The Face Issue #6: The Zandross Factor - Episode 18, "Elias E-Faced"
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Two floating figures stood airborne above me. Was I hallucinating? I lay still on the ground, my eyes sinking like anchors, as I was too fatigued to keep them open.
“Hurry, Qualbay, cover me!” The Winded Wonder instructed her ally. Heeding her call, Qualbay from the Costume Shop emitted a blue shrouding aura about his hand, thrusting it forward at the angerous Elias’ face. The ball of energy struck the eyes of the monster and dissipated immediately on contact. The giant shielded his eyes in pain, forcing himself backward, giving out a shrill cry of savagery.
The woman whisked my half-conscious self to a safe area nearby. “Are you alright?” She asked. I groaned in tiredness. Viewing my weakened state, the heroine lifted an object out of a pouch that was strapped onto her left shoulder. “Drink this,” she said to me, pulling out a bottle containing some sort of reddish fluid. I obeyed, and consumed some of the red fluid. I felt a small amount of energy return to me, enough so that I was able to sit up. I glanced at the label on the bottle and it read, “Gatorade.” “Ah, fruit punch,” I said. “Pretty good.”
I then proceeded to glance at my rescuer. “Pardon my asking, but…who are you?” I asked pardoningly. The young lady stood up from her kneeling stance. “You can call me Cywind. I think we’ve met before…or at least, informally.” Blasts of energy could be heard pounding against the concrete in the background. I was not confident in what she was talking about. “I think I would’ve remembered seeing you,” I claimed, viewing her light green outfit, bushy brown hair, and feather-top headband. “Maybe the highway leading to Stardollars would help refresh your memory. I believe you and your friend were trying to foolishly get across,” she explained. Like a rush of gushing water from a fire hose, it hit me. She was the one responsible for the whirlwinds back at the “Highway of Doom.”
“You helped us across?!” I asked in wonderment. Cywind folded her arms in content. “I can’t stand by when a citizen is in need. Plus, your friend was showing some signs of mental incapacity, going into that horribly busy street like that. He would’ve never made it out alive. What was he thinking?” She wondered. I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. “Eh, well, Tim’s got some issues to work out,” I replied, as I glanced back to Tim’s unconscious self, his arms still in a “field-goal” formation.
At that moment, we both could hear a loud pummeling sound vibrating against the wall of the chemical factory. We glanced over to see that Qualbay had lost his blue aura and fallen to the feeble ground below him.
“The Blue Aura needs my help!” Cywind exclaimed, forming a rush of wind beneath her feet, and whirling towards the onslaught. “The Blue Aura?” I wondered, knowing little of Qualbay’s powerful form. I witnessed Cywind’s extraordinary strength and abilities, as she sent two raging cyclones in the direction of the giant beast of uncontrollable fury. Elias braced himself for the attack, planting his feet into the sold foundation of the factory. With a push of the arms, Cywind empowered her hurricanes, flowing giant rounds of rushing winds breezing against Elias’ roaring face.
Resorting to violence, and struggling against the massive tornadoes, Elias reached outward for a large canister full of biochemicals, and hurled it towards the blasting wind waker. With a loud clatter, the metal cylinder impacted upon the very bones of the floating heroine, and she was forced back, pinned to the wall, and pulled to the ground by the force of gravity.
The Blue Aura regained strength and rushed towards his ally. Seeing to as she was still upbeat for battle, he helped her stand and both flew airborne for the attack. Rushing winds and blasts of blue energy found themselves sailing toward their enemy target. Using his gargantuan, burly, brown arms as a shield he attempted to blockade the oncoming projectiles. As the two heroes continued their assault, Elias, began pounding back. He used his gigantic fists to deflect the blue energy balls back at them. The tide had turned, and Cywind and the Aura found themselves dancing and dodging to avoid the reflected blows. “He’s too powerful!” Cywind cried.
Deep in concentration, Qualbay got into his own airborne posture. In a stalwart stance, he rested both arms against his right side, with hands forming a circular shape. “I just need a few…moments…” he declared. A small orb of blue energy began to form. However, an unexpected event halted the process.
With his masculine masses of legs, Elias bent his knees, and leapt with all his might towards his attackers. In one quick swipe with both hands, he subdued both hero and heroine in hand with hot fury. He roared as he squeezed the helpless bodies as painful screams began to echo from their voiceboxes.
I watched as he began shattering their bones into dust with those gargantuan hands, those crushing powerful, ape-like hands. Shrill cries of agonizing, bone-busting pain could be heard ringing loudly against the drums of my ears. I had to make it stop. Quickly, I looked around for something…anything that I could use to help my allies. Conveniently, I located a grappling hook hung against a rail nearby.
I darted toward the utility, and with the quick-thinking mind that I had, strapped it around myself through the belt loops of my own pants. What remained of the rope I held in my sweaty, glove-wearing palms, and I sprinted closer toward the monstrous monster. Just a few feet away from the fiend, I swung the rope in hand like a lasso above my head. Gaining speed and momentum, I prepared for its flight. Within seconds, the grapple was flung straight towards its target, and caught hold of its dry, crackly, muddy skin.
