Eve Of The War http://www.focusgaming.co.uk/eveofthewar/ |
|
Killraven: 2520!!! http://www.focusgaming.co.uk/eveofthewar/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1417 |
Page 1 of 1 |
Author: | Xuxa the White [ Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:44 am ] |
Post subject: | Killraven: 2520!!! |
May 3rd, 2520. New Brunswick, New Jersey, America: one can see the ruins of the ancient megalopolis in the background. In front, one can see grass, three street lights and an abandoned and ruined levicar. Not too far away, there are some people a- round a fire. More in the foreground a black man is sitting on an abandoned levicar, examining one of his bladed weapons. Sud- denly he hears footsteps approaching him. It turns out to be two men, one a red haired man of importance and the other one, blue, red and white armored and huge... The man realizes that the twosome are his friends and allies and he addresses them as they stop before him. As they stop, one can see the ruined ci- tyscape behind them; the city's buildings are crumbling and look like the casualty of war...a titanic one of cosmic proportions. "Where have you two been?" the black man asks the 'disparate' twosome. "Oh, you know--off saving the world." "Again?" the black man asks almost incredulously. "Llallitay, again!" answers the armored man. "Really, guys are you okay? Did you get lost or something?" he queries the disparate twosome. "Well, we ran into some Martians--" the red-haired man began. "And we exterminated them!" the blue and red armored man fi- nished... His blue chest armor seems to have some energy pro- jector in the chest; and under it was a stylized S in white and red, pentagonal in shape, surrounding the energy projector. The spangenhelm and its faceplate is blue with two sharp "horns" po- king above the eyes. The faceplate is also equipped with sharp, serrated red insect mandibles that are fully functional... The eyeslits glow a ferocious crimson. His armored limbs are blue with red gauntlets, red boots and red armored 'trunks'. The black man appraised the disparate twosome for a second... The man was born normally enough, but the Martians had turned him into a killer cyborg who was artificially aged...to the po- int that he was fully grown by age 10. However, the Martians' programming of him never really took. As a result, he was far more humane than the Martians were... He seems to have a huge, third, vertical eye in his forehead...that is a 26th dimension- al photonuclear annihilator beam array, designed to destroy any flesh, most Martian alloys or Federation polymetals with equal ease. He knows; he has turned this weapon on many a Martians' 'lazzi' or 'latti' (as the Martians call their slave-lackeys)... and he has even turned the array on a few Martians! Finally the killer cyborg turned hero answers. "Naturally." The redhaired man answers back: "And we met a girl..." "A girl? I hope you didn't kill her too!" the black man half- quipped. The red haired man looked down on the ground glumly. At this, the giant armored man answered for him. "We devoutly hope not...it would be a tragedy if we ended up doing so. You see, she is a relic of the past...from hundreds of years ago, long ere the United Federation of Planets was ev- er born and long ere the Martians ever threatened us...or even existed...as such..." The red haired man, is the leader of the group; a group call- ed the Freemen. His armored companion is known as Superman... he is a superhero. The black man is also a Freeman named Ogord M'shulla Scott. The red haired man and his armored ally tell their story to Ogord. The red-haired man is known as Killra- ven, Warrior of the Worlds. Superman is a Hero...a Martian bio- reconstruct mark II mutant along with several others who decid- ed to fight alongside Killraven and his freemen. "Being this close to New York makes me think of my father and mother which always makes me feel restless ... so yesterday, I set out on my own to do a little hunting. I was just looking for dinner: a rat-- a rabbit-- a deer-- something -- anything. Soon after, Superman flew up to me with some warning. He had noticed a Martian tripod...alone. He pointed it out to me. I had that super-sixgun around that Superxuxa gave to me, ...so I decided I would give it a little test run. It was 734 fathoms* away, so I aimed through the holographic telescope, aimed at a forward 'knee' and fired away. * a 'fathom' is six feet. !!!VOOOM!!! A direct hit on its near leg! Superman and I were very happy with the results. It probably was not the smartest move--since we know that Martian tripods, quinchu saucers, ringwings or gun- ships almost always travel in packs of three. I suppose that I let my bloodlust get the better of me. However, Theodegisela-- Superman suddenly tapped on my shoulder and warned me of anoth- er tripod...ready to fire. Every now and again you get a good look around you, everything comes into perfect focus, and you realize that you are not where you want to be... Fortunately, Theodegisela grabs me and flies me to safety just as the tripod fired on us with its superlaser and three projectile maxiguns. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! "!!!OOOWAAA!!!" Sometimes...attacking a seemingly 'easy' and "soft" target is not the smartest of moves--but sometimes I cannot help myself," Killraven explains. All I know is that a ruined levicar explo- ded behind us...and I would have been dead if Superman had not put up his forcefields. I still have my super-six gun and Theo- degisela takes it from my hand and blasts the tripod that just fired on us. !!!VOOOM!!! !!!VOOOM!!! !!!VOOOM!!!--CR-R-R-R-RUMPHHH!!! The super-sixgun's mag-lev slugs hit the tripod's saucer sec- tion in the join between its stalked superlaser and one of its triple cockpits, blasting it down. The giant tripod made quite a splash as it crashed backwards onto the polycrete. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the result and Superman was al- so pleased of course. I could easily tell by his Martian vic- tory cheer. "!!!AAAAAALLLOOOOOO!!!" Anyway, I was surprised to see tripods in this sector, even though Theodegisela warned me that Martians can be very mobile. All of their machines can fly...even their tripods, you know. Well, we had looked around pretty thoroughly before we pitch- ed a stealthed camp; we had not found any previous indications of Martian activity; were they scouts, I wondered? There would have been a dozen more Martian machines of various kinds wait- ing for us right over the next hill..." Killraven explained. "Indeed. That second Gachupin's tripod took quite a spill-- stumbling on its way down; it took out a large ruined building and tore up a huge part of the street," Theodegisela explains as he lifts the mask of his 26th dimensional Superman armor... He is a bio-reconstruct mark II mutant, he is blonde, beautiful, and would look like the most beautiful of women in face, body and limbs...only that he is over seven feet tall, has twin two and a half inch long poison fangs in his upper jaw, the savage strength, coordination and swiftness of 10000 men and the giant potential of a man to match. He has none of the built-in vul- nerabilities of a normal human...and he is a renegade Martian! He is a Martian rebel who had totally opposed his people's in- vasion and conquest of Earth! Both Killraven and Theodegisela walk up to the fallen tripod; Theoda scans for any life signs, any signs of danger from a ven- geful enemy but the Martian Gachupin, (or 'Spur Wearer' as the Martians call themselves) operating the tripod is dead--to both Freemen's relief... Theodegisela's slugs had entered the tripod and then ricocheted down into the cockpit, killing her instant- ly by blasting open her head. She hadn't even time to scream! Theodegisela flies over to the tripod to see if there is any Martian technology and ammunition he could glean from the wreck. While Theoda does so, Killraven goes over to the hole made by the gigantic Ultima/Fin Fangr Foom-style tripod. As soon as Theodegisela grabs whatever he can use, he notices energy readings emanating underground. He realizes that it is something unique, something hidden from the Martian invaders. "Killraven, look! There's an ancient buried Airthaimanni la- boratory that the tripod's