On the dark side of a moon orbiting a gas giant in a desolate solar system, four humanoids walk with the only female among them providing their sole source of illumination emanating from her hand. In such utter darkness, the light only casts them as vague shadows within the larger shadow.
“Let’s stop for a moment,“ says one of the men suddenly, “I’m getting a strong feeling that we’re close.”
“Where, my love?” says another of the men to the first.
“Yes, where?” prods a third impatiently, “we’ve been on this rock for nearly three hours!”
“Leave him alone!” the second yells to the third. “This moon is rife with magical defenses, hexes, curses and cloaking spells! It is taking all the skill and effort my husband can exert to--”
“It’s okay, lover…over there!” the first interjects.
The lone woman shines her light in the direction the first man indicates and finally rests on a stone marker adorned with alien glyphs.
“That’s it!” the third man yells. “It must be!” And all four approach it.
Within moments the first man kneels down and reads the marker, its strange language familiar to him. “Yes,” he proclaims after a moment, “this is the place. The artifact we need is buried underneath.” Then he looks in the direction of the second man. “My love?”
“Yes, husband” is the response, and the second man concentrates for a moment and touches the ground in front of the marker. Concentrating intensely, he produces the object of their desire causing the ground itself to bring it forth.
“Now,” the third man says, “we have only to send it to Zerox to set the plan into motion.”
The woman asks, “but how will we get it there? The Sorcerer’s World has many defenses--I don’t see how they would allow an object of such power and evil to even come near to their space!”
“My dear,” laughs the third man, “you haven’t been in our circle very long, so we’ll forgive you your ignorance. Suffice to say, the way will be made clear. They will accept our ’gift’ quite willingly! And once Zerox falls, our power will be consolidated and the United Planets, already reeling from their war with the Khanate of Sol Invictus, won‘t know what hit them! They’ll find they were unwise to turn their back on us!”
“But what of me?” the woman presses. “When will I have the power you’ve promised me?”
“Very, very soon, my dear. In the midst of all the chaos to come, our ‘ally’ will be deposed and you will be put in his place.”
“My rightful place,” she corrects.
“Yes,” the third man indulges her, “but first thing’s first--we need to start with this artifact and its destination. Only then can the gears begin to turn.”
“What of my ’brother’ and his precious LMB?” the first man asks.
“Ah, the LMB…by the time they attempt to intercede, it will be too late for them to affect anything. But hopefully…hopefully, we’ll be able to throw some of their dead bodies into the crucible we’ll create in the process!”
At that, all four share a disturbing laughter that rings through the hollow darkness they dwell in.
From the Encyclopedia Galactica: Zerox, commonly referred to as the ”Sorcerers’ World”, is the most mysterious and inaccessible member of the United Planets. Its traditions are kept secret and visitation by non-residents is very strictly regulated. What is known is that Zerox is governed by the Council of Seven, a collection of mages who are each foremost in a different magical expertise. The exact makeup of the current Council is unknown, with the exceptions of Prime Councilor Arun Nal of Naltor, a seer who doubles as Zerox’s diplomatic representative, and Dru of Rudlab, a reformed villainess whose appointment to the Council was highly publicized following her wedding to LMB founder Lard Lad.
Zerox, the Isle of Wisdom, Councilor Dru’s Suite
Now
Dawn breaks through the open windows of the bedchambers of esteemed Councilor Dru and her husband Anthony. In another life he was Lard Lad, one of the founders of the Legion of Message Board Posters, the peacekeeping force of super-powered individuals based in the United Planets. Now, ten months after resigning from the LMB to build a new life with his bride, the once volatile man has found inner peace for, perhaps, the first time.
The light from the rising sun first touches Anthony’s face, and his eyes flutter and open in reaction to the glare. He smiles as he awakens and remembers how he spent the better part of a decade with the LMB and never once awoke before noon of his own free will. Crazy how finding love can change a man, he thinks.
At that thought he turns his head slightly to the left and rests his eyes on the lovely woman sleeping and resting her head on his chest, as she ‘s been accustomed to doing since they married. He adoringly kneads her long silver hair through his fingers and admires every strand as they fall back down. This has become his favorite way to wake up. Every morning on Zerox is just as perfect as this one. He wakes up the same way every morning and savors this sacred feeling and counts his blessings. Few in life find a true soul mate. He counts himself among those lucky few.
He continues manipulating her hair until, suddenly, he inadvertently catches a tangle, and she wakes with a start.
“Ouch!” she yelps.
“Sorry, babe,” he chuckles, “got a little carried away, I guess.”
“mmm…what time is it, hon?”
“Just after dawn, babe. Council business on the itinerary, today?”
She rubs her face on his chest as if to think. “Mm. Sort of. I’ve got an appointment with the Magical Artifacts Division. Have to go through some of their latest acquisitions with the curator.”
“They need you for that?”
“Each councilor has different duties. One of mine is to determine whether any of the objects pose any threat. They rarely do, but I’m very adept at counter-curses should they be dangerous. It was my best subject when I studied here years ago and the expertise for which I was specifically chosen to be a Counselor.”
“So I don’t need to worry about you, then, babe?”
“Not hardly. In fact, why don’t you meet me there at noon-sharp for lunch? Unless you have something planned…”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I’ll try to make time for you in my busy calendar!”
Dru frowns slightly at that and lifts herself up to rest on her right elbow. “Anthony, I hope you’re not bored here…I know it’s a huge change going from being a galactic adventurer to, well, a house-husband.”
