Amy Watanabe. The First Rookie. Pilot of Jaeger Unit 0-0 codenamed 'Giant'. Little is known about her past and anything regarding about her family. She is quiet, but she doesn't seem to interact with most of the pilots of the Jaegers or any of the students in the school...
...all except for one.
Ever since she had met him, and even gave a knitted blanket she made herself to Braedey, she had slowly started to get closer to the others, except for Asuka. She slowly began to talk to them, but all the while, she kept some distance. She would only speak in small sentences and words to Braedey.
This seemed to get everyone's attention and they'd raise an eyebrow at Amy whenever she would walk alongside Braedey, or even just flash a tiny smile to him, and he'd smile back.
~*~*~
Meanwhile, up in the sky flying above New York State, Braedey and Shawn were both taking the former's Cirrus SR22 out for a short flight, just so they could take some time off from Jaeger pilot duty and take the time to relax. Shawn didn't mind this, especially after asking to Nash regarding the small flight. He just said to keep an eye out and call in on the radio if there's a Demon incoming.
"This is nice. Just to fly freely and take in the scenery." Shawn commented to Braedey. "But, I'd like to ask; how the hell did you get your pilot's license?"
"When my uncle offered to teach me how to fly. I can only do daytime flying." Braedey replied modestly. "Plus, he has a lot of open area like big crops, so I got the chance to do some crop-dusting to get some hours up."
"Makes sense. Is that the same for driving?" Shawn asked. "Well, because you did drive a taxi to SHIELD HQ when we were being thrown about by that one Demon before you got assimilated by Jaeger Prime."
"Actually, I just saw it was an automatic, and drove it like it were a go-kart." Braedey clarified.
"Oh. Makes sense there." Shawn nodded. "By the way, I need to ask: have you noticed something about Amy?" He asked.
Braedey raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Amy? What about her?" He questioned.
"Well, for a little while since you've been around at the base, she seems to be giving you some glances here and there whenever she can." Shawn clarified to his fellow Jaeger pilot. "She even gave you a blanket she knitted herself. She actually took the time with that."
"That definitely is unexpected." Braedey commented.
"Dude, are you blind to all the signs?" Shawn asked him in bewilderment. "She might be into you." That nearly made Braedey cause the plane to spin out. "Whoa! Easy, man. Easy there..." He helped get the plane level.
"Next time, don't do that." Braedey warned.
"Sorry." Shawn replied. Just then, his ears picked up on something. "Hang on. You hear that?" He asked.
"Hear what?" Braedey asked.
Shawn hushed him, the two of them now landing the plane on the ground nearby a highway. Braedey and Shawn get out of the plane, now listening out for what the latter heard. Soon, the sound of faint drumming could be heard in the distance, sounding like tribal drumming in rhythm. At the same time, the two could see what could be a dust cloud fast approaching them.
"What is that?" Shawn wondered. "And what's with the drumming?"
Braedey got some binoculars from inside the plane, and began to zoom in on the dust cloud. As he did so, the sound of a guitar playing could be heard among the drumming. Braedey then saw what was in the cloud of dust. "Holy... Looks like we've got company." He said, handing the binoculars to Shawn so he could see.
The two could see a multitude of vehicles heading towards them, all of them with heavy modifications and look to be built for nothing but war. There were huge trucks, small & large cars, motorbikes and cycles, and other large machines driving forward. There were four vehicles that were leading this apocalypse convoy.
