Disclaimer: I don't own anything He-Man, She-Ra, Filmation/MYP Productions/Mattel/Marvel/DC Comics related. I also don't profit from any of this. I'm just hanging out at Fanfic writing stories about our favorite couple, Adam and Teela.
A/N: Thanks for coming back and checking me out. I hope this sequel meets your expectations. Sorry if this is a bit long; I was going to break it up into two chapters but decided to combine them. all mistakes are mine. A BIG thank you again to all who supported my first story, A Royal Pain. I hope Son of Miro has the privilege of garnering the same reception as my flagship story. :) If you haven't read it, please check it out! You might be a little lost if you don't. ;}
Son of Miro
Chapter 1
"What do we do now?" he asked, trembling from the bone chilling cold.
"We wait for back up," she replied irritably, clutching her laser to her chest.
"And what if they never show up?"
She turned and glared at him. "Then we shoot our way out of here," she stated calmly before turning her back once again to him.
Norbert, a young freshman cadet swallowed hard and nodded, his eyes wide with consternation. He was squatting inside a cold dank cave in the middle of winter, every breath crystallizing into white vapor before his eyes. Not only was he shivering from the cold but fear had now overwhelmed his nervous system. His teeth began to chatter. Loudly.
"Stop that!" she hissed.
"I can't!" he complained. "It's cold down here!"
"Then figure out a way to stay warm, she demanded.
He glanced around the dark cave illuminated by only a sliver of daylight seeping through a crack directly above their position. Out of supplies, he tore the hem of his jacket's lining into one long strip and wrapped it around his neck. It only slightly took the edge off of the bitter cold.
"That sort of worked," he stated flatly, only a bit relieved.
"Shhh!" she waved a hand behind her.
He was trapped in an underground cave with the most decorated senior cadet in school. Slightly awed, he studied her. The collar of her black standard issue fur-lined jacket was propped up to offer additional warmth. Her incredibly lithe muscular form was clad in a black wool turtleneck and thick grey military trousers. Black jack boots completed her uniform.
She wore a black knit winter cap pulled down low to her shapely auburn eyebrows. It concealed her fiery red tresses; no doubt an indication of her equally fiery disposition.
Some referred to her as the Crown Prince's girlfriend. Or perhaps ex-girlfriend by some reports. Rumor has it that they broke up a couple of months ago over a misunderstanding of her relationship with Cadet Simka….or was it Private Cooper…or perhaps maybe He-Man?
She was arguably the smartest and the most beautiful girl in school. She could have any man she wanted. Trouble is, every man who approached her struck out miserably. Some speculated she only had eyes for He-Man. Others figured she was not interested in the opposite sex at all.
Still some students thought she was crazy to break up with the most handsome eligible bachelor in all of Eternia. Others believed she made the right decision by dumping the selfish coward. Still others felt the Prince, a fighter and more than able to defend himself, was putting on the cowardly act just to spite his father, the King.
"I can hear you thinking, Norbert," she warned, her back still to him.
Embarrassed, he snapped his head to her. "I...uh...was just wondering how we're going to get out of here," he lied.
She snorted and turned to gaze at him over her shoulder. She fixed those mesmerizing emerald colored orbs on him, holding him captive by her cat-like stare. Her usual full and pouty lips were now formed into a thin line of frustration over the young cadet's inexperience.
"Wanna run that by me again, soldier?" she challenged with a petulant smirk.
"Ok, so I was really thinking about you and the Crown Prince," he confessed as his eyes suddenly jumped in recollection. "Or is it you and He-Man?" he asked as he sniffled and wiped his nose with a kerchief.
Her face darkened slightly. "That's none of your concern, Norby," she lectured with a slight frown. "My love life is private and my own business. Besides, what does it have to do with our current situation anyway?" she snapped.
The young boy shrugged. "I figured if you and that He-Man were an item, he'd sense that you were in danger and come running," he explained. "He's the only bloke in Eternia who can defeat Trap-Jaw," he opined.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the tiny underground cave. They both crouched reflexively and went quiet.
"Come out, come out wherever you are!" the low, gravelly voice taunted from above. "I can hear you breathing." Trap-Jaw's powerful footfalls came closer and now indicated he was standing almost directly over them.
The young cadet gasped prompting Teela to muzzle him with her gloved hand. She put a finger to her lips warning him to keep quiet. Using hand signals, she communicated their plan of escape.
Norbert nodded in acknowledgement prompting her to slowly release her hand from his mouth. Keeping a tight rein on his fear, he quietly turned in the small crawling space and headed east on hands and knees through the small tunnel. Teela moved west.
Trap-Jaw turned an ear to the ground below him and continued with his taunts.
"Is that you, Redhead? Didn't we kidnap you a few months ago? You sure were tasty. Well, Beastman said you were tasty so I guess you were," he rambled as he slowly crunched over the snow swept hill located in the Northern Quadrant. He raked his mechanical eye over the terrain to determine their location by x-ray.
