Killing Olympia

Day 1/365.

Europa slammed into the ocean off the coast of England. Time unknown. She might as well have hit solid stone according to the men who found her. At that speed, it was a miracle she wasn't killed. On impact, she shattered several ribs, broke one leg and received a concussion so violent it cracked her skull. Arkathian bones are known to be able to withstand forces upward of several kilotons. The native oceanlife ecosystem is being evaluated. HMCG found her by chance, drifting on the surface of the ocean, so badly torn up she was almost deemed dead until she grabbed a sailor by the throat and vomited blood onto his uniform. She was rushed to naval care facilities. Arkathian bodies, however, are dense, hard to cut through, and even harder to operate on. She remained inoperable. No bone saw, no drill—nothing could get through the flesh that had fused over her wounds because of Gayne's body heat. Not until a British team of doctors aided the operation. The ELS soon took over. They took her body with them and have since killed all contact. Attempts to reach them have received no reply. We await a response. We request at this time for the acting Prime Minister to consider an active recall on the Black Capes Act at once.

It is now more than ever that we require our heroes.

—BLSA (British League of Superhuman Affairs).

"At this time, the president is unavailable for further questioning. Please refrain from breaching all White House security measures as the president handles this continuously evolving situation. All and any immediate action from the United States will be agreed upon amongst the president and his Heads of Staff within the next few hours. We remain in contact with our global allies at this time. All citizens should be advised that Martial Law has not yet been invoked, but shall be granted in the wake of mass unrest. Stay calm. Stay prepared. As of now, the Black Capes Act will not be considered for readjustment nor recall. All licensed Superhumans should report to their closest Olympiad facilities for further information. Unfortunately, we do not have news on Olympia's condition. Thank you."

—Statement from Jennifer Reed, White House Press Secretary.

It's impossible to know at this time the true scope of damage done to not only New Olympus, but to the Earth as a whole. Global unrest is expected to spike sharply within the next few days. The Stock Market has been frozen. International trade has all but grinded to a halt in the wake of the attack on New Olympus. Outcries for answers will undoubtedly quadruple overnight. As we await the White House's response on what their domestic situation currently is, UN peacekeepers have been deployed in New Olympus for further examination of the scale of which the man known as 'Gayne' wreaked just hours ago. Olympia's whereabouts are unknown. It is understood she was taken into immediate drastic care and is, by all accounts, receiving emergency treatments. World media will be monitored. The online landscape continues to grow more unstable. The Black Capes Act will be reviewed over the coming days in association with all affiliated nations around the world. As stated previously, we are in the dark. We expect communication from world governments in the coming hours to fully realize the matter at hand.

—Excerpt from [REDACTED]'s email exchange to UN Officials.

A joint effort is being made globally to maintain peace, order, and faith in the powers that be within all Olympiad facilities. Recruitment drives have tripled within hours. Processing new candidates has been shortened. This may result in a drop in rigorous training and high quality output, but at this time, we are limited in our choices. S-Grade superhumans are awaiting further clearance from various national armed forces. It's important that we urge world powers to consider joint action between their various militaries and ourselves. The days of separating Superhuman capabilities from our armies have come and gone. Our threats are more than just domestic. We must act quickly. If Gayne's words are true, Earth must prepare itself for imminent war. I hope my words remain secure. I wish not to heighten unrest. But the situation is critical. A decade of this ****** act has crippled our Superhuman cache. Our own fear of the unknown might result in our unpreparedness of what comes next. I expect an answer within the next hour, Kincaid. And where the *** did you take the girl?

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

—text message from Olivia Grayson, Acting Head of the West Coast Olympiad Chapter to Alfred Kincaid.

