EVO Universe 1: The First (30 page)

To her horror, she felt the same excruciating pain again of her arm scorched for the second time. Instinctively she dived out of the way as #3 and #4 fired rounds of their own one of them hitting her in the meat of her thigh. As she clutched her burnt leg, out of the corner of her eye she saw #1 finally up with his rifle locked on her.

In her head she screamed, “Move, dammit move!!” forcing her body to do what her mind commanded diving through the store front window of a Chinese restaurant as #1 lit up the sidewalk she was on.

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Far off from the battlefield in the safety of his black Sikorsky private helicopter, which also doubled as a command center.

The Director observed the action with a smile on his face, “So….you do have a weakness.”

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Back at the now war torn McPherson Square, #2 dropped out of the sky impacting the street and opening fire on the Chinese restaurant forcing Sophia to scramble to her feet and dive over the counter; she covered up now gripped with fear.

What was happening, why was her defensive invulnerability not kicking in? Clearly, her regenerative capability was still working, but the pain was far too much for her.

This was not a comic book and she was not a hero, or a soldier. She was a wife, a neurosurgeon, a girl from a regular family out of little Mount Vernon that just wanted a nice normal life.

This was crazy, colossal machines shooting at her, trying to kill her. She wanted to go home; she just wanted to go home.

It was just then that she remembered she no longer had a home because of the individuals outside. That she pushed this; she was the one who called them out, and why. Images of how defenseless and terrified Robert was just before they murdered him filled her head.

The final image of his face looking at her with tears in his eyes, the four years of agonizing hell she went through before they stuck the needle in her arm. The image of her dying for a crime she did not commit was what stoked the fire back in her.

“Get over yourself,” she thought, “You wanted this!”; “You called them out on live TV!” “You wanted to fight! You wanted this! You wanted this!”

Her defensive invulnerability may not work, but her other abilities did, as she willed herself to her feet and charged to the back of the store. She needed to get a bit of distance between herself and them so she smashed through the back door taking her to the alley.

Out of the way of gunfire for a few seconds, she took the time to reaffirm herself, “You’re not human anymore…you’re more…so start acting like it…”

The sound of thrusters and heavy metallic footsteps meant the hounds would be on her soon, she needed more distance, but not before snatching up a three hundred pound old cast iron manhole cover. She then quickly smashed through the steel door of the building in front of her. Sure enough, #2 hovered overhead, while #1 stood in front of one of the entrances of the alley hunting her.

“She’s in the next building! Move into position!” barked #1 scrambling.

Sophia ran from the back where she crashed through into a beauty parlor where the patrons and employees all huddled together hiding. They screamed as she walked into the middle of the floor.

“Sorry! Sorry!” she tried to calm them, she then quickly noticed a woman with a bright orange and red hairstyle, “Love the colors…”

She quickly crouched down and shot through the ceiling going four floors up into a dance studio where little ballerinas, their teacher, and parents huddled together screaming and crying.

Sophia rolled her eyes looking up not amused at another cosmic joke, “Really? Really?”

Before she could give her Creator the finger for constantly jamming her up, #2 hovered with guns armed ready to blow where she was standing to pieces, and she could not allow that happen. With a thought, she remembered Allen Dempsey from college who had a talent for throwing a Frisbee with such insane accuracy that he could hit a football in midflight as she hurled the manhole cover with the velocity of a patriot missile. An unsuspecting #2 took a manhole cover smack to the face of his B.A.M spinning it in mid-air. This gave Sophia the advantage she needed to charge and crash through the front window jumping on #2’s machine’s back getting a good grip and ripping off the back thrusters keeping it propelled in the air; she remembered seeing the move done in some super hero cartoon as a kid, thought it was a good idea and executed it flawlessly.

“Oh shit!” #2 screamed as he dropped into the street below like a stone.

#1 took aim to blast Dennison out of the sky but not before she threw the thruster still in her hand at him as he opened fired.

The plasma charge from his rifle blew the thruster up in his face blinding him. She remembered that from a movie she saw as a teenager, thought it was a good idea and executed it flawlessly. Sophia landed in front of a burning #1 attempting to swat the flames out, and charged right at him. As #3 and #4 rushed into position to take her down, Sophia already underneath him coiled up once again and leaped exploding off the concrete slamming into the upper chest of the B.A.M taking it into the air drilling it into the side of a building rattling #1 inside once again.

Because of her close proximity to #1, #3 and #4 were forced to watch as Sophia somehow managed to perform a one-arm shoulder judo throw in mid-air on the B.A.M weighing several tons dropping it back first on top of a parked SUV before landing herself.

“Screw the order…kill the bitch...now!” growled #3.

#3 and #4 took aim-opening fire, as Sophia continued her offense. She remembered the Flash live action TV series on CBS, forced to watch with her younger brother because of the one television in the living room, surprisingly she thought it was somewhat cool although she acted bored when she watched it. On the first try, she was able to mirror Barry Allen’s superhuman speed though not as fast as the special effects used to give John Wesley Shipp the ability on the television.

Using her newly learned Barry Allen moves, she combined her speed with memories of known football and basketball players using fancy footwork in order to evade barrages coming at her. It was like going for a touchdown or layup as she easily ducked, spun, and dipped through the hail of firepower destroying the block she was on in an attempt to kill her. The duo’s targeting system was no longer able to lock on her due to the speed she was moving. Sophia decided to make a mad dash for #3.

“She’s coming this way,” shuddered #3, “I can’t get a lock on her!”

#4 gave chase trying to line up a shot before Sophia reached his teammate, as #3 backed up as far as she could; her mech’s back thrusters scorched the building behind her.

