Emerald City Defenders Episode 1.3

The Present

 

Engines revved and roared as the Mighty Metal Mechanoid took the Crab-topus to task. It was like watching a professional wrestling match supersized to an impossible size. Tendrils met metal and Pincers met techno-organic carapace and rock and roll met bellowing in a thunderous duel. Each of the titans gave as good as it got.

With a mighty heave the MEGAS threw its aquatic foe down the block through several parked cars and into three storefronts.  The MEGAS posed dramatically Painkiller starting again for the third time in the musical loop. The Grab-topus lurched upright one pincer mangled and useless from its fall. It thrashed its oversized tentacles angrily against the surrounding buildings as it charged its latest enemy.

The battle was joined again as claws, tentacles and fists met each other in great fury.

The Emerald City Defenders took cover around the corner out of the way of the brawl.

The team held a tactical meeting using their coms due to the overwhelming volume of the battle in progress. Harmonic sat panting on a curb drinking a bottle of something Necessity had concocted earlier at the base for him to rehydrate. She hovered over him occasionally glancing at a wrist mounted monitor that had a live feed from a drone she had sent around the corner to spy on the two tussling titans. Expresso stood next to Forever Knight and AI-leen out of the drizzle under an overhang.

Expresso started the conversation “This is crazy. That guy is doing more damage to the city while fighting the Crab-topus than it was doing on its own.”

“Agreed,” began Forever Knight “We need to get him to take it down a notch and let us give him a hand. The two of them have nearly destroyed a whole block and a half. AI-leen, can you interface with his system so we can talk to him.”

“Compliance.”

Expresso and Forever Knight both looked sideways at her.

“Did you say compliance?”

“That is correct. Studies have shown that a light hearted humorous comment about a topic vaguely related to the task at hand in a stressful situation can increase team cohesion and lower mental fatigue by fifteen percent. Was my movie reference erroneous or inappropriate?”

Forever Knight shook his head. “No darling, that was perfectly appropriate. I just never figured the member of our team who was an Artificial Sentience would ever quote Flight of the Navigator.”

“The Collective and I strive for improvement. Your connection to Dale aboard the Mechanoid has been established.”

The loud heavy metal cut off. Just the sound of the beast and the rumble of the monster truck engines could be heard.

“Dale? This is Forever Knight. Can you hear me?”

A very surprised voice came over the linked team coms.  “Yeah I can. How did you guys do that?”

“AI-leen. Bluetooth. But that is not important now. Dale about your fight against the Crab-topus…”

“I’m whooping it good aren’t I?” Dale interrupted.

“There is no denying that. But Dale you are causing more damage to the city than the creature. We need you to tone it down a bit. We need to save the city not destroy it. If you back off a bit we can jump in and help you finish it off without causing too much more damage.”

“What? No way! I can take this thing on my own. You want me to do all the work and you guys to take the credit for beating it. I’ll be the hero this time. You guys had your chance.” With an audible click he cut the connection. Moments later Painkiller started blearing from the speakers for its fourth repeat of the battle.

Harmonic looked up and sighed. “I’m really starting to hate that song.”

Forever Knight addressed his squad. “No good. He is going to hot dog this one. And we are pretty much helpless.”

“We aren’t as bad off as you think.” Necessity stepped up to the huddle “Look at my view screen. Both the MEGAS and the Crab-topus are pretty bad off. I think we can with a combined effort stop them both.”

As the team examined the images Harmonic stood up from his seat on the curb and spoke up. “I think I can do it. I’ve got a new song that I have been practicing. But, if I do this it is my last song. You guys aren’t getting an Ave Maria from me.”

AI-leen’s eyes flashed. “My calculations state that you would need to perform at a level that is forty five percent stronger than your current best to have a strong degree of success in finishing both foes.”

Seeing Necessity’s concern he chugged the last of his drink and put his hand on her shoulder. “Trust me I have this one. Everyone needs to set their ear protection settings to level ten. This one is going to get loud.”

 

Harmonic shook out his arms and rocked his head back and forth popping his neck. Just like a fighter getting ready for an important match. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and calmly started walking toward the street that the two titans brawled in.

As he walked he positioned his hands in the classic air guitar pose and started strumming. The ambient noise of the battle and the city combined into a very distinct and memorable guitar riff. And he began to sing over it softly at first but then steadily increased the volume.


“Oh wowowowowowow.”

“Oh wowowowowowow.”

“Oh wowowowowowow.”


The rest of his team looked at each other. And each dialed his or her ear protection all the way up.

Forever Knight commed Necessity and AI-leen “Can you get a recording of this. I think it might be one for the archives.”

“My drones are moving into position right now.”

“The collective is cashing it in an isolated cluster as we speak using all available sources that they can access to give a three hundred and sixty degree view of the battlefield in full HD. Necessity a request has been sent to access the microphones in your hover drones to get the highest fidelity sound.”

Necessity tapped a few buttons on her wrist comp. “Granted.”

The way all the sounds came together and amplified it now sounded like a whole crowd was joining in.



“Oh wowowowowowow.”

“Oh wowowowowowow.”

“Oh wowowowowowow.”

 “Oh wowowowowowow.”


His slow walk finally took him to the main street, the music swelled and his hands didn’t cease their air guitar playing.


“Thunder!”

“Oh wowowowowowow. Thunder!”

“Oh wowowowowowow. Thunder!”

“Oh wowowowowowow. Thunder!”


