The United Nations was one of the world’s biggest successes in the past century. Having replaced the League of Nations in World War 2, New York had a constant reminder of international cooperation and peace sitting right in their backyard.

Unfortunately, that peace was soon shattered. The UN building erupted in a sea of fiery rubble. Long Island had the perfect view of the burning ruins of the international symbol of peace as a gigantic submarine emerged from the East River.

All across the city, a broadcast was made from the Black Shark. “Greetings New York. I am Dr. Malik. The destruction of the United Nations and New York State is only the beginning of your end. When the dust settles from our inevitable conflict, I will rise to the top as the ruler of our dear planet. I have planted bombs throughout the city, and they are expected to detonate in 2 hours. That is how long you have to evacuate.”

The signal shut off, and the Black Shark opened wide as legions of bat men and gigantic rats poured out. Cameras were strapped to the bat men as they took into the air, the rats screeching and scampering along the streets as the citizens screamed in terror, desperately trying to get away from the giant creatures as the bat men swooped down, upturning cars and smashing windows. Dr. Malik leaned back as he watched the destruction, a cruel smile on his face. “I’ll have it all, by all the saints of wicked mirth, I’ll have it. The last laugh will still be mine.”

--

Dr. Niko Tatopoulos, more commonly referred to as Nick, could barely keep his composure as Dr. Malik’s broadcast was switched off, and rose from his chair and strode out of his office. He wasn’t surprised to see the H.E.A.T team already there outside his door, and he blew out a breath. “Well, that wasn’t Channel 6 news.”

Randy chuckled a little. “Tell me about it jefe, what do you want to do?” Nick combed a hand through his hair, looking at his team, especially Monique, before sighing.

“We’ll do what we can to help the evacuation, it’s the least we ca-” He was cut off as the seas churned. Turning, H.E.A.T watched as Zilla rose from the depths, roaring once before darting off toward the Black Shark. Nick briefly glanced at the others before speaking. “Let’s get started, 1st Avenue is closest from here, with some luck we should be able to help fend off those bat creatures. Monique, I don’t think I have to tell you this, but you might want to bring a few guns.”

The French agent merely smiled at this. “Oui.”

--

Dr. Malik leaned up from his chair, watching the chaos unfold as the bombs’ countdown ticked silently on another screen. His eyes narrowed as he saw H.E.A.T. arrive to help the civilians. “Mmm, I was wondering when they would show up.” Pressing a button, he spoke into it calmly. “To my beloved creatures, there is an organization known as H.E.A.T. I believe you know what their members look like. Kill them all.”

The sound of screaming could be heard from the monitors, and Dr. Malik leaned back again. “Now where is that Zilla creature?” He pondered to himself. The Black Shark shook violently, and he unfurled his hands. “Ah. That’s where.” Pressing a few other buttons, he spoke again. “Black Moth, please be a dear and take care of our unwanted guest. Kill the pest known as Zilla.”

Before Zilla had any more time to react, he screeched in confusion as the chimera burst from the water and tackled him, sending them both to the depths below. Zilla let out a muted bellow as he desperately tried to push the large kaiju off of him, succeeding in kicking Black Moth away and rocketing back toward the surface.

Zilla had barely broken above the water before Black Moth slammed into him again, forcing Zilla on land as the determined Black Moth roared into the air, flapping her wings uselessly. It would take some time for them to dry off, but all her mind could focus on was killing the beast in front of her.

The mutated iguana swiveled, firing an atomic ray at Black Moth. The creature leaped over the blast, the ground exploding underneath her as she tackled Zilla again, sending them both tumbling into the ruined remains of the United Nations Building. Furiously, Black Moth bit and scratched at Zilla, the smaller cretins writhing as he attempted to escape.

--

1st Avenue wasn’t faring any better. Bat men and rats were swarming everywhere. Monique was doing her best, shooting the modified creatures down wherever she saw them, but they were being slowly pushed back farther and farther. The ground was trembling slightly as Zilla and Black Moth battled in the background, and Nick frantically dialed the number of Major Hicks. “Major, it’s Nick Tatopoulos. We need an extraction at-” He flinched as the bat men succeeded in stopping the car and ripping the roof to shreds. “Corner of 1st and 25th, after that we need to know what the hell is going on here!”

