Authors: Jolene Steinard | Banner: Matthew Williams

New York City was busy as it always was. Many cars were lined up on the streets, traffic was awful today, drivers waited impatiently for the traffic light to turn green. They had jobs to get to, homes to go back to, places to go and they were stuck in a manmade sea of mobile steel. Exhaust gas escaped their vehicles and traveled to the air, joining the cloud of smog in the sky that polluted the area that wasn’t just caused by the cars’ exhaust, but smoke from factories lingered as well. The air pollution was thick, causing people on the ground to cough.

The traffic light finally turned green and the cars at the start of this line of vehicles moved. The wheels carried the red car on the road, making its way to a bridge. The woman in the seat next to the driver looked out the window to see the ocean next to the city. She saw the water many times but today something was different.

The woman raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to her window as she saw a shadow in the water. Something was swimming in the ocean and it was way too big to be a shark. As the thing swam closer to land, it got closer to the surface. Soon she saw two crimson red eyes rising out of the water as it made its way to the city. The woman frantically patted her husband on the shoulder.

“What is it?” He asked as he turned his head her way while driving.

The woman looked at him as she pointed at the window. The thing swimming in the water began reach the shallow part of the ocean, and a purple glow surrounded its body. The creature grew to nearly the size of a skyscraper as a result of its transformation. The monster looked as if it was made of pollution, sludge dripped off of its odd looking hand as it walked toward the city. It gurgled as its red eyes, now with toxic green pupils, looked down at the humans in the area then at the pollution in the air.

The man stopped his car and opened his door as the woman did the same, looking at the Smog Monster in fear. Every vehicle behind them had also stopped with their drivers and passengers also staring at the monster.

“….. That is one big pile of shit,” The man remarked before getting back in his car. The vehicles on the bridge drove away from the monster who now arrived at the city.

Hedorah cared not about them, they were too far away to be bothered with anyway. Instead, the polluted terror made his way to the streets, sludge trickled down onto the road as he looked down at the cars driving through the liquid. The Smog Monster brought his hand down and grabbed a few of the vehicles, his acidic touch corroded the metallic hulls. The people inside panicked as they tried to escape the kaiju’s grasp, desperately trying to open their doors, but to no avail. Hedorah brought the cars to his orifice before swallowing them.

He absorbed the exhaust coming out of the vehicles as well as the fuel inside the cars. The humans inside had been dissolved shortly after their vehicles were eaten. Hedorah turned his attention to a nearby factory, eyeing the smoke stacks. The blob-like monster walked toward it, absorbing the polluted air as he walked by buildings. People on the streets were slowly killed by the sludge that now covered the ground.

Hedorah leaned onto the factory, sticking the smoke stacks in his mouth and sucking the smog like a drink. The Smog Monster gurgled in content and relaxed his eyes as he absorbed the pollution.

Suddenly, an object flew towards New York at great speeds. It wasn’t a plane or a spaceship, but another monster. It had blue armor with red fins on its back; blades for hands, which shined in the daylight; as well as cybernetic enhancements on its beak, feet, and tail. It landed on the ground, causing the road underneath it to fracture and explode. Gigan reared his head and roared into the sky.

He had been sent here by his masters to destroy this city and he wasn’t going to fail. Gigan lifted his left arm and brought it down on a nearby building, cutting into it and causing it to topple over, falling on the ground with an earth shaking thud. The cyborg’s eye glowed before firing his Cluster Light Ray at a group of buildings, causing them to combust. Gigan chuckled as he advanced onto the city, crushing smaller buildings as he moved.

Hedorah had heard this new creature make his arrival, the Smog Monster stopped feeding on the factory. This was his territory and he wasn’t going to let this alien take it without a fight. Purple light surrounded his body as he changed form once more, now resembling a saucer. Its Flying Form lifted itself off the ground, poisonous gas escaped its body as the Smog Monster flew forward toward the other side of the city.

Gigan slashed another building, making it fall to the ground. Windows shattered and walls collapsed in the process, causing concrete and glass to scatter across the ground. Two slits on the cyborg’s chest opened up before two razor discs flew out. Both discs raced towards the city, circling around a few skyscrapers under the whim of its user. Within seconds, sections of the towering buildings slid off, leaving clean cuts where they were. The discs flew back to their master, returning to the compartments in his chest before they closed. Gigan cackled with glee, the cyborg turned to see a giant building with what looked like a needle on the top. That was what he woiuld destroy next.

