GODLING # 21: The Fall of Destiny!
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON
THE FALL OF DESTINY!Master Destiny has his Spear against Officer Janson’s chin. Can
Godling be quick enough and take him down before she’s dead?
“I know what you’re thinking, hero. But even with the speed of Hermes
you won’t be fast enough. I see you twitch and she’s dead.”
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Suddenly the Spear is gone, leaving Master
Destiny befuddled, looking a this empty hand.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Destiny’s punched in the face and falls down.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Janson and Darlene King’s chains are gone.
High-tech Godling stands triumphantly. “Good thing there’s more than
one of us with superspeed. Some you’re not keeping an eye on.” He
holds the Spear above his head. “Without this thing you’re useless,
right?”
Destiny runs for High-tech Godling and the Spear. He runs into Darlene
and Janson, though.
“Payback time!” they say and hit him both at the same time. KA-WHAK!
He goes down.
“Here,” High-tech Godling tells our Godling and throws the Spear. Our
Godling catches it.
“Break that thing!” High-tech Godling says.
“I think I should use it first to put things right again. Get City
Hall down from this mountain for one thing.”
“Take it easy, that Spear is a dangerous weapon. If you get to
experience it’s power you might not want to lose it.”
“You guys keep an eye on me then,” Our Godling said.
The original One Man Pantheon went to work. He started by lowering
City Hall down, while the other Godlings captured the superpowered
henchmen of Destiny. Some villains managed to get away, some were
captured willingly, some needed some extra persuasion in the form of a
fist or on some occasions a blast from the Spear.
“We need to imprison these villains somewhere,” Our Godling told High-
tech Godling. “A normal prison won’t hold them. Time to create
something better.”
He pointed the Spear at the earth and from it, slowly, a huge metal
structure started to arise. It was a cross between a normal looking
prison and a Greek building.
“Behold, Tartarus II, the containment facility for superpowered
criminals!” Our Godling said proudly.
“Who will guard the prisoners? Who will take care of them?” High-tech
Godling asked.
“I thought of that as well,” said Our Godling and a door in the new
prison opened. From it, three robots, three times larger than a human
walked forth, moving by using metal tentacles for feet. In fact, they
had hundreds of tentacles. They had two red lights for eyes and a
speaker for a mouth.
“These are the New Hekatoncheires, special robots to guard the
prisoners and provide for their basic needs.”
“Impressive. Now please, relinquish the Spear.”
“Why? Don’t you see what I can do with it? Did you see what I just
created? Don’t you understand what I can do? I can me all-powerful. I
can cure disease, eliminate hunger, war, crime… I can create
paradise.”
“Listen to yourself! Do you really think you want to be a God? Don’t
you think you want to draw the line at being a Godling?” High-tech
Godling pleaded.
Godling thought about his future with the Spear. How he could make
earth a better place, free his brother from prison, make Monica love
him… He dropped the Spear, shocked by his thoughts. Make Monica love
him? Make her? Where did those dark thoughts come from? Maybe High-
tech Godling was right. Maybe the Spear wasn’t meant to be used by
human beings.
“I see your point,” Our Godling said. “I’ll make sure the Spear is
hidden somewhere no human can ever reach it.”
“Good,” High-tech Godling said. “Now we’ll get those villains inside
that prison and then we’ll leave to our own time.”
Our Godling shooks High-tech Godling’s hand. “Thanks, Me.”
High-tech Godling smiled. “That’s nothing you wouldn’t have done for
us. I can be very sure of that.”
Our Godling had to laugh at that.*The day after…
There was a lot of public debate about this new prison, Tartarus II,
and how it fit in with human rights. The villains were locked up, but
still had to go to trial. DA Linda Cooper, just promoted from being
Assistant DA, had a hard time trying to get all of them prosecuted.
Meetings were held to find out just how Tartarus II was going to be
governed.
Wade Hudson was on leave to recuperate from his battle with Destiny,
while Darlene King and Officer Janson were treated by a police
psychologist to come to grips with their experiences.
TV stations all over the world had their cameras focused on New Troy.*Godling, meanwhile, was on a ferry with Rhadamantus, crossing the
rivers of the Underworld.
“You came to the right place to keep your artefact guarded. No
ordinary living being is allowed passage beyond the adamantine gates I
am taking you,” the ferryman of Hades told our hero.
“I know, and if they do they’ll have to face a very dangerous guard
dog.”
Rhadamantus smiled. “Yes, Cerberus is not an easy one to defeat.
“No one will ever use the Spear of Destiny again,” Godling said.*Centuries in the future High-tech Godling arrived home. His family was
glad to see him arrive. Two kids hugged him, his wife, a stunningly
beautiful black woman in a purple dress, wearing a tiara, kissed him.
“How did you fare?” she asked him.
“I was successful. It was great to see me back then. Still so young,
full of promise. Just at the start of that period that will change the
world. Little did I know then what wonders I would encounter, which
universes and dimensions I would travel, which new heroes I would
inspire. And what love I would find.”
The black woman kissed him again. High-tech Godling also thought
something else, something he hadn’t said out loud, not to upset his
children. He also thought, “Little did I know then there were even
greater evils than Master Destiny to face.”
THE BEGINNING
woensdag 25 september 2013
dinsdag 17 september 2013
GODLING # 20: Destiny!
GODLING # 20: Destiny!
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON in : DESTINY!Master Destiny looks through a window of City Hall. In the room are
Darlene and Janson, chained to the wall, collars around their necks.
“What the--,” Destiny utters. Outside thirteen Godlings approach, an army
of Destiny’s superpowered thugs confronting them. “Looks like Godling is
coming over to kick your behind,” Janson says. Destiny smacks her in the
face. “You ever do that to her again, I’ll take you apart like a clock,”
Darlene says grimly. Destiny laughs, “That won’t be easy all chained up
like that.” Like a caged animal Darlene tugs at the chain, snarling,
reaching out for Destiny. “I’ll kill you, you monster.” “You’ve got it
all wrong, first I’ll have my way with you and then I will kill YOU,”
Destiny says. *Outside, the Red Godling, flying as are all Godlings, stops a hail of
bullets from the flying leader of the thugs on a gold shield. He
charges into his enemy, slamming him with his mace.
The other Godlings come to blows with the supervillains as well. The
Godling in black uses a sword to fight off his enemies, where others
use their fists. Another Godlings finds a landing spot on the elevated
ground and starts to throw lightning bolts while another one zips all
over the place with Hermes speed, throwing rocks at the enemy.
“We’ll keep these guys busy,” High-tech Godling says, flying next to
Our Godling. “You get inside the building. There’s some cops to save
over there according to history.”
“Will you guys be okay?” Our Godling asked.
High-tech Godling smiled, “Trust yourself. I’ve been doing this a long
time.” Then he lifted a blaster and started to fire at the thugs. “Go,
quickly!”
*
Destiny puts his Spear against Darlene’s chin. “If you struggle I’ll
impale you. I’m going to have my way with you and your little friend
gets to watch.”
“No! Take me instead!” Janson screams.
Darlene kicks Destiny between the legs. “Take that, monster!”
Destiny doesn’t even flinch and smiles an evil smile. “Nothing can
hurt me while I hold the Spear, harlot. But I can see you’re just too
much trouble to have around. I will have to dispose of you earlier
than I planned to.” He lifts the Spear, ready to strike.
The window breaks, glass flying everywhere. A supervillain, a mix
between a tiger and a human follows the shards of glass, dropping down
on the floor. He’s followed by the one who flung him through the
window, Godling!
“I believe this one is yours?” Godling asks Master Destiny.
This spectacular entrance keeps Destiny from killing Darlene. Instead,
he focuses his attention on the superhero.
“Godling… Finally we meet!”
“Master Destiny… I’ve heard a lot about you. It seems you’re just a
geek in a suit with a big needle in your hand.”
“Don’t mock me, hero! If you anger me I won’t make your death a quick
one!”
“Nobody dies here, villain!” Godling says and prepares for a punch.
Destiny fires a blast from his Spear, preventing Godling from
finishing his blow. The One Man Pantheon just manages to duck before
the blast hits him. It blows a hole in the wall behind him instead.
The second punch does land, taking Destiny on the chin. It doesn’t
hurt the villain. He just laughs. “I’m more powerful than you can
imagine, hero.” He fires a big green energy bubble at Godling. The
bubble captures the hero. He tries to punch through it, but is unable
to.
“I’ve been learning to wield this weapon for a long time, Godling.
Obviously longer than you’ve been wielding your superpowers. Ever
since I, as part of a special group of Hitler’s SS managed to acquire
the Spear of Destiny, hidden in the vaults of the Vatican I’ve been
learning about what it can do. We were, of course, ordered by Hitler
to track down the Spear in order to win the war for him. I decided
against that, however. What good would it do to hand over world
domination to someone else when I could win it for myself? I killed my
fellow soldiers and took a hiding during the entire war. It took some
practice to be able to use my willpower to make the Spear do whatever
I want. Slowly I started to improve my proficiency at wielding it,
slowly gaining power… Until the day that is today, the day I’ve
decided I’ve become omnipotent enough to claim mastery of the planet
Earth. I have to admit, you gave me a hard time. I’d intended to make
my coup earlier, but when you appeared I had to train a bit more, just
to be sure I was ready for whatever you were able to throw at me. And
it seems I’ve succeeded.” *
Outside, the other Godlings are busy fighting Destiny’s thugs. On the
ground Red Godling is taking hit after hit on his shield from a
villain with knifes instead of hands while High-tech Godling is
evading energy blasts from another thug, flying through the air.
