Episode Nineteen: The Steel Foe
The best thing Solomon could do for the Lunises on the way back from the space station was give them privacy. It was all he could think to do at the moment. The loss was still too fresh to help any more than that. Solomon had merely given them a room to be alone in. They had taken what was left of the robot, shut the door, and Solomon hadn't heard a peep from them since.
Within the first hour of the trip back, Solomon wondered why his men were here in the first place. He was certainly grateful, but he had told them notto come.
Solomon checked the G3 database. All orders were cataloged here, and the order from the highest-ranking agent took priority. Since they had gotten Solomon's message from the station, they had gotten his orders to stay away. He was the highest-ranking member of G3, and it didn't seemlike his agents had suddenly become rebellious. They were listening to him now.
He saw, to his astonishment, that someone had countermanded his orders and placed a new direction to rescue him. There was no identity on the mandate; merely that it was higher.
Solomon's superior was the only one who could have done this. Solomon was…touched. He had always assumed his superior was the greater one, the master, the founder of G3. He considered himself expendable in comparison. He knew his superior valued secrecy over almost everything, even letting Steel have that metal to keep G3 hidden. And yet, his superior had practically just revealed himself to the entirety of G3 to save Solomon.
They would be speaking when Solomon returned to HQ.
For now, though, Solomon had to figure out what to do with the mess he had caused by falling into trouble. Lance and Ilana were shattered. Lance had already taken his rage out on the station—was his hunger for destruction satisfied, or would he cause more damage on earth? Solomon knew neither of the Lunises was stupid or cruel, but they had occasionally shown carelessness in what they destroyed. When Solomon had first seen them transform at Sherman Mall, they had torn apart the building in their attempts to get out. Ilana was the one who somewhat controlled Lance, but she was too distressed to handle him.
The robot, as far as Solomon could tell, was the one that guided them. It was the robot that made them fit in on earth. It had enrolled them in Sherman High School, bought their house, handled their files to blend them in, kept watch over them, and probably other things as well. When Steel had been watching the Lunises in their everyday teenage life, it was the robot's holograms that had gotten the general off the scent. Without the robot, the Lunises would be much more in danger, much more likely to be revealed, and out of control. It would be better if they stayed with G3.
Of course, they would instinctively slap away such an offer. But then again, they had been willing to help Solomon get off the station. Would they let him help in return? Perhaps they would want a safer place to stay after their robot was gone?
…And perhaps Solomon's superior would be able to do something to revive the robot.
Solomon knew that he shouldn't put such hope in that. This wasn't a technology problem—this was something wrong with power itself.That creature had completely detrained the station, permanently. He had to face the facts; the robot was gone. There was no Titan to defend earth. G3 had powerful weaponry, yet they still didn't stand a chance alone against the creatures. Even if they managed to defeat one, they would take heavy losses doing so, and another monster would come eventually, before they could recover.
This was all Solomon's fault.
He had gotten into trouble in the space station. He had called for help to Lance, Ilana, and their robot. Their robot was destroyed, forever, because of his actions.
He had to make up for it somehow.
But right now, he didn't dare disturb Lance and Ilana.
Solomon noticed his agents were on a hair-trigger. They were probably very confused—not only were Lance and Ilana here unrestrained, but Lance had highjacked their ship and used all their weapons. And yet, Solomon had made it clear to them that it was fine. He inquired of what had happened while he was on the station.
They reported that G3 HQ had gotten his distress call. His orders to not to be rescued had been countermanded, and then Team Delta had set out on the newly remodeled Motherbirdafter him. The agents decided that the fridge was the best place to hide and checked there first, only to discover Ilana and the robot inside. Ilana had apparently taken charge, explained that Solomon and Lance had gone after the creature, and directed the agents to Solomon and Lance's location.
The agents were tense; the Lunises were on this ship and it still wasn't clear if these aliens were enemies or allies. For Solomon, however, there was no question. The Lunises were no threat to the earth. Solomon was frustrated it had taken him this long to figure that out. He had made many grave mistakes in his ignorance. But it was clear to him now.
OOO
Solomon turned on his com link to speaker in the room where he'd placed Lance and Ilana. "We're entering earth's atmosphere in two minutes."
The familiar blue, green, and white planet was a welcome sight after Solomon had thought he'd never see it again. Yet as he looked at the earth as a whole, he was reminded yet again of how undefended it now was without Titan.
Solomon had changed out of his spacesuit by now; since suffocating in it, the suit was claustrophobic and left him on edge. Now, he was back in his usual uniform. He felt far more comfortable in his duster-type coat, scarlet vest, wide-brimmed fedora, and red scarf. He would be even happier once he was breathing fresh air. The preserved and circulated air of the Motherbirddidn't quite give him enough oxygen to clear the remaining throbs of the headache he still had from blacking out.
Solomon immediately turned towards the door when he heard it open. Both Lance and Ilana slowly walked in. Immediately all G3 agents looked up to the aliens, but most of the agents had to turn away to continue piloting the ship.
Lance was stoic, even more so than usual. There was a tension in the male alien's jaw that hinted at the pain and turmoil inside him, but overall Lance masked his emotions well. Until, that is, his eyes turned to Solomon. Solomon immediately saw the barely leashed anger when he met Lance's eyes.
Of course. As if Lance did not hate Solomon enough, now he blamed Solomon for the loss of the robot.
Ilana looked as if she had aged a hundred years. It was quite a change as she was normally a beacon of hope and youthfulness. While she stood professional, hiding the signs of her breakdown almost completely, she still was solemn with extra lines of stress under her eyes and seemed to radiate sadness through the air. Normally she excluded brightness and determination. She moved slowly, as if she barely had the energy to even do that.
Solomon approached them, ignoring Lance's glare. "It will take us a moment to get through earth's upper atmosphere." Solomon balanced his tone between professional and softly considerate. "After that, we'll transport you to wherever you want to go."
It was a question as much as an offer—where would they go now? Solomon almost feared that Lance and Ilana would try to go home. Home,home, as in the place where they had come from, wherever else in the galaxy—oruniverse—that was. They were not safe on earth without Titan; they were unable to defend themselves from the huge monsters that came after them. So why would they stay here?
