Apex 2: Rise of the Super Soldiers (12 page)

Super Villains

Delacourt, Hank, and Sally had already killed the sentries outside the mountain bunker. It was easy. They approached the blast doors,
all three of them sealed inside Sally’s shield. When they refused to surrender to the sentries, they were fired upon. Each bullet pinged off of the force field, leaving them unharmed. They returned fire but the soldiers found cover, none of them sustaining injury. It was at that moment that Delacourt decided to abandon all of his firepower in favor of using their abilities instead. Their arsenal was so much more powerful than any weapon conceived by man.

Delacourt nudged
Hank’s mind and he broke away, stepping outside the shield. He took a couple of rounds to the body but it didn’t faze him in the least. His chest puffed out and his hands shook and then a nearly invisible ripple shot from his body. It obliterated the sentries, smashing them against the mountain like rag dolls, the rock walls crumbling from the powerful wave. Their remains smoldered from the heat that accompanied the blast.

Neither Sally nor Delacourt felt the power of the wave from within the safety of her force field.

Hank fell to one knee but he recovered quickly; quicker than before. Sally and Delacourt went to him so that he was once again safe within the force field.

And then the fun really started.

The blast doors opened up and wave after wave of troops filed out, all taking up defensive positions. It was Delacourt’s turn to show the world what he could do.

He said, “I’ve got this. Just keep the force field up.”

He concentrated as hard as he could. There were dozens of minds out there, maybe as many as a hundred. And he had to get inside each and every one of them. His nose dripped a thin rivulet of blood and he was holding his breath when every single troop across from him stood up, turned their guns on each other, and blasted away, killing themselves. It was a bloodbath that sent a thrill through him but made Sally so uneasy that her force field flickered for a moment and forced Hank to look away.

Delacourt
realized that their hearts weren’t in this as much as he wanted. After the base was his, he’d have to work on them some more; get them onboard with world domination. His quest was going to be dirty and if they were going to be useful to him, they had to acquire the stomach to handle the bloodshed.

The last man standing across from them turned his handgun on himself, blowing his brains out of the side of his head.

The air stunk of sulfur when it was over. But it wasn’t quite over yet. More voices approached from within the bunker.

Sally heard them and said in a panicked voice, “We should go. I didn’t realize we’d be killing so many people.”

Hank nodded and looked to Delacourt for confirmation which never came.

Delacourt said as reassuringly as he could, “These cowards need to be defeated. You both agreed. We’ll be done just as soon as we mop up the few survivors.
If we turn around and run now, the entire U.S. military will chase us to the ends of the Earth and execute us. Buck up, people.”

Hank sucked air in between his teeth but he seemed to steel his resolve to what had to be done. Sally broke down and cried. “I just wanted to get revenge on the Grey’s. I didn’t want to kill my fellow man.” Her force field evaporated as her chest heaved with mighty sobs.

“These people are worse than the Grey’s. They’ve allowed their captives to live while they’ve held you here against your wills. You’ll get your revenge, but these last few troops stand in the way.”

Hank put an arm over her shoulder and said, “It’ll be over soon and then we’ll be free of the military for good.”

Delacourt nearly chuckled. If Hank thought they were fighting for their freedom, he was dead wrong.

Sally’s sobs lessened just in time. The first few troops trickled out through the blast doors and took up position where their fallen comrades had before them. Luckily the gore distracted them long enough for Sally to get herself together and re-erect her force field.

When Delacourt saw Watson’s face among the handful of troops he almost whooped with joy.

Escape

The Grey Captain looked at her fellow captives. They all heard the din from outside and speculations abound
as to what was causing it. It had to be the rescue party, a little late but better late than never. Nothing else explained the commotion. They were all tense, listening intently at the door. They’d heard the outside guard run off to help his compatriots. It was now or never if they were going to have a chance to liberate themselves. Even if they were wrong about the rescue party, it was still their best chance to escape.

The Captain stepped back and then kicked the steel door with all of her might. It held, but she’d get through it with another couple of kicks. She hauled off another kick and the door gave.

They filed out carefully, expecting to be fired upon at any moment, but the coast was clear. They closed the door back up and then hugged the shadows as they crept along the corridors, in search of their mechanized armor.