Elise shrieked and Nick quickly hung the phone up. Monique looked back at them before shoving the two of them out of the nearly ruined car. “Find cover. We will distract them.” Nick opened his mouth to protest, but Monique had already instructed Randy to drive, scurrying to cover along with Elise as they watched their teammates drive away, a swarm of the damned creatures after them.

--

Zilla howled as he blasted his atomic ray into the sky, Black Moth easily dodging and dive bombing toward her foe, forcing the radioactive iguana to duck as he tore his way down Lexington Avenue. Black Moth landed, crashing and destroying a bank as she howled into the air.

Zilla jerked as bat men and giant rats began swarming all around him. He tried to shake them off, roasting a chunk of them with his atomic breath, but to no use. Desperately, he tried digging through the concrete, only to have Black Moth slam down on his back from above, the monster groaning as he managed to push her off, bolting off deeper into the city with swarms of rats and bat men following him.

--

Nick pushed Elsie behind him as they flattened themselves against a wall. A few bat men and rats advancing toward them. “I-Is this it?” Elsie asked aloud, staring fearfully at the genetically augmented mutations. Nick’s mouth formed into a thin line.

“We’ll make it out. Somehow... We’ll make it out.” His voice wavered a bit, and his fists clenched. He could try and fight the things, but he wasn’t a fighter and he knew it’d just end up getting him killed. Still, if it could give Elsie the chance to escape then...

His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of gunfire echoed out. The two scientists watched in awe as the bat men and rats dropped dead. “Sorry for the wait, we had a pest problem.” Nick nearly hugged the owner of the voice as Major Hicks strode into view, a team of military personnel behind him.

“We have transport waiting. Where are the rest of your team?” Major Hicks demanded. Nick frowned, and explained to the major what had happened. Hicks grunted. “You’re damned lucky then I’d say. Hopefully we can find them before they end up dead.”

A lone soldier dashed toward Major Hicks, saluting him a brief moment before his stance loosened. “Nothing so far Major. I can’t find a trace of those bombs.”

Hicks nodded before turning toward Nick. “This is Lieutenant Ford Brody. The Navy kindly let us borrow him as the E.O.D. Tech on site for the bomb removal. He’ll be sticking with us as we move across the city.” Ford, decked out in full bomb removal gear, and raised a hand in greeting.

The Major cocked his head, prompting the two scientists to follow behind Ford. “You want an explanation dirt boy? Well we don’t have much. All we know is that Dr. Malik was some nut-job who was presumed dead in the late 60s. Obviously that’s not the case.”

Nick snorted a little. “We figured that part out Major. Thank you by the way, for your help.” The Major shrugged it off.

“Considering your monster is currently fighting Malik’s all over New York, don’t thank us yet. It hasn’t won.” Ford continued to be silent, before clearing his throat. Major Hicks turned to look at him. “Yes Lieutenant?”

Ford cleared his throat a little. “Sir, it’s about that monster, sir. Can we trust it?” Nick’s eyes narrowed.

“If you’re referring to Zilla, then yes. We can trust him.” The scientist stressed out, and the Major placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder.

“Brody was a major factor in the Godzilla incident back in ‘14. I’m sure you remember.” Nick’s eyes widened briefly, before eyeing Brody. Yes, he had remembered the shock of seeing yet another Godzilla on the news, the reaction that the U.S. Military had kept such a thing a secret for so long sent the entire globe in an uproar.

“And we were on our own, sir. There were no ‘good’ kaiju that were around to help us.” Even through the thick suit, Nick could still hear the bitterness in his voice. It was understandable, having to deal with 3 rampaging monsters without help would do that to anyone, but Zilla was different.

