Blog Fiction: A Wizard's trip to the Bank

Boreas in his more magical garb

Mark strode into the bank with angry confidence. This was the day. This was the day he would get what the world owed him. No one batted an eye at his heavy puffy coat as he made his way to the center of the lobby floor. Patrons and tellers were busy with transactions while the security guard read a newspaper.

"EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR NOW!" Mark shouted as he threw his coat open revealing the explosives he had strapped to himself. In his hand he held the dead man's switch. "IF I LET GOT OF THIS WE ARE ALL DEAD!" He turned to the security guard who now second guessed reaching for his gun.

"Lay down on the floor, badge!" Mark warned him.

Panicked patrons did as he asked, except for one. On calm man stood by a table littered with forms. He appeared distinguished in his three piece suit and trilby hat. His reddish brown mustache twirled upward in undeniable style. As the man regarded a piece of paper with scrutiny, he all but ignored Mark.

"Hey! Are you deaf or stupid? Get on the floor!" Mark shouted.

"I do believe I will decline that invitation." Said the man. "A person doesn't dress like this to rub himself on filthy tile."

"Just who do you think you are? I'm the guy in control here! I'll kill everyone!"

"Please, sir, just listen to him." A woman on the floor said.

"Not to worry, young lady, as they say in the comics, I've got this." He turned his gaze back to Mark and slapped the paper on the table. "As for who I am; I am Boreas the Wizard. You are Mark Boggs and you are going to jail today without blowing up anyone."

"A wizard? Are you kidding me? Are you senile?"

"Hardly." Boreas gestured with a hand and made a few symbolic flexes of his fingers.

"What was that?" Mark asked in exasperation and held out the dead man's switch. "Maybe you'd like to see my hand gestures?"

"Go ahead. You're vest is full of silly putty. Quite harmless. But then, you are also threatening me with a potato."

Mark looked to his hand in astonishment. He was indeed clenching a harmless potato. This was all the security guard needed as a cue to tackle Mark to the floor. People gasped and some sighed in relief.

"Wow. Are you really magic, sir?" A little boy rushed up and asked Boreas.

Boreas knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes I am and you are safe now. Say, would you like to see another trick?"

The boy nodded with excitement.

"Then behold! I just turned Mark's socks into peanut butter!"

"HEY!" Mark shouted as he was cuffed and dragged away. "MY FEET!"

Boreas ruffled the little boy's hair and stood up. He took up his deposit slip in hand.

"Now were was I? Oh yes. Back to business."

Maestro: A Class of Evil

Welcome to my castle. Do you think you'll survive the experience? It feels like it was yesterday; when I was considered to be everyone's hero on my home world. But then, the Sevin Brotherhood came along and destroyed everything I loved. I dealt with them though, oh yes I did. In the process I became the servant of the Demon god, Graethmael. No longer accepted at home, I left to find my new destiny. That's how I became the King of Demons.

There was another king at the time. He laughed at me and sent me on what he thought would be a futile quest for an ancient artifact. Well, artifacts were old hat to me. I obtained the Sphere of Kings and used it on him, taking over his throne. Now all of this is mine to use as I see fit.

I made myself known to the heroes of this universe by kidnapping a female Starknight and torturing her in my dungeon. But that was minuscule compared to what I really love to do. When I get bored I do things like take over the universe and slaughter heroes. I love to entwine people in traps of words, making them question their own morals. I craft better deals than the Devil himself.

I was a powerful bard in my day, creating magic out of music, but I'm far beyond that now. I have my own powerful magics that play off my golden flute. It's called megasorcery and it's an equal measure of sorcery, bardic and the power to alter reality itself. With it, I can sunder worlds or just peel you like a grape. I alter battlefields to confuse my enemies and then toy with them until they die.

Feel like raiding my castle? Nothing amuses me more than some wannabe hero thinking he's broken in to find me or some trinket I've hidden. I love breaking and entering into my home, it's hilarious. My castle is unstable dimensionally so you never know where opening a simple door will lead you. If the creatures I create don't eat you, the various trap rooms will carve you to pieces. Of course there are my demon guards, but I don't let them in on the fun unless I'm feeling generous.

Oh, and let's not forget that I'm a racist too. I hate Elves. All of them. One thing I want to accomplish in my lifetime (and it's a long life) is the utter genocide of those stupid snobby Elves. They were too busy being pompous and righteous when my world needed their help. Now they can just die.

I am Maestro, King of Demons and it makes me laugh when some do-gooder asks why I do what I do. Foolish heroes, evil needs no reason.

Character Spotlight: Sersi, the Mystic Falcon

Sersi is the magical friend and partner to the Falconer, leader of the Chessmen. Her magical prowess and aerial combat ability have served and saved too many times to mention.

