The Greatest Showman #1028 - The Decisive Battle is Coming

It worked!

The low cheers that filled the auditorium quickly faded. The general remained as stubborn as ever. Outside the headquarters, soldiers surrounded Cage and Rita, their firearms raised. At a critical moment, Rita aimed her pistol at Cage's temple. But Cage simply shrugged and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Go ahead," he said, with a hint of banter in his voice.

The words, delivered with a playful tone, felt almost like a callback to the humorous Major Cage we saw earlier. Laughter rippled through the crowd once more.

After the restart, Cage and Rita made their way to the parking lot. Rita took the wheel, while Cage inserted a converter into his thigh. The vision flashed, revealing the location of Omega: Paris, the Louvre!

But their journey was interrupted. A tough interception forced them both into the hospital. As Rita began to sober up, she realized Cage had suffered serious injuries. She was about to reset, but Cage quickly stopped her. The nurse had just injected fresh blood into him, meaning Cage's ability to reset had vanished.

They were out of time. Omega's location was found, but now they had only one chance to take him down before the annihilation plan began at dawn. Miss it, and it was game over.

Now in London, Cage and Rita needed a transport plane to reach Paris—and they couldn't do it alone. They needed help. So, they sought out Team J.

"He knows the name of my school," Skirner said, his face full of worry. "He even mentioned my second-grade teacher, Mr. Hook Polly."

Kimmel chimed in, adding, "He also said she made you pee your pants because she wouldn't let you go to the bathroom."

The team laughed mercilessly, but Skirner quickly shot back, "Shut up! He knows everything about us."

"Really?" Kimmel peered over at Cage. "He said your real name isn't Ford, that Ford was your friend who died on the first day of the war, and you took his place, right?"

Ford stood up, stunned. "You've got to be kidding."

"Cage said the enemy was waiting for us in the sand, lying in ambush. It was a massacre," Skirner added.

The room fell silent, the weight of Cage's words sinking in. Griff threw up his hands, ready for anything. "Well, if that's the case, let's do it. This is the best pre-battle speech I've ever heard. Thanks, Cage."

The audience chuckled, finding humor even in the tense moment.

Cage called on the members of Team J to join him in battle. These were comrades he trusted, fighters who had lived through countless battles. But to Team J, Cage was still a stranger.

Then Rita appeared—"Angel of Verne." Her presence became the deciding factor, tipping the scales. Team J agreed to fight.

The battle began.

Before they could land, Omega was ready for them. He'd anticipated their move, sending a large force to surround them. The plane went down in a fiery explosion, killing Kimmel instantly. The wreckage crashed into a vast expanse of water—the Seine had flooded much of Paris.

Gavin's heart tightened. He knew Cage and Rita would survive, but what about Team J? This time, there was no reset. Death was real.

The survivors gathered after the crash. Sadly, they had lost Kimmel and Kunz, while Griff was injured. Miles away from the Louvre, with aliens closing in, escape seemed impossible.

But there was no turning back.

Cage decided to fly the abandoned plane. Instead of taking off, they would use the plane's speed to break through the enemy defenses and reach the Louvre.

Griff realized he would only slow them down. He and Skirner stayed behind, using a gasoline car to draw the aliens' attention. They stood near the Arc de Triomphe, machine guns at the ready.

"See you in the next life," Skirner said with a smile as he embraced Griff. Together, they detonated the car, and the aliens were drawn to the explosion.

It was a heroic, magnificent sacrifice. Gavin watched, his throat tightening. He hadn't realized how deeply this story had affected him until now. This was no heroic glory, but the tragic heroism of ordinary people.

First Skirner and Griff, then Ford and Nancy. As Cage and Rita reached the Louvre, the glass pyramid was destroyed. But only Cage and Rita remained, fleeing from the Alpha and other aliens in a desperate race.

In the chaos, Cage and Rita found themselves in the basement, close to Omega's location. The problem was an Alpha was patrolling nearby. They needed someone to distract Alpha, while the other went after Omega.

They argued over who would confront Alpha, but Cage's injured leg made him incapable of fighting. Rita grabbed the back of his head, looking him in the eye. "This time, none of us can escape," she said.

No words were wasted. The urgency in her voice was clear. Cage, despite the situation, cracked a joke. "Promise me, don't let Alpha kill me again. I'm not ready for round two."

Then, in a sudden, passionate move, Cage kissed Rita—an urgent kiss that felt like a dividing line between life and death.

Rita went to distract Alpha, and Cage charged toward Omega. But Rita couldn't hold off Alpha for long. As Cage approached the lake's depths, Alpha caught up with him. Omega stood before him—majestic, beautiful, and serene.

As Alpha closed in, Cage activated the grenade's switch and let go. Time seemed to slow as the grenade fell into place. Then, the explosion.

The entire theater was stunned into silence, watching as the world exploded in blue. Cage's body floated peacefully in the lake, his serene expression framed by the faint blue glow. Time seemed to stop, and the audience held their breath.

Then, Cage's eyes snapped open.

He sat up, disoriented, only to realize he was sitting in a helicopter, back to the morning he first arrived in London—not the day the battle had started.

The annihilation plan had never begun. Omega was already destroyed, the alien forces neutralized before they could even land. The human army had regained the upper hand and was marching toward victory.

At Heathrow, Team J was going through physical training. They were still laughing and joking, oblivious to the life-or-death stakes they had just faced. They ran past Cage, who stood quietly, scanning their faces. Nancy, Ford, Griff, Skirner, Kimmel, Kunz... even Farrell. He knew them all, but they didn't know him. In the endless cycle of time, they had all passed by.

Cage smiled softly. The years, the pain, the battle—he understood it all. Then, with a final glance, he walked away, heading toward Rita's training base.

Rita, ever the focused warrior, was still in training, still cold and distant. But when she saw Cage approaching, she stood up, concern flickering in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Cage paused, his steps measured. He saw the unfamiliarity in her eyes, the distance between them. But it was still the same Rita. He smiled, a gentle, knowing smile. He understood her pain, her persistence. After all, he shared the same wound.

With that, Cage stepped forward, his eyes full of warmth.

"Good to see you again."

The movie ended.