FAANG flew through the skies, some by powers while others used contraptions. The leader, using binoculars as he flew, guided them.
"I don't see anything," He spoke into his wrist comm.
A huskier hero sailed closer riding a device that looked like a windsurfing board, but with a propeller on the back. "All sensors indicate the signal to her headquarters is directly in front of us."
The leader looked at a small monitor on his wrist comm and then peered through the binoculars. "It should be right there. My guess is that it's well hidden. I say we strike first."
"But, we could hit a civilian target by mistake."
"I trust my gut. Head for this location and ready for an all-out fight. HAZZAH!"
The team replied in unison, "HAZZAH!" Then drove in hard toward their invisible target.
"My Lady!" One of her minions rushed up to her.
"Speak!"
He held up a device in his hands, "We're showing a team of morphonic humans approaching fast. They're focused on our location."
Lady Echidna glared at the device for a moment and then called out, "Nova!"
In seconds, Nova was at her side. "Yes, my lady?"
"How is it that we have been detected?"
Nova looked around, "What do you mean?"
"A team of BADGE heroes is on their way to attack us. How did they know?" Her tone dripped with accusation.
Nova bowed to her, "You must trust in me. I would not betray you. I do not know the reason we are under assault, but we can handle this. Your soldiers are more than strong enough to deal with most of BADGE's hero teams."
"No, they are not. These heroes have proven to be stronger and more resourceful than I expected."
Nova asked, "Why not just mesmerize them into your legion? Heroes could prove useful."
Lady Echidna slowly stood up and checked her gloves as a thin smile crept across her face. "No. These morphon infected humans tend to be more resilient to my power. Regardless, I think it's about time I send a clear signal to BADGE, a signal in blood." She walked toward the door, her heels making a sharp click with each step. Her soldiers readied to follow, but she held up a gloved hand, "No. I'll deal with them personally."
Gar flew hard to follow behind Midgard as he stomped his way across the world toward the team that dared to embarrass him.
"You're scaring people!" Gar yelled.
"GOOD!" Midgard bellowed in response.
Gar swooped around and saw people below scrambling away as Midgard marched over a vast distance. BADGE was going to hear about this from every nation this monster has made a path through.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Gar asked.
"YES. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" Midgard took a swipe at Gar like he was a gnat pestering him.
Gar fell back a little and then followed at a distance. He tapped his wrist comm. "Gar to BADGE Station."
Justin came through, "You have eyes on Midgard?"
"Yes. He's making a mess."
"I know. We've been fielding calls from national leaders across the planet."
"How do I stop him?"
Justin said, "Only Nova could do that. Truth is, Midgard is heading directly for FAANG, and they are just about to reach Lady Echidna's location."
"What do I do?"
"Keep an eye on this and report back to me."
"Understood."
Gar flew hard only to find himself slamming into the back of Midgard who had suddenly stopped. Gar fell five stories before catching himself with his wings and flying back up. "What did you stop for?"
Midgard was transfixed. Gar looked and saw something that has not been seen on Earth for centuries. A woman shrouded in shadowy black robes with a golden crown on her head stood on the top of an ancient temple. She cackled in glee as the shadow surrounding her lurched out and snatched heroes out of the air and eviscerated them in seconds.
FAANG fired weapons and powers at her, but nothing even got close. Everything was dissolved within inches of her. The shadow would grab another hero and rip his or her limbs off. She wasn't even moving, just had her hands up and the shadows did all the work.
"We have to help!" Gar turned to find Midgard just staring. "Midgard?"
All at once the shadow raced out and struck Gar, he fell from the skies straight down, slamming into the ground at Midgard's feet. Gar was unable to move, it was as though the magic that gave him life was frozen. The world went black for Gar and he experienced life as he had for centuries, a lifeless statue.
"Gar... Gar, are you there?" Chase spoke and he felt life returning.
Gar's vision returned and he could move his head. He saw Chase looking down at him with sky above and trees around him. "Where am I?"
"You are near the site...or former site of Lady Echidna's temple. Can you stand?"
Gar pushed to sit up and then nodded, "Yeah, I'm getting feeling back. I felt like a statue again. It was horrible."
"I imagine it was. Come on, Justin needs you."
Gar got to his feet and realized there was a legion of BADGE shuttles, agents, and other heroes standing around. Even Arx and his small team of ATLAS specialist were there. Justin stood inside a command tent with people working all around him.
Justin saw Gar and actually smiled, "Oh, good. I was worried something bad had happened."
"You know I'm indestructible," Gar stated.
Justin said, "I know, but with what we've seen today I have reason to worry."
"What?"
Justin gestured to the computer monitors on two of the folding tables. There was gore smeared across the ground as forensics teams diligently worked to clean up the mess. "This is all that's left of FAANG, not even one intact body. Lady Echidna's forces were merciless. To make matters worse, we haven't found any indication that any of Echidna's men even fell, they took no damage from this attack."
Gar said, "Didn't Midgard tell you?"
Chase stated, rather harshly, "Midgard left without even warning us that you were down. All we know is that he went back to his hole he likes to hide in when he's not terrorizing stuff."
"I will bother him later," Justin said. "What happened? What did you see before you were attacked?"
Gar said, "None of Lady Echidna's men were responsible for this, and I don't even think Nova was part of this battle."
"Then who did all this? I know FAANG weren't the brightest, but they were very strong heroes."
Gar answered, "They were nothing compared to her. She was surrounded by some kind of shadow power. She stood on top of an old building and destroyed them one by one. I watched it until she attacked me."
Chase asked, "She attacked you all the way back here? But, you were over three miles from the combat zone."
Gar said, "She didn't even move. I was arguing with Midgard when there was that shadow, that hideous darkness. That's the last thing I remember."
Chase said, "That's... horrible. She must be more powerful than we thought possible."
Gar became worried, "We are so close to her. We need to leave this area."
"Don't worry. She has already left. The location we tracked her to is completely gone. Somehow she transported that ancient building away and we have no idea where she is. It will take time to adjust our tracking to find her again."
Arx came in, the color in his skin drained. "I have never seen so many random body parts. I don't think I can... " He leaned over a trashcan and vomited. After a moment, he said, "Sorry. I've seen things I won't soon forget."
"It's okay. You don't have to go back out there, our teams can finish this. And, the robots working with Dr. Henderson and her people can handle this better. Thanks for bringing your people in to help."
"Glad to be of service. I came to report that we have identified every member of FAANG, none survived."
Chase said, "How do we face her? I thought Jinn was bad, but she did this alone without effort. And, she has teams of soldiers, Nova, and legendary beasts at her command."
"I don't know. We can't stop trying and so we must push forward. I did learn something today," Justin said.
Arx asked, "What's that?"
"We are woefully under-prepared and we have precious little time to remedy that."
0 Comments