THE MOMENT
"I'm here, Sir," Bolt strode into the President's office with wide, rushed steps. President Belding nodded at the lean man with a neon-blue mohawk. He had a lightning bolt tattooed on his forehead with a 42 in gold numbers and wore jeans and a t-shirt. His casual clothes contrasted against the group of black suits surrounding the president.
"This city is under attack by an unknown force," the President said.
"Designation: Io," a voice said. At the same moment, a golden woman appeared in the center of the room between Bolt and the President. She looked directly at Bolt; but, shook her head.
"Not human," she said. Then, she turned to face the group of men and she raised her arm towards them. "Human. Eliminate," she said. A flash of light filled the room accompanied with an echoing thunderclap; then, Bolt stood between Io and the President.
"Sorry, lady," Bolt smirked as blue electricity crackled around his body. "You're not eliminating anyone today. I'm fond of this particular group; they pay my bills." Io tilted her head at Bolt.
"Inadequate guardian," she said as if she were reading a nutrition label. "Insignificant threat. Not human. Exercising option to eliminate non-humans." she said. Her hand began to glow and she fired a pulse of golden energy at Bolt but he didn't move. His smirk grew into a smile as the golden energy continued to flow ineffectively against his chest.
"So, you probably thought the U.S. was an easy target after shutting down the military, huh? But, did you ever stop to wonder why they felt safe doing that?" Bolt took a step toward her. "I'm why. I can crack an Earth in two. It looks like this-," Bolt shot forward ignoring the beam and punched her with all his might. His fist landed on her nose but stopped. A ripple radiated from the point of impact and washed over her face and down her body.
"Your demonstration is flawed; Io is not an Earth," she said and stopped her energy beam. She hovered back several feet after she said that. "Processing...," she said.
"USE YOUR LIGHTNING!" the President yelled. Bolt nodded and electricity began to gather in his hands. He took a step towards Io when she spoke again.
"Unique Ability: Calavera's Might - copied. New priority: Upgrade. Acquire five more Unique Abilities." Bolt didn't wait to see what she was talking about and launched his most intense blast at her. She handled it as effortlessly as he dealt with her attack. Although she was hovering off the ground, the beam did not move her at all. And unlike Io, Bolt couldn't keep his blast up for extended periods. It fizzled out within seconds.
"Assessing ability," Io landed on the ground and knelt. She raised her hand in the air and it began to glow with golden energy.
"Oh hell..," Bolt sighed. "He turned to the President and nodded while he pulled a black card out of his pocket. "I quit, Sir," he said as he threw the card on the floor. It opened into a black portal and he jumped in.
"Follow him!" The president yelled and jumped in.
"Prevent human escape," Io said. A high-pitched ringing filled the air and the portal disappeared. Unfortunately, the President was mostly in the portal already. His scalp landed on the floor with a wet plop as Io brought her hand down to punch the Earth.
The ground shook as cracks spidered out from her fist. They grew wider and longer as the quaking became more violent. Io stood and smiled at her fist. She disintegrated into black dust while she evaluated her next move.
"This Earth is destroyed. Humans will not survive. Pursue upgrades."