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 12 - DESERT DANGER
For many wasted hours, Phantom Girl, Star Boy, Dream Girl, Karate
Kid and Light Lass had been searching the vast Sahara desert.
"Three and a half million square miles," rode the nagging thought
within Phantom Girl.
First the five Legionnaires had made wide sweeps over the great
desert in their Legion Mark III space cruiser, peering down. But when they
couldn't see anything, they landed at a central spot, and then broke out the
air-car that was stored in the ship. Inside the air-car was survival gear that
they would need out in the vast desert.
Eventually, the Legionnaires stopped and used their portable
sensors to slowly scan outward in a radius of 500 miles. Dream Girl heard
a beeping from the air-car. The Legion clubhouse was calling on the vid-
com. Nura Nal, also known as Dream Girl, activated the communications
device and saw Lightning Lad's image on the screen. "The South Seas team
is heading back to the clubhouse." He gave a quick resume of the skirmish
against Tazz and the Vulcan Machine.
"Hmm," said the platinum-haired girl, "so it was another android
double of Tazz in the South Seas, as well as in Antarctica."
"Right, Nura. That means you'll run into the genuine Tazz. After
the South Seas team reach the clubhouse, Invisible Kid will probably send
another team to come help you five in the Sahara. But we'll wait and see
what he wants to do."
"Okay," responded Dream Girl. "But meanwhile, we'll be searching
for him ourselves. Talk to ya."
The girl from the planet Naltor climbed off the air-car and began
walking toward her companions. Star Boy remarked to himself that of
the five of them in desert, Nura was probably the best dressed -- or
better described -- undressed for the mission. She was wearing a very
skimpy white outfit that was more like a swimsuit than anything else. The
outfit accented every single curve of her body. If she spent too much time
out in the hot sun, she most definitely was going to get a sunburn. "Nah,"
he said to himself, "I'm sure she is using sunscreen.
As her name implied, Dream Girl had the ability to see the future. All
the people on her home planet could do that as well, but Nura was known to
have the strongest ability. Her sister, the White Witch, was able to work up a
magic spell that gave Nura the ability to see future events up to one year
before they happened. What was remarkable was her visions were always
one-hundred percent accurate.
Nura's thoughts were not pleasant as she returned to the others.
Three incredible future machines had triggered off three ghastly Earth
dooms. Even if the five of them, here, in the Sahara Desert, did succeed
in halting doom number four, Earth was hardly saved. Warning the Earth
government was hopeless. Who could stop the giant comet plunging
through space toward Earth? Superboy, Supergirl and Mon-El had not
answered the Legion call back. Some of the Legionnaires had guessed
Superboy and Supergirl were busy with a missions of their own in the
past. But nobody was sure where Mon-El was. Besides the comet, there
was still the mile-deep heat device that would melt the colossal Antarctic
ice cap and flood the world and the worldwide fusillade of volcanoes that
would erupt, started off by the Vulcan Machine.
"I want to get my hands on that Tazz," Karate Kid said, breaking
Dream Girl's train of thought. "If I get him, he won't escape to the future
and finish his conquest of the galaxy. He'll stay here to share the end of
the world with us ... so help me!"
With that vow burning through his veins, the martial arts expert
turned back to get additional sensor readings, which now showed the
outlines of an old abandoned fort, completely deserted within a straggling
oasis of drooping palms. Even the well had dried up, according the scan.
But where were Tazz and his rocket? Out in the hot open desert
itself?
The Legionnaires studied the sensor scan and the image it made of
the fort that had one slender tower. Peering closely and tuning the image
sharper. Phantom Girl sucked in her breath. That was no tower -- it looks
more like the nose of rocket sticking up within the high outer wall of the
fort.
The five Legionnaires all looked at one another. Without saying a
word they jumped into the air-car and started flying off across the waste-
land.
With nothing but smooth sand before them, the Legionnaires were
able to shift their air-car into a top speed of 100 miles per hour for the
three-hour trip to the fort, some 300 miles south.
It was the south-central Sahara, the most desolate area, spotted
with just a few widely scattered nomadic camps. Yes, there were still
nomads in the 30th century. It was doubtful if anyone from the outside
world had been here in fifty years.
Endless burning sand, rippling in the wind, stretched before Phantom
Girl's squinting sun-dazzled eyes. She fumbled beside her and put some sun-
glasses over her eyes -- otherwise she'd go glare-blind in an hour.
Heat rose in invisible, suffocating waves from the shiny sands.
Luckily, the air-car had an air cooling system, otherwise they'd be dying
in the 125 degree heat. The Legionnaires drank from their water supply
on an almost continous basis.
When the ramparts of the fort rose over the horizon before them,
"Tazz's hangout," Dream Girl muttered.
