Chapter 3: The Captain/The Fight

Finn stretched himself out as he groaned in weariness. It had been a long boat ride back to the States and the chance to sleep on a bed that wasn't bobbing was very welcome. He tossed his uniform's jacket onto the nearby chair and climbed into bed. No sooner did he lay his head on the welcome pillow, though, did hurried footsteps come from outside. Of course...

A knock came from the door and Finn, now going back to Captain Maxwell, pulled himself from the bed's welcome embrace. He should have just stayed in the HQ tent and not bothered even trying to sleep…

"Come in," Maxwell said as he debated killing the messenger. Maxwell decided against it; poor kid was already on someone's shit list if they sent him to wake their Captain up. Which was why Maxwell was taken aback as First Lieutenant Gideon entered the room, half-dressed himself.

"Sir, it's Admiral Spire. He just reported their radar has inbound," Gideon said, his face pale and eyes wide. Maxwell blinked once in confusion. Inbound? Who would be inbound that would make the Admiral wor-...? Dear God no...

"Get everyone up, Lieutenant. Get them all up and armed. I want full combat readiness five minutes ago. GO!" Captain Maxwell ordered as Gideon took off in a full sprint. Maxwell grabbed his jacket and quickly put it on as he rushed out of the building.

Outside, the docking area was coming alive with activity. Sergeants were bellowing for privates to get out of their tents, weapons and ammo were being passed out to everyone, and vehicles were being warmed up or smashed out of their shipped containers. Under normal circumstances, Maxwell would have chewed out the crews for being so destructive. Right now, though, he was making a note to tell all his crews to do the same. Of all the times for that thing to show up…

Arriving at his company's HQ, Maxwell pushed aside the flap and entered the din of activity. He waved off the salutes before moving straight to the map where 2nd Lieutenant Bars was starting to get some order to what they were hearing.

"Captain, Spire just sent out an update before you arrived. It's the Beast, sir, heading straight for us and Boston," Bars said, keeping calm despite what he had just said. Inwardly, Maxwell cursed and felt terror run down his back. They had just made landfall not a few hours ago and that damn monster was already heading straight for them. Most of his Marines were still tired from the trip and much of their equipment still stored away. The damn thing couldn't have arrived at a worst time. But Maxwell made sure none of that showed through. His soldiers needed him to be a bastion of strength more than ever.

"Seems we'll be getting our shot at that monster sooner than we thought. Lieutenant get our heavy weapons out and deployed ASAP. I don't care if we’re forced to rip the damn containers apart, I want our big guns deployed before that thing gets into range. Comms, get the other companies on the line. And someone else get as much coffee as we have, we're in for a long night," Captain Maxwell said as he took charge of his 217th Marine Company.

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Maxwell and his first Lieutenant had moved up to the outer limits of the docks to watch the Navy’s attempt to stop the Beast. Bars had remained behind to make sure everyone was ready, but Maxwell needed to see what they were up against, see just what sort of hell he was asking his soldiers to try and stop. No report or eye witness accounts or grainy video had prepared him for the horror of the real thing, however.

It took all of Maxwell’s willpower not to gap in horror at the sight beyond the docks. The Atlantic Fleet was fighting for its very survival as the Beast ripped ship after ship apart. At first, things looked to be going well, but once the Beast closed the distance everything had fallen apart. Three entire battleships and the Admiral’s own aircraft carrier had vanished beneath the tides along with most of their escort vessels. The Beast had ripped them apart like paper bath toys, save the aircraft carrier which it had melted with a spray of acid. The surviving parts of the fleet were making a run for it, desperate to gain some distance, as a few brave vessels held their ground so the others could escape. Not one had survived more than a passing interest from the Beast.

Captain Jackson had taken over command now that Admiral Spire had gone down with his carrier. He was sending out constant updates and warnings of what the Beast was using against them despite barely keeping his command together. Maxwell had made sure only he heard the reports, however, as the terror, screams, and mayhem on the other side couldn't be totally blocked by the Captain. Morale was sinking low enough without hearing their Naval brothers begged for help...

Aircraft from the surviving carriers and various bases were still screaming into the battle, but their numbers were shrinking with each attack. From here, it was impossible to say which of the explosions near the top of the Beast were missiles or poor bastards caught by its various tentacles, but it was obvious they were dropping like flies. Both the Navy and the Airforce had thrown their best at the Beast... and both were now limping away, defeated. 

