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CHAPTER FIVE
The Horror of the Cybrid
The best laid plans of JASMINE STAR have been undone -- a single inquisitive maid has revealed that she is NOT the consort to the EMPEROR ZARDO, but simply a human rebel against the mad king of Pluto's empire of evil. Now, the King of the Hawkmen, F'EATH ARR, must decide: To turn on Jasmine to spare his people the wrath of Zardo, or to take up arms against the Emperor.
Meanwhile, within the sweltering DEATH JUNGLE OF CERES, CLAUDETTE T.S GRANT and the PIRATE QUEEN ALTAR POLARIS, are surrounded on all sides by the dreaded DEATH COMMANDOS OF MARS. Who has sent these awful assassins? Why? And will this be the end of our charming Claudette and the amazing Alta?
Lastly, MARK STYLES has been consigned to the blood soaked ARENA PIT of Emperor Zardo himself...to face off against Zardo's most terrible creation...THE CYBIRD!
Mark realized that he would need some measure of protection for the head -- even in an era where bombs and bullets could bisect a human male as easily as a butcher knife can cut a hog's haunch, the doughy men that had fought for Uncle Sam in the war against Hitler and his mad legions had worn steel helmets. And so, he cast his gaze about the dusty floor of Emperor Aytan Zardo's arena pit...
"Aha!" he said, snatching up a curved helmet with a mirrored mask that looked as if it was made to protect not merely the head, scalp and cheeks, but also his neck and a bit of his shoulders. He slid them on mere moments...before the Cybrid arrived.
"Good lord," he whispered.
The Cybrid was not like anything that Mark had expected.
For one thing...the Cybrid was a
woman
.
And what a woman!
She was easily nine feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular body -- toned enough to show she used the weapons she carried in her
four
arms, which spread around her body in a ready fighting stance. Her skin was a dusky purple, with thin stripes of darker hue that ringed her arms as if she were a tiger in a zoo. Her breasts were large and heavy, contained within breastplate sculpted to fit them and protect her body...while still leaving her sensually exposed. Her hips were guarded by armored slats, while cloth just barely concealed the join of her legs. Her feet were clad in heavy sandals. Mark counted four weapons, each unique...a short thrusting spear, a broadsword like his own, a net, and the blunted knuckles of a cestus, tightened to her lower right fist.
"Well, now, I don't hit ladies," Mark said, his voice muffled by his helmet.
"Heh. I'm no lady, you'll find," the Cybrid said, her voice elegant and aristocratic, despite her fierce appearance -- and with that, she threw her spear in a quick, overhanded motion. Mark's eyes widened, but the same instincts that had saved him many a time in the frosty forests of western Europe saved him now. He rolled and came to his feet, just as the spear impacted the wall behind him with a clamorous clang. He snapped his head back, then laughed.
"We're down to three on one now," he said.
"Hah! So you think, clone!" the Cybrid said, then held out her arm -- the bracers that she wore made a low humming noise and Mark felt the helmet that he wore twitch, the buckles rattling, the sword twisting in his hand...but it was the spear that was most effected as it wrenched itself from the wall and hurled itself through the air, as if flung from a massive catapult. The Cybrid snatched it free as her bracer ceased its humming and the bizarre forces on Mark's helmet ceased their tugging. He shuffled to the side, tensed, as the net began to twirl in the Cybrid's lower left hand.
"Clone?" Mark panted, confused -- but before he could ask any more, the Cybrid charged forward. Her cestus whipped up as if she was some back-alleyway boxer, seeking for a lucky sucker punch to his stomach. Mark, though, had brawled himself, and twisted aside, slashing his sword upwards...only for the sword to become entangled in the net that she hurled at him. Mark flung himself backwards as her spear tip thrust towards his belly, evading the blow by the merest edge of a sliver. His back struck the sandy dust and he groaned as his helmet, poorly secured, tumbled from his head. It clacked away as the Cybrid spun around to face him, lifting her arms above her head, holding her spear with her upper arms, her lower hands gripping her broadsword in a defensive guard.
There...
She froze, her eyes widening.
Mark yanked the net, and the blade cut it free, tattering it as he rolled to the side and swiped at the same time. The Cybrid barely reacted until the tip of his sword scored against her thigh, and only then did she twist away, bright red blood splashing from her. She hissed and clapped a hand on her leg, blood welling between her fingertips as Mark sprang to his feet, turning to face the Cybrid. Knowing he had but one chance, he struck. The Cybrid, reacting with sluggishness that seemed utterly inexplicable, brought her sword up -- but weakly, and the blade went flying through the air. She stepped backwards, stumbled, fell onto her back, her arms grabbing the ground, the spear discarded as she gaped up at Mark.
The crowd, by now, was gasping, on their feet, literally craning their heads to peer down at the scene.
Mark hefted his sword, readying himself to slay this foul beast of Zardo's -- but he hesitated...while she was strange beyond compare, there was a splendid beauty to the Cybrid, that made every part of Mark's red blooded American soul cry out against the idea of striking her dead. While he was well used to doing hard deeds in time of war...this was something else entirely. And so, rather than deliver the killing blow, he hesitated...