Discalimer - Don't own the Big Guy or any other character. They'll never belong to me although any unfamiliar people and places are mine though.
Summary - A supposedly extinct reptile attacks New Tronic City, following the orders of a new alien enemy. Meanwhile, an old friend of Jo's returns to the place she grew up.
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The Fight for Freedom
A creature flew through the skies of New Tronic City, screeching as it did. It crashed right into a few buildings as it flew by them in the semi-darkness. The Big Guy piloted the Legend 1 towards the creature, hoping for a chance to capture it alive.
"This baby's right in my sights," he said.
Missiles were aimed right at the monster and were fired. The monster simply dodged them with the greatest of ease. Hunter was a bit surprised with this from inside and wondered what kind of creature this truly was. Rusty flew over to the Legend 1. He stayed hovering beside it as he looked at the pterodactyl.
"Whoa! What kind of creature is that Big Guy?" he asked.
The creature screeched again and pointed a wing at the Big Guy as he flew out of the Legend 1.
"It somewhat looks like a pterodactyl, a prehistoric reptile that became extinct millions of years ago," Big Guy replied.
"Be warned robots. I will be back to destroy you," the pterodactyl screeched at them. "Be warned for this planet will suffer greatly."
Both Big Guy and Rusty were very surprised by this reaction when the creature disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Inside the cockpit, Hunter gave a stern look, the several possibilities running through his mind.
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Back on the Dark Horse, Dwayne climbed out to meet Jo and Mack.
"Dwayne, what was that thing which just attacked the city? And before dawn?" asked Jo, yawning.
"Don't know exactly but it definitely has intelligence, despite the fact it looks like a pterodactyl," replied Dwayne, taking off his helmet.
Garth walked in, reading a newspaper and eating a muffin.
"What're you reading now?" asked Mack, walking up to him.
Garth looked up from the article and smiled.
"Oh I'm just reading an article about the fact Czarina is coming back to New Tronic City," he told them, returning to the article.
"Who?" asked a confused Mack. "Never heard of her."
"Czarina Mills. She started her singing career here. She actually was born here and grew up here before hitting it big time just after high school," explained Jo.
Both Dwayne and Garth were surprised with this knowledge that Jo had. The two stepped up to their fellow crew member
"How do you know...?" asked Garth.
"Come on you guys. Can't a girl know a famous star from when they were in school together?" she asked them.
"You? Know Czarina?" Dwayne asked.
"Yes, I do. We were best friends all throughout school. Always acted the same, always talked the same everything. We were so predictable, we could always tell what the other was thinking or was about to do at any given time. That was until she disappeared for three months. After that, she became so unpredictable it's not even funny. One would never know what she was going to do next," she explained. "Not only that, one rarely saw her for she disappeared for hours on end."
She sighed as they all headed toward the door.
"That's all in the past though. I'm just glad we'll be seeing her again," Jo told them. "She won't give up the chance of seeing me again. I know her way too well."
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"So what is this new threat?" asked General Thorton.
"This creature appears to be of alien origin but its structure appears to resemble Earth origin. It most resembles the pterodactyl, a prehistoric lizard which became extinct about 65 million years ago. The only known differences so far is that this one has the ability to talk and its obvious intelligence," Doctor Slate told them.
"Then its origin is impossible to determine unless we catch it alive and have it tell us where it came from," Lieutenant Hunter said.
"Both the Big Guy and Rusty have to be on full alert from now on. We have to catch this thing before it hurts innocent people!" Thorton ordered.
The crew nodded before listening to the ideas being bounced around the room.
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Hunter, Jo, Mack, Garth and Slate walked out of the building. A figure walked in front of them, causing them to stop and Jo smiled as she saw exactly who it was.
"Long time no see old friend. How long has it been?" Czarina told her.
"Czarina, I knew you'd come visit me. It's been years," Jo said, laughing as she walked up to her.
Czarina was about the size of Jo. Her black hair laid halfway down her back. Her blue eyes glimmered in the sunlight. She was wearing a red t-shirt and black pants. They gave each other a hug and both laughed.
"Who is this young woman, Lieutenant?" asked the doctor.
"An old friend of Jo's. She's a well known singer and she also plays piano," replied the lieutenant.
"It's great to see you again 'Rina. It's been a very long time," Jo said.
"Hasn't it been?" replied Czarina. "Done anything crazy lately?"
"Great and no, nothing crazy lately. At least nothing like your crazy antics. Forget that. I want you to meet my friends. Czarina, this is Mack, Garth, Doctor Erica Slate and Lieutenant Dwayne Hunter," introduced Jo.
Czarina shook hands with all of them as Rusty happened to fly above them. He looked down, saw Czarina and flew down to them.