"Sir, I really think w-" Gideon started, but Maxwell cut him off with a wave. Maxwell had no unrealistic beliefs in their chances or diehard no retreat doctrines. No, he simply understood that behind them was a city of hundreds of thousands of people. And every moment they keep that... that walking disaster away from the city was another moment for those people to escape.

"We're holding this ground, Lieutenant. I won't abandon Boston and its people to that monster," Maxwell said as Gideon sighed and nodded in understanding.

“Then let’s at least get back to the Command Post. The Navy won’t be able to keep it away for much longer,” Gideon insisted, this time making it clear he wasn’t going to back down on this. Maxwell sighed, but knew Gideon was right. No sense for him to be in front of their frontline when that monster started toward them.

“Alright, Lieutenant, I’ll go back to be safely stowed away,” Maxwell said with a rare smile. Gideon returned it as they turned to head back. They got a few steps along when Gideon glanced back for some reason. Maxwell was about to turn as well, but never got the chance as Gideon, suddenly, grabbed Maxwell and shoved him to the side. Maxwell swore as he stumbled into an alley between two warehouses and turned to yell at Gideon. But his voice caught in his throat as a massive rogue wave came barreling toward them. Maxwell cry of annoyance turned to horror as it smashed into the dock and blasted him back into the alleyway. He hit his head on something as he flew back, and the world spiraled into oblivion.

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“Cap-… we… Capt…. Finn pleas…. Captain, please!” a voice said as Maxwell felt himself drift back into focus. Bars was knelt over him along with a few other soldiers and he blinked a few times as things seemed to go in and out of focus.  And then the headache slammed home.

“Ba- AHHH! Dammit…” Maxwell said as a female medic shoved Bars aside and started to grab Maxwell’s eyes and pull them open. The light made the pain worse and he would have swatted her away if he felt he had any control of his body.

“Please be still, Captain. You took a nasty blow to the head and, most likely, have a concussion. Just rest for now,” the woman said as she started to grab some stuff from her bag.

“Concussion? Fucking… that wave mu- SHIT GIDEON!” Maxwell said as he tried to sit up, but Bars forced him back down.

“Sir, Please! Gideon is… is alright. Everything is alright! The Beast retreated once we engaged it. Boston and all of us are… are fine,” Bars said. Maxwell’s shaken head tried to process that. The Beast… had fled? How had… It… it had taken a lot of damage and his command had a lot of firepower, but… And… and why was no one cheering or celebrating or…

“What are you not telling me, Bars?” Maxwell demanded as his mind started to come back into focus.

“I’m telling you everything, sir. Boston is safe! Don’t worry about the rest, just get some res-“

“Don’t give me that shit, Bars, what the hell happened? Bars, BA-“ he didn’t finish the question as the woman injected him with something. Maxwell turned to yell at her, but the world started to spin again. His yell turned to a slur and he drifted back into nothing.

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Gesila hid her eager smirk as the crab-spider thing started towards her. The thing was a big one, easily bigger than Gesila and built like a tank. Its massive backside was, like Micheal had described, a giant spiked slab of chitin and its huge pincers were covered in small spikes. Its beady eye-stalk things slipped into ready built slots in its chitin and turned much of it into a nigh-impenetrable fortress. Gesila, though, was not worried in the least. The only thing she was, was hungry.

The kaiju let out another ground-shaking cry before charging Gesila. Gesila answered its roar and made to hold her ground. She waited till it was almost on her before diving to the side, avoiding its fury-driven charge. The kaiju rushed past her and tried to stop, but its massive bulk made changing direction a difficult task. Just like Gesila had hoped. She rolled back to her feet before charging herself, coming in at the kaiju's side as it attempted to reorient.

Caught off-guard, the kaiju lashed out with one of its pincers. Gesila was ready for it, however, and dodged it as it clamped shut on air. She raised both of her arms and slammed them down on its arm, shattering the chitin covering it and causing it to scream in pain. The kaiju attempted to flee backwards, but Gesila followed and grabbed its injured arm. Licking her fangs, she ripped the broken chitin off the creature to reveal its tender, juicy insides. Gesila's fanged mouth opened wide as she went to try a taste but stopped as a strange goop slammed into her face.

