General Freedom grimaced when the condenser struck the floating alien. The intelligence reports stated that this alien was crafty and skilled. It was hard to believe a simple object like a condens…

General Freedom didn’t finish that thought as two brilliant discs of energy sliced through the metal like a hot knife through butter. This could indeed be painful if those nasty looking objects struck him. 

As the ZPE shield formed on his left arm, General Freedom saw the alien pop up and over the split condenser. This was not good, there seemed no way to avoid being cut by the discs of whirling blue energy. The intelligence was right, this was a dangerous man. 

Dropping into a half-crouch the approach of the two speeding discs dictated he had no time for anything other than a purely defensive move for survival. Mind made up the Hero of Earth acted. 

Now a 12,000 lb. condenser is not a light thing, it is heavy and bolted down to ensure stability. However when it is ripped from its foundation a hole appears, and one appeared here. Not an enormous hole, no but one that gave him a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the flimsy air ducts below. 

From his crouch he hurled himself to his right, the shield offering some protection from the disc on his left, however as he hit the hole and subsequent aluminum ductwork the disc on his right cut across his calf, a superficial wound spewing a crimson spray across the roof top. 

Grunting in pain as he hit the ducting, a loud thumped echoed around followed by a protestation of metal as the bolts ripped either from the wall or popped through the thin metal, causing the entire thing to fall through to the floor beneath the roof. 

This small building had struggled to stand, had fought against all odds to remain upright, however that ended when the weight of General Freedom hit the floor. A loud scream of protest as joists gave way and a sheering of load bearing walls as they split and buckled under the impact. 

The pain in his calf stung, burned and caused him to wince, but all that was forgotten as gravity took hold and the building collapsed in on itself. A cacophony of sound and detritus filled the air as the four story building simply seemed too disintegrated as the supports gave way and the bricks tumbled inward. 

“Oh Shit!”