<center>****************</center>
“When do we start?” the robotic voice asked.
“We will begin wave one within the next few days, we’ll gradually increase the number of Clockwork forces in the city before we initiate your takeover my lord.” the man said to the hulking robot.
“Excellent! Soon this city will bow to the cold calculating brutality that is The Clockwork King!” the robot said, the dim light in the warehouse illuminating his gigantic form, and the dome atop his giant form that housed his human brain. “You’ve done well Mr. Davies, I am pleased with your performance and loyalty.” the robot said.
Rick Davies smiled and bowed humbly toward the Clockwork King, “It’s my pleasure my lord, I will continue to keep the heroes in my charge from meddling in your affairs.” he said.
“See that you do, we can’t afford any mistakes this close to our goal.” The Clockwork King said.
Rick bowed again to the Clockwork King and left the warehouse, making sure not to be seen leaving the clandestine meeting.
<center>****************</center>
Jesseca knocked on the door of apartment 415, Hannah’s apartment. She tapped her foot nervously and waited for the door to open.
The door finally opened and Jesseca laughed out loud when she saw Hannah standing before her dressed like a mother from the fifties, she had a long red and white checkered apron on, and her hair was done in a very retro style.
“What?!” Hannah asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“Nothing Mrs. Cleaver, can the Beaver come out to play?” Jesseca said with a giggle.
Hannah laughed, “Too much?” she asked.
“No, it’s perfect.” Jesseca said and walked into the apartment.
Jesseca marveled at how large the apartment was, it was nearly twice the size of her own, and was furnished with many ultra modern conveniences, quite the contradiction to Hannah’s current garb.
“Have a seat anywhere you like, I’m almost finished with my cookies, and then we can sit and have a talk.” Hannah said and scurried of to the kitchen.
Jesseca removed her coat and draped it over the back of the couch, she walked around it and took a seat, sinking into it’s plush softness. She noticed a wealth of baby items in the corner on the other side of the living room, and felt her heart begin to beat faster.
Hannah came from the kitchen a moment later with a tray of cookies and two large glasses of milk, “All right, I hope they taste as good as they smell.” she said with a smile, setting the tray down on the coffee table and handing Jesseca her glass of milk before taking a seat next to her on the couch.
Jesseca took a cookie and bit into it, the chocolate chips melting in her mouth, she savored the warmth and flavor for a moment before taking a sip of the cool milk.
“I’m glad you came.” Hannah said with a smile and a bite of her own cookie.
Jesseca nodded and swallowed her cookie, “Me too, if only for the cookies and the company.” she said. “So, how does this work?” she asked nervously.
“Well, the best way is to just dive right in.” Hannah said, placing a hand on Jesseca’s knee. “Do you need a change?” she asked sweetly.
Jesseca’s head began to swim, she was suddenly at ease and yet still conflicted. She felt good about the whole thing, but was still unsure if it was right for her.
“I guess mommy will just have to check for herself.” Hannah said and made a move to undress Jesseca.
“Wait.” Jesseca said, finally finding her words.
“What’s wrong?” Hannah asked, and stopped her progression.
Jesseca sat quietly for a second, and then looked Hannah in the eyes, “I umm, I’m messy.” she said, her face flushing crimson.
Hannah sat for a second looking Jesseca in the eyes, “Well, then, we better get to work.” she said with a smile.
Hannah stood up and put out a hand for Jesseca, she helped her up, and then surprised Jesseca by picking her up and placing her on her hip. Jesseca smiled and rested her head on Hannah’s chest and let her carry her to the bedroom, and to a new world.
End Part II
Diapered Dandy: Birth Of A Hero (Complete)
<center>Part III: Siege
Chapter I: Friend Or Foe?</center>
“Hey, you’re in the paper!” Hannah said as she sat on the couch reading the paper. She lowered the paper and looked at Jesseca, who was laying on the floor on her tummy coloring a picture for mommy. Hannah smiled at her baby girl, the way she had her tongue sticking out in concentration while she colored was absolutely adorable.
