Operation: Warhorse

"Hiroki?" I asked him, rather ambiguously at that. He gave a slight nod. "What are you doing here?"

He was about to answer when the walky-talky crackled to life. His prosthetic arm grabbed it and brought it up to his face. "Yeah Pinky and Brain, this is Circling Eagle. Just a minute, I've met up with Ulrich. Yeah, I know! The odds, right? Alright, will do." Then he slapped it back into place. Then he turned his attention to me. "Pinky and Brain told me to give you information in turn to help us out."

"Let me guess," I started. "Pinky and Brain are Aelita and Jeremy."

"Yup, and I'm Circling Eagle. We've got a plan to rebel and escape. It's a good thing we decided to try and escape today. Jeremy and Aelita are hacked into the Blackwatch electronics, including their visors. With a keystroke, he's gonna glitch that all out, then we strike. Me, with a few others, will wait for them to remove their masks, then snipe them. They'll run for cover, in which others will pop them from that cover. We weren't expecting Tanks and a chopper though."

"Don't worry, " I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take care of them." I touched my earpiece. "Alright, Yumi. When you hear gunfire, charge in and take care of vehicles that get in your path."

"Got it." Yumi said. I turned to Hiroki.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Go ahead." I told him.

His walky-talky came up. "This is Circling Eagle, I am go with the plan."

"Alright." I could hear Jeremy's voice say. "3,2,1. Virus implanted." The Blackwatch pacing below us stopped his tracks. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but it eventually turned to screaming as he tore his helmet from his head. Several others followed behind him, taking off their mask to escape whatever was happening beneath them. Then, shots cracked out air. Several looked towards the source, being struck in the head. Hiroki's prosthetic arm grappled the bolt, which he exchanged bullets swiftly and with ease. Another ripped out, taking out another, whose eyeball was jellified as the bullet passed through his socket. They scattered for cover, but most were put down before they could even reach it, as several rebels were hiding in the shadows, dressed in black rags. Only their eyes remained exposed. A small firefight broke out on the roof. Soldiers from the chopper spread out, heading for the rooftop rebels. I ran out into the open.

"Get back!" Hiroki hissed at me.

I looked back at him with a smirk. "Don't worry," I said with a nod. "I got this." Bullets rang out at me, which harmlessly embedded in my flesh. My muscles flinched, but did not slow. Black armor grew around my body as my whip flashed out. In a single jerk, the two headed for Hiroki were spliced in two through their torsos. My other hand grabbed a rifle. Up in a second, it cracked out rounds. The Black watch ducked behind chimneys as I continued forward. I heard a loud bang behind me. Turning for a glance, I caught sight of a fireball rising into the air as one tank was turned to shrapnel. Ours came barreling through the door. I turned back, impaling one on the spear at the end of the whip. The other one lifted his gun up, but my whip extended, splicing his gut as well. With both doubled over, my rifle ended the both of them. I threw their corpses down on the ground. The rotor blades on the chopper started up as it tried to take off. Several Blackwatch were running for the chopper, but it appeared to be leaving without them. One shot rung out behind me. From Hiroki. The chopper was several meters in the air when the glass cracked in front of the pilot's face. The chopper bucked backwards, losing altitude swiftly, then bucked forward, smashing the cockpit on the ground. The entire thing caught ablaze, a few moments before a couple missiles were released from a limp hand slipping upon the controls. Blackwatch went flying from the impact. The roof beneath the wreckage cracked, then opened like a hungry maw. It consumed the chopper with the remaining Blackwatch. Black smoke followed by cries of anguish rose from the gaping wound in the building.

"Ulrich!" Yumi yelled over the mic.

"What?" I asked her, flustered at her sudden burst of anger.

"I've been trying to contact you for the last 5 minutes, you…" She paused as if trying to think of a word. "you twat!"

"Sorry, no need for the language though." I told her as calmly as I could.

"We've been trying to doge these mounds of Blackwatch for a while now." I turned my head back. The two new type soldiers were chasing the tank around the compound. People were making sure to dodge the both of them as rebels pumped rounds into the new type. They didn't even appeared phased however. Both Blackwatch tanks were in ruins.

