Silent Jury
Issue #22
by Tom Zjaba

Chapter 26
Reunited

    Before the Myth can do anything, Daniel sends a bolt of energy right into his chest. The zap of energy knocks him back, releasing Robert from his grasp. Right away, the Mob yells out "The Mob Rules!" and once again turns into fifty men. This does not faze Daniel as he pulls out his familiars and throws them into the air. Immediately the small figures grow in size and turn into Damien the gargoyle and Ozmodeus the Golem. Damien flies right at the Mob and his many clones, while Ozmodeus hits the ground with a powerful thud that shakes the very ground.

    Robert rises to his feet and watches Damien charge after the herd of Mob clones. Scrambling away in fear, the clones run off into the woods, heading in every direction. Despite their numbers, they have no chance against the gargoyle and his stone claws. It only took him tearing through the first few clones to get them to abandon the fight. Robert then turns his attention to the Foreman and the Myth, who are both being mauled by Ozmodeus. The Myth tries to go toe to toe with the immense golem, but finds the error in his decision. While his club did subdue the One, it has no effect on Ozmodeus. He hits him square in the head, but finds the creature is unfazed. Not only did he miscalculate the creature's resiliency, but also its speed. Before he can strike again, the golem reaches out and grabs him. With its vice like grip, Ozmodeus pins The Myth's arms to his side. Raising him above its head, the creature takes the very large man and smashes him head first into the ground, literally burying him to his chest. Before he can do anything, he is pulled out of the ground and lifted back up in the air. The first blow has knocked him senseless. The Foreman rushes over and hits the creature with his hammer, but it does little but annoy it. The golem the smashes The Myth into the ground again, with only his feet sticking out. With that threat out of the way, it turns to the Foreman, who is preparing another blow. Once again, the creatures speedy reflexes allow it to grab the hammer out of his hand. Not knowing what to do, the Foreman turns to run away. The fear of seeing such creatures, overwhelms the villains and all that can, flee to the safety of the forest.

    With the immediate threat gone, Daniel flies down and undoes the spell on the Blink. With his feet free, he runs around in a circle. "Wow, you are something!" he says as he returns to his spot in front of Daniel. "Your speed is also quite impressive." Daniel says as he is impressed at how fast he can move. Robert comes over and shakes his hand "I am so glad to see you." he says as the two shake hands. Robert removes his helmet, as it is quite hot in it. This suit was obviously an earlier prototype as it does not have air conditioning. Daniel then turns to the girls and throws a quick heal spell on them. The spell causes them to awaken and as they slowly rise to their feet, they are greeted by the sight of Daniel. When they see him, they both rush over and give him a big hug. "We missed you so much!" Connie says as she hugs him. "You are a sight for sore eyes." Vanessa says as she also hugs him. "I am glad to return." he says as he is enjoying all the affection. He then pulls away and looks at them. "Before I can stay for good, I have one piece of unfinished business to attend to." Robert looks at him and smiles "You mean that you are staying for good?" Daniels smiles back as he says "Yeah, my world has done well in my absence. I feel there is more for me to do here." Connie then looks over at The One and asks "Can you help him as well?" Daniel smiles as he does a quick heal spell and within seconds, the One wakes up. Blink then offers his hand and he says "My name is the Blink, what's yours?" Daniel looks at him and smiles "A name that truly fits. My name is simply Daniel." The Blink laughs "Dude, with your powers, you need a more awesome name." Daniel laughs at the suggestion and says "And what kind of name would you recommend?" The Blink looks at him and says "You have to give me some time to come up with a kick ass name." Daniel then smiles at him and says "While I am taking care of Doctor Warlock, think of an appropriate name." With that, he lifts himself into the air and flies off towards their headquarters.

    Doctor Warlock watches the drama unfold on the monitors in the fortress. He curses under his breath as he watches Daniel make short work of his super team. His stress level rises as he sees him flying towards the headquarters. While his magical powers are formidable, he seriously doubts that he could best Daniel. Realizing it is a hopeless situation, he decides it is time to cut his losses. Concentrating, he speaks a teleport spell and in seconds, completely disappears.

    Only moments after Doctor Warlock disappears, Daniel rushes into the old fortress, only to find his adversary has already left. Knowing what happened, he quickly does a spell that shows the magical trails from the teleportation. He smiles because his suspicions are correct. With the knowledge of how his foe escaped, he uses his magical powers to conjure up a magic orb. The glowing orb floats in the air as he waves his hands over it. Speaking a few words, he is able to bring an image on the orb. As it becomes more clear, he is able to see Doctor Warlock. Sweat pours down his brow as Doctor Warlock is walking across the swirling sands of a desert. Smiling, he speaks another magical phrase. The orb increases in size, until it is bigger than Daniel. He then steps into the orb and comes out in the desert, only feet away from Doctor Warlock.

