Multiverse with the Ultimatrix

Chapter 253: Scorponok

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a group of soldiers walked through the scorching desert. Captain Lennox wiped a mixture of grit and sweat from his eyes as he looked back at the small group of survivors trailing behind him. Epps, Donnelly, and a handful of exhausted soldiers were all that remained of the base.

"What the hell was that thing?" Epps panted as he held his rifle. "It wasn't human. It wasn't even a tank. It was something else," he added. 

"It was crazy," Donnelly added as he looked at the heat waves rising from the ground.  

"Yes, it was crazy,” Epps added. “That thing tore through the base like it was made of cardboard," he added.  

"Doesn't matter what it was right now," Lennox barked as he looked around. "We have to keep moving. If we stay in the open, we're sitting ducks," he added. 

"Sir, our communications are all fried," Donnelly reported as he tapped his dead headset in frustration. 

Epps squinted. "There’s a town. A few clicks North. If there's a landline or a satellite link, we can get word out,” he suggested. 

Donnelly nodded in agreement. “Yes, that may be our best hope right now,” Donnelly replied.

“Lets keep moving,” Lennox shouted.  

The group began the grueling trek across the sands. The sun was high in the air. They eventually reached the outskirts of a small, dusty village. 

“Looks like we are here,” Donnelly said. 

“Lets hope these farmers have a working phone,” Epps said as he held his gun by his side,

Lennox spotted a local. “There,” he said as he sprinted forward.  He raised his hands. "Help! We need a phone! International line!" Lennox shouted.

Before the locals could respond, the ground beneath them erupted. A massive, metallic tail arched out of the sand like a striking cobra. Scorponok had found them. His red eyes glowed. He roared. His metallic hands turned. He had 6 metal legs. The tail whipped forward and stabbed a soldier in the chest. It pierced the soldier and blood came out as his body instantly went limp. 

"Contact," Epps screamed as he aimed his rifle. 

He and Donnelly opened fire. There were bullets hitting his metal body. Scorponok turned and screamed. 

The soldiers scrambled for cover. One of them aimed his grenade launcher and fired. The shell went through the air and hit the mechanical monster. The explosion created a large smoke cloud. Scorponok took a step back from the force of the explosion however it was unphased. With a mechanical shriek, Scorponok lunged forward from the smoke cloud. Its red eyes glowed. He moved his pincer forward and snapped them shut. Two soldiers were cut down instantly. 

"Move into the building," Lennox yelled. He grabbed a discarded phone from a nearby shop and  frantically punched in a sequence of numbers. He then jammed the receiver against his ear.

"Sir, for an international call, I must first verify your credit card's billing zip code," the operator said. His voice dripped with the soul-crushing boredom of someone who had been staring at a cubicle wall for eight hours.

"Are you kidding me?" Lennox roared as a massive boom shook the building. "I am Captain William Lennox. We are under heavy fire. People are dying. I don't have a zip code, I have a giant robotic scorpion trying to eat my face,” he shouted. 

"Sir, there is no need for that tone," the operator replied daintily. "I have a script to follow. Is 'Giant Robotic Scorpion' the name of your service provider?" he asked. 

"It’s the name of the thing killing my team!" Lennox screamed as he dodged a shower of plaster as Scorponok’s tail smashed through the roof. "Look, I need a patch to the Pentagon. This is a national security emergency. If you don't connect me right now, the next thing this robot hacks is going to be your payroll," he shouted. 

There was a brief, stunned silence on the other end. "Well, since you put it that way. One moment, please. Please hold while I transfer you,” he said.

The line clicked, and for ten agonizing seconds, a bouncy, upbeat version of The Girl from Ipanema played over the sounds of rattling machine guns and dying screams.

"Man, I hate this song," Epps yelled from the window as he was ducking a laser blast.

"Just keep shooting, “ Lennox hollered back. Finally, the elevator music cut out.

"This is General Morshower. Who is this and why are you calling on an unsecured civilian line?" he asked. 

"General, this Captain Lennox, we are the survivors of the base and we are engaged in the village,” he shouted.  “We need immediate air support, we are under attack,” he shouted. 

Meanwhile, inside the Pentagon's war room, the atmosphere shifted instantly. "Lennox,” he said. He knew his men and this was his voice. “Where are you right now?”  he asked. 

“Some village,” Lennox shouted over the comms. Morshower heard an explosion in the background. He looked up. “Trace the coordinates and get a Predator drone over there," Morshower commanded. 

The screen flickered to life. The drone flying nearby went towards the coordinates. The camera turned and showed a metallic beast tearing through the village. "My God," someone whispered.

"Send in the 'Hogs," Morshower ordered. "And get Spooky in the air," he added. 

In a matter of minutes, the sky above the village shattered as the U.S. Air Force arrived. 

Leading the charge were two A-10 Thunderbolts. Their distinctive twin-engine silhouettes cut through the heat haze. Its wings were long. It had a seven-barrel gatling gun the size of a car. They dived from the clouds in a predatory formation.

"Hog One-One, I have eyes on the target. It looks like a well, it looks like a nightmare," the lead pilot crackled over the radio. "Rolling in for a gun run,” she said. 

"Copy, One-One. Let’s see if this thing tastes like 30mm," the second pilot said over the radio. 

The nose of the lead A-10 sparked as the cannon spun up. A split second later, the air was ripped apart by a terrifying “BRRRRRT” sound.  A line of depleted uranium shells tore into the sand and onto Scorponok’s back. It sent shards of metallic armor flying into the air.

“Hell ya,” Epps shouted on the ground as he looked to see the creature being destroyed. 

As the Warthogs pulled up into a steep climb, the heavy shadow of a Lockheed AC-130 Specter gunship moved in. It began to bank hard to the left so its side-mounted weapons could stay locked on the target. 

Inside the darkened belly of the 'Spooky,' the fire control officer adjusted his thermal sights. "Target acquired. It’s twitching. Give me the forty and the big boy,” he shouted. 

"Roger that. Forty-mike-mike hot. One-zero-five standing by," the gunner responded as his hand was on the trigger.

“Fire,” the fire control officer shouted. The gunner pressed the trigger. 

The 40mm Bofors cannon began to heat up. High-explosive shells came out the barrel one by one. The shells rain down onto the ground. It hit Scorponok on his body and metallic legs. One of the high explosive shells tore his leg off. At that moment, the 105mm Howitzer lined his shot. It fired the large shell towards the ground. Each blast from the massive cannon shook the entire airframe.

The shell hit next to Scorponok. It shrieked and threw his body across the ground. 

The desert shook with the force of the bombardment. Scorponok looked around. He saw the shells raining down. He  jumped into the air and went back into the ground and tunnel beneath.  

“It is getting away,” Donnelly shouted. 

“Let him,” Lennox said as he let out a sigh of relief. 

“We did it,” Epps shouted. 

In the Pentagon, Morshower looked at the screen with his arms crossed. “Get my men back here,” he said.