GZ Legends 14: SUPER SIZED!

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                Electrode threw a lightning bolt at the dark figure that knocked it back a couple of feet. It seemed unaffected by the jolt and dashed toward Electrode. Electrode could see it wasn't quite as fast as him. The warehouse made for tight confines as speedster duels go. Electrode had to move with precision or risk running right into the flesh warping fiend.

             Sandstorm turned his attention from the Raven to try and help his friend, but a flash of light caused him to turn to solid form and fall to the floor.

            “Did that hurt?” sneered a newcomer with long dirty white hair and filthy clothes like some kind of ragged street bum. His fingers glowed through his fingerless gloves as he stepped into view. This man’s toothy grin and long thin nose made Sandstorm think of a giant rat. The rancid smell of the man seemed to assault the entire area.

            “You and your partner shouldn’t be here, Vagabond. You put yourselves in jeopardy,” Raven said.

            “Oh take off, Raven. We’ll deal with these two. It’ll be fun.” Vagabond emitted another beam of white light that threw Sandstorm into a pile of crates with a crash.

            Electrode hit his opponent with several bolts and sonic attacks, but none of them even slowed the thing down. Any larger attacks would destroy the entire warehouse or risk injury to Sandstorm. Electrode needed more room to face his opponent.  With a loud blast of energy, Electrode blew a hole in a wall and ran out just slow enough to keep his pursuer interested.

            “That’s right, come and get me, whatever you are,” Electrode murmured, and it did follow.

            “My partner is called the Deformer,” explained Vagabond as he approached the crates with hands and eyes glowing. “He’s going to give your friend a new face.”

            Crates suddenly blew into the air and spun savagely around the room as Sandstorm took the form of a small tornado.  Vagabond laughed and emitted a wide strobe effect that hit home again. Sandstorm hit the wall in his human form and then the floor with a groan.

            “I can hit this entire room at once with my stellar energy blasts. Not even air molecules can escape! You’re going to die, elemental. You’re going to die and it’s going to be lots of fun.”

            “You need a harder challenge then,” Sandstorm’s body shifted into solid iron.

            Out in the parking lot Electrode had no trouble keeping his attacker at a distance but Deformer seemed to be getting faster. It was as if he could adapt to Electrode’s speed. Deformer never said anything, he just kept getting closer with each pass. Each time Electrode could feel the heat from reaching fingers that wanted to mold him into something horrifying. Electrode’s desperation mounted.

Electrode circled Deformer

            “I need to hit this guy with everything I’ve got and now.” Electrode pushed hard and flew into a speed that even Deformer didn’t see. Arcs of nuclear electricity began to build like the power in a spinning generator.

 Unsure of where to strike, Deformer actually stopped in the midst of the turbine of force and tried to gain a fix on his target’s location. Lightning flew and cracked loudly across the center of the area and repeated with escalating frequency. A bolt hit Deformer and spun him one direction. Then another hit and knocked him back the other way. All the while a bright strobe of light grew brighter and brighter, making the darkness into daylight. People could see this from blocks away and huddled together in places, wondering what new terror was coming.

   Electrode gathered energy in his cyclone and let it build and build like a nuclear turbine. Finally, even he could hold it no longer and all the power rushed into the center to meet Deformer. The mighty “CRACK” could be heard miles away and made the whole waterfront go blind for a split second. When it cleared, only a scorched area of the ground was left where Deformer was hit. 

     Electrode was on his hands and knees struggling for breath. He stared at the scorched area and then quickly looked around him. Did he kill the Deformer or did the creature manage to escape? After watching nervously for an incoming attack, he realized that Deformer must be dead. He didn’t aim to kill. He thought that Deformer was resistant enough to be just knocked unconscious with how many times he had already hit the thing. Only one time before had his power taken a life. He never wanted that on his conscience again.

            Vagabond formed a force field and Sandstorm pounded on it with heavy fists. His efforts met with laughter. “You can’t just punch away the power of the stars!”

            A concentrated beam knocked Sandstorm back down again.

            “You really aren’t much of a challenge,” Vagabond said as he hit Sandstorm again. No matter what you turn into, I can blast you to atoms. I’m going to enjoy peeling you apart by your molecules.”

            Sandstorm held up a hand as he fought to catch his breath, “Hit the whole room.” Sandstorm said as he winced in pain.

            “What?” Vagabond sneered.

            “You said you could hit the whole room.”

            “Yes, I can! Haven’t I demonstrated that?”

