Ohayho Tokyo! Konnichi wa London! Konbanwa New York! CJzilla here with another update. In this chapter Manny runs from a fight but confronts La Cortina! (Gasp) Enjoy.
As I tear down this city, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R! Love on me... Hate on me... You know this by now.
KingOfTheLab: Bring on the scary! It is a horror fic anyway... What was I saying?
KnucklesRedFury207.2: Manny's not gonna snap!... At least, not yet...
CardcaptorKatara: Frida ALWAYS has time for insults and fun! She's fun to write. Manny has seen a lot of tradgey and now he has nothing to lose. Watch out La Cortina.
acosta perez jose ramiro: (CJzilla falls out of her chair, laughing hysterically) Dude! Thanks for pointing out the Spanish grammar mistake. I laugh because I SHOULD have known that... Oh well, I corrected it.
Moranofchaos2: I like the Titanium Titan and I always hurt those whom I adore. Poor Titan. You think he tasted that golden scepter? (CJzilla giggles)
Chapter 10
Pistolero
The Titanium Titan was getting helped to his feet by two skeleton banditos. Since getting a hit from a golden scepter in his tender areas, the ex-sidekick could barely stand let alone think. What was the rush anyway? The undead soldiers could easily hunt down Manny Rivera and his friend. After all, they were just scared and confused little children, running from the battlefield. Easy pickings.
Suddenly the Titanium Titan heard a loud tiger roar before he saw a dozen skeleton banditos blown into pieces. Standing in the cloudy noonday sun was El Tigre. The Titan managed an amused giggle.
"You're more stupido than I thought, El Tigre." His voice was still high from getting hit in the-… uh-…. you know. The Titan stood and bit down the pain. "Your grandfather and father are gone. You stand no chance solo."
The teen lowered his head, staring at the villainous ex-sidekick through the tops of smoldering green eyes.
"Have you learned nothing from our fights, Titan?" Manny hissed, spreading his claws as he readied to tear into the Titan. "If there's anything me and mi famila have proven is that the Rivera men never back down. I'd be scared if I was you, Titan."
The Titan scoffed and folded his liquid metal arms.
"The odds are against you, Tigre." He grinned. "Even if you do get past the skeleton bandito army, there is still me and La Cortina to contend with. This is no fight. It is a slaughter."
Manny gave a quick chuckle as he dug his footing into the piles of treasure under him.
"You're right. It is a slaughter." The teen gave a sinister smile that would make his supervillain Grandpapi proud. El Tigre pounced from the mound of gold coins he was standing on and jumped toward the Titan.
Seeing the teen coming in fast but his tenders still giving him blinding pain, the Titanium Titan shot an order to the skeleton bandito army.
"Destroy Manny Rivera!" The ex-sidekick fumed. Reacting to the order, the undead soldiers jumped into the air, ready to meet El Tigre halfway.
Manny lashed out with every limb. Aged, undead bones broke with sickening cracks under the teen's super strength. A few skeleton bandito alone was no match for Manny, but as he fought on and on he found that his punches and kicks were repeating. He was pretty sure he popped that skeleton's head off seven times all ready! Banditos of all sizes kept pouring in on the teen. After thirty seconds, the fight seemed almost synchronized. Kick, bandito legs break, punch, bandito's head flies off, slash, banditos were chopped into pieces and repeat. How could he incapacitate something that kept coming back for more?
"Getting tired, Tigre?" He heard the Titan jeer. "How long can you keep this up? The banditos can't die!"
Manny gulped. This was getting him nowhere. At this rate, he'd burn himself out before he ever got to La Cortina. But what of Grandpapi? Dad? He'd sworn to protect Dr. Chipotle Jr. and bring La Cortina down. How could he do this if her army would keep on regenerating and eating away at his energy? Was all this planning all in vain? No.
Hissing at the dishonorable thought that came to his mind, Manny sheathed his claws. The Titanium Titian's mocking laugh soon followed.
"So you surrender? Wow. That was easy and pathetic." The ex-sidekick sniggered. The skeleton banditos were called off.
El Tigre looked up and saw the undead soldiers part. The Titan walked smugly toward the teen.
"See? You cannot win. You were better off running with your little blue-haired girlfriend-" The Titanium Titan looked calmly at his nails when Manny suddenly darted to the side. "Hey! I didn't mean that!"
