Here it is! All done! Hope you like!
Finally, time to take off. All authorizations were given, all maintenance finished. Sho Kuroki entered the remote-control room standing tall. The crew were in their seats, ready to go. Kuroki looked through the viewing screen at their ultimate weapon.
He took a deep breath and said. "Super X-2, launch!"
Onscreen, the Super X-2's engines whirled to life, lifting it off the ground. The bay doors opened. The Super X-2 shot off into the night, toward Tokyo.
Kuroki clenched his fist. Now the hard part begins.
The masers fired at Godzilla, drawing him further from civilian areas.
"Haruo, what should we do?" said Izuku. "We can't lure him out. We definitely can't beat him. We can only lead him into less populated areas for so long!"
"You're the history expert! Is there any way to track the transmitter down?" said Haruo.
"I don't think so. In Accra, they only found it because it was the one building with the lights ony. Otherwise, they either got lucky or Deverich turned it off."
"Damn it! There has a way to find that damn thing!"
"But how?!"
Kenji blinked. He couldn't…
Stepping outside, Kenji closed his eyes, and focused his senses. He focused on that tingle in his head, that psychic noise he could barely hear, searching for its source.
In and out. In and out. Focus…
"Can you sense it?" Ogashira walked up to him..
Kenji shook his head. "No. Just a vague direction. I can't track it."
She looked to him, then out to the city. "Then we triangulate it."
"What?"
"Go to several points around the city, get the basic direction from each. Using that, we box the transmitter in. Repeat that as many times as it takes to find and destroy the transmitter."
Kenji's eyes widened. "That could work!"
"Good. Now come on." She stepped inside. "He can find the transmitter. But we need someone to take him around the city to triangulate its location."
One of the AMF personnel nodded. "I'll call a team immediately."
"I have someone who can help," Creati said.
They turned to face her. For several seconds, none of the AMF personnel said a word. Even the most tolerant of them didn't like working with Heroes. Especially not tonight.
Finally, Ogashira said, "Fine. If you have someone that can transport him quickly and safely, call them."
Creati went outside. One of the officers turned to Ogashira. "The hell?! You're letting them help us?! After all this?!"
"Now's not the time for petty squabbles. It's not their fault their higher ups gave them lousy intel. As for their later attacks, you can't tell me you wouldn't have tried something similar if the only other option was letting a kaiju run rampant."
"They got him angrier than he's ever been in our lifetime!"
"Assisted by a device built by terrorists, who may or may not be guarding said device." Ogashira said, glaring. "Hate them all you want, but I trust a Hero to survive out there more than a jeep or helicopter. Saegusa's safety is too important to be risked for our egos."
The officer backed down. Meanwhile, it finally dawned on Kenji he was about to go out into an irradiated city with an angry dinosaur smashing it to rubble. Before he could freak out, he felt a sudden stab of alarm coming from Creati outside. Kenji ran out and found her next standing over an empty patch of ground, looking around.
"Where is it?" she said. "Where is it?!"
"Creati!" another Hero ran to her. "You looking for the case Rocket Arms took?"
"Rocket Arms?" she said.
"Yeah! His friend overheard that it could slow down Godzilla and he wanted to use it himself! I told him it was a terrible idea, but he wouldn't stop!"
Creati's eyes widened. She created a red hazmat suit and quickly put it on. "You wait here, my contact will be here soon," she said to Kenji. "I'm going after them. Battle Fist is in charge."
The news came through. They'd actually built a Super X-2 (so cool!) which was on its way. Now the masers only had to hold until it arrived.
They attacked, with Izuku and Haruo leading from the front.
"This is what Murakami did in '54 right?" Zeni said, dodging a chunk of building. "He went through this and went, volunteered to do it again?!"
"Yep!" Izuku said.
"You really are from the same cloth…"
Godzilla tried to blast them, but Zeni was already turning into a nearby alley when he fired, sideswiping the corner. Sometimes it felt like he had a sixth sense about where Godzilla's next attack would land. Apparently, being a driver in G-Force did that to people.
"Ha! Missed again asshole!" Zeni said.
They circled around and fired again, drawing Godzilla away from a civilian center. Godzilla's attacks were more calculated than they'd been before. He realized these were different, better opponents.
Godzilla then went after Akiba and Yashiro. Izuku said, "Zeni! Take us past him!"
"Shit!" Zeni pulled them right next to Godzilla's foot. Izuku fired at Godzilla's ankle, getting his attention and almost getting stepped on.
Zeni took the nearest turn while Izuku hit Godzilla in the eye. Godzilla abandoned his prior quarry and chased after them.
They tried to slip away but Godzilla kept on them. As they ran out of wiggle room, Haruo blasted Godzilla in the throat, and around the eye.
Godzilla fired, but Haruo and Tani were already out of the way. Izuku fired at Godzilla, drawing his attention. Then, Haruo fired again. Godzilla turned his attention on him, so Izuku fired from the other way. The two went back and forth, covering the other. Godzilla tried to catch onto their pattern, but both knew him well enough to modify it before he could
Akiba and Yashiro caught up. Izuku and Haruo took cover while Gondo's missiles peppered Godzilla's skin like firecrackers.