fall has uncovered! It's still op- erating after all these centuries; how, I do not know! I can sense it with my sensors!" Superman exclaims in surprise. "I will open the magnetic lock; it will be as nithing for me here. Let us see if we can find anything in that old lab that is usa- ble to we Freemen, niu?" he finishes, jovially enough. "By the way, KR, I just found lots and lots of ammo from the tripod...some of it hyperatomic! I also found a negative po- larity mag-lev rifle, two huge pattern welded obsidian bronze bowie knives...with fossilized Mastodon Ivory scales on the hilt and a super-sixgun!" Theodegisela exclaimed with a savage glee. "I also got some good equipment, food supplies and a good zero- point energy reactor for we Freemen to use!" he finished. "Good! Thanks to you we will be able to hold our own and be- tter that!" Killraven replied to his Martian companion. "Going over the debris, we were pleasantly surprised to find that indeed the tripod had uncovered the underground laboratory. And Superman was right! It was a live, fully fuctioning anci- ent lab--its controls no doubt preset on auto. Once he had o- pened the magnetic lock, we walked in. The ancient fluorescent /LCD lights were still working after all these centuries! As I slid down the ruined polycrete to the now opened lab, and Super- man flew in, we realized that it was in perfect condition even though Theoda claimed that it was from the late 21st century." "Oh, Killraven, wait until my Great Grandfather Hilderic sees this!!! This is a little more than a century beyond from when he was born you know!" Theoda told Killraven excitedly. Per- haps we will even find something from around 1955, the year Gre- at grandpapacha Hilderic was born!" he half joked. "Indeed, Superman!" was Killraven's awed answer. Everything was still running, probably on power from solar pa- nels safely located miles away. Theodegisela has found such pa- nels before and got them to work again, giving us electricity. He and I scrounged around to find out what we could find of use to us. Surprisingly, there was almost no dust in that lab. But everthing in the ancient lab was simply far too old--perhaps as much as four to four and a half centuries out of date, by our guess. The computers were obviously too archaic for us to use as well as the equipment visible there. No one has been in he- re for centuries. Everything was so archaic...and primitive! I saw what looked to be 8-track Isolinear chips and ancient CDs. One of the ancient CDs had the logo and title "Yes" on its co- ver. Superxuxa, Xolay, Hilderic and others had told me and o- thers about such ancient Earthling technology. In fact, Xolay and Hilderic were born in the 19th and mid 20th centuries re- spectively on Belmount and Earth. As I was looking at that ta- ble and archaic chair, Superman called out in some agitation. "Killraven!!! Look! There are twenty five strange and very archaic hibernation tubes here and there are twenty four corp- ses...and one live woman. The surviving woman is a blonde ha- ired White woman who is hibernating ... but alive and well and after over four centuries to be exact!!! From the look of it, the rest of the capsules were destroyed in either the First or the Second Invasions from Malacaandra--Mars!" Theodegisela whis- pered with astonishment. "There, all the way to the far right end next to that ancient mainframe quantum computer! The hibernation tube is in working order...let's see if we can awaken her safely, before my rogue conspecifics find her, niu?" Superman grabbed me and floated us over to the intact tube... As Superman had stated, the body in the last tube seemed intact and undamaged... "Let's wake her up, Theoda," Killraven suggested. "I am there, KR!!" Theodegisela answered. He stared at the ancient controls, scanned them with his comptronics systems and saw that they were still workable after all the centuries that the ancient systems have been working. After much gentle trying, Superman and I managed to open the crystal cocoon which had been shut away from the outside world after all these centuries. Theodegisela worked the controls of the ancient hibernaculum and finally got her to slowly revive. According to Theodegisela's 26th dimensional armor's onboard sensors, the woman had only the fantest hint of a pulse but her body was warm; she was alive...and well! Soon, her heartbeat sped up enough for me to safely take her from the tube. Her basal heart rate sped up as soon as I removed her unconscious body from the tube. "Good! She is alright! KR, you carry her out of here whilst I seal up this ancient Earthian laboratory so that it may not be discovered and disturbed... I will guard your back in case the rogue Martians should show up again." As I began to carry her out of the ancient laboratory, she began to revive and make a sound: "MMM--" She was alive and well; I had to get us both back to camp as Theoda secured the ancient lab. He felt that the lab might make a future base of operations and he did not want the Martians or their Earthly lackeys to discover it. Anyway, we had to get back to our ba- se camp--around that dead-end laboratory, we would be nothing more than sitting ducks once that third tripod finally showed up...as it must. We had strayed further from camp than we ev- er wanted. The sun was going down, so I figure that the safest bet would be to find some shelter and wait until morning befo- re the three of us could safely return to camp. If the Martians had seen Theoda carrying us both to the camp they would most likely try to take or even kill us. We walked until we found a ruined building with decent enough cover and an ancient sofa. Superman used his repulsors to clean, deodor- ize and disinfect the ancient sofa for the girl to lie on. As I watched over her, Theodegisela found firewood and lit the fi- re with his unibeam assembly of his 26th dimensional armor... SKREEEEEEEK! Soon we had a small, warm fire to keep us comfortable. Theo- da, of course, being a Martian, did not need a fire, but he was glad to have it for the young lady. All was peaceful despite seeing all the ruins of buildings all around us. With Theode- gisela around to guard us, I felt pretty secure about us. When the young woman came to, she tried to speak, but her bo- dy had remained silent for far too long. She gripped her throat with her right hand and tried to speak, but could not. Theoda and I gave her some rehydrating solution of Martian design and make to rehydrate her--after which she quickly nodded off again. Theodegisela took a soft woolen blanket from one of the various compartments of his 26th dimensional Superman armor and draped it around her to keep her warm. For many hours she slept and rested until it was almost dawn of a new day. Both of us took turns sleeping as the other wat- ched for Martian tripods...or worse. We were both scanning the horizon for the attack that we both knew the still flaming campfire might bring when we both heard her voice. "Uhhhhhhnnnn!" "Killraven!!! She awakens!!!" Theoda whispered urgently. To her: "Are you all right, milady?" As I turned around she speaks. "Wh-what year is it? The date--" she asks, anxiously. "It is May 2nd, two thousand, five hundred and twenty," I an- swered. "What?!? 2520?!? It should be 2500!" she started. "2500? That's when the Martians invaded Earth. How long we- re you in that tube?" "Did you say 2520? We overslept? No -- it can't be--wait--" She suddenly started. "--Did you say Martians?!?" she started. "Yes, Martians," Killraven said, gravely. "Indeed, milady!" Theodegisela gravely stated. "They return- ed to conquer Airthai--Earth in the year 2500." "Returned?!?" the young lady replied, stunned. "Llallituy! Returned! They were here before with their hy- persophisticated and superior technology and defeated Earth and the United Federation of planets easily enough, but they were unable to defend themselves against the "Oxygen bomb" that the Terrans and Federation developed to destroy them... They with- drew and vowed to return," Theodegisela stated, sadly. "What!?! Listen, fanged lady, who or whatever you are, that is "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, back in 1896. If you a- re going to pull my leg, try to be a little more original than that!!! That whole routine might