Chapter 11: Legion of Doom

"Gigan?"

"Yes, master."

"You have a new mission."

"What is it?"

"Find and terminate Battra. Burn his little regime to the ground. Do anything in your power to ensure that Battra does not form an alliance with the Kaiju Court."

"I understand master."

"Then go. Do not fail me again Gigan. There will be consequences."

Gigan's limbs were reattached and he left the facility to find Battra. But it would be Battra that finds him.

Gigan used his thrusters to fly over to Battra's arctic lair, but found it barren. No more Mutos, no more eggs, no more Battra. He walked around the frozen fortress and just as he began to move towards the exit Battra's shadowy form shifted in the corner.

It went by too fast. Gigan spun around towards the noise but just before he could fire his heat vision one of Battra's sharp talons pierced right through his visor and deep into his skull. Gigan's cybernetic eyes pulsed and then shut off. A limp Gigan collapsed to the ground with a screech.

.

Gigan slowly opened his eyes. His visor was badly damaged. A jagged hole was pierced right through the center of it. His vision and hearing were fuzzy but he did identify where he was. It was a stone building. Pyramid in shape and lit by torches. Gigan tried to move any of his limbs but found them bound by chains to the wall behind him. Just as Gigan began to tug on his chains he heard the loud tapping of claws on stone. He turns his head towards the sound and spots a blurry Battra walking towards him. But something is in his claws, a blue and grey chunk of machinery.

"A neural sync processor. So this is the great Gigan's leash, a crude remote control panel."

"A neural...neural what?"

"This little implant is what delivers a shock into your body. And now, you won't have to worry about that anymore. My little gift to you."

"What did you do to me?"

"A bit of surgery. Although crude and extremely dangerous, you seem to still be alive so it worked. I analyzed what this thing could do and found out that it linked directly into Apex's main network. All of their important documents and files...all of them now mine."

"YOU STABBED ME IN THE FACE BATTRA!"

"Just to remove the neural processor and to incapacitate you. But now you are no longer bound to the humans. No more will they abuse you and manipulate you to do their bidding."

Gigan's vision was starting to come back. He took a mental note of his surroundings. Judging by the shape and possible arrangement of the stones above him, he seems to be in some sort of Mayan like temple pyramid. Long vines descended from the ceiling onto the floor below. The soft sound of a waterfall rings behind him. Battra steps closer and looks at Gigan face to face. Battra drags one of his talons underneath Gigan's head.

"I have been looking for you for a while now Gigan, and now that I have you here, I want to...ask you something." Battra turns around and sets the neural link on a stone ledge next to him.

"I don't care what you want Battra, and once I am free of these bonds I will rip you apart!"

"But you are doing exactly what you are told. Aren't you? Tell me Gigan...what do you fear most?" Battra clacks his pincher.

"Nothing. I fear nothing. I am too strong and powerful to fear anything."

"But yet you are. Ironic that you are so powerful but still a pawn to the humans. Enslaved and bound to people who do nothing but use you and punish you. You fear them. You fear being punished. You can't lie to me. I have the audio of you screaming and begging for mercy to prove it."

Gigan starts to get vivid flashbacks to his torture sessions. The pain, the screaming. And he was powerless to stop it. Gigan hangs his head.

"And so I am right again. Listen to me, I set you free. You are no longer bound to those chains. They can't harm you; force you to do their dirty work. Join me, and together we will bring them pain. Show them just how powerful you really are."

Battra pushes a button and the chains holding Gigan release. Gigan lands on his arms and legs in front of Battra. He stands up. At this moment, Gigan could just slice Battra in half. But he doesn't. He lowers his arms. Battra watches them fall. Gigan steps forward, and slowly kneels to Battra. Battra's pincher clacks.

"Rise."

"What is my bidding, my master."

"Find where they build the jaegers. Destroy the factories. Show them you are no longer their pet."

"Yes. my master."

And so, the Legion of Doom has its first member.

.

After the death of Scylla, Godzilla told the remaining Kaiju spread across the globe to fall back to their base of operations in Africa. Just as Godzilla was helping construct the border wall around their camp, Rodan's fiery figure lands behind him.

"You said you wanted to speak to me?" Rodan bows.

"Yes. I have an assignment for you."

"And what is it Godzilla?"

"I need to know why there are no more Mutos in Battra's lair. Battra's lair is in the Siberian wasteland. Go there and scout around the area. Report back your findings. If there are humans, withdraw immediately. I can't risk you being killed. Good luck, my friend."

"Likewise. See you soon."

