Chapter 4
Bishop's suspicions were confirmed soon after. The flyer, rather than pull up, landed directly on a juggernaut, tearing it apart and impacting the ground with enough force to create a crater. The scattered remains of the juggernaut were sent flying by the shockwave. A cloud of dust billowing from the impact zone.
The team watched in silence. Their eyes wide behind their masks. Jester had abandoned the door to watch with the rest of them. "Holy shit." Mentor said in a barely audible whisper.
The two remaining hunters and juggernaut looked into the cloud of dust. After a few seconds, the hunters leapt in, snarling and roaring. The team couldn't see what was happening through the dust. Their thermal vision just showed them a blurry heat signature. One of the hunters roared again, but was soon cut off with high pitched yelping as a clawed arm went flying out of the dust cloud. More snarls and yelps were heard.
As the dust began to clear, they could make out the shapes of the two hunters, circling the crater. One of them missing it's left arm. The hunter that was whole leapt back in, only to be obscured by dust, it's snarl was cut short with a wet thud.
The team could now make out the lone figure standing in the centre of the crater. It was covered in dark grey armour, pulsing red in certain places. It was ridged and sharp looking. The arms were made up of intertwining tendrils. Yet spikes of what appeared to be steel bristled in certain places. The arms led down to claws. Three long ones with a smaller one on the inside like a thumb. All were made of the same steel-like substance. Some of the tendrils in the arm seemed to pulse red.
"Is that..." Jester began before trailing off.
"Zeus." Medic finished. The creature known as Zeus slowly turned to face the juggernaut. Still standing by the tank a few feet away. The injured hunter was still snarling at Zeus. But it didn't seem to notice.
The juggernaut seemed to hesitate for a second before unleashing a massive roar and driving it's massive fists into the ground. Spikes of biomass erupted from the ground in a wave. Moving towards Zeus. Before the spikes reached it, Zeus leapt into the air. Rotating in the air to land behind the juggernaut while facing it. The ground cracked where it landed. Before the juggernaut could react, Zeus leapt forward with inhuman speed, crouching low and swinging it's claws close to the ground. It moved past the juggernaut cutting off it's left leg, and rose to stand in front of it facing the hunter. The movement had been swift and precise. With no wasted energy. The juggernaut collapsed behind it, unable to support it's own massive weight.
The tendrils that made up Zeus' right arm began to shift. The elbow elongating and sharpening while the forearm and claw broke down and straightened out to create a large, sweeping blade. The edges of the blade sharpened to a precise, reflective point. The blade reached below it's knee and the spike of it's elbow was past it's shoulder.
Zeus swung the blade arm experimentally. The tip gouging a line in the concrete. Seemingly satisfied, it turned it's attention back to the juggernaut, still flopping around while it's leg regenerated. It took a step towards it and the juggernaut bellowed a warning. Zeus continued it's approach unfazed.
The juggernaut swung one of it's meaty arm towards Zeus with enough force to destroy a car. Zeus ducked the blow easily and swung it's blade around in a long arc, severing the limb. The juggernaut roared in pain and frustration. Zeus took another step forward and drove it's blade into the juggernaut's chest.
As the juggernaut bellowed in pain. Tendrils erupted from the blade and dug into the juggernaut's skin, breaking it down into biomass and absorbing it into Zeus' body. Soon, the only thing that remained of the juggernaut was a pool of blood.
Zeus lowered the blade and turned around, making it's way towards the hunter. On it's part, the hunter's arm had more or less regenerated. It roared at Zeus but made no move to attack. Zeus' blade began to shorten, and the elbow spike dissolved. The blade broadened in a short leaf shape and thick coils of spine covered tendrils appeared along it's arm. The claw on it's left arm also shifted to resemble a taloned hand.
Zeus swung it's arm forward and the blade erupted forth, covering the distance between it and the hunter in less than a second. The coils attached to the blade unraveling to allow it to reach the hunter. The blade pierced the hunters chest and erupted on the other side. Where the blade split into four separate talons like a grappling hook that dug into the hunters back.
