The new day dawned, casting a sickly green light over the conquered world. A cacophony of metal on metal echoed across the landscape—the relentless beating of hammers and the grinding of machinery. The sound was a symphony of reconstruction, a testament to the Takers' new purpose.
All around, the Takers were working. Inside the captured ships, Takers with plasma torches and powerful tools tore through hulls, dismantling the vessels for parts. Outside, others, of every conceivable shape and size, scoured the planet. They moved with purpose, studying the alien flora, searching for salvage, and collecting anything they could use or consume. Every Taker, regardless of their task, wore the same black mask—a uniform of a unified purpose.
Two Takers, bent over a workbench, were sewing together what looked like new clothing. Their movements were precise and quick. One of them, a smaller figure, spoke without looking up from his work.
"This is good. This is...nice," he murmured, his voice soft. "We can finally do something. Feel like we matter." He paused, a sense of wonder in his voice. "Ever since he took us in, it has been nothing but kindness. He looks like a beast, but he acts like a soft sheep when he's speaking and working with us, teaching us. We never thought we would meet a leader who hates the title of leader. He calls us 'one.' He says we all stand on the same ground. We are all the same."
His companion, a larger Taker with a deep voice, responded, a new ferocity in his tone. "Yes. No more feeling useless. No more being used for the lives of others. We work for us and only us. Takers can take this world and form a new one."
A Taker with a massive piece of salvaged ship metal strode past the two tailors, his progress slow and deliberate. The other Takers barely noticed, focused on their own work. The reason for their dedication was visible just beyond the workbench—a new ship, so immense it dwarfed the surrounding buildings. It was a colossal vessel in the shape of a hand, its fingers reaching toward the sky. Rows upon rows of blasters and engines were being meticulously installed, a testament to the Takers' newfound purpose.
This was no haphazard construction. The ship was being built according to precise blueprints, with different Takers working on mapping and planning, while others worked tirelessly to fit each piece into its exact place.
A Taker with a deep scar on his face paused to wipe sweat from his brow. "With this," he said, his voice a low rumble, "we can go to all the new planets and new worlds. We will overthrow the ones who think they are strong."
"It didn't matter where we looked with the light signal," another Taker said, his voice edged with a righteous fury. "It all showed the same thing: worlds ruled by the strong, with the weak just thrown aside. We won't stand for that. We won't allow half of our universe to suffer while the strong sit high. That's not right. Our universe is in need of balance."
"Yeah," the first Taker said. "I can't wait to save all those poor aliens. I don't like the fighting, but it's needed. The ones we're fighting aren't angels; they're the reason we suffered. They made our lives a living hell. Now that we're free, we can help the others who need it."
The scene cut to Joe, who was taking a bath in a lake. He walked out, a simple robe tied around his waist, as several Takers approached him. They were all carrying different pieces of an armor they had forged for him, a testament to their loyalty and a symbol of their gratitude.
"This is our thank you to you, Lord Taker," one of them said, bowing slightly.
"Just Taker," Joe replied, his voice gentle. He gestured to the pieces of armor. "It would be great if you could show me where they need to be put on."
The Takers surrounded him, and one by one, they carefully placed the pieces of armor onto his immense frame. They fitted the heavy greaves to his legs, the thick plates to his chest, and the gauntlets to his arms. With each piece, his figure grew more imposing until he stood fully armored, resembling a huge, black knight, with his signature hoodie draped over the top. The only part of him still exposed was his face.
A small Taker child approached him. Joe knelt, lowering his massive form so he could be at eye level with the child. The child, with a mix of awe and reverence, held up a mask. Joe took it, and with a solemn nod, he put it on.
As the blue glow of the sun hit him, he stood fully armored, an almost mythical figure of black steel. He looked out toward the ship, then knelt and gently picked up the small Taker child and one of the other small Takers. He held them both up, their tiny forms cradled safely in his large hands.
"With that," Joe said, his voice echoing from behind the mask, "we will create a new universe. A universe of peace, kindness, and balance."
The ship's defense systems roared to life, a blinding barrage of plasma fire erupting from its sleek, black hull. Wolf's ship shuddered under the assault, alarms blaring as the shields flickered under the relentless impact. Inside, the Martians braced themselves, their salvaged weapons in hand, ready to fire.
"Hang on!" Wolf's voice boomed over the comms, a sharp command cutting through the chaos. "Hang on in there and shoot at that huge ship!"
