The Nightmare Scenario

"Are we ready?"

"I don't know..."

The young lady looks up the man next to her. Jody looks at her with fear in his eyes. Their eyes match.

"No-one would blame you for leaving, Poppy".

Poppy took a deep breath.

"I'm not leaving. Where would I go?"

They look back at the threat ahead of them. Across the flattened Central Park; a number of Sh'akti stand in opposition to them. The Sh'akti at the front looks very regal. He's their leader. And he's ready for blood. 

Poppy turns to the team left standing. They are few in number but they are the best of the best. Cream of the crop. 

"We know the plan. If we stick to it, it should work. We do this for the humans, the Naturals and the Augs. Also for our friends and enemies who fell in battle".

They all look ready to go. Poppy looks up at a woman next to her. This red-headed woman is wearing a dark pink and black suit with a cape flying behind her. She stands ready to take the fight to them.

"Elsie?"

The woman looks down at Poppy.

"Are you ready?"

The woman looks nervous.

"Miss Invincible is fine. Elsie Connors however..."

They nod at each other. Miss Invincible attaches her mask and stands into attack position. They all look towards the Sh'akti in readiness.

"Whenever you're ready, Miss Invincible..."

Miss Invincible's face turns sour and she shoots up into the sky and towards the Sh'akti. She flies straight towards the leader of the opposing force. But as she nears him; he punches her away from him. Miss Invincible flies away from him and lands in a crumpled heap between them. The leader then walks away from his forces and towards Miss Invincible. She regains her senses for a moment before seeing the leader of the Sh'akti over her. She starts to get up but he hits her again and into the ground. The team look on in horror as this is going on. Karma looks to Silver Spectre.

"Good thing she's invincible..."

The leader grabs Miss Invincible by the hair and lifts her up like a prize hunt. Miss Invincible struggles feebly as she feels weak. The leader looks at the team who look surprised at the turn of events. Then, without a word, The leader readjusts his hold on Miss Invincible so that he holds her head and, with all his strength, twists her head right round. Her neck breaks and she falls into another crumpled, lifeless, heap on the floor. 

The team looks shocked at what just happened. They can't believe it. Karma looks shocked most of all.

"I spoke too soon..."

Poppy turns once more to the team.

"Ok, didn't plan on that..."

Sarah Jones steps forward.

"She's only just died. I might be able to bring her back to help!"

"Do it. But make sure you're safe!"

Speedfreak grabs Sarah's arm.

"I'll find somewhere".

They both zoom off in a flash of black and purple light. Poppy looks at the rest of the team.

"Ok, guys...it's now or never".

Everyone gets ready to fight.

"There's a very good chance we'll see each other on the other side..."

They all look ready. So do the Sh'akti. Poppy takes a deep breath.

"FOR EARTH!"

They all launch at the Sh'akti. The leader lifts his hand and points to them. Suddenly, a whole group of Sh'akti come running towards the team. 

****

Speedfreak deposits Sarah in a safe place slightly away from the battlefield.

"Ok. Be careful. We don't know if there's any spies around here. Remain vigilant and you call me if you need me, ok?"

"Ok".

Speedfreak gets ready to go but Sarah stops him and kisses him on the cheek.

"Be careful...you hear? I'll kill you myself if you die..."

Speedfreak chuckles.

"You're family, Sarah. Family always come back to together in the end..."

They smile at each other. Speedfreak dashes off to join the fight. Sarah looks frightened but she hides and closes her eyes. She enters a trance as she tries to reconnect with the Veil...

****

The fight gets on in earnest. Before the team and the Sh'akti meet, a black and purple blur comes from behind the team and sends hundreds of the Sh'akti flying but they're not overly damaged. 

Shade jumps up and teleports out of view. She reappears and uses her katanas to slice into the army.

Black Dragon sets a trail of fire into the Sh'akti, covering many in flames.

Karma sizes up ready for a match.

Silver Spectre sends many of the Sh'akti flying with a silver road she's constructed. Any stragglers are picked off with silver bullets.

Reaper sends a hail of bullets flying from the sky.

Princess Emi runs shield-first into a group, sending them to the ground.

Elemental sends a cloud of carbon monoxide into a faction.

Visionarie tries her best to create hallucinations in the group.

Othergirl shoots the Sh'akti with ease and successfully send many flying in hand to hand combat.

Ghost tries her best to possess some of the soldiers and kill themselves.

Beau fires a number of arrows.

Starcaster forges a scorch-path into them. Some are fried. 

Tank fires missiles into the mass.

Despite this concerted effort, no real damage seems to be being done...

****

Sarah wakes up in the Veil and looks around.

"ELSIE!?"

Everyone in the Veil looks scared. They all look at Sarah in fear for their lives.

