Star-Spangled Courage & The Admiral's Temper
As Mcginnis and Task Force Illiniwek finished cleaning up the Delzigade soldiers, the orange light of fire caught their attention. As Mcginnis rushed towards it, he was stopped by the wind pressure of something. As he looked down at his feet, he found the kids from the schoolhouse wrapped in the detached cape of the hero. They were scared and crying as the hero raced back to the burning schoolhouse. As he plunged back inside, the fire had grown quickly thanks to angry English Folk pouring fuel on the walls of the wooden building. It had become enveloped as the flames shot into the sky, but he showed no fear. As he reached the teacher, the roof's main support beam broke and fell towards her. Perseverance caught it with his left hand, the beam scalding that gloved hand as he held it up for her.
"COME ON! WE GOTTA GO!"
"I-I... I CAN'T!"
Perseverance reached out his hand. "The children are safe! Please! I won't let you die here!"
She looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but their red, white, and blue glowing hue around her. She reached out her hand and took his. As she crawled to him, he pulled her close to his chest, wrapped his right arm around her back, and launched the two of them out of the building. Without him holding the main support, the schoolhouse collapsed into a burning heap, without a single person inside. The English Folk turned to see Task Force Illiniwek and Heteromorphs put out the hero, whose back had caught on fire.
They began marching towards them, but Mcginnis fired a round into the dirt in front of them. "That's fucking close enough. There are children..."
"THEY ARE DEMON SPAWNS! THEY SHOULD'VE DIED IN THE FIRE WE SET!" The older man cried out.
Before anyone, the Delzigade Unit Commanding Officer's ability went off.
*YOU ARE IN DANGER.*
As he and the crowd looked up, Perseverance had the older man in a choke hold, ensuring to slowly crush the man's windpipe. Venus Mons' mechanical tendrils were choking out the older woman in the same manner. Perseverance's eyes were no longer in the hue of the stars and stripes, rather they had become a metallic crimson and gray.
"...THEY... ARE... GOD... DAMN... CHILDREN!" He yelled in an uncontained rage that could only be described as otherworldly. His teeth were as tightly clenched as his jaw would allow, and the veins on the side of his head had popped out. The hero had no children to speak of, but seeing their faces full of fear, full of weeping tears knowing they could've died... It took a kind of godly level of restraint to keep Perseverance from outright killing the man. Hell, he would have flung him into the dirt at speeds that would've been fatal to a non-metahuman if it meant those kids would've been safe from people like these beneath his display of rage-incarnate.
Perseverance let out a pained breath of disgust as he set the old man back on the ground and removed his hand from the man's throat. He leaned close to the old man's ear and whispered to him.
"Had you decided to kill those children... should a single one of them have been injured or died in the fire... There are no words, no movies or pictures that could or would even come close to describing the levels of nuclear-akin of "righteous level cleansing" atrocities I'd personally inflict upon this miserable shithole of an Island... I'd be sure to make sure you were last alive, witness the end of your miserable people."
As Perseverance walked away, Venus Mons set the older woman down and joined him. "You fucking Europeans disgust me. I killed the most evil tyrant our world had ever seen, just for the lot of you to act just like him... THEY ARE KIDS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" The Hero shook his head. "Fuck this godforsaken country. Mcginnis, get Barbara and the Hueys on the radio. We're bringing the Heteromorphs to our country... WHERE IT IS SAFE AND THEY ARE TREATED AS EQUALS... YOU KNOW, LIKE HUMAN BEINGS! LET'S GO!"
As Huey's landed, Heteromorphs were taken to the USS Gerald Ford. The two heroes and Task Force Illiniwek kept a defense around the village just outside of Hastings. The Texans sailors helped greet and get everyone settled in. Once they had left the Island, Heteromorphs would be loaded onto a C-7 Globemaster and taken back to the US. Once the village had been evacuated, the task force and heroes pulled back. They waved to the Heteromorphs as they left the USS Gerald Ford and returned to their new ride home.
When Task Force Illiniwek and Perseverance arrived, it became clear the Midwest and Texans didn't intend to mess around. Along with the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, was the fully functional and engine upgraded BB-64, otherwise known as the USS Wisconsin. Admiral N.J.P., known to Perseverance as his best friend Nolan, was in charge of The USS Wisconsin and overseeing the protection of the USS Gerald Ford. As the Hero and Task Force were about to board, the English Folk from earlier fired an old howitzer at them. The shell missed them but hit the USS Wisconsin instead...
Perseverance was about to leap into the air when his best friend's voice rang out over the P.A system.
"Ah Ah Ah... Get on and let us handle this."
The Hero shook his head but climbed about. Those working on the docks scrambled away from the town, for they knew what was coming.
"All hands, except for the gunners, remove covers for the playing of the National Anthem." Ordered Admiral N.J.P. As the battleship made its turn to follow the USS Gerald Ford, the Admiral grinned as he issued a new order.
"Gunners! Turn all turrets sighted with Hastings sighted. Upon target acquisition, make the Temper, Temper Incident as if we kicked over a sand castle. Wipe that area off the fucking map.
As the four turrets with their sixteen-inch guns swiveled to face the town, the gunners unleashed a kind of hell the world had seemingly forgotten. Don't fuck with America, her people, those she protects... AND NEVER TOUCH THEIR BOATS.
The old man who'd started the fire, his wife, and the Commanding Officer who'd thought he'd escaped with his life, watched as waves of 306mm shells pummeled their city, their friends, and neighbors as the Star Spangled Banner played slowly in the background. Once the anthem had stopped, Hastings was no more...
"Those kids and those people will never be safer than at this exact moment." Said the Admiral as he sipped a cup of coffee. "All hands, get us home. We'd all like to get some rest and some time away from the boat as well as see our loved ones. Also, we have a new guest aboard, Miss Arwen, the brave school teacher who defended those kids from such disgusting wickedness. In addition to her, we're hauling the hero, Perseverance, and Task Force Illiniwek back with us. Do be sure to act somewhat civilized around them all."