Sersi is highly intelligent and capable of communication through telepathy with anyone she wishes. Most of the time she talks to Falconer, who she has a secret love for. Her intelligence takes opponents by surprise as she can quickly out-think or out-maneuver most. She's also an adept mage with a limited number of spells. She primarily uses her magical skills to heal but she has a decent arsenal of combat spells.

Like any falcon, Sersi is deadly fast. In a dive she can break 250 miles per hour until she casts her dive spell. At that point she becomes a red thunderbolt that can knock down even large targets. She also uses her magic to enhance an attack with her razor sharp talons. That attack has been known to pierce armor. She can cast a force field spell that covers a small area and anyone within. Sersi is always trying to improve her magic.

Sersi loves Falconer very much, but her magic is only strong enough to let her show it in his dreams. He has no idea it's her. Sersi hopes to one day master her magic enough to transform into a beautiful woman. Until that time, she is with him everywhere he goes.

For the Chessmen, Sersi is scout, healer and air support. You can read all about her in Chessmen: Opening Moves available on Amazon and Kindle. Catch the link in the upper right to my author's page!

GZ Legends 82: The Fate of Stormy Knight

           

 Anubis seethed as he watched Sandstorm and Electrode fall victim to the violent magic of Stormy Knight. His Egyptian form trembled as his body was still held in stasis by the cursed ring on his finger. His friends all lay about on the ground or were sealed in the transparent cylinders. The looming hand of Chaos overshadowed them all and drew close enough to close its giant fingers over them. He could see the cruel madness and euphoria in Stormy’s eyes from where he stood motionless. The desperation of a bleak and hopeless situation washed over him. But then there was that glimmer of a thought. He realized one thing he had not tried that should only be used in the darkest of hours. It would only be his third time using that power and the first time summoning it on purpose. He stared hard at Stormy, willing the villain to turn toward him.

            “Look at me!” Anubis thought hard, hoping that Stormy might read his mind just a little. “Look at me, you raving psycho! I want you to see this coming!”

            Anubis reached deep within himself for that glimmer of hope. Just like the control of his lance, he didn’t need to physically move for this.

            “Guardian.” He thought and the ground trembled. The throne cracked down the center and Stormy turned towards him.

            Stormy locked eyes with the Egyptian hero and slowly realized what was about to occur. His eyebrows raised in alarm, but it was too late. Then all the sound in their world stopped. Anubis and all of his allies vanished from view as the grand platform shook and trembled. The floor cracked where Anubis had been standing.

            Guardian.

            The throne shattered like exploding glass and Stormy could hear his own voice howling in the sudden maelstrom.

            Guardian.

            A great Egyptian sarcophagus, a hundred feet tall, erupted from the floor and shined on high. The hand of Chaos paused, suddenly unable to move further forward. The sacrifices were no longer in place.

            Guardian.

            The sarcophagus spider-webbed with cracks all across its surface and its likeness to the true god, Anubis. As it exploded open the cosmic groan of a voice could be heard.

           

“GUARDIAN OF THE DEEAAD.”

            The giant spirit of Anubis uncrossed its arms and spread them wide, holding a rod and scepter. As it did both times in prior appearances, all of the harm done to allies of Anubis who had fallen, was returned to whence it came. That meant, all of the agony, all of the injury, and all of the desperate strife were returned to Stormy Knight.

            The hand of Chaos fell back away into the abyss. Following its lead, was the flailing and screaming form of Jonathon “Stormy” Knight, last seen vanishing into the great palm of that hand before it vanished altogether.

            Light flashed and then there was nothing. Nothing felt like eternity.

            “Hah…ee..mm?” The voice was so very far away. He couldn’t make out what it was saying. “Um on, eem. Ayy uh!” He thought he felt a breeze on his face. Was it a breeze? Where was that light coming from?

            “Hakim!” Nightfall shouted.

            Anubis’s eyes snapped open and then squinted in the glare of the midday sun. A chance glance around him revealed the open wreckage of what used to be a red brick building. Nightfall leaned over him, shaking him awake. Doctor Vampire and Sandstorm stood above him.

            “Okay, quit shaking me.” Anubis groaned. “I’m going to be sore for a week.”

            “You saved us.” Doctor Vampire said with a smile. “You saved the world, and the very Balance itself.”

            Anubis looked to his hand. The cursed ring was gone.

            “With all of Stormy’s magic gone, we ended up here.” Sandstorm said. “That ring crumbled to dust.”

            “It was all we had left. I wasn’t even sure it would work.” Anubis groaned as they helped him to his feet.

            “Well it did work. And you know what?” Nightfall said.

            “What?”

            “You’re not a rookie anymore. Now turn human so I can kiss you.”

