[Unnamed Island, Barents Sea]
[June 21, 2023]
[12 PM]
Doom pressed a button on his bracer and the tuning forks began to spin. A hum and whine began to build up as whatever Doom used for power kicked in.
All the hairs on my body tingled and stood up as I stood at the command bunker. A metal wall was set up to allow us a holographic view of the bowl behind us.
A much thicker wall sat between us and the bowl itself. It should be able to take at least one shot of a battleship's main cannon. Or so Sue told me.
Doctor Fate flew up to the tuning fork and took a meditative post. He was to help regulate the portal, but as his powers waned, so too will the danger rise.
The sounds built to a crescendo as light blasted down from the tuning fork. It hit the ground split open into an egg-shaped hole in reality. A golden halo wrapped around it and the entire thing stabilized.
The two doctors nodded at each other and strode through.
The egg-shell rippled but nothing else happened.
The waiting game began.
—
[Unnamed Island, Barents Sea]
[June 21, 2023]
[12:41 PM]
The first non-doctor thing walked through. The human-shaped creature shambled out.
The egg-portal rippled as the deformed human looked at the bowl, and growled. Its pasty complexion was easy to ignore since a third of its torso was missing.
I recognized a possessed when I saw one. The gaping hole in the skull stared into the world. There was no eye but it looked around as if it could see. The skin was stretched taught but was its musculature was deformed.
[Firing first test. Needle Round.] the designated sniper said as he took aim.
I watched as a marksman from the first division raise his rail-gun. He aimed and fired a single round.
The high-velocity round struck the creature’s head and it exploded. Dried gore and giblets splashed against the ground.
It did not get back up.
I nodded.
Good. They were not immortal.
This we could deal with.
—
[Unnamed Island, Barents Sea]
[June 21, 2023]
[1:41 PM]
The portal looked like a wave-pool as a wave of creatures shambled out. While most were zombie types, a few looked like demonic dogs. Pink dogs with horns, the size of a bicycle.
Friday was recording data as soldiers used light attacks to kill. Though the pink dog demons were far more resilient. That did not mean it was immune to the rail-gun needles. It only took 4 shots to bring those things down.
There was a secondary advantage of creating a hedgehog field. The shots that pierced or miss became caltrops. Where these monsters had to walk over needles, hampering their movement.
The advantage seemed to be their primitive minds, and lack of intel on what they were walking into.
Though the wave was dense, their flesh was weak. A single needle could peirce many targets. I saw one needle fell five shambling zombies or possessed creatures.
I nodded as the advancing wave got mowed in a burst of firepower. The high-pitched whine of power unleashed echoed in the battlefield.
The downside was the fact that they simply did not stop surging out. A simple problem as the soldiers took potshots.
So far, so good.
—
[Unnamed Island, Barents Sea]
[June 21, 2023]
[2:15 PM]
[Bwooom]
The sound of the Scorpion Main Battle Cannon was loud. The lance of light vaporized the floating eyeball with teeth. It popped like a balloon, and the remaining third sprayed cooked flesh everywhere.
The tide had changed from simple grunts into much more fearsome demonic creatures. Tough hides that needed Impulse Lasers, or mid-to-high power rail rounds.
“This will only get worse,” Wong said as he threw a random bolt of energy at a creature. It struck and fell over. Half of its body turned into an odd liquid that made the surface slippery.
It stalled the advance behind the body for a few moments.
“We still are holding back on some of our weapons,” I replied as I watched my elite forces do their thing.
The main forces were entrenched and the support teams were buzzing around. They moved gear, replacement weapons, and supplies. While injuries were light, each person down was one less person attacking.
I wish that the design of this island was different. A battleship or air fortress would have been devastating support for this battle.
“I hope that it is enough,” Wong said as he watched a spider thing come out. It was the size of a tank but died under a quick onslaught of our firepower.
The problem wasn’t their mortal forms. The problem was numbers.
I watched as Friday projected the theoretical next few hours. We were still in the easy part of this fight.
“It has to be enough. We cannot fit in more soldiers, and this is the best gear we have,” I said. I watched another beam of a light lance through a Mancubus and into the portal itself.
“So, you and Doom are friends?” Wong asked as he took out a granola bar and began to snack. “How did that even happen?”