He smiles gently and strokes her cheek. “Not at all, baby! I thought it would be hard to adjust, but it’s really been smooth-sailing for me. My life had been, well, basically hellish turmoil for a longtime, and now…now, I’m at peace. Truthfully, when Cobalt called in that favor a couple months ago and I saw some action, I couldn’t wait to get back! I love him like a brother, and I’ll always have a fondness for the LMB…but that’s behind me now. And I’m positively elated to be your ‘house-husband‘! I don’t need to be Lard Lad anymore.”
“I love you, Anthony.”
“And I love you. Now…how about a little…‘breakfast’?”
She smiles and straddles him in response, kissing him hard. Then, she pauses for a moment. “You think,” she says tentatively, “ we might get to the point where we’ll… start a family someday.”
Ponderously, he looks up at her and into her eyes.
“Oh!” she apologizes, “honey, I didn’t mean to--”
“Yes,” he interrupts, “I think some day-- perhaps some day very soon--we definitely will.” And a huge smile comes across his face as her eyes widen.
She sees the sincerity in his face, and she’s overcome with emotion. Tears streaming down her face, she kisses him passionately.
And Dru will arrive significantly late for her appointment.
As Anthony and Dru are reveling in their passion, many light years away another committed couple is enjoying a picnic in a newly-completed park dedicated to the heroes and the lessons learned from a two-pronged attempt to destroy their artificial world. They are two of Anthony’s former comrades in the LMB, Cobalt Kid and Spellbinder .
Cobalt is voraciously eating the sandwiches he made for them. As he does, he smiles to himself, knowing that though his soul mate means more to him than anything in all the universe, she’s not much of a cook! In fact he’s made a habit of inventing excuses for avoiding any Crujeckie-cooked dishes. Any time he can’t wriggle out of eating them, he seems to come up with a mysterious stomach ailm--
“Ow!” he cries as his shoulder starts stinging from a sudden, sharp pain in it as Crujectra's given him a sock.
Unfortunately, his one true love can read minds--and with their soul-link permanently in place, he can never turn it off!
“Hey! What was that for!” he laughs.
“I try very hard when I cook for you, Cobie!” she frowns.
“Baby, I don’t hold it against you or anything…I mean you can’t help you’re a princess and had chefs cooking for--oh…oh my…”
Crujectra ceases her playfulness as she senses a sudden change in her mate. “Cobie! What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
He strokes his forehead a little trying to process what he’s feeling. “I--I’m alright, I think. In fact suddenly I’m feeling really, REALLY good!”
She concentrates on his thoughts for a moment, then suddenly blushes. “Cobie! You devil--we can’t do that right now! This is a public place!”
His eyes a little distant, Cobalt says, “babe, you know I’m always up for that, but…I dunno, this feels…external, somehow.”
“External? Like…it‘s not your own thoughts or feelings?”
“Yeah, like that.”
“But, Cobie…you’re not psychic. The only external thoughts and feelings you can pick up are mine through our soul-link.”
“I know. But over the last year I’ve been getting these, like, twinges. And gradually they’ve been getting a little stronger. But this is the strongest one yet--by a mile!”
“Why haven’t you told me about them?”
“Like I said, they’ve been pretty mild and very infrequent. Mostly, I forget about them soon after I had them. Like a dream or something. But this flash is so strong, it kinda jarred my memory about the other ones. And I’m still feeling it a little.”
Concentrating more deeply, Crujectra says, “oddly enough, Cobie, I’m not really feeling the flash itself, just your reaction to it. Whatever it is, I can’t read it or determine its source.” Suddenly, a thought occurs to her, “Cobie, could you be picking up on Lardy’s feelings?”
“Lardy?” He ponders that for a moment. “Y’know, that just feels right somehow. But--how could I be picking up on what he’s feeling? Unless…”
“.. unless it’s the piece of his soul he gave to you,” she finishes for him. And she remembers when that came to be:
quote:..."for this spell to work, you'll both have to willingly sacrifice a piece of your souls to Cobalt Kid, as only people who truly love him could...[...]...the biggest, most certain effect is that small piece of your soul will become forever a part of Cobalt Kid, and it can never be restored to you..."
The spell Dru performed healed Cobalt of mortal injuries sustained during his fight with Superboy-Prime during the Dark Oval’s invasion of Legion World…a year ago. The price that both Crujectra and Lardy freely paid for his restoration was a part of each of their immortal souls.
“Cobie, you’ve been having these…’twinges’…for about a year, you say? The timeline seems right.”
“Yes, it is,” he agrees. “I think this is a side-effect of that ‘soul transfusion’. And it’s been building over time. I wonder how far it will go?”
“Hard to say. Maybe I’ll ask Maxx to look into that..”
“Well, one thing‘s for sure,” Cobalt grins, “my old pal’s life is still on the upswing!”
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
His arrival announced by the faint pop that is a signature of his ability to bend space for teleportation, the man formerly known as Lard Lad arrives for his daily session. Late.
“Sensei!” he yells, seeing his teacher sitting serenely, legs crossed and eyes closed, atop the hill where their sessions usually take place. “Sorry I’m late!”
Casually, the sensei opens his eyes. “Really?” he quips. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Lardy grins. “Sarcasm ill becomes you, sensei!”
“The mark of a bad attitude is seeing sarcasm in what one hears when what was offered was simple truth. By the way, your fly’s open.”
Lardy blushes and corrects the situation immediately. “Sorry, sensei…my wife and I were, uh, celebrating life.”
“Uh-huh. My wife and I like to ’celebrate life’ too, but it doesn’t keep us from fulfilling our other commitments in a timely manner.”
“Perhaps, sensei,” Lardy laughs, “you should learn to be more spontaneous with Mrs. Armorr!”
