Author's Notes:
Okay, this is the last chapter that I've written. I don't know when I'll get back to it but hopefully one of these days I will be able to resume this chapter. For now this is all I have; I must say this is the most interesting chapter yet because it reveals a large part of Team Legacy's overall history. Team Legacy actually belongs to an expansive superhero organization called The United League and its headquarters is in New York City located in the Harksmey Building. And you would not believe who was in the original team itself. Among the members of this organization are The Super Types, The Super Salsas, The Palace Legacy, etc. This chapter also explains a new and interesting concept that affects much of the United League organization called The Cycle of Heroes.
Chapter 11 – Zalira's Reign of Terror
On a crisp, chilly, dry, blustery May afternoon a middle aged actress was wandering straight to the formidable renowned Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois. Her name was Olivia Hershey, who was very well known for the 1968 version of Ross and Julie. In her hands was a worn out, withered, crinkled leather crimson and honey diary with a golden lock that can only be opened with a garnet key. But at the same time the inside of the book was made with maroon fur. This book was entitled, "The United League Diaries."
Just then, Caesar Roman waltzed into the scene and tapped on Olivia Hershey's shoulder. Olivia then turned her head around and met his countenance. "May I make an inquiry as to what are the book's contents?" Caesar asked her politely.
"This is the United League Diaries. It's supposed to be about The United League Organization. It's also about their long and lengthy history detailing back from shortly after WWI. They are pretty organized if you ask me. The original group that materialized not long after the organization formed consisted of Lord Casper Hawkins, a British aristocrat and a businessman who was in the industrial business and also was a World War I veteran who led a crew of 43 men on 20-30 successful dogfights against the Germans; Skyler Scotswood, a jet black wavy short haired girl with white highlights and thin curly bangs, was of Scottish, Belgian and Prussian descent and had been a silent film actress, vaudeville showgirl, and a painter based in France and a world class spy who was handy with sabotage and disguise."
"Tallulah Carson, a German woman who defected from her country and became a reformed U.S. Marshall had previously been a hired assassin for underground German mercenaries and other notorious figures; she also regularly put on hits on some of the most commonly targeted ethnic groups and was also a local scam artist. Tony Marshall was a gaunt-faced, square jawed, stocky, lean, tough-looking professional wrestler whose great-great-great-great-great grandfather was one of the slaves in the South freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and Sheila Wassferman was a South African immigrant who lived in France for 10 years before coming to America."
"She also was the one who first came up with a concept called, "The Cycle of Heroes." The Cycle of Heroes was a cycle of 4-5 people who lead extraordinary and unusual lives and as determined by one or more significant life events are destined to make their mark on history as a superhero and whatever career path they choose in life. Skyler Scotswood is also distantly related to Tess McNeal as a 7th cousin 8 times removed. Team Destroyer 625, as Lord Hawkins' team was called, was socially ahead of its time and ironically was discriminated during its 102 missions mainly because some of its members were black and belonged to other ethnic groups."
"Lord Hawkins, who had been widely respected by the high elite and aristocratic and middle class society, was now ostracized and shunned from his fellow Englishmen and his account was frozen. He was evicted from his house and banished for life by Parliament from his homeland. Lord Hawkins then gathers up his teammates and they relocated to New York City and found a skyscraper building on Fifth Avenue called The Harksmey."
"On the fifth floor there was a huge wide-spaced office with a gigantic, egg-shaped limestone table. The interior was built with marble stone cement, adorned with Oriental rugs and Cubist paintings from Picasso and silk curtains and Asian objects. There were miles of hallways and stairs and a Maltese guarded the front entrance to the building."
"The first floor contained art pieces showcased in glass cases and a lobby, the second and third floor contained hotel rooms, and the fourth floor was a mess room. The Harksmey was converted into a hotel/art museum. Team Destroyer 625 hardly had any visitors in their domain, except for a few occasional onlookers and some impudent youths attempting to vandalize and deface the property."
"But one day, four months before the start of the second world war, a freckled face, delicate skinned, lanky, graceful, tall woman with a hourglass figure and bony arms and legs and a round face and a short, arched nose and muddy long red/black hair went quietly into the building on an early stormy morning while the entire team was sleeping. She also was of Polish and Russian descent and was Jewish. Her amber honey eyes lit up in the hazy moonlit night and she then happened to notice a shadow of an eagle on the floor. It then grew bright red."
"The young woman was frightened about was about to run away when a voice called out, 'Do not be afraid. What you are seeing is The Cycle of Heroes. It is a special spiritual power that is bestowed on the few extraordinary superheroes that lead unusual lives and are destined to make history with their contributions of whatever path they choose besides being a superhero. 4-5 people that are chosen can obtain that power. This kind of special power consists of a designated orb energy power that combines everyone's powers and based on the majority of the inherent elemental abilities depending on what year you were born in, the orb chosen for a particular generation can be greatly enhanced and made more powerful.'"
