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All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cK8OXhmhId7vR6__T1V-oUhFEAllGz0aY9m4Q2op-fE) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, NO NAME, & ENGLISCE NAMAN All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, NO NAME, & ENGLISCE NAMAN Chapter 25: The Royal Burning Dim sunlight cascaded through the glass windows; illuminating the structure Marvelous Man stood in. It seemed to be a hallway within a castle, and from the muscle demigod’s deduction, styled from England’s medieval era. The walls were completely comprised of stone, and the floors were made out of old wooden planks. As the hulking bodybuilder shifted about to survey the new area, the floor beneath did not groan under his massive weight. He then continued further down the hall and noticed on his right a painting. The size of the canvas was bigger than the musclebound superhero; its height nearly touching the ground and ceiling, and the width stretching slightly beyond Marvelous Man’s immense shoulders. It was the painting of a family clothed in royal attire. The family size consisted of a king, queen, an elder princess, and a young prince. The entire family carried the same neutral facial expression with cheeks flushed in a rosy color and eyes an emerald green. The tapping of gentle steps echoed behind the hulking bodybuilder. Turning around, he spotted a man walking towards him. The man appeared exactly same as the king in the painting; complete with royal gowns and a golden crown atop the head. But the most distinguishing features to Marvelous Man was the cape and skin. The cape was the exact same shade of red and lining of white fur as the Skeleton Lord’s. The skin was a deathly pale white; the same as the ancient villain before Sugar Skull’s poison. But instead of having the physique of just skin and bones, this king still seemed healthy and slightly plump. Marvelous Man then noted that despite this king having a more meaty figure, this ruler seemed much older and with sunken cheeks than the royal highness in the painting. It was obvious to the muscle demigod who this king is...Or rather, who this king used to be. Marvelous Man bowed at the king, “Uh, hello!...Your highness!” The king said nothing, as he continued moving forward. With the gap between this royal majesty and the muscle demigod coming to a close, Marvelous Man looked up from the bow and immediately stood up straight. Making way for the king, the hulking bodybuilder shifted his weight and braced his back against the hallway wall. The king passed by without flicking an eye towards the musclebound superhero. Marvelous Man then mentally questioned as to why this person was not staring at him. Especially since he appeared to have broken into a castle and is a muscled giant nearly scraping his head against the ceiling. Marvelous Man flung his arms out with urgency, as he felt his sense of balance being temporarily misplaced. He knew there was a wall behind him, but his senses perceived the muscle demigod to be pinning against thin air. Leaning forward, he regained stability over his massive body. Marvelous Man turned around to discover, the cause. The wall he turned to face appeared to lose shape; slightly dissipating into the same whisping blackness as Digz’s essence. A second later, the affected parts of the wall his body had touched morphed back to its original shape. Marvelous Man’s mind then flashed back to minutes ago when he asked Digz a question and was instantly swallowed by the black fog. He remembered what Digz had said about Gene being spirited away to a memory. The musclebound superhero connected the dots and deducted he was in an illusion similar Puzzles’ smoke illusions; though appearing much less stable than the smoke imp’s when confronted with physical contact. He realized he could walk out of this memory at any time...But that would waste the golden opportunity he was given to understand the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man chased after the king, who was now reaching the end of the hall and entering another room. The hulking bodybuilder entered in after the Skeleton Lord’s past version; ducking his head underneath the doorway out of instinct. He then gazed about at the new room he stood in; the furnishing giving the area an identity to be some sort of war room. Weapons of different shapes and sizes hung against the walls. On the other side of the room was a fireplace still lit with some logs. The soft glow from the fireplace illuminated a wooden table in the center of the room. Atop the furniture was a map; sprawled out and completely covering the tabletop with miniature figures on the map. The king shuffled over to the fireplace. His eyes watched the wood inside of it almost completely digested into ash by the fire. The past Skeleton Lord spoke up, “The healers should have finished painting the runes on our volunteers by now. It should be fine to begin our ritual now.” Marvelous Man heard a familiar voice reply; sounding as if it were held underwater. The musclebound superhero tried to locate the emanation but could not seem to place the echo’s origin. “We do this every week, yet I see no reason as to why we take these precautions. They’ll eventually die, so let me just drink in all their mana. It’s not like the people will leave,” said Digz. The voice echoed as if it were in Marvelous Man’s own head, rather than bouncing around somewhere in the room. The muscle demigod gave up trying to find Digz and decided to focus his attention on the dialogue. The king chuckled, “But they can. Or worse, turn traitor. We have many enemies that would love to see me killed and seize my kingdom...Though I suppose many, many, many have tried already. Hm, I’ve lost count of all the times I have been stabbed and poisoned for you to put me back together.” “The point is, one that has grand responsibility over the lives of their people must project themselves as salvation. Many would follow or go as far as die for their ruler, if the ruler appears to be the ultimate answer to all their woes. And if all they have to do to guarantee their safety is for one day out of the week to allow a selected hundreds for their mana to be drained, then it would seem like a fair trade,” he continued. Marvelous Man walked over to the past Skeleton Lord, while the conversation continued. Digz hissed, “They will turn on you one day because they want my power. You’ll see! You should never have told the people about how you obtained the power over bones.” The king sighed, as he continued to stare into the fire. “Such the optimist, you are. I know you want to avoid reliving the same event that had befallen to Kenelm, but it does not mean that it will happen to us, my old friend. Our subjects are loyal to us, lest they have some radical ideal of heroism that somehow makes us the evil ones,” he remarked. Digz harrumphed, “Then I shall observe your so-called subjects before we begin.” The scenery around Marvelous Man exploded into whisping blackness. A second later, the detonated darkness reversed itself. Digz’s essence sucked back into place, but it seemed to reformat itself into something new. Grass and mud materialized on the ground, and small huts made of sticks and straw appeared near the muscle demigod. A fog, similar to Digz’s fog in Marvelous Man’s current era, had taken over the scenery and clouded any other structures in the distance. Digz then materialized his incomplete form in front of the hulking bodybuilder. Marvelous Man did not know how, but it seemed as if the corrupted imp faced his nonexistent head towards one of the huts closest to the Skeleton Lord familiar. Digz’s voice rumbled from the blackness rising out of his neck. “I know you’re there! You cannot stop the ritual my dark master is about to commence,” he boomed. Silence drifted in the fog for a second before the stirring of footsteps echoed. The sounds of multiple people drew closer to Marvelous Man. From out of the fog revealed what appeared to be a small troupe of adventurers; led by a woman in silver armor. The leader brandished her sword at the imp, “Still thy words, evil creature! I will not tolerate your tauntings any longer. For we heroes shall triumph against your Skeleton Lord.” “Now tell us where your king resides in the castle, so we may slay him. Lest all your jeer has been naught for distraction, and your dark master is not as powerful as you say he is,” continued the leader. Digz voice became catty, “Oh, I have no intention of telling you that. Lest I make things too easy and assure my lord’s defeat. That would make me a traitor. But I suggest you make your choice immediately. For we begin now.” The incomplete imp cackled, as the scenery exploded once again into whisping darkness. As before, the blackness sucked itself back into place and reformed the area into something new. The brick walls of the Skeleton Lord’s castle appeared around Marvelous Man, while Digz emerged in front of the muscle demigod once again. The area seemed to be in another part of the castle but more well-illuminated due to the oil lanterns lining the walls. With a flick of his feathery wrist, a wand made of bone emerged out of thin air. The corrupted familiar took grasp of the wand before making his way down the lit corridor. He playfully tapped the white wand against the walls, while his bird-like feet softly echoed against the wooden floor. Marvelous Man made sure to follow the creature; not wanting to be left behind and accidentally leave the memory. With nothing else happening but the incomplete imp wandering around corners of the castle, he had a moment to think. He had assumed he was going to be viewing the Skeleton Lord’s memory, but what he had seen led to a different conclusion. His train of thoughts soon came to an end, as Digz slowed his pattering footsteps. Digz came to a stop upon turning into another branch of the castle. Marvelous Man spotted a room in front of them that seemed to be a room for solitary activities. A small fireplace on the side of the room was lit with a strong fire; crackling loudly. At a table in the center, there sat three humans draped in royal clothing: one of them appearing to be a queen, an elder princess, and a prince. Marvelous Man noticed the three individuals looked exactly like the family painting he had seen earlier, but their skin had the same ghostly paleness as the Skeleton Lord’s. Marvelous Man’s eyes then took notice and drifted to the figures huddled around the royal family. It was a small squad of armored skeletons that looked similar to the skeletons the muscle demigod fought in the first encounter with the Skeleton Lord. They were equipped with the same kind of foreboding, black armor but appeared to look more durable and had a dark shine to it. As Digz waddled into the room, the bone soldiers, standing between Digz and the royals, faced their heads down towards the corrupted familiar. The minions stepped aside; creating a pathway before resuming their sentry position. The royal family looked over to where the incomplete imp stood, as the skeletons’ armor clanged from movement. Immediately standing up, the queen extended her hand outward in an attempt to shield her children. “Have you come to torment us some more with your vile words, imp? I hope you come with new material, as talks of our worthlessness and your ‘gift’ of immortality to us have become stale,” said her majesty. Digz chuckled, “My, is that wit I detect? You sure have acquired quite the gumption, since our previous encounter.” The queen’s face showed no emotion; frozen like a plain doll. Marvelous Man wondered how long she and her children endured Digz’s harassment. “Only because I realized that you will take no further action beyond the threat of bringing harm to my children were I to speak to my husband about what you have said to me. Beyond that, you cannot truly hurt us,” she said. The incomplete imp replied, “And I’m sure you would like to keep it that way. But I’m here to give you what your family has always wanted.” “Which is?” questioned the queen. “Freedom,” answered Digz, “To be broken of the shackles of this accursed life. That is what you and your children want, yes? I know of how you three are miserable with existing the same way for centuries.” The royal highness’s face broke into confusion. Her feet slightly shifted backwards. She inquired, “And what sort of trickery do you play now?...I see...But know that inflicting pain on others will only relieve your own for a brief moment. I suppose Kenelm would be most disappointed in how pitiful you have made use of the gift he had bestowed to you.” Digz pointed his bone wand at the queen. The white item extended itself; immediately reaching the Skeleton Lord’s wife. The pointed end stopped just before it could puncture her throat. “Mother!” shouted the children. The incomplete imp shouted, “DO NOT SAY HIS NAME! How does a wench like you even know of him?! Alden has never talked to you without my presence! I’ve made sure of that!” The queen’s face morphed back into her frozen, neutral expression, and her eyes becoming cold once more. “It is true that I cannot speak to my husband without your supervision, but I have my ways. Perhaps you have forgotten already of my own power that lent to our victory over this kingdom,” she stated. Digz retracted his wand, “Hmph. Reading the castle’s past might have given you excellent gossip, but it does not help you control the future I have prepared. Now come. Let me direct you all to your freedom.” The corrupted familiar turned away and proceeded out of the room. The skeleton soldiers from behind the royal children and queen nudged the family forward. Marvelous Man followed the group exiting from the room and down the twisting corridors of the castle’s hallways. The musclebound superhero had a clear idea of what Digz’s relationship was like with the Skeleton Lord and the rest of the family. He then wondered what the incomplete imp’s talk of freedom was but became fearful that it was nothing more than an insidious conclusion. In his heart, Marvelous Man continued to hope it was not the outcome he supposed it could be. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The travel through the stone architecture continued for minutes before stopping at a set of doors. Marvelous Man noticed that the doors stood taller than himself and had a set of large, metal rings as the knobs. Two of the skeleton soldiers stepped forward and pushed open the doors. As the doors groaned to a stop, a spacious library revealed itself to the group. The row of armored skeletons behind the noble family pushed the relatives inside. The three royals stumbled forward before regaining their steps. Turning around, the family faced the incomplete imp and the small troupe of skeleton warriors. As the mother began to mouth words, Digz’s soldiers retrieved the oil lanterns hanging on the walls. The skeletal minions then threw the lanterns; shattering glass and oil against the rows of books, furniture, and the entrance. Flames of red and orange were born instantly from the spilled lantern oil and began to feast on wood and paper. The family stood paralyzed with their eyes gazing at the growing fire about them, while the skeleton soldiers closed the library doors shut. Muffled screams echoed from behind the wooden doors; pleading for help. One of the armored minions stepped forward and placed their skeleton arm through the door’s large, metal handle loops. Digz swished his bone wand at the soldier; causing the arm in the door’s handle to break off from the skeleton. The detached arm then gripped its other end to form a loop and chain the library doors from opening. Marvelous Man’s eyes bulged at the inhuman treatment. He reached out to grab the skeletal chain...but his hand phased through smoke instead. The hulking bodybuilder’s eyes began to well up with tears. He knew that this was an illusion showing a past memory...but he could not help himself. Marvelous Man wished he could have been there to save that family; regardless of how impossible time magic was. The skeleton soldiers departed from the scenery in different directions. Some of the boney minions stopped at the wall-mounted lanterns; only to pick it up and smash it on the wooden flooring. The bushes of flames grew throughout the hallways and seemed to be extending throughout the castle with the armored skeletons’ assistance. The scenery then exploded into smoke before reforming into the war room the Skeleton Lord resided in. Marvelous Man looked about, but could not find the incomplete imp. He then heard the room echo with Digz’s voice. “ALDEN! COME QUICK! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” shouted the familiar. The Skeleton Lord looked up from the fireplace he stared at. He called out, “What?! Where?!” “The castle! They’ve set it ablaze to smoke you out!” replied Digz. The Skeleton Lord scurried over to a window from the other side of the war room. As he did so, eight spider-like legs made of bone extended beneath the king’s robes. Two of the boney limbs lunged at the window; shattering through the glass and anchoring onto the outer brick wall of the castle. Alden commanded, “Get the skeletons to escort my family to safety.” The skeletal spider legs hoisted the Skeleton Lord through the window. Marvelous Man gave a slight gasp, as the scenery yanked him outside the castle and floating high up in the air. Had this been real and the hulking bodybuilder not transformed, the fall of five stories would most certainly have crushed and killed Justice Starr. Upon dangling the king outside by the boney limbs, the white spider-like legs scampered across the wall. Black smoke could be seen pouring out of the other windows alongside the brick siding. Marvelous Man had difficulty spotting the difference from the fire’s smoke and Digz’s whisping essence blanketing the kingdom. Even high above, the muscle demigod could not see the sky nor sun. “I can’t feel them anymore! I fear they may have been attacked by the invaders already!” lied Digz. As the Skeleton Lord darted around a corner and reached the front of the smoking castle, the wall he crawled on exploded with a deafening boom. Five of the boney limbs broke from the king’s body; splintering off with chunks of bricks that were big or had been immediately blasted into dust. Marvelous Man could almost feel the sudden burst of wind and heat buffeting against his own smooth skin. Seconds of falling towards the ground quickly drifted by, while the three intact spider leg bones struggled to grasp at the air. Out of instinct, Marvelous Man raised his arms in front of his face in an effort to brace against impact. Alden slammed into ground. His body immediately sprayed the area with bits of his blood, while a wet crunch echoed from him. With barely a second passing, his body began to put itself back together. Bones snapped back into place and sinew reverting to where it previously was, while the Skeleton King slowly stood up on his knees. Chains made of shining light streamed from the fog. The animated links circled around the reforming Skeleton Lord before instantly squeezing in a tight ensnare. The three remaining spider limbs made of bone had no room to struggle, as they were pinned against Alden’s body by the chains of light. When the king gasped from the tight restraints, a small projectile ejected from the fog. The object was a grey slime that slapped against Alden’s mouth; sealing it shut in what Marvelous Man supposed was to prevent verbal spells. The muscle demigod then heard the Skeleton Lord speak again, but it carried the same echo as Digz’s voice when the incomplete imp was not visible. The voice of the Skeleton Lord screamed, “Digz! Release me from the binds!” “I can’t!” shouted Digz, “The magic in the binds prevents me!” Marvelous Man then realized the two were speaking to each other telepathically. It was now obvious that Digz could not be seen, because the incomplete imp had fused back into Alden. The musclebound superhero briefly wondered if Digz was lying about the magic binds due to the wicked betrayal that had happened earlier. A small group of humanoid figures exited the fog; revealing themselves to be the wandering heroes the corrupted familiar provoked. Marvelous Man saw that the group was still being led by the woman equipped in silver armor. He then noticed that behind the female leader were two men adorned in robes that covered their faces. The muscle demigod could see only the mouths were not covered and were constantly whispering towards the Skeleton Lord. It became apparent to Marvelous Man that the two were most likely wizards uttering incantations to maintain the magical chains. The leader spoke up, “Skeleton Lord! Your vile ways ends tonight! No longer shall you prey on this town!” The king tried to scream urgency, but it was muffled from the slime covering his mouth. The female knight looked down at Alden and gave a look of disgust. She then trudged towards the binded Skeleton Lord, while reaching for a sword tied to her waist. The leader drew the weapon from her scabbard; the blade gleaming like moonlight. “Digz!” mentally shouted the king. The incomplete imp replied, “I’m trying, but the spell is too strong!” The knight raised her blade. “Stealing the mana of this kingdom just to feed your own self-preservation. Such a sin is unforgiving, and such a sin you have sown. I take no pleasure in ending you. Only justice,” she said. The armored leader continued, “Your people put their trust in you, and you repay them with a devil’s deal. A deal to gift you the power to raise the dead. Tis not a wonder that the people frantically sing praise of you. Lest they be found disagreeing with you, killed by your hand, and raised for your appalling undead puppetry.” The Skeleton Lord conversed with his thoughts, as his eyes widened at the knight’s words. “What is she talking about Digz?! She knows only fragments of our ways! She misunderstands our people!” he exclaimed. Digz replied, “...Does she? I fear we have been betrayed.” The tone of the knight’s voice rose. Her body shifted to execute a swing with her sword. “And as for that demon every person here refers to as an imp,” she said, “They shall-” A white spike made of bone torpedoed out of the Skeleton Lord’s cloak. The spike collided into the leader’s face; echoing the collapse of her face with bone crunched and flesh shredded. With the force of the projectile lodged into the knight’s destroyed face, she flew backwards. She then landed limply, as her body tumbled to a stop upon reaching the feet of her wizards. Blood slowly oozed from around the bone spike. The group of heroes froze, as the wizards’ incantation became choked from shock. The chains of light that incapacitated the king shattered; pieces of the chain glittered in the air before fading. One of the boney spider legs attached to the Skeleton Lord extended itself towards its master. The limb then wiped away the slime sticking to Alden’s mouth with only a stroke. At the same time, the other skeletal extensions wedged themselves into the ground. The two spider legs pushed; assisting the Skeleton Lord into the air before placing him onto his feet. A second ticked by, while nobody made an attempt to move. Spikes made of bone erupted from the chests of the adventurers. Marvelous Man gripped his hands. Even if he could go back in time, he could not have prevented their deaths. The source of their deaths came from columns of bones erupting from the fog behind the heroes; immediate and unseen. Digz voice quickly echoed, “...I managed to overpower their binds in time!...What luck!” The Skeleton Lord stood in silence. His head then cocked in acknowledgement, as his eyes became horrified. “My family!” he exclaimed. He turned to the castle now heavily engulfed in flames. Black smoke escaped from every opening in the stone home. Marvelous Man’s heart sank at the scene before him. He wondered how long Digz had planned this deception for everything Alden loved to come crashing down in one fell swoop. The king shouted, “I...I don’t see them anywhere! We must go back inside to-” “No, we can’t!” replied Digz, “The fire has grown too big, and we’d surely perish if we tried to go in there! I can’t bring you back if there’s nothing left of you. Especially if my totem has been destroyed!” Alden fired back, “The cloak can protect it! Now come on!” The Skeleton Lord charged towards the burning architecture. “The Pilgrim Cloak only shields us from enchanted sight and cannot be taken off by others. That doesn’t mean the cloth is indestructible!” reasoned the corrupted familiar. The king said nothing, as he arrived at the castle entrance doors. A row of bone columns fell from above with a sharp whistle and landed in front of the Skeleton Lord; barricading the doors from him. Alden slammed his hands on the barricade. He screamed, “What are you doing, Digz?! Open the way!” “Alden, please! Listen to me! When I said I couldn’t feel them anymore, I wasn’t just talking about the skeletons...I can’t detect your family anywhere…” said Digz. Tears began to stream down the Skeleton Lord’s cheeks, while his lips quivered. The king continued to slam against the bone blockade. He exclaimed, “No, no, no, NO...It can’t be...Have to get in there!” Digz voice rose in an authoritative tone. “Look at this castle! It is completely engulfed in flames! They couldn’t have survived this, and neither will we if we sprint in there!” stated the incomplete imp. Alden sunk to his knees, “Then...then...you can bring them back! Right here, you can make them rise from the ground! Right? You said a long time ago about being able to resurrect, and, and…” The corrupted familiar sighed. His voice became softer. “Only when they’ve binded their soul to me, remember? None of your family members wanted their existence linked to my totem. Not even you. We never even gave time to testing it on your steeds,” corrected Digz. He continued, “I’m sorry, Alden. They’re gone. If they were in my presence as they perished, I could have saved them. But I didn’t see their disappearance until it was too late.” “No…”whimpered Alden, “What did I do wrong?” Marvelous Man now realized that this was the Skeleton Lord’s turning point. When the king had hit his lowest point and had nothing else to live for, he would believe anything just to feel better as any other person would. And for the Skeleton Lord, what Digz would say next would become the lifelong goal. The obsession that has killed so many people. Digz replied, “...You have done nothing wrong, Alden. It was everybody else that is.” “We were so happy having everything stay the same. You’re like a god! Your family had immortality, and you protected this kingdom from all invaders. This was our own corner of the world,” he continued. The muscle demigod felt as if the corrupted familiar had been practicing these very lines. Down to even the volume he used on certain pronunciations, Digz made his words seem they were of the gospel...And Alden drank it all up; his face dawning with the newly tainted enlightenment. The incomplete imp spat with disgust, “But then those ‘heroes’ came and ruined everything! All for what?! For glory?! For wealth?! Just because of what we can do, that makes us evil? What pathetic ignorance.” The Skeleton Lord nodded, as he wiped streaks of tears going down his face. The flow of his tears came to a halt, and his eyes seemed to become emotionally withdrawn. “Then...why didn’t our people stop them? If there was any doubt about our evil...surely the citizens would have corrected them, right?” he questioned. Digz did not reply, as seconds awkwardly ticked by. Alden gritted his teeth, “Why would they let them set fire to my home?! Why would they let those...heroes just walk right up to my home and destroy my family?! Do they still hate me deep down? WHY?!” The unseen familiar spoke up. “...I-I’m not sure anymore...Even though I said many negative things in the past, I just wanted to keep you aware of possibilities. I came to thinking the same as you because I believed you knew your people…” he answered. The king gripped the ground, “...You were right...You always are.” “Feared our power, jealous of it...It doesn’t matter. They have betrayed us. They’re not my people anymore. They have burned away all the benevolence that I had,” he continued. The Skeleton Lord commanded, “Digz! Begin the ritual! Take everybody’s mana until there’s nothing left! Those protected by the blood runes will eventually die, since there will be no one to care for them in their time of recovery.” The incomplete imp replied back in a tone that poorly attempted to hide a twisted glee. “Of course. I’ll make sure to exact our revenge on those bastards!” he suggested, “And then we start our coming.” “Our coming?” said the king. Digz replied, “Yes, our coming. We’re not going to sit here till we turn to dust. We will make ourselves known and make the world burn! And when the whelps wonder why death will be arriving to their doorsteps, all they will know was that the Royal Burning was the cause of humanity’s fall! No one deserves to be happy! Only death!” The scenery in front of Marvelous Man began to fade. The whisping darkness that had swirled around his muscled mass began to bulge about, as light started to flood the muscle demigod from above. Looking up, Marvelous Man noticed the black fog Digz had cocooned him in was becoming shorter. It was definite that Digz had answered Marvelous Man’s question about the Royal Burning...but the response seemed to lead to more questions. The musclebound hero’s heart sank, as he realized he had gained no new insight to help win the battle without violence. What he had learned was only the surface of deeper things that led to this tragic event. The Skeleton Lord had depended on Digz so much, that simply speaking of the corrupted familiar’s deception would not be enough to change the ancient king’s mind. Marvelous Man wished he had more time to think of what he could say, but the curtain of darkness descended faster than he could put together a new plan. Upon the fog dropping beneath his face and no longer limited his eyesight, his eyes stretched wide at what he saw. A chill ran down his back with flashbacks of his abduction playing in his mind. The red cloak Marvelous Man had seen too many times screamed into his retinas. The present-day Skeleton Lord, in all his skinny, withered glory, stood a small distance away. Next Chapter

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, LORD TUTORIALS, THATCHINESEPERSON, & JAINA All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, LORD TUTORIALS, THATCHINESEPERSON, & JAINA Chapter 24: Dancing With the Fiend Marvelous Man stood in front of the fog; staring at the whisping darkness curl about. Every few seconds, a pair of hands would lash from out of the fog. The hands would then slam into a magical barrier that caged the creatures from within. Runes, magical circles, sticky note talismans, and even enchanted items were plastered all over the barrier. The musclebound superhero drifted his eyes downwards to the rows of cubic-shaped machines placed around the outside of the affected ghetto area. Every cube had a large Arkos Division logo engraved on the side with a cable branching out from each machine to a gadget-decorated cable. The new cable projected a film of light; covering over the magical layer. The scenery in front of him caused his mind to drift back to his jacket’s pocket. His large hand fidgeted with a silver key in the pocket. He could feel every groove and the keychain attached to it, an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top. The itching temptation to use the key came back harder than the night of his first encounter with the Skeleton Lord. He wondered if it was the right thing to turn down his parents’ invitation to stay in Sunnysville...where it was safe and nothing changed. “Ugh, I do not envy what you’re about to do,” said a female voice from behind. Marvelous Man turned around to face the voice. Standing with all eight cybernetic arms crossed was Octomentist. The hulking bodybuilder immediately noticed that the prosthetic superhero now held a slouched posture compared to her usual power pose with the back straightened. He nodded, “Oh...yeah.” Octomentist lightly bit her lip, as an awkward second ticked by. “I never did thank you, did I? For helping out at the Arkos Division headquarters. I was out on patrol when it happened. And then you showed up a few minutes after I got there…” she said. The multi-armed heroine continued, “I helped try to clear the rubble, but you were the real hero. You actually got to save lives...and that was the first time I actually felt powerless. And that’s never happened to me, ya know...Is it fucked up that I kinda wish I was back in that tunnel fighting the Skeleton Lord, and our only way to save those people was to euthanize them?” The muscle demigod’s mind flashed back to the tunnels during the second battle against the Skeleton Lord. His stomach twisted at the blood, the terrible things the ancient villain said, killing the Teratoma...and first experiencing the power of his Soul Venom. To reflect on those memories for a second more might cause him to vomit. “I don’t think so. But it’s not exactly something I want to go through again,” replied Marvelous Man. Octomentist nodded, “Right..yeah, sorry. That was a dick thing for me to say. But I do mean it when I say thanks for what you did. You’re the greatest hero in my book.” Marvelous Man smiled. His heart gave a soft flutter of joy before wondering how long this nice attitude would last. “Thanks,” he said. The prosthetic hero smiled back, “So go get ‘em, Marvelous Man. I’ll just be manning the front over here. But just so you know, after this, it’s back to you being called Naked Justice.” “Yeah...I figured,” Marvelous Man giggled, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Octomentist pointed with her golden thumb over to a tent painted with runic symbols; housing the musclebound superhero’s other team members. The flaps of the tent parted ways, as Gemini exited the temporary structure. The bulky Soulem appeared to be heading over to Marvelous Man’s position. “I’ll be over there if you need anything,” she said. The muscle demigod nodded, “Sure.” The multi-armed woman departed from Marvelous Man, as she passed by Gemini. The Soulem arrived in front of the musclebound superhero in a few steps; mood rings glowing in the color yellow. Gemini stood still, while gently pounding the rubbery, robotic fists together. The mechanical being seemed at a loss for words before finally speaking up. “Um...hey,” said Gemini. Marvelous Man replied, “Hey.” The Soulem gave an artificial cough to clear his throat. “So I thought that we should go over one more time about the spell you got from the Bruja,” he said. Marvelous Man responded, “Sure. But don’t I just have to touch the imp when I cast the spell?” “Yeah, but you need to touch a solid part of the imp,” corrected Gemini, “You can’t just use its own foggy essence, since the spell would basically be grabbing air. That essence could easily escape the spell, and then you’d give away your own element of surprise. So make sure you’re grabbing the imp’s physical body when you cast that spell.” Marvelous Man frowned, “Well, can’t you modify the spell to suck in some of the essence to hold it in one place?” Gemini lurched his head back, while his face displayed a mix of horror and disgust. “Whoah, no! That spell is already complicated enough as is. I literally can’t tamper with a thing on that spell. It’s airtight and any mods on that thing will cause an entirely different reaction!” exclaimed the Soulem. His voice grew soft, “Besides, I only understand bits of it...the spell itself is...impossible. And while that should scare me, what scares me more is who you got it from…” “...I didn’t have much of a choice, Gem...I needed to end all of this. Doin what we usually do didn’t stop the Skeleton Lord. He always got away every time. And the only way I feel like we can actually win this time is if I upped my game and did something crazy,” explained Marvelous Man. Gemini sighed, “Let’s just...get this over and done with. I just hope the Bruja doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass. If she has access to that kind of magical knowledge, I don’t even know what she’s capable of if she ever tries to hurt you…” “She’d probably just send Sugar Skull instead,” remarked the muscle demigod. The Soulem smirked, “Right. Why bother wasting magic when you can just send an immortal lackey to do the dirty work for ya.” His cybernetic eyes flicked down at the ground before returning to look back at Marvelous Man. Gemini’s mood ring then transitioned to a rose red color. “Look, I gotta head back, but I just wanted to say...good luck out there. And please...come back safely. Alright?” he said. Marvelous Man smiled, “Thanks. I will. And it’ll be fine. I got Gene and Sugar Skull to watch my back.” “Would’ve been nicer if we had an A-lister like the Director,” frowned Gemini. Marvelous Man shrugged, “He has to help with keeping the barrier up...But I do think it’s kinda weird we couldn’t get help from anybody else. Everybody seems busy with their own crisis. Even the Nemesis Branch isn’t helping out cause we’re somehow not dealing with a A-rank villain or above.” “What a bunch of assholes,” huffed Gemini. The accent of a Southern gentleman emanated from behind the Soulem, “Mr. Yin and Mr. Marvelous Man. So glad both of you are here. This makes things easier for our final talk before we begin.” As Gemini turned around, Marvelous Man spotted the Director walking towards them. Accompanying a few steps behind Director Doug was the master witch’s familiar and the musclebound superhero’s teammates, Gene Lightfoot and Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man could feel a sense of nervousness wash over himself with every closing distance between himself and Gene. His eyebrow then perked up in confusion. “Hey, wait. Where’s Fairuza?” he asked. The Director answered, “She’s been reassigned to keep an eye on our wards, since it is a guarantee that she cannot gaze into the fog nor keep a connection with you three. I’m afraid the moment you and Gene and Sugar Skull pass through, you’re all on your own. We won’t be able to pull you out either, so you better not hold back. Do what you have to do to make this stop.” Director Skye’s eyes seemed to intensify their gaze into Marvelous Man’s, as he said his next words. “Marvelous Man, are you sure you want to go in there? Your healing abilities would be invaluable in assisting the troops out here should the barriers fail. You don’t have to do this,” he said. Marvelous Man’s mind lingered back to his meaty hand still in his jacket’s pocket. The jagged teeth of the silver key poked at his thumb. There was still time to run away from all this, and every part of him screamed it...But what if he could win? The muscle demigod hesitated, “Honestly...I kinda don’t want to go. I’ve never done anything as...intense as this before. But you said a while back that I was one of the people capable of handling the Skeleton Lord. And I need to be there for my partners to patch them up.” “Oh-ho ho! Thank goodness!” exclaimed Sugar Skull, “Because Gene would have really died out there if you didn’t come along. But I’d be okay. I can regenerate.” Silence weighed heavily in the air, as Sugar Skull’s spinning, yellow flower eyes flicked back and forth. None of the company appeared amused at the comment. The ghoul quickly thrust a hand into his sleeve before pulling it out immediately. “...And look! I have the new devices the Bruja made. Whaaaaat. Presenting the Bruja’s magical gadget, the Benighted Badge. Now we match each other!” said the Limbo being. He held out his hand; uncurling his fingers to reveal what rested in his palm. Everybody leaned forward to see two objects glittering on the ghoul’s palm. They looked exactly like the brooch Sugar Skull had always worn; a weeping closed eye. Puzzles called out from below, “What is it?” The Director frowned, while Marvelous Man realized the smoke imp was too small to see what the ghoul was holding. The Totochton prince and the muscle demigod picked up the pin jewelry; holding it up for a closer look. Director Doug then scratched his beard. “It looks to me like they are copies of Sugar Skull’s brooch,” reported the master witch. Sugar Skull replied, “Exactly. They do the same thing my brooch does. We’ll be able to pass through without any of the other ghouls seeing us.” The half-alive ghoul looked over at Marvelous Man. “Oh...but, you can’t do any supercharges or getting bright,” he said, “It’s easy to cover up sound, but your light can’t be, uh, suppressed when it’s bigger and brighter than a flashlight. Bending that much light without blinding you would have taken longer to make.” It was a huge handicap to what Marvelous Man could do. Supercharging his allies was something the muscle demigod felt made him indispensable to the team and helped turn the tide of a battle. But he knew that as long as the brooches worked and cloaked his team from immediate danger, he would be fine with limiting his abilities. The musclebound superhero nodded, “That’s fine. Could I still do normal healing? I still have to use some light, so I can heal.” “It’s not a problem. The gadget should be able to hide it,” answered Sugar Skull. A slight weight lifted from the hulking bodybuilder’s shoulders. It felt good to know that he could help support his teammates in some way. Marvelous Man was already aware of how much his combat ability paled in comparison to his companion’s and even the Skeleton Lord’s. The ghoul chimed, “I think we need a speech. This is the part where we’re about to do something dangerous and need some, ummm...encouragement!” “Here’s one,” said Puzzles. The entire cast turned to look down at the smoke imp. He stood with a silver zip lighter in one hand, and a glass bong, sized appropriately for his single paw, in the other. Flicking open the lighter to spark a flame, the familiar then lowered the flame onto the bong’s herbal-stuffed bowl. Puzzles snapped the lighter shut, “Don’t die.” Director Skye smiled at the smoke imp while flexing a single eyebrow up. “The Reefer Ballroom?” he questioned. Puzzles replied, “You’re combining your defense magic with the lesser spellcasters and some force field projectors from the Arkos Division. Even with all that, those ghouls are still getting through. You honestly think my Cuban Room can stop them, Boss?” “Containment isn’t working, so I shall impede,” concluded the smoke imp. The master witch looked over at Gemini, “Duly noted. Now, Mr. Yin, I heavily implore you to vacate this area. Seeing as how I am now lowering a part of the barrier. Monsters will most definitely be scurrying from out of my artificial opening, and I would hate for you to be caught in the midst of combat.” Mood rings on the cybernetic cheeks flared yellow, as Gemini’s eyes dilated. The Soulem instantly turned towards the tent and began power-walking. “Nope! Don’t have to tell me twice,” he exclaimed, “GoodLuckMarvelousManOkayLoveYouBye.” Director Skye watched the Soulem dart passed Octomentist and into the tent before reaching into his pocket. Pulling out a cell phone, the master witch dialed a number. He then placed it next to his ear, while it rang once before being answers. He announced, “This is Director Douglas Skye. I am authorizing the deactivation of your force field generators for ninety seconds...Yes. Begin now.” As the Director ended his call, the small humming noise from the force field projector cubes started to die down. The thin layer on top of the magical barrier eroded; starting from the top and making its way down. Within seconds, the projected force field from the Arkos Division had completely deteriorated. Director Skye placed the phone back into his pocket and held up his hands. The master witch’s hands then began to glow blue with magical energy. Gesturing with his hands, a magical circle appeared. “When I’ve created an opening, all of you must charge through. Do not worry about the monsters that get through, Puzzles and I, as well as the other heroes and police officers, will dispose of them. It is highly likely we will lose communication with y’all, so please be aware that you are all on your own once you three enter. Gene, you will be the field leader for this mission,” stated the Director. Gene pinned the brooch to his shoulder’s strap, “Understood.” A hole the size of a baseball appeared on the magical barrier above the magic circle. The hole then moved; splitting into both horizontal directions. While the incision on the barrier continued, Puzzle pressed the top of the glass bong to his lips and took a long inhale. When the gap reached a certain wideness on both ends, the ends of the gap made its way down. The very end of the whisping fog seemed to drool from the artificial outline that appeared wide enough for three men to charge in at the same time. Puzzles disengaged from the glass bong and exhaled a big puff of marijuana smoke; cascading to the concrete ground. The white smoke flooded in every direction, as it grew higher. Marvelous Man quickly fumbled about to pin the brooch onto his black leather jacket. In seconds, the bong smoke swallowed everyone. The last thing Marvelous Man saw, after successfully pinning the Bruja’s brooch, was the dissection of the magical barrier coming to a stop upon contacting with the terrain. Marvelous Man’s eyes blinked. He turned about; trying to absorb his new surroundings. The hulking bodybuilder was transported in what appeared to be a grand ballroom. The walls and furniture were adorned with the colors of gold white, and the paintings and decorations had a pastel color to them. Memories of art and architecture taught by Apollo allowed the musclebound superhero to surmise the ballroom was an eighteenth century Russian palace in the rococo style. He stood with his teammates amidst a crowd that were watching people court and dance. The citizens within the lavish ballroom were dressed of higher class Russian fashion from the eighteenth century; possibly even royalty. Marvelous Man could hear an orchestra composed of string and woodwind instruments. The muscle demigod was aware Puzzles could concoct illusions through smoke, but even the sound of violins and flutes playing nearly convinced himself of traveling through time. The hulking bodybuilder also spotted the Director amidst the dancers and had continued to channel the spell. The dancers twirled about Director Skye, yet never seemed to make any accidental physical contact to the master witch. Before questioning the scenery, his attention snapped to a commotion on his left. Ghouls and monsters from the fog had charged through a wide, opened doorway; screaming and snarling. The citizens and the scenery slightly warped, as smoke was channeled from them. Puzzles’ smoke reached out in the form of gentle vapors, as it funneled into the nostrils and mouths of the enemies. The Limbo creatures slowed to a stop; their eyes fogging in confusion. The residents within the ballroom that were closest to the stupefied foes sauntered over to them. The dancers guided the ghouls onto the main floor and danced with them, while the viewers petted the monsters like they were adorable dogs. More Limbo beings clamored into the ballroom and were quickly pacified. “Go now! Go!” commanded a deep Russian-accented voice from above Marvelous Man. A figure, blurred in grey and blue, fell from up high. It then collided onto the head of one of the dancing ghouls. The object that had landed came into focus as Puzzles with his dagger sunken onto the top of the inhibited ghoul’s head. The ghoul immediately disintegrated into dust, as Puzzled fell towards the ground. Gene spoke up, “My teammates, we must make the haste, while we still have the time.” The rabbit superhero ran towards the opened doorway with the purple ghoul following behind. The muscle demigod stared at his compatriots for a second before snapping out of his surprised daze and gave chase. As the three made their way closer to the doorway, the dancers and bystanders immediately stepped out of the pathway like water being parted. “Turn on the brooch with magic now!” shouted Sugar Skull, “The ghouls will attack us the moment we pass through!” Placing their hands on the Bruja’s magical item, Gene and Marvelous Man’s hands glowed blue with magic. The glowing immediately died, as the magic channeled into the weeping eye brooches upon passing through the doorway. Ghouls from the fog continued to pour in, but they weaved around all three allies without even passing a glance. The whisping fog crashed into the team’s faces; blackness obscuring their visions. The trio came to an immediate stop; their eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden darkness. Regaining enough sight, Marvelous Man noticed the countless, monstrous Limbo beings had continued to charge passed the hulking bodybuilder and his friends. His muscles, flexing into cords as hard as rocks, relaxed back into its natural round, firm state. With the danger temporarily alleviated, Marvelous Man’s body realized it had stopped breathing for over a minute. He gave a loud, sharp gasp before immediately coughing; the bleach scent of Limbo’s air hung heavily in the fog. The musclebound superhero bent down, as his throat continued to hack. The rest of the team flinched at the sudden noises given off by the hulking bodybuilder. The spinning, yellow flower eyes in Sugar Skull’s sockets transformed into red exclamation points. The purple ghoul stared up at Marvelous Man. “Wow, that actually gave me a fright!” commented Sugar Skull. Gene spoke up, “Marvelous Man, are you well?” The muscle demigod held up his index finger to indicate towards his teammates. Seconds later, Marvelous Man stood up straight. He looked down at the rabbit superhero. “Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t realize I was holding in my breath until just now,” he answered. Gene’s white rabbit ears twitched about, “I must do the commending, Sugar Skull. The Bruja’s magical jewelry works as you have said.” The purple ghoul turned to look at the bunny demigod. The red exclamation points in his eye sockets returned to its spinning flower form. “The Bruja is the real deal. After all, she struck a deal with your, uh. What’s the word I’m looking for? It’s predecesor in Spanish...Oh, haha. Predecessors. It’s why all the Toto’s restaurants act as the entrance to the land of the living when I leave Limbo,” replied Sugar Skull. Gene frowned, “I do wish to continue the talk regarding your master’s connection to my people, but we all must make the haste to defeat the Skeleton Lord.” The Totochin prince proceeded forward with the two party members immediately following behind. The howls and groans of the Limbo monsters echoed unseen throughout the streets. The line of sight for Marvelous Man could only extend as far as ten steps ahead before being swallowed by whisping fog enveloping the crew. With the unsettling feelings being forgotten the ghetto usually radiated and enhanced by the Skeleton Lord’s creepy fog, it became a tempting thought for Marvelous Man to fly his teammates over to the Skeleton Lord’s dwelling. It would have been faster, but the plans set days before the three went into the fog said otherwise. It was agreed that the trio would have to traverse the fogged area by foot at walking speed. Sugar Skull had pointed out that even with the Bruja’s magical items, the Skeleton Lord could still detect them. The safest strategy would be taking slow movements to avoid drawing sudden attention on themselves should the ancient villain return on the estimated date. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> As the team drew closer to the Skeleton Lord’s hideout, the streets became more spacious. There were still ghouls roaming about, but the majority of the Limbo creatures were loitering at the barriers surrounding the ghetto. The ones that Marvelous Man were now passing by were the naked ghouls he had seen before in Limbo; lying on the ground with the same surrender to despair. “Hello, Totochtin,” said a voice from behind the group. The group instantly turned around to face the person addressing Gene. A figure stood in the middle of the road; its height as tall as an imp. The being wore a dress covered in tatters, and the ribbon bow encircling the neckline had eroded with its color faded. It’s head and right arm no longer existed; replaced with whisping essence bleeding out and blending into the fog. It’s other arm seemed to be avian, as the limb was shaped like an arm but was compiled of tattered feathers. The creature turned to Marvelous Man. A voice then emanated from it; sounding as if it were under water. “You must be Marvelous Man,” it said, “Your shape is much like Gilgamesh. A giant man of muscles. So it’s not hard to figure out.” The smoky figure turned to Sugar Skull, “And you must be the Bruja’s ghoul. My master has been wanting to see you again to pay back all the torment you have given him.” As the demigods opened their mouths to reply, Sugar Skull interrupted them. “Don’t acknowledge him! If you do, he’ll be able to see you!” exclaimed the purple ghoul. Gene pointed out, “I believe there is none of the point to doing that. He identified us by the shapes of our bodies.” The creature spoke up; pulling the team’s attention back to itself. “I can’t hear you, but I know you’re talking about me. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice something I couldn’t see but was still taking up space in my own essence? Reveal yourselves to me, or I’ll get nasty,” it said. The trio remained frozen at the threat. Marvelous Man gulped; trying to build some courage within himself. The musclebound superhero needed confirmation first before he did anything else. He then took a step forward. He announced, “Yeah, I’m Marvelous Man. Are you the Skeleton Lord’s familiar?” “That I am. And will the others come forward as well? Or shall I have them skewered?” said the imp. Marvelous Man finally had his suspicions confirmed. To see an incomplete imp firsthand was...more disturbing than Puzzles could have described. He could only feel sadness for the imp; imagining how it existed for thousands of years in a constant state of pain and rage. The muscle demigod wanted to activate the spell immediately to put the imp out of its misery. But he knew what Gemini had said to him earlier. Now was not the time; not when the element of surprise had been lost. Marvelous Man would have to wait until another chance arose. Gene acknowledged, “What is your name?” “I am Digz,” replied the incomplete imp, “And what is your business here?” “We wish to defeat the Skeleton Lord,” answered Gene. Digz cackled, “He’s not here...yet. The Skeleton Lord will return soon.” The smoky familiar crooked his shoulder; seemingly staring at Sugar Skull. A sharp object shot out from behind the familiar. It screeched through the air in less than a second before making the sound of flesh being impaled. Marvelous Man turned to his half-alive friend. He could see an arrow sticking out of Sugar Skull’s left shoulder. The purple ghoul staggered back a few steps, as Marvelous Man noticed Sugar Skull wielding the signature black glock. The Limbo being’s eye sockets were completely covered in television static noise. “...You sneaky fatherfucker,” said Sugar Skull. Digz remarked, “I just said that I could see Marvelous Man’s shape. You honestly thought I couldn’t see you about to use your gun superpower?” “Well, yeah,” giggled Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man hurried over to Sugar Skull, while feeling the emotions of fear ebb from Gene. Placing his hand next to the wound, he fed the light within himself memories of his mother cooking his favorite breakfast. The muscle demigod then grabbed the arrow with his other hand, as his light began to heal the traumatized area. He spoke, “I got you, Sugar Skull...This is gonna hurt.” “...Hey, Marvelous Man. Remember that dickhead ghoul in the diner who told you that he was embracing life now that he could feel pain? Could you take my gun, go back in time, and shoot him in the fucking hea-AAAAGH, FATHERFUCKER!” exclaimed Sugar Skull. The musclebound superhero held the arrow in his hand; detached from the purple ghoul’s shoulder and dripping with crimson blood. Marvelous Man could not help but feel a small amount of cynicism despite seeing his friend in pain. His eyebrow flexed upward, “I’m sorry, but...I’ve seen your abdomen being disemboweled before. How was that arrow much worse than this?” “You ever had a paper cut before?” fired back the half-alive friend. Digz spoke up, “And now I wonder what I should do to the lot of you.” Marvelous Man thought quickly. He knew that Digz would not harm Gene, since the Skeleton Lord has use for the Totochtin prince. As for the hulking bodybuilder and the purple ghoul, Digz would have found them disposable. The musclebound superhero still needed more time to stop the ancient evil, and he needed to know more about the Skeleton Lord to find the weakness for defeating the supervillain. “Tell us about the Skeleton Lord!” he blurted out, “I mean, we hardly know the guy. We’ve come this far. Could you please answer our questions about him?” Sugar Skull chimed in, “I’m with him on that! Besides, I’m sure the Skeleton Lord would like to see us one more time.” The incomplete imp said nothing. Seconds ticked by, while whisping, black smoke continued to flow out of its neck and shoulder. Digz then shrugged. “I don’t see why not,” it answered. A small sigh of relief escaped from Marvelous Man’s lips. He could feel Gene’s emitted emotions become calmer, as he spotted Sugar Skull’s sockets returned back to displaying the spinning, flower eyes. Digz held up a feathery finger, “BUT! You each get one question. And before I can answer them, you have to defeat the guardians.” The imp snapped his fingers. The blackness behind Digz stirred, as three figures stepped through. They walked past the whispy familiar; revealing their identities upon drawing closer to the heroes. Leading from the center was Zareb and wielding his pair of short-handed axes. He clanged his axes together; causing the runes etched on the weapons to glow and spark electricity. Appearing on the electric tribesman’s left was Itzcóatl. The vengeful hunter pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and nocked it onto his equipped bow. On the other side of Zareb was a knight geared in a suit of polished silver armor. The knight shifted into its fighting stance; armed with an ornamentally-decorated glaive polearm that had appeared in the second confrontation with the Skeleton Lord. Sugar Skull yanked up his gun and aimed it at the knight. Pulling the trigger, an explosive bang went off. The knight’s helmet became slightly dented, while the sound of ricochet echoed from it. “GAH!” screamed Marvelous Man. A sudden, sharp sting rippled in Marvelous Man’s sculpted abdomen. The hulking bodybuilder grabbed at his stomach; crouching nearly at the ground from the pain. Sugar Skull’s yellow flower eyes transformed into a yellow-and-black-striped caution sign displaying an exclamation point. The half-alive ally looked at Marvelous Man, “Sorry! I didn’t think he was bulletproof!” Sugar Skull’s body gave an abrupt shake, while the sound of pierced flesh resounded from beneath him. His eyes fizzled from the caution sign back into the television static interference screen. Turning back to his armored opponent, the knight had appeared at a closer distance to the purple ghoul. He then looked down; spotting the knight’s glaive protruding through his abdomen. Blood started dripping from his mouth. The half-alive being coughed, “You know...when a guy stabs my guts...it’s usually from behind. Gahahaha...What? It’s funny.” The knight shifted his legs; hoisting the purple ghoul into the air. Sugar Skull screamed in midair. “MM! Tag in! Tag in!” exclaimed the half-alive teammate. Marvelous Man looked up at his skull-headed friend. He spotted Sugar Skull being lifted up before an arc of blue and white light crashed into him. The hulking bodybuilder’s muscles seized; painfully cramping everywhere while feeling a tingling sensation. In his scattered thoughts, he knew this had to be Zareb’s electrical attack. Gene watched Marvelous Man become too paralyzed to save Sugar Skull, while the knight proceeded to slam the purple ghoul over his head and into the ground. Crouching down, the rabbit superhero immediately pushed off with his legs. The Totochtin prince flung himself into the air with his back bending backward. As he performed his backflip, Gene quickly dug his hands into his ball pouch. His body then completed the twirl while still in the whisping air; now faced again towards the fight. The bunny demigod yanked his hands out and unleashed a fistful barrage of silver balls. The shiny projectiles rained down on Zareb; piercing into the electric tribesman and the ground around him. Blood splattered from the impacted damage Gene had caused, but the spheres were not thrown hard enough to completely pass through the enemy. The lightning guardian discontinued the electrical attack and recoiled from the silver ball affliction, as Gene landed. The Totochtin prince brought his hands close to his face and clenched them into tight fists. A yellow runic symbol appeared; glowing on top of his fingerless gloves. The silver balls lodged into electric tribesman exploded out of the enemy and the concrete ground; blood and debris blasting into the air with a misty and dusty consistency. The shiny spheres shot towards Gene. Before the magical projectiles pulverized into the bunny demigod, they stopped at only an arm’s length from Gene. Free from the electrifying shock, Marvelous Man ignored the pain and reacted. The musclebound superhero pushed himself up. With the arrow’s obsidian head covered in Sugar Skull’s blood still gripped in his hands, he threw it like a dart. The arrow flew towards Zareb and punctured into the lightning guardian’s abdomen. Zareb froze. At the area of the arrow’s impact, a wave of deterioration spread. As Sugar Skull’s poison expanded, the affected parts flaked off into a whisping, black dust. Marvelous Man quickly turned to the knight and activated his flight power. Pushing off with his massive legs, the hulking bodybuilder flew. The polished knight took no notice of him, as the armored guardian was only focused on the pinned Sugar Skull with back turned. The musclebound superhero wrapped his arms around the knight’s torso and flew up. With the silver knight unaware of the muscle demigod’s attack, the ornamental glaive slipped from the guardian’s grasp. Marvelous Man immediately spun his body, as he gained altitude. By the second rotation, the muscle demigod released his hold over the armored guardian. He shouted, “NGYAH!” The silver knight flung helplessly in the air like a ragdoll, while Marvelous Man took off his golden wreath. The laurel weaponry appeared sharper; reflecting the muscle demigod’s intent. Spinning his body, Marvelous Man threw his boomerang wreath with an underhanded throw. “SLICE AND DICE!!!” he battle cried. The golden headgear shimmered as it whirred through the air like a buzzsaw. A second later, the spinning projectile caught up to the airborne enemy. The boomerang laurel sliced through the knight’s midsection without hesitation. Gravity then took hold of the armored guardian, as the golden wreath returned to Marvelous Man. The knight broke apart into two separate pieces; bisected horizontally at the wreath’s passing impact. Before the silver knight reached halfway down, both parts of himself exploded into the same texture as the whisping fog. At the same time, the glaive pinned into Sugar Skull had dispersed into the same blackness as the fog. There was now only one more guardian for the team to combat against. “Gah!” he exclaimed, “...What the-?!” Marvelous Man felt a sudden, sharp poke in his massive glutes. Rubbing his left bubble butt cheek, he could feel a small hole in his American flag bikini. He then looked down and spotted an arrow clattering onto the ground. It was the same kind of arrow that had struck Sugar Skull earlier; the head of arrow shaped out of sharp, black obsidian glass. The muscle demigod gaze about the area but could not find the most likely assailant, Itzcóatl. Gene gestured with his hands again by creating a swirling motion with his index and middle finger at the floating spheres. This caused his gloves to glow with a different runic symbol. The silver balls in front of the Totochtin prince morphed; each of them extending a stem of itselves to two other spheres to create a silver bolas. With the magical command complete, a set of three bolas floated in front of Gene. The bunny demigod grabbed two bolas; one in each hand. Gene began twirling them, while he turned around until his back was facing his allies. The rabbit superhero’s eyes scanned the area, and his white rabbit ears twitched. He then released both bolas; flying off towards his right. The bolas spun, as they continued their flight. The grouped projectiles then stopped in mid-flight; wrapping around an unseen object. Upon binding, the object immediately revealed itself as Itzcóatl falling onto the ground. With one of the bolas tied around the legs and the other around the torso, the Aztec guardian was unable to move. Sugar Skull slowly leaned up. With the black gun still in his grasp, he hurriedly dipped the front end of the weapon deep into his opened abdomen. The purple ghoul grunted at the self-intrusion but did not hesitate to immediately pull out. He then aimed the blood-soaked glock at the bounded vengeful hunter. Pulling the trigger, the bullet’s impact against Itzcóatl’s shoulder was instant. His mocha-shaded skin as well as his clothing began to blacken and spread rapidly from the point of injury. The dispersal of Sugar Skull’s poison overtook the sneaky guardian in seconds before sharing the same fate of disintegration as his other villainous compatriots. Marvelous Man gently landed onto the ground upon spotting the battle had ended. He then rushed over to Sugar Skull’s side. Kneeling down, he placed his hands on a part of the purple ghoul’s clothing that had not yet been drenched by the toxic blood. The muscle demigod’s mind drifted to a memory about Apollo indulging a young Justice with baking and decorating a wedding cake. The light within Marvelous Man fed on the positive memory and feelings; illuminating the hulking bodybuilder’s large hands and beginning the healing process on Sugar Skull. A watery voice called out, “Well done, well done. I didn’t think the fight would end this fast. Hmmm, too bad we couldn’t include Gilgamesh in the fight. He would have really fucked you guys up...What did you do to him anyways? I can’t summon him back to me.” The Totochtin prince faced towards his allies. Standing steps away from the aiding teammates was the incomplete imp, Digz. The whisping darkness continued to pour out from the stumps of the missing head and right arm. “Gilgamesh has been detained. We have taken the precautions to prevent any of the attempts to do the escape,” replied Gene. Digz giggled, “Spoilsport. So how did you find Itzcóatl? His steps are too quiet for your hare ears to hear.” “He allowed himself to be filled with the anger after failing to attack Marvelous Man,” stated Gene, “Now, enough of the stalling. We have fulfilled the terms of your conditions. Answer our questions!” The incomplete imp sighed, “Fair enough. Ask away.” The Totochtin prince paused for a moment, as Marvelous Man finished healing the half-alive teammate. The hulking bodybuilder then helped Sugar Skull to stand up before the two faced the Skeleton Lord’s familiar. The eye sockets on the purple ghoul defaulted back to the spinning flower eyes. “...Did the Skeleton Lord speak the truth about himself being the cause as to why the Totochtin are split into the multiple tribes? I wish to know the horrors he had wrought upon my ancestors,” demanded Gene. The fog surrounding everyone reached out; encircling around the bunny demigod. The vortex of blackness covering Gene remained thick; rendering the Totochtin prince unseeable to those outside. Marvelous Man screamed, “Gene!” The rabbit superhero did not reply. Marvelous Man’s heartbeat beated rapidly in panic, as he heard Digz speak up. “Oh, he’s fine. Just spirited away to a memory. So go on. Ask your question,” said the incomplete imp. Sugar Skull stepped forward, “Alright. What is your backstory? I want to know how you came to be right up to when you met the Skeleton Lord.” The whisping fog stretch and embraced the purple ghoul in its swirling mass. Marvelous Man stared at the familiar. He was now alone again with nobody to call out to for help...and it terrified him. “I...I want to know...H-how did…” hesitated the hulking bodybuilder. Marvelous Man stopped and took a breath. Now was not the time to show fear and urinate on himself all over again. Marvelous Man was on a mission. He needed to get answers and cause the incomplete imp to lower their guard. The musclebound superhero started, “What is the Royal Burning? I want to know.” The black essence slithered over to Marvelous Man. It slowly rose up; covering from the feet and working its way up. As the whisping darkness reached his head, Marvelous Man held his breath. For a brief moment, there was only blackness. Next Chapter

