GZ Legends 77: Chaos Dimension

            

As it flew closer, tiny lasers peppered the area the heroes stood in, causing them to scatter the best they could. One wrong step would take them off the pathway and into the abyss.

 Electrode weaved past the lasers that hovered in the air compared to his speed. His friends appeared to be in stasis from his speeding point of view as did the Chaos drone. Electrode dashed down the path to get a shot at it from behind. Once in position he had to come out of speed mode to hit his target with a burst of powerful lightning. It’s easy to hit something made of metal when you fight with electricity. Electrode hit the drone right between the shoulder blades.

            Without hesitation, the drone turned sideways with one arm aimed either direction. The tiny, yet explosive lasers fired from its fingertips. At the same time, a long metal ribbon emerged from somewhere on its back and lashed toward Electrode. If it weren’t for his ability to perceive movement in the tiniest of fractions, it would have cut him in half. Instead it left a neat slice in the path where Electrode once stood.

            Galose was the second to engage the hovering menace. He fired his shoulder cannons with several direct hits. The drone didn’t even waver in the air. Another metal ribbon lashed out and made a gash in one of Galose’s arms.

            “I’m going to repair my armor more than it’s needed in two decades!” Galose said to himself before calling out; “We have to bring it down!”

            Anubis jumped into the air and aimed his glowing lance at the drone. The wide cosmic blast engulfed the midsection of his target and actually shoved it a whole inch in the air.

            “Man, that would have leveled a building! What is this thing made of?” Anubis called out. A few lasers hit Anubis and sent him spinning backwards. He suddenly found it difficult to stop himself from tumbling through the air.

          

  Nyhtwulf quickly placed himself between the onslaught of laser blasts and his friends. As the shots went into his ethereal body, they emerged heading back where they came from. Its own weaponry proved more effective than any so far and actually left score marks on its armor. Blacktide moved to back up his partner and aimed at one of the propellers that kept the drone aloft. A disintegration beam destroyed the whirling apparatus and the Chaos drone landed on the path.

            The drone didn’t slow down in its combat mode regardless of loss of flight. The metal ribbons lashed out again. One went through Nyhtwulf harmlessly while the other ribbon cut Blacktide’s leather jacket before the end of it could be burnt off.

            “First my shades, now my jacket!” Blacktide growled. “You’re scrap metal!”

            Sandstorm was trying to figure out if he could melt or freeze this opponent when he saw something materializing behind Electrode. There was no time for warning.

            The Nuclear-Electric man was doing his best to hit the drone with all he had when something threw him to the path. Hot breath steamed the back of his neck and a loud growl sang in his ears. Sandstorm turned into air in order to get to his partner quickly. He formed himself as iron ore and grappled the giant black hound that pinned Electrode. With an enlarged arm around its neck, Sandstorm pulled, but couldn’t budge the creature from the path. Electrode managed to spin underneath the creature in order to get hands on its neck and jaw.

            “Electrode, fry it!” Sandstorm called out.

            As the beast’s teeth grew closer to his neck, Electrode turned it into a dazzling display of arcing electricity. Even with all he could do, it was very slow in doing any damage.

            “Somebodeeee? Anybody?” Anubis called as he struggled to stop tumbling through the air toward the swirling boundaries. “I can’t get control of my flight!”

            Galose saw Anubis’s struggle and ran down the path away from the fight. His targeting computers locked on to the flailing hero. The triangular red gem at Galose’s waist emitted a red tractor beam that caught Anubis and dragged him back to the path.

            “Okay, flying is a bad move. Thanks for grabbing me.” Anubis said.

           

“I’ve been taking readings.” Galose said. “This is a chaos dimension. The creatures here have the ability to anchor themselves in order not to float away. As long as we stay on the path, we can maneuver.”

            “Well, let’s get back to the others!” Anubis said.

            Before they could act, another hound beast materialized between them and jumped on Galose. It locked its teeth into his shoulder and fangs started to penetrate armor. Anubis stabbed it in the side with his lance, but the blade only pushed against its body without cutting through.

            The drone angled its shoulders and tried to cut Blacktide with the other propeller that was still spinning while sending both ribbons for him as well. Nyhtwulf grabbed his friend by the shoulder and suddenly both of them were intangible.

            “That’s it!” Blacktide said. “Keep me from getting hit, partner while I juice up to hit it with all I’ve got.

            The drone stomped forward, resorting to swinging fists that did nothing. Nyhtwulf kept his own intangible body between the drone and his partner, moving just enough to keep distance between them. 

            Sandstorm strained to pull the giant hound away from his friend. Electrode poured everything he could into trying to kill it. Its resilience would be amazing if it weren’t so close to sinking its teeth into his throat. Electrode could count its pointed fangs and could almost feel them slicing into his neck.

            “If this thing’s breath doesn’t melt my face off first, it’s going to bite my head off.” Electrode thought. “I can’t get out from under it!”

            To try and help, Sandstorm put one of his iron ore hands right in the monster’s mouth.

            Anubis continued to try and stab the one that jumped on Galose.

            “I can’t budge it!” Anubis shouted.

            Galose grabbed the creature’s jaws and struggled to push it away. Never had he come across a flesh and blood creature that could bite through Cyborian armor.

GZ Legends 76: Light it up!

           

 One of Stananteon’s forelegs crushed through the building and landed on the sidewalk. His roar shook the street and an arch of electricity danced between his straight horns.