The first vehicle looks like a 78ft, 18-wheeler all-wheel drive truck. It looks to have heavy modifications. The cab is moved from over the engine to the middle of the chassis. A custom front was fabricated and the cannon is a combination of the original truck cabin additional passenger space was added to the cab's rear from the rear half of a widened 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Sedan. The front windshields have been modified, the doors being rear-hinged as suicide doors. There is a skeleton arm painted on the side of driver's door. There is a steering wheel with a skull motiff. The accelerator is made of a foot-measure device, capable of locking at full throttle. The centre console is littered with gauges and switches. The top of the centre console holds space for items and tools. The dashboard has a number of gauges and switches, such as revs counters for both engines, temperature and fuel gauges. Underneath are hidden switches for the start-up. The stick shift has a supercharger switch. On the side of the driver's seat is the cowcatcher lever decorated with an 8-ball. The passenger space in the Fleetmaster section is occupied by a makeshift rear seat from two seats. The doors have additional compartments built inside them. There is a custom sunroof built into the cabin. The cabin has a built-in roll-cage. The bonnet is decorated with a Motometer emblem. The truck has an air-cooled 275hp V8 engine with a massive turbine fan, as well as a 500hp racing engine. There are two Holley superchargers powered by an electric motor, both surperchargers are protruding through the bonnet, the 2nd supercharger in fact standing taller than the first. Two pairs of exhaust stacks are installed, one for each engine. It also has a functional hydraulic-operated plow. The mechanism for plow operation is hidden, the operation done by two digger arms. The truck has a tanker and fuel pod, both of which act as a platform. The main tanker has two turrets; the rear made of a chopped Volkswagen Beetle, both front and rear turrets armed with harpoon guns. The rear turret has two swing arms to move around the tanker quickly and mount the pod. The fuel pod is armed with a harpoon gun and flamethrower. The sides of the tanker are protected by spikes and slanted sharp pieces of metal, combined with circular saw blades running around the tanker. The main tanker is decorated with skulls and doll heads. Inside the main tanker, there is a hidden living quarters section accessible from underneath.
The second vehicle looks like a MAN LKW 15T mil GL KAT I A1 (8x8) military truck. It is a 15-tonne class vehicle modified with a wider track of 2,900mm that serves as carrier and launcher systems of the Roland and Patriot weapon systems. The four-axle truck is powered by a Deutz 8-cylinder Diesel engine with 360hp, turbocharger and intercooler. It also has a Rotzler winch. It has some kind of huge air ducting on its back, which seemed to be used as sound tunnels, amplifying the sound of four massive drums at the back, which four drummers were playing away on. A wall of 64 functional speakers transmit the sound from a guitar, which - along with the guitarist - are hanging on bungee cords. The guitarist's stage is made of Holden FJ front end. The design of the guitar is built around a bedpan.
The third machine seems to be one that's been modified for war and chaos. The vehicle looks to be built from scratch. The car has a custom chassis, with a body made of two 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Villes on top of each other. The bottom shell is widened, equipped with a custom windshield. The upper Cadillac is stock width but has been fabricated to function as a turret with a harpoon gun and flamethrower in back. The front end is standard 1959 Cadillac, equipped with a custom heavy duty plow. The car looks to be 4m high without flags, and weighs 10.5 tonnes. The car has the power from by two 502hp Big Block V8 crate motors with fabricated manifolds and functioning 8/71 superchargers. Both engines are connected through a custom gearbox, the setup functional, generating up to 1,200 horsepower. The vehicle has a set of turbochargers, rotors removed and feeding into the superchargers. The vehicle is equipped with tractor tyres, the rears being 70" in diameter, the fronts being regular tractor tyres. The rims and hubs are custom made. The differential and reducer systems are taken from a pair of 4WD front-end loaders.
The fourth vehicle among this whole fleet of machines looks to be a 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupé. The car looks like it's been through tough times, the body being slowly consumed by rust. There is a large Weiand 6-71 supercharger protruding through the hood of the car. It has a 'dual overhead cam V8 engine', and with the blower put together, it makes up to 600 horsepower at the wheels. Two massive fuel tanks are in the rear to allow the car to travel greater distances. The boot door was removed to accommodate them. There is a new fuel gauge, indicating the car was now capable of holding 200 litres of fuel.
"Whoa..." Shawn muttered, lowering his binoculars. "Talk about something else..."
