Landon’s eyes went wide. He wiped cold sweat from his forehead. This was their biggest struggle. The Vanguard fought with courage, but the Iron Order fought with machines that never stopped learning.The Lieutenant roared. This time, he did not swing his arms. He slammed his heavy boots into the ground. A wave of purple electricity shot through the street."Get back!" Landon yelled.The electricity hit the pile of bricks where Marcus was standing. The bricks exploded. Marcus fell backward, groaning. The monster turned its glowing red visor toward Landon."Claire, cover me! Navarro, attack from high up! Marcus, stay back and guard the street!" Landon ordered.Landon ran. He sprinted down the broken sidewalk. The monster raised a hand and fired a ball of pure, burning purple magic. It hit the ground right behind Landon, blowing chunks of cement high into the air.Landon’s blue Kinetic power was the only thing keeping him alive. Glowing blue lines appeared in his vision, showing him exa

Marcus smiled. He slapped his sticky bomb onto the huge, spinning wheels of the armored truck. He ran away and pressed a button.KABOOM!A massive ball of orange fire lit up the street. The giant truck skidded sideways with a horrible screech of metal. It crashed heavily into a brick building. Its purple energy shields flickered and died completely.Navarro fired his shotgun, keeping the remaining soldiers hiding behind the burning truck."The east road is totally clear," Priya cheered over the radio. "The civilians are safe. No one is hurt. You did it, Landon!"Landon let out a long, heavy breath. He set the little girl down in the safe alley with her parents. The mother hugged Landon, crying tears of joy. Landon nodded to her, then turned back to look at the burning street."Do not celebrate yet," Claire warned over the radio. Her voice was cold. "The Iron Order is testing you, Landon. They are making you choose between fighting and saving people. They want to make you tired. They w

The morning sun rose over the broken city of Milwaukee, but it did not bring warmth. It only brought light to a nightmare.BANG! BANG!The first shots hit the city blocks like the beating of giant, angry drums. Thick concrete walls cracked open. Windows exploded, sending sharp glass falling to the street like deadly rain. Far away, the terrified screams of innocent people echoed through the smoky air.Landon crouched low behind a burned-out, yellow delivery truck. The smell of burning rubber filled his nose. He closed his eyes for a second. His special power, the Kinetic Echo, pumped through his body. Soft blue light glowed under his skin, making him fast and letting him see danger before it happened.But today, he had something even better. He had the War Resonance.It felt like a warm, invisible string of light connecting his mind to his team. Even though he could not see them, he felt them. He felt Marcus’s slow, steady heartbeat a block away. He felt Navarro’s muscles tightenin

Above the ground, Marcus and Navarro shot their heavy guns straight down at the street.CRASH! Their bullets busted right through the ceiling of the subway tunnel. Heavy chunks of concrete and steel fell from the roof and smashed directly onto the giant exo-suit.The robot was crushed instantly. Dust filled the tunnel."Thanks, guys," Landon thought with a smile. He climbed over the broken robot and ran up the stairs into the Central Plaza.The Central Plaza was a huge, open square in the middle of the city. A beautiful old fountain was broken in the center. The plaza was a total disaster zone. Dozens of Iron Order soldiers and three massive exo-suits stood waiting.But there were also more innocent people here, trapped behind a wall of sandbags."Marcus, take the left," Landon ordered out loud. "Navarro, take the right. Jin, turn off all their shields right... NOW!"The fight was beautiful and terrifying.Jin pressed a button on his computer. Every purple shield in the plaza sudden

The cold Michigan winter wind blew fiercely across the dark city. It carried the smell of smoke, broken glass, and fear.Landon Hale stood on the high, flat roof of a tall brick building. He held his heavy black rifle tightly in his large hands. He looked down at the empty streets of Milwaukee. The city was quiet. But it was a terrible, heavy quiet. It was the quiet of people hiding in the dark, praying that the monsters would not find them.Claire Arden stood right next to him. She zipped her thick winter jacket up to her chin. Her dark eyes constantly scanned the dark shadows below."The Iron Order is too quiet tonight," Claire whispered. Her breath made a white cloud in the freezing air. "General Rauth is planning something terrible. I can feel it in my bones."Landon nodded slowly. "They are not shooting. They are not marching. They are waiting for us to make a mistake."Suddenly, a strange sound echoed through the empty city.It was not the loud BOOM of a bomb. It was not the sh