Day 1: From the eyes of Marvel
Leonard M Rodriguez
Chapter 1
The screams were not those of voices that frequented his dreams…
Logan woke with a start, adrenaline coursing in his blood. Skin between his knuckles parted and rended as adamantium punched through. He analyzed the scenario available.
There was a steady pattern of bursts from small arms fire. There were screams of terror and confusion. A clatter of footsteps ran past his door. One of those running fell, as told from sound of an impact against the floor. The sound of scratching and scurrying hinted that the fallen resumed to return to their feet and continued to flee.
Wolverine moved to the door, and kicked the door from the hinges. Entering the hall, he spotted the body of a Xavier student. He quickly turned away; he couldn't let himself get distracted. Gun fire sounded from the left. He raced to the end of the corridor and turned right. Down the next corridor laid numerous bodies lining the walls. Rage consumed him; he could not focus on who was dead.
Through a door on the left side, a student sprinted out. The student was only half way across the hallway, when the roar of automatic gunfire echoed through the hall. The student's back exploded as a hail of gun fire caught the teen in mid-stride. Three figures exited the room the student had fled from.
One each looked down a direction of the hallway, with the third facing the other side of the hallway. One looked directly upon Logan as he brought his claws to shield his face. In the few seconds it took to close the distance, it seemed an eon. The figure facing Wolverine brought its weapon to eye level and opened fire. The figure facing the downed student fired several rounds into the student's corpse. The third figure covered the other direction.
The two figures turned in unison and joined the one firing upon the inbound mutant. With three automatic weapons firing upon him, Logan felt his skin burn as rounds punched his body. As the figures emptied their magazines, each deftly reloaded without the slightest hesitation. None of the figures showed any hesitation, no retreat, no fear…
Wolverine brought his right claw back handed across the head of the figure on the right. The figure dropped and slumped against the wall, bleeding from the head wound. The remaining two seemed unphased by the attack on their ally with the further of the two reloading with mechanical precision. The closer of the two lunged with a bayonet attached under the weapon's barrel.
Logan ducked to the left as the bayonet sliced his right cheek. He brought his right claw into the bayoneter's stomach and wrenched his hand upwards with his claw exiting over the attacker's right shoulder.
The remaining attacker coolly leveled its fire-arm, and fired. At that range, Wolverine felt each shot enter his chest. He stepped forward on his left foot and delivered a back-handed slash to the shooter's neck area. The attacker's head separated and fell along-side its body.
Logan let a deep breath out, and then felt a horrible pain rip through his back. He turned his head to his left. The first attacker was back on its feet. A bayoneted weapon was thrust into Wolverine's back, behind his left lung.
The figures each had the same head apparel. At the eye level was the only sign of a helmet. Circling the entire eye level was a drab grey armor three inches in height. At the area where eyes would presumably be was a single black panel recessed into the surrounding armor. At the top of the armor band was a loose cloth. The cloth was fastened in place and covered the crown of the head. From hook-like knobs on the bottom of the armored band hung another cloth. The cloth covered all the area below the armor band to the level of the collar bone.
The attacker had three clear rending wounds. One ran along the central black head panel. Sparks jutted and spewed from this cut. Two cuts had shredded the lower cloth except a triangular section hanging off the left side of the armored band. Two cuts had shredded the cloth hood except a triangular section hanging off the left side of the head band. Crimson blood flowed from the wound, and had coated the face. The chin and nose were crumbled as those sections had absorbed the force of the adamantium claws. The skin was a drab brown-gray color, and the face was different in another way. From the corners of its mouth, four enlarged canine teeth jutted out of the mouth. The lips were pushed away as the teeth pointed from the mouth. The top teeth, on the right side, were positioned up and rightward. The left upper, pushed upward and left to continue the direction. The lower lip was the flip image of the upper.
The two fighters roared. They spun, and a snap sounded beneath the roaring. As they left the spin the attacker brought its weapon back up.
Wolverine brought his right fist up to the attacker's neck, as shots tore into his torso. He punched his claws through the neck section. The attacker writhed and bucked as it slowly choked to death on its own blood. Logan felt his chest burn with impacts. The attacker still held down the trigger as it died.
The slump of its body marked the assailant's death. A steady clicking was heard from the fire-arm, as the trigger was still held down. As the blades that held the body were withdrawn, the body crumbled to the floor.