Braedey now got a flare and shot it into the air, a red trail shooting up into the air, trying to get the attention of the vehicles. The vehicles seem to take notice the flare and started to head in their direction, their mighty engines revving and shaking the ground as they get closer. Soon, the vehicles pulled to a stop before the two Jaeger pilots, the music stopping as they slowed down and stopped, brakes hissing and groaning as they came to a stop.
"Uh... now what?" Shawn asked to Braedey.
"You are approaching New York State. State your intentions." Braedey asked to them all.
The rumble of a motorcycle could be heard from behind some of the vehicles, as someone rolled up on a custom-built motorcycle. The rider cuts off the motor, then gets off the bike to reveal himself.
He is a lean, muscular young man of average height with a slightly tan skin tone, black eyes, spiky pink-coloured hair, and has abnormal sharp canines; he has a scar on the right side of his neck, hidden by his scarf. He has on an open-collar, one-sleeved long overcoat version of his original waistcoat, which is tucked in. The sleeve covers his left arm with a faux leather brown armband, leaving his mark, as well as his entire right arm, consequently exposed, a leather brown belt around his waist with an oval-shaped silver buckle, white knee-length trousers with black ribbon ties, a thick black wristband on his left wrist, and black open-toed sandals.
"Heyo! What's up?" The motorcycle rider greeted to them. "Why you guys out here?"
"I'd be asking you lot the same question." Braedey said to the rider. "Such as this; why do you have these machines, and why are you driving towards New York?"
"Where are you folks from?" Shawn asked next.
"My name is Scorcher." The motorcycle rider introduced to them. "We are the Valhalla Brothers."
"We're from the West Coast." A driver behind the wheel of the huge speaker truck waved to them. "Some of us are from L.A, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas-"
"Some of us also from from Phoenix, Arizona, as well as other places around there." One of the gunmen on top of the tanker truck called.
"We built these vehicles in scrapyards and mechanic shops around the area, and we're currently driving across the states." Another driver called out.
"So, why is that so?" Shawn asked.
"To spread out the righteousness and to proclaim the Jaegers are the true heroes and the Demons and those who think the beasts are their saviours are the true villains." Scorcher announced. He then smirked to the two. "And we've heard about what you two have done. Nice work, guys." He complimented.
"Thanks. But, why travel across the states?" Braedey asked to them.
"To spread the message and try to rally support from everyone." Scorcher proclaimed with a smile. He then smirked happily with a thumbs-up. "Besides, I've always wanted to ride a motorcycle across the USA."
"Fair point there." Shawn now started to walk around the huge Cadillac beast. "Impressive craftsmanship, might I add. And talk about two big engines." He noted, now looking at the powerhouse of the car. "Whatcha packin' here?"
"We've got two 502hp Big Block V8 crate engines with fabricated manifolds and functioning 8/71 superchargers, both engines connected through a custom gearbox, the setup functional and generating up to 1,200 horsepower." The Cadillac driver replied, now jumping down from the cab to reveal himself.
The person, who happened to be a male, looked to be in his 20's, his short spiky blonde hair looking dirty and now as shiny, his green eyes shining against his slightly darker skin, no doubt from being working under trucks and with heavy machinery. He has on a black side-zip motorcycle jacket with no waist-adjustment tabs, two symmetrical pockets and the horizontal seam across the shoulder is straight. The collar is smaller, the right sleeve cut off just below the shoulder. It looked dusty and ripped in places. A Rawlings football shoulder pad plate is attached to the left shoulder. Under the jacket, the person has on a light blue raglan t-shirt. He also has on black motorcycle gloves. His matching trousers are cut in a standard "jeans" pattern. A metal leg-brace could be seen on his left leg. This brace was constructed of tail-gate hinges from a utility truck, with an attached knee pad and leather straps. He also has on black motorcycle or engineer boots.
"You seem rather interested in our toys." The Cadillac driver commented, now shaking hands with Shawn. "We also go by codenames among our group. I am known as Imperator."
