GZ Legends 56: Facing Maniac!

           

 The lights of a new playground sparkled ahead within easy distance of Maniac’s size. To the 40 foot killer, it would be as easy as a 100 yard sprint. He contemplated how he would make his entrance to create the utmost effect of sheer terror. Perhaps he would just run in hard with his massive bulk smashing into the first building he saw. He could clearly visualize tiny human bodies thrown into the air in the midst of debris. The thought alone made him laugh.

            He stomped forward but slowed as he picked up life signs on his sensors. They appeared suddenly and were close by. The asphalt in front of Maniac shifted and began to rise. A body easily as big as the Cyborian killer, formed from the broken ground and rose to meet him. Arms and legs of dirt and asphalt shifted in substance to iron ore as Maniac watched with interest. Sandstorm stood, clenched his giant iron fists and lunged forward to put one across Maniac’s smiling grill.

            Before the blow could land, giant circular saw blades spun in each of Maniac’s shoulders. They launched and crisscrossed through the iron ore body, shattering it to giant pieces that fell away harmlessly.

            “No way!” Anubis’s voice was heard just before the hero’s bladed lance ricocheted off Maniac’s head without a scratch. In order to catch up to Maniac, Galose had teleported them again. Sandstorm wanted to make the first attack. No one knew if he was still alive after Maniac’s counter attack.

            Anubis flew through the air and fired cosmic beams of power at Maniac’s face with one hand while catching his lance in the other. Maniac’s response, coupled with more eerie laughter, was instantaneous. Beams of red light shot from Maniac’s eyes and knocked Anubis spinning through the air.

            “I guess we’re going in now!” Electrode vanished as he went into his full speed ability.

            Galose extended all the weaponry he showed on the rooftop and opened fire in an impressive display. Electrode launched nuclear lightning blasts from all directions as he ran wide around the giant Cyborian. Blacktide focused his disintegration powers in a wave of blackened force at one of Maniac’s legs while Nyhtwulf flew right into the giant’s armor. Nightfall, kept her distance and fired her blaster. The area of dark highway was as bright as any downtown strip as the heroes’ attacks struck Maniac’s armor. Light flashed brighter than any fireworks display ever could.

           

“Aim for its head!” Atomizer called out as Redeagle ripped a large stone from the nearby field and threw it. As always, Redeagle’s aim was flawless. Just as the boulder made contact with Maniac’s head, Atomizer triggered his power and made it explode with enough force to blow a hole in the Rock of Gibralter.

            The un-nerving response was more laughter, even louder than before.

            “So, you want to play!” Maniac’s grating voice screeched in the midst of relentless assault.

            Within Maniac’s armor, Nyhtwulf tumbled through empty space without sense of direction. Since Cyborian armor is made of thousands of dimensional sections, phasing through it sent Nyhtwulf on an unknown flight path of swirling darkness. Nyhtwulf struggled to stop his flight to try and find his bearings. His mystical senses overwhelmed as he tried to figure out which direction he should go. He couldn’t even sense the outside world anymore. Far worse than that, he couldn’t sense any of his friends, not even Blacktide.

            Outside, Blacktide realized his link to Nyhtwulf was lost as a burst of disintegration energy scorched ten feet in every direction of him. Blacktide rolled backwards into the ditch and struggled to maintain control of his powers. The old fear surged over him that he would kill his friends and anyone else close to him. The memory of his parents flashed in his mind. It was the time when he was just a child, sitting at the breakfast table. It was the time when his powers developed and killed them both in a smoky blast. With Nyhtwulf’s mental link and friendship, Blacktide was able to control his powers like never before. Now Blacktide wondered if his new partner was dead.

            Anubis caught himself in the air with a groan of pain. He grit his teeth at the pain and was about to launch himself back at the fight, when he caught movement from the corner of his eye. The two saw blades had gone out a long way and were now on their way back. One of them was coming right at him. Anubis spun, and put his lance in the way. The giant saw wheel threw sparks as it spun against the blessed lance of Anubis.

            “Geeze, what’s keeping this thing spinning?” Anubis said as he was forced through the air by the deadly weapon.

            The other blade flew toward the ground and raced at Atomizer and Redeagle. They both dodged to either side of the blade and it shaved off some of the sole of Redeagle’s boot.

            “Are you guys okay?” Nightfall ran to them.

            Maniac kicked Galose like a small ball and shot him out into the darkness and then turned to face the three in the field. He took a great and deliberate step toward them.

            “Oh no you don’t!” Electrode stopped several yards behind Maniac and charged himself up. “Maybe this will get your attention!”

           

Electrode focused a channel of his lightning right between the giant’s shoulder blades. He hit as hard as he could, holding nothing back. The glow of the attack could be seen for miles and loud cracking could be heard just as far. Maniac paused only for a second in the thrall of the assault before turning heel to face his attacker. As Maniac positioned the metal palm of a hand in the path of the attack, it took on a sinister glow of its own. The beam of return fire ripped into the ground where Electrode stood with an ear shattering explosion. The ground shook as much as 5 miles away. Redeagle, Atomizer and Nightfall were all thrown to the ground. The flash could be seen far out on the Gulf of Mexico.

            After the blast, Maniac turned back toward the field. As far as he was concerned, he still had new toys to play with.