Magna Defender: Chasing the Lights of Orion

Chapter 1: Prologue

On a distant planet, not too unlike that of Earth, a warrior stood in a clearing in the woods. A warrior clad in black armour, trimmed with gold. Upon his chest rested a sea green gemstone in the shape of a diamond, and he wore a horned helmet. His long black cape slightly billowed behind him from the gentle breeze present in the air. He carried a sheathed sword, strapped to his side. The warrior stood, silent, gazing up at the sky. From this spot in the woods especially, he could see the planets that surrounded his own, dotted around the sky, so close yet so far. He was normally a very stoic man, but this was a sight that always had him in awe. This warrior was known only by the name of the Magna Defender, so named for his role in defending his planet from invasion, beloved by his people, and perhaps one of the greatest warriors in the galaxy. Despite his reputation being known all across the stars however, this warrior had never left his home planet, so dedicated to ensuring its protection that he was willing to sacrifice any desire he may have to see the wonders of the galaxy.

But today, stargazing at his favourite spot wasn't the only thing on the Defender's mind, for he was expecting company. That company soon made itself known to him, as a child's voice called out to him, "Father!" The Defender turned to face the direction of the voice and his face underneath his helmet lit up. Approaching him at a run, waving, was his young son Zika, who wore similar armour to his father, trimmed with silver. The father and son met in the middle of the clearing, Zika immediately hugging his father. The Defender chuckled at his son's excited demeanour before speaking,

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd forgotten about me," he said to his son with a laugh,

"I'd never forget you father, especially on a day like today!" Zika replied. The Magna Defender shook his head,

"No, of course not. Happy birthday son," he told his son, a very warm smile forming beneath his helmet. He presented Zika with a small dagger. His son gazed down at it for a moment, awestruck at being presented with a weapon for his very own, before looking back up at the Defender,

"Thank you, father, I'll keep it forever. When I grow up, I wanna fight for good, just like you!"

"That's my little warrior!" The Magna Defender said, affectionately grabbing his son by the shoulders and laughing, "Maybe someday I'll let you try wielding the Magna Sword," he said to his son, still laughing while patting his sheathed weapon.

"Really!?" His son asked excitedly,

"Hahaha, of course, when you're old enough that is," the father replied jokingly.

Here, standing in front of him, was the other, and bigger, reason the Magna Defender would never leave his home planet. He couldn't bear to leave Zika behind, especially since the loss of his mother, and he wanted to do the best he could to raise his son on their home planet. They were the only family each other truly had. He was the protector of his planet, but if there was one person above anyone else he would protect with his life, it was Zika.

"Father…can I train with you today?" Zika asked, somewhat shyly.

The Defender was a bit taken aback by this, but nonetheless chuckled proudly, "On your birthday of all days?"

"You said it to me yourself…be ready for anything, at all times," his son answered. His father nodded,

"Hmm, yes I did say that didn't I? Very well, let's start with- GET DOWN ZIKA!" The Magna Defender tackled his son to the ground, using his own, much larger body to shield his son, just as a horde of insectoid creatures flew over them, dangerously close, and firing energy blasts from their eyes. An explosion could be heard in the distance. The Magna Defender looked up to the sky, and there hovering way out of reach, was a giant spaceship resembling that of a dragonfly, with pincers on its head and tail, which immediately began bombarding the planet surface with blasts of energy from its tail, leaving craters wherever it hit. He had heard many a horror story from the various visitors to his planet, all of which mentioned a ship of this description, and the destruction it brought with it. He had assumed nothing could wield such power but now here it was, before his very eyes. Beneath the helmet, his face lost colour as he realised what was happening. The stories all mentioned a common name: "Scorpius".

"No…no, no, no, NO!" The Magna Defender picked up his son and ordered him, "Zika, find a place to hide and stay there. Do not move from there, that's an order son!" Zika, clearly terrified from what was going on, nodded quickly and ran off. The Magna Defender hurried out of the woods and looked off into the distance to see what used to be huge, peaceful grasslands reduced to an ashen no man's land of craters, flames scattered among them. Crevices were opening up at random. The great dragonfly ship was still hammering away on the planet's surface, the ground shaking with every impact. The sky had darkened. At the other side of this field sat what used to be the entrance to the city he called home. It was clearly where Scorpius was focusing his assault, as it was seemingly in the process of being destroyed.

A fury welled up within the great warrior as he caught sight of more flying insectoid monsters bombarding his city and the land around him. The trees behind him were burning. Silently enraged, he drew the Magna Sword from its sheath and folded it up, transforming it into the Magna Blaster, "This is what happens when you bring harm to my people, and my planet," The Defender said quietly, before setting off across the field of craters. Hordes of the flying creatures appeared to take notice of him, and set their sights specifically on him, but the Magna Defender quickly went to work, readying his blaster, taking aim and firing in the blink of an eye, gunning down each and every one of the creatures with green blasts of energy from his weapon, each landing with a sickening thud as they fell out of the sky. As the Defender came closer to the burning city, many thoughts flooded his mind. It had all happened so quickly. What he thought was going to be a 0day of celebration with his son had turned so fast into what seemed to be the end going on around him. Had Zika found a safe place to hide? Was that even possible? This troubled the warrior greatly, but he quickly purged the thoughts from his head as he shot down more of the creatures. He had to be as battle minded as possible in order to end such an incredible threat to the planet.

In the heart of the burning city, or what was left of it, a monster resembling a scorpionfish approached a horrible, slimy arachnid creature with tentacles, "Scorpius, I'm getting word from others that our Stingwingers are being shot out of the sky."

