Nuclear

Lee whips out his gun and shoots it at the bombardier beetle. As the bullets came in contact with his skin, it merely left a mark and melted away.

"Holy shit bro is built." Mohammed suddenly said.

"I know bruh. Aye! How'd you get that physique?" Lee asked him.

"Go kill yourself!" The man yelled at him.

"Aye! Woah woah woah! Settle down there buddy! The fuck is wrong with you telling a man to kill himself?" Mohammed exclaimed jokingly.

"Do not call me, buddy!" The man yelled as he stomped his foot into the ground. The entire cart shook and the walls began to morph.

"Take the kid! I'll deal with this bitch!" Mohammed told Lee.

Lee picked up Jeremy and started sprinting away. Mohammed stared at the man, he grinned but was nervous at the same time. "What is this feeling?" Mohammed thought. He was nervous yet excited at the same time. He tried to get his spear but it was melted to a blob of red molten liquid. Mohammed started to hop around and shuffled his feet as he brought his hands up.

"C'mon pussy!" Mohammed said. The man charged at him and Mohammed ducked down. Mohammed uppercuts the man's liver but he only merely grazed him. The man swung his elbow down but Mohammed stepped to the side and dodged it. Mohammed jabbed his face two times and roundhouse kicks him in the chest. The man flails his arm back to Mohammed but he ducks and chops him in the armpit. The man stumbled back and Mohammed kicked him behind the knee. The man kneels down and Mohammed front kicks him face. Mohammed jumps back and he raises his hand and holds still for a bit. Mohammed swoops in trying to hook him in the face but is grabbed by the man. He gets slammed into the ground and the man starts blasting Mohammed's face with explosive punches. After he felt that he had done enough to not kill him but put him on the verge of death, he stood up and stared down at Mohammed.

Mohammed's face was about to melt away and bruises covered his entire facial area. He could barely talk or even breathe.

"Humans have advanced so far through technology and transportation along with interstellar exploration. But there is still one thing that hasn't changed a single bit throughout the history of the human race, and that thing is war." The man stared down at Mohammed in sorrow. He was someone's son, a friend of many people, but now he was unrecognizable. Suddenly he heard fast paced footsteps coming from where the train drove off. From around the cliffside emerged an enraged Lee. He sprinted right towards the giant brolic man without a moment's hesitation and punched him in the gut. The man stepped back from the sheer power that was just exerted on him.

"What the fuck?" But before the man could regain his composure, Lee kicked him in the testicles. The man fell to the ground and Lee started kicking him into the ground. Lee mounted him and started to pound on his face too. The man tried to use his explosions on Lee, but he just kept regenerating. Finally, the man was close to death and Lee pulled out a shotgun that was holstered on his back. He pointed it at the man and shot it straight into his face. The man's head exploded along with meat and brain matter spewing everywhere. Lee drops the gun and sprints over to Mohammed who laid there without moving a single finger. Lee checked his pulse but it wasn't quite clear so he held his head up to his chest. He heard a faint pulse and he sat up while sighing in relief.

"Lee..." Mohammed said in a low raspy voice.

"Don't talk you dumbass, you're gonna hurt yourself even more if you do." Lee told him.

"No...Please, bury me in the fields of Germun... That's my only wish Lee, please..." Mohammed's heat faded and his head slumped to the side. Lee shook him a little bit but no response. He checked his pulse and heartbeat but nothing. Mohammed had died. Lee grit his teeth and his eyes began to water. He picked up Mohammed's corpse and dragged himself into a residential train which was also going to Dru. After a few hours they arrived and everyone was waiting for them. Diana, Finna, Jimmy, Zyion, and Jeremy were all there. Lee dropped Mohammed's lifeless body down and got on his knees. He grasped his hair and punched the ground creating a small crater.

"No, it can't be." Diana said as she knelt down beside Mohammed.

"This fucker...He said he wouldn't die a virgin. You bitch! You promised me this! I was really thinking he wouldn't either. You fucking bitch. You can't be dead, can you? C'mon, you were so strong! Wake up mother fucker! Wake up!" Jimmy yelled at him but still nothing. Finna and Zyion were left speechless. They too began to cry.

