The phone rang.
“Hello, this is Jimmy speaking, how can I…”
“Jimmy, you’ve got to go! GO! Right now. They’ve found me, I don’t know how, but they’re coming for you next! I can hear them coming! Run! AAAUUGGHH!”
Jimmy could hear the muffled sounds of gunshots through the phone. He ended the call and sighed. The gig was up, it seemed. Outside, he could hear the public alert systems blaring.
“Code Orange in Sector 17. Code Orange in Sector 17. Please remain in your houses until the all clear is sounded. Repeat: Please remain in your houses at the present time.”
“Code Orange. Huh. I must really be in trouble now, they reserve that for the serious violations,” he thought to himself. “Better take a glance outside and see what’s going down.”
He peeked out through the blinds of his kitchen window. Already several disposal units were on his street, in his driveway, everywhere. One of the commanders had a megaphone.
“Mr. Butler, we know you are in there. You stand accused of violating doctrine 28. Do not try to escape. We have the residence surrounded. Exit the house with your hands in the air, and we will be lenient.”
“Horsecrap”
Quickly, he ran upstairs and grabbed his gear. They wouldn’t know what hit them.
It had been 5 minutes since the commander had spoken. The disposal units were getting anxious. Where was he? One man alone could never hope to take on such arrayed force.
Suddenly, a loud crack ripped the air, and there was a blinding light emanating from the roof of the house. The units shielded their eyes, and tried to see, but they were rendered nearly blind by its intense radiance. Some of the more savvy ones fired in the direction of the glow but soon found their weapons jammed and unusable.
“Hold position! Hold position!” shouted the commander.
“Wrong move.”
Through the light the commander could make out an outline of a man, clad in red. He seemed to be holding something in his hands. He was coming closer.
The commander had one second to wonder “why in the hell does that man have a glowing blue basketball” before he, and his troops, met their doom. Jimmy slammed the ball onto the ground. It pulsed once, revealing its energy. Time seemed to shift and warp, before settling back into its normal groove. Absent of any evidence of the disposal units, or their leader.
“Posterized”