Murphy lay motionless in the mud. Gaiman stood over him like the Reaper.
"Hand over the Core..." Gaiman demanded coldly. "Or your brother dies."
KRZZZKT...
The blast door slid open. Philip walked out, clutching the Core tight.
But unseen in the shadows, three tiny spherical drones didn't follow him directly. They peeled off, banking wide into the darkness. Flying low against the mud and using the roar of the rain to mask their rotors, they flanked Gaiman from behind.
Philip stopped in front of the Warlord. His lips moved silently, finishing an ancient healing spell. Faint light seeped through the ground, knitting Murphy's broken body back together.
"Let him go..." Philip's voice trembled, keeping Gaiman's focus locked to the front. "And take this."
Gaiman sneered, his optic fixated solely on the glowing blue Core. Greed blinded him to his blind spot.
"Smart boy..." Gaiman reached out.
Click... Click... Click...
A faint sensation on his back. The three drones, having completed their stealth arc, magnetically locked onto Gaiman's rear armor plating in a triangle formation.
"Hm?" Gaiman paused, sensing something wrong. Too late.
Philip snapped his fingers. "Charge!!"
"Absorb ambient energy... Radar Link!"
The satellite dish above hummed. The drones acted as lightning rods, siphoning the storm's static and the radar's power, discharging it all directly into Gaiman's spine!
ZAPPPPP!!!
Blinding blue lightning engulfed the Warlord. Gaiman seized up violently. His supersonic speed meant nothing when his neural circuits were fried.
"ARGHHH!! SYSTEM... ERROR!!" Gaiman's voice glitched into static.
Paralyzed, Gaiman stood helpless. Philip pulled out a "Modified Grenade"—wired with volatile circuitry.
"Cooked this one up just for you, Uncle!"
Philip jammed the unstable explosive directly into Gaiman's chest thermal vent, which was stuck open from the shock.
He pulled the pin and dove away.
KA-BOOM!!!
The explosion was massive! Green flames and shrapnel blew out from Gaiman's chest. The Warlord was blasted backward, his chest armor torn open, revealing burning internal components.
Philip slid through the mud next to Murphy... who was already standing tall, fully healed, his eyes blazing.
"Nice play, bro..." Murphy took the Shotgun Shells Philip handed him.
"Get to cover. I'll handle the rest."
"Watch out, Murphy... I destroyed his cooling system. He's going into meltdown!" Philip yelled, scrambling to a safe vantage point to provide support.
Murphy turned to face Gaiman, who was stumbling back to his feet... his body glowing dangerous red, black smoke billowing from his chest.
"Alright... let's finish this!"