Chapter 24: Monster [II]
___
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown."
Word Count 1383
___
"The only piece of the puzzle missing is a Kryptonian origin to complete the Kal El persona." I laughed to myself while exiting through the Conn Pod's door.
When I had previously received the Kryptonian armor, I, of course, hadn't forgotten to run a deep scan over it.
I had been curious to analyze its internal schematics and systems and material composition. To say the least, I had really been interested in the subatomic makeup of Kryptonian alloy. The metal elements used were completely foreign and didn't belong anywhere in the periodic table.
I performed various experimental runs to record its functionalities.
It was extremely durable, capable of withstanding immense physical force and extreme thermal conditions like the surface temperature of the sun.
It had honestly been unneeded for me to do the experiments but my hands and mind were something that didn't know restraint.
I then proceeded to modify and add some alterations to its overall performance.
It was now being powered by graviton particles that could easily decrease the pull of gravity under me thus enabling me to levitate freely in the air. It also had a passive gravitational field surrounding me that could protect me from any sneak attack by utilizing the forces of repulsion. To simply sum it up, I now had limited control over gravity. I could easily crush a human into meat paste with just a subtle raise of my hand. Influencing the gravitational force on someone or any object was as easy as taking a dump. I had been inspired by the Prototype Cyberskeleton developed by Arasaka.
I slowly descended toward the ruined Jaeger as if I was some kind of messiah.
With a wave of my hand, I telekinetically dismantled the face of Black Widow and pulled up the two rangers inside the cockpit before they could drown to death.
As for the damaged Jaeger, I left it like that since it would be excavated later on by PPDC as they have always done. There was no way they were going to leave their creations, even if damaged, to scavengers. Jaegers could always be repaired and remodeled into something more powerful than its predecessor.
I took a second to analyze the unconscious bodies of the two supposed unlucky ladies and I easily concluded that they were family.
Oops, I had run my superhuman vision beyond their skin exterior to assess their vitals and physiological systems.
That couldn't be categorized as something perverted, right?
Who was I kidding with the show of concern when I was truly a callous being?
"Severe exhaustion, minor concussion, an incapacitated hand, neural overload, psychological stress…" I hurriedly mumbled.
"Nothing serious," I concluded while placing the two bodies on each side of my shoulders.
"A few days of resting and the right dose of medication will put 'em right on track. There's no need for me to speed up their recovery rate."
I didn't even bother to observe their physical appearance.
They were all trivial to me.
"Yelena, your cue." I then sent a message to her via the suit's comm systems.
The suit also had its own HUD that showed a digital projection of its overall makeup, both interior and exterior.
"Affirmative," she replied and took control of Void Primus before shooting off back to base.
"Now then…" I smiled under the helmet and then flew toward Anchorage.
I couldn't help but think about the barrage of interrogative questions that were waiting for me once I landed before the huge gates of their Shatterdome.
Suspicions. Wariness.
I was expecting anything along those lines after all I was an… anomaly.
It was also at that time, that I disabled the control I had over their radio waves, scanners, and satellite signals.
I was giving them the benefit of witnessing my esteemed arrival.
___
A few moments after the successful deployment of Black Widow to secure the miracle line and before the imminent fight…
"Sir, our comms have been jammed and satellite signals have been compromised," a young brown-eyed man whose physical appearance spoke volumes of his Cantonese origins, said frantically while grimly looking at the person he was addressing.
He was Tendo Choi, the lead technician responsible for overseeing the major operations happening of the rangers deployed to deal with Kaijus that had just emerged from the ocean.
"What could be the cause of such an anomaly?" a deep voice, rich in a British accent, asked. The tone of the bearer of that voice commanded respect and obedience just like a war general.
Dressed pristinely in a military uniform decorated with badges of honor, was a tall, dark-skinned, handsome man, presumably in his late thirties to early forties.
He was Marshal Stacker Pentecost, the authoritative figure currently in charge of the Jaeger Program.
Marshal Pentecost's expression also turned grim.
Whoever had messed around with the communication signals, had basically left them blind.
He now couldn't ascertain the survival of the rangers - The Hale sisters - he had just deployed.
The situation had truly become grim.
The technical team tried everything possible to return their communication systems online but their attempts were proven futile.
They didn't know what to do.
"Sir…" Tendo Choi cast an apologetic and sorry gaze at the Marshal.
Marshall Pentecost sighed in frustration while running his right palm over his face.
At the Anchorage station, they didn't have additional Jaegers to deploy - a perfect testimony of how damn costly Jaeger production was.
"Let's hope that this problem is only temporary and believe in the Hale sisters." Marshall could only utter those words of insurance to the team while looking at the blank radar.
'I have the council constantly breathing down my neck. I just hope that this issue may not alert them into cutting off my funds earlier than intended.' Marshal Pentecost cussed inside his mind while tightly pursing his lips.
Luckily, it only took a few minutes before the comms signals returned to normalcy.
But what they found… was both a relief and sad.
The life signature of the Kaiju codenamed: Knifehead had completely disappeared, and that signified its death.
As for Black Widow… it was severely damaged and they couldn't access its communication link, an indication that its comm receptors had been fried silly.
The fate of the two sisters remained unknown.
"Sir, I am picking strange and powerful energy signatures heading toward us at unimaginable speeds!" Tendo Choi exclaimed in alarm while hastily pressing the buttons on the console.
The readings didn't give off something similar to the radiation stemming from a Kaiju or a Jaeger but the energy levels were significantly high enough to qualify as a threat to Anchorage.
The energy signatures seemed to be contained in a… smaller vessel… as if it was a human, which made it even more absurd.
The speed at which it was moving was so fast that the signals failed to consistently track its movements.
And before they even realized it… the energy signatures had already stopped in front of the huge gates of the Shatterdome.
That was when Choi was able to use the camera systems to clearly identify whatever it was.
He was shocked to find that whoever was before the hangar doors was carrying the Hale sisters!
"Sir, you really need to see this!"Choi then zoomed in on the unconscious figures of the Hale sisters.
Marshall Pentecost sighed in relief but then his brows furrowed after examining the suit that gave UFO vibes.
"Soldiers, let's go meet whoever this person is," Marshal commanded in a loud authoritative tone and then put his hands behind his back while looking at the flat screen.
"Yes sir!" The soldiers - dressed in standard militaristic uniforms- responded loudly in unison.
"And remember don't engage in combat unless I give the order!"
"Roger that!"
And then Marshall Pentecost proceeded to lead the way… to meet the spacesuit oddity.
The atmosphere was heavy with anticipation, fear, and uneasiness as the rangers fitted themselves into the elevator.
All of them didn't know what they were going to face!
And the fear of the unknown made it even worse for their hearts!
-x-x-x-