have worked back in 1938 for Orson Wells, but that is just crap. Besides the first civilian Mars colony was founded in 2075!!! That was one year before I and twenty four other friends of mine went on our long sleep--" "Look, lady we are telling the truth!" Killraven interrupted. "After they invaded Earth in 2485, Mankind--the United Feder- ation of Planets chose to fictionalize and "rationalize" away the whole encounter because the truth was just too terrible to face--that their first planetary colony almost destroyed Terra and the Federation!" he finished. "United Federation of Planets!?!" the woman exclaimed. "Indeed, milady! They stated that it was some biological pla- gue and that the fires and destruction were caused by people dy- ing and not being able to stop fires caused by accidents. The United Federation of Planets hushed up the whole thing and fed us this sthondat-begotten crap at the point of a phaser rifle!" Theodegisela stated, with vehemence. "Most of those who tried to tell the truth about the Invasion, disappeared..." Theodegi- sela finished. "Tsk-- That part is so typical I can almost believe it... Al- most... Look, either, I am dreaming or the tubes never worked and I never went into hibernation." the poor girl quipped. Did Tommy put you two up to this? I love the armor...and the holo- graphic projection...it makes the girl seem much bigger and with fangs! And, how do those metal arm things bend anyway?" the wo- man kept on flippantly asking. "Memory metals are still not all that easily available to we hoi-polloi--even in 2076, you know." "Uh, they're a Martian alloy," Killraven answered. He conti- nued on: "Look, we're telling you the truth; you are now in the year two thousand, five hundred and twenty A.D. It's May 2nd. This is now your world. I suggest you stand up and take a good look at it." "May 2nd? That's one day after May first, a major U.S. holi- day!!! Why would you pull such a prank on me like this on..." She froze and looked all around her; she saw the ruins of a fu- turistic city...but they were nothing but ruins as far as the eye could see. The now rising sun added a coda to the ruins... a horible coda! "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed in pure terror and shock. Theodegisela walked over to the very distraught woman and put his armored arm around her shoulder. After a few shocked min- utes of staring at the futuristic, but ruined cityscape, she be- gan to find her voice. She pointed to the now rising sun and asked: "Where are the o- thers? Did they..." The look in my eyes...and those of Theodegisela told her the sad truth... I walked up to her and put my arms around her as well, to try to comfort her. Theodegisela gently caressed her blonde hair as the poor girl cried in my arms. After a few mi- nutes, we began to discuss things about her previous life befo- re waking up in this present day horror. "Why were you in that tube along with the others?" Killraven asked. "We--my chums and I were very upset at the state of the world and we decided to take matters into our own hands," she said. "I along with 24 others went into that tube on July 7th, 2076 -- a century after Watergate, Vietnam and other defining events of the previous century. As the 20th century turned into the 21st century, things only got worse... The Patriot acts I, II and III were passed along with the so-called "Homeland Securi- ty" acts and further restrictions of our Constitutional free- doms and civil liberties...we lost our rights to have and bear arms freely, we lost our right to free speech and free assembly along with even the right to eat and drink what we desired and needed, even if the government said it was "bad for us..." We also had the right to read...and learn about what we wanted to taken from us. In short, we were slaves to that government. We protested a space program that was as limited as the ori- ginal one developed over a century before. Finally, in 2075, the first Mars colony was founded in Utopia Planitia... Only then, did our government admit that Mars was a habitable world for man. Only then did they admit that life not only existed, but was very, very common on Mars. NASA also admitted for the first time that Mars had a breathable if denser atmosphere than Earth. Like I had said, I went into that tube after all of the lies that America then stood for... That, and a tricentennial that celebrated 300 years of American Independence turned to slavery and hypocrisy, we figured that things...were only going to get worse unless someone took a stand and did their best to move A- merica...and the world towards the truth... Heck, in the late 20th century, we had Gerald Ford, a member of the notorious War- ren comission in the White House... They were responsible for the murder of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy back in 1963, a year of infamy... They blamed the murder on a patsy named Lee Harvey Oswald and had him murdered to hush up the truth. They did their best to make JFK a leftist martyr and bury our dreams like they did his body...In the early 21st century, we had the "patriot Acts" I, II and III along with "Homeland Security" and their horrible extentions along the years. In 2020, we had the first race megariots when blacks began to burn their own slums down all over the country... The horror lasted for ten years, off and on. No thanks to them, we lost almost all of our Con- stitutional rights. This led to the poor and downtrodden being herded into "shelters" that supposedly protected them from op- pression...but in reality led to more oppression to both White and black as well as Asian and Latinos. In 2032, a rare and heroic Black man named Gabriel Bell led the movement to free all people from the slavery of the "shel- ters." His movement succeeded even though he, himself was mur- dered by the thugs protecting the powers that be. But in his natal San Francisco, he had started a real movement of freedom that would lead to the restoration of the Constitution of Ame- rica." the young lady stated. "Gabriel Bell, I know that name," Killraven stated. "Thank God for that!" the young lady replied. She continued her discourse: "Unfortunately that movement for freedom almost died in 2053, where we came the closest ever to World War III. Fortunately, for the world, at the last minute, a nuclear holocaust was averted. Unfortunately, this near miss with disaster began to lead to the erosions of our freedoms a- gain...and things just got worse. The only bright spots were the first faster than light travel in 2063, by Zephran Cochrane using the world's first warp engines, the meeting of the Tkhasi race and finally the civilian Mars colony in 2075--along with NASA's belated admission that Mars was a living planet, habit- able to man and with a breathable atmosphere... Gilbert Levin, Richard Hoagland, MicroMike of Marslife.com and Holger Isenberg were finally vindicated and acknowleged at long last. Anyway, those were the only bright spots for us just before we went into the hibernation tubes. The U.S. government did its damned best to bury our dreams along with the Constitution and Bill of Rights...However, we were going to wake America up to the fact that it had innocent blood on its hands--and that things had to change," the young lady stated with some vehemen- ce. "Professor Carroll's plan was to gather the twentyfive of us, his students at Rutgers University and together we would go in- to these hibernation tubes that the university had been experi- menting with. As a supreme gesture of protest, we would give America--and the world--424 years to get its act together...or else." "Or else what?" Killraven asked. "If there were twenty five of you, why did you not simply take up arms and start a rebel- lion, a revolution against the powers that be?" A small cadre, if led properly--" "Are you kidding?!? Besides, that would lead nowhere! Don't you know anything about passive resistance, ala Gabriel Bell?!" the young lady queries Killraven. "Passive resistance? Where I--and Superman here come from, being passive makes you a slave and...I am going to die a free man, thank you! Theodegisela here would agree even more!" Theodegisela nodded grimly. "Listen, missy, I don't ken too much about these peacenicks, but the rogue Martians destroyed Earth's