The wild animal roared in suffering. Tightening the rope around my loop, I pulled with all my might the grappling hook towards myself. A piece of bloody, reproaching skin could be seen tearing off of Elias’ back. He snarled in agony, bellowed with pain.
He knew he could not attack me without dropping someone first, so I continued to pull with all my might. Every ounce of strength coursed through my very muscles, as I struggled to keep the beast in line. I planted myself behind a rail, and kept pulling with great force. Eventually, the piece of skin that held the hook in place, splintered off, and the grappling hook sped back toward me as I fell backwards. Blood splattered, and Elias’ eyes became red with fury. He bellowed out a thunderous roar unlike any other, and released Qualbay from his clutches.
Elias turned toward me with excrutiating anger. I struggled to crawl backward as he crept closer and closer towards me, with his gigantic feet trampling every defenseless object in their path.
Meanwhile, Qualbay formed his stance once again, formulating yet another blue orb in the palms of his ovally shaped fists. He began his energy-wielding chant. “Ha…” A spark of blue light began to flash in his hands. “Do…” he continued, as I crawled backward in hopes of escaping the deadly being. “Ke…” Droplets of sweat formed on the Aura’s forehead, as he mustered all the strength and energy he could into the geometric center of his circular palms. “Ma…” The blue orb became exceedlingly larger, as blue sparks were emitted from the essence. With a loud, bellowing shout, Qualbay let his voice be heard, “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! In one rapid movement the Aura forced both fists forward in fluid motion, releasing an enormously gargantuan blue energetic beam that heralded its way across the factory toward the unsuspecting beastly foe. Emitting echoing sounds of a laser cannon blasting its way to the moon, the blue beam pounded Elias in the back, causing his arms to flail wildly in agony, releasing the subdued Cywind. “GRAAAAAAAH!” Elias cried, as sparks pierced his back and smoke billowed around his very figure. Due to the painful amount of force exerted by the immensely-powered beam, Elias was pushed forward against a large vat of bio-chemicals which in turn, tipped over, submerging the monster in radioactively green waste.
More acidic screams could be heard from the monster as he fell to the ground. Qualbay did the same, as he had used up every ounce of energy he had. With hands smoking, the Aura collapsed his face into the ground and closed his blood shot eyes.
Unfortunately danger was not out of reach, as the green waste began to creep its way towards Qualbay. Quickly Cywind grabbed the Aura out of harm’s way and onto higher ground. They reached the rail above the ground floor and rested there. Meanwhile, I had to escape the area as well, since I too was in the chemical’s pathway. Quickly I swung my grappling hook onto the same rail the two had rested at, and whisked my way to safety. Awaiting was Cywind, who had faithfully rescued my companions as well.
We rested, battle-scarred, and witnessed the flowing radioactive chemicals flooding the floor of the factory, as Elias lay lifeless in the distance, downfallen in the dark.
*End of Episode 18*
The Face Issue #6: The Zandross Factor - Episode 19, "The Winded Wonder Strikes"
The green fluids slowly oozed their way around across the factory floor, searching for the drain holes that were littered about the area. We watched in silence as the bubbling liquid began to ripple into the depths below.
All were panting heavily, aghast at what was beheld before us, I with grappling hook in hand. I untied it from my belt and dropped it to the floor, then glanced at my unconscious comrades for assurance. “They’ll be alright,” Cywind replied to me. I looked back at her in gratitude. “Thanks…for intervening at the right moment…and for saving my friends as well…Miss…uh…Cywind,” I thanked. She folded her arms. “Well, now with distractions aside, you can just call me Jade.” I raised a brow behind my featureless mask, which was still torn and tattered, and brought fingers upon my chin. “Jade, eh?” I wondered.
We rested there in temporary tranquility, while Bradley, Hussane, and Tim sat against the wall forming a pile of unconscious beings. Qualbay lay too, strength waning, on the ground, but with eyes open. I patted him on the back for a job well done, but he did not respond.
Though peace was restored for a time, we knew that the real threat had not come to an end. And the confirmation that persuaded this to be true was soon made real to each of us. We heard footsteps…but not just those of two feet…it sounded like a number of others…an entire group trampling like a small army toward us.
I gulped in fear at the oncoming noise, heart rate increasing, and cold sweats moistening my covered forehead, making the rubber of my mask ever more uncomfortable. At last, the figures could be seen…three of them to be accurate. And immediately as they came out from the darkness, I recognized all of them. They, too, indeed were mob members. One was short, one tall, and one quite bulging in appearance, with orange-red hair and a green and black kilt. They were my old friends, Johnny, Shep, and Barney, each holding a weapon of their choice. My heart-rate slowed, and tension decreased in my muscles, I was actually relieved to see them.
“Alright, boys! Let’s earn da bosses trust back and get rid of dese meddlin’ fools!” Little Johnny ordered his small gang. “If we attack at da same time, dere’s no stoppin’ us!” He cried.
