GODLING’s WORLD # 5: DESTROY! DESTROY! part 1

GODLING’s WORLD #  5:  DESTROY! DESTROY! part 1 
by J. Vandersteen 


–        Godling & Agent Destruction in:  DESTROY! DESTROY! Part 1 


Professor Quentin Alexander sits at the desk in his apartment. He is holding a red pen and grading papers. He thinks, Man, I’m behind on this. With trying to show up to teach and fighting villains and aliens I just don’t have a lot of time for this stuff anymore. 
        There is huge bang that startles him. BA-BOOM! 
        What was that, he wonders. He changes into his Godling identity. Sounded like something I have to investigate. 

* 
Two floors below Quentin’s apartment. A kid, looking about ten years old sits in front of the TV, watching Ben 10. His mom, a coffee-coloured woman is ironing a shirt. There’s a hole where the wall used to be. Standing behind the hole is a rocky looking, monstrous man with skin that looks like a camouflaged tank. He’s wearing red boots, red shorts and a yellow, thick utility belt. He has no nose, no visible ears but glowing red eyes. 
        “Allah! What is that?!” the woman says. The boy just screams. 
        “The boy comes with me and nobody gets hurt,’’ the monster says with a gravelly voice. 
        The door flies open, Godling coming in through it. “What’s going on here?” 
        “Godling? Just stay away from this. This is not your business,” the monster says. 
        “Seems to me you are threatening an innocent woman and child,” Godling says. “That kind of makes it my business.” 
        “I’m not a villain. I’m on official Homeland Security business. I have to take this kid into custody to save our country.” 
        Godling balls a fist. “That sounds like a bunch of nonsense. Leave these people alone and you won’t be hurt… Much.” 
        “Sorry. I can’t be stopped. Make way for AGENT DESTRUCTION!” the monster says and fires two red rays from his eyes at the Olympian Prophet. 
        The hero takes the rays on his mighty chest, channelling the invulnerability of Achilles, thus staying unharmed. The impact has him crashing into the wall, though, leaving a crack in there. 
        “I warned you,” he says and with superspeed runs into Agent Destruction, carrying him through the hole in the wall, outside. 
        Since they are on the third floor they drop down. When they land Godling is saved by the invulnerability of Achilles. Agent Destruction seems to be pretty much invulnerable by way of his constitution and skin. Where he landed cracks appear in the pavement. 
        “So war it is,” Agent Destruction says and hits Godling with so much force the One Man Pantheon flies through the air, crashing into a car that breaks in half. The hero removes himself from the car parts that surround him, panting. 
        “I’m going to destroy you! Destroy! Destroy!” the monster says and starts to fire some rays again. 
        The rays hit another car that blows up. Godling barely missing the hero. 
        “Two can play that game,” Godling says and throws a lightning bolt at Agent Destruction. The bolt hits the monster, smoke coming from his chest, but he is still standing. 
        “DESTROY! DESTROY!” the monster yells and walks towards Godling, fist raised. 
        It seems like he is getting angrier, more animalistic by the second, Godling notices. Who or what is this thing? 
        Agent Destruction hits Godling, but he uses the fighting skills of Ares to duck the blow, following up with a Heracles punch in the monster’s gut. Destruction stumbles a step back, that’s it. Heracles gives the monster an uppercut. Destructions stumbles back some more. 
        “CRUSH! CRUSH!” Destruction says and wraps his arms around Godling, trying to crush him. 
        * 
There’s a helicopter above their fight scene. A pilot, two soldiers and a man in a captain’s uniform are inside. 
        “What the hell is Agent Destruction doing? He’s supposed to get the kid, not fight with a frigging superhero!” the captain says. He’s a buff black guy with a handlebar moustache. 
        “Do you want us to help him out?” a soldier asks, holding up an AR-15 rifle. 
        “You don’t really think you can take on Godling, do you?” the captain  says. 
        “But, captain Daniels… We can’t just watch and…” the soldier starts to interject. 
        “That’s right. We won’t. We’ll get the kid while Destruction keeps the hero busy,” captain Daniels says. 
        “It looks like we’ll have to be fast, though. Seems like Agent Destruction if facing his limits,” the pilot says, pointing down. 

