Confined within the holographic chamber, both Rohan and Dana remain by the center, Rohan standing by the silver table where the model is while Dana sits on the floor with the back of her head resting against the cushioned back of the chair. Surrounding them are the holographic projections that form a tight seal. The screens from the inside are full of images and videos, displaying the information as events take place inside the walls.
Silence resonates through the cavern as not one word is spoken, for the loudest sound is the stillness of the water below. Another awkward silence, as Dana and Rohan stare off into their own voids, trapped by their own will.
A gentle breeze brushes against the both of them, shoving Dana's hair backwards, passing her hollow green eyes still entranced in the abyss, her hands laying on the silver floor, holding onto the shards of her sanity. Ahead of her stands her old friend, whose blue eyes calmly stare into his work, remaining focused.
Dana silently taps her fingers on the silver floor and pulls enough energy together. She turns her gaze to Rohan before frowning softly and exhorting with a genuinely vulnerable voice, "How long did you know?"
Her question is not met with a response, as Rohan doesn't even turn his head in acknowledgement. Convinced that he had intentionally ignored her, Dana turns her head back to face away from him, and opens her mouth again to speak.
"Only a couple days."
Shocked by the unexpected answer, Dana pulls the remnants of her energy back together and turns to the one who spoke in a dull, monotonous tone ahead of her.
Rohan's eyes remain on the project, and she elaborates, "I only found out a couple days ago, and to be honest, I really did dwell on telling you. And I was about to and…I…you were busy...."
Encountered by the unapologetically complicated response, Dana can only help but release a single lifeless giggle.
Without supernatural telepathic abilities, Dana effortlessly debunks, "I know that's a lie, but I'm not going to prod you. It doesn't matter anyways now, so I guess I don't know why I asked. I guess it makes me feel a little bit better that you haven't been sitting on that for years or something like that."
Across the fresh collateral, Rohan releases a heavy sigh. He lowers his head and shakes it reassuringly. Keeping his head down, he quietly reflects, "I know I haven't been forward with you, but I'm serious when I say I do value the help you've given me. The only reason I was there when you asked to join me was because I was seeking your skills and knowledge, I wanted your help enough for me to drive to you. And I'm sorry if I've disappointed you with how I've used that help, but when it's all said and done, I hope you understand that I've always sought out the best resolution. I just…I understand if you distrust me now…I won't try to reason that I'm worth another chance. I guess just…you were my one human ally all this time…I don't see you as just a 'caretaker.'"
Dana tilts her head against the chair cushion from the statement, her eyes still soulless. She then lowers her head back down to the floor, staring at her own hand as it taps on the silver surface silently. She then faintly reminisces, "Remember when we used to do fights together, not like me fixing you up and sending you to battle, but when we were side by side against enemies? It felt like those superhero crossover team ups, I know that sounds silly but those used to fascinate me when I was younger. Even though I was probably putting myself in more danger than ever before, I really enjoyed those missions, I mean I put so much work into my whole battle suit, spending all that time perfecting my aesthetic and things, if you remember before my cybernetics looked pretty lame because I never saw a reason to care about how they looked. I mean, I guess you just wear a mask and casual clothes and call it a day like those really old superheroes, but you know what I mean. It was…it was nice."
His face remaining facing the floor, Rohan lets out a soft sigh before admitting, "Yeah…it was."
A weak, pained smirk moves across Dana's face as she continues to recollect, "It's still crazy to me that the first time we met, we so perfectly mirrored each other. I mean I guess later on we both evolved down our own paths but we used to have such similar suits and abilities. I don't know…looking back on everything…it's been so crazy. I mean, I guess being raised on Earth 15 sets your future prospects pretty low but damn, I really outdid myself there didn't I? I mean when you really go through it, that's our real life, it's not like some sort of fictional web series or story, it's a real life we really lived. I just wonder…when did it get so real?"
"We both know," Rohan abruptly answers, his head still lowered, his tone having fractured as his words have a faint, pained tune.
Still tracing her hand, Dana acknowledges, "You're right. I guess maybe I should've tried to do more, be better."
"Don't."
Breaking her trance on her hand, Dana turns her gaze up to Rohan in surprise to the quick, short answer.
After standing in the same posture for long enough, Rohan raises his head up. He then turns his body around to face Dana, finally reembracing eye contact with her. His blue eyes set on her green eyes, as the two stare straight into each other.
"Don't regret, you did more than enough to help me. You helped me maintain my strength when I had trouble doing it on my own, you helped me find new ways to carry on the mission when it looked like I wouldn't be of any use. You did more than enough," he calmly assures, speaking in a solidly confident voice, albeit sentimental.