"ELSIE CONNORS!?"

In the distance she hears a voice.

"Sarah!"

****

"NOTHING'S WORKING!" Speedfreak shouts as he continues to run around hitting Sh'akti with no effect.

"THEY'RE JUST GETTING UP!" Reaper shouts over the comms.

Poppy looks around in despair as she fights off a number of Sh'akti.

"KARMA, I NEED TO TOUCH YOU..."

Karma fights his way through a mass of Sh'akti.

"BE WITH YOU MOMENTARILY".

He continues to smash his way through the crowd with ease until, eventually, he comes to the Leader.

"I want a word with you..."

The Leader looks unamused by proceedings. Karma sizes up a bit more and gets ready to lay a massive punch down on the Leader, who is now much smaller than he seemed before. Karma goes in for the punch but the Leader catches it. Karma looks confused. He tries to retract the punch but the Leader holds it there. Karma struggles more and more.

Silver Spectre looks over as Karma struggles to get away.

"JOSH, JUST USE THE OTHER ARM!"

"I CAN'T...I CAN'T MOVE!"

Karma looks worried and angry now as he tries to grow some more but he fails to. It's almost like he's frozen in time. Only his head can move at this point. The Leader smirks evilly as they lock eyes. Karma knows something's wrong.

"Ally..."

Silver Spectre continues to watch.

"...Run..."

A moment later, a green substance creeps up Karma's face. Engulfing him with every millisecond. After a few moments, the green is all over him and it causes him to turn inside out. The insides of Karma start to appear. No screaming, no agony, just a weird kind of implosion. 

Silver Spectre screams in sadness and fear as she watches her partner fold.

"NOOOOO!"

Poppy hears something over the comms. Speedfreak looks over and sees what's happening.

"Mother of Akara..."

The Leader drops what's left of Karma. He turns his attention to Silver Spectre.

Poppy gets back on the comms.

"Ally, pull back! Don't do anything!"

Silver Spectre ignores her. She runs towards the Leader and fires a number of silver bullets at him. He catches them and throws them equally as hard back. Silver Spectre changes her body to complete silver. The bullets bounce off her as she continues running. Suddenly, the Leader throws a number of glass vials. The vials smash on her and Silver Spectre stops running for a moment. She stops dead in her tracks. She hears sizzling. She looks down and sees many holes starting to develop in her white and silver outfit.

"Guys...they've got nitric acid..."

She starts to feel pain as it spreads.

"THEY KNOW OUR WEAKNESSES!"

She screams as the acid takes over her entire body and starts to turn her into a gas. The final bit of her dissolves and the screaming stops. Poppy stops fighting for a moment and looks at where she was. The Leader smiling a bit more as he realises he's winning.

"This isn't going to work..."

****

Sarah runs over to Elsie. She's confused but glad to see Sarah.

"Boy am I glad to see you!"

"The fight's started. I'm going to try and send you back into your body!"

"You can do that?"

"Only in certain circumstances. Hold my hand...I'll be right back"

She does so. She opens her eyes and puts her ears to the comms.

"JODY! I'VE GOT HER! I CAN BRING HER BACK!"

"GOOD! WE'VE JUST LOST JOSH AND ALLY! WE NEED HER!"

Sarah looks sad but she continues to do what she's meant to do. She closes her eyes again and returns to the Veil.

"Ok, this is going to feel very weird but I need you to think really hard, ok?"

Elsie nods.

"Ok. I need you to picture your body. It's still there on the battlefield. The more you concentrate the easier it will be to make the transition. Your neck is broken but the journey back will fix it. Now I need you to think of your best memory. Forget Miss Invincible for a moment and I want you to remember Elsie Connors. Remember Elsie Connors' favourite memory..."

Elsie closes her eyes and remembers.

"We're in Rome..."

"That's good...keep thinking about that...

"We're at the Coliseum..."

"Keep going..."

"And we're having gelato..."

"Channel the energy of that memory while still thinking of your body. And, whatever you do, don't let go of your hand..."

"I can feel it..."

"Good. Hold onto that feeling...tell me more about the holiday..."

"The gelato is pistachio..."

"Disgusting flavour but carry on..."

"My little sister is with me...she's having chocolate gelato...we're having real pizza later and we're really excited..."

"That's good. I want you to continue to remember what it was like there and want you to AGHGHA!"

Sarah opens her eyes and looks down. She notices a sword through her head. She looks up and sees a Sh'akti. It pulls the sword out from her head and Sarah gasps for air. She puts her hand to the comms one last time while spluttering trying to get air.

"Jody...I've been...help me..."

"Sarah?"

Sarah's ear falls off the comms and she collapses to the ground in a heap. Speedfreak suddenly appears and looks at her.

"No...no no no no no..."

