Chapter Three
"By all appearances, he seems to be a healthy, normal … ten-year-old boy," said The Sorceress. It was the next morning and Teela had taken the foundling boy to Castle Grayskull to be examined by The Sorceress. The Sorceress had crouched down on one knee in front of the boy, who himself was now dressed in a tunic and sandals. "I don't see what the problem is."
"No problem … except that he was a newborn two days ago," said Teela.
The Sorceress's eyebrows narrowed. "I see," she said. "Where did you find him again?"
"A sentry found him wrapped in a blanket just outside the North Gate of the palace."
"When did you first notice these … growth spurts?"
"He was sleeping when Prince Adam, King Randor, and Queen Marlena looked in on him yesterday," said Teela. "When one of the chambermaids looked in on him later that morning, he'd become a five-year-old." Teela paused. "When I looked in on him this morning, he'd become … what you see before you."
The Sorceress stood up. "These growth spurts appear to follow his sleep cycles," she said, cradling her chin with her thumb and index finger in thought. "They may well be triggered by them." The Sorceress paused. "Other than that, I'm not detecting the presence of anything … unusual."
I'm presuming "unusual" to mean changelings, imps, demons, or any other magical creatures, Teela thought. "Thank you, Sorceress," she said.
"I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help to you."
"That's all right. I'll have Father look at him when we get back to the palace," said Teela.
"The boy is a cyborg," said Man-At-Arms as he looked at an X-ray image of the boy's skull through the scanner. Teela and Orko stood on either side of him.
" 'Cyborg'? " Orko asked.
"Half-human, half-machine," Man-At-Arms replied. "His brain is riddled with cybernetic implants."
"That would explain his growth spurts … and those electrical impulses you detected the other night," said Teela.
Man-At-Arms nodded. "There appears to be a serial number here," said Man-At-Arms. " 'J-X-five-four-nine'," he said, reading the number off the scanner.
"J-X-five-four-nine, huh?" said Orko. "J-X … how bout we call him Jaxx for short?"
"I suppose," Man-At-Arms said with a sigh. "Something else…" he said. "He has a neural transceiver … an ACTIVE neural transceiver. Someone may well be in contact with him."
"He may have been PLACED here, then," said Teela. "Who would do such a thing … and WHY?"
"I don't know," said Man-At-Arms softly. "I honestly don't know."
Deep within the bowels of Snake Mountain, Skeletor sat at the head of his bone encrusted council table, watching the scene in Man-At-Arm's workshop through a crystal embedded in the center. Trap-Jaw and Evil-Lyn sat before him.
"How much longer must we wait?" whined Evil-Lyn.
"Patience, Evil-Lyn, Patience," purred Skeletor. "Everything is going according to plan." Skeletor paused. "Now that they've found Trap-Jaw's little toy, it's just a matter of time."
"How can we be sure he'll obey?"
"With THIS." As he spoke, a small black box with a series of buttons embedded on top suddenly appeared in his left hand.
"What's that?"
"Remote control," said Skeletor. "A little something to ENSURE … that Trap-Jaw's little toy will do MY bidding."
"Don't you mean OUR bidding?" Trap-Jaw asked.
Skeletor blasted Trap-Jaw with his Havoc staff, knocking him backward onto the floor. "As I was saying … before I was so RUDELY interrupted," hissed Skeletor. "It's a little something to ensure … that Trap-Jaw's little toy will do MY bidding."