She fired volley after volley which Sophia dodged, juked, and jived until she was out of her range; #3 cursed as she hit the thrusters taking her upward, but Sophia once again used her powerful legs to become airborne getting face to chest with #3’s machine.

“Shit…” said a frustrated and outmatched #3.

While this was going on #4 lined up a kill shot to the back of Sophia’s neck ignoring the bring back alive order, and knowing full well he could blow away his teammate in the process.

“Mine…bitch…,” he said licking his lips.

What he did not calculate was Sophia dropkicking #3 into the building behind her sending her half way through it while using the momentum to launch herself backwards into a spin at #4 delivering a crushing flying shoulder charge knocking him into an insane tailspin.

“Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shiiiiiiiiiit!” he screamed while bouncing around in the cockpit.

The force of the hit sent him flying about 15 blocks before he actually hit the streets where his machine bounced violently off the concrete destroying everything in its path while going another five blocks before coming to a rest. Black smoke began to seep out of the damaged areas of his mech as #4 slumped in the seat of his cockpit rattled and dazed.

Sophia brandishing a confident smirk, descended back down to the streets, she was doing it; she was winning. She was beating the giant manned killer robots.

In normal reality, she would be like everyone else in the vicinity running, screaming, cowering for safety. Here she was in the middle of it all. No longer running, she was fighting, and winning.

For a split second, she felt unstoppable, until she remembered there was four of them as a recovered #2’s mech leaped into the air with its cannon for a rifle aimed right at her. It was just then Sophia remembered that she could not actually fly which meant she was literally a sitting duck in mid-air.

“Oh shit…,” she said breathing heavily.

Point blank range, despite trying to cover up Sophia took the full hit of the hand cannon that was the length and size of a Harley Davidson. She felt the sheering heat once again as it scorched her skin and clothing. The force of the impact propelled her through an office building sending people screaming and diving for cover as she exited out the other side hitting like a meteorite destroying everything in her path unintentionally while bouncing off the concrete creating human size craters before coming to stop in a heap.

Smoke wafting from her caused her to choke again, as she slowly rolled to fight back up to her feet despite being in agonizing pain. Her skin felt like it had first-degree burns, while her lungs felt as if filled with smoke and acid. Her vision was extremely blurry; she looked like a train ran over her dragging her nonstop for about five miles straight.

She was so out of it, she could not react to the B.A.M crashing down on top of her. Smoke and debris flew everywhere, some of it shattering windows and taking out parked cars as people ran ducking and looking for cover from the warzone.

As the smoke cleared those brave enough to peek out and look could see Sophia trapped underneath the foot of the massive B.A.M belonging to #3.

“Where’s that puffed up chest now bitch?” she said going external with her taunt.

Sophia groaned and growled as she managed to get her hands underneath her, and perform a push-up getting some space between her and the ground. #3 growled as she tried to crush Dennison under her machine’s foot, but Sophia refused to budge as she managed to get her feet underneath her. She then used her piston like legs to explode with enough force to hurl #3 off of her landing her several yards away on her back only for #2 to come leaping out of nowhere driving a crushing bi-pedal foot into Sophia’s chest drilling her further into the crater she was already in. It was amazing how the ground did not give way all together dropping them into the sewers of D.C.

A determined Dennison covered in dirt and blood from wounds that already healed growled again as she gripped the bi-pedal toes of the humanoid machine standing on top of her pushing her further into the crater. Sophia continued to struggle even with #2’s cannon trained on her once again at point blank range.

“You move super bitch,” #2 warned, “And you die…doubt you can survive me unloading several rounds in your face at this range.”

“What…part of me…killing all of you…did you not get?!” said a defiant Sophia literally ripping the bipedal foot of #2’s mech in half spilling an unknown red fluid all over her.

It forced #2 to scream feeling the neural feedback that made it felt as if she actually did rip his foot in two. #2 still managed to pull the trigger, but not before Sophia lurched forward and stuck her entire arm up the barrel of the mech’s gun causing it to blow up right in front of them.

The force of the explosion along with shrapnel sent a badly damaged #2’s machine crashing to the concrete, while Sophia also dashed to the street by the impact let off a blood-curdling scream clutching her chard right arm.

Tears of rage ran from her face, which had also been badly burned as she watched her arm; with half the skin burnt from it reform before her very eyes, while #2 desperately tried to right his now smoking machine on its badly damaged foot.

#1 and #4 both no longer with aerial capability came running down West Virginia Avenue joining #3, as Sophia now once again fully healed rose to her feet. With no more words wasted, they opened fire on her, but instead of outright dodging, she made slight movements and short speed bursts zipping out of way; dodging the barrage of cannon fire. As they tore up the street she weaved through shot after shot getting closer to them; it was a clear message she was sending to them. She was going to kill them…and nothing on Earth could stop her, not even them.

“We need to fall back…now!” said an unnerved #1.

Just as #1 gave the order to retreat, Sophia like a lioness on the hunt launched herself plowing into #2 barely able to stand taking his machine completely off its compromised feet.

#2 in desperation tried to throw a right from his back to knock her off him, but Sophia proving to be much faster and far more powerful simply caught the mechanical fist eight times the size of her own hand and crushed it in her grip. The neural feedback made him scream again as if she turned his actual hand to powder. She then grabbed the machine’s arm by the forearm getting another good grip, and ripped the entire arm off completely sending the weird fluid that looked like blood flying everywhere. Within the cockpit of the machine, #2 hollered again in pain as if she ripped his own arm off while sparks and mini explosions erupted inside all around him.