The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

Silent Screams

Jason clutched at the dirt as the four Skeleton Crew mercenaries took aim at the three of them. Scream watched them emotionlessly, her dreadlocks dancing in the breeze. The Urban Spider let out a scream, a scream he couldn't even hear, as he tried to struggle forward and protect his friends. Fight! He cried in his mind. Fight, damnit!

But before they could fire, a blast of intense light hit the area. The mercenaries turned, before a hail of bullets slammed into them. They staggered backward, the fire not seeming to rip through their heavy armor but making them lose their footing, displacing their positions. Chunks of dirt exploded around them. Jason could feel the vibrations across the earth, even though he didn't hear it.

Scream immediately tried to take cover but a bullet ripped through her leg. She fell, a spray of blood flying through the air. One of the mercs, the one with the heavy assault rifle, shielded her with his body, his bulky form rattling from continued fire.

Jason rose, the world silent around him. He twisted toward where the bullets were coming from and saw a military truck had pulled up on the side of the road. Multiple soldiers were opening fire from the truck's, the flash of their guns bursting in the night. One shouted at him but Jason didn't hear him, as he pushed himself to his feet.

Jason ignored the soldier, not caring what he was saying. He leaped to Audrey's side and slapped his hand across her shell. He cried out, Audrey!, his throat rattling from the force of his scream even as his deafened ears failed to hear anything.

Audrey's eyes groggily looked up. Her antennae remained drooped. Her lips twisted and she said something. Jason shook his head and pointed at his ears. He mouthed: I can't hear you! Audrey's eyes squinted then widened. One massive hand pressed against the dirt and she sluggishly started to rise. But suddenly her eyes widened. She pointed one hand, before pushing Jason aside.

A burst of flame sprayed sliced past Jason as he was flung aside, landing hard on his ass. The flames slammed into Audrey's arm as she raised it in front of her face. Her exoskeleton glowed orange as the intense heat assaulted it. Audrey's face twisted in pain and although Jason didn't hear her, he knew she was probably screaming in pain.

He twisted to his feet and saw the flamethrower mercenary was the one currently trying to melt Audrey. The chaingun mercenary was moving forward, wading through the bullets being fired from the soldiers, barely flinching from the bullets impacting his heavy armor. He raised his enormous gun and Jason caught a glimpse of soldiers leaping off the truck, hitting the deck.

The chaingun fired and Jason was thankful he couldn't hear it. It must have been loud. He tore himself away from it and lunged at the flamethrower mercenary. He slammed into the man's side, head crashing into the armor. The man staggered from the blow but didn't fall, unlike practically everyone else Jason had hit.

Jason looked up, finding himself staring into the man's helmeted face. He could feel the heat radiating from the mercenary's flamethrower. The guy swung it at him. Jason leaped backwards, vaulting through the air, and landing a foot away in a crouched position.

The mercenary sprayed flames at him. Jason leaped to the side, barely avoiding the burst of flame as it engulfed the grass, burning hunks of the field into cinders. Jason landed hard on one shoulder and rolled through the dirt, before managing to rise. The smell of smoke filled the air, making him cough. A cough, again, he couldn't hear it. But he felt it.

It was surreal, being deafened. The noises Jason had come to associate with battle simply weren't there all of a sudden. No roars of his opponents, no satisfying crunch of bones when his fists met flesh, no whistling of the wind as he jumped about, no anything. He couldn't even hear the sound of his own breathing. It was liked being thrust into a cage. Despite being surrounded by the usual chaos, Jason now felt suddenly alone and isolated. All he was left with was his own thoughts and the growing sense of fear he was usually able to ignore. But now, he simply couldn't.