They had one close call when a human soldier rushed past them, but he was too preoccupied to notice them hiding in the dark. They made their way to a brigh
tly lit room with a single desk.

They could almost smell the must from their armor permeating the air. It was a welcome sensation. A single suit was propped up near the desk. One of the Grey’s rushed towards it, putting it on as if his life depended on it. The others fanned out in search of the other suits. Strangely enough, the humans were too stupid to realize how insane it was to hold them captive in the same place their suits were being kept. Their armor was fitted to their individual specifications and biometrics to enhance the suits abilities. With incompatible suits, they’d be vulnerable. With the proper suit, they were nearly unstoppable.

The Captain put hers on and felt peace for the first time in a month. The inside still smelled like fury and bloodshed and certain victory, at all costs. It was a particular odor that only her people exuded. It reminded her why she’d been struggling for so long to get to that exact moment. It invigorated her. She could already taste her first kill.

They weren’t able to find their weaponry but they didn’t need it either. In fact, they’d have probably decided to forego it in favor of close combat kills anyway.

She whirled around to see her men all staring at her, awaiting their orders.

Intel

Shaylo had a shuttle prepped. His First Mate had carried out his orders without compunction. That was a good sign. Maybe he’d finally found one he could trust.

He had all of the data already but weak data, gathered from a distance wasn’t enough to formulate a plan of attack. He had to see what the Earthlings were working with with his own two eyes. It was risky, entering their atmosphere in nothing but a defenseless landing shuttle, but it was a risk he felt was necessary in order to gather intel. He could’ve sent someone in his place but there was no one he trusted as much as he trusted himself. Plus, he wanted to see these barbarians in action. It would make their demise that much more satisfying.

Fight

Jack felt the death and destruction all around him. It was the first time since rescuing those hikers on Everest that the
empathic ability had surfaced. It made him feel sick. He looked at Melanie. “They’re all dying out there. I need to help them. I understand if you don’t want to come.”

Her eyebrows shot up and she said, “I want to help. Don’t mistake my reluctance to take a human life as cowardice, Jack. If there’s no alternative then of course I’ll join in the fight.”

He grabbed her wrist and teleported them both outside the mountain. They floated thirty feet above the bedlam. They saw Delacourt with Hank and Sally, standing before what was left of the military defenses. They were all enveloped in an opaque cocoon, not unlike the force field Scott used to be able to erect.

Watson and a handful of his soldiers were across from them, crouched behind what little cover there was.

Delacourt yelled out, falling to his knees, grabbing his head like it might explode. But he wasn’t in pain. He was concentrating with everything he had.

And then they watched
as the defenders seemed to lose their minds. They started to turn their guns around. Jack watched as a soldier bit down on the barrel of his own gun and squeezed the trigger. His head came apart and he fell over dead.

Delacourt smiled fiendishly. Jack could only assume that the evil
Commander was using some type of mind control to make them do his bidding.

Jack acted quickly. He concentrated on the weapons and teleported them away just in time.

Melanie’s hands shook as she used her powers against the attackers. Her eyes turned pink and she exhaled slowly as she used her inhuman skills. A boulder launched itself at the shielded invaders but despite the fact that it could’ve probably squashed a Mac truck, it blew apart the second it touched the force field. Only then did Delacourt notice them floating above.

He stared at them
keenly but if he was trying to use his powers on them it wasn’t working.

Delacourt shoved Hank outside of the protecting force field and yelled at him to, “Blast the shit out of them!”

Hank looked up with mouth agape, then turned back to Delacourt and shook his head. Delacourt locked him in a cruel stare and Hank started to quiver. He wheeled around and his head snapped up, towards Melanie and Jack. He shook his head again but he was losing the internal struggle against Delacourt’s mind manipulation. His body started to shake violently, skin glowing ever so slightly.

But before he did anything with his powers, Sally dropped her force field and yelled, “Get Delacourt. He’s making us
do this.”

Delacourt stared at her like she’d betrayed him in a fundamental way. He knew he was screwed now. He couldn’t manipulate Jack and Melanie and the other two had managed to slough off his influence at exactly the wrong time. He was about to lose. But when he saw Watson peek out from behind cover, he knew what had to be done before he died. He would take Watson out before being taken out himself. If that meant convincing him to run head first into the blast doors or it meant tricking him into not taking another breath, he had time to enact one last move before the young superhumans got to him. Luckily for him, the teenagers and the two young soldiers were confused by what either side was doing. It gave him the time he needed.