           

“You know, that’s a great idea.” So Anubis turned to the form of Hakim. Sandstorm and Dr. Vampire turned to help their other friends.

            All of them awakened to find themselves returned to Earth in the area where the alleyway once led to the Chaos dimension. They helped each other up and dusted each other off. Even Galose was freed from the device that took over his armor. Atomizer and Dreamseer held hands as they looked out at their newly freed world. The nightmare was finally over.

            But isn’t there more to the closing of this story? Yes, yes there is. There is more to all of this tale, but you will have to catch it in its full compilation coming soon.

            We hope you’ve enjoyed GZ Legends in its first run. Catch the compilation in the coming book, Chaos Rising, coming soon.

            

Also be sure to check out the links in the upper right to further explore the GZ universe.

GZ Legends 81: Sandstorm vs Stormy Knight

           

 “We can’t just let him do this!” Electrode said to his partner. “We have to do something.”

            Sandstorm gave Electrode a look known all too well. It meant to have patience. It meant that he had no intention of being idle at all. Electrode knew better than to press his mentor any further on the issue. He just turned his electric gaze at Stormy and clenched his fists.

            “Don’t blame your friend here.” Stormy sneered. “There’s nothing he can do. Oh, I just felt that. You just tried to convert the air around me into fire. I’ve been watching you for far too long. I’m not going to allow that.”

            “I was just checking.” Sandstorm said.

            Stormy suddenly stepped back and swung upward with his enchanted cane. Blacktide took a direct hit as he tried to tackle the villain and was knocked unconscious.

            “And trying to distract me.” Stormy added. “Now look. Look upon the majesty that is Chaos! And that’s only his hand!”

            The hand of Chaos presented itself in form larger than the Rotanian flagship. A thousand men could easily fit in a fingertip of the dark technological wonder they witnessed. Searchlights spun in random locations and lights shined from all sorts of locations across its metal surface. Sandstorm never considered the philosophy that the embodiment of Chaos would be technology. He could see mounted weaponry attached in hundreds of locations. He couldn’t imagine a battleship big enough to tickle it, much less scratch it. In all they had faced so far, this looked to be the thing they could not stop.

            “Ah, now you know true despair, Sandstorm. Your elemental powers are useless. Never mind what you want to do to me. What could you possible do to him?” Stormy gloated.

            In the locked Cyborian armor, Galose’s brain sped through code to deactivate the device that was shutting down his systems. The entirety of a Cyborian’s armor is controlled through mental command, faster than fingers on a keyboard could ever be. Even so, the device worked with blinding speed. Galose’s mind had to be faster than his own operating systems. A series of invasive code entered his life support systems and he blocked it. Then he intercepted another sequence of code. The tedious pushing match of hacking programs continued where all anyone could see was the motionless Cyborian.

            The area trembled as the hand of Chaos became clearer and clearer in view. Sandstorm locked eyes with Stormy after catching the slightest of movement from the corner of his eye. It was unexpected and beyond their hopes.

            “What do you get out of this?” Sandstorm asked.

            “Whatever he gives me. I’ll likely rule what’s left of Earth. Total destruction isn’t his style.”

            “And what’s his style?”

            “He’s going to kill the remaining gods of the Balance of course.” Stormy laughed. “Weren’t you told about the War of the Gods?”

           

“I’ve heard a couple stories.” Sandstorm moved so that he was between Stormy and the coming hand of Chaos. He kept his eyes fixed on those of his enemy.

            “Now what are you trying to pull?” Stormy chuckled. “Do you think you can block him somehow? All of your elemental power wouldn’t have a shadow of a chance.”

            Anubis stood paralyzed by the magic ring and deeply enraged. He found himself watching helplessly as Nightfall was summoned and knocked down. As soon as her body hit the floor, he glanced down at his bladed lance, lying a few feet from him. At first, nothing happened. Then, with all his concentration, Anubis made his lance roll just an inch. That was the movement Sandstorm had caught with is peripheral vision. Anubis continued to concentrate.

            The hand grew closer and closer. In moments it would be able to close into a fist and swallow them all forever. Next, the technological god, Chaos would be fully free and set loose on the universe. Stormy smiled and Sandstorm could take no more of his gleaming teeth. Stormy leaned confidently on his cane.

            Sandstorm lunged with a straightforward punch aimed right at Stormy’s shiny smile. Electrode took cue and lunged in as well. And explosion of force threw them both backwards and down to the cold hard floor. Stormy laughed for a second before his expression changed to surprise. He spun on heel just in time to see Anubis’s lance penetrate the marble throne with an explosion of sparks and fire.

            “NOOOO!” Stormy howled. “My power source! You skewered it! Impossible!”

            “Stormy!”