"We will be leaving as soon as you break the atmosphere," Lance said, voice flat. "Open your bottom hatch and we will fly out on our own."
Solomon said nothing to that. Lance obviously wanted to get away from G3 as quickly as possible.They wanted nothing else to do with Solomon or the agency—ironically just as Solomon was willing to help them.
Help them with anything. Solomon would gather the best scientists in the world to try and revive their robot and use all G3 resources to protect these two aliens, if he could. Lance and Ilana had proven themselves to have earth's best interests. They had been valiantly brave and heroic to defend the earth, so G3 should be allying with them. After such a rough start, Solomon had a lot to make up for.
Solomon hesitated, knowing how they wouldn't accept this offer and yet determined to try. "You are welcome to stay with us," he said softly. "It might be best now, without your robot."
Ilana glanced up at him, seeming to sense his genuine kindness behind the offer, while Lance's frown deepened in anger.
"No." Lance's one word was grim, flat, and final. And yet it contained all the hatred and mistrust he had for Solomon.
Solomon wanted make allies with these aliens, and yet he couldn't even try. They were still scarred from G3's abduction of them, and Lance blamed Solomon for the loss of the robot. They weren't going to trust G3, certainly not willingly step foot on G3 HQ again. Solomon couldn't blame them, and wouldn't force them.
Solomon turned away from them, to one of his agents. "Open the bottom hatch when we break to the lower atmosphere," he ordered. The agent nodded in affirmation as Solomon turned and headed for the door out of the bridge. "Follow me, please." With great effort, he did not look back at Lance and Ilana.
Solomon continued to refuse to not look back as he guided them through the Motherbird, but listened very closely to the sound of their footsteps as they echoed off the walls. They seemed to be keeping a careful distance from him. He knew it wasn't natural space—when he had gone undercover as Kane, the two of them had been right behind him as he'd lead them through G3 HQ. Now, they seemed to consider him dangerous even to be around.
They still considered him an enemy, even if he didn't see them as so.
Solomon opened the final door to the drop off, but the Motherbirdstill wasn't close enough to earth yet. The hatch was still closed, and Solomon waited at its edge, Lance and Ilana standing a few feet away from him. No one said anything; the rumbling of theMotherbirdfilled the silence.
They were about to leave. Yet again Solomon felt he should say something—he could try to persuade them to stay, but he knew he wouldn't be successful. He wanted to thank them for coming to rescue him, but that would only add salt to the wound of how they had lost their robot in doing so. He wanted, somehow, to ask for forgiveness for his treatment of them before, and yet couldn't bring himself to even mention that drastic mistake.
Solomon's com buzzed. He lifted it, feeling Lance and Ilanas' eyes on him. "Sir, we're reached the lower atmosphere."
Solomon said nothing, but held frozen for a moment. When he opened that hatch, Lance and Ilana would leave. Although he knew that if he tried to keep them here prisoner, they would eventually escape and any trust they had in him would be destroyed, he didn't want to let them go.
"What are you going to do now?" Solomon asked, still not looking up at them.
Lance's voice answered him. "That's none of your concern."
Solomon wanted to argue that he was the representative defender of earth, therefore any alien activity on earth was certainlyhis concern, but he didn't. There was no point.
Solomon opened the hatch without a response. Cold wind filled the room, refreshing and fast. The world opened up, the ground still miles below them.
There was the flash of light that Solomon was starting to get used to as Lance and Ilana transformed. Lance's armor could barely fit in the hanger. The two of them jumped out and then blasted off toward the surface, Lance taking lead, and soon the two of them were out of sight.
Solomon stood still at the edge, enjoying the cold wind and clean air after hours of breathing dry, sweaty, circulated oxygen. But then he shut the hanger door and turned to head back to the bridge.
He ordered surveillance of the Lunis household; would Lance and Ilana stay there, or move on? Without their robot, Solomon wanted to keep a very close eye on them. He still had no idea what they would do.
But before he could fully focus on Lance and Ilana, he needed to have a very important conversation with his superior.
The Motherbirddocked into HQ and Solomon found more of his agents than usual waiting for him outside. He knew they were all relieved he had returned alive. G3 certainly wouldn't be the same without Solomon leading it, but it would continue on nonetheless. Solomon didn't think there was any one person who could lead it like he did; his power would have to be divided up to a group if anything ever happened to him.
Coming close to death had drawn these thoughts to the front of his mind when normally he never bothered with such things. But there was far too much for him to do before he could start worrying about that, about the future of G3 should something happen to him.
Solomon dismissed his agents, promising there would be a report for them all to read of what happened on the station. He was always grateful for their dedication and loyalty, and knew they had panicked when they got his message to leave him for dead. He could feel the tension still in the air.
Solomon spent the next few hours in the center of HQ, directing his agents and making himself known. Once the majority of agents had seen him with their own eyes and things had calmed down, Solomon made his way to his superior.
As Solomon climbed down the ladder, he reminded himself of how his secret superior wasn't so secret anymore. His superior was the only one in G3 that could countermand Solomon's orders, and he had done so, quite openly, to save Solomon's life. If an agent looked closer to find out exactly who was above Solomon in rank, they wouldn't find any name or identity. But then the agent would know something was up, that there was someone else.
Solomon paused when he reached the floor, his hands still on the ladder. The events on the station had changed him; now he knew, with certainty, that Lance and Ilana were friends of earth. And yet, Solomon had tortured them. If only he had listened to his superior and waited. Then Lance and Ilana might have agreed to stay with G3, and would be here now.
Solomon felt ashamed that he had disobeyed his superior, and didn't feel worthy to go before the man who'd been right all along.
Still, Solomon turned and stepped before his superior.
His superior spoke first. "I am glad to see you, Solomon." Solomon glanced up from the floor, surprised. His superior almost never revealed any emotion—he was all business. It never occurred to Solomon how his death might affect his superior emotionally.
