyesight to hit the target more accurately.

She smiled at her accomplishment, but then turned to the feeling of eyes on her. Rogers looked at her with a blank expression that displayed neither anger nor disappointment.

“Cheater,” was all he said.

She quickly transformed back to her normal form.

“Sir, I just took what you taught me and used my abilities to improve upon it… sir,” she relied.

Rogers did not bother answer as he handed her a couple of more clips to reload. She laid the clips down on her table taking one up and began to reload her rifle. She lifted it to take aim again but ended up lowering it turning her gaze to the Sergeant who let off a couple of more rounds.

“Sir, permission to speak freely, sir,” she nervously requested.

“Not if you going to turn back into a rodent Esposito,” Abe answered.

She nodded, looking down at the floor.

“What’s on that brainpan of yours?” he asked.

“Why are you here?” she bluntly asked.

“I thought I told you,” he smirked, “to try and turn you all into good little super soldiers for the US of A… make sure you at least don’t get killed on your first two missions… don’t ask me to see pass that.”

“I know we look like a bunch of screwups, but we’re here trying to learn to take these abilities given to us, and make some kind of difference in this world,” she pressed. “I seem to remember when I signed up for this that we’re supposed to be a team. But it’s like, yeah, you’re training us, but you don’t believe in us. You don’t believe in this… so again I ask… why are you here?”

Rogers turned, looking her in the eyes. It was not a direct look, more dismissive as he put down the M16, and began to reload the M-45.

“I was supposed to be retired by now… from all of this,” he said, “sitting back on a porch watching the days go by, counting down for the grandkids to show up… with my wife. The virus made sure that would never happen.”

“While you were still a tadpole in your pop’s sack, I was on the other side of the world watching a landmine blow two good kids to shit. The rest of the blast filled me up with shrapnel and took all of the vision out my left eye. Military career over, I came home as a typical vet with a purple heart to wipe my ass with along with what little pension and disability Uncle Sam gave me for giving up my eye.

“Took a job in construction to pay the bills, paid to go back to school and get a better paying job… as a teacher,” he scoffed, “then an old buddy of mine talked me into a wrestling gig… being that it was all staged didn’t matter too much that my eye was bad. Paid good money and, after 9/11, people would eat up the old soldier bit. I said what the hell… quick fast money… couple of matches… quick stress reliever between working on houses for shit pay or killing someone’s kid over a spitball… who the hell knew it would take off like it did. Next thing I knew I got the BWI calling me in for an audition, and a month later I’m headlining.

“Once again I was on the road, traveling from state to state and country to country, only this time I got sixty to seventy thousand people screaming my name or chanting “U.S.A… U.S.A…” He motioned as if he was there once again. “When I stepped onto that rampway, and walked down to that ring, I was as high as a kite.”

“And night after night between all the promoting, endorsements, talk show interviews, and photo shoots; I went out and punished what was left of my body that landmine didn’t take all for that drug.” He grinded his teeth. “Then after a couple of days on the road, I’d go home to my loving wife who met me at the door with a hug and a kiss. She’d draw me a hot bath in our fully paid eight- point-five hundred thousand dollar house that she stayed alone in for most of the time. Pour me a drink and then talk to me about how she spent her days… till I fell asleep which would be for a day and a half till I had to get back on the road and do it all over again… her name was Katherine.

“Sometimes I’d make holidays and birthdays… sometimes I wouldn’t… she never complained… ever… but I never missed a Christmas… ever… and every Christmas I’d look at her and say, ‘Baby this is it… I’m done.’” He gave a halfhearted smirk. “And then she would look at me with a smile and say, ‘You’re so full of shit… you know you’re not done yet.’ And she was right… after about four years it became like a running joke. Finally when the booze and painkillers couldn’t keep me going, when it took five more minutes to get to my feet when it should have taken three. On the seventh Christmas after coming home from the road… I looked at my wife and said, ‘Baby… I’m done,’ in which she replied, ‘You’re so full of shit… you know you’re not done yet.’ But this time… I held her hands, looked her dead in the eyes and said, ‘No baby… I am… done.’ She just burst into tears… was like watching her again when I came back from Kuwait.

“Legacy 6 the grandest Pay-Per-View of the BWI was supposed to be my last match. Two months before that the sky lit up on fire and everyone thought it was the end of the world. But even with the possibility of doomsday the show went go on.” He breathed a heavy sigh. “As the weeks counted down I didn’t realize I needed less and less painkillers… that I was getting stronger, moving faster, going longer without tiring. Then it happened in the middle of my match at Legacy… it wasn’t almost breaking a kid in half after I launched him into a nearby turnbuckle, or putting an extremely serious dent in a ring post… it was when I could finally see clearly out of my dead left eye… I had never been more terrified in my entire life till then.

“I don’t know how I held it together. It was the fastest match I ever jobbed. Couldn’t have gotten the hell out of there fast enough.” He let out a laugh. “All I wanted to do was go home. It was like a new lease on life. I went back to my wife deterioration-free of pain, booze, and pills. The night I got home we stayed in bed for two days and had to order a new one the next morning.”

Rosann could not help but crack a smile. Rogers’ stone exterior broke one as well remembering better days.

“A month after that Katherine was diagnosed with the Judgment Virus.” His stone cold look reformed. “The same thing that was healing and strengthening this once broken down body that I willfully punished and abused till there was nothing left was killing and destroying my wife who barely took a drink in her life and never smoked.”

He laid down the M4 next to the other guns on the table, and leaned against the firing range divider taking up the bottle of Jack in his grip.

“She held on for six long months, after four she asked me to take her home.” Abe took a swig from the bottle. “We spent every day together talking and laughing like we were supposed to. Her last two weeks, I took her up to our cabin that she loved so much. One day she asked to go out on the river in the canoe I made. She died falling asleep in my arms. I must have just sat there for hours just talking and singing to her.”

Rosann somberly lowered her head; Rogers did not shed a tear from the memory. It was clear whatever tears the old hardened Marine had shed were gone years ago.

“So when you ask me why am I here,” Abe shrugged his shoulders, “when you’re a bitter broken down old man… who’s lost pretty much everyone and everything he gave a damn about… and now has the inability to just roll over and die; there ain’t too many options for a son of a bitch in my situation.”

Rogers displayed a toothy grin before taking another swig from the bottle of Jack. Rosann lifted her head to look at him. A part of her regretted asking her question, unprepared for the painful answer she’d received. The other part of her was glad she got a glimpse into his world.

His face read that he did not care what she thought of his story, but Rosann’s heart told her that he needed someone to unload the pain he still carried. She was glad to be that person.

“Rogers,” Lady Tech came over the comlink, “you and Rosann need to get up to central command like now… we’ve got a huge problem.”

“On our way,” Rogers acknowledged before turning to Rosann. “Guess it’s time to prove to me you can make a difference.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Five minutes later the entire team was in central command facing Lady Tech; an uneasy tension filled the room like a chilling breeze. Lady Tech’s big emergency eclipsed it for now.

“Midtown Manhattan is under attack!”

“Say what?” Adrian cocked an eyebrow.

“Five minutes ago Midtown Manhattan fell under attack to an occult terrorist cell known as the Zombie Nation.” She pulled up a holographic image.

“Wasn’t that a house song way back?” Hard-On asked.

“The Zombie Nation is comprised of five EVOs who have managed to keep under the radar for quite some time. They are wanted in connection for several kidnapping and murder charges throughout the U.S and Europe among other things,” Erica relayed. “They’ve uploaded several videos onto the web performing actual satanic ritual sacrifices on live people which, thanks to me, have been intercepted before anyone can actually see them. They’ve evened mailed some to television stations hoping they’ll air them. They believe their powers are gifts from Satan himself so that they can usher in his rule on Earth… they are also cannibals.”

“That’s just messed up,” Oliver sneered.

“We’ve been trying to block their sick messages in hopes of not alarming the public and catching these filthy bastards, but it looks like they’ve gotten frustrated and decided to do something drastic,” Erica continued. “Causalities are in the double digits and growing. Captain Omega is reported to be on the scene along two other heroes… Seeker and Lady Electrify.”

“Great,” Adrian muttered, “with those three the fight will probably be over before…”

“Miss, Lady Electrify has been killed in action,” Maxine reported. “Cause of death is impalement and severe brunt force trauma.”

“Oh my god.” Rosann’s eyes widened as she took a stunned step back.

“Suit up, people. Get locked, loaded, and ready to fly in four minutes,” Rogers ordered. “Anyone not ready by then gets left behind.”

CHAPTER 10

Five minutes later the Tornado was once again in the air headed for Manhattan, moving at Mach 8 they would be at the combat zone in less than eight minutes. Rosann stared at the ground as her brother sat next to her clutching the crucifix chain given to him by his mother for his sixteenth birthday. Oliver, sitting on the opposite side of Rosann, also stared down at the floor. Every minute he fidgeted with either the bracers on his arms or the straps on his boots. Rogers sat there looking at each one of them with his modified M249 LMG rifle in his lap. In his eyes, these were just more children marching once again to hell itself; a hell he himself had never faced before. He did not like it one bit. If he was not ready for this, they definitely were not prepared for this.

“Miss reports indicated EVO known as Seeker has been killed in action,” Maxine reported. “Cause of death is decapitation.”

“Jesus…” Rosann uttered cupping her mouth.

“Erica! What’s our ETA?” Rogers yelled.

“We just entered New York State,” she barked back, “we’ll be there in two minutes at this speed! Patching in Channel 11 News. They’ve got a reporter crazy enough to be on the scene!”

The sound of battle and the screams of one lone reporter telling the tale of the designated warzone within Times Square forced everyone to sit up within the Tornado.

“I report, Seeker has been killed,” the reporter screamed. “The well known superhero speedster of New York overwhelmed by a two on one attack has been decapitated! It has now become a three-on-one fight against Captain Omega and three out of the five members of this Zombie Nation! We have bodies of innocent men, women, and children littering the streets of Times Square! This is just too overwhelming, and Captain Omega is fighting like a mad man to turn the tide!”

“Going to stealth mode folks,” Lady Tech yelled, “hang on!”

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” screamed the reporter over the audio speakers, “Captain Omega has just been killed!”

Dead silence filled the cabin of the Tornado as Hard-On, Blitz, and a shocked and teary-eyed Rosann, looked at each other, then back at a stone- faced Rogers.

“I can’t believe it,” the reporter cried, “the Captain looked like he was going to turn the tide of the battle, and then he looked like he was blinded out of nowhere. Then the monster of a man who looks like an unholy Viking just started hacking away at him with that huge battle ax of his… till he cut his head off… our greatest hero is gone folks… he’s gone… they’re literally desecrating his body in front of us… it’s horrific beyond imagination…”

“There’s a goddamn Promethean down there,” Lady Tech muttered to herself with her head down.

“Erica, keep us up, and open the bay doors,” Abe ordered.

“You gonna parachute into…” she began to ask.

“Just open the damn door, and keep us up!” he yelled, losing his patience.

Rogers quickly checked his M249 LMG heading for the rear doors now opening; he stopped and turned feeling three presences standing behind him. He turned to see Hard-On already in metal form along with Blitz and Rosann ready to go.

“Where the hell do you think you three are going?” demanded Abe.

“Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with you, sir,” answered Hard-On.

“Cut the shit, Esposito,” Rogers ordered, “wait till the ship lands then…”

“Excuse me, sir, but you can go screw yourself,” said Adrian.

“What did…?” he snarled.

“We ain’t got time to discuss this!” Adrian yelled back. “People are dying down there, so when you jump out of this plane… we’re going to be following you… as a team.”

“Whether you like it or not,” Rosann chimed in.

“We’re ready,” Blitz nodded, “sir.”

Abe Rogers narrowed his eyes as he looked at each of them. He turned, pulling his beanie down tight over his head.

“Keep your formation tight. Spread out… pick a target… go hard… and work together.”

“You all be careful when you get down there! My readings tell me there’s a class 10 Titan, a class 9 Apollo fire type, and a Mercurian also class 9,” informed Lady Tech. “I’m also pretty sure they got a Promethean, and I think he or she is pretty powerful too, so they’re going to know you’re coming then second you exit the Tornado!”

With no more words, Rogers and team dived out of the back of the Tornado rocketing into a war torn Times Square like SCUD missiles.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Down below the world was in a minute and a half of hell, as a beast of a man in both size and demeanor held high the head of the fallen Captain Omega. In his other hand, he held a massive double bladed curved battle ax the size of an average man. His other weapon was a humongous sinister looking broadsword that appeared to be the length of a New York taxi. It stood standing as it impaled the headless corpse of Captain Omega and the concrete street of Times Square that it rested on.

“Where are your heroes now, piglets? Huh?” the monster howled. “Where is your nameless god to save you? Where are they piglets? Tell them to come so that the Draugr can kill and fuck them like I did this worthless cunt!”

He was four times the size of four powerlifters combined and appeared as if he could block out the sun with his near nine-foot frame. He wore black pants, leather and gold plated bracers, and a belt with a fur skirt reminiscent of a Viking or barbarian. Over his boots, thighs, bracers, and shoulders he wore a heavy dark black armor with detailed demonic skull etchings and orange flame accents. Armor that he appeared not to need after killing one of the most well-known and powerful EVOs on the planet.

Those people still alive, either injured or too terrified to move watched as the monster tilted his head back allowing the blood from the Captain’s head to pour out into his mouth as if he was drinking wine. His long brown frayed beard matched the locks on his skull which was covered by a demonic helmet resembling a skull. It matched the rest of the demonic Viking armor he wore. He mouth and beard was now soaked in blood as he looked around with a wide-eyed baseless and inhuman expression searching for more prey.

Above him hovered an Asian woman via a pinnacle of flames. Her entire face was tattooed with the visage of a demon, while large colorful demonic tattoos adorned different parts of her body. Her outfit was a long, scantily clad black leather dress with two long thigh high slits. Her bone straight black hair covered half her face on the right side. Though she was not as animalistic as the Draugr, she too seemed also void of all emotion, compassion, or sympathy.

“All things must burn,” was all she softly muttered in mandarin. “All things must burn… all things must burn.”

No scene was more gruesome and disturbing than the man in the middle of the street holding two long thick machete-like blades drenched in the blood of Lady Electrify. Her body was now unrecognizable due to him hacking her to pieces during and after her death at superhuman speed. His face was tattooed similar to the Asian woman, except his tattoo made it appear as if a blade skinned off half his face. The gray hood of his long sleeved top shrouded the rest of his head. Two huge tan leather belts covering majority of his abdomen along with matching suspenders that held the top and matching gray pants he wore together. He cackled and swayed as he gazed upon Lady Electrify’s savagely defiled body with pride as if he’d created a piece of art.

Standing in the middle of the chaos on top of the now abandoned and destroyed police outpost was their leader. His pale stark white skin and long black hair made him appeared as if he stepped out of the 17th Century, while his faintly glowing purple and black eyes told of a dark power he held within him. His red and black ensemble made him look like a priest from an S&M club. In his hand, he held a chain attached to the collar of a porcelain white bald-headed woman with a wild insane visage on her face clinging tightly to his right leg. Headphones covered her ears as she clutched the tiny black IPod player in her hand for dear life. Her black top, shorts, and long Goth trench coat with the front completely gone gave her the look of a Valley Girl from hell.

To the man’s left stood a large female bruiser with a Mohawk. She wore a heavy pink-chained bikini over a fishnet bodysuit and tight black leather shorts along with black leather steel plated boots. Satanic and Neo-Nazi tattoos covered her left cheek, breast, abdomen, right bicep, and back. She calmly wiped clean the huge jagged-edged knife she wielded with what seemed to be a bloodied shirt belonging to a child.

Sitting in front of her was a very small person in a brown ratty looking monk’s cloak drinking blood from a severed head of male victim with a slurpee straw… due to the massive size of the hood, one could not see his or her gender.

“All right children,” their leader clapped his hands getting their attention, “let us not lose focus as to why we are here. A Seal must be broken, and our father requires much more blood than this in order to do so.”

With a calm business like demeanor he first turned to the monstrous Viking to instruct him.

“Draugr, be so kind as to start tearing down buildings,” he requested, “there are plenty of warm bodies hiding within them, Nachzehrer do help him.”

The female powerhouse with a Mohawk nodded with a smile as she finished off her blade cleaning with a quick spit shine.

“Ghoul,” he addressed the man with the machetes, “stop playing with your toy and start butchering everyone still around. Be sure to begin with, those ridiculous individuals in Sesame Street and superhero costumes, not to mention the idiots dressed like the Statue of Liberty.”

Teeth shined underneath the man’s hood as he took a couple of swipes flinging excess blood from his blades.

“Jiang Shi,” he addressed the flame wielding Asian woman, “help him by turning the remainder to ash; we’ll start a path from here to Wall Street.”

Screams and cries erupted all around from those too terrified to move as the Draugr laughed and howled while pulling his body-cleaving sword from the corpse of Captain Omega to begin the slaughter again.

“Revenant,” the cloaked little monk stopped drinking from the head looking upward, “Someone is coming…”

“Coming?” the man known as Revenant scoffed. “More heroes Anchimayen? From where?”

“Look up,” Anchimayen pointed upward.

Revenant and Nachzehrer looked up to the sound of bombs dropping. Bombs with arms, legs, and rage in their eyes. There were no words, cool catchphrase or battle cry as they descended into Times Square like avenging angels, whatever needed to be said was written all over their faces. “You sick animals… we’re coming to kill you.”

“Who dares?” The slow-witted Draugr finally looked up to see what got the attention of his teammates.

His words were broken, as a freefalling Rogers without a parachute to slow him down slammed right into the Draugr at 614 miles per hour creating a massive crater on impact now covered by smoke and flying concrete. The next thing heard was the deafening sound of Rogers’ M249 LMG being unloaded into the Draugr’s helmet covered face.

The Ghoul sped out of the way as Hard-On created his own crater slamming into the ground; Rosann forced him to move again as she transformed in midair into her were-Cheetah form. She grabbed a lamp post to slow her falling momentum, and to launch herself at him roaring and slashing. The siblings wore pure rage on their faces, as they readied themselves to take on the machete wielding speed sadist.

“You will all burn,” Jiang Shi sneered as she produced large flames from her hands.

“The only thing frying tonight is you, witch.” Blitz hovered down behind her engulfed in his white plasma electrical form.

Before Jiang Shi could spin around for an attack he unleashed a devastating lightning strike channeled through his hands, she barely conjured up a shield of flames, which did nothing more than weaken what would have be a fatal direct hit. She screamed as the current passed through her body sending her reeling. She quickly recovered turning her shield into a fiery blast of her own forcing Blitz to cover up as his plasma form protected him from the intense flames she unleashed; an apparent standoff as both glared at each other.

“Your power cannot burn me,” Jiang-Shi grinned, “boy…”

“I don’t have to burn you to kill you,” Blitz returned, “you foul evil woman.”

He roared as he unleashed another electrical charge that she barely evaded. The two began a fire versus lightning aerial battle above the streets of Times Square.

“Who da fuck are you two suppose ta be tin man?” Ghoul spat.

Hard-On responded with action as he pulled out his side arm and unloaded on Ghoul forcing him to dodge. Rosann burst into a sprint roaring and charging Ghoul unnerving the blade wielding murder. He began to run as Hard-On turned on his laser scope trying to get a bead on him.

“Nachzehrer,” Revenant sighed, “they’re not playing fair with Ghoul.”

Nachzehrer licked her lips smiling as she leapt off outpost into the air. Hard-On catching her coming at him from the corner of his eye spun around firing shots at her. Each round of his Desert Walter 01, delivered the velocity greater than a rail gun, and could easily take down a Merkava Mark 4. He managed to put two in her gut and one in her chest as she came down from her descent with her knife held high. Her Titan genetics easily healed her wounds, while her insanity kept a sickening grin on her face.

Hard-On braced for impact with his forearm up to block the attack as she crashed down on him in an attempt to drive her knife in his metallic skull. The hit sent both of them down into a sizable crater sending debris flying everywhere. Hard-On glared at Nachzehrer with a disgusted look on his face as she grinned at him running her blade across his forearm.

“I shall have fun masturbating with your cock tonight,” Nachzehrer drooled.

“Wait, how are you?” Adrian asked before sneering as he comprehended what she meant. “Oh, you sick bitch.”

He switched his sidearm still free to use in his right hand to automatic mode and unleashed a volley of shots into her gut forcing her roll off him and cover up. Discharging his last round, he went to reload, when a now livid Nachzehrer lunged slamming into him knocking the gun out of his hand. Hard-On remembering his training rolled through flipping her over. He rolled on top of her, going ballistic as he rained down thunderous lefts, rights, hammer fists, and forearm shots.

On the other side of the warzone, Rosann sized Ghoul up moving closer to him like an actual cheetah on the hunt with her fangs exposed preparing to pounce; while the Ghoul getting his nerve back grinned pointing his blood soaked blades at her with a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

“I’m gonna enjoy wearing your skin up and down 42nd street,” he wagged his tongue at her, “like a pimp.”

Rosann responded with a booming roar as she charged and leapt, cutting the distance between them putting Ghoul on the defense again realizing that she has some speed to her. He let his blades fly looking to slice her in half; Rosann’s feline instinct helped her evade strikes that cut the wind itself.

Back in the crater the gunfire ended due to Rogers needing to reload; this gave a very ventilated, yet extremely pissed off, Draugr the chance he needed to grab his battle-ax and swing for the hills knocking Abe’s M249 LMG out of his hand. Rogers dived out of the path of the second axe swing going for his side arm and unloaded on the murderous titan again, only Draugr used his massive left armored forearm as a shield rolling to his feet.

Back out of the crater, as Hard-On hammered away at Nachzehrer all he could hear was laughter bellowing from her as his metallic hands pounded her face into next week. With one eye the size of a grapefruit and her face painted in blood she continued to laugh at him; he paused in disbelief at how much she was enjoying it.

“Are you… just going to keep… giving me foreplay,” she spat out, “or are you going to fuck me?”

Before a disgusted Hard-On could respond, she hocked a hung wad of blood in his face, blinding him.

“Dammit,” he cursed to himself.

He had violated the code drilled into him by Rogers. “Unless they’re in a coma or no pulse… you never let up.” Nachzehrer’s disgusting stunt allowed her to use her hips to buck him off her reversing the position. On instinct as she tried to reach for his throat Hard-On instantly turned it into a triangle choke; but all he heard was that insane laughter again.

“If you wanted me to suck you off boy,” she gurgled choking, “all you had to do… was ask!”

Through blood-blurred vision, Hard-On could see that the damage he had done to the female titan’s face had already healed as she dug her feet in, locked her arms, and hoisted him high into the air.

“Oh shit!” Adrian yelled.

He kept the lock on increasing the tightness hoping to bring her down into a brain dead state or snap her neck. Nachzehrer continued to gurgle and giggle through the hold as she hoisted him higher and drove him once again into the street creating another crater.

“What’s that? You like that?” she screamed. “You want more? Okay!”

Nachzehrer roared as she snapped him high once again into the air, this time coiling her legs like a spring, she leapt into the air as if flying off with him. The force of her leap sent them several stories up before beginning a downward descent back down into Times Square. Hard-On rifled away at Nachzehrer busting her open again fighting to get free as she continued to laugh at him refusing to let go. Those still brave enough to be in the Square or too terrified to move found either fear or courage to run for their lives as a freefalling powerbomb sent both Nachzehrer and Hard-On through the concrete. Debris flew everywhere as the two combatants disappeared into the depths and darkness of Manhattan.

High above, the Manhattan sky was ablaze with fire and lighting as Blitz and “fire witch” battled jockeying for position in an attempt to bring one another down. Jiang Shi screamed a war cry as she unleashed a blast of metal melting flames at him, which he easily evaded. He returned with an onslaught of electricity, which she quickly dodged remembering that she was immune from the burn but not the jolt of his deadly lightning attacks.

Humans below ran for sanctuary as “gods” warred over their heads.

“It is only matter of time before I turn you into ashes!” screamed Jiang Shi, “I’ll drink your boiling blood from your charred skull!”

“Not if I take your head off first!” roared Oliver.

He charged Jiang Shi with great speed remembering he could not go full power due to the people and buildings around him. She nervously unleashed a full blast of flames to stop him, but he barreled through it and came out on the other side swinging at full force to take her head off with his fist; she barely ducked the electrically charged punch. The sheer force exploded bricks while melting the glass and metal of the building that was behind her when she evaded the blow.

“You’re… you’re mad,” uttered a shaken Jiang Shi.

“And you’re a dead woman, you murderous bitch,” Oliver returned.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in the crater, Abe losing his sidearm to an ax wielding Draugr, now wielded a knife as he ducked and dodged the Draugr’s chops and swings in an effort to slice the trained Marine in half. It was not the first time Rogers had someone swing a blade at him. It was also obvious to him that the Draugr, despite his massive size, strength, and berserker rage was not a trained Viking warrior reborn. Rogers proved he was a clumsy oath that saw too many Conan movies as he found an opening and shot for his legs. Rogers did not need much strength to perform a basic lift. He tried his best to make sure it hurt as he slammed him onto his back.

On his back once again, the Draugr was on the defensive as Rogers began cutting, slashing, and stabbing any body part within range of his blade. The Draugr’s armor, which had the feel of metal used to construct tanks, was no match the highly tempered dark metal knife Rogers wielded.

Rogers slashed and stabbed, looking for a weak point, but the Draugr’s regenerative healing quickly repaired what he cut open. The blood that poured made the brawl slippery and sticky. Draugr roared as he founded an opening with his right hand and palmed Rogers face looking to crush his skull. It would have worked with a less experienced man. Rogers retaliated by stabbing and pulling down cutting the tendons in his arm. The Draugr roared in pain and rage as Rogers pulled his face from his mitt locking in a side armbar in hopes of breaking the big man’s arm making it completely immobile, long enough so that he could figure out how to kill him.

It appeared Rogers did not cut deep enough, because the stronger Draugr growled as he balled his fist and flexed to prevent his arm from being hyper-extended. He then fought to his feet lifting Rogers stilled attached to his arm as if he was a small infant.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back up top Rosann was not faring too well, her heightened senses could barely keep up with the Ghoul’s speed and viciousness. For every lunge, swipe, and pounce she executed he would dodge and evade coming back harder and faster.

“Here, puss puss! Puss puss!” he taunted her.

He was toying with her; he finally went for a blitz attack coming in at blinding speed swinging his razor sharp blades at her. Her leotard bodysuit withstood the glancing blows that could have sliced her open; however, the Ghoul also targeted her exposed legs. Her current dense animal physiology kept her standing. Rosann tried to go into a feral rage of her own to fight back, but a faster Ghoul drove one of his fourteen-inch machetes into her gut. Rosann’s eyes went wide with sheer pain, out of instinct she grabbed Ghoul’s right arm as she slowly transformed back into her human form. A now stronger Ghoul grinned as he slowly hoisted a bloodied Rosann high into the air causing her to sink deeper into the blade. Rosann spat blood into Ghouls face as she gripped his hand to keep herself from being further impaled.

“Mmmmm my favorite BBQ sauces,” He licked some of the blood from his face, “now… what should I sample… first?”

Out of nowhere, Rosann began to giggle.

“Pray tell, what do you find so funny about me about to slice, eat, and then fuck what’s left of your skewered ass, cunt?” Ghoul asked with a screwed up face.

“Da fact that I now have your abilities,” she grinned, “ya dumb cazzo.”

“Wha… the…” Ghoul wore a perplexed look on his face not understanding her meaning.

It was then that Ghoul noticed that Rosann’s initial wounds were healing at a rapid pace, as her skin, hair, and eye color changed to match his own. Before he could react, Rosann now with superhuman speed and strength at her disposal used the seconds of advantage she had to drive a vicious foot into his face shattering his nose while launching herself off his blade. The kick sent a completed stunned Ghoul crashing into a parked taxi caving it in, while Roxann went crashing into a heap onto the streets of NYC. She spat up more blood while holding her gut allowing the regenerative healing to repair the damage done. It was not healing fast enough as a now very livid Ghoul pulled himself out of the cab blowing a huge wad of blood from his already healed nose. He now brandished his blades with murderous intent.

“I’m gonna enjoy cutting your twat out and eating it,” he snarled.

“You couldn’t handle my twat, speedy,” Rosann sneered.

Ghoul roared, charging to slice her to ribbons only to freeze into place for some unknown reason; a look of fear now appeared on his face as she realized he could not move at all. Rosann finally got to her feet giving him a sarcastically innocent, yet devious, look.

“Sumatta gov?” Rosann mocked his English accent. “Cat gotcha tongue?”

As a huge shadow casted over her and him, Roxann sped out of the way. The last thing she heard was Ghoul screaming as something massive came crashing down on top of him creating another huge crater in the street sending debris flying everywhere. Standing tall in the massive crater and on top of what was left of him, was Lady Tech in her battle armored mech suit ready to join the fight with the rest of her team.

“So, what did I miss?” Erica’s voice emitted out of her S.A.M’s audio system.

Rosann sped back to the crash zone standing before her.

“What took you so long?” she yelled at her.

“I’m sorry!” Lady Tech yelled back, “I had a ship to pilot!”

“Hello!” Rosann threw her hands up. “You got voice-activated autopilot with Maxine!”

“Hey! I’m down here!” She pointed at her. “You’re alive, and this asshole is a pancake! Get over it!”

“Where the hell is Hard-On?” Rosann cut her eyes.

A large explosion shook the streets again as the ground opened up with a body that went flying pass the two of them. They watch as it landed hard taking out a cop car. The body belonged to a battered and pissed off Nachzehrer. She slowly rolled herself off the destroyed police car. Out of the hole crawled an equally disheveled Hard-On ready to brawl.

“Damn crazy psycho bitch,” he snarled.

“Nice of you to come out of the gutter and join us,” Lady Tech greeted him.

“Hell happened to you?” Adrian asked his sister who was covered in blood.

“Where should I start?” Rosann sighed. “The part where the son of a bitch tried to slice me like an onion or when he stuck me like a shish kabob?”

“Say what?” he howled. “Where da fuck is he?”

“Tech’s standing on him,” Rosann pointed.

“Oh… oh… god,” Ghoul whimpered.

“Good for you ya piece of…” Hard-On spat on him.

“Enough, I’m all right thanks to that sick bastard’s regenerative healing,” Rosann reassured her brother. She turned to Lady Tech. “How’d you manage to stop him? I thought Mercurians where immune to mental attacks.”

“Low level mental attacks,” Erica corrected, “my suit boosts my abilities to the level of a pure breed, that’s how they were able to kill Seeker and Captain Omega.”

“But, that would mean they have a kid on their team,” Adrian stood there stunned.

“Exactly,” Lady Tech said. “The creepy micro monk over there ain’t a little person.”

“That’s some sick shit man,” he shivered, “how come he or she’s not freezing us?”

“One, I’m mentally tethered to all four of you allowing me to both block and jam his signal with one of my own,” Erica answered, “and two despite his vast power, he’s obviously a noob. He has basic knowledge of his abilities but nothing advanced.”

A loud booming sound cut the team’s conversation short as debris flew out of the massive crater Rogers and the Draugr waged their war within.

“Oh shit,” Adrian snapped his neck looking at the crater.

“We’re standing here flippin our bicks and the Sarge is fighting for his life in there!” yelled Rosann. “Wait, where’s Blitz?”

A high-pitched scream followed a fireball hurling from the sky that detonated on top of a white Mercedes Benz obliterating it. A badly battered, shaken, and smoldering Jiang Shi rolled out of the flames unscathed as Blitz slowly descended from the skies. His outfit displayed burn marks from her flame attacks.

“Now dat’s gangsta,” Adrian nodded.

“You think I fear death boy,” Jiang Shi spat blood at him shivering, “I have a throne waiting for me next to my dark lord! And when I return as one of his concubines… I shall bathe in fire and your blood!”

Oliver charged his hands causing the very air in his vicinity to heat up to unbelievable temperatures. Glass from nearby windows cracked unable to bear the heat as the concrete around him smoldered. Though Jiang Shi was immune to the heat, there was evidence of fear on her face knowing what the electrical charge could do to her. Blitz’s plasma form as well as the electrical charge he emitted changed to a bright blue and white color that shattered glass and blew out any electrical device around him as he prepared to deliver a killing blow.

“That’s new,” Hard-On cocked an eyebrow.

“And very bad!” yelled Erica. “The fire witch’s cells are like nitroglycerin! At that power level Blitz could ignite them and…”

“Blow up all of Times Square,” Rosann finished her sentence. “Oliver, no!”

“Here’s a first class ticket to hell!” howled Oliver.

Before Blitz could unleashed the full force of his power down on Jiang Shi, Rosann using the superhuman speed she stole from Ghoul darted into his path holding her hands up for him to stop. She screamed and gyrated in pain unable to withstand the massive surge of heat and electricity he was unleashing. Ghoul’s regenerative healing was the only thing that kept her from death by electrocution. Oliver powered down and grabbed her as she collapsed.

“Rosann!” Oliver yelled frantically, “What the…”

“Can’t… kill her…” Rosann stuttered violently shaking, “like that… you’ll destroy city… if you do…”

Jiang Shi, finding an opening, screamed as she blasted them both with a stream of pure fire. Blitz quickly snatched Rosann pulling her close while turning his back to Jiang Shi trying his best to shield her from the flame attack. Hard-On yelled in rage as he rushed to his sister and Oliver’s aid, while Lady Tech opened up a volley of concussive type energy blasts that slammed into her knocking her off the car and into a nearby wall. Knocked out cold, she hit the floor hard with a violent thud.

The flames around Rosann and Oliver died down. Blitz unscathed held Rosann tightly as the parts of her he was unable to protect healed before his eyes. For a second as they locked eyes the world and all the madness around them disappeared.

“Are you both alright?” Adrian frantically yelled.

“Yeah,” Blitz said.

“I’m fine,” Rosann nodded as she continued to stare into Oliver’s eyes.

“Seriously?” Hard-On snapped at the both of them.

“What?” Rosann snapped back.

He was about to lecture them both about ill timing of finding love on the battlefield, when another eruption came from the pit Abe and the Draugr battled in, this time expelling a body. Abe bounced violently off the concrete creating smaller craters before coming to a rest. He sprung to his feet in front of his dumbfounded team. He looked like a man who had descended to the seventh level of hell looking to return.

“Sarge!” yelled Adrian, “you alright?”

“Don’t call me Sarge,” Rogers snapped. “Someone give me a gun that blows big holes.”

The back of Erica’s mech armor opened up and jettisoned a massive black rifle that looked like an amalgamation of a Barrett M82 and an AS50 sniper rifle. Rogers caught it just as a savage grinning Draugr crawled out of the crater for round two.

“M1 Ballistics rifle,” explained Erica. “Basically a compacted railgun with…”

“Don’t care,” Rogers yelled.

Figuring out where the safety was and how to turn it off, he took aim pulling the trigger.

Parts of the rifle emitted a bright blue light followed by a whining sound. The shot sounded like it came from a tank; Rogers’ strength handled the kick back, but did not stop him from sliding back two feet. The velocity of the round shattered windows as it hit the Draugr dead center sending him and his sword flying, while producing a bullet hole the size of a human skull in his chest.

The beast of a man roared as he went crashing back into the crater Rogers and he created.

“He’ll be up in a minute,” spat Abe. “If you all are done with your team poses, Hard-On, with me against Hagar, Rosann you got Ms. Neo-Nazi over there, Lady Tech after you’ve bagged and tagged the slimy sack of shit you’re standing on, you and Blitz take care of the rejects on the police outpost.”

“Sir, yes sir!” all four sounded off to Abe’s orders.

Adrian quickly transformed back to his human form extending his hand to his sister offering his DNA and power.

“Wonder twins time?” he asked, believing she needed extra strength to take on the sadistic female titan.

“No thanks,” Rosann grinned. “I plan to put this asshole’s power to good use.”

She darted off leaving the team. With a roar and Mach 3 speed, she cocked back and delivered a superwoman punch taking Nachzehrer off her feet knocking her into a nearby Sephora.

Nachzhehrer quickly recovered exploding out of the women’s cosmetics store covered in makeup. She snatched up a heavy metal garbage receptacle hurling it at Rosann who darted out of the way. It went flying into the Hard Rock Café on the other side of the street. Rosann picked up speed once again going on the offensive whizzing in and out finding openings to strike as the now frustrated female Titan tried to swat her like a fly.

Rogers and Adrian armored up again went hunting for the Draugr, flanking opposite sides of the crater.

The monstrous Viking with recovered axe in tow this time did not wait for the hunters to come as he exploded out of the crater with a bellow and a powerful leap clearing four stories.

“Aw shit,” Adrian growled. “It’s on.”

The Draugr came down cratering the streets. The impact fired large chunks of concrete like shrapnel. Roger’s let off two rounds from the building leveling rifle. The Draugr spinning around blocked both headshots with his armor-covered forearm. The armor piercing projectiles tore through his dense armor like butter stopping at his tree trunk for a forearm, which just healed in seconds.

The Draugr bellowed as he took another leap, this time aiming for Hard-On with axe ready to fly. Adrian’s metal form could have tanked the axe blow. He chose a tactical move, rolling out of the way as the Goliath of a man sliced into the concrete with his blade. Back on his feet, he leaped into the air howling as he delivered a powerful haymaker caving in the side of the behemoth’s helmet.

The Draugr answered his mighty blow with a forearm backhand knocking him clear across the street. The strike buried him into the side of a building.

With Adrian clear through unconventional means, Rogers let off two more rounds, which the Draugr blocked by digging in while folding his arms across his body and tucking his head to tank the shots.

Hard-On groaned as he pulled himself out of the imprint he made in the building dropping to the ground. He quickly snatched up an abandoned New York Taxi cab hurling it at the Draugr. He cackled as he sliced it in half as if it was a grapefruit. The front half of the vehicle crashed into a parked Mercedes, while the rear half shattered the storefront of a restaurant.

“Ideas?” Adrian turned to Abe.

“Keep flanking him,” muttered Rogers, “the head is the weakness. We either have to cut or blow it off.”

“Easier said than done,” Hard-On returned.

“You got anything else better to do?” Abe asked him.

“Nope,” he shrugged.

The Draugr took the offensive this time charging like a mindless bull going for Abe. As he shook the streets of New York with each stomp Rogers opened fired with three more rounds from his rifle, before ducking and rolling for cover himself as the Draugr howled taking a wide swing with his axe hoping to slice him in half.

The only thing his weapon ended up slicing was the storefront of the building Abe stood his ground. Before he could wrench his blade from the concrete he imbedded it in, Hard-On leapt onto his back and began to rifle his helmeted skull with repeated shots. He was about to rip the helmet off when the Draugr spun around and threw himself backwards into the building he slashed pancaking him in between it.

Adrian held on as the Draugr, who showed great agility for a man so massive, executed a tumble roll to steamroll him into the concrete. Adrian refused to be bucked off, until the mountain of a man simply reached up and ripped him from his back hurling him into the concrete. Hard-On had seconds to cover up as the Draugr brought a boot down on top of him driving him further into the street.

Abe drove the monster from off of his teammate with two well places rifle shots to the chest and skull.

Erica finally stepped off a broken Ghoul palming his upper torso and pulling him out of the crater she created. The large palm of her armor shifted and cracked open allowing a malleable device to wrap around his upper torso locking into place. He began to groan as the device glowed and hummed. Erica released him allowing the device to take off with the Ghoul into the skies of Manhattan back to the Tornado.

“Nerve Hammer sends a pulse of electric shock straight to his nervous system causing a seizure and paralysis.” Erica referred to the device. “Won’t kill him due to his regenerative healing. The same power creates an electromagnetic propulsion taking him back up to the Tornado. Maxine will lock him into one of the cyropods till we’re done.”

“Good,” Oliver powered up taking to the air again. “Now let’s take care of the rest of this damn freak show.”

“Anchimayen, my boy,” Revenant motioned, “fetch Jiang Shi, before that nasty machine decides to take her away from me. I still have need of her, and while you’re at it, come close as well.”

Obedient Anchimayen climbed to his feet standing on top of the police outpost. With an extended hand, the cloaked child deployed the power of telekinesis to lift his downed team member quickly pulling her over to the roof of the outpost they stood upon laying her at Revenant’s feet. He then scurried over standing next to the sinister looking man.

“Wendigo, my love,” Revenant smiled, “time to go play.”

Wendigo’s eyes grew as wide as a full moon the second Revenant removed the leash from her collar. She quickly rose to her feet and strolled forward while holding down the volume button to her iPod pumping the sound way up in her headphones. She took a step off the roof of the police outpost causing the whole area to tremble as she hovered in midair.

“Miss, detecting a massive energy reading from the woman in front of us,” emitted Maxine from the inside of Erica’s cockpit, “on a sonic level.”

“How massive?” Erica asked.

“1,000 MHz and rising,” indicated Maxine.

“Full shields up now!” Lady Tech screamed frantically. “Patch me into everyone! Guys! Run or fly you’ve got to get out of the area now!”

“We’re kind a busy here getting our ass kicked!” yelled Adrian. “Ooof!!”

Hard-On groaned again as he took a full axe swing to the chest taking him off his feet and knocking him into a parked car. The impact sent him and the parked car into a nearby storefront. Before the Draugr could advance on a downed Adrian, Rogers stopped him in his tracks with several hammering rounds from his rifle.

“Guys, I’m telling you, you have to leave now!” Erica screamed.

Rosann still using the Ghoul’s speed easily sidestepped a charging Nachzehrer. She grabbed and slammed her face first into a parked car before spinning her around and launching her skull first into a brick wall of a building.

“What’s the problem?” Rosann asked, finally patching in.

“In about five seconds we’re about to witness death by stereo,” Lady Tech frantically responded.

“What, Ms. Cue ball floating over there?” Rosann scoffed. “ I can…”

“No you can’t Rosann!” Erica forcefully yelled. “Run! Run like you have never ran before! Run!”

Erica miscalculated by two seconds.

Pulsating through the woman’s headphones was “Inbred Evil” by the rapper Boondox. Wendigo extended her left hand and opened her mouth, unleashing an attack that emitted throughout the entire city. Blitz, without hesitation, dove down into the streets at break neck speed swooping in and snatching up Rosann frozen with shock and fear taking her into the skies with him. Though Oliver was fast enough to evade the initial blast, he was unable to outmatch the aftershock while holding Rosann. It clipped him in midair separating both him and her. Blitz spiraled out of control flying into an office where he smashed through several rows of cubicles, while Rosann knocked several blocks across fell helplessly to the streets below. She cursed as she had no choice but to try her best to maneuver in mid freefall and cover up as she came crashing down on top of an SUV obliterating it on impact. She laid there writhing in pain saved by the Ghoul’s slightly dense physiology and regenerative healing repairing her injuries.

Rosann, Blitz, and those not in the blast zone vicinity were the lucky ones. Those not of a superhuman level or wearing high-powered armor were killed instantly. The force of the blast sent both Rogers and a recovered Hard-On flying through several buildings, even Nachzehrer felt the wrath of her own teammate sending her sailing from the sonic blast. Anything not bolted down was sent flying, whole sides of buildings where blown off raining glass and rubble everywhere. The only ones left standing aside from Wendigo were Revenant and Anchimayen who stood behind her in a strange purple energy dome shield generated by the sadistic leader, the Draugr now bleeding from both his ears and nose, and Lady Tech in her high powered S.A.M. armor.

“Shields withstood near point blank blast,” Maxine reported, “holding at forty percent, power reserves at eighty percent. Miss, you’re bleeding from your nose and ears, scans show your vitals are elevated drastically.”

“Prepare to retaliate,” Lady Tech panted, “weapons set to deadly force… full power to weapons…”

“Miss… even with the S.A.M. armor you cannot withstand…” Maxine cautioned.

“Stop arguing with me Maxine and do it,” ordered a frustrated Erica.

“Weapons on full power…” Maxine obeyed. “Miss Incoming at three o’clock!”

“Say what?” Erica turned to the sound of a war cry.

She raised a block in time to deflect a savage blow from the Draugr’s recovered sword sending sparks flying against its dark metal armor.

“You got to be freaking kidding me!” Erica screamed.

Lady Tech retaliated with a devastating left hook staggering him. He, however, quickly recovered swinging his battle-ax, which also sparked across Lady Tech’s armor; she does not even bother blocking as she followed through caving in the mad Titan’s chest with a right haymaker lifting him off his feet and through the window of a nearby Duane Reade.

She would find no breathing room, now back on the defensive as she barely dodged and evaded Wendigo’s vicious sonic attacks backed by energy strikes from a now airborne Revenant joining the battle. She returned fire unleashing powerful ionic plasma rounds from the gauntlets of her S.A.M.

Revenant grinned as he evaded two of the volleys and swatted the third one away with the help of the protective purple energy shielding that looked like an aura bathing him. He returned fire, which Erica tanked with her own shielding and armor. However, each hit she took weakened her own energy shield.

“Magnetic deflector shielding at eight percent,” relayed Maxine, “power levels at…”

“Maxine, I love you, but I need you to shut the hell up!” Lady Tech yelled. “Just keep the display up and let me fight!”

“Incoming vehicle at nine o’clock!” Maxine blurted out.

Erica spun around quick enough to punch a flying squad car in two, only for the monstrous Draugr to tackle her lifting Lady Tech off her feet and slamming her into the street. He followed up by raining down thunderous blows eager to crack the armor shell protecting her. Inside Erica rattled back and forth in her seat by the earthquake like blows.

“Get this son of a bitch off me!” she screamed.

“Yes ma’am,” complied Maxine. “S.A.M take over and protect her at all costs.”

The S.A.M. armor emitted an animal like growl as it took over its body. It coiled its legs and fired them like twin pistons kicking the Draugr in the midsection sending him through a building on the other side of the street. It sprung back to its feet as a shaken Erica fought to get keep it together.

Within the cockpit she sat in waist-deep blood with the severed heads of her fellow teammates floating around her while snakes hung about the place. The psychological work of the one named Anchimayen attempting to break her will.

“Get out of my head you little shit,” Lady Tech ordered.

“You know you’re going to die here,” Anchimayen hissed, “you and your friends are all going to die… and waiting for you in hell are an infinite number of demons and beasts waiting to…”

“The only thing waiting for me is the chance to put my foot up your scrawny little nasty ass,” responded Lady Tech, “and cram a bar of soap down that filthy little mouth of yours. Now get the hell out of my head!”

Pushing her mental abilities to the max, she was able to force him out of her psyche, removing the disturbing illusions.

“Incoming attacks from all sides, unable to evade,” Maxine indicated.

Fighting to defend its creator, the S.A.M began to map out the best plan of attack to deal with the incoming threats, while inside a battered, bloodied, and drained Erica recovered from the exhausting mental battle.

The shoulder compartments of the S.A.M opened up unleashing a barrage of mini concussion missiles targeting both Wendigo and Revenant. They were not enough to knock them out of the sky, but they drove them backwards scattering them.

It gave it breathing room to deal with the Draugr and Nachzehrer attacking from the front and back like mountain lions pouncing on a kill.

It waited for the last second to move performing a spinning technique evading and ringing the Draugr’s bell with a spinning hammer fist sending him crashing to the ground. Nachzehrer was able to jump onto the S.A.M’s back, but in one single motion it jumped backwards falling on its back crushing her in between it and the concrete.

She screamed letting go as it rolled back to its feet. Painfully she rolled to her hands and knees as it now stood over her. Taking aiming, its right forearm opened up firing another version of the Nerve Hammer hitting Nachzehrer in the back at point blank range pounding her again into the concrete.

Four sides of the disk device popped open revealing four malleable mechanical limbs that locked around her back and torso.

As she attempted to rise again a needle from the disk pierced her back touching her spinal column. The disk lit up as it channeled several thousand volts of current through her nervous system sending Nachzehrer into eye rolling writhing pain.

Like its counterpart, it activated its electromagnetic propulsion whisking her away into the skies toward the hovering Tornado.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Fourteen blocks up from 42nd Street, Adrian finally came to with a groan on top of an abandon Nissan Maxima he had totaled on impact. He pulled himself off it and staggered to his feet still in his metal form, which saved his life. He now stood within the upper West Side that was now a ghosttown. Not a soul was on the streets. The innocent either fled for their lives or hid from the hell happening in Times Square that might come their way. The only things around him were abandoned vehicles.

He could hear the fighting still taking place, and had to get back to his teammates fast.

He looked around and found an abandoned red and black Ducati Monster 696.

“Maxine,” Adrian walked over pulling up the bike. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, Adrian,” Maxine answered from his headset. “The Miss is currently in battle with the members of the Zombie Nation by herself.”

“I’m on my way,” he said hopping on the bike, “Can you hotwire this bike for me?”

Without answering Maxine patched into the bike’s computer turning it on. Hard-On revved up and gunned the bike down the Avenue of the America’s making a quick right on 53rd street to take Seventh Avenue back to Times Square.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Abe came to clutching the M1 Ballistics rifle still in his grip. He stood up on instinct aiming and scanning his surroundings, which appeared to be the inside of a Broadway theater.

He shot up to his feet looking for the exit.

“Maxine,” he barked. “What’s the situation?”

“Sir, Miss is currently in combat with three remaining members of the Zombie Nation,” Maxine relayed. “Hard-On is enroute, no response from Rosann or Blitz.”

Rogers smashed through the steel exit door of the theatre triple timing it back to the heart of Times Square on foot.

“I’m on my way,” he huffed.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at Times Square, Erica was far from safe as Revenant evaded, destroyed, and tanked her missile attack with a purple and black energy shielding. He came back using the same energy as an offensive weapon firing volleys at her.

The S.A.M. spun, ducked, and dodged the barrages that tore chunks into the streets and buildings in Times Square.

“EVO is firing dark matter energy,” Maxine confirmed. “Shielding will not hold if hit by such an energy attack. S.A.M. employing evasive maneuvers.”

The feet and back thrusters of the S.A.M ignited launching it into the air. It rolled and strafed between the buildings to evade his attacks. Able to maneuver above him, it opened fired with a full ion plasma stream from both the its gauntlets.

It put Revenant back on the defensive throwing up another circular energy shielding to block the attack.

The S.A.M. prepared to unleash another salvo of missiles upon him when it was viciously rattled from a long range sonic attack from Wendigo.

“Shielding down to five percent…” Maxine indicated.

Before the S.A.M. could attempt to recover from the sonic blast, it was struck from a powerful direct hit from Revenant knocking it into a tailspin out of the sky.

“Shields disabled… unable recover… impact is imminent…” Maxine relayed.

Lady Tech hit the streets of New York hard sending rubble flying everywhere. Her crash landing produced another large crater where she came to a rest. Red lights went off in the cabin as Erica sat barely conscious in her seat.

“Come on big boy… get up and shake it off,” she commanded.

Obeying her orders, her armor fought back to its feet where it found no breathing room as the Draugr came crashing down on top of it driving it further into the crater. The S.A.M. swung for the hills, but a faster Draugr caught its right haymaker holding it in his grip while using his right boot to pin its left arm. He drooled under his cracked helmet as he reached for the chest plate of the S.A.M. armor and proceeded to pull.

“Draugr attempting to breach hull, integrity of armor being compromised,” reported Maxine, “S.A.M. attempting to power Ion chest cannon.”

Erica braced herself for the worst, tears ran down her eyes as she fought not to cry nor scream; faced with meeting a most gruesome end she wanted Rogers to know that she did not run, she did not beg for mercy, that she was a soldier.

“Extremely high energy source inbound to our location!” Maxine responded.

“Blitz?” Erica screamed.

“Negative,” Maxine answered. “Something much more powerful.”

Lady Tech rolled her eyes wondering what next as a thunderous noise took over the creaking sound of the Draugr trying to breach her cockpit. The monstrous behemoth paused his dismantling of her mech just in time to receive a hit to the face with what appeared to be a golden staff charged with an unknown power source. The blow was deafening on impact forcing Erica to cover her ears as it launched the blood driven juggernaut into the air, through several buildings sailing over the Hudson River. He crash landed into a small Yacht on the New Jersey side.

Erica slowly opened her eyes getting a visual of her savior.

“Oh my god…” she stammered.

That is what she believed stood before her, Egyptian to be more specific. His armor shined a bright silver and gold with blood red accents as he looked like an amalgamation of an Egyptian Pharaoh and a character from the 1994 Stargate movie. The long snakehead staff with an emblem of the sun shining behind it that he held in his hand matched the gold and blood red parts of his armor. A bladed crescent moon capped off the end of his staff. Erica also noticed that the back of his headdress had a long golden scorpion tail that hung like a braid.

His bright white glowing eyes added to his demigod stature while his humble dark brown smile made Erica’s heart flutter in the midst of the chaos all around her.

“Status on new player,” Erica asked.

“Unknown,” Maxine reported. “I am unable to get a reading on individual, his armor, or weapon. Unknown energy shielding is deflecting my scans. From what my scans can diagnose, energy he is emitting is on a cosmic level.”

“You mean like comic book,” Lady Tech swallowed.

“I mean like remnants from the first ‘Big Bang’ Miss,” Maxine elaborated.

Revenant descended to street level hovering. He clapped bringing Erica out of her school girl crush, and turned her golden prince’s smile into a scowl as he turned to face the leader of the Zombie Nation.

“Bravo… Bravo… a very impress display of power,” Revenant beamed. “And may I ask who might you be?”

He did not answer gripping his staff as he stood between him and Erica. To his right he could feel Wendigo also hovering about in a vibrating field of sonic energy itching to attack as well.

“Let me guess, the strong silent type,” Revenant scoffed, “you play it very well… but we all know this isn’t a comic book. The Draugr will be back any minute now, more enraged than ever. Carving a path of destruction right to you for embarrassing him, and while you managed to take all of us by surprise with that little light show of yours, I highly doubt despite that lucky shot that you are a match for me, Wendigo, or worse all three of us combined.”

In the middle of his speech, Rosann zoomed in standing next to a recovering Lady Tech.

Not far away Hard-On sped through the streets of Manhattan on the Ducati he borrowed, while Rogers sprinted at unimaginable speeds to get back himself.

“We’re here to break the first of many seals which will usher in a new world order, and we will not be stopped,” Revenant sighed, “…so please… just fucking die already…”

The Egyptian warrior’s staff came ablaze with raw unknown power, as he stood ready for Revenant, while Rosann braced herself behind Erica’s S.A.M. armor waiting for impact.

Rogers and Hard-On each arrived only a block away to see Revenant unleash his attack on their teammates. Hard-On yelled as he gunned it, while Rogers gritted his teeth picking up speed tearing up concrete under his boots.

A massive explosion forced Adrian to swerve to a halt, while Rogers continued to run through the smoke hitting Times Square. He came to a halt himself when he realized the true cause of the explosion.

The Egyptian never got the chance to test his might against Revenant.

A stunned Revenant hovered in midair, but not by his own power.

Gripping his neck was the mother of all EVOs, and she was none too happy.

“Dammit,” Sophia scowled, “and I just bought this jacket.”

CHAPTER 11

She stood hovering in the middle of a devastated Time Square. The energies channeled through her feet kicked up dirt and debris around her forcing those still alive within the vicinity both powered and non-powered to shield their faces to get a glimpse of her as she held the leader of the Zombie Nation by the throat. A purple aura of energy covering his body shielded his larynx from Sophia crushing it.

“My… you are extremely… powerful,” Revenant grinned.

“And the last person on the planet you want to piss off,” her voice boomed with authority, “power down... now, or I will turn you into a husk.”

“I don’t... believe so,” he wheezed. “You see, the energy I wield is not a part of your appetite.”

“And what might that be?” she increased her grip.

“I’m not a scientist,” he choked, “But I am... pretty sure... it’s in the realm... of... dark... matter. I have... a talent for absorbing regular matter... converting and manipulating it to wield as... I please... in either... an energy or solid state... like right... now.”

“How about we test that theory of yours?” she growled.

“As much as I would like to,” he managed to chuckle in between choking, “she might have a problem with that.”

Revenant pointed to Wendigo, who extended her hand unleashing a vicious sonic attack on Sophia with no regard for the fact that Revenant was still in her grip. Luckily for him he increased his shielding to weather the storm of his own subordinate’s sonic blast ripping him from Sophia’s grip. He crashed through an office window while Sophia was driven through the brick wall part of a building; one floor below him.

The sadistic sonic wielder turned to the Regulators and the Egyptian demigod powering up his staff to take her down.

Blood curdling screams froze everyone in their tracks including Wendigo as the bodies of almost thirty innocent bystanders were ripped from their hiding places and levitated almost one hundred stories up.

The unknown source of the terrifying phenomenon was the cloaked child known as Anchimayen. He walked near the edge of the police outpost roof he stood on with his right hand slightly elevated to show he held the multitude of floating hostages in his telekinetic grip.

“I could snap their necks… like pigeons,” he gestured. “Ever see a dead body flop around before it hits the pavement? It’s pretty funny. Would you like to see?”

Everyone stood rooted with mirrored sick expressions on their faces. It was both hard and revolting to see and believe that it was actually a child carrying out such a heinous act and talking in so despicable a manner.

“Now here’s what we’re going to do,” Anchimayen began to dictate his terms.

Exploding rock and rubble interrupted him as Sophia, coming from whence she was buried, attempted to rush him.

“Careful lady!” he screamed, backing up. “All I have to do is close my hand!”

The chorus of screams overhead stopped her in her tracks mid hover.

“As I was about to say,” he continued, “my associates and I, the ones you have not captured will be leaving right now. When we are at a safe enough distance that you cannot follow us, bodies will start dropping. Whether they’re alive or dead when you catch them, depends on if you stay put. So don’t try to follow us. You hear me, bitch?”

He turned his attention to Erica, who had a look of disbelief that he actually called her the b-word in public.

“Don’t try to send one of your stupid gadgets to follow us,” he warned, pointing at her. “I will know, and the blood of these people I now hold will be on your hands. Are we clear?”

“Crystal, you little inbred bastard,” she acknowledged.

“Revenant!” Anchimayen yelled out. “You dead?”

The leader of the Zombie Nation peered out of the office window he went through dusting himself off.

“Why, no, my dear boy,” he acknowledged, “and a spiffy little plan you conjured up on your own.”

He stepped out using the dark matter energies he controlled to hover. He turned to Sophia a couple of feet off from him.

“It was an utmost pleasure meeting you,” he smiled, “hopefully we will meet again under better circumstances.”

She threw him a murderous glare, while she wondered what he meant by his statement. Revenant and Wendigo took off first, followed by Anchimayen carrying a still unconscious Jiang Shi via telekinesis. Sophia and everyone else readied themselves to begin catching people.

“Where the hell is Blitz?” Adrian looked around.

In the mayhem everyone had forgotten about their electricity wielding teammate. A massive explosion caught everyone’s attention taking place on 42nd street between 9th and 10th avenue. A violent blue and white electrical discharge erupted in an attempt to keep something back.

“Sergeant,” Erica prepared her armor to take flight, “I think you and Hard-On should back Blitz up. The four of us should be able to do this.”

“Are you sure?” Rogers asked.

“I got a clear visual the second they start to fall,” she confirmed, “go.”

Rogers nodded hopping on the backseat of the Ducati. He held onto his left shoulder still toting his large rifle as Adrian gunned the bike heading to join the new battle between Blitz and the Draugr.

“Alright people,” Erica tensed up. “Get ready to go H.A.M.”

The moment appeared to stand still forever, until the screams erupted again, while Lady Tech’s sensors instantly detected the change in elevation.

“Go! Go!” she screamed.

Sophia was the first in the sky catching those who believed they would die that day. She did not have time to take them back to the ground, so she dropped them off on the top of buildings.

The Egyptian followed her lead doing the same. For those he could not reach, he pointed his staff at. It glowed and emitted a solid gold energy construct of a bowl that he used to catch people. It moved about expanding as it captured more and more free fallers.

No one had time to be amazed as a few got by the faster of the four. Erica safety snatched up three before they hit the pavement, while Rosann put the Ghoul’s abilities to good use. She darted about leaping into the air catching one. As the last two came down at the same time she pushed her legs to overdrive.

“Erica! Get ready to catch!” she screamed.

She leapt into the air grabbing a bawling woman by her leg before she hit head first, swinging her back up into the sky. She then twisted and dived snatching a twelve-year-old boy before he hit the pavement. She held him close as she crashed into the side of a parked car.

Erica was there to catch the woman. Her heart quickened as she landed setting the catatonic woman down rushing over to her teammate who struck the car brutally hard and seemed unresponsive.

“Rosann! Rosann!” she nervously yelled.

Rosann groaned cricking her neck as she came to. The first thing she checked on was the precious package she caught still clinging onto her for dear life.

“You okay there, honey?” she stroked the top of his brunette-haired head.

The rattled boy shook his head acknowledging he was okay. The additional silver lining was when the boy’s mother ran up hysterical with tears taking him from her.

“Thank you! Thank you!” she cried.

She held her child with all of her strength while he held his mother just as tight.

Rosann nodded slowly getting to her feet as the regenerative healing she stole from the Ghoul repaired whatever injuries she sustained.

“I don’t ever want to do that again,” she looked at Erica.

“Me neither,” she agreed. “And if it wasn’t for Dennison and the Gold Lan…”

Erica paused her statement, looking around.

“King Tut,” she searched the sky, “where’d he go? Maxine?”

“Unable to detect him, Miss,” she answered. “I detect no energy or departing flight pattern.”

“You mean he just vanished?” Rosann asked.

“It appears so,” Maxine confirmed.

A loud popping sound broke their attention on the mystery of the vanishing super powered Egyptian as they looked up again to see Sophia jetting toward 42nd street between 9th and 10th avenue. Their eyes widened remembering the rest of their team was in mortal combat with the Draugr over there. Rosann took flight again on foot, as Erica powered up her thrusters following her.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Sophia arrived in a matter of seconds to witness the beast of a man taking on the combined strength of Rogers, Hard-On, and Blitz barehanded.

His body smoked from the electrical attacks Oliver repeatedly rained down on him. Even with Rogers arriving on the scene hitting him with high-powered energy rounds from his rifle, the Draugr would not fall. Instead, he chose to rage and fight on as he attempted to swat a faster moving armored skin Adrian with a New York Taxi. Adrian ducked and dodged his first two swings, and then stood his ground throwing a powerful right destroying the back half of the vehicle. The monstrous Titan once again revealed his amazing speed smacking Adrian with what was left of the vehicle. He went flying like a long hard drive baseball crashing through the front entrance of a McDonalds where he took out the front counter and then the soda machine.

Seeing enough, Sophia let off a powerful eyebeam blast blowing the rest of the taxi out of the Draugr’s hand staggering him.

She then darted, slamming him into the side of a theatrical building leaving a large crater pattern where his back hit. Erica and Rosann arrived in time to see her pinning him by his throat against the side of the building. Despite her show of strength, the Draugr refused to surrender violently struggling to break free.

“Give up,” she warned. “It’s over!”

It would not be over, as the Viking Goliath with a burst of strength powered out knocking a surprised Sophia backwards.

He did not even hesitate as he hauled off cracking her with a vicious quick short left ringing her eardrum staggering her. He followed up with a thunderous right haymaker to the face. The force of the blow while she was airborne sent her careening through the main glass window of a Madame Tussauds Museum killing a Beyonce wax figure. Her back cratered against the wall shaking the building and sending a wax figure of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson falling flat on its face separating its head from its body.

She shook her head from the cobwebs as the ringing in her ear left as quickly as it came. She could hear the monster standing outside laughing at her.

She could not call it a sucker punch as she literally walked right into it. Despite his immense size, the Draugr was disturbingly fast and powerful as her jaw and skull radiated from the blows she took. She had to end this fight quickly. The only upside to it was for once she did not have to hold back, this was her opportunity to cut loose.

“Is this the whore everyone is afraid of?” howled the Draugr. “I’ll split her in half with my…”

He never finished his crude statement, because he never saw Sophia exploding from out of the museum delivering a flying right cross to his jaw almost taking his head off. Where he needed two punches to send her flying, Sophia only used one. The hit hurled the behemoth through the front entrance of a BBQ, and through a wall dividing the restaurant and a Broadway music stage. He totaled the stage on impact obliterating it as it finally halted his momentum. Scaffolding and light fixtures no longer secure rained down on top of him burying him.