           

The villain turned back just in time for Sandstorm’s fist to connect with his jaw. A busted lip sprayed a red mist as Stormy stumbled backwards.

            “Shut up!” Sandstorm said.

            Stormy spit some blood from his mouth and spun his cane in hand. “Oh, you fools! Do you think I can’t fight you on my own?” His voice boomed and eyes glowed. The gems in the silver skull of his cane glowed as well. “I will still win! I can still kill you!”

            Sandstorm could feel greater control over his powers since the throne was damaged. He moved in on Stormy and formed his fists into stone. Electrode threw a bolt of lightning that was easily cast aside by Stormy’s cane. Sandstorm’s attacks were met with near perfect martial arts blocks and counter strikes. If he hadn’t converted completely to stone, being struck back and forth on the head with the cane could have killed him. Stormy forced Sandstorm back and knocked him down again.

            As he picked himself up, Sandstorm made a gesturing nod to Electrode. It was the kind of signal that suggested a new target. Electrode nodded and launched his next barrage of lightning at the broken throne. It was immediately clear that Stormy could feel it as he cried out in rage.

            “Let me show you what some real magic can do!” Stormy yelled. “HELLBOUND TRAIN!” Stormy struck his cane on the ground and a spectral ancient locomotive came rushing through the area. It hit both Sandstorm and Electrode, pinning them to the ground as the cars ran over them. The power of that spell felt like their bodies were being torn apart at a molecular level. Sandstorm had never known such agony. At this point, he was certain this was it.

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 53: Fallen Heroes

            

While the heroic friends took on the underground bunker of Professor Zombie, the Strykeforce Guard took the stolen artifacts back to the Museum. It took little effort to have them back in their secured exhibits and locked down.  Doctor Vampire saw to the lockdown of the Hearse himself.

            “You know I can’t be held here once my master calls.” The Hearse growled through its grill.

            “Until then, some portion of the universe will be safe.” Doctor Vampire checked the security settings for tampering and then walked away without another word.

            Each member of the team searched for problems in the Museum’s security network. None could be found. The team met out in front of the Museum once their work was done.

            “I can’t figure out how this was done. It’s like they just bypassed all the security measures. Like none of them were there in the first place.” Doctor Vampire said.

            “Uh oh.” Dreamseer said with a finger to her temple.

            “What is it?” Traveler asked.

            “Your security measures are a joke.” The man in the top hat, Stormy Knight stood a few yards away. He had appeared without triggering anything but Dreamseer’s telepathy. He held his cane with its silver skull tightly in a white-gloved fist. The eyes of the skull glowed an eerie green. “But I haven’t come for your trinkets this time, Doctor Vampire. I’ve come for you.”

            “Well that was a mistake!” Lonestar drew his sword and sent his white falcon into the air.

            As Lonestar and his falcon moved to attack, Kyte joined them, reaching out with his shadow tendrils to ensnare Stormy.

            “Is that so?” Stormy, parried Lonestar’s sword by way of the magical cane. A green blast from the cane’s glowing eyes, knocked Lonestar backwards. With fluid grace, Stormy instantly switched targets and swatted Kyte right out of the air with a loud ‘CRACK’. Kyte hit the ground with a heavy thud and didn’t move. The cane had hit him across the forehead. Lonestar’s white falcon dived in, but Stormy gestured with one hand and sealed the bird in a mystical sphere of power.

            With no invitation necessary, Dr. Vampire, Traveler and Dreamseer acted with team coordination to press further attack. Dreamseer, used her power to reach out to Stormy’s mind. The result was disastrous, as he gave her enough mental feedback to shatter the minds of giants. Dr. Vampire flew in with a fist aimed for Stormy’s leering face. Stormy responded by catching that arm between his own arm and the cane. He flipped the Vampire hero through the air while simultaneously kicking Traveler in the face. The kick came with a burst of mystical power that knocked Traveler out. Dr. Vampire hit the ground roughly, but jumped back to his feet with no quarter taken. Stormy blocked a hail of punches and flying kicks with sneering laughter. After that, he quickly struck the Doctor across the jaw with the skull head on the cane. As Doctor Vampire’s head jerked one direction, the cane came back with vengeance from the other. Stormy mercilessly struck his target back and forth. After a fifth vicious and bloody strike, Doctor Vampire’s body hit the ground.

           

Stormy Knight stood victorious over the bodies of the Strykeforce Guard.

            “I said I wanted you, and I get what I want.” Stormy cast a spell that sent their unconscious bodies to a place known only to him. “You won’t be keeping your promise to help those pitiful fools on Earth. You will help me instead.”

            Then, with a tap of his cane, Jonathon “Stormy” Knight vanished on another mission.