"Did..Did he have any final words?" Diana asked Lee.

"He said he wanted to be buried in the fields of Germun..." Lee told them while holding back tears.

"Germun, huh? He always talked about going there but couldn't because of work. Now he'll spend all of eternity there." Finna said while covering her eyes trying not to show her tears.

Lee looked up at Jeremy, Lee immediately knew what he was feeling. The guilt of a man dying because of the importance of your well-being. Jeremy was about to say something when Lee interrupted him. "It's not your fault...Jeremy."

"What? How'd you know what I was gonna say?"

"How? Cause I've experienced this all too many times. My parents, co-workers, and now my best friend. It's not your fault that he died. It was the man who killed him who should be blamed. Don't feel guilty. This is a part of life." Lee told him.

"Yes sir."

After safely transporting Jeremy to Dru, they took Mohammed to Germun and buried him in the fields as he requested. Lee, Diana, Zyion, Jimmy, Finna, and Keller were all there along with their family and friends. After the funeral, everyone left except for Lee. Jimmy came back a few hours later and Lee was still there sitting in the rain.

"You Hypocrite." Jimmy said to him.

"What?"

"You told Jeremy not to feel guilty because of a death, yet here you are. Sulking in grief because you knew you could've saved him earlier. But yet that fucking mission got in the way."

"Yeah..." Lee stared at the grave stone. "Have you ever lost anyone before?" Lee asked Jimmy.

"Yeah, this is the second time."

"What? Who was the first?"

"You." Jimmy admitted.

Lee looked back at him quickly.

"Remember? That fucking demon thing? It ripped your heart out and killed you. Y'know, all of us were crying and shit. Especially Diana, Mohammed and I."

"Oh yeah..." Lee stared off into the distance as the skies cleared and the sun returned.

"You're handling this pretty badly despite you losing more than everyone else. You lost Diana and had to bring her back to peak condition, you lost your parents, and now this. So why are you sulking so much?" Jimmy asked knowing full well what Lee was going to say.

"It's because of the memories and the ones that we could've made in the future. But also the guilt of knowing I could've changed the outcome."

"Yeah, but he died heroically didn't he? He died saving the previous president's son and fought until the very end. Isn't that something to be proud of?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, you right."

"C'mon then, let's get out of here before you get sick." Jimmy said.

"Ok." Lee took his hand and Jimmy helped him up. They walked side by side back to Jimmy's car and they drove to the home they would be staying in for the meantime. It was a large 2 story house with a garage in the front and a large open field in the back with a pond. It was still raining so once they got out, they sprinted inside.

Lee and Jimmy hung their jackets up and took their shoes off.

"Lee, you're finally here. Welcome!" An older woman greeted him as he entered the living room. She had long red, yellow, and green hair. She had little wrinkles but still looked aged. She was about 5'4 and had a warm expression. We wore a white and pink striped shirt and black jeans with white socks and a ring on he left ring finger.

"Lee, this is Mrs. Moore." Jimmy told him.

"Holy shit!" Lee suddenly exclaimed.

"Uh, watch your language, my grandchildren are here." She sternly warned him.

"Oh sorry. But you're Mrs. Moore?" Lee asked for clarification.

"Yes indeed, I am Mrs. Moore." She said.

"Oh my god, you are literally the mother of the BHPA." Lee said excitedly.

"What? What are you talking about?" Jimmy asked.

"Bro, what do you mean? She was literally one of the first commanders." Lee told him.

"Yes I was. My brother was the one that founded the organization but sadly he passed away a few years back." She tells them.

"It's such an honor to meet you." Lee says as he shakes her hand.

"No, it's an honor meeting you my friend." She told him.

"What? How?" Lee asked.

"Well, I've always wanted to talk to the man that defeated someone that even the guardians couldn't defeat." Lee then smiles warmly, "Also, you are the sole reason why we still stand to this day. If the cult still had Jerome in their hands, we would be dead by now."

"I was just doing my job."