Gigan took a few steps toward the building before getting hit in the back by a series of red lasers. The cyborg screeched in pain as the beams stung his back, turning to see his attacker. Gigan gave a small sound of surprise to see Hedorah. The kaiju looked peculiar as it floated in front of the cyborg monster, flashing purple and growing back to its final form. It demanded a challenge with its gurgled screech. Gigan squawked back in response, banging his claws together.

The cyborg made the first move by charging at the Smog Monster, slashing at Hedorah’s slimy body with his claws, sending sludge flying into the air. Hedorah retaliated by smacking the cyborg in the face with the back of its hand, forcing Gigan to stumble back. The cybernetic monster grunted in annoyance before looking at his hands, he shrieked in horror as he saw that his scythes were being eaten away by his opponent’s acid. He then chirped in surprise when he saw that the sludge was on the streets was coming back to the Smog Monster, the cuts that he inflicted had now healed. Gigan screeched at his foe before he fired his Cluster Light Ray, the beam struck the toxic kaiju directly in the face, sending a series of explosions into his body.

Hedorah moaned in pain as chunks of his body flew off, including part of its face and an eye. Chucks of sludge quickly repaired some of the damage. Parts of its body had dried up, but its face had fully healed. The Smog Monster’s new eye opened to see Gigan was gone. Had the cyborg retreated? Hedorah learned the real answer when Gigan flew from behind him with his buzz saw activated, the bird-like monster flew slightly above the polluted menace, cutting into his shoulder.

Acidic blood spurted out of the wound as Hedorah roared in pain. Gigan wasn’t finished yet. The cyborg quickly stabbed the Smog Monster in the back with his tail while still flying, causing Hedorah to fall flat on his face. Gigan kept flying close to the ground, dragging his opponent through the mess of rubble. The cyborg cackled before flying upward and letting Hedorah free. The slimy monster was then thrown into a skyscraper, causing the building to collapse onto him.

Gigan landed on the ground to see Hedorah buried under the rubble. The cyborg chuckled in amusement, but glanced at his own chest to see how bad the damage was. Some of his armor had been melted, there were even a few holes where the acidic blood had burned through. Thankfully, his buzz saw had held up alright, the cyborg activated it just to check if it still worked. The saw had acted perfectly fine.

His tail on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. Gigan turned to look at his tail to see that the crescent-like tip of it had been eaten away. The cyborg roared in frustration and turned to the remains of the building to see a blob sticking out from underneath the rubble. Gigan chirped in confusion as he saw the grey blob started to move. Then more blobs from under the fallen building moved toward it, creating a bigger blob. The blob gurgled before opening its eyes.

Gigan shrieked in surprise. This monster was unlike anything he had ever fought before. Before he could think of what else to do, a jagged red beam shot out of Hedorah’s eye, striking the cyborg in the chest. Gigan screeched in irritable pain and staggered back as the beam burned his armor, resonating with a stinging sensation in the area. Before either monster could do anything else, a rainbow colored beam struck Hedorah in the back of the head, sending sludge flying as the Smog Monster toppled over.

Not long after Hedorah was brought down, a few yellow beams hit Gigan in the abdomen, sending the cyborg flying into a building. Chunks of concrete fell on Gigan’s head as he tried to recover. The alien invader got back to his feet and shook his head. Hedorah had also gotten up, the back of his head healing. A mechanical roar was heard from behind the two kaiju. Hedorah turned around to see the source of the attacks.

Flying a distance away from the two was a mechanical beast. Unlike Gigan, this monster was completely robotic. It was a robotic version of the King of the Monsters, Godzilla, its polished armor shined in the sunlight. Mechagodzilla flew passed Hedorah before turning itself upright between the two, its rockets propelling it in the air before slowly lowering to the ground. It and its crew had been sent here to deal with both of these monsters. Behind the metallic Godzilla was a ship with two laser cannons on the front, the Garuda moved into the back of Mechagodzilla, the guns on the shoulders of the robot.

The ship lowered down on Mechagodzilla’s back, latching on with a click. Super Mechagodzilla roared at the two kaiju, bashing its fists together, accompanied by a loud clanging sound. Gigan and Hedorah looked at each other, then at the weaponized robot. There was no way that they would work together, no matter how strong this new opponent might be. The two of them decided that this would be a free for all.

