posted
Zoe Saunders and her mother Azura are investigating some ruins in Western Europe. Zoe decides to bring up a subject that has been on her mind for a while: her upcoming prom back home in America, which will take place in six days, just enough time for her to fly back home, pick out a dress and line up a date.
Unfortunately for her, Azura confesses that she has forgotten about the prom completely, and as things stand now they have no way of making it back in time.
Distraught, Zoe runs off into the ruins. She can't belive that her mother has ruined her life AGAIN! Bad enough that she doesn't get to hang out with her friends anymore, but she has to spend most of her time in creepy, smelly places like this one!
Angrily, she kicks at an old, crumbling wall. Suddenly, the wall crumbles to dust, revealing a glowing pool of energy...
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The crew of the Japanese whaler was excited. This would be the biggest whale they had ever caught! They chased it for over a day before they finally harpooned the giant creature and brought it to the surface.
"That's no whale," cried the Captain. "That's GODZILLA!"
...to be continued...
-------------------- Yes, but now I'm back! I'm back FROM the future!
Vist Hyperion Ranch! Guided tours of Chateau Crowbar now available!
posted
Years ago, out in the windswept plains of New South Wales, Fred and Myra Kallor worked to put the final touches to their revolutionary gravito-scope, assembled near the massive Parkes Radio Telescope. Unbeknownst to them, a comet dragged to earth by the malfunctioning device was to have dire consequences not only for their project, but their infant son Tom...
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Tatiana Mallor clutched the book tightly to her chest as she struggled across the rocky beach. She hadn't expected the wind to pick up, but that wasn't too uncommon along this part of the English coast.
Everyone had told her that her grandmother had drowned in the ocean, but she knew better. That was impossible. Her grandmother Lydia Mallor had secrets, and Tatiana knew where she kept them -- in the book she now held. Lydia had been taken by the shadows.
Tatiana finally reached the line of caves. Someone long before her grandmother had marked one with a small sunburst, though Lydia had kept the groove fresh in the constant barrage from the blasting sea. Tatiana counted eight to the right and went in, letting muscle memory take over in the darkness.
She had been in this cave countless times and knew every rock. She wasn't afraid of the darkness. It wouldn't hurt her, but still -- shadows could be unpredictable. The familiar "ta-lok" of dripping water comforted her as she reached the spot she was looking for.
She pulled a candle from her pocket and set it on the stone table. She lit it and opened the book. She didn't know every word, but she knew enough to find the spell of communion. Lydia had always taught her that her ancestors were very important and that she could come to them in dire need.
Need didn't get more dire than this. Her grandmother had disappeared, leaving things in disarray. Her grandmother's house was going to be sold, and though Tatiana's father and uncle couldn't care less (they wanted the money), Tatiana knew she couldn't let this place of power go to someone who didn't know what he was getting -- or worse, someone who did. But she was only 13 and didn't know what to do.
So she read the words of the communion spell and waited. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then she noticed the small circle of light around her getting smaller, though the flame hadn't dimmed. She smelled her grandmother's perfume and snuffed the candle.
A familiar touch wrapped around her, and Tatiana knew her grandmother was with her. She could also feel other pairs eyes watching her, and she thought she heard a sniff of incredulity.
"Oh, Tati," Lydia's voice whispered. "The shadows took me away too soon. If only my sons ..."
"Grandmum! I knew they were lying to me! I knew you'd be here! Father is going to sell your house so he can buy us some stupid fancy flat in London! What can I do?"
"Hush, child. Everything will be fine. Do you think I'd leave this place totally without defense? I knew your father and uncle wanted no part of their destiny, but you, Tatiana, you and your cousin Gregory may be the greatest of us all."
Again, the snort.
"Greg? But he's only 10!"
"I know dear. Now listen closely. I have much to tell you, but this spell won't last forever."
Three years later, Tatiana lived in Lydia's large, rambling house with her parents, aunt, uncle and cousin Greg. Tatiana had returned from the cave with a will, leaving the property to her and Greg with no option for sale. One look in Tatiana's darkened eyes told her father and uncle this was not to be contested. They knew where she'd been, and as much as they had never wanted to believe it, they knew the family's ancient power had been passed along.
Reluctantly, they moved their families into separate wings. Provisions had been made so that her father and uncle could continue their business, while Tatiana and Greg learned their grandmother's secrets in a dark cave.