High-tech Godling gets an idea and flies towards the thug with the
knives-for-hands, drawing the blasting villains fire to him. His plan
proves to be successful, the villain with knives gets hit by the
blasts. Now Red Godling has the chance to hurt his mace against the
blasting thug’s head, taking him down. * Our Godling tries to get out of the bubble by hitting it with Heracles
strength and Zeus lightning bolts, but it won’t break.
“It’s no use! I willed that bubble to be unbreakable!” Destiny says.
“Get rid of the Spear!” Darlene yells at Godling. “Without it, he’s
powerless.”
Godling gets an idea. Time to be creative. Like a hamster in his ball
he starts to run at Hermes speed, moving the bubble forward through
the air, knocking into Destiny’s hand that holds the Spear.
The Spear drops, the bubble disappears. Godling is free again! Destiny
quickly tries to grab the Spear. Darlene reaches out for it as well,
but Destiny is just a bit quicker.
Before he can do anything with it, Godling treats him to a roundhouse
punch that smacks Destiny across the room.
Destiny gets up and points the Spear at a potted plant. “I can do
anything I imagine, Goding. There’s no way you will ever defeat me.”
The potted plant starts to grow, it’s vines start to move like they’re
alive. Master Destiny turned it into a green monster with tentacles!
The vines wrap around Godling, trying to squeeze the life out of him.
“You’re a plant. Plants need water, don’t they. Well, let me take all
water away from you!” Godling says, using the power of Poseidon, God
of the Seas.
Without moisture the plant dries out, turning brittle, and dies.
Godling is free again.
Desitny isn’t through with ideas yet, using the Spear to make a spider
in the room grow to monstrous size.
“This is the best you can think of? Fifties B-movie stuff?” Godling
says as the giant spider attacks. He grabs the spider’s first two legs
with Heracles strength and hurls it on it’s back. He jumps on top of
it and takes it out with two lightning bolts.
That brief fight bought Destiny just enough time however to get close
to Officer Janson and put the Spear against her chin. “Give it up,
Godling. Surrender or I kill the young lady.”
“No!” Godling yells. TO BE CONTINUED…
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON in : DESTINY!Master Destiny looks through a window of City Hall. In the room are
Darlene and Janson, chained to the wall, collars around their necks.
“What the--,” Destiny utters. Outside thirteen Godlings approach, an army
of Destiny’s superpowered thugs confronting them. “Looks like Godling is
coming over to kick your behind,” Janson says. Destiny smacks her in the
face. “You ever do that to her again, I’ll take you apart like a clock,”
Darlene says grimly. Destiny laughs, “That won’t be easy all chained up
like that.” Like a caged animal Darlene tugs at the chain, snarling,
reaching out for Destiny. “I’ll kill you, you monster.” “You’ve got it
all wrong, first I’ll have my way with you and then I will kill YOU,”
Destiny says. *Outside, the Red Godling, flying as are all Godlings, stops a hail of
bullets from the flying leader of the thugs on a gold shield. He
charges into his enemy, slamming him with his mace.
The other Godlings come to blows with the supervillains as well. The
Godling in black uses a sword to fight off his enemies, where others
use their fists. Another Godlings finds a landing spot on the elevated
ground and starts to throw lightning bolts while another one zips all
over the place with Hermes speed, throwing rocks at the enemy.
“We’ll keep these guys busy,” High-tech Godling says, flying next to
Our Godling. “You get inside the building. There’s some cops to save
over there according to history.”
“Will you guys be okay?” Our Godling asked.
High-tech Godling smiled, “Trust yourself. I’ve been doing this a long
time.” Then he lifted a blaster and started to fire at the thugs. “Go,
quickly!”
*
Destiny puts his Spear against Darlene’s chin. “If you struggle I’ll
impale you. I’m going to have my way with you and your little friend
gets to watch.”
“No! Take me instead!” Janson screams.
Darlene kicks Destiny between the legs. “Take that, monster!”
Destiny doesn’t even flinch and smiles an evil smile. “Nothing can
hurt me while I hold the Spear, harlot. But I can see you’re just too
much trouble to have around. I will have to dispose of you earlier
than I planned to.” He lifts the Spear, ready to strike.
The window breaks, glass flying everywhere. A supervillain, a mix
between a tiger and a human follows the shards of glass, dropping down
on the floor. He’s followed by the one who flung him through the
window, Godling!
“I believe this one is yours?” Godling asks Master Destiny.
This spectacular entrance keeps Destiny from killing Darlene. Instead,
he focuses his attention on the superhero.
“Godling… Finally we meet!”
“Master Destiny… I’ve heard a lot about you. It seems you’re just a
geek in a suit with a big needle in your hand.”
“Don’t mock me, hero! If you anger me I won’t make your death a quick
one!”
“Nobody dies here, villain!” Godling says and prepares for a punch.
Destiny fires a blast from his Spear, preventing Godling from
finishing his blow. The One Man Pantheon just manages to duck before
the blast hits him. It blows a hole in the wall behind him instead.
The second punch does land, taking Destiny on the chin. It doesn’t
hurt the villain. He just laughs. “I’m more powerful than you can
imagine, hero.” He fires a big green energy bubble at Godling. The
bubble captures the hero. He tries to punch through it, but is unable
to.
“I’ve been learning to wield this weapon for a long time, Godling.
Obviously longer than you’ve been wielding your superpowers. Ever
since I, as part of a special group of Hitler’s SS managed to acquire
the Spear of Destiny, hidden in the vaults of the Vatican I’ve been
learning about what it can do. We were, of course, ordered by Hitler
to track down the Spear in order to win the war for him. I decided
against that, however. What good would it do to hand over world
domination to someone else when I could win it for myself? I killed my
fellow soldiers and took a hiding during the entire war. It took some
practice to be able to use my willpower to make the Spear do whatever
I want. Slowly I started to improve my proficiency at wielding it,
slowly gaining power… Until the day that is today, the day I’ve
decided I’ve become omnipotent enough to claim mastery of the planet
Earth. I have to admit, you gave me a hard time. I’d intended to make
my coup earlier, but when you appeared I had to train a bit more, just
to be sure I was ready for whatever you were able to throw at me. And
it seems I’ve succeeded.” *
Outside, the other Godlings are busy fighting Destiny’s thugs. On the
ground Red Godling is taking hit after hit on his shield from a
villain with knifes instead of hands while High-tech Godling is
evading energy blasts from another thug, flying through the air.
High-tech Godling gets an idea and flies towards the thug with the
knives-for-hands, drawing the blasting villains fire to him. His plan
proves to be successful, the villain with knives gets hit by the
blasts. Now Red Godling has the chance to hurt his mace against the
blasting thug’s head, taking him down. * Our Godling tries to get out of the bubble by hitting it with Heracles
strength and Zeus lightning bolts, but it won’t break.
“It’s no use! I willed that bubble to be unbreakable!” Destiny says.
“Get rid of the Spear!” Darlene yells at Godling. “Without it, he’s
powerless.”
Godling gets an idea. Time to be creative. Like a hamster in his ball
he starts to run at Hermes speed, moving the bubble forward through
the air, knocking into Destiny’s hand that holds the Spear.
The Spear drops, the bubble disappears. Godling is free again! Destiny
quickly tries to grab the Spear. Darlene reaches out for it as well,
but Destiny is just a bit quicker.
Before he can do anything with it, Godling treats him to a roundhouse
punch that smacks Destiny across the room.
Destiny gets up and points the Spear at a potted plant. “I can do
anything I imagine, Goding. There’s no way you will ever defeat me.”
The potted plant starts to grow, it’s vines start to move like they’re
alive. Master Destiny turned it into a green monster with tentacles!
The vines wrap around Godling, trying to squeeze the life out of him.
“You’re a plant. Plants need water, don’t they. Well, let me take all
water away from you!” Godling says, using the power of Poseidon, God
of the Seas.
Without moisture the plant dries out, turning brittle, and dies.
Godling is free again.
Desitny isn’t through with ideas yet, using the Spear to make a spider
in the room grow to monstrous size.
“This is the best you can think of? Fifties B-movie stuff?” Godling
says as the giant spider attacks. He grabs the spider’s first two legs
with Heracles strength and hurls it on it’s back. He jumps on top of
it and takes it out with two lightning bolts.
That brief fight bought Destiny just enough time however to get close
to Officer Janson and put the Spear against her chin. “Give it up,
Godling. Surrender or I kill the young lady.”
“No!” Godling yells. TO BE CONTINUED…
dinsdag 10 september 2013
GODLING # 19: The Battle for New Troy
GODLING # 19: The Battle for New Troy
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON
THE BATTLE FOR NEW TROY
Godling is down on the floor, surrounded by Death Dog and other thugs.
Death Dog shouts triumphantly that the city is theirs, when suddenly
twelve new figures appear and tell him all hope for New Troy is not
yet lost.
“How…” Death Dog utters as he recognizes the twelve men. They are all…
Godlings! One Godling, who seems to be the leaders wears blue spandex
and a high-tech headpiece. Other Godlings look almost exactly the same
for the Godling on the floor, except for wearing other boots or other
colors. Some other ones are wearing helmets or totally different
suits, one of them for example is wearing red chainmail and a gold
helmet. Godling’s signature gold belt he is wearing however.
“Let’s see how you thugs fare against a number that’s a bit more equal
to yours!” the high-tech Golding says. Then he and his fellow Godlings
attack the thugs.
The Godling in red hammers through a horde of villains using a glowing
mace while the others use their superstrength and lightning bolts.
There’s one Godling using a sword, another using a bow and arrows.
High-tech Godling uses a fancy looking, high-tech staff that fires
bolts of energy, taking out Nuclear Warrior. Just a few minutes later
the villains have been beaten. Death Dog is the only one left
standing, bleeding from his nose, standing eye to eye with the Godling
in red.
