Team 5 No. 3: Staring Stature

## The Story

Inside a massive garage, an armored truck is lifted down by chains. Steven in his welding mask and oil covered apron, tugs a chain across a bar, lowering an engine into the mechanical beast. After he puts it in place and connects everything, he hops in the suspended truck, inserting the key and praying that it would work, but just before he does Maya walks in, he slumps back in his seat, stolen away mere seconds from greatness.

He hops out, asking her why she came all this way for little ol’ him. She punches him in the gut jokingly and reluctantly saying that she missed him, like it was a sin to say it outloud. He lets out a big “Awww” before giving her a kiss and hopping back in his frankenstein of a truck, asking her if she wants a ride.

She roles her eyes and reaches her hand up, with Steven yanking her in and closing the door.

“You ready?”

“What is it, a bomb? Start it already”

He puts his hand on the keys but yet again, us interrupted by the door swinging open. He groans and slumps back in his chair once more, but this time, its Boss. Maya shutters,

He leans down to fit through the doorway, his hand gripping the top of the doorway and his cloak floating across the ground. It had almost been 2 years since they had seen him, his stature still as towering as ever. He doest waste time,

“Steven, you are needed.”

“Boss, It's been two years. You- …”

“Have been very busy. I trust that you have all been doing the same? Training? Improving yourselves? What I have been doing is irrelevant. There is work to be done.”

“What is it this time.” Steven says coldly

“A bigger threat, greater than that thing living with Green. Is it under control yet?”

“She. she's a woman, and she's been fine.”

He looks back at Maya, then back as Boss, the tall cloaked being standing there like an image from a horror movie, but something you couldn't look away from. He moves out of the truck and walks towards Boss into the living room out of sight. Maya sits in the truck quietly, feeling safer not to be standing near Boss.

Mitsumi, Elliot and Michael wait for Steven, grabbing his armor so they could get it over with quicker.

“What is it this time.” Michael says looking up at Boss.

“Perhaps the most difficult being you lot have ever had to combat.”

“Specifics Boss.” Mitsumi speaks up.

Boss tilts his head down, and breaths in,

“I met a traveler from an antique land. One who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone, Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! ...Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Bosses soothing yet sharp words pierced the group, Michael recognizes the poem, and asks if it was real, then Boss twists his head to Michael,

“Am I real?”

Michael and everyone else knew this wasn't a question, it was an answer. They head to the helicopter without another word,

“By the way, you have a new pilot. Please take better care of him than before.” Boss says as he walks back to the facility door. The step in and see the pilot take out his walkie talkie,

“Hello Hello fellow fabled ‘Team 5’ I'll be your pilot and it's gonna be a long, long while. Next stop, the Greek desserts!”

The team unanimously groans and lays into a comfortable position to get ready for the long night ahead. Michael’s eyes sputter open, awaking above a cold desert word. He gets up and looks out the door of the helicopter, watching the blue sand fly past him as they continue on their trek.

Later that night they finally land in the middle of nowhere, dunes the shapes of waves surrounding them at all sides. Boss comes back on the radio, telling them humans cannot enter without breaking the spell binded to the area.

Elliot laughs and tells Boss to point him in a direction and he’ll walk, but Boss ignores him and tells Michael to repeat what he says.

“Stous megálous kai stous dynatoús, tha proskynísoume me athánati evgnomosýni ton vasiliá ólon ton vasiliádon mas”

After the message, Boss says it's open and that they are able to go through the portal. They head back into the helicopter and head forward, the night sky exceedingly darker as they get closer and closer to their destination.

Soon enough, they finally make it but are unable to see anything due to the dark abyss of the desert night sky. The crew grip the hand laches on the helicopter, waiting for something to happen. The pilot turns on the light on the helicopter brighter, hoping that he would see something, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Then soon, a giant stone hand reaches for the helicopter, hitting the fans and taking them into a downward spiral. They all hit the roof of the helicopter, with mitsumi’s katana flying away from her.

She kicks off the wall and swipes at it while they fall, finally grabbing it and taking everyone down to the sandy floor below them safely.

The land on the ground, looking up to expecting death, but what appears seems worse. Proving Boss right, there stands a giant statue from a far lost time. It goes quite before putting both its hands on the ground and bending down to look at the group, his low rumbling voice booms.

“My Name Is OZYMANDIAS! KING. OF. **KINGS!**”

He slams his fist down, shaking the earth. Mitsumi jumps up on top of one of Ozymandias’s arms, running up and slashing down at the shoulder, cutting it in half and dropping onto the desert ground in a loud boom and crash.

As if it felt nothing, a black goo spurts out of the shoulder and connects the arm, slinging it back onto his body making it whole again.

“Thy kind no NOTHING of gratitude!”