(Edited to fix duplicate name -- sorry, FC, I didn't look back on the first page)
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The rescue ships searched the waters for days looking for survivors of the ill-fated whaler. So far they had only found three. One was near death, the other refused to say anything about what had happened, while the third was obviously driven mad by the experience. All he would do is scream "GODZILLA" and hide beneath the covers.
They were just about to call off the search when one of the helicopters spotted a bizarre sight: a teenaged boy clinging to his surfboard in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
In the aftermath of its battle with the whaling ship, the radioactive sea creature had disgorged young Jose Rimbaud, but the experience had forever altered the California surfer. As the Navy doctors who examined him were about to learn, Surfer Jo was now the Boy with Ultra Powers!
-------------------- Yes, but now I'm back! I'm back FROM the future!
Vist Hyperion Ranch! Guided tours of Chateau Crowbar now available!
posted
The girl in white was determined to make her plan work. The wind was fierce this December evening in New York City. She looked up, to the top of the grey building in front of her, took a big breath, and went in. "Yes? May I help you?". The security guard was a big man. He was flanked by 4 others. "I would like to see Mr. Brande, please". "I'm very sorry, but Mr. Brande doesn't see anybody without an appointment." This was as she thought, R.J. Brande had a reputation for generosity that attracted many people in need to his offices. Tamara looked at the guard, smiled, and said: "I see. Where can I make an appointment, please?". She knew exactly the answer to that question, the large queue to her left was obvious enough. And she had been here before, visiting with her mother, Countess Winona Wazzo, second in line to the Austrian throne and ambassador of her country at the U.N. That had most certainly NOT been a nice visit. R.J. Brande had seen right through the usual insincere unctuousness of the Austrian heir, and had politely but firmly refused to take part in Winona's political schemes to return Austria to a monarchical system. "The Austro-Hungarian Empire must rise again!". Yada, yada, Tamara had heard this line from her mother throughout her life. She had never been interested in this, Austria was doing quite well as a republic, but her mother's obsessions did cause some problems. For example, R.J. Brande had sworn never to see Countess Winona again. And he would certainly not be inclined to see her daughter, either.
Tamara looked at the guard, smiled politely, and with a gentle bow of her head, turned towards the long queue. When she reached a corner, she turned towards the wall... and disappeared. She knew exactly where R.J. Brande's office was, but it still took her a while to get through the myriad of offices unseen. Fourty-five minutes later, she had made it. Nobody had seen her (she was quite proud to have had the patience to wait until people got out of her way) and she was standing inside R.J. Brande's door. She looked inside, through the darkness. In addition to R. J. Brande, there were six people in the room, two boys and four girls. Three of the girls, triplets, obviously, were sitting on a sofa, holding hands. The fourth girl, a stunning blonde, had her hands at her temples, and was watching the triplets intensely. The men were looking from behind. And suddenly, the triplets... merged into one person! The blonde woman lowered her arms, smiling, but then frowned and looked straight towards the dark office door. "There is someone else here!", she said, and two seconds later, Tamara was surrounded. "The Austrian princess!" R.J. Brande was not pleased. "Hi. I'm Tamara, but you can call me Tina".
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The village of Trom was abuzz with talk of strangers being spotted nearby. Young Jan Arrah was excited. He hoped that he would get a glimpse of the strangers. He had dreamed of exploring the world outside the village, to see the cities from which the village ancestors came from. Occassionally certain villagers were selected to go into the outside world. Jan's father had done so.
According to the stories, centuries ago a group of alchemists in Munich had discovered the secret of changing one metal into another. It was a great discovery. But there were those who wanted the secret for their own personal gain. There had been fights and death in the struggle over the secret. Finally his ancestors had prevailed. They knew the secret was too dangerous for the outside world, so they took their families to this remote area and founded the village of Trom. Hidden from the world, the villagers kept guard of their secret power.
Jan spent the afternoon scouring the countryside, looking for the strangers with no luck. Tired and hungry he returned to the village. What he discovered there shocked him. All the houses were now just charred and smoking ruins. The villagers' bodies, his friends, laid everywhere. Running to his own home, Jan found his father and mother on the floor. Dropping to his knees, he cradled her in him arms, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"cough, cough" She was still alive, but just bearly. "Mother what happened? What should I do?" "Jan? Is that you? It..it was the strangers. They came looking for our secret. But we did not tell them. cough, cough, choke. Jan? You are safe? You must hide. You must get away from here." His mother clutching at him, her fear and desperation evident in her voice. "Run, my son. Save yourself!" With that she collapsed, breathing her last.