Home of the Gods Part Four by F_R_Eaky Part One: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13486-home-of-the-gods-part-one-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Two: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13487-home-of-the-gods-part-two-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Three: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13490-home-of-the-gods-part-three-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Four: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13502-home-of-the-gods-part-four-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Five: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13527-home-of-the-gods-part-five-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Six: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14012-home-of-the-gods-part-six-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Seven: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14350-home-of-the-gods-part-seven-by-f-r_eaky/ It had been three weeks since the attack on the subway and not a word, sound, or sight from Gabriel or his friends.... posse more like it. However, this doesn't mean that things were quiet. the first two weeks were checking in at the hospital to make sure Reid was healing and doing alright. Most of his injuries were bandage and heal, but he had to have some minor surgeries to take care of his jaw and eye socket. His ribs had to be wrapped and he was on a couple of machines until his one lung had healed enough to be off of them. The very end of week three, but with his jaw wired shut and his ribs still tightly wrapped, he was allowed to go home, but was still in a long haul for being one-hundred percent healed. Week four saw the arrival and stay of Reid's parents, who were both surprisingly averaged size, well - his dad was around 6' 3" but very slim build, and they stayed to help watch over and take care of Reid, making him shake meals until time for the jaw to be freed from its wire stitches holding it in place. Reid's parents had figured out quickly via Fabian's expressions that he obviously had feelings for Reid and then being told that the day of the attack Reid had finally asked him to be an item together. With that knowledge the parents showed how accepting they were by saying, "Well that takes care of the sleeping arrangements then. No need for a hotel, you sleep with the boyfriend patient, and we'll take your bed." Fabian wasn't sure whether to be happy or annoyed. Fabian in the mean time was back at work as a bicycle courier and learning to adjust his great schlong down a leg of compression shorts, wearing cargo or board shorts over that which also went with his uniform, he informed his bosses it was due to an unseen inner thigh injury, and riding his bicycle to and from home, work, and delivery points. It became somewhat difficult as the back of his mind was always focused on Reid, then he'd feel the rubbing of the shorts, single layer or both, rubbing his colossal cock and an immediate erection would occur. Fabian had begun planning one or two minutes to stand in an alleyway of a building before delivery to lift up his shirt, pull out and open his shorts and allowing the cold winter air to strike and caress him until his cock had shriveled and shrunk from great python to being nearly being inside of him. The beginning of two months from the attack, things begin to go downward once again. Last delivery of the day, Fabian came out to find the tires on his bicycle deflated and punctured. Looking around, he froze upon seeing Gabriel across the street. A passing bus made it like one of those scenes in the movies, for as soon as the bus passed, it revealed that Gabriel was gone. It was as if he was on that bus now, although it hadn't stopped to pick up passengers from where he stood. Other things like birthday cards congratulating him on his 18th birthday - even though he was twenty-three - being sent to the apartment, or fake delivers to empty warehouses, the packages which turned out to be books, videos, or cd's on what happens to a body during puberty or how to build one's self up to be a man, were frequently happening. To a certain extent Fabian was becoming annoyed and scared of the pack's presence, but took solace in the fact that he was going to sleep each night next to a wonderful man, who also happened to be a pretty big brute of a man too. Spoon snuggling at night into Reid... head engulfed by pecs, cobblestone of abs against his back, legs that felt like great stones on top of his, arms that wrapped around and encased him almost as large as a pillow and hard as a rock, and all that bringing a wonderful scent of musk to Fabian's nostrils helped lull him to blissful sleep. Although he couldn't have sex yet, anal or oral, Reid still would pleasure Fabian in the morning, cooing and ah-ing in Fabian's ear as he watched Fabian achieve full, vein throbbing, stone breaking hard ons and then taking his large, meaty hands and wrap them around the colossal eleven inch long member and rub and squeeze, caress and massage until Fabian blew a huge load and felt that Reid had somehow stretched him out to 12...14....16.....18 inches. Despite being winter, Fabian was taking many cold showers in order to be able to go into work. The first day after the jaw wiring was undone, Fabian decided to take Reid out for a great steak to congratulate him on his mouth being healed and that he could finally eat something again without it having to be made into a blended, shake like form. He also teased and declared it their official second date, being as they were attacked and he'd been healing since the evening after their first. "Hmmmmm so good to eat real food again." "Well, slow down starvin' Marvin. You'll make yourself sick." "Doesn't matter. Just a month or two like this has made me lose some weight. I need to bulk back up in case...." Fabian glared at Reid. "Well, I do. I should even bulk up more so I can tackle two of them at a time." "They'd just get more people, Reid. Beside's I don't want to talk about them or think about them. I think about them on my delivery routes more and more each day anyway. Pick something else to talk about. Please." "Ok..... how about the gods?" "The gods? What gods? Why gods? Why religious?" "Because of how you're feeling and your chanting." "What?" "The gods of Ulpoo Island. And your cock. Your cock feels....somehow fuller now. Like it actually is made out of stone, or iron pipe. It's so friggin' hard even I can't hardly squeeze a dent in it." "I admit I've been having extremely full, throb painful erections, but that's no reason to think those Polynesian gods...." "That first day after your cock growth, it didn't feel quite that hard, and the neighbors came by to see me and ask if you were all right as the night of the attack they swore that they heard you chanting in the bathroom, and I know you had to have because you mumble names in your sleep currently, did you know that? If they are as real as the first one was, Ke'atuka'ine, I wonder what changes are going to come over to you, if they've come to reside in you." "Reside in..." "I think that's why your prick feels even harder, like steel, right now. It's because more gods have come to reside and make a home in your penis." Fabian turned his head away from the table, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply. "Something did happen the night of the attack. After they released me and I got home, I shut the door and that's all I remembered. When I woke up I was sitting in the tub, wet, exhausted and....and....there was a dried line of cum from the tub to the opposite living room wall...." "Good gawd that'd be nearly 25 feet in leng... ... How on earth did you....?" "I have no idea. I'm just certain it was me that shot it." There was a long silence between them before Fabian started the conversation again. "So do you know the name of the gods I've been chanting." "Yeah... so far I've been able to single out seven, besides the main god that said it was now residing in you. At least I believe that's all there is. Seven." "Seven? How many will my dong hold?" "I don't know. There's not a manual among the missionary guides on this sort of thing. I don't know if the seven is all you're chanting, all you can hold, or if it's an inch per god and you'll have three more come to live within you." "Oh...gaw.....never mind...." "I can tell you there's enough people out there who've done social studies and religious studies that I think I've discovered the identities of the seven your uttering." "Well, give it to me. Maybe I can work out something in appeasing them without finding myself more morphed than I already am." "What if the point of you having them is to morph you?" "No...I can't think like that. I mean... I could become a freak.... .... ....." The conversation stalled between the two for a while, until Fabian looked across and up at Reid with pleasing eyes and he began. "You already know of Ke'atuka'ine who came to reside in you the night of the attack." "He's the god of fertility and dicks isn't he?" "No. He's king of the gods. I imagined that's why he made your cock grow so friggin' huge. He liked your actions to save his people and thus felt if you were being made part of the tribe, you might as really be part of the tribe?" "I wonder if he realizes the hassle it is for me?" Reid smirked over to Fabain, "I'm not complainin'." Fabian turned his head away from the table again and blushed so much his head and face nearly matched Reid's hair color. "At any rate the others I think I have been able to figure out are some other major gods: Ke'atutelmusele, god of strength, power, and muscles; Ke'atutel'luga, god of mountains, trees, and height - specifically those who are tall; Ke'atuaule & Ke'atutelho'i, the twin gods of male fertility, specifically the god of huge penises and the other of large and massive producing testicles; and then there is Ke'atutelvae one of the many gods of warriors, this one specifically god of standing firm, strong hold, massive hands and feet. The last two are semi-minor gods: Ke'atutelhonuleo, god of messages, echos, thunder, and low registered voices; and Ke'atutel'lauoho, god of attractiveness, skin, teeth -or more correctly smiling, and hair." "Great.... they are all body gods. They're here to make me into a walking morph. I couldn't have wound up with a god of prosperity? A god of creativity?" "Look we don't know what they're going to do. Think about it. Supposedly these gods reside in several men at the same time, right? So you think there'd be many, many huge muscled, tall, hairy, strong, ridiculously hung, big balled men all over the island, but do you recall any? ... ... ... They were all well within average range. Sure there were a couple who were almost as tall as me. One was average framed the other pretty fat. There were a couple who were hugely muscled. Some that had thick gorgeous head of hair, but no body hair, while some were somewhat thin on top and looked to be covered in fur on their bodies. It looked like the gods pretty much just let things, the people, men develop on their own per nature's order. And you can't really count of the god of balls and penis because since birth the boys are raised to stand over deep holes with weights attached to their cocks and their taught to jelq on a daily basis. That's the reason why they were all so hung." "I don't know, Reid....." "It'll be ok, and what if you do grow?" "Well that would horrible! that would be...." "Would it? Would you really think it horrible? You said yourself that although you don't hate your body, you have at times hated being short. You workout but your metabolism is such you don't seem to gain any weight, either fat nor muscle. They could just make you grow to be average height and build. What would you do with that? What if you grew semi big like Gabriel? A bit bigger big like me. Oooooomph!" And Reid did a double bi at the table. "Stop..." Fabian said giggling. "It would be a bit problematic, but what would you do if you became the HULK GRRRRRRR!" Reid did a most muscular pose. "People are staring... stop.... you... you're..... making me...." "What? Horny? Imagine that cock on a bod like mine? I think I'd swoon everytime you winked at me." "Will you....qui hi hi hiiiiit...." and Fabian burst into smiles and giggles. ***************************************************************************** The next morning Reid's bedroom was a mess. A few utterances of pain were "ooched" and "ouched", but Reid proved ready to enjoy sexual pleasures again. Fabian began by kissing his man on the lips, then glided them down Reid's chin before stopping and suckling on Reid's neck. His hands groped at Reid's traps and shoulders, cupped and caressed Reid's delts, upper arm, and specifically biceps. Reid flexed and popped his bicep as Fabian cupped his hands around the arm to squeeze as hard as he could and try to stop the rising mountain of the flexing bicep. Fabian kissed the bicep, then dryly licked the split at the top of the bicep's head. Raising his head, Fabian hovered just above the bicep, then moved down across the tricep, inhaling deeply as he crossed Reid's arm pit just before his lips locked onto one of Reid's nipple like a space craft to a shuttle door. Feeling the flick of Fabian's tongue, the nip of Fabian's teeth, Reid inhaled sharply and then began bounce his pec and undulate his abs to keep Fabian off balance and force him to more violently latch on in order to continue his nipple sucking. Meanwhile, Fabian's hand started to grasp and grab at Reid's obliques and abs like he was attempting to break through stone bare-handed, as though he were climbing a bluff. Eventually he reached and stroked Reid's rod, paying particular attention to the cock's head; his fingers firmly squeezing the rod while his thumb pressed in and rubbed the back underside of the helmet and then up and over the piss slit. Over and over and over again. Harder.... faster.......greater pressure.... feathery touch..... This kept going until on one rub Reid nearly sat up violently, screaming out a quick and extreme, "OH!" and then Fabian stopped. The moment hung there.... and hung there....silent....long.... painful.....Reid was so close to the cumming point. Fabian couldn't leave him hanging like this. He'd have blue balls for a month....a season....maybe a year. Too much has been built up. He's going to have a geyser's worth when his cock goes off. And then suddenly Reid's sphincter was pushed wide open, and his insides stuffed with every inch of Fabian's eleven inch fat phallus, instantly all the way deep until his butt cheeks felt Fabian's balls. Where upon Fabian then just sat there and began to do minute millimeter movements with his cock, bringing his balls to smack against Reid's globulous glutes what felt like a dozen times per second. It was all Reid could stand. "UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Reid shuddered and shook, his abs, arms, and chest crunching, his toes and fingers curling, and his prick bouncing blasting string after string from his abs, over his chest, to his neck, chin, and mouth. The ending result of Fabian deeply kissing Reid again. Another volley would come out of Reid the same time as one finally came out of Fabian, after plowing Reid's ass for a good thirty minutes. The men collapsed upon Reid's bed. Despite being winter neither pulled to covers over themselves, not even the sheets. The room was too hot. Pillows and clothes were everywhere. Comforters on the floor. Eventually the winter weather came in to cool the room down and the guys weakly, lazily pulled a sheet or two over themselves, but just barely over their cocks, maybe half-way up their abs. The weekend continued with more bedroom fun, sometimes in the bedroom, sometimes the living room, one cliché romp on the dining room table - which nearly couldn't accommodate Reid's size and weight - and one in the bathroom which had the neighbors pounding on the wall, but they eventually started to make their bed knock on the wall as well. Monday morning was back to the grind of a regular work week. Fabian to the job of a courier and Reid to his job as a delivery man, although he was still to be on light duty for a couple of months. Towards the end of the day, Fabian thought it was going to be a most excellent Monday until he started to leave the spot of his last delivery and ride home. After taking off, his bike began to slow down despite his extreme peddling. Thinking he had hit a patch of ice, he attempted some correcting maneuvers which propelled him forward a bit, but then suddenly he, with his bike, was jerked back with tremendous force. Fabian and bike landed with a thud in an alleyway which ended with a courtyard for some kind of office building and factory. The courtyard had tables and chairs stacked and lined up along one side, and in the center was a small fountain with a low ridge or lip outlining the pool and a single, rectangular, but rounded out corners, onyx like stone in the center. Fabian had slid upon some ice beyond his bike and next to that fountain. "What was that?" a deep bass voice boomed around the courtyard. "Run quickly it's sound like a little girl is hurt! ... .... Oh wait it's a little boy! What's a matter little man? Did you fall down and go BOOM!" The last word echoed around the courtyard sending pigeons and some other birds scattering to the rooftops. Lying there, catching his breath, Fabian could see that there were two white straps attached to his bicycle. They must have been connected to his bike and blended in with the ice patch and small amount of snow near where he locked his bike up when he went inside. A deep bass laugh filled the air. "Sorry, lil boy. You should remember to wear more padding when riding a bike.... in the summer, let alone in the winter. Remember, we're watching you." And with that the air became silent as the man's deep laughter faded. Fabian lie there trembling in the cold. Gradually he sat up and then stood up, his right foot hitting the basin rim causing him to trip and stumble backwards into the shallow pool. The moment he did so a cacophony of drum beats began to fill the air. Louder and louder they rumbled. More and more they thundered. The sounded echoing throughout the courtyard. Their sound bouncing off of the three walls that surround this little square of work relief. Soon a name was carried on the wind. It was whispered at first but became louder until it seemed there was a great throng of men shouting this word.... this name.... "Ke'atutelhonuleo..... Ke'atutelhonuleo..... Ke'atutelhonuleo..... Ke'atutelhonuleo...." The snow and ice within and around the basin began to melt. Steam began to rise up from the courtyard floor. Despite having been drained, shut off and shut down for the winter, the whistling sound of a pipe being filled with water was resounding out of the central stone. Suddenly it spewed forth a might spray of water, like a whale shooting out its blowhole. It came down and coated Fabian, and although the chanting of Ke'atutelhonuleo's name was still going on, Fabian could only hear and chant one name himself. "fazzah.......Fazzah.....FAZZAH......FAZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The last time chanted, Fabian held the note and it rang clear and high as if being screamed out by a choir's boy soprano, but within seconds the pitch began to drop down boy soprano to female soprano to a mezzo, an alto, a counter tenor, a tenor, and into the baritone range and down: Elvis Presley, David Bowe, Seth McFarlane, Johnny Cash, Lou Rawls, Barry White, Benedict Cumberbatch, James Earl Jones, Avi Kaplan.... Soon it sounded like a ship's foghorn was being blasted in the courtyard and the windows began to vibrate and then shattered. Stopping his scream, Fabian stood there briefly, his chest heaving, and then looking around he knew he needed to make it to the rooftop. Running to the building's fire escape, he used his bike to grab the ladder and pull it down and then he raced up the stairs as fast as his short legs could carry him. Once on top he saw a set of footprints leading away from the courtyard's side of the roof to the opposite direction where another fire escape was. Climbing downward and jumping off the end, Fabian found a set of footprints in the next alleyway's snow, matching the set that was on the roof. He followed it out onto a street, which although not having a lot of traffic, still had more than enough people to obscure a view. "FAZZAH!" Fabian bellowed. The sound reverberated off of buildings and then echoed back to Fabian. He saw in his mind a man one street and half an alley down away who had stopped and looked up at the sound. That sound was Fazzah who just had a chill run across his shoulder as he thought he heard his name on the wind. Upon reaching the alleyway Fazzah was in, Fabian again called out his name and when the echo returned, saw a man stop and turn violently around on the third floor and freak. Again it was Fazzah who swore someone behind him had called his name. Opening the door to his apartment, Fazzah stepped inside to be greeted by a woman with a drink in her hand and an appetizer plate in the other. Smiling he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in for deep long kiss, saying in a hushed, low, whisper, "Ooooh mama know's what daddy needs when he comes home and therefore gonna get some sugar. We gonna go round and round all night long tonight." Just then a gust of wind came through the room and made the couple shiver a bit. Fazzah walked toward the direction of the breeze and found the kitchen window wide open. "What.... what is this? Woman you know it's winter outside and how hard it is to keep this apartment warm. What the hell is this?" "I don't know sugar. Must have been some hoodlums wanting to break in and robs us, but then realized not a good thing to do once they heard or saw you. I didn't have it open." Fazzah turned to shut it, standing in the glow of the streetlight and moonlight in the darkened kitchen. Pulling his lady friend close he whispered to her, "Why don't you set those appetizers and drink down.....pick one of the appetizers up and...." "Place it up my ass." The couple startled as Fazzah hoarsely said "What?", his female friend said "huh?", and then stopped herself before she nearly obeyed the command she heard. "What did you say?" "I didn't say nothin', woman." "Place it up my ass." The woman blinked, her hand moved, Fazzah grabbed her wrist in a flash. "Woman don't you even think about it." Confused the lady cried out, "Baby what's going on? It almost sounds like your voice. No one's got a voice as low as yours." "I know.... someone thinks they can get away with impersonating me.... they're not going to get away with it. The voice came from over here......" Before he could turn on a light and lunge in that direction, Fabian stepped out of the shadow and in a voice that felt as though it were even an octave lower than Fazzah's barked out an order. "SIT!" "WHOOOO!" The woman screamed and backed up against the kitchen - living room doorway. Fazzah meanwhile found himself shaken to the core and either out of surprise of hearing someone with a deeper voice range than himself, or having to obey the voice against his will, he sat down in a chair. "Ma'am I mean you no ill will, but I'm about to show you how worthless this man is." Fazzah still somewhat shaken started to stir but before her could do so Fabian barked out an order loud and strong. "Get up!" Fazzah just did it on command, as though he had no choice. "No... you look..." "FACE YOUR WOMAN!" Fazzah turned to the lady in the door way. "Now... ... ... ..." and Fabian walked up slowly behind Fazzah. His tilted up, his mouth resting on Fazzah's right shoulder blade all so he could whisper in Fazzah's right ear. "..... ..... ..... piss you pants." Fazzah struggled mentally, shook his head slightly, slowly. "Wha... what?" He wasn't going to do it....he would fight this... "PISS THEM!" The command bored right through Fazzah's back and out his chest, with part of it moving down his torso and straight into his kidneys and bladder. One second from command given to execution and there stood Fazzah hosing down the inside of his underwear and jeans, a wet spot growing larger and longer each second until there was a puddle on the floor. "Oh...baby?" "That's right. He's a baby. He's no man. Don't let him fool you. He thinks you're so hawt, he has no stamina. Isn't that right, Fazzah. No stamina...." "Uh......hmmmm what?" "You see her, you become erect, you blow. Just that quick. Isn't that right?" "I...... that is.... I...." "Cum!" "Uh....I.... n.... no..no nononono nooo no no no....." And Fabian stood right behind Fazzah and again and bellowed so loud car alarms on the street went off. "CUM! ORGASM NOW AND ORGASM SO LONG UNTIL YOUR DRY!" "ooo WAUGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" And Fazzah just suddenly bucked his hips forward and began to shake and spasm violently as he let out cries and moans of ecstasy. "Auuuugh aaaugh augh augh augh oh oh oh oh oooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOWAUGH! OH OH OH OH OH! Uggh." Fabian moved past Fazzah toward the kitchen doorway. Turning towards the woman as softly as he could he spoke to her. "I say this without command, but with respect. You are so much better than him. You do not need him. You stand beautiful and accomplished on your own. You should leave him. Good night." Fabian then walked out the front door as the woman grabbed herself by the breast and crotch. Muttering a few "whooooo"s through elongated breaths, she shook away the feeling she was having for this new man who invaded Fazzah's apartment. She put on her coat, walked out the door. Fazzah was left there in the darkness of his kitchen, spewing spurts of spoo until he just convulsed and did dry heaves through his dick. The posse came to see him a day of dry spewing later, took him to a hospital and watch him pass out under prescription. Before that Fabian had ridden home. Entering through the apartment door he strode fast into the dining room area of the main room. The lights were off here as Reid came out of his bedroom. "Is that you, Fabian?" "Yes." Fabian said as soft as he could; Reid froze. "Who are you? Are you one of Gabriel's gang? I'll beat the piss outta y..." "It's me, Reid. It's Fabian." "You don't sound like Fabian, sucker. Not by a long shot." Reid approached fast with a raised and reared fist. No time to react Fabian just blurted out, "Stop!" and Reid did so. Seeing him approach Fabian instinctly went to protect himself by walking over a dining room chair and into a corner, putting the chairs and tables between him and Reid. "Reid, it's me. I know I don't sound like myself, but honey, it is me. Something's happened. My voice just suddenly dropped and dropped...." Reid looked in the direction of the voice. He couldn't clearly see in the dark who the man was or where exactly he was standing, until his eyes adjusted somewhat and he could just make out a head almost at his height. Rage filled his mind. "I see where you are. You're not Fabian. My man is really short and you're almost as tall as I am." "What?" Realizing he needed to get off the chair to prove his height and avoid the punch, Fabian tried to move, but in his shifting got his foot caught in the space between the seat and a back cross bar. "Reid, wait, it's me... I'm on a chair.... I can't get down... stop... stop... STOP!" Maybe because it was being ordered by someone he loved. Maybe because he was too full of rage against anyone he thought was a member of the group put him in the hospital and aimed to hurt Fabian. Whatever the reason the simple command of stop wasn't working. A few more times of dryly barking the order to stop and suddenly Fabian let go with the only other recent command he'd given. "Cum!" Reid stopped slightly. "Wha?" "Sexually. not come at me. CUM NOW!" Reid froze, went silent, and then slowly began to scream louder and louder in pain as you saw his cock in an instant tent up and out of his sweat pants. He shuddered. He groaned. He collapsed. Reid dropped to his knees breathing heavily, his eyes nearly crossed and in shots a wet spot on his groin formed, grew, and expanded....expanded....expanded.... Wrenching his foot free finally, Fabian leapt to the floor from the chair, ran to Reid, semi catching Reid as Reid fell backwards, and his short, light, and lithe frame tried to hold Reid's massive torso. "I'm so sorry, hon. I couldn't think of what to say to stop you. I was stuck... I was stuck and you were coming to punch me. I'm so sorry... so so so sorry..." Reid looked into Fabian's face somewhat confused and most definitely dazed. "I know. I can.... can....see now.... that..... voice.... oooooh......coming out....huuuuuuuuuuughn......of your small......oooooh....baby..... BODY..... your small body...... so loud..... so deep......so commanding...... it's so heady..... from a small man like you..... " "I know....it's confusing. I'm not sure what happened. It just did. Then I had to go do something to Fazzah, one of Gabriel's gang....and then I came home forgetting my voice..." "That voice..." "Yes this now my voice..." "Coming out of you..." "Yes coming from me..." "That's so..... so......" And Reid strained to turn his head to face and look him in the eye. "hawt!" and then he passed out in Fabian's arms, torso, and lap.

Had a mind block on this one originally, but over the last two days....wow is it coming through. I hope you are all enjoying. Home of the Gods Part Three by F_R_Eaky Part One: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13486-home-of-the-gods-part-one-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Two: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13487-home-of-the-gods-part-two-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Three: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13490-home-of-the-gods-part-three-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Four: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13502-home-of-the-gods-part-four-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Five: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/13527-home-of-the-gods-part-five-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Six: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14012-home-of-the-gods-part-six-by-f_r_eaky/ Part Seven: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/14350-home-of-the-gods-part-seven-by-f-r_eaky/ The next morning Fabian woke like many men do, by morning wood setting in. He could feel the warmth spreading through his cock and it lengthening, hardening, although today he could feel become more and more erect, as if it was really turning in to a cold, hard, steel pipe. He might not have really noticed anything, except he rolled over on his back and when he did so, he felt all this air around his body, and his mind did a semi calculation on exactly how long his cock had to be to make the covers tent that far to produce that much air space between the sheets and his body. Throwing the covers off of himself, he was stunned to see this massive rod sticking nearly straight out from his tiny body. A rod that when he grabbed not only didn't come off, but made his tiny hands be unable to completely grasp around. "Ah.... ah.....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Reid came bursting through Fabian's door. "What is it? Are you okay?" "Auuugh! Go AWAY! Get out! Shut the door! GO GO GO!" Reid backed out and shut the door, standing there quietly for a moment or two. "Uhm..... it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I....uh.... I already saw it. You passed out in the bath tub yesterday morning. When you didn't wake up and get out after the water got semi cold, I had to pick you up and out of there before the water got frigid and you caught pneumonia." "You saw....this?!? OH MY GAWD!" and Fabian threw the covers over his head and tried to roll over face down into his pillow! "My gawd it's a fucking kick stand! I can't even turn over!" Grabbing his cock and pressing it against his body, Fabian turned face down to lie there, eyes in total darkness via his pillows. He hoped he could make himself be and realize he was in a dream, or more like a nightmare. He mumbled through his pillow, "It feels like I'm lying on a branch!" After several minutes of silence, Reid opened Fabian's door, slowly walked to the end of Fabian's bed and sat down. "It's ok... really... you may have to do some adjustments....to how you walk.....your clothes....." "Adjustments? How am I supposed to work!? Snaking this thing down compression shorts and biker pants... do you know how much that's going to show up? Especially on me?! Even if I was average height, this is a bit much to be packing down there. On me it's going to look like I've put a summer sausage down my pants. I can't greet customers like that!" "You'll just have to learn to wear double layers and loose clothing.... like if snaking down your leg you'll wear compression shorts and then surfer or board shorts or khakis over them, buy your pants a little looser than usual with compression shorts underneath, or run your cock along your hip bone or waist and wear a loose sweatshirt or sweater over it or a big t-shirt. ...." "Easy for you to say.... big guy like you. You've probably dealt with this your whole life. Tall....big...and hung..." "I'm tall....built up a pretty good physique....but I'm not horse hung." "What?" "I think from what I remember, you now, flaccid, are more hung than I am erect." "You're joking. But you're so..." "I know tall and big, but that doesn't always mean we big guys are hung with an elephant's trunk. I'm better than average sized men, true, but I'm only seven inches when erect, not eight, nine, ten, or twelve. It doesn't really work that way. It's a genetic thing like what makes one tall or short or massively muscled or skinny. The man with the biggest recorded cock is only five foot nine inches tall." "I doubt that. You've gotta be as big as me." "No really I'm not. And seriously I think you're larger flaccid than I am hard." "I'm so scared right now, I've gone flaccid." "Then let me get you a tape measure and you can see. I've got one in a sewing kit." "You have a sewing kit?" "As a tall man, you have to learn to make repairs or alter some things you buy, otherwise you spend half your paycheck on alterations." Reid went into his bedroom and then came back with a cloth tape measure and handed it off to Fabian. "Now, put the end at the base of your pecker, but don't push into your flesh. Run it across the top and then see where your penis head ends on the tape markings." Fabian took it under the covers, holding them to allow the sunlight to stream through yet still hide himself from Reid. "... ... ...uhm....seven....seven and half inches. Gawd.... that's.... two times more than what I was... I think." "And that's half an inch longer than I am erect." "I don't believe you." With that Reid stood up and pulled his pajama bottoms and underwear down. "Out of brotherly love and teaching you some facts of life. Look...." and he did a little hip shake and twist. "Do you see it hanging and flopping like a cord coming outta my crotch?" Fabian looked at it bashfully. "....No...." "That's cause it's just over four and three-fourths inches soft. It only grows up to seven inches hard." "But who would want a cock this size?" "Lot of guys would kill to be hung. It might actually be too big, but a lot of men wish they could be extremely hung." "Forget them, who would want this? I mean, they look at me and think small man, twink, only to see I've got the cock of a Grand Derby champion. What man likes that kind of size?" "Lots of men do. ... .... ...." And Reid placed a hand on Fabian's covered knee. "....I do..." "What?" "I like big and hung men. Being tall and built man myself, I always feel like I have to be too subdued during sex or I'm gonna break my partner, and frequently they're not endowed enough to satisfy me. But... I..... I've had a thing for you for a while..... you're lithe but muscled, ripped....ya know....I've been wanting to ask you out for a while now, but never had the courage to do it." "You didn't have the courage to ask....." Fabian began to blush as he could feel his crotch becoming hot and warm again. He turned his head away from Reid but then turned it back when the big guy slowly lifted the covers off from around Fabian's waist and legs. Taking Fabian's ball sack by the hand, his two first fingers began to stroke the underside of Fabian's scrotum, while his thumb began to stroke Fabian's lengthening and thickening cock. Pretty soon Reid took the tape measure out of Fabian's hands, ran it along his own fattened phallus to show an ending point of seven inches, and then laying it out on Fabian's member, extended the tape until it draped over Fabian's cock head at the eleven inch mark. Reid leaned over then a gave Fabian a passionate kiss, the two then began to hug, caress, and fondle each other over and over in the bed. Eventually Reid lay on his back, hoisting his massive feet, calves, and thighs in the air so his bubble butt was exposed and whispered, "C'mon, Fabe.... be the big man....take me...." to which Fabian drove his cock all the way balls deep into Reid who wiggled and squirmed in delight, panting and chanting "oh yes" over and over again. ************************************************************************** Late in the afternoon, Reid and Fabian went shopping at some clothes retailers, buying some slightly oversized stuff for Fabian to be able to hide and yet comfortably move around in. People thought they were planning a practical joke or something as they kept looking and staring at each other and snickering like school boys. Frequently Fabian would excuse himself to the bathroom and come back a number of minutes later. Fabian was going kind of crazy between enjoying his time with Reid, with a new special connection developing between them, and them just being out and having fun, but it was being interrupted frequently by his growing cock that threatened to balloon and tent his pants leg. In fact there was one embarrassing, or was it a proud moment, when a security guard stopped them proclaiming that Fabian was obviously smuggling shoplifted merchandise out in his pants leg. The look on the face of the guard as he padded Fabian down and then figured out what it was. Fabian had to think cold shower thoughts cause he could tell by Reid's expression it was turning him on that this had been mistaken of Fabian and the expression that the guard felt like nothing compared to Fabian. Eventually the two dropped off the purchases back at the apartment, went to have dinner, and then attend a Knicks game enjoying themselves. After the game, the pair was riding back towards their apartment on the subway. Still giggling like school boys, Reid calling Fabian "big man" and Fabian calling Reid "small fry." Although still scared, it was really beginning to grow on Fabian, no pun intended, the fact of him having an extreme sized rod and one that dwarfed his best friend, now lover's, cock - the love who stood nearly a foot and a half taller than him. A flash of guilt washed over Fabian's mind as he wondered if it was wrong to override his sense of worry with the sense of pleasure he was constantly having of his pants either rubbing his prick, or his prick rubbing his pants as it grew in semi-secret erections throughout the day. Either way the pair leaned their heads back against the window, slight smirks on their faces, hands being held under Reid's jersey jacket laying between them, the sway and rumble of the subway almost lulling them to sleep. It being late at night and their stop nearly one of the last on this line, there weren't many people in the car at all. Fabian was riding with one of the seat end walls to his right, his right leg crossed over his left to help hide his massive member snaking down his left pants leg. Reid had moved over a seat or two, sitting in the middle so he could stretch his legs out a bit after riding so long cramped between other passengers. They were only one stop away from their exit point when a group of men entered their car. They were a pretty good sizable group of men. Large enough that as a pack, Fabian worried if they were together and going to attack, not even Reid could handle them. The shortest one, probably around 6' 2 or 3" tall had a power-lifter kind of build, but the thing you noticed on him were the huge bear paws he had for hands and the extremely large sneakers on his feet. It nearly looked like he had baseball mitts at the end of his arms and that he was almost wearing clown shoes on his feet. Another looked to be around 6' 4" and had the physique. He was like a living action figure; extremely broad in the shoulders and chest but very narrow at the waist and excessively thick in the neck, upper arms, thighs, and even his forearms and calves. He was a bodybuilder who was just this side shy of probably being a high ranking amateur. Then there was the man who was about the same height as the bodybuilder. He had a decent build on him, a smaller gymnast or physical trainer type build, but he had a bulge that one couldn't ignore. Despite wearing some clothes that were just a size too small so he filled them out well, you couldn't miss the fact that the crotch of his pants were at least two sizes too small. We are talking when he turned sideways in a profile from one, one noticed the obvious bump that pushed his zipper forward a bit. Then there was another man about 6' 8" tall, another trainer's kind of build, but he had this huge mane of thick hair piled high in a bun. A mustache and beard just as full and thick on his face and just over the open collar of his shirt was a great bush of thick feathery hair as well. Looking down at the man's hands, the back of them were covered in some pretty dense hair as well, such that one could easily imagine that if nude, this man was covered in a carpet for thick, shaggy, finger running through hair from top of his head, down his chest, abs, and groin, and out and across his fore arms, thighs and calves at least. Next was another man back down into the 6' 2" height range, muscled, but only at that soccer player, athletic kind of build, but whenever he spoke, and especially when he laughed heartily, the windows and other loose items shook violently and one felt a rumble in one's own chest from the great resounding bass tones of his voice. It was so deep and so low, Fabian thought that this was a commanders voice, a voice that could walk up to a man or woman and even softly, yet firmly, state the order, "Cum!", and that person would do so on the spot against their will. Lastly the man in the center of the group....tall and lanky, although some muscle to pop on him, he definitely looked like a basketball center, coming in around 7' even. The second to last stop before Fabian and Reid's was reached and the group of men, instead of taking the door out that they came in on, began to walk, strut by the row of seats the pair were seated in, as though they were exiting via the next door down. Instead they stopped and stood there. The doors shut and the men sprung into action. It was a Fabian had feared. The power lifter looking man with huge hands and feet pulled Fabian up off the seat. This in turn made Reid jump up to go and protect Fabian, but he was caught on one side by the seven-footer and grabbed on the other side by the hairy beast who stood just a titch taller than him. Following was a blow to Reid's gut by the bodybuilder who definitely proved he didn't just lift to create size, he worked out for strength too. The blow doubled Reid over where upon the man with the low voice punched Reid across the jaw. Reid struggled to get free, and could've given the muscular size of the two men holding him, but the bodybuilder one joined in holding Reid from the back, and the low voiced man began to pummel Reid with the added assistance of some brass knuckles. "This here...." said the man with the large crotch bulge. "Is to show you a couple of things, lil' boy. And you are....a little boy.... First that Gabriel has friends..... and even if you think you can out run him, hide from him, you will still have to watch your back, look in every corner, on every street, for us his friends. "The second thing is to show you that together, we can come together to take care of and put down your guardian over, who despite what he may think, is not the only man of some size in the neighborhood..... "Speaking of which.....the third we are here to show you is how to have some respect for your betters. More correctly have to show respect for men. REAL MEN! While, you.... are a tiny boy. That's right you are a boy!" And with that the low voiced man with the brass knuckles stuck Reid in the jaw again and shouted, "BOY!" "Let us being the lesson with our friend who is holding you now. Real men have strong hands.... big hands.... and big feet to support that size, strength, and power!" "POWER!" and Reid was punched in the gut. "See this man here....Michael....he has huge hands and feet for his height because of all his power lifting and strength. Big mitts!" "MITTS!" Reid was punched in the eye. "Huge......BOATS!" "BOATS!" Reid now spat out a gasp as he was punched in the ribs. "Michael, show the man what you got...." And with that Michael turned and smacked Fabian across the face. His hand nearly covered all of Fabian's head. Fabian nearly went sailing across the row of seats, save Michael put his foot down on top of Fabian's holding him in place. Fabian winced in pain from Michael's weight upon his foot. "Only six foot two but size sixteen feet! Wide, thick, manly feet! What size are you? a five? Do you even go to the men's section to buy your shoes or do you still buy in the boys department? Switch it up now!" Fabian's ears still ringing and his head still swooning from the smack he received sat there as the one man let him go and then went to hold onto Reid, while the bodybuilder, first pulled on Reid's arms, popping one out of his shoulder, then came and took Michael's place. Reid moaning in pain slumped a bit to the floor. "Speaking of power!..... let us introduce you to Fernando. He has spent years since his early teens to build up, bulk up, and hulk up his body to massive perfection. He has muscles upon muscles. His shoulder, back and lats are so wide he takes up three zip codes. His upper is bigger round than your head. Your waist. Hell, probably even your chest. He has REAL MUSCLE!" "MUSCLE!" And Reid received an upper cut to his chin. "Fernando show the boy your powaaaaaaaaaaaah!" With that Fernando flex his arm in front of Fabian's head and after flexing and peaking his bicep up until the veins had plumped up, he then reared back and delivered one hell of a gut punch to Fabians stomach. "Switch it up again!" The bodybuilder walked back over to his position behind Reid, the large handed man took position on the side, as the tallest man came over to stand in front of Fabian. "This is DeWayne. He is obviously a basketball player. Why? Because of his height! He's seven foot tall. You see real men, Fabian..... real men......are tall. They've had a growth spurt during puberty. Take a look at all of us. Include our friend, Gabriel. We are all 6' 2" though 7' tall. This is the size of real men. But you....boy.... you just barely broke five foot. You haven't had a growth spurt, therefore you are still a boy. Stand up in front of DeWayne. STAND UP!" And DeWayne pulled Fabian to his feet the top of Fabian's head just coming up right under DeWayne's chest. "See.... you look like a child standing next to him, because you are! DeWayne show him how small he is." At this DeWayne placed his large hand on top of Fabian's head, ruffled and tussled Fabian's hair hard and rough, the rose his hand slightly, balled it into a fist and konked Fabian on top of the head. Fabian saw stars for a moment, thought he would black out, but fell backward into his seat. "SMALL AND SHORT!" "SMALL AND SHORT!" Reid received a blow to the shoulder that appeared to be dislocated. He barely let out a groan. "SWITCH!" The tall man left to take his position on the opposite side of Reid that he had left, relieving the hairy man who came to stand in front of Fabian. "Behold Gan Otkai! After puberty real men get hairy. Oh, true, many men like Asian and Indigenous Americans don't become quite as hairy as some European or African counter parts, but still they do get hairy under their arms and around their groins. At least a little on their legs. Then others become so hairy, like our Mongolian descent brother here, that when they get old they damn near look like a silver back gorilla! Look here... our man Gan is so hairy it looks like he has shirt cuffs and collar made out of hair! Look at that full beard! That is some hair!" "HAIR!" And Reid crumples to the ground taking a brass blow to the left knee. "And what about you? Gan, take a look." On that order, Gan takes his hand and shoves Fabian back, slamming him into his seat. He then grabs a hold of Fabian's shirt by the collar ripping it open down to the waist and throwing it back to expose Fabians torso. "Hmmm hmmm hmmmm bare as a baby's bottom. Not even a hint of a treasure trail. No facial hair, no torso hair, no arm hair. Raise the boy's arms up. ... ... .... basically no under arm hair either. Maybe a hair or two, but not enough to make you a man. Switch it up again!" Gan walked over to Reid where he took the brass knuckles from the man with the low voice and took his place. The low speaking one then came and stood in front of Fabian. "This over bassed boom box is Fazzah. And man with a voice so low it can make the mountains rumble!" "RUMBLE!" shouted Fazzah in Fabian's face. "RUMBLE!" Called out Gan as he punched Reid in the groin. "When a boy becomes a man his voice changes. It lowers. It deepens. It contains husk. When a real man gives a command it is barked at other men, heard, and obeyed. When it speaks in hushed low tones to a woman, she giggles and shakes in excitement and ecstasy. What is it you sound like?" Fazzah took hold of one of Fabian's hands and wrenched it hard, to which Fabian let out a yelp. "Oh.....and ouch! Listen to that school girl yelp! A cry that sounds like damsel in distress! Damsel!" "DAMSEL!" and Reid was punched in the mouth and nose. "Fazzah.... help the boy out." At this point Fazzah chopped Fabian right in the throat making him choke and gasp for air. "Maybe that'll cause your voice box to swell up larger and thus deeper in the future, my poor, boyish, child...... "And now the last piece of information you need today. When a man.... a REAL man has grown, he is packing some meat!" "MEAT!" This time the blow went right between Reid's eyes and slumped backwards, collapsing to the floor. "A real man has a rod of steel!" "STEEL!" And all of the men kicked Reid in the sides. "It has grown into something of length, something with girth, something with heft. Enough to fill a hole and give endless pleasure. Backed by balls!" "BALLS!" and the men kicked Reid in the sides and head this time. "Now, see what I have here....I am Arjun, and look at my manhood.... 8 inches soft.... and see how it grows...and grows....oooooh and grows...... to a full massive eleven and half inches in length. And what do you have? You're just a boy. We know you have nothing. Oh we can see you're trying to show off something, that roll of quarters stuffed down your pants leg there but you...." and Arjun smacked Fabian's with his cock head "Have..." smacked again. "NOTHING!" "NOTHING!" And Reid now lets out barely audible gasps as they kick him one more time. Arjun begins to whack himself off furiously.... "Here is the end of the lesson. You are just a a boy ... oooh..... You have no height, no muscle, no hair, no voice, no hands or feet...." And as he describe each point each one of the men on their cue stepped up and took out a ceiling light, bent a railing, ripped open their shirt, shouted in Fabian ear, squeezed Fabian's forearms and then bent another railing. "Ahh ahh and And AND AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" and with that Arjun came all over Fabian's torso and lap. "No dick or balls. .... .... .... Remember we are here, we will be everywhere, your are nothing compared to us." And on the next stop the men all walked out and left, leaving Fabian dazed and bruised and Reid broken, battered, and maybe clinging to life in the empty subway car. The car had made the stop at Fabian & Reid's station and had now gone back up the line so the next stop where they were found was about five or six stops before theirs if travelling in the right direction. They were discovered by one late night passenger who alerted police, who called for an ambulance. They took Fabian's statement as much as he could tell them through groans of pain. cries of worry for Reid, and fuzziness of memory from a head smacked around. The police took samples off DNA off of both Reid and Fabian, but would have to wait and see for weeks if there was any match in the data bases, and the cameras on that particular subway car weren't working, and the men hid their faces from the camera view in the stations. Fabian sat by Reid's bedside. He refused to go into an area of his own, the nurses and doctors treating his wounds and cuts and he watched another set work on bandaging and examining Reid. The tally on Reid: broken eye socket, broken nose, busted lip, one missing tooth, dislocated jaw, dislocated left shoulder, five bruised and two broken ribs, one lung punctured, and a dislocated right knee. Reid woke up at one point and upon seeing Fabian began to gasp out something about, "protector...supposed to be your protector....sorry....I should've...." before they sedated him and then placed him on a respirator. Fabian's injuries being much milder, he was allowed to go home, escorted by the police of course. Entering the apartment, he absent mindedly turned and locked, bolted, and chained the door. He dropped his coat on the floor, and began to take off each and every piece of clothing he had as he made his way into the bathroom. Several steps before he arrived there, a set of drums began to beat... over and over....louder and louder..... one....two -three-and-four.....one-two-three-and-four...one-two-three-four....one-two-three-four. Another rhythm began to beat over the first one. Louder and louder they grew, faster and more frenzic in beat and rhythm. The shower turned on full and hot. Steam began to belch out of the bathroom. Fabian stepped fully nude into the shower, his eyes cold, hard, staring straight in front of him. His closed them as if praying, and then lowered himself in to a cross-legged sitting position, allowing the water to cascade over him for several minutes until.... .... .... his eyes suddenly snapped open and he began to chant low and clear...... "Ke'atuaule...Ke'atutelvae...Ke'atutelmusele...Ke'atutel'luga...Ke'atutel'lauoho...Ke'atutelho'i...Ke'atutelhonuleo.... .... .... ..... ..... Ke'atuaule...Ke'atutelvae...Ke'atutelmusele...Ke'atutel'luga...Ke'atutel'lauoho...Ke'atutelho'i...Ke'atutelhonuleo.... .... .... Ke'atuaule...Ke'atutelvae...Ke'atutelmusele...Ke'atutel'luga...Ke'atutel'lauoho...Ke'atutelho'i...Ke'atutelhonuleo....." Over and over. Again and again. With each chant his cock surging out an inch until reaching its full erect eleven inches. The chanting continued until suddenly his head snapped back, seven balls of light flew into his piss slit and then he screamed blowing a rope of cum that shot out and stretched from the bathtub, across the bathroom, over the hall, and to the other side of the living room. The drumming, the water, and the chanting stopped.

