Tales of the Empire:
The Legion of Doom
By Robert C. Moore
October 29,1991

Episode 10: Shootout at Charlie's
Stardate: 2393.4.23

A meeting was arranged a few days later where Kero, Paul and Laura got together with two of the Doom Members. It was at a hop called Charlie's. Charlie's was known for its great burgers and shakes.

Kero and Paul sat in the corner of one booth with a couple of Doom kids. Mike Donovan-a young man with dreams of journalism-sat at one end with David Star-the rebellious leader. Also there was Sara Conner, an ex-member who was forced to leave because of her support of the religious leaders.

At first the conversation centered on how they met up in the group, as well as the normal bull. Everything seemed fine until David began speaking about Sparks' "Final Option" plan.

"I believe it has something to do with Jonathan Sparks," David said, looking over his shoulder to make sure anyone was over hearing them. "I believe that Jonathan is not what he claims to be. For years I've been hearing about his "Final Option" plan to eliminate the religious people from our planet. The problem is no one has even seen it, not even John Wilder or Brian Hodges. I don't know about you, but I fear for my life."

Mike Donovan saw two men enter the place through the side door. They were men that Mike never saw before. Then suddenly realized it was Sparks' personal army, a pair of terminators called X and Y. Their mission was to eliminate the enemy, including traitors of the Doom.

"Duck down." Mike said, grabbing Kero in the process. Underneath the table was a small bug. Mike realized that this was all a setup.

X and Y scanned the lower lobby of the place, including the kitchen. With no luck, they went into the upper lobby. Suddenly shots were fired, blowing the back of the seat off. With David in full view of the hole created by the blast, Kero and the other began to scramble.

"David get out of there." Kero screamed. Mike grabbed him and ran for the rear of the lobby. X fired a shot missing Mike by inches. Laura pulled out from her cramped position and decided to go over to Kero. Y saw her and shot her, X fired at her leg, injuring her instantly.

When Kero saw Laura injured, Kero got mad. Before Y could respond, Kero pumped him with a few rounds of ammo. These weren't you're normal kinds of bullets. There technical name was XY-72, or commonly referred to as Jimmys. These bullets were designed to cut through metal, including Terminators.

Kero knew that if you hit the terminators below the waist, you could cause it to explode. Kero keep hitting Y until his armor was completely ruined. Suddenly, everyone ducked as Y exploded. X was now determined to finish them off. Kero began firing at X, but X picked up Kero and flung him through the glass. David knew that he had to create a distraction and FAST.

"Paul, use your orb and throw it at X." Paul did and instructed, making X temporarily blind. "Mike will help you pick up Kero and Laura. Take them to the ship. I will meet you in 2 minutes."

With X temporarily blind, David strapped a bomb on to his waist and set it. Kero and Laura were taken to the ship. As David was about to board the ship, X grabbed him from behind. Kero sensed that David was trouble, and released an orb to destroy X. David was free, yet shocked.

(Author's note: The orb is an sphere that uses powers from within the person to destroy the opponent.)

Paul set course and off they went. David sat down and cried. Was

he betrayed? Was X and Y part of the "Final Option?"

TO BE CONTINUED...