            “You should know well, Anubis! You dropped Monolith into the ocean. You left my Pentegram Syndicate on a runaway starship!”

            “Well, hey hey! Someone who doesn’t just call me a dog!” Anubis flew into the air. “I hope you don’t expect me to go easy on you for that.”

            “Enough chatter!” Sandstorm shouted. “Let’s deal with this thing and get it over with!”

            Sandstorm sank into the ground like a vanishing ghost while Galose opened fire with his forearm rifles. After taking several direct hits across his broad neck, Stananteon breathed engulfing flames around Galose and half the street. Nyhtwulf flew through the dragon’s body and it lurched from the effect of having its life force scrambled; but that didn’t stop it. Stananteon gave a thunderous roar that knocked Nyhtwulf tumbling through the air.

            Anubis hit the dragon between its glowing eyes with a cosmic blast that made it shake its head.

            “You’re just an overgrown lizard!” He taunted it.

            “I’ll show you an overgrown lizard!” Stananteon shouted. The arch of electricity became a super-charged bolt fired at Anubis. The Egyptian hero blocked with his lance, but the shot still threw him across the street.

            A blast of disintegration energy tore into the dragon’s lower jaw. He roared in agony from Blacktide’s attack.

            “You should fly away before I erase your teeth!” Blacktide shouted. “We’re fed up and have no time for psychotic dinosaurs!”

            “You take me for a simple beast, but I shall show you…” Stananteon was interrupted by a giant hand of concrete clutching his throat. It came up from below him, through the wreckage of the building. It lifted the dragon up as more of Sandstorm’s giant body rose into view. Sandstorm slammed the dragon onto its back and brought down a wrecking ball fist on its head.

           

He continued to smash away at Stananteon with hammer-fist blows that forced the head of the beast through the asphalt and sidewalk. A nearby fire hydrant burst and showered the area with water. Broken cars tumbled away because of the shaking ground. Electrode reached out and drew the arc of electricity to his body, absorbing it to charge himself.

            “I’ll take that.”

            Thanks to Electrode and the savage pounding, Stananteon weakened quickly and suddenly vanished without a trace. Anubis landed with a grin.

            “I guess he was a chicken lizard.”

            Sandstorm returned to normal. “I think we’ve shown we mean business. Was the dragon the source of energy?”

            “No.” Galose said. “That is still at the end of the alley.”

            “Then let’s go.”

            The group approached the wall at the dead end of the alley with caution. Scattered trash, debris, a dumpster and a few trash cans were all that adorned the alley up to the blank brick wall. They watched for movement and Anubis poked his nose into the dumpster.

            “Peeeyew.” Anubis shook his head. “What we seek is definitely not in there.”

            “Where does the trace lead to?” Blacktide asked.

            “In the middle of the wall.” Galose said as he walked up to it. “I see now. It’s a disguised portal. We can just walk through it.”

            “Nothing says ‘trap’ like an open door.” Electrode said.

            “So we watch each other’s backs.” Sandstorm said.

            “I’ll go first.” Galose said and walked through before anyone could answer.

            Nyhtwulf and Blacktide went next, followed by Anubis, Sandstorm and Electrode.

            “Not that I wanted to be last or anything.” Electrode said.

            “Don’t worry about it.” Anubis said. “You had the best chances of catching up.”

            “That’s almost funny.” Electrode responded.

            “Pay attention. Things just got weird.” Sandstorm said.

            They stood on a wide white path that stretched away into the distance. Above and below the path was nothing. Bright swirling colors churned high above and far below. It looked as if you could fall away forever if you stepped off the path.

            “I detect no ground limit in any direction past the path.” Galose said. “It may be safe to fly here, but I would advise extreme caution. We are in another dimension.”

            “Well, looks like it’s wide enough for all of us to move around on. Just be careful and let’s start walking.” Sandstorm said as he moved forward. “Galose, Anubis, Nyhtwulf, let us know the moment you sense anything coming at us.”

            The path felt solid under their feet. It didn’t bounce or move in any way. Anubis and Nyhtwulf decided not to fly unless they absolutely had to try it. The swirling dimension was strange and played with their eyes if they stared out into the colors for more than a second. It was best to keep their eyes on the path.

 

            “Should I scout forward?” Electrode offered.

            “No. There’s no way of helping you if something grabs you. You might even wind up in another dimension on top of this one.” Sandstorm said.

            “This dimension is not stable.” Galose reported. “According to my readings, this is more of a long portal or dimensional tunnel being held open. If it closes on us, there is no telling where we will go.”

            “Since it didn’t just close on us; someone wants us to follow.” Blacktide said.

            “Let’s hope it stays that way.” Electrode added.

            “Well, we thought ‘death trap’ and here we are.” Anubis said.

            Up ahead of them, something moved near the path. It was far ahead, over a hundred yards, but flew toward them.

            “You got that on your sensors?” Sandstorm asked.

            “It is shielded from them.” Galose answered.

            The humanoid form appeared robotic with a long pole angled far out from either shoulder. At the top of each pole, blades whirred, holding the thing aloft.

            “It doesn’t look like a Rotanian.” Anubis said, holding his lance ready.

            “It’s not.” Galose answered. “I haven’t seen one of these in over a hundred years. That is a Chaos drone. It’s more lethal than any Rotanian could hope to be.”

