El Tigre copyright Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua
The MASK copyright Dark Horse Comics/New Line Cinema
The Mask Of Miracle City
Chapter 17: Attack Of The Aztec Prince
[Casa Del Mariachi, The Next Day]
Chris Was Laying On His Bed WIth His Hands Together, Deep In Thought.
"Look, It`s Not Like I Haven`t Thought About This Before...
I mean, I Do LIKE Zoey...But, I`m Not Sure Exactly How I Like Her." Began Chris
"I Mean...Do I Like Her As a Friend?, Or...Is She "More" To Me.
Chris Sighed Sharply.
"Zoe Was The Only Person Who Was Nice To Me When I First Came To Miracle City...Or MEXICO In General.
And, I Know She Was Only Pretending At First...But, She Really HAS Become My Best Friend.
Like MANNY AND FRIDA Are!...(Sigh) And That`s Another Reason Why I`m Thinking Of This.
Manny And Frida Were Best friends And Now They Are a Couple...And They Seem To Be Happy.
So...If It Worked For Them, Can It Work For Me And Zoe?
Chris Turned Around.
"What Do You Think?"
Chris Looked At His Dog Max, Who Was Wearing The Mask.
Max Held a Notebook And Was Writing Some Stuff Down.
"Okay, Let`s See What You Got So Far..."
Chris Grabbed The Notebook And read It.
"Hey...These Aren`t REAL NOTES!
It`s Just The Sentence: "I LOVE TACOS" Written Over And Over, Again!"
Max Snickered.
Chris Then Grabbed The Back Of His Dog`s Head And Removed The Mask...Returning Max To a Normal Dog.
"Sheesh...I Thought That If You Wore The Mask, You Would AT LEAST Be Smarter.
Apparently Your Smart Enough To WRITE...Just Not Intelligent.
Max Made a Noise At Him While Tilting His head.
Chris Sighed As He Flopped Down On his Bed.
"should of known better than to ask my dog for advice..."
Chris Slapped His Face.
"Man, Chris...No matter How You Say That It STILL Comes Out Sounding Totally Ridiculous!"
"CHRIS!
TIME FOR SCHOOOOOOOOOL!" Shouted Maria
Chris Sighed.
He STuffed The Green, Wooden Mask In his Backpack And Put It On.
"i wonder if zoey feels the same way i feel..."
[Meanwhile, At The Aves House]
Zoe Was Pacing Around Her Room With Her Hands Behind Her, Thinking Hard About Things.
"I Can`t Be In Love With Him...HE`S MY FRIEND!
I Mean...I Do LIKE HIM, But We Can`t Possibly Be-"
Zoe Sighed As She Rubbed Her Face.
"well...he is kinda cute.
Zoe Sat Down On her Bed And Looked Over To her table.
She Saw a Photpgraph Of The Two Of Them That Her Mother Took In The Park Long Ago...
Zoe Remembered Her Past With Chris...
When She First Saw Him At School, When He First Showed Kindness To Her When She First Started To have Real Feelings For Him, Rather Than Pretend Ones For Revenge Against Manny...
Then, She Remembered Things She Wished She Could Forget...
Like All The Times Manny And Frida Dumped Him...And She Could See The Pain In His Eyes (But, He Would Hide It)
And, Worse...When Spike And His Gang Beat Him Up So Badly He Ha dTo Go To The Hospital.
Zoe Shed a Tear As She Remembered That Day...
It Was Late At Night, Chris Was Beaten Up And All Bloody.
He Had Mustered Just ENough Strength To Crawl To Her House...She Had Opened The Door To See Him Near Death.
Zoe Remembered Being In a Panic That Night...
Her Mother Drove Them To The Hospital And Zoe Was WIth Him The Whole Time.
Zoe Remembered Chris Bleeding So Much, her Clothes Were Soaked.
Chris Could Barely Speak...But, Managed To Mention He Was Waiting For Manny And Frida.
