Johnny Carson once referred to Rex Robinson as “America’s super-strong grandfather”. Rex was often considered a gentle soul by the public but those who saw him fight knew he was one of the deadliest men alive, his combination of skill, experience, intelligence and superhuman strength made him nearly impossible to defeat in straight combat unless an opponent could overpower him with a great deal of brute force or manage to catch him by surprise somehow.

“It’s not too late, Rex,” Cavalier warned.

“I’m afraid it is, old chums.”

First, he tapped a button on his watch, which generated a localized EMP field that would be up for the next ten minutes. While it knocked out much of his own tech, it also removed the gadgets from the Badges, Ryan Bennings and the Cavalier. Electronic weapons and devices were no longer a factor, including the Badges’ stun pistols. In the split-second it took for them to react to that, he removed an acid pellet from one of his jacket pouches and threw it at Creed’s gun, which was dripped to the ground where it dissolved.

The Badges attacked first. Rex knew that, while they were all highly trained individuals, the main crux of their strategy relied on them fighting as a single unit, each member complimenting the others’ abilities. He wasn’t facing three IMD agents. He was facing one. Dave Bronson stepped up first but Rex knew his primary role was to take hits and allow his teammates to employ stealthier attacks. He was ignored for the time being. Dafne Mansoor flew around him in an arch, deftly maneuvering into a flying kick at several miles per hour which Rex knew he could take, although not without some pain. He knew her travel speed was faster and her ability to fly made her dangerous at a distance, so he grabbed her ankle and rode the momentum of her attack to the ground where they rolled along a manicured lawn. Mansoor was stunned by the impact and the move allowed Rex the opportunity to place his back against the corner of the nearby gate in preparation for Lowanna Jones. She could teleport, which made her unpredictable but with Rex’s position against the gate, she only had one option: teleporting from above He blocked the oncoming kick and swung her into the gates to render her unconscious, knowing full well that Bronson would be making a move at the same time. Bronson was not super strong but his invulnerable knuckles made it difficult not to tell. The blow to the spine would have crippled a normal man and it certainly hurt, but Rex soldiered through and used his strength to kick off the gate bars, briefly grappling with Bronson before throwing him at his next target. As Mansoor picked herself off the ground, Bronson landed on her, knocking her out.

Creed thumped Cavalier on the chest and motioned for him to follow, “Come on”. Rex was not surprised to see Michael Hawkwood and Ryan Bennings hesitating as, above everyone else there, they had the highest regard for him. Creed was the unknown factor and Rex took no chances by deflecting the opening punch and delivering a nerve strike that brought him down. Bronson returned and threw several punches and kicks which Rex blocked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cavalier aiming and firing a shield disk, so he spun, catching the disk in his hand before launching it into Bronson’s face and kicking him to the grass. Cavalier drew his sword, which actually did surprise Rex but he caught the hilt, removed it from his grip, and slammed the butt against the back of his helmet. The Cavalier’s armor was extremely tough but since Rex designed it, he remembered its few weak points and exploited one. With all opponents unconscious aside from Bronson, Ryan Bennings finally joined the fray by producing the pen in his pocket; after seemingly sneaking up on him, he tried to release a small cloud of sedative gas. Rex slipped the pen out of his hand and sprayed it in the face of Bronson as he advanced, which finally took him out, and then he tossed the pen on the grass.

Rex faced Ryan with a sad look in his eyes, “Will that be all, Mr. Bennings?”

“It’s all I had,” Ryan told him and shrugged in defeat, “Looks like you won, Rex. Congratulations.”

He hung his head as he moved to one of the remaining sky bikes, “Once this is finished, you have my word I’ll surrender to the authorities,” as he began to float into the air, he made one last statement, “I understand if you still feel raw about this. It’s not how I wanted it to play out,” then he flew back to his ship.

Ryan watched him go, “It’s not how any of us wanted it to play out.”

