Oortian Attack

"A full scale Oortian invasion is taking place along the western shores of the Caspian sea, right on the edge of the Tamar Channel." If the Oortian forces manage to destroy the channel, most of the supply lines leading from central Eurasia to the Black Sea and further into the Mediterranean will be halted. The food and raw materials are delivered for processing into Central Europe with German industry and Italian food processing supplying the war effort into Northern Africa. The local forces stand no chance against the alien incursion, the Tower has to answer the call.

There is a procedure every time an incursion takes place inside the inner heart of humanity. Heroes have to be chosen based on the enemy's strength as to allow them to easily overwhelm their foes while also sparing the stronger heroes in case an even stronger foe appears on another side of the planet. According to immediate responds, the Oortian ship was a Space Amoeba, an cell like spaceship which once it lands, it rapidly develops into a walled off structure with a liquid interior, slowly consuming liquids while creating small, vicious artificial soldiers which are the bulk of their forces. The Oortians suffered immense casualties when they attempted facing humanity themselves and thus their plans had to change drastically to overcome their dwindling population. They copied some of the Kuiper's hive like abilities, crafting artificial soldiers which however are not as autonomous as the original hive. The Oortian soldiers are guided by an actual Organic being which shares its mind, behaviour and abilities with the artificial hive. The soldiers created are therefore as strong and able as the organic blueprint sent alongside them but their interest is not overwhelming humanity through numbers. The Oortians are interested in emulating humans, copying everything, from their biological structure all the way to our outright incredible power to harness fire. Indeed, to the Oortians, fire is a great unknown for their whole technology, society and even biology is based upon the harnessing of pressurised water. Frankly their technology is like magic to humans for their advancement is such that there is little difference. As fire is to humans, water is to them and they used water under different types of pressures to do everything, from building their spaceships, to using it as weapons and tools. Even their bodies are mainly water with a very complex shifting nervous system which can be updated on the fly to fulfil the task at hand as best as possible. Namely, an Oortian can change its neurons from its head to its hands in order to do a very complex manual job. The same they can improve their eyes to see thousands of times better. This ability however leaves them weak when more than one task needs their full attention and multitasking is something very complicated to them, to the point they are unable to do something as trivial as to run and communicate at the same time. That is why they have been doing their absolute best at creating fake bodies resembling humans, or at least the human characteristics they desire. Through crude, or rather very advanced but terribly unethical experiments their whole population artificially evolved into a shape which to humans appears roughly like a baby with no limbs and a very large head. The Oortians never leave their ships and their automatons float through the air by firing a very small jet of highly pressurised water which keep them floating at the desired height. They are not water born creatures and they can survive outside of it, also, if they are thrown into regular water from earth they have no control over it outside their understanding of the liquid. Just as a human thrown into a fire cannot control it, they are the same with water. The treated water which form their ships, is filled with small objects called Cyber Candy. They are small, round and filled with sugar, even comestible to humans however impossible to consume when not destroyed. This Cyber Candy modifies the pressure inside the bodies of water they are placed in, allowing the Oortians to control the liquids. The principle is similar to that of a battery, where two elements meet in order to produce a reaction, surprisingly both edible by humans, but then again, chocolate is lethal to animals on Earth so that's that.

As the Oortian ship landed, it destroyed several houses and it changed shape, appearing very similar to a starfish. The outer body being made out of a highly pressurised layer of water which moves at very high speeds rotating around the outer area of the ship. The top and bottom of the ship is transparent and feel like a jellyfish to the touch, or a plastic bag filled with water. Small protuberances appear on the top of the outer layer and from there high pressure water spouts are fired at the nearby buildings and civilians. The water cuts through them as if they were nothing but the onslaught is quickly stopped as the ship needs constant replenishing in order to maintain its firepower. Henceforth why the Oortians loved attacking seaside settlements or cities built alongside rivers and lakes.

"But of course our overworked architect has taken all of that into consideration. You see, whenever that red light turns on inside our tower, forces are already in motion to calculate the strength of the threat and to warn the Lion of its position."

"Why is Leo always informed on such matters?"

"You've taken on of his tunnels to nowhere too, haven't you? Well, he can build those tunnels as he pleases and their entrance and exit can be wherever he desires, even on the other side of the planet."

"Won't the tunnel's length be that between his location and his destination though?"