Yes, Manny Rivera was running… away… from a fight. But not for just any reason. The teen zipped toward the door but not before skidding to a stop.
"I'm not proud of this, but it has to be done." El Tigre hung his head but steadily began digging around in the mound of treasure. The Titan wasn't sure whether to attack him or watch.
Then Manny found what he was looking for. Gripping the powerful instrument the teen pulled his new weapon from the treasure. The Titan heard the faint sound of a guitar before he saw what Manny was holding in his hand. It was Sartana of the Dead's Mystic Guitar. The ex-sidekick's blood ran cold.
"Oh man-! STOP HIM!" The Titan blasted into the air. The skeleton banditos began inching their way toward the teen.
El Tigre chuckled.
"Too slow Titan!" Then he began running toward the city and toward La Cortina.
"Oh basuar." The Titanium Titan cursed as he watched the teen super dart off. "Alejandra's going to kill me."
Manny ran. This was a new feeling. It was a mix between showing up to school with no pants in his favorite Zebra Donkey underwear and that time he was the Albino Burrito's sidekick… amplified times ten. His standards, villainous or heroic alike, were always the same: family honor and never ever run from a fight. Mumbling curses under his breath, Manny thought he could kick the skeleton banditos' undead carcasses AND the Titanium Titan, but he couldn't! He lost a fight to some undead skeletons and that nutty ex-sidekick! It left a stale taste in his mouth to know he was running. But it was like his father always said. He'd rather run from a fight than leave his family alone. There were a few twists to Manny's circumstances but the principle was still the same.
The teen hero hoped that Frida was on her way to retrieving their secret weapon. She had to recover it from way across town and get it to La Cortina. Manny just had to keep the supervillainess busy and buy his best friend time. He foresaw a huge and long battle in front of him.
Manny followed La Cortina's path of destruction, but the city's buildings and landmarks were the same. The people though, they marked the villain's path. People, young and old, innocent and guilty, all fell where they once stood, their essences taken. Manny tired not to think about how horrible those white eyes looked. It was like every horror movie he'd seen come to life in ghastly proportions. When something like this happened on the big screen, Manny found it funny because he knew it was fictional, not real, but not now. There was a real monster of unnatural size consuming the essences of everyone he knew, everyone he cared for. If he kept thinking about that, he'd lose it. The teen had to focus on bringing down La Cortina. Hopefully that would restore all the essences she'd stolen and he'd never have to see those terrifying white eyes again.
La Cortina's huge shadow form was growing closer and closer as Manny ran on. It wasn't long until he came upon the first skeleton bandito. The undead soldier was harassing a frightened couple trapped in their car. The teen was thankful to see two people that were still functioning. Skidding to a halt Manny grabbed a hold of Sartana's Mystic Guitar.
"Well, I'm not much of a guitar player..." He tentatively curled a finger around the E string and gave it a light pluck. He was nearly blown out of his boots as the black magic guitar fired an energy burst.
The fluky shot hit the skeleton bandito off of the car and blew it into a nearby fountain. The couple in the car was flabbergasted. Then El Tigre hopped onto their hood. Seeing that the people were all right the teen gave them a firm gesture to leave. The frightened man behind the steering wheel nodded. Satisfied Manny resumed his race toward La Cortina.
Nearing the huge shadow monster, Manny could hear loud blasts from heavily armed tanks. The Miracle City Policia was on the front lines! The teen held in a dreaded gasp. Frida's dad! He was the Chief of Police! Manny couldn't let Frida's dad become La Cortina's next meal.
Finally, the thirteen-year-old was just a city block away from La Cortina. His lungs were burning, he couldn't feel his legs and he couldn't catch his breath. Leaning up against a building's brick wall, Manny heaved air into his oxygen deprived lungs. Just a second's rest and he'd be good. Then the air around his face suddenly got manically stinky. Manny gagged and spat, the horrible stench getting into his mouth. What in the heck? Was he next to an open dumpster? Something told Manny to turn around.
Spinning on his heel, he saw a big skeleton bandito standing behind him.
"Santa Sanchez!" The thirteen-year-old blurted out as he dove to the right and coming to a rude stop on the asphalt. As he did, the undead soldier sliced the air with his zombie claws where Manny's head was milliseconds before.