A shriek behind him caused him to snap his cyborg head east and spot a small dark form running away from him. The form, a male, stood out in sharp contrast to the snowy background. His mind figured this would be easy: early morning target practice.
"I see you!" he drew out tauntingly.
Trap-Jaw watched with amusement as the snow began to fall harder. The boy continued to run, awkwardly flailing his arms and stumbling only to get up and continue. The thick wall of snowfall began to obscure his view of the boy which hastened his urgency for a quick kill.
"You think you can get away, boy?" the blue cyborg threatened. He lifted his right arm cannon and, targeting the young cadet, he locked in on his position eyeing him through his cross-hairs.
"Say bye-bye." He closed one eye and began to slowly squeeze the trigger.
Just then, someone squeezed off five laser rounds from directly behind him, hitting him between the shoulders and bobbling him forward.
The shots found their mark as the lasers destroyed the harness holding the prosthetic sling which connected to the weapon's outer shell. The blast also partially disintegrated the cannon itself. The scorched and sizzling tubing slipped and fell into the snow leaving Trap-Jaw's old amputated right arm hanging limp at his shoulder.
He angrily swung around to find Man-At-Arms' daughter approximately 30 feet away, on one knee, grasping her firearm with both hands and looking down the sight of her weapon.
"How do you like me now, Tin Man?" she smirked.
He let out an angry roar and charged. Snow was now falling heavily reducing visibility. She quickly reloaded and took aim once more. With only one round left, she hesitated knowing she had to make it count and drop him with one shot. She waited, taking slow calming breaths as Trap-Jaw closed the distance between them at a frightening speed.
What happened next was a blur. The ground behind her suddenly began to quake. Trap-Jaw's eyes, which up to this point mirrored murderous rage, widened in shock as he re-focused his gaze directly above her head. He tried to stop his forward momentum but stumbled in the heavy wet snow.
The deafening noise of a ferocious roar rang out directly behind her. She whipped around and fell to her back, her weapon trained on the fast moving beast now practically on top of her.
She saw nothing but snow and the underbelly of what appeared to be a terrifying snow beast as it leapt directly over her, pouncing on the cyborg and tackling him to the ground. The snow in its wake thrashed about, partially obscuring both struggling figures as the beast fastened its jaws onto Trap-Jaw's left arm causing him to cry out in pain. The two powerful beings fought and struggled until the villain scrambled to his feet and fled, holding his bleeding arm across his chest.
Teela, panting from the adrenaline rush, blinked and shook her head taking deep breaths to slow the pounding of her heart. She stood to her feet as the wind, whipping the now blizzard-like snow fall, obscured the beast as it issued a low, angry growl at its next victim.
Shadowed by the storm, it approached her, growling and hissing menacingly. She, feeling the terrifying impact tremors of its foot falls, swallowed hard and aimed her firearm once again when a pair of golden eyes came into focus. The wind dying down a bit, she blinked and stared. Baring its fangs, the animal suddenly licked its lips and began to purr, dropping to its stomach before her.
"Battlecat? she asked in complete astonishment.
She could now see his familiar burgundy muzzle and green and gold fur blowing in the arctic wind.
Relieved, she approached the cat and stroked his neck affectionately. She then dropped to her knees and continued to pet him.
"Where's He-Man?"
The cat who was rumored to have the power of speech, simply blinked at her and continued to purr.
"Can you talk?"
The enormous cat cocked his massive head and continued to stare oddly at her, purring even louder.
"Ok, I guess not," she muttered to herself. "We've got to find Norby, Battlecat. The temperature is dropping rapidly. He went east but should be hiding by the glacier per my instructions," she paused as she looked into his eyes. "Can you give me a lift?"
The cat suddenly stood and let out a blood curdling roar which echoed off a nearby mountain.
Startled, Teela straightened, her eyes wide with shock. "I hope that means 'yes'."
The green and gold tiger nodded and knelt down to allow her to grab the horn and cantle of his saddle. Holstering her weapon and stepping into the stirrup, she swung a leg over and once secure, Battlecat turned east and lunged forward, his powerful strides devouring the ground by several feet per second.
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As the cat thundered toward their lost friend, the snow pellets stung Teela's face as she pulled on the collar to her jacket, the wind whipping against her body in frigid waves.
"There!" she pointed ahead of her to a dark lump lying face down on the snowy ground. Battlecat slowed to a trot and halted alongside Norbert's body. He crouched down as Teela hopped off and reached for the boy quickly turning him onto his back and feeling for a pulse.
"Come on, Norby. Don't do this to me, you stinker," she muttered worriedly. The boy's cheeks were cherry red from the bitter cold. Battlecat eyed him with a troubled gaze as she kept talking and attempting to rouse the boy, frantically warming his limbs with her gloved hands.
His eyes finally fluttered open and focused skyward. "Am I dead?"
Relieved, Teela sat back on her haunches. "No. But you will be if you scare me like that again little man," she warned playfully.
He coughed as she helped him to a sitting position. He then suddenly shrieked and recoiled at the sight of the imposing tiger prompting him to scramble to his feet. Teela reached out and restrained him.