Jesseca finished the part she was coloring and looked up at Hannah. “What for?” she asked.
Hannah quickly read the caption under the picture, “Diapered Dandy is pictured here giving a few thugs a good thrashing.” she read, “It’s talking about how you stopped that Yacht Club robbery the other day.” she said.
Jesseca beamed and got up and sat next to Hannah on the couch, she smiled even wider when she saw herself in the picture. The pair read the article and Hannah gave her baby girl a big hug. “What was that for?” Jesseca asked, and watched Hannah get up from the couch.
“Because I’m so proud of you.” she said and started to cut out the article, and then hung it up on the fridge. Hannah came back to the couch and picked Jesseca up and hugged her again.
“What was that one for?” she asked, cuddling into Hannah’s bosom and placing her pacifier into her mouth from where it was clipped to her shirt.
“That was because I love you.” she said and kissed Jesseca on the forehead and then smiled as she looked down at her baby girl.
It had been a little over a week since they had started playing mommy and baby, and the two had fallen into their roles quite easily. Jesseca had spent the night at Hannah’s almost every night since they’d started, and the two had become very close.
Hannah carried her charge to the bedroom and laid her down next to her in the bed. “Let’s take a nap, and then later we can go out and see if we can’t get our picture taken together.” Hannah said and pulled Jesseca close to her. Jesseca nodded softly and cuddled up to her mommy, her eyes drooping as she softly sucked her pacifier, “I love you too mommy.” she said. Hannah smiled and kissed her head again, and the two drifted off to sleep.
<center>****************</center>
“Jesseca!” Hannah yelled as a large Hellion with a bat came up behind Jesseca and swung at her, connecting with her head and sending her sprawling to the ground. Hannah blasted him back with a shot of radiation from her eyes and ran to Jesseca’s side.
As Hannah checked to make sure Jesseca was okay another Hellion came up behind her, he wore a mantel of stone over the top of his body, and had his hands encased in stone as well, and gave Hannah a hard right hook to the side of the head, sending her crashing into the side of a dumpster and leaving her in an unconscious mass on the ground.
The stoney Hellion made his way closer to Jesseca and raised his arms above his head and brought them down to smash her flat. Jesseca lifted her legs quickly and encased them in stone just in time to block the attack. As the Hellion moved to make another attack Jesseca kicked him hard in the gut and put the Hellion down.
With the threat contained Jesseca turned to where Hannah was, and saw that she was gone. “Hannah! Where are you?!” Jesseca shouted, worry building up inside her. Jesseca looked around for Hannah, and saw a man carrying her up a ladder on the side of the building. “Hey! Come back here!” she shouted and ran toward the ladder, and started to follow the man.
As she neared the top of the building a bright light flashed in front of her, and suddenly the man was above her, he dropped onto her, his feet planted firmly in her face, causing her to plummet to the ground. Jesseca recovered after a moment, her back aching from the fall, and she shakily got to her feet. What the heck was that?” she thought just before there was another flash behind her, and then a hard blow came to her back and sent her into the wall of the building.
“Diapered Dandy, I suggest you stay down.” the mystery man said, his voice muffled by a cloth covering the lower part of his face. He looked like something out of a history book, he had heavy medieval armor on, all black as pitch, and his hair was tied into a ponytail, giving him the look of a knight and a ninja mixed together.
Jesseca rose to her feet again, “And why would I want to do that Mr. Mystery, it’s hard to kick your ass when I’m laying down.” she said with gritted teeth and ran toward her attacker, her hands glowing brightly with energy. She made it to where he stood unflinching, and swung at him, he leapt above her attack and whirled around to kick her in the back of the head, sending her once again to the ground.
“We are not enemies Dandy, if you allow me to complete my goal we can part ways peacefully.” he said.
Jesseca was up again, “And just what is your goal? Because if it’s to piss me off then you’ve more than accomplished it.” she said.
The man stood silent for a moment, “My goal is to destroy Half-Life Hannah, for the good of the city.” he told her.
Jesseca chuckled, “See that’s gonna be a problem.” she said. “Y’see Hannah is a hero, like me, and if you want to destroy her then you have to go through me.” she told him and charged her fists with energy again.
