Chapter 12 – The Wolf
As the sun descended over the horizon, casting a golden glow over the Pacific Ocean, the citizens of Los Angeles gathered on the beaches, enjoying the cool evening breeze. Oceanfront bars and restaurants were at capacity on this boisterous evening on the waterfront. But their peaceful evening was abruptly shattered when something in the ocean started making waves. The crests coming into the beach began to change rapidly, chaotically alerting the people of something unusual. When the eyes looked out to the sea, a figure was spotted off in the distance just below the surface of the water. It was gigantic, and it was moving fast. A monstrous creature began to emerge from the depths of the ocean.
The colossal beast was easily 200 feet tall and had a terrifying appearance. Its body was a mix of a black wolf and a twisted creature from the deep. It was a Leviathan. Its fur was matted and clumped with salt water, and its massive limbs ended in razor-sharp claws that glinted menacingly in the fading light. The tentacles that slicked its form were also covered with the same dingy fur, giving this particular Leviathan an especially terrifying appearance that veered from the usual look the others in history had shown. Its menacing eyes glowed an eerie purple that matched the inner fire that was sometimes spotted beneath the slimy flesh of past creatures. The octopus-like tentacles grew off its body symmetrically, but they all flailed independently, writhing and lashing out.
As the creature neared the shore, its massive feet crushed everything in its path. Boats and jet skis capsized quickly in the vicinity, while people on foot were crushed beneath the gargantuan paws that crashed into the surface of the sand. Cars were flung aside like toys as the tentacles whipped wildly. Panic erupted among the people of Los Angeles as they fled for their lives, unsure of what to do in the face of such a terrifying monster.
The military was quickly dispatched to the scene as soon as scans picked up the approaching titan in the depths, hoping to stop the beast with their advanced weaponry before it caused too much damage to the city. The military descended upon Los Angeles, hoping to take down the towering monster with their advanced equipment and weapons. Tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets surrounded the city before the creature ever broke the surface, unleashing their most powerful weapons in a desperate attempt to stop it.
The tanks fired their massive cannons at the creature from pre-staged positions, but the shells bounced off its thick fur as if it were made of rubber. Helicopters dropped bombs on the monster, causing fiery explosions to erupt across the city. Loud howls and snarls came from the beast’s maw as it took the assault, shaking buildings across L.A. But the monster seemed unfazed by the attacks, swatting away the bombs and missiles with its powerful tentacles and tail.
The military's most advanced weapons were also deployed, including railguns and laser-guided missiles, but they had no effect on the monster. The railguns fired powerful projectiles at the creature, which actually cut into the beast’s fur and the surface of its flesh. But that’s all they did, leaving no visible lasting damage. The laser-guided missiles hit their target with pinpoint accuracy, too fast for the large and weighty leviathan to intercept. But the creature simply shrugged off the attack, its tentacles writhing and lashing out with even greater fury. The damage amplified in the coastal region of the city. Buildings in the creature’s path were decimated. The death toll was already climbing. This wasn’t a sluggish unresponsive titan like the Sandusky leviathan. This was a killer. Its purple eyes raged in fury at the attacks.
As the battle raged on, the military grew increasingly desperate. Quickly realizing that they weren’t equipped to kill a beast such as this, they determined to at least distract the demon and keep it as localized to the waterfront as possible. If they could do that, then maybe when the superhumans arrived, the city might stand a chance. They had thrown everything they had at the monster, but it seemed immune to their weapons.
The soldiers on the ground were left to fend for themselves, armed with rifles and grenade launchers. They fired their weapons at the monster, hoping to slow it down, but the bullets and explosives merely bounced off its thick fur. The monster seemed to relish in the chaos and destruction, lashing out with its tentacles and crushing anything in its path. It would roar as it killed the attackers, almost celebrating and reveling in the bloodlust.
The monster moved closer and closer to the city, and the people of Los Angeles braced themselves for the worst. Some fled to the safety of their homes, while others huddled together in shelters, praying for the creature to pass them by. The military kept the mountain of fury at bay for as long as they could. But eventually, they ran out of weapons powerful enough to keep its attention.
But it was clear that the monster was not going to stop its rampage. It seemed driven by a primal instinct to destroy everything in its path. The ground shook beneath its massive feet as it continued to crush buildings and vehicles, causing explosions and fires to erupt across the oceanfront of the city.