Which Only Made Her ANGRY With Them (More Than Usual)
The Doctors Weren`t Sure If Chris Would Live Through The Night...Which Frightened Zoe Greatly.
She Stayed With Chris The Whole Night And Refused To Go Home With Her Mother And Grandmother.
Zoe Then Widened Her Eyes And Realised Something...She DID Love Chris.
She Was Scared To Lose Him That Night And Blamed Herself For Not Being There For Him.
Heck, She Nearly Gave Up Being The BLACK CUERVO For Him Once...
Besides...He Was Sweet, Kind And Actually Loved Her And Didn`t Care If She Was a Villain.
Zoe Grabbed The Picture And Looked AT It.
For a Moment, She Imagined Herself And Chris As Adults As a BRIDE AND GROOM.
"chris..."
Zoe Sighed Sharply.
"i`m going to tell him...i have to!"
"ZOE!
TIME FOR SCHOOL!" Shouted Zoe`s Mother
Zoe Got Up And Grabbed Her Backpack.
"he must feel the same way...he must."
[Later, At School]
Manny And Frida Were Hanging Out Outside The "Leone"...Waiting For Chris (and Zoe) To Arrive.
"so...Now That We`re "Together"
Does This Mean We`ll Go On Dates And Stuff?" Asked Manny
"Sure, WHy Not?" Said Frida
"Well...Your Dad Doesn`t Like Me That Much."
Frida Smiled As She Kissed Manny.
"Let me Handle Papa...I`ll Give Him "The Eyes".
"The...EYES?
Frida Gave Manny The Cutest, Puppy Dog Eyes She Could.
"Pop Can`t Resist "The EYes"...I`ve Gotten Away WIth TONS OF STUFF WIth That Trick!"
Manny Smirked.
"Your An Evil Genius Frida."
Frida Smiled.
"I Know..."
At That Moment, Zoe Walked Up.
"HEY, ZOE!" Said Manny
Frida Glared At Her.
"aves..."
Zoe Sighed As She Walked Up To them.
"Hello, Manny...I Hear You And Frida Are a Couple, Now.
Manny Widened His Eyes.
"HOW`D YOU KNOW THAT!"
"Pleeeeease...
Everybody Saw You two "Swapping Spit" Last Night AT The Coco Bongo."
"oh..."
Zoe Faced Frida.
"Frida...I`ve Been Wanting To Speak To you.
Frida Glared At her.
"What About...AVES!
Zoe Sighed.
"I Just Wanted To Say...and this is gonna hurt.
Zoe Gritted Her Teeth.
"I`M...sorry.
Frida Eyed Her.
"W-What?
"I`m Sorry For All The Times I Picked On You...I Don`t Want Us To be Enemies Anymore."
Frida Just Stared At Her Blankly.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ZOE AVES!
Zoe Eyed The Blue Haired Girl.
"Frida...I`m SERIOUS."
Frida Soon realised Zoe Really Was Serious.
"But...Why?
Zoe Sighed.
"Because I Promised Chris I`d "Bury The Hatchet" Between Us...
He Really Wants To form a Stable Relationship With Manny And Prefers It If We`d Be...friends."
Frida Just Stared At Her.
"Wow...That Must Of Been HARD To Do."
"yes...it was.
Like Eating RAW EGGS In The Morning."
"Wow...I`m Proud Of You, Zoe.
You Must really Care For Chris To Give Up On This!" Said Manny
Zoe Crossed Her Arms.
"Believe Me...Chris IS Special To Me."
Frida Smiled.
"So...Now That We`re "Friends".
You Mind Telling Me WHY You Hated Me SO Badly!"
"Your Father Is The POLICE CHIEF, Suarez...
My family Has Spent Most Of Our Weekend IN JAIL Because Of Him!"
"oh...s-sorry about that.
Zoe Scoffed.
"whatever..."
Just Then, The Three Saw Chris Walking Down The Street.
"HEY, BRO!" Exclaimed Manny
Chris Waved, Then Walked Up To Them.
"Hey, Guys...What`s New?"
"Not Much...