From his megasuit, he could see a single, glowing light signal pulsing on the top of the alien vessel, a beacon of immense power. "I'm going to go live on the ship," he announced. "I'll try to take out the aliens and get to the signal room. I can use that signal to get a message to Earth, so just hang on!"
"Rudy," Wolf added, his voice calmer now, "get ready to fly us out of here. Try to find a way to get out of the direct line of fire."
Rudy's voice, usually timid, was a steady whisper. "I'll do what I can, Wolf. Be careful."
Wolf blazed a path toward the alien ship, moving through the plasma fire like a fighter jet cutting through the sky. He was a streak of cyan and metal, a singular point of focus against the backdrop of war.
The scene cut to the alien firing room, a vast space where a row of aliens sat in front of a massive screen. Their expressions were a mixture of intense focus and frantic screaming, reminiscent of pro gamers in a high-stakes tournament. The main screen displayed Wolf, an immense figure growing closer and closer. He filled the screen, getting bigger and bigger, until his black silhouette eclipsed everything else.
Then, BOOM! Wolf punched straight through the massive screen. He landed in the room with a thunderous crash, having delivered a powerful punch directly to the alien leader.
The alien was out cold, and the ship's alarms blared to life. A piercing red light began to flash throughout the room, illuminating dozens of newly materialized aliens.
"Scan for the signal room!" Wolf shouted to the AI.
The AI's voice was strained. "This will take a couple of minutes."
"How?!" Wolf demanded. "Just look!"
"There are over 15,000 rooms," the AI replied, its voice now tinged with an unnerving calm.
"Huh?!" Wolf muttered, a cold dread washing over him. "That means..."
"Yes," the AI confirmed, "there are over 100,000 aliens."
Wolf let out a frustrated sigh, a gust of air escaping his mouth. The megasuit whirred back to life, its internal displays flickering on. "Go full power," Wolf commanded, his voice firm and decisive. "And check if the group is okay on the ship."
"Yes, they are," the AI responded. "They're getting farther away from the firing."
"Okay, good. Time to lock in," Wolf muttered to himself.
"Suit locked in," the AI dutifully reported.
"No, not literally lock the suit! I mean, lock in as in focus," Wolf clarified, his frustration evident.
"Okay. Suit unlocked," the AI responded, its voice devoid of emotion.
The aliens unleashed a coordinated volley, firing every weapon they had at Wolf. Beams of light, green and red and blue, converged on his single spot. The entire room erupted in a blinding flash, a supernova of energy. The light was so intense that the aliens looked away, shielding their eyes. For a few seconds, there was a deafening silence. The light faded, and the room returned to its eerie gloom. The aliens stared, shocked, as Wolf stood there, unscathed.
A low hum began to emanate from Wolf's suit, growing louder and louder. The aliens stepped back, bewildered, as a voice announced, "Full power activity."
As the aliens rushed forward to punch, a loud boom echoed through the room. Wolf, now fully powered, knocked the first one through a wall with a single, devastating punch. He then charged into the group, running through the other aliens like a bull charging through a crowd of men.
From inside his suit, the streams of gunfire had no effect. The core in his chest protected him as he blazed a path through the ship. He looked around the vast room, the alien figures appearing as tiny, insignificant specks on his enhanced vision. He thought to himself, "Damn, that's a lot of aliens. They're like ants."
The AI's voice, ever present, chimed in. "Not really. Ants are in the millions."
"Shut the hell up! Now is not the time!" Wolf retorted. He continued his rampage, running through the rooms, punching and blazing a trail through the aliens.
Then, a frantic message for help hit his comms. "Oh no! The ship has been hit! I repeat, the ship has been hit!" the AI's voice screamed in his ear.
"Oh no, I need to go help them!" Wolf shouted, his attention now completely on his friends.
"Noooo!" a voice cried out in his comms. It was Rudy. "Wolf, we're okay! Just get to the signal room! Earth needs to know the aliens are coming!"
Wolf hesitated. "But..."
"No buts, Wolf! You got this! Earth is on the line!"
"Damn it," Wolf muttered, his focus returning to the task at hand. Just as he was about to move, a powerful blast slammed into him, sending him flying backward.
The aliens now had reinforcements, even larger aliens in massive suits of their own. They towered over Wolf's 12-foot suit, their imposing forms dwarfing him.