"I am glad to be back." Solomon didn't know how else to reply. He decided to get down to the matter that made him most curious. "You revealed yourself to give the order to rescue me." Solomon allowed a little concern to color his tone.
"I would not worry about that, Solomon." Solomon cocked his head questioningly. "The agents know better than to look too deeply into it. They know you have a secret—they notice when you disappear to come see me—but they do not inspect."
Solomon thought about that for a moment. The agents of G3 were very close; they all lived together and worked together constantly. Almost all of them had given up their old lives for something greater, the safety of earth and alien encounters. It was a difficult life, full of hard work and minimal rewards. But they all were completely dedicated. Each of them followed Solomon's orders without question, and Solomon never had to doubt any of their loyalty. Still, it seemed strange to him that they knewSolomon was keeping secrets from them, and allowed him to without any question. He hadn't serious considered how deeply they trusted him before.
His superior's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "What happened on the station? The Lunises were with you?"
G3 had doubtlessly detected Titan leave earth and head to the station, but Solomon had sent no messages from the Motherbird since his rescue. He had wanted to tell his superior what had happened in full detail, in person. And he had been too distracted with the loss of the robot to even write a message anyway.
Yet now, standing here, Solomon lost the words. Lance and Ilana's actions on the space station had driven in deeper how wrong Solomon had been to attack them, to disobey his superior and harm them. He thought he'd been doing the right thing, but he had tortured children. And yet, simply out of their own sense of compassionate virtues, they had come to rescue him.
"…Solomon?"
Solomon snapped himself back into the here and now. "Yes, they were with me."
"You were on that station alone with them for several hours before the Motherbirdcrew came to rescue you…" His superior made a thoughtful pause, or perhaps just needed a moment to gather his breath again. "Did you learn anything?"
Solomon was still for a long time before he said, "You were right."
"I am right about everything, Solomon." The raspy voice made it hard to tell, but Solomon thought he could hear its amusement. "You'll have to be more specific."
Solomon glanced up from under his fedora. His superior rarely took a crack at humor, but the man seemed more affectionate towards Solomon in this particular meeting. He seemed truly happy that Solomon had lived, and it was…the first time Solomon had been able to identify happiness from him.
Solomon did not crack a smile, though. "About how to treat the aliens. We never—I never—should have attacked them." Solomon alone took full responsibility for the kidnapping of the Lunises. Hehad chosen to disobey.
His superior considered this for a moment. "I know you have realized this for some time, Solomon," he said finally. "I am glad you now grasp the extent of your mistake. But you must not dwell on it. It is done, it is the past. We need to move forward."
"I want them to understand I regret it," Solomon said suddenly, surprising even himself. "I want to make it up to them somehow. They are in danger now that they have lost their robot—" there was an odd twitch in his superior's hand—surprise? Solomon pressed on "—we can protect them."
Solomon knew that in doing so he would be risking the entirety of G3 to the monsters that were attracted by Lance and Ilana's presence. Yet he neededto do this.
He went on, determined. "You are the greatest mind earth has ever known," he insisted to his superior, "if we could convince them to let you look at their robot's core, then perhaps—"
"Solomon."
Solomon snapped his mouth shut.
"None of that will work," his superior sounded almost tired. "They still do not trust you or anyone in G3, it's still too soon after you kidnapped them. And now they will be even more on guard since they have lost their robot, which helped protect them. They do not want to be anywhere near G3. If we were to push them now, offer them assistance, they would not trust us. We must let them be."
Solomon knew his superior was right, but that didn't mean he liked it. "So we merely let them do as they wish?"
"We will do as we have this whole time;" Solomon predicted the word right before his superior said it; "watch."
"What about the monsters?" Solomon pressed, "More will come, and Titan can no longer be formed. What will we do?" Solomon mentally calculated G3's current weaponry against the firepower he'd seen some of the alien creatures display. "Perhaps if we built more Robo-Tankers like the Motherbird—"
"No," his superior said firmly. "Nothing from earth can challenge the creatures and hope to win. We cannot risk our soldiers in a doomed attempt."
Solomon stared at his superior. "People will die."
"We will save as many as we can," his superior consented, "But the best way to do that is not to fight it head-on."
Solomon was shocked. "So we just letthe creatures roam the earth?"
"That is all we can do."
OOO
Solomon's spies reported only hours later than Lance and Ilana were leaving their house. They had gone there soon after they'd come back to earth, yet now, they were leaving…and carrying bags with them.
The horrible idea Solomon had earlier returned; what if Lance and Ilana didn't stay on earth? What if they deemed it too dangerous, and left? Could they activate the Portal and leave whenever they wished? Was G3 about to lose the only nonviolent aliens earth had encountered?
Yet G3 spies tracked them to a mega bus station, where the two of them purchased tickets to the next city and quickly boarded.
Solomon sat in his prime computer room, looking at one of the spy's discreetly taken pictures of Lance and Ilana boarding the bus. In most of the pictures, the two's heads were ducked low, and they glanced side to side suspiciously. It was quite a change from Ilana's usual peppy bright attitude and Lance's confident yet careless stride. Solomon's gloved fingers were woven together and tented before him in thought. So, Lance and Ilana were leaving Sherman, and the house they had purchased, with packed bags. Yet if they were going to leave earth, they wouldn't have bothered with a mega bus; they would have simply flown away.
Which meant that they were staying but moving. It made sense. They knew that G3 knew where they lived. They wanted to avoid G3, so of course they would have to leave. Or perhaps it was the creatures they were trying to avoid? Either way, Solomon knew they were relocating.
For how long would Lance and Ilana move, though? Would Lance and Ilana find some other town or city to live in? Or wander as nomads? Nowhere on earth seemed to be safe from the colossal invading monsters; they landed almost entirely randomly (the exception being that they were especially attracted to Sherman) and traveled wherever they pleased. Where could Lance and Ilana go to escape them?
Here, Solomon's mind immediately answered, but he pushed that thought away. They had already said no and made it quite clear they weren't going to reconsider.
Things truly were a mess. The aliens were as mistrustful of G3 as ever, the robot was gone, Titan couldn't be formed, and no other power on earth could fight the monsters and hope to win.