Back on 42nd Street, Sophia stood waiting as the Regulator team watched from a distance. They began to move in to rally around her, but she held a hand out motioning for them to stay back.

“It’s not over yet,” she narrowed her eyes.

As she predicted from the thundering footsteps getting louder, an enraged Draugr with his pride wounded torn through the BBQ creating a much larger exit. In his eyes, were the intention to murder Sophia in front of a live audience with his bare hands.

Standing her ground as the immovable object, Sophia timed and tanked the unstoppable force with a devastating gut shot halting him in his tracks. Staggering backwards, he clutched his abdomen spitting up blood and bile. He roared in defiance frothing at the mouth. He forced himself to stand tall despite possible torn muscle and shattered ribs. She doubled him over again using her weak left hand for another body blow causing more internal injury.

As he hobbled around on butter legs unable to suck air into his lungs. Sophia got into a boxing stance stalking him.

She was quick and vicious hammering both sides of his skull with a furious left followed by a right. It was a set up for a ground shaking near head removing jumping uppercut seen in a popular video game minus the trademark yell.

The devastating punch launched the Draugr into the air pass many of Manhattan’s major skyscrapers. Sophia wasted no time going airborne after him. She purposely passed him on the way up to set up for the kill. As he came within range she unleashed a right cross that sent a shockwave shattering glass within her vicinity.

The Regulators watched as the one-man wrecking machine that gave them hell almost an hour ago flew lifeless across New York City via a single devastating blow.

His point of impact was somewhere in the middle of Central Park.

Not giving the Regulators a second look, she flew to where the Draugr crash-landed. Rogers broke into a run heading for Central Park on foot followed by Adrian in his metal form keeping up. Rosann still wielding the Ghouls’ abilities sped ahead of them, while Blitz took flight followed by Erica in battle riddled armor.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Eight minutes later Rogers and Adrian were the last to stand by their teammates at the edge of a massive trench within Central Park.

At the end of it, Sophia stood over a downed, defeated, and unconscious Draugr.

Rogers ran and slid down to where Sophia now stood over the fallen behemoth. Nonchalantly he strolled over standing next to her looking down at the monstrous beast of a man that nearly demolished all of Times Square if not for her. He appeared to be shaken from mortal coil if not for the shallow breathes and slight rising of his wall for a chest.

“Don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t…” Abe began his thank you speech.

Choking and gurgling replaced it, as Sophia grabbed him by his throat with slide of the hand speed lifting him into the air.

“What the?” Hard-On slapped his right metal bracer transforming again into his metal form, to square off against the strongest of all EVOs this time.

Rosann and a powered up Blitz prepared to attack as well. Rogers’ hand held high signaled for them to stay back, preventing another battle.

“You know, after you left my island,” Sophia bared her teeth at Rogers as her eyes glowed brighter, “I came to have a sliver of respect for you, Sergeant. Until I realized you were just another bureaucratic lying sack of shit.”

“Mind filling me in,” Rogers got in between gasps. “What the hell, are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Sergeant. You’re not smart enough to do that, especially with me.” She tightened her grip on his throat.

Rogers was witnessing firsthand a sliver of the power the Draugr felt, and it was staggering. The old iron forged Marine, however, showed no fear and refused to back down despite his predicament.

“No one’s playing dumb with you, you psycho,” Abe bared his own teeth fighting to breath. “And you can choke me till my head pops off. I still don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”

“You think because seven years have passed I won’t remember that?” Sophia pointed to Erica’s still functioning battle ravaged S.A.M armor. “And put two and two together that you’re working for them?”

Erica wore a look as if EVO Zero was not addressing her. She contemplated opening her mouth, or leaving Rogers to hang, not wishing to have Dennison’s incurred wrath directed toward her.

“Again you crazy bitch,” Rogers bit back. “I don’t have the slightest idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Liar!” she roared. “You can throw whatever fancy new name you have on it, you’re still D.E.A.D, scum! And I will bury you like I did them!”

“Sergeant Rogers is not a part of, nor does he have any prior knowledge of, the Disavowed Extermination Assault Division!” yelled Erica from her cockpit. “He also does not know anything about the Biological Assault Mechs you fought seven years ago. I do.”

Everyone, including a wide-eyed Rogers, turned to Erica, whose stomach was now in a knot as all eyes locked on her.

“We are not the D.E.A.D. I can and will tell you everything you want to know about them, Project Evolution, and Director Rosen to prove that,” she said.

Sophia lowered Rogers back down to the ground, releasing him. He breathed in much needed air before hacking a spit as he glared at her. Erica’s confession did not dissipate the newly-formed tension that an axe could cut.

“Excuse me!” Adrian yelled raising a hand. “Might I suggest we begin this much needed Q&A session later, and get that big ugly son of a bitch to lock-up before he finally wakes up and realizes he got knocked the F out by a chick?”

Adrian’s crude, yet logical, statement forged a temporary truce between Sophia and Rogers. A dire matter at hand had to attended to first, before questions could be answered.

CHAPTER 12

Four hours after the battle that turned Times Square and other parts of Manhattan into a warzone came to an end, the Regulators stood in the central command of the Ranch with their guest being debriefed by Lady Tech about the first three permanent residents of the Purgatory prison facility.

After the battle, the Draugr with the aid of Sophia was locked into gravity field restraints. For extra insurance Lady Tech attached every single ion body damper she had within the ship to keep him subdued during the flight home with the captured Ghoul and Nachzehrer.

Rogers sent her by herself to process them into their proper cells.

It was tactical as the team stayed behind along with Dennison to help search for the missing, assist the injured and dying, and collect the bodies of the dead.

Dennison and Rogers each hardened by past experiences were use to the sight.

The young Regulator team officially baptized in battle on that day were not. The aftermath horrors did not halt them from doing their duty, it just made it harder, especially when the age of the victims became younger and younger.

Sophia remained off to the side leaning up against a vacant wall with her arms folded under her chest, while the rest of the team still in their gear that reeked of combat and blood stood together as Lady Tech updated them on what information she could gather from the three new inmates now confined in individuals cells in the Purgatory complex in order to hunt down the four that escaped. She began with the Draugr, now pacing in his new highly reinforced cell.

“His name is Thomas Brennan, born March 19, 1973 in Providence, Massachusetts,” Erica checked her tablet. “No prior criminal record that we know of. Both parents currently deceased; he’s the eldest of two younger brothers. He’s had no place of residence or job since the age of twenty, which is the reason he’s been off the grid. The name Draugr comes from an old Norse mythology and stands for ‘one who walks after death,’ they’re said to be the walking dead possessing superhuman strength, capable of increasing their size at will, and carrying the unmistakable stench of decay. They exist to guard their treasure, wreak havoc on living beings, or torment those who had wronged them in life.”

“So he’s officially bat shit crazy,” Blitz blurted out.

“Clinically yes,” Erica answered. “He’s a text book sociopath in stereo, and one of the most powerful Titans I’ve ever seen. His skin and bones are denser than the hardest metals on the planet; carried by his muscle fibers that are just as dense and packed like steel coils, which also explains his freakish size of eight foot four inches. Add his extremely high regenerative capability all you need to do is paint him green. I had to get inventive with his cell, and in a hurry. It’s a twenty-by-twenty foot box with the walls twenty inches thick of pure dark metal coated with anti-friction film to prevent him from gripping and tearing at the walls. Micro cameras within the cell monitor his every move. I then dropped it into this tank of Zero-G gelatin. It’s similar to water only a bit thicker. If he attempts to charge the wall, the cell will just spin and float negating his momentum.”

“What if he has to take a dump?” asked Hard-On.

Rosann shot her brother a dirty look.

“What?” he snapped defensively. “It’s an honest question!”

“No worries,” said Erica. “The cell descends and docks with the port at the bottom when he has to use the facilities, and ascends docking with the port at the top when he has to shower. Air blowers and heat dry out the inside of the cell. They also detach automatically if he steps out of line. The cell also dry docks to the port to the right so he can get fresh clothes, food, and water via a small security lock box in the cell. The whole thing is powered by solar energy by day and our reactor by night. The cell also charges up every time it docks with one of the ports.”

“What about our other residents?” Roger’s asked.

“Our second fellow resident with the career killer tattoo on his face is Edmond Wallace a.k.a Ghoul,” Erica elucidated, “from Liverpool, England. Mr. Wallace is from Jamaican and Scottish descent and one of England’s most wanted with a rap sheet taller than me. Seven charges of sexual offenses, five charges of assault, four of the assault charges have a weapons offense tacked to them, and two charges for murder. Who wants to bet his activities tripled the second he gained his abilities.”

“And what about… uh,” Oliver fumbled with his words.

His reason for stumbling over his words was due to the imprisoned Nachzehrer sitting in the buff on the bed of her prison cell. She had torn apart the orange prison jumpsuit given to her to wear leaving it on the floor. Realizing that she had an audience she leaned back, and slowly began to spread her legs, putting on a show.

Oliver lowered his head pretending not to look, while Adrian tilted his, unsure how he should feel about the situation until his disgusted sister popped him in the arm. Lady Tech sighed shaking her head as she shut off the video feed to her cell before her show turned from R to X-Rated.

“Lurleen Magnilda Schlesinger a.k.a Nachzehrer the name for German vampire although it’s more associated to zombies,” Erica indicated.

“So what part of Germany is her nasty ass from?” Rosann sneered.

“Actually, she’s a United States Citizen.” Erica turned to her. “Born and raised in Chicago, and from a very prominent family of socialites. She’s the second youngest of four children. Her father is a well known exporter and importer of extremely rare diamonds and artwork.”

“So she’s a Kardashian on steroids,” Adrian confirmed.

“More like a Hilton,” she corrected, “but instead of sex tapes this one decided to join her local Nazi skinhead Chapter, she’s wanted in connection to multiple hate crimes in the US and Europe, assault and battery, possession of drugs with the intent to sell, and four DUIs. She’s got several bench warrants in four different states. Some of these charges were dropped due to her daddy’s connections.”

“Well he ain’t bailing her out of this,” Abe growled. “What about the other four that escaped?”

“Revenant, Wendigo, Jiang Shi, and Anchimayen.” She threw their images on the screen. “Fredrick Stockholm a.k.a Revenant surprisingly has no criminal record until today.”

“You’re joking, right?” Oliver asked in disbelief.

“I wish I was,” she answered him. “He’s also a United States citizen, but he lived majority of his time between England and South Africa. He graduated at the top of his class from the University of Cambridge majoring in Criminology and Biochemistry while minoring in art history.”

“So he’s a brain,” interjected Abe.

“A very big brain,” she nodded, “which is why he probably has not been caught until now.”

“What was that weird power he was wielding?” Adrian asked.

“Believe it or not,” she threw up video footage of him wielding the purple and black energy, “that really is dark matter energy he is producing. It appears he has the ability to absorb regular matter and convert it into dark matter. Readings show he can absorb the very air around him making his abilities infinite. His dark matter constructs are also attributed to him controlling the energy on a molecular level. Not only is he extremely dangerous, he’s rare. There is no other EVO currently on the planet that has his abilities.”

“What about Sinéad O’Connor dark?” Abe asked.

Erica pulled up a missing children’s profile flooring everyone within the room except for Rogers and a silent Sophia listening from the corner she stood in.

“Facial recognition matched her to Angela Waters,” Erica said, “reported missing in 2008 at the age of fourteen by her parents John and Alannah from Boston, Massachusetts. She was last seen waiting for them at the Boston Higashi School.”

“She’s autistic?” Rosann shook her head.

“Yes, she is.” Erica’s visage revealed it to be a touchy subject with her. “Her entire body is similar to a tuning fork or audio speaker allowing her to manipulate sound waves. I don’t believe she has the same ability as other energy manipulators to store it, which means if you destroy either the headset or her iPod Touch you can render her powerless. The problem is the sonic field she generates to protect herself is so powerful, even if I wanted to shut off her iPod remotely I can’t get a signal through to do it. Next we have Meiying Kwan, age twenty-five, from Hunan providence of China. She use to work at one of K-Marts’ many sweatshop factories.”

“What turned her into a fire breathing Kabuki Dragon Lady?” asked Oliver.

“Kabuki is Japanese not Chinese,” sternly corrected Sophia.

Her tone of irritation forced everyone to turn her way.

“Sorry,” swallowed an apologetic Oliver.

“Not sure,” sighed Erica continuing her report.” Her name Jiang Shi, stands for a “hopping” vampire or zombie from Chinese legends and folklore. It’s depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping, with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or “life force,” usually at night, while in the day resting in a coffin or hiding in dark places such as caves.”

“Well she’s got her folklores all mixed up,” Adrian scoffed.

“I believe their names were selected more so to fit the theme of their group,” Erica responded, “as for our mysterious little Jawa.”

Erica brought up a still of Anchimayen whose entire face and body was cloaked in a long brown monk like robe.

“I was unable to get any facial recognition concerning him,” she reported. “It could be because of the massive amount psionic energy emitting from him. What I can tell from mentally communicating with him, is that he is between five to six years old, which means he’s under the classification of a True EVO.”

“Which means he’s extremely powerful for his age,” Abe clarified.

“Extremely,” Erica nodded, “someone twisted this poor kid’s mind to the dark side. And I mean Pinhead dark. Inexperience is probably his only weakness. Maxine is currently searching missing and exploited children’s databases to find a match to his profile. As for the name Anchimayen, it’s the name of a mythical creature in Mapuche mythology. Anchimayens are described as little creatures that take the form of small children, and can transform into fireball flying spheres that emit bright light. They are the servants of a kalku, a type of Mapuche sorcerer, and are created using the corpses of children.”

“We have to find these four,” Rogers folded his arms, “by any means necessary.”

“Miss,” Maxine politely interrupted. “Secretary of Defense Robert Graves’ helicopter is hailing for permission to land.”

Both Rogers and Erica looked at one another with mirrored looks of disgust.

“Grant permission, and then head upstairs to escort them down,” commanded Erica.

“Yes Miss,” Maxine obeyed.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Eleven minutes later Graves stormed into the central command escorted by Maxine’s android form along with Mendes and Dr. Alexander in tow. He spied the room reading the expressions on everyone’s face. Erica and Abe’s faces both wanted to know what the hell he was doing there. The twins, along with Oliver’s faces, wanted to know why he walked in with an attitude. Sophia’s face dared him to say one word to her.

“What the hell is she doing here?” He pointed in Sophia’s direction.

“She’s a guest who saved our asses in Times Square.” Abe stepped forward. “Is there a problem?”

“She is an escape fugitive on government property.” He took a step forward correcting Rogers.

“Last I checked, the crime she was “accused of” happened in Texas and occurred when she was a human and alive.” Rogers took another step, staring down Graves. “Lady Tech, Ms. Dennison was reported dead at the time of her execution, correct?”

“That is correct,” she smirked.

“And how many times has Ms. Dennison been in the state of Texas since then?” he asked.

“Since I’ve been tracking her movement,” she pretended to guess. “Ninety-one times, eighty of those times she visited the Gatesville prison for women.”

“See,” Abe shrugged, “if the state of Texas ain’t looking to bring her in, then why should I break my neck doing it?”

Graves glanced over at Sophia narrowing her eyes at him. He turned his attention to Rogers brandishing a toothy grin.

“May I speak with you in private, Sergeant?” Graves whispered.

“As long as the kid can come,” Rogers motioned. “I need her to translate big words for me.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Two minutes later by the platform that housed the Tornado, Abe stood once again with Erica at his side staring down Secretary Graves flanked by Dr. Alexander and Mendes.

“You disappoint me, Sergeant.” Grave shook his head mirroring his words.

“How so?” Rogers folded his arms.

“I breathe life back into you by giving you this opportunity.” Graves glared at him. “You promised me you would have this team ready in six months…”

“First of all, it’s been only three months,” Rogers cut him off.

“Well, if your team wasn’t ready,” his voice elevated a bit to show his displeasure, “then why the hell were they in Times Square creating a PR nightmare?”

“Because the only three other individuals who had the balls to do what we did down there are dead,” Rogers fired back. “My team handled themselves exceptionally well considering that they only had three months training and were out gunned. And I am exceptionally grateful for Ms. Dennison and our mystery golden boy for showing up to give us some backup. So excuse me if I don’t give a shit about PR, especially when they’re still counting bodies.”

“Language,” Lady Tech interjected.

“Sorry,” Abe responded with eyes still locked on Graves.

“What is the status on the search for the four EVOs also responsible for the destruction in New York?” Graves temporarily changed the subject.

“Currently, they’re off the grid,” Lady Tech stepped in to answer. “I suspect using the same tactics they’ve used to remain hidden until now. However, I’m employing every form of tracking I can find or invent to hunt them down. We’ll find them eventually.”

“Since you both decided to throw yourselves prematurely into this game,” Graves glanced at them both, “I expect them to be found, captured, or otherwise.”

“Any other orders you’d like to give us?” Abe dryly asked.

“Only for you to kindly remember that all of this is not yours,” Graves displayed a false smile, “this belongs to the United States Government, and you are all its employees. And if I continue to see a lack of productivity or a growth of insubordination, I will shut you down, take all of your cute little toys, throw you out on your ear, and stretch the budget to pay someone a lot more to replace you. Do we have an understanding?”

Both Rogers and Champion wore mirrored looks of displeasure toward Grave’s polite and professional threat.

“Oh!” He snapped his fingers, “you do know divulging information of national security to a civilian is treasonous, and punishable by a very long federal prison sentence.”

Erica smacked her lips knowing the comment was aimed toward her.

“I really hate him,” Erica mentally whispered to Abe.

“Me too,” he thought back, “and stay out of my head.”

“No need to see us out,” he smirked, “we know the way. You need to get back to your ‘guest.’”

He turned, strolling off not even giving them a second look as he, Mendes, and Dr. Alexander followed him back to the lift. Rogers noticed Lady Tech narrowing her eyes further as she locked onto Graves.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t trust Graves,” she sneered.

“You didn’t go…” he began with a disapproving tone.

“Of course I did,” she snapped back, “but I didn’t pick anything up… his thoughts mirrored his words, which means he has a device on him that can block me.”

“How do you know?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Usually when we talk, we’re sometimes subconsciously thinking about something else,” she explained, “taking out the trash… the movie we saw the other night… all I picked up from what he was thinking is what he was actually saying. Also, even though they said nada, I couldn’t read Mendes or Dr. Alexander’s thoughts either.”

“All three?” Abe narrowed his eyes.

“Somehow they were shielding their thoughts from me.” Her nose twitched. “Which means there’s something they all know that they don’t want me to know.”

“Let’s keep that between ourselves for now,” he furrowed his brow, “till we know what’s up.”

“Mums the word,” she nodded.

“And Dr. Champion,” Rogers watched as the lift took the trio back up to the surface, “real solid work out there today.”

“I had a tough teacher,” she smirked. “That’s why I’m still alive.”

The two briefly glanced at each other before heading back to the central command to deal with more pressing matters.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Several thousand miles away, Graves sat in his government-issued private helicopter across from Mendes and Dr. Alexander.

“We’re clear now,” indicated Dr. Alexander.

“Finally I can take this damn thing off,” Graves sighed.

He pulled off a patch of “skin” from the side of his head; underneath it was a small silver disk that he laid down on the table in front of him.

“I do hope this device of yours did its job, Dr. Alexander.” He glanced at him.

“As I said it would,” indicated the doctor, “it only emits thoughts of what you are saying at the time, all of your other thoughts were cloaked from her via a psionic jamming frequency.”

“Can’t take the chance of that nosey little brat digging into any of our skulls,” Graves huffed. “They’re not the figure heads I want, but they will have to do for now.”

“Sir, is it really a good idea to start this over again?” asked Mendes. “Considering what happened last time, and if Ms. Dennison finds…”

“That overpowered wench will never find out,” interrupted Graves dismissively. “My predecessor failed by making it personal and forgetting about his first duty which was to his country. I won’t make that same mistake. There will be no paper trail to follow because as usual none will be created. The only good that came out of the disaster in 2008 is now we have ample raw material to work with to do it better.”

“But, sir,” Mendes hesitantly asked, “is this really necessary now that the Regulators are online, even if premature?”

Graves leaned forward to look Mendes in the eyes.

“Mendes remember this,” he said sternly, “this country has remained great by the “heroes” created in the light to keep the masses’ mind at ease… and the monsters created in the dark that do what needs to be done no matter how unsettling it is… that is why project D.E.A.D… must be rebooted.”

“Should I begin the profiling for a new team?” Mendes asked, finally falling in line.

Dr. Alexander adjusted his glasses while Graves let off a low chuckle.

“Candidates will not be necessary, Mendes,” Graves answered, leaning back in his seat. “As I said, no more mistakes… no more breaking in wild horses… this new team will be home grown.”

“Sir,” Mendes swallowed, “you’re not talking about cloning?”

Graves lazily turned to look out the window of his helicopter.

“Sir,” Mendes stammered, “you do realize both the legal and ethical implications of this, not to mention how this looks from a religious standpoint.”

“Mendes, do you remember why I hired you?” Graves continued to stare out of the window.

“You said you weren’t just looking for the best candidate capable of doing the job, but someone who shared your views for what was best for our country,” Mendes swallowed. “You said I met both qualifications.”

“Did I make a mistake?” he looked at his fingernail flicking dirt from underneath it.

“No sir,” Mendes shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Good,” he smiled, “because I like you Mendes, I really do. I would so hate for that to change. Dr. Alexander, enlighten me please, how long before we begin production?”

“With our new process and samples, we will be able to produce full grown subjects in a span of two and a half years,” confirmed Dr. Alexander. “Actual production can take place in the next six months.”

“Shoot for the six months, but if you need additional time do take it,” Graves advised, “zero mistakes can be made this time around. Zero.”

CHAPTER 13

Rosann, Adrian, and Oliver departed to get cleaned up and recover from the hellacious battle in Manhattan. Leaving Rogers and Lady Tech to deal with an extremely defensive, Dennison still standing in the corner waiting for answers. Rogers gave her a dull look before turning to Erica.

“So how do you want to play this?” he huffed.

“How about we just do this girl to girl?” Erica answered. “She’s not exactly your biggest fan right now, and it’ll take away a lot of this tension.”

“You sure you want to be left alone with her?” Rogers asked.

“Dude, I’m a child,” she returned, “and I’m cute. She’s not going to do anything to me.”

Rogers nodded to her logic. “You girls have fun.”

As he walked off to find food and clean up, Erica turned displaying a bright Lolita smile toward an annoyed Sophia. It did not chip her hardened visage.

“Okay,” she whistled with a gesture, “this way, please. It’s time to tell you everything that I know.”

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Fifteen minutes later, Sophia’s bad mood had softened a bit as she was now fixated on the technological advancements of the Regulators’ base. Her head could not stop moving as she looked around at the various types of Doozers moving about the place either doing repairs, maintenance, or builds. She picked up a mini quadruped one that waved at her before scurrying up her arm, and jumping off her shoulder back down to the floor to go about its business. The act cracked a smile on her face for a brief minute, until she came upon the S.A.M unit without its armored shell standing dormant in a form of docking station. It underwent repairs by mini Doozers similar to the one she picked up, scurrying up and down its frame. Clearly, it was not like the ones she fought seven years ago. Seeing it, however, brought back bad memories she had chosen to suppress leaving a very bad taste in her mouth.

“It’s called a S.A.M,” Erica broke the ice with an introduction, “which stands for Synthetic Assault Mech, similar to the first generation ones you fought in DC seven years ago. He’s a second generation that I built from scratch. Unlike the ones you fought, he has his own A.I. so he can operate on his own, lessening neural link injury when I hook up to him.”

“Neural link,” Sophia knitted her brows, “allows for it to mimic your movements by linking your neural synapse to its own.”

“The originals were called B.A.Ms.” Erica nodded while revealing the neural link on her neck. “Biological Assault Mechs, they were a fusion of cybernetic skeletal structure and shell, with a cloned organic muscular and nervous system. The idea behind the concept was to create machines similar to tanks that not only possessed raw strength, but speed and agility, while requiring very little maintenance or fuel.”

“So that red liquid I saw was blood?” she asked.

“A type of blood protein,” Erica explained. “A rich mixture of oxygen and adrenaline which saturates the muscle during high combat situations to give it additional strength and speed. S.A.M here is one hundred percent cybernetic down to the muscle, skeletal, pulmonary, and nervous system.”

“Let me guess,” Sophia formulated getting closer, “you were able to reverse engineer the human body to fabricate its structure. What material did you use to construct the skeletal muscles?”

“A special blend of carbon fiber that can mimic the expansion and retraction of an actual muscle with strength greater than Graphene; it took six fabricators and four days to create the whole system intricately. The rest was pretty easy, and overall less creepy, making him far stronger and superior to his predecessors,” she said. “Like his sisters he runs on Liquid Ion.”

“Liquid Ion?” Sophia raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Like liquid electricity? You actually turned fantasy into reality?”

“Shaves off the reaction time by picoseconds.” She looked up at her mech with pride. “Delivering a near infinite supply of power with three quarters the output of a nuclear power plant.”

A look of impressiveness appeared on Sophia’s face for a split second. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to Lady Tech looking for more answers. Erica knew what she was thinking just by the expression on her face.

“Let me guess,” Erica nervously smiled, “you thought you obliterated everything at Mount McLoughlin.”

“Didn’t I?” she asked with a head tilt.

“You were successful in wiping out the base and everything of value,” Erica answered. “Except for the upper half of a badly damaged B.A.M.”

“So there was no data or samples left.” Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.

“None that could be found,” Erica confirmed, “and from what I know every inch of that base was combed.”

“I’m a bit surprised Dr. Champion.” Sophia continued to look at the Doozers working on the S.A.M. “I would not expect someone of your vast intelligence to be trolling around as a superhero.”

Her remark made Erica blush as if her hand was caught in a cookie jar.

“I keep up to date with what’s happening in the medical community,” she continued. “Your breakthroughs in Stem Cell and Cybernetic Genetic Research should have you in grant money until your retirement age. It’s also a lot less dangerous.”

“We all know the military grants better access to toys for R&D, and less red tape. I could have Bill Gatesed it but, I don’t have the stomach for business, nor the desire to be a suit,” she smirked. “I just got tired of sitting behind a lab desk just working on experiments. It started to feel like my old life.”

“You sound like you’re forty years old,” Sophia looked her up and down.

“Actually as you already know.” Erica turned to her smiling. “I am autistic.”

“You have Asperger syndrome,” Sophia confirmed.

“I had a knack for numbers and puzzles but not very much else,” Erica sighed watching the Doozers work on her armor. “I can’t speak for others with my condition, but for me it was like that scene in Man of Steel when young Clark Kent was sitting in the classroom overwhelmed by his powers. Only my situation was a billion times stronger. That’s why a lot of us are viewed as idiot savants or the PC term autistic savants. We have the ability to receive data and information faster and better than anyone else, the problem is that our current processor cannot keep up with the continuous waves of information causing us to crash repeatedly to the point where we can barely function. The EVO virus gave me a better processor.”

“So the real reason you became a dog of the military,” Sophia deduced, “was to further your research with the virus to find a cure?”

“Dog of the military,” she beamed. “I love that, makes me feel so much like Full Metal.”

“Well you built your own Alphonse.” Sophia motioned to her massive armored suit.

The humorous anime references severely lightened whatever tension was floating about.

“Seriously,” Erica glanced up at her, “if being a dog of the military will allow me to give others like me the gift I received; then slap a collar on me.”

Sophia turned sitting on the guardrail separating them from the repair bay giving a listening ear.

“One day I was banging my head against walls and throwing things in temper tantrums because I had run out of puzzles to do,” Erica nonchalantly scoffed. “I remember my mom crying in a corner because she could not help me. Then one morning the noise just stopped, and the world became clear and bright. I got up out of my bed, walked into our kitchen, and started making breakfast for my parents and three other siblings. Everyone woke to the smell of food, walked into the kitchen, and just stared at me. All I said was, ‘good Morning’ and my mom fainted right in front of us.”

She leaned forward placing her forearms on the guardrail looking down as a little Doozer scurried pass her on to its next job.

“After going through a series of tests to clear me to attend regular school,” she smirked, “I went ballistic. I blew through school, high school, and college like a whirlwind. A part of me also had a chip on my shoulder as I did it. Eventually the world around me began to feel small and primitive. I started to view everyone around me as my former self before the virus… even my own family.

“What should have drawn us closer ended up making us distant.” Her smile dropped a bit. “It wasn’t their fault. My dad is first generation from Ecatepec de Morelos, México. He worked in construction for eight years while getting his degree in IT, he’s now a CEO of his own IT company, that’s where I got my love for tech. My mom was a junior analyst for a hedge fund. They met while my father was pitching a new protective firewall to her company. She climbed up the corporate ladder to be a senior executive and was one year from making partner before she decided to resign so she could spend more time taking care of me. But even though I never said it to their faces, I saw them as slow and stupid like everyone else. I think they saw it in my eyes when I looked at them too. It also didn’t help that I could read their minds and I started doing this.”

Erica extended her hand as another Doozer with a red and black color scheme ran by. It stopped in its tracks as it began to levitate off the ground. The curious little machine waited while looking around attempting to comprehend the phenomenon. As she lowered it back to the ground, it took a minute to recalibrate before heading about its business again.

“I’m not as powerful as say Mind Blast from the Defenders of Justice,” she smiled, “but it was enough to scare the hell out of my mom. She called my abuela and both my aunts, who came armed to the teeth with crosses, incense, candles, and a live chicken. When I turned thirteen, I asked to be emancipated from them, and they both agreed and granted it. Been on my own ever since which is for the best.”

“You don’t miss them?” Sophia asked.

“I check in on them from time to time.” Erica shrugged. “Usually just to know that they and the family are okay and healthy. It’s usually an uncomfortable five to ten minute conversation. This maybe the coldest thing I will ever say, but it’s a small sacrifice to pay to get rid of the hell I was in and feel normal. Everything else I’ve obtained is just a bonus. I wouldn’t wish that existence on my worst enemy.”

“I’m glad the virus was able to do that for you,” Sophia exhaled, “but if I knew my actions on that day was going to result in what is going on in the world today, I definitely would have taken a different route.”

“You don’t like what you’ve created?” Erica looked up at her. “Do you?”

“I didn’t create anything,” Sophia said flatly. “My actions spread a highly aggressive virus that selectively killed a large percentage of the Earth’s population while turning another sizable percentage into superhumans. That is all.”

“Excuse me if I don’t share your views, and not because I won the golden ticket.” She looked down at the floor. “Evolution can be messy, but it’s necessary. Especially in these times we’re living in.”

“So you believe in the ends justify the means,” Sophia half-heartedly smiled.

“I believe that we as a human race need to move forward,” shrugged Erica. “Thousands of years later, and how advanced are we? We’ve built airlines to crash into buildings murdering thousands of people for a belief system. We invented the Internet and created YouTube to broadcast beheadings and twerking videos. We use Facebook and Twitter to post pictures of us murdering our spouses and to cyberbully those that are different than us to the point of suicide.”

“You forgot about rotting our brains to reality television,” she added.

“We’re quicker to upgrade our iPhones than ourselves and our way of thinking,” Erica concluded. “In every experiment or invention ever created there is a certain form of risk. For us it’s the fact that there will always be evil people who will abuse their powers and abilities. But the trade-off is people like us. Around the globe, as we speak, there are people from all walks of life, race, creed, and color who do use their abilities to do good, inspiring others around them to be better human beings to themselves and each other. When do we stop fantasizing about what we read in a comic book, or watch on a silver screen, and aspire to truly race toward the sun?”

“Out of the mouths of babes.” Sophia smirked with a nod. “Cute reference at the end.”

“I try,” she smiled.

“I have to ask,” Sophia got serious again. “Is the price worth subjecting yourself, to what you saw and went through today?”

Erica smiled looking off into space.

“You saw things that no one should ever see.” Sophia moved closer with concern. “Especially at you age. I don’t see the scale balanced, especially when it comes at the expense of you enduring something like today.”

“I do,” Erica lowered her head keeping her smile, “and yes, when you leave later, and everyone around here turns in to get some sleep. I will sit under a hot scalding shower for about half an hour. I will then put on my PJs and go to my room, which is sound proof. I will lay in my bed and clutch my stuffed rabbit BoBo like my life depended on it, and bawl hysterically until I pass out. Sucks for me, but a small price to pay in order to fight for a better world, that I believe can be achieved.”

Feeling the motherly instinct building within her, Sophia moved in to place a hand on Erica’s back for some form of comfort. She extended her hand keeping Sophia at bay. It violently trembled as Lady Tech kept her bright masking smile.

It was a plea that she was not ready to break yet. Sophia respected her wish.

“How about we take this conversation to my lab Dr. Dennison?” Erica pushed off the guardrail stretching. “We can swap notes, and I can show you some of my R&D.”

“I would like that, Dr. Champion,” Sophia nodded.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

During the five minute walk to their lab the two discussed their findings in regard to the virus over the years. Many of their findings were similar, from the main blast point which was Sophia to whence it traveled outward going global. The strength of the virus became weaker the further it traveled from its point of origin. The closer to the blast point those infected either became stronger or died faster, while those further away had weaker abilities or lingered longer before death.

Sophia chose to withhold two key forms of information that happened that day. One of them was that she was not alone in the heart of the nuclear explosion.

Neither one had yet to diagnose how or why some humans died during the infection, while others gained powers and abilities, and the rest of the world remained pretty much dormant aside from cases of birth.

The two did share two sentiments that they derived during their studies. The virus possessed near sentient properties, and they did not believe it was created in a human lab.

Lady Tech had one theory about its selection process, which she projected via holographic imagery within her lab.

“So you’re saying it has a hive mentality?” Sophia broke down the data floating before her.

“Exactly,” she said. “All living organisms, no matter how big or small, have two prime directives. Survival and reproduction, we’re like towns or cities that these things chose to set up shop in, and as we all know in society, one needs a military for protection.”

“So regular humans are the worker bees, and we’re the drones,” Sophia concluded.

“Actually you’re the queen bee, and we’re the drones,” Erica corrected.

“Hate being the center of attention,” she sighed, “it still doesn’t explain why some humans obtain abilities, while others have died from this, and why it’s suddenly tapering out.”

“Can I ask how you got your abilities?” Erica asked nervously.

“I acquired the virus from my late husband,” she hesitantly answered. “It was sexually transmitted to me.”

Sophia’s face had liar written all over it. Erica knew it without even reading her mind, which she was incapable of. She decided for the sake of not bring back the tension to not press the issue.

“What can you tell me about Dr. Archifeld Zimmerman and his studies?” Sophia changed the subject.

“Ah, Dr. Zimmerman.” Erica nodded pulling up his file. “He became the fourth lead scientist on Project Evolution in 1971, originally from Germany; his specialty was genetics and cloning. He was at the top of his field in both. Off the record, he is responsible for the creation of the original B.A.Ms and the D.E.A.D project.”

“Him, Arthur Rosen, and my step father,” Sophia sneered.

“The other half of the coin,” Erica sighed, pulling up Rosen’s file. “Author Rosen was the third head director to take over the project and the man who selected Zimmerman. Originally he worked in the private sector of weapons manufacturing, jumping from one company to the next, climbing the ladder like bankers and brokers do on Wall Street. He was the Steve Jobs of innovating military combat today behind the scenes. Our government, presented the project to him, and he grabbed at it. He was also the first none military person to direct the project.”

“When did General Matheson become head of this project?” Sophia asked.

“Around the same time he came up with the concept for the D.E.A.D.” Erica bit her lip.

Sophia wore a face as if she was hit with a punch to the stomach. Very little surprised and shocked her these days, especially when it came to the General, but this bit of information caught her off guard.

“I thought you said Rosen and Zimmerman created the D.E.A.D?”

“They created the D.E.A.D based on the ideology birthed from your step-father. It’s what also earned him his four star General rank.” She exhaled pulling up the General’s file. “As you probably already know, the original concept was to take hardened criminals, namely sociopaths, conditioning and training them to create this country’s own death squad. To give birth to demons in human skin. Impressed with his “forward thinking” he was made head of the Evolution Project to take his concept to the next level. It was also an easy way to test and ensure that the EVO Virus could be made weapons applicable without the scandal of risking the lives of actual soldiers. If you ask me, honestly, your father-in-law was given the position to be more of the fall guy in case this went sideways, which it did.”

“Well I never planned on being the X-Factor,” Sophia snorted.

“Whether it was you or someone else, this wasn’t the type of project anyone with any two cents about their career and reputation would want to be attached to,” Erica returned. “The atrocities the D.E.A.D project are allegedly link to run neck and neck with the Tuskegee experiment. And once it was up and running, it left a trail of blood over several countries, mostly third world nations, to be the third largest act of evil this country has ever done next to the enslavement of African Americans and the Native American Holocaust. Guess why it will never come to full light?”

“Because no one really cares about criminals nor what happens in third world nations,” Sophia sighed.

Her face became a scowl as she glared at the monster she once was related to by marriage. Erica swallowed as a nervous chill ran down her spine. Her confirmation of the bad history between Sophia and the General was dead on accurate.

“How did this all start?” Sophia turned to her. “The virus, everything?”

“Honestly, and off the record,” Erica exhaled while leaning up against one of her stations, “till this day I do not know, and I’ve been searching for the answers. Whatever data was divulged to me on a clearly need to know basis starts after President Harry Truman authorized the secret creation of the Evolution Project.”

“The same time he authorized the Manhattan Project.” Sophia confirmed what Rosen told her seven years ago.

“Yep,” Erica nodded, “President Truman realized before he authorized the strike on Japan the dangerous legacy he had left the world in regard to nuclear weapons. The Evolution project was his atonement for that decision. He knew wars would always be fought; this was a way to develop weapons that delivered the effectiveness of nukes without the catastrophic collateral damage of August 6th and 9th. His final executive order was the continued secret funding of this operation to be hidden from even future presidents until the project was completed. That’s how much he believed this had to be done.”

“Where do you think this all leads?” Sophia bluntly asked.

“I think you know as well as I do,” Erica said. “For a country well known for accidentally divulging secrets, this was one of their best kept until you blew the lid off of it.”

“Not by choice,” Sophia returned.

“Again off the record.” Erica half smirked. “I’ve hacked every government database ignoring the possible threat of treason to find something that tells me the true origin of the virus only to come up with a dead end. Whatever this is, I think the reason they’re hiding it so deeply is because they’re afraid it will scare the crap out of the general public if it was ever to be revealed.”

Sophia nodded in agreement. Believing that Erica honestly divulged everything she could possibly tell her about Project Evolution, she began to walk around her lab marveling at the tech. Erica sat back watching her look to her heart’s content.

“What’s this?” she asked.

Sophia motioned to the large glass cylinder attached to what appeared to be metal caps connected to the floor and ceiling of her lab.

“That is my fabricator.” Lady Tech walked over to where she stood. “Basically I come up with a design, which can be displayed as a 3D holographic projection in the cylinder there. Size it, edit it, and change the style and color. Sign off on it and let the fabrication process do its thing bringing my design to life. I can make anything from machine parts, synthesized chemicals, and our uniforms. Anything.”

A bright smile popped on her face as she looked at Sophia’s ragged battle-worn outfit.

“Say, can I make you an outfit?” she blurted out with nervous excitement.

“Excuse me?” Sophia raised an eyebrow.

“An outfit, for like when you go out,” she beamed. “The material I use is like a billions times more durable than leather or Kevlar, and although the barefoot look is very cute and bohemian, it’s also very Omni-Man 2003. I can modify and style a version of Blitz’s absorption boots to withstand the output of your thrusts giving you coverage and better flight control. Please! Please!”

“Two conditions,” Sophia sighed. “No stupid symbols, and no capes.”

“Okay.” Lady Tech nodded. “What about…”

“No capes and no symbols. Period,” Sophia repeated.

“No problem.” She held up her hands. “Maxine, can we please get a body scan?”

On request, the pink-haired android strolled over.

“Please remain still,” instructed Maxine with a smile. “Commencing body scan.”

Green and red lights blazed from her eyes forming a grid over Sophia’s head. It slowly lowered flowing from the top of her head down to her feet.

“Official height is six feet one inch; official BWH measurements are 34D-20-38,” reported Maxine.

Sophia caught Erica’s nod of approval.

“What?” Sophia snapped.

“Nothing!” she smirked. “Just… very impressive. Standard suit, please Maxine.”

The cylinder came to life as beams from the top and bottom of the cylinder constructed a holographic faceless mannequin dummy with Sophia’s height and measurements adorned with a skintight blue bodysuit, and absorption boots with a red and silver color scheme. A closer look at the suit revealed a carbon fiber chainmail pattern to it.

“First of all,” Sophia said, “get rid of the blue. Let’s go with a black and red color scheme.”

“Got it.” Lady Tech nodded. “Maxine.”

“Darker red, like blood red,” she instructed. “And how about a silver pattern on the upper body?”

Erica’s grin grew deeper as a once apathetic Sophia got into the design process.

“Not a fan of restriction, think you can make it a two piece instead of a one?” she asked.

“Like a mid-riff top?” Erica asked.

On command, the mid-section was removed from the design making the outfit a top and pants set.

“Can we add a big hood to the top?” Sophia asked.

“Why a hood?” Lady Tech turned to her.

“I like the style.” Sophia narrowed her eyes while inspecting the design. “Not to mention, people forget things. We forget a man nearly beaten to death by people who are supposed to protect us; gunned down for just pulling out his wallet, or sodomized by a broomstick. A child murdered by a punk just for rocking a hood is not something that should be a passing phase.”

The fabricator added a hood to the design, while giving the boots a blood-red color to match the rest of the outfit. Sophia slowly nodded with approval.

“Maxine, begin fabrication please,” Erica instructed.

“Total fabrication time forty-five minutes,” Maxine calculated.

“Well, that should give you time to get cleaned up,” Erica sighed. “Maxine will escort you to our showers.”

“Should you really have me running around your base like this?” Sophia sneered.

“We have nothing to hide,” Erica shrugged, “and if we did, could we really stop you from prying?”

Sophia nodded in agreement and followed Maxine out of her lab to get cleaned up.

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Minutes later, she was showering in a foreign place for the third time in years. The open gym locker room shower concept felt less uncomfortable than Mountain View or Mount McLoughlin. She realized that it was because she was a prisoner in the last two places.

She washed off the funk of battle and destruction before toweling off. Maxine took her old outfit for incineration. She did not want to bring it back home with her. The less memories she had of what happened in Times Square was better for her.

It would be another ten minutes before her new outfit was finished; Maxine left her a sweatsuit to wear until then.

She walked out into the locker room area to change, only to see Rosann also in a towel sitting hunched over gripping the long steel bench she sat on. She trembled as silent tears ran down her face.

“You okay?” Sophia gently asked.

Rosann sat up wiping her eyes. Sophia casually strolled over not bothering to get dressed.

“Sorry,” sniffled Rosann. “Didn’t know anyone was here.”

“It’s okay.” Sophia sat down. “First time in a real combat situation?”

“I’ll get over it.”

“No, you won’t.” Sophia shook her head.

“Those animals downstairs should be in a shallow ditch,” she said plainly, “not in a cell.”

“Yes they should be,” Sophia nodded.

Rosann waited for the ‘but.’

“You were expecting some moral high ground speech from me?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not naïve.” Rosann looked down at her feet. “I know there are evil people out there who do cruel things.”

“It’s a whole different story when you see that actual evil face to face,” Sophia finished her next sentence.

“They just killed them,” her eyes misted, “without even a thought. Like their lives meant nothing.”

“Awhile back in the Sudan,” Sophia sighed, “there was a known warlord known as the Sand Lion. Like all warlords in that region, he raided villages, raped women and little girls, murdered the men, and recruited the children, mostly the boys as soldiers in his army. Usually he would force the children to shoot their parents as a display of allegiance to him. During one of his raids he tried to force a twelve-year-old boy by the name of Pubudu to shoot his mother. Pubudu’s mother, full of tears, told him to kill her so that he would live. Pubudu instead decided to throw down the AK-47 given to him and stand up to the Sand Lion in front of his entire village and regime.”

Rosann turned to Sophia listening attentively to the heroic tale.

“Now, normally the Sand Lion would answer such an act of brazen defiance by shooting or beheading with a machete,” a steeled Sophia continued, “instead he decided to get creative on that day and send a very lasting message. He took four of his American and Soviet Cold War jeeps, tied them to each of Pubude’s small limbs, and proceeded to draw and quarter him in front of his mother and everyone else still alive. He and his regime then raped and sodomized his mother into madness for almost six hours straight in front of his dismembered corpse.”

New tears fell from Rosann’s eyes as she cupped her mouth after hearing the horrid tale. Sophia’s visage did not even flinch after telling it.

“Those animals downstairs,” Sophia said, “are still a rarity in this world. Monsters like the Sand Lion have been walking this Earth for centuries. And the only time we give a damn is when it’s happening in our own backyard.”

“What happened to Pubudu’s mother?” Rosann’s voice quivered.

“I had to pry her son’s dismembered corpse from her arms and bury him,” Sophia answered. “Then I hunted down the Sand Lion, destroyed his entire regime, while liberating the child soldiers under his captive. I then broke both his arms and legs and shattered his ribcage, collapsing his lungs. I left him to die in agonizing pain either choking on his own blood or succumbing to pneumothorax. Six weeks later Pubudu’s mother succumbed to her madness and was found drowned in a nearby lake bed.”

“How do you keep doing this?” Rosann shook her head.

“If you’re looking for super hero advice,” Sophia sighed, “again, you’re talking to the wrong person.”

“You don’t like superheroes.”

“I think many of them are glorified fan boys and girls living out their wet dreams in real life.” Sophia cut her eyes. “The world doesn’t need people like us causing mass destruction while fighting for peace, justice, and the America way.”

“What does it need?” she asked.

Sophia focused charging her right hand until a blue glow of pure energy formed around it. She used it to stroke her braids drying out the excess water from them.

“You may not know this, but I have a younger brother,” Sophia smirked. “Growing up, he was known as the “little gentle giant.” He was tall and a bit heavy set. He loved dinosaurs, comic books, and things that had to do with science fiction like Star Wars and Star Trek, and he loved to read; even to this day. He was just an all around geek at a time when being one wasn’t cool.

“The thing that was adorable about him, made him the subject of ridicule in school,” Sophia sighed, “especially at the hands of this one kid named Mitch Jackson, who was half my brother’s size. Every day he would find a way to taunt my brother, who was not violent by nature, saying some very nasty and hurtful things to the point it would bring him to tears. My brother would go to the teacher and principal, who did very little to stop the obvious bullying. It would stop for a day two, but then Mitch would start again with a vengeance because my brother told on him.”

A hint of anger appeared on her face, which made Rosann a bit nervous, but quickly disappeared as she went on to tell her story.

“One day my brother came home and asked my mother what a faggot was. My mom was shocked that he knew such a word and explained to him what it meant, and then asked him where he heard this word. He then went on to tell her how Mitch would call him this name several times, especially during lunchtime, because he was always reading his novels. Now my mother, being a God fearing woman, always encouraged us not to fight, but on that day the nasty Jamaican side of her was awaken. And she instructed my gentle, yet very large, brother that the next time Mitch Jackson dared opened his mouth and call him that name again, he was to ball up his fist, and deck him right in the face. She told him that he might hit him back, but to make sure he got one good one in so that the next time he even thought about uttering that name; he’d think twice.”

The smirk on Sophia’s face told Rosann what happened next.

“Like a creature of habit, ole Mitch walked up to my brother after school in front of me and my little sister, and said, ‘What’s up faggot?’ To which my big, gentle little brother who had never thrown a punch before, balled up his near man size fist, and decked that little shit dropping him on his ass.” She began to laugh. “Both him and Mitch were taken to the principal’s office. My mother came to find me and my little sister crying because we thought Anthony was in big trouble. When we told her what happened, she did not even bat an eyelash. She walked right into the school, into Mr. Callahan’s office, looked at my younger brother who sat quietly waiting for her, and a sobbing Mitch who had a black eye the size of a baseball; the first words out of her mouth in front of Mr. Callahan to my brother was, ‘You got him good, right?’ A displeased Mr. Callahan, who threatened to have my brother either suspended or expelled, was met with the order from my mother to hand over all three of our transcripts, out right admitting that she commanded my brother to knocked Mitch Jackson out if he ever called him that name again, and then asking our principal how he could stand by an allow a child to use such disgusting language in a Catholic school, of all places and where did he learn it from. In the end, my brother was never suspended or expelled, Mitch Jackson never called him that name or any other name after that, they even became very good friends. The ‘gentle giant’ was left alone and respected from that day on.”

“Doesn’t sound any different from how I grew up.” Rosann shrugged. “What does it have to pertain to what happened today?”

“I think it’s fairly obvious,” Sophia said with blunt sternness, “in order to obtain absolute peace, to really stop evil from running rampant, people have to be broken and humbled. Today’s ‘superhero’ remind me of Mr. Callahan. They raise their voice, do a little scolding, maybe give you a couple hours of detention, but do nothing to effect permanent lasting change. History has dictated that the only time humans take each other seriously is through a show of decisive and brutal force. Sometimes we shall overcome is not enough, sometimes you got to clobber them with some ‘Fight the Power’ for them to understand not to screw with you.”

“So why haven’t you decided to make that permanent change?” Roxann asked. “You have the power.”

“I do have the power,” she smirked. “I just don’t want the headache that goes with it. People constantly trying to find a way to kill me, going after people I care about, I’d end up dead leveling the planet. Who wants that drama? I prefer the hidden silent truce I have with myself and current world leaders. They leave me alone, and I leave the world alone. I help who I want, when I want, my own way, and the rest of the world is left to its own devices to figure their crap out amongst themselves.”

“So what should I do?” Rosann’s eyes revealed she was begging for some guidance.

“What you feel is in your best interest,” Sophia shrugged. “And whatever consequences you feel you can handle. Walk away and never have to see anything like what you saw in Times Square ever again, and no one would blame you for that. Stay, knowing that you are forever locked in the ‘Neverending Battle’ and with the knowledge that there could quite possibly be more scenes like what happened in Times Square and maybe worse. The question that only you can answer at the end of the day, ‘Is what I am doing making a difference and is it worth it? Do the ends justify the means, and can I sleep at night knowing that.’”

“Does it for you?” she asked.

“Honestly,” she shrugged again, “I really don’t know. Like I said I’m no hero, so my actions are usually decisive and brutal, and I don’t need to sleep.”

Maxine’s android form strolled in interrupting their conversation.

“Ms. Dennison, your new suit is ready,” she reported. “I will take you to one of our vacant rooms to change.”

“Thank you,” she nodded.

Sophia sprung to her feet. Stretching, she adjusted her bath towel before it slipped, as Rosann looked down at the floor again processing what she had said to her.

“What I want you to take away from Pubudu’s story,” Sophia began to say without looking at her. “Is not the tragedy of his end, but his courage to take a stand at such a young age even in the face of such a horrible death. He could have shot his mother like other children did and lived, no one would have blamed him. He did not have any powers or abilities like we do, but he took a stand nonetheless. I honestly don’t think I would have had the guts to do what he did, especially at his age. How sad is it that people like Pubudu with no power have that type of courage, and people with real power don’t. We pick and choose fights to get into because it’s profitable or because someone attacked us in our backyard. We compromise with monsters because they’re the enemy of our enemy. I don’t know if anything I do these days makes any difference. What I do know, is I owe it to that kid to at least try.”

She walked away, following Maxine to get dressed. Rosann watched her leave, and then sat there contemplating the next steps of her own life.

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Within the men’s locker room her brother sat on a similar metal bench with the same transfixed stare she had before Sophia walked in on her.

Unknown even to himself, he had transformed into the metal composition of the bench. He sat crushing parts of it that he clutched in his grip. Oliver walked in on him dawning a face of concern.

“Adrian. Adrian are you okay?” He walked up to him. “Adrian!”

“Huh?” he woke up from his daze looking up.

“Dude, you okay? You’re transformed and destroying the bench.”

Realizing what he was doing he released the bench and reverted back to his regular form.

“You okay, man?” he pressed. “You want to talk?”

“I’m… uh… fine.” He shook his head. “Just need a shower.”

“You already took a shower. You came out before me.”

He sprung to his feet, adjusting his towel.

“I’m going to take another one.” He looked everywhere but Oliver’s eyes. “I’ll see you in a while.”

Oliver stood there respecting his friend’s wish not to pry any further knowing he was not all right. None of them would ever be all right after what they had witnessed.

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Back at Erica’s lab, Rogers walked in still in his battle worn bodysuit as she sat in her chair studying a holographic analyses of Sophia.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Rogers.

“A sub-atomic scan of Ms. Dennison,” Erica confirmed. “I got it while Maxine took the measurements for her uniform.”

“Isn’t that kind of underhanded?” he asked with a semi disapproving tone.

“Technically, I’ve been studying her from a far for a while,” she answered. “She leaves a bio signature every time she takes flight. This is just confirming my suspicions.”

“What’s that?” he asked inquisitively.

“Our girl runs on a form of bio nuclear energy,” she sighed. “Each one of her cells is outputting enough energy to light up New York City for a decade, maybe even more.”

“All that from one bomb?” Abe stood mystified.

“Nope,” she clarified, “the bomb was one of the catalysts transforming her into an energy feeder, the upper layer of her skin’s cell structure is similar to chloroplasts in plant life creating a form of photosynthesis, but at a much high rate, like a trillion times more. Physical contact with raw energy works just as well; she’s like an energy vampire. As I suspected, her immune system is monstrously second to none. Zero radiation emission, her blood is the closest thing to Red Mercury that I’ve ever seen.”

“Packs the same amount of power without the fallout,” simplified Rogers.

“The Padawan is learning,” smiled Lady Tech.

“So her main power source is solar, nuclear, and electrical,” concluded Abe.

“Correction, her source of energy is anything within the thermal, electrical, electromagnetic, and nuclear family,” Erica corrected. “And she’s been packing on the calories for a good five years. I calculate she’s generating ten times the output of a blue star.”

“Would it be stupid for me to ask how is that even possible?” Abe asked.

“In this day and age, yeah,” Erica chuckled. “But for the scientific answer, why does a lioness hunt and eat wildebeest, zebras, buffalo, and warthogs?”

“Because food is food in the animal kingdom,” Rogers answered.

“Give the man a gold star,” Erica nodded.

“What about our golden friend?” Rogers asked.

“The Egyptian.” She shook her head bringing up his image. “No damn clue.”

“He’s not a superhero?” Rogers furrowed his brows.

“I can’t pull a video, news, or even YouTube footage of him from anywhere. I don’t even think he’s an EVO.”

“Say what?” Abe moved in closer.

“From what I can determine,” she explained, “the energy I picked up was not coming from him but the staff and the armor he wore.”

“Maybe he’s a Promethean like you,” he deduced.

“I would believe that, if this didn’t happen.” She smirked with a bit of nervousness and fascination in her voice. “In the couple of minutes we had before all hell broke loose again, Maxine tried an intensified scan of his armor and got this.”

A holographic wave file played as the audio system within the lab emitted a disturbing voice that did not seem human, speaking a language Rogers had never heard before.

“What is that?” Rogers asked.

“Breaking it down, each word comes from languages that have not been spoken in centuries. I’m picking up Ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, and Q’eqchi’. Maxine was able to lock onto where the sound originated from, which was the staff.”

“The staff was talking?” Rogers tried to wrap his brain around what she was saying. “What did it say?”

“End communication, or suffer the consequences,” she translated. “Maxine decided best to heed its warning.”

“Who or what the hell are we dealing with?” he asked while staring at the visual of the Egyptian.

“The only thing that I can wrap my brain around that comes even close to this is an Ancient Mesopotamian religion, that’s also been the discussion and wet dream of every UFO chaser and sci-fi conspiracy theorist.”

With a wave of her hand she threw up various pictures and texts for Rogers to see.

“They’re called the Anunnaki,” she explained with a face of disbelief. “Some believe they are deities, others believe their an ancient race of aliens that came to Earth to study and intermingle with humans.”

“You’re joking right?” Rogers narrowed his eyes. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“Dude, I’ve got masters degrees out the wahzoo, and I deal in facts.” She turned to him. “The fact is the energies Mr. Dark and Golden was channeling and manipulating based on these readings are on a cosmic level. I’m talking 13.8 billion years old Big Bang theory level. We have ways to attempt to detect and study such energy, create theoretical models of it, but to harness and channel it, especially in such a small package? I can’t do that. I couldn’t even come up with a theory of how to do it either.”

They both wore looks of mirrored concern.

“Miss,” interrupted Maxine, “I am escorting Ms. Dennison back to your lab in her new suit. We will be there in two minutes.”

With another swipe, Erica quickly closed out her screens as Maxine escorted Sophia back into her lab. The newly created two-piece outfit appeared as if it was second skin. Rogers, who usually kept a titanium military demeanor, bowed his head looking the other way so as not to appear as if he was ogling her.

Sophia also looked the other way, blushing. Erica glanced at one and then the other. She cracked a smile at the uncomfortability taking over the room.

“I just remembered I have some work to do,” Rogers coughed, “we can continue our conversation later.”

He marched out of the room continuing not to make eye contact.

“Ms. Dennison,” he respectfully acknowledged with a head nod before exiting.

“Congratulations.” Lady Tech clapped with a smile. “That’s the first time I’ve seen the Sergeant uncomfortable about anything since I’ve gotten to know him.”

“Not as uncomfortable as I feel,” she stated while looking herself up and down again, while touching the fabric.

“You don’t like?” Erica’s face turned to disappointment.

“No I like it,” Sophia answered, “but it feels like I’m wearing nothing!”

“The plus side to being almost indestructible, is it is light weight with zero drag. You’re speed will increase without you even trying,” Erica returned with pride, “and here are some accessories.”

Erica pulled out a set of bracers comprised of metal and cloth material similar to the red color of Sophia’s new outfit.

“Wonder bands?” she sneered.

“Uh, no,” Erica said. “As you can see your outfit doesn’t have any room for pockets.”

She slid open one of the panels on the left bracer revealing a compartment.

“Left arm can hold cash, credit cards, etc, and the right… She slid back the panel on the right bracer. “…is basically a mini supercomputer with your own personal A.I. You can synchronize it to all of your devices. It has GPS, land, sea, aerial, orbital navigation, web browsing, you name it. Made of near indestructible materials, it is waterproof, can function in the lowest depths of the ocean, in extreme heats and subzero temperatures, basically can take a licking and keep on ticking… to a point.”

“To a point?” Sophia smirked.

“Yeah, it’s not going to survive planetary level rough housing or trips to the surface of the sun,” she shrugged.

She pulled out an ear piece within the brace positioned next to the mini computer.

“One push to activate and the earpiece expands and locks into your ear,” Erica instructed. “I put it through a wind tunnel test, and it’ll stay locked in up to speeds of Mach 30. It also operates in space, and underwater, however, you can only hear people. You’ll have to use the digital keyboard to text and send messages or emails in order to communicate in those environments. Enjoy.”

Sophia gratefully took them sliding one on at a time completing the look of her outfit.

“So what is this extremely expensive gift going to cost me?” she asked, looking them over.

“Eh, your money’s no good here,” Lady Tech dismissed. “But if you’ve got a couple more minutes to kill, I’d be happy if you tested out my new strength tester.”

“Strength tester?” she smiled.

“Yeah, I was going to have Rogers and Hard-On have a go at it tomorrow,” she shrugged again, “but since you’re here it would be nice if you would do the honors and break it in.”

“You’re also curious to get a baseline reading on me,” Sophia grinned, seeing through her innocent request.

“Well, we are women of science!”

“It’s okay. I’m a bit curious myself,” she nodded. “Just one thing. Someone has got to tell that boy that “Hard-On” is a horrible name.”

“Sounds like a name for a dirty looking crackhead porn star,” Lady Tech responded with a dull look on her face, “I mean like… Ron Jeremy dirty… in his elder years.”

“Young lady!” Sophia laughed.

“I’m just agreeing with you!” She smiled.

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Rosann walked the hallways in pink sweats and yellow flip flops heading back to her room. She turned the corner to see Oliver wearing a set of blue sweats with the Regulator symbol on the right breast coming from the opposite direction. She lowered her head pretending to be invisible. He turned looking at the wall to do the same as they passed each other.

“Hey.” Oliver turned finding the courage at the last second.

She froze in her tracks, took a big swallow, and then slowly turned to face him. He nervously strolled over to her taking a throat gulp himself.

“I… wanted to thank you,” he said, “for what you did in Times Square.”

“I… didn’t do anything.” She shook her head.

“Yeah, you did,” he nodded. “I was going to kill Jiang Shi, I really was, and I’m not just thanking you from stopping me from killing a lot of people. I know the Sergeant trained us to be soldiers, but I can’t lose sight of who I am, and why I got these powers… to be a hero.”

“Heroes don’t exist.” She rolled her eyes. “And people who pretend to be die, we saw that today. We lived because we’re soldiers.”

“We lived because of our training.” Oliver moved closer. “That shouldn’t define who we aspire to be. I joined this team because I wanted a better understanding of my abilities to help people. When I tried to hone my skills myself, I almost burnt down a neighborhood. Here I can learn control to both be and do better.”

“That’s all nice, Oliver.” Annoyance filled her voice. “But the truth is…”

“The truth is we all saw some really bad things today,” he cut her off. “Things that are going to haunt me for a long while. But I won’t let that shake my conviction, just like it didn’t shake Captain Omega’s, Seeker’s, or Lady Electrify’s. I’m not blind, I know that there may come a time where I may have to cross that line to protect people, I just hope that when that time comes. I used up every alternative option in my arsenal before that happens.”

She lowered her head. She didn’t agree with him, but she could not argue with him.

“Anyway,” he ran his hand through his white afro, “thank you.”

He turned heading in the direction of his room.

“Can you stay with me tonight,” she blurted out with eyes closed.

Her words froze him in his tracks. His face said he must be going deaf, and he was not sure if he should turn around to clarify what she said.

“I’m going to scream… in my sleep tonight,” she trembled. “I know it. I don’t want the embarrassment of people running into my room when I do. If someone is sleeping in my room tonight, I won’t scream. I’d ask Adrian… but I don’t want to worry him.”

“I’ll get one of the duffel bags and sleep on the floor.” He turned to her. “As long as I leave before five hundred hours, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Thank you,” she nodded.

“Rosann, Adrian, Oliver, and Sergeant Rogers!” Erica’s voice boomed over the audio system, “can you please join me in the observation deck of the Hurt Locker. Thank you.”

“Now what?” Rosann looked at Oliver.

“Better go find out,” he shrugged.

They both walked side by side in the same direction.

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In the observation deck of the Hurt Locker, Adrian was the last to appear as everyone else stood looking through the window.

“What’s up?” He walked up, peering through the window. “What’d I miss?”

He, along with everyone else, looked into a transformed Hurt Locker where most of the ceiling and floor was removed. In its place was a large circular platform connected and held up by a massive piston attached to a huge energy generator at the bottom of the opening within the floor.

Standing on the platform was Sophia in her new outfit. Suspended over her head was another large circular disk attached to a piston connected to another generator within the ceiling.

“No fair!” Adrian whined and pouted turning to Erica. “You said I could test it first!”

“Stop being a baby,” his sister cut her eyes at him, “you can play with it later.”

“Adrian I’ll make it up to you.” Erica gestured toward him before addressing everyone else. “But it’s not every chance you get to test the strength of EVO Zero.”

“So that’s the strength tester?” Roger’s confirmed.

“Oh yeah,” she gleefully nodded.

“How does it work?” Oliver asked.

“The strength tester works via a quantum gravitational field generator of my own design,” Erica explained. “The plate she is standing on continuously simulates baseline Earth gravity as if standing on normal solid ground, while the plate on the top when magnetically polarized simulates the weight of whatever structure I punch up.”

Bottom and top plates lowered and rose to meet each other. As they lock into position, Sophia placed her right hand up bracing the top plate.

“As you ready, Ms. Dennison?” Erica asked, projecting her voice through the Hurt Locker’s audio system.

With a nod Sophia stood ready.

