The Buzz-Wheel of destruction. By Richard Taylor S
Skeletor sighed and waved his hand in the air and the doors parted slowly allowing Two-Bad to enter.
"What is it?" asked Skeletor.
"Master. I have just invented a weapon which you may be interested in." said Two-Bad's right head.
"You invented it?" said Two-Bad's left head in annoyance. "It was I who thought up the Buzz-Wheel."
"No it was I!" replied Two-bad's right head. "And you know it!"
Growing angry with Two-Bad's foolishness Skeletor watched as both of Two-Bad's head argued with each other over who invented the Buzz-Wheel.
"I do not care who invented it!" snarled Skeletor. "Your inventions have a nasty habit of failing. Remember the Crawl-Bomb?"
Both of Two-Bad's heads looked at each other and were about to start arguing again we they realised that Skeletor was in no mood to hear Two-Bad arguing with himself again.
"This time it will be different." Said Two-bad's right head. "We learnt from that incident and have made sure that it will not happen with the Buzz-Wheel."
Skeletor stood up and glared at Two-bad.
"It had better not fail this time!" said Skeletor menacingly. "Show me this Buzz-Wheel and I'll decide weather we'll use it."
An hour later Skeletor entered the lab used by both Two-Bad and Trap Jaw to invent new weaponry to use against the Heroic Warriors.
"Where is this Buzz-Wheel?" asked Skeletor as he walked over to Two-Bad.
"Right this way Master." Said Two-Bad's right head. "I-er I mean we have just finished adding the final touches to the Buzz-Wheel."
Two-Bad then led Skeletor through the lab and in to a large room in the back where the Buzz-Wheel waited.
Skeletor looked up at the Buzz-Wheel. It stood twice as tall as a man did and its edges were covered with razor sharp blades. But what caught skeletor's eye was the image of his face painted on the side of the Buzz-Wheel.
"What can it do?" asked Skeletor, his mood beginning to lighten as he made plans for the Buzz-Wheel.
Two-Bad then pulled a small remote control from his belt and pressed a button. Instantly the Buzz-Wheel came to life, its blades began to spin faster and faster until they became a blur.
Two-Bad pressed a second button and the stand that the Buzz-Wheel sat on began to lower it to the ground. The blades ripped in to the ground the instant it touched the floor. As it sped off it left a trail of torn up dirt behind it.
The Buzz-Wheel raced in to the arena that Skeletor used to train his warriors. Both Skeletor and Two-Bad followed at a safe distance and watched as a Skull Crusher that was damaged during a battle with the heroic Warriors rolled slowly in to the arena.
"Watch this." Said Two-Bad's right head smiling. Two-Bad then ran his finger over the screen of the remote control.
The Buzz-Wheel raced around the edge of the arena once and then headed towards the Skull Crusher. The gun turrets on the Skull Crusher opened and its deadly blaster's fired at the on coming Buzz-Wheel.
The blaster fire bounced off the Buzz-Wheel's hard shell as it began to speed up and in one quick movement the Buzz-Wheel sliced through the Skull Crusher. Skeletor watched amazed as both halves of the Skull Crusher fell to the ground in a shower of sparks and flames.
"That Skull Crusher had the hardest armor we could find." Explained Two-Bad's left head.
"And it sliced through the Skull Crusher like it wasn't there." Said Two-Bad's right head looking over to Skeletor for approval.
"I'm impressed." Said Skeletor turning back to Two-Bad. "Have it ready within the hour. I have the perfect test for it."
"Thank you for coming He-man." Said Gallos the elder of the village of Jarka. "You have really helped our celebrations."
"It is no problem." Said He-man as he and Gallos walked through the crowed celebrating villagers. "I am always willing to help."
Gallos smiled.
"Who would have thought that only last year we were under the control of Beastman and his warriors.
He-man slapped a hand on Gallos's shoulder and smiled.
"The most important thing is that you and the villagers stood up to Beastman and drove him from the village." Said He-man.
"My only concern is that one day Beastman may try to reclaim the village." Said Gallos keeping his voice low so that only He-man could hear.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Said He-man as he stopped by a table loaded with food and picked up some fruit. "You are now under the protection of the Heroic Warriors I wou….." He-man stopped in mid sentence.
