The Heap part 2

An advanced aircraft lifted off from the Nantox building in New Jersey and set a course for LA. It flew over scattered buildings and trees at high speeds. Flying low to avoid detection, Astra Machina followed it, having created wings and thrusters along her shoulders and heels. As the craft picked up speed, she shot a metallic tendril to the underside of the jet. A magnetic device grounded her, and Astra reeled herself in before affixing herself to the underside. The aircraft accelerated to sonic speed, quickly passing across multiple states.

Near Anaheim, a large, bipedal figure rose over a residential area. The heap of metal and debris seemed to be doing its best to step over the houses without doing any damage to them. The residents, however, were busy contacting the authorities or taking videos. It stepped into the street, flattening some cars and trees before continuing to a lake, causing the water to rise substantially once it entered. The heap waded across the large body of water, making it look like a small pond before gradually making its way toward Los Angeles.

In Jersey City, Kim Park sat on the couch in her apartment with her friend Wally next to her. Her family was in town for a visit, which, of course, made her more anxious. Her parents took her bed while she laid a pillow and blanket out on the couch for herself.

“I love them, I do,” she told Wally, “but they’re a lot.”

Wally nodded, “I’ve known you since college, which means I’ve known them for a while now. And yeah, they can be a lot.”

Kim waited for what she thought was a pep talk. “…But?”

“Nah, that’s it. They’re just a lot to deal with.”

She sighed loudly, “Think I need another drink.”

Mr. and Mrs. Park quickly burst out of Kim’s bedroom, wearing pajamas and robes. “Kim, did you hear the news?” Mrs. Park waved her phone around frantically. Wally and Kim could tell she was attempting to show them a news article but with the way she was waving the phone around, it was difficult to see what she had been looking at.

“What is it, Mom?”

“There’s a giant monster walking around California,” her mother finally stopped moving and held the phone up for them to see. “Isn’t that where Astra is going tonight?”

Several miles away, Jennifer Sawyer’s aircraft was still on its way to LA when they received a warning from Air Traffic Control. Hank, her bodyguard and pilot, reported back to her.

“Ma’am, we’re getting warnings of some sort of threat in Californian airspace,” his voice came over the PA in the cabin, “They’re advising us not to fly there.”

“What’s the threat?” she asked.

“Some sort of giant creature… made of garbage, apparently. Scrap metal, chunks of concrete, that sort of thing. It seems to be headed for LA.”

She furrowed her brow in consideration before speaking again. “See how close you can take us.”

Astra was still clinging to the underside of the aircraft, and she picked up on the conversation over the PA. Like Sawyer, she also had her suspicions and was curious to know the origins of the giant creature.

In the Pentagon, the top brass of the military sat around a large circular table. Around the room were multiple screens depicting the heap from a variety of sources. Another screen showed a Navy admiral, an Air Force general, and an Army general. These three men had previously attended a weapons demonstration held by Jennifer Sawyer. Initially, they were meant to have a meeting concerning whether or not they should purchase Sawyer’s military satellite, but now their concern was larger.

“The president’s been briefed,” the Secretary of Defense explained, “He wants a game plan in case that thing attacks.”

“We should call ahead to Stratton Base,” an Army general spoke first, “The National Guard can send Dragonfly out there to intercept.”

An Air Force general shook his head, “Something that big? I think we might need the Commission.”

“Those assholes cost us the Upstarts Program,” another general snapped back.

“Well, I’d rather not call the IMD,” the Secretary of Defense explained, “We’ll look weak if we rely on foreign organizations.”

The Joint Chief of Staff suddenly burst into the room, holding his phone, “Mr. Secretary, we got a call from Jennifer Sawyer. She has a proposal.”

Near LA, police helicopters circled the large figure as it continued on its path. The officers noticed it seemed to try its best to avoid doing too much damage as it walked. It slid sideways between buildings and kept looking to the ground to avoid the gathering crowds.

In the distance, Sawyer’s aircraft flew parallel. In the cabin, Sawyer peered out the window curiously, taking a few notes on her tablet. Outside, Astra clung to the aircraft and used a telescopic lens to get a closer view. Making a decision, she let go of the vessel and went into freefall. In midair, she sprouted wings and boosters; she looped around and flew toward the large figure as Sawyer continued on her path to her LA headquarters.

The heap stepped around a suburban area and, after a few steps, was now in a grassy area. The city lights of LA glowed in the distance. It stopped momentarily when it noticed the small figure buzzing around what passed for its head. Astra hovered in the air and generated a set of speakers on each shoulder before speaking:

“Tetsuo! It’s you, isn’t it?”