"I'm coming." I said. I leapt off the room. When I hit the ground about 10 floors later, A shockwave rippled out from my point of impact, leaving cracked chunks of concrete reaching for the skies. I ran towards the two. Before I could reach them though, they grabbed onto the tank. One had the barrel in hand, the other had one tread in his hands. The one on the tread pulled back and kicked the tank hard enough it shifted off the tread. The other ripped up on the tank with enough force to removed the turret. The new girl, along with Odd and Jim, immediately scampered from the pieces. Before Emily and Yumi could escape, the turret came back down, warping the tank. Several small fires erupted, along with the gas tank punctured. Gas began to pool around the tank, inching towards the flames. One rebels got immediately behind one, and plugged a round in his gut. He flinched, then furiously whipped around. Before the rebel could react, a fist wrapped around their throat with a death grip. The rags covering their face flowed down. It was a girl, with dark skin, about as old as Hiroki. Then it hit me. "Tamiya!" I yelled. Coughs and gags answered.

I ran through the grounds, leaving a trail of ripped up earth. Tamiya's face turned blue. My boot slammed into the earth, launching me feet into the air. I fixed myself to point out straight. My Musclemass fists were supported by my entire armored body. They impacted his side. Swept off his feet, Tamiya flew from his hands, deep purple, dim eyed, swollen tongued, face and all. She collapsed on the ground, incapable of moving. I looked over, seeing Odd, Jim, and the new girl with rebels trying to lift the turret off the tank.

In that moment of distraction, the super soldier wrapped his sweaty mitts around my throat, lifting me off the air. Changing to what I decided to name the Whipfist, the spearhead dug into his face. He screamed as he threw me out across the room. My back struck trunk of a nearby tree. He charged at me with full speed. My whip extended towards him, scraping the earth. He tripped up on it. The other grappled me from behind, then threw me on the ground. The first pounced on me like a bear, striking my face with such powerful force, my vision started to blur. Amidst the blinding strikes, my whip wrapped tightly around both legs. With a guttural roar, I ripped back with all force. It became his turn to roar with pain as he toppled off from me with only stubs for legs. The second bore towards me, but the whip dug into his gut, tossing him over me. Standing once more, my whip slid under the legless one. My right boot pinned him on his gut, throat directly on the whip. With a yank, his decapitated head twirled in the air for a second before bouncing on the concrete. The remaining super soldier, fueled with rage, uprooted the tree. Holding it like an axe, he charged. I ducked under the resulting swing, My whip came up, striking and catching, in his groin. With an upwards jerk, he was cleanly spliced in two.

Switching to Musclemass, I then ran for the tank. Fires were spreading, and I could see smoke rising from the hairline cracks in the tank. My hands clamped down on the tank's barrel. I jerked with all my strength, but the turret had been wedged in deeply. Then I heard a loud snapping. With barrel in hand, I stumbled several steps backwards before falling back on my back. I dropped the barrel on the ground, then stood and jumped back onto the tank. Each step was a heavy clank. I laid down on my back, looking between the turret and tank. I punched the bottom, creating a place for me to wedge between.

Emily and Yumi were in the bottom. Emily had a cover over Yumi's face, but she looked up at me with dim eyes. I spun around, now on my gut. My fists raised up, forcing the turret to further warp open. Flames were encroaching on them from all directions. My arm came out. She struggled to lift up Yumi to my arms. I slid out, then pulled her out. A few rebels came up and reached out their hands. I tossed her down to them. Now turned around. Then getting on my belly, I squeezed back in. Emily was unconscious. I wormed myself all way in. I lifted her up on my shoulder, when a sound caught my attention. A high pitched whistle, like high pressure gas trying to escape. In a single motion, she was down on the ground with me all around her. My eyes were clenched shut. The whistling grew louder, then stopped almost at once. My eyes flashed open, darted around, then boom! I felt the intense heat and pressure as the fire threatened to roast my flesh under the armor.

As the heat died away, I stood back up with Emily in my arms. Surrounding me was shrapnel from the tank. I walked back towards a crowd of Marines and Rebels that were giving medical attention to Tamiya and Yumi. Tamiya was vaguely conscious and Yumi was sitting up, rubbing her head. People looked directly towards at me, stunned by my survival of the blast. As I continued to approach the crowd, they quickly parted way for me. Even the soldiers who were working on the injured froze up as I approached. They all looked up at me, and the ones with backs turned to me even glided their heads around towards me. My footsteps stopped between a pair of medics. Squatting down, my hands laid out Emily along the pavement. As I stood back up, I turned my head to the right. "What?" I asked violently.

No one spoke. This suffocating silence consumed the air. Finally, Odd spoke up. "You got a little something on your shoulder." I lifted a hand to my left shoulder, feeling warmth. Whipping my head, I saw that part of me was on fire. My palm came down immediately, snuffing out the flames.