“Friends is a very strong term. I am on good terms with the man because I know my “place”,” I said as I air quoted. “I am not gifted with anything. I am but a mere man who just happens to have a country that is conditioned to obey.”
Wong gave me a look.
“I know that I am not super intelligent like Doctor Richards, Doctor Strange, or Doctor Doom. I do, however, care for my people. Everything I do is for their future,” I said with a smile. There was power in humility. It might even let me live longer. “I think Doom respects that.”
Wong nodded. “Still it is very strange to see Doctor Doom apologize to anyone.”
“No kidding. When he first showed up, I honestly thought that I was going to die,” I admitted. My memories fluttered back to that fateful night. “The Justice League was there to bring to the UN prisons, but it was all a ploy by someone else. Hydra was our best guess.”
“I will still warn you to be wary. Doctor Doom has shown deep vindictiveness in the past should you cross him,” Wong said as clapped. The man then turned his wrapper into dust. It looked very impressive.
“Even if we are on opposites sides of a table, we must remember that the table is round,” I said as I turned away. I stared at the glowing portal and the demons surging forth.
Wong gave me a sharp look. A keen appraisal of my words.
“If we understand that we are all on Earth, then we can talk about a mutual future. Anything less is childish bickering,” I said as the tank near us unleashed another attack.
How many star empires were out there again? More than enough to snuff out a tiny world like Earth.
[Bwooom]
“There are so many things willing to take advantage of us as a species. Infighting is only wasteful,” I chuckled as our alliance proved my point. There were literal demons were pouring out a controlled portal.
Wait… was it me or the golden halo getting dimmer? I looked up to see Doctor Fate hover in the same spot. He was as stable as ever.
So far, so good.
Wong nodded. He understood at that moment why the prideful Doctor Doom would apologize to a “simple” man.
—
[Unnamed Island, Barents Sea]
[June 21, 2023]
[5:00 PM]
“Stagger the spells!” Wong screamed as his dozens of helpers adjusted their pattern of attack.
The bowl was a vibrant sheen of various levels of green as thousands of lasers and needles rained down.
The weaker monsters got vaporized in seconds. While the much more durable meaty monsters were able to cross the third defensive line.
Ten meters until they could reach the ledge.
While it was impossible to miss, it was also impossible to kill everything at once.
[The third shift is switching back to the first shift.] Friday updated my display. The three-tier circles moved as soldiers replaced the weary front liners.
“What is the predicted operational time?” I asked as I focused between the floating displays and the carnage before me.
Demon flesh had turned the ground into a mud-like paste. Blood would have filled the bowl had the portal not been adsorbing it back in.
[VOOOOOM]
I watched as a sentinel frame hover over the entrenchment to the right of us. It was replacing a tank turret on the scorpion tank. The original cannon was warped enough to see the barrel sagging.
Drones zoomed around, unleashing the occasional shots. They did enough damage to kill the lesser creatures in a shot or injure the bigger baddies. They would return after a few shots to recharge.
[Operational failure in 11 hours.]
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
[Bwooom]
“When was sundown again?” I said as I watched the new tank turret fire.
[Were doing good boys! Keep it up. It’s just like the endurance tours you love every season!] Candice said across the basic channel.
[Sundown is at 11:58pm in 49 days.]
My brain stopped. I turned to look at the largest floating screen. A map of the battlefield where the first and third lines finished their switch.
“49 days!?” I hissed out.
[The spell most likely will expire at midnight or 7 hours from now.] Friday explained as she recalculated. She took in the timelapse of the ever-dimming golden halo. Then she cross-referenced it with the inferred conversation earlier today.
“How are the backup plans?” I said as I took in a deep breath. I had the elites of the Rabbit Legion in reserve as the next three lines in case I had to pull out the Jade Falcon.
Pride or not, this was something a touch more important than mere honors. Letting these things through was going to be a mistake I would live to regret.
The map showed the ten portals allowing transfers in and out from 10 military bases. Each portal was housed on a second-generation gate technology. The new Impulse Gates were more secure.
As much as I was thankful to Doom for the first generation of technology. Even he would disapprove if we didn’t try to change it.