“Very well.” the man said simply, and unsheathed a sword that he wore behind his back. “I, Dementia’s Knight challenge you to a duel to the death.” he said and took his battle stance.
Jesseca began to chuckle, “Dementia’s Knight? What kind of retarded name is that?” she asked, trying to stop her laughter.
Dementia’s Knight said nothing, he just stood silent with his sword drawn and pointed at her.
“Alright bonehead, I’ll fight you, but when I win you have to tell me what you want with Hannah.” she said.
Dementia’s Knight was about to speak when a blast of radiation hit him from above and knocked him to the ground. He was down for a second, and then disappeared in a bright flash of light.
“You ok?” Hannah asked weakly from her rooftop perch.
Jesseca nodded, “You?” she asked.
Hannah nodded and lay back down.
Jesseca climbed up to where Hannah was and helped her down to the ground, “That guy was trying to kill you, do you have any idea why?” she asked.
Hannah shrugged, “No idea, he was probably some kind of nut.” she said.
Dementia’s Knight watched the two depart from a nearby rooftop, “I failed you my master, I am sorry.” he said into the communication device on his wrist.
“Half-Life Hannah must be destroyed, you will not fail me again.” the voice on the other end said.
Dementia’s Knight nodded, “I understand master.” he said and teleported away to plan his next attack.
<center>****************</center>
The sun was starting to set on another day in Paragon city, a pinky orange reflection shone on the waters of Independence Port as the city began to wind down. Jesseca and Hannah were entering Hannah’s apartment as night took hold of the city.
“Well, as much fun as that was, I think I’m gonna call it a day.” Hannah said, and flopped onto the couch.
Jesseca sat next to the couch on the floor and watched Hannah drift off to sleep. “Are you mad at me?” she asked suddenly.
Hannah’s eyes opened slowly and she looked at Jesseca, she stroked the girl’s cheek and smiled, “Why would I be mad at you?” she asked.
Jesseca shrugged, “I let that guy hurt you.” she said.
Hannah sat forward and kissed Jesseca on the forehead, “It wasn’t your fault honey, he blindsided me.” she said.
Jesseca nodded and smiled, “Ok, I’ll let you rest now.” she said and rose to leave.
Hannah grabbed Jesseca by the edge of the girl’s shirt and pulled her to her, “Come lay with me.” she said, and helped Jesseca onto her. Jesseca slipped her thumb into her mouth as she lay on top of Hannah, and the two went to sleep together.
“How sweet.” Dementia’s Knight said as he watched the two women through a pair of binoculars from the roof of the building across the street.
He teleported into Hannah’s bedroom, and quietly crept into the living room, his sword drawn. He slunk to the couch and raised his sword above his head, ready to bring it down on Hannah and Jesseca.
Jesseca opened her eyes and leapt from the couch at him, the pair flew backward and crashed into the wall behind them. “You’re starting to get on my nerves!” she shouted and punched him in the stomach, cracking his armor with the blow.
“This is not your fight!” he shouted and pushed her backward.
“You’re right, it’s mine!” Hannah said, and blasted him again with her radiation, sending him crashing through the wall and hurtling into the building across the street. Hannah got up from the couch and flew across the street to where her opponent had landed, she looked around for him, and then took a blow to the head after he’d teleported above her. Hannah flew out of the building and recovered in midair.
“I must destroy you for the good of the city!” Dementia’s Knight shouted to her from the building.
“But I’m a hero, I’d never do anything to hurt this city.” she told him.
“My master informed me of your plot to destroy the city.” he told her.
Hannah shook her head, “Your master is mistaken, I’m a defender of the city, I fight for it, not against it.” she said.
Dementia’s Knight stood silent for a moment, thinking over her words. “I did find it odd that you were fighting the Hellions earlier, but I assumed it was over territory.” he said.
“So you believe me?” she asked.
He nodded, “Were you really a villain, you would have attempted to destroy me, and caused much loss of life in the process.” he said. “I give you my sincerest apologies.” he said with a bow, and teleported away.
