LSH: The Battle For The Universe
By Bruce Wayne
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing then for a while.
The characters are owned by DC Comics and I'm writing this just for the fun of
it.
CHAPTER 9 - SUNKEN SABOTAGE
Meanwhile, Sun Boy was at the helm of another Mark III Legion
cruiser spaceship that was moving away from a South Pacific island. Dirk,
Lyle, Brainy, and Andrew had left Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet on
a centrally located island, where their part of the search for the third Earth
doom would begin. The six Legionnaires in this group had planned to split
into three teams of two each so that they could cover as many South Pacific
islands as possible.
As the speck of the Legion cruiser disappeared in the blue skies,
Violet turned to Colossal Boy. "What a search we've got ahead of us,
Big Gim! There are hundreds of islands, small and large, in this group,
alone. On which one is Tazz, the Invader operating?"
"He's probably not even here yet," Colossal Boy answered.
"Remember that on our flight here, we heard Imra telling how they had
found Tazz there with his Infrared Beamer. So he can hardly be here
with his Vulcan Machine."
"Then that means we have to wait for him," said the girl happily.
"In that case, Big Boy," her arms encircled him, "why don't we think of
something to do while we wait?"
Her lips drew close to his temptingly. But his lips began to move
upward, out of reach.
"Oh, you spoiler!" she pouted. "Why did you shoot up to ten-feet
and frustrate me?"
"Because this isn't the time and place for the Romeo and Juliet
bit," retorted the giant. "After all, we're on Legion business."
"Oh, fine!" said the disappointed girl. "You and your sense of
duty! Here we are alone on a desert isle -- well, a tropical isle -- and
what's on your mind? Anything but romantic thoughts. Sometimes I
could kick you, Gim Allon."
"You couldn't reach that high," said Colossal Boy with a grin.
Then he became serious. "Listen, Vi, it's possible that Tazz came here
first before going to Antarctica, and left the Vulcan Machine operating
under automatic or remote control. So our hunt should begin immediately.
That's why there's no time for moonlight and roses."
"Okay," sighed the girl. "What's the plan?"
"All we can really do is search the islands one by one from the air,"
he told her.
They flew side by side looking for any kind of a large machine.
They circled over the small atoll, finding it barren of any human habitation
or any man-made structure.
"We drew a blank here," said Colossal Boy. "On to the next
island ... and the next ..."
They lost count of the tropical isles they visited, some inhabited
by people, some thriving with modern buildings, but none of them
harboring the slightest sign of an alien machine at work.
A little while later, they were flying over the next island. They
looked down into a crater. "Many of these islands are volcanic in origin,"
he pointed out to Violet. "Very few are live volcanoes, however. This
one is deader than a doornail ..."
BLAMMMM!
At that moment, with a deafening blast, the supposedly dead
volcano split open and erupted flame and smoke.
"Quick!" gasped Colossal Boy. "Fly higher."
Gaining altitude, they escaped the molten lava discharge that now
scorched through the air and showered the surrounding waters with fiery
sparks.
Colossal Boy heard another blast sound to the north. "Another
volcano erupting," he said, and then stared incredulously. One after
another, a string of volcanic islands stretching into the distance blew
their tops.
"Great heavens!" cried Violet. "It's as if a string of firecrackers
were being set off."
"Right," yelled back Gim above the thunderous din. "And set
off by ... Tazz, the Invader!"
"What?"
"The other three dooms, he said, would involve water, air and
fire. Well, if this isn't 'fire' I'll eat it." He snapped his fingers. "Idiots that's
what we are. The clue was right in front of our noses all the time. Violet,
where does the name Vulcan come from?"
"I'm no expert on Earth mythology but I think he was a Greek
underground god ... Ah, I get what you're driving at. Tazz and his Vulcan
Machine must be down below."
"Right," said Colossal Boy again. "And that first volcanic island
that erupted may mark where he's operating. Let's go. We've got to take
a chance and run through the fiery hail of the eruption, down to the island
itself."
As they flew downward, great globs of molten lava sailed by,
along with a blast of heated air.
