Fantasy #4: Shifting Sands Part 1 (of 2)
Huey King cowered in the corner, staring up at the man before him. Everything had been normal only a few minutes ago, then he burst into the room and it all went down hill from there. After killing Riley and Bob with his bare hands, the man who called himself Blaster walked over to Huey.
“I hear you’ve been holding out on my boss. It’s not wise to take something that doesn’t belong to you. Give me the money you skimmed off the top, and maybe I’ll let you go. Either that or you can join your friends over there.”
Huey was to scared to say anything. He just pointed towards the couch. Blaster walked over to it, tearing it apart until he found the money Huey had stolen. After checking to make sure it was all there, Blaster made his way back to Huey and grabbed him by the throat.
“Remember when I said I would let you live? I lied. You’re going to be a message to anyone who thinks about messing with my boss.”
Blaster slammed Huey into the wall, shattering his skull. Blaster crushed his neck and let Huey’s lifeless body slide to the floor. He grabbed the briefcase full of money and walked out of the room, leaving three bodies behind.
“According to a police report, all three men were members of the Blood Eyes, the notorious gang that controls Riverside neighborhood. While the reason for the murder is currently unknown, police have ruled out rival gang the Dead Dogs and are questioning reputed mob boss Antonio Giovanni. When asked, Giovanni’s lawyer said that his client had no comment.”
Mac turned off the T.V. and handed Rick a piece of paper. “My contacts in the police department say that they have no idea who did this, and are just covering their backs by checking into Giovanni’s operations. Seems that this isn’t the first time this happened either. The total body count is thirteen, some Blood eyes, some Dead Dogs. The only connection seems to be that they were all Amp dealers and they were all killed the same way. By hand.”
“So their thinking someone with enhanced strength? That narrows it down. Since I got to this world, I’ve run into two bad guys with enhanced strength and an army of super strong cyborgs. Plus Duke is stronger then the average person thanks to those arms you gave him.* Who knows how many other strong guys are out there?”
“The point is, there may be a new player in town, we need to be ready.”
“You’re absolutely right, but what if Master Mage is right and Nogard** is real? Shouldn’t we be out looking for him?”
“We’ve been looking for the last two weeks. If he did make it through the portal, he’s probably of licking his wounds.”
“Have you tried the Astroplane again?” The Traveler asked as he entered the room, startling both men.
Fantasy set the papers down on the table. “I’ve tried a few times, but I haven’t found him. Either he didn’t make it, or his Psychic Signature is being masked some how.”
“Is that even possible?” Mac asked.
“I don’t think he could do it himself, but if he’s working with someone with telepathic powers, they could be masking him. Either that or someone is messing with the Astroplane. Annihilix was strong enough to cause problems. If there is someone like him messing with things, we’re in trouble. It took everything we had to defeat him in my world. With just us and Ninja Force*** , we might be in trouble.”
“Since we have no way to find Master Mage,” The Traveler said as he placed a hand on Rick’s shoulder “I think it would be wise if we practiced opening portals. The ability to travel to other worlds may be useful, but it seems that I can no longer do so myself. I will need to use your body as a conduit, and I believe that practice will help to alleviate the headaches you have suffered from in the past.”
Rick agreed, took some aspirin, and sat down facing the wall. The Traveler placed his hands on either side of his head and once again blue light shot out of the young hero’s hands, creating a shimmering blue portal.
As Rick recovered, Mac noticed movement on the event horizon and grabbed a pair of MP5s from the gun rack. Handing one to Rick, all three men took cover. Suddenly flashes of white light filled the room, blinding them. Mac began to fire blindly, but Rick noticed a familiar scent.
“Mac! Hold you’re fire!”
The light died down to reveal two beings. One, covered with brown fur, stood in an almost beast like stance while the other, wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses, held her hands in front of her.
“Rick?”
“Jasmine?”
They ran towards each other, colliding into a warm embrace. As they kissed, Mac slowly stood.