The new features were a much better anchor to teleportation ratio. No more crushing of whatever the anchor was, and thus anchor boats were made. It was a simple gate and Impulse macro-reactors. Then just eight layers of concrete and tritanium plating.
A floating bunker to use as either a gate for infantry or an anchor point for incoming large objects. Battleships or aircrafts.
They were currently allowing a constant influx of goods, weapons, and if needed, my trump cards. A larger legion that could rush into Hell if needed.
double-checked
[The MS and BT projects are currently ready to deploy. On your orders.] Friday double checked with Sue. She also reached out to the secret lunar military bases housing the prototypes.
I nodded.
I hoped that we didn’t have to bring them out. Secret weapons were only great when they remained secret.
—
[Unnamed Island, Barents Sea]
[June 21, 2023]
[8:15 PM]
“You have what?!” Wong nearly choked on the can of mead. He steadied his mind and finished off the honey-sweet drink. He then crushed the can against his forehead and tossed it into the recycle bin near the buffet table.
The armored maids moved about the half bunker and refilled anything missing. Zatanna was scarfing down a whole pizza as her sweat-matted hair got pulled into a rough braid.
“Disco Tech's Dancing Testament,” I repeated with a grin. “Bring your best, or bring a towel for your tears,” I repeated the Friday night’s mantra.
“You are kidding,” Wong dared me as he stared at the raging battle below. The tides of demons had evened out hours ago and it was still manageable.
“Every last Friday of every month,” I swore. The Vortex held the country’s sole surviving ‘true’ disco spirit.
Wong nodded in thought.
“You can bring an afro, or a white suit or…” I drew out my words.
“Or?”
“Or you bring your best moves,” I finished with a daring smile. I mimicked the commercials and billboards I saw so often in the city.
Wong laughed.
I laughed as well. The first jovial moment since the battle settled into a meat-grinding lull.
“Wave is thinning,” Kara said as she swooped into the bunker. Her costume had some burn marks, and she was clearly exhausted.
“Thank you, Kara,” I said and offered a bottle of water.
The Super Girl gratefully took it. While she could survive without sustenance, it never hurt to have fresh water.
“Sorry for making you shoulder this burden,” I said as I placed a hand onto her slim shoulder.
“Yeah, no problem,” Kara said as she gave me a soft smile.
I looked into her eyes. Her vibrant blue eyes shined in the dull lighting of the bunker. The sounds of roars, lasers, and explosions faded.
“It really is thinning,” Wong said with a frown.
He gave us a brief smile before he stepped out to see things with his own eyes. Zatanna followed without a word as the last two slices floated behind her.
“Kori,” I said as took a step back to see the woman who had been at my side since the battle started. We had been waiting for just an occasion.
“Is it time friend Johnny?”
I closed my eyes and nodded. When I opened them she was gone.
The Tamaranian has flown off to a special portal right behind the bunker. One specially tuned to a hazardous gate. A protocol we developed since the battle against Tyrant last year.
“She will be fine,” Kara said as she hugged me.
I nodded. We had all agreed.
It didn’t make me feel good to place such a close friend in such heartless situations.
—
[Rocky Mantle 988 KM underground]
[Planet Mercury, North Pole]
Princess K’oriander stepped out of the special Impulse-Gate system. The intricate metal works were a mixture of gold, titanium, and tungsten. All to withstand the high temperatures of the world.
Though it was very cool where Kori was currently standing.
The alien princess wasted no time as she began to fly up the crevasse. Her hands glowed to provide light. She navigated the straight corridors. Only stopped to bypass the occasional tungsten doors.
Each door led to a hotter zone. Each zone led her up to the planet’s surface. The temperature spiked with every zone up.
It did not take long. A two-minute flight as she zipped up into space.
Heat. Light.
It blasted at her as the close sun baked her in the most violent way possible. Her body soaked up the energy. Yet it was far from relaxing like it was on Earth.
She closed her eyes as the painful sensation seared her mind. It was the closest she ever felt to getting cooked. A feeling that dominated whatever side she had facing the sun.
On the opposite side, her own body shade created a chilling cold. It seemed to suck in heat.
Kori solved this by gradually spinning in place. It kept her sort of balance between hot and cold.