            In Miami, Florida, the team of Calibur 5 had been helping set the city right again after the whole mess with the Tiara of the Mind. They kept Ricci’s mansion after her death at the hands of the Mayor. They rearranged some things to taste, but mostly enjoyed the lavish comfort of her great house. Zacheriah Ace, Lawrence Jackdaw, Stagefright, and Gypsy were all very proud of their teammate, Nightfall. They knew that she would find out what was behind the imbalances on Earth. Then they planned to rejoin her and the other heroes to help in the fight.

            “From what I understand, Professor Zombie has been taken into custody.” Zachariah said as they all sat in the living room for a meeting.

            “Excellent! Does he know who’s behind the blocking of the sun?” Stagefright asked.

            “Currently he’s unconscious, but Nightfall thinks she can still get something out of him.”

            “Since when does unconscious stop her?” Gypsy asked with a smirk.

            “The being called Nyhtwulf scrambled the man’s brainwaves.”

            “Oh. Well, at least he deserved it.” Gypsy shrugged.

            “Speaking of deserving,” Stormy Knight appeared in the middle of the room.

            The first to respond to an enemy in their midst was Lawrence. He needed to get to his feet in order for his high speed reflexes to be useful. He jumped up, reaching for his blasters, but an uppercut with the cane tossed him over the back of the chair he had been sitting in. Lawrence hit the wall behind the chair with a crash.

            Stormy’s immediate follow up move was a hard kick that slammed Stagefright’s face into the ornate frame of the fireplace mantel.

            “Next?” Stormy taunted.

            Gypsy generated a spell blast meant to throw Stormy out the window. Stormy Knight gestured without even looking and reversed the magic back to its source. Gypsy slammed into a wall and collapsed to the floor.

           

As a hand to hand combatant, Zachariah was far better than Doctor Vampire. Every move came from years of tactical training. Even Stormy could only barely evade the surgical combat prowess of the Calibur 5 leader. The two men met with a flurry of strikes that would kill a lesser man on contact. Each one was parried with blinding speed and replaced by another and another. Zachariah could feel himself moving through Stormy’s defenses. He could feel the strain he put on his opponent. Finally, after several long seconds of a masterful display, Zachariah put a hand at Stormy Knight’s throat.  Suddenly, arcs of electricity jolted over the master soldier’s body and landed him at Stormy’s feet.

            Stormy took several deep breaths. “Where the physical fails, magic will suffice. You were a fool to think I’d fight fair, Zachariah Ace.”

GZ Legends 44: The Hourglass of Time pt2

Suddenly, the heroes found themselves all standing in different locations around Sylvia about 30 yards away. She laughed as they looked to each other in confusion.

            “I said we weren’t done yet, but you guys are sooo slow! So I helped you out a bit! Cool huh?”

            “I’ll show you slow,” Electrode murmured as he ran at her with fists clenched. He couldn’t be sure how he switched targets, but he couldn’t stop running in time to avoid hitting Traveler.

            Traveler crashed to the ground as Electrode tumbled over her. His body crashed through the wooden side of a gaming booth. Electrode lay in a far corner where stuffed animal prizes fell over him. His body was on fire with pain from several broken bones. His friends heard him cry out and Nyhtwulf flew to help him.

            “Oops! Looks like one of you had a little accident.” Sylvia smiled in cruel enjoyment.

            Sandstorm glared and his body dissipated into the air. No one else moved in for fear of getting in the way. Dust and rocks flew to a gathering new form that reached out from the winds. I giant angry face could be seen and a great fist rose over Sylvia. In the face of that wind, Sylvia didn’t move. For that matter, not a hair on her head moved either. As the fist came down, it took on the material form of granite and smashed into place where Sylvia stood. It hit so hard that the asphalt sank in and the fist crumbled away. Sylvia wasn’t there.

            Her laughter drew eyes to the roof of a concessions stand.

            “That was just a time facsimile of me. I can pull myself out of a future point.”

            “There could be lots of me,” another of her said from by the bumper cars.

            “For that matter, there’s one of me for each of you.” Sylvia appeared a few feet away from all the remaining heroes. “Think you can fight me now?”

           

“Everyone hit the deck!” Sandstorm shouted in near rage.

            “Oh yes! Turn yourself into a big hurricane and blow us all away! Maybe I’ll shift you into a populated area and see how many people you kill?”

            Sandstorm clenched his fists and grit his teeth. He could tell that she was right and he had no idea what to do about it. He dissipated into air and waited.

            Nyhtwulf cleared away debris and stuffed animals from Electrode.

            “I can heal you, but I’m afraid it will still be quite painful as I reset your broken bones.”

            “Just do it,” Electrode winced.

            Outside, Sylvia continued to taunt.

            “So which one of me might be real?” said one nearest to Nightfall.

            Nightfall delivered an expert spin kick that missed completely.