"We'll be cooked alive by the time we get there," gasped Violet,
her skin red from heat. "Maybe we haven't got a chance. Maybe we
should call for help."
"Keep going!" snapped Colossal Boy.
And so, somewhat the worse for wear, they gained the sanctuary
of the island's jungle, at a spot where no forest fire had yet started, and
where no rivers of molten lava had flowed.
"Down there," pointed Colossal Boy, "is a cave. It all adds up that
Tazz is here, underground."
Violet pulled out her Legion communications device. There was
a beep and then she said into it, "Brainy? Can you get a fix on our
coordinates? No, I don't know the name of this damn island! You
have us now? Well, Gim thinks that Tazz is down in some cave here.
We're going to go in. Can you guys get here and lend us a hand?"
Okay, thanks, bye!"
She looked at Gim. "Brainy said they're on their way."
"Let's go," he replied.
They were thankful for the dim coolness of the cave and the out-
side thunders of the volcanic barrage were muted as they went deeper.
When the outside sounds were nearly inaudible, Violet stopped to
listen carefully ... Colossal Boy heard it too.
Ahead of them sounded a deep low rumble. "It sounds like a
machine all right, a big one," said Colossal Boy excitedly. "Let's explore
the cave system further."
Gim Allon took Violet's hand and trotted along the winding
passageways that linked a maze of natural caves under the island.
The rumble grew louder, and became a low roar. The tunnels
widened out now, and they eventually stepped into a huge central cavern
which the sound reverberated. At first, in the dim underground lighting,
they could see nothing except a vague hulking shape.
Then it took form as a pattern of machined parts -- huge pipes,
an enormous pump, a bulging chamber that glowed with a fire, and
what looked like a computer system controlling it all.
"The Vulcan Machine," breathed Violet. She clutched Allon's
arm in sudden alarm. "Look ... handling the controls ..."
"Tazz?" muttered Gim. "This is mighty peculiar. How could
Saturn Girl report him in Antarctica, if he's here?"
To be continued ...
By Bruce Wayne
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing then for a while.
The characters are owned by DC Comics and I'm writing this just for the fun of
it.
CHAPTER 9 - SUNKEN SABOTAGE
Meanwhile, Sun Boy was at the helm of another Mark III Legion
cruiser spaceship that was moving away from a South Pacific island. Dirk,
Lyle, Brainy, and Andrew had left Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet on
a centrally located island, where their part of the search for the third Earth
doom would begin. The six Legionnaires in this group had planned to split
into three teams of two each so that they could cover as many South Pacific
islands as possible.
As the speck of the Legion cruiser disappeared in the blue skies,
Violet turned to Colossal Boy. "What a search we've got ahead of us,
Big Gim! There are hundreds of islands, small and large, in this group,
alone. On which one is Tazz, the Invader operating?"
"He's probably not even here yet," Colossal Boy answered.
"Remember that on our flight here, we heard Imra telling how they had
found Tazz there with his Infrared Beamer. So he can hardly be here
with his Vulcan Machine."
"Then that means we have to wait for him," said the girl happily.
"In that case, Big Boy," her arms encircled him, "why don't we think of
something to do while we wait?"
Her lips drew close to his temptingly. But his lips began to move
upward, out of reach.
"Oh, you spoiler!" she pouted. "Why did you shoot up to ten-feet
and frustrate me?"
"Because this isn't the time and place for the Romeo and Juliet
bit," retorted the giant. "After all, we're on Legion business."
"Oh, fine!" said the disappointed girl. "You and your sense of
duty! Here we are alone on a desert isle -- well, a tropical isle -- and
what's on your mind? Anything but romantic thoughts. Sometimes I
could kick you, Gim Allon."
"You couldn't reach that high," said Colossal Boy with a grin.
Then he became serious. "Listen, Vi, it's possible that Tazz came here
first before going to Antarctica, and left the Vulcan Machine operating
under automatic or remote control. So our hunt should begin immediately.
That's why there's no time for moonlight and roses."
