Chapter 24
The signal that was coming from above, was getting closer and stronger, indicating the approach of an unknown body towards the Seventh Fleet.
The jets worked hard to figure out what was coming, but their radars didn’t catch anything coming closer to them, despite the signal they were getting.
It got closer and closer, making everyone nervous and confused.
Then suddenly, that unknown body came into view.
When they saw it, they figured out immediately why the radars didn’t catch it.
It was a very small ball, the size of an orange. It appeared suddenly in the middle of the fleet and exploded.
A small explosion happened in the middle of the fleet, then all their jets stopped working immediately. All communications were cut off, then they started to fall dangerously fast towards the desert’s sand.
As they were falling, Rhodey figured out what that orange was. It was an electromagnetic bomb. It was even more advanced than the missiles they fired at the ship earlier.
They lost control over the controllers of all their jets, causing the entire fleet to fall.
A fall like that would end with the entire fleet falling violently on the desert sand, causing the extinction of the Seventh Fleet.
But fortunately, the Seventh Fleet was a well-trained, professional team. They were the best of the best. They were trained to deal with this exact situation.
Their jets were programmed to switch to manual, in case their machines malfunctioned. Just like glider planes, that had no engines.
They didn’t need any orders to act fast. Each pilot had immediately switched to manual control, using their jets as glider planes, despite their weight and heavy machinery weapons.
The jets steadied as they landed towards the desert’s sand. However, the landing was far from smooth or easy. The jets hit the sand hard and started to crawl over it for several feet.
Some had hit hard rocks. Some lost their balance the moment they hit the sand, making the jets lean hard on one of its wings, causing it to crash hard and the wing to smash to pieces.
Some of them miraculously landed with no major accidents.
Rhodey was one of those last ones. The moment he landed safely enough, he started hitting the communication buttons like crazy, trying to contact his fleet to make sure they were all right.
“Did everyone land safely? Is everyone all right? Can you hear me?!” He called out nervously, but the communications were still firmly down.
When he didn’t get a response, he manually opened the door in the ceiling and pushed himself out, yelling at the top of his lungs. “Is everyone all right?!”
“1004 is all right!” one of his men answered back to him.
“1007 is all right!” another one answered as well.
The calls came from every jet, to announce that everyone was all right, except for one of them, who had a broken arm from his harsh landing.
Quickly, the pilots helped their injured colleague out of his jet, while some of them crowded around Rhodey.
“What was that thing that exploded between us, sir?” one of them asked in confusion, eyeing the skit like he was expecting that orange to appear again.
“It’s a strong electromagnetic bomb, that surely follows that ship around.” Rhodey waved his hand, scowling in displeasure. Tony would tease him to death if he told him he was brought down by an orange. “Some kind of second line of defense, in case the first line of the ship fell.”
“How can we be sure that there are no other defenses?” Another one asked, looking around them nervously.
“No one can be sure.” Rhodey shrugged, also eyeing the sky suspiciously. Before shaking his head with a sigh. “It won’t make a difference anyway with our current situation. Communications are down. We had to free fall in the middle of the desert-“
“Sir! Look!” one of his men cut him off, pointing at the ship that was still covered in white foam.
Everyone turned to look at what he was pointing at, only for their eyes to widen in surprise.
Despite it being surrounded by the foamy white electromagnetic isolation and the electromagnetic missiles that supposedly stopped all its machines, that ship was currently glowing with blue light, as it ascended slowly above the desert’s sand.
***
“Where did Charlie go?”
Tony asked curiously when he looked around the room and didn’t spot the red-haired woman anywhere.
They were currently in Steve’s room. Tony and Charles had successfully connected the EEG devices of everyone else and they were currently doing that to Steve, who was the last one to be added.
“I sent her to go check on Raven and the students in the safe house,” Charles answered with a worried twist to his lips. “I am really worried about them, but I didn’t get a chance to go see them. So, I asked Charlie to go instead and keep me posted on how they are.”
“That’s good, her nerves were getting frayed the longer she stayed here. She should be with her girlfriend instead.” Tony sighed, refocusing on his work again.
Alex and Dr. Johnson were in the room with them, watching silently with deep interest, not daring to say a word and ruin their concentration.
As Tony did the last few touches on connecting his husband’s brain to his laptop as well, no one said another word, watching Tony’s fingers flying over the keyboard, until he pressed the last button, and leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
“I hope this works,” Tony murmured, eyeing his makeshift program warily.
“You did all you could, Tony.” Charles placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, giving him a proud smile. “You made a telepathy device. That’s incredibly genius, Tony. I would have never thought of that.”
“Hopefully, it does as well as I hope.” Tony sighed, with a shake of his head.
“It’ll work.” Charles looked at him confidently, giving him his full trust. No ounce of doubt on his face or voice.
Tony smiled a little, appreciating Charles’ belief in him when he had barely any confidence in himself left.
No one said another word as they eyed Tony’s laptop screen, which was divided into four boxes, each part held a picture of Steve, Dean, Erik, and Castiel, who were still lying on their respective beds, while a heap of wires were connected to the laptop, each wire was connected to one of their friends EEG device, so they can get their brain waves to a special program on the laptop, that works on translating those brain waves to a known language, that in turn become a listenable voice connected to each box on the screen.
In short, that program was supposedly able to turn whatever their fallen friends were thinking into voices and clear reactions, despite their still, unmoving form, and their inability to control their senses and bodies.
With slightly shaking hands, Tony gripped the speaker in his hand tightly, as he took a deep breath and spoke through it.
“Steve. Guys. According to my calculations, you can all hear me right now and understand my words clearly. Is that true?”
He finished his words and everyone held their breaths, as the silence in the room became even more prominent. A whisper in this room right now will be as loud as a drum roll.
They both focused on the screen on the blank boxes and focused their ears, waiting to hear an answer to Tony’s call.
“Come on, guys,” Tony murmured, his heart pounding hard against his chest, as Charles’ hand squeezed his shoulder tightly, also tense and waiting. Both of them were on the edge so hard, that they would certainly crack to pieces if this failed to work. They need it to work. “Come on, please work. Please fucking work, goddammit! Please, Steve, just fucking talk to me! Just say anything! Fucking anything! Please!”
“You owe the swear jar several dollars now, Tony.”