"Yes Commander," Vector answered over the communications channel as X-Ray and Joystick waited behind him his words barley visible over the screams of thralls and gunfire from the National Guard, "Yes we understand we'll be on the next bird out of here."
"Well what did he say?" Joystick asked.
"Good news Scourge has taken the Initiative and Osborne has been granted permission to commence Protocol Wyvern on the city. The first Raptors are already warming up and after the initial drops a wing of B52s is being sent into the area armed with tons of incendiaries." Vector told them, "We just have two problems Ripcord and Ossuary, if we leave early they might get suspicious."
"So, let the fire kill them." X-Ray ventured, "Work done, we go home."
"It's not that easy Ossuary is mildly pyrokinetic and there's no guarantee Ripcord will die in the flames" Vector told them, "We must get our hands dirty before we leave."
"What about Mamba and Cold Heart where do they stand?" Joystick asked.
"Scourge doesn't know how loyal they will be to him, he'll contact them and see where they stand, neither is fire proof so if the worst happens we just leave them here." Vector explained, "Now let's get moving we only have thirty minutes before this place is turned into a fire storm."
"What about the civilians?" Joystick asked as a large ferry pulled away from the drop, screaming men, women and children crying out to be let on. "Utopia still hasn't opened its waters a lot of them will die in the bombing." she added as a Black Hawk circled overhead ready to extract them.
"They'll have to swim." Vector replied, "We don't have time to worry about them."
Black Mamba climbed up the ladder onto Fisherman's Wharf, the position she had been holding with the X-Men had been overrun, the mutants had offered to take her back to Utopia but she had turned it down claiming that she wouldn't leave until the city was safe.
"That was stupid." she moaned throwing her communicator into the water the device offline due to saturation. Struggling with the last rung she was hauled up by a National Guardsman who was positioned at the end of the dock as Cold Heart and what looked like the Human Torch fended off a wave of thralls created out of civilians and dead guardsman.
"Maybe I should have stayed in the water." Mamba said sarcastically, "It looks like this place won't hold for long."
"Tanya." Cold Heart called, "You're never going to believe this Scourge is in control of the Initiative. Some kind of coup occurred last night and he's given us the choice work for him or die here."
"What!" Mamba asked, "He can't do that the Taskmaster claimed independence from HAMMER and people like Scourge."
"Apparently he doesn't read the rule books." the Guardsman butted in, "We have a problem Maam, National Guard is being ordered away from San Fran, apparently this place is going to be immolated in just under half an hour."
"Immolated." Jonny barley able to mask the glee in his voice. "That's terrible."
"How is the civilian evac going?" she asked the Guardsman as he fired shots into a shuffling thrall.
"20% evac from affected area." the Guard informed, "It's not enough but it will have to do Director Osborne is officially in control now. He's using emergency powers to take control of all military and paramilitary forces, we're all under HAMMERs control now."
"Do we leave?" Cold Heart asked Tanya.
"No Colette we stay and get people to safety, we need to find Ossuary his powers could create an underground shelter to protect the civilians." Mamba instructed, "Give me your comm. piece we need to get him down to the port. From there Vector can help with assembly and supports while Joystick rounds everyone up. The rest of us will keep the Thralls at bay until the first bombers arrive and then retreat back to cover."
"Take it." Cold Heart replied throwing the ear-piece to Tanya, "Let's hope they haven't left yet." she added.
Over by the Golden Gate Bridge Ossuary and Ripcord held the line alongside M2 Bradley APCs of the California National Guard. They had orders that the 'infection' was not to leave the city limits even if it meant destroying the bridge, as the battle raged multiple bricks of C4 were being attached to the support columns and were ready to blow. Ripcord looked around, the men were beat even her adrenaline boost that she was providing had failed, they were only slightly more alert then the monsters they were fighting. The Comm. link buzzed and she answered, "This is Ripcord who's speaking."
"Stacy it's Tanya we have bad news." the reply came.
"Worse then hordes of zombies eating the people of San Francisco?" Ripcord asked.
"Almost as bad, Osborne is in control of every American Military unit in the country. He's ordered the city destroyed with bombs and incendiaries."
"That's bad when does the bombing start?"
"Twenty minutes at the earliest. Scourge is in control of the Initiative, he gave Cold Heart and me the chance to leave but we turned it down. We can't reach Vector, X-Ray or Joystick though, they have changed channel and National Guard down at the dock say that they are missing." Mamba told her, "Listen if we could build a shelter that was reinforced by psychic energy from Vector and Ossuary we may have a chance at saving the civilians at the ferry port that are unable to leave."