For several minutes she spun. The Sun's radiant energy bathed her in temperatures that exceeded 400c.
She filled up to what she considered full. Then she stayed for a few moments more.
Unlike her fight with Tyrant, she was going to showcase her absolute power in one dramatic strike.
Or she would simply to lay down a layer of plasma if there wasn’t a big bad monster.
Johnny was certain though. There was a big bad monster and she would show him once more.
The power that she, the princess of Tamaran was a perfect specimen. She represented millennia of careful selective breeding and traditions.
She would show Johnny that she was more than enough to remain at his side.
—
“Johnny!” Wong screamed out.
I walked with Kara to the outside. Of the original simple bowl of earth and ice, there was nothing left. The field was now a jagged hill of broken bodies and blood-stained glass.
Kara and I watched as the thin golden halo break with a shattered glass sound. Doctor Fate began to fall but got whisked away as Zatanna muttered some phrase backward.
The man floated above the ground but his eyes did not open. The man was most likely exhausted.
“Is he alright?” Kara and I asked at the same time.
Zatanna gave us a look but nodded. “He is just exhausted. Keeping the portal in control has really drained him.”
[Stomp]
We all looked down to see a giant step through.
Its crimson red skin was an amalgamation of steel and flesh. Its left side was cybernetic with a Gatling cannon arm and steel leg. The red flesh seemed to pulsate with a gooey aura.
It raised his massively horned head and screamed. Black ichor spewed out as a glowing eye grew bright as it stepped away from the portal.
My helmet snapped on. The metal plates moved from my suit’s collar and around my head. An Iron Man ripoff since Tony seemed to enjoy compact suits. Mine was no different as long as you ignored the disparity of our tech levels.
“Fire at will!” Candice ordered.
[Kra-kooom!]
A cacophony of weapon fire filled the air as everything we had fired at once. The mages followed suit as a variety of elemental attacks flew down at the single target.
The combined energy should have vaporized its flesh, and reduced the metal to liquid slag.
Instead, the demon champion laughed. Uninjured and unscathed.
“That is not good!” Wong cried out as he began to prep his next spell.
“Wong! I need that shield spell!” I ordered and Wong frowned. He nodded a second later as he changed his chant and his squad followed suit.
I had requested this spell much earlier and now it was time to use it.
A much bigger spell considering the complexity of the rings forming. They now hovered around his body rather than his hands. It would only block energy attacks, but the demons could walk through it.
A daring strategy that was designed for ranged combat. A scaled-up version of the basic shield spell.
The bubble formed into a hazy orange screen that was three layers deep. It formed a perfect sphere below the tuning fork and right before our battle lines.
[All guns, cease fire!] Candice ordered as she saw the stop signal.
Wong’s mages grimaced as the demons continued to fire at the shield.
“Wong, please tell everyone to protect their eyes,” I said as Friday supplied me with a countdown. “Don’t forget the heat shield!”
Wong gave me a look but nodded to the woman to his left. Multi-casting spells like these always gave him a headache!
The Cyberdemon roared and began to return fire. Burning green bullets peppered the shield, leaving behind ghastly burns midair. The missiles flew from the center of the Gatling gun.
I winced as the missiles passed through the shield. The mini-missiles struck the various defensive earth walls. Or what was left of them.
The missiles bloomed into blue fire and mist. The explosions seemed unnaturally cold even from the distance.
I feared for those closer and I could see soldiers fall over.
[Vitals critical, but they are still alive. They are somehow suffering from frostbite. Orders to avoid direct hits have been delivered.]
“We will not be able to hold the shield for much longer!” Wong warned. I nodded and gave him a thumbs up.
“Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six,” I counted down with Friday.
The Cyberdemon roared again and a new flood of demons flowed out. Much thicker than the one before.
Without Doctor Fate’s restrictions, they poured through. Not as an army of single demons, but as a liquid sea of monsters.
“Five, Four, Three, Two, One,” I finished.
A light shot up and over the bunker. It was bright enough to stall the demonic wave for a second. A full second before they got forced forward by the ones in the back.
The Cyberdemon roared as it unleashed its weapons. Yet they seemed to explode before touching a hair on her body.
Kori did not care as she fell upon the biggest target she could see. Her eyes a glowering golden light.
