The Anthem Force Chronicles

The Big Bad

::Andy::

We’re falling. 

Plunging through the air and to the ground below.

I’m perfectly at ease until I remember one small fact: I can no longer fly. 

“Gah!” I scream out as I try to wave my arms, the fire extinguisher still in one hand and Mackenzie’s knife in the other. Not flying totally sucks. 

For the first time, I feel fear. Fear I might hit the ground. Is this what being normal feels like?

But then an arm wraps around my waist. We’re still falling, well not exactly falling but rather controlled downwards flying. Keith grins from beside me and I resist the urge to ask him to please not sputter out. 

Mutant Dr. Winters crashes to the ground first, erupting into flames. 

Radley has grabbed Mackenzie and protects them as the crash into the earth. Keith shields me from the flames as we touch down. 

And then, it’s just us. Keith, Radley, Mackenzie, and I. 

“Is he gone?” Keith asks, looking around. 

“It looks...” Radley stutters off when suddenly a small flame flicker on the ground. Then theres another flame and another until we’re surrounded by fire. They join together, growing and growing, until there’s a giant, monster-sized, flaming Dr. Winters laughing before us. 

“That’s one big bad,” Keith gulps. Dr. Winters slams one giant, fiery palm where we are standing. We all jump out the way, the heat searing the back of my legs as I roll to the side. 

“I can’t give him the cure,” Mackenzie yells, “There’s nothing to stab. He’s all energy.” 

“Then we need to weaken him,” Radley shouts back, “Split up and give it everything you got.” 

I throw Radley the fire extinguisher. He snaps off the top and throws it like a grenade at Winters. Winters yells and just barely shrinks in size. He’s still a giant though, is is sending down showers of hot flames. 

Keith is sending jolts of lighting while Radley tries to throw things at Winters. 

And I’m left with a knife. A lot of use that will do.

Being a normal kind of sucks. 

“Look out!”

I snap up to see a huge fire ball flying my way and despite everything I’m frozen. Paralyzed by fear. 

Suddenly, I’m tackled by Mackenzie and thrown to the side, just out of harms way. A burst of flame explodes beside us. 

I rush to my feet, gasping. Mackenzie seems calm however, pulling things out of her tool belt and laying them on the ground. 

“Remember that time when we infiltrated Vertigo headquarters and you saved me from being burned alive?

“Uh, yah?”

“Now we’re even.”

Dang, the girl doesn’t let things go. 

“Okay? What are you even doing?”

Mackenzie has emptied her tool belt of her Merlonium bombs and all her darts. She grabs one bomb and splits it open with a knife, allowing the thick Merlonium to seep across the floor. Carefully, she dips her blade in the liquid. 

“We can’t touch him, but this stuff sure stings. Watch and learn,” she grins as she hurls the knife at Winters’ chest. Amazingly, it sticks for a moment, causing him to shrink and scream out in pain. Eventually the knife burns up in his being. 

“You’re good,” I say earnestly. I never knew how hard having no powers was until tonight yet Mackenzie makes it look easy. 

“I know,” Mackenzie smirks before handing me half of her weapons, “Use these carefully, they’re all I got.” 

I nod. First dipping my blade in the Merlonium and hurling it at the giant Winters who is busy swatting at Radley and Keith. It’s not nearly a good a shot but it has the desired effect. 

It’s hard to tell if we’re making progress. Every time we shrink Winters he grows again. We need to break him down all at once or it doesn’t even matter. 

As for me, I still feel pretty weak but also something else. Like an energy, fainting buzzing deep inside of me. I’m not sure if it’s a sign I’m getting my powers back, or if I’ll even get my powers back, but we need anything we can get. 

Even more, we need a plan. 

“Anthem Force!” I shout, “All together!”

 My team all look at me. We have maneuvers of course but those all involve me being super and no Mackenzie. Looks like we’ll have to wing it. 

Radley nods, taking the lead, “Keith, aerial attack. Everything you have and I mean everything.” 

Keith takes to the sky, his hair sticking straight up and eyes glowing bright white. Suddenly, a burst of lightning surges down through the sky and strikes Winters. 

Winters begins flashing with light as his body cringes. 

Woah, never seen Keith summon actual lightning. 

Winters seems to shrink a little although he still towers above us. 

“Mackenzie, Andy. Now!” Radley shouts.
I give it everything I have. Hurling every Merlonium bomb and dart. I’m not sure how many actually hit Winters but at least Mackenzie nails every shot. He starts to scream in pain, he’s back to being only about triple his normal size and almost looks halfway solid. 

This is Radley’s cue, his huge monster form tackles him, punching and kicking until one final blow where Winters flies up into the air. He comes crashing down, only a few feet away from me. 

Winters slowly rises from the ground like a growing flame, a smug grin spread across his face. He’s weak, I can tell, almost back to normal size.

He turns until he’s facing me, grinning. 

I can see my teammates running towards me but they’re too far away. 

“Such a waste Andrea. It looks like I will have to destroy you after all.” 

I grimace. “It’s Andy.”

And in that moment I summon up every bit of strength, pull back, and punch Winters square in the jaw. Maybe there’s super strength behind it, maybe it’s just me. I can’t tell. 

It burns my hand, as if I just stuck it in a furnace, but Winters is just weak enough that he staggers back and falls to the ground. Although his skin is still bright orange he’s no longer on fire. 

Mackenzie runs over and plunges the remaining cure into his arm. When she’s done she finally lets out a long breath. 

“Is this the part where I say some witty quip?” she asks, “I’m new to the whole defeating the big villain thing.” 

Despite my throbbing hand I can’t help but laugh. “Go for it.”

“Hm,” she says, “Looks like this hot head needs to chill out. Or how about ‘your evil plan has just been extinguished.’ No, no I got it ‘time to take your medicine doctor.’” 

Keith flies down next to me, looking exhausted from his big lightning strike, and puts his arm around my shoulder. “We’ll work on it.” 

“Says the boy who’s battle cry usually is just saying you’re going to kick their ass,” I smirk. 

“What can I say?” he grins, “I like the classics.”

I laugh once before realizing I have some apologizes to make. “Sorry I punched you... multiple times.”

Keith shrugs, “Eh, I like a girl who’s a little feisty.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re not mad,” I say before grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him to me, “Because I’ve been waiting forever to do this.”
I pull his lips to mine and I must say, it feels pretty super.