With the forces of both Planet Doom and M.A.D. defeated, the Super Stars headed back to the Castle of Lions, but there was still the returning robeast to worry about.

Tony, the Super Stars and Coran were back in the main control room of the Castle of Lions. Tony, Jim, and Mary had taken turns explaining to the royal adviser about their adventures on Arus and alerting him to the mental instability of the other two engineers. Just previously, Nanny had entered to report that the Voltron Force's wounds were healing well, but they still had not gained consciousness. The doctors were confident, however, that all would be ready when the robeast returned the next day.

Now, all nine of them were watching the monitors that showed the front gates of the castle where the five Lions of Voltron still lay. The exterior armor had been repaired and all damaged parts had been replaced while the Super Stars had been gone, but that's all the castle mechanic crews could do by themselves.

Prof. Paltros had shouted away all the other workers. He said he preferred working alone, especially after he met Jim. The young mechanic stared at the professor as if he were a Rock & Roll legend and literally begged on hands and knees for Prof. Paltros to share some of Voltron's secrets with him or relate some stories of the time Paltros worked with King Alfor. The professor had said no…well, actually, he said:

"NO!"

"Oh, please," Jim had begged. "I've been a fan of Voltron my whole life and meeting one of his original creators is a dream come true."

"I don't care," the professor had said. "Now go geek out somewhere else."

Tony and Tom had to drag Jim away and now all Jim could do was watch jealously as Prof. Paltros worked deep in Voltron's mainframe.

Coran had been beyond pleased when the Stars had returned with the professor and couldn't stop thanking them. "Arus owes you a debt of gratitude we will never be able to repay. If there is anything within our power, simply name it and it will be yours."

Tony closed his hand around Jim's mouth before he could speak. "No thanks necessary, Coran. All in the line of duty, right?" Tony directed this question and a hot glare at Jim before releasing him.

"Yeah, sure, glad to help," muttered Jim quietly.

"With Voltron's repairs underway and the Voltron Force in stable condition, it would appear that all will be ready when the robeast returns," said Coran.

"Then I guess our work here is done," said Mary.

High-pitched alarms blazed throughout the castle. Consoles in the command center flashed red in warning.

"Think again," Tony said to Mary.

The huge insectoid robeast the Voltron Force had fought days earlier was back. The Super Stars watched on the monitor as it stomped through the village toward the castle.

"King Zargon's robeast has returned," Coran said in horror.

"It wasn't supposed to show up until tomorrow," said Tony.

"Villains," scoffed Tom. "No sense of time or social manners. They'll just arrive whenever they feel like it and without an invitation, no less."

"How did they fix the robeast so fast?" wondered Jim.

"Who cares?" said Tony. "What are we going to do about this? We have no Voltron and no Voltron Force."

"Wrong again, kid."

Everyone turned to see Prof. Paltros waddling into the command center. He leaned on his cane and rubbed his hands with a dirty cloth. "You're half wrong anyway. Voltron is fully repaired."

"Voltron's fixed?" asked Tony. "Already?"

"Hey, we old folk can move fast when we want to," rasped Prof. Paltos.

Coran looked pleased, but still very worried. "That's wonderful news, but the Voltron Force is still in no condition to pilot the Lions."

"Not my problem," said the professor.

Everyone else in the command center thought hard and fast for a way to stop the rampaging robeast. "Between us Super Stars and the castle's defenses, maybe we can stall the robeast until the Votlron Force is better," said Tom.

Penny wrote that that plan off right away as impossible. "Stall it for twenty-four hours? No way."

"We don't have a choice, Penny," argued Tony. "We're going to have to go out and fight it."

"We wouldn't last long by ourselves out there; not even you," cautioned Penny.

"Who said we'd be alone?" said Tony. "The Lions need pilots and there are five of us right here."

It took the others a second to realize what Tony was suggesting. "You mean, us, the Super Stars, drive Voltron," asked Mary. She was slightly nervous about using such a large machine.

"That is an awesome idea," shouted Jim.

"Except that we don't know how to pilot the Lions," pointed out Penny.