"AI girl?" Wolf asked, but the AI was silent. "What are you asking me for? I don't speak alien," the AI's voice finally replied, a hint of confusion in its tone.
"Yeah, I forgot," Wolf said, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. "For humanity... let's do this."
Wolf's body slammed against the wall with a sickening thud. He tried to get up, but a massive blow—like being hit by a bat at full force—sent him flying. He hurtled through eight rooms, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
For the first time since getting his suit, he was completely overpowered. He tried to get up, but the two massive aliens were already on him, holding him down. "Damn it!" he screamed, his voice a distorted roar.
Then, the AI's voice echoed in his head, cold and detached. "BJ... cold."
"What? Cold? What does that mean?" Wolf asked, but he already knew.
"Bad news," the AI replied, its voice a flat monotone. "BJ is dead."
Wolf lay there in shock, the alien giants holding him in place. Then, he heard a panicked voice over the comms. "Warning! The ship is going down!"
"I need to help them!" Wolf screamed, his voice cracking with desperation. He thrashed against the two aliens, his sheer will shocking them. He was getting up, even with them holding him down. Just as he was about to break free, the voices of his friends echoed in his head, a desperate cry he was meant to hear.
"Screaming... help us... Wolf! Don't do it, Wolf! Get to the signal room! Don't let us die for nothing! Help humanity!"
Then, the AI's voice, devoid of all emotion, said two simple words. "Ship down."
The massive aliens who had Wolf pinned down said something in their guttural language to the aliens in the main room, and they all turned on the engines. In the back of the long ship, five sun engines, placed back-to-back, all turned on. You could see plasma blasts shooting through the huge pipes connected to the sun engines, illuminating the space with a blinding white light.
For a second, Wolf's eyes cut to red before returning to blue. He let out a primal scream, and with a force of will, he overpowered the two massive aliens holding him down, making them stumble back in shock. He shot a huge plasma ray, cutting a clean slice through the ship. The blast even cut through the walls of the cells, sucking aliens out into the void of space. He cut through many parts of the ship, even injuring one of the sun engines. For safety, the three uninjured engines turned off, and the ship went dark.
Then, with a furious rage, Boom! Boom! Wolf ripped through the ship. The biggest aliens didn't stand a chance. His eyes flickered from blue to red and back again, over and over, as he tore through anything in his path. The AI's voice screamed, "WARNING! OVERHEATING! OVERHEATING!" but Wolf didn't care.
The aliens tried to stop him, damaging his suit and breaking parts of his dome, but he kept going, fueled by pure anger and sheer will. He broke the faces and bodies of any alien in his way. Then, a voice cut through the chaos. "Signal room located."
Wolf's eyes snapped back to blue, and he looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. He stood for a second, catching his breath, before his sun core began to overheat. He jumped toward the signal tower, tearing through every wall in his sight.
A lone alien tried to stop him, but Wolf punched it so hard it was sent flying through the side of the ship, leaving a massive hole in its wake. Wolf didn't care. He connected to the signal tower through his AI, and it would now take a little time for the message to transmit. Luckily for Wolf, his suit was now braced into the ground and the system itself, so the massive hole next to him couldn't suck him out. The aliens who shot at him were of no use; the force next to him was so strong that it was even sucking in their gunfire.
Then, the AI located Earth and sent the signal. As the signal was being sent, Wolf looked on with relief. Then, the comms cut on. Before he could say anything, a human's voice came through.
"Did you finally kill those half-humans, those useless pieces of trash? Hopefully, you did. Last time, you failed to kill all of them on Mars, as we ordered. But you better have now." The human on the other side of the comms turned, his eyes widened, and he said, "Wolf?"
But Wolf just stood there in shock, pulling his hands out and disconnecting the signal. The screen went black, and the room was silent. Wolf just stood there in disbelief, his mind reeling from what he just heard. He didn't hear the gunfire or the aliens rushing toward him.
Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, he heard, "Ship cold." He realized it was the humans all along, and now he just heard that all his friends were dead.
The AI went crazy. "Emotions going up! Warning! Warning! Overheating! Overheating!"
Wolf looked down at his chest, and his vision went black. From his point of view, black smoke began to pour into his dome-like helmet from his neck.
The AI's voice was now cold and calm. "This is for your safety, Wolf. Calm down."
The smoke fully engulfed his head, and he could no longer see his head inside his helmet. Then, all you could see cutting through the black were two piercing, blood-red eyes.