Getting up from the ground, Manny barely had time to fall back down when the skeleton lashed out again.
"Why you dirty-!" The teen spat out as the bandito's sharp finger-bones shot just above his head. Manny held out his hand and extended his claws.
The skeleton cut easily under his metal talons. The undead bandito fell to the ground, twitched and fell still. Manny took in a wary breath. If it was that easy to sneak up on him, he'd better watch it. Getting up off of the ground, Manny dusted himself off and began to run the remaining city block. He didn't realize how many skeleton banditos were wandering around the streets. Over a dozen skeletons jumped around him. The teen hissed.
"I don't have time for you guys!" Manny exclaimed swiping the nearest undead with his claws. But another bandito replaced the one sliced to bits.
Once again, he was getting nowhere. Fighting the skeletons in front of him, the banditos from behind jumped him. The teen hit the asphalt. Manny didn't have time to get up. More undead soldiers moved in and piled on him. At the bottom of the heap of carcasses the stench was killer but not as bad as the fear factor. Unable to move and his breath nearly squeezed out of him by the dozens of skeleton banditos, Manny's heart was in his throat. He wouldn't survive much more of this! He had to get out!
Shooting one of his El Tigre fists, the powerful move blasted away a portion of the banditos. Then Manny saw his way out. There was a streetlight just within his grasp. Shooting out his other fist, his hand grabbed a hold of the streetlamp. Recoiling his fist, Manny pulled himself out of the stack of rotting banditos. Staggering to his feet, the teen super breathed in a breath of fresh air. He then felt something grab his ankle. Another skeleton bandito, well, half of one anyway gripped his ankle with its skeleton hand. Kicking it off, Manny looked up. Again he was getting surrounded. His eyes darted around, desperate for any options. He needed a way to get by them without having to burn off more of his all ready depleting energy. The rooftops! Of course!
Shooting his fist to the nearest building, Manny hoisted himself up before another bandito could grab him. Scrambling to safely on a high rooftop, the teen had a clear shot to La Cortina.
La Cortina was at the Miracle City Prison, sucking up the remaining criminals inside the building. She looked even more intimidating when she was out in the middle of the open. The prison sat in the middle of a large city park and La Cortina looked HUGE! The police around her… ankles had their hands full with her undead army. Skeleton banditos overwhelmed the large tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters. The number of policemen was not enough to even dent the skeleton army.
Sucking in his fear and exhaling, Manny sprinted into the city park and joined the battle. Skidding out into the open, the teen hero's mouth went dry. The odds were stacked so high, failure wasn't an option.
Chief Suárez cuffed another skeleton bandito. He growled. He hadn't kicked this much undead butt in his entire career. The police chief could see a new plaque in his office. "The Day I Saw More Undead Booty Than A Graveyard"; oh yeah, it would be the envy of the station for years to come.
"Rodriguez, Philippe! What is your status?" Jeffe Suarez barked into his police radio. There was static until a frightened voice came on the other line.
"This is Gonzales. Rodriguez and Philippe are down! This shadow monster did something to them! They are not responding!" Officer Gonzales whimpered. Suárez growled.
Two more of his officers were down, taken out by this mysterious shadow. The word "retreat" was on the tip of the police chief's tongue. Then from behind him, he heard aged bones creaking together. Spinning, Chief Suárez caught the skeleton bandito too late; he didn't have time to react. But just as it had him, metal claws shot through the undead corpse's torso and sliced it into three sections. Crumbling to the ground, the skeleton bandito was silent. Chief Suárez didn't believe it. Standing over the pile of thrashed skeleton remains was El Tigre!
"Holy mama! Rivera! You're alive!" The chief of police awed his mouth slightly slack. To his great annoyance, the thirteen-year-old trouble-maker gave him a smug grin.
"I was about to say the same thing to you Mr. Suárez." Manny replied. He relished the look of irritation on his best friend's father's face.
"I have no time for your delinquent remarks, Rivera! Is my daughter safe?" Jeffe Suárez's single blue eye got soft with worry. Again, the teen super smiled arrogantly.
"She is. I wouldn't let anything happen to Frida." Manny looked at his claws casually. Suárez smoldered.
