Pepe looked around and confirmed the overwhelming forces of bloodthirsty cyborgs. He gritted his teeth and raised his fist. "I reject our odds of defeat! Let's fight our way back to our boat," he commanded with widely opened eyes.
The New Heroes affirmed with no other choice. They charged and shouted.
In the front lines, Stark growled and ran. He leaped into the air and yelled, "Argh!" Sand blew away into the air.
The Evil Cyborgs flinched and braced themselves.
Stark punched a cyborg in the head and pushed it into the sand.
Buried and held down, the cyborg flailed his arms and legs.
Stark grasped his metallic head and lifted him out.
The cyborg spat out grains of sand with gasps of air.
Stark glared with piercing eyes. He spun and launched him towards the other cyborgs.
The cyborg collided with his malevolent comrades.
The hit cyborgs stumbled back and grunted. Afterwards, they charged their laser guns and fired.
Stark quickly touched the sand with his hands, energy transferring to the sand from them. "Spikes! Rise," he urgently screamed out. He jumped back and evaded oncoming lasers with a serious expression.
Underneath the feet of his enemies, the sand transformed into solid rock. Spikes of rock rose and impaled the legs of the cyborgs.
As the spikes stabbed them, the cyborgs were deterred and restrained. They groaned in pain.
An explosion of energy and a cloud of smoke emerged.
Stark menacingly stomped forward.
With a communication device in her headgear, a cyborg crawled away without her legs and alerted, "We need more help over here!" She bled out shortly after.
"We'll be right there," Commander Number 3 reassured.
In the meantime, Matteo focused his energy and faced a group of cyborgs. He grunted and clasped his palms together, building heat up with pressure and energy.
Just then, a laser pierced his gut, and blood gushed out.
Keeping his hold, Matteo stumbled back and winced in pain. He glanced down, and his eyes watered. He looked ahead and muttered, "That's not nice. It hurts."
The cyborgs loomed closer and grinned wickedly. They charged their laser guns and fired.
Matteo readied his legs and ran around, dodging the lasers. His wound rapidly regenerated. "Let's see how you like my own lasers," he announced behind them.
The cyborgs turned around, and their eyes widened. Their mouths parted open in disbelief.
Matteo swiftly stepped forward and leaned forward with his arms back. His hands were closed until he swung his arms forward. He threw sparks of a fire out of his hands. "Embers! Fired," he exclaimed with a slight smirk.
The sparks of a fire traversed through the air at high speed. Substituting for bullets or lasers, they pierced the cyborgs. They also melted them as a side effect.
The cyborgs frantically tried to make it stop. They stumbled back and forth. On the ground, they writhed in pain until it subsided.
Matteo paced closer and stared at their conscious bodies. "Why are you so evil for," he queried with a curious expression.
At the same time, Hafen walked to the boat in a calm and serious manner. His hands were in his pockets.
Cyborgs ran towards him and halted. They aimed their laser guns and sneered with bad intentions.
"You'll die here," one of them declared.
Hafen turned to them with a fierce glare. He took out his hands and spread out his fingers. In a flash, energy flowed through his arms.
"Who are these guys," a skinny cyborg questioned, and a bead of sweat trickled down his temple.
The cyborgs nervously gulped and fired relentlessly.
Hafen's eyes glowed and moved around. They tracked the laser bombardment. He nonchalantly hopped and avoided them. "Your aim is thrash," he insulted and ducked under a laser. He smirked.
As the lasers missed, smoke filled the area.
The cyborgs clenched their teeth and murmured in frustration.
"Did we get him," one of them queried.
In the smoke, Hafen held his breath. He jumped into the air and moved his arms together. His energy flowed to his hands, and his palms faced the cyborgs. "Hydro Beam," he muttered.
A beam of water shot from his palms. It travelled out of the smoke and cleared it.
Activating their scanners, the cyborgs looked up, and their eyes opened wide with fear. They were blasted away with an explosion of water.
A cyborg laid on the sand and trembled. "The water is so painful," he complained. His inside systems fried, and he perished.
Hafen landed and wiped off water from his hands. "Unlucky of you to attempt murder on me," he asserted with an apathetic expression.
Slowly, Stark, Matteo, and Hafen of the squad's front lines paved the way back to the boat. Will they be able to make it back safely?
Meanwhile, Pepe rallied the rest of The New Heroes, and they charged into the fray. Their energy flowed throughout the battlefield and meshed.