Hannah flew back to her apartment and sat on the couch next to Jesseca, “What a day this has been.” she said.
“So he’s gonna leave you alone now?” Jesseca asked.
Hannah nodded, “Yeah, he’s gone.” she said.
“I wonder who he was, and who is master is.” Jesseca said.
Hannah pulled the girl close to her. “Best not to worry about it, for now let’s just rest up for tomorrow.” she said and carried Jesseca back to the bedroom for the night.
<center>*****************</center>
Rick Davies sat in his office, he’d just received word from Dementia’s Knight that he was discontinuing his attacks on Hannah, and now had to inform his bosses of the failure.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number. He tapped his fingers nervously as he waited for someone to answer.
“Is it done?” the voice on the other end of the line said as it answered the phone.
Rick swallowed hard, “No sir, the attempt failed, and our assassin has broken his alliance with us.” he said, thankful that he didn’t have to give this news in person.
“I don’t like failure Rick, especially when it’s failure in a mission that could save this city.” the man said.
“I understand sir, and I assure you that Half-Life Hannah will be taken care of before she can do any harm to the city.” Rick said, loosening his tie.
“See that she is, according to our intelligence we only have two weeks to stop her before she becomes unstable.” the man said.
Rick nodded, “I understand sir, still no word on what will cause her to go rogue?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not, which means that we have to stop her before it can happen.” the man said.
“I understand mayor, it’ll be dealt with soon.” Rick said.
“See that it is, and make sure that it’s not traceable back to us.” the mayor said and hung up the phone.
Rick hung up the phone and sat quietly in his office, “This is just what I need.” he said and shook his head before starting work on his plans against Hannah.
To Be Continued…
<center>Part III: Siege
Chapter II: Alliance</center>
Jesseca’s bare feet slapped loudly on the rain soaked rooftop as she ran across it. The city shone brightly after the storm it had been experiencing over the past day or so, and Jesseca couldn’t be happier. As she neared the edge of the roof her heart began to race with exhilaration, and she squealed with delight as she leapt of the edge when she reached it.
Hannah smiled widely at the cuteness that Jesseca exuded. Swooping down Hannah caught Jesseca under her arms in mid-air and carried her high above the sprawling cityscape.
“Having fun!?” Hanna yelled down to the giggling Jesseca.
“This is awesome!” Jesseca hollered back up to her pilot.
The pair had been playing “Airplane” all morning, and neither showed signs of tiring of the game.
“What’s going on down there?” Jesseca asked as they flew near some smoke billowing from an alley below.
“Looks like a fire.” Hannah responded and dropped her altitude to get a better look.
As they got closer to the alley they saw that the smoke was coming from a pile of burning Clockwork minions, they also saw that there was currently a fight going on with a hero and another handful of Clockwork.
“Let me go!” Jesseca yelled.
Hannah released her grip and let Jesseca drop to the ground with a loud crash as the pavement shattered beneath her. Recovering quickly from the landing Jesseca ran headlong into the fray. Electrical bolts seared the air around her as they went by, and she leapt stone feet first into the small mob, sending them, mostly in pieces, to the ground.
Stomping the still twitching Clockwork Jesseca turned to check on the hero she’d aided. “Not you again!” she yelled when she saw Dementia’s Knight dusting himself off.
“I could say the same for you pint size.” he said as he sheathed his sword.
“Thousands of heroes in the city and I have to save you?” she said with a scoff.
“Hmm, just lucky I guess.” he said and turned to leave.
“That’s all I get? Not even a ‘thanks for the help’?” she asked bitterly.
Dementia’s Knight shrugged and turned around, “Never asked for it, so why should I thank you?” he asked.
Jesseca fumed, she charged up a fist and took a swing at him, hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying backward.
As he skidded to a halt Jesseca stood mouth agape. “I hit you.” she said dumbly.
Dementia’s Knight sat up with a groan, “Very perceptive of you.” he said as he held his chest.
“Why didn’t you teleport out of the way like before?” she asked.
