2.32

The three members of Justice Punch and Welt stood there, among the putrid, rotten stench of hundreds of dead spider fish. They watched as the surreal nightmare slowly unfolded in front of them.

The screeching metal punched at their eardrums and the dockyards rumbled. An empty glass bottle toppled off an office desk and shattered.

Standing in front of them was the malicious, rust eaten ship they had seen before. It towered above the docks and Hunter wondered if it wasn’t half submerged in water, how tall it might have really been.

“Well, I’m out,” said Gauzelle.

“No you’re not. We can do this,” said Hunter. The tone of his voice betrayed the words he spoke.

“Oh really, fearless leader. And how do you propose we take on such an enemy?” Gauzelle asked.

“I have no idea.” It took every last morsel of everyone’s willpower to not run from where they were.

“I don’t think Razor Queen will be of much help with this either,” said Welt.

“Hunter…I don’t know what we should do,” said Jimena. Luckily for them, the ginormous robot hadn’t done anything yet.

“Michael, we need help, and we need it now. Gigantic ship turned into a massive robot. This is a little above our skillset right now.”

Michael’s face appeared on Hunter’s communicator. He wasn’t bothered at all.

“No worries kiddo, I’ve sent for someone to meet you there.”

“I hope they can teleport.” Hunter turned his communicator to face the dragon and he heard Michael gasp in shock.

“Yes, okay. I’ll send extra back up and I’ll teleport them over as soon as I can. Just, hang tight until they get there.” Michael’s flustered voice rang through Hunter’s mind. He was truly terrified and so were the rest.

The robot still hadn’t moved.

The four stood there, frozen in place. A seagull settled on the shoulder of the robot. A small hatch opened up and a little robot kicked at the bird. The bird squawked in terror and flew away.

“I’m not about to let some stupid bird ruin my imposing creation. Behold, The Destroyer.” Doctor Flink’s laughter echoed out over the docks.

“Pretty sure the name is already taken,” Gauzelle blurted out.

“Gauzelle, don’t antagonise him. It’ll only make it worse,” scolded Hunter.

“I can’t help it. We’re literally staring death in the face right now. What do you want me to do?” Gauzelle gave a nervous laughter.

“I want you to stay alive. I wa-”

“Meet The Exterminator.” Doctor Flink broke out into laughter again.

“Been done,” Gauzelle replied.

“I don’t care!” Belying its size, the robot swung a fist down to the ground. The team darted aside just as the hunk of metal came crashing down on the cement. The docks rattled and Hunter felt uneasy on his legs.

Hunter was hiding behind a shipping container. As he watched the fist raise back up, he noticed it had left a small impact crater.

“Do you think you can hide from me?” Doctor Flink called out. “Its no use, I’ll destroy all of your little hidey holes.”

Gauzelle was currently wrapped around a pole, her staff wrapped in tight against it. Her anxiety was nipping at her and she could feel a sinister presence staggering around in the back of her mind.

The robot stood still once again. Gears ground from within and Gauzelle watched as two solid sheets that made up the chest, moved forward slightly and then hissed open like a large security door.

A pulsing red glow came from within the chest. A glorious cacophony of clattering screeches and sputtering rang from the beast and Gauzelle observed in horror as a large cannon poked out from the chest. It extended out like a telescope; blue electricity danced along the weapon.

“Oh no.” Gauzelle unravelled herself and propelled herself further toward the edges of the docks.

Jimena saw the cannon and for the first time since she had started being a hero, felt a boulder of dread fall through her stomach. Jimena brought herself back into her slime form and sank through the cracks of cement.

Hunter booked it clear out to the side, as fast as he could.

Welt was frozen in fear.

The electricity arced and became erratic. It spurted out from the cannon and dissipated. A loud hum reverberated through the docks as spots of white-hot glowing spheres danced around the end of the barrel.

“Get ready to meet your end,” called Doctor Flink.

There was a moment of silence before a great blinding flash. Orange plasma exploded out from the cannon in a single destructive beam.

Everyone felt the heat.

When the blinding light had faded, Hunter peeked a look.

The destruction was beyond anything he could have imagined.

Containers had become molten pools of nothing. Metal warped into strange shapes and the cement was cracked and charred to a crisp.

“Everyone okay?” Hunter asked into his communicator.

“Yeah,” replied Gauzelle.

“I’m here,” said Jimena.

Nothing from Welt.

“Welt. Where are you?” Hunter hissed.

“Yep.” A timid tone permeated through Welt’s voice.

“Is this the most dangerous thing Flink’s ever made?” Hunter asked.

“Oh yeah.” Welt replied.

“So what do we do?” Gauzelle asked.

“Hope he can’t fire that thing regularly,” Hunter replied.

“My little robots tell me you’re still out there. I’m surprised. No matter, you won’t last much longer.”

“What do we do?” Gauzelle asked again.

“I’m thinking,” Hunter wracked his brains.

“What do we do?” Gauzelle asked again.

“I don’t know,” Hunter snapped.

The robot grabbed a container and threw it out across the docks. The container collided with others, sending the debris flying.

“Come on out to die. I haven’t got all day.”

A loud roar echoed through the sky. Hunter looked up to see the great red dragon he had seen Mammoth fight a few months ago.

The roar of an engine made Hunter look around and he saw a sleek motorbike gliding through the docks. The motorbike stopped and the rider stood with their leg keeping them steady.

A great lance was pointed toward the robot.

“Oh look, more players have joined the party.”