Pursuit of the Zodiacs (46 page)

Feud looked the Scroll over and gave his approval before passing it along to the rest. Their approvals followed shortly after, and they swore their allegiances to the assignment. They gave the Scroll back to the two Super Humans, who left the Fortress shortly thereafter.

Hours passed. On the horizon, an eclipse began to form, causing the two Super Humans to take shelter in a Dimension. “The coming of the Rider of Meteors is upon us. We must seek shelter until his passing.”

“An Eclipse? This is a good time to head back to Earth undetected.” Cancer prepared himself for his return home fully energized by the recent alterations of the Super Moon. He created asteroids from the Moon’s crust that would be his ticket home. He boarded and made his move. But only a few minutes into his journey, he saw another swarm, a powerful meteor shower. He and the meteor storm were on a collision course, but had little time to react to avert it.

“Great,” thought Cancer.

The meteor storm looked custom-created ... so perfectly aligned that Cancer realized that he was not the only Rider of Meteors. He locked eyes with the being controlling the meteor storm. As Cancer braced for impact, the mysterious being commanded the meteors to stop. Even the asteroids Cancer commanded paused in their movements. He couldn’t explain the power this being possessed.

Cancer spoke, “That was very close. I almost feared a collision. May I ask who might you be, Traveler?”

On a single meteor, the mysterious being hovered over to him. Within reach, Cancer surveyed him. It was another cone-headed Super Human, but with weird skin, as if it were a crossbreed with some altogether other life form. This one stood eleven feet tall and had red and grey armor. And its voice was like a lion. “My name is Vetrius, Rider of Meteors, and these are my Chariots, upon which I trek the cosmos.”

Cancer said, “My name is Cancer, and I am a Zodiac. Where are you from, and what brings you here?”

Vetrius replied, “I’m in the presence of a Zodiac? My apologies. However, I’m not certain how to take this kind of news. Never in my years would I ever think I would cross paths with one.”

Cancer said, “Do you only travel under the darkness of an eclipse?”

Vetrius answered, “Yes, a lot of things come to pass during an eclipse. Occurrences that would take decades to explain. This is a pressing time for you and
your kind, Zodiac. The balance and future of this Universe depends upon your survival or death. This is beyond even me to comprehend; therefore, I must leave before the eclipse expires and let you set your own providence.”

Cancer responded, “I understand and I apologize for keeping you waiting. Unfortunately, I do not know which path is best for me; and I’m still in the process searching.”

Vetrius said, “Farewell, and good luck.”

Vetrius directed his meteor back into formation, moving all the meteors in their respective positions, including Cancer’s.

Cancer waved goodbye as Vetrius departed.

VIRGO AND SCORPIO HEARD THE PHONE RINGING
.

Using her telekinetic abilities, Virgo relocated the ringing cordless phone. It arose and headed towards her. Scorpio followed the hovering phone down the lengthy hall. As she sat comfortably on the couch, it descended into her hand. She answered it, already sensing who was on the other end of the call.

Virgo said, “Yes, Crusix? What’s the word?”

Crusix replied, “You and Scorpio must head out to Rome at once. Take down these coordinates; they’ll bring you to another Dimension. And make sure you get there within the next few hours.”

Virgo grabbed a pencil and paper. “Okay, I’m ready.”

She wrote down the coordinates as Scorpio re-entered the hall.

Scorpio looked over her shoulder. “Who is it?”

She motioned towards the chalkboard in the hall and guided a piece of chalk with her telekinetic gift. Scorpio spelled out “C-r-u-s-i-x” with the chalk.

Scorpio responded, “Impressive, but you’re still not better than me.”

He went to his room to pack some belongings.

After overhearing Scorpio, Crusix added, “If it was up to me, I would send his heart back to his Ruling Planet.”

Virgo answered, “He’ll be good in time.”

Crusix said, “We’ll see, now, I must go. I have my own campaign to start.”

They hung up their phones. Crusix continued his journey to Bishop as Virgo and Scorpio geared themselves for their trip to a Dimension leading to Rome.

Virgo sensed danger. “Shit, we must hurry.”

Scorpio asked, “What happened?”

Virgo answered as she hurriedly packed, “Someone must have been eavesdropping on our conversation.”

Virgo and Scorpio walked to the garage and took the car, another amenity courtesy of the safehouse.

Minutes into the drive, Virgo spotted their followers in the rearview mirror. In stealth mode, two strange beings, clearly not of this Earth, trailed their vehicle. They piloted a craft with special stealth technology that caused it to blend in with the scenery.

“Why are you following us?” Virgo asked, entering the minds of both pilots.

They responded, “I’m sure you already know the answer to that question. You must be destroyed.”

Virgo sensed more danger as lasers discharged from the craft.

Virgo ordered, “Here, quick, take the wheel.”

Scorpio, from the passenger side of the vehicle, did his best to direct the car out of harm’s way. Virgo held her head, focused on the lasers, and sent them back into the craft, which exploded on one side and spiraled out of control.

