“For the last time, Thiago, you must leave. It is not safe here.” Fanatic attempted to reason with the young man as the landscape shifted and spun around them. A bizarre serpent twisted through the sky high above them, and Fanatic wondered where they truly were. Would her God hear the prayers of his servant here?
“I can help you guys. Haven’t I already?” Thiago looked defiant. It was true. Despite his few years, he had been instrumental in guiding the civilians through the dangers of the strange realm, and then alerting the heroes to the whereabouts of the monster they were hunting. Fanatic had been closing in on the villain when then unstable terrain shifted and grew, imprisoning her party. This separated them from the Megalopolis refugees – and the abomination that stalked them.
Just like a young Mr. Parsons. Fanatic sighed. “You have been most helpful, but we are almost done. Take the portal back to Megalopolis. We shall remain to destroy the evildoer.”
“Why does Devra get to stay?” Thiago grumbled. “I’m not that much younger than her.”
Unity heard him, and turned from where she was swiftly assembling more of her creatures. “I’m staying because I can do this!” She opened her hand, and a mechanical insect – some sort of wasp – took flight, right at Thiago’s head.
“NOT FUNNY!” Thiago shouted, as he took evasive action. He was quick, Fanatic gave him that. Unity, for her part, was laughing hysterically. Tacky, the robot built in the image of Dr. Stinson, quietly continued to work.
“You need not antagonize the boy, Devra,” Fanatic said sternly. “I suggest you resume your work. Once this prison recedes, we will need to finish the fight before any more civilians come to harm.”
Unity still grinned. “Relax, Fannie. Everything is on schedule. Look, I even made you a present for your sword!”
Fanatic looked at the thing that was being offered to her. It was pink and green. “Absolution,” Fanatic said slowly, “Is not a party favor.”
“No, no. Just put it on – no, like this – and it will be way more effective, I promise!
Fanatic took the device, with more than a little reservation. Just then, their prison shook as a series of explosions devastated the purple rolling walls. Fanatic uttered a quick prayer as she turned to face the being moving through the wreckage. Unity readied what she had of her robots, and Thiago stepped bravely in front of her. Whatever it was, it emitted a high-pitched wail.
The Indestructible Bunker emerged from the smoke, and the assembled exhaled in relief. The wailing was coming from the girl Bunker had cradled in one arm. His other arm was a smoking cannon. As he gently set her down, she cried out “Thiago!” and ran over to him. “Susie!” He exclaimed. The two quickly embraced, then they all turned to hear what Bunker had to say.
“Soldier!” Bunker called out, and Thiago snapped to attention. “This young lady needs an escort back to home base in Megalopolis. You are the only one who can protect her. Use this portal, and make sure she gets home to her parents.”
“Yes Sir!” Thiago shot back. He lifted young Susie-Lee, and dashed for the portal. As the pair vanished, Bunker, Unity, and Fanatic heard Susie’s words echo after them: “Wait! We have to save Mr. Bear!”
“I’m impressed, LT,” came Unity’s voice. “Fannie’s been trying to do that for ten minutes. Is Haka with you?”
“Negative.” The soldier replied. “Last I saw, he had broken free from the spectral snare, and was looking for high ground.”
“And the other civilians?” Fanatic interrupted, staring into the expressionless eyes of the Personal Armament Exo-Chassis.
Bunker didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
Fire filled Fanatic’s eyes, now more than a metaphor. “How much time do we have?”
An inhuman scream composed of frustration and rage rent the air above them.
“You mean in seconds?” Bunker replied.
Radiant light passed from Fanatic’s palms to Unity’s brow. “Work faster,” the angel growled.
Unity paused as the heavenly light flowed through her body. “Wow, that stuff is good. C’mon, Tacky!” Imbued with holy speed, she and the robot were back at their tasks. Just as she set up another construction pylon, the prison began to warp and shrink.
“Everybody out!” Bunker yelled, as he led the heroes from the collapsing structure – if ever it was a structure at all. As they stood there, it vanished into the ether. Floating above where they had just been, in awful majesty, was the drug-wracked monstrosity that had once been Jack Donovan.