“If you must know, I can’t. The man I was working for took the device he gave me that let me teleport.” he said as he slowly rose from the ground.
“Why?” she asked, folding her arms in front of her.
“You’re awfully curious.” he told her.
Hannah landed behind Jesseca as she answered the man, “I meant why don’t you work for him anymore?” she asked.
Dementia’s Knight shrugged, “He was wrong about your friend, and I couldn’t work for a man that would attempt to kill an innocent.” he said.
Jesseca and Hannah nodded in unison. “Well, that’s very noble.” Hannah said and put a hand to Jesseca’s shoulder, “Come on, I think we’ve done enough here.” she said. Jesseca turned and the pair started to depart.
“Wait!” they heard Dementia’s Knight call from behind them, making them turn around.
“Yes?” Jesseca asked.
“Well, I was wondering if maybe we could pool our powers together, and combat the Clockwork in the area.” he said.
“And why would we want to do that?” Jesseca asked.
“The man that hired me has some connection with the Clockwork, I overheard him talking about some sort of plan to overtake the city.” he told the two women.
“And so you thought that you’d pound on the Clockwork one by one until they were all gone?” Hannah asked.
Dementia’s Knight shook his head, “No, I thought that maybe we could raid the Clockwork King’s hideout and stop the attack before it starts.” he said with a sigh.
“Wait, lemme get this straight, you were gonna take the Clockwork King on by yourself, and who knows how many of his minions if and when you happened to find his hideout?” Hannah asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“Pretty much, yeah.” he told her, placing his hands on his hips as if to mimic Hannah.
“Even with our help that’s a retarded plan.” Hannah said. “The Clockwork King is way more powerful than even the three of us combined.” she informed him.
“Fine, I’ll go myself.” he said and walked away.
Jesseca turned and looked at Hannah, “He’s probably going to die, y’know?” she said.
Hannah shrugged and began to hover off the ground, “Better him than us.” she said and picked Jesseca up and took off to the air.
<center>****************</center>
The long row of roll-up doors that stood on the outside of the large warehouse that resided at the outskirts of the city began to open revealing armies of Clockwork standing at attention within the abandoned building.
The sound of their metal feet clanking on the concrete as they began to file out was deafening. Hundreds of Clockwork poured out of the building and began their march on Paragon City.
<center>****************</center>
Both of their communicators went off simultaneously, signaling a full alert.
“Heroes of Paragon City, you are needed now more than ever.” came the Mayor’s voice from the wrist units. “The Clockwork King has deployed an army of Clockwork into the city, and they are leaving a trail of death and destruction in their path, I implore you to confront them in large groups and bring them down quickly.” he said.
Hannah turned around and began to fly back toward the center of the city as fast as she could.
<center>****************</center>
The streets of the city became a war zone as heroes battled the massing Clockwork. Energy blasts ripped into buildings and vehicles, Clockwork and heroes alike lay beaten on the ground as the war around them carried on.
As the heroes fought back the Clockwork minions, they seemed to be winning the battle, then the rumbling started.
The twenty foot tall behemoth came crashing down the street, mowing down hero and Clockwork alike as it chugged forward like a runaway freight train.
“All will kneel to the will of the Clockwork King!” the giant bellowed in a cold mechanical voice.
<center>****************</center>
“What the hell is that thing?” Jesseca asked as she and Hannah watched the rampaging colossus tear down the street.
“That would be Babbage.” Hannah said. “He’s kind of like the Clockwork King’s bodyguard.” she told Jesseca.
“Is anything going to be able to stop it?” Jesseca asked, and turned away from a particularly brutal hero slaughtering, burying her face into Hannah’s body.
“Well, we have to try.” came a voice from behind them.
The pair turned to see Sue Radiance standing in a group of heroes on the rooftop they were standing on.
“It’s good to see you again Sue.” Jesseca said with a smile, recalling how nice the woman had been to her when she had first registered to become a hero.
“Likewise Dandy.” Sue said with a smile to match Jesseca’s.
“I don’t believe we’ve met yet.” Hannah said. “I’m Half-Life Hannah.” she said.