“Oh, don’t let her hear you call her that! Jeckie’s Queen of Orando and a member of Zerox‘s Council of Seven--if anything, I’m Mrs. Projectra! And we are spontaneous…just within certain parameters.”
“Whatever, Val. So is today a wash or what?”
“No, my friend. Let us do our exercises.”
Within moments the two are sitting, their eyes closed, legs crossed and palms held outward.
“Is your mind clear, Anthony? Have you found your center?”
“Yes, sensei.”
“Then reach out with your Lard Force. Let it connect with your ch’i. Lose your self within its embrace. That’s it. How do you feel?”
“Good, sensei. Peaceful.”
“Good…good. Feel the balance between the positive and negative energies within you. ..the yin and yang…the night and the day. Imagine them in perfect harmony. To do so, you must accept the night along with the day, embrace it. If you don’t, the night will rule your life. Only by balancing the night and day within you, can you achieve the peace you desire.”
Lardy’s brow begins to perspire. In his mind’s eye he sees the abyss within him, and he stares it down. “You don’t own me,” he tells it.
And at once the abyss morphs into female form. She is a dark woman with jet-black hair and eyes, and she’s clothed in the darkness of the abyss itself. He recognizes her instantly; he could never forget the woman he murdered in cold blood. “M-mordra!” he gasps and struggles to maintain control of himself. He approaches her cautiously. While on the hill on the Isle of Meditation, his physical body shakes and sweats profusely.
As he approaches, Mordra extends her hand to him. “Take it,” she urges, “and embrace me as a part of yourself once and for all. His hand reaches for hers, but it stops just a fingertip away when he hears something.
“No! Don’t!” cries another voice from behind him. He turns around and sees a beautiful blonde woman dressed in blinding whiteness, as if her dress was a star. “She murdered me!”
“Leelee!” Lardy cries as he sees his first love, the woman murdered by the one whose hand he was about to take. The woman who he avenged, at long last, by murdering the other.
“No!” Mordra implores, “I’m a part of you, and you must accept me, as well as her!”
“It’s a trick,” Leelee urges him. “All she ever did was lie to you! If you take her hand, you will be lost forever!”
“B-but, I‘m supposed to take her hand,” he pleads with his dead love as hot tears stream down his face. “It’s the only way I can be whole, Leelee!”
“Look at her again,” Leelee moans, “and tell me how wrong I am before you take her hand.”
He does, and all the hate rushes back to him as he looks into the soulless eyes of the woman who murdered not only his first true love, but his innocence as well.
“Nooo!” he screams and blasts the side of him that manifested itself as Mordra. Before she disappears, Mordra’s eyes well up in tears. Then he turns around, and Leelee is gone as well.
And then Lardy opens his eyes.
His sensei is staring back at him.
“I…failed, sensei,” Lardy whispers, “again.”
“It’s alright, Anthony. Nothing worth winning is easily won. But I think you are getting closer, my friend. We will engage in our exercises for the next six days and try this again on the seventh day. I will see you tomorrow, Anthony…hopefully, on time.”
As his sensei walks off, Lardy sits there shivering, chilled by the wind brushing against his sweat-soaked clothes. As far as he’s come all these months studying with Val Armorr, he wonders if he’ll ever be able to take that hand.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
In the building that houses the Magical Artifacts Division of the Zeroxian government, Dru is going over the latest finds with Curator Zhiz.
“Well, Zhiz,” she says, “I’d say that this toilet is definitely a toilet. It may or may not have been a receptacle for the bodily wastes of the ancient dark wizard Felix Faust…but it definitely poses no threat. So--is this the last of them? I’m expecting my husband for lunch very soon, and--”
“Nay, Councilor,” Zhiz corrects, “there be one more to survey. It appears to be a sarcophagus.”
“Great,” she sighs with derision. “Take me to it.”
She follows Zhiz to an adjoining room that’s just as cluttered with dusty old relics as the other one. Finally, they come to an ornate coffin covered in strange engravings.
Dru’s eyes widen a little. “Now, this looks interesting!”
“This language is a little familiar,” she says. “It looks like its roots…are in some of those used in the systems near…Rudlab.” As that last word leaves her lips, she trembles slightly.
Rudlab. Dru’s father, the evil and incredibly powerful sorcerer Mordru the Merciless, had conquered that sector a century ago and used it as his powerbase. Then, twenty years ago, he mysteriously disappeared without explanation. And Dru stepped in and claimed her birthright as Mordru’s successor.
A year ago, everything changed when the Dark Oval involved itself. Dru had left her world to intervene in the political wrangling between Legion World and the Oval for her own selfish purposes. But her siding with Legion World opened Rudlab up to the Oval’s expansion goals. So while Dru was focused on the conflict on Legion World, the Dark Oval viciously attacked the under-defended Rudlab and completely annihilated it, leaving no survivors. Unopposed, the Oval then annexed the entire Rudlabian sector.
Dru failed her people, and despite all the happiness she’s found with her husband, that failure haunts her to the core of her being.
“Councilor?” Zhiz inquires as Dru’s silence lingers. “Be you well?”
“No…not really,” she admits, “but I’ll try a decrypting spell to decipher the glyphs.”
She mutters something , and a white glow extends from her hand to the sarcophagus. The moment the glow completely surrounds the object, Dru feels a backlash. Defensively, she tries to break contact, but some unknown force won’t let her. Suddenly, a dark energy fills the glowing aura from Dru’s spell surrounding the sarcophagus, then travels up the chain toward Dru. Frantically, Dru shouts different counter-spells she can think of, but to no avail. Inevitably, the dark energy connects to her person
She screams and drops into a dead faint. And at once, the link is broken, and the dark aura that had surrounded her and the sarcophagus vanishes.
