Author: Dao Zang Moua | Banner: Dao Zang Moua

University of Baghdad – Baghdad, Iraq

“It’s finally done!”

Slamming his hands onto the wooden desk, the Germanic individual, draped in a disheveled brown overcoat, shot out of his seat. In front of him, chemical formulas bubbled inside various tubes and beakers. Behind him was a middle aged woman with her three young children, two boys and a girl, who slept contently. She groggily rose from the bed, careful not to disturb their peaceful sleep.

“Darling, it’s 5 in the morning,” the woman mumbled as she wiped her eyes, staring at a clock that read 5:26 AM.

“Carla, I’ve finally perfected it!” he declared with ecstatic glee, grabbing the vials. Mixing cautiously, they conjoined as a glowing red liquid. He poured them out into several phials, two of which he left uncapped.

“Wake the children for me,” he said, pulling out a syringe. The man carefully filled the hollow cylinder with the formula before going over to the boys, who were now awake. “This will only hurt a bit, you two will save our future,” he said, injecting the serum into the brown haired child’s arm. He then did the same for the blonde child when a loud commotion outside his lab caught his attention. The door burst open as an armed soldier rushed into the room.

“Doctor Jaeger, you need to evacuate now,” he stated, lifting up the woman forcibly, getting them to their feet. “Grab your research and let’s go before they arrive.”

“Before who arrives?” Grisha asked cautiously, grabbing the remaining vials of his formula before following the soldier out of the lab. Before he left however, he pressed a small button hidden underneath the desk near the drawer. Outside, several other soldiers were guiding his family through the once bustling university as the soldier guided him forth.

“They’ve found your location sir; we believe they are trying to get your Super Serum for themselves,” he said, causing Grisha to stop in his tracks. The soldier then turned to the scientist, rushing him to hurry along. “Hurry Doctor, we don’t have time to waste!”

“The Captain and I never told anyone other than Ensign Ozaki and the Lieutenant General about the serum,” Grisha remarked as realization came to him. “Carla, run!” he shouted, watching as the soldiers lifted their weapons. The others quickly caught hold of the now panicked woman and held onto her and the children as the leader seemed to smirk.

“You should have just followed along, Doctor,” he declared with a crazed smirk, “Now I’ll have to kill them and just take the finished formula for myself!” He signaled the others, armed and ready to fire. Before they could shoot, a black and grey blur crashed through one of the windows, slamming a leg into the soldier’s face while pulling out a pistol. Without hesitation, the man aimed at the remaining soldiers and opened fire, each bullet hitting their mark. Red liquide ruptured from their heads and chests, dropping dead like flies. Screaming, Carla Jaeger quickly reached for her children and pulled them in close.

“Doctor,” spoke the newcomer, turning to face the scientist.

“Good to see you Ozaki,” Grisha greeted as the superhuman soldier took aim.

A scream tore out behind the two as Ozaki turned to find Carla being tossed away by the leader, now holding onto the young girl as his face slowly morphed into a diamond shape with red chitinous skin. His body began slimming down while his shoulders became more angular like shoulder armor, combining with the rest of his body into a large piece of brown armored flesh leading to a mass of tentacles for legs.

“Give me the serum and the girl lives!” The being shouted, his arms having reverted into tentacles as they wrapped around the girl’s neck. Ozaki took aim only for the tentacled alien to hold a weapon to the other two.

“Drop the weapon!” Obeying for the moment, Ozaki dropped his gun to the ground and held his arms up. His superhuman vision saw the little girl slowly unsheath a small knife hidden in her coat, her eyes dilating. He quietly stood by, waiting for things to play out.

“The Cryog won’t get away with this!” Ozaki said as he kept his arms up in the air. The mutant human nudged his head forward, informing Grisha to use his own devices.

“Shut it Xilien scum!” The Cryog soldier exclaimed as Grisha trotted forth, fingering at the syringe hidden in his sleeve. “Now, come with me Doctor Jaeger,” the Cryog insisted, clutching harder on the girl as he reached for the Doctor with his long tentacle.

“You said you only wanted the serum!” Grisha shouted, stopping just out of reach.

“It would be much better to get the creator than just a single vial.”