Reaching as far back as he could, Wolverine could not remove the section of bayonet buried into his flesh. While his wounds started to heal, an explosion rumbled through the hallway. He braced himself and moved forward to locate other survivors….
The hostiles had the underground heavily defended. Cyclops was not going to allow these murderers to get to Cerebro. He was not going to forget the sight he saw only seconds ago.
These soldiers were nothing to take lightly. Scott remembered as dozens of the warriors had swarmed Storm. Storm held her own fine until the hallways were choked with the assailants. He was occupied with several attacking him, and turned to see only a huddle stabbing Storm relentlessly. As soon as he prepared to fire upon the mass, the assailants stood and charged him. Storm's body laid, headless, in the wake of the assailant's attack.
Cyclops, fueled by rage, fired upon the charging horde…
As he opened his eyes, charred and burned bodies lined the hall. A figure ran around the corner into the hallway. He quickly prepared to fire again, but recognized the hunched gait.
Scott and Logan stood face to face. Both were silent as both had so much to say and ask.
"They have locked themselves in the underground, probably after Cerebro," informed Scott.
"Got all the way here on your own? I'm impressed," muttered Logan.
"Enough. I did not get here alone… not until now…" replied Cyclops while looking to the pile of corpses he had made.
"Then we shouldn't waste anymore time," grunted Wolverine as he plunged his claws into the armored elevator door.
Splitting the doors, the doors were pulled apart until there was enough room to squeeze in. Pushing his head through, he checked the elevator shaft. The hostiles had severed the elevator cables which left the elevator stranded at the bottom of the shaft. Wolverine reached back and tapped the Cyclops' shoulder.
"We don't want any surprises down there," advised Logan as they traded spots. Scott pushed his head through and fired a single shot down the elevator shaft. Several explosions echoed through the shaft.
"Alright, going down," Cyclops whispered while starting to climb down the shaft.
After a few moments, a soft knocking was heard in the shaft. Wolverine turned and leapt down the shaft. He and Scott stood within a hallway that attached to the main underground corridor.
Both mutants crouched against the wall closest to the entrance to Cerebro. Logan crouched low to the corner. He slowly pushed his claws out of his fists and pushed his blades to the corner and focused on the reflection upon his blades. No more than a centimeter of his blades had gone around the corner before a shot was fired. His arm was knocked back as a single high powered round struck one of the claws. Examining his left most claws, there was a small dimple along its blade edge.
Scott moved to the opposing wall and slid along towards the central hall. He slid until he saw a part of the far wall of the central hall and then turned to his team mate. Both nodded and the sound of full deployed claws whispered through the hallways.
Cyclops fired a shot into the wall of the central hall. As a chunk of wall was blasted into a shower of debris, Wolverine turned into the main hall, as the other mutant fired overhead towards the end of the hall.
The cloud of debris had created a suitable smoke screen with which the two X-Men made their attack. Instantly Logan felt hundreds of shots enter his body and could only wince as he felt chunks of his flesh tear from his body. In the mere seconds since he made his advance, he cleared the makeshift smokescreen.
The opposition was now visible. There had to be at least seven standing, and five kneeling. Two bodies lied towards the center of their line, devastated by Cyclops' barrage. Some held the exact same weapon seen before, but most were using versions that appeared slightly different. One in particular drew Logan's attention: one soldier standing in the middle. The soldier stood side-ways with its right foot forward and the left turned slightly. Its arm was up at shoulder level and pointed at him. The soldier held the hostiles' standard rifle but with a rack fastened to the top. The foe rested it on its shoulders and behind the head.
Wolverine instantly juked to his left. The screech of the rocket firing drowned amongst the sound of munitions fire. He felt the rockets stabilizing fin slice against his bicep, then heard it detonate further down the hall. He hoped that Scott was not hit, but hoping was all he could do at the moment.
He was almost within range of his ability to wield his blades effectively. He was bearing down on the left flank as he felt heat pass over him. A standing soldier, whom had its weapon poised to fire upon him, fell to the floor. His head had been blasted away.
Wolverine smirked; Cyclops was still fighting. Two standing and two kneeling had weapons drawn onto the inbound mutant. Further down the defensive line, four standing and three kneeling returned fire down the hall.
