The Indomitable Titans: Resurgent Enemy

Assassin's Sights Part V

The Agent and the two Neo-Vandals bust through a door leading to the West Wing of the White House, where they know the President should be heading. The Agent leads the way, shooting any cameras hanging off walls along the way. They move quickly, avoiding the most traveled paths while the lockdown is occurring.

The secret service take the President to an area they can reach the subterranean levels of the White House from. This is the best place to get him to safety while Westin and Jessie follow. They walk the President to a marble wall with a painting of JFK hanging on the wall. The wall holds a secret. Behind it, is a covert White House elevator leading to the levels below. Before a secret service agent is able to activate the elevator, a flash of energy appears in front of the wall and the cook Neo-Vandal from earlier materializes himself right in the way.

They stop in their tracks as the cook stands tall. Westin steps out in front of the President and secret service, to defend them from the Neo-Vandal standing before them. While all eyes are fixed on the cook, the Neo-Vandal staffer materializes behind Jessie and jumps on her back. The commotion from the struggle causes everybody to turn and look towards Jessie, including Westin. The cook uses this opportunity to attack. He charges at Westin and wraps him up around the hips and takes him up off his feet. The cook rams hm through a wall behind him, through offices and through another wall.

Ryannus, still with Katie, hears the tussle in his earpiece.

Ryannus- "Are you guys under attack!? Jessie!?"

Ryannus knows both Westin and Jessie are strong enough to take care of themselves in a fight, but he can't help but worry about Jessie. It was almost reflexive.

Westin throws down two punches to the cook before grabbing his head with a reverse headlock and brings him to the ground, jamming his head into the floor. Both of them get back to their feet to attack once more. The cook throws a punch and catches Westin in the face. Westin responds with a punch of his own and sends the cook back into a marble bust of Woodrow Wilson, knocking it to the ground where it smashes to pieces. The cook the launches himself at Westin, his fists raised in the air. Quickly, Westin catches the cook with an energy ball in the chest. The energy ball erupts as soon as it hits the cook and sends him flying back with smoke streaming off him.

After beating the two Neo-vandals outside, Zinagata flies up into the air, still bothered by his thoughts earlier. Something doesn't quite seem right about this attack. He talks to himself, trying to find an answer.

Zinagata- "This doesn't make sense. Why would they rush the White House in the open? Especially when they have that woman that can generate beams that powerful from so far away."

While Zinagata ponders this, a mile away between two tall buildings The Black Doll faces the direction of the White House, suspended above the ground. The chains from her belt are stretched out, digging into the sides of the two buildings she hovers between. The chains hold her up, like a spider hanging in the middle of its web. Her hand is out-stretched in front of her, gathering her energy into a powerful beam.

Jessie battles the staffer Neo-Vandal only a few feet away from the President and his secret service. With the Neo-Vandal on her back she jumps back into the wall behind her, breaking it in with that force. This shakes up the Neo-Vandal's grasp allowing Jessie to reach back and grab him to throw him off. The Neo-Vandal rolls through and turns to go back at Jessie but he is met with a swift kick in the face by Jessie.

While attention is turned on those two, the Agent with the Neo-Vandals, pops out from around a corner. He points his gun at the President before President Cleary or his secret service notice. Jessie is just able to see him out the corner of her eye. She quickly turns to face him and fires a beam. The energy strikes the ground next to the Agent. The impact knocks him hard into the wall next to him, forcing him to drop his gun and fall to the ground.

With Jessie now distracted, the staffer strikes and jump kicks Jessie with all of his strength. She flies back through a wall and skids across the ground down the hall. The kick takes her so far, she ends up near the Navy mess hall where Ryannus and Katie are. Hearing the banging outside the room, Ryannus rushes out to check.

Ryannus- "Katie, I'll be right back!"

He finds a circular crater in the wall to his left with Jessie on her knees right under it.

Ryannus- "Jessie!"

Ryannus runs over to check on her. Hearing Ryannus call out her name in that way forces Katie to run to the door to look out at what is going on. Before Ryannus can get to Jessie, the staffer Neo-Vandal appears next to him. Realizing that this is who Jessie must have been fighting, he attacks. The staffer dodges the first, but it's hit by the next couple as Ryannus focuses in on his enemy.

Back near the President, the secret service use this opportunity to get him to the secret elevator. The doors open up on the marble wall itself and reveal the elevator car. The Agent on the ground regains his consciousness and sees the President rushed to safety. The Agent decides to make two plays. First, he alerts The Black Doll to the location of the President through his earpiece.

Agent- "Southwest corridor."

The Agent then quickly reaches for his gun again to try for a clean shot at President Cleary. As soon as he wraps his hands around the handle, he is fired upon by the secret service. Killing him before the elevator door closes.

Having heard the Agent's last words, The Black Doll slowly moves her out-stretched hand an inch to the right. She then pulls in the last bit of energy to fully charge her shot. The energy in her hand forms a bright orb that hums with power. The Black Doll fires it. The beam flashes and streaks across the sky as it charges to the White House. Zinagata sees a glimmer of a flash before the beam comes into focus. He knows who is behind this. Zinagata tries to fly back down to the White House to try and get the others out, but its too late. The beam rips into the side of the House White and plows through it. The beam incinerates every piece of structure in its path while it pierces through.

Everybody inside the White House can feel it shake violently. Pieces of the walls and ceiling start to crumble down like it was hit by an earthquake. Ryannus and the staffer continue to fight while debris falls around them. Ryannus knocks him back with a punch, and sees an item fall out of his jacket to the ground. Before the staffer can come back at him, a marble column that rips off the wall falls down on him. Ryannus moves back from the column, avoiding more debris. He then clearly sees the item that fell out of the staffer's jacket lying on the floor, a cell phone.

As The Black Doll drags the beam through the White House, it eats up everything, leaving a line of ashes in its wake before generating an explosion. The pieces of the building still coming down, Jessie get's back to her feet and sees Katie several feet up ahead. Katie is fixated on the ceiling with her hands up to protect herself from the falling rubble. She is near Ryannus, who Jessie sees is preoccupied with picking something off the ground. Jessie sees a wooden frame break off the ceiling from all the shaking. It falls toward Katie. She quickly tries to lunge forward but she isn't fast enough. The wooden frame crashes down on Katie, striking her in the head before pinning her to the ground.

Jessie- "Katie!!"

Jessie rushes over while Ryannus turns back to see what happened. Jessie grabs the wooden frame and throws it off Katie who lays there with blood coming down from her forehead. Jessie looks up at Ryannus irate.

Jessie- "Why didn't you stay with her!? That was your job!"

Ryannus- "I..I heard you in danger. I...I'm sorry..."

Ryannus can hardly speak as he understands the weight of his mistake. Jessie kneels down next to Katie and cradles her head. Katie is breathing but not moving. Jessie tries to wake her up.

Jessie- "Katie, come on! Open those eyes Katie! Katie!? Katie!!?"

She doesn't respond. All Jessie can do is hold her tight in that half destroyed White House.

***

Will Katie make it!??

Do you blame Ryannus for what happened?