Months earlier, Jennifer Sawyer infected a security guard with a nanovirus that turned him into a “junk man”—insatiably absorbing inorganic matter into his body, gradually mutating him into a living scrap pile. Astra tried to help him, but he escaped before a cure could be found. She surmised that he had been absorbing matter this entire time, walking from New Jersey to California while growing to a gargantuan size.

The figure stopped and gazed at her. A gap began to open in it, dropping chunks of debris in the process. A loud, gravelly voice emerged with the sound of grinding metal.

“Astra Machina. What’re you doing here?”

“I told you I’d help you, and I’m keeping that promise.”

Tetsuo raised massive arms, “I think I’m pretty much beyond help at this point.”

“We’ll find a way to reverse it. I can talk to Ryan Bennings…”

“I already have a plan to make it better.”

“You do?”

His voice lowered, “Sure… I’m going to LA to kill Jennifer Sawyer.”

Astra gave him a concerned look, “That won’t help.”

“Yeah, I thought you might not like it. Tough shit.”

He swung his arm, and the back of his hand sent Astra flying over the trees. Once she disappeared from sight, he trudged on toward LA.

At Jennifer Sawyer’s building, the aircraft landed on the roof’s helipad. Sawyer and Hank descended in an elevator, and there waiting was Sawyer’s assistant, Mary. Mary looked at the floor with the usual lack of confidence while she spoke, “I contacted the Pentagon as instructed. They’ve given you authorization, ma’am.”

“Good.” Sawyer moved past her and headed toward her office.

Hank walked briskly to keep the pace, “Ma’am, if your suspicions are correct and that thing was Tetsuo Miki, he’ll likely be here in an hour or less.”

“I wouldn’t be in this building if I didn’t think I could turn this situation to my advantage,” she answered sharply.

Tetsuo entered Los Angeles city limits, instantly noticing the city was evacuating. Long rows of cars crowded the highways leading out of the area, directed by police officers. He preferred it that way. Jennifer Sawyer was the only person he wanted to hurt.

As he stepped over an overpass, he felt something pulling at his back. Realizing who it likely was, he reached back. Something heavy was behind him, dragging him toward the ground. A hand snatched his wrist, and something broke off him.

Astra had made her way back to Tetsuo and attached herself to him. She had been using her nano-based powers to absorb the material along his back: metal, plastic, mortar, and rubber—she broke it all down and added mass to her own body. It took some time, but she managed to do it, growing to almost three stories tall.

Her legs were now long enough to reach the ground, and as she held on to Tetsuo’s arm, she yanked him down, dropping him into an industrial center while flattening a building. Astra stood over Tetsuo, who now had a large section removed from his back, making it resemble an apple with a bite taken out of it.

“I should’ve known you’d still be a problem,” Tetsuo said, sitting up on one knee and gathering a large section of the destroyed building below him. “Stubborn bitch.” Tetsuo brought two handfuls of wreckage to the “wound” in his back, his body absorbing the debris into the heap to close the gap.

“I know Sawyer is evil,” Astra told him, “but destroying her building and killing her will make you a wanted man, if nothing else. It’ll ruin your life.”

When he stood up, he was still towering over Astra by several stories despite her newly acquired mass. “My life ended a while ago.”

Tetsuo delivered a kick that threw Astra into the air. She completed a flip and shot two tendrils at Tetsuo, piercing his chest area. She then pulled herself back, slamming into him. He stumbled but regained his balance while holding her.

“This isn’t your fight,” he said, and carried her to an empty section of an overpass before hurling her. She was thrown through the overpass and fell against the side of a building, breaking off a large portion of it.

“Stop protecting Sawyer,” Tetsuo roared.

“I’m protecting you,” she responded.

Astra placed her hands on the debris from the overpass and building, adding it to her mass. Tetsuo raised a fist, and when he brought it down, Astra generated a shield to block it; as she rose, she brought the shield up across Tetsuo’s chin. He stumbled against an overpass, cracking it slightly before coming back with a punch.

Astra stumbled back, nearly falling into a skyscraper. She held on to a neighboring building to catch herself, then elongated her wrist to hit Tetsuo. The blow rattled nearby windows and he swayed back toward an elevated train platform where a train sat on the tracks. He leaned against the tracks and peeked inside to make sure no one was in the cars. Once satisfied, he ripped the train off the tracks and whipped it into Astra’s face like a flail.