Fanatic brandished Absolution as she drove towards the vile foe, but not even her holy blade could penetrate the beast’s regenerative flesh. Spite retaliated, his poisonous aura choked the divine agent with evil and hatred whenever she tried to do anything. She collapsed under a rain of needles, coming from Spite as if from the center of a vengeful hurricane. Why have you forsaken me?
Spite’s attacks fell off of Bunker’s protective plating like a light rain, but his guns could no more hurt it than could Absolution. His Omni-Cannon was charging up, strapped to his back, but it would take time before that became a viable weapon. He plowed into the fray, wrested the angel from Spite’s withering grasp, and deposited her a safe distance away, giving her time to recover.
Spite began to follow, sensing weakness, but found his path suddenly impeded by another figure on the rapidly shifting battlefield.
“We fight this day… for fishcakes!” The choice of phrase seemed to catch Spite off guard as the metallic double of America’s Finest Legacy delivered a skull-cracking punch.
Unity wrinkled her bleeding nose in disgust as purple lightning swirled around her. “I knew that speech synthesizer would be a problem. Whatever. All together now!”
Unity’s other robots swarmed around the grotesque fiend, as if from nowhere. She had created a pack of raptors, vibrantly shimmering in all different hues of pink and blue – they weren’t entirely out of place among their discordant surroundings. Working with a pack mentality, they herded Spite away from his prey, and tore deep into his flesh with their cold metal teeth. Tacky stood by and delivered a series of swift punches to the antagonist.
“Now, Fannie!” Fanatic surged forward once again, and this time Absolution, outfitted with Unity’s extension, found its mark amidst the chaos of robotic raptors. Impressive.
Spite howled with pain, and channeled this fury into the new threat. His mental shockwaves immolated the raptors in dark fire. Tacky was thrown clear in a psychic maelstrom. His needles found their marks in the Champion Bot’s armor, and Spite pushed back, toppling the massive robot on top of Unity.
Fanatic opened her mouth in a vengeful scream, and divine fire began to rain down from what sufficed as a sky in this nightmare dimension. It was not enough to hurt the villain, but it was enough to distract him, keep him off balance until the heroes could finish the job. Never alone, she reminded herself, as she hastened to the side of her fallen ally.
Fanatic pushed the Champion Bot off of Unity. “No… sacrifice… toothache…” the broken robot protested as it rolled away.
Fanatic lifted her friend’s head. “Did you… see that?” Unity gasped through the pain. “That was so… fun!”
“Try not to speak, my friend,” Fanatic replied, uncharacteristically gently.
“Ha. I’ll be… fine…” Unity trailed off, fading into unconsciousness.
Fanatic set Unity down, and rose with burning clarity. She strode calmly towards Spite, but instead of striking at her foe, she simply raised Absolution above her head.
“For your fell deeds, evildoer, you have been judged. I pass your sentence now. Your end is nigh.”
Fanatic buried her sword in the yielding ground. A chasm opened where the terrain was struck, and filled with holy light. A beam from the hilt of Absolution enveloped and immobilized the horror. Caught between earth and sky, Spite burned in holy vengeance.
“Get down!” Fanatic heard Bunker’s cry, and knelt in thankful prayer as the beam of the Omni-Cannon soared over her head. Channeling the full power of faith and science at the unholy force before them would surely be enough to destroy it for good.
As the light and noise from the attacks faded to a gentle hum, Fanatic stood once again, blinking the light from her eyes. She could not comprehend what she saw. Spite still stood. His flesh and hair had burned away, leaving a creature composed of little but muscle, bone, and hatred. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air as Spite strode forward. He lifted Fanatic by the throat with one monstrous arm, and drew her right up to his face. A horrifying, twisted grin played upon what remained of the demon’s face.
“I was looking forward to this, Angel.” His psychic forcefield kept Bunker at a distance as Spite prepared to drain the life from Fanatic.