However, Dana's reaction is to shake her head rejectingly, rubbing against the chair as she repeats in fatigue, "No no no no no no no no no. That's not it."
Perplexed by the seemingly random response, Rohan's eyebrow raises and he slightly tilts his head before further imploring, "What's not it?"
Dana stops her head, leaving it tilted and elaborates, "Rohan, I know that I helped you fight, I know that I helped you maintain some semblance of strength, maybe you don't remember but you've thanked me a lot for it. But what I'm referring to isn't that."
She returns eye contact with Rohan, staring at him and confesses, "I mean I wasn't there for you as a person enough as I should've been. I…I tried to…but I failed. I failed at keeping you company. And I always knew I did but every time you came in to ask for help I just did what you asked and sent you off without trying to reach out and…I just left you to keep suffering on your own. When you came to me with Ekitai, I was really, really happy, because to me it looked like you found someone that was going to be there for you, a partner to rely on. But…I don't know, maybe I got too excited because it's clear that's never how you've felt…which hurts because even though he was a bit out there at first I feel like you'd really get along with him. I know when you had to bring in Kokei it became a burden on you to have to house everyone and it's not helped by her attitude towards you but…I actually kind of thought it would be nice having them all here, like maybe now you'd have some company. But instead we just get in your way and bother you, when I wanted us all to have dinner I just stressed you out, and I…I don't know…I guess it's too late to say this all now because tomorrow you'll be sending them back anyways but…I just thought it would be nice if you had your own like…you know…your own little band of people, like a tea- well…yeah."
Silence follows as Rohan just stares back at Dana's outdated proposition, pondering to himself. His eyes lower to the side as he stares down at the floor, trying to swallow the heavy portion all at once. His pale hands rest by his side open, gently brushed by the current.
His hands then ball into tight fists that stab into themselves as he continuously tightens them, but the rest of his body stays still until he quietly murmurs in disappointment, "Oh."
He then pivots to the side, looking away. He remains for a few more seconds before then pivots again, facing away from Dana. His head remains low as his fist remains tight, and he grits his teeth.
Relaxing his hand and jaw, Rohan returns back to his model. He stands in front of the model and returns his gaze to it, his eyes darting around until they fixate on one of the green beacons by the edge of the forest. He then reaches his arm out and curls his hand around the beacon before pulling his arm back, which causes the entire beacon to be ripped out of the model as though it were just a stick.
He then takes the green virtual stick in hand and plunges it into the hologram, and in the point of impact a new window opens, which reveals a closeup satellite footage of a portion of the forest bordering the beach, which is surrounded by trees but is only feet away from the sand, providing adequate view of the shore. What's more, there don't appear to be any movement of people in the live footage, nor any traces of presence such as bodies or weaponry. A pure haven in a blazing hell, the perfect spot for deployment.
His decision made, Rohan nods his head to the recipient. He then turns back around to face Dana, who remains on the floor against his chair, staring up at him with a defeated face as she acknowledges that nevertheless he's devoted to the mission.
Rohan slowly approaches the center of the cell, the direction of the exit, as it seems he's heading towards battle.
Dana drops her head and sinks her gaze back down in silence, drowning in her failures with a frown. Above her, a pale open hand reaches out to her. After a few seconds, she raises her head in puzzlement, her dry eyes peering up as her hand lays on the floor.
In front of Dana stands Rohan, extending his hand out to her. Holding it out open, he clearly offers an ultimatum: "If you want and feel up to it, I won't stop you from joining me on the mission. I guess I can easily send you the destination anyways since you already have access to the necessary server, but it's your choice. I just won't force either on you."
Deep in the dull green rift, a life glistens, reimbursing it with a soul. Dana stares at Rohan's hand for a few seconds to give her time for interpretation and contemplation.
Meeting the pale open hand is the soft affirming hand, which both cling to each other before both are pulled up.
Rohan recoils his arm back, pulling Dana up off the ground. He steps back as she stumbles forward before regaining her balance, and turning back to him, to which they both let go of each other as both can stand.
He nods his head before gazing off into nothingness for a few seconds as an invasive thought has entered his mind. His eyes then widen in sudden realization, and he turns to face Dana before recalling, "Wait, I'm not sure how to deal with Ekitai and Kokei in that case if neither of us are here-, so I don't know if this could wor-."
Kokei emerges through the holographic walls, marching in with a confident posture, and behind her follows in Ekitai. Kokei paces up to Rohan, stopping in front of him as he turns in detecting her presence.
"If it's possible, me and Ekitai would like to join you on your mission," she proposes surely.