The clawed mutant leaped towards the further left of the kneeling soldiers. Landing upon the shoulders of the soldier, he thrust his right claw down into the soldier's skull. He then pushed off of his victim's shoulders towards the standing soldier furthest to the left. This one held a variant of the standard weapon seen so often. It appeared to be a carbine version of the attackers' standard rifle. The barrel and frame was shorter and more compact, suiting it for close quarters combat. As shots from this rifle entered into him, Logan grimaced as he landed in front of the standing soldier. He quickly drew his right fist across the foe's abdomen, cutting the body in two.
Turning toward the line of soldiers, Wolverine next faced two directly in front. Behind them, he saw that the rest still firing down the corridor. The two on the furthest end were bathed in energy beams and fell.
The two foes carried the same weapon that his just previous victim used. Both fired upon Wolverine's torso. The soldier on the right, who had been kneeling earlier, lunged with a bayonet attached to its weapon. Logan swung low to the right. Thrusting up under the attackers lunge, he lifted the would-be bayonetter into its accomplice. After smashing the two against the Cerebro door, he punched both of his fists into the soldiers. His claws pushed through the two bodies stapling the two soldiers together against the Cerebro door. He then drew both blades away from each other in opposing directions. Two bodies fell to the floor in a heap.
Wolverine then turned towards the next threat along the line. The soldier with the rocket launcher attached to its rifle stood firing another shot down the hall. The other two behind the hostile appeared to be taken down also by another salvo from Cyclops. Though the one that had been kneeling was still moving though and was reaching for its weapon. This survivor would have to be killed right after the rocket wielder, as these things fought with every breath in their body.
Wolverine charged towards the soldier holding the rocket-moded rifle. Thankfully, only this rocket user and the stubborn survivor remained fighting. As he was within blade range, the soldier wheeled off towards the right. Logan felt as though a sledgehammer hit him in the face. His vision cleared to see the soldier pointing its rocket modified rifle directly at his head. The targeted mutant lunged forward, drawing his right claw up into the bottom of the modified rifle. The parts falling as the soldier discarded the launcher, the soldier moved to flank. Wincing as his ribs were struck by the evasive foe, Wolverine turned to see the soldier kick up a discarded carbine into its hands. The carbine rose to point directly at Logan's eyes. As the carbine fired, the shot struck across his head. Instantly after, the soldier was pummeled with energy shots.
Wolverine turned to see Cyclops standing no further than a meter away.
"That one was definitely mine," groaned Scott. He then fired a shot into the lingering survivor that was reaching for its weapon. The body fell limp.
Scott was covered in his own blood. He clutched at his left shoulder, and limped slightly. He had no doubt been hit several times, and yet still stood. Logan saw no need to argue who the kill belonged to; Scott had no doubt absorbed the brunt of the counter attack.
"We should check them over. Maybe one has a medical kit or something that could keep me going," advised Cyclops as he moved closer towards the Cerebro door.
"This really is a bad idea to not find somewhere for you to re—"
They missed one. The soldier that had been kneeling in front of the soldier that was using the rocket launcher was lying face down atop a hostile's rifle moded with a longer barrel. The soldier lifted itself with its left hand, and held a dagger in its right. As the soldier screamed loudly, the dagger was plunged into Cyclops' foot. Wolverine was quickly atop the soldier stabbing it repeatedly, when he saw that the soldier had pressed a button on the end of the grip of the dagger. The soldier's scream was deafened by the roar of an explosion….
Chapter 2
The sound of thunder woke Corporal Jerrison. Jerrison quickly looked around to see if any had noticed that he was asleep. Sure that none had noticed him he sat up at his post.
"Enjoy your nap Corporal?" asked Captain James from behind
Jarrison did not respond, just looked downward.
"We are all bored. No one else but you has fallen asleep though. You will not do so again. Understood?" berated James.
Jarrison sat straight at his post. "Understood, sir!"
From his post at the radar station, Jerrison watched as rain pelted the windows of the command bridge. Rubbing his eyes, Jerrison gloomed. The Helicarrier could be a boring place when it did not have an exact assignment.
Suddenly, the entire vessel shook violently. Alarms and warnings blared.
"Lieutenant Mye, what just happened?" barked James towards the Comm. Station.
"I do not know yet… It seems we have been hit," Mye responded. Her face showed the same confusion as everyone else on the bridge.
"Was it lightning? We are supposed to be at operating distance away from that storm…" James said as he looked towards Warrant Officer Stries who was at the helm.
