Chapter Four: "First Outing"
Over forty-eight later, Skeletor had Flogg convinced of his greatness. However, Skeletor still bowed to Flogg, claiming the Mutant leader as his superior.
"You can use your power to get us through the shield, then?"
"Not the Mothership, no," Skeletor answered. "But a strike team, yes."
It was true. Skeletor was capable of many great things, and with the small capsule containing the portion of Grayskull's power, his options were quite wide open. He leaned forward, smiling best he could at Flogg.
"What do you think, Flogg?"
The purple-faced Mutant looked away and stared at the stars in the massive window on the bridge. "I assemble my best troops. Take a team down to Primus. Do what damage I can, and get back up here."
Skeletor studied the warlord in front of him. "Sounds reasonable," he replied, not really believing it to be a strong plan.
"Of course it does," Flogg returned. "I came up with it!"
Skeletor laughed a little. "Yes."
"How close do you need to be to Primus to teleport us down?"
"Half-way point between Nordor and Primus."
Flogg nodded and turned to Optikk. "Take the Mothership to the half-way point between Primus and Nordor. Maximum velocity!"
He-Man was awoken by a stern knock on his door. He was staying with Sebrian until he would be able to find a new place. As he pulled himself out of bed, he wondered just how much longer he could go without during back into Prince Adam.
The door came open and Mara stood there, her long black hair framing her face. It was unexpected sight and He-Man noticed now, for the first time since their meeting that she was actually quite an attractive young woman.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Master Sebrian needs to see you. Something has happened."
"I'll be right down."
He-Man dressed into his armor, grabbed his Sword of Power, and left his room. Mara was still waiting for him when he emerged. He followed her down the corridor, then down a set of stairs to the main floor of Sebrian's home.
Soon, they were in a large, domed room on the west side of the house. Sebrian was standing in front of a monitor, the four scientists on it.
"Ah, here's He-Man," Sebrian said, hand motioning to He-Man.
"What is it? What's the situation?"
"The M-M-Mothership has taken a new position in the system," said Krex.
"It also looks like a few Terror Pods are moving with it," Gepple added.
"We can't determine what they're doing yet," Alcon stated. "The ships have stopped in their position."
"Keep an eye on them, for now," Sebrian returned. The comm-line closed out. Sebrian turned to He-Man. "Good morning."
"Hi. Can you contact the Galactic Guardians? I'd like them to be up and ready if there is an attack. I'd also like the Starship Eternia prepped for launch in case we need to take this orbital."
"I'll get on it," Mara replied, walking to the other side of the room, where another computer station was located.
"Um, thank you."
"Let's have some breakfast while we wait, hm?" asked Sebrian. "Gleep? U-R?"
A pair of robots – each one up to He-Man's knee – one gold, the other green and blue – appeared by their side. Master Sebrian gave them a few quick orders and the two robots floated off to the kitchen to get to work.
He-Man was about to speak, when he heard a familiar voice in his mind.
He-Man . . .
It was the Sorceress, contacting him from Eternia.
"What is it?"
"What is what?" asked Master Sebrian.
"Um, one minute, Master Sebrian," He-Man said, realizing he spoke aloud.
Terrible danger is coming. You must retrieve the power of Grayskull from Skeletor. My powers are quite thin and only with the power of Grayskull restored to your Sword of Power can you find victory over the forces of evil.
"Understood," he then said, the telepathic link fading off.
"What was all that?" asked Mara, stepping over.
"I . . . an ally back on Eternia was contacting me telepathically," he confessed. What would he tell them next? His secret identity? He didn't know them, not really. Not any of them. And to reveal that . . . it would take much more than a few days to get it out of him.
"A message of good tidings, I hope," Master Sebrian wondered.
"The opposite, actually," He-Man responded. "She was warning me of - "
At that moment, the comm-line opened back up and the scientists reappeared on the monitor.
"We've got a new problem!" yelped Gepple.
"An energy signature. Some sort of teleportation beam sliced right through the shield and has made impact," Alcon explained.
"Where at?"
"The battle site from yesterday."
He-Man pulled out his Sword of Power and his shield. "I'll be there in three minutes," he declared, turning towards the door.
"Shouldn't you wait for the others!" yelped Mara.
"No time."
He-Man ran out the door, ready for battle. Ready for war.
Skeletor hated Primus immediately. It was the way the suns were shining, the smell of the air, the brightness and bold colors . . . he hated it all. It reminded him far too much of the Light Hemisphere. He felt a certain bond with Flogg, now, seeing this place. This world that was so bright and oh, so lovely. This world that seemed to mock those that were ugly or freakish – the Mutants of Denebria.
"Someone is coming," Optikk said, his large, domed eye turning to the northeast.
He-Man appeared, moving at remarkable speeds, slowing down only as he can within feet of Skeletor and the Mutants.
"You seem to be lost," He-Man quipped to the group.
"This world shall be ours," Flogg replied. "It is you who are lost, off-lander."
"He can't handle us all," whispered Staghorn to Butthead. "Let's just finish him off, here and now."
Skeletor stepped forward, Havoc Staff on his back, the Sword of Darkness in his hand. "Gentlemen, please," Skeletor said to them, "He-Man is mine."