Solomon leaned back in his chair, still feeling exhausted from the events in space. Bone-deep weariness combined with an antsy want to do something was an interesting paradox. Yet Solomon pushed himself forward and set to work on what he was supposed to be doing; watching. He spent the next few hours arranging and directing his spies to keep watch on Lance and Ilana, and working on evacuation methods for the next unavoidable monster.
OOO
Solomon was seated in the control room, days after returning to earth, and hours after the latest alien monster had crashed from space.
This one had unfortunately crashed into a city, and G3 agents were already on-site (though disguised) and handling the evacuation. None of them engaged the creature, though they all knew Titan wouldn't either. The news reporters ignorantly kept hope, encouraging viewers to hold out, certain their defender would come. Solomon wondered how long they would keep it up until they realized that there'd be no rescue this time.
This alien was as big as the other invaders, but the two curved horns on either side of its head made it especially towering. Its body was grey-black with thick skin, but with long white claws, talons, and spikes at the end of its tail. It had a small beak for a mouth and blank yellow eyes. With wide swings of its arms and tail, the creature easily toppled skyscrapers. It charged a green laser between its huge horns and destroyed dozens of buildings in single strikes.
Solomon didn't know why he was surprised when his agents reported that Lance and Ilana, in their armored forms, had been sighted in the city and were flying straight for the monster. He had thought they were stay as far away from it as possible. It was insane for them to go against it alone. Without Titan, they wouldn't stand a chance. But yet again, he'd underestimated their virtues. It didn't matter to them how risky or hopeless it was—they were going to fight.
Solomon watched, keeping his expression masked, as the two armored aliens flew at the creature. It immediately turned its full attention to them the moment it noticed them, swiping at them with its huge claws. They easily avoided, splitting up to either side of it. The creature turned to Ilana and roared towards her as she fired her lasers. She aimed for its face and eyes, but the creature didn't even seem to notice. Lance dived low to fire a barrage of bullets at the creature's belly. The creature turned and roared, before swiping at Lance this time.
The creature landed the hit and sent Lance crashing through a building. Solomon knew how durable their armor was—but surely it had its limits. There were no cameras that followed Lance, but an agent reported that he crashed onto a car.
With that, the monster turned its full attention back on Ilana. With another swipe, it sent her flying as well. She crashed into a building, and the monster advanced towards it. With a powerful swing of its claws, it knocked away half of the structure. It peered its yellow eyes through the remains, seeming to look for her.
Lance appeared again and launched a hoard of missiles at the beast. Solomon recognized that attack—it had demolished G3 forces when Lance and Ilana had been captured. The creature stumbled back as Lance flew at the building Ilana had crashed through. The creature forced itself back up and then lifted its arms over its head. The camera just caught Lance's armor breaking through a window before the creature demolished the entire building.
Lance flew at high speed away from the monster, but there was no golden gleam of Ilana's armor beside him. However the camera did pick up Lance carrying something—it was blurry, but obvious human in shape. It had to be Ilana, who else could it be? But her armor had shut down. And they were fleeing from the scene. In moments, Lance was halfway out of the city, leaving the monster behind.
They had failed. It was to be expected, but still strange to see. G3 had thrown almost everything it had at these two alien children and done little damage. Yet the two of them had barely done any harm against this creature. Their large forms had been swatted away like gnats. The creature was going to continue its rampage, and nothing on earth could stop it.
What could they do?
OOO
The next two weeks passed quickly. Agents continued to follow Lance and Ilana, and Solomon was relieved to see they both appeared unharmed despite their horrible battle against the creature. They continued to wander however, taking trains, buses, or simply walking throughout the country. They stayed in the most obscure of motels, trying to disappear in the shadows. G3 was always on them, however. Agents knew when they came and went, what times their lights turned off for bed, what food they bought from stores, what channels they were watching, and every detail they could get without getting close enough to be seen. Lance and Ilana always carried an odd brown heavy-looking backpack with them and clung to it protectively. Solomon assumed that's where they kept their robot's core.
Interestingly, Lance and Ilana appeared to be buying mechanical books as they moved along. Many spies caught sight of Lance staying up late to read them. They also bought tools at department stores and sometimes spent hours talking with any mechanics they came across. One night it seemed they accidentally caused a city-wide power outage. It was obvious they were trying to find ways to repair their robot—but did they truly think any kind of technological skill earth had could revive it? And if any could, wouldn't it be at G3?
Solomon desperately wished they would accept his offer and agree to let G3 help. G3 could provide protection, proper shelter, and have the best chance at repairing the robot. Solomon's superior was the greatest mind earth had ever known—surely, he could do something. But he refused to let Solomon offer again, or even confront them. Only watch.
Despite Lance and Ilana being G3's primary concern, a close second was the creature. It still stormed Sherman, day and night, never sleeping, never even slowing down regardless of the relentless attacks the military feebly threw at it. The reporters streaming full coverage of the creature knew by now that something had happened—Titan was not appearing. Yet they continued to hope that their hero would come—"still no sign of Titan," "everyone is wondering, where is Titan?" "What has happened to Titan?"
G3 had already evacuated almost the entirety of the city, but the destruction the beast caused had trapped some people in the ruins. Rescue missions were underway, but it was impossible to navigate the city while the creature and the military fought in it. A few agents had been lost—not many, thankfully, but it still weighed on Solomon.
Solomon was browsing through the live-stream reports when something on-camera covered the sunlight and cast a huge shadow over the city.
"A giant robot has just entered the city!" the reporter cried out. "Get this, get this! It's Titan—he's come to our rescue!"
Solomon at once narrowed his attention on that screen, even though he knew it couldn't be Titan. Even if Octus had somehow been miraculously fixed, G3 agents reported that Lance and Ilana were still inside their current motel room, miles away from the city. There was no way—
Whatever had just entered Sherman, Titan or alien monster or something else entirely, its landing had upheaved too much dust to properly see it. Solomon waited for the wind to blow the obscuring dust away—around him, all his agents were at full attention, poised to discover what was happening. Solomon guessed people all over the world were tuning in now, to see what was going on. Titan? Or something else?