            “Oops! Wrong one!” All of the Sylvias now spoke in unison.

            “You all have life force and mental activity that some of us can detect. Very clever and almost perfect.” Doctor Vampire said to the one nearest him.

            “Oh? Do you know which one I am?”

            “It’s a matter of time.” Doctor Vampire reached out for her but she vanished.

            “You’re right about that, Doctor Vampire. It really is a matter of time.”

            “How do you know so much about us?” Doctor Vampire asked. “And how do you know so much about using the hourglass?”

           

Blacktide took a few steps toward the Sylvia smiling at him and swung his fist. He connected with nothing.

            “Oh that guy was totally awesome! He literally put all the information right into my head. It was like magic or something!”

            “A man in a black top hat?” Doctor Vampire continued.

            “That’s right!”

            Anubis swung his staff at the one nearest him and she vanished like the others.

            “Only a coward fights like this!” Anubis roared.

            “Like I’m going to stand around let you hit me, Dog Boy.”

            “Of course! Stoop to the dog jokes. Now you really are just like any other bad guy.”

            “We’ll see.”

            Kyte surrounded a Sylvia with his shadow tendrils, but when he tried to move her, she was gone. Lonestar swung his sword at one with the same results.

            “You’re just playing with us.” Doctor Vampire said. “You have to stop. The hourglass is corrupting you. It’s too powerful for any human to use.”

            “You think you could use it, Vampire?” The remaining Sylvia’s said.

            No one else made a move against Sylvia, waiting for a sign from Doctor Vampire or Sandstorm. They could see it was useless to try and hit her.

            Back in the gaming booth, Electrode grit his teeth in agony as Nyhtwulf used healing and intangibility to reset broken bones. It wouldn’t be long, but it was excruciating.

           

“No. I would not use the hourglass. It belongs in the museum where it can be kept safe. What do you think you’re going to do with it? Rule the world?”

            “I think I’ll do whatever I please!”

            “And the hourglass will prompt you to do more and more while you’re actually damaging time itself.”

            “Oh, you are one big party pooper! I guess Vampires really are brooding creatures, aren’t they? Nothing like what I’ve seen in the movies recently.”

            “You can be very certain we are nothing like that,” Doctor Vampire scowled.

            As if that were a cue, sharp angles of rock thrust from the ground, skewering each Sylvia where she stood. All of them looked shocked and then crumbled away to dust. Sandstorm reformed himself and all of them looked around for the hourglass. It was nowhere to be seen. Laughter that now haunted them, drew their attention to the low point of a rollercoaster.

            “Oh, that was a monumental effort, Sandstorm! You get a nice little golf clap!” Sylvia stood unhurt, holding the hourglass. “Let’s raise the stakes, shall we?” Sylvia jumped down and everyone’s vision suddenly felt awkward.

            As Sandstorm looked around him, he saw more multiples of Sylvia. Worse yet, he saw multiples of everyone. All of them, except Sylvia, found themselves glancing in all directions, in confusion.

            “Now, not only do you have to figure out what time frame I’m in; you have to figure out what time frame you’re in!” Sylvia laughed and no one could anything about it.

GZ Legends 38: The TANK pt 1

      100TH POST!!!     

       “I was useless!” Blacktide paced in the break room, clenching his fists. “I’ve never been so useless in a fight. I can’t believe it!”

            “The Hearse is indestructible, my friend,” Nyhtwulf said. “Nothing we can do could ever damage it.” The Twilie Demon was munching on cream cheese cubes, complete in their foil wrappers. This didn’t faze him when it came to talking and created a ‘nom nom’ sound with the words.

            “Could have been worse, couldn’t it?” Atomizer said, “After all, I tried my power on an alien weapon and nearly blew a whole city street away.” Atomizer popped open a soda and took a long drink.

            “I’ve never come across anything like that before. I’ve always had to worry about accidently killing people around me. If it weren’t for Nyhtwulf being my partner now, I doubt I would still be here.” Blacktide stared out a window. He instinctively wanted to punch a wall in his frustration, but knew better.

            “You saved innocent people,” Nyhtwulf said. “I saw through your eyes.”

            Blacktide remembered the fallen ceiling beams and trapped civilians. His power was instrumental in freeing them. His power literally erased key points in debris, allowing Dr. Vampire and Lonestar to use their strength freely and safely for several rescues.

            “Yeah, I did.”

            “So you weren’t useless, Man!” Atomizer said. “You did good. I’d pat you on the back, but I know you’d hate it so I’m doing it verbally, okay?”

            Blacktide couldn’t help but smirk at the idea, “I hate that too.”

            In another room, Dr. Vampire lay on a table unconscious. Dreamseer had her fingertips at the Doctor’s temples. She was completely silent. Electrode stood outside the room with Lonestar, watching the ordeal.