A soldier pointed his index finger. He shot a dart of poison from it.
The dart of poison impaled a cyborg, and poison spread across his body.
Another soldier's fist grew, and he smashed through a horde of cyborgs.
Pepe frowned and created a large rock out of thin air and energy. He launched it at a cyborg.
The large rock crushed the cyborg and exploded.
Another cyborg fired his laser gun.
Pepe moved to the side of the laser's trajectory. His arm rapidly elongated and grasped the cyborg's arm.
In an instant, the cyborg was electrocuted.
"Our reinforcements are here! We'll kill our intruders now," a cyborg, in the backlines, called out.
From Starkport City and Hopeshire Fort, thousands of cyborgs rushed towards The New Heroes.
Commander Number 3 led the charge, and he reached for his giant laser gun.
The entire army of The Evil Cyborgs were here...
Pepe growled and clenched his teeth out of desperation. "Fight back, everyone! For humanity's survival! For our own survival," he commanded.
"Kill them with our spiral formation," Commander Number 3 firmly ordered.
As a spectacle, the cyborgs quickly affirmed and obeyed. They lined up and surrounded The New Heroes in a spiral formation. It stretched across the shore and beyond, on the grass.
Predicting their foes' next move, Pepe gazed around and groaned in frustration. He placed his hands on the sand and closed his eyes. His face wrinkled with full concentration.
"Now, fire," Commander Number 3 demanded and sneered.
Each of the sinister cyborgs locked in on one of the humans, and they fired lasers simultaneously.
The New Heroes were completely taken aback and caught off guard. Their brows rose with horror.
At that moment, Pepe opened his eyes with pure determination and shouted.
The ground trembled and shook. The sand, underneath The New Heroes, transformed into solid rock. As a feat, it quickly rose and created a small cliff.
The New Heroes jolted off the rock and back down.
Lasers missed and pierced the small cliff. They flew to the other side and hit cyborgs stuck in the crossfire.
With a stern expression, Commander Number 3 did not care about their losses.
The Evil Cyborgs stepped back in amazement.
On the small cliff, Stark looked down and commended, "Well done, Pepe."
Pepe remained on his knees and breathed heavily. He gave his comrades a thumbs up.
Aaron and Bridget sighed in relief.
Commander Number 3 gazed over the small cliff and remarked, "What interesting foes." He looked at his army and chuckled. He ordered, "Number 68, aim north and up fifty-four degrees, from your eye level."
Number 68 flinched and regained her composure. She nodded and did as she was told.
"Good. Now, let's kill one of them. Fire," Commander Number 3 urged with a malicious smirk.
After defeating the cyborgs on the cliff, The New Heroes rested and strategized for a second before going back to battle.
"How are we going to deal with that giant one? He's looking straight at us," Lucius pointed out with sand stuck to his cheek.
The New Heroes glared at Commander Number 3.
Suddenly, a laser emerged from the ground and pieced through a soldier's heart.
The soldier immediately collapsed dead.
"Andrew," Pepe yelled.
No response. This marked their first casualty.
Aaron panicked and urged, "We have to get to the boat!" He grabbed Bridget's wrist and pulled.
Pepe struggled to stand up. "Aaron, let's stick together," he demanded.
Bridget reluctantly followed, and her eyes widened. "Wait," she pleaded and yanked his hand off.
A cyborg's hand grappled the edge of the cliff. He pulled himself up alongside others.
Aaron finally noticed and froze in place. He turned back, and his face darkened.
Cyborgs cornered and surrounded the couple from all sides. Persistent, more cyborgs climbed up the small cliff and continued their fight with The New Heroes.
"Push through, everyone," Pepe ordered and rallied.
With Aaron nearby, Bridget focused and sparked flames out of her hands. She sniffed and teared up. "I don't want to die," she cried and launched a ball of fire at the looming cyborgs.
A large fire engulfed the cyborgs. Smoke blocked the vision of the other cyborgs.
The burning cyborgs shrieked in pain and lunged at Bridget. They exploded with a large mass of energy.
An explosion sent Bridget and Aaron in opposite directions.
Round one has finished, and round two is ongoing. Commander Number 3 has proven again why he is the tactician and leader of The Evil Cyborgs. How will The New Heroes defeat him? Separated from the others and each other, how will Aaron and Bridget fight and survive for their future, together? With their numbers dwindling by one, will The New Heroes continue to lose more lives and simply fail to survive?