Gigan broke the silence by shooting his Cluster Light Ray at both of his adversaries, sending both a series of lasers and explosions at them. Hedorah squealed in agony as more pieces were blown off its body. The explosions made Super Mechagodzilla take a few steps back. However, the lasers did nothing to it, in fact the attack gave it energy. The mechanical Godzilla used that energy and put it into its Mega Buster. The rainbow beam shot out of Super Mechagodzilla’s mouth and collided with Gigan’s chest, sending the shrieking cyborg skidding away from where he stood. Having healed from Gigan’s attack, Hedorah jumped towards Super Mechagodzilla, smacking it in the face as it landed beside the robotic beast.

Super Mechagodzilla nearly fell back from the attack, but luckily it had just enough balance to not be fallen. Hedorah cocked his head, he had expected his acidic touch to melt the robot’s face. Thankfully, its diamond coating protected it from such things, but only for a limited time. Mechagodzilla turned to face the polluted menace before the tips of the Garuda cannons lit up, Super Mechagodzilla fired two blue beams at Hedorah, hitting him multiple times in the body. The Smog Monster roared in pain as the energy blasts stung its body, drying up several parts of his abdomen. The alien fiend had to think fast or else he would dry up completely.

Incidentally, Gigan came back into the fight just in time. The cyborg ran toward the mechanical Godzilla before hitting it in the face with the flat of his scythe. Before Mechagodzilla could do anything, the cyborg hammered on its shoulder just below the right cannon, denting the metal. Gigan quickly slashed at Super Mechagodzilla’s chest, leaving noticeable scratch marks. They wouldn’t do serious damage yet, but after enough they might. Mechagodzilla stopped Gigan by shooting a Mega Buster at his chest, the cyborg once again skidded back before a port on the mecha’s stomach slid open. A flash of light shined before Super Mechagodzilla shot a Plasma Grenade at Gigan, sending a shower of sparks flying as the cyborg flew back. Another building fell victim to the monster’s weight, crashing to the ground with a low groan.

As Mechagodzilla turned its attention back to Hedorah, a glop of sludge shot at its eyes, making the robot blind as the crew inside couldn’t see anything outside. Super Mechagodzilla wiped the sludge off of its face, but as it got its vision back, the Smog Monster quickly pounced on the robotic doppelgänger of Godzilla, causing it to fall with Hedorah on top of it. The massive blobby creature wasted no time. He let his acidic body damage his opponent’s diamond coating. Within a short amount of time, the acid ate away at the coating, infiltrating internal circuitry by the burning touch. Mechagodzilla shot its eye lasers and Mega Buster at Hedorah, but the living sludge monster toughed it out, no matter how many holes were shot though his body. He let out a low gurgle through the pain he was going through as he let his putrid sludge spill out onto the robot, the cold liquid found its way into the seeps and cracks of his emotionless foe. This could potentially ruin Mechagodzilla’s joints, the crew needed Hedorah off of the robot so they could fire the Plasma Grenade without damaging it.

Thankfully, help came from an unlikely source.

A Cluster Light Ray hit Hedorah’s side, blowing chunks off his body, causing the Smog Monster to lift himself up to find Gigan roaring at him. This gave Super Mechagodzilla the perfect opportunity to open the port on his stomach. Hedorah glared at Gigan before being caught off guard by a Plasma Grenade launching him into the air, the yellow beam sent him flying high into the sky and splitting him in half from the blast. Both halves of Hedorah quickly flashed purple before turning into their flying forms, the two flew back to the ground, one Hedorah landed on top of the other to become one. The flying form then flashed purple once more to turn back into his final form, groaning in pain from the attacks.

Super Mechagodzilla slowly stood back up, the awful liquid that covered its body nearly weighed it down. The robot wiped the sludge off of its body, revealing corrosion on its chest and stomach region. Mechagodzilla moved its arms up and down multiple times, shaking the vile liquid out of its joints before shaking each leg, letting the sludge splatter onto the ground. The robotic Godzilla may have been damaged, but it could still fight. Mechagodzilla turned its head to find where Gigan and Hedorah were only to see that they were once again fighting each other.

Gigan roared as he brought his scythe down onto Hedorah’s head, making the Smog Monster roar in pain as his slimy flesh was once more punctured. Thankfully for him, his acidic blood splattered onto the cyborg’s weaponized hand, causing it to sizzle and steam as the acid ate away at it. Gigan chirped in frustration before delivering a kick to Hedorah’s chest. The polluted terror groaned as it was sent stumbling a few steps back. Hedorah then smacked the cybernetic kaiju in the face, severely damaging one of his mandibles as the acidic touch nearly melted it off. Gigan roared in frustration before his opponent shot his eye beam at the alien, hitting him in the chest, causing him to roar in pain and nearly fall over. Every attack from this monster burned him.

