The Invincible Hero

The next morning, before the sun rose in the sky, Lorne ate breakfast with his wife Mary. She had gotten up super early to make breakfast for him. It was their last chance to be together unless Lorne somehow won the battle. Mary decided that no matter what she would only show a happy and pleasant face. She knew how much pressure her husband was under. What he really needed now was to know how much he was loved.

Lorne dressed in his best suit of clothes. As usual, we wore his costume under his clothes. It seems strange but if he didn"t the suit wouldn"t look right. Mary came over to him and gently fixed his tie.

"I need to go." Lorne finally said.

"I know," Mary responded.

Lorne had a pained look in his eyes.

"I want to leave before the children wake up. I don"t know if I could leave if I see them again." Lorne said.

Mary realized that keeping Lorne there longer was actually cruel to him. Taking a deep breath she gave her husband what might be his last hug. She wanted her last hug to contain all of her feelings and emotions. Finally, she looked into the eyes of her husband and gave him her most pa.s.sionate farewell kiss.

"I love you," she said.

"I know," Lorne responded feeling really cool, but seeing the pained look in his wife"s eyes he quickly added, "I love you too." After those last words, he pa.s.sed through the back door in the kitchen and flew away.

"He tried to leave me with a Han Solo goodbye, still trying to act cool." Mary laughed but eventually, she started crying as she sat down at the kitchen table feeling the loss of her husband. She felt so alone.

***

Lorne quickly flew beyond Earth"s atmosphere and headed towards his parents" Jupiter home. Along the way, he had discarded his civilian suit and morphed into the form of the Invincible Hero. Lorne and his parents agreed to meet at their home on the day of the battle. The entire trip, from Earth to Jupiter, took less than Thirty minutes.

Many thoughts ran through Lorne"s head as he traveled to his parents" home. He thought about Mary and his kids mostly. He thought about his time on Earth. As he neared the satellite home that was in orbit around Jupiter, Lorne realized that he no longer had the time to think his sentimental thoughts. If he wanted to have a chance to reunite with his family, he had to fight for it! Now it was time to fight! Lorne squeezed his knuckles until they made a cracking sound.

Flying into the satellite home, Lorne made his way towards the what was previously the game room and was now the war room. As he entered he saw his parents sitting away from a ma.s.sive group of humans. The humans seemed to take over the room. Lorne was a little astonished by the presence of all these people. He had only expected to find his parents and BS42 in the Jupiter home base. The last time he conferred with General Brady they agreed that Earth"s forces would remain on Earth.

Those present included his friends from the Earth Protection Division. Ever since Earth learned of the impending crisis, the EPD was absorbed into the newly minted Allied Army of Earth (AAOE). Leading the army as the Supreme General was General Brady. It was universally agreed that General Brady"s service with the EPD had been exemplary and since he had already forged so many strong relationships with Earth"s heroes he was a natural choice as the Supreme General of Earth"s Allied Army.

He wasn"t the only military leader present, in fact, the room was filled with many people.

The strongest heroes of Earth were all there. His friends Big Time and the Pretty Pugilist stood with shining smiles; Major Muscle, Mechaton, Phantom Cat, and finally, off to the side making faces into a mirror, the Cosmic Monkey were here, they were the people he knew the best.

Lorne looked at the Cosmic Monkey and thought, "I won"t miss this weirdo at least." As if sensing someone was looking at him, the Cosmic Monkey looked over and gave a big monkey smile to Lorne. Lorne awkwardly nodded and then turned his attention to the remaining forces in the room.

As Lorne was looking around, he was surprised to see quite a number of Super-Villains. What were they doing here and why weren"t they constrained in any way? What a dangerous mess this could turn into. Of course, as he thought about it he realized that at his current level of power he could take out everyone here in less than a second. When he thought about it like that he realized Earth still lacked a clear understanding of the crisis they were facing.

Lorne found General Brady, sitting at a big table. He loved those big tables. General Brady beckoned Lorne to come to him. Just as Lorne was about to head over he noticed his father giving him a look indicating he should come to him first. Seeing this, Lorne gave General Brady the "one moment finger," and headed to his father.

His father sat quietly in his chair far removed from everyone else in the room. He wasn"t happy about turning his home into a command base for Earth. "What did the humans expect to do against a Zimwarn fleet of ships?" Lorne"s father thought. Lorne came to his father as requested.

