Chapter Five. Closing Back to Present Times
As Ming was settling in on Earth in the Artic which he would call Ice Station Earth. We were on our way back to the planet Earth.
Flash piloted the ship back to Earth as Rick sat down, depressed and forlorn over the death of his mother while the others had something else on their mind, sort of.
"I cannot escape the feeling that Dale Gordon is not really lost to us." Mandrake stated.
"Save your breath, Mandrake." Flash replied, "She is gone forever."
"My instinct too tells me there is more than meets the eye." the Phantom stated.
"Then what does it all mean?" Lothar asked.
That was when we discovered the little stowaway Zuffy with the crystal that would change our lives, for the better even as we prepared for Dale's funeral when we came home to Earth.
Zuffy appeared before the group bouncing happily.
"Look!" Lothar exclaimed, "We have a stowaway!"
"Zuffy, knock it off!" Rick exclaimed, "Settle down! I have never seen him so excited!"
"Why is he hopping around like that?" Mandrake asked.
"Watch it!" Flash exclaimed as Zuffy had his tail in his face, "Get his tail out of my eyes!"
"He is holding something." Mandrake stated.
"What is it, fella?" Rick asked, "What have you got there?"
Rick looked at the glowing crystal shard that Zuffy was holding, "Look! It is some sort of crystal shard! What is it for? Where did you get it, Zuffy? Boy, if only you could talk!"
"See how it glows!" Mandrake exclaimed, "It is emitting some strange unearthly energy! It is a psychic communicator! Someone, somewhere is trying to contact us!"
An image of Dale appeared before the men as she spoke, "Thank heaven I broke through!"
"Mom!" Rick exclaimed. Moments later, the image vanished, "She's gone! What happened? Did we dream it?"
"No," Mandrake answered, "Somehow when Ming's palace blew up, the explosion trapped Dale's life essence inside this fantastic crystal!"
"Then," Flash replied as he held the crystal, "If we could learn its secret, she won't really be lost to us! I will guard this crystal with my life."
"And maybe someday, somehow," Rick added, "I will work on making her a body so that we will have Mom back again, forever!"
"Till then I will never rest until Ming has paid in full for what he has done!" Flash replied on. Zuffy exclaimed, seemingly with determination.
"Looks like Zuffy shares your feelings, Dad." Rick replied as he wiped tears away, "I think Ming wiped out his entire race."
"Flash, I have been talking to Mandrake and the Phantom." Lothar began.
"We want to join you in your battle with Ming!" Mandrake announced.
"It is no longer your fight alone!" the Phantom declared, "We are all in this now!"
"So long as Ming lives," Mandrake stated, "the Earth is in danger."
"And who better than we can defend our home planet?" Flash asked.
"It is settled then!" Mandrake exclaimed, "We fight together as a team!"
"So as long as Earth is in peril," Lothar added, "we'll strike on her behalf!"
"We dedicate all our skills and all our powers to our beloved home planet!" the Phantom declared.
"United forever!" Flash added, "We are the Defenders of the Earth!"
[End of flashback]
"I think I get it now." Kendra told Mandrake, "Dynac X has the form of my aunt Dale!"
"That is correct, Kendra." Flash replied, "It was strange for Dale to be in the computer as Dynac X. She had a hard time adjusting at first and we could understand, but with time, she was able to adjust well. I miss her."
"And I miss my Mom too." Rick added, "Not a day goes by that I don't think of her."
"I wonder when we will be facing Ming again." Kendra stated.
"I only hope not anytime soon." Kshin replied.
At Ice Station Earth, Ming had something new planned for the Defenders of the Earth, something quite different.
"Sire," Octon announced, "your guest is ready to display her new ability."
"Excellent. Bring her in." Ming ordered, "I think she will be a good asset in destroying the Defenders of the Earth."
Minutes later, a girl with long waist length blue hair, with some of it held up, with dark blue eyes wearing a metallic jumpsuit and holding a sphere like staff appeared before Ming.
"I shall demonstrate your new powers that I have given you on some of my ice robots." Ming told the young woman.
A dozen of them appeared before the mysterious woman as she stated, "This will be too easy."
She used her simple combat skills to defeat three of her opponents. Then four of them were defeated by her using her staff and its psychic powers. Then finally, she defeated the remainder of her opponents by brainwashing three of them into destroying the other two and then the remaining three soldiers destroyed themselves by the woman's brainwashing.
"Well?" the woman faced Ming after her task was done.
"Excellent work my dear Shanna," Ming replied, "you will be the perfect weapon in destroying the Defenders of the Earth!"
"What I want is to avenge my brother's death." Shanna replied, "to make the one person responsible for his death to suffer like I have suffered for years, and I shall get my revenge on Flash Gordon for what he had done to my brother!"
"I have already given you a head start for that plan." Ming replied as he revealed an elderly man and woman trapped in suspended animation, "I have sent soldiers to where Flash's parents were and had them kidnapped and brought here to use them as bait for Flash Gordon."
"Holding the parents hostage." Shanna replied, "That is a good start. Even a better start that you already killed his wife Dale Arden, saving me the trouble of doing that."
"That I did, my dear."
"But I want everything Flash holds dear taken away from him!" Shanna exclaimed, "And I shall do whatever it takes to get my revenge on him and avenge my brother!"