He takes her in his arms and looks down at her.

"We can help you..."

"The brain's the only thing that still works for me...if that fails...I'm done for. Nothing you can do..."

"I can try..."

"Just...stay...with...me..."

She smiles at him. Speedfreak looks angry.

"I'll kill them...I'll kill them all..."

"Don't...waste...your...time...we've...failed..."

Sarah looks up.

"Oh...here...we go...again...catch...you...later...Speedy..."

Sarah's eyes slowly close as Speedfreak continually calls her name. She becomes limp and lifeless. Speedfreak lays her down softly, cries for a moment before getting angrier and angrier. He puts his finger to the comms.

"Sarah's dead...they killed her..."

"Did she bring Elsie back!?" Poppy enquires.

Speedfreak gears up for a power surge.

"I'm finishing this once and for all..."

He takes his finger away from his ear and closes his eyes. The power from him becomes more and more intense until, eventually, it all gets released. He Quantum Jumps. Time slows down as he races through the Sh'akti taking swords and chopping off heads and limbs. He goes for the Leader but, somehow, he manages to hit him away before Speedfreak can unleash the final blow. He goes flying into a nearby building.

****

Poppy watches as Speedfreak flies away.

"Joe...I need you..."

In a nearby building, Beau continues to fire arrows into the Sh'akti.

"I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN KEEP THIS UP. I'M RUNNING OUT OF ARROWS AND THEY'RE NOT GOING DOWN..."

As she finishes this, an arrow fires back at her and goes into her left eye. She screams out in agony as it does. She drops her bow and jumps up in pain. It's at this point a shower of her arrows return to her. 34 in total enter her body. She collapses.

Poppy notices no arrows are being fired anymore.

"MAGGIE...CAN YOU HEAR ME!?"

Silence.

Reaper swoops down once more with a hail of bullets which continue to have no effect. After a while, she's shot in one of her wings and comes tumbling down to the ground. She recovers, looks up and sees she's surrounded by countless Sh'akti. They raise their guns to her. She knows what's about to happen.

"Put the kettle on, Sarah..."

They unleash a tirade of laser fire onto her. She doesn't survive.

Shade continues to teleport in and out of view, attacking any Sh'akti that she can. She slices one's head off and trips over. She looks over and sees the body of Tank, short-circuiting.

"Pleasure to serve alongside you, Miss Warren..."

Tank shuts down completely. Shade looks upset but gets up and looks around.

"Jody...could use some help over here..."

She puts her katanas away and gets out her guns.

"D6; target me inside the main Sh'akti camp..."

"I regret to inform you, Miss Ellie, look ahead..."

She looks ahead of her and sees the Leader with a gun. He fires it. Her head instantly explodes. Speedfreak, coming in from behind, stops as he's showered with blood. The body collapses into a heap on the ground.

"ELLIE!"

He looks up at the Leader who looks just as bemused as before...

****

One by one, they go down. 

Black Dragon crashes into the ground and is set on fire. 

Princess Emi is disarmed and finds herself stabbed multiple times.

Ghost assimilates into her original form and finds herself beheaded.

Othergirl fights very valiantly, beheading some Sh'akti, but without making any major impact. As she continues fighting she hears Visionarie's voice...

"Liz..."

She turns around and sees Visionarie standing there very sweetly.

"Are you ok?"

Visionarie smiles.

"Be safe..."

Othergirl looks confused for a moment before Visionarie disappears. It was a projection. Visionarie's lifeless body can be seen instead. A stab wound to the stomach only visible. A smile on her face... Othergirl looks at her, cries and shakes her head.

"No...no...no...no..."

She runs over to the body and cradles it. Her tears becoming hysterical. She burys her head in Visionarie's crumpled body for a moment before looking up and seeing a number of Sh'akti surrounding them. She sees them, ready to kill. She looks down at Visionarie's face one more time and smiles.

"See you in a moment..."

She lays Visionarie's body down gently and stands up to face the onslaught.

"Here to kill me?"

They all look ready. Othergirl then slowly pulls up a belt carrying 6 impressive grenades, all with the pins removed.

"Let me save you the trouble..."

She screams and runs into the crowd ahead of her as the grenades go up one by one.

Elemental falters to the ground as he gets progressively weaker. Eventually, he finds his way over to Poppy as requested but collapses. As he does, she sees a massive sword in his back.

"Take it..." He says as his eyes close.

Only Starcaster seems to have any luck. She continues to fly around and fry a number of the Sh'akti.

The battlefield is won. Only Poppy, Starcaster and Speedfreak remain. Poppy looks over at Speedfreak as he attempts to take on the Leader once more. He races around him, punching him as he does but it has no effect. Eventually, the Leader has enough and punches Speedfreak into the ground. Speedfreak becomes almost limp. The Leader picks him up by the throat and sniffs him.

