Chapter 9: Showdown at Central Park
Central Park
In the grass of Central Park, one of the large alien wheels was lodged into the ground. The police had kept the general public back with a large barrier. Inside the barrier now was Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, Black Widow, and Falcon. Their mission was to destroy the large green gem in the center of the wheel. Once it was destroyed, the wheel would become inactive and Manhattan would be one step closer to being safe. Each of them stood near the wheel and took out their guns. The combined power of their weapons would surely shatter the gem.
"Don't you dare!" A voice shouted from behind them.
The four heroes turned around and saw four Slitheen standing a few yards behind them with laser guns. They must have just teleported there.
"Who are you working for?" Black Widow asked.
"A very wealthy woman." The first Slitheen said. "She has enough power to pay all of us to do this and we intend to collect our reward."
The first Slitheen then pressed a button on a small device that he wore on his wrist. Suddenly, the gem in the center of the wheel began to flash brightly at rapid speeds. Then, the ground beneath everyone's feet began to tremble. It was another earthquake like the one earlier in the day. The Slitheen had activated the wheels. If it was not stopped soon, Manhattan would be transported across the stars to an unknown location. The heroes tried to fight, but it was difficult due to the shaking ground. They didn't want to fire their bullets because they couldn't get a good aim. They thought that the bullets could accidentally hit civilians or even each other. Destroying the gem would be more challenging than they thought. The Slitheen were slightly more able to steady themselves. Something about their biology enabled them to remain relatively stable during the earthquake. So, the Slitheen began firing laser blasts at the heroes. They found it difficult to dodge and avoid the tiny explosions that the lasers made when they hit the ground. That's when Falcon thought of a brilliant idea.
They couldn't do anything from the ground. He would have to fly and fight from the sky, which was not shaking terribly. So, Flacon activated his wings and flew into the air, where he was finally able to steady himself. Then, he got a clear shot at the Slitheen and shot all of them, killing the entire group of large green aliens. Now, without Slitheen lasers flying about sporadically, he could get a clear shot of the gem in the center of the wheel. He soon fired at the glowing green gem, destroying it. Then, the shaking was reduced to a much more minimal level, but did not stop entirely. The ground was merely vibrating now, but the other heroes were able to remain standing upright.
"Excellent work." Black Widow said to Falcon
"Why is the city still shaking?" Mickey asked.
"One wheel is still activated." Martha said. "It must be the one in the Empire State Building. Daredevil, Scarlet Witch, and Clara haven't turned it off yet."
"They better do it soon." Falcon said. "With two wheels down, they can't teleport all of Manhattan, but they can transport some of it, which will fracture the city and lead to more problems."
"If the shaking gets any more intense, the skyscrapers are all going to start falling on the people below." Martha said.
"Let's just hope they destroy the gem in the next few minutes." Black Widow said.