Me And Frida Became a Couple And Zoe And Frida Just became Friends!
"we`re working on it..." Muttered Zoe
Chris And Zoe Looked At Each Other And Blushed a Bit.
"Z, I-
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
"CRUD!
WE`D BETTER GET TO SCHOOL!" Exclaimed Frida
The Four Teens Ran Towards The School.
[Later, During Recess]
As The Kids Ran Out For Some Fresh Air...Chris Approached Manny, Frida And Zoe.
"Hey, Guys...and Gals."
"Hi, Bro.
Zoe Faced Chris.
"Chris...I Need To Tell You Something."
"Actually, Z...I Also Need To tell You Something.
"Well, GET TO TELLING!" Said Frida
Chris Was About To Speak, When The Ground Shook Violently.
"W-W-WHAT IS T-T-T-THAT!" Exclaimed Chris
Before Anyone Could Say Anything, a Large Monster Burst From The Ground.
It Towered Over The Four Teens And Roared At Them.
"oh, not now!" Said Manny
Chris Eyed The Monster.
"Why Does That Thing Have Golden Armor?"
"BECAUSE GOLD IS MY CALLING CARD!" Shouted a Voice
The Four Looked Up To See a Teenager Standing Atop The Monster`s Head.
The Teenager Leaped Down To The Ground And Faced Them...
He Was Wearing Aztec-Style Armor, And His ARm And Leg Was Skeletal.
"MIKLA! Exclaimed Manny
Mikla SMiled.
"Greetings...EL TIGRE."
Since Everyone Else Had Run Away When The Monster Showed Up, Manny And Zoe Were Free To Transform.
Manny Spun His Belt Buckled And Transformed Into EL TIGRE While Zoe Pressed a Button On Her Wrist Watch And Transformed Into BLACK CUERVO.
Chris And Frida Just Stood There.
"Finally...I`m Not Alone." Said Frida
Mikla Eyed Tigre And Cuervo.
"Not So Long Ago...You Two (and frida) Ruined My Plans For REVENGE Against Miracle City.
I Nearly Got My Revenge Against You Three...Had MASK Not Gotten In My Way."
"SO!" Exclaimed Tigre
"So...I`m Here For My Revenge.
"WE BEAT YOU ONCE, WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!" Shouted Cuervo
Mikla Grinned.
"Oh, You Misunderstand...I`m Not Here For YOU THREE.
Mikla Snapped His Fingers.
Some Of His Skeletal Aztec's EMerged From The Ground.
Mikla Then WHipped His Hair And Lassoed Chris.
He Reeled Him Over, Then Restrained Him With His Skeletal hand.
"CHRIS!" Exclaimed Cuervo
"RELEASE MY BROTHER, YOU-
"SILENCE, YOU PEASANT!"
The Skeletal Aztec`s Attacked EL Tigre And Black Cuervo.
"MANNY!, ZOEY!" Exclaimed Chris In Fear
"only you can save them, johnson...If You Use Your MASK." Whispered Mikla
Chris Looked AT The Aztec Prince.
"I...I Don`t Know What Your Talking About!"
Mikla Scoffed.
"suit yourself..."
Chris Watched At Tigre, Cuervo And Frida TRIED To Fight Off The Skeletal Warriors.
They Were Doing Pretty Good (Especially Frida, Who Was Using Her Goggles As a Weapon)
But, Their Were Just TOO MANY Skeletons...And, They Were Getting Overwelmed.
Soon, The Skeletal Warriors Had El Tigre, Black Cuervo And Frida Pinned Down...Ready To Strike.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Chris Realised He Had No choice.
He Reached Into His Pack And Pulled Out His Wooden Mask.
Mikla Saw It In His`s Hand.
"THE MASK!
Tigre, Cuervo And Frida Looked To See Chris Slap a Green, Wooden Mask On His Face.
The Mask Stretched And Covered His Entire Head...Glowing Bright Green And SParking With Energy.
Chris Suddenly Began To SPin In a Rapid, Green Tornado...Forcing Mikla To Let Go.
