Chapter 21: The Dance of Chaos and New Threats on the Horizon
The pure purple chaos entity that had erupted from the container had instantly turned the battle on the bridge into a pointless brawl. The formless mass, which lashed out with giant tentacles of energy, was indiscriminately targeting both the Echo members and Fisk's mercenaries. Metal and concrete melted, twisted, and exploded at the touch of this otherworldly energy. The ominous hum it emitted was mind-numbing, striking primal fear into even the bravest of men.
"Retreat! Disperse!" Kael shouted, his voice beginning to fade into the chaos. His priority was to get his men out of this hell alive. The Chitauri core rang like a warning bell in his chest, warning him of the dangerous waves of energy emanating from the purple entity. Kael focused the energy from the core, creating a temporary shield that shielded Aslan and several nearby Echoes from a blast of energy.
Aslan looked at Kael, his face covered in shock and horror. "What is this?"
"I don't know," Kael said, his eyes locked on the constantly moving, shape-shifting purple nightmare. "But I now understand the dangerous gamble Fisk is taking." This entity was more than a weapon; it was an uncontrollable disaster. Whatever Fisk's plan, it had gone horribly wrong.
Just then, another sharp warning from the Chitauri core in Kael's mind caused him to turn his attention to the sky. In the distance, approaching rapidly, unidentified flying objects of a type he had never seen before, bright and sharp. There were at least five of them, and the energy signatures they emitted were more advanced and distinct than even Chitauri technology. These new players were definitely not coming for a friendly visit.
"That was all that was missing," Kael grumbled. The situation had quickly escalated from a local gang war to a potential extraterrestrial intervention.
The UFOs arrived at the scene with incredible speed and focused directly on the purple chaos entity. They attempted to surround and contain the entity by firing laser-like beams of intense energy. However, the chaos entity responded to these attacks with even more force; its purple energy tentacles extended into the sky, grabbing one of the UFOs and tearing it apart. Metal fragments from the exploding UFO rained down on the bridge and into the river below.
This new conflict offered Kael and his men a brief escape. Fisk's surviving men were left to fend for themselves, some of them destroyed by the chaos entity, others caught in the UFOs' crossfire. No one cared about Echo anymore.
"Now!" Kael shouted. "Under the bridge, into the river! Move!"
Kael, Aslan, and about five of the surviving Echoes began to run through the deadly dance of the UFOs and the Chaos Entity, toward the crumbling support pillars of the bridge. Kael watched their backs, protecting himself with the energy from the Chitauri core and warding off any potential threats that might come after them. Once, when a piece of energy from the Chaos Entity came right at them, Kael managed to absorb the blow with a shield of energy he had focused from the core, but it weakened him considerably.
When they reached the river, they took shelter in the wreckage of an abandoned freighter. From there, they could watch the horrific scene on the bridge. The UFOs were trying to squeeze the Chaos Entity in an organized manner, but each time, the entity would respond with an unexpected move. The purple energy and the lights of the unidentified technology had turned night into day.
Kael took a deep breath. Their operation had ended in complete disaster. They had failed to capture Fisk's mysterious cargo, instead they had unleashed a nightmare that could threaten the entire city. And now, an unknown, highly advanced third party was involved. He had lost some of his men, and even the Chitauri core was struggling to cope with such an intense energy bombardment.
At that very moment, the Chitauri core in Kael's palm suddenly began to vibrate violently and emit a brighter light than ever before. Kael groaned in pain; the core seemed to be responding to some kind of signal from the Chaos entity or the UFOs. Those complex Chitauri symbols and images flooded his mind again, but this time they were different. This time, it was like some kind of coordinate, a call, a warning. The core was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't figure out what it was yet.
Suddenly, one of the UFOs in the sky separated from the others and began to descend toward the wreckage where Kael and his men were hiding. Its bright spotlights illuminated the wreckage. Apparently, these new players were not only interested in the Chaos entity; Kael and the Chitauri technology in his possession had also caught their attention.
With nowhere left to run. On one side, a cosmic nightmare unleashed, on the other, an unidentified, high-tech threat. Kael is forced to make one of the most difficult decisions of his life. Fight, or surrender to these unknown forces?