Then a voice echoed from amongst the crowd. "It's the Prototype! Run for your lives!" Rebels and civilians alike fled from me as if I was the embodiment of the Black Plague. Well, you are. I thought to myself.

I changed back to my street clothes. "Come back!" I yelled. But most of them had already gathered in a single corner, cowering in fear. I turned back to my squad. "Everyone, get them rounded up in the trucks, then drive 'em to the tennis courts. I'll be right behind you guys."

"Got it." Yumi and Odd said in unison. They looked at each other, almost stunned. Odd headed off with the new girl while Yumi and Jim went together. I turned back to the several injured. Tamiya's face had returned to a normal color, and the soot had been cleaned off Emily's face. I watched them for several minutes, all the way up until a couple of Rebels lifted them up and carried them off towards the trucks. I turned around at that point to watch the trucks. Odd was in the lead car, Jim was next, the new girl after that, and in the rear was Yumi. Sitting next to her was her brother. They were talking between each other, but of what I couldn't tell.

Each one left the base. Afterwards, I turned back to my Marine uniform. Making sure the mask was over my mouth, I walked out of the camp with calm steps. Underneath, I could feel the rage building. Why were they afraid? What did I do to them? Oh, that's right. I saved all of their lives. Is this a hero's welcome? I could've just as easily let them all die. The tanks, as well as the super soldiers, would've wasted them all for attempting to fight back. Why are they scared? That raspy voice entered my head again. You're the problem. You're different, and that's the real embodiment of evil. Difference. Why even try to save the people that want to condemn you? I say let them die. Follow the urge, and if any happen to live afterwards, good for them.

I was walking across the street where I could see an abandoned, red sedan. "That's not my job." I told myself. I then ripped open the door and sat inside. "I'm a Marine, with a job to protect the innocent, no matter the reaction." The key was still in the slot. My hand turned said key, bringing the car to life. As I began to drive down the road, I continued. "Defend the defenseless for the good of humanity." When the park was again in sight, I finished. "Without that creed, if I followed the urge, what would I be? No better than the Blackwatch, that's what." I stopped along the street. In front of me was a troop truck as well as behind. Both empty. Getting out, Odd immediately approached me.

"Dude. What happened back there?" He asked.

"I don't know. I just don't." That was the truth. I didn't know why they did what they did. With discontent crawling across his face, I could tell he wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"Whatever man. I just don't understand people."

"I don't think anyone can." I told him. Then I realized that this was one of the first times that girl wasn't around him. "So what's with the girl? You know her or something?"

"Dude. You don't know?" He looked at me with genuine confusion. He couldn't believe it. "That's Sam."

"Oh yeah!" I said as I face-palmed. "Sorry, I didn't recognize her." My radio crackled to life. I put up my hand to quiet whatever he might say. "Hold on. I gotta take this. Yes?"

"The General has an order he wants to personally deliver to you. Meet up at the hospital within the hour or the assignment will be passed on to someone else."

"Copy that." I said. Then I looked back at Odd. "We got a new job."

"What's that?" he asked.

"I don't quite know yet. Gather the squad and let's head out." I told him.

He stuck out a thumb with a smile. "Alright then! Better than moping around here." He went off towards the others. I walked over to the truck behind my sedan and got in. There was almost always a spare key. Sitting in the driver's seat, I slipped my hand into the overhead blinder. I felt something cool and metallic. Slipped my hand back out. The key. Then I placed it in the slot, and cranked the truck. I looked out the window, seeing Odd and others running towards the truck. They all lifted up and slid into the back.

Minutes later… I pulled into the parking lot, parking along the front of the building. Bullet holes were scattered around the lot. They looked relatively fresh. We gathered in a group and walked in. The lobby was ratty. People were going around picking up papers and other miscellaneous scraps from the ground. The secretary looked up at me. She wore a simple white smock. She then nudged the one sitting next to her. This one wore green military fatigues. She then looked up at me. "You're wanted in the basement." She said, pointing to a pair of elevators to her right. We all stepped in, then felt the lurch of the elevator as it descended.

"So what do you think we're doing?" Yumi asked.

"No idea." I told her. "But I am thinking of something. I wonder how Jen and Tyler are doing?"

"Yeah." Jim said. "She didn't look so good, and Tyler's nerves were frayed." We all nodded in agreement.