"We'll have to figure that out as we go," said Tony. He raised his finger into the air and said, "To the Lions!"

The insect robeast was smashing buildings like a happy kid stomping around in a sand box. The villagers had not returned to their homes since the previous attack two days ago, so no innocent civilians were getting hurt. The robeast was making steady progress towards the Castle of Lions, though. Once it got close enough, it would rip through the castle walls with its claws or simply blast it apart with its laser.

The robeast halted as it saw the five Lions of Voltron approaching. Tony was out in front in the Black Lion. Penny in the Blue Lion and Tom in the Yellow Lion were on Tony's right. His left was covered by Mary in the Red Lion and Jim in the Green Lion. All of them had transformed into their super hero forms. They could see and talk to each other through the video communication system.

The Super Stars brought the Lions to a halt somewhat clumsily. Yellow Lion bumped into Blue Lion and Green Lion fell on its face when its front paws slipped. Coran had managed to give them a very brief overview of the Lion's controls, but they were still getting the hang of it.

"I think this one's defective," said Jim from within the Green Lion's cockpit. "Can I trade with someone?"

"No," said Tony. "Besides, you insisted on having a Lion that matched your outfit."

Jim got Green Lion to his feet and stood defiantly with the others against the invading monster. The robeast hissed and clicked angrily.

Tony tightened his grip on the controls. "Okay guys; we're going to have to work as a team to take this guy down."

Penny immediately took charge. "Right. Everyone, let's go high and attack from above."

"We'll just get hit by its laser that way," scoffed Jim. "We should fly low, hit its legs and knock it down.

"Maybe we could…" started Tony.

"If we go low, it will rip us apart with its claws," argued Penny. "We need to attack at a distance."

"I vote for the not-getting-hit-by-the-laser plan," said Tom.

Mary tried to restore peace to the group. "Let's just take a minute to think…"

"We don't have a minute," interrupted Penny. "Into the air; let's go." The Toon Princess launched the Blue Lion into the sky.

Instead of following, Jim pushed the Green Lion along the ground. Tony, Mary, and Tom just stood there, not knowing what to do. Blue Lion fired rockets from its claws as Green Lion slammed into the robeast's legs. Both attacks were too weak to do any damage. The robeast shrugged off the rockets and then picked up Green Lion as if it were a stuffed animal and tossed it into Blue Lion. Both Lions fell to the ground with a hard crunch.

"Come on, Mary. We have to do something," said Tom. Yellow Lion bounded forward with Red Lion right behind him.

"Guys, wait," cried Tony. Black Lion ran to catch up with Yellow and Red. The robeast used its laser to hit all three Lions. Warning lights flashed and sirens screamed inside the cockpits as Black, Red, and Yellow Lion rolled over the ground, heavily damaged by that attack. The insect robeast bellowed in triumph.

"Is everyone all right?" called Tony through the intercom.

"Yes," answered Mary weakly. "I think we're all unharmed."

"Oh, man," moaned Jim. "Maybe someone should tell him that lions are the kings of the jungle."

"Will you stop joking around Jim?" said Penny. "If you had listened to me, that last attack would have worked."

"Oh, so it's my fault," cried Jim in indignation. "I think that inflated head of yours is causing you to hallucinate."

"Will you two please stop fighting?" said Mary, irritated.

"Forget them, Mary. The rest of us will take him down," said Tom.

"No, no, we can't win without the entire team."

Tony couldn't believe it. Even now, in the midst of imminent destruction, Penny and Jim were arguing with one another and Tom and Mary were arguing about how best to stop Penny and Jim from arguing. The robeast was charging up his laser for another attack. The Stars were so intent on their squabbles they didn't even notice. Tony had to do something and talking had proved useless. So, there was only one thing left to do.

"I'm telling you, we…What?"

Every one of the Stars abruptly stopped talking as they watched the Black Lion bound towards the robeast and make a flying leap right at its chest. The laser would surely blast the lion and Tony apart.

"Tony!" shouted Penny.

Acting purely on instinct, Tom also leapt at the robeast and hit it on its side, causing it to turn slightly. The laser fired and just missed Tony. If the Black Lion had had fur, it would have been singed. Before the robeast could recover for a second shot, Tony slammed into it, sending it flying backwards onto its back.