"Wait a minute…that's not Titan," the reporter said cautiously as the shape was revealed. The smoke cleared, revealing a dark olive-grey metal body. Rockets that worked as a jetpack became visible first, and slowly the arms and circular shape became clear. Dim yellow lights glowed out from the joints of this bulky robot, its size equal to the monster that it stood facing off with.
The alien monster also seemed skeptical of this new foe. It growled suspiciously for a moment. When the robot didn't move, the monster took this as an opportunity to attack and charged across the flattened buildings towards it.
The new robot finally shifted, drawing back one of its arms. A rocket came to life at its elbow, spurting flame, before swinging forward and punching the monster directly in the face. The monster staggering back with a pained roar.
"Awesome. Absolutely awesome."
Solomon's hands tightened their grip on his chair. A million questions were clawing for attention in his mind. Where had this robot come from? Was it alien? It's design was more earthen, but who had made it? Friend or foe? He glanced at his communicator. He wanted to speak to his superior—healways had some answers, or at least ideas. Yet Solomon's didn't want to miss a second of what was happening.
The robot was still, its fist frozen in position from its punch. But then it steadied its stance and lifted its other arm, opening its metal fingers to reveal a plethora of guns. The monster heard the clanking sound and turned around to see what was happening, only to be shot at by hundreds of bullets. Their remains sprinkled out of the new robot's wrists.
"If you're just tuning in at home," the reporter said, "A new hero has just dropped out of nowhere, and has taken the fight to the creature! And to think, we still have no idea who it is! We'll try to get information as the situation—"
"I'LL tell you who the hero is!"
Solomon's mind blanked for a moment. He knew that Southern accent too well. Oh, no.
"This is General Steel! And the hero is the US army…and my robot: The Hammer!"
Solomon was too wrapped up in his own shock that he barely noticed the monster make a comeback with a powerful swat of its tail to Steel's robot. Steel had been too preoccupied with his tremendous reveal that he hadn't even seen it coming. Like a heavy domino, the robot began to fall. It crashed into a skyscraper, crushing it. But before it could plummet to the ground, several jets activated and lifted the robot back into upright position.
The monster waited to see if its foe and defeated, swinging its tail side to side. Once Steel's robot had stabilized itself, it turned back to face the beast. With a low growl, the alien monster began charging its green laser between its horns. It fired, the beam zooming at the robot.
Rockets came to life on the robot's left arm and pushed it out of the way as the beam soared past, and then more rockets activated on the robot's back to push it forward at the creature. The robot lifted its arms between the creature's horns, and with a brutal snap, tore them off. It then grabbed the creature's head between its two fists and opened its chest to even more guns.
As the robot's guns tore relentlessly at the monster's chest, its head lolled to the side, seemingly dazed. The guns stopped and the two rockets on the robot's back came to life, lifting its heavy body a short distance into the air. Steel's robot lifted its leg, and then came crashing down on the monster. The monster did not move, too stunned to try and attack or evade—Solomon did not sympathize with it, but it was obviously an easy target. Other monsters Titan had fought had been far quicker, recovered sooner. This one did not even twitch as the weight of Steel's robot came hurtling down on it. With a horrible breaking sound, the creature fell back, limp on the ground.
The camera gained a bird's-eye angle. "This is Brick Jackson coming to you from inside a third-battalion Black Falcon helicopter, and it looks like Steel's last attack just sent the creature flying! The creature is on its last legs!"
"That's right," Steel's projected voice was easily picked up by the camera. "Made in the USA! No alien technology needed. Just good old American ingenuity…and the help of taxpayer dollars. The H.M.E.R—Homeland Mobile Emergency Robot." The robot lifted its right fist as drew out a long, huge cannon, aiming it at the creature, which wasn't moving. If it wasn't dead already, it was certainly dying. "That Titan's a coward. Now we've got our own protector…and it's here to stay!"
The cannon launched a powerful blue laser at the monster. The striking flash of the beam blinded the camera, but Solomon saw its careless lack of precision. Stray bits of energy damaged the buildings that had survived until now. Solomon knew sacrifices had to be made, it was a dark truth he faced more than most, but he was doubtful Steel had bothered to make sure that huge cannon was safe for use.
Nonetheless, when the blast was finished, the creature was obliterated. The only remnant of it was a mark of ash where it had been.
"It's DEAD, the creature is DEAD!" the reporter called out in triumph."Yes, the monster that has wreaked havoc on Sherman for the last three weeks has finally been defeated! Way to go, General Steel!"
The robot withdrew its cannon back into its arm and turned to face the camera. It then lifted its other arm in victorious triumph for all the world to see, posing. Solomon scoffed internally; of course, Steel would show off to the world his latest toy. He wanted glory; so different from G3.
The new robot blasted off in its massive jet packs, quickly hiding itself against the sunlight.
Solomon snapped his gloved fingers in command. "Track it."
At once his agents turned around and got back to work. Solomon took a moment to skim through other reports, but when he saw nothing of interest, he flicked all of his screens off and stood up. Turning on his heel, he folded his hands behind his back and walked out of the room. He paced through G3 HQ before he finally made it down the secret trapdoor to his superior. He leapt down, ignoring the ladder, and faced the man.
He waited for his superior to speak first. Eventually, he did. "…We should have seen this coming."
Solomon fully agreed with that. How had G3 missed this? They'd been so focused on Lance and Ilana, and the alien monster, that they had ignored Steel. Solomon knew that Steel was working on bigger, more powerful weapons to use against the aliens, but a giant robot? That was so out-of-the-water and so blatantly obvious at the same time. It was such a mind-boggling idea that truly, only Steel could have come up with it. And yet it perfectly fit in with the general's character: jealousy of Titan had caused him to imitate the alien mech, to prove himself better and greater than the foreign defender. Solomon had underestimated the general's daring.