"What happened while we we're gone?" Odd asked. "All that junk lying around. What, was there a firefight?" Then it donned on us.

"There was." Emily said. Then the elevator door opened. A soldier was standing at attention. He was below me in rank. Lucky. The halls behind him were polished white, and nearly untouched by any conflict.

"At ease." I told him. He relaxed, then motioned us out of the elevator.

"The general wanted to see you." I nodded my head, and he went into motion. He turned and started down the hall, with us following. After several turns, we reached a large wood door. He opened it, then motioned us inside. A older man sat in a leather chair on wheels. He pivoted around towards. He wore a camo hat, which hid his silver shaved hair. He was clean shaven and wrinkled with prestige.

We snapped to attention and saluted him. He returned the gesture, then motioned us to sit down in the chairs. I sat down directly on the other side of the desk while the others sat on a bench that wrapped around the wall. "As you may know, while a majority of our forces were out on rescue missions, the Blackwatch launched several attacks themselves. While we were able to fight them off. It was not without casualties. Also, they took a patient. Here name was Jennifer Stevens, and was pregnant at the time of capture. We don't know much about her, or why the Blackwatch attacked this place. It is believed that she might have something to do with Operation: Warhorse, but even that is unconfirmed."

"What is our part, sir?" I asked.

"Your squad is part of a multi front operation to capture more Blackwatch with useful information and to get the girl back. The main priority is the girl, capturing Blackwatch is a secondary for you." He leaned back in his chair.

"Permission to speak freely?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Can we see Tyler?"

"Who?"

"The boy that was with her when she arrived." I said. Please don't be dead.

"Ah" He said. He leaned back forward in the chair. "He won't be out of operation for another half hour, and you need to be gone ASAP."

"Is he alright?" Emily added from behind. "Sir?"

"He stood in front of her as the Blackwatch busted through the door." The General explained. "One promptly wounded him in the abdomen. He was bleeding, but operation looked promising. You can speak after you return. Stopping Blackwatch is our priority."

"Understood." I stated. Then I saluted him, and he again returned the gesture.

"Good luck, and Godspeed." He said.

I stood, which my unit quickly followed. "One more thing." He said. "I haven't told you where they are. They were in an APC last seen headed North. It was cutting through the RZ to reach the GZ." With that, I left the room and my unit followed. We reached the elevator, then headed for the roof. Within minutes, we were in the air and headed out, straight into the jaws of hell.

OOOOO

The nights in the Red Zone are just as terrifying as day, if not worse. Most power in the region was cut out, except for Marine and Blackwatch bases sprinkled throughout the region, as well as the occasional floodlight. Thick, dark clouds, reinforced with the rising ashes of constant fires fed into the fear that all who entered. Our floodlight was on full blast, illuminating the dark streets and crowds of Infected. We had been following a trail of corpses left by the APC for hours now. Most had taken time to sleep, as did I. But with eyes wide open, I saw the entire vision now before me. The floodlight continued swaying around, over rooftops and streets.

Then, they caught a glimpse of a dust trail. Moving faster, they saw the trail was coming from a moving vehicle. Infected were going after it, only to be blasted into pieces. Blood and dismembered parts soaked the APC. We descended overhead. The copilot turned back his head. "Alright, we clearly can't land or it'll outrun us." He pressed a button on the panel. The bay doors slid backwards, and several ropes on automatic pulleys lowered. The wind whipped by us at break-neck pace. He struggled to yell over the droning wind. "You're gonna have to drop on it!" I turned around to my squad, who were all still asleep. I walked by and roused each one. Odd was the first to stand.

"What're we doing?" He asked.

"Just wait for everyone to get up." I told him. After everybody was standing and awake, I told them. "In order to stop the APC without hurting Jenna, we have to repel down onto the APC."

"Are you crazy?" Jim yelled. "I might've been a skydiver, but this is insane."

Emily looked up at him in disbelief. "You were?"

He turned his head to her. "Yeah, but I'd rather not talk about."

"Listen." The copilot said. "We clearly can't argue about this. It's the only option. Get down on the ropes and we'll fly over the APC." I then grabbed a rope, ready to go.

"You heard the man. Let's go." I said. I then leaned back out of the chopper.