"Frankly I have no idea, but at the same time I believe everyone is owned their secrets. That is something I do not wish to pry too much into." Lazar and Simon were having a nice discussion over the alarm signals going off throughout the tower. Lazar was very calm as he knew all to well he would never be called to face the enemy and neither will be simon. Right now the people working in the other side of the tower were planning who to send and how much of a danger the incursion was. All would go well, all would go well...

"I require that one's presence!" A voice says as a wooden door is slammed right in Lazar's living-room. From the other side of the door the King of Carpathia was pointing with his right hand while holding the left one risen towards his face as if to beckon Simon forth.

"I shall not give you my servant King, for you will use him and abuse him for your interests."

"Then come with us as well and be witness to my true intentions. I seek not punish boy but rather to entice him to join my side by showing him the skills he denies himself. I wish for him to see me massacre those aliens as to awaken his warrior spirit." And to that Simon was about to answer but Lazar signals him to keep quiet, answering in his stead.

"And why do you wish to change the nature of such a peaceful child? A boy who right now is awaiting for his friends to be called into service of other heroes. A boy whose life is only improving by seeking peace."

"Dare you sacrifice the needs of the many for the needs of one? His arms are strong so too will be his poise against the enemies of mankind. Dare to hoard for yourself the man who humiliated my own blood!" And to that thousands of spears appear from every corner of the room, forcing Lazar to sit down or be skewered. Not even his intangibility could save him from the constantly rotating spears, a technique Alexandru invented on the spot when the two fought during his entrance into the tower.

"I shall go, but I shall not fight!"

"When you will see all the dead civilians and how easily the curs run from our lashes you will wish for nothing but to rise your hands against our foes." The king says crossing his arms as the spears retreat and the room is emptied. Simon steps into the door frame and inside the constructed corridor. The door shuts tight behind them and with a gut wrenching feeling of the inevitable sight he will bear, he starts following his master.

"Do not consider me cruel for what I'm doing is for yourself. You will desire war for that is your nature." He says handing Simon a hundred of his spears as they walk. The tunnel eventually changes from the bleak, industrial bunker it was into a grand hall with decorated archways, blazing chandeliers, endless rugs and wall draping. There were statues, some holding pieces of stone to their chest which moved as people walked in front of them, revealing the destination towards which the tunnel leads.

"The imaginary highways. How much good these tunnels could do. But the lion would not allow people inside his secret hideout outside of strict necessity." Then the King starts shouting:

"Afraid we'll dirty your toys?" He says knowing all to well the statues' eyes and ears were as if Leo himself was there but his complaints fall on deaf ears. Leo is not interesting in allowing industry to take over his creations, they are human sized so to speak, although the hallway Simon was walking through was large enough for a two way road. It was just an excuse, or perhaps some untold experience which lead Leo to know machines should never enter his constructions. Regardless, it would be impossible to persuade him for Leo cannot be trapped or confined within a room and his ability to smell deceit is awe inspiring. The ability of the tunnels to cover the world are also surprising. Not long after they've started their journey, the two were already close to their destination. Unlike the usual times where a door would appear out of the ground, this time the door opened inside a shallow bunker where a couple dozen soldiers were firing upon the drones released by the Oortian ship.

"Finally reinforcements!" One of the soldiers shouts as they were taking cover from the pressurised water blasts fired by the enemy. As soon as Alexandru passed through the door a wave of spears erupted in front of the firing line and all the drones were impaled. Amazed the soldiers stand motionless, not knowing how to answer to such a display of might. The king however gives them a mean look, unsatisfied with their performance.

"The burden of the mighty is to do what they can, the burden of the weak is to suffer what they must. I consider it a waste of life when regular humans arm themselves to fight against the aliens. It would be so much easier for them to focus on fleeing and surviving until the strong arrive."

"Regular humans drove the Oortians away during the fight for Gibraltar." A soldier tries to stand up to the harsh words but he is shut down immediately.

"And how many years did it took you to win a battle I could fight alone? Come Simon, let them cower inside their fortress of fear. We march towards the invader's stronghold." He says breaking through Leo's bunker with his spears, creating a makeshift exit right in front of him.

"Do they have nothing better to do than mock us? Why did they sent such a strong hero against only such a small force?"