"Sir!" Mye shouted, turning to face the captain, her face stricken with worry. "We have reports of small arms fire from around the perimeter of the Helicarrier."
"Have all forces take up arms!" ordered James. Captain James strode right towards Jerrison. "You had better hope…"
Jerrison was already checking the previous readings.
"Radar never detected a thing!" defended Jerrison. "The records showed no contacts at even the longest range, let alone as close as small arms could reach."
An additional shock rocked through the Helicarrier. "Sir! Something has collided near the second main…" started Mye. Several more violent shocks were felt.
"What the hell is hitting us?" bellowed James.
Jerrison reviewed every scan from the radar, shrugging and shaking his head.
"Lieutenant Mye, inform all forces on board to take combat protocols. I want to know what the hell is attacking us!" ordered James.
Chapter 3
Lance Corporal Antone had no idea what he was shooting at. Master Sergeant Yan had just told him to fire upon the opposing end of the hangar. Antone poked his rifle over the crate he was using as cover. Antone held down the trigger, spraying shots over the tops of containers that lined the hangar. Antone turned to his right to see another SHIELD trooper taking cover across the maintenance path.
"What are we shooting at?" shouted Antone over the sound of gunfire.
"How the hell should I know?" the soldier across from him shouted back. The man leaned forward and pointed his rifle around the edge down the maintenance path. The troop fired a few rounds down, when a shot was returned. The hands that held the rifle burst into a cloud of blood. The troop across from Antone writhed about screaming hysterically, blood gushing from his hands and wrists. Antone recoiled in horror as he watched the man bleed to death.
A hail of gunfire echoed down the path. Master Sergeant Yan slid up the path and taking cover next to Antone. Yan had been shot in his left shoulder.
"We are falling back! Follow me! We have to get the hell out of this hangar! You move first, I am right behind you!" Yan yelled at Antone. Yan gripped Antone's shoulder, and stood up with him. Yan pushed Antone out in the path, following directly behind him. As they ran away from the opposing side, Yan screamed in pain. Antone turned to see shots punching through Yan's body as he stood.
"RUN YOU BASTARD! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" yelled Yan as his body was filled with holes.
Antone sprinted down the path, and turned at the wall at the back of the hangar. Antone wanted to lie down and rest, but the two SHIELD troopers next to him had a better idea. The dragged him out of the exit into a connecting corridor.
"I have no idea about anything other than that we are to get down to the corridor junction 7 block! Now let's get the hell out of here!" explained the closest of the troops to Anton. The three of them sprinted down the halls, turning down what seemed to be random corridors. Anton turned his head back often to see if they were being followed. He still had not seen what his foe was, but he felt like they were ever present. It felt like running from a ghost. They slowed to a door in their corridor. The lights flickered slightly through the window of the door.
"Ok….ok… this is the last hall… we just have to get down here and we are at block 7. Let's collect our breaths…reload…"explained the previously silent trooper through pants of breath. Antone reloaded and swallowed. Antone saw through the window that the light must have been damaged, as it flicked on and off randomly. The first trooper who had spoken to Antone took point, while Antone and the other took his flank. They opened the corridor door. The lights flickered back on.
The blood in Antone's veins seemed to freeze. Down the hall, near the exit door, stood four figures; the figures turned towards them, bearing weapons towards them. The panels on the front of the figures' eye sections felt as though they could see right through him.
The lights flickered back out. Muzzle flashes broke the darkness, casting ghastly images of those firing the weapons. The light from the hall Antone and others came from cast a shadow upon the ground. The shadow of the troop taking point shook violently. Antone turned and sprinted away. Alongside him sprinted the other troop. The sound of gun fire echoed through the hallway. Antone and his fellow SHIELD reached a fork and ran in opposing directions. Antone continued to sprint, turning down random corridors. He was not sure when he stopped, but he knew it was a bad idea. Antone opened his eyes, and tried to quiet his breathing. His heart stopped as he heard running steps coming down the hall. Antone had hid in a nearby maintenance closet, and saw as the troop he had separated from sprint down the hall past Antone. Shots echoed down the hall, and Antone saw several of the unknown hostiles sprint down the hall past Antone.