"I see. So, is Scorcher your codename or real name?" Braedey asked to the motorcycle rider.
"Actually, it's both." Scorcher clarified.
"Braedey, why don't we bring these guys with us?" Shawn suggested. "I mean, they could get a good meal-"
"You know that Ritsuko and Matilda said no outsiders are to be in the base." Braedey stated back to Shawn. "Plus, even if we could, we know that Sheeva could-"
Scorcher whipped around to Braedey. "Wait. Did you just say 'Sheeva'?" He asked.
"Yes. Why do you ask?" Braedey asked.
"She's an old childhood friend of mine." Scorcher explained. "The two of us got along until Sheeva had disappeared one day. I soon went alone, like a lone wolf. That was when I had soon met up with the others, and we became the Valhalla Brothers."
"What's so special about the group?" Braedey asked. "I'm just wondering."
"We named ourselves Valhalla Brothers since we can sense the very sacred land we ride along." Imperator spoke up. "We have a belief that the V8 engine is the source of our strength, a power conduit between the world of Earth and the afterlife. It's sort of mystical." He then patted the hood of his Cadillac. "And with the threat of the Demons destroying our land, as well as from those crazy fanatics and such, we have to do what we can to spread the word to everyone."
"Right..." Braedey raised an eyebrow at this.
"Well, I think it be right that you should see Sheeva." Shawn spoke out. "Plus, I'm sure she would like to see you, too."
"That's great." Scorcher nodded, then he turned to look at Braedey, who's checking his plane. "We might need a guide, and plus, we might know a thing or two with some mechanics. I mean, we can give you a helping hand."
Braedey sighed and conceded. "Very well. We'll take you all to the city, and from there, who knows what will happen."
At once, the Valhalla Brothers started to laugh and cheer, jumping into their vehicles and began to start up their engines. The guitarist and the drummers all began to play, playing some kind of tribal rhythm, as they began to drive forward. Braedey immediately got into his plane, powering it up, and he took to the skies after them, flying overhead. Shawn was given the opportunity to drive the monster Cadillac, Imperator giving some points. Scorcher raced along ahead of the pack, just as Braedey flew overhead.
Braedey began to radio in. "Sheeva, it's Braedey. I'm giving you a heads-up for you and the others about a group of drivers with crazy maniac vehicles called the Valhalla Brothers are heading their way towards the base." He informed to her. "And one of them goes by the name of Scorcher."
"Scorcher?" Sheeva's voice asked over the radio. "Are you serious? He's there?"
"And with a group of drivers." Braedey added in. "You'll see them when they arrive." He now looked over to see the vehicles driving along, the drumming and guitar riffing echoing out from the vehicles below. "They really have their performance down like it's on the back of their hands."
Eventually, the Valhalla Brothers vehicles began to roll into Manhattan-2.0, Braedey flying the plane back to the base. As he landed, he could hear the rumbling of engines and drums beating approaching, so he and those around him can see the Valhalla Brothers racing up. They soon arrived on scene, their engines cutting out. Scorcher smiled at the sight around him, with a few of the personnel around them taking a look at their machines.
Matilda ran out to see what was going on, along with the others. "Who the hell?"
Sheeva walked up. "Scorcher?" She called, getting the motorcycle rider's attention. He smiled when he saw her, Sheeva doing the same as they walked up to one another. "Wow. You look... different." She commented.
"Well, it happens when your lugging about a few hundred pounds of metal to build these monsters." Scorcher shrugged. "But I'm happy to see you here." She then saw the other Jaeger pilots. "So, you working with these guys?" He asked.
"I'm giving them as much information about HYDRA, MECH, and Death Wish as I can to try and help them." Sheeva clarified. "And you've seen them in the news every now and then, I guess."
"That, we have." Imperator called, climbing out of the monster Cadillac with Shawn. "We've been spreading the word."
"About what?" Matilda demanded, now walking up.
"Ease up there, Katsina." Nash called, now walking up to the ground. "Let's here want these riders want to say."