She tripped over a small building and fell, her backside landing in a wide intersection and pushing a crater into the ground. Tetsuo brought the train down again, but she reached out, palming a few of the cars. When he pulled back, the train snapped in half, and he lost balance. Astra quickly stood up and hurled what was left of the train at Tetsuo. Once he was hit, he fell against a skyscraper; glass and concrete rained down. Nearby, a news helicopter circled the area, broadcasting the battle.

In her building, Jennifer Sawyer sat in her private lab, watching the fight between Astra and Tetsuo on a widescreen. Mary sheepishly entered the lab and stood a comfortable distance behind Sawyer. Nervously, she cleared her throat, “Ma’am, the Pentagon wants to know when you’ll act.”

Sawyer gazed at the screen, barely addressing her, “I didn’t know Astra Machina would be here. This makes things… interesting.”

Mary tried to repeat herself but was too fearful to make a complete sentence, “The um… the Pentagon…”

Sawyer finally turned around to address her, “I need to wait for the shot. I still want Astra Machina. Tell the Pentagon I’m trying yo avoid collateral damage.”

Outside, Tetsuo and Astra locked arms and pushed themselves between two buildings, breaking off chunks of the ledges in the process. Shockwaves rumbled through the air and tremors could be felt for miles.

“I had to kill during the Resurgence,” Astra told him, “It’s not an easy feeling to live with.”

“What do you know about feelings? You’re not even human,” Tetsuo growled, “And neither am I… not anymore.”

He spun her around and smashed her face through a building, destroying several offices in the process as mortar flattened parked cars below. She elbowed him in retaliation, then spun around with a punch. Tetsuo fell back and slammed his hand onto a rooftop to break his fall. He instantly began to absorb the portion of the structure around his hand, and when he raised his arm, he pulled up a section of the building. As Astra approached, he brought his hand down, smashing the excess material into her.

She braced herself to avoid hitting more buildings; her hand rippled and turned into a mace. She the. spun into a backswing, hitting Tetsuo, sending debris into the air. He tripped over his feet and began to fall. Below, authorities were trying to direct crowds of people out of the area. As he fell, he noticed the crowd and reached out with both hands. His fingers dug huge trenches down apartment buildings, and his forehead came within 24 feet of flattening the people. Astra gently reached down and helped him stand up as the crowd escaped the area.

“You still have plenty of humanity in you,” she told him, “You did what you could to avoid hurting those people.”

Tetsuo shook his head and turned in the direction of Sawyer’s building, “I’m not as good as you think,” he responded, and quickly reached out, placing both hands on her body.

“What’re you…?”

Astra felt giant hands absorb her inorganic form into them. She tried to pull back, but Tetsuo shoved her into his chest. There was darkness, and Astra felt herself break apart and join Tetsuo. She pushed and kicked, but with the amount of mass he absorbed, she wasn’t as strong as she was moments earlier. He turned toward Sawyer’s building, now with flailing robotic limbs sticking out of his torso.

Sawyer silently stood in her penthouse office, watching the scene from her office window. She didn’t flinch as Tetsuo marched toward her building with obvious intent.

“Sawyer!” he screamed, “I’m coming for you, Sawyer!”

As he stomped forward, she calmly activated a series of holographic screens. Her building began to tremble, but she continued to press buttons along a console.

Inside Tetsuo, Astra broke free from his body, returning to normal size before dropping onto the empty street below.

In Sawyer’s lab, she brought up a 3D image of her military satellite. She began to turn a series of dials and watched the model rotate on a separate screen.

In the exosphere, the satellite came online and rotated. Its telescope picked up Tetsuo stomping through LA, and the image was relayed to Sawyer. She took manual control and calibrated the laser accordingly.

Astra ran down the street after Tetsuo. “Stop!” she called out. “Please come back!”

Sawyer fired.

In space, a ball of energy emerged from the satellite’s cannon for a split second before releasing a wide beam. On the surface, Astra detected the laser and quickly threw herself out of the way. The energy beam touched down, cutting a swathe through the street. Tetsuo turned curiously just as the beam reached him. It sliced through him in a second; a large portion of him disappeared in a flash. Part of his right arm broke off and fell hard enough to shatter the pavement below. The rest of him burned up and collapsed in the opposite direction. The burnt husk hit a building and slid down, nearly toppling every structure it hit. When it touched the ground, tons of brick and glass followed.

Astra stood in the middle of the street, staring at what was left. Smoke rose from a huge pile of smoldering debris with the Nantox building looming overhead. What was left of Tetsuo showed no signs of life.

In the building above, Sawyer looked out the window with a satisfied smile.

Continued…