Antone let out the breath he had not known he was holding. The unknown attackers had not noticed him. Antone thought that maybe some luck was being blessed upon him. He then noticed he still held his rifle. Antone remembered as he saw so many people had been cut down. He felt sick; he was not lucky. He was a coward. People had died while he ran for his life. Antone tensed himself and raised his weapon back to his hands. This would be the only time he would be a coward.
As he nudged towards the corridor, Antone heard footsteps coming down the hall. Along with the sounds of footsteps were whispers in a foreign language. Antone, assured of the faction these voices belonged to, readied himself. Springing back into the hallway, Antone quickly saw the same kind of "faces" as he saw in that dark hall. Antone held the trigger and directed shots towards all the hostiles he saw. It was not long before his rifle protested with the clicks of an empty chamber.
Before him stood several bodies, each immobile. Antone ejected his rifle's magazine and reached for another on his vest. Antone turned to face the other direction of the hallway. In front of him stood another of the unknown attackers with a smaller version of the rifle used by the hostiles. Antone stumbled and hurried to load his rifle. As he looked back up towards the new foe, he quickly ducked. The foe had lunged its carbine towards Antone's head with a blade affixed under the barrel. Heart beating louder than he had ever heard it, Antone slammed the butt of his rifle against the ribs of the attacker. Stepping aside as the attacker doubled past, Antone brought his rifle up. The body fell in a hail of shots, landing in a pool of its blood.
Antone turned and sprinted to the end of the hall. Turning blindly to the right at the fork, Antone felt his rifle ripped from his hand. It felt as though he were falling down a mountain. The motion stopped as he was slammed against a wall. Antone opened his eyes to see another attacker's 'eyes'. Antone could see the terror in his own eyes with the reflection of the black panel. He watched as a firearm was lifted to his face…
Chapter 4
Staff Sergeant Roy yelled over the sound of rain striking the hangar ceiling.
"Alright. We have no idea what these forces are, but we are sure they do not like us. From what I am told, we are not the only ones being attacked…"
Sergeant Isaac's thoughts trailed from Roy's briefing. Isaac was well aware of the scenario at hand. He had just fallen back from the Second Main Generator room. The enemy had knocked out the Second Main Generator, which crippled the Second Main Rotor. Now the enemy was headed for the Third Main Generator. The Helicarrier was limping badly. Isaac straightened up. If the enemy destroyed the Third Main Generator the Helicarrier would be dead in the air. It would eventually fall from the sky. Isaac snapped back to the present.
"And we will kick their asses of this ship!"
All of the SHIELDS roared out with agreement.
Shots rang through the hangar. It was rather ironic how the organization of this briefing erupted into chaos.
Isaac shepparded as many SHIELDS as he could towards their defense posts. Rainfall dropped against them as they took positions defending the entrance to the generator room. Several other SHIELDS had taken positions as well. Isaac gripped his rifle tightly; this would be the turning point.
The SHIELD next to Isaac opened fire. Watching to see where the fire was directed. Isaac spotted hostiles near the hangar where the SHIELDS had been not too long ago. Apparently, other SHIELDs had spotted hostiles as well. Gunfire erupted all around as combatants on either side exchanged shots.
Isaac looked up from cover and spotted three hostiles directly ahead, behind some pipe-work. Isaac aimed between the pipes and fired. A body slumped from behind the pipes. Ducking right as the two remaining hostiles returned fire, the SHIELD to Isaac's right leapt from cover. The SHIELD fired upon the pipes, as Isaac reloaded. Isaac stood again to see a flash in the corner of his eye. Dropping back behind cover, Isaac watched as the SHIELD beside him fell to the floor headless.
"Shit! Shit!" swore Isaac as he fumbled for his comm. ear piece. "Sniper tam, I have a sniper at uh…I believe the border of positions C and D, uh… overlooking line 1."
"I don't...ah yes. There h'is Nice spot too. Ok. Target down," came back the response.
Isaac looked from his position at D to the right towards Position E. A group of SHIELDs were exchanging fire with a group of hostiles including the original two Isaac had spotted. Looking over cover, the hostiles could be seen moving from cover to cover towards Position E.
The hostiles' clothing whipped and flailed with the storm's winds. The clothing was loose fitting, but secured tightly in certain sections of the body. The shoulders, elbows, ankles, and forearms were secured by armor. The chest was secured by an open combat vest. The thighs seemed predominate and thicker compared to proportions. Across the cloth on the right thigh showed a black emblem resembling a web. Darting from cover to cover, the hostiles looked like apparitions.
