High above the wreckage, the massive holographic image of Dr. Xenon shimmered against the smoke. Her expression was cold and unreadable. "Hello, Commander," she murmured, her voice amplified across the valley. "I'm sending a scout force, just like you remember. Try not to lose to them..." With a static hiss, her image vanished into the grey sky.
On the ground below, a fresh nightmare materialized: two hundred X-Soldiers, fifty X-Juggernauts, and two towering Mecha Predators began their march. General Juan stood his ground, his jaw tight with fury. "This girl brought war upon us," he hissed. "She was supposed to be our asset, not an enemy."
"Asset?" John asked, confused. "What do you mean, by asset?"
Juan didn't answer. He simply pointed toward the waiting lifeboats. "No more talking. Get out of here!" Before John could protest, Slammer stepped forward, her hand white-knuckled as she gripped her hammer. "Let's just go, John," she said quietly. John looked at her, saw the tension in her shoulders, and followed her into the heavy metal craft.
As they moved toward the inner sanctum of the GDA, they passed a towering billboard. It featured a girl in a cat-girl uniform dancing amidst ruins, a propaganda slogan plastered across her: "She's doing it all for you... As you should for the GDA!" The massive gates of the GDA Base loomed ahead, a fortress of steel and searchlights. Slammer took John's badge and slotted it into the scanner; with a deep, hydraulic groan, the gates parted. Inside, the base was a hive of activity. A technician scrambled out of the way of a massive, grinding machine. "Calm down, you huge robot!" he yelled. Slammer moved to help, but John held her back. "That machine and he have it handled," he noted, his voice grim. "It was made for war."
Deep within the bowels of the base, the atmosphere changed from the noise of soldiers to the sterile hum of a laboratory.
Scientists and engineers scrambled over glowing consoles. "This force is too strong!" a scientist cried. "We can't even refract 20% of the energy!"
"Then do 10% first," a voice commanded. On the man's chest, a badge identified him simply as The Advisor. "I know this energy will be helpful once we hold it."
The heavy lab doors slid open, and Slammer marched in. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
The Advisor didn't look up. "We're trying to harness the power of the C—"
"Are you trying to harness that energy?!" Slammer interrupted, her voice echoing off the metallic walls. "The globe was in grave danger last time! You have to tame it before you try to use it!"
The Advisor turned slowly, his eyes cold. "Get out, before things get worse for you, Victoria." Slammer's teeth sparked with a snarl as she turned and stormed back into the hallway.
John was waiting for her, leaning against the cold wall. "Let's go," she snapped. "We're going back to war."
John's eyes widened. "What? We didn't even get a break! We just—"
"Go," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Why?" John asked, his face contorted with confusion.
Slammer sighed, her anger softening into a grim resolve. "We're going back to war, and that's it. We're surviving this. No more dying. If you die, I will go to heaven and kill you again, alright?"
John blinked, watching her walk away. He jogged to catch up. "I don't get it! How are you supposed to kill me if I'm already dea—"
"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!" Slammer shouts.
Back in the lab, hidden in the shadows of the consoles, the Advisor watched the monitors. "Did you get the 10%?"
"Yes, sir," the scientist replied. "Do you want to store it in the latest invention?"
"Yes. Launch him to the coastal defenses."
Deep in the hangar, a set of massive, reinforced gates began to grind open. From the darkness, a Golden Juggernaut emerged. Its footsteps shook the foundation of the base. Suddenly, its mechanical eyes flared a brilliant, predatory red, bathing everything in a crimson glow.