"No one set his foot over the gods of the two rivers" yelled Ningal, jumping at Tobias. What the speedster experienced, was like a slow motion. The Annunaki was suspended in air, coming to him at an impossible low pace. But when he saw the punch of the female alien approaching his jaws, and he found himself unable to react, he suddenly realized what was happening: his supervelocity had wear off, leaving him completely defenseless.
One, two three fist, and then all went black. The speedster fell, reversed on the ground, blood dripping from his open mouth, now lacking a few tooth.
Ningal eyes narrowed, and his mouth grimaced. "Well done, Ninurta!"
The other Annunaki simply nodded, standing up aided by his companion. They both looked at the dead Vanguardian, and then Ningal stated: "This is the first stone in the building of our victory!"
Ninurta touched the woman on the shoulder, and instantly they ran away at incredible speed, heading toward the cavern deep down the mountain, where the gates of Hell had opened.
They entered the enormous cave like twins tornadoes, heading themselves at full force toward the skull faced Vanguardian on the point of killing Saros.
The impact sent the double headed axe away. Ninurta touched Saros, giving him the same supervelocity stolen to Tobias. Saros laughed, as the wound where his arm was cut away began to seal and heal, and then took on supervelocity himself, slamming head on on Grimm, which was thrown off, right toward Ozzie. They both were hurled away. The other Annunaki didn't let them fall over the ground, taking them and throwing themselves through the narrow opening between the two leaves of the massive door of hell, just a moment before they closed and became sealed again. Their screams of horror and pain resounded for some long instants in the cavern, suddenly suffocated by the laughs of hundreds of demons. And then the silence.
Saros continued his run of death. He killed Mick with a single punch before his desperate tentative of summoning Mxy. He killed Tayden laughing at the address of those young fools of the Courts of Light, who were watching in horror the return to power of the Oldest Ones. He killed Aeolus with the force of a hurricane opposed to a light gale.
One after the other, Medea, Pandora, Z, Rowena, Cross, Friday, lady Greystoke, Arges, Castor, Pollux, all of the Pantheon and all of the Order fell, taken without even noticing by the three superhuman storms.
Just one stood before them: Turkish Stringfellow, the Prophet. He raised just one hand, calmly, solemnly. Only the rage for the terrible end of his companions twisted his expression, for the rest he was cold as ice. at the gesture, the air became thick, friction built up, until the three Annunaki stopped altogether, entrapped by the air.
"Why?" asked the Prophet, looking all around, at the dozens of cadavers.
He stepped further, toward the three alien. He raised his hands, whispering ancient words, when...
CLAP
...Turkish Stringfellow was squashed between the two giant hands of Naecken, who stood behind him, like a fly under a folded newspaper.
Ningal laughed, enjoying the victory of his own race and of his master.
Naecken went to the gate, and, imbued of all the power that was sacrificed that day, opened easily the way to Hell, letting his armies loose on Earth.
And then, Ningal took flight, with Ninurta and Saros, and they together fled over all over the world, seeing the armies of Hell storming through the continent as no resistance could be offered by the nations of the planet, and seeing Naecken crowned Prince of Earth.
Ningal felt himself so full of joy, to be nearly unable to contain it all.
She saw millions of men returning to worship the ancient gods of Sumer, he felt his own power growing to level never before reached, when the humans were mere millions, and not six billions like now.
And she saw the return of the gods that were lost, Enlil, An, and the Mother of all the Gods, Antu herself.
And Antu came, ancient as Earth, tall as the tallest mountain, wrapped in the shadow of the night.
And then the veil faded, and her shining face was revealed.
And it was the face of...
Adalia Perigord?
Ningal opened his eyes.
At her feet, were the dead body of Ninurta, and the one, beaten and lying, but still moving, of Tobias Cristopher.
But standing in front of her, a deadly smile on his beautiful face, was the one that betrayed her race, Adalia, the Annunaki that for the love of her lost, and then newfound, father, Captain Ekorre, enlisted for the Strikeforce under the name of Mindagame, mistress of illusions.
In her right hand, Adalia had a gun.
Her index stroke the trigger, and Ningal fell dead, as her brother Ninurta did a moment before.
Mindgame looked around, and when sure there was no one to watch her, she simply hurdled above TC, and walked away, leaving the Vanguardian to live his agony.