culture, most of its knowledge and its history was turned to ash!" Theodegisela in- terrupted. "Whatever happened between 2076 and 2500 was made irrelevant by the rogue Martian ex-colonists turned conquerors during the One Night War on August 20th, 2500... It took them only eight days total to finish the conquest and turn Killrav- en's and your dreams...and mine to ashes! Is that not reality enough for you, niu?" he asked sadly and grimly. He continued: "They had spent years planning the Second Wave invasion of Air- thai! They somehow built bases under almost every university campus on Earth. One day, on August 20th, 2500, as I have ex- plained, they came up from all the universities of the world, turning the darkness of the night bright, blinding any view of the stars. They came up with 26th dimensional machines of des- truction, missy! They came to conquer! Within a microsecond of the Martians erupting from the camp- us of San Francisco State University, the first launching po- int of the Second Wave Invasion, the weapon stockpiles across the globe had been obliterated, without a single Terran hyper- atomic device having been fired, let alone dropped on them!!! That was because when the Martians were losing the First War of the Worlds in 2485, they put hidden self-destruct hypera- tomic explosive charges 1n all their weapons, ships and tech. All they had to do was activate the 26th dimensional fractal crypto-codes and VOOOM!!! Nii more Martian weaponry for Air- thaimanni to use against the Martians in a possible future in- vasion, let alone what happened in 2500. The rogue Martian ex-colonists believed in "clean" death, o- ne that affected victims and not the environment of Airthai. They tried to kill as few Flatlanders as possible during the initial assault, since Flatlanders were needed to grow food-- especially the best foods on Earth; these foods were consider- ed an epicurean delight, tasty delicacies for banquet occasi- ons. They did not desire indiscriminate carnage; rather they preferred their meals prepared properly, with the right season- ing. In short, they wanted to enslave the Earth, because the Earth had wanted to enslave them and take Mars' abundant reso- urces and transport them back to a resource-starved Earth. They used some Airthaimanni for other purposes. During the initial crap that occured as part of the process of taking o- ver the former Homeworld of the United Federation of Planets and changing the status quo, they confined much of the scien- tific community, gave them the title of Keepers, and had them perform laboratory experiments on food plants and animals for the benefit of the Martian Gachupins ... or "spur-wearers, as they call themselves. It seems these days that they will ro- wel anyone they please. Some Airthaimanni were turned into hunters, with the appro- priate title, 'Exterminators', given to their function. Con- quest was completed in just eight days, milady!" Theodegisela stated with anger. "My own people had turned from a peaceable people to a sla- ver society by Earth's conquest...and it wasn't until many ye- ars after the conquest, a rebellion began, a small but potent force that came to be known as The Freemen. It was a ground- swell movement, looking for a leader. The first leader of the rebellion was and is my own grandfather, Superxuxa. He brought his wife, Iron Man and other at-large Superheroes and began the first wave of real revolt. Our pride was looking for a leader. And eventually, it found one. Him! A Warrior of the Worlds!!!" Theodegisela stated as he pointed an armored finger at Killraven. "Did you two ever read or hear about us, "Carroll's crusad- ers?" We even had a press agent and everything," the young la- dy asked and stated incredulously. "No, I'm afraid. What's a press agent?" Killraven queries. Superman began to tell Killraven: "A press agent is--" "Ah, man! You're just bumming our my whole life; This stinks to high heaven!!!" she interrupted Theodegisela. "We were sup- posed to give America--Earth until the year 2500 to get its act together...maybe not a dawning of a new age of peace, love and harmony in 2500, but perhaps a chance for something better than what I left!!" she half yelled, lifting up her arms and clench- ing her fists in anger. "The Martians attacked in 2500..." Killraven chimed in. "And it looks like the world went backwards from there," she replied. "As good Theodegisela here told you, Earth was grabbed by the throat and dragged backwards. They erupted from all of the ma- jor Universities of the world...and enslaved the planet in one night!" Killraven stated with vehemence. "Indeed, milady! One night was all it took...for the Martian Gachupins to take over the capital world of the United Federa- tion of Planets!" Theodegisela added, needlessly. "Wow, Martians... I can't help but picture little green bug- eyed aliens. What do they look like?" the young lady asked. "They look much like you, myself and Killraven here ... they are descended from humans and Ovions." "Ovions?!?" I though the 1987 visitation of the Ovions was just a hoax." "Nii, they are real...I am part Ovion, milady," Theodegisela stated. "Do you think I will see a Martian, you two? That is besides the one friendly one...you are with?" she asked, tremulously. "Oh, you'll see one soon enough, I'm sure," Killraven answer- ed. "By the way, what's your name?" Killraven asked. "Alice..." the young woman stated as she looked down on the floor of the ruined house. "Alice Hancock..." she added. "I'm Killraven and this is Theodegisela... He is a Martian, but he is fighting alongside we freemen, since he opposes the Martian occupation of Earth. He has saved my neck countless numbers of times." ""Killraven"? "Theodegisela?" And I thought "Moonbeam" was a goofy name," Alice stated with considerable surprise and as- tonishment. "So, you fight the "Martians"? Alice queried. "Yeah, with everything we have got!" Killraven answered, mat- ter of factly. "The group of warriors I lead, the Freemen are fighting to liberate America and our homeworld from the Martian rogues who conquered it. I have been fighting the Martians my whole life. Theodegisela here has been fighting them almost as long as I have lived. For different reasons, both Theodegisela and I are not going to rest until we take the war to their pla- net...until Mars--Malacaandra in their tongue...is soaked with blood--rogue Martian blood..." Killraven states as he steeples his hands and looks at Theodegisela, thoughtfully. "I too have my reason for taking the war back to Mars; I want to make the Incredible Hulk herself pay for all the crimes ag- ainst Airthai and the Martians who wanted peace between the two worlds. "What'll that prove?!? Why don't you just get them off Earth and be happy with that? Alice said, spreading her arms. "Hey, Earth is presently under their control--enslaved. The only life I knew growing up was that of a slave!" Killraven an- swered. "Also, for me there is a different reason. I was born on the planet Mars--the volcanic regions of Olympia Mons to be exact... and I want to return one day...but the only way I will ever do that is to help Killraven not only throw them off of Airthai... but to bring the War of the Worlds back to Malacaandra--Mars!" Theodegisela said with vehemence, baring his poison fangs at A- lice and Killraven. "Have you tried negotiating with them? In some way they must be amenable to reason--they were Earth's first interplanetary co- lony, you know--" Alice said, sincerely enough. Killraven and Theodegisela could not believe their collective ears, to put it mildly. "You can't negotiate with the rogue Martians!" Killraven half yelled, clenching his right fist in anger. This display of an- ger was enough to make Alice lean back in shock. Killraven then walked away from her and stopped at the ruined window to stare at the ruined cityscape. "The rogue Martians have nii feelings! To them we are all as expendable as cattle or lab rats, lady! Take it from me, I've seen my rogue conspecifics act on that premise about us plenty of times... That's one thing about me, I always keep to reality at all times..." Theodegisela reproached Alice. "Alice, can you imagine what living under the threat of slaug- ter feels like?" Killraven asks. "As a matter of fact, I tried to imagine that