“Lieutenant, I mean no disrespect but do you have children?” Nick watched as the soldier remained still, before nodding once. “Well, that ‘good kaiju’ as you so put it, happens to be my son. I understand why you’re not too trusting of the concept, but if your son was out fighting for you and everyone else’s lives, you wouldn’t doubt him. And I won’t doubt Zilla.”

There was a thick silence in the air, only broken by the sound of Nick’s phone. As he piled into the armored vehicle, he answered. “Hello?”

“Nick!” Came Audrey’s delighted voice. “You’ll never believe this. There’s a new kaiju! An undiscovered one! It’s amazing, rampaging across the city and-” Her voice was drowned out by the sound of a familiar roar. “Oh my god!” Came the reporter’s delighted shriek. “It’s Godzilla! The second Godzilla, I mean. The other one. Animal get your camera, this is going to be a fight for the ages! Sorry Nick, gotta go, love you!” Before he could even react, she hung up. Sighing, he rubbed his brow. How could this get any worse?

--

Zilla screeched angrily as he tackled Black Moth through a skyscraper, the mighty structure buckling and crashing down behind them, flattening whatever rats and bat men were in their way. The iguana screeched and whipped his tail, sending more abominations flying back as Black Moth slammed her claws against Zilla’s face, blood flying as he was pushed off of her.

Bruised and bloodied, Black Moth screamed angrily and flapped her wings, ramming Zilla with her head and sending him tumbling down the street. Bat men and rats swarmed on the iguana yet again, and Zilla writhed and thrashed attempting to get them off. Zilla shakily rose to his feet, looking up at the Empire State Building before his eyes widened a little.

Gripping onto the national landmark, Zilla began climbing frantically up the building. As he climbed higher, the rats and bat men on his body soon unlatched from his body and plummeted back down to earth, being deprived of precious oxygen from the quick ascent.

The building groaned as it attempted to support Zilla’s weight, but the creature clung on to dear life as he fired his atomic ray down at the ground, Black Moth swooping to the side to avoid the blast. Black Moth extended her wings, ready to fly up before shells and maser fire slammed into her. Aggravated, she turned to see the Earth Defense Force machines thunder into the ruined city. With a snarl, she tore after the tanks and maser cannons, small fireballs erupting as she tore into the machines.

--

Malik had moved the Black Shark to the Harlem River, finding that Zilla and Black Moth were fighting too close for his liking. Suddenly, the Black Shark’s communication system alerted him of a message. A smile formed as he turned on the view screen. “I was wondering when you’d call...McKenzie.”

Captain Craig McKenzie of the Alpha stared grimly back at Malik. “Malik... Why? Why are you doing this?” Malik chuckled, it seemed like even his old friend could hardly believe his actions. “Malik, you know you’re killing hundreds, if not thousands of people. Stop it, please. You said you wanted to rule the world, but you can’t rule if they’re all dead.”

Malik held up a hand for silence, before speaking. “Old friend... It’s about more than simply ‘ruling the world’. Back in the 60s, I had lost everything. My submarine, my monster, and even my wife. I had to start from the bottom and work my way back, with one thing in my mind. Revenge.”

McKenzie snapped angrily at this. “But why the surface world?! Your problem was always with me, with Latitude Zero! Why invade now!?” Malik had a cold, almost mocking laugh at his old friend.

“Why?! You know why Craig! It was those precious surface dwellers you decided to bring along with you! If it wasn’t for them, then Patricia wouldn’t have-” He cut himself off, taking a breath to compose himself before speaking. “The time for my rule is now, McKenzie. And there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Goodbye old friend, for the final time.”

Malik shut off communication, and pressed a button. “Black Moth. Ignore the EDF and focus on Zilla. Bring the building down.” Leaning back, he silently watched the fight come to its natural conclusion.

--

Black Moth howled as she received her master’s instructions. With renewed fervor, she ignored the EDF forces attacking her from all sides and began feverishly attacking the Empire State Building. Zilla roared, swarms of bat men keeping his attention as the massive structure groaned again.

Black Moth continued her furious assault on the building, until at last it finally gave way and caved in. Zilla could only scream as he plummeted down hundreds of feet until he crashed into the ground, blood splattering and the sickening sounds of cracking bones filling the air.