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RMBwDf7UPA6P6UR9YNSBADC-9ObDd7aj3TdkN4uYk2Y) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, SPECTRI, RANSIS, & IREEAN IREEAN GO AWAY All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RMBwDf7UPA6P6UR9YNSBADC-9ObDd7aj3TdkN4uYk2Y) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, SPECTRI, RANSIS, & IREEAN IREEAN GO AWAY Chapter 22: Two of Cups Pink cherry blossoms danced in the warm breeze, as the door to a roof access was wedged open. Sunlight illuminated the robotic figure stepping onto the simulated Japanese high school rooftop. The Soulem, cladded in a zaffre-colored fundoshi and red rectangular glasses, slowly trudged towards two muscled men hugging beneath a cherry blossom tree. Gemini coughed, “Um, hey guys.” Marvelous Man and Gene broke their embrace from each other. The musclebound superhero could feel himself blushing at being caught hugging the Totochtin prince. He wanted this intimate moment to stay private; especially from it being crashed by his soured love interest. As he and Gene looked back at Gemini, he saw the Soulem avoiding eye contact with mood rings flushed pink. “Sorry to interrupt, but the magical researchers need to talk to you,” said Gemini. The Soulem reported, “Something about upgrading your silver balls...which I’m pretty sure isn’t a sexual euphemism, but it could probably go both ways with you involved, heh.” “Yes, I can see the humor in your insinuation, Gemini. Thank you for telling me. I will take the leave.” nodded Gene. The Totochtin prince began his walk towards the simulation’s exit. As he passed by the cherry blossom tree, he stopped in his tracks. Gene turned around to face Marvelous Man. The rabbit superhero smiled, “Remember the wisdom I have imparted, Marvelous Man. You must make the effort to bandage it up. And when you are ready, I will happily partake in the fruits of the intercourse with you.” Marvelous Man could feel his body emit an extreme amount of body heat, that it felt like his own flustering was cooking him alive. He and Gemini watched the bunny demigod continue walking towards the rooftop access door. As Gene approached the door and exited through it, Gemini slowly shuffled about to face the musclebound superhero. The Soulem said nothing, while avoiding Marvelous Man’s eyes. The hulking bodybuilder did the same. “So…” hesitated Gemini, “This is awkward…” Marvelous Man replied, “Uh-huh…” The muscle demigod felt like this was his moment to say something. To make the first move in repairing their relationship. But...could not find himself to say anything. Every part of him wanted to either curl up into a ball or fly away. He then heard the Soulem speak up. “There’s...kinda a lot I want to say, but it’s actually hard to figure out where to start. Which is kinda funny...ya know, cause I got a computer mind and all. So it should be easy to figure it out...Sorry, I’m yammering,” said Gemini. He continued, “I guess I should say congratulations. After thinking it over, I’m glad you picked Gene. He’s...a lot nicer than how I’ve been. And I know he can make you happy, since he can detect emotions and all. I don’t even really know the guy, so I can’t just make off-handed assumptions about how he truly feels about you…” “Oh, no. It’s not like that,” corrected Marvelous Man. Gemini held up his hand, “Sorry, Justice. Please just let me finish. Before I lose the guts to say all this...or I might go back to being how I was,” The bulky android paused for a moment before taking in a deep breath. As he released his held breath, his shoulders sagged. Gemini then began to lightly pound his fists together; knuckles against knuckles. “...You were right. I was being a Dickasaurus Rex. I’m sorry,” admitted the Soulem. He explained, “And the more I look back on what I did with you, the more I realized how fucked up I was being. I forced my feelings on you and bullied you. And that’s not real love...and that’s not what a true friend does. Back in Sunnysville, I tried to understand your life...but I didn’t ‘get’ you. Ya know? Hell, I was being such an ass with Gene. Bet he didn’t even know what was really going on, huh?” Marvelous Man shook his head, while Gemini stared up at him. In the space of a nanosecond, a thought whispered in his mind. Was it wrong that he never said a thing to Gene about his relationship with Gemini? “No, not really,” he replied. Gemini walked towards the cherry blossom tree and laid his back against the bark. His cybernetic eyes briefly wandered up at the tree’s pink canopy before flicking back down at his hands. The gentle pounding of the bulky Soulem’s fists against each other continued. He sighed, “And then...after you called me out on my shit. It didn’t exactly click, cause all I felt was broken...inside. I ran back to my dad. Hoping to fix my pain. But all he did was try to explain love and stuff. That it’s not like those movies and books and whatnot.” The fist pounding ceased immediately. Gemini grasped his elbows as if he were hugging himself, while mood rings on his cheeks turned a deep blue. Teardrops began to form at the edge of his eyes. “And that’s when I got the call about your...disappearance. You were gone for two whole days, and...it was...I was terrified. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and whether you were alive or not. So that’s when I thought about if you never came back. I just...I’m not sure if I could handle that. Just a world without you, Justice,” said Gemini. He paused to wipe his eyes of the tears. The Soulem smiled, “And then a miracle happened! You came back. It was at that point that I realized it didn’t matter if we weren’t boyfriends. I just wanted to be with you. I-in your life, I mean. Being friends with you was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Stepping away from the tree, the robotic being gazed up into his overly-muscular friend’s eyes. The bulky Soulem’s mood rings flashed to rose red, while his face became serious. His arms shifted; one drooping down while the other held onto the relaxed elbow. “A-an-and! I know that all that stuff I did and how it hurt you...I know we can’t ever go back to being how we used to be. Things are different now, and I get that...but that doesn’t mean we can’t go back to being friends again. Maybe not on the same level, but we can still try to get close to that, right?” Marvelous Man felt stunned at what he heard. His friend’s disposition seemed to have flipped on the opposite side of the spectrum. The muscle demigod knew his friend was right...but he could not help but feel guilt at what happened. It was a mix of both feeling like he enabled his friend to have bad behavior and also hurting Gemini’s feelings. The hulking bodybuilder smiled, “Yeah, I forgive you. And I honestly do want to be friends with you again.” The Soulem’s mood rings flashed the color of sky blue. “Great! But, uh, just so you know...I’m still a work in progress. I’ll still be an asshole, but I’m trying to be better. Just call me out on it, okay? Can’t keep using my new body as an excuse for what I do,” grinned Gemini. Marvelous Man nodded, “I will. I’m just glad we could patch things up.” “But, ummm, Gene and I aren’t a couple,” he corrected. Gemini’s mood rings became grey, “Huh?” “He broke it off with me,” said Marvelous Man, “He realized he couldn’t love me the same way I loved him...it was for the better. I’m pretty sure I’m the one that’s supposed to have a broken heart, and, uh, I still kinda do. But I think he was more broken up about it than I was.” The bulky Soulem paused for a second; his face projecting dumbfoundedness. Gemini’s mood rings shifted to white, “Oh...You okay?” “I think so. He said some things that put it into, uhh, perspective. I wasn’t any better than you when it came to love,” sighed Marvelous Man. He mentioned, “Plus, I kinda went through some traumatizing shit that having a wrecked love life isn’t so bad.” The robotic being looked away. “Oh, right...the kidnapping,” recalled Gemini. Marvelous Man slowly nodded, “Yeah, that...and some stuff that happened after…” “Did you want to hug it out and cry about it?” suggested the Soulem. The musclebound superhero smiled, “Naw, I’m all cried out right now. And I think I sorta reached some state of numbness...again. If that makes sense. But...I think I could use a close friend to talk about all this heavy stuff.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> “Wow...that’s some heavy shit right there,” remarked Gemini. The two friends sat at the bench beneath the blooming cherry blossom tree. Marvelous Man stared out at scenery beyond the roof’s metal fence. He sighed, “Yeah.” “But why do you call your opposite healing power a poison? I mean, you know what it means, right?” commented Gemini. The muscle demigod looked down at his friend. A part of him wanted to explode in the frustration of being questioned. Apollo had trained him in the ways of medicine and drilled into him the many facts of what is poisonous, toxic, venomous, etc...But he knew it would not do good to be so volatile at a newly repaired relationship. Marvelous Man’s eyebrow flexed in confusion, “Uh, yeah, I do.” “Just saying, it’s more of a venom than a poison, cause you’re directly inflicting it on someone,” said Gemini. Marvelous Man corrected, “That’s only when you’re injecting it into someone. Mine is more like...a secretion.” “Eh, having that dark power stab into people’s eyes to cause mental trauma sounds more like a venom. Besides, it sounds cooler,” shrugged the Soulem, “Oh! You should call it, Soul Venom!” The hulking bodybuilder giggled. He had missed moments like this. Events where he and Gemini just hung out as Justice and Gemini to talk about random things. Stupid things. Things that were childish but always had an odd depth to it. Even if it came down to talks of what color would they want grass to be. Or if the fetishism of creating a Soulem version of oneself and having sex with it is masturbation. Marvelous Man hummed, “That does sound cooler.” Seconds ticked by in silence. Neither being moved, as cherry blossom petals danced in the breeze. The mood rings on Gemini’s cheeks slowly changed to purple. “So...you have a unique celestial element, huh? And it’s supposed to help you win against the Skeleton Lord?” questioned Gemini. The muscle demigod nodded, “Yep. But it was more like I had a better chance of winning if I figured it out what it was.” “And it’s a virtue type of element, sooooo that’s gonna be harder to figure out,” noted Gemini. Marvelous Man sighed, “I guess. And it’s connected to my parents’ own celestial elements. My mom said it was a seed...whatever that means.” “So we got war, love, and...light? Or is it medicine and athletics?” said the bulky Soulem. Marvelous Man replied, “Heh. My dad just considered himself as complex. But I saw him as more of an art god when I tried to put a label on him.” Gemini’s mood rings flashed orange. “...How the hell are supposed to figure it out with such a mixed bag like that?! War isn’t even a virtue! It’s the opposite if it were trying to be in the same category somehow,” he grunted. Marvelous Man shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe if we tried to see the good side of it, it’d make more sense.” “And just what positive aspect do you see in war that isn’t connected to the profiteers of it?” said Gemini. Marvelous Man looked at the ground, “Well...maybe...I dunno...passion? Like, people only go to war to protect the ones they love and their nation. And love is, like, a chemical reaction for people to fight harder or just keep going at something regardless of difficulty. And it’s when it gets harder that a person refuses to give up.” Gemini looked at his friend with a stupefied look for a moment before staring out at the scenery. The color within his mood rings shifted back to white. “It’s so weird how you have such a unique perspective to things. It even shows in your fighting style. Well, either that or you just like being super extra...But even though what you said is a complete stretch, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong. True virtue is being able to give your own positive feedback no matter the challenge. Kindness instead of wrath and whatnot,” he replied. The Soulem continued, “So something that is connected to love, passion, and...art. Feels like it should be something super easy to figure out. But it’s like when you’ve looked over something you didn’t feel was important that when you really need it, it’s just not there. Sooooo...I dunno, soul? Since the soul can be linked to emotions and all. Seems like that’s what it is given how your powers seem to work with the venom and supercharge.” The muscle demigod thought about what his robotic friend said. It almost sounded like it had made sense...but his instincts told him that was not the answer. “Naw, it doesn’t feel like that’s what it’s supposed to be,” frowned Marvelous Man. Gemini sighed, “Well, shit.” The uncomfortable silence made its way back; filling the void of unsaid words. Marvelous Man felt he was going in a spiral that was slowly going down to an unfortunate end. Every time he tried to find a way to break from the pattern or forget about it, the feeling would always pull him back in. Ugly and numbing emotions would creep back in; never doing anything but always making themselves aware since the second encounter with the Skeleton Lord in the subway. It had been easy to immediately ignore such nasty things back then. But after his confrontation with his parents...the emotions had now started to pounce on the musclebound superhero. And with every second he was aware of them, they would gnaw at the core of his optimism. Marvelous Man needed to be rid of such things. He gambled everything on his friend. If not being about to exterminate the vermin feelings, then at least Gemini could help take some weight off of the negative emotions. His lips trembled. “Have you...ever wished you didn’t exist?...Or maybe...that people would be better off without you? Maybe even the world?” he asked. Gemini immediately glared up at the hulking bodybuilder. His face was completely flabbergasted, while his mood rings flared a bright yellow. “WHAT?! NO!,” exclaimed Gemini, “Justice, why would you say that?!...What’s-are you alright? Bro, where’s this thinking coming from?” Marvelous Man looked away, “It’s just...I don’t know...something I’ve just been thinking about for a little while...maybe even more since shit went down…I know I try to stay happy, but it’s been getting pretty hard right now. All I feel now when I’m alone and just thinking is guilt.” “ And...well...It’s cause it feels like all I’ve done so far is make everything worse for everybody else. And now...that feeling of not being able to shake off the bad stuff just keeps coming back. It’s like, it doesn’t feel fair that I’m alive when so many people are dead. Even when they’re not completely innocent or something, I’m not sure. I’m going through a lot of stuff so fast my head is just flying off and I don’t know how to feel anymore other than considering...not...existing,” he continued. Gemini placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Bro, are you feeling like that right now?” “I guess…” shrugged Marvelous Man. Gemini spoke, “Take a deep breath right now, okay? Just do it.” It was an odd request from the Soulem, but the hulking bodybuilder complied. Taking in a deep breath of air, his meaty pectorals slightly expanded. Marvelous Man’s pecs then deflated back to their normal state upon exhalation. The muscle demigod could not explain how, but it felt as if the stress he was carrying had been slightly relieved. “Now listen, it’s okay if you want to think that, but don’t ever believe in it. We can’t stop the thoughts we have and should just go through all the, ya know, processes of it. But it’s dangerous if you give thoughts like that the power to become truth, okay?” lectured Gemini. The Soulem continued, “I know a lot of crap went down. And whether you were part of it or not, it still would’ve happened. Those homeless people still would’ve died back at the subway and the crack den, but you were able to stop the Skeleton Lord from causing more harm. Hell, Gene is still alive cause of you. Oh! And those people at the park too! They would’ve bled out if you weren’t there.” Marvelous Man thought back to those events the Soulem listed. His friend was not wrong. Things could have gone a lot worse if he had not been there to heal his friends and the innocents. And now that he thought about it, if he had not been kidnapped by the PB&J Gang, the Skeleton Lord might have arranged Gene to be kidnapped instead. “I guess you’re right,” he nodded. Gemini spoke up, “Yeah, I am. I mean, you even managed to befriend Sugar Skull and bring him into the D.A.B.! Who else but you can do that? Though I think he might not be happy right now with Puzzles ‘stern talking to’ if ya catch my drift.” “And even if you weren’t Marvelous Man right now, you changed people for the better as Justice. Look at your parents. They’re...well...the stories always projected them as batshit insane gods, but you talk like they’re overbearing parents that love you too hard!” he exclaimed. The Soulem threw his hands up, “That’s a complete one-eighty if I’ve ever heard one! I know you said and did some things to them, but I’m sure they’ll come around if you give them some time.” Gemini paused for a moment; his mood rings turning pink. “And, well...I met you by chance. We became great friends, and you helped awaken me by being there for me. Maybe things didn’t turn out so well after that...but in the end, we made up...just right now though, heh…” he babbled. Gemini sighed, as his mood rings turned white. “My point is, your very existence makes all the difference and don’t you forget it. The positive things you provoke in people may be small compared to what you expected, but it all carries the same weight. Even if it’s as small as being their friend or even getting someone to try a new thing. And superhero or not, your existence inspires change in the people around you,” he said “But look, I’m no therapist, and I really think you should see someone about this. I’m currently pulling therapy articles from the internet for what you’re probably dealing with as we speak, but all I’m doing is putting a band aid on the situation.” Immediately after Gemini’s speech, the entire simulation shook with the intensity of a strong earthquake. While lasting for only two seconds, the quake was vigorous enough to upset the Soulem’s balance. Gemini fell forward, as an overly-muscular arm reached out to him. Marvelous Man leaped upward and swept his arm around his robotic friend; catching Gemini in the process. Steadying the Soulem upright, the musclebound superhero’s thoughts shifted from concern of his friend to the quake. His mind quickly pieced together that there must have been some outside force to cause such shaking. “What just happened? Was that an earthquake?” he said. Gemini held his fingers against his head, “Not sure. Give me a sec. Scrolling through social media.” The Soulem’s metallic eyebrows furrowed. His eyes seemed to look glazed over, as he streamed through data. Seconds after, he blinked his eyes back into focus. Gemini’s face expressed only horror, while the mood rings flashed to a bright yellow. “Oh my gosh...no no no nonononono…” he muttered. Reaching into the brown satchel strapped over his shoulder, Gemini pulled out a glass smartphone. He tapped on its glowing screen a few times before holding it up next to his face. The Soulem turned away from the muscle demigod; pacing back and forth in a frantic motion. He mumbled, “Come on, come on, come on! Please, oh, please pick up.” Gemini came to a sudden stop, as his face was instantly washed over with shock and then relief. “Dad! Oh my gosh. Thank goodness, you’re alright! Why aren’t you at work today?...You got the flu? Oh, thank fuck that happened...S-sorry, Dad. I-I’m just really scared right now, but at least you weren’t at work today...It’s-I’m, uh, not sure how to say this dad. There was an explosion at the Arkos Division, and it was so powerful that it just shook the D.A.B. headquarters right now...No, I’m fine…I love you too, dad...” he rambled. Marvelous Man’s eyes went wide upon hearing Gemini’s side of the conversation. He felt himself nearly reacting to what he heard, as a telepathic message interrupted him. The musclebound superhero heard his field analyst’s voice. Fairuza announced, “Gene, Marvelous Man, please report immediately to the Director’s office. If you spot Gemini on the way, please bring him. I tried contacting his phone, but it’s busy.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> “Seven minutes ago, an explosion occurred at the Arkos Division headquarters,” reported Puzzles, “It is not yet certain if it was an act of terrorism, but it was most definitely an attempt to distract us heroes.” “And the reasons as to why we know this is because at the same time of the explosion, our magical alarm wards placed around the Skeleton Lord’s fog had detected a spike in activity. A monster and two humanoids with undead features have been seen exiting the fog. A, uh, pardon the term, skeleton crew of drones and police officers placed there have been able to stop the intruders. Recordings of the intruders have yet to be released.,” he continued. Director Skye sighed, “We were lucky so few appeared. Any more than those three, and we definitely would have to send over some body bags.” Sugar Skull shuffled about in one of the office’s cushy seats. “What happened to the invaders?” questioned the ghoul. Puzzles pawed at his tablet, “They were immediately killed. The humanoids were armed with firearms. Once they aimed their weapons at the police, law enforcement attacked in self defense. The monster was also killed. Assumed to have been caught in the crossfire of bullets. Let’s see...no bodies were found. Upon death, the suspects had instantly disintegrated and left behind a distinct bleach odor.” Sugar Skull concluded, “Which is what the creatures of Limbo smell like. Uh, ummm...OH! Guaranteeing that the fog really is a gateway for the Skeleton Lord to exit through.” Marvelous Man felt both of his hands being grasped, as he felt nausea begin to overtake him. The surprising, tight sensation caused his queasiness to recede. Within each hand, the muscle demigod held Gene and Gemini’s hand. A warm, rubbery feeling in one clutch, and a soft hand that emitted flecks of anger underneath concern in the other. Elbows on the desk with fingers intertwined over each other, Director Skye leaned forward. He closed his eyes momentarily, as he exhaled a long, audible sigh. His eyes then flicked up at the team members; scattered about in either seats or standing in the center of the room. “Without collecting all the conclusive evidence, it’s too early to arrive at that kind of destination...Sadly, I am inclined to agree with you, Mr. Skull. I cannot ignore such a coincidence to occur soon after our earlier meeting,” said the master witch. The soft closing of a book echoed in the tension-filled office. Marvelous Man looked down to see Fairuza recently finished running a magical scan with her book. The field analyst had an apprehensive look on her face, as she shifted in her chair. Fairuza slowly raised her hand into the air, “Director Skye, sir, I’m afraid I have some more bad news. It’s about the explosion at the Arkos Division headquarters.” “...And what foreboding information have you discovered?” said the Director. Fairuza disclosed, “Multiple casualties discovered so far, and the explosion caused half of the facility to collapse. It’s unsure how many more are buried underneath the rubble. Survivor injuries has ranged all the way to critical. Medigel they have present had been greatly reduced due to the explosion and only have a handful on hand. Paramedics arriving soon.” Fairuza swallowed. She had a pensive look on her face. Her eyes gazed downwards as if she were carefully choosing her next words. “I was able to scan the area and find the login information of a security guard for their cloud’s security feed...They will no longer be needing it. Um, in any case, I’ll be accessing their cloud right now. Director Skye, where can I broadcast?” she finished. The Director’s hand began to glow blue with magic, as it casted multiple gestures at his wall-mounted paintings. What had been colored brushstrokes on the canvases were now a black screen with a runic symbol illuminating in the center. With the magical alteration complete, the master witch pointed at his modified painting with an opened palm. She gave a slight bow, “Thank you, sir.” Setting her yellow book on her lap with the front facing down, the mystical field analyst placed her index finger upon the center of the hardcover’s back. The tip of Fairuza’s finger began to softly radiate with magic. She then traced her glowing finger in a circular motion; causing the back book cover to shine a small magical seal. Fairuza then lifted the cover; revealing a square gap sliced into the page. A glint of a shiny object gleamed from the tiny chasm, as it rose up into view. The object exposed itself to be a crystal sphere made of an indigo rock that was freckled with white patches all over. The rising then stopped, as a pedestal made of paper could be seen holding the crystal ball. The crystal ball seemed to be perfectly sized for Fairuza’s palm, as she cupped her hands around it. Fairuza’s hands glowed a faint blue before the magical energy seeped into the indigo-colored sphere. The mystical field analyst stared into her crystal ball, as the enchanted painting’s image across from her flickered. With the runic symbol on the canvas completely dissolving, the login page of a website took its place. Fairuza continued gazing into her magical sphere, as the blank boxes of the login page had begun to fill with text. Everyone but Marvelous Man turned to the screen. The musclebound superhero kept switching attention from the screen back towards the mystical field analyst; confused by the interaction of magic with technology. Marvelous Man bent down to whisper at Gemini. “Ummm…” he asked, “So how is she…?” Gemini explained in a hushed tone, “There’s a computer chip in her merlinite crystal ball. And with the runes grafted inside the ball to interact with the chip, she can affect technology. But the magical capabilities of that can’t hack the government or anything. It’s more like a magical universal remote.” The mystical field analyst slowly exhaled. Her hands slightly trembled, as the skin stirred. The moving skin split open; revealing eyeballs flickering about before focusing on the orb. Marvelous Man flinched at the sight, while everyone else continued casting attention towards the painting. “NGHUH!” reeled the musclebound superhero. Gemini clarified, “She’s fine. I guess the inside of her crystal ball is laced with spells to multiply her consciousness. I wonder what it’s like to look at 4 different screens with one mind...FYI, each of her eyes are a copy of her mind. Can’t imagine what her migraine will be like after the fact.” Seconds passed before Marvelous Man managed to force his gaze away from the disturbing eyes breaching from Fairuza’s hand. Turning his stare towards the magical painting, he spotted a new update to the canvas. The screen had transformed into four different camera feed screens; each one fast-forwarding through a timeframe before skipping to another scene. Marvelous Man tried to watch, but the images moved faster than he could comprehend. Fairuza continued scrying her crystal ball in silence. After a minute had flown by the fast-paced images turned to black. The eyes on her hands then began to shut; withdrawing into her body. With the last magical eye closed, Fairuza looked up from her crystal ball. “It wasn’t an accident,” she said with a neutral tone. The Director inquired, “By whose hand?” “A man in Aztec-styled clothing. Putting him on screen,” Fairuza replied. It had been too much of a coincidence to think someone else would be running around in such a specific style. Marvelous Man kept his mouth closed; it was obvious who it would be but did not want to assume. The musclebound superhero continued watching the black canvas, as he gripped the arms of his jacket. The black painting changed its image; shaping into another recording. The camera feed showed two lab-coat workers standing in front of two glass pillar-like containers with unrecognizable technology attached to parts of it. The glass structures held two figures within; obscuring their faces by huddling down with their faces casted at the ground. As the scientists were making their rounds with checking on the computers attached to the containers, an unseen force pulled one of them back. The yanked scientist then bent himself backwards; standing on the tips of his toes as if possessed by an evil spirit. The neck’s left side of the attacked scientist then split open, as blood started to spurt from the wound like a sprinkler. The other scientist stood in motionless shock at the scene in front of her; unflinching even after being bathed in the splatters of her coworker’s blood. The male scientist was then released from the invisible grasp and landed flat on the floor. As it happened, a figment began to materialize next to the downed scientist. It started reconstituting as feet; tanned as dark as mocha. The building blocks of the visible being continued construction of the legs with the edges of a red cloak that was outlined with teal. As the materialization created a red-knotted loincloth with a teal outline, the musculature of the mysterious being appeared to be slim like a professional athletic runner. The man came armed at that time, as a bow and quiver came into visibility and slung over the shoulder. The entirety of the head and face was covered; topped with a snake-shaped wooden headdress like in the Aztec illustrations Marvelous Man had seen in world history textbooks. Sugar Skull crossed his arm, “So the watchdog has come to collect.” The video paused, as the Director looked towards the Limbo being. “You know him?” questioned Director Skye. The ghoul nodded, “That’s Itzcóatl. He’s one of the Skeleton Lord’s guardians and right hand man. He showed up at the Skeleton Lord’s newest hideout when I rescued Marvelous Man. He’s a hunter that hides in the fog like a shark.” “And to make him more annoying, he can become, ummm, invisible. The Bruja also told me his quiver is enchanted to make copies of his arrows. Haven’t fought him yet but seeing this shows he’s probably the most deadliest out of all of them,” added Sugar Skull. The rabbit demigod released his hand from Marvelous Man’s, as he turned to face the ghoul. Gene frowned, “But how did the Itzcóatl manage to invade the Arkos Division headquarters? The building should have been warded to detect the magically invisible.” As Sugar Skull opened his mouth, he was interrupted by an electronic voice. “Not if that guardian’s power is supernaturally-based rather than a mutation. They’re a superhero company based on only science. And because they’re so sure their machines can detect and quarantine magic, that they refuse our help or even do basic warding. It’s why their supernatural captives keep breaking out, and their machines are very limited at detecting the various frequencies magic has. Until it’s figured out what the base frequency of magic is, they can only detect the handful of spells or supernatural powers made public,” sighed Gemini. Puzzles spoke up, “Fairuza, continue the footage.” Everybody turned their attention back towards the magical painting, as the security recording resumed. Itzcóatl pulled out a dagger with a black blade that appeared to be made of obsidian glass. The guardian pointed his weapon at the injured scientist before switching the dagger’s attention to the female scientist and then towards the glass containers. The footage did not seem to have any audio recording capabilities, as the female scientist nodded while mouthing a reply. With shaky hands, the female scientist placed her face in front of one of the containment unit’s computers. The device appeared to be an apparatus designed for eye-scanning identification. Upon completing the process, the Arkos Division worker typed away at the keyboard. The glass container reacted to the input by melting a rectangular doorway on the side of itself. The female scientist then ran to one of the drawers lined against the wall and opened it. Pulling out what she needed, she scurried over to her bleeding partner. While the worker was applying what appeared to be a salve from a soft tube onto her partner’s wound, the prisoners within the confinements exited the two glass containers. Marvelous Man recognized first one; Zareb, the African guardian of the Skeleton Lord who commanded electricity with the twin axes. The other was a knight, who was defeated before the musclebound superhero arrived at the scene. Zareb raised his hands into the air; his hands wiggled about as if it were calling out to something. Black smoke similar to the fog ebbed from his forearms and flowed into his hands. The whisping miasma then shapeshifted into Zareb’s iconic axes. Clanging them together, the runes grafted onto the enchanted weapons glowed. Lightning emanated from the magical axes; shocking nearly everything in random arcs before striking the recording camera. The camera feed became black, as the lightning shot into its eye. “My best guess is that Zareb, the Skeleton Lord guardian with the lightning axes, caused some sort of negative reaction with his continuous voltage and...triggered an explosion. Until we know more, that’s all I can say,” reported Fairuza. The Director questioned, “And who is the knight? What exactly can he do?” “Other than wielding a glaive-type lance, I don’t know, sir. But he’s not as dangerous, if he was captured so easily,” replied Fairuza. “Not unless he wanted to be captured. Same goes with Zareb,” said the master witch, “And what about our guest?” Puzzles stated, “Gilgamesh is still on ice, Boss. Not taking chances with this one. He’s tried a couple of times to get out whenever he’s been thawed for questioning, but our wards have made sure to keep him caged. We’ve also made sure to enchant the time capsule spell he’s in with a curse to put the freeze on anybody that didn’t undo the spell properly.” “Good. With the Skeleton Lord’s muscle out of the game, it’s made things easier for us. Double down on invisibility jamming spells. I do not want that ghastly rat getting in here at all,” said Director Skye. Puzzles bowed, “Yes, Boss!” “Gene, you go to the fog entrance and be on standby. Until we get barriers up, you’ll be the first line of defense against the invading ghouls and all those Limbo monsters,” commanded the Director. Gene nodded, “I acknowledge.” “And take Sugar Skull with you. Maybe this time, he can actually benefit us,” added the master witch. Sugar Skull placed his hand over his chest, “Ah. I’m touched.” “Marvelous Man, I need you to head over to the Arkos Division and help the injured folks with your healing abilities. Use that expansive healing of yours. The supercharge one. If anybody is alive under the rubble, it could be their only life support until they’re rescued. Gemini, you go with him. See if you can dig up any information in regards to...well, anything. I suspect you and your father’s relationship with the A.D. could give you some leeway in attaining such,” ordered Director Doug. “Yes, sir,” said Marvelous Man and Gemini in unison. The musclebound superhero felt pride course through his body, as he remembered what Gemini said to him earlier. He might not be able to save everybody, but he can make a difference in saving some lives. It was time to focus on what he can do and give it his all. Director Doug leaned forward; fingers interlaced with one another. A bead of sweat began to form on the master witch’s brow. He gave a quick sigh before looking up. He declared “Mark my words, people. This is only phase 1 of what is about to come. Dismissed.” Next Chapter

I was watching Sunday’s Game of Thrones episode, which was beyond words amazing, and the scene between Theon and Jon Snow immediately triggered this situation in my mind. If you haven’t watched Game of Thrones, (1) I’m sorry, and (2) spoilers – as in, major spoilers. Also, this is violent and involves rape – I don’t condone it, but it felt fitting. I guess I’m feeling a bit hypocritical. I hope it’s mildly enjoyable. *** Theon Greyjoy was surprised to see Jon Snow there on Dragonstone, given the humiliating defeat that his uncle, Euron, handed him at sea. He had reverted back to that weaker, smaller, defeated mindset — Reek — when he saw he was powerless against his uncle. Escaping the ship, he slowly snapped out of it. He had held himself together just enough to convince the other Iron-borne who saved him from the sea not to immediately kill him, but rather to return to Dragonstone to the queen, Daenerys Targaryan. There he can recouperate and snap out of this lowly, Reet state fully, and figure out how to stop his uncle. What Theon had not anticipated was seeing Jon Snow, the bastard of his former lord when Theon was a ward to then king of the north, Ned Stark. Theon was raised with the Stark children and Jon Snow and knew them as brothers...which made his betrayal all the more painful. It had lead to the deaths of two of his "siblings" — Robb directly and Rickon indirectly — along with his lord's wife, Caitlin, when he tried to take over Winterfell, their home. His fall from power resulted in this...this...Reek...where he had his once proud monstrous cock cut off of his body, fully erect, at the hands of Ramsay Bolton, and subjected to daily, hourly, psychological assault and humiliation. He finally snapped out of it, but seeing Jon Snow is bringing all back. Theon figured he should make the first introduction, to soften the blow. He felt the tension as he finished pulling his boat up onto the shore as Jon approached. "Jon, I didn't know you were here." Jon kept coming. "Sansa...is she alright?" Jon grabbed Theon...Reek...and pulled him up. God, he was always so strong. "What you did for her...is the only reason why I'm not killing you," hissed Jon at Theon. He had to turn his head away, ashamed, knowing Jon was right. He and Jon, along with Ser Davos, the Onion Knight, exchanged about Queen Daenarys and her help...but she was gone. Tired from the trip, Theon and his men moved around Jon Snow, the Dothraki guards, and Missandei up towards the castle. As one of the willing allies of Daenarys, Theon was provided one of the nicer rooms of the castle -- its views overlooked a large part of the sea that spread before the enclosure, receiving a nice breeze on those hot (yet not as hot as they used to be) afternoons. The bed was soft, with clean sheets, and it was quiet. He had grown used to the quiet since his...Reek...treatment. It was a nice change from the annoying chaos of sea battle. There may have been some wine consumed...a little less food eaten...and Theon found himself on the bed, feeling a bit less than his usual self. A good night's sleep in a real bed should help him recover from the incidents of the last week. If his Reek conversion has taught him anything, it's that he's not iron borne. ... A pounding on the door woke him up, similar to the pounding within Theon's skull. Whoever was on the other side of the door sounded angry, and probably was going to enter any second. Due to Daenarys's decree, he had no weapons within him, so he scrambled to find something to cover his partially naked body just as...Jon Snow entered. He was naked except for a loin cloth, revealing his chiseled body. He had grown so much since he and Theon were boys at Winterfell. Before Theon was a man: a thick, bold chest, sprinkled with hair to make the veins that cris-crossed over them seem hidden; eight bold, brick-like abs stacked atop each other in perfect symmetry; flaring obliques and lats that pointed towards a deep-cut V atop his under garments. His shoulders seemed smaller when he was dressed on the beach: each deltoid stood out over vascular, muscular, rippling arms. His legs, pale as his bastard name implied, were pale white, but covered with similar vasculature worthy of his toned body. His eyes, however, suggested revenge. Theon — no, Reek, that pathetic excuse for humanity — had fucked over Jon's family. His sister was raped, and two brothers dead, because of that Reek piece of shit. Jon desired to beat the fuck out of him, but decided he could do one better. He had heard Theo—Reek had lost his prized manhood, but he hadn't been properly treated by a man. Reek's sister, Yara, gladly and proudly slept with other women. It was time Reek learned what a real man would do to him. ... Jon normally achieved arousal from beautiful women, or at least he did before his (short lived) death. Now his only sense of erection, arousal, manhood, was seeing his family's enemies destroyed. The death of Ramsay Bolton brought hours of masturbation, where he filled cups with his cum. He found Ramsey's partially eaten body and poured his seed all over the corpse...which brought the dogs back to continue feasting. After that night, his manhood felt even more powerful, longer, harder, stronger, with his testicles filled with even more white cream seed. He had dreamt of being able to destroy another enemy of his family, like the Lannisters, but Reek presented before him was too good an opportunity to pass up. Jon's manhood started to thicken, engorging on the warm blood that fueled his anger for Reek. The undergarments started to stretch with his thickening cock, tearing noises started to become quite audible before the horror-struck Reek, fully aware of what was probably going to happen to him. Jon closed his eyes, smiling as he felt his cock stretch longer and thicken more as his knew revenge would be his. A cold snap hit the throbbing and dropping head of his penis—he had broken free, nearly the size of his fist—and his eyes now turned to Reek. Swiftly, like his beloved direwolf, Ghost, Jon pounced upon a helpless Reek, grasping him by the throat and lifting him into the air above his bed. "You fucked my family. You killed my brothers. You let my sister be raped by a piece of filth. I am not allowed to kill you, but I will fuck the revenge into you, Reek. You will reek of nothing but piss, shit and cum when I'm done...and everyone will now the filth you truly are." Jon’s true manhood stood out before him – at least the thickness of his wrist, if not his forearms, covered in veins, the length of a good sized chicken – he was a sight to behold. The head was dripping its clear, sweet lubricant, knowing that it would get to make another vessel filled and overflow. Reek screamed, knowing that whatever masculinity he still possessed was going to be ripped into him by such a massive, throbbing member. Secretly Reek wished he still had his once prodigious, although not nearly as impressive, member to grip in secret excitement. As the massive cock head pushed into Reek’s virgin asshole, the screams would be heard throughout the castle. Later it was said that the Onion Knight thought ghosts were again invading, having heard of Melisandre’s smoke baby killing Renly Baratheon. Jon’s eyes did not waver as each portion of his cock – his monster – pushed further into Reek, being pulled out gently and shoved in harder each time. The large balls, still remaining on Reek’s pathetic body, next to the stump that once could deliver the future of the Greyjoy line, bounced as Jon pushed more and more into Reek. Inhuman strength possessed Jon: his arms seemed to swell in size as he continued to push his python into and out of Reek’s pathetic body. Jon would lift Reek off his monster, feeling the cold breeze pass over each length of his swollen penis, and then immediately feel the warmth of Reek’s pathetic body, even more useless than the undergarments that were destroyed earlier, cover him with warmth. Each lifting of Reek’s body felt easier—Jon looked down, noticing that his once respectable pecs were swelling like a woman’s breast after childbirth. They were thick, covered with more veins and hair, feeling harder and more indominatible than before. His arms – biceps, deltoids, forearms – grew with each lift and trust of his mighty body. His waist grew tighter with the workout, pushing this pathetic shit of a boy onto his kingly cock over and over. Finally, after five minutes of Jon’s silence while Reek squealed like a pig, Jon had pushed the entirety of himself into Reek, and whispered “you’re mine, you piece of shit.” The swollen balls, haven also grown in size with his cock and muscles, pulled up as he unleashed pulse after pulse of his cum into Reek’s swollen, bleeding ass. Jon could feel his thick, white seed pouring down over his over thickening dick, dripping onto Reek’s bed. Reek had started to convulse as he was being filled with amazing amounts of cum, enough to where Jon lifted him off his cock and let him fall onto the bed. The convulsions continued while stream after stream of thick man seed poured out of the colossal cock onto Reek’s pathetic body, coating his chest and face. After a few minutes, the stream of cum slowed down and the convulsions stopped. Reek, covered in cum, started to speak when Jon immediately shoved the monster cock into his mouth, gripping his throat as though he meant to crush his windpipe. Jon’s cock had softened, but felt just as large in his pathetic mouth as it did up his bleeding asshole. “You don’t speak to me. I own you. That was payment for being in the presence of my brother Robb. You still owe me for Bran, Rickon, Aryia, Sansa…and then we start to talk about their troubles, deaths, and their grief due to you.” Jon’s eyes turned even darker, with his muscles swelling up even more, as his cock started to engorge in Reek’s mouth. The last memory Reek had, before blacking out, was the feeling that a rod, harder than Valyrian steel, was cracking his jaw open.