"The Magna Defender approaches…" Scorpius said to his underling, "We are not yet finished with our plans. And I wish to personally see him mourn the loss of everything he loves…" The warlord then instructed, "Send out a legion of Stingwingers to meet him at the gate! Delay him! And track down his brat!"

"Yes sir."

The Defender was nearing what used to be the entrance to his city, having not taking a scratch from any of the Stingwingers flying through the sky. As he reached the remains of the main gate, he was greeted by a vast number of the creatures, on foot, charging towards him, "So Scorpius doesn't want to meet me…he shouldn't," The Defender said before transforming his blaster back into sword form and charging to meet the creatures head on. Even massively outnumbered, the Defender was much too powerful for these creatures to deal with. He slashed away at them with flawless swordplay, sparks bursting from their chests as they dropped to the ground dead before him.

Fighting within the rubble of his destroyed home city seemed to fuel the Magna Defender. Around him, as he fought, he could see past his foes and saw the bodies of people he knew, people who loved him, relied upon him for protection littering the ground, some trapped under rubble, and rage burned within him even more. However, giving in to this rage was causing him to lose his focus. He began to make mistakes as he battled the Stingwingers, leaving himself open to attacks. He began to take several hits he could have typically avoided, slowly being worn down by the creatures as exhaustion began to set in for the Defender. Scorpius had sent what was practically a small army to take him down. Finally, despite injuries sustained, he cut down the final Stingwinger with a somersault slash, his blade generating lightning as he done so.

Exhausted, he dropped to one knee, coughing and using his sword for support, "I…I can't do this alone…" He said to himself. Behind him, thunderous footsteps approached, and a great mechanical roar could be heard. Pulling himself to his feet, he staggered into the heart of the city, the massive footsteps following behind him. He looked around him, at the flaming wreckage his city had been reduced to. He never had the chance to take it in while battling the Stingwinger legion, but now…the Defender shook his head. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes. So many had died so quickly, all because he wasn't there to save them. "I will…s-stop Scorpius…I swear to all of you…" He said aloud. He could hear cackling and turned the corner to find a number of monsters raiding the blasted open treasury, taking whatever took their fancy from the chests before them. Raising his sword in front of him, the Defender approached them, "D-drop the jewels!" he growled at them, the monsters turning to look at him in surprise, "You won't need them, where you're going!" He told them, raising his sword, an explosion going off behind him. Getting a proper look at them, it seemed like several of these monsters were those that he had previously protected the planet from. The monsters seemed unimpressed, even amused. Two insectoid monsters seemed particularly amused by his arrival,

"Hey! Look who survived!" went one,

"It's the MAGNA DEFENDER!" came the other's voice, mocking.

"It is YOU who won't survive!" The Defender fearlessly told them, "TOROZORD!" He screamed out, and behind him emerged his colossal mechanical bull zord with a deafening roar. When the Defender alone could not protect his planet, he would call upon this mighty friend to assist him, and he intended to now crush his foes with Torozord's strength. Then the Defender finally saw him. Flanked by more Stingwingers, sat the vile creature he just knew could be none other than, "SCORPIUS!"

Scorpius emerged from the shadows, and spoke directly to him, "I have been expecting you, Magna Defender. I have something you may be interested in!"

Just as Scorpius finished, the Defender realised that, to his horror, one of Scorpius' underlings, a fish monster, had Zika in his clutches, sword in hand. Scorpius didn't think those Stingwingers would take care of the Magna Defender, he was planning for this the whole time.

"LET GO OF ME! FATHER, HELP ME!" Zika cried out, struggling against the monster's grip.

"Drop your weapon or your son is doomed!" The monster told the Magna Defender,

"Let him go, Fishface!" The warrior defiantly told the monster, recognising him.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON! DO IT NOW! AND CALL OFF TOROZORD!" Fishface instructed him.

The Defender sighed in defeat, "Torozord…retreat." His zord complied and stomped off. Immediately after this, he was defenceless, and the monsters began to lay into him, injuring him further.

"You leave my father alone!" Zika yelled at Scorpius. The Magna Defender called out for his son before being personally blasted by Scorpius, groaning and dropping the ground, gravely wounded, "NO!" The young child cried.

"You won't stop me, I'll rule the universe!" Scorpius told Magna Defender.

"Scorpius…leave Zika alone…" The warrior weakly begged the warlord.

"Release the boy," huffed Scorpius, and Fishface callously threw Zika to the ground. What nobody present expected next was for the child to draw the dagger he had received as a gift from his father that same day, and point it at Scorpius,

"Don't worry father, I'll save you!" He declared,

"ZIKA! DON'T!"

But it was too late. Zika had charged towards Scorpius and was met with a lethal dose of electrical energy for his troubles. A scream, followed by a thud. Zika, on his birthday, was dead.

"ZIKA! PLEASE!" The Magna Defender cried as he pulled himself towards his son's body, "No…GET UP!" Around him, Scorpius and his underlings were leaving the scene. Their work was done, leaving the Magna Defender to mourn his son. As the hero cradled his son's body in his arms…something inside him…it changed. In the space of at most a few hours, this Scorpius who he had only known of through stories, had arrived to his planet and destroyed everything, and everyone, he loved. The Defender, though sobbing, began to quiver with rage. Silently, he placed his son's body back to the ground, but took one thing. The dagger he had given him. "Zika…" He said, looking down at the dagger, "…I promise you son, I will avenge you. If it's the last thing I do, no matter what I must do to ensure it happens…I will avenge you. Scorpius will be destroyed." The Magna Defender limped over to pick up his sword, sheathed it, and staggered off.

There was nothing left for him on this planet. Everything he had ever known was lost. Only one thing consumed the mind of this great hero now.

Revenge.