“So the first test,” she punched up on her tablet, “the Empire State building.”

A holographic image of the iconic building projected on Lady Tech’s computer tablet. The plate that Sophia held up with one arm made a thunderous booming sound, while the hydraulic platform she stood on slightly lowered. She however did not budge an inch.

“She is now holding up 392,942.25 tons,” Erica smiled, “with one arm.”

“Ain’t that kind of easy?” Hard-On scoffed. “I could probably lift that in a transformed stated.”

“No you can’t.” Rosann rolled her eyes.

Hard-On sharp elbowed his sister in her arm; she retaliated with a smack to the back of his skull. Rogers ended it with a glare.

“Okay,” Erica bit her lower lip, “let’s make this a little harder. Let’s drop the total mass of Earth’s atmosphere on her.”

The plate made a loud earth shaking booming sound this time. With lightning quick speed Sophia had to adjust to holding the plate with two hands. Her arms buckled bringing the plate inches to the top of her head. She pushed back with an inhale and a slow exhale lifting the plate back up over her head. The hydraulic platform she stood on groaned as it lowered closer to the floor.

“She’s now holding 5.5 quadrillion tons, or roughly one millionth of Earth’s mass,” announced Lady Tech.

“You can do that in your transformed state?” Rosann smirked sarcastically.

Hard-On politely responded with an arm-folded middle finger.

“That’s a huge leap from a building.” Rogers turned to her. “How did you know she could take it?”

“Remember what we discussed earlier?” She glanced his way. “Trust me, she can take it.”

Rogers nodded, continuing to look on as everyone else wondered what they were talking about.

“Alright,” Lady Tech thumbed her nose. “Time to bring the rain. Maxine, let’s start with one hundred sextillion tons and increase it from there.”

“Polarizing platform with equal anti-gravity force to neutralize the effects of planetary weight,” Maxine informed everyone.

The platform she stood on elevated back out of the floor coming slightly back to the position it was before the first test.

“One hundred,” Maxine announced.

No sound could describe the sound that hit the plate, only that it made Sophia’s arms buckle while forcing a groan out of her.

“Two hundred,” informed Maxine.

Her legs almost went out underneath her as she fell to a crotched position. They shook violently as she struggled to hold up the weight.

“Three hundred,” informed Maxine.

She groaned again as the plate once again lowered near the top of her head, while her shivering left knee slowly neared the platform.

“I think she’s reached her limit,” observed Rogers.

“Tests ends when one of her knees hits the platform,” Lady Tech said to Rogers. “What do you say Ms. Dennison? Want to stop?”

“Keep… it… coming,” growled Sophia.

Her body violently shook as she was hit with another hundred sextillion tons making the total four hundred that she held over her head. Her left knee was now an inch or so from the platform.

“She’ll be done after this next one hundred,” Lady Tech announced. “It’s still pretty impressive considering…”

“Subject’s bioenergy levels increasing,” Maxine informed. “By one percent… two percent.”

Sophia’s eyes blazed as she gritted her teeth emitting a groan. First, she began by straightening out her torso. She then got both of her legs underneath her in a squatting position. With another deep inhale and slow exhale she began pushing back again forcing the plate up as she got to a standing position. With another inhale and exhale, she pushed the plate back up over her head locking out.

“Current bioenergy levels are at one hundred and five percent,” Maxine informed the team of onlookers.

Everyone wore a thunderstruck look on his or her face except for Rogers.

“Five hundred,” announced Maxine.

Another near white noise like boom came. Sophia was once again unmoved as yellow lights flashed inside the strength-testing chamber.

“What the hell is happening.” Hard-On’s voice nervously stuttered.

“Systems reaching their limits,” sighed Lady Tech.

“Shall we initiate shutdown?” Maxine asked.

“Let’s take it to the fail safe,” Erica smirked. “What’s her output reading?”

“Current levels still at one hundred and five percent,” informed Maxine. “Administering another hundred sextillion tons.”

Another white noise booming sound hit the plate, this time the lights in the chamber turned orange. Sophia’s hands began to imprint into the near impenetrable plate, while her feet sunk imprinting into the platform beneath her. She remained the immovable object.

“Current levels still at one hundred and five percent,” informed Maxine. “Administering another hundred sextillion tons.”

Another white noise booming sound hit the plate. Sophia’s eyes blazed brighter as she remained immovable. Lights within the chamber became a fire red as a siren went off.

“Systems have reached their limits at seven hundred sextillion tons. Administering failsafe shut down,” informed Maxine. “Final bioenergy level readings are at one hundred and six percent.”

As the fields shut down, the platform lowered locking back into its piston base, while the plate above her head retracted back to the top of the cylinder chamber.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” exhaled Erica, “we’ve officially recorded our first planet mover.”

“Planet mover?” Hard-On looked at Lady Tech as if she was crazy. “You’re joking, right?”

“Nope.” She projected the reading on her tablet into a holographic image for all to see.

“Ms. Dennison’s baseline strength while functioning at one hundred percent is about one hundred sextillion tons give or take,” explained Lady Tech. “She however has reserve energy that her body stores. She can tap into the reserves for additional strength involuntarily if her body is being over exerted the additional output that Maxine was detecting. A five percent increase from her reserves allowed her to lift five hundred sextillion tons. Her output increased one percent for every additional two hundred sextillion tons added before the strength tester gave out. The Earth’s mass is calculated at about 6.580 sextillion tons. If her reserves are equal to her base energy levels, I’d say she’d only need to exert a combined total of one hundred and sixty-eight percent of bio energy powered force to move the planet; if it was possible to move it without it breaking apart in the process.”

All eyes were on Sophia, as she stood tall; her eyes slowly reverted to their normal glowing hue indicating that her power levels were back to their regular state.

“Planet mover people,” Erica cackled to herself. “Planet mover.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Ten minutes later, Abe and Erica escorted Sophia topside.

“Sergeant Rogers,” she extended a hand apologetically, “Sorry for trying to choke you in New York.”

“Not the first time a woman’s attempted to strangle me,” he smirked, shaking her hand. “Thanks again for your help.”

“You have a good team,” she nodded, “you don’t need my help to make them better.”

Rogers gave a respectful salute before walking back to the hanger giving Erica and Sophia some space.

“Doctor,” she smiled.

“Doctor.” Erica gave a head bow.

“My parents to this day are unable to comprehend anything about my profession,” Sophia sighed, “in fact, they stopped helping me with my homework the minute I hit the fifth grade. But they had wisdom that I could not find in books, and as powerful as I am... I can’t hug myself when I am at my lowest.”

“I guess it’s not too late to go home.” Erica looked down kicking her boot into the tarmac.

“If they love you like I think I do,” she leaned forward, “it’s never too late, but till then if BoBo is not enough. You know where find me.”

She tapped her new right bracer. Erica giggled while pulling strands of wind blown blue hair out of her face.

Sophia took a couple of steps backwards and exploded with a powerful two hundred foot leap into the air. With a thought she channeled the energy residing with her forcing it down through the soles of her feet for propulsion. Her new boots absorbed the energy regulating and focusing the power like thrusters from a jet giving her more controlled precision. Even though she mastered barefooted flight, it was nice to have boots on, she was tired of repainting chipped toenails every week as she soared through the stratosphere for home.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Within twenty minutes, Sophia returned to her island touching down on the tarmac of her airport. The first to greet her was Earl with a look of concern.

“Girl are you okay?” he asked with worried look. “What went down in New York is all over every news station worldwide!”

“I’m fine,” she sighed, “three out of the seven bad guys are locked in a deep dark cell where they belong.”

“How bad is it?” he nervously pressed.

“It’s not good.” She solemnly lowered her head. “I think we should have a town hall meeting so that we can address everyone’s concerns about what happened, especially those originally from the area, who might still have family there.”

“I’ll relay it to the council members,” he nodded. “Here’s your phone.”

He pulled out her gold iPhone 5 handing it to her. Concern appeared on her face as she saw a series of voicemails and text messages from the same person.

“You stormed out of here so fast you forgot it at the construction site,” he shrugged. “It’s been ringing off the hook an hour after you left. The name Michelle kept popping up.”

She quickly punched in her passcode turning her back to Earl listening to the first voicemail message. An expression crept onto her face that had not made its presence in years. Fear.

“I have to go.” She quickly handed her phone back to him.

“What? Wait… what’s going on?” he stuttered. “Where are you…”

“I have to go, Earl!” she yelled taking a few steps. “Tell everyone I will be back soon!”

She launched herself into the air almost knocking him on his rear from the aftershock. Flying faster than she’d ever flown heading back to the states.

CHAPTER 14

Washington DC, Sophia made the flight in less than ten minutes tearing through the sound barrier at incomprehensible speed. Her heart pounded out of her chest as she slowly descended and landed in front of the small Victorian style home.

It was evening with most residents inside. Those that did see her land glanced her way and then kept on about their business in a world now use to people flying. Nonetheless, she pulled up the hood to her new outfit covering her identity.

She had never visited at this time. It was against the rules—against her rules. Her feet felt like lead every step she took. Her insides became red hot the closer she got, and she had not even reached the steps yet.

She forced herself to trot up the steps to the door. If she lingered any longer she knew she would have just taken off and never turned back.

Her stomach groaned and churned as she stood staring at the doorbell she did not want to press.

Commanding her hand to raise and point her finger, she laid into the buzzer then stopped. A cold shiver ran down her body as she lowered her head.

In less than a minute, someone came to the door opening it. Sophia raised her head to look into her eyes. Michelle Armitage stood at the door barefooted in a simple red and white plaid dress with her long brunette hair tied back into a ponytail. Her left arm was in a sling with a small cast wrapped around the forearm.

“What the hell happened to you?” a wide-eyed Sophia blurted out.

“Hairline fracture,” Michelle waved off, “nothing to worry about. Get in here.”

She grabbed Sophia’s hand leading her into the house, shutting the door behind her. Sophia’s heart quickened again as she looked around the house she had been in over a dozen times, just not during the evening. The cream walls looked darker with the lights on. She felt as if she was having an anxiety attack until Michelle came into view once again.

“I saw you all over the news.” Michelle began. “Is everything…”

“Don’t want to talk about New York, Michelle,” Sophia nervously cut her off.

“Okay, um, we have a small problem.”

“Michelle,” Sophia frantically held up her hands, “freaking out here. To the point. Please.”

“She got hurt,” Michelle swallowed, “and then she changed.”

“What do you mean she got ‘hurt?’” Sophia asked with nervous irritation.

“She was rollerblading with some of the neighborhood children at the park,” Michelle explained. “Apparently she was showing off and doing moves that she saw on television. One of the stunts happened to be a jump from some stairs, sliding down a guardrail, and jumping off, landing again.”

There was an eerie silence as Sophia stood there stuck fighting to process what she just heard.

“Say what?!” Sophia’s voice boomed.

“She misjudged the last jump and went crashing onto the pavement. She got scrapped up really badly and broke her arm. One of her friends came and got me; I put her in my car and hightailed it to the hospital. Halfway there she started to scream and cry saying that her body was on fire, and then she collapsed and passed out in the back seat. So, I pulled over and when I looked in the back seat… she started to grow.”

“Define ‘started to grow.’” Sophia’s tone now had nervousness to it.

“She’s taller than me,” Michelle swallowed again, “maybe four inches shorter than you. She’s now a ten year old… in the body of a sixteen-year- old… at least.”

Sophia swayed and stumbled as if she was about to faint from the news. Michelle instinctively attempted to catch her. She held a hand up signaling that she was all right as she stabilized herself.

“Her RDH forced puberty on her,” Sophia blurted out.

“Her what?” a bewildered Michelle asked.

“RDH, regenerative defensive healing,” Sophia anxiously explained. “The same ability that changed me, her cells can both heal her and then build defenses against certain injuries. Especially those that entail a foreign body piercing her skin. Stone or sand must have got into her wound and blood stream. Her cells then analyzed and determined whatever got in as the cause of her injury. A threat. The first line of defense is to increase the density of her skin to be stronger than whatever pierced it in the first place. So her cells accelerated her growth process to make her bones and muscle stronger in order to carry her now denser skin. This entails the increasing of IGF-1, testosterone, and progesterone while significantly lowering her myostatin levels to achieve maximum strength levels.”

Michelle slowly nodded. Being a high school teacher and a mother she knew a bit about biology but was still amazed by the breakdown of the phenomenon.

“Goddammit Michelle!” Sophia flipped out. “Why would you let her do something so reckless!”

“Hey! I didn’t let her do anything!” Michelle defensively shot back. “You’re the one who bought her the skates for Christmas last year, remember? She’s also a ten-year-old child that I cannot watch or hover over all the time! Children play, and sometimes they do stupid things and get hurt!”

She coiled back and nodded in agreement.

“We have a bigger problem.” Michelle instantly forgot about their small disagreement. “The bone did not set right. First of all she tore through her clothes, so I had to run back to the house and redress her. The poor thing was in so much pain she accidently smacked me off my feet, and that’s how I got this.”

Michelle motioned to her sling.

“I drove her back to the hospital…” Michelle continued her story.

“And no one can pierce her skin or rebreak the arm to set her bone.”

Whatever fear or anxiety she had vanished in an instant as she made her way up the steps with Michelle following her. The sound of soft weeping guided her to the right room. Placing her hand on the doorknob of the shut door there was a split second of hesitation.

Only a split second as she flew it open and walked in. Within the mostly white and pink bedroom designed for a ten-year-old girl sat at first glance a teenager in a baggy dark blue F.B.I sweat suit clinging tightly to a hug pink “My Little Pony” teddy bear clutching her trembling left arm. Her wild curly hair was similar to hers when she was her age. She also had her dark golden skin color, but her brown eyes that ran with tears belonged to someone she loved a long time ago.

She was not alone in the room. Standing on the bed attempting to console her with its screeches was a black and white male spider monkey. It turned curiously looking at Sophia standing at the door.

Sensing someone was now in the room with her, she looked up. At the sight of one another they both wore a look as if they had seen a ghost. The dead awkward silence had the potential to go on for days as they gazed upon one another.

“What is she doing here?” the child stammered while getting up. “What is she doing here?”

Her words broke the silence and made Sophia retreat back a bit. Michelle seeing this going downhill took charge stepping in.

“Kimberly, calm down,” she gestured. “This is your…”

“I know who she is! What is she doing here?”

Unable to control her new superhuman strength, the child backed up into the wall caving a part of it in.

“Kimberly, calm down!” Michelle yelled.

Sophia came to her senses after the sting of the rejection. She walked into the room grabbing the frightened child before she ended up in the bathroom.

“Let me go! Let go of me!” she screamed, struggling to get free.

“Look at me, look at me!” Sophia sternly raised her voice.

They were not the first words she wanted to say to her, but they were enough to quiet and calm her down. She trembled in her grip like a bunny.

“Your forearm bone has not healed correctly,” she said softly. “If I do not reset it properly, the pain your are feeling will not go away.”

Kimberly reluctantly nodded in compliance. Sophia grabbed the left sleeve to the sweatshirt tearing it up to the elbow. As clear as day there was a slight jabbed bulge underneath her skin.

“The ulna did not set right,” she sighed. “I’m going to have to rebreak it.”

“Rebreak it?” Kimberly screamed, struggling to pull away again.

“Look at me! Look at me.” Sophia’s stern voice came back again. “This is the only way. I won’t lie to you, it’s going to hurt a lot, but once I reposition the bone the pain will disappear in a matter of seconds. I promise. Okay?”

Tears poured from her eyes as she nodded again.

“Hold onto my arm, and squeeze as hard as you want,” Sophia instructed. “We will go on three, okay?”

The child timidly grabbed her arm and braced herself with a fretful look on her face.

“One,” Sophia began.

The next thing to follow was a snap. The pain did not register at first but when it did the child squealed and screamed fighting to break free. Although her face did not show it, she was amazed how powerful the child’s strength was as she dug her fingers from her right hand into her left bicep. She stamped down hard on the floor putting her heel through it. Sophia’s powerful grip was the only thing keeping her from tearing the room apart.

“You said on three!” the child cried out. “You said on three!”

“I know,” Sophia tried to console her. “I know, we’re almost done.”

It was a clean break, Sophia knew whatever small bone fragments would be absorbed by her cells. Quickly repositioning the bone, she waited as her regenerative healing activated. The cells bonded once again with one another mending the two halves to form one solid bone. As promised, the child calmed down again as the excruciating pain she felt quickly disappeared.

As the awkward silence returned to the room, the child slowly pulled her hand away from her. Sophia lowered her head and backed up giving her space. With a timid nod she about-faced, walking out of the room leaving just Michelle and the child.

She headed back down stairs in a glass eyed daze and found herself walking into the living room standing there with her arms folded over her chest and her chin tucked in. If she could she would have dropped to the floor, curled up into a fetal position, and remained there. She found herself wandering over to the fireplace mantle where she gazed upon pictures. They were of Mark, Michelle, Annie, their late daughter Penny, and Kimberly.

Slowly she walked by Christmas, Thanksgiving, wedding, and Halloween pictures. She stayed longer looking at those that had the child upstairs within them. She stopped, standing in front of a particular one that had a retired Mark Armitage with a big smile on his face holding a five-year-old Kimberly at a baby animal ranch as she cuddled a white baby bunny rabbit. Her glassy eyes ran as she smiled while running her hand against the image of Mark making her mind wander.

A man of his word, Mark not only made good on making her daughter disappear to protect her after the events at Mount McLoughlin seven years ago. He also found a way to adopt her raising her as his own. He believed with all his heart that Sophia would somehow cheat death again and come looking for her little girl. She ended up proving him right.

Reconciling with his wife, they remarried, both taking care of Kimberly while their daughter Annie treated her like a little sister. Mark retired from the F.B.I, no longer respecting the agency and what it stood for. He also departed due to health reasons, being one of the very first people to contract the Judgment Virus.

Although Sophia returned, she realized she wanted her daughter to have a normal life, and she would never have that if she was with her. After secretly discussing it with Mark and Michelle, they reluctantly agreed it was best that she remained dead to Kimberly.

Behind the scenes Sophia made sure her daughter wanted for nothing. She quickly acquired her now vast wealth through treasure hunts, mining for precious stones and minerals such as gold and diamonds in areas of the planet that had not been touched and reached only by her. Michelle or Mark would call her, or she would visit during school hours to check up on her. Every night she hovered from afar watching her window until her bedroom light went out.

She also took care of Mark and Michelle’s finances by paying off their house and taking care of his medical bills. She appointed herself as his secondary doctor working feverishly to find a cure and to prolong his life. Her treatments along with Mark’s iron will gave him five more years. Her mind went back to his final days. She visited every day. One gray Monday, she stayed for almost the whole day talking, laughing, and holding his hand. His condition severely deteriorated. He refused her treatment a month prior telling her it was just delaying the inevitable. That he was both tired and ready. A teary-eyed Mark smiled and thanked her for giving him the best five years of his life. Four days later he passed away peacefully in his sleep.

As her mind came back to the present time, so did her hatred for a deity whose existence she constantly wrestled with. If He did exist, she hated Him for taking away her friends and people she loved. She hated Him for leaving her alone in the world with a hole in her heart she could not close.

If He did not exist, it meant the law of action and reaction dictated her sad fate.

Michelle nonchalantly walked down the steps with a sigh. Sophia quickly swatted away her tears readying herself to leave.

“Well she’s finally calm,” she huffed, “her poor room is wrecked…”

“I can come fix it tomorrow,” Sophia gestured.

“It’s a wall and floor,” she waved her off, “a fun DIY project for me.”

“Okay,” Sophia quickly nodded, “I should be…”

“You’re not leaving here without your daughter,” Michelle sternly cut her off.

“I… I don’t understand.” She tried to find her words.

“The jig is up.” Michelle walked into the living room. “The rules have changed. It is time.”

“She still has school,” Sophia stammered, “and…”

“School ends in a month, and we both know she’s a straight A+ student on the Principle’s List.” She stopped her. “Right now, she doesn’t need school… she needs you.”

“Right now’s not a good time.” She tried to be dismissive.

“Sophia…” Michelle’s tone became stern.

“I have a lot of things to do,” Sophia said with her own sternness. “I don’t have the time…”

“Make the damn time, she needs her mother.”

“I am her mother!” Sophia lashed out. “Every sacrifice I’ve made was for her! I’ve made sure she’s never wanted for anything since coming back! I even bought this damn…”

Sophia quickly halted, cupping her mouth. She shamefully shook her head regretting what she was about to say and who she was about to say it to. Michelle, with a calm smile, walked up to her taking her hands from her mouth with her good hand gently holding them.

“I… I didn’t mean.” Her eyes glowed as they became glassy again.

“Shhhh, I know the talk of fear when I hear it,” Michelle calmed her. “There’s no need to apologize.”

“I’m not ready.” She lowered her head. “Michelle… I’m not ready…”

Michelle lifted the chin of the most powerful woman on the planet, looking her in her tear drenched eyes.

“You’re ready,” she smiled, “you’ve always been ready. Every day when you’re about to leave here after your visits, I can see it in your eyes how badly you wanted to take her. How much it killed you every time you had to fly away without her. I love her the same as I love Annie and Penny, but if you were to ask me to give her to you on any of those days. I would have packed her up in a heartbeat and with a smile… because she belongs to you.”

Her words brought her to sobbing fits. Michelle consoled her as if she was a child wiping her eyes.

“You have suffered enough,” Michelle affirmed. “You have sacrificed enough. Your baby needs you, and you need her.”

“I’m scared,” she whimpered, “I’m so scared…”

“You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t scared,” she smiled, “and you’re not alone. You are never alone.”

“Shouldn’t we wait,” Sophia meekly asked, “like… give her tonight, and I can pick her up tomorrow?”

“You want her to possibly run after I tell her.” Michelle gave her a dull look. “And then have to go through the pain of hunting her down?”

“I’ll call Benji,” Sophia nodded in defeat.

“I’ll go back upstairs and break the news,” she sighed, “get ready to chase her if she bolts.”

Michelle smiled, rubbing her arm, and then turned taking in another deep breath of air.

Readying herself for more fireworks, she marched herself out of the living room and back upstairs.

A timid Sophia slowly walked out of the living room as well, and sat down at the steps to listen. She listened as the child screamed not wanting to go, refusing to go while Michelle told her to calm down with motherly sternness. She threatened to runaway, as predicted, but Michelle warned her that her mother downstairs was stronger and faster than her with the ability to fly so there was nowhere to run. Bawling and pleas followed with incoherent words.

“Please, Michelle! Please!” she bitterly wept. “Please don’t make me go with her! I’ll be good! I promise! I’m sorry I hurt you! I didn’t mean to! It was an accident! I won’t do it again! I swear! Please don’t send me away! Please! Please!”

“Honey, it’s not about that,” Michelle said softly. “You got to calm down and listen.”

It was the crying that got to her. She was the reason for her tears. Sophia slowly covered her ears tucking her head between her legs on the steps fighting to drown it out. She wanted to run. She wanted to run someplace deep and dark so that she could die.

CHAPTER 15

Eight hours and thirty minutes later Sophia came into view of her island. Her usual flight time was between fifteen to twenty minutes. She kept cruising speed with the private jet carrying her precious cargo.

She flew ahead touching down on the landing strip where a waiting Earl trotted onto the tarmac to greet her. His smile had a nervous twitch to it reacting to Sophia’s visage of borderline fear. An expression he had never seen on her before.

“Welcome home… again.” He looked up the approaching plane. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing home new arrivals.”

“One new arrival,” answered a hesitant Sophia, “my… daughter.”

Earl wore a stunned, yet calm, mask as the plane came down for its final descent making a perfect landing.

As the plane rolled to a halt parking in front of them, Earl appeared to be more anxious than Sophia, wondering if the child exiting the plane would be normal or a super powered miniature being similar to her mother.

“How old is she?” Earl innocently asked.

“Ten,” Sophia said bluntly.

The door to the Embraer Legacy 500 opened as Benjamin the pilot came to the entrance with his carryon luggage in one hand and a red suitcase in his other hand. He waited as a tall young woman in her teens with Sophia’s complexion wearing long curly wild black hair timidly stepped into the entranceway gripping a pink My Little Pony teddy bear. A spider monkey sat perched on her shoulder looking out at what would be his new surroundings. The gray jumpsuit she wore belonging to Annie was one size too small, while the green flip-flops belonged to Michelle.

“That’s a very big ten year old,” Earl muttered, running his hand across his skull.

He quickly noticed that Sophia remained rooted in place. Her eyes fixated on the young woman who buried her face in her plush toy with fretting eyes.

He took the initiative trotting over to grab the rolling steps docking it with the entrance of the plane. He stepped down hard on the braking mechanism locking it into place.

“Hello young lady,” greeted a chirpy Earl, “welcome to Sanctuary! Come on, don’t be shy.”

Benjamin gingerly gestured to Kimberly to go first. The child timorously advanced forward grabbed the railing as she slowly walked down the steps. Her eyes glanced between the steps and her waiting mother, who fought to hide her trembling.

“Hello there!” Earl beamed. “Can I ask your name?”

She did not answer as her doe eyes locked with her mother’s eyes. It was the longest two minutes as the two just stared at one another. Earl looked at Sophia giving her a subtle gesture snapping her out of her trance.

She straightened up walking bristly toward the trio, which made Kimberly look down at the tarmac as if she had done something wrong.

“Thank you Benji.” Sophia forced a smile. “I really appreciate you doing this at short notice.”

“Not a problem Soph,” smiled Benjamin. “This is the one place I enjoy flying to.”

The awkwardness came back again for another minute. Earl never saw Sophia this rattled and lost. He made a fake cough to break the silence again.

“So Benji, you up for some barbeque pork chops?” Earl innocently asked.

“As long as it comes with a couple round of checkers,” said Benjamin, taking the subtle hint.”

“Yes… I need to…” paused a nervous Sophia, “get her home.”

Benjamin nodded, handing her daughter’s suitcase to her.

“Well, we’ll leave you ladies to get settled in,” Earl nodded. “It’s nice to meet you…”

“Kimberly,” Sophia tensely answered for her daughter, “her name is… Kimberly.”

“Very nice to meet you, Kimberly.” Earl smiled waving to her.

Sir George waved goodbye for her as she continued to look down at the ground.

“Nice flying with you, Kimberly,” waved Benjamin.

He nodded to Sophia before walking off to follow Earl for some rest and relaxation. She knew their topic of conversation once Benjamin got settled in would be about them.

Sophia huffed. The two of them were finally alone, and she could feel the eyes once again on her.

“Uh,” Sophia motioned while stumbling with her words, “so my house… is this way.”

Butterflies abused her stomach as she slowly turned to walk. The sound of flapping flip-flops meant she did not have to turn around, but she could still feel those eyes locked on her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

A couple of minutes later, she slowly walked with a stranger who she had given birth to following behind her tightly clutching her stuffed animal. Sir George, the spider monkey, sat on her shoulders absorbing his new surroundings.

The evening moonlight shined high above as they walked through a village. Some people were outside sitting or standing on the porches of their huts, others walked by heading home. Everyone acknowledged Sophia. She could also feel them staring silently at the person following her.

Those who looked as if they wanted to start a conversation, she quickly waved to or said she would talk to them later, sometimes in their own language.

She exhaled, glancing up at her house, which she had been away from for almost twenty-four hours.

The honey-varnished cherry oak two-floor hut-styled house was the first constructed home on the island. Built by herself with her own two hands, it fit the climate while providing all of the amenities of the modern world down to satellite television. Unlike the other residential huts, she added a one-car garage and a paved driveway.

“You have a car?” the child behind her asked innocently.

In her daze she forgot the garage door was up.

Sitting halfway out of it was a fully restored 1969 ZL1 Camaro with a metallic sea blue paint finish.

It stopped Sophia in her tracks. She slowly turned to the classic relic sitting in her driveway.

“Yes, I do,” she calmly responded.

“Why?” the child asked.

A justified question considering Sophia employed flight to move about.

“It belonged to your father,” she blurted out.

The silence was long and awkward. Sophia did not know why she quickly divulged that bit of information or if she should say something else. She did know that she was fearful to turn around and look into the face that had her late husband’s eyes. The hairs stood higher on the back on her neck feeling her daughter’s eyes on her. This was not how she imagined motherhood to be. It was clear that they were both afraid of each other.

She took a breath and continued to walk, the sound of flip-flops following her meant she did not have to stop again. She walked up the steps to the porch and turned the unlocked door walking in first. Quickly flicking on the lights she held the door open while fighting to keep from trembling, as Kimberly slowly walked through the doorway looking around.

The outside was exceptionally deceiving as she scanned around at the modern open floor plan. To her left she spied a large sunken living room with a full-size light tan sofa couch. In front of the couch, Sophia built a stone fireplace. Hanging over the fireplace was a sixty-four inch plasma screen television. Also within the living room was a Mason & Hamlin upright piano acting as a separator between it and the dining room.

The dining room was simple with a large black table with seating for eight. Next to it was an open kitchen with a granite island, a chef style oven, and large stainless steel refrigerator freezer matching the other appliances around it. The cabinets which adorned the kitchen was a rich-cherry Oakwood with silver flower styled knobs.

Steps lead up to the second floor with an open view of what appeared to be four other rooms. To her right where double frosted bay doors and what appeared to be an office.

“Uh… welcome to… my… home,” Sophia stammered as she began her introduction. “As you can see, living room, dining room, kitchen, small half bathroom, and my office.”

Kimberly, along with Sir George, gave the place another look around. The monkey appeared to be more excited to be there than she was.

“Uh… upstairs are the bedrooms and bathrooms,” she continued. “Three bedrooms, and two full baths… one is an on-suite in my room, but the other bathroom is just as nice, and yours. Would you like to see your room?”

“Yes, please…” the child meekly said, still looking around.

Sophia took another swallow of air into her lungs nodding before leading her daughter up the stairs to the second floor. They passed one room and a bathroom stopping at the second room. She fought to control her hand from shaking as she opened the door flicking on the light.

Kimberly slowly walked into the room as if she was heading to the gallows. Once inside, her face changed to one of bewilderment.

From the bed, to the desk to the walk in closet and dresser, everything was styled and updated for a young girl. Even the Mac computer sitting on the tan wood desk had a pink custom back attached to it. It was as if the room had been readied for years waiting for her to arrive.

Sir George leaped off her shoulder running up to the desk where he climbed up making himself at home. Kimberly walked over and sat down on the bed. It felt comfortable but was meant size wise for the body of a normal ten-year-old.

“I will have a new bed in here tomorrow morning,” Sophia promised.” If you want I can switch out the bed in the other room…”

“No… this is fine,” Kimberly answered with her face still buried in her pony.

“I will also get you some clothes that will fit you tomorrow,” she added. “I have some bed clothes you can wear tonight that should fit you.”

“Can I just sleep in this, please?” she asked, referring to the sweatsuit she had on.

“Sure,” she nodded. “It’s not a problem. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”

“I’m tired,” the child responded. “I’d like to lay down, please.”

“Sure.” She lowered her head. “It was a long flight. I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

Kimberly said nothing more as she rolled onto the bed turning her back to her. She grasped her teddy bear tightly while wrapping her legs around it. Sir George leapt from the desk to the bed stroking her hair for comfort.

Sophia backed out of the room leaving the light on. She closed the door leaving it slightly cracked so she would not feel as if she was imprisoned. It began anyway, though faint she could hear slight sniffling and whimpering coming from her.

Instead of going to her room she walked down the stairs. Her body shook violently with each step as her heart and stomach became tightly wrenched with knots. It was too overwhelming. She walked out the front door to her porch as her tears started to fall, hurrying down the steps, she ran around the side of the hut where one could see her clutching her mouth. Collapsing in the sand, she wetted bitterly, praying no one heard her.

A flood of emotions and memories bombarded her weakened state. Joy, sorrow, fear, and anxiety assaulted her at once. In her mind she begged for them to stop, but they continued to have their way with her.

“I’m not ready for this… I’m not ready,” she sobbed. “What do I do? What do I do?”

She knelt in the sand, leaned against her home clutching her chest to keep her heart from popping out of it, while muffling her cries as she endured the ordeal throughout the rest of the ending night into the early morning.

CHAPTER 16

The next morning, Kimberly woke to the scent of freshly cooked food. She sat up in a bed that was not hers, looking around a room that was not hers still clutching her teddy bear. The digital clock on the desk read 11 a.m. On the dresser she spied a stack of neatly folded clothing. Her ears picked up the traitorous Sir George downstairs chirping away, no doubt being fed by the woman who brought her to the strange island last night.

Finally releasing her grip from the pink pony, she set it down on the bed and slowly rose to her feet. Taking a deep breath she crept over to the full body mirror to look at herself for the very first time since yesterday. What she thought was a bad dream, was a living nightmare for about a split second.

The initial shock of going from four-foot-five inches to five-foot-eleven inches startled her at first, until she began to examine the benefits of being a full grown teenager.

As she twisted and turned checking out her new physique, a devious little smile grew on her face.

She quickly looked around to make sure she was alone before peeking down the inside of her sweatshirt.

“Ginger Fletcher is going to be so jealous,” she whispered under her grin.

She looked around again, pulling up the bottom of the sweater shirt to reveal her abdomen, and shuddered almost falling backwards.

She was a very active child. However, she had never done a sit up or crunch religiously in her entire ten years unless in physical education. She ran her hand across her well-defined and shredded abs. It did not end there as she felt up her newly toned arms and powerful legs.

“I’m Peter Parker,” she swallowed addressing her reflection in the mirror.

She remembered the smell of food coming from downstairs. Sooner or later she would be coming upstairs to get her. Although she would prefer to spend the next few days locked inside her new foreign bedroom examining herself and away from the person downstairs, she knew that was not going to happen.

She glanced at the clothes on the dresser and decided to change.

Her outfit consisted of a sports bra, underwear, a loose white t-shirt, and a pair of jeans shorts that covered most of her thigh. All an all, a very simple and comfortable outfit for the tropical weather.

She scowled at her reflection in the mirror.

“Total dorksville,” she snorted.

Closing the door to get some privacy, she looked around the room, pulling open the drawers to the desk, finding school pens, crayons, and notebooks. Eventually she found what she was looking for, a pair of scissors.

Taking the shorts off, she went to work cutting them a little shorter to the point of borderline Daisy Dukes. Putting them back on, she then tied the shirt she wore into a belly shirt. With one quick look in the mirror she ran her fingers through her curly hair, and then attempted strutting out of the room.

Her grand defiant entrance was railroaded when she grasped the brass door knob, crushing it in her bare hand.

“Oh!” she yelled. “Oh no!”

Like clockwork she could hear her footsteps rushing upstairs.

“Is everything okay?” Sophia nervously yelled from the other side of the door.

“I’m fine,” she stuttered.

Her mind raced trying to figure out how she would explain the door.

It was too late as the woman on the other side attempted to turn it.

“What’s wrong with the door?” she asked.

“Nothing!” Kimberly yelled back.

“Then why won’t it open?” Sophia’s voice grew higher with concern. “Did you lock it?”

“No! I… I think I broke it…” she finally admitted.

Without a word Sophia pulled the entire doorknob and locking mechanism from the door allowing it to open. She walked in first noticing the doorknob that had been crushed to paste.

Next she noticed the changes her daughter made to the outfit she laid out for her.

Kimberly lowered her head, waiting for the stern lecture from her absentee parent on how inappropriate she looked.

“You’re wearing it wrong,” was all that came from Sophia’s lips.

As she raised her head to be sure that she heard correctly, her mother walked pass her placing the broken doorknob on the table. The next thing she felt was the knot she tied in the back positioning the shirt right under her newly develop chest like a bikini top loosen and brought down. Sophia then pulled the shirt up tying it in the back right over her belly button.

“Nothing wrong with wearing a little belly shirt,” she nervously smiled, “especially in this weather, but I think this is the look you were going for… cute.”

In was simple reverse psychology, especially in this extremely fragile glass-shattering stage of their relationship.

“Thanks,” Kimberly dismissively said.

“Don’t worry about the door,” she reassured. “I’ll have it replaced by today. Now when you’re ready I have breakfast downstairs.”

She lightly patted her on the shoulder and quickly walked out of the room heading back downstairs. Kimberly narrowed her eyes at her as mixed emotions swelled up within her. She went to undo the knot she made, until she took another look in the mirror and decided to leave it.

She slipped on Michelle’s flip-flops heading for the door. She stopped turning around for one last thing. Walking back to the dresser, she picked up the mangled door knob placing it between her hands.

She pressed her hands together. The metal of the abused knob crunched and groaned as she flattened it to a near pancake. She looked at one hand and then the other. Not even a scratch or blister appeared on them.

A bright smile appeared on her face again as she examined the doorknob now rendered useless.

“Forget Peter Parker,” she beamed. “I’m Clark Kent.”

She placed the knob, now transformed into a disk, back on the table heading out the door. She wanted to stomp down the steps just to annoy her, but feared being childish would bring the entire structure down. The bone she had to pick with her birth mother did not have to entail demolishing her temporary residence.

As she slowly walked down minding her steps, she looked over the inside of the home under the shine of natural sunlight.

It was warm and cozy, the near perfect merger of a regular home and a tropical bungalow. The smell of good food directed her attention to the dining room. The table was filled with everything from pancakes and toast to scrambled and fried eggs. She narrowed her eyes in disappointment at Sir George, already seated on the table, munched away on a banana.

A nonchalant glance into the kitchen turned into a two minute long stare on the steps as she watched her moving about preparing the last bit of breakfast.

Kimberly realized one of the reasons she disliked her so much. It was hard to hate her when she looked so beautiful. Memories from birth to their second meeting at the mountain flashed before her, and she had not changed since then.

The advantage of possessing a superhuman memory was that she had an eternal reminder of who she came from. The double-ended sword was that she also had a memory of who did not want her.

Sophia looked up long enough from placing her homemade biscuits on a plate to see her just staring at her.

“Is everything okay?” she nervously asked.

Her voice pulled Kimberly out of her trance. Her indifferent face was back on again as she continued down the stairs.

“I’m fine,” she dismissively said.

She could feel her eyes watching her as she descended the rest of the stairs. It did not stop until she walked over and took her seat at one of the main chairs at the table. Kimberly snuck a dirty look at Sir George who continued to chomp away on his banana.

“Sellout,” she muttered under her breath.

The enemy came over and noticed how large the table and distance was between the two of them from where the food was positioned. She made adjustments moving the food closer to her before taking a seat at one of the side chairs.

It was then that she noticed that all of the plates and cups on the table were made of metal. Very thick metal from what she could determine, made to withstand whatever punishment she might accidently administer to them. She was not sure whether to be appreciative or insulted.

“I didn’t know what you wanted so I made a variety of things. I hope you like it.”

“Thanks.” She looked down at her plate.

“Please, dig in,” she motioned.

She took her fork, stabbing at a couple of pancakes, placing them on her plate, and then some sausages. She took her spoon, scooping out some scrambled eggs plopping it into her plate. The food smelled good, but she had no appetite. Her thoughts and focus was on the woman sitting across from her attempting to act as if this was a regular thing for them.

“So you own this island?” Kimberly blurted out while slouching in her seat.

“Uh, yes, I do,” she answered slowly, pouring tea into each of their cups.

“So, you’re rich?” Kimberly fired off another question.

“I’m well off,” Sophia politely responded with a smile minus eye contact.

“Did you buy this?” She folded her arms. “The island?”

Sweat now ran down Sophia’s back as she almost doused her cup of tea with too much sweet milk.

This blatant interrogation out of nowhere though not as verbally abusive as when she was arrested for Robert’s murder still rattled her. She took in a shallow breath, deciding to do exactly what she did during that time. Speak the truth and nothing but the truth, no matter how crazy.

“I… didn’t buy this island,” she said slowly swallowing. “I… made it.”

“You made this island?” the ten-year-old asked, narrowing her eyes.

Sophia nervously nodded while sipping her tea, hoping it would settle the violent churning in her stomach.

“How?” Kimberly leaned in asking.

She placed her arms and elbows in the table, hoping she would say something.

Her one word question unsettled her stomach again. No one ever asked her in detail how she made the island. Everyone just accepted the fact that she created it.

“I… uh… dove into the ocean,” she fought to form her words, “then I burrowed into the ground…”

“You burrowed through the Earth’s mantle,” Kimberly finished her sentence.

“Uh… yeah,” Sophia took another sip of tea, “I then did some things… to force a large amount of lava along with an underwater volcano to the surface. It eventually hardened and created this.”

The answer pushed the child back into her seat as she stared at her birth mother. Sophia’s eyes focused on the table as her mind wondered back to the four straight days she spent under the upper mantle of the Pacific Ocean. With singed hair and a heavy duty wetsuit slowly being scorched from her body, she carefully blasted rock and moved tectonic plates, forcing enough magma to the surface of the ocean to cause an underwater volcano to erupt in order to create her own personal paradise. The hardest part was lifting a volcano while making sure it did not crumble from the force she was exerting to push it to the surface.

By right, she could have commandeered any of the many uninhabited islands within that area regardless of who had territorial rule over them. She wanted something of her own, that she built with her own two hands; something that she did not have to fight for, or dispute her claim over.

“Did you get in trouble for it?” she sneered.

The question jarred her back from her thoughts and memories.

“Not really.” Sophia looked around scratching the side of her neck.

“So, why’d you do it?” Kimberly asked while sucking her teeth. “Create an island?”

“I guess was bored,” she blurted with a smile.

Once again Sophia sat there with her foot in her mouth, wishing she could rewind and take back what she had just said. It was Robert’s PTSD all over again. She was capable of dealing with people’s problems who were neither close or family to her, but when it came to her own family she was a bumbling buffoon. She second-guessed if using textbook psychological tactics to communicate with her offspring, who clearly did not care for her, was the best way to go.

She put her cup down, sitting up with her head shamefully lowered.

“What I just said, did not come out right,” she apologized.

What she said came across as if she was occupying her time with other things instead of her own flesh and blood. The scowl Kimberly tried to hide as she sat up, signified that was how it was interpreted and received.

“So… what am I suppose to call you?” Kimberly rolled her eyes.

She decided to change the conversation before she slipped and said something she might regret.

Sophia kept her eyes down at the table. In her mind she did not earn the right to be called mom or mother.

“You can call me… Sophia,” she shrugged, “if you like.”

“Fine…” she acknowledged.

She took her knife cutting and slapping a piece of butter on her pancakes. She then grabbed the maple syrup dousing them with it. She picked at the food a bit before taking a bite. She was not sure if it was hunger, or the fact that the food tasted really good, but she dug in.

Unbeknownst to her, Sophia raised her head watching a simple act that made her heart swell and her eyes glass over. Kimberly caught it in mid munch of a sausage link and gave her a disturbed perplexed look.

“You alright?” she sneered with food in her mouth.

“Uh… yes… I am.” Sophia quickly swatted her eyes.

She collected herself as Kimberly wondered if she was trapped with someone with mental or emotional disorders.

“Um…” Sophia got up, “I… have some quick rounds to make around the island. You might want to get your room situated. You can do anything you want to it, everything in there is yours. I should be about an hour, maybe less. If you want, when I get back, we can go shopping and get you some more suitable clothes for your size.”

“Sure,” Kimberly shrugged.

She hid her relief that she was leaving. She did not have to endure faking to be around her, or attempting to get to know her.

“I’ll clean up when I get back.” She timidly smiled.

“Later.” Kimberly no longer looked her way.

She cut another piece of pancake, stuffing it in her mouth. Her mind became preoccupied with Sir George, who had finished his banana and now moved over to pick from her plate. She cut him another dirty look remembering his treasonous act. He ignored her munching away on a piece of her pancake.

Sophia nodded giving her a final look before slinking away. The rounds she had to make were not really important. Earl and the council members could have covered it. The questions were just too much for her. Sitting there and looking at her was too much for her. The woman who could bring down mountains was a sniveling psychological wreck before a ten- year-old.

What made it worse was, despite the indifferent mask Kimberly put on to hide her true feeling, Sophia knew that the child she bore hated her, did not want anything to do with her if she had it her way, and was justified about how she felt.

She walked out the door putting on her own mask so no one could see the heavy heart she carried.

With her birth mother gone to handle matters in the village, Kimberly finished her breakfast and took the time to explore the home in further detail. She started with her mother’s bedroom, which was extremely large, housing an on-suite bathroom, a walk-in closet, and double glass doors that lead out to a balcony with two regular seating chairs, a lounge chair, and a round handmade wooden table with a huge tan umbrella attached to a stand that went right through it. Entering the walk-in closet, she ran her hands, looking through the various clothes and shoes neatly hung up or placed on shelves, until something caught her eye.

She reached up pulling down a wedding photo album from a top shelf. She sat down in the closet flipping through it viewing pictures of her mother and father on their special day. Besides making out who her grandparents were on both sides along with other people who she guessed was related to her, she could tell that they were truly happy and in love with each other.

It brought a slight smile to her face to put actual faces to her imagination. It did not, however, erase the resentment and desire not to be there. Tired of flipping through pictures she got up putting the book back where she found it. She walked out of the closet, and over to the king size canopy bed, plopping down on it. She ran her hand across the softness of the sheets, the fluffy pillow, and breathed in the air where she slept. The cherry Oakwood dresser draw caught her attention and curiosity.

Nonchalantly she pulled the drawer door open. At first she did not believe what she was seeing lying at the bottom of the drawer. Her trembling hand reached in as a sick feeling crept into her stomach. In her hand she pulled out a full size picture, her school picture, taken earlier that year. Her eyes welled up as she now looked at herself before her transformation.

Before she could wonder how and why she had that picture, she found herself reaching in and pulling out more pictures of her. There was six years’ worth, every year that she attended school in Washington. An anger she never knew she had before grew in her. It tempted her to tear the pictures to shreds and dash them across the bed for her to come back later and see.

She came to her senses realizing that if she did that she would have to talk to her, which she did not want to do. She wanted to leave the island and get as far away from her as possible. The only way she could plan her escape without her knowing was by remaining distant without acting like a problem child.

Placing the pictures where she found them, and smoothing out the bed and pillows to cover her tracks, she decided to leave the house so she could think.

She walked back downstairs heading for the door.

“Sir George,” she called to her spider monkey, “let’s get out of here.”

The little monkey scurried from the kitchen room table leaping onto her shoulder as she flew open the front door walking out. She carefully closed it behind her remembering the doorknob incident in her temporary room. The bright sun and warm intoxicating air calmed her a bit as she stepped off the porch.

Her first stop was the garage which housed the metallic sea blue 1969 ZL1 Camaro. She stood there for awhile imagining the man in the wedding pictures sitting behind the wheel of it, and probably underneath its hood working on it. As she ran her hand across the hood of the car, she also imaged the rides he would have taken her on.

Memories she would never have; it brought forth tears and more anger.

A form a hatred formed within her for the woman that bore her, for subjecting her to these painful visuals that felt like torture to her. Another evil thought crept within her to smash the car to bits out of spite. Remembering her plan stayed her hand as she stormed off to get away from the house altogether.

As she walked through the village she felt the eyes on her. They varied from nervousness, to kindness, to curiosity. Through her disinterested glances she became aware of the various races and ethnicities that were around her. For the most part she could pick up within earshot that majority spoke English or a form of English, but some had learned to speak other native tongues. She was sure she heard a woman with a thick Russian accent speaking either Chinese or Korean to an Asian woman who responded to her in her own Russian language. While an Arabic man addressed a husband and wife who appeared to the Mexican in their Spanish tongue, or his best rendition of it.

All of their conversation became quiet as she passed by.

It was obvious that they all knew who she was. The village, though sizable, was not that big. She could tell that some of the villagers wanted to approach and greet her.

Her evil demeanor was the perfect shielding making her unapproachable.

To her relief it protected her until she got out of the village, where she trekked to a remote side of the island to be alone. She sat cross-legged in the sand collecting small pebbles. Sir George, looking to be helpful, leapt down and scurried about picking some up as well handing them to her. Sometimes he would come back with seashells, which she gratefully took, putting them off to the side.

After collecting a good amount of pebbles, she began flicking them from a seated position. Her memories of watching people perform the action allowed her to execute it on the first try, while her newly acquired superhuman strength granted her the ability to fire the pebbles like bullets from a high powered rifle.

Each hurl sent the pebbles tearing through the water a hundred yards at a time depending on how hard she threw them. Unbeknownst to her as she repeated the act, the anger within her slowly began to fade away. It also helped that every time she flung a stone, Sir George would screech and clap at the feat, and then scurry off to find more stones for her to do it again.

As much as she hated to admit it, the island was beautiful. She ran her hand across the warm white sand wondering if she was being too hard on the woman who had given birth to her. If she was being unfair and not giving her the chance that Michelle asked that she give her.

“Hey! Where’d you learn to throw like that?” a young boy’s voice howled.

His voice was not only irritating to her; it brought back the anger and all of the reasons she wanted to get off the island.

She turned glaring to find not one, but two, of them.

“Oh my bad.” The boy backed up with a concerned look along his friend. “We’re not bothering you, are we?”

From what she could tell he was about her age, maybe a year older. He was clearly from the states like her with his carrot colored fade and freckles. His friend looked to be the same age as him and from the Middle East with his dark brown skin. He wore a similar faded haircut, but with a little more hair on the top of his head. They both were wet and wore black fishnet tank tops with colorful board shorts. Under their arms they held boogie boards with anime character graphics painted on them.

Kimberly quickly fixed her face throwing on a fake smile. The last thing she needed was to be told she was being mean to the local brats.

“No that’s okay.” She got up dusting herself off. “I wasn’t really doing anything.”

“My name is Kyle.” He grinned from ear to ear before motioning to his friend. “This is Akram, my best bud. He lives next door to us with his mom. They’re from Iraq. His English is not so good yet, but he’s cool.”

“My name is Kimberly.” She waved before motioning to her monkey. “And this is Sir George.”

Sir George, formally known as Cornelius, gave a big wave while standing next to her. Akram smiled, waving back at him.

“So do you have family here?” Kyle curiously asked.

Kimberly’s smile slightly disappeared as she hesitantly responded, “Ms. Dennison is my mom.”

Kyle and Akram gave her skeptical looks.

“Seriously?” Kyle cocked and eyebrow.

“Yeah.” She looked down at the ground, “She is.”

“So, you like got powers like her?” He scratched his head.

“I think I’m strong like her.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Can you prove it?” His enthusiasm came back. “Can you pull up that palm tree?”

“Okay,” she nodded.

Kimberly walked over to an extremely tall palm tree with a fat base. She gripped the base and took a deep nervous breath. As she did it, she realized she didn’t need both hands. With a simple pull, the tree groaned as she uprooted it with very little effort from the sand.

Kyle and Akram’s eyes widened at the amazing feat as a now fascinated Kimberly held up the one hundred ninety-six pound sixty-foot tree.

“Wow, it’s not heavy at all,” she grinned.

“Put it back!” Kyle snapped out of his amazement. “Your mom will kill us if she see this!”

Kimberly nodded. As she quickly slammed the tree back into the hole she pulled it from; Kyle and Akram dropped their boards and scurried over, filling it back with sand along with Sir George.

“That was close.” He wiped his brow. “Wow, she really is your mom. How come your eyes don’t glow like hers?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “A day ago I wasn’t even strong like her or even this big.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, perplexed.

“Yesterday I was about your height, then I got hurt roller blading. Next thing I knew I turned into this.” She threw her hands up in the air.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“I’m ten,” she said plainly.

Kyle shook his head in disbelief, “You’re a huge ten.”

She kicked around the sand as the sadness came back in her face; Sir George scurried back over to her climbing back on her shoulder to stroke the side of her head.

“Maybe you have powers like a mutant.” Kyle rubbed his chin thinking of an upbeat topic. “In the X-Men, mutant’s powers develop at certain ages.”

“Do they come out during accidents?” she asked, interested in the topic.

“Sometimes, Cyclops’ powers manifested when his parents had to throw him and his brother out of a plane to save them. He ended up using his optic blasts to slow his decent to Earth to save himself and his brother,” he said.

“Mines activated after I got hurt,” she said. “I wiped out on some concrete while skating down a guardrail.”

“First of all, that reeks of awesomeness.” He pointed to her. “Secondly, how you get your powers isn’t an exact science, if you know what I mean.”

“Supaboy,” Akram said trying to join the conversation.

“Hey you right, Akram.” Kyle snapped his fingers. “You could be like Connor Kent!”

“Who?” She cocked an eyebrow, confused.

“Kon-El? Conner Kent? Superboy? Superman’s clone? Well actually he’s part Superman’s clone and part Lex Luthor’s clone,” he said.

“I thought Superman was Superboy?” she asked with clearly no knowledge of comic book mythology.

“That was during the Silver Age era.” Kyle smirked. “In the modern age, Superboy is a clone. Point is, Superboy originally didn’t have all of Superman’s powers due to his human DNA, and the fact he didn’t have long exposure to the sun like Superman did. He was super strong and could jump really far like the Hulk.”

“You talking about de Young Justice Version,” Akram corrected.

“Dude,” he bit back, “she’s obviously not a telekinetic so her powers fall in line with the Young Justice Version. They still have the same premise.”

It is unclear if Akram understood all that Kyle was saying. Kimberly, however, was getting bored with the talk of comic books.

“So, how did you all get here?” she asked, changing the discussion a bit.

“Oh,” Kyle halted his debate with Akram, “well Akram’s dad died in Iraq, and his house was destroyed. Your mom found him and his mom homeless on the streets. His mom was really sick, so she brought them here, made her better, and gave them a new home. She did the same thing for me and my family.”

Akram nodded in agreement to Kyle’s explanation of how he became a resident of Sanctuary.

“My dad was an accountant for a big company in New York,” he went on. “He got laid off, tried to get a new job but just couldn’t find one. For a while, we were okay, but then we lost our house. We started living in hotels, and then motels, but even that got too expense. We started living out of our SUV, but then one night some guys came and robbed us at gunpoint and took it. We were out on the street for a while, and when it got colder dad managed to get us into a shelter. That was really scary. Then one day your mom walked into the shelter and announced to everyone that she had a large island and homes and food for anyone who wanted to come and live with her. A lot of people thought she was nuts; plenty were afraid of her. I think my folks were a bit of both but, for some reason, they decided they would go with her. My dad said it was because he prayed the night before about it. Anyway she brought us here and gave us a huge cool new house that had basically everything our old house had only it’s on this cool island. She even gave my dad a job. He helps manage the finances for the island. My mom is a part-time English teacher for those who want to learn English, and she also helps maintain our vegetable crops. Akram’s mom teaches Arabic and is one of the town’s seamstresses. She made me these cool board shorts for my birthday last month.”

As Kyle showed off his orange board shorts with Goku’s symbols from Dragon Ball Z on each of the pants legs, Kimberly looked around with a mixture of wonderment and resentment on her face. Was being a hero and savior to other people and children more important than being a mother to the child she gave birth to? She thought.

“So she built all of this?” She looked around.

“Well, yeah.” Kyle cocked his head. “Your mom is, like, loaded. I think she’s like Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne combined loaded. She also got this cool superhuman memory that allows her to do almost anything.”

“How do you know that?” Kimberly sneered.

It was irritating for her that he knew more about her biological mother than she did.

“I watched her one day,” he shrugged. “She was on her iPad looking at a video on how to build a concrete foundation and some other stuff about houses. Next thing you know she was doing it. She didn’t even refer to the video.”

“Oh mimicry,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I can do that.”

In an instant she got into a Jeet Kun Do stance mirroring Master Lee. Her voice and mannerism changed, mimicking the final fight scene from Enter the Dragon. She exploded throwing powerful kicks and punches cutting the air and spraying sand as she barked and howled like the legendary martial artist causing Kyle and Akram to back up a bit in amazement. She then did the unexpected.

Switching styles, her voice mirrored Street Fighter Chun Li’s voice as she mimicked her video game version of the Hyakuretsukyaku “Hundred Rending Legs” technique. Her new long powerful legs sent shockwaves cutting the air. Akram covered his ears while looking on with Kyle, who was awestruck, by the display of power. After completing one hundred kicks in less than three seconds, she held her stance like the famed anime video game character. A bright smile beamed across her face with her own personal amazement. She had done the move before but never that fast and never with that much power. She was now drunk off curiosity with the need to test her limits.

“Marry me,” was all Kyle could say.

“Ew,” was her reply with a coiled expression.

“Hancock!” Akram screamed with an epiphany, jolting both Kyle and Kimberly. “She can do Hancock!”

“Dude!” Kyle’s eyes widened with excitement, “you are so right! That’s why you’re my main man!”

The duo stared with a fist bump into an explosion. They switched to “The Whop,” and then finished with the “Kid and Play” leaving Kimberly standing there rolling her eyes at the antics boys do.

“What’s he talking about?” Kimberly asked, confused about the impromptu celebration.

“I think we know how to teach you to fly,” Kyle grinned.

CHAPTER 17

The next early afternoon, Kimberly stood huddled on the beach around Kyle, Akram, and a couple of other kids from the village viewing the scene where superhero Hancock played by Will Smith took flight after his strength returned on Kyle’s iPad Mini.

Their plan from yesterday was to meet back at the same area to see if Kimberly could mimic the feat with her new abilities.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Kimberly went home to a waiting Sophia trying to mask her concern that she went out by herself without allowing her the chance to formally introduce her to everyone.

She asked how her day went, only for Kimberly to respond that it was okay, and that she met some friends. She remembered she had to keep from being the problem child while maintaining an aura of indifference. Not outright hating her but not caring about her, as well.

It was a silent dinner between the two, followed by her asking to be excused because she was tired.

Sophia knew it was a lie. Her new abilities prevented normal human fatigue. With a timid nod she allowed her to leave.

After cleaning up, she snuck up the stairs to her room with the newly fixed doorknob baring witness to a private conversation she wished she did not hear.

“Kimberly, you have to give this a chance,” Michelle responded over Skype.

“But I want to come home,” Kimberly sat pouting with her arms folded.

Tears ran from her eyes as she fought not to breakdown so the woman downstairs could hear.

“That is your home and your mother,” Michelle reminded her.

“She’s not my mother, she’s someone who gave birth to me…” she snapped back.

“Young lady! That is not how I raised you!” Michelle scolded her.

“That’s right!” she answered back. “You and Mark raised me! The Stones raised me! She didn’t! And the only reason I’m here is because I look like this! Please… let me come home… please… I don’t want to be here.”

“Kimberly, no.” Michelle firmly put her foot down. “You don’t understand now, but your mother loves you so much, and she had her reasons for not being there, which trust me are harder than you will ever know. She’s hurting too. You have to give her a chance because right now you need her more than you need me.”

“I don’t.” She shook her head.

“Yes, you do,” Michelle assured, “now try and get some sleep, honey. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She wiped her eyes.

Sophia crept away before she knew she was outside of her door and spent the night in silent tears of her own.

The next morning, too ashamed to see her, she left early leaving a fresh batch of assorted clothes for her in her size outside of her door in a basket and warm breakfast waiting for her downstairs.

Kimberly, needing something more durable, raided her closet and found one of her spring wetsuits in a blue and yellow color scheme.

Glad to be alone, she munched on the breakfast as Sir George ate his daily banana, threw out the rest, cleaned up, and then headed out to the beach to see if she could learn how to fly.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

“You see,” Kyle began to explain, “Hancock’s flight as shown here is based on a feat of strength. He uses his super strong legs to escape Earth’s gravity and fly.”

“Yeah, but,” Kimberly paused uncertain, “this is still a movie, not real life.”

“Dude,” Kyle persisted, “a lot of our real life concepts come from movies! Hello, Star Trek, where do you think Steve Jobs got the idea for the iPad?”

“I’m not a dude,” she snarled.

“Anyway,” he stuck to the topic at hand, “based on this, with those pistons you got for legs, you should have no problem getting airborne. Worst case scenario you crash and burn in the ocean and swim back to shore.”

“Gee thanks.” She rolled her eyes.

“Best case scenario,” he reminded her, “is that you’re up there flying speeding bullet style with madukes.”

It was the prospect of actually being airborne that kept her interested in this extremely dangerous harebrain scene of Kyle and Akram’s but not for the reason of just being able to fly like her mother. In her mind, achieving flight was her ticket off the island and back to Washington DC with Michelle and her friends where she belonged. She was willing to take the risk and overcome her fear in order to do so.

“Okay,” she nodded. “Let’s do this.”

Kimberly took a deep breath, rubbing her hands together, before crouching down and positioning herself the way Mr. Smith did within the movie for his final aerial lift off.

She stayed in that position for about a minute.

“Nothing’s happening,” she snapped.

Akram gave a suggestion to Kyle in Arabic.

“He says you need to tighten up, like a coil, and bear down into the ground,” Kyle relayed his message.

With an irritated sigh, she stood loosening up, and then got back into position this time coiling up and bearing down as advised. She growled as she tried to squeeze every muscle in her body. Her actions caused the ground underneath her to tremble.

“Okay,” she uttered nervously. “Something’s happening.”

“Something’s definitely happening.” Kyle waved his hand motioning to the rest of the kids watching in amazement. “Everyone back up!”

Sir George quickly scurried away, climbing up a palm tree to watch at a safe distance.

“Should I go now?” she asked.

“Try baring down some more,” he yelled. “Remember you’re gonna need a lot of power to get airborne!”

“Okay!” she yelled back.

As she pushed down harder, the ground shook more violently as she created a mini earthquake with the force she generated.

“Everyone get way back,” he screamed again backing up himself, “whenever you’re ready!”

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Back at the construction site for the new huts, Kimberly’s mother, carrying several tons of construction wood on her shoulder, paused as her ears and feet caught a sound and vibration that made her uneasy. She was not the only one to hear and feel it as everyone on the site halted what they were doing, wondering what exactly it was, and where it was coming from.

“Earl,” Sophia said nervously.

“Sounds like it’s coming from the other side of the beach.” He rubbed his chin.

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With a leap, Kimberly exploded leaving a crater in the ground where she stood while sending a shockwave of sand spraying everywhere. Both Kyle and Akram shielded two of the smaller kids with their backs while others able to run scurried away screaming. Sir George screeched insanely from his palm tree lookout as he watched his owner, now airborne, rocket away.

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Her mother, now looking up, dropped her extremely heavy load shaking the Earth. She stood dumbfounded with everyone else watching her daughter rattle the sky with a sonic boom while achieving near hypersonic speeds as she soared to the heavens; it was barely a full two days.

“Oh, dear God,” was all Sophia could utter.

Earl now stood next to her. Looking up, he wasn’t too sure what to say at that point. It was not every day one watched someone’s kid physically propel him or herself into the sky with the velocity of a space shuttle.

“Wow,” he slowly swallowed. “She’s really high up.”

She slowly turned to him, narrowing her eyes. He didn’t even bother to look at her, feeling her gaze upon him as he kept his eyes averted to the flyaway girl slowly disappearing from sight. With three big steps, Sophia exploded into the air taking flight to chase after her daughter.

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“Oh god! Oh god! Too high! Too high!” Kimberly screamed.

Her voice disappeared as the sheer force of the winds turned her tears into ice, blinding her. In her mind, she contemplated how she planned to kill both Kyle and Akram if she survived this.

She tried to remember the video hoping it would help her maneuver, but her body would not mimic what she saw. The sky became colder and darker all around her as stars began to appear. Her breathing became difficult as she looked down to see the landmasses shrinking, while something came barreling after her.

Sophia chased after her daughter with thrusters blazing, or so she thought. In actuality, she was cruising at supersonic speed, drunk with amazement that her daughter got this far, this fast, with just her leg power. She realized that fascination was making her move at only half speed while her only offspring was probably terrified beyond belief.

She picked up speed to catch up with her. She matched her speed to witness the child trembling like a leaf.

As she grabbed her daughter, holding her tight. She realized they successfully escaped Earth’s atmosphere. For her it was the umpteenth time visiting outer space.

After a moment, Kimberly no longer shook. Sophia looked her over realizing that she was adjusting quickly to the harsh atmosphere of space. Her color was returning, while her skin became warm signaling that her core temperature was returning to normal. She looked into her eyes and saw a flicker of something she did not want to be there. Holding her close, she quickly changed trajectory, taking her back home.