“I don’t know where you fools are coming from, but you haven’t beaten
me yet!” Death Dog says.
The Red Godling springs into action, using Hermes speed and a good
whack on Death Dog’s head with his mace to take the villain out. “We
have now,” Red Godling says.
High-tech Godling helps up our Godling, using the healing powers of
Asclepius to fix him up.
“Who are you guys?” Godling asks full of wonder when he regains
consciousness.
“We are the Godlings of the future. The Greek gods gathered us up from
the timestream to help you out in this defining point in your
history.”
“So you guys are all me, but in the future?” Our Godling asks.
“Indeed,” High-tech Godling says. “Personally, I’m from the year
2134.”
“Really? But that’s amazing!”
“You’re a demi-god now, Me. That means you get to live a long time.”
“Since you’re from the future, do you have any idea what’s been going
on here? All these superpowered thugs showing up, this trap…”
“I sure have,” High-tech Godling answered. “That’s part of the reason
we’re here. Master Destiny is behind all these thugs getting
superpowers. As we speak he’s busy conquering City Hall, becoming New
Troy’s new mayor. When he’s managed to do that, he’ll slowly start
conquering the USA and after that the world. In the future where I
come he’s been defeated, but the Godling in black over there is from a
time where Master Destiny is the ruler of Earth.”
A Godling with black spandex and an eye-patch steps forward. “I am.
With a group of dedicated rebels I fight against him and his
superpowered army, trying to topple him from his throne. He’s very
powerful, however. Using his Spear of Destiny, a mystical artefact
that seems to be able to do anything he wishes, along with his many
powered soldiers he’s managed to defeat all other countries armies and
install himself as the sole ruler of Earth. Not many people dare to
oppose him. He’s enslaved hundreds of young women in his harem, has
men fight against each other in arenas, as gladiators, just to amuse
him…”
“He’s that powerful?” Our Godling asked.
Black Godling nodded. “He is. And his reign of terror starts here,
today. Unless we stop him.”
Our Godling made a fist. “Let’s do it.”*
Master Destiny, standing between the dead and unconscious bodies of
the cops that tried to oppose him, in front of City Hall, lifts his
Spear of Destiny. It glows and then, suddenly the earth starts to
move, rocks and dirts piling on top of each other, lifting City Hall
up in the air, creating a mountain of sorts on top of where it rests.
It towers above the other buildings, circled by Destiny’s henchmen
that are able to fly.
Officer Janson is lying near him, semi-conscious only. He grabs her
hair and lifts her up. He kisses her and tells her, “You’re the first
woman to join my harem. Many more will follow to please me as my men
conquer the neighbouring cities.”
She starts to pound his body with her fists, but he doesn’t even seem
to notice. He smiles. “While I carry the Spear, nothing can hurt me
little lady.”
Janson spits in his face. “I’ll die before I join your harem, creep!”
“That can be easily arranged. But I think I’ll enjoy breaking your
spirit much more than simply killing you,” Destiny says.*
The Godlings all fly, using the power of Perseus, towards City Hall.
High-tech Godling is flying next to Our Godling.
“In your future we win this one, right?” Our Godling asks.
“Yeah, we do. There are some sacrifices that have to be made, though.”
“If you know the outcome, you can influence those, can’t you?”
“I’m not sure. This time travel stuff is pretty complicated. I haven’t
been doing a lot of it. I think the last time was when I went up
against Lord Chronomancer. That didn’t end too well. If it hadn’t been
for my healing powers I would have died of the bubonic plague.”
“Lord Chronomancer?”
“I guess you’ll meet him in a few years or so. Can’t tell you too much
though, there’s too many theories that say knowing too much about your
future might be bad for the stability of the timestream.”
“So I’m better off asking the Oracle of Delphi about my future?”
“Come on, Me. Think about it, do you really want to know what happens
next? Doesn’t that take away all the fun out of living?”
“I guess you’re right,” Our Godling says.
Red Godling, flying in front, points ahead and says, “There, City
Hall! And Master Destiny has already turned it into his personal
stronghold.”
City Hall stands on top of a great mountain and is covered with barbed
wire.*
Master Destiny stands in the mayor’s office. The mayor is hanging from
the ceiling, a chain wrapped around his neck, his tongue hanging out
of his mouth, obviously dead. Destiny tells him, “Too bad this city
wasn’t big enough for the two of us, Mr. Mayor. I loved that Spin City
show. Thought maybe we could have some kind of laughs like that around
here. But all those protests of you taking control of the city
wouldn’t have worked. I just had to kill you.”
He turns around and says, “Seems like you girls will have to provide
my entertainment.”
Darlene King and Officer Janson are sitting on the floor, clothed in
red bikini’s, collars around their necks to which chains are attached.
“I’ll get out of these chains and then I will kill you. Painfully,”
Darlene swears.
Destiny laughs. “I’m enjoying you girls already. Just be nice and you
won’t end up like your mayor.”*
Monica Sawyer is watching TV in her apartment. The TV is showing news
footage of Wade Hudson and the other cops facing off against Master
Destiny and his thugs. She’s crying.
A voice-over says, “The police force seems totally overwhelmed by this
attack. The leader of this group of henchmen calls himself Master
Destiny and claims he will be taken over from the mayor…”
When Monica sees Wade lying unconscious at Destiny’s feet she cries,
“WADE!” She shakes her head. “What is happening to this city? Who is
that? God, Wade… Please be alive! Why did I have to fall in love with
a man that puts his life in danger every day of the week?”
She walks over to the window and watches the sky. “Godling? Godling,
where are you? Please help us!”*
The flying thugs, some covered in flames, some with batwings or
birdwings, see the Godlings fly nearer and nearer to City Hall. One of
them, apparently the leader of the group, a thug wearing a red helmet
with hawk’s wing on his back points at the Godlings and lifts a gun in
the air. “Enemies ahead! Prepare to take them down!”
The Godlings arrive. High-tech Godling tells the group, “Attack!”
NEXT: GODLING VERSUS MASTER DESTINY!
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
The last couple of issues have been written in the present tense, with
short scenes and a low word count. This way I hope to give you the
feeling you’re reading a fast-paced comic book. Also, it makes it
easier to read it online. A nice fast read you can read as soon as
it’s posted, giving you as much bang as I can for every word. Does it
work?
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON
THE BATTLE FOR NEW TROY
Godling is down on the floor, surrounded by Death Dog and other thugs.
Death Dog shouts triumphantly that the city is theirs, when suddenly
twelve new figures appear and tell him all hope for New Troy is not
yet lost.
“How…” Death Dog utters as he recognizes the twelve men. They are all…
Godlings! One Godling, who seems to be the leaders wears blue spandex
and a high-tech headpiece. Other Godlings look almost exactly the same
for the Godling on the floor, except for wearing other boots or other
colors. Some other ones are wearing helmets or totally different
suits, one of them for example is wearing red chainmail and a gold
helmet. Godling’s signature gold belt he is wearing however.
“Let’s see how you thugs fare against a number that’s a bit more equal
to yours!” the high-tech Golding says. Then he and his fellow Godlings
attack the thugs.
The Godling in red hammers through a horde of villains using a glowing
mace while the others use their superstrength and lightning bolts.
There’s one Godling using a sword, another using a bow and arrows.
High-tech Godling uses a fancy looking, high-tech staff that fires
bolts of energy, taking out Nuclear Warrior. Just a few minutes later
the villains have been beaten. Death Dog is the only one left
standing, bleeding from his nose, standing eye to eye with the Godling
in red.
“I don’t know where you fools are coming from, but you haven’t beaten
me yet!” Death Dog says.
The Red Godling springs into action, using Hermes speed and a good
whack on Death Dog’s head with his mace to take the villain out. “We
have now,” Red Godling says.
High-tech Godling helps up our Godling, using the healing powers of
Asclepius to fix him up.
“Who are you guys?” Godling asks full of wonder when he regains
consciousness.
“We are the Godlings of the future. The Greek gods gathered us up from
the timestream to help you out in this defining point in your
history.”
“So you guys are all me, but in the future?” Our Godling asks.
“Indeed,” High-tech Godling says. “Personally, I’m from the year
2134.”
“Really? But that’s amazing!”
“You’re a demi-god now, Me. That means you get to live a long time.”
“Since you’re from the future, do you have any idea what’s been going
on here? All these superpowered thugs showing up, this trap…”
“I sure have,” High-tech Godling answered. “That’s part of the reason
we’re here. Master Destiny is behind all these thugs getting
superpowers. As we speak he’s busy conquering City Hall, becoming New
Troy’s new mayor. When he’s managed to do that, he’ll slowly start
conquering the USA and after that the world. In the future where I
come he’s been defeated, but the Godling in black over there is from a
time where Master Destiny is the ruler of Earth.”
A Godling with black spandex and an eye-patch steps forward. “I am.
With a group of dedicated rebels I fight against him and his
superpowered army, trying to topple him from his throne. He’s very
powerful, however. Using his Spear of Destiny, a mystical artefact
that seems to be able to do anything he wishes, along with his many
powered soldiers he’s managed to defeat all other countries armies and
install himself as the sole ruler of Earth. Not many people dare to
oppose him. He’s enslaved hundreds of young women in his harem, has
men fight against each other in arenas, as gladiators, just to amuse
him…”
“He’s that powerful?” Our Godling asked.
Black Godling nodded. “He is. And his reign of terror starts here,
today. Unless we stop him.”