“Councilor!” Zhiz cries.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Anthony, having just arrived at the Magical Artifacts Division for his lunch date with Dru, hears a scream and immediately recognizes it as his wife’s. A wave of panic washes over him. He pushes it back and reaches out towards Dru with his power to locate her.
The next instant Curator Zhiz, already shocked at the Councilor’s turn of events, stumbles and falls on his behind as Anthony appears by her side.
“Dru!” the newcomer yells. “Can you hear me, baby?” No reaction. Anthony fights back the panic welling within him, and tries to stay calm. He puts two fingers to her neck. Nothing.
The fear pushes harder. It wants to take over.
“No,” he whispers to himself and pushes it right back. Closing his eyes, he reaches out with the Lard Force...
“Oh, no,” Zhiz cries, “is she…dead?”
“Shut UP!” Anthony barks at the curator who’d interrupted him. Zhiz backs off and cowers in a corner. “I need to concentrate…”
Again, he closes his eyes and reaches out with the Lard Force which is his to command. In his mind’s eye, Anthony sees his wife, not as a physical being, but as a light source. The light is dim, but not gone.
“Yes!” he exclaims, then puts his right hand on her forehead and the left on her chest. His eyes still closed, Anthony concentrates on the right hand first and emits a purple burst of energy from it. “Give her brain a boost…then…” he emits a more powerful burst from the left hand that fires straight to her heart.
For a moment all is silent in anticipation until, suddenly, it’s broken by a loud gasp of breath. Dru breathes!
“Wh-what happened, Anthony?” she manages, gasping as if she’d never breathed air before.
He smiles in relief and wipes away some of his own stray tears. “I don’t know, my love, but we’re going to have the healers look at you!”
He gently kisses her forehead, and half a second later, they’ve disappeared, leaving a bewildered Zhiz behind.
posted
Legion World, penthouse apartment atop Levitz Hall in Legionnopolis
Having settled into bed after a long exhausting day of doing nothing but being a couple for a day, Cobalt Kid and Spellbinder lie fast asleep, their bodies entwined in postcoital bliss, until suddenly...
Cobalt bolts upright, unintentionally casting his lover off, and screams, “shut UP! I need to concentrate…”
“Cobie, what--?” Spellbinder asks him in dazed bewilderment.
Apparently not hearing her, Cobalt concentrates on something only he can see, and his hands start to glow.
COBIE! She’yells’ telepathically WAKE UP!
“Ungh,” he mumbles then falls back on his back.
“Cobie, are you okay?”
Now conscious of where he is, Cobalt nonetheless has a haunted, faraway look on his face. “Yeah…I think so,” he whispers, “but Lardy…”
“Is that what happened Cobie?” she infers with a hint of anger in her voice. “Did you get another flash?”
“Yes, I did,” he replies as he continues to process what happened, “and something’s wrong…with Dru.”
“Cobie, how can you be sure? I mean, just this afternoon, you said they were fine. Maybe he’s having a nightmare.”
He ponders that idea for a moment, then shakes his head. “No, it really happened. I‘m sure of it. She was attacked or something.”
“Well, is she okay?”
“I think so. I…he…saved her life.”
“Well, then everything’s all right.”
“No, it isn‘t,” he asserts, then looks her in the eyes for the first time since this feeling woke him up. “Something’s wrong on the Sorcerer’s World, Jeckie. That kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen here…there, I mean. Something’s up. Big time.”
Princess Crujectra braces herself at that. She knows what’s coming next. “And you’ve got to go help your friend, right?”
“Yes.”
She tries to fight saying what comes out next, but she knows if she doesn‘t say it, he‘ll pick up on it through their soul-link, so: “Look…Cobie…you don‘t owe him anything! After what you did for him, rescuing him from the Dark Oval…helping him cover up for those murders…healing him after he nearly died during the Invasion. And that‘s not even mentioning what he told you he did to incite war between the Dark Oval and the Barbarian Hordes--all the ramifications that caused…” Seeing his eyes turn downward, she concludes, “he’s a grown man, my love. And he’s surrounded by powerful sorcerers as allies. Let him fight his own battle, for once.”
Cobalt rubs his temples and looks at her again. “I hear you, honey…but he’s my friend, pure and simple. Since he left the LMB and expressed his desire to leave ‘Lard Lad‘ behind forever, he nevertheless helped me out twice since…because I needed him. He needs me now--I can feel it! And I’m not turning my back on him, now. I can’t!”
Resigned, she says, “then I’m coming with you.”
“That’s my girl!” he grins, gives her a quick peck and rushes off to gather some clean clothes.
Spellbinder remains in their bed for a moment longer. “I hope you appreciate his devotion, Lardy,” she whispers to herself.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
An hour later, Cobalt is checking the exhaust manifolds of his personal cruiser while the Princess waits patiently inside. He knows nothing’s wrong with them, but he’s expecting somebody.
“Cobie!” exclaims a breathless voice. “Thank goodness I didn’t miss you, my friend! I just got your message from the Rookery and hurried as fast as I could…”
“Glad you made it, Rocky,” Cobalt grins at his Pyngwyn friend Rockhopper Lad. “I suppose I could’ve left you a message, but I really wanted to tell you this in person.”
“What is it, Cobie?”
“Lardy’s in trouble on Zerox.”
“Oh, my. What sort of trouble?”
“That’s just it, Rocky…I don’t know exactly. I’ve been having these empathic flashes--long story. Anyhow, I don’t know what he’s facing exactly, so I can’t just call the whole LMB in on it. We’re stretched pretty thin these days--I can’t just send us on a snipe hunt. So Crujectra and I are going to investigate.”