The citizens of Los Angeles looked on in horror as the beast drew closer, its eyes glowing with an unnatural intensity as it gazed out into its new playground. They knew that they needed help, and fast. That's when a team of superhumans from the Department of Superhuman Accountability arrived on the scene, determined to protect the city and its inhabitants from the monstrous threat.
As the military that survived the incursion retreated from the massive beast, a new hope appeared on the horizon. Four superhumans approached the creature in the air, ready to take on the challenge. They were members of the Department of Superhuman Accountability (DOSA), an elite government organization tasked with handling superhuman threats. Each member possessed unique powers and abilities that made them a formidable force against any adversary.
The first member of the team was Connor Blakeway, also known as Apex. A towering figure with skin pale as milk and veins that pulsed with green energy. His powers were a mix of superhuman strength, durability, and kinetic energy manipulation. When Apex used his gifts, his muscles would swell with internal power, and his eyes would glow with a fierce green light. In addition to his immense strength, Apex could manipulate kinetic energy to create kinetic blasts and very short-lived personal force fields. He could unleash a devastating punch that would send powerful kinetic force through the air, shattering anything in its path. He could also create a spherical force field around himself that would deflect incoming attacks and make him nearly invulnerable for a split second. But perhaps Apex's most unusual power was his ability to flood his body with the same green energy. He could increase or decrease the saturation of his tissues with the green energy, making himself move with incredible agility, leaping great distances, or crushing opponents beneath his strength. He did have a limit to what he could do and for how long. He had found it many times in his days of fighting.
All of these powers made Apex a fearsome opponent, capable of taking on entire armies by himself. But despite his immense power, he knew that he couldn't take on the monster alone, and he looked to his fellow superhumans for support.
Mirage, Anne Leighton, was the second member of the team, a lithe woman with an air of mystery about her. She had a small, athletic build, with short-cropped black hair that framed her sharp features. Mirage's power was the ability to create and control illusions, making her a master of deception and misdirection. She could create convincing images and sounds that could fool even the most observant opponent. Her illusions were so realistic that they could even interact with the physical world, such as creating illusory walls or objects that could be used for cover or distraction. In addition to her illusion powers, Mirage was also an expert hand-to-hand combatant, trained in various martial arts styles. Her agility and speed made her a difficult target to hit, and her illusions allowed her to confuse and disorient her opponents, making her an incredibly versatile fighter, even against a Leviathan.
Bolt, Jeff Roberts, was the third member of the team, a tall and muscular man with short buzzed brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Bolt's power was bio-electric manipulation, which allowed him to generate and control electricity from within his own body. With his bio-electric powers, Bolt could move at incredible speeds, using bursts of electricity to propel himself forward. He could also fly by levitating and propelling himself with his electric energy. In combat, he could summon powerful bolts of lightning that could blast through metal or knock down opponents with ease. Bolt's control over bio-electricity also provided him with enhanced senses, allowing him to sense electrical currents and electromagnetic fields. This made him an excellent tracker, able to locate hidden opponents or objects by sensing their electrical signatures.
What set Bolt apart from other electric-based heroes was his ability to tune his body's bio-electric signal to summon lightning strikes from the skies above. He would use his own electrical energy as a target point, guiding the lightning to strike precisely where he wanted it to. This unique ability not only allowed him to harness the power of the elements but also to power himself up and increase his strength and abilities. There was one account where he summoned lightning to strike him, and he rode it back through the sky to a different location. No one had ever verified this ability, and Jeff was very tight-lipped about the events in his past that led him to the discovery of his abilities. Despite his impressive powers, Bolt had his own weaknesses. As a bio-electric being, he was vulnerable to attacks that disrupted his electrical signals, such as electromagnetic pulses or extreme fluctuations in the surrounding electrical fields. But with his incredible powers and his team by his side, Bolt was a force to be reckoned with, ready to take on any challenge that came his way.
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Shield was the final member and leader of the team. Jeremiah Jenkins, a tall and imposing figure with a muscular build and a stern, unyielding demeanor. Shield's power was the ability to manipulate a naturally occurring energy field that his body produced, allowing him to generate powerful nigh-unbreakable force fields that surrounded him or others and to keep them from harm. With his energy field, Shield could deflect incoming attacks and protect his teammates from almost any kind of attack. He could also use his powers to create a variety of energy-based weapon attacks. If he could imagine the shape, he could form it into reality using the very forcefields as melee weapons. Shields’s ability to block and defend his team, as well as block and redirect opponents made him the tactical-minded leader of the team. This made him a highly effective strategist, able to control the battlefield and move opponents around with ease. With his immense mental strength, his unyielding determination, and his strategic mind, Shield was a crucial member of the team, always ready to defend his city and his teammates from any threat that might come their way.
