When Emily got back to the Marine airbase the first thing she did was drop her stuff off in her tent then take a really long shower. She had been taking baths in the sink when she could and when she couldn't she used baby wipes. Standing in the shower letting the water pour over her head she couldn't help be glad she was alive. She knew that there was a lot of casualties retaking the city and she felt bad that she was happy but she still felt really good to get out of the city alive. She got dressed in her least dirty uniform and headed to the hanger to see if anyone was around.
When she was halfway there she spotted bubbles flying around the hanger with someone else in his force field. When she got closer she spotted Val laughing hysterically hugging bubbles as he flew her around and around the hanger getting faster and faster. The hanger door was wide open and there were a lot of people standing around talking to each other and in the far corner, someone was cooking on the grill.
“Marines sure do like cookouts.” Emily thought as she got closer. It smelled really good.
“Never!” Bubbles shouted when he spotted her. He and Val flew down to land beside her. He grabbed her around the waist. “When I tell you to jump.” He said excitedly.
Emily frowned at him but Val smiled and nodded. “Trust me its awesome,” Val said as Bubbles closed his eyes.
“Now!” He shouted as he and Val jumped. Emily jumped. A clear glass like oval appeared around them. It looked like glass. Awed Emily reached out and touched it. The force field was smooth and warm to touch like a piece of glass that had been the sun on a hot summer day. “Ready?” He asked and without waiting on an answer took off.
Emily yelped a bit as they took off. Flying in the bubble was weird. She was standing on the force field and it didn't feel like they were moving at all. She didn't feel the wind or even feel the sensations of moving at all. They buzzed the people at the cookout flying several feet above their heads. She could hear them talking and some cases yelling at them as they flew by with any problems. Emily started to laugh again and leaned into Bubbles.
“Go higher!” Val shouted laughing. Bubbles did as she asked and they started to circle around the hanger. Bubbles took them even higher when they reached the runway. In no time they were so high that the base looked like tiny. “I love it up here. What I wouldn't give to be able to fly.” Emily said smiling looking around in wonder.
Bubbles came to a hover just under the clouds. Emily could see the city in the distance and it looked really small. There was a long line of cars heading back into the city coming over the bridges that spanned the river. She could see the checkpoints along the city's entrances. Already the people were returning. They hovered there for a while just hanging in the air looking at the city.
“Sorry gals but I have to land. Emily needs to go on a diet she weights a ton.” Bubbles said breaking the silence.
“That's a really crappy thing to say,” Val said hitting him on the shoulder.
“No, it's ok. I weight right around six hundred pounds. It's a side effect of my powers. Sorry man.” Emily said nodding to Bubbles.
Bubbles laughed. “No worries my friend. Just know that if we ever go flying again I will still make fun of you.” He told her.
He brought them to a smooth landing in front of the hanger. Some of the people at the cookout cheered and others booed them when they landed. Bubbles laughed and bowed to the crowd. Emily left Bubbles and Val to find some food. A few feet away she found a large cooler with drinks in them. She was just grabbing a Coke when David walked up to her with two plates of food.
“Hey, I got you some food.” He told her handing her one of his plates. “I didn't know what you wanted on your cheeseburger so I just put everything on the side.” He told her smiling.
She followed him to a pair of chairs. He motioned for her to sit down. Sighing Emily shook her head. “One of the side effects of my power is that I weight a lot. I am not fat but my muscles and bones are really dense. I weight just a little above six hundred pounds. I have to watch what I sit on.”
“Watch what you sit on hmm?” He said shaking his eyebrows up and down.
Laughing she punched him in the shoulder. He pushed the chairs away and sat on the tarmac. He patted the ground beside him smiling. Emily couldn't help but blush. She sat down glad he didn't question her or make a scene. “This man is a good man.” Emily thought to herself as she sat beside him. She couldn't stop smiling. “Why do I like this man so much.” They sat and ate in a comfortable silence until their meal was done. Emily leaned on his shoulder and sighed.
“Hey everyone can I have your attention.” Bubbles said standing in the middle of the hanger waving his hands in the air. “Everyone shut up. It's time for a debriefing.”
“Dammit, no Bubbles. There are people from the EXO squads here.” David muttered to himself.
“Come on everyone get closer. We are sitting up a screen against the far wall. This one is a really good one.” Bubbles said waving his arms. Everyone followed him into the hanger.
“What's going on,” Emily asked David but he only shook his head.
When they got into the hanger Emily noticed a someone had set up a projector to shine on the back wall. She saw Michael the EXO pilot standing next to a computer messing with it. He had his arm in a cast and wrapped with an olive green sling. He looked up at her and smiled. Emily smiled and wave to him.