Near Brussels, the Cloudburst made its way to NATO Headquarters, never hiding itself from prying eyes and while Council had been destroyed, the U’ntari still had various probes and onboard radars in the Commander Ships that picked the vessel up. The information was relayed to the bridge of the Retribution with Shujai obtaining the intel first. Supreme Admiral Kull was eating a meal in his private quarters, never turning to greet Shujai as he entered.

“Supreme Admiral,” Shujai began, “The IMD’s ship has been found. They appeared to have left Washington DC and are possibly en route to Brussels as it seems they know about our next target. Some of our sources believe the AI being who destroyed Council is with them as is the unknown fighter who assisted the Upstarts.”

Kull wiped his mouth, “I want you personally in that area. The Commander in Brussels has a good fleet and plenty of super soldiers to aid you. This time, don’t be afraid to level a city or two.”

“Sir,” he began nervously, “It seems they know our next move.”

“Good. They feel bold. Arrogant. We can only hope Rex Robinson is with them so we can end this damn thing and go home.”

“But there’s a possibility they have a strategy we haven’t thought of yet.”

“Don’t worry, Shujai…I have one last surprise of my own,” Kull greedily returned to his meal, eating quickly as if starving.

Shujai turned and left. Considering the lengths Kull went to to have revenge against the Upstarts, he shuddered to think of what he planned to do if there were any more failures. He knew the Supreme Admiral was given a special privilege for serving the U’ntari people: he was granted the ability to get married. U’ntari gave up biological reproduction centuries ago and relied on engineered embryos taken from the best genetic stock. Because of that, marriages were no longer recognized save for special occasions. Supreme Admiral Kull was a highly-decorated war veteran and his partner was a world-class scientist as they found a certain kinship for one another, they made a request to the Magistrate who honored it. Shujai understood why Kull felt the way he did. His wife was one of the scientists leading efforts to reach out to developing worlds such as Earth, only to be betrayed and murdered. He had similar emotions when he learned of the terrorist attacks and yet, there was so much about this war he did not agree with.

In Boston, Lowanna Jones had already teleported Bronson to Brussels and was set to teleport Mansoor as well. Creed and Cavalier faced her while Ryan paced around his yard. “Pierce wants to rendezvous with everyone in Brussels,” Mansoor explained, “Rex is in the wind and there doesn’t seem to be much we can do. I recommend coming with us.” “I’ll catch up,” Cavalier told her, “Rex has a bio-weapon he’s likely planning to use. He mentioned something about a lab in the Catskills and I’m hoping to find him there and talk some sense into him. I left New York for this and I might as well have something to show for it.”

“I’m com’n along,” Creed announced, “I’m not gonna let you do this alone. We been through too much the past day or two.”

“No argument from me,” Cavalier told him, “I’ll need all the help I can get.”

Ryan approached, “And I’m too pissed not to go find Rex. Count me in.”

“Our priorities are in Brussels,” Mansoor explained, “But if this is what you choose, then godspeed.”

“Wait,” Cavalier called out, “Before you go, what were you gonna do if you captured Rex? I’m just curious.”

Mansoor paused for a moment, not wanting to reveal confidential information but as the three men already knew quite a bit, she decided against it, “Our orders were to surrender Rex Robinson to the U’ntari in hopes of stopping this war.” With that, Jones teleported the two of them away. With the Badges gone, the three men contemplated Dafne Mansoor’s final words. Cavalier was the first to speak as he turned to the others, “We need to stop Rex from committing genocide. If you guys are coming along, we need a plan.”

“I got nothing at the moment,” Ryan admitted, “Honestly, my head’s still spinning and I was kinda hoping the Cavalier had a few ideas.”

“We know he’s in his lab in the Catskills,” Cavalier said meekly, “If you know where it is, I can fly us there in the Dragon.”

