SmackDown: Back to Our Roots

Round 2: Anger - @HardeeBurger

"A ruse?"

"They have other motives. They want more than just to live in our oceans."

Hitler disagreed. "They want to live in the deep rifts of the sea. At a depth of seven kilometers or more."

Now Zukhov disagreed. "Out intelligentsiya tell us that depth is not what they need. They only go so low to seek out the warmth of continental rifts." Hitler looked confused, so Zukhov continued. "On the surface, our world is too cold for them to live. They need heat from the Earth's mantle to keep themselves alive."

"But it gets cold in Venice. And in Austria – the Alps."

"Yes. For a length of time, these monsters can survive in colder climes. You've seen them dressed in armor, da? Titanium and magnesium? They wear thick rubber underneath, wet suits to keep them warm."

Zukhov paused. "You do know they're cold-blooded? Like lizards, or like snakes."

Hitler barely nodded. It was clear that this mere General of the Russian army knew more about the aliens that came from outer space than did the leader of the Reich.

Zukhov carried on. "They keep their armor heated using a hidden power, a thing not run by gas, nor with any fire."

This was something Hitler knew. "They call it atomic power. A source that's like the sun."

The sound of war raging outside invaded the German bunker. The concussion from a nearby bomb shook dust off the walls.

"Those bombs will soon be falling here," General Zukhov warned. "I'll be gone, but you'll remain, to suffer defeat."

"Wir werden diesen Kampf gewinnen!" Herr Hitler cried.

"Nyet," Zukhov countered. "You will not win. You'll lose."

"The American King Roosevelt has died! An angel visits with me in this room! Like the Miracle at the House of Brandenburg, Fate holds possibility in her hand."

The thud of more bombs falling shook dust upon the angel. "Her wings will not embrace you. She uses them to fly away, to safety, as soon so shall I."

The two men stood in silence, as dull noise filled the room. In a moment of respite, Hitler smiled at his conqueror. "Will you have a seat?" he offered, gesturing towards a table. "And perhaps, a brandy with me?"

With the war waging closer, as their aides and bodyguards shifted uncomfortably on their feet, the two men sat and drank. "Tell me more about this power," Zukhov asked his host. "What the dragons say they use to heat their armor."

"It comes from the sun," Hitler said with brightness, the warmth of false hope in his veins. "The crushing of an atom, breaking it in two."

Zukhov knit his brow. He drank again before responding. "How does this heat armor? Is it some sort of an engine?"

"Nein! There is only pressure. It releases unlimited power." Zukhov remained disbelieving, so Hitler continued, proud to know at least of one thing that the General did not. "Certain elements, like uranium and plutonium, fall apart when under pressure, to create heat like a furnace."

"It sounds dangerous," Zukhov mused. "How does it not explode?"

"It does! Ferociously, if unchecked, but it can be controlled with proper shielding."

"And if you don't use shielding?"

Hitler splayed his hands with his fingers wide. "Foom," he said while smiling, puffing out his cheeks.