Seeing her father close enough, the young girl quickly slashed the Cryog’s tentacle that held her hostage, cutting through it as adrenaline pumped through her body. Free from the alien’s grasp, she twisted around and sliced at his tentacled legs before making a mad dash. The sudden pain caused the alien to sporadically fire his weapon, some beams which found themselves embedded into the floors and walls near Carla and the others.

The bolt of energy traveled fast across the hallway, only to stop mere inches from her face, Ozaki’s arm now held out with noticeable strain. With his daughter free, Grisha grabbed ahold of the injured tentacle and injected the syringe into the Cryog’s open flesh. Within seconds of doing so, Ozaki had redirected the misaimed bolt back at the alien, blasting off the other tentacle that held the gun. The Cryog screamed in pain at the loss of his tentacles, who promptly lashed out at the doctor. One found its way into Grisha’s chest, eliciting a desperate plea from his wife and children. Without remorse, the Cryog tossed the man’s bloodied body aside, clutching at the injection point.

“What did you do to me?” The Cryog hissed as Ozaki gathered the Jaeger family behind him.

“You wanted the serum, now you have it!” Grisha shouted as the alien’s body began bursting with steam and heat, cooking the creature from the inside out.

“You think this will stop us? The human race will soon be slaves to Karkaro’s reign!” The Cryog winced and coughed, eventually bursting into a mess of superheated flesh.

“That was close,” Ozaki sighed with relief. He peered his gaze over to the weeping Carla, who held her husband close. “It’s a good thing the Captain had you install that alarm system in your lab.”

“Ozaki, get them to the Land Rover, I’ll help the doctor.”

The mutant turned to the voice, keeping his guard as another man approached them. The man was well built with a bushy mustache and wielded an alien forged katana. Lifting his arm, he quickly tossed the sword at the four, zipping by with precise accuracy, sailing over their heads. Ozaki turned around, only to find the sword embedded into a Cryog soldier’s chest, pinning him to a wall, one tentacle outstretched and pressing a button.

“I thought you would have learned by now to watch your back,” he added, dusting his hands. Ozaki slowly lowered his arms as he stood in front of the four.

“Sorry sir, had to be sure,” Ozaki said before a loud explosion knocked out the remaining glass windows on the building. A loud, unearthly screech echoed through the morning air, a sensation that alerted the mutant human of the oncoming danger.

“Get them to the rover now!” Gordon sternly ordered, Ozaki guiding the family out of the building. Walking past them, Captain Gordon leaned over to the bleeding Grisha, kneeling down next to the German scientist. “That’s one hell of a formula you got there,” he whispered as more explosions echoed outside the building.

“Had to make sure nothing other than pure humans can use it,” Grisha muttered, coughing in pain as he looked over to his bag. “We are being invaded by another alien empire wearing our skin after all.” Inside, all but one vial remained uncrushed along with his syringe. “It’s a good thing Mikasa’s Mutant DNA allowed me to make the strain very aggressive, targeting anything “alien” in the human body and burning it away”.

“Good,” Gordon said, lifting the man up as they began making their way to the door, “We don’t want any of those shapeshifters to become even stronger.” The two quickly made their way through the building with Grisha turning to see Ozaki and his family already outside.

“The world’s really gone to hell hasn’t it?” Grisha remarked, holding the vial and syringe close to his chest. “First the Xilien invade the Earth and wipe out all our major cities. Then the Cryog arrived directly after you defeated the Xilians and managed to harvest Godzilla.”

“We did all the hard work,” Gordon replied, “They just swooped in at the last minute and took advantage of our exhaustion, the cowards.”

Making their way outside, they were greeted by the sight of tanks and soldiers firing upon a large armored figure in the distance. Its flesh was a dark grey and it was covered in a dark blue armor. Along its back was a row of bluish dorsal plates with grey edges that glowed bright blue as a ray of atomic fury left its arthropodic maw. Radioactive fire tore through the military’s assault easily as the Godzilla Trilopod screeched into the air.

“I hate those things,” Gordon grunted with disdain. Grisha coughed violently, falling to the floor. Leaning over the man, he noticed the vial and needle fall to the ground. Picking it up, he looked at the red fluid closely. In his ear, he could hear Ozaki calling for him to hurry back to the Land Rover.