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PejxLG1r2y7HI0n1i62CksC6gC2HVhceyfvBkAkGnSY) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, CHARLIE LORD, JAMIE CHAPMAN, JOHN LARSON, PETRA, & CREEP All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PejxLG1r2y7HI0n1i62CksC6gC2HVhceyfvBkAkGnSY) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, CHARLIE LORD, JAMIE CHAPMAN, JOHN LARSON, PETRA, & CREEP Chapter 20: Soul Venom Seconds ticked by, as Marvelous Man’s heart rate began to accelerate. His mind swirled with confusion. Gazing about his childhood room, the muscle demigod remembered going to bed back at his apartment with Gene laying next to him. Marvelous Man looked over at the other side of his wide race car bed. The Totochtin Prince was nowhere to be found. Everything he had experienced could not have been a dream...right? Gazing over to the bedroom door, the hulking bodybuilder spotted a set clothes fitted onto a plastic hanger that hung over the doorknob. Marvelous Man instantly recognized it as the clothes he tore off under emotional duress on the day of his birthday. The day he was told he was a demigod created to be a superhero to fight evil in the real world for the glory of his parents. Marvelous Man slowly inhaled air through his nose and began to plan. Feeling shocked was not getting him anywhere. The thing he needed to do was get dressed and head downstairs. He can figure the rest from there. Rolling himself off of the sloshing waterbed, the musclebound superhero slowly thumped his heavy body towards the door. Marvelous Man picked up the hanger of clothes and detached the clothing from the plastic tool. While pulling the clothes off, he then noticed that the articles of clothing appeared to be brand new instead of stretched to its max with tiny holes. Marvelous Man mentally confirmed to himself that the clothes were most definitely new, as he struggled to equip each garment. The golden thong was very snug in the front compartment and did not droop down like it had done so during his years of wearing it. He only had one golden thong and was one of his prized possessions that made him feel special. The white tank top clung too tightly to his meaty pectorals and took several attempts before successfully pulling it over his pecshelf. The white straps seemed to almost be pressing into his blimpy pecs. Due to it being used for the first time, the tank top was not able to stretch far enough to cover his navel. As for the jean shorts, the shorts’ sleeves seemed...shorter than he remembered. It almost appeared to be a pair of daisy dukes on his body after his thunderous thighs stretched the sleeves’ fabric to a near paper-thinness. The back part of it had not been worn enough to be loose and mold around the bodybuilder’s massive, round posterior. It instead clung over the top of the enormous globes and collapsed in between his meaty buttocks; causing the bottom half of his beefy derriere to spill out of the jean shorts’ sleeves. It was also unable to cover the golden thong’s waistband sprouting out of the crevice of his buttocks and gliding over his waist. While Marvelous Man squirmed about to put on the last familiar but new clothing, he noticed his golden bracelets. He tugged at the jewelry and remembered how they seemed permanently attached to his wrists. It was the one element that the musclebound superhero felt grounded him in his own questioning sanity. The proof of him unlocking his powers and being released to the real world. The muscle demigod turned to his left and faced a wall-mounted mirror that was scaled to his size. Concentrating, he activated his flight power. Marvelous Man slowly rose up until the tips of his toes were touching the ground. Then there was no touching. Marvelous Man hovered with only a tiny gap between him and the floor. The musclebound superhero smiled with a big grin while continuing to levitate further up. He really had left Sunnysville and become a superhero! Seconds later, his head collided with the ceiling with a low thud. Marvelous Man grunted, as he grabbed his head at the slight pain. Lowering himself down to the flooring, the hulking bodybuilder considered whether he should transform or not. Marvelous Man then came to the conclusion that it could be bad if he was discovered with his superhero outfit on. He had a sneaking suspicion as to who kidnapped him back to Sunnysville. But if he was wrong, they would probably attack him immediately without a chance for him to talk. Marvelous Man guessed that if Gene were here at this moment, the rabbit superhero would treat this as an investigation before jumping to the conclusion of fighting. The musclebound superhero derailed his train of thought by wondering if he was more of a detective rather than a superhero. He was after all put on an investigation squad to scout and gain info about the Skeleton Lord. Superheroes in the comic books he read usually punch stuff to solve the problem. The only thing to understand about the enemy was to figure out where to punch and with what element. Only the powerless folks or brooding superheroes did investigations...which led right back to where to punch and with what element. Taking another breath and staring into the eyes of his reflection, Marvelous Man psyched himself up enough to start going downstairs. He just needed to play along as the powerless Justice Starr in order to figure out what was going on. >>>>>>>>>>> Everything in the house looked as he remembered. From the creaking of the wooden stairs to the smell of the house...before it was subjugated by the flood of rotting muffins. Though gone for only a few months, it felt like years had passed. Nostalgia flooded Marvelous Man’s brain, as he stared at the family photos hanged on the stairway walls. Each photo had its own gimmick: ugly Christmas sweaters, ancient warriors, wild west, and etc. The scent of frying bacon grew stronger, as the hulking bodybuilder reached the bottom of the steps. It reminded him of his mother’s cooking: greasy, delicious, and full of love. Papa Ares did make bacon sometimes, but they usually ended up nearly burnt. Apollo would faint at the suggestion of bacon and just offer up some sort of avocado wheat toast with a grapefruit. Marvelous Man could hear the tinkling of silverware and plates echo across the hall. Passing through the foyer and into the dining hall, the muscle demigod experienced a sense of deja vu. Seated at the dining table were his fathers, Ares and Apollo; eating breakfast instead of sitting underneath a Happy Birthday banner with serious faces. As he stepped through, Ares was the first to look up and notice Marvelous Man. Ares smiled, “Morning, son! Didja sleep well last night?” Marvelous Man eyed his Papa with suspicion. There was no need to act ignorant. He could already tell his parents were the real deal. Unlike normal people or the robot citizens of Sunnysville, his parents gave off an atmosphere that one could tell the Starr parents were different. Though that has now been realized with the fact that Marvelous Man’s parents were Greek gods. “Yeah, I guess I did...Ummm, why...what am I doing back here in Sunnysville?” questioned Marvelous Man. Apollo turned his attention from the breakfast plate towards Marvelous Man upon hearing his son speak. His fashion this time consisted of a yellow polo shirt with a blue sweater tied around the collar and light khaki pants. The only other thing to perfect this ensemble would be a croquet mallet in his hands. Ares scratched his scars, “Uh, what do you mean, son? You’ve always been in Sunnysville.” “...Are you seriously trying to gaslight me?! I know I’ve lived out in the real world, and it wasn’t a dream! I’m still wearing the bracelets you guys gave me,” pointed Marvelous Man. Apollo retorted, “I think the bigger question is when did you get so perceptive.” “Since you guys told me the world I lived in was fake. And also finding out how different the real world is for a couple of months does that to you. Especially when you find out public bathrooms come with bidets,” said Marvelous Man. The door from across the dining room opened. Carrying a tray full of pancakes through the entry was Marvelous Man’s mother, Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love seemed radiant even with her apparel of sweatpants and a simple, white t-shirt. Upon spotting Marvelous Man, Aphrodite smiled. She spoke, “Justice! Good morning, sugarplum. Did you have a good night sleep? I made pancakes.” “Mom, why did you all drag me back here?” inquired Marvelous Man. Aphrodite moseyed towards the dining table before setting the tray onto it. She looked up at Marvelous Man with a smiling but puzzled look. She replied, “Whatever do you mean, sweetie. You mean back home?” Apollo rolled his eyes. “Forget it, Aphrodite. Two seconds in, and he already figured it out,” he sighed. Marvelous Man exclaimed, “Am I going to have to break something or will you people just answer me already?!” “Justice, please. Use your inside voice,” spoke Aphrodite Marvelous Man glared at his mother. Fingers clenched into fists, his patience had evaporated. He did not want to play games anymore and allow his parents to manipulate him any further. Ares spoke up, “We did it to protect you, son. After you disappeared for two days from our sight, we thought the worst had happened...we thought...the Skeleton Lord killed you.” “And when you came back, we were relieved that you were still alive...But then we became more afraid than ever,” continued Aphrodite. Marvelous Man frowned, “Why? This is what you all created me for. You wanted me to be a hero, and I did that. I even came to enjoy that.” Nobody replied. Silence hung in the air for seconds. Apollo cleared his throat. “The fact is, Justice, we didn’t realize how much you dying affected us. Or would,” said Apollo. Marvelous Man shook his head, “But isn’t that what’s going to happen to me? If I go off to fight, I have a big chance of dying. I mean, Papa, you’re the God of War. Isn’t this something you’re used to? I’m pretty sure you all had kids before me. What makes this different with me?” “Because you’re different. Everything about you is different. Your birth. This place. Everything,” replied Ares, “In Sunnysville, we were cut off from the world just so that we could keep a close eye on you. We didn’t have any duties to uphold. We just had to be...human. He continued, “And you became our world, Justice...We are beings that will last forever, and knowing that you are only temporary...how can we move on when you’re gone?” Aphrodite moved closer to her son; edging by with careful steps that could stand on eggshells. Tears had begun to form in her eyes. “And when I heard your cry with my mother’s love...Calling out to me. I wished with all my heart that I could come to you, but I could not find you. The last of when I saw you was after your heart had been broken,” she said. Apollo bit his lip, “We didn’t realize it until now, that you had become the source of our happiness. So we brought you here in the hopes that if we could just have everything stay the same, you would be safe and happy until you were an old man and not slain in your youth by some nightmare monster. And if you somehow gain immortality, then good news! We can stay in this paradise forever!” The need to smash something began to rise. Marvelous Man almost felt himself getting ready to run back towards his room and rip off his clothes. He clenched his fists even harder to suppress the old habit. “You’re kidding, right? Do you have any idea how much this place fucked me over?!” he ranted, “I wasn’t allowed to talk differently with other people, cause the other people aren’t real! No compromise at all. I could only act a certain way or I wouldn’t be able to get anything done. And it is so hard to just be myself with real people. I still think sometimes that if I don’t say something predictable, nobody will talk to me,” Seconds ticked by in the piercing silence before Apollo turned to Aphrodite. “Guess we shoulda waited those three days for the social programming, huh?” mentioned Apollo. Marvelous Man’s jaw dropped, “...YOU COULDN’T WAIT THREE DAYS FOR THE ROBOTS TO START ACTING LIKE PEOPLE BEFORE LOCKING ME IN HERE?!” All three gods shrugged at him. “Eh…” they said in unison. Apollo answered, “I mean, we thought you’d be fine.” “WHAT?! You shoulda just left me with a human family!” exclaimed Marvelous Man. Ares replied, “We did with the others. But you’re a special case cause of...you know.” Marvelous Man stared at the God of War; his eyelids drooped with an aloof demeanor. “I don’t have time for this. I’m leaving,” he huffed. As the hulking bodybuilder turned towards the door, his mother clutched her chest. She followed her son through the entrance with the other gods steps behind her. “YOU CAN’T!” shouted Aphrodite, “If you go, the Skeleton Lord will kill you!” Marvelous Man stopped, “...You don’t know that. Me and my friends will probably beat him. And if you really feel that way, you can stop him yourselves.” Ares slammed his fist against the house; causing the structure to momentarily tremble. “It’s not like we don’t want to! But even if we could find him, we’re not allowed to harm him,” he said. Marvelous Man sighed, “Fine. Why?” “Us old gods swore an oath that our divinity could only be used to assist heroes against those we contend against. And since we’re incapable of breaking oaths, that means we can do diddly-squat about the Skeleton Lord. And if someone were able to break it, that would free the rest from the oath and cause all out celestial wars. Mass destruction and even the world being destroyed in the process,” clarified Apollo. The muscle demigod turned to his parents. Marvelous Man frowned, “Then...assist me! Give me a power up or an upgrade or something!” “You’re safer here. That is your assist,” stated Ares. Marvelous Man exclaimed, “The fffuck it is! I’m going to stop the Skeleton Lord with or without your help. I’ll learn magic or get a familiar to do magic for me or just buy a gun if I have to. Cause apparently, I’m rich as hell and can buy a death ray gun for all I care.” Aphrodite watched her child trail in the direction of the loan office where the exit to the real world hid. She leaned forward to initiate chase, as Ares placed a hand on her shoulder. “Leave him be, my sweet. He will cool off once he realizes he does not have the key,” reasoned Ares. Marvelous Man then leapt into the air and proceeded to fly over the neighboring houses. The three Greek gods stared on, while their eyes grew wide. “Well, shit. He’s still transformed...which means that he could transform back into his superhero outfit and retrieve the key. Did we really just forget that?!,” said Apollo. The God of Art held out his hand. Light began to concentrate in his palm before extending itself. Upon reaching an appropriate length, the light shattered to reveal a golden bow beneath. Apollo held the bow in front of himself and began to pull the string. A bolt of light materialized; nocking behind the golden string. He sighed, “Whatever, I’ve got it covered. Hindsight, you are a bitch.” “Apollo! He’s our son!” shouted Aphrodite. Apollo clicked his tongue, “Girl, it’s fine. It’s just a stun arrow. Nasty, but he’ll live.” Releasing his grip on the string, Apollo’s arrow launched. The arrow of light sailed through the air with a slight curve. Marvelous Man continued to fly straight with no awareness of the projectile, while the arrow homed in. The light-based weapon collided into Marvelous Man’s back; causing the musclebound superhero to seize in the air. The hulking bodybuilder appeared frozen in a twisted pose, as Marvelous Man fell. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The rattle in Marvelous Man’s head came to a slow. The last thing he remembered was taking flight and heading to the pocket dimension’s exit. Then he felt a shooting pain pierce into his back and immediately dispersed throughout the rest of his massive body. The hulking bodybuilder’s muscles clenched in paralysis and felt his senses going haywire. For a brief moment, he could not tell what was up or down until he collided into the ground with a brief thud. Marvelous Man pushed himself up. He knew that now was not a time to rest. His parents most likely did something to him to cause his fall, and they will catch up soon. Giving his surroundings a quick scan, it appeared he fell into the backyard of one of his neighbors. The spacious, fenced property had only grass and a tire swing tied to a fully-grown oak tree. Marvelous man released a sigh upon noticing his parents were not in sight. With only seconds to act, he ran behind the oak tree. While taller than the muscle demigod, the tree was not wider than his massive shoulders protruding from behind. Marvelous Man was aware that if he were to stand a sliver of a chance to get to the loan office, he needed to be fully armed. The musclebound superhero placed his golden-jeweled wrists on top of one another and held them above his head. “MarvelousMuscleMagic,Metamorph!” fast-talked Marvelous Man. The muscle demigod floated in the familiar vacuum, void of all existence, where all his transformations took place. His clothes shattered off of him with the appearance of stained glass; refracting its colors into the void. Silver paint from an unseen assailant began whipping at his gargantuan body. The paint slapped between the meaty globes of his buttocks and over the ridges of his waist. When the silver paint slapped the bodybuilder’s sexual meat in all directions, his sack and penis bounced about. A silver thong fully materialized on Justice, as the last stroke of silver paint brushed against his waist. White paint then appeared only to give a simple dab onto his forehead and belly button; materializing a diamond-like rhinestone as a bindi on his forehead and a larger rhinestone that covered his navel. As the transformation dimension dispersed, Justice landed back behind the oak tree. The hulking bodybuilder took no time to for a break and repeated his transformation stance. He chanted again, “MarvelousMuscleMagic,Metamorph!” Transported back to his transportation dimension, Justice floated in the vacuous void. The thong and jewelry he had just been equipped with had immediately taken on the consistency of dried paint. The paint cracked and fractured throughout; encompassing both thong and jewelry. Flakes of the cracked equipment broke off and floated up into the void. When the muscle demigod had become nude again, the familiar, multi-colored ribbons of bondage reached out from the beyond. The ribbons bound around his limbs; squeezing his large pectorals and bubbly glutes. Completing their enrapture, the ribbons became Marvelous Man’s signature outfit: black leather jacket, black leather boots, American flag bikini, and a golden laurel wreath. Marvelous Man landed on the ground, as he was released from the empty space he transformed in. With time to spare, the musclebound superhero considered his options. Flying was definitely not something he wanted to try again with his sniper dad. Fighting should only be a last resort when one’s papa is the God of War. Rather than staying in the backyard to stand his ground, the hulking bodybuilder vaulted over the fence. Stealth was going to have to be the winning mechanic against beings that easily overpowered him. As he touched over on the other side of the fence, Marvelous Man’s heart sank. He had landed in another backyard with plenty of wide space, and in the center of it stood his parents. All of the gods’ faces were devoid of emotion. Apollo was armed with his glowing bow, Ares had his arms crossed, and Aphrodite had her hands clasped over the other against her chest. “Well, you sure shrugged that off faster than I thought. Let me guess, healing factor?” said Apollo. Marvelous Man frowned, “Yeah.” The God of Art’s eyes drifted; scanning Marvelous Man from top to bottom. “Convenient and chique,” commented Apollo, “Though, I don’t know about your current fashion sense. Not judging, just thought you should know.” Confused at his dad’s criticism, Marvelous Man looked down at himself. The clothes he wore before his double transformation had reappeared. Only this time, he sported the daisy duke shorts underneath his battle bikini and the white tank top underneath his black jacket. The waistband of his golden thong peeked out of the jean shorts; complementing the ridiculousness of his outfit even further. He really wanted to question the logistics of how he ended up looking like so, but there was no time for it. Marvelous Man held up his index finger, “Hold on. Give me a sec.” The musclebound superhero planted his foot into the ground and delivered a kick with his other as high as he could. Marvelous Man gave a kick that was almost perfectly pointing up; only off by a few degrees. He could feel the jean shorts tighten around his pelvis when kicking. The muscle demigod realized at that moment how much of a hindrance any pants-like variety was in combat. He was shocked at how his bikini actually served a purpose at allowing more flexibility and less drag to leg movements. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of his shorts and began tearing at it. The hulking bodybuilder ripped the shorts from different angles until the clothing fell to the grass in shreds. All there was left underneath the American flag bikini was the golden thong showing off its waistbands above the bikini’s. It might have seemed like such a hasty decision to do, but Marvelous Man was in no mood to take the time to peel off his lower garments. He wanted out. “Okay, now I’m ready,” he said. Aphrodite pleaded, “Please, sweetie. Don’t do this. You can’t beat the Skeleton Lord. Don’t think that you have any chance of defeating us.” Marvelous Man did not want to openly admit he could not overcome his parents with force. But maybe with logic… “You can’t fight me, anyways. Papa said you all swore an oath that you can’t contend against others by your own power,” he reasoned. Ares cracked his knuckled, “Not if you’re under our divinity. We can do whatever we want with those that worship us or are our blood.” The muscle demigod gritted his teeth; frustrated out how his luck was turning out. With no choice but to fight, Marvelous Man took off his golden wreath. He tried to calculate in his mind of how to attack. With Apollo focused on the rules of combat due to the god’s divinity with athletics, it would be best to engage the God of Art with dirty tactics. Ares was a god that used violent bursts to quickly overpower opponents and should be countered with unorthodoxed methods and use defensive martial arts like Aikido to redirect the powerful strikes. No active approach was needed for Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love would most likely just watch the whole skirmish. “Do you really intend to fight us, Justice?” said Aphrodite. Ares frowned, “Back away, my sweet. The boy has made up his mind.” The God of War and Apollo parted away from each other; moving closer to Marvelous Man in a diagonal angle until the two gods were standing at the bodybuilder’s left and right side. With a flick of his wrist, a wooden spear materialized in Ares’ grasp. Ares and the God of Art readied themselves in their fighting stances. “Just so you know, the kiddie gloves may be on, but it’s still got thorns to hurt like hell,” mentioned Apollo. Marvelous Man set the trap, “How could you guys do this to me and say that you love me? Am I just a disappointment to you all that you’re trying to hide?” Both gods preparing to fight Marvelous Man hesitated; lowering their stances and weapons. Their faces softened with hurtful looks in their eyes. “No, that’s not it,” broke Ares, “We’re doing this to-” Marvelous Man threw his golden wreath at Ares before twisting his body towards Apollo. Activating his flight powers, the musclebound superhero dove as close to the ground as he could without touching. He dipped his right hand down and clawed into the earth while closing the distance between himself and the God of Art. Marvelous Man could see Apollo’s eyes widened at the surprise attack; unable to properly react. At the very same moment, the golden wreath Marvelous Man threw had sailed over to the off-guarded Ares. The projectile concussed against Papa’s head with a loud ting. His eyes fogged with daze, as his head reeled back from the attack. Upon reaching close range with the God of Art, Marvelous Man flew up and swiped with his dug hand to unleash a volley of dirt. The earthen spray flew against Apollo’s body and flung into the god’s eyes. The God of Art recoiled in pain at the literal dirty attack with a brief shriek. Marvelous Man twirled in a counterclockwise motion, as he rose above his dad. Completing his rotation, the musclebound superhero brought his left leg down in a diagonal axe kick. The back of his boot’s heel connected against the side of Apollo’s neck; crumbling the God of Art into the ground. Marvelous Man lunged his body forward and followed the velocity of his kick into another spin. Finishing the revolution of his spin, the muscle demigod dove to grab Apollo by the yellow collar. With Apollo in his grasp, Marvelous Man flew towards the dazed Ares. The muscle demigod spun in the air to his increase his attack before throwing his dad; shooting Apollo through the air like a human-sized missile dressed for a day at the country club. Ares was still staggered from the projectile attack but was beginning to edge towards recovery before the God of Art slammed into the bulky war god’s chest. The two gods careened into the wooden fence; splintering it into pieces. Marvelous Man turned to flee, as Ares was toppled over with Apollo on top. “You were never a disappointment!” shouted Aphrodite. Marvelous Man paused; switching his attention to where his mother stood. Aphrodite continued, “We are so proud of what you accomplished even though you were so limited. But now it’s time to come home and live a safe life. You’ve earned it, Justice. We can even bring both of your lovers here if you’d like. I’m sure Gene would like it here, and you said you’d be fine if Gemini was with you.” His heart rate kept racing, and nearly every fiber of his being was telling Marvelous Man to run. But a big part of him still wanted to talk this all out; hoping that words can settle the battle without violence. His shoulders slouched, as he thought about the compromise. “...I’m sorry, mom. I can’t do that to them. I’d love to...but you’re forcing them to live somewhere they don’t actually want to be at. You of all people know what happens when you force someone to love a person. It’d be like that,” said Marvelous Man. Aphrodite fired back, “How’s that any different from what you’re doing in the real world, sugarplum?” Marvelous Man opened his mouth to ask what she meant, as three wooden broadswords fell from the sky. The swords pierced into the ground in front of the muscle demigod; severing the path between himself and Aphrodite. Marvelous Man jumped back from the sudden obstruction, as he heard Ares manly voice echo. “It’s an insult to your enemy when you turn your attention away from them, son. Either keep fighting or run away!” shouted Ares. Marvelous Man quickly inhaled air through his nose before following it with a sharp exhale. Stepping towards the wooden weapon stabbed into the ground, the musclebound superhero grabbed the sword in the center by the hilt. Marvelous Man lifted the weapon from the dirt with ease. He then turned to face his fathers, while pointing an open palm towards them. A golden glint shimmered for a moment behind the gods. Apollo looked up at Ares, “So is he trying to signal a timeout or-ACK!” The boomerang weapon that had hit Ares earlier had come whirling back. It struck the back of Apollo’s head; ringing out a blunt tung. The force of the blow knocked out the art god’s balance, as he fell to the ground once more. Marvelous Man leapt forward while thrusting the wooden broadsword in a piercing strike. As he soared towards Ares, he activated his flight powers. The hulking bodybuilder straightened himself like a plank with both hands gripping the sword’s hilt. He then began to rotate; spinning with such ferocity that he looked like a blurred, black drill. The God of War frowned and immediately dropped his spear. Flicking his hands into a grasping motion, a wooden sledgehammer appeared in his grip. The head of the weapon had a size that was often seen in comical shows, yet it held a menacing flair when wielded by a war god. Ares swung the hammer over his head in a slow, methodical fashion; as if timing his swing. Once the drill form of Marvelous Man was only a second away from boring into Ares, the God of War slammed his sledgehammer down. Ares had correctly evaluated his time to strike; connecting the weapon against his son. The wooden sledgehammer’s blow struck Marvelous Man’s back and sent the muscle demigod slamming into the ground. The earth beneath cracked from the intense power, while spraying a gust of dirt and air in all directions and jostling his braided hair. The breath in Marvelous Man’s lungs escaped him, as he gasped and groaned for it to come back. His spine was racked with pain, and he swore he heard a small pop when being smashed with Papa’s sledgehammer. He wanted to get up and keep fighting, but his body would not listen to his semi-conscious mind. Marvelous Man summoned all the willpower he could to keep awake; hoping that his healing factor would activate soon. “It was a good try, son, but you’re fighting against me in my own element. I always win when it comes to senseless violence. But I suppose if you had been honorable, you would have just loss to your other father,” commented Ares. Apollo slowly stood up, “Or maybe...just not fall for Ares’ provoke with the wooden sword he gave you. The man might be dense in everything else, but he definitely has a hands-on experience with being tricked into doing something careless.” Silence held in the air for a few seconds. Marvelous Man could not see it, but he guessed that Apollo realized Ares was glaring at the art god. Apollo would then realize that Ares was still holding a large, wooden sledgehammer. “Well, I still stand by what I said,” said Apollo. Ares grunted, “Hmmm, so what do we do now?” “Drag him back home, I guess. After that, well...we’ll just get a hold of Hephaestus and see if he can break off those bracelets since they’re enchanted to stay on Justice. And once that’s over, this world should smother his powers back into being base talents,” suggested Apollo. The quiet had settled in once again in the passing seconds. None of the gods moved, as Marvelous Man slowly motioned his shaky hand into the depths of his jacket’s pockets. His mind filed through every possible thing to think of that could turn the tables in his situation: a weapon, a potion, or even a magical device that assists with fleeing. Nothing materialized against the tips of his fingers. The feeling of betrayal swelled in his heart, as he realized his parents never bothered to give him the things he truly needed in the battle against evil. They talked about keeping him safe, but it seemed that his heroism was still a game or entertaining story to them. Just like those superhero comic books where the hero was never truly in any danger thanks to the status quo. Was he nothing more than some kind of pet? Like he was a teacup-sized dog meant only to fit in and accessorize a purse? Apollo spoke up, “Well? This is the part where you pick him up. Chop-chop.” “It’s just that…” paused Ares, “Are we really doing the right thing? We’re stealing away his chance to a fight he wishes to take part in. He could still win.” Apollo sniped, “Last time I checked, he was no longer your little soldier after you caused his precious knee to dislocate. And did you forget the part where you told us Gilgamesh crushed his hands? Nuh-uh, I am not putting my baby through that.” “No, no. You’re right. But...then what would change your mind?” asked Ares. Apollo bit his lip, “Mmmm...Maybe if he found out what his divine element was, I’d be more at ease. It’d definitely give him the edge in battle. Having us three as his parents really muddied it up into becoming something else entirely. I scanned him when he was unconscious but can’t figure out for the eternity of me of what it is. All I know is that there’s a...dark side to his power that…-” The two gods continued to babble about Marvelous Man, as the muscle demigod himself slowly regained his strength. Anger began coursing through his mind. How dare they...How dare they look down on him! They do not take him seriously enough that he is not disclosed about divine elements?! He fought with everything he had, and they still dared to withhold information that could have helped him?! The bundle of emotions that flooded through him was like the day he found out the truth about Sunnysville and his bloodline and destiny...He had enough. Inching forward with every painful nudge, he managed to move his recovering body towards his fathers. Marvelous Man reached his hand out and grabbed Ares’ exposed ankle. The muscle demigod could feel the floodgates of his heart open. The toxic he held back surged into his gripping hand; emanating a whisping darkness whispering its dark secrets. Another kind of poison had also seeped into his tongue, but it was a toxin that lacked any supernatural power. Marvelous Man could feel his mouth moving on its own, yet he did not care. “You’re all...a bunch of Dickasaures Rexes,” he gritted. The dark aura flared, as its whispers grew louder. The poison scanned the war god’s leg; detecting the lengthy list of injuries the limb had encountered. Marvelous Man became aware of the leg’s history, while his heart grew number. He wanted to push all the pain he was feeling onto his own family. Marvelous Man continued, “You all knew I had some power in me that could help me against the Skeleton Lord but didn’t say anything?! I’m risking my life out there when all you want to do is keep playing house?! FUCK THAT!” Ares looked down at Marvelous Man with a stupefied expression. The dark aura seemed to feed on Marvelous Man’s words; growing big enough to encompass the muscle demigod. The grass underneath Marvelous Man wilted into black, as it released a foul stench of rot. Its own lifetime of being trimmed had caused it to crumble into tiny black bits. “Wha?” said Ares, “Son, we-” “SHUT UP!!!” shouted Marvelous Man. The whispering poison seeped into Ares’ ankle. Traveling into the cells of the God of War, the darkness whispered its final secret before vanishing. The limb of Ares instantly reacted with extreme hemorrhage, while the muscle and skin tissues collapsed. The war god’s leg exploded; spraying Marvelous Man with bits of celestial blood. With a sudden imbalance to Ares’ body, the God of War immediately fell. As Ares fell backwards, Marvelous Man stood up. He looked down at his father with a cold stare, while Ares looked up with confusion. The musclebound superhero knew he should have felt bad for destroying his father, but all he felt was justified payback. He then felt his poisoned tongue move on its own again. Marvelous Man spoke, “Before you actually became a good dad, I wished you would just die. Especially on the day you caused my leg to dislocate.” The muscle demigod felt an electrical sting coursing through his left shoulder. Turning towards the source of the damage dealer, he spotted Apollo standing a small distance away. The God of Art was wielding his bow of light, as his trembling hands held another arrow nocked at the ready. Marvelous Man instantly put together that the God of Art jumped back and attempted to shoot another stun arrow. “That’s no way to treat your son, dad. But I guess to you I was just another art piece just to stroke your own dick of how great you are. No different than being treated as a weapon by the cripple over there,” he commented. Even though Marvelous Man was numbed from feeling any empathy towards his parents, he could feel a rush of euphoria flowing through himself. It felt so good to let his mouth run and tell all the hurtful secrets he had suppressed for so many years. The muscle demigod felt satisfied at knowing he could hurt his parents with more than just physical wounds. Apollo stated, “That’s enough Justice. Stop this right now, or-” “Or what?! You’ll kill me?! You can try! I just wonder if you’ll cry for me at my funeral. Hmph, probably not. You’ll break your face, since you can only express bitchiness,” spat Marvelous Man. The poisonous aura fed on the remarks and expanded itself towards Apollo. As it snaked towards the art god, the grass caught in its path wilted and crumbled. Apollo’s eyes took no notice of the whispering toxin; focused only on the bitter son. Marvelous Man continued, “You know what pisses me off the most? You two never said you’re sorry. For any of this! ‘I’m sorry, kiddo. We didn’t realize how much we were fucking you up by not letting you talk to anybody. We’re sorry that your whole life was a lie just so that we could feel relevant again. I’m sorry that we’re just selfish assholes who don’t give two shits about anybody other than the person in the mirror!’” Within range of the art god, the darkness pounced on his feet. The whispering poison traveled up beneath the khaki cuffs of Apollo’s legs; sinking into the cellulars. The whisping, black aura scanned the legs to only find a brief medical history of battle and athletic damage done to the limbs. The toxin whispered its final secret before vanishing and activating the past wounds. Underneath the pants, Apollo’s legs blackened with bruising, while the achilles tendon muscles in his ankles snapped into pieces. The God of Art fell onto his knees; whimpering in pain. “And just so you know, I would rather die out there than live in here for the rest of my life. If you even call it living. I’ve only realized after a couple of months how sad my life was. The highlight of my life around here is bodybuilding and assisting firefighters,” said Marvelous Man. He paused, “I’m terrified of going back out there with all that confusion and death...but I can’t stay here. Not after finally feeling freedom and talking to people.” Apollo held up his bow of light and immediately drew back an arrow. Knocked against the string, the arrow grew bright with the intensity of a spotlight that it looked nearly like a football made of light. “Go ahead, dad. Do it. Put me down like some rabid dog,” hissed Marvelous Man. The whisping aura still extended towards Apollo launched itself further up the God of Art. Traveling up Apollo’s body at swift speeds, the poison reached the art god’s face and dug into his eyes. Apollo immediately recoiled at the intrusion; dropping his bow in the process. Marvelous Man could instantly detect the many mental traumas suppressed within his father. Some of them were recently unvalved from the hurtful things the hulking bodybuilder said. Marvelous Man knew he would usually be curious about what the traumas were, but he was more interested in breaking Apollo. He activated all of the suppressed traumas. The darkness piercing into Apollo’s eyes looked like streams of tears to Marvelous Man. The art god’s eyes seemed be staring past the muscle demigod; his eyes clouded in black. The fear in Apollo’s face had now transformed into anguish and pity. He admitted, “You really are a monster. I tried to set you on a path of good. Having you focus on bodybuilding for discipline. The boy scouts for instilling morals. But...I guess...you really can’t fix something that was destined to be born broken.” “And what scares me so much is that even if you destroy the world. Destroy me. I’ll still love you, Justice. Somehow, out of all the children we’ve had, you’ve had the most profound effect on me. And it’ll never go away,” continued Apollo. A voice shouted behind Marvelous Man, “IT’S ME YOU WANT! I AM THE REASON WHY YOU WERE STUCK HERE FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS!” Turning around, the muscle demigod spotted his mother closer towards him. She had her hands clasped together against her chest; trembling with increased vigorousness with every step she took. Marvelous Man looked down at her, as Aphrodite was within an arm’s length of her son. “What?” said Marvelous Man. “Yes. I did it, sweetie,” she said, “We all were supposed to move back to the real world right after you graduated school and transport you when you fell asleep in our moving van and let you slowly discover that you’re a superhero. And then we would have had to let you go...But I was selfish. I loved you so much that I wanted you all to myself and keep playing in this illusion. Those two didn’t put up a fight when I requested it.” The hulking bodybuilder stared in disbelief, “...That’s it? Then why the sudden change of heart?” “You were dying, sugarplum. I could sense the love in you was withering. And my love...just wasn’t enough for you anymore. You might not have noticed, but I did. It’s why we had to let you go...Why I had to let you go,” said Aphrodite. She gave a short laugh, “But now, I’m doing it all over again. Trying to make you into what I want. Hoping that we can go back to how everything was, cause I was so happy and couldn’t face a reality where you died...But that’s wrong. What I want and what you want are two different things. And I...we need to realize that we must be willing to let you go if we truly love you. Let you find actual happiness and fulfillment rather than forcing ours onto you.” Marvelous Man extended his hand to place it against the side of his mother’s face. The dark aura radiating from his whole arm danced about Aphrodite’s cheeks. It almost looked as if the muscle demigod was caressing her with love, but his eyes betrayed the action from the gleam of his cold, hazel green eyes. “You’re a terrible mom, and you’ll never escape that,” he said. The poisonous darkness lashed out; diving into Aphrodite’s eyes. The Goddess of Love shuddered, as Marvelous Man detected his mother’s suppressed mental traumas. Activating them all, the toxin took on the similar appearance of whisping, black tears streaming from Aphrodite’s eyes. Immediately after, the dark poison flowing from the love goddess’ eyes had faded into nothingness. Aphrodite continued staring into the bitter son with unwavering yet wounded love, but the goddess had none of the side effects Apollo was experiencing. Marvelous Man could no longer sense any of the suppressed mental trauma. He then realized it was not because there was no suppressed traumas to activate, but because his cursed assault against his mother was extinguished. Aphrodite was untouchable to his poison. The goddess’ eyes twinkled with enlightenment. “I understand now,” she said. Marvelous Man shouted, “Wha-?! How?! I poisoned you! WHY AREN’T YOU BROKEN?!” Aphrodite lightly grasped the hand Marvelous Man held against her face. Gently bringing the enormous hand down, she place it against her bosom where her heartbeat pulsed. The Goddess of Love then placed her hands over his and cradled the hand with tenderness. “The same as how you were able to resist Gene’s influence,” she replied, “Apollo isn’t like me. He can’t resist soul poisoning.” Lifting her wrist with slow grace, she brought her hand close to Marvelous Man’s chest. The Goddess of Love lightly prodded her index and pinky finger against the musclebound hero’s meaty pecs; aiming it where her son’s heart beats. “But your soul has been poisoned too, sugarplum. And it’s my fault you ended up like this. I’ll fix you right up, sweetie,” stated Aphrodite. The love goddess flexed her wrist like a martial artist’s lightning-fast jab. Her middle and ring finger curled against her palm while pressing into her son’s immense pectoral. The rest of her fingers were splayed out on top, as a ring of golden light radiated from her hand. As the ring continued its disperse, it blasted away the whisping, dark aura encompassing Marvelous Man’s body. Marvelous Man’s massive body seized, while his head flexed upwards. The hulking bodybuilder took in a giant, desperate breath as if he were breathing for the first time. The numbness within his heart subsided; gone was the sadist need to inflict any sort of pain on his family. He could feel warmth flooding into his soul, and a lingering sense of pain that was beginning to grow. Looking down, the muscle demigod spotted his mother with a hopeful look in her eyes. “M-mom?” he said. She smiled, “Yes, sugarplum.” “Did I just…?” said Marvelous Man. Slowly turning around, he spotted the result of his poisonous power. The memories of his handiwork done only seconds ago bubbled up into his head. Marvelous Man wanted to stop it, but it became clear in his mind. It felt so distant, because the Marvelous Man he himself knows should not be capable of such terrible actions. Ares was sitting up and staring at Marvelous Man. The war god had only one leg; courtesy of the muscle demigod lashing out to hurt Papa. Apollo still knelt with the poison streaming from the eyes and coursing into the art god’s mind. He remembered that it felt so good to break them; especially with Apollo’s mental trauma. Marvelous Man gasped with his hands over his mouth, “Oh my gosh! I...did this…” “Yes, but don’t worry. I’ll take care of Apollo,” said Aphrodite, “And Ares will eventually grow his leg back. It’ll be alrigh-.” He teared up, “It’s not alright! Dad was right...I am a monster…” Aphrodite immediately grabbed her son’s thick wrist and pulled it back to her. Marvelous Man was unable to resist her sudden boundless strength and was caught in a bending position where the mother’s eyes were gazing into his. She spoke sternly, “Listen to me! You are not a monster. We were the ones who pushed you into acting like this. You did what you had to, because you just wanted to live your life. And it made you as detached as we once were to the preciousness of a mortal’s life.” Marvelous Man was unable to process what his mother was saying. He hurt his own family. The ones he loved. He began trying to look back at his fathers. “I-I-I gotta go and help them. I can heal them,” he said. Aphrodite replied, “No. Go. Leave this place. I’ll help them. Those people and your friends need you more.” “Bu-But...I don’t think I can anymore. I couldn’t even beat my dads without having to use that dark power of mine. And you saw what it does to me...And, and you’re not going to be around the next time I get out of control with it. I can’t touch it ever again...not even for the Skeleton Lord,” hesitated Marvelous Man. Aphrodite spoke, “Sweetie, there’s no one more afraid of you losing than me. But I know that deep down, you will beat the Skeleton Lord. And the answer finally came to me as to why. You need to understand your own self-worth and love it. Love being you. Not just Marvelous Man, but also as Justice. Both have equal value for existing.” Marvelous Man’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I...I don’t get it. Is that supposed to be a hint or something? For my divine element?” he questioned. She nodded, “Yes. I don’t know what it is, but it is something marvelous, sugarplum. I know that it is a seed. One that is overlooked but important and is connected to your fathers and I.” Tears formed in her eyes, as the Goddess of Love kissed her child’s forehead. “But just know that even after all this, we all still love you. Now go. I love you so much, sweetie...be careful,” she sobbed. Marvelous Man wept, “I love you too, mom.” Jumping up into the air, the musclebound superhero activated his flight power. He took off towards the loan office. Next Chapter

When I first started hanging around gyms I knew I'd be popular with the men there. The place was filled with thick necked, beefy muscle studs who spent most of every day lifting free weights, discussing their gains together and checking out pussy. As soon as I stepped out of the changing room in my short, clinging running shorts that beautifully showed off my tight round ass as well as highlighting my above average sized package I noticed that heads turned. After my first hour long workout on the elliptical machine there were already men coming over to greet me, as was my plan. I'd been obsessed with muscle for a few years and as I had finally become of age where instead of just jacking off at school over the sight of our well built PE teacher or the rugby lads getting changed, I could join the rough gym at the end of our street and be surrounded by the huge horny testosterone machines that I had watched for so long. My first was called Alan. He was in his mid thirties and was strongly reminiscent of Dorian Yates during his peak, the main differences being that he was unshaven and unsurprisingly much less well defined than the ex-Mr Olympia. He offered me a ride home after working out, and I was happy to find that he meant to his home. It was a basic and unkempt bachelor pad, the perfect home for a rude and unrefined musclehead like Alan. He sat down on the couch and I instantly threw myself at him, jumping onto his lap like a schoolgirl. His hand predictably moved up my shorts and within seconds he was massaging my butthole, slipping as many of his thick manly fingers in as would go. I started to pant with excitement. As well as kissing him I began to run my hands all over his body. I begged him to take his sweatpants off so that I could worship his giant quads. Just like Dorian, just below the crotch on his right thigh was a massive thick vein that pulsated in a way that almost made me cry. I was all of a sudden in a situation that I had fantasised over for thousands of hours and I couldn't believe my luck. His quads were not just warm, they were hot from the day's workout and the map of veins streaked across those thighs could be seen even through the layer of coarse hair above. He picked me up as though I weighed nothing and dumped me onto his unmade bed that reeked of body odour covered thinly with antiperspirant spray. I didn't even notice him rip off my shirt and underpants, all I knew was that I was lying naked suddenly, watching his cock grow rapidly harder. It was not the largest I had ever seen, in fact most of the time mine was bigger (apart from the fact that while being fucked I generally was only semi-hard) but it was beautiful. It became thicker in the middle and tapered at both ends and the shaft had two random patches of hair that had sprouted out of place. He had the thick and heavy foreskin that I associated in my head with being a real man and with only seconds to ready myself I held my breath and looked up to the sky, hoping that I would not experience too much pain. He lubed up his cock and jammed it in thoughtlessly. The first thrust took him about three inches in, and the second powerful motion rammed the entire seven inches all the way up my waiting ass. I screamed as that happened and against my expectation I immediately and uncontrollably came the largest load of my life. The first shoot hit the wall behind my head and the second covered my face. I was blindsided, but Alan didn't appear off put. "Is it the first time you've had anything up your arse mate? I've seen that before, first timers who've never had their prostate kicked, then boom- jizz everywhere. Nice load though son." I was still reeling in agony and ecstasy and his voice washed over me. It turned me on beyond words when he called me son and when he described "kicking" my prostate. I moaned and after a few seconds regained the ability to talk. "Yeah, wow, that was incredible, this is my first time being fucked, I had no idea it would feel so good and make me shoot so fast!" I sat up to kiss him, but he drew his head away and pushed me back down with his hand. "Well, I've got to finish mate, so get back down and enjoy the ride." I didn't really want him to carry on, and he knew that, but the aggressive look on his face told me to keep my mouth shut and lie there. He started to flex his muscles for me as he fucked my ass, his well oiled cock sliding in and out of my inexperienced anus as he thrusted his giant hard biceps in my face. "Come on lad, feel it! Yes you know you fucking love it, I can see you starting to get back into this. Lick it, I want you to feel that thick vein in your mouth." He then stuck his whole biceps in my mouth, filling my jaw so I couldn't speak. I remember not knowing how to feel, I was so turned on by the hardness of the muscle that could even withstand my teeth being dug into it but scared and vulnerable because I had in the past five minutes become aware that the man I had trusted to deflower me had an aggressive and almost violent side to him. The fucking lasted a long time, and he flipped me over making me kneel doggy style for a period. He stroked my back and clearly loved feeling as though I was his obedient servant or faithful animal. As he became more and more aroused and approached orgasm he lifted me up and threw me back down on the bed, propping himself against me with one foot on the bed next to my stomach so that he could thrust every last bit of his dick up me. The thrusting became slower and accompanied by louder and more urgent groans until finally he pulled out and I saw his throbbing member ejaculate for a second before he jammed it back in, ensuring that I felt the warmth of his seed filling my no longer innocent bottom. Still unsure whether I was delighted or terrified I lay there waiting to see what Alan did next. He knelt down and looked right into my anus, rubbing his index finger around the side. "Look at that, beautiful. Sealed back up even after a fuck like that, you're a trouper lad! Now let me see some of my boys, loosen that hot little hole for a min." I obeyed, still finding this to fulfil my deepest fantasies and he howled with satisfaction watching his thick white wad dribble out of my exhausted hole, "Shit, wow, that is just glorious. I love the idea of you having my swimmers in you for hours, floating around your ass and leaking into your shorts on the ride home." I stood up and he smacked my butt naughtily before handing me my clothes. I got dressed in silence, feeling slightly ashamed but overwhelmingly falling for the stud next to me who was still wiping the mix of lube and semen off his cock with a towel. He embraced me tightly with his big arms and meaty shoulders and we made out tenderly for what felt like months. This was the beginning of our relationship. There were glorious times when I felt as though I had transcended heaven, but there were just as many days when I loathed, in equal measure, myself and the man who was degrading and humiliating me.