"Lorne, these humans seem to think that their presence here is going to help things. You need to explain to them that they"re only bringing more harm to Earth by behaving like this. I do appreciate the loyalty that they are showing you, but someone needs to directly explain to them what"s going on." Lorne"s father said.

"Did you try to explain it to them, Dad?" Lorne asked.

"If I try to explain it to them I might hurt them. I know how attached you are to these humans." Lorne"s father said.

Lorne was stunned for a moment. His father sounded more than aloof, he sounded cold. Lorne thought for a while and realized it made sense. Here they were, his family, forced to give up their lives for these humans. His father was backed into a corner, but his father wasn"t a coward. He wouldn"t sacrifice others for his own survival. Maybe his father was being cold because he was so prideful?

Lorne looked to his mother and for the first time in his life saw a cold expression coming from his mother as well. His mother had always been someone who seemed above mundane affairs, but she was a sweet and kind woman. She was always kind to others and even though she held herself apart from the world she still greeted the world with kindness and concern. This coldness was so strange. It wasn"t just any kind of coldness, it was like a coldness born from pride. "Was this the look of a courageous woman facing her destiny with grace and boldness?" Lorne wondered.

"I"ll help them understand Dad, thanks for caring." Lorne turned and walked to General Brady. Lorne"s father made a strange look after his son"s comment. He looked at his wife who simply shrugged her shoulders. She didn"t know why Lorne thought his father cared about these humans either.

General Brady looked somber, but at the same time, he looked confident.

"What do you think of the little army we"ve put together? I think this will give us a shot. What do you think Lorne?" General Brady said.

"Never hit someone who"s smiling at you," Lorne remembered this saying from somewhere. Unfortunately, Lorne was about to give General Brady and all of his friends with their good intentions a huge hit. If he didn"t, they wouldn"t even know how they died today, and they might implicate Earth into all of the Zimwarn political drama. The last place Earth needed to be was in the middle of a conflict between t.i.tans. As the old human saying went "never get in a land war in Asia."

"General Brady, I appreciate your good intentions. I"m truly touched, but you can"t help me today. If you try to help, not only will you sacrifice your life and everyone else"s lives, you may bring destruction to Earth. The Zimwarn Empire isn"t something that can be stopped by us winning a little skirmish outside of our solar system. Earth doesn"t even have ships to parry the Zimwarn Warships. What chance do you think this little army of yours has? The only people who have a chance in this fight are my parents and me. You need to let us deal with this." Lorne said bluntly.

General Brady"s body and face changed. The steely determination of an old soldier burst forth from him.

"Now listen here, Lorne, these people are coming to our home. They think they can just take one of our own and do as they please. A human may be petty and weak, but we"re not cowards. We still know what"s important! Don"t think we"re just going to let them kill you and your family! Think about your wife and kids, don"t you want to see them again? Let us help you son. Let Earth give something back to you. You"ve always stood with us, as far as I"m concerned you are one of us! Today we stand together or we fall together." General Brady insisted. His voice had gotten louder the more his pa.s.sions grew. As he finished, those present started clapping and shouting their support of the General"s fighting words. Even some of the super-villains were applauding.

Lorne was really touched by all of this. He closed his eyes and took in all the warmth and good intentions. Finally, he said in a quiet voice:

"I understand."

Hearing Lorne says that he understood, General Brady puffed out his chest in pride. Lorne"s parents were surprised by the strong support they received from those gathered. Even they were a little touched by the humans" support of their son. "If you want to know who your real friends are, just wait until you"re in trouble. Then you"ll know who are your friends and who aren"t. This General Brady seemed like a true friend." his father thought.

"Listen up everyone, I have something to say." Lorne began to speak and suddenly his image blurred slightly.

"I appreciate your good intentions, but do you really think you can help me. Aren"t you just asking to die if you go with us? Lorne asked.

As he finished his comment, everyone suddenly realized something. Every person in the room had been caught and constrained. No one, no matter if they were a weak human or a mighty hero, could move.

"Look at the situation you are in right now. I was just talking with you. How many of you realized what I was doing? If I had used my laser vision all that I would need to do to finish the job is to get a broom." Lorne continued. Terror was written over the faces of his friends.

