Three years have passed since the birth of The New Heroes.
Now, explosions and screams of despair could be heard as only a couple of them stood in a bloody battlefield.
A squad member of The New Heroes, with his back against the ground, breathed deeply. "I want to see my family," he mumbled. He clutched his arm socket, where his shoulder used to be. He slowly bled a puddle and stared at the sky.
It was a dark and cloudy day.
A cyborg, with red eyes, appeared. She loomed over him and raised her laser gun. Without a second thought, she pointed the barrel at his head.
The member, losing his sanity, laughed. "How cruel," he stuttered. In an instant, his vision blurred. Everything seemed to fade into darkness.
Simultaneously, Pepe and the rest of his squad took cover behind a few destroyed walls. They waited for reinforcements.
Pepe reached for his radio and demanded to know, "Where are they? What happened to our reinforcements?" His voice was deeper, and his hair was longer. Considered a teenager, he was now thirteen years old.
As a gunshot cracked in the background, a woman, stationed at the military base, revealed, "Sorry, Pepe. The reinforcements were killed on the way."
A laser gun charged behind her head.
The woman warned, "The Evil Cyborgs are too powerful. You should retreat. Just not here." She covered her mouth and sobbed.
The sound of a blast was transmitted, and the radio went static.
Pepe was speechless. "Was our military base raided," he wondered.
Suddenly, a cyborg lunged at his position. A closer look revealed its mechanical upgrades.
Pepe jumped out of the way and clenched his teeth.
The cyborg crashed into the wall and destroyed it with a laser blast, revealing Pepe's injured squadmates on the ground.
"Hydro Beam," Pepe shouted and threw water out of his hands.
Hydro Beam collided and exploded into a cloud of smoke. The water entered the cyborg's systems and fried them.
The cyborg, frazzled, wailed in pain.
Pepe kicked him away. He panted and kneeled beside the fallen bodies of his comrades. He checked on them. He clenched his fists and scowled. "They will pay for their crimes," he declared. He glared ahead.
At the same time, Commander Darius achieved connection with Pepe's radio. "I have new orders for you, Pepe. The New Heroes will continue to flank without any reinforcements," he commanded.
Pepe felt like his heart sank. He panted harder out of frustration. "Sir, more of my squad will die," he expressed.
"Follow my orders," Commander Darius asserted.
Pepe reluctantly obliged, and his hands trembled. He made a fist and raised it. He rallied, "Everyone, it's now or never! Let's finish this, now! Advance!" He charged into the fray.
Scattered across the field, The New Heroes listened, and they were hesitant. Still, they saw Pepe charge forward, so they could not falter, now. As a spectacle, they rose up and pursued the cyborg army.
Lasers were shot towards them.
Pepe dodged side to side and ran across the field.
Out of her hands, one of his soldiers materialized and threw pieces of ice back. She had mastered her elemental weapon.
In fact, everyone in humanity's special squad had absorbed their elemental weapons.
Just then, a Laser Beam shot through the female soldier.
The female soldier fell and rolled on the ground.
It proved their faltering mortality rate and failures in the last three years. Not even mastering an elemental weapon was enough to defeat The Evil Cyborgs.
In a flash, many of The New Heroes were hit with lasers and collapsed. They quickly succumbed to their wounds and perished.
Pepe was dismayed. His eyes were wide. "We cannot give up," he told himself. He wanted to cry, and his sprint slowed along with his spirit. He halted and leaned against a ruined wall. He wiped off his tears and calmed himself down. He leaped over the wall and continued his charge with determination. He groaned in anger and yelled, "It isn't over. For our fallen friends, we will defeat all of you!"
With a shout, the survivors of The New Heroes reached and confronted the cyborgs. After a long and difficult battle, they were able to flank their adversaries away.
A while later, the survivors set up a camp and rested.
In one of the tents, Pepe bandaged his arm. He utilized it to block lasers, so burns covered his entire arm. "Ow," he winced in pain.
Hafen walked in and looked at him with a serious expression. "What happened to our reinforcements," he questioned.
"They died on the way," Pepe answered.
"What were you thinking sending us to battle? More of us would have survived if we had retreated," Hafen argued.
"I simply followed Commander Darius's orders," Pepe commented. He exited the tent and sighed.
Outside, Stark approached and handed him a paper with the names of the fallen comrades.
Behind him, Lucius and Matteo held a recent corpse of a female soldier.
"I often think what going back home would be like after all of this. I could not save her, and I will never be the same. Why are my efforts always in vain," Lucius solemnly asked.
The corpse was the same soldier that shot ice throughout the battle.
"She still needed to be added to the list," Stark looked down and remarked.
Pepe teared up. "Our efforts are not in vain," he claimed. His lie was obvious.
Lasers caused irreparable damage. Most burns caused by them were too severe.
The couple in the squad, Aaron and Bridget, were grateful that they had survived, and they hugged each other warmly.
Aaron glared at Pepe. "Pepe, how many more need to die for our freedom? We have fought the most dangerous battles long enough," he interrogated.
Wiping his tears, Pepe reassured, "You will have your freedom after the war." He sighed and continued, "We can't stop, now. If we do, then, all of their deaths would have been truly meaningless."
Aaron grumbled. "Instead of freedom, you want more of our bloody bodies in the battlefield," he accused. He was frantic, and his hair was disheveled.
"Hey! Watch what you say to our leader," Stark threatened.
"You have no authority over me, kid," he shouted.
"Don't fight," Matteo implored.
"Aaron is right. Even though it was Commander Darius' orders, I should have done something else. I failed to protect my soldiers as a squad leader. I'm sorry. Because of me, you got stuck with the most insufferable fights," Pepe elaborated, and tears rolled down his cheeks. His face conveyed sincerity.
Stark and Aaron were stunned.
"What are we going to do next," Matteo inquired.
"We're going to The Capital. I'm going to have a word with the supreme commander," Pepe sniffed and sternly declared.
At The Capital, the remaining members of The New Heroes walked through the streets.
People celebrated their return. They cheered with high praise. Cameras pointed to humanity's strongest soldiers.
A kid with light green hair tried to push through the crowd to see them.
The New Heroes were massively injured, but they walked with purpose. Each step defined their impeccable survival.
The kid watched in awe.
Upon their victory, The New Heroes have arrived at The Capital once more. How will Pepe's conversation with Commander Darius go?