Cannily, Star Boy drove up behind the screening palms of the
oasis, cutting off a direct view from the fort, hoping to surprise Tazz. They
belly-crawled through the sand, brushing aside lizards and other creatures
of the desert that nearly made some of the girls scream. Soundlessly, they
wriggled among stone debris where one portion of the old fort's wall had
collapsed.
Even though they were skilled in the tactics of unseen and unheard
approach, and in fact, did not make a noticeable sound, they were still
greeted by a mocking voice, "Good afternoon, Legionnaires! Why did
you go to all that trouble sneaking in?" It was Tazz, pointing to a monitor
screen atop a box. "You have been under surveillance ever since your
vehicle first approached the old fort."
Tinya Wazzo, also known as Phantom Girl, conquered her first
surge of disappointment. Swiftly her eyes took in the wide courtyard and
the tall rocket standing on end. It was much larger than the Legion's Mark
III spacecraft. Turning back to Tazz, Tinya's eyes narrowed. Was the
faint purplish aura of his force-field, that Brainy had briefed them about,
missing for some reason? Was he vulnerable?
Suddenly Karate Kid plunged forward in a crouch to find out.
Tazz stood unperturbed. "You, the one that they call Karate Kid,
are said to be an incomparable man-to-man, face-to-face, toe-to-toe fighter
that no other man on Earth is a match for ... except one," he said.
He touched a button on his belt and figure dashed out of a barracks
doorway nearby.
Karate Kid's driving plunge had ground to a halt, in utter shock.
The figure coming toward him in a crouch, legs churning, powerfully ... a
uniform of tan, brown, and a black belt ...
"It's you!" choked Light Lass. "Another Karate Kid!"
"His android double, actually," explained Tazz. "While you five
were supposedly sneaking in, my electro-scan ray was X-raying you all
inside and out, feeding data into a bio-computer, which then built up a
carbon copy of your Karate Kid, so to speak. His body and mind are
exactly like his. So, in a sense, my bodyguard is ... Karate Kid!"
Tazz finished with a devilish laugh. "Now, Karate Kid, see if you
can defeat yourself."
Recovering from his first shock, Karate Kid sprang forward to
meet his twin's charge.
"Don't worry, Val, I'll just weigh it down so it can't move," Star
Boy said.
Karate Kid's right arm quickly sprang out as if telling Star Boy to
stop. "NO!" he cried. "I'll handle this."
Phantom Girl just shook her head in disbelief. "There he goes
again, playing Mr. Macho."
"Don't you love it!" Dream Girl said in a husky, low voice.
Tinya and Light Lass just stared at Nura like there was something
wrong with her.
Like super-gladiators, two powerful figures came together with
bruising impact. Their blows to each other so loud that the other
Legionnaires cringed. When the two combatants threw each other
into a nearby crumbling wall of the fort, a dozen loose bricks fell
out.
They both reeled back. It was almost like a parody in pantomine,
the two actors doing everything the same, and reacting exactly alike.
In unison, they swung the world's most skilled hands at each other.
When the real Karate Kid flung his leg around to slice at his opponents legs,
the second Karate Kid did a back-flip to avoid the move.
Karate Kid's double leaped headlong to tackle him around the legs
and they both crashed to the ground. They wrestled and tumbled in the dirt.
When Karate Kid pulled a judo move to hurl the android back, his double
promptly rolled on his back and footed Val away as he charged.
Tazz had watched the furious battle with an amused grin. "Very
entertaining, but I have work to do." He looked at the other Legionnaires.
"While your Karate Kid is busy fighting himself, I'll start the countdown
for my storm satellite."
The villian pushed buttons on a control board near the rocket.
"In ten seconds, the rocket will take off."
The Legionnaires looked at one another, undecided what to
do. Star Boy was the first to move as he started toward Tazz. But
before he could reach the alien, he would have to cross the two
Karate Kid's still trying to kill one another.
Karate Kid was quite aware of what Tazz was doing. He said
to himself that it was now or never and he was intent on stopping Earth
doom number four -- whatever it was -- from being launched.
Val tried a desperate ruse, facing his android double, who was
between him and Tazz. Karate Kid leaped high in the air for a deadly
drop kick But with the assistance of his flight ring, he actually leaped
over the android. Landed on his feet quickly and executed a backward
kick that caught the android unawares, sending the deadly double to
the ground. Karate Kid heard synthetic bones crack within the
artificial man.
Karate Kid did not take the time to look because he then leapt
backwards, straight toward Tazz, at his controls.
"Ignition!" Val heard, just before he smashed into the control box
and tipped it over with a crash, staggering Tazz back.
