A Captain's Duty

Vice President Victor Anderson sat in the back of one of the military jeeps, 1 of 10 that were headed towards Alpha Base to back up whatever threat they were facing.

Victor sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he reflected on his endless stream of thoughts.

This is nonsense, he thought. The idea of sending in the leader to the front lines is an archaic idea of barbarians and simpletons. No leader in their right mind would set foot on the battlefield - that's why you HAVE soldiers under you to begin with. Without the head, the beast will become stupid and predictable. That's how wars are lost, not won, Augustino.

"Um, sir.."

And what EXACTLY do you expect me to do out here when there's super freaks already present? Yet another stumble by this administration in a long line of screw ups. If only I was the one-

"Sir! Vice-President Anderson, sir!"

Victor snapped out of his thoughts at the call of the soldier driving the jeep, "What is with all the shouting?! We're not even there yet. What is it?"

"Apologies, sir. But I think you should take a look at this…" He pointed towards the horizon as they were coming up closer on Alpha Base. Victor leaned forward to get a look and instantly felt his heart drop.

"What in god's name is that?" Victor said in awe.

In the distance they could see a giant tornado bearing down on Alpha Base.

"Should we continue on, sir?" The soldier asked him.

Victor wanted nothing more than to turn back and avoid this whole disaster. Ever since they put the new weather balloons up years ago, they had 99% accuracy when it came to the weather. But no prediction came through about the possibility that a tornado of this magnitude would appear.

However, Victor knew he couldn't back down at this point. Especially in front of the others.

"...Yes, we push on. Someone try to get Alpha Base on the radio so we can figure this out!"

************

One could feel the wind pulling him in more by the second. He kept overlaying the vines that held him in place so that he could focus on breaking apart the tornado.

The most horrible part of it all was that the tornado continued to pick up strength. Even with Leo gone, it was like it was still somehow intensifying. He also made sure to keep a close eye on Two who was losing ground. He had resorted to blasting his flames towards the tornado in an attempt to push himself away from its grip - but it was only buying him a little time.

"Hold on, Two!" One yelled as he gritted his teeth.

Leo, why would you do something like this?! One thought to himself. No matter what happened after we thought you were gone…we were still friends, right?

One took a breath as he could feel his control slipping. It was only a matter of time before the tornado would break free from the loose hold he had and then it would be on the move. At the moment he was able to keep it rooted to one place while he worked on getting rid of it.

Don't worry, I'll get us out of this, he thought. After all that's what a Captain is here for.

One's main ability was his control over nature, but he did have low levels of control over the elements as well. But he would never be able to have the same level of mastery over fire like Two, or over wind like Leo.

He did have his own trump card however.

One dropped his hands and relinquished the control he had over the tornado. The winds quickly picked up and Two was yanked forwards as he was no longer able to escape.

"Fuck!" Two yelled as he was thrown forward like a rag doll. "I can't stop!!"

None of this makes sense! Two thought as he barreled to his possible death. Leo could NEVER do anything even close to this! How did he power up so much?!

As One relaxed his body, he entered an almost state of tranquility. That's what was needed for his next move. He could either try to contain the tornado or save Two, but he couldn't do both unless he did all he possibly could in this very moment.

He slowly raised up his palms towards the sky as every ounce of his being was focused on the task ahead. A green glow emitted from around him as his energy started to overflow.

"Nature of Man: Maximum Overgrowth!"

His head flew back as energy poured out of his mouth and from his limbs and ears. His eyes became completely white as a powerful force channeled through him and shot out all around them.

More rock walls suddenly appeared out of the ground but in much quicker time than earlier and they shot up high into the sky, enveloping the entirety of the tornado.

Vines ripped out of the ground and grabbed Two before impacting the wall - they drug him against the far wall and kept him in place. Then multiple walls shot up one after the other encapsulating the tornado until it wasn't even visible anymore.

"Oh no…One, stop!!" Two yelled out. He had only seen this move once before.

"AAAHHHHHHH!" One yelled as he continued to put his all into this move.

Maximum Overgrowth is One's ability, Nature of Man, multiplied to an unknown degree. It allows him to connect to all nature in a way that he wouldn't be able to normally - he can create structures three times as fast as normal and he can break one of the few limitations his ability has.

As long as maximum overgrowth is in effect, he can manipulate all forms of nature within that area simultaneously.

With the tornado now trapped behind several layers of airtight earth, it slowly began to lose energy. Energy continued to pour out of One as he channeled himself through mother nature herself. In this state, he was no longer One. He was….everything.

All great forms of power come at a cost however.

The rumbling inside the rock tomb became quieter until there was no sound at all.

Two watched from the sidelines as most of his body was still encased in vines to prevent him from getting caught up in the winds of the tornado.

"He…he did it." Two released his flames to burn away the vines and immediately ran to One's side.

"Captain!" The energy coming from One subsided and the pupils returned to his eyes. He looked at the incoming Two and replied with a weak smile, then he collapsed to the ground in front of him.

Two got to him and picked him off the ground into his arms. "Captain, why would you use that move?! You know the side effects…"

One was starting to sweat and his breathing had become labored. "You…*huff*...you know why, Two..*huff*" He looked up towards Two's face. "It's my job."

This was why One had the respect of not one but many generations of Midnight Squad. While he wields such power, he never saw himself too good to put everything on the line for his team.

Two bit down hard on his lip. He hated the fact that One had to resort to using that move because he wasn't strong enough to finish Leo. He, the supposed ace, had allowed this to happen.

Maximum Overgrowth is the big trick up his sleeve, Two thought to himself. It raises every faucet of 'Nature of Man' to an insane degree. But….the drawback is almost not worth it.

He looked at One as he was attempting to recompose himself. The price for such power is time shaved off his own life, Two thought solemnly. No one has been gifted such incredible power as One, but it may just be his greatest curse.

*RRRRMMMMMM*

Two quickly looked away from One as the sound of vehicles approaching caught his attention.

One lifted up his head, "Is that an engine?"

Maximum Overgrowth left One momentarily in a disabled state where his connection with the nature around him was very weak, so he was unable to use his all seeing sight.. It would be hours before it would return to normal.

"I think so. Let me get a closer look."

He let One lay back on the ground to recover as he walked towards the entrance to the base. The walls that One initially put up were still there, but there was an opening between the base and one of the walls that he could slip through to see what was going on.

As Two rounded the corner of the wall, he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"What is it, Two?" One called out.

"There's military jeeps headed this way…and there's quite a few of them."

The jeeps pulled up several feet away from the wall blocking the road leading to the base. In quick fashion, soldiers jumped out of the jeeps all armed with assault rifles and heavy armor. There were even several with RPGs. They organized in formation in front of the jeeps, unsure of what threat they may be there to face.

"What's happening over there, Two??" One called out.

"I'm not quite sure, Captain. I think they came to back us up…did Sadiki send out a call for help?" Anyone who knew Haji knew that calling for backup was a strict last resort as he didn't want to seem incompetent at dealing with the job. Much less from a different base altogether.

"Oh, you're kidding me." Two said in disbelief.

"What?"

Two watched as Victor Anderson walked out from the jeep in the rear with a soldier on either side of him.

"It's the fucking Vice-President."