            “Demonstrate? Okay.” A blue hue suddenly flashed throughout the warehouse leaving a glittering shell over all things. Vagabond stood immobilized with his face frozen mid-sneer.

            “Taking up ice sculpture?” Electrode asked from just outside, "Ooh, too cold for me to come in there!"

            “He wanted a demonstration.” Sandstorm’s iron form faded away to become human. He staggered to his feet and looked to his partner. “Are you okay?”

            “I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I killed that thing and I didn’t mean to. What about you?”

            “I’m okay, just a little singed. As for Deformer, he tried to kill you and you couldn’t have known his limitations. Let’s call for a crew to take them in and find out what they have to do with this. Maybe they know where these weapons really come from and how to find Professor Zombie.”

            “Well, all that’s left of Deformer is a scorch mark, so all we have is Mr. Frosty there,” Electrode said. “So that thing was called Deformer, fitting name.”

            “And this guy is called Vagabond, and he smells like one too. I bet thawing him out will be the closest thing he’s had to bath in ten years,” Sandstorm said.

            “What about Raven and Barracuda?”

            “Raven’s gone, Barracuda is still on the ground over there, and the other thugs have run off.”

            “Barracuda is a good catch,” Electrode said with pun intended, “Not bad for our first day on the job right?”

            Sandstorm laughed, “Yeah, I guess.”

*******

Agent Redeagle

In yet another vacant and darkened alleyway, federal agents, Atomizer and Redeagle stalked through the shadows. They went to another of the demolished precinct buildings and found a trail of oil that led away into an alley. With all the evidence of gunfire, they surmised that a bullet may have hit the oil pan of a getaway van. A garage door at the end of the alleyway had dusty windows. They brushed at them for a look inside. It didn’t look like this printing company had been in business for some time and a black van sat in a puddle of remaining oil.

 Redeagle gripped the knob of a nearby door and put his shoulder against it. He had the strength to lift over 500 lbs of dead weight and toss it like a tennis ball. A gentle push in his terms, cracked the door open easily with a splintering of door frame. As he put his foot over the threshold he inhaled deeply the smells of the place. Dust, rust, rubber and oil were all picked up with his acute sense of smell. He also smelled leather, energy burns, and something alien.

 He motioned for Atomizer to follow him in and approached the front of the van with the stealth of a cat. Amongst his heightened senses and strength, Redeagle could move with total absence of sound, stealth that would make a Navy Seal weep with joy.  The giant printing press occupied the middle of the great space and the thick coat of dust said it hadn’t moved in months. The dust on the floor criss-crossed with boot tracks. A couple of weapon crates, as seen in other places, stood stacked next to some of the heavy printing rollers near a wall. Redeagle’s extra sensitive hearing picked up the tiniest scrape of boot sole rubber on metal catwalk. He glanced behind him and silently gestured with a point upward to his partner. Atomizer glanced up and nodded. Atomizer moved over near a wall and gazed up at the catwalk above them. He gave a hand signal by spreading his fingers open twice, indicating he would use his power. He focused on the back joints of the catwalk above while Redeagle ducked low by the van for cover. Those rear supports exploded on mental command with force just strong enough to throw the catwalk forward. Its inhabitants came crashing to the ground, all three of them.

            The henchmen regained footing quickly, but Redeagle landed in the midst them with equal speed. In a whirlwind of movement, all three were kicked or punched flying in different directions. their weapons clattered on the floor.  Atomizer moved right in and flurry kicked one of them several times, knocking it back down. It grabbed Atomizer by the ankle and flung him out a window with a crash. Another of the three grabbed up one of the heavy print rollers and threw it at Redeagle.

           "No thank you!" Redeagle growled as he caught the roller and threw it right back. The henchman was smashed through a cement wall.

 One of the remaining two grabbed up a weapon from the floor and aimed to fire. Its helmet exploded inward from one side instead as Atomizer stumbled back in through the hole in the wall that Redeagle made. The last one lunged for Redeagle and received a vicious spin kick that smashed in the front of the helmet it wore. Shards penetrated its skull and brain, it staggered and fell motionless to the floor.

            “Check that one,” Redeagle pointed to the one under the print roller.

            Atomizer peered over the wrecked and screwed up his face in disgust, “Eww, you crushed his head. He’s not getting back up.”

            “Head injuries, that’s what takes them down. They can sure take a hit otherwise.” he picked up one of the helmets off its wearer. “We need to get this analyzed. They’re way stronger than your store bought motorcycle helmet.”