Jade laughed at such a pathetic display of resonance. She turned to me with a smirk on her face and said, “I’ll handle this one. Stay here and guard the rest.” I nodded my head towards her in agreement. However, a sudden movement startled me. It was Qualbay, who was trying with all his might to regain strength and get up. His strength failed him, and his arms gave way as he tried to maneuver himself upward. “Whoa buddy, relax. Jade’s got this all under control,” I said to him, holding my hand out as a signal to halt. I watched in avid interest as Cywind floated upright towards her “aggressors” with seemingly unbound confidence.
She planted her feet upon the ground just a few feet away from the mob members, then eased her stance after contact. “I don’t think you know who you’re up against,” Jade scoffed at them, finger pointing.
Johnny gave in to aggressive form. “You may have all those wind-power dealies, but we…WE…got WEAPONS!” Johnny retorted triumphantly, raising his traditional crow bar high into the air. Soon Barney blurted out as well in his Scottish-descent type accent, “Aye, the laddy’s right, lassie! You’re outnumbered, and I’ve got somethin’ that will put a whallop in your face after two shakes of a Blarney Stone! Ya see, I’ve got a mace! And no, it’s not theh type o’ mace that you lassies spray into my eyes whenever I try to make a move on ya’s, it’s a real-live Scottish-heritage mace. The ball and chain weapon with spikes all around! I got it from Scotland Yard, as I was serving time for doing crime as a young mob member in the Evil Leprachaun’s Brigade. Ah, those were such good times, blimey.” Johnny inspected his fellow mob member’s mace. “I gotta say,” he chimed, in his deep, raspy, dumbfounded voice, “That’s a great find, considering you got it was from a Yard Sale. I could never find anything that shiny. You gotta take me there some time.”
Barney rolled his eyes in shame. Johnny interrupted once again. “Now, then, let’s cut to da chase!” He demanded. “Attack!” He prompted his underlings forwarding uprightly his weapon. Quickly, Johnny with crow bar in hand rushed forward, along with Barney as well, possessing his mace, but at a much slower pace.
“I’ll amuse them for a bit,” Jade thought to herself, smiling happily. Just then, Johnny rushed at her with his crow bar, and brandished it in a downward motion in order to strike down at her head. He soon realized, however, the power of wind was too quick for a human, as he waved at nothing, astounded at her vanishing ways. “Eh?!” he wondered.
Jade had appeared to the right of him. Johnny turned his head in utter shock and amazement. “How in da name of all tings green?!” He attempted to strike again, this time in a horizontal motion towards the face, with Jade nimbly evading once more. This time, sighting her nowhere, he looked in vain all around him, that is of course, until he felt something atop his head. His eyes slowly peered up at the figure of the winded wonder standing over him. “What da!?” He cried in awe. Jade laughed. “You know, you could really be useful as a step-stool.” She criticized, “You’re not too far from the ground.”
It was Jade’s turn to strike, and she quickly whisked herself behind Johnny, and hammered a critical blow of wind against his backside, sending him far across the factory floor. As he crossed the path of Shep’s view, the tall-headed man could briefly hear Johnny say, “Shoot-her-you-fool!
Responding to orders, Shep rapidly picked up his machine gun and triggered the trigger, only to be answered by a dismaying, “Ka-chak, Ka-chak!” The machine gun was out of ammo. As he heard a crash and then a rumble, Shep addressed his leader, “Hold on boss, I’m out of ammo!” And then fumbled to reach some from his sock.
Meanwhile Barney continued on his rampage, swinging his mace wildly in the air, while running straight toward the heroine. Jade put a hand to her chin. “Hmm,” she thought. “This guy could really stand to lose a few pounds. I’ll give him some exercise.”
And she did just that. As Barney finally encroached upon a few feet’s distance of Cywind, the winded wonder soon averted him, dashing further away, still facing towards him. “Come on, hit me!” She taunted him. Barney grumbled and cursed in Scottish, still swinging mace menacingly. “Graaaawrr!” He yelled. He followed suit, and continued pursuing Jade, each time only to meet a certain distance, and have it diverged even further than before.
“You’re too slow!” She yelled at a growling Barney. He ran within a few feet of Jade, and she suddenly changed directions to the right. “Yargh!” He bellowed, and followed by turning his direction toward hers.
However signs of fatigue soon grew upon Barney, and his breathing became heavier, and motion slower. “Pant, pant,” he said. Soon he found himself hunching over, with arms resting on his thighs, and mouth gaping open to refuel his oxygen-depleted muscles.
Jade then drew her hand back, and motioned the palm of her hand forward, creating a rush of wind that toppled over the panting Scotsman, causing him to collapse in fatigue.
I watched in amazement as the mob members were getting “owned” by Jade, and reached for some Gatorade as a refreshment for the entertainment. As the bottle emptied to about a fourth of its original content, I remembered Qualbay. “Oh! Qualbay…and the electrolytes…Energy!” I quickly got a cup from a nearby water dispenser and filled it with the remaining Gatorade. I then proceeded to administer it to Qualbay, who drank the substance, and in turn regained some strength.
It was just in time too, for Shep had finished reloading his automatic weapon and was aiming for an unsuspecting Cywind. “Jade!” I cried out to her in warning. “Watch out!” But alas, she was unable to hear me. Shep was already pushing the trigger.
<*End of Episode 19*
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