The Green Twister Zigged-Zagged Around, Blowing Teh Skeletons Away And Releasing The Three.
The Twister Soon Stopped...And Chris Was Changed.
His Brown Hair Was Now Ginger, His Face Was Lime Green And He Wore a Yellow Zoot Suit.
"SSSSSSSSSSMOKIN`!" Said The Mask
Tigre, Frida And Cuervo Stared In Shock And Awe...Chris Johnson, Their FRIEND...WAS THE MASK!
"it...it can`t be." Muttered Manny
"c-c-chris?" Said Zoe In Disbelief
"Wow...I Didn`t See That Coming." Said Frida Calmly
"HA!
I KNEW It WAS YOU!" Said Mikla With An Evil Smile
Mask Looked Over To Mikla.
"I TAWT I TAW AN AZTEC!" Said Mask, In a Tweety Bird-Like Voice
Mask Grinned.
"I DID!
I DID TAW AN AZTEC!"
Mikla Shot a Beam Of Dark Energy At Mask, Who Dodged It Quite Easily.
"HEY!
WATCH IT!, YOU COULD HURT SOMEBODY!...LIKE ME!" Said Mask
Mikla Shot Another Beam...This One Hit Mask, Knocking Him Through The Walls Of The Shool.
"CHRIS! Shouted Cuervo
In a few Seconds, Mask Sped Out Of The Hole And Faced Mikla.
"Okay, NOW...I`m MAD!"
Mask Pulled Out a Large Mallet.
Mikla SHot More Energy Beams...But, Mask Deflected Them With The Mallet.
"HA!
IT`S A HOME RUN!
Mask Twirled Around And Was Now Wearing Baseball Clothes.
~TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAAAAAAAAAAME!
TAKE ME OUT TO THE CROOOOOOOOOOWD!~
Mikla Punched Mask In he Jaw, Making His Nek And Head Twist Around Like Taffy.
His Head Soon Returned To Normal And Mask Glared At Him.
"HEH!
No Peanuts Or Crackerjacks For You, Pal!"
Mask Blew On His Thumb, Increasing The Size Of His Hand.
He Formed a Fist And Punched Mikla...Sending Him Flying Towards His Monster.
Mask Zipped Away And Wrote On a SCOREBOARD.
"Okay, That`s MASK...ONE And, MICKEY...ZIPPO!"
Mikla Recovered And Walked Over To Mask.
"HOW DARE YOU!
I AM MIKLA!, PRINCE OF THE AZTEC EMPIRE!"
"Whatever You Say, mickey...
Mikla Growled At Him.
"I AM NOT MICKEY!"
"Your Right...
Your Sorta Lacking The ROUND EARS And The GOOD NATURED PERSONALITY Department."
Mikla Yelled Out.
"GIVE ME YOUR MASK!" Shouted Mikla
Mask Eyed Him.
"Mask?
WHAT MASK!"
Mask Then Realised What he Meant.
"Oh, This Isn`t a Mask...THIS IS MY FACE!"
Mikla Grabbed Mask By His Shirt.
"GIVE IT TO ME!"
Mikla Grabbed Mask`s Face And Pulled.
But, Instead Of Taking Of "THE" MASK...He Took Off a Rubber Version Of Mask`s face.
"HEY!, CUT THAT OUT!"
Mikla Pulled On His Face Again.
Mask`s face Was Now a Green Skull.
"AAAAAAHHH!
MY FACE!, YOUR TORE OFF MY FACE!"
Mask Pulled AT The "Skull", Removing "Another" Mask.
"PSYCHE!" Said Mask, His Face Now "Normal"
Mikla Kept Pulled At Mask`s Face, Constantly Removing Various "Masks"
Whil Mask Assumed Different Identities, All The While Mocking Mikla.
"EL TIGREEEEEEEE!
VENDETTAAAAAAAAAAAA!
EEEEEEEEEEH, WHAT`S UP DOC!
WOOOOO-HOOOOO HOO-HOO!