“If your 'Cobie Sense' is tingling, I know from experience that it's usually right--I’d be happy to come with you!”
“I know, Rocky, but that’s not what I need just yet.” And Cobalt takes out an Omnicom. “I need you to take this. It has a list of LMBers I know will be useful and amenable to helping Lardy out if it comes to that. Get with them and prepare them to move at a moment’s notice. I’ll contact you if I need to call them in.”
Rocky looks at the list, recognizes a certain commonality and frowns, “but Cobie…my name isn’t on this list. It belongs there!”
“Look, I know Rockhopper Lass is missing.* I didn’t want to--”
“It’s okay, Cobie,” interrupts Rocky, “I don’t know where Adelie is, and I can’t explain it…but I’m quite certain that she’s alive and in no immediate danger.”
Cobalt smiles gently, “then that’s good enough for me. Consider yourself on the list!”
The two exchange a quick hug, and Cobalt enters his cruiser.
As he watches the cruiser take off, Rocky says, “you can count on me, my friend.”
The two part, and soon after, the cruiser takes off and escapes Legion World orbit. Suddenly struck by another empathic flash, Cobalt puts it in auto-pilot.
Spellbinder senses something’s wrong as he rubs his temples and retires from the cockpit. “What is it, Cobie?” she asks, following him. “Another flash?”
Moments before Cobalt Kid receives his latest flash, Anthony is waiting outside his wife’s exam room. A man enters and sits down next to him. The man is very tall, about thirty years Anthony’s senior and bald but sporting a neatly-trimmed beard. Anthony recognizes him immediately as Dru's fellow Councilor, Romaltus.
“Romaltus! How is she? I revived her, but she was burning up.”
“Doctors Halfus, Drollux and myself are working very hard to bring down her fever and make her more comfortable, but--”
“But what?!” Anthony pushes frantically. “You’re a healer, possibly the best magical healer in existence--heal her!”
“It…it’s not that simple. You see, what is ailing her is neither infection nor injury. Whatever enchanted that sarcophagus apparently put some kind of curse on her. We’ve got some of our best analyzing both the object and your wife, but they’re not getting anywhere. Ironically, your wife was…is…our absolute best at countering curses. For…whatever it was…to get past her defenses is incomprehensible. Theoretically, she would have been the least likely in our whole community for this to have worked on.”
“But, Romaltus, they’ll find the counter-curse…right?”
The older man’s eyes avert Anthony’s gaze, then return to it. “She’s running out of time. If we can’t get her fever down, or if they don’t find the counter-curse very quickly…she’ll die within days.”
“Nooo!!!” Anthony wails and blasts a hole into the nearest wall.
Collus Hrykos, Supreme Commander of the Hrykosian Empire sits in his ready room studying tactical readouts and weapons manufacturing updates.
“Yes,” he says to the computer, continuing his personal log, “we are growing ever closer to achieving our goals. Last year, Hrykosia suffered tremendous losses during our invasion of Legion World and Earth. But now, in a very short time, we are back to nearly 80 percent of what we were prior to those losses. We’ve acquired many slaves who’ve been conscripted to rebuild our fleet and serve as foot soldiers for us. Very soon, we’ll be able to exact revenge on Cobalt Kid and Lard Lad for their roles in embarrassing us. Then, within another year, we will be able to reassert ourselves as the foremost power among the Dark Oval. Those other fools think they’re in control…let them! For one day, very soon, I will--!”
“ahem” interrupts a voice from behind him.
“What? Who dares!” And Hrykos whirls around to see, “Kalla Hryl!”
“In the flesh, so to speak.”
“Traitor!”
“Oh, really?” she says with derision.
“How DARE you! You worked with that scum Lard Lad to frame Hykrosia for an attack you orchestrated on the Barbarian Hordes! By doing that, you forced us to pull back from sure victory during our offensive against Legion World and Earth to defend our border against the Hordes! No Hrykosian ever betrayed the empire before you!”
Still speaking calmly and with a condescending tone, Kalla replies, “you dare chide me for betrayal? Come on, Collus…you and dear, departed Damyen were the experts in that field. Look how you treated your own sister.”
“You…you are not--!”
Finally, anger flashes in her, and solid light flares from her hand that holds him helplessly to the floor. “Yes, I am, Collus! I have the same father as you and Damyen! Before he ever married your mother, he had a passionate love affair with my mother, and I was born of that union! But because my mother was not of pure Hrykosian blood, he wasn’t allowed to marry her! Our grandmother killed my mother as insurance. But our father brought me into his home and raised me with his new wife and sons, even though he couldn’t officially acknowledge me as his daughter…couldn’t even give me his last name!”
“You are a bastard child, Kalla Hryl, and a mongrel at that!”
She walks up to him, bends down and shows him a scroll. “Do you know what this is?”
His response is to spit in her face.
Ignoring that affront, she continues, “it’s our father’s Will. In it, Collus, he both acknowledges me and names me his successor!”
“An obvious forgery,” he sneers.
“Liar!” she screams, then punches him across the face. “You know it’s real! It has the seal of High Legate Hronmyr--you remember: the man you and Damyen murdered when our father died? Somehow, you and Damyen found out about this, but you were never able to find the document…Hronmyr wouldn’t talk before you killed him. That’s because our father gave it to me on his deathbed. And when I was sent to exile…sent to work in a manufacturing plant, of all things, I held on to it because I knew if I was ever to use this, I would have to return with power to back me up--power, which I now have!”
“You’re mad, woman!”