He-man could hear a faint whirring sound that was slowly getting louder until it sounded all over the village. Then the village warning bells began to ring.
"What's happening?" He-man asked Gallos.
"The village is under attack." Replied Gallos starting to panic. "Will you help us?"
"Of cause I'll help." Said He-man. He-man then withdrew the Sword of Power from its sheath strapped to his back and raced off towards to the sound of the disturbance.
As He-man turned a corner he saw what looked like a huge wheel-like machine tarring its way through the village destroying everything in its path. He-man pushed his way through the panicking villagers to reach the machine. As He-man got closer he saw Skeletor's face painted on the side.
'It had to be Skeletor.' Thought He-man as he swung his sword at the machine. A loud clang rang out as the sword struck but the machine carried on its way.
He-man turned to follow the Buzz-Wheel and saw that an elderly woman had fallen while trying to flee. What panicked He-man the most was that she had fallen in to the path of the Buzz-Wheel. Quickly He-man ran for the woman and pulled her out of the way just as the Buzz-Wheel raced past catching He-man's arm with one of its baldes.
"Thank you." Said the woman then see saw the blood on He-man's arm. "You're bleeding."
"It's nothing." Said He-man as he watched the Buzz-Wheel race out of the village. "But I have to stop that thing before it can do any more damage."
He-man then ran to his Road Ripper, which was parked near the edge of the village.
Skeletor watched the destruction of Jarka the village that had freed itself from the rule of Beastman on the video monitor in Two-Bad's lab.
"Did the Buzz-Wheel sustain any damage from He-man's attack?" asked Skeletor.
Two-Bad checked the Buzz-Wheel's readout on a separate monitor.
"He couldn't even scratch it." Said Two-Bad's right head smiling.
Skeletor let out an evil laugh.
"If the Sword of Power couldn't scratch it then the defences of Eternos city will stand no chance against the Buzz-Wheel." Said Skeletor. He then turned to Two-Bad. "I am pleasantly surprised. I would have thought that your weapon would have failed on its first proper test."
"We aim to please Master." Said Two-Bad's left head.
Two-Bad then pressed some buttons on the control and the Buzz-Wheel changed direction and headed towards the city of Eternos.
He-man had the Road Ripper up to full speed as he chased the Buzz-Wheel from the village of Jarka when it suddenly changed direction. He-man had barely enough time to stop the Road Ripper as the Buzz-Wheel raced across his path.
"Computer." Said He-man as the Buzz-Wheel sped away. "Calculate the new heading of the machine I am currently following."
Instantly the Road Ripper's computer jumped to life and the words 'Eternos City' appeared on the screen. He-man's eyes grew wide in horror as He-man realised that it was this time of the day when the city of Eternos would be full of people visiting the markets to buy and sell their goods.
He-man instantly turned the Road Ripper around and sped off after the Buzz-Wheel hoping to catch it before it could cause untold amounts of destruction in the city of Eternos.
He-man quickly caught up with the Buzz-Wheel just as it reached the edge of Evergreen forests. Pressing the turbo thruster button the Road Ripper shot ahead of the Buzz-Wheel.
Man-At-Arms walked up to a market stall that sold hundreds of electronical devices and picked one up.
"How much is this?" asked Man-At-Arms as he showed the device to the stall's owner.
The stall's owner took the device from Man-At-Arms and looked at it rubbing his chin as he thought up a price.
"Five gold pieces." Said the stall's owner finally.
"Five gold pieces?!" said Man-At-Arms in surprise. "That can't be worth that much."
"I can assure you that this device is well worth five gold pieces." Said the stall's owner sounding a little angry. "This my best invention."
"What is it?" asked Man-At-Arms after hearing that the stall's owner was an inventor like himself.
The stall's owner smiled.
"It's called a Sonic Cleanser." Said the stall's owner. "When activated it sends out sonic waves which cleans away dirt without having to use water.
"That sounds interesting." Replied Man-At-arms. "Does it work?"
"Of cause it works!" huffed the stall's owner. "Look are you going to buy something?"