GZ Legends 75: A New Day

           

 On the roof of the FPA building in New York City, energy crackled as Anubis appeared with Nightfall, Sandstorm and Electrode. A few feet away, Nyhtwulf appeared with Blacktide. Yet a few further feet away, Galose appeared with Redeagle and Atomizer. In split seconds, before the Rotanian ship launched away toward the sun, they all managed to escape. As they all regrouped and shook themselves off, sunlight bathed the rooftop in welcome light.

            Far below, in the streets of New York, cheering could be heard. It sounded faint at first, but quickly grew in volume. With the Rotanian ship gone, the dark field around the Earth was lifted. For the first time in too many days, the sun could be seen again.

            Sandstorm stood and felt the warmth on his face and knew that everything up to this moment was worth it. Anubis and Nyhtwulf rushed to heal injured friends. Atomizer, Nightfall and Redeagle had taken the worst beatings.

            As he was being healed by Nyhtwulf, Atomizer stared up at the blue sky.

            “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see anything in my entire life.”

            “Do you think they really crashed into the sun?” Electrode asked Galose.

            “I can’t be sure. If they didn’t, their ship still requires serious repair. They won’t be back anytime soon.”

            “I sure hope that’s the case.” Nightfall said.

            “We’re still far from done.” Anubis said. “We need to get Stormy, the psycho yet.”

            “We have to find out where he is.” Nightfall said.

           

“You won’t have to try very hard.” A peel of thunder shouted and Stormy could be seen standing on the roof with them. Electrode responded instantly, firing a bolt of lightning that went through Stormy and did nothing.

            “Don’t waste your power, I’m not actually among you. You see me with the power of illusion.”

            “What’s wrong? You afraid to come out and play for real?” Anubis chided.

            “Hardly. I’m here to give you an invitation. I’m going to create a mystical beacon in Los Angeles that at least one of you should be able to detect. Come after me if you dare.” Stormy vanished and Anubis stabbed his lance into the rooftop.

            “Take it easy, Anubis.” Sandstorm said. “Commander Larratus will kill us if he starts getting rained on.”

            Anubis grumbled and used his power to repair the hole he had just made.

            “Guys.” Atomizer groaned from where he sat. “I don’t know if I can do much more of this. I’m glad to be healed up, but I was still hurt worse than I think I’ve ever been hurt.”

            “It’s our job.” Redeagle said. “But we need to go in and report to Larratus. Then we’ll see where Stormy’s beacon shows up.”

            Redeagle helped his partner stand up. All of them went inside to find Commander Larratus.

            “You did it! You sons of guns did it!” Commander Larratus shouted in greetings. “Everything across the globe has turned back on. People are cheering around the world.”

            “How are you since your injury?” Electrode asked.

            “Oh, I’m fine.” Larratus waved him off. He was fully healed since being attacked by the Deformer and rushed to medical support. “We have guys who can fix anything. Just look at yourselves.”

            “Well, we aren’t quite finished yet.” Sandstorm filled the Commander in on the event from the rooftop.

            “So he’s calling you all out. That’ll be a trap for sure.” Larratus grumbled.

           

“So what else is new?” Anubis said. “I just want to get my fists on him. I’ll take care of any trap he wants to set.”

            “All the same, we have to be careful. Not everyone is a cosmic dynamo like you.” Nightfall said.

            “You know what?” Larratus said. “I have an idea for you. You all just hang out here for the night and let this guy stew until morning. You all need to recharge and rest anyway.”

            “Except I don’t think we can afford to do that.” Sandstorm said. “All we’ve learned so far, says he’s trying to free an entity called Chaos. How much longer before he manages to pull that off?”

            “Some of us are better at going without sleep than others.” Atomizer said. “I don’t feel bad saying that I’m totally exhausted.”

            “I am too.” Nightfall said. “I don’t think I can be of any help at this point. I can see from Redeagle’s face that he feels the same way.”

            “I wasn’t going to admit it.” Redeagle responded.

            “After having my powers jacked up by Death, I can’t say I’m feeling tired at all.” Blacktide said. “If you want to go forward, I’m with you.”

            “It’s okay.” Anubis said to Nightfall. “You should stay here and rest. You’ve more than earned it.”

            “It looks like it’s just the three of you who need to stay.” Sandstorm said. “I think the rest of us can handle this. It’s just not safe to wait.”

            “I’m with you as well.” Galose said. “I can go without sleep for several Earth weeks.”

            “Alright then,” Nightfall said to Anubis, “Turn human for me.”

            Anubis changed to his human form of Hakim and Nightfall planted a hard kiss right on his lips. No one missed it and everyone watched with interest. When she finally pulled away, Hakim just stared.

            “That’s for luck.”

            “Yeah, okay.” Hakim stumbled on the words as he changed back to Anubis. “Heck yeah!”

            “Galose, Nyhtwulf, or Anubis, are any of you picking up on Stormy’s beacon?” Sandstorm asked.

            “I have located an energy surge in the Los Angeles area that may be the location.” Galose said.

            “I have also sensed something in that area.” Nyhtwulf reported.

            Anubis’s eyes changed from glowing to a window of stars as he concentrated. “Yes, I have something too.”

            “Then each one of you take one of us and let’s go.” Sandstorm said. “Hopefully we all end up in the same place.”

           

As they disappeared, Nightfall wiped a tear away. “You better come back, rookie.”

