“Two Badges were placed in hospital in the span of a few hours,” Pierce marched down the hallway with Mansoor following, “And yet, that monstrosity remains at large. I cannot accept that.”

“Do you think the Elite Squad is ready, sir?,” Mansoor asked, “Bakshi has been training for a year, I know, but Wang has only been here a few weeks and Hernandez has powers that he doesn’t fully understand.”

“I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase trial by fire.”

Pierce knew Mansoor was not on board with sending them after a major threat so soon. She was much more protective of her teammates than she let on but Pierce learned the importance of moving parts during his time in M13. If the Surrealist continued to be free, it could cost many more lives and he was willing to place his new recruits in its path. It was an ugly reality but a reality all the same.

Luckily, Varkov had the three members of the Elite Squad running an obstacle course when Pierce and Mansoor arrived. Pierce briefly told them the situation and explained the Cloudburst was ready with Mansoor giving further intel on the way. “I thought I trained you people well enough not to lose a fight,” Varkov told Mansoor half-jokingly. “I’ll have everyone write an apology,” she responded with a subtle smile. The three men were ushered out to the airfield, moments later.

“So we’re finally going out in the field,” Hernandez said confidently, “I’m ready to prove myself.”

“I knew I would be nervous,” Bakshi whispered to his teammates, “But I feel like I’m about to vomit.”

“Fear is understandable but it is also a prison,” Wang assured him, “Fear stops us from doing what is right and is the root of ego.”

“Exactly. You’re Hindu, aren’t you?,” Hernandez asked Bakshi, “Have a little faith.”

“Honestly, my faith is mostly cultural.”

“Look, even in the Marines, we got scared. As we say in the US, you gotta do what ya gotta do. Just remember to breathe and stay focused on the objective.”

Varkov offered to fly the Cloudburst to the location as he wanted to see his new recruits in action. Meanwhile, Mansoor debriefed the squad further, “As far as we can tell, the Surrealist is nearly mindless and operates on naked, subconscious instinct. It’s aimless and destructive but as dangerous as it is, it seems to directly attack when feeling threatened. It doesn’t seem to have have any organic systems, its outer shell is nigh-invulnerable, and it seems to be able to warp anything with a 50-foot diameter with the possible exception of organic material. Your mission is to find a way to lure it back to the laboratory it came from and possibly send it back to the Nowhere Place.”

“I think you mentioned the police went into the lab and found some terrorists had attacked it, right?,” Bakshi asked.

“They believe Iseda Iconoclasts killed the scientists inside and tried to firebomb the lab, yes.”

“The same people responsible for my powers also freed that thing,” Bakshi shook his head in disbelief, “At any rate, if there is significant damage done to the collider, I’m not sure if I can repair it.”

“We won’t know until we get there,” Wang assured him.

“If anything goes wrong, Varkov and I will be on-hand,” Mansoor added.

“Yes, I will assist if you lose,” Varkov said over the PA, which surprised everyone in the cabin as they didn’t know he was listening in, “I will still be disappointed, mind you, but the good news is that maybe we’ll all die soon so my disappointment won’t last long, yes?”

“Was that a pep-talk?,” Bakshi asked quietly.

“That’s the sort of talk you get from a drill sergeant,” Hernandez responded.

Finding the Surrealist wasn’t much of a problem as it had made its way to the top of a skyscraper where it stood patiently, looking off into the distance with strange bird-like creatures flying around it. Meanwhile, the Cloudburst hovered over an adjacent rooftop. “There’s the target,” Mansoor explained, “The lab is approximately three blocks away and is still visible from this vantage point if you notice. I’ve set the GPS in your watches. Good luck.”

Hernandez crunched the space between the ship and the building, allowing the three of them to step out onto the roof and once there, space snapped back into place. The Surrealist turned and seemingly acknowledged them as it loudly whispered an echoic, “A multitude of quarks remain adamant.” It went back to its own business as the three Elites watched carefully and began formulating a plan. The Surrealist remained seated for a few moments longer until it noticed a golden flash of light; turning, it briefly saw a glimpse of two figures darting towards it. Bakshi flew at high speed toward the creature while holding the wrist of Wang who had lowered his mass to allow himself to be easily carried.

