Tri-blade ID: 10879
The air was stifling, choking. The sun rose, but there was very little light, and even less heat. The sky was a dusty orange-brown and the buildings and streets appeared to be made of rust. A low-pitched giggle emerged from the mouth of the dark blue-skinned humanoid figure as she took in her surroundings. While the Legion's goal hadn't yet been completed, she knew it was only a matter of time before her squad leader - and more importantly, her Emperor - savoured final victory. She was driven by the gleeful thought that various heroes of Earth were still managing to frustrate her forces.
Her giggles turned into a loud series of cackling, in the knowledge that her enemy had showed such mettle against the odds.
Impulse floated upwards, her ecstasy at its peak.
---
The likes of Skelanimal and Midgardsomr had morphed into a permanent enlargement as a means to deter further assault on their individual forms, and an uneasy truce existed between the behemoths and the Legion generals. No matter, grunted the generals, they would merely be the last to taste ultimate defeat after the others fell. Anybody without the ability to grow to mountainous size was a target, in the interim. As those numbers declined, the Legion grew ever more confident.
The escaped conman known to the outside as Gamer G looked on at the hellscape before him with longing and regret. It wasn't too long ago that Purgatory Pen was destroyed. This unforeseen instance gave him his freedom, but only from the authorities on Earth. Legion had inscribed a different sort of imprisonment.
He looked skyward. He knew that BADGE's ground headquarters was decimated and the orbital space station obliterated in a separate assault by Legion forces, its leaders crushed. All parts of the world were in a chaotic state, without any semblance of law and order. People, where they could, tried to make do with limited resources but those were diminishing rapidly. Some of his fellow inmates continued to remain mischievous, partly to be seen as a useful impediment by Legion, but oftentimes instead merely falling to their base instincts without care or thought of what tomorrow could bring.
Gamer G frowned.
He walked to his small dwelling that was no larger than a car garage, and turned on his computer. Legion through its agents had requested he work to disrupt the remaining communication elements available to the known hero groups and local authorities, and he made great effort to demonstrate his successes to his overseers. However, at sporadic intervals, encrypted messages were leaked. Ones advising of where the generals were slated to move to, which areas were relatively safe, and the volume of artillery and foot-soldiers available to each. In between, he sent his location, hoping against hope for an eventual rescue.
He sighed loudly as he clicked his mouse key a final time.
"Unwise," said a sinister voice behind him.
Eyes opened wide, Gamer G whirled around, only seeing the collection of toys and mascots behind him. Then he noticed something else, and his face dropped.
Frankie, an animatronic dog pieced from a variety of parts and with the ability to be mind-controlled by Gamer G himself, was not what it seemed. Gamer G whimpered as it transformed into the shapeshifter. Gamer G bit his tongue, knowing he had failed himself. After all, it was Bioform herself who had transformed into a Purgatory Pen guard and released him from behind bars. He should have known better.
With surprising speed, Gamer G rose from his chair and dashed outside. He was ten feet away from the front door when he felt a hard mass pierce his abdomen. He looked down and saw a metal pipe sticking out. He fell to the ground, turning to face his assailant.
He tried to speak, but Bioform shook a finger. "Why would you choose to die today, human? Legion would have let you live. Your ability would have seen you live to explore more worlds. But you chose instead to die. I do not understand -"
"Strike hard!" called a stern voice, silencing a stunned Bioform. Immediately a bolt of energy seared across her face, driving her to the ground. Another bolt, this one bluish in appearance, knocked her further away. A man with giant steel wings affixed to his back zoomed across, delivering a swinging cross to Bioform's face. Gamer G's last sight was that of a woman running in and affixing some sort of restraining device to Bioform's arms.
---
"What's the status?" asked DaMoN, the glow from his eyes receding.
Phantom shook his head as he released the arm of the now dead Gamer G.
"He's gone," said Crossroads, her sadness plain to see.
Tri-blade opened the door of Gamer G's dwelling and peered inside. He quickly turned back to the members of the Strike Force unit.
"Wings, Super Rakly, can you investigate the computers? There's probably more useful info on the hard drives but we'll need to move them to a secure location quickly," he said.
"Ten-four," said Hot Wings.
Midnight-Walker said, "This was rough. But it's new information, and potentially a turning point. There aren't many of us left, but there may be renewed hope."
Unseen by the group, an unusually large bunny blinked at the group from a distance, then hopped away at rapid speed.
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