Completely astounded, Rohan blinks twice before seeking confirmation, "Wait, are you serious? The mission includes running into the crossfire of an armed battle, it will be dangerous and there's a very strong chance you can be taken out in the swarm. This will likely be the most lethally dangerous mission due to it likely being the most viscous battle of the war, I understand that you have Exhuman abilities but so will half of them."
Two nods, and Kokei reaffirms, "I understand, if you're concerned about getting into any liability problems over my potential death, that won't be the case."
Perplexed by the crude straightforwardness, Rohan's jaw hangs in awkwardice as to how to approach a response. He assures, "That…wasn't my concern-. I meant-."
"Then would you allow us to partake in the mission?," interjects Kokei, still straightforward as she's fueled by a newfound blaze.
After taking a few moments to cogitate over the request and all of its implications and possibilities, as well as the context and situation, Rohan reluctantly nods his head and answers, "I will allow you to, yes. If that is your decision, and you acknowledge the ramifications of said decision, then yes. Neither of you are linked to the network, nonetheless it appears Dana has found some way of carrying both of you so you should all manage to be deployed, which I should potentially be concerned about. I digress, do either of you need anything, or are you prepared right now?"
Perplexed by the crude straightforwardness, Kokei seeks clarity with an apprehensive tone, "Wait like, do you plan to leave now?"
Rohan nods his head, turning his eyes over to the screen as he views one of the windows on the screen, which portray footage shot top-down displaying the beach similar to the model, with a line of the truck pods across the shore and a horde of people on the beach and forest, with orange flashes darting back and forth and bodies already laying on the sand.
"According to calculations, this will likely be the best time to intervene in order to remain initially undetected but also reach the convergence on time. The intensity of this siege means it will likely not reign very long, so we must act swiftly. Are you able to follow, or does this pose a problem?"
Now faced with the dilemma of impulsivity, Kokei lowers her head in contemplation, gritting her teeth as she searches for an answer. Behind her, Ekitai observes tensely, remaining unobstructive to her but watching closely.
A final decision made, Kokei raises her head back up to Rohan, and nods, confirming boldly "I can and will follow."
A grin cutting through his face, Ekitai nods his head to Rohan in verification of his own desire to volunteer.
Rohan glances at both Kokei and Ekitai before giving a nod. He then raises his open hand in the air before closing it shut, to which all of the holographic screens surrounding them vanish simultaneously, revealing the larger cavern around them.
All four stand together in the gargantuan, inhospitable caverns of The Pad, below the merciless stalactites and above the unforgiving waters, yet none of them carry fear of the environment, as in that moment they're instilled with a newfound confidence.
Turning around to face the lead, Rohan lowers his arm to his side and begins marching forward. Behind him follows Dana, and behind her attends Kokei and Ekitai, all of them preparing themselves for battle. They together move forwards as Rohan leads the pack in his black jacket, directing the warriors forth to the dangerous path that lies ahead.
Ahead in the path lies darkness, absence of provided light and hope, for those wouldn't be so gracefully gifted. What lies ahead of the shadow that shrouds all from the sun, the shade that grows and consumes all in its murk. The gloom, unforgiving and unrelenting, unfriendly to those who challenge it. The twilight, which excellently coils itself into any too weak into the ground, depriving of it any dreams to be anything beyond.
That pure pitch blackness, which wraps the mighty pods the size of trailer trucks, long yet relatively slim, soar in the air below the dark gray clouds that conceal the sun, one after another in a great fleet that roars in violent aggression.
The vast fleet flies in a triangular formation over an extensive blue sea full of belligerent tides that thrash below. Far up ahead of the fleet however is an island with a thick forest that lies past the golden shores, but on the beach stands another immense formation.
Down on the beaches in front of the forest, a huge cohort stands in a series of rows, all of them garnished in the black spandex suits with orange branches. All of their hoods lay down, exposing their faces, as they stand against the turbulent winds. As most stand, one of the volunteers paces back and forth between the front two rows, his hands behind his back. He turns his head towards the sea and raises his head, peering into the distance.
Above the man, far in the distance under the gloomy clouds and above the restless sea, the black fleet approaches, gradually moving the beach in the triangular formation, slowly covering the sky. Even from a distance, the scale is titanic, the sheer mass of pods that the commander knows well was all they had in their final stronghold. An all-out attack. A Hail Mary. After this, there would be no battles. After this, the victor would be decided.
The man stops and turns to face the sea before hollering with authority, "1A, 1B, 1C, DRAW!!"
All fighters standing in the first three lines facing the sea begin shuffling in preparations. In the front, flames erupt off a woman's hands, and beside her a man holds his hands out, cupping them into making a circle, which in turn causes the air within the circle to vibrate.