“Oh, not anymore. You see, I’ve been through quite the journey the last few years. I found solace in religion, and I found love with another ‘mongrel’--Huldnaf--who Damyen made the huge mistake of killing in an act of senseless cruelty. That sent me on quite a spiral. Lard Lad approached me with the idea about framing Hrykosia for attacking the Barbarian Hordes. Then, I followed him to Legion World and encountered a more extreme sect of my Church. That sect helped me gain the powers of their avatar. But with it came a certain madness that lead me on a suicide mission. Luckily, the plan failed, and I survived. When I was rescued from the prison, the madness was gone, and I knew the time was ripe for me to claim my birthright. Then I reconnected with an ally I had made during my time on Legion World, and the path was clear.”
“Foolish wench! Our people will never accept you as their ruler!”
“Yes, they will, Collus. Not only do I have the scroll, but you’ve made a huge mistake over the last year…Hrykosia’s slave population now exceeds its population of purebloods. I will give them equality at long last, and any pureblood holdouts will be forced to fall in line!”
“Blasphemy! You would betray all that Hrykosia holds dear?!?!”
“How can I betray it if I’m a ‘mongrel’, Collus? It’s time for Hrykosia to move forward, and you won’t be a part of it! Goodbye, ‘brother’!”
Collus Hrykos screams in agony as his flesh and muscle are burned off by Kalla’s light. Soon, all that’s left of the Hrykosian Supreme Commander is dust.
Smiling from ear to ear, she takes the chair that had been Collus Hrykos’s and flips a switch. “Kalla Hryl here. Phase Two is underway. We should be ready to mobilize within three months, as planned. I just have to…tidy things up here politically. Kalla Hryl…no…Kalla Hrykos…out.”
Playfully, she gets up and kicks the pile of dust that had been her half-brother.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
After having gone through the Sorcerers’ World’s own version of excruciating red tape to gain entrance to the notoriously reclusive planet, the cruiser carrying LMBers Cobalt Kid and Spellbinder is conjured into a receiving area. Exiting the cruiser, the couple is met by a lone wizard, a bald, aged human with long white hair and a well-groomed white beard.
“Greetings, friends,” the man says with some exuberance. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the two of you for quite some time…” and his gaze fixes on Cobalt, “…or in your case, young Desmonius…renewing our long-lost aquaintance.”
Cobalt is taken aback by this stranger’s use of the name he’d renounced years ago. Wordlessly, Cobalt regards the man, a glint of familiarity sparking in his memory.
For her part, Crujectra stands back and reaches out with her telepathy. She senses no panic on her lover’s part nor ill intent on the old man‘s, and so she stays out of it for the time being.
“You use a name that I no longer go by, stranger, one I’d prefer you didn’t. I go by Cobaltus, now…what should I call you?”
“I apologize, young man, for that is what you were called when I knew you. As for me, I am called…Romaltus.”
“Romaltus?” Cobalt puzzles. “That’s a Ggrrggian given name.”
“Yea, it is. And I, like you, am native to our recently-destroyed homeworld. I left Ggrrgg long ago, when you were a child. You see, Desmon--Cobaltus…I am your uncle.”
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Rockhopper Lad is studying the Omnicom Cobalt Kid gave him days ago. He examines the list and ponders those LMBers he’s been unable to speak with as yet.
“My,” he sighs, “it’s really been difficult lately to get together with most of the LMB lately. We’re stretched so thin from…”
His musing is interrupted by the cheerful chime of the Rookery’s visitation signal, or as Rocky calls it…his ‘doorbell‘.
Leaving his study, Rockhopper goes toward the Rookery’s vestibule, checks the outer vid feed for a moment, grins and says, “enter, my friend!”
The door slides open and in walks the familiar figure of the pale-complected, darkly robed and tattooed current LMB Deputy Leader, Dedman.
“Deddy!” Rockhopper Lad greets cheerfully, “what brings my successor of the hallowed position of LMB Deputy Leader to the Rookery this evening? This is so fortuitous--I’ve been trying to get in touch with you!”
“Sorry, Rocky, I’ve been a little incognito the past few days. I need your advice as a former Deputy.”
“You’ve come to the right guy, Deds…as the most recent former deputy, I’m the current chair of the Legion of Former Deputies…a chair you will hold after the next election!”
“Yes, I know. And I appreciate being allowed to sit in on meetings. It’s helped me get a grasp of the Deputies’ traditional role of caretaker while the leader is distracted by all the mission assignments, and especially lately, all the political mumbo-jumbo…”
“So I take it something’s bothering you?”
“Definitely.”
“Then, spill, Deds!”
“Well, as you know, the war between the U.P. and the Khanate of Sol Invictus has been dominating everything we’ve been doing lately.”
“Without a doubt.”
“And now, we’re getting reports that the Dark Oval is building up their forces near the part of their borders closest to where many of the border skirmishes are occurring between the U.P. and the Khanate.”
“Yes,” Rockhopper ponders, “we‘re constantly sending huge LMB mission teams to assist the U.P. there, mostly to protect nearby civilians and help with medivac.”
“Of course. And the Order of the Space Knights Templar are fighting with the U.P.”
“So what’s you’re concern, Deddy?”
“Fat Cramer’s looking to send more LMB out there, now, because of the potential for the Oval inserting itself into the conflict.” Dedman’s eyes lock with Rocky’s. “Problem is, I’m not buying the Oval swooping in. I don’t see what’s in it for them--it benefits them most to just bide their time and let the two sides wear each other out, especially after the losses the Oval suffered during their Invasion last year.”
Rockhopper then suggests evenly, “they could just be looking to protect their interests should the conflict spill over into their domain…”
“Yes, they could be, but…”
“…but you think their real interests lie elsewhere?”
“Exactly, Rocky!”
“Any ideas where?”