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 12 - DESERT DANGER
For many wasted hours, Phantom Girl, Star Boy, Dream Girl, Karate
Kid and Light Lass had been searching the vast Sahara desert.
"Three and a half million square miles," rode the nagging thought
within Phantom Girl.
First the five Legionnaires had made wide sweeps over the great
desert in their Legion Mark III space cruiser, peering down. But when they
couldn't see anything, they landed at a central spot, and then broke out the
air-car that was stored in the ship. Inside the air-car was survival gear that
they would need out in the vast desert.
Eventually, the Legionnaires stopped and used their portable
sensors to slowly scan outward in a radius of 500 miles. Dream Girl heard
a beeping from the air-car. The Legion clubhouse was calling on the vid-
com. Nura Nal, also known as Dream Girl, activated the communications
device and saw Lightning Lad's image on the screen. "The South Seas team
is heading back to the clubhouse." He gave a quick resume of the skirmish
against Tazz and the Vulcan Machine.
"Hmm," said the platinum-haired girl, "so it was another android
double of Tazz in the South Seas, as well as in Antarctica."
"Right, Nura. That means you'll run into the genuine Tazz. After
the South Seas team reach the clubhouse, Invisible Kid will probably send
another team to come help you five in the Sahara. But we'll wait and see
what he wants to do."
"Okay," responded Dream Girl. "But meanwhile, we'll be searching
for him ourselves. Talk to ya."
The girl from the planet Naltor climbed off the air-car and began
walking toward her companions. Star Boy remarked to himself that of
the five of them in desert, Nura was probably the best dressed -- or
better described -- undressed for the mission. She was wearing a very
skimpy white outfit that was more like a swimsuit than anything else. The
outfit accented every single curve of her body. If she spent too much time
out in the hot sun, she most definitely was going to get a sunburn. "Nah,"
he said to himself, "I'm sure she is using sunscreen.
As her name implied, Dream Girl had the ability to see the future. All
the people on her home planet could do that as well, but Nura was known to
have the strongest ability. Her sister, the White Witch, was able to work up a
magic spell that gave Nura the ability to see future events up to one year
before they happened. What was remarkable was her visions were always
one-hundred percent accurate.
Nura's thoughts were not pleasant as she returned to the others.
Three incredible future machines had triggered off three ghastly Earth
dooms. Even if the five of them, here, in the Sahara Desert, did succeed
in halting doom number four, Earth was hardly saved. Warning the Earth
government was hopeless. Who could stop the giant comet plunging
through space toward Earth? Superboy, Supergirl and Mon-El had not
answered the Legion call back. Some of the Legionnaires had guessed
Superboy and Supergirl were busy with a missions of their own in the
past. But nobody was sure where Mon-El was. Besides the comet, there
was still the mile-deep heat device that would melt the colossal Antarctic
ice cap and flood the world and the worldwide fusillade of volcanoes that
would erupt, started off by the Vulcan Machine.
"I want to get my hands on that Tazz," Karate Kid said, breaking
Dream Girl's train of thought. "If I get him, he won't escape to the future
and finish his conquest of the galaxy. He'll stay here to share the end of
the world with us ... so help me!"
With that vow burning through his veins, the martial arts expert
turned back to get additional sensor readings, which now showed the
outlines of an old abandoned fort, completely deserted within a straggling
oasis of drooping palms. Even the well had dried up, according the scan.
But where were Tazz and his rocket? Out in the hot open desert
itself?
The Legionnaires studied the sensor scan and the image it made of
the fort that had one slender tower. Peering closely and tuning the image
sharper. Phantom Girl sucked in her breath. That was no tower -- it looks
more like the nose of rocket sticking up within the high outer wall of the
fort.
The five Legionnaires all looked at one another. Without saying a
word they jumped into the air-car and started flying off across the waste-
land.
With nothing but smooth sand before them, the Legionnaires were
able to shift their air-car into a top speed of 100 miles per hour for the
three-hour trip to the fort, some 300 miles south.
It was the south-central Sahara, the most desolate area, spotted
with just a few widely scattered nomadic camps. Yes, there were still
nomads in the 30th century. It was doubtful if anyone from the outside
world had been here in fifty years.
Endless burning sand, rippling in the wind, stretched before Phantom
Girl's squinting sun-dazzled eyes. She fumbled beside her and put some sun-
glasses over her eyes -- otherwise she'd go glare-blind in an hour.
Heat rose in invisible, suffocating waves from the shiny sands.
Luckily, the air-car had an air cooling system, otherwise they'd be dying
in the 125 degree heat. The Legionnaires drank from their water supply
on an almost continous basis.
When the ramparts of the fort rose over the horizon before them,
"Tazz's hangout," Dream Girl muttered.