“And do what? Fight him? Whatever tech you and I have, he has better toys. Do you have a battle strategy? Because he probably thought of a counter to that strategy decades ago and we already know what a fistfight with the guy would look like. The man’s a genius among geniuses. A badass among badasses. I’m sorry but you have to do more than go to his doorstep. I thought the Cavaliers were better at this.”

“I’ve been doing this for less than a year!”

Creed folded his arms and shuffled his feet a bit, “You ain’t gonna like what I’m `bout to say next because I’ll sound like a broken record, -”

“What?,” Ryan sighed, “You’re gonna say Rex Robinson has a weakness?”

“Yep,” Creed looked Ryan in the eyes, “We can’t beat him in a straight fight but we can take him by surprise if he lets his guard down and I can think of only one thing that can distract a guy like that.”

“What’s that?”

Creed pointed to the Cavalier, “Him,” and then to Ryan, “… And you.”

“We’re his weakness?,” Cavalier asked, “He steamrolled us.”

“In a fight, sure, but you notice how he didn’t kill nobody or do any serious harm when he easily could have? You both go way back when it comes to Rex. Whatever he’s done in the past, I know he still cares about you people. Y’all are probably the closest thing he got to having sons, so you could fly over to his lab to talk to him and I know he’ll listen. You might not convince him to change his mind but he’ll stop what he’s doing long enough to hear you out.”

“That’s… true,” Ryan contemplated the notion, “If nothing else, he will let us have our say. He’s trusting enough.”

“And while that’s happening, we can take him by surprise,” Creed added, “I’ll have to lay low because if Rex sees me or anyone else, he’ll know something’s up.”

“We’ll still need to be stealthy about this as we approach the lab,” Cavalier explained,  “We can’t use anything he can detect with his equipment.”

Ryan nodded, “I admit it’s a solid plan.  As for sneaking something to his lab…,” he looked at the remaining sky bike and back to Creed, “You sure you know how to fly these things?”

In Brussels, a Commander Ship hovered near a grassy area that included a large plaza, parking lot and a crescent-shaped building removed from the larger city. NATO and Belgian forces surrounded the area in case of attack but for the past two days, there was no movement from the massive vessel, similar to what occurred in Washington DC. Because of this, the same precautions were taken: NATO officials were afraid of mass evacuation of the area in fear that the U’ntari would attack.

The Cloudburst rested on a grassy area with the gathered congregating; the three Badges from Boston joined them. They quietly explained to Pierce that Rex Robinson was unable to be apprehended but otherwise, kept the situation as secretive as possible. “One thing at a time,” Pierce told them, “For now, let’s have a meeting.” Soon, ten Badges, Sean Pierce, Astra Machina, Alysa Saraki and the Femme Phantom gathered outside their ship.

“Ya’ll made a blackhole to take down the last bunch of ships,” Alysa began, “Can’t you just do that again?”

“Opening a blackhole on the surface of the Earth would be catastrophic,” Astra explained cheerfully.

“And we almost died when we did it last,” Hernandez explained further.

“But we aren’t without a plan,” Pierce began, “These ships have personal forcefields that are hard to crack but our plan is to send the Elite Squad along the surface of the ship over there and-”

Shujai dropped from the sky and landed yards away. “If Rex Robinson is among you,” he warned, “Surrender him to me now and I promise to take my leave.”

“We’ll get back to you on that,” Pierce raised his rifle and fired shots that deflected off his chest harmlessly. Bakshi and Astra Machina attacked next, firing twin energy beams that sent him flying across the field. Shujai hit the grass, rolled over on the balls of his feet, then launched himself back to the team. Astra was hit first, a chunk of metal ripping off as she was thrown into the parking lot behind them. From the Commander Ship above, a portal opened and a swarm of Gliders and super soldiers began flying out. Meanwhile, the tractor beam sent squads of infantry to the surface. Belgian and NATO forces began firing at them but they were quickly attacked by a super soldier who looked like living energy. Meanwhile, Bakshi fired at Shujai who shot into the air and sent a volley at the IMD agent which knocked him on his back.