Virgo took back control of the wheel and made an immediate U-turn. They could hear the craft crash as their vehicle spun around. She headed towards the crash site, sensing that one of the pilots had survived. She parked the car, and both Zodiacs entered the woods to find the survivor. It would be only a matter of minutes before other witnesses came to investigate, so Scorpio and Virgo quickened their pace. At the crash site, they first set eyes on the dead pilot slumped over an unfinished old fence near the damaged craft. The other pilot remained in its seat, dying.

Virgo shook the surviving pilot. “Who are you, and why are you trying to kill us?”

The pilot coughed up blood.

Virgo shook it again. But Scorpio intervened and helped the dying entity by repositioning its head, eager for an answer. The dying pilot responded, “You owe your allegiance to Lucifer, and that is all we needed to identify. May God bless the Dark Graduates!” The pilot pushed Scorpio aside, and with the last of its energy, hit
a secret button in the craft’s compartment. Instantly, Virgo and Scorpio ran, having only seconds to get clear of from the blast. The Soldier shot at them from a high-powered laser gun as they fled. He fanned the gun, firing wildly, hoping to strike them down no matter how much they zigzagged as they ran. “Damn! He has forcefield-piercing lasers!” Virgo shouted as a laser pierced her shoulder. Scorpio grabbed her as she fell forward. But she brushed him off and held onto her wound. Her gift of healing commenced while they exited the woods.

As the craft self-destructed, the force of the blast knocked them both against their car. They heard sirens from a distance and struggled to their feet.

Scorpio yelled, “Shit!”

They recovered enough to drive. They drove past oncoming police cars on the opposite side of the road heading towards the explosion. “The Dark Graduates? Who the Hell are they?” Scorpio asked as Virgo increased the speed of their vehicle.

Virgo answered, “I thought you knew? They are a bunch of seasoned extraterrestrials and humanoids from multiple Planets and Galaxies with an extraordinary amount of luck who have so far avoided death. They think they have the authority to rule the Universe and everything therein. Like everyone else, they fear what we are about to become, so it’s only right they try to destroy us. It’s only going to get worst from now on, so I hope you’re prepared for the test that awaits us.”

Scorpio answered, “Yes, I understand.”

They reached their destination only to see more hitmen for the Dark Graduates awaiting their arrival. She sensed that they’d killed their Gatekeepers, stripped them and donned their clothing. Among the assassins was Lucille, the coordinator behind this mission.

Virgo said, “Okay, there’s two at the gates and ten hiding behind the bushes and trees. You eliminate the threat in front of the gates, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Scorpio complied. They both snuck up on their adversaries. Four of the assassins stood up in the open. Virgo compelled them to shoot each other in the head with their laser guns. On high alert, someone yelled, “They are here!”

Lucille said, “Shit! This is Virgo’s doing!” She gripped her powerful laser gun and ducked for cover. She had thoroughly studied the Zodiacs and knew exactly who the aggressors were.

Lucille saw Scorpio killing her two men standing at the gate.

Realizing this campaign was beyond her range of expertise, Lucille retreated to her craft. Virgo detected her and used her telekinetic force to try and crash the ship. Lucille, an expert pilot, put the craft in full gear, causing Virgo to levitate off the ground. Lucille used all her might to push the gear full throttle even though the craft was still caught in Virgo’s telekinetic, paralyzing disorder. She shot a laser from the craft down towards Virgo and knocked her out of the air. Virgo hit hard against a tree and she plummeted into the ground.

An injured Zodiac issued a warning to Lucille during her evacuation through telepathy. “Smart woman, tell the Elders of your Dark Graduates that we are coming for them. Soon, those seats in those Council Halls will be filled with nothing but Zodiacs and our descendants.” Virgo assisted Scorpio in finishing off the rest of Lucille’s colleagues.

Lucille viewed at the carnage from her craft. “Damn, that bitch is strong.”

Happy to have survived the ordeal, Lucille reported that the mission had been a huge failure, and that no one else survived. Usually the penalty for a failed mission would be death, which explained why the Dark Graduates met success ninety percent of the time. But, since they dealt with Zodiacs, merely surviving was enough to stamp her ticket back inside headquarters.

Scorpio and Virgo entered their Dimension and proceeded to Rome.

AFTER DRACUUL’S RETURN FROM TRAVELING INTO THE FUTURE

Queen Victoria was so enraged upon her arrival that, instead of accepting aid, she helped herself ascend over a dozen stairs leading to the big hall while her men rushed behind her. “What is this I’m hearing? You’re engaging with beings from the future? You know that is forbidden, Dracuul!”

Dracuul stood up and replied, “What I do here is no concern of yours. I do this for the survival and protection of our kind! Need you be reminded that you’re not the only Monarch in these parts?”

As much as she would have loved to chastise Dracuul, she knew his words had meaning. The illegal Time Traveler had the support of many men, some of whom he had made extremely wealthy, and many more who hoped to become wealthy by
pledging their allegiance to him. Her killing him without just cause would stir a war that both sides could ill afford. Even if she called a meeting to discuss the removal of Dracuul with the Overlords of the Underworld, she could jeopardize her own life. In addition to her argument involving merchants from the future, Victoria had also been given word that he planned to manufacture a new species of Vampeers.