"Hey, you're Czarina, the singer. I've always wanted to meet you," he happily cried, his hands together.
"Come on Rusty. You can talk to her later," Slate told her.
"That's right Rusty. I'll be back to give you my autograph and talk to you another time. Can't let the fans down," Czarina reassured him. "Now how about we go somewhere close by and get something to eat?"
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"She was continuously playing pranks on everybody, though she never played the exact same one twice. The only time she did was if it was a really, really good one. One good enough to get into her top ten of all-time best pranks," Jo told them, laughing.
"Like for instance, I once got the school bully Charles Mars with probably my best prank ever. For about five months, I worked on this costume. When I was finished it, it looked like a flying lizard…" started Czarina.
"Which, might I add, was very, very realistic looking," put in Jo.
"I had Jo and several other friends set up a rig in the caféteria and we pretended I was an alien from outer space, here to abduct him and suck his brains out," finished Czarina.
Everybody laughed out loud.
"I tell you, everybody in the entire school knew about this except Charles and his friends. He was so bad towards the other students, everybody was so happy he got this. He hadn't bullied anyone since. If I remember right, didn't you almost get expelled…?" Jo added.
"Don't worry about these 'small' details my friend. It felt good to get back at them despite the fact it almost cost me the year," Czarina told her.
Dwayne looked at her with a slightly suspicious look. Something in the back of his head was nagging at him but he didn't know what.
'What am I supposed to be worried about?' he asked himself.
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During this time, an alien ship hovered in orbit overhead the Earth. The leader stood up from his chair and looked at the others. He was a giant beetle only more humanlike.
"How is the patient from this planet doing?" the captain asked.
As he looked around the room, the bestial-looking crewmembers continued on with their work. There were many different races among the ranks of his ships, ranging from insectoids to mammalian to reptilian. In fact, Hapar was pleased with such a diverse crew as they lay on the verge of conquering the planet sitting in space before them.
"She is doing just fine but she should soon get rid of this world's protectors. I'm talking about these two robots right here," replied the canine crewmember.
He pointed at the screen as the picture came into view, which clearly showed the Big Guy and Rusty.
"Contact her immediately. With her out into the open, these two 'heroes of justice' will come for her," Hapar ordered.
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In the café, a soft beeping came from a cell phone in Czarina's pocket. She grabbed it and placed it on her ear. They watched her as she began to talk to the person on the other end.
"I'm so sorry guys, I've got to go. Even here, I can't get off work," she told them.
They watched her leave. When she was out of sight, Garth shook his head as he looked at Jo.
"Was she really like that? Was she really the class prankster? It simply doesn't seem like her. I don't think'll she ever return to that stage now," he told her.
"Don't count on it Garth. She can be her old self whenever she wants to be," Jo warned him, smiling.
Suddenly, Lieutenant Hunter heard a familiar screech coming from outside. Immediately, he sprang to his feet and into action.
"It's that pterodactyl creature! Let's go get the Big Guy!" he cried.
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The Big Guy soon showed up at the scene with Rusty.
"What does it want?" wondered Rusty.
"The Oleaftars want to claim your measly planet to call their own. I am here to lead their troops into the conquering of Earth. This planet will be theirs for I am Tera!" the pterodactyl cried.
"The Oleaftars?" wondered a confused lieutenant from inside the Big Guy. "Must have some strange army then."
From his position, he approximated that her wingspan stretched almost fifteen feet and she must have been about eight feet long. She was a dark green in colour as she swiftly dove in his direction.
"Prepare to be destroyed!" screamed Tera.
With this sudden movement, he never noticed the huge spacecraft descend from above the clouds. After dodging an attack, the Big Guy finally looked up to see several flying
"My name is Captain Hapar. Tera is under my command. What we say, she does. Tera, be a dear and rip those machines into pieces. Those two robots are the only things standing in our way of victory of this planet," ordered the captain.
Her eyes became red for a second and she growled.
"Yes, master. I will do as you ask," she complied.
She attacked them, catching them totally off guard. Out of nowhere, two figures appeared on the ground.
"Hapar!" one cried.
"Oh, it's only you two. I really wondered when you'd get here? You're too late this time. You simply can't save her now Justin. She's mine," Hapar yelled back.
"I'll bring her around. Tera, listen to me. You don't have to do this. We can still help you," Justin called to Tera.
She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before turning to look at Hapar. All the while that she hung onto the Big Guy's exoframe, Dwayne could tell that she was fighting a war within her mind.
"I want… to listen… to Justin… and Jennifer…except… force is… commanding otherwise. Help me," she stuttered quietly .
