Ed Mercer vs the Invaders: The Giant Awakening

Chapter Two: The Impact

Ed Mercer stood outside the church, taking in the quiet moments before the ceremony. The sun shone brightly, and the air was filled with the hum of anticipation. Guests were trickling into the church, and the nerves he'd been feeling earlier were beginning to subside. Today was the day—he was about to marry Darulio, the man who had somehow gotten past all his walls and into his heart.

Speaking of Darulio, he had just slipped inside the church to check on the final arrangements, leaving Ed alone in the courtyard for a few minutes of quiet contemplation. He took a deep breath, trying to shake off the lingering unease that had been following him all day. The strange feeling, like something was about to go horribly wrong, hadn't left.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Ed noticed something strange—a glowing object in the sky, hurtling toward him. At first, it looked like a shooting star, burning across the horizon. But this wasn't a star, and it wasn't moving away from Earth. It was coming right for him.

"What the hell?" Ed muttered, squinting at the fiery object.

The thing was moving fast, way too fast. Before he could react, it became clear: whatever it was, it was about to crash.

Ed's instincts kicked in, and he dove to the side just as the glowing meteor smashed into the ground a few feet away. The force of the impact sent him sprawling. Dust and debris exploded into the air, and the ground beneath him trembled from the shockwave.

As Ed tried to scramble to his feet, the meteor's strange green energy swirled around him, enveloping his entire body in an eerie glow. He gasped, but it was too late—his body began to absorb the strange energy radiating from the rock. He could feel it, like a surge of electricity coursing through his veins, filling him with an overwhelming, alien power.

Inside the church, the atmosphere was warm, intimate. Ed stood at the altar, facing Darulio. The minister smiled as he spoke, "We are gathered here today to join Ed Mercer and Darulio in matrimony, to witness the bond of love they have shared..."

Ed shifted nervously but smiled as Darulio gave him a reassuring glance. They had finally made it to this moment, and everything felt right. As the minister continued, Ed tried to shake off the strange tingling sensation creeping up his arms, the same feeling he'd experienced when the meteor hit him outside.

"Do you, Ed Mercer, take Darulio to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?" the minister asked.

Ed opened his mouth to answer, the words ready on his lips, but just as he began to speak, the tingling turned into something far more intense. It started in his chest and spread outward, a surge of energy coursing through his veins.

"I—uh, I do..." Ed said, but his voice was calm, normal. The words felt strange leaving his mouth, though, as if something else was happening beneath the surface.

Suddenly, his jacket began to tighten, straining at the seams. Ed's eyes widened in confusion as his sleeves started to rip, and his shoes split open with a sharp crack. He looked down and saw his feet expanding rapidly, the fabric of his pants tearing apart as his legs stretched longer and wider.

"Ed?" Darulio asked, his voice filled with confusion and concern as he stepped back slightly.

"I think... something's wrong!" Ed gasped, but his voice remained the same, perfectly calm and at its usual pitch, though his body was anything but. His suit continued to tear, his shirt ripping apart as his torso expanded. He was growing, rapidly—rising up to ten, then fifteen, then twenty feet, his head brushing against the ceiling beams of the church.

The guests gasped in shock, some standing up from their seats, eyes wide as they watched Ed's body continue to stretch and expand.

Ed turned to the minister, raising his hand in a futile attempt to stop what was happening. "Uh, could we maybe speed this up?!" he said in his normal voice, though the sight of his now 30-foot-tall body towering over the altar was anything but normal.

Darulio stepped back further, his eyes widening. "Ed, you're... you're growing!"

"No kidding!" Ed replied, glancing down at his giant hands and bare feet, which had long since outgrown his shoes. His head now scraped against the roof of the church. The guests were panicking, backing away from the altar as they looked on in disbelief.

"We need to finish the vows—quick!" Ed said urgently, still speaking in his usual tone, as if they weren't in the middle of a disaster. "Come on, Darulio! Let's get married before I crush the whole building!"

But before Darulio could respond, the ceiling cracked and gave way, splintering as Ed's enormous frame continued to expand, pushing through the roof and sending debris crashing down. His head broke through the top of the church, exposing him to the sky, while the remaining structure struggled to hold together.

The once quiet ceremony had descended into chaos, with guests running for the doors, screaming in shock as Ed towered over them, his body now over 50 feet tall.

Darulio, standing amidst the chaos, looked up at Ed, his heart racing, but still managing a small, incredulous grin. "Ed... you always know how to make a wedding unforgettable."

Ed, now standing half-outside the church, shrugged sheepishly, his giant form dwarfing everything around him. "Hey, I'm just trying to keep things interesting."

Before either of them could react further, the distant rumble of helicopters echoed from the sky, and Ed's eyes widened as he saw military vehicles approaching in the distance.

The vows would have to wait....