* 

Agent Destruction has Godling in a bear hug, trying to crush him. Cracks start to appear in his skin, the cracks are glowing with something that resembles molten lava. Instead of yelling he now is just growling. 
        “ROOOOOOOOOWRRRRR!” 
        I don’t know what’s going on, but it looks like he’s breaking apart or something, Godling thinks. Time to get out of this. 
        The One Man Pantheon covers himself with flames, channelling the powers of Hephaestus. Agent Destruction’s stony skin singes… He lets go of Godling. 
* 
The two soldiers jump out of the plane with parachutes. They land on the street, taking off their parachutes and arms ready enter the apartment building. 
        In the helicopter captain Daniels tells the pilot, “Agent Destruction is going to expire if we don’t shut him off. Do it.” 
        The pilot presses a button on his helicopter. 
        Agent Destruction slowly starts to change, the glowing eyes and strange skin disappearing, his inhumanly big physique turning into that of a regular human’s. What is left standing is a regular human male with brown hair. He looks tired. 
        “What did I just see happening?” Godling wondered aloud. 
        “You saw me change back, that’s what you saw,” the man said. 
         
* 
“Sergeant Perlin seems to be okay,” the pilot told captain Daniels. 
        “Good, land and pick him up,” Daniels orders the pilot.  “Carter, Smith, what’s your status?” 
        The two soldiers are inside the young boy and his mom’s apartment. Inside are three men wearing dark skintight costumes and masks with red goggles. A big firebird is emblazoned on their chests. They are carrying advanced rifles. 
        “Crap! The Phoenix Group! Damned terrorists!” one of the soldiers says. 
        “That’s right, and we’re taking the boy,” one of the men in black says and fires his gun at the soldiers. The other men in black join in and soon the two soldiers are lying dead in the apartment, the boy’s mother screaming. 
        “Shut up,” one of the Phoenix Group says and  slams the butt of his gun against the mother’s head. 
        Another terrorist grabs hold of the boy. “I’ve got the kid. Let’s get out of here.” 
        “Extraction in progress,” another terrorist says. He presses a button on his wrist and the images of the terrorists and the boy start to shimmer. Seconds later they are gone. 
* 
“No answer from Smith and Carter,” Daniels says in the microphone clipped on his shirt. “Perlin, get in the building and see what’s going on.” 
        Perlin uses the earpiece he’s carrying, saying, “Can’t you give me some time to recuperate?” 
        “I’m not asking you to change into Agent Destruction, you won’t be able to for the next hour anyway. I’m just asking you to go and see why Smith and Carter aren’t answering.” 
        “All right, I’m going in,” Perlin says and runs towards the building. 
        “I don’t know who you’re talking to, but I’m coming along,” Godling says and jogs behind Perlin. Together they enter the building, climbing the stairs until they are at the boy’s apartment. There they discover the dead soldiers and the unconscious mother. 
        “Oh no!” Perlin says. 
        Godling checks the soldiers. “There’s nothing the gods will allow me to do for them. They’re dead. These are you collegeus?” 
        “Yeah. Comrades in arms. I don’t see the boy… He either managed to flee or someone took him.” 
        “These men were shot by some kind of laser. Whoever did that probably got the boy. Who or why I have no idea. I’m guessing you have a better idea.” 
        “Not sure. Maybe the mother will be able to tell us more.” 
        Godling kneeled beside the mother. He put a hand on her head and used the healing powers of Aescilapus to wake her up. 
        “What… What happened?” she asks Godling. “You… You’re Godling? But who were those men?” 
        “Men?” Godling asked. 
        “Men in black suits with big birds on them… Carrying guns…” the mother says. 
        Perlin clenches a fist. “The Phoenix Group. If they’ve taken the boy we’re all in big trouble.” 
        “Why? What is the Phoenix Group? Why is this boy so important?” Godling asks Perlin. 
        Perlin gives Godling a grave look. “The Phoenix Group wants to destroy the Earth… And the boy can be the means to that end.” 

NEXT ISSUE: Godling learns more about Agent Destruction as all our lives hang in the balance!