Jan looked for any other survivors, but they were all dead. Jan knew he could not stay here, but where could he go? Then he remembered all the stories his father had told him of his time in the outside world. There was one man whom his father had repeatly said was the best of all the outsiders - RJ Brande. Jan would find this RJ Brande and seek his help.
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
It was finally happening! The Legion was forming! Nura sat up from her futon, beaming towards her sister Maizah. But of course she knew already, Irma had probably broadcasted her news to all of her 'telepathic' friends simultaneously. Nura stood up, and walked towards a window covered in intricate wooden patterns. She peeked outside, towards the other soaring skyscrapers in the blazing sun. That it had come to this, having to flee from one's own father! It would be nice, though, to finally see that place she had always dreamed about, America!
But first things first, they had to get out of here. And that was not going to be easy. Maizah ("the discerning one", how appropriate!) was already packing, putting a few prescious books she had taken from her father's library into a camel-leather bag. Nura did not have much to put into her bag, but this did not concern her. They were finally leaving! The Legion would be a success, she had foreseen it. She put her burka on and opened the door, Maizah two steps behind her, also covered from head to toe. As the two sisters started walking down the hall, Maizah waved her hands, and all sounds from their walking were muzzled. Maizah had been preparing for this moment for a long time, waiting for their father to leave the house. She was not going to let themselves be caught. The two sisters reached the stone steps, and walked down the fourteen stories of the earthen skyscraper. The heat of the sun welcomed them as they arrived at the bottom. The streets of Shibam were almost completely empty, at this, the hottest hour of the afternoon, but a few people, mostly men, were conversing in the shade. Reaching the market was no problem, but to get to the bus station, and then beyond...!
As the two sisters were trying to board the bus to Aden, a large, surly looking man with a big moustache and a uniform stopped them. "Who are you, and where are you going?", he asked. "I am Nura bint-Mordru bin-Ahmad Al-Nayal, and I am leaving for America!". At the same time, Maizah waved her hands again. The man stopped frowning, put on a beatific smile, and went to his office, ready to follow Maizah's "suggestions". He came back ten minutes later, having written fake permission papers from the two women's non-existing husbands. "Your papers are in order, you can leave the country now". The sisters looked at each other, pleased with their success. They boarded the bus, the first step out of Yemen in their long trip to America. "It will be so nice to finally meet Irma, Jacquie, and the dark English lady!"
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Long ago in Ancient Rome, the warrior Monius Ellysius was the greatest champion of the Roman people. Some said he has decended from the real Hercules, for he possessed the amazing ability over super-strength and invulnerability.
Others said that he was Achilles, who had secretly lived on since the Fall of Troy.
One day, on a trip into Persia, Monius explored the ancient caverns of the Babylonians and stumbled upon a terrible form of led that he inhaled.
Poisoned, Monius was brought by the Persian people to their greatest Zoroastrian Priest. The Priest was able to gain favor with his deities, and a spell was woven so that Monius would not wake up for 2000 years. Hidden in the cave, the Persians left him there and covered the cave, scrawling only these words over it's entrance: "Zone of Phantoms".
This was during the reign of the Emperor Augustus.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Irma Ardeen, sitting in the back bench of one of R.J. Brande's airplanes, had a headache. The past couple of days had been so eventful! After years lived in isolation in the deepest part of the Cadmus Laboratories, life on the outside was proving to be very stressful. Fortunately, she could still count on her telepathic friends to keep her sane. The effects of the chemical treatment inflicted on her by the scientists at STAR labs had been instantaneous (oh, how she wished she had never volonteered for that!), at the blink of an eye she found herself being able to hear and manipulate the thoughts of thousands of people. It took her years of training to learn to silence those voices, but at last she was getting there. There were limits to her power, though. Although she could receive the thoughts of people physically close to her, her abilities diminished with distance. That simple fact had meant that for years she had had to live in the most strict isolation, while learning to cope with her new powers. She found, however, that she was able to communicate with a few people, usually adept in the mystical arts, even if they lived at the other end of the planet. Maizah had been first, Irma didn't know what she would have done without her! Such strength and determination in such a small frame! Quickly afterwards, Maizah had managed to open Nura, her sister, to Irma's telepathic messages. For years the three of them had shared their innermost thoughts as only teenagers can, all of them completely isolated from the outside world. As Irma's powers grew stronger and her control better, she started to "invite" others to her conversations. Tatiana Mallor, the dark lady from England, had become a good friend in a small time, as had Sara, the "empress of Venegar", as she liked to be called. A small girl called Jackie was also receptive to the messages, but she was so shy! Irma didn't like her very much, actually; it was only at Maizah's insistance that she kept her in the group. But over the years she had been able to find out next to nothing about this so-called "friend".