“So Doc, can this serum of yours fight the Trilopods?” Gordon asked as he filled the needle with the serum. Coughing up blood, the Doctor looked up at Gordon and watched as the captain held the needle.

“I made the Titan Serum to allow Human Subjects to gain immense strength and regenerative abilities by increasing their body mass, sustained by tremendous heat to maintain such a transformation,” he answered as Gordon readied his arm. “There are malleable properties, so the side-effects vary from person to person,” he continued, coughing blood into his hands. “I already injected the boys with it, so don’t worry about needing to save that one.”

“As long as I can kick this thing’s ass,” Captain Gordon replied as he injected himself. He felt a rush of energy flow through his body, feeling as though he had just finished an intense workout alongside a marathon.  The ground shook, causing him to stare up at the massive crustacean looming over them. “How does it work?” he demanded as the Trilopod came closer.

“Fatal injuries that should kill you, or an injury with a focused goal in mind is needed to jumpstart the regenerative process,” the Doctor responded, holding his bleeding side. More shouting came over the earpiece as Captain Gordon stared up at the massive creature coming closer.

“Ozaki, get out of here. Keep those kids safe so they finish this war,” Captain Gordon ordered as the Trilopod lifted its foot up high. “I’ll take care of this Godzilla wannabe.”

The anomalocarid monster slammed its foot down upon the building, smashing the two under rubble as it did so. The Trilopod screeched out in glee as it fired off another atomic ray into the surrounding area. Its orders were to annihilate everything if the soldiers failed. Swiping its tail, it launched rubble into the city. A large rectangular machine launched into the air, readying to escape the carnage. The spines in the Trilopod began to glow blue as it prepared to fire its atomic breath at the vehicle. Before it could, a massive burst of heat and steam knocked it over from below, an ear shattering roar tore through the air.

Captain Douglas Gordon roared with pure power as he felt his body snapping back together. Power filled his being as heat and steam radiated off his body. Slowly, he lifted his arms to find them covered in white, bonelike armor plates. Between each showcased the pure muscle of his new body, a purple glow flowing through it. Reaching up, he found that his mustache had seemingly disappeared, his face also covered in the armor.

A roar to his side returned his attention to the situation at hand as he watched the Godzilla-based Trilopod getting back to its feet. He remembered how these insects had attacked the weakened Monster King all at once, some having absorbed the DNA of the monsters he had defeated along the way to the Xilian Mothership. The Cryogs were patient as they waited for their hated enemy to fall before coming in for the kill. Now their armies had the DNA of the Earth’s strongest monsters at their disposal. With a foe in front of him, Captain Gordon turned his mind to focus solely on the battle at hand. Taking a boxing stance, he only had one thought in his mind now, the only strategy he had ever needed.

Attack, attack, and attack!

By the time the Trilopod had managed to regain its wits, the newly formed Armored Titan was already in front of it, fist clenched and soaring toward its face. The punch slammed into the monster’s face, being followed quickly by several body blows, knocking the monster backward. Relentlessly, the Titan strode forth, continuing to slam powerful strikes against the mutated arthropod, his armored fists preventing much damage to himself. With a sudden burst of rage, the Trilopod screeched out, firing a chest beam from the gem on its chest. Combined with the power of what had once been six individual ports, the crimson beam seared into the hard armor of the Jaeger Titan, which pushed him off the Trilopod.

Captain Gordon scowled at the pain, before noticing the burns and torn flesh that weren’t covered in armor quickly repairing itself with purple embers. Realizing that his new form had some form of super regeneration as well, he turned back to the Trilopod just in time for an atomic ray to torch him in the face.

Trilopods were hunters. They sought out their prey and wore them down before assimilating their strongest traits into their own. This was how their species functioned. As such, the rage that filled the Trilopod fueled its anger to new heights, stemming from its hunter-esque nature and the Godzilla cells mutating its being. Dorsal spines flashed with azure energy as the Trilopod unleashed another atomic breath, scorching the Titan’s face even further. White armor blackened and flesh boiled before the Titan fell to the ground, its shattered face carved off by its awesome power.