“Rick, mind telling me what’s going on?”
“Sorry Mac. The fur-ball over there is John Walker, Codename Lycanthrope. And this” He said, smiling at the girl in his arms. “Is his daughter Jasmine, Codename Lightshow.”
Mac put his gun down on a nearby table. “So, we finally get to meet the girlfriend. Been hearing about her since we met, figured we would never meet. Name’s Mac, and the guy in white over there is The Traveler.”
Lycanthrope roared as he returned to his human form, claws retracting, and fur receding, until John Walker stood in front of them, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet ya.” He said in a gruff voice.
The Traveler looked at the newcomers, confused as the portal disappeared. “I do not understand what has happened. How could they have arrived here?”
“I think I can explain that.” Rick said, placing an arm around Jasmine’s shoulder. “Same way we got Flashjack home**** and I followed Master Mage to that other dimension.***** I guess I was thinking about home when we opened the portal.”
“And when dad and I saw the portal open up, we entered to investigate and showed up here.”
The Traveler nodded his head. “That would explain it. We will have to reopen the portal soon, so that they can return, however I do not think a brief wait would be a problem.”
Rick smiled at his friend. “Thanks Traveler. I wanted to show them this world’s River City.”
As the three of them made their way towards the elevator to the mansion, a phone rang and Mac answered. After a brief conversation, he hung up.
“Looks like the guided tour is going to have to wait. My contacts just told me that there’s been a new murder. He said that he could give us a half hour to investigate before the cops showed up.”
John smiled. “We’ll give you a hand Rick. We’ll be able to cover more ground that way.”
“Jasmine hugged him. “It’ll be just like old times.”
In an isolated part on the Andes Mountains, an unsuspecting cave houses a deadly secret. Deep with in the mountains, hundreds of machines are at work, mining for material and building an army.
The industrial calm is soon broken as weapons fire erupts. Three bat like robots opened fire, chasing a human in blue. The man dove behind a rock and opened fire, sending several energy bolts into the air and hitting one of the bats in the wing, sending it crashing onto machinery.
The other two continued their chase as the ban dove into a tunnel and caved in the opening, leaving an opening too small for the robots. The man smiled as they flew away. He turned on a flashlight and walked down the tunnel, firing behind him as he went.
In a normal looking warehouse in River City, Blaster walked into the office. Inside, a man was sitting in a high backed chair, looking out the window.
“You wanted something boss?”
“I’m disappointed in you Blaster. It’s not like you to be so sloppy.”
“What do you mean?”
“”I don’t have a problem with you leaving a trail of bodies in your wake, but I at least expected you to bring everything back with you.”
“I’m not following you. I brought back your money.”
“But you left the Amp. What good is one of the most addictive drugs in the history of mankind, if I can’t make money off of it? If you want to retain your position in my organization, then I would suggest that you bring me back my drugs.”
“Sure thing boss.”
Omnicorp labs, Bayside Florida.
Charles Aday enjoyed his job. Sure being a janitor wasn’t the most glamorous job, but it gave him time to think. More importantly it gave him a chance to work near cutting edge technology. He had always love technology, and had wanted to be an inventor or a scientist, but learning disabilities kept him from getting good grades. Frustrated, he chose not to go to college, and ended up working minimum wage jobs such as this.
As he swept near some chemicals that were under development, Aday accidentally knocked one off the table, covering him and the floor. As he moved towards his cart to get a mop, Charles slipped in the chemicals. He fell, his hand crashing through the glass of a near by computer monitor.
Aday’s body shook and the lights dimmed as several thousand volts of electricity coursed through his body.
Fantasy checked his watch as they arrived at the ally. They had ten minutes before the cops arrived. More then enough time.
