[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/klHHPfB.png?1[/img][/center]
[center][b]Christopher Arthur III[/b][/center]
[center][b]Lost Haven, ME[/b][/center]
	[color=c0c0c0]“Guardians, when I said let’s gather up, I didn’t mean to dilly-dally and smell the roses,”[/color] Chris snapped at the others over their communicators that were connected to his suit’s computers. He had given all the members of the Guardians these card-sized devices so they could effectively coordinate their efforts. If they happen to get out of this apocalyptic scenario alive, Chris knew he might have to schedule some drills to practice their assembling time.

	And Chris needed help now more than ever, as his fight with the Arlaaekan had grinded down to a stalemate. Although Chris might have been able to take on the alien invaders one at a time, the group transports that Arlaaekans had been sending down to the surface had created pockets of dozens of soldiers. Chris definitely did not want to field test how well his armor would stand up against several blasts from the Arlaaekans’ energy weapons all focused on a single spot on his suit. All he could do at the moment was give civilians cover as they retreated to safety.

	[color=c0c0c0]“I programmed our communicators to locate one another,”[/color] Chris explained over the intercoms, [color=c0c0c0]“but if you would prefer directions, I’m located 12 blocks west north-west of Lost Haven University. You can’t miss the mass of aliens clogging up the streets.”[/color]

	Chris peaked over the wrecked SUV he had been crouching behind and launched a missile from the wrist of his amor at one of the Arlaaekans, whose attention had been drawn elsewhere. As soon as the explosive payload left his armor, Chris immediately ducked down, and luckily so, as several green beams soared over his lowered head. At this rate, he would be surrounded before he could take out all of soldiers in front of him.

	“Alright, I’m here. What do you need?” Iron Knight heard Radiance’s voice come from beside him as he saw her take cover behind the same SUV. Chris could not quite put his finger on it, but something looked off or different about her. Maybe divine was the right word.

	[color=c0c0c0]“I don’t know if we can do it by ourselves, but we need to slow these guys’ advance,”[/color] Chris suggested.

	“Then maybe you need a boost?” Radiance replied as she reached out her hand. Giant sparks were dancing off her fingertips.

	[color=c0c0c0]“I don’t think that’s how it wo—”[/color]

	A jolt of electricity radiated throughout Chris’ armor. Yet, he did not feel any pain or shocks. In fact, the readings displayed on his helmet UI indicated that the power surging through his suit was off the charts. All the systems were running at an efficiency higher than anything he had recorded while testing out his armor.

	[color=c0c0c0]“Or I guess it does,”[/color] Chris admitted, still stunned at how Radiance’s powers had interacted with his power suit. [color=c0c0c0]“Anyways, cover me.”[/color]

	The boosters on Chris’ feet launched him several feet into the air. As he descended, Chris drew his sword. The blade’s edge sparkled with lightninglike plasma, even more intensely after the supercharging Radiance had given Chris. With one downward swing, he struck one Arlaaekan on the right clavicle; the alien crumbled to the pavement as Chris landed.

	[code][Energy Beam Incoming][/code]

	Chris miraculously sidestep a blast from one of the fallen Arlaaekan’s comrades. He counterattacked with another wrist rocket. The ballistic missile slammed into the Arlaaekan who had fired at Chris and sent him flying backwards in its mangled armor.

	[color=c0c0c0]“Alright, who’s next?”[/color]

[hr]
[center][b]Earlier[/b][/center]

	Upon Olympus on high, Hermes fluttered about, rushing to and fro between the abodes of his brothers and sisters, his uncles and aunts. The messenger of the gods eventually came upon the luxurious home of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. Hermes found his half-sister soaking in a nature pool beside her dwelling. The waters sparkled purely in the sunny light that poured upon Olympus’ high slopes.

	Yet, Aphrodite was not alone. Eros, her son, hovered about, while the three Graces sat at the edge of the pool, dipping their legs into the clear water. All their eyes were locked upon a small puff of clouds that floated over the pool. The cloud displayed a scene playing out on Earth. A blonde woman and her beau stood before priest of that religion that had ousted the Olympians from their hegemony in the Mediterranean. It took Hermes a moment to recognize the woman, since she was not all spidery at the moment, but he recalled she must have been Athena’s favorite.

	“Greetings, Aphrodite!” Hermes hollered as he approached, “Our Father has called for a council of the gods and he requires your presence immediately.” 

