PART I
By:
Jason stared at the
three men. “Uh…what’s going on, Skull?”
Skull reached into
one of his uniform’s pouches, removing a small black box. Depressing the red button on the side, Skull
barked, “Clearly state your full name!”
“What?”
“STATE YOUR FULL NAME!”
Jason frowned and
was taken aback by the order. Still, he
spoke slowly for the Defenders Commander.
“Jason Lee Scott.”
The small black box
beeped. Skull took it and placed it in
another black box that Jason didn’t notice before. It was about the size of a portable safe, a
slot on top for the black box. When the
black box was settled in, multicolored panels on the front blinked for several
seconds. A bar of red lights beneath the
panels lit up, from left to right. When
it reached the last light (which blinked green), a voice from the box
activated.
“Voiceprint identity confirmed.”
Skull nodded and
motioned for the other Defenders to put down their weapons. He looked at Jason for a moment before
breaking into his trademark grin. “Hi, Jase.”
“What the hell was
that all about!” Jason asked, confused as all hell.
“I’m here to give
you your Senturion.”
“My
what?”
“Your
Senturion,” Skull repeated, balancing the bigger
black box on his left hand while opening it with his right. Inside the black velvet-lined box, two blue
cards rested. One of the blue cards held
his picture while the other one looked similarly like a credit card.
“Go on,” Skull
said. “Take ‘em.”
Jason reached in
and took the credit card first before grabbing the picture one. He stared at the credit card.
“This is your Senturion credit card,” Skull explained, pointing to the
appropriate piece of plastic. “You have
a direct credit line to a special Thunderstryke bank
account. You can charge almost anything
you want on it, nothing is outside of reach.
You have a cash withdrawal limit of ten thousand dollars.”
Jason stared at the
card and then looked back up at Skull.
“Ten?”
Skull nodded. “The other card is your security badge. You’ve got Alpha-4 Priority Clearance
wherever you go. Basically, you can get
into any building under Thunderstryke Enterprises
banners.”
“Awesome!” Jason said and then cocked his head towards
the guards. “Why them?”
Skull looked at the
two guys and then smiled. “Oh? Them? They’re just for effect!”
Jason chuckled and
shook his head.
The serpentine
alchemist slithered up to his master, lowering his head in a deep bow. “What issss your bidding, masssster?”
Ruzan
stared at the holographic viewscreen near his
head. “This city has seen a new dawn.
The people feel safe under the bright rays of their sun. Remember how we defeated the weeds on Fernovia?”
“Yessss, my masssster. By depriving the plant-people of the nourisssshing rayssss of their ssssun, they were eassssily
conquered.”
“Indeed,” Ruzan
agreed, standing up. “We shall employ the same tactics but for a
different effect. Ingrained in all
humans is a fear of the dark; the mystery of the unknown grips their hearts in
terror. We shall encase this city in
darkness, driving the populace into a frenzy as their
imaginations run wild. When they are
suitably terrified, we will make their nightmares come true!”
Prima and Vhund nodded their heads from their positions nearest the polished
ebon-marble conference table. Lloyd MacPherson coughed violently and kept quiet, as well.
Ruzan
motioned for Iaxious to stand. “Send Daemonite Fright Knight to Earth. Have him target isolated sectors of the
city. Once we have drawn out those accursed
Power Rangers, a legion of my Darklings with attack
them, led by you Vhund. Do not fail me again.”
“I will not, my
liege,” Vhund promised, clenching his fist in
affirmation.
Iaxious
slithered over to wall. Upon his
approach, an amber light blinked on, casting its illumination over the
wall. Within the wall, several small
alcoves were carved out, each alcove bearing an ornate badge of onyx and
ruby. Scripted beneath each alcove was
some form of ancient language. Iaxious glanced over each badge, located one near the
center and removed it. Turning to Prima,
he held the badge up.
“I have it, Prima,”
the alchemist hissed. “Usssse your power to make him whole.”
Prima held up her
Wrath Staff, pointing the glowing orb on its end at the badge and fired a bolt
of energy. It struck the badge which Iaxious tossed before him.
The badge split, each half growing larger and expanding upwards. When the energy wash stopped, a seven foot
monster stood. He wore darkened armor,
covering his slimy crimson skin. An
ornate headpiece covered his face whilst the badge that birthed him shrunk and
attached to his chest. It pulsated with
energy, arcing out with dark lightning and coalescing into a double-bladed
saber.
“Most excellent,” Ruzan
nodded in approval.
“Master,” Fright
Knight said, kneeling before Docor Ruzan. “I will not
fail you. This city will be yours.”
“GO!
BRING ME THIS WORLD!”
Fright Knight stood
up, held his saber above his head and disappeared from his master’s sight.