            All six of the heroes appeared on a vacant Los Angeles street facing a long alleyway. Before they could take in the scenery, a savage roar shook the street. On top of one building facing them, a golden scaled dragon spread its wings and shouted.

            “I am Stananteon! You who defeated my minions must pay with your lives!”

            “Uh, what minions were those?” Anubis asked as they all tensed for the fight.

GZ Legends 73: Bits and Pieces

            

Electrode took two steps forward and fell on his face.

            “Did you think I never dealt with your kind before?” The Maker sneered. “What you just experienced is called a ‘slow field’. It cancels out speed powers very effectively. Try as you might, you won’t be dashing around in here.”

            Electrode stood up, electricity arched around his body. “I still have another weapon.”

            “Do you?”

            Electrode launched a series of powerful bolts at the Maker’s chair and his two robots. Nothing happened to any of them.

            “Very impressive. Unfortunately, you face me. I’m not such an easy target.”

            “Maybe we can try something else.” Electrode sent his next surge of attacks toward one of the giant turbine engines. To his shock, the lightning re-directed and hit the Maker’s chair instead. It still did no damage to the hovering chair.

            “Lightning can be turned too easily. I’m afraid I’m getting bored with you now.”

            “So what? Why haven’t you taken a shot at me yet?”

            “I promised you to someone else.” The Maker smiled cruelly.

            A black silk bag suddenly went over Electrode’s head, held by the Bagman. Bagman had quietly slipped up behind the hero.

            “Now I’ll drain your powers for my own, right into the bag!” Bagman said as Electrode struggled to get away. “Feel how you’re weakening? It means you won’t survive the experience.”

            Electrode clawed at the silk bag and struggled for some foothold to gain leverage. Bagman had him too far off balance. The Maker continued to smile as he watched the event unfold.

            A sudden blast from a nearby wall brought Blacktide and Anubis into the room.

            “This party needs to get crashed!” Anubis shouted as he shot Bagman in the back with cosmic rays.

           

The bag came off and Electrode collapsed to the floor.

            The Maker replaced his smile with a grimace. “Sendroid and Murderator, destroy.”

            The two giant robots moved into action. One of them emitted a black beam of disintegration energy that nearly hit Anubis.

            “Whoa!” Anubis shouted. “Blacktide, these things hit like you do! Watch out!”

            “I’m on ‘em!” Blacktide shouted as he returned fire in kind. He hit the closest one to him and merely singed its chest plates. “Oh great! So much for being pumped up.”

            The robot, called Murderator, lunged forward and brought a big fist down that Blacktide barely rolled away from. It crumpled the metal floor but didn’t break through.

            “I wonder what’s under here?” Blacktide thought.

            Nightfall ran through the fight to try and drag Electrode to a safer distance. At least he could be out from under the robot’s stomping feet. Nyhtwulf couldn’t help her as he flew for the Maker. The Dwarf of the Deep Stars, saw the Twilie Demon coming and smiled. Before Nyhtwulf could touch the Maker, he was caught in mid-air with a loud crackling sound.

            “It’s an ethereal barrier, Demon. Perfect for the likes of you!”

            Nyhtwulf’s limp body was thrown across the chamber and against a wall with an echoing thud.  At the same time, the robot called Sendroid caught Anubis by an ankle in the air. It swung his body right into Nightfall and Electrode, flinging all three of them another direction. Anubis’s body dented the metal wall and he staggered to his feet. Nightfall and Electrode didn’t move.

            “I’m really getting sick of this!” Anubis shouted as he built up a glowing charge of cosmic power around himself.

            “Do tell.” The Maker looked less than impressed.

            Blacktide turned his power against the floor under Murderator’s plodding feet to reveal another chamber underneath them. The big robot fell through and a loud crash was heard below.

            “Forgot to make them fly?” Blacktide chided at the Maker.

            “Hardly necessary.” The Maker spat.

            A large metal hand reached through the floor and metal fingers wrapped around Blacktide’s leg, pulling him down.

            “No way!” Anubis shouted as he unleashed as much power as he could muster at Sendroid. As a display of firepower, it would have dazzled military geniuses across the globe. But slowly, Sendroid stomped one step at a time, against the burning assault. Anubis never let up, straining himself as far as he could go. Finally, Sendroid stood over him and brought both metal hands down on him in a fierce clapping motion. Anubis slumped to the floor.

            “And yet, Stormy’s little crew had so much trouble.” The Maker said. “Ah, but then there’s one more in here now, isn’t there?”

            The room shook as Sandstorm materialized himself as a giant of jagged stone variations. Parts of him were granite. Some were iron ore. Gems of giant sized made up the rest of his hardened giant body. He loomed over the Maker and Sendroid with the mass of a living avalanche. Sandstorm only wished he had found his way sooner.

           

“Now it’s you and me!” Sandstorm said in a heavy gravel tone. With one great fist of granite, he pounded Sendroid into the floor like a nail from a sledgehammer.

            The Maker’s chair lifted him up to Sandstorm’s head level and shifted in form. Metal shields slid over the seating area of the chair and a series of cannons on rotation arms extended from the back. The cannons and arms rotated like a pinwheel and glowed brightly with power. Sandstorm brought both arms up with intentions of smashing the Maker’s chair into the turbine engine behind it. The Maker held his position, the energy from the rotating cannons strobed brightly. Sandstorm swung his arms of iron and rock inward at the same time the cannon array fired.

