Fantasy #6: Party Crasher

Finnegan’s Bar

“Lighten up Rick.”

“Yeah, You’ve been moping around for a week, ever since Lycanthrope and Lightshow went home*.”

Rick took a drink before setting the Guinness bottle on the table. “How am I supposed to act? After eight months of no contact with home, after adjusting to life here, I get to see them, get a chance to go home. What if you got a chance like that Mac? What if you’re wife and kids showed up one day and then left again?”

Mac sat in silence for a moment before answering. “The difference is you got to see them again. That’s never going to happen for me. I’m never going to see my family again, not in this life anyways.”

An uneasy silence fell upon the table for several minutes before Duke broke it.

“Look, with the lives we lead, we have all have to make sacrifices. That may mean leaving loved ones behind, not living normal lives, or even giving our lives. If we let the difficulties of our lives get to us, then we can’t do our jobs efficiently. If someone like Master Mage or The Hunter were to show up right now, would we be in any shape to fight them?”

As if on cue, the wall behind them exploded and the Hunter walked through the opening. Mac and Rick looked at Duke before all three looked at the Hunter.

“Do you have some sort of precognitive abilities we don’t know about?” Rick asked.
“Nope. Just good timing.”

“Damn.” Mac said, draining his beer. “I was going to ask you for next week’s lotto numbers.”

“So what do you think he wants this time?”

Fantasy drank the last of his Guinness before charging the bottle. “For some reason I don’t think he’s here for a beer. You guys get the civilians out of here, I’ll take care of Elmer Fudd.”

As Duke and Mac directed people towards the door, Fantasy threw the beer bottle at The Hunter and charged him, plowing shoulder first into The Hunter’s stomach and into the wall behind them.



Our Lady Of Hope hospital, Bayside Florida

Charles Aday lay in bed, machines helping him to breath. The only sound in the room was the tick of the clock, the beep of the heart monitor, and the whooshing sound of the respirator.

The doctors had done everything they could to keep him alive after being electrocuted two weeks ago. He was lucky to be alive, even if it was thanks to the machines that fed him and helped him breathe.

A nurse walked in to check on him, as she had countless times. As she wrote down something on her chart, Aday began to glow green. The glow grew until she had to look away. Suddenly the light disappeared and the heart monitor flat lined. Concerned, She looked at the bed, but Aday was gone.



The Hunter and Fantasy stood toe-to-toe, trading thunderous punches as they fought to gain the upper hand. Hunter grabbed Fantasy’s arm and threw him over the bar before firing energy blasts at it, trying to hit the hero. Fantasy managed to activate his blast field in time and returned fire, throwing several more charged bottles at the murderer.

Fantasy leapt over the bar and dove towards Hunter, who knocked him aside effortlessly before charging at the hero with a sword. Fantasy rolled out of the way as Hunter struck. Summoning his sword, Fantasy blocked another blow, sparks flying as the two blades met.



Darkness covered the River City Zoo as three men climbed over the brick wall surrounding it. They crept through the darkness, making their way towards the birdhouse. As they walked through the insect area, they stopped. One of them, Michael Brown, took out a notebook.

“What’s the name of this bird we’re looking for?”

“An Irish Fairy Wren”

“Why the hell does the boss what us to get that?”

“I don’t know, but it’s suppose to be really rare. Maybe he’s planning on selling it on E-Bay.”

As the two laughed, the third called them over to one of the displays. Michael shined his flashlight on it and recoiled in fear as his friend laughed.

“Afraid of spiders Mike?”

“You guys know I am, not lets get out of here and find that bird.”

Still laughing, the men pushed Michael towards the display. He lost his footing and fell, sending his hand through the glass. As they continued to laugh, one of the spiders sank its fangs deep into the back of Michael’s hand. He screamed in pain, and his screams became louder as a pair of spike like growths emerged from the back of his hands. He swung at his partners, barely scratching them. Their laughter stopped as they stated to make choking noises.

Both fell to the ground, dead. Michael looked at them in horror before running away, his flashlight illuminating the name on the display; Atrax robustus, the Sydney Funnel Web Spider.