However, from what Solomon had seen, the technology Steel had access to made the robot not worth the effort. It was slow, heavy, and awkward. Such a huge and complex design needed hundreds of soldiers to manage it, surely, which made it slow to respond with all the little details that needed to be managed. The monster that had been rampaging in Sherman had been slow, and most of the ones Titan had fought in the past were much quicker. Steel's robot would not do as well against those.
Solomon turned his wandering thoughts back to his superior's question. "Yes," he said softly.
His superior lifted a dim screen before himself to look at, and Solomon saw, from the other side, the reverse image of Steel's robot. "It will not replace Titan."
"Agreed," Solomon nodded his head. "Steel got lucky this time, but future creatures won't be as easy to destroy. Steel's project was a waste of resources. How did he even put it together?" Solomon was certainly going to look into what politicians had funded Steel's project. Anyone with that many resources should be powerful enough to know about G3. They should know that any alien involvement was G3's business. To fund this weapon was in violation of G3's jurisdiction.
His superior allowed a thoughtful pause. "He used the metal he gathered from the alien ship to build this."
Solomon's mile-a-minute mind stopped for the second time that day. The metal from the colossal ship, the giant ship that Titan had destroyed and scattered over miles. Solomon had long fumed over losing the metal to Steel, but in recent events he had completely forgotten it. They knew Steel had taken the residue metal from the huge crashed alien ship, but they hadn't paid attention to what he did with it. Solomon had assumed he would blast it all with a nuclear laser like the last time the general got his hands on alien material. Or at most make some new weapons out of it, like jets or tanks. Not a Titan copy.
If Solomonhad the metal and the opportunity to weaponize it, he would have designed something not so…rudimentary. Something faster. But he didn't have the metal, and he had let go of his anger over that months ago.
Now that his superior said so, Solomon found it obvious that Steel had used the alien metal for this. But how had his superior figured it out? "How do you know?"
His superior flicked through numerous shots of Steel's robot. "It's makeup."
Solomon mentally wrestled with that for a moment, trying to figure out if his superior actually meant something with that, before deciding it was merely his superior's way of deflecting the question. He simply didn't want to explain, so Solomon let it go.
"What do we do?" he asked instead.
A great deal of things could be done. G3 could object that this robot was against their agreement with the US government for their rights to all alien involvement and material. They could demand the robot be dismantled, or even demand it be handed over to them. Solomon didn't want it; but the metal should have been theirs all along.
His superior's answer cut into Solomon's half-formed plans. "We watch."
Solomon had no idea how or why his superior's tactic of 'watching' kept surprising him. Months ago, he would have been furious, but now his objections were completely calm. "We cannot let Steel handle the aliens that come here. He'll attack them all without any consideration for them, for his own soldiers, or for any people in general. It is our purpose to handle extraterrestrial involvement, and Steel will ruin anything we'd try to accomplish."
"You said yourself that Steel's robot would not be able to defeat all of the future creatures."
"It's still too much power in his hands. We cannot let him keep the robot."
"If we were to try to take it away from him, he would do everything in his power to reveal us."
"The aliens already knowwe exist," Solomon argued. "The only change it would be is that the public would know about us."
"And they would pressure us," his superior responded. "They would praise us, condom us, question us, influence us. G3 must be separate from such pressures. Our secrets and technological advancements must be withheld."
Solomon swallowed, knowing how firm his superior was on this matter. His technology, his inventions, did not leave G3. He did not allow any of it to be shared with the rest of the world. Solomon had always struggled to understand why—many of his superior's inventions could be used to improve earth, but Solomon had learned long ago not to pressure him on this topic.
But Solomon saw his superior's other points as well. With G3 being secret, they did not need to worry about gratitude or rejection. They were free to operate without needing approval. This freedom was essential in order to carry out their missions. If they needed to worry about the public's response for every action they took…
His superior pressed on. "Steel will not have a long opportunity to do too much damage with his robot. Sooner or later one of the aliens will defeat it. And I believe it will be sooner than you think, Solomon."
OOO
Solomon was in the primary control room, personally monitoring the public's response to Steel's robot. His superior's critiques of the very people they protected had gotten Solomon thinking. Would it truly be terrible for G3 to be public? Certainly not preferable,but was it worth the sacrifice, that Steel keep his robot?
As Solomon viewed commentaries, debates, and reporters however, his resolve hardened. People of earth were gushing with praise for the robot. 'New icon for America,' 'a game-changer for the US military,' 'our own hero.' Their endless adoration for Steel's robot blinded them to its flaws. Even through Solomon's shock, he'd seen the awkward and difficult movements of the thing. To combat the monsters, an opponent needed to be fast on their feet merely to survive, much less win. The battles between Titan and the creatures were quick and required immediate responses that Steel's robot wasn't capable of.
And doubtlessly this was feeding into Steel's already oversized ego. Solomon wished he could say G3 would be entirely above that if they were exposed, but even he had to admit humans had limits. If Solomon himself wasn't influenced by the public's ever-loud opinions, many of his soldiers would be. G3 was unified; they couldn't afford any divisions, and causing divisions was one thing the public excelled at. Allowing G3 to be publicized would lead to consequences too drastic to predict.
A screen popped up showcasing Steel's introduction of his robot again. By now, Solomon's agents had already tracked it to a military base. At least Steel had the common sense to keep the robot's location a secret from the public. But really, how did the general think this would work out? While Solomon was grateful the monster plaguing Sherman was gone, it wouldn't last forever. Another monster would come, and another after that, and there was no question that Steel's robot couldn't take them all, that one of the creatures would manage to best him. Building his own robot was insane.
"Steel…" Solomon murmured to himself. "What does he think he's doing?"
A screen came to life at Solomon's left. It was one of his spy captains, charged with following Lance and Ilana. Solomon was actually a little surprised to see him; Lance and Ilana had fallen to the back of his mind since the appearance of this robot. He wondered how they had reacted to it. Were they happy that the monster they couldn't defeat was now vanquished? Or did they also know that Steel's robot couldn't last forever?
"Sir," the agent said, "I have something you need to see. Sending it to your screen now." Before Solomon, an undetailed drawing of a map appeared. He recognized it immediately; the base where Steel kept his robot. He'd seen this map earlier today. "They were looking at Steel's base," the agent explained.