The descent back to Earth, and the flight home, was a quiet one. A mile off from the island she felt her daughter tighten her grip as she nuzzled close to her for comfort.

It took a couple of minutes in space, she thought, to break down the uncomfortable barrier between the two of them. She treasured the moment which lasted until they landed back in the middle of the village where they were flocked by a mob of concerned residents.

Instantly Kimberly released her hold on her and made distance between the two of them. She looked down at the sand trying to hide the emotions building up within her.

Sophia, catching it all, tried to calm the crowd and disperse them so that she could get her daughter home.

“Everyone please,” she motioned, “thank you, but she’s fine! No need to worry! I just want to take her home now!”

Akram and Kyle ran up to her with looks of concern for their new friend.

“Kimberly are you all right?” asked Kyle.

“We were very worried,” threw in Akram.

“I’m fine,” she snapped while glaring at them. “Now get away from me.”

Both boys looked at each other with sad looks, not understanding the meaning behind her sudden hurtful words, or her obvious dislike for them.

“Kyle McArthur!” His mother stepped out of the crowd of villagers. “What did you do?”

“We were just trying to teach her how to fly, Mom,” Kyle nervously answered.

“Akram!” His mother also furiously stepped out. “Did you have something to do with this too?”

“Everyone please calm down.” Sophia put her hands up. “No one was hurt.”

“No, I didn’t get hurt,” Kimberly snapped. “I can’t get hurt, and it’s good to know that I got to shoot myself into space for you to notice me.”

Dead, unnerving, silence took hold of the crowd from Kimberly’s remark. Sophia was now on auto control as she reached out grabbing her daughter’s arm to try to calm her down.

“Honey,” she stuttered trying to find words, “that’s not true.”

“What’s not true?” Kimberly’s voice rose as she snatched her arm away from her. “I had to grow like some freak for you to come running to see me! All this time you’ve been alive! I knew you were alive! Who’d you think you were fooling? Collecting pictures of me so you feel like you don’t suck as a mother! While this whole time you’ve been here on this stupid island, taking care of these stupid people! When I was the one who needed you! Well guess what ‘Mom’… I don’t need you anymore!”

Her words made Sophia weak and small, she felt naked in front of onlookers who all wished they were not there to hear what was being said.

“I want to go home,” Kimberly demanded, “take me back to Michelle. She’s my real mom! Mark was my real dad! He was dying, and he was still there for me! Both of them was doing your job! You didn’t even have the guts to show up at his funeral!”

Her words eviscerated her in front of everyone. All Sophia could do was stand there.

“Kimberly…” She tried to find her voice. “I…”

“I what? I’m sorry?” she screamed. “I don’t want your stupid sorry! I’m don’t want to be on this stupid island! And I don’t want to make new stupid friends! I don’t want to be with you! I want to go home! Take me home!”

“Honey… please.” Sophia reached out again to draw her in and calm her down.

“Don’t touch me!” Kimberly hysterically slapped her hand away. “I hate you! I hate you, and I want to go home! I want to go home!”

She violently stomped, creating a huge crater, sending sand spraying everywhere! Everyone in the vicinity yelled and screamed, covering their eyes, except for Sophia, who stood there like a statue. A distraught Kimberly bawled as she backed away from her.

“I’m a big girl now! I’m a big girl!” she sobbed. “I can take care of myself! I don’t need you! I want to go home! I don’t want to be here! Send me back home!”

Kimberly turned on her heels and exploded with a powerful leap toward the jungle. Sophia stood watching her leaving. She slowly turned realizing everyone was watching her. Heads quickly went down, or turned away, which made how she felt a billions times worse. It was clear everyone was embarrassed for her.

She turned and timidly crept away in the opposite direction with her head down, her dreads covering her face as she wrapped her upper body with her arms. Those who stood in her away quickly moved out of it. Earl, with a hand motion, dispersed the crowd as he watched her head back to her home.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

An hour after the incident, Sophia sat quietly in Robert’s Camaro. 95.9 FM “The Ranch” played soft country music on the radio as she zoned out. On some Sunday afternoons or Saturday nights this was her alone time away from the world. Everyone around knew that when the music started playing, unless it was a dire emergency, not to bother her. It was actually Earl who put that rule into effect.

Earl, being the first to break his own rule, strolled up to the car running his hand casually across the vehicle’s passenger side. Without her permission, he opened up the passenger door, hopping in. This was not the first time he had been inside of it, being a car enthusiast himself, he could not help but admire its beauty every time he got around it. Earl turned to view what Sophia was spacing out to, from their vantage point they had a beautiful view of part of the village, the beach, and the clear blue ocean that went on forever.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Earl broke the ice, “you are not sending that child back to where she came from.”

“I have no right to keep her here.” Sophia cleared her throat. “If she does not want to be here.”

“She’s a child,” Earl fired back. “She doesn’t know what she wants.”

“Earl…” Sophia sighed.

“Before you tell me this is none of my business,” he continued to speak, “you remember the first time we met? There I was at Port Authority in the blazing summer heat sucking on a bottle of Old Turkey. I reeked of booze and urine soaking through the pants of my old fatigues, which didn’t matter to me, and here you come walking up with those creepy glowing blue eyes of yours, asking me if I’d like to come home with you to your island and get cleaned up.”

“You said screw me and my island,” Sophia smirked a bit, “that you were fine right where you were.”

“Thank you for using the PG version of my comment.” Earl bowed his head. “Your smile never broke on that day. You then asked me my name, and told me to take care of myself. This went on for about six months. Every four days or week would go by, and you’d show up, always with clean clothes and something for me to eat. We’d talk for awhile and, just before you left, you’d always ask me if I wanted to come home with you.”

“And you’d say, ‘thank you kindly, but I’m good right where I am,’” she responded.

“You knew that was booze and stubbornness talking.” Earl glanced at her. “You know what did it for me? Grandpa Chip.”

The mention of his name created mist around her eyes as she stared off into space.

“Back then we called him Crazy Chip,” he continued. “He’d walk around PA in all four seasons with just a torn white ratty shirt, and a pair of jeans two sizes bigger than him. He stunk to high heaven from soiling himself all the time; feet were as black as tar because he wore no shoes. He went into fits where he beat his chest cursing and yelling, usually saying ‘I ain’t gonna take this f’n shit no more.’ Used to be a good ole joke for us hanging around there. We’d chime in sometimes.”

Earl’s face changed as he zoned out going back to that time.

“I remember that hot ass day in August. Chip went into one of his fits, but it was worse than usual. He was screaming and banging his chest, saying the same thing over and over again, ‘I ain’t gonna take this f’n shit no more.’ It became so annoying, we started to move away from him. He kept going till he was frothing at the mouth, and then… you showed up.”

Earl lowered his head losing his composure. She held his hand rubbing it to comfort him.

“You just walked up to him, and without a word just threw your arms around him and held him.” His lips trembled as tears fell from his eyes. “And I watched that screaming fit… turn into crying sobs. And he held onto you… Lord, he held onto you. And I realized, all that time, he was trying to say ‘I can’t take it anymore… help me… someone please help me.’”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

She remembered that day and the rest of the story. It was the one and only time she ever took a plane ride to her island. Chip held her hand during the entire flight as he rocked back and forth in a daze. Once there, she personally cut his hair and beard, stripped him out of his soiled rags, and washed him from head to toe. Treated his scalp for lice, groomed and cut his overgrown yellow nails, and then went to work slowly removing the black callus from his feet.

He was the only other person to live in her home. She worked on him for two days nursing him with soft foods like porridge and liquids. His fits would come now and then, minus the profanity. During those times, she held and sung to him, songs her mother sang to her, until they subsided.

She did not know his story, and she did not care.

Sophia began addressing him as Grandpa Chip, and eventually he began to respond to it. In time, he answered her with three words. The only three she would hear him speak, “God bless you.”

When she was on trips or missions, he would sit on the edge of the beach watching the waves roll up to the shore as the sun shined on him. She took him on routine strolls around the island and watched the life that was lost for decades return to him. He liked strawberry ice cream and his head to be rubbed. The first time he laughed, her heart filled and her eyes burst.

She enjoyed his company for eight long months.

One Friday night when she put him to bed.

He smiled at her and said, “God bless you, my child.”

The Saturday morning, she went to get him for breakfast, she found him peacefully sleeping in his warm bed.

She placed him on the beach where he could always look out and watch the ocean run up and feel the sun on him.

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“That day you didn’t have to come over to me and ask if I wanted to come home with you,” Earl continued. “Needless to say my first three weeks here weren’t heaven when you’re trying to get clean for the umpteenth time. And my disposition wasn’t the best stuck on an island where I couldn’t run to a liquor store or cop some heroin or crack.”

“There was a tribal vote to kick you off after the second week,” Sophia interjected.

Her remark caused Earl to crack up laughing. His laughter was contagious as she cracked a smile.

“I’m going to die on this island.” He turned to her with glassy eyes. “Me and everyone else with my disease have come to terms with that but, because of you, we’re alive. And I would like to think that one of my purposes in this life is to be sitting in this car talking to you right now and helping you out for a change.”

Sophia’s smile trembled as her eyes became glassy.

“I know when people have really given up on you.” Earl smiled. “When they’ve thrown in the towel and written you off as dead. My wife and kids did it, and I deserved it. That’s not what’s going on here today. Right now as we speak, your little girl is sitting in the animal preserve waiting for you. Zeek and Oz took the ATVs to look for her and radioed in her position. She’s out there angry and hurt waiting for you to weather that storm she’s got built up in her, to be there for her. You know it, and I know it.”

“I’ve failed her Earl,” Sophia whimpered. “I wasn’t there for her… I don’t know how to be a mother…”

“BS,” Earl fired back sternly. “You damn well know how to be a mother, even to a big baby like me! You didn’t hesitate the second you saw her shoot up into that sky today. You went after her, and God help anyone or anything that got in your way. That is the building block of a good mother… a great parent! You just got rattled because she cracked the chink in your armor. You’re human. It happens to the best of us.”

The human part is what made her break down; he placed a fatherly hand on her shoulder.

“If she really wanted to leave,” Earl pointed out, “I doubt there’s anything that could stop her. She would have swum, leapt, or whatever her way back to the states. She is out there waiting for you. All you’ve got to do is go get her.”

She gave him a daughterly hug, which took him a back a bit. He embraced her back as he would his own.

“Now, the price for my advice is…” he started to slip in.

“You’re not getting my car, Earl,” she said flatly.

He chuckled, which made her laugh again. Breaking up their hug, they sat there for a while longer enjoying the view and listening to the radio.

CHAPTER 18

Twenty minutes later, Sophia flew over her wildlife preserve searching for her daughter. She had sectioned off a good portion of the island creating habitats for endangered species to thrive and multiply in. One section was for apes and monkeys; another was for bigger animals such as elephants and rhinos, while another was for big cats. She taught herself how to care for each species taking into consideration their environment, health, and dietary needs. From time to time, she would fly in a specialist to assist in giving them regular checkups to ensure they remained healthy. Her hope was to replenish the population under her protection and reintroduce them someday back to the real world where they belonged.

She slowly descended into the big cat section of her preserve. It was not long before a young male South China Tiger walked up to her growling. He playfully jumped up placing his massive paws on her shoulders while trying to sink his teeth into her impervious skin. Sophia patted his back while scratching him around the back of his ear.

“How are you doing Butch?” she spoke baby talk to him. “You being good?”

She pulled him off, setting him back down on his feet. He, in turn, rolled on his back where she rubbed his belly.

“Head on back to Gloria, big boy.” She gave him a one final pat. “I’ll see you later.”

She walked off as he laid there purring, watching her leave. She tried her best to stay detached to prevent domestication. Her big heart gravitated toward beautiful things.

Just as Earl confirmed, she found her daughter sitting underneath a tree. Two young cheetah cubs lay next to her as their mother sat watching from a protective distance. She rubbed the male’s belly as it playfully clawed at her hand, while the female found its head resting on her lap. Sophia slowly strolled over catching the attention of the cubs. Though her back was turned, Sophia felt her daughter rolling her eyes in disgust at her presence. The male pup sat up as she neared the tree and sat down next to her daughter.

Neither one said a word nor looked in the other’s direction. The young male cheetah finally stood up and walked over placing its paws in Sophia’s lap curiously sniffing her. She scratched his chin which got him purring as she fought to form the words in her head that she wanted to say.

“There’s this nasty habit in Caribbean and Latin American cultures that I’ve always hated,” she began with her icebreaker. “It’s actually prevalent in a lot of other cultures but, in my opinion, it is the worst in those two. When something horrible or traumatic happens to someone, especially children, you’re expected to get over it somehow and sweep it under the rug. To talk about it is to bring shame to the family or opening old and unnecessary wounds. I always thought it was a horrible and detestable way to live, and I was never going to partake in that aspect of my heritage.”

The young male cub rested half of its body on Sophia’s lap as she gently scratched his ear and neck causing his hind leg to rapidly kick.

“I don’t expect you to get over this or forgive me for what happened to you.” She slightly closed her eyes. “You have every damn right to be angry and furious because I’m furious too.”

She paused a minute, expecting her daughter to say something. She slightly braced herself for, “I really don’t want to hear what you have to say”; instead, she felt her shifting where she sat attempting to be more attentive.

“I always wanted a baby,” Sophia continued. “I had two Barbie dolls growing up and twenty different baby dolls. Cabbage Patch, you name it. I used to run up to pregnant mothers and ask to touch their bellies. I wanted to hold little infants but was too young to hold them, and when I was old enough and could hold them, a part of me didn’t want to give them back. I was so baby crazy I think I scared my mom. I overheard her one day telling a friend she was scared I’d get pregnant once I hit puberty. Probably the reason I was never allowed to have a boyfriend until I was seventeen.”

She smiled a bit finding the memory amusing now that she was older; the male cub copied his sister and had now fallen asleep in her lap.

“Thankfully that never happened,” she continued. “As much as I loved babies, I also wanted to be a doctor. I graduated top of my class in high school, again in college, then again in medical school. While doing that, I met and married a wonderful man who loved me and wanted a simple happy life with children just like me. It was as perfect a life as anyone could have. Then it all went to hell in one night.

“Actually, it was more than one night.” She sighed, correcting herself. “There were signs that things were not right, and something bad was coming, but I just didn’t see it, or I just refused to see it. Then during my trial, I found out I was pregnant with you. I couldn’t decide if it was a blessing or the cruelest joke ever. Here I was carrying new life that I always wanted, and my life was about to be over.”

Her eyes glowed brighter as tears welled up within them.

“I decided then and there that I didn’t give a damn about the trial,” her voice crackled. “That for the next nine months I was going to find a way to enjoy being pregnant and preparing for your future even if I was not there. I was going to cherish every day rubbing my belly, as it got bigger, singing to you, and feeling your little kicks. And when you finally came out and I got to hold you in my arms, and kiss your little nose, it felt like it just you and me and no one else in the world… until they took you away from me.”

Her glowing tears fell from her face, as her voice got raspy; the male cub slightly opened an eye and cocked an ear as he felt his human pillow tremble.

“I am forever furious because you were mine,” she said. “It was supposed to be my breasts that nursed you, my hands that burped and cleaned you. I was supposed to hear your first words, see your first steps; take you to your first day of kindergarten. And it was all taken away from me. I will never have those experiences or memories. And I am so friggin’ angry!”

“Then why didn’t you come for me!” Kimberly’s own voice cracked as her tears fell. “When you came back, why didn’t you come get me?”

“I did, I really did,” Sophia bowed her head. “You were the first thing on my mind when I awoke, and nothing on Earth was faster than me on that day getting to DC. But as I hovered a mile up from the house, I realized I couldn’t take you. I couldn’t destroy your world for a third time. I couldn’t give you a normal life.”

“But I was never normal!” she shot back. “I remembered seeing you as a baby! I knew you were my mother from then! When I was old enough to talk, I’d tell people in front of the Stones that they weren’t my parents! I’d describe you to them in detail! I’d hear Ms. Stone crying in her bedroom at times afterwards. I wasn’t trying to be mean… I didn’t know what I was doing!”

Sophia fell silent as she allowed her daughter to unload ten years of pain.

“I would go to school and get bullied and teased for being a know it all and acting so perfect,” Kimberly rambled on. “No one wanted to play with me or be my friend. I was all alone until I saw you at that mountain. I knew who you were the second I saw you… and I thought my mommy came back for me. I’m not alone anymore… but then you flew away with that woman… and never came back.”

Kimberly began to rock as she cried uncontrollably. It awoke the female Cheetah resting in her lap, who looked up at her purring.

“I knew you were alive,” she said. “Mark and Michelle never said anything, but I knew it. My mommy is the strongest person in the world; nothing could hurt her. She’s going to come and get me. All I wanted was for you to come and get me. But you never came. So I started to think you didn’t want me, that you were ashamed of me because I wasn’t strong like you..”

“No, baby, no,” Sophia cried.

She got to her knees crawling over to her daughter, wrapping her arms around her. Frantically, she kissed her forehead as she sobbed. Kimberly wailed uncontrollable as she clutched onto her mother’s arm. The cheetah cubs, now fully awake, lazily watched with curiosity the heartbreaking scene.

“I didn’t know,” she wept. “I didn’t know. I don’t care about powers and abilities. I just wanted you to have what was taken from me… something normal. I didn’t think I could give you that! If I knew all you wanted was me, nothing in this universe would have kept you from me.”

Gently she wiped her child’s eyes and raised her chin to gaze into them as she held her.

“Sometimes adults don’t make the best decisions,” she explained. “Especially for their children. I chose for you, and I shouldn’t have. I should have had the courage to come to you and ask you what you wanted. And in that I failed you, and I am so sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I’m just asking for a chance to make things right. Let’s start with any questions that you have that’s been bottled up within you for so long. I’ll answer it truthfully and honestly.”

Kimberly nodded in a agreement. Sophia let her go, allowing her to sit in a cross-legged posture in front of her. She mirrored her as they held each other’s hand. Kimberly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath as she contemplated her first real question to her mother.

“What am I?” Kimberly finally asked.

“You are the first superhuman ever born.” It flowed from her mouth.

There was a bit of pride in her tone that was never there before, the realization that she gave birth to someone so magnificent and beautiful.

Kimberly’s face had the expression of confusion and fear.

“I thought you were,” she responded nervously.

“No I’m not, you know what DNA is, right?” Sophia hesitantly asked.

“Deoxyribonucleic acid,” Kimberly recited. “They are the building blocks of all life.”

“Very good,” she nodded. “Your father became an enhanced human due to experiments done on him by the military when he was a soldier. Enhanced meaning much stronger than normal humans, but nowhere in the ballpark of you and I. When I became pregnant with you, the DNA in his gene, that is the molecular unit of heredity of a living organism, became a part of you and turned you into what you are.”

“You weren’t a super or enhanced human?” Kimberly tilted her head.

“No,” Sophia shook her head. “I was normal human being.”

“Then how?” Kimberly leaned in with a look of confusion.

“You… you turned me into a superhuman.” Her eyes became glassy again. “When you were in my belly, you somehow passed your genes onto me, and changed me from the inside out.”

“So how come I wasn’t strong like you?” she sheepishly asked.

“You are very strong. First thing is you are immune to all forms of sicknesses and diseases, so you can’t get sick from anything. That kind of sucks for you because that means you can’t fake an illness to get out of school with me.”

Her poor joke brought a small smile to her daughter’s face.

“You have super eidetic memory, recognition memory, adoptive muscle memory, and vocal mimicry,” Sophia began to explain. “The first two mean you can remember and recall everything you’ve experienced in your life in detail. A book you have read, movie you watched, a song you have heard, a flower you’ve smelled, or a food you have tasted. Adoptive muscle memory means that you can perform any physical action after seeing it performed once as long as it is within you physical capability. Those cool moves you were able to duplicate just from watching TV is because of that. The reason why you fell after your jump was because the terrain was different, and you did not learn to adapt to it. Real life is not as controlled as what you see on a screen; sometimes you will have to use common sense and judgment to adjust and adapt to situations like that.”

“Why am I bigger?”

“Our bodies heal differently than normal people,” Sophia emphasized on the “our,” not wanting her to feel alone. “When we get hurt we don’t only heal really fast, our bodies create self-defenses so that we don’t get hurt the same way again.”

“So if I get hurt again, I’m going to grow more?” a panicked Kimberly asked.

“No.” She patted her hand. “That’s not how it works. Something foreign to your body has to break your skin open entering your body, most importantly, your bloodstream. When you fell, some rock and stone got into your wounds. Your cells absorbed and studied the small fragments. They then made your skin denser so that rocks won’t pierce it and hurt you again. The rest of your body had to mature and go into puberty early to help support the weight of your heavier skin. Your muscle and bones became stronger and longer as well as your internal organs. God forbid, if it happens again, you’ll probably only get as big as me. The tradeoff is you’re now stronger, faster, and more durable.”

“Is that how you got stronger?” Kimberly asked. “Did you get hurt?”

They were simple words that took her back to bad times for an instant, enough for her to wipe tears again from her eyes.

“Yes,” Sophia nodded. “I got hurt, a couple of times.”

Kimberly saw that her question was taking her mother into a bad place and decided not to press further.

“What was my father like?” she asked.

“A wonderful man with a big heart, that could make you laugh for days.” Her mother smiled. “You have his eyes and ears. Everything else, including the hair, is me. He would have so loved you. It wouldn’t have mattered what you were, but I think he always wanted a little girl.”

She moved closer running her hand through her daughter’s thick, dark curls. Her heart quickened realizing this was the third time she was touching her offspring since being with her. Kimberly closed her eyes for a second as if she was one of the cubs.

“How did he really die?” Kimberly let the question slip out before looking up at her mother.

Sophia did not flinch or break at the question. Instead, she drew her daughter closer holding both her hands. She leaned in to rest her forehead against hers.

“Let’s make a deal,” she smiled. “Whether you decide to stay here or not, on your sixteenth birthday… if you really want to know… I will promise to tell you how he died. Right now, I just want to tell you… how he lived.”

“I like that.” Kimberly smiled with a nod.

In the middle of their moment, the mother cheetah barked signaling for her cubs to come to her. Obediently, they ran back licking and nuzzling against her.

“I’m surprise they took to you so well,” Sophia observed.

“Actually.” Kimberly bit her lip while raising her right arm.

The right forearm of her wetsuit had teeth and claw marks that went down to her unblemished skin. Sophia let out a laugh, shaking her head.

“Which one?” she asked.

“The girl,” she pointed. “She held on just hanging from my arm for, like, five minutes before she gave up. The other one ran up, stopped, and just sat there watching.”

Sophia doubled over cackling, which became infectious. They sat there talking and laughing into the night.

CHAPTER 19

The next day Sophia took an official day off to spend with her daughter. Earl and everyone else gladly stepped up to take over daily responsibilities as she and Kimberly spent time to actually get to know each other.

They made, and ate, breakfast together. Sophia took her for a proper tour of the village and island. Everyone they met greeted them with a hug and smile; the events from yesterday forgotten as if it never happened. Some broke into stories about how they met her mother and what she had done for them.

They went on a tour of the important parts of the island from the other parts of the animal preserve, the harbor built for their fishing boats, and the large electrical generator that ran the town.

In the afternoon, they made lunch and ate. Sophia told stories and showed her pictures of all sides of her family which comprised of Jamaican, Belizean, and Texan heritage. She purposely left out the evil actions of her father’s father, leaving it for a time when she was older to understand.

Kimberly asked about her eyes and her ability to fly. Sophia first made her swear never to attempt to duplicate the process. Her daughter reluctantly agreed, before she explained her current state of evolution. After lunch, she took her to the far side of the island to display some of her abilities in safety.

The more her daughter watched her, the more she saw in her eyes the timid little girl melting away, embracing the being that she was. Mixed emotions of pride and concern swelled within Sophia. Although she wanted her daughter to accept and embrace who she was, she also wanted to keep her grounded and on the road to a normal life. The problem was, even Sophia did not know what a normal life was these days.

Later in the evening, they had a girl’s night in. They gorged on s’mores, popcorn, and other sweets while watching Kimberly’s favorite new movie, “Frozen.”

Sophia found the movie entertaining until Anna turned to ice while protecting her sister. Kimberly, who always became emotional over the scene, was shocked to see her mother’s eyes glow and whelm up as well.

Kimberly smiled wiping her eyes, “Uh… you okay there?”

“Huh?” Sophia came to her senses quickly swatting her eyes. “A breeze just now blew in some sand into my face.”

Kimberly slowly nodded and turned her face to giggle; her mother retaliated by tossing a pillow at her.

At the end of the movie, Kimberly energetically began to sing the main song mimicking the voice of Idina Menzel. Her mother halted her solo.

“Sing it with your own voice,” she smiled.

“I’ve… never…” Kimberly coiled back in her seat.

She had mastered her vocal mimicry ability to copy the voices of others, especially popular singers. It was a great ice breaker to meet new friends and won her some school talent shows, but she had never tried to sing in her own voice.

“You will tonight.” Sophia grabbed her hand.

A reluctant Kimberly followed her mother over to a Mason & Hamlin upright piano. Sophia taught herself to play because she always wanted to learn. Her cognitive abilities helped her replay the song via the keystrokes. She then began to sing the first part of the song in her own voice. Kimberly started the second part using Idina’s voice, but Sophia stopped her again.

“You know the lyrics, and the melody. All you have to do is channel it through your own voice.”

“I don’t have…” She lowered her head.

She gently raised her head by her chin so that she looked into her eyes.

“Yes, you do,” she smiled. “You’ve just never used it before. Remember what I said about adjusting to your environment? It’s just you and me, so have some fun with it.”

Sophia began again and waited. Her voice was small and cracked at first. Little by little, her voice gained strength, as she sung a duet with her mother.

She kept nudging her daughter to loosen up. Eventually she did, no longer caring if her voice was perfect. Their voices soared higher and higher taking them to the end where they both sung the last line as arrogant as Elsa.

Like deer in front of headlights, they froze to the sound of applauds and claps outside. Mother and daughter slinked down giggling and dying of embarrassment, not remembering that their windows were open, and their voices carried.

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The next day, early afternoon, Sophia stood on the runway of her airport with her daughter and Earl wearing the outfit constructed by Lady Tech.

A disappointed Kimberly lowered her newly-braided hair as her mother held her right hand rubbing it.

“I will be gone three hours tops,” she promised her. “I have one errand I have to attend to, and your grandmother gridlocked my voicemail with messages ever since the incident in Times Square. If I don’t go and see her, she will swim over here and kill me.”

“She has abilities like us?” Kimberly raised her head.

“No,” Sophia chuckled, “but she comes really close. I also want to tell her about you, so that she can get ready to meet you… like, maybe tomorrow.”

Her face brightened up at the prospect of meeting more family.

“Really?” she pressed.

“I promise,” her mother nodded, “in the meantime, look after the island, and make sure Earl doesn’t get into any trouble.”

“I’m standing right here, you know,” Earl scoffed.

“I know.” She looked up at him. “I wanted you to be in earshot when I said it.”

“I’ll hold the fort down, boss,” he smiled.

“You know how to reach me if you need anything.”

She backed up a couple of steps, then paused, wagging a finger at Kimberly, remembering something.

“Oh, while I’m gone,” she smirked, “you might want to go apologize to your two buddies. I think they’re still a bit hurt over what you said.”

Kimberly knew she was talking about Kyle and Akram. She lowered her head again, nodding in agreement that she needed to make amends.

With a powerful leap, she took to the skies, soaring high and fast skimming Earth’s atmosphere, propelling herself toward the United States in mere minutes.

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Fifteen minutes later, she soared over her home town of Mount Vernon heading for Seventh Avenue. Children coming home from school flocked around yelling and cheering as she descended, landing in the streets. They attacked her with questions about the battle in Times Square. Her answers to the sea of questions were, “Yes, he was big,” “Yes, it hurt when he hit me,” “Yes, I put his lights out,” and “No, he would not be coming back.”

She raised her head to see her mother standing on the steps of their house with her godfather, Uncle Mac, their conversation interrupted by her entrance.

“Lawd god,” Uncle Mac cackled, “Nopel look pon dis! Ah supawoman descend pon us!”

“And what?” Ms. Dennison scanned him up and down.” Ah, my pickney dere. Me suppose to be impressed every time she swoop in and swoop out? You move.”

With three loud claps and a whistle, she got the attention of the crowd of children holding her daughter hostage.

“All right,” she yelled with motherly authority. “All you pickney gwone ah ya yard! De Q&A session is over! Don’t make me say it twice!”

“Yes, Mrs. Dennison!” the children obediently said in unison before dispersing.

Sophia slowly took her time walking to the front gate as her mother stood waiting with her hands at her hips.

“Well… well,” her mother huffed, “look what the cat dragged in?”

“Hi, Mummy.” She gave a sheepish smile.

“Yuh nuh see yuh Uncle Mac standing over here?” Her mother motioned with a head gesture.

“Hi, uncle Mac,” she greeted, waving.

“Hey, baby girl!” He gave a bright smile revealing a missing top and bottom tooth.

“What you standin out dere for?” her mother commanded. “Bring ya self ina de yard!”

Obediently the most powerful woman on the planet entered the gate of her parent’s home standing before her. Mrs. Dennison grabbed her and proceeded to give her three hard slaps on her rear. Sophia squirmed around pretending it actually hurt.

“Low her, Nopel!” Mac busted out laughing. “Low her!”

“Me half fe hear bout you fightin in ah de news!” Mrs. Dennison continued to spank her. “And you can’t pick up de phone fe call ya mada?”

“I’m sorry, Mummy! I’m sorry!” Sophia yelled, laughing.

Her mother gave her one final slap for good measure.

“When dat big ugly bastada lick you, and you clout him back?” her mother asked wagging a finger. “Him look worst dan you?”

Her daughter answered with a head nod.

“Good,” her mother nodded back.

“Well me half fi run.” Uncle Mac continued to laugh as he descended the steps.

Sophia met him, giving him a big hug, lifting him off the last set of steps.

“Lawd god, you strong,” her godfather laughed with amazement.

As she put him down, he quickly put an arm around his goddaughter’s back leading her away from her mother.

“Hey Sophia, me have some barrels me need fi send down ah yard to me sista,” he asked seriously.

Mrs. Dennison walked over, ending the transaction. Although she was five inches shorter than him, she grabbed the back collar of his shirt and draped him up.

“You fasty wretch you!” She shook him. “You see UPS written on my pickney’s forehead?

“Wha ya do, Nopel?” he yelled struggling to get away. “Ah me good shirt dis!”

“Gwone ah yah yard!” She final released him. “Before me report you missing.”

“Talk to ya lata,” he nodded while straightening out his wrinkle shirt.

As he exited the gate, he slipped in a “Call me later” to Sophia about his favor. She responded with a head nod as he walked off heading to his car.

She turned to her mother and knew what she was thinking.

“I’ll call up Benji, he’ll be happy to make the run,” she smiled.

“God bless you child,” her mother nodded, “now what dat you have on?”

She knew her mother was referring to her new attire. She gave a twirl showing it off.

“You like it?” she smiled. “It’s my new flight outfit.”

“Huh uh, where de rest of it?” Her mother gestured to the missing midsection.

The clucking of the family rooster strutting up to her saved her from answering her mother.

“Hey Tooni!” she beamed crouching down. “How are you?”

“Rude as eva,” answered her mother, “he should have stayed gone.”

Sophia smirked knowing her mother was only jesting, as she remembered the “Great Tooni incident of 2011.” Two weeks after her mother got Tooni from a friend closing up his live poultry store to retire in Jamaica. Some juvenile delinquents stormed the Dennisons’ garage roof tearing off the shingles throwing them into the yard. To add insult to injury, they climbed down, cornered, and made off with poor Tooni minding his own business.

Sophia came home to her mother distraught with tears and decided to do what any child defending their parent would do. Retaliate.

Two powerful fly-bys shattered every single glass window within the projects that resided near Third and Fourth Avenue, forcing its residence into the quad, where a furious Sophia gave an ultimatum. Return the rooster alive and intact in one hour, or she would destroy every vehicle within the parking lot of the projects; she also made it clear that every hour the rooster was still missing; she would turn her attention to the cars parked on the street.

Tooni was returned within fifteen minutes. The juveniles dealt with by their parents.

Her final warning was that all homes, cars, and residents of Seventh Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Street, especially her parents’ house was a nation unto itself, and she was their nuclear weapon. Natives of Mount Vernon got the hint and passed the word to leave Seventh Avenue alone.

“So you eat yet?” Her mother walked up to her, touching and inspecting her outfit along with her hair.

“Nope,” she shook her head.

“Come,” Mrs. Dennison turned heading for the steps of their home. “Me just made some stew fish, wit dumpling, rice and peas, and callaloo fi ya poopa when him come home.”

“Where is dad?” Sophia raised a brow searching for his car.

“Where you tink him is?” She cut her eyes. “Down ah the shop cutting Joe’s hair. Ever since you fix him knee, dat man can’t stay put.”

“I didn’t replace his knee so he could wear it out again.” She rolled her eyes. “I did it so he could retire and walk without pain.”

“Him don’t do it often baby girl,” her mother defended her husband a bit, “him need something to do from time to time, and when him home, de house don’t stay clean, so dat’s fine wit me.”

Sophia sighed as she followed her mother into the house. While her mother prepared her plate, she walked around inspecting it for any possible repairs she may have to do in the future.

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The day she awoke from the bottom of the ocean floor, she actually made a beeline for home first to see her parents before going to DC for Kimberly. Sophia was amazed at how neither her mother or father even flinched on the day she showed up stark naked with glowing eyes on their doorstep. They only cared that she was alive and finally home.

After coming to the decision that it was best her daughter kept believing she was dead, she stayed home in her old room for almost two months. Her mother who only had a limited amount of patience for pity parties gave her the ultimatum to get up and do something or getting doused with ice water every morning.

A reluctant Sophia decided to fix their house. Several “step by step” do it yourself videos on YouTube had her doing everything from tiling and plumbing to masonry work.

Within less than a month, she had restored her parents’ home where it looked better than the day her father finished renovations on it.

Bored again, she started working on their neighbors’ homes, taught herself to do automotive work, learned to speak every language in the known world, and read every medical journal she could get her hands on. After upgrading her parents’ entire block within a span of two months she set out every morning at eight to test her other limits. She traveled to different countries; some of them war torn. At five o’clock, she would return always with a souvenir for her parents, eat dinner with them and talk about her day.

The only time her mother had real fear concerning her was when Sophia finally mustered the courage to fly into space. The combination of boredom and lounging around watching the old Christopher Reeve movie made her attempt the feat. Wearing just a thick black insulated wetsuit she purchased for her deep diving adventures, she remembered the Friday she took off into the sky and kept going straight up.

Five seconds before she was supposed to break through the atmosphere she almost lost her nerve the second she started to see stars.

Her desire to brag about being the first woman to fly into outer space under her own propulsion made her stay the course for those last five seconds.

Sophia, still to this day, could not determine what overwhelmed her most. The fact that she possessed the power to fly into space or that she could survive within its harsh atmosphere without the need for air.

Returning with smoking burn marks on her diving suit from the reentry, she acted as a child who had just rode her bike for the first time without training wheels. So caught up in her tale she did not realize until the end the fear her mother fought to hide with a smile.

Mrs. Dennison was used to the fact that her daughter was a superhuman; they were all over the news and on television. At that moment, it set in that her daughter was beyond a superhuman level. She also saw recklessness in Sophia’s eyes that day. She feared what this near godly invincibility would do to her.

It was on that day Sophia decided to make plans to set out and live on her own once more. She did not want to see that fear in her mother’s eyes again.

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As she sat down at the granite island, in the sun-yellow colored kitchen, she watched with a sentimental smile the older woman she was forged from. Her coco brown African skin and slightly broad English nose came from her mother, while her once curly brown hair, light brown eyes, and Latin features were a gift from her father.

At sixty-two years old, she could not find a speck of gray hair on her mother’s head. She found it amusing how her parents became a mesh of each other just as she was. Growing up she thought both her parents were Jamaican. The truth was her mother came from Kingston, Jamaica while her father was first generation born from Belize City in Belize. She started as a bus driver, eventually getting a position as a secretary in a major purse and luggage company until promoted to office manager working there until her early retirement. Her father opened his own chain of barbershops, learning his skills from his father passed on by his grandfather. Her brother, Anthony, took over the chain five years after graduating from college. Her father continued to cut his personal clients and friends from time to time until his right knee went out on him due to the constant standing. Sophia performed the operation to replace it and helped him with rehabilitation herself.

Aside from their children, they shared a love of music, a love of God, and a deep love for one another, even when they bickered.

Two minutes later, they ate early dinner together. Her mother filled her in on who passed away, who got married, who was pregnant, and who was asking for her. Sophia shared the goings on at her island, and she briefly talked about the events at Times Square not wanting to bring up any gory details at the table. She rolled her eyes when asked if she was still single.

She was maneuvering through the trenches searching for an opening to drop the bomb on her mother that she had been a grandmother in regards to her for the past ten years.

Finished with their dinner, her mother made peppermint tea, while Sophia cleaned up, throwing out the scraps and washing the dishes.

She sat down again as Mrs. Dennison placed her hot piping tea in front of her along with some sweet milk. She sat down as well, opting to put honey in her own tea.

“Oh! Before I forget,” Sophia said, slowly stirring the milk into her tea, “you’re a grandmother.”

She braced herself while fidgeting in her seat.

“Say it again?” her mother asked. “Me hearing not too good dese days.”

Sophia knew her hearing was perfect, she just wanted to hear her repeat it again.

“You have… a granddaughter.” She emphasized each word.

“You’re pregnant?” was her mother’s first and obvious question.

“No.” Sophia lowered her head running her finger in a circle pattern on the table. “I never miscarried during the trial. I gave birth, and Charles helped me to fake her death. She was adopted by a family in Boston.”

Awkward silence held the kitchen captive as her mother tried to process what her daughter had just said.

“Why?” was her mother’s next question, encompassing a series of questions.

“I did it to keep her away from the General,” she sighed, beginning her explanation. “I knew he would try and take her even if I left her with you. I didn’t want him to do to her what he did to Robert. Then those bad people who killed Robert that I told you about also killed the adoptive parents and kidnapped her, because she’s just like me. Actually, she’s the reason I am still alive. She’s the first superhuman, not me. Somehow, when she was in my womb growing inside me, I inherited her powers. She’s the reason I survived the lethal injection chamber and everything else.”

It was far more complicated than that, but her mother was a simple woman who did not need to hear the technical jargon, just the truth.

“I hate dat man.” Mrs. Dennison scowled her face. “God forgive me, you not suppose fe hate, but I hate dat man for what him did to you, us, and his own family.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Sophia slowly nodded in agreement. Although she and her family had survived and recovered from the events that took place almost ten years ago, the General’s actions shattered the Matheson legacy he tried so hard to build and protect along with his family. Alexis, after her final tour, left the army with no desire to deal with anything military again. Her relationship with her husband, who was still a Navy Seal, had not been the best because of it. Mrs. Matheson went into a deep depression rapidly increasing her Alzheimer’s. She passed away in her sleep a day before her birthday in 2010.

The General also appealed his case for only four years and was executed via hanging at Leavenworth.

She never attended his execution but, three months after the death of Mrs. Matheson, she went to see him. The warden, with full knowledge of who she was and what she was capable of, did not stop her visit. She remembered the General shuffling in with head bent and eyes to the floor. The once proud Marine General was a broken down terrified old man in her eyes that day.

They sat there for almost five minutes not uttering a word to each other.

She looked at him with evil thoughts running through her mind. He just looked at the floor.

“Look at me.” Sophia grinded her teeth.

He did not obey as he continued to look at the floor. Her voice made his body violently quake. He uttered a whimper shifting in his seat.

“Look… at… me!” her voice boomed while her eyes blazed.

A now teary eyed and sweat drenched Matheson raised his head gazing on the consequences of his actions.

In Sophia’s glowing eyes that poured with tears, he saw rage, hatred, hurt, and sorrow. He saw his loss and his shame.

“Was all of this… worth it?” her voice quivered, fighting the urge to tear him apart. “Was it?”

“No,” he broke down. “It was not.”

She stared at him for one more minute, making sure her image was burned into his final memories. She left not uttering another word, as he sobbed controllably at that table.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

“Where is she now?” her mother asked.

“With me now, before that she was staying with a friend in Washington,” Sophia sighed. “She didn’t know I was still alive until a couple of days ago. Not until an accident activated her abilities and she got stronger. I stayed away from her because I wanted her to have a normal life, and I didn’t tell you until now because if people found out who she was they would come looking for her, which would put you and everyone I know and love in danger.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Dennison said, leaning back in her chair, “so what now?”

“Aside from finally telling you the truth,” she shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“Of the three of my children,” her mother began to speak, “you were always the most independent and intelligent. Not dat your brother and sister are stupid. But where Anthony and Gemma would give me a one word answer, you would go into detail and say, ‘Well, Mom, I think you should do dis and dat for dis reason.’ I use to call you Miss professor.”

Sophia nodded as she waited to hear where her mother’s story went.

“I pray daily for good things for all my children,” she continued, “but for you I knew I did not need to pray too hard, because you were destined for great things. My one fear is that your independence would keep you from looking to family for help.”

Sophia, now annoyed, half rolled her eyes not liking where this story was going.

“Mom,” Sophia sighed, “with all due respect, I had no choice in my decision. This was the General we’re talking about, an extremely powerful man with a lot of influence, and I highly doubt a prayer group session would have stopped him from taking my child from you. This wouldn’t have been some normal custody battle. This was a man with the power of the United States government in his back pocket, and who was creating death squads.”

“Yeah, and normally you should be dead,” her mother let out.

Her comment stunned Sophia. She waited for her to take what she had just said back.

“Yeah, I said it,” she scoffed. “Wha you gonna tell me? A science save your life? You can say it if you want, but I know it was a praying mother and father bowing and scraping to the Lord every day and night that released...”

“Oh Lord, another sermon!” Sophia threw up her hands. “I get it. God is good and hallelujer! Why are you even going there?”

“Okay, you don’t want a sermon.” Her mother clasped her hands together placing them on the surface of the island. “Then tell me what you want me fe say.”

“Nothing, Mom.” She leaned back in her seat huffing, “Nothing.”

“Alright, you did what you did to protect her,” Ms. Dennison nodded, “I probably would have done de same ting. But what happen dese last seven years? Where was she?”

“At the Armitages’,” Sophia lowered her head.

“Tu rass.” Her mother shook her head. “All dis time? Why?”

“I wanted her to have a chance at a normal life, Mom.” Her frustration came out again.

“And we’re not normal?” her mother leaned back.

“I’m not normal, Mom!” she snapped.

“You betta shut ya mouth before me throw dis tea inna ya face!” Ms. Dennison barked back. “Ah, me give birth to you! What is not normal about you? Huh? You have de same head, same skin, same nose, five toes, four fingas, and a thumb. What’s not normal about you? Because you’re taller, ya eyes have a glow? Because you can fly? So what? Enough of you is out dere flying, running, and breakin up tings! So don’t tell me about not being normal!”

“You done?” Her eyes began to glow as she sneered at her. “Because, trust me, you can’t make me feel as bad as I already feel. You want me to say what I already know! I screwed up! I made a judgment call and it was wrong. There is nothing you can tell me that I have not already heard from my own little girl! I thought I was giving her a chance at something that was taken away from me, but the truth was I abandoned her and left her alone! So don’t think you can make me feel more shitty then I already am!”

“Ya betta watch ya mout,” her mother warned her. “I am still ya mada!”

“Yeah, you are,” she nodded, “and I apologize for using that language around you. But don’t think you know anything about me anymore, what I’ve been through, or the weight I have to carry. In this world of humans and superhumans there is no one like me. No one has had to endure what I suffered and went through, no one. If I told you in detail what really happened to me… inside that mountain. What it felt like to be in the heart of a nuclear bomb! You would fold, crumble, and die.”

Her body trembled as her eyes blazed brighter from the anger churning within her.

“I keep myself busy, sometimes going nights without sleep,” she scowled, tapping the side of her head, “because I know the second I close my eyes, and I lose control I can relive everyone of those nightmares as if I was actually there. I’m surprised I haven’t gone mad yet. And I was afraid of subjecting my child to that. I didn’t think it was fair to do that to her, because she had been through enough! So forgive me, dear Mother, if I did not make the ‘right decision’ concerning you and my child. You didn’t have the opportunity to ‘teach me’ what to do in this type of scenario.”

The kitchen became dead silent as sheer discomfort fell like a thick fog. She knew it would not be a pleasant conversation, but she was not expecting to be judged so harshly for her actions, especially from her mother. No one had the right in her mind, other than her daughter, to judge her for anything she did. She prepared herself to leave while contemplating when she would return.

“Why ya decide ta build dat village?” her mother asked.

Sophia turned to her mother with her eyebrows furrowed wondering where she was going with this line of questioning from left field.

“I’m just curious,” Mrs. Dennison shrugged. “You raised dat island and built your house to get away from people. Yuh didn’t even have to raise an island, yuh could have went to de North pole, an…”

She gave her mother a glare telegraphing to her that she was not in the joking mood anymore.

“I’m just asking,” her mother said seriously. “After all you’ve been through, why create a village? You don’t owe anyone anyting, especially me, and you wanted to be left in peace. So, why create more headache for yourself? Why?”

She shifted in her seat as she fought to find the words to answer her mother’s semi-innocent question.

“I had too much wood,” Sophia huffed.

She leaned forward clasping her hands as she stared off into space. Her mind took her back to the day she had finished her new home.

“I finished the garage and backed Robert’s car into it,” her lips trembled, “and then I realized I bought too many supplies. So I decided to build a shed to store the leftovers. But as I started building, I just kept adding on, until I ran out again. And then I had to buy more supplies to finish it. Then next thing you know, I had built another house, but then I had more leftover supplies than I had before. I didn’t want to be wasteful. So I just kept building, trying to use everything out. But there was always too much wood, or too much cement, or too much varnish left. Before I realized it, I had built eight friggin’ houses.”

A smile formed on her mother’s face as she bobbed her head.

“Then I was, like, great.” Sophia threw up her arms. “What am I going to do with eight houses! Why didn’t I stop?”

“Then something told you to fill them up,” her mother answered for her.

“Yes,” she nodded.

Tears fell from her eyes as she trembled like a leaf. Mrs. Dennison reached over and grasped her hand, rubbing it to comfort her.

“You are right,” her mother whispered softly. “I will neva know or feel what you have gone through. None one will eva know. And, honestly, I don’t want to know because I’d probably go crazy if I did. Because when you hurt, I hurt, and I would go insane knowing how much pain you had to endure, and I was unable save or protect you from it. And that is what you will neva know, what it is to be a parent and powerless.”

Sophia looked up to see her mother’s eyes glassed over as she held tightly onto her hand.

“I gave birth to you,” her mother’s voice crackled. “I raised you, watched you grow. I came to Ursuline school and threatened Principal Moore that I’d run my minivan through her school and over dat big fat McGrady girl, the next time the teachers stood by and let her mess wit you. Not that you were a pushover, but you are my child.”

The memory of the incident brought a smile back to her face.

“And on October 15, 2004,” Mrs. Dennison fumbled her words as her tears fell, “I had to stand there and listen to Judge Kevin Coleman tell me that my child was guilty of a crime I know she did not commit and that he was going to kill her. And there was noting I could do about it.”

The roles were reversed as Sophia now held her mother’s shaking hand as she began to shrink right in front of her.

“I cursed God on that day, and I wished for that heart attack to kill me,” Mrs. Dennison said, “the second worst day of my life, and he would not let me die, guess what was the first?”

She lifted her gaze to the ceiling as her eyes blazed from falling tears. Her leg twitched as she groaned imagining the ordeal her parents went through on that day.

“September 1, 2008. I didn’t go to work the week before,” she continued. “I didn’t go to church, I didn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, didn’t answer de phone; I didn’t pray. I sat upstairs in you and Gemma’s bedroom watching the clock countdown to midnight… just numb. My tears fell, but I could not cry. Ya poopa downstairs started to bawl like a baby. Him cry so hard I don’t know why him neva had a stroke. I had to run downstairs and hold him and massage him to calm him down. And at 2 a.m. in the morning, your brother drove us to de airport so that we could make de journey to collect your body, only to find out when we got there, that you were very much alive, and broken out of prison.”

She began to cackle, wiping her eyes as she leaned back.

“May he be resting by God’s bosom,” she shook her head, “but I neva believed that foo foo story Mr. Armitage tried to sell me about you joining some terrorist organization. I knew something was up, so I thanked him for telling me, brought yuh poopa home, and I waited. And on September 8, 2008, the plan was revealed to me. The night before I saw you on CNN, this whole block was filled with police, FBI, you name it with them big guns, waiting for you. And when you shot into the air of Washington DC for all the world to see, I was de first to run outside yelling, screaming, and strutting up and down the block like I’d won the lotto! Every last one of them jackasses didn’t know what to do with themselves!”

She nodded with pride while rubbing her daughter’s hand.

“So you have to forgive me, my child,” her mother said earnestly, “if what you went through has not only restored my faith a trillion fold but has turned me into a powerful prayer warrior because, by the laws of man, and by logic and science, you were suppose to be dead, and I, your mother, was suppose to be forced to bury you.”

It was an argument Sophia could not refute as she lowered her head. Mrs. Dennison leaned and raised her daughter’s head as she gazed into her eyes.

“You tink anyting is new about you, or anyting that is going on?” Mrs. Dennison smiled. “God gave Samson strength to kill a lion, slay an entire army with only de jawbone of an ass, and destroy the temple of Dagon wit de Philistines inside of it. Him give Solomon great wisdom fe rule over de people of Israel, and my God sent Him only Son to walk on water, cast demons out of man, feed masses with a bit of fish and bread, and to die at the hands of man for the sins of the world only to raise again for the dead. Dat bwoy wit de hamma. What him name? Thunda god? Him have nothing on my Jesus Christ!”

A slight smirk appeared on Sophia’s face from her mother’s humorous, yet serious, remarks.

“And you can believe its science or whatever that saved you, but I know…” Mrs. Dennison paused as tears began to pour from her eyes again, “that my God is Who saved you from death, to show the world that He is God, and only He has power over life and death! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

Mrs. Dennison clutched the table weeping; Sophia wiped away the tears from her own eyes as she leaned over and gently rubbed her mother’s back.

“And the thing all three of those heroes of the Lord have in common is that in their most weakest of moment dem called upon a Higher Power for help. Even the Son of Man Himself called for His Father,” her mother said through her sobs. “You are not an island! You cannot keep holding tings like these inside and dealing with them on your own, when you have a family and a God willing to share your pain and burden with you. Dat is what makes you normal! And then you just pop up out of nowhere and go ‘by the way, I’m going through dis and dat.’ Dat is unfair to us, and it is unfair to you! You ah doctor, and you nuh no stress kills? Family was created to ease stress and to carry each other’s burden to make the load lighter! Dat is why we are here!”

She grasped her daughter’s hand, holding it up tightly, and kissed it.

“Put your trust in God, yuh hear me? Him bring you this far, him will bring you all of the way. Now,” her voice gained strength again, “the next time I see you, I betta see me granpickney next to you. How old is she?”

“Ten,” Sophia said meekly.

Her mother looked at her as if she wanted to take something and smack her. Sophia leaned back on instinct fearing she would.

“I want to see her,” she said again, “and don’t you worry! Make whoever wan fe come, come! Dem tink you bad? Where dem tink you get it from? Ah one mad Jamaican and Belizean give birth to you. Ah, lead soup we drink and our forehead we use fe cotch steel door. Make dem come!”

Her mother’s odd tough humor had a way of bringing lightness back into a room. She could not help but to laugh, which made her mother, who was attempting to be serious, laugh as well.

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The next twenty minutes before she left her mother prepared a backpack filled with snacks such as Jamaican Bulla cake and Belizean style Gizzada. She also threw in some lotion, a Gospel CD of her choir’s latest concert, and some fingernail polish.

Sophia protested that she did not need to carry the items and that her mother would see the child tomorrow, but her mother demanded that she carry them anyway to her grandchild.

“And you make sure she gets these,” she reminded her as they walked out the door.

“Yes, Mom,” Sophia sighed.

“And remember!” her voice got louder, “I don’t want to just see her tomorrow! She’s spending the weekend with me so she better have a dress to go to church! If she don’t have one I will go out and buy one for her!”

“Yes, Mom,” Sophia groaned.

“Now come give your mother a hug before you go!” she commanded.

Sophia trudged over wrapping her arms around her. She got back a kiss with a tighter hug, and a ten minute prayer filled with tears giving thanks and asking for safe travels.

She exited the gate getting ready to take off, her heart much lighter than when she came until a familiar vehicle pulled up putting a scowl on her face. She threw on her hood hiding her displeasure from her mother as her youngest sister Gemma stepped out of her vehicle wearing a nervous look.

“Auntie Sophee! It’s auntie Sophee!” young voices screamed.

Spilling out from a jeep were her three nieces Natasha, Joyce, and Anita, along with her nephew, Austin, who was the second eldest of the four, stemming from ages eleven, eight, six, and four years old. They swarmed her forcing her to throw a smile on her face as she knelt down to hug them all.

Showing her strength as a treat she stood up lifting all four of them up as they held on tightly. She gave them all kisses before setting them back down.

“Are you staying? Are you staying?” they all chimed in.

“No babies,” she smiled. “I just came to visit Grandma. I have to leave.”

“When are we going to see you again?” asked Anita.

“Soon honey,” she smiled rubbing her head, “maybe this Saturday.”

“All right granpickneys,” her mother clapped, “ya auntie half to leave, come inside the gate!”

They each gave her one last hug and kiss before entering the gate to greet their grandmother. Sophia walked away without acknowledging her younger sister. Gemma cautiously walked up to her hoping not to make a scene.

“Hi,” was all she managed to say.

“Mom texted you and told you I was here?” Sophia bluntly asked.

“No, I came to drop something off to her,” Gemma answered defensively.

“Yeah right.” She sucked her teeth.

“Look can we please talk,” she pressed.

Sophia, towering over her sister, made sure her back was fully turned to her mother and the children so they did not see the disgust and contempt she had for her.

“About what, Gemma? It’s been almost six years now.” Her eyes began to glow brighter. “What exactly do you think is going to be any different from our last conversation or how the hell I feel toward you?”

“I don’t know how many times I can say how much I am sorry for what I thought and said about you,” her voice quivered. “God, it was stupid, and I never should have thought or said those things.”

“That’s it? I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Sophia huffed with a sarcastic smile. “And, magically, poof! We’re all good and everything is forgiven?”

She gave her a scowl that would turn water to stone.

“You, my own flesh and blood, believed and told everyone I was capable of murdering my own husband, and you did it for a fifteen minute spot on Fox news and then again on Season Five of “Snapped,” you miserable bitch,” Sophia growled. “Take your apologies and choke on them. What you did was unforgivable, and the only reason I’m even playing nice and uttering a word to you is because of that woman up there and our father.”

“What happen?” Mrs. Dennison called out with concern, “you both all right?”

“We’re good, Mummy!” Sophia turned with a fake bright smile on her face.

Her face quickly returned back to hatred when addressing her sister. But her mother already knew she was lying to her face. It was a charade they were putting on in the street. Things were still not good between the two of them. Knowing that made her smile drop and her heart sink.

“You can’t keep this up.” Gemma shook her head. “You can’t keep hating me. I’m your blood, there are children involved.”

“Don’t you dare use your children are a bargaining chip against me!” she slightly raised her voice, “from the hair clip, to almost getting expelled from college, to your friggin’ first marriage, and everything else in between, I’ve been cleaning up your mess and standing beside you as an older sister, and the one time my world falls apart you join everyone else in sending me to the gallows. Screw you. We aren’t ever going to be good. If those kids need anything from me I will always be there, but as far as you and I go, you are dead to me. By the way, you have a niece, and she won’t need anything from you. Now move from me.”

A hurt and stunned Gemma stepped back as Sophia, not giving her a second look, exploded into the air rocketing off. She lowered her head covering her face in the middle of the street so her mother and children would not see the tears she shed.

“Gemma! What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong,” Mrs. Dennison yelled from the steps.

“Nothing, Mummy! Nothing.” She turned away wiped her eyes.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Twenty thousand miles up, she hovered and screamed her lungs out against the cold harsh air until she could scream no more. She felt like bringing down another mountain to relieve her frustration. Looking at her bracers she opted to do something more constructive.

Taking a deep breath, she slid open the right bracer revealing her new super minicomputer. Pulling out the earpiece, she wrapped it around her right lobe making sure the listening part stuck it in her ear canal. With a tap, the earpiece constricted locking onto the ear. Placing the earpiece on also activated the computer.

“Hello, Ms. Dennison,” a female voice spoke into her ear. “I am your personal A.I. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Female voice,” she smiled.

“I can also be a male voice if you desire.” The A.I.’s voice changed into a proper speaking male voice.

“Let’s keep you as a male for now,” she decided. “Do you have a name?”

“No,” he cheerfully answered, “you can name me if you’d like.”

She thought for a minute about using a particular name but decided it would just be too weird, like attempting to bring back the dead.

“How about Vincent?” she asked.

“I like Vincent,” he responded.

“Then Vincent it is,” she smiled. “Vincent, can you sync with my phone?”

“I have the ability to sync with all of your computer and communication devices if you wish,” he confirmed.

“What the heck,” she shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“Detecting an iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and an Alienware 18 laptop computer,” Vincent confirmed, “syncing now. All devices synced.”

“Wow, that was fast!” her eyes widened.

“Thank you, I try to be proficient,” he said.

“Vincent,” she sighed, “I need to relieve some stress. You have my music?”

“All eight thousand songs, including your twenty playlists,” he confirmed.

“Need some flying music.” She stretched. “Just so you know, I plan on traveling hard and fast.”

“Anything in particular?” he asked.

“Surprise me.” She adjusted the straps to her backpack.

“I think I found something,” he chirpily responded.

“Holdin’ On” by Skrillex and Nero Remix pumped into her ear drawing a bright smile on her face.

“Oh yeah,” she nodded. “I can work with this.”

She exploded across the sky, soaring higher, moving faster. The wind was no match for her as she tore through it. All it did was boom out her location as she pushed her limits only to find that she had none.

She pitched and rolled executing every cliché flight pose she could think of. She dove skimming the ocean creating her own waves with the force she generated, and then ascended back up to the skies climbing higher. The hook of the song was her trigger to push herself faster and faster.

While opening herself up, she came across two superhumans streaking across the sky in front of her. She could tell they were not heroes, as they donned no special letters, initials, or symbols other than Nike and Under Armor. They were just people enjoying the new found gifts given to them.

The male in a blue and white compression outfit used powerful thrusts of plasma flames to propel himself through the air, while his female companion in a pink and black compression suit channeled air spinning around her body similar to a mini tornado to grant her flight. They both wore face masks and goggles that matched their outfits.

Feeling devious she increased her thrust easing up right in between the two of them.

The two flying companions were quite shocked to see her, however, with a nod they decided to give her the race she was looking for.

She made them believe they were her equal, soaring, diving, and strafing across the sky together. Then she revealed to them that they were not. Rolling on her back, she increasing thrust to slowly pull away from them. No matter how much they pushed their powers, they could not catch her.

With enough distance between them, she waved goodbye and rocketed up to the heavens forcing them to halt and hover staring up in amazement as she disappeared.

She kept on going, increasing her speed, her mission was to break through the Earth’s atmosphere once again. There was a chance the food would be inedible in the backpack she carried, but she did not care. She would make a quick stop to one of the small islands if need be. Her focus was reaching the stars that she now saw appearing before her.

She tore through it like wet tissue paper entering the coldness of space; becoming truly unbound. With her new target in sight, she extended her arms and let it go. She was a billion times faster with no atmosphere attempting to fight against her. Meteors from the size of pebbles to baseballs capable of making Swiss cheese out of a normal unprotected human body crumbled to dust as they struck hers.

It was vast, the endless Universe, as she streaked through it with the song pumping in her ear. Whipping asteroid belts, cannoning comets, spinning planets, with no fear of dying it was all beautiful to her, and tempting to explore; for now, she just wanted to be the first woman to visit one place.

She was amazed in the years after her reawakening she never bothered to travel to the moon. She circled slipping easily into its orbit. Even without the light of the sun, she could see the barren surface of the moon. As she came back into the light of the sun, she could see all five flags once with the red, white, and blue colors now stark white due to the abuse of space. She decided to come back and visit the surface. Maybe next time she would bring Kimberly if she was up to it, along with a Jamaican and Belizean flag.

She remembered she had a daughter to get back to as she put it in warp drive leaving the orbit of the moon heading back home.

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Back at Sanctuary, Kimberly slowly strolled, with Sir George walking beside her, onto the village boat harbor where she tracked down Kyle and Akram.

She had not spoken to them since her blow up in front of everyone in the village. She stopped by Kyle’s home where her mother happily told her what they were up to and could be hiding out.

They sat side by side each other with makeshift finishing poles, a six pack of soft drinks, and a bucket of bait. Without a word she stepped out of her flip-flops and sat down next to them, while Sir George curiously peeked into the bucket wondering what was inside. Neither boy looked in her direction to acknowledge her. Instead, they simultaneously scooted down creating a gap between themselves and her.

For a minute they just sat there, the boys staring off into the horizon, while she looked down at the water that her toes nearly touched.

“Look,” she fumbled around with her words, “I’m like really sorry about what I said the other day.”

“Whatever,” Kyle shrugged.

He had a face wishing she would leave. Akram slowly glanced her way while continuing to show unity with his friend.

“You guys aren’t stupid.” She began to rock. “I was just mad and really jealous of you guys.”

“Jealous about what?” Kyle glanced her way.

“I only have like two memories of my mom,” she sighed. “The day I was born and the day she saved me from some, like, really bad people. That’s it, I didn’t know anything about her until like two days ago. And you guys not only have your parents, but you had her. You knew almost everything about her, and I didn’t, and she’s my mom. It wasn’t fair. But you guys didn’t deserve that. You were trying to be nice to me, and I was a jerk.”

“Nah, it’s cool.” Kyle finally understood. “I guess I’d be jealous too if I had a cool mom like yours.”

“So, are we good?” She turned to them.

“We’re good.” Akram turned to her, speaking for himself.

“Yeah, we’re good.” Kyle smiled.

They sat there for another minute as Sir George pulled out one of the baits giving it a sniff and lick test. Not a fan of either, the Spider Monkey twitched and flung the bait away. He then went back into the bucket to see what else was in it.

“So, how high did you go?” Kyle coughed out his question.

“Really high,” she smirked.

“Did you see stars?” Akram turned with a grin.

“Try floating in space for a couple of minutes,” she beamed.

“No way!” Kyle’s eyes widened.

“Way!” she grinned.

She turned sitting cross-legged to tell them in detail her first attempt to fly. The boys moved closer listening attentively, no longer concerned about fishing.

CHAPTER 20

Thousands of miles away at the Ranch, Rogers granted a day of R&R for the team. Rosann decided to spend her day training in the Hurt Locker honing her abilities and transformations.

She started by transforming into a humanoid Bengal tigress, she then reverted back to human form to quickly change into a humanoid black-tailed jackrabbit. Remembering Erica’s teachings, she conditioned her body to get use to the extremely painful transformations. She decided that if she was going to remain with the team, fatal flaws, like discomfort, had to be pounded out of her. Remembering that every second counted in battle, her transformations had to be as simple as breathing.

As this was also the first time she actually used her rabbit transformation, she took the time to examine herself running her paw like hands over her soft brown pelt and then her long ears. She then looked down at her massive feet and hind legs. With a powerful leap she left where she stood, soaring across the floor that was twice the length of a basketball court. With another huge leap, she landed feet first against the wall on the other side of the room backing flipping off of it for a somewhat graceful landing.

Satisfied with her feat, she quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching her, and then assumed the position using her hind leg to scratch the back of her ear.

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Within the recreational room, Adrian and Oliver were going through another form of training as they squared off against one another. Feverishly clicking their controllers, they did battle as Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix in the video game realm of Tekken 6. The current score was two to one in Oliver’s favor.