Fantasy and The Hunter continued their battle; each blocking the other’s swings as the sound of swords clashing filled the room. As the tow once again locked bladed, the Hunter flew to the side, the result of a sidekick from Black Ninja.

“Just like old times I see.” Hunter said as he stood. “I’m going to finish what I started back in Gennora!**”

Black Ninja started to laugh. “If I remember right, we kicked your but and sent you packing in Gennora.”

“That won’t happen again!”

The Hunter opened fire with energy blasts as Fantasy stood in front of Black Ninja, his blast field protecting both of them. Fantasy could feel the field weakening with each blow, but he had a plan.

“Duke, Keep him busy for a bit. I have an idea.”

Duke launched his fist at The Hunter before launching a barrage of punches and kicks. Hunter easily blocked each blow and knocked Black Ninja through the bar. Before he could fire at the ninja, Fantasy grabbed his arm and threw him into a table, which he had charged. The explosion sent Hunter flying, and both men started throwing shuriken at the killer. He stood as the shuriken bounced off of him. Hunter fired an energy blast at both men. Black Ninja dove out of the way as Fantasy’s blast field barely protected him.

As Hunter concentrated on Fantasy, Black Ninja grabbed a rag and a bottle, making a Molotov Cocktail. He threw the makeshift explosive at Hunter, causing it to explode and set his back on fire. As Hunter screamed in pain, Fantasy grabbed a chair and charged it up before smashing it across the killer’s face. Hunter fell to his knees, clutching his face. As he turned to face Fantasy, the hero could his face plate had been damaged, revealing the left half of his face.

Before Fantasy could launch another attack, The Hunter hit a button on his wrest and disappeared.



The trio left before the police arrived. Driving back to the mansion, they sat in silence most of the way until Mac asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“So why do you think he was there?”

“Well, last time he showed up he was targeting mutants. Maybe he was after Rick.”
Rick shook his head. “No, that isn’t it. Last time we faugh him, I tried to read his mind, to see why he was killing all those people. I couldn’t because of his armor, but tonight, when I destroyed his face plate, I got through.”

“So what was he doing there?”

“I don’t know, he escaped before I could find out. But what ever it was, he was scared.”


*--See last issue
**--Fantasy and Black ninja last fought The Hunter in the Hunted, which took place in Gennora

Fantasy #5: Shifting Sands Part 2 (of 2)

“You seem surprised to see me hero?”

“A little. I thought Mac took you out with that rocket.*”

“An I would have perished in the crash, if it hadn’t been for my powers.”

“Shape changing saved your life?” Fantasy said with a laugh as he looked at his friends. “This should be interesting. What did you do, turn yourself into a giant turtle?”

“You’re funny hero. I might keep you alive; make you my court jester when I reclaim my throne. But there is more to my powers then simply shape changing. Several months before you attacked me, your government tried to have me killed, and would have succeeded if it hadn’t been a blood transfusion from a young mutant in my employ. The blood transfusion had an interesting side effect. I was able to not only use his appearance, but also his powers, giving me the ability to breathe under water. After jumping from the helicopter, I took on his form and used his powers to survive. I swam to safety and changed into the pilot before passing out.”

“Um, excuse me, but how is that possible?” Lightshow asked, confused. “Metamorphs return to their true form when knocked out.”

Super Shift laughed. “That may be true for most metamorphs my dear, but I am far from average. While all shape changers alter their cells, mine retain their memory, allowing me to retain my shape whether asleep or awake. The only time my true form will be reveled is if I choose, or if I am dead.”

“How about you let us out of these cages and we make that happen” “Lycanthrope growled as he continued to try changing.

“I’m not nearly stupid enough to do that. Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend too. I will kill you when I return, in the mean time, Blaster is more then willing to destroy you with ease.”

The heroes continued to struggle to break free as Super Shift walked away, laughing.



A hidden base in the Andes Mountains.

A virtual army of robots cowered in fear as their leader roared in anger. The large white robot stood before his throne, the head of a destroyed minion clutched in his hands as sparks flew from it’s body at his feet.

“This is unacceptable! First Mixar escapes, and takes with him a part of my ultimate weapon, and now this slave destroys three of my Soldiers and escapes as well! Robat! Stand before your master!”