Lorne had never demonstrated this kind of power before. When Lorne had revealed that he hadn"t mastered even a millionth of his strength two years ago, they thought he had been exaggerating. Now they knew that he had been telling them the truth. Saying is one thing but seeing is believing.

"You are my friends and you are all heroes, even those super-villains in the room. You"ve really restored my faith in humanity seeing your willingness to protect your home. The fact that even my enemies were willing to risk their lives to support my family and me in this confrontation really blew me away. You can"t know how grateful and humble I feel right now.

That"s why I can"t let you help. If just one Zimwarn person can defeat you in an instant, imagine what an army of them can do. Don"t think I"m the most powerful of my race, I"m still extremely weak. Our only hope today is that the Usurpers sent people even weaker than me to tie up their loose ends. This scenario is unlikely.

Please, everyone, go home. Whether my parents and I live or die, I promise you that Earth will be safe. If you help, all that"s going to happen is that you"ll die and Earth will become the enemies of the Usurpers Empire! Becoming enemies of the empire means that Earth will be dead before the day is over." Lorne finished his exhortations. With another blur, everyone was free. It was as if they had never been restrained.

Lorne turned to walk back towards his parents. Suddenly, he heard the grizzled old voice of General Brady.

"He"s right! This attempt to stand against the ma.s.sive Zimwarn Empire was a mistake. Everyone should go home." The General said.

"As for me, I resign as Supreme General of the Allied Army of Earth. Listen to me kid, I don"t care if you have to tell them that I"m your maid just tell those guys that I"m with you and not with Earth. Maybe you"re going out to die, but an old man like me has no business living when a young guy like you is about to give his life for his planet." The old General roared.

"You"re not getting rid of me either Lorne." This time it was Big Time speaking

"The first time we met you saved my life. Ever since that day, I"ve always wanted to put my life on the line for you, but you never needed me. Maybe I won"t be of any help to you, but I"m going to try my best. Even if I can buy you half a second that"s what I"m going to do!" Big Time was just as determined as the old General.

"Don"t forget about me!" Now it was the Pretty Pugilist.

"You and I never hit it off romantically, but we"ve been fighting together as friends for years. You think I"m going to miss this last chance to fight with you? Forget it, I don"t give up without a fight!" Darwina roared like General Brady.

"Ya" hear that kid? The Three Amigos fight together! And just like always I"ll be standin" there with you givin" all of my support!" The General said pa.s.sionately.

"As for the rest of you!" The General turned to look at the remaining leaders and heroes.

"Vice-Supreme General Gu Kong will take my place and lead our forces back to Earth. Vice General Gu!" General Brady yelled.

Vice-Supreme General Gu stepped forward. "Yes, sir!" he cried as he saluted.

"Take our forces back to Earth and reinforce Earth"s defenses in case the invaders choose to ignore their pride as members of the Zimwarn Empire and attack Earth despite the sacrifices the Longoak family and ourselves may be forced to make. You will not make an aggressive move. You will only attack if you are attacked first. Is that clear General?!" General Brady barked out his orders.

"Yes, sir! I have received your orders. We will depart immediately!" Vice-Supreme General Gu turned and immediately started organizing the retreat.

Lorne was surprised when he felt his father place his hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at his father who had a grin on his face.

"This General Brady is quite a man. Very loyal. Your friends too!" After his brief comments, Lorne"s father returned to his mother. Lorne"s mother was also smiling in a friendly way.

Lorne knew now that chances were slim. His father actually complemented some of the humans. To his recollection, his father had never shown any real interest in humans. He mostly kept his distance and lived like a hermit with Lorne"s mother in one of their homes.

"Ah, Mechaton!" General Brady suddenly cried out.

"Yes General Brady," Mechaton turned to face the General.

"Give me your meanest nastiest Mech, and get these kids some of those s.p.a.ce armors you created." General Brady said.

"Yes, sir," Mechaton said and then turned to carry out the General"s orders.