Stumbling back, and losing her grip, Gesila felt the goop starting to sizzle as it tried to burn her face. It failed utterly but might cause some damage to her eyes. Rather than take the risk, Gesila whipped it off before blinking her eyes open. Fuck, she had gotten overeager and forgotten that it could spit.

Regaining her sight, Gesila saw it had retreated a good distance away. The arm she had been about to rip apart hung loosely at its side while its other snapped at her. Well, at least she had managed to put one of its arm's out of commission. The rest would be easy now. Moving after it, Gesila started to break into a charge when the thing lowered itself to the ground. Gesila slowed as the spiked plate on its butt slid forward to point at her. She barely had time to wonder what it was doing when, suddenly, the spikes shot out and toward her.

Gesila slowing her charge saved her life as she flung herself backward and to the ground. Even with her quick reaction, several spikes slammed home. One smashed into her right shoulder, another scrapped by her head, a third hit her right in the side of her hips, and a final one smashed into her left hand. Gesila couldn't help but cry out in pain as she writhed in pain. Fuck, that had broken her hand and the damn spike was still stuck in her shoulder. Gesila knew she had to push through the pain, however, as the thing wo- fuck it was already charging her!

Unable to get to her feet, Gesila prepared for the impact. She caught its charge with her legs and swore as it drove her through the ground, digging a trench with her body. It’s still working pincer tried to clamp around her neck, but she managed to hold it off with her still working hand. It kept pushing her back, however, as it screamed in rage and pain-driven fury. Worse, Gesila couldn't get an attack back with it pinning her like this.

Gesila still had one last weapon, however. She sucked a breath in and felt the warmth spread through her chest. The tips of her hair began to glow before spreading upward as the warmth moved to her mouth. With most of the, now intense, heat concentrated there, Gesila opened her mouth and let out her own "spit", in this case pure energy, smash into the thing's face. Immediately, it’s on rush turned to a howl of pain and it tried to pull away. Gesila, however, was ready and her legs wrapped around it while her working hand snatched up its pincer. Holding on to continue her attack, Gesila forced more of the heat out and into its writhing face. It screamed and thrashed as its chitin began to melt, but Gesila held strong. Her hair drifted upward as the wind from the heat took it upward and she pulled herself closer to its face. With one last massive burst, Gesila let out a scream along with her breath, incinerating the thing's face. It collapsed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud while Gesila gasped for much needed air.

It wasn't long before Gesila's stomach took priority. She used her tail to spring back to her feet and licked her eager fangs as the freshly killed meal laid before her. Some small part of her, that part that still viewed her as just Mei, recoiled at what was about to happen. But most of her gave in to the ravenous hunger beating at her sanity. She kept her senses long enough to make the first bite, ripping into the arm she had damaged before. The meat was juicy and naturally salted giving it a wonderful taste. She enjoyed the taste as she rolled it along her tongue before swallowing it down. Ohhhh, she needed more, more,mOrE, mORE, MORE MORE MOREMOREMOREMOREMOREMREMEMEORMEORMEORMEORMORMEORMROEMROREMREORMRORMRORMROREMRIKROREKMRORMRJFJG

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Flashes of memories appeared before her. Delicious lingering tastes of salted meat. Sprays of blood quickly licked up. Licking a strange solid... plate? No, she... she couldn't use plates any- ohhhh....

Gesila felt herself coming down from her ravenous rampage. She blinked a few times before looking at the "plate" she was licking. Her memories from before losing herself returned and she frowned at the backplate of the crab-spider kaiju. Her damn hunger hadn't left so much as a drop of meat behind, licking the chitin cleaner than a washed dish.  Dammit...

Setting the chitin down next to her, Gesila took a moment to get herself fully back in control. An unbidden burp erupted from her mouth and released a bit of aftertaste from her meal. Mm mm, it was good, and she cursed her inability to control herself once she got a taste of kaiju meat. Oh, how she would love to be able to ENJOY a fine meal. Slowly sampling each part, finding the best chunks and saving them for last, teasing a few of the onlookers as she slowly turned the nightmarish monster into just another meal. Instead, all she did was shovel it down her throat like a crazed beast leaving no time to enjoy anything. She couldn't even really enjoy being full as she didn't remember eating a damn thing.

Thankfully there was one part of her meal that she still got to enjoy. Gesila felt the warmth and soothing energy spreading out from her stomach. She sucked in a breath and smiled as her body warmed still further. It was hard to notice, but Gesila knew she had gotten bigger. Not much, maybe a few inches or even a foot, but nothing truly noticeable. At least to someone her size. But inside... oh she could feel the changes there all too well. The warmth reached her legs and she felt them absorb the soothing warmth. Her muscles might have grown a bit, but she could tell they had gained more power. Her arms followed suit and even her lungs seemed to gain in power. A blast that long had left her breathless before, she doubted that would happen now.

Standing up, Gesila flexed her newly improved body and smirked at the new power coursing through her. It was tempting to try it out, but various vehicles were moving toward the area and clean-up copters were beginning to arrive. Gesila wanted to help, to have a nice chat with them, or even just like a photo-op or... SOMETHING, just human contact! But she knew it was impossible. They'd never get out of their vehicles with her nearby... and she couldn't blame them after watching her lose it seconds before. Ever from way up here she could see the fear and apprehension hanging around her like a fog.

With a resigned sigh, Gesila moved back to let them start their work as she moved to an open area. The VTOLs and their damn harness were already taking up position, ready to take her back to her pen. Gesila was tempted to blast one and call it an accident... but was unsure which one Micheal was in. And after the road thing, he was unlikely to entertain any... distractions.

With another sigh, Gesila hooked herself into the harness and gave the thumbs up. The VTOLs lifted her into the air and started the slow flight back to her enclosure. Gesila leaned back against her harness and stared outward to the vast world she could only see like this now. Small towns off in the distance, worksites repairing various damage, tiny cars traveling about to and fro, lakes and rivers slowly being cleaned of Echidna's blood... all of it just landscape she flew past but couldn't interact with. Not anymore...

Of course, Gesila understood why. Micheal, Nancy, and the others at her base all knew who she was, knew she meant no harm. But out here... out here she was just another kaiju, a giant monster to be fled from. What kind of real interactions could she ever have like this? Gesila liked being able to use this... changed form to help people, she enjoyed defeating monsters only she could, she loved helping to make sure no one else got changed like her... but she missed her freedom, she missed meeting new people, she missed... she missed her humanity. And she knew it was never coming back.

“So, how did it taste?” Micheal, suddenly, asked. Gesila had to fight not to jump but managed to keep her cool. Good thing too as Micheal would have mocked her for the entire way back.

“Salty, but not too salty. Just enough to give it a nice kick. Could still do with some water, though,” Gesila answered.

“Well, I’m sure they got some back at base. I might have made a pitstop, but…” Micheal trailed off and Gesila knew what he was implying. She couldn’t really blame him as she was sure he had gotten a earful from Maxwell already.

“It was mostly your fault.”

“What?! Who was it that said it was cool to go that fast? And who’s big ass feet bulldozed the road?”

“Big ass feet?! You little prick, my feet are normal sized for someone this big, thank you!”

“Like anything about you is normal.”

“Says the guy who is starting at my not normal chest right now.”

“Hey, you could put on a shirt to cover those things!”

“Where the FUCK am I gonna find a shirt big enough for me?“

Article from Washington Post: The Failure at Boston

While viewed as a victory at the time, it is now clear that Boston was an abject failure for the US military. While it did succeed in pushing Echidna back, thus saving the city from the fate of New York and Baltimore, it failed to recognize the threat Echidna's blood posed to the city or its own soldiers. Thus, the defense doomed the city to fall to a far more insidious threat.

Let me be clear, I am not saying the brave men and women that took part failed in their duty. Far from it, they performed above and beyond an expectation. The fault lies with those above them for not warning or explaining the full scope of the threat Echidna possessed. Therefore, the acted with faulty information and engaged Echidna like any other enemy, not realizing their weapons were spreading the contamination far and wide.

The effects of this folly were immediate as a large portion of the ground forces, having been exposed by the waves washing over the docks, mutated along with several civilians. Panic and terror cause many tragic outcomes as comrades turned on one another for fear of spreading the disease, as it was seen to the soldiers. Worse, some of the blood managed to leak into Boston's water supply contaminating the entire city and spreading the panic. While Echidna did not destroy the city, its blood and the people inside did the job just as well.

MCP addendum: It is imperative that the truth of what happened in Boston is not revealed. Too many questions will be raised that have unpleasant answers for our organization.