"'The Cycle of Heroes is a continuous and repeating cycle; its power is everlasting. The more people there are, the stronger the cycle is. But if one of the members is lost or dead, the magnitude of the power of The Cycle of Heroes is slashed by half. Eventually when all of the members cease to exist, The Cycle of Heroes will be deactivated and remain dormant until a new generation emerges. However, there is one exception.' 'What is that exception?' the woman quizzed the stranger."
"'If one of the members names an heir in a magical will beforehand, then the Cycle of Heroes remains active. But even then, if that will is destroyed, then the Cycle of Heroes will be temporarily inactive. The order of the orbs is as follows: metal, moon, water, sand, fire, sun, earth, shadow, ice, electricity and telekinesis. You can also use The Cycle of Heroes yourself, but it takes up a lot of your energy and strength, and it is relatively weak, so you have to practice a lot if you want the power to be stronger,' answered the stranger and then she strode out of the darkness."
"It was Sheila Wassferman, and she had coffee roast skin and puffy, wild, curly 70's hair and she stood 5"9, almost 6 feet. With bright emerald eyes, a long, straight sloping nose, batty eyelashes, a lean, skinny, thin build and antelope-like legs and arms, it would seem like she was an exotic beauty from another land. 'Welcome. I'm Sheila Wassferman. Pleased to meet you,' Sheila Wasserman then introduced herself and shook the woman's hand."
"'Delighted to meet you as well. My name is Amber Morshelle. I come from Warsaw, Poland. My father was Russian while my mother was a Polish Jew. I left Warsaw because the Germans are being discrimatory towards the Jews. Hitler has already annexed Austria and the Sutdenlands to his new growing empire. And he is trying to build a Third Reich that would dominate Europe for a thousand years. Please let me stay. I have nowhere else to go,' the woman responded and then pleaded to Sheila Wassferman."
"Sheila Wassferman then reluctantly agreed. 'All right,' she told her. 'But Lord Hawkins would not like this. He thinks The Cycle of Heroes would end if more members were to be added to the team.' 'What an excellent building this is. I love it. It has interesting objects encased in glass cases and also a lobby,' Amber Morshelle praised Sheila Wassferman as they took a walk through the art gallery. Amber Morshelle gazed at a lifelike statue of a meerkat. She then also examined exact replicas of literature classics, such as "A Little Princess," "A Secret Garden," "Robison Crusoe," "The Count of Monte Cristo," "Huckleberry Finn," "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and more. Jewels and gemstones were also displayed, and replicas of legendary gems were also featured."
"Other life-like statues of animals and historical people were shown, including lions, tigers, bears, cougars, lemurs, parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, dogs, cats, hyenas, Kerry blue terriers, shih Tzus, Malteses, panthers, Blackbeard, Frances Hodgson Burnett, George Washington Carver, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Scottish terriers, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D Roosevelt, Eleanor D Roosevelt, Pocahontas, John Smith, Thomas Rolfe, and Lizzie Borden."
"'Look at these statues! I fancy them a lot. I especially like Theodore Roosevelt. Everyone looks like they're all locked up here for display though. But I like them just the same, please don't be offended.' Amber Morshelle murmured in wonder as she viewed the art figures and objects one by one and then turned to Sheila in a sheepish manner and rushed to catch up with her."
"Then something else caught her eye. It was the replica of The Hope Diamond. 'Hey, Sheila! What is it?' Amber cried as she sighted the Hope Diamond replica. 'Don't touch it,' Sheila warned her firmly. 'Why can't I touch it?' enquired Amber in an inquisitive manner. Sheila then leaned over to her ears with a simper and whispered, 'The Hope Diamond will deliver bad luck to the one that owns it.' 'Bad luck?' Amber repeated Sheila's words. 'Anything can happen to you when you have The Hope Diamond in your hands,' Sheila explained to her. 'But it looks so pretty,' Amber murmured to herself as she watched the Hope Diamond replica glisten in the light. 'Looks can be deceiving, my child, so watch out,' Sheila said to her. Amber then stood looking at the copy of the Hope Diamond longingly and sighed softly.
'Back into the wall this instant! You are an outsider among us!' screeched a hoarse, scratchy, thick German accented voice and then a long, wavy, curled blond haired, sapphire eyed, lanky, fair faced and white skinned woman protruded out of the darkness, holding a musket. Her thin lips radiated a cruel sneer, her eyes froze with ice, and her face contorted with anger while she bares her sharp, white teeth. Amber gasped with horror and cowered down in fear while shielding her head and holding up her Star of David necklace in the air."
"The woman was Tallulah Carson and the moment she spotted the Star of David on Amber's hand, her mind snapped and she lunged at the young Jewish woman. Sheila then morphed into an octopus and used one of her tentacles to grab Tallulah and throw her in midair, and once Tallulah was in midair, Sheila changed into an eagle and swooped down on the former female assassin while assailing her with aerial strikes. Sheila then turned into a snake and while wrapping her tail around her teammate's neck, she then bashed her head against the ground five times before letting her fall to the floor and transforming into an electric dragon and vaporizing her with electricity."