Rodan bows and then shoots into the sky. Fiery embers trail behind him. Soon, after a few hours of flying, the cold blast of air from Siberia hits him head on. He was not used to the bitter cold. Using his large eyes, he scans the tundra below for the large stone lined hole in the ice. After an hour of criss-crossing over vast spans of land, he spots it.

He lands a mile away from the opening. Rodan slowly begins to move towards the entrance. But just as he peers over into the hole, there is nothing. No Mutos, no Battra, no nothing.

"Huh. odd. I'll just go inside and check."

Rodan just manages to squeeze his bulky body into the entrance. He lands with a thud and the sound reverberates around the hollow room. He rights himself and glances around in the dark. Nothing at all. Just the smashed ruins of some icy furniture. Rodan turns and moves towards the door when Battra leaps out of the corner of the room and stabs Rodan in the back of his head. Rodan falls unconscious to the ground.

.

Rodan didn't wake up until a day after he was stabbed. He was chained up against a wall. Although his vision was blurry, he could spot where he was. An upward sloped roof made of stones. Just as Rodan had taken in what little info he could, he heard the unforgettable sound of Battra walking towards him.

"So nice to finally see you again, my fiery friend."

"Don't get hopeful to see me again after this Battra, now RELEASE ME FROM THESE CHAINS OR I WILL BREAK FREE AND RIP YOU APART!"

Battra grins. He steps forward again and slashes Rodan's face. Rodan screeches at him and tugs at his bonds. They don't budge.

"So harsh. All I wanted was some company in my lair. It gets lonely in here sometimes."

"I don't care what you want."

"But I care what you want. You see Rodan, I have been watching you for years now. Studying, learning, finding out just who you are. And you are someone who wants to be known. All I hear about in the human news is about Godzilla, Mothra, me, and my Mutos. But never once have I heard about Rodan."

"So?"

"So you crave attention, you crave a purpose. You have none. All you do is follow Godzilla's orders like a grunt and don't get an input on them. You don't get anything on their side."

"At least my side isn't flattening cities and murdering millions of innocent people."

"But you do. Remember when I sent two of my finest male Mutos after you? And you ripped that aircraft carrier in half when you fought them? How you slammed one Muto into the deck and caused that entire ship to sink? You used those people as props and because of your actions they all perished. When you emerged from your volcano in Fiji it erupted. Thousands of people died Rodan, and last time I checked you didn't bat an eye. Nor does Godzilla when he levels San Francisco for the 12th time. Your side is just as bad as ours."

"You are a bad guy Battra. You send Mutos out to kill me and my friends. You send out Mutos to kill humans and destroy their cities."

"There is no good or bad side in war. Only the winners and the losers. The history of the defeated is biased towards the winners. Every war mankind has fought has had a "good side" and a "bad side." The Nazi's killed 6 million jews, but the Allies killed just as many in the countries they fought in. There is no clean side in war Rodan, even though you label your side as good, you kill just as many civilians as we do."

Rodan stops to think. He has a point. Is there ever really a winner in wars? What defines a good or a bad person?

"What do you want from me Battra."

"I want you to listen to me. Godzilla is just as a tyrant and killer as me. It's not like my Mutos are soulless creatures. They have families, children. They have lives beyond war. And when their mates don't return from whatever city they were sent to harvest nuclear energy from they are devastated. There doesn't have to be this suffering. Godzilla wants to continue fighting me because that is all he is born to do. He doesn't care who he uses to achieve his goal of world domination. Even his mate Mothra is only being kept alive for her healing powers. He only keeps you around because you are too stupid to question him and you are able to fly."

Rodan begins to feel sad. He was right. When has Godzilla ever sat down and talked to him about his feelings? His life? Never. Godzilla doesn't care about him.

"But I am different Rodan. I care about who you are, not about what you do. And that is why I urge you to join me in this conflict. Together we can stop all of this devastation and bring the world back to normal. Together we can show the Kaiju, the Mutos, and humanity just what world peace is."

Battra pushes a button and the chains loosen. Rodan slumps to the floor. 100 different thoughts run through his mind. But one thing is certain. Battra knows the way. He knows what is wrong with the world and how to fix it. Only through him will there be peace.

Rodan stands back up, looks Battra in the eye, and then bows. Battra smiles. His plan is coming to fruition. Soon, the world will bow to his feet.

Soon.

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Authors note: And the Legion of Doom grows. Will Battra finally conquer the globe? We just have to wait and see. I finally got back in my rhythm and chapters will be released on their normal schedule again. As for the next one, it will be up soon. Stay safe guys. See y'all next week.

Random: Kinda hyped for Joji's new album coming out in July. I heard his new single "Gimme Love" today and it is a big vibe. Give it a listen if you can because trust me it is worth it.