Our Godling made a fist. “Let’s do it.”*
Master Destiny, standing between the dead and unconscious bodies of
the cops that tried to oppose him, in front of City Hall, lifts his
Spear of Destiny. It glows and then, suddenly the earth starts to
move, rocks and dirts piling on top of each other, lifting City Hall
up in the air, creating a mountain of sorts on top of where it rests.
It towers above the other buildings, circled by Destiny’s henchmen
that are able to fly.
Officer Janson is lying near him, semi-conscious only. He grabs her
hair and lifts her up. He kisses her and tells her, “You’re the first
woman to join my harem. Many more will follow to please me as my men
conquer the neighbouring cities.”
She starts to pound his body with her fists, but he doesn’t even seem
to notice. He smiles. “While I carry the Spear, nothing can hurt me
little lady.”
Janson spits in his face. “I’ll die before I join your harem, creep!”
“That can be easily arranged. But I think I’ll enjoy breaking your
spirit much more than simply killing you,” Destiny says.*
The Godlings all fly, using the power of Perseus, towards City Hall.
High-tech Godling is flying next to Our Godling.
“In your future we win this one, right?” Our Godling asks.
“Yeah, we do. There are some sacrifices that have to be made, though.”
“If you know the outcome, you can influence those, can’t you?”
“I’m not sure. This time travel stuff is pretty complicated. I haven’t
been doing a lot of it. I think the last time was when I went up
against Lord Chronomancer. That didn’t end too well. If it hadn’t been
for my healing powers I would have died of the bubonic plague.”
“Lord Chronomancer?”
“I guess you’ll meet him in a few years or so. Can’t tell you too much
though, there’s too many theories that say knowing too much about your
future might be bad for the stability of the timestream.”
“So I’m better off asking the Oracle of Delphi about my future?”
“Come on, Me. Think about it, do you really want to know what happens
next? Doesn’t that take away all the fun out of living?”
“I guess you’re right,” Our Godling says.
Red Godling, flying in front, points ahead and says, “There, City
Hall! And Master Destiny has already turned it into his personal
stronghold.”
City Hall stands on top of a great mountain and is covered with barbed
wire.*
Master Destiny stands in the mayor’s office. The mayor is hanging from
the ceiling, a chain wrapped around his neck, his tongue hanging out
of his mouth, obviously dead. Destiny tells him, “Too bad this city
wasn’t big enough for the two of us, Mr. Mayor. I loved that Spin City
show. Thought maybe we could have some kind of laughs like that around
here. But all those protests of you taking control of the city
wouldn’t have worked. I just had to kill you.”
He turns around and says, “Seems like you girls will have to provide
my entertainment.”
Darlene King and Officer Janson are sitting on the floor, clothed in
red bikini’s, collars around their necks to which chains are attached.
“I’ll get out of these chains and then I will kill you. Painfully,”
Darlene swears.
Destiny laughs. “I’m enjoying you girls already. Just be nice and you
won’t end up like your mayor.”*
Monica Sawyer is watching TV in her apartment. The TV is showing news
footage of Wade Hudson and the other cops facing off against Master
Destiny and his thugs. She’s crying.
A voice-over says, “The police force seems totally overwhelmed by this
attack. The leader of this group of henchmen calls himself Master
Destiny and claims he will be taken over from the mayor…”
When Monica sees Wade lying unconscious at Destiny’s feet she cries,
“WADE!” She shakes her head. “What is happening to this city? Who is
that? God, Wade… Please be alive! Why did I have to fall in love with
a man that puts his life in danger every day of the week?”
She walks over to the window and watches the sky. “Godling? Godling,
where are you? Please help us!”*
The flying thugs, some covered in flames, some with batwings or
birdwings, see the Godlings fly nearer and nearer to City Hall. One of
them, apparently the leader of the group, a thug wearing a red helmet
with hawk’s wing on his back points at the Godlings and lifts a gun in
the air. “Enemies ahead! Prepare to take them down!”
The Godlings arrive. High-tech Godling tells the group, “Attack!”
NEXT: GODLING VERSUS MASTER DESTINY!
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
The last couple of issues have been written in the present tense, with
short scenes and a low word count. This way I hope to give you the
feeling you’re reading a fast-paced comic book. Also, it makes it
easier to read it online. A nice fast read you can read as soon as
it’s posted, giving you as much bang as I can for every word. Does it
work?
dinsdag 3 september 2013
GODLING # 18: Defeated!
GODLING # 18: Defeated!
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON in: DEFEATED!
Godling is hit in the face by a man with a face that’s a mix of an
alligator and a human face, Mr. Gator. WHAM!
Mr. Napalm start to fire rays from his eyes that envelop Godling in
flames. If he wasn’t using the invulnerability of Achilles he’d be
toast.
Angry, Godling kicks Mr. Napalm in the stomach, turns to Mr. Gator and
punches him in the throat. If he could only use his invulnerability at
the same time as his Ares fighting techniques, or Heracles strength.
Unfortunately, he can’t, making his attacks against his enemies not as
effective as he wants them to be. Gator easily recovers from the blow
and tries to hit Godling again. The hero decides to go for another
tactic. Still burning he grabs Mr. Gator in a bearhug. Gator howls,
the flames that still cover Golding burning him. He’s hurt enough for
Godling to recover somewhat. He rolls down on the floor to extinguish
the flames. As he gets up he sees Mr. Napalm preparing to hit him with
another round of his burning vision. With the speed of Hermes Godling
runs into the villain. Being hit at that kind of speed is like being
hit by a train, so Mr. Napalm goes down.
Mr. Mimic is the next one to attack, changing into an elephant he
storms the hero. Godling calmly grabs him by the trunk and swings him
around the room, on top of Napalm and Gator. To finish him off for
sure he throws a lightning bolt at him.
“Nice work, hero,” Death Dog says. “But you won’t take me out that
easily.”*
At City Hall Wade Hudson, Officer Janson, Detective Darlene King and a
whole army of other cops are barricaded against the building. They’re
firing their weapons at an army of superhumans who are attacking them.
They’re like an angry mob, a bunch of hooligans, a thick wall of
villains, all on their way to City Hall.
“Where did they come from?” Janson asks.
Wade answers while firing his assault rifle at the villains. “No idea,
we’ve had more and more of these superpowered crazies showing up for a
few days now. All of a sudden it seems they all decided to attack City
Hall. And there’s no sight of Godling.”
“We’ve been protecting this city without that bodybuilder for years.
We can do it again!” Darlene says. She’s carrying two 9mm pistols.
A monstrous, hulking figure with four arms and red skin comes awfully
close to her. She shoots it in the eye. The villain screams and covers
his eyes. She proceeds to shoot it in the crotch. The hulking figure
goes down. For good measure Darlene fires a few rounds in its skull.
She reloads and says, “See what I mean.”
She has barely spoken those words and she is hit by an energy beam and
she loses consciousness. “Darlene!” Wade yells and runs towards her. A
villain with lassos for arms catches him, preventing him from helping
her. He shoots the villain’s arms of.
Janson helps him out and hits the villain with the butt of her
shotgun, taking him out.
Wade checks up on Darlene and comes to the conclusion she’s
unconscious but breathing.
“What do you crazies want?” Janson asks the army that is attacking
them.
Then, there is an answer. All the way in the back a man stands,
holding a spear. “I want control of New Troy.”
“What do you mean?” Janson asks.
“I want the mayor to give me his job,” the man says. He’s bald and has
a red goatee. He’s wearing an expensive red suit. The spear in his
right glows with power. “I am Master Destiny and soon I will rule this
city.”
“The hell you will!” Wade says and fires his assault rifle at him. The
rifle is in his left hand, with his right he holds Darlene.
Master Destiny waves with the spear and the bullets disappear. He
points the spear at Wade and a red flame shoots from it. The flame
turns into a hand. This red flaming hand starts to choke Wade.
“Let him go!” Janson shouts and fires her gun at Destiny. The bullets
just vanish in the air with a wave of the Spear.
Wade goes unconscious and the flaming hand disappears. Janson kneels
down beside him and Darlene, trying to see if he is still alive.
Master Destiny stands next to her and says, “I think it should be
clear by now that resistance is futile. This city belongs to me.”*
Death Dog fires two pistols at Godling. The hero’s invulnerability
defends him for harm, though. He closes in on his enemy, and when he’s
close enough he uses the speed of Hermes to disarm the villain. With
the strength of Hercules he hits him, knocking him through the bar’s
wall.
Death Dog doesn’t stay down for long though. He gets up and enters the
bar again through the hole in the wall. He jumps Godling who catches
him and throws him into the bar, knocking down bottles and glasses.
The villain ends up behind the bar.
Panting, Death Dog grabs a small communication device and speaks into
it. “Get me some more thugs.”
Then they arrive, appearing out of thin air. Godling thinks he
recognizes some of them, many are unknown to him. All of them seem to
have some sort of superpower. There’s villains with knifes for hands,
villains with skin like concrete and villains that fire all sorts of
strange energy blasts from hands, eyes and mouths. They attack all at
once.
Godling switches from power to power, trying to use his
invulnerability long enough to prevent him from getting hurt, short
enough to use his other powers so he can strike back as well. He kicks
a villain with horns in the face while he knocks down another one with
his elbow. He takes down two of them with lightning bolts. The
villains keep coming however and after so many days of almost fulltime
fighting against all sorts of supercriminals the One Man Pantheon is
getting tired. He’s been at this for just too many days in a row, been
hurt too much… It seems to be a matter of time his fatigue lets him
make a mistake and then the villains will win..
One of the villains is wearing a red and yellow costume with a
radiation symbol on it. “You’ve met your match in the Nuclear Warrior,
hero!” he says and starts to fire of bolts of energy at Godling. The
hero was just using the strength of Hercules to throw a villain that
looks like a human dinosaur through the window as the bolts strike. He
goes down, without the invulnerability of Achilles no match against
the nuclear blasts..