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OusqXuu_0KVzTlvVXsHdaYyqEm87JNuWHQUy71lLuxM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & MAXIM All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OusqXuu_0KVzTlvVXsHdaYyqEm87JNuWHQUy71lLuxM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & MAXIM Chapter 18: Reunion Two days had passed since Gemini visited Justice’s hometown, Sunnysville. During that period, the two only met during debriefings at the D.A.B. headquarters regarding Gilgamesh’s interrogations and fieldwork. It was always an awkward tension Justice could feel between himself and Gemini. And it seemed to increase whenever Gene talked to him in Gemini’s presence. He wished he had the answers to resolve the situation, but the crossroad of choosing “the one” had been difficult. It came to a point when he questioned if he even loved Gemini or Gene and was not just lusting after them. Thankfully, the past few days had been a helpful distraction. Currently transformed and located inside of the Barticle Troy Mall, Marvelous Man twirled into the air. The musclebound superhero activated his flight power to stay airborne for a few seconds; dodging a bolt of lightning crackling into the ground where he once stood. The floor splintered into fragments that briefly flew into the air. In retaliation to the electrical attack, Marvelous Man threw his golden wreath at the caster. The golden wreath whistled in the air, as it whirled itself towards the attacker. The assailant knocked it away with his weapons; a pair of short-handed axes with magical runes etched on them. Spurts of electricity arced through the axes, while the etched runes glowed a soft blue. Upon failure of striking the assailant, the wreath sailed back to Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man caught the projectile and stared down at the foe. The magical axe wielder was a man who looked to be about as young as eighteen. His skin had a pigmentation so dark, it was nearly black. And his body had a trim muscle tone that bulked at his back and thighs like an Olympic wrestler. The young man wore a hunter green loincloth with two leather belts. The brown belts crossed over each other in an x-pattern and sagged at his hips . It had a loop on each side as a means of acting as the short-handed axes holsters as well. Adorned on his shins and forearms were bracers made of zebra pelt, and his footwear consisted of simple, brown sandals. The young man shouted, “Come down and fight me, coward! Or is your fear of a Skeleton Lord guardian that great?” The Skeleton Lord guardian clanged his magical axes together, while he glanced about. The etched runes on the enchanted weaponry glowed a brighter intensity of soft blue light. Electrical discharge dances around the axes with more frequency, as the weapons’ blades vibrated from the loud clash. “Your so-called heroes are afraid of Zareb the-...where is everybody?” he said. The Barticle Troy Mall was completely empty; emphasized by Zareb’s comment reverberating the vacant building. Other than the Skeleton Lord guardian, the only people on the first floor with him were Marvelous Man and Octomentist. Zareb’s eyes shifted about in search of a supposed audience. Marvelous Man called out with his thoughts, “Gene, he’s figured out we got everybody evacuated. I think he’s gonna make a break for it. Is it ready yet?” “We require a few more seconds, Marvelous Man. Gemini is applying the final parts,” telepathically replied Gene. The electrical tribesman glared up at Marvelous Man before looking down at Octomentist. The female superhero, draped in her red kung fu gown, held all eight of her cybernetic arms up in a battle-ready position. Zareb flexed a confused eyebrow while seeing Octomentist transform her golden arm into a golden tendril. Octomentist then whipped her golden tentacle-like arm in an underhanded motion. The tendril darted towards Zareb; moving downwards before curving up the moment it got close to touching the ground. Upon reaching its target, the golden tentacle coiled around the electrified axe in the supervillain’s left hand. the tendril tightened, as Octomentist immediately placed one of her chrome-plated arms on her transformed Gold Arm. Any electricity emanating from the magical axe traveled down the conductive golden limb; only to be absorbed by the prosthetic superhero’s Lightning Arm. Zareb tugged and chopped at the golden tendril with no success. Seeing the Skeleton Lord guardian momentarily distracted, Marvelous Man flew towards the villain for an opportune surprise attack. As the musclebound superhero raised his legs for a dive kick, he instantly realized he reacted in the wrong way. He could see it all unfold in slow motion. Zareb released his caught axe, while simultaneously waving his other electrified axe in an upwards motion. An arc of magical lightning released from both axes and reached out to one another. Upon connection, the tethered axe reacted by leaping towards Octomentist. It spun like a buzz saw; wrestling away from the golden tendril’s bind. The magical axe zipped past Marvelous Man, as it drew closer to the eight-armed superhero. Releasing her Lightning Arm’s clasp over the Gold Arm, Octomentist raised her chrome arm in attempt to block. The tendril form of the Gold Arm retreated back; trying to reshape itself into a more defensive attire. The speed of the whirling axe was far greater than the Gold Arm’s shapeshifting and collided with the superhero’s Lightning Arm with a loud clang. The chrome arm had saved her twice at the same time, as it had immediately absorbed the axe’s extra discharge it gave off. The impact of the enemy’s weapon threw Octomentist backward; causing her to land on her back. As for the axe, it pierced into the ground next to her head. Marvelous Man was distracted by the commotion and miscalculated his diving kick. His legs pounded into the ground only a finger’s length away from the Skeleton Lord guardian. Tremors from the error travelled up his legs; making it momentarily feel as if his overly-muscular limbs had stepped onto a sword’s blade until it rammed into the hilt. The vibrations and shattered flooring caused Zareb to stumble back and nearly lose balance. Distracted by the blundered attack, the electrical arc connecting the two magical axes lost focus and completely severed. Zareb spat, “Cursed wretch.” The Skeleton Lord guardian turned around and proceeded to flee towards the mall’s exit. Marvelous Man activated his flight powers; his legs too shaky from the impact to do an on-foot pursuit. At the same time, Octomentist stood up. Her face looked unamused, as she sharply exhaled through her nostrils. The disk in her right shoulder socket rotated her set of chrome-plated right arms, until it located the correct cybernetic limb. She then placed the chrome arm, that was known to Marvelous Man as the Gravity Arm, on her chest and activated it. A dark aura emitted from the arm; causing Octomentist to become weightless. Leaping forward before the nulled gravity completely took over, she aimed another cybernetic arm behind her. The arm was none other than her Air Arm and activated to jet a stream of compressed air out of her palm. Octomentist reacted at the same time by assuming her body in a more aerodynamic position through leaning forward. “Gene!” shouted Marvelous Man’s thoughts. Fairuza telepathically replied, “It’ll be up in 3-2-1-!” As Zareb was about to pass a row of columns, a paper-thin wall of rainbow-like light materialized between the white columns. The electrical tribesman collided into the flimsy sheet of light as if it were a solid wall. His face and body looked as if he had smooshed up against a glass panel. “Magical barrier successful. Subject is now contained. Well done, you two!” said Fairuza. Marvelous Man flew towards the trapped Zareb, but was cut off by Octomentist. With the Air Arm providing propulsion, the eight-armed superhero zipped past Marvelous Man before he could accelerate. Octomentist crashed into Zareb’s back in less than a second and tumbled to the floor. The electric tribesman slid down to the floor after the sudden compression; momentarily knocking the air out of his lungs. Zareb then pushed himself up, while using his axe as a prop. At the same time, Octomentist deactivated the Gravity Arm and Air Arm; ending the martial artist’s ability to fly. The prosthetic superhero then braced for landing and rolled herself back onto her feet. With all eight arms flexing into an intimidating pose, she was back to being battle ready. As Marvelous Man began to catch up to the two fighters, Zareb held out his axe. The magical weapon shot out its bolt of lightning in an attempt to reconnect to its fallen twin. Sailing past the two superheroes without interference, the electric bolt bonded with the axe stuck into the ground. The Skeleton Lord guardian then pulled back the electrified axe in his hand; signaling the other one to react. The musclebound superhero turned to watch the magical axe yanked itself from the floor and flew back to its twin. It began its usual spinning motion; slicing through the air at such a rate that the blade blurred. While flying back to Zareb, the electrified weapon slightly altered its course. The axe flew a wide distance around Marvelous Man; keeping outside of the hulking bodybuilder’s reach. It then began to curve itself towards Octomentist’s exposed back, and Marvelous Man was helpless to stop it in time. Marvelous Man screamed, “NO!!!” The Skeleton Lord guardian grinned ravenously, as the mystical axed was nearly an arm’s length away from murderously grinding into Octomentist’s back. The eight-armed superhero took a step forward and immediately spun around in a counterclockwise motion. Reaching out with her Lightning Arm, she perfectly timed her revolution and grabbed the electrified axe by the handle. As she completed a full rotation, she swung the magical weapon into Zareb’s right shoulder. The electric tribesman sank to the floor once again with the electrical current between the axes cutting off. “Daughter of blight!” he cursed. Dropping the magical axe in his hand, Zareb flinched in pain. The Skeleton Lord guardian rose a shaky hand towards his axe-embedded shoulder, as the blue light emanating from his enchanted weapons died. Streams of blood slowly seeped from the wound; drifting down the midnight skin. Octomentist huffed, “Shut up. It’s only a flesh wound. Just be glad I didn’t decide to hit your arteries after trying to pull that boomerang shit on me.” The prosthetic superhero turned to look at Marvelous Man. “Hey, Naked Justice. Before you patch him up, let me just do one more thing,” she requested. While twisting her waist back towards the wounded Skeleton Lord guardian, Octomentist formed her hands into a fist. She struck Zareb with four chrome-plated right hooks with each attacking different areas of the enemy’s left side: the temple, ear, cheek, and jaw. Upon quadruple impact, the electrical tribesman slumped face first onto the ground and into unconsciousness. Octomentist shook her right hands, “Okay, now you can do it.” Marvelous Man silently hovered over to the unconscious Zareb and landed next to the foe. He commanded the light within himself to flow to his hands in preparation for healing. The light within him obeyed and began illuminating the bodybuilder’s meaty hands. Placing one hand next to the wound, Marvelous Man placed his other on the magical axe’s handle. The musclebound superhero took a breath to brace himself for what he would do next and began to feed his light. He recalled the happy memories of Papa Ares giving him ice cream and cookies for breakfast the day after Ares caused him to dislocate his knee. Pulling out the weapon with a quick yank, Marvelous Man commanded his light to begin healing. The light complied and extended itself over the wound. Seconds ticked by as the wound slowly sealed itself up, and the bloody stream came to a gradual stop. With the job done, the hulking bodybuilder deactivated his power and stood up. “He’s stablized for now. I didn’t heal his concussion, because I’m pretty sure he’d wake up before we could contain him,” he reported. Marvelous Man called out with his thoughts, “Gene, can you turn off the barrier? We got the guardian.” “I acknowledge,” telepathically replied Gene. The translucent barrier began to dissipate, while Octomentist fished her chrome hand into her belt pouch. Pulling it out a second later, her hand revealed a flat device within its grasp. The eight-armed hero then pressed a button on the gadget’s center and tossed it onto the unconscious Zareb. Upon landing, the device beeped before fastening itself on the back of the Skeleton Lord guardian. The machine began to leak metallic threads that lengthened and coiled about the enemy. Footsteps from beyond the pillars could be heard, as the expanding threads had completely mummified the enemy. Once bundled up, the device emitting the metallic threads beeped again and emitted a dark glow similar to Octomentist’s Gravity Arm. The bounded being then floated off the ground and hovered at the same level as Marvelous Man’s knees. Octomentist smiled, “Thanks for the assist, Naked Justice. It’s always interesting when I’m teaming up with you. Gotta say that you are just a magnet for weird. Well, see ya.” As she began to leave, one of her chrome arms reached out to grab the levitating perpetrator. She silently dragged the detained subject behind her, while the echoing footsteps grew closer. A thought crossed Marvelous Man’s mind. “Oh, hey. I think we need him. He’s related to the Skeleton Lord case that you helped us with last time...well, him and the knight your team caught yesterday,” spoke up Marvelous Man. The musclebound superhero thought back to yesterday’s ordeal. Marvelous Man and his team received an order to investigate a new supervillain that had appeared in the city. It was a man in an overly-decorated knight armor wielding a glaive polearm with designs similar to the weapon used by the Skeleton Lord. The supervillain proclaimed its loyalty to the Skeleton Lord while attacking civilians. There were no fatalities, but many were injured with sliced wounds. When Marvelous Man and the others arrived at the scene, the knight had already been defeated by Octomentist and was being transported back to the Arkos Division headquarters. Octomentist stopped, “Big man, I’d like to help you out, but I can’t. Arkos Division needs the wins it can get if we want to get some more funding.” “Oh, please! Arkos Division has their finger in nearly every technological pie. I know they can recoup any loss of funding the Nemesis Branch steals,” said a male electronic voice. The two superheroes turned their heads to spot Gemini and Gene walking towards them. The Soulem was now garbed with a few more accessories for field duty; a pair of red-framed glasses and a brown messenger bag with the D.A.B. logo printed on it. Gene frowned, “And to reiterate Marvelous Man’s statement, we need him. The D.A.B. and the Skyway City police need that guardian for questioning in regards to his relations to the Skeleton Lord.” “And the police can question him when they get their subpoena. But for now, he’ll be kept at our headquarters where we can keep him safely contained,” coldly replied Octomentist. Gemini’s mood rings transformed to orange. He rolled his eyes, “Let’s not dive into that bullshit, alright? You guys can only handle all the sci-fi stuff. Every time you guys tried to put the supernatural or magical shit in your prisons, it would pretty much literally blow up in your faces. I should know. I’ve witnessed it a couple times.” The Soulem pointed his white, rubbery finger at the encased perpetrator. “He’s a magical being, okay? We really need him. You can poke and prod the knight all you want, but this one stays with us. Or did you not notice the lightning bolts coming out of him?” stated Gemini. Octomentist snapped her fingers, “Thanks for reminding me. I gotta confiscate those axes. Huh…” As the eight-armed superhero moved to search for the magical axes, she paused. The others looked to where she gazed and spotted the rune-etched weapons already disintegrating into the usual black smoke the Skeleton Lord used for forming weaponry. The axes had already decayed halfway; any attempt to preserve them would be a fruitless endeavor. “Well that takes care of that,” she shrugged, “Look, I was the first on the scene here, and that gives Arkos first dibs. I can’t deny you guys from visiting him, since the D.A.B. is involved with the police this time. But that doesn’t mean I can hand him over. If you don’t like the rules, take it up with a congressman.” Marvelous Man could hear Fairuza speaking into his head. “Unfortunately, she’s right. We’re going to have to let her go with this one,” reported Fairuza. The men said nothing. Marvelous Man could not argue at all, since he had no idea what the rules and bureaucracy surrounding the situation were. With nobody to question Octomentist, the prosthetic superhero left with the bounded suspect in tow. Marvelous Man consoled, “At least we saved the day.” “Yeah, but one of our leads got taken away,” complained Gemini. Gene crossed his arms, “Marvelous Man is correct. What is important is that we saved the day and mitigated any further disaster to the fellow civilians of the grand shopping mall. We still have the Gilgamesh locked in our headquarters, and he is by far the worst of the three.” “Yeah, I guess so,” sighed Gemini. Gene frowned, “However, I do feel the worries at how easily these recent victories were achieved without the help of higher ranked individuals. If their purpose was to strike fear into the common man of Skyway City, they did not try hard enough.” “I am also bothered that there might be another guardian biding their time to appear again. I will immediately return to headquarters and review our previous encounter with the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man, perhaps you should see if any of the evacuated civilians need any medical attention,” he continued. Marvelous Man nodded, “Yeah, sure. I can do that.” The bunny demigod turned to Gemini. “Gemini, I believe you can help us by requesting the police to submit the subpoena for visitation rights. We must question the other two guardians the Arkos Division have incarcerated at their headquarters,” suggested Gene. Gemini looked away, “That’s not what I’m here for, but whatever. You’re apparently the boss, I guess.” Marvelous Man glared down at the Soulem, as Gene frowned. “Because you are new, I will excuse your rudeness for now. Be advised that you should be kinder to your teammates, and you WILL respect a man of the royal Totochtin lineage. Do you understand?” stated the Totochtin prince. The musclebound superhero could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise, as the noticeable tension between Gene and Gemini grew. It was a conflict between the two men he loved, but he could not bring himself to decide on a side to pick. The Soulem’s digital eyes dueled with the bunny demigod’s for a moment before flicking away. Gemini sighed, “Fine.” The Totochtin prince did not reply to the bulky Soulem’s impolite response and proceeded towards the mall’s exit. The hulking bodybuilder and his Soulem friend said nothing and continued to watch Gene leave. The sound of Gene’s footsteps echoed heavily in the empty mall. Once it seemed that the rabbit superhero had left the building, Marvelous Man turned his gaze back towards Gemini. The embarrassment Marvelous Man felt towards Gemini’s remarks was now replaced with anger. The color on Gemini’s mood rings had returned back to white, as the Soulem looked up at Marvelous Man. “THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!” roared Marvelous Man. The husky Soulem slightly cringed, as his mood rings had flashed to yellow. His eyes narrowed in surprise to Marvelous Man’s outburst; as if Gemini were a deer caught in the headlights. He hesitated, “Wh-what? I’m not his robot butler. He can ride my dick for all I care. Besides, he should be respecting me. I’m the one that drew the symbols incantating a barrier. All he did was use his energy as a power source.” “Don’t act like that’s what this is about! I’m okay with you shitting all over me. I deserve some of that. But not Gene, alright? You don’t get treat him like that,” said Marvelous Man. Gemini fired back, “He doesn’t treat you right either! You’re just another conquest for him. I don’t get how you can still love him. I’m the better choice!” Marvelous Man stared down at Gemini in bewilderment. He opened his perfect lips before pausing. He could feel another emotional tirade bubbling up along with his eyes becoming flushed with tears, but he did not want anybody to witness it. Remembering his D.A.B. shoulder patch kept him telepathically connected to his other team members, he slid his jacket off. As his black leather jacket hit the ground, the bitter taste of his true feelings came tumbling out. “...What happened to you, Gem? You got that new body, and it changed you for the worst. You’re so mean and selfish now whenever you don’t get your way...What happened to my friend, Gem?” he teared. He continued, “I thought...I thought I could make this work. I get that you’re dealing with new emotions and stuff. So I thought that I just wait it out a bit for you to come to your senses, and then we’d figure out this...complicated stuff. But you’re being a dickasaurus rex, man.” “Wha-no! Don’t say that…” said Gemini. Marvelous Man snapped, “But you are! How can I know that you’re right for me when you keep pressuring me to choose you. You kept talking about trying to understand me a couple days ago, but I don’t think you really get me. It’s hard for me to choose...But I think you’ve made it easier for me.” Gemini could only gape at Marvelous Man’s lecture, as his mood rings shifted to blue. Marvelous Man looked at the ground before turning away from Gemini. The musclebound superhero headed further into the mall; trying to get further away from Gemini seeing tears ready to stream down. “Justice…” whimpered Gemini. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Thumping his colossal body around a couple more corners, Marvelous Man began to slow down. He felt he had put enough distance between himself and the Soulem and started to look for a place to sit. Spotting a wooden bench a small distance away, he lumbered towards it. The hulking bodybuilder sat himself down on the bench and hugged himself. Marvelous Man wiped his cheeks; removing the streams of tears moving down his face. He felt so many sensations when saying how he felt about Gemini. It felt toxic and blocky. His mouth was feeling wet and bloated, while his throat felt lumpy and dry. Marvelous Man told himself he needed to calm down. He reasoned that the people outside of the mall might need his healing powers, and heroes don’t have time to cry when people need help. A voice spoke behind him, “Hey, slag. Been a while.” Marvelous Man froze. It was a familiar voice that he had not heard in a while. It was deep, male voice that carried a stereotypical cockneyed accent. It was a voice that came from none other than his first and humiliating encounter with a supervillain. Spring up from the bench, Marvelous Man quickly spun around. He glared at the last person he expected to see today. He confirmed, “PB&J Gang…” “Yeah, that’s us. I see you’re trying topless style this time,” smiled the peanut butter villain. Marvelous Man took another look at the sandwich spread foe. The first time they met each other, the PB&J Gang were five sentient creatures that would fuse into one being. The leader of the gang was a round, rectangular being made of peanut butter. Its underlings were four gelatin beings that took the color and flavor of different fruit jams: Strawberry, Grape, Blueberry, and Raspberry. They were currently combined with the leader as the torso and head, and the jam-like followers taking the form of the limbs. With the peanut butter leader being the head, his face was fully formed to look like a carved jack-o-lantern with a soft yellow light glowing within. It also had small horns pointing out of its head; dull but still menacing to viewers. Yet, there was something odd about the PB&J Gang that Marvelous Man noticed. Marvelous Man inquired, “Hey, wasn’t there five of you?” The peanut butter leader frowned. It was obvious to anybody that the combined version of the PB&J Gang appeared to be incomplete. They had the legs, but there was an arm-shaped jelly limb missing from the merged person. “Yeah, Strawberry’s been taken...And it’s why I’m here,” he sighed, “I really didn’t want it to be like this, but...I don’t got a choice in the matter if I want him back...Really sorry about this, mate.” Holding up his grape-flavored jelly arm, the PB&J Gang clenched his only fist. The gelatin being then motioned his fist to open as if it were trying to mimic an explosion. The sandwich spread supervillain said nothing as seconds ticked by. Marvelous Man took up a fighting stance, “What’re you…?” A gurgling noise echoed from the bodybuilder’s stomach. Marvelous Man could feel something beginning to build up inside of himself. It felt like he had just eaten a light lunch. But then it started to change; feeling the light lunch become a full meal. The pressure in his stomach increased to the point of overeating pain starting to develop. Marvelous Man hunched over to grab his abdomen. “Ack! Wha-what did you do to my stomach?!” he gasped. The PB&J Gang slowly walked towards him. His face was not exhibiting any pleasure at his actions. He explained, “Do you remember when we first met, mate? My crew and I were having our jollies robbing the bank, and you showed up trying to be all big and impressive. I graped your face, and you swallowed some of it. Now luckily, you never bothered to get yourself checked. Which made tracking all the easier.” “And funny thing about our biology, we can force ourselves to grow. So we never get digested. All this time, you had a piece of us in you, ya slag. We’re like that myth about gum staying in you for seven years. Only we can do it forever. And what you’re feeling right now, that’s us growing way faster than you can digest,” continued the PB&J Gang. Marvelous Man’s stomach groaned louder, as the hulking bodybuilder could feel his belly start to expand. His own abdomen was beginning to slightly swell against his arm. Marvelous Man then felt a sensation of something coming up his throat like acid reflux. He could taste grape jelly in his mouth. The musclebound superhero shouted, “...!!!” Marvelous Man stood there shocked before trying to scream for Gemini. Nothing he tried to yell was being vocalized; as if someone pressed the mute button on his voice box. The bodybuilder gripped his throat, as he realized the inside of it was still coated in grape jelly. Now standing only a step away the muscle demigod, the PB&J Gang thrusted an underhanded punch at Marvelous Man’s swollen belly. A surge of purple gelatin erupted from Marvelous Man’s mouth, as the overly-muscular bodybuilder fell to the ground. He laid there; crippled in pain. “Can’t let you call out your friends, Naked Justice. At least not yet. When I get Strawberry back, then you can call out to your friends with your spells or communicators or whatever. I’m beggin’ ya. Just play along for now,” said the PB&J Gang. Marvelous Man’s eyes widened with renewed hope. He thought as hard as he could to mentally call out for his teammates. Realization hit immediately upon realizing that he left his jacket on the other side of the mall. It was the only thing that carried the D.A.B. magical communicator patch. The only solution to that problem would be to clasp his golden bracelets together, transform into Justice, and then switch back to being Marvelous Man with a new black leather jacket equipped. It was a risk that could work...if it was not for his transformation being voice activated. Hope crashed into the pits of his jelly-filled stomach with full comprehension that there was no way out of this situation. The PB&J Gang enlarged their purple gelatin hand big enough to pick up an adult human. Wrapping his wet fingers around Marvelous Man’s hulking body, they only managed to grip half of the giant anatomy. The sandwich spread being lifted the muscle demigod before laying the front side of the bodybuilder onto his peanut butter back. The overly-meaty limbs of Marvelous Man sunk into the peanut butter substance like quicksand. Marvelous Man panicked and tried to thrash about; fearing complete engulfment and suffocation. As he tried to struggle, it only increased the pain in his stretched stomach. The overstuffed belly had limited his movements and caused his mighty arms and legs to be incapable of budging effectively within the thick entity. In a last ditch effort, the muscle demigod activated his flight power. He managed to gain some lift, but the peanut butter back reacted to the escape attempt by flexing. Clenching down, the smooth peanut butter surface had transformed into a muscular back filled with deep valleys and large cords that any muscle enthusiast would be jealous of. Marvelous Man was being pulled down once again; feeling like light unable to escape the immense gravity of a black hole. The PB&J Gang sighed, “Settle down, mate! I’m not trying to kill ya. Just trying to keep you from escaping. I need you alive anyways if I want to make the trade.” Marvelous Man ceased his movement. There was something interesting about what the PB&J Gang had been trying to tell him. He wondered who was holding their friend at ransom. With his body relaxed, Marvelous Man slid deeper into muscular, peanut butter back. The sinking finally came to a halt; just as the bodybuilder’s inflated gut was pressing into the muscled backside and the connecting joints were about to be immersed. The muscle demigod was glad that he was no longer being merged into the supervillain. But the situation was now incredibly uncomfortable due to his overstuffed stomach. Locked into place with the PB&J’s hard, muscular back pressed heavily against his belly, it felt like he was being punched at an excruciatingly slow pace. “Oh, right. I guess I better tell you who’s making me do this,” mentioned the PB&J Gang, “It’s that new guy that’s been on the telly for a bit. You and the D.A.B. have been fighting him. Calls himself the Skeleton Lord.” Marvelous Man’s eyes grew wide again. The sandwich spread supervillain continued, “Yeah, he’s one fucker I don’t want to tangle with again. The crew and I didn’t know it was him when we tried to prank him. Thought he was some homeless guy. Turns out he’s got that weird power with that black smoke and making bones just shoot out of him. He was able to do other stuff that I never seen anybody else do, but I don’t even know how to describe it.” “...But the one thing that’s got me proper scared is that he said he knows how to kill us for good. And I can tell that he is a man that doesn’t see the point of lying. I ain’t taking that chance with my own kin,” he finished. Marvelous Man’s heartbeat pounded at a rapid pace. The Skeleton Lord had a motive but kept doing things with no decipherable pattern to it. Marvelous Man thought back to what Gene had said about the previous guardians being too easy. If there was a fourth guardian or any sort of intelligence he could gather about the Skeleton Lord, this might be his only chance. The PB&J Gang turned to the mall’s alternate exit, but then paused. He scratched his chin, “Now that I said all that out loud...it’s probably better if your friends find you faster...I’ll just leave a trail. They should be smart enough to figure it out. Plenty of cameras here to spot us anyways.” The sandwich spread supervillain resumed marching towards the alternate exit while leaving behind a gelatin footprint with every step. Marvelous Man felt a drop of renewed hope that everything would work out. He could also feel that the growing grape jelly within him had reached his intestines and were inflating to max capacity. The bodybuilder was glad he had practiced with extreme-sized sex toys, as his body was accustomed to feeling full in the bowels and being extraneously stretched there. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After being transported outside the mall, Marvelous Man was snuck into the sewers through a large manhole. The muscle demigod obliged to the PB&J Gang’s request and illuminated himself to light their way. He lost track of the many turns his sticky captor made, and he was at a loss of what part of the city he was in. Time seemed to drone on, as the nasty stench within the sewers faded from Marvelous Man’s senses. While being carried to the Skeleton Lord’s location, the hulking bodybuilder endured the PB&J Gang’s ramblings on the many mischievous adventures the gelatin supervillain had. Every now and then, the PB&J Gang would go back to how they met the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man eventually managed to put the small tidbits of information together and came at a conclusion. The PB&J Gang had stumbled upon the Skeleton Lord huddled underneath a highway overpass by a drainage system. They attempted to steal the Skeleton Lord’s cloak out of sheer dickery. The ancient evil did not find this action humorous and retaliated. The Skeleton Lord had been feeding on the rats in the area and was able to sever the Strawberry arm from the combined PB&J Gang. The Skeleton Lord held Strawberry at ransom and had them do two things. The first was to find an area full of misfits that would never attempt to contact any police or superheroes and use it as a new hiding place for the Skeleton Lord. And the second was to bring Marvelous Man to the new hiding place. With the end of the journey seemingly near, Marvelous Man noticed the PB&J Gang turning towards a metal door and not another tunnel. The sandwich spread being pushed open the door to reveal another tunnel. Upon crossing over to the new area, Marvelous Man considered they were no longer in the sewers. A stale breeze flowed past muscle demigod, as he observed a set of metal tracks lined across the tunnel. The PB&J Gang then walked down the dimly lit tunnel before turning into a clearing. Marvelous Man gasped at the familiar surroundings. The clearing was a concrete dome stained in splatters of dark red. Lined against the walls were rubles of the makeshift homes destroyed by Marvelous Man’s encounter with the Skeleton Lord. Lines were beginning to connect in the musclebound superhero’s head, yet no solid conclusion could be found. The Skeleton Lord’s new hideout was somewhere in the ghettos outside of the Ridgemont subway station. But for what purpose would the Skeleton Lord come back to the area the supervillain was discovered at? The gelatin being continued moving through the clearing and up the stairs. Upon breaking through the subway entrance, daylight casted itself on the two. The buildings before them were just as Marvelous Man remembered them; forgotten architectures rotten and gored of most of their interior. The PB&J Gang wandered further into the ghetto, as Marvelous Man kept watch for any suspicious activity. Chunks of time passed, as the supervillain meandered through the many bend and turning into different streets. The PB&J Gang finally came to a halt, as the gelatin being looked at the structure in front of the two. It was a two-story townhouse that was hidden behind the alley of two boarded stores. It barely had any blue paint left on its ruined husk, and whatever windows that were not broken had cracked panes. The air surrounding the structure not only carried the scent of a dead home but also its residents. “Brace yourself, mate. It’s really ugly in there. The sods been feeding but hasn’t dealt with disposing the scraps...you’ll see what I mean,” said the PB&J Gang. The sandwich spread supervillain twisted the knob and pushed forward. As it fully opened, Marvelous Man could only see blackness inside without any signs of light or electricity. The stench of decaying flesh and wood increased, as the PB&J Gang entered the townhouse. Marvelous Man could no longer handle the foul odor and began to lower his face closer to the peanut butter back. The hulking bodybuilder was slightly alleviated by the gelatinous being’s peanut butter scent mixing in with the rotting stink. Activating his illuminating powers, Marvelous Man’s light carved through the darkness to reveal the source of the death stench. The muscle demigod spotted corpses of humans and transpecies propped against the walls and flurries of flies buzzing about. As his captor moved through the house to a set of stairs at the end of the hall, Marvelous Man could see that the dead had different times of death. Some had recently died with colors still flushed on their skin, and others were past rigor mortis and had begun to bloat and leak rotting fluids. The PB&J Gang muttered, “And this is why you don’t do drugs or let supernatural things into your body.” Marvelous Man looked at the limbs of the corpses they passed by, while his captor proceed up a staircase. He observed syringe injection scars and crudely-made magical seal tattoos on the forearms. There were also runic designs painted in red on the skin; some cracked but still recent. A memory of what the PB&J Gang told him earlier about the Skeleton Lord’s first ransom demand lit up in his mind. “Find an area full of misfits that would never attempt to contact any police or superheroes and use it as a new hiding place for the Skeleton Lord”. The musclebound superhero had seen enough crime dramas to figure out this townhouse’s recent purpose before becoming the Skeleton Lord’s new hideout. Reaching the top of the steps, the PB&J Gang now stood in the hallway of the second floor. There were three doors; one on the left and right side and one at the end of the hallway. The doors on the sides of the hallway were open, but the door at the end remained closed. Realizing the Skeleton Lord is most likely behind that door, Marvelous Man’s heart rate began to escalate. It dawned on the musclebound superhero that this was his last window of opportunity to escape. Every instinct in Marvelous Man told him to run, but his resolve was stronger. The muscle demigod remained still, as his captor carried him through the hallway. The PB&J Gang’s pace was slow and seemed to drone on for eternity. Yet it was only the span of seconds before reaching the end of the hallway. Placing a grape jelly hand on the knob, the PB&J Gang slowly opened the door with a low creak. The noise of cartoon sound effects softly echoed in the air. The walls and ceiling were covered in the same whisping black smoke the Skeleton Lord expels. Barely cutting through the darkness was the dim orange light of a lit candle; resting on the ground. Marvelous Man could see a molded mattress nearly turning black and lying dangerously close to the flaming candle. There was also a human-like figure slightly depressing into it; dressed only in a red cloak with a bulging hood. Marvelous Man’s breathe ceased, as he came to a realization of who it was. The Skeleton Lord did not pay the two any attention upon entering his room. He appeared enamored with a smartphone in his hand; the screen’s light shining against the red hood. As he swiped his peach-pigmented index finger across the phone’s screen, the device played another soundbyte of cartoon noises and kids cheering. Seconds continued to pass, while the PB&J Gang stood there. “...H-hey, boss? I brought him,” spoke the PB&J Gang. The Skeleton Lord’s boney finger paused in midair, as the robed man looked up. Even with the phone’s light shining into his hood, darkness continued to obscure his face. The Skeleton Lord then laid his device onto the moldy mattress before standing up. He spoke, “My apologies. I was distracted by the glass tablet. The technology here is much intriguing. It really feels like yesterday for me when the common man rode on horses and not those self-driven chariots.” “But I digress, one should always knock before they enter. It is, after all, quite rude to barge into one’s room. Especially with royalty, such as I,” continued the Skeleton Lord. The PB&J bowed, “Uh, er, r-right. Sorry...my lord.” “That’s better,” replied the Skeleton Lord, “And even better is that you accomplished all that I tasked you with. You faired completely better than my other three guardians.” He sighed, “And I hear that in these times it is the third that is supposedly the charm. Though perhaps the fourth will fair better. Well, since I am in a most excellent mood, how would you like to be my fifth guardian?” Marvelous Man swallowed. This confirmed what Gene Lightfoot had been guessing. There was a fourth guardian ready to be let loose. The only problem was that he was not sure which one it was. The muscle demigod remembered in the previous fight with the Skeleton Lord, the supervillain was armed with a scythe sword and shield, a glaive polearm, and a pair of short-handed axes. The fourth weapon the Skeleton Lord used was probably used briefly before being disarmed and never registering in the heroes’ heads. “Please, m-my lord...I appreciate the offer. I really do...But...I just want my friend back, please,” declined the PB&J Gang. The Skeleton Lord scratched his chin, “Hmmm...I’d normally kill you where you stand after you slapped away my most gracious offer...BUT! We did have a deal. And a king must always honor their word. Besides, I could always find you again whenever I please.” “Allow me to secure the cargo first, and then I shall release your compatriot into your care,” he stated. The Skeleton Lord waved his hand. The whisping darkness covering the walls and ceiling stirred, as tentacles of the same material sprouted from it. The black tendrils reached out and ensnared Marvelous Man’s massive body. The ceiling tentacle cupped underneath the massive pecs, as the corner wall tentacles looped around the thunderous thighs and grappled over the mountainous shoulders and hairless armpits. Once secured around the colossal bodybuilder, the whisping tendrils pulled. The muscular peanut butter back trapping Marvelous Man showed no resistance; releasing the muscle demigod without a sound or any peanut butter residuals on the meaty limbs. After lifting the musclebound captive out of the PB&J Gang, the tentacles around the shoulders and thighs began to retreat back into the smoky walls. The wall tendrils that were returning to their dark source loosened their grasp; only to gently slide down the overly-muscular extremities. As the tentacles that traveled down Marvelous Man’s legs, it then encountered the leather black boots the musclebound superhero wore. Without any signs of resistance, the whisping black tentacles effortlessly stripped the footwear from the muscle demigod’s milk chocolate skin. The wall tendrils then reasserted their grip around Marvelous Man’s wrists and ankles, as the leather boots fell to the wooden floor with a dull thunk. The only thing left now clothing the hulking bodybuilder was the golden wreath and bracelets and the American Flag battle bikini. The ceiling tentacle, wrapped underneath the watermelon-sized pectorals, rotated Marvelous Man; situating the muscle demigod to face front towards the ceiling. It then dragged the muscle demigod to the center of the room and hanged the bodybuilder superhero at the Skeleton Lord’s waist level. The ceiling tendril released its hold over Marvelous Man’s torso and completely returned into the ceiling’s darkness, while the wall tentacles retreated further into the wall corners. With the wrists and ankles still restrained by the wall tentacles, the gargantuan limbs were pulled along with. Fearing his ligaments would be torn off, Marvelous Man attempted to struggle. His heavy body wiggled about, but he came to an eventual still seconds later. Right when his body parts were stretched at the maximum, uncomfortable point of feeling his joints dislocate, the tentacles ceased their retreat. Marvelous Man was suspended in a spread eagle position; his limbs bounded with no room to bend. The Skeleton Lord held a finger up to his unseen chin; appearing to plot something nasty if Marvelous Man could see his face. The ancient evil waved his hand and the wall tentacles reacted. The black tendrils attached to the hulking bodybuilder’s legs began to move sideways, while pulling the meaty legs further away from each other. Marvelous Man was confused at such an action, but it then became apparent as to what the supervillain was trying to do. The Skeleton Lord was trying to test the muscle demigod’s limberness just for sadistical fun. His overly-muscular legs easily spread apart but came to a thankful halt once Marvelous Man’s limbs were positioned into a perfect split. The Skeleton Lord must have realized any further could do severe harm to the musclebound superhero and ceased the whisping, dark tentacles movement. “Hmmm, impressive,” the Skeleton Lord murmured, “I would not expect a gargantuan star child to have an acrobat’s flexibility.” Marvelous Man’s frustration and fear increased, as he was tossed from one helpless state to the next. He wished he had Gene’s ability to turn this frightful situation into a sexy one. The musclebound superhero consoled himself that he could still turn the tables by activating his illumination power as a means of escaping the Skeleton Lord’s dark elements. The Skeleton Lord mentioned, “Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten about your illuminating abilities. You may not have your golden ocarina in hand, but I would be a fool to not take the precaution.” The man cloaked in red snapped his fingers. The whisping, dark tentacles shattered, as it revealed underneath its layer solid bindings made of bone. The lingering hope Marvelous Man had once again sunk back into his jelly-filled stomach. The only thing the superhero’s light could do now was reveal what specific white shade the bones probably had. “And with my requirement fulfilled...” announced the Skeleton Lord. Waving his boney hand into the air, the Skeleton Lord caused the whisping darkness in the ceiling to stir once again. A noise similar to thunder lightly rumbled, as an object fell from it. The object fell in front the PB&J Gang and crashed with a wet splat. Marvelous Man barely had time to glimpse at it, but it appeared to be a sort of gel-like substance. The PB&J Gang squatted, “...Strawberry? That you?” The object lunged at the sandwich spread being’s left shoulder; springing like an alien blob. Upon contact, the gelatin creature shapeshifted into a left arm that fitted perfectly into the peanut butter shoulder. The PB&J Gang petted the new arm. “It’s alright, love. You’re safe with us now,” he said. The PB&J Gang looked up at Marvelous Man, as he began to back away. Even though Marvelous Man could only see the gelatinous being from an upside-down perspective, the musclebound superhero could still see the frown and sadness in his eyes. He waved at the bodybuilder, “Well...I’ll let myself out. Have a nice chat, Marvelous Man.” The PB&J Gang then fell to the floor; shapeshifting into a large puddle of mixed jelly flavors and peanut butter. The shapeless mass immediately flung itself out of the room and out of Marvelous Man’s sight. With the only “ally” Marvelous Man had in Skeleton Lord’s presence gone, he slowly turned his focus back to the ancient evil. The panic in his heart had risen again. “Ah, that’s right. I had not been given the pleasure of learning your name...or the Totochtin’s for that matter. So the star child has been entitled the Marvelous Man?” hummed the Skeleton Lord. As the muscle demigod swallowed in nervousness, he realized something. The grape jelly coating the inside of his throat had receded back into his bloated belly. And the overeating pain he had been feeling during the transportation capture had also faded; he no longer had his overfilled stomach literally weighing him down. Even though Marvelous Man had been bounded and stretched without room to wiggle, he still had some sliver of chance to escape from the Skeleton Lord’s clutches. Marvelous Man answered, “Yeah...it’s what I call myself.” The Skeleton Lord walked around Marvelous Man; tracing his fingers against the rippled, muscular mass. The hulking bodybuilder shivered from the ancient evil’s touch. It felt cold and dry, and the fingers gracing upon the smooth skin tickled Marvelous Man’s nerves. And every time it seemed the supervillain’s body was about to collide with one of the bone fixtures attached to the musclebound superhero and the wall, he simply phased through it like a ghost. It was as if his own bone powers could not affect him in any negative aspect. “Hmm, such a vague name. It’s as if you are trying to convince yourself that you’re special,” he commented, “Ah, but that is not an implied insult towards you! Merely, that if someone other than you had chosen to inherit such a name, they would be such a pathetic being.” As the ancient evil rounded himself in front of Marvelous Man’s head, he stopped. The Skeleton Lord reached out with his skinny fingers and placed them upon the muscle demigod’s golden laurel wreath. He lifted the Olympian ornament from Marvelous Man’s temples with gracious ease. The Skeleton Lord held it up to his face, as he glided his fingers upon the wreath’s smooth and sharp edges. “But you...you carry it quite well. You are special. You are marvelous. You are not the strongest fighter in your party. No, your party members have made that point quite clear. YOU are the most important member. You are the healer. You help your comrades continue to fight with renewed vigor. And you assist them in areas they are weak in and unknowingly push me to my limits. I can never use my common bag of tricks with you around. Without you, they could never hope to contend with me,” he continued. Even with the Skeleton Lord so close, Marvelous Man could still not see the supervillain’s face. The bulky horse skull bulging underneath the red hood seemed to be casting its own shadow to mask any facial features. The muscle demigod did not dare use his illumination ability; for fear of angering the Skeleton Lord and most likely resulting in a quick death. Marvelous Man questioned, “And that’s why you had me kidnapped?” The Skeleton Lord tossed the golden wreath to the side of the room; curiosity apparently sated. The laurel ornament clanged onto the ground outside of Marvelous Man’s visuals. He slid a hand back into his red robe. “Mm, well, no. I wanted the Totochtin. But when that pathetic sap creature bargained for your capture instead and saying how easy it would be for them, I took the chance. Getting rid of you would make things flow much more easily. To think that all those legions of wizards and priests, and it was you that hindered me the most,” answered the Skeleton Lord. No matter what, the only thing the Skeleton Lord obsessed over other than the world’s destruction was Gene Lightfoot. Marvelous Man was aware of how after their first encounter, the Skeleton Lord seemed to have a soft spot for the Totochtin prince and never used lethal harm on Gene. He still could not figure out if it was due to Gene’s power or libido that caused such reaction. He shuddered, “So you’re going to kill me?” The Skeleton Lord cackled in a high pitched shriek. With no room to flinch, Marvelous Man could only react to the shrill noise by flexing his meaty pectorals. “I will admit, the idea did cross my mind. But no, I will not kill you. You have a mighty body that seems to mend itself. Even after Gilgamesh crushed your hand into an unusable lump. Itzcóatl made sure to report that after witnessing your other encounters with my guardians,” said the Skeleton Lord. He continued, “My intention with you is to use you as a wellspring of power for me to draw upon. Tell me, has your generation created a device for such empowering circumstances? Or do things like the glass tablet still need mana or soulbindings?” “...You mean a battery?” said Marvelous Man. The Skeleton Lord mused, “Battery?...Battery, battery, battery...a funny name, but it also sounds simple. Yes, you shall serve as my battery. I am still not at my fullest of forms and require more energy. I might not be able to attain lust energy from you, but there are other ways I can obtain what I need from you.” He knelt down to Marvelous Man’s ear; his breath spraying a putrid warmness. Marvelous Man’s head bent away in a futile attempt to keep any sort of distance between the supervillain. The musclebound superhero could sense the disgusting lips almost touching. “And while I would love to, su-su-su-su, sip on your fear, fear energy is but a droplet. And when my name was known to all living, I drank oceans,” slurped the Skeleton Lord. Standing straight up, the Skeleton Lord walked towards Marvelous Man’s burly arm. His exposed hand dragged across the muscle demigod’s shoulder, while his withdrawn hand came out of the red cloak with a curved knife crafted of bone. He declared, “Let’s start with your blood.” Marvelous Man’s eyes went wide, as he struggled. With his extremities bounded, the hulking bodybuilder could only sway his hips about in a feeble attempt to move away. The only thing that moved from the squirming was the bulge in his thin, battle bikini; lewdly flopping around. He knew now was not the right time to escape, but he did not want to be cut. Lowering the bone knife, the Skeleton Lord dragged the blade across Marvelous Man’s inner forearm. The overly-muscular superhero closed his eyes and winced; bracing for pain. As the knife slid down the forearm, it could only press into the skin without actually breaking it. The Skeleton Lord held up the bone knife for a closer examination upon discovering the failed incision. Marvelous Man slowly opened his eyes; wondering if the deed had been done. He expected it to really hurt, but it felt like he was being cut with a child’s plastic butter knife. Looking over at the supposed cut, he then breathed a sigh of relief. “It appears that without Gilgamesh’s strength, I cannot pierce through your baby-soft skin. Though I should not be surprised, since I failed to impale you the first time we met,” sighed the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man’s eyes flicked with confusion, “I’m...sorry?” The muscle demigod was not sure how to take the Skeleton Lord’s comment. It could be worded as a compliment, but the supervillain said it with a disappointed tone. And with Marvelous Man’s innate sense to help people, he could not help but offer an apology. “It’s alright. Though I do appreciate you being a good sport about this,” said the Skeleton Lord, “I’m afraid with your constitution, turning your blood into energy is out of the question. And you would most likely be resistant to flesh absorption magic. Alas, I suppose we will have to resort to the backup plan.” Marvelous Man held his breath. He desperately hoped the backup plan did not involve killing him. What the hulking bodybuilder did hope for was just being raped by tentacles and milked for lust energy like Gene probably would have been if kidnapped first. At this current point, Marvelous Man wished for anything but death. “And that entails having your life energy drained. You’ll barely be able to wiggle a finger, but you will still live and be stuck here as my battery,” explained the supervillain. The Skeleton Lord looked away, “I am sure he will survive. We perfected it on...what did they call themselves? Drug addicts? He can heal himself. It will be fine.” Marvelous Man glanced at where the ancient evil was staring at but saw nothing. The musclebound superhero now felt uneasy. The Skeleton Lord was already crazy for trying to destroy the world, but it became more apparent of how mentally unstable the supervillain really was. “Itzcóatl!” called the Skeleton Lord. A man’s voice immediately responded. Marvelous Man could not see him but knew the stranger came from behind the Skeleton Lord. He replied, “Yes, my lord.” “Bring me the bowl,” commanded the ancient evil. Turning his attention back to Marvelous Man, the Skeleton Lord resumed turning the muscle demigod into a living battery. The Skeleton Lord walked towards the hulking bodybuilder’s waist while dragging his unarmed hand over the valleys of muscle. Marvelous Man shuttered from the cold, tickling sensation. As the ancient evil reached the bodybuilder’s waist, he crept his molesting hand across the cobblestone abs and underneath the American flag bikini. The Skeleton Lord then grabbed the battle bikini’s side and yanked it up. With the bone knife still in his other hand, he held it underneath the gripped elastic fabric. The Skeleton Lord tugged the blade back with a quick jerk. The threads of the bikini showed no resistant; cleanly cut through by the bone knife with a quick ripping sound. With one part of it cut, the supervillain reached over to the other side of the bikini to repeat the procedure. The result was the same, as the Skeleton Lord began to peel away the sliced battle bikini in a almost ceremonious fashion. The last remnants of Marvelous Man’s clothing fell to the floor without making a sound; leaving the musclebound superhero exposed with his super package drooping in the air. Marvelous Man would feel humiliated if he were not used to having his clothes destroyed. The actual humiliation he had been feeling was being captured and helpless to the Skeleton Lord’s desires. The supervillain chuckled, “I thought it was possible you were stuffing your briefs, but I have been proven wrong. This is surely another reason if anyone else were to inherit your name as the Marvelous Man, hehe. Most impressive as a display of manhood...but I highly doubt you could sow your seed into a woman with a club such as that. And with a man of your stature, the babe would surely kill her in childbirth.” “Thanks...I guess,” said Marvelous Man. The muscle demigod felt at a loss for what to do. The Skeleton Lord’s actions felt confusing and terrifying. Struggling to prioritize, Marvelous Man tried to focus on what needed to be done. He needed more information for Gene and the D.A.B., and he needed to escape. There was no way he could fight the Skeleton Lord on his own. Unless...he tried to poison the Skeleton Lord with his own dark ability. He could keep the ancient evil incapacitated by reactivating every wound the Skeleton Lord had. It may be damaging to the superhero’s psyche, but it was the only thing he could think of. But with Marvelous Man’s current predicament, the supervillain would instantly see it and kill without hesitation. The Skeleton Lord might not be able to pierce his skin, but the supervillain might be able to do other things to kill him without damaging hulking bodybuilder’s epidermis. The most probable time to strike would have to be right when the draining begins. The only problem to the breakout rides upon the Skeleton Lord’s assistant being in the presence of the energy drain. The unseen man might have an ability to stop or kill the musclebound superhero. Marvelous Man figured that would have to wait until the opportunity arises. The overly-muscular superhero spotted something materializing next to the Skeleton Lord. The figment had transformed into a man with skin shaded as dark as mocha. His clothing was simple: a loincloth with a knot formed at the front and a hoodless cloak. Both fabrics were colored in red and outlined with teal. The colored apparel reminded Marvelous Man of the Aztec paintings of its people illustrated in the high school textbooks. Adorned on his head was a wooden headdress mask carved to look like a snake. In his hands, he carried a blue kitchen bowl. He spoke, “I have brought the bowl, my lord.” “Wonderful,” said the Skeleton Lord. The bone knife the ancient evil wielded dissolved into a whisping darkness before dissipating into nothingness. Turning to the Aztec-like man, the Skeleton Lord dipped his index and middle finger into the bowl. The supervillain stood there for a second before swiveling his body back towards Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man could see the dipped fingers coated in a red liquid, as the Skeleton Lord began applying the substance. It appeared that the supervillain was drawing something on him. Feeling that he was now on good relations with the supervillain, the musclebound superhero figured now was a good time to begin the interrogation. He gathered the courage to speak up, while the Skeleton Lord was busy finger-painting his massive body. He started, “So...is he your fourth guardian?” “Itzcóatl? Yes, he is. He is the vengeful hunter and my most loyal guardian. The other three joined me out of fear, honor-bound, and misguided whimsy that became shame. But Itzcóatl joined me for the sake of bloodlust,” clarified the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man felt it was a good start. This could be useful for Gene and the Demonic Authority Bureau to know, but it might not be enough to devise a countermeasure. He had to press on for more information; especially with the guardian’s ability to reappear anywhere. He questioned, “So what can he do? Teleport?” “It would be a godsend if he could. But alas, no. It is a tad more basic for a hunter like him,” hummed the Skeleton Lord. It did not seem like Marvelous Man would get anymore answers regarding Itzcóatl. If he persisted, the Skeleton Lord might lose his good favor. It was time to change topic. The hulking bodybuilder inquired, “Oh...what are you painting on me?” “I suppose it would not hurt me to tell you. I am scribing runes on you to act as a sort of...safeguard. When there is only the last drop of your life energy in you, this will activate and protect you. I do not wish for you to die an early death, after all,” said the Skeleton Lord. He looked away, “Yes, I’m sure I’m doing it right. The last few survived before we ended their miserable existence.” Marvelous Man thought back to what the Skeleton Lord said earlier. The supervillain managed to perfect something by the implication of testing it on the drug addicts. His thoughts then turned to the corpses downstairs. All the dead bodies seemed to show signs of drug abuse and probable supernatural magic for hallucinogenic purposes. There was also the recent runic designs painted onto their skin. Had they been guinea pigs for perfecting the runic safeguard? “Uh, okay. So how are you doing that bone stuff and all of this? I don’t see you using spells or magic circles. So how do you do it?” asked Marvelous Man. The Skeleton Lord moved towards Marvelous Man’s head and began to apply the red substance on the superhero’s face. The scent of the liquid paint became apparent to the muscle demigod, while the ancient evil drew runic symbols. It smelled like iron; a pungent odor that caused Marvelous Man to instantly recognize what the red paint truly was. Just like in the abandoned subway, it was blood. The supervillain replied, “That. Is a secret.” Marvelous Man was not sure how much time he had left before the preparations for his energy drain were complete. He could feel the blood on his upper body and face still wet on his skin. The hulking bodybuilder began to feel frustrated, as the Skeleton Lord moved towards his legs. None of the answers he could get did not give a direct answer towards a weakness or an element the D.A.B. could use to their advantage. Once Marvelous Man escapes, the ancient evil will flee to another location and become impossible to find. “Then...what destroyed your purpose? That’s what you said to me last time, right? What caused you to want to...turn the world into ash?” he said. The Skeleton Lord froze. Slowly turning to stare at Marvelous Man, the musclebound superhero felt a fearful chill coursing through. He hissed, “Do you think you could save me? That by trying to understand me, I will weep seas of tears and change my ways? Hmmm?” A tentacle grew from the ceiling of whisping darkness and lashed out. It coiled around Marvelous Man’s neck; strangling with the crushing strength of a python. The hulking bodybuilder tried gasping for air but could only gurgle. “All those priests and shamans that came alone in an attempt to consult me...saying the same thing. And I told them all the same thing. I. DO. NOT. CARE. I refuse to accept any change! I refuse to let my family go! I do not care that my power perverts the cycle of life and death! I was happy when everything stayed the same!...I wasn’t alone,” he shouted. The Skeleton Lord continued, “Time magic is impossible. No god, devil, or otherworldly would accept my requests. And you so-called heroes. You heroes were the cause of everything to fall apart! Always chasing and killing anything to bring glory to your name! You all made me like this! You destroyed my world! My happiness! My family!!! So that is why my purpose was destroyed! That is why I will destroy all existence!” Marvelous Man continued to struggle for breath, while his bounded body shook. He could hear his heartbeat throbbing in his head. The world felt like it was being enveloped by the Skeleton Lord’s darkness. “...My lord,” said Itzcóatl. Seconds past before the smoky tentacle relented. The tendril retreated back into the darkness covering the ceiling, while releasing its grip from around Marvelous Man’s throat. The hulking bodybuilding coughed; flooding his lungs with as much air as he could. The Skeleton Lord turned back to the overly-muscular legs and resumed painting runic symbols. The supervillain cleared his throat, “My apologies. My...passions carried me away.” Marvelous Man did not dare speak again after regaining the his breath. He allowed the Skeleton Lord to carry on painting in silence for the next few minutes, as the musclebound superhero started his escape plan. Marvelous Man closed his eyes; focusing on his fear of death, his helplessness without anybody to save him, and the hatred he wanted to feel towards the Skeleton Lord. He could feel the poison within him stirring. It wanted to feed on the negativity and hurt those who hurt the muscle demigod. After the painting was completed a minute later, the Skeleton Lord walked over to Marvelous Man’s head. He placed his bony fingers around the bodybuilder’s cranium; gripping the head gently. The Skeleton Lord slowly exhaled, as the fourth guardian placed the bowl of blood on the ground. A green aura began to glow from the Skeleton Lord’s hands and vibrate against Marvelous Man’s skull. Seeing the light, the musclebound superhero figured the draining had begun. Now was the moment to strike! Marvelous Man commanded the blackness within him to strike. The poison obliged and fed the harbored negativity. His head glowed its own dark, whisping aura; whispering its dark secrets in a hushed voice. Upon contacting the Skeleton Lord’s glowing hands, it analyzed the ancient evil’s medical history. Whatever element was helping the Skeleton Lord to be easily mended after suffering obliterating attacks had now disappeared. He was now lethally vulnerable. Mortal. The history of the supervillain’s injuries was endless. Many times did it receive deathly blows and reactivating those old wounds would instantly kill the Skeleton Lord to the extent of being atomized. There was also mental trauma, but few had healed or remained repressed. Something else caught Marvelous Man’s attention. Within the Skeleton Lord, there existed two more beings. One was a horse, but it seemed to be anchored to the equine skull bulging underneath the supervillain’s red hood. The other seemed broken at a first glance, but a continued look at it revealed it was incomplete. The strange entity seemed to have the quality of a familiar imp but it was still different. The musclebound superhero needed the poison to analyze it more; it was an odd curiosity. Marvelous Man then felt a tingling sensation in his head; similar to a pins and needles tingling whenever there was low blood circulation. The musclebound superhero cursed at his error. He had been distracted for too long that his energy was already being drained. Marvelous Man commanded the poison to reactivate all of the Skeleton Lord’s old wounds. The muscle demigod felt no response from the blackness; only the increasing tingling sensation traveling down his neck. A terrible realization hit the hulking bodybuilder. The poison he sent out had been absorbed into energy for the Skeleton Lord. As a last ditch effort, Marvelous Man commanded the light within himself to shine as bright as it could. He could feel the pins and needles tingling now encompassed his humongous pectorals, while the light obeyed. The light glowed, but it too had become affected by the supervillain’s energy drain. Its brightness was less intense than the room’s candlelight. The muscle demigod’s illumination could only keep lit for a few seconds before being absorbed; fueling the Skeleton Lord even further. With his last window of opportunity shut before him, Marvelous Man felt at loss of what to do now. It became harder to breathe, as his meaty chest was now paralyzed and can no longer heave or flex. The draining process has currently spread the tingling sensation over his abdomen; shallowing the bodybuilder’s breathing even further. The muscle demigod’s body gave off one last act of reflexive defiance against the energy drain. It engorged its sexual muscle with as much blood as it could. The defiant penis throbbed with life; straining to reach the ceiling and flexing its large veins hidden underneath the skin. As the energy drain passed over the rebellious erection, it could only momentarily stand proud before crumbling and losing all vigor to the Skeleton Lord’s hideous action. It would now only take seconds before the hulking bodybuilder’s overly-muscular legs to be taken over. Marvelous man’s thighs flexed wildly in a sad attempt to shake off the drain’s progress, until the paralyzing effect had fully struck. “I had expected your giant body to have double or perhaps triple the amount of energy a common man would have,” spoke the Skeleton Lord, “But you...you have so much more. I had expected a rich well and have found a lake. I wonder if the legendary Mana Stones had this much power in them?” Marvelous Man could not reply even if he had wanted to. His vocal cords had long been overcomed by the nefarious energy drain, and the pins and needles sensation had now reached his toes. The mighty superhero was now completely powerless. Too weak to move any muscle, and the dwindling hope of being rescued had been buried. “Rejoice, hero. For I will not have to prey on any miscreants outside of this city’s security for sustenance. I only need you for energy. Be happy at your newfound purpose, my Mana Stone. My battery,” taunted the Skeleton Lord. The hulking bodybuilder stared up at his captor; trying to catch a glimpse at the Skeleton Lord’s face. The ancient evil still had the red hood casting a shadow and shielding any sort of facial recognition. Marvelous Man tried to feel furious at how he could never see the supervillain’s true face, but his senses began to skew. The room felt like it had started to spin, while his mind felt dizzy. His vision began to blacken; just like when he was strangled. Sweat perspired all over the muscle demigod’s body, while his skin had taken on a clammy texture. The painted runes began to glow a dim red light that slowly grew in intensity. Marvelous Man struggled a final thought before losing consciousness. He prayed, “Papa, mom, dad...I’m sorry. I failed. I’m so scared...I don’t want to die here.” Next Chapter