            A grinding of metal surprised the two men as the entire printing press lurched forward and rocketed across the room at them. Atomizer had to fall back out the hole in the wall and Redeagle had to run and jump over the angles of the machine to avoid being crushed under it. The printing press crashed through brick and mortar and brought down the remainder of the broken wall and other debris raining around it. Redeagle landed on the machine’s opposite end on one knee barely keeping his balance in the rush. He looked up to see a man in leather with a helmet, easily broader than himself. The mass and muscle of a professional wrestler writhed under the leather armor and its helmet appeared reinforced with metal. Redeagle jumped up and tried a high kick but the brute caught his leg and flung him up through the skylight. Atomizer had managed to squeeze back through the debris and focused on the side of the giant’s helmet and a small explosion rocked its head sideways. It turned to him, with only slight damage to the helmet.

Atomizer

            “Oh great, it resists powers,” murmured Atomizer. He glanced about for a chance at a weapon and saw one of the energy weapons clear across the room on the floor. Atomizer’s explosive powers don’t affect living tissue.  So he could only target the leather on the big man’s chest and blast him backwards. He adjusted his cowboy hat and made a dash for it, falling with just his finger tips on the weapon and the giant’s fist wrapped around his injured ankle.

 That’s when Redeagle came down from his impromptu flight like a pro in a flying a tackle. He caught the giant around the neck and used momentum to swing under and bring a powerful knee to the side of the helmet, crushing it slightly inward. With the flex of an ankle a blade popped out from the back of his boot. He drove that blade into the opposing arm of the brute for leverage. Again and again and again, Redeagle smashed his fist into the faceplate of that helmet, only cracking it for all his effort. The monster's other hand grabbed him at the ribs and Redeagle cried out with the crushing force of its grip. It flung him away against the wreckage like a rag doll. A piece of metal stuck through Redeagle’s shoulder and he knew he had to move or die. The brute stomped forward and reached out for Redeagle’s head. A searing blast to the side of its neck staggered it sideways. Atomizer figured out the weapon’s controls and took aim. It turned to him and he fired again, putting a hole through the collar bone.  In one great stride it reached him and yanked him into the air. Atomizer stuck the barrel into the gaping wound in its neck.

            “Not very smart are ya? Armored head, not neck.” he fired and the head flew ten feet into the air. Atomizer dropped to the floor with a cry of pain. The big body swayed and then dropped backward to the floor with a heavy thud. Atomizer grabbed at his ankle.

“Sonuvarat broke my ankle. How are you doing?”

            “I’m impaled on a piece of machinery, so never better.”

            “Ha freakin ha. I’ll call for assistance and get us out of here,” headlights came on from out in the alley. “You gotta be kiddin me.”

            “They sent back up didn’t they?” Redeagle groaned.

            “Yeah, this just isn’t our day.”

GZ Legends 13: House of the Raven

The Deformer

Across the city from their friends, at a waterfront, Sandstorm and Electrode planned their entrance to a large warehouse. It belonged to the most ruthless crime boss New York had seen since the Capone days.

 The Raven operated his crimes under a false front organization called the Foundation. Everyone knew of his evil but could never gather enough evidence to put him away. Even though many a federal agent sent to infiltrate wound up dead. Even though he did billions of dollars in white collar crimes. He could not be stopped.

The Raven started out as the leader of a motorcycle gang called the Red Devils in his younger years. His one red eye and one cloudy blue eye distinguished him and helped to drive terror into his victims. As a genius in robotics and cybernetics, he enjoyed building things that kill. Around him almost anything could be a weapon. Sandstorm once destroyed an SUV that Raven built into a killing machine to wipe out a smaller rival gang. Another time he rebuilt all the vending machines in an office building to kill witnesses that were about to testify against him in court. If anyone could orchestrate an attack on the police precincts, it would be the Raven.

 Raven also had cybernetics in his body, making him a formidable foe up close. Worse yet, he built robot duplicates of himself in order to make capture that much harder. He has an anti-aging power that makes him almost immortal and causes extra fast healing. Even so, Raven shows some age and thin features that remind people of the actor, Vincent Price. Only Sandstorm and Electrode, along with one or two other powered vigilantes in New York, ever kept the Raven in check and from taking over the city outright.

                “We need to be on our toes in here,” Sandstorm said. “There will be quite a few hired guns and likely all with cybernetic implants. I’ll change to air form and enter through a window.”

                “Why not use the ventilation system?”