    Trudging across the sand, Doctor Warlock is temporarily blinded by a flash of light. Shielding his eyes, he peeks to see if it is gone. What he sees is Daniel standing in front of him. "You did not think you could escape that easily." Daniel says. Doctor Warlock stops in his tracks and prepares for battle. "I did not know of a spell that could track one who has teleported. You must teach it to me." Daniel also gets into position as he prepares for battle. "My magic is much older and stronger than yours. This fight is already over."

    Doctor Warlock decides to strike first. He casts a spell into the sand. As his magic permeates the sand, something strange starts to happen. The sand rises up and takes the shape of a giant hand. The oversized appendage then reaches out to grab Daniel. But he raises his hands and waves his fingers as he chants a few words. A strong wind flows from his fingertips and blows the sand back at Doctor Warlock. He quickly covers his face to keep from being blinded by the instantaneous sandstorm. Before he can uncover his face, he is struck by an energy bolt. The bolt flies from Daniel's hand and strikes the unsuspecting Doctor Warlock, right in the chest. The sheer force of it, knocks him from his feet. Seizing the moment, Daniel casts another spell. This one creates iron bars that bend around Doctor Warlock. Three bands appear, one binding his legs together, another binding his hands and a third, covering his mouth. With the inability to speak, he has been rendered helpless. Daniel slowly walks up to him and smiles. "Time for you to return to your master." A look of fear comes over Doctor Warlock's face as he knows his fate.

    Daniel pulls out a glowing stone and tosses it into the air. The stone glows brighter and brighter as it turns around. Within seconds, a vortex opens up in the air, only feet away from the stone. Through it comes the wizards of Daniel's world. "We see you have captured him." one of the wizards says as he looks at the bound Doctor Warlock. "Yes, he posed little threat to me."

    The wizards then cast a spell that lifts Doctor Warlock up and levitates him in the air. The lead wizard looks at Daniel and says "Are you sure you don't want to return with us?" Daniel shakes his head no as he replies "Sorry, but I am more needed here. Take care of my prisoner." The wizard smiles as he looks at Doctor Warlock. "Don't worry, there is no chance of his escaping." With that, they all fly into the vortex, leaving Daniel alone in the desert. With his work done, he teleports back to the fortress.

    As night comes to the island, Justin Rage makes sure to have a blazing fire. Right now, it is the only thing standing between him and the beast men. Using the growing heat of the fire, he begins to cook a sea bass that he caught earlier. One of the things he made sure to pack was a high quality rod with a full tackle box. While he has plenty of supplies now, catching some food will make sure the rations stretch longer.

    While he is cooking the fish, the first of the beast men shows up. Right now, it is nothing more than a pair of eyes in the jungle, but Justin pretends to not notice the creature. Within minutes, the number grows. Soon, there are six pairs of eyes in the jungle. He hears the whispers of the creatures as they say "Fah-ire. Fah-ire." This time Justin is ready for them. Looking at the fish, he notices it is cooked. Not completely cooked, but good enough. These beasts eat their meat raw, so this should be a treat for them. Justin pulls the fish out of the fire and turns around towards the beast men. He walks towards them, which causes them to start backing up. After a dozen steps, he stops and places the fish on the ground. He looks into the jungle and says "Cooked fish." He then walks back towards the fire. This time he takes a seat on the opposite side of the fire. He wants to see what happens next.

    The first beast man to come out of the jungle is a bear man. The creature is huge in size, standing over eight feet tall. The creature lumbers out slowly as it is cautious of Justin. It looks right at him and growls. Justin remains completely still as the bear walks up to the fish and looks down at it. It once again looks at Justin, who has not moved. Satisfied that there is no immediate threat, the bearman bends down and scoops up the fish with its massive claws. With the fish firmly in its grasp, the bear sniffs it and then takes a bite out of it. At first the bear is surprised by the heat of the fish, but finds the taste pleasurable and within seconds, devours the entire thing. All that is left is a skeleton on a stick. Dropping the fish bones, the bear turns and heads back into the jungle.

    Justin waits to see what happens next. At first, the other beast men do not move. They are unsure what to do, but realizing that there is no threat here, they emerge from the darkness, one by one. Like a parade of the grotesque, Justin watches as the hyena man, boar man, panther man, bearman, tiger man, and bull man. They all come near the fire and put their paws and hooves out. "Fah-ire. Fah-ire." they chant as they circle the fire. Justin remains seated and watches them. He smiles as he knows that they are starting to trust him.

Silent Jury © 2006-2009 Tom Zjaba