It was no secret that Manny wasn't Chief Suárez's favorite person, mainly because he saw him as a bad influence on his daughter. But to those who knew Frida well, his concern should be with Manny and the influence of his blue-haired rocker daughter. Most of the escapades the two thirteen-year-olds got into were because of Frida's… firm suggestion.
"If I find so much as one scratch on my Frida's precious head, I'll-!" Chief Suárez began but Manny's attention was no longer on his friend's father. A giant black tentacle was coiled behind the police chief, ready to tear out his essence.
"Get down!" El Tigre dove onto Chief Suárez. Both fell to the ground as the tentacle flew through the air, inches from their heads.
Manny gulped and struck out at the shadow tentacle. It fell to the ground, twitched and died before the remainder of the tentacle retreated. That was too close. He had to get everyone out of here.
"Listen Jefe, I know you don't like me and I know you think I'm a punk." Manny narrowed his eyes at the man as he pointed his thumb at himself. "But I am the only person who can stop La Cortina. Get your men outta here!"
Part of Chief Suárez didn't want to leave his city in the hands of a child, but the majority of him would like to see El Tigre beaten into a quivering pile of flesh. The man nodded.
"You have a plan, Rivera?" Suárez choked out, cocking a brow at the young delinquent. Manny gave a firm nod.
"Sí. And it involves guacamole." The teen hero expected Chief Suárez to immediately question his thinking but instead the man stood and straightened out his jacket.
"Whatever it takes to stop this monstruo." Then he grabbed his policia radio. "Gonzales and whoever else is still with us. I want all of you to retreat. El Tigre is here."
There were a lot of relieved whoops and cheers from the other policemen. Suárez clicked off his radio and gave the teen one last glare.
"I ask you to live through this, Rivera." He voiced. Manny looked at the man like he'd just grown another head. "You and I both know that my daughter cannot live without you. So for Frida's sake… be careful."
Those were words Manny thought Chief Suárez would never say. But the teen gave a single nod.
"Affirmative Jefe." Manny saluted. Suárez looked sick but he turned on his heel and began moving his men out of the dangerous area.
Manny was left all alone to face down La Cortina and her skeleton banditos. Gulping as he watched all the police retreat, the teen sensation turned and faced down his enemy.
La Cortina was too busy wolfing down the essences of helpless inmates to notice him. For now, she was in one place so that'd make it easier for Frida to find them and deliver the secret weapon. Manny focused on the amassing problem in front of him: the skeleton banditos. Déjà vu from just minuets before hit the young super. But he didn't have the Titanium Titan to contend with so this should be an easier fight. Giving a tiger's roar, El Tigre jumped into the crowd of undead corpses, swinging lefts and rights.
La Cortina heard the tiger roar. She spun, her huge shadowy body flexing with her movement. Below was El Tigre fighting off her army of skeleton banditos. She was stunned. The little niño was still alive! Impressive. Then her eyes came to Sartana's Mystical Guitar strapped to the thirteen-year-old hero's back. For a moment, concern shot through her mind like an icy bullet. She must get that black magic guitar out of El Tigre's claws.
Manny sliced and punched in all directions. Bones of all sizes littered the ground and crunched under his boots. But still the undead onslaught continued. Manny was tired; he couldn't deny it any longer. But he had to fight on. Frida needed time to get here! This was the only way to destroy La Cortina and revive everyone! Fighting to ignore his numb muscles, Manny fought on.
Suddenly the skeletons, just as they were taking advantage of Manny's weakened state, they all backed off. Surprised but nonetheless thankful, the teen hero fell to his knees, out of breath.
"Hello again El Tigre." He heard La Cortina's voice. Manny looked up and saw the supervillainess, now back down to normal size, grinning at him. "You look tired niño."
Manny gritted his teeth at the woman in the alien costume. La Cortina casually looked at her fingernails.
"And I can only assume you blazed past the Titanium Titan but now that your energy is all wasted on my skeleton banditos, I suppose I can give you a breather." The woman shrugged. "You've got more tenacity than your father, El Tigre and that wets my palate."
Suddenly she stared hungrily at the teen.
"Tenacious essences like yours are superbly delicious." Dark tentacles began rising from her dress as she licked her lips. "And I will thoroughly enjoy feasting on your quintessence just as soon as I defeat you."
Manny made a fist. Frida wasn't here yet; she needed more time. Time to stall.