"Shh, it's okay. This is He-Man's partner," she introduced with a gesture of her hand. "Battlecat, Norby. Norby, Battlecat," she said with a grin.
The tiger blew a puff of crystallized vapor from his nostrils and inclined his enormous head purring as the cadet timidly put out a hand to touch his nose. The purring increased in decibels at his touch prompting the boy to smile.
"Wow…," he gasped.
"Come on baby-cakes. Let's go," Teela ordered as she helped him to his feet then hopped onto the cat's saddle. She held out a hand as she helped hoist him into position behind her.
"Put your arms around me," she ordered.
"Sure!" he replied enthusiastically.
She quirked an eyebrow as she threw a suspicious look over her shoulder. "One wrong move and I'll feed you to the cat, little man," she warned.
Norbert, heeding the warning, suddenly straightened in fear. "Yes ma'am."
The cat lunged forward and the three of them were off, headed back to base.
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The rest of the company's officers and cadets huddled for warmth within the tents of their satellite base. They had lost contact with two members of their team and worried over the whereabouts of Senior Cadet Teela Duncan and Freshman Cadet Norbert Minkha.
Pacing, Simka asked worriedly, "When was the last time you heard from Cadet Teela?"
Private First Class Asher Tobin shrugged. "She took off after that shrimp about two hours ago after learning he had wandered away from his unit," he said dryly. "Her homing beacon stopped transmitting data about an hour ago," he stated as he chewed the inside of his cheek nervously.
Asher, annoyed over this morning's developments, wrung his hands in concern. He, like many others of the Eternian male species on campus had a massive crush on Teela. He was a bit of a playboy but his charming personality always made women overlook his whorish ways. He was tall, brunette, good looking, and had a dazzling smile that tended to melt ladies' hearts. Unfortunately, he was one of the countless men who were soundly rejected by her. His ego wouldn't accept the fact that she flat out rejected him so he attributed his loss to her affection for He-Man. Losing to Greyskull's Champion didn't make him appear like such a loser. He-Man was the unattainable ideal. Everyone came up lacking when compared to He-Man. Even the Prince.
Simka turned to Gada and Beofer, also friends of the redhead. "I'm worried," he confessed as he resumed his anxious pacing about the makeshift floor.
"Relax, buddy," Beofer advised with a slap on the back. "If anyone can survive a blizzard, it's Teela. She's crazy," he smirked.
"Yeah, she'll be fine," Gada chimed in with a brave front. However deep down, she feared for her roommate's safety.
A few minutes later, they heard a roar echo in the distance. Glass lanterns and metal canteens hanging from hooks against the tent's flaps began to tremble and clink together at the sound of what appeared to be the rumbling of an oncoming avalanche.
The company of 35 troops leapt into action as officials in charge called out orders to prepare for the impending natural disaster. As everyone scrambled about, someone shouted, "Look!"
All heads turned as a 9-foot green and gold tiger clad in a burgundy muzzle approached them, growling and galloping toward the tent's entrance. They gaped as they observed Teela and Norbert riding atop its saddle.
"What the hell?" Asher muttered.
"Hi guys!" Teela greeted cheerfully as they approached the center of camp.
The base buzzed to life as everyone spilled out of the tent's opening and crowded around the magical feline. The cat snorted and knelt down, laying on his stomach allowing the two cadets to hop off. Everyone, amazed at his size and terrifying appearance, reached out in awe to pet the cat after realizing he was approachable. After all, he brought their comrades back safely in the middle of a storm.
"Who…what is this?" Asher asked, gaping at the monster.
"This is Battlecat, He-Man's counterpart," Teela explained. "He showed up just as Trap-Jaw was about to make kibble out of us."
"Where's He-Man? Is he here?" a cadet asked excitedly.
Teela shook her head. "No I don't think so. And his cat isn't talking," she stated facetiously.
"You mean, he can talk?" another asked.
"No, I'm afraid not," she answered.
"How did he know where to find you? And how did he know you were in trouble?" Gada asked anxiously.
"He must be smart!" another cadet interjected.
"Now, now everyone," Asher exclaimed, hands in the air. "Stop badgering Cadet Teela with your questions. I'm sure she's tired and besides, we've got to pack up and get back to campus before sundown," he advised to the chorus of disappointed groans.
Teela smiled as everyone slowly began to disperse. "Thanks, Ash," she said as she touched his arm and turned away.
Asher stared hungrily at her retreating back. A lustful smile crept across his lips as his gaze dropped to her derriere. "No. Thank you," he muttered under his breath.
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"Battlecat, thank you again for rescuing us. Trap-Jaw would have killed me if you hadn't shown up," she stated as she hugged the cat around his neck. "And please…tell He-Man thank you."
The tiger responded with a snort and a purr. The cadets watched in awe as he licked the side of her face and stood abruptly to his feet.
After eyeing everyone in the vicinity, he opened his mouth and roared causing the ground to rumble and sending everyone staggering backwards covering their ears in fear. He then turned and thundered out of the base heading south and eventually disappearing from sight.