once...it's what made me become a vegetarian," Alice said, somewhat naively. Killraven turned back towards Alice in surprise, while Theode- gisela gave a half-strangled groaning scream of shock. "Oh, Guths in Himmelung!!!" Theodegisela groaned. "Now I ha- ve heard and seen everything! A vegetarian! Listen lady, any meat that we can find is food for the Warrior--Martian Gnard or Airthaimanni. We are a pride of foragers and vagabonds... we don't have the time for the niceties of vegan cuisine; that dis- appeared in 2500! I can live off the zero point energy of the universe, thanks to my 26th dimensional Superman armor, but my friend, Killraven, and most of the rest of the freemen must eat whatever they can find--animal or not! Just ask the Paeec Ov- erlords who have overrun Airthai! Urrr!" "Look, Alice--Mars took over when I was a baby. My parents hid out with a good doctor for six years in New York City...... that is, until the New Yorkers tried to revolt against the Mar- tians. Then the Martian Overlords cruelly suppressed the re- volt, killed the good doctor who protected my parents, my older and now late brother Joshua and myself... and enslaved both Jo- shua and myself. They killed my beloved parents, separated me from my brother,...they put a high tech leash on me, gave me a number, the number 655321 to be exact...and treated me like a wild, rabid dog. The Martians then experimented on me and cut open my mind--and then for their infernal amusement, they threw me in the arena to either die or fight my way to victory... I was forced to kill other enslaved kids who had become my fri- ends... 'Killraven' is the name I was given there, by the Mar- tians. The world opened up to me and revealed its true natu- re... It was as if God Almighty reached down from heaven and squeezed me in his Almighty fist, turning me into a fierce shi- ning blade of obsidian bronze of intent," Killraven stated. "Because of that, I am here to kill--Kill!--KILL!!!" Killra- ven stated as he remembered the times he was in the Martian a- rena, killing other Earthmen for the Martian Gachupins' plea- sure and amusement, hearing their cheering. Theodegisela could see the unspilled tears in Killraven's ey- es as he told Alice his story. Alice interrupted Killraven by asking: "have you ever had a lover?" "Yes...my wife in fact... Her name is Volcanu Ash...she was mutated by the Martians in one of their...infernal experiments. She is now looking for her surviving sister, Melonie..." "Have you ever been loved by any besides your wife and fri- ends who are with you? "Yes--my father and mother loved me." "Where are they now?" Alice asked, naively enough. "They are dead. They were killed before my very eyes by the Martians. It happened in 2506 just after the rebellion of New York City; they were killed by Martian minigun bursts. They were killed in New York City before my very eyes as a Martian Overlord whom I later learned was Theodechilda Ryker, grabbed me by the back of my shirt with his armored and barbed glove. I wore their spattered blood on me for days; my Martian captors wouldn't let me change. I had to wait days for a clean set of clothes until I met Theodahad Spiller-Lo, an aldr Elite of the Martian Select Forum. She became my owner and personal trainer. My brother was separated from me by a certain Miuxa Saunders... who is also a Martian Overlord." "That...that's all so terrible," Alice stated as she put her hand on Killraven's left shoulder. "You--must be overflowing with nothing but rage--" Killraven turned and looked at Alice for a moment, his eyes brimming with tears. Theodegisela put his hand on Killraven's other shoulder with compassion. "I...have tried to teach Killraven to not feel overwhelmed... but it is difficult for myself as well...to see my race do such horrors to this world makes me ashamed...to be a Martian..." "Theodegisela, did they ever do any experiments on you?" Al- ice queried. "Nii! They were more interested in capturing me and seeing how my 26th dimensional armor ticked. It is a derivative of Martian/Ovion technology you know... But Killraven here was most definitely experimented on...and horridly brutalized, ask Killraven." "Killraven, when the Martians experimented on you--what did they do to you? "It was actually Federation/Terran doctor--supposedly the man was a traitor to Earth and the United Federation of Planets... but I later found out that this was not true at all. He was working for the Martians who tampered with me and countless o- thers...supposedly. However, he had a secret agenda, to find a way to destroy the Martians. Although he was controlled by the Martian Sirens--Martians who had the power to mentally con- trol Earthlings and thus could not rebel by himself, he opened a door in my brain and psyche that has since allowed me to re- ach out and enter a Martian Master's mind. Only a Martian Mas- ter's mind because of their much greater facility with telepa- thy," Killraven explains to Alice. "There is no rhythm...to its occurence. Sometimes, I am able to initiate it, other ti- mes I am its hapless victim... One time, earlier this year, I entered the mind of my owner, Theodahad Spiller-Lo and tried to control her...but she detected me and gave me such a mental at- tack and beating, and it was such a nauseating experience, that I dread repeating it..." Killraven finished. He then took off his headband to show Alice where he once had his forehead...and skull cut through. "The Martians cut through my skull without any form of anes- thesia...for a long time, I had a scar here...until my friends Desslok, Superxuxa, Iron Man and Superman here restored my skin over my forehead." "That must have been some scar!" Alice said, putting her left hand to her mouth in apprehension. "You have said it," Theodegisela stated. "That is why I wear this golden headband of Martian origin... that Theodegisela gave to me. I may not have the scar now... but I still wear it because I don't like to be reminded of it." "Maybe...I don't know, exactly how...but maybe you could use this ability of yours to touch--to connect--with a Martian mind and maybe bring this war to an end? Perhaps you can find some new peace through a greater understanding of each planet's peo- ple..." "Do you know what would happen if I tried to extend my hand in peace to a rogue Martian?!? That would be..." Suddenly Killraven's and Alice's conversation is interrupted in the most chilling way. "!!!OOOWAAA!!!" Theodegisela screamed in alarm... Suddenly, as the two turn around, a Martian tripod fires its superlaser at them. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! The flash is overpowering, and had not Theodegisela Ciulluni put up his armor's forcefields to protect the conversing duo... they would have been disintegrated in a microsecond. The third tripod!!!" Killraven shouts as Alice turns around and looks upward. The Martian tripod stands over three hundred feet tall and is aiming at all three...with its superlaser atop a long filament upon its saucer section. It aims again, this time, aiming its "mouth" and "eye" gatling projectile maxiguns at them as well! "I'll handle this!!!" Theodegisela shouts as he unlimbers his super-sixgun at the enemy... The tripod fires all four of its weapons at the disparate threesome! SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Again, the superlaser and gatling maxigun blasts are deflect- ed by Superman's forcefield. He extends the three long tenta- cles from a circular port in between his armor's shoulder bla- des and fires a trio of repulsor blasts at his enemy. The en- ergy exchange between Superman and the Martian tripod is stag- geringly savage to say the least! SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! He then waits until the tripod has put most of its weight on back third leg and then he fires his super-sixgun, sending a quartet of armor piercing slugs at the right leg of its trio of legs and its "mouth" gatling gun as it fires yet again! !!!VOOOM!!! !!!VOOOM!!! !!!VOOOM!!! !!!VOOOM!!! Two of the blasts hit the right leg and two of them blast the inside of its "mouth" gatling gun. The tripod loses a leg and begins to collapse on itself, the Martian woman inside screaming in frustration and defeat as the front of her tripod explodes. "!!!OOOOOOOOOLLLAAAAAAAAA!!!" The tripod crashes with a titanic bang as its two "eye" gat- ling cannons are still firing at the fantastic rate of a thou- sand shells a second, each. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--CCCRRRAAASSSHHH!!!-- !!!VOOOM!!! "THREE!!!" shouts Theodegisela as the flaming tripod crashes to the ground, in a huge cloud of flaming dust. "Well that's the end of that pride of tripods!" Theodegisela states with satisfaction. "The only Martian that is left is me, myself and I," Superman quips. He then activates his span- genhelm and flies up a dozen feet to see what is happening. Don't be so sure of yourself Superman, you, Killraven and Alice are about to receive a rude awakening, a very rude awakening in- deed! Two minutes later: While Theodegisela is still up in the air, scanning for yet more Martians, both Alice and Killraven hear something--or so- meone climbing up the partially broken masonry where the still intact window is, where Killraven had been. Theodegisela sud- denly screams out an alert as that someone climbs over the ma- sonry... It's the Martian pilot of the fallen tripod, and she is beyond furious! "!!!OOOOOOWAAAAAA!!! Look out!!!" Theodegisela warned, ur- gently. "The sthondat of a Martian traitor isn't dead!!!" Suddenly, the Martian appears over the windowsill and she is staring straight at Alice, Killraven and Theodegisela, with fe- ral intent!!! She leaps down before them as poor Alice real- izes this and the poor lady screams in abject terror, her fists clenched near her face, her face in a rictus of extreme fear. "!!!AAAAAAAAA!!!" The Martian Warrior bares her twin poison fangs and pulls out twin bowie-style obsidian bronze sword-knives from sheaths that appear as if from the very dimensions...then she begins twirl- ing them around in a beyond-skilled way as she advances on both Alice and Killraven. It is quite plain that the lovely, angry blonde Martian Warrior intends to kill Alice--first, and then Killraven and Theodegisela as the poor woman from 2076 is froz- en to the ground with fear... Somehow, Alice notices that the hilts of both of the angry Martian woman's bladed weapons are made of fossilized Mammoth molars...that is, before the lovely but deadly Martian Warrior twirls them around far, far, far too fast to see! Killraven quickly runs up to Alice and pulls her away from her Martian nemesis before she can get close enough to murder the poor defenseless Alice. Meanwhile, Theodegisela suddenly cuts all power to his armor's gravitic impellers. He crashes down to the broken ground as he pulls out his 26th dimensional super-sixgun again... He immediately fires before the Martian Warrior can throw one or both of her deadly blades at the very frightened Alice, Killraven or the hovering Superman... !!!VOOOM!!! With one shot, Superman kills the Martian Warrior, before he even lands. "!!!OOOOOOOOOLLLAAAAAAAAAA!!! the lovely, but deadly Martian woman screamed in her swift death throes as she is blown back by the shell. One of her blades goes into the ground right in front of Alice and the other slams almost completely through a torn up wall... Theodegisela telepathically cycle's back his spangenhelm, his long blonde hair flowing freely in the breeze, his lovely mutant face is a rictus of victorious fury. "!!!YALA-I!!!" Theodegisela screams in victory...his bright, pure white and long poison fangs in his upper jaw flashing! Killraven goes on with his story: As soon as Theodegisela's super-sixgun obsidian bronze pro- jectile ripped through the Martian woman's heart--the psychic shockwave unleashed by the knowledge of her inevitable death-- shot through me like a bolt of lightning...or a hot superlaser blast. It gripped my consciousness...and pulled me right into the center of her demonic soul and spirit. She was dying, and I was along for the ride--just as I had--so many times before. I could see the very angry face of Theodegisela and the fright- ened countenance of Alice... I could see both of them via the Martian Warrior's eyes and tympanum; I could also sense the wo- man's tears as she lay, shattered and dying. With the Martian woman's death rattle, I was back in my own body. I was exhaus- ted and frightened. Theodegisela walked over to me, picked me up off of the floor of the ruined house--and asked me if I was all right. "Killraven! Are you all right? You were very badly shocked this time!" As I was gasping for breath, in Theodegisela's armored arms, Alice asked a very loaded question. "What--who was that...woman?!?" Alice asked tremulously. "That woman--is...was a Martian!" Killraven shakily answered. "Oh my God!" she gasped in shock. Y-you two were telling me the truth. You said--the other tubes--" "All of them were wrecked, milady... Yours was the only one still working after all these centuries," Theodegisela stated, sadly and compassionately. "Nooooooo... Every now and again you get a good look around you, everything comes into perfect focus, and you realize that you are not where you want to be... And I don't want to be he- re. This is not my world," Alice moaned as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands under her chin. "You can't go back--this is it!" Killraven states, matter-of- factly. "No!!!" Alice cried, covering her eyes with her hands in des- pair. "I don't belong here! Put me back into the tube!! You two said it was still working--put me back!!!" Alice demanded. "But--that thing is almost four hundred and fifty years old-- who knows how long it will work. It might kill you!" Killraven remonstrated with her. "I don't care!" the sobbing woman exclaimed. "Just bring me back to it! It's my life--my choice! You do believe in free- dom don't you?" Alice asked, plaintively. "Killraven...she's right, you know!" Theodegisela gently in- terrupted. Killraven looked at Theodegisela and then back at Alice, wonderingly. Killraven looked back at both Theodegisela and Alice and just silently nodded. He realized that both Alice and Theodegisela were right. Theodegisela walked over to the now dead Martian Woman and looked at her for a moment. After that, he used his unibeam's tractor beam to pick up the woman. He flew her a couple hun- dred fathoms away and used his repulsors to excavate a hole in the ground and bury her deeply. He then used his tractor be- ams to cover the Martian Warrior and disguise the gravesite. His next thing was to quickly pick up the dead Martian's fi- ne battle blades and claim them as his own. He suddenly saw an obsidian bronze 'wallet' that must have fallen out of the waistband of the Martian's pantyhose. As he looked at it, he found out it was a 26th dimensional 'wallet' filled with all kinds of Martian/Ovion weaponry... it was a huge find for him and the Freemen as well. Superman then robbed the fallen Martian tripod of any ammu- nition and supplies that he could take from it. He then tho- roughly destroyed the "eye" gatling guns and the stalked sup- erlaser. That done, he used his tractor beams and the three long tentacles that he mentally extruded from a circular port right between his armored shoulder blades; he then activated his gravitic thrusters and quickly moved the now-ruined Marti- an tripod about 1800 fathoms in a different direction so that Alice and Killraven would not be found... Finishing that, he used his clean fields to obliterate all traces of the Martian Warrior's blood and flesh from the place. At that, Killraven nodded at Superman as the Martian super- hero relit the fire with his unibeam assembly on his chest ar- mor. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Superman began pulling food pouches from a container in his 26th dimensional bio-chemech armor and began preparing a meal for the three of them. He had pulled some special food items that he was saving for an important event of some kind, but he knew that they had all gone through Hell today...especially Al- ice, of all people. He managed to get Alice to eat some of the special food, af- ter gently coaxing her, but she was crying most of the time in sheer mental agony. Not long after, she cried herself to sleep in Theodegisela's arms as I lost track of myself, staring into the fire and the remains of our special meal, set up for Alice's benefit. Des- pite Theodegisela's protection of us all...it was the longest night I had faced in a long time. Killraven's thoughts went back to the beginning of his short but tortured life. He knew that he had been born only a few months before the Second War of the Worlds in the year 2500... He remembered his babyhood, and him growing up with his father, mother and older brother in New York City under the Martians. He remembered his mother and father hugging the both of them in affection. He remembered the futile and failed revolution of the New Yorkers under the Martians. He remembered the Mar- tian Bairserkers hunting down escaped Terrans as they attacked New York for the second time in six years and how Killraven was saved, along with his family from them by a Terran who had so- mehow gotten hold of a Martian Super-sixgun. He also remember- ed being holed up with his family and the good doctor who had saved them--Dr. Carver, one of the few true Caucasians left on earth. After a lull in the fighting, they all went out to see if a Federation shuttle was coming towards them to rescue them; unfortunately, it was filled with Martian Warriors who had cap- tured it. Dr. Carver was the first to fall in a Martian Mini- gun blast, followed with Killraven's mother and father as they tried to flee with their children. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! As Killraven's thoughts went on, he remembered his capture at the hands of two Martian Overlords and his subsequent meet- ing with his new Master, the High Overlord Theodahad Spiller- Lo, who personally trained him in the Martian/Ovion fighting arts so that he could be her personal gladiator. He remember- ed the huge armored fist of Theodechilda Ryker as he grabbed his prey with his left gauntlet...by the poor boy's shirt. He remembers back when he tried to escape the gladiator pits only to be punished harshly by his Martian Master, Theodahad Spiller-Lo... She beat him badly and then wrapped his wrists with thick, heavy chains and then personally dragged him to a Martian laboratory to torture him yet more...mainly mentally... It was she, herself who cut open his forehead and his mind as well with strange, Martian equipment, smiling as she did so... She especially smiled when the strange-looking instruments o- pened the skin of his forehead, leaving him in incredible pain. Theodahadus had also forced him to kill other boys and girls like him in Gladiatorial games for her and her fellow Martians' infernal amusement and pleasure. Only when he was set free by the likes of Superxuxa and Iron Man could he wreak his vengeance. He personally speared a Te- rran trainer of his to death. The trainer had been brutal as any Martian Overlord, so he had deserved his death. Soon after, he was introduced to the rest of the freemen, who were fighting the Martians...Superman...War Machine...War Mach- ine II, the escaped killer cyborg Ogord M'Shulla Scott and oth- ers. His mind goes back to the time in Washington D.C. where the High Martian Overlord, Berengarius Spiller-Lo-Houston tried to kill him and capture the super-powered members of his Freemen. Killraven would have been slain by the Martian Overlord herself, but for her own husband, Sam Houston-Spiller-Lo getting between him and her, preventing her from disintegrating him with a blast of photonuclear radiation. He knew that Berengarius could not and would not hurt her husband, so she was thwarted from her go- al. Killraven remembered the huge 26th dimensional bio-chemech armor that Berengarius wore...the cruel barbs, the sharp serrat- ed insectoid mandibles on her giant spangenhelm, the cruel "eye- brows" on her helm, spiked and sharpened wickedly to points. He remembered the huge, staring orange-red 'eyes' of the armor and the wicked fangs, that seemed to grin in a carnivore's grimace, just above the two insectoid mandibles. The "nose" of the armor was three curved slits in the obsidian-bronze faceplate... In fact, the faceplate even had two 'horns' jutting upward just li- ke Iron Man's, War Machine's and Superman's. Everything about that bio-chemech armor was done to exploit men's deep seated and hidden fear of insects, strange creatures and monsters. Sam Houston-Spiller-Lo, her husband hated that horrid 15 foot tall armor, because it was all that represented Martian vengean- ce and hatred of most all things Terran/Federation! Killraven then pondered Skara Hauberle-Huajojo, who was the controller of the robot Skara. Skara's robot was a mockery of the human form with a huge "eye" that functioned as both an op- tical device and a photonuclear annihilator. Xolay later de- stroyed Skara's robot after it killed both T. Hawk and Grok. Killraven then thought about his absent wife, Volcanu Ash, who was a normal woman mutated by accident by the Martians. As he longingly thought about his wife, he remembered what both Alice and his Terran friend, Claude Wischermann-Spiller-Lo, the hus- band of the Martian Overlord Khlodovekh Spiller-Lo Wischermann had to say to him about the possibility of peace. He saw him- self as an older man holding the hand of Berengarius Spiller-Lo- Houston in mutual peace. He wondered if there could indeed be a real peace after twenty years of mutual hatred. Hadn't Theo- degisela and Filliperta sided with him even though they, them- selves were Martians? If two Martians could decide to help Kill- raven free Humanity from their conspecific's grip, maybe there could be peace between Earth and Mars! He suddenly envisioned himself petting Berengarius' ears as she petted his, in friend- ship. Killraven then looked at Theodegisela who was holding a now- sleeping Alice in his armored arms. he realized that Theodegi- sela could have joined his Martian conspecifics and enjoyed a place of very high rank and honor amongst them--yet he chose to endure hardships and side with his people's most wanted enemy! Killraven felt humbled by that thought. And with that thought, he realized that Alice had to be respected; if she wanted to go back to that hibernaculum in that ancient Terran laboratory, he must respect her wish! Killraven explains what happened next to his friend, Ogord. "By dawn's early light, both Theodegisela and myself had made up our minds...so we took her back to the ancient cradle of her expectations." "We felt that it was necessary to honor the poor woman's wish- es, Ogord! How can we talk about freedom... if we do not res- pect the wishes of others," Theodegisela chimed in. The cyborg looked at both of them with shock. "What?!? That foolish girl must have put a spell on the both of you fellers!" Ogord exclaimed. "We have to go back and get her!!! What if someone else or...even worse, the Martians find that ancient lab. We'll be doing the poor girl a favor..." Nii, nist, Ogord. As Killraven and myself have stated, if we are ever going to be truly free, then we must respect the free- dom of others... Her life is hers and hers alone...and so are her choices," Theodegisela replied, gently but firmly. "Ogord, Theoda and I want Earth to be free--and not just from the rogue Martians. After all what this world has been through, I think we all deserve it...and Theodegisela here wants to then go back to Mars to overthrow the rogues ruling it...and restore it to what it once was...a place of safety, beauty and peace." We led Alice back to the lab where we found her; Theodegisela removed the fallen tripod and took it miles away. He then used his tractor beams and repulsors to fuse the ancient road back to what it once was. Once done, we led her back to her tube and laid her back where we found her. Everything was checked by Theoda and was found to be in working order... Finally, he attached a 26th dimensional power module and comptronics chip to the tube's systems, integrated them and pronounced the sys- tems to be better than before. Everything worked perfectly so ...we put her in and covered the cocoon with its crystal cover ...so she could sleep...until things drastically improved here on Earth." Theodegisela cuts in... As we laid Alice in the hibernaculum from the late 21st cen- tury, she took off a platinum ring and gave it to Killraven... Then she drew a small pouch, rummaged through it and gave me a lovely gold, red diamond and platinum pendant." "Here, I want you to have this." she said to Killraven, refe- rring to the fine platinum and red diamond ring. "And to you, Superman...this