Alien Attack

The Grey Captain ordered the attack. It would be easier than she would’ve ever expected. Almost all of the humans had already perished.

Her men filed out through the crude blast doors of the bunker and took to the air in their mechanized suits.

The sight before her made her heart skip a beat. That human girl was suspended in the air with her male companion. But it was too late to rethink the plan. They had to act, in the way they should’ve acted the last time they’d faced off. The Captain wouldn’t tactically surrender this time.

She beckoned two of her men to follow her as she whooshed upwards at the youngsters. The rest of her men went after the remaining soldiers
. The human ground troops fought valiantly but they didn’t stand a chance.

Two of her men swooped down upon a single human soldier, tearing him in half easily. They both screamed out from the sheer overwhelming euphoria the kill gave them before moving on for more blood.
Several of the unarmed humans tried to make a break for it, but they were quickly overrun and dealt with.

The Captain used evasive maneuvers as a precaution as she approached the young superhumans. She’d fought against the girl before so she knew what to expect.

Only then did she notice the three humans standing on the ground, watching the mayhem happen all around them. One was older than the other two. They looked like they wanted to flee but she wasn’t about to allow that. She ordered one of her men to break off and deal with them.

He zipped towards them quickly and just as quickly exploded into wet squelchy pieces as a wave of heat washed over everyone.

The young male on the ground was panting and kneeling, as though he’d overexerted himself. Had he caused that explosion? Did he have a hidden weapon or was he special like the two youngsters hovering above her?

She spoke into her suit, ordering her troops. “There are three humans facing the base. I want everyone to converge upon their position. Handle them quickly.”

When her men hesitated a beat too long, she knew they were rattled by what the young man had done.

The young girl on the ground stepped forward and squinted in concentration. As she did that, two Grey soldiers were cleaved in half by an invisible blade. The young man with her strained again and another explosion erupted from him, knocking several of the Grey’s away, damaging some of their suits. The older human took a step backwards like he wanted to run.

The Grey Captain quickly refocused her energies. She still had to deal with the two superhumans above her.

Retreat

To Jack, it had all happened so fast. The troops on the ground had been swarmed and ripped to pieces by the Grey’s. Jack felt bad about disarming them moments earlier because they might’ve stood a chance if they still had their firepower
on them. But what choice did he have?

Three Grey’s saw them and broke away, heading in their direction, but the leader became distracted by Hank, Sally, and Delacourt and must’ve ordered one of the men to take care of them. That was when Jack saw what Hank was capable of. Hank looked at them and yelled a quick warning to find cover. Then his body swelled with energy and burst in a cascade of light and heat that came out of him in thick waves. Jack grabbed Melanie
and teleported away for just a couple of seconds; long enough for the wave to pass, before returning to the same spot.

They watched as Sally used a force field to slice through a couple of Grey’s the same way Scott used to be able to with his powers.

The leader of the Grey’s along with her companion kept rushing up at them, as determined as ever.

Jack poised to attack but he didn’t need to. Melanie’s hands started to swell with blood as her entire body quaked.

She turned to Jack and said through gritted teeth, “I think these are the same Grey’s that Dan and I defeated back at the farmhouse last month. I have some unfinished business here.”

Her hands hovered before her body as she concentrated. And then she clenched her fists. The companion of the Grey leader screamed out in an alien, animalistic gargle. Then his suit crumpled like a tin can being crushed. He fell out of the air, tumbled downwards, and hit the ground with a barely audible thud.

Jack grabbed a hold of Melanie before she lost concentration and started to start fall.

The Grey leader halted and scanned the ground quickly. It was now littered with the bodies of her people.

By her count, there were at least four enhanced humans and only about a half dozen of her people were left standing. She couldn’t win here. She had no choice but to retreat or surrender. She yelled, “Fall back. We can’t win this.”

A voice called out, “No. We already gave up once. I’d rather die than do so again.”

“I’m giving you an order. We need to regroup.”

Just then, something amazing happened. A small landing shuttle whooshed past them, heading towards the ground. It quickly landed in a plume of kicked up dirt.