"Eat this!" The teen got back up to his feet and dug his feet into the dirt.
He dove at her, opening his claws and slashing the air like he'd lost his mind. La Cortina simply sidestepped. At the last second Manny backhanded and the tip of an edge of his claw caught La Cortina across the cheek. Throwing his claws to the ground Manny did a handstand-flip so that he was now facing the woman.
But La Cortina still had an amused smile even when she wiped her vital juice off of her face. She chuckled as she smeared the blood over her hand.
"You drew blood, Manny." La Cortina looked at him. Her face was plastered with an amused grin. "Is that entirely the hero's way?"
"It's my way Cortina!" Manny barked back. "Surrender now or there will be a whole lot more of your inner juices on the grass."
La Cortina smiled at him. Before his eyes the teen hero saw the score on the woman's face heal. Even though she was in an alien costume, Manny had never seen Alejandra regenerate before.
"That's going to be a problem." La Cortina told him. "I don't bleed very easy anymore."
Manny made fists, anger burning his throat.
"Then let's see how well you heal broken bones." He threatened.
The teen hero charged her again and his opponent sidestepped once again. But the teen wonder was ready. Manny counteracted La Cortina's move with a head-butt. The shadow super went stumbling back, giving Manny a chance to swing. He shot his El Tigre fists into her chest and stomach, driving her further and further in reverse. Finally La Cortina fell to her back. Pity and good sportsmanship was furthest from Manny's mind. He kept pummeling the woman.
"You will pay for what you did to mi familia!" El Tigre blasted, lifting his fists and slamming them into the shadowy super.
When it seemed that Manny had the upper hand, he was blown into the air by something that numbed his mind. Manny knew he landed because he felt the impact. Images swirled and incoherent voices bombarded his head. In a moment, life cleared enough for Manny to see La Cortina stand from the crater he left her in.
The shadowy super walked over to him without a hindrance to her stride. When she neared him, Manny was now quickly coming back to reality. The teen lurched backwards, trying to crawl away from the powerful villainess. But La Cortina was slowly advancing on him, toying with the boy like a cat would a mouse.
"Are you having a hard time focusing El Tigre?" She questioned. Manny's world was still swimming. "I merely took a nibble of your essence. Feels strange, huh? That's what happens when just a fraction of your essence is drained. Your body gets weak, your mind gets heavy and you start to lose consciousness."
Manny was hauled to his feet when La Cortina grabbed the front of his shirt.
"I am sorry it has to end this way, Manny." The woman suddenly said, her voice taking a sad tone. Manny felt her grab Sartana's Mystic Guitar from around his shoulders. "I really did respect you and your father but you two just can't see my reasoning. Bad guys must be eliminated. And that means you too, Manny."
La Cortina sighed.
"You are here to stop me and unfortunately, you must be destroyed. I will cleanse the world of crime and all those who stand in my way." La Cortina voiced looking between the teen in her grasp and Sartana's guitar.
Manny squirmed, grasping the shadowy super's wrist.
"I will stop you!" He growled, reality continuing to sharpen. "I will fight you to the death, La Cortina!"
La Cortina chuckled. She leaned down and pressed her cold lips to his ear.
"Your death wish is granted, El Tigre." She purred.
From her hand that was clasped around his shirt La Cortina's inky costume began to bleed onto Manny's body. The teen writhed, the cold costume seconds away from sucking out his essence.
But suddenly something hit Manny on the back of the ankles. A "clunk" was heard. La Cortina blinked and she and Manny looked down at the ground. Right there, in the middle of the battlefield was a bowl of tortilla chips tied to a remote-control car.
"What in the-?" La Cortina blurted out. Then she heard Manny laugh.
"This is not over, La Cortina." He smiled at her. "Not by a long shot."
At that moment a huge blob of acidic guacamole struck La Cortina's arm that was holding Manny. The shadowy super shrieked in surprise and pain, releasing the teen super and dropping Sartana's Mystic Guitar. La Cortina reeled, cradling her wounded arm. Then the earth shook. Jerking their heads up, La Cortina and Manny saw a giant green mass moving toward the prison. The teen smiled.
"Frida." Manny breathed a sigh of relief. She was here; she was here with the secret weapon.
R&R! LONG LIVE ROCK!