The moment I dodged the missile, time seemed to slow down. The explosion behind me sent a shockwave through the air, rattling my bones, but it didn't even scratch me. Not yet.
I hovered mid-air, scanning the scene below. The Echelon soldiers had fallen back, regrouping behind the hulking machine, which was still standing tall, its massive form seemingly impervious to my heat vision. I'd struck it twice now, and both times it had barely even flinched. This wasn't some makeshift weapon. This thing was designed to endure. It was built for one purpose: to bring me down.
The soldiers were adjusting their gear, weapons reloaded, eyes trained on me. Their leader—the one with the cybernetic arm—was standing to the side, watching, calculating. He knew what I could do, and it was clear he was waiting for me to make my move.
I gritted my teeth. I was out of my element here. I had powers that could level entire blocks of buildings, but this? This felt like an entirely different class of threat. They had come prepared, and I had been reacting, not acting.
The machine's weaponry shifted again. It wasn't just missiles now. I saw its shoulder cannons rotate toward me, and I recognized the glow of energy building within them. Plasma cannons. Heavy-duty, high-intensity weaponry capable of shredding through anything in its path.
I shot downward just as the first blast fired, but the beam was fast. It cut through the air with terrifying precision, hitting the edge of my leg as I passed. Pain shot through me, more intense than I expected. The blast wasn't strong enough to cut through me entirely, but it left a searing burn along my side, and I could feel the energy draining from my body as I fought to stay airborne.
I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain. I couldn't afford to hesitate.
It was time to make them feel my power.
I closed my eyes for a split second and focused. I let the energy surge within me, feeling the heat in my chest. The power was there. I just needed to tap into it.
A wave of intense heat radiated outward from me, and I released a blast of energy, not at the machine this time, but at the surrounding buildings. I didn't have time to target them specifically, but I knew one thing: I needed to break their line of sight.
Buildings crumbled as I turned them to rubble with a single shot. Dust and debris filled the air, creating a cloud thick enough to obscure everything below. The machine stopped firing, its sensors likely overwhelmed by the sudden fog of dust.
But I wasn't done.
I dove straight through the cloud of debris, faster than the eye could follow, heading directly toward the machine. The plasma cannons were firing again, but this time, I was already behind it, moving too fast for the sensors to track. My fist collided with the side of its massive head, and there was a satisfying crunch as the metal buckled under my punch. Sparks flew from its exposed circuits, and for a moment, I thought I'd disabled it. But then, to my horror, the machine's arms snapped to life, its joints whirring as it turned around, faster than I'd anticipated.
It grabbed me by the throat before I could react, its mechanical grip like steel around my windpipe. I gasped for air, but the machine was unrelenting, its fingers digging into my skin.
"Not so tough now, are you?" the cybernetic soldier's voice rang out, and I saw him approaching, a twisted smirk on his face. "You might have Homelander's powers, but this is Echelon's technology. And our tech can bring down anyone."
I was still gasping, my vision starting to blur as the grip tightened. The machine's strength was overwhelming, stronger than anything I had faced before. It wasn't just raw power—it was precision. Cold, calculating. It was a machine made for this.
I had to get out.
I clenched my fists, feeling the surge of power inside me. It was raw, uncontained, but it was still there—burning, waiting to be unleashed. In a final, desperate push, I channeled all the heat within me into a focused blast.
My heat vision tore through the machine's grip like it was paper. The explosion of energy ripped through its arm, severing it at the elbow. The machine's hand fell to the ground with a metallic thud, and I dropped to my knees, gasping for air.
I didn't stop there. I turned, bringing my fist down onto the machine's chest with everything I had. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the ground, and the machine staggered backward, but it didn't go down. The servos whined, but it was still alive.
I couldn't keep this up. This thing was built to last.
Think. Think fast.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but my mind was racing. I needed to act quickly before they overwhelmed me. My options were narrowing.
That's when I saw it.
The machine's core—the glowing reactor in the center of its chest—was exposed now, its protective plating torn away. It was the weak point. I just had to get to it.
In a flash, I flew straight at the core, using my speed to close the distance faster than the machine could react. I aimed my heat vision directly at the reactor, firing a concentrated beam at the center of its exposed core.
The machine roared as the beam tore through its protective casing, and for a brief moment, I thought I might've failed. But then, with a deafening explosion, the reactor ruptured, sending a shockwave of energy rippling through the air.
The machine's body crumpled to the ground, smoke pouring from the shattered remains. It was over.
But I wasn't done yet.
I turned my attention back to the soldiers. They had seen enough. Some were already retreating, others were aiming their weapons at me, but none of them seemed ready to face me head-on.
I hovered in the air, scanning the group. The cybernetic soldier—who had been the ringleader—stood at the back, watching with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"You think this is over?" he called out, his voice tense but full of contempt. "You've just scratched the surface. Echelon doesn't take kindly to people who stand in our way. This isn't just about you, kid. It's about a war. And whether you want to admit it or not, you're right in the middle of it."
I hovered, taking a deep breath. They were right. This wasn't over. They'd come at me hard, and they'd take note of me. But I wasn't ready to back down.
"You'll regret this," I said coldly, my voice steady. "All of you will. Because I'm not done yet."
The soldiers scattered, but the cybernetic leader gave me one last, lingering look. "You've made a powerful enemy today," he said before turning to leave. "And when we come for you… you'll regret ever crossing Echelon."
With that, they disappeared into the shadows.
I stood there, alone amidst the wreckage, breathing hard, blood still pounding in my ears. The city around me was in shambles. People were scattered, terrified, and some had even been caught in the crossfire. I'd done what I could to save them, but I wasn't naïve. This was just the beginning.
Echelon had just made me their target. And there was no going back.