            “You want to tell me what happened out there?” Electrode asked.

            “Since he was turned into a vampire by Lord Dracula himself, our leader has had to contain a great darkness. There is always the chance of it coming out and it makes him very powerful. It’s a curse that none of us have found a way to break.”

            “So he could become a monster at literally anytime?”

            “No. He’s only at risk under certain forms of great stress or in places of great evil.”

            “Inside The Hearse had to be pretty evil, I imagine.” Electrode nodded. It reminded him of the struggle he saw in Blacktide.

            Up on the roof, Nightfall sat on the edge of the building with Anubis, gazing over the city lights of New York.

            “I’m telling you, I never thought it was possible to feel such pain,” Anubis said. “I think that thing could have actually killed me. And I understand Doctor Vampire’s problem, but that was quite a surprise as well.”

            “Dreamseer is taking care of him. You know, this is an important lesson for you. You have these new and wonderful powers, but you don’t know any of your own limits. Now you know that you have to be careful out there.”

            “I know. I knew I could be hurt when I got shot by one of those alien weapons. I just didn’t know I could be hurt that bad or hit that hard. I’ll sure remember next time.”

            “Sounds like you want revenge on The Hearse.” Nightfall cocked and eyebrow in disbelief.

            “Well, yeah, wouldn’t you? I want a rematch.”

            Nightfall laughed, “Oh you are such a rookie! That’s not what I meant by learning your limits. You can’t kill The Hearse.”

            “You’re only supposed to laugh when I actually tell a joke you know,” Anubis tried to show an expression of fake pouting on his jackal’s face, but it just looked like a weird snarl.

            “You’re just funnier than you realize!” Nightfall smacked him on the shoulder.

            “Careful, you’ll knock me off the roof,” Anubis teased, so she hit him some more.

            “You can fly!”

            Far across the country, a new mission unfolded. The gangs of south Seattle are well known for their violent crimes. A lot of young lives have been wasted over territorial disputes, drugs, and women. All it really takes for a gang member to get shot is the wrong color clothing, an odd hand signal, or just a bad attitude. Two small groups met over a dispute in a rundown area of buildings awaiting the wrecking ball. Posturing became words. Words became anger and shoving. Shoving turned to weapons. One brought out a knife and his opponent, a gun. A hail of gunfire took down all but one thug who dodged between the buildings on the run. He lost his way through the decrepit buildings and lost his way to the exit. High fences and barbed wire thwarted his escape attempts. His pursuers were catching up to him as he dodged behind a dumpster.  He clutched the edge of the trash container while he fought to catch his breath. The other gangsters passed him by, but it wouldn’t be for long.

            “You’re in a fix,” the smooth voice startled the young thug so he spun with his knife ready. A quick strike to the wrist from a black cane topped with a silver skull, knocked the knife away. The man in the top hat smiled at him.

“Relax, I’m here as your friend. I can help you,” Stormy said.

            “Yeah? Well you gonna help us both get killed if you don’t shut up.” He looked worriedly over the dumpster. The other thugs weren’t in sight yet.

            “How would you like to teach them a lesson?”

            “What? You got an uzi?” The thug wondered if he could dive for his knife.

            “No, I have this,” suddenly a 20 foot tall suit of mechanized armor was standing behind Stormy. It was rounded and smooth with a pair of massive metal hands. Its feet were as wide as the hood of a mid-size car. Portions of the armor played a trick on the eyes as they seemed like portals to view the universe. Stars, planets and deep space could be seen in the reflection of the arms and legs. The massive head section split open and lowered in a way that would allow a person to climb into the cockpit.

“You should climb in and take it for a spin. It’s much better than waiting to get shot.” Stormy faded away with a cruel chuckle.

            The thug could hear them getting closer. Surely they heard some of the noise that guy made. What else could he do? He climbed up into the big suit of armor and the panels closed over him. A metal halo dropped down around the top of his head and he could feel control of the whole machine. Screens appeared and he could see outside. He moved his arm, and its arm did the same. He turned to face the opening the other thugs would come through. The shooter came around first and stopped cold with a shocked expression. The thug willed the machine to step forward. It put a great metal foot on the dumpster, and crushed it flat. The other gangsters fired their guns, but bullets were useless against the mystical TANK armor.

 The thug laughed, “You still wanna shoot me?”

            The first shooter met his grisly end in the compacting grasp of a metal hand. The thug pilot laughed, delirious with power. The others turned to run but energy beam weapons fired from the armor’s shoulders. Both men were turned to charred skeletal remains.

            “Yeah!” the thug yelled. But then something felt odd. He couldn’t move his arms and legs anymore, and the TANK started moving without his commands. Scanners located the nearest populated area as the thug watched and it started walking. As his mind went blank he heard the metallic voice coming from the machine.