                “He would expect that and he’s detected me before. He builds security devices so sophisticated they can detect our powers. You might be able to move fast enough to dodge the sensors, but be careful. Anything, and I mean anything, could try to kill you here.”

                “Hey, I have helped you against him before you know.”

                “Yeah, but you’ve never been in there. I suggest you run up on the roof and through a door up there. He might not expect a speeder from that direction. Whatever you do, don’t stop anywhere until you get to the main floor of the warehouse. I’ll meet you there.”

                Electrode knew to heed the words of his mentor well. Sandstorm saw much more action than he could ever imagine; a true veteran by any means. Electrode psyched himself for a dash while Sandstorm dissolved into air. Electrode ran for a fire escape ladder.

The Nuclear Electric Man

The speed of light is measured at about 186,000 miles per second. Sandstorm stress tested Electrode once by having him run around the world as many times as he could in one minute. He almost made it 15 times and didn’t tire out. The speed of light could only hope to go around 7 times. Sandstorm theorized that is was nuclear electric physiology that made him so fast and virtually tireless in movement. As a result he only requires sleep once a week.

Speeds that high cause the speeders to operate on a different level of perception to virtually all of physical space around them. Electrode was still learning about all that he could possibly do with such speed so still limited himself to some of the confines of physical science and reality. Seeing the world from his perspective at his speed, seemed like moving through a place frozen in time. He could detect movement at less than a hair’s width in anything.  He once attacked a punching bag and hit it over a thousand times in one second. He moved so fast, that he was away from it before it had time for it to react to his punches. It exploded into bits of stuffing. Because of that, he could never punch a human being at speed levels. Instead he attacked with air movements and sub shockwaves he could generate with his speed. His punches didn’t have to connect with objects and he still got the desired results.

  There were four guards on top of the building. He ran past each one and snapped his fingers creating a mini supersonic boom that stunned all four of them. He found a door on the rooftop and was inside instantly. A man climbed the stairs inside, though stock still from his perspective. He gave another finger snap as he passed and noted something horrifying. Pieces of the hand rails were coming apart and generating red lasers as they did. To him, they moved very slowly, so he made it to the bottom of the stairs with ease. Still, he couldn’t believe that something detected him. Forgetting the advice given, he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. The finger snaps all resolved and the man stumbled on the stairs, just before the lasers cut him to pieces.

 The stair steps all turned like a mulching machine and swallowed the parts away.  No trace remained, but horror of the sight shook Electrode to the core. The men on the building roof all fell over unconscious. His high perceptions caught a brightening of light from the hallway lamps. He realized he just triggered another trap. From the speed perspective he could see a defined orb of light coming from the bulbs in the hall. He knew he couldn’t wait around to see what they would do to him. So he ran with the orbs growing in slow motion around him. He reached for a doorknob at the end of the hall, wondering if he could escape.

                Sandstorm floated through the air into the main floor of the warehouse. He could see stacks of crates being moved around by armed men and a door was open to the dock outside. A couple of crates were open and he could see the weapons. Sandstorm has a powerful sense of all elements. You could bring him almost any object and he could tell you where on Earth its components came from. As he used his power to scan over the weapons, he discovered they were from nowhere on Earth. A handsome tanned man in a gray suit came in from a boat on the dock. If Sandstorm were in human form, seeing this man would have given him goose bumps. This man was wanted by the FBI and agencies in several countries.

The Barracuda smuggled all sorts of nasty things for a living. The Brazilian native had speed powers that worked especially in water. He could swim over 90 miles per hour and boasted considerable physical strength. No one knew his limits, but four or five hundred pounds had been seen as child’s play to him. He could swim down to depths that no machine could follow, so catching him on the open water proved nigh impossible. What a great opportunity this could be. And Sandstorm knew that he could follow Barracuda to any depth because he had already explored the ocean floor in the form of water, just for kicks. 

Up on a catwalk, a door slammed and the Raven stood with a scowl on his narrow face. He gripped the metal hand rail and it twisted in his hand.

                “You may as well show yourself, I know you’re here!” he shouted and then looked to Barracuda, “We have intruders, get lost!”

                At that moment, up in the hallway, Electrode spun on his heel, realizing he couldn’t get through the door in time. He fired and arc of lightning down the hall that blew every bulb and fried every wire from one end to the other. The explosion could be heard throughout the building. Barracuda turned to run for his boat but a series of micro sonic booms laid him and every thug on that level out on their backs and faces. Electrode appeared over Barracuda's unconscious body. Sandstorm allowed himself to appear in mildly transparent form, hovering in the air.