More fighters begin sparking with electricity, being surrounded by pebbles, and one even holds his hand up in the air, which causes a concentrated ball of flame that intimately resembles a yellow sun to appear a few feet above him in the air.
As the three lines prepare their abilities, the fleet continues to approach, their great shadow cast on the sea below as they descend closer to the ground. Their roars start to become audible, further intimidating the islanders.
"HOLD!" shouts the commander, his right arm raised straight up as he's surrounded by fighters exposing their natural yet enhanced abilities.
Racing down the sea, the fleet grows closer, pods side by side as they remain in tight formation, synchronized nearly perfectly.
"HOLD!" repeats the commander, his right arm remaining stiff as he stares down on the incoming fleet, maintaining his calm in this heated moment.
Tides break out as foamy water is shoveled in great volume to the side due to the proximity from the pods, which decline even closer to the surface, leading a trail in the sea.
At last the commander roars his command, abruptly aiming his hand at the coming fleet.
An eruption of deafening proportions immediately swallows the beach whole, as in that second, the storm is released. From the beach fires bolts of lightning, balls of ice, streams of concentrated molten lava, enormous grains of sand, and colossal steel spikes that protrude from the waters.
Leading the charge, the front pod at the tip of the triangle is struck by a tremendous globe of vibrating air, instantly causing the front of the vehicle to be crushed and cave in. Following, waving streams of blue and orange energy collide with the pod, leading to a massive replication of the black pod ramming straight into it.
An explosion ruptures the waters below while also forcing the neighboring pods to veer away from the raging flames, although some of those pods are also met by heavy fire as they're struck by bolts of electricity, flaming arrows, plasma balls, and teeth the size of boulders.
More explosions appear over the sea as the front line of pods are overwhelmed by the supernatural might of the Generation S battalion.
As flames rage overseas, more pods race straight through, unrelentless as they continue their pursuit, intensifying their tenacity over the island. A long wave forms at the front of the fleet, being pushed by the pods, resilient against the blitz of blows.
While at first decimating all their enemies, the front line of Exhumans begin to step backwards as the fleet nears them, moving faster than they can be destroyed, as the formation protects the pods behind, guaranteeing the trip onto land.
Still persevering against the viscous force, the Exhumans continue to throw volley after volley at the pods, crushing them, electrocuting them, incinerating them, and exploding them.
Over the sand the long wave crashes onto land, snatching at the front line's legs. Worse, the front line of pods finally reach the shores, abruptly swerving ninety degrees as all face one direction down the beach, exposing the side of the pods.
Stopping instantaneously, the pods create a barricade down the shoreline. The moment the pods halt, nearly the entire wall facing the beach vaporizes into a cloud as a huge door, and behind the wall are a crowd of people dressed in green fiber-woven suits with masks shaped and formed to resemble that of a human face.
On every single individual, one of their hands are covered by a metallic construct resembling a firearm, with many diverse forms ranging from longer rifles to short and slim machine guns. They all aim their weapons at the front line before unloading a battery of orange lasers, which instantly begin collapsing Exhumans at the front.
Roars are exchanged from both sides as the company of armed Watchdogs leap out of their pods, charging down the beach as they gun down any Exhumans in their sight before exchanging blows themselves. Watchdogs unload rapid fire before being unexpectedly impaled by massive spikes that extend from the ground while others gain more ground before hastily holding their free hands out, swerving from the attacks. Orange light flashes in front of them before a large, slim metal barricade suddenly appears on the sand, summoned as those shooters then drop down to use them as shielding cover, efficiently conquering land.
The bloodbath ensues as more pods reach the shore, deploying more Watchdogs to push back the front lines. Orange laser fire flies back and forth as do plasma balls and spinning balls of oversized sewing needles.
During the outbreak of chaos, more pods continue to make their way to land, with the triangular formation requiring more pods to be pushed back, delaying them from deploying with their fellow fighters. However, as the beach gradually becomes secured, the racing pods begin preemptively opening their doors, exposing mobs of armed volunteers in green, watching the waves wash to the side.
Among the pods in the back making their way to the beach, one of them releases their door, exposing a smaller pack of troops. Although one of these troops in the center stands out, rather than being dressed in green their suit is colored black without environmental texturing. Outside light is cast onto the black mask, as the man stalks behind the sunken eye-shaped goggles as it too has the same face shape, being a neighboring variation of the standard issue suits worn by his comrades.
The man steps forward, right over the edge and above the rushing waves as he stares out towards the shore where distant gunfire rains in the distance. He rides the sea along with the rest of his fleet, heading to the siege that would ultimately declare the conclusion of this long war between peoples, a conflict that has plagued the Superverse since the beginning.