Super Mechagodzilla hovered toward them, firing its Mega Buster at the two kaiju as he got closer. Hedorah fell over as the rainbow beam repeatedly hit him. Gigan used his scythes to somewhat protect him from the blasts, though he still skidded back. Mechagodzilla then fired its Garuda shoulder cannons at the monsters while still firing its Mega Buster. Hedorah roared in pain as more and more chunks of his body flew off, some of the pieces got lucky and went back to the Smog Monster while most of them dried up from the attacks.

Gigan now found himself overwhelmed; sparks flew off his body as he fell over. He managed to activate his own rockets and fly backward before positioning himself forward. The cyborg’s eye glowed before firing his Cluster Light Ray at the robotic Godzilla, Mechagodzilla was sent back by the lasers and explosions, its diamond coating no longer being able to protect it from energy attacks. Gigan chirped in glee seeing this and fired his weapon once again, the lasers and explosions once more damaging the robot. Super Mechagodzilla fired its Mega Buster, but its cybernetic adversary swiftly dodged the beam. Gigan flew closer and closer toward the robot and delivered a kick to its chest, the force of the attack causing it to fall.

Gigan landed just in time for Super Mechagodzilla to get back up using its rockets. The alien cyborg moved in on the giant robot before slashing at it with his claws, sending sparks flying. Although Mechagodzilla wasn’t good at close combat, it still fought back, sending a surprisingly strong punch to Gigan’s chest. The cyborg screeched before receiving a kick to the leg. Gigan screeched in pain once more as his leg had broken, the limb now having a bone sticking out through his armor. With its opponent distracted with his injury, Super Mechagodzilla opened the port on its stomach again before firing a Plasma Grenade at the cyborg, sending him flying into another building, Gigan laid in front of the building, trying to get up, but lacking the energy for now.

Super Mechagodzilla roared in victory as he defeated one of its foes, as the robot turned to face the Smog Monster, Hedorah was already flying at it in his flying form, shooting his eye beams at the mecha. Mechagodzilla stumbled back from each blast, its armor sizzling from where the jagged beams hit. The robotic Godzilla shot its Mega Buster at the flying saucer looking kaiju as he passed by, hitting him in the stomach. Hedorah roared in pain as he crashed into the ground, sending concrete flying up. The living sludge monster turned back into his final form and was about to shoot another crimson beam at the robot, but Super Mechagodzilla shot another Mega Buster at his body along with its dual Garuda beams. The rainbow and blue beams caused Hedorah to roar in pain as the energy blasts blew chunks off of his body.

The crew inside Super Mechagodzilla decided it was time to end this. Shock Anchors and cables shot out of its arms, both anchors went into each of Hedorah’s eyes. The Smog Monster roared in pain as he was blinded, electricity raced through the cables and into Hedorah’s body, not only shocking the toxic beast, but also making him dry up! Hedorah roared in agony as his body was drying, desperately trying to dislodge himself from the Shock Anchors. He waved his arms in the air, trying to find the cables and burn them off, but he couldn’t find them. He thought his acidic blood would be able to destroy the anchors but it soon got dried up from the amount of electricity surging into his body.

Hedorah’s struggles stopped. His hands froze in place. His body was no longer slimy and wet, now it was hard. Super Mechagodzilla’s Shock Anchors flew back to the robot’s arms, destroying the Smog Monster’s dried up eye sockets in the process. Super Mechagodzilla fired its Mega Buster at the lifeless shell that was Hedorah, disintegrating the husk of a body.
The robotic savior of the city gave a mechanical roar in victory. The crew inside cheered, shook hands, and gave each other high fives. This was another day saved for Earth. The crew activated Super Mechagodzilla’s rockets and prepared to go home.

Until a few swift cuts made Mechagodzilla’s head fall off its shoulders.

The mechanical Godzilla’s rockets died as Super Mechagodzilla fell to the ground. The crew panicked they tried getting the robot to work. How could this have happened?

Two razor discs flew passed Mechagodzilla’s fallen body and went back to the compartments in Gigan’s chest. The cyborg stood on one leg and screeched in victory. Right now he was too damaged to continue his mission. He had a broken leg, nearly melted off tail and scythes, and a sparking stomach region, but he had won.

Gigan activated his rockets and flew into the sky, he would return to his masters to get repairs.

Hopefully they would forgive him for not completing his orders.

Winner: Gigan (Universal)