The team of superhumans, Apex, Mirage, Bolt, and Shield, hovered in the air before the towering leviathan as it approached the city. With their unique powers and abilities, they were the last line of defense against the massive beast.
Apex was the first to strike, charging forward with incredible speed and slamming into the skull of the leviathan with a powerful kinetic punch. The beast barely flinched, but Apex didn't relent, striking again and again with lightning-fast blows near its purple eyes. The leviathan swung one of its massive shoulder-mounted tentacles at Apex, but the superhuman dodged the attack, moving so quickly that he seemed to blur.
Meanwhile, Mirage used her powers of illusion to create a multitude of copies of herself in the air around the beast, confusing the leviathan and making it hard for it to target the real Mirage.
But the leviathan was not going down without a fight. It lashed out with its tentacles, smashing them into the ground and sending shockwaves rippling outwards with sprays of sand and seawater. The team struggled to keep their balance, even in mid-air, and many of them were knocked into the water. The leviathan's massive jaws snapped shut inches from the real Mirage's face, forcing her to retreat rapidly into the crumbling waterfront where she could support from a safer distance.
Bolt managed to blast the creature with a powerful bolt of lightning, but it only seemed to enrage it further. The leviathan let out an ear-splitting roar and slammed its massive tail into the ground, sending the remaining three of the team flying in all directions. Apex's raking attacks drew blood as he slashed at the creature's flesh with his penetrating kinetic attacks, but it was like trying to cut through solid steel.
The team was getting beaten and bloodied, struggling to stay alive in the face of the leviathan's relentless onslaught as they first began to attack. But they refused to give up. They knew that they were the only thing standing between the monster and the city, and they were not going to let it win.
Bolt used his bio-electric manipulation to summon a powerful bolt of lightning from the sky, repositioning near it to strike the leviathan's head. The beast roared in pain as the thunderbolt plowed into its brain, thrashing its tentacles and causing destruction all around it. But Bolt didn't stop there. He charged up his powers, increasing his own electrical energy to a dangerous level, and unleashed a barrage of lightning blasts at the leviathan, striking it repeatedly and causing it to stagger back toward the ocean.
Shield stepped forward, raising his arms and summoning a powerful energy field that surrounded the entire team. The leviathan swung another tentacle, but the energy field deflected the attack, sending it bouncing harmlessly away.
The team continued to battle the leviathan, each using their unique abilities to chip away at the beast's defenses while dodging and avoiding fatal attacks by the walking death machine. Apex landed a powerful blow, severing one of the leviathan's massive tentacles. Mirage created a mirror image of the city’s landscape directly behind the beast, actually turning around and moving towards the depths and away from civilians. She shielded the rest of the team from this illusion so they could retain their orientation and ability to read the environment. Mirage was a support agent in the field, but she effectively saved the city from further damage. Although she didn’t pump out direct damage, she could turn the tide in an instant with the right illusion.
Finally, after a long and grueling battle, the team delivered the final blow. Bolt charged up his powers once more, raising his limits to the top, and then summoning another lightning strike into his own bio-electric field. His power skyrocketed, literally as he ascended into the air above the titan. Bolt was directly overhead the wolf’s skull again, floating there like a being of raw unfiltered energy. He directed a massive bolt of lightning straight down from his core and into the leviathan's skull. The beast slopped a wet yelp out of its sea of fangs in agony, its body convulsing as the electrical energy surged through it. With a final mountainous crunch, the beast’s skull shattered, and the lightning burned a hole through the leviathan’s brain as it searched for the earth below.
As the final blow was struck, the monstrous leviathan fell lifeless into the ocean with a deafening crash. But the impact of its colossal body was not over yet. As the beast hit the water, it created a massive wave that began to surge toward the shore with terrifying speed.
The team of superhumans looked on in horror as the wave grew larger and closer, threatening to engulf the oceanfront of the city and cause even more untold destruction. But Shield was not ready to give up just yet. He called upon all his strength and focused his power, creating a massive shield wall that rose from the water. It was as long as the general area that the leviathan had been raging in, far larger than anything any of his team had ever seen him create before. Mirage looked at her longtime friend in shock at what he was accomplishing, but worried if he could take what he was about to put himself through.
The wall was so massively tall that it curved in on itself, creating a bowl shape that would catch the incoming wave. The water rushed towards them with incredible force, but Shield stood his ground, arms outstretched as he summoned all his strength to control the wall.