Death Dog laughs. “The last is mine,” he says and kicks Godling in the
face. The hero blacks out, surrounded by laughing villains.
“Finally, he’s defeated! The city is ours!” Death Dog says.
A dozen men appear in the room, appearing just as suddenly as the
villains did. One of the man says, “All hope for New Troy is not yet
lost!” NEXT: THE BATTLE FOR NEW TROY!
by J. Vandersteen
– GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON in: DEFEATED!
Godling is hit in the face by a man with a face that’s a mix of an
alligator and a human face, Mr. Gator. WHAM!
Mr. Napalm start to fire rays from his eyes that envelop Godling in
flames. If he wasn’t using the invulnerability of Achilles he’d be
toast.
Angry, Godling kicks Mr. Napalm in the stomach, turns to Mr. Gator and
punches him in the throat. If he could only use his invulnerability at
the same time as his Ares fighting techniques, or Heracles strength.
Unfortunately, he can’t, making his attacks against his enemies not as
effective as he wants them to be. Gator easily recovers from the blow
and tries to hit Godling again. The hero decides to go for another
tactic. Still burning he grabs Mr. Gator in a bearhug. Gator howls,
the flames that still cover Golding burning him. He’s hurt enough for
Godling to recover somewhat. He rolls down on the floor to extinguish
the flames. As he gets up he sees Mr. Napalm preparing to hit him with
another round of his burning vision. With the speed of Hermes Godling
runs into the villain. Being hit at that kind of speed is like being
hit by a train, so Mr. Napalm goes down.
Mr. Mimic is the next one to attack, changing into an elephant he
storms the hero. Godling calmly grabs him by the trunk and swings him
around the room, on top of Napalm and Gator. To finish him off for
sure he throws a lightning bolt at him.
“Nice work, hero,” Death Dog says. “But you won’t take me out that
easily.”*
At City Hall Wade Hudson, Officer Janson, Detective Darlene King and a
whole army of other cops are barricaded against the building. They’re
firing their weapons at an army of superhumans who are attacking them.
They’re like an angry mob, a bunch of hooligans, a thick wall of
villains, all on their way to City Hall.
“Where did they come from?” Janson asks.
Wade answers while firing his assault rifle at the villains. “No idea,
we’ve had more and more of these superpowered crazies showing up for a
few days now. All of a sudden it seems they all decided to attack City
Hall. And there’s no sight of Godling.”
“We’ve been protecting this city without that bodybuilder for years.
We can do it again!” Darlene says. She’s carrying two 9mm pistols.
A monstrous, hulking figure with four arms and red skin comes awfully
close to her. She shoots it in the eye. The villain screams and covers
his eyes. She proceeds to shoot it in the crotch. The hulking figure
goes down. For good measure Darlene fires a few rounds in its skull.
She reloads and says, “See what I mean.”
She has barely spoken those words and she is hit by an energy beam and
she loses consciousness. “Darlene!” Wade yells and runs towards her. A
villain with lassos for arms catches him, preventing him from helping
her. He shoots the villain’s arms of.
Janson helps him out and hits the villain with the butt of her
shotgun, taking him out.
Wade checks up on Darlene and comes to the conclusion she’s
unconscious but breathing.
“What do you crazies want?” Janson asks the army that is attacking
them.
Then, there is an answer. All the way in the back a man stands,
holding a spear. “I want control of New Troy.”
“What do you mean?” Janson asks.
“I want the mayor to give me his job,” the man says. He’s bald and has
a red goatee. He’s wearing an expensive red suit. The spear in his
right glows with power. “I am Master Destiny and soon I will rule this
city.”
“The hell you will!” Wade says and fires his assault rifle at him. The
rifle is in his left hand, with his right he holds Darlene.
Master Destiny waves with the spear and the bullets disappear. He
points the spear at Wade and a red flame shoots from it. The flame
turns into a hand. This red flaming hand starts to choke Wade.
“Let him go!” Janson shouts and fires her gun at Destiny. The bullets
just vanish in the air with a wave of the Spear.
Wade goes unconscious and the flaming hand disappears. Janson kneels
down beside him and Darlene, trying to see if he is still alive.
Master Destiny stands next to her and says, “I think it should be
clear by now that resistance is futile. This city belongs to me.”*
Death Dog fires two pistols at Godling. The hero’s invulnerability
defends him for harm, though. He closes in on his enemy, and when he’s
close enough he uses the speed of Hermes to disarm the villain. With
the strength of Hercules he hits him, knocking him through the bar’s
wall.
Death Dog doesn’t stay down for long though. He gets up and enters the
bar again through the hole in the wall. He jumps Godling who catches
him and throws him into the bar, knocking down bottles and glasses.
The villain ends up behind the bar.
Panting, Death Dog grabs a small communication device and speaks into
it. “Get me some more thugs.”
Then they arrive, appearing out of thin air. Godling thinks he
recognizes some of them, many are unknown to him. All of them seem to
have some sort of superpower. There’s villains with knifes for hands,
villains with skin like concrete and villains that fire all sorts of
strange energy blasts from hands, eyes and mouths. They attack all at
once.
Godling switches from power to power, trying to use his
invulnerability long enough to prevent him from getting hurt, short
enough to use his other powers so he can strike back as well. He kicks
a villain with horns in the face while he knocks down another one with
his elbow. He takes down two of them with lightning bolts. The
villains keep coming however and after so many days of almost fulltime
fighting against all sorts of supercriminals the One Man Pantheon is
getting tired. He’s been at this for just too many days in a row, been
hurt too much… It seems to be a matter of time his fatigue lets him
make a mistake and then the villains will win..
One of the villains is wearing a red and yellow costume with a
radiation symbol on it. “You’ve met your match in the Nuclear Warrior,
hero!” he says and starts to fire of bolts of energy at Godling. The
hero was just using the strength of Hercules to throw a villain that
looks like a human dinosaur through the window as the bolts strike. He
goes down, without the invulnerability of Achilles no match against
the nuclear blasts..
Death Dog laughs. “The last is mine,” he says and kicks Godling in the
face. The hero blacks out, surrounded by laughing villains.
“Finally, he’s defeated! The city is ours!” Death Dog says.
A dozen men appear in the room, appearing just as suddenly as the
villains did. One of the man says, “All hope for New Troy is not yet
lost!” NEXT: THE BATTLE FOR NEW TROY!
vrijdag 30 augustus 2013
GODLING # 17: Trapped!
GODLING # 17: Trapped!
by J. Vandersteen – GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON in: TRAPPED
Godling stands in the food court of the New Troy Mall. There are
unconscious people all over the mall, windows are smashed.
“What the Hades happened here?” he says.
Behind him are a few cops, among them is Officer Janson. She says, “He
calls himself Speed Metal. Superspeed and superstrength. He’s been
looting the stores and basically just wreaking havoc. He doesn’t seem
to be really interested in stealing, just in creating a bloody mess.
We tried to stop him but he’s too fast to hit with our guns and too
strong to detain.”
“I’ll make him sorry he ever entered this mall,”Godling says grimly.
“Show yourself, Speed Metal! Let’s see how you fare against me?”
Something coming from the right hits Godling in the chin, making him
spit some blood. It returns from the left, hitting him again. Then it
returns from the front, hitting him with such impact Godling is thrown
backwards, bowling over the cops.
The assailant stands still. It’s a young hardrocker with metallic
skin. Laughing, he says, “I think I fared pretty well.”
Godling untangles himself from the cops that are under him. While they
help each other up Godling points an accusing finger at Speed Metal.
“I’ve taken down tougher villains than you, punk. You just
suckerpunched me.”
“Let me suckerpunch you again,” Speed Metal says and punches the One
Man Pantheon a hundred times with superspeed. This time, however,
Godling uses the invulnerability of Achilles to take the damage
without blinking.
Speed Metal stops punching him after a while and stands there panting,
a confused look on his face. “Why didn’t you go down?”
Godling doesn’t answer that but just gives him a roundhouse punch with
Heracles strength that catapults Speed Metal through a bookstore’s
window. With Hermes speed he goes after him.
Speed Metal is buried underneath a rack of books.
Godling picks up the rack with one hand and throws it behind him. He
grabs Speed Metal by the hair, picks him up and holds him in front of
him. “Your reign of terror is over, Speed Metal.”
“Who writes those speeches of yours? James T. Kirk? You’re giving me a
headache!” Speed Metal says. He headbutts the hero, making Godling
drop him. He takes off with superspeed.
Godling rubs his painful forehead and then follows Speed Metal with
the speed of Hermes. They run through the mall, follow the stairs and
go higher until they are at the top floor.
Speed Metal suddenly stops, Godling isn’t able to stop on time and
runs into the villain’s elbow. Godling goes down.
Speed Metal stands in front of him, smiling, his arms crossed. “I am
so kicking to kick your ass.”
A hail of bullets catch the villain in the chest, not enough to wound
his metal skin, but enough to make him stagger back. Janson and two
other cops appear from the stairs, firing their handguns.
That was all the distraction Godling needs. Now, angry as Hades, he
barrels into Speed Metal at Hermes-speed, driving him against the
wall. He grabs him by the hair, swings him around with Heracles
strength and lets him go. The villain flies through the mall, hitting
another wall. As he tries to get up Godling throws a Zeus lightning
bolt at him. There is the smell of iron being forged and Speed Metal’s
lights go out. He lies there, KO, smoke coming from his metal skin.
“Haste makes waste,” Godling tells him. He focuses his attention on
Janson. He thanks her for her help.
