Earth, Death Valley Hell Rift Site, 2029
4 people emerged from the Hell Rift and collapsed on the ground. Several soldiers quickly got them on stretchers and carried them to the medical tent. They were all covered in blood, human and creature alike. The team was swiftly brought to medical where the doctors began to check them out.
"Nothing but superficial wounds, go ahead and wake them up so the general can debrief them."
The team were all given injections, then groggily awoke to a large man in uniform with a stern face. Clearly defined muscles even though his uniform, along with a tight buzz cut and a claw scar on his neck, General Willard Hunt cut an imposing figure. He towered over even Zeke at 6'10", the general was easily more than 8 ft tall, hinting at the potential nature of his power.
"What went happened in the Hell Rift? Where is your 5th teammate?"
Everyone remained silent with averted gazes for about half a minute, before Evan sat up and spoke.
"Teammate? More like suicidal lunatic! He ran straight at the Anchor, a fucking chimera by the way, shouting some shit about proving himself. I knew letting you people stick him on my team was a mistake!"
The general narrowed his eyes at Evan, clearly not believing his story, or perhaps just not happy being yelled at, before Sherry and Zeke both spoke up in support of him, though they could not meet the general's gaze. When the general turned to Grace she looked him in the eye, but said nothing refuting Evan, to which he secretly sighed in relief.
The General kept his eyes locked with Grace for a moment longer before shaking his head and sighing. There were always casualties in a war, and this was exactly that. A war against their neighbors on Earth, sure, but also a war against the unknown. The reason these people were sent to the Hell Rift was because they had the potential to lead America into the future. And that could not be derailed over one mans death. He lamented the loss of another power holder with potential, but quickly put it behind him.
"Tell me more about this Chimera."
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Death Valley Hell Rift, 2030
Gregor sat next to a fire pit and piled animal skins into it. Next he grabbed two red and gray rocks, striking them together until he made a spark, igniting the natural oils on the skins and starting a fire. He grabbed a skewer with some roughly cubed purple meat on it, and began roasting it.
His dark brown hair was long and shaggy, and he had grown a full beard. He had also gotten much more muscular, the constant fight for survival forced his body to adapt. He had discovered that the more his body healed itself, the stronger he got. The imps from a year before wouldn't even be able to scratch his skin now. He could easily throw a small boulder, and had recently taken town some kind of large tiger, which he was currently cooking. The tiger had been trying to take over his territory, so he had to put it down.
Whatever rift he was in was almost entirely populated by beast of some kind or another. Other than the imps, Gregor had not seen any other humanoid species, and while the imps did live in communities, he could not communicate with them. They were more likely to try and kill him on site then talk. He kept himself sane, or at least tried to, by writing on the walls of his home, a cave he found and expanded in the side of a cliff. Though not before killing it's original inhabitant, a large bird like creature that had two sets of wings and sharp teeth.
Gregor had tried to use the bones of the creatures he killed as weapons but remained completely lost when it came to fighting with them, much more comfortable bare handed. He had figured out a rudimentary fighting style, involving taking hits with his tough and fast healing body, then grappling with his opponents. It worked well with the smaller, weaker beasts, but those like the tiger were to big to grapple. Gregor had to resort to punching his arm through its eye crushing the brain to kill it, a hard feat to accomplish while simultaneously avoiding the tigers 3 rows of teeth.
Gregor finished reminiscing about his last fight while he polished off the last of the tiger, then lay down to rest. Every second counted in this hell, you never knew what day might be your last.
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Earth, Death Valley Hell Rift Site A.K.A Hell Base 1, 2032
*BWEEEEEBWEEEEEBWEEEEE*
An alarm rang across the base. Military personnel and Powered were running around, getting everything ready for the imminent flood. Most floods were taken care of entirely by Powered, but when the creatures from the Hell Rift in China managed to completely destroy the Gansu province, new safety measures were enacted for Hell Rifts. The Top 10 Ranked Powered were all clearing the Antarctica Hell Rift, or they would be here to help defend this flood, but by the time they pulled out to come it would be too late, and Antarctic Rift could then flood at any time. No, they were stuck with what they had, and General Willard Hunt knew it wasn't going to be enough.
He sighed and poured himself a drink while he listened to the alarm. More likely than not, today he and his men would die defending the world from a threat they were nowhere near equipped to handle. Most Powered had left the military for the private sector, leaving less than 100 to help him and the various Powered resupplying at Hell Base for their rift runs in the area.
Hunt finished his drink, then joined his men at the defense line. He could see the fear in his soldiers eyes, but could not find it in him to offer words of comfort or encouragement. The lack of support to this base in recent weeks had all but confirmed their deaths today.
Hunt was shaken from his thoughts at a red flash, blinding the combined force for a moment. When their vision returned, the size of the portal had increased from 3 yards in height to nearly 100 feet tall. The portal crackled and popped even more aggressively, firing off strings of energy that damaged the building and vehicles around the rift.
As General Hunt Stared at the massive new rift that had formed, he saw shadows in the portal, and warned his men.
"Stand ready, they are coming through! Fire on my mark!"