The Original Beefcake

Janette brought the heavy car to a standstill and killed the engine. They had reached their destination. Thick snowflakes landed on the still warm car and melted in seconds. Just to spite them it had started to snow heavily and the visibility was at best 10 to 15 meters. Janette had a grim expression on her face. "Hey, you know that this isn't real. Death flags-," Marcus tried to ease the tension but she "shushed" him to be silent. "Never tempt fate. Never mock the gods. You never know who or what is listening," She said in a very serious voice. "Okay, the portal is 100 meters in that direction. We check the equipment and then we go straight back to the car. Five minutes top." She said it, more to herself than to Marcus.

Outside, they moved slowly through the heavy snow. Janette had her rifle ready and now even Marcus started to feel nervous. They reached the surveillance equipment, ready to remove some snow and maybe change some batteries. Instead they found the equipment trashed and scattered in the area. As soon as they realized this, Janette put her rifle to her shoulder and Marcus went mentally into combat mode. "Shit," Janette cursed under her breath. "Back to the car, we need to inform the base." They had a special satellite phone in the car for exactly these kinds of situations.

They slowly moved back, covering each other's backs. The thick snow had removed any tracks from potential attackers and the dense curtain of snowflakes shrank the world to a few meters in radius. Marcus felt under threat from all directions, and what's worse, with his thick helmet he couldn't hear well. Eventually they reached the car and his heart started to beat a bit slower. He went around the car and opened the side door. Janette kept watch, scanning the white nothing for potential hostiles. Marcus remembered the code words, the correct procedure and quickly informed the base. "Understood, we will take the heli and be there in less than an hour. Do not engage. Take the car and make some distance and wait for support." Russo's voice sounded calm and professional.

Marcus looked up with a smile only to see Janette stand perfectly still, her rifle aimed at something in the flurry of snowflakes. She jumped to the side and something hit the car exactly where she stood a moment before. A scream of metal and the backdoor vanished in a roaring explosion. As soon as Janette hit the ground she started to fire back into the snow storm. Then, Marcus could see shapes appear through the snowflakes. Two Humanoid shadows charging at them in a pincer move. He tried moving towards Janette to give her cover, but one attacker already charged at him from the side.

Marcus could barely make out the movement of the enemy in the snow but it took him only a heartbeat to know who was after their lives. A creature from his nightmares. Orks.

The tall ork charged right at Marcus, a black spear point aimed at his heart. His body moved on reflex alone and he turned just in time to avoid most of the attack. He could feel the spear tip tearing through his armor. A sharp pain followed, before the spear punched right through the car door. If it had been any other weapon Marcus would have been hit full on, but he had been training against a spear user for a month now and his body moved on painful experience.

Marcus stepped forward, using the moment the ork needed to free up his spear, to close the distance. Instead of moving head on Marcus sidestepped the enemy and avoided a brutal swing from the armored arm of the ork. In the same motion Marcus turned and delivered a back hand swing to the head of his enemy. His hand connected only with the shoulder as his target was much larger than his normal sparring partner. Impulse Hammer threw the ork around and against the battered car door. More importantly he let go of his deadly weapon. "Follow up!" He could hear the harsh voice of Russo in his head and like in training he stepped in to deliver an effective hit.

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Marcus didn't know what class his opponent had, but he was sure he was a class holder as the green warrior brushed his strike away before it could connect, and the power of that blow was enough to make his arm numb. A terrifying scream filled the battlefield. It was Janette crying out in pain. When did her gun stop firing? Raw panic was running through Marcus' veins. He had no time to lose! Clenching his teeth he rushed right into his enemy.

The ork didn't disappoint and a heavy fist, driven by strength enhancing crests, buried into Marcus's already hurting side. The pain made him lose sight for a second, but he forced through it. He stepped right up to the ork, pressing his hands on the warrior's face. For a brief moment Marcus could clearly see one eye of his enemy staring at him. Impulse Hammer. The head of the ork was smashed backwards with such force that his neck broke like a straw. Marcus turned in blind panic towards the place he had seen Janette last. The other ork stood with his back to Marcus, wielding a menacing looking club, focused on his prey on the ground.

The next seconds happened like in a dream. The ork raised his bloodied weapon and Marcus rushed around the corner of the car screaming who knows what. The distance to Janette was only a few meters but it felt impossibly far. Marcus' mind was blank besides one singular thought: Stop the club.

Any second he would strike! Marcus jumped, straining his body from tip to toe. He hit the ork in mid swing and they both went to the ground. He scrambled to get on the ork, but something hit his helmet like a bomb. His body went limp and he collapsed. His foe rose on one arm and lifted the horrible instrument of carnage and Marcus could see it coming. His body didn't react to his will and in a terrible moment of clarity he knew it was over. BANG.

A sharp crack filled the air, followed by several more and the ork dropped over. Marcus could see the dead eyes of the ork. The back of his head had been shattered by bullets. All the tension in Marcus' body vanished and the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. He felt tired. His eyes closed softly and darkness embraced him like an old friend.

Marcus felt warm, pleasant even. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this relaxed. His mind drifted through a warm fuzzy nothingness, listening to a melody he knew from a time long forgotten. Slowly, against better knowledge, he opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed in a barely lit room. Somebody was next to him, humming a melody. "Mamma," he whispered and a hand padded his head. "Va tutto bene." It was a man's voice and not his mother's. It still felt good and sleep put his dark wings around him once more.

When Marcus opened his eyes again daylight streamed through a window and Janette sat next to his bed. Her right arm was in a cask and sling, and half her face had a horrible green, blue color. Several cuts and bruises on her neck looked still very fresh. "Hey big guy." She smiled but tears started to run down her cheeks. She put her good hand into his and softly pressed it. "It actually makes me really angry that you look this healthy already," she said with a bright smile and laughed.

Marcus lifted himself up and mentally checked his body. Everything was still there and in working order. A familiar warm feel in his chest told him that he had leveled up at least once. Janette was still crying and holding on to his hand. He turned to her to make an uplifting joke, but she spoke first. "I'm sorry." Her voice was muted. "I nearly got you killed."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. We just survived an ambush, together," Marcus said. "No Marcus, my weakness did put your life in danger. I'm just too fucking weak. With Luca, Lars or Pavel, this wouldn't have happened. I'm a fucking useless Hawkeye." Towards the end she nearly screamed. Marcus could see in her eyes she deeply felt what she said. Marcus pressed her hand gently and made a decision. "About that…"