Dwayne heard this and gasped.
"She's being controlled by that evil alien," he said to himself.
"Lieutenant Hunter, what's happening?" came the general's voice.
His face appeared on a screen overhead,
"General, this creature is not evil. An alien by the name of Hapar is controlling her. There are two other aliens here to help her," explained the lieutenant.
"Well, get her under control and bring this creature, along with these two friendly aliens, here. We'll help them and I want answers," General Thorton replied just before the screen went blank.
Outside, Rusty flew up to Tera. She was shaking all over and he dared not move any closer. Dwayne watched as the cat named just lifted up a gun. He fired it and a spray of sparks showered around him and Tera. Dwayne found himself receiving some mild shocks from the controls. He watched as she released her grip of Big Guy and fell to the ground in a heap.
"No!" screamed Hapar. "What have you done?"
The other cat ran up to Tera and broke a machine behind Tera's ear, a few sparks flying about.
"Justin, it's destroyed," Jennifer called over to her fellow cat.
"See now Hapar? You can no longer control her. She is free from the likes of you," Justin yelled up to him.
"Maybe I don't control her anymore and we can't take over this planet just yet but you're forgetting one small detail Justin; she still has to live with this torment forever!" Hapar replied, laughing.
Big Guy lifted up his arms, the guns popping out. The creatures screeched as they tried to dodge the bullets that flew everywhere. As they headed back to their ship, a few of them got shot.
"You'll pay for this sooner or later. Believe me, you will," Hapar told Big Guy.
He followed them and they flew off into the sky. Big Guy watched as the craft disappeared off into the distance before joining Rusty on the ground by Tera's side. Justin and Jennifer were already by there.
"Tera, wake up, it's us. You're free from his control and we're here to help," Justin whispered to her.
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at them.
"Now, go to our quarters. We'll meet you there because there's we still have work to do here," Jennifer quietly told her.
Tera nodded her head and took flight and headed off into the night sky. Jennifer and Justin turned to Big Guy once she was out of sight.
"Big Guy, we are from a distant planet called Oleafaria. Believe it or not but right now, you're the only hope of Tera regaining anything of her former life back. You have to help her. Big Guy, please," pleaded Justin.
"Me? Why me?" Big Guy wondered.
"We'll try explain on another occasion when we have the time. Only then, will you certainly understand what we mean. Now, we must go help Tera recuperate for the next battle. They will come back and try to reclaim her," replied Jennifer.
The two cats left, leaving Big Guy and Rusty slighty confused.
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Doctor Slate was already on the Dark Horse where she met up with Garth, Mack and Lieutenant Hunter as he returned from his most recent excursion. She noticed that he was more quiet than normal for a return trip.
"What's wrong Lieutenant?" asked the doctor.
"Nothing's wrong, why?" he replied.
"You seem very quiet, that's what she's talking about. Did they say something that upset you?" Mack told him.
Hunter sighed, wondering if he was doing the right thing by mentioning anything.
"You're right, they did say something. Those two alien cats were saying that the Big Guy was that pterodactyl's only hope of regaining her life back. They said they would explain later but I don't know what to think. It's strange though. It was almost as if they were talking to me and not to the Big Guy," he explained. "I wonder...? No! They can't possibly know."
"Have any of you guys seen Czarina? She disappeared right before the battle and I haven't heard from her since," Jo called over to them from the door
The four glanced in her direction before all shook their heads. Jo sighed and walked away.
"It looks like she's doing her disappearing act again. Things haven't changed at a bit since that year," the four heard her say. "Oh Czarina."
"What do you think it means?" Hunter asked Slate.
"I'm not sure yet but we'll need time to fit everything together. This puzzle's missing a few pieces and we need to find them," replied Slate.
The four walked out of the hangar, never noticing that Justin and Jennifer were watching from a nearby window.
"Do you think he's one of the right ones for this?" wondered Jennifer.
"Yes, I actully do. I'm pretty sure. Him and her. They are the only ones who can save our dear Tera. He has something in common with her, he just doesn't realize it yet. Alas, the time will come when someone decides to visit us in the near future. We must be very careful for everybody's sake," replied Justin before they jumped onto Tera's back and left.
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Hapar paced back and forth within his ship. He looked very angry as a member of his crew walked up to him with the most recent reports
"Anything we can do about Tera, sir?" he asked.
"Tera. She is no longer under our control but I know we can get her back. At the moment, there's only way I can think of to bring her out into open and that's by taking myself out into the open," Hapar replied.
The crewmember remained.
"We should recapture her then. I don't think we have much time left," the canine told him.
"No, we don't. That is why we have to strike back and soon," Hapar replied, snarling.
TBC...