As they flew past the Surrealist, Wang snatched it by the ankle and they carried it toward the lab in the distance in hopes of moving too fast for it to retaliate. They came within range of the building before said retaliation occurred. While in flight, a grey substance began to close in around them with long spikes jutting outward. Bakshi panicked and let go of Wang and the Surrealist; he shouted and fired a wide blast that destroyed the spikes before they could run him through but his actions also sent the two figures hurtling through the air. Wang fell toward the lab and increased his mass, so he would smash harmlessly through the wall of the second story. The Surrealist was thrown into another part of the building and disappeared from sight. Hernandez was already in the building after having used his power to get there ahead of them. As Wang and the Surrealist crashed into the building, he quickly threw himself out of the way as parts of the ceiling crashed to the ground.

He lay face-down on the floor, checking himself for any injuries and then his surroundings to assess the damage. As he surveyed the area, he felt something soft in his hands and when he looked down, he realized the ground had turned to sand. He looked at it curiously, then noticed the wall was made of a similar substance. The sand was pouring down, combing with the floor and he soon found it hard to stand up under the soft ground. The Surrealist calmly walked through the pouring sand, into the hallway, then stopped to stare at him. Hernandez raised his hand, repelling the space between them which made the hallway stretch several more feet. Undaunted, the Surrealist began to walk toward him, seemingly warping space itself. “Are you shitting me?” Hernandez groaned as it began to get closer despite his best efforts. Soon, a flaming comet formed that was almost the width of the hallway and sailed toward his location. Hernandez turned and sprinted for the door at the end of the hallway, clearing it just as an explosion erupted behind him. He picked himself off the floor again and noticed the collider in front of him along with dead scientists and Iconoclasts.

“I have eyes on the collider,” he said into his earpiece, “I also have the Surrealist on my ass so wherever you guys are, I hope you get here soon.”

“Where do doves subside when the expanse beckons?,” the Surrealist walked through the destroyed hallway, setting its sights on Hernandez.

“Okay, okay,” Hernandez said to himself, “Blackhole powers… I gotta find something else to do besides the space thing.”

The Surrealist manifested twin black spherical creatures with long legs that began to seemingly split in half, revealing that their mouths stretched across most of the surface of their bodies. Inside the mouths were masses of gnarled fangs and tusks ready to tear Hernandez to pieces. Just then, Wang leapt into the room with an increased mass kick that shattered one creature, turning it into a strange mist. The second creature turned and came at him, but Wang ducked down, stopping it with one hand then upper-cut it with his free hand which turned it into mist as well. “Where’s Bakshi?,” Wang asked to which Hernandez responded, “I honestly thought he was with you.” The floor rippled up like a wave, hitting Wang hard enough to send him into the wall.

Bakshi came in next, flying into the room past the Surrealist before coming to a stop, his feet sliding into the metal floor and creating a melted trail in his wake, “I’m here.” He focused on the collider, “It looks like it’s all in one piece,” then he turned his attention to the damaged control panel off to the side, “I just need a closer look.”

Hernandez collapsed the space around the Surrealist in hopes of crushing it, “What do you need us to do?”

Bakshi ran to the back of the control panel and pulled the damaged plate back, “Keep it here.”

The Surrealist created a violent whirlwind of chaotic energy that forced Hernandez on his back and freed it, “Yeah,… Keep it here… that’s all.”