The other lions came rushing up. "Tony, what were you doing?" asked Mary in a shaky voice.

"You should have known a frontal assault wouldn't work," reprimanded Penny.

"Funny, it seems to have worked this time," said Tony, pointing at the robeast with one metal claw.

Penny didn't answer at first. None of the Stars seemed to have realized that Tony's attack had indeed worked. "Well…that's only because Tom distracted it."

"And that's exactly why I did it," said Tony. "I knew you guys wouldn't let me get blasted, so I didn't have to worry about dodging the laser and I could concentrate on my attack."

"B-b-but, Tony," stammered Jim. "How could you have possibly known that Tom, or any one of us, was going to do that?"

"Simple. You guys are my friends and I trust you." Tony thought it was all too obvious, but the Super Stars were just now beginning to understand.

A groaning and grinding sound caught the five teenagers' attention. The robeast had gotten up. Its antennae were twitching furiously and its mandibles were clicking in a chorus of anger, announcing that it was ready for Round Two.

Tony addressed the Super Stars. "All right, guys. I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of getting squashed by this miserable mosquito. We're going to take him down and we're going to do it as a team." Mary nodded with a determined look on her faces. Jim let a savage grin come to his lips. Tom gave Tony the thumbs up.

"We're ready when you are, Tony," said Penny. She was surprised and proud at how Tony had taken command.

"All right guys, get ready." As one, all five Lions turned toward the advancing robeast and crouched, ready to attack. "Remember, stop worrying so much about what you need to do and just do it. Trust in each other. Super Stars GO!"

The Black, Blue, and Yellow Lions flew straight for the robotic monster as the Red and Green Lions ran in opposite direction to get behind it. The robeast hesitated for a second, confused by this new coordinated tactic and unsure who to target. It decided that the three Lions in front were the bigger threat. It started to charge up its laser. That proved to be a mistake since Jim and Mary had now gotten around the robeast and let loose with a barrage of missiles at the creatures lower back. The attack didn't do much damage, if any, but it did succeed in disrupting the laser beam, providing Tony, Penny, and Tom a perfect chance to land three powerful blows.

The robeast was knocked back, but far from finished. Since the Super Stars had changed their strategy, he responded by changing his. Instead of firing one massive laser from its chest, the robeast starting firing several smaller lasers from its pincer-like arms. These lasers were weaker, but faster, and the Stars really had to react quickly to avoid getting hit. However, there were five Lions and the robeast only have four arms. The young heroes each took turns directly attacking the robeast while the others distracted the lasers. Despite their success, they weren't able to cause enough damage to destroy the monster.

"Battle plan number 24," shouted Tony. The Stars maneuvered the Lions into position, just like in practice. Jim in the Green Lion started running at the robeast from a distance, bobbing and weaving between lasers. The Red Lion leapt onto the Green Lion's back and used its momentum to leap even higher. At the apex of the jump, both Mary and Jim launched all the missiles and lasers they could. The storm of projectiles blasted the robeast from head to foot and he was forced to stop firing and draw his arms in to protect himself.

Next, Tom in the Yellow Lion and Penny in the Blue Lion came at the robeast from both sides. They each grabbed two of the insect's arms in the Lion's steel jaws. He roared in pain as the two Lions stretched him out. The monster could only look in horror as the Black Lion bounded into him at full speed, completely ripping the robeast's arms from its body. The robeast just stood there howling in pain. Bare wires sticking out of its arm sockets emitted pale blue sparks that quickly fizzled out. The robeast's skin slowly changed from dark green to a light brown, like leaves in autumn, until it simply keeled over onto its back.

"All right!" shouted Jim. "We busted that bug." The Super Stars all congratulated one another, thrilled with the twin victory of defeating the monster and learning to working together. However, King Zargon and Witch Haggar, who had been watching the fight, were less happy about the outcome.

"Yet another of your robeasts have failed, Hagger," said King Zargon, his fingers tightening with suppressed rage around the armrests of his throne. "You assured me that destroying Voltron would be easy, but the Super Stars have made a fool out of both you and my worthless son."