            The sound of the blast could be felt and heard by Redeagle and Atomizer who were nearing the chamber. They were both thrown to the floor with their ears ringing.

            As the light dissipated and the rotators slowed, baseball sized chunks of Sandstorm rained across the entire engine chamber. They clattered and bounced off metal at every point of the engine room. The chair drifted back down and the Maker revealed himself again.

            “How unimpressive. Now to dispose of them.” 

GZ Legends 72: Will to Live

            

Galose materialized in the pilot’s seat of his ship. He managed to divert power to his transport systems just in time to make it look like the Rotanians scored a direct hit. Safe aboard his cloaked craft, Galose put all power into repair systems. He would not leave these heroes of Earth to fend for themselves. He had given his word.

            Anubis gazed around the room at their fallen enemies. It was time to move on. As they headed for the next door, Anubis paused by the remains of Silvercrow.

            “Wow. Blacktide, there’s something different about you.”

            “My powers seem to be a bit jacked up.”

            “I’ll say, but look.” Anubis pointed to a piece of the haunted armor that was slowly growing back, repairing itself.

            “That’s insane.” Blacktide said. “And I’ve seen a lot of insane on this trip. Let’s just get going.”

            “Sounds like we have company on the other side of this door, guys.” Nightfall said as she approached the controls.

            “I will lead our attack!” Nyhtwulf said as he flew through the door.

            “Well. Don’t let him have all the fun! Open the door!” Anubis said and Nightfall hit the controls.

            They fell on their enemy without mercy or hesitation. Nyhtwulf redirected their rifle shots back at them as Anubis charged in with his lance. Nightfall made carefully aimed attacks with her metron rifle. Blacktide raised a hand in the moments that the fight lasted and paused. He turned his hand to gaze at his palm and then back at the scene before him. He folded his fingers into a fist as the battle ended. Robot parts scattered across the corridor and smoke wafted on the air.

            “Are you alright?” Nyhtwulf asked his partner.

            “Yeah. You know, you guys had this one. I just didn’t want to graze either of you by accident. I don’t know how strong I am right now.”

            “It’s okay. If you want, you can attack first next time.” Anubis offered.

           

“Yeah, maybe that would be good.” Blacktide half chuckled but he was deeply concerned. His powers had killed people he loved and now they were stronger than he ever knew. He followed his friends down the corridor, deciding it best to watch their backs. At least any attacks from the rear wouldn’t be complicated by friends in the way.

            In another part of the ship, a crew of Rotanians were charging along another corridor until all their heads exploded. As he stepped carefully through the burning parts, Atomizer had a scowl that could scare a U.S. Marine. Redeagle covered him from the back because nothing was standing in their way up ahead. After nearly being asphyxiated, Atomizer lost all restraint in dealing with stupid robots.

            A strange feeling made the hair on the backs of their necks stand up as a different kind of Rotanian materialized in front of Atomizer. It punched him in the face so fast there was no time to react. Atomizer’s feet flew out from under him and his hat sailed into the air. He landed on his back with a loud thud. Redeagle immediately fired his weapon, but the robot slid past each shot with moves like a martial arts Grandmaster. It kicked the weapon from his hands and then launched a spin kick to his chest. Redeagle flew backwards on top of the leftovers from the squad they had just defeated.

            As Atomizer stood up, a metal backhand tossed him against the wall. He landed on his face. As he struggled to stand, his vision blurred. He could see fuzzy red dots on the floor and realized he was bleeding. Then the atrocity spoke to him.

            “I am Starhunter 613. My instructions are to beat you to death for your offense to the Maker.”

            “You’re getting ahead of yourself!” Redeagle called as he threw a broken robot head at the Starhunter. It deflected with a forearm block.

            Redeagle didn’t have time to grab up his weapon before it was upon him. The 7 foot hero instinctively relied on his own martial training with attempts to block and attack. The Starhunter was fast. It punched him across the face four times before he could react and shoved him backward on top of smoking robot parts. Then it kicked him further down the corridor away from Atomizer.

            “Your flesh is no match for Rotanian metal.” The Starhunter loomed over Redeagle, lifting a foot to stomp downward at him.

           

The wall near the robot’s head exploded and jarred it slightly to one side. Redeagle saw this as his one chance to get a hit in. With a savage battle cry, the big man lunged forward and drove his fist clear through the Starhunter’s midsection. The machine stood stunned momentarily as Redeagle pulled his arm out. He jumped up and grabbed the robot by the head and whipped its body into and opposite wall. When it hit the ground, Redeagle jumped and brought down both feet on the Starhunter’s head.

            “You want a head stomped? You like that?” He shouted as he stomped on it over and over again, smashing the metal flat against the floor. The rest of the robot body convulsed uselessly.

            “Partner.” Atomizer croaked the word and interrupted the stomp-fest. He leaned against the wall, bleeding and in severe pain. “I think it broke a couple ribs.”

            Redeagle grabbed up the metron rifle from the floor and ran to his partner.

            “I got ya. Come on, we’ll make it. Just lean on me.” Redeagle kept watch as he helped his injured friend walk.

