Punches were traded by the two Golems, at even strengths, it seemed like a match that would drag for an eternity or until their batteries gave out. Ragnar took a few punches before throwing the enemy Golem out of the area toward a fountain in the center of the surrounding skyscrapers.

“Level that building until we find that damn fuel cell!” Reves commanded his men with a wave of his hand.

“Right away sir!” Toomes led the soldiers to the ship to locate some heavy weaponry that can make the job swift and chaotic. They pulled out grenade launchers, C4s, and enough ammo to keep doing the job until it was done.

“Make sure you leave nothing standing, that fuel cell is our top priority.” Toomes told the soldiers.

They all nodded in agreement and loaded up their weapons before they proceeded to the building where Deacon and Ashe were stowed away in. The guns clicked open and grenades were loaded into their barrels then clicked back. Armed. They were going to get the maximum damage possible and collateral damage was imminent.

“What about the Golem?” The pilot asked Toomes.

The loud, violent sounds of the Golems’ punches echoed through the island announcing their battle. The booming made Toomes stop his response and used his finger to see if the team also heard what he was hearing.

“Sounds like it’s under control. Now let’s move it!” Toomes handed the pilot a belt of extra ammo.

“Sir yes sir.” The pilot gulped and followed Toomes toward the building.

#

Deacon looked over at the window across from the storage room he was keeping Ashe in. He saw the team of soldiers charging toward the building he was inside of. His peace of mind was quickly dissolved into a metaphorical pile of ashes and if he didn’t think quickly about an escape, Ashe and himself were going to join those ashes.

The empty office building soon went from a zone of silence into a battlefield once the sound of explosions in the first floor quaked the upper levels.

“What the hell is going on?” Ashe weakly asked as she struggled to sit back up. She looked at Deacon with her hands wrapped around the fuel cell.

“Shadow Cannon found us and now they’re trying to level the building.” Deacon shortened the story to get her up to speed.

“Building?” Ashe looked around the storage room she was in. “So we didn’t get to Elvander?!”

“How hard did you hit yourself?” Deacon was shocked by her lack of memories from the crash.

“Where’s my gun?!” Ashe quickly got up, hoping she was just laying on it, but no rifle in sight. Her one line of defense was missing; she hoped that it would get them out of the building safely, but now it looked like their chances of getting out went from “Yeah, it’s a great chance” to “Do you prefer to get shot in the face or blown up?”

“Can you walk?” Deacon helped Ashe get her balance.

Another explosion was heard, but louder than the last one. They were getting closer to their level and it was a matter of time they were going to be seen.

Ashe limped a bit, but only due to her sense of balance still being a bit off from the hit. Other than that, she was able to manage, “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Great, let’s get the hell out of here.” Deacon sighed and ran up the stairs to the floor level they had entered with Ashe following. Blood was dried up on her face, but she didn’t have time to clean up. She took every moment she had to escape.

More explosions echoed through the building and the creaking support beams that held up the upper floors began to give in to the structure’s falling weight since the grenade launchers weakened them until it was prepared to cave in.

Deacon and Ashe kept trying to evade capture, but the tile below their feet started to sink into the void of smoke and fire. The pair avoided some falls and jumped over the chasms that were barely being opened. The only options they had were to get higher ground, which may also sink at any moment or fight through the fire in the lower levels.

#

“This is a big building.” One of the soldiers spoke out after a whistle. They went through a bunch of floors, but still had more stairs to climb to make sure the entire place was ready to fall.

“The order was very clear,” Toomes reloaded his grenade launcher, “this building needs to get leveled to make sure there are no survivors.”

“I’d just think that with this amount of explosives, we would’ve been done already.” The soldier complained again.

“Got to hand it to these people. They know their building materials.” The pilot chuckled.

“Save the laughter until after we do this job.” Toomes led the troops up more flights of stairs. They welcomed the destruction, but their mission was just as risky as Deacon and Ashe’s. “Are the C4s planted on this floor?”

“Yes, sir!” The pilot responded.

#

Deacon and Ashe jumped onto a cracking platform of the level below them, but the area began to tilt causing the pair to slide down to the floor below that one. The motions were fast and they had to think quicker than the destruction appeared. Ashe slid on her feet down toward a bathroom and used her limited footing to catapult herself to the door with the fuel cell still wrapped tightly around her arms. The force she used managed to break it open to get her in.

“Deacon!” Ashe waved at him to get to her position.

“Damn it.” Deacon wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to make it but took the chance anyway. He slid on his leg, but he catapulted too late. His hands grabbed onto the ledge of the bathroom, but his speed caused him to pull himself down to the floor below Ashe.

The duo was split between fire and soldiers.

