New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age (34 page)

Shayne was in no
mood for Seth’s banter. He charged towards Seth. Seth realized
hand to hand combat was not in his best interest, so he distracted
Shayne with an onslaught of fireballs. Shayne flipped and dipped and
did whatever else he could to avoid Seth’s attacks. He tried to
push forward, but with every attempt, Seth continued hurling
fireballs at him.

“I think it’s
time I try out my new abilities,” Seth said.

As Shayne charged
forward towards Seth, Seth unleashed a bolt of ice towards Shayne’s
feet. The ice connected, stopping Shayne dead in his tracks. Shayne
tried to break free, but before he could, Seth froze the rest of
Shayne.

“Quite
handy!” Seth said admiring his newly acquired ability.

A Post Human with a
baseball bat charged passed Seth. As soon as Seth noticed the bat an
idea came to mind. Frozen, Shayne's eyes grew wide with concern
realizing what Seth was thinking.

“Thanks, I’ll
be sure to give it back,” Seth said to the Post Human. The
confused Post Human nodded his head and continued forward after one
of the agents. Seth knew he could kill Shayne if he broke him into
pieces while frozen. Whistling, Seth made his way forward towards
Shayne. Suddenly as he closed in, he found himself unable to move.
Seth looked down and saw his feet were frozen. He looked around and
saw Jackson making his way back to his feet.

“You
should’ve stayed down!” Seth said smiling. He dropped the
bat and placed his hands downward and used the abilities he stole
from Shayne to melt the ice. While Seth was distracted, Shayne heated
up his body temperature allowing him to melt the ice that kept him
prisoner. With Shayne on one side and Jackson on the other, Seth
found himself at a disadvantage.

“You've
lost,” Shayne said. Seth turned around only to realize that
Shayne had freed himself. With the two extremely talented Post Humans
closing in on him, Seth did not like his chances.

“Screw this!”
Seth stated. With a blink of an eye, Seth opened up a portal and
disappeared before Shayne and Jackson could capture him.

“I really
hate that guy!” Jackson said frustrated by the constant
disappearing act Seth pulled. Erik was back up and caught Shayne by
surprise. He hit Shayne with a devastating shot of electricity that
would’ve easily killed anyone that didn't possess a healing
factor.

“Shayne!”
Jackson shouted as he watched his friend fall to the ground.

Jessica flew high
to avoid the barrage of bullets and offensive projectiles flying in
every which direction. When she was close enough, she swooped down
and grabbed Shayne. “I’ve got him,” she said as
Jackson looked on concerned.

Jackson was filled
with anger. An emotion that could cost him dearly if he didn't
effectively channel that anger into a productive counter response. He
knew Shayne’s healing ability would kick in, but seeing a
friend in that much pain was something no one wanted to witness.

“You're going
to pay for that,” Jackson said. Jackson’s normally
baritone voice was much deeper now. His words came out more like a
growl.

Erik did his best
not to look intimidated by Jackson’s anger, but seeing this
particular side of Jackson was something he wasn't expecting.

Erik released a
weaker shot of electricity in Jackson’s direction. Jackson
rolled to his right avoiding the attack. He countered with a shot of
ice which Erik countered as well.

“This
Blueranium has made me stronger than I was last time we met. You
don't have the skill to take me one on one,” Erik stated.

“We'll see
about that,” Jackson replied without his usual sarcastic
remark.

Erik inched closer
towards Jackson. “I’m sorry about your friend, but I
needed to show you just how powerful this Blueranium is. You needed
to see how powerful you can be under the right leadership. The League
of Protectors has no chance of winning this battle. You cannot
comprehend the power in which my leader possesses. Oppose him and you
will regret it.” By now, Erik and Jackson were within striking
distance.

“So what do
you say?” Erik asked. He stuck his hand out hoping to come to
terms with Jackson. Considering how close the two men were standing
to one another and no attack occurred, Erik was confident Jackson was
going to take him up on his offer.

Jackson smiled,
“The only thing I regret is not taking you out sooner.”
Jackson grabbed Erik’s arm and before Erik could react, Jackson
pulled out a inhibitor syringe and stabbed Erik in the arm with it.
Erik dropped to the ground.