The Trilopod peered over, confused over how weak this creature was. As it got close, it failed to notice the Titan’s hands twitching. It did, however, take note that the entire head was quickly reforming, muscle and bone reshaping with steam and purple embers scorching the air. Though unable to see, the fallen Titan could still feel the vibrations coming closer, getting stronger with each footfall.

With a sudden lurch, the Armored Titan lunged forth, grabbing ahold of the Trilopod’s arms and lifting it above his shoulders. Half his face was already reformed, with bones and flesh sizzling back together. Letting loose a loud scream, the Titan leapt backward, slamming the Trilopod back first onto the university. Spines snapped off from the impact causing the monster hunter to screech out in pain.

Getting back to his feet, the Jaeger Titan wiped his regenerating face, feeling muscle as vision returned. He then lifted up the alien freak and held it close in a crushing bear hug, feeling the tough exoskeleton beginning to crack. Before the anamalocarid could retaliate, he quickly flipped backward, slamming the Trilopod head first into the ground. Straddling the monster’s body, he began to unleash a flurry of punches upon the creature’s face, each blow creating shockwaves from the impact.

Seeing the blue glow in the creature’s mouth, the Titan clasped the mouth shut and tore off one of the graspers, stabbing it into an eye. A screech of pain grumbled from the Trilopod at the loss of its eye. The gem-like orb on the arthropod’s chest flashed red, firing its chest beam and hitting the Titan in the face. With the Titan now clutching his face, the parasite fired off an atomic ray, bathing the Titan in a wash of radiant flames, freeing its claw in the process.

As the Titan slammed down on his back, the Trilopod quickly crawled atop the giant human, pinning his arms down. Screeching in rage, the Trilopod slammed its sharp scythe like claws against the bone-like armor, shredding sparks and shards of hardened flesh flying with each hit. Each blow tore off his armor, the Titan thrashing to get his limbs free. Bringing his legs to his chest from under the beast, the Titan kicked out, sending the mutated alien careening back toward the river. The Armored Titan roared out as it stood groggily. Seeing his foe still getting up, he slowly got into a running stance.

The Trilopod shook its head, free of dizziness as it lifted itself up. Looking at its target enemy, it saw the giant sprinting toward it at surprising speed. With its enemy running straight for them, it unleashed both atomic fire and its chest beam simultaneously, swirling around into a red-and-blue spiral beam. The captain turned Titan crossed his arms in front of his face, taking the brunt of the beams head on as he continued his charge. Burning hot plasma seared his superheated flesh, blackening the cracked armor as he gained speed. At maximum capacity, the Titan tackled the crustacean mutant into the Tigris River, halting its relentless assault.

Alien and human struggled as they continued their fight within the depths of the river. Armored fists matched sharp claws beneath the surface. The river hissed and steamed as the Titan became submerged, his superheated body boiling the water around him. The black ashes mixed into the broiling water, the heat riling up the Trilopod. It lashed out with its scythes, slashing the Titan in the shoulder. Mud scattered as the two wrestled beneath the waves, steam boiling off the surface as they separated.

The Titan stood his ground, trying to search for his foe in the depths before rising above the water. Looking around, he noticed a large movement toward the other side of the river and strode toward it. The water boiled off his newly regenerated flesh, his shoulder wound sewing shut. As he reached the center of the river, he felt something latch onto his leg, dragging him under the water.

The Trilopod roared as it rushed out of the river depths. With a powerful swing of its tail, it threw the steaming Titan out of the river and through several buildings. Inside the nape of the Titan, Captain Gordon growled angrily. Most of his face, as well as his arms and legs had already fused into the flesh of the Titan’s body, but he cared not for that. Willing the body to move, he began rising to his knees, when an atomic ray slammed into his back. The beam knocked him face first into the ground, pushing him across the dirt and buildings as it seared into his armored flesh.

Behind him, the parasitic hunter slowly made its way forth. Each time the Titan made to get back to his feet, the arthropod would fire another beam, targeting the arms and legs in order to keep him down. Bringing its muscular leg up, the arthropod crushed the giant human with its larger mass. With his legs now mostly healed, the White Titan kicked as hard as he could against the ground, flipping his body forward and rolling out of the way. Dirt and rubble exploded upward as the monster hunter slammed into the ground.