"Yeah, well come on in and have a seat." She signals them as she enters the kitchen. Jimmy and Lee enter the living room to see all of their friends sitting around a TV along with 4 young men. One of them was wearing a thick brown hoodie and rough black jeans and had piercings on his ears. His skin was dark brown and his eyes were bright blue but were abnormally large, he was a gecko hybrid. He was thin and lean with little fat on him but wasn't too skinny. His name was Miguel.

The one next to him looked roughed up with long curly brown hair that was combed back. He was well built and had a similar physique to Jimmy. He too was dark brown but had a more professional dressing. He wore a white dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up and a blue waistcoat with thin white stripes. They were covered with dirt, grime, and blood though. His pants had the same pattern as his waistcoat and he wore black dress shoes. His eyes were pure black and he had abnormally long and thick nails, an aardvark hybrid. His name was Tony.

The one standing up was big with broad shoulders, a massive chest, a massive back, and incredibly large legs. He wore a similar outfit as Tony but was way cleaner. He had short hair that became puffy and abundant at the top of his head. He was lighter than the rest but there were tattoos on his arms and had a scar over his right eye. He even had a tail that resembled Jimmy's. His name was Eddie and he was a grizzly.

Then the final one who had an oversized white hooded shirt and black tech joggers. He wore black running shoes with thick soles and he wore a black mask. His hair was black and curled at the top but faded to the sides and back. His eyes were light yellow but his pupils were dark slits. His skin was light and he was decently built. Not too muscular but not too small. Like Tony but not as big. His name was Carcas.

They all had the same worried expression on their faces along with the squad. On the TV was a national news network broadcasting an attack on a major city in Silvestr. It then played a speech that President O'Brien gave a few hours ago. He said, "As countries around the world begin falling under the control of cultists and attacking other countries, I knew that we would eventually get hit. But not to this degree of misery and death. An attack that engages war would more than likely be on a military base because of the consequences of war crimes but no, the cultists have attacked a major metropolitan area with millions of children, students, adults, and important people of society. This is a crime unforgivable in a time of war. The country in question was Sieder but I will not hold them accountable because it was the cultists that did this! It was those damn fascist cultists and their racial idealisms that attacked us, not the trustworthy and dependable country. And because of that, I do not wish to engage in war with different countries, but instead focus on the cultists within those different countries. May God bless us all and may God bless the cultists because you are going to need an act of god to protect you from our wrath."

"Damn!" Lee grunted as he gripped his fists. "It's gone international? I thought it was just a war between a few countries. Goddamn!"

Everyone looked at him as he leaned against the wall in frustration.

"Why is he so mad about it?" Carcas asked.

"Oh right! You guys aren't as into the recent activity that Silvestr is in." Jimmy blurted.

"Well basically, whenever there is a conflict that happens which is pretty often now, we are called mainly because of him. Our team is one of the most powerful and we are always on site of a major battle. The reason he's so mad is that he just got back from the funeral we were at and now he has to go back and fight." Finna explained.

"But can't he just not participate?" Eddie asked.

"No, we are needed in most conflicts because of his adaptability and how he can just magically save the day. But it's also bad because right now, he is in control of a very useful animal for longevity in battle but doesn't really do much in terms of defense and offense." Finna continued.

"And what would that be?" Carcas asked.

"A tardigrade and so for him to work at his full capacity, he would need to find a new hybrid to become."

"Wait, become?" Tony asked with a surprise look.

"Yeah, Haven't you guys heard?" Keller asked.

"No, we never heard of this, tell us more about it." Mrs. Moore said.

"So basically, he can take the abilities of an animal if he injects the DNA of that animal along with a piece of oroborn into his bloodstream." Keller explained.

"Damn! That's sick!" Miguel shouted.

"Ugh, this is just more work. Well, thanks for having us here Mrs. Moore. We gotta rest for my plan to work because I need all of y'all in top notch condition if we want to win." Lee told his squad.

"Wait, you thought of a plan already?" Eddie asked in amazement.

"Yeah, isn't it amazing?" Diana told him.

"Ight team, let's not die in the coming days so Mohammed isn't disappointed in us." Lee told them.

"Yeah!" Everyone in his squad cried.