Jackson pressed the
earpiece on his left ear and reported back to the G.U.A.R.D command
center. “Erik Masters has been contained.”

As the battle
continued the momentum was drastically shifting. The Post Human army
found themselves over matched by the field experience of G.U.A.R.D
and the other units.

Jason Shaw’s
smart tactics and the determination of The League forced several Post
Humans to retreat from the battle. Jason remained cautious about the
battle. He didn’t want to become complacent. The man in the
hooded robe had yet to make his presence felt. He remained completely
calm even as his army started to fall apart.

Commander Sullivan
watched the battle unfold from a safe location. It was difficult for
him to watch the battle and not be in it, but as Commander, he had
other responsibilities to think of.

“Commander
we’ve got a problem!” one of the agents said urgently.

The Commander
walked briskly to where the agent was standing. He looked at the
monitor. Commander Sullivan immediately opened a channel to speak
with Jason and the rest of the League.

“Jason this
is Commander Sullivan do you copy?” Commander Sullivan had to
wait momentarily for Jason to reply. Jason was busy battling the
swarm of Post Humans surrounding him.

“I copy Sir.”

Commander
Sullivan’s eyes stayed glued to the monitor. “There’s
a group of Post Humans breaking off, they seem to be heading straight
to the White House. Intercept them before they get too close.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jason was holding
back on his opponents as he didn’t want to seriously harm any
of them. With a group of Post Humans making their way towards the
White House, Jason felt an urgency to neutralize his opponents
faster. Jason leaped up several feet in the air. The Post Humans
surrounding him looked up at him in amazement. They were astonished
by the height of his leap. Jason returned to the ground, landing on
his feet with a thunderous drop. The impact of his leap dropped
everyone in the nearby vicinity to the ground. Dazed, the Post Humans
and a few G.U.A.R.D agents as well struggled to regain their balance.
The space Jason created gave him a chance to intercept those moving
towards the White House. The ground beneath Jason’s feet began
to rumble. Jason looked around thinking perhaps someone had the
ability to create an earthquake. It wasn’t an earthquake that
was causing the rumble; it was the fast approaching Joe Dorgan.

Joe hit Jason with
a thunderous punch that sent Jason wheeling back.

“I’m on
my way to you Jason,” Jessica said in Jason’s earpiece.

“No, stay
back, I got this!” Jason barked. Jessica tried to argue with
Jason but it was no use. Jason insisted on taking Joe alone. “Stop
that group that’s heading towards the White House. Neutralizing
them is our top priority at the moment!”

Jessica was not
pleased with Jason’s orders. As strong as Jason was she worried
about his chances facing Joe alone. On two separate occasions now the
League went to battle with Joe Dorgan and on both occasions he proved
to be the most difficult challenger they had faced. Nevertheless, she
did as instructed. As much as she disagreed with him, she understood
that Jason had to battle Joe Dorgan alone.

With a quickness
rivaling Jason’s, Jessica soared above the fight and headed
towards the White House. Jackson looked up towards the sky with
concern as his sister flew off.

“She’s
going to try and stop them!” the woman in white exclaimed. She,
the short man and the man in the hooded robe had levitated to the
roof of one of the buildings when the momentum of the battle started
to change. None of them seemed too eager to involve themselves in the
battle. They were just fine watching the two sides duke it out.
G.U.A.R.D agents attempted to penetrate the force field surrounding
them, but they were unable to do so.

“Brother, I
can take her!” the woman shouted. She was quite annoyed that
earlier the hooded man recalled her from the field while she was in
the middle of battle.

“No, you will
sit this out,” the hooded man ordered. The woman in white
looked at her brother with a fiery rebellion. She was determined to
intervene.

Jessica swooped
down and contorted her body like a missile. Her advanced durability
allowed her to propel herself into others without injuring herself.
The Post Humans dropped to the ground while Jessica landed perfectly
on her feet.

“Let me end
her!” the woman in white shouted. The woman was filled with
anger as she watched the army she help create become decimated.

