Up, Up, and Away

The City...of New York

A bright new day dawned over New York city. The glistening peaks of Hudson Yards and the One World Trade Centre glimmered in the morning light, which cast a pleasant autumnal orange glow upon the buildings off the shore of the Hudson. Ah, New York, New York, the big apple itself. Ask any deli cook and taxi driver bustling around, and they'd tell you this was the place to be. Sure, it might not be the superhero capital of the world like that crum-bum town in Rhode Island was two decades ago, but if you wanted celebrity, musicals, glitz and glamour, you couldn't go far wrong with Manhattan.

At least, that's what they'd tell the tourists. Spend long enough in New York, and you'd find it a hard-knock life like any other city life. Maybe more so, after enough years of train delays and Santacons. For these people, it was a day like any other- riding the subway, driving the cabs, punching in for another day's work at museums, theatres, shopping malls, and all the rest.

It was certainly another dreary day at the Hat Trick Diner, a little joint on Lenox Hill, one block shy of a scenic view of St Catherine's Park. Grills were fired up, servers tied the aprons of their uniforms, and hungover regulars slunk in for their fix of cheap coffee. All the while, a dinky little TV in the corner played a regular feed of Channel 5 news.

"Despite his team having the third-worst batting average in the major leagues, Stanton is confident the Yankees have what it takes to out-hit the Hou...Excuse me... Breaking news! An enormous creature resembling a giant mechanical ape has crashed through the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and is making its way into the Upper Bay! Police are urging shoreline residents to remain indoors as they try and contain the situation."

Good grief, how terrifying! Well, at least it was on the other side of town.

The Other Side of Town

Mighty waves crashed against the shore as the Robeast waded into the bay. It was bigger than a house, and thrice as ugly as any poor architecture. Its head was blue, bloated and apelike, with a mullet of white hair and three curved yellow horns around its scalp. Its body was covered in a crimson coat of fur, with a tight gold belt around its waist. Its limbs were segmented tubes of metal, capped with gold pauldrons at the shoulder and great gold pincers for hands. It stomped unerringly forward, batting aside barges like pool toys, and set its sights on the Statue of Liberty.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound, followed by a loud bang and a great cloud bursting into existence close to the great beast's head. The Robeast swung around with a snarl of fury, only to be met with another great burst from the back, and the front, again and again. In a coordinated effort, the police forces of New York and New Jersey were launching smoke bombs from cannons, sending them shooting like fireworks to burst in the air. Until the national guard could fully mobilise and heavier artillery came in, this was the best they could do to keep the Robeast at bay. Though with the sheer intensity coming from across the bay, you'd be forgiven for thinking New Jersey was driving the monster TOWARDS Manhattan!

Disturbed, but not deterred, the horrid monster marched away from the famous landmark. At the shores of Governors Island, it crested the bay and stomped onto dry land. Standing at full height, the Robeast let out a mighty roar, and began its destructive work. Warehouses were torn apart or crushed underfoot. It ripped the roof off the biggest building like it was opening a tuna can, eager to find tiny prey within. But then it spotted, just beyond the concrete yard, the famous Picnic Point of the island. It saw the clean-cut grass, the tranquil trees, the comfy hammock and the quaint little picnic table. Then, with a baleful glare, it raised its right foot above the point and prepared to stomp!