At these words, Prince Lotor shook with a rage to equal his father's. He would have leapt to defend himself against the king's accusations had Hagger not held him back with one skeletal hand on his shoulder.

Hagger stroked the blue fur of her cat as she spoke. "You're Majesty. You, like the Super Stars, do not understand the ways of insects." She stopped speaking as a butterfly with blue and black wings fluttered innocently in front of her. Its delicate wings glittered in the pale torchlight of Zargon's palace. "They are known to be quite adaptable." Hagger slowly extended her hand and the butterfly obediently landed on one of her bony fingers. The butterfly starting shuttering uncontrollably as soon as it touched Hagger's skin. All color faded from its wings as it doubled in size and grew a horrible set of fangs. Hagger laughed as she witnessed how her evil presence had corrupted the poor creature.

The Super Stars took a minute to continue slapping themselves on the back. "Come on, guys," said Jim. "Let's get these puppies-I mean kitties-back to the palace and grab some pizza before we head home."

"Sounds good," agreed Tony.

"Uh, we might have to put a rain check on that, team," said Mary, her voice rising slightly with concern. "Look!"

The steel eyes of the Lions looked towards the fallen monster who, as it turned out, was not as fallen as they had thought. The beast had managed to stagger to its feet. It swayed unsteadily as the electric life-blood continued to spray out of its wounds. The yellow compound eyes seemed to be staring off into the distance, though with no pupils, it was hard to tell.

"I can't believe that thing is still up," exclaimed Tom. The head of the Yellow Lion even shook its head in disbelief.

"No sweat," said Tony confidently. "One more attack and its toast." The Black Lion reared back on its haunches, ready to sprint forward and tackle its prey. The Yellow, Green, and Red Lions were just a half step behind, but before any of them could move, there was a warning cry from Penny.

"Hold it a second. What's it doing?"

The half-dead robeast had started to act very strangely. Its shoulders and legs started to jerk involuntarily. Its head bounced wildly on its neck like a bobble-head doll. The robeast doubled over and the skin on its back began to ripple and churn. A large hump appeared directly in the center of the beast's back. As the Stars looked on in fascination and horror, they realized…

"Something's in there."

The hump was getting larger by the second, stretching the skin thinner and thinner until it was almost transparent. Some kind of dark shape could be seen through the skin and now a high pitched cry accompanied the grinding and popping caused by the bug's spasms. The dark shape thrashed and jerked and finally the robeast's skin could hold no longer. It bust apart like some monstrous zit. The skeletal remains of the insect fell lifeless to the ground and were trampled by the scaled feet of the newly born robeast. It had an insect body, like its parent, but it was infinitely more grotesque. Its scaly skin was black, like it had been burnt, with just a faint tint of green. Instead of two large eyes, it now had six smaller ones; all glowing a bright red. Two pairs of wings protruded from its back like sword blades. The four thin arms had been replaced by two muscular arms, each ending in a wicked three-clawed hand. Its chest had expanded to at least three times the width: a bodybuilder among bugs.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," shouted Jim.

"No one said there'd be a second robeast," whinned Tony. "Did I miss a memo?"

The Blue Lion leapt to the front. "Quick, take it down while it's still weak," said Penny. The other four Lions were right behind her, a cloud of dirt and rocks flung up behind them in their desperate headlong rush.

The robeast seemed to be inspecting its new body. It had been just as surprised by the Super Stars at the transformation. The low growls of the approaching Lions made him look up. The monster simply cocked his head as he looked at the metal claws and teeth racing towards him. Somehow, the shining beasts that had hurt him so much just seconds ago looked nothing more than pets now.

As one, the Super Stars piloted the Lions to jump into the air, claws extended, ready to slash this new robeast to ribbons. The insect creature used one muscular arm to swipe all the Lions aside like so much dust in the air. The teenage heroes were thrown against computer panels and weapon control systems as their Lions bashed and rolled along the ground.

Mary had almost been thrown out of her pilot seat. "So much for 'weak'."