"Surrender now, Skeletor. Give me the power of Grayskull and head back to Eternia."
"And just leave you here? What kind of ally would I be if I did that?"
He-Man grimed. "You stopped being my ally when you stole turned on me back at Castle Grayskull. I'm here to stop you and see the end of this war."
"We share one goal then, my old enemy. We're here to stop each other. Once and for all."
Skeletor rushed forward, as did He-Man. However, Skeletor stopped after only a few feet. He pulled out the capsule – the container of Grayskull's power. At his command, it began to blow brightly. He-Man felt an intense force being pushed against him.
The very power that he drew his strength upon was resisting him, pushing him against an invisible beam.
"No . . ." He-Man muttered, throwing all of his strength into moving forward. He staggered and strained against the power Skeletor was unleashing. "NO!"
The Sword of Power glowed brightly, the power of Grayskull slamming together as both Skeletor and He-Man shoved against the other.
"YOUR DAY HAS ENDED, HE-MAN!" Skeletor roared, now pulling out the Sword of Darkness, its power adding to that of the capsule.
There was ferocious roar of power. He-Man shoved all he had against this coming onslaught, but all of his force backfired. He blasted into the air, arching back, and out of Skeletor's vision.
"That finishes He-Man, then," Flogg said thoughtfully.
"HA!" Skeletor laughed. "I'll be lucky if it gives him a bruise."
Flogg shrugged. "Whatever. Mutants! Prepare to -- !"
Before Flogg could finish, a series of small explosions roared before the group. The Mutants were thrown off-balance, then, as the Galactic Guardians arrived.
"Prepare to what?" asked Flipshot, smiling as his prepared his wing-weapons. "Prepare to get your asses kicked?"
Optikk let loose a beam of energy as the Guardians. Immediately, both teams rushed the other, the battle breaking open upon the planet Primus.
Quakke grabbed hold of his weapon – a huge boulder at the end of a thick rod. He slammed it on the ground, creating a small tremor. The ground beneath the Galactic Guardians shook and cracked. Smiling, Quakke went to do so again.
Sagitar rushed forward, his bottom two hands and his legs thundering his massive body forward. He spun in motion, his legs slamming into the chest of Quakke. Quakke stumbled back, but balanced quickly and swung his club (the Grabatron Meteormace) at Sagitar. Sagitar pulled his body back onto his legs and missed it. The Grabatron Meteormace swung at Sagitar again, but this time, Sagitar grabbed it. His body leapt forward, bottom arms and legs slamming into Quakke.
Not far away, Butthead went running at Spinwit. Spinwit prepared himself, air-manipulating powers ready. He leapt out of the way as Butthead came crashing at him. He then turned, just as Butthead realized the mistake. As he did, Spinwit kicked up the winds and sent Butthead spinning into a mini-cyclone, and landing him headfirst onto the ground.
As lasers blasted from Artilla, Optikk's large eye gave him the advantage of being able to dodge the weapons fire as soon as they were unleashed. Optikk then leapt forward fast and let loose a massive laser bolt from his eye, striking Artilla hard.
Staghorn slammed his harness against Tuskador, cracking portions of his armor as he did. Tuskador angled his tusks into the harness and pulled back, tearing the harness off it's mooring, as well as loosening up the helmet. As Staghorn made the effort to recover, Tuskador's nose tore off the helmet and he punched the purple-faced Mutant right out.
Lizorr went running by at that moment, nose and tongue at work, tasting the air. He then jumped up and landed right onto the invisible Vizar. Vizar appeared instantly, his visor busted by the impact. He spun and slammed Lizorr onto the ground. Lizorr, though, was not so easily defeated. He reached for a weapon. But Vizar sent his trust Stealth Hook right over. It snatched Lizorr's weapon right from his hand. Vizar then swept in and punched Lizorr in the chest.
Master Sebrian, who had been monitoring the battle, took it upon himself to find He-Man as soon as the hero of Eternia had been blasted away. It didn't take long to track the impact. As Mara contacted the Primus Army for assistance, Sebrian fled the house and went to where He-Man had fallen.
It wasn't He-Man that he found.
The man on the ground, unconscious but still alive, was a thin young man. Nothing like the massive figure that He-Man had been. And while, yes, they shared some very vague similarities, the two looked nothing alike.
And yet . . . He-Man's blade was sitting right next to this man's arm.
"Who are you?" asked Sebrian, crouching down next to the young man.
The man's eyes opened and he sat bolt upright. "Skeletor!" he gasped, then looked over at Sebrian, then down at the Sword of Power.
"I . . . I'm He-Man," the man said.
"You . . . transform into He-Man?"
"Yes. My real name is Adam. Prince Adam of Eternos." The sound of an explosion from the battle site caught both their attentions. Adam looked back over to Sebrian. "You must keep this a guarded secret, Master Sebrian. I can't explain it right now."
"I . . . I understand."
Adam stood up and grabbed the Sword of Power. "BY THE POWER OF ETERNIA!" he shouted, still getting used to using that word instead of 'Grayskull.' "I HAVE THE POWER!"
The transformation swept over Adam as usual, turning him into the muscle-bound He-Man. He fought the urge to turn to find Cringer. Something else he had to get used to . . .