The training period ended when the people from Checkmate arrived to recruit her. How she hated those people! She had been used for one thing, and one thing only: to spy the thoughts of important dignataries. And Irma hated every minute of it. To invade the privacy of these people in such a blatant manner! Because most of them were actually good people, with wives, kids and mundane problems, peering into their minds without their consent was simply revolting! The Checkmate operatives didn't see things in the same way, and so one day she simply had to leave. And leave she did. She went to the basis of operations of Checkmate, read the mind of the head of personal, and proceeded to erase the memory of her existance from every single person related to that program. And then she did the exact same thing to the 250 people at Star Labs that had ever known of her existance. She was free at last! Or so she thought, she hoped she didn't miss anybody...
Garth and Rex had been the first boys Irma had ever met. Of course there had been the STAR scientists, but they were OLD! It had been so exciting, managing to save the life of R.J. Brande! Of course she was willing to join the new Legion, Nura had foreseen that it would be a great instrument for good! She had also enjoyed helping Lorna to get herself back together, perhaps her telepathic powers would be able to do some good, after all! The Austrian girl was nice enough, but Irma found her open, smiley demeanor a bit too much. And then there was Quentin, another child of Star Labs. When he was "delivered" to Mr. Brande, Irma hid, not wanting to meet anybody from Star Labs ever again. But to her surprise, she found that she got along with the green kid well enough (God, she hoped that particular side effect from his genetic manipulation would not appear in her!).
And now, here they were, the new Legion of Super Heroes, off to their first mission. Garth, Rex, Lorna, Tina, Quentin and herself. She hoped things would work out... But why did she have a feeling that there were two other people on the plane? She had checked over and over again, and had found nothing. It must be the headache.
At the very back of the plane, Lyle Norga and Sally Digby looked at each other and smiled. They had just confirmed that Reed Daggly had made it onto the plane, too, disguised as one of the co-pilots. They hoped everything would work according to plan...
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Laura Long was shy & quiet girl who made the most startling of discoveries. Her cute next door neighbor Mick Russell was the hero of her hometown Foreman. Drawing of her lifetime love of entomology she developed a serum to allow her to pupate into a more attractive form. She took drank it & when she woke up in the morning she found she had much longer legs & a butt to rival JLo's. Unfortunatly a few weeks later she would often turn into ferocious Were-Bugs. Thankfully Mick figured out what happened & brought her to STAR labs. The developed a ring that helped her channel her powers in a less violent manner. She was relieved because she didn't want to go all Praying Mantis on her potential boyfriend. Now she was the sultry Insect Queen.
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Brian was loner, he always had been. Growing up in a military had seen to that! His dad was a doctor in the Army and they had moved from base to base. Sometimes it seemed to Brian that they had just gotten settled in a new house when they had to start packing again!
Because of the frequent moves, Brian had never let himself make friends with any of the kids he met on the various bases or at the various schools he attended. What was the point? He would only have to say goodbye in a few months and never see them again!
Without friends to play with, Brian mostly concentrated on physical training and sports, the individual ones...no team sports for him since that would mean teamMATES. He ran constantly, lifted weights, loved to box and wrestle, and was even an excellent gymnast. One good thing (the ONLY good thing, in Brian's opinion!) you could say about the military, they always provided terrific training equipment at the base gymnasiums.
They were back in the States now, in Texas actually but his family had spent the last year stationed on the base at Diego Garcia. It was there that he had gotten stung or bitten by one of the dangerously venomous animals or lizards that infested the island. He was running, alone as usual, when he was stung, and had not seen his attacker. Somehow he had made it back to the base before blacking out.
It was almost a month later before he came out of his venom induced coma. His father and the other doctors had struggled mightily to save his life, trying every antidote, hormone and treatment they could think of to fight the unidentified venom. Something had worked, or maybe some combination of things had worked...no one really knew although they were all releaved.
One good thing had come out of that experience, Brian smiled to himself, as he climbed the sheer cliff face. Whatever combination of drugs they had treated him with had caused an unanticipated side effect, one which he had not shared or spoken about with anyone, even his father.
He was even more agile, you could say super agile! He was also faster, stronger, and had significantly more endurance than he had ever had before! Something had enhanced his physical abilities way beyond the norm!
-------------------- Bring back Condo!
Registered: Aug 2003
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