                “You two again. Too bad my traps didn’t catch your rookie friend,” the Raven scowled.

                “You’re dealing in weapons that have killed a lot of people, Raven,” Sandstorm said.

                “Really? How sad. Remind me to send out some sympathy cards.”

                “We want to know where someone is,” Sandstorm continued.

                “At the zoo.”

                “We don’t have time for snide answers.”

                “You fool, you don’t have time for much of anything.”

                The movement of the dark silhouette of a person caught Electrode off guard and he barely evaded the new speeder in time. Shadowy fingers barely caressed his chest before Electrode pulled away, reeling in pain. A look at the location showed an instant and ugly scar across the exact surface touched. It felt like a hot poker had just brushed Electrode’s chest.

                “Are you okay?” Sandstorm asked.

                “Yeah, this guy touched me and scarred me instantly.”

                The being that touched him stood only twenty feet away. It resembled a human being only in geometric shape, otherwise it held no facial features or anything else human. Its form was as black as cast iron and didn’t reflect much light. It grabbed up an unconscious thug faced toward Electrode and put a hand over the man’s face. At the being’s touch the thugs face distorted and twisted out of shape. The thug woke up screaming with his face being manipulated like soft clay. The Thug’s heart gave out from the pain and shock, and the creature dropped him dead to the floor.  Electrode could hardly look at the horror created right before his eyes. The creature pointed a finger at Electrode, making it's message horrifyingly clear.

GZ Legends 12: Last Second Saves

Nyhtwulf's surprise

            Railroad grabbed up Blacktide and flung him through the air.

            “Man, I just love how you fall through stuff!” Railroad laughed.

            Blacktide slid to a stop after disintegrating his way through three walls. Water surrounded him on the floor and  he realized he had been thrown into a bathroom. His aura  destroyed a toilet. Blood dripped from his face and dispersed in the spreading water, giving it clouds of red. Blacktide coughed spatters of more blood.  Railroad lumbered into view and came closer.

            “So you just a crook or something else? Boss said I’m supposed to ask that of any intruders before I kill ‘em,” Railroad said as he drew closer.

            Blacktide lifted a hand and tried to concentrate to create a charged blast of disintegration energy. He never wanted to kill anyone, but this man was going to kill him. He silently cursed himself for taking off alone. The view of Railroad was starting to blur and Blacktide could have sworn the man suddenly had two shadows.

            What Blacktide couldn’t see through the haze of hurt was that this was no ordinary shadow. It moved freely and reached for the back of Railroad's head. Suddenly Railroad’s body stiffened in strange posture and Blacktide couldn’t see the long black shadow fingers reaching through Railroad’s face from behind.

            “IGG UGG IGGLSNIPPID!” Railroad uttered before falling on his face in the toilet water with a splash.

            Blacktide promptly blacked out.

*******

            Anubis landed with Nightfall on a rooftop where they could look over Times Square.

            “I wonder how we are going to find one of the supply points?” Anubis mused.

            “All we can do is look around. It would have to be a place with room to store vehicles and weapons. Sounds like a garage or storage facility; maybe a warehouse. New York is full of old buildings but they would have to be close to a precinct in order to attack so quickly, like Sandstorm said.”

            “Then let’s find another police precinct.”

            Anubis couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of carrying Nightfall in his arms as they flew high over the city lights. If only he could get past the immediate guilt with the loss of Ella still heavy in his heart.  Nightfall stared at the side of his lupine face and admired him. He didn’t know that she liked being carried by him.

            Finding another police precinct proved easy and they dropped in on the roof of an old police building. Its archaic looks gave the impression of a castle fortress, that unfortunately didn’t save them from the attackers. Anubis scrutinized surrounding streets from their rooftop vantage. Major blast marks showed all across the face of the building and an alleyway lay across the street.

            “That looks like a nice dark approach. Not much light means the vans they drove wouldn’t be noticed until way too late,” suggested Anubis.

            “I think you’re right. Shall we fly low over it and see what we find?” Nightfall answered.

            “Yeah, lets.”

            “Just remember, when we find them, they’re already dead people.”

            “Don’t worry about me. I got that loud and clear from the last one. Get it? Loud and clear?”

            “No,” Nightfall shook her head.

            “Because he didn’t say anything, oh well.”

            “Keep trying, Mr. Comedian, keep trying.”