"Where's the justice in this? Fifteen men died just holding this line!" Just to be mocked by someone simply born with power. The Saviour certainly did humanity no favours. The powers he left behind, the powers he granted humanity are not something one can work for but rather something one develops at random and that can be truly cruel. Just how many impeccable warriors were never given to the world as their powers developed too late in their lives? How many privileged few became even more powerful? How many people with a God complex were granted just the tools needed to feed their fixations, their ambitions, their thirst for power? How many never accomplished anything, weighted down by a consciousness and the desire for a better world?

"Tell me Simon, how would you defeat an Oortian ship?"

"I... my powers are not enough to break down a door, let alone destroy a ship."

"Oh, but I bet your powers, when fully mastered could be incredibly strong, against all enemies. Have you experimented with them? Have you tried out the full extent of your powers?"

"For what I need, they are more than enough."

"Shame. You have potential."

"Sir, with all due respect, I am not a fighter! Just because so it happened for my powers to work against your son, it doesn't mean I can magically become a hero, let alone become part of the tower. Just because of one unfortunate event it doesn't mean suddenly I have more potential than my friends with powers back home, than random people with powers living as nomads in the sea of grass, unaware of the world around them. There is nothing to set me apart from them."

"You would go against my better judgement? What is stopping me from leaving you here to face the ship alone?"

"Nothing, but then I'll die and nothing of worth would happen."

"Witness then. Inside that ship there is a small alien, which I will torture and slowly kill, then bring its body on a pike back home and put it atop my castle as a warning to those who would invade my lands." As the King said giant spears erupt forth from the ground and through the alien ship, breaking it apart. As branches, smaller spears blast in all directions, destroying the whole construct, leaving only a small gap for a small, screaming creature to be pulled out. Alexandru approaches the gap left by his spears and with a very long partisan, he stabs the alien true and pulls him by hand out of the forest of sharpened tips. As he pulled and pulled the creature's screams became more potent and it tried commanding its drones to save it, but more spears appeared and impaled whoever would mean harm to the 18th hero. Those spears were sharp enough to break through their pressurised armours and where that wasn't enough, the sheer bulk of theirs could crush through with some spears being as wide as two metres in diameter and dozens upon dozens of metres in height. Finally the enemy reveals itself, impaled through the body by the partisan, with hundreds of needle sized spears piercing its flesh. It screamed in pain and its cries were like those of... they were the cries of a wounded enemy, unable to provoke even the slightest hint of compassion in anyone present. Even Simon's first reaction was to smash its head with a rock out of sheer anger towards the invader's actions. Its body was mutating, it was trying to humanise but not enough people were harvested, not enough information was secured and the assault was a failure. Of course it was, the one fighting was the 18th strongest hero and an attack like that was something even Yue Fei could have taken down with some effort.

"And scream it shall!" The king says as he further drives more spears into the alien's body, making sure not to hit anything which resembles a vital organ. It will suffer before it will die. Once the spear with the alien was firmly planted into the ground, the King calls upon his servants and notifies them of his location, ordering his subjects to come pick up his new trophy.

"Do you not wish to kill them as I did?"

"I will be forever on humanity's side and when the Oortian appeared before us, suffering and in pain all I could think of was how to prolong it. But still, it is easy to be big in front of an already defeated enemy and the same they'll see me when they'll come in force. I have no strength of my own and being evil while being carried on the shoulders of stronger men is malicious."

"Suit yourself then." With one last phone call, Leo is tasked with returning them to the tower. But once the phone call was done and no new structure appeared, it was obvious they had to come back the way they came. Before leaving the alien behind, a wall of twisting spears rises from the ground protecting it from outside forces. If left unsecured, the soldiers would kill it without a second thought the moment they are gone. Satisfied with the slaughter, the two return through the tunnel they went there, Simon awaiting with bated breath to return home.

"Will I be required to follow you on further missions? I am Lazar's servant after all."

"No, for I am greatly disappointed in you. I know now I must find myself a proper servant, one to outshine you and push me further up in the tower's political powers."

"Why not climb to higher levels then? Why not attempt to gain the 17th position, or enter into the top ten?"

"I cannot destroy continents like they can. Although I can cover a small country in impaled corpses if so I desire, the sheer power of those above me scares me to my core. As they rise above me, little by little they take giant leaps forward. Yet fighting them is not something I desire since you'll be forever forced to fight them in order to keep them under your control. You have to use influence, political manoeuvrers to coerce them into doing your biding. That is what I aim for."