Lycanthrope was already using his enhanced senses to search for clues, and it wasn’t long before they found a briefcase hidden behind a dumpster. As they went to open it, Lightshow was grabbed from behind and thrown against the wall, breaking the brick and knocking her out. Both men turned to look and saw Blaster standing there. Lycanthrope began to change to her beast mode, but Blaster quickly grabbed the hero and slammed him against the wall before caving in the lid of the dumpster.
Fantasy tried to fight back, but Blaster proved to be too much for him. Blaster grabbed Fantasy by the throat and slammed him into the concrete before throwing him across the ally. Fantasy barely managed to activate his blast field in time. He quickly charges several Shuriken and threw them at Blaster, which staggered him. Fantasy charged more, but this time Blaster dodged them and knocked the young hero out with a devastating punch. Blaster standing over him was the last thing Fantasy saw before everything went black.
Fantasy opened his eyes to find himself in a warehouse, location unknown. He tried to move his arms, only to find himself strapped to a chair. He looked around and saw that Lightshow was being held the same way while Lycanthrope was trapped inside a metal cage.
Before he could wonder where he was, Blaster walked into the room.
“Here I was just hoping to get the Amp back for my boss. Imagine my surprise to find you there too. You aren’t going to escape like you did last time either. Your buddy isn’t going to show up at the last second to save the day.”
“What are you talking about? Who are you.”
Before Blaster could respond, a familiar voice was heard from the shadows.
“He’s one of the few personal guards I have left after your attack on my headquarters, an attack that took the life of my right hand man, and nearly killed me as well.”
“Like I said, who are you?”
“I’m sad you don’t recognize my voice, but then again I didn’t look like this when we fought last.” The man said as he walked out of the shadows. His brown suit and white hair gave him the look of a businessman. “I looked like this.”
As the man drew nearer, his body seemed to melt and reform it’s self. Fantasy’s eyes went wide beneath his visor as he realized whom it was.
“Super Shift!”
*--See Alliances Formed for details
**--Nogard is an ancient evil that was defeated by the combined forces of Asgard. Master Mage is working to bring Nogard back to the Earthrealm.
***--Ninja Force is the name of the team that Black Ninja leads.
****--See The Hunted for Details.
*****--Fantasy fought Master Mage with the help of Sigma Force last issue.
“I hear you’ve been holding out on my boss. It’s not wise to take something that doesn’t belong to you. Give me the money you skimmed off the top, and maybe I’ll let you go. Either that or you can join your friends over there.”
Huey was to scared to say anything. He just pointed towards the couch. Blaster walked over to it, tearing it apart until he found the money Huey had stolen. After checking to make sure it was all there, Blaster made his way back to Huey and grabbed him by the throat.
“Remember when I said I would let you live? I lied. You’re going to be a message to anyone who thinks about messing with my boss.”
Blaster slammed Huey into the wall, shattering his skull. Blaster crushed his neck and let Huey’s lifeless body slide to the floor. He grabbed the briefcase full of money and walked out of the room, leaving three bodies behind.
“According to a police report, all three men were members of the Blood Eyes, the notorious gang that controls Riverside neighborhood. While the reason for the murder is currently unknown, police have ruled out rival gang the Dead Dogs and are questioning reputed mob boss Antonio Giovanni. When asked, Giovanni’s lawyer said that his client had no comment.”
Mac turned off the T.V. and handed Rick a piece of paper. “My contacts in the police department say that they have no idea who did this, and are just covering their backs by checking into Giovanni’s operations. Seems that this isn’t the first time this happened either. The total body count is thirteen, some Blood eyes, some Dead Dogs. The only connection seems to be that they were all Amp dealers and they were all killed the same way. By hand.”
“So their thinking someone with enhanced strength? That narrows it down. Since I got to this world, I’ve run into two bad guys with enhanced strength and an army of super strong cyborgs. Plus Duke is stronger then the average person thanks to those arms you gave him.* Who knows how many other strong guys are out there?”
“The point is, there may be a new player in town, we need to be ready.”
“You’re absolutely right, but what if Master Mage is right and Nogard** is real? Shouldn’t we be out looking for him?”