Not far away, the infantry and multiple super soldiers began marching across the field toward the remaining heroes. “We’re outnumbered,” Pierce called out, “Back to the Cloudburst.” “Wait,” Alysa began cupping her hands, “Nobody looks.” She stood in front of the advancing forces and raised her palms. Massive sparks of light and thundering sounds could be heard next. It blinded and deafened most of the U’ntari that were close and as instructed, her allies looked away. Astra, not having such sensory vulnerabilities, began launching multiple shots against the enemies. Kisi Yeboah followed up by sending telepathic attacks against them which forced many to fall unconscious. At the same time, Shujai fought Wang who was using his mass manipulation to engage in hand-to-hand combat. While Shujai was distracted, Femme Phantom flew in from behind, firing her mystic pistols; the eldritch bolts exploded against Shujai’s back which seemed to finally be enough to cause him pain and bring him to the ground. Some super soldiers quickly landed nearby which drew the attention of Wang and Femme Phantom who were unable to finish him off. Alysa used a telekinetic spell to launch herself to his location as he rose to his feet.

“Why did they have to die?,” she shouted, “They were children and you killed them!” Shujai turned to her, energy crackling in his hands. Once he noticed the young lady in front of him, he yielded, “I… haven’t killed children.” He wasn’t supposed to speak to the enemy outside of negotiations but he found himself in a moment of vulnerability as he was once again reminded of the assassination of the Upstarts.

“Maybe you didn’t kill kids but your people did,” Alysa pointed to the Commander Ship in the distance, “Those are your people, right?”

Shujai hung his head, “It was not … my decision.”

“Yeah? If they’re do’n shit you don’t wanna be a part of, maybe you need to rethink which side you wanna be on!”

Shujai paused, unable to know what to say next and while he was lost in thought, Lowanna Jones was able to teleport behind him, place her hands on his shoulders and teleport away. In the next instant, Shujai found himself in the center of Shanghai. As the city had been mostly evacuated, there were few bystanders around to see him which was optimal. He knew there was a Commander Ship located in the area but opted not to contact it as he was still mulling over what Alysa had said. He brushed it off and decided he would simply fly back to Brussels himself and hopefully, find answers to questions he had never asked himself in the meantime but before he took off, he heard someone in distress. It was pure instinct that he stopped to investigate as that would have been expected if him on his own planet.

“We don’t have any money!,” he heard a voice cry out from a nearby alley. The universal translator implant deciphered the Mandarin spoken by the middle-aged woman. He peaked around the corner to see some young men harassing a woman, her husband and their child. “Shut up and just give us what money you have,” the apparent leader of the gang shouted. While the major cities were evacuated, it was obvious some civilians were not fortunate enough to make it to the bunkers and with the authorities concerned with other matters, some criminals were preying on the helpless. “Leave them alone!,” Shujai heard himself shout, once again, out of pure instinct. Once the family and the gang noticed him at the entrance of the alley, they rushed off in different directions. Shujai wondered why he felt the need to help the family, then he quickly shook it off and took to the sky.

Meanwhile, the Dragon, Cavalier’s hovercraft, approached the Catskill Mountains. In the distance, Hyperion’s Light hovered over a lab with robots flying large barrels into the rear hatch in preparation for the release of Rex Robinson’s ultimate weapon. “I hope we know what we’re doing,” Cavalier said to Ryan Bennings.

The Resurgence Reading List

The Resurgence Prologue

The Resurgence #1

The Resurgence #2

Formerly Known as Brain Boy #8

Winghaven #20

The Cavalier #21

The Badges #12

The Resurgence #3

The Resurgence #4

The Resurgence #5

The Resurgence #6

Astra Machina #9

The Resurgence #7

The Upstarts #11

The Resurgence #8

The Resurgence #9

The Resurgence #10

The Resurgence #11

The Resurgence #12

The Resurgence Epilogue