The Tamaranian princess floated down like a mythical fairy. It was as if she had no care in the world. Then touched the mechanical demonic champion.
Light.
Everything was so bright I couldn’t tell if it was night or day. Even though the helmet I feared getting a sunburn as heat washed over us.
There was probably a sound, but my one sense was so overwhelmed that I didn't register anything else.
Kara zipped forward and caught Kori.
The two got shot backward. As if they had been fired from a battleship’s canon. The two rocked the island from the force of their crash landing. They created a divot in the lip of the bowl.
I moved immediately as did the maids. Kara was passed out from cushioning her friend. Kori took in shallow breaths from the pain in her hands.
The alien princess kept them aloft and I grimaced. I could see the boiling flesh reveal the bone. Her skin bubbled and I knew that that cooked brown was not meant to be the color of her muscles.
My heart clenched and I thought I was having a cramp as I could see tears in Kori’s eyes. She half moaned, and half sobbed from the pain.
Yet she did not pass out. Our eyes met and I lowered my helmet. I gave her a comforting smile as the maids reached her side.
The maids immediately sprayed the healing gel onto the wrecked arms. The gel was as white as her bones.
A part of me noted that she didn’t have some odd rainbow hue. Kori would have loved to have purple bones.
The gel acted immediately and cooled off her boiling hands. The modified R-Virus was a variant tuned to a Tamaranian strain. Sue promised that it would prevent death so long as Kori was not already dead.
It was not instant however. Which meant that she was now out of the fight. It would be days before she was fully recovered. Unless Wong had some nice magical mambo-jumbo to use.
[Fire at will!] Candice ordered as the shield had done its job to protect everyone.
The maids moved onto Wong and the others. Only Wong was awake as he laid on his back and wheezed.
I watched as the Cyberdemon, a third of its flesh vaporized, begin to regenerate. The metal parts remained broken, but I knew that it was going to be a problem even with only one leg and one arm.
Luck was on our side as the firepower was hurting it. The other demons were vaporized. Victims of intense light and heat.
Kori had scoured the battlefield clean of everything. Leaving only fresh liquid glass. Well, glass and two-thirds of a Cyberdemon.
A siren sounded.
My heart jumped in shock, and then in joy as the C4 exploded around the tuning fork. The object fell onto the portal and triggered a second explosion. An odd teal-colored fire filled the bowl to the rim.
It was also moving towards Kori and Kara, but we pulled them away. The magic went halfway up the ditch before the spell seemed to stop expanding.
As the fire disappeared, a single leg stood firm. Even cut off from the hell dimension it lived. The leg somehow roared, shaking the air with the demon’s will and hate.
[Fire at will!] Candice voiced out.
[Kra-kooom!]
I frowned as the leg took a full minute of firepower before it seemed to give up. The entire demon turned into black mist and faded away.
[Cease fire!] Candice said as Friday showed no signs of life below.
We all stared into the now lifeless sea of boiling glass. The loudest sound was the pop and hiss of it cooling in the chill air.
Someone began to cheer, and it immediately spread out. From the soldiers, to the mages, to even Zatanna. Wong gave out a weak moan as he sat up.
The ring on his left pinkie turned green and he let out a weak chuckle. Mission accomplished!
“Candice, round everyone up, and begin cleanup. Mission accomplished,” I said as I sent her a message on the open channel. “Great job, Jade Falcons!”
Wong and the other magic users jumped. The nearly unanimous sound of Jade Falcons smashing their closed fist to breast. Two fists and an open palm on the third.
Duty, Honor, Life.
My helmet retracted as I moved over to Wong and Zatanna. Maids were handing out water, towels, and alcohol.
“We really need to get you to cater our next fight against evil,” Wong muttered as he spied some strong alcohol.
Everything before had low alcohol content. Wong was a man who understood duty, and understood how to party!
“Val Verde believes that a proper meal is needed before, and after a fight,” I said with a smile.
[Emergency. Priority ZERO.] Friday all but screamed into my ears.
My smile turned into horror as the words registered. Ice filled my veins and nearly stopped my heart.
Priority Zero meant that Val Verde was under attack!
————
Chapter 61: Achievement unlocked, Giant Slayer