"Okay," sighed the girl. "What's the plan?"
"All we can really do is search the islands one by one from the air,"
he told her.
They flew side by side looking for any kind of a large machine.
They circled over the small atoll, finding it barren of any human habitation
or any man-made structure.
"We drew a blank here," said Colossal Boy. "On to the next
island ... and the next ..."
They lost count of the tropical isles they visited, some inhabited
by people, some thriving with modern buildings, but none of them
harboring the slightest sign of an alien machine at work.
A little while later, they were flying over the next island. They
looked down into a crater. "Many of these islands are volcanic in origin,"
he pointed out to Violet. "Very few are live volcanoes, however. This
one is deader than a doornail ..."
BLAMMMM!
At that moment, with a deafening blast, the supposedly dead
volcano split open and erupted flame and smoke.
"Quick!" gasped Colossal Boy. "Fly higher."
Gaining altitude, they escaped the molten lava discharge that now
scorched through the air and showered the surrounding waters with fiery
sparks.
Colossal Boy heard another blast sound to the north. "Another
volcano erupting," he said, and then stared incredulously. One after
another, a string of volcanic islands stretching into the distance blew
their tops.
"Great heavens!" cried Violet. "It's as if a string of firecrackers
were being set off."
"Right," yelled back Gim above the thunderous din. "And set
off by ... Tazz, the Invader!"
"What?"
"The other three dooms, he said, would involve water, air and
fire. Well, if this isn't 'fire' I'll eat it." He snapped his fingers. "Idiots that's
what we are. The clue was right in front of our noses all the time. Violet,
where does the name Vulcan come from?"
"I'm no expert on Earth mythology but I think he was a Greek
underground god ... Ah, I get what you're driving at. Tazz and his Vulcan
Machine must be down below."
"Right," said Colossal Boy again. "And that first volcanic island
that erupted may mark where he's operating. Let's go. We've got to take
a chance and run through the fiery hail of the eruption, down to the island
itself."
As they flew downward, great globs of molten lava sailed by,
along with a blast of heated air.
"We'll be cooked alive by the time we get there," gasped Violet,
her skin red from heat. "Maybe we haven't got a chance. Maybe we
should call for help."
"Keep going!" snapped Colossal Boy.
And so, somewhat the worse for wear, they gained the sanctuary
of the island's jungle, at a spot where no forest fire had yet started, and
where no rivers of molten lava had flowed.
"Down there," pointed Colossal Boy, "is a cave. It all adds up that
Tazz is here, underground."
Violet pulled out her Legion communications device. There was
a beep and then she said into it, "Brainy? Can you get a fix on our
coordinates? No, I don't know the name of this damn island! You
have us now? Well, Gim thinks that Tazz is down in some cave here.
We're going to go in. Can you guys get here and lend us a hand?"
Okay, thanks, bye!"
She looked at Gim. "Brainy said they're on their way."
"Let's go," he replied.
They were thankful for the dim coolness of the cave and the out-
side thunders of the volcanic barrage were muted as they went deeper.
When the outside sounds were nearly inaudible, Violet stopped to
listen carefully ... Colossal Boy heard it too.
Ahead of them sounded a deep low rumble. "It sounds like a
machine all right, a big one," said Colossal Boy excitedly. "Let's explore
the cave system further."
Gim Allon took Violet's hand and trotted along the winding
passageways that linked a maze of natural caves under the island.
The rumble grew louder, and became a low roar. The tunnels
widened out now, and they eventually stepped into a huge central cavern
which the sound reverberated. At first, in the dim underground lighting,
they could see nothing except a vague hulking shape.
Then it took form as a pattern of machined parts -- huge pipes,
an enormous pump, a bulging chamber that glowed with a fire, and
what looked like a computer system controlling it all.
"The Vulcan Machine," breathed Violet. She clutched Allon's
arm in sudden alarm. "Look ... handling the controls ..."
"Tazz?" muttered Gim. "This is mighty peculiar. How could
Saturn Girl report him in Antarctica, if he's here?"
To be continued ...