           

Now that he could breathe, the fastest member of the team, made short work of reaching the engine rooms. Electrode marveled at the sight of the giant turbines that powered the huge Rotanian flagship. Strangely, there were no Rotanian soldiers in the massive chamber. That immediately put him on edge. He was fifty yards away from the first two turbines. Fifty yards wasn’t even a sneeze’s distance for him, but something instinctive made him pause. Three figures materialized between him and the machinery.

            The great mechanical chair of the Maker hovered a few feet from the floor. A 10 foot tall red robot stood on either side of the chair, twins. Their single optics were oozing with black energy a lot like Blacktide’s.

            “You made it. Too bad for you.” The Maker snarled. “Now you die.”

GZ Legends 71: Every Last Breath

           

 It happened so fast, Sandstorm didn’t even realize what had happened. One second, he was floating near his partner in the form of air; the next he was speeding through life support conduits. He heard the voice of the Maker and quickly found the whole issue to be quite absurd.

            “If you don’t need a life support system, why do you even have one?” Sandstorm thought.

            The realization of the very real threat to his friends lives, struck him like a flying rock. It didn’t matter why the Maker had the system. He couldn’t allow it to be turned off. Sandstorm turned his attention to the chambers he was pulled through. At some point there would be a heart to the system. There, he hoped he could jam something and return life giving oxygen to his friends. As fast as the air withdrew, he knew he had seconds to figure something out.

            The heart of the life support system housed dozens of switches and chambers he didn’t have time to explore. Only one thing held the slightest possibility and that was electricity. The power systems to the life support carried an electrical charge. Sandstorm followed it, hoping he could find the activation system. The charge led him to a metal switch between two connectors, powered by a console just above him.

            “With all this advanced technology, I’m dealing with a stupid toggle switch?” Sandstorm thought in disbelief.

           

He surged on the system with a charge of his own and forced the switch into the “on” position. Then, before anyone could react, he fused the metal together by arc-welding it. They would have to destroy the entire console to turn off the life support system again.

            “I wonder what Mr. Genius is going to think of this?” Sandstorm thought. “Now how do I get back to Electrode?”

            In another corridor, Hypnotist breathed through the special apparatus the Maker had given him. He watched Redeagle and Atomizer sink to the floor, gasping for breath. The shock of the loss of oxygen momentarily broke Hypnotist’s hold. As Redeagle slumped to the floor, he fired the metron rifle, blasting through Hypnotist’s chest. Redeagle scrambled to the dead body of the mind controlling villain and grabbed the breather. He took a deep breath and then took it to his partner.

            Anubis’s mind reeled with inner turmoil. Maybe it would be worth it? He could summon the true spirit of Anubis, rip the whole ship in half and kill them all. In their sacrifice, the Earth would be bathed in warm sunlight once again. But then, who would stop Stormy Knight? Someone still needed to deliver that fiend a well-earned lesson. The Serpent sported a cruel grin and showed his viper-like eyes over the top of his dark glasses. One of his Death Snakes hovered just over Nightfall’s face as she lay asphyxiating. Monolith and Silvercrow moved in on Anubis.

            “You’re out of time, Dog-breath.” Monolith chuckled.

            As Nyhtwulf and Blacktide appeared in the room, the life support came back on. Blacktide put both fists forward and hit Silvercrow with a surging disintegration beam. The haunted armor tumbled backward. Monolith’s stone body was no protection against the intangible Nyhtwulf. The Twilie Demon thrust both arms into the chest of the Stone Demon with screaming results. The whole thing gave Anubis just the moment he needed.

           

The Egyptian hero smashed head on into Serpent and threw him against a far wall. As they landed, Anubis delivered a punch that shattered the dwarf’s shades.

            “Guess I will hit a guy with glasses!” Anubis said as he landed another punch with equal ferocity. One strike after another, Anubis pounded away in near mindless rage. Too many times since Ella’s death, had he seen those he cared about nearly lost. He wouldn’t tolerate it anymore.

            “Stop!”

            The voice was distant and sounded familiar.

            “Stop!” A pair of slender arms wrapped around one of his. A set of arms also grabbed around his shoulders.

            “Geez, man, you got him already!” Blacktide shouted in his ear.

            Nightfall had Anubis’s arm and finally managed to pull him away.

            “You can stop now.”

            Anubis breathed hard and leaned back against the wall. He looked at his own bloody hands in disbelief.

            “It’s okay. It’s done. I’m okay. You can calm down now.” Nightfall said as she touched his shoulder.

            Across the room, Monolith lay on the floor unconscious. Silvercrow’s armor body lay in smoldering pieces.

            “I can’t believe I just did that.” Anubis said.

            “Use your powers to clean your hands.” Nightfall said gently. “We have to get moving.”

            At the door of the gutted factory area, Electrode pulled himself to his feet. He realized that Sandstorm found a way to save his life.

            “You here?” He called out but there was no answer. “Guess I move on and hope we find each other.” He charged himself up and reached for the door controls.

           

Galose tumbled through space and inside the armor, alarms blared. Weapon systems of the ship were locking onto him. At any moment they would fire and he would be reduced to atoms. With the neural control net he used to pilot his armor, Galose worked with haste. Feverishly, he commanded power to repair systems and over-rides to save his life. Ship’s cannons were locking on, one after another. He needed more power to activate cloaking and teleportation.