A robot slightly larger then the recently destroyed one kneeled before him. “Yes Master?” He said nervously.

“Robat, your troops failed me twice already. Anyone else and I would have destroyed you by now, but I will give you one last chance. Take your soldiers. Find Mixar and this cyborg. Capture them if possible, destroy them if necessary, and bring me the weapon.”

Robat stood. “It will be done Master.”

Summoning a group of bat-like robots, Robat lead them out of the caves, in search of their prey.



In the warehouse, Lycanthrope and Lightshow continued to attempt to break free while Fantasy remained motionless, smiling.

“Smiling ain’t gonna help you escape kid.” Lycanthrope said, panting

“Don’t worry John. Just saving my strength for when I break out of here.”

“And how do you plan on doing that? I know you have a lot of powers, but last I checked one of them isn’t super strength.”

“That is because I know something you don’t.”

“And that would be?”

“You’ll find out when Super Shift gets back. I want him to see this too.”



The Oceanview Observatory.

Normally a rather quite place, tonight it is full of activity as the scientists hurry to check their calculations. After several minutes, one of them walks into an office.

“Dr. Reed! Your estimates were correct.”

A gray-haired man put down his coffee cup and sighed. “I was afraid of that. Contact the president and meet me at the airport in one hour. How much time do we have?”

“Two months sir.”

“Then I hope the president listens to us, because if he doesn’t, River City is doomed.”



Blaster stood and smiles as Super Shift returned. “Still trying to break free I see. Apparently your Neanderthal friend wasn’t able to rescue you this time.”
“So what are you going to do this time Shifty?” Fantasy asked, smiling. “Tie us to train tracks again?”

“I admit that my last attempt to kill you was a bit overly dramatic, but this time it will be so very simple. I am sure you know what this is.”

Fantasy watched as Super Shift picked up a syringe from the table. “Amp. You’re going to make it look like we overdosed on Amp. You had to resort to buying drugs to kill us. I’m disappointed in you Super Shift.”

Super Shift laughed. “Buying? Who needs to buy Amp when you are one of the largest producer’s of the drug in the United States.”

“So you went from trying to take over a country to selling drugs. You just keep disappointing me Super Shift.”

“I didn’t have much choice hero. After all, you and your friends caused a lot of damage and injured or killed several of my men. It was necessary to begin selling Amp in order to rebuild my army. On that note, I am meeting with the leaders of both the Red Eyes and the Dead Dogs in a bit, and I would like to have you all dead by then. Blaster, lets start with our old friend here.”

“Just remember something Super Shift. President Walker asked us to bring you in. Since you aren’t dead anymore, I intend to take you down.”

“I would be interested in seeing you do that after you are dead yourself.”

“Ok.”

Fantasy smiles as he activated his Blast Field, expanding it until it broke through his bonds. He quickly started fighting, landing several punches on Blaster before any one could react. He charges three shuriken and threw them at the cage hold Lycanthrope, who transformed and went to break Lightshow free.

Blaster swung at Fantasy, who caught his arm and sent him to the floor with and Arm Drag before charging more Shuriken and throwing them towards Super Shift. As Lycanthrope and Lightshow took care of Super Shift’s men, Fantasy continued to fight Blaster, with both men landing punch after punch.

Seeing that the battle was lost. Super Shift sounded the retreat. Changing into his former bodyguard Crusher, Super Shift helped Blaster subdue Fantasy as Lightshow and Lycanthrope went to help him, Super Shift and Blaster made their escape.



Back in the Pit, Fantasy stood in front of a portal, as his friends prepared to leave. He held Lightshow as they looked into each other’s eyes.

“I wish we didn’t have to leave.” She said.

Fantasy smiled. “So do I, but they need you guys back home, and I’m needed here.”
After sharing a kiss, Fantasy watched as she entered the portal with her father, returning home as the portal closed behind them.



The light went out, leaving the being in total darkness. He cursed, angry. He had been so close, so close to returning home, but it did not mater. He was almost there, and soon enough, he would be free from his exile.


*--Mac fired a rocket at Super Shift’s chopper in Alliances Formed. Super Shift was believed to have been killed in the crash.