The ground shook at just that moment, causing Spite to drop his prey. A spear of green earth shot through the rift created by Absolution. With a battle cry, the Savage Haka leapt from the top of it, landing on Spite and pinning him to the ground.
“You were looking for something?” The warrior laughed as he held up a small, stuffed teddy bear in one hand. With the other hand, he crushed.
Just like a young Mr. Parsons. Fanatic sighed. “You have been most helpful, but we are almost done. Take the portal back to Megalopolis. We shall remain to destroy the evildoer.”
“Why does Devra get to stay?” Thiago grumbled. “I’m not that much younger than her.”
Unity heard him, and turned from where she was swiftly assembling more of her creatures. “I’m staying because I can do this!” She opened her hand, and a mechanical insect – some sort of wasp – took flight, right at Thiago’s head.
“NOT FUNNY!” Thiago shouted, as he took evasive action. He was quick, Fanatic gave him that. Unity, for her part, was laughing hysterically. Tacky, the robot built in the image of Dr. Stinson, quietly continued to work.
“You need not antagonize the boy, Devra,” Fanatic said sternly. “I suggest you resume your work. Once this prison recedes, we will need to finish the fight before any more civilians come to harm.”
Unity still grinned. “Relax, Fannie. Everything is on schedule. Look, I even made you a present for your sword!”
Fanatic looked at the thing that was being offered to her. It was pink and green. “Absolution,” Fanatic said slowly, “Is not a party favor.”
“No, no. Just put it on – no, like this – and it will be way more effective, I promise!
Fanatic took the device, with more than a little reservation. Just then, their prison shook as a series of explosions devastated the purple rolling walls. Fanatic uttered a quick prayer as she turned to face the being moving through the wreckage. Unity readied what she had of her robots, and Thiago stepped bravely in front of her. Whatever it was, it emitted a high-pitched wail.
The Indestructible Bunker emerged from the smoke, and the assembled exhaled in relief. The wailing was coming from the girl Bunker had cradled in one arm. His other arm was a smoking cannon. As he gently set her down, she cried out “Thiago!” and ran over to him. “Susie!” He exclaimed. The two quickly embraced, then they all turned to hear what Bunker had to say.
“Soldier!” Bunker called out, and Thiago snapped to attention. “This young lady needs an escort back to home base in Megalopolis. You are the only one who can protect her. Use this portal, and make sure she gets home to her parents.”
“Yes Sir!” Thiago shot back. He lifted young Susie-Lee, and dashed for the portal. As the pair vanished, Bunker, Unity, and Fanatic heard Susie’s words echo after them: “Wait! We have to save Mr. Bear!”
“I’m impressed, LT,” came Unity’s voice. “Fannie’s been trying to do that for ten minutes. Is Haka with you?”
“Negative.” The soldier replied. “Last I saw, he had broken free from the spectral snare, and was looking for high ground.”
“And the other civilians?” Fanatic interrupted, staring into the expressionless eyes of the Personal Armament Exo-Chassis.
Bunker didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
Fire filled Fanatic’s eyes, now more than a metaphor. “How much time do we have?”
An inhuman scream composed of frustration and rage rent the air above them.
“You mean in seconds?” Bunker replied.
Radiant light passed from Fanatic’s palms to Unity’s brow. “Work faster,” the angel growled.
Unity paused as the heavenly light flowed through her body. “Wow, that stuff is good. C’mon, Tacky!” Imbued with holy speed, she and the robot were back at their tasks. Just as she set up another construction pylon, the prison began to warp and shrink.
“Everybody out!” Bunker yelled, as he led the heroes from the collapsing structure – if ever it was a structure at all. As they stood there, it vanished into the ether. Floating above where they had just been, in awful majesty, was the drug-wracked monstrosity that had once been Jack Donovan.
Fanatic brandished Absolution as she drove towards the vile foe, but not even her holy blade could penetrate the beast’s regenerative flesh. Spite retaliated, his poisonous aura choked the divine agent with evil and hatred whenever she tried to do anything. She collapsed under a rain of needles, coming from Spite as if from the center of a vengeful hurricane. Why have you forsaken me?