“No problem, Godling. Thank you for your help.”
He had to admit she was getting prettier every time he saw her. Had he
been focusing on Monica Sawyer that much that he had been unable the
other great women around him. He felt bad her offer to get some coffee
with him, in his identity of Quentin Alexander had been cut short by
Speed Metal’s attack.
“You should interrogate this guy, see where he gets those superpowers
from. This invasion of supervillains has to have some kind of source.
I think a mysterious man called Master Destiny is behind this, but I
have no idea where to find him.”
“We’ll grill him,” Janson assured the hero.*
Tony Gold sits in his bar, nursing a drink. “Things are getting
crazier every day. More and more of those supervillains are popping
up. How are my guys supposed to keep up with that?”
The door of the bar opens.
“Get out of here, we’re closed.”
Three shadowy figures enter. “No, you are out of business,” one of
them says.
“What are you talking about?” Gold asks, now alarmed and reaching for
the cellphone in his jacket. He’s got Godling’s phone number there,
having handed the One Man Pantheon a phone so he could call him for
help.
Before he can get the gun out one of the figures has reached him and
breaks his wrist. The phone drops to the floor. He smiles at Gold with
silver fangs.
“I’ve got to call Godling,” Gold thinks.
One of the other figures eyes start to light up. Fire shoots from the
eyes, burning Gold to a crisp.
The third figure steps up. He looks just like Gold and picks up the
phone from the floor. He looks up Godling in the Contacts and calls
him.*
Godling was on his way to the University because of a class he had to
give as Professor Alexander when he ran into a bank robbery. A guy
looked like a mix between a Triceratops dinosaur and a bodybuilder. He
didn’t want to be late for class, but couldn’t ignore that situation
either. So, as a result, he was being knocked through the wall of the
First Troy Bank, landing on a cab parked outside.
Triceratops Man left the bank through the new hole in the wall and
sauntered over to the hero, ready to give him some more hell. Godling
was pretty mad by now, though. First being pummelled by Speed Metal,
now by this villain had cost him all the patience he had. Kid’s gloves
were off. So he picked up the car, using Heracles strength, and hit
the villain with it.
Triceratops Man went down. Godling started to hammer into the villain
with the car until it was totally wrecked and the inhumanly strong
villain KO.
Then Godling heard his phone ring. He picked up, still panting from
the fight. He recognized the voice immediately. “Gold?”
“Yeah, this is Tony. You’ve got to go to the bar, pronto. I’ve got
some news about Master Destiny.”
“I’m on my way,” Godling assured him, and away he was. With Hermes
speed.*
Godling entered Tony Gold’s bar. The lights were out. He could barely
make out the lone form of Tony Gold sitting at the bar.
“Mind if I turn on the lights?” Godling asked.
“No, go ahead,” Gold said.
As the lights went on two more figures were revealed. They both were
wearing dark suits. One of them had a face that was a mix of an
alligator and a human face. The other one had fire coming out of his
mouth and eyes.
Tony Gold started to change form. Suddenly he had a face that only
consisted of eyes. No nose, no mouth, no hair, no ears.
“What the Hades?” Godling exclaimed.
“May I introduce you to my friends, Mr. Gator, Mr. Napalm and Mr.
Morpho,” a voice said. Then Death Dog appeared. “I think you still
remember me? We’re going to kick your ass, hero.”
NEXT: DEFEATED!
by J. Vandersteen – GODLING – THE ONE MAN PANTHEON in: TRAPPED
Godling stands in the food court of the New Troy Mall. There are
unconscious people all over the mall, windows are smashed.
“What the Hades happened here?” he says.
Behind him are a few cops, among them is Officer Janson. She says, “He
calls himself Speed Metal. Superspeed and superstrength. He’s been
looting the stores and basically just wreaking havoc. He doesn’t seem
to be really interested in stealing, just in creating a bloody mess.
We tried to stop him but he’s too fast to hit with our guns and too
strong to detain.”
“I’ll make him sorry he ever entered this mall,”Godling says grimly.
“Show yourself, Speed Metal! Let’s see how you fare against me?”
Something coming from the right hits Godling in the chin, making him
spit some blood. It returns from the left, hitting him again. Then it
returns from the front, hitting him with such impact Godling is thrown
backwards, bowling over the cops.
The assailant stands still. It’s a young hardrocker with metallic
skin. Laughing, he says, “I think I fared pretty well.”
Godling untangles himself from the cops that are under him. While they
help each other up Godling points an accusing finger at Speed Metal.
“I’ve taken down tougher villains than you, punk. You just
suckerpunched me.”
“Let me suckerpunch you again,” Speed Metal says and punches the One
Man Pantheon a hundred times with superspeed. This time, however,
Godling uses the invulnerability of Achilles to take the damage
without blinking.
Speed Metal stops punching him after a while and stands there panting,
a confused look on his face. “Why didn’t you go down?”
Godling doesn’t answer that but just gives him a roundhouse punch with
Heracles strength that catapults Speed Metal through a bookstore’s
window. With Hermes speed he goes after him.
Speed Metal is buried underneath a rack of books.
Godling picks up the rack with one hand and throws it behind him. He
grabs Speed Metal by the hair, picks him up and holds him in front of
him. “Your reign of terror is over, Speed Metal.”
“Who writes those speeches of yours? James T. Kirk? You’re giving me a
headache!” Speed Metal says. He headbutts the hero, making Godling
drop him. He takes off with superspeed.
Godling rubs his painful forehead and then follows Speed Metal with
the speed of Hermes. They run through the mall, follow the stairs and
go higher until they are at the top floor.
Speed Metal suddenly stops, Godling isn’t able to stop on time and
runs into the villain’s elbow. Godling goes down.
Speed Metal stands in front of him, smiling, his arms crossed. “I am
so kicking to kick your ass.”
A hail of bullets catch the villain in the chest, not enough to wound
his metal skin, but enough to make him stagger back. Janson and two
other cops appear from the stairs, firing their handguns.
That was all the distraction Godling needs. Now, angry as Hades, he
barrels into Speed Metal at Hermes-speed, driving him against the
wall. He grabs him by the hair, swings him around with Heracles
strength and lets him go. The villain flies through the mall, hitting
another wall. As he tries to get up Godling throws a Zeus lightning
bolt at him. There is the smell of iron being forged and Speed Metal’s
lights go out. He lies there, KO, smoke coming from his metal skin.
“Haste makes waste,” Godling tells him. He focuses his attention on
Janson. He thanks her for her help.
“No problem, Godling. Thank you for your help.”
He had to admit she was getting prettier every time he saw her. Had he
been focusing on Monica Sawyer that much that he had been unable the
other great women around him. He felt bad her offer to get some coffee
with him, in his identity of Quentin Alexander had been cut short by
Speed Metal’s attack.
“You should interrogate this guy, see where he gets those superpowers
from. This invasion of supervillains has to have some kind of source.
I think a mysterious man called Master Destiny is behind this, but I
have no idea where to find him.”
“We’ll grill him,” Janson assured the hero.*
Tony Gold sits in his bar, nursing a drink. “Things are getting
crazier every day. More and more of those supervillains are popping
up. How are my guys supposed to keep up with that?”
The door of the bar opens.
“Get out of here, we’re closed.”
Three shadowy figures enter. “No, you are out of business,” one of
them says.
“What are you talking about?” Gold asks, now alarmed and reaching for
the cellphone in his jacket. He’s got Godling’s phone number there,
having handed the One Man Pantheon a phone so he could call him for
help.
Before he can get the gun out one of the figures has reached him and
breaks his wrist. The phone drops to the floor. He smiles at Gold with
silver fangs.
“I’ve got to call Godling,” Gold thinks.
One of the other figures eyes start to light up. Fire shoots from the
eyes, burning Gold to a crisp.
The third figure steps up. He looks just like Gold and picks up the
phone from the floor. He looks up Godling in the Contacts and calls
him.*
Godling was on his way to the University because of a class he had to
give as Professor Alexander when he ran into a bank robbery. A guy
looked like a mix between a Triceratops dinosaur and a bodybuilder. He
didn’t want to be late for class, but couldn’t ignore that situation
either. So, as a result, he was being knocked through the wall of the
First Troy Bank, landing on a cab parked outside.
Triceratops Man left the bank through the new hole in the wall and
sauntered over to the hero, ready to give him some more hell. Godling
was pretty mad by now, though. First being pummelled by Speed Metal,
now by this villain had cost him all the patience he had. Kid’s gloves
were off. So he picked up the car, using Heracles strength, and hit
the villain with it.
Triceratops Man went down. Godling started to hammer into the villain
with the car until it was totally wrecked and the inhumanly strong
villain KO.
Then Godling heard his phone ring. He picked up, still panting from
the fight. He recognized the voice immediately. “Gold?”
“Yeah, this is Tony. You’ve got to go to the bar, pronto. I’ve got
some news about Master Destiny.”
“I’m on my way,” Godling assured him, and away he was. With Hermes
speed.*
Godling entered Tony Gold’s bar. The lights were out. He could barely
make out the lone form of Tony Gold sitting at the bar.
“Mind if I turn on the lights?” Godling asked.
“No, go ahead,” Gold said.
As the lights went on two more figures were revealed. They both were
wearing dark suits. One of them had a face that was a mix of an
alligator and a human face. The other one had fire coming out of his
mouth and eyes.
Tony Gold started to change form. Suddenly he had a face that only
consisted of eyes. No nose, no mouth, no hair, no ears.
“What the Hades?” Godling exclaimed.
“May I introduce you to my friends, Mr. Gator, Mr. Napalm and Mr.