"We'll see." Said Man-At-Arms as he took back the Sonic Cleanser. Man-At-Arms then bent down and grabbed a hand full of dirt from the ground. "I'll tell you what. If this thing works like you say I'll pay you the five gold pieces you've asked for."
Man-At-Arms then pressed the control button and activated the Sonic Cleanser. The Sonic Cleanser began to hum then suddenly the humming grew louder and louder until it became a high pitched whistle. People in the market place began to cover their ears as the whistle rang through the market. Then the Sonic Cleanser began to spark and smoke then the noise suddenly stopped. The stall's owner looked at Man-At-Arms in surprise and embarrassment.
"That shouldn't have happened." Said the stall's owner.
"Tell you what you have a good idea there." Said Man-At-Arms wiping the dirt off his hands. "How about I pay you two gold pieces for this. I'll work out the bugs for you and make you a working copy. You can trust me I'm the royal inventor."
"And what's in it for you?" asked the stall's owner.
"The only thing I'll ask for is spare parts for my inventions." Replied Man-At-Arms. "You keep whatever profit you make from selling the fully functional Sonic Cleansers. I'll even hand over the blue prints if it will put your mind at rest."
The stall's owner smiled as he thought about the offer and the money he could make.
"You've got your self a deal my friend." Said the stall's owner. "My name's Jaben by the way."
Jaben then held out his hand to Man-At-Arms. Man-At-Arms was about to reach for Jaben's outstretched hand when his wrist com began to beep.
"I'm sorry about this." Said Man-At-Arms. He then switched his wrist com on.
"Duncan." Said He-man's voice from the wrist com. "This is important. Skeletor has a new weapon and it's heading towards Eternos. This thing has destroyed of the village of Jarka already. I'm going to try to stop it. If I fail I'll need you to activate the city defence system."
"Will do He-man." Said Man-At-Arms. "And good luck."
He-man pushed the Road Ripper as fast as he could until he had overtaken the Buzz-Wheel. He-man then raced up a steep slope high above one of the paths through Evergreen forest. He-man could hear the whirring sound of the Buzz-Wheel, as it's deadly blades tore up the ground. He-man ran over to a large tree and pushed it down the slope and in to the path of the Buzz-Wheel.
The Buzz-Wheel did not slow down as it tore through the fallen tree sending a shower of splinters in to the air. Seeing that his plan had failed He-man ran for the Road Ripper. Once he was strapped in to the Road Ripper He-man tapped the com button.
"Duncan. It didn't work." Said He-man as Man-At-Arms answered to com. "I need you to activate the city defences after all. I'm not that far behind hopefully by the time I get to the city I will have away to stop this thing."
The Buzz-Wheel burst through Evergreen forest sending broken trees flying in every direction as it headed towards the city of Eternos. Instantly blaster fire rained down on the Buzz-Wheel. He-man sped out of Evergreen forest on the Road Ripper and narrowly missed a bolt of blaster fire that had rebounded off the Buzz-Wheel's indestructible shell.
"Keep firing!" called out Teela. "We must stop that thing from getting in to the city! There are innocent people who need protecting."
The palace guards sat at the city blaster cannons continued to fire down on the attacking Buzz-Wheel.
"Sir! Our blasters are no having any effect on that thing!" called out one of the guards.
"Just try your best!" replied Teela. "We've got help. He-man is down there."
Teela looked down to watch as He-man raced through the shower of deadly blaster energy and towards the Buzz-Wheel.
He-man ducked just in time as one blaster's shot at the Buzz-Wheel bounced off the Buzz-Wheel towards He-man. He-man then quickly rolled out of the way as the Buzz-Wheel roared pass. He-man then drew his sword and swiped at the Buzz-Wheel.
"I can't believe it?" said Teela in utter surprise as she watched the shower of sparks fly as He-man hit the Buzz-Wheel. "Not even He-man's power sword could dent it. What are we dealing with here?"
"We'll stop it somehow." Said Man-At-Arms as he walked up to Teela.
"What's that?" asked Teela as she pointed to the weapon in Man-At-Arms's arms.