“We’ve been looking for the last two weeks. If he did make it through the portal, he’s probably of licking his wounds.”
“Have you tried the Astroplane again?” The Traveler asked as he entered the room, startling both men.
Fantasy set the papers down on the table. “I’ve tried a few times, but I haven’t found him. Either he didn’t make it, or his Psychic Signature is being masked some how.”
“Is that even possible?” Mac asked.
“I don’t think he could do it himself, but if he’s working with someone with telepathic powers, they could be masking him. Either that or someone is messing with the Astroplane. Annihilix was strong enough to cause problems. If there is someone like him messing with things, we’re in trouble. It took everything we had to defeat him in my world. With just us and Ninja Force*** , we might be in trouble.”
“Since we have no way to find Master Mage,” The Traveler said as he placed a hand on Rick’s shoulder “I think it would be wise if we practiced opening portals. The ability to travel to other worlds may be useful, but it seems that I can no longer do so myself. I will need to use your body as a conduit, and I believe that practice will help to alleviate the headaches you have suffered from in the past.”
Rick agreed, took some aspirin, and sat down facing the wall. The Traveler placed his hands on either side of his head and once again blue light shot out of the young hero’s hands, creating a shimmering blue portal.
As Rick recovered, Mac noticed movement on the event horizon and grabbed a pair of MP5s from the gun rack. Handing one to Rick, all three men took cover. Suddenly flashes of white light filled the room, blinding them. Mac began to fire blindly, but Rick noticed a familiar scent.
“Mac! Hold you’re fire!”
The light died down to reveal two beings. One, covered with brown fur, stood in an almost beast like stance while the other, wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses, held her hands in front of her.
“Rick?”
“Jasmine?”
They ran towards each other, colliding into a warm embrace. As they kissed, Mac slowly stood.
“Rick, mind telling me what’s going on?”
“Sorry Mac. The fur-ball over there is John Walker, Codename Lycanthrope. And this” He said, smiling at the girl in his arms. “Is his daughter Jasmine, Codename Lightshow.”
Mac put his gun down on a nearby table. “So, we finally get to meet the girlfriend. Been hearing about her since we met, figured we would never meet. Name’s Mac, and the guy in white over there is The Traveler.”
Lycanthrope roared as he returned to his human form, claws retracting, and fur receding, until John Walker stood in front of them, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet ya.” He said in a gruff voice.
The Traveler looked at the newcomers, confused as the portal disappeared. “I do not understand what has happened. How could they have arrived here?”
“I think I can explain that.” Rick said, placing an arm around Jasmine’s shoulder. “Same way we got Flashjack home**** and I followed Master Mage to that other dimension.***** I guess I was thinking about home when we opened the portal.”
“And when dad and I saw the portal open up, we entered to investigate and showed up here.”
The Traveler nodded his head. “That would explain it. We will have to reopen the portal soon, so that they can return, however I do not think a brief wait would be a problem.”
Rick smiled at his friend. “Thanks Traveler. I wanted to show them this world’s River City.”
As the three of them made their way towards the elevator to the mansion, a phone rang and Mac answered. After a brief conversation, he hung up.
“Looks like the guided tour is going to have to wait. My contacts just told me that there’s been a new murder. He said that he could give us a half hour to investigate before the cops showed up.”
John smiled. “We’ll give you a hand Rick. We’ll be able to cover more ground that way.”
“Jasmine hugged him. “It’ll be just like old times.”
In an isolated part on the Andes Mountains, an unsuspecting cave houses a deadly secret. Deep with in the mountains, hundreds of machines are at work, mining for material and building an army.
The industrial calm is soon broken as weapons fire erupts. Three bat like robots opened fire, chasing a human in blue. The man dove behind a rock and opened fire, sending several energy bolts into the air and hitting one of the bats in the wing, sending it crashing onto machinery.