Cannily, Star Boy drove up behind the screening palms of the
oasis, cutting off a direct view from the fort, hoping to surprise Tazz. They
belly-crawled through the sand, brushing aside lizards and other creatures
of the desert that nearly made some of the girls scream. Soundlessly, they
wriggled among stone debris where one portion of the old fort's wall had
collapsed.
Even though they were skilled in the tactics of unseen and unheard
approach, and in fact, did not make a noticeable sound, they were still
greeted by a mocking voice, "Good afternoon, Legionnaires! Why did
you go to all that trouble sneaking in?" It was Tazz, pointing to a monitor
screen atop a box. "You have been under surveillance ever since your
vehicle first approached the old fort."
Tinya Wazzo, also known as Phantom Girl, conquered her first
surge of disappointment. Swiftly her eyes took in the wide courtyard and
the tall rocket standing on end. It was much larger than the Legion's Mark
III spacecraft. Turning back to Tazz, Tinya's eyes narrowed. Was the
faint purplish aura of his force-field, that Brainy had briefed them about,
missing for some reason? Was he vulnerable?
Suddenly Karate Kid plunged forward in a crouch to find out.
Tazz stood unperturbed. "You, the one that they call Karate Kid,
are said to be an incomparable man-to-man, face-to-face, toe-to-toe fighter
that no other man on Earth is a match for ... except one," he said.
He touched a button on his belt and figure dashed out of a barracks
doorway nearby.
Karate Kid's driving plunge had ground to a halt, in utter shock.
The figure coming toward him in a crouch, legs churning, powerfully ... a
uniform of tan, brown, and a black belt ...
"It's you!" choked Light Lass. "Another Karate Kid!"
"His android double, actually," explained Tazz. "While you five
were supposedly sneaking in, my electro-scan ray was X-raying you all
inside and out, feeding data into a bio-computer, which then built up a
carbon copy of your Karate Kid, so to speak. His body and mind are
exactly like his. So, in a sense, my bodyguard is ... Karate Kid!"
Tazz finished with a devilish laugh. "Now, Karate Kid, see if you
can defeat yourself."
Recovering from his first shock, Karate Kid sprang forward to
meet his twin's charge.
"Don't worry, Val, I'll just weigh it down so it can't move," Star
Boy said.
Karate Kid's right arm quickly sprang out as if telling Star Boy to
stop. "NO!" he cried. "I'll handle this."
Phantom Girl just shook her head in disbelief. "There he goes
again, playing Mr. Macho."
"Don't you love it!" Dream Girl said in a husky, low voice.
Tinya and Light Lass just stared at Nura like there was something
wrong with her.
Like super-gladiators, two powerful figures came together with
bruising impact. Their blows to each other so loud that the other
Legionnaires cringed. When the two combatants threw each other
into a nearby crumbling wall of the fort, a dozen loose bricks fell
out.
They both reeled back. It was almost like a parody in pantomine,
the two actors doing everything the same, and reacting exactly alike.
In unison, they swung the world's most skilled hands at each other.
When the real Karate Kid flung his leg around to slice at his opponents legs,
the second Karate Kid did a back-flip to avoid the move.
Karate Kid's double leaped headlong to tackle him around the legs
and they both crashed to the ground. They wrestled and tumbled in the dirt.
When Karate Kid pulled a judo move to hurl the android back, his double
promptly rolled on his back and footed Val away as he charged.
Tazz had watched the furious battle with an amused grin. "Very
entertaining, but I have work to do." He looked at the other Legionnaires.
"While your Karate Kid is busy fighting himself, I'll start the countdown
for my storm satellite."
The villian pushed buttons on a control board near the rocket.
"In ten seconds, the rocket will take off."
The Legionnaires looked at one another, undecided what to
do. Star Boy was the first to move as he started toward Tazz. But
before he could reach the alien, he would have to cross the two
Karate Kid's still trying to kill one another.
Karate Kid was quite aware of what Tazz was doing. He said
to himself that it was now or never and he was intent on stopping Earth
doom number four -- whatever it was -- from being launched.
Val tried a desperate ruse, facing his android double, who was
between him and Tazz. Karate Kid leaped high in the air for a deadly
drop kick But with the assistance of his flight ring, he actually leaped
over the android. Landed on his feet quickly and executed a backward
kick that caught the android unawares, sending the deadly double to
the ground. Karate Kid heard synthetic bones crack within the
artificial man.
Karate Kid did not take the time to look because he then leapt
backwards, straight toward Tazz, at his controls.
"Ignition!" Val heard, just before he smashed into the control box
and tipped it over with a crash, staggering Tazz back.
To be continued ...