"As I was saying, we Valhalla Brothers have been travelling from the West Coast to the East, spreading our message about the Jaegers and SHIELD being the saviours of Earth." Imperator explained. "We also make the declaration that anyone against you are monsters and they're the true enemies. And we have a religion around the mighty V8 engine." He and the others now held their hands together, their fingers intersecting one another to form a V-shape. "By our deeds, we honour him: V8." He preached, the others doing the same.
"I see. You're doing a good job at that." Nash nodded. "As far as I can see, you seem alright in my book." He turned to the soldiers nearby, waving his hand to them to stand down and lower weapons, which they did. He turned to Scorcher. "You and your crew can stay here, but as long as you follow our rules."
"No probs, eyepatch." Scorcher smirked, Nash raising an eyebrow at him. "C'mon, the only time we don't follow rules is on the road."
"Right." Nash turned to Braedey and the others. "Best you lead them to your sector of the base, and bring them up to speed about what's happened."
"Yes, sir." Braedey saluted, then turned to Scorcher and his Valhalla Brothers. "Park up your vehicles and follow me."
With that, the Valhalla Brothers got their trucks and cars parked up with the other SHIELD machines nearby and ready for action, and they followed the Jaeger pilots off to their part of the base, Nash, Matilda, and Ritsuko watching on. Matilda wasn't too sure about these motorhead cowboys, and if they could pose a hindrance and problem.
~*~*~
Down at the mess hall, Braedey and the other pilots, as well as Scorcher and the Valhalla Brothers, they were all having the time to either catch up on old times, or even explain about things. The pilots explained to the drivers about the situation and what's going on.
"So, each of you have had a bit of a hard time with families and such." Scorcher commented to them all. "Braedey, your so-called dad dragged you here to pilot Prime, with Asuka being a college prodigy, Shawn as a good mechanic, Nick and Linx being here for their reasons, as well as the other girls, and Amy...?" He stopped and looked to the others.
"We actually don't know anything about Amy." Hawk clarified. "Her past is a mystery. Not even Miss Matilda knows anything about her."
"But, there's one thing we have to contend with." Braedey muttered to himself. "Not just the Demons."
"Yeah, we might be able to help you out with that." Scorcher commented, to their surprise. "While we've been on the road, we've been working on designs here and there, then we thought they could be beneficial for you pilots." He then got some blueprints out, and put them on the table. "I'm sure they'll be of good use to you."
But before anyone could get the chance to take a look at the blueprints, alarms suddenly began to blare out across the base. No doubt another Demon has been found on radar, and it was closing in fast on Manhattan-2.0 at once. The Valhalla Brothers began to beat the drums of their war vehicle, Braedey, Kieron, and Amy were first to get ready and be deployed, Asuka, Shawn, Linx, and the others were waiting on standby. Once the three pilots were onboard their Jaegers and got ready, they were deployed and ready for action.
"Jaeger Prime taking point." Braedey reported in, now leading ahead with Gipsy Danger and Jaeger Giant walking alongside him. "We're heading off to intercept the Demon. Anymore information about it?" He asked.
"We can confirm it's a Demon, but it seems to be giving off a high concentration of heat, the core concentrated in the centre of it all." Matilda informed over Comms. "I'd advise caution when you approach."
"Acknowledged." Amy replied monotonously. Her voice seemed to be a bit quick, which got Kieron's attention.
"Target sighted. Range: 3,000m away." Braedey reported in. His eyes widened in surprise.
There, standing among the trees and mountains before them, with a tower of smoke rising from behind it, was a beast made out of fire. It seemed to burn the forest all around it, the only features on it being a set of red 'eyes'.
"Talk about a walking wall of flame, literally." Kieron commented with a smirk. "What's the plan?"
"Try and slow it down." Braedey said, leading ahead. "Let's see how good is this Demon."
Jaeger Prime only about a few hundred feet close to the fire Demon, only for the heat to force the Jaeger to recoil back. It seems the temperature is 500-600°C, just enough to possibly melt the alloy and metal on a Jaeger's body and/or roast the pilot inside. This gave the Demon an opening, delivering a hard backhand to Jaeger Prime, sending the red/blue mech flying back a few hundred metres. Gipsy and Giant both deploy weapons and open fire. But, to their surprise, the blasts go straight through the fire Demon, striking the mountain behind it.
"Okay.... that didn't work." Kieron muttered. He then recoiled back as the Demon shot a blast of fire from its mouth at the two other Jaegers, making them fall back.
"That thing must have an intangibility or something. It's phasing through our physical and energy-based attacks." Ritsuko took a guess over Comms. "All Jaegers, fall back to defensive position." She ordered.
"Not until I'm sure the area is clear." Braedey replied back firmly, now getting Jaeger Prime back on its feet. "Miss Matilda, have the National Guard clear the area in case this thing gets too close to populated sectors."
"We're already doing that as we speak." Matilda replied. "But what can we do about this thing?"
"I got it!" Asuka's voice announced, just as Jaeger Eva suddenly launched forward out of its launch tunnel. "I can take care of this one!" She smirked.
"Asuka, you were not cleared for deployment." Matilda scolded. "Fall back now-"
"No way! I'm gonna prove I'm better than Braedey and anyone else!" Asuka declared. "Nobody is gonna get in my way-!"
"Asuka, we can't touch that thing, even if we could." Kieron called out.
"You're just not being smart about this." Asuka berated at him, now running forward at the fire Demon. "Once I get close, I'm gonna make sure-"
"ASUKA LANGLEY SORYU!! Stand now NOW!" Braedey suddenly roared, Asuka freezing in her tracks and she stopped, Jaeger Eva also stopping only about 1,000m from the fire Demon.
Everyone else stopped in their place when they heard Braedey's yell. He had never yelled out loud like that before at all. It was actually frightening. It was as if a monster of unimaginable power has just released a roar that shattered the heavens and shook the Earth.
"Asuka, you are to stand down and fall back to the defence point. At once." Braedey ordered sternly. "And you are to remain there until further notice."
Asuka sighed in exasperation, so she reluctantly began to fall back, stepping back over to Gipsy and Giant. "Fine." She muttered to herself, away with a huff.
"So, we can't physically attack it, and energy-based weaponry can't even harm it. And yet, that thing can hit us with the force of a wrecking ball or something." Kieron counted off. "How do you fight something that's like a ghost?"
"I'm not sure at the moment, but I'm gonna try and distract that thing away from here." Braedey said to the others, doing a tuck-and-roll away from another fiery fist being thrown at him. "You guys do whatever you can to try and stop this thing!"
"Okay, we need to think about something." Linx now spoke up. "I mean, why don't we just throw some water on it?"
"Gonna try that now." Kieron scooped up a large amount of water with Gipsy, and threw it right at the Demon. The water seemed to put out some of the fire, but most of it fell through the Demon's body, while steam seemed to waft off the body of the beast. "Huh. That didn't seem to work. Some water seemed to affect that thing, only for the rest of it to phase through it." He sighed.
"Any other stupid ideas?" Asuka asked in frustration.
"Asuka, just stop-" Braedey was cut off when he was knocked sideways by the Demon, sending him and Jaeger Prime flying through the air and crashing to the ground. "Ouch."
"Why don't we try to freeze it with something?" Linx now asked. That seemed to get Amy's attention, as she immediately began to run off to somewhere.
"Amy? Jaeger Giant, where are you going?" Kieron called, but got no answer. He then thought of what Linx said. "Matilda, Ritsuko. Are there any facilities in our area that supply low-level temperature fuels or coolant to SHIELD HQ?" He asked.
"Give us a second." Ritsuko replied. "Okay. There is one that provides supercooled liquid nitrogen to cool down the reactor cores of the Jaegers. It's about 5 klicks to the Northeast from your position."