The other two continued their chase as the ban dove into a tunnel and caved in the opening, leaving an opening too small for the robots. The man smiled as they flew away. He turned on a flashlight and walked down the tunnel, firing behind him as he went.
In a normal looking warehouse in River City, Blaster walked into the office. Inside, a man was sitting in a high backed chair, looking out the window.
“You wanted something boss?”
“I’m disappointed in you Blaster. It’s not like you to be so sloppy.”
“What do you mean?”
“”I don’t have a problem with you leaving a trail of bodies in your wake, but I at least expected you to bring everything back with you.”
“I’m not following you. I brought back your money.”
“But you left the Amp. What good is one of the most addictive drugs in the history of mankind, if I can’t make money off of it? If you want to retain your position in my organization, then I would suggest that you bring me back my drugs.”
“Sure thing boss.”
Omnicorp labs, Bayside Florida.
Charles Aday enjoyed his job. Sure being a janitor wasn’t the most glamorous job, but it gave him time to think. More importantly it gave him a chance to work near cutting edge technology. He had always love technology, and had wanted to be an inventor or a scientist, but learning disabilities kept him from getting good grades. Frustrated, he chose not to go to college, and ended up working minimum wage jobs such as this.
As he swept near some chemicals that were under development, Aday accidentally knocked one off the table, covering him and the floor. As he moved towards his cart to get a mop, Charles slipped in the chemicals. He fell, his hand crashing through the glass of a near by computer monitor.
Aday’s body shook and the lights dimmed as several thousand volts of electricity coursed through his body.
Fantasy checked his watch as they arrived at the ally. They had ten minutes before the cops arrived. More then enough time.
Lycanthrope was already using his enhanced senses to search for clues, and it wasn’t long before they found a briefcase hidden behind a dumpster. As they went to open it, Lightshow was grabbed from behind and thrown against the wall, breaking the brick and knocking her out. Both men turned to look and saw Blaster standing there. Lycanthrope began to change to her beast mode, but Blaster quickly grabbed the hero and slammed him against the wall before caving in the lid of the dumpster.
Fantasy tried to fight back, but Blaster proved to be too much for him. Blaster grabbed Fantasy by the throat and slammed him into the concrete before throwing him across the ally. Fantasy barely managed to activate his blast field in time. He quickly charges several Shuriken and threw them at Blaster, which staggered him. Fantasy charged more, but this time Blaster dodged them and knocked the young hero out with a devastating punch. Blaster standing over him was the last thing Fantasy saw before everything went black.
Fantasy opened his eyes to find himself in a warehouse, location unknown. He tried to move his arms, only to find himself strapped to a chair. He looked around and saw that Lightshow was being held the same way while Lycanthrope was trapped inside a metal cage.
Before he could wonder where he was, Blaster walked into the room.
“Here I was just hoping to get the Amp back for my boss. Imagine my surprise to find you there too. You aren’t going to escape like you did last time either. Your buddy isn’t going to show up at the last second to save the day.”
“What are you talking about? Who are you.”
Before Blaster could respond, a familiar voice was heard from the shadows.
“He’s one of the few personal guards I have left after your attack on my headquarters, an attack that took the life of my right hand man, and nearly killed me as well.”
“Like I said, who are you?”
“I’m sad you don’t recognize my voice, but then again I didn’t look like this when we fought last.” The man said as he walked out of the shadows. His brown suit and white hair gave him the look of a businessman. “I looked like this.”
As the man drew nearer, his body seemed to melt and reform it’s self. Fantasy’s eyes went wide beneath his visor as he realized whom it was.
“Super Shift!”
*--See Alliances Formed for details
**--Nogard is an ancient evil that was defeated by the combined forces of Asgard. Master Mage is working to bring Nogard back to the Earthrealm.
***--Ninja Force is the name of the team that Black Ninja leads.
****--See The Hunted for Details.
*****--Fantasy fought Master Mage with the help of Sigma Force last issue.
posted by R.C. at 8:17 PM
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