Oliver began his offensive unleashing one of Paul’s combo attacks, which Adrian weathered and then sidestepped.

“I saw you coming out of my sister’s room the day before at 0500,” Adrian blurted out.

His remark caused Oliver to fumble with his controller opening him up for a combo attack from Marshall Law, which Adrian controlled. Oliver quickly put the game on pause, before turning to face him.

“Look man…” he nervously began to explain.

“My sister found our grandmother the day she passed away.” Adrian stared off into space as he spoke. “My folks didn’t believe in those old folks home crap because of all the evil shit they heard were done to the elderly while they were there. So when my dad’s mom got too old to take care of herself, she came to live with us. She was awesome and energetic for her old age, and we had a blast with her, especially Rosann.”

Oliver leaned back a bit while continuing to listen to his teammate’s tale.

“She was always the last to show up for breakfast,” he shrugged. “She was older and had a bad hip, but she always showed up in time to have breakfast with us and see us off to school. One day she seemed to take longer than usual and Dad sent Rosann to check on her. Five minutes later Rosann let out this blood-curdling scream. When we all ran in to see what was the matter, Rosann was curled in the corner of the room crying hysterically, and my grandma was laid out on the bed with her eyes wide open, and a painful contorted look on her face. Doctors said it was a stroke. Every night for about a year, she’d wake up crying and screaming from night terrors. The only time it didn’t happen was when I or my folks slept in the same room as her.”

Adrian turned placing a firm grip on Oliver’s shoulder looking him in the eyes.

“Thanks for looking out for her,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime.” Oliver smiled with a nod.

With no more words needed to be said, Oliver unpaused the game restarting the battle.

“So when are you really going to start dating my sister?” he blurted out again.

Oliver fumbled again with his controller opening Paul Phoenix up again for a vicious sidekick from Marshall Law.

“Dude!” Oliver fired back.

Adrian, with his question, was either being nosey or using psychological warfare to get into his head in order to win the game.

“I’m just saying man,” he shrugged while tapping the buttons, “it’s clear as day that you two had the Jones for one another since you met. Stop all the games, and make something happen already. Like my old man would say, ‘Life is short and so is Happy Hour.’”

“What the hell does that mean?” Oliver asked while desperately attempting to recover from the beating he was taking.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged again. “My old man’s always saying some crazy shit.”

Another vicious combo attack secured Adrian the win.

“Son of a…” Oliver yelled in frustration.

“Oh yeah,” he grinned. “That’s tied at two, ready for the tie breaker?”

“Hard-On’s a really stupid name,” Oliver blurted out turning to him, “and doesn’t do you justice.”

Adrian wore a look as if he was hurt and offended, which made him almost regret saying it.

“It really is a stupid name,” he nodded in agreement.

“It is man,” Oliver broke down laughing, “It really is.”

“It sounds like a bad washed up gonzo porn name,” Adrian screwed his face up.

“It sounds like a low budget porn name, where it’s like done in a dirty motel room with a camcorder,” Oliver added. “So you see like every imperfection in both the girl and the guy while they’re doing it.”

“Like a Hunts Point motel,” Adrian shivered.

“I don’t know where that is,” Oliver smirked, “but by the look on your face, if it’s one of those places where you can catch an STD just by walking into the room, then yeah.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking when I came up with that name,” Adrian shook his head, “all the good ones were really taken!”

“How about this one,” Oliver proposed, “Heavy Element.”

He sat for a minute thinking about the name and then cracked a smile.

“Heavy… Element,” he let it roll out of his mouth, “that sounds hot, it’s not stupid, sounds really badass, and covers all the basis regarding my abilities. Thanks!”

“No problem.” Oliver cracked a smile. “Now let’s do this time breaker.”

Oliver selected Brian Fury as his character, while Adrian picked Kazuya Mishima as they prepared to square off again.

“Seriously,” Adrian asked throwing the first punch, “did you at least kiss her before you left her room?”

Oliver fumbled again allowing him to open up with Mishima’s Electric Wind Godfist attack knocking his Brian Fury character off its’ feet. He gave Adrian a dirty look while getting back into the game.

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Within the central command, Rogers sat alone in his old Marine military fatigues at one of the consoles watching CSPAN where various news anchors, reporters, and experts weighed in on the battle at Times Square. Though people mourned the loss of Captain Omega and the other heroes that fell on that day fighting to protect the city, the death toll on the human side tipped the scale as an example of what kind of threat superhumans posed to regular humans if left uncheck. This matter did not just divide the country but the world.

Areas like the Midwest and the Middle East saw them as abominations and demons, while New York, California, and Japan to name a few viewed them as celebrities.

Abe did not care about the politics, his mind was on making sure Times Square never happened in any part of the country under his watch again.

He briefly glanced at the surveillance monitors housing the three captured members of the Zombie Nation within Purgatory.

“Rogers, you there?” Erica came over the audio system.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he answered.

“Need you in my lab ASAP,” she shot back. “We have a problem.”

“Will be there in two minutes.” He narrowed his eyes.

He sucked in some air and then blew it back out. He had hoped the day would have ended as it started. Peaceful.

Two minutes later, Rogers walked into Erica’s lab. The expression on her face said it all.

“We’ve got a huge problem.” She flailed her arms. “I just finished watching the Draugr beheading Captain Omega…”

“Why are you looking at something that gruesome?” Abe sneered, cutting her off.

“Because that whole incident has been stuck in my mind!” she shot back. “Captain Omega was a class 10 Titan who tanked armor piercing rounds! The Draugr cut his head off with two strikes! Even if he got ahold of tank armor to forge his weapons there’s no way he should have been able to pierce his skin, especially in two strikes.”

“But you said he’s above a class 10 Titan,” Rogers pointed out.

“Based on the density of the Captain’s skin, the Draugr’s weapons should have hit him like a Porsche hitting a brick wall doing eighty! Nicked him at best!” she said. “I just finished doing an analysis on his weapons and armor. They’re not forged from ordinary commercial or military steel.”

“What are they forged from?” Rogers furrowed his brows.

She turned pulling up the scans and data from the weapons and armor.

“The only type of metals that when properly forged can pierce dense EVO skin, Iridium blended with Maraging steel,” she explained. “The first is near impossible to find because it comes from space, and the second is extreme difficult to forge. Combined, it comes an extremely close second in strength to my dark metal formula. There’s no way that lumbering mental midget down below had the brain cells to find and combine these two materials to create these weapons.”

“How were they made?” Rogers asked.

“My guess,” she swallowed, “a machine similar to my fabricator. The sword was also folded, two hundred times.”

“Folded… like… samurai sword folded?” Abe narrowed his eyes.

“Uhuh,” she nodded. “Yoshida Yasutaka could not forge this type of metal. The edges weren’t hand or machine sharpened either. They appear to have been heat treated… like by a laser. The same process was done to the Ghoul’s blades as well. It doesn’t end there.”

Erica quickly punched up scans of the Ghoul’s outfit.

“The Ghoul’s outfit is constructed from an experimental polyurethane material called Zero Drag and coated with hydrophobic nanoparticles. The combination creates a frictionless surface, the military has been testing it for new suits for Halo Jumpers,” Erica explained. “Once again none of those idiots downstairs would know how to properly use this stuff to construct this type of outfit.”

“So you’re saying, this stuff was created in a lab,” Abe swallowed.

“An R&D military lab,” she nervously nodded.

A sick feeling went from Rogers’ stomach and onto his face.

“Maxine, give me a visual of all the inmates in Purgatory,” Rogers ordered.

Holographic displays appeared within the cells of the Ghoul, Nachzehrer, and the Draugr. All of them sat calm and quiet in their cells with devious grins on their faces as if they knew they would not be there long.

“Do the other members of the Zombie Nation possess abilities to locate us or break through our defenses?” Abe turned to Erica.

“The kid in the robe may have the ability to create a mental tether to the ones downstairs,” Erica answered, “in order to pinpoint our location. But there’s no way they could blast their way down to our level before we responded with heavy retaliation. On our turf we could bring them down in a matter of minutes.”

The sick feeling was still with Rogers like a parasite, and Erica saw it all over his face. It said something, or someone, worse was coming.

“Tell everyone to suit up. Put the base on high alert and lock everything down,” Rogers ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Erica complied.

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Five minutes after Rogers gave the order, something fast and powerful struck the main hanger entrance of the Ranch popping it like a balloon. Shrapnel rained down everywhere as whatever demolished the hanger in under a second tore through two and a half miles of rock and steel down to the base with no sign of being stopped until it hit the hanger section where the Tornado rested severing the ship in half, bringing down structures and destroying any Doozer within the vicinity of the impact.

The entire base violently shook as explosions erupted. Black smoke bellowed, and debris rained and sprayed everywhere.

Within Erica’s lab Rogers held her tight covering her as heavy ceiling tile rained down striking his dense frame.

“Maxine!” Rogers barked, “Have we been breached?”

“Confirmed,” Maxine reported, “intruder has breached the base. Defense system unable to detect approach before impact due to immense speed and velocity. Attempting to bring up visuals.”

A holographic image of the destroyed hanger appeared. The smoke within the hanger was still thick as molasses. Yellow sinister glowing eyes sliced through it like butter. The owner stepped through the smoke with a grin that said she conquered hell and was ready to bring down heaven.

She wore long, filthy, matted blonde dreadlocks, her red and brown leather outfit was that of a biker consisting of a red tank top, leather halter top, leathers pants, and high heel boots. A red three-ring choker wrapped around her neck, while tan leather wrist bands and a matching belt tightly encircled her arms and hips.

“Fee. Fie. Foe. Fum,” were the first words audio picked up from her.

“Maxine,” Rogers squinted his eyes, “what are we dealing with?”

“Energy readings are on a bio-nuclear level,” Maxine confirmed. “Base readings are off the chart and unreadable.”

“Oh god,” Erica quivered.

She went limp in his arm. He lifted her up like an infant, holding her close.

“Going into full defense mode,” Maxine began to initiate.

All Doozers both large and small went into combat defense mode. The lights on their body went from blue to red as their backs opened up unloading two shoulder mounted ion plasma cannons. They all moved converging on the location of the mysteries female EVO.

With no warning they all powered up and laid down a salvo of firepower striking her from all directions. Some of the smaller Doozers hung from walls and ceiling structures unleashing their plasma rounds to bring her down.

Neither Abe nor Erica were surprised as the mystery woman tanked the murderous assault with very little discomfort. Having her fill of being pelted, her eerie yellow eyes blazed as she returned fire with powerful eyebeam blasts cutting down Doozers big and small.

“Maxine,” Erica found her nerves again, “where is the rest of the team?”

“Rosann is in the Hurt Locker suited up,” Maxine answered. “Oliver and Adrian were enroute to their rooms before the attack.”

“Tell Rosann to get to the central command, send Jennifer enroute to back her up,” she commanded. “Send Angie to the guys and tell them to forget about suiting up and get there as well! Patch me into Dennison ASAP! Rogers put me down.”

“What are you doing?” Rogers asked, setting her down.

“You know who she came for.” She grabbed her earpiece putting it on. “She could be down there in less than a minute. We are currently outmatched in every way possible, and once she breaks those lunatics out, they will overrun us. We need to fall back to the central command.”

“Massive energy buildup coming from the female EVO,” Maxine reported.

Rogers and Erica turned back to the screen to view the mysterious female still taking fire from the surviving Doozers power up her right fist.

“All communications are officially down,” she grinned.

She slammed her fist into the ground unleashing a shockwave type energy discharge that swept through the entire underground facility shutting down everything electrical. The bigger Doozer’s collapsed while some of the smaller ones fell from their perches or the rafters they clung to crashing to the floor below. Maxine’s android form also collapsed hitting the floor with a hard thud as the power and lights went out in Erica’s lab. Red lights from the backup generator booted up within the lab and the base providing light and power to the facility.

“That was an EMP,” Abe swallowed.

“And a powerful one.” Erica shivered with a nod. “Maxine and the girls along with the Doozers are all built with anti-EMP shielding to defend against such an attack. She’ll reboot in five minutes, the Doozers in ten, and the entire base within twenty. Until then, everything including communication, is down.”

“Enough time for her to get down to Purgatory.” Abe gritted his teeth.

“The security Doozers down there are still operational due to distance between them and the blast,” Erica informed him, “but they won’t be able to slow her down, much less stop her.”

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Just as Erica had predicted, the extremely powerful blonde dynamo extended her right hand focusing. Her veins glowed as an orange red electrical discharge poured from the pores in her skin, dancing around her hand, forming a baseball size ball of energy in her palm. As she unleashed it, it expanded to twice the size of a manhole cover in circumference burning through the floor all the way down to the Purgatory prison unit. With no fear she walked right into the hole dropping a half mile down hitting the ground floor of the prison where she was met by two large and heavily armored Doozers with midnight blue and black color schemes opening fire on her. The powerful volleys from their shoulder cannons and four finger mitts where ten times more powerful than their counterparts upstairs as Lady Tech equipped them with a quadruple Ion core system. They were able to knock her backwards taking her off her feet. She rolled to her hand and one knee still brandishing the evil grin she wore upstairs.

She answered the security Doozers’ attack was another powerful eyebeam blast burning a huge gaping hole through one of them igniting the ion cells within it. The explosion tore through the hallway of the prison sending shrapnel flying everywhere. Its brother standing behind it for back up, took the brunt of its detonation, displaying superficial damage. It opened fire standing as a last line of defense between her and the prisoners.

Employing superhuman speed she darted toward it. Now ready for it, she tanked its powerful shots slamming right into it. The Doozer fought to stop her forward motion by using its back legs to put on the breaks, but she proved to be far too powerful.

She continued to push the behemoth of a machine backwards. The back rear legs of the four it had gave out simultaneously as she drilled it into the steel wall at the end of the hallway crushing its upper torso on impact.

Badly damaged, it attempted to follow through its prime directive to defend the prison by grabbing her. She tore it’s right arm off, followed by its head, taking the last bit of fight out of it. She tossed the arm but paused to examined the head.

“New model.” She shook her head. “Same old junk.”

She casually chucked it to the floor as well. With her arms folded behind her, she strolled back to the occupied prison cells. Ghoul and Nachzehrer each lowered their head to her disapproving glare.

She shook her head with a motherly huff before tearing open each of the prison cells with one bare hand. The Ghoul was the first to exit, while Nachzehrer took a minute to come out fashioning her torn prison garb into a skimpy makeshift bikini top and bottom.

Their obvious leader did not wait for her, heading for the tank that held the Draugr. With a powerful energy blast from her hand she created a sizable hole in the tank shaking the facility. The thick gelatin liquid spilled out onto the floor bringing the floating cell crashing violently to the bottom of the tank. She used her eyebeams to cut through the dark metal fortified cell like it was a thick frozen cheesecake.

It was all the monster needed to smash through his prison. The burn marks on his body from her eyebeams healed as he now towered over her. Without hesitation he dropped to one knee bowing his head in servitude. She pat the top of his long brown mane skull and motioned for him to rise.

“Back out the way you came, huh, boss?” Ghoul asked.

“Do I look like the type to walk?” She glared at him.

She raised her hand forcing everyone, except for the Draugr, to run for cover.

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Up top at base level Abe carried Maxine’s android body following Erica to the central command. She placed her hand on the hand imprinting panel activating the manual override system in order to open the doors.

“You can put me down Sergeant,” a rebooted Maxine responded, “detecting Angie and Jennifer also affected by the EMP rebooting. Doozers will reboot on five minutes, all other systems in ten.”

“Maxine, where the hell’s everyone else?” Rogers barked.

“They’re all enroute here,” she responded. “They should be…”

She paused as her eyes went wide, which brought a sickening amount of dread to both Eric and Abe.

“Detecting a massive power buildup coming from the Purgatory prison,” Maxine informed.

“Hit the deck!” Abe screamed.

He grabbed Erica, pulling her to the floor wrapping his arms around her to shield her just as an energy blast the width of a train with the force and heat on the level of the sun tore through the facility engulfing everything in its path. The blast was so powerful it cut a path back up to the surface ripping through the destroyed hanger.

It also set off a chain reaction of explosions, bringing down solid rock and structures.

Rogers got to his feet and picked Erica up checking to see if she was all right. Maxine also knocked off her feet from the blast was up before them.

“Maxine, any casualties?” Rogers yelled.

“Negative,” she reported. “Everyone is still alive. Angie is with Adrian and Oliver, while Jennifer is with Rosann. Shall I…”

“Stay your ass here, and watch Erica,” he commanded. “I’m going out to get them.”

A shaken Erica grabbed his arm before he left.

“Come back with them,” she ordered.

He nodded as he ran through the doors diving into the black smoke and fire that now filled the base.

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Rosann stumbled around in the middle of hell. Coughing and hacking from the suffocating smoke, she followed Jennifer leading her to the central command while trying to avoid four alarm blazes. The fire control system kicked in working overtime as it sprayed a form of foam in an attempt to kill the fires that had erupted about the base.

“How much further?” she coughed.

“We’re almost there,” Jennifer confirmed.

The dread that Erica and Rogers had before the blast passed onto Rosann as the sound of booming footsteps forced her to back up.

Out of the smoke, that could have killed an elephant, emerged the sadistic Draugr looking to kill something. And now the monster stood before her.

With full knowledge of what the monster was capable of, a terrified Rosann stood her ground despite her fear. Summoning up courage she ran her hand across her fossil bone bracer and transformed into a human hybrid version of a Kodiak bear matching the Draugr size for size.

She bellowed a roar brandishing her claws challenging him.

Jennifer also prepared to fight by Rosann’s side converting into combat mode. Her back opened up allowing her to reach and pull out two hi-tech hilts made for samurai swords. Another section of her back opened up producing the blades which she attached the hilts drawing out two razor sharp swords. They both squared off flanking the monster ready to attack.

In an instant, Jennifer’s eyes went wide like Maxine’s before she defended an attacked against a dual metal pipe wielding Ghoul using them like escrima sticks, leaving Rosann to fight the Draugr alone.

The Draugr with a savage grin roared back and went on the attack going for Rosann first. She was able to evade him knowing that despite her increase in strength he was far more powerful than her and could tear her apart within his grasp.

She stuck to moving in and out of his swings swiping and clawing at him with her thick dagger like nails.

Her plans were thwarted as her razor sharp nails cracked and chipped again his super dense skin.

The android and EVO duo held their own again the Viking powerhouse and the speedster until Rosann was clipped by a powerful backhand sending her into a tailspin. She hit the floor hard, saved from any additional injury from her dense bear physiology. She slowly reverted back to her human form in her unconscious state.

Jennifer, seeing Rosann down, went to run to her side, but a faster moving Ghoul blocked her path laying into her with powerful strikes from the dark metal forged pipes he wielded forcing her to defend herself.

She ran defensive battle scenarios in nanoseconds calculating how to get past the murderous speedster to protect Rosann from the beast now standing over her. None of them had a survival rate over five percent for Rosann. Rosann’s survival rate became lower as Nachzehrer attempted to blindside Jennifer with her own pipe swinging for her skull.

Jennifer’s 360 degree vision and sensors helped her barely duck the head-removing swing only to take a chest full of pipe from a faster moving Ghoul. She tumble rolled backwards with the hit to avoid further damage and to get some distance between her and her attackers. Unfortunately, it also put additional distance between her and Rosann, dropping her survival rate to zero.

The Draugr, in his own world, prepared to stomp down Rosann’s skull like it was a grape. A powerful bluish-white electrical blast from Oliver’s electrical plasma form staggered him. Bellowing a battle cry he struck the Draugr with a powerful plasma ion blast burning a hole into his chest while propelling him several yards through a destroyed structure.

He did the same to Nachzehrer knocking her into the wreckage of the Tornado, while an armored Adrian ran to his sister’s side with Angie to check on her.

“She has a severe concussion and a cracked collar bone.” Angie quickly scanned her. “We have to get her out of here now.”

Oliver wrapped up his one man mop up by showing Ghoul that the speed of lightning was always faster than sound. He charged and strafed at a rattled Ghoul witnessing his teams fall clobbering him with an energy charged right cross. He did not have time to scream from the electricity leaving fourth degree burns on the side of his face as the jolting hit fired him across the base into the obliterated mess hall.

“Get to the central command,” he yelled at Adrian. “I’ll buy you some time!”

Another sliver of blessing came their way as the power came back on within the base. Relief came over Oliver as the Sergeant finally appeared with a rifle in tow finding them. It was quickly dashed away as he witnessed his oncoming death.

He saw her before he did. Charging out of the smoke she prepared to tear Abe apart in a matter of seconds. For a split second his plasma form turned from a bluish-white to a blinding deep blue.

With will and adrenaline pushing him, his new form allowed him to get to her before she got to Rogers, blindsiding her with a powerful flying shoulder charge that even she could not see or block.

The energy charged strike detonated like a micro supernova tearing through the base, knocking everyone off their feet while sending the mystery woman tearing through the other side of the base.

Adrian, Angie, and Jennifer all huddled together on the ground to cover a badly-injured Rosann from the explosion.

A groaning, yet still alive, Abe caught in the middle of the blast fought to his feet. Smoke wafted from his body from first degree burns that quickly healed via his regenerative abilities. Through his blurry vision that slowly cleared up, Oliver, still crackling in his blue and white electrical plasma form, stood defensively facing the direction he believed he knocked their powerful intruder.

“She’s not dead.” Oliver glanced his way.

“Then let’s get the hell out…”Abe commanded.

“It’s too late. I can feel her, she’s coming,” Oliver shot back, “you guys got to run now! I’ll buy us sometime!”

Abe was about to admonish Oliver, ordering him to screw the heroics and get his ass in gear with the rest of them, until he heard the rumbling starting to get closer.

“Go Sergeant! Go!” Oliver frantically screamed. “I’ll be right behind you! Go!”

Rogers reluctantly nodded as he motioned to Adrian, who was cradling his sister in his arms, to start running. Both men reluctantly turned back giving their team member one final hard look before running to the central command with the android sisters following.

Oliver stood trembling, not just because he felt the pain from his possible fractured arm which was caused while knocking the female powerhouse across the base, but because fear was swimming around in his gut. His chances of walking away from this were greatly against him, but he had to hold the line for his team to escape and survive to fight another day.

As he predicted, she returned in a matter of seconds. He wasted no words as he focused drawing power from the base again to reach his deep blue hue form again. Her obnoxious smile unsettled him as he unleashed a barrage of streaming bolts at her.

She covered up, weathering through heat ten times hotter than the sun, before bolting. Oliver’s hat trick was unsuccessful the second time around. Not only was his most powerful shots ineffective against her, she was terrifyingly faster than him.

Oliver found himself once again in the grip of another woman, and the motherly aura he felt from Sophia was nowhere in the woman with the eerie yellow glowing eyes. She creeped him out as she appeared to be checking him out.

“My… you’re cute,” she savagely grinned.

“And you’re an ugly ass…” he uttered.

The pressure she applied to his throat silenced him, sending him into a gagging fit.

“Please baby, that’s the anger and adrenaline talking,” she scoffed. “I know I look hot.”

“If you’re going to kill me,” he said, “then… do it.”

“Kill the tough talk, handsome.” She narrowed her eyes. “No one is anxious to die… especially you.”

Her free hand began to crackle and snap as the power within her seeped from her pores, forming a ball of energy within her hand. She aimed it in the direction the rest of the Regulators fled to.

“No,” Oliver groaned, struggling. “What are you doing? No!”

“Proving a point,” she smirked.

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Erica spun around to the opening of the central command doors. Rogers stormed in with Adrian holding his sister and the android twins.

“Where’s Oliver?” she frantically looked around.

“Buying us time,” Rogers said.

“What?” she yelled back. “You left him?”

“He stayed so we could live!” he shot back. “Did you reach Dennison?”

“We had to do some rerouting after that last blast,” Erica reported, “we’re attempting to connect now!”

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Thousands of miles away, Sophia was in cruise mode two miles off from her island. Her little joy flight had expelled the anger and frustration within her after her encounter with her younger sister, Gemma.

Her thoughts right now were on Kimberly and spending the rest of the day with her. She’d break the news to her over dinner about how happy and excited her grandmother was to find out about her and that she would be seeing her grandparents for the first time tomorrow as well as spending the weekend with them.

She began making plans in her head to take her back to the states to do some shopping early tomorrow, so she would have some presentable clothing that she could pick out herself.

“Excuse me, Ms. Dennison.” Vincent came in through her earpiece breaking her train of thought. “Ms. Champion is hailing you. It appears to be urgent.”

“Put her on,” she answered.

“Sophia!” Erica screamed.

Her distressed voice rattled her, forcing her out of midflight. She regained her bearings and came to an instant hover in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“What is it? What’s going on?” she asked frantically.

“Tell me you have some long lost sister with your exact powers!” she yelled into the earpiece.

Her words brought a gruesome shiver to her entire body.

“No… I do not,” she answered nervously.

“Then you need to get here fast!” she shrieked, “because there is a white clone of you tearing the Ranch apart! She also broke out…”

“Another massive power buildup,” Maxine announced, “trajectory is aimed in our direction!”

“Drop us, Maxine! Drop us now!” Erica screamed.

Abe did not have the chance to ask what she meant by drop as the entire central command went into a freefall descent. Seconds after it dropped, Oliver screamed as he watched the woman once again unleash a powerful Earth-shaking blast that ripped through the base atomizing everything in its path including the main door to the central command. Had it still been there everything and everyone within it would have been vaporized to less than ash.

A thunderous booming sound shot through the earpiece causing Sophia to jolt. The line became silent.

“Erica? Erica!” she frantically screamed.

She exploded across the sky flying at supersonic speeds in the direction of the Ranch. The nausea of fear pushed her to fly even faster as she raced to California. She prayed Lady Tech was wrong. She prayed that the dead had not risen.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

The elevator converted central command continued to plummet down the cylindrical shaft as everyone human and non-human clung onto something to prevent from hitting the roof. Adrian, still in a transformed metal state, held onto his sister, while Angie, stooped down, magnetically locking her feet into the floor holding onto him.

“Nearing two mile mark in twenty seconds. Preparing to slow down,” Maxine reported. “I am also detecting falling rock debris within shaft.”

The electro-magnetic stabilizers located on the four sides became brakes, slowing the drop of the central command down the cylindrical shaft. Falling boulders and rubble caught up to it violently slamming against the roof. The center violently shook as tons of debris piled up on the top of the roof compromising its descent.

“Electro-magnetic stabilizer one is no longer functioning,” Maxine relayed. “Stabilizer three functioning at twenty percent. Please brace for possible impact.”

The central command slammed violently into the ground jolting everyone. Their troubles were not over as they hit the floor covering their heads. Parts of the shaft along with boulders, rock, and dirt rained down in the tons burying the central command. Everything went black for a second before the red emergency lights booted up.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back up top, Oliver continued to groan and struggle in the grip of the blonde dreadlocked woman as the three formally captured members of the Zombie Nation surrounded him.

“I’ll kill you!” he whimpered, clawing the air to get to her. “You bitch! I’ll kill you!”

She increased her grip on his throat making his body stiffen up as he struggled to breathe. With a slight flex of her arm, her hand began to glow siphoning energy from him through the pores of her skin. Her eyes glowed brighter as she nourished enough energy to drain him down to his blue and white form.

“No need to get uppity baby. You will be joining your team very soon.”

She pulled him closer to whisper in his ear.

“Do you know why energy wielders like you die when you drain them of all their power?” she softly asked.

He groaned to break free of her iron grip knowing what was coming next.

“It’s because the power within you is the same energy that allows you to function and live,” she smirked. “The electricity running through your nervous system and brain is all the same. So when that is drained… all brain function and vital organs slowly shut down. I understand it’s a very terrifying way for your type to die.”

She flexed her arm a bit tighter, causing her hand to glow brighter. Oliver frantically yelled, struggling to break free as the power within him was painfully being ripped away from him and into her.

She was right, he did not want to die. He did not want to leave this world, his family, his new family. Most importantly, he did not want to leave her. He had so much to say, so much to tell her, and this woman was taking it all away from him with a smile.

His plasma form went from bluish-white to his regular white form before disappearing. As his breathing became difficult due to his lungs failing, his eyes began to flicker as he weakly struggled to break free. Even his falling tears did not sway her from taking his life as she looked him dead in the eyes.

His eyes went cold, his body limp, as she squeezed every spark of power out of him until there was just a shell to release.

No one even winced as his body hit the floor.

Her eye shined brighter from the power she absorbed from a lifeless Oliver. She looked intoxicated as she glanced at her glowing hand crackling with a red electrical discharge before powering it down.

“She’ll be here any minute, so I will go up first to distract her,” she commanded. “Asses back to the base, and wait there till I return. Understood?”

They all nodded as she took off flying back up through the massive tunnel that she made to the top. The Draugr and Nachzehrer used their powerful legs to leap to the surface, while the Ghoul used his speed to run pass them all the way back to the top. They all waited inside what was left of the hanger as the mysterious blonde powerhouse was the first to exit as planned.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Sophia’s heart quickened as she flew up to see the black smoke wafting from the obliterated hanger. She touched down throwing off the backpack her mother gave her as someone emerged from it.

The blood in her veins began to burn as the woman got closer and closer. Her eyes and hair were indeed different, she looked much stronger, but there was no mistaking that obnoxious sadistic smile as she confidently swaggered over to her.

“I know! I know!” #3 grinned throwing her hands up. “For a woman who was suppose to die screaming, I look damn good, right?”

Her whole world became white as she detonated the air around her taking flight. An inaudible sound of blind rage emitted from her lips sent animals within earshot running for cover as she propelled herself toward the woman she knew as #3. Surprisingly, #3 stood her ground as she prepared to take a hit equivalent to ten thousand exajoules of force.

The impact unleashed a sonic boom sound similar to a mini-nuke as Sophia struck #3 with a flying shoulder tackle taking both of them airborne. The speed she was moving at was beyond Mach 20. Blinded by rage, she lost track of direction. Her focus was set on putting #3 through the largest structure within her vicinity, which at her current speed took her halfway around the world and straight toward the Matterhorn.

In one strike, the most renowned mountain bordering Switzerland and Italy was shattered. Massive chunks of mountain rained down while causing an avalanche obliterating everything in its path.

The ride did not stop as a reckless Sophia sent them crashing into the heart of the Forest Fun Park bringing down trees with zip lines and other structures. Visitors and tourists ran and screamed searching for safety, while those within the aerial tramways, bawled and cried clinging onto whatever they could grab to hold onto including one another as it swayed back and forth.

Sophia pulled herself off of a downed tree. Realizing what her unchecked emotions had done, she quickly pulled herself together. The first thing she had to do was save the male tourist falling from a snapped zip line and then stabilize the shaking structure attached to trees.

Her hair stood on the back of her neck as she leaped through the sky catching the screaming zipliner in midfall setting him down. She could not stop to check if he was okay as she bolted to secure the massive metal tower. She pushed it downward into the ground to secure it.

It was all for knot as an orange and red energy blast blew the top of the tower apart snapping the cables sending two suspended carts falling and crashing to the ground.

“Noooooo!” Sophia screamed.

#3 stood sneering in the center of the chaos. With a hand gesture, she beckoned Sophia to come at her. Drenched with fury, she obliged, propelling herself toward her. It sounded like a bomb detonating as she slammed into her again driving her through the dense forest woods.

Trees shattered in half as Sophia drove her backwards through thick foliage to beat her to death in an isolated area. Ice chills ran throughout her body as she realized she was slowing down. #3 bared down, straightening her body into a slanting position, trenching the ground with her feet.

Sophia stopped her forward thrust landing on her feet. Her plan was to grab #3 by her legs lifting her up, and then go airborne again going straight up. Before she could put her plan into motion, #3 revealed that she was not only disturbingly stronger but faster than Sophia.

She leaped up before she could react and delivered a crushing elbow to the upper part of Sophia’s spine. She felt every bit of it.

Pain, in the almost seven years since her reawakening, she had not felt—the type that #3 delivered to her. Not even the Draugr’s lucky shot to the nose hurt as much. The elbow to the back felt as if her spine was shattered. She followed up with a knee to the gut that felt as if she cracked several of her ribs. So much so that she could not prepare for the earthshaking uppercut knocking her into the upper stratosphere of the planet. Blood poured and froze as it left Sophia’s mouth while her eyes witnessed literal stars and planets. The cobwebs and pain rattling her body and mind was dispersing too slowly for her to defend herself. #3 now airborne had caught up with her in a matter of seconds. This time it was her turn to deliver a swooping shoulder tackle to the gut, which hurled both women back down to Earth. Their atmospheric reentry lit up the heavens.

The material used to create Sophia’s new outfit, gifted to her by Lady Tech, held against the scorching heat of their downward angled plunge. #3’s leather ensemble held as well, though it took more damage and abuse from the god-like roughhousing. She did not care as she cackled insanely while strafing across the skies of England looking to pay Sophia back for the Matterhorn.

The target of her aggression was innocent Big Ben.

Sophia, realizing where she was heading, fought to break from her grip, but it was too late.

The famed clock tower exploded similar to an egg in a microwave, those watching the scene in horror ran for their lives as debris from the Elizabeth Tower rained down crushing everything and everyone unfortunate to not have gotten out of the way. The rest of the tower’s now weakened structure gave way and came crashing down as well, while #3 and Sophia plowed into the Palace of Westminster.

It went up like a lit M-80 stuffed inside of a birdhouse. Smoke bellowed everywhere as pieces of the historical structure collapsed in on itself, some of it fell outward falling into the River Thames. The seismic hit also claimed the Westminster Bridge tearing it apart; sending it into the river. The destruction and loss of life was immeasurable.

Sophia groaned as several tons of the Palace laid on top of her, while a high pitched ringing went off in her ear. She employed her eyebeams to slice a path through the rubble. With a couple of swipes and kicks she unburied herself.

As quickly as it came, the ringing disappeared as she slowly staggered to her feet. Now filled with the sound of fire, structures crumbling, and the screams of the trapped and dying, she clutched her chest looking around at the destruction and mayhem. Black smoke blotted out the little sun that shined making it nearly impossible to see. It was hell on Earth that she was partially responsible for creating.

“No… no… no,” Sophia coughed, close to tears.

Her ears also picked up another sound through the madness. It was the insane laughter of joy.

“Whooooo! That shit was hot!” howled #3. “Nothing like a bit of mass destruction to make you feel more alive!”

Her bright-yellow glowing eyes, and ear-to-ear grin, made her look more monstrous as she stood basking amongst the ruin.

“What did you do?” a male voice screamed. “What did you fucking cunts do?”

Both women turned to see five mortified superhumans dressed in colorful British flag like attire and body armor; the UK’s superhuman military unit known as the Lions of Elizabeth.

Their leader, who went by the name Knight Light, was a powerful Apollo class EVO and one of the few to channel and manipulate photon energy on a destructive level. He was the only one hovering above his team adorned in a bodysuit that was styled with a star on his chest and forearms, and the Union Jack flag over the entire bodysuit. Similar to Sophia and other energy wielders of the solar and electrical spectrum, his eyes glowed a yellowish-white. He was also the one who addressed them in a crude manner.

“Look around “bright boy, what you think happened?” #3 callously gestured. “My girl and I happened to be roughhousing and did a little remodeling of this piece of shit country of yours. Fuck you very much. Now piss off, before you piss me off.”

“Take them!” he howled at his team. “Dead or alive, take them both!”

“No wait… I’m not with…” Sophia help a hand up.

Her attempt to reason with them was cut short by a furious gust of water capable of punching a hole through a brick wall. She could have powered through it if she was not caught off guard. Instead, she was blasted a good thirty feet by the team’s water wielder codenamed the Lady of the Lake.

She quickly recovered, rolling to her feet, only to be set upon by the water wielder and the team Mercurian speedster, Sir William Swift.

His Union Jack bodysuit was styled with a flashy wind pattern design. He also wore a ballistics mask that carried the same pattern to hide his identity. Furiously he circled Sophia moving six times the speed of sound. He moved in and out of his circular running pattern to get close enough to strike her with a right cross that could remove a human head at the velocity he was running. The act was nothing but annoying to her, and she would have grabbed him had it not been for the Lady of the Lake slamming her repeatedly with typhoon salvos of water. An impressive technique they both mastered.

Through the blur and the water pelting Sophia could see that Knight Light and the rest of his team consisting of Jack the Giant, a Titan class EVO, and Foundation, a female Elemental EVO with abilities similar to Adrian, attempting a triple team on #3.

It was going worse than she feared.

Knight Light’s powerful photon blast capable of cutting an aircraft carrier in half did not even singe her skin. Sophia had a gut feeling it was also strengthening her. The woman known as Foundation placed her hand on a broken column of the Palace transforming her body into its properties. She then grasped the fifteen ton column breaking it off to use it as a blunt object.

Jack the Giant attempted a Mixed Martial Art shoot on her to tackle her to the ground, but a far more powerful and skilled #3 stuffed his attempted and upended him with a knee that lifted him off his feet.

Unlike Sophia, who only expelled a couple trickles of blood, Jack the Giant found himself on his knees clutching his gut. His body violently trembled from the devastating hit as he threw up blood and bile.

Sophia had to remove her before she caused more senseless deaths. In one swift move she extended her arm clotheslining Sir William Swift out of his running pattern and into a painful tailspin. She made sure to strike him in the solid upper part of his chest as opposed to his neck to avoid beheading him. He hit the floor brutally hard but would recover in a matter of minutes.

She then powered through the Lady of the Lakes powerful hydro stream blasts grabbing both of her arms. She applied enough pressure to stop her from channeling anymore water molecules.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” she screamed.

Sophia could see both the anger and tears in her eyes mixed with fear.

“I’m not the enemy, so stop hitting me with water,” Sophia said sternly, “You and your fast friend over there need to focus on putting out these fires and helping the wounded. I’ll deal with that mad woman before she hurts or kills anyone else. Understood?”

The Lady of the Lake frantically nodded that she would comply. Sophia released her long enough to see #3 standing punt Jack the Giant through an already broken wall structure and smash the column Foundation attempted to used as a club into rubble with a swat of her forearm. With blinding speed she grabbed her by her throat lifting her off her feet forcing Knight Light to end his futile photon barrages in fear of hitting his teammate.

#3 grinned as she prepared to crush her marble stone neck popping her head off.

Sophia blindsiding her with another shoulder tackle, whisked her into the air, saving Foundation from the gruesome death. She hit the floor hard. Clutching her throat, she was visibly shaken, even in her transformed state. Knight Light landed running to her side to check on her. He briefly turned, looking up at the sky with rage and sadness in his eyes.

Several thousand miles up the two women, cursed, screamed, clawed, punched, kneed, and kicked at each other at unimaginable speeds. Neither one of them paid attention to their flight pattern as they now flew over the Sahara.

#3 executed a Judo Tomeo-nage or Circle throw in midair hurling her off. Before Sophia hit the sand she was able to grab a handful of #3’s blonde dreads. #3 screamed as she pulled slinging her downward by her hair. She tore through a sand dune and kept tumbling while Sophia impacted the sand, sliding across it at high speeds, spraying sand everywhere before stopping. She spat up a mouthful of sand that she ate as she slowly rose to her feet.

As the blazing sun beat down on her, there was not an innocent soul in sight. Her ears propped up to the sound of foul language. Slowly she turned to see the person she had been trying to kill for the second time in the past forty-five minutes dusting herself off.

“Asshole!” she screamed with a snarl on her face. “If you wanted to get me alone to talk all you had to do was ask! I swear if you pulled out one dread.”

As #3 checked her hair to ensure none was ripped out, a blindly enraged Sophia attempted to rush her again. Two feet away from closing the gap, #3 extended her right hand charging an orange and red soccer ball size of energy stopping her in her tracks.

“Careful!” she warned. “You know how one of these works once I let it fly. How many towns do you think I can destroy in a single blast before you get to me? Now are we going to talk like adults or make more bodies to bury?”

“How are you still alive?!” screamed Sophia.

“Search your thoughts Luke…” sneered #3. “After the trouncing you gave me, before you kamikazed me into that nuke, which let me go on record to say was way over the fucking line to anything I’ve ever done to you. I should have been dead. Blow to bits, atomized ashes, so what did you do to ensure my survival?”

Sophia began searching her memory, fast forwarding, freezing, and analyzing their one-sided battle before their supposed nuclear end almost seven years ago.

“I’ll give you a hint,” said #3. “It was before you said… “That’s… for Charlie.”

Sophia staggered backwards shaking her head as her memory fell on that one moment before her remark.

“No.” She shook her head.

“Oh yeah,” #3 grinned, “your knack for being a petty little bitch is what saved my ass. My already enhanced cells combined with your blood allowed me to heal and adapt faster than you. Mind you, it wasn’t enough juice to even the odds against you in our first scuffle, but it was enough to open my cells up and absorb the energies from the nuke that engulfed us both. Kind of makes you wish you had blown me to ashes like you did #1.”

Her words took some of the fight out of Sophia, allowing her to ease up and power down the crackling pulsating ball of death she held.

“By the way I go by the name ‘Peace’ now,” she announced. “#3 is my slave name.”

“Where…” Sophia fought to get her focus.

“You mean, where I’ve been hiding?” chuckled Peace, “off planet!”

“Off planet?” Sophia stood stunned. “You mean space?”

“Shit!” Peace scoffed. “I mean I traveled to Mars, Saturn, and then I backtracked to Venus, which is like a twenty-four-seven acid trip! After that, I spent like a month and a half on Mercury! Let me tell you girl! Clothing is not optional! The upside is no tan lines!”

She snickered, pulling the straps to her outfit revealing she had none.

“Now the backstory if you must know,” she said as she began to stroll around, “is that I apparently woke up after you. Not sure how long, but it was definitely after you.”

“You woke up in a sack too,” Sophia deduced.

“Oh yeah,” she nodded. “I don’t know about you, but there ain’t nothing more fucked up than waking up at the bottom of the ocean with no memory, in jellyfish afterbirth, and glow in the dark fish floating all around you.”

“I never lost my memory.” Sophia furrowed her brow.

“Typical.” Peace rolled her eyes. “Anyway I broke out returning topside a basket case, I didn’t even remember that I had powers. I don’t know how I figured it out, but I ended swimming all the way to South America. Murdered like two Great Whites and a Mako on the way there… pesky little shits.”

Sophia was not sure if she should continue to listen, or begin slugging her again.

“On the way there, which took about three days,” she sighed, “my memory started to come back. Not gingerly, mind you; it came like tsunami waves that I had to ride out. Believe it or not our little fight seven years ago actually traumatized me to the point I had a terrifying fear of you.”

“That’s comforting to know,” Sophia scoffed.

Peace glared at her, then decided to ignore her comment.

“Anyway,” she continued, “with the gut feeling that you were out there somewhere, I went into deep hiding. I mean I went native, like Amazon rainforest bush bitch native. It was pretty easy considering that I didn’t really need to eat, didn’t need a lot of clothes, or even shelter, for that matter. During the day I kept a low profile, at night I worked on mastering my abilities.”

She opened the palm of her right hand facing up. A red electrical charge snapped and crackled from it before producing a red and orange sphere of pure energy. With a thought, she dispersed it.

“I can make bigger ones and even full streams,” she grinned. “I can also do this.”

Her eyes became ablaze as she unleashed a reddish orange eyebeam blast straight at Sophia. On instinct, she threw up her forearms to block the shot, her bracers constructed of dark metal deflected the heat beams hitting the sand of the Sahara crystallizing it. The bands held although the shot left a shearing mark on them.

Sophia’s eyes blazed as she got ready to fight again. Peace cackled, backing up with her hands held high.

“Okay! Hold up, I’m just messing with you,” she chuckled. “No need to start brawling again. Very nice what you did with your ‘wonder bands’ though. Throw a cowl with some ears on you, and you’re the Trinity rolled up into one.”

“What do you want?” Sophia’s voice boomed.

“The first thing I want is to finish my story.” Peace was serious again. “So there I was building my confidence. I gained some sense of peace. The indigenous thought I was some witch or goddess; they’d bring me food offerings from time to time but they pretty much left me alone. I would have probably stayed there to my own devices had you not shown up one day in my backyard.”

Sophia searched her memories, remembering the day she visited the Amazon rain forest, which was a record of six times.

“You where there?” she asked, stunned that she did not detect her.

“Oh yeah, I saw you coming a mile away,” she nodded. “I buried myself in the mud like Dutch while you were strolling around uprooting trees for your fancy shmancy garden. The fear I had for you paralyzed me. It was friggin humiliating. After you left, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be too long before you found me, that the world was just too small for the both of us. If I was truly going to be safe, I should look to the stars.”

She pointed up with a glint in her eye. Sophia briefly glanced up herself before returning her eyes to her mortal enemy.

“So after a couple of midnight test runs when I knew you weren’t buzzing around,” she continued, “I stole the proper attire and provisions that I believed I needed for space travel and said farewell to this beautiful dirtball planet. Let me tell you that breaking through that stratosphere into that big black nothing is one hell of a rush! But you already know what it’s like to be unbound. Anyway, it took me a day and a half to get to Mars, which was a disappointing red rock of nothing.”

She looked down at the ground, doodling a pattern with her boot.

“So I left, it took me three days to get to Saturn. Don’t ask how I knew how to get there.” She rolled her eyes. “And as I stood there on one of Saturn’s many moons preparing to set off again on my journey to the unknown. I realized I had no friggin idea where I was going! And then it happened at that moment. The fear I had for you faded away, and the rage and hatred set in. Unfortunately for Saturn it is now short a couple of moons.”

Peace looked up at her with the same eyes she wore when they had their very first one-on-one conversation at Mount McLoughlin.

“You see the only other person to put fear into this little black heart of mine other than you,” she said, “was my dear old dad, may he rot, burn, and suffer in hell. I had to tag team two of his closest friends and promised them to split his meth and a profit of two hundred thousand dollars so that they can slit his throat and empty several rounds in him. They ended up tag teaming me again against my will. Left me five hundred dollars for my troubles, but it was worth it to remove that fear forever.”

She advanced one step closer to her with her arms folded behind her.

“But I forgot who I’m talking to.” She smirked. “You don’t give a damn about my ‘hard life.’”

She brandished a sarcastic smile looking Sophia up and down as she glared back at her giving her ten seconds to get out of her face. Peace, not wanting another confrontation, just yet took the subtle facial hint to retreat one step.

“So anyway,” she sighed, “I about-faced heading back here with the intention of taking the moon and cramming it down your throat. Then something else happened on my journey back. Little by little that rage and hatred started to fade as well, and I had a moment of clarity that allowed me to think and see straight in… god knows how long. You weren’t my problem, and I had no reason to hate you.”

Peace lowered her head in frustration, rubbing her eyebrow. Sophia realized in disbelief that she was mustering up the courage to give an apology.

“If I was you,” she raised her eyes looking at her, “and you did to me what I did to you, I would have probably done the same and probably worse. And although I was given orders to carry out, I think I took such pleasure in f-ing up your life because my own up until then was so shitty. My issue was not with you but with people who were suppose to care for me who failed me, and a world that didn’t give a shit about me. So I turned into an animal to survive, and you became just another prey. For what it’s worth… you didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.”

She almost fell out just by her words. Sophia, now with narrowed eyes, stepped forward trying to wrap her brain around what she had just said.

“You attacked the Regulators’ base an hour ago reducing it to rubble.” She replayed the events leading them to where they stood. “You released three of the most dangerous superhumans currently on this planet.”

“Yeah, I did that,” she nodded. “I also killed one of their team members, actually I think I killed all of them. But if you’re going to bitch about us rough housing in the UK, remember you started it by slamming me into the Matterhorn. I just want to point that out.”

“You do see how what went down is going to make it difficult for things to be good between us, basically making your apology worthless right?” Sophia asked with a sarcastic smile of disgust.

“I don’t really see how,” Peace shrugged nonchalantly, “I mean you destroyed a base, like, seven years ago and killed a whole lot of people. You don’t see me throwing a fit about it.”

Sophia wore a look realizing that she was truly crazy, and she was taking part of an insane conversation with her.

“And it’s the UK,” Peace rolled her eyes, “who really gives a shit about the UK? It rains there all the time, and the people are certified assholes. I mean, despite all of that, considering how well shit turned out, I don’t see a reason for us to have any ill-will toward each other. Do you?”

“You’re a psychopathic murderer!” Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs. “You murdered my husband and framed me for it! That’s going to make it pretty hard for you and I to be girlfriends! Like never!”

Peace lowered her head for a minute, taking in some air, and then raised it displaying a scowl. She took a step toward Sophia, who crossed her arms standing her ground.

“All right, let’s gain some prospective here,” she snarled. “I was an ex-con turned assassin by the United States Government, who had no choice but to follow orders due to the nanites implanted within me promising a slow and painful death should I refuse them. Your husband was a lying sack of shit with daddy issues! No one put a gun to his head to join our unit, so you need to put the blame where it belongs!”

She turned, storming away as if she was actually arguing with a girlfriend. In frustration, she kicked up a cloud of sand while throwing her hands in the air.

“I mean, Jesus! How are we suppose to work together to change this dirt ball of a planet if we’re fighting over a man?” she yelled. “And a dead one at that!”

“What do you mean ‘work together’?” Sophia raised an eyebrow zeroing in on the important part of her statement.

“You think I was bullshitting you seven years ago about us making the world the way we want it to be?” She turned to her. “I was as serious as a stroke the day you decided to play chicken with a nuke and our lives.”

“You mean us being “gods” again?” Sophia rolled her eyes.

“Oh, no, no, no, my dear deluded ‘sister.’” She waved her off. “I told you I evened out. I have no desire to become some god. Gods are nothing more than egotistical contradictory sons of bitches, and I also have no desire to be some queen or ruler. Subjects are like rugrats, always needing a tit to suck on, or someone to wipe their ass, and I hate kids. I love my independence.”

“Then what?” She became impatient.

“Like I said,” Peace said, looking at her as if she was deaf, “make the world as we want it to be. Look around you. How long do you think this planet has left at the state our inferior counterparts are running it into the ground? Another decade, maybe two? They’re like a bad television sitcom that keeps getting worse year after year after year. It’s time to cancel their season and try something new, don’t you think?”

“If you’re talking genocide…” Sophia narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t like using that word... such a nasty term. Plus, I know we still need the little knuckle draggers if we’re going to increase our stock. What I am proposing is a quick systematic fade out, like when a new model phone or car comes out. You don’t keep making the old one.”

“You just keep pushing the envelope on how crazy you are.” Sophia shook her head.

“You know what’s crazy?” She stepped forward. “Half of our wildlife gone in less than forty years! That is crazy! Deforestation, global warming, idiots butchering rhinos over their horns because they believe it will cure them of limp dick disease! Our world is dying because we are a species created weak in both body and mind! We consume, and we don’t give back, we prey, especially on one another, because he who has the power makes the rules! Just look at our history!”

“You won’t give us your oil? We’ll pretend you were behind the fall of some towers and are hiding weapons of mass destruction, and then we’ll drop bombs on you from afar and then take it!” Peace mockingly carried on. “You don’t want to give up your land? We’ll kill you for it with our guns, and while we’re at it, we’ll murder your women and children driving your race to near extinction! You want to fight for your freedom? We’ll crucify you, your family, and friends from one town to the next as a warning not to oppose us! You don’t want to obey and worship me? I’ll drown you all and start anew!”

She looked up into the sky as if to spit at God and give Him the finger.

“For centuries we’ve been in that afternoon program where the father confronts his kid about smoking weed,” she sneered. “But what if this was a world where everyone had power, where everyone was like us, or close enough?”

She started to walk around Sophia in a circle continuing her lecture. Sophia stood listening for now because, while they were talking, there was no destruction, giving her the time she needed to figure out a way to put her down for good.

“You ever been in a bar, where everyone was packing?” Peace asked. “Of course you haven’t, you’re a ‘Miss Goody Two Shoes.’” I’ll have you know it’s one of the most peaceful and safest places to be, except for those who are not armed. Because everyone knows that the guy next to him is holding, and the last thing you want is a bar packed with guns blazing.”

“You want to bring back the Wild West?” Sophia followed her movement.

“I want to make us all truly equal,” she answered. “I want us to be independent of trivial things that we really don’t need! I want to get rid of our old parasitic shells that continue to drag us down and become the race that we were meant to be! One solely focused on reaching our true potential! You tell me how much more noble can one get than wanting that for her people?”

“Why the rush?” she asked. “Another ten years the next generation would have matured, and if the birth rate of superhumans continues steadily as it has, we’ll be what five maybe ten percent of the population?”

“You really have blinders on, don’t you?” Peace looked at her in disbelief. “You really think those cockroaches are going to allow that to happen? Just because they haven’t gone and ‘William Strykered’ us does not mean the so called ‘powers that be’ aren’t working on measures to either thin out or eliminate our herd should we ‘dare’ step out of line or overtake them. They’re quiet now because they know they can’t match us. And now they have some of us taking up sides with them against each other for worthless things such as ‘loyalty’ or ‘money.’”

She turned, spitting in disgust into the sand. Her act brought back more demons from their past.

“This so called new ‘Cold War,’” she gestured, “is against us! Maybe if you pulled your head out of the sand of that island of yours you’d see it! If we’re against each other, we’re not against them! And as long as they keep us plugged into their madness we are destined to repeat the insanity of their failed miserable race! In order for us to grow and thrive, to see each other as one race, and not separated by the color of our skin, stupid flags, fucking religion, or money; we must become unplugged permanently! The human race must die along with their poison!”

Peace stood waiting for her to buy her pitch. She could already tell from her facial expression that it was not a sell.

“You’re about to tell me to go F--- myself, aren’t you?” Her nose twitched.

“And I intended to use the full four letter word while doing it,” she snidely smiled. “What gave it away?”

“You’ve been collecting the heads of warlords.” Peace pointed a lecturing finger at her. “And breaking the bones of white slavers among other devious things. Yet you continue to remain on the fence because you still see what? Redeeming qualities about them?”

She leaned in as Sophia wore a stunned look that she knew so much about her activities.

“Oh, yes, Ms. Dennison,” she grinned. “I have been keeping very close tabs on you. I have a theory about our little intimate time in the heart of the nuclear explosion. You see, I think a little of you got into me, while a little of me… got… into… you.”

“I’m nothing like you,” Sophia growled.

“Save that movie line for someone who will buy it,” she snorted. “The eyes tell all. You’ve got some rage in you, long before you knew I was still alive. Come on, deep down you know what I am saying is the truth. You want hands off your family? That little island you got there? I’m a woman of compromise. One island and a couple of normals from your bloodline isn’t going to hurt the cause. What else do I have to do to get you on my side?”

“Why everyone?” Sophia mustered the strength to reason with her. “Why not just eradicate those that do evil?”

“Because they’re all the problem!” Peace threw up her hands again. “The weak are just as guilty because they are weak! This twisted circle of life bullshit that we are trapped in is the reason for the downfall of our society and our planet because it is easily abused. We must shatter it and wipe the slate clean, and the only way to do that is for every last one of us to be strong! There can be no chink in our armor for us to succeed!”

“Your brought up the ‘flood’ a couple of minutes ago,” Sophia scoffed. “What makes this plan any different than that one?”

“Rolling out a better product line,” she smiled.

“And that’s the end game?” Sophia asked. “A world of just superhumans. I guess you didn’t take the possibility of overpopulation into consideration.”

“Which would be like what a hundred or so years from now?” She shrugged. “Yeah, I did, but by that time our planet would have been healed, and we would be ready to write the next chapter in our soon to be epic history.”

“You’re planning on going back out… there?” Sophia looked up, figuring out her long term plan.

“Very good,” she clapped. “I told you I have no intentions of being a leader, but a conqueror of worlds I can do. And with the discovery of several super Earths around the known universe, we’d be crazy not to claim them as our own, thus also solving our population problem.”

“That’s not just it,” Sophia shook her head. “You doing this because you want an army… for what? What do you know?”

“Come on.” She dully glared at her. “I don’t need a college diploma to know that the virus that made us what we are now wasn’t created in some Petri dish in a lab.”

“What do you know of Project Evolution?” Sophia asked, forgetting that they were talking about worldwide genocide for the moment.

“I love this one-sided ass relationship we have where you think you can just ask me anything without giving anything back.” She sarcastically rolled her eyes. “When you torched #1 on that day at Mount McLoughlin, you also obliterated the tablet that held all of the data concerning Project Evolution. But the times I got to snoop around Rosen’s files after I put him to bed with my good stuff, I learned that our universe is not only as vast as we may think, we are definitely not the only ones in it.”

“What are you talking about?” Sophia’s eyes widened with interest. “What did you see?”

“I didn’t see jack,” she sneered. “It’s what I read. When the US Forces invaded Nazi Germany and liberated the Ohrdruf concentration camp, they found an entrance to a secret research lab that ran underneath the camp. There they found what they codenamed ‘The Holy Grail.’ They took it and everything else that was there, detonated the lab, and smuggled it out of Europe and back to the US.”

“You didn’t see any pictures of this Holy Grail?” Sophia asked.

“Nope.” She shook her head. “Whatever they had, they didn’t want anyone to know what it looked like. It was all extremely cryptic. I do know whatever it was, based on what I read and could figure out, they were taking samples from it. Samples that they used to create the first strain of the virus.”

At that moment Sophia wrestled with whether it was a curse or blessing that she was still alive, as she willingly gave vital information to the origin of their new life.

“So now that we’ve had this very groundbreaking sentimental conversation between the two of us,” Peace got back to business, “I got to know right now if you’re in or if you’re out.”

“No.” Sophia shook her head. “I cannot, and will not, allow you to do this. It’s not that I don’t agree with some of the things you said, which is hard for me to even admit, but the way you intend to implement change is not the way to go about it. Getting to the ends will not wash off the ocean worth of blood the means will bring.”

Peace wore not a face of anger or disgust. It was one of disappointed as she turned her back to her stepping away.

“For whatever reason we survived that nuclear explosion,” Sophia said, reaching out a hand to reason with her, “we’re alive. I have plenty of reasons to hate you. But maybe if I had your life I would have turned out the same as you or even worse. Time has opened my eyes where I can see the bigger picture. I can forgive in time. If a better world is what you want I’m in, just not this way. Surrender, pay for your crimes, and maybe we can work toward achieving that goal together.”

Her words were both earnest and tactical, #3, or Peace as she called herself, was not the same woman she pulverized seven years ago. She was powerful, maybe even stronger than her. To fight with her again would mean possible destruction on a global scale. She had to use all means of diplomacy to prevent that from happening.

“A tempting offer,” Peace sighed before turning back to her with a dull look. “But one I am afraid I will have to decline. And since we both can’t reach an accord on the fate of this world. I regrettably have to ask you leave, and by leave… I mean the planet.”

Sophia looked like she was stuck for a minute as she held up a hand unsure if her perfect hearing had just heard what Peace ordered her to do.

“Did you just tell me to leave the planet?” Sophia requested confirmation.

“Yeah, I did,” she nodded. “You see, we’re currently at a discord. I had hoped that you would come to your senses and join me, but I also made preparations to do this without you. And as much as I would love to throw hands with you again, I kind of need the planet and the people here intact to implement my plans. Really sorry, wish there was another way, but you really need to raise up out of here.”

“Oh really,” she scoffed. “And how do you intend to do that, aside from going another couple of rounds with me?”

“It’s already done the second I hit the Regulators' base,” she smirked. “Revenant is currently having afternoon tea with your dear old parents at their house, while Wendigo is right now hovering over your little island.”

Sophia’s eyes expanded again with shock and fear. Slowly the rage grew on her face.

“And if you attempt to fly off,” Peace warned, “or put your hands on me again, my young resident telepath who has been monitoring this conversation has been instructed to tell Revenant to turn your parents to bone and dust, while Wendigo kills everyone on your island and then sinks it back to the bottom of the ocean that you raised it from to the tune of ‘Kill Everybody’ by Skrillex. I’m personally more of a Halestorm type of gal, but you can’t tell kids shit about their music these days. Oh, and if you think I’m bluffing.”

She quickly reached into a small pocket on the inside of her tight red leather pants pulling out a small carbon fiber looking case. She opened it up revealing an earpiece. She checked to make sure it was still intact, tapped the button on the side to turn it on, and then tossed to Sophia. She snatched it out of the air and quickly put it on.

“Hello?” her voice quivered.

“Hello, Ms. Dennison,” a gloating Revenant came over the other line, “you have a lovely set of parents. Your mother, in particular, is a very colorful and charming woman, I can see where you get your fire from.”

“Sophee!” her mother came loud and clear over her headset.

“Mummy!” She fought back panic and tears.

“Nuh worry bout we baby!” she yelled. “We nuh fraid ah no godless jangcrow dog! Look pon you! Yah fava ah ole whore!”

“Like I said,” sighed Revenant, “colorful woman.”

As he hung up on his end, she removed the headset crushing it in the palm of her hand. Her eyes blazed as tears streamed down her face burning a hole through Peace who tanked her glare.

“Whatever chance you had of me not hating you anymore,” she reared her teeth, “you just lost it.”

“Yeah, I know,” she nodded, “but for the greater good I’m willing to take that hit. You’re not going to believe me because you’re all pissed off, but this is not personal between you and I.”

“You made it personal… again.” Sophia narrowed her eyes as she fought to control the building rage.

Peace walked up, standing toe to toe with her to look her in the eyes.

“Baby girl,” she whispered, “if I wanted to make it personal I wouldn’t need stooges to wipe out your entire bloodline, and everyone you ever loved and cared about. A month baking on Mercury, where I adjusted to, and then harnessed, the full power of the sun is all I need to do that. Hell… I could have wiped out the entire planet with one blast, leaving just you and I to fight to the end of the universe or till I kill you, and there is a way to kill you.”

She made a popping sound motioning to her head, her yellow eyes blazed showing the unfathomable power coursing through her as the two women once again sized each other up.

“But it’s like I said, it’s not about you,” she snarled. “So when I came back, I stayed under the radar, and made preparations to exploit your most obvious weakness. Do I really need to say what it is?”

She slowly began to stroll around her as Sophia lowered her head, grinding her teeth.

“To do that I needed to find a team both heartless and lacking a conscience like I was,” she explained her master plan. “That I thought was going to take a while, until I tracked down the Zombie Nation. They really are a bunch of Satan worshippers who believe their powers came from the ‘Dark One,’ bunch of friggin idiots.”

She laughed at herself, shaking her head.

“Wasn’t that hard to bring them to my side of the Force,” she shrugged, “especially when I tore their leader’s heart out and reduce him to ashes right in front of them. I think his name was Dybbuk. Anyway, I had my team, just needed to do some intelligence work to ensure that you and I were the only current heavy hitters on the planet. All the other superhuman units around the world, as impressive as they looked, proved no threat to me. Nor did any of the so-called independent ‘heroes.’ I thought I had all the intel until I learned that the US commissioned their own super hero squad. Yay! Attacking Times Square which was my idea. I wanted to see what this new team was capable of. The bonus was watching that A-Hole Captain Omega die, although I would have preferred to have been the one to pull the trigger myself. Got to stop underestimated the Draugr, he does some fine work. And the double bonus was watching you swoop down to save the day. I really thought you shied away from grandstanding, but you had me fooled there. I also didn’t factor the Egyptian, he really took me by surprise. A real mystery that one, you wouldn’t happen to know his name?”

Sophia looked up with an sneer telling her where to go and do with herself.

“Bah!” Peace waved her off. “Doesn’t matter, he may seem formidable, but with you out the picture, easily dealt with. Now I must tell you, although Anchimayen can’t read your mind for some reason, his ‘astral signature’ range of detection is extremely friggin’ impressive. That means once he gets within proximity of you, like in Times Square, he catch track the energy your soul gives off almost anywhere. That’s how he explained it anyway. That’s how we were able to find the Regulators’ base. I mean this kid can tap, detect, and pinpoint me from space!”

She sighed with some motherly pride.

“Under that robe is the most beautiful little boy I’ve ever seen,” smiled Peace, “with an unfortunately nasty disposition. Did you know when he acquired his powers, he removed both his parents’ tongues by the root, and then made his mother watch as he broke every bone in his father’s body? He then tore each of her limbs off one by one leaving her head for last. All because they denied him dessert for not finishing his vegetables.”

