When
Skeletor left Snake Mountain with his mount, much of his army followed him.
Evil Lyn and Beast Man followed him, while Beast Man stayed away from his
master. Evil Lyn walked right next to Skeletor and looked at him. As always,
his face was impossible to read, but even though he had no facial features, the
Dark Mage had learned to read from him. Skeletor was curious about this city.
She seemed completely strange in this world. On top of that Evil Lyn was sure
that Skeletor had also noticed that just before the city appeared an incredible
amount of magic had sloshed over Eternia. Her own research had revealed that
the source of power came from Greyskull. It was impossible that her master
hadn't found out that too.
"What
do you think Skeletor? Is it a trick of the sorceress?" she asked so
quietly that only he would hear it.
Skeletor´s
Eyes glowed briefly as he looked at her. "I see you also felt it Evil Lyn.
Something happened in Greyskull and I want to know what it is".
"So
that's why you sent the others to check and just took this flea circus with
you?" the sorceress asked curiously and looked over her shoulder to Beast
Man.
"I
took him with me because I don't know what to expect in this city. Not even
Hordac would dare to manifest an army so close to my fortress. Besides, I have
never seen such buildings before! What do your books say?"
It was rare
for the skeleton to admit so directly that he had no idea what was going on.
Evil Lyn would certainly have enjoyed this moment if she hadn't been as worried
as Skeletor. "I've been looking through my father's records. There is no
correspondence with Eterinan architecture. Such buildings have never been
discovered before. However..."
When
Skeletor noticed that she had broken off in her sentence, he looked at her and
gave her the understanding to continue speaking.
"However,
there are rumors of Queen Marlena."
"Rumors? Which one exactly?
She raised
her magic wand so Skeletor could look into the crystal. Skeletor could remember
the images he saw there. It was many years ago. Long after he had been banished
from the capital and his brother had ascended the throne. No one had ever heard
of the queen. However, shortly before her first appearance, there had been a
strange swarm of meteors. But just as he was about to say something, he saw a
new image flash. It was a picture of a city made of glass and iron. It looked
quite similar to the place in front of them.
"What
am I looking at Evil Lyn for there?" he asked curiously.
"It's
a picture of Queen Marlena that she drew. She donated it to the Royal Museum
for her wedding. It is said she called it home."
"So
you really think the queen knows what this place is?" he asked
thoughtfully. Some of his spies had often told him that the queen should never
come from Eternia. That she told very imaginative stories. She often spoke of a
warrior who was very similar to He-Man. A warrior named Superman. But he had
always dismissed these stories as children's stories, or as a variation of
He-Man. He had revealed many secrets of Eternia, but still there were gigantic
black spots on the cards. In all the millennia that Eternia had been inhabited,
no one had created a complete map. Maybe this place was from another epoch of
Eternia. Maybe Queen Marlena had come from the past or the future. And this
Superman would be an ancestor or heir of He-Man. If so, it would give him new
opportunities.
"Evil
Lyn. I wish you would not kill the inhabitants! I wish to ask them a
question" he finally said and Evil Lyn nodded. She gave a sign to Beast
Man who immediately pushed his monsters. The normal foot troops also split up
into legions of 400 men each and began to surround the city. Skeletor climbed
on his panther and jumped onto a rock ledge to look down on the city. The city
was quite big for a place in Eternia. Only the big trade zones were bigger. He
estimated that there were about 10000 or more people there. There were 4
streets leading directly to the centre of the city where there was a strange library.
Nothing in this place seemed familiar to him. The buildings were strangely
built and the streets looked like a long carpet of stone. Never before had he
seen such smoothly tiled stone. The few people he could see wore strange robes
and seemed weak. A few wore a kind of uniform. They ran around on the paths and
hid behind big metal things that looked like simple versions of the Men-at-Arms
chariots.
"Evil
Lyn! Find out where the magicians of this place are. We must overcome them
quickly," he said to her and she nodded to him.
As Evil Lyn
began to channel her magic, she began to float above the ground and unnatural
winds surrounded her. It wasn't long before she landed back on the ground and
looked at him.
"It's
strange but I can't feel any magical powers within the place. They must have
camouflaged themselves very well. I must confess I am impressed," she said
meekly.
"You
must not be ashamed Evil Lyn. You can't feel magicians because this place
doesn't have magicians!
"What
is that supposed to mean skeletor?" she asked incredulously. "Who
would be so stupid to show up so close to Snake Mountain without magic
protection!"
"Someone
who doesn't intend to show up here! ATTACK!" he yelled then and his hordes
stormed the city. The few soldiers of the city opened fire on his troops but
only the weakest of his warriors fell victim to these weapons. With the more
powerful warriors, the weapons didn't even seem to have an effect. He could see
one of Beast Mans Hydras racing through the streets, throwing vehicles and
people around like toys. It was almost satisfying to see his troops achieve
such a superior victory and not be pulverized by the master. Without He-Man the
victories were much more pleasant. Even Evil Lyn grinned broadly as she
watched.