“Hi everyone I am Felix also known as Bubbles for my awesome ability to be a Bubble. It's a tradition after an operation to have a debriefing. I and my friend EXO here pick a great one for you.” Bubble said waving to Michael who smiled and waved his one good hand at the crowd. “Without further ado.”
The projected image on the wall changed from a blank white screen to an action scene shot from above. The picture was a gray and white picture of Runbar from above. The way the angles were changing it was from either a helicopter or a plane. There was a high pitch whine from the background making Emily suspect that it was a helicopter. The video was showing a bunch of bright white men looking figures breaking into houses. They were heading down a dead end street. Emily felt a chill run down her back,
Emily and the crowd watched as the marines clear houses for a couple of seconds before a Marine suddenly fell. The pilot cursed. “We have contact. Did you see where that shot came from.”
A second voice replied. “No.”
On the video a second Marine fell and the rest scramble for cover. The pilot cursed again. “One shot. That's a sniper. Zooming in.”
The video zoomed in on the cul-de-sac. “They are calling for the EXO's.” The second voice stated as another Marine went down.
“Zooming out.” The first voice said. The picture zoomed out and the far left side of the screen Emily saw four EXO's racing, on the tank tracks on their knees, down a street towards the cul-de-sac. “Here comes the good guys.” The pilot said in a smug voice.
The two pilots were quite as the EXO's in the video got to the cul-de-sac. “Here they come to save the day!” sang the second voice.
Stolen story; please report.
On the video, the EXO's took the corner at a high rate of speed information and began to open up on all of the buildings at once. The Marines that had taken cover when the shooting began to retreat up the street towards safety letting the EXO's Gatling guns cover for them. Just as the Marines got to cover there was a streak of really bright white light and one of the EXO's folded to the side. It's guns silenced. The white stayed embedded in the EXO.
“Contact from the large building at the end of the street. What is that?” One of the pilots asked just as a white shaped person ran out from the front door.
Emily grabbed Davids arm and leaned closer to him. It was the woman super. They were showing Emily's fight. She started to breath faster as the Main type super dodge the Gatling gun fire and punched a second EXO in the chest. The woman's arm buried itself into the armor of the EXO. The EXO collapsed hunched over not moving. The woman super ran over to the first fallen EXO and pulled out her spear that was glowing bright white in the video.
“Two EXO's down. Repeat Two EXO's down. We have a Main in the open. Request close in support.” The first pilot said fear and panic obvious in his voice.
“Negative friendlies to close. They are calling in an asset.”
“Rodger that. Hope he gets here fast those EXO guys are getting their ass handed to them.” The first pilot said.
“Zoom out.” The second pilot said.
“Zooming out.” The first pilot said and the video zoomed out. In the far right-hand side of the picture, a white blob fell from a third story building. Then not stopping started to run towards the action.
The first pilot cursed. “Did he just jump from the top of that building?”
“Yea. We are recording this right.” Asked the second pilot.
“Hell yea we are.” The first replied. Emily smiled a little bit at that.
As they were talking the Main super smashed the third EXO in the head completely knocking it over on its side. The last EXO unloaded his Gatling gun at the woman but she dodged and swung her spear at him. He jumped to the side at the last second barely able to dodge the attack. In dodging the attack he stepped up to his feet abandoning his tank tracks and his speed for the ability to dodge. The woman swung a second time. He jumped back and fell to the ground.
As he was dodging the woman's attacks the white blob that was Emily raced down the street. “Holy crap this guy is fast for a Brute.” The first pilot said in amazement. “Come on man you need to go faster.”
As if she heard him the white blob sped up. Emily watched herself reach the edge of the wall where the Marines where firing uselessly at the woman. She saw as she fired her gun at the woman getting her attention just after she speared the fallen EXO.
“What the hell is he doing?” asked the second pilot. Emily in the video stopped firing and stood out in the open.
“Is He giving up.” The first pilot said. “No wait is he trying to talk down the super?” He said as in the video Emily raised her arms. She watched herself as she took her rifle off and throw it to the Marines. Unfortunately, the Marine was not paying attention and it smacked him in the side and fell to the ground.
Beside her, David chuckled. She bumped him with her shoulder. In the video, the woman pulled out her spear and pointed it at Emily. She watched as Michael warned her and ran away. She saw herself run really fast at an angle away from the Woman. “Contact we have contact. Four explosions.” The first pilot said as the ground exploded where Emily had been standing just moments before.