"Maybe." a new voice added, "But that's a lot of power and while I can't speak for Vector I'm practically running on empty."
"Maybe?" Mamba spat, "Are you a hero or not?" she asked Ossuary.
"I never said I wouldn't do it." Ossuary butted in, "I'm just saying I don't know if we can outlast the thralls and the air-force."
"Guys good news I can see X-Ray he's on the beach below us." Ripcord told Mamba and Cold Heart.
"What there's so much Static that I can barley here you." Mamba called, "What about the beach?" The comm. link died as the Bradley APCs quivered before crashing through the sides of the bridge and fell into the ocean. There was a flash as something passed along one-side of the bridge and then the other.
"Crap," one of the Guardsmen yelled "C4s activated." as soon as he finished the bridge exploded as Joystick coasted to a stop on the beach next to X-Ray.
"That was easy." she gasped.
"Like it would be anything other then that." Vector told her as his comms. crackled. "Yes sir. Ossuary and Ripcord are dead and the bridge is destroyed. Yes we're ready to leave Black Mamba and Cold Heart have decided to stay and try and help the general populous." he announced as the Black Hawk touched down to take them away from the city.
On the dock everything stopped as the four survivors watched the collapsed of the Golden Gate Bridge. Even the Thralls stopped their attack for a second, the spectacle temporarily overriding their orders.
"My God they destroyed the bridge." Cold Heart gasped.
"Stacy, Dale come in are you there." Tanya called, "There gone, the U-Foes and Joystick killed them." she announced as the glowing figures of Vector and X-Ray got into a Black Hawk Helicopter.
"They were close to the Taskmaster, Scourge probably couldn't let them live." Cold Heart explained as she cut through a thrall's arms with one of her swords. "We have to get out of here before the bombing starts." she added freezing a group of Thralls as the National Guardsman shattered them with the butt of his M16.
"Wait, what if we could walk out of the city." Tanya queried. "Colette you could freeze the water to let the civilians leave."
"That's good in theory but how do we stop the thralls from following." Cold Heart announced.
"The Human Torch could melt the bridge as the last people crossed leaving the thralls trapped in the fire storm." Tanya announced, "The National Guard could provide air support in their choppers while we were on the water."
"It might work?" Collette answered, "If I stick one sword at the rear of the column and the other at the front with me I could create a bridge or at the very least a platform for people to stand on, we wouldn't be able to save everyone but we might get most of the people away from the air-force and the thralls." she added.
"Whatever you're going to do you'll have to hurry." the Guardsman pointed out as fire and explosion erupted in the distance. "At least the Thralls have retreated." he pointed out.
"At last the creation of my army has begun." a voice announced behind them, the words sounding like roaring flame. Looking over their shoulders Tanya and Colette saw the Human Torch begin to smoke and stretch becoming taller until he towered a good six foot above them. "I Surtur claim this city for the children of Muspelheim, we will feed on the ashes of the dead before moving to feast on the enemies of Loki." he added a flaming sword appeared in his hand while giant wings sprouted from his back.
"You shall not pass." Colette yelled smiting the deck with one of her sword causing the dock to be covered in ice. Surtur snorted in laughter and the ice and dock melted as a Black Hawk Helicopter descended at the end of the collapsing structure. Running Tanya and Colette watched as the Guardsman behind them burst into flames screaming in pain as they jumped onto the chopper while the water around Surtur boiled away, the ocean bed turning to glass.
"Where too ladies." the Pilot asked
"Drop us off at the port." Black Mamba ordered.
"No point the HAMMER Raptors and Lightning's just incinerated that area. Covered the whole place with Napalm we lost the majority of the guards and civilians in the area. Those we didn't were taken down by Thralls and new contacts completely wreathed in flame. We have orders to leave the state to the monsters and rendezvous with the rest of the strike force against Asgard" the pilot informed them.
"Look." Cold Heart pointed at the base of the bridge, "They survived." Tanya peered but couldn't see any survivors.
"Colette we failed there all dead." Tanya replied as the other woman got to her feet and headed to the edge of the chopper. "Don't you dare." she threatened.
"What would Tony do?" Colette asked, "What would Asp tell you to do Tanya."
"This is different the city is burning and Ossuary and Ripcord were blow up by Vector." Tanya told her as Surtur fired a wave of fireballs across the city. Colette saluted Tanya before jumping off the chopper skidding down an icy chute created by her swords down into the middle of the inferno. Tanya watched and sighed before picking up an M4 Assault Rifle.
"Where should we head Maam?" the Pilot asked.
"Get out of here we'll find a way out." she replied just before she leapt for the ice chute the fires of Muspelheim roaring below her.