"Well, it seems that Amy is making a beeline to that refinery." Kieron pointed out.
Amy made her way over towards the refinery, SHIELD agents surprised to see Jaeger Giant walking up to the facility. The Jaeger picked up one of the large storage tanks with its hands, now pulling it out of the ground, holding it in its hands, almost like a grenade or even a C4 explosive.
"Amy, be careful. That's supercooled liquid nitrogen made for Jaeger reactor cores. It can freeze you in less than 10 seconds if anyone's exposed to it without protection." Ritsuko advised to Amy.
Amy doesn't respond, and she began to walk away from the refinery to get back into the fight and to assist the other Jaegers and their pilots.
Back on the battlefield, Jaeger Prime was still jumping left and right, dodging each attack from the Demon, with Jaegers Eva, Gipsy, Crimson Dynamo, and even Champion Knight trying their best to even get close or try to slow down the Demon. But no matter what tactic they can do, this monster seemed just too hot to the touch.
"Stupid hothead Demon." Asuka fumed in frustration as she tried to get forward, but the heat coming from the beast was forcing her to recoil back. "Dammit!"
"Guys, I'm not sure I can keep this going." Braedey called, jumping over a gap of two mountains. "This is getting bad-" He was suddenly grabbed from behind, and got thrown into the ground with a thud, leaving an indent of Jaeger Prime in the Earth itself. Braedey groaned in pain, but as he got to his feet, he and Prime got assaulted by a wave of flames and heat, making him yell out in pain.
"Prime's being assaulted by the flames!" Kieron now began to Rin, Gipsy charging on forward with Crimson and Eva alongside him. The three mechs leaped forth at the Demon, only to end up going right through the beast, which didn't seem to be bothered by the attack, the three Jaegers falling to the ground. "Right. Kinda forgot about that." Kieron muttered.
"Guys! It's getting really hot in here! I think I'm burning up!" Braedey called out in pain.
"Lower synchronisation rate to minimum!" Matilda ordered. The damage to the Jaeger from the fire was getting worse, the LCL boiling up inside the Conn-Pod, alarms sounding off from the HUD system. "Place top priority on the pilot's safety! Force eject the Conn-Pod!" She ordered.
"We can't! We're losing connection!" Maya replied.
"If the pilot is taken out, he'll be incinerated." Ritsuko then spoke up. "First priority is cooling the LCL in the Conn-Pod! Get the temperature down to 67°F at once. Boost Drivesuit life support to maximum power!" She ordered at once.
Amy, who was now closing in on the battlefield, she could hear what was going on over the Comms. She can also hear the sound of Braedey yelling out in pain. Something inside of her suddenly snapped, her eyes widening for a moment then they narrowed, and she began to charge on forward at the Demon. Jaeger Giant leaped into the air with the storage tank in hand, getting the Demon's attention, and the Jaeger threw the tank at the beast. The storage tank crashed into the chest of the beast, a wall of smoke concealing the Demon from sight. As the smoke finally cleared, there stood the Demon, now frozen in liquid nitrogen and with its flames extinguished, leaving only its body as a dark grey and white form.
With its body frozen and now tangible, Jaeger Giant deployed its cannon arm, and fired a multitude of energy blasts in quick succession at the frozen Demon, making it disintegrate and fall to the ground in a pile of dust and rock, leaving only its footprints.
Braedey breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly sat up. He looked to the other Jaegers as they got to their feet, some of them nodding their heads to one another. Braedey turned his head to look over at Jaeger Giant, who has a hand out to him. Braedey brought Prime's arm over to Giant, taking the latter's hand, and Giant helped Prime up to his feet.
"You good, Martin?" Linx called in.
"I'm fine. Just a little heated up." Braedey joked, the others sharing a small laugh in response. Braedey now turned Prime to Giant. "Amy, thank you for saving my life. I owe you one." He thanked to her.