***

A few hours later, after Earth"s Allied Army left the Jupiter home of the Longoaks, the fleet of Zimwarn Warships finally arrived at the edge of the solar system. The Longoaks and their human allies were quietly waiting, floating in s.p.a.ce. Lorne stood on his father"s right side while his mother stood on his Father"s left side. He and his parents were dressed in what his father claimed was the Royal Battle Armor. BS42 floated quietly to Lorne"s right. General Brady in a ferocious looking black mech with a large gun, Big Time, and the Pretty Pugilist each in white outer s.p.a.ce armor stood behind the Longoaks.

Even though the six warriors and the Warbox were infinitesimally small against the backdrop of s.p.a.ce; the Zimwarn Warships seemed to see them as they came to a sudden halt. From the lead ship, several figures flew out. In an instant, these figures arrived before Lorne and his parents.

The figures all wore compact red and grey warrior armor. Each warrior carried four visible weapons: a large gun, a sword, a knife, and a pistol. Some warriors carried a spear or saber instead of a sword. Some warriors carried a large cannon-type gun, others carried something resembling a machine gun, and others carried a strange gun with a large cylinder attached. The leader of the group wore compact red and black warrior armor with a red cape that was so dark it almost looked black. He had large gauntlets on his arms painted blood red with gold trim. He carried a humongous hammer and a large machete-like knife. He was in command of the group that came out to meet Lorne"s group.

"Old Man Longoak, get your bag of bones over here! I"m here to take your head, you miserable old man. I bet you never saw this day coming? I see you have your dried up old lady here and this brat next to you must be your son! How dare you create another member of your branch. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes finding all of you Royals and killing you? Oh, what"s that behind you? Are those puny creatures behind you from that planet you"ve been living on? What are they, p.a.w.ns or pets?" The commander mocked Lorne"s father as he spoke.

Lorne would have been surprised that the man was speaking in s.p.a.ce if it weren"t that his father taught him a special technique developed by the Royal house to speak in s.p.a.ce. The technique was tricky at first, but not only did the technique allow a person to be heard in s.p.a.ce. It could be used to transmit secret information to others, or a person could even project their voice several hundred miles from their vocation to someone else.

"These are humans from Earth. They are my personal warriors." Lorne spoke.

The commander looked at Lorne and sneered. Who did this little pup think he was talking to him?

"Did I ask you anything you miserable little punk? I"ll step on you later. Keep your mouth shut before I beat you to death." The commander said.

As the group was speaking, there was a sudden explosion from one of the ships! Everyone was shocked to see one of the Warships break apart and explode. Suddenly, everyone noticed a little dot being chased by other dots. Lorne zoomed his vision in to see what it was. To his surprise, he saw something he would never have expected to see. The dot that was being chased was actually someone that Lorne knew very well, it was the Cosmic Monkey, the weirdo! What was he doing here? Did he blow up that Zimwarn Warship?

The dots, which turned out to be Zimwarn warriors, were flying in their direction, finally one of the warriors got close enough to the Cosmic Monkey that he was able to attack. One of the Zimwarn warriors chasing Cosmic Monkey punched him in the back and knocked him towards Lorne. Lorne quickly flew and caught the Cosmic Monkey and brought him back to his group. At the same time, Lorne blasted the pursuers with his laser vision. His attack actually killed two of the pursuers while the remaining three were knocked back by the concussive force of the blast.

Lorne looked at the Cosmic Monkey and was totally speechless. When did this weirdo appear? How did he sneak into the Zimwarn fleet and blow up one of their ships? Looking at the Cosmic Monkey with his Ridarn vision, Lorne could tell that the injuries Cosmic Monkey received weren"t light. He had several broken ribs, and where he was punched in the back the bones shattered; the punch even severed his spinal column. The Cosmic Monkey was alive, but after this battle, he would become a paraplegic.

"Cosmic Monkey, why didn"t you go back to Earth? We told you this would be too dangerous!" Lorne cried out emotionally. Lorne always found this Cosmic Monkey to be a weirdo but he had never faltered in a fight. He was always there to help his teammates in battle. This tinsel town hero had managed to destroy a Zimwarn Warship by himself. Amazing. Lorne looked back at his parents and saw that even they were impressed.

"Such an amazing Monkey." Lorne"s father said. "I"ll send him back to our base and have the medical facility take care of his injuries." As Lorne"s father said this he tossed a disc onto the Cosmic Monkey

whose body immediately vanished from sight.