Morpho,” a voice said. Then Death Dog appeared. “I think you still
remember me? We’re going to kick your ass, hero.”
NEXT: DEFEATED!
dinsdag 27 augustus 2013
GODLING # 16: City Under Siege
by J. Vandersteen, illustration by Dan Sehn
A centaur with a horn on top of his head is being wrestled down by
Godling. In the background is an armored car.
"Did you really think it was a good idea to rob an armored car in the
middle of the day, in the middle of New Troy?" Godling asked the
centaur.
"Nothing can stop Mr. Unicorn," the centaur says and shakes off the
hero.
Godling falls down on the road. As he slowly gets up Mr. Unicorn
gallops toward him, horn first, ready to spear him.
The One Man Pantheon is ready for him, however and grabs the horn,
using the strenght of Heracles to swing the villain against the armed
car. The result is that Mr. Unicorn is slumped against the armored
car, surrounded by armed cops.
The leader of the cops, Wade Hudson tells Godling, "Thanks, I guess we
needed your help on this one. I don't know why but it seems suddenly
the city is crawling with supervillains."
Godling had noticed that himself already. Where a week ago there was
only a handful of them active the last year now there was an explosion
of colorful, superpowered villains.
"I don't know either, but there's something strange going on, that's
for sure."
"Well, I won't rest until this goon tells me how he turned into this
thing."
Then, from a patrol car, a cop yells, "Sarge, there's another incident
with a freak at City Hall. And guess what... he's holding the mayor
hostage!"
Before Wade can Godling for help the hero is already gone.*
A young guy in a Slayer T-shirt stands before Master Destiny.
"I heard you're giving away superpowers. I want some, dude," the
rocker says.
"Fine. You can have them, but remember that to get them you will be on
call to me 24 hours a day."
"I don't need no boss, dude," the rocker says.
"It's not like that. You're free to go whatever you want to do with
the powers... Until I ask for your help. Sort of like being an Army
reserve."
"Cool. I guess that's okay."
"What do you intend to do with your powers?"
"Create havoc, man! Anarchy!"
"Good," Destiny says. "That suits my purposes very well."
He points his Spear of Destiny at the rocker. A beam of light comes
from the Spear and envelops the rocker.
The rocker's skin turns into metal. He moves his hands and discovers
that he can move them at superspeed. "Wow, radical!"
"I dub you Speed Metal," Destiny says. "NOw take off and do harm!"
Speed Metal was gone in a second.
Destiny laughs, "Another one to keep Godling busy. My plan of inviting
thugs to give them superpowers is working. With all these
supervillains running around there's no way he has time to follow up
on Tony Gold's story." (as seen in last ish -- Ed).*
City Hall. The outside is filled with cop cars. They all have their
guns pointing at City Hall. A negotiator is shouting through a
megaphone. "Let the mayor go! We've got you surrounded."
The answer comes in the form of a City Hall employee, being thrown out
of a window. "I've got the upper hand here. And the only way I'm going
to let the mayor go is when you get me a helicopter and a million
bucks. And be quick about it, or the next one out the window will be
the mayor."*
Inside City Hall the mayor is on his knees. Behind him stands a man
with a head that resembles a squid, tentacles hanging in front of his
mouth, obscuring it.
"You think they got the message?" he asks the mayor.
The mayor pleads, "Please, don't hurt anyone any more. Let us go."
The villain wraps his tentacles around the mayor. "When I get my money
and my helicopter you're free to go. If not, you die. It's that
simple."
Someone taps the villain on his shoulder. He turns around and is met
by Godling's fist, knocking him across the room, freeing the mayor
from his grip.
Groggy, Squidhead gets up. "How did you get in here unseen?"
"I just used Hades'power to become invisible and walked right in
here," Godling says. "And I've got a lot of other powers to channel.
So just surrender before you really get hurt."
"You won't be taking me down that easily," Squidface says. His
tentacles become longer and longer, wrapping them around Godling.
"Did you really think you could trap me for long?" Godling says and
breaks free from the tentacles. "I've got the strength of Heracles!"
He grabs the tentacles and pulls Squidhead closer. Then, with the
speed of Hermes he uses the tentacles as a rope to tie up the villain.
Satisfied he stands next to the wrapped up body. "Ready for the cops."
"Godling! Thank you, thank you! How can I thank you?" the mayor says.
"Just invest well in the police department. I can't be everywhere at
the same time and with this invasion of supervillains it seems
necessary."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure of it," the mayor says. "But let me thank
you by declaring a Godling Day."
"I'm not in this for the glory," Godling says. "I just want to protect
people." But he knows that the Greek Gods who give him his powers
would appreciate it. After all, the reason they gave him those powers
in the first place was to improve their image and visibility on Earth
again.
"A true hero... You'll hear from me!"
"I have to go now," Godling says and leaves with the speed of Hermes.
He has papers to grade, after all he's a superhero part-time, he has
duties as college professor as well.*
Godling enters his appartment in his professor Quentin Alexander
identity. He's tired but can't go to sleep, he's got papers to grade.
He makes himself a cup of coffee.
He sits down on the couch with the papers and his coffee. Then there's
a knock on the door.
He gets up, opens the door and is greeted by pretty officer Janson.
Deja-vu (see #10), he thinks.
"Don't worry, professor. I'm here not to arrest you this time." She
smiles a wonderful smile.
Quentin laughs. "Good to hear. What can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to let you know I never really thought you were guilty.
And I wanted to see if you're okay."
"That's very nice of you. I'm doing fine, thanks."
"I was also wondering if... err... maybe you'd like to go and grab
some coffee with me sometime."
"I'd love to," Quentin says.
There's a sound from Janson's radio. She answers it. "Oh god...
Another supervillain! This is crazy."
"What's going on?"
"Some superpowered hardrocker is tearing apart the mall, my assistance
is needed. Sorry, have to go. I'll give you a call. Thanks for taking
me up on the invite."
"Sure," Quentin says.
Janson leaves, Quentin closes the door. He looks at the papers and
sighs. "Maybe I should quit my day job."
He changes into Godling and leaves his place through the window...
NEXT: OVERPOWERED!
dinsdag 13 augustus 2013
GODLING # 15: Dealing with the devil
GODLING # 15: Dealing with the devil
By Jochem Vandersteen
Godling jumps down from a wall, fists clenched in the air, saying,
“Leave him alone!”
He lands on the floor of a dark alley where two thugs, one armed with
a knife and one with a pistol have cornered another man.
“This neighbourhood falls under my protection now. Don’t think that
with the death of Safari you can just rob innocent people without any
consequences.”
“Go to hell!” the thug with the gun says and aims his weapon at the
hero.
Godling uses the speed of Hermes to wrest the gun from the thug’s
grip. A few lightning quick punches (TWACK-TWACK-TWACK-TWACK-TWACK)
take the bad guy down.
The thug with the knife wraps an arm around his victim and puts a
knife to his throat. “Beat it or this guy’s toast.”
“Drop the knife,” Godling says and aims the confiscated gun at the
thug. “I can channel the powers of a God of War. No way I’m going to
miss.”
“#$% you!” the thug yells.
One well placed shot hits the thug in the shoulder, making him drop
the knife. Godling rushes over to him and floors him with a roundhouse
punch.
“Are you okay?” Godling asks the victim.
The victim nods. “Sure, these guys took me by surprise.” Then
something drops from his pocket. Godling picks it up. Cocaine!
“What the Hades? Were you buying drugs from these guys? Or were you
selling that crap to them and did they decide to rip you off?”
“Come on, Godling. Forget about it, okay. Everybody’s okay here.”
Godling grabbed him by the shirt. “It’s not okay. If you’re involved
with drugs I’m going to get you to the cops along with these
dirtbags.”
“If you let me go I’ve got some information you’d be interested in!”
“You want to cut a deal with me? Who do you think I am? The District
Attorney?”
“Don’t you want to know who’s behind the influx of superpowered
baddies in New Troy?” the man leers.
“Speak.”
“I know a guy who knows more about that. Seems there’s some incredibly
powerful mastermind behind all of it.”
“Where can I find that guy? And how do I know you’re not lying to me?”
“I’ll tell you when you promise to let me go.”
Godling thinks about that. He doesn’t like letting criminals go free.
“What do you have to lose? If you let me go a smalltime dealer stays
on the street. If you don’t let me go you pass up on the chance of
taking down the biggest crimelord of New Troy.”
Godling has to admit the guy has a point. “I promise to let you go
this time. But if I catch you with drugs again I personally will slam
the door of your cell shut.”
“Sure. Okay, you need to talk to a guy they call Tony Gold. He hangs
out at a bar a few blocks from here called The Spot. Biggest crime
boss in the area. Can’t miss him, he’s got a mouth full of gold.”
“You’d better not be lying to me.”
“I swear I’m not!”
“Good, then beat it!” Godling says. The man runs away, leaving the
hero with the two other thugs.
He takes out a cell phone and calls the cops, telling them there’s
some garbage for them to pick up, courtesy of the One Man Pantheon.
*
With Hermes speed Godling scours the city, looking for the bar called
the Spot. It only takes him a few minutes. He stops in front of the
bar. There's a neon sign on the roof that shows the name in big purple
characters. He walks in.
The bar is filled with unsavory characters, from bikers to gangbangers
and all sorts of riffraff. At the bar sits a big black guy with a
fedora and gold teeth. The patrons look at the entering hero.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the black guy says.
"If you're Tony Gold I'm here for you."
Suddenly almost half of the patrons takes out a gun and form a line in
front of Tony.
"I see you've got some protection," Godling says. "Too bad it won't do
you any good."
With Hermes speed he takes on the bodyguards. A few minutes later the
floor of the bar is willed with weapons that have been taken apart.