As the wave struck the yellowish-orange translucent energy shield, it was like a massive explosion. The water exploded in all directions, sending spray flying high into the air. Shield's entire body shook with the force of the impact, and blood began to trickle from his nose. No physical force was on him, but the internal mechanics of his energy field and the mental strain were incalculable.
He gritted his teeth and poured every ounce of his power into the shield, forcing the wave back upon itself and nullifying its power. But the strain was too much for him. With a final burst of effort, Shield screamed and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
The rest of the team rushed to his side, checking his vital signs and making sure he was okay. Mirage felt panic in her chest as her longtime, on-again-off-again lover was lying unconscious after an inhuman display of strength and power, even for a superhuman. He was alive, but barely. Mirage, Bolt, and Apex looked at the wall of water that had been redirected and realized just how close they had come to disaster. Not every bit had been returned to the sea. The shield did fail sporadically at the bottom where the energy barrier had given way as its creator’s willpower started to wane. But it would do very minimal damage. Shield’s efforts were successful.
As the sun began to set on the horizon, casting an orange glow across the sky, the team helped Shield to his feet and started the long trek back into the city with their leader propped up on their shoulders. The destruction was terrifying. Distant screams and cries could be heard by all the heroes out in the darkening city. The people were out in the dark all by themselves. They needed help. Even Shield looked up through the fog of his drained mind, trying to tell his friends they couldn’t go yet. They had to help the people. They all knew it, but they were so tired. That monster was like nothing this team of new-generation superhumans had ever faced before. All of them were little children when the leviathan war raged. They never knew what it was like to stand against one… until today.
Just then, the hum of an approaching ship filled the air of the night sky.
The team trudged through the destroyed part of the city, their bodies battered and bruised from their battle with the leviathan. The weight of their failure hung heavy on their shoulders as they walked through the destruction they couldn’t stop, each step feeling like a monumental effort. As they approached the heart of the destruction, they saw something they had never seen before - an unusual air transport ship descending from the sky. It was definitely DOSA, but different. It looked more high-tech.
The ship descended in front of them, its engines whirring as it hovered above the ground. The back hatch opened, revealing a figure floating out towards them on a silver disk of liquid metal. It was Darrius Gates, the superhuman face of DOSA.
All of the team's anger and frustration boiled over as they saw him. "Where were you when we needed you?" Bolt growled, clenching his fists as he held up his team leader.
Darrius remained calm, floating down to meet them on the ground. "I'm here now," he said simply. "And I'm here to help."
The team exchanged wary glances, unsure of what to make of the sudden appearance of the greatest superhuman agent in the agency. But as they looked into Darrius's eyes, they saw a glimmer of sincerity.
"What's going on?" Apex asked, his voice strained as his thought spun. He knew something was up.
"There's another leviathan," Darrius replied gravely. "We've detected it heading towards Pismo Beach. And we need your help to stop it." Darrius was all facts and deathly serious.
The team hesitated for a moment, still reeling from their previous battle. But they knew that they couldn't let another city fall victim to the monster's wrath.
“What about everyone here?” Mirage asked the old hero. “They need help. People are trapped in the rubble,” she said looking around at the collapsed buildings.
“DOSA is descending on this area. A rescue team of superhumans and emergency services are about to be everywhere in this zone. They will help, but we need yours in Pismo.” Darrius looked around at the damage and then out to the alien figure lying in the water just off the beach. Most of the leviathan’s body was still sticking out of the ocean, too big to be completely submerged. “What you did here was totally unexpected. You took this thing down with just the four of you, and you’ve never faced one in real life before. I need you with me. The whole world needs you with me, including your city. You can do more for them in Pismo Beach than here digging through the rubble.”
Shield spoke up for the first time since Darrius’ arrival, “This is our city. We have to protect it, and save these people!”
Darrius smiled apologetically at him, actually admiring his mentality about his hometown, even though he was still a DOSA agent. He reminded him of how he used to feel about Chicago, before the government takeover.
In the dark of the night Darrius was brutally honest with all of them, “If we don’t stop what’s about to hit Pismo Beach, your city may not last the week.”
The team all looked helplessly at each other. They were so conflicted about what to do. They had to make the right choice. Shield was the most torn inside, but ultimately he knew what was right. It didn’t really matter anyway, even if his choice aligned. If Darrius was here, that means it was a DOSA order.
"We're in," Shield said, determination flashing in his eyes.
Darrius nodded, his expression serious. "Good. Let’s go.”