Dedman smiles, a rarity for him, and pulls a small holographic projector out of his coat pocket. He activates it, and a fairly detailed map of the U.P. appears highlighting the areas bordering Dark Oval space. One particular sector flashes orange.
Rockhopper studies it. “Epsilon Sector?” he says. “Why that one in particular?”
“Well, it borders the Hive sector of the Dark Oval which we’ve recently gathered some intelligence on. It suggests some of the most significant warship-building activity in the Oval has been in the Hive’s shipyards. Also, it’s the sector farthest away from the U.P./Khanate war activity and therefore, one of the ones with the least military presence.”
Rockhopper thinks for a moment. “Epsilon Sector…that one contains the systems with U.P. member planets Naltor, Orando and…”
“Zerox,” Dedman completes. “The main flaw in my theory, I guess, is that Zerox is home to the galaxy’s greatest mages. I guess they wouldn’t necessarily need a militia to protect them, but--”
A look of alarm paints Rockhopper’s face. “Zerox? My goodness, that can’t be a coincidence. I‘m going to need to step this up and quickly!”
Puzzled, Dedman asks, “what are you talking about, Rocky?”
Rockhopper smiles and looks at Cobalt’s Omnicom. “You know, Deds…there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about…..”
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
“My uncle?” Cobalt says confused by the wizard Romaltus’s claim as he struggles to grasp the memory fragment that is buzzing his thoughts.
“Yes, Cobaltus. I am your father Marius’s younger brother. Though you don’t remember me, we were acquainted until you were about the age of five.”
Cobalt eyes develop a distant look to them as he struggles to recall this man. Then all at once, a flash of memory comes to him and his jaw drops. Crujectra, still standing silently behind him, experiences the memory also through their soul link and smiles at the warmth of it. “U-unca…Romey?” he finally says.
“Ah, nephew…your memory is formidable! My name was one of the first few words you ever spoke. Livia and Marius were quite aghast that you’d identified me verbally well before ever uttering ’mama’ or ‘da-da‘!” And the older man chuckles at that. “You and I were quite close for a time...”
All at once, millions of questions flood Cobalt’s mind, but then he remembers why he’s here. “Romaltus…we definitely have some catching up to do…but I’m here to check on my friend Lardy…er, Anthony, that is--he’s Counselor Dru’s husband, if you don’t know.
The old man’s face darkens noticeably. “Yes, I know full well of whom you speak, nephew.”
“ He and I, well, we share some kind of psychic link, and…I’m feeling he or Dru are in major distress of some sort. I’m here to see if I can help them.”
“Oh, yes, Cobaltus. He is definitely in distress. You see--his wife is dying…”
“Dying?” Cobalt and Crujectra exchange a quick, worried glance.
“What has happened to her?” Crujectra presses.
Grimly, Romaltus recounts, “she’s been stricken by an unknown curse. We’ve been unable to affect it, despite all our efforts.”
“Please take me to them, uncle--I may be able to help!”
“For their sakes, I hope you can,” he says, then turns and beckons them to follow his lead. “This way, nephew.”
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
Dru lies unconscious on her hospital bed. Her husband is right there with her. His head bowed and eyes closed as if in prayer, he holds her hand in his and presses it against his forehead.
It is that tableau that awaits Cobalt as he quietly enters the room.
Suddenly, Dru’s husband’s eyes open wide, and he says, “Des!” even before he sees Cobalt. He stands up and gently releases his wife‘s hand and embraces his very best friend. “Thank the gods--my prayer has been answered! I…I was told there was…no way any message I would send could arrive on Legion World quickly enough for you to get here…in time…”
“Lardy, we apparently have a comm system between us that’s faster than light!” Cobalt says as they release. Making eye contact, Cobalt sees his friend’s desperation. “But we’ll talk about that later…I need to heal your wife, so the two of you can get back to the happily ever after.”
“Please help her Des…even Zerox’s best healer, Counselor Romaltus couldn’t help her…”
Cobalt starts for a moment. Romaltus is a healer? he thinks. For the moment he shakes that off. Later, he notes mentally. “I’ll give it everything I have, Lardy…and more.” And he approaches Dru’s motionless form.
He takes Dru’s right hand into both of his and closes his eyes.
Cobalt’s mind’s eye visualizes Dru’s life energies similarly to how he sees magnetic fields, as a cascade of flickering colorful wavelike forms. As he’s learned to do in this type of healing exercise, he looks for the energies that are in discord with the other ones. In this case it’s not difficult to find at all--the discordant wave, which Cobalt’s mind perceives as a deep violet shade, greatly dwarfs Dru’s harmonious green ones.
Cobalt wills his healing energy into the violet leviathon. It resists his advance, so he pushes. In response it pushes back. Fiercely.
Back in the hospital room, Crujectra suddenly rushes in and pushes a startled Lard Lad aside to reach her soul mate. Having sensed his distress from outside the room, Crujectra goes to Cobalt to give him a psychic anchor. Immediately she is hit with the backlash of the force Cobalt is facing.
Cobalt and Crujectra start to show visible persperation on their foreheads. And Cobalt’s nose starts to bleed.
Crujeckie…he telepaths to her via their soul link. I’ve never felt this before trying to heal someone--what is it?
She reaches out with all her formidable skill and telepaths back, I’m not completely sure, Cobie…but I think it’s a presence…another mind.
Another mind? Could it be some defense mechanism of Dru’s perceiving us as invaders?
I don’t think so, Cobie. Her defenses have been devastated, and I sense her own faint thoughts as a kind of background static. If there’s an intelligence resisting us, it’s foreign.