“Sue Radiance.” Sue greeted. “These are the members of my team,” she said and pointed each member out.
“This is Fire Water,” Sue said, pointing to a buxom red skinned cowgirl.”
“Final Flame.” she said, pointing to a female dressed in robotic looking armor adorned with air brushed flames on it.
“And finally Ryver.” she said and pointed to a teenage girl wearing a bodysuit that was covered with neon blue curcuitry. “We’re the ‘Heroes of Tomorrow’.” she said.
“Well, you guys certainly look formidable.” Jesseca said with a wide smile.
Sue nodded, “You ladies are welcome to join us and help out.” she said.
“I don’t kn-” Hannah started.
“We’re in!” Jesseca blurted out, interrupting Hannah.
“Then let’s do this!” Sue said, taking to the air with Final Flame trailing behind her. Ryver’s suit began to crackle with electricity and she ran to the edge of the building and leapt off toward the battle. Fire Water created a lasso out of fire she conjured from her hands and roped a gargoyle statue on a nearby building and swung off the rooftop.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Hannah said as she picked Jesseca up and flew them toward the fight.
“Me too.” Jesseca said quietly to herself as they began to close in on where Babbage was rampaging.
To Be Continued…
<center>Part III: Siege
Chapter III: Tears Of The Fallen</center>
Babbage smashed into a building as he took a swing at a hero flying near him like an insect in front of a person. The hero dove under the massive fist and blasted at Babbage with a sheet of ice. The giant stood strong against the attack, and smashed the hero between his hands.
Fire Water took her opportunity and lassoed Babbage’s hands at the wrist with her flaming rope. Ryver flew closer and shot at Babbage with a bolt of electricity, sending the titan staggering backward. Fire Water was pulled forward when Babbage went back, she tightened her grip on her fire rope and tugged hard to keep her hold on the behemoth. Babbage recovered quickly, and with a flick of his arms, lifted Fire Water into the air, and swung her into the side of a nearby building.
“No!” Ryver yelled as she watched the murder of her teammate. Fighting back the tears, Ryver summoned a massive electrical blast that lifted Babbage off the ground and sent him crashing into the building behind him.
“And stay down you bastard!” Ryver spat.
Her victory was short lived however as a mechanical tendril came out from the building and wrapped around her, pinning her arms at her sides. Babbage rose from the building and began retracting the tendril he’d sent out. Ryver fought against her bonds, but was unsuccessful. Just as she started to fear the worst a blast of white energy came from above and melted through the tendril, allowing Ryver to regain her mobility.
“You ok?” Sue called out to her teammate.
Ryver nodded and sent another blast of electricity to Babbage’s chest. The blast was not enough to keep him down, as he rose and hurled a car sized chunk of concrete at the cybernetic defender, she only had a split second to think of all she’d done to help the city before the projectile smashed into her, killing her instantly.
Sue flew upward and away from the carnage, she saw Final Flame laying beaten and bloody on a nearby rooftop, surrounded by a dozen or so Clockwork minions, that were blasting her lifeless body with bolts of electricity.
“So much for safety in numbers.” Hannah thought as she neared the carnage.
Jesseca looked up at her, “Let me go.” she said.
Hannah shook her head, “Not a chance.” she replied, and took them up higher into the air.
Jesseca tried to wiggle free, but Hannah held strong. Jesseca looked down at the wrecked streets, littered with bodies and robot carcasses, she took a deep breath and charged up her hands with energy and encased her feet in stone. The weight of her stone feet caused Hannah’s grip to slip, and the force of Jesseca’s energy caused her to not be able to regain her hold, and she screamed as she watched Jesseca plummet to the Earth below.
Jesseca hit the ground only about twenty feet from Babbage, the robot looked enormous in comparison to her small stature, and she was sure that she was soiling herself just looking at him. Running toward the mechanical beast, Jesseca smashed her charged fists into it’s foot, barely denting it. “Shit.” Jesseca thought as the foot rose and came crashing down on her, smashing her through the concrete and into the sewer below.
