Issue #8 - "Blazing"
Scene 1: "The Ways of Pandemonium"
The Scoundrel looked over the incredible scene in front of him. Colors swirled and patterns smoothly morphed right before his eyes. The only thing he could really count on was the ground directly beneath his feet, and perhaps a solid path that led into the great nothingness beyond. "Amazing," he said.
Seraphim flew into view. "Indeed," he replied. "Pandemonium is not a place many mortals ever see. Angels are not very familiar with this place either. I cannot say I quite understand what is going on around us."
"You're not alone," Electrostatic said, cruising up the path to where he could be seen by his allies. "This place is crazy. I ran down this path, and it goes on forever."
The angelic hero flapped his wings and soared around the immediate area, but really didn't seem like he was getting very far from Electrostatic and the Scoundrel. "Very odd," he noted. "The basic laws of physics do not seem to apply here."
The Scoundrel was amused by the moving lights and patterns, but tried to focus on what was real and ignore what was not.
Seraphim was not at all concerned about being confused, since he was empowered with the ability to pierce illusions and visual effects. "I shall scout ahead and see what lies there." He took off, leaving Electrostatic and the Scoundrel to their own devices.
"What now?" Electrostatic asked. "I guess we should start walking."
"No sense in standing here," his secretive companion replied. "Must be something around here. I doubt the bad guys would have just come here for the hell of it."
"Y'know," Electrostatic said, "That reminds me. Maybe we should make sure our powers work here." He fired a blast of electricity into the air, and it traveled a good distance before evaporating into nothingness. He also enveloped himself in energy, proving that his energy field was also operational.
"I don't really have any powers to speak of," the Scoundrel said. "Just these revolvers and my mask." He cooked off a few rounds from his guns, but the shots' sounds were somewhat muffled, and the bullets seemed to slow down as they went further from the firer. "Interesting."
"Wonder what happens if we step off this path," Electrostatic said as he raised one foot off the side of the path. Beneath him was a rainbow-hued abyss.
The Scoundrel, with a reaction as quick as anything Electrostatic might be able to muster, grabbed his companion's shoulder. "No way," he cautioned. "Let's not play around."
Seraphim returned from his scouting mission. "There appears to be some kind of golden disc up ahead, and it is connected to the end of his pathway. I am not certain as to the distance, but perhaps we should go there."
"Did you see the villains?" Electrostatic asked.
"Strangely, no," Seraphim replied.
"All right," the Scoundrel said. "We're hoofin' it."
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Electrostatic and the Scoundrel stood on a golden disc, which was spinning in place. To say they stood on it is a little misleading -- there was a very thin force field coating the disc, and the heroes stood on the force field. Had they been standing on the disc itself, they would likely have been thrown instantly from its surface.
"Goofy," the Scoundrel said. He looked back at the path, and it crumbled to dust. "A little setback."
Electrostatic looked as well, and saw their only escape route disintegrate. "What the hell?"
"Our mission here is to find out what the villains are after and to stop them," Seraphim stated. "Though I must admit I am as confused as the two of you."
"The baddies must've known where they were going," the Scoundrel pointed out. "Mana, the sorceress, she can teleport them around here most likely."
"Wow," Electrostatic replied. "We'll never find them!"
"Have faith," Seraphim said. "I shall scout around a little more, and I will discover more about our surroundings." With that, he took flight and disappeared from view.
"I wonder if he ever gets tired of flapping those wings," the Scoundrel wondered aloud.
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Seraphim crossed through some purple clouds, and hit a floating stone wall just beyond the clouds. Since he had not anticipated the wall being there, he was struck unaware, and hurtled through the colors and the patterns, until he struck a hard surface.
Where am I? he wondered. He stood up, none the worse for wear, and tried to gauge his surroundings. The angel stood on a vast platform, and high above him was a maze of stone walls, floating amidst the clouds. How odd, he thought.
He was alone on the platform, and could not see the end of it from where he stood. Seraphim flapped his wings, but felt pain as he did. Examining them, he determined that one of them was broken. He laid hands on the wing, and it was quickly repaired. When he was satisfied that he could safely fly again, he took off and made a circuit of the platform.
I had better fly the others over here, he realized. It is best that we do not become separated.
He flew back to the spinning golden disc, and spotted his companions.
"Thought you might not becoming back," the Scoundrel remarked.
"I found another platform," Seraphim revealed. "There's no way for the two of you to walk there; I have not seen any more walkways. I think I should fly you over there."
"Is there anything of interest there?" Electrostatic asked. "I mean, is there any reason we should be there instead of here? One crazy place is just like another here, at least so far."
"You will see," Seraphim said as he landed.
He flew them to the large platform, and the two heroes new to the place were astounded by its size.
"Wow," Electrostatic said. "I know I'm saying that a lot, but..."
"What's that?" the Scoundrel said, pointing upward at the maze floating above them.
"I am not entirely certain," Seraphim replied. "I can tell you that it is made of stone, as I unfortunately ran into it."
Something flashed on the other side of the platform. Immediately, Seraphim took to the air to get a better look at it. He soared above the platform and spotted someone walking on the surface below. "Hello!" he called out to the figure. He decided to fly closer to get a better look.
It was a woman, and she was dressed in a most interesting manner. She had white hair, but was otherwise quite attractive.
"Who are you?" he asked the woman.
She smiled, revealing sharp canines. "Your friends know who I am, at least the lightning fellow does." She licked her lips.
Electrostatic and the Scoundrel, who had been steadily approaching behind Seraphim, where now within visual range.
"I have found a woman," Seraphim called out to them. "She says she knows you, Electrostatic."
The electric hero paused as he recognized the Duchess. "That's no woman," he said. "That's a vampire!"
Watch for Scene 2, Coming Soon!