David watched the other heroes ready themselves for a fight as the shuttle swiftly sped toward Perth, Australia. His heart raced, and he wasn’t even joining them.
As the hero walked by, David stopped Captain Aqua and asked, “Will you send me back to the station? I…” The shuttled rocked hard with systems flashing and sparking.
“We’re under fire!” The pilot yelled over the buzzing systems.
Smoke filled the cabin from an electrical fire as the shuttle’s systems tried to fight it.
One of the other heroes jumped into the co-pilot’s seat and held onto the secondary controls. “Why is it looking for us? I thought it wasn’t even supposed to be hunting heroes?”
The pilot sprayed fire extinguisher on part of his panel. “I don’t know. It even saw through our cloak.”
“I don’t know. INCOMING!” The hero drove the shuttle to the right and then the left as bright red beams shot from the surface at them.
David held back a scream when one beam cut right through the floor, pierced the ceiling, and almost cut his foot off. A siren buzzed as the shuttle spun out of control.
“Warning, warning, navigation systems off-line. Warning...” The computer announced.
David held his seat and felt the safety belt pressing into him, keeping him from being slammed against every part of the interior. When the shuttle was hit again and part of the aft section exploded, a girl jumped out of her seat and rolled across the floor. Once she was on the floor, she slapped both hands against the surface and a white hazy energy burst out from her and the shuttle slowed down. She gripped the floor with her hands, straining every muscle.
“This isn’t gonna be a soft landing!” She said just as they hit a road in Perth, skidding down through town. Sliding to the side, the shuttle finally came to a stop, and the girl let go of the floor.
“Good work, Sue. That was quick thinking.” Captain Aqua said and then asked, “Is everyone okay?”
The trainee heroes and pilot were fine. David controlled his urge to vomit and then gave a thumbs up.
The pilot ripped off his safety belt and said, “Get out. The power systems are about to blow.”
“Move, people!” Captain Aqua yelled.
David saw two people yanking on the door, but it was damaged and couldn’t be opened. “Here, let me!” He balled his fists together and swung. With a hard slam, the door flew off the side of the shuttle and hit a nearby building.
Everyone ran from the shuttle, heading down a long, empty street in the middle of the night. Captain Aqua quickly used his own powers to summon a thick orb of water to surround the shuttle. It exploded, but the water cushioned the eruption and protected them and the nearby structures.
“Well, there goes our ride home,” One trainee muttered.
The pilot clicked his comm. “Damn, I can’t get BADGE.”
“I can’t get anyone. This dampening field is blocking all comms, even local.” Captain Aqua stated.
A police care raced up to them, sirens going strong. The moment it stopped, a man jumped out with a gun. “Stand down!”
“What? No, we are with BADGE.” The Pilot said.
Captain Aqua approached, his hands held up. “Sorry, officer. We did not mean to alarm you.”
“You didn’t alarm us. We have the city on lock-down. There is a dangerous robot coming in and we cannot call out for help.”
“We’re here to stop it. Apparently, it’s sending out a jamming signal. We can’t call BADGE for backup.”
The officer clicked his walkie on his shoulder, which made a fuzzy whine. “We can’t talk to anyone.”
“We need to find this robot and put it down.” Captain Aqua said.
“Last report I heard, it was heading for King’s Park,” the officer said.
“Okay, trainees, spread out in pairs and head in different directions, but focus on getting to King’s Park. Mr. David, you go with the officer...”
“No, I’ll go with a trainee and help. You have an odd number. I’ll make it even.”
Aqua thought for a second, then said, “Fine. We need all the help we can get. Go with Sue. No one engages the robot until we can ambush it together. This may be ancient tech, but it is still Legion tech. If you find it, use a holoflare to notify the rest of us. Now, move.”
David joined the girl who saved the shuttle and ran down a street toward another road. The officer gave each group directions, based on different ways to get to King’s Park. Their GPS systems on their BADGE comms or cell phones were completely useless, while the dampening field was in place.
After going down several roads and through some alleys, they both heard a distinctive stomping sound.
“I think we’re getting close to it,” Sue said.
David paused and closed his eyes. “It’s walking that way, I think.”
“Good.” Sue ran ahead of him and rounded a corner.
The moment she did, both nearly were under the foot of the stomping robot. David grabbed her arm and swung her back around him into the alley.
Sue said, “I think we found it.” Pressing a button on her BADGE comm, she aimed it upward and a small ball of red light shot into the air.
“What is that?”
“Standard issue BADGE comm unit. It has a holoflare built into it. Plasma point light.”
“Nice.”
Someone yelled, “GET OUT OF MY CITY!”
David looked around the corner. “Aw, crap. Idiot!”
Sue joined him and saw a young man with a metal baseball bat running at the robot. “DON’T ATTACK IT!” she yelled, but it was too late.
The boy slugged the leg of the giant robot with the bat and then fell over from the repercussion.
The robot stated, “Weaklings will be destroyed.”
“Oh, hell.” David ran around the corner and grabbed a man-hole cover in a swift grab. He flung it with all his might, and discus training in college. The heavy metal cover hit the robot just as it shot a red laser to obliterate the boy. The laser, instead, blasted through a brick wall of a building.
“Challenger, prepare to fight.” The robot slowly turned to attack David.
Sue ran past David with her hand on the side of a car. It was hovering in the air under her unique power. With one throw of her arm, the car flew at the robot and crashed directly into its chest. It staggered backward and nearly fell over. “Run, kid!” she yelled.
The boy scrambled to his feet and rushed away down a dark alley.
“What do we do now?” David asked.
Sue smiled. “It wants a challenge, then let it chase us down. Come on, to King’s Park.” She ran hard.
David ripped a concrete parking pillar out of the ground and lobbed it at the robot, hitting it in the leg and causing it to fall over. It was enough to give them time. He followed Sue as fast as he could, passing the disabled monster and rushing toward the open park at the end of this street.
A red laser beam blasted beside them and the road exploded in an eruption of asphalt.
“Crap, crap, crap! It’s targeting us,” David said and started moving in a less direct run.
Sun ducked as a beam went right over their heads. “Good thing its aim is garbage.”
“Yeah, but it only takes one hit.”
“The park!” Sue yelled as they exited the into the grassy park space.
A red blast of energy went right between them and contacted a tree. The old tree exploded from the inside, sending flaming wood showering down over the area.
David stopped in the grass and looked around. “I got nothing to throw and I’m sure as hell not going to fight that in hand to hand.”
Sue ducked as another laser beam sped toward her. She barely avoided death, but then the ground behind her exploded, thrusting her forward. David could see blood and wounds all over her. Grabbing her up, he ran as hard.
“Where are those other heroes?” He muttered.
Ahead of him was one of those Ren Tech spheres. He hid behind it, Sue in his arms. “This thing will not protect us for long. Where are those trainees?”
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