GODLING # 13: Tentacled Terror

GODLING # 13:  Tentacled Terror
by J. Vandersteen

A group of 4 students is sitting in their room on the New Troy
University Campus. The have drawn a symbol on the floor. On the
background heavy metal is playing. One of the students, a skinny kid
with a goatee, is holding a book and reading from it.
  "Wah-ha-za-ya-rahatahra-wazu... Wah-ha-za-ya-rahatahra-wazu..."
  One of the other kids, a bulkier black kid whispers to the girl next
to him, "That Nelson... Crazy as hell. He really believes in this
stuff."
  The girl giggles, "Yeah, but as long as he's got the weed I don't
mind keeping him company. He,--"
  A fire starts in the symbol... A large hole of light opens in the
floor and from it comes a big squid-like monster. All eyes and
tentacles, so big the walls collapse.
  "This doesn't look good,'' the black kid says.
*
Professor Quentin Alexander walks out of his classroom after just
having taught another mythology lesson. As he walks the NTU hallways
he can hear the students whisper. Things like, ''There he goes, they
say he raped one of his students, what a creep,'' or ''I can't believe
he's still teaching''. After the false accusation Amanda Reese made
his life has been hell. He was lucky enough to get out on bail, but he
knew there was a very real possibility he would be suspended. NTU
probably didn't want the bad publicity he brought along with him.
  Professor Monica Sawyer runs into him in the hallway. "Hey, Quentin.
Don't mind the rumors. I know you're innocent. And that will be proven
in court soon enough.''
  Quentin gave her a half hearted smile. "Sure. Well, at least you
believe in my innocense. Seems like you're the only on in this city.''
  ''Don't be stupid. Wade also believes that."
  "Right, probably because he thinks I'm too weak to pull something
like that.''
  "That's crap, Alexander! There's nothing weaker than rape."
  Then the walls go down, a big tentacle appearing in the hallway. The
students panic. Through the hole in the wall the big tentacled monster
is visible. It's tearing down the campus, picking up students and
putting them in a grotesque, large mouth.
  "My Lord! What is that thing!" Monica says, gazing at the monster.
"I need to call Wade, tell him to come as soon as possible with all
the firepower the NTPD has." She turns back to Quentin but to her
surprise he's gone.
*
Quentin changes into Godling, running out of the hallway. Outside, he
charges the monster at full Hermes-speed. The monster sees him coming
with one of his many eyes and slugs him with a tentacle. It is a good
thing Godling uses his Achilles-invulnerability on time or he would be
dead. He's knocked through one of the campus buildings.
  As he gets up he wonders, "What the Hades is that thing. It seems to
come right out of some old pulpy horror novel. Well, whatever it is I
need to stap it ASAP. Not only is it destroying the campus grounds but
it's killing the students as well."
  He flies to the monster, this time making sure the tentacles don't
reach him, evading them until he's close enough to it to smash it with
Heracles-strength. The monster howls and staggers backwards. Godling
lands on the floor before it, not being able to use two superpowers at
the same time. He continues hitting the monster with all his strength,
driving it back. The monster however, refuses to fall. Apparently now
really noticing the threat he grabs Godling with one of his tentacles,
lifting the One Man Pantheon to it's mouth. Godling tries to struggle
free but the monster is incredibly strong. When he's almost in the
mouth of the monster Godling grabs hold of it's tongue and janks it.
That seems to hurt it, dropping Godling.
  Godling decides he needs some ammo, getting close to the monster a
too dangerous endeavor. He starts to rip pieces out of the ground and
throws them at the monster. It however just uses it's tentacles to
keep them away from him. The hero picks up one of the cars on the
parking and runs over to the monster with it, then uses it as a club
to beat the strange enemy where ever he can beat it. Alas, also that
attack doesn't bring the monster down. Instead, it hits our hero again
with one of it's tentacles. This time he ends up against a tree.
  Sitting against the tree he rubs his temples. "I haven't faced
anything this powerful yet. How the Hades am I going to beat the
unbeatable? Where did that thing come from anyway?"
  "Sir... Mr. Godling... I might be able to answer that," a skinny kid
with a goatee and a Strung Out T-shirt standing next to Godling says.
It's Nelson.
  "You can?""
  Nelson holds up a book that says ''Necronomicon'' on the cover. It
seems like a very old and dusty tome. "I used this old book I dug up
at a fleamarket to conjure up this demon from another dimension...''
  "You what? Are you crazy?"
  "No man, just stoned. I really didn't think it would work. I
think..."
  Godling grabbed Nelson and looked him straight in the eyes, "How do
we stop that thing?"
  "I don't know man, it doesn't seem to be in the book."
  Godling saw the police had arrived, but with all their firepower
they were unable to hurt the monster. It smashed the police cars with
it's mighty tentacles. It had to be stopped, but how?
*
Walker is looking through court records online. He's still eager to
prove Quentin Alexander didn't rape Amanda Reese. "Maybe I can find
some kind of old jurisprudence that can help me out. There've been
cases like this before and... Whoa!"
  He looks at the screen of his laptop with his mouth open. There's a
picture of Amanda Reese on it. He reads the text that goes with it.
"What? Amanda Reese went to court on three more accounts of rape? What
is that girl up to?"
*
"I've got the powers of the Olympian gods... There must be a way to
stop this creature," Godling says. Then he gets an idea. He uses the
power of Poseidon to master the water running through the pipes under
the ground, the water finds its way out of the pipes, through the
ground, serving as a water cannon that fires at the monster. It keeps
the monster away from the cops, but it doesn't really seem to hurt it.
Whipping around its tentacles in a wild frenzy it crushes several cars
and trees, trying to shake of the water.
  "Wait a minute... That thing was conjured up by some sort of magic
spell... And who knows more about magic than Circe, sorceress and
queen goddess." Chanelling her magical abilities the One Man Pantheon
starts to weave a magic spell. "Go back to the dimension you came
from, demonspawn!"
  All kinds of magic symbols appear in the air around Godling's hands.
The demon is caught in a web of light. The ground opens up like it did
before when the monster first appeared. Slowly the monster is being
sucked in the hole and disappears.
  "Whoa man... That was awesome..." Nelson exclaims. Godling gives him
an annoyed look and knocks him down.
*
Quentin, having changed back from his Godling form encounters Wade
Hudson and Monica Sawyer. Wade's pretty bruised up.
   "Are you all right, Wade?" Quentin asks the tough cop.
  "Yeah, I just caught some shrapnel from when of our cars blew up
thanks to that thing."
  "Did you see Godling fight that thing?" Monica asked. "Where do
things like that come from? It seems life is getting weirder every
day. Where would we be if we didn't have Godling to protect us?"
  "We just need to get more firepower,'' Wade says.
  But Quentin knew there were beings that firepower would not beat.
The world needed Godling for that. If Amanda Reese had her way Godling
would be locked up in a prison cell and the world would be devoid of
their new champion. He would not allow that, he couldn't do that to
the world. He would prove his innocense, he swore it.

NEXT: MANEATER!