Peace acted as if she had the jitters from telling the story, while Sophia wore a face of disgust.

“I believe we’ve now come to an understanding, right?” Peace asked. “That the life of your parents and everyone on that little fantasy island… including your daughter, depends on you not returning to Earth. In return, I will ensure that not a hair is harmed on any of their little heads. The rest of the planet is another story, I make no promises on that. And after fifty, maybe a hundred, years after you’ve roamed the universe and found yourself you can come back and see all the wonderful work that I have done. By then everyone you pretty much loved would have croaked. I won’t be able to use that trump card forever.”

She finished her carousel walk around Sophia standing face to face with her again.

“Except for your little girl,” Peace beamed, “she’ll be a grown woman by then, but she’ll be here waiting for you. Now I know I said I’m not paternal material, but for you… I’ll do the best that I can. I can’t wait to have that girl talk about boys.”

Sophia sighed, letting out an unnerving laugh as she lowered her head. When her raised it again, a smile was plastered all over her face as her body trembled uncontrollably.

“Somehow, some way, I will be back,” she promised, “and as God is my witness, I’m going to make you wish that nuke had killed us on that day.”

“Yeah,” Peace coughed. “Your track record for keeping promises hasn’t been so good. Shall we?”

The two women slowly ascended into the air, neither one bothered to increase speed as they just stared at one another through the entire trip into space. Through no words they came to an understanding that their next encounter, even if was a thousand years from now, one of them would die by the other’s hand.

Sophia followed her past the moon where Peace slowed coming to a stop. She signaled that where they floated was as far as Sophia was allowed to come near the planet. With a wave she turned, parting ways with her blasting off back to Earth signaling the beginning of Sophia’s exile.

Sound in space only exists in the form of electromagnetic vibrations inaudible by the human ear, but Sophia screamed anyway. Her eyes blazed brighter than any star. If sound did carry the entire universe would eventually hear her and tremble as her mind swam with sadistic thoughts of murdering Peace. Every method, extremely slow and painful.

In her mind, she would not be returning in fifty or hundred years. Before the end of the week she was going to see her daughter again and feel her hands around Peace’s throat choking the life from her. She roared that promise to whatever god or beings were listening.

CHAPTER 21

She hovered in the darkness of space. Her rage subsided, she now had to focus, think, and put plan into action.

If Peace’s warning was solid, Anchimayen’s ability to sense her even in space meant she had very few options. It was then that she remembered her bracers and personal A.I. She touched her ear realizing her earpiece was gone. It was either lost or destroyed during the battle. She slid open the compartment revealing a touch LCD screen. Bracing herself, she began to type, “Vincent, are you there?”

“Yes, Ms. Dennison,” her A.I. responded by projecting words via the screen. “How may I help you?”

“Can you call Earl’s number?” she typed.

She prayed the answer was ‘yes,’ desperately needing to know what the situation was at Sanctuary.

“Negative,” he responded. “Even if I connected to local satellites, distance from the planet as well as the limited capability of his phone will not allow for a direct phone call. However you can send him an email or text message. It will take ten minutes for the message to reach his phone.”

“Let’s do it!” she frantically typed.

“Whenever you are ready,” he announced.

She quickly typed a message getting directly to the point.

“Message sent,” Vincent confirmed.

She prayed it reached them in time.

“Can you connect me with Lady Tech?” she typed.

“Attempting to connect with local satellites to increase range in order to connect to her,” responded Vincent.

She patiently waited for a response.

“No response,” he relayed, “shall I keep trying?”

“Yes,” she typed.

“Emitting encrypted beacon signal,” informed Vincent, “it will conserve power while sending a signal. Once she responds I shall connect you.”

Sophia sighed and prayed that everyone was still alive at the Ranch. Her finding a way to return home and stop Peace depended on it.

Until then she floated in the cold black void with no home to return to.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in the buried central command, everyone, save for Adrian holding his sister, and Angie kneeling beside him, stood as the chaos outside settled.

“Maxine rotate us to the entrance,” Erica commanded.

“I already attempted to do so, Miss,” Maxine informed her. “A massive amount of debris has jammed the servos. We are unable to rotate.”

“Why do we need to rotate?” asked a panicked Adrian. “Rotate to where?”

“A mini base,” Erica answered, “and a way out, if we can’t rotate we’re good as buried down here. Rogers let Rosann touch you so that she can heal.”

Abe marched over to her as Lady Tech glided her hand over the digital touch screen pulling up multiple holographic screens. Rogers took Rosann’s hand into his own, but nothing happened.

“Not responding,” he answered.

“A rush of adrenaline will activate the barbs in her hand,” Erica responded. “Angie help her.”

“What are you going to do?” Adrian asked nervously.

“A slight push on her broken collarbone will activate her pain receptors,” Angie explained. “I can then ensure that it is properly aligned to rebind properly. She will feel some discomfort.”

Angie eyes lit up as she scanned the broken collar bone. She went to work positioning the bones together. It was painful enough to force a groan out of an unconscious Rosann. Her body stiffened as she clutched Abe’s hand. The microscopic barbs in her hand protruded out piercing his hand sucking in his blood. Her skin color changed to match his own, while her frame became denser duplicating his Titan abilities. Abe’s regenerative healing mended her collarbone, and other injuries.

She awoke with a gasp attempting to sit up. Her brother and Abe subtly restrained and steadied her.

“Easy, don’t try to get up yet,” Abe ordered.

“Where am I, what happened?” She tried to focus.

“We’re in the central command,” Rogers explained, “a couple miles down from the base, we were attacked.”

“The Draugr.” She attempted to move. “I was fighting…”

“Relax,” he calmly ordered, “don’t move, and don’t try to get up. Just stay here with your brother until we figure this out.”

Rogers rose back to his feet heading back to Erica’s side to help assess the situation.

“How far down are we?” he asked.

“Approximately three miles,” she indicated while feverishly working, “and no we can’t bust through the other side of the wall. It’s a ten inch thick wall of dark metal and behind that is sixty inch thick wall of mantle shielding us from a river of lava. That’s why I built this damn thing to rotate, I didn’t calculate on dealing with another version of the Source bringing parts of the shaft down on us while we were trying to escape her turning us to ash.”

“Oliver,” Rosann asked, “where’s Oliver?”

Silence fell over everyone as Adrian turned to Erica and Rogers for an answer to give his sister.

“Adrian, where is he?” she turned to him.

“Sis,” he swallowed, “he chose to stay behind to buy us sometime.”

“Then we have to go back and get him.” She struggled to get up.

“We can’t go back, sis.” His eyes became glassy.

“Yes, we can!” she snapped at him. “Get off me. Adrian! We can’t leave him up there!”

Even with her Titan strength being less than Rogers, Rosann was a handful as she fought to break free from her brother’s grip. Angie aided him in trying to restrain her.

“Get off me!” she screamed. “Get the fuck off me! How could you leave him up there? You know what they’ll do to him! You know what they’ll do to him!”

Rosann screamed and bawled as if she was dying. It made Adrian wail as he held onto his sister. The fight finally taken out of her, she clung onto her brother sobbing to the near point of hysteria.

A powerless Abe stood watching as his team fell apart. He turned to see a frantic Lady Tech punching away at her digital keyboard. She pulled up screens and then swiped them away with very little rhyme or reason.

“Miss?” a concerned tone came from Maxine, “Miss can I…”

“I got this Maxine!” she snapped at her. “I got this!”

Rogers stepped in pulling her away from the screen. She fought to get away from him throwing a fit as he held her close.

“Let me go Rogers!” she screamed. “I got this! I got this!”

“You have my permission to cry,” Rogers ordered.

“I don’t have time for this!” She began banging her head against his chest. “I told you I got this! I got this!”

He continued to hold her, weathering through her useless barrages.

“You have my permission to cry,” Rogers said again.

Erica went into a sobbing fit, collapsing into his arms. He held her as if she was his little girl and allowed her to go through it.

Angie wore a worried look on her face as she placed a gentle hand on Adrian’s back in an attempt to comfort him. She turned to her sisters for answers, but found the same confusion and concern in each their eyes as well.

Rogers remained the foundation of his team. He could not, and would not, afford himself the luxury of tears for their sake. He would allow them to fall and break down. He needed it out of their system so that he could build them up again. For vengeance to be theirs, he would need them stronger than ever.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in Mount Vernon, a very unhappy Nachzehrer arrived at the Dennison residence drawing attention not just from her scantily clad outfit, which was pretty much the same as her original outfit with the exception that the chained bikini she wore had a silver color as opposed to pink, and instead of leather hotpants, she wore a black pleated school girl skirt with rings that adorned the waist, and safety pins that held together a high slit opening in the skirt.

Parked in front of the Dennison’s residence were two vacated police vehicles. One empty with its doors still open, while the other sat charred and flatted like a pancake.

Decorating the Dennisons’ driveway gate was a female police officer scorched with fourth degree burns nearing death. Her wrists were fused to parts of the gate; placed there as an omen for those that would dare enter. Inside the yard, the steps and grounds were littered with the clothing, gear, and small bone fragments of the other officers that accompanied her.

Nachzehrer stopped to admire Revenant’s work before nonchalantly strolling over to the front gate entrance. She ripped it from where it was secured with one arm tossing it aside. Walking up the steps she shot terrified onlookers peeping out of their windows and doors dirty murderous looks daring them to say something to her. She then knocked on the door purposely delivering extra force cracking the wood.

A minute later Revenant opened it looking her up and down.

“Reporting for coon watching duty,” she sneered, snapping a salute.

“Thank the devil himself,” Revenant sighed. “The father isn’t too bad, he’s been trying to talk me into turning my life around and converting. The mother can be a handful, she has a knack for hurling insults and scripture verses attempting to ‘cast me out.’ If you want to have fun with her recite just some satanic verses. I’ve never seen a woman’s eyes open so wide.”

“I could just shove my hand up her…” She grinned.

“Do remember not to lay a finger on any of them.” Revenant held a finger up stopping her from finishing. “Last thing you need to do is incur any further wrath from you know who.”

“Remind me again how the fuck I drew porch monkey babysitting?” she scowled.

“You got caught, my dear, when you weren’t suppose to,” he reminded her.

“This is bullshit you know.” She pointed a finger at him, trembling. “You promised to get us out of this servitude shit! You promised!”

He grabbed her by the back of her head pulling her close and kissed her deeply to calm her. She groped his crotch area and licked his lips with sinful unsavory thoughts in her eyes.

“I am working on it.” He nuzzled his nose against hers. “Till then I need for you to do as you are told and behave yourself like your life depends on it. Do not cut, injure, maim, rape, sodomize, cripple, or kill anyone inside this house. Outside, as you can see, is fair game. Are we clear?”

“If I promise to be good,” she asked with a mousey voice, “and you find a way kill that bitch… do you promise to ravage me on their mutilated corpses?”

He grinned while pulling the back of her chained one piece bikini upwards; wrenching it in between her legs to force a moan out of her.

“For a whole week,” he whispered in her ear.

She grinned and then nipped at his ear. During the sordid display of affection, Mrs. Dennison stepped into view making her presence known.

“Listen here, yuh ole whore,” she pointed to Revenant, “me can barely stand your ugly ungodly mug, but you nah bring ya ugly ass dawg inna me house! Look pon har! Har face wash out like Vybz Kartel! Uno fee come out!”

“Nopel!” Mr. Dennison walked up grabbing her.

He attempted to guide her back into the living room, but she refused to move.

“Wha yuh do?” he scolded her. “Stop ramp! Yuh want dem kill yuh inna here?”

“Dem nah do nuttin to us babes, if dem know what good fe dem!” she yelled. “Ah, hostage situation dis! Me say gweh botty bwoy wit yuh dutty gyal! Yuh face bumpy-bumpy like jackfruit!”

Nachzehrer glared at her, and then Revenant, who raised a finger warning her to keep her promise.

“Step back, and shut the fuck up, you shit slinging old ape,” Nachzehrer warned, “or I’ll gut you slowly.”

“Ah, who yuh ah talk to?” Mrs. Dennison shot back. “Yuh want me take sometin and open ya head up? Listen you dry-head, picky-picky, jeyes-ears, horse-mouth, buck-teeth, bandy-leg, bat-ears, snaggle-tooth dutty gyal! Ya betta kill me now cus one ah us gone dead inna here today!”

Revenant slowly closed the door behind him as a full on verbal war ensued within the Dennisons’ house. He prayed for it to remain just verbal for now, knowing Nachzehrer’s hair trigger temper.

Stepping out into the open, he politely waved to the terrified neighbors looking in his direction before channeling dark matter to propel him into the air to his next destination.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at the island, Kimberly now in a yellow and blue two piece sports bathing suit, was on the beach playing with Kyle, Akram, and the rest of the children. From boogie boarding, to volley ball, to tag; she enjoyed the perks of being the daughter of a woman who owned her own island. By playing she learned to control her strength and speed. It did not make her weak to run slower or hit the ball softer. It was okay not to be the first at everything. The rest of the children made her feel normal, a regular, yet taller, normal girl. Although she still missed her friends, she was not sure if they would react to the newly improved her like her new friends did.

She stopped in the midst of her frolicking to look up at the sky wondering when her mother would be home. It had been almost five hours since she had left. She presumed she would see her flying back home by now.

Mixtures of emotions overtook her when she realized she had an actual flesh and blood mother who willingly laid claim to her. In the middle of her euphoric realization she noticed a child a ways off not taking part in the beachside fun.

Three year old Melanie, one of the few children born on the island, stood at the shore of the beach in her pink and white polkadot one piece bikini. While everyone played, she stood looking up at the sky. Kimberly noticing her walked over.

“Hey Mel,” she said, smiling as she knelt next to her, “what’s wrong? Don’t you want to play with us?”

“There’s a lady,” the little girl pointed, “floating up there in the sky.”

Kimberly looked up where she pointed and saw only clouds. She smiled thinking she was using her imagination to see the clouds in the form of a woman.

“Yeah,” she smiled, “I think I see her too.”

“No, you don’t.” Melanie shook her head. “She’s hiding in the clouds, but I can help you see her.”

Melanie touched the side of her face as she continued to look up in the sky. Instantly Kimberly saw what she saw. A pale-skinned young woman with a clean shaven head wearing black hovering in the clouds by some unknown vibrating force. The evil smile she displayed told her she was not a nice person.

A shaken Kimberly pulled away also realizing that Melanie, like her, was not normal.

Kyle and Akram, along with the rest of the children, ran up to see why Kimberly had stopped playing with them.

“Hey what’s up?” Kyle asked. “You found something?”

“Melanie telling you about the imaginary people she sees?” one of the other boys jokingly asked.

Kimberly picked her up and fretfully turned to them.

“We need to get back to the village,” she ordered, “like right now.”

“What’s the matter?” Akram asked nervously.

“More people are coming,” Melanie informed her.

“Show me, honey,” Kimberly asked.

The child once again touched the side of her face showing her what she saw. Five miles off and getting closer where three more superhumans. Two were flying: one with long black hair, with what appeared to be the face of a demon flew via a column of flames, while the other with long blonde dreads and yellow glowing eyes flew by some unknown form of propulsion that appeared to be similar to her mother’s. She carried a massive man by some form of harness, which looked like a Viking wielding a huge sword and axe. The bad feeling swirling around in her stomach turned into a horrible feeling.

“We need to get back to the village now!” Kimberly fearfully yelled, “Come on!”

She tried to run as quickly as possible, but holding a precious bundle and making sure the other kids kept up with her hindered her superhuman speed greatly. By the time they reached the village it was too late. The skies overhead were covered in flames igniting a chorus of screams from everyone below.

Kimberly was lucky enough to find Earl standing dumbfounded along with other villagers looking up at the red flaming sky.

“Mr. Earl! Mr. Earl!” she yelled, getting his attention.

“Kimberly,” he shuddered. “What the hell is going on?”

“Where’s my mom?” she frantically asked. “Is there a way to get in touch with her? Mr. Earl!”

He shook himself out of his transfixed state to reach into his pocket for his Samsung Smartphone. He quickly punched in his passcode, hit her number on speed dial, and tapped the speaker option. The phone went straight to Sophia’s voicemail.

“Something’s not right.” He shook his head. “Wait… there’s a text message!”

He clicked on the message from Sophia which read, “No to time explain! Evil people are coming! Run! Hide! Get everyone to the boats!”

Both Earl and Kimberly looked up from the text message seeing that they both wore the same fearful look.

The next thing they heard was what sounded like a bomb dropping. The gigantic Viking she saw flown in by the blonde-headed dread crash landed into one of the huts leveling it in one shot. Luckily no one was home during the impact.

“Take her!” Kimberly handed Melanie to Earl. “And get the kids and the villagers to safety!”

“Kimberly no!” Earl forcibly yelled, “I’m suppose to look out for you!”

“My mother’s not here,” she tensely returned. “I’m... I’m the only one who can do something!”

She bolted before he could say anything more to try to stop her.

The fire witch Jiang Shi cackled hysterically as she used her flames to corral the villagers like a herd moving in one direction. Wendigo’s mere presence and vibrating sonic sphere which shook the huts almost to collapse forced them to move into another direction.

Peace just strolled as villagers attempting to escape via her direction stopped in their tracks.

“Wrong way kids!” her eyes blazed. “Back that way! Move! Move!”

The Draugr was less subtle. With a swipe of his ax, he sliced through one of the huts. He roared like an uncaged lion shaking the Earth with just his steps. As everyone else ran back to the center of the village, a terrified Mr. Norton sat in the monster’s path. A frightened Zeek, finding a sliver of courage, ran back to his side grabbing him.

“Mr. Norton!” he screamed. “You got to get up! Get up!”

“But this is Sanctuary,” Mr. Norton mumbled. “We’re safe here in Sanctuary... we’re safe.”

Zeek unable to get the old man up, held him tight covering him with his frail body praying that the beast would pass them by. A savage grinning Draugr, with not a pint of mercy in his cells, would not as he raised his sword high.

“If you don’t run,” he frothed, “you die!”

He brought his sword down to cleave them in two, until a powerful shot to the chest sent him flying. He roared tumbling and crashing through two huts.

Zeek looked up to see Kimberly sitting on her rear. She sprung to her feet turning to them both.

“Run... run now,” she shuddered.

Zeek nodded, pulling Mr. Norton to his feet, ushering him to safety.

Kimberly trembled like a leaf, slowly moving in the direction she sent the Draugr flying. She had never been in a fight before. Her ability to duplicate martial art moves was all for show during recess and gym class; a great deterrent for anyone with thoughts of challenging her. Though she was young she knew the monster she just knocked down would not run away from a simple showcase of her skills.

As the Earth trembled her reluctant paces became slower and slower. As the enraged Draugr with murderous intent written on his face came into view, a terrified Kimberly searched the skies for her mother.

“Mom,” she whimpered, “where are you?”

Realizing he was just embarrassed by a mere child, the Draugr bellowed with rage and charged. Kimberly screamed scrambling backwards as he went berserk swinging both sword and axe in an attempt to cut her down.

The terrified child dived out of the way barely missing his sword swipe cutting through one of the nearby huts like paper.

“Leave me alone!” she cried.

Showing the last once of bravery she could muster, she uprooted a large nearby palm tree like she did her first day on the island. She swung with all of her might hoping to knock the Draugr back like she did before when she surprised him.

This time ready for her, the monster stood his ground and took the full brunt of the hit snapping a part of the tree like a twig. She attempted to swing again. He responded by hacking another piece off with his battle axe. Now toying with her, he advanced slicing the tree down bit by bit until the vibration of the hacking forced her to drop what was left.

The Draugr then buried his sword in the sand clutching his trusty axe to finish the job. Kimberly attempted to fake him out pretending to run. She exploded into the air for a super leap. However, the monster revealed his uncanny speed as he grabbed her by one of her legs snatching her out of the air, and violently slammed her back down to the ground.

His shadow now casted over her.

“Mommy…” a shaken Kimberly sobbed.

“You shall see your mother again child,” he salivated, “as you both become whores of hell!”

He raised his axe bringing it down on top of her.

Kimberly covered up screaming her lungs out.

The blow, however, would not be delivered. Kimberly, now hyperventilating, looked up to see the woman in the leather outfit, and long dirty-blonde dreadlocks stopping the Draugr’s axe blow with one hand.

“What the hell are you doing?” she snarled. “Did I give you permission to go ‘Games of Thrones’ on anyone up in this bitch? Did I?”

The monster groaned and frothed in frustration glancing at Kimberly and then the woman. Effortlessly, she shoved him backwards.

“Go take a walk before I back hand you. Now!”

The Draugr looked at Kimberly again whining like a wounded pup. He then turned away howling. He unleashed his frustrations on a nearby hut turning it to rumble.

“Grow up!” the woman yelled at him, “and don’t bring down no more huts after that one! Spoiled brat.”

She reached down grabbing a near-catatonic Kimberly, pulling her to her feet.

“Up you go,” she sighed. “Come on, walked it off. He didn’t hurt you that bad. I saw the whole thing.”

“Who… are… you?” Kimberly said between short breaths. “Where’s my… mom?”

“Okay,” the woman leaned down a bit to look her in the eyes, “the first thing, I can’t have a serious conversation with you crying and wheezing like that. This is not a good look with you being the very first superhuman and all.”

Her words made Kimberly give her a better look over.

“I know you.” She calmed down a bit. “You’re that lady my mom fought with at the mountain. The one she flew away with…”

“Almost seven years ago,” Peace smiled, nodding. “Yeah, that’s me. I go by the name Peace now, or you can call me Auntie Peace.”

“Where’s my mom?” she asked again.

“One tracked minded, you are,” Peace pouted. “Where’s my mom? Where’s my mom?” No, “How come you look different?” “What’s up with your eyes?” “What’d you do with your hair?”

Kimberly put on her ‘refusal to talk anymore unless her question was answered’ face. Peace rolled her eyes, wrapping her hand around the back of her neck, leading her back to the center of the village.

“Okay, kid,” she coughed, “I’m not going to sugar coat anything. I sent your mom away.”

“What?” panic now filled her belly and swirled.

“Now, now,” she rubbed the back of her neck while keeping a grip on her. “Let me explain. You see I put your mom in a situation where your life, the life of these villagers, as well as the life of your grandparents was hanging in the balance with her in the middle. See as powerful as she is, I got people as you can see, each with a body count. So she took the only option I gave to her… exile.”

“Where?” was her next panicked question.

“Where,” she scoffed shaking her head. “Come on, kid, use your head, with people possessing our abilities, exile to someplace like Bermuda would be just retarded. So what’s the only other option left?”

Kimberly shuddered looking straight up. She attempted to pull away, but a much stronger Peace pulled her closer, now wrapping her arm around her neck.

“See you can’t do that,” she scolded her. “Where you going to run? Where you going to go?”

Peace paused for a minute with a perplexed look on her face.

“Think I heard that line in a movie. Anyway,” she returned to her train of thought, “as I was saying. There’s nowhere to run to, especially after tomorrow.”

“What’s happening tomorrow?” Kimberly blurted out her question.

“What’s going down tomorrow is grown folk business,” she wagged a finger at her, “which is none of your business. Now I also promised your mom that I would look after you. She’s a little pissed at me right now, but give her a century or two she’ll get over it. Till then you’re my responsibility, and for the sake of the lives of all these norms here on this island, you got to do as I say. You get what I’m saying? Are we on the same page?”

Kimberly stopped in her tracks forcing Peace to stop. She turned to her, knocking her arm away from her neck, and mustered up the bravest defiant scowl she could pull off.

“It’s not going to take a century or two for my mom to come back,” she said. “She’ll be back, and she’s going to kick your ass again.”

Peace gave her a blank stare at first, which turned into a sarcastic smirk.

“I’m going to let you have that cheesy cliché remark,” she sighed, “because you’re all emotional now with me sending your mom away and all that. Not to mention if it wasn’t for you, this little trailer park trash girl from the Midwest wouldn’t be the most powerful being on this planet about to usher in a new age. So I owe you, that’s why I let your mom live, and I’m going to let you slide… this… one… time.”

She moved forward, towering over Kimberly backing her up against a palm tree. Kimberly, clearly intimidated, did her best to maintain her tough front.

“But make no mistake little girl,” she warned, “we’re not kin, which makes your situation a billions times worse because I can’t even stand my own. You step out of line, or grow a sac to try to challenge me, I will mop the planet with you, and then give what’s left of you to the guy I stopped from hacking you to bits. Please note he does not like being embarrassed, so you are forever marked on his shitlist.”

Kimberly clutched the tree fighting to stand strong. Peace’s terrifying threat weakened her legs to where they shook violently.

“Now that we’ve had our little girl talk,” she beamed, “let’s break the news to the rest of the family!”

With a hand gesture to start moving, Kimberly willed herself to walk with Peace following close behind. She quickly glanced up at the sky, praying that if her mother was up there, she was thinking up some way to get back home to her.

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Back at that town square the villagers huddled close to one another as Wendigo and Jiangi Shi hovered on high watching them from below like hawks. Kimberly finally showed up as both relieved and terrified eyes where focused on her.

As she fast-walked over to stand by Earl and everyone else, she got a quick side glance of the Draugr brandishing his massive ax and sword zeroing in on her like a lion hunting a gazelle.

Peace finally walked up and paused to clear her throat before she began her announcement.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, if I may have your attention!” she beckoned to the villagers, “I have an announcement! This here island is under new management!”

Peace pointed to herself with a smug smile as she walked around making sure to make eye contact with everyone.

“Now under my supervision,” she began to explain, “means as long as everyone follows the rules, the status quo will remain the same... for now. If you don’t follow the rules, you get punished. It’s that simple. Now I normally demonstrate this by pulling five or six of you out at random and killing you in front of everyone else.”

Everyone screamed and cried while the Draugr savagely grinned along with Jiang Shi who wore a sinister smirk praying for her to do it.

“However, because I made a promise,” she held her hands up in a calming gesture, “I’m going to go with the honor system here. You all seem somewhat intelligent, not requiring a tutorial to get my point across. Now, unfortunately, I won’t be able to hang around to get to know all you better, due to some business I have to attend to. So right now we’re going to take a formal headcount, and everyone is going back to their homes for a mandatory...”

She paused realizing she did not know what time it was.

“You.” She pointed to Earl. “Yeah, you with the watch. What time is it?”

Earl took a jittery double look at his watch before answering.

“Four p.m.,” he answered.

“Pacific time?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Dammit, I’m running late,” she scowled. “Anyway, people, for today there will be a quick 4:15 p.m. curfew after we do this headcount in the next five minutes. Now for those whose homes got wrecked or damaged during this invasion, my bad, but for now you’re going to have to sleep over at your neighbor’s house until we get you sorted out. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. you will all come out and do another headcount! At 10 a.m., you then will go back to your homes. Then another one at 12 p.m., and at 1 p.m. you will return to your homes, and finally at 4 p.m. where you will return to your homes at 5 p.m. I am being generous to allow you all to stretch your legs for an hour outside, do not abuse it. This will go on until I get back. So please remember the times. Your lives will depend on it. Until then, my associates here will be watching over you. Allow me to introduce them to you.”

She first walked over to the Draugr gesturing to him.

“This big handsome man over here is the Draugr.” She smiled. “He has a hard-on for killing and eating people and not necessarily in that order.”

Her introduction made various villagers squeal, cry, and cling to one another for comfort.

“And the lady in the colorful ensemble and face tattoo,” she motioned, “is Jiang Shi, she loves to burn things, and people.”

Her second introduction made everyone feel worse than her first.

“They have been instructed to not lay a finger on anyone of your heads as long as you obey the rules,” she informed them. “They also have been known for their extreme short fuse and nasty disposition. You all heard about what went down in Times Square New York, right? That was them. I think they’re willing to sign autographs if you ask them nicely.”

No one got her joke.

“Again, following the rules is for your safety, due to the fact that I know any prolong contact with any of my associates is going to get one of you killed. These are not stable people, they are only here to watch you. So do as you are told and avoid all eye contact as much as possible. Now this may seem really bad right now,” she continued, “but trust me this is actually the safest place on the planet, especially after what’s about to go down tomorrow. So do me a solid, follow the rules, don’t piss my friends off, and I will see you when I see you. Now let’s get this headcount done people, I got an interview I have to get to. Come! Come! Time is money!”

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Back at the destroyed Ranch, three miles down within the descended central command now at fallout level covered underneath rubble, the crying and mourning had come to an end for now. Rosann sat in one of the swivel chairs with an emergency Mylar thermal blanket wrapped around her. It was more for comfort than warming her up. Erica wanted to administer a sedative to her, but she asked her not to. Expressionless, she sat there, every now and then removing tears that formed before they ran.

Adrian sat with her for awhile, but she kindly asked him to give her some space. He now stood beside Rogers both watching Lady Tech work her magic to both get communication back up and running while also figuring out how to get them top side to the base’s main level.

“How’s it going?” Abe calmly asked.

“We are buried,” Lady Tech sighed as she glided her fingers over the touch screen keyboard, “there is several tons of rock equivalent to a small mountain preventing us from rising back to the top. At least ten small Doozers are still functioning, all the others have been destroyed, and they don’t have enough firepower to cut through the rubble and get us out. The main generator was shut down due to damage, but the backup is up and running. They’re working to get some form of communication channel open. Hopefully we can contact someone and figure out what’s going on topside.”

“What about the S.A.M armor?” he asked. “It’s got an independent A.I.; couldn’t you command it to blast us out of here?”

“Would love to if it wasn’t unfortunately buried, and I didn’t remove its entire brain for upgrade which is sitting in my lab,” She continued to type. “Now it’s just a shell, and judging from the rubble covering it, it’ll take at least a day maybe two for those pint size Doozers to uncover it baring that nothing else comes down on top of them while they’re at it.”

A satellite dish symbol appeared on the top right hand side of her holographic screen blinking before holding strong.

“And we have a connection,” she faintly smiled with relief.

“Incoming encrypted message from Ms. Dennison’s A.I named Vincent,” Maxine announced, “patching her in now.”

Everyone’s attention, including Rosann’s, turned toward the screen as Sophia appeared with a black starry background behind her. It was clear that she was in a weightless environment. She began to frantically type as Vincent became her mouth piece.

“I’m alive and exiled into space,” Vincent verbally translated her typing. “Peace, the woman who attacked your base currently has Revenant holding my parents hostage in their home, and the one called Wendigo hovering over my island ready to destroy it. I had no choice but to leave. Is everyone all right?”

“Most of the base has been destroyed,” Abe stepped in talking to her. “We were forced to descend to a lower level and are currently buried under several tons of rock. We also lost Oliver.”

Sophia bowed and shook her head. She started typing again.

“I am so sorry,” Vincent translated for her.

“I think you need to tell us who we’re dealing with,” Rogers sternly requested, “since it appears you know her so well.”

She nodded and began to type again.

“I will tell you everything,” Vincent translated for her.

CHAPTER 22

Back at a locked down Sanctuary, Kimberly stood in Kyle’s home with his parents, his older brother, Earl, Akram, his mother, and a couple other adults. As they nervously talked amongst themselves, the Draugr purposely made his presence known using heavy footsteps which shook the village. She mustered the courage to peer outside the window, where the monster gave her a vile animalistic glare undeserving of any child her age much less a full grown adult.

“Kimberly, honey,” Earl gestured, “get away from the window. Don’t look at the evil man out there.”

“Where’s Sophia?” Mrs. McArthur stammered. “Why isn’t she back yet?”

“The woman outside said she exiled my mom.” Kimberly nervously stepped up.

“How,” Kyle’s father asked, “to where?”

“She’s in outer space,” Kimberly answered. “The woman said she has my grandparents captive, and threatened my mom that if she didn’t leave the planet; she would kill them and everyone on the island at the same time.”

“Sophia sent me a text message,” Earl backed her up, “trying to warn us that they were coming and to run and hide. Unfortunately we got it too late.”

“So what do we do now?” one of the men asked.

“Mr. Earl,” she turned to him, “can I borrow your phone, please?”

He quickly pulled it out punching in his passcode and handed it to her.

“You’re going to try and text your mom?” he asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I have a feeling she sent that last message from space. If that’s the case, hopefully we can send another message and let her know what is happening here.”

She began to speed type a detailed message while everyone around her silently prayed for it to reach her.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Three miles underneath the destroyed Ranch, the surviving members of the Regulators attentively listened to a space exiled Sophia as she speed typed debriefing them with the aid of Vincent verbally translating what she wrote.

She told them who Peace truly was and how she was related to her. She also told them her intentions toward the human race. She even told them about her daughter Kimberly. What she did not know was her ultimate plan to bring the world to its knees.

“I knew there was something off about this witch,” Lady Tech sneered.

She quickly threw up a video feed of Peace shrugging off energy plasma barrages from the first initial Doozer attack.

“What did you find?” Abe stepped in examining the footage with her.

Lady Tech slowed down the footage as three plasma blasts from the Doozer assault struck Peace’s red tank top shirt, leather corset, and the upper thigh leg pants of her biker outfit before dissipating leaving only burn mark patterns.

“Those three hits should have left three large holes in that Coyote Ugly outfit of hers,” Erica explained, “instead it just grazed her outfit leaving burn marks, which means that’s not leather she’s rocking.”

“She has gear like us?” Rogers gruffed.

“Not like us,” she sighed. “Probably first generation bodysuit armor fabricated into that gawky get up.”

“How?” his voice dropped bass of irritation.

“If she is who Dennison told us she is,” Erica grinded her teeth, “she could have commandeered any of the other project EVO facilities and got ahold of both gear and tech.”

“What other facilities?” Vincent translated Sophia’s typed question mirroring the anger now on her face.

“Mount McLoughlin was one of many research facilities that were a part of Project Evolution,” Erica answered. “You didn’t think a project this big would be housed underneath one roof. There were R&D installations built, in any number of cities and states.”

“Like Area 51?” Adrian asked.

“Area 51 is a decoy facility,” Erica scoffed, “created to focus the attention of simple-minded conspiracy theorists like dogs to a bone.”

“Wait, so there’s nothing there?” He raised an eyebrow.

“The only thing there is a heavily armed guard detail rotated every two months to look like their guarding something important and three partially dismantled Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds painted a metallic silver to look like crash landed space crafts,” she sneered.

“Can we find these facilities?” Abe demanded to know.

“Nope,” Erica huffed.

“Why not?” he snapped.

“Because they’re completely off the grid.” Erica leered back at him not appreciating his tone, “They’ve been so for over seventy years.”

“But you know of them,” Adrian followed up.

“Because of some intelligent research and educated theories,” Erica became impatient, “come on people! Think! In the age of Snowden and other whistleblowers, how is a project like Evolution safeguarded from becoming a WikiLeaks page?”

“By keeping it literally off the grid like the Umbrella Corporation did in Raccoon City,” Adrian answered, snapping his fingers.

“Raccoon what?” Abe turned to him.

“Resident Evil, sir, a video game turned blockbuster movie.” He turned to him. “Anyway, in order to keep a project like this off the grid it would have to be in either a distant location, or in plain sight like a gated residential community full of scientists cut off from the rest of the world. Everyone would be monitored 24/7. The facility would have to be underground like we are. There would have to be no Internet or satellite connection to the servers or super computers, so hackers or spies could not hack it. Only certain people would have authorization to pull the data. You’d also need a system where no paper trail could be made, so no one could steal files.”

Rogers did not know whether to be stunned or impressed at Adrian’s breakdown, while Erica clapped with approval.

“I would have left out the whole gated community bit, but very well done Mr. Esposito,” Erica nodded. “Couldn’t have explained it better myself.”

“But I thought Project Evolution was shut down after the Big Bang Two Incident?” Abe turned to her.

“Yeah, and Oliver North acted alone, and we really had justification to go to Iraq,” she snorted. “The D.E.A.D project was shut down. You really think they’re going to let go over seventy years of research because one of their viruses got loose?”

“Something I don’t understand,” Adrian asked, “how come you were able to track Ms. Dennison but not this chick?”

“Good question,” she huffed. “The answer is based on what we’ve been told about where she’s been; she’s operating on a whole difference energy frequency. If she’s actually been baking on Mercury, her power levels are monstrous, which means her output frequency is similar to white noise. It’s there, just undetectable to my sensors.”

“So how powerful is she?” Abe asked.

“Let’s just be glad she wants this planet for whatever she needs,” Erica swallowed, “or there would be no planet.”

“So we’re screwed?” Adrian huffed.

“Not necessarily.” Erica folded her arms. “Because she cheated to increase her strength she’s done some damage that her RDH had to compensate for. If she’s emitting a high frequency of bio energy that I cannot detect, it means her body is constantly bleeding off power, not storing it like Ms. Dennison. It’s like filling a balloon with constant gushing water; in order for it not to pop you have to make a small hole for some of the water to leak out. So even though she’s operating a peak capacity, which is on a global killing scale; there’s still a limit to her strength.”

“Unlike me whose body gradually stored energy over the years,” Vincent translated Sophia’s message.

“Correct,” she nodded, “you have the potential to surpass her if you can tap into that additional power within you.”

Out of nowhere, Vincent displayed the text message from Kimberly that finally reached her. Her eyes widened while her body trembled. She fought to control herself in order to remain stable in her current drift.

“What is it?” a concerned Abe asked.

“Ms. Dennison’s daughter sent her a text message,” Vincent answered on her behalf. “It said they were unable to escape. The woman known as Peace has taken over the island. No one has been hurt, but everyone has been locked inside their homes on a form of curfew, and that two superhumans known as the Draugr and Jiang Shi have been left to guard them.”

Everyone wore mirrored looks of concern at the sound of the Draugr.

“Well how much does this suck?” Adrian scowled.

“It’s tactical,” Abe answered, “between those two, they could wipe that whole village out in a matter of minutes.”

“If she switched up Jiang Shi for Wendigo, that means either the Ghoul or Nachzehrer are at the Dennison’s house,” Erica threw in. “I doubt she’d leave a heavy hitter like Revenant to baby sit two elderly people.”

“Miss,” Maxine interrupted the conversation, “you will want to see this. The second Source is on the Channel Eleven six o’clock news.”

“Put it on,” Erica commanded.

The screen lit up revealing the inside of the PIX 11 newsroom, Peace sat with her hands clasped in between a visibly unnerved Scott Stanford and a clearly frightened Tamsen Fadal. She brandished a huge Cheshire grin after successfully storming and interrupting the six o’clock edition of the news.

“Good evening world,” she began with a chirpy upbeat introduction, “allow me to introduce myself. I go by the name Peace!”

She quickly threw up a Valley Girl like peace sign.

“The official alpha dog queen bitch of this entire fucking world,” she said dryly leaning forward. “And, yeah, I cursed on national fucking television, I care not for offending your delicate ears, or that of your little hell spawns, especially when they hear and say far worse behind your backs in one session of ‘Call of Duty.’ In fact, my second order of business as the new shepherd of planet Earth is to wipe the FCC off the face of the planet. So if you happen to work there, you might want to put in your resignation starting tonight. I’m talking scorched Earth, bitches. But before I jump ahead of myself, I must first attend to my first order of business.”

She took a minute reaching over to grab Scott Stanford’s cup of water, taking a sip, pretending to quench her throat. She nodded to him putting the cup back down turning her attention back to the cameras.

“Ready for it?” Her grin got deeper as she rubbed her hands together. “Tomorrow morning at nine o’clock Eastern Standard time I will be heading to the nation’s capitol of Washington DC to kill the President of the United States of America.”

A sickening silence fell over the country for all those watching. Rogers, with a grim look on his face, turned to Erica who wore one of disbelief.

“To all those watching or streaming, there’s nothing wrong with your television speakers or whatever device you are watching this on. You heard me correct,” she began to reiterate. “Tomorrow at nine o’clock in the morning, I will kill POTUS followed by the Vice President, whose shotgun I intend to ram up his ass till it comes out the other end. But it doesn’t end there, next I will move onto the United Kingdom, where I will kill the Prime Minister, and just for the hell of it, even though she’s just a figure head the Queen of England. You hear me you, old bitch! I’m going to deep throat you to death with your own specter!”

Peace cackled as she pounded the anchor desk cracking it, Tamsen Fadal, now in tears, appeared as if she was about to lose it on national television.

“Then I move onto Russia, where I will rip Putin’s heart of his ‘manly’ bare chest, and feed it to his Prime Minister, before I snap his neck,” she continued. “Does everyone see where I am going with this? Iran, Poland, North and South Korea, China, South Africa, Australia. Basically if you are a ‘world leader,’ and I happen to know the names and locations of all one hundred and ninety-two of you, you’re pretty much dead come tomorrow.”

“Oh,” she snapped her fingers, “and for my grand finale, I plan to kill both Pope Francis and Benedict… the pussy, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, and Louis Farrakan at the same time, just because they’re the only religious figures that really matter in this day and age.”

Peace adjusted herself in her seat as a somewhat serious visage appeared on her face.

“Now you may be asking, what is the purpose of this massive and monumental bloodletting,” she said, matching her tone with her expression. “The primary reason for this mass extermination of all world leaders is clear psychological warfare intended last till the end of time. You see tomorrow, I expect to meet with some opposition. Hell, I expect to meet with some opposition the second I walk out of this building. The reason I can sit here with absolute confidence and tell you everything I plan to do tomorrow in great detail is because I’m that friggin powerful.”

“Let me paint you a clearer picture,” she sighed while leaning back in her seat, “if you created ten exact clones of the ‘late, great’ Captain Omega, you’d still need at least a billion more to make me break a sweat. You beginning to understand the lesson for the tomorrow, kids? Resistance is fucking futile.”

Rosann walked over to stand by her brother. She glanced at him as they both wore mirrored faces of unnerved. Rogers stared at the screen with a granite-breaking scowl while Lady Tech just shook her head. Vincent translated what he picked up from Peace’s exclusive via her screen.

“Now I could do something more humane like.” Peaces tossed her hands up in the air as if to grasp for an idea. “Demanding a show of submission and obedience by bowing on one knee to me like in the movies. But history has shown us nothing grabs as person’s attention, like, say, if I murdered Tamsen right here on national television.”

Tamsen squealed grasping the desk in maddening fright fearing for the end, while her colleague on the opposite side of Peace watched powerless and greatly concerned for her well-being.

“Calm down, Tam, no need to wet yourself,” Peace jokingly reassured her. “I’m not going to kill you; my plan was always to kill Scott.”

“What…” stammered Stanford.

In one swift motion, Peace leapt out of her seat grabbing Scott Stanford by the back of his head. She slammed him face first into the anchor desk shattering his skull and breaking his neck at the same time. Tamsen stood, letting out a blood-curdling scream as Stanford’s lifeless body crumpled into a heap on the floor. Additional yells and screams erupted from the terrified broadcast crew who witnessed the brutal murder of their fellow colleague right in front of them.

“Bitch,” Peace erupted, “if you don’t stop screaming in my ear, I’m going to rip this dead bastard’s right arm from his body and fist you to death with it on national television. Sit down!”

Tamsen Fadal whimpered as she sat back down in her seat. Her initial trembling appeared to be a full-blown seizure as it was clear she was in total shock. Even though Peace directed her threat at her, everyone within the newsroom followed suit so as not to become a victim of her sadistic wrath. Peace rolled her eyes while flicking her blonde dreads back taking a seat again.

“Now,” she started to collect her thoughts again, “as you can see that’s the effect I’m going for tomorrow, just on a much larger scale. Let me also reassure you that my intentions for doing this isn’t driven by politics, religion, money, power, world conquest, or any of that other worthless shit. My actions are much purer then that. This is about the preservation of my race and this planet, and by race I mean the ‘super human’ race.”

“Let’s face it people,” she proceeded to lecture, “the current version of mankind, which is you ordinary people out there sucks balls. Majority of you are obese, and if you’re not porky pig, you’re malnourished and dying. Then let’s add a society of drug and technological dependence, greed, over indulgence, and outright hatred for your own species because of differences in trivial things such as class, race, religion, sexual preferences, and the list goes on and on. And don’t get me started on how you brutally and savagely rape and abuse this precious planet of ours, globally warming is real you dumb fucks; anyone says differently… I’ll kill em! In a nutshell, the failed experiment which is mankind is destined to eventually die out, and sadly may take this planet with them in the process.”

“But that was until something wonderful happened near the end of 2008,” Peace cheerfully grinned, “in an explosive flash for the entire world to see; a process began where the genetically weakest of our race died off due to the Judgment Day virus, while the same virus allowed the strongest to evolve into more powerful beings. Surpassing the pathetic status quo which is you, and we are multiplying like rabbits, people!”

“Now I know what a lot of your people are thinking, “Is this the eve of our Auschwitz?” Hell no,” she reassured while holding up a hand, “because even though the rest of you have not evolved to become as glorious as me, you still serve a very important purpose. You see, what your soon to be defunct government does not want you to know, is that although you the majority population around the world may not have symptoms of illness or evolved into superhumans; everyone on the planet is infected with the virus. It is a part of our ecosystem people; there is no cure, and shit is not going anywhere. The totally awesome news, which many of you have probably noticed, normal humans like you who do the horizontal nasty have the potential of siring more superhumans!”

Peace jumped up and down in her seat in excitement like a little girl on her birthday.

“Isn’t that wonderful”? she gleefully asked. “What better incentive for getting knocked up than the advancement in the evolution of the human race? Now allow me to reassure all of you out there who step up and do their new civil duties that you will be generously compensated and taken care of! We’re talking two cows and a Lambo in every driveway or something like that.”

“This bitch is crazy,” sneered Adrian.

“Rabid dog crazy,” his sister chimed in.

“As for those incapable of producing superior stock,” she leaned forward sighing with clasped hands, “I’m not going to blow smoke up your ass like a politician. You see, in order for this to work, the normal human gene pool must wither and die, while we super humans flourish, which means those that can’t produce… got to go.

“Now I don’t know if we’re going to implement some form of euthanasia or exile you to a remote location of the planet were you can live out the rest of your short and miserable lives. I’ll have to mull over it after the massacre tomorrow. But you do have my word,” she savagely grinned while pointing at the camera, “you all will be the first to know after a decision has been made.

“Now, to all of my fellow brothers and sisters out there who’ve taken up the mantle of being a ‘super hero,’ she coughed attempting not to laugh, “I would heavily advise you not to attempt to be one tomorrow. You’re not going to come and save the day, because none of you are on my level. I know this because I am the reason you evolved in the first place. Well me, and a now exiled Sophia Dennison.”

“Aw, shit.” Adrian shook his head.

“Cats out of the bag now,” Rogers huffed.

“You heard right kids, me and the first female superhuman seen back in 2008!” Peace beamed. “You owe your rebirth to your two mothers who made hot lesbian love with a nuclear warhead! And although it would really break my heart to do so, I will not hesitate to kill any of you that attempt to stand in my way. Not to mention, look around you, why would you want to protect any of them? You think they love and respect any of you? Wake up! They fear, hate, and loathe all of you, especially those in ‘power,’ because they know they cannot kill, control, or become like us. And don’t think for a second they’re not trying to do all three behind our backs. And while they’re doing that they have enticed some of our kind with worthless trivial things like money and fortune to join their puny little armies to fight and protect them from each other, starting a whole new cold war with us as the weapons!”

Pure unadulterated rage was written all over Peace’s face as she stood up knocking her seat over, making Tamsen Fadal cower further in her seat whimpering as quietly as possible. Her yellow eyes blazed brighter causing the feed to distort a bit.

“Well let me tell you something my fellow superhumans… my children,” she reared her fangs, “we are not weapons, heroes, or any other ridiculous label these lesser primitive shells of our former selves think they can call us. We are the closest things to gods these backwater apes will ever see, and my children… it is time we start fucking acting like it. It is we who shall inherit this Earth, not the meek!

“That’s right, us the strong,” she violently slapped her left breast, “who do not need cars, planes, or boats that poison our atmosphere and the very planet itself when we can fly, leap, or run to our destination at the snap of a finger. We, the strong, who are more than capable of surviving the ever-changing harsh environments of this planet. Majority of us do not get sick, or even need food to survive. And we do not need to be divided by retarded ideologies such as race, religion, creed, or color because aside from power levels and abilities we are all equal in terms of being superior beings.”

Peace placed her hands firmly on the table leaning forward. She looked down at the table allowing some strands of her dreads to fall across her face, before raising her head again to glare at the cameras.

“For too long words like peace and change get thrown around,” she smirked, “speeches like ‘Yes we can!’ are only good for erecting nipples and soaking panties. The truth is this is a world of ‘No you can’t’ if you’re not a part of the one percent then ‘No you can’t.’ If your ideas and views fuck with our bottom line then ‘No you can’t.’ An ideology that has saturated itself, infesting all aspect of life on this planet. And as we all know, the only way to treat an infestation is through thorough cleansing and eradication.”

She took a minute to look at her nails on her right hand.

“It’s never clean, or fun to do.” She cracked a smile. “Well, it’s going to be a lot of fun for me. However, for the human race to thrive and go on this must be done. It’s going to be traumatic, a lot of people are going to want to drink, shoot up, or seek heavy therapy after tomorrow, and not in that order. But after tomorrow has come and gone, and centuries have passed, future generations will look back at tomorrow as the day when the true cancer of this planet was finally cut out, giving this world a real chance to heal, and us as a race the opportunity to thrive and reach our maximum potential, as we should. Maybe a decade or two we might just make tomorrow a worldwide holiday, like Burning Man and shit.”

Peace cackled, shaking her head.

“In closing,” she sighed, “to POTUS and the rest of our soon to be dearly departed world leaders. My advice to you in these last fifteen hours you have of life. Go fucking nuts. Drink what you want, smoke, inject, or snort what you want, go bang anyone or anything you want anywhere you want. Go to town! Because come nine o’clock in the morning tomorrow, this pretty little face shall be making the rounds to visit each and every one of you… and shake you from mortal coil.”

She allowed her ominous message to linger for a minute, before clapping her hands, which made a near catatonic Tamsen Fadal almost jump out of her skin.

“Thank you all for tuning in to this very special edition of the Pix 11 six o’clock news.” She smiled brightly. “Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Tamsen and whoever her new anchor might be. “Two and a Half Men” is up next!”

She cued the stations theme ending music to play as she turned and appeared to be thanking a distraught and spaced out Tamsen for co-anchoring with her before stepping over Stanford’s body walking off the set.

With a wave of her hand Erica closed out the feed. Everyone looked around the room at one another with similar expressions and thoughts. How were they going to overcome such a menace.

“Miss, I patched into the video surveillance cameras on 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd,” Maxine reported. “The Defenders of Justice are outside the building preparing to ambush her.”

“Oh no,” Erica swallowed.

“Aren’t they based out of Chicago?” Adrian asked.

“It’s going to be a slaughter.” Erica looked up at Abe.

“Maxine, pull it up,” Rogers ordered.

The holographic video screen came to life again; this time it was an outside view of the building the news station was housed in, on 42nd street.

Peace walked out of the building whistling and humming as if she just gotten off of work and was heading home. Unlike Sophia’s news announcement seven years ago which brought down almost the entire local, federal, and military forces of Washington DC down on her, the streets of 42nd street were a ghost town with not a single soul in sight.

Peace stood around, slightly disappointed that she did not receive the same reception Sophia did, until she was side blinded by a New York City Transit bus. Some unknown force hurling it drove her into the side of a nearby building. The unknown power did not stop as it compacted the large vehicle into an accordion in an attempt to flatten her like a pancake.

A woman in a black domino mask wearing a blue, black, and yellow costumed rubber body suit with black boots and a long flowing blue cape descended hovering twenty feet off the street. On the right breast of her suit she bore the symbol of a brain with some form of energy bursting out of it.

“She’s down!” the woman called out.

Either leaping, running, of flying from their respective hiding places, her teammates each appeared.

Next to her descended the team’s flame wielder dispersing flames like thrusters from her palms and feet to keep her elevated. She donned a skin-tight red and yellow bodysuit with matching booties designed in a flame pattern. The emblem of a fiery bird sat on her right breast. Her outfit appeared to be created from a material that could withstand the heat and flames she produced. With red streaks in her raven hair, she wore no mask to cover up her identity.

The female speedster of the group who went by the name of Ms. Quick wore a black full body compression suit with blue lighting graphics designed into it, and Nike running shoes with similar colors to her outfit. She wore a lightning styled domino mask to cover up her identify.

The rest of their team’s outfits were reminiscent of the rubber costumes used in the 1989 Burton and the 1995 Schumacher movies with color schemes and symbols to match their heroic identities.

Standing next to the Mercurian was a male Titan wearing a sleeveless rubber suit with a black and yellow color scheme. He also wore a simple yellow domino mask. On the mask and in the center of his chest he bore the letters “VJ” which stood for Victory Jones.

Closer to the totaled bus stood a woman also with Titan abilities and red flowing hair in a full pink rubber suit with white boots and a flowing white cape baring the letters BB on her chest for Bruiser Betty. Her identity was, too, covered by a type of white domino mask.

Finally, standing beside her was her husband, also a Titan class. He was also their leader known throughout Chicago and most of the world as Power Hour. His outfit was all red with yellow and black accents. Unlike his teammates and wife he wore a full red cowl to hide his entire face. His symbol that he proudly wore on his chest was of an exploding hour glass.

“Nice work, Mindblast,” congratulated the flame wielder.

“Thank you, Flaming Jay,” she responded .

“Let’s not get cocky people!” Power Hour yelled, “not till we confirm if the target is really down and out!”

Before they could assess if Peace was defeated with one blow, the bus effortlessly moved as she pushed it back and then tossed it with one arm. It landed crashing on its side as the Defenders of Justice took defensive stances ready for a fight.

Peace took her time stretching and cracking her back, before giving them all a disappoint look.

“You all are shitting me, right?” Peace scowled in disgust. “I purposely laid pinned up between that nasty ass New York city bus for three minutes waiting to hear some iconic superhero shit, and that’s the best you all could do?”

“We’re not here for your amusement, lady!” roared Power Hour.

“No you’re all here to die,” she sneered.

She folded her arms rubbing her chin as she evaluated each one of them. The only one in the group unnerved by her glowing yellow eyes and deadly confidence was Flaming Jay.

“Let me tell you how tonight’s lesson is going to go down,” Peace pointed at Power Hour with a loathing sigh. “I’m going to remove the Jean Grey knock-off’s head from her body in under five seconds for throwing a bus at me. Then I’m going to put you and each of your little friends in critical traction and then force you to watch as I kill them all in one fail swoop before I kill you.”

“Not if I strike first!” he yelled.

Power Hour exploded, tearing up concrete as he leapt into the air to tackle her to the floor.

“I said you’re last!” she yelled with irritation.

With a simple backhand moving a thousand times faster than him, she swatted him away knocking him out of his trajectory. His body painfully crashed through the glass lobby windows of the building on her left side. He kept going as he tumbled into the front lobby security desk obliterating it.

The rest of the Defenders of Justice now shaken after witnessing their leader so easily dispatched slowly turned to her looking at them as if they were dinner.

“First lesson,” she grinned.

Mindblast, not waiting to be her first victim, employed her telekinesis to lift two blocks of various vehicles and proceeded to launch them at Peace like missiles. Peace swatted two of them out of the way and then went supersonic airborne tearing through the rest of her barrages like snow going straight for her.

It was over in a matter of seconds as vehicles fell from the sky along with Mindblast’s headless body smacking into the streets of Manhattan.

The rest of the Defenders of Justice stood beside themselves as she slowly hovered back to the ground clutching their fallen team member’s lifeless head by her long dark mane.

Finally, realizing what had taken place, they all began howling and screaming as she causally tossed her head onto the ground like a ball.

Before they could mount an avenging offense, she was on them using hypersonic speed on foot. With a Muay Thai side leg kick she destroyed Ms. Quick’s leg at the kneecap breaking it in half upending her. Victory Jones became her next victim as she crushed the left side of his ribcage with a savage knee and then severed his spine with a jackhammer elbow. The next to fall was Bruiser Betty as she shattered and dislocated her jaw with an explosive haymaker.

Flaming Jay watched in horror from above as her teammates were decimated on the ground.

“Screw this,” she quivered. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

She soared away deserting her team, using her flames to rocket her away as far and as fast as they could take her.

As Bruiser Betty collapsed to her knees dazed and bloodied with her broken jaw hanging by just skin from her face, her husband, Power Hour, finally staggering out of the building ran to her aid. He would never get to her as Peace latched onto his throat taking the male Titan high into the air. She slammed him violently into the concrete creating a crater with his body. She kept a vice like grip on his throat as she pulled him to his feet and held him high into the air.

“Second lesson.” She reared her fangs.

She extended a hand out pointing in the direction of the badly injured members of the Defenders of Justice. Red and orange energy burst from out of her pores flowing into her hand forming into the size of a golf ball.

“No,” Power Hour weakly got out struggling to break free of her grip, “Nooooooo!”

“Bang,” she sensually whispered.

In an instant the ball expanded into a stream of pure raw energy the height and width on the Empire State building if it was laid on its side in the middle of 42nd street. Anything in its path was turned to either ashes or atoms starting from the middle of Second and Third Avenue pass the FDR Drive, over the river into Long Island City and beyond. Buildings toppled as well as parts of the highway on the FDR.

A couple of teeth, tiny melted rubber bits from their costumes, and scorch marks were all that was left of the members of the Defenders of Justice.

“Well now,” she turned to Power Hour, “has the lesson been learned?”

He defiantly mustered the strength to spit in her face. She slowly wiped it off in disgust.

“So, that’s what it feels like,” she noted.

She increased her grip on his throat teetering on the borderline of crushing it. He groaned and gagged struggling to breathe.

“You stupid fuck! Normally someone buys me dinner before they do that,” she howled. “And now you’re going to die in that ridiculous costume for nothing! So the question I got to ask before I end you is was this all worth it? To die knowing that you changed nothing, you saved no one, and in about another five seconds you will be no one! The question “Raymond” is how does it feel to know that comic books are bullshit, because in real life the “good guy” does not win in the end?”

Power Hour through his gurgling and near lack of oxygen forced a grin on his tear stained face.

“I know… comic books are not real,” he said. “Heroes are… and I am thankful I lived my dream to become one. I die here today knowing I stood against you… and that… my act… will hopefully champion others… to do… the same.”

“Wow,” she scoffed. “Very inspirational there. My little bean just pulsated from that. Now allow me the honor of giving you a hero’s death. God speed… oh wow… I don’t even remember your name.”

Peace’s eyes went ablaze as she unleashed a powerful eyebeam blast into his face. His red cowl melted, as he screamed in agonizing pain from his eyeballs roasting while his skin popped and blistered. Eventually his body went limp as his skull exploded leaving just a shearing jawbone.

She released the rest of his remains to hit the ground with a sickening thud forcing a wince out Lady Tech watching along with the rest of the Regulators.

“What a waste.” Peace shook her head.

She exploded into the sky darting away, once again leaving her calling card of death and destruction.

Lady Tech turned away shaking her head, while Adrian dropped his head burying it in his chest. Rosann stood there with an emotionless expression grinding her bottom teeth into her top.

“We can’t let this go down,” Abe shook his head.

“We just saw her slaughter five EVOs by herself,” Erica turned to Rogers pointing, “three of them were Class 9!”

“There’s got to be a way to beat her,” stepped in Adrian.

“With Dennison, yes, we stand a chance,” Lady Tech answered. “Without her, we’re good as dead. And with Peace holding both her island and parents hostage on opposite sides of the world with the help of her goon squad and a powerful Promethean monitoring not only our every move, but hers if she gets anywhere near Earth’s orbit. I don’t see what other options we have that don’t involve the disgusting words collateral damage.”

“So that’s it?” Adrian raised his head in disbelief. “We’ve lost?”

“We need to be in three different places attacking at the same time.” A frustrated Erica turned to him. “The only way to do that is for me to invent teleportation in the next fifteen hours. From down here where we are buried I don’t see that happening. I’m good, but I’m not that good.”

Everyone including Sophia now bore faces of frustration. No one wanted to admit it, but Peace had covered all of her bases checkmating them. Erica turned her back to her team placing her hands on the console of central command with her head lowered. She silently racked her brain searching for some scenario to put them back in the game. To her dismay she could find none.

In the midst of their backs being against the wall, the three android sisters’ eyes widened causing everyone alarm.

“Maxine, what is it?” Erica asked nervously.

“Energy anomaly building within this vicinity.” Maxine turned pointing.

Out of thin air, electricity crackled and expanded licking and shearing the floors and walls around it as light appeared spilling from whence it came from. It grew larger opening into the size of a large oval door way. On the opposite side of the doorway, everyone had a bird’s eye view of what appeared to be a reflective veil of various worlds and dimensions colliding with one another. Rosann and Adrian morphed while Abe grabbed his rifle. The android sisters also went into combat mode anticipating an attack. Lady Tech was the only one who did not feel threatened as she walked toward the portal like a moth to a flame.

Out of the portal stepped the Egyptian demigod from the battle in New York. That girlish heart fluttering feeling returned to Erica as she gazed into his white eyes void of irises.

“Everyone power down, or lower your weapons.” She waved them off. “I think the cavalry has arrived.”

They all did as told while Erica looked up to a gentle smile directed toward her and felt a fuzzy feeling all over.

“Hi,” she waved.

“Hi,” he answered with a deep rumbling voice.

“All right,” Rogers stepped in with a protective fatherly tone. “I take it you’re here to help us fight the forces of evil.”

“I am the Eye of Ra,” he formally introduced himself. “And I am here to help.”

“Great, glad to have you.” Abe got down to business. “Think you can get us topside to our main base with whatever you just stepped out of?”

“Yes, I can,” he smirked.

“Can you make more of those portals, “Erica jumped back in, “or just one?”

“I can open as many as you need,” he confirmed.

“From anywhere?” she swallowed.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“Then we have a plan to put together.” Abe turned to the rest of the team.

“Whatever plan you have,” Vincent translated for Sophia, “I’d like to add to it.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Let’s get to work people,” Abe brought his rallying voice, “we have less than fifteen hours to save the world.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Far off near the remote area of the Antarctica, Peace soared high as she streaked across the sky immune to the harsh cold environment of that region. She touched down hard spraying snow a good couple of feet while startling a family of polar bears that ran away to safety.

She walked a couple of feet to a massive iceberg. As she neared it, the view of a extremely large barge ship encased in part of it appeared. She walked up the frozen boarding deck steps covered in icicles stepping onto the main deck of the ship.

Heading to one of the main doors, she strolled along the frozen deck where some of the ice had a deep reddish color to it.

The red icicles that hung from the guardrail, pointed down to the deep dark frozen waters where the remains of the former occupants laid.

Nonchalantly, she keyed into the security panel opening the door. She stepped inside to an actual lift that brought her down to the bottom level of the ship. She exited into the florescent lights of an experimental R&D lab and a waiting Revenant, Wendigo, Ghoul and Anchimayen.

“Did they catch my good side?” was the first question she asked. “I didn’t look bloated, did I?”

“Ya looked like a million bucks,” Ghoul shrugged, assuring her.

“Very impressive display of power,” Revenant smirked. “Think you over did it?”

“It had to be done, though, I took no pleasure in it.” She shook her head. “‘Over doing it’ ensures that others will think twice about trying to oppose me. If preventable, we don’t need any further bloodshed or loss of our own species. Anchimayen, have you located the Egyptian yet?”

A hovering Anchimayen sitting cross-legged floated over to her.

“No sign on either the normal or astral plane,” he reported. “It is as if he does not exist, or has a soul.”

This new information made her rub her chin. Concern appeared on her face for a split second which Revenant caught.

“New plan.” She snapped her fingers. “Ghoul, you’re no longer benched. You’ll be accompanying myself Revenant and Wendigo to DC in case the ‘Scorpion King’ makes another appearance. Anchimayen, you will stay here as eyes and ears. The Regulators I’m not too concerned about, but this new mystery player, and especially Dennison, are top surveillance priority.”

“Maybe if you killed her you’d only have one…” Revenant sighed as he examined his fingernails.

He was unable to finish his sentence as Peace wrapped her hand around his throat at lightning speed taking him off his feet. On instinct, he put up his protective shielding as she slammed him violently into a nearby metal wall making an impression of his back into it.