"We're no more than bugs to that bug." Tom had managed to get turned around so that his head was on the floor and his legs were on the armrests. Impressive contortionism, but he'd feel that in the morning.

"Let's blast that thing," said Jim. His finger was already on the trigger.

"Don't waste your ammo, Jim; that won't work," said Penny. "Obviously, we need more power."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Tony's face instantly brightened. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I've always wanted to say this: Get ready to form Voltron! Activate interlock. Dynatherms (whatever those are) connected. Infracells up. Mega-Thrusters are go!"

Five voices shouted, "Let's go Super Star Force!"

The five Lioins of Voltron rose up in the air in a "V" shape with Tony in the Black Lion leading the way. Lightning crackled around each Lion, reflected in the metal surface making it look like the Lions had become the lightning. Almost automatically, each Lion began to transform themselves. Tails disappeared and legs were folded up in preparation for the robotic defender. Each Lion was only a head and body now.

"Form feet and legs!"

The Blue and Yellow Lions bent themselves into an "L" shape and attached to the lower part of the Black Lion.

"Form arms and body!"

Now the Red and Green Lions attached themselves to the upper part of the Black Lion. The five metal cats were now one creature with human like body and a Lion head. Then, the jaws of the Black Lion opened wide and an expressionless human face appeared.

"And I'll form the head!"

Voltron was now complete, ready to do battle with anything that dared to threaten the safety of Planet Ares. The Lion's heads that were Voltron's hands and feet roared a challenge at the robeast that could surely be heard all the way back to Planet Doom.

"Now we are ready to rock!" shouted Tony.

The other Stars all agreed. With Voltron, their confidence was building once again. "Let's barbeque this bug," said Mary.

"Excellent idea, my friend," said Tony. "Fire Flamethrowers."

Twins jets of red fire erupted from the jaws of the Red and Green Lion heads. The robeast cringed, but did not have time to dodge and the fire engulfed him. For good measure, two more strings of flame burst from the mouths of the Yellow and Blue Lions. The invading insect resembled the Human Torch for a spilt second before the fire hid it from view. After about 10 seconds, the mouths of the four Lions closed and the fire ceased, although the bonfire where the bug had stood continued to burn.

"Great job, guys," said Tony. "That must have gotten him."

"Whew," said Penny, waving her hand in front of her face. "It certainly smells like we got him."

Unfortunately, they were both disappointed. As the conflagration raged on, a black silhouette appeared in the center of the blaze and slowly stepped out to reveal the robeast, unharmed.

"No way!" exclaimed Tom.

"Huh, that's weird," said Tony, puzzled. "Fire beats Bug: always works for Pokemon."

The robeast screamed a high pitched shrill; its acceptance of Voltron's challenge and its confidence in the outcome.

"Quick, we have to do something else," said Mary, blocking her ears at the hideous sound.

Tony had to shout to make himself heard. "Try firing all four Lion heads at it. That usually works on TV."

The Super Stars prepared to make another attack, but this time the robeast was too quick. It shot forward, running towards Voltron at amazing speed, boosted by the cyclone caused by its buzzing wings. It reached the robot before the Stars could react and slammed into Voltron, pushing it back almost one hundred feet before skidding to a stop. The beasts claws dug right through the metal armor at Voltron's shoulder joints. The Stars tried to shake it loose, but the robeast's claws were paralyzing Voltron's arms and all of Penny and Tom's attention was directed at the robeast's feet which were trying to scrap away at the vulnerable legs.

The robeast's right leg managed to punch a small hole right into the cockpit of the Yellow Lion a scant three inches from Tom's head.

"Does anybody else feel a draft?"

"I hope they can buff that out," said Mary when she noticed the damage.

The robeast's wings flapped faster, kicking up enough dust to obscure both robots from view. Then, the robeast shot straight up into the air, dragging Volton along with it. It flew higher and higher until even the Royal Palace of Arus was just a speck below.

The robeast had Voltron by the right arm, which was the Red Lion. Jim kept trying to punch the robeast with the Green Lion arm, but it was flying out of reach.

"Let…us…go…you…stupid…bug," said Jim, punctuating each word with a missed punch.