All right, Jeckie…whatever it is, I’m about to try another offensive--I’ll need every ounce of psychic anchoring you can muster…and bring Lardy in, too. His power might be needed.
Tacitly, she complies and brings Lardy in with a simple expression of her psychic mastery as he‘s a more-than-willing participant.
All right guys, Cobalt telepaths, here goes!
And Cobalt pushes with his reinforced energy into the foreign presence with the comparative force of a battering ram. The presence buckles slightly from this resolve before countering with tremendous force of its own. Cobalt’s nose begins to bleed more profusely than before, and those of Crujectra and Lardy start to bleed also.
Give me all you have, guys--Lardy, send some Lard Force through!
Lardy complies and reinforces Cobalt’s field with an expression of his considerable power.
But as their field strengthens, the foreign one does as well and starts to push back harder. Cobalt resolves to make another offensive, stronger than the others. Jeckie senses this and focuses all her will and channels Lardy’s to help power it.
But just as they are about to strike, their physical bodies are hurled backward hard into the walls of Dru’s room, stunning the trio.
“Grife--what was that?!?!” Lardy yells, staggering back to his feet as he wipes blood from his nose.
Dazed, Crujectra answers, “It was that presence…it’s definitely a mind…it did that!”
“What? She’s being possessed by someone?!?” Lardy screams in frustration. “We’ve got to go back in and kick it the hell out of there!”
Cobalt gets up gingerly. “Right away, Lardy. I’m not gonna let that thing lick me!”
The three rush back to Dru’s side. Lardy and Crujectra place their hands on either of Cobalt’s shoulders for the extra physical connection. Cobalt lays his hands on Dru, but…
“Nothing,” he says dumbfounded.
“What do you mean, Des--“ Lardy protests, “she’s not…?”
“No, not that,” Cobalt replies, “she hasn’t passed. But my power’s been…negated…by that presence. I-I can’t access my power. Oh gods, Lardy…I…I can’t do anything.”
Softly, the desperate husband can only manage a hoarse whisper: “no…”
“Nephew,” Romaltus says to his guest, “I’m so pleased you would join me after your ordeal.”
“I…hope I did the right thing,” Cobalt replies wearily. “Lardy needs some space, I think. Jeckie’s working to bring Dru out of her coma long enough…long enough for her and Lardy to speak one last…gods, I can‘t believe I failed them.” And Cobalt slumps over.
“You’ve nothing to be ashamed of, Cobaltus. I am supposed to be the foremost Healer among our community, but I wasn’t any more successful than you.”
Cobalt perks up at that. “Yes, Lardy mentioned that! How--?”
“I’ve had the gift of healing ever since I can remember. In fact I healed several cuts and scrapes, and even a broken bone or two, of a certain rambunctious toddler before I left Ggrrgg and developed the talent here on Zerox.”
“So that’s why you left? Why did my parents never mention you? Why didn’t you keep in touch?”
“Developing my talent is not even the main reason I left, nephew. Knowing Ggrrgg culture the way you do, is it difficult to imagine why I had to leave? As you know, the men of our now-destroyed world were bred to be warriors and leaders, not healers. That was a role proscribed to women, or men not able-bodied. I was considered a disgrace to our prominent patrician family, Cobaltus…laughed at, called ’effeminate’. And to be an outspoken pacifist on top of that? It’s a wonder they didn’t stone me!”
Shrugging at his dead world’s cultural flaws, Cobalt comments, “yes, it’s a wonder. I’m surprised my parents let you have contact with me.”
“Around the time of your birth, your father was the target of assassination attempts by a rival patrician family. Having a healer around at that time was considered beneficial, as you might understand, so Marius let me back into his home for a few years. But when your father finally eliminated the rival family, I was quickly cast back out. He did, however, provide me with transport to Zerox as payment. I was happy to leave, but I missed you and the bond we forged immensely.”
“It’s odd that I would end up a healer, also.”
“Is it?” the old man challenges.
“Well, yeah…I mean, I acquired that power through Elagobolus. I wasn’t born with it.”
“Perhaps, so, but I would argue that perhaps Elagobolus couldn’t have passed that ability on to just anyone! Cobaltus, I have researched our family’s bloodline and found that the healing ability wasn’t isolated to me. Having dug very deeply, I’ve found that the ability may appear as often as once in every generation. I don’t believe in coincedence, nephew. Magnetism and healing have been linked in holistic medicine--you acquired the magnetism and you acquired the healing. I’d argue that you had a predilection for both, and both are essentially the same! Yes, they are more powerful because of the ways you acquired them, but I assert that they would have manifested eventually…likely weaker than they are, but still inevitable.”
Cobalt shrugs a little. “Well, I’ve learned to never dismiss possibilities, uncle, so that certainly sounds feasible. But right now…I don‘t seem to have any power since I went against that presence that‘s possessing Dru.”
Romaltus frowns, a look of surprise paints his face. “’Possessing’ her?” he presses.
“Yes, Crujeckie detected an unknown presence within Dru causing her…condition. None of the mages have realized that?”
“…no…” Romaltus replies distantly, his expression unreadable, “…does your lady have any idea what the presence is?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Cobalt says, perking up a bit. “We informed the mages at the healing center of our findings, but they couldn't comment on how that might affect her prognosis. But…you seem moved by the news--does that mean there’s hope?”
“I’m not sure, nephew…but, nevertheless, I must speak to the mages at the Healing Center immediately! I hope you’ll excuse me as I investigate further. You understand, I presume?”
“Definitely! If this means you might be able to save her, please do!”
With a nod and a whispered incantation, Romaltus vanishes.
“All right!” the now-alone Cobalt says, fist pumping. “Maybe we'll pull this one out, yet!"
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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