The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

Acute

Jacqueline scrapped her hands together. She was growing restless. They'd lost contact with both squads on the bridge. The helicopter pilot hadn't called in yet to report any successful kills. And the rest of the groups across the city were failing to communicate at all. Either they were failing to check-in or...

Jacqueline's teeth grinded together. She didn't want to even consider that option. It was something she couldn't allow herself to conceive of. Not now. Not after multiple setbacks. This...this was meant to be her moment of triumph! A strike even greater than the destruction of the Agency. But she knew what was happening. Even as she tried to keep it out, it bore into her skull like a drill.

She had lost. The metahumans were destroying her squads, one by one. Once again, they were going to win, to push her forces back. They were going to steal her moment from her, make her look like a fool. A group of kids was driving back her army, AGAIN.

Jacqueline's gauntleted hand tightened with a mechanical whine. The spark of rage was ignited within her. It was becoming difficult to think. The bridge around her suddenly felt too big. There was too much happening. Technicians trying to get in touch with the ground teams, repeating the same set sentence over and over. "Squad, respond immediately", a sentence Jacqueline was finding increasingly annoying. The click of keys, the drone of the Inferno's engines, and the live feeds of the television networks only added to sudden sense of overload.

The woman's eye twitched. She flexed her hands over and over, her mind starting to buzz. She suddenly wanted to live, to huddle down somewhere, and cover her ears. She wanted to hit something in a nice, quiet spot, away from all of this. She wanted to vent, to scream, do something beyond stand here and listen to the fruitless efforts of her bridge crew to manage a situation she felt was soon going to blow up in her face.

Her missions rarely ended in failure. In the early days of the Skeleton Crew they'd experience it, of course, but that was a learning curve they'd soon overcome. Since then, their record had been mostly spotless, beyond the occasional strategic retreat. No situation was too big for them. They'd deposed of warlords, smuggled goods across entire continents, and fought their way through some of the most hellish backwater places of the world.

But now...Jacqueline almost hissed inside her helmet. This mission, the goal she been dreaming of all her life, seemed to be unraveling them. It seemed like they could do nothing but lose after ransacking the Agency. Her team of highly trained professionals, backed up by some of the most high tech military gear on the market, had been beaten back by children. Circus freaks.

She didn't know what would happen if they lost this invasion. If they were beaten back here...

Jacqueline gritted her teeth. The bridge became a haze around her. She barely repressed the urge to scream and start tearing apart everything around her. Instead, Jacqueline forced herself to focus on the great window dominating the bridge, watching the clouds pass by. She wished she had her pills handy. They might clear her head, temporarily satiate her gnawing rage.

Then, without warning, Wormhole grunted from behind her and said, "Incoming!" Jacqueline turned and saw him concentrating, the old man's forehead creased. A second later, one of his portals opened and Incisor stumbled through it.

The elephant-man collapsed onto his knees. Jacqueline noticed he was clutching one hand against this right eye. That section of his head was coated in blood, which began to splatter against the floor. The technicians stared at him, all freezing in their tasks, shocked.

It took a moment for the scene to register to Jacqueline. She opened her mouth. Only air whistled out. She then blinked and attempting to re gather her thoughts. But as she did, a second portal ripped open and Scream came rolling out. She lay face up next to Incisor, her eyes close, blood dripping from her leg.