★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] And Tomorrow...The World! •22pp•

[El_Roy_1999]

She sprinted across the broken terrain, her muscles pumping with effort. She readied her gun, took aim and fired. The shell  roared past, almost hitting its mark. Once again, the pilot had dodged.
Ruth saw the soldier emerge from cover, carrying some kind of huge gun. Deep inside her anger-ridden mind, she realized that this gun could actually fire something that might damage her vehicle. Up until now, she had evaded it easily, but this warrior was both quick and reckless. Still, she appreciated a challenge. She stood back for a second, letting her seething rage calm a little and announced:
"I see you are willing to fight. Let's do this, no holds barred."
Then the blood came over her again.
Gladys looked at the machine. She heard the voice and shouted:
"Let's fight!"
Ruth was surprised. Was this a woman's voice? She wondered who that might be. The soldier was gigantic and from what she could see, quite massive. She shrugged. She'd be just as dead, regardless of her gender.
The machine came in swinging its arms, its guns blazing at their target. Gladys jumped and evaded the attacks, staying out of the fields of fire and using her mobility to keep out of sight. She could feel the pain soaring in her muscles and the sweat run from every pore. She fired, finally striking the machine. The explosion tore off a part of the armor, but the machine continued its attack. It delivered a sudden glancing blow, sending Gladys to the ground. The pilot howled with laughter and threw herself at her prone target. Gladys scrambled away, the machine's massive fists tearing up the ground. She could feel her skin swell under the blow. This would hurt as soon as the excitement dropped.

[El_Roy_1999]

She crawled between the machine's legs and reloaded the gun. She had to roll sideways to prevent herself getting stomped to death. In the background, there were crashes and explosions as the others tried to hold back the advancing battle armors. Finally, the missile was ready and she scrambled to her feet, now behind the monstrous machine. She braced herself against the gun, leaning into it as good as she could. Her biceps swelled against the weapon and, for a short moment, she was in awe of herself. She wondered whether she'd be able to get even stronger. Pushing the thought aside, she fired.
The gun went off, the missile shot out of the barrel and smashed into the suit's rear armor, tearing open the plates that protected its engine. Seeing the mechanical innards exposed, Gladys grabbed the gun and rammed it into the engine. With a screech of dying metal, the thing malfunctioned and spit flames and oil. The amazon stepped away as the weapon was about to blow.
Ruth saw the indicators flash bright red and understood. She had to bail out now.
With a practiced grip, she ejected the front window and jumped out of the vehicle. She dropped and rolled, running away as fast as she could before the shock-wave of the explosion threw her to the ground. Groaning, she clambered to her feet, instinctively reaching for her knife and pistol. Through the smoke, she saw a looming shape approach. What kind of monster was this?

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys had immediately gotten to her feet once the explosion had washed over her. She felt a loud ringing in her ears, her face was blackened by soot and fire and her uniform was torn, but she was ready to fight the pilot. She pulled out her gun and advanced on her opponent. She was certain that her intimidating exterior would be enough to shock and defeat any opposition easily. Still, she was surprised to find a leather-clad, armed woman stand in front of her. She was at least a head shorter than her, but her face showed grim determination. Her opponent snarled:
"What the hell are you?"
Gladys smiled:
"Private van Roithe, special services. Give up and I won't have to hurt you."
The shorter woman gloated:
"Me, give up? I will cut you up and you will beg for me to let you live!"
The titaness looked into her enemy's eyes and saw only madness. What was going on in this woman? She seemed to be in an insane, feral state of mind.
At the same time, Ruth was feeling a strange discomfort welling up in her mind. She was still full of rage and murderous excitement, but this enormous warrior was something to behold. Fighting her wouldn't be easy and she wasn't entirely sure she'd survive. Before she could formulate the thought, Hilde's training took over and she charged. Cut first, think later.