"Akiba, go for the right. Yashiro, be ready to draw him down the next intersection. I'll cover your retreat," Izuku said.
Akiba's maser hit Godzilla by his right ear. When Godzilla chased, Akiba's took a hard right. Godzilla smashed through a building as he chased them. Yashiro hit him in the eye. Godzilla turned and charged his atomic breath, but before he could fire, their maser ducked behind a long building.
Godzilla's gaze shifted to said building's other side.
Akane checked behind her. No atomic breath. Odd. Akane checked the viewing screen. Sure enough, Godzilla was about to fire his atomic breath at-
"HARD RIGHT! NOW!"
In G-Force when someone screams at you to move, you don't ask. You just do. Hayama banked right, almost sideswiping the wall just as Godzilla's atomic breath went through the building, slamming into the street next to them.
Akane felt gravity leave as their tank was thrown off the road. She slammed against her restraint like a crash test dummy, her head banging into the back of her chair.
Everything stopped.
Akane shook her head, trying to get her bearings. They were… on their side.
Akane carefully unbuckled herself and went to Hayama. She shook him. "Hayama! Hayama!" She saw his chest moving up and down. Unconscious. She made sure his suit wasn't compromised, then unstrapped him and pulled him from her chair.
The comms crackled. "Yashiro! Hayama! Are you ok?!"
"Yeah. Hayama's unconscious but we're alive."
"Get out of there! He's about to going through the building!"
Akane felt the ground tremble.
Putting Hayama's arm around her shoulder, Akane opened the bottom escape hatch. She lowered him down, then herself. She slung his arm around herself again and hurried away.
Crashing noises filled her ears. Akane slung Hayama over her firemen style and ran. Her legs groaned from the strain, but she ignored them. Rubble fell, while Godzilla's roar thundered through the street.
Akane reached the nearest door, threw it open, and lunged inside. A cloud of dust enveloped the street.
Akane waited.
Finally, Godzilla's tail waved passed the window, then slid away. Akane watched Godzilla's outline look down at her tank, then with a snort, bring his foot down. Akane winced at the whining of metal as their maser buckled under the weight.
His work done, Godzilla walked away.
Akane let herself breath again. She radioed her situation in, then sat and waited for extraction.
That could have gone worse. They were down a maser, but Izuku's teammates, his friends, were alive. They were lucky.
Izuku and Haruo drew Godzilla away Yashiro and Hayama's hiding spot, using quick but precise shots, staying out of Godzilla's field of vision whenever they could. The others joined too, but Godzilla fired a wide blast forced them to scatter.
They tried to regroup, but Godzilla turned toward an area that hadn't been fully evacuated. Only Haruo and Izuku could reach him in time.
"Drive him left. I'll circle around and hit him in the back," said Izuku.
"Copy."
Haruo fired at Godzilla. As the kaiju turned, Izuku went around and hit him multiple times in the back. Godzilla turned around to face him. He charged his breath, but Izuku ducked behind cover.
Looking at his viewing screen, Izuku saw Haruo aiming another attack. Gven Godzilla's position and the distance to the nearest cover, that attack would leave him exposed.
"Haruo! Wai-"
Haruo shot Godzilla in the ear. Godzilla fired his atomic breath.
Haruo's tank swerved, narrowly avoiding the blast. However, the explosion briefly lifted Haruo and Tani off the ground and drove them into a building.
"Haruo! Are you alright? Haruo!"
Haruo shook his head. Dammit! That was an amateur mistake! Stupid! Stupid!
"You alright Yuko?" he said.
Yuko groaned. "Uh huh. That hurt…"
"Yeah, I know," Haruo said. Weapons systems were fine. He tried to swivel the turret. It wouldn't budge. He tried several more times before giving up. Damn. They were out of the fight.
Haruo checked his screen and saw Midoriya distracting Godzilla, then retreating. Good. Fighting Godzilla wasn't something one wanted to do alone. Especially now, after the destruction made so many streets impassible.
Yuko pulled their tank out and began driving down to join the others.
"Midoriya, once you've rendezvoused with the others, you'll be on point. I'll try to advise from the back, but I'm out of this fight."
"Understood. We'll just-WHOA!"
"Midoriya! What-"
"-happened?!" Izuku said. One moment they were driving over a pile of rubble pile, the next there was a hard jolt and they stopped. "Zeni?"
"Part of the pile collapsed, let me…" Zeni fiddled with the controls. The maser didn't move.
Izuku glanced at his viewing screen. Godzilla was coming. "Zeni!"
"It won't move! We're stuck!"
Not good. Oh, how Izuku missed Ochako right now. Her quirk got them out of this kind of situation so many times. But since she wasn't here…
"Let's go!" Izuku opened the hatch. "Haruo, our maser got stuck, we're getting out, but Godzilla's almost right on top of us!"
Izuku had always hoped that if Godzilla did incinerate him, it would be while fighting. Not while trying to escape a crippled tank! At least he still had his sidearm…
Izuku hopped off the tank, followed soon after by Zeni.
"Ahhh! Dammit!"