            Anubis kept them above the roof tops only slightly so they could see down into the alley. The block was a long one and the alley opened up to a building with three garage doors. They landed in front of those doors to an old auto shop. The windows showed no light and nothing moved. Even so, Anubis snarled,

            “Someone’s in there. I can feel them.”

            The energy firing came right through the metal garage door and both heroes ducked out of the way just in time.

            “Hey! You didn’t give me a chance to knock!” Anubis’s hands glowed fiercely and he blew the big door in with a double handed energy bolt that could have come from a cannon. Anubis spun his lance in his hand and Nightfall drew her ion pistol. Two of the leather clad killers came stumbling outside with their weapons. Nightfall shot one in roughly the forehead area. Her pistol left a score mark on the helmet, but nothing else.

            “Oh great, their helmets are fortified.”

            “Yeah? How’s this?”  Anubis threw his lance like a giant propeller that hit one in the head and bounced to the other. Both helmets shattered and she took the new opportunity to shoot them both. They fell and lay still. Anubis’s lance flew back to his hand.

            “The more I use this thing the more I love it!” Anubis said of his weapon.

Anubis's surprise

            “Don’t get cocky, we aren’t done yet,” Nightfall said as she moved forward.

            A rifle shot hit her and threw her to the ground and she didn’t move. Anubis rushed over to her. The memory of Ella flooded back and he remembered watching the life fade from her eyes. As he lifted Nightfall, there was no response and the shot was directly in the chest. Shadows in the garage moved, and more weapons glowed. Anubis took no notice as only raw emotion drowned him.

 “NOOOOOOO!” He howled in rage and glowed a bright and powerful white light.

 The new attackers were aiming at him but he suddenly vanished from sight as did Nightfall. The ground shook and the asphalt in the alleyway cracked and rose in chunks. Power poles sparked angrily and fell over, car alarms went off and lightning flashed across the black sky. The attackers approached the opening section of ground, aiming their weapons at it. The mound of broken ground exploded and threw them all backwards. A giant Egyptian sarcophagus shot up from the cracks and showered the area with earth and asphalt. It stood at least fifty feet high and it too cracked and began to crumble. Bright white light emitted from the breaking sections of the sarcophagus. And explosion of pieces revealed a giant form of Anubis who glared down on the attackers coming from the garage. Holding a scepter and lance, it crossed the two and a bright ball of light formed around them. It threw its arms out to either side and launched the light into the garage building. The explosion engulfed the building in a bright strobe that blinded out all else. The force of the blast shook nearby buildings and turned over cars parked on the other side of the garage. As it cleared, the giant form was gone and Anubis rested on one knee next to Nightfall, panting from the effort. Nightfall sat up and felt her chest. Her wound was gone.

            “Wow, Anubis, what was that?” she looked around at all the damage from ground to buildings, “Wow, really, what was that?”

“I don’t know. I saw you go down and something just snapped. I don’t know what I did, but ya know what? I like it. Seems like I have a special attack or something.”

            “Maybe you should give that a name.” Nightfall half joked, still a bit shaken by the destruction of it.

            “Yeah, something that fits me for who I am now. I think I’ll call it, Guardian of the Dead.”

            “In any case, this is the second time you’ve healed me. And look at what you did to them and the garage.”

            The building stood, a hollowed out shell, charred in its remains. Eight bodies lay within and none of them moved again.

            “Yeah, I did quite a number on them. Do you think Zombie will notice?”

            “I think it’s a good bet that half the city noticed.” Nightfall couldn’t help the awe she felt at his power, power even he didn’t understand.

            “Good, let’s go find another,” Anubis nodded.

GZ Legends 1-10 The World Goes Dark

Destiny

This is to give you links to my ongoing story (in short sections) of GZ Legends. This doesn't include a link to number 11 but you can find that as the post right before this in the blog history down right side of the screen.

I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

I appreciate all your great support and please remember that people with special conditions can do things, often things you wouldn't believe. Children with autism (aspergers) can grow up to lead successful lives so never give up hope. Hope is what fuels you to be the best parent you can today.

Now here's the storyline so far, enjoy! The balance of good and evil is in jeopardy!


1: The Temple in the Sand

2: Vengeance and Grief

3: Lights Out!

4: War and Powers

5: The Terror of the Dark

6: Into the Fire

7: Recruiting the Storm

8: And now the PAC

9: The White House

10: A Hero sent by Death


And finally, you can see the early Showcase Short story links HERE.

GZ Legends 11: Greetings Humans!

Greetings Humans!