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zNSigi8v1eclG3AQv803GITT-d8kviEnOkwfLV47aXQ) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O52F8UJS70fDmrK2gYawUXBtklu8IEUwpOdaOZrPuoM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN Chapter 15: Spells and Muscles Days past since the date, and Marvelous Man was feeling optimistic about his relationship with Gene. Whenever there was free time after investigating supernatural occurrences or daily patrol, the two would hang out. The choice of activities were aggressively engaging with little time to talk: usually dancing at clubs or sparring in the D.A.B. basement floor’s training room. It was patrol time during the afternoon hour, and the musclebound superhero was chatting away at his cell phone. His bunny partner, Gene, walked next to him during the conversation. Although the Totochtin prince was looking away, there was a good chance Gene could hear the entire conversation with his white-furred rabbit ears. Marvelous Man grinned, “Yeah, we gotta watch the season finale together! I can’t wait for you to get back. When is that, by the way?” A familiar electronic voice echoed from the superhero’s phone. “Some time today. They’re doing last minute checkups to make sure my tuneup is alright. But I really don’t think they need to record it all. Buncha perverts,” answered Gemini. The Soulem paused for a moment. Gemini spoke up, “So whatcha doin?” “Just...walking around,” hesitated Marvelous Man. While it was not a lie, the answer left a bitter taste in Marvelous Man’s mouth. He never explained to Gemini that Justice Starr lived a double life as Marvelous Man. Every opportunity that seemed like the right time to admit such an important detail, he would reason himself as to why he should not. After all, he signed that agreement with the Department of Metahuman Registration that they did not have permission to publicly disclose his real identity. He signed it to protect his loved ones...who are gods… Gemini replied, “Cool. Maybe you could pick me up some ice cream for when we meet up again. Dunno what flavor, I’m not really picky at the moment.” Marvelous Man flexed his eyebrow in confusion. “Can you even eat ice cream? I don’t remember you having a mouth,” he questioned. Gemini hesitated, “Uhh...I’m just feeling a craving. You know how I’ve got my dad’s personality and subconscious crammed into me. It’ll be fine...I’ll just watch you eat it, and, wow, that sounded so creepy when I said that out loud…” “It’s okay. Lots of people have that voyeur fetish, but it’s usually with watching a cute Asian girl eating stuff,” smiled Marvelous Man. Gemini exclaimed, “HEY! I’m the one that’s supposed to be witty, not you!” “I guess you’re rubbing off on me then,” shrugged Marvelous Man. Gemini huffed, “Yeah, whatever. I’ll text you later when I’m out. See ya later, dude.” “Okay. Bye,” nodded Marvelous Man. Ending the call, the muscle demigod placed his smartphone back into his pocket. Marvelous Man continued to smile and sighed with content, while his partner looked up to him. Gene spoke up, “A close friend of yours?” “Yeah. He was one of the first friends I made when I moved here. Uh, right after I met you, I mean,” nodded Marvelous Man. Gene smiled, “There is no need to be the nervous, Marvelous Man. I am not one to easily incite jealousy. It is good to have the other friends. Especially the ones that can put the gleam in your eye.” Marvelous Man looked down at his work partner and opened his mouth with intention to complement. The ground rumbled with low vibrations, while the sound of explosions can screaming can be heard in the distance. A recognizable tingle at the back of his mind could be felt; the blue D.A.B. patch on his black jacket’s shoulder had been activated. With the patch now acting as a magical psychic communicator, he could hear his field operator, Fairuza, speak directly into his head. “Lightfoot, Marvelous Man, please respond! This is a high alert command from the D.A.B. Headquarters!” called Fairuza. Gene crossed his arms and projected his thoughts. The rabbit superhero responded, “I can hear you, Fairuza. What is the situation?” “An unknown supervillain has appeared in Trevorstone Park a few blocks away from your position. He appears to be armed with a shield and an oddly-shaped sword. Subject seems to be at least a C-Rank due to signs of super strength. He’s been seen attacking and wounding civilians, but no confirmed casualties,” reported Fairuza. Gene nodded, “Understood. Does your magic book know the name of the supervillain?” The bunny demigod immediately looked up at Marvelous Man. “Let us make haste, Marvelous Man,” he said. Without saying a word, Marvelous Man nodded and took off running with his partner. The Totochtin prince led the charge, as they dashed towards the source of the panic and destruction. With the commotion in earshot, it would take the team minutes to arrive. Fairuza spoke up, “I've just about finished analyzing them, and...wha-that just doesn’t make sense! I’m checking a few more times to make sure, but...the identity and story of our supervillain is the ancient Sumerian royal hero, Gilgamesh. He’s a demigod king from thousands of years ago...” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arriving at the Trevorstone Park entrance, Gene continued his sprint. The rabbit superhero zigzagged through the trees; leading to what Marvelous Man guessed was the causation of emotional distress. The running came to its final end when Gene led his partner towards a clearing. Marvelous Man gasped at his surroundings. The grassy plains with concrete sidewalk was littered with civilians and law enforcers lying on the ground. They were splayed about; bleeding, broken, and some barely conscious. In the center of the disaster stood a man almost as big and muscular as Marvelous Man himself. His long, black hair was kept braided; as well as the beard that surrounded his square face. The man known as Gilgamesh had dark bronze skin with a carpet of black hair matting all over his muscular body. His muscles had an impressiveness much different from Marvelous Man. They were lean and hard that exuded a lifetime of hard labor and purpose. Whereas Marvelous Man’s appeared inflated from a lifetime of dedication to exercise as a means of showing off power and sex appeal. Gilgamesh’s stomach was the only part of him that appeared inflated; stuffed with so much muscle that he had a permanent bloated appearance. Adorned on his hard body was golden jewelry, and on his head was a golden circlet. Every part of him sparkled with golden light that commanded one to awe at his muscles and nobility. The golden jewelry never covered but curved around his angular muscles, and his large golden necklace strewn over his wide shoulders lightly bounced from his flexing pectorals. The Sumerian king appeared to be nearly naked if one were to not notice the jewelry serving as his only means of clothing. As for the covering of his manhood, he wore a lewdly-designed codpiece shaped like a bull’s head and forged with gold plating. It was only big enough to hold what appeared to be his immense package, and barely covered his trimmed pubic bush. And the only thing tying the codpiece to his body was a golden chain; bedecked with glittering gems. It seemed as if he used a glamorous necklace to serve as the codpiece’s chain and thong. Gilgamesh appeared to have done everything he possibly could to show off his regality, godhood, and sexual allure. Gilgamesh turned to the superheroes and smiled. “Ah, the Totochtin and the star child. It has been a while, since we last fought,” he greeted. Gene and Marvelous Man glanced at each other for a second before looking back at Gilgamesh. The only person to ever call them that was the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man did not dare move to assist the injured; not unless he wanted the dangerous foe to attack with his back turned. Gene spoke, “My apologies, but I do not believe we have met.” “Uh, yeah...And are you Gilgamesh, the royal hero?” inquired Marvelous Man. Gilgamesh frowned, as he became silent. In that moment, his eyes flooded with pride, sadness, and then regret. The light in his eyes died immediately after flashing through his emotions. He replied, “...I have not been called either in a long time. Neither a king, nor a hero anymore...Aye, I am Gilgamesh. And I fight for the Skeleton Lord.” Marvelous Man’s stomach felt it had been stabbed after hearing those words. The Skeleton Lord has resurfaced but has sent a powerful demigod lackey in his stead. Thankfully, he had Gene to outnumber their foe. “Now come, heroes. Allow me to instill fear into you, so the Skeleton Lord may feast on it,” bellowed Gilgamesh. Brandishing his weapons for the superheroes to see, Marvelous Man recognized the familiar armaments. The Sumerian held a circular war shield welded with bumps and intricate designs, and a scythe sword now glittering with blood on it. It was the weapons the Skeleton Lord used when the villain called... Gilgamesh was not just any lackey. He was one of the Skeleton Lord’s guardians. Gene ordered, “Marvelous Man, you must heal the injured. I will fight the guardian.” It seemed that Gene had also understood how dangerous their enemy truly was upon seeing Gilgamesh’s weapons. “R-roger!” nodded Marvelous Man. As Gene charged towards the opponent at full speed, Marvelous Man evaluated the wounded lot. There were too many to heal one at a time before any of them became deceased, and they were scattered all over the place. The most obvious choice would have to be supercharging his light and channeling it through the ground in order to do one massive heal. The musclebound superhero reached into his pocket and pulled out his golden harmonica, Duskbringer. Applying it to his lips, he began to play an energetic song filled with many bouncy notes. Marvelous Man could feel his light feeding on the music; slowly growing to the point of supercharge. Squatting down like a sumo wrestler, Gilgamesh placed the knuckles of his sword-wielding hand on top of the grass. He immediately raised his tight, muscular buttocks high into the air; the jeweled chain thong pressing into his skin even deeper. His leg muscles tightened for a moment before launching Gilgamesh’s fuzzy body forward. The ground beneath him crumbled upon his liftoff; leaving behind a small crater with dirt and grass being flung into the air. He flew at a speed that was beyond faster than Gene's. Gilgamesh then stretched out the arm that held his scythe sword. Gene’s eyes widened at Gilgamesh’s explosive agility, and the acknowledgement of what he is incapable of reacting in time for. Gilgamesh’s outstretched arm slammed into Gene’s chest; knocking the air out of Gene’s lungs. Upon being hit by Gilgamesh’s clothesline attack, Gene’s legs lost their footing to stabilize against the charge. The Totochtin prince spun into the air, while Gilgamesh continued his uninterrupted velocity towards Marvelous Man. As Gene landed back first onto the ground, the Skeleton Lord guardian slammed his arm into Marvelous Man for another clothesline attack. As a result of the bodybuilder superhero’s tall stature, the flying attack impacted against Marvelous Man’s abdomen. Gilgamesh’s arm had Marvelous Man hooked onto him; carrying the muscle demigod until the golden guardian crashed into a tree. The tree cracked from the massive muscle collision. Splintering into two, the broken top half landed in between the fallen enemies. Gilgamesh lost grip over his weapons, causing them to clatter onto Marvelous Man’s side during the fall. Activating his flight power, Marvelous Man immediately lifted himself off the ground to face his enemy. The golden guardian slowly stood up as he laughed. It greatly annoyed the muscle demigod that his foe would be laughing from causing great harm and destruction. Gilgamesh grinned, “I learned that trick from you, star child. I had never considered the strength in my legs to push myself at speeds my foes cannot even predict. But I suppose I need to practice my landing first before I challenge beings greater than you.” Marvelous Man flew forward, as he thrusted an overhead punch with all his might. Still smiling, Gilgamesh caught the fist with quick ease. The air shook with immense vibration as the impact of a sonic boom burst between the clashing hands. Marvelous Man watched the vibrating air tussle Gilgamesh’s hairs. Even with all his strength, it was not enough to cause this Sumerian demigod of strength to flinch. He was fighting a force that was leagues beyond his own strength. Momentarily lifting up Marvelous Man into the air, Gilgamesh turned away and slammed the bodybuilder superhero into the ground in front of him. Marvelous Man’s breath choked out of him, from the front of his body smashed against the dirt. The Sumerian demigod still had Marvelous Man’s fist in his grasp. “I was ordered to do no harm to the Totochtin. Well, nothing too damaging that wouldn’t allow him to perform,” spoke Gilgamesh, “But you? I can crush.” Immense pain exploded in Marvelous Man’s hand, as he could hear the crushing of bones vibrate into his eardrums. He screamed in high-pitched anguish and nearly blacked out from the ghastly pain. Gilgamesh released his broken hand; mangled into disfiguration. Turning away from the broken hero, Gilgamesh walked towards his fallen weapons. The golden guardian bragged, “You might be wondering why the Totochtin is so special. Why he gets the special treatment from the Skeleton Lord and not you. It’s cause he can produce countless amounts of lust energy. Something the Skeleton Lord overlooked until now. And being a man of sexual prowess, it will be up to me to milk it, so the Skeleton Lord can focus on other things. Now while I usually prefer the company of women, a hole is still a hole.” Marvelous Man could hear every word Gilgamesh said; despite being in blinding pain. He needed to stop this monster before he harmed more people. Before he hurted Gene… He had no choice. Marvelous Man needed to use the poison. It did not matter if using that dark power would hurt himself. He was already in enough pain, and the bigger regret would be not using it to save someone he loves. Marvelous Man commanded the blackness within him to rise and feed on his agony and the pain of being useless to help others. He wanted to inflict this misery onto his foe. Marvelous Man’s other unbroken hand began to glow with a whisping, dark aura. All he had to do now was touch Gilgamesh, and reactivate every damage the Sumerian ever took in his life all at once. “Stand down, Marvelous Man. Bossman and I have this,” a familiar voice whispered. There was only one person who addressed the Director with such vocabulary and spoke in a deep, Russian accent. The musclebound superhero truly wished he was not hallucinating from the extreme pain. Marvelous Man wheezed, “Puzzles?” A furry imp in a cobalt business suit walked past the fallen hero. He turned to look down at Marvelous Man with his crystal blue eyes and gave a gleaming smile. Marvelous Man shivered at the sight; to see something so unusual as seeing Puzzles smile and one that looked like a cheshire cat grin. “Da,” said Puzzles. As Gilgamesh finished retrieving his close-combat arms, Puzzles began to disintegrate into smoke. Puzzles’ smoke form floated away right, as the golden guardian turned to face Marvelous Man. Gilgamesh’s face gave no evidence of ever spotting Puzzles, while walking back to the beaten hero. Putting his trust into the smoke imp, Marvelous Man commanded his whisping poison to deactivate. Gilgamesh smirked, “I will say that I respect you. You are so much weaker than the Totochtin, but you’re very resourceful. You’ve managed to find ways to compensate for what you lack. And that light you cast when you play your metal ocarina really irks the Skeleton Lord. It really forces him to use his more powerful attacks, since your light is bright enough to destroy his dark spells. So I commend you for being able to corner the Skeleton Lord so much.” A southern, gentlemanly-like voice called out to the Sumerian demigod. “Pardon me, evildoer. But you wouldn’t happen to be Gilgamesh, would ya?” he drawled. Gilgamesh looked towards his left. Standing next to the broken tree stump was Director Skye and Puzzles. The golden guardian replied, “Aye. That is me. And who are you?" “He is Director Douglas Skye. Head of the North American Demon Authority Bureau. Master Witch of the Defense Arts," spoke up Puzzles, "And I am his familiar, Puzzles. But I will not be attacking you today.” Director Skye looked down at the smoke imp. “Why’s that?” he asked. Puzzles stared back up at his master. The smoke imp shrugged, “Fighting an ancient hero is part of your imposs-I mean, improbable bucket list, Boss. I’m sure you’d want to try to fight him with your own strength to see who’s stronger. But I’ll still help support you, boss. Just no sneaky attacks from me. Besides, you’ve been cooped up in your office for so long. You need to blow off some steam.” “I really do...Are you sure you want me to take him on my own?” said the Director. Puzzles scoffed, “Unless you want me to join in, Boss. But all that hairy musclehead can do is hit really hard, so there’s nothing to worry about. And if I had to fight him as well, then it would be overkill.” Gilgamesh bursted out laughing upon hearing Puzzles’ boasts. “You make such amusing insults, creature. But your master is no match for me. What good is his magic if his spells focus only on defense?” he said. The Director smirked, “Would you like for me to educate you?” The golden guardian switched into his battle stance. He held his sword out; pointed at Director Skye. “By all means, witch. Enlighten me,” laughed Gilgamesh. The Director slowly pulled off his cobalt business suit’s jacket. Grabbing it by the collar, Director Skye tossed his jacket into the air with a light amount of effort. The jacket climbed in the air for a second before reaching its peak altitude. As the cobalt suit jacket hit its point of incline, the Director raised his hands into the air and began to gesture in a circular motion. His hands glowed with the movements, while a magical circle filled with sigils and runic symbols appeared below the jacket. Upon the jacket’s descent and passing through Director Skye’s magical seal, its motion came nearly to a halt. It was still falling, but it looked like someone played its action on slow motion. The Director stopped his gesturing and hand glowing once he saw his completed spell. Looking back at his opponent, he pointed up at the jacket falling in slow motion. He declared, “Before my jacket hits the ground, I shall defeat you. I will be very embarrassed if I don’t, because I just had that dry cleaned.” Director Doug then held out his hand; as if he were grabbing something. A runic symbol, glowing with a bluish florescence, appeared on his palm. Immediately after it emerged, the rune stretched itself. It reformed itself into a long, tube shape that continued to glow blue. Upon reaching a certain length, Director Skye grabbed the tube. The magical light instantaneously shattered like glass and left behind a silver baton in the master witch's grasp. “I think you’ll need something sharper than that thin club to beat me, witch” laughed Gilgamesh. The Director smirked, “Oh, this isn’t a club. It’s my broom.” “I see,” smiled Gilgamesh, “And do you plan to defeat me by dusting the dirt off my codpiece? Director Skye fired back, “Actually, I was planning to stick it up your ass and sweep the floor with it.” “Decapitating you will be most gayful,” said the golden guardian. Leaping forward, Gilgamesh raised his scythe sword for downward slash attack. The Director calmly stood still; smiling without a care. The Director exclaimed, “Bring it, fatherfucker. HECATE!!!” Gilgamesh brought down his sword at the master witch, as he landed. At the moment where Gilgamesh’s blade cleaved through the Director, it instead split in half. The blade looked as if it were caught in a illusionary prism that caused one side of the blade to stick out to the left and the other blade pointing right. It continued its downward swing without even grazing the Director’s fabric. Flabbergasted, the golden guardian held his weapon up to his face and stared at his weapon. The blades were no longer two and had returned to its original form of being a single, straightforward blade. “What madness?!” said the Sumerian demigod. Director Doug explained, “That’s a space fracture spell. Causes a small rift for objects to be split in two. Great for dodging vertical attacks and projectiles. But I suggest you never do it with horizontal or diagonal attacks. Oh, and try not to use it on people. Big objects tend to get permanently cleaved in half. And it's as messy as it sounds.” >>>>>>>>> As Marvelous Man watched Director Skye in amazement at the master witch’s magical performance, he could feel Fairuza communicating to his mind. “Marvelous Man, are you there? Do you read me, Marvelous Man?” called Fairuza. Marvelous Man thought back, “I’m here, Fairuza.” “What happened? You were screaming before the Director showed up,” questioned Fairuza. Marvelous Man answered, “...Gilgamesh broke my hand. I can’t move it at all, and I’m in a lot of pain.” “We’ll have it looked at when the Director finishes up. In the meantime, you need to get up. The paramedics can’t get close until the supervillain is subdued. And those innocent people are dying, Marvelous Man, and you’re the only one that can save them,” Fairuza reminded. Marvelous Man acknowledged, “...okay. I’ll try to...supercharge the area to heal them all at once.” Using his other unbroken hand to steady himself, Marvelous Man attempted to push himself up. The ache in his body from being smashed into ground was slowly dissipating, but it still felt unbearable to the musclebound superhero. He groaned from the pain, but he needed to get up. Lives were depending on him, and superheroes must answer the call of duty above their own needs. Marvelous Man continued to remind himself about his sense of duty as a superhero as motivation. Slowly lurching up, the muscle demigod managed to upright himself and sit on top of his legs in a seiza position. Marvelous Man quickly scanned the area around himself before spotting his harmonica. Duskbringer laid next to the broken top-half of the tree, but was out of the muscle demigod's reach. “Can you still play your harmonica with just one working hand?” asked Fairuza. Marvelous Man sighed, “I can, but I don’t have to play it to supercharge my healing. I just need to make art. Will Director Skye be alright?” “He’ll be fine. He’s a Rank-A superhero, so don’t worry about him. Just focus on helping the injured,” replied Fairuza. Marvelous Man nodded, “Right. Sorry.” Taking a breath, Marvelous Man cleared his throat. He began to softly hum before vocalizing into a gregorian-like chant. The light within him began to feed on his music. >>>>>>>> Gilgamesh swung his scythe sword in a horizontal strike in an attempt to hit the Director. The Director made no attempt to cast a spell, while Gilgamesh’s blade sliced through the air. Upon contact with Director Skye’s body, the scythe sword cleaved through. The Director’s body severed in half from the slash, but not a drop of blood escaped from the master witch’s bisected anatomy. The Director continued to smile even after experiencing such devastating damage. Director Douglas’ detached top half floated for a second before his whole body exploded into smoke. The smokescreen dispersed into a wide spread in an effort to stunt Gilgamesh’s perception. Unbeknownst to the golden guardian, the smoke had masked his eyes from seeing a magical seal glowing beneath himself. Sliding across the ground as if it were an ice rink, the Director silently glided from behind Gilgamesh. He then tossed his baton-like broom into the air, causing it to twirl. Director Skye caught the other end of his silver broom and held it like a baseball bat. The Director leaned forward and swung at the back of Gilgamesh’s right knee. When the precisioned blow connected to the joint, it made a pinging noise one would hear when struck with a metal baseball bat. The Sumerian demigod’s powerful stature immediately crumbled, as he fell onto his left knee. Upon this happening, his right leg bent but kept anchored in place to keep Gilgamesh’s back straight. Like a figure skater continuing their flow of motion, Director Skye used the momentum of his strike to twirl. He spun in a counterclockwise motion to a complete revolution and struck with his broom again. The blunt weapon reverberated with another ping, as it battered the left side of Gilgamesh’s jaw. With the gold guardian’s balance upset once again, his right foot lost its grip on the ground as if it were standing on ice. As Gilgamesh slipped and landed with his back onto the dirt, the Director disappeared into the smokescreen upon finishing his blitzkrieg. “Kinetic friction nullifier spell. Makes any surface slippery. Although now that I am saying it all out loud, magic sure has gotten more sciency,” lectured the Director. Puzzles called out, “And what you just hit was my Shado-I mean, Smoke Clones. I can conjure semi-solid illusions with my smoke.” The Sumerian demigod attempted to stand back up; gritting his teeth in the process. As the magical circle beneath Gilgamesh’s feet and the smokescreen disappeared, he spotted something else. The ground was being enchanted with light, and it was spreading. Looking for the source, Gilgamesh pinpointed it to Marvelous Man; sitting in seiza position with eyes closed and singing in a gregorian-like chant. Copying Marvelous Man’s signature move, Gilgamesh squatted down in a sumo stance with his glutes hefted in the air. He flexed his leg muscles to quickly charge power for another launch. “POSEI MAGUM!” shouted the Director. Gilgamesh looked to his left and saw a shimmering spectacle shooting straight at him. With the shiny object in such close distance, the golden guardian had no time to react. The casted spell instantly enveloped him upon contact; forming a giant bubble around the crouching Sumerian demigod. Running toward the bubble-encased Gilgamesh, Director Skye held his broom up to his face. He then placed an open palm next to his other hand gripping the silver broom. As his hands glowed with magical energy, he glided his open palm across the baton-like broom’s length. He then slid his palm beyond the broom’s shaft; resulting in another enchanted display. The short-lengthed broom briefly flared with magical light, as it immediately extended itself. The broom’s glowing ended abruptly upon reaching a vast pole length that is suitable for one to use as a bo staff or a supposed broom. The Director jumped; quickly maneuvering his newly-formed broom beneath his groin at an upward angle. The back end of his broom bursted with a pinkish fire; accelerating Director Doug beyond his running speed and gaining a small amount of altitude. Twisting his body into a counterclockwise spin, the Director changed his grip and pulled the broom from under himself. As the boosting flame on his broom extinguished, Director Skye came to a full rotation. The Director gripped his broom like it was a baseball bat, while descending back towards the ground. Upon landing steps away from Gilgamesh, Director Doug skidded towards the crouched man. Dirt flew into the air, as the crouching man was now within the master witch’s swinging distance. The Director then swung with an underhanded strike; hitting the bubble Gilgamesh was trapped in. The bubble instantly bounced high into the air from the blunt attack; regardless of Gilgamesh’s weight in muscle mass and golden jewelry. As the bubble-encased Gilgamesh flew into the sky, the Director placed his broom underneath himself. A mass of smoke followed behind Director Doug’s back; reforming into Puzzles upon landing on top of the broom. The silver broom blasted off with its pink fire blazing at full power. Jetting off into the upper atmosphere, Director Skye directed his magical broom to follow the bubbled Gilgamesh flinging through the air. The Director and his familiar caught up to the bubble within seconds. Raising his hand up, it began to glow while gesturing a spell. A translucent veil with a purple hue appeared in front of the broom. It umbrellaed outward; shielding the Director from incoming winds. And although the barrier was made of magic, its entirety was structured with a blockade of hexagons that interlocked together like a honeycomb. Charging into the enchanted bubble, the flimsy structure popped rather than bouncing again. Director Doug continued his flight; ramming into Gilgamesh’s abdomen. The silver broom did not expectedly penetrate the golden guardian's skin, as the honeycomb-shaped magic positioned itself in front of the pole. With the broom pushing speeds in the hundreds and the enchanted veil too wide to grip or reach around to grab the master witch, Gilgamesh remained pinned onto the magical barrier in a spread eagle position. The Sumerian demigod’s weapons were nowhere to be seen on the pinned man; knocked out of his hold by the sudden blow. The Director continued to calmly smile, as he changed his broom’s direction to accelerate upwards. The master witch flew higher into the troposphere; breaking through the clouds and entering the stratosphere. All the while, Gilgamesh could only scowl at Director Skye with his eyes. His face unable to express as it remained smooshed against the veil. While ice crystals began forming onto the beehive-like barrier, Gilgamesh’s body smoked from the evaporating crystals melting from his body heat. The broom’s pink flame extinguished itself; preventing the three from climbing any higher heights. Loosening his grip, Director Doug slid down his silver broom just as Puzzles dissipated into his smoke form. The Director then reestablished his hold once again before completely falling off his enchanted flying device; clasping onto the broom’s end. Director Skye held out his left hand and gestured a spell. He soon ended his motioning incantation by waving upwards in a clockwise motion. A small hexagonal barrier appeared on the Director’s right side. Unlike the one he used to pin Gilgamesh beneath with, it was an individual hexagon rather than a combination. More magical hexagons emerged into existence on Director Doug’s left side. They materialized above each other; creating a pathway in a clockwise motion until reaching high above Gilgamesh. The Director planted his feet against the vertically-angled hexagon on his right side. Briefly squatting against the magical shape, he pushed off. The broom swung with his motion, as Director Skye landed his foot against the floating pathway he conjured. Continuing his movement without hesitation, he began to run upwards against the panes of hexagonal pieces. The end of the Director’s broom pinning Gilgamesh with the magical shield rotated until he was positioned underneath the silver broomstick. Reaching the end of his improvised path, Director Skye had situated himself into a handstand position while pushed himself on top of his own broom. The small cloud of smoke, surrounding the middle of the staff during the Director’s acrobat, shot up towards the master witch. As the smoke being darted upwards, it reformed back into Puzzles. Both the smoke imp and Director Doug held out their hands to each other in one synchronized action; grasping each other upon contact. With the help of his own projected velocity, Puzzles pulled his master up with little effort. The Director bent his legs down, as his upper body was lifted by his familiar. No longer upside down in that moment, Director Skye released his grip from Puzzles' tiny hand. The Director landed feet first on the top of his broom with cat-like grace. As he peered out to the sky in front of him, Puzzles gently landed on his shoulder. With nothing to keep them afloat, the three began to descend back down towards the clouds. Puzzles spoke, “And what floor would you like to get off on, Boss?” “Ground floor,” replied Director Skye. As Puzzles pretended to push an imaginary elevator button, Director Doug gestured another spell. His hands glowed, while smashing his fist against his open palm. An explosion of ice erupted from all over the Director’s body. Large obelisks made of ice extended outwards, with Director Skye, Puzzles, and the broom encased in the freeze flash. Gilgamesh’s eyes bulged. The golden guardian raised his fists and slammed it back down onto the honeycomb-patterned barrier in an attempt to shatter it. The veil glowed from the hits, but it did not break. He continued the vain attempt, as their descending speed rapidly accelerated with each passing second. Upon reaching terminal velocity within seconds, the glowing ground drew close at speeds too fast to see any details. The three crashed into the light-enchanted earth; resulting in an explosion akin to a bomb and vibrating the entire park that even shook Marvelous Man’s posture. Smoke from the impact plumed into the air, and the only thing that could be seen of the crash site to an outside eye was a crater spanning a wide circumference. The smoke debris briefly parted; revealing Puzzles leading his master out of the crater’s wreckage. The two watched their step, so none of them could accidentally walk on the shards of ice littered within the crater. As the two exited the newly-made hole, the smoke closed into the gap they were denied of occupying. Director Doug held onto his broom, as both of them looked down at the smoking crater. Puzzles sighed, “He’s still alive, Boss.” “I suppose he still would. Marvelous Man is still healing the injured folks, so I must apply a gentle touch to this matter,” huffed Director Skye, “Irregardless, I am having fun.” Puzzles frowned, “That’s not a real word, Boss.” “And you’re not Russian, yet you still talk with that accent,” mused the Director. Noises began to stir within the hole. The sound of Gilgamesh’s footsteps crunched amongst the rubble, as the cloud of dust dissipated to reveal the Sumerian demigod standing up straight. Director Skye shouted, “I gotta say, you got a hell of a chin there! I’m gonna have to mark you as a Rank B then.” “Hmph, that star child used the same tactic against the Skeleton Lord. It’s not impressive to use your weight to crush your enemies. But I will admit something, witch, that really frightened me. To fall out of the sky like that. And it really hurt,” remarked Gilgamesh. Walking out of the rubble, the golden guardian no longer appeared amused. His hairy body was covered in dirt and bruises, but did not appear to have any serious damage on his muscular frame. Director Doug smiled, “Good. Now to continue with your education, I used a bubble spell that allows one to be bounced away upon any blunt contact; regardless of one’s weight inside the bubble.” “After that, I pinned you on a beehive barrier spell. And fun fact about that spell, you can summon the pieces individually rather than a whole set. So you could use it as a platform or flip it onto its side and use it as a projectile. But I think I made a good choice, since your body seems to have a high level of...imperviency,” he continued. The Director dragged on, “And finally, I used a basic ice encasement spell. We were so high up, I could draw in so much more moisture than is needed to make that spell. I made it a hella big, so it would be really heavy in the hopes of crushing you. Sadly, that did not work. But, my, was it spectacular.” Gilgamesh’s face became neutral upon hearing Director Skye’s lecture. There was a small pause after the Director finished, that he smirked for a second before giggling. The giggle then transformed to a bellowing laugh. “You most certainly enlightened me on the usefulness of defense magic, witch!” guffawed the Sumerian demigod, “Have you anything left to say before I pound you to death with my bare hands? I would decapitate you, but I seem to have lost my weapons while being adrift in the sky.” Director Skye held up his index finger. “Just one,” he replied. The Director looked down at his smoke imp. He requested, “Puzzles, would you please prepare the Cuban Room for our guest? We need to wrap this up, and I am parching for some sweet tea.” Puzzles looked up at his master, as he reached inside of his business suit’s jacket. “Certainly, Boss,” he smiled. The smoke imp then retrieved a large cigar and a silver lighter from his cobalt jacket. Flipping the lid off of the lighter, it ignited a small, red flame. Puzzles quickly lit the dark brown cigar, before putting the tobacco product in his mouth. He then proceeded to take a deep inhale, as he snuffed the lighter's flame and placed it back into his pocket. Director Doug curtly bowed, “Now you may try pulverizing me.” Gilgamesh’s eyes glinted with acknowledgement of what the battle’s outcome will be. He nodded before charging forward. The golden guardian sprinted as fast as he could while screaming out his battle cry. Every step he took vibrated a heavy thud, as he drew closer. Within a few steps of Gilgamesh reaching the master witch, Puzzles blew out the cigar exhaust he had been dragging. The dark gray smoke stretched itself outward like a wall; bordering between the golden guardian and the heroes. Without a sign of hesitation, Gilgamesh charged into the smoke. The cigar fog enveloped the Sumerian demigod and immediately transformed. The smoke reshaped itself into an interior location. Gilgamesh now stood inside a wooden hallway with an antique Victorian design. The walls were bare of any windows and were instead draped with red curtains. The golden guardian’s mouth was agape in surprise, as he looked at both sides of the hallway. On his left was a dead end with a tall, wooden grandfather clock stationed where a doorway should be. The clock’s ticks and tocks echoed throughout the hallway; mixing with another noise that sounded like wood crackling in a fire. On the right side of the hallway was the source of the fire crackling sound. A lit hearth, at the end of the hallway’s right side, radiated the Victorian hallway with warmth and yellowish light. With his face changing from shock to curiousity, Gilgamesh thumped towards the grandfather clock. He stood in front of it and studied it closely. The wooden clock had a simple design with grooves and an etching of a pine cone on its top frame. Inside of it, its golden pendulum swung in syncro with the clock’s ticks. “Welcome to the Cuban Room,” drawled the Director. Gilgamesh instantly reacted to the Southern gentlemanly voice; turning around to face the master witch. At the end other end of the wooden hallway, a red armchair now existed in front of the fireplace. The armchair faced the hearth and had a man sitting in it. The man seen only from behind had auburn hair like Director Skye. His pale, white hand rested on the chair’s arms and held the lit cigar Puzzles had just smoked. The Sumerian demigod muttered, “Is this pathetic illusion supposed to stop me?” Gilgamesh slammed his fist against the wall. Rather than exploding into smoke, the wall resisted the golden guardian’s strike. “That it is. I did tell you that I’m a Master Witch of the Defense Arts, didn’t I?” said the Director. Gilgamesh frowned, “That was the familiar who said it. And you are not the witch either.” The supposed Director Doug said nothing, as he brought the cigar to his face. Seconds pass by until a loud exhale resounded from his location. A long plume of cigar smoke blew into the air above the alleged master witch, as he rested his cigar hand back onto the red chair’s arm. “Does it matter?” he replied, “You still have to beat me to get out of here. So go on. Pulverize me.” The golden guardian slowly stepped forward; as if expecting more tricks. He kept walking towards the other end of the red-curtained hallway, when his face then contorted in confusion. As he reach the middle of the wooden hallway, his progress seemed to have come to a halt. He was walking, but he was not moving any closer to his destination. Gilgamesh changed his motion into a sprint, but the result was the same. Looking down, the Sumerian demigod could see the floor beneath himself moving like a treadmill. The floor shifted in the opposite direction Gilgamesh was trying to go and increased its speed when Gilgamesh did so. “I’m waiting,” teased the auburn-haired man. Gilgamesh gritted his teeth, as he kept trying to push forward with no foreseeable result. The supposed Director Skye laughed; echoing throughout the wooden hallway that drowned out the grandfather clock’s ticking sound. Sections of the hallways in front of the golden guardian began to rotate like an inverse rubix cube. Walls had been rotated into floors and ceilings and vice versa. At the end of the hallway where the assumed Director and the fireplace sat had now been rotated up to the ceiling. Gravity had no effect on them, and even the smoke drifted down to the ceiling floor. The grandfather clock’s noise began to override the laughing, as it chimed its hourly clock strike noise. Soft bells rang in the air, as it caught Gilgamesh’s attention. Turning around, his eyes widened upon gazing the hallway behind him. As the clock bellowed its haunting lower-toned bells, the architecture started to become undone. Segments of floor, ceiling, and wall broke off and flew into a black void that became more visible with every breakage. Eventually, even the wooden grandfather clock was sucked into the nothing. Face filled with panic, Gilgamesh pushed himself to run faster, jump, and even lunge forward like Marvelous Man’s signature move. Every effort he did caused either himself to not move forward or the fireplace-end of the hallway to extend farther out of his reach. He dared to look back and could see the Cuban Room’s dismantle growing closer to him. He shouted, “It’s not real! IT’S NOT REAL!!!” The ceiling right above Gilgamesh splintered into many pieces. The Sumerian demigod dared to glance up. Within the black void above him stood a giant Puzzles glaring down at Gilgamesh. The smoke imp was the size of skyscrapers, and his eyes glowed with pure white. The familiar's horns had a devious point and seemed to be the size of a small house. When Puzzles spoke, it was as if a giant with a Russian accent talked. “DOES. IT. MATTER.” said the giant Puzzles. Gilgamesh froze, as a burst of light flashed around him. When the flash immediately died down, a rectangular prism of light encased his hairy body. None of the golden guardian’s muscles twitched, and neither did his eyes stir. Puzzles blinked at the frozen Sumerian demigod. The Cuban Room instantly vanished into smoke; fizzling out of reality. What was a smoky existence now returned back to the glowing park before the Sumerian demigod was transported. The petrified Gilgamesh floated above the park’s grass that had become enchanted with a sunlight quality. Puzzles waddled up to the prism of light. He glanced his eyes up and down the muscular man before turning to his right. The smoke imp looked towards his master, who stood with his silver broom in hand. He questioned, “The time capsule spell? I thought you would have done the sex cocoon spell. Much easier to cast.” “There’s no damn way I’m casting that spell. Unless you want to open him up from the cocoon and get hit with sex stink,” retorted the Director. Puzzles frowned, “Fair enough. At least you casted the spell to capture him off the ground. Would have been a real pain to move him if the dirt got caught in the time capsule. So how much time do we have before he thaws out?” Director Skye squatted down to analyze his handiwork. Surrounding the time-frozen Gilgamesh was a magical seal carved into the ground. Its sequences of runes and shapes within the circle was more complex than the light-conjured magic circles the Director created. “Well, it was a rush job, but I managed to get it all right. Should buy us at least three hours at most,” stated Director Doug. Puzzles nodded while reaching into his business suit’s pocket to pull out a smartphone. The smoke imp spoke, “I’ll call somebody to pick this up and get everybody here treated. Oh, and don’t forget your coat, Boss.” “Shoot!” spat the Director. Director Skye took off running. His face held panic that most likely was due to the possibility of his cobalt jacket becoming dirty. A voice called out, “Puzzles?” Facing to the voice behind himself, Puzzles spotted Gene limping towards him. The bunny demigod had his hand placed over his chest, and his white rabbit ears were drooped down. “Bossman and I came over to deal with Gilgamesh. You’re welcome,” said Puzzles. The rabbit superhero glanced at the time-frozen Sumerian demigod before looking back at the cold-eyed smoke imp. Gene asked, “And what of Marvelous Man?” “He’s fine for the most part. His hand is broken, but he managed supercharge the area to heal everybody. Let’s just hope you don’t let him get killed next time. Healers of his caliber are rare. Don’t fuck it up again,” answered Puzzles. The bunny demigod became silent. His head bent down in shame, and his eyes became incapable of visually connecting with Puzzles’. Director Doug shouted, “It got halfway to the ground! Goshdang, I sure am getting rusty!” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> An hour after the incident, the team assembled back at the D.A.B. building. Marvelous Man and Gene were exiting the elevator on the fifth floor. As they walked towards the Director’s office, Marvelous Man kept staring at his hand. It was the hand that was broken by Gilgamesh’s crushing grip, yet it now looked as if it was never harmed. Marvelous Man flexed his newly-healed hand. “Are you in pain?” asked Gene. Marvelous Man looked at Gene, “Huh? Oh, no. It’s fine...just amazed that it's fixed already. There’s not even a scar or anything.” “Yes. It is most fortunate to discover that you have the healing factor. Given enough time, you can recover from any wound,” noted Gene. Marvelous Man sighed, “Yeah...just wish I could’ve regenerated faster.” Gene said nothing, as the two continued down the hallway. Marvelous Man then spotted their field analyst, Fairuza, standing in front of Director Skye’s office door. As if on cue, Fairuza turned to her team and waved. “Hey, you two. Ready to head in?” smiled Fairuza. Marvelous Man shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. I’m just glad it’s not gonna be as awkward as the last time we all got called up here.” “I feel the same,” nodded Fairuza. The sorceress knocked on the Director’s door. Seconds ticked by, until it was opened by Puzzles to usher them in. Fairuza was the first to cross into the office with Marvelous Man following in behind her and ducking underneath the doorway. As Gene finally entered, the smoke imp closed the door behind the three. Inside the cobalt-carpeted office, Director Doug sat behind his cherrywood desk. He calmly smiled while sipping on a cold glass of sweet team. Marvelous Man immediately noticed there was another person in the office, as Puzzles’ smoky form glided back to the desk. An android was sitting was sitting in the black lounge chair propped against the wall. Despite his mechanical design, his stocky body almost looked soft. A great majority of the android’s torso consisted of black synthetic muscle that appeared to have a rubber-like quality than a metallic kind. These black muscle cords also appeared on his biceps and along the inner and outer thighs. His abdomen had a white, gelatin-like layering that seemed similar to soft, fatty tissue; giving the android an athletic gut. The white layer had as well traced over his fingers, toes, groinal region, and even on the underside of his pecs. It was peculiar to Marvelous Man that the android also had rubbery nipples, the size of pencil erasers, that were colored with a blackish hue. Any place on the android that did not require the sense of touch or was not an erogenous zone was plated over with a silver cover. The silver plates had golden outlines for what seemed to be an aesthetic purpose. Curiously, there was also a silver plating on the android’s hips that had handles welded onto them. As for any clothing, the android was sorely lacking any. The only garment he wore was a drawstring mokko fundoshi that covered a generously large package bulging against the fabric. Keychained to the mokko fundoshi was a pink Japanese amulet, that had the astrological symbol, Gemini, printed onto it. Marvelous Man could not help but think that this Soulem felt familiar; especially since the android had his fundoshi and nails colored zaffre. The android glanced up at Marvelous Man. The Soulem’s silver, metallic face had a neutral expression, but the mood rings on his cheeks immediately flashed from white to red. The android’s large, silver nose sharply inhaled before letting out a huff, while his white, digital eyes looked away. The Soulem had sections of golden blocks plated to his head in an attempt to appear as his beard, mohawk, and even eyebrows. He also had a zaffre-colored Phillips screw studded onto his chin. “So,” started the Director, “Capturing Gilgamesh was a success. But he’s still on ice for a few more hours before we can start interrogating him. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find out his connections to the Skeleton Lord and how we can use that to our advantage.” Director Skye looked at Marvelous Man. “As for you, Marvelous Man, great job on healing the civilians. They and their loved ones extend their thanks to you and request that you meet them in person. Now, I told them that you’re a bit busy at the moment trying to help other people and assisting our heroes to fight the bad guys. So it’s up to you if you want to visit them on your off-time. But I suggest you keep your head low if you don’t want to, cause you’re most likely gonna be newsworthy for the next week or so,” he said. Marvelous Man nodded, “Uh, yes, sir.” The Director sipped his sweet tea. “Now, onto the elephant in the room. You three make a great team, but y’all need to up your game a bit. I don’t know why, but fate keeps tossing you right at the Skeleton Lord. And each time, we are in the dark about who he is or what he can do,” he drawled. Director Doug continued, “That’s why I’m sorry to say this, Fairuza, but your magic isn’t cutting it. For some reason, he’s invisible to magic detection and even your analyzing abilities. And that is why I am including a field technician in your group to help study our foe and science his ass. He’s a noncombatant, so make sure he doesn’t get in the midst of y’all’s crossfires.” The Director pointed an open palm to the sitting android. “So until this Skeleton Lord issue has been resolved, meet your new teammate for future missions: Gemini Yin,” introduced Director Skye. Marvelous Man’s eyes widened in surprise, as the Soulem stood up. Maybe it’s a complete coincidence that another Soulem’s name is Gemini? Gemini held out his hand at Marvelous Man, as his voice spoke in an electronic yet masculine tone. He gritted his teeth into a smile, “Hey, bro. You must be Marvelous Man. Ya know, you kinda look like my friend, Justice.” Next Chapter