"This can't be good," Solomon muttered. Why would Lance and Ilana want to know where Steel kept his robot? Surely they couldn't want to sabotage it. They shouldn't go anywhere near the place—who knew what Steel would do to them. If not outright kill them, then treat them even more horribly than G3 had.
"You want us to move in and pick them up?" the agent asked.
That was a clear option. After Lance and Ilana had saved his life at the cost of their robot, Solomon couldn't just stand by and watch them get killed or imprisoned by Steel. And even without Titan, he still considered the two as defenders of earth. They didn't deserve to be left to Steel's mercy, or lack thereof.
Yet Solomon's superior had clearly instructed him not to engage. And if Solomon did send his agents to 'pick them up,' Lance and Ilana would be hostile. They would refuse to come, go into that base no matter what G3 did, and then they would know that G3 was still following them. They would do anything to try to disappear from G3's reach. So how could Solomon keep them from Steel without scaring them off?
"Watch them, Solomon. Nothing more."
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
"Prepare your men ready to move," Solomon said , leaning forward and tenting his fingers before him. "We'll see how this plays out."
OOO
Solomon took back the one compliment he had given to Steel throughout all this—that the general was smart enough to at least hide his robot. Knowing Steel, the general probably wouldn't object to a whole museum open to the world for his precious robot with tours and all. But thankfully, instead he had chosen to keep its location a secret.
So why had Solomon lost that little bit of respect he had for the general? Because Lance and Ilana had managed to find out where Steel was hiding his robot from a mere outdated computer at a local store called 'Mail & Copy' on the everyday search engine 'Ker-Plunk.' By simply typing in 'General Steel/Army,' they had browsed through dozens of military bases before they noticed that one had its own power plant. Due to any fool being able to wonder why a military base would need its own source of energy, especially of that size, they obviously had concluded that was where the robot was kept. G3 agents had been tracking their progress on the computer the whole time and seen them print the map of said military base out.
When Solomonhad wanted to know where the robot was kept, his agents had tracked it through satellite surveillance and hacked into top-security US files, all while remaining completely undetected, to find the location. Perhaps G3 should review their methods.
Over the next few days while Lance and Ilana travelled, clearly in the direction of the base, Solomon wallowed in those feelings of frustration and exasperation that he couldn't step in. But as the two aliens got closer, Solomon set these emotions aside. What did the aliens hope to accomplish by heading to that base? What could they want with Steel's robot? They couldn't hope to take it for themselves—it required hundreds of soldiers to work it. Nor could the two of them destroy it, if they wanted. And Solomon didn't believe they would do that either. That was the one reason he let them continue this course; he trusted them. Whatever reason they had, they had deemed it important enough to risk getting close. And he knew they would avoid harming anyone.
The night came when Lance and Ilana finally reached the base. G3 was holding back—it would be a disaster if Steel caught them anywhere near his prized robot—but cloaked a short distance away, the Motherbirdand several brand-new G3 fighters lying in wait. They had hacked into the base's security feed, and watched the events played out.
It didn't go well. Though Lance and Ilana easily slipped into the base and took on soldier disguises, they unfortunately did not notice all of the cameras. As they took down three guards, they were quickly spotted, and security set off the base's silent alarm. Steel was alerted, and the soldiers of the base were quietly assembled, quickly blocking off the exits and surrounding the unknowing aliens.
Solomon was very tense as he watched this all happen, but he still did not send his men to engage. He would only risk G3's cover if Lance and Ilana were truly threatened or captured. Now, if they turned on their armors, they could still escape. There was no point in G3 involving if they could get away themselves.
Solomon watched as Steel sprung his trap on the two just as they were removing one of the robot's huge charger cables. When faced with Steel's threats, they took on their armored forms. Ilana quickly made a shield as Steel's soldiers began to fire. Lance lifted his hands and took aim—for a moment Solomon panicked, worried the two were about to start a slaughter, but Lance only fired at the lights in the room. He targeted each of the spotlights and took them out, making it more difficult for the soldiers to aim at them, but he did not turn his guns on the soldiers themselves.
Ilana fired her forehead laser at one of the landing, caving it in and causing numerous soldiers to stumble and drop their guns as they scrambled for support. Still, she left the soldiers unharmed.
Solomon was relieved the two weren't hurting anyone, but at the same time even more worried. How could they escape if they were showing mercy to their opponents? This was a dire situation and their chances of escape were already slim. Yet they risked their own safety to spare their enemies?
Solomon's thoughts came to a halt as alarms in the base went off and the robot began to move. Lance and Ilana turned to look up at the giant as it came to life. Steel was activating his robot? For two little aliens!? Even for the general, this was too much.
"Get ready to move," Solomon hissed, eyes pinned to the screen. Even if Lance and Ilana stood no chance of defeating the robot, they were still far faster and had a chance to escape. And that's exactly what they began to do. Both of them took off and headed straight for the roof, blowing open a hole and flying away as fast as they could.
The robot stomped after them. They were so small compared to it, they looked like little sparrows. But they appeared to be outrunning it—until Steel fired the robot's missiles after them. The careless barrage of dozens of missiles filled the night sky with explosions and knocked Lance and Ilana out of the air. They crashed to the ground and the bigger robot quickly pinned them down with relentless bullets.
Ilana ran to cover Lance and activated her shield over both of them. But it was only her little gold form against the bulky huge robot.
"Move out!" Solomon shouted. "Head for the base! Now!"
But the Motherbird had just taken off before Solomon watched on-screen as Steel's robot drew its cannon and fired its nuclear laser at them. They were engulfed in the blinding flash of light.
Solomon felt like the air had been sucked out of them, that the ground was suddenly gone and he had nowhere to stand. Were they—?
There—he saw them right as the light and smoke cleared. Both of them, now out of their armors, two helpless children on the ground with that deathly cannon pointed right at them. It began to warm up…
"Attack," Solomon ordered coldly. He felt overwhelmed by how he had almost just lost them, thanks to Steel's stupidity and recklessness. He had to get them out of there.