Cyborians have a natural ability to learn complicated and sophisticated sciences at an accelerated rate beyond most other alien life forms. Galose sped through coding of programs in his armor that no human could possibly comprehend. Slowly, the power built towards the teleportation system. If Cyborian’s had teeth, he would have gnashed his to powder as he watched the system bar slowly rise.

From the bridge of the ship, Mechanicore watched as 12 cannons fixed on the Cyborian’s position.

“Fire.” He commanded.

GZ Legends 70: Fight for Your Life!

           

 “Maybe I’ll have to settle for launching you into space!” Anubis retorted as he charged at Monolith.

            His attack was intercepted by the acrobatic Serpent. “Try me on for size!” The Dwarven villain hissed with his forked tongue flickering.

            Anubis blocked one of the attacker’s swords with his bladed lance and narrowly dodged the other across the top of his nose. As light flashed off the shining sword, Anubis saw one of Serpent’s death snakes emerging from a sleeve. As Serpent landed, his snakes suddenly completely withdrew into the clothing of their master.

            “Eh? What’s this? Come out and attack.” Serpent said.

            “I guess they don’t like me.” Anubis said as he moved to hit Serpent in the face.

            “Anubis, look out!” Nightfall called.

            Monolith backhanded Anubis and launched him back across the room. Silvercrow rushed in on the Egyptian hero, aiming to strike before he could get back on his feet.

            “No matter. I’m sure they’ll love a bite of your girlfriend!” Serpent called as he leapt into a deadly bladed cartwheel toward his new target.

            “I’m not such an easy target either!” Nightfall rushed to keep distance and fire her weapon. She already knew that the rifle would be useless against Monolith or Silvercrow. She prayed Anubis could handle them both. As it were, Serpent was moving in faster than she could evade.

            In another area, Redeagle and Atomizer engaged another Rotanian squad. Hot beams of energy showered sparks all over the two men as they did their best to fight back. Atomizer could still make short work of them, but numbers made progress slow. As they moved past the fallen robots, Atomizer kicked one of their heads down the hall. He then proceeded to comically dance holding his foot.

            “You really should have known.” Redeagle said with a chuckle.

            “I have boots on.”

            “Then you need to learn how to kick. I still can’t believe you did that.”

            “Oh let’s just find the next group.” Atomizer limped slightly down the hall.

            Up ahead of them a door slid open. Redeagle aimed his metron rifle as a man stepped into view. Before Redeagle could pull the trigger, he froze. So did Atomizer.

            “That will be quite enough out of the two of you.” Hypnotist said as he adjusted a cuff link. “Now what shall I have you do to each other? In a few moments it won’t matter anyway.”

            Hypnotist put a strange device in his mouth and stood staring at the two men, keeping their minds under his control.

            Galose hurried down his corridor, wishing he could track enough inside the ship to teleport. It would make everything so much easier. A door suddenly opened and Galose scanned it just as he was attacked from the side. Even with the most sophisticated technology in the universe, anyone can be distracted. Galose cursed himself for not paying attention as he barely dodged the long sharp drill aimed at his head. Mechanicore’s drill pierced the metal wall like butter. As he pulled back, the Rotanian General kicked Galose through the open door.

           

The control room he landed in had four Rotanian soldiers in it. After tumbling across the floor, Galose came up firing and made short work of all four of them. Mechanicore followed with both of his combat drills fully extended from the forearms. As the robot swung them, it evaded Galose’s shots. Mechanicore moved into close combat quickly, forcing Galose to take evasive measures. Near misses with the drills annihilated computer benches and equipment as easily as Galose’s weaponry.

            Two hits against Galose’s chest in an X pattern threw him against a wall. Mechanicore’s optic lights that move back and forth opposite of each other suddenly stopped in alignment. They glowed bright red before a wide beam of power smashed Galose through the wall. As Galose rushed to his feet, another hit from a drill split his optic visor, leaving him half blinded. From deep inside the dimensions of the armor, Galose’s view screens flickered and threatened to go black. A kick tossed the Cyborian across the next room. Sensor’s indicated other Rotanians around them, but none of them attacked. Apparently, Mechanicore wanted this target for itself.

            Galose fired but only grazed his target as a new attack came. Mechanicore gouged at him mercilessly and threw him onto a platform.

            “Goodbye, Cyborian.” With a flicker the platform activated and Galose vanished.

            The Cyborian found himself tumbling through space away from the Rotanian flagship.

            Mechanicore opened communications with the bridge. “As soon as you lock on target, open fire.

            Electrode paused by a far door and looked back at the destruction he and his partner caused. Sandstorm was still in air form, but ready for the next section they would ransack. As Electrode reached for the door controls, he suddenly tried to gasp. For every breath he tried to take, his lungs went into a panic. Nothing was there. He spun, looking for his partner or anything he could grab onto. Finding nothing, he fell to his knees. The voice of the Engineer crackled to live over a com system.

            “Did you really think I wouldn’t be prepared for your pitiful assault on my ship? Did you think I wouldn’t know you were coming? My intellect is beyond anything you could hope to understand but I think this should be a lesson learned easily enough. You have boarded a ship controlled entirely by robots. So why would robots need life support? Answer; they don’t and neither do I.”

            “Now put down your lance, Dog Boy.” Serpent said to Anubis.

            Nightfall was on the floor, clutching at her throat. Serpent stood over her with a sadistic grin. Two of his Deathsnakes were slowly moving toward her from Serpent’s sleeves.

