Hero Wanted - 16. Chapter Sixteen

Command Center, Washington DC

“Three of the Colossus are in the same location…God damnit,” the General muttered to himself, tightly gripping the armrests of his seat.

“General! All three of the Colossus are now moving toward downtown Philadelphia! What is the strategy!”

“Champions! Right now, focus all of your powers on the front-most Colossus!” the General commanded. “The strategy is to take them down one by one!”

General leaned forward in his seat and watched the huge screen that displayed multiple angles of the battle between the Champions and the Colossus. The strategy seemed to be working as the Shockers redirected the Colossus’s attacks that came in the form of bladed, whip-like extensions that projected from its body and the Stormers were weakening its defenses that came in the form of layers of armor that protected the core of the Colossus. And when the core was exposed, the Strikers came and placed the final blows to the Colossus. A groan emitted from the defeated being as it fell backwards and onto the street below.

“General! The first Colossus has been defeated!”

“Excellent! Now redirect your powers to the left-most Colossus!” the General commanded with confidence. “We’re going to win this—”

“G-General! We’re detecting abnormal frequencies coming from the two remaining Colossus like the ones three years ago!”

“What do you mean? Clarify!”

The General looked back at the screen to see that both Colossus have halted their movements with their extensions retracting back into their bodies. Then his eyes widened as he watched jagged protrusions began appearing on the frontside of both beings before being fired from their bodies and striking the Champions on the battlefield. It was Chicago all over again, but this time they were prepared.

“Champions! Remobilize! All Shockers redirect the projectiles away from the Strikers, and all Stormers destroy the projectiles before they have a chance to be fired! Strikers, go for the core like always!” the General commanded.

“General! It’s working! The core of the second Colossus has been exposed and is ready to be neutralized!”

“Excellent!” the General said as he watched the core get destroyed by the Strikers a few moments later in the display. “One more Colossus to go, people! We can do this!”

“General! We’re detecting more abnormal frequencies from the last remaining Colossus! It’s like none we have ever seen before!”

“Clarify!”

“It’s-It’s…Oh, God.”

The General looked at the screens and saw that the projectiles ceased, but the whip-like extensions came back with a vengeance. Before he could utter an order, the extensions were already attacking the Champions at a faster speed than ever recorded before. He watched as more Champions were attacked by those extensions, wrapping their ends around the Champions’ heads, bodies or limbs before retracting them back to its host and taking the Champions with them. The General, returning from his shock, order the Champions to fall back before more were taken away by the Colossus.

As the order was given, the Colossus began to lift above the city’s skyline, a phenomenon never seen before a bright light appeared in the screens. For a moment, the General believed the Colossus self-destructed and destroyed the city in the process. But when the light finally dimmed, and the city was still intact, he sighed in relief. However, that relief quickly disappeared when personnel were reporting that the Colossus had disappeared from the city, and that it had taken almost half of the Champions that were deployed into that battlefield. Never has a Colossus disappeared from a city before, and he could not imagine what nefarious plan the Colossus had for humanity now. And with half of the deployed Champions taken away from them, this was an undoubtable disaster.

“General! We have tracked the Colossus that disappeared from Philadelphia!”

“Where is it now? Report!” the General exclaimed.

“It’s…It’s at Washington DC and moving towards the US Champion Academy as we speak!”

The General felt his heart stop from that announcement and it took all his strength not to panic. “Begin the sirens to alert residents of the city and mobilize the remaining active-duty Champions…as well as the third-year and fourth-year Champion cadets. This is war now!”

“Yes, General!”

The General sat down before his shaking legs gave in, and to himself, “Maria, please save us all…”

***

Thirty minutes earlier…

Sitting on a bench in the locker room, Ryan thought about the words that Chris was about to say to him and wondered if he was going utter the three most important words to any relationship. It was somewhat petty to think about his relationship with Chris when there was an imminent Colossus invasion in Philadelphia where many people could possibly be displaced if the Champions lose this battle and the otherworldly creature self-destructed. However, during the unlikely chance that Champion cadets get deployed into the battlefield, he wanted to be clear-headed about their relationship status before it got him distracted when fighting the Colossus.