His fighters responded immediately as they dived down at the robot, firing their lasers and storming it with smoke. Even if their damage was minimal, they blinded and distracted the machine, causing enough chaos that it was distracted from Lance and Ilana, turning its cannon away from them.
"Land us before the aliens now," Solomon demanded. No doubt the Motherbird would be the most useful weapon against Steel's robot right now, but Solomon didn't think about that. His first task was getting Lance and Ilana safe and out of here.
Without any more orders, he left the bridge and ran towards the ship's boarding. He opened the exit before the ship had even landed and leapt out the far distance onto the ground. Lance and Ilana didn't even notice him, too distracted by the G3 jets attacking Steel's robot. Ilana was lying on the ground while Lance knelt beside her. Their armors had been damaged and shut down, but how had that affected their own bodies?
"Can you get to your feet?" Solomon asked, drawing their attention to him. If not, he would help them to the ship himself.
Lance quickly scooped up Ilana, and Solomon saw her wince briefly as she wrapped her arms around him. She eyes were wide with fear, while Lance held grim guilt.
"Thank you," Ilana whispered.
Now was not the time for that—they were still in danger, and if that robot fired its cannon right now, they'd all be dead.
"Let's get you on the move," Solomon insisted as the Motherbirdlanded behind him. He turned away and ran back to the ship, Lance close behind him. Together they raced up the plank, but Solomon stopped just before the entrance to let Lance pass him. He wasn't getting back on that ship until the two of them were on with him. But once Lance crossed over, Solomon followed immediately.
He lifted his wrist and spoke into his com device. "Let's go!" He felt the ship lurch as it took off only moments after it had landed and blast off away from the base.
Solomon let loose a small breath of relief. Attacking Steel had been dangerously risky, and there was no doubt Steel would take his revenge one way or another. He glanced over his soldier's quick report on his communicator and was relieved to see that no jets had been shot down, no agents had been killed.
They were safe now. With each second, they put more distance between themselves and Steel. That knowledge in mind, Solomon turned his full attention to Lance and Ilana.
Lance was setting Ilana gently down on one of immediate benches. She held a hand to her head and her whole body was limp with exhaustion. She slouched down on the seat, obviously being unable to support her own weight. "I'm okay, really," she said to Lance, brushing off his obvious concern.
Solomon's trained eyes looked her over for injuries and immediately determined that she was not 'okay.' Her oversized stolen military clothes were blacked in some places from burns, but due to its covering Solomon couldn't see how much of the heat she had taken. He noticed her hands were reddened, but it was too soon to see if blisters were forming, which were the signs of second-degree burns or worse.
It was interesting how it seemed that when their armors took a hit and were damaged, they would heat up. If they got hot enough, they burned the wearer and eventually overheated and shut down.
"You should let our medics take a look at those burns," Solomon spoke to her, still trying to visually access where her burns were and how bad they were.
Lance turned his eyes away from Ilana to look at Solomon. The young alien's eyes did not hold any contempt, but genuine sadness and regret. "Thank you."
"Yes, thank you," Ilana joined in, trying to look livelier than she was. "You saved us." She gave a small smile.
Solomon squashed the small feeling of discomfort at their gratitude, very different from his other interactions with them. "Well luckily we got there in time," he brushed off. Lance reached for his hand and Solomon shook it in agreement—a truce between them, for now.
But Solomon's anger caught up with him. G3 hadn't gotten there in time, had they? Steel had fired his laser cannon at the two aliens, that should have killed them. If it wasn't for the strength of their armor, Lance and Ilana would be dead. A few more seconds, and Steel would have fired again while they were defenseless.
Fear and fury of that image consumed Solomon. "What were you thinking breaking into that base?!" They knew the risks of getting near Steel, they knew how he would attack them on sight. He had probably been planning on using his robot the next time he saw their armors. For a brief moment, Solomon had thought they had died, and he had been terrified for them. How could they be so foolish?!
Lance's gaze dropped to the ground. "We figured we could use the power source of that robot to bring our friend back. But, now…" he closed his eyes in regret, "now we'll never get another shot."
Both of them drooped in defeat and Solomon was struck yet again of how they were children. Two children, alone in a hostile world, now without their father-like robot, lost and not knowing what to do next or how they were going to survive.
Solomon's anger melted away. It hadn't been greed or jealousy that had led them to Steel's base, but desperation. Of course they had known the risks and dangers, but they had gone anyway because they needed the chance to get their robot—their friend—back.
"You look exhausted," Solomon said finally. It was true; not only visible by the bags under their eyes, but the lines of stress on their faces, and the weight on their shoulders. "Why don't you get some rest and we'll talk more about this later." He saw Lance and Ilana exchange looks of doubt; they didn't trust G3. Solomon realized they would probably want to leave the moment they were far enough from Steel. As soon as they recovered enough that they could move by themselves. But he had to insist—even if they refused to stay, Solomon knew they needed rest and safety, at least for one night. "Please," he persisted. "You'll both be safe with us. I guarantee it."
The promise of safety was a hard one. Solomon couldn't completely guarantee that G3 could defend them from Steel, or future creatures, but he hoped they would take his word that G3 would not harm them this time. He understood their reluctance—they were vulnerable and the last thing they wanted to do was hand themselves over to people who had attacked them before. But G3 wouldn't this time—they wouldn'tever again. He had to make Lance and Ilana understand that, somehow.
Solomon was sure it was exhaustion that finally made them cave in. They both nodded, giving up for tonight.
Solomon's tension eased at this one small victory. "Good." He turned away from them and began to head to the bridge. They needed rest, and he needed to sort out his soldiers. Check any damages that might have happened during the attack, prepare HQ for their arrival, and figure out what to do next. Lance and Ilana had agreed to stay for tonight—once they had rested, he'd try to convince them to stay longer.
He entered the bridge and all of his agents turned to him. As he took his seat of command and got to work, he realized that, in saving Lance and Ilana, he had just officially become an enemy of Steel's. Which meant G3 had a new foe.