[solitariodude]

Should be for some interesting hand-to-hand combat... Even though Gladys is stronger, I feel Ruth might give a good showing, based on her sheer strength of will. K as always for keeping it exciting

[El_Roy_1999]

Gladys saw the short woman charge her. She pulled up the gun and shouted:
"Stop, or I'll shoot."
She didn't. Neither did. Before Gladys could pull the trigger, the woman had already hit her and sliced her arm. Angrily, Gladys dropped her gun and tried to grab her opponent. Before she could catch her, her smaller enemy had evaded her and stuck her with her knife. She felt the blade sink into her flesh, but she was quite certain she hadn't hit anything vital.
Gladys turned around, her hand shot out and she smashed her fist into the leather-clad woman's face.
Ruth saw stars. For a few moments, she was unsure of who and where she was. The taller fighter had sent a massive force into her face and she could feel her cheek swell. Something had burst under her skin and one of her teeth swam in the blood that oozed into her mouth. She ducked and evaded the second blow, spitting out the cracked white clump. She had to finish this quickly. With a few steps, she led her opponent into treacherous, ruptured ground. She glanced back and saw that several of their machines had already been destroyed. Also, the air support was waning. This was bad. She had to free herself to decide on a tactic.
Gladys understood her enemy's actions. She could almost smell her fear. She tore a screaming metal tube from the wrecked battle armor and swung it around. Combined with her size, this would give her the reach she'd need to defeat her opponent. Before the smaller woman could react, she struck at her.
Ruth could barely duck away as the rod came dangerously close to break her skull. This was getting worse and worse.

[El_Roy_1999]

In a split-second, she made up her mind. She jumped forward, did an awkward roll and stuck her knife into the giantess' thigh. Then, before Hilde's training could take over, she clambered on her opponent's chest and slapped her ears with her cupped hands.
Gladys was so surprised by the sudden attack, she couldn't even react. Instead, she just stood there as the small woman wounded her and sent her stumbling. Before she could try to catch her, the other woman had taken off and was running to the wreck of her armor. The taller woman stumbled after her, but the wound in her leg slowed her.
Meanwhile, as the monstrous woman loomed closer, Ruth grabbed the radio and shouted:
"Get me out of here! Now!"
There were some garbled answers, but she hoped she would be able to hold on. This operation was a failure, but she wouldn't leave it at that. The Master still had a card up his sleeve.
"Initiate order 'stalemate'!"
More grumbling and groaning, but as she looked above, she saw the bomb doors open above her. This would be one hell of a surprise.
Gladys stumbled after her. This wouldn't work. She cursed under her breath. For all her strength, she had failed. She'd have to do something about this. This was so embarrassing. Now she saw a rope-ladder fall from the sky. The woman was escaping. She gritted her teeth and tried to follow her, but the pain was too much. She saw the leather-clad fighter disappear in the air, screaming:
"You'll pay for this!"
Gladys lifted her fist helplessly. She had failed to defeat her, but the Master's operation had also collapsed. She was somewhat proud of this, the fading adrenaline returning her pain.
Then, she realized what they were planning to do and dropped to the ground, shouting at everybody around her to do the same.

[solitariodude]

Great action sequence, and really enjoying how it's playing out

[El_Roy_1999]

When the explosions finally died down, Gladys looked up. Her head was swimming as she realized the destruction the air-ships had left in their wake. Most of the mine had collapsed, the buildings were burning and there were dead everywhere. She shuddered and felt sick. Eventually, she could hold it no longer and threw up. It took a while for her to recover. When she finally caught her breath, she realized that she was hurt. She saw medics advance through the treacherous terrain, recovering the wounded and marking the dead. Amidst the burning wasteland, she finally understood that this was war. The illusions she had harbored about an honorable duel with other warriors were shattered. She stumbled off to reach the communications post, trying to ignore the screams of the dying. Then, with sudden clarity, she stopped, bound her wound and returned on the ravaged battlefield. With absolute calm and devotion, she began clearing the rubble, helping the rescuers find the wounded, carrying them to safety and doing what she could to save them.
When she finally collapsed after hours of labor, the other medics brought her to the field hospital. There, she found the Colonel.
He looked at her, impressed, and said:
"Private, that was quite the fight you gave. Excellent. I have taken the opportunity to promote you. Consider yourself a PFC."
She mumbled:
"Thank you, sir."
"Also, there might be some decorations in your future, but due to the ... specific nature of your gender and ... well, physique, we won't be able to publish this. Not until we find a way to put it in the right words. For now, thank you."
In the background, she saw people with cameras walk around, preparing to film the events. She asked:
"Sir, what is going on?"
"Ah, we may have found a chink in the Master's armor. His public image is his strength. And this, bombing innocent workers, might not have been his best action. Also, the greed for gold is a horrible motivation for a philanthropist, isn't it?"
Gladys nodded, but said:
"Sir, I doubt that his motive was simple greed."
He shrugged.
"We'll see to that."