Harmonic stood in the center of the street in a wide stance strumming his air guitar and staring at the two oversized combatants before him as he increased the volume and force of his voice. What sounded like a hundred voices joined in, all singing in complete harmony and synchronicity along with him.


“Oh wowowowowowow. Thunder!”

“Oh wowowowowowow. Thunder!”

“Oh wowowowowowow. Thunder!”


Expresso stood in the shadow of a building behind Harmonic. With his enhanced speedster’s eyes he could see the drizzle react to the sound waves emanating from the man who stood before him. “Man I love this song.”


“THUNDER!”


The rain rippled out in front of him momentarily halting its fall. Three hundred voices.


“THUNDER!”


The volume increased as did the dispersion of the rain. The cone of sonic dryness almost reaching the legs of the MEGAS that had a tentacle in an arm bar. Five hundred voices.


“THUNDER!”


Rain splashed buildings on both sides of the street as it was thrown back. Eight hundred voices.


“THUNDER!”


One thousand voices. The entire street went dry for a moment.


AI-leen sent over team coms. “That was his previous maximum recorded volume.”

“It is going to get loud folks, brace yourselves. AI-leen can you get some hard light to reinforce the surrounding buildings.” Forever Knight’s mind worked busily “If this gets as loud as I am thinking it might structurally damage them.”

“It is possible; I will attempt to add some sound baffling on the back side to reduce the sonic damage to the buildings.”

“I was caught. In the middle of a railroad track. THUNDER!”

Rain was now splattering on a bubble of pure sonic energy that covered the whole street centered on Harmonic. At each cry of Thunder the Crab-topus staggered and shook as if it was hit by a gigantic fist.

A pearlescent white energy barrier sprang up in front of the buildings up and down the street as AI-leen sprang into action.


“I looked 'round. And I knew there was no turning back. THUNDER!”


The already damaged front carapace cracked nearly in half under the sonic barrage. A sickly green ichor and ooze seeping from the fractures. Rain vaporized above the buildings lining the street along the sound barrier, covering the whole length of the street from view of satellites by a thick low hanging cloud.


“My mind raced. And I thought what could I do? THUNDER!”


It was like listening to the greatest concert ever given by AC/DC except at a volume that could drown out a whole airport. The sound level proved too much for the already hurt sea monster. It collapsed with a twitch its nerve endings shorting out and internal organs pulping from the reverberations within its two shells. Glaring angrily through a spider web cracked windshield Dale spun the wheel in his cockpit causing the giant robot to face back down the street at the person who stole his victory.


“And I knew. There was no help, no help from you. THUNDER!”


The roar of the sequenced engines surged as Dale drove the MEGAS at top speed toward Harmonic. The giant robot leaned forward in a crude mockery of a runners form as it pounded down the street picking up speed as it ran against the pure onslaught of sound.

Harmonic stood his ground his arms outstretched no longer playing the air guitar. The music swelled around him to greater levels than before. The hissing of the vaporizing rain was incorporated into the sounds of the crowd cheering and singing along.

“Thirty two percent louder than previously recorded.” Noted AI-leen


“Sound of the drums
Beatin' in my heart
The thunder of guns!
Tore me apart
You've been  ...”


“He is actually going to crush him!” Necessity screamed into her headset

“I’vegothim!I’vegothim!I’vegothim!” Shouted Expresso as he sprinted forward, his form blurring, to save his friend.

He never got to see who was faster, a mutant speedster or a metallic monster. Because mere moments before either got to him Harmonic played six dramatic beats on an air drum kit. And made the loudest noise he had ever made in his life.


”THUNDERSTRUCK!”


Quietly, just barely audible, in everyone’s coms almost as an afterthought AI-leen sent “Sixty two percent louder.”


The air itself rippled in a perfect sphere with Harmonic as its center point. The shockwave caused the pearlescent barrier that protected the buildings to shatter into minute dust-like fragments of light that sprinkled over everything like a slow motion glittery snow. Both the MEGAS and the supersonic speedster went flying as Harmonic’s wave hit them.

Expresso was better off as he had less surface area to catch the explosion. He tumbled through the air wind milling his limbs at high speed to stabilize his accidental flight, looking much like an erratic coffee colored cyclone. He managed to slow his speed enough in time to crash into and through the second story display window of a women’s boutique. He sat up with a pained grimace holding his side; it seemed he had only cracked a few ribs. At his previous speed he might have broken his neck at the very least on impact.

Dale and The Mighty Metal Mechanoid didn’t fare as well. The force of the sonic barrage caught the giant robot square on. It didn’t fly nearly as high as Expresso but it was hit with greater force none the less. Dale, being a smart maniac, had actually worn his seatbelt, a modified racing harness. That and his emergency trauma system saved his life. The MEGAS carved up a long section of city street as it flew down the center of the road for two city blocks, tumbling and twisting limply as both the pilot and primary control system were out. It ended up lying limply, with an occasional fat orange spark shooting out, half piled into a parking garage pillowed up by a pile of asphalt, concrete and late model sedans.

When the pearlescent dust had begun to disappear and the rain had begun to fall again everyone looking out of windows and out of their hiding places all along the street could see a still blue haired form sprawled unmoving in the center of a perfect half sphere indented in the center of the road. A sparkling rain slowly washed over the body, and began to pool in the crater, as people ran from all directions in what seemed like slow motion in his direction, led by a girl with a fan jet backpack.

 

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For those of you who want to listen to the whole song. Not just the text version of it in your head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

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