The Metahuman Agency: The Superhuman War

Scorched Earth

I don't need those metahumans, She thought. They proved themselves useless. You know, it was their fault I got humiliated so badly on that putrid fucking island. They failed to work together, they failed to kill the metahumans, quite simply they failed to do anything! Useless pricks. I'm actually glad they're dead. They can got to Hell with the rest of my incompetent subordinates. I don't need them to finish this.

Jacqueline clenched her fists. Rage built inside of her. Absolute fucking rage. She wanted to destroy. She wanted to hit something. It was getting hard to think. She could hear a pounding noise in her ears and the sound of her own breathing, sucked in through her nose, sounded so damn loud!

She took several ragged breaths, trying to control herself. Focusing hard, she managed to start thinking clearly again. Jacqueline licked her lips, staring out at San Francisco below. That city...that blasted city. Why was it still there? Why hadn't she destroyed it yet? Why weren't the metahumans dead? She had to fix this. She could still win. She was stronger than anyone else. Smarter than anyone else. She always had been, its just they couldn't see it and she was going to win and prove them wrong right here, right now. Everything would come together, it just needed some extra shoveto get it in motion. She was going to win. She was always going to win.

"Is the coilgun prepared?" She snarled through clenched together, surprised at the raspiness of her voice now. A technician by her side gave her a salute.

"Yes ma'am!" He barked to her. "Its fully charged and ready to be fired."

"Excellent," Jacqueline pointed a finger through the viewscreen. She spoke slowly, enunciating each snarling word she spoke, drawing them out like she was speaking to a child. "Target Alcatraz..." She squeezed her fist for emphasis. "And blow it to Hell. Target San Francisco too! Start firing on everything! Kill them all! KILL EVERYONE! We'll bring this damn city to the ground and let the metahumans burn in it!"

The technician nodded and flipped a switch on his computer terminal. Warning lights began to bleep all over the ship, alarms ringing. Jacqueline shuddered and hissed, "Shut those damn things down!" Another technician hurriedly moved to obey, silencing the blasted alarms.

The airship began to rattle and Jacqueline a string of excitement rush through her. This was the first time the coilgun was being deployed. It's first test. And it would perform perfectly. The Inferno wasn't going to be subjected to human error. It would come through where her subrodinates had failed. Her machines were perfect. The Inferno would cleanse this putrid city.

But as the ship rumbled, Akihiro slid up next to her. He didn't look happy. He raised a finger, idly continuing to twirl his knife and said, "Jacqueline...my dear..." Jacqueline bristled and turned to her, clenching her fists.

"What?!" She barked, a twinge of fear grasping at her, wondering if he was suddenly upset. Not that she cared but...

Akihiro smiled, that damn predatory smile of his that sent shivers across her spine. "What do you think you're doing?" He gestured out the window. "Not to say I'm not in favor of what you're about to do...why the prospect of seeing what this ship can truly unleash as make my dreams flourish for many nights. I'm ready to see destruction, death, violence on a scale I've only been forced to imagine before..." He tapped the edge of the knife against his palm. "But...I can't abide by you attempting to wipe out Jason and his sweet friends. My masterpiece is nearly complete and wiping them out in an explosive finale, rather than an intimate one, would greatly displease me. I need to be close to them, to see my knife buried beneath their skin and watch the light die in their eyes, slowly..."

Abide? Jacqueline clenched her jaw. She jabbed a finger at Akihiro, forgetting her fear for a moment in her anger. "Are you forgetting where you are, Akihiro? This is not your ship. It's mine. I'm calling the shots! And this operation is mine to finish! We're blowing up that island and all the stinking metahumans on it!"

Akihiro narrowed his eyes. Jacqueline saw the paint writhing on the walls. Trickle down menacingly, dripping onto nearby desks and terminals, some globs even dripping onto some of her guards. Akihiro took a step closer and despite being so much shorter than her, Jacqueline felt like an ant in his presence. She unconsciously took a step backward.

"What..." Akihiro say, his voice low and dangerous. "...Did you say?"

Jacqueline swallowed. She realized that had been a mistake. The memory of Akihiro holding a knife to her throat in her own office passed through her mind. She took a breath and said, "...I...no..." She stammered, struggling to think again. Akihiro stared at her, his hollow eyes dark pits. "...I think you're right. It would be...better if we, ah, killed them personally."

"Mmm," Akihiro looked around at the ship. "The Inferno will make an excellent stage for the showdown. Don't you agree?"

Jacqueline found herself nodding. "Y-yes..." She muttered, angry and scared all at once. She registered that all her men were watching her, watching her getting humiliated, even threatened. But she rationalized it.

I'm going to kill them all soon anyway. They don't matter. I just need them to perform one final time before I purge myself of their toxic presence.

"I'll prepare to fire the cannon," Jacqueline said, her jaw twitching in rage. "But I won't fire on the island for...several moments. Until those freaks are off of it. Then they can come to us and we can butcher them personally. Alright?"

Akihiro smiled. He stepped back, idly creeping through rows of desks, guards hurriedly getting out of his way. The paint on the walls stopped moving. He waved at Jacqueline. "...Acceptable. Please, continue. I'm eager to see the destructive potential of this war machine first hand."

Jacqueline glared at him but she silently turned around, fuming inwardly. But she kept a stoic face, even though inside she felt ready to explode. There was too much happening. Too much pressure, too much, too much! But she raised one arm, which shook as she pointed at the window.

"Prepare to fire on Alcatraz," She growled. "Maximum power. And as for the puny city beneath us...destroy it! Shoot everything that moves! No mercy, no quarter! At the end of this dead, the only thing that will be left of San Francisco will be a smoking crater! Remember what we did to the Agency! Remember what we did to Quincy! Let's make those efforts seem like child's play tonight!"

The bridge crew all echoed her shout, albeit not that enthusiastically. Jacqueline turned on her playlist and began blasting rock music. She watched, ready to see San Francisco explode. What she wasn't ready for was a potential round two with the metahumans. Hopefully, the coilgun would wipe them out by 'accident'. Otherwise...she would have to face them again. And for some reason, she didn't feel confident about her chances...