Chapter 28: Dissolve

“Hya!” Roosevelt screamed as his horse rode up the Cuban hill, the storm of bullets miraculously missing their marks against him.

“Woah…” one of the soldiers left behind mumbled as he watched his leader’s daring, their eyes drawn to the polka dot bandana hanging from his neck.

The soldier put a hand into his pocket, feeling the fabric of the same bandana held between his fingers. He bit his lips, then clenched his hand into a fist.

“What are we doing cowering around while our Colonel goes out and risks his life!” He rose up, tying his polka dot bandana around his own neck. “We’re the Rough Riders for Pete’s sake!”

“Hell yeah we are!” another screamed as they wrapped their bandana on as well. The rest of the troupe quickly followed suit, unleashing a unified yell as they ran out of the thicket towards the hill.

“Stupid Americans,” a Spanish officer spat from atop the hill as he watched the battalion charge up after Roosevelt. “They’re all so eager to rush to their own deaths!” He pointed to Roosevelt. “All of you, aim your rifles at that man! Ready…aim…fi—”

The officer stopped as another group of yells came from the side. He looked over, spotting an entirely different squad of American soldiers charging their way.

“Stupidity must be contagious,” he muttered, “anyways, prepare to—”

The officer stopped again as yet another battalion of American soldiers burst from the woods, then another, and another. The mass of Americans stormed ahead, continuing to run as their comrades fell to the ground besides them in waves.

“These idiots…” the officer hissed, biting his tongue, then raising a hand into the air. “There’s too many of these punks! Retreat, retreat!”

“No!” Roosevelt screamed as the Spanish started to back away. “Come back here and fight!”

Roosevelt pushed his steed to run even faster, but the Spanish were long gone by the time he made it to the peak of the hill. He gave a furious frown, slowly morphing his face into a soft smile as the Americans caught up to him from below.

“Well done soldiers! Each of you may go and hang your head high for the rest of your lives knowing that you have done your utmost to uphold the honor of both your families and of your country here today!”

The crowd gave a round of applause, then doubled their efforts as a bright light shone from Roosevelt’s hand.

“My word,” he remarked as a Presidential Seal formed on the back of his hand.

Roosevelt gave a soft smile, then reached his hand to the sky above.

“We finally did it, Buck…we finally reached the top of this hill…” he clenched his hand into a fist, gazing up at the circle of 13 stars encircling the Presidential Seal, “…we finally reached the stars!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Back in the present, the remaining four Wilson’s gave a collective scowl.

“You say that we’re destined for defeat simply because we refuse to thrown our own lives into peril with reckless abandon like you? Why, I’ve never heard such a ludicrous theory!”

“Come on, Wilson!” Roosevelt gestured to the 10 unconscious Wilson clones scattered across the arena. “Is the evidence before you not enough to convince you of your errors? Or do you only listen to reason when it’s stated in a peer-reviewed journal with a full list of proper citations?”

The Wilsons turned to each other with frustrated expressions.

“While I refuse to acknowledge our opponent’s conclusions, it is true that our abilities are being pushed well beyond their limits.”

“Agreed. The supreme test for us has come. We must all speak, act, and serve together.”

The group gave a nod, then raised their hands into the air.

“Executive Power: League of Nations; Dissolve!”

As they spoke, the bodies of the unconscious Wilson’s evaporated into a pale, blue mist. Their mist flowed towards the remaining Wilsons as the group breathed in the air of their fallen comrades. As they did, a faint, blue aura emanated around them. The Wilsons turned to Roosevelt, smiling before charging at him with tremendous speed.

“Bully!” Roosevelt exclaimed as he lifted up his arms with a grin. “It looks like you aren’t even going to give me a chance to reclaim my weapon!”

The first Wilson ran to Roosevelt and bombarded him with rapid-fire strikes. Roosevelt blocked the attacks, but the force of the blows left his arms badly bruised. As the first Wilson pushed him away, another two tackled his leg from the side, bringing him to his knees. Finally, the last Wilson lunged at Roosevelt’s flank, aiming a right hook to his head.

“Not bad!” Roosevelt shouted, “But not good enough!”

Roosevelt thrusted his body to the side, purposefully slamming his head into the path of Wilson’s punch. His skull collided head-on with Wilson’s hand, shattering the bones in her fingers and knocking her down to the ground.

“No way…” the Wilsons hanging onto Roosevelt’s leg muttered, their eyes going wide as Roosevelt turned them to with a wicked grin.

“Off you go!” he screeched as he flicked his leg upwards, sending the Wilsons on his leg soaring into the air. “And finally…”

The last Wilson started backing away, but not before Roosevelt lunged ahead, wrapping her tightly within his meaty hands. She desperately tried pulling away from his grasp, but even her enhanced strength was not enough to break free from Roosevelt’s iron grip.

Roosevelt grinned to himself as he flung her into the sky, shooting her straight into the pair of airborne clones as the three of them crash landed onto the ground.

For a moment, none of the Wilsons moved. Finally, the Wilson with a broken hand rose off the floor, looking to her fallen clones across the arena before turning back over to Roosevelt.

“Wonderful!” he exclaimed with a toothy grin, “I think I’m finally warmed up now!”

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Roosevelt Flashback III. It is not the case that Theodore inspired multiple regiments of soldiers to rush up Kettle Hill with him, though it is the case that a number of different battalions simultaneously and spontaneously made such a charge.