Zeus yanked on the whip, pulling the struggling hunter towards it. The hunter tried to resist, pulling back and attacking the whip with it's claws but the spines along the whip stopped the hunter's claws from reaching the softer tendrils underneath. It soon became apparent that Zeus was the stronger of the two, as it simply pulled it's arm back, knocking the hunter off balance.
After a few seconds of struggling, the hunter was almost within the reach of Zeus' clawed hand. The hunter tried to swipe at Zeus, but Zeus simply flexed the whip, causing it to spiral out and wrap around the hunters arm, the spines digging into it's flesh and making it impossible to get away. The hunter attempted to free it's arm, but only succeeded in severing it at the wrist.
Zeus flexed the whip again, this time the tendrils wrapped around the hunters torso and neck. Zeus held it there for a second, then ripped the tendrils back, slicing the hunter to pieces. More tendrils erupted from Zeus' body and consumed the hunter.
The team watched the entire battle, studying Zeus' abilities and strength. After seeing Zeus tear the hunter apart, Jester said "Not to be a downer, but can we actually kill that thing?" The team was silent a moment. Before Bishop spoke up.
"Not in a direct confrontation. We have to get the drop on it. Then we use the Cure rounds. With any luck, it will weaken it enough for us to take it down." The team nodded slightly. They knew the plan, but seeing Zeus in person had been an unnerving experience.
Down in the intersection. Zeus sighed inaudibly. It was incredibly bored. It needed stronger prey to hunt. It hadn't taken more than a few minutes to kill two hunters and two juggernauts.
Zeus' biomass began to shift, the armour and weapons being absorbed and the shape of a human becoming visible. As the biomass subsided, Alex Mercer stood in the intersection. He looked around, seeing the tank full of bodies. With a curious expression, he made his way over. He began inspecting the dead bodies, throwing the half-eaten ones out of the way. "What's it doing?" Jester asked, "I thought it only ate what it killed."
"It's not eating, Jester, it's trying to figure out how they got there." Mentor pointed out. Zeus stood again. Looking around and sniffing. It knew the bodies had been killed by soldiers. But the only bullet holes were around the head and neck. Uncharacteristic of Blackwatch or the marines. Yet he detected no other scent.
He recognized the ploy. He'd used it himself. It was bait. And that unnerved him slightly. Even Blackwatch wouldn't slaughter an entire base just to get his attention. Yet that's what it looked like.
No, it's too clean. Too precise. There's something I'm not seeing. He looked around, scanning the buildings.
"Shit, you think it will see us?" Jester asked.
"No." Medic replied. Below, Mercer began walking down the street. Moving closer to their shelter. He began to whistle.
"Is it-" Jester began.
"-Star Spangled Banner." Medic said, cutting him off. Mercer stopped in the middle of the street. His eyes continuing to scan the area. Medic watched as the eyes reached a window directly to their right, moved towards their hiding place, and passed over smoothly. Mercer whistled the entire song. Scanning left and right. Before jumping straight up and landing on the side of a building across from Typhon. He then began running up the wall before flipping over the roof and disappearing.
The team waited another minute before sliding back from the window. Rising into crouches and stretching. "Well, that was fun." Jester stated. The others grunted in reply. They settled down to eat their rations before returning to base. Bishop contacted command.
"Red Crown, Typhon reporting. How copy?"
"Red Crown. Report in Typhon. Over." Said a feminine voice that was their adviser.
"Recon successful, returning to base. Over."
"Copy that." The line went dead.
"Alright, standard procedure. Medic, you're on point." Bishop said as they left the building. Using the alleys to conceal themselves as they moved. Leaving no evidence of their existence. As they made their way back to the outpost, Medic ran over what he'd seen of Zeus. Strangely excited to finally be closing in on his prey.