(Disclaimer: A warning to those who continue. This is a sequel to a previous story. Both of these were written in the mid-1990’s. While the first one was slightly edited and vanity press published, this one has not been touched in over 20 years. I figure I should do something with it and people may get a laugh or fright from how I used to be. Every author comes from somewhere, so this is part of my origin. To that end, I am deeply sorry for whatever nightmares I will inflict on the literary world and the American English language. Enjoy?)
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While Fate and Hydrana were waking up and talking, their friends were in the middle of a fresh warzone. Burning vehicles and shattered bodies cover Times Square like snowflakes after a blizzard. Most of the surrounding buildings have gaping holes from either rockets or thrown police cars. The captured guardians are strapped into large, metal pods with Draveon happily watching over them.
A deafening sonic boom is heard when Cybro shows up. His head is on upside-down and it has seaweed wrapped around it. When his skull is flipped right side up, the cyborg spits out a few gallons of seawater. Draveon just stares up at the sky while an octopus is yanked out of one of the robot’s stomach compartment.
“It’s about time you showed your ugly, removable face. While you were fooling around in the water, I got some important work done. Take a long and jealous look, Cybro,” gloats the large man. Miracle is the only conscious guardian and she is struggling to get free. Infinity is slumped over in a metal pod with a small bone jutting out of his side and he occasionally takes in a short breath.
“My head fell off again! Mindtrigger refuses to fix that little problem. And so what if I was gone. You did not do anything that I could not accomplish myself. If you had Fate and Hydrana, I would have been slightly impressed. These two are nothing more than cannon fodder in this battle. The real threat comes from the two guardians that you could not capture,” Cybro retorts.
“Hey! I’m in earshot, microwave! If you think you can take me down on your own then let me out of this thing. We’ll see how tough you are after I use your head as a volleyball!” yells Miracle from the capture pod.
“She is still as vicious and tough as when she first crossed our path on Pluto. I might actually kill her quickly for being so damn entertaining. Any news from the others?” asks Draveon. He leans toward Infinity and puts some pressure on the bone sticking out of his side. The boy tries to scream, but his mouth is covered by Draveon’s large hand.
“Yes. Adriana is looking for Tegam and needs one of us to tell the backup ship to leave Pluto at full speed. But there is no rush, so we can take our time. She did want to know if we have run across either Fate or Hydrana. She said something about an incident at the zoo and a bridge. Did I miss something?”
“Oh, that. I fought Hydrana at the zoo after you flew off. She fell into the polar bears’ enclosure and was eaten. Of course, she has to be fully healed by this time. As for Fate, he was busy trying to play hero on a bridge. I haven’t seen him since I left him there. I hope he didn’t get himself killed. That would ruin my fun.”
“Adriana said that he would go after the Neptune guardian. He must have tracked her down after you ran away like a scared rodent. Is your boyfriend going to find the rogue guardian, Ms. Tavinowsky? I would really like to hear that we are not making a wrong assumption.”
“Yeah. He knows how to help her and I’m betting that both of them are on their way here as we speak. When they show up, the two of you are going to be worse than dead. Still feeling high and mighty, Cybro? Or have you finally realized that you’re nothing more than an overrated, mechanical chicken?” taunts Miracle, who starts making clucking noises in order to annoy the robot.
“That does it! Let her out of the capture pod. She is going to beg me for death. Come on, Draveon! Let her out and do not even consider interfering!” hollers Cybro as he jumps up and down. His lasers and other weapons of pain sprout from his body while his ally lets the raven-haired guardian out.
“Okay. It’s your funeral, cyborg. Again,” mutters Draveon from behind Infinity’s heavily shielded capture pod.
“Prepare to die,” laughs the metallic villain. Suddenly, a large, purple elephant falls on him and disappears. This crushes most of his weapons and leaves a deep crater in the middle of the street.
“What was that, jackass? I couldn’t hear you,” says the Venus guardian as she blindly jumps into the crater. Once she lands, Cybro grabs her from behind with a titanium claw that comes out of his stomach. A hammer rises out of his face and hits her over the head. After the first blow, her head is shielded by a solid illusion helmet that keeps disappearing.
“This is just like old times, Miracle. Do you still think I am a mechanical chicken?” He releases the titanium claw before moving in front of her. To his surprise, and horror, the guardian backflips and kicks the cyborg’s head off while she’s still in midair.
“Now, you’re a headless, mechanical chicken. Look, I have to ask this out of curiosity. Doesn’t that hurt?” Miracle uses all of her strength to shatter the titanium claw that tries to catch her again. For fun, she picks up Cybro’s head and spins it on her finger like a basketball. She tries to dribble it a few times, but it is too heavy to bounce. So she tosses it around while the body tries to catch her.
“I have had all of my neck’s pain receptors turned off for decades. Would you stop tossing my head? It is making me feel nauseous, which I have never felt since I received this new body. And I have no idea what might come out of me.” The body makes another lunge at Miracle, but she gives it a snap kick to the torso. This knocks it into the side of the crater and stuns it for a few seconds.
“I really didn’t have to hear that last part. Still, I do have some use for you. Your head is going to become a flare, Cybro,” mentions the green-eyed immortal while she makes several bright lightbulbs appear on the metal skull. A cunning smirk crosses her face as she places it into a red, solid illusion cannon and fires it into the sky. The rest of Cybro follows it into the atmosphere.
“Please come back later, Cybro. I’ll miss you. He is such a metal moron. Who’s next?” A flight of steps appear under Miracle’s feet as she walks out of the large hole. Draveon is currently leaning against Infinity, who is starting to wake up. He lets out a few snickers at Cybro’s defeat while the bone goes back under the skin.
“Very interesting. I think you may have actually found a good use for Cybro’s head. That is besides using it as a gaudy doorstop or paperweight. Maybe you can find a use for Adriana’s skull next,” Draveon says.
“Do I sense some negative feelings toward your great leader? Either open your mouth or put up your fists, big boy,” responds the guardian.
“We’ll talk first since you heroes are very good at these kinds of conversations.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“You’re very welcome. And you are right about what I feel toward our foolish nympho. Over the past year our leader has become, I think the best word is, soft. Too soft for my liking.”
“I thought all of the guys liked her for being soft. Or am I just thinking the wrong way. It must be from hanging around the Earth guardian too much.”
“Funny. Although, what you’ve said is true about Adriana. But her emotions have begun to cloud her evil judgement since our return to this universe. I am not one to talk because I let some of my more . . . decent emotions control my actions at times. Of course, I have never shown compassion toward my enemies. Just ask your friends since all of them have faced off against me at some point.”
“Oh. I get it. Very clever, muscles. You’re going to kill Adriana while you guys are on Earth. Then you go back to your friends and say that it was Hydrana or Fate that did it. They’re already thought to be insane, so our in-house problem gives you the perfect cover. Well, I won’t get in your way.”
“Good. Because I plan to kill Fate along with Adriana. It’s a relief to see that I won’t be pestered during the final confrontation.”
“Okay! Now, I’m going to get in your way.” The two immortals charge at each other at full speed. A few seconds before what would be a painful impact, Miracle slides under Draveon’s outstretched arms. She swiftly takes his legs out from under him and watches the ultimate weapon fall on his face.
“I always expected you to be faster than that, Draveon. You’re either getting slow in your old age or holding back. I hope it’s neither of those because I’ve never had the chance to fight you. Getting up already? Well, I’m very impressed,” mentions the younger immortal. A big sledgehammer appears in her hand just as Cybro flies back to the fight.
“Stay back, cyborg. You lost your chance with her. She is mine until I decide to kill her. I have always wondered what would happen when our powers came into conflict. So go ahead and hit me, Kelly. I dare you,” the red-eyed man challenges. The Venus guardian calmly walks toward Draveon and swings the large hammer. Once the heavy object smashes into the large man’s grinning face the weapon disappears. But the blow seems to hit Miracle because she suddenly collapses with a big bump on her forehead and a broken nose.
“I really love my birthright power. Well, it looks like the Earth guardian is fully awake. So, let’s finish off Miracle and then start to kill him slowly. Goodnight, sweet princess,” whispers Draveon as he picks the groaning Venus guardian up by her long, black hair.
“Put her down!” yells a loud voice before Fate drops onto Draveon’s head. At the same time, Infinity breaks free and telekinetically blasts the hovering robot. Cybro falls to the ground, but uses his boosters to land on his feet. He jumps at the pale-eyed guardian and gets a tight hold of Infinity’s cape. Unfortunately, the guardian uses the black cape to tie Cybro up.
“Get the hell off of me, runt! So, it looks like you’re back to normal. No more insane tactics from you I guess. Then again you are fighting with me and that is not a sane idea. Where’s the redhead?” asks Draveon. He grabs Fate by the shirt and hurls him into the undamaged capture pod. It closes around the Mars guardian while Draveon kicks Infinity into a burning car.
“I’m right here, boys. And I use that last term extremely loosely. Do you remember what I said to you, Draveon? I promised that I would kill you when we met again. Well, it’s time, steroid breath,” announces Hydrana, who is cautiously crouched nearby with her hand gently placed to the ground.
“You look so good without teeth and claw marks. I take it that you’re back to normal as well. Now, you wouldn’t be trying to hit me with one of your favorite hot geysers. Of course not, because you are far too cunning and wise to do such an idiotic trick. Aren’t I right, water sprite?”
“Be careful. She’s up to something,” Cybro cautions as he rips off the cape and dives behind an overturned truck.
“Don’t worry. She can’t possibly hurt me, much less kill me. I should just leave this place and let you fight her, Cybro.”
“You never had a choice about leaving or not. Don’t forget to flap your arms, Draveon,” Hydrana says as a loud rumbling fills the air. A second later, the piece of asphalt that Draveon is standing on is launched high into the air by a high-pressure geyser. He doesn’t even know what has happened until the top of a skyscraper is seen below his feet. The cursing villain sails over the buildings and only a loud splash is heard from very far away.
“Hope he swims as well as he boasts. Is there anybody that I missed?” she asks while the other guardians start to get up.
“You forgot me. I want only you, water sprite. The others can wait their turn like good little boys and girl,” mentions Cybro. His body rapidly grows sharp razors and his tri-laser turns into a very nasty looking sword. When he leaps at the redhead, she has to jump onto a traffic light with all of her strength.
“Nice try. But you’re far too slow to catch me.” The Neptune guardian drops back to the ground as the immortal robot slices the traffic light in half. Sparks shower onto Hydrana and almost blind her. Some poison arrows shoot out of Cybro’s back, but they get stuck in a quickly built ice shield.
“You cannot jump and defend forever. Either fight back or surrender. I would really prefer my first suggestion.”
“So would I,” mutters Hydrana. She starts throwing spears of freezing cold water at Cybro until he weaves his way too close for range attacks and she has to use high impact water blasts. An aura of raw heat comes out of his sword’s tip, which evaporates all of the attacks and covers the area in a light, choking steam.
“That is so unfair. There has to be some galactic rule against that move,” the guardian thinks before she kicks Cybro in his back. All this accomplishes is Hydrana getting her right foot sliced off by a large razor. She pathetically hops over the cyborg and right in front of him while standing on her hands. The sword swishes past as she rolls to the side.
“Good-bye, water sprite. You were never as strong and tough as you pretended to be,” laughs Cybro while a diamond drill slowly comes out of his chest. The redhead quickly covers her hands with ice axes and chops through both of Cybro’s arm with all her strength. Before the sword and Cybro’s only human hand hit the ground, a blast of ice and steam sends the robot into an electric billboard. The entire rooftop explodes into sparks and light. Cybro is trapped under the rubble and none of the guardians can see any sign of him.
“Nice shot. I hope this means that the team is back to normal,” Miracle says while she picks herself up and brushes ash off of her bare stomach. The other two guardians are already on their feet, but Infinity looks like a barbecue reject.
“Sort of. Let’s pick up the primal ring and go somewhere relatively safe. Delila and I have some explaining to do and you should really be sitting down for it. Trust me on this,” Fate announces. Hydrana grabs the severed hand with a slight cringe and yanks off the silver ring with the black liquid gem. Soon they are all resting in a nearby, condemned building, listening to a very weird, yet true, story.
Legends of Windemere 