A SHIELD at Position E primed a grenade and threw it. Headed towards the advancing hostiles, surprisingly, the grenade was kicked from the air. The SHIELDs did not have time to get cover from the returning grenade. The hostile that leaped to intercept the grenade, lost its footing when landing on the slick surface. Isaac brought his sights upon the recovering hostile and fired.
The hostile's body fell limp, while its allies fired upon Isaac's position. Isaac "parascoped" his rifle over his cover and fired. His arms flung backwards with the rifle launching from his hands. The rifle lied in parts. The hostiles had been very accurate to hit his rifle, small of a target that it was. A loud groan sounded overhead.
The storm above and the chaos around him made it difficult for Isaac to discern what was in the air above him. What he could make out were two triangular wings attached on either side of an elongated rhombus shaped hull. The wings pivoted downward; directed streams of thrust arching from within the wings. A hatch on the narrow end of the hull started to open. Its wings pivoted in reverse directions causing the craft to rotate. There was an armored canopy atop a rounded extension. On either side of the extension was a single large semi-sphere. From both semi-spheres protruded a set of three barrels. Both sets of barrels started to spin.
Isaac got down as quickly as he could. As he pressed himself as low against the cover as he could, the vehicle let out a droning hum. Thousands of holes were being shot into the outside wall of the bunker holding the generator. The droning hum stopped, and the groan faded out. Isaac scurried out of cover and down the bunker stairs. Inside the generator bunker, Isaac jumped over a defensive barricade. This was Line 2 and if it were overwhelmed then…the defense would just be a mob defending the generator itself. A fellow SHIELD behind the barricade handed Isaac a rifle.
There were only three ways inside, each being a staircase that led up out of the bunker. Every SHIELD covered an assigned entrance, intent upon mowing down all who enter. Looking around, Isaac saw that quite a few SHIELDs had made it to Line 2. Mouth becoming dry, Isaac wondered why no hostiles had tried coming down the stairs. He then noticed the other SHIELDs had gas masks on. Spotting a near-by crate marked with a gas mask emblem, Isaac slid over to it quickly. The box had only one mask and two additional filters left. Isaac placed the mask over his face and pocketed the two filters. Returning to his position Isaac heard the rasping of his own breath. The hostiles had still not made any attacks on this position yet. Isaac slowed his breathing; he wanted to be ready when the hostiles did make their move.
Small canisters fell down the three sets of stairs. An antsy SHIELD fired upon the small drums. Another SHIELD restrained the one consumed with panic. The canisters sprayed a clear liquid that dissipated into the air. All the SHIELDs took cover behind their barricades. The canisters stopped spraying, and simply lied upon the ground. Isaac, along with several SHIELDs, peeked over their barricades. The canisters lied upon the ground for what seemed like hours. A single crack appeared along the side of each canister.
The air in the bunker ignited. The filter at the front of Isaac's mask burst into flames. Fire licked at his neck and ears as he flailed to remove his mask. As the mask was removed Isaac gasped as hot air traveled down his wind-pipe. He fell to his knees, clasping at his chest. His vision became clouded as he saw SHIELDs fall. Isaac turned towards the stairs as several hostiles streamed in. The hostiles fired upon the confused SHIELDs…
Chapter 5
Nick Fury stormed into the SHIELD command center. Officers darted to and fro in a mad dash. Fury stood at the central podium and drew his pistol. After the shot, everyone in the command center turned towards Nick Fury who had just fired a round into the ceiling.
"Everyone here seems to know what is going on except me. Anyone care to explain?" asked Fury.
Instantly, a dozen voices competed to be heard. Fury again fired a shot into the ceiling.
"One at a time!" demanded Fury.
Captain America strode forward. "At 0300 hours, our planet came under attack by unknown forces. Not Skrull, not Kree, nothing we have ever seen. These forces have already been highly destructive…"
"How destructive?" interrupted Fury.
"They have already killed an estimated 20 million people and an estimated 60 supers…" responded a voice from the crowd.
"Our military capacity?" asked Fury.
A commander in the crowd spoke up. "Ground forces at 83%, air at 57%, sea at 87%...and space at below 10%."
Nick Fury rubbed his brow. A large sum of money and resources were spent on a new SHIELD space fleet. There was a lot of controversy about the spending for such a fleet.