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
IT`S CLOBBERING TIME!
HEH-HEH HEEEEEEEH HEH!
GOING GHOST!
Mental Note...
I AM NOT a CROOK!
T-T-T-THAT`S ALL, FOLKS!"
Mask Finally Assumed Mikla`s face.
"YOU BLASTED IDIOT!" Shouted Mikla
"You Certainly Are..." Said Mask
Mask Pulled Off The Mikla Mask, His Face Now Normal.
He Then Pressed On his Pocket, causing a Spring Loaded Boxing Glove To Punch Mikla...Knocking Him Down.
Mask Then Zipped Over To Black Cuervo And Held Her Like Pepe Le Pew.
"oh, My darling.
Your Eyes Sparkle Like, Uhhhhh...Something That Sparkles Alot.
Cuervo Just Stares At Him.
"uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
"Is Our Love Meant To Be?
Is It Written In The Stars?...I`D LIKE TO THINK SO!"
Frida Giggled.
"Wow, Chris Seems To Like You Zoe.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Mask Looked At her.
"Wow...Your Positivly SPEECHLESS."
Mask Then Took Out a Guitar And Strummed It, Then Sang To Black Cuervo.
~I DREAM OF ZOEY, SHE HAS "DARK BLACK HAIR"!~
Mikla Then Gets Up And Approached Mask.
"MASK!
Mask Glanced At Him, Then Sighed.
"Oh, Ain`t That Just Like It...
Ya` Get In The Mood For Romance And Some Goon Always MUSCLES IN!"
Mask Walks Towards Mikla.
"I`M Getting Sick Of This!
Exactly WHY Do You Want My face, Anyhow!"
Mikla Grinned.
"I Thought You`d Never Ask...
Your Mask Is The Most Powerful Mystical Artifact That Exists.
Once It's Limitless Power Is Combined With My Own...I`LL RULL THE WORLD!
"Look...If You Want To Wear My face SO Badly, HERE!
Mask Hands Mikla Plastic Masks Of His Face.
"I Was Saving These For Halloween, But You Seem To Need Them..."
Mikla Slapped The Plastic Mask Away.
"YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT!"
Mask Thought a Bit.
"I`m Sorry, But...Using My Powers To Rule The World Doesn`t Sound Good To Me."
"It Wasn`t a Request You Moron...It WAS A DEMAND!"
Mask Stuck Out His Tounge.
"Make Me!"
Mikla Grinned.
"as you wish..."
Mikla Snapped His Fingers.
His Monsters Growled At Them.
Mask`s Eyes Bulged Out Of his Head.
"whoa...now that`s a scary beast."
"CHRIS!, RUN!" Shouted Zoe
Mask Looked AT Her.
"RUN!
Sorry, Sweet Cakes...Not My Style."
Mask Twirled Around Into a Tornado.
The Cyclone Increases In Size And Mask turned Into a Godzilla Form.
"!
Pray For Mercy From MASKZILLA!, You Fiend!
Mask Punched Mikla`s Monster In the Head, Knocking Him Down.
He Then Leaped Up And Performed a Wrestling Move On It.
Mask Then Changed Back to His Normal Size And Form, Standing Top The KOed Monster.
He Takes Out a Flag With His face On It And Sticks It Into The Monster`s Armor.
"I CLAIM THIS MONSTER IN THE NAME OF...Me."
Mikla Growled, Gritting His Teeth.
He Then Turned To El Tigre, Black Cuervo And Frida.
He Smiled.
"You May Be Invincible, mask...
But, I`m Willing To Bet Your "Friends" Aren`t.
Mikla Charges His Hands And Created a Large Ball Of Energy.
One So Huge, It Cast a Large Shadow Against The Three Teens.
"TRY TO DODGE THIS!" Shouted Mikla
Mask`s Eye Popped Out Momentarily.
Mikla Tossed The Energy Ball At Them.
Mask Shot Out Like a Rocket And Stood In Front Of Tigre, Frida And Cuervo.