"Wait!" Yumi screamed after me, but I was already out. Hanging on the rope tightly, my focus tightened on the APC. Below me was a crowd of Infected chasing down the APC. My squad mates were joining me, as I could hear the ropes rolling out of the pulleys. The chopper glided ahead, now over the APC's turret. We repelled all the way down like out of the movies. My boots struck the APC first, soon followed by the others. The APC was approached a building under construction. No windows had been placed in yet, just layer upon layer of concrete supported by immense steel girders. Open areas for elevators had been made as a staircase ran up through the building. It stood 5 stories with a crane just a little taller than it nearby. We heard a rumbling coming from below us. Below the APC. Then I saw it. Cracks ripped through the street ahead of us. Pavement buckled and arched towards the sky. Then, in a burst of dirt and asphalt, a Hydra rose into the air. Before the APC could even slow down, the Hydra bent and ripped towards the earth. Large pincers pierced the hull like it was tissue paper. The sudden stop of the APC launched us from the roof. We hit the ground and rolled to a stop. Back on my feet, I saw the next sight, and it immediately dropped my heart into my boots.

The APC was effortlessly lifted from the earth, and Jen fell from an open door from the chopper. She was considerably larger than before. Mercer was developing at an alarming rate. A super soldier held her, landing on his back and rolling to his feet. The Hydra then tossed the APC through the air, directly at our chopper. We were all caught breathless as the APC sailed through the air, One instant, the APC met the chopper directly on the nose. The next, a fireball tore through the air followed by flaming bits of rubble raining down. When we looked back at the street, the Super soldier was gone. I looked into the construction site, and could see the Super soldier making his way to a dumbwaiter elevator. My eyes darted back to the crane. "You guys chase him down."

"What'll you do?" Odd said.

"I'll head him off." I said before whipping around and running. I could hear Odd call my name, but I was already gone. Using my powers, I ran up the side of the crane. Glancing down, I could see my squad using the other elevator. My boots soon ran out of crane. Now standing on the top, I began to run towards the end, where I could jump directly down onto the top level. I began to run towards the far edge. The Super soldier had already reached the roof, but stopped dead in his tracks. "I've been spotted." I whispered to myself. But about halfway, I saw what the super soldier had seen, and I stopped in my tracks as well. My squad reached the rooftop as well, and also stopped. Before us stood something that seemed to only exist in dreams. The creature had two, immense fists the size of a normal Marine, which were connected to beefy arms stretching out from a bulbous mass of flesh with stub legs. It sumo stomped, and roared with all its might.

The Super soldier took several steps backwards, but its arm quickly wrapped around his torso. He released Jen immediately, giving up his only bargaining chip. His hands clamped on the other arm. With a mighty tug, the arm was dislocated, but not even close to broken. Enraged, the beast turned towards the crane and chucked the Super soldier with all his might. His body flailed through the air, smashing into it. The crane creaked loudly as it began to slump forward. I started to run as the ground below me became a steep downhill run. Below me, the girders made to keep the crane standing buckled, the super soldier impaled on it. The very edge of the crane slammed into the top floor of the construction site. I flew off the crane, striking the ground directly in front of it. I heard a loud crunch around me. Then a chunk of concrete busted out from under me. I yelled as I reached out my hand. It clamped onto the concrete tightly as I heard the crane crash into the next floor. The giant roll of meat walked over me, Jen in hand. It almost seemed to smirk at me as it lifted a foot up.

Bang!A grenade exploded next to the leg he was standing on. In surprise, he fell back. Jen landed on her back. I swung myself back up onto the roof. My speed was incredible as I sped past the Infected beast. My arm gently wrapped around Jen as I went by. I didn't stop until I was with my squad. Now, only Odd carried an assault rifle. Emily had a shotgun, Yumi carried a grenade launcher, Jim carried a rocket launcher, and Sam was smiling, M-150 in hands. "Where did you even get that weaponry?" I asked.

"Some equipment fell out of the APC as it was lifted into air." Jim explained. "We thought we'd help ourselves."

"Look out!" Odd screamed. I turned around to see a chunk of concrete flying at me. I ducked under it as my squad scattered. Odd reached out a hand. "Give her here. Then you go do your thing." I nodded and handed her off. Odd ducked behind a pile of supplies. A rocket from Jim struck the beast in the gut. When the smoke cleared, a dent had been made in its flesh, which began to quickly mend. I ran towards the beast, Whipfist prepped. I yelled as it was launched out. My spear dived into the gut. It didn't flinch, but instead grabbed my arm, tore it out of it's gut, then it a tug. I went flying towards it. The other hand caught me, then threw me over the side of the building. I dropped five floors to the earth, where I blacked out on impact.