	“What terrible timing,” Aphrodite complained as she raised out of the pool. The Graces took the goddesses clean clothes and draped her body. “My schemes have almost been consummated. A tragedy it shall be if I miss it.”

	“Then you better leave at once,” Hermes suggested before zooming off again to pass the message along to the next Olympian.

	Aphrodite rung out her silky red hair before setting out for her father’s halls. Once she was ready, the Goddess of Love held out her hand and watched as her body dissolve into a whirlwind of butterflies. The cloud of butterflies fluttered towards the portico of Zeus’ palace, where Aphrodite reformed herself. Within the halls of Zeus, many of the Olympians had already arrived, while more filed inside to their seats, although none dared to sit before the King of the Gods had done so first.

	Once mighty Zeus had taken his seat and the rest of the Olympians followed suit, Gray-Eyed Athena was the first to speak as she rose up from her chair.

	“Lord Zeus, the father of gods and men, have we become so complacent in our ivory tower to forsake humanity in its hour of need? Did Themis in vain pity Promethides after you released the deluge upon the world? Does your underworld brother keep a steady guard over the Titans and the Giants for just a danger from the stars to threaten the mortal realm? Even you, father, smote Clymene’s foolish son with your forked lightning bolts to prevent the sun from scorching the Earth and rendering it barren.”

	“If we do not intervene, the Earth sure will fall and humanity shall be eradicated. With the mortals extinguished, our last anchor on this plane shall be severed and we will quickly fade into nothingness. Not even the techniques and technology we have developed to maintain ourselves in our weakened states will be able to save us. Are we so devoted to our mandates and accords that we would prefer our own mutual destruction to a breach of our sworn prime directive? Swift action must be taken, else all shall be lost.”

	Zeus wore a somber expression on his face as he sat in his throne and listened to his daughter’s recommendation. Once Athena had concluded her speech and returned to her seat, the father of gods and men stood up and addressed the assembled Olympians.

	“No fault can I find in your words, Tritogeneia. Indeed, even I have grown lax on curbing divine intervention in human affairs. Yet, we have stayed without the bounds of the exceptions in the mandate we agreed upon with our brethren pantheons. This alien invasion does not fall under that purview. Humanity forsook us long ago. To us immortals, humans are like unto the leaves of the trees. Springtime births the buds of arboreal foliage and summertime nourishes them into maturity. But autumn causes the old leaves to wrinkle and the winter winds seal the deaths of any that had not fallen yet. So is the race of men.”

	“Yet, do not fret, my daughter. A council of the pantheons have been summoned and I must attend as our representative. While I do not reckon the other chief gods will arrive at a different conclusion, the fickleness of our kind makes anything possible.”

	Once the father of gods and men had finished, he concluded the assembly and departed upon his chariot, drawn by divine horses. The remaining Olympians watched as their lord soared through the sky and vanished upon the horizon. Now left alone, the siblings and children of Zeus disperse to their own abodes upon Olympus on high.

	Aphrodite rushed back to her home, as she did not want to miss any of the juicy romance the Goddess of Love had manufactured. Yet, before she could relax in her pool, Aphrodite noticed another four-horse chariot  charging through the sky. At the reins was Zeus’ favorite child, Athena, not doubt intending to aid the mortal heroes, whether it be her spidery pupil or someone else.

	“Eros, my boyish child, I must check on my handpicked hero. I would hate to have to find a new champion if the mortals happen to repel these extraterrestrial invaders. I will be gone for only a short while. Yet, fetch me if things start to heat back up down there,” Aphrodite commanded as she pointed to the cloud she had been using to eavesdrop upon a certain drider and her new husband.

	With her commands given, Aphrodite transformed into a dove and fluttered away. Through the metaphysical path the Olympians had long used to traverse their own divine realm and the mortal world below, the Goddess of Love descended upon Lost Haven, where she found the Iron Knight out numbered and outgunned by the Arlaaekans.

	Seeing her champion in need of aid, Aphrodite pulled the oldest trick in the Olympian playbook. Once she flew down from the roof, she changed her appearance once again. But this time, Aphrodite took on the form of one of Iron Knight’s fellow Guardian, Radiance. The Goddess of Love was not quite as good as Athena at hiding her divine figure while in a mortal disguise, but this effigy should suffice. Just like how Diomedes raged upon the battlefield of Troy, Aphrodite’s divine power would tip the scales in the Iron Knight’s favor until her real allies could arrive.