El Tigre: Evolution
Ay, I just had this waxed!
-Puma Loco
Chapter 4
Puma Loco burst through the wall, bags of money and valuables clenched in the claws of his mechanical suit. He was met with several guards, all with rifles trained on him.
"LuxeSentries…FIRE!" the lead guard commanded. They all fired in unison.
Puma Loco laughed and activated his rocket thrusters, lifting himself safely out of the way and landing in the midst of the LuxeSentries, sending them scattering. But he soon found himself surrounded. He glanced around, looking for an escape.
"Fire at will!" the leader cried out. Laser bolts flew, striking Puma Loco's mech suit, leaving blast scars.
"Ay! I just had this waxed!" Puma Loco lamented.
Suddenly, the lead guard was struck by a laser blast that seemed to come out of nowhere. The other guards looked around in confusion.
"Black Cuervo!" The villainess announced her presence before she landed next to Puma Loco. She wore her signature dark suit with helmet and visor, lasers armed and ready.
Puma Loco was wary, but still appreciative for the help. "What're you here for?" he asked her.
"Weapons." She answered. "You?"
"Money, valuables, et cetera."
The guards reestablished the ring around the villains, guns pointed inward.
Black Cuervo smiled. "Well then it appears we have similar interests at the moment."
"Si" said Puma Loco, grinning as well. "Truce?"
"Truce."
Lasers fired.
El Tigre crashed into the wall, knocking down another ornate painting. He sat up, rubbing his head. The black-haired Alado stood on the other side of the office, giggling madly, fist still held out in mid-punch.
Dios, this guy is strong!
El Tigre looked to see Trina, who was struggling with the white-haired male. The Alado stuck out his hand, the air rippled with energy, and she was knocked back. The female Alado had Frida in a tight grip, no matter how hard she squirmed, his friend couldn't get free.
Luxe had gone to the book and was flipping through it as the struggle took place around him.
"Try not to do too much damage," he called out.
Luxe's comment distracted the white-haired Alado, giving Trina the chance to get up without him noticing. Her ruby bracelet began to glow, and a crimson blade emerged from it. She charged at her enemy, wielding this new weapon. He turned to meet her, surprised by the new development.
SLASH
The cut was deep; the blade sank into his torso. Trina pulled out the sword, leaving the Alado standing, stunned.
"Yeah you got hmph-" Frida cheered before the girl silenced her.
Then something strange happened. The wounded Alado's skin bubbled, and the wound began to close, until it had fully healed itself.
Now it was Trina's turn to be stunned. The Alado grabbed her by the throat and raised her up into the air. El Tigre got up to assist, but suddenly…
"TELEPORT!" a voice cried.
And they were gone.
Maria, Manny's mother was the school librarian. She was currently in the biography section, alphabetizing the famous cliff diving chefs of Miracle City. She was humming a little tune to herself, when someone put a hand on her shoulder, startling her.
"Geez!" she cried, dropping a book, "You scared m…" She stopped when she got a good look at the person, or rather, couldn't get a good look, because he was wearing a hood. The skin she could see was very pale. She frowned.
"Do you have a visitor's pass?" she inquired.
"The Prophet wishes to see your son," Is what he said.
Maria was getting a creepy vibe from this person. "Manny isn't allowed to talk to strangers."
"It is a matter of the utmost importance."
Maria stared at the man. He stood in silence.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Tell this "Prophet" I'm not comfortable with it." She turned and went back to alphabetizing.
The man spoke again. "You were an object-wielder once, too…"
Maria stopped. "What?"
"They called you Plata Peligrosa. You were one chosen by the gods, just as the Prophet was."
Maria was speechless for moment, but finally said, "I think you should leave."
The man nodded and turned to leave, but not before saying, "The Prophet only wishes for the well-being of mankind."
When he was gone, Maria sighed, and went back to her work.
Puma Loco and Black Cuervo stood on rooftop a safe distance from the LuxeCorp building. There were sirens far off. Each villain had a large bag of "goodies." They were both laughing hysterically.
"That was great!" said Black Cuervo.
"Si!" agreed Puma Loco.
"You know," Black Cuervo started, "We actually made a pretty good team, Sr. Rivera."
"Yes, yes," said Puma Loco. They both looked down and stood in a kind of awkward silence.
Puma Loco broke the silence. "You see, I got this tip about an armored car and-"
"Wait," Black Cuervo interrupted. "Are you suggesting that we…team up?"
"Well…"
"Because you can forget it! Our families are sworn enemies!" Black Cuervo crossed her arms and turned away. But something made her glance back. And she saw the despondent look on the eldest Rivera's face.
"It's okay," he said. "It's just that Manny never wants to do anything evil with me anymore. He thinks I'm too old."
Black Cuervo sighed, went over to Puma Loco, and patted him on his mechanical suit. "Uh, there, there?" She turned her head away and frowned. She was not used to this comforting stuff. "Maybe we could work something out?"
Puma Loco smiled. "The armored car stops by the bank at five, if you can make it, partner!" With that, the villain blasted off.
Black Cuervo was flustered. "I said 'Maybe!'" she shouted after him. She began to grumble.
Manny's head was spinning when he came to. He darted up and looked around. He was no longer El Tigre. Frida was lying next to him, also beginning to stir. She opened her eyes.
"Dude, where are we?"
Manny looked around once more. "I think were still in the LuxeCorp building…"
"There you are!" an exasperated voice cried out. Manny and Frida turned to see their teacher leading the rest of the class their way.
"How did we get here?" Frida whispered to Manny.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he whispered back.
"We've been worried sick about you!" the teacher scolded. "And if it was you two who set off those alarms, so help me…"
"It wasn't us!" said Manny.
"We just got lost!" Frida returned.
The teacher looked sternly at the pair, shrugged, and then waved for them to come along.
"All right, kids, time to go. Where on earth is Sr. Rivera?"
Manny saw Frida wince with pain as they filed out of the building.
"Something wrong, Frida?" he asked.
Frida gritted her teeth for a second, but replied, "It's nothing."
Manny gave her a look of slight concern but said nothing more.
As all of this happened, a man sat in a dark room, watching the events swirl in a bowl of water as if he were watching television. He shook his head.
"The Tome is almost complete," he said aloud. "The object-wielders are too slow to come together to fight this renewed evil. Last time, the price was great, very great indeed…"