“I’m going to have to wing it!” Deacon yelled at Ashe, hoping to get her to leave without him and try out her own route to escape. Deacon was lost at what he was going to do. He mustered up his strength and began to run through the quaking floors and fiery halls until he reached the destroyed remains of a staircase. He vaulted over the rubble and got through the stairs, running down floor after floor after floor before he stopped when he heard some explosions getting louder. Some footsteps began to get louder and Deacon had to hide somewhere inside the already crumbling floor level.

“What happens when we destroy the fuel cell?” The pilot asked Toomes while they climbed up the stairs. “Wouldn’t we like… go up in flames?”

“Don’t worry, it’s only one. The explosion won’t kill us as long as we keep our distance. Besides you should worry about the fall from the weak support.” Toomes pointed at a cracked beam. To prove his point further, Toomes delivered a powerful front kick to fully split the beam.

Deacon used the loud crashing noise of the falling beam to make his move toward the staircase, but the floor gave in causing him to trip and let out a loud yell.

“What the hell was that?!” Toomes looked at the direction of the sound and ran toward the fresh hole that Deacon fell through.

“Hi, guys!” Deacon waved above him to the soldiers and with a short pause, he quickly stood up and sprinted out of the oncoming path of gunfire and grenades. His eyes widened in fear and his feet moved quicker than he would’ve never imagined. He focused on his breathing to get him through the floor until he got into a safe zone to hide again.

The distance between the squad of soldiers and Deacon began to grow, but only enough to avoid any potential bullets— he wished the same for the bombs. He raced down the next level and a feeling of the burden began to lessen once he saw the familiar glow of the fuel cell and Ashe meeting him.

“How did you get here so fast?” Deacon looked surprised.

“I got lucky.” Ashe was breathing heavy from her running.

“Wish I could say the same.” Deacon looked behind his shoulder to see the soldiers rushing down the steps.

The pair became trapped and they ran out of options.

“I think this game of cat and mouse has gotten annoying, don’t you think?” Toomes aimed his gun at the duo and loaded it to blow them into oblivion.

#

Ragnar gave the Shadow Cannon Golem a flurry of powerful punches to its head causing it to stagger backward, allowing a powerful tackle into the building where Deacon and Ashe were in. The enemy Golem grabbed its footing and countered Ragnar’s attack with a throw of its own, causing Ragnar to fly through the walls. Loud sounds of crushing metal and pieces of walls hitting the ground boomed through the building.

The Shadow Cannon Golem walked over to Ragnar and delivered a punch to the chestplate, driving its way into the patched wound and grabbing the interior of the hole for a good grip to hold Ragnar over its head then slamming the robot onto the ground shattering the floor design. The attacks were relentless and Ragnar’s wound was limiting the motor functions that allowed it to attack. The enemy Golem got atop of Ragnar and delivered multiple hammer fists causing parts of Ragnar’s head to become dented.

Ragnar whirred weakly, but quickly reached for the Shadow Cannon Golem’s neck, crushing it with whatever force Ragnar had left in its reserves and used its leftover power to throw its opponent toward the ceiling, but it was expected and Ragnar’s throw was countered with the Shadow Cannon Golem’s own throw sending Ragnar through countless floors while the enemy Golem followed suit with its powerful jump.

Ragnar crashed through the last floor, cutting between the soldiers and Deacon and Ashe.

“What the hell?!” Toomes yelled out.

“Ragnar?” Deacon was surprised by his friend’s appearance, but grew worried when its body was badly beaten.

Ragnar stumbled out of the hole and charged toward the soldiers, but Toomes delivered a grenade blast from his launcher causing Deacon’s Golem to shield himself from the attack, but the force was strong enough to send Deacon flying out of the window.

“Deacon!” Ashe yelled out his name, but it did nothing. She was seeing her new friend fall to his death and she was powerless to prevent it.

Ragnar weakly turned to face his falling friend with its body smoking from the grenade blast. The Shadow Cannon Golem arrived at the floor and grabbed Ragnar by its head then throwing him out of the window as well. Ashe was left alone to fend for herself with the fuel cell in her hands. Toomes, the soldiers, and their Golem stood in front of Ashe, who was outnumbered by numbers and strength. She had no choice, but to surrender to them.

Deacon looked above him and saw a shadow over his body. He instantly recognized the shape and welcomed it. He really felt that the last moment of his life was going to happen, but Ragnar used its final amount of power to grab Deacon and rotate itself to absorb the full impact of the fall as Deacon climbed into its shell.

The ground shook with a giant wave of force surging through the area.

Toomes looked over at the ground with a smile knowing that one of their troubles was finally over and to his side, the other trouble was close to getting sorted out. The Shadow Cannon Golem held onto Ashe on one arm and the fuel cell under the other, waiting for its next order.

“The traitor has been taken care of and the fuel cell has been retrieved.” Toomes radioed in.

“Meet me down here.” Reves’s voice was heard on the radio.