           

Anubis’s mind spun too fast to realize the lack of oxygen wasn’t affecting him. He honestly had no idea what to do in the face of this issue. He thought of his special attack and wondered if it would tear the whole ship apart and kill all his friends anyway. He couldn’t take his eyes from Nightfall. After all they had been through, he feared this was it.

GZ Legends 69: Raiding the Flagship

           

 When Galose bypassed the systems on the sliding door, the friends sprang into action. As a stroke of luck, only one Rotanian was right outside and Galose blew its head apart. Electrode and Sandstorm went left while the rest went to the right. Galose and Anubis led the way, opening fire on the first squad of six that they found. Anubis fired blasts from his lance that tore through robot midsections. Galose used his shoulder cannons. Between the two of them, they made short work of that crew. At that point, they found the next corridor that Anubis and Nightfall split away from the group to follow.

            Nightfall gripped her rifle and grit her teeth as the two of them charged down the corridor. They would meet whatever was there head on. It was a good thing they weren’t concerned with stealth. Anubis’s armored boots made quite a clatter against the metal floor.

            Galose continued to take point, covering Atomizer and Redeagle towards their next split section. Rotanian rifle blasts cascaded at them and Galose took a hit to the midsection. The Cyborian Marshal didn’t falter as he returned fire and his onboard systems activated repairs. Atomizer used his explosive power on robot heads and body parts to help them gain ground. In split second, he had to turn and assist Redeagle as another squad came at them from behind.

            The blasting in the metal hall echoed and made Redeagle’s ears ring. He wondered if he would have time to grab the ear plugs he kept in his chest pocket. He had to be fast on the trigger as robots fired without hesitation in their aim. Galose turned and fired a bright ball of light at the ceiling near the Rotanians that came behind them. The explosion caved in the hall with a ton of metal debris.

            “That should keep any more from coming up that way for a while. Let’s go!” Galose said.

            The three of them came around a corner where another troop was waiting for them. While Redeagle and Atomizer used a wall for cover, Galose simply stepped right out in front of them. He extended both of his rifles to supplement fire with his cannons and lit up the corridor in bright strobes of firepower. Redeagle just fired blindly into the fray, knowing anything at the other end was fair game. Smoke stung the big man’s eyes and nose thanks to his heightened senses. For anyone other than Galose or the robots, it was hard to see.

            Once the firing mercifully stopped, they moved forward again. Atomizer took off his hat and waved it at the smoke in the air as they pressed on. A new corridor opened up and branched away. It was the direction they would take without Galose.

            “Keep yourselves covered and go with all speed.” Galose said to them.

            “Hope we see you again soon.” Atomizer said.

           

Sandstorm and Electrode moved the fastest and cleared a path better than anyone. Rotanians couldn’t withstand the shockwaves of nuclear electricity Electrode created as he dashed past them. At his speed, he moved between with them ridiculous ease. Sandstorm followed up in the form of air and created miniature twisters in his wake. Robot bodies were smashed against each other and all solid surfaces like being in a giant blender. Electrode couldn’t help but think their path was yielding too easily as they came to a large closed door. Sandstorm formed enough to be visible like a mist in human shape.

            “I guess we go through here.” Electrode said. “You ready?”

            “As I’ll ever be.”

            The door opened unexpectedly, but nothing stood on the other side. Instead they heard the loud whirring and clanking of machinery. Hundreds of robot arms and conveyers worked to bring together parts of Rotanian soldiers. The two friends had just walked into one of the ship’s on board factories.

            “No wonder there’s so many.” Electrode said in awe. The room of the factory was easily the size of a football field and with a high ceiling. Robots operated at nearly every possible angle and location. “He just builds them right here.”

            “There must be thousands of them.” Sandstorm said. Even in the form of mist, he felt like there was a lump in his throat. A combination of wonderment and horror gripped him to the heart.

            “You know what I’m thinking?” Electrode asked.

            “I’m thinking we’re supposed to cause as much destruction as possible.”

            “You got it. Let’s mess this place up.”

            “Just be careful.”

            Not another word was needed as the two friends raced into action. Electrode took off across a wall, allowing himself to run the perimeter of the huge room. Arcs of bright lightning exploded in his wake, jumping from machine to machine with explosive results. At this point, he couldn’t deny the thrill of giving this place what it deserved. Automated weapons fired at him, but he dodged between the slow motion blasts and debris as he went around and around the room. Sandstorm took to the center and formed himself into a typhoon gale. He ripped machinery from mounts and tore metal. Each piece of debris became a flying weapon to tear through even more. Parts of Rotanians spun, flew and exploded. The assault shook the ship to points that it was even felt on the bridge.

            The Maker spun in his floating chair to face an array of view screens. 

            “How dare they!” He shouted. “Insignificant pests! Mechanicore, once they reach the other side, activate the protocol. We’ll show them just how little their act of defiance means.”

           

The robot General of the Rotanians nodded. His criss-crossing optic lights glowed read and he reached for the console with one of his clamp arms.

            In another area, Anubis and Nightfall burst into a brightly lit, wide empty room. They had just finished destroying two squads to get access. Anubis thumped his lance against the floor.

            “Well, that’s a letdown.”

            As if in answer, a door on the far side opened. Monolith, Serpent, and Silvercrow entered the room. Monolith smiled and beat one stone fist into a palm.

            “You won’t be dumping me into the ocean this time, mutt.”