Sent to Earth on a great mission, Nyhtwulf appeared atop a high skyscraper in downtown New York City. He gazed in awe and wonder at the sight below.  An ocean of lights glittered and blinked all around. Cars and trucks were starting to be cleared from accidents, creating rivers of moving light everywhere he looked.  A hustle and bustle of sounds filled his sensitive ears so much that he had to take pause to get accustomed to it all. He could feel the emotions of masses of people in combinations of fear, worry and awe. It would take him a while to get used to filtering out so many minds. It was when he found the emotions of hope that they truly caught his attention. These hopes were for other humans, humans with extraordinary abilities. As he listened, he was amazed to discover that mention of some such powers rivaled his own.

“I wonder if I can find any of these humans? Maybe they could be of help,” Nyhtwulf thought, “What wonders there are here!”

He snapped out of his thoughts at the thrumming sound of a police helicopter flying low over the city. Helicopters were about the only machines of flight that could be used with the darkness and they dared not fly too high. Nyhtwulf marveled at the flying machine and noted their uniforms. If these were people of authority, maybe they could give him some information?

Nyhtwulf flew through the darkness, nearly invisible, towards the helicopter. Nyhtwulf had a supernatural ability in language. Just from sensing the thoughts of humans he could speak their language. Along with that, an ability of Nyhtwulf’s species is to be intangible, so able to move through solid structures. It didn’t take long for Nyhtwulf to realize his first approach may not have been such a good idea. From in the cockpit of the helicopter, Nyhtwulf’s head and shoulders rose through the control panel and he attempted to say “Greetings!”

To Nyhtwulf’s surprised ears and those of the shocked officers, all they heard was, “GLARGARGLE!”

The two police officers screamed and the helicopter swerved away, leaving a confused Nyhtwulf hovering in the air. The tail blade of the helicopter shattered against a nearby building and the machine spun out of control. Nyhtwulf saw the helicopter spiraling towards the street below with multitudes of humans. Despite his confusion and the fact that this was not what he intended, Nyhtwulf dove after the helicopter. Becoming solid, he grabbed onto the tail of the machine and steadied its flight. People screamed and scattered as Nyhtwulf guided the helicopter to the ground. The pilots hurried to turn off the engines as soon as they were on the ground and Nyhtwulf rushed to see if they were okay. Before Nyhtwulf could ask anything, one of the officers jumped out with a gun drawn and started shooting. The bullets went through Nyhtwulf harmlessly, but he could see that there would be no talking to this human. Nyhtwulf flew back up into the darkness where he couldn’t be seen.

“What just happened?” he thought, “Perhaps I scared them too much. I should try someone in another location. And I hope I can talk this time; that was very strange indeed.”

What they saw

Nyhtwulf flew over the buildings in search of someone else he might approach. A few blocks away he found another police officer and a group of people. This time he flew down gently and tried his best not to startle them.

“Excuse me, humans,” Nyhtwulf tried to say, but all they all heard was, “ECHELBLARGLAAAAR!”

All of the people screamed and ran frantically in all directions. That was when Nyhtwulf felt something terrible from their minds. Not only could he not speak to them, but they were seeing him in a far more nightmarish visage. They saw Nyhtwulf leaping to attack them with ferocity, an illusion.

“A spell as has been cast on me!” Nyhtwulf realized as he flew back to the rooftops, “I mustn’t let anyone see me until I can figure out what to do about this!”

 *******

Despite the reasons he locked himself away, it felt good to have his motorcycle under him once again. Larry Peters carried the name of Blacktide because of a wave of disintegration energy he could emit. His powers manifested at an early age without warning in Manitoba, Canada. He could still feel it like yesterday. The sun shone through the white gazebo where they ate breakfast and kept them all warm. Father snapped the morning newspaper and mused over an article while mother put some syrup on her son’s pancakes. He smiled up at mother and she ran her fingers through his hair. He cut a bite away with his fork and felt a turn in his stomach. Like any child, suddenly feeling ill, he looked to his mother for help.

            “What’s wrong dear?” She had been so good to him, as nurturing as any mother could be.

            “Mommy?” It was the last word he said to her before it went off. The explosion filled the area with smoke and made him feel almost deaf. Disintegration works more with the sound of imploding air followed by silence than an outward crack or bang. He fell to the ground startled and frightened beyond his 9 years.

            When they found him, they first saw the random pieces of gazebo all around. Tears streamed down the little boy’s face where he sat next to the disembodied head of his mother. Parts of them lay about in random order since his disintegration field worked in such a sporatic way. There was no blood because his energies cauterized all openings left behind.