Jaeger Prime soon walked away with the other Jaegers back towards the launch platforms to head down back into SHIELD HQ. As they do so, Amy stood by as she looked at Jaeger Prime, her eyes watching as the red/blue Titan was now descending down the lift to its bay. Braedey's words seemed to resonate in her head as she watched on.
"You're welcome..." Amy whispered to herself, a tiny smile slowly forming on her face.
~*~*~
Later, all the Jaegers were back in their hangar bays and were undergoing some repairs, Jaeger Prime having some of its armour being replaced/exchanged for new parts due to being exposed to so much heat from the Demon. It was definitely something else to record in for the historical records. In addition, the Research and Development sector opted to go and experiment on the idea of liquid nitrogen grenades due to the actions Jaeger Giant performed today.
Braedey sighed to himself as he's in the change room, taking off his helmet and putting it back into his locker. He shook his head; fortunately, he wasn't hurt from the heat of the beast. He made his way out of the locker room, now seeing Amy standing nearby.
"Amy. What brings you out here?" Braedey asked with a little bit of surprise in his voice. "Did Shawn, Linx, Dr. Ritsuko, or any of the others ask you to tell me what's going on?"
Amy slowly walked up to Braedey, her eyes looking at him like he's an open book. Then, rather unexpectedly, she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a gentle embrace. Braedey was rather surprised by this action from Amy: he never expected that she would do this to anyone, let alone him. Braedey now wrapped his arms around Amy gently, the two holding their embrace for a while. It's strange yet calming for the two pilots.
Nearby, Matilda and Ritsuko noticed the interaction between both the First and Third Rookies. It was a bit surprising to Ritsuko, since she knows that Amy's emotions have been suppressed by order from James. However, it seems that the time being around Braedey and the others, those emotions have slowly started to come back up. Even showing something as simple as a smile was a sign of her emotions being revealed. Now, this embrace to Braedey was another milestone in Ritsuko's mind. For Matilda, meanwhile, she's curious as to why Amy chose Braedey; it's possible that he bears his 'father's' DNA or so, or maybe it's something else.
The two older women weren't the only ones to notice Braedey and Amy hugging one another: Shawn also noticed this, and he wrote it down in a notebook he has in hand, recording events over the last few months. Once done that, he headed off to see the others, who were talking to the Valhalla Brothers about the recent event.
"Have to say, that fire beast really had you guys." Scorcher smirked. "Good thing you had Iron Giant on hand to assist."
"Yeah. I never would've thought liquid nitrogen could work on that thing." Kieron nodded.
"By the way, before this whole thing happened, you said that you and your buddies had some design plans of a few weapons that you came up with." Linx asked.
"Oh! Right, right." Scorcher looked to Imperator, who got them from his Cadillac and handed them to the former. Scorcher puts one of them down on the table, and unrolled it, revealing the outline of some kind of axe with a blunt end on the back. "This is design one."
"Talk about an axe." Nick nodded. "Looks like it'll do more than just chop down trees." He joked.
"This'll be perfect: has rocket engines in the blunt end to give it more thrust during a swing, plus the head can turn 180° on a spin to perform a backswing." Imperator explained to them. "A blade sharp enough to cut a building like a hot knife through butter, and made out of a mix of Tungsten, Lead, Platinum, and Silver."
"What's the name?" Hawk asked curiously.
Scorcher smirked. "Stormbreaker." He replied, Sheeva feeling a chill go down her spine when she heard that.
"Wow." Shawn noted. "What else you got there?" He asked.
So, as an offer and a token of welcoming in the Valhalla Brothers to SHIELD, Nash offered to purchase the blueprints of the new weapons, in exchange for anything that could link to HYDRA, Death Wish, MECH, or the Demons, and Scorcher and his group can stay at the base, with their machines getting retrofitted parts to help them out, as well as anything else they'd like.
The Valhalla Brothers are now a trusted ally to the Jaeger pilots and to SHIELD.
~*~*~
A/N: Scorcher belongs to RickyArgueta60