Kings of Hell

Alyssa’s POV

We go to Atlantis with guns. We’ve planned a rapid strike on the city, to go straight in with the authorities.

The problem is our Transpendiser gets hijacked – and we step out in an undisclosed location.

Underground, I’m certain.

Like a hanger underground in Area X – no windows, only an endless army of soldiers.

In front of them, is an old, weathered man – Airen.

We thought he was dead.

But he stands, on shaking legs, with a wisp of grey hair – commanding everyone.

Yeah, there is the old fart and his army.

But there is something else.

STRIKE are standing next to me. Dale, Serge, Ace and Jose are all to my far right.

Yet.

I’m also staring at them adjacent. And it’s not REIGN.

These are young boys – teenagers. The boys are not super identical to STRIKE, they look more… hmm, human. But their copied DNA is a concern. A huge fucking concern.

Ultimates. A different breed. And they were all geared up and standing behind Airen – as tall as my super soldiers standing to my right.

Each member of the young Ultimates – aim strange wide barrelled guns at us.

“Are we dead?” Ace asks Airen, casually, because we haven’t even stepped forward and we’re already in a situation of check mate. Glancing at Dale, I know it – even he looks spooked.

They were ten steps ahead of us. Even with our intel.

This was, quite literally, worse case scenario.

The New Ultimates look to their superior. Elderly Airen.

“Freeze them over,” Airen’s old voice crackles, “To join REIGN.”

What.

We all look over – and I see REIGN on the left.

Kane… Clarence, Miles, Earl.

Encased in ice. The same shock on their faces, as we have now.

Did they come just before us?

We barely had a second to catch up.

“What do you want!?” I yell at Airen quicker than the rest, “What do you want from Frankincense City. Tell us.”

“It’s not about Frankincense City, Alyssa,” Airen explains, “It’s about the world. It’s about time the natural race of humans rose up once again to reclaim our Earth.”

I try to reason, what was the harm? “In a toxic planet, you’ll always risk crossing mutant strains of SD. Why were you experimenting with it?” I snap, knowing our time is limited.

“Oh, no, no, no, we didn’t experiment with it to make more of it,” Airen is amused, “We learned to neutralise it. Now we know how to clean the Earth.”

“With cloned Ultimates right fucking behind you,” Dale snarls now, “Why didn’t you just speak with me, I can help clean the Earth over an Alliance if you found such a discovery even I couldn’t find,” Dale is in a rage, his cheeks turning pink with blood.

“Because, Dale,” Airen walks forward, cool as an old cucumber, “For a paradise to be reborn, it’s time to freeze hell over. Ice them down.”

His own new Ultimates start to point an ice gun at Dale – and I watch before my very eyes, as he’s hit with a roaring white blast. It’s inescapable, powerful and wide reaching. The air around me turns to daggers with the rapid drop in temperature.

There is no coming back from this.

I run to my left, but my left foot gets stuck in an ice block, and I fall over onto my side.

When I look over my shoulder, Ace and Jose are struck next. Bullets frozen mid-air just out of their barrels.

Serge is last – heated only by lightning coursing through his veins, brought to the surface, his eyes spark and his skin burns to keep his normal temperature.

They can’t freeze him over that easy.

So Airen’s Ultimates pick up their guns instead.

“NO!” I scream, this wasn’t a place to try and fight it, Airen was fucking mad, “Serge, just stop. Stop resisting,” Serge looks over at me, “If it’s a bullet to your head or freezing…” I don’t have to say anymore.

Serge turns off the spark, and keeps his eyes on me.

There is no time to talk.

They blast him next with the ice guns.

Lightning is frozen solid next to his brothers in arms.

I can see a familiar face in the background near the army, looking down at her shoes.

Sammy – ?

…but she’s not in a powerful position.

She doesn’t look on side, I see her handcuffs, and her eyes are alight with tears streaming down her face. She was caught too?

Airen approaches me, since I am already stuck with my ankle frozen solid – while frostbite starts to eat up my leg. It’s fucking painful.

“I don’t believe in waste,” Airen explains, “So, you’ll be put away, and woken if you’re ever needed, my bet is… you won’t be needed. You’ll end up in a museum. On display. What not to do to Earth’s natural people. When there is lack of order. I’m sorry I can’t think of a reason to keep you awake. I have Sammy. She’s the scientist. You’re the… well. Just a doll.”

“Don’t hurt my children,” I beg him, “Leave Casey, Ariel and Sally out of it.”

Arien pauses.

“I can’t do that. They’re freaks.”

“Please. Just fucking spare them.”

“Would you like a final word with them,” Airen furrows his brows, “If they surrender… I can take in Ariel and Sally under my guidance.”

“Casey too.”

Airen’s generosity begins to dry up, as he scolds me, “You know I can’t do that.”

“Please. Please, Airen,” I can’t believe I’m begging him, but I don’t think I’ll have any other chance than right now before I’m put into ice.

“Alyssa. Calm down. If your daughters co-operate and surrender their soldiers, ARMY and the Zeniths, if they agree to my terms. I’ll let your daughters go.”

I read him.

There is some kind of lie in his voice, in his eyes, even in his crinkled cheeks.

He’s a bastard. He’s toying with me.

I look to the soldiers behind him.

“You have your own demons standing right behind you,” I whisper, “Fucking hypocrite. You’re a liar!”

Airen sighs and stands up, giving up on ‘negotiating’.

But –

“Wait,” I change my mind in a split second.

I think of my daughters, being caught off guard.

If I pretend to work with Airen’s plan… they’ll have a chance. A heads up even.

Airen turns back to me, old and withered, patience on a very thin line.

“I’ll call my daughters and talk them into surrendering,” I whisper, “I changed my mind, I changed my mind!”

Airen takes out his phone and he looks at it and then at me.

“I know better, I fucking know better,” Airen whispers, while dialing a number, putting the phone to his ear, he glares at me through the side of his eye, “I shouldn’t be blinded by my soft spot for a pretty whore,” he turns from me, snapping into his phone.

“Airen,” I whisper, losing hope.

He sends out the final commands through his phone, which blast through the speakers in this underground hangar.

“The first thing you’re going to do is take out the remaining Ultimates. We have STRIKE frozen. Dealt with. Kill them if you have to – but I prefer to freeze them all. It’s a mark of history,” Airen turns around to me, as he holds up a freeze gun and starts to blast me with it, I see his screwed up mouth turn through the cold as he finishes, and I turn to ice, “When they’re down the city will be evacuated. After that hell is empty…” my ear drums freeze solid, “Then we’re sending in the nuke.”