The commander of the Zimwarn forces watched all of this happening, he was also stunned by the Cosmic Monkey"s accomplishment. "Had this puny aboriginal actually destroyed one of his Warships?" he wondered.

Zimwarn Warships were made from a special metallic alloy called Kemedian. Kemedian"s composition utilizing a unique metal called Fener. The metal Fener was actually a grown metal. It was omnivorous consuming anything it could during its growth cycle. There were certain materials that Fener couldn"t consume or wouldn"t consume. One such substance was lifeless dirt. Compact lifeless dirt, typically harvested from dead moons, was used to line the interior of molds used in forging objects. These molds were fashioned into many shapes. Depending if there was a need for screws, bolts, metallic beams or shielding; molds could be created for whatever was needed.

The process for creating Kemedian from Fener was pretty simple. Fener seeds were placed in a predetermined "paste" made up of a combination of organic material, minerals, metals, and even gases. The Fener could imitate the qualities of the different substances it was fed. The base organic material that was a majority of the paste used to feed the Fener were the liquified remains of an animal species called Burings. Burings were enormous herbivores native to Zimwer. They had an incredibly dense molecular structure. Their muscle, skins, and bones were nearly indestructible on the universal scale. On ancient Zemwar, during its primitive days, Burings were a food staple. Now, these ancient animals were being reared as material for war construction.

The Kemedian alloy being produced was known to be extremely durable. Few peoples had produced technology at a high enough level to penetrate the special Kemedian alloy made from a Fener paste that used Buring skins to increase toughness. The fact that Cosmic Monkey had managed to blow up a Zimwarn Warship was shocking.

"He must have found a way to detonate the core," Lorne"s father said.

"Clever Monkey," he added.

"Enjoy this minor victory you old bag of bones! It will be your last victory of the day!" The commander roared viciously.

Even though the commander roared, the Cosmic Monkey"s victory of destroying the Zimwarn Warship had lit the fire of hope in the hearts of everyone, especially Lorne. If the weird Monkey could do it then he could too!

Lorne immediately looked at the lead ship behind the commander and gathered all of his strength firing his most powerful and destructive Laser vision blast. Everyone was surprised by the sudden attack. The beam struck the mighty Warship creating a brilliant flash that made everyone turn away for a moment. When they turned back to see the damage caused by Lorne"s attack they saw...nothing, no damage at all. Not even a scratch was made on the warship. Lorne was stunned, he was so sure it would work!

"Hahahaha, this little prince thinks it"s so easy to destroy one of my Warships! HAHAHAHA, but he"s even dumber than a monkey. It"s a good thing that the royal family has been overthrown look at what it has become. Even if the Royals had won today, after a few years of administration by this clown, the Empire would implode! HAHAHAHA!!!" The Commander laughed unconstrained.

Lorne was extremely upset. He had really embarra.s.sed himself. Lorne"s father, however, looked over at the Warship. He seemed to be squinting at the area Lorne had just shot at.

"Impressive." Lorne"s father said. Immediately after making his comment, Lorne"s father shot his own blast of laser vision at the ship. Immediately after he did so, the ship blew up just like the ship that the Cosmic Monkey blew up. Lorne"s father had noticed a microscopic hole in the hull of the ship caused by Lorne"s attack. He used that hole finding the core of the ship with his Ridarn vision. Once he found the core he exerted the same energy level as Lorne to finish off the ship.

Sensing the incoming shockwaves from the exploding ship, everyone moved much further away as quickly as they could. Lorne"s father seemed to invisibly grab everyone in their group somehow and flew them away instantly. The exploding ship"s debris and shockwaves spread out in every direction. The other Warships in the area were caught in the explosion. There was complete chaos as a result of the explosion.

Lorne"s Father laughed derisively at the Commander of the Usurpers.

"It seems my son isn"t as useless as you thought Commander! If you had paid attention you would have noticed that he managed to pierce through the shielding of the ship. That opening allowed me to easily finish off the ship. Still looking down on us?" Lorne"s father mocked.

Lorne was shocked, over the course of his life his parents had taken every opportunity to point out how weak he was but they never offered to help him fix that flaw. This was the first time his father had ever complimented him on the use of his powers. Lorne had a big smile on his face as he looked to his father. Lorne"s father winked at him. Whoah, battle brings bonding between father and son!

