(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 Hydrana is flying toward Central Park, two tired figures are resting by their own spaceship. Adriana is busy resting by a tree and Tegam is rummaging around inside the space shuttle. Her hair is now shoulder-length and has a glossy look to it. She simply stares up at the night sky and silently names every star that she sees. In her hands is a phone book and an address in Oceanhead is highlighted.
“I can understand you wanting to get your hair cut short. But I can’t believe you bought that last mall’s entire lingerie selection. Even after you gave that money to city hall. That, I must admit, was a very noble act and I was glad to be a part of it. Still, why did you decide to buy all those intimate accessories? Or is that something I can find out on a later date,” mentions Tegam while he continues to repair their shuttle’s important systems. All he has managed to fix so far is the windshield wipers and one of the headlights.
“That’s personal information. How are you feeling after falling off the mall’s roof?” Adriana replies from outside. She closes her eyes after picking out a few more stars and she slows her breathing down. The only sounds that she can hear are the buzzing insects and Tegam’s power tools.
“I’m okay. But I didn’t exactly fall off the mall. I jumped. After following you on a shopping spree, I think I had a right to hurt myself. Where are we staying tonight? I heard Draveon and Cybro are staying in one of the city’s fancy hotels. I’m not sure if they are staying there legally or not.”
“We shouldn’t waste anymore of my easy-earned money. It will take me a few months of playing stock markets and making deals in order to get my money back. Besides, it’s a nice, winter night and I want to enjoy it. Just us and nature without any civilized interruptions. Ouch. Damn insect bites are driving me nuts. Is the television set up yet or are you goofing off again?” The blond gets to her feet and climbs into the shuttle. Inside, Tegam is just finishing what she had ordered him to do.
“All I have to do is plug it in. But I thought you said that you wanted to become one with nature. What changed your mind?” laughs the jester. He gets a small slap upside his head as Adriana walks past him.
“Nature isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I thought that most of the insects were gone during the winter. Guess the weather around here isn’t as cold as it was when we lived on Earth. Some of those bugs nearly ate me alive. Where the hell is my staff? I mean, look at these marks on my body. They hurt like hellfire. This is definitely the last time I come to New York with a uniform that dips down to my bellybutton. It’s a good thing I brought that pink bodysuit along with us.” Adriana continues scratching at her chest and neck as red blotches start appearing. She finally finds her staff and proceeds to fire a beam of blue light into herself. The blotches and itching rapidly disappear while Adriana changes into the tight bodysuit.
“That big one in the middle of your chest didn’t look like a bug bite. Looked more like a human bite mark.”
“So, one of them wasn’t a bug bite. It still hurt because that big guy used his teeth. He may have been extremely cute, but I don’t think I will ever sleep with him again. Even for me he was too rough, which says a lot. That and he died of a heart attack when I was done with him. They just don’t make men like they used to. No more stamina and durability.”
“When did all of this happen? I was with you the whole time, except for that hour I was part of the pavement.”
“A lot can happen in an hour. Are you finished with the television? This is taking forever. I thought you only had to plug the TV in.”
“Sorry. I’ve been feeling confused of late. My mind has been a little on the frazzled side and my attention span is less than normal. Here we go, Adriana. The late night news is all we can get for now. I’ll turn it off and try to enhance the channel selection. Cartoons have to be here somewhere,” says Tegam. He goes to hit a few buttons, but Adriana suddenly grabs him by the shoulder.
“Hold it. Listen to that guy with the dead hamster on his head. He just said something tragic has happened at Mandervale mansion. That’s the Neptune guardian’s old home. Hydrana might be here to help out her family. We could take the water sprite out before having to deal with the other guardians,” mentions Adriana as she stares at the television.
The man on the television appears again and says, “A tragedy has occurred at the home of multi-billionaire, Bill Mandervale. Around midnight tonight, a young woman, who is said to resemble his presumed dead daughter, Delila Mandervale III, went on a rampage. As unbelieving as this sounds, this woman is reported to have superhuman powers and admitted to several of the injured cops that she was a danger. She flew off in some type of spaceship after paralyzing Bill Mandervale for life. The girl is a redhead who is wearing a green outfit that is said to look like it should be in a comic book. If seen, leave her alone and call the police because this Hydrana, as she calls herself, is extremely dangerous. Now, to George with this week’s weather.”
The television suddenly dies and Tegam whispers, “How bad and painful is this going to be?”
“It depends. If you want to either land up in traction or die, it’s a good thing. A rogue guardian is something I don’t want to deal with. She’s crazy enough to nearly kill her own father. That puts her very close to Psylon’s level. Most likely the other guardians will be arriving in order to get a hold of Hydrana. Let’s just hope we don’t have a first-hand experience with the crazy guardian. Of course, she could be anywhere since it’s three o’clock in the morning,” replies Adriana. Before either immortal knows what is happening, a blast of cold water knocks them out of the shuttle. When they grab their weapons and stand up, an ice cage appears around them. Standing a few feet away in the shadows is Hydrana with a light blue glow in her eyes.
“Nice haircut, Adriana. The short cut really does look better on you than waist-length hair. But do you know that both of you are very lucky? You see, I want to kill all four of you at once. But that doesn’t mean I won’t torture you two. Do you like the new me, psycho slut?” asks Hydrana as she slowly moves up the cage and stares at her prey. Tegam hits a few ice bars with his copper rope whip, which turns them into jungle vines that grab the guardian.
“Honestly, I never liked sadistic maniacs like you and Psylon. A good villain is an almost sane one like me, who simply enjoys evil. People like me are leaders and we have enough brains to prove it. Now, where are your annoying friends?” Adriana whispers while her staff’s light suddenly goes from blue to bright red. When she shoots the new type of healing beam into Hydrana, she expects the redhead to return to her old, heroic self.
“Nice try, psycho slut. But I’m way too far-gone to be brought back by the powers of your puny stick. At least Tegam was smart enough to run away while I was stuck in these vines,” laughs Hydrana.
Adriana whirls around and doesn’t see the immortal prankster anywhere. She swears under her breath as Hydrana drains the water out of the vines. This causes them to become frail and brown. They easily crumble as she attempts to take a step toward Adriana. Once she is free, the Neptune guardian punches Adriana in the chest. The only effect is that Adriana gets shoved back and lets out a puff of air.
“You’re so lucky that you have a lot of padding in that spot. My hand would have gone straight through your ribcage. As for the other guardians, I wouldn’t worry about them right now. They should be showing up as soon as they’re done licking their wounds. Now, I know you wanted to kill all of us on this trip. Was there anything else that you wanted?”
“Since you asked so nicely and I don’t care if you do know the basics of my plan. I was going to check on Fate’s history. He is the only one that we don’t know that much about. The rest of you are easier to figure out than a children’s puzzle. This was also a plan to get back the sword of light for Draveon. He’s been bugging me about the sword for the past eleven months. But I doubt you would have that with you. Only Fate uses that weapon,” explains Adriana.
“On normal occasions you would be right. This isn’t normal. I think this is what you are looking for. I’m surprised you didn’t noticed the extra light in this area of the park. There aren’t any lamp posts here,” Hydrana laughs as she yanks the magic sword out of a shadow-covered tree branch.
“You stole the sword of light? I don’t believe this. Stealing, betraying, maiming, and who knows what else. You would have made an excellent villain, water sprite. Of course, you could still join my side. I’d like to keep it at nine, so feel free to off Psylon when we go back to Pluto.”
A snapping twig is barely heard as Tegam appears behind Hydrana. He grabs her from behind just as Adriana runs in to repeatedly kick the younger immortal in the stomach. The guardian takes the painful shots with a few angry grunts until she gets enough leverage to flip herself over Tegam. Both of them break their arms, yet Hydrana still manages to pick up the sword and hit Tegam in the face with the flat side of the blade.
“My eyes! I can’t see! This really sucks!” howls the prankster as a flash of bright light erupts from the sword. When Adriana fires a beam of healing energy at Tegam, Hydrana simply steps in the way and gets her own bones healed. Adriana desperately leaps at the Neptune guardian, but gets effortlessly kicked into a nearby lake. Soon the water is turned to ice and it encases everything below the panicking immortal’s trembling neck.
“I could have sworn you were a better fighter than this, Adriana,” states Hydrana as she glides over to the frozen immortal.
“I’m out of practice. Been spending too much time in a lab I guess. Next time we meet, Tegam and I will kick your watery ass all over this galaxy,” threatens Adriana as she tries to struggle free. The ice around her begins to crack and she starts to pull herself free. Hydrana suddenly holds Adriana down and proceeds to kiss the stunned villain on her full lips.
“Didn’t meant to be too forward with the kiss, Adriana. But I have an interesting trick to show you. I have so many bad memories that I can hand them out to other immortals like candy is handed out during Halloween. Only these little candies will make you go insane. You’ll become just like me in two or three days. Eventually, Fate will join the two of us. His mental defenses are surprisingly strong for a boy his age, but they are not strong enough to keep my thoughts in check forever. Anyway, the kiss is only to start the process while the rest is a lot more painful. Feel free to scream as loud as you want. I don’t think anyone will really care in this city,” whispers Hydrana as she presses her fingers into Adriana’s skull.
