Biarce stepped in front and braced himself as the huge orb collided with his hands, shrinking it between his palms to bring it out of commission. While he held it in place, Bell broke into a fast sprint towards their opponent, jabbing him in the gut and putting him in a daze.
Biarce followed suit and together with Bell, performed a double kick in the face, knocking their enemy back by several feet.
The children bent down and helped themselves to what they hoped was a well-deserved rest, which unfortunately could not be given to them. Almost immediately, a mechanized shriek sliced through the air announcing the arrival of a huge, golden eagle a mile or so behind them. The mechanical bird shot a scatter of volatile balls of light which exploded towards them.
"I think we should get out of here, Bell."
"Right behind you, Biarce."
Bell and Biarce flew up the thousand-mile long shaft leading towards the surface, pursued closely by the winged, ironclad warrior following close behind. The two super-powered children ploughed through the roof of the building where they had entered and tumbled down towards the solid Earth, they rolled around as they tried to recover their bearings amidst the chaos around them.
The winged warrior erupted through the earth after them and fired his large weapon towards them, unleashing a scattershot of explosive light all over the surface. The two kids jumped away as a ball of flame burst forth behind them. With barely time to recover the eagle-like machine assumed a humanoid form, screeching towards Bell with an outstretched talon.
"Let go of me!"
Bell struggled to break free, but GIR dashed to the rescue when he shifted into a heavy iron ball and rammed into the machine's hands. Bell broke free and kicked the eagle bot in the face. Biarce slid under and tripped its legs and sent it crashing unto its back, and then both kids jumped and smashed through its chest and putting it out of commission, Biarce delivering one good kick to send it skidding away through several buildings.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, Biarce."
"Good, now let's get the heck out of here before we attract anymore unwanted attention."
"Right"
They rushed towards the beach and attempted to escape from the island while everyone was distracted. Just when they thought they were home free, emerging into the clearing of the beach and towards open space, a beam of light descended from the heavens and stopped them dead in their tracks.
"Hold it right there bub!" Hovering down from the sky were three young boys, roughly the same age as Biarce, landed before them, they all wore the same black leather uniforms with varying accents of three different colors.
The one with the bright red hair, "I dunno what you think you're doing here, but this is restricted area, and I'm afraid we're gonna have to bring you guys in."
Biarce stretched one arm back defensively towards Bell, as though keeping the boys before them from reaching their filthy mitts to her, "Over my dead body."
"Boys, let's teach this guy a lesson. Butch, restrain him."
The boy with green eyes and black hair crunched his knuckles, "It'll be a pleasure."
The blonde one to the side remained calm and distant, he queried meekly towards his red-headed brother, "What would you want me to do, Brick?"
"Do as we've practiced, Boomer, this shouldn't be too much trouble for us."
"All right, Brick."
Butch grinned menacingly at Biarce and Bell. Truth be told, he wanted to savor the delicious thrill of fighting Buttercup in battle once more, but this will do just as well.
"So, who wants to be mauled first, how about you, Casper, or maybe your girlfriend, Snow White over there?"
Bell's eyebrow twitched at Butch's audacity to call her that, she was just his friend, after all. Bell made a move to hit him over the head, but Biarce motioned her to stay still.
"If it's a fight you want, I'd be happy to oblige"
"Let's get him, Boomer!" Butch and Boomer sprang towards him like speeding rounds escaping the barrel of their guns, they pulled back their fists for a fast, sound barrier-breaking punch towards him.
A split-second just before impact, Biarce outstretched his hands and caught both boys' fists, the shockwave from impact flinging several piles of sand every which way around them. Both Boomer and Butch were trembling at the sudden impact that was Biarce's resistance; Biarce, however, knew exactly what to do next.
With a motion to cast both boys up from his level, Biarce threw Butch and Boomer out of their balance and gave each a palm thrust with power enough to fling them back a few yards along the beach.
Brick had always been ready for the unexpected, and so he quickly strode forth to meet Biarce as his brothers were placed out of commission.
He was upon Biarce when the latter braced for impact. Brick delivered one overhead blow which Biarce caught with his one arm, he followed with a sweeping motion with the leg, but Biarce tightened the sinews of his own limb and absorbed the impact of Brick's attack.
Eager to put him in his place for once and for all, Brick slammed his punch squarely in Biarce's mouth, bringing him a slight daze, a disorientation that should have left him open for a more final defeat. Yet he would not yield; once more, Biarce planted his foot firmly back, spinning a full one eighty to maintain momentum and delivered a powerful counterpunch right back at him, Brick felt the entire world go on for about five minutes before time caught up and he was flung towards the same general area his brothers had been.
Brick stumbled to get back on his feet. He had never felt a harder punch before, not until Biarce.
"Get up, Brick, we're not done yet.
"It isn't over till I say so."
"That's enough, Brick!"
Hovering down from a black helicopter, Brisbaine, the Rowdy boys' custodian, he spoke with steely certainty in his voice, "Boys, stand down."
As he dismounted from the helicopter, he walked with an aura of sternness, staring right into their eyes as though peering through the windows of their very souls, "That's an order."
For a mere man, Brisbaine commanded an unusual measure of respect from the boys, who cowed to his request.
Biarce kept his guard up, "Why are you letting us go?"