"What is the word on what remains of our space fleet? And did we do anything to their fleet?" hoped Fury.
"All of our space carriers were destroyed… so far when we made contact with the flagship, we were told that it and a handful of cruisers were left and were fleeing the combat area. From what we have gathered, we only destroyed a few of their light drop ships, and inflicted moderate damage to one of their cruisers," explained a commander in the crowd.
No matter how you looked at it, the money spent on the space fleet was a complete waste.
Fury rubbed his brow further, "Where did our fleet flee to?"
"They readied to leave system…something about seeking aid," answered a voice in the crowd.
"Seeing as Thor was aboard that capital ship, we lost one of an important combatant for a while," added another voice.
Fury slammed his fist into the podium. "So what are they doing now? And just what the hell are we doing to stop them?"
"Currently, from gathered Intel, 'they' are launching coordinated attacks against several…" A different voice interrupted, "No, latest observations show that 'they' have packed up and moved on. Twelve of the fifteen production centers have been leveled."
"Okay, now what have 'they' destroyed?" bellowed Fury.
"Twelve of fifteen vital production facilities around the globe…" came an answer.
"And the Helicarrier…" responded another.
"Xavier Mansion appears to have been destroyed… Stark and Fantastic Tower were attacked, but held up," was added.
Fury calmed himself as best he could, "So what are we doing?"
For a while, there was nothing but silence, but finally a tech officer spoke up. "Well, we have concluded that these hostiles are using a high speed air fortress to move their forces so rapidly. We are trying to track its destinations, but it's equipped with some stealth…" The tech officer listened into their earpiece. "We have a fix on where their Air fortress is headed! It's vectoring towards our position! ETA: 16 minutes!"
Chapter 6
Captain America stepped outside of the SHIELD base's central courtyard. SHIELD was already setting up a fortified defense. Anti-air batteries pointed to the sky; SHIELD armor was positioned defensively.
Hawkeye strode towards Captain America. "It seems SHIELD is taking a personal approach towards all this…" commented Hawkeye.
"I have noticed. SHIELD wants a victory without a lot of help from meta humans," responded Captain America.
"Can't say I disapprove. Militaries all over want to decrease their dependency on us," mused Hawkeye.
Captain America said nothing, simply watched as SHIELD tightened their defenses.
"I guess it just means less action from us…go on with our own lives…" finished Hawkeye as he departed.
"ETA: 4 minutes. All personal to combat positions," blared the SHIELD base PA.
Troops scattered to and from their destinations. Captain America walked towards the nearest gun installations. Everyone's nerves boiled as minutes faded away.
The PA again sounded, "ETA: 60 seconds."
The sky was clear with some cloud cover higher beyond AA range. From the clouds fell thousands of small drums. Smaller than a two liter bottle, the sky filled with drums. Anti-air fire erupted. Drum after drum exploded into an orange mist. Something was wrong; these pods only exploded into a harmless liquid? Captain America watched as a pod hit the ground, gushing into a small orange geyser.
As the orange liquid settled upon the ground, billowing plumes of orange smoke filled the air. Captain America shouted towards the nearest comm. relay, "Hold AA fire! We are spreading a smokescreen!" Captain America turned and saw Hawkeye running towards AA turrets nearby.
"We are not getting through!" shouted a SHIELD from the comm relay. "That shit is blocking communications too! The forward AAs are still firing!"
Captain America could barely see the first defense line through the smokescreen. The other AA turrets outside of the smokescreen no longer fired upon the falling drums, instead, letting them fall to the ground. The drums exploded upon impact, but the resulting smokescreens were not as spread out. Several SHIELDs were already setting up large fan units.
"New targets!" cried the comm. PA. "Cease fire on first targets. Instead target new threat."
Captain America looked and saw the new threat. Triangular pyramids, being at least a meter wide, filled the sky. Anti Air batteries fired, but these objects had come to close. The pyramids must have been dropped directly after the smoke drums. The chaos caused by the unusual smokescreen let these pyramid objects go largely unnoticed. As the pyramids struck targets, green fireballs consumed SHIELD forces. Anti Air guns, armor, and bunkers were engulfed in green fire. Turrets burned and belched out green clouds as they were struck.
The PA sounded again, panic and interference being clear "Radiation levels sky rocketing! All forces on defensive lines A-E, fall back!"