“Patience
sister,” the man in the hooded robe said.

The Post Humans
making their way towards the White House collected themselves.
Jessica stood tall ready to take them on. Noah came out of nowhere
and rejoined the battle. Using a massive amount of focus, Noah
activated his telekinesis and forced all those gathering at the white
house to collide with one another. The impact in which Noah's
telekinesis caused was gruesome. Broken bones, bloodied faces,
concussions and more were guaranteed as the individuals slammed hard
into one another. The look on Jessica’s face was perplexed. She
was thankful that Noah was there to assist her, but at the same time,
she didn't think it was necessary that Noah use such deadly force.

Noah looked at her
and shrugged. “If even one of them got passed this gate, the
repercussions...” He didn't have to say anything else, Jessica
understood. She didn't like it, but she understood.

The National Guard
made their way down the street. They took out what little of the Post
Human army remained. The man in the hooded robe looked on at the
destruction. Smoke filled the sky. There was blood and fire
everywhere. The streets looked comparable to a war zone.

The hooded man
turned his attention to Joe Dorgan and Jason Shaw. The battle between
the two had concluded and somehow Jason was the winner.

“How is this
possible? How did he defeat Joe alone like that?” the woman in
white asked. Her intentions were solely focused on Jessica Prescott
that she didn't notice Jason defeating Joe Dorgan. The hooded man
smiled. He saw the whole battle. He watched as Jason outsmarted Joe.
He watched as Jason out muscled Joe. He watched as Jason outclassed
Joe.

“Jason Shaw
defeated Joe Dorgan because Jason Shaw was the superior being. He
will be a great addition to our ranks sister, but first, I will show
these people who the superior of all beings is.”

The man in the
hooded robe levitated towards the ground. The National Guard, the
other specialized units, G.U.A.R.D and the League of Protectors
surrounded the man in the hooded robe.

“Your army
has been defeated. This battle is over. Surrender now!” Jason
Shaw demanded. Jason stood just feet away from the man in the hooded
robe. The woman in white and the short chubby man continued to watch
from the rooftop.

The man in the
hooded robe laughed hysterically. “You are correct Jason Shaw,
the battle is over, but now, the final confrontation begins.”
The man in the hooded robe clenched his fist together and a massive
build of energy formed from inside his body.

33

The
Final Confrontation

Hundreds of lives
were lost instantaneously, the result of some form of disintegrating
energy from the man in the hooded robe. Noah dropped to the ground
releasing the force field he put up. If not for his fast reaction,
many more lives would have been lost. The amount of energy required
to put up such a wide force field nearly drained Noah of all the
energy he had.

“Noah, are
you okay?” Jessica asked using the com link. From her vantage
point in the sky, all she could see was Noah dropping to the ground.

“Yeah, I'm
alright.” Noah replied with conviction.

Jessica screamed as
she noticed Jason wasn’t moving. She was fairly certain he
wasn’t inside the force field when the energy blast hit.
Jessica swooped down, dropped to her knees and went to check on
Jason. He laid motionlessly on his side, his eyes closed and there
appeared to be no sign of life. She tried to roll him over but she
had to let go before she could complete the task. Jason’s body
burned from the impact of the blast.

“He's dead!”
Jessica screamed. She looked up to meet the hooded man’s eyes
and found herself startled by what she saw. Noah and the rest of the
members stared at Jason's lifeless body in disbelief. From the
command center, live video was zooming in on Jason Shaw. Mr. Connors
and Stephanie looked on with fright.

“Stephanie?”
Mr. Connors asked. A tear fell from her eye.

“I can't
detect any life signature radiating from Jason sir.”

Even Commander
Sullivan had a solemn look on his face. Jessica stared into the dark
eyes of the hooded man. She was up close enough to him to notice his
facial features did not resemble that of a human. She found herself
unable to move. The shock had set in and she could do nothing but
stare.

“Not what you
expected?” the individual in the hooded robe asked. He flashed
his pearly white teeth and laughed hysterically.

“Mr. Connors,
are you seeing this?” Commander Sullivan asked in disbelief.