"This is something I've just invented." Replied Man-At-Arms. "It's made of something called a Sonic Cleanser which I bought off one of market stalls. I've added it to a blaster rifle to give it more power."
"What does it do?" asked Teela.
"Hopefully the sonic waves it creates will weaken that things armor." Said Man-At-Arms as he stepped up to the city wall and fired at the Buzz-Wheel.
He-man began to sweat as he was dodging the blaster fire from the palace while trying to stop the Buzz-Wheel it was tiring him out as well. He-man the heard a high pitched sound mixed with the pulse of a blaster rifle firing head towards him. He-man jumped out of the way just as a bright red beam of energy struck the Buzz-Wheel. As the energy beam struck the Buzz-Wheel it rebounded towards He-man. He-man quickly swung his sword up to block the beam.
The beam struck He-man's sword and bounced off and struck the ground in front of the Buzz-Wheel causing a large trench to appear. He-man watched as the Buzz-Wheel slipped in to the trench and roll along it unable to move in any direction until it came to the end of the trench. Instantly He-man came up with a plan and raced to the Road Ripper.
Once He-man reached the Road Ripper he looked around to find a tree he could use to create a trench to divert the Buzz-Wheel away from the city of Eternos.
As luck would have it He-man found several tree trunks sliced in to the way he needed by the Buzz-Wheel. Quickly finding a broken tree trunk he could use He-man cut several lengths of vine from a tree and tied his sword to the sharp end of the tree. With one powerful movement He-man drove the tree trunk and the sword in to the ground. Using the remaining vines He-man tied the other end of the trunk to the back of the Road Ripper. Once He-man had made sure that the trunk would not break he jumped in to the drivers seat and pressed the com button.
"Duncan you can stop firing." Said He-man as Man-At-Arms answered.
"Why? What do you have in mind?" asked Man-At-Arms.
"This thing belongs to Skeletor." Replied He-man. "So I thought I'd return it to him."
Instantly the blaster fire stopped and He-man switched the Road Ripper on and raced towards the Buzz-Wheel leaving a deep trench behind him.
He-man drove the Road Ripper in front of the Buzz-Wheel. Instantly the Buzz-Wheel fell in to the trench and was forced to follow He-man away from the city of Eternos.
Skeletor heard a faint buzzing sound growing closer as he walked in to Two-Bad's lab but thinking it to be one of the many experiments running at the time Skeletor ignored it.
"How is the Buzz-Wheel doing?" asked Skeletor.
Two-Bad looked up from one of the invention he was working on.
"Let's see." Said Two-Bad's right head.
Two-Bad then reached over and pressed a button on one of the many monitors in the lab. Instantly the small camera came on and began transmitting. Skeletor and Two-Bad watched the monitor to see that the Buzz-Wheel was chasing He-man in a Road Ripper.
"What is that?" asked Skeletor pointing to the tree trunk strapped to the back of the Road Ripper. Two-Bad tapped several keys on his keyboard and the image zoomed in on the base of the tree trunk.
"By the Elders." Said Two-Bad's left head in surprise. "He-man has somehow found away to force the Buzz-Wheel to follow him away from the city of Eternos."
"How?" snarled Skeletor.
"He must be using that tree to create a trench deep enough for the Buzz-Wheel to get stuck in." explained Two-Bad's right head. "As long as He-man keeps moving the Buzz-Wheel is forced to follow him."
Skeletor looked down at Two-Bad in disgust.
"And just where is He-man leading the Buzz-Wheel?" hissed Skeletor.
"S-s-sir." Said Two-Bad's right head pointing to the monitor. "I think you should see this."
Both Skeletor and Two-Bad's left head turned to the monitor to see the unmistakable shape of Snake Mountain growing larger.
"It's heading straight for us!!" screamed Skeletor in anger. "Stop that thing before it destroys the mountain!!"
Instantly Two-Bad's fingers darted over the keyboards and the Buzz-Wheel exploded.
Just as the Buzz-Wheel exploded He-man reached up with one hand and pulled the tree trunk out of the ground. After retrieving his sword He-man turned the Road Ripper around and headed back to the city of Eternos knowing that Skeletor must be taking his anger out on his men for yet another defeat.