Surprisingly, the robeast obeyed and released Voltron's arm.

"Well, that's bet-."

The robeast struck with one fist right into Voltron's stomach, leaving a huge dent and sending the robot defender hurtling back down to the planet's surface. Alarms blared and warning lights flashed as the Super Stars tried to activate Voltron's own booster rockets, but they didn't respond. Voltron hit the ground like a meteor. When the dust settled, Voltron was flat on his back, but still in one piece.

"Is everyone ok?" asked Tony weakly.

"GASP…I can't breathe," wheezed Tom.

Mary was beside herself. "No! Tom, where do you hurt?"

"The stomach, duh," said Tom in a normal voice. "We were just punched in the stomach."

"You idiot," said Penny. "Voltron was the one who got punched."

"Yes, but I'm very sensitive to other people's pain," sniffed Tom.

"Oh for crying out-LOOK OUT!"

The robeast was zooming back down toward Voltron. Its claws were aimed right for Voltron's head. The robot would not be able to survive the hit.

"Jim, Mary, quick!" shouted Tony.

As one, the two heroes yanked on their controls and Voltrons arms shot up to catch the dive bombing robeast. The impact drove Voltron deeper into the ground, but the robeast did not manage to make contact. Before the robeast could react, Penny and Tom maneuvered Voltron's legs underneath the insect and pushed. The robeast was sent flailing through the air and landed fifty feet away.

The robeast was unfazed. It was already up and ready while the Stars were still trying to get Voltron on his feet. The robeast decided not to wait. The glowing in its eyes intensified and energy beams ripped through the air.

"We're going to get hit," said Penny. "We can't get up to dodge it."

"Then don't," said Jim. "Roll over!"

Voltron sprang to the right in a roll that dodged the beam and brought him to his feet in one motion.

"Nice moves down there," said Jim.

"Good thinking up there," responded Penny.

"So bug breath wants a staring contest, huh," said Tony. "Well we can play that game. Firing Eye Lasers." Two blasts of energy shot out of Voltron's eyes and hit the robeast at point blank range, but they seemed to be just as ineffective as the fire had been.

"Not even a scratch," said Tom in amazement.

"We're wasting our time with energy weapons," snapped Penny. "We're going to have to go toe-to-toe with that thing."

"Form Blazing Sword!" shouted Tony. Voltron's hands came together, then slowly pulled apart revealing a glowing strand of white hot metal being pulled like taffy. The glowing ceased and Voltron held in his right hand his most powerful weapon, the Blazing Sword: a silver longsword with a blue hilt.

Voltron rushed at the robeast, swinging the Blazing Sword in short arcs, trying to penetrate its defense while the robeast was likewise using its claws to give rapid jabs at Voltron. The Super Stars were managing to do a fair amount of damage to the creature. Black blood oozed from multiple shallow, but obviously painful cuts. The robeasts pincers clicked in annoyance. It seemed like the teen heroes might finally have been able to regain the upper hand when the robeast caught the Blazing Sword in one clawed hand.

"Hey, give that back," said Mary.

Voltron and the robeast struggled for a moment to gain control of the Sword. The robeast hissed as it grabbed Voltron's blade in both hands and snapped it in half.

"No way!" exclaimed Tony.

"Not good," said Mary.

The robeast, being an insect, had no lips, but you'd swear it was sneering as it casually threw aside the half of the Blazing Sword it was holding. With lightning speed, it laid into Voltron with a vengeance. Mary and Jim did their best to block the attacks, but the robeast was just too fast.

"Watch out. Watch out!"

"We can't take much more."

"He's going for the head."

"Tony, on your left!"

Voltron's head turned only to be blindsided by a direct hit on the right cheek from the robeast.

"Sorry, I meant my left."

"Tom," said Tony with false patience, "we're facing the same direction. WE HAVE THE SAME LEFT!"

The vice grip of the robeast's claws squeezed Voltron's head like a melon as it looked right into the robot's eyes. It was so close, Tony could have counted the number of twitching hairs on the robeast's head. (14,895 – in case anybody cares) All four of Voltron's Lion limbs battered at the monster, but it held firm. Its glowing eyes were getting brighter. It was going to shot its lasers again.