Looking around, Ryan saw many of his male comrades taking off their service uniforms before materializing their combat ones instead. The men wore a skin-tight, blue shirt that covered the arms and neck; thin, black gloves; slim, black pants without pockets that covered the hem of the shirt; and black combat boots with the pant cuffs tucked inside. The women wore a similar uniform, but with a slim, black skirt that was cut above the knees instead of pants and stockings of the same color as the skirt. In addition, the shirt, while still covering the arms and neck, also possessed a sweetheart neckline that revealed a black layer underneath.

As all the third-year and four-year cadets were scrambling to get ready, an interface appeared in front of Ryan’s face that only he could see. Ryan’s eyes widened upon seeing the infamous man, Christian Shepherd, displayed in his interface.

“Ah, Ryan Johnson. It’s finally good to see you, even if it’s under these circumstances,” Mr. Shepherd said.

“Why are you talking to me right now?” Ryan said, standing up and facing his locker, so that no one thought he was talking to himself.

“Hello to you too,” Mr. Shepherd said humorously. “My, my, you certainly have grown since I last saw you in your mother’s belly.”

“Stop screwing around. Why are you contacting me for?” Ryan spat and then nodded at two Champions looking at him with concern.

“Cut to the chase, I see. I like that.” Looking behind him, Mr. Shepherd continued by saying, “I need your assistance for something that is classified to the public, not even your own father knows the existence of what I’m about to tell you.”

“And what exactly is that?” Ryan asked with both disdain and curiosity.

“Go to the elevator of the Command Center building and I will grant you access to the bottom level of the academy where you can go to by pressing the basement button of the elevator. Do you understand me so far?” Mr. Shepherd asked coolly.

“Yes, I do, but why—?”

“You’ll see when you get there. Now hurry,” Mr. Shepherd ordered before disappearing from his interface.

Sighing, Ryan thought about what classified thing was being held at the bottom level of the academy. He did not even know that a place like that even existed until now, and he was supposed to just listen to the man that his father demonized to no end. It could have been an assassination attempt for all Ryan knew, Mr. Shepherd making him go to an isolated location of the academy and locking him in there before being killed on the spot. The man must have known the news that was spreading about the speculation between him and Chris’s relationship, but to have the man himself talk to him in secrecy as a possible repercussion made him both heated with anger and chilled with apprehension in the same time.

Ryan took a deep breath and decided to walk out of the locker room and go to the location that Mr. Shepherd instructed him to go. If this was a malicious plot to get rid of him, Ryan wanted to get it over with, so that he had his mind cleared of the man possibly trying to do something dastardly to him. Yet, the thoughts of his last conversation with Chris was still swimming in his mind and getting deeper inside as he made his trek to the building and to the elevator where the basement button glowed green, signaling him to press it before the elevator closed in front of him.

It took more than a minute for the elevator to finally reach the bottom level, which is saying something since the elevators in the academy only took seconds to lift to the top level of any building. So, this meant that the bottom level of the academy was very deep below, and whatever classified object that the place contained must have been very important for much security measures to be implemented.

When the elevator doors slid open, Ryan was introduced to a large, dimly-lit room that had a gray palette from the walls to the floor and ceiling. The room was almost completely empty aside of the from the large, gray cylinder that was at the center of the room and was connected to both the ceiling and floor. Aside from that, the room was not substantial in any form, and Ryan wondered if this was a secret training facility of some sort.

Suddenly, an image of Christian Shepherd materialized in front of Ryan, which caused him to jump back in surprise.

Mr. Shepherd chuckled. “Sorry for scaring you, Ryan.”

Ryan scoffed and said, “And why exactly did you take me to his place?”

“Just wait for one moment, while someone else comes here too.”

“And who will that person be, huh? Someone to assassinate me?” Ryan said with a snare.

Chuckling again, Mr. Shepard said, “Despite what your father painted me as, I’m not the evil scientist that is bent-on world domination. Quite the contrary. I want this world to work together to fight a common enemy, and after that I want what every decent human being wants. World peace.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ryan said, not believing a word coming from this cruel man’s mouth.