            “I am TANK.”

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GZ Legends 33: Tiara of the Mind Pt 2

“When we’re done, I’ll come fix your yard,” Sandstorm promised. “This will get us past the barricade.”

            “If you don’t mind, I’ll take my usual approach and fly over it all,” Kyte said. “I’ll go for the roof. My wings won’t fit in your tunnel very well.” Without another word he spread his wings and jumped into the air. He vanished in the darkness.

            They thanked the ladies for their help and filed into the dark tunnel. Just as Sandstorm said, they had to climb around pipes and even some underground wiring. Not all the pipes were in great shape from being underground. Some were rusted and old or brittle. Sandstorm protected the more fragile infrastructure with an encasement of ice. In some places the tunnel had to be adjusted to make passage possible. The others couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at Sandstorm’s level of power. They all inwardly wondered how much he was truly capable of. He had already wrestled a hurricane and his power to transform into tornadoes and hailstorms were well known in the powered community. Now he made the earth say ‘ahh’ like a kid in a dentist’s chair.

Redeagle didn’t care for being underground.  His 7 foot body felt cramped in the narrow tunnel. It seemed like forever before Sandstorm cleared the way to a concrete ceiling above them.

            “This is the floor of her basement,” Sandstorm put a hand against it. “I can open it up except for the epoxy coated rebar in it. I have no control over things that are overly processed like plastic. Redeagle, that will be a job for you. Dreamseer, do you sense anyone above us?”

            “Only one, and very faint. A woman, she must be injured.”

            “Then let’s get moving.” Sandstorm commanded the concrete to flow back to form a hole big enough for even their biggest man, Redeagle to fit through. Red moved in and gripped the metal rebar and tore it like tissue paper with his great strength. He bent the bars downward and back in order to make it safer to climb up and into the room above. Sandstorm made that easier as well by forming a ladder of earth and concrete and solidifying it by converting all of it to stone. They climbed up into the room and Nightfall gasped at the woman chained to the wall. She rushed to the bleeding woman’s side.

            “No, what happened to you?”

            “You know her?” Atomizer asked.

            “She’s part of my team from Council Interpol. We call her Gypsy. She’s a magic user. She’s barely alive.”

            Redeagle snapped the chains so they could lay her on the floor.

            “I didn’t even know they made it to the planet.” She continued.

            “It’s okay, we’re going to help her,” Dreamseer said.

            “Yeah, but this means she must have the rest of the team.”

            “Then tell us about your team and what they can do so we can deal with them,” Sandstorm said.

            “I’ll create an image from your mind to everyone else’s and let Kyte know we are here too,” Dreamseer said to Nightfall.

            Everyone paused and closed their eyes to clearly see the mental images broadcast to them.

            “The man with the bowl cut hair is Monty, also known as Stagefright. He’s an inducing empath. His favorite trick is to cause irrational fear in his targets but he can make them feel almost anything. I’ve seen him turn alien warlords into crying babies. The man with the silvery eyes and western clothing is Lawrence Jackdaw. He’s a gunslinger and his hands can move as fast as Electrode. His plasma pistols are specially made so that he can pull the trigger and fire hundreds of times per attack. His power is limited to his reflexes, so he can’t run that fast, but he’s deadly accurate. He has one shortfall that telegraphs his attack. He likes to sweep back his trench coat to reach his weapons. It’s the only warning he allows his targets before he blasts them to bits. The blonde buff military guy is our leader, Zachariah Ace. He’s a master strategist and combatant with almost anything he can get his hands on. If he knew about the artifact, he never would have come in close.”

            Dreamseer stopped the mental projection, “It doesn’t matter how they got taken. We just have to get them out of it and stop Ricci.”

            “Then let’s do it.”

            Dreamseer could sense two men on the other side of the door from the room. Nightfall went through and touched them both. They collapsed without a sound. For that matter, no one had to lift a finger from there, even with Sandstorm in air form. She stalked up and took out each mind controlled guard with master precision and her black out power. Three men were in the kitchen. The first got a light slap to the face. Nightfall acrobatically rolled over the center island and caught the other two by their throats and gently guided them to the floor.

            During this time, six men wandered the roof of the mansion with rifles. They didn’t notice the shadows moving around their feet until they were yanked up into the air and sharply knocked unconscious. The Kyte landed and drew his long shadow tendrils back to him. He handled all six men at the same time.  He walked to the edge of the roof and dropped to the balcony below with the agility of a cat. A sharp flex of his wings knocked out another guard who stepped up behind him from inside.

            “This is too easy,” he thought. He stepped inside to find Zachariah Ace waiting across the room.

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