Part Seven
Far removed from the violence that boiled outside, he was well isolated from the screams of the dying. His friends and family were being butchered, that much was certain, however he had to hope that things would resolve themselves without his intervention. In the icy dark of the chamber, he hoped his friends would be able to handle the situation themselves.Still, there was one scream he heard. Silenced though it was, he could still feel it. It rattled his immense body, shaking his stilled heart. Even kept at freezing temperatures, he felt his blood run especially cold then. He called to himself all of the strength he could and harnessed the burning soul that dwelled within him. It burned to life, boiling water rushing through his heart, white hot fury filling his form.
He had to rise to this occasion, just as he had before.
*****
A great tremor shook the street. Streetlights fell to the ground, smashing whatever deigned to rest beneath them. The ground split and cracked, throwing those men in the streets to their knees. The tremors spread outwards from the heart of the neighborhood, where a great force stirred.Himmler dropped the lifeless remains of the Rabbi as the Führ-her came to stand beside him, the two looking to the source of the disturbance. “He stirs.” the Führ-her grinned with predatory glee.
“You can't mean...” Himmler's eyes darted between the Führ-her and the trembling ground, “Is this truly his power?”
“Of course, why else would I need him?” the Führ-her said. From the center of the neighborhood rose a great plume of dust. It reached high into the sky, joining the black smoke that billowed upwards from countless fires. Outward it grew, sweeping down streets, obscuring the colossal figure that rose from the depths of the earth. Slowly, the dust peeled away, stripped back by the gentle winds.
Inside that cloud of dust, the synagogue was quickly changing. The main section of the building rose up on a pair of great pillars, while the two towers that sat on either side of the main entrance slid into place at either side of the machine's body. At its center, the massive dome extended a number of long, metal spikes in all directions. Its front slid free, revealing the metal face beneath, its eyes covered with great lenses. The mechanical steel body glimmered faintly in the night lights, soot and dirt caked onto its exterior. From its mouth came a great roar, again sending the dust flying through the streets.
“Face the power of science, if you dare.” it bellowed, taking its first great step into the city. Even from the great distance, each step rattled Himmler's teeth, the vibration leaving him unsteady. Somewhere beneath the great crash of its footsteps, Himmler could make out the sound of gunfire. The tiny impacts could faintly be seen on the metal man's hide, sparks lighting up its exterior ineffectually. After great roar signaled its counter attack. Leaning forward, brilliant, blinding light lanced down from the lenses, flashing into some distant street. Obscured by the buildings, Himmler was unable to see the aftermath, from given the powerful tremors and impressive display, he couldn't imagine it was anything he cared to be near.
“Are you prepared, Himmler?”
Grinning, Himmler composed himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead, “Always, Führ-her.”
*****
He walked quickly, but carefully. Each step needed to avoid the homes that had been so carefully established here. There was nothing he wanted less than to bring down the home of some poor, cowering family due to an errant misstep. Of course, he didn't need to worry about those brown and black clad men that swarmed around his feet, he could crush them with impunity. Every step, he crushed dozens of men, others scattered from the pulverized remains of their comrades.The gunfire started again, plinking away at his body. Turning slightly, he found the men standing side to side in the street, weapons raised, firing off a continual salvo of tiny bullets. Focusing his deadly eyes upon them, he called upon the energy that burned inside him, sending a concentrated beam into their midst. Sweeping it from side to side, he made sure the men had no chance to escape, their bodies turned to ash the instant the beam struck them. Forging on, his hands swept over rooftops, casting off the intruders who tried to flee.
In the swirling smoke and dust, he saw two individuals standing in the center of the street. As he approached, they did not flee, nor did they move to assault him. Drawing closer, he saw the tall man dressed in one of those disgusting SS uniforms, a little girl in brown standing beside her. Anger grew in him, how could he take a poor child such as this hostage? There was no honor among monsters.
“Release the child Himmler, and you may yet walk away.” he growled, staring down at the two. Cackling laughter rose up from the throat of the little girl, echoing off the half-empty streets.
“Oh my foolish jew,” the girl giggled, her tone reviving a long, lost fear within the mechanical giant, “You think it is I who am in danger?”
Taken aback, the giant took a staggered step backwards, “What trickery is this Himmler!?”
“No trickery, my dear Einstein.” he said, muscles readying themselves, “Just the future!”
Waiting no longer, Einstein's eyes focused on the pair. Bursts of atomic energy lanced down into the street, cracking open the pavement and sending up a great cloud of fire. In an instant, the fire washed away, revealing the Führ-her and Himmler, standing unharmed. A dome of energy crackled and glowed around them, the dissipating heat illuminating the translucent bubble.