“Those are SK rounds.” The second pilot said then cursed. “Its an ambush. I repeat its an ambush….”
“CONTACT TWO MORE SUPERS EXITING THE BUILDING.” Shouted the first pilot. “Oh, God. Oh, God.”
“Jesus!” The second pilot said. “Requesting support. Three enemy Mains in the open. Somebody… Jesus. Fire mission. Fire mission. Quebec Quebec ….”
“Fire mission denied. Friendly in the box.” A third voice coldly interrupted the pilot. The first Pilot cursed.
Emily watched herself attack the three supers. She shivered. She felt someone put their arms around her. Looking up she saw David holding her. His eyes glued to the screen. She smiled. She turned back to the screen just as she in the video got shot by the third super and bounced backward. Emily watched herself as she immediately got up and charge back into the fight. She remembered it taking a lot longer to get up.
She watched herself fight. She looked really fast. Like in the movies how some Kung Fu action star. When she fought them for real she remembered them fighting one at a time. In the video, they were all attacking at once. It looked like she was move nearly twice as fast as the three supers in the video. Each time she got shot she smoothly rolled back onto her feet and charge back to the fight in one motion.
“One contact down and not moving.” The first pilot shouted out in joy as the gun guy fell down.
“He's hit.” The second pilot said with fear in his voice. Emily watched herself flinch for a half a second as the hammer came down on her shoulder when she was attacked again.
“It just a graze. It must have been a graze.” The first pilot said as Emily attacked again. Her arm hung limply by her side.
Emily watched herself as she disarmed the first super and kill the second. She shuttered remembering the sound of the woman scream as her fingers were cut from her hand. She watched herself as she walked up to the Female super who was shooting her with her pistol and kill her. She was horrified. She remembered how much she hated the Female super and wanted to cause as much pain as she could before she killed her. Looking at herself in the video staring down at the fallen super Emily felt numb.
“Contact two and three down. I repeat contact two and three are down. He took them all down.” The first pilot said breathlessly
“Run. Jesus run.” The second pilot said on the video interrupting Emily memory in the here and now bring her back to the present. As if hearing his voice the Emily in the video started to run towards the alleyway just as the SK rounds started to explode all around her. She watched herself as she jumped into the alleyway just as the entire side of the building came down on top of her.
“Asset down. I repeat Asset down. The first pilot said fear in his voice. “He might still be alive. Do you see anything.”
“No.” The second pilot said despair clouding his voice. “That last round went right through him.”
In Emily's memory, there was no time difference between the SK round hitting just above her and the tank arriving on the scene and destroying the building. In the video, there was nearly a minute before the tank arrived and started shooting. “What the hell?” Emily thought to herself the tank got into position and started firing into the building. While she was down under the fallen wall the Marines had a shoot out with the people in the building.
The tank drove towards the building firing several rounds blowing the building to kingdom come. When it was nearly right next to Emily the bricks start to move and the Emily on the screen sat up. According to the time on the screen a minute thirty-four seconds delay before she started to move from when the wall fell on her. “Wow. I knocked the hell out wasn't I.” Emily thought to herself feeling sick.
“Asset is alive. Holy Cow. He's alive.” The first pilot shouted hysterically on the screen.
Emily turned away from the screen and walked outside the hanger. She got several steps out of the hanger when she threw up. She stood there on her knee's shaking. “What's wrong with me.” She thought to herself as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her hand was shaking.
“You ok?” David asked from behind her.
“Yea must have something bad to eat. Stomach's upset.” Emily said suddenly embarrassed.
David handed her a bottle of water then held knelt down beside her. Emily washed her mouth out with the water then spat the water on the ground. “Good job EM. Real ladylike.” Emily thought to herself as she took another mouthful of water and spit it out again trying to get the acid taste out of her mouth.
David just sat with her rubbing her back.
“I almost died.” Emily thought to herself staring down at her vomit. “I could have died. Boom that's it. Dead as dead.” She felt herself start to shiver again. She wrapped her arms around herself. “I killed that woman with hate in my heart. I wanted her to feel so much pain before she died. I really wanted to end her. Heh, I guess I know what hate really means now.”
“Come on let's go for a walk,” David said helping her stand up. They walked in silence for a long time down the end of the street to the wall surrounding the base then north following the wall.
He didn't say anything just held her and walked with her. The moon was out and full by the time they stopped. Emily stopped and looked at David and felt something in her break. She felt a pain in her chest. It was like there was too much emotion was trapped in her chest. As looked at the bear of a man beside her and she realized that she loved this man she just met less than two weeks ago. She rose up on her tippy toes as he leaned down and they kissed each other.