"Aliens! The government itself has been hiding aliens from us! How much longer are we going to stand by and go along with what that incompetent, lie-spitting failure of a president has in store for us, people? Stand. Up. The truth is out there. It's been out there. You think if they didn't know these aliens existed, the 'White House' would be so relaxed right now? Huh?! No way, man. They're probably going to try and ******* negotiate with those things! Buckle up, folks, because the next twelve months are gonna be wild! Kiss whoever you love, **** whoever you want to get down and dirty with before our alien overlords smash us apart, and for the love of all that is holy, let's pray Olympia gets back out there. She speaks for the people. She wouldn't lie to us. The government hates her ass, and we the people should hate them, too! Wherever Golden Girl is right now, Godspeed, superhero, and come back so you can spill the deets. Something's not been right on this planet ever since her daddy died. I'm telling you guys this from the bottom of my heart: don't trust a single ******* word that comes out of any news channels right now. They're all in on it. Trust me. I've got sources verifying this shit in real time. It's about to get gnarly.

—The Caitlyn Cassidy Hour, two hours after First Contact. Popular San Angeles beach broadcaster.

"All I'm saying at this moment is that the situation is simple: we need more superheroes. We need smarter heroes. We need stronger heroes. We need the government to stop sitting on its ass arguing with itself, and we need action right now, not debate. What I've been trying to do with the Olympus Protocol is exactly for situations like this! I mean, you saw what that thing did to Olympia. Can you imagine what an entire empire would do to us? In short, they'd crush us. What I want to do is protect the Earth. And we can. Making New Olympus Great Again isn't just a slogan. It's a mantra. A symbol for everything we as a species should stand for. If our city never buckles, nor will we. All I need is backing from other nations. The government has gotten cold feet in recent weeks. Our Cleopatra clone is on standby, but until Kincaid and the rest of the government decide what they want from my rapidly growing program, I've got no way to know what to do. Damage Control will open its doors to immigrant application forms and my company won't stop until we find a way to even the playing field. It's game day. It's our final hour. Fourth down, ball's in our hands, and if we *** the bed, excuse my language, then Earth as we know it is done. Olympia continuously proves time and again she can't protect us. She is not her father. So…why not wake up our resident god? The White House isn't willing to make hard choices. I am. I'm open to world collaboration. Let's make sure that we never find ourselves in this situation ever again. Earth has to be prepared. Blackwood Pharmaceuticals has always been—now we just need everyone to catch up to our page. Let's hit them before they hit us. They've given us a year to roll over and expose ourselves to them. To me? It's a countdown to their reckoning. Other species might have fallen to them—but we won't. We're just too ****** stubborn."

—Cassie Blackwood for the Olympus News Golden Hour.

Note: When privately asked about Adam's conditions, she declined to answer.

Olympus U will, for the foreseeable future, remain under a strict curfew. Parents and guardians are advised to collect their children if the need arises. The school will undergo a lockdown procedure. We are working alongside New Olympus security personnel to secure the campus. We will continue to update you on this troubling situation.

—Official statement from Carly Ross, Chancellor of Olympus University, to all parents, guardians, and shareholders.

"I don't give a *** what the situation is right now, Kayanna. My daughter is going to start getting hunted down by those people and you know that better than I do. I'm not playing these ***** games. Bianca isn't ready for any of this. I won't allow her to be. I know what's inside of her. I know very, very ***** well what that thing can do to people like Rylee. If Gayne finds out about her… I'm not going to think about that. I've lost one child. One too many. I'm not risking losing another. I need Becca to take care of Bianca for now. She's not in good shape. Not after she saw what happened to Rylee. Tell Ronnie to call me. I can't reach her. I figured she'd be with Rylee right now. I probably won't reach her for a few days. ****. This is all so ***** up. What happened to the days when superheroes used to be something I could make a salary from? Now I've got the Olympiad on my ass, asking which students are capable of joining their ranks—as if I'm going to sell young men and women into a war. It'll be a slaughter. You know that better than anyone. Keep me updated. I've got a board to sing and dance for right now.

—Transcripted phone call between Carly Ross and Cleopatra.

She better not be fucking dead.

—Ava Rivera.