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fWR-rfdhN_UycbGeWAlGpvy-jsMu8pgkb8-dx5GR7XM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter Chapter 9: Celestial Meteor It was half an hour later that the two gathered their supplies, and Marvelous Man flew to the location. Gene Lightfoot was in his rabbit form; cradled in Marvelous Man’s brawny arms and nestled against the bulging pectorals. During the flight over, Marvelous Man could feel Gene emitting the emotions of frustration. As Marvelous Man began his descent to a street corner across the abandoned Ridgemont subway station, he observed his surroundings. The Ridgemont subway station appeared to be located in a desolate ghetto with decaying structures and broken windows. The area itself was tucked far away at the edge of Skyway City by the decrepit factories that shut down a long time ago and no longer billowed smoke from its tall chimney stacks that could blanket the sky. As for the subway station’s entrance, it was partially bordered up on its top half. The lower half showed marks of being plied off; definitely evidence that somebody was still residing in the abandoned subway. Nearing the ground, Gene leapt from Marvelous Man’s embrace and shifted back into his humanoid form. He stood up straight and closed his eyes. His white bunny ears twitched in different directions as if he were trying to detect any sound like a sonar. Marvelous Man placed a hand on a patch that was freshly ironed onto the shoulder of his black jacket. The decorative patch was the D.A.B. logo; fonted in white and outlined in cobalt blue. While it advertised Marvelous Man’s association, it was enchanted to act as a telepathic communicator with his own teammates and anybody else able to receive the psychic signal. He projected his thoughts, “Faraiza, we got to subway station. We’re in front of it right now.” It felt weird for Marvelous Man to use his thoughts to call out to someone. Like screaming into a void, but the screamer cannot hear the sounds they emit. It was best to not think about how thoughts sound in one’s own head. Regardless of how he felt, Faraiza explained that it was the only way to use his new communicator. “Yes, I have visual of it now. Gene, do you detect anybody?” replied Faraiza. Gene paused, “...No. I do not sense the presence of anyone at all. This is most suspicious.” Marvelous Man could hear the voices of his teammates echo in his head. There was no direction of where the noise originated from. It was all around him and inside himself. He shivered at this first experience of telepathy. “Should we head inside?” he asked. Faraiza answered, “Not yet. I’m not detecting any traps, but I think you should stay put and survey the entrance. I’ll do some quick research to see if there’s another way in. If Gene’s not sensing anybody, you two could be walking in a trap. Either that or the homeless community moved before the Skeleton Lord arrived.” “Roger,” nodded Gene. Gene turned to a dilapidated building on his right and appeared to be analyzing its structure. Its door removed some time ago, and any of its windows that were not already shattered had a layers of grime filmed over it. The bunny demigod pointed, “Let us take shelter in there for now. Their windows on the second floor have a vantage point for observing the subway entrance.” “Alright,” complied Marvelous Man. The two heroes went inside the building without saying a word. From what was left of the interior, Marvelous Man surmised the structure used to be a bakery or cafe on the first floor. The second floor seemed to be an office and an apartment. As the duo wordlessly settled in front of grimy windows, Marvelous Man felt it was the best time to break the ice. There was a certain tension about Gene, but he was not sure if it was due to the mission they were currently handling. He took a cloth he found on the floor and wiped the dirty layer off of a window pane, as he carefully chose his next words. Marvelous Man hesitated, “Hey, Gene...are you okay?” “Yes, I am well. I have no physical condition that will hinder our progress,” replied Gene. Marvelous Man swallowed, “Yeah, I know. But...That’s not what I meant. Are you emotionally okay? You seem tense. Is it because of the seriousness of our mission or what the Skeleton Lord did…” The emotions in Gene’s eyes seem to withdraw for a moment before coming back. The rabbit demigod began broadcasting the emotions of uneasiness. “It...It is not what he did to me that leaves you to perceive that I am having the shaken...It is what he said,” hesitated Gene. He continued, “That...thing said that it was responsible for the death of my people. That he is the reason why my race is a multitude of tribes scattered and hidden across the earth. I had never conceived that my tribe was once united with all the other tribes, but I have also never heard of it happening before. If what he said is true, should not there be history records of this Skeleton Lord?” Marvelous Man looked out the window to keep watch over the subway entrance. He did not know that Gene was part of an actual race. But it did make sense when the Skeleton Lord kept calling Gene Lightfoot that name. It just did not occur to him until the bunny demigod brought it up. There was also something he remembered in the debriefing. “There should’ve. I mean, your people should’ve known if there was a maniac like that. But not even the magical researchers know about him. Like he never existed,” agreed Marvelous Man. Gene’s rabbit ears twitched, “Or maybe nobody wanted to remember he existed. The Skeleton Lord seemed surprised that we did not fear him or even know of his name.” The white rabbit ears on Gene’s head began to droop. Marvelous Man then felt an all too familiar emotion wash over him. Loneliness. “But my people were not just united,” said Gene, “He said we were many. We populated everywhere with the humans. And all of my ancestors had the rabbit ears. All of them. To not only be able to explore the world but also be chosen...I cannot help but envy that such a thing might have happened at one point.” “But..aren’t you doing that right now?” questioned Marvelous Man. Gene shook his head, “It is not the same. Not many know of the ways of my people, and not many have the curiosity for discovering it. You see, all of our Totochtin tribes have only one person in every generation to be blessed by our rabbit god. The choosing happens after a tournament is held to find one who is victorious over their other brothers with their own strength and skill.” “When one is chosen to receive the rabbit ears and have their potential to be unlocked, they must go on a sacred pilgrimage. They must scour a region and find other male warriors to challenge them to combat. If one is able to best our chosen, he gifts the warrior with the best sexual experience he will never find anywhere else. This is an exchange to reap the victor’s seed, so it can be used to birth a new generation for our tribe. The chosen one will continue the process until he has completed exploring the region. And thus, our tribe becomes stronger with every descendant, and the cycle begins anew,” explained Gene. Marvelous Man willed his face with all his might to not express bewilderment. With no mirror around, he was not sure if his body betrayed him or not. He wondered if being baffled was also an emotion and hoped Gene could not detect. He saw Gene give a small smile as if he knew or was aware of how his culture was perceived by outsiders. Marvelous Man cleared his throat, “So...I guess your time here in North America is limited, huh?” “Yes, but also no. I was not assigned to this region,” twitched Gene, “I am sorry, but my story will have to be shared for another time. Someone has arrived, and they are curious.” Staring out the window, Marvelous Man spotted a woman in a red female kung fu uniform with visor sunglasses over her eyes. He immediately recognized her. “Octomentist?” he said to himself. Gene glanced, “You know of her?” “I met her yesterday. We teamed up to fight the PB&J Gang,” answered Marvelous Man. Octomentist looked about as if she were searching for someone. She looked up where Marvelous Man and Gene were stationed at for a few seconds before resuming her exploration. Gene inquired, “Is she from the Arkos Division?” “Yeah, how’d you know?” said Marvelous Man. Gene replied, “Most members from a superhero company dress themselves according to the colors their companies favor. It is much like how I dress with the blue to proclaim my association with the D.A.B. Though some people do the compromise by carrying a colored accessory in relation to their employer yet wearing whatever colors they please. Just like you.” “Oh,” spoke Marvelous Man, “So should we go down there to talk to her?” Gene crossed his arms, “There is no need. I believe she has found us, because she is now amused.” His rabbit ears twitched. “She is now within the building,” said the bunny demigod. Hearing the stairs creak, Marvelous Man turned his attention to the doorway. The echo of footsteps slowly drew closer. Seconds later, Octomentist appeared in the hallway right outside of the room’s entrance. Octomentist smiled, “Hey there, Naked Justice. Didn’t think I’d see you so soon. How’s my sidekick doin?” “Umm, doin alright. What’re you doing here?” asked Marvelous Man. Octomentist answered, “Saw you passing by. Thought I’d track you down, since I didn’t have anything better to do. Saw you upstairs with my visor’s thermal vision. Though I didn’t think you’d end up here in the ghetto. Congratulations on getting picked up by the D.A.B., by the way.” Marvelous Man was confused by Octomentist’s remark. He was not sure how she already knew. A second went by until his mind finally comprehended that his communicator patch gave away a context clue. “Oh. Thanks. Uh, this is Gene. And we were trying to find a guy that’s hiding out in that abandoned subway down there,” pointed Marvelous Man. Gene cutted in, “I believe this is one of the situations that we must exercise discretion, Marvelous Man. It would not be wise to divulge any more information regarding the mission.” “It’s cool. I think I’ll just tag along anyways. Or I could just charge right down there while screaming my head off. I’m sure he won’t notice me,” grinned Octomentist. Faraiza’s voice ringed in Gene Lightfoot and Marvelous Man’s head before they could say anything. She stated, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t find any other alternate entrances inside. You’re going to have to proceed through the front. But before you go, there’s something else I need to ask of you two. I’m sending a picture to your scrolls.” “Marvelous Man could you open your scroll?” asked Gene. Marvelous Man nodded, “Sure.” Reaching into his pocket, Marvelous Man retrieved his electronic scroll and silver-rimmed visor glasses that looked exactly like the Director’s. However, the electronic scroll Faraiza gave him was completely different from Director Skye’s scroll. Instead of resembling an extravagant Torah, its features were more like an oval-shaped object. “You don’t need the glasses. This information isn’t private. Besides, it’d be good to let your third party know about this. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody about her involvement,” echoed Faraiza. After nodding and placing the glasses back into his bottomless pockets, Marvelous Man proceeded with opening his scroll. He pressed the button on the top side of his oval scroll to unlock its features with a small click. Gently pulling at its sides, the scroll’s outer shell broke apart to reveal a transparent plastic sheet. It glowed with a hushed light of blue and white. Octomentist grinned, “Oh, hey! Those are the mobile alpha prototypes the Arkos Division sent out to the other hero organizations to try out before it’s released for retail. Glad to see it being put to use.” Marvelous Man ignored Octomentist’s statement and continued. Flipping open the panels on the scroll’s sides, he pressed the buttons hidden underneath to move the scroll’s digital cursor. He then selected the messages icon and found his first new message. Opening it, he found a headshot picture of a caucasian man with messy brown hair. Marvelous Man then heard Faraiza’s voice echo in his head. “That’s Martin Whalsh. He’s supposedly the leader of that community. Try to save him first. If you do, he can really help us out for future investigations or make it easier to move the homeless somewhere else,” said Faraiza. Gene replied back telepathically, “We will do our best, Faraiza.” “Why are you guys just staring at the screen? And who’s that?” spoke Octomentist. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The three heroes stood steps away from the subway entrance. A gust of wind blew from within; moaning to forbode them from entering. The sunlight that was able to poke through the opening revealed stairs that paved downward into unknown darkness. Gene stated, “I will go forth and do the ‘inside sweep’. Faraiza and I will alert you on whether it is safe to proceed or if something is amiss.” His form began to shrink, as he shapeshifted into a snow-white rabbit. The bunny demigod’s animal shape twitched its nose for a moment before bounding into the entrance and hopping down the stairs' descend into the black abyss. “Huh, the files weren’t kidding. He really can shapeshift into a bunny,” remarked Octomentist, “By the way, it sucks that you got a Rank D. A little bit of downtime with this company, and you’ll get C Rank in no time.” “Thanks,” nodded Marvelous Man. A bloodcurdling scream ringed in Marvelous Man’s head. It sounded similar to Gene Lightfoot’s but as if he were in unimaginable pain. Faraiza’s voice interrupted the telepathic transmission. She spoke urgently, “Marvelous Man, you need to get down there! Something has traumatized Gene, but I’m not sure what!” Marvelous Man turned to Octomentist with wide eyes. “Something went wrong,” he said. Placing his hand on Octomentist’s shoulders, Marvelous Man commanded the light within him to illuminate himself and his friend. The two charged forth with Marvelous Man in the lead. As they entered, Marvelous Man punched the boarded planks on the top half of the subway’s entrance; splintering it in half and leaving enough room for the shining hero to dash through without ducking. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Faraizah guided the pair as to where Gene was located. After treading down the steps and crossing over the train tracks in the pitch blackness, they found a large clearing with blanket tents and houses made of cardboard and tin sheets built against the walls. They spotted Gene in his humanoid form; laying in the center in a fetal position. Marvelous Man shouted, “Gene!” He ran towards the fallen hero and placed a hand on his back. Marvelous Man’s light analyzed Lightfoot’s body but found no physical wounds to heal. Marvelous Man crouched down to get a better look at Gene and noticed a small puddle of vomit next to the bunny demigod. “There is so much pain here. So much horror. Fear. Despair. All of those people...gone,” murmured Gene. The bunny demigod looked up at Marvelous Man. His face was wet with tears, and his eyes were nearly clouded with catatonia. Marvelous Man could feel Gene emitting his own feelings of sorrow. He then realized if the broadcasting of Gene’s emotions were to continue, it could affect the team’s ability to fight. They were in no place to take their time to talk about their feelings. Marvelous Man needed to temporarily override the bunny demigod’s feelings and quickly asked himself what he could do. He could hit Gene with a slap or light punch. That always seemed to work in movies and anime. But that did not feel like the right approach for Marvelous Man to do, and Gene could react with even more negativity. If he were an empath like Gene, he could have injected positivity into Gene to balance him out...but he actually could do that in theory. As Marvelous Man closed his eyes and reached into his black jacket’s pocket, Octomentist walked past the two kneeling heroes. An object sparkling from Marvelous Man’s light sat on the ground by its lonesome. She scooped it up, while Marvelous Man pulled out his golden harmonica, Duskbell, and started playing it. Octomentist turned to music playing with her mouth pursed to exclaim. Her shouting came to an abrupt halt, as she saw Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man blew his golden harmonica with minstrel skill and jammed to an upbeat tempo. His light fed on the music and became supercharged. It obeyed Marvelous Man’s commands and began to extend itself. Bursting from the floor Marvelous Man was kneeling on, it enveloped Gene Lightfoot and dispersed to the rest of the ground. Upon sensing Gene’s sorrow to quell, Marvelous Man ceased the playing of Duskbell. He opened his eyes and spotted Octomentist; holding one of Gene’s silver spheres. He asked, “Where did you find that?” “Right here,” said Octomentist. She paused for a moment, as she looked about her surroundings. Octomentist hesitated, “Is that...blood?” It was Marvelous Man’s turn to observe the area. Before illuminating the area, the light shining off of him and Octomentist lit their line of sight only steps ahead in the vast darkness. This caused tunnel vision upon spotting the emotionally disturbed Gene. Now that everything around them was revealed and nothing to distract Marvelous Man, he could see everything. Blood. The dark red liquid splattered everywhere; from the walls to the makeshift homes and even the ground. It were as if a giant blood-filled balloon exploded everywhere or some sort of horror film setting. The scent of iron flooded Marvelous Man’s senses, and despair filled his stomach. With no visual contact of the homeless community, the blood, and the silver ball, a connection was made. Marvelous Man immediately placed his hand on the D.A.B. jacket patch. “Faraiza, I think we’ve been set up!” he telepathically exclaimed. Faraiza choked, “I see it. Oh my gosh...there’s so much blood. If Gene’s ball is here, then where’s the Skeleton Lord? Did he know we were tracking him?” Gene slowly began to stand up. His posture no longer exhibited that of a deterred person. The bunny demigod joined the telepathic conversation. “I am sorry, Faraiza. I sense that they are all dead,” he said. Octomentist muttered, “This is all kinds of fucked up.” A soft patter echoed in the opening behind Octomentist. However, everyone was too engrossed in the gore decor to notice. “So this is how you all survived my onslaught of the undead. The star child’s odd ocarina can enchant the field with daylight, as well as yourselves,” noted the Skeleton Lord’s voice. Octomentist turned around to face the Skeleton Lord, as she took a step away from him. The Skeleton Lord, garbed in his red cloak and the equine skull resting on his head, continued to proceed forward. Gene Lightfoot slid his hand into his utility belt’s pouch of silver spheres. The Skeleton Lord calmly spoke, “I had a feeling that silver marble had a tracking spell on it. It appears I was correct. If I were wrong, well, then I would have enough time to absorb the fleshes of this gypsy caravan. Sadly, I was only able to absorb their fear and blood. But I must admit, it became a bit messy on that last part.” The Skeleton Lord’s red cloak billowed as the insides rustled. His arms extended from the curtain with an object in its grasp. It was the decapitated head of Martin Whalsh; the leader of the subway homeless community. “And killing this fellow first made the fear flow right out of them. I assume it was because he is their chief and also because I killed him,” he said on a tangent. Octomentist leapt forward. Pivoting her waist to pronounce a stronger strike, she whips her golden arm towards the Skeleton Lord. Her golden left arm changed its shape; transforming into a golden machete. Four skeleton arms bursted from within his red cloak. Their white, bony hands caught the golden blade above the Skeleton Lord’s shoulder; right before the weapon could reach the neck. The golden machete shook from Octomentist trying to muscle through the gentle, skeletal grasps. Without even flinching from the murderous attempt, the Skeleton Lord slowly turned his attention to the blade for a moment. The Skeleton Lord changed his gaze to Octomentist, “Hm, a monk with killing intent. Or perhaps you are one of those mystic knights?” Octomentist did not answer but immediately reacted. Two of her right chrome arms placed their inner sides on top of one another. Palms flexing out, the chrome arms were tucked close to her side and aimed at the Skeleton Lord. A stream of water as powerful as a fireman’s hose jetted out of the palms. It sparkled with a layer of electricity coursing through. The electrified aqua punctured through the Skeleton Lord’s abdomen; soaking and billowing the back of his red cloak. The Skeleton Lord convulsed from the electrical currents spreading throughout his entire body. His hands lost their grip on the decapitated head and causing it to land with a soft plop. As the Skeleton Lord began to teeter towards the ground, Gene withdrew a silver ball from his pouch and threw it faster than a professional baseball pitcher. It whistled through the air, as it was aimed towards the stunned Skeleton Lord. The adrenaline pumping throughout Marvelous Man allowed time to slow down for just a moment to see the sphere about to bore into the Skeleton Lord’s hooded forehead with only a pen’s length between the two. A tendril of bone shot out from beneath the Skeleton Lord’s cloak. As it stabbed into the ground, it caused the Skeleton Lord to rocket into the air. Gene’s silver sphere completely missed piercing the Skeleton Lord’s head before the sudden velocity. The Skeleton Lord’s body hung limply high above the other heroes with the bone tendril continuing to extend and thicken from under the red cloak. Three more bone tendrils stretched out from behind the red clothing; rooting into the ceiling to stabilize the first tendril’s balance. The Skeleton Lord looked as if it were a daddy-long-leg spider that was short of four bony legs. “Lightning enchanted water? Well, that is a first,” remarked the Skeleton Lord. Grabbing his golden wreath, Marvelous Man threw his projectile. It whizzed like a buzzsaw; flying up towards the Skeleton Lord. The spider-like bone legs pulled the Skeleton Lord higher up towards the ceiling, as the golden wreath was about to reach the Skeleton Lord and saw through. Missing its target, the wreath returned to Marvelous Man, while the bone legs began to shift. The spider bone legs crawled across the ceiling with the Skeleton Lord gently swaying beneath. His bony appendages made its way to the other side of the room behind Marvelous Man and Gene. As he was lowered to the ground in front of entrance, the Skeleton Lord clapped. The Skeleton Lord cackled, “Well, go on then. Entertain me! Show me things the warriors of the past have not already done!” Surging forward, Marvelous Man bounded towards the Skeleton Lord with Gene following behind him in rabbit form. The shining hero activated his flight power and twisted himself in a counterclockwise motion. He completed two rotations before aiming a slamming right elbow at the Skeleton Lord’s face. A skeletal arm extended from underneath the Skeleton Lord’s cloak. It caught the powerful elbow without even wincing. The sudden stop of the muscular man’s deadly gymnastics cause the wind trailing with his huge body to billow the Skeleton Lord’s red cloak. As Marvelous Man was held in place, the white rabbit bounded underneath his musclebound frame. Gene arrived at the feet of the Skeleton Lord and transformed. As he shapeshifted back into his humanoid form, Gene Lightfoot rose up into the air while executing a spinning uppercut. His fist connected with the underside of the Skeleton Lord’s pale, white jaw. The brittle sound of bone popping and cracking emanated from the blow to the Skeleton Lord. As Gene continued ascending above, the Skeleton Lord’s head flung back from the blow. His body nearly recoiled, but his spider bone legs dug into the floor and walls to stabilize himself. The skeleton arm released its grasp on Marvelous Man’s elbow before immediately clasping onto the bunny demigod’s left shoulder. Three more skeletal arms lashed out from beneath the red cloak. Clamping underneath Gene’s right shoulder and legs, they held the bunny demigod steadfast in midair with the limbs pulled into a spread eagle position. The Skeleton Lord reached out with his own pale-skinned hand and groped Gene’s crotch that dangled like plump blue fruit. His jaw shifted itself back into place with the sound of bone snapping itself together. “I have to say, lust energy has far more power in it than absorbing one’s fear. Still, it is quite difficult to...milk lust energy if one is not a Totochtin. But I have learned many ways to milk fear,” smiled the Skeleton Lord. Upon his elbow being released, Marvelous Man swiveled his brawny body in midair towards the Skeleton Lord’s left side in a clockwise motion. He launched his right fist in an overhand punch upon arriving next to the villain. Another skeleton arm rose from behind the Skeleton Lord’s red cloak. It appeared to be a right appendage that began to wave in a counterclockwise motion. As the top of its wrist briefly touched the golden encased underside of Marvelous Man’s, it reflexed immediately. The skeletal hand grabbed Marvelous Man’s jewelry-covered wrist and yanked it forward. At that moment, the trajectory of Marvelous Man’s punch was now under the control of the bony hand. Marvelous Man’s fist was guided downwards in front of the Skeleton Lord’s neck. The shining hero could see his fist completely missing the molesting villain that did not bother to even look in his direction. He had no time to move away in the instance he was pulled closer to the Skeleton Lord. Two more skeleton arms thrusted out from the cloak. Both had their bony hands curled into hard fists as they aimed at different areas of Marvelous Man’s body. The first struck the right side of the hero’s face. With the skeletal hand holding onto his wrist, he could not be flung back. He had no choice but to take the brunt of the punch as it twisted into his cheek. Marvelous Man felt his vision and hearing blur at the powerful blow. Though Marvelous Man had bulletproof skin, blunt and hard attacks could still hurt him without ever having to break the epidermis. The hero himself had discovered firsthand that the fist was both of those things. At the same time, the second bony fist pounded into Marvelous Man’s right side of his torso. The aim of this strike targeted below his ribs and impacted with a twist against Marvelous Man’s kidney. Pain instantly seared throughout his body at the same moment his face got pummeled. The skeletal fist that punched the hero’s face then snaked over Marvelous Man’s muscular punching arm. It cupped Marvelous Man’s armpit and lifted with a small amount of force, while the hand holding the bracelet-covered wrist pulled it in towards the Skeleton Lord. This action locked the extended arm in place, as it caused hyperextension to counter any resistance from Marvelous Man. Were it not for the pulverizing strikes to his face and kidney, he would have screamed at feeling his arm reaching the point of breaking in his elbow. Seeing her teammates already subdued by the Skeleton Lord as Octomentist sprinted towards them, she pressed one of her right chrome hands on her chest. It began to emit a dark aura and manipulate her gravity to weightlessness. Octomentist dove forward before the antigravity took complete effect over her body. Upon complete hovering with no force to ground her, Octomentist aimed another cybernetic right arm behind her. The arm’s ability activated a burst of air pressure steaming out of her palm and increasing her flight speed. The multi-armed heroine positioned her arm to keep herself low enough to be close to the ground without any accidental contact. Octomentist maneuvered herself to zip past the Skeleton Lord on his right side while shapeshifting her golden arm into a pickaxe. The Skeleton Lord took no action to what appeared to be some sort of confused retreat, as she flew through the entrance the heroes came through. Once past, she immediately swung her golden pickaxe arm into the cemented ground; piercing into it with ease. The stem of the pickaxe began to extend itself, as it thinned from increasing length like a rubber band. The torrent of air coming from her other chrome hand ceased, and Octomentist’s flight came to a slow with her golden arm acting as an anchor. She then lifted her gravity-manipulating arm from her chest; releasing her from weightless and gently rolling onto the ground. After a few tumbles and her golden arm shifting back into its original form, Octomentist stood up with urgency. The right chrome limbs that emitted water and electricity combined once again. Octomentist quickly took aim at the Skeleton Lord’s back and fired a streaming torrent of electrified water. The charged current splashed into the cloak’s wet spot where Octomentist’s first shot could not pierce through. The stream failed to break open the Skeleton Lord’s red cloak but managed to split into smaller electrified drops when penetrating the fabric. The villain convulsed, and his body became limp. The skeletal arms that held the other heroes in undignified poses released their grasps, as the spider-like bone legs started to crawl up the ceiling with the Skeleton Lord in tow. Octomentist ceased her attack the moment she saw the Skeleton Lord move upwards. The eight-armed hero ran to Gene Lightfoot and Marvelous Man in an attempt to assist them. “How annoying,” mused the Skeleton Lord, “Would you like to know how I wringed every last drop of fear out of those gypsies?” He continued, “You never torture the old in front of the others. They already know death is coming for them. No, you start with the young. Their terror increases the others’ maternal fears by tenfold. And a whole lot of children to torture creates so much fear for me to absorb. Unfortunately, this caravan only had a baby. Well...one makes do with what they have.” As the Skeleton Lord continued to chat and cackle, Marvelous Man gave his stretched arm a few shakes before squatting down like a sumo wrestler. He placed his fists on the ground and raised his hard, round glutes high into the air. Marvelous Man slowly inhaled through his nose as he concentrated his leg muscles to soak up as much kinetic force as it could provide before liftoff. He relaxed his arms and focused the direction he would be flying towards. With his legs to provide the lift, he would straighten his arms at the last second to adjust his angle. Marvelous Man felt his chest and stomach expand to its fullest with all the air it could take and knew it was time to unleash the collected potential within his powerful calves and thunderous thighs. His thighs and biceps flexed; veins and muscular cords bulged and outlined against his skin. The cement underneath his feet cracked. With the force within his arms and legs unleashed, Marvelous Man rocketed forward; leaving behind a shallow crater indented with his own footprints and fistprints. The glowing, musclebound body shot up like a shimmering firework before its timed explosion. Marvelous Man’s aim held true, as he soared towards the Skeleton Lord. Activating his flight power, the shining hero tucked himself into a ball as tight as he could and began to vertically rotate. Marvelous Man stuck his right leg straight out, while his spinning gained more speed. Becoming a buzzsaw-like blur like his own golden wreath, Marvelous Man continued to whirl closer to the Skeleton Lord. The villain saw the spinning hero for only a second before he zipped above the Skeleton Lord between rotations. Marvelous Man’s aim and timing held true; he was right where he wanted to be . The muscular hero completed his cycle and slammed his heel into the Skeleton Lord’s back. The force of the heel drop kick jerked the Skeleton Lord downward. His spider-like bone legs could not handle the sudden direction his body went and immediately snapped off. As the Skeleton Lord fell with great velocity, Marvelous Man’s homing attack propelled himself further up. Right when Marvelous Man successfully attacked the Skeleton Lord’s back, he straightened his body and twirled himself upside down. His black boots were to the first to land on the ceiling and absorb the powerful impact resulting from his super jump and kick. The concrete top chipped and rippled with cracks that traveled to the edge of the ceiling. From the ground perspective of where Gene and Octomentist stood, it looked as if Marvelous Man had sprouted stone angel wings. Marvelous Man’s muscular body crouched against the fissured ceiling, as he spotted the Skeleton Lord plummeting into the blood-stained floor. The ground shattered underneath the villain with a plume of dust and debris flying up from the hole. With the smoke now obfuscating the Skeleton Lord’s body, Marvelous Man decided to not take any chances. His thighs flexed with visible veins on the skin; fighting against the sudden kinetic force that would have pinned him there for a few seconds. He activated his flight powers again and pushed off the concrete dome. In midair, Marvelous Man performed a forward flip to readjust himself. He clasped his knees together as tight as he possibly could and directed them down at the hole the Skeleton Lord resided in. Through the crashing descend in the smoke, Marvelous Man looked like a bright meteor entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The brawny superhero blasted into Skeleton Lord’s crater; resulting in a thunderous boom. A small gust of wind and dust brushed against the other two superhero spectators as more smoke rose into the air. Seconds past after pebble-sized cement pieces finished scattering into the air and clattered back onto the floor. There was no sign of movement from the man-made hole. “Marvelous Man?” called Gene. Faraiza’s voice echoed in Lightfoot’s head, “He’s alright, Gene. I can see him slowly getting up, but he’s a bit too shaky to keep himself steady.” “Much gratitude, Faraiza,” said Gene. The bunny demigod ran to the deep crater that was beginning to clear of smoky debris. He spotted Marvelous Man struggling to stand as his legs were wobbling like a newborn deer. Gene held his hand out, “Here, let me aid you.” “Thanks. I landed really hard on my legs. I’m kinda surprised they’re not broken” coughed Marvelous Man. Accepting the assistance, the white-eared hero pulled Marvelous Man out of the hole. Gene could see Marvelous Man was still having trouble standing up, as Marvelous Man’s bulging legs were still shaking. The bunny demigod scooped up his D.A.B. partner with gentle ease and held him in a bridal carry fashion. He carried his partner back to Octomentist without any trouble. Marvelous Man’s body weight was no match for Gene’s super strength. “Gotta say, that was a sick move you pulled there, Naked Justice,” remarked Octomentist Hey, wait! Can’t you fly?” Marvelous Man’s eyes widened, “Oh...right. Sorry, brain is a bit mushy from all that G-force.” Faraiza’s voice interrupted Gene and Marvelous Man’s thoughts. “I’m sorry for breaking up the good feelings and all, but just what were you all fighting? I couldn’t see the voice that was talking to you, and I have a visual of everything in this room. Something was damaging this room, but it was completely invisible to me,” she said. Gene projected his thoughts his D.A.B. teammates, “The emotions and aura of the Skeleton Lord are invisible to me as well. I fear this person has the ability or magic to mask his presence. Only the naked eye can perceive the Skeleton Lord.” The white rabbit ears on Gene’s head twitched. He turned his attention back to the Skeleton Lord’s hole while carrying Marvelous Man. “What’s wrong?” Marvelous Man asked aloud. Gene frowned, “If I were to give the guess, I would surmise that the Skeleton Lord is putting himself back together again.” “Oh my fucking gosh, when will this Humpty Dumpty son of a bitch stay broken?!” exclaimed Octomentist. The sound of bones shifting and cracking into place emanated from the small pit. It was a soft echo that began to increase in volume, as a shambling silhouette rose from the hole. Though dusty, it was undoubtedly the red robe of the Skeleton Lord with the hood being distended by the equine skull headgear. “Cursed wretch,” spoke the Skeleton Lord, “To arms, my guardians!” With his bone structure reformed, the villain stood straight up. Eight skeleton arms stretched from the red cloak; brandished with a weapon in each hand. The top two hands held a bow and arrow. The pair underneath the long-range weapon was a circular war shield welded with bumps and intricate designs, and a sword with a hook-shaped blade that Marvelous Man recognized as a scythe sword. Below the sword and shield wielders were short-handed axes, etched with runes, held in each hand. The last set of hands held a glaive polearm; its black blade decorated with silver white bell-shaped heather flowers that formed into a hook on the blade’s back. Marvelous Man activated his flight power and floated from Gene’s arms. He positioned himself standing straight and gave his legs a shake while hovering. While his legs felt like useless limbs filled with pins and needles, the rest of body felt twitchy and unstable. He would need a few minutes to recover and be at full strength after pushing his body to the limit twice with no intervals between those wall-cracking bursts. But Marvelous Man knew he had no time for breaks before round two with the Skeleton Lord began. “My body is too noodley to hit him hard like that again,” he frowned. Gene nodded, “That is fine. I request that you stay in the air. I will need your assistance with the air support. Please catch me and throw me back at the Skeleton Lord. The use of your wreath will also be appreciated. I will lead the attack. Octomentist, if you please, try to counter his attacks, to create the opportunity for me.” The bunny demigod pulled his right arm over his chest to stretch his shoulder muscle before switching to the other arm. He continued stretching his muscles as the other hero spoke to him. “Alright. But I’m out of water, so I can’t do the electrified water attack that’s been stunning him. And I’m running low on electricity with my Lightning Arm,” nodded Octomentist. Gene gently smiled, “We will manage with what we have. Marvelous Man, please begin the first attack.” Obeying Gene’s command, Marvelous Man threw his golden wreath at the Skeleton Lord. The bunny demigod dashed forward upon seeing the projectile with Octomentist and Marvelous Man following his lead. Gene placed a hand in the silver ball pouch on his utility belt. A rune glowed on his blue fingerless glove, as he swirled his index and middle finger within the pouch. The silver balls within the blue pouch reacted to Gene’s finger motions and the glowing rune. Right when a sphere was plucked by Gene’s fingers, another ball shapeshifted into a long, silver cord and linked itself to the chosen weapon. The cord then connected to two other orbs to form a bolas projectile. Gene pulled out the silver bolas from his pouch and began rotating the other two weights over his head. The bunny demigod kept his eyes targeted at the skeleton arms equipped with the bow and arrow. The archer arms had the arrow nocked on the white bowstring and its obsidian arrowhead aimed at Gene. As the arrow was being drawn back, Gene released his silver bolas. The projectile spun through the air and shimmered from Marvelous Man imbuing the ground with light. Accompanying in front of the silver bolas was Marvelous Man’s golden wreath; flying at a much lower angle that could decapitate the Skeleton Lord. The shield-wielding skeleton hand lowered its equipment in front of the Skeleton Lord’s face to block the incoming attacks. The golden wreath that aimed for the villain’s neck bounced off the shield and changed its course; boomeranging back to Marvelous Man. The shield ignored the silver bolas, as its trajectory would miss any harming intent towards the Skeleton Lord. Slinging over the shield, the bolas’ silver cords caught itself on the skeletal forearms of the archer arms. The spherical weights of the bolas wrapped around the forearms; tightening and tangling the cords to prevent any easy escape. The gap between the arm holding the bow and the other drawing the arrow was slammed shut. Smoke started to emanate from the binded bones as the arms exposed to the silver bubbled and sizzled. Gene dug his hand back into his silver sphere pouch and grasped a handful. With an underhand throw, the balls spread in different directions within a cone arc at the Skeleton Lord. The shield wielder held its ground; propped in front of the Skeleton Lord’s face. As for the other skeleton limbs that were not bound, they seemed to understand the poisonous touch of Gene’s silver and withdrew inside the villain’s red cloak. The silver balls pelted against the shield and cloak with the force of a shotgun blast. While the ones that pummeled against the cloak and rolled away after dealing internal damage, the rest that bombarded the shield lodged into it with large impact dents. As the distance between the charging Gene and the defending Skeleton Lord thinned for close combat, the bunny demigod lept. He planted his hands atop the dented shield’s rim and pulled himself up. Using it as gymnastic beam to leapfrog over, he split his legs open. Gene hoisted himself into the air with his spandex-covered crotch dangling in the wind. With quick reaction, the bunny demigod threw his arms up while sailing over the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man flew to Gene’s aid. Catching his partner’s hands, Marvelous Man carried him over to the other side of the room. The musclebound hero twirled upon approaching the wall. Halfway into his rotation, Marvelous Man’s bulky body graced his direction and tossed Gene in an underhanded motion. Gene’s nimble body gained brief altitude before gravity began pulling him down towards the Skeleton Lord. The villain turned to face Gene, as the rabbit hero notice movement billowing underneath the Skeleton Lord’s red cloak. A tip of a black blade peaked out from the robe. Seeing the ornamental glaive being speared towards him, Gene Lightfoot grinned. He shapeshifted into a snow-white rabbit right when the glaive was only a second away from impaling him. The black blade of the polearm completely missed Gene, as he gracefully landed on top of the blade’s flower bell-shaped hook. Continuing his motion, rabbit Gene hopped down to the pole part of the weapon. The white rabbit transformed back into Gene’s humanoid form. As his body landed on the pole, he hooked an arm and leg of his around it. The bunny demigod contorted his body; twisting down the glaive’s staff with the grace of a professional pole dancer. While completing his first revolution around the pole, Gene kicked underneath the shield. The defense-wielding arm flung back from the powerful attack; leaving the Skeleton Lord’s head unguarded. Upon Gene’s second revolution, he gripped the staff with both his hands and flung his legs open in a wide barrage. Both of his blue boots concussed the side of the Skeleton Lord’s head; causing the villain to become momentarily dizzy. As for the third revolution, Gene turned his body inwards towards the pole. He tucked in his legs before immediately ejecting them out and thrusting it into the Skeleton Lord’s solar plexus. The sudden propulsion inflicted upon the villain cause the skeletal hands to lose their grip on the glaive. A soft crack emanated from the binded skeleton archer hands. The shaking from the Skeleton Lord caused the weakened archer hands to snap at the point where the silver bolas tied and dissolved them. The Skeleton Lord stumbled back, while Gene landed on his feet with the decorative glaive in his hands. Four skeleton legs stretched beneath the villain’s robe; lifting their master to prevent his fall. Balance restored, the Skeleton Lord cursed. “Cursed wretch,” he muttered. Gene spear-chucked the glaive at the Skeleton Lord. As it sailed through the air, its staff end began to dissipate into black smoke. The shield wielder intervened and swatted at the glaive with its dented shield. The polearm weapon spun into the air, as it completely evaporated into black soot. The Skeleton Lord’s red cloak fluttered, as the pair of skeletal hands armed with short-handed axes presented themselves again. The two skeleton hands clanged their axes together as if signaling their own war cry. As the blades reverberated against each other, the runes etched on the handles began to glow a soft blue light. Electricity emanated from the runes and wildly coursed through the axes; zapping multiple, short bursts in every direction like a plasma lamp with lightning. The quadruped skeleton legs charged; pairing with each other to form their own synchronized left and right legs. As the Skeleton Lord stampeded towards the heroes, the axe-wielding hands twirled their weapons. With Gene in chopping distance, the left bony hand swung its axe in an overhand motion. The electricity from the axe crackled the air as it drew closer to Gene’s neck. Octomentist stepped in front of her teammate. She lifted one of her right chrome arms; her wrist limped and relaxed. The top of her chrome wrist made contact with the underside of the attacking skeletal arm’s wrist. All of the wild lightning that raged from the axe now harmlessly coursed into her Lightning Arm. At the same time, one of Octomentists left chrome arms vibrated with ferocity as she swung it upward in a karate chopping motion. The attacking arm sawed through the skeletal forearm without any resistance. Octomentist twisted her body; her back facing the Skeleton Lord. She reached out with her Lightning Arm in a preemptive attempt to intercept the other axe-wielding arm. As predicted, the other skeleton arm swung its electrified axe at her. Octomentist’s Lightning Arm caught the attacker by the wrist and absorbed the electricity sprouting from the axe. Her feet slid about to reposition herself to face her attacker, while the hand of her Lightning Arm briefly relinquished their grip to snake underneath the bony wrist. After completing its slide underneath the skeletal wrist, the chrome hand reestablished their grip on the other side of the wrist. Octomentist yanked the axe-wielding arm, as her vibrating, left chrome arm thrusted forward in a palm strike. The skeleton arm shattered into bits from the vibrating attack. “Kyaa!” exclaimed Octomentist, “Thanks for the recharge!” The shield-wielding hand’s partner, the scythe sword, thrusted up from the red cloak as though it was proclaiming its reappearance. In the same moment of striking itself in the air, the bony hand brought down its scythe sword with slicing intent. Sliding her left leg back, Octomentist brought her gravity-negating arm up to block the the scythe sword’s blade. Her hand limply hanged, as the arm itself instantly generated its dark aura. The scythe sword descended upon the chrome arm. At the point of contact with the arm’s dark aura, the blade silently bounced. The sword never got past the anti-gravity field to clang with the arm. Instead, it reacted like magnets with identical charges. The skeletal arm of the scythe sword flung back with its weapon as if it were hit with a whiplashing force. With her defense successful, Octomentist twirled away from the Skeleton Lord. At the same time, a whirring noise echoed. While the scythe sword wielder struggled to regain control of itself, Marvelous Man’s golden wreath approached from behind the skeleton arm. It sliced through with no effort; the action similar to a saw blade cutting through cheap wood. The scythe sword and the skeletal hand wielding it clattered onto the concrete floor. The wreath curved around the shield wielder, as it made its return back to Marvelous Man floating unnoticingly in the background. Among the confrontation with Gene Lightfoot and Octomentist, the Skeleton Lord and his guardians took no notice of Marvelous Man’s whereabouts. The Skeleton Lord literally disarmed of offensive weaponry, Gene lunged forward and grabbed the villain’s red cloak. The bunny demigod lifted the cloaked man and pivoted his waist. The cloak itself seemed to be bonded to the Skeleton Lord, as the evil man was yanked into Gene’s twisting vortex. Gene’s body rotated with the red robe billowing. Upon completing his three-sixty spin, the rabbit hero threw the Skeleton Lord across the room with all his might. The super strength from Gene caused the Skeleton Lord to fly too fast for him to be able to process a counter maneuver. In the one second of flight before colliding into the wall, the Skeleton Lord looked like a badminton birdie. The Skeleton Lord impacted against the wall with a thunderous slam. Though the concrete wall cracked with bits flying off, its layers were deep enough to handle the shock rather than be instantaneously obliterated. The Skeleton Lord was in a huddled mass devoid of humanoid shapes within the wall’s newly created shallow crater. All four of the skeleton legs and the shield wielder that were attached to the Skeleton Lord now crumbled from all the force. Gene’s bunny ears twitched, “Impossible...” Bones cracking and snapping together and flesh squelching resounded from the Skeleton Lord’s prolapsed body within the red cloak. The cloak undulated with its contents poking and prodding the fabric, before the cloak fell from its crater from all the movement. It landed on the ground with a stifled splat. Black ooze leaked onto the glowing floor until it sizzled and immediately evaporated seconds after contact with the light. “What the hell is keeping him alive?” said Octomentist. The sound of cracking and squelching continued, as the robe slowly rose up. Shape within was rapidly taking form of something more humanoid. The heroes could only gape in horror at how undead this monster truly was. Marvelous Man knew he had to move, but he felt paralyzed at watching the abhorrent display. The nauseating sounds finally ceased as the Skeleton Lord’s form was now restored. Marvelous Man flew back to Gene’s position; hovering next to his partner. “Totochtin. Star child. Heroes. At first, I thought of you as a fun distraction,” spoke the Skeleton Lord, “But I now see that much has changed since I have been sealed.” A wail of an unknown beast emanated from the Skeleton Lord’s entrance next to the villain. Heavy thumpings can be heard; increasing in volume as it drew closer to the entry way the Skeleton Lord used. The Skeleton Lord resumed, “Ah, it appears my creation is nearly complete. I made this amalgam when I realized my absorption of the gypsy caravan’s flesh was to be interrupted. The process of formation would be slow, so my whole intention was to distract you. But allow me to dispose some wisdom for you three. You should mind the gas it belches. It is quite toxic.” The Skeleton Lord turned to his entrance. He paused for a moment. “When we meet again, Totochtin, I will ask you a very important question. One that can save your race should your reply be yes or doom their fate to be with the rest of the lower beings I will extinguish,” he said. Marvelous Man shouted, “Wait! Why are you doing all this? What’s the point of doing all these terrible things?!” The Skeleton Lord stood there silently. His form ebbed away to invisibility in seconds. The Skeleton’s voice echoed the clearing with an emotionless tone: “When one has the power of a god and their purpose has turned to ash, the only thing one can do is burn the world itself.” Next Chapter

All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=17l528VwpFEInuBuZ1Al9vFvQXxVFwa_BbZBLVxbRQ1k) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter Chapter 6: IT COMES Sugar Skull turned around as he heard the popping sound, and his eyes grew wide. Immediately, he then swiveled his body back to Gene Lightfoot and grabbed the rabbit demigod’s wrist. “RUN!” he shouted. Pulling Gene with him, the ghoul dashed as fast as he could to the exit. Marvelous Man realized something dangerous was about to happen and backed out mausoleum while bumping the back of his head on the marble doorframe by accident. Marvelous Man stifled his yelp of pain and ran into the darkness. He remembered a tree not too far from the marble structure and made his way towards it. Not sure if he was about to run into the tree at any second, he commanded his light to flick on at a glow dim enough to see where he was going. Upon spotting the wide tree, Marvelous Man ducked behind it. He peered out and spotted his new acquaintances chasing after him. Reaching the glowing hero, the two huddled up behind Marvelous Man and stared at the mausoleum. Seconds passed by as nothing happened, except for the glowing hero’s wood softening. Marvelous Man remarked, “Isn’t it supposed to explode?” “Maybe? I didn’t want to take any chances,” shrugged Sugar Skull. The marble building exploded as bone, smoke, and blood ejected from within. The organic shrapnel and smoke that escaped began to withdraw back to the site of explosion and form a dome slightly bigger than the mausoleum that was just there. Seconds crept by as the dome’s area began to shrink. Shrinking and shrinking until it reached the average height adult human height. The dome then dispersed like wind blowing away sand to reveal what was underneath. Amidst the dissipation stood a figure wearing a hooded cloak that encased his entire body. The cloaked person did not move, while the three metahumans stared on from behind the tree. Marvelous Man whispered, “He’s not moving. Should we...see if he’s alright?” “I am not sensing any emotions from that person. He may not even yet be awake,” spoke Gene. Sugar Skull whispered back, “No choice. Let’s check it.” Walking around Marvelous Man, Sugar Slow slowly approached the hooded figure. The other two followed suit after the ghoul; nearly tiptoeing as a means of not accidentally causing the hooded figure to violently lash out. Sugar Skull held out his arm to signal to the superheroes behind him to go no further. He then pointed down; revealing with Marvelous Man’s dim light that there appeared to be a wide ring surrounding the hooded figure with a whisping black smoke fallout. The liquid-like smoke curdled with solid chunks of darkness strewn amidst the smoky pool. Marvelous Man and Gene Lightfoot walked up next to Sugar Skull and stood at the edge of the fallout ring; with the light at close range, the bits of darkness at the edge dissolved from the dim illumination. “...Excuse me,” weakly called out Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man coughed and thumped his muscular chest a few times. His compatriots stared at him. Marvelous Man projected his voice, “Excuse me, sir...or madam. Are you alright?” The hooded figure said nothing and kept standing there. Seconds later, it slowly turned to the three investigators and casually baby stepped towards them. “Ah…” he said in a deep, old raspy voice, “I have visitors. How rude of me. Come, come.” The hooded man raised his arm. A bony, wrinkled white hand motioned the trio with the gesture of welcoming one into their own home. The pool of smoky darkness in front of the three parted to form an aisle leading to the mysterious being. Marvelous Man began to take a step forward when Sugar Skull grabbed his arm with a tight grip. Marvelous Man looked at Sugar Skull; about to question why he was stopped. Sugar Skull’s flower eyes transformed into a set bear trap before immediately snapping shut. The trap shifted back into the cartoon flower eyes as Sugar Skull turned his attention to the hooded man. “We’re fine here,” said Sugar Skull. The man chuckled, “You ghouls. Always so cautious. Oh, how things never change. I wonder how many centuries have passed since I was sealed? Perhaps even a millennium?” “Just who is it that you are?” questioned Gene. As the hooded man approached closer, Marvelous Man’s dim light revealed the cloak to have the color of dried blood. There was something bulky underneath the hood, but the three could not identify as to what it was. “Who? Who am I, that you ask? Oh...I’ve been gone so long that I’ve been forgotten. Not even the limbo-ling is terrified of me. Have you not been told, little Totochtin,” pitied the man. He proclaimed, “I. AM. THE SKELETON LORD.” “And you want to take over the world?” said Sugar Skull. The Skeleton Lord hummed, “Something like that-.” A booming clap like thunder ringed in the air next to Marvelous Man. The hooded man crumbled to the ground as Marvelous Man and Gene reeled in pain from the ringing in their ears. Sugar Skull held a smoking pistol; aimed at where the Skeleton Lord was standing a second ago. Marvelous Man moaned, “What the fuck!” Standing back up, he could feel the earsplitting noise dissipate in his ears. “Sorry, I didn’t warn you. But I had to kill him when he said he wanted to do world domination. Bad guys sealed away for centuries are put away for a good reason,” apologized Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man looked down at the groaning bunny boy. Crouching down, he placed his hands over Gene’s that was covering their human ears. He spoke calmly to Gene, “Here, let me help you.” Commanding the light from within, Marvelous Man’s hands glowed with light as bright as a soft candlelight. The light stretched onto Lightfoot’s human ears and then extended its envelopment on the white rabbit ears. Marvelous Man fed the light with the happy memory in his teens of painting a portrait of his dad, Apollo, who was very proud of it. The light diagnosed temporary noise-induced hearing loss; painful, but no permanent damage. Gene’s ears shimmered brighter as the tiny ruptures and active nerve endings were soothed and healed. Marvelous Man released his gentle grasp, causing Gene to look up at him as the major discomfort in Gene’s ears evaporated. “Feel better?” smiled Marvelous Man. Gene grinned, “Very much so. Thank you.” The heart rate beating within Marvelous Man’s chest began to accelerate as did the organ in his bikini. His mind began drawing a blank on what to do next. “Your thunder arrow managed to pierce my steed’s skull. Bravo,” said the fallen Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man and Gene stood up to face of the shot villain. As if being pulled by strings, the Skeleton Lord’s body calmly levitated off the ground. The body rotated in the air until it was held in a bipedal pose. The Skeleton Lord continued, “That would have killed me. It really would. However, I traded my flesh for immortality. What you struck was...well, let’s just say it was a dried-up puppet” As Sugar Skull aimed his black glock to fire again, the Skeleton Lord flicked his bony hand like he was commanding one to rise. A sharpened bone the size of a pillar torpedoed out of the whispy smoke close to Sugar Skull; shooting towards the ghoul. The bone pillar punctured into Sugar Skull’s chest; staking all the way through and lifting his body into the air. Crimson blood spurted from the impact and splattered on the side of Marvelous Man’s face and jacket. Marvelous Man slowly wiped the liquid off his skin and brought it in front of his eyes. Time seemed to come to a crawl as it dawned on him as to what red dampness was. He slowly turned his head to see his ghoulish fellow speared off the ground by the pointed end of a cracked, yellowish spike. The black void in Sugar Skull’s sockets were no longer animated with flower petals, but was filled with the snow of TV static. Sugar Skull looked down at Marvelous Man and shakily rose his arm to give a bloodied thumbs up. “...I’mma k…” he coughed. Marvelous Man could feel a lump in his throat forming; making it hard to swallow. His mind could only focus on the gored ghoul, that he could barely register a liquid trailing down his muscular thighs. There was nothing heroic about this situation. Marvelous Man was caught in the very battle his parents feared. The Skeleton Lord chuckled, “Well, now. A ghoul that does not vanish after being killed. How very interesting.” Dashing through the smoke, Gene moved at such a blurring speed that the smoke parted in his wake. The bunny demigod leapt; twisting his waist to the left as his right leg whirled upwards into the air. Lightfoot’s swinging kick connected with the bulky, hooded head and sent the Skeleton briefly launched into the air. Something underneath the hood loosened and detached; flying into the air and leaving the hood to be bulky no more. The Skeleton Lord crumbled to the ground once again with the bulky object falling down next to him as a horse skull with a bullet hole in the forehead. Gene twirled in midair, changing his direction to face the Skeleton Lord with a second strike. He hit the smoky ground with such velocity, that the rabbit man landed huddled close to the ground with his hands and feet clawing into the ground. As his body slowed down, Gene arched his back to charge right back at the Skeleton Lord; his blue spandex pants strained against his tight, muscled buttocks. The black smoke on the ground reacted by twisting its matter around the bunny demigod’s limbs to prevent any further movements. Lightfoot struggled at the ensnaring darkness as it anchored his body with his posterior wiggling in the air. The Skeleton Lord’s figure repeated the levitation and rotation process until he was presented with himself standing upright. “My...what a kick. When did Totochtin become this powerful? It would definitely have made it more of a fun challenge to slay your kind back then,” mused the Skeleton Lord. Gene’s eyes widened, “...What?!” The Skeleton Lord bent down to pick up the horse skull and softly dusted it with the side of his pale hand. With his back turned to Marvelous Man’s light and unhooded, the Skeleton Lord’s face remained obscured by the night and shadows as he walked to Gene Lightfoot. He then placed the equine skull back on his head while continuing his approach. “Yes, they were but a lecherous bunch, they were. Most of them did not even know how to fight. Your gods wasted their gifts and gave every one of your kind those ears you sport. But I was well aware of the dangerous potential your race had. A pity though. It seems I failed at snuffing out your elders, and now your gods finally understood how fearsome you could become,” he sighed. Gene gritted his teeth, “You are a mon-” Solid blackness launched out of smoky ground; taking the shape of a phallic form, it shot into Gene’s mouth and gagged any other words the bunny demigod was about to say. Within touching distance, the Skeleton Lord petted Gene’s head as the phallic dark matter slowly thrusted back and forth in the rabbit man’s orifice. “Now, now. I can’t have you mad. I still have use for you before I absorb your body and soul. It’s the lowest form of spiritual energy, but I feel like having fun after feeling my loins burn with your arrival,” he said. The smoking darkness pinning down Gene began to erect upwards like a pole. As it rose, Gene’s crouched form slowly splayed in a spread eagle pose. The black tube in Gene’s mouth separated from the shadowy ground and split the severed ends into straps. The dark straps wrapped around Lightfoot’s head and connected with each other upon reaching the back of the cranium. Even amidst all the action, the humping black cylinder never lost pace sliding up and down Gene’s throat. The Skeleton Lord’s bony hand reached out to touch. His pale fingertips graced against underneath Gene’s naval. Eyes closed, Gene shuddered as if he were lightly touched with something cold. The Skeleton Lord traced his fingers upward; over the naval, across the muscled abdomen, and then reached Lightfoot’s chiseled chest. A soft moan escaped the bunny demigod’s gagged lips, as his body meekly wiggled from sexual stimulation. The Skeleton Lord glided his hand over Gene’s left nipple and playfully tweaked it. The robed being licked his lips, “Mmm, before I sip on your lust energy, I just have one more thing to give my attention to.” The Skeleton Lord turned his direction to face the shocked Marvelous Man and the impaled Sugar Skull. “Marvelous...Man...break...it,” gurgled Sugar Skull. Hearing Sugar Skull call out to him, Marvelous Man broke out of his stupor. He looked at the goring bone that speared the ghoul into the air. The shining demigod knew he needed to get Sugar Skull down without sending the impaled being flying and being injured even more. An idea came to Marvelous Man. Floating up to the penetrating bone, Marvelous Man angled himself and wrapped his wide, powerful thighs around the yellow spearing column. His thunderous legs flexed; tightening its muscular cords like a boa constrictor squeezing its prey to death. The bone pillar cracked for a moment before immediately splintering in half from the deadly crushing force of Marvelous Man’s quadriceps. Sugar Skull fell to the ground with a thud; the impaled half of the bone still lodged into his torso. Marvelous Man instantly knew that he did not think things completely through. Marvelous Man apologized, “Ohmygosh, I’m so sorry!” As Marvelous Man descended back to the ground as Sugar Skull struggled to pull out the yellow splintered bone out of his chest. “It’s fine. I’ll be ok in a few minutes. I just need to get this out of me,” said the ghoul. Marvelous Man spoke, “Oh. Sure.” Lightly applying his foot on Sugar Skull’s ribs, Marvelous Man yanked the broken bone pillar out of the ghoul’s torso as it made a squelchy plop sound. “Thanks,” grunted Sugar Skull. As he lied on the ground, he noticed the ring of smoky darkness extending whisps of itself in an attempted to ensnare Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man was ignorant of the blackness due to his back being turned for attending his fallen comrade. There was not enough time for Sugar Skull to gather the energy to shout a warning to the illuminated hero. The shadowy ropes shot through the air, but then dissolved the moment it became fully illuminated by the light encasing Marvelous Man’s hulking body. More tangling darkness ejected out, yet the result was the same. The Skeleton Lord observed from afar of the effect and quickly flicked his pale hand to command another bone spear pillar to appear. As Marvelous Man was about to assist in healing, a yellowish bone column sprung from the ring of darkness. The impaling bone rammed Marvelous Man in the back and thrusted him into the air. With Marvelous Man knocked away, only pale moonlight lit the graveyard. The Skeleton Lord frowned, “Hmmm, not what I intended, but it will do.” He turned his attention back to the erected Gene Lightfoot; binded and molested by solid shadows. Darkness encased the bunny demigod’s spandex-layered godhood and began to vibrate. Black tendrils extended from the dark binds and playfully pulled at Gene’s cocoa nipples. Lightfoot could only helplessly wiggle and moan as his mouth was being raped by the shadow phallus. The Skeleton Lord grazed his hands against Gene’s smooth body; gradually sliding all over the place and even dipping underneath the waistband. As he did so, a purple smoke seeped from Gene’s body that trailed behind the Skeleton Lord’s hands. The purple smoke that appeared from all the touching started to flow towards the Skeleton Lord’s face as if he were drinking it in. Meanwhile, Marvelous Man tried to regain his senses after being flung high into the air. Marvelous Man activated his flight power; steadying himself as he inhaled oxygen to recoup the breath that was knocked out of him. His thoughts were snapping back together and then he realized how high up he was. Everybody looked like large ants beneath him. Perhaps this time, he should try a stealthier approach. He commanded the light to retreat back inside of him, as Marvelous Man quietly descended to the ground. Marvelous Man levitated as low as he could without touching the earth beneath him. Clenching his arms and legs as close as his bulky muscles could allow him to, he flew as fast as possible towards Sugar Skull. Upon reaching the ghoul, Marvelous Man came to a halt above Sugar Skull and quickly analyzed the wound. The hole in Sugar Skull’s torso was beginning to close a third of the way. And while the speed of the healing factor was amazing, it wasn’t fast enough. Sugar Skull wheezed, “Don’t worry about me. Help Gene.” “We’ll get him, but I need to heal you first. I hope this doesn’t feel too weird for you,” said Marvelous Man. Placing his hands on Sugar Skull’s shoulders, Marvelous Man commanded the light within himself to flow into Sugar Skull and heal the hole to a close. Marvelous Man knew he needed to hurry, so they can save Gene. The floating hero then began to hum a tune in order to supercharge the light. The light greedily fed on the humming song and illuminated Sugar Skull’s whole body. Tissues of bone and flesh grew at an explosive rate and sealed the gaping hole in Sugar Skull’s chest within seconds. Sugar Skull trembled with renewed energy and lightly patted around his freshly healed torso. The TV static in his eyes transformed into the usual cartoon flower shape. However, each of the individual petals were shifting into different rainbow colors and the flowers themselves were spinning at an alarming rate. His purple teeth chattered, “Oh my God! I feel like I got a caffeinated happiness injection! Why do I feel like practicing my guitar and the need to work out?! Why am I glowing like a rave stick?!” “Probably a side effect of supercharging my healing powers. It should wear off, I think,” said Marvelous Man. Levitating higher up, Marvelous Man held out his hand for Sugar Skull. The glowing ghoul accepted the hand and was helped up. During the handholding, Marvelous Man tried to command the light to dissipate from Sugar Skull, but it was no use. Whatever stealth plan Marvelous Man was developing was now rendered null. Sugar Skull was illuminated too brightly and could be instantly spotted by the Skeleton Lord. Sugar Skull looked at Marvelous Man’s face and noticed his blood splattered on the hero’s face. He quickly pulled a handkerchief out of his sleeve and wiped the blood off in one stroke. Marvelous Man gave him a quizzical look as the ghoul said nothing. Sugar Skull pointed at the Skeleton Lord’s pool of shadows, “The Skeleton Lord’s darkness can’t handle light. And I think all his bone attacks come from that darkness. If we can shine bright enough, his attacks won’t touch us.” “...What’s he doing to Gene?” squinted Marvelous Man. Sugar Skull chattered, “Something. And we need to stop it right now.” Marvelous Man commanded the light within himself to envelop his body and glow as bright as it could. Sugar Skull dashed forward, as he bent forward to sweep up his gun. The ghoul then stuffed his black glock inside his sleeve; disappearing without any stretches or outlines it. The whisping blackness dissolved in Sugar Skull’s path, as he made his way to the Skeleton Lord. The circumference of the light he expelled was expanded even further with Marvelous Man hovering above him; shining like daylight. As they drew closer, Marvelous Man could see the Skeleton Lord draining some sort of purple smoke from Gene Lightfoot. He then grabbed his golden wreath from his head and commanded his light to imbue it with the shining element. Once he could feel it glow, Marvelous Man threw his wreath forward. The golden athletic wreath obeyed Marvelous Man’s intentions and sailed through the air. Right when it reached close to the oblivious Skeleton Lord, it curved around the supervillain. The wreath then turned sideways and attacked the Skeleton Lord’s wrists; buzzsawing through them with a quick whiz. The Skeleton Lord could only hold up and stare at his amputated forearms as his hands fell into the smoky darkness. “CURSED WRETCH!!!” screamed the Skeleton Lord. Turning around, the disarmed villain spotted the two shining metahumans charging towards him as the golden wreath returned to Marvelous Man. The Skeleton Lord shouted again, “Cursed wretch!” Arrows of bones launched from the surrounding blackness that was not disintegrated by the light. The bone arrows bounced off of Marvelous Man’s overly muscular body without leaving a mark. Sugar Skull was pierced with shallow wounds, but the effect was reversed almost immediately with the wounds already closing and pushing out the arrows. “Throw me!” shouted Sugar Skull, “Throw me at him!” Without question, Marvelous Man picked up the ghoul as he spun in a counter clockwise motion to increase the velocity of his throw. Upon completing his twirl, the muscled hero flung Sugar Skull at the Skeleton Lord. Sugar Skull cackled with his flower eyes furiously spinning with its petals warping into different spectrums of the rainbow. The Skeleton Lord stood there for a moment in fury before a thrown Sugar Skull collided into his chest and abdomen. The robed being was swept off his feet by the attack and fell to the ground with a hollow thud and tumble. Sugar Skull immediately rolled back onto his feet and stood up. Reaching into his sleeve, he pulls out a folded butterfly knife. The ghoul playfully pivoted the twirling handles as he casually walked to the fallen Skeleton Lord. When he was within striking distance, Sugar Skull completely unsheathed the blade. During this event, Marvelous Man flew to Gene; bounded by dark binds and stretched into spread eagle. The black tentacles still played with the bunny demigod’s body, but there was no purple smoke emanating from him at the moment. Marvelous Man took notice that even though his body fully illuminated the shadowy binds, it would not dissipate. Marvelous Man floated up to Gene’s face, “I’ll get you out in a second!” Gene could only glance with his eyes barely opened as the phallic darkness kept thrusting itself into his mouth. Marvelous Man had to admit that the display in front of him was very erotic. He could feel his heroic meatus fill with his justice essence as the familiar oppressive erogenous emotion weigh down on him. Marvelous Man shook his head and focused on his need to be a hero at that moment. With his mind clearing, Marvelous Man figured that perhaps he needed more light. He placed his hands underneath Lightfoot’s armpits and commanded his light to spread onto Gene. The light obeyed, and it spread from his hands to encasing the entire body with shining brightness. The vibrating black binds slowly disintegrated like paper devoured by fire. With Gene in his grasp, Marvelous Man slowly descended as he could feel the rabbit man’s lucky third limb poke with hard aggression at his diamond-cut abdomen. Marvelous Man drew close to the ground and allowed Gene to gently land on their feet. “You okay?” asked Marvelous Man. Gene cracked both sides of his neck, “I am alright. Though I would have liked to have been left to cum before the rescue, I still have gratitude for what you did. I have, as your country puts it, the blue balls and need to work out my frustration.” Other than the oppressive sexual energy putting pressure on him, Marvelous Man could also feel some anger pressing on his emotional state. But he resisted. Marvelous Man searched about for a few seconds before spotting Sugar Skull approaching the fallen Skeleton Lord. “There they are!” he pointed. An animated horse skeleton emerged from underneath the Skeleton Lord; spraying a light layer of dirt as it rose. The skeleton equine neighed as it stood on its hind legs for a moment. Sugar Skull, caught in the small dirt explosion, stumbled back as he tried to clear earth from his eye sockets and mouth. The Skeleton Lord sat up straight on his steed; his hood no longer bulked by the skull that was now attached to the horse. Black smoke connected to his severed arms and seemed to be channeling something. The Skeleton Lord jeered, “It appears that in my most weakest, even a Totochtin, a ghoul, and a star child can best me.” The twirling darkness attached to the Skeleton Lord’s stumps began to narrow as it revealed to be connected to something it was pulling. It pulled from the shadowy pool the Skeleton Lord’s hands that Marvelous Man severed. Like a fishing rod, the connected blackness reeled in the dismembered extremities with haste until the limbs were connected. The dark reel then oozed outside the wound like pus before being absorbed into the skin and sealing up the cleaved area. As it did so, the wound Marvelous Man inflicted appeared to have vanish; showing off bony, pale wrists with no scars. “But I must thank you, Totochtin. When I was unsealed, my strength was that of a morning dewdrop on a leaf. And with what I was able to drink from you, before I was oh so interrupted, is now able to fill a small tin cup,” boasted the Skeleton Lord. Raising his white hand into the air, he snapped his fingers. The pool of smoky blackness expanded far across the graveyard’s expanse; beyond what the three fighters could see with their illuminated bodies and the light of the full moon. The ground beneath began to vibrate. The Skeleton Lord proclaimed, “A gift to you. For the generosity and entertainment.” The skeleton horse neighed and took off; galloping away with the Skeleton Lord’s blood red cloak fluttering in the wind. Gene reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a silver sphere the size of a large marble ball. The shining, bunny demigod threw the silver ball at the Skeleton Lord. It whistled through the air for a brief second before piercing into the Skeleton Lord’s side. The Skeleton Lord lurched forward but showed no other sign of being in lots of pain. With the dirt finally dusted out of himself, Sugar Skull ran back to the two superheroes. Gene’s ears twitched as Sugar Skull rejoined them; lining their backs to each other. “There is too many of them. I cannot keep the count,” said Gene, “All of them are underneath us.” Marvelous Man exclaimed, “What, zombies?!” “They have arrived!” shouted Gene. Bones of skeleton corpses breached through the smoky pool of darkness. Skeletal beings clawed and clamored their way through, as the whisping blackness began to intertwine with the skeletals’ structures. The smoke on the animated skeletons solidified itself into swords, axes, and even black medieval armor that covered parts of the skeleton. Sugar Skull pulled out his handgun from his sleeve. With the two heroes having their backs turned on the ghoul, Sugar Skull took the butterfly knife in his hand and briefly stabbed himself on his side before quickly pulling out. He winced a bit, as he took up a fighting stance with his black glock resting on the wrist with the bloodied blade. One hand aimed at the boney creatures, while having the other ready to stab. Already, his self-inflicted wound began to heal. He spoke, “I really hope this army of the damned is the slow moving kind.” “Hush those words unless you wish to inflict the jinx upon us,” said Gene. Marvelous Man held up his fists; ready to fight as his sexual tool finally went limp. The armored skeletons charged forward with their weapons raised. Sugar Skull fired his handgun; piercing the craniums of the raised dead in front of him. Marvelous Man threw his golden wreath and decapitate a few before returning. Gene reached into his pouch and hurled a silver ball; boring through helmets and pulverizing skulls into boney bits. The skeletons who weren’t caught in the retaliation stopped to gaze upon their fallen brethren. The armor-mimicking darkness on the damaged skeletons dispersed into smoke before being immediately absorbed into the bones. It restructured and mended together all of the broken pieces as the inking blackness pulled the recovering boney creature to stand up straight. The pool of whisping darkness beneath them intertwined once again to form weapons and armor. Sugar Skull shouted, “Switch to close combat! Our light should stop them from recovering if we stick close to them!” The three stood their ground; ready to embrace the onslaught. Sugar Skull fired at the skeletons’ kneecaps to cripple those that drew in close to him. He then stabbed and slashed at the exposed bone parts with his bloodied butterfly knife. The boned creatures painted with only a dab of Sugar Skull’s blood shivered for a second before disintegrating into a pile of dust. After each attack, the ghoul would have to duck and twirl about to avoid the swings and stabs of the skeletal beings. Gene Lightfoot ducked and weaved through the skeletons’ strikes; getting as close as he can before corkscrew punching through their craniums. He would follow up his punches with a roundhouse kick and swing his toned legs at any armored skeleton that would try to ambush his turned back. At any moment Lightfoot was about to be over encumbered by the attacking numbers, he shapeshifted into a small white rabbit and hopped away to a better offensive position. This would leave his opponents slashing at the air and befuddled with confusion. Marvelous Man parried away the skeletons’ weapons with his golden bracelets before lunging forward to grapple the black armor. Quickly whirling about, he would slam the armored skeleton he grabbed into the attacking fray; smashing the other bony creatures into pieces. After creating a small clearing, Marvelous Man would then toss the skeletal being high into the air and let gravity take care of the rest. The trio kept repeating their actions, but the numbers never seemed to diminish. Every time they moved away to dodge or fight more armored skeletons, their light drifted away from shining upon the remains. And every time it happened, the pool of darkness would seep into the bones; restoring them back to fighting condition and gifting them with armor and weapons. “There does not seem to be any end to these skeletons,” noted Gene. Sugar Skull stabbed another armored skeleton; causing it to atomize into dust. He shouted, “We need more light! Marvelous Man!” “I’ll see what I can do, but you guys need to cover me,” said Marvelous Man. He brought his right leg up high into the air before slamming it down; axe kicking an attacking skeleton into many splinters. Sugar Skull answered back, “That’s fine. But you need to get us somewhere else. Too many to fight!” Activating his flight powers, Marvelous Man flew above the reach of the skeletal creatures before diving towards his temporary teammates. He scooped up each one with an arm wrapped around their torso. Marvelous Man then increased his altitude in the hopes of finding a fitting spot to defend and unleash a mass illumination. “Go over there!” pointed Sugar Skull. Marvelous looked to where Sugar Skull indicated. It was another mausoleum located a distance away; appearing newer than the one that housed the Skeleton Lord’s coffin. None of the bony creatures were there, and it would take some time for the damned to reach them. If things did not go as planned, the three could climb up to the top of the mausoleum to defend their point or escape. He complied and landed in front of the marbled structure as he released his grasp on the two beings he carried. Emptying the magazine from the black glock, Sugar Skull pulled a pistol ammo magazine from out of his sleeves and reloaded it into his handgun. He cocked his gun, “We will try to buy you some time. Try to clear away all this darkness. It’s empowering them with armors and weapons and restoring them. If you can do that, me and the bunny boy can clean out this bony mess with ease...Wow, I feel very articulated speaking English now. All the words just come to me so easily. Like juxtaposition and-” “Please focus,” interrupted Gene, “We must let him concentrate, and we must defend him from the dark spawns.” Sugar Skull sheepishly grinned, “Sorry.” As Gene fished in his belt pouch for more silver balls, Marvelous Man tried to think. He could try to make himself brighter, but he needed to completely dissipate the dark pool of whisping shadows that covered the whole graveyard. So if increasing the intensity of the glow from his hulking body would not be enough to get rid of all the Skeleton Lord’s darkness, he needed to administer his light a different way. Marvelous Man looked at the grass and dirt beneath his feet that his bodily illumination exposed from dispelling the blackness around him. An idea came to him. He commanded his light to extend from his feet and irradiate the ground with brightness. Sunlight shined from the earth and shot into the sky like a piercing spotlight. Marvelous Man frowned as the light could only expand far enough to create a pillar of daylight that encircled only Marvelous Man. The light needed more energy. Gunshots rang from Sugar Skull’s gun as the horde of armored skeletons charged towards the three fighters. Gene barraged the unit with his silver balls; breaking down lines of skeletons into little bits. Scores of skeletal beings would fall from the cover fire, but they would keep getting back up with the help of shadowy pool to piece them back together in only seconds. The army was slowly gaining territory. Marvelous Man knew he had to supercharge his light, but he felt he would have to do more than humming in order to imbue the graveyard grounds with light. He would have to sing. Putting his hand in his pockets, Marvelous Man cleared his throat. “When the night has come, And the land is dark, And the moon is the only light we’ll see,” sang Marvelous Man. His light fed on his song and began to grow; expanding at a quickening rate and encircling his compatriots. Marvelous Man wished he had an instrument to go with his solo act. “No, I won’t be afraid, Just as long as you stand, stand by me,” continued Marvelous Man. He could feel a cold, metal rectangle dance at his fingertips. Marvelous Man quickly pulled it out to reveal a golden harmonica. There was a name etched on the plate: Duskbell. Most likely, a gift from his dad, Apollo. It was better than nothing. Marvelous Man shrugged and began to play the chorus. The muscle memory from practicing this pocket instrument back in his artificial world came flooding back into his fingers. He cupped the golden harmonica and blew into the holes. His body swayed with the somber notes that cried for his darlings to stand by him. The light engorging on his songs and his emotions became supercharged even further; expanding at an explosive pace. Plants and insects began to burst out of the ground and thrived on the healing brightness. The spread of the imbued daylight had completed its encompass of the graveyard within seconds. Any residue of the Skeleton Lord’s smoky pool of darkness had completely vanished as well as the skeleton army’s weapons and armor. The whole graveyard property looked as if it were plucked from a sunny day and thrown into a setting that was in the middle of the night. Everybody but Marvelous Man stopped what they were doing to stare at the new scenery. Sugar Skull muttered, “Holy shit...” The ghoul and the bunny demigod looked at the musical hero before turning their attention back to the mass of naked skeletons. “Victory is within our reach!” cried Gene. The two charged into the shocked fray as Sugar Skull stabbed himself in his side to give his blade a new layer of blood. Gene motioned his right hand as if he were picking up something. A yellow rune symbol glowed on the back of his fingerless black gloves. The silver balls Gene previously threw, with exception to the one lodged into the Skeleton Lord’s back, rose from the ground and floated at Lightfoot’s waist height. Gene shapeshifted into a white rabbit and bounded towards the floating spheres. Upon reaching a sphere, Lightfoot would transform back into his human form and uppercut the nearby skeleton into pieces during the process. He would then whip his legs and arms about; roundhouse kicking and hook punching at the bony beings close to him in order to create a small clearing riddled with skeleton parts. After that, the bunny demigod would grab his sphere and hurl it at the crowd of skeletal creatures. The skeletons reacted to the punctures by exploding into trails of bony fragments immediately after the ball exited them. Shapeshifting back into a white rabbit, Gene would move on to the next floating silver ball. As that went on, Sugar Skull shot any skeletons a small distance away from him and slashed indiscriminately with his bloodied butterfly knife at close proximity. The bony beings he attacked would shatter from gunshots or disintegrate into piles of dust from the slashing. He cackled maniacally as his purple teeth chattered. The attacks from the two carried on without ever stopping. The skeleton army shrunk with bone fragments littering the graveyard as Marvelous Man continued his song. Upon reaching the end of his song, Marvelous Man looked up to see the two fighters lightly panting and walking back to him. Gene stretched his arms as Sugar Skull pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe the blood off his blade. Marvelous Man cheered, “Great work, you guys! That was a close one!” “Actually, I should say that to you. Without you, we’d have to retreat. And that would have been pretty bad if that army of damned got out,” remarked Sugar Skull. Gene nodded, “Agreed. But I was wondering, your musical device increases your power, yes?” “Well, kinda. My light power feeds on positive things like emotions, memories. And when I do something artsy like singing or playing an instrument, it kinda supercharges it to heal or light more stuff up more. I don’t really know all the side effects, to be honest.” explained Marvelous Man. Sugar Skull snapped his fingers, “Aha! So that’s why you were singing when you healed me.” “Pretty much. We were in a pinch, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to heal fast enough,” remembered Marvelous Man, “Oh, right! Here, let me take care of that.” Placing his hand on Gene’s shoulder, Marvelous Man commanded the light embracing Lightfoot’s body to fade away. Gene eyed Marvelous Man’s hand and saw his bodily illumination beginning to dim and then vanishing altogether. Gene smiled, “Much gratitude for that action. Will you be taking away the light surrounding him as well?” Marvelous Man looked from Gene’s gesture to the shining Sugar Skull with rainbow flower eyes. Sugar Skull’s purple teeth chattered uncontrollably. “Uhhh, I can’t really control any light I supercharge. It’s one of the side effects. It should go away soon...I think,” he said. Sugar Skull gave a thumbs up, “It’s fine. But this supercharge is giving me a weird high. Like, a high where I feel really good and confident about myself and that I should do something productive. Yes! Loving this fluent articulation with big English words!” Gene cocked his head at Sugar Skull in fascination. After being amazed, he turned his attention back to Marvelous Man and started fishing his hand into his pants’ pocket. The bunny demigod pulled out a business card, “I see. I will have to collect my projectiles and report this event to my superiors. I would find it most appreciative if you were to visit the D.A.B. headquarters and give the supporting statement to my superiors as well. The address is on the back of the card I am about to give you.” Taking the business card, Marvelous Man observed it. It was a cobalt blue card with the organization’s name spelt vertically in order to create a horizontal acronym. The first and last words were colored in white, the middle word’s color was in navy blue. Reading it vertically, it spelled: Demon Authority Bureau. Marvelous Man briefly wondered who had the idea to name their organization after the word “dab”. “Oh, sure! I’ll drop by to help out,” grinned Marvelous Man. Gene smiled back, “Wonderful news. Before I return to what is abbreviated as the HQ, perhaps you would like to join me in a victory threesome?” Marvelous Man’s eyes went wide. He would love to engage in intercourse with this handsome man. But he felt too emotionally exhausted to feel excited, and yet he felt another emotion rising within him. Shyness. “Wh-what?!...I mean...Here? I mean, uh, I-I have some things to take care of. Important things! Maybe later, or something,” stammered Marvelous Man, “OKAYBYE!” Taking off, Marvelous Man flew to his home. It only took minutes from the graveyard to reach the roof of his penthouse apartment. Staring at the installed pool and Jacuzzi while landing, he questioned for a short moment about who is responsible for maintaining the water’s hygiene. He entered the rooftop door and made his way down the steps to his apartment interior. It was dark inside. “Hello?” called Marvelous Man. Nobody answered. Commanding his light within to shine, his body radiated with enough illumination to light up the room and part of the hallway it was connected to. He looked around for a few seconds before spotting the light switch and went to flick it on. Marvelous Man stood there for a moment before his nose detected a rancid stench. It smelled like a poorly-maintained bathroom. Realizing something, he cupped his bikini-clad crotch. He sighed as his shoulders hung in embarrassment. Next Chapter

