Bubble Boy

The house was quiet. Soft jazz played from an old speaker. On the couch, Troy lay reclined, one arm around Annie, the other holding Zoe as she drifted off to sleep against his chest. Sam sat cross-legged on the floor, beating him at a trivia app and laughing about it.

For a moment, the world felt perfect.

No sirens. No calls for help. Just peace.

Then came the tremor.

The walls shivered. A low, impossible hum buzzed through the ground.

The screen on the wall flashed, a red emergency broadcast overlay cut into every feed.

"BREAKING: Cities Under Attack—Unknown Entities—Evacuate Immediately!"

Troy shot up, handing Zoe to Annie. He rushed to the window.

The sky over Nightingale cracked open with fire.

A pulse of energy lit up the horizon. Then a second. And a third.

The television flickered to space-feed mode as satellite cameras streamed from orbit. And space drone cameras were sent out.

New York. A towering figure stood in the center of Times Square, cloaked in black armor veined with red.

Name: Korrith, The Infernal Spark

Los Angeles. The city was ablaze, skyscrapers crumbling as a blade-wielding assassin carved his way through the streets, his eyes glowing white.

Name: Veyna, The Silent Shard

Chicago. A massive beast with obsidian skin and chains around his arms shattered the skyline in a single swing.

Name: Brakar, The Chain Maw

Houston. Yuralis, The Voidmare, floated above the city, shooting heat vision from the air. Civilians collapsed in the streets and burned away.

Atlanta. Drixa, The Bone Warden, rode a centipede-like steed of metal and glass, her shrieking laughter echoing through every alley.

Dozens more. One in every major city across America and beyond.

Each one different.

Each one unstoppable.

Each one, Xyphorite.

The news anchors screamed. Cameras froze. Satellites began dropping offline, one by one.

But not before one final, crystal-clear image broadcasted across the globe.

Nightingale City.

At the edge of Troy's front yard stood four figures.

Three soldiers: sharp-jawed, red-eyed, and in full combat armor bearing the glowing insignia of the Xyphorite Legion.

And between them, tall and regal in flowing black robes laced with gold, stood a General. Skin like glass, eyes like black holes with blood red hues.

He raised a single hand, his voice echoing unnaturally loud, carried through the air and the cameras still watching.

"Bubble Boy."

"Come out and kneel before your gods."

Inside the house, Sam had already stepped forward, shielding Zoe with her arms. Annie stood next to Troy, trembling but steady.

Troy took one last look at his family. He nodded once, gently brushing Zoe's curls.

"I'll handle this."

Then he stepped outside.

No hesitation.

Just purpose.

And the moment his foot touched the grass, the General smiled.

"Ah," the creature said, voice like thunder.

"Let the real war begin."

New York City — Ground Zero

Smoke coiled between the ruins of Times Square. Fires leapt from overturned cars and crumbled towers. Korrith, The Infernal Spark, stood in the heart of the destruction, arms raised. With every breath, the metal around him bent and twisted. Heat shimmered like a mirage across the air.

Civilians fled screaming. Police weapons melted before being fired.

Then a crimson flash descended from above.

Eden landed silently, eyes glowing, his cloak rippling behind him.

"Your fire ends here," Eden said, forming a shield of glowing red bubbles.

Korrith turned, intrigued. "You are not of them."

"I'm of Earth. And that's enough."

Korrith laughed once, a sound like lava cracking stone, then launched forward.

Bubble met flame.

The battle lit the skyline anew.

Los Angeles — A Silent Storm

The city of angels screamed.

Veyna, The Silent Shard, moved like wind through smoke, disappearing, reappearing, each blink of white light ending with another building sliced clean in half. Civilians didn't even see her coming.

Until a high-pressure wave of saltwater slammed her through a billboard.

Seaman emerged, cracking his knuckles. "Surprise."

From above, Gladiator dropped like a meteor, fist-first.

Construct followed, his arms transforming into twin plasma hammers.

Bolt zipped across power lines, sending shock after shock.

Void appearing from the shadows.

Veyna steadied herself, mouth curling into a silent snarl.

Then, she vanished.

Only to reappear behind Gladiator.

The fight began.

Chicago — The Chains Roar

The Chain Maw howled as it crushed buildings, dragging iron links that wrapped like serpents around skyscrapers. Civilians tried to flee, but the chains hunted them down.

Suddenly, a figure landed silently before the beast.

Orphan.

Alone.

Unarmed.

But as the wind howled past him, Brakar paused.

Orphan said nothing. Just raised his fists.

Brakar charged.

And Orphan moved like death.

Houston — The Light Drains

Yuralis hovered above the city like a dream gone rotten. Shadows bent toward her. The sun dimmed. People screamed as light itself abandoned their bodies.

Three streaks of light burst through the gloom.

Inferno, burning bright. Umbra, cloaked in shadow. Psion, floating beside them, her eyes glowing with psychic force.

"Three minds. One will," Psion said.

Yuralis hissed. "Delightful. A buffet."

Then, the battle of minds and flames began.

Atlanta — The Warden Waits

Drixa sat atop her hideous steed, laughing as soldiers below desperately tried to hold her back. Every time they moved, metal tendrils snapped at them. She made no effort to advance yet, only watched.

Waiting.

Broadcast — Global Space Newsfeed

As all this happened, news space drones above each city streamed the horrors to every device on Earth. Faces glued to screens, watching gods fall and rise.

Comments Streamed Live:

@SkySurvivor42: What is happening?! Who ARE these monsters?!

@BubbleBoyFan1997: Where's Troy?! Please someone tell me he's okay!!

@NewsCasterJay: Eden is actually fighting that thing in New York. Is this real?

@SeamanStan4Life: LET'S GOOO SEAMAN!! LA is in good hands, baby!!

@TheVoidWhisperer: I'm in Chicago. I just saw Orphan with my own eyes. Alone. I'm crying.

@XyphoriteRising: You fools never stood a chance. The stars are watching.

Underground Shelter — Nightingale

Beneath the surface, families huddled in an old government fallout bunker, lit by flickering emergency lights and a single battered projector showing the livestream.

Among them was the family who once cleaned the statue of Starman, father, mother, young son.

The father kept glancing over his shoulder before slipping on his jacket to hide the faded Starman sweater beneath. The mother clutched the child tightly, whispering prayers into his hair.

Across from them, a quiet woman sat on a cot.

Dark eyes. Blond streaks in her hair. A hand on her satchel.

She didn't speak. She didn't react.

She only watched.

Her name, though no one knew it, was Blaze.

A Xyphorite scout.

A wolf in the flock.

And as the others cowered, she simply stared at the screen.

Watching. Studying.

Waiting.