[El_Roy_1999]

Three days later, the Master called his helpers to his chambers. He sat there, smiling gently.
"My pupils, it is always good to prepare a contingency. I am sad to have lost so many of our followers, but their sacrifice hasn't been in vain."
Ruth looked at Velasquez who was sitting right next to her. Clearly, his plan had failed. She wondered why. The idea had been pretty good: They had infiltrated helpers into the workforce over several months, had prepared their assault meticulously and been ready for anything. The sudden appearance of these mysterious soldiers, probably Americans, had been a surprise, but nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the plan had quickly collapsed when they started loosing their armor.
The strange, enormous woman was the same. Where did she come from? Where did she get her strength?
Ruth was certain: She'd have to train harder and match this fighter. Match? Hah! Overcome her was more like it. She'd outdo this lumbering giant in strength, speed and aggression. She'd have to ask Hilde. There must be ways to increase her power and fierceness even further.
Jacob was calm. He explained:
"The contingency was simple: Now that the major gold mine for worldwide production is knocked out, it is our opportunity to make an offer to the world. Without an ongoing supply of gold, financial stability in international trade is difficult. Happily, we can guarantee this stability. For now, let them suffer."
Velasquez gave him a confused look:
"What? We did this for money?"
"Not at all, my student. Just the opposite. With our fleet of airships, we will soon control international trade. We will set standards and gently meld the World towards unity. This was the first step, more will follow."

[solitariodude]

Collateral damage

[El_Roy_1999]

A few days later, Gladys had recovered enough to resume her training schedule. She was determined to improve herself further. The professor was quite happy about this, taking the opportunity to measure her changes and bodily parameters. The other soldiers were skeptical. Some of them suggested they should also be allowed to receive the treatment, but the majority was more than a little afraid of this. There were rumors of what had happened to earlier prototypes and hushed talk of hidden graves on the base's area.
For Gladys, all this was far away. She was amazed by the changes she had gone through and greatly enjoyed herself. Right then, she was lying on a bench and pressed ridiculous amounts of weight, her biceps swelling as she lowered the bar down. Then, slowly, she pushed it back up, her brow erupting in sweat. The pump felt incredible. She racked the barbell and sat up. She jotted down her results and got to her feet. The quartermaster had finally provided her with appropriate training dress and she was feeling good. She looked at the mirror and marveled at her reflection. She wore an olive-green leotard and some wide pants. Her top barely covered her wide chest and accentuated her small waist, her armor-plate pectorals straining against the fabric. She had adapted the Charles-Atlas-programme to her now improved physique and was training hard to match the Greek goddess look she had decided on.
Grinning, she went through a series of flexes and finally went into a most-muscular pose. She blushed as the frame of bulging muscles formed a circle under her bull-neck. Once again, the feeling of moisture between her legs made her moan. She'd have to do something about this. Soon.

[solitariodude]

Bigger and stronger and BIGGER and STRONGER...

[El_Roy_1999]

Hilde was surprised. When Ruth had returned, the woman had been very angry and frustrated. She had left to go to the training chambers and had stayed there for quite some time, working herself into sweaty numbness. Eventually, she had come back and had ordered her into her room. Ordered. Hilde had been so astonished, she had simply complied. She wondered why, but before she could, Ruth had come in from the bathroom, all clean and fresh-smelling. Before she could say anything, the muscular woman had walked over to her and forced her on her knees. She had pushed her face to the ground and said:
"Stay down."
Hilde had asked:
"Why? What is going on?"
The Master's assistant had just grunted and reached over for her riding crop. Before she could say a thing, Hilde had found herself tied to the bed spread-eagled. After an initial feeling of irritation, she had accepted this, unsure of what Ruth wanted to tell her. She had decided to just let it happen. However, she felt a slight pang of panic rise up in her when Ruth had snapped open her switchblade and quickly cut open her clothes. The woman looked down on her victim and said:
"I will become the greatest and most cruel and savage warrior that ever lived. You will train me and you will become my servant and retainer."
The lying woman gasped as Ruth slid her finger in her exposed snatch.
She moaned:
"Yes, mistress ..."

[solitariodude]

  (these little emoticons sure can sum it up )

[El_Roy_1999]

Thank you for your ongoing support, solitariodude. I really appreciate this.
Since I might be writing a short vignette on the side, do you have any special wishes?
Any things you like to have in a story?