With a grin, the Führ-her darted towards Einstein. He did his best to swat her away, throwing out one of his great feet towards her, but she nimbly rolling beneath it. Sliding onto her feet, she charged towards the stationary leg. Turning his attention to the maniacal little girl scaling his leg, Einstein opened his mouth, breathing a gout of atomic fire down on the tiny dictator. She slipped behind his leg, climbing up his leg in great bounds and stretches.
His hand reached to dislodge her, grasping blindly for her. Roaring with exertion, Himmler gripped the end of a nearby car, lifting it bodily upwards. Spinning in place, he hurled the car into the machine's chest, knocking it off balance long enough for the Führ-her to slip away from Einstein's probing hand. Einstein's attention turned back to Himmler, the powerful beams lancing out from his eyes once again to scorch the street. Himmler bared avoided the attack, rolling through the destroyed facade of a store.
On Einstein's back, the Führ-her continued her climb, her tiny fingers digging into the metal armor. Rotating his head around, Einstein stared down at her, a great cloud of steam erupting from the protrusions that covered his head. From his mouth, another pillar of fire swept down, tendrils of fire licking at the Führ-her's flesh. Abandoning her progress, the Führ-her dropped to the street below, landing with a dull thud into Himmler's arms.
“Excellent catch.” she said, hopping down into the street. The giant roared, another pair of hot white beams flashing down at the pair. Diving to either side, they each took cover behind the ruined buildings that lined the street. Einstein's footsteps boomed through the streets, knocking loose pieces of masonry free and rattling shattered window panes. He peered down into the places the two had dashed in to, his anger slowly rising.
“Where are you hiding?” he roared, disturbing the cloud of steam that clung to his head. His head swiveled from side to side, watching for the slightest signs of motion. Inside one building, he saw an SS uniform moving slowly through the rubble, hands searching blindly for support. Einstein's breath swept down, turning the body to ash.
He knew better than to assume it was his target, nothing could be so easy. More bodies stirred in the rubble, slowly staggering out into the streets. With every one that arrived in the street, another two rose to join them, filling the street with their bulk. The dead mobbed around Einstein's feet, grabbing hold of the great metal feet, their moans rising to fill the night air. With all the impunity of a man swatting a fly, Einstein swung his great hands down, casting many of them into the street and crushing many others. He crushed them beneath his hands and feet, the beams from his eyes and the fire from his mouth turning them to little more than dust.
Still though, there was no Himmler, no frightening little girl. Instead there were only droves of the dead, wasting his time, slowing Einstein from his pursuit. Standing upright, Einstein began to move down the street, kicking away the bodies that sought to bar him. They could do little against him, their hands and teeth little use against his metal body.
A glance to the side was all the warning he had of the incoming assault. Atop a ruined apartment building stood Himmler, the Führ-her clutched in his hand like a great javelin. Pulling back his arm, he prepared his throw, the little girl aimed at Einstein's chest. The mechanical scientist began his turn, eyes shining bright as the atomic energy poured into the lenses. By then it was too late, the Führ-her was air borne, flying straight and true towards him. Twin beams flashed out, reflecting off in wild directions from the bubble of force that surrounded the Führ-her. She landed on Einstein's face, her hands coursing with power.
“Surrender yourself, old man, or else I shall rip you out of there.” the Führ-her growled. Einstein's hand came up to crush her against the metal of his face, slamming loudly against her. Throwing herself through the lens of his right eye, she flew inside of the firing tube, shattered glass falling about her like snowflakes. A powerful howl rose up from inside Einstein's shell, the atomic energy preparing to course through the chamber. Holding her hands up, she met the energy head on. When focused through the lens, it would have been too much for her, but now, unfocused and raw, she could contain it.
The atomic power flowed into her, burning inside her veins along with the sorcery that fueled her. It threatened to burn her away, to turn her to little more than ash, but she held on, firm in her belief of a reborn Germany. Screaming, she took in the energy, holding that atomic fire in her heart. Placing her hands on the side of the tube, she redirected it outwards, a great beam lancing through Einstein's head.
Stepping through the smoking hole, she found herself in a tiny, metal chamber. A number of tubes and machines were hooked up to the object at the center of the chamber, their growls vibrating the entire room. The Führ-her's boots crunched the frost beneath her feet as she approached the central object, its surface covered in ice. Raising her hand to it, she brushed aside the ice on the glass orb, looking in at its contents. A smile spreading across her face, she called upon the arcane might that waited dormant within her. Hooking her fingers under the orb, she lifted it free of its pedestal, the bonds of frozen condensation snapping.
“Hello, Einstein.” she cooed to the brain floating inside.