Rolling to his feet, Captain Gordon began looking around his surroundings for something that could prove useful when he backed into something cold and metallic. Turning his head, he noticed the Victory Arch, a pair of arches consisting of two outstretched hands holding crossed swords. Recollecting from his hazy memory, the swords were made of stainless steel with bronze grips and dedicated to those fallen in battle. Before he could act, the Trilopod rushed out of the dust cloud, slamming its shoulder into his body, sending him through the monument.

The Armored Titan struggled to get to his knees, only for the Trilopod to grab onto his neck with its pincher tail. Reaching out, he managed to grab onto one of the bronze arms before he was hoisted upward. Lifting up the Titan, the false Godzilla screeched out, clamping its claws around the Titan’s body in order to prevent the arms from moving away from his side. The chest-embedded orb began to glow red while what remained of its dorsal spines shined a deep blue. Atomic energy built up in the Trilopod’s mouth, but the Armored Titan remained calm.

With a backward swing of his forearm, the Titan stabbed the Trilopod in the gut, the Victory Arch in hand. The Trilopod screeched out in pain, releasing its hold on the Titan as it fired the chest beam. The red blast sent the Titan rolling forward, smoke and steam sizzling across his back. Picking up the other part of the monument, he tore off the bronze hand and held the sword up. It felt off, but he would work with what he had. Swiping the blade across his armored skin, the Titan held the sword across his arm.

The Trilopod roared out, tearing out the metal monument from its side, green blood spilling from the resulting wound. Glaring at its opponent, it saw the Titan rushing toward it with a weapon in hand. Sword met claw as the Titan slashed at the parasitic hunter. The onslaught continued with each blocking the others’ blows with their own fortified shells. It wasn’t until the Titan slammed the sword down with all his might that the two were caught in a stalemate. Neither budged for several moments, causing the Titan to retract his blade, swinging it from below. The Trilopod was quick to react however, crossing its arms and catching the blade between its claws. Glowing red, the Trilopod snapped the blade in two, firing the crimson beam soon after.

The Armored Titan quickly leaned to the side and evaded the beam. As he did so, he grabbed a hold of the second, blood-covered sword and swung upward with all his might. The dull metal snapped upward with immense force, gouging into the softer grey chitin. A blue claw fell to the ground as the Trilopod screeched out. Charging forth with a loud roar, the Armored Titan stabbed the sword through the Trilopod’s chest, straight through its ruby red orb. Green blood spilled viscously from its wounds as the mutant’s dorsal spines began glowing with atomic luminescence.

Blue nuclear flames washed over the giant human, but he persisted, twisting the blade inside his enemy. As his skin blackened and armor turned to ash, Captain Gordon released one last shout of rage, leaping into the air and kneeing the Trilopod in the head. The resulting impact drove the sword upward through the crustacean’s body, slicing it in half as the flames spilled into the air.

Breathing heavily, the Armored Titan lifted the bloody sword onto his shoulder as the sun beat down onto his ashen body. Flames burned violently around him as the corpse of the Trilopod collapsed onto the ruined streets below. Blackened flesh disintegrated, being renewed by purple regenerative embers. As the Titan looked upon the corpse of the Trilopod, hope filled his being. Perhaps, humanity would succeed in stopping this second invasion using this power. Even without him there to lead the charge.

The sound of humming caught his ears as the giant human turned his head. An explosion struck his head, forcing the Titan to kneel down as smoke wafted off his mostly burnt face. As stream rose off his wounds, five metal objects landed around him with arms outstretched, mechanical roars of malice sent toward the Jaeger Titan. Five Mechagodzillas stared at the massive human as Captain Gordon grunted from within the Titan’s nape, most of his body now absorbed into it. Taking a stance with his blood covered sword, he readied himself for the next round as a burst of steam billowed from his regenerating mouth and nostrils. His body glowing purple as heat and steam burst forth.

“Is that all you’ve got? You’re gonna have to try harder than that to kill me!”

Winner: Armored Titan

A very special thanks to dopepope for some of the assets used in this banner for the K.W.C. Be sure to follow him on DeviantART, ArtStation, and Instagram.