She moved closer to him as if she was about to kiss him, her hand glowed as she increasing grip drew some of his power from him, forcing him to groan and gag saying otherwise. Wendigo slowly went to reach for her iPod and turn up the volume, but Ghoul turned to her raising a subtle finger to stay out of it.

“Let’s get an understanding, shall we, you piece of oozing diarrhea out of the crack of Lestat’s ass,” Peace sighed. “This ain’t no Starscream slash Megatron type of shit. You’re not going to test my patience episode after episode till I kill you in some blockbuster movie. I keep you alive because you serve a purpose. The second my new world is created, and I feel you no longer serve a purpose. I will end you as easily as a horse flicks a flea. Now the next time you attempt to reprimand me, I will reach up your stink hole and use your spinal column as an anal bead. Are we clear?”

“Perfectly,” choked Revenant.

“Good boy,” she smirked.

She hammered him violently into the wall, imbedding him further into it for good measure before releasing him. Her hand and eyes momentarily glowing purple and black from draining a fraction of his power reverted back to her yellow glow as her hand powered down. He leaned up against the wall nursing his throat, slowly sucking air back into his lungs.

“I’m going to my room to sit in my underwear and play some Xbox Live,” She turned to the rest of them. “Unless it’s something urgent, do not bother me until tomorrow.”

She walked off to be alone as the unscathed trio watched her depart. They then turned to their secondary leader.

“Well that was bloody stupid,” Ghoul admonished him.

“But necessary to determine that miserable cow’s plan for us once we no longer serve a purpose,” Revenant turned to him.

“All I heard was as long as we’re useful to her we can keep breathing in her new world,” the Ghoul answered back, “which is fine with me. Personally, I find being a fanatic Satanic worshipper to be no different than any other religion. Overrated and with a very short life span. At least I know what I’m dealing with when it comes to her because she’s tangible.”

“She maybe powerful,” Revenant sneered, “but she is no god, she has fears and weaknesses. She fears the Egyptian.”

“I’m afraid of the Egyptian,” Ghoul snapped back. “I don’t think you understand our dire situation. We’ve gone from serial killings with a side of cannibalism to full on terrorism on a global scale. If we’re to survive without a bounty on our heads we need her New World Order!”

He walked away with Anchimayen following behind him. Wendigo walked up to Revenant putting a hand on his chest as a gesture to see if he was all right. He looked down at her with a simple smile stroking her left cheek; she nuzzled against his hand like a kitten.

“No worries, my dear,” he smirked, “we will let her have her new world. And then we shall find a way to kill her and take it from her. The Egyptian is the key, or at least the power he possesses. She did my work for me when she dispatched Dybbuk. When I take the Egyptian’s power and merge it with my own, it will aide me in usurping her and claiming this world as my own. And then the real fun will begin.”

CHAPTER 23

0500 AM Pacific Time, the Regulators worked through the night preparing for vengeance and battle. With the assistance of the Eye of Ra, they used one of his dimensional portals to return to base level without detection from Anchimayen. It was an experience none of them could put into words.

The first thing they did was search for Oliver. A part of them prayed he was waiting for them. Maybe a bit banged up, possibly injured, but alive and waiting for them. It made it all the more real when they found him, bringing back tears and heartache they tried to exercise while confined in the central command.

Even though his face remained stone, Abe’s eyes could not stay dry at the sight of Oliver lying there.

Before he and Adrian stepped in to take him to the medical bay, Rosann stopped them.

“I want to take him.” Tears rained from her eyes. “I want to take him.”

Rogers nodded, extending his hand. She grasped it duplicating his Titan strength again allowing her to lift him. She closed his eyes and cradled him close; she slowly carried him to the medical bay as if he was sleeping. He still felt warm to her.

She laid him down covering him with one of the medical blankets. She found a rag to wipe the dirt and dry blood from his face and mouth. Standing there fighting to smile, she stroked his cheek, making her way down to placing a hand on his chest. None of her caressing woke him up.

“I love you,” her heart broke as she said it, “from the first time I saw you. Every day I’d wonder what your kiss tasted like, what kind of beautiful babies we’d make… silly, right?”

A smile popped up on her face for a brief second; her joke did not wake him.

“I know my dad would have liked you.” she said. “No one is ever good enough for his little girl, but he would have liked you a lot. My mom would have loved you.”

She leaned in laying her head on his chest. He still did not wake up. She blubbered like a child as she placed a hand on his forehead patting it.

“Thank you… for sharing your life with me.” She fought to smile again. “I’m going to see you again soon… okay… I promise. Just wait for me… okay?”

She gave him a goodbye kiss, her body shook waiting for him to wake up, but he did not.

Forcing herself off of him, she hollered till her legs almost gave out on her. Unfairly robbed, and her body could not sustain the weight.

Still aided by Abe’s strength, she bent and crushed a part of the metal table Oliver rested on, until her sorrow turned into blinding rage.

She began to tear the medical bay apart searching for something.

Happening upon one of the medical kits, she tore it open pulling out a syringe.

Ripping it out of its packet she trudged back over to where Oliver lay.

“Let’s fight together one more time.” She nodded. “You and I... we’re going to kill them all… so you can look down at them as they burn in hell.”

Rosann returned from her time with Oliver with all of her emotions ripped from her. She uttered not a word as they assessed and salvaged what weapons and equipment were still intact.

The Tornado was gone, but the Warthog was surprisingly still intact and functional despite being buried. Erica’s S.A.M. armor, which also descended to its own fallout bunker, returned undamaged and ready for battle.

The ten miniature Doozers that survived the attack and destruction of the base went to work repairing the minor damages the Warthog may have sustained, after Adrian, Rogers, and the Eye of Ra removed the rubble from it.

After ensuring that her armor was intact and functional, Erica supervised the preparation and loading of the weapons and equipment they needed for their mission.

As they worked tirelessly through the night to prepare for war, Abe, Erica, and Adrian found a couple of minutes to individually slip away and say their goodbyes to Oliver.

Now suited up carrying every clip he could lug, Abe brandishing the M1 Ballistics rifle walked up to Rosann adjusting the straps to her tactical gloves.

“You ready Esposito?” he asked with a gruff voice.

“If you don’t mind, sir, my call sign is Merge.” She locked eyes with him. “And I am ready.”

Her eyes were devoid of emotion. Her demeanor was a mixture of coarse salt and raw iron. Although he needed the end product, he would have preferred she was hardened some other way.

Rogers moved onto Adrian, his aura was not as grim as his sister’s, but the light had also gone out of him. He was in a dark place thinking dark thoughts. He wanted his friend back, and had to settle for vengeance. Abe instantly noticed the changes to the color scheme and wording to his bodysuit.

“Heavy Element,” he read out loud the wording on the thighs of his suit.

“Sir, yes sir.” He looked him in the eyes.

“Good name,” he approved.

Finally, he glanced over at Erica who changed out of her regular colorful bodysuit for a dark gray one. She sat on the steps of the Warthog adjusting body armor fittings on her forearms, biceps, knees, and shins. She kept her goggles over her eyes so he could not read what was behind them.

“All right children,” Abe grunted.

He got their attention, but did not expect for them to fall in.

Rogers stood looking into the faces of Lady Tech, Heavy Element, and Merge, while the Eye of Ra stood off to the side observing them all. They were hardened faster in one day than a platoon of Marines who had done several tours. The tears were gone as their eyes welled up with rage and the desire of payback. They could also tell he wanted it too, and was going to lead them to it.

“Speeches are for politicians, coaches, and actors,” Rogers sniffed, “it’s simple, those sons of bitches took Oliver from us. So we’re going to take everything away from them… and I do mean everything. Any questions?”

“Sir, no sir!” the trio roared.

“Then let’s get it done,” he nodded.

They piled into the Warthog. Rosann sat alone with her head down in her thoughts. Every now and then she ran her hand against a small ammo compartment on her left thigh.

Adrian glanced at his sister with some concern, but gave her the respected space she needed. He knew she did not want his help or to save her from what she was going through. She needed him on his A-Game, fighting at peak condition with everything in his gut and arsenal like she would be. She desired nothing more from him, or anyone else.

“Lady Tech,” Abe glanced her way, “play something motivational and turn it up.”

“Got it,” she nodded.

Adrian got up from his seat leaning in, whispering into her ear. She turned to him raising an eyebrow.

“I heard him playing it a lot in his room,” he coughed.

“I got the song,” she smiled.

As Adrian returned to his seat, Erica selected the song he requested. “Rise,” by Skillet pumped throughout the audio system of the powered up Warthog. Rubbing her hands together, she grasped the two hand controls ready to go.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

0850 AM, Washington DC:

The streets throughout the capital were cemetery dead. Peace’s news broadcast and savage obliteration of the Defenders of Justice left people cowering in their homes refusing to come out, while taking the fight out of all superhumans around the globe. Residents of the District of Columbia huddled together close to their loved ones under structures that gave them very little protection. They clung closer to one another as the sky began to tremble.

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 be 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 whether to 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 Dennisons' 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 pouncing 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 a.m. 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 charred 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 again 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.

Lady Tech answered his challenge pushing the accelerator; gunning the Warthog straight for him.

“What the hell are you doing?” yelled Abe.

“Este hijo de puta quiere jugar pollo conmigo?” she snarled. “Then let’s go.”

Rogers and Adrian glanced at each other. Heavy Element transformed to metal form while Abe braced himself.

“Get ready girls!” Erica screamed.

Jennifer and Angie simultaneously coiled their legs waiting for the point of impact. The Draugr launched his massive half-ton frame into the air. His intention was clearly to cut the Warthog wide open.

Angie and Jennifer leaped the same time he went airborne, but in opposite directions, away from him and the vehicle.

“Time to get FUBARed,” Lady Tech sneered.

Upon her command, various compartments of the Warthog opened up revealing various anti-air missiles. She unleashed them all at the Draugr who had no time to cover up. The series of explosions consumed him, the vehicle, and anything within range of the blast. A roaring Draugr still with a grip on his sword was once again hurled like a meteorite back onto the beach. The Warthog battered and smoking with cosmetic damage survived the explosion.

“You guys alright?” exhaled Erica.

“Oh, yeah,” nodded Adrian. “I feel like I just came out of a Michael Bay movie, but I’m good.”

“Go get him girls,” Lady Tech commanded.

Angie and Jennifer bolted going into full combat mode hunting the Draugr. The near unstoppable goliath rose to his feet again wafting with smoke. His wounds also superficial, healed instantaneously as his armor told the tale of the hell he endured. White smoke blew from the vents in his helmet as he turned to begin mortal combat anew. He would not have to wait for it as Angie tearing down the beach kicking up sand fired salvos of plasma rounds hitting vital parts of his body that should have proven fatal. He weathered the storm of barrages and broke into a run for another game of chicken between himself and the cannon toting android.

During his berserker charge, he could not see Jennifer hidden as she ran behind her sister. With their battle plan synced, Angie hit the brakes sliding across the sand while firing two rounds kneecapping the behemoth in his left leg. As he crashed and burned face first into the sand, Jennifer using her sister’s back as a springboard propelled herself into the air, and came down sinking both her dark metal forged swords into his back. He roared furiously fighting to stand on his good knee while his bad one healed. Jennifer still on his back, set up to attempt a decapitation, but the big man tumble rolled forward forcing her to leap off his back so she would not be crushed.

The rear hatch to the Warthog opened up allowing Heavy Element and a rifle toting Rogers to exit the vehicle.

“I’ll be with you guys in a minute once I suit up,” radioed Erica.

“Roger that,” answered Abe before turning to Adrian. “Let’s go have some fun.”

The two broke into a sprint heading toward the Draugr and battle.

“Sir,” asked Heavy Element running side by side with him, “ever play ball in school?”

“Call me Sarge,” returned Abe. “Center field in high school and QB in college and Marine Corps. I assume this has to do with a plan.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “it’s called a fastball special.”

“Never heard of it.” Rogers shook his head.

“Stop, and I’ll show you.” Adrian halted several yards from the battle.

The Sarge stopped as well wondering what his metal teammate was up to.

“Hold your hand out palm up,” Heavy Element instructed. “Bring your arm down lower.”

Adrian holding onto the Rogers’ shoulder hopped with both feet into the palm of his hand.

“I take it that I just aim and throw,” confirmed Rogers.

“That’s the plan.” Adrian stooped down readying himself.

“You sure about this?” asked Abe.

“No,” Heavy Element shook his head, “but let’s do this anyway.”

The Sarge took a Colin Kaepernick stance, and hurled him with the force of a patriot missile at the Draugr. The mad Viking finally got the upper hand on the android sisters destroying one of Angie’s guns with a slice of his sword. The internal power source detonated in her hand badly damaging it while knocking her to the sand. The Draugr pounced on her before she could recover driving a boot into her chest. The softness of the sand and her extra dense form was the only thing that kept him from breaking her like an egg.

He raised his sword to drive it through her skull just as Jennifer rushed to attempt to save her sister.

Adrian got there first with a roaring thunderous right caving in the side of his helmet. It also turned slightly inhibiting his vision. He landed tumbling rolling on the sand.

Jennifer dashed behind him letting both her swords fly as she sliced the back of his left leg and calf open. He roared again in pain and frustration as he stumbled forward giving Angie the opening to roll out of the way.

Everyone scattered from the vicinity of the Draugr as a now-airborne Lady Tech in the S.A.M armor powered up and fired an ion blast from her main chest cannon. It torn through the air hitting him dead center in the face and upper chest; the Draugr fell backwards sending sand spraying everywhere. Adrian on his feet waved away the stench of burning flesh emitting from him.

“Well that was easy!” he yelled to his teammates.

Lady Tech touched down next to Rogers getting into a combat stance.

“It’s not over,” she reported.

Insane cackling confirmed what her readings revealed. The Draugr sat up and rose to his feet as if the team did not lay a scratch on him. He grabbed his sword and ripped off his helmet tossing it away revealing the inhuman demonic insanity in his eyes.

Heavy Element rolled his eyes in disgust.

“I am the Draugr, you cunts!” he howled raising his sword. “Satan’s champion and eternal enemy of God! You can not kill me!”

His sinister rant was answered with an high-powered plasma round to the face sending him reeling and roaring with pain. His mouth frothed over with saliva as his hand hovered over the now tender side of his face that was blistered from the scorching heat.

“Give us a minute!” yelled back the Sarge brandishing the smoking rifle. “We’ll think of something!”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in Washington, Sophia’s initial plan of attack was not faring too well. A recovered Peace had found her rhythm fighting back just as viciously as she was. She began to realize that this battle would not be as easy as their first one seven years ago.

Back then, Sophia overwhelmed her with sheer brute strength and speed. The skill she also displayed was just the icing on the cake.

Though she was fighting on par with her, Peace’s strength and speed were slightly higher than hers were, and she was a trained combatant forged from the pits of the D.E.A.D. project.

Fighting and killing came as natural to her as breathing and eating.

Although Sophia possessed a well of fighting techniques to pull from, Peace had true combat experience, which made her realize that up till now she was a champion that had never really been tested.

Sophia found an opening through the barrages of punches and kicks delivering a simultaneous legsweep and front punch to Peace’s chest dropping her flat on her back. Peace responded by rolling and scissoring Sophia’s legs slamming her face first into the lawn of the Jefferson Memorial. She rolled again driving a backhand fist to the back of Sophia’s skull sinking her further into the dirt. Sophia rolled out of the way before she could hit another one creating a crater in the dirt with her fist.

As she sprung back to her feet, Peace performed a Kip Up back to her vertical base. The two began to circle one another like lionesses preparing to fight over territory or a kill.

“However way you and Mr. Stargate pulled off your little Houdini act,” Peace seethed, “it doesn’t matter. After I kill you, him and everyone you ever loved and cared about is dead by my hands!”

“You have to kill me first for that to happen you monster,” Sophia fired back, “and that’s not going to happen today!”

“Tell me why, you misbegotten bitch!” Peace screamed. “Why do you continue to defend these blood sucking parasites who ass rape everything they touch, including your life?”

“I swear by God the Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit to keep according to my ability and my judgment. The following Oath and agreement,” she began to recite, “to consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him. To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art; and that by my teaching, I will impart knowledge of this art to my own sons, and to my teacher’s sons, and to disciples bound by an indenture and oath according to the medical laws, and no others. I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion. But I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts. I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art. In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or men, be they free or slaves. All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, whom ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal. If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all humanity and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my life.”

“What the fuck did all that mean?” Peace sneered.

“For your simple mind to comprehend,” she reared her teeth, “I took an oath as a doctor to save and preserve all life using all of my abilities. So there’s no way I plan on standing back and watch your enact mass genocide on the world. You’re going to have to go through me to do it!”

A frustrated Peace emitted an inhuman animalistic roar similar to when Sophia resurrected from Mountain View seven years ago. She detonated from where she stood taking flight and crashing into Sophia going airborne. Through mid-flight, Sophia performed her own Judo Tomeo-nage or Circle throw in midair tossing her off of her.

She came in at full speed throwing a powerful right; Peace sidestepped the punch grabbing her performing a Judo Uchi-mata Inner-thigh throw hurling her through a fifty-story building. Halfway through as Sophia slammed on the breaks to stop, Peace barreling through plowed into her bursting through the other side of the building putting her through two more. Exploding through the third building, they both broke free of one another crash landing into opposite sides of Pennsylvania Ave in Downtown Washington DC taking out cars, storefronts, and anything else unlucky enough to be in their path. Abandoned building number three, collapsed in on itself sending smoke and debris in opposite directions within a twelve-block radius.

Sophia fought to her feet shaking off the cobwebs standing in the middle of a closed Radio Shack that she demolished with her crashing landing. Majority of Washington had apparently taken the hint after Peace’s televised speech and did not come to work which was lucky for them. She walked through the hole she created where those who did not take the hint ran screaming, biking, or driving to safety. She turned spying Peace through the heavy dust four blocks away already standing and glaring in her direction. She turned taking a deep breath knowing that she was not only in for the fight of her life but that the end could only have one outcome. With no more words to be spoken, the two most powerful EVOs on the planet launched themselves toward each other to begin battle anew.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

On the other side of Washington DC, the Ghoul stood alone as the skies and streets lit up with battle once again after seven years between his teammates, Peace, Sophia, and the Egyptian.

“Well this went all tits up!” he sneered.

Before he could contemplate whether to join his teammates in fighting the Egyptian Warrior or save his own skin to live another day, his reflexes kicked in as the female speedster that rescued the President appeared again out of nowhere now brandishing twin swords of her own.

With a swing she attempted to severe his head from his torso with one blow. He barely put his blades up which took the impact of the sword swipe. The force of her swing took him off his feet and slammed him into a parked Lincoln town car caving in the passenger door.

He shrugged it off getting back to his feet while sizing up his new opponent.

She stood an impressive six feet in height, her gray and silver bodysuit appeared as if it was a second layer of skin. The design looked like the body without skin revealing the muscle tissue underneath. Her matching high tech split toe shoes seemed as if they attached to her outfit. The only colorful thing about her attire was the blue, red, black, and silver Kabuki mask that covered her identity. Her raven dark hair neatly cornrowed into thin braids. The last thing he spied as they circled each other were her futuristic gunmetal gray ninjato style swords with Japanese caricatures etched into the blades. They looked heavy and capable of cutting through almost anything with a single swing.

“And who might you be love?” He pointed his blade at her.

“Your executioner,” she responded with a distorted voice, “but you can call me Shintobe.”

“Never seen a bomb watcher as tall as you,” he spat back.

“Oh that’s my Irish side,” she answered with a cutesy voice. “Guess what my other side is.”

She twirled the sword in her right hand with insane speed producing a wind that he could feel as she prepared to end the small talk.

“Before I dice you into sushi,” Ghoul snarled, “do tell to what do I owe this apparently personal invitation to combat?”

“Lady Electrify was a good friend of mine.” Shintobe emitted bass in her voice. “You butchered her like a dog in the street. The only reason I didn’t get back in enough time to watch your entrails spill before you is because I was on the other side of the world killing scumbags like you. By the time I heard the news and got back, the Regulators already hauled you off to the deep dark hole you should have stayed in.”

“So this is payback then?” He sarcastically stumbled around in shock. “I’ll have you know your little friend bawled and squealed like a stuffed pig as I did her in those dirty streets, and I enjoyed watching the light go out of her!”

“Thank you,” she shot back.

“Thank you for what, you cunt?” he roared.

“Now I’m really going to enjoy killing you,” she calmly answered.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in Mount Vernon, Sister Shareef held a bloodied and pummeled Nachzehrer by the throat letting up to see if she surrendered before delivering her forty-first punch.

“You give up,” Shareef barked, “or do you want some more?”

Nachzehrer answered her the same way she answered Heavy Element in Manhattan, by hocking blood laced spittle into her face.

“Oh no, that nasty bitch didn’t!” someone yelled from their front porch.

Before a disgusted Shareef could respond with another thunderous haymaker, Nachzehrer took the split second opportunity to wrench a fist full of dirt from the sidewalk grass hurling it into her face, blinding her.

Nachzehrer followed up by backhanding her, knocking her off. A stunned Shareef tumbled and rolled off the wreckage of the Focus. As she stumbled to her feet, Nachzehrer already up charged nailing her with a shoulder tackle to the gut. In one motion, she lifted her off her feet plowing her back first into a parked red Yukon, which slammed nose first into the back of a parked BMW. It continued to cause a chain reaction of crashes, while Nachzehrer with a handful of Sister Shareef’s locks slammed her skull repeatedly against the back of the caved in vehicle.

Shareef went for a head-removing elbow to back her up and get some breathing room; a faster Nachzehrer ducked it locking her up. She lifted her into the air delivering a textbook wrestling back suplex drilling her head and shoulder first into the back of the SUV. Unlike the staged sport, she was unprepared for the savage bump taking the full force of the blow.

An enraged Nachzehrer, refusing to give her breathing room, latched onto her right leg. Using a one armed swing, she hurled her into the skies of Mount Vernon.

Her point of impact was the basketball court attached to the projects of Seventh and Eighth Avenue. Players and locals hanging out scattered screaming as Shareef took out one of the steel basketball hoops bringing it down. She rolled to her hands and knees groaning.

“Dear Lord,” she said, “I’m too old for this shit.”

The hairs on her neck stood to attention as something screamed for her to move.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw what was left of the Yukon they fought on coming toward her guided by and cackling airborne Nachzehrer.

She rolled out of the way thwarting her attempt to crush her with it. The vehicle folded like an accordion as it smashed into the concrete of the ball court.

The older woman on her feet again covered up as a younger faster Nachzehrer began to batter her with what was left of the SUV. Shareef with her guard up tanked some of the shots looking for an opening. She miscalculated dropping her defense for a second taking a face full of wrecked SUV, knocking her into a violent and awkward tailspin. Her skull was the first to hit the pavement. On instinct, she rolled to her hands and knees despite her vision going blurry. She was unprepared for her bringing the wrecked SUV down on top of her. A wide-eyed drooling Nachzehrer delivered a secondary blow for good measure.

With one arm, she pulled the wreckage off Shareef as onlookers cursed and screamed at her from afar. Shareef once again on her hands and knees continued to fight to rise. Blood from healing open wounds dripped from her skull, nose, and mouth. Her body trembled in pain despite her regenerative healing working to help her recover.

Nachzehrer snapped off a steel beam from the undercarriage of the SUV. It was not a clean break producing a sharp jagged edge. She ran the edge a couple of times across the concrete of the ball court to make it even sharper. She then sashayed around with it in her grip taunting Shareef.

“You know… I could give two shits what Peace says.” She raised her left hand into a fist. “The only true master race is the one with this color!”

She bolted delivering a savage punt kick to Shareef’s ribcage lifting her several feet off the ground. She hit back first emitting an agonizing groan as she clutched her ribs. Nachzehrer could have field goal kicked her out of the court. She held back wanting everyone around to see what she was about to do next.

She dropped down onto Shareef’s chest pinning her upper arms by the biceps. She then grabbed Shareef by her dreads lifting her head up a bit, running the sharp edge of her makeshift shiv across her face.

“And I’m going to make it my business to finally exterminate you knuckle dragging…” Nachzehrer began to yell.

Her speech of hatred screeched to a halt as her eyes widened while her entire body quivered.

Shareef removed her hand from Nachzehrer’s left thigh to reveal an ion body damper attached to it sending thousands of volts of electricity directly into her nervous system overloading it. During her beating, she was able to pull one out from one of the compartments in her forearm bands. Lady Tech instructed her that for it to be one hundred percent effective, it had to be attached to the back of the neck so that it could deliver the charged pulse to the spinal cord, cerebellum, and brain.

However, in Sister Shareef’s current situation, she figured nerves were still nerves in any part of the body.

“What’s that?” Shareef grinned. “I can’t quite hear the shit coming out your mouth.”

She delivered her own backhand to Nachzehrer knocking her off her which sent the shiv in her hand flying. Shareef sprung back to her vertical base grabbing her by her Mohawk pulling her to her feet. She made the end quick and fast as she hammered both sides of her jaws with thunderous lefts and rights followed by spine blowing gut check doubling her over. Measuring her up, she exploded with a neck-breaking uppercut lifting her ten feet into the air. Another chorus of “Oooooooh!” rang out from the onlookers witnessing the knockout punch.

Nachzehrer came back down on the back of her neck folding like a lawn chair for about a second; she flipped over onto her face never to rise.

“She got knocked the you know what out,” nodded an elderly woman from afar.

“That’s the problem with you kids today,” Shareef huffed, “you talk too darn much.”

Nachzehrer groaned in agony as Shareef pulled out another ion body damper from her bracer slapping it down on the back of her neck completely incapacitating her.

“One more to grow on, ya nasty heffa,” Shareef scowled.

She stood tall cracking her neck and back while collecting herself as onlookers howled and cheered her on. She looked toward the skies praying that Sophia, and everyone else, were as successful as she was in her mission.

CHAPTER 24

The violent rhythmic clanging of blades echoed throughout the streets of DC as the Ghoul and Shintobe fought to see who would slice the other into ribbons.

Their swords moved at such blinding speeds, sparks spurted in the midst of the exchange. It was hard to tell who was on the offensive and defensive. Both combatants stood their ground unleashing a hailstorm of slashing moves from various angles to score a deep cut. Neither one attempted a thrust, nor parry, for Ghoul he probably believed any over the top attempts would leave him open to Shintobe taking his head for a trophy.

It also did not sit too well within him that her mask shrouded her face making it impossible for him to read her. Her poker face body movements frustrated him as well. Even though this was clearly vengeance for her, she did not attack like someone looking for blood. She moved as if she was performing a dance or playing an instrument. She was not rushing to deliver death to him; she was slowly leading him to it with a waltz.

Ghoul snarled as he thought he found and opening. He went for a diagonal downward slash, slicing her in half from her left collarbone through to her right hip.

Had she been standing in the way of his blade.

Shintobe simply moved into the Ghoul’s personal space getting face-to- face with him and out of the range of his machetes. She then kissed him with a vicious mask enforced headbutt to the nose staggering him. Shintobe came off her feet like a ballerina and delivered a jumping front kick to his chest with the force of shotgun.

It took him off his feet plowing him back first into a brick wall caving it in. He fell to one knee still clutching his machetes. Pieces of broken brick fell from his imprint behind him breaking to smaller pieces as they hit the concrete. His left hand nursed his chest as he spat blood on the ground. Slowly he looked up at a waiting Shintobe rearing his fangs.

“Why am I not surprised,” he hissed. “Ya probably wank off with those things.”

“Yeah, and if you were going to live to see tomorrow,” Shintobe returned. “Guy Ritchie would be suing you for stealing his shit. Lucky for you… you won’t. So how about we get this over with, I got a bath waiting for me to scrub off your funk.”

“The only one taking a bath is me, bitch.” Ghoul rose to his feet. “In your blood!”

Shintobe erupted with laughter from underneath her mask.

“You’re gonna bath in my blood!” she mocked him. “Dude, seriously, how long have you been waiting to use that cliché line?”

Ghoul howled going rabid as he launched himself toward her. Shintobe stood her ground meeting him head on, as he went into a berserker rage attack. Their second clash was more savage than the first with Ghoul increasing his offensive.

Shintobe’s speed increased as well to match his ferocity but not his demeanor. She was as cold as ice. Something else she was doing both disturbed Ghoul and pushed his rage to a fever pitch. Through all of the clanging of steel, he was sure she was singing the hook to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” under her mask.

Five seconds more the fencing contest that would make the most skilled masters faint ended as Shintobe did a simple duck, spin, and tumble roll back onto her feet and out of the range of the Ghoul’s blades again. This time, she turned her back to him.

“It’s over,” Shintobe sighed, “say ‘hi’ to the devil for me while he’s cornholing you.”

“What do you mean it’s over you…” a bewildered and enraged Ghoul spat.

He would not finish his sentence as both his forearms detached from the rest of his arms still clutching his machetes.

“Impossible…” he stammered. “Your swords don’t have…”

A gust of wind blew off his entire hood while his head fell from his shoulders. His torso was the last to fall separating in half from his left collarbone to his right hip leaving him nothing more than body parts in a pool of blood.

“In the words of the most legendary speedster to grace this planet,” a victorious Shintobe raised her head, “Beep, Beep.”

With a sonic boom she rocketed off in the direction of the battle between the heroic Egyptian, Revenant, and Wendigo tearing apart portions of DC. She knew vengeance would not bring her friend back, but she prayed it would help her rest better in peace.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

The skies of Washington DC roared with sound greater than thunder. People cowered as they watched their sky abused with unearthly energies wielded by beings battling against one another.

Revenant channeling dark matter energies unleashed it with sinister intent at the Eye of Ra, who deflected volley after volley with his staff. He returned fire with a powerful cosmic blast of his own. Revenant strafed away to avoid the hit unconfident that he could tank the stream with his protective shielding as it scorched the very air itself.

Ra powered up to let off another volley until Wendigo’s sonic attack forced him to go on the defensive. His energy shielding weathered the storm of the sonic sound of “Into the Fire” by Disturbed beating down on him while tearing apart the tops and sides of buildings below raining down debris and glass into the streets. Revenant found the opening he needed to create a massive animated dark matter construct of a hellhound the size of a tank that he mentally controlled. It lunged at him moving with twice the speed and force of a bullet train plowing him into the top floor of a small building taking out the first three top floors.

The dark matter beast on command from his creator clawed and snapped at its prey trying to rip him to shreds. Wendigo hovered next to Revenant to take in the view of the slaughter.

They levitated there like proud parents watching their child at play until an Earth quaking surge of bright white and gold energy tore through Revenant’s pet turning it into the atoms it was created from.

The couple’s morbid grins disappeared as the Eye of Ra looked up at them. They could not tell if he had a displeased look on his face because a golden face mask of a human face one would find on an ancient Egyptian statue now covered his visage. He gripped his staff charging it with the raw energy he used to obliterate the hellhound construct.

“Interesting.” Revenant narrowed his eyes.

The Eye of Ra took to the air once again torpedoing right toward them forcing them to separate.

The sadistic couple attacked him again on both his flanks. With the use of a portal, he disappeared, evading both of their attacks sending their volleys at one another causing them to scatter again.

During this time Shintobe now on the scene gunned it at full speed running up the side of a skyscraper. Getting high enough, she leapt off with sword cocked and ready to remove Revenant’s head from his body when a protective Wendigo unleashed a sonic blast knocking her away from her target.

Shintobe twisted and turned recovering in midair going into a dive. Seconds before she impacted the ground, she performed a high speed tumble roll, relying on her enhanced durability and regenerative healing to save her.

Springing back to her feet, she tore through the streets of Washington as a furious Wendigo gave chase.

As Revenant watched the scene unfold, he was unaware of the Eye of Ra appearing out of a portal to his right side. With a powerful swing from his staff he swatted him out of the sky sending him through several buildings impacting an unmanned city bus in the streets below. Thanks to his dark shielding protecting him from the fatal blow, he slowly staggered to his feet swaying.

There would be no rest for the wicked as the Eye of Ra came crashing down on top of him with high-powered staff reared back looking to crush him with a single strike. Revenant quickly launched himself back into the sky barely evading the blow that obliterated what was left of the totaled bus and the street it sat on.

“You’re… you’re mad…” Revenant shuddered looking down at him. “You’re bloody mad!”

Now desperate with fear he unleashed rapid fire volleys at the Egyptian demigod who tanked the shots by twirling his staff in a cross pattern reminiscent of Shaolin monks from old Kung-fu movies. Tired of being on the defensive he launched himself into the sky barreling towards Revenant spooking the fight out of him and forcing him to take flight.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at the island Maxine successfully guided all of the villagers to the far side of the island away from the battle. As she stood guard maintaining a protective perimeter, Earl and the other council members began taking a headcount to ensure no one was lost or left behind during the journey.

During the count Kimberly looked around realizing some people were missing.

“Kyle?” His mother looked around confirming her suspicions. “Kyle! Where are you? Kyle!”

“What happened?” his father asked. “Where is he?”

“I saw him keeping up with us!” she screamed frantically. “Joseph, where is your brother?”

“He was with me a second ago!” shrugged his now nervous older brother.

“Akram!” his mother also cried out in her native tongue, “Akram! Are you here? Where are you? Akram!”

“Idiots!” Kimberly muttered under her breath rolling her eyes.

She had an idea where they were, despite all of the chaos she had a feeling the comic book buffs would not pass up a chance to see a real live superhuman battle regardless of the danger.

“I think I know where the Dynamic Doofuses are.” She turned to Earl. “I’m going after them.”

“Negative,” Maxine turned, overhearing her. “It is far too dangerous. I will…”

“Too late,” Kimberly cut her off.

With a superhuman leap she was gone landing almost a mile into the jungle and proceeded to run on foot in search for her friends.

“Miss, I have located Ms. Dennison’s daughter,” Maxine reported to Lady Tech. “She’s heading back into the jungle to search for two boys unaccounted for during the evacuation.”

“Why’d you let her go?” yelled Erica.

“Ms. Dennison failed to mention that her daughter currently possesses Titan level abilities,” Maxine indicated, “possibly beyond.”

“Then stay there!” Erica shot back, “we’re doing everything possible to keep the Draugr on the beach and bring him down! She should be okay searching for them until then!”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

It took Kimberly a minute to get within three yards of the village again. She put on the brakes as her heart twisted while her stomach turned to the jolting sound of intense battle on the beach.

“Kyle! Akram,” she screamed, “where are you guys? Kyle! Akram!”

She wore a face of fret fearing that they were somewhere hurt and alone. In the short time they got to know each other, the two managed to grow on her. She stood deciding to either check the village or move toward the fighting when she heard the familiar screeching of Sir George.

Running toward the sound, she hid her misting eyes with a hand swipe.

Strolling up to her as if it was just another regular day was the duo walking side by side with Sir George sitting on Kyle’s shoulder.

Her relief quickly turned to anger as she stomped over to them.

“You blockheads!” she screamed at them. “Your parents are worried sick about you, and you’re out here lollygagging while there’s a superhuman fight going down on the beach? This is not a stupid comic book! You could get killed!”

“First of all we’re nowhere near that madness!” Kyle yelled back, “and secondly we came back to get Sir George!”

“He’s a monkey!” She threw up her hands. “He knows how to run and climb a tree when there’s trouble!”

“Dude,” Akram turned to Kyle, “she does have a point.”

“Whose side are you on?” Kyle yelled at his best friend.

“The side keeping me from the crazy lady who likes to burn people, and that axe wielding Skaar wannabe,” Akram fired back.

“Technically, he’s pretending to be a dead Viking.” Kyle held up a finger.

“We don’t care!” Akram and Kimberly both yelled at him.

Sir George, sitting on his shoulder, shared their sentiment by popping him with his tiny fist on the top of his head.

A thunderous boom broke up their argument. Kimberly looked around realizing they were very close to beach.

“Follow me,” she ordered, “and stay close!”

“You’re not the boss…” Kyle said with a sneer.

Kimberly shut him up by grabbing him by the back of his neck and dragging him with her. Sir George jumped on her shoulder taking a seat as Kyle yelled in protest. Akram shaking his head obediently followed.

Three minutes later they came upon the battle, Kimberly, Kyle, and Akram watched in fear and disbelief as Heavy Element, Abe Rogers, and Lady Tech in her S.A.M. armor backed by Jennifer and Angie fought the Draugr feverishly in an attempt to keep him quarantined to the beach and bring him down. It was not going well at all for them; their combined might was barely able to stop the sheer brute strength of the sadistic monster.

“This is bad,” uttered Kyle.

“Doomsday bad,” chimed in Akram.

A frustrated Kimberly ran her hands through her braids. Even if she joined the fight, which terrified her, she would not be strong enough to make much of a difference.

“I’ve got to get stronger,” she muttered to herself.

It was then she remembered her mother’s talk about their abilities and how she got stronger. She turned looking in the direction of the village’s electrical power generator. During the tour of it, her mother told her that although it was small, it was capable of generating enough power to light up half of Manhattan.

“Sir George, hide,” she ordered her monkey.

It obeyed leaping from her shoulder onto a palm tree running up it.

Without hesitation, she grabbed her friends around their waists lifting them into her arms.

“Hold on tight,” she warned.

Kyle and Akram grabbed each other’s arms to hug Kimberly close as she coiled up. She exploded into the air with them. They both screamed in unison as an airborne Kimberly soared over the island clearing the town with her precious cargo.

“Brace yourselves!” she screamed.

The duo screamed again holding on as tight as they could. Kimberly made the landing as comfortable as possible without jolting them badly; stopping several yards in front of the massive electrical turbine generator. She set Kyle and Akram down before trotting over to it.

“What are you going to do?” Kyle frantically asked.

“I have to get strong like my mom to beat that guy!” she said.

She walked up to one of the huge cables connecting the generator to the town lifting it up.

“What doesn’t kill me,” she whispered to herself. “On three. One …”

She did not hesitate as she dug her fingers through the protective outer layer of the cable touching the wires surging massive amounts of heart stopping electrical power. She could not even scream as her body seized up. Massive sparks and explosions erupted as Kimberly stood on the tips of her toes with her back arched while massive amounts of electrical current surged into her body.

Kyle filled with tears rushed to save his friend. Akram tackled him to the ground preventing his own electrocution.

“Let me go! She’s dying! Let me go!” Kyle screamed fighting to get free.

“You will die too stupid!” Akram yelled back struggling to keep him down.

In the midst of their struggle the generator flatlined. They looked up from the ground to see Kimberly still standing. White smoke wafted around her. She released the thick ruptured cable, which hit the ground kicking up dirt with a thud. Not even a spark spat from it as it laid there dead.

“Kim?” Kyle quivered.

Fear of her falling flat on her back dead over took them. It lifted as she slowly turned to face them.

Her eyes said it all, as they glowed a blazing bright white similar to her mother. She survived the deadly ordeal, absorbing the electrical output of the generator now stored within her cells.

“Holy shit…” was all both boys could utter in amazement.

“You guys stay here,” Kimberly commanded, “I’ll be back in a split second.”

“But the battle is that way.” Kyle pointed as she walked in the opposite direction.

“I need to generate speed if I’m going to deliver an IMP to Mister oogly,” she stated.

Before they could ask her to explain, Kimberly took off into the air with a leap going airborne. She closed her eyes as she soared higher and higher, her mind focusing not on thoughts of fictional characters she watched on YouTube, but on her mother. She filled her head with images of her soaring through the sky, racing to save her from her first attempt at flight. No longer did she have to dream or wonder who she was, if she was a good person, if she ever loved or wanted her. Her picture was clear, and her mother was who she wanted to grow up and be.

“Now fly,” she whispered to herself.

Unlike her mother, the electrical power within her surged and crackled about her form before concentrating around her legs. It caused a type of ion thrust igniting an earth-shaking sonic boom propelling her at unimaginable speeds through the air. There was no time to be fascinated with her achievement. She had to go faster in order to circle the Earth and save her friends.

Akram and Kyle stood flooded with emotion being the first to see their friend take flight.

“Dude, did… she say… she was going to do am IMP?” asked Akram.

Kyle’s eyes widened as he too realized what his friend just said.

“Infinite Mass Punch!” They both screamed jumping up and down with joy.

“Dude! Let’s get back to the beach!” Kyle screamed, “we definitely don’t want to miss this!”

They both scurried as fast as their young legs could take them back to the battle on the beach.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at the beach, the fighting was at a very bad stalemate. The team of five did their best switching off attacks in an attempt to keep the Draugr at bay, but their best assault tactics only staggered him. It did not help that he was enjoying the battle immensely.

“More! Give me more! More!” he roared.

The Draugr swung his massive broadsword missing Heavy Element, who ducked just in time. Although he knew his dark metal form could withstand the hit, he feared the strike would knock him to the other side of the island. He would not allow a stupid move to take him out of the fight alongside his teammates.

“Oh shit!” he yelled using his forearms to block.

The Draugr revealed his inhuman speed once again as he followed up with a savage front kick from his size thirty boot. Even in his metallic form it radiated down his arms through his spine as it knocked him off his feet, back first into the sand, several yards away. He had no time to recover as the Draugr leaped into the air to bring his gargantuan sword down on top of him.

Heavy Element covered up the best he could for the blow he would never feel as an orange-haired Angie leapt on top of him to take the full impact of the blow to her back. She smiled at a stunned Adrian as the Draugr’s blade sunk deep into her back.

“I got you sweetie,” she whispered to him.

She gently stroked his cheek with the back of her hand before the Draugr ripped her away tearing her in two in front of him. He simultaneously flung her upper and lower halves yards away from each other.

“You son of a bitch!” Adrian howled.

“You shall join your tin bitch…” the Draugr raised his massive blade high to deliver another murderous blow.

He never finished his crude sentence, nor did he get to go for the kill.

An ear deafening sonic boom sandstorm overtook Heavy Element and the rest of the team. When it settled, the Draugr was no longer on the island.

“What the…” Adrian looked around. “Where the hell did he go?”

Rogers pointed to a blip in the sky that he believed to be the Draugr whisked away by something or someone.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

That someone was Kimberly with a waist full of Draugr soaring higher and higher into the heavens.

The terror and fear that crippled her during her first flight attempt was gone. Anger and determination filled her as she focused on removing the invading behemoth from her mother’s island.

A disoriented Draugr, hammered by the elements, realized too late what Kimberly, traveling five times the speed of a space shuttle, had in store for him.

Her speed increased the second she exited Earth’s atmosphere ripping out of Earth’s orbit. She counted ten more seconds in her head before putting the brakes on releasing the Draugr into the vacuum of space where he howled with insanity still clutching his sword.

Disorientation overtook her as well, as she spun out of control in the freezing weightless black. She calmed herself using short bursts of energy from her hands and feet to right herself.

Kimberly, finally stabilized, took in her surroundings. She was a ten year old floating in the vast universe, and it was beyond beautiful to her. She cupped her mouth trembling with emotion; the Earth looked like a pretty sea blue marble she could hold in her hand. She snapped out of her euphoria remembering she had to get back to the island and then find her mother. She powered up again rocketing back to Earth.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back on the beach, the Regulators regrouped while attempting to figure out whom easily dispatched the Draugr before their very eyes. Merge violently threw a soaked and restrained Jiang Shi onto the sand of the beach while her brother recovered the two halves of Angie. Despite the psychopathic juggernaut tearing her in two, she still functioned, as she chirpily wrapped her arms around his neck while nuzzling against his chest.

He gave in this time chalking it up to her weird AI programming, which also saved him from a possible deadly blow. Angie’s sister Jennifer stood off to the side, sneering at the weird scene of affection.

“Why don’t you two get a room,” she said, “or better yet take that crap to the other side of the island.”

“Don’t hate because you ain’t got a man,” shot back Angie.

“I’m not your man.” Heavy Element rolled his eyes.

Rogers walked over to Erica sitting in the open cockpit of the S.A.M armor looking up at the sky.

“What the hell happened?” he asked looking up at her.

“Someone with a huge ion reading just swooped in and took him,” she answered flatly.

Rogers nodded as if he was accepting her answer.

“Took him where?” he asked, looking up at her again.

“From the traces of energy signature left behind. I’d say straight up,” she said, pointing, “and whoever did it… is coming back… like right now.”

The battle weary team did not bother to go on the defensive as Kimberly touched down on the sand before them. Anyone who could take down the Draugr had to be a friendly in their minds. What took everyone aback, aside from Abe and Erica, was the reveal of how young their savior was.

“Let me guess.” Rogers walked up to her. “You’re Dennison’s kid.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Where’s my mom?”

Before Rogers could answer Akram and Kyle ran down the beach to meet up with their friend.

“What the hell was that?” Kyle yelled. “I thought you were going to do an IMP!”

“I did too do an IMP!” she yelled back at him.

“That was no IMP!” he shot back.

“It was too!” She got louder. “I was moving too fast for you to see it!”

“What the hell is an IMP?” an irritated Abe asked.

“Infinite Mass Punch,” Erica and Adrian recited in unison.

“Dude, you did a RFB and you know it!” Akram jumped in.

“An RF what?” Rogers cocked an eyebrow.

“Remove from battlefield,” Erica and Adrian recited in unison again.

“All right!” Rogers threw his hands up. “You two knock off the acronyms! Young lady, what did you do with the Draugr?”

“He’s either headed to the moon or Mars,” she shrugged.

The answer made Erica crack up laughing in her cockpit.

“Good riddance,” Adrian chimed in.

“Now where’s my…” Kimberly started to ask again.

The sound of thunderous shockwaves shaking the heavens answered her unfinished question. Kimberly’s new keen eyes and Erica’s headset were the only ones to view Sophia trading godlike blows with Peace as they streaked across the skies jockeying each other for position.

Kimberly advanced to take off once again, but Rogers quickly grabbed her arm.

“Whoa,” he asked with a forceful tone, “where do you think you’re going young lady?”

“I’m going to help my mother.” She turned to him with a bass filled voice.

“I think you need to sit this one out,” he advised her.

“I think you need to let go of me,” she returned.

Her eyes surged brightly revealing her emotions, Erica decided to step in before everyone witnessed the Sarge embarrassed by a little girl.

“You can’t go dressed like that,” Erica interjected. “Jennifer, take her to the Warthog to get the spare gear. It should fit her just fine.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jennifer nodded. “Come on, super mini me, let’s get you suited up.”

Rogers reluctantly released Kimberly. She did not give him a second glance as she broke into a run following the android back to the Warthog. Abe turned disapprovingly to Erica for usurping his command.

“Don’t give me that look,” she fired back from her cockpit. “You weren’t going to stop her on your best day. We also need the extra muscle to end this quickly. Peace and Dennison are too evenly matched, and judging from my readings, if we don’t end their fight quickly, a lot of people are going to die, and we might not have a planet left when all is said and done.”

CHAPTER 25

Goddesses warred on high shaking the blue sky itself as they continuously clashed with one another searching for an opening and a blow to fell the other. This was Sophia’s first actually aerial hand to hand combat fight, especially with one who was her equal, and possibly stronger than her. Although she had six years to become a natural flyer, pulling from countless resources depicting feats of flight and fighting. Peace was also a skilled aerial combatant. As she charged to deliver a blow, Peace strafed to avoid it coming back with a punch of her own to take Sophia’s head off. She would not be there as well using her version of an aerial flash move to evade her attacks, a trick she picked up from watching anime cartoons with a thought she could execute powerful bursts of speed.

The times they were lucky enough to land a shot, wasn’t enough to knock the other out of the sky, as they would quickly recover and return to attack again.

Sophia realized during their fight that Peace possessed all of her physical attributes on a greater level but none of her mental. A relief which gave her some type of edge. With that knowledge she decided to get creative.

Sophia brought violent thunder claps to the skies over North and South America as she executed a series of flash bursts around Peace. As she expected, it was enough to overwhelm and frustrate her. Sophia found a big opening. Enough to deliver a seismic right cross.

This time Peace would not recover as she spiraled out of the sky crashing in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. Sophia cursed herself wanting to avoid any further destruction, but there was no way of containing this fight like before. She dived to where Peace fell. Her mind raced with still no clue on how to stop her.

Before she could even land, a recovered and enraged Peace knocked her out of the sky and through the top floors of a JW Marriot hotel. Her recovering time was truly far superior to Sophia’s.

Her other edge was her total disregard for life or property as she tore a bigger hole through the hotel to get to her.

Residents and tourists ran through the streets screaming for safety as they crash-landed through the second floor of an office building. They went through the floor exploding out the front window of a restaurant located on the bottom floor on the opposite side of the building.

Sophia, on her hands and knees, shook the cobwebs out before springing to her feet. She had no time to process how insane this fight was. She shut out the cries and screams around her to focus. Peace had figured out how to employ her own version of Sophia’s flash step hitting her with a powerful forearm that she barely blocked. The force of her blow pushed her two feet backwards.

Sophia retaliated with an arsenal of strikes she pulled from all three Ong Bak movies, as well as “The Raid: Redemption.”

The ground shook and trembled at she unloaded a barrage of elbows, forearms, knees, and shin kicks with the force and intention of breaking bone. The shots she got in could total a tank. Peace, however, was her physical equal and not without a fighting style of her own which also consisted of forearms, elbows, knees, and, when all else failed, picking up something heavy and hitting her with it.

First she picked up old dirt bike, clobbering her with it. She went to hit her again, but Sophia swatted the bike out of her hand opening herself up to a kick to her chest drilling her back first into a car. Peace charged going on the offensive. Sophia managed to sidestep her barreling through, using her momentum to slam her face first into the roof of the car. She did it a repeated three more times, caving in the driver side of the vehicle with her face.

Peace stopped the skull-bashing by using her forearms to block the next hit. She spun around delivering an elbow to knock her off. Sophia rolled with the hit gripping the driver side hood of the car. Lifting the entire vehicle up, she swung it with ferocity. In the split second before it connected Peace fired an eyebeam blast cutting through the car which ignited the gas tank blowing it up in both their faces.

Flames, smoke, and shrapnel was all Sophia saw for a couple of seconds, forcing her to spin around. It left her wide open for a chokehold crushing her breathing. Feeling Peace’s legs attempting to wrap around her, she widened her stance to keep from being pulled down knowing that if she succeeded it would be over.

Her first thought was to take to the sky and shake her off, but she would have to bring her legs together to achieve flight. Right now, between fighting to keep her chin tucked in, keeping her stance, using one arm to prevent a scissors leglock and the other attempting to pry one of her arms from around her neck in hopes of slipping out, Sophia was in very bad shape.

As she continued to struggle to break free of her Earth crushing grip, she felt intense heat generating near her face. The inside of Peace’s semi-clutched right fist began to glow as she focused on channeling raw energy in the palm of her hand.

“Science question for you Doc.” She seethed. “How much nuclear energy do you think is needed to blow up this dirt ball of a planet? Let me give you a hint, an estimated fifty thousand kilotons times sixteen thousand. Now the next question is how long you think it’ll take me to generate that amount of power.”

“No!” Sophia groaned.

She began to violently thrash around fighting to break free, but each move allowed Peace to cinch in her rear neck body scissor choke even tighter. She could feel the energy she was channeling increase with intensity as her arm moved from the side of her face near the back of her head. Sophia gurgled and fought to stay on her feet, as she struggled to grab her hand harnessing raw Earth killing energy, while attempting to keep Peace’s arm from sinking into her neck.

“Now… now,” Peace growled, “you can’t have both. You can’t stop me from finding an opening to tear your head off, and save the planet at the same time. You have to choose. Personally I’d choose the one I know I’d probably survive in the next sixty seconds.”

Sophia’s eyes became blurry. Her body trembled as her neck was losing the battle to stay tight. Her heart quickened as she realized in a couple of seconds if she did not stop struggling, everyone she loved and cared about would be dead in a flash. It was the opening Peace needed to finally slither her arm around her neck like a python, and clamp down around her with her body scissors lock. She dispersed the energy in her fist so that she could focus on pulling. On the first tug, Sophia’s mind went semi blank as she gasped at the immeasurable force she was using to rip her head from her torso.

Her body went into a violent seizure as she fought to remain on her feet through the ordeal. The only thought echoing through her mind was that she regretted wishing to die back in 2008. She wanted to live. Three days was not enough time, she needed more time.

“You know why I chose to exile you instead of killing you on the sand of the Sahara?” Peace snarled. “Because as crazy as this may sound, you were the only semblance of family I had. Whether you want to believe it …that nuke bonded us. All you had to do was stay gone. Now, this only ends one way.”

Sophia squealed as Peace continued to pull. Her eye began to flicker as she felt her neck about to snap in two.

“And just so you know, this little sacrifice of yours saved no one.” Peace whispered to her. “I intend to pull real slow… so I can hear you die screaming. And then I and your pretty little head will be making family visits… and my first stop will be…”

Her words were silenced by the shaking of the Earth and the sound of exploding glass. It was as if a fighter jet was flying at street level. She turned to see the source of the mayhem coming right at her. The topic of her unfinished sentence.

She became so transfixed on what she saw, her grip loosened, not bothering to evade what was coming at her. A screaming Kimberly delivered her version of the Infinite Mass Punch connecting with the side of Peace’s face. The entire area detonated with a seismic blast that shattered windows and brought down already weakened structures.

Peace sent flying lost her grip of Sophia. She crashed through several small buildings racking up mileage before slamming into the side of the Sugarloaf Mountain. A landslide of rubble buried her.

Sophia laid out on her side, curled up into a ball trembling and groaning as she clutched and cracked her neck while severely stretched vertebrae and torn muscle fiber began to heal. Kimberly landed and then ran sliding to her mother’s side to check on her.

“Mom! Mom! Are you okay?” she frantically asked.

Sophia, realizing it was her daughter, forced herself to sit up. She grabbed her looking her up and down and then into her eyes with rage and fright.

“Oh my god,” she screamed. “What did you do? What did you do to yourself! You promised!”

“I came to help you!” Kimberly responded with a hurt look.

“I don’t need your help!” Sophia screamed back. “This is not a stupid game or comic book!”

“I know that!” a frustrated Kimberly screamed back.

“Then you need to get out of here!” she sternly ordered her daughter.

“Mom, no!” Kimberly refused. “Let me help you!”

“I said to go!” she roared back at her daughter, “get out of here now!”

“Mother, no! Listen to me, dammit!” Kimberly screamed back at the top of her lungs.

Sophia fell quiet as Kimberly’s white glowing eyes blazed, mirroring her emotions. In that moment she saw anger and determination. She saw herself.

“Mom,” Kimberly calmed down a bit, “when this is over you can treat me like a little girl all you want, but right now I have to be your equal. If we don’t work together to stop Peace, a lot of people are going to die, and the planet might not survive. Your fighting could eventually destabilize the planet destroying it. Lady Tech told me this.”

Kimberly’s words brought Sophia to her senses. She turned to where a buried Peace laid. She figured they had less than a minute before she busted out. She realized her daughter had similar bracer gear to her own. Quickly she grabbed her arm sliding open the compartment revealing another personal computer.

“Did Lady Tech show you how to set this up?” she feverishly asked.

“No she…” Kimberly began to explain.

Sophia cut her off with a hand wave opening up the compartment to her own computer.

“Vincent, are you still with me?” she asked her personal A.I.

“I am still functional, Ms. Dennison,” he responded through her bracer’s speaker system.

“Can you patch into my daughter’s bracer,” she requested, “and then guide her to the location of the Eye of Ra?”

“Yes I can,” Vincent confirmed.

“Who?” a bewildered Kimberly asked.

“Do it now,” she commanded him before turning to her daughter. “His name is the Eye of Ra. He won’t be too hard to spot. When you find him, tell him this.”

She quickly grabbed her daughter whispering in her ear. Kimberly’s eyes widened as she absorbed her mother’s instructions.

“Do you understand?” Sophia looked her in the eyes.

“Yes,” she rapidly nodded.

“Put this in your ear.” Sophia pulled out the earpiece from Kimberly’s bracer attaching it to her right ear. “Vincent will tell you where to go. Once you find him, text me immediately. Now go. Go now!”

An explosion of rock and rubble announced that it was too late as a savagely enraged Peace torpedoed herself toward Kimberly. Seconds before contact she was intercepted furiously by Sophia sending them both crashing and rolling to the ground. She managed to get a mounting position straddling her while holding her arms down.

“Go!” Sophia turned screaming at her daughter.

Kimberly shook herself from her frightened trance turning on her heels and, taking to the sky once again, flying as fast of her power could propel her.

Sophia turned her attention back to Peace only to get a head removing eyebeam blast to the face. She screamed as it felt like she was being scalded by a blow torch. Powering through it, she took her right hand gripping it around Peace’s eyes to block the beams. Peace retaliated by rifling Sophia’s ribcages with machinegun body blows and then backhanding her off.

Sophia rolled off springing to her feet, while Peace performed another Kip Up landing on her feet.

She does not wait as she performed her version of a flash step darting over to her and executing a whirlwind legsweep to the back of her legs taking her feet from under her dropping her on her back again. Sophia then leapt into the air roaring as she delivered a trademark Bruce Lee double foot stomp.

Peace employed her flash step to roll out of the way within milliseconds of being stomped as she cratered the ground going a good fifteen feet down.

Sophia blasted her way out of her hole taking to the air as an oncoming semi-truck was javelined at her. She eradicated it with a low level energy blast from her hand unaware that it was just a diversion tactic used by Peace to slam into her propelling them both into sky at crushing speeds.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in Washington, Shintobe’s body was brutally cannoned through a skyscraper. She would have stopped if the building she tore through was not sheared in half by Wendigo’s sonic blast sending her slamming violently into another building.

Dropping a good twenty feet, she was able to get her feet underneath her landing on them. The impact blew out her right knee in the process. She used her right-handed sword to keep herself propped up. Her left-handed sword lost during the first impact of the building as she clutched her ribcage on the right side. Her breathing was shallow and difficult signaling that her ribs were cracked. If she stayed put a couple more minutes they would heal along with her knee.

The trembling of the ground and vibrating of the windows to darkcore music meant she did not have a couple of more minutes. She quickly pulled up her mask revealing her lips spiting some blood on the concrete before pulling it back down again.

Wendigo hovered ten feet from her with a sadistic Cheshire grin. She had been toying with her mouse, and now it was time to feast. With no striking distance and a bad wheel to run on, she prepared for the worse.

“Your music sucks ass!” she yelled, gripping her sword.

Wendigo raised her left hand delivering the killing blow.

It was delayed by Kimberly plowing into her. Her sonic shielding was the only thing saving her from being broken in half as they cratered the streets of downtown DC. Now in the heart of Wendigo’s sonic output her body shook, as her vision became blurry, and her brain felt as if it was about to explode from her skull, while she held onto the front of Wendigo’s trench coat.

Wendigo screamed and howled fighting to get away as part of her headset slid from her skull greatly reducing the effect of her sonic powers. A dazed Kimberly realized that she was trying to protect her iPod Touch.

Fighting through the soundwaves that could pulverize a normal human’s bones to dust while turning their brain to goo and exploding their heart, she tore the Apple device from her grip. The sadistic Wendigo was reverted to a sobbing bawling child reaching for her iPod.

Kimberly crushed it in her hand stopping the music and her power. Wendigo collapsed onto the ground wailing hysterically. She curled up into a fetal ball clutching and clawing at her skull unable to be consoled.

Kimberly stumbled around getting her vision back as her body and insides stopped rattling. Shintobe almost healed limped over to her.

“Thanks for saving my ass.” She placed a hand on her back. “You alright?”

Kimberly held a finger up as she turned and hurled up the remaining food in her system along with bile.

“Yeah, you’re alright,” she nodded.

“Have… to… find… Eye… of Ra,” Kimberly groaned.

“Don’t think he’ll be too hard to find,” Shintobe said.

Kimberly turned to where she pointed to see a purple and black fireball crashing two blocks up from them tearing up the street.

A rattled Revenant struggled to his feet as the Eye of Ra descended landing in the streets with a concrete cracking thud.

The second in command of the Zombie Nation wasted no time retaliating as he unleashed a stream of dark matter energy at the Egyptian demigod. Ra raised his staff absorbing it.

“We should help him!” Kimberly prepared to take flight.

“Hold on.” Shintobe placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think the big man wants to handle this little scuffle ‘hombre a niño.’”

“But we don’t have time!” A frustrated Kimberly turned to her.

“Trust me.” Shintobe gave her a pat. “I don’t think this will take long.”

The Eye of Ra waded through Revenant’s energy attacks advancing toward him with purpose. The dark matter wielder realizing that his streams and volleys were ineffective against him switched to channeling dark solid constructs. By focusing he created two ginormous fists which mimicked the physical movements of his own hands.

This show of power did not halt the Eye of Ra’s forward motion. Revenant roared as he threw a right haymaker that tore through the street heading straight for him. Ra responded meeting the blow head on with a cosmic charged right fist shattering the construct. It sent a shockwave which shattered windows and sent parked cars flying into store fronts. He continued to advance.

“Stay back!” Revenant frantically yelled.

This time he dropped his right constructed fist for a hammer blow. Using his staff, he created his own solid gold construct of an ancient Egyptian shield to both block and destroy his second attack on impact. His continued advancement broke Revenant’s nerve.

His first thought was to flee as he took to the skies, but a faster and stronger demigod also took flight getting face to face with him twenty feet up. With a backhand fist to the face, he swatted Revenant out of the sky dropping him awkwardly onto the hood and windshield of a Toyota RAV 4.

“Ooooh! He brought out the Egyptian pimp hand!” Shintobe cringed.

Kimberly quickly turned wondering who was this energetic and extremely vocal woman under the mask as they watched the one-sided beating taking place.

Revenant slowly rolled off of the damaged mini SUV as the Eye of Ra returned to Earth shaking the ground now towering over him. He held a hand up attempting to reason with him.

“Now… now.” Revenant displayed a twitching smile. “No need for any further violence. You’ve proven your point exponentially, dear sir. I surrender.”

“You must be punished for your crimes,” Ra’s voice calmly boomed from underneath his mask.

“Yes… I imagine I should be punished for my crimes,” Revenant nodded in agreement, “but not today!”

He lashed out with one final act of defiance touching the breastplate of his armor with his hand to absorb its properties and destroy it. Instead the armor temporarily changed to the black and purple color scheme of the dark matter energy he wielded before reverting back to gold.

“I… don’t… understand.” He fell back against the vehicle. “I have the power to absorb matter itself… I wield the darkest of powers…”

“But I wield the most oldest,” Ra answered, “one that gave birth to the universe itself.”

Before Revenant could truly plead for his life, the long metallic scorpion tail attached to the back of the Eye of Ra’s helmet coiled up and struck him deep in his right side taking him three inches off the ground before releasing him.

Revenant dropped to his knees and hand while clutching his right side going into convulsions with drool pouring from his mouth. The black and purple glowing hue in his eyes slowly disappeared turning to his normal light blue eyes.

“What… did… you… do… to me,” he said while scrapping the ground.

“I manipulated your DNA,” the Eye of Ra retorted, “sealing your power to absorb matter. And now for your crimes against humanity. I banish you to quadrant 674910.”

“Where… is that?” he gasped.

“You pride yourself as an agent of hell,” he replied. “Allow me to reassure you that what awaits you in quadrant 674910 will make your romances of hell seem like a heavenly paradise. The beings there have ways of keeping you alive for centuries as they fulfill their curiosity slowly figuring out what you are. My advice to you the second you hit the ground… is to run, hide, and pray not to be found.”

The Eye of Ra’s staff lit up creating a portal that opened up underneath a screaming Revenant falling into the unknown. Kimberly covered up her ears to shut it out. The portal sealed with the dimming of the staff.

“Now that’s gangsta,” Shintobe nodded with approval.

Kimberly cautiously walked over to him as the face plate to his helmet slowly retracted revealing his warm dark face and piercing white eyes void of irises. He turned to face her, startling her enough to jumped back one step.

“My mom… needs your help,” she swallowed. “She said you’d know what to do.”

He nodded, ready to give assistance.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Sophia stood up in the middle of downtown Mexico City. Around her once again was destruction, screaming, and people running. It was the apparent theme of the entire day.

“Run! Get far away from here!” she yelled in Spanish.