Malik’s creature stalked over to the broken and beaten Zilla, who weakly attempted to rise to continue fighting. Black Moth watched for a brief moment, before roaring victoriously into the air and dipping her head down, readying for the kill.

From within the Black Shark, Malik grinned widely, almost like a proud father toward his child. The first step toward his ultimate goal was complete. Now it was time to move onto the second.

--

In the time that passed, they found and extracted another of Malik’s hidden bombs. As Lt. Brody worked on disabling it, Nick heard something abnormal in the air. It clicked in his mind that there weren’t any more rampaging footsteps; only the beating wings of a mighty griffon, the demonic screeches of bats and rats, and the pervading screams of the innocent flood the air.

“No…” Nick’s eyes widened at what this could only mean. Out of the corner of his eye, he took note of a pack of the large rodents scurrying in one direction. His intuition told him to follow them. Sneaking by, he turned the corner to see where they were heading toward, only to now realize a stench filled the air…

Major Hicks was reporting the matter in detail to his CO, and Ford was nearly done disarming the explosive; so it was only Elsie who noticed that Nick vanished. “Nick!” she cried out. Had the circumstances not been as apocalyptic and dire, she would have preferred to make a smartass quip to get his attention. She saw him off in the distance, alone and frozen stiff, and ran up to him. “Come on, it’s not safe—”

From her peripheral, she saw the reality that was overtaking Nick, and redirected her attention to it. A horrific sight to behold: the lane was laid out with gallons of blood, the bat men bent over and sucking it from the pavement; even more of the bat men, in addition to the giant rats, swarmed an enormous carcass and stripped it of its flesh. Even with the infestation, evidence still proved this creature died with its throat being ripped out, the source of the bloody flood that tainted the streets.

New York’s last line of defense had fallen.

Neither of them could utter the strength to say a word, but it was only a matter of time before Nick’s muscles began to quiver and his legs trembling. The overwhelming emotions brought the man to his hands and knees, unable to control the tears streaming down. He knew the risks every since he adopted him; he knew that he wouldn’t be able to win all of his fights. From the many times he helped defend the Earth alongside the likes of the first Godzilla, Gamera, and Ultraman, it was a surprise that Zilla lasted for as long as he did, braving through each life-risking challenge every time.

But today would serve as the last time Zilla could fight in the line of duty.

So many emotions swelled inside of him; bitter sadness, bloodlust, revenge, realization… But his logic-minded brain knew that there was nothing he could do now to avenge his son. For now, that is.

“Come on,” Elsie tugged, “Let’s go. There’s nothing we can do now.” Her voice brought him back from his horror-induced trance. Fumbling as they made their way back, Nick and Elsie managed to get back to their safe zone, where Hicks was waiting.

“Where the hell did you two go?” he demanded. Their faces told him everything, but he needed to hear it for the records.

“Z-Zilla, he…” Elsie stuttered, unable to form a cohesive sentence. Getting herself together, she took a deep breath and sighed. “He’s dead.”

The Major found himself in a brief moment of disbelief. Hearing those words felt unreal, but he could tell they were speaking the truth and that there was no reason to doubt. Ford came to them for further orders when he noticed the distraught doctors.

“Sir, what happened?” he asked, addressing Hicks.

“Big green lizard is dead, Lieutenant,” Hicks stated directly. “We’re on our own now.”

Ford looked at Nick, recounting the words he said to him earlier. In some respects, he felt like he shouldn’t say anything. But another part of him told him to look at Nick as a man, not a doctor. “Dr. Tatopoulos,” the Lieutenant started. His eyes met Nick’s. “My condolences.”

Niko Tatopoulos didn’t have the strength to respond, but knew full well of the soldier’s good intentions. That, and was a bit taken aback that someone pronounced his surname correctly. For now, he stood in silence.

One day, he would avenge the fallen Zilla and make Dr. Malik pay dearly. First, he would reassemble H.E.A.T. and overthrow whatever hellish empire the mad doctor had in store. Even at the cost of his own life.