Michael stands tall and looks at the giant statue head on, with shaky breath he speaks to him,

“Ozymandias! We have been sent to end you for the sake of humanity! It would be wise to not put up a fight!”

Everyone freezes then stares at Michael with the most ‘Dude what the fuck did you do’ eyes in the world.

“Sent here? Phf!” He looms closer, getting close to the small human “What thou reason to send Humans to end an immovable statue? Bound by an unseeing curse no less!”

The group stare up at Ozymandias and back down at Michael waiting for him to answer, but Michael has no answer, neither does any of the group members.

“Nothing? You know not of your commander’s intentions?”

“...”

“Thy reached an ending to this, pitiful attempt to end me? Or shall we have ourselves a battle, worth the STARS RECOGNITION?”

He raises his fist then pounds down at the group, with Mitsumi holding her katana in front of it, trusting herself that she is strong enough to block it. The fist lands down, but is rippled in half by Mitsumi, cracking the arm open and leaking black goo out of it.

The goo starts to form again, but Mitsumi sees this and tries to slash at it too, but only gets so far until it grabs onto her, lifting her up with the deep black liquid. Michael rushes to catch her and pull her down but he's not fast enough and she is lifted hundreds of feet in the air. Elliot turns on his flashlight, pointing it at the black goo and raising his hand, turning the dim light into a bright flash aimed at the dark moving goo.

Ozymandias screams in pain, trying to block the light with his other hand, but is unable to save himself from the scolding hot pain. Mitsumi is let go, but couldn't get her katana unstuck before she starts to fall.

A snap rings across the desert, and MItsumi has died

Steven makes a run for it, sliding under the giant behemoth to pick up Mitsumi’s corpse and her katana to a safe spot for reanimation. He lays her broken body down behind a dune, and gets to work, pulling his sleeve up and laying his hand on her heart.

A bright yellow flash sparks and the two snakes slither into her chest. The first thing to come back is her legs, snapping back in place as ligaments rejoin, next is her ribs, then spine, then skull.

She lunges up and then falls over again, having to get used to her legs again. With a mouth full of sand, she thanks Steven and limps back to the fight. Michael is trying to get the pilot to a safe area before he gets hurt, telling him that he doesn't need to be a hero, and that he needs to stay alive.

The group rejoined together, standing in front of the now majorly pissed off Ozymandias. Elliot and MItsumi decide to put their ideas together, taping his flashlight onto her katana as Elliot raises his arm, continuing to boost light into the object, making it exceedingly bright.

As she cuts into the thick stone, Ozymandias is unable to heal in time, making quick work of him as she slashes across his body, soon putting him down as he crumbles.

The giant oozes the black ink as he no longer moves on the ground, finally succumbing to his wounds. The team call for exfil as teh start walking away from the statue, thankful that there long night is over.

…but…someone wouldn't be ready to be put down like that so quickly…

A bright golden flash lights up the dark sand as a loud boom puts them to their feet. They turn around and are shocked at what they see. An golden, older man, with a crack down his featureless face, and orange runes all across his body, begins to descend from the giant statue.

The team is frozen in shock.

“Ahhhh…humans…thy kind has proven me wrong once more, you endless abominations that feast on this, great world. Thy kind will be CRUSHED! Under **MY HEEL!** Oh! The stars will beckon me! And they will **GLOW!** After I put your kind out like a sputtering flame…Farewell…”

This golden soul of Ozymandias bursts forwards, parting the ground as he does so. Aiming for the harmless pilot, Mitsumi cuts in front of him, putting her katana where he would have punched. Pure power is put onto her joints, as his punch could shatter the body of anyone.

“Ahhh..aha-ahHAHHAA! Now this! This is a fight worth the stars recognition!

He spreads his arms apart as if he was holding the air, and as he flexes his joints, the night sky glows bright colors with the stars beaming as bright as ever, lighting up the sand, even beneath the deepest smog.

The sky becomes almost blinding, Ozymandias looks back down to the small Mitsumi, backing his fist back and slamming it down into her katana, over, and over, and over again as he laughs.

“What is this! Something I can't destroy? No matter human, you will not last long.”

He continents to punch harder and harder, as she screams for help, her muscles starting to give out. Ozymandias lifts his arm up higher, ready to give the real final blow, but before he could, Steven steps in the way.

Remarkably, Steven catches his fist with both of his hands, his snakes wrapping around Ozymandias’s arms, Steven looks up with hate-filled eyes as he shoots Ozymandias back into the statue

Out of the dust, he walks back out, kicking himself forward at Steven, ready to see his worth.

More of the power was on Ozymandias, as Steven could block the juggernaut more than hit him. Ozymandias soon kicks Steven back like a used toy, now looking upon the pilot.