Zeni landed awkwardly on one leg. He collapsed to the ground, gripping his ankle. He tried to get up, but he winced in pain and fell back down. "I don't think I can walk!" he said. "You go ahead and-"
"Finish that sentence and I put you on bathroom for a year!"
Izuku put Zeni's arm over his shoulder and picked him up, helping him limp away. "Haruo, we're leaving our tank, but we might not make it. Forget us. Join the others!"
They hobbled toward the edge of the street. As they went for the nearest building, a large foot came into view. Followed by a rather large and rather angry head.
Godzilla charged his breath.
As Izuku reached for his holster, two beams hit the kaiju from behind.
A single maser charged at the kaiju, its twin guns blazing while Haruo roared with fury.
A little earlier
"Haruo, we're leaving our tank, but we might not make it. Forget us. Join the others!"
Yuko sucked in a breath. Midoriya…
"Yuko stop."
Yuko pulled to a stop in the middle of an intersection. Haruo looked thoughtful. "I have an idea. It's crazy. You won't like it."
Yuko raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" Yuko was no stranger to crazy ideas, especially not from Haruo.
Haruo unstrapped himself, then opened the hatch. "Follow me, I think I have a way for us to aim."
Confused, Yuko climbed out with him. He got to the edge of the turret. Was he going to…try to aim it manually?!
"Come over here, when I tell you, pull. Use your quirk."
He was. Even by his standards this was a stretch. "Haruo-"
Haruo looked her in the eyes, and pressed his face shield to hers. "Just trust me. Please."
Yuko hesitated. Then she nodded, "Alright." He turned away and started climbing toward the hatch while Yuko kneeled by the joint of the turret, readying her quirk.
"Just do what I say, and you'll be fine."
His voice…This wasn't right. Yuko looked up. She met his eyes.
Then it all made sense.
Yuko lunged for the hatch, but with three final words Haruo ducked inside.
"Haruo! Open up!" Yuko banged on the hatch. "HARUO!"
"Get off the tank Yuko. I'm doing this one alone."
"DAMMIT HARUO! OPEN UP! NOW!"
"Sorry."
Yuko activated her quirk in her arms. The hatch still didn't budge.
"HARUO!"
The tank roared to life and careened toward Godzilla. As it got close, Haruo opened fire with a roar of defiance. Yuko considered staying on, but that would be futile. This was Haruo's fight now, and his alone.
Yuko leaped off and, for the first and only time since she joined him, let Haruo ride into battle without her.
While she blinked tears out of her eyes, Godzilla charged his breath.
He'd had a feeling this would be how he died. Firing his maser while facing Godzilla's atomic breath. Still, he was glad Yuko wasn't here too.
"Midoriya, I leave command to you. Save the city and don't you dare fail."
Godzilla opened his mouth. Haruo stared at his mortal foe, feeling utterly unafraid. "Alright you bastard, give it your best shot. Yuko, goodbye."
Godzilla unleashed his breath. With a defiant roar, Haruo met it.
Haruo's maser vanished into the beam. Yuko activated her quirk, coating her body in metal. She hugged the ground as flames swept up the street.
Yuko slowly got to her feet. Her quirk's metal was resistant to heat and radiation, but that had limits. Right now, Yuko's skin glowed red while her body stung like she was lying atop a sunlit parking lot on a summer day.
Yuko barely noticed the pain. Instead she stared at the burning wreckage and fell to her knees. "Haruo…"
Several choked breaths left her. She didn't know how long she sat there, but eventually she found herself wandering through the streets, her quirk still active to protect herself.
Yuko saw movement ahead. Heroes. They had civilians with them, civilians with no protective gear.
On seeing Yuko, the Heroes ran toward her.
Yuko held out her hand. "Don't come any closer," she said. "I'm highly radioactive and need immediate decontamination."
They nodded and led her from a distance. Later, in the decontamination chamber, as the pink steam washed over her, Yuko sat down, deactivated her quirk, and finally let herself weep.
Thanks to Haruo, Izuku and Zeni escaped. As the other masers finally reached them, Izuku heard the news they'd been waiting for.
"Attention all units, the Super X-2 has arrived. I repeat, the Super X-2 has arrived."
Izuku got on comms. "This is Lieutenant Midoriya. All combat units pull back. Leave it to the Super X-2. I repeat, pull back!"
Izuku heard elation over the comms. He and Zeni climbed on top of Akiba's tank and let it take them away.
As they rode, Izuku glanced at the infantry riding alongside them. They hadn't had many to begin with, but now…
Izuku looked closer, and noticed Gondo wasn't among them.
The elevators opened. Gondo staggered out, wounded. Bleeding. Dying. He struggled to the window, and fixed his gaze on the enormous reptile outside.
"There you are," he said with a bloody grin. "Right where I want you…
Yep, the Super X-2 has joined this battle!
And so ends Haruo Sakaki, the Raging Demon of the AMF. How'd I do with his character? I know his canon counterpart can be a bit...divisive, but I think I did him well here, while still making him recognizably himself.
And for those of you who've seen Godzilla vs Biollante. Yes. This is going where you think.