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Hello All, I've written a second installment - this chapter includes an original hero by the design of member @MaxVirility14. I hope you enjoy. Again, if you want to be featured, just shoot me a PM or hit me up on skype. ---- “Max. There is something afoot.” Freya appeared before him, glowing gold. Her small frame was covered with a wispy white dress, flowers in her hair, her blond locks cascading down to her waist. She was surrounded by the others—the demon forest spirits that stood guard over Mayberry’s land. “There was a disturbance… there have been disturbances throughout the week. Something must be done.” A tall man, broad shoulders and barrel chested, glowed red. He had a goatee that he brushed and dark eyes that stared through Max. He shook his head. “We can’t let this continue—the forests around the city are being invaded with foul energy. The demons had become a part of him years ago, when he was still a teenager. Had it been five years already? He’d been just sixteen when the fates had intervened. Ivander was a spry athlete, growing in muscle in strength. Brown hair, brown eyes—plain, but handsome. He’d fought off a group of teens trying to burn one of the small thickets of trees on the outskirts of town. They’d been no match for his fists or his courage, and had turned and ran when he threatened them. Some ingenuity helped to douse the flames, and he’d stood to watch the small fire turn to smoke. The haze that filled the trees didn’t clear. Rather, he felt the skin on his arms rise, and a breeze blow. His chest had tightened, and he knew that something was wrong. His feet felt like they were running through molasses when he tried to run. It was then a green light surrounded him, and he froze in his tracks. “You are a brave soul,” He remembers their voices speaking in unison. “But violent, powerful.” His heart was ready to thump out of his chest. “We want you to protect this place—protect the city from those that would destroy us, and destroy the land. We need you to protect the trees, the water, the air. To be our champion.” He could not say no—they anointed him, they wanted him and they could give him the power. The forest demons were tied to the earth, more powerful than he could have imagined. When they flooded his body with power he gained the secrets of the earth, memories from long and ago. He was transformed with their strength, their power, their love. They wanted to do what was best for the town, for the earth. While they could be wicked, they were neither bad nor good. Just spirits determined to protect their land. And Ivander had become their champion. His body had swelled with new found power. His chest ballooned, pressing out of his shirt and tearing the meager fabric. His arms swelled, biceps growing bigger, and soon his quads were competing in his shorts, tearing away that fabric too. His abs were chiseled, his back broad and thick. When he closed his eyes he could feel the power of the forest pulse through him, the energy that of all the demons giving him strength. He was—virile, powerful. “Maximus Virility.” His given name, his powerful naked form soon bathed in another green light. The demons were a part of him, then, inside of his mind and all around him. And he was tied to the land as he’d never been before. There had been various dangers—men threatening to destroy the trees, hunters taking down game, companies wanting to pollute the lakes. He rose to each challenge, and kept out those that tried to destroy the greenery of Mayberry. The pleasant suburb was never cleaner—or safer—under his watch. Max was the champion of the city, and unmatched in his strength. He was admired by men and women alike, but kept far and away from the locals. He vanished into the night after each battle, to recharge his strength and to keep out of the public eye. “I can feel it, too.” Max was dressed head to toe in green, skin tight lycra, with an “M” emblazoned on his chest. There had been whispers of another spirit—a strange energy—entering in the city and disrupting the balance. Max had felt faint at one point, a strange feeling for one when his felt limitless power at his fingertips. “There’s been men and women disappearing, in the night and day, turning up only as skin and bones the next day.” Freya continued, and nodded in the direction of the north. “There’s whispers along the northern reach of town that something is stalking folks—disrupting the balance of power. I can tell you that it is dark, but not what it could possibly be.” “Then it looks like I’ll have to make it right, and draw whatever it is out. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve faced someone—or something—powerful.” He grinned. The young man was cocky, and flexed a bicep to reinforce it. He hadn’t even been defeated, though there had been a few times when his powers had nearly been exhausted. “Be careful, Max.” Another spirit spoke. “There is something different about this, something strange. You must be careful now that Autumn has come.” He took a breath. The power of the forest weakened in the fall and winter, his strength dependent on the virility and life of the trees. The changing colors of the leaves was enough to weaken him. He nodded and took to the streets, now pushing along the main street in the dead of night, his senses directing him to the strange force. --- Bael had been drawn to Mayberry. There were plenty of other demons that stalked the land, and their energy was far more intoxicating than what the mere mortals could provide. After savoring his previous delicious meal, he knew that he could not keep such a high profile. There would be other heroes that would seek to draw him out and destroy him if he was not too careful. But here, he knew that there were spirits that could give him more power. His black skin glistened in the evening light, the cool autumn breeze trickled over his broad muscular chest. He was an immense monster of muscle, standing seven feet and nearly three hundred pounds. He’d gained strength and size from his last slaying, but tonight he would gain something more. He sought a connection with the other world, one that was part of the earth and strong enough to give him immense power. There were spirits that gave strength to every part of the universe—and here, there were other demons present. He had been a part of the other world for long enough, but now that he was physical, and present, if he absorbed the power that this hero had, he would be a force with which to be reckoned. He’d left more than one body in the trail of his destruction for this Max Virility to find. The boy wonder, he was to stop all those that tread through the city and walked among the greenery—keeping them safe, happy, and healthy. It was enough to have Bael salivate at the chance of taking down one so innocent and powerful. Much less the naïve young man he had swallowed before, here was a handsome and strong hero that would do his best to keep his city a part of a perfect dream. But he would fall, like the others, and with it, Bael would gain a window into the forest demon’s powers. Max wasted no time. The spirits gifted him with the presence of sight—telling him where Bael was stalking about. He released a hard blast of blue energy from his fists, and struck the villain where he stood. He fired another and another, causing Bael’s muscular body to tumble wildly across the forest floor. He could sense that there was something different about this villain, but he dared not to let him gain an inch. He raced toward the smoking villain’s body, and jumped into the air to deliver another blow. Bael was alert then. He rolled out of the way of the hero’s fist, who struck down into the ground, hard. The earth shook, but not enough to knock Bael off balance. The villain grit his teeth and angled a punch at the hero’s stomach, sending him flying into the trunk of a mighty oak. Max grunted, daze. He took a breath, his mountainous pecs lifting and falling. The villain was strong—far stronger than anything in Mayberry. He charged up a blast and released a blue spinning orb toward Bael. The villain sneered again and deflected the orb with his hand, sending the energy into the sky. He pointed a finger at Max and charged up a blast of his own. The first Max dodged, and he rolled out of the way. The tree where was standing cracked, the leaves instantly wilting and falling from the branches. Bael fired another, and then another blast. Max easily maneuvered around the second blast, but the third clipped his shoulder. He let out a yell as a stinging sensation took over his entire body. He tumbled down, only to snap upward, his hands on his head. A massive headache pulsed, a feeling that was almost blinding. “You’re fast hero, but you can’t escape me.” Bael’s massive, muscular body with slick with sweat. Max could see the veins stand on the villain’s skin, his tree trunk legs powerful, his biceps a work of art. “You’re far more of a fight than the last hero I faced.” “You don’t know the half of it, villain.” Max took a breath and charged, his body glowing blue. He upper cut into Bael’s jaw, and then landed a fist into the villain’s chest. Each connecting hit sent off a shower of sparks, and Bael’s body was moved. Max held a hand to the ground and charged another fist. “Feel light more?” Bael licked his lips and grinned. He cracked his neck and brought both his arms to his sides. “I am Bael, Incubus, demon, slayer of men. And you are my next meal—powered by demons, I will take your power for my own!” Max felt his heart skip a beat when Bael’s body glowed red. He felt his head pulse again with pain. What was this creature? You have to be careful, one of the spirits whispered. He is a dark and ancient power. “I’ll protect you,” Max replied to them, and tensed his pecs. He charged his power again, this time sending a concentrated blast at Bael’s stomach. The villain was pushed back, but kept on toward Max. The hero concentrated, growing his power, drawing from the demons. The villain slowed, but still managed to take a step. And then another. And then another. Max could feel the sweat begin to pour over his body, each of his muscles tensing as he drew more power. He couldn’t keep up the blast if Bael continued to advance! His eyes widened as Bael came within a foot. The villain’s fist glowed red, and he cocked it up above his head. With a mighty swing, he connected to Max’s fists. The energies clashed together, sending a massive blast throughout the forest. For a moment, everything grew white, enveloping the both of them. Max was blinded, and then felt his body thrown backwards by the blast. He could hear the demons let out a collective scream. He was on his back, vision blurry. Weak. He felt so weak. What was happening to him? He lifted his head and saw that the blast had created a pit in the earth, with smoke rising from where the two had been standing. Max’s body was covered in dead leaves, surrounded by the depleted branches of the smoking trees around him. He coughed. The dead bits of plant life drained his strength, and it was becoming harder for him to move. “At least the forest is safe,” He whispered, thinking Bael had been dispatched. He couldn’t hear the voices of the demons, they seemed lost in the buzzing within his ears. Perhaps he would rest here for a while before he regained enough strength to walk away. “I… hunger…” A voice said in the distance. Max’s eyes snapped open and he could feel his heart beat. He tried his best to roll over, and positioned himself on his elbow. He started to pull himself toward one of the trees, but the leaves continued to stick to his sweaty body. “N-no…” Max whispered out. “H-help me…” He concentrated on the demons, trying to get them to fill him with power. He felt himself able to crawl, but the strength was slow to return. Then he saw the shadow cast by Bael’s massive form. The villain grabbed Max by his left ankle and tossed him hard back into the waiting pit. The hero’s body struck an outcropping, and then spiraled down through the dirt until he hit the bottom. He coughed, his muscular body heaving. He managed to get onto all fours. His strength returned some, the demons working their magic and the leaves now mostly brushed free from his body. He pointed a finger at Bael. A blue ray of light fired out, smacking the villain in his chest. The energy splashed off his heaving pecs, and the villain smiled. “Too weak to fight? No matter.” He hovered over the pit, and then proceeded to land down next to Max. “I have enjoyed our game, and you nearly got me. But I have seen many tricks in my many years, and you have failed.” He moved to grasp the hero by his neck and lifted him up off of his feet. Max gasped, and he could hear the demons groan again. “Y-you can’t…” His body tensed. Bael’s eyes grew red, and then his whole body followed. The energy crackled and connected with Max’s. He felt the two of them beginning to connect. “I will suck you dry of your powers. I will learn the secrets to them, steal the power of these demons that give you your strength.” Max could feel his muscles depleting, his energy being pulled up from the furthest reaches of his being. He moaned. The sensual feeling had him hard in his shorts, his muscles all flexed at once. He couldn’t help himself. He wanted to give in to Bael. He felt as though he was destined to become a part of the horrible villain. Do not yield to him. Fight it. Freya whispered. But how, he wondered. You must make him think he has defeated you. You must give up all you have and join with us, so that you can be reformed. Max took a breath. He trusted Freya, and the spirits, to protect him. “I’m yours to have, Bael. You may use my body… take what you need… but know that you will never become one with the demons of this forest…” Max snarled. Bael wasted no time ripping apart the hero’s costume to expose his body to the night air. Max shivered as his sweat sheened body glowed in the moonlight. He let out another soft moan as Bael lowered him to the ground. He forced the hero onto all fours and stood close over him. “My power is far greater than you can imagine. I will make you a part of me, and then they will yield to my power.” Bael’s deep, booming voice caused Max to shiver. “I will resist you…” Bael grabbed Max by the waist and laughed. The hero felt the demon’s hand slide around his front. He began to stroke the hero’s cock. The energy flowed between them and Max grew ever weaker. It was then he felt the villain’s body atop his own, poking him, prodding him, their sweaty body going from two to one. He had visions of the evil that pulsed through Bael. The dark force that connected him to another world—a vault of all the men that he had drained was locked away within this foul, powerful villain. Max had to fight it—he had to escape the grasp of the villain. He had to trust in the demons. “That’s it…” Bael’s hand was soft upon Max’s leg and he let out another moan. He could feel the well of energy being drained from within him, his own mighty member growing hard like steel, aching for release. But with it too would be his power supply, all the energy he had left. He could feel his very soul hanging in the balance. You must release, or Bael will overwhelm you—you must do it before he does, or we may lose you forever! Max’s eyes snapped open. He stared back at Bael with a look of determination. All the while the incubus continued to sap the power from Max, overwhelming him, working him, the twenty-something’s body shrinking in his grasp. He knew what needed to be done. He had to concentrate. He had to let go, and give Bael exactly what he wanted. “F-fuck.” Max closed his eyes. His body glowed blue, and started to shrink. He was thin now, sickly, energy faint. “F-fuck.” He whispered out again, now arching his back. “You’ve… you’ve…AUGH!” His cock stiffened, and he leaned back against Bael. “FUCK! I CAN’T STOP HIM… TOO MUCH… AUUUGH!” He thrusted forward, a shower of energy shooting from his member. He could feel the air release from him. To his horror, he watched the energy arc back upward and toward Bael. The energy connected with the villain’s chest, pulled from within Max. He continued to shoot until at last it faded to nothing. He collapsed forward, and stared up at the horrifying sight above him. Bael preened himself, laughing all while. He flexed his muscled and growled, his body glowing a flaming red. “Yes! I can feel them… hear them… the power of the forest…” Max gasped as the air seemed to leave him. He was nearly skin and bones. “You’ve… won… the power is… yours…” As he whispered his final words, his head fell back against the ground, and the wind began to swirl around him. Bael watched with satisfaction as Max’s body was lifted into the air, now fading from existence, with one last spectacular flash of white. And with that, Max Virility was gone. To be continued...

This is the first part of a series of stories jointly written with Greggrth involving our two O/C's. Hope you like. Some of the scenes get a little a violent and gory, so be warned. A prologue was posted earlier and can be found here 0.0 - Prologue. "Two trays of chicken enchiladas, four turkey sandwiches, medium rare steak with roasted veg times three." "The steak right, not the veg?" Jacob asked making sure the portions were right. "Both," "Cool" "Side of ribs, an orange juice and a strawberry and banana protein smoothie." Ben loaded the plates on to the table, one after the other, slowly, and joyless. "A beef lasagna, lamb tagine, a six egg white frittata and bowl of rice." Jacob rubbed his hands together as order was starting to look a little more substantial. "And a....side salad?" "Gotta keep it balance" replied Jacob, he couldn't understand Ben's confusion. "Ah huh" he said back to the carnivore. Joyless. From having to slave away in the diner, in a rotting shell of a building run by a man who's presence alone would fail a health inspection. If it wasn't for Jacob coming, placing a mammoth orders and helping his sanity, he might have chased all the staff and customers away with the flambés torch. The ravenous werewolf got to work on his snack. Sat in his usual stop the 320lbs behemoth finally found a booth where the seat would hold together and the table was loose enough to be raised over this trunk like quads. It required a little discreet renovation on Ben's part. The manager was furious with Jacobs first few visits. The damage caused of the area and the business lost was docked out of Ben's pay. But after a while, after he saw Jacob's final bill, the greasy rat decided it was worth the cost. The rest of the customers looked on, wondering how one boy could eat that much while others wondered how anyone becomes a six foot six pillar of muscle. Ben stood attentively for the illusion of work. "Ya been alright?" He asked the werewolf with nothing but an affirmative grunt having taken a mouthful. Ben could feel the burning look of the manager 'Get back to work' it said. "Why are you here?" He asked finally coming up for air. "Don't start this again," Ben replied before walking away. Jacob had tried the hard sell for a life away from waiting on tables. The werewolf had seen Ben in action, the power and grace during the recent attacks. He didn't have to suffer like a penniless student he could be teaching at the university. The subject could be his choice, summoning, arcane artes, elemental mastery, void craft, alchemy, enchantments, spirit bending or transmutation. To Ben they were just words, from an institution would wants to add their stamp on approval on everything in some illusion of superiority or authority. Why exchange one oppressive regime for another? The afternoon progressed slowly, the days were getting darker. By half five the sun was already behind the city scape and the horizon glowed orange. Ben talked over to Jacobs table as he squeezed the jacket over this monstrously thick biceps. "Sorry about earlier" Ben apologised, he'd been ratty and short for weeks now with everyone about everything. "Still on for drinks later?" --- Later was always an issue at the diner. The manager had always assigned Ben to lock up duty. 'Why, where do you fags need to rush off to at night?' Would be the usual response to his objections. Oh how good it would feel to turn that man inside out. The waiting staff had clocked out for the day, and the cooks were done prepping for tomorrow and had all their areas cleared and cleaned. Ben finished moping and dragged the bucket on it's wheel back into the kitchen. The flights flickered on. Staring down at the bucket he was pulling behind him, keeping the mop upright with the other hand he noticed a dark figure in the corner of his eye. Before he could turn to look at it two arms reached out from behind to grapple with him. His arms bound Ben was dragged back by the second. "What the...left go of m-" Ben yelled out as he tried to wrestle himself free. He kicked with his feet throwing him body against the metal doors of the fridge. His body cushioned by the man trying to restrain him, although a head taller than Ben he still cried out in pain but his grip hadn't loosened. Two more sprinted out from the shadows. A man and a woman. The first man Ben caught in the corner of his eye hadn't moved. In the maroon robes he watched on. "Who are y-what do you want?!" A fifth appeared from the far door leading the alleyway and neither one said a word. They were organised and with purpose, and speaking wasn't necessary. Whatever they wanted they felt committed, and decided to test that commitment. Still propped up by 'number two' Ben lifted his legs and kicked the man running towards him, square in the gut, throwing his body back until the base of his spine met with the counter. The woman hesitated, looking back at her colleague who was on his knees, but he didn't stay down there long. Making another run, Ben turned to look at the fridge to his left. As his green eye grew more emerald and radiant, the fridge door flung open off the hinges and pivoting on the lock to smash 'running man' back down to the ground. The inside of the fridge didn't look right, there were no shelves, boxes or food in Tupperware. It was a dark abyss where black smoke seeped out and two red eyes shone near the floor. A black arm reached and the claws dug through the leg of the 'running man'. He screamed and the figure from the fridge chuckled, a deep and demonic noise as the bone broke and bled. The body was dragged back in to the fridge and the door slammed shut and flew off it's hinges, and in the brief second it was closed the scene of a demon shrouded in shadow switched to food chilling on the shelves. 'Number four' couldn't move, she tried to but was frozen, not from fear but from the telekinetic bars Ben has summoned while Mot was fishing for his human snack from the fridge. The dozen bars reflected the light, they looked like glass with no clear outline or shape but they just closed in around their victim. She tried to push against, screaming and crying to the other for help, but the 'first' stood their idle, observing his underlings and the 'fifth' from the alleyway collapses a green plague of bleeding blisters and boils travelled over his skin and choked the air from his as the lining of his lungs turned to rot. As soon as he breathed no more, the corpse rose from the ground to attack anyone in Ben's defence. The sound of him choking was baring audible over the women, who's bones cracked as the cage slowly closed in on her. Pressed know through the fine mesh, the softer parts of her human, the skin, flesh and offal, squeezed through and poured out of the bars as her bones were being ground. Before Ben could turn his attention to the 'observer' who the myriad of curses seemed to swim around and past, the red of a fire hydrant flew into the view over his eyes, and the world went black.

This chapter will be very, very dark, since it does explore the mind of Cpl. De Vries, who is a well-known nuisance from earlier chapters. Chapter One is here: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/5059-project-defender-–-chapter-one/ Chapter Two is here: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/6609-project-defender-–-chapter-two/ Chapter Three is here: https://muscle-growth.org/topic/7120-project-defender-chapter-three/ DISCLAIMER The following story do contain heavy amounts of racial slur, homophobia, several forms of prejudice and mental images of violence. Please do not read this if you are offended by anything of the aforementioned. The author do not condone any of the opinions or values the character expresses. Project Defender - Chapter 4 De Vries sat on his bed, already awake, although it was several hours until reveille. When he had looked at himself in the mirror before the experiment, he had seen an Aryan, just as his dad used to say. When he had looked at himself in the mirror after the experiment, he had seen a perfect Aryan. He was big now. And strong. He cupped his left pec with his right hand. But he was surrounded by idiots. Idiots that held him back. There was a war raging out there, and the idiots went on about safety concerns, correct procedure, democracy, scientific method and other civilian bullshit he wasn’t interested in. He wanted to smash space squid. But first he wanted to have his revenge on the idiots. And the midgets. And the monkey boy. And Major Murphy. And the disgusting little fag. No-one should stand in his way. He had made his decision. He rose and walked through the empty corridors to the Lab. It was dark, but a LED helped him find the switch. The air in the room was strangely humid and warm, like the machines had been used several hours later than usual and not cooling down the way they normally did in night time, but he didn’t think more about it. The screens were turned on, but the screen savers were activated. Idiots. Under other conditions, this could have caused a security breech. Do they know nothing about computers? But now, this would make his revenge easier: Just what boffins leaving their computers on deserve. He watched the screens, and pushed some of the keys, first curious, then excited. They had held him back on purpose, the sanctimonious nerds. They could have pumped him full of a much larger dose of that what-it-was-called, and they could have increased those golden rays and things much more. He remembered the intense pleasure the Field and the Rays had given him, when he had bathed in that otherworldly non-burning golden fire. The hair on his forearms and his back-hair tingled pleasantly and he felt how he became hard. Yes, he had liked it, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more of it, and he wanted to be bigger than anyone else in the project. He stared at the screen. Once a test subject had absorbed the nano-bots, it was obviously possible to reprogram them further by IV, if the subject underwent a repeated treatment. He didn’t need a new dose of nano-bots, just air and an IV. He had found the display of the two anatomical charts and found the log about his present enhanced physique. He copied the green chart of his present build, and made it into a new blue chart: the starting-point for something even more amazing. He could feel how his engorged dick pulsated against the inside of his shining black, leathery uniform trousers. The engineer who designed these trousers must have been another fucking damned fag, but he had to admit that they were very comfortable, and they actually made him look aggro when he saw himself in the mirror, so it wasn’t exactly a catastrophe. He concentrated on the screen again. Ah! It was possible to click on the sketch in green lines, in order to mark which muscle to design. And then these boxes and numbers… His back-hair tingled again and he salivated. He could design exactly how he wanted to look! Every man want insane biceps. And an even bigger chest sounds good. And traps. He clicked on a number of different muscles, and changed the numbers in the boxes. A cartoonish figure drawn in green lines began to form. The ridiculously broad-shouldered man in the sketch was built something like the comics character The Hulk, but with a much more exaggerated physique. Another man, and probably all women, would have considered the sketch ugly and monstrous, but De Vries stared on it longingly: With muscles like that, no-one would be able to stop him. He wasn’t a science guy, but 1000% level of Hypertrophic Radiation sounded good - yeah: really good - and a target level of 1000 milli-sheldrake sounded like it matched the other figure. He had chosen the alternative ’auto-procedure’, so no-one else was needed to oversee the process. This amazing machine would follow his wishes and demands, and make him into what he wanted. He pressed enter. Modified settings not available under present symmetry protocol ’Deactivate symmetry protocol.’ Are you sure you want to deactivate symmetry protocol? What the bloody hell? ’Affirmative.’ Symmetry protocol deactivated That was a relief. The computer behaved just like the idiots, but it was possible to subdue it to do one’s will. Enter. Modified settings not available under present functionality protocol Rage was rising from the inside of his mind. Crawling. Erupting. ’Deactivate functionality protocol.’ Are you sure you want to deactivate functionality protocol? ’Affirmative.’ Functionality protocol deactivated It isn’t possible to reason with computers. Just give it what it wants. Enter. Modified settings not available under present safety protocol ’Deactivate safety protocol.’ Are you sure you want to deactivate safety protocol? ’Who the hell designed this bloody damn interface – Microsoft?’ Negative … The Program was designed by [Dr. Gruber] by the help from [Cyberdyne Systems] and [umbrella Corporation] He sighed, and tried to control his temper and impatience: ’I am sure, that I want to deactivate safety protocol.’ Safety protocol deactivated Enter. Something happened on the screens. He didn’t bother to read it. Shivering of anticipation, he undressed, laid the uniform – rigorously neatly folded – on a bench and stepped into the sluice. He didn’t need the neuro-helmet, and wore the breathing mask just for air. The IV was, however, necessary to pump him full of the high dose of viruses, the super-supplements, the reprogramming stuff and the super-gear-thingy. He stepped into Chamber 1. The fluid level rose. The warm, comforting fluid surrounded him. He fell into an analgetic half-dream state, only dimly aware of something happening to his bone structure. He had a list of those who deserved punishment. The Britse, who wasn’t able to speak his own language correctly, thought he was so tough with all his tattoos and all, chattering all the time like an old shrew, but De Vries was going to make him kneel and then put the thumbs in his eyes, listening to him screaming like a little girl. And then rip out his balls and tear off his willy, and ask who’s tough now? And he was going to let Monkey-boy watch. What was British armed forces thinking when they sent a black man to do a white man’s work? De Vries grandparents had moved to the Netherlands from South Africa in 1992, only to find that there were a lot of Arabs in the Netherlands. He distrusted Arabs. And Jews. De Vries had seen a star in the neck chain of Van Gelder, the other Dutch recruit. He distrusted Van Gelder. De Vries was going to torture The Britse and his monkey-boy friend before hunting the midgets down. The midgets didn’t deserve to undergo this enhancing treatment, and the turnout of events showed that one of the shrimps hadn’t been affected by The Program, but swooned like a little girl instead. Not like a real man. Not like himself, who had got brawny like a good test subject. Yeah! Really, really brawny. He wished he had been able to show his dad what he had become. His dad had been so disappointed when he slapped the neighbourhood children down as a kid. Dad used to chasten him with his belt. The same happened when he had smoked perfectly legal marijuana. And when he only came second in the swimming competition. And Fridays. De Vries had shown him what he was able of, by joining the Armed Forces, making dad proud. He was going to crush the heads of the shrimps with his heavy boots. He was going to torture Major Murphy, since he had become an inconvenience… De Vries slowly awakened from his reveries by the voluptuous feeling of growing muscle fibres. His already superhuman physique had already began to transform even further into unknown anatomical territory. He had liked how his muscles had filled out and increased in meaty firmness the last time, and the same feeling was rushing through his entire body now, even stronger than the last time. Doubling, tripling, quadrupling in intensity, like a wave of energized liquid, bubbling of raising power levels. Raw strength itself was forced into his growing, ever-hardening brawn, at a much higher power-level than the last time. He was almost unable to handle this extremely increased level, and doubted for a moment if he had chosen the right settings on the screen, but, in a mixture of voluntarily abandonment and forced surrender, he let his body and mind go into unrestrained and uninhibited transformation. Under the influence of the incredibly high doses of hypertrophic radiation the reprogrammed nano-bots, the high doses of the endocrine formula, and the now extremely modified DNA, he approached the goal desired according to the tampered Field settings. De Vries roared in pain and lust, but wasn’t aware of it any longer. The heightened levels of testosterone now stoked two primal fires in his mind – sex and aggression – and in his present state he could no longer separate one from another, leaving out all other mental activity. He felt his power to break and crush, dominate and humiliate, revel and wallow in ecstasy increase without limit. His physical form increased in heaviness and might. An ecstatic feeling of expanding in every direction, of hardness increasing beyond all restrictions, and of an energetic power level beyond all comprehension brought him to an orgasmic state lasting for hours without any relief or outlet. When he awoke he was lying in a puddle on the Lab floor, surrounded by glass splinters and a few screw nuts, unaware how he had got there. The Being looked at its hands, and noticed that the cuts were already healing, and that in an almost visible rate. The Being looked in the direction of the Chambers, and noticed how Chamber 1 had shattered. It was of no concern. The Being was hunting. Hunting such targets as midgets, a monkey boy, a faggot, the tattooed one and the one with many signs on its clothes. The hunt wouldn’t end until the prey had been crushed and destroyed. * * * AFTERWORD It took me almost six years, but I finally was able to write next chapter, which will be found HERE.

This is a dark graphic story of 2 gay bodybuilders having sex and getting into a fight with a robber. Zac stats 200 pounds 27 years old 5 foot 7 Bodybuilder Shawn stats 200 pounds 29 years old 5 foot 8 Bodybuilder Devil stats 400 pounds 19 years old 6 foot 2 Fat Zac and Shawn are both in Shawn's bedroom naked and having muscle gay sex on his double bed. They are rolling around on the bed muscle to muscle. Shawn decides to sit on Zac's face and does big long loud muscular fart. Zac is panting for breath after that. Then it's reversed roles, this time Zac does a muscular fart on Shawn's face. The smell of muscular farts is strong in the bedroom right now. Shawn gets on top of Zac and places Zac's penis into Shawn's muscular ass hole. Shawn then starts to bounce up and down trying to get Zac to cum. Zac is panting out of breath. Devil then enters the room and shuts the door. Zac and Shawn are both shocked and look at Devil. Zac's dick is still shoved up Shawn's ass. Devils asks "What the fuck is that smell?" Shawn replies "It's out muscular assess, why? what are you doing here?" Devil replies "I want you 2 guys to give me your wallets and anything valuable, that way nobody is going to get hurt". Zac and Shawn look at each other. Shawn says to Zac still with his cock shoved up his ass "Is this guy for real?" Shawn then turns around and says to Devil "Dude look at our bodies... we're muscular bodybuilders, we're not some skinny shit that's weak, we kick ass". Devil then says "Fine, it's your funeral". Devil then grabs Shawn's hair using his giant fist pulling him. Still with Zac's penis shoved up Shawn's ass. Eventually Devil pulls him harder by the hair which causes Zac's penis to slide out of Shawn's ass. Shawn is till on the bed with his hair being pulled by Devil. Devil then uses his other fist to punch Shawn's giant back muscles really hard. We hear thud thud thud sounds. It's not enough to keep Shawn down because his muscular back is like a shield. He then punches his back again another 3 times even harder. Shawn then goes weak. Zac then notices that Shawn's back has gone dark red. Devil then pulls Shawn's hair harder and Shawn falls off the bed. Zac then moves forward and uses his muscular veiny feet to smack Devil in the face with. Devil sets his attention on Zac Zac tries another muscular feet wack at Devil but Devil grabs his veiny feet. He then grabs Zac's other veiny feet with his other hand and pushes Zac's legs into Zac so his knees are touching his pecs. Both veiny feet are being rubbed into Devil's face. Devil looks disgusted by the muscular stink from his veiny feet. Devil then spreads both of Zac's legs and moves forward into Zac. Zac starts to panic realising that this teenager weighs a lot and Zac himself is now struggling to move. Devil immediately grabs Zac's hair and starts pulling this goes on for about 30 seconds. Zac starts to scream "SSHAWWNNN!!!!!!!". Shawn then gets back on his feet and grabs Devil in a headlock very tight. Devil is struggling to get out stuck in that muscular armour of Shawn's muscles. Shawn gets Devil off the bed still got Devil in a headlock. Devil's head is stuck in one side of Shawn's pecs while in a headlock. We can see that there is a huge height difference between the two. Shawn then says "Zac do it now". Zac on his knees on Shawn's bed opens up his own ass crack. Shawn struggling with Devil manages to shove the teenager's face into the muscular 27 years old buttcrack. We then hear Zac doing muscular farts. Shawn continues to press Devil's face into Zac's ass. Devil is suffocating. TO BE CONTINUED. What do you lot think of this so far?

The heavy fire door swung open so violently the closing mechanism snapped with a sharp bang as Adrien Brody crashed through into the alley like he was shot out of a cannon. Josh stepped through the frame and caught the edge of the door deftly as it rebounded off the side of the studio’s wall. He looked back over his shoulder to Jet. “Tell everyone to take the rest of the morning off, we’ll come back after lunch,” he directed bluntly, then slammed the door behind him and approached Brody, now sprawled on the ground, clutching his lower back were he’d hit the fire door’s horizontal pushbar. “You and I are going to have some words, asshole,” Josh said angrily as he closed on the actor. “Actually not words so much as sound effects.” With that he slammed a hard fist into his own thick palm with a loud SMACK! Brody scrambled backwards to get some distance, his cockiness evaporating. As a tall guy, he hadn’t been manhandled like that since he was a teen, and never by a dude 8 inches shorter than him. Jesus, what the fuck was that? He still couldn’t quite believe what was happening. His back hit the alley’s opposite wall and he reached his arms back to lever himself back up to a standing position. With his height and reach advantage re-established he felt some confidence return. “You’re gonna regret that, motherfucker,” he growled and, raising his fists up in a boxing stance, he closed on Josh and went for a left jab, straight right, left cross combo. With reflexes the likes of which Brody had never seen, Josh batted the punches aside like he was swatting flies, and leapt forward to smash a brutal head butt on Brody’s elegant brow. “Gaaaah!” the handsome actor screeched as he stumbled backwards into the alley wall, then bent over and clutched his head in searing pain. His skull rang like a bell and when he opened his eyes he was seeing double. Josh gripped the actor’s shiny black locks and pulled his head up to get right in his face. Through Brody’s filmy, concussed gaze Josh looked practically demonic, his face flushed and his eyes flashing. Dontpanicdontpanicdontpanic. “Are you starting to get an idea about what I’m ‘gonna do about it’, bitch?” Josh hissed. “L-l-listen. Dude. Don’t you fucking know who I am? I’m Adrien Brody and I got a Sony film set to be on tomorrow! You think you’ll ever get work again when I tell them you fucked up my face?” Josh folded his taut muscular arms over his chest, the adrenalin of the fight pumping up his torso so that the Black Flag t-shirt clung to his powerful physique like a second skin. “Thanks for reminding me, dumbass. I guess I now have nothing left to lose.” “W-w-wait” Brody backpedalled uselessly as the director grabbed the actor’s head and shoved it between his thighs. Before he could register what was going on, Brody felt two strong arms around his waist and suddenly he was airborne again. Josh had pulled him upside down into a piledriver position. But he put too much muscle into the lift and Brody over rotated, throwing Josh off balance. Brody sensed a chance and wrapped his own long legs around Josh’s head and flexed hard. The actor wrung a muffled grunt from the director as he stumbled, releasing Brody’s head from his thighs, then fell onto his back. Brody ended up on top as Josh landed hard, his face mashed into Brody’s crotch as he got the wind knocked out of him. Brody shouted with glee at this turnaround: “Yeah mother fucker, how do you like me now?” He brought his own hard lean arms up into a double bicep flex, as he gloated over the breathless director. “Get… your… bony… fucking… ass… off… my… chest,” Josh gasped, sucking in air to get his strength back. Brody reached back to pound a fist into his diaphragm, but Josh’s stomach was granite hard. Josh raised his legs up to hook under the actor’s arms and easily threw the taller man off him. Josh got to his feet and lifted the bottom of his tee to show off an eight pack of carved abs. “Wanna try that again mother fucker?” he sneered, “see if those pipecleaners you call arms can dent these babies?” Enraged at being mocked, Brody clocked Josh across the face and then followed up with a flurry of body blows. Rather than winding him like Brody hoped, Josh just threw back his head and laughed. “And I ain’t even flexing yet, you’re fucking pathetic. Who’s your boxing coach, Honey Boo Boo?” he grinned, totally unfazed by the head shot too. What the fuck, this guy is made of metal! Josh then smashed a left into the actor’s stomach with so much force it sent Brody reeling backwards toward a dumpster. A wave of nausea overcame him and he fell to his knees retching. As he dry heaved and gasped, his hands felt something long and cold on the ground. His long fingers closed on the end of the piece of rebar. Brandishing it as he got to his feet, he tried to get a hard look back on his face. But Josh looked the furthest thing from scared. “Now things get interesting,” he said, gesturing to Brody, “Bring it, bitch!” The actor leaped forward and swung three times with the half-inch thick bar, but Josh dodged each one. On the third he grabbed the bar, wrenched it down to the horizontal and held it between them. Brody grabbed the other end too and pushed hard trying to use his height and weight advantage to drive Josh back. Josh planted one foot behind him and stopped Brody’s momentum cold. Goddamit , pushhhhh! Brody muscled arms and lean pecs surged as he put everything he had into pressing Josh back. Sweat pored off the actor’s face and arms as he strained, his face contorted in a teeth-grinding grimace. Josh was sweating too, but a huge grin plastered his face. “Smug motherfucker! I’m gonna wipe that smirk off your face.” With a surge of adrenaline, Brody growled and threw his whole body into his next push, and felt Josh’s arms tremble. Yessss! But his glee was short lived. He saw Josh was now concentrating and straining with huge effort. His traps bunched up high on his strong neck, his lean pecs inflated to twice their size, and his arms… Holy shit! With a bang, the sleeves of Josh’s Black Flag t-shirt tore in jagged rents up to the shoulder, busted utterly by an avalanche of bicep muscle. Josh let loose a primal roar that Brody felt in his bones and the half inch rebar bent into a hairpin sharply before snapping in two! Brody, stunned, dropped his hands to the side momentarily before something primitive in his brain took over. Before he even knew what was happening he was fleeing in panic. But Josh was faster and tackled him into the side of the dumpster. “Not done with you yet, asshole,” the director hissed as he stomped on Brody’s chest to hold him in place. “I should throw you into this thing because that’s all you are, fucking trash! But I’m in the mood for a bigger challenge than tossing your puny body around again.” Giving Brody another stomp, Josh turned and reached up to grip the edge of the dumpster with both of his well muscled hands. Brody, winded from the two chest stomps, and utterly exhausted, could only shake his head in disbelief. No fucking way! Josh’s back exploded as he hauled on the edge of the dumpster like a man possessed. Tanned wings of lat muscle ripped through the seams of Josh’s now thoroughly destroyed shirt as the alley dumpster slowly tipped up on its outer edge. Holding the huge steel box with arms now positively bloated with pump, the director stared down at an astonished Brody. Josh’s torso, silhouetted against the alley lights, flared like a cobra hood. His deep hairy pits dripped sweat and testosterone. “Take a good look at what a real man looks like, punk. And think about what kind of man you want to be while you’re in traction. Josh dropped his arms and let the dumpster go, and started walking out of the alley as he heard the satisfying crunch of Brody’s arms snapping while reflexively trying to break its fall. After dialing 911, Josh crushed his phone in his fist and tossed the pieces aside. Fucking awesome pump, gotta lay low for a bit, but definitely gonna get my hands on some more assholes who’ve screwed me over in this town. Tearing the scraps of cloth from his hairy and unbelievable jacked torso, he stalked off into the night. Acknowledgement to zipman for a story element

Hey folks didn't have much luck getting a response to my stories on Tumblr, think it's more visual. Hope you like it, will post the conclusion soon. Let me know what celebs you want to see in my fistfights. Josh was fuming as he called for a set break. Fuck! This music video he was directing had become a nightmare since Adrien Brody had horned in. The tall lanky actor, insecure about his relationship with his model girlfriend Monica, had shown up on set and kept interrupting with unsolicited advice – like he knows anything about fucking music videos . He was also staring daggers at Jet, the band’s lead singer who is the object of Monica’s affection in the video. Jet was a sensitive soul and was intimidated by the actor who was half a foot taller and ripped from honing his body for another Predator sequel. Brody, in a tight black tee, would stand with his burning gaze just to the right of Josh’s camera, his long muscled arms folded over his chest. Jet’s concentration was shot and the takes Josh filmed were useless, hence his call for a break. Josh hit the can and glanced in the washroom’s mirror as he washed his hands. You look, stressed, kid, he thought, gonna have to have a motherfucker of a workout to forget about this day. His hairy lean forearms rippled as he quickly lathered and rinsed in the sink. The gym was his release from the pressures of the Hollywood rat race and he never missed getting his pump on. “POW!” he sneered, as he snapped his arms up into an impressive double biceps, his baseball sized peaks stretching his Black Flag t-shirt’s sleeves. Fucking jacked! Some cocky flexing always went a long way to boosting his confidence. Josh knew Brody got pumped for his movie over 3 months with a million dollar personal trainer, but he’d be back to his regular diet of booze, cigarettes and cocaine the day filming wrapped on the shirtless scenes. For Josh though, fitness was an obsession, and a necessary way to manage his volatile temper. His ferocity in the gym was legendary, and he had the respect of the muscleheads at his hard-core gym even though the place had dumbbells that weighed more than his 145 lbs. Recharged, Josh left the washroom and made his way down the hall back to the studio. When he turned into the next hall, he saw Brody had Jet cornered by the fire exit. Brody pressed up against the wall, a hand on either side of Jet’s head as the slightly built singer tried to flatten himself backward. Josh could see Jet was trembling. “I don’t want to see you even looking at her, you hear me punk?” Jet burbled something incomprehensible as he tried to avoid Brody’s malevolent stare only to find himself gawping at the brooding star’s flared triceps. Josh shook his head. You clueless moron. Josh knew that Jet was gay and he was far more likely to stare at the pale skinned, dark haired hunk than his girlfriend. In fact he was probably speechless being this close to Brody, in this position, the short sleeves of his black tee rode up, exposing the curve of his rounded delts and tufts of black pit hair. Given that they had all just been sweating under hot studio lights, Josh knew Jet – such an armpit whore – was probably weak in the knees from Brody’s man stench. Easy Joshie, deep breaths. As he approached the pair, Josh tried to control his temper. He was still trying to make a career in LA and flipping out on a Hollywood star was the last thing he needed. “Okay folks, back to the set.” He announced in non-chalant fashion to the hallway, as if it was filled with crew. With relief he saw Brody turn away. He turned himself to reach for the studio door but froze when he heard the tall star sneer: “Just fucking remember what I said, faggot.” Turning back, Josh slowly shook his head and rubbed his stubble-bearded jaw. “Aw. You really shouldn’t have said that, asshole.” Brody looked down on the much shorter director and laughed derisively. “Yeah, squirt? And what are you gonna do about it?” Josh looked up into the actor’s eyes with a cold, deliberate glare, then spread his lean muscled arms wide, only to snap them closed like the jaws of a steel trap. Brody cried out painfully as strong hands clamped onto his arms just above the elbow, forcing them into his flanks. Josh’s delts bulged menacingly as he raised the lanky actor into the air. Brody gaped in disbelief as he felt his feet leave the floor. “Guess you’re about to find out, prick.”