"Edenic...you're Edenic...we know your kind...we've fought them before...they faltered too..."

The Leader produces a bottle of bright green liquid. Speedfreak realises what it is and struggles to get free but the Leader increases his grip.

"I think this will slow you down..."

He pops open the bottle and force feeds Speedfreak the liquid. Speedfreak screams as the liquid radium goes down his gullet. The Leader drops him and Speedfreak enters a few moments of agony as his body tries to purge the radium from his system but fails. Eventually, a big flash of light emits from Speedfreak. When it subsides, he collapses to the ground dead. The Leader smiles. Poppy and Starcaster are left. Starcaster looks down and sees they've lost. She sees her friends dead on the ground. She can't cope with it. 

"What do we do now?"

Poppy looks around in despair as she too sees her friends dead. She looks down at Joe and then back up at Starcaster.

"Marion...is the Klarn still around?"

Starcaster looks confused.

"I think so...why?"

Poppy sighs.

"Go. Save yourself. The Earth is lost. Go and help the Starcasters...They might be able to figure out a way to stop them from taking other worlds..."

"POPPY, NO!"

"GO!"

They look at each other for a moment. Poppy nods at Starcaster. Starcaster realises what's about to happen. She looks at Poppy one more time before disappearing into the night sky. Suddenly, Poppy finds herself alone. She looks over to the army who has won the day. The Leader walks over to her. As he does, Poppy crouches down and puts her hand on Joe's dead shoulder.

"I'm sorry. But there's nothing else I can do..."

She looks up and sees the Leader standing about 20 feet away from her. After a few moments, she stands up and faces off against the Leader.

"You are the Caretaker?"

Poppy nods.

"You have failed this world. The human race will be harvested as a result of you and your friends' weaknesses".

Poppy looks sad.

"What will you do with the planet once we're gone?"

The Leader smiles.

"We'll break it down and convert it to fuel for our ships. The human will become our food as we make our way across the cosmos".

Poppy chuckles. She starts to falter a little bit. The Leader laughs.

"The Caretaker of Planet Earth...crippled by fear. Your friend were more gallant than you are..."

"Nope...I'm the secret weapon so to speak..."

The Leader smiles evilly.

"It doesn't matter. You've lost the planet. You've lost you friends, your family, your toxic culture. And here you are. Alone. Crippled with fear".

"Oh...this isn't fear, mate..."

Poppy starts to vomit. The Leader looks confused.

"This is radiation poisoning..."

"We didn't use radiation..."

"No. You didn't...but he did..."

They look at Joe and then back at each other.

"My name is Poppy Heavingham. But, here on Earth, I'm known as something else...I'm known as Abzorb. I absorb and assimilate other people's abilities and utilize them..."

The Leader realises.

"And Joe went nuclear..."

"You wouldn't...you'll die..."

"Starcaster got away. The last human left...Here's a question, asshat...you guys can survive an onslaught from Earth's finest...can you survive a 200 kiloton nuclear blast?"

The Sh'akti start to run away. Poppy laughs.

"I didn't think so..."

She crouches down for a moment. She starts to go yellow...such a bright yellow...the Leader starts to run away too. It's at this point, with all her remaining strength, she lets out a nuclear blast. 200 kilotons of nuclear material are unleashed in New York. It flattens the city instantly. erasing the Sh'akti in the area. Poppy is alive throughout it. She can see everything that happens. Eventually, the nuclear blast starts to eat away at her. Her skin falls off the more intense the blast becomes. She screams in agony as her skin melts away...the heat and the pain becomes so intense...more...and more...and more...until...

****

Poppy wakes up screaming loudly. She looks around in fright as she notices her bedroom. She's in her room. She looks around and tries to calm down. Her hyperventilating continues as it all sinks in.

"It was just a dream...it was just a dream..."

Her door bursts open and her dad runs in. He rushes over to Poppy's bedside.

"Are you alright!? You were screaming! Probably woke up the whole bloody neighbourhood!"

Poppy's breathing returns to normal.

"It's ok...it was just a nightmare...it was so vivid..."

She gets out of bed and runs over to the window. Trillingham looks so quiet at night. Everything's normal though. It's all fine. Her dad puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're ok, sweetheart?"

Poppy nods feebly.

"I'm fine, Daddy...go back to bed..."

After a few moments, the Dad does so. The door closes and Poppy stares out of the window.

"It felt so real..."

She thinks for a moment, goes to her laptop, opens it up and types 'Speedfreak, Starcaster and Silver Spectre' into Google. While no results come up for Starcaster, images for Speedfreak come up as well as an article for Silver Spectre. They're real. She looks worried for a moment.

"I have to find them..."