"Rush em! Go, go, go!" ODST Daniel Thomas screamed. The Elites back away, caught off guard by the aggressive move, unleashing a withering wave of plasma fire on the embattled humans. This particular squad of Helljumpers knew that they were in a hopeless situation. They had lost contact with the rest of their platoon and immediately come under heavy fire upon landing. The human soldiers vaulted over cover and fired at the retreating Covenant forces. The squad takes cover behind an overturned Warthog.
"Sir, we need to re-establish contact with the platoon." One of the soldiers said.
"Most pressing issue is staying alive right now Cooper. Those covies are just regrouping. They outnumber us twenty to one." Thomas said. He turned to one of the soldiers toting a heavy backpack. "Time to see if that radio is any good still Smith."
"I took a shot bugging out of my drop pod Sir. There's no way this thing is still functional." She said, frustration evident in her voice. Thomas nodded. He looked around for a second frantically.
"Wade, where's Wade?" He asked.
"Dead sir." Cooper said grimly.
"Shit." Thomas replied. Plasma fire started zipping overhead again, coupled with the jagged energy lances from Jackal snipers. Thomas popped up to return fire and ducked back as the return fire almost ripped apart the Warthogs frame.
"We're running out of options." Smith said grimly. Another armored figured darted through the firestorm towards them. Heads Up Display identifying him as a friendly. The sharks teeth on his rifle identify him as a member of Thomas's squad.
"Morgan, Holy shit dude. I thought you were dead." Cooper yelled.
"I came pretty fucking close." He said. He slung his rifle and yanked the SAW off of the magnetic plate on his armor. "We gotta move sir." He said firmly.
"I know. We're gonna back up to our previous position and pray that our armor gets here before theirs does. You want to cover us?" Thomas asked. Morgan nodded. Thomas counts down on his hands. 3…2…1…The three ODST's sprinted away from cover. Morgan popped up and started spraying the approaching Covenant with the light machine gun. Morgan sprinted back, diving behind some rubble just as a grunt with a needler riddled the fallen Warthog.
"Spike in radiation." Smith said quietly.
"The Covenant doesn't use nukes, whats the deal?" Thomas said.
"Behind us. It's definitely not one of ours." Smith said.
"What the fuck?" Morgan said. A gold light gleamed off of his visor. The soldiers all turned around. A golden ring was slowly expanding, as if something was tearing the air itself. Covenant energy blasts fly around them, heating the air.
"I served on one of the Halo's Sir, it's the rock…" He gestured to the ring. "Or the hard place." He pointed at the approaching enemy.
"Charlie squad! Let's move." Thomas yelled. The ODST's started backing towards the ring, firing at the incoming enemy. Thomas stepped through, his feet going from gritty rubble, to solid concrete.
Elsewhere…
"Put the bow down and we can talk about this rationally!" Shouting drew the ODST squad's attention behind them. Two men were aiming handguns at two hooded figures on top of a building who were in turn aiming bows at them. A third man in a trench coat stood motionless behind the two men on the ground. They were standing in a wide open concrete expanse of a parking lot.
"Where are we sir?" Smith asked.
"Could be Earth, could be Reach. We appear to have stumbled on to a Mexican standoff regardless." He said simply.
"Roy keep an eye on the newcomers." Oliver growled. This was far less civil than he had originally planned on being. The new group of armored people had complicated things as well. The shorter angrier man "Dean" had turned and was keeping his weapon trained on them. The armored figures reacted like trained soldiers, each one training a weapon on a different person.
"Look. Let's be reasonable about this and talk. No weapons, no masks. We all know why we're here so let's talk about it yeah?" Oliver shouted. There was a cloud of dust as Barry arrived.
"Sorry I'm late, what did I miss?" He said. Every gun in the parking lot was aimed at the new arrival.
"Fastest man alive." Oliver said sarcastically, shaking his head. "My associate will be arriving with transportation for the rest of you shortly." He called down to the rest of them. Sam and Dean lowered their pistols, the soldiers lowered their weapons as well.
"Sergeant Daniel Thomas, UNSC." The soldiers were trying to socialize with the trigger happy brothers.
"Sam Winchester, did you guys get one of those letters as well?" The tall one said extending his hand.
"Letters? We were in combat, this hole in space opened. It was that or die." Thomas said. Dean nodded without a word. Sam raised an eyebrow. Diggle pulled up in a black van and honked the horn.
"We'll follow you!" Dean yelled. They piled into the Impala as the soldiers piled into the back of the van. Diggle shifted forward in his seat and accelerated. The ride passed in tense silence, the ODST's staring out the back windows at what looked like hundreds of years in the past. They inclined their heads towards each other. Diggle glanced at the rear view mirror, curious about the gesture of camaraderie. What Diggle didn't hear was the start of a blazing argument over short range comm.