The first firefighter followed his instincts to grab the boy and take him to safety, at the cost of both his hands. Larry now carried a short range field of disintegrative energy around his body so long as he was conscious. No one could get close and the rescue crews made frantic phone calls. It wasn’t long into his suffering, sitting in that mess, that a man from a government program came.  He looked into the sad, frightened eyes of that little boy,

            “I’m so sorry, son,” and he pulled the pin on what looked like a type of grenade canister. A fog filled the area and Larry fell unconscious while the man held a gasmask on himself.  Larry awoke in a laboratory with a parahuman study program. They counseled him on his loss and studied his powers. Even with all the understanding they gave him, even knowing it wasn’t his fault, he still sometimes wished that grenade were lethal.

             It was in that lab that they discovered he couldn’t affect gasses or liquids. They also discovered that he could cause any non-living object to implode. At mental command, he could also release that hold and a devastating explosion would occur. This discovery only served to make Larry fear his powers that much more. When he was seventeen, they were making him practice his implosion power and there was an accident that killed two laboratory workers. Larry ran away through a hole in the wall and never turned back.  In his wanderings, sought by the law, he ran across a street gang and started hanging out with them in underground places. They had him use his powers for some small time breaking and entering, but that didn‘t last. With lives on his shoulders, he got himself a motorcycle and took to the road.

            Now he searched the streets of New York for cold blooded killers and wondered how long it would last? How long before another life is lost or someone is seriously injured? He rode into the Bronx and sought out some of the harder districts. In his experience, wicked dealings always start underground. He saw a black van with heavily tinted windows pull into a warehouse where a large door pulled down behind it. He parked his bike across the street, attracting the attention of a couple local thugs. He knew the looks in their eyes as they approached and picked up an empty beer bottle.

            “Yo, homie, what you gonna do with that?” one of them laughed.

            He held the bottle in his palm at eye level for them to see. With a slight pop, like the cough of a silencer on a pistol, it dissolved into smoke. A few dusty sprinkles of glass fell to the ground.

            “No one touches my bike. No one touches me.”

            The two of them walked away murmuring that this one was crazy anyway. Blacktide knew that they wouldn’t stick around for anything tougher or more dangerous than them. Blacktide walked calmly across the street and into the shadows between buildings.  He pressed up against the brick near a window and peeked in. The warehouse had several large crates inside and a large black man lifted one into the back of the van with less effort than a sack of groceries. Blacktide wasn’t worried about how big the man was, he had dealt with people much bigger. Blacktide moved his way down the dark wall to a doorway. Finding it locked, he made a fist and punched through the area where the bolt would go into the wall. He disintegrated a fist shaped hole clear through and door floated open.  Once inside, he immediately found himself behind a few of the large crates. Stacked two high, they provided complete cover for him. Blacktide used the position to find out what was in the crates. A slight brush of his fingers created a large enough hole in the crate that Blacktide could move packing material around. The crate was filled with the same strange rifles he had seen pictures of.

“Paydirt,” Blacktide whispered to himself.

Railroad, muscle for hire

Blacktide snuck around the crates and between them, watching for any sign of the suited attackers. None of them seemed to be around. The big brute wasn’t next to the van anymore and it sat with the back doors still open. Cautiously Blacktide approached the van and noted an office to his right. Maybe the big guy went in there? He stalked up to the door and peered around the corner as quiet as could be. Empty. Just an empty chair at a paper cluttered desk. Something struck his lower back and propelled him through the office door. His power annihilated the entire doorway and the windows through the other side. Half of a metal support beam also got erased and he left pock marks across the concrete floor. His back arched in pain as he writhed there.

            “Wow, that’s a serious power you got there,” the brute said as he stepped through the path of wreckage. “You must wipe out anything you touch huh? Far out. Good thing I got these special gloves and boots that protect me from stuff like that.”

            To accent that point, the brute of a man kicked Blacktide and launched him through another wall. Passing through walls and boxes didn’t hurt, but Blacktide felt a rib snap with the force of the kick. As Blacktide’s body came to rest on the concrete again, the brute came stomping after him.

            “You in the wrong place, whoever you are. Now Railroad is gonna mess you up good!”

Catch up with the story here:  GZ 1-10
Jump to: GZ 12

Be sure to catch the first book now available on Amazon and Kindle! Chessmen: Opening Moves! Check out my author's page link in the top right!