Above the plaza, smoke curled into the sky like dark fingers clawing at the clouds.
A news chopper thundered overhead, its blades chopping through the air as it banked toward the epicenter of the chaos. The bold logo of Channel 6 News gleamed along its side, reflecting flashes of fire from below.
Inside, the cabin rattled with constant vibration.
A cameraman leaned into his rig, adjusting focus and stabilizers with practiced precision. Across from him, April O'Neil clipped her headset into place, her expression already set.
Her green eyes scanned the destruction below, burning structures, fleeing civilians… and something far worse.
"These attacks are getting more and more frequent…" she said, her voice low but steady.
"Yeah," Ted muttered, still working the camera. "And the government's shiny robots? Not exactly winning any awards today."
He glanced at her with a half-smirk. "Funny, isn't it? We got here before they did."
April didn't smile. "That's not funny, Ted. That's a problem."
Ted shrugged slightly. "Hey, I'm just saying. Last time things went this bad? We got saved by a hero. Not a drone."
From the cockpit, the pilot's voice cut in through the comms.
"If you ask me," Harold said, calm and steady as he guided the chopper lower, "if Winston Deavor actually pushes that whole 'bring heroes back' campaign through…"
He adjusted the controls, the helicopter dipping slightly as the view opened wider. "...this country's gonna change real fast."
April exhaled slowly, then straightened.
"Alright. Let's go live."
Ted gave a quick thumbs-up. "We're rolling in three… two…"
A red light blinked on.
April leaned slightly toward the camera, the chaos behind her painting the perfect backdrop.
"This is April O'Neil reporting live from San Fransokyo, where an unknown alien incursion has just escalated into full-scale conflict."
The camera shifted.
Zooming past the burning edges of the convention grounds. Locking onto the battlefield below.
"…What you're seeing right now are unidentified hostile forces, armed, organized, and deploying in large numbers."
Blaster fire lit up the streets.
Armored monkeys advanced in formation.
Explosions echoed between buildings.
"But what's even more shocking—"
Ted adjusted the angle, zoom tightening.
Three figures came into frame.
A towering humanoid robot, weapon systems active.
A sleek armored figure standing beside it and a smaller, white-and-blue robot girl, hovering slightly above the ground, energy flickering around her hands.
April's eyes widened just a fraction.
"…is that they're not alone."
The camera stabilized fully now, capturing the clash as it unfolded.
Three against an army.
"Multiple unidentified defenders have engaged the invaders," April continued, voice tightening with urgency. "Their technology, whoever they are, appears to rival, if not surpass, anything currently deployed by official forces."
Below, Arcee fired into advancing enemies. Dexter moved with precision, calculated and sharp and Jenny shot forward like a comet.
Ted let out a low whistle behind the camera. "Okay… yeah. Those are definitely not government bots."
April didn't respond immediately.
Her gaze stayed locked on the scene.
"…It's him again," she murmured under her breath, her eyes lighting up with recognition as she saw Dexter fighting.
He was the one who had saved them when their helicopter was shot down by an alien.
She snapped back to reality, her demeanor turning professional again.
"Civilians are urged to evacuate the area immediately. This situation is still developing, and authorities have yet to issue a full response."
Another explosion rocked the ground below. The battle was only just beginning.
______
Back on the ground, the fight had already erupted into full chaos.
Arcee moved first.
Her frame shifted with fluid precision, both arms splitting open into dual plasma emitters as she stepped forward, placing herself between Dexter and the advancing line. A barrage of energy fire burst from her cannons, sweeping across the street in controlled arcs, forcing the front ranks of the armored monkeys to scatter.
Dexter didn't stay behind her.
His thrusters flared for a split second, propelling him forward as his arm cannons reconfigured mid-motion. He weaved between incoming fire, calculating trajectories in real time. One shot grazed past his shoulder, another would have hit if he hadn't angled just slightly.
He fired back.
Each blast struck joints, weapons, weak points, disarming rather than wasting energy. One monkey lunged at him with a blade; Dexter caught the motion early, his other arm snapping into a short-range pulse emitter.
FWOOM!
The shockwave sent the attacker skidding across the pavement.
Behind him Jenny was having the time of her life. "Okaaay!! this is way better than drills and chores!"
Her arms shifted into rapid-fire blasters as she hovered slightly above ground, spinning midair while firing in every direction. One second she was above them, next she dropped straight down, legs slamming into the ground and sending a shockwave that knocked several enemies off balance.
One rushed her from behind.
She didn't even turn.
Her hand spun backward, transforming into a hammer and BONK!
"Oops. Sorry! …Not really!"
The three of them moved differently but together, they worked.
A rhythm forming in the middle of chaos.
Suddenly a new sound cut through everything.
A sharp, synchronized hum from above. Dexter's head snapped upward.
"…Finally."
From the sky, they descended.
Ultron sentries.
Over two dozen of them.
Sleek, metallic bodies glowing faintly as they dropped into formation. Half of them remained airborne, hovering in perfect alignment as their arms lifted in unison.
Palms forward, energy gathering then they fired.
Beams of plasma lanced upward toward the alien ships, streaking across the sky in coordinated volleys.
The ships reacted instantly.
A shimmering barrier flared into existence around them, absorbing the blasts in rippling waves of light.
Below, the remaining sentries hit the ground and advanced without hesitation, joining the fight alongside Dexter, Arcee, and Jenny.
For a moment the tide shifted.
The monkey soldiers faltered, caught between two fronts.
But only for a moment.
Their formation tightened. Weapons came up, energy rifles charged.
Others drew cold weapons, blades crackling with energy as they surged forward again, more aggressive than before.
Above them all, inside the leading ship.
Simion frowned.
His gaze followed the battlefield, calculating, adapting.
"Resistance has escalated," one of the operators noted.
Simion didn't look away. "Then we escalate."
He turned slightly. "Deploy a squad of Arachnezee."
The officer at the console nodded immediately.
_____
Outside
A compartment along the ship's underside split open. Dark shapes dropped from within.
Fast and silent. They didn't hit the ground but spread as threads of silk shot out
Dozens of lines snapped through the air, latching onto the airborne sentries. Some were caught mid-flight, wrapped instantly in tightening strands that restricted their movement. Others were yanked violently downward as the webbing anchored them to the ground.
A few of the creatures swung freely, using their own silk to arc between structures and sentries alike. One latched onto a unit, then dropped its full weight dragging it down with crushing force.
More followed.
The air filled with movement.
When the smoke began to clear they were visible.
Black-furred, monkey-like forms with elongated limbs and unnatural proportions. Four arms flexed with twitching precision. Multiple eyes glinted in the light, four… some six… scanning, tracking.
Their skin carried a dark blue tint beneath the fur and behind them was a single tail.
Each ending in a silk-producing organ, twitching as strands of webbing stretched across the battlefield like a living net.
They moved upright but not like anything human.
On the ground, Dexter froze for half a second.
"…No way."
His HUD lit up instantly.
[Scanning Hostiles.]
Red markers shifted, recalibrating as they tracked the creatures' erratic, multi-directional movement patterns across walls, debris, and even midair.
The display zoomed in.
[Designation: Arachnezee.]
[Classification: Hybrid bio-engineered assault unit.]
[Genetic Composition: Humanzee base genome + Arachnachimp DNA + mutagenic stabilization serum.]
[Threat Level: Very High.]
Dexter's jaw was agape inside the helmet.
"…They fucking made their own version of spider-monkey…"