pendant...both of these were my mother's...and I want you to remember me in your struggles to be free." "Okay," Killraven said. "Llallituy!" said Theodegisela. "And I want you two to do me a favor... Remember, you two, probably more than anyone else can connect with the Martians. Don't let that gift go to waste, you two." "Killraven--what did your mother and father call you? "My parents called me Jonathan." "Good bye Jonathan,"Alice said. Killraven bent over, took her head in his hands and gently kissed her on the lips. At that, Theodegisela began to shed tears for both. Superman...Theodegisela ... do you have a Terran name?" she then asked Superman. "Llallituy. I was once called Ted... But after I became a bio-reconstruct mark II mutant, I chose the name Theodegisela." "Do you still love your mother?" she asked. "Llallitay...I still do...and I know that she still loves me --even though we now fight on opposite sides in this horrid War of the Worlds...she the Martian Overlord, me the Freeman." Theodegisela...you are a true Superman come to life... Since you are a Martian...you may have the very best chance...to end this war peacefully. By the way, what is your father's name? It's Troila," Theoda answered. And I will do my best to try to reach my conspecifics. If I can...I will try to do the sa- me on Malacaandra--Mars. Perhaps one day, our two worlds will be at peace again...Guths only knows..." Theodegisela Ciulluni then bent over and gently kissed Alice on her lips. At that he put a small module in her hands. "This is a spare Superman suit of 26th dimensional bio-chem- ech armor...I hope you will never have to use it...but once I activate it for you...it will be a backup in case this cocoon should fail you. If we are gone from this world when you emer- ge... promise me that you will be the next Superman. All that you need to know and do will be given unto you." Theodegisela pressed a button on the module...it flowed over her and then seemingly disappeared as it flowed over her and then into the 26th dimension. "If we should fall...if the Martians...if my fellow Martians should destroy all and you be found...fight for our Justice!" Theodegisela then shut the crystal top of the cocoon as Ali- ce quickly went to sleep...for God knows how long. "Good night Alice," Killraven said. "Gods dags and gods nachts, Alicius!" Theodegisela said. He then walked with Killraven to the ancient door with its magnet- ic lock... They both looked at Alice and the lab for the last time and then Superman sealed the magnetic locks. He picked up Killraven and flew him to the street level. Finally, Superman finished disguising the whole area, put a Martian/Ovion stealth- ing field pod on the magnetic door and activated it. After all that, Theodegisela picked up Killraven, activated his stealth fields, and flew up a little... He then activated his clean fields to get rid of all traces of the threesome ever being there. After that, he sealed up the street to remove all traces of activity there and activated his stealth fields. He then flew himself and Killraven to their base camp and met up with Ogord, the renegade killer cyborg turned Heroic Freeman. Upon arriving, they told him their wonderous and frightening story. "Well Ogord, by dawn's early light, we decide to take Alice to the cradle of her expectations. "What?!? That foolish young woman must have put a spell on the both of you! We have to go back and get her!" the former Killer Cyborg exclaimed. "What if someone else, or even the Martians find her? We'll be doing that poor woman a favor..." "No--if we're going to be free, then we must respect the free- dom of others. Her life is hers, and hers alone...And so are her choices," Killraven answered. "Ogord, we want Airthai to be free...and not just from the Martian rogues... After what this world has been through, I think we all deserve it. And after we liberate Airthai, my homeworld of Malacaandra is next. Theodegisela/Superman sta- ted. "My first goal--after the liberation of Airthai is the reconquest of Olympia, the home province of my birth on Mars. Then the rest of the rogues on the rest of Malacaandra are to be my next targets...that way, this will ensure that our pla- nets will be at peace at long last..." Theodegisela explained to the cyborg and also to Killraven. "Do you believe in fulfilled dreams, Ogord? Alice Hancock had a dream that she was willing to die for and to fight for. She wanted to do this without violence, if possible." Super- man asked. "My question to both of you is this: will the Second War of the Worlds ever end? Will we ever find some peace?" Killra- ven asked both Heroes. "I think so and believe in dreams too.. I have broken my Martian programming and have come to see you all as family... but then I'm about to become a father... so I believe that I |
Author: | Xuxa the White [ Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:46 am ] |
Post subject: | |
"I think so and believe in dreams too.. I have broken my Martian programming and have come to see you all as family... but then I'm about to become a father... so I believe that I must believe in that," Ogord replied. "How about you, tough guy? How about you, Supes?" "I don't know. There's a lot of hate in this world. De- feating at least some of it may be tougher than even the ro- gue Martians," Killraven replies. "Part of me would like to get my claws on every possible hy- peratomic device and drop them all on the rogues who have per- verted our Racial Honor, you guys! Fighting hate and anger and my titanic rage may be far more difficult than overthrowing the rogue Martians' rule. Mars--Malacaandra is a world of beauty, and I would hate to see it ruined... Had they merely overthrown Terran rule of the 24% of my world that the United Federation of Planets, I would have sided with them and been content to li- berate that part of my world. But my Racial conspecifics went too far by conquering Airthai... Airthai--Earth, was--is very depleted in resources... while Mars is still brimming with re- sources to this day... We truly needed nithing from Airthai... except to be left alone! That would have been enough for my- selfe and most others. Unfortunately, many otherwise good Mar- tians were seduced by the likes of traitors like the Incredible Hulk, Mentallu/Fixer/Fireprand and other Martian supervillains ...... It was they who seduced many former Superheroes of Mars to turn against their own!" "Ogord, Theodegisela...if we ever get to Mars, if we get to take the war back to their homeworld--I can count on you both to be by my side, right?" "Llallituy, Killraven! I am with you!" Superman answered. "Uh, sure...yeah. Wow." "What's the matter, Ogord?" Killraven queried. "In all our years of fighting together, and all the times I have heard you and other talk about going to Mars, I've never once have heard you use the word "if"..." Ogord stated "Neither have I...and you know that that is one of my main goals...to free my own homeworld and restore Justice and Mercy and Faith and Decency." At that, Killraven looked at the platinum ring that Alice ga-' ve him with consideration. He thought long about both Ogord's and Theodegisela's thought on the War. "Well..." Killraven stated. "... I guess there is a first time for everything." Theodegisela looked at Killraven's ring, the ruined landsca- pe all around him and then up in the sky at the planet Mars it- self. He wondered if there would be peace between him and his estranged family, those that have long invaded and conquered Earth, twenty years before. He finally looks at a late 25th century building of Martian design that is still perfectly in- tact and ponders it. Perhaps it will be a safe place to stay in, since the Martian rogues deliberately spared it. "Perhaps there is, Killraven, Ogord! Perhaps there is!" Su- perman stated. By the way guys, I see that my grandpa, Xuxa is about to cook lots of beans...well, in my armor is a big flitch of maple bacon...this will flavor the beans mightily. Let's go and present it to Attay Xuxa and Nanai Rotharius shall we? I got it from the last Martian tripod. Then we shall eat and eat well!!!" With that, the threesome joyfully return to the camp. FIN |
Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC |
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |