As the order went out, every soldier nodded in understanding. The soldiers on the periphery put on their night vision goggles and the soldiers closest to the main base turned on whatever lights needed to be turned on for them to see. The east sniper tower heard the call go out and picked up their rifles to cover sections 2 and 6, as ordered. Other soldiers pried up manholes along one drag and dropped several smoke grenades and other devices that produced gas down in there. The soldiers were moving in line, nervous but ready for battle when it came. They did not have to wait long.
There was an eruption as their enemy rushed to the surface. At first, it was just some slightly bigger drones, perhaps stages three and four organisms with enough combat adaptation to make them competent soldiers. From there, larger armored creatures that bore a resemblance to the drones and walked on two legs emerged, and these had to be the soldiers that they needed to get a sample of. This was the attack that they had been preparing for. It was time for action.
While the heavy soldiers charged in with riot shields and machine guns, other soldiers began manning the artillery. The rat-tat-tat of .50 caliber machine guns could be heard all over the place, shooting down several drones but also struggling to keep up with their quick movements. Other soldiers manned mortars, which seemed to knock the soldiers off-balance, but had little effect otherwise. Bullets were bouncing off their hard exoskeletons, and they pushed aside or trampled the heavy soldiers even in their riot gear. There was chaos everywhere, and Scott looked around as his team joined him. It was clear that the regular humans were no match for these creatures, with the battle coming sooner than expected, just as he feared.
"Everyone, move out!"
As his team raced off into different districts, Scott smacked his fist into his other palm.
"Let's rock, Valor!"
I'm ready to roll!
His aura flared up and the earth shook as the Armor of Valor began to form around him. Some of the creatures, which he would call Insectiles, were noticing this and heading his way.
"That's right. Focus your attention on me."
The faster drones were the first to reach him, and attacked by shooting out tongues that looked pointed at the end like a spear with serrations on the sides like a knife. Despite the wicked appearance of their weapons, it was powerless to penetrate his armor. As their tongues recoiled, Scott charged forward to launch his counterattack. He punched one, turned and landed a back-fist on a second, and then used his momentum to snap a kick into the third, dispatching them in seconds with blows that practically destroyed their heads.
As a Soldier Insectile approached in a menacing march, he turned and threw a solid punch aimed at its midsection. The blow connected and the creatures torso moved inward a bit, but there was no sign of damage. Scott threw a one-two punch followed by a kick combination, but even then, there was not even a scratch.
What is that thing made of!?
I don't know, but we don't have time to waste. Hit it with a Fist of Valor!
Scott got back into his fighting stance and charged his punch before landing it right in the solar plexus of the creature. The blow landed with such force that it blew almost a perfectly round hole in the creature. He could see what was behind it clearly through him, and black liquid like ichor began to flow from it as it let out a cry and fell on its back. After some writhing, it laid still as a puddle of black liquid formed around it. There were more Soldiers already pressing forward, and they seemed to be acting as generals, coordinating the efforts of the drones as they continued the assault. The appearance of several Soldiers worried him, as they seemed to take his special techniques to dispatch, and he only had so many times that he could use them before Valor would overheat and be unusable for the rest of the day.
On other parts of the rapidly expanding battlefield, the other members of Shadowgreen's SIU were busy fending off the enemy. Rocky had coated his body in stone, so he was impervious to the spiked tongues and claws of his enemies. He had coated Siren in the same material as she sat on his shoulder, so she was protected, as well. They made for a devastating tag-team, with Rocky able to fend off the Drones easily while Siren's psychic attacks rendered the Soldiers vulnerable enough that he could kill them without an exorbitant amount of trouble. Sandstorm was invulnerable to his opponent's attacks due to his ability to compose himself completely of sand so that their attacks would pass through him. He could then create a localized sandstorm that shredded them completely.
Of all the combatants, there was no doubt that Shell-Shock was having the most fun. He had been bored with the bureaucracy of the job and the lack of action, so this was like a breath of fresh air. His energy blasts easily decimated the drones, and his Shell-Cannon was able to blow much bigger holes in the Soldiers, especially since he was not bothering to concentrate the beam and just disintegrated their entire torsos. Despite the successes of the soldiers, super-powered and not, they were still losing men. Although only a few were being killed by the Drones, the Soldiers were still doing great damage to them. Their claws could slice them in three with little effort, and those who weren't cut found themselves either crushed by their powerful legs and feet, or were bitten by their equally powerful mandibles.
Even against such horrific foes, the SDF fought on. Their weapons were chewing up the Drones, and some were even having success against the Soldiers by shooting them in the face with mounted missile launchers. These men knew that there could be no retreat and no surrender, or what was happening to them could happen to their neighbors or families. The Shadowgreen warriors knew that this could not turn into a war of attrition. They had to stop their advance here. If they could do that, they could then take the fight to them next time with their cancer weapons.