"What the fuck."
"This van is an antique."
"The van? Are you looking at the car following us?" Smith said.
"I don't know if it's the cars." Thomas broke in.
"We did not time travel."
"No one said anything about time travel. I just think we need to keep an open mind."
"Yes sir."
"We're going to be civil, we'll treat this like neutral territory until we know exactly what's happening. Clear?" He said.
"Clear sir." The chorus came back.
"We're here." Diggle said. The soldiers abruptly sat up and grabbed their weapons. Diggle unsnapped his handgun from its holster, they were an unknown still. One of the armored soldiers reached up and took off his helmet, the seal hissing as it gave way. A hard faced brown haired head appearing from underneath it.
"Helmets off guys." He said. "I didn't properly introduce myself, Sergeant Daniel Thomas, UNSC." He offered his hand. Diggle shook it cautiously. Helmets came off around the interior of the van as the rest of the squad got more comfortable.
"Private Jennifer Smith." A strikingly beautiful blonde woman nodded curtly.
"Private Nathan Cooper." A black haired man, vicious looking scar starting below his eye and ending at some point below his chest plate, grunted.
"Private Jake Morgan." The last man hadn't removed his helmet, and was busy reattaching his weapons to the magnetic strips on his armor.
"He's not social." Thomas said. Morgan grunted angrily.
"Well I'm John Diggle, we're probably running late so we can make the introductions when we get in there." He nodded towards the darkened club. They followed Diggle out of the van, breathing in the cool night air for the first time. Sam and Dean join them along the way.
"Stop staring." Smith said.
"What me?" Dean said, while holding open the door for the first few people. He glanced at Sam and mouthed "Holy shit!". Sam grimaced and shook his head. They enter the "Arrow Cave", Dean taking in his surroundings and letting out a low whistle. The ODST's stand at loose attention near the table. Sam and Dean stand near each other. Oliver walked down the stairs, removing his motorcycle helmet as he went.
"You're all here because someone wants us to be here. Someone is pushing us together. I figured we could get some answers if we put our heads together." He said. "My name is Oliver Queen."
The assembled group, talked long into the night exchanging stories. Introductions were made as Barry, Laurel, and the others arrived. Food was purchased, drinks were opened.
"I don't understand these references to a Door." Cooper said. "It doesn't make sense."
"Doorways are often used to describe passage between worlds." Castiel spoke for the first time in hours.
"Jesus Fuck." Morgan jumped up. "I forgot that dude was there."
"Cas, you have been pretty quiet." Sam said.
"I am concerned. This is beyond the power of anyone I can think of. Something dark is at play here." He said grimly.
"Well that's worrying." Dean said taking a long pull from the beer in his hand.
"You're not wrong." A new voice said. A hunched figure limped into the room. Every weapon was trained in a split second. The figure stopped, coming into clear focus under the lights for the first time. A deep blue hooded robe covered a shadow face, the figure straightening and appearing to grow imperceptibly taller.
"Who are you?" Oliver barked. The hood turned towards the emerald archer. There's a hard thump, as Barry slams into a wall behind the new arrival. The speedsters sneak attack ended as fast as it began. The tense atmosphere escalates.
"You start talking, or we start shooting." Dean said calmly.
"I speak for Fate, who sends his regrets that he cannot be here himself. It pleases him to see the recruiters assembled." The voice had a strange vibrato to it, as if the figures was speaking underwater.
"Recruiters?" Roy asked.
"Ah yes, we haven't been keeping you as informed as we should have. More will be revealed in time. You are the only hope there is at the moment for something evil is stirring…something ancient." The figure said.
"The Rot. The darkness gnawing at the edifice of the multiverse. We have only been able to keep it stalemated for so long. "
"What changed?" Thomas asked, not lowering his rifle.
"One of the Guardians fell. The Rot is free now, and expanding. You are our recruiters. We need to gather forces to stand against the Rot without drawing its attention towards our efforts."
"So you want us to go door to door or what?" Dean asked.
"That's what this is for." The figure stepped forward. Everyone in the room tensed up and backed away from the table, weapons never leaving the figure as it placed a box on the table. It reached into its robe and withdrew a piece of yellowed parchment.
"This is the Key. This is the Map. Find your way to the core world, recruit along the way." The figure said.
"Everything rides on you." The figure said. Then, the robe collapsed, whatever was underneath it was gone. Leaving the heroes with new gifts, and more questions than answers.
Authors Note: Sorry for the cliff hanger, I'm going to update soon so I figured there's no harm in it right? Stay tuned!