"I'm here to talk. No weapons necessary, okay?"
"Tell me. What do you need?"
"Word on the street is you know more about the whole explosion of
superpowered beings in New Troy."
"I know a lot of things. But why would I tell you anything?"
"Well, there's a lot of guns here and a lot of characters who don't
want to get involved with the cops, I'm sure. If you tell me what I
want to know I won't call them."
Tony thinks about that. "You do know that I can get you in a lot of
trouble if you take me on. This is just a small example of the people
I have working for me."
"Did you see how easily I disarmed your thugs. That is just a small
example of the powers I have."
Tony sighs. "Very well. I've learned that there is a powerful man
pulling the strings of all organized crime behind the scenes. They
call him Master Destiny."
"Is he pulling your strings as well?"
Tony laughs. "He wants to. In fact, he sent over some of his
superpowered enforcers to get me to work with him. My men took them
out."
"Where does he get those superpowered men?"
"I heard he can give superpowers to normal people. Wouldn't mind to
have that power myself."
"Where can I find him?"
Tony shrugs. "No idea. I just know what I told you."
"Aren't you afraid he'll sent his enforcers after you once again?"
"I have some pretty well-armed people behind me."
"You've seen what a superpowered individual can do with those guns."
Tony looks around and picks up a piece of a gun. He looks worried.
"I'll make you a deal. You help me find Master Destiny and I will
protect you from his men."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
Godling put up a finger. "Make no mistake, that won't mean I will be
letting you get away with your criminal acts. I'll protect you from
bodily harm but I WILL stop you if I catch you doing something
illegal."
"Sure, sounds fair."
Tony digs around in his pocket. Godling holds up a hand. "Watch it,
Tony."
"Don't panic. I just wanted to give you this," Tony says and hands
Godling a cell phone. "If I find out anything or if I'm in danger I'll
call you on this phone. Keep it with you."
"All right," Godling says. "And again, be warned... I WILL be making
sure your criminal acts are thwarted."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
Then, Godling is gone.
*
"Well, well... So you are striking a deal with the devil, Godling,"
Master Destiny says, watching one of the screens in his lair. He's
seen everything that went on in The Spot.
A beautiful scantily clad woman walks in, carrying a plate with a
glass of wine. Master Destiny takes the glass and kisses the woman.
The woman leaves and he sips from the wine.
"I will make sure you will be way to busy to ever get involved with
me, hero. Selena, come back!"
The beautiful woman walks in again. "Master?"
"I need you to contact all my underlings. There is a message I need to
put out on the streets."
Selena bows. "Certainly, master."
*
Godling stands at Safari's grave.
"Don't worry, friend. I will be making sure your neighbourhood is
safe. I know I made a tricky choice by allying myself with Tony Gold.
But something needed to be done in a New Troy without your extra
protection."
*
Tony Gold drinks a beer at the Spot. He looks very pleased with
himself. He thinks, "This is working out quite well. If I can get
Godling to take out Master Destiny I will be ruling the New Troy
underworld. And then I will be crushing that hero under my foot."
NEXT: SUPERPOWERED INVASION!
By Jochem Vandersteen
Godling jumps down from a wall, fists clenched in the air, saying,
“Leave him alone!”
He lands on the floor of a dark alley where two thugs, one armed with
a knife and one with a pistol have cornered another man.
“This neighbourhood falls under my protection now. Don’t think that
with the death of Safari you can just rob innocent people without any
consequences.”
“Go to hell!” the thug with the gun says and aims his weapon at the
hero.
Godling uses the speed of Hermes to wrest the gun from the thug’s
grip. A few lightning quick punches (TWACK-TWACK-TWACK-TWACK-TWACK)
take the bad guy down.
The thug with the knife wraps an arm around his victim and puts a
knife to his throat. “Beat it or this guy’s toast.”
“Drop the knife,” Godling says and aims the confiscated gun at the
thug. “I can channel the powers of a God of War. No way I’m going to
miss.”
“#$% you!” the thug yells.
One well placed shot hits the thug in the shoulder, making him drop
the knife. Godling rushes over to him and floors him with a roundhouse
punch.
“Are you okay?” Godling asks the victim.
The victim nods. “Sure, these guys took me by surprise.” Then
something drops from his pocket. Godling picks it up. Cocaine!
“What the Hades? Were you buying drugs from these guys? Or were you
selling that crap to them and did they decide to rip you off?”
“Come on, Godling. Forget about it, okay. Everybody’s okay here.”
Godling grabbed him by the shirt. “It’s not okay. If you’re involved
with drugs I’m going to get you to the cops along with these
dirtbags.”
“If you let me go I’ve got some information you’d be interested in!”
“You want to cut a deal with me? Who do you think I am? The District
Attorney?”
“Don’t you want to know who’s behind the influx of superpowered
baddies in New Troy?” the man leers.
“Speak.”
“I know a guy who knows more about that. Seems there’s some incredibly
powerful mastermind behind all of it.”
“Where can I find that guy? And how do I know you’re not lying to me?”
“I’ll tell you when you promise to let me go.”
Godling thinks about that. He doesn’t like letting criminals go free.
“What do you have to lose? If you let me go a smalltime dealer stays
on the street. If you don’t let me go you pass up on the chance of
taking down the biggest crimelord of New Troy.”
Godling has to admit the guy has a point. “I promise to let you go
this time. But if I catch you with drugs again I personally will slam
the door of your cell shut.”
“Sure. Okay, you need to talk to a guy they call Tony Gold. He hangs
out at a bar a few blocks from here called The Spot. Biggest crime
boss in the area. Can’t miss him, he’s got a mouth full of gold.”
“You’d better not be lying to me.”
“I swear I’m not!”
“Good, then beat it!” Godling says. The man runs away, leaving the
hero with the two other thugs.
He takes out a cell phone and calls the cops, telling them there’s
some garbage for them to pick up, courtesy of the One Man Pantheon.
*
With Hermes speed Godling scours the city, looking for the bar called
the Spot. It only takes him a few minutes. He stops in front of the
bar. There's a neon sign on the roof that shows the name in big purple
characters. He walks in.
The bar is filled with unsavory characters, from bikers to gangbangers
and all sorts of riffraff. At the bar sits a big black guy with a
fedora and gold teeth. The patrons look at the entering hero.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the black guy says.
"If you're Tony Gold I'm here for you."
Suddenly almost half of the patrons takes out a gun and form a line in
front of Tony.
"I see you've got some protection," Godling says. "Too bad it won't do
you any good."
With Hermes speed he takes on the bodyguards. A few minutes later the
floor of the bar is willed with weapons that have been taken apart.
"I'm here to talk. No weapons necessary, okay?"
"Tell me. What do you need?"
"Word on the street is you know more about the whole explosion of
superpowered beings in New Troy."
"I know a lot of things. But why would I tell you anything?"
"Well, there's a lot of guns here and a lot of characters who don't
want to get involved with the cops, I'm sure. If you tell me what I
want to know I won't call them."
Tony thinks about that. "You do know that I can get you in a lot of
trouble if you take me on. This is just a small example of the people
I have working for me."
"Did you see how easily I disarmed your thugs. That is just a small
example of the powers I have."
Tony sighs. "Very well. I've learned that there is a powerful man
pulling the strings of all organized crime behind the scenes. They
call him Master Destiny."
"Is he pulling your strings as well?"
Tony laughs. "He wants to. In fact, he sent over some of his
superpowered enforcers to get me to work with him. My men took them
out."
"Where does he get those superpowered men?"
"I heard he can give superpowers to normal people. Wouldn't mind to
have that power myself."
"Where can I find him?"
Tony shrugs. "No idea. I just know what I told you."
"Aren't you afraid he'll sent his enforcers after you once again?"
"I have some pretty well-armed people behind me."
"You've seen what a superpowered individual can do with those guns."
Tony looks around and picks up a piece of a gun. He looks worried.
"I'll make you a deal. You help me find Master Destiny and I will
protect you from his men."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
Godling put up a finger. "Make no mistake, that won't mean I will be
letting you get away with your criminal acts. I'll protect you from
bodily harm but I WILL stop you if I catch you doing something
illegal."
"Sure, sounds fair."
Tony digs around in his pocket. Godling holds up a hand. "Watch it,
Tony."
"Don't panic. I just wanted to give you this," Tony says and hands
Godling a cell phone. "If I find out anything or if I'm in danger I'll
call you on this phone. Keep it with you."
"All right," Godling says. "And again, be warned... I WILL be making
sure your criminal acts are thwarted."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure."
Then, Godling is gone.
*
"Well, well... So you are striking a deal with the devil, Godling,"
Master Destiny says, watching one of the screens in his lair. He's
seen everything that went on in The Spot.
A beautiful scantily clad woman walks in, carrying a plate with a
glass of wine. Master Destiny takes the glass and kisses the woman.
The woman leaves and he sips from the wine.
"I will make sure you will be way to busy to ever get involved with
me, hero. Selena, come back!"
The beautiful woman walks in again. "Master?"
"I need you to contact all my underlings. There is a message I need to
put out on the streets."
Selena bows. "Certainly, master."
*
Godling stands at Safari's grave.
"Don't worry, friend. I will be making sure your neighbourhood is
safe. I know I made a tricky choice by allying myself with Tony Gold.
But something needed to be done in a New Troy without your extra
protection."
*
Tony Gold drinks a beer at the Spot. He looks very pleased with
himself. He thinks, "This is working out quite well. If I can get
Godling to take out Master Destiny I will be ruling the New Troy
underworld. And then I will be crushing that hero under my foot."
NEXT: SUPERPOWERED INVASION!
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