She remembered Peace taking her high into the sky after she threw the truck using it as a decoy. Before they got too high Sophia rung her bell with three stiff elbows to the back and side of her skull. She then slipped out of her grip and turned the tables on her taking her downward at tremendous speeds. Nothing in their way stood standing, or was unscathed when they hit.

“All I wanted was a husband, two point three kids, a house, and a Pug named Puddles,” Sophia sadly shook her head. “Now this is my life.”

She had to stop this mass destruction world tour as quickly as possible. She prayed that Kimberly found the Eye of Ra in order to help her put an end to this. First she had to find Peace, who she lost in the impact.

“Where are you, you bitch?” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her answer came from a war cry and a bomb dropping kind of sound. Instead of dashing out of the way, she threw her forearms up to take a double forearm axhandle strike meant to split her head open. The ground cratered on impact. Sophia roared back wrapping her arms around Peace’s waist like a python and detonated an overhead belly to belly suplex hurling her through the front window of a small local bar.

She charged into the bar after her only to get the literal bar thrown at her. With a back hand she swatted it out of the way giving Peace the opening she needed to deliver a charging shoulder tackle sending them both into an old car, turning it into a boomerang while putting it halfway through the front window of a restaurant on the other side.

Refusing to let up herself, Sophia battered her back with a series of elbows. Tired of getting her back pulverized, Peace shot up knocking her arm away and smacked her with a right cross staggering her. Peace then threw a left which she blocked with a right forearm. Sophia’s bell still rung as she fought back cracking her nose with a vicious headbutt and then caving-in her chest with a dropkick putting her through the wall of a building across the street.

Sophia pulled herself to her feet leaning up against the wrecked Cutlass. The ringing went away as her brain stopped swimming in her head allowing her vision to focus again. Enough for her to see Peace also staggering through the wall she got knocked through. She stopped to blow blood snot from her nose. It was clear they were both inflicting severe damage to one another. They’re regenerative healing worked overtime to keep up with the fatal injures they sustained.

“You selfish bitch!” Peace howled. “You couldn’t do a hundred fucking years!”

Sophia felt her arm vibrating. She knew it was a message from Kimberly telling her she found the Eye of Ra.

“If you’re going to start monologuing, you can choke on it,” she shot back, “because you’re done.”

“Now who’s monologuing, bitch?” Peace returned fire. “Either that or you have somehow officially gotten brain damage from me bouncing your skull from country to country! Popping shit like you got a final form to pull out of your ass!”

Sophia answered her remark with a smug look.

“Bullshit,” she scoffed.

Sophia’s face did not change. Peace’s face turned into a scowl building to infinite rage.

“Bullshit! I’m calling bullshit!” she screamed at her. “You’re a lying ass bitch!”

Peace stomped around throwing a clear fit while pacing back and forth.

“There’s no way! There’s no goddamn way you’re that powerful!” she pointed at her roaring. “You would have shown it already! Bullshit!”

“You know I’m not a real fan of that anime.” She looked down at the ground. “The fight scenes and power increases are drawn out and ridiculous. I prefer the type of anime where power is defined by mere action.”

The Earth violently shook as Sophia began to sink into the solid concrete that could no longer hold her weight. She had to hover to keep from sinking further which made things worse as the sheer force of her thrust created a massive sink hole underneath her. The circumference of the hole was so large Peace had to hover as the ground and surrounding buildings disappeared from around her. The bottom of Sophia’s boots began to tear apart unable to contain the thrust she was discharging. Slowly her eyes began to blaze and pulsate along the veins and major arteries within her body glowing through her skin.

God-like power brought silence between the two for the first time since their battle began in Washington.

Peace’s disgusted glare said it all. “You always find a way to make me feel small, and I hate you for it.”

Sophia’s glare said, “I don’t care.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back at Sanctuary, the Regulators mended their wounds surrounded by the liberated villagers. Lady Tech leaning up against her S.A.M armor stood up startled by the instruments on her bracer lighting up and screaming at her.

“Oh shit.” Erica broke into a sweat as she deciphered the readings.

“What is it? Rogers walked over to find out her reason for using profanity.

“Remember that additional power I recorded from Dennison?” Erica nervously turned to him. “That I said she can only tap involuntarily?”

“She can tap it at will.”

“Uh, huh,” she quickly nodded.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“Judging by this,” she tried to comprehend what she was reading, “she’s slowly building her own gravitational field.”

“Like a planet?” he now began to pour sweat himself.

“Like... the sun.” She shook her head in disbelief. “And if she doesn’t stop or get away from the Earth in the next five minutes, she’ll rip this planet out of its orbit and tear it apart.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Regret filled her heart with what she was doing, the destruction she was causing. All of this was on her, and somehow she would have to make amends. This was a last of last resorts she pulled out of her deck to put her plan into motion.

A fearless Peace was not intimidated seven years ago, and she would not be intimidated now as she closed the gap between the two of them with a flash step.

Her attempt to close the gap walked her into a right cross juddering half of the planet. It send Peace from the middle of Mexico City across the Atlantic Ocean heading to the Northern tip of Africa. The world came to a standstill as the entire planet quaked from Sophia’s sheer movement darting across the sky to catch up with her. Just as she expected Peace had not recovered from the first hit, leaving her open for the second one before she hit the Western Sahara.

An uppercut shook the planet again sending her upwards into the upper atmosphere. Sophia, like a bloodhound, hunted after her again. The farther she moved from the planet the less it vibrated. Once again she caught up with her in a matter of seconds slamming into her, taking her into space and away from the planet.

Her current speed took them past the moon in a matter of seconds. Anything in their path was obliterated upon impact, including an near Earth asteroid almost half the size of the moon. She kept going closing in on their destination. One of the Eye of Ra’s portals. This one was made massive so she could not miss.

She knew within the vacuum of space, and the short amount of distance to the portal, Peace would not have the time to power back. However, for it to be successful Sophia had to go through the portal with her. She closed her eyes as forming tears froze on her face, and broke off. Her heart was shattering because she would have to break her daughter’s heart again.

Her eyes opened as she felt something powerful slam into her right side breaking her grip from Peace and taking her out of the range of the portal. To her shock and dismay she realized it was Kimberly with her arms wrapped around her waist. She released her mother while reversing thrust. Sophia, stabilizing herself, finally realized that her daughter had changed her plan.

The Eye of Ra also floating in the dead of space powered up his staff shining brighter than any star in the known vicinity. He unleashed a powerful stream of cosmic energy that tore through space striking Peace. The force of the blast sent Kimberly into a near uncontrollable tailspin. Sophia also had difficulty stabilizing herself. It felt as if the entire universe shook from the raw unbridled power.

Evading the blast was unavoidable for a disoriented Peace. It was unclear how much physical damage his attack had caused. It was, however, strong enough to knock her through the portal. It closed and dispersed within seconds.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

On the other side of the portal, a slow recovering Peace realized too late that she was in the middle of a part of the universe that was about to come to an end, and for all of her strength and power, she would not be able to escape.

Consumed by the crushing ancient force of a black hole wiping out a small patch of the universe light years away, Peace screamed and roared to her doom.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in Earth’s solar system, Kimberly finally regaining control ended her spiraling and flew back over to her mother. She slowed herself down using small bursts to float over to her. She noticed the major veins and arteries underneath her visible skin glowing a blue like color similar to her eyes which blazed like a newborn star. They slowly died down turning her skin back to normal. Sophia swayed a bit fighting to right herself, the taxing pressure of focusing so much power took an unknown toll on her body.

“Are you all right?” Kimberly used sign language to communicate with her.

It was then Sophia realized a new change within her daughter. Kimberly’s eyes had gone from a glowing white, to a bright golden hue similar the energy the Eye of Ra wielded.

“Oh my god,” she frantically signed back, “what did you do?”

“First, I hitched a ride with him,” she smiled while signing. “Traveling through his portal is crazy! But before that, when I told him of my plan to save you. He told me I wouldn’t be able to catch you at my current levels. So he let me borrow a fraction of his power. It was the only way to pull this off.”

“No.” Sophia shook her head. “This is not what I wanted. I did not want this.”

“I wanted this,” Kimberly sternly signed back, “nothing is taking you away from me again. So I did whatever it took so I could save my mother because I knew you’d do whatever it took to save the world. That’s the type of mom Mark told me I have.”

Ice formed again around her eyes which she knocked away as she pulled her daughter close to her. They held each other close as the universe melted away leaving just the two of them.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

They flew back to the Earth accompanied by the Eye of Ra, who did not pull another disappearing act. They first headed to Mount Vernon to find her parents very much safe and alive thanks to Sister Shareef. Although unplanned, it also proved to be a wonderful introduction to the granddaughter they never knew they had. They were encouraged by her parents to go and see to the state of Sanctuary while Sister Shareef hung around to look after them. They decided to use one of the Eye of Ra’s portals to take a captured Nachzehrer with them.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Arriving at the island in a matter of seconds, they found the Regulators along with their other extended family on the beach where the battle took place. After locking Nachzehrer in a stasis pod on the Warthog next to Jiang Shi, they found that the village was a lot worse for wear. Aside from some scrapes, bruises, and one still functioning android torn in two there were no lives lost, which made it an all around perfect victory. Mostly for Sophia and the villagers, the Regulators’ hearts became heavy remembering it was not a clean victory for them. None felt it more than Rosann who sat on the beach alone starring into the endless ocean.

Erica started to walk toward her, but her brother placed a hand on her shoulder halting her. With a headshake from him, she understood that Rosann needed some space, and that no amount of words would console how she felt.

Brave smaller children and some older adults crowded around the Eye of Ra enthralled by his appearance. He bowed greeting each of them with a humble smile, and picked up a couple of toddlers that wished to be held by him.

Sophia found a minute to personally thank him for his pivotal help in defeating the Zombie Nation, and especially Peace. With a child in one hand, and his staff in another, he respectfully bowed to her.

“It was an honor assisting you… Ms. Dennison,” was all he said.

Kimberly came up behind her to also thank him.

“Thank you for helping me save my mom,” she smiled, “but if you don’t mind, I’d like to give your power back to you, if it’s possible. I don’t need it anymore.”

A look of astonishment was plastered all over Sophia’s face as she turned to her daughter.

“What?” Kimberly shrugged. “I’m a child. I’m not ready for this kind of responsibility.”

He closed his eyes in front of them. The eyes of the cobra head on his staff began to glow. He appeared to be communicating with it through some form of telepathy. He opened his eyes again with a smile on his face.

“The energies of the Wakening will always be bonded to you,” he revealed, “but I can bleed off some of the energy so it will grow with you. In time, you will be ready for it.”

As she agreed with a nod, he extended his staff for her to grasp. It appeared to be burning her hand as it glowed. Kimberly, however, felt no pain as the golden pulsating energies revealed through her eyes slowly dimmed to a faint warm white glow. As the staff powered down, she swayed a bit.

“Whoa!” a concern Sophia grabbed her.

“I’m okay.” Kimberly steadied her. “I’m okay.”

“Very few beings in this universe would willing surrender such power,” the Eye of Ra smirked. “I had faith it would be in good hands before I gave it to you. I was correct.”

Erica walked over to the trio with broad smile on her face.

“You and I really need to talk.” She pointed to the Eye of Ra before turning to Sophia. “And you Ms. Dennison are just full of surprises. The type that makes one want to wet their shorts, but surprises, nonetheless. So a blackhole.”

“Yep,” Sophia nodded. “It was the only force in the universe that I knew that was more powerful than the energies she absorbed and that her RDH ability could not counter against. Hopefully she’ll be forever trapped within its crushing gravitational pull, and with no energy to draw from, she’ll eventually burn out in a century… maybe two.”

“What about that energy projectile you hit her with?” Erica asked turning to the Eye of Ra. “It registered off the chart with my readings.”

“Solid light photons,” he answered, “she absorbed no energy from me.”

“We definitely have to talk.” She seriously pointed to him again. “So how long have you been able to tap your reserve energies?”

“Since 2011.” Sophia looked down at the sand, embarrassed. “During one of my trips to deep space, I tried to duplicate a certain technique that will remain nameless. Next thing I knew my veins began to light up like Christmas trees, and nearby asteroids began to form an orbit around me.”

Erica and Kimberly looked at each other, and then burst into laughter as the Eye of Ra brandished a huge smirk on his face comprehending the joke.

“Don’t laugh!” Sophia pouted with a stomp. “I was out there for like two days figuring out how to power down, which was almost impossible because I kept absorbing vacuum and electromagnetic energy! It also takes a massive toll on my body!”

Her plea and explanation did not end the laughter.

“I’m sorry!” Erica choked. “I’m just picturing you out there screaming and waiting for your hair to turn yellow!”

In the midst of the laughter and celebration, Rogers communicator went off. Checking the caller I.D. on his bracer, he patched in via his headset.

“So how long am I suppose to babysit David Draiman’s illegitimate offspring?” Shintobe’s voice came through. “She’s just laying here drooling all over the pavement of DC. It’s like mad depressing.”

“I can ask the big man in gold to open up one of those portals so you can bring her to us,” Abe smirked. “I’d like to thank you personally for a job well done.”

“Now, you damn well know I retired from the spotlight,” she scoffed. “You want to thank me. Buy me dinner sometime.”

“You got a deal.” He grinned. “We’ll be there in a couple of minutes to collect her. Thanks for everything… champ.”

“You too… champ,” Shintobe returned.

Abe cut off his communicator turning to see Lady Tech looking at him from afar with a sly smirk on her face.

He made a gesture wondering what was her problem.

“Oh nothing,” she smirked whispering in his mind, “just wondering when you were going to tell me that you had the Queen of Queens on speed dial.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he shot back, “and get out of my head.”

“Sure you don’t,” she snorted.

After checking to see that every last one was alive, not badly injured, and counted for, Sophia made her way to the Sergeant to extend her gratitude for saving her island and people.

“I’m in your debt, Sergeant,” she held out a hand.

“This isn’t all our doing,” he shook her hand, “that little girl of yours takes after her mother. She’s the one who took down the Draugr.”

A wide-eyed Sophia slowly turned to Kimberly a few feet off talking to Kyle, Akram, and the rest of the kids about how she had helped her mother save the world.

“She did.” She pointed in disbelief.

“She sent that son a bitch to an ice cold hell where he belongs.” He pointed upward. “That’s one hell of a kid you got there.”

“I’m finding that out every day.” She smiled, looking at her.

“Miss, I am detecting an EVO inbound,” Maxine announced out of nowhere. “Energy signature is similar to…”

Before she could make confirmation, the intruder landed sending sand spraying everywhere. Villagers scurried away screaming behind Sophia and the battle ready team curious to know who would attempt to attack them when they were at their strongest. As the mini sand storm rested, the beach became dead silent in disbelief.

“What did I miss?” an exhausted Oliver asked with his left arm in a sling.

The uneasy silence remained as Erica covered her mouth while her eyes poured like a fountain. Her body trembled as if she was about to collapse.

Adrian stood there as well, running his hand through his hair shaking his head. His eyes could not keep dry either as he shook his head in disbelief.

Rogers was the first to move as he holstered his sidearm and walked up to Oliver. He stood toe to toe with him giving him a slow look over.

“Sir I…” Oliver began to formerly report in.

He was stopped as Abe grabbed him by the back of his neck pulling him in for a hug that took everyone aback, especially Oliver. He held him tight as if he was his son, making it impossible for Oliver to keep his own emotions contained.

Abe finally released him still holding the back of his head as he looked him in the eye still in disbelief that it was actually him.

“Thought we lost you, son,” Rogers voice cracked.

“I thought I lost you all,” Oliver smiled.

“How?” a wide-eyed Erica stepped forward. “You were gone… for almost two hours… you weren’t breathing, there was no heart beat, no brainwaves… how?”

Oliver pulled out Adrian’s platinum crucifix from his sling holding it up.

“You?” Erica close to falling out turned to him. “You did this?”

“I couldn’t let my best gaming buddy go without a fight,” he shrugged, wiping his eyes.

“But how?” she began to press.

“It’s from your lessons,” he reminded her. “You stressed how the virus genetically transformed our bodies making us different from regular humans. When I went to go see him off, I touched his hand, it was still warm even after all that time. It was a gamble, but I figured brain functions took longer to die in people like us. Something you probably missed because you were upset. So before I left, I took a chance and hooked up the defibrillator to him. I set it to its highest level, hitting him with a jolt every two minutes for thirty minutes. Everything else I left at the Big Man’s feet upstairs. Hoping He understood that we needed him more than He did.”

Erica smiled realizing how truly awesome Adrian was when he was not acting like an adolescent, and how she in some ways was still one.

The awkward silence returned as a doe eyed Rosann slowly approached. Everyone on the beach, and the world disappeared in that moment leaving just her and him. Inches away from him, she seemed as if she was about to back away and run as he smiled at her. Slowly she reached out touching his chest. Her eyes widened as if it was the first time touching it. The more she touched it, the less she was able to contain her tears.

She began using both hands on both sides of his chest, she gave it a hard tap, before running her right hand up his neck to his face touching his cheek. He grabbed and held her with his good arm as her legs went out from underneath her. Her uncontrollable sobs of joy delivered tears to everyone watching.

“You heard me,” she cried in his arms. “You heard me and came back to me.”

“No I didn’t,” he whispered with a smile, “but you can tell me again.”

She told him again with a deep kiss. He answered her back kissing her deeper.

It triggered cheers and applauds from everyone, even those who were not privy to the full story. To them it was as memorable as “The Kiss” photo. The battle was over; Sanctuary and the world was safe once again.

Amidst the celebration, Lady Tech saw Rogers with a sour look on his face. She indiscreetly sauntered over to him to see what troubled him in the midst of their monumental victory.

“There’s still more work for us to do.” She looked at him. “Isn’t there?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “we have a lot of work to do.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

1000 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC:

Abe marched through the halls of the Pentagon with Erica in tow making a beeline for Secretary Graves’ office. Anyone who attempted to stand in his way, he violently threw out of it. Those who bore witness to his act of violence wisely moved out of his way. He pushed through Graves’ double Oakwood doors to find him sitting behind his desk as if waiting for them.

“By all means, do come in and have a seat,” Graves greeted them with sarcasm.

Rogers walking up, pulled out one of the visitor seats. He removed his sidearm placing it on the desk facing Graves then took a seat.

“Now what may that be for?” He motioned to the gun.

“It’s to shoot you in the face with, if I find out you’ve been lying to me,” Abe flatly answered.

He turned to Erica doing a scan on her tablet.

“Found it,” she confirmed.

She extended her hand employing telekinesis to rip the metallic disk from his forehead along with the fake patch of skin.

Rogers finally turned to Graves giving him a dull look.

“My team and I just got back from the North Pole,” Abe began, “where we tracked down and captured the last member of the Zombie Nation held up in a barge partially stuck in an iceberg. We confirmed that all of the original occupants except for one, were all dead. They apparently kept this poor bastard alive to fabricate the weapons and gear they used against us. The rest were killed and tossed overboard to be chow for fish or polar bears. What was interesting about this barge, was the top to bottom R&D we found from body armor, weapons, and a butt load of other tech that only my friend here to tell me about. All of this shit fell into the hands of a murderous psychopathic bitch, and her equally psychopathic goon squad. And what gets my goat, is that barge and everything on it, is related to a project that was supposed to be completely shut down seven years ago. This is where you determine whether I ask Ms. Champion to please wait outside while I shoot you in the face.”

Graves inhaled and exhaled as he leaned forward in his chair to look Abe in the eyes.

“The genetic side of Project Evolution was shut down,” he dryly answered, “however, that was only a small fraction of the project. As you are both well aware not all of us are blessed with your “attributes.” We still employee several hundred thousand non-superhuman troops who defend this country. The latest tech and weaponry under development there and our other facilities was meant to equip them in the near future. Back then, as you probably already figured out, we shuffled D.E.A.D members to the facilities when they needed to familiarize themselves with weapons or equipment for their missions. Not the other way around. Which is why she knew the location of that facility, and possibly others.”

“How many others are out there?” Abe scowled.

“That information is classified,” Graves huffed, “and you will have to shoot me before I divulge that to you. However, I will say ninety percent were closed near the ending and beginning of 2008 and 09. And before you chew my head off about irresponsibility, Sergeant, the report after the destruction at Mount McLoughlin was that all four members of the D.E.A.D were D.E.A.D.”

“You knew she had possession of that barge,” Erica snarled, “didn’t you? How long?”

“Does it really matter?” he smirked, “it’s over. The members of the Zombie Nation are either dead or captured, #3 finally eliminated, the world and its leaders all safe because of your efforts.”

“You’re not making an argumentative case for me putting a slug in your brainpan.” Abe leaned forward.

“For what Sergeant?” Graves scoffed, “a couple hundred casualties? You’re a soldier, you know battles are never clean. And majority of that blood is on the hands of #3 and your new best friend. You want to kill me because of our government’s methodology of warfare? I hope you brought enough bullets because you’ll have to shoot everyone in this building, the Senate, the House, and then make your way to the White House.”

Both Abe and Erica glared at Graves in hopes of burning a hole through him. His Teflon demeanor made him impervious to their death stares.

“You superhumans think you know what real power is because you can lift heavy objects, fly, or move things with your mind,” he smirked. “Real power is about progression and building a network of likeminded individuals to ensure that progression continues to move forward. That network would happen to be the United States Government, and our progression is greater than any known force in the universe. The world believes that Asia is now the leaders in technological advancement, and that is what we want them to believe. Because the final key to real power is being a better poker player than everyone else, and them never ever seeing your hand… until it is too late.”

His words unsettled Erica.

“No need for the disturbed looks.” He rolled his eyes. “This is how we’ve done business since the founding of this nation. And in my opinion it’s far more honorable than using religion to brainwash simpletons into suicide bombings.”

If there was humor in Graves’ last statement, neither Abe nor Lady Tech found it, and Graves did not care as he picked up his own tablet.

“Now that we’ve established that we’re still on the same team,” he started to scroll through his email, “you will excuse me as I have more pressing business to attend to. Consider you saving the world a free pass on intending to assassinate me in my own office.”

Rogers sat there for a minute more as Erica looked at him wondering what else he had planned. He slowly rose from his chair taking his pistol from table holstering it. He then about-faced without a word leaving Graves’ office. Erica cut the Secretary of Defense one final dirty look before following him out.

“Why did we just walk out?” She got to the point.

“Was he lying about anything?” Rogers flatly asked.

“Don’t answer a question with a question,” she shot back, “and no, shockingly he was telling the truth.”

“He was telling the truth about some things,” he answered. “He’s still a lying son of a bitch and hiding something.”

“Language,” she reminded him.

“Sorry,” he said flatly. “We still don’t have any grounds to blow his brains out.”

“So what’s the plan?” she pressed.

“The plan is to keep doing what we’re going,” he answered, “while working to find the answers while on the inside.”

“Which means remaining dogs of the military,” she sighed.

“Say what?” he glanced at her.

“An anime thing,” she dismissed, “explain to me why we didn’t bring up the Holy Grail?”

“Because he would both deny it and know that we know about this Holy Grail,” Abe responded, “as long as he doesn’t know, we’re free to search and find out what the hell it is.”

“I like that plan,” she nodded.

“Me too,” he grunted.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

Back in the Secretary of Defense’s office Graves continued to nonchalantly sit and read his tablet as Mendes walked in.

“Are we clear?” Graves asked.

“Yes sir,” Mendes nodded, “we’ve also swept the office, there are no traces of a bug of any kind.”

“Well that was interesting.” He cleared his throat.

“I don’t understand how you were able to hide the truth from her sir,” a baffled Mendes said.

“Ms. Champion should have taken the time to focus on her natural abilities,” Graves smirked, “then maybe she would have been able to pick up what her devices could not detect.”

Mendes still wore a face that said he did not have a clue what Graves was talking about, until a woman with light brown hair, and gray eyes in a black two piece power suit walked into the Secretary’s office standing at attention before him.

“This is agent Lockwood.” He gave a gestured introduction. “One of our top C.I.A field agents and also a Promethean Class Ten EVO. She’s been monitoring the Regulator team and informed me that the good Sergeant was enroute to this office, which is why I ordered you to tell security to stand down when he arrived. She was a couple of offices down monitoring the conversation. She’s capable of cloaking herself from Ms. Champion’s scanners while feeding me ‘mental whispers.’”

“Subliminal suggestions that helped him believe whatever he spoke at the time was the truth,” she clarified. “I was also able to hide confidential information about Project Evolution within his mind from Ms. Champion. She was doing quite a bit of browsing.”

“While she was snooping in my skull did you find anything in Rogers?” he asked.

“Unable to sir,” she answered. “She had a mental tether on him, sort of like a security system. If I attempted to enter the Sergeant’s mind she would have known I was there. Even at her level. She also employed some form of field to shield their conversation as they left the building.”

“The little minx does cover her bases,” Graves smirked.

“By the way sir,” Agent Lockwood smiled, “Dr. Alexander wanted me to relay to you that the crops have been fertilized, and that we shall have a very good harvest.”

“Thank you, Agent Lockwood.” He smiled while flipping through another screen.

With a nod Lockwood exited the office leaving Mendes and Graves.

“Sir, what should we really do about Sergeant Rogers?” Mendes asked.

“He and his team saved the world, which includes our current Commander in Chief,” he smirked, “there’s not much we can really ‘do’ about him for now.”

“With what we now know of Dennison?” Mendes hesitated, “is it wise for us to continue?”

“Now more so then ever,” Graves sighed, “if this incident has taught us anything, we must bolster our efforts to create a response to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. I have just been informed that after my term of office is over, I will be directly appointed the official new head of Project Evolution, and I will need a second in command.”

Mendes swallowed deep as he positioned himself to stand as straight as an arrow.

“I would be honored if you consider me for your possible second, sir.” He threw his bid in without hesitation.

Graves gave a dry smile without answering him.

“Oh look,” he sighed, still reading his tablet, “it appears we may have a possible chocolate shortage… and I love chocolate.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

The Grand Canyon National Park, 2,245 miles away from the nation’s capitol, at an undisclosed location at the bottom of the ancient riverbed, housed a government research facility located one mile down underneath the canyon itself. Doctor Alexander strolled around the facility with tablet in hand, viewing readings on it from four very large metallic vats.

On a table, his assistants handled DNA samples labeled with the name Doctor Senji Kumamoto, FBI Houston Forensics office September 3, 2008. The name S. Dennison was printed at the very bottom. Positioned next to them were refrigerated samples labeled male reproductive cells. One batch of samples was labeled “R. Matheson – April 2002,” the other sample was labeled “B. Matheson – October 2012.”

CHAPTER 26

Three months after the epic battle that took place around the world, a sense of normalcy had returned to the planet. Despite the carnage and destruction, the human race moved forward as it always did.

Because the Ranch sustained severe damage mainly in the prison area known as Purgatory, the only option left to deal with the remaining members of the Zombie Nation, which were Jiang-Shi and Nachzehrer was giving them the same fate delivered to Revenant. Exile. With the assistance of the Eye of Ra, he banished the two remaining adult members to two of the two hundred and fifty uninhabited planets with Earth like atmosphere not under territory by races of the Dominion Council. No one bothered to inquire what the Dominion Council was.

The unspoken truth was Erica could have easily repaired Purgatory, and placed them back in confinement. Given the opportunity, no one felt they deserved to be anywhere on the planet Earth, and the Regulators weren’t executioners.

The Eye of Ra departed through one of his portals without a clear cut explanation of who he actually was or where he came from. He did make a promise that if the Regulators or Sophia needed him in the near future, he would not be far, or hard to reach.

As for those not exiled, it was agreed that despite her horrendous crimes, Wendigo was dubbed mentally incompetent to understand the atrocities she caused. Her current catatonic state also made her a threat to no one. Erica mercifully found a low level frequency to ease her suffering while preventing her from using her abilities.

She also contacted her parents informing them that their daughter was alive. However, when she explained to them who she was, and what she had done, they declined to see her. She did not need to read their minds to know it was out of fear and embarrassment.

Everyone also reluctantly agreed to show some leniency to Anchimayen, due to him still being a minor. Identified as six-year-old Michael Westgate, from Caron City Nevada, they confirmed that Peace’s grizzly tale was indeed true. With the help of Sophia, Erica was able to create neural dampeners to prevent him from using his mental abilities even at his heightened level.

Both Wendigo and Anchimayen were placed by Erica in a special undisclosed facility until the repair of Purgatory, where they would receive special psychiatric treatment in hopes of reversing the perverted psychological damage done by the Zombie Nation.

Justice was not the only thing dispensed. The world had to bury their dead and mourn, especially those who paid the ultimate price to keep it free from Peace’s clutches. A special memorial for superheroes dubbed “The Garden of Heroes” was created in Washington DC remembering the bravery of the fallen Defenders of Justice, Heat Seeker, Lady Electrify, and Captain Omega.

Captain Omega’s statue depicting him in his costume stood in the very front of the Memorial next to Power Hour’s statue also depicted in his costume.

Upon his direct and iron clad orders, Abe sent Oliver and the twins home to be with family. Before Oliver could go home, he had to pay a visit to Rosann’s family. It was as she told him; her mother took to him immediately while her father wore the wall of no one being good enough for his daughter. It lasted a duration of fifteen minutes, as Oliver endured and survived a hard grilling of his intentions toward Mr. Esposito’s youngest daughter. Adrian playfully chiming in from the sidelines did not help matters. Three days later she would journey with him to his hometown of Milwaukee to endure the same treatment from his mother and three older sisters. She, too, would barely survive due to the antics of her twin.

Erica following suit took some much needed advice and went home. Just as Sophia predicted, there was family waiting for her.

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Sophia as well took her own advice traveling with her daughter to a residential part of Queens, New York. As expected their landing stirred up attention, especially in a particular white and brown painted row house with a green chain link fence. Spilling out of the front door with joyous shocked looks on their faces was her three nieces and nephew.

“Auntie Sophee! It’s auntie Sophee!” they all screamed, ecstatic to see her.

They all became quiet, standing at the gate as they noticed Kimberly standing right next to her. Sophia looked up to see her nervous little sister close to tears standing at the doorway of her house. The children all backed up as they entered the gate.

“Children, this is your cousin Kimberly.” She smiled. “My daughter. She’s ten years old.”

Kimberly shyly waved at everyone. They all waved back with the same shyness. Gemma’s eldest, being around her age, was the first to walk up and greet her.

“Hey, I’m Natasha,” she smiled.

“Hi,” she smiled back.

“You like Dance Revolution?” she asked.

Kimberly nodded then turned to her mother for approval.

“Go introduce yourself to your aunt first,” she smirked, “and remember… light steps.”

“Yes, Mom,” she grinned.

She walked up the steps standing before her aunt. Gemma did not hesitate to hold her hands and give her a look over.

“Nice to meet you, Auntie Gemma,” she nervously smiled.

“It’s so great to meet you, Kimberly.” Gemma’s smiling lips trembled as her eyes ran with tears. “You are so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she blushed.

“Please go on inside,” she gestured. “I hope you like cookies and bun and cheese.”

“Yes, thank you,” she nodded.

As all five children entered the house, Gemma cautiously walked down the steps to meet her sister in the middle of her yard. As she neared her, Sophia’s demeanor became similar to their last encounter stopping her in her tracks.

“You hurt me,” Sophia glared at her, “you really hurt me, Gemma, and I don’t know if I can forget about what you said and did to me.”

Gemma bowed her head preparing for the axe her sister had grinding for her.

“But I have to find some way to forgive you,” Sophia’s face softened, “almost losing Mom and Dad put a lot of things into prospective, that and watching Frozen a couple of times.”

Gemma was unsure if she should lift her head until she felt the warm touch of her sister’s hand on her face igniting her to burst into tears again.

“You’re a spoiled miserable little brat… but you’re my baby sister,” she reaffirmed, “and I still love you.”

Gemma rushed into her sister’s arms bawling as she buried her face in her chest. She clung onto her for dear life as if she feared falling.

“Sophee, I’m sorry!” she cried. “I’m so sorry!”

“You tell me ‘I’m sorry’ one more time; I’m going to crack your neck like a chicken.” Sophia fought back her own tears. “I’m tired of sorry. Let’s just be good to each other, like we’re supposed to be.”

“I’d like that.” Gemma slowly raised her head.

With her arm around her little sister, she walked into a home she had not acknowledged in over seven years. Each step she took extinguished the anger and hatred that had been burning throughout her. Dropping the heaviest weight she ever had to carry she not only could breathe easier again; she learned that she could still mend and heal even the deepest of wounds.

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Back that the Ranch still under construction, Doozers big and small performed repairs and rebuilds to return the Regulators’ base to the operational status it once was before Peace’s attack. Rogers stood alone in the central command with a smile on his face. The cause was his infant grandson on the large screen flailing his arms, making baby sounds, and blowing spit bubbles at him. Holding him in his arms was his second eldest son with his wife standing next to him.

“He’s definitely a Rogers,” Abe grinned. “You two did a wonderful job.”

“Well, she did all of the work,” his son laughed. “I just started screaming when the head came out.”

His wife playfully nudged him.

“Thank you, Dad,” she smiled.

“Your mom would be proud of you both,” Rogers nodded.

“So… Thanksgiving?” His son changed the subject.

The wounds were still raw; she was still missed.

“And Christmas,” he confirmed. “I’ll be there. I can’t wait to hold him and see all of you.”

“Sergeant Rogers, sorry to interrupt,” Maxine came on the audio system, “The Miss is on the other line, shall I have her call back.”

“No, I’ll take it, just give me another minute.” Rogers turned his attention back to his family. “I got to run.”

“It’s okay.” His son nodded. “Dad… Mom would be proud too.”

“You know I love you guys, right Mike?” Rogers lowered his head. “You, Oscar, and Sarah… I love all three of you.”

“We love you too, Dad,” he grinned. “Talk to you soon.”

The screen switched to a beaming Erica sitting in her bedroom with an anime t-shirt on.

“Sergeant,” she snapped a playful salute.

“Lady Tech,” he returned with a causal two finger salute. “How’s the family?”

“First day was your typical crying and glad you’re home stuff.” She shrugged. “The next two days were kind of awkward, but I’m learning to keep my mouth shut and listen. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting better.”

“Good to hear,” he nodded with approval.

“Maxine informed me our recruitment headcount has reached one hundred and fifty.” She smiled.

“Something we can deal with when you get back,” he sternly reminded her.

“On an off topic,” she hesitantly asked, “I spoke to Oliver and the twins.”

“Me too, I spoke to Oliver last night, and Adrian reported in today.” Rogers nodded. “They all wanted to come back this coming Friday, but I ordered them to take the additional week, I think it’s too soon for anyone to be here.”

“Then why are you there?” she asked with a motherly tone. “Maxine and the girls are there, the base is self-automated and practically runs itself. You don’t need to be there to oversee the repairs.”

“I’m a… superhero now,” he bowed his head grunting. “Someone has to be here.”

“See you soon, Sarge.” She drew a deep smile.

“See you soon, Lady Tech.” He tilted his beanie to her.

He signed out on the screen, alone once again.

“Maxine, let’s start from the last candidate we left off from,” Rogers requested.

“That would be candidate fifty-eight,” Maxine answered, “shall I read off the file to you like before?”

“Sure, why not,” he nodded.

The screen lit up once more revealing a file of an EVO candidate for the Regulator program. Maxine began with her name and age.

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Sophia stood on the sands of her island with Sister Shareef looking out into the blue waters of the ocean. With her and Kimberly’s help, she and the residents of Sanctuary completed all repairs to the island under a month’s time. Thankfully, not a single soul was lost during the battle with the Draugr and Jiang-Shi.

Sister Shareef stood in her white tank top and jeans shorts gripping the soft white sand with her toes while drinking in the beauty of the island and the beach. It had been almost two decades since she had seen the sun shine over anything other than prison walls. Sophia in her black and yellow bikini top and blue jeans shorts glanced at her friend, who was now free, and felt full.

“Damn beautiful place you got here, girl.” Sister Shareef nodded. “Damn beautiful.”

“You know there’s a home ready for you, if you want to stay,” Sophia motioned.

“Island life ain’t for me,” she smiled. “I’m a Texas girl. I was born there, and I will die there. Not to mention I got family I got to get back to and fences to mend.”

“Well you know, if you need anything,” Sophia nudged her. “You got family here.”

“Well, I got to come back,” Sister Shareef smirked. “Seeing as Mr. Earl has been talking me up something fierce these past few weeks. He got a thing for big girls like me.”

“Shareef, you’ve been locked away a long time.” Sophia tried her best not to laugh.” Please, do not kill that man.”

“The man’s a former soldier,” she scoffed. “He’s been in dangerous places before.”

“Shareef,” Sophia put a little more bass in her voice fighting to be serious.

“I ain’t gonna hurt him,” her voice went up a couple of octaves to reassure her friend, “too bad.”

The two women no longer able to fight it anymore broke down laughing. Sophia was close to tears as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“So now that you’ve saved the world again,” Shareef became semi-serious, “what are you going to do? All eyes are on you now.”

“I can’t turn my back this time,” she shrugged with a smile, “even if I wanted to. Funny thing is, I feel ready, kind of welcoming it.”

“Okay now.” Shareef stepped back a bit. “What brought this on?”

“You remember the last white slavery brothel I shut down in the Ukraine?” Sophia asked.

Sister Shareef nodded, remembering the uncomfortable story.

“Well, I went back to shut down my counter operation,” she explained. “My handler, Olia, wasn’t too pleased, but after I explained to her the new direction I had to take, she understood. I released the criminals I brought down taking off their collars which was for the best. Their reputations made it impossible for them to carry out the tasks I set upon them to do. I then gave them a stern warning to find a more legitimate profession because I would be back to shut them down for good if they started up again. One of them said I need not worry, because between myself and someone named “Brother Paul,” the skin trading business was no longer worth it. Curious about whom this Brother Paul was I asked around and went looking for him.”

A deep smile grew on her face as she continued her tale.

“I arrived at this once abandoned monastery,” she went on. “It looked like it had some serious renovation work done to it. Before you even walk through the gate, you can hear the laughter of children. They were of all ages, along with a lot of women both young and old. Some of the older women were helping tend to the children, you can faintly see that they all came from someplace not so nice, but the smiles they wore told otherwise. As I walked around and talked so some of the women, they began to tell me their stories of slavery, and the day this “Brother Paul” liberated them, brought them here, took care of them, and began helping them build back their life. A lot of the women actually stayed on to help him take care of the younger children. After a couple more minutes I finally saw him, and almost fainted.”

“You knew him?” Shareef asked.

“I sure did,” she nodded. “It was the superhuman from the last brothel I took down. His name is Kostyantyn Yurchenko. He walked up to me a bit nervous at first, and the first thing he asked is if he could give me a hug.”

Sister Shareef instantly swatted away mist as she continued to listen to the beautiful tale of redemption.

“We walked for awhile,” she continued, “and he began to tell me a bit about his life before and the day after we met. How he grew up poor with his mother and no father and how he watched the men his mother brought home walk all over her and abuse him. It taught him to be hard in order to survive. He said he never personally abused women and children, but that he also had no respect for them either. When he got his powers, to him it was an added bonus to make more money, especially as a hired bodyguard, until the day he ran into me. He said it was the scolding I gave him that stuck more than anything else. No one had ever talked to him like that, like a mother to a son.”

Sophia shook her head with a bit of a smile and some disbelief that this was her life.

“At first he didn’t know what to do,” she shrugged. “He wandered around picking up odd jobs here and there. Then he came upon the monastery. He didn’t know what overtook him, but something told him to start fixing it up. Next thing he knew, he was taking orphaned children and runaways off the streets and giving them a place to eat and sleep. He kept doing odd jobs to pay for food and clothing, and encouraged them to go to school. Next, women started to come who were either homeless or in abusive situations seeking protection, and he just took them in as well. Then one day he overheard some men talking about going to have some fun at a brothel similar to the ones I brought down. He followed them there, busted the place up, took the women with him, and he just takes care of them. All of them.”

“Wow.” She shook her head. “How’s he financing that operation?”

“He flat out jacks the pimps,” Sophia laughed, “all of it goes toward the victims and the upkeep of the monastery. He calls it their ‘donation’ in repentance against their wrongs. Apparently it’s set off a chain reaction of some kind. Through him a lot of the women have found the strength to take back their lives. He’s become a big brother to them, and a father to the children. I gave him a sizeable donation which he tried to refuse, and I introduced him onto Olia. With her information network, they can work together to track down these horrendous operations and put an end to them.”

“So you were the blinding light that struck him down on his road to Damascus,” Shareef chuckled. “And put him on the right path, hence the name “Brother Paul.”

“I guess so,” Sophia shrugged, “but he wasn’t the only one who learned something on that day. I learned I don’t need to break bad men to make a better world. I just need to inspire good ones.”

“Amen,” she nodded, “Amen.”

“I remember telling Charlie, when I decided to pull that stunt in Washington in 08, that I was tired of running,” Sophia confessed. “Since I came back after surviving that nuke, all I’ve been doing is running. Fighting Peace again was a revelation, the world has changed, is changing, and I played a huge part in it. I can’t turn away from my responsibilities anymore. Ten, maybe fifteen, years from now, a whole new generation of EVOs will reach maturity, if we don’t want a repeat what happen three months ago, I have to lead by example. Try to make a better world for everyone to live in.”

“Well girl,” Sister Shareef nodded with approval, “you know I got your back.”

“You really gonna suit up?” Sophia cracked a smile.

“Child I’m a pardoned ex-con, fifteen years shy of retirement age, and now a grandma.” She cut her eyes. “What else am I going to do?”

“I’m glad you’re my friend,” Sophia came out of leftfield telling her, “it’s the only good thing that came out of what I went through at Mountain View.”

Sister Shareef nodded as the mist began to form again around her eyes; she quickly wiped them flicking them away.

“You’re not my friend,” Shareef corrected her; “you are my sister.”

As the two women gazed upon one another reaffirming their friendship, a gust of wind picked up drawing their attention upward to Kimberly in her wetsuit hovering several yards up. She returned from swimming with Kyle, Akram and the other children.

“Were you two going to kiss?” She tilted her head with a perplexed look.

“No!” both women yelled back at her, while putting some extra distance between each other.

“Oh okay,” she shrugged. “Auntie Shareef, can I speak to my mom for a minute?”

“Sure, sugah, I’m about to go find me some Mr. Earl anyway.” She spun on her heel walking back to the village. “See yawl later.”

“Shareef!” Sophia yelled getting semi-serious. “Do not kill that man!”

“Not listening to you!” she responded adding a little more sashay to her walk.

Sophia shook her head watching her leave as Kimberly slowly descended back down to Earth.

“Why is Auntie Shareef going to kill Mr. Earl?” Kimberly raised an eyebrow asking.

“No honey,” Sophia blushed. “She’s not really going to kill him, she’s…”

Not prepared to have that talk with a daughter she has only had for a couple of months, she decided to change the subject.

“What would you like to talk about?” she smiled.

“School is around the corner, and I miss my friends in DC.” She looked down while using her big toe to doodle in the sand.

“You want to go home.” Sophia nodded with a smile that fell a bit.

She wanted to avoid this talk for a little while longer. The past few months, even through the rebuild of the island, saw their relationship grow exponentially. It took her a several days to get over Kimberly calling her mom without breaking into tears.

However, a small part of her knew that homesickness would kick in, her child had built a life for a second time without her, and as much as she wanted to badly keep her, it was not fair for her to keep her from it.

“I thought this was my home?” Kimberly met her mother’s gaze with a sad confused look.

This made Sophia bewildered.

“Okay I’m confused,” she vocalized. “You want to go back to Washington to live with Michelle, right?”

“No.” Kimberly shook her head. “I just want to go back to my old school. Flight time is like thirty to forty-five minutes both ways depending on how fast I go. Maybe you could take me till I’m old enough to fly on my own.”

“Yes,” she blurted out. “Yes, I will take you.”

She smiled as she cupped her daughter’s face.

“And this is your home,” Sophia reassured her.

“Uh, Mom.” Kimberly fumbled around her next question.

“Yes?” she coaxingly asked.

“When I was born, and if we never got separated, what would you have named me?”

Her eyes filled with tears as her heart felt like it would pop in her chest. It was a question mixed with both joy and sorrow.

“I wanted to name you after my Aunt Vannie on my mother’s side,” she choked up, “short for Vanessa.”

“Well, I’m kind of use to Kimberly being my first name, but Vanessa could be my middle name… Kimberly Vanessa… Dennison.”

Her words opened up the flood gates within Sophia who moved closer to her.

“I’d like that,” she whimpered. “I really would…”

She kissed her daughter’s forehead and grabbed her whisking and twirling her around as if she was still an infant.

“Mom!” Kimberly screamed. “I’m ten years old!”

“And you’re still my baby.” Sophia pulled her in for a hug. “You’re still my baby…”

Sophia broke down crying with joy as she held her daughter. It would not be the last time she would cry, she was sure of it. Nevertheless, that heaviness in her heart, that emptiness in her stomach was forever gone. Kimberly gave in breaking down as well, that feeling of loneliness and abandonment would never return. She was home, she was truly finally home.

“Mommy…” Kimberly groaned between her sobs.

“Yes baby?” Sophia asked through her own.

“You’re… still... stronger… than me,” she said.

Sophia erupted laughing with joy in between her cries. She loosened up her grip, but she never let go. She would never ever let go again.

CHAPTER 27

Two weeks later, Sophia sat in her powder room in a robe surrounded by her daughter, Sister Shareef, Michelle, her little sister Gemma and her mother with a none too pleased look on her face.

In front of her sat a silver case, personally delivered yesterday by Abe Rogers himself. It was her new outfit constructed by Lady Tech.

“Honestly, I don’t know why we’re making a fuss over this?” She rolled her eyes.

“Mom, it’s your coming out party,” Kimberly lectured her. “People worked really hard for this.”

“For what?” she snapped back. “I’m wearing some stupid costume, not coming out of the closet! And even if I was, I wouldn’t make this much of a fuss! And what was wrong with the original outfit I had?”

“Gal, you a supahero!” scolded her mother,. “You fi look like a supahero, not like ya ah come from dance hall!”

Her grandmother’s comment made Kimberly cackle. She quickly stopped as her mother gave her the ‘No, you are not laughing at me look.’

“Okay,” Sophia huffed, “let’s get this over with.”

She stood up flying open the latches to the case opening it up. Sophia reached in pulling out a full bodysuit with a hood attached in a different red and black color scheme minus the silver of her old suit. It appeared as if the red and black seamlessly flowed together. The new material had a dull shine to it. Inside were also new boots and bracers to match the outfit.

What caught Sophia’s attention, where the emblems on both shoulders of the outfit. It was the West African symbol for Freedom designed in gold. She slowly ran her hand across it.

“Everyone in the village helped me pick it out,” Kimberly smiled, stepping in. “I contacted Lady Tech and asked her to work it into the design.”

“I… I’m not…” Sophia swallowed, understanding the responsibility of such a symbol.

“Yes, you are,” her daughter stopped her. “Everyone who I spoke to about this said the same thing. Whether it was from oppression, poverty, abuse, drugs… you gave them back their freedom, and that’s what your name should be.”

“Amen,” Mrs. Dennison’s voice crackled as her eyes became glossy. “What a powerful name! Betta den some of dem foo foo names out dere!”

Sophia saw a chain reaction of waterworks about to begin and decided to break it up before it got contagious.

“All right!” She clapped her hands. “Out! Everyone out, so I can put this thing on and come out! Everyone but Michelle, I need her to help me with something.”

As the rest of the women exited the hut, Michelle closed the door behind her. She turned perplexed to see a near-teary Sophia motion for her to come closer.

She walked up a bit hesitant to her as she held both of her hands looking down at the ground, before looking up at her.

“I never got the chance,” Sophia’s bottom lip trembled, “to properly thank you for taking care of my baby.”

Michelle broke Sophia’s grip cupping her face to wipe her eyes as her own tears fell.

“Thank you, for sharing her with us,” her voice cracked, “and for giving me back my husband.”

They hugged each other confirming a bond never to be broken, one to last for an eternity.

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A half hour later, the door to the hut opened. She slowly walked out onto her porch adorned in her new suit. Her heart began to swell and overflow gazing out at the reception waiting for her.

Before her stood a sea of people who were now her family. She knew each of their names and all of their stories. It did not dawn on her till she stood there seeing them all together in one place what she had truly done.

A tidal wave of emotions overtook her, as she covered her mouth failing to fight back running tears.

Her reaction brought tears to other people’s eyes. A misty-eyed Earl clapped and cheered encouraging others to do the same in order to break up the waterworks.

It gave her the courage to walk down her steps and stand before them.

“Honestly, I don’t know what type of hero I’m gonna be crying on day one.”

“An awesome one!” her mother yelled from the crowd.

Creating a sea of laughter as her father held her mother’s hand.

“I told one person,” she looked directly at her mother, “the reason why I really created this island. What I did not tell her was I did not save one person standing before me today. You all… saved me.”

She turned looking at all the faces before her.

“You took away my anger,” she smiled, “and brought back my humanity. When I look into each of your eyes, you remind me that there is still goodness in this world. That no matter how dark things get, we can rise through it into the light. If evil tries to break us, we can mend becoming stronger than we were before, and no matter how lost we may feel we can find a way back. This is what I learned from all of you, my family.”

“Amen! Amen!” yelled a choked up Mr. Norton.

Zeek standing by him, threw a brotherly arm over his shoulder while wiping his own eyes. Mr. Norton did the same pulling the young man close to him.

“And now onto why I am wearing the color outfit.” She quickly posed before getting serious again. “I can’t ignore anymore that we live in an age of wonderment. An age where people now have powers and abilities to make a difference for good or evil, an age that I am responsible for. Many good people gave their lives to open my eyes to that fact. With the help of Earl and the council, things will continue to run during the times that I am away. Which hopefully won’t be for too long.”

“We’ll hold things down for you, Soph, don’t you worry!” Earl yelled.

“I know why you all chose this symbol for me.” She touched the emblem on her right shoulder. “Honestly, I don’t think I am worthy to carry it or the name, but I give you all my word… I will become worthy, and I will make you all proud.”

As Sophia finished her speech, Akram, Kyle, along with all of the children in the village, stepped forward.

“When I get older, I will be stronger. They’ll call me Freedom. Just like a wavin’ flag,” Akram began to sing.

The children all joined in singing their rendition of K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag.”

In the midst of the song, Sophia slowly ascended. She looked down at her blood family and her extended family cheering her on. Nadiya Romanenko and the twenty-seven, now spread apart within the crowd, able to stand on their own with their heads held high again. Alison Jefferies, the light she once lost now back in her eyes, no longer alone.

Most importantly, her little girl with tear filled eyes looking up at her with pride, because she was her mother.

“Go, Mom, Go!” Kimberly screamed.

On her command, Sophia Dennison, now Freedom, streaked off into the blue skies.

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Twenty minutes later, she stood on the lawn of the White House for about an hour and a half. Fifteen minutes after her arrival a White House correspondent backed by a twelve-man Secret Service team came out to ask what she wanted. An audience with the President was her response, and she was not going to leave until she got it.

She looked around impressed that remnants of the battle from months before were gone.

Eventually Mohammad came to the mountain. With a detail of six Secret Service men, the President walked onto the lawn to meet with her.

“Ms. Dennison,” he extended his hand, “or is it… Freedom now?”

She smiled at his perception and shook his hand.

“Something my family from my island came up with,” she smiled.

“So what do I owe this visit from the woman who saved the world… again?” he asked.

“The UN General Assembly is in two weeks.” She got down to business. “I am asking you to please play this on my behalf.”

Opening up the compartment in her bracer, she pulled out a memory stick extending it out to him. Surprisingly, he took it from her without hesitation.

“May I ask what this is in regard to?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Peace was a psychopath,” she answered, “and her plans for this world would have been horrific. However, through the madness, some truth cannot be ignored anymore. Our world has changed, in the next fifteen years not only will the superhuman race have increased, many will have reached maturity. Some will have powers and abilities to rival my own. That is a fact that cannot be ignored. If we don’t want a repeat of several months ago Mr. President. It’s pretty simple… we either evolve… or we die.”

He reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“What are you proposing?” he asked.

“It’s more of an ultimatum.” She narrowed her eyes.

The President’s face switched from curiosity to concern.

“It’s said that God created the world in six days and rested in the seventh.” She looked up at the sky. “I think seven years is enough time for you and the rest of the world’s leaders to get their acts together.”

“You want us to remake the world?” He attempted to understand her weird statement.

“No, I want you to fix it.” She smiled locking eyes with him. “Let’s face it, Mr. President. You all have not been doing a very good job. When a bunch of geriatrics living off taxpayers’ dollars can shut down government in an attempt to fulfill their own agenda… then a good job is not being done. When the one percent’s bottom line is more important that the realistic threat of global warming, which I have seen personally, then a good job is not being done. When we are afraid of those who should be protecting us… then a good job is not being done. When we permit murderous warlords, despots, and cartels to run rampant, when we hold white slavery and the exploitation of women and children on a lesser scale to a person walking around with a nickel bag… then a good job… is not being done. And that’s just the sprinkle of the problems this world currently has. This world is long overdue for an uprising.”

“Ms. Dennison…” He lowered his head, contemplating the best Presidential response to her statement.

“I don’t want your jobs, Mr. President,” she said. “I wouldn’t want it in a billion years. I prefer to be a mother… a good one. However, I cannot close my eyes and ignore the millions of people screaming for change that is constantly denied to them because of bureaucratic red tape. You’re going to create real change in this world… all of you. You will all find a way to work together, to do so without compromise. Your timeline is seven years starting the first day of the General Assembly whether you choose to play that video or not.”

“What happens if…” he asked slowly, afraid to hear the answer.

“I step in, and affect change,” she answered knowing his question. “And so you know I mean business, I’ll be doing little projects here and there, so that all of you will know that this matter is not up for debate.”

“What if you meet with opposition?” he asked.

“They’re welcome to try, although I think you’ve seen how pointless that would be.” She laughed. “Like I said, this is not some new tyrannical rule. You should look at it as motivation to get your ducks in a row and begin to do the right thing. In time you won’t see this as something you are forced to do, you’ll see it as something that should have been done a long time ago, something that was well over due. Your actions as well as mine will inspire humans and superhumans alike that this can be a better world to live in, and that we must all work together as a family to achieve that goal. We cannot expect the world and future generations to change and be better if we do not lead by example, and we must start leading by example, not tomorrow, not two years from now, but today.”

The President smiled and nodded. Sophia hoped that the look in his eyes read that it was hard to argue with her logic. It would not change her decision, but she still prayed he understood.

“You have my word that the UN Council will see your message,” he promised.

“Thank you,” she nodded. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I’ve have to do this superhero thing.”

“What’s that?” he chuckled.

“Go look for trouble,” she smirked.

The President backed up as Sophia coiled her legs launching herself into the air with a powerful leap. He watched with amazement as she rocketed off taking flight into the clear blue skies.

“Go get ‘em, Ms Dennison.” He nodded with approval. “Go get ‘em.”

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

She flew through Washington DC, cutting her speed to a slow cruise allowing people to see her. Next, she rocketed off to New York doing the same in Times Square, Los Angeles, Houston, and San Francisco, before heading off to other major cities around the world.

She wanted everyone to know that, despite the loss of many fallen champions, one had risen to take up the mantle as their protector. Regular people raised their heads and felt a bit safer on that day, while superhumans who took up the mantle as heroes looked up and saw something to aspire to.

She picked up speed soaring higher and faster into the skies, remembering those that scarified their lives, those who stood beside her and continued to stand beside her. She lost a lot, but gained a billion fold in the process. Her only regret was that it took so long for her to realize it. She added another promise to pay it forward.

She tore through the Earth’s atmosphere long enough to plummet to the other side of the world.

She did it one time for Charlie.

She imaged him laughing and cheering her on from on high as she finally embraced her destiny willingly.

The world needed a hero… and a hero from that day forward… is what she would be.

CHAPTER 28

Today would be the worst day Fazilah Abusalih’s life. Today Fazilah turned five years old. Fazilah was born in a small village in Eastern Sudan between the Red Sea and Kassala. She was the youngest child of two sisters and a brother. The night before her actual birthday, her mother gave her the biggest portion of Asseeda (porridge) and sheep that was cooked and slaughtered the night before. On that same night, her older sister stained her hands and feet with henna.

At dawn, her mother woke her up, gave her breakfast, and took her for a walk. The walk took about a half hour. As they neared the hut at the end of the village, her little heart began to beat faster. She remembered less than a year ago playing with her sisters in this area and hearing the screams and cries of a little girl. When she tried to go and see what was the matter she was shooed away by some of the habobat (grandmothers) of the village. The wails became so loud she had to cover her own ears as she ran away. Haunted by the experience she never returned to play on that side of the village.

She looked up at her mother, who held her hand tighter as they entered the fenced in yard. As they walked around the large hut to the back of the yard, waiting for them were all the habobat of the village. Her tiny body began to tremble. She was the only little girl in the yard.

She looked up again at her mother hoping she would look down at her. She prayed she would look down and see in her big brown eyes that she was terrified and wanted to go home.

As hard as she searched, she could not find her mother’s eyes.

Instead, she would feel her mother’s grip loosen as one of the habobat came to take possession of little Fazilah’s hand leading her into circle of female elders now formed.

In this circle of elders, little Fazilah would be mutilated.

They would force her to lie down on the mat in the center of the yard. Several kinswomen would weigh down her torso. Two others would pull and hold her legs apart. The Miriam or the midwife would then take a sharp knife and quickly slice away her clitoris and labia minora; the rejected tissue caught in a bowl they would later toss away.

No words could possibly describe the excruciating pain and suffering to befall little Fazilah, nor how shattered her heart would be as she screamed out for a mother who would not save her.

To add to her suffering, the Miriam would remove a surgical needle from her midwife’s kit. Threading it with suture, she would sew together the child’s outer labia leaving a small opening at the vulva.

If she was lucky to survive the procedure or the infection that could occur, on the day she consummated her marriage, her would be husband, with the help of a “little knife” would slice her open one more time. This would allow him to penetrate her so that he could impregnate her, if she was capable of having children after the damage done. Even if she was lucky, there was a great chance she would still die during childbirth.

Fazilah’s eyes remained on her mother as the habobat laid her down on the mat.

Her little heart began to beat out of her chest. She squirmed and whimpered as four of the habobat held her down by her small torso. She felt almost suffocated.

The tears began to fall as they pried and held her legs open, the screams and cries followed as the knife came into view.

“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” Fazilah screamed her lungs out in fright.

She desperately searched through the cloud of elders pinning her down, bawling for a mother who would not save her. Despite her petite size, she put up a fight in an attempt to get free; the Miriam stepped in forcing her down while scolding her.

“Be still child! And let us do what needs to be done,” ordered the Miriam.

Fazilah gurgled and cried as the habobat used additional force to keep her down. They stretched her little legs further apart as if to rip them off.

As the Miriam prepared to administer her first cut, a powerful wind blew sending dust flying, while the ground shook around them.

The force of the wind increased as a shadow casted over the group of women in the yard.

Fazilah would not feel one cut as the knife dropped from the Miriam’s hand, while the many hands of the habobat removed themselves from her tiny body.

She quickly sat up seeing her mother again, now on her knees clutching her mouth in fear. She quickly glanced little Fazilah’s way, then back up at the sky.

Screaming began, this time from the all of the habobat looking in the same direction as Fazilah’s mother and the Miriam.

Fazilah wiped her eyes of tears and stood up looking to the skies at a memory forever etched into her mind of her fifth birthday.

On her birthday, she witnessed a hooded wingless angel in red and black clothing with skin as dark as hers and blue radiant eyes that pierced the day itself. On her shoulders, she wore the symbol of freedom known throughout her homeland.

“Cry for freedom… and I will come.”

Epilogue

Billions of light years away from the Earth’s solar system, something floated amongst the stars answering the question as to whether humans were alone in the universe. It bared the shape of a killer whale with the length and width of two aircraft carriers lined up behind each other. Its dark metallic form blended with the harsh black environments of space. Red glowing hieroglyphic like etchings around its nose and hull, along with the blue glow of the dormant thrusters that powered it were the only things that made it viewable amongst the blackness and stars.

Within what appeared to be the main bridge was dark and cold. The same lights that glowed on its outside also illuminated its insides. Sitting at designated stations controlling it was a crew of eight. Their features, for the most part, were similar to humans, possessing two eyes, two arms and two legs, a mouth, nose, a pair of ears, and five fingers and toes on each hand and foot.

The difference between their race and that of Earth became all too obvious after that. Their skins were smooth with a scale like pattern similar to a snake, while their large elfin ears made them appear as if they came out of a fantasy novel. Physically their bodies were muscular, toned, and powerful.

All of the females on the bridge with distinct womanly features similar to that of Earth possessed onyx like skin that came in different shades, along with their lips and tongue. Their finger and toenails were also a mirror shiny black, while their irisless eyes, and shiny white fangs popped from their midnight features.

Their hair along with their male counterparts were the only thing that came in different colors from black, red, bright orange, white, blue, and even purple. They wore their hair in a braided Mohawk style of four to six braids.

The males were the exact opposite of the females. Their skin tone, nails, lips, and tongue went between shades of stark white to dark gray, while their eyes and teeth were a gleaming dark black. They too had various hair colors; however the hair styles appeared to vary with the men. Some wore their hair similar to the women, while others either wore it in a regular Mohawk, or just straight and long.

Both male and female sat dressed in versions of what could be described as ancient single shoulder Roman or Greek togas. The women’s legs and arms were adorned with greaves and bracers similar to gold, silver, or crystal, while the men wore heavy metallic gold or gray bracers with ancient etchings of their race.

Sitting lazily in a throne like captain’s chair with his right leg over the arm rest, the commander of the massive vessel wearing just a red long loin cloth sat with his chin resting on his fist as if he was about to fall asleep. His skin was pearl white, while he wore his long blue mane in a Mohawk with three thick braids. Though he does not appear larger or stronger than most of the males on their bridge, it was clear how he earned his station.

Aside from his golden bracers with etchings that glowed red similar to the ship he commanded, a powerful deep blue glow illuminated from his eyes signifying the immense power that coursed through his veins.

Not to be outdone was the female that stood to the right of his chair. Her skin was pitch black like the universe outside their vessel, while her blood red Mohawk styled hair was done with six braids. She adorned a near sheer pink toga with golden accents. On her arms and legs she wore bracers and greaves with similar etchings to the commander’s bracers also possessing a dim red glow. A piercing red glow shined from her eyes as she wore a face that could slaughter a million legions by itself.

To the left of his chair was a shiny black orb the size of a basketball floating via an unknown propulsion system.

The two spoke small talk in a language older than the first words human man ever uttered.

Their topic of conversation, was the holographic image projected by the orb of a blue, green and white third planet from a lone star.

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

In the lower levels of the massive vessel, insane cackling could be heard. With the confines of a cell, behind a clear wall like crystal door. The dead hung against a cold metallic wall, stripped of her clothing. Each of her appendages confined to a humongous metallic cocoon like restraint which hummed while its parts emitted a green glow. With head bowed her blonde dreads masked her face, as she continued to laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

FREEDOM AND THE REGULATORS WILL RETURN…

AND SO WILL THE EYE OF RA…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kipjo K. Ewers was born July 1, 1975. At an early age, he had an active imagination. By the time he started kindergarten he would make up fictitious stories, one of his favorites was about a character named “Old Man Norris,” who hated everyone in the world except for him.

When he attended our Lady of Victory Elementary school in Mount Vernon, he continued writing and reading stories to his classmates. His teacher, Mrs. Green, told him the children would laugh but she would remind them that that is how some of the great stories that they read actually came about.

After elementary school, he went onto Salesian High School in New Rochelle, NY then on to Iona College, also in New Rochelle.

He would go onto to work for several major firms and companies within the New York area, but his passion was to become a journalist/writer. Therefore, it is not surprising he decided to write his first book/novel.

Kipjo began working and creating a new superhuman universe, finding inspiration and solace in the loss of his first daughter due to an unfortunate miscarriage that devastated both his loving wife and himself; he began writing a hero origin story now titled “The First.”

He continues this story as a novel series and as a comic book series in the near future.

Thank you for reading and for your support.