“Where the hell did he come from!?” one of the black soldiers growls. “Doesn’t matter, kill him!” another barks as they aim their weapons at Chad. Beat quickly takes cover behind Chad but before they could shoot someone shouts, “Hold your fire!” The leader of the Fallen Angels orders his men to stand down. “Don’t you know who he is?”, he says as he staggers back up on his feet. “The red uniform, the star, he’s from Atlas”, he informs his men. “The mercs are here!?”, one of the men panics, “Sir, we need to retreat!” The leader reprimands him, “We will do no such thing! We’ve spilled too much blood to be here. Our brother’s sacrifice will not be in vain.”
The leader then turns to the young Atlas soldier, “Chad, was it?” he asks in a cold tone. “I was hoping to knock you out with that kick”, Chad replies with a grin. “Well I’m a tough cookie to crack”, the leader retorts, “I used to eat bombs for breakfast when I was a boy”. “Since we are becoming acquainted, it's only polite if you tell me your name,” Chad responds cheekily. “I used to have a name”, he replies, “but the war took that from me. I was just a young man when the dust finally settled. Probably younger than you. I lived in a small fishing village in Alaska. Too small for anyone to care really, but that didn’t stop our enemies from finding us. I was one of the lucky ones, everyone else I knew is gone. I didn't have a family anymore, but I knew I had to live on. And while we slaved away for food and shelter, the queen gave our land away to the very people that killed us. It was to ‘ensure peace and prosperity for all people’, she said. What a joke! Tell me Chad, how would you sleep at night knowing that murderers live right next to you?” Chad is silent.
“To the world, I was nameless, worthless, and hopeless.” The leader continues, creeping towards Chad one step at a time. “That was until I was saved by the Fallen Angels. They took me in as one of their own. They gave me a new purpose in life and with sheer will and determination I rose through the ranks. They even gave me a new name. Today, I am known as Cold Chief.”
“That's a touching story”, Chad replies sarcastically. “But why blow up a Royal Army base? Seems counterproductive to me”. Cold Chief shrugs, “Collateral damage. But as I said earlier, I’m not here for them. Our mission is simple: to kill all Astro Terrans on Earth and take back our rightful place in the world. And to do that we need what's in that vault”. Cold Chief points to it while Beat trembles behind Chad. “If you step aside now, I’ll let you live. But the goat must die”, Chief says, pointing his finger at Beat. Chad places a hand over his gun, ready to draw, “So your solution to genocide is to commit another genocide? I don’t think so”. Cold Chief cackles at his defiance, “I’ve heard much about the Atlas mercs. They say they’re the best of the best. One soldier is worth one platoon! You’re a brave man Chad, but you’re not invincible. You are outmanned and outgunned. Now, out of respect for your service to mankind, I will give you one last chance to leave”. Chad smirks, “If you know so much about us then you would know the first order of the Mercenary Creed: ‘Fight against all evil’”.
Cold Chief takes a deep breath and releases a long sigh, “I guess there’s nothing else to say”. He looks over to his men, “Boys, take him down!” The Fallen Angels obey and take their aim at Chad and open fire. But before a single bullet can hit him, he disappears. Confusion took over the black soldiers. “What the hell!? Where did he go?” one of them growls. Suddenly Chad reappears behind him and knocks him out with a punch to the jaw. Chad quickly grabs the gun of the soldier next to him and twists it out of his hands before dislocating his arm before performing a hip throw. The other soldiers quickly take action and fire at Chad but they miss as Chad disappears again!
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“What the hell is this!? How does he do that,” they panic. Chad reappears but this time in point blank range and uppercuts the soldier in the middle. The other two soldiers try to shoot him, but he quickly dodges it and they end up shooting each other instead. In the blink of an eye Chad single handedly took down 5 soldiers. The rest of the Fallen Angels are paralyzed by fear. Chief grips his fist before shouting at his men, “Don’t just stand there, kill him!” They begin firing wildly at Chad with bombs and bullets. An exaggerated use of force for just one target. So much so that a large cloud of dust and snow kicks up in the air and covers the military base. Then they stop firing.
The men can’t see anything due to the heavy smog. “Spread out and find him”, one of them says in a hushed voice. The group slowly disperses into the haze in search of Chad but no sign of him can be found. Although nothing is seen, everything is heard. Soldiers will hear sporadic gunshots followed by cries of pain. The Fallen Angels soon realize they made a horrible mistake. They are fighting in Chad’s playground, and one by one they become his prey. They tremble as their numbers quickly diminishes. When the cloud finally settles, there is no one left except for Chad, Cold Chief and Beat being held as his hostage.
“What’s the matter? Couldn’t take me out?” Chief taunts him, while pointing a gun to Beats head. “I figured you had a soft spot for this one. You could have rescued the Royal Army tied up over there, but you went out of your way to save one stupid goat”. Beat struggles to break his grip but it's no use, “I’m sorry Chad,” he says with an apologetic glance. “It’s not your fault”, Chad affirms, “I’ll still get you out of this. I promise”. Cold Chief laughs at his remark, “I have to admit you have quite a neat trick there. Nothing that I've ever seen before. Mind telling me how you do it?”
Chad answers his taunts with cold silence. “No more quips I see. Unfortunately I don’t have time to interrogate so here is how it’s going to work. Any quick moves from you and his brain is on the floor. And just so you know, I have a very itchy trigger finger”. He takes a few steps back while keeping his eyes on Chad. “Now since my hands are full, would you do me the favor of opening up the vault for me?”, the Chief mockingly asks. “Don’t do it! Don’t listen to him!” Beat begs but he is thrown to the ground with a boot to his back. “Shut up,” Chief barks, “Say another word and you’re dead!” He then points the gun at Chad, “You! Open the vault now!”
Seeing no other options Chad reluctantly gives in to his demands. He walks slowly towards the vault. He feels a chill run down his spine as he walks past the Chief. The expressionless mask covers the evil grin on his face. He can see it in his eyes. Truth be told, Chad doesn’t know the contents inside the vault either. It’s one of those classified pieces of information that not even he is privy to. All sorts of rumors surround this vault, and he is about to find out the truth. Chad grabs the ice cold handles of the vault and with some considerable effort twists it open. He pries the thick metal door open and looks to see what’s inside. To his astonishment, there was nothing.