He starts to slowly walk twords him as he tries to back away.

“He- Hey, Im not looking for a fight, I-I didnt do anything-”

“**Silence.**”

He kicks up, and slams down into the earth, splattering blood across the sand

Micheal takes a breath of horror as Ozymandais looks upon him next. Mitsumi yells and slices at Ozymandias at the thought of Michael getting hurt. Mitsumi takes a clean cut at his neck, but it doesn't go all the way through, she slices across getting it dislodged, but Ozymandias feels nothing.

Michael, seeing no way out, takes a risky move,

“Ozymandais!”

He snaps back at Michael, moving his entire body to face him.

“Are you a man of literature?”

Ozymandias stands there, thinking of the days of his civilization, and how much he wrote and taught.

“Indeed, what for”

“What have you written?”

“Yes, plenty, Euripides, Republic of Plato, Antigone, Electra…”

“Ah yeah, Great scriptures, I did not know you wrote them, but now I do understand why they are so fantastic”

“What? YOU, human, to read MY scriptures? Incomprehensible.”

“No, no, i did yes, a work of art it is”

Ozymandias’s muscles loosen as he becomes more calm.

“Well, if that is so, what's thy most favorable among my collection”

“Republic of Plato, by far”

“Ah! Good taste I see!”

Mitsumi stands in complete amazement at how Michael sweet talked a literal god. They continue to talk about great literature and the arts, sharing their favorites and dislikes of both. At the end, Ozymandias becomes fond of Michael, saying that he enjoys his taste.

Michael responds in with gratitude and thanking him for allowing him to spread is knowledge, they both laugh,

“Ahh human Michael, you are one worth of my time and gratitude, I shall be leaving, for thy planet should live on with thou roaming in it, farewell…human Michael, and to the arts.”

Ozymandias floats up in the air and vanishes in a burst of light. Leaving the team in complete awe.

Mitsumi runs up and hugs him,

“Holy shit Mikey! I really thought that was it!”

Michael lets out a sigh of relief, and hugs M back, soon laying on the ground of the cold sand to await another helicopter.

They make it back home as they walk down the hallways with Boss, thanking them in their venture to save humanity, with a small touch of anger in his voice.

They return to their dorms, and as the group rests and goes to bed, Steven puts his hand on Elliot's shoulder, telling him he needs a favor. They both make it back downstairs to the facility, with Elliot making them both invisible, they walk around aimlessly until Steven finds Maya’s office.

The door quietly swings open, seeing it close behind them. Leaving Elliot out outside.

“Maya, what do you know about Boss.”

She turns around, groggy and sleep deprived.

“What? Why?”

“Just trust me, alright? Does he have any routines, any place he often visits?”

“The girls say he hangs around the unfinished wing near hall 4B, but why Steven, you're kinda scaring me.”

Steven takes a deep breath

“I'm just being nosey, that's all, I doubt there is some hidden agenda.”

“Well don't count on the info,  people make shit up to scare each other.”

Steven thanks Maya with a kiss, and walks out, telling Elliot to go back to his room, and that he can peek around by himself. Elliot nods his head and disappears, leaving only Steven and his thoughts in a big empty labyrinth.

Some close calls of getting caught by some guards and scientists before making it to the unfinished wing. He pats the walls looking for creases or uneven walls, until seeing skid mark on the floor near a pallet holder.

He pulls it open to find a larger room, filled with artifacts and books upon books. Steven closes the fake door before diving deep into this treasure trove he has found. He looks on a desk, seeing holy artifacts, golden effigies and the like.

He opens a book next to him and he flips through drawings of holy beings, one with a familiar shape on its face, with massive wings and a suit of armor. He keeps looking, seeing many many drawings of similar beings.

He keeps going through the book until he finds notes dating back to the 1800’s, his curiosity peaks as he keeps reading, but stops in horror.

“I have fallen far, to humanity, I will kill them all, every last one. My love is gone and it's their fault. I hope Michael gets what he deserves, and father, I wish him the worst death of all. He never believed in me, he never loved me, he only loves Jesus and Michael, his projects. I will reap them from heaven and bring them down to my level, and I will make them suffer.”

Like a sledge hammer, Steven's psyche is broken. He drops the book and runs back to Maya’s office, stopping at the door, hesitating on the door knob. He pulls it open.

“You find anything, Indiana?” She says sarcastically as she swings around in her chair facing him.

“Nope, all clear.”

\*After Credits Page\*

The tower.

A lighter.

An explosion. And **Malicious** laughter in the darkness

Mitsumi wakes up in his dark bedroom breathing heavily next to Michael, she looks down rubbing his head and kissing it as she gets out of bed.

The hallway light seeps into the bedroom as she opens the door, revealing the horns on her head.