The Commander of the Usurpers was visibly building up to a volcanic explosion. At any moment his anger and hatred would explode. The commander gave a strained smile that wasn"t a smile. It looked like he was forcibly bearing some pain that he could barely withstand.

"Kill them, all of you attack!" Cried the commander who was no longer content to talk but was now eager for slaughter. He had been humiliated beyond his limits. Even though he lost two warships, the Commander had only lost about a dozen soldiers. As powerful as the warships were, Zimwarn physiology was even more powerful. Their bodies could contain and control unfathomable energy. How could a mere energy core explosion do any real damage to Zimwarn warriors? Only those closest to the explosion were truly in danger and that"s because out of all of the warriors brought to fight in today"s battle these ship engineers were the weakest. Even so, most of them survived the blast.

All of the Zimwarn crews who had previously occupied the two warships were now converging on their commander"s position. These soldiers were mad, none of them had expected any kind of real resistance. Wasn"t the Royal family already on its last leg? A dying dog dared to bite back?! Outrageous!

Lorne noticed the killing madness in their eyes. He knew that it was time for him to take action. He had been training for the last two years for this day. The first year he trained on his own. The second year, BS42 had trained him. Lorne had engaged in numerous battles in the temporal gate"s lost Time Zone. In those battles, Lorne had fought numerous Zimwarn warriors. He had begun to learn how to fight using his powers effectively. He came to understand that brute strength battle strategies weren"t strategies. He had gained a lot from those battles. One of the greatest gains he had in his training was that his speed had shot through the roof. If there was one thing he could be proud of it was how fast he had become.

Lorne flashed away from his position and immediately engaged with a group of Zimwarn warriors. He used his laser vision to kill three warriors instantly by firing concentrated laser beams through their soft eyeb.a.l.l.s. He utilized a holding grip on one warrior to use as a meat shield as he continued to kill warrior after warrior. Lorne had discovered that his best combination was using his speed with his laser vision. He called this combo his Fast Blast. It seemed like nothing could stop Lorne as he fought his way through the Zimwarn warriors.

Lorne was shocked at how effective he had become as a fighter. He thought that this battle would be hard fought. The way BS42 and his parents talked it seemed like there was no hope. However, wasn"t he using his strength to create hope? Lorne was suddenly aware of what it meant to turn his strength into hope. That"s exactly what he was doing. Maybe there was hope. Perhaps he could return home to see his wife and children. Didn"t he and his father just use their power to destroy a warship? Lorne was beyond ecstatic as he thought of all of this. Now, for the first time, Lorne felt extremely confident. He could do this, he could win!

The Commander of the Usurper forces had been watching Lorne killing all of his soldiers but he hadn"t done anything yet. His anger was still boiling, it looked like his head would pop off of his shoulders at any moment. Finally, the Commander screamed at Lorne in such a way that it could cause even the most courageous warrior to faint from fright.

"WOULD YOU STOP KILLING ALL OF MY KITCHEN STAFF YOU STUPID LITTLE PUNK!" The commander roared. Lorne froze when he heard this, "he was killing kitchen staff and not the fierce Zimwarn warriors?!" Lorne thought as he suddenly panicked.

Suddenly, the Commander made a clawing motion with his hand and managed to pull Lorne away from his kitchen staff. The Commander flung Lorne to his original position.

"YOU LIKE KILLING MY PEOPLE WITH LASER VISION?! WHY DON"T YOUR TRY A TASTE OF MY LASER VISION NOW!!!

With this mad scream from the Commander, he shot out a laser blast from his eyes right at a stunned Lorne who was still off balance from being man-handled by the Commander. The laser hit Lorne and he could suddenly feel his body disintegrating. BS42 suddenly flew over and opened up forming a shield. Then BS42"s body somehow managed to produce even more metal from his body which surrounded Lorne until BS42 had become a ball. Even still, this didn"t help as almost instantly BS42 and Lorne was disintegrated on the spot. Nothing was left of the two.

Everything was deadly silent. Suddenly Lorne"s mother cried out, "NO!!!" Lorne"s father"s eyes went red, and all of Lorne"s friends looked at the place that Lorne was at just a moment ago. Lorne was gone. He had died. The Invincible Hero was dead!