The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

The Elephant's Roar

The roar of the MP5 splintered across the street, sounding much like a monster unleashed as the bullets hit home. Chunks of the police cars exploded as bullets tore through them. Hunks of metal and glass went flying, spraying over the cops. One man's arm was cleaved through, bursting apart in a spray of fine red mist. The man toppled backward, as other officers hit the deck, screaming and yelling.

Jason stared at the sight in slow motion, barely registering it as glass narrowly whizzed past him. But then a hand slapped the back of his head and he felt someone tug. He turned and saw Laureen ducking next to him, yanking at his wrist.

"Get down!" She screamed over the roar of gunfire and police screams. The SWAT captain had already hit the ground, flattened against the street, one arm gripping his rifle. Jason's senses came back in a rush and he leaped down next to her. The two flattened to themselves against the street.

Jason looked to his side. Audrey hadn't ducked. She wasn't even trying to hide. Normally Jason would be fine with that, Audrey had always been their muscle, the one who could shrug off anything the bad guys threw at her. But now she was hurt and facing a metahuman who had already easily trounced her. Jason was suddenly terrified, terrified that the girl who he felt he was developing...feelings for, beyond mere friendship, was going to be killed.

"Audrey!" Jason screamed. "Get down!" Audrey looked at him and gave him a confused look. She then looked forward, raising one arm protectively over her chest wounds, and opened her wings. Jason tried to call out again but Audrey buzzed forward, zooming over the police barricade and at Incisor.

Jason looked up, daring to rise up slightly. The officers were continuing to take cover behind their vehicles, one man grabbing the guy now missing his arm and bleeding everywhere. Audrey zoomed over their heads, bullets sparking off her exoskeleton. She cried out, her scream almost like a challenge.

Jason stayed where he was for a moment. But then he gritted his teeth and rose up. "I'm gonna help!" He yelled before charging forward toward the vehicles. As he did, he saw Audrey flying at Incisor across the street. The elephant man stopped shooting, shouldering the massive machine gun and raising his rocket launcher. He fired, the explosion booming across the street. Audrey curved in midair, the rocket ripping past her. Instead, it flew at the police barricade.

Jason screeched to a halt on the roof of a car. He then flipped himself backward, screaming out: "RUN!" as he vaulted through the air.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. The group of cops look up at him, their faces going wide in horror. The rocket streak through the air, a trail of smoke behind it. And Jason realized they couldn't run. They wouldn't be able to escape in time.

Then the rocket hit home.

One of the cars exploded in a ball of flame. The blast was strong enough that it ripped the roof off, flinging it skyward. A shockwave of force burst out from the explosion, ramming into Jason in midair. The force of the blast launched him, sending him spinning head over heels, the world becoming a blur around him. He screamed before he saw the ground shooting up to meet him.

He raised his hands but it was too late to stop the crash. He hit the street. Hard. His arms slammed against the concrete and pain assaulted him as his arms slide across the street, tearing hard against the rough surface. He slide, rolled, and bounced for several feet before coming to a stop. The world didn't stop spinning, however, and Jason, his ears ringing and his arms burning, just stared at the ground. He felt sick, his stomach doing jumping jacks.

Groaning, Jason tried to rise, the world muffled around him, sounding distorted as if he was underwater. His vision swam in and out of focus, the spinning world slowly starting to return to normal. He turned one of his arms over and grimaced. His arm was scrapped to hell, most of the sleeve torn to mere scraps while nasty scraps and slashes covered his skin. Blood was dripping from it, oozing onto the concrete.