"NO!"

Tony managed to activate the Eye Lasers before the robeast could get his shot off. The giant insect quickly backed away holding its smoking face in its hands.

"Nice shot, Tony," said Mary. "I think that hurt it."

"I think I just stunned it," said Tony, disappointed. "The Blazing Sword is the only weapon that seemed to do any real damage. We've got to cut this bug down to size."

"But the Sword's the one that got cut," said Tom desperately.

There was a moment of tense silence; then Penny said, "I've got an idea. Tony, use the Toon Sword. Tap into Voltron's power and then channel that power into Voltron himself."

Tony just sat dumbfounded for a second while Penny's words sank in. "Can I do that?" It sounded a bit farfetched, even to him.

Even though Tony couldn't see, Penny smiled. "I thought we were supposed to trust each other?"

Tony also smiled, while rolling his eyes, and drew the Toon Sword.

"Voltron!"

The Toon Sword crackled with an aura of lighting that flashed from white to red to green to blue to yellow and back again to repeat the cycle. Tony's mind was flooded with memories that were not his own. Images of titanic battles with monstrous creatures of all levels of ugliness fought to make themselves seen. When he had time, Tony would have to take a closer look at these remembered battles, but for now he brushed them aside and focused on the matter at hand.

Digging deep within the power he had summoned, Tony found that he was becoming in tune with the giant robot. While he was still aware of his own body, Tony could feel – like they were his own bones – the many inner metallic gears and bolts and wires that made up Voltron. Then, Tony came across a part of Voltron that was different. It pulsed with heat like a furnace and shone as bright as any sun and at the same time seemed gentle, like a mother's reassuring touch. This entity was not whole; rather, it drew its strength from five other, smaller parts which gave off less power, but were shining just as brightly. Tony realized that this must be the core, the heart, the very soul of Voltron. The five smaller souls had to be those of the Lions.

With this revelation, the larger soul spoke to Tony. It spoke with emotions and feelings instead of words. Voltron was anxious to destroy the evil before and it seemed eager, even excited, to combine powers with the Toon Master in order to do it.

Focusing his power, Tony laid the Toon Sword on the Black Lion's control panel. Energy rushed from the Sword and through miles of circuitry in mere seconds, restoring Voltron's strength and healing its wounds. When the energy reached the Lions, Tony's friends also felt the might of Voltron flow into their bodies and they came into contact with the soul of the robotic guardian.

Tony's eyes snapped open and he glared at the robeast. "It's time we finished this." As one, the Super Stars and Voltron brought their hands together and then slowly pulled them apart revealing a golden stream of light.

"Form Blazing Toon Sword!"

In Voltron's hands was an exact enlarged replica of the golden Toon Sword, engulfed in white flames.

The robeast had recovered from the laser blast and was responding with its own laser. With a few lighting fast reflexes, each shot bounced harmlessly off the Blazing Toon Sword. Its own energy beam having failed, the robeast powered up its wings and zoomed forward to tackle Voltron. The Super Stars had expected that and we not about to let it happen again. A surge of energy gave strength to the flames around that Sword. The fire spiraled around the giant insect, setting its wings ablaze and halting its attack. Whereas the beast seemed immune to fire before; now it shrieked in pain at the fire fueled by Voltron's soul.

Now that the robeast was stalled, it was time to deliver the final blow. Voltorn leapt high into the air. Sunlight flashed off the Sword, but it seemed so dim compared to the fire that was already blazing. Voltorn hung in the sky for just a moment (an excellent photo op) before bringing the Sword down with all its fury. The robeast raised an arm in defence, but it was made of paper before the divine edge of Voltron's new weapon. The Sword sliced the hideous creature from the left shoulder through to the right hip. The robeast stood in lifeless shock as its top half slid facedown into the sand. Both halves then exploded in a giant orange fireball and Voltron, the Super Stars, and the Toon Master looked on in victorious relief.

"We did it!" shouted Tony, waving around the still glowing Toon Sword.

"Hasta la vista, cucaracha," said Jim in a cheery voice.