He Formed His Handed Into a Metal Shield...And Took a Hit From The ENergy Orb.
The Blast Caused AN Explosion That Knocked Them All Down...
Manny And Zoe Were Back In Their Civilian Clothes Now, Having Their Power Shorted Out.
When They And Frida Came To...They Saw Chris Laying On The Ground...
And The Wooden Mask Was Laying In Front Of Him.
Mikla Approached Chris And Took The Mask.
"HA! HA! HAAAAAAA!
Finally!...The Mask Of Chaos Is MINE AT LAST!"
BARK! BARK!
Mikla Turned To See Chris`s Dog Max Run Up To him.
The Jack Russle Jumped Up And Rammed It's Head Into The Mask.
The Wooden Mask Grew Over The Canine`s Muzzle And Head And, In a Green Twister...Transformed Into a MASK DOG.
Mask Max`s Head Was Green WIth Dark Green Markings And Closely Resembled That Of a "Cartoon Animal"
Max Snickered, Then Chuckled.
"NOOOOOOOO!
GIVE ME MY MASK, YOU BLASTED-
Mask Max Snapped AT Mikla WIth His Large, Razor Sharp Teeth Like a Shark.
"MAX!, RUN BOY!
RUUUUUUUUUUUN!
Max Looked AT His Master With Puppy Dog Eyes.
He Then SNarled At Mikla, Before Sprouting Wheels On His Feet And Taking Off.
In Rage, Mikla Grabbed Chris By his Shirt.
"WHY YOU-
"good luck finding him, mik...
Max Was a Stray Before I Found Him Years Ago, So he Knows How To Stay Hidden.
And, Even If You DO Find Him...He Isn`t Gonna Give Up The Mask That Easily.
Mikla Gritted His Teeth...Then, Smiled Evily.
"Maybe...
But, If His "Master" Is In Enough danger...He MIGHT."
Mikla Then Blasted Chris With a Beam Of Dark Energy...
Chris Soon Disappeared, Leaving Behind Some Smoke.
"CHRIS!" Exclaimed Zoe
She Ran Up To The Spot Where Chris Was.
"chris..."
Zoe Glared At Mikla.
"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO TO HIM!
"Oh, calm Yourself.
He`s Not Dead!...Not YET, Anyway.
I Only Sent Him To My Underground Aztec Palace..."
Mikla Turned Back To Manny.
"You Remember, Don`t You, Rivera?...You`ve Been There BEFORE.
When I Captured Yoru Father And Grandfather And Held Them Captive."
Mikla Approached Manny, Who Just Glared At Him.
"Although...I have IMPROVED Security Since Your Last Visit."
Manny Clentched His Fists In Anger.
"What Do You Want!"
"It`s Very Simple...
Find That "Flea-Bitten Mongrel" And Give Me MY MASK!
I`ll Be Waiting In My Palace For You...You DO Still Remember The Way, Don`t You?"
"i do...
"GOOD!
Then, You Had BETTER Have The Mask When You Arrive."
Mikla Moved Closer To Manny.
"because, if you don`t...
then, the only place you`ll find your "brother" is in The LAND OF THE DEAD!"
Manny Growled At Him.
"YOU JERK!" Snapped Black Cuervo
Mikla SNickered.
"Flattery Will Get You NO WHERE WIth Me, Girl..."
Mikla Leaped Onto His Monster, Which Soon Awoke.
"REMEMBER!
Bring...My...MASK!
the life of chris johnson depends on it."
Mikla Laughed As He Used His Magic To disappear.
Manny, Frida And Zoe Were Alone Now...Faced WIth a HARD CHOICE.
Deliver The Mask to Mikla And Doom Teh Entire World...
Or, Defy Mikla...And To Doom Their Friend: Chris Johnson.
Zoe Fell To Her knees And Began To Cry.
Manny Sighed Sharply As Frida Placed Her Hand On His Shoulder.
"manny...what do we do?
Manny Looked AT Her, Then Sighed.
"i...i don`t know.