From the flashing bright colors emerged three warriors, their outfits designed to complement their strengths and protect their weaknesses.
Mary Jane's outfit looked like she was ready for a gymnastics competition. It left her hands, elbows, heels, and toes exposed, making it easier for her to maintain contact with the ground.
She always felt out of place wearing her outfit.
It didn't come with heels.
She was jealous of Annie's. It came with heels, but the tips of her fingers and toes were exposed. It was so she could shoot out her nails like bullets. Julia's suit came with a sort of weird choker around her neck to stabilize her throat, so the screaming wouldn't wear out her vocal cords too quickly.
They paused for a moment under a streetlight to sign to each other and confirm the formation. They had learned a few basic words in sign language to communicate when the enemy was nearby. Annie took the left sidewalk, Julia the right sidewalk, and MJ the center of the road.
They took off, running down the street in Jimmy's direction. He was using his elastic arms to swing through the city. He swung down several intersections, made a left turn, and let out a scream. When the women arrived at the scene, they saw that Jimmy was surrounded.
"Well, darn! I think they did follow me from that party," Jimmy shouted.
"Don't worry, we got you," Annie replied.
They ran headfirst into danger, MJ taking the lead. She thrust her right fist upward, and a large concrete wall erupted from below. Angry shouts in a foreign tongue were all that could be heard in the distance. Jimmy's elastic arms let go of the poles, and he ran to them, his noodly appendages trailing after him.
When Jimmy got close, MJ ran to the wall. With each step, a large block of concrete rose beneath her feet, while two more rose on either side. Jimmy watched intently as Julia and Annie followed. When they reached the top, he realized MJ had built staircases. At the very top, MJ punched up both hands, and another wall came out, making the rocks form a T, splitting the battalion in two.
Annie took the left, Julia the right.
Julia let out an ear-piercing, rabid scream as she fell from the wall, and the soldiers exploded. The remains had the consistency of canned chicken, the smell even worse. She landed, feeling a weird tingle go up her spine.
She didn't quite stick the landing. Bits of blood covered the lower half of her body, and she let out a feeble cough. She gave an awkward smile and a thumbs-up to Mary Jane, who watched from above.
MJ then looked to her left and watched Annie.
Annie easily took down two of them with her hands, shooting out the nails like bullets, aiming for their eyes. When the enemy shot at her, she immediately fell to the ground and changed the texture and color of her skin to blend into the background. They looked around in confusion as she crouched on the ground, and then came up from behind. Her short, curly hair elongated and became straight and sharp. It lashed out like a snake, piercing the soldiers through their chests.
Satisfied with the work of the other two warriors, the final warrior looked down upon the remaining threat.
She ran atop the wall with ease, flipping and jumping when enemy fire came her way. At the end of the wall, she did a flip, and a wave of rocks erupted from underneath her. Like ocean waves, they spilled out, drowning out the remaining battalion.
Mary Jane landed atop the pile with her arms raised triumphantly. She stuck the landing. Years of childhood gymnastics classes had finally paid off.
Jimmy saw it all from above, his arms wrapped around his body many times. The carnage was impressive, and he wondered if he was equal to their previous leader. Jimmy took a deep breath, swallowed his insecurities, and jumped off the wall, landing beside Julia, who was panicking.
"Oh, dear. You look like you need a hug."
Jimmy wrapped his noodle arms around her body, and she giggled, feeling a little better whenever he was around.
"Let's get going. There might be more," Annie cautioned.
"Oh, there were a ton more from the other side of the block! A giant wall of rubble from a bomb blocked me from getting in," Jimmy explained. "Thankfully, some guys from Team 27 were handling it. No worries!"
Annie and Julia exchanged glances.
"Yeah, let's go."
Jimmy led them to the giant wall of debris, blocking off the street and taking up the first floor of the businesses. Flashing lights illuminated the rubble, and screams echoed through the street. But the closer they came, the quieter everything became.
"Jimmy, I don't think they have it handled," Mary Jane said.
"Hey! Bruno is in charge! He's plenty capable," Jimmy replied.
"But they're weaker than our group. We can't leave them. We made that mistake before, 2 years ago, and some guy called Mark died. We can't make it again."
Mary Jane motioned for all of them to get close to her. They stood at the base of the rubble, and it pushed up in a wave like an escalator, taking them to the top. When they reached the top, Jimmy regretted leaving.
Bruno was definitely capable, but he was not winning. The corpses of Team 27 made that very apparent.
Bruno, the leader of Team 27 and a good friend of Jimmy, was kneeling, his face being held up by a blonde, shirtless man. Bruno's metallic body gleamed underneath the streetlight they were under, and he was barely conscious. The blonde man inspected Bruno's body, looking at his neck, armpits, and the corners of his ears. At first, Mary Jane started to relax. Maybe the shirtless man was a medic, trying to save Bruno's life.
But that thought quickly left her when she saw the man open Bruno's mouth and stare. The only part of Bruno's body that wasn't metallic was the inside; thus his tongue was warm and fleshy. After a few moments of hesitation, the man pressed his mouth up against Bruno's, an oddly passionate embrace in a sea of despair.
"That is not right," Jimmy said. "Bruno is married."
"I mean, yeah, why are they making out around dead bodies?" Annie said.
"I don't think they're kissing. He was acting really weird before," Julia added.
They all slid down the rubble and ran to help Bruno. They approached cautiously, the stranger still holding Bruno in that disturbing embrace.
"What are you doing?" Mary Jane asked.
She got closer and could see the blood dribbling from Bruno's mouth; his eyes rolled back, fingers twitching. A soft slurping noise was barely discernible, and she asked herself if she was imagining it.
When the man let go of Bruno, he collapsed to the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth. His body returned to its normal state, leaving him vulnerable. The man turned around and straightened up, giving Mary Jane an up-close view of him.
He was tall, lanky, and pale, like all Ionadians. Scars lined his chest, decorated with blood that was dripping from his mouth. Something about the cruel beauty in front of her terrified her, an emotion she wasn't familiar with. The man turned his head and spat something onto the ground.
Mary Jane quickly glanced at it, afraid to take her eyes off the man.
A tongue.
She glanced again.
Bruno's tongue.
It couldn't be.
He took a step towards her, and as she got a better look, she noticed something.
"Oh my God, you look like Ace. What the fuck?" she screamed.