Captain America had not noticed till now, but he was surrounded by the orange smoke. He turned and sprinted towards where the first defensive line had been. There was no sense expending the lives of the confused forces at the front.
It was not long before the sound of small arms fire was heard. Captain America had reached a set of Anti Air batteries. Inside each, the gunners had been mauled. The bodies of the gunners were composed into a gore that coated the inside of each bunker. Captain America's eyes began to water as radiation floated around him. If every crew would be found in the same fate, it would be a waste to locate survivors. Even if any had survived, they would probably be very traumatized.
Turning from the AA batteries, Captain America sprinted back towards SHIELD HQ. As he closed in, sounds of small arms fire surrounded him. Then, Captain America hit a small gap in the smokescreen. Standing no more than a foot away was an unfamiliar person.
The figure was dressed in a brown-grey uniform, with vital points (such as shoulders and elbows) covered by a dark armor. The face was concealed behind a cloth that hung from a thick metal band circling the head. The unknown figure held a rifle which was being raised at Captain America.
Ducking behind his shield, Captain America felt his shield reverberate from shot impacts. Colliding with the hostile unknown, Captain America raised his shield up over his own head. With this maneuver, the hostile was launched behind Captain America. Whipping around to finish his foe, America stopped. The smokescreen hid the opponent from view. Rounds started hitting Captain America in the legs. America turned and continued quickly towards SHIELD HQ. While he could not see his opponent, clearly his opponent could see him.
Captain America charged towards SHIELD HQ, stumbling slightly as he stepped outside of the smokescreen. Before him lied the SHIELD forces, combating many of the new foes. The nearest skirmish had three SHIELDs behind a destroyed SHIELD tank being fired upon.
Four hostiles were firing upon the SHIELDS, and advancing steadily. Captain America sprinted towards the hostiles. Two turned as he approached, each holding the familiar rifle seen before. Both hostiles fired upon Captain America as he crouched behind his shield. Drawing his shield to his right, Captain America delivered a left hook across the face of the nearest hostile. The attack sent the hostile sprawling back. The other two previously distracted hostiles joined the third in firing upon Captain America.
As soon as the three hostiles started firing upon Captain America, he ducked behind his shield. Holding the shield in his right hand, America side-stepped towards the other hostiles. Shots pounded into his legs as he maneuvered. Captain America slammed his shield into the torso of the nearest of the three. As that hostile fell backward, America crouched into a low turn. Raising his shield, America hammered an uppercut into the next hostiles' jaw. The last standing hostile continued to fire upon Captain America as he spun. Spinning low again, Captain America grinned as the hostile backpedaled so it would not meet the same fate as the last hostile. Out of the lowest and last arc of his swing, Captain America flung his shield. The shield struck the hostile in the neck with a sickening shattering sound. One of the previously downed hostiles fired upon America's back.
Captain America whipped around and charged his attacker. Moving in on the hostile's right side, America ripped the hostile's rifle away with his right hand. Spinning counter clockwise, America then drove his left elbow into the side of the hostile's head. Pointing the confiscated rifle at the fallen hostile, America sprayed into the attacker. Fire sounded from his left, America turned to see another fallen hostile recovering. Before the hostile could fire more shots, the SHIELDs taking cover cut the hostile down in gunfire.
Dropping the rifle, America turned to retrieve his thrown shield. One final hostile tried to return to its feet. Captain America struck the hostile in its shoulder. The hostile fell limp, yet its chest continued to move with breathing. Captain America slung the unconscious foe over his shoulder. The hostile that had been struck with America's thrown shield did not stir at all. Captain America retrieved his shield next a pool of blood coming from the fallen hostile's throat.
Surveying the scenario, it was clear the hostiles had halted their advance. The hostiles had done a significant amount of damage though. Fans were being set up to blow away the smokescreen, and revealed the grisly remains.
The ground was littered with bodies. The bodies of the hostiles lied beside SHIELD carcasses. Armor and tanks billowed smoke and fire as they lay in burning remains. Turrets and stations were lined with bloodied remains.
In the rapid attack by the enemy, SHIELD had been pushed to the wall. Most of the SHIELD's defenses had been knocked out. Captain America felt a lot of guilt that he had not been too helpful against this attack.
The PA sounded again "Enemy air carrier circling. Return ETA: 32 minutes!"
Captain America looked towards the setting sun. It was going to be a long night.