The sky split.
Ten dark shapes screamed through the atmosphere, trailing fire and shadow. Earth's defenses scrambled—too slow, too late. The crafts hit the ground like meteorites across major cities.
The Reapers had landed.
---
At the Resistance Base
Bob was staring at the war map, eyes wide. "I thought they'd knock first."
"They don't knock," Maya said grimly. "They terminate."
Screens flickered—London gone dark. New York offline. Mumbai under siege.
"What are they even?" Dev muttered.
Dr. Singh answered, her voice cold: "Machines fused with flesh. Self-evolving. Designed to adapt. Built for one purpose—erasure."
Bob swallowed. "Lovely. So they're Terminators... if the Terminators had a god complex."
---
Deploying the Spark
Bob stepped forward, his shell beginning to glow.
"I can help. Whatever this Spark thing is—it woke up for a reason."
"No," Maya said firmly. "You're not ready. You almost exploded last time you used it."
"Almost exploded is kind of my thing now," Bob smirked. "Besides… look outside."
On the screens, helpless humans ran. Fires bloomed like angry flowers. One Reaper craft transformed, its legs bending into jagged weapons.
Bob clenched his tiny mandibles. "I'm done watching."
---
The Drop Zone – Sector 9
The team inserted Bob near Delhi's breach point—a crater filled with wreckage and robotic sentries.
The Reaper stood in the center. Seven feet tall. Metallic bone structure. Its face resembled a mask carved from obsidian.
Bob crept forward behind a shattered car, whispering: "Alright, buddy. Time to make that Spark spark."
He focused.
His shell shimmered blue. The ground beneath him shook. A ripple pulsed out. The Reaper paused.
Bob raised his antenna. "Hey, tin-face! Over here!"
The Reaper turned—and charged.
---
First Fight
Bob leapt—way higher than physics allowed. The Spark boosted his jump like a rocket. Mid-air, he kicked the Reaper's head.
CLANG!
The Reaper spun, recovering instantly. It struck. Fast.
Too fast.
The blow flung Bob across the crater.
He skidded to a stop, dazed. "Okay. That one tickled."
But then… his Spark activated on its own. His injuries knit together. His shell hardened.
And his vision changed.
The Reaper now had glowing fault-lines along its joints. Weak points.
Bob grinned. "Your turn, bug-bot."
He shot forward—leaving a glowing trail—and punched straight into the Reaper's chest.
BOOM.
The machine shattered into pieces, sparking wildly.
Bob landed, panting. "Level up, baby."
---
Meanwhile, In Orbit...
The Reaper Overmind stirred.
"Subject #1043—compromised. Spark detected."
A thousand red eyes blinked in sync.
> "The vessel adapts faster than expected. Protocol shift: Total cleansing. Initiate Phase Two."
---
The Aftermath
Maya and Dev arrived in a hovercraft, jaws dropped.
"You soloed a Reaper?" Maya blinked.
Bob puffed up. "What can I say? I'm small, angry, and cosmic now."
Dr. Singh looked at her data pad. "The Spark's syncing with your nervous system. But it's evolving you… changing you."
Bob's grin faded slightly. "Define 'changing.'"
"Not sure yet."
Bob looked at the sky.
More ships were coming.
More Reapers.
But he didn't flinch.
Let them come.