"They
don't seem to have very strong troops."
"It
seems so. But as cannon fodder they would be a great help to me. Make sure that
as many people as possible survive. I follow Strong Arm. I want to know what
kind of glass palace it is that appeared between us and Greyskull."
"You
said you wanted to ask them for something Skeletor?"
"Oh
yes Evil Lyn. How good that you always think for me!" Skeletor said
sarcastically and nodded. "Ask them if they've ever heard of a Superman!"
"Superman?
What kind of stupid name is that?" she said as she watched Skeletor ride
away.
Skeletor's
mount was probably one of the fastest animals on Eternia besides Battlecat. He
had put considerable effort into making Baghira such a powerful creature. He
just flew over the wild lands. The mighty castle was visible on the horizon. It
had to be truly gigantic that one could see it at this distance. There were 5
symbols on the top, but he couldn't see them at that distance yet. It took him
almost an hour to catch up. But what he saw there was scary. Strong Arm may not
have been his best, but he had somehow managed to become a general. He used him
only for simpler watch tasks or lighter crusades. Rarely did Strong Arm fight
the Master. But what he could see from his elevated position was confusing.
Inside the
tower.
"Friday.
What about the shields," Pepper asked and looked at the monitors. Whatever
she attacked there was very strange. It was monsters and human-like creatures
that hit the shield with advanced energy weapons or simple brute force.
"Shield
is stable at 92.2%. With the same attack power, the shield will last another
821 days, 18 hours and 29 minutes. Still no contact to the Stark satellite
network. Based on the topographic reference points it is not possible for me to
determine the exact position of the tower."
"Thank
you Friday. Agent Ryder. How are the refugees?"
"This
is Agent Ryder. They're scared but safe. Nothing has come through yet. My men
have secured the entrance area. We are ready to give these things a hot
reception," said the SHIELD agent confidently.
"Thank
you Agent Ryder. I don't think that will be necessary. I'll take care of the
situation."
"Excuse
me? Did you just say you're taking care of the situation?" Ryder asked
incredulously.
"Friday!
Activate the Rescue Armor Mark 12 and the House Party Protocol."
"At
your command, Pepper. Activate the House Party Protocol. My Calculation say
that the Hulk Buster Mark 2 will be enough to handle the Situation. Rescue Mark
12 will be activated."
Skeletor
watched the whole fight from a safer distance. Something kept him from directly
intervening in the fight. From his position it was clear to see that this
Mystical Castle had an extremely impressive protective magic. A magic that
might even have been as powerful as Greyskull's. Even the heavy weapons of his
Legion went astray on the shimmering blue fields. He could now also read what
stood at the top of the castle.
S. T. A. R.
K.
He had
never heard of Stark Castle. But just as he was looking at the signs again, he
could see a redheaded woman walking along one of the castle's wings. She was a
breathtaking beauty and Skeletor immediately had to think of the Sorceress. But
this woman's wings were missing. Was she supposed to be the queen of the
castle? It was likely. As she marched over the battlements of her castle, robotic
arms appeared around her, dressing her in a kind of full-body metal armor.
Finally she stood at the battlements and looked down on the troops. Strong
Arms' 122 legions consisted almost entirely of robots.
Skeletor
was amazed when he saw what the queen was up to. She wanted to demonstrate her
power by surpassing his legion with their own weapons. At the queen's wink, a 5
meter tall red Titan flew out of the building on flaming wings and smoking
hands. The colossus landed directly in the Legion and began to destroy it. His
hands produce light that was very similar to a laser but seemed to be much
stronger. With his fists he destroyed everything in his path and from his
shoulders it rained rockets. Strong Arm stood up to the Titan but while Strong
Arm made a devastating speech praising the reputation of the Skeletor, he was
grabbed by the leg and beaten back and forth like a rag.
Skeletor
had never seen such a powerful robot before. The red-dressed mechanical
creature beat up one of his generals like a little child in front of him before
he tore him in two and destroyed the skull of Strong Arm with his foot.
Stunned, he watched as the robot flew back to his queen and disappeared into
the castle. Then he noticed it.
The queen
looked directly at him. The silver visor opened and the woman smiled before she
turned around and went back to her castle.
Hastily
Skeletor rode back to Snake Mountain. Whatever appeared there could compete
with the power of Greyskull. Once he had subdued this iron champion, he could
even stop He-Man for him. Then he would conquer Greyskull with the miracles of
Stark Castle!
Nothing
would stop him! NOTHING!