Mod Superhero

Chapter 4.7 - Monstrosity

Rain fell, causing steam to rise from the rooftops. The battle had gone on so long that bodies were piling up along the edges. To Mod, it felt like almost as many attacks were used knocking the piles off the roof as the capes used to defend themselves.

A deep soreness wracked Mod's body. TINA had mentioned that his healing nanites had been working overtime to patch together his prosthetic leg. The wound from the Deep Ones' shock trooper had been deeper than he thought, and even limping on the leg was pushing the limits of the prosthetic.

That was fine. He just had to hold on a little longer.

Each gnashing creature that climbed over the roof fought with animalistic recklessness, but there were fewer and fewer attacking. The Deep Ones were running out of numbers.

Mod could only imagine how his teammates were holding up. When he could, Mod spared glances to the rest of Serenity's team. They were getting slower, staggering, and their breathing was ragged. Mod couldn't see the other buildings clearly, but their ice barricades were holding, and no other capes had gone down. The one lone casualty was still stable.

Arsenal flew between the towers, a blur of speed and power. Even at a glance, Mod could tell that her power had spiked—her kinetic blasts were so fast that they sounded like machine gun fire. She was trying to bleed off excess power.

Thankfully, it worked. Like the Deep Ones' assault, she finally seemed to be slowing down.

Mod nearly breathed a sigh of relief—

Until he saw something underwater. It came from the South—massive and barreling toward their block. Waves churned and broke along its wake. As deep as the water was, it barely hid the bulk of the creature. With Mod's enhanced eyes, he could make out thick armored plates. They were even darker than the water.

Serenity's voice rang out across the teams. "Monstrosity incoming! Anyone with ranged abilities, fire at will!"

Spears of shadow, bolts of ice, and kinetic blasts sailed across the block and toward the creature. Water sprayed high in the air from the impacts. The creature let out a low roar. It was so loud and so deep that it shook the concrete of the building.

Mod felt it in his bones.

The creature didn't stop—didn't slow. It was heading straight toward the teams. Toward the brick-faced building where Mod's friends were.

McGuire, Cherry, Larian, and Krystal...

Arsenal flew low between the buildings, dangerously close to the water. Her power was spiking again, her kinetic blasts raining down on the beast like machine gun fire.

A giant claw burst out of the water, each half as thick as a car and plated with armor. It snapped shut, barely missing Arsenal as she swooped past. The resounding clack burst windows around the block and shards of glass rained down on the churning sea.

For all the recordings and pictures that Mod had seen of superhero battles, nothing had prepared him for this. Even fighting Lock, Hunter Red, The Freakshow, and the Deep Ones' shock troopers didn't compare. There was something primal and terrible about staring down a monster—something as big as a goddamn building—that made all Mod's other battles feel small in comparison.

All the while, the last fish-men were still clambering onto the roof. Mod cut two down, then surveyed the block.

"Serenity!" Mod shouted. "We need to evacuate."

"The helicopters are coming back," she replied without looking down. Serenity was glancing worriedly from the monstrosity to McGuire's team.

"Tell Krystal to get them out of there!"