Brisbaine removed his glasses to wipe them with a cloth before responding, "There is a certain individual whom I render service to that has a vested interest in seeing you alive."
"Who would that be?"
"You do not need to know yet. Let's just say that he is keeping a very, very close eye on you, young man."
Biarce kept his guard up, not letting his eye off Brisbaine or his cronies. However, Brisbaine appeared to have kept his end of the bargain, motioning for the boys to leave before departing himself, Brick, Boomer, and Butch complied, albeit begrudgingly.
With their enemies dispersed, Biarce and Bell could take a breather and gather their thoughts.
Bell heaved a tired sigh, "That was a close shave, eh?"
"Too close" Biarce reached into his pocket and pulled out the strange medallion he recovered from the strange city.
"Oh hey, it's that thingy you got from the city. What is it?"
"I haven't the foggiest, it's just a weird little trinket if you ask me."
"Let's bring it back to my dad, he's smart, maybe he can figure this thing out."
Fast-forward to Black Eden, headquarters of the Darkstar Council, Bell's expectations were dashed when her father couldn't quite make heads or tails with the strange artifact that his daughter and her friend recovered. All he could make was that it was made of a material that was clearly not of Earthly origin, or for that matter, not of the material universe.
"Dad, I'm bored, you've been doing nothing but stare at that weird thing all day."
"Look sweetie, I think I'll be stuck here for the rest of the day, so if you please, why don't you go play with one of your friends?"
"But I only got Girly and Biarce."
"Then get started with them, I'll be with you in just a little bit, okay sweetums?"
She sighed, bummed that her father wouldn't play with her again, "Whatever dad, just promise me you'll spend some time with me later, okay?"
He didn't even so much as turn around to see her off, "Sure thing, Bell."
"See ya later, Dad," waiting for her, as always, was GIR "Girly? Where's Biarce?"
"They put him back with the all the other crazies."
"You mean he's back in his cell? But I thought we could let him wander about now. Nevermind, let's go check him out."
Bell travelled to Biarce's cell, where he sat against the wall by his bed, "Bell, you've come to see me?"
"See you? I've come to bring you lunch!"
Bell brought to view his meal, a tasty little burrito with a cup of soda with one of those fancy bendy straws.
"Gee, this was real nice of you. What's the occasion?" Biarce picked the aluminum-wrapped food laying before him.
"I just wanted to do something nice for you, it would help you if you weren't so uptight, which I noticed from you."
"I'm sorry, I'm living here with you for a while, I still have a hard time adjusting to strangers, and for the life of me it's a hard habit to break."
"Well, since you're staying a while you ought to learn while the going's good, eh?"
"I suppose," he unwrapped his lunch and took a bite off of it, "Huh, not bad."
"I actually made that myself, I thought it wasn't going to make the cut, but I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"Thanks Bell, you're far more skilled than you think yourself to be."
Just as Biarce was about to take a sip of his soda, something weird occurred, he suddenly reached for his forehead.
"Ow, that hurt."
Bell noticed something was up, "Hey, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, my head become really floozy all of a sudden."
Bell yawned, stretching her arms, "Well, okay, anyway, I'll see if I can get dad to let you out later, but right now I think I'll have a nap for a few."
"Yeah, sure, sleep tight now, Bell."
Bell returned to her room and laid down on her springy mattress, lying down comfortably and letting the soft comfort slowly slip her away to a fitful sleep.
Swathed in a silky, flowing wedding dress, she marched down the aisle with smiles from anonymous faces on either side of the majestic chapel. She smiled, looking ahead at the tall, dark and handsome figure awaiting her arrival patiently by the foot of the altar.
He took her by the hand, and she smiled her adorable smile while staring him in the eye. They turned again towards the altar, she grasping his hand with intent and not letting him go, as though loosening from him would cause him to drift away forever…
Bell slowly opened her eyes, a slight disorientation evident on her face. She rubbed her peepers to get the sand off and flexed her shoulders, waking from the lucid dream that seemed uncannily real, yet amounted to naught but fanciful fantasy.
Bell shifted off her bed, yawning and extending her arms to awaken from her napping stupor. GIR was napping by the foot of the bed, kicking like some real dogs do when something exciting happens when they dream. Looks like robots do dream, though maybe not of robotic sheep.
Bell exited the room and began the little trek back to Biarce's cell. She thought about that dream, the faceless crowds gathered about the pews to her left and to her right, and the unknown figure wearing the groom's uniform. She blushed, curious about the face behind the silky black velvet bearing her upon the altar.
"Hey, Biarce, how was the… Huh?!"
Lying in a crumpled heap with blood trailing from the mouth, was Biarce, unconscious and from all appearances, near death.
"Biarce! Dad! someone, help!" Bell punched the control panel holding the barrier that separated her from Biarce and held him tight in her arms.
"Biarce, what's wrong, what happened?!" Bell's voice was quivering, if this was the second time a friend had to die because she wasn't there for them, she would tear apart the whole planet just to find whoever did this.
As she held his unconscious body tight, she stared up and saw someone standing out by the arch by the entryway of the confinement room.
A twitch of anger arched her eyes into the gaze of blind fury. She didn't know, she couldn't know, just that she wanted to hit something for hurting Biarce.
Leaping towards the silhouette with murderous intent, she bellowed with a raised fist, "You Bastard!"