“Jesseca!” Hannah screamed as she watched her best friend succumb to the force of Babbage. Hannah was blinded by tears as she flew toward the monster, “Die!” she screamed as her body began to glow green with radiation and she plowed into Babbage’s chest, and rocketed him back with her progression.
A rift was torn into the concrete by Babbage’s dragging feet as Hannah pushed him back with her energy. Windows shattered as they went past, and the concussive force of Hannah’s energy field that she was generating. Nearing the harbor, Hannah altered her course, and pushed herself and Babbage into the air above the water.
Pushing with one hand, Hannah turned on her communicator, “If anyone can hear this, please let my loved ones know that I’m doing this for them, and for the city, Hell probably the world. The heroes of this city are the finest in the world, and I, Half-Life Hannah am proud to have fought alongside them, even if it was for only a brief time. I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you Dandy, but we’ll be together soon.” she said tearfully as she climbed higher into the sky with her opponent who was struggling to break free.
Hannah closed her eyes for a moment, and her body began to glow brighter, she opened her eyes, and beams of radiation erupted from them, her mouth performed a similar action as her body began to hum loudly with energy output.
The armor that covered Babbage began to melt as the radioactive energy reached critical mass. Hannah’s screams were barely audible as the pair were engulfed in a tremendous ball of atomic energy. The explosion could be seen for miles, and it spread through the air, and sent a shockwave to the city below. Buildings close enough to the harbor disappeared as they were blown away by the blast, vehicles were sent flying like toys through the air. The water in the harbor was sent into a tidal wave by the blast, and flooded nearby streets and buildings, boats crashed into the cityscape, and destruction came in a mighty wave.
Nothing was left of either combatant after the blast, and the city was deathly silent for a long while.
<center>****************</center>
Jesseca slowly regained consciousness, and climbed her way out of the sewer cautiously. Seeing no signs of Babbage, she emerged, a bloody and battered mess, but alive.
Sue flew down to her as she saw her come out of the crater, she picked her up and held her close to her chest as she flew the injured girl to safety. “It’s good to see you’re alive.” she told Jesseca with a tear in her eye.
“Hannah, where’s Hannah?” Jesseca asked weakly.
Sue was silent for a moment, she was crying now as she looked down at the weakened hero in her arms. “I’m sorry honey, but she didn’t make it.” she said.
Jesseca’s mind shut down, unable to cope with the news she’d received she began to bawl, and scream like an errant child throwing a temper tantrum.
Sue hugged the girl tighter, and cried her own mournful tears for all of the fallen heroes that paid the ultimate price for the city they loved.
<center>One Week Later</center>
Jesseca stood on the dock of Independence Port, and looked out at the now still waters. She wore a black dress and held a single rose in her hand. She wiped a tear from her eye and sniffled back her sadness.
“Do you wanna say something honey?” Sue asked, placing a hand on Jesseca’s shoulder.
Jesseca nodded without looking at the woman. “Hannah, I can’t thank you enough for the sacrifice that you made for this city, and for the love and care that you gave me in our short time together. You were family to me, I loved you, and will miss you forever.” she said, her tears free flowing as she finished, and tossed the rose into the water.
“Ready?” Sue asked.
Jesseca turned and nodded, and taking Sue by the hand the two walked back to the car.
<center>****************</center>
“So, my prize creation was destroyed, and my plot was foiled by someone that you were supposed to have killed anyway.” the Clockwork King said to Rick Davies.
Rick cowered before his metallic task master. “I’m sorry that I failed you my master, it won’t happen again.” he said, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
The Clockwork King hung his head for a moment, “That’s true,” he said, and grabbed Rick by the neck and picked him up, “you won’t fail me ever again.” he said, and squeezed the man’s fragile neck and popped his head off like a cork from a wine bottle.
Letting the lifeless body drop to the floor the Clockwork King turned and looked at the monitor behind him which was displaying a picture of Half-Life Hannah and Diapered Dandy. “One down, best to take care of the other.” he said, and set to work laying out a plan to destroy Jesseca and the people of Paragon City.