Once upon a time, a war left its mark on a planet lost in time and space. The fighting eventually ended, but the aftereffects would change everything. The world before and after the war were two different places. The necessity of combat significantly increased technological progress. What was deemed impossible was becoming possible. The epicenter of the seismic shift was a battlefield for titanic forces, a metropolis. It was in a country of sacrifice and freedom, America. And only one man could decide the fate of its people.

  In New Mexico, a monumental event took place. American officials prepared for the Trinity test. A plutonium implosion device was ready two hundred and ten miles south for testing. And as an official saw 5:30 AM on his watch, the test commenced. Seconds after, an enormous blast came, sending searing heat across the desert and knocking observers to the ground. And with the shockwaves, humanity trembled as they knew things would never be the same.

  The word of the great event quickly spread across the globe. Radios all over the planet buzzed to life, bringing the news. One radio sat in the penthouse of a being, a creature of crimson eyes. The creature’s penthouse was a treasure trove of luxury. Inside its six hundred square feet of space were numerous designer furniture pieces, as an aquarium lined the walls, giving the dark room a blue tint, a single living shark swimming across its waters.

  The radio lay on the creature’s desk as he sat before it, listening intently.

  “Numerous reports have confirmed it. The Trinity test was a success.” A reporter said over the radio.

  “Excellent.” The creature chuckled. “Excellent.”

  The creature turned his gaze upon his shark, smiling at him and revealing his many knife-like teeth.

  "Good days are ahead for us predators, dear friend."

  However, noise from the metropolis outside drew him away. The reptilian creature lurked in the shadows of his penthouse, towering over the city at two thousand seven hundred and seventeen feet. The creature left the comfort of his leather chair, walking to a window. He blurred the line between man and monster as he looked below. A bustling intersection, hundreds of people trying to lead happy lives. But as he saw them, his blood-red eyes gave them a sinister glare.

  "Die."

  Buildings exploded into green infernos the next second. The citizens broke into a panic, and chaos ensued. Cars crashed into the sidewalk as the citizens ran away in every direction. The green flames spread like a plague from one building to the next, swallowing the neighborhood. And the smoke covered the area in a suffocating pitch-black veil. The citizens shouted and screamed. Their misery filled the air, forming a song of tragedy that echoed for miles.

  ***

  At night, Tommy and Elena sat together in the front seats of a car. Tommy, a Caucasian of eighteen, and red-haired, sweated a storm, trembling. Elena, a Hispanic woman of twenty-five with long, dark hair and a curvy yet muscular body, watched her friend shake intensly as if it was winter time and rolled her eyes.

  Elena uttered a dry laugh. "Black, how does a rookie like you always stay so calm on the job?"

  "Y—you can mock me all you like, but that doesn't change the fact that we can't mess this up," Tommy retorted.

  "Kid, I get it.” Elena let out a deep sigh. “Santini's our only shot to get these weapons off the street, but we can't do that if we worry ourselves to death."

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  Hearing Elena, Tommy took a breath. He finally stopped trembling, cracking a small smile at her as he relaxed. But as he was about to say something, he spotted a Porsche driving to a building, pointing at it.

  "Isn't that him?"

  As Elena saw where Tommy was pointing, she realized their target had arrived and took out her radio.

  Meanwhile, at the police station, the police chief was doing paperwork at his desk. Norio was a Chinese man of twenty-seven, with short dark hair and a muscular build.

  As his radio blinked with a red light, he answered it. "You got me.”

  “We have him, boss,” Elena said over the radio.

  “That's great. Get everyone into position. And remember, Elena, minimal casualties."

  "Sir, yes, sir."

  A few minutes later, Elena, Tommy, and the other police officers took positions around the building. The strike force was comprised of exactly sixty people. Witnessing Elena’s hand signs, the main group hastily divided into three smaller teams, each carrying twenty individuals. The neighborhood was small, at under one square mile. There were only two streets their quarry could take to escape in the ensuing battle on the northern and eastern sides of the building. And each one was covered by officers.

  The main team moved to attack the warehouse. The remaining teams quickly took their positions, blocking Santini’s escape. Still, as the time came to begin the assault, the main team, Elena’s group, proceeded with the highest level of caution. Their target was the most dangerous kind of beast, a cornered one.

  Elena turned her head to Tommy behind her as she drew her gun. "No mistakes."

  Tommy drew his gun, nodding at Elena.

  The group continued forwards, mere moments from busting the door down. But as they began, a beam of green energy hit the building, plunging it into a massive inferno. Elena instinctively ran to Tommy's aid as she witnessed fire bursting out of the building, pulling him out of harm's way.

  "He's dead," Tommy said in a daze.

  "Way to state the obvious, kid," Elena said.

  Elena hastily searched for where the energy originated. She spotted a masked figure running from on top of an adjacent building. And she took out her comms as she and Tommy gave chase.

  "All units, new suspect spotted on top of the Walker building. Converge on the alleyway immediately."

  Elena ran to the location with Tommy right behind her. Swiftly, the two arrived at the Walker building’s alleyway. And they saw the masked figure running away. But Elena fired her gun at the figure, barely missing his head as the bullet cracked a spot on a nearby wall that was several inches away, making him stop.

  "Hands in the air," Elena shouted.

  The figure drew his weapon at lightning speed. And the shiny stainless steel gun released a green jet of energy at Elena. Seeing the energy travel toward her, she was dazed, having never witnessed such a thing before. However, Tommy pushed her out of it's way at the last second. Still, the shockwaves knocked them unconscious as the jet hit the wall behind them.

  Later, Elena and Tommy regained consciousness, as several bloodcurdling screams washed over them. Elena was the first to awaken followed by Tommy as she hurried out of the alleyway. But as she left, horror covered her face, seeing her fellow police officers dead on the ground. A battle occurred while she and Tommy were unconscious. It was a conflict where the criminals brutally defeated her comrades.

  "Good God." Elena put her left hand over her mouth.

  Tommy hastily came, witnessing the carnage and sharing Elena's horror. But Elena noticed a pair of headlights coming their way. She shoved Tommy out of the way, saving them. And Elena drew her gun, pointing it at the escaping car. She fired her weapon at it until she ran out of bullets. However, as she saw it speed away, she conceded, dropping the gun.

  ***

  At the police station, Norio was still doing paperwork. However, his comms blinked red again, and he answered it.

  "Well, I didn't expect you to call back so soon.”

  “Boss, the job went bad. We have heavy casualties,” Elena said over the comms.

  “I understand. Get back to the police station." Norio hung up his radio.

  The veins on Norio’s forehead bulged as he crushed a sheet of paper in his hand, releasing an agonized scream. He shoved his desk, knocking the remaining papers onto the floor as he banged his head on it again and again, before finally stopping, resting his skull on top of it.

  At the skyscraper, in the darkness of the night, the creature cracked a sinister smile. His blood-red eyes pierced the shadows, conveying his dark joy. He heard the air fill with the sirens of emergency workers and screams of agony, forming another song of tragedy. He knew no one was a match for his power. The city and, one day, the world would be his if left unchallenged.