Bakshi looked at the frayed wires and torn cables. Using his powers, he pulled the wires together and began soldering them with a small amount of heat. Wang raced back to the Surrealist but a giant fist appeared, knocking Wang into the metal columns around the collider. A winged serpent appeared next and began flying after Hernandez who picked up a metal baton left by a dead Iconoclast and used it as a blunt weapon. While fighting off the creature, Hernandez noticed a wall opening up like a curtain being pulled up. “It’s getting away,” Hernandez shouted before finally smashing the serpent’s head into a piece of machinery. Wang made his way back to the Surrealist and flipped it over his shoulder, face-first to the ground. “Cover me,” he told Hernandez and sat in a lotus position on the Surrealist’s back, generating a great deal of mass to keep it pinned. Wang meditated, freeing his mind of any distractions. Despite the chaos around him, he was entirely sure of his station as his teammates would have been in far more trouble without his help and was fully certain he made the right decision in joining the IMD. He would not be moved, even when he felt an excruciating amount of heat.

Hernandez watched in horror as lava began to form menacingly in the air near Wang. Sweat formed on Wang’s brow and his face twitched into a grimace. “Yo Bakshi, are you finished?” he shouted. “Nearly there,” Bakshi called out from behind the control panel. Hernandez turned his attention back to Wang who was grunting in pain as the lava began floating toward him ominously; hands made of magma stretched out, ready to kill his teammate. “Okay, I’m a black hole,” he thought to himself, “I should be able to absorb this shit, right? Just like what Frakes said. Don’t try to do it but recognize that I’ve been holding myself back.” He raised a hand, feeling the heat in the air and concentrated, allowing it to penetrate and flow inside him. The heat suddenly disappeared, much to his surprise, but the lava was still present. He continued. Molten fingers curled backwards, broke apart and flew to Hernandez before disappearing into his palm. Again, he was surprised but didn’t let it distract him. The lava was pulled back, relieving Wang of its danger. It swirled around in the air slowly, then quickly, flowing into a vortex as it broke down into small chunks that could fit within Hernandez’s palms before having its entire molecular structure broken down. Wang continued to meditate while Bakshi began using his heat to power the Collider. He had no true audience but he was proud all the same. Once the lava was gone, he turned to Bakshi once again, “We good?”

A round portal erupted within the Collider. “It’s online,” Bakshi called out happily. He turned back to his teammates, “You just need to throw him into the portal,” it was then that he noticed the Surrealist had created a small field of thick red grass. The vines shot out and wrapped themselves around the necks of both Hernandez and Wang, dragging them to the floor. The Surrealist rose to its feet and gazed at its victims, “The sublime cost of edification is gregarious.” Bakshi knew his teammates wouldn’t be able to survive much longer and the only person who could put the Surrealist into the portal was him. His intellect had gotten him thus far but to save the day, it would require a more hands-on approach. He charged his body with stellar energy once more, flew into the air, and landed behind the Surrealist. It curiously turned and stared into Bakshi’s eyes as if waiting for his next move. Bakshi hadn’t attacked it yet so there was no present danger, but he knew that if he didn’t judge his next move properly, there would be serious repercussions. “Stop overthinking it,” he said to himself and balled up his fist. Cosmic energies enveloped his hand and solar energies surged through Bakshi’s veins. The power of a star was channeled into raw physical strength, ready to be released. The punch created a spark of power, followed by a shockwave; then the crystalline figure was thrown across the lab toward the portal. Bakshi watched as its limbs disappeared into the swirling blue void and with the Surrealist being shoved back into the Nowhere Place, the Warp Field followed. The vines disappeared and Wang and Hernandez sat up, coughing. Bakshi quickly powered down the Collider to avoid the Surrealist’s return and the three Elites sat silent as they caught their breaths.

The three returned to the Cloudburst sometime later where Mansoor and Varkov waited for them.

“Is it done?,” Mansoor asked.

“It’s back where it came from,” Wang answered.

“Hopefully, it’s not coming back,” Hernandez added.

Bakshi smiled at Varkov, “So,… we did it. I’m sure you’re not disappointed.

“Of course not,” Varkov chuckled and gave him a playful slap on the shoulder, “I never had a doubt.”

Coming Soon – The Resurgence