“Listen, Ryan. I don’t want to see you hurt. I want to see how you progress as a Champion with the former first-ranked Champion’s nodes implanted onto you. The results so far are very, very fascinating and I would like to see how well you operate with another Champion by your side.”

“Meaning?”

Smirking, Mr. Shepherd said, “I know the relationship that has been happening between you and my son. Though I would prefer that Christopher be someone like Second Lieutenant Delilah Watson, I feel that fate has driven you two together that will make the future of humankind have a more promising future. And if that results in a more…intimate relationship between the two of you, then so be it.”

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. “So…you’re okay with us being together then?”

“So far, yes. But you two will have to prove to me further that this partnership will benefit humanity in the long-run.”

“Or what? Are you going to oust me like you did with other people in the past?”

Shaking his head, Mr. Shepherd, “Unlike what your father and possibly what my son has said to you, I’m not an evil man. My methods might be questionable, but my result will be for humans to get through the most troubling time of our short existence and persevere at the end. I only want what’s best for humanity…and what is also best for my son as well. You already know that he does not possess ordinary nodes, correct?”

Ryan nodded.

With a serious face, Mr. Shepherd said, “So, you also know they are nooks that are still considered prototypes, giving him severe side effects that I have tried my best to treat with medication, but he won’t take them or at least not in a regular basis. So, he is seeing illusions of people from his past, haunting him, and it hurts to know that he is suffering. But in the long-run, it’s only going to benefit him and I’m confident that you’re the key to solving his ailment.”

“And how exactly is all of that going to benefit him?” Ryan asked with true perplexity.

“Champions might like the most powerful and most formidable beings ever created on this planet…but it only takes one crack for a whole dam to break and flood the whole village. So, let’s just say that you’re the glue to possibly saving Chris and everyone else from imminent disaster.”

Ryan was about to question what Mr. Shepherd meant by that, but then the elevator behind him opened once again, and Chris walked out of it. He was wearing the same combat uniform as Ryan, and had a confused look on Chris face upon seeing him.

“Ryan, what are you...Dad!”

“Hello, son. How are you?” Mr. Shepherd said calmly.

“Uh, pretty good, considering there’s three of the Colossus right now in Philadelphia.”

“Three!” Ryan said with shock.

“So, I’ve heard. This just proves my suspicions that this is not an ordinary Colossus invasion, and that these beings are seeking something valuable that humanity needs to continue its fight against them.” Mr. Shepherd elaborated by saying, “Take a look at the cylindrical form at the center of the room, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

Looking at Chris who was just as confused as he was, Ryan then directed his eyes to the form, and just then he saw the outer shell of the cylinder retract upwards to reveal a cylindrical glass tank that contained a human inside…but it was not just any human being. It was—

“Maria?” Chris said as he slowly approached the tank.

Ryan followed Chris to the tank where it housed the Creator of all Champions: Maria Makiling. She was nude with legs bent slightly and her arms positions by her torso. Her long, black hair was flowing upwards in the liquid that she was suspended in and her tan skin somehow glowed as well. Finally, her eyes were halfway closed with a neutral expression on her face, a face that was tilted slightly forward and looked so beautiful it was awe-invoking.

Placing a hand on the glass tank, Chris said, “This woman can’t be—”

“Maria? Yes, she is,” Mr. Shepherd confirmed as his image walked to the glass tank containing her body. “This is Maria Makiling herself, in the flesh.”

“But I thought she was in—”

“The Philippines?” Mr. Shepherd chuckled and said, “You’re not the only one who thinks that, but that would be too obvious, and storing Maria’s crystallized body in the safest place possible is a major priority for our continued research on her. Especially when you consider Japan’s growing animosity towards the Philippines and a possible war occurring between the two countries, Maria’s body would be very vulnerable if the Japanese happen to acquire it. So, it’s stored at the bottom level of the United States Champion Academy instead… However, it seems that the Colossus could be aiming to destroy this facility with Maria inside it judging by the abnormal readings the stellar flare was emitting.”

“So, in summary, the Colossus could be trying to eliminate Maria’s body during this invasion,” Ryan said.

“Correct, and the reason why I summoned you both here is because I want you two to know how vital your positions are, to protect this facility with all your strength, so that Maria can continue to rest peacefully without the Colossus intervening in the off chance that they penetrate through all defenses and end up here. Do you both understand me?” Mr. Shepherd said with his hands behind his back.

Both men nodded.

“Good. The chances of the Colossus infiltrating this facility are slim, but if it does happen, I want you both to understand the importance of what you’re protecting.” In a sitting position, Mr. Shepherd then said, “I’ll be continuing to monitor the situation with the three Colossus invading Philadelphia, and you two can return back to the surface. And remember what I told you both.”

“We will,” Ryan said before the image of Mr. Shepherd disappeared.

Turning around, Ryan saw Chris looking above at Maria’s suspended body in the tank. Walking to his side, Ryan did the same, and he could not be more amazed from seeing the woman herself who gave birth to the Champions. She looked so peaceful, despite being in a tank filled with an unknown liquid while being housed in a dimly-lit room many feet below the academy. There was something god-like about her even though she was the same size as the average human being and was not wearing anything magnificent like the clothing the Greek gods were portrayed as wearing in visual art. Instead, it was like an aura that expressed her true power, but also gentleness that Ryan could feel into his very being, and it made him smile.

“It’s Maria herself,” Chris stated with his hand still pressed on the glass.

“I still can’t believe she was below the academy grounds this entire time,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, me neither. So, it’s our duty to protect her at all cost from the Colossus if they manage to infiltrate this place,” Chris said with determination. “I know you’ve only been a cadet in this academy for only a few months now, but I’m very confident that you’ll protect Maria by any means necessary. And since my father summoned you here, I’m sure the lead scientist himself believes that you can fulfill that role… Whether that bodes well for our relationship, I don’t know.”

“Well, your father and I had a small conversation before you arrived, and to sum it all up, he’s okay with us being together if it means that humanity benefits in the long-run.”

Chris chuckled. “Of course. Anything that allows the human race to continue existing, he’ll allow it.” Sighing, Chris turned and placed his hands on Ryan’s shoulders. “Regardless of what he says though, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be with you, Ryan. And if Colossus manage to attack this academy to get to Maria’s body, I’ll be by your side no matter what.”

Placing his hands on top of Chris’s, Ryan smiled and said, “And I’ll do the same for you, Chris.”

Chris smiled back and moving his face closer, he said, “Whatever happens, I just want to say that I—”

A siren interrupted what Chris was about to say when the room began to flash with red light and the shell returned to cover Maria’s tank. Both looked at each other before nodding and running back to the elevator that took them back to the surface of the academy. And outside they saw jets flying above in the sky and active-duty and cadet Champions running to one direction, the assembly hall.

“There you two are!”

Ryan turned to see Delilah running towards them with Knox right behind her. “Delilah! What’s happening?”

“A Colossus invasion is what’s happening!” Delilah exclaimed through the blaring siren. “Two of the three Colossus have been defeated, but the last one disappeared from Philadelphia only to reappear at Washington DC. The Colossus has also captured dozens of active-duty Champions for unknown reasons. We all need to go to the assembly hall for further instructions. Now let’s go!”

“All right! Lead the way!” Ryan said.

As Ryan followed Delilah to the assembly hall, he could help but wonder what new plot that Colossus had in store for them,

***

“All right men and women of the United States Champions! Let’s get out there and defeat that last Colossus!” a First Lieutenant, active-duty Champion said to his platoon.

The First Lieutenant and his platoon then used their nodes to move their bodies at a very fast speed to the direction of the Colossus’s new location that was only a mile from the United States Champion academy. Reaching the Colossus’s location, the Champion platoon leader then ordered his platoon to stop when he saw figures dropping from the area where the Colossus stored its whip-like extensions, and onto the ground. From closer inspection, he realized they were his fellow Champions, but when they materialized their weapons and began running towards them in a aggressive manner, he knew that the Colossus was not the only trouble they were going to have to deal with.