Spite’s attacks fell off of Bunker’s protective plating like a light rain, but his guns could no more hurt it than could Absolution. His Omni-Cannon was charging up, strapped to his back, but it would take time before that became a viable weapon. He plowed into the fray, wrested the angel from Spite’s withering grasp, and deposited her a safe distance away, giving her time to recover.
Spite began to follow, sensing weakness, but found his path suddenly impeded by another figure on the rapidly shifting battlefield.
“We fight this day… for fishcakes!” The choice of phrase seemed to catch Spite off guard as the metallic double of America’s Finest Legacy delivered a skull-cracking punch.
Unity wrinkled her bleeding nose in disgust as purple lightning swirled around her. “I knew that speech synthesizer would be a problem. Whatever. All together now!”
Unity’s other robots swarmed around the grotesque fiend, as if from nowhere. She had created a pack of raptors, vibrantly shimmering in all different hues of pink and blue – they weren’t entirely out of place among their discordant surroundings. Working with a pack mentality, they herded Spite away from his prey, and tore deep into his flesh with their cold metal teeth. Tacky stood by and delivered a series of swift punches to the antagonist.
“Now, Fannie!” Fanatic surged forward once again, and this time Absolution, outfitted with Unity’s extension, found its mark amidst the chaos of robotic raptors. Impressive.
Spite howled with pain, and channeled this fury into the new threat. His mental shockwaves immolated the raptors in dark fire. Tacky was thrown clear in a psychic maelstrom. His needles found their marks in the Champion Bot’s armor, and Spite pushed back, toppling the massive robot on top of Unity.
Fanatic opened her mouth in a vengeful scream, and divine fire began to rain down from what sufficed as a sky in this nightmare dimension. It was not enough to hurt the villain, but it was enough to distract him, keep him off balance until the heroes could finish the job. Never alone, she reminded herself, as she hastened to the side of her fallen ally.
Fanatic pushed the Champion Bot off of Unity. “No… sacrifice… toothache…” the broken robot protested as it rolled away.
Fanatic lifted her friend’s head. “Did you… see that?” Unity gasped through the pain. “That was so… fun!”
“Try not to speak, my friend,” Fanatic replied, uncharacteristically gently.
“Ha. I’ll be… fine…” Unity trailed off, fading into unconsciousness.
Fanatic set Unity down, and rose with burning clarity. She strode calmly towards Spite, but instead of striking at her foe, she simply raised Absolution above her head.
“For your fell deeds, evildoer, you have been judged. I pass your sentence now. Your end is nigh.”
Fanatic buried her sword in the yielding ground. A chasm opened where the terrain was struck, and filled with holy light. A beam from the hilt of Absolution enveloped and immobilized the horror. Caught between earth and sky, Spite burned in holy vengeance.
“Get down!” Fanatic heard Bunker’s cry, and knelt in thankful prayer as the beam of the Omni-Cannon soared over her head. Channeling the full power of faith and science at the unholy force before them would surely be enough to destroy it for good.
As the light and noise from the attacks faded to a gentle hum, Fanatic stood once again, blinking the light from her eyes. She could not comprehend what she saw. Spite still stood. His flesh and hair had burned away, leaving a creature composed of little but muscle, bone, and hatred. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air as Spite strode forward. He lifted Fanatic by the throat with one monstrous arm, and drew her right up to his face. A horrifying, twisted grin played upon what remained of the demon’s face.
“I was looking forward to this, Angel.” His psychic forcefield kept Bunker at a distance as Spite prepared to drain the life from Fanatic.
The ground shook at just that moment, causing Spite to drop his prey. A spear of green earth shot through the rift created by Absolution. With a battle cry, the Savage Haka leapt from the top of it, landing